Hey All,
Today is my last entertainment update until either Monday or Tuesday of next week, as I head out bright and early tomorrow morning for San Diego and the annual Comic Con. I wish safe travels to all the folks who are heading there.
In the meantime, here are the news items for today:
TELEVISION
After lots of negotiations and what seemed like hopeless situations for Damages, DirecTV has saved the Glenn Close drama from the TV land scrap heap. DirecTV has ordered two seasons of 10 episodes each, with the first season of Damages reairing next summer, and the new episodes starting in the summer of 2012. Unfortunately, those new episodes of Damages will not repeat on FX later in the year, à la Friday Night Lights on NBC. (E! Entertainment Online)
Beverly Mitchell (7th Heaven) will appear in the Season 4 premiere of The Secret Life of the American Teenager in January 2011. Her character will replace Mayim Bialik (Blossom), who currently plays the school counselor. (TV Guide)
Maria Bello (Coyote Ugly) will appear in two episodes of Law & Order: SVU, playing a woman with a secret past that Detective Benson is investigating. (TV Guide)
Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights) is joining the CBS series The Good Wife as a professional and perhaps personal foil to Archie Punjabi’s sexually ambiguous Kalinda. Porter’s exact episode count is still being worked out but it could be as many as 10 episodes of the second season. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)
Jeff Hephner (The O.C.) has landed a recurring role on the new fall show Hellcats. He will portray the football coach at the fictional college where the drama is set. His character is named Red Raymond and he’s a graduate of Lancer University. Look for him and Hellcats cheerleading coach Vanessa (Sharon Leal) to share a past. (Fancast and TV Fanatic)
CONDOLENCES
Actor James Gammon, who played Don Johnson’s father in Nash Bridges, has passed away. He was 70. Mr. Gammon got his start in the NBC series The Road West in 1966. He’s well remembered for his roles in Major League, as the manager of the Cleveland Indians, and for Nash Bridges, in which he played patriarch Nick Bridges. Among his myriad credits, Gammon most recently appeared in the films In the Electric Mist and Appaloosa, as well as the TV series Grey’s Anatomy and Monk. (The Associated Press and TV Guide)
MADE-FOR-TV MOVIES
Syfy is teaming up with videogame maker THQ for a two-hour backdoor pilot called Red Faction: Origins, which would air in March 2011. The story of Red Faction: Origins follows rebel hero Alec Mason and the Mason family. (Deadline Hollywood Daily and Televisionary)
Sarah Paulson, Karen Allen, and Emily Alyn Lind have been cast opposite John Corbett and Sam Elliott in Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-TV movie November Christmas, which will air Thanksgiving weekend on CBS. (Variety and Televisionary)
DVD ANNOUNCEMENTS
V
Doctor Who
Persons Unknown
BOX OFFICE
Rob Lowe has joined the cast of I Melt With You, which storyline is being kept under wraps, but is said to examine pain in terms of the modern male psyche. Lowe will play a doctor dealing with a tragic personal loss and an increasing drug addiction. Jeremy Piven and Thomas Jane also star. (Deadline Hollywood Daily and Dark Horizons)
Sherri Shepherd (The View co-host) has joined the Katherine Heigl film One for the Money, which is based on the popular book series by Janet Evanovich. Shepherd will tackle dual roles, playing two hookers with hearts of gold. Jason O’Mara, Daniel Sunjata, John Leguizamo and Patrick Fischler also star. (Variety and Zap2It)
Julia Stiles is set to produce and star in The Bell Jar, an adaptation of famed poet Sylvia Plath’s posthumously published, autobiographical novel. The story follows a gifted young woman’s mental breakdown beginning during a summer internship as a junior editor at a magazine in New York City in the early 1950s. Virginia Madsen (Scoundrels) will play a therapist. (The New York Times and Dark Horizons)
TEASER TRAILER
Watch: First Teaser for Dwayne Johnson Revenge Movie Faster
SNEAK PEEK
Jed Whedon’s new Dollhouse comic revealed
Q&A SECTION (with Kristin from E! Entertainment Online)
Question: Jackie in Miami: Got any Glee scoop on Will and Emma? They’re my favorite couple on Glee!
Kristin: Sorry to break it to ya, but don’t think that smooch in last season’s finale led to a full-fledged relationship over summer break. We spoke with show runner Brad Falchuk who told us this upcoming season they’ll be exploring, “What does Will look like as a single guy, for real?” Also standing in their way? A little guest star you may have heard of named John Stamos and Will’s ex-wife Terri, who yes, is still in love with everyone’s favorite Spanish teacher and determined to win him back. By the way, make sure you check out my exclusive interview with John Stamos that just posted, where he talks Entourage, Beach Boys, Glee and that unfortunate extortion. He starts filming Glee soon!
Question: Gregory in Houston: Please tell me something about Bones.
Kristin: Get ready to see some of Tamara Taylor’s great acting chops when Bones returns. Cam sets up an on-air interview and unbeknownst to her, the journalist only intends on grilling her about an ongoing, and very sensitive, investigation. And without revealing the case at hand, let’s just say things get ugly very quickly.
Question: Hank in Boise, Idaho: I’m really digging Rookie Blue. What’s coming up?
Kristin: Andy finds herself in some serious danger this week when she and a fellow rookie are the first on the scene of a violent crime. She’s eventually left to fend for herself, which ends up being an eye-opening experience.
Question: Andrea in Canton, Ohio: Leverage is awesome this summer! Can you give me any scoop on this week’s episode?
Kristin: Rest assured, Eliot’s hair will continue to be luxurious and shiny. Oh, you want more scoop than that? Then prepare for a romp in the great outdoors, courtesy of Eliot and Hardison, the latter being less than thrilled about being away from his precious electronics. But it’s necessary if the gang wants to take down an evil money launderer. Are there any other kinds of money launderers? Well, this one is also…patriotic.
Question: Beatrice in California: What’s ahead for Pretty Little Liars?
Kristin: Allison’s brother is set to make a triumphant return to town—and not in a welcome way. The long-gone lady’s bro is out to take the girls down by discovering what really happened to A, thus ruining the lovely memorial Aria and Co. had planned for their friend.
Question: Breanne in Long Island: Please tell me you have some scoop on Make It or Break It?
Kristin: Think Lauren’s changed? That one deserves a big ol’ HA! When the Rock starts planning its annual Rocky Awards, this bad girl goes all out to win Miss Congeniality, even if it means returning to her bribing, cheating ways.
Question: Linda in Calabasas, Calif.: I wish you’d talk about Huge more often. It’s such a cute show.
Kristin: As you wish. Will is about to demonstrate some Brave Little Toaster-type behavior when she feels like her crush Ian is slipping away. The cure: writing him a love song, of course.
That’s it. Enjoy!
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