Good News All Around

This is definitely something I'll tune in for:

Minka Kelly is going to Washington.

The "Friday Night Lights" star has been tapped as the lead of the CW's drama pilot "Body Politic."

She is joined by an alum from another critically praised but low-rated series, "Veronica Mars' " Jason Dohring, who also been cast in the pilot.

Frankly, I think I'd watch Minka Kelly sit in a laundromat for an hour every week, but this show sounds like it might have a touch of The West Wing in it, and frankly Dohring demonstrated pretty clearly on Veronica Mars that he has chemistry with pretty much everyone. This is good news.

But, what about Friday Night Lights?

For the "FNL" fans whose hearts started racing, Kelly's new gig is not an sign that "FNL" is not coming back. Negotiations between NBC and DirecTV are still going on, and insiders are optimistic that the show will return for a fourth season.

But given the fact that Kelly's character on the show, Lyla, graduated from high school this season and is off to college, she is not going to be a regular next season but will return for a multiepisode arc if "FNL" clinches a fourth-season pickup.

The series' producers used a similar tactic for Gaius Charles and Scott Porter, regulars on the first two seasons, who were brought back for four episodes each this season to wrap up their characters' stories post-high school.

Whew. And if FNL does come back, that will be another piece of great news.

I'm less thrilled about the next thing here, but I'm certainly going to support it and give it a chance:

CBS is hoping to score an "Ace in the Hole" with a last-minute pickup to a multicamera comedy starring radio host/actor Adam Carolla.

The project hails from CBS Par, BermanBraun and Jackhole Industries, Carolla's company with his longtime friend, talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. It stars Carolla as a husband and father (Carolla) who works as a driving instructor.

Carolla penned the script with Kevin Hench, who has worked with him and Kimmel on Comedy Central's "The Man Show" and "Too Late With Adam Carolla."

Look, I love the Ace Man, and the fact that his radio show has been canceled is just another piece of evidence that there's no accounting for taste, especially in radio. But it's never been quite clear - even in his movie The Hammer, which I enjoyed quite a bit, that Carolla can act. I'll check it out, but I'm not holding my breath.