“So Ang Lee, you’ve won the Oscar for best director what are ya gonna do now?” “I’m going to direct and executive produce a TV show!”  Once again cluing us all into just how the TV landscape has changed over the last fifteen years from second-tier to top notch storytelling, the Life Of Pi director is set to helm the pilot of Tyrant, a new show that is being set up at FX which will follow an American family caught amidst the inner workings of a Middle Eastern nation.

Hit the jump for the lowdown.

We’ve got a couple of TV-related casting stories to share this morning.  First up, Sean Bean has signed on to replace Brendan Fraser as the lead in TNT’s espionage pilot Legends.  The series is based on a novel by Robert Littell and follows a former CIA operative now acting as a private detective who has the unique ability to turn himself into a different person for each assignment.  Fraser exited the project after he and showrunner Howard Gordon didn’t see eye to eye on how to approach the lead character, and now Variety reports that Bean is stepping into the lead role.

Bean’s characters have a tendency to, well, die unexpectedly, but I think he’s safe here as he’ll be toplining the series (at least I hope…).  Legends is one of a number of new projects 24 veteran Gordon is spearheading following the immense success of his Showtime series Homeland.  Hit the jump for casting news regarding a Seinfeld alum visiting Community.

Good news for a couple of popular series.  First up, hot off the network’s biggest ratings in years, The CW has picked up the superhero adaptation Arrow for a full season.  Much like Smallville, the show puts a television spin on the Green Arrow comic book character and has been met with a relatively enthusiastic audience response.  The series had an impressively strong hold from its premiere numbers of 4.02 million viewers and a 1.3 rating in the coveted 18-49 demo to the second episode, so the order was a no-brainer.  The CW’s pick-up is for a full 22-episode season.

Hit the jump for renewal news concerning the best show on TV, Homeland.

After stepping away from NBC’s Saturday Night Live, many wondered what Andy Samberg had in store for his future career.  It looks like one of his upcoming projects will be a return to television in a pilot for an untitled Fox comedy series written by Parks and Recreation co-creators, Mike Schur and Dan Goor.  The comedy centers on a motley group of detectives stationed near the outskirts of New York City.  Samberg would play the lead detective in a role that show creators say is a perfect match.  Hit the jump to hear what else Schur and Goor had to say, in addition to news on Brendan Fraser toplining the TNT pilot, Legends. 

Chronicle scribe, Max Landis, is bringing his own brand of superheroics to the small screen.  Landis is set to pen Vigilant, a police drama series that revolves around a twenty-year-old woman who takes on the persona of a crime fighting vigilante in order to take down criminals and flush out corruption from within the police department.  Landis will also executive produce his creation alongside Hugh Fitzpatrick through Teakwood Lane. Homeland’s Howard Gordon landed the sale of Vigilant at Fox with a script plus penalty order.  Hit the jump for more on Vigilant.

The first season of the Showtime drama series Homeland was both critically acclaimed and a hit among viewers, leaving everyone intrigued to see what direction Season 2 would take. Having seen the compelling first episode back, premiering on September 30^th, I can say that it’s well worth the wait. The series stars Claire Danes, Damian Lewis, Morena Baccarin, Mandy Patinkin and David Harewood.

While at the Showtime portion of the TCA Press Tour, executive producers Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon talked about the evolution of the story for Season 2, how important it was for Carrie (Danes) to be elated to be back in the intelligence game, the experience of shooting in Israel, how reality does affect the storytelling, and how the show is ultimately the character study of a man (Lewis) very damaged by his experience as a prisoner of war and how that plays into his reintegration back into his life in America. Gordon also gave yet another update about the possibility of the 24 movie ever happening. Check out what they had to say after the jump.

From executive producer/writer Kyle Killen (Lone Star) and executive producer Howard Gordon (Homeland, 24), and with a pilot directed by David Slade (Twilight: Eclipse, 30 Days of Night), the NBC series Awake follows the life of Detective Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs), who wakes up from a car accident with his wife (Laura Allen) and teenage son (Dylan Minnette), to learn the devastating news that his wife died in the crash. And then, he wakes up a few days later to realize that his wife is very much alive and his son died in the accident. When Michael goes back to work solving crimes, alternating between realities provides some challenges when he realizes that these realities overlap in fascinating and inexplicable ways.

At a press day held on the show’s set during a break from filming, Kyle Killen and Howard Gordon talked about whether they believe a show can be too smart for TV, how there will be a case-of-the-week element to the serialized storytelling in Awake, how viewers will get answers about the crash if they stick with the 13 episodes of the first season, that little clues and hints will be offered throughout, why they needed a production hiatus during the season, and how important the moments of levity are within what could really be a truly miserable story. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

From executive producer/writer Kyle Killen (Lone Star) and executive producer Howard Gordon (Homeland, 24), and with a pilot directed by David Slade (Twilight: Eclipse, 30 Days of Night), the NBC series Awake follows the life of Detective Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs), who wakes up from a car accident with his wife (Laura Allen) and teenage son (Dylan Minnette), to learn the devastating news that his wife died in the crash. And then, he wakes up a few days later to realize that his wife is very much alive and his son died in the accident. When Michael goes back to work solving crimes, alternating between realities provides some challenges when he realizes that these realities overlap in fascinating and inexplicable ways.

At a press day held on the show’s set during a break from filming, actor Jason Isaacs talked about this complex and intriguing new drama, how the universal themes are what made him want to do the show, that no episode will be the same because the character’s world changes all the time, why they decided to shut down production for a month, and that, as a producer and part of the storytelling process, he knows which of the worlds is real and which one isn’t. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

If NBC not figuring out when to bring back Community wasn’t enough to piss some viewers off, the network’s delay in figuring out where to put the most promising new series of the midseason should’ve put them over the top. Since the upfronts last year, many viewers, especially us here at Collider, have been dying to find out when Awake from creators Kyle Killen (Lone Star) and Howard Gordon (24) and starring Jason Isaacs would finally hit the air. Thankfully, NBC had an answer today by announcing that the new series will premiere on Thursday, March 1st at 10/9c following the big block of comedy on Thursday nights. It will be knocking The Firm from its current timeslot to a Saturday airdate at the same time. I couldn’t be happier about this news. For a full press release and the fantastic trailer from the upfronts last year, hit the jump.

One of the strongest and most compelling new dramas on television is Showtime’s Homeland, about Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis), who returns home to a hero’s welcome after eight years in enemy confinement. While his wife (Morena Baccarin) and children are celebrating his return, CIA Agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) isn’t buying his story, instead believing that Brody has been turned and is now working for Al Qaeda.

During this exclusive interview with Collider, executive producer Howard Gordon (24) talked about the development and appeal of Homeland, how they assembled such a talented cast of actors, and the attraction of a strong central character to base a story around. He also talked about the mid-season NBC series Awake (starring Jason Isaacs), which he is also executive producing, and how he will juggle both shows, if both are picked up for a second season. Additionally, he said he’s bringing back the central character of his debut novel, for a follow-up called Hard Target (due out in January 2012), that he’s collaborating with Alloy Entertainment and writer/director James Wong for a film and book idea called 2084, and the likelihood of a 24 movie ever happening, now that he’s focused on two television series, and Kiefer Sutherland has one he’s working on as well (called Touch, for Fox). Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Comic Con 2011: At the Showtime Preview Panel, Michael C. Hall and company talked up the 6^th season of Dexter; William H. Macy, Emmy Rossum and John Wells teased the second season of Shameless; Morena Baccarin and Howard Shore discussed their new show Homeland. For all this, plus new trailers for Dexter and Homeland, hit the jump.

Every now and then a TV show captures your eye and won’t let go of your imagination. For me, simply seeing the trailer for the high-concept NBC drama Awake was enough to leave me wanting more. Thanks to the pilot screening and Q&A of Awake in Room 6A earlier today, I came away with a lot of answers and some new mysteries. During the brief panel afterwards, star Jason Isaacs (Lucious Malfoy in Harry Potter), writer Kyle Killen, and executive producer Howard Gordon answered a string of questions that drove home that they aren’t afraid of taking risks and doing something different. For my impressions of the pilot and a recap of the panel, hit the jump.

Although Alloy Entertainment may be best known for creating TV shows on the CW network, they are starting to make serious strides to play on the silver screen. According to THR, their latest project finds them partnered with the showrunner of 24, Howard Gordon, and Final Destination writer/director James Wong on an original property titled 2084. Described as a mixture of 1984 and The Terminator, the project was conceived by Gordon and Wong who intend to develop it as a film property and young adult novel series. In fact, HarperCollins has already bought the rights for three young adult novels. For more on the project, including a description of the storyline, hit the jump.

20th Century Fox Television has axed Billy Ray’s (State of Play) 24 film script.  While this probably means Mr. Jack Bauer won’t be gracing the silver-screen in the immediate future, according to executive producer (of the series and, purportedly, the film adaptation) Howard Gordon, the film is by no means dead:

“As far as I know, it is in suspended animation.  There is talk about re-approaching it.  I understand (director/producer) Tony Scott is meeting with Kiefer to talk about ideas. People are still talking about it.”

To read more from Gordon and for a reminder on what Kiefer Sutherland has to say about the 24 film, hit the jump.

Ryan Murphy (co-creator, exec. producer, showrunner of Glee) and Howard Gordon (exec. producer and showrunner of 24) are teaming-up to present 20^th Century Fox with an offer it could, but most likely won’t, refuse.  Both key players in two of Fox’s bigger success stories of late, the pair are developing a television drama project that is currently in negotiations to air on said studio.  The show is described as a “high-concept, character-driven procedural that deals with making people face their worst fears and phobias.”  Somewhere, most likely alongside an octagon, Joe Rogan is thinking to himself “been there, done that.”

For more info on the project, hit the jump.