Reynolds Heads to Small Screen

April 8 -- Burt Reynolds is the latest movie star to try his luck on the small screen.

The Oscar-nominated actor, who's logged time on the cinematic gridiron in films such as Semi-Tough and The Longest Yard, will play a former pro football player in a comedy for CBS titled Late Boomers, about a group of middle-aged buddies.

Reynolds' last theatrical film was the similarly themed The Crew, about a group of aging mobsters who attempt a crime comeback. It co-starred Richard Dreyfuss, who is heading to CBS himself with the series The Education of Max Bickford.

This actually won't be Reynolds' first series: A former Gunsmoke regular, he also starred in Evening Shade from 1990 to 1994.

Daily Variety's Army Archerd reported Friday that Late Boomers will co-star TV staple Robert Urich, who's also a pal of Reynolds', and Joe Regalbuto, of Murphy Brown.

Urich, who starred in Vega$ and Spenser: For Hire, has been battling a rare form of cancer that attacks the joints. In 1996, his series The Lazarus Man was canceled when he was diagnosed with cancer. Urich has undergone extensive medical treatment, and the cancer is reportedly in remission. He has since starred in the short-lived series The Love Boat: The Next Wave.

Reuters contributed to this story.