Movie Stars on Television?

So I definitely feel like there has been an increasing number of movie stars on television these days, but looking through the latest pilot pick-up list, I'm still a bit surprised. It started simple with the likes of Sandra Oh and Ellen Pompeo, then graduated to the Jason Lees and Jaime Pressleys of the world. Keifer Sutherland was in there all along, but I let him slide because he's on one of Fox's top rated shows. I wasn't really surprised until we reached Steve Carell, who, at the height of his career, took on a series role. It seems now, though, that TV is rampant with other stars known most for their lucrative film careers, like Jeff Goldblum, Minnie Driver, Sally Field, Alec Baldwin, Emily Deschanel, and Jennifer Love Hewitt. What makes these stars want to turn to TV? Is it the promise of a steady job? Whatever the reason, TV doesn't seem to have the same stigma that it once did. The latest pilot pick-up list boasts a slew of similar movie stars: Kal Penn, Jennifer Coolidge, Lucy Liu, Donald Sutherland, Ving Rhames, Jordana Brewster, Marisa Tomei, Jason Biggs, Jeneane Garofalo, Parker Posey, and Eliza Dushku to name a few. I would imagine pilot season must be pretty tough for actors having these names as the competition. Don't get discouraged though, there are plenty of other roles out there and its all just a part of the business!