Julie Benz

Julie Benz has joined her No Ordinary Family co-star Michael Chiklis in booking a fall pilot.

Benz has joined CBS’ untitled Susannah Grant supernatural medical drama which, like NOF, has high-concept elements. Jonathan Demme is directing the hourlong project, which centers on Michael (Patrick Wilson), an ultra-competitive surgeon whose life is changed forever when his ex-wife (Jennifer Ehle), a doctor running a free clinic, dies and begins teaching him what life is all about from the hereafter. Benz will play Michael’s sister, an unfocused and overwhelmed single mother with a huge heart.

Benz co-starred on Showtime’s Dexter and recurred on ABC’s Desperate Housewives before she was cast as the female lead in NOF last year. The show’s star, Chiklis, last week signed on to topline another CBS pilot, the comedy Vince Uncensored. Both are in second position to the ABC superhero drama, which has struggled in the ratings and is unlikely to see a second season.