Casting News: "Dexter," "My Name Is Earl"

Michael C. Hall is going to get a new acting partner on the third season of Showtime's "Dexter." Jimmy Smits will join the cast for 10 of the season's 13 episodes as Miguel Prado, a plugged-in prosecutor who teams up with serial killer/forensics investigator Dexter Morgan to take down a murderer who bedevils them both. Give Smits credit for joining this edgy series after the ratings disappointment of the short-lived "Cane." Note that it's his second role in a row as a powerful and accomplished Cuban-American. This oughta be fun. And the presence of the popular Smits should give CBS more incentive to bring "Dexter" back to network primetime as it did during the strike.

Meanwhile, NBC's "My Name Is Earl" will start with a bang in the fall as Jenna Elfman has signed on to play a cheerleading coach, including a flashback to her days as a high-school hottie. This ought to be fun, although it's apparently a one-shot deal. Also, Dennis Hopper has joined the cast of the Starz series "Crash," based on the movie about life in comtemporary Los Angeles.