Stunt casting sure is seeing a resurgence lately. Since Britney Spears absolutely dazzled the masses in her pivotal role in How I Met Your Mother last spring, absolutely everybody who’s anybody has been eager to jump to the small screen. Lindsay Lohan, Victoria Beckham – the list goes on. And now master thespian Katie Holmes is shooting an episode of ABC’s Eli Stone, to be aired this fall.

“She was fabulous at the table read. There’s some singing and dancing that she does – its exquisite,” ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson said at the Television Critics Association in Beverly Hills Wednesday.

The executive producer of the ABC show, Greg Berlanti, also worked on Dawson’s Creek, which made Holmes a star in the late ’90s. “It’s a great reunion for Katie and Greg Berlanti,” said McPherson. “He and Katie wanted to get together.” Berlanti explained that Holmes will play an attorney but she won’t be practicing law in the episode [sic].

“I begged her” to appear on the show,” Berlanti said. “And she said, ‘I’d love to.'” Holmes has been shooting her scenes in L.A. The show returns October 14. Eli Stone star Johnny Lee Miller revealed that Holmes has been working “extremely hard. We did 17 hours yesterday, most of her time was spent dancing,” Miller said. “She was fantastic. A really really great person.”

[From Us Weekly]

Well we know they didn’t hire her for her legendary acting skills. And though one of the show’s other producers raves about Katie’s film acting, Greg Berlanti admitted that they “really wanted to bring eyeballs to the show and do anything we could to get people talking about the show.” And that they did. The acting may be far too quiet and a little flat, but God knows people will be talking about it.

Here’s Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise and daughter Suri leaving Union Station after Katie filmed a cameo appearance on ABC’s ‘Eli Stone’ yesterday. Images thanks to WENN.