Christine Baranski, Calista Flockhart and John Pankow made the leap; why not Nathan Lane?

In early September, Variety reported that Nathan Lane, who became a movie star from The Birdcage and The Lion King, but had been a NY theatre favorite for a decade earlier, is in talks with Paramount Network TV on a 1998 situation comedy. David Angell, Peter Casey and David Lee -- who all created "Frasier" -- were to produce the as-yet untitled show.

Now Variety reports that the news is official, and that Lane also received a film commitment from Paramount as part of the deal. No news, however, on the show's title, storyline or network for broadcast.

Lane's theatre credits include Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Film Society, Bad Habits, The Lisbon Traviata and his Tony-winning turn in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum. He also served as host of the 1995 and 1996 Tony Awards, the latter as a solo.

Already swimming the network waters is the aforementioned Flockhart, whose Fox sitcom, "Ally McBeal," is one of the few fall season shows to be granted further episodes. Ubiquitous on the New York stage, Flockhart appeared in recent Broadway revivals of The Three Sisters and The Glass Menagerie, both at the Roundabout Theatre. -- By David Lefkowitz