British Actors and Actresses in American Fall Television

Strange new expressions have been floating around the studio lots of ABC, CBS and Fox. Strange because they have nothing to do with ratings or lead-ins or time slots. Instead, it's that so many people are using words like "quite", "righty-o" and "cheers!"

Take, for example, Michelle Ryan, the in NBC's new drama Bionic Woman, who originally hails from north London. Or Anna Friel, who plays Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, Lee Pace's love interest in Pushing Daisies. Or Kevin McKidd, the time-travelling journalist in Journeyman and a Scot.

And it's not just new shows that are making the most of British talent. CBS' Without A Trace features Oscar-winner Marianne Jean Baptiste as ambitious FBI agent Vivian Johnson. She may not be the boss of the missing-persons squad yet but in Season 6, she'll be running her own unit: a task force targeting human trafficking. And while CSI's Sofia Curtis may sound like she hails from Las Vegas, that's just a testament to the talent of actress Louise Lombard, originally from Essex. Add to the list Ashley Jensen who plays the dotty wardrobe mistress in Ugly Betty. Lennie James in Jericho, the CBS drama set in post-apocalyptic Kansas. And Mancunian Marsha Thomason, who joined the cast of Lost as pilot Naomi Dorrit. The new season of Lost returns in early 2008. And who can forget Ian Hart's star turn as an unstable photographer in Courtney Cox's series Dirt.

But by far the most successful of the Brit pack is Hugh Laurie, the irascible doctor in Fox's hit series House. Laurie was recently nominated for an Emmy but lost out to Boston Legal's James Spader. But never mind, he can take consolation in the thought that he will soon be joined on the show by his former comedy partner Stephen Fry, who has guest starred on Bones. Maybe at next year's Emmy's Laurie will be joined in the TV band by Damian Lewis, who this season takes the lead in Life as Charlie Crews, a cop put in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Damian, by all acccounts, plays a mean guitar.