Upfronts are next week, which means every broadcast network has a day set aside to announce new series and renewal decisions.  Fox is getting an early start with a series order for the comedy pilot The New Girl (formerly titled Chicks and Dicks).  Zooey Deschanel stars as “a quirky teacher who moves in with three guys — the cynic, the player and the man-child — after being dumped.”  Jake M. Johnson, Max Greenfield, and Damon Wayans Jr. play the three guys; Hannah Simone also stars.  Wayans Jr. currently stars in the ABC sitcom Happy Endings, which is on the bubble.  If ABC renews the series, Fox will have to recast Wayans’ role.  No Strings Attached writer Liz Meriwether created the series.  Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard) directed the single-camera pilot.

[Update: A new report suggests Fox is near a deal to pick up the J.J. Abrams-produced drama Alcatraz.  Details after the break.]

[Update 2: Click here for more Fox scheduling news, including the cancellation of Breaking In, Traffic Light, The Chicago Code, and Human Target]

Hit the jump for more on the shape of Fox in the coming television year.

Never have I seen “set photos” that look this good.  These look like official stills from Sony.  I don’t know how many shots the photographer took (and he or she clearly used a real camera and not a cell phone) but almost all of these all look like they’re in the movie.  I hesitate to call them “stills” because if Sony really shot these and they’re official, why would the studio let them leak out like this?  I just can’t believe the quality on these.  Hit the jump to see these set photos/”stills” of Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Damon Wayans Jr. and Rob Riggle.

Eva Mendes sure likes to keep busy. Since 2007 she has appeared in seven films, not counting the two in post-production or the one she is currently filming. Though that group includes such notables as “The Women” and the direct-to-DVD “Cleaner,” Mendes is still an actress in demand. She has just been signed to co-star in “The Other Guys,” the latest collaboration between Will Ferrell and his “Anchorman” director Adam McKay. Hit the jump for more info on the project.