CBS pickups: The number of shows I watch on the network just doubled

May 18, 2009, 05:06 PM | by Mandi Bierly

CBS officially announces its schedule May 20, but a source tells EW's Hollywood Insider blog that among the pickups we'll find Three Rivers starringMoonlight's Alex O'Loughlin, Miami Trauma featuring The Tudors' Jeremy Northam, and the NCIS spinoff with Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J. This is fantastic news for many:

• First of all, Alex O'Loughlin: He sat in on five open-heart surgeries to prepare for his role as a divorced cardiothoracic surgeon in Three Rivers, which tells the story of organ transplants from three perspectives -- the recipient's, the donor's, and the surgical team's.

• Alex O'Loughlin's fans: "I told [CBS] I'm happy to do whatever sex scenes they want. Either with actors or by myself.... That may or may not be a reason why they pick up the show," he joked to us last month. You have that in writing, CBS. So hold him to it!

• The people who use our old "Jeremy Northam, why aren't you a bigger star?" post as their message board: 3,000-plus comments and counting. Fresh material.

• Anyone who was surprised by how good Chris O'Donnell was on the second half of that recentNCIS two-parter that launched the spinoff, which focuses on undercover ops instead of forensics: Now, we'll get to explore Special Agent G. Callen's backstory, and why even he doesn't know what the 'G' stands for.

(I'm so willing to test Alex's theory as an 'extra!)