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Check out the actors we think are worthy of taking the lead in prime time

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1 of 20 Ali Goldstein/NBC

Elizabeth Banks

It's not that we don't like Avery on 30 Rock, but she's cramping Jack's style. Their familial story lines are kind of a snooze and her erratic appearances destroy any momentum they have. Elizabeth Banks, however, is always fantastic and hilarious, and given her work on Scrubs, American Dad! and Modern Family, she clearly likes working on TV — and we'd love to see her on ours every week
2 of 20 Bob Mahoney/The CW Network

Taylor Kinney

Although he starred on the short-lived drama Trauma, it was his turn as a complicated, sexy werewolf on The Vampire Diaries that caught our attention. Now that his character has been axed (RIP Uncle Mason), this future leading man needs a new gig. Brooding maverick cop? Yes, please!
3 of 20 John P. Johnson/HBO

Kristin Bauer

As a sassy Southern belle/vampire in the bloated cast of True Blood, Kristin Bauer owns any room she enters and gets all the best lines. But she's usually on the screen for mere seconds. Imagine what she could do with a whole hour!
4 of 20 Bill Records/NBC

Taylor Kitsch

We fell in love with Kitsch's laid-back, long-haired Tim Riggins on Friday Night Lights. Texas forever, right? Let's flip the script and cast Kitsch as a charming Wall Street predator.
5 of 20 Carin Baer/Fox

Kristin Chenoweth

Like John Stamos, the multi-talented Chenoweth has been a bright spot every time she appeared on Glee. And with Tony and Emmy awards on the mantle, why is her name not above the title yet? Have no fear, fans! Chenoweth will star in the midseason ABC soap GCB where she'll get to plot, scheme and play the bad girl we always knew she could be. Let's just hope they throw a few musical numbers her way too!
6 of 20 Virginia Sherwood/NBC

T.R. Knight

Grey’s Anatomy’s recent ode to George has made us miss the baby-faced Broadway actor even more. But his recent guest appearance on SVU taught us that there's a seamy underbelly to this Boy Scout
7 of 20 Jordin Althaus/Fox

Lisa Edelstein

We miss the fragility and steely sex appeal she brought to seven seasons of House. Even though she's been appearing on The Good Wife, we want more for Edelstein than just being an in-demand guest star. How about a family drama about a prodigal daughter returning home after a difficult divorce? It could be just what the doctor ordered.
8 of 20 Sonja Flemming/CBS

John Lithgow

Yes, we know that John Lithgow headlined 3rd Rock from the Sun, but after his Emmy-winning turn on Dexter, we want him back in a drama. Scaring us. Since the serial killer thing has been done, may we suggest he play the demanding father of a child beauty pageant star? Chilling.
9 of 20 Adam Rose/Warner Bros./CBS

Judy Greer

Greer has already perfected the second fiddle gig in movies, and she has guest-starred on enough TV shows for us to know that she'd be perfect as a harried HR director who has the hots for her boss
10 of 20 Michael Desmond/ABC

Matthew Perry

Third time's the charm, right? Matthew Perry's first two post-Friends efforts (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Mr. Sunshine) didn't work out, but we want the erstwhile Chandler Bing back on TV — in a drama. Perry's comedic gifts are well-known, but he ain't too shabby with the serious stuff either. After all, he snared three Emmy nods for dramatic work (two for guest-starring on The West Wing, one for the TV movie The Ron Clark Story) and just one nod for comedy (Friends). Could that be any more surprising?
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11 of 20 Doug Hyun/TNT

Regina King

Between her big break on 227 back in the day and Southland now, Regina King can do it all. But she's largely been a supporting player during her 26-year career on the big and small screens, and it's high-time she gets top billing. Need proof? Just watch her powerful, restrained Emmy-worthy work on the third season of Southland
12 of 20 Virginia Sherwood/NBC

Jimmy Smits

We hoped that NBC’s Outlaw would fill the Jimmy Smits-sized void we've felt since Bobby Simone dropped dead on NYPD Blue. No such luck. Still, his winning turn on The West Wing has us thinking he should try another political drama. Is Sorkin available?
13 of 20 Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage.com

AnnaLynne McCord

We're pretty sure we would have stopped watching 90210 in Season 2 if it wasn't for McCord's hilarious portrayal of Naomi. Any lesser actress playing a self-absorbed trust fund brat would come off as a lightweight. McCord imbues Naomi with something resembling depth. Why not let her ditch the zip and star on something new (with a better wardrobe)?
14 of 20 Virginia Sherwood/NBC

John Stamos

Sure, he looked sexy in scrubs on ER, but one of the actor-singer's best qualities is sharp comedic timing, even if the jokes are at his expense (see: Entourage, Glee). Now that Uncle Jesse has ditched Emma and New Directions, isn't it time we find him a sitcom worthy of his talents?
15 of 20 Danny Feld/NBC

Parker Posey

Funny lady and indie queen Parker Posey needs more than a simple sitcom. Just look at the considerable range she's shown in the past year alone: She played Leslie's nemesis on Parks and Recreation, the kooky/creepy lady who befriends a teen in a Kids with Cancer chatroom on The Big C and Eli's ambitious ex on The Good Wife. Just write her something meaty already, Hollywood!
16 of 20 Adam Taylor/NBC

Blair Underwood

The Event wasn’t his best work, but combine his caring doc on Sex and the City and his manipulative shark on Dirty Sexy Money and you'd have one hell of a dramedy.
17 of 20 Chris Haston/NBC

Amy Ryan

It takes a very special actress to make us see The Office's Michael Scott as a romantic hero — especially after she frightened us with her Oscar-nominated turn as a bad mom in Gone Baby Gone and in darker fare like In Treatment and The Wire. How about we extend her light streak with a romantic drama about a lonely baker/matchmaker?
18 of 20 Patrick Harbron/ABC via Getty Images

Michael Urie

We miss Ugly Betty, especially Urie's sassy Marc St. James. Let's promote him from sidekick status and cast him as an in-demand Hollywood party planner. (And lock down Becki Newton as his tough-as-nails business partner while you're at it)
19 of 20 Ron Tom/ABC

Vanessa Williams

As Ugly Betty's dictatorial editrix Wilhelmina Slater, Williams got to blow the doors of the place as the show's resident diva. She has reprised the role, in a way, on Desperate Housewives, but with just enough melancholic, middle-aged regret to make us... feel for her. I'd love to see her expand on that, by playing a former beauty queen who has lost her identity in her long, loving marriage
20 of 20 Sonja Flemming/CBS

Bradley Whitford

After a couple of misfires (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Good Guys) and a too-brief guest gig on The Mentalist, Whitford is ready for his own show. He can be a little manic; how about making him a shrink?