He'll play a CEO in ABC pilot

Michael Vartan is headed back to ABC for his first post-"Alias" series job.

Vartan headlines the latest batch of actors taking pilot-season roles, as he's joining an ABC drama about a group of friends with high-powered corporate jobs. Gabrielle Union ("Night Stalker"), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau ("Firewall") and Melissa Sagemiller ("Sleeper Cell") have also signed onto pilots, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Vartan pilot comes from Jon Feldman ("Reunion," "Tru Calling") and follows the lives of four newly minted or about-to-be CEOs. The former "Alias" star will play the newly installed chief executive of a big company and the "moral center" of the series.

Since ending his run on "Alias" last season, Vartan has filmed two movies: the horror flick "Rogue" and the drama "Jolene," both of which are due for release later this year. His credits also include "Monster-in-Law" and "One Hour Photo."

Also at ABC, Union has signed on to "Football Wives," an adaptation of the British hit "Footballers Wives." The "Bring It On" and "Running with Scissors" star will next be seen in the Tyler Perry movie "Daddy's Little Girls."

Danish actor Coster-Waldau has taken the lead role in FOX's drama "New Amsterdam," about a New York city cop who's an immortal and has thus been working his beat for a couple hundred years. Lasse Hallstrom ("The Cider House Rules") is directing the pilot, which was created by Christian Taylor ("Six Feet Under") and Allan Loeb.

Sagemiller, meanwhile, has joined the cast of "Life," an NBC drama about a cop (Damian Lewis, "Band of Brothers") who rejoins the force after serving time for a crime he didn't commit. Her credits include "The Guardian" and "Sorority Boys."