Characters (From Your Favorite NBC Stars) Welcome

The USA network has announced two projects in development from NBC vets. The first, an untitled project being penned by Kath & Kim's John Michael Higgins centers on a middle-class insurance investigator who finds high-stakes drama in dull jobs. The Office's Steve Carell, has signed on to executive produce with Thom Hinkle (Rockford Files). Meanwhile, Anthony Edwards (ER) is set to executive produce the second project, The Velvet Hammer, about a Texan divorcee who's also an FBI agent. [THR]