And E! is reporting that she’s in talks to join “Dirty Sexy Money” as a lawyer who faces off against Nick George (Peter Krause).

E! is also theorizing that she’ll be a romantic interest for Nick, too.

What is it with this guy? First Karen, now Lucy Liu?

Not to mention Nick’s married, though his wife was last seen toking up and smooching Jeremy Darling.

As for me, I think Lucy would be better paired with a far hotter “Dirty” star: Blair Underwood.

He’s involved with Karen at the moment, but since she’s double crossing him (we think), I’m guessing that won’t last long.

We’ll find out more this fall when “DSM” returns for its second season…

(Photos courtesy of ABC)

HBO announced this week that a totally logistically complex series, In Treatment, stars Gabriel Byrne as a psychotherapist and premieres Jan. 28 at 9:30 p.m.

This is how it’ll go: New episodes air each night, Monday through Friday, at 9:30 p.m. The same patient returns on the same day each week; Byrne’s patients will be played by Josh Charles and Embeth Davidtz (a couple, Jake and Amy), Melissa George (Laura), Blair Underwood (Alex) and Mia Wasikowska (Sophie).

HBO describes Byrne’s character, Paul, as “a taciturn but effective psychotherapist who isn’t quite the level-headed source of wisdom his patients think he is.”

Each new episode each week will be preceded at 9 p.m. by the previous week’s episode, to catch up.

The shows will also air on HBO Signature in “real time,” i.e. the times and days of the patients’ appointments:
• Monday, 9 a.m., Laura
• Tuesday, 10 a.m., Alex
• Wednesday, 4 p.m., Sophie
• Thursday, 6 p.m., Jake and Amy
• Friday, 7 p.m., Paul sees his own therapist, Dr. Gina Toll, played by Dianne Wiest.

HBO2 also will play the show in other hours on the same days and ever Saturday and Sunday, they’ll be shown in blocks.

The show’s got some pedigree, beyond the cast, with these executive producers:
• Rodrigo Garcia, who’s directed episodes of Big Love and Six Feet Under
• Hagai Levi, who created the Israeli series this one’s based on, called BeTipul
• Stephen Levinson and Mark Wahlberg, who also exec prod Entourage

Associated Press photo by Aaron Harris

US Weekly is reporting that the former “O.C.” star is in rehab, dealing with unidentified “personal issues.” She’s in therapy on an outpatient basis, and a source tells US that Samaire is only expected to miss one episode of the show.

Thank goodness it’s not tomorrow night’s episode: The feuding twins, Jeremy and Juliet, are throwing themselves separate $1 million birthday bashes.

Jeremy’s is on the Brooklyn Bridge—appropriate, considering that the disheveled dope usually looks like he crawled out from under one. And Juliet’s party will have a French Revolution theme: Ooh la la!

Best wishes to Samaire to get better—and good luck to Blair Underwood, who’s bringing some more sexy to the show.

He finally joins the series as the mysterious billionaire Simon Elder, who Nick thinks may have killed his father.

— Heather Salerno

He was introduced—on paper, anyway—in last night’s episode as Nick finds a dossier on Simon Elder (Underwood) in the briefcase his father had with him when he died.

Elder’s exact role is still unclear, but ABC is billing him as Tripp Darling’s longtime nemesis. Elsewhere, he’s been described as a Bill Gates-type who’s the world’s third-richest man.

So he’s mega-rich, super-sexy and, uh, possibly dirty? The criminal records that Nick found in his dad’s file on Elder certainly seem to suggest it.

But don’t look for Underwood to pop up in person right away. He’s not due on board until later this season.

That leaves some time for Nick to focus on another Darling as his dad’s potential killer. Though no one else has been given a possible motive besides Tripp. Yet.

Speaking of Tripp, how great was Donald Sutherland last night?

I counted no fewer than three fantastic moments for him, which in the hands of another actor, could have just been ridiculously cheesy.

First, take the opening scene that compared the morning routines of Nick (burned Pop Tarts and a forgotten suit at the cleaners) and Tripp (with a manservant shaving and dressing him).  Having Tripp ask for a breakfast of poached wild salmon and “a soupcon of Hollandaise” was classic.

Then he spoke Swedish to Brian’s illegitimate son. Hilarious.

Switching gears completely, he later nailed the episode’s most poignant moment: when Nick finally opens his father’s briefcase, after Tripp tells him to try Letitia’s birthday as the combination. The teary flinch that Tripp gives when the latches click open—confirming the affair with Letitia—was beautiful and believable.

But did he really have nothing to do with the elder George’s death? What did that journal entry with the crashing plane mean?

And just as a side note, what is Patrick thinking—running for Senate?

As powerful as the Darlings supposedly are, how in the world could anyone keep a lid on the fact that he regularly has liasons with transsexuals?

I’m looking forward to the fake NY Post headline the show is sure to use once that little scandal hits the tabloids…

 (Photos courtesy of ABC)