Rueben's Ramblings

Sarah Jones

Mid-season programming will be upon us in a few weeks and with that there will be new shows a plenty on the major networks. From those new dramas there will be actors and actresses for whom TV viewers should pay extra attention to because, in my opinion, they are the faces off mid-season.

Those actors and actresses appear below in no particular order:

Dylan Minnette

Sarah Jones – Sarah is the latest ingénue to be chosen by J.J. Abrams for one of his groundbreaking new series. This time around it is the new FOX drama Alcatraz, which centers on a group of missing prisoners and guards who reappear in the present day and chronicles the efforts of a team of FBI agents to track them down and unravel the mystery behind their disappearance thirty years prior. She will star as Rebecca Madsen, a smart, thoughtful and a little obsessive police officer. Sarah has appeared in Sons of Anarchy and Big Love as well as the made-for-TV movies Loves Takes Wing and Love Finds a Home (based on the book series from Janette Oke).

Alcatraz debuts on FOX on January 16 at 8 PM with a two-hour series premiere.

Natasha Calis

Dylan Minnette – Dylan will star as Rex Britten in the new NBC drama Awake alongside Jason Isaacs. Isaacs plays a police detective who regains consciousness following a car accident involving his wife Hannah (Laura Allen) and his son Rex. Michael moves back and forth between two realities: in one, Rex survived while Hannah is dead; in the other, Hannah survived but Rex did not. Dylan has starred in the TV shows Prison Break, Lost, Saving Grace and Men of a Certain Age. He has also appeared in the box office film Let Me In.

Awake has yet to be scheduled by NBC.

Maddie Hasson

Natasha Calis – The new NBC series The Firm, based on the 1993 feature film, picks up 10 years after those events finding lawyer Mitch McDeere (Josh Lucas) coming out of near total isolation after his family has spent a decade in the Federal Witness Protection Program. Natasha will appear as daughter Claire McDeere. Her previous work includes the made-for-TV movies Christmas Caper, Impact, Alice, Held Hostage and Gone. She will be seen in the upcoming box office film The Possession, which will star Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick.

The Firm will air its two-hour premiere on NBC on January 8 at 9 PM.

Megan Hilty

Maddie Hasson – The Finder is the new FOX series that is a spin-off from Bones centering on Walter Sherman (Geoff Stults), a remarkable man with an eccentric personality and a unique gift to help others recover what they’ve lost. Maddie will star as Willa Monday, who was raised to be a criminal by her extended family of gypsies but now on probation and under the protection of Walter’s brother-in-arms Leo (Michael Clarke Duncan); and they on occasion use her hard-gained skills in their own work. Maddie is a relative newcomer with one small role in an independent film called God Bless America.

The Finder will debut on FOX on January 12 at 9 PM.

Katharine McPhee

Megan Hilty and Katharine McPhee – Both ladies will star in the new NBC musical drama Smash that takes a behind-the-scenes look at how a Broadway musical – based on the life of Marilyn Monroe – is put together from the ground up. Megan will star as tough Broadway veteran Ivy Lynn who is the obvious choice for the lead role; but enter Karen Cartwright (McPhee), a young girl from Iowa with a dream of making it on Broadway who walks in and blows everyone away. Megan has appeared on Broadway in Wicked and 9 to 5: The Musical as well as guest appearances in TV shows such as The Closer, Desperate Housewives, Eli Stone and Bones. Whereas, Katharine was the runner-up in the American Idol competition in 2006 and appeared in the box office films The House Bunny, You May Not Kiss the Bride and Shark Night 3D.

Smash will airs it series premiere on February 6 on NBC at 10 PM.

Erica Dasher

Erica Dasher – Jane by Design is a new, light-hearted drama about Jane Quimby (Dasher), a teenager who lands a job at Donovan Decker, a hip fashion house, when they mistake her for an adult. Jane soon finds herself juggling life both as a regular high school student and as an assistant to a high powered executive in the cutthroat world of fashion… all while trying to keep her true identity a secret. Erica is a relative newcomer, but she did appear in the web series The Lake.

Jane by Design is set to debut on ABC Family on January 3 at 9 PM.

Joe Anderson

Joe Anderson – Joe will star in the new ABC drama The River as Lincoln, the son of famed explorer and nature show star Dr. Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood) who went looking for magic deep in the uncharted Amazon and never returned. Six months after he vanished, his emergency beacon goes off and a team, including Lincoln and his mother, set out to attempt to track him down. Joe has appeared in the box office films Becoming Jane, Across the Universe, Love Happens, The Ruins and The Crazies. He will be seen next year in Part 2 of the Twilight Breaking Dawn film.

The River will air its series premiere on ABC on February 7 at 9 PM.

Dichen Lachman

Dichen Lachman – Dichen will be joining the cast of the Syfy series Being Human for its sophomore season, appearing as a character named Izumi, who is a reclusive, centuries-old vampire. The series, much like the British original for which it is based, is about a vampire, werewolf and ghost who share a house together in Boston. Dichen appeared in the Australian soap opera Neighbours and then landed a role in the short-lived Joss Whedon series Dollhouse. She has also make guest appearances in episodes of Hawaii Five-0, NCIS: Los Angeles and Torchwood.

Being Human will return with its second season on Syfy on January 16 at 9 PM.

David Mazouz

David Mazouz – Ths new FOX drama Touch stars Kiefer Sutherland as Martin Bohm, a former journalist whose wife was killed in the 9/11 attacks with David appearing as his young son Jacob, an autistic mute who is obsessed with numbers and can predict future events. David got his start in the made-for-TV movie Amish Grace and has appeared in episodes of Mike & Molly, Private Practice and Criminal Minds.

Touch will have a special preview on FOX on January 25 at 9 PM with its official premiere on March 19.

Mark Deklin

Mark Deklin – Mark will appear in the much-buzzed about new ABC series GCB (formerly known as Good Christian Bells – aka Bitches) based on the book by Kim Gatlin. The series follows Amanda Vaughn (Leslie Bibb), the former “Queen Bitch” in high school and recently divorced single mother of two children, who returns to Dallas where she grew up, coming face to face with her former school friends. Mark will appear as Blake Reilly, the husband of one Amanda’s friends. Mark has appeared in the short-lived series Justice, The Ex-List and Lone Star as well as role in episodes of TV shows such as Hawaii Five-0, The Mentalist, Nip/Tuck, Big Love and Desperate Housewives. He also appeared in the made-for-TV movie Riverworld and the box office film Herbie Fully Loaded.

GCB will debut on March 4 on ABC at 10 PM.

Keep your eyes on these actors and actresses and mark your calendars for the debuts of these shows too.

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