Today brings good news for fans of Joss Whedon as not one but two veterans of the "Whedonverse" have signed up for new series.

Firefly's Alan "Wash" Tudyk (recently of 3:10 to Yuma & Death at a Funeral) has been cast in the as yet untitled Kohan/Mutchnick pilot for ABC. The series is about two lifelong best friends and business partners. The two men--one straight, the other gay--have their relationship tested when they both get significant others. Tudyk will reportedly play the gay half of the duo.

Meanwhile Angel's Amy "Fred/Illyria" Acker has joined a trio of actors who will round out the cast for Whedon's Dollhouse. Along with Acker, Miracle Laurie (Medical Investigation), and 24's Harry Lennix will fill out an already fantastic cast. Whedon himself spilled the beans about the new ladies joining the cast over at Whedonesque.com. Dollhouse finds Eliza Dushku playing Echo, a member of a group of people known as "Actives" or "Dolls" who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas, including memory, muscle memory, skills, and language, for different assignments. They're then hired out for particular jobs, crimes, fantasies, and occasional good deeds. In between tasks, they are mind-wiped into a child-like state and live in a futuristic dormitory/laboratory, a hidden facility nicknamed "The Dollhouse". The story follows Echo, who begins, in her mind-wiped state, to become self-aware.

Acker has been cast as Dr. Claire Saunders, the dollhouse's medical specialist who cares for the physical well-being of the Dolls. Laurie has been cast as November, another of the Dolls who does not appear in the pilot but has a recurring role throughout the series. And Lennix will play Boyd Langton, Echo's handler and former copWithin the confines of Dollhouse, Boyd seems to offer a (gruff) voice of reason, feeling morally at odds with the treatment of the Actives (or Dolls, as they're sometimes known) yet willing to lay down his own life to protect them.

As if Whedon's Dollhouse wasn't exciting enough now it's got Fred! I can't wait! Fox will begin airing the series in the fall.

Labels: Casting, Dollhouse, Joss Whedon