'Moonlight' star O'Loughlin signs new deal

'Moonlight star Alex O'Loughlin is staying at CBS.

The Australian actor has signed a talent holding deal with the network, sister studio CBS Paramount TV and ABC Studios.

Under the one-year pact, O'Loughlin will star in a new series project for CBS that will be developed by top TV producer Mark Gordon, whose ABC Studio-based company is behind such series as ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," Lifetime's "Army Wives" and CBS' "Criminal Minds."

O'Loughlin rose to prominence this past season as vampire PI Mick St. John on CBS' "Moonlight." He helped attract a passionate fan base to the ill-fated freshman drama, which was canceled in May. At the Television Critics Assn. press tour in July, CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler credited the show's intense fan appeal to the actor.

Under the new deal with CBS, he also will be able to pitch theatrical projects to CBS Films.

The deal has been in the works for a couple months. For those who have been following the "Moonlight" posts in this blog, the pending O'Loughlin deal was the  update I vaguely alluded to when insisting the vampire drama was really-truly dead. And it's also one of the reasons why Tassler praised O'Loughlin at TCA. As if often the case with Hollywood dealmaking, everything takes longer than you think it will. 

O'Loughlin, who next appears in the feature "Whiteout," is repped by ICM and June Cann Management.