Hey All,
Here are the news items for today:
TELEVISION
NBC has ordered a ten-episode series called Dracula that will star Jonathan Rhys Meyers of The Tudors and Bend It Like Beckham fame. The series will take place in the 1890s and finds Dracula living a double life in London as an American businessman interested in bringing modern science to Victorian society. His true plan to exact revenge on those who burdened him centuries ago, however, is derailed when he falls in love with a with a woman who seems to be a reincarnation of his dead wife. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Young actress Maddie Hasson, who played delinquent gypsy girl Willa on the short-lived FOX drama The Finder (the spin-off from Bones) will appear in an upcoming episode of Grimm. She will play the daughter of “a nice guy”, who is kidnapped by family members and held hostage because they want to bring her back into the family. Of course, since this is Grimm the members of the family are supernatural creatures. (William Keck at TV Guide)
Actress Polly Walker (Rome and Caprica) has landed a recurring role on The Mentalist. She will play Senior FBI agent Alexa Shultz, a whip-smart alpha female. She will first appear in the season premiere, which is set to air on September 30 on CBS. (TV Line and TV Guide)
Film and TV actress Penelope Ann Miller (Men of a Certain Age) will join the cast of the upcoming drama Mistresses that is set to air mid-season. She will play Sam’s (Erik Stocklin) mother on the series who has no idea her late husband had a romance with another woman (Yunjin Kim). This new series tells the story of four women with turbulent romantic lives that features amongst it cast Alyssa Milano and Rochelle Aytes. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)
Actor Jason Beghe (Californication) has joined the cast of the upcoming NBC drama Chicago Fire that explores the complex and heroic men and women of the Chicago Fire Department. The series stars Jesse Spencer (House) and Taylor Kinney (The Vampire Diaries). Beghe will have the recurring role of Detective Hank Voight, a dangerous, feared and formidable gang unit cop who will do anything to protect his delinquent son from the long arm of the law. Chicago Fire will debut on October 10 on NBC. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)
The MTV comedy Awkward has been renewed for a third season and has been given a 20-episode order which is nearly double its episode order from this current season. Awkward airs new episodes on MTV every Thursday at 10:30 PM. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)
Saving Hope and The Listener have both received renewals from their Canadian broadcasters. Both shows received a 13-episode order. (Etan Vlessing at The Hollywood Reporter)
Actor Luke MacFarlane, who played Scotty on Brothers & Sisters, will guest star in the second episode of the new Beauty and the Beast TV series that will debut this fall on The CW. This remake is loosely based on the 80’s classic series, starring Kristin Kreuk (of Smallville fame) as Catherine Chandler, a cop who intersects with Vincent Keller (Jay Ryan from Terra Nova), who was turned into a beast after a faulty military experiment. MacFarlane will play Philippe Bertrand, the artistic director of the Bertrand Ballet Company who’s intrinsically involved in his dancers’ lives. Catherine will investigate the company after their prima-ballerina is murdered. Beauty and the Beast will debut on October 11 on The CW. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Lifetime has given the drama project called Cinnamon Girl a pilot order. This project comes from Renée Zellweger and is a period drama set against the backdrop of the Los Angeles music and movie scenes of the late 1960s/early 1970s. The drama tells the story of four coming-of-age girls — Cassie, Lola, Penny and Lou — and explores their lives at the crossroads of the era’s political, artistic, social and sexual rebellions. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
MTV is currently developing an hour-long “found-footage mystery” project in the style of Paranormal Activity called The Experiment. (Lacey Rose at The Hollywood Reporter)
CONDOLENCES
Actor Sherman Hemsley, who played George Jefferson in the classic comedies All in the Family and The Jeffersons, passed away yesterday. He was 74. (E! Online)
Actor Chad Everett, who starred in the 1970s TV drama Medical Center and appeared as old Dean in a recent episode of Supernatural, passed away yesterday. He was 75. (Variety)
ME: Rest in Peace, Mr. Hemsley and Mr. Everett. Condolences are extended to their family, friends and fans.
MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…
BOX OFFICE NEWS
Actors Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), David Morse (Treme) and Cory Monteith (Glee) will star in the retro cop action drama called McCanick. Morse will play a narcotics detective (and Routh his partner) who learns that a seemingly harmless young criminal (Monteith) has been released from prison, a criminal who holds the secret to a truth from the detective’s past. (Variety and Dark Horizons)
Actor Ryan McPartlin (Chuck) will star in two upcoming films. The first is called Mr. Christmas where he will play a male mannequin (um, male version of the 1987 film Mannequin, anyone?) come to life whose plastic core makes it difficult to woo his human crush. And the second is called Sex and Sunsets where he will play a consummate charmer who clashes horns with struggling writer (Ryan Kwanten from True Blood) who makes overtures toward his fiancé. (Variety and Dark Horizons)
Actor Liev Schreiber will play President Lyndon B. Johnson in the upcoming film called The Butler, a biopic that follows Eugene Allen, a White House servant who worked for eight First Families. The cast of this film already includes Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, Melissa Leo, James Marsden, Mariah Carey, Vanessa Redgrave and Alex Pettyfer. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)
BOX OFFICE TRAILER
Must Watch: First Magnificent Full Trailer for Ang Lee’s ‘Life of Pi’
Q&A SECTION (with Michael Ausiello at TV Line)
Question: Any Covert Affairs scoop? —Susan
Ausiello: Auggie fans, rejoice! Chris Gorham reveals that he’s got some meaty stuff ahead. “In Episode 7, there’s a really nice moment between Auggie and his therapist where he tells a story, which was actually an idea of mine that I had pitched to the writers,” he shares. “It’s a really nice reveal about Auggie’s past. It’s a very revealing character moment.” Then things will get “very heavy for [Auggie in Episode 9],” says Gorham, an outing he calls “maybe the most emotional” episode to date for his character.
Question: Any details on Matthew and Lady Mary’s wedding on Downton Abbey? —Neil
Ausiello: You’re assuming there will be a wedding — something series creator Julian Fellowes stopped short of confirming when I spoke to him over the weekend at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour in Beverly Hills. “They’re certainly engaged — that much I will say,” he said with a laugh. “But in Downton, the path of true love never did run smooth.”
Question: Any Season 3 Downton Abbey scoop about my favorite TV spinster, Lady Edith? — Jeff
Ausiello: Good news! She may not be a spinster forever! “Edith has a tough time,” acknowledges Fellowes. But “she’s still very keen on [Sir Anthony] Strallan [and] hasn’t allowed his disability to put her off. So let’s hope that comes to some kind of fruition in Season 3.”
Question: I am a huge fan of Nikita. The show is awesome. So excited Devon Sawa is a series regular now. Any scoop on what Owen will be up to in Season 3? —Alberto
Ausiello: “He’s in for a pretty big system shock [when he discovers that] Division is running — and that Nikita is still running it,” reveals showrunner Craig Silverstein. “He doesn’t think that’s a good idea, and around the time that happens, Nikita will also be wondering if it’s a good idea.”
That’s it. Enjoy!
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