ABC signs 'Huff' star, 'Veronica Mars' regular

Multiple Emmy nominee Oliver Platt and "Veronica Mars" actor Chris Lowell have joined a pair of fairly high-profile projects in development at ABC.

Platt, who had a recurring part on "The West Wing," will return to the political realm in the Alphabet's comedy pilot "The Thick of It." Lowell is the latest addition to the "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff, according to the showbiz trade papers. Also at ABC, Tim Peper has signed on to the comedy "Carpoolers."

"The Thick of It" is a remake of a British series about an ineffectual government minister, with "Arrested Development" creator Mitch Hurwitz among its executive producers. The ABC version will focus on a low-level congressman; Platt is set to play a committee chairman.

Platt earned Emmy nods in each of the past two years for his role on Showtime's "Huff" and another for "The West Wing" in 2001. He'll next be see in ESPN's series "The Bronx Is Burning," playing New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. He's also appeared in "The Ice Harvest," "Kinsey" and NBC's "Deadline."

Lowell, meanwhile, joins Kate Walsh, Taye Diggs, Tim Daly and Paul Adelstein in the potential "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff, which focus on Walsh's character and will be introduced in a May sweeps episode of the medical drama. Details of Lowell's part are being kept quiet.

The 22-year-old actor, who starred on ABC's "life as we know it" a couple seasons back, plays Stosh "Piz" Piznarski on The CW's "Veronica Mars." His casting on the ABC project probably doesn't bode well for Piz, but as he's a relative newcomer to "VM," it doesn't necessarily set off alarm bells for the future of the show.

Peper, meanwhile, will play one of the four leads in "Carpoolers," about a group of suburbanites who ride to work together. Peper has appeared on "Guiding Light" and NBC's "Conviction."