Debra Messing Cast in CBS Pilot; SMASH Star Returns to Comedy

Debra Messing isn't wasting any time since filming wrapped recently on SMASH's second season: the actress has already been cast in a CBS comedy pilot, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

NBC has priority - if SMASH returns for a third season, Messing will appear on the Broadway-themed show - though it was recently moved to the Saturday schedule in what many say is an indication that it will not be renewed.

The CBS comedy pilot focuses on harried mother Shira (played by Messing), a ghost writer for a celebrity chef who has three young children. Messing will produce along with Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky ("Sex and the City").

From Universal Television in association with DreamWorks Television, SMASH stemmed from an idea of executive producer and multiple Emmy and Oscar winner Steven Spielberg ("ER," "Schindler's List"). The series' executive producers also include Joshua Safran ("Gossip Girl"), Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Oscar-winning "Chicago," "Hairspray"), Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey ("United States of Tara," "The Borgias"), Tony and Grammy Award winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman ("Hairspray," "Catch Me If You Can") and Theresa Rebeck ("Mauritius," "NYPD Blue").