Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Liza Weil (Gilmore Girls) will be guest star in Bunheads, playing Truly’s (Stacey Oristano) sister; but the sisters are not exactly on the best of terms. Bunheads is back on ABC Family on January 7. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

Actor Pedro Pascal (The Good Wife) will have a multi-episode arc on the upcoming new USA Network drama Graceland. The series centers on a group of diverse law-enforcement agents from the DEA, FBI and Customs whose worlds collide when they’re forced to live together in an undercover beach house in Southern California. The cast of Graceland includes Aaron Tveit and Daniel Sunjata. Pascal will play Juan Barcelo, a tough but charming FBI agent with a rocky experience at the Bureau. The series is slated to air this summer. (Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter)

The final season of Spartacus (now named War of the Damned) will debut on January 25 at 9 PM on Starz. (The Deadline Team)

Actor Sam Page (Mad Men and Switched at Birth) will guest star on an upcoming episode of Last Resort, playing Connor, a military tech whiz who happens to be Kylie’s (Autumn Reeser) confident and entitled older brother. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

It looks like CBS is looking to expand the NCIS franchise with another spinoff, which – at this point – is untitled but will be a “planted” spin-off from NCIS: Los Angeles. It will feature new characters who will be introduced in a two-part episode of NCIS: LA that is set to air later this season. The proposed spin-off will follow a small mobile team of agents, who are forced to live and work together, as they crisscross the country solving crimes. It should be noted that NCIS: Los Angeles is a spin-off of NCIS, which is a spin-off of JAG. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Starz has closed a deal to develop Outlander, a drama series based on the best-selling fantasy/romance/adventure series of books from author Diana Gabaldon, which will be developed, written and executive produced by Ron Moore (Battlestar Galactica). Outlander spans the genres of romance, science fiction, history, and adventure, following Claire, a married WWII combat nurse, who mistakenly steps back in time to the year 1743 where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world of adventure that sends her on the run and threatens her life. When Claire is forced to marry Jamie, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, it ignites a passionate affair that tears Claire’s heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC has given a script order to The Break, a drama set in the world of Santa Cruz surfing competitions told through the eyes of Mia Walker, a 16-year-old girl with a troubled and mysterious past who is sent to the surfing town to live with the father she’s never known. There, she must learn to navigate a culture that’s as foreign to her as her father is. The ensemble drama will chronicle the personal lives and relationships of a group of young adults in the close-knit community where surfing is everything. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Ken Leung (Lost) and Jeananne Goossen (Alcatraz) will star opposite Eoin Macken (Merlin) and Freddy Rodriguez (Six Feet Under) in the hour-long NBC pilot called After Hours that revolves around the graveyard shift in the ER at San Antonio Medical Center. Leung will play Topher, a flip-flops and shorts-wearing Emergency Room doctor who was previously a surgeon on the battlefield, where he became hardened and jaded. Meanwhile, Goossen will play a beautiful and stylish resident at the hospital. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, the planned spin-off of the Syfy series (based, of course, on the 70’s classic TV series) that did not make the cut as a series on Syfy will be released online via Machinima Prime starting on November 9. This highly anticipated chapter takes place in the midst of the first Cylon war, featuring a gifted fighter pilot, William Adama (Luke Pasqualino from The Borgias). Syfy will eventually air the spin-off in its entirety on TV sometime next year. (The Futon Critic)

Q&A SECTION (with Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly and Team Watch with Kristin at E! Online)

Question: Any news on the Leverage renewal? And thanks for all the great spoilers each week. All my best — TVDIVA

Sandra: No word yet. (Hurry up, TNT!) But I can tell you that the first episode back from break (airing Nov. 27) is a doozy about the team taking on an evil box store in its usual stick-it-to-the-man type of way. This particular case, however, hits very close to home for Eliot (Christian Kane), who is so moved by the events that occur that he’ll reach out to someone from his past with possibly devastating results.

Question: Not gonna lie, as a Deeks/Kensi fan, that Eric/Nell spoiler left me disappointed, like bitterly disappointed. Anything Densi to ease the pain? – Amy

Sandra: Nov. 20 will! In this episode Deeks will go undercover as a surfer and exec producer Shane Brennan promises an hour filled with great moments. “We gave some fun moments with [Eric Christian Olsen] out on the water, and later in the episode, we see Kensi out there as well,” he says. “There are some very funny moments in it, and there’s a great bar room brawl. For people who love Kensi and Deeks, they’re going to love the episode.”

Question: I’m feeling Revenge-y, so can I have some spoilers? – Gwen R.

Team Watch with Kristin: Put down the red Sharpie and we promise to deliver the goods. We think that Conrad Grayson is about to meet his match. In episode 11, we will be introduced to a new character named Jason Prosser, who is described as having a fortune that rivals Conrad and he has twice his style. Watch out, it’s about to be an old, rich dude fight!

Question: I’m over the Wade-Zoe-George drama of Hart of Dixie. Tell me what else is coming up? – Abby

Team Watch with Kristin: It looks like Zoe is also over that mess, because Hart of Dixie is going to introduce a new character that sounds like an awful lot like a new love interest for her. Jonah is a very handsome, cocky-but-charming doctor who is being billed a major recurring guest star, which means he’ll stick around for a bit. And though he’s full of confidence, he has a vulnerable side that most people don’t see. Hmm, maybe he’ll let Zoe see that side of him, among other things. That’s what she said.

That’s it. Enjoy!