Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Happy Friday everyone!! I hope you have some plans activities planned for this weekend. In the meantime, let’s get right into the news for today:

TELEVISION

The big news all over Twitter last night was that FOX renewed Fringe for another season. Congrats to the cast and crew and hurrah for all the fans out there. (Twitter)

Actors Chi McBride (Human Target) and Dave Foley (Kids in the Hall) will guest star in the season finale of How I Met Your Mother. McBride will play a construction foreman, named Rod, who isn’t exactly pleased with Ted (Josh Radnor) — which is a problem, consider it’s Ted who’s designed the new building. Foley will appear as a potential new boss for Marshall (Jason Segel). (Mikey O’Connell at Zap2It)

The new ABC drama The Hot Zone has been given its series premiere date: Tuesday, June 21 at 10 PM. The series is set in 2006 at the only military hospital providing advanced surgical care in all of Southern Afghanistan, and charts the frantic lives of the hospital’s resident doctors and nurses from Canada, America, the U.K. and other allied countries. The series stars Elias Koteas (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Michelle Borth (Hawaii Five-0 and The Forgotten) and Luke Mably (The Gates) [among others]. (The Futon Critic)

Meanwhile, the Canadian drama Rookie Blue, which was a hit for ABC last summer, will be back with its 2nd season starting Thursday, June 16 at 10 PM. The show takes a look inside the professional and personal lives of five rookie cops as they navigate their first years on the job. The show stars Missy Peregrym, Gregory Smith, Charlotte Sullivan, Enuka Okuma, Travis Milne, Ben Bass and Eric Johnson. (The Futon Critic)

Two familiar faces will be seen in the 2nd season of Covert Affairs when it returns to the USA Network on June 7. Actor Ben Lawson (the short-lived ABC drama The Deep End) will have a recurring role as Dr. Scott Weiss, a charming and handsome Doctors Without Borders-type physician who Annie (Piper Perabo) meets when she takes her niece, Chloe, to the emergency room. Actress Rena Sofer (NCIS) has been cast as Gina, Arthur’s (Peter Gallagher) smart, kind-hearted ex-wife who re-enters his life to offer advice as he deals with the political fallout from Lisa’s (Emmanuelle Vaugier) media assault. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Meanwhile over on White Collar, four familiar faces have been lined up for the 2nd episode of the new season (the show returns June 7). Those include: Danny Masterson (That 70’s Show), his real-life brother Christopher Masterson, Anna Chlumsky (and William Sadler (Roswell). Sadler will play a menacing security consultant who orchestrates a kidnapping with the Masterson brothers actually playing two brothers contesting their fathers will while Chlumsky appears as a new FBI agent recruit who helps the team. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Mark Deklin (the short-lived FOX drama Lone Star) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot Good Christian Bitches about Amanda Vaughn (Leslie Bibb), a widowed mother of two who – to get a fresh start – moves back to the affluent Dallas neighborhood where she grew up. He will play Blake Caruth, Amanda’s first crush who’s now married to Cricket (Miriam Shor), a former Plain Jane who was tormented by Amanda as a teen. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Justin Bruening (Knight Rider) will play Steve Trevor in the NBC drama pilot of Wonder Woman. Trevor is the government agent who crash landed on Themyscira, home of the mythical Amazons; fell in love with one of them, Diana (Adrianne Palicki); and brought her back with him to New York. They’ve since broken up as Diana now operates out of L.A. and Steve is a lawyer for the Justice Department. (The Futon Critic)

MADE FOR TV MOVIES NEWS

Actor Woody Harrelson will join Julianne Moore and Ed Harris in the HBO Films called Game Change that follows John McCain’s (Harris) 2008 presidential campaign, from his selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (Moore) as his running mate to their ultimate defeat in the general election. Harrelson will play Steve Schmidt, McCain’s senior campaign strategist and adviser. (Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with Sandra Gonzalez from Entertainment Weekly)

Question: Are there any hopes for Deeks and Kensi to get together on NCIS: LA? I have gotten all the girls in my office hooked [on the show], to the point now we are all going crazy. Please — we are in desperate need here. Thanks. — Christy

Answer: Well, I like desperation. It makes it more fun to tease you with quotes like this one from executive producer and creator Shane Brennan. “Deeks is handsome, funny and loyal. Kensi is smart, exotic and smoking hot. What was the question again? … Would we like to see Deeks and Kensi together? You bet! Will it happen? Characters have funny ways of taking you to unexpected places. We’ll all just have to hang in and see…”

Question: Any Blue Bloods scoop? I started watching this show every week with my dad — mostly for him. But now I’m addicted. — Amy

Answer: Remember when Michael T. Weiss guested as the super creepy Det. Molevsky? Well, I can confirm he’ll be back before the end of the season. And I don’t know about you, but news of his return made me recall what he told Jamie earlier — “It can be dangerous out here.”

Question: How much of this war are we going to see on Supernatural. It would be kind lame for them not to show the thing they’ve been talking about all season, right? — Rachael

Answer: Lame? Probably not. My gut tells me it would be for a good reason. Misha Collins agrees with my gut. “We’re not going to see a whole lot of the actual war that’s taking place in heaven. We’re going to see how that plays out with respect to Sam and Dean and their world. But the two definitely collide in the season finale,” he says. Another thing we can expect not to see? Cas in 300-style angel battle gear. “I would love to have some sexy, feathery armor, but I’m not getting any. It’s the same frumpy trench coat and suit,” he laments.

Question: Any scoop on Cas’s new angel buddy on Supernatural? — Krystal

Answer: I wouldn’t necessarily use the word “buddy.” More like “reluctant ally.” “It’s hard for Cas to figure out who’s on his side and who’s not,” Collins dishes. “There’s a lot of duplicity and spies.”

Question: Thanks for all the scoopage on the Winchester boys … I’m torn between excitement and dread for the last episodes of the season. Just thinking that what’s left is all we might ever have makes me want to have a little Hunter’s Helper and pass out in grief! I was wondering if there is any word yet on whether we will have a season 7? Thanks! — Gia

Answer: Save some room for me at your table, because I think we’re going to need to lean on each other for support after a likely soul-killing finale. Actually, let me back up. The heartbreak really begins with “The Man Who Would Be King,” the first episode being directed by fan-fave writer Ben Edlund. “It’s the story of Castiel looking over his life, and then it turns into Castiel looking into his relationships,” he says. “If it does its job, it’ll break your heart.” As for the chances of a next season, Supernatural show runner Sera Gamble tells me, “We’ve cliffhung this season, so if you want to know what happens, you have to tune into season 7. So we have to make one.”

Question: Let’s get some Nikita action going on here, Sandra. Spoilers, please! — Ashlyn

Answer: In an upcoming episode, Nikita will put herself on the line (<< no news there) for a shocking reason: to help Division. There’s much more to this story…

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!