Ask AfterEllen.com (Jan. 20, 2009)

Want to know the status of a particular movie, TV show, or band? Wondering what a certain actress is up to these days? Send your entertainment-related questions to askafterellen@gmail.com — with your first name, city and country — and we'll try to answer as many as we can.

Question: I recently watched the pilot of Nikki & Nora, and I can't believe it wasn't picked up for a full season. Is there any chance of it being picked up at a later date, possibly by a network that was not originally approached? Or is it lost forever?

— mustang_sally, Utah

Answer: I forwarded your question to Nikki & Nora creator Nancylee Myatt, and she confirmed that the pilot starring Liz Vassey (CSI) and Christina Cox (Blood Ties) as lesbian detectives in New Orleans is indeed dead. Warner Bros. Studios and Laura Zisken Productions (who produces all the Spiderman movies) produced/own the rights to the pilot, and they have no plans to turn it into a series.

But Liz, Christina and Nancylee are still working on projects together. Last year, Vassey and Cox starred in 3Way's show-within-a-show parody of Nikki & Nora called Ladycops, and Myatt recently wrote a pilot for Barry Sonnenfeld to direct called The Trackers, which stars Vassey and Cox as paranormal bounty hunters.

Nancylee's also working on a pilot for a female buddy cop dramedy set in New Orleans, with Liz and Christina in mind.

Christina Cox, Nancylee Myatt and Liz Vassey (Nov. 2008)

If/when there's more news about the two reuniting on-screen, I'll let you know.

Question: I love Christina Cox, and I was really sad when Blood Ties got cancelled. Is she going to be starring in anything else soon?

— Nadia, Indianapolis, Indiana

Christina Cox

Answer: I have good news for you — at least, if you live outside the U.S.: Cox has just landed a lead role in Defying Gravity, a 13-episode drama about astronauts on a six-year mission through the solar system. The series starts filming this month and will be airing on BBC Two in the U.K., CTV in Canada and Pro Sieben in Germany. Ron Livingston (Office Space) also stars.

I asked Christina for details about her role, and here's what she told me:

I'm playing Jen, the mission biologist, on a long (5+yrs) multi-stop interplanetary research trip. There are 8 astronauts, 4 men and 4 women selected for the mission. The show will follow us from the selection process all the way through our journey in space, the struggles, friendships, relationships etc. There is also the mission control team in constant contact with us, monitoring us from earth. So, each episode will tell each of the characters story both through the present (the ship) and via their past experiences leading up to the launch and what might happen when you put 8 people in deep space for 6 yrs.

There's no word yet on where it will end up in the U.S., but Christina says, "I'm just so grateful to have a place to go do my thing with such a talented group, I'm happy regardless."

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