Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Erica Gimpel (Fame, Veronica Mars and Roswell) will appear in a two-episode arc of Nikita for February sweeps. She will play the important role of Carla, a mysterious woman who has a deep connection Nikita. Much like how Nikita helped Alex (Lyndsy Fonseca) get clean, Carla is the woman responsible for taking Nikita off the streets. (E! Online)

Actors Michael Eklund (Fringe) and Eric Johnson (Smallville and Rookie Blue) will play escaped prisoners on the new FOX drama Alcatraz. Eklund will play Kit Nelson, a terrifying kidnapper who always returns his victims to their homes… after he’s killed them. While Johnson will portray Cal Sweeney, a smooth talking bank robber whose interests lie in safety deposit boxes and the secrets they contain. (Natalie Abrams on TV Guide)

The new Canadian series The L.A. Complex, which stars Firefly and Stargate Atlantis alum Jewel Staite – which is set to debut in Canada this month – is looking to air on The CW here in the States this summer. Currently there are only six episodes of the new drama that revolves around twenty-somethings living in the same LA apartment complex as they try to make it in Tinseltown. The L.A. Complex is expected to be a key piece of the full-fledged summer original programming by the network. The cast includes Jonathan Patrick Moore (the Australian soap Neighbours); Cassie Steele (from the hit Canadian series Degrassi) and Chelan Simmons (Kyle XY) [among others]. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Bianca Lawson (Pretty Little Liars and The Vampire Diaries) will appear in at least four episodes of the MTV series Teen Wolf this summer when the show returns for its second season. She will play Ms. Morrell, the guidance counselor at Beacon Hills High School, who becomes an ally to several characters. Additionally, actress Gage Golightly (Ringer) will appear as a tough girl who transforms from ugly duckling to swan and actor Michael Hogan (Battlestar Galactica) as Allison’s grandfather. (Tierney Bricker at E! Online)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

A new drama from The Shield creator Shawn Ryan and feature writer Karl Gajdusek called Last Resort is staffing up while waiting for a formal pilot green light from ABC. This potential series is a thriller set in the near future when the country is very fractured and revolves around the crew of a U.S. nuclear submarine who become hunted after ignoring an order to shoot nuclear missiles. They escape to a NATO listening outpost where they publicly declare themselves to be the world’s smallest nuclear nation with 24 nuclear warheads. (Nellie Andreeeva at Deadline)

Farscape creator Rockne O’Bannon has secured a pilot order for a new crime drama on The CW called Cult with executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage on board. The tagline for this potential series is: “After a rash of disappearances and a likely murder, an inquisitive, young female production assistant on a wildly popular television show called Cult joins a journalist blogger in investigating the rabid fans of the series who might be re-creating crimes seen on the program, in real life.” (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actors Benedict Cumberbatch (the BBC’s Sherlock) and Noel Clarke (Doctor Who) have landed roles in the upcoming Star Trek sequel. Cumberbatch has landed the villain role in the sequel while Clarke will have a smaller role said to be that of a family man with a wife and young daughter. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Looks like actor Liam Hemsworth (the upcoming The Hunger Games) will be starring in the independent heist movie called Chris that may also feature Dwayne Johnson. The film is based on the true story of a 1982 NYC armored car company robbery thought at the time to be the largest cash heist in U.S. history. (Nikki Finke at Deadline)

A BLAST FROM THE PAST – CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD

Doris Day back in the spotlight

That’s it. Enjoy!