Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Carrie Preston (True Blood) will guest star on an upcoming episode of Royal Pains, playing Jackie Van Ark, a successful romance novelist who brings her college-bound daughter to HankMed to treat her for mysterious symptoms. The twist? While easygoing Jackie couldn’t seem more different from her high-strung spawn, it turns out they have more in common than they thought. This episode is expected to air on September 5. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Ivan Sergei (Crossing Jordan and Charmed) will have a recurring role on The Mentalist, playing FBI Agent Gabe Mancini, a tough, handsome agent who comes off as hotheaded at times, but overall is a good guy. The Mentalist returns for its new season starting on September 30. (Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Laurence Fishburne will indeed be joining the cast of the NBC mid-season series Hannibal, based on the legendary character Hannibal Lechter created by author Thomas Harris. Fishburne will play recurring character FBI Behavioral Sciences Unit leader Jack Crawford. (Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Gregg Henry (Hung) and Jillian Armenante (Judging Amy) have booked recurring roles on the ABC drama Scandal. Henry will play Jackson, an older, big money Southern guy who is smart and warm unless you cross him while Armenante will play the role of Lucas which was originally written male. Lucas is described as smart, well spoken and brash. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

English actor Ian Hart (the short-lived TV series Luck) will co-star opposite actress Thandie Newton in the Direct TV drama series called Rogue that centers on an undercover cop (Newton) who goes after a crime lord (Marton Csokas) after her young son is killed in a drive-by shooting. Hart will play an Oakland Police Department detective who works with Newton. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Wes Brown (Private Practice and Hart of Dixie) will replace actor Neil Jackson (Make It or Break It) in the new mid-season drama Infamous, playing womanizing bad boy Julian. Infamous is an opulent soap in which a female detective (actress Meaghan Good) returns undercover to the wealthy family she grew up in – as the maid’s daughter – to solve the murder of the notorious heiress who was once her closest friend. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

AMC has decided not to renew their drama The Killing for a third season. (Deadline)

Actor Chad Lindberg (Supernatural) has landed a guest starring role in an upcoming episode of Castle. He will play Marco Massetti, a career criminal who runs afoul of Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic) after they discover their murder victim may have been involved with one of Massetti’s jobs. Castle will be back starting on September 24. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Actress Franka Potente (Run Lola Run and the Bourne franchise) will appear in a two-episode arc on American Horror Story, playing a mysterious patient of the facility for which the second season will be based. The FX series will be back in October. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Mark Strong will star in the AMC drama pilot called Low Winter Sun, which is a contemporary story of murder, deception, revenge and corruption in a world where the line between cops and criminals is blurred. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

USA Network has put a new drama by Psych creator Steve Franks into the works. He will supervise writers Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett (Terra Nova) who will write and co-executive produce the drama about a brother and sister who take over the family’s successful investment firm after the untimely death of their parents, only to discover that the business isn’t quite what it seems. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

The CW is in preliminary talks to possibly remake the cult 2000 Japanese hit called Battle Royale based on the novel by Koushun Takami. The film was set in a totalitarian state where a class of 42 ninth-grade students are forced to kill each other until only one is left in a battle for survival. The CW was already developing another young adult dystopian series with a similar premise called The Selection, a project that went to a pilot but was not picked up. Said project has been put back in development and will likely be scrapped if this possible remake moves forward. (The LA Times and Dark Horizons)

CONDOLENCES

Legendary Latino actress Lupe Ontiveros, who appeared in the film Selena and was Carlos’s mom on Desperate Housewives passed away from liver cancer. She was 69. (CNN and E! Online)

ME: Rest in Peace, Ms. Ontiveros. Condolences are extended to her family, friends and fans.

MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Kevin Zegers has joined the cast of the film adaptation of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones based on the book series by Cassandra Clare. Lily Collins will play Clary Fray, a young woman living in New York City, who discovers she comes from a long line of demon hunters. Jamie Campbell Bower plays her love interest Jace while Zegers will portray Alec Lightwood, the gay brother of Isabelle, who has unreciprocated love for Jace. Among other cast members are Kevin Durand, Lena Headey and Jared Harris also star. (Just Jared and Dark Horizons)

Actor Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill) and Kevin Durand (Lost) will play police officers in the independent film called Fruitvale, which is based on a true-life police shooting. Michael B. Jordan (Friday Night Lights) will play a young Bay Area resident who was detained and killed by BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) cops in Oakland on New Year’s Eve in 2008. The event was captured on camera, and the ensuing trial and its verdict spurred protests and riots. Other cast members include Ahna O’Reilly, Octavia Spencer and Tristan Wilds also star. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!