Channel also developing show with Burnett

Former "Six Feet Under" star Peter Krause has picked his next television project, signing on to a Sci Fi Channel miniseries airing later this year.

Krause, a three-time Emmy nominee (including this year) for playing Nate Fisher on the HBO series, will star in Sci Fi's "The Lost Room," the network announced Thursday. The casting of Krause headlines a roster of development news that also includes a scripted series from "Survivor" creator Mark Burnett and a green light for the comic-book adaptation "Painkiller Jane."

"The Lost Room" centers on a detective (Krause) who comes into possession of a motel-room key that unlocks the door to a weird parallel world. The room contains a bunch of seemingly ordinary objects that each have a unique power -- and the key is the most powerful object of all.

The detective also becomes a suspect when his daughter (Elle Fanning) disappears while in the motel room.

The miniseries begins filming next week in Albuquerque, N.M. It's scheduled to air in December.

Also Thursday, Sci Fi announced it's developing a series called "Devil's Advocate," about a theology professor who researches bizarre events to see if they can be explained by physical laws or whether otherworldly forces are at work.

Burnett's two previous tries at scripted shows, both for The WB, never made it to air. A drama called "Global Frequency" didn't make it past the pilot stage, while the sitcom "Commando Nanny" was picked up in 2004 but never aired.

Also on tap for the cable network are "Painkiller Jane," which is based on a comic book by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada and will premiere in January; "Outpost," a miniseries about a group of privately funded space explorers; and "Witch Doctor," a series about -- you guessed it -- a witch doctor from "The Tick" and "Angel" writer-producer Ben Edlund.