Alex O'Loughlin signs talent deal with network

Mick St. John won't be returning to CBS, but the actor who played him just might be.

"Moonlight" star Alex O'Loughlin has signed a talent holding deal with the network that also includes studios CBS Paramount TV and ABC Studios. The one-year deal was done with the intention of finding a new series project for the actor, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Producer Mark Gordon (" Grey's Anatomy," "Criminal Minds"), whose company is based at ABC Studios, will develop the project around O'Loughlin. The deal also allows O'Loughlin to pitch movie projects to CBS Films.

"Moonlight," as has been well-documented, drew a highly passionate fan base to CBS last season that followed O'Loughlin's vampire Mick and his romance with mortal woman Beth (Sophia Myles). Passion aside, though, the audience -- a shade over 7.5 million viewers per week, according to Nielsen -- wasn't big enough for CBS to renew the series for a second season.

CBS Entertainment chief Nina Tassler is an avowed fan of O'Loughlin's, however, saying at the TCA press tour last month that a lot of the response to "Moonlight" was "actor-centric."

O'Loughlin's credits also include a season-long stint on "The Shield" and the films " August Rush" and "The Invisible."