Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

The news isn’t too voluminous today, but there are still some goods items to share:

TELEVISION

Actress Paula Marshall (Gary Unmarried) will guest star as Cuddy’s sister Lucinda in an upcoming January episode of House. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Actress Margo Martindale (Mercy, Dexter and The Riches) will have a recurring role in Justified as Mags Bennett, a towering figure in the Harlan County criminal world as she is the matriarch of the Bennett clan, who have had a Hatfield and McCoys-type relationship with Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) and his family for years. Season 2 is scheduled to premiere sometime in February. (Adam Bryant on TV Guide)

Showtime should be making an official announcement soon about Dexter being picked up for a 6th season. (Kristin at E! Entertainment Online)

The sci-fi series Primeval will not only return for its new season on New Year’s Day in the UK but here in the US via BBC America. It will air at 9 PM in both countries. The new season picks up approximately one year after the last season ended – Abby (Hannah Spearritt) and Connor (Andrew Lee Potts) finally escape from the Cretaceous period, only to be followed by a giant Spinosaurus, the largest of all known carnivorous dinosaurs. A new Anomaly Research Center (ARC) team springs into action, leaving Abby and Connor’s place within the team in jeopardy while their former leader Danny (Jason Flemyng) is still missing. The new ARC recruits are: Matt (CiaranMcMenamin), the new field leader, who’s more than just an ex-soldier. He’s a zoologist, with an uncanny ability to understand animals. A private man, Matt carefully guards the secrets of his past and the real reason he joined the team. Unconventional Jess (Ruth Kearney) now runs operations from the ARC Control Centre. S he is highly efficient and her work ethic is second to none, though she is human enough to nurse an unrequited crush on Captain Becker (Ben Mansfield). And Alexander Siddig as a charismatic scientist who is now a part owner of the now public/private partnership, which is also partly-owned by the government. Here is a trailer to get fans excited. (The Futon Critic)

The BBC is in talks about a fifth season of family fantasy drama series Merlin. A 4th season of 10 episodes has already been picked up and will air in 2011. (ATV Today and Dark Horizons)

AMC began production on another new series called The Killing, which tells the story of the murder of a young girl in Seattle and the subsequent police investigation. The series stars Mireille Enos (Big Love), Billy Campbell (Once and Again), Michelle Forbes (True Blood) and Brent Sexton (W. and In the Valley of Elah). There will be 13 one-hour episodes of this series, which is expected to air on the network in March of 2011. (The Futon Critic)

SNEAK PEEK AT DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

9 brand-new Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol pics

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) has been cast in a TBS pilot, Brain Trust, which is described as a comic detective series about a disgraced cop who turns to three “hyper-smart geniuses” from a think-tank to help him solve cases. Urie is one of the geniuses, and D.B. Sweeney is the detective. (Margaret Lyons at Entertainment Weekly)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Liam Hemsworth (The Last Song) will star in Broken Run, a political thriller to be directed by John Singleton. The story is set in Washington D.C., following a recovering alcoholic who becomes addicted to the thrill of stalking strangers and discovering that her new obsession is perhaps more dangerous than she originally thought. (The Wrap and First Showing)

Joel Edgerton (The Thing remake) and Teresa Palmer (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) will star in an Australian psychological drama called Say Nothing, which is the story of four friends who lose themselves in the fun of a carefree Southeast Asian holiday. However, a mystery unfolds after a fateful night when they were dancing under a full moon in Cambodia and one disappears. (The Hollywood Reporter and First Showing)

Emily Blunt has joined the growing list of celebrity cameos in the upcoming The Muppets movie that will star Jason Segel. (Heat Vision and First Showing)

Ben Foster (The Messenger) and Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar) will join Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale in the box office film Contraband, which is a remake of the Icelandic thriller that follows a security guard and former alcohol smuggler on the Iceland-Netherlands route who is tempted back into illicit business by a dubious friend after encountering financial problems. (Variety and First Showing)

That’s it. Enjoy!