Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for yesterday and today:

TELEVISION

Actor Tom Berenger (Hatfields & McCoys) will appear in at least three episodes of Major Crimes when it returns for its second season this summer. He will appear as Captain Sharon Raydor’s estranged husband of 25 years, Jackson Raydor, who is a brilliant lawyer. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Catherine Bell (JAG and Army Wives) will show up on the new TNT series King & Maxwell that is set to debut on June 10. She will have a multi-episode arc as Joan Dillinger, ex-lover of Sean King (series lead Jon Tenney). (Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

BBC America has renewed the new sci-fi drama Orphan Black for a 10-episode second season that will air in 2014. (BBC America)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actresses Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl) and Gillian Jacobs (Community) as well as actor Adam Brody (The O.C.) are set to star in the box office comedy called Life Partners. The comedy is about a co-dependent friendship between two very different girls – type-A Paige (Jacobs) and lesbian slacker Sasha (Meester). Paige has vowed that she won’t get married until Sasha has the same legal right and that works out fine until Paige meets Tim (Brody), a young and charming doctor. As a crucial vote on gay marriage approaches, the threesome struggle with issues of love, friendship, and loyalty. (Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with Team Watch with Kristin at E! Entertainment, Natalie Abrams and Adam Bryant at TV Guide and Michael Ausiello and Matt Mitovich both at TV Line)

Question: Suits scoop would be lovely! – Emily

Team Watch with Kristin: Harvey’s father is coming to town! Kind of! Fans will meet Gordon Specter in a flashback to ten years ago, which will show exactly where Harvey got his good looks and awesome negotiation skills. Gordon is described as a Jeff Bridges type who is warm and compassionate, so let’s dream cast the role in the comments, shall we?

Question: I loved the first 10 minutes of Sunday’s Once Upon a Time! Please give me some scoop on that episode! — Sharlene

NATALIE: Regina is in a very shocking position, but it’s who comes to her aid that’ll really shock you. In an attempt to fix her blackened heart, Snow and Charming will enlist Rumple to help track her down. But all magic comes with a price: This particular spell will connect Regina and Snow in a very dangerous way.

Question: Is Klaroline totally over now that The Originals was picked up? — Lisa

NATALIE: Not necessarily, and certainly not this season! When we asked Joseph Morgan about the “surprising encounter” that’s being teased between the two this week, he told us, “It’s going to come in the guise of an olive branch, and then it’ll start as something that I think people have wanted for a long time — but we’ll see where it goes.” Could this be the kiss that some of you have been waiting for?!

Question: I need some NCIS: LA scoop on Kensi and Deeks. Will the box return? — Chelsea

ADAM: Sort of. Executive producer Shane Brennan says that what the box symbolizes will be explored. “If you look at the box as a ratcheting up of their personal relationship, you will not be disappointed,” Brennan says. “There is a very poignant moment between Kensi and Deeks in the finale that will surprise everyone.” How poignant, you ask? Let’s just say that people do crazy things when they’re about to die.

Question: Why don’t you ever show Doctor Who any love? — Noah

ADAM: Well, in the upcoming episode, “The Crimson Horror,” the good Doctor meets someone who develops quite a dangerous crush on him. (She even gives him a funny pet name!) What’s more, we’ll see the Time Lord lock lips with a lovely lady… who isn’t his companion Clara! As for the episode’s titular “horror,” let’s just say that one character has a very close (and kind of disgusting) relationship that is key to solving the episode’s mystery.

Question: Do you have anything about the season finale of Scandal you can share? —Daniela

Ausiello: Conventional wisdom points to the elusive mole being unmasked in the May 16 finale. Kerry Washington, meanwhile, points to it being the person you’d least expect. “It’s so shocking,” the actress tells us with a huge, hearty laugh. “So, so shocking. And so good. One of the things the show does so well is they mostly do these, like, one-two or one-two-three punches. So it’s not usually one cliffhanger; it’s usually a shock, and then another couple of shocks — and that’s kind of how that goes down.”

Question: I have a Q about Once Upon a Time and its potential spin-off: If we decide not to watch the spin-off, will we still understand everything that’s going on in Once Upon a Time? Or are the two shows completely connected? Thanks! —Emily

Ausiello: Worry not. Should the Wonderland-based limited-run offshoot get the green light from ABC on May 14 — and even though Barbara Hershey’s Cora and even Lana Parrilla’s Regina could appear in flashbacks — “It is intended to exist as its own thing,” says Once co-creator Eddy Kitsis. Adds Adam Horowitz, “If you’ve never seen Once, you can actually watch Wonderland and not worry.”

Question: Got any scoop on Revenge, Once Upon a Time, Nashville, Hannibal or Orphan Black? —Danae

Ausiello: On the Once Upon a Time front, expect to see Mulan, Aurora and Prince Phillip once again, before the season is over. And lest you think Regina’s “trigger” to implode Storybrooke is just a MacGuffin for us to gaze upon and imagine its potential, “We’re definitely going to see what that black diamond does,” EP Eddy Kitsis warns.

Question: So we know there are ghosts appearing on The Vampire Diaries soon. Do you know if any characters are actually getting resurrected permanently? Or are they all just ghosts? —Audrey

Ausiello: Rumor has it that one resurrection may stick.

Question: I need some Vampire Diaries scoop on Caroline. —Calleigh

Ausiello: These 15 words will leave her mouth in the May 16 season finale, per exec producer Julie Plec: “Come hell or high water, hell will freeze over before I let anybody cancel graduation.” As Plec explains, “The instinct to miss graduation is going to be on [everyone’s] minds because there’s greater things afoot. And Caroline, as we know, finds these moments and high school events very precious and gets very angry when anybody tries to mess with them.”

Question: What does NCIS: LA have in store for Nell and Eric? —Sophiaq

Ausiello: For the remainder of this season? Not much. For next season? At least one juicy episode. “We’re actually [about to] shoot one episode [for Season 5] that’s apparently an Eric-Nell episode,” Barrett Foa shares. “We haven’t really checked in with them after the big Christmas-under-the-mistletoe [incident] — there hasn’t been a ton of stuff with the two of us — and I think it’s time to get that back, because I figure fans are really ready for that.”

Question: Should we be worried that The CW hasn’t renewed Nikita yet? —Soso

Ausiello: I don’t think so. I’m told the reason Nikita wasn’t included in last week’s CW pickups was because series creator Craig Silverstein was in Virginia shooting his AMC pilot Turn and therefore unable to pitch his Season 4 plan to the network. He’s now back in L.A. and due to meet with CW brass in the coming days. Bottom line: The show is still a safe bet for a (shortened) fourth season.

Question: Long time reader, first time question asker. I am so glad to know that you too are an Orphan Black fan. Any scoop to share? —Vanessa

Ausiello: Party at Alison’s house this week, and it’s a doozy! As the characters and storylines converge on her abode, “Clone antics ensue,” previews EP Graeme Manson with a laugh. “And Felix is right in the middle of it, which is fun, too.”

Question: My heart broke when Zoe/Wade broke up on Hart of Dixie. They didn’t get nearly enough time “together.” Please tell me Zoe gives Wade another chance! —Lauren

Ausiello: Executive producer Leila Gerstein insists Wade’s infidelity and the pair’s subsequent breakup “was never intended to be the end” of their story. “It is a long series [and] we expect to do many, many, many more episodes of this show,” she adds of the recently renewed dramedy. “And they’re not even done for this season! There will be another connection between Zoe and Wade before the season is over. I would certainly tell ‘Zade’ fans out there that they should not be giving up hope.”

Question: Any Suits tidbits? –Megan

Mitovich: Midway through the coming season, we’ll meet Harvey’s yet-to-be-cast father Gordon, in an origins flashback to when Harvey was working at District Attorney’s office and he caught his boss Cameron burying evidence on his cases. Of note during the father/son chat: They bring up two family members that have been hinted at only a little thus far, Harvey’s cheating mother and his little brother Marcus.

Question: We’re three episodes into Defiance and Irisa doesn’t even seem to like her dad. Will this change? –@justinmwykes

Mitovich: Alas, save for one fleeting scene, Irisa is MIA in next week’s episode. (In fact, I hope they shot the scene during a busier day for poor Stephanie Leonidas, lest she spent hours in makeup to not say a word!) What you do get this Monday is a wonderful (and then suddenly intense) scene between Amanda and Stahma, and some sexytime for Nolan and Kenya (interrupted, amusingly, by madame mayor). There’s also a tiny mythology dump (what’s up with that golden gizmo McCawley’s ill-fated son discovered?), and you’ll learn the Bioman’s first (only?) name.

Question: I’m in serious need of some Emma/Neal scoop on Once Upon a Time! Do you have anything? –Meredith

Mitovich: This Sunday’s episode very well may be everything you’ve ever wanted (and more), when the exes finally have a heart-to-heart. As Michael Raymond James previews, “Neal still feels some guilt” for bailing on his love 10 years ago, “but he felt he didn’t have a choice in the matter. I mean, we’re talking about her saving a townful of people that he grew up with, people from Fairytale Land. So in Neal’s mind, he jumped on a grenade in the name of the greater good.”

Question: Are we ever gonna see Greg/Owen’s dad again on Once Upon a Time? I can’t say I’d be shocked if being locked up somewhere in Storybrooke post-curse hasn’t aged him a day. –Estee

Mitovich: Kurt Flynn resurfaces this Sunday. And… that’s all I got.

Question: Any scoop on Castle? Are there any scenes coming up with Alexis or Martha, or Lanie with Kate? –Valentina

Mitovich: I like your thinking, that as Kate gets to wondering about her and Rick’s future, she might consult with her gal pal. So I am happy to confirm that we will get another of the all-too-rare Kate/Lanie scenes before this season is over.

Question: Will the Castle ‘shippers that have a vested interest in the Caskett relationship be happy or angry at the end of the season finale, “Watershed”? –Gary

Mitovich: The Castle ‘shippers that have a vested interest in the Caskett relationship will… have a very strong reaction at the end of the season finale, “Watershed.”

That’s it. Enjoy!