Lauren Holly has been bumped up to a regular cast member of CBS' "NCIS" after appearing as a guest star in the early part of this season.

Elsewhere, the Sci Fi Channel has tapped former "24" villain Paul Blackthorne to play the lead role in its movie/pilot "The Dresden Files," executive produced by Nicolas Cage.

Holly joined "NCIS" at the start of this season, playing Jenny Shepard, the agency's new director, who has a history with Agent Gibbs (Mark Harmon). She's appeared in five of the show's eight episodes this fall; her first episode as a regular will air Tuesday, Nov. 22 (the show is pre-empted next week for CBS' broadcast of the CMA Awards).

Her arrival, along with fellow new cast member Cote de Pablo, has coincided with a ratings surge for the show. "NCIS," always a solid performer for CBS, has hit series-high numbers this fall and now ranks among the top 10 shows on TV, drawing nearly 17 million viewers per week.

Over at Sci Fi, Blackthorne will begin shooting "The Dresden Files" later this month. He'll play Harry Dresden, a Chicago private eye who's also a wizard and knows that supernatural forces sometimes intrude on the everyday world. Veteran director David Carson ("Star Trek: Generations," "Smallville") has signed on to direct the movie, which is based on Jim Butcher's Dresden novels.

Blackthorne played bad guy Stephen Saunders in the third season of "24." He was also a regular on CBS' "Presidio Med" in 2002-03 and has made guest appearances on "ER" and "Medium."