Pilot Season Casting Update!

From: FEARnet - by Alyse Wax

We are still months away from the new TV season, but that doesn't mean we can't salivate over the latest pilot news.  With more dark and supernatural-themed pilots than ever before, it is going to be a busy fall!  Hit the jump to find out the latest casting news.

The Secret Circle

The Vampire Diaries with more witches just added Australian actress Phoebe Tonkin.  Tonkin will play Faye, a member of the witch's circle, the most popular girl in school, and the mortal enemy of lead Cassie (played by Britt Robertson).  This is Tonkin's first American role.

The River

This ABC drama doesn't sound particularly scary: a woman forces her son to leave med school for the Amazon, when beacon signal suggests that her explorer-husband - missing for six months - may in fact be alive.  However, Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity) is behind the "horror/thriller" so there has to be something spooky there.  Leslie Hope (24, Doppelganger) landed the female lead opposite already-cast Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek) as her husband and Joe Anderson (The Crazies) as her son.  Paul Blackthorne (The Gates) has also been cast, as the missing explorer's producer.

Once Upon a Time

This procedural takes place in a world where fairy tales are real - and a lot darker.  Raphael Sbarge (Dexter) will play Archie/the voice of Jiminy Cricket, "an eccentric-looking gentleman walking a Dalmatian and carrying an umbrella."  Jennifer Morrison (House) has already signed on to play Anna, the new gal in town.

Awakening

The Walking Dead for girls has added a guy to the cast: Titus Welliver (Lost, Sons of Anarchy, Assault on Precinct 13) joins the show as a man from a long line of zombie hunters.  British actress Lucy Griffiths and Meredith Hagner (Royal Pains) star as two embattled  sisters coming-of-age amidst a zombie apocalypse.