LOS ANGELES, March 8 — These familiar faces from the small-screen could be heading back to TV this autumn if their new series pilots are picked to run on one of the US’s five big networks.

Courteney Cox

After wrapping up Cougar Town, this one-time Friends star has been signed up to a Fox comedy pilot called Charity Case. This series, penned by a former The Office screenwriter, sees the actress star as Hailey, a woman who inherits a charity from her late billionaire husband. However, changing the world soon turns out to be much less glamorous than she expected.

Matt LeBlanc

Courteney Cox’s former Friends co-star has stepped into the lead role of CBS pilot I’m Not Your Friend. The comedy, created by the pair behind That ‘70s Show, sees the actor play a contractor who discovers that raising kids is trickier than he thought when his wife goes back to work.

Sarah Michelle Gellar

A small-screen regular since her vampire slaying days, the former Buffy star is stepping back into a role she played in a 1999 movie Cruel Intentions. NBC has signed her up to star in the TV adaptation, playing the devilish Kathryn Merteuil.

Queen Latifah

After a show-stopping performance as Bessie Smith in recent HBO TV movie Bessie, the singer is to star in a new pilot from Lee Daniels (Empire), currently in the works for Fox. Star follows a group of three young female singers in Atlanta. Queen Latifah plays the role of a beauty salon owner with an incredible voice who takes the girls under her wing.

Corey Hawkins

The 27-year-old American actor, seen recently in Straight Outta Compton, has landed the lead in 24: Legacy, a reboot of Fox’s hit action show. With Jack Bauer in retirement, Corey Hawkins is heading to American TV as Eric Carter. This former US Army Ranger with a difficult childhood finds himself back with his wife in Virginia when his past catches up with him. To save his life, he joins the anti-terrorist cell on a mission to thwart what could be one of the most deadly attacks on American soil.

Kiefer Sutherland

The former 24 star is stepping over to ABC for Designated Survivor. After a disaster strikes the White House, killing everyone above him in the presidential line of succession, his character, a lower-level US Cabinet member, suddenly finds himself promoted to the Oval Office. ABC has already ordered the series, which is expected to air in autumn 2016.

Tony Danza

Almost 25 years after Who’s the Boss? ended, the actor who found fame as Tony Micelli is back in a new comedy pilot for NBC. Sebastian sees him play an old-school Italian father alongside American comedian Sebastian Maniscalco.

Damon Wayans

Known as the dad from My Wife and Kids, this actor is changing styles for a TV adaptation of Lethal Weapon. The Fox series pilot sees him take the role of Roger Murtough, played by Danny Glover in the four movies. The role of Martin Riggs, played by Mel Gibson, hasn’t yet been cast.

Archie Panjabi

After playing Kalinda in The Good Wife for six years, this actress is heading for another legal drama in The Jury, which follows a murder trial through the eyes of the case’s 12 jury members. The British actress plays one of the jurors, an activist called Kim Dempsey who’s always looking for a cause to defend.

Kristen Bell

After starring in Showtime’s House of Lies, this actress is heading to a new series called The Good Place. Already ordered by NBC, the drama follows Eleanor, a New Jersey woman on a mission to become a better person. Ted Danson (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Fargo) stars as her guide on the road to self-improvement. — AFP-Relaxnews