Jerry O’Connell has signed on to portray family patriarch Herman Munster in Mockingbird Lane, NBC’s reboot of the fondly remembered 1960s horror-themed sitcom satire The Munsters.  O’Connell will join a cast that includes Eddie Izzard as the irascible Grandpa Munster (see "Grandpa Cast for 'Munsters' Reboot") and the perky British actress Charity Wakefield as Marilyn Munster, the only "normal" member of the family (see "'Munsters' Reboot Gets Its Marilyn").

O’Connell will take on the role played by Fred Gwynne in the original sitcom.  Bryan Fuller is writing and producing the Mockingbird Lane show, which he promises will depart significantly from the original series.  Deadline reports that Mockingbird Lane will "feature striking visuals in the vein of Fuller’s ABC dramedy Pushing Daisies."  Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men, Superman Returns) will helm the Mockingbird Lane pilot that will also star Mason Cook as Herman’s son Eddie, a budding werewolf.  The major role that remains to be cast is Herman’s vampire wife Lily.