Liev will try to fix you. [Getty/Kevin Winter]Movie star Liev Schreiber has signed on to play "Ray Donovan," the titular character in a Showtime pilot about a professional "fixer" in Hollywood, who solves the problems of the rich and famous but has big issues with his own messed-up family. The important thing is: DO YOU GET IT? I think you get it: he can "fix" anything...except his own family!

I imagine a "fixer" is like a cross between Harvey Keitel's The Wolf in "Pulp Fiction," Barney Stinson's unseen "Guy Guy" (the guy who finds you a guy for what you need) on "How I Met Your Mother," and a regular publicist. Actually, it just sounds like a certain type of extremely expensive regular publicist, but it could be fun, especially if it's procedural-ish with a Problem of the Week, and doesn't hammer in the family twist too much.

One request (because Showtime takes requests from writers on TV blogs, right? That's how "Homeland" was created, I assume): that this show do a "Ripped From the Urban Celebrity Legend Non-Headlines" thing

I've always enjoyed Kristen Johnston, from her guest role in a very funny "New Adventures of Old Christine" to her supporting part as Drew Barrymore's character's sister in "Music and Lyrics." (What's this you say? She played a lead in "3rd Rock from the Sun"? I'm not familiar. OKAY, I am familiar, but if you haven't got anything nice to say, et cetera.) And my opinion of Johnston only SKYROCKETED this summer when a story came out about her getting into a scrap, on a plane, with Nadya "Octomom" Suleman over Suleman's inability to control her children on a cross-country flight. On last night's "Watch What Happens Live," Johnston took a viewer question about the incident, and though she downplays the whole flap, her physical impression of Suleman is pretty great.

Patrice in 2006. [Getty Images/Eugene Gologursky]Another comedy legend has died young. Comedian and actor Patrice O'Neal has died at 41, after suffering a stroke last month. His death was confirmed on Twitter this afternoon by Opie of "The Opie and Anthony Show," where O'Neal was a frequent guest and co-host:

"Yes it's true that our pal Patrice O'Neal has passed away. The funniest and best thinker i've ever known PERIOD. #devastated"

O'Neal was probably best known for his "Opie and Anthony" work on Sirius radio, as well as for many TV guest appearances ("The Office," "Arrested Development") and his co-hosting jobs on Comedy Central's "Shorties Watchin' Shorties" and Vh1's "Web Junk 20." O'Neal's most recent gig was "The Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen."

O'Neal, whose first hour-long stand-up special, "Elephant in the Room," premiered on Comedy Central in February of this year, was a very popular guy in the comedy world, as evidenced by the outpouring of praise for his work and sadness at his passing on Twitter by fellow comedians. Just a few: