Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Erica Durance (Smallville) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Harry’s Law as a psychologically infirm woman who retreats into the persona of the DC Comics heroine to help wreak revenge on perpetrators of domestic abuse. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

NBC has announced they are shutting down production on Prime Suspect. (Vulture)

Actor Dean Cain (Lois & Clark) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Criminal Minds, playing Curtis, a blue-collar, east coast type who is a down-on-his-luck gambler. (Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor James Wolk (the short-lived Lone Star) will appear in multiple episodes of Happy Endings, play Max’s old new boyfriend. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Aaron Tveit (Gossip Girl and the Broadway productions of Next To Normal and Catch Me If You Can) is set to star in the untitled hour-long pilot from White Collar creator Jeff Eastin for the USA Network. The project follows agents from various federal and local agencies (DEA, FBI, LAPD) who all live at an undercover house in Southern California. Tveit will play Mike Warren, a freshly minted FBI agent just out of the Academy and dripping wet behind the ears. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Watch: Great New Trailer for Aardman’s ‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits’

Mirror, Mirror Trailer Is Here! So Which Snow White Adaptation Is Fairest of Them All?

Must Watch: First Full Trailer for Pixar’s New Fairytale ‘Brave’ Arrives

Q&A SECTION (with Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams from TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Question: Will Adam and Cassie ever get together on The Secret Circle? —Sammy

NATALIE: Here’s some good news for Adam and Cassie ‘shippers: Executive producer Andrew Miller says their sparks will ignite when the show returns in January. “It won’t be on the backburner for long,” he says, noting that Jake’s absence will open new possibilities. The bad news: Cassie’s journey toward the dark side of magic will change her as a person.

Question: What’s coming up on Pretty Little Liars? —Nikki

NATALIE: The Halloween prequel showed us that good guy Lucas has an evil side, and it looks like the PLLs will soon discover it. “There’s a big reveal coming up for Lucas … [he’s] getting scarier and scarier,” executive producer Oliver Goldstick tells us. Could this be related to the other big hints Goldstick offered about the rest of Season 2? “Somebody is getting arrested and somebody is getting killed.”

Question: Will Danielle find out that Auggie’s in the CIA too on Covert Affairs? — Heather

ADAM: Danielle’s still coming to terms with Annie’s big secret, but once she does, she might have some suspicions about the other people in her sister’s life, including Auggie. “That was one of my questions. What’s going to happen to Auggie?” Christopher Gorham tells us. “Does she find out that Auggie also works for the CIA? Would she automatically assume that he did? … We found a great way to deal with that question in the [Season 2 finale]. It’s going to set up Season 3 in a really interesting way.”

Question: It’s been fun seeing Madeline get in on the action on Burn Notice this season. Is she a temporary or more permanent addition to the group? — Troy

ADAM: With big bad Anson on the loose, the team needs all the help they can get. Thankfully, Mama Westen is up for the challenge. “Madeline becomes a very integral into the workings of trying to bring Anson down,” Gabrielle Anwar tells us. “She becomes part of the team in much more concise ways than ever before. Every time that the team has relied on her to come through, she’s always come through.”

Question: I am a loyal follower and this is the first time I have asked for scoop! Do you have anything about the Nov. 28 episode of Castle entitled “Cuffed”? Specifically, how do Beckett and Castle get handcuffed together in the first place? —Lauren

Ausiello: Good question. So good that I went directly to series creator Andrew W. Marlowe for the answer. He said, “Fans should be very curious as to why Beckett and Castle are handcuffed together” — and they’re not alone in that. “I think Beckett and Castle are very curious as to why they are cuffed together, and wonder why they can’t remember exactly how it happened.”

Question: I am a HUGE Leverage fan. Will we get to see a shirtless Hardison and Eliot this season? If you could respond, that would be awesome! —Jessa25

Ausiello: Half of your wish comes true in the Nov. 27 midseason premiere when Hardison loses his clothes during an undercover mission at a fraternity (where he’s forced to participate in a hazing ritual). Even better, things get very flirty — and kissy! — between Hardison and Parker when she poses as his slightly loony date.

Question: Any chance you have some Leverage scoop, particularly something involving Nate and Sophie’s relationship? —Lauren

Ausiello: A special Office-like mockumentary episode airing Dec. 4 finds the team posing as efficiency consultants at a greeting card company. When one of the real employees picks up on some tension between Nate and Sophie, the unsuspecting staffer — at Sophie’s delightfully evil urging — confronts Nate about it. That prompts the two of them to take their playful war to the cameras, talking-head style. Bonus scoop: Nate writes one hell of a greeting card to Sophie.

That’s it. Enjoy!