Allison Janney has signed on to star opposite Chris Colfer (Glee) in the coming-of-age comedy Struck by Lightning.  Colfer also wrote the script which, per Variety, "opens with Colfer's character being struck and killed by a bolt of lightning; flashbacks will chronicle his exploits as he blackmails his classmates into contributing to a literary magazine he's publishing."  The independent production will shoot this July in Los Angeles during Colfer's summer hiatus from Glee.  Brian Dannelly (Saved!) will direct.

Hit the jump for more Giancarlo Esposito's role in I, Alex Cross, and the casting of Dev Patel in More As This Story Develops.

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Image via AMC

Summit announced today that Esposito, the actor who frequently captivates all Breaking Bad fans as drug maven Gus Fring, will appear in the adaptation of James Patterson's I, Alex Cross.  Tyler Perry stars as a homicide detective in search of a serial killer: "The two face off in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, but when the mission gets personal, Cross is pushed to the edge of his moral and psychological limits."  Matthew Fox, Ed Burns, and Jean Reno also star in the adaptation, directed by Rob Cohen (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor) from a script by Kerry Williamson and Marc Moss.

Lastly, HBO has cast Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) in the Aaron Sorkin drama More as This Story Develops.  He joins an impressive ensemble featuring Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, Alison Pill, Sam Waterston and Olivia Munn.  The series centers on a cable news network -- Variety reports Patel is a series regular as a young man who works at the channel.