Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Gilles Marini has been promoted to series regular on the ABC Family drama Switched At Birth. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

The Glades has been renewed for a fourth season by A&E. It will be back sometime next summer. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Emma Caulfield (best known for her role on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) will make a guest appearance in at least a couple of episodes of Royal Pains, playing Hank’s ex-girlfriend Winnie. The summer run will end on September 19 and then the rest of the season will return this winter. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

A&E has given a pilot order to a new drama called Occult from Transformers director Michael Bay and The X-Files writer James Wong. The project centers on an FBI agent who returns from administrative leave after going off the deep end while investigating his wife’s disappearance. Eager to be back on the job, he is paired with an agent with her own complicated back-story who specializes in the occult. Together, they will solve cases for the newly formed occult crimes task force. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

The cable network Bravo had picked up four new projects. First, they are working on a reboot of the 1980’s flick Heathers with this version taking place 20 years later, focusing on the daughter of Veronica (the character played by Winona Ryder in the original film), who goes head-to-head with the new generation of mean girls called the Ashleys — who are also the daughters of the surviving Heathers. Second, the aptly titled Apartment is about two siblings in their 20s who inherit an apartment from their late mother. After learning the home was where their mom had an 18-year affair, the siblings start renting the place out to people who also want to engage in extramarital affairs. Third, The Darlings is based on the novel by Christina Alger that follows a high-society family from New York City’s Upper East Side who becomes involved in a financial scandal. And, lastly, All American Girl will take place over three decades and revolve around three women who all work for a magazine throughout different time periods. The series will focus on the changing points of view about women in the workplace and feminism. (Robyn Ross at TV Guide)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Camryn Manheim (The Practice and Ghost Whisperer) will appear in the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie called The Makeover that will star Julia Stiles (Dexter) and David Walton (Perfect Couples) in a modern twist on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. Stiles will play Hannah, a driven, Harvard-educated professor who runs for Congress. Manheim will play Colleen Pickering, who decides to enlist the help of Walton’s average guy, Elliot Doolittle, for the next election. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Diane Neal (Law & Order: SVU) will play Helen, a charming, strong and witty actress who gets caught up in a love triangle in the Hallmark made-for-TV movie called This Magic Moment that will center on a video store owner and budding screenwriter named Clark Gable who falls for a famous actress in town to film a movie while he also deals with residual feelings for an old flame. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Ewan McGregor will star alongside Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in the upcoming box office film called August: Osage County, which is an adaptation of the Tracy Letts Pulitzer- and Tony-winning play. McGregor will play Bill Fordham, the estranged husband of Barbara (Roberts) and son-in-law of pill-popping matriarch Violet Weston (Streep). A college professor, he left his wife for one of his students but wants to be there for his family. His marriage is disintegrating and his patience is running thin. (Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with Tierney Bricker at E! Online; Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams at TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Question: I need Once Upon a Time scoop! – Kelli

Tierney: A warlock is coming! Quinn is a handsome young man who is shunned by his parents when they find out about his magical abilities, which leads him to a new family of people with gifts similar to his. While he seems nice enough, Quinn is someone you don’t want to cross. The show is also looking to cast Anita, a sexy and earthy sorceress who is devoted to taking in lost souls. However, don’t let her maternal instincts fool you; because she can be ferocious when it comes to the people she cares about.

Question: Have you seen the NCIS premiere? I need details! — Robbie

ADAM: As expected, the team dusts itself off pretty easily after the explosion at headquarters, although McGee is banged up much worse than some of his colleagues. As for Harper Dearing, the man behind the blast, he’s got a few more tricks up his sleeve — and as you might have guessed, they all involve a big boom. That said, the much-anticipated Gibbs-Dearing showdown surprisingly ends up being a great deal more intimate than expected.

Question: I’m so excited that Daniel Gillies was included in the new Vampire Diaries cast gallery! What can you say about his role this season? — Heather

NATALIE: Elijah will definitely be back. In fact, Gillies just told us about a recent flashback scene he filmed. “It was the 11th century,” Gillies says. “It was an episode that depicted a brand new menace on The Vampire Diaries and not just a menace to the beautiful boys and girls of Mystic Falls, but also to the Originals. A big threat.”

Question: I can’t wait for Person of Interest to return. Will Reese be able to rescue Finch? — Luke

ADAM: Despite a valiant effort on Reese’s part, Reese and Finch’s reunion won’t come in the season premiere. In fact, most of Finch’s scenes take place in flashbacks, as we see how he trained the Machine to work. (Fun fact: The machine’s excellent at blackjack!) What we do see of Finch in present day is a pretty certain fear of Root, who both reveals why she wants the Machine and proves exactly how ruthless she will be in order to get it.

Question: I am dying to know what’s going to happen to Belle on Once Upon A Time. Got anything you can share? —Donald

Ausiello: Freshly plucked out of her hospital cellar confines and thrust into the orbit of the purple smoke-conjuring Mr. Gold, Emilie de Ravin’s beauty is in for quite a bit of culture shock as Season 2 opens. Is somewhere inside this Rumplestiltskin the same imp she fell in love with in the other realm? “Rumple has always been a character who has had to choose between love and power, and he has always chosen power,” series co-creator Eddy Kitsis reminds. “So now that Belle, this wild card, has come into his life, how will it affect his meticulous plan? And which path will he now choose because of it?”

Question: Any news at all on Justified? —Jay

Ausiello: The FX western is recruiting a new batch of freaks for Season 4, and they include a rule-bending military police sergeant who shares a past with Boyd, a fugitive family man who teams up with a pair of drug addicts, a local Constable who went to high school with Raylan, and a charismatic young preacher who starts cutting into Boyd’s profits. Bonus Spoiler: The Season 4 premiere is titled “Hole in the Wall.”

That’s it. Enjoy!