Spy News FX has just ordered 13 episodes of a new drama, The Americans. The series will premiere in 2013 and will star Keri Russell (Felicity, Waitress) and Matthew Rhys as two KGB spies posing as an American couple in Washington D.C. during the Reagan presidency. If you feel like you've heard this in the news recently, you are right. The show is based off of Richard and Cynthia Murphy, a New Jersey couple who were arrested in 2010. The new FX series will dabble with a growing romance in the fake relationship, and an attraction to American values and way of life. This really sounds like a series that could have all the right ingredients. [EW]
Business News Joss Whedon will help develop a live-action TV series set within the Marvel universe for ABC. The Avengers director has signed an exclusive deal with Marvel Studios through 2015 covering The Avengers 2 and the aforementioned TV series. It is too early to know any detail about the series, but the Whedonverse is bursting with excitement and anticipation. [TVLine]
Fox has bought Gun Machine, a project based on the upcoming book of the same name by Warren Ellis, the prolific comic book writer. The series will be "a thriller about a beleaguered New York City detective who stumbles upon a cache of hundreds of guns that trace back to a wide array of seemingly unrelated unsolved murders." There is no pilot order yet, but given the high-profile acquisition, chances are there will be soon. [Deadline Hollywood]
Casting News Shiri Appleby will apparently be very busy during the upcoming fall season. After being cast in HBO's Girls, she is finalizing a deal for a recurring role on NBC’s new drama, Chicago Fire. She will recur as Clarice, the "ex-girlfriend of Shay (Lauren German) who is pregnant and married to a rich husband." If you find that confusing, welcome to 21st-century relationships. [Deadline Hollywood]
