Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor F. Murray Abraham and actress Sartia Choudhury have been made series regular on Homeland when it returns later this year for its new season. Abraham played Dar Adal while Choudhury played Saul’s estranged wife Mira. (Kimberly Roots at TV Line and Hitfix)

EARLY UPFRONTS NEWS

FOX has announced the pick-up orders for four new pilots for the fall, including the following:

Almost Human: JJ Abrams reteams with Fringe’s J.H. Wyman and Bryan Burk on this buddy cop show set in a future where all LAPD officers are paired with human-like androids. The series will star Star Trek’s Karl Urban, Common Law’s Michael Ealy, Friday Night Lights’ Minka Kelly and Lili Taylor.

Gang Related: Lost’s Terry O’Quinn, Charlie’s Angels’ Ramon Rodriguez and Nashville’s Jay Hernandez are to star in this drama about a gang member tasked with infiltrating the San Francisco Police Department, where he eventually ends up on the Gang Task Force. Naturally, his loyalties are soon tested.

Rake: Making his broadcast TV debut, Greg Kinnear stars as a brilliant but self-destructive criminal defense lawyer in this legal drama based on the Australian series of the same title.

Sleepy Hollow: From Fringe executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci, this modern-day retelling of Washington Irving’s classic tale finds Icabod Crane (Tom Mison) time-traveling two and a half centuries and teaming with a police officer to save humanity. Nicole Beharie and Orlando Jones will co-star. (Tierney Bricker at E! Online)

Meanwhile, NBC has picked up two new pilots for the fall including the following:

Believe – Another pilot from JJ Abrams that will center on a girl with emerging powers (newcomer Johnny Sequoyah) and a man sprung from prison to protect her (Jake McLaughlin).

Crisis – From Rand Ravich (the man behind the short-lived series Life) that will be a D.C.-based thriller, centering on a Secret Service agent who becomes wrapped up in an international crisis when the President’s son and classmates are kidnapped. Among the cast are Dermot Mulroney and Gillian Anderson. (AJ Marechal at Variety)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) has landed the role of Prince Charming in the upcoming live-action movie Cinderella that will have actress Lily James (Downton Abbey) in the title role, will include Cate Blanchett in the cast and will be directed by actor-turned-director Kenneth Branagh at the helm. (Tim Kennally at The Wrap)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Trailer for Romantic Comedy ‘Baggage Claim’ Starring Paula Patton

Q&A SECTION (with Team Watch with Kristin at E! Online and Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Question: The title of Arrow’s finale “Sacrifice” is making me nervous! Should we expect a big death?! – Cady

Team Watch with Kristin: Executive producer Marc Guggenheim says not to read too much into the title, as “everyone should have a drinking game because literally if you were to take a drink every time the word sacrifice or some derivative thereof is used, you’d be buzzed by the end of the first act.” However, we can tell you there will be at least one major casualty in Starling City by the finale’s end.

Question: What will happen when Gabe and Vincent come face-to-face on Beauty and the Beast?! – Mae

Team Watch with Kristin: Tension with a capital T! Sendhil Ramamurthy teases fans will not want to miss. “It’s pretty interesting, because obviously Vincent is not trusting of Gabe,” he says, adding that Gabe will not exactly be himself when he first meets Vincent. “It’s Gabe-Beast meeting Human-Vincent, it really floors Vincent because he’s incredulous at this point…that whole scene is really cool.”

Question: I have to know who Elena will choose in TVD’s season finale! – Desiree

Team Watch with Kristin: While we won’t reveal which Salvatore brother our heroine chooses, we can assure you that she does in fact pick one. As for the other brother, fret not as he’ll have more than enough to deal with that not landing the girl (for now) will hardly register. Start prepping for one of the series’ best twists ever, basically!

Question: Fitz choosing Olivia has the Olitz/POPUS shippers over the moon. How long before Scandal ruins the honeymoon? –Mandy

Mitovich: My advice would be to savor the POPUS/Olitz goodness while you can, because big things are brewing for season’s end. As Kerry Washington shared with me, “The end of the season finale is so shocking that at the table read I almost couldn’t get it out of my mouth. You can’t imagine how you’re going to live through the hiatus.”

Question: When Falling Skies returns, how much time has passed on screen between the Season 2 finale and the Season 3 premiere? –@jacobsjj

Mitovich: I will go out on a limb and say that seven months have passed — if only because about a dozen different characters mention in the Season 3 opener that seven months have passed. As such, Tom and Ann are thisclose to birthing their baby, which will, all things considered, present out-of-this-world complications. I can also share that the premiere has a wowza cold open in which the rebels kick some ass… until they don’t; Hal is somehow paralyzed, yet still finding ways to rendezvous with an ever-creepy Karen; and a murder mystery plays a big role in at least the first episodes.

Question: I’ll take any (and I mean ANY) scoop regarding Castle‘s season finale! Monday cannot come fast enough! –Martina

Mitovich: Awesome, because I have any scoop: Chuck alum Mekenna Melvin, we knew, was guest-starring in Monday’s episode. I can now tell you she’s playing Talia McTeague, a well-off Harvard student who shares a connection with the Victim of the Week.

That’s it. Enjoy!