'Friday Night Lights' Alum Zach Gilford to Co-Star in Fox's Josh Berman/Robert Wright Medical Drama Pilot (Exclusive)

6:47 PM PST 3/9/2012 by Lesley Goldberg

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He'll play a wealthy doctor opposite Jordana Spiro in the project from "Drop Dead Diva's" Josh Berman.

Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images

Zach Gilford

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Former FNL good guy Zach Gilford has been tapped to co-star in Fox's untitled Josh Berman/Robert Wright medical drama, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.

From the creator of Drop Dead Diva, the project centers on Grace Devlin (Jordana Spiro), a young thoracic surgeon who becomes indebted to the South Chicago mafia and is forced to moonlight as a "mob doctor" while also working full time at Chicago's most prominent hospital.

Gilford will play Dr. Brett Robinson, a handsome blueblood who works alongside Grace. William Forsythe, James Carpinello, Jesse Lee Soffer and Jamie Lee Kirchner co-star.

Berman will write and executive produce the Sony Pictures Television drama alongside his Drop Dead Diva counterpart Wright. Michael Dinner will exec produce and direct the pilot, which will film in Chicago.

Gilford played noble quarterback Matt Saracen for five seasons on NBC/DirecTV's Friday Night Lights. More recently, he co-starred on ABC's Off the Map, Shonda Rhimes' short-lived doctors without borders medical drama. He's repped by WME and Dontanville/Frattaroli Management.

Gilford's casting marks the latest in a string of former Friday Night Lights co-stars booking pilots this season. Connie Britton was tapped this week to star in ABC's drama pilot Nashville, while Gilford's onscreen girlfriend Aimee Teegarden will headline the CW's Hunger Games-esque drama The Selection. And three former Lions have new gigs: Michael B. Jordan is reuniting with FNL's Jason Katims on NBC's County, Matt Lauria has booked Rhimes' ABC period drama Gilded Lilys, and Jurnee Smollett is heading to John Wells' Bad Girls reboot at NBC.

In the meantime, Kyle Chandler remains among a list of actors who are being heavily courted -- but unlikely to accept -- offers to join pilots and recently joined Kathryn Bigelow's feature about the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit