"Buffy" veterans playing in "Dollhouse"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon is returning to television with "Dollhouse," a sci-fi project starring "Buffy" alumna Eliza Dushku.

The project has received a seven-episode commitment from Fox. It marks Whedon’s first TV project since his short-lived 2002 Fox drama "Firefly."

Dushku plays Echo, a member of a group of men and women who are imprinted with different personalities for different assignments. In between tasks they are mind-wiped, living like children in Dollhouse, a futuristic dorm/lab. They have no memories of their previous lives, until Echo begins to try to find out who she was.

"Joss has been my favourite friend, genius, ally and confidant in the business since I was 17," said Dushku, now 26, who also will serve as a producer on the project. "It’s incredible how much energy and excitement I have for this ; I can’t wait to be this Echo character."

"Dollhouse" came out of a lunch between Whedon and Dushku in September, shortly after the actress had signed a development deal with Fox and sibling studio 20th Century Fox TV. Whedon was giving her advice about writers and types of shows that might be good for her, but he wasn’t interested in venturing into TV himself because he was trying to get a couple of movie projects off the ground at the time.

"In the middle of the conversation, I went, ’Oh, God. I thought of the show, and I had the title,’" Whedon said.

Dushku came on board immediately. Within a week, the show was set up at Fox.