Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

I have a lot of cool news to share with all of you today so please sit back, relax and read on:

TELEVISION

Actor Michael Dorn (Star Trek: The Next Generation) will have a recurring role on Castle when the show returns for its 4th season on ABC, starting on September 19. He will [SPOILER ALERT!] play a psychiatrist who Beckett (Stana Katic) is forced to see. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

It looks like the popular Syfy series Eureka may be coming to an end. The cable network is close to ordering six more episodes, which will mark the end of the sci-fi series, which is currently airing Season 4.5 and is filming the 13 episodes for Season 5. The proposed plan is for the show to film the final six episodes in October. (Deadline)

Actor Jamie Harris (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) has booked a killer new role, playing sociopathic murderer R. Franklin on the upcoming FX series American Horror Story, which is slated to premiere on October 5 at 10 PM. (The Hollywood Reporter and TV Guide)

Actor Chi McBride (Pushing Daisies and Human Target) will guest star on the season finale of the new USA Network series Suits, playing District Attorney Wolf, who appears in the wake of a scandal that shakes up the District Attorney’s office. (Kate Stanhope at TV Guide)

Actress Isabella Hoffman (Homicide Life on the Street) will appear as one of Agent Rossi’s (Joe Mantegna) three ex-wives. She will appear in a two-episode arc as Rossi’s first wife. The series will return for its new season on September 21. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actress Bridget Regan (Legend of the Seeker) will have a guest-starring role in NCIS: Los Angeles this fall; but the details are being kept under wraps as to she will be playing. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Oscar-winner and TV legend Patty Duke will guest star in an episode of Hawaii Five-0 this fall. She will play an Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother of a murder victim. Meanwhile, legendary actor Peter Fonda (the classic film Easy Rider) will also appear in an episode of the series as a salty treasure-hunting sea captain, who actually preys on suckers and bilks them out of millions. The series will be back with new episodes starting on September 19. (William Keck at TV Guide and James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Ashley Zuckerman (The Pacific) has signed on for a major recurring role on the upcoming sci-fi time-travel drama Terra Nova from FOX. He will play Lucas, a mysterious and enigmatic character connected to Stephen Lang’s Cmdr. Nathaniel Lang. Also, actress Emelia Burns (the Australian children’s series The Elephant Princess) has also booked a recurring role as Reilly as a soldier under Taylor’s command. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Vivica Fox and actor Jeffrey Nordling (Desperate Housewives) are joining the new Lifetime series The Protector in key roles. Fox will play Captain Lisa Novak, the ex-wife of Miguel Ferrer’s Lieutenant Felix Valdez. Nordling is set to recur as a love interest for the Gloria (Ally Walker). (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

ABC will end Desperate Housewives in May 2012 after the show’s 8th season. (Deadline)

Actor Luke Kleintank (No Ordinary Family and Gossip Girl) will appear as the new intern on Bones this coming season in what being considered a potentially recurring role of young genius Finn Abernathy, who is brilliant, sweet and a bit rough around the edges. Bones returns to FOX on November 3 at 9 PM. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Actress Cara Buono (Mad Men) will guest star on the new CBS drama A Gifted Man this fall. She will play a charter-jet pilot who meets neurosurgeon Michael Holt (Patrick Wilson) at a cocktail party, and he first thinks she may have carpal-tunnel syndrome but finds that there may be more going on. (Maureen Ryan at AOL TV)

The TNT cop drama Rizzoli & Isles has just been picked up for season 3. (Series Star Sasha Alexander via Twitter)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Catherine Bell (Army Wives) is set to headline the TNT movie Good Morning, Killer, an adaptation of the April Smith novel that follows FBI Special Agent Ana Gray as she hunts for a kidnapper. This film is the latest entry in the network’s recently announced new TNT Tuesday Night Mystery movie franchise slated to launch in November that will feature six contemporary crime dramas, from true-crime stories to fictional mysteries. Some of these films are reportedly being eyed as potential backdoor pilots as well. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Bruce Campbell (Burn Notice) has joined the cast of the upcoming box office film Oz: The Great and Powerful but his role has yet to be announced. (Twitter and Dark Horizons)

Actor Mark Ruffalo and actress Amanda Seyfried will appear in the upcoming thriller called Now You See Me that follows a group of the world’s greatest illusionists, who pull off daring bank heists during their performances, showering the profits on their audience. Eventually, the FBI gets involved, prompting a cat-and-mouse game between adversaries. Ruffalo will play the FBI task force leader while Seyfried portrays a technical whiz who builds devices to help the illusionists pull off the heists. Jesse Eisenberg and Mélanie Laurent have already joined the cast. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

A long list of voice actors have been added to the upcoming animated sequel Ice Age: Continental Drift. The usual cast, of course, includes Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Chris Wedge, Seann William Scott and Josh Peck are being by Jeremy Renner, Wanda Sykes, Aziz Ansari, Keke Palmer, singer Drake and Jennifer Lopes. Additionally, Heather Morris, Joy Behar, Nicki Minaj and Alan Tudyk [among others] will also be featured. The film is expected to hit theatres on July 13, 2012. (Dark Horizons)

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

Question: I would love some fresh Nikita scoopage — preferably NOT about Mikita. How about some new Alex tidbits… like, does she have to give up her cool digs, car and clothes now that she doesn’t actually work for Division? What about prospects for new friends this year? Without Nikita or Michael to hang out with, she has like zero friends (who aren’t now dead or scared of). Thanks! — Adele

Sandra: This is Alex we’re talking about. Girl’s got style. I wouldn’t worry about her being less than her best — or at least demanding it if anyone tries to give her otherwise. And as far as friends, she seems pretty happy hunting down Nikita, which she proves to be pretty good at considering she knows many of Nikita’s tricks. The only “new” friends this year seem to be old friends that we’ve never met. For example, the show is currently casting the role of Kelly, a very good friend of Nikita’s who worked with her at Division.

Question: I e-mail you every week, and you never pick my question! Pllleeaaaaasseee, give me some Chuck scoop!

Sandra: Get ready for some trouble in paradise for an unlikely pair… Jeffster! “There’s going to be a little bit of drama between Jeffster at the Buy More, my character Jeff and Lester,” Scott Krinsky says. He couldn’t elaborate as to the exact cause, but he said “There’s going to be a little tension. I better get my dramatic chops going.”

Question: Anything on Burn Notice?! – Melissa

Sandra: The upcoming episode featuring Gavin Rossdale as an evil international arms dealer (First Look!) — and former friend of Fiona’s — is going to be a doozy. Fiona has to compromise a lot in order to get something that is vital to Michael’s investigation, but the price will apparently weigh heavily on the couple. “They moved in together and for a while there, things were going pretty well. They were in a much more stable place than they’ve been. But now they’re really working on Michael’s problems together, and this is one of the first hints that both characters are realizing that their co-habitating bliss might be much more complicated than they imagined it to be,” says creator Matt Nix.

Question: NCIS: LA, please! Who’s going to get shot in the season premiere! — Danni

Sandra: Oh, I’m not telling you THAT. But what I will tell you is some intel given to me by the lovely Daniela Ruah about the huge shake up caused by new operations manager Lauren Hunter. “She continues to create a little confusion by swapping the partners around a little bit. It gets us all thinking, ‘What is she doing?! What kind of control is she trying to assert over us. It’s exciting,” she says. “When I was reading the first episode of the season, which was written by [showrunner] Shane Brennan, it was like a movie script.” So who does Kensi end up with? “I’m not going to tell you who I’m partnered with! But to be working with either one of these guys … they’re so great to work with. It changes the dynamic of things and it makes it more interesting for the audience, too.”

That’s it. Enjoy!