Up to now, Clay Aiken has been the most successful also-ran from "American Idol." He might get some competition for that claim from a fellow Tar Heel, and we're not talking about Chris Daughtry. At least not yet.

For now it's Kellie Pickler who holds the spotlight. Variety reports that 20th Century Fox TV is developing a series with the singer as a small-town Southerner who learns that the governor is her biological father. (Don't worry, Mr. Easley. Pickler may be from Albemarle, but nobody is saying that the series will be set in North Carolina.)

Variety quotes Brad Johnson of Watson Pond, a partner in the project, as saying Pickler is "fresh and sparkling and sweet, and we decided it would be great to take some of that natural comedic ability and put her in a situation comedy, surrounded by an ensemble."

"Idol" producer 19 Entertainment is also involved in the project, Variety reports. Chris Peterson and Bryan Moore of "That '70s Show" will write the script.

Pickler's first album, meanwhile, drops a few notches on the Billboard charts this week. After debuting at the top of the country albums list, "Small Town Girl" (BNA Entertainment) is at No. 6, and it has fallen out of the top 20 on the main Billboard 200 chart after arriving at No. 9 last week.

As for Daughtry, the McLeansville resident's surname-titled debut arrives Tuesday.