Hey All,
Lots of news to share with all of you so let’s get into the items for today:
TELEVISION
Actor Stephen Colletti has been promoted to series regular on One Tree Hill. (Matt Mitovich at Fancast)
Actor Daniel Sunjata (Rescue Me) will have a recurring role in Grey’s Anatomy as a nurse who just might be making Bailey happy during her off hours. He will first appear in the December 2nd episode. (Matt Mitovich at Fancast)
Nia Long (Third Watch) will appear in the NBC series Chase, as Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Randolph, a feisty lady who will face off with the show’s Deputy U.S. Marshal Jimmy Godfrey (Cole Hauser). The will possibly be multi-episode arc, staring in mid-December. (William Keck at TV Guide)
FIRST LOOK AT NEW TV SHOW
First Look: MTV’s Teen Wolf
MID-SEASON SHAKE UP
NBC Mid-Season Schedule: Thursday Comedy Now Goes to 11
MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS
Sara Rue (Eastwick) and Barry Watson (7th Heaven) will star in the ABC Family movie Always and Forever that is set to premiere in Spring 2011. The movie is about P-A-X-497/341, aka “Pax” (Watson), a young man from the well-ordered but loveless future who travels to present day New Orleans in search of romance novelist Elizabeth Barrett (Rue) – whose book he has come upon during an archeological dig in the year 3125. Hoping Elizabeth can explain the concept of love to him, which is now nonexistent in his time, Pax embarks on an adventure filled with new discoveries. Elizabeth introduces Pax to life in the year 2011, filled with love, music and of course, destiny. Valerie Harper plays a confidante and colleague to Elizabeth; meanwhile, Fred Willard portrays Bob, Pax’s scientific superior from the future who reluctantly helps him go back in time. (The Futon Critic)
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Amy Pietz (Aliens in America) has joined the cast of the ABC Family drama pilot Nine Lives of Chloe King, which is about a seemingly normal teen (Skyler Samuels from The Gates) who starts developing heightened abilities (super speed, agility, hearing…claws), and discovers she’s being pursued by a mysterious figure. Pietz will play Chloe’s adoptive mother and protector. (The Futon Critic)
Actress Amanda Walsh (Sons & Daughters and the movie Beauty & the Briefcase) has landed the lead in the hour- long CW dramedy pilot Dannie Lowinski based on the German series of the same name. The pilot is being targeted for next fall. The series is about a scrappy hairdresser (Walsh) who has worked her way through law school and finally graduates only to be brushed off by law firms that aren’t interested in her type. Determined to make her way in the professional world, she sets up her own practice in a shopping mall kiosk. (Deadline)
BOX OFFICE NEWS
The following is the top 10 movies in the box office over the past weekend courtesy of Exhibitor Relations:
1. Megamind, $30.1 million
2. Unstoppable, $23.5 million
3. Due Date, $15.5 million
4. Skyline, $11.7 million
5. Morning Glory, $9.6 million
6. For Colored Girls, $6.8 million
7. Red, $5.1 million
8. Paranormal Activity 2, $3.1 million
9. Saw 3D, $2.8 million
10. Jackass 3D, $2.3 million
Legendary actress Angela Landsbury will play the daughter of Katherine Heigl’s character in the movie Adaline, which follows a young woman (Heigl) killed and then revived in a freak accident that physiologically locks her into her late 20’s. After decades of living a solitary existence, she finally meets a man who might be worth losing her immortality over so they can grow old together. Lansbury will play the eighty-something daughter of Heigl’s character who needs her mother’s care as her health declines. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)
UPDATE: Heigl just dropped out of this movie per Deadline. More details tomorrow.
David Tennant (Doctor Who) will star in the BBC soccer film called United, which is the true story of Manchester United’s Busby Babes, the youngest team to win the English soccer league before eight players died in the Munich air crash of 1958. Though the role of Matt Busby is yet to be cast, Tennant will play coach Jimmy Murphy. In addition, Jack O’Connell (Skins) has landed the role of Bobby Charlton and Sam Clafin will play Duncan Edwards, a player who dies 15 days after the plane crash. (Variety and First Showing)
BOX OFFICE TEASER POSTERS
First Skull & Crossbones Poster from ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 4’
First Badass Teaser Poster for Jon Favreau’s ‘Cowboys & Aliens’!
Q&A SECTION (with Matt Roush at TV Guide)
Question: Couldn’t agree with you more regarding Terriers. This has fast become one of my favorite shows. The problem is that the show is not the show that the promotions (what little there was) showed us. I could have done without the “quirky detectives on the beach” show in the promos, but this show is no more about private detectives than Friday Night Lights is about football. Virtually every scene with Hank Dolworth and his sister (played by Donal Logue and HIS sister!) was heartbreaking. Is it too early to contact DirecTV with a candidate for the 101 Network? — Rick
Matt Roush: Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Yet. I’m hoping FX will decide to give this show a second season and a second chance. There’s been quite a bit of fan and critical buzz swelling lately which could work in its favor. In fact, Terriers seems to be getting more fuss, at least in my corner of the world, than Sons of Anarchy these days (although, sadly, nowhere near the ratings). But you’ve hit on a major problem where Terriers is concerned: Perception. It was clearly a devil of a show to market and promote, and even now, it takes some explaining to get across just how entertaining — and devastating — this show can be. It’s not just a buddy romp and it’s never merely a caper-of-the-week show. Character-driven hardly begins to describe a show that’s original yet accessible, amusing without being silly, suspenseful and violent without being gratuitous or exploitative, and always deeply human. It’s the nicest surprise of the fall season. I just wish more people would find and embrace it. But regarding a rescue from DirecTV or any other corner, I find that possibility highly unlikely, in part because the show has flown so far under the radar, for whatever reason.
But the show has generated a fair amount of mail lately, including this question from Michael: “I am happy Terriers is still on FX, and would just like to know if it will be played out entirely through the first season, and how long before we know if it’s renewed for a second season? And my biggest question is how long before we find out if Britt is the Baby Daddy or not???”
Let’s wait and see on that last question. (No spoilers here.) But the good news about a show like this airing on a network like FX is that regardless of ratings, we’re almost always likely to see as many episodes as are initially ordered. (There are three more left, with the season finale airing Dec. 1.) It’s pretty rare, though not unheard of (see Caprica), for a cable network to pull a show before it concludes its original run. Can’t say how long we’ll have to wait for word of a renewal. Whichever way FX goes with this one, it won’t be an easy call.
Question: I have thoroughly enjoyed the three episodes of the new Sherlock on Masterpiece Mystery. The talent of the two lead actors playing Sherlock and Dr. Watson make the show more than just another crime-solving series but a real gem in terms of the heart and humor of this fantastic new take on a beloved literary figure. Do you know if there are more of these Sherlock stories in the works and if we will get them here in the States on Masterpiece Mystery? I look forward to seeing more of this modern Sherlock and Watson. — JG
Matt Roush: There will definitely be a second batch of Sherlock movies, and I would look for them in the next season of Masterpiece Mystery! in 2011. (Too early to suggest a ballpark air date.) I bring this up again to cushion the blow that there were only three movies in the delightful first series, and they’ve all already aired. But it also gives me an excuse to once again mention Benedict Cumberbatch (Best. Name. Ever.), who was pure magic as the 21st-century Sherlock, matched at every step by Martin Freeman as his long-suffering Dr. Watson. Easily one of my favorite shows of 2010.
Question: Do you think that the Chuck writers named Timothy Dalton’s pre-reveal character Tuttle as an homage to the classic 1st-season M*A*S*H episode Tuttle, where Hawkeye creates a fictional captain in order to get supplies to Korean orphans? It was sticking in my head during the hour, and then when Dalton says, “there is no Tuttle,” it finally clicked with me. — Al
Matt Roush: Great catch! Can’t imagine this being a mere coincidence. Makes me enjoy the whole situation even more. Thanks for sharing.
Question: Is the (deserved) success of Tom Selleck’s Blue Bloods the death knell for the Jesse Stone TV-movie franchise? It seems unlikely that CBS would endorse Selleck, whose series character is so far rather squared away, continuing to appear (semi-)regularly on their schedule as the distinctly un-squared away, fascinatingly flawed Chief Stone. It would be a great loss, since Selleck has often professed his devotion to continuing and even expanding the movie series, and he has steered the franchise’s stories and tone with admirable loyalty to Robert Parker since his passing. — Randall
Matt Roush: Given the success of Blue Bloods, it’s in CBS’ best interests to keep Tom Selleck happy. And that includes keeping the Jesse Stone franchise alive, which I agree is a very good thing. There is apparently one movie already in the can, Innocence Lost, awaiting an air date — CBS has no regular TV-movie slot, so be patient — and last summer, Selleck indicated a script was being developed for yet another movie, so there’s definitely more to come. Just can’t say when or with what frequency, now that the star is tied up in what looks to be a long-running new hit series.
That’s it. Enjoy!
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Rueben's Ramblings 