Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Paget Brewster will officially be leaving Criminal Minds as of the end of this season. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

NBC has given a 13-episode order to the new Bryan Fuller (the man behind Pushing Daisies) drama pilot called Hannibal. Yep, you read that right – Hannibal. The series will be a thriller, of course, featuring the classic characters from the Thomas Harris novel Red Dragon: FBI agent Will Graham and his mentor Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who are re-introduced at the beginning of their budding relationship. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Allison Janney (The West Wing) will guest star in the upcoming season of The Big C, playing an ultra-successful Hollywood producer who wants to purchase Cathy (Laura Linney) and Paul’s life rights in order to tell their story on the big screen. The third season of The Big C will start on Sunday, April 8 on Showtime. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Susanna Thompson (Once and Again) has been cast in drama pilot for The CW called Arrow, where she will play Moria Queen, the mother of Green Arrow’s alter ego Oliver Queen, which will be played by actor Stephen Amell (Hung and Private Practice). (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actress Agam Darshi (Sanctuary) have joined the cast of the Jason Katims NBC drama pilot called County that will chronicle the lives of young doctors, nurses, and administrators in a frenetic underfunded and morally compromising LA County Hospital. Darshi will play one of the staff members alongside already cast actors Jason Ritter and Michael B. Jordan. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville) will make his feature directorial debut, after recently completing his first short called Fade Into You, a horror-thriller that is currently in post-production. In addition to directing this new project, Rosenbaum wrote and will star alongside actress Morena Baccarin (Homeland). The film follows Jim Owens (Rosenbaum), a discouraged actor who returns home to Indiana for his 15th high school reunion. There he gets into mischief with his friends and falls for his high school sweetheart (Baccarin). (Brian Brooks at Deadline)

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

Question: What can you tell me about the end of Castle’s two-parter? — Ellen

ADAM: How about a cryptic hint from creator Andrew W. Marlowe? “Hang on to the end, because we have a couple of surprises in store,” he says. “There’s a revelation about Castle that should be interesting for fans.” We hear it’s connected to the mystery surrounding Castle’s absent father — who may have had a behind-the-scenes role in his son’s future successes.

Question: When is Alaric going to do something other than drink and flirt with Meredith on The Vampire Diaries? — Sam

NATALIE: To be fair, Alaric has lost both his wife and girlfriend to the blood-suckers, so we’ll give him a pass on the nascent alcoholism. But we’ll soon learn more about his vampire-hunting days, which may help us to figure out why Elena trusts him so blindly. “A lot more of his past will be revealed,” Matt Davis says. “Things that he’s been struggling with will be purged and come into clarity for him.”

Question: What are you hearing about the new season of Army Wives? I’m desperately missing our favorite tribe. Any scoop? Maybe a start date? —Jill

Ausiello: Season 5 launches on Sunday, March 4, and the opener features the following: a retirement, an intervention, a hurricane, a car accident, a finalized adoption and an explosion.

Question: I need a Season 2 Homeland scoop. —Carter

Ausiello: Morena Baccarin, who makes her second appearance on The Mentalist this Thursday, confirms that there will be “a bit of a time lapse” between seasons, adding, “I’ve heard that Brody’s in office to some extent. But I haven’t heard much more than that. I’m dying to get a script.” That makes two of us.

Question: Any spoilers on Revenge? —Paige

Ausiello: Someone will begin to dabble in drugs after becoming collateral damage in Emily’s quest of vengeance. And rumor has it this week’s episode more than lives up to the hype. (And, holy hell, there has been a lot of hype.) Bonus scoop: Grandpa Grayson (William Devane) proves that he can play dirty with the best of them (aka Victoria and Emily), particularly when it concerns keeping the Grayson name intact.

Question: I am dying for spoilers on The Killing, especially about Holder! —Claudia

Ausiello: Next season, Linden won’t be the only woman to whom your favorite cop answers: The show is bringing on his sister, Liz, who, for all intents and purposes, sounds a lot like a younger Mitch.

Question: I love Downton Abbey so much. Any scoop on this Sunday’s Season 2 finale? —Nicolas

Ausiello: There’s a pregnancy, a breakup, a proposal, a séance, a death and a poignant scene between Mary and her dad that will reinforce everything you love about this show.

Question: Does NCIS have any plans for an episode with Ziva and Abby working together on a case? Maybe going undercover? —Marla

Ausiello: As of right this instant, no — but series boss Gary Glasberg is chomping at the bit for when the right opportunity presents itself. “We talk about that, about bringing them together more often,” he said when we ran your question by him. “[Pauley Perrette and Cote de Pablo] love to work together, and if we can come up with a storyline that services that, I’d do it in a heartbeat!”

Question: Do you have anything more on NCIS: LA and the big Kensi storyline? —Rod

Ausiello: How about this — the two-parter, launching next week, won’t only reveal Kensi’s secrets. “At one point, for a period of time, Granger (played by Miguel Ferrer) and Hetty were partners on a task force together. So there is very much past history between those two,” says show runner Shane Brennan. And as viewers will see over the next two Tuesdays, “If you think you know why Granger is in Los Angeles, you’re wrong. He’s in town for a very specific reason, and it plays out through sweeps.”

That’s it. Enjoy!