'Bad News' Is Good News for Piven

Oct. 29, 2001 -- Just a few weeks ago, Serendipity's Jeremy Piven was lamenting that he is always playing second banana to best friend and frequent co-star John Cusack.

"If I have to see another guy get the girl again, I'll implode," he told The Daily Show host Jon Stewart, or words to that effect.Well, good news, Jeremy: The actor, who starred on the short-lived ABC sitcom Cupid, is getting a spanking new TV vehicle to call his own, called Bad News, Mr. Swanson. The dark comedy, which will debut next spring on cable channel FX, is only slightly used, having been originally intended to star Frank Whaley. Piven will play a man with a bad marriage and loser job whose life takes a turn for the better when he is diagnosed with cancer. Yep, that's bad news all right. He will also serve as an executive producer.Production on Bad News begins in January, with director Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) slated to shoot the first episode, Variety reports.