Hey All,
Congrats to all of the winner of the Tony Awardslast night, among them being Once, Audra McDonald, James Corden, Christopher Borle, Porgy and Bess, Death of a Salesman, Newsies, Judith Light, Bernadette Peters and Hugh Jackman.
And now on to the news items for today:
TELEVISION
Actor Henry Ian Cusick (formerly of Lost) will not be back for season two of the ABC drama Scandal while actor Joshua Malina (best known for his work on The West Wing) has been promoted to series regular on the drama. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter and Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)
Actress Valerie Cruz (True Blood and Alphas) will make a guest appearance on Homeland, playing Major Joy Mendez, a military intelligence officer who goes with Carrie (Claire Danes) on a sensitive mission in Beirut. It is possible this role could become a recurring one. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)
Showtime is picking up both of its pilots: Ray Donovan and Masters of Sex. Each series has received a 12 episode order and are expected to debut next year. Donovan stars actor Liev Schreiber as LA’s best professional fixer, or the man called in to solve complicated, controversial and confidential problem’s of the city’s elite. The only problems he’s unable to make disappear are those involving his own damaged South Boston family. The cast of Ray Donovan includes Jon Voight, Elliot Gould, Eddie Marsan, Dash Mihok and Paula Maclomson. As for Masters of Sex, actor Michael Sheen and actress Lizzy Caplan as the real-life pioneers of the science of human sexuality, William Masters and Virginia Johnson. The series will chronicle their unusual lives, romance and pop culture trajectory, which had them go from a mid-western teaching hospital to Time Magazine’s cover and Johnny Carson’s couch. Masters of Sex includes cast members Caitlin Fitzgerald, Nicholas D’Agosto and Teddy Sears. (Lacey Rose at The Hollywood Reporter)
Actress Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical franchise) will have a two-episode arc on the FX drama Sons of Anarchy. Yes, you read that right! She will play Emma Jean, a high-priced escort who complicates the club’s life. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
Actor Joseph Fiennes is in negotiations to appear as a regular in the second season of the FX thriller American Horror Story, playing the head of the institution for the criminally insane where Jessica Lange’s characters works, and will also be the object of her attraction. (Tim Stack at Entertainment Weekly)
BOX OFFICE NEWS
Actress Alfre Woodard has joined the cast of the upcoming movie Twelve Years A Slave, which is based on an autobiography written in 1853 by Solomon Northup, a free black man who became enslaved. The film will tell how Northup (Chiwitel Ejiofor) was kidnapped and put in a slave pen, paving the way for a grueling life under numerous owners. Woodard will play Mistress Shaw, a former slave who has risen in the Southern caste system. Lupita Nyong’o is also joining the cast and will play a slave who is the object of both the affections and cruelty of Master Epps (Fassbender). The movie’s cast also includes Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Brad Pitt and Sarah Paulson. (Borys Kit at The Hollywood Reporter)
Actor Benjamin Walker (soon to be seen in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) has nabbed the co-lead of the upcoming film called The Great Wall, the period adventure movie that already stars Henry Cavill (the upcoming Man of Steel). The film, set in 15th century China, is about British warriors who happen upon the hurried construction of the massive wall. As night falls, the warriors realize that the haste in building the wall isn’t just to keep out the Mongols — there is something inhuman and more dangerous. (Mike Fleming at Deadline)
Actor Josh Dallas (Once Upon a Time) will not return to his role of Fandral in the upcoming sequel to Thor rather actor Zachary Levi (Chuck) is in early talks to take his place. Ironically, Levi was in talks to take on the role in the original film, but his commitments to Chuck precluded him from doing so. (Heat Vision, Dark Horizons and E! Online)
Here are the top 10 box office movies for this past weekend courtesy of Exhibitor Relations:
1. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, $60.4 million
2. Prometheus, $50 million
3. Snow White and the Huntsman, $23 million
4. Men in Black 3, $13.5 million
5. The Avengers, $10.8 million
6. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, $3.2 million
7. What to Expect When You’re Expecting, $2.7 million
8. Battleship, $2.3 million
9. The Dictator, $2.2 million
10. Moonrise Kingdom, $1.6 million
Actress Sonya Walger (Lost, FlashForward and now in Common Law) has joined the cast of the upcoming film called Admission, an academia-based comedy where she will play Helen, a professor at Princeton. Among the cast are Tina Fey, Michael Sheen and Paul Rudd. (Dominic Patten at Deadline)
Q&A SECTION (with Matt Roush at TV Guide)
Question: I had a quick programming question regarding Switched at Birth. I fell in love with this show last summer and was eagerly anticipating its return. However, there’s still no return date listed on the ABC Family website. I did find an unofficial return date of September elsewhere on the web. I’m not necessarily upset by the move (besides the fact I’m sad about waiting longer for its return), but I’m curious about the reasoning behind the decision. Do you have any light you can shed on the matter? — Lindlee
Matt Roush: Here’s news that surprised even me. According to ABC Family, Season 1 of Switched at Birth isn’t even finished yet. The show will return in early September with eight new episodes to round out a first season that will comprise a staggering 30 (!) episodes. A pickup for a second season hasn’t been announced, but a renewal is a no-brainer. As to why Switched isn’t airing this summer, I was asked a similar question recently about why Syfy was holding back on a new season of Haven (previously a summer show) until late September, and it more or less comes down to an embarrassment of riches. These channels are juggling a number of successful shows these days, and to manage these assets, they need to spread them out, not lump them all together in the summer, even if that’s where many first found success. Besides, ABC Family is marshaling its resources this summer to launch the promising new series Bunheads (think Gilmore Girls with toe shoes), starring Broadway triple-threat Sutton Foster and created by Gilmore’s Amy Sherman-Palladino, which premieres tonight (9/8c) alongside a new season of The Secret Life of the American Teenager. (Personally, I’d rather see Bunheads paired with the far superior Switched at Birth, but Teenager’s popularity will likely help launch Bunheads to good numbers. With that peculiar title, it might need the boost.) Switched at Birth is a strong enough (and good enough) show to take on the networks in the fall. Given that ABC Family split the first season into thirds, I imagine you’ll see them continue to try this one out at various times of the year, but it is peculiar not to see it as part of the summer lineup.
Question: I read the number of episodes for Warehouse 13 in this season was increased from 13 to 20. Does that mean it will be 10 this summer and then 10 next summer? It didn’t work out with Eureka when Syfy aired season 4.0 one summer and then season 4.5 the next summer. If there is such a long break between each half of a season, it’d be better if they kept the season order to 13 episodes per summer. Announcing an increase in episodes sounds good, but it actually can be a lot worse. It’d be better if they went back to airing 10 episodes in the summer and then another 10 in the winter. It was great with the Stargate shows. — Ryan
Matt Roush: Syfy will split the new season of Warehouse into two batches of 10 — the first half will air from July 23 to Oct. 1 — and while it hasn’t yet been decided when the back half will air, I’m betting it will be closer to the Stargate model (airing both halves within a year) than what happened to Eureka, which never should have been kept off the air so long between partial seasons. Warehouse 13 is doing very well for Syfy, which is why they expanded its episode order. I would be very surprised if they didn’t try to maximize their investment by airing the back half during winter or early spring.
That’s it. Enjoy!
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