Jim Spellman/WireImage.com, George Pimentel/WireImage.com, FoxWith the Fourth rapidly approaching, it's a relatively slow time for Hollywood dealmakers, but there is a little action on the Couch.
Homer Simpson is 'tooning in Denis Leary, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and some Internet gazillionaires, Michael Imperioli is trading the Bada Bing for bell bottoms, and Val Kilmer is playing good cop to Nic Cage's Bad Lieutenant.
Louis-Dreyfus will reprise her role as Snake's girlfriend in The Simpsons' season kickoff on Sept. 28, while Leary will take a break from Rescue Me to play a tantrum-prone version of himself whose cell phone winds up in Bart's hands.
Also getting their yellow on this season: Dallas Mavericks boss and former Dancing With the Stars hoofer Mark Cuban and Amazon.com overlord Jeff Bezos. They'll give Mr. Burns a run for his money, lending their singing voices to a December episode in which Monty wins a pro basketball team in a poker game.
As for Imperioli, the Emmy-winning former Sopranos star has signed on to star in ABC's new '70s-themed drama Life on Mars.
The series revolves around a police detective (Jason O'Mara) who, after a car crash, mysteriously is transported back in time to 1973, where he must track down a serial killer.
Imperioli will be on the right side of the law this time around as Tyler's rough-and-tumble partner.
Mars has recently gone through a behind-the-scenes transformation after the exit of original showrunner David E. Kelly. He's been replaced by Stephen Garrett, Andre Nemec and Scott Rosenberg, the braintrust behind ABC's October Road, which didn't get a renewal for a third season.
Life on Mars is scheduled to air Thursdays at 10 p.m. this fall in the post-Grey's Anatomy slot.
Finally, Kilmer and rapper Xzibit are set to costar with Cage and Eva Mendes in director Werner Herzog's reworking of Abel Ferrara's 1992 cult classic, The Bad Lieutenant.
The updated film will follow a corrupt cop (Cage) who seeks out redemption as he investigates the rape of a nun.
Kilmer will play Cage's partner; Xzibit will play a crime kingpin.
Also on board Lieutenant are Fairuza Balk, Jennifer Coolidge, Vondie Curtis Hall, Shawn Hatosy, Denzel Whitaker and Brad Dourif.
Shooting starts later this summer.