Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Erin Krakow (Army Wives) and actor Daniel Lissing (Last Resort) have joined the cast of the Hallmark Channel one-hour original scripted series When Calls The Heart, based on the Janette Oke series of best-selling books set in the Canadian West, that will debut in January 2014. The two-hour original movie that will kick things off for the series is set to debut on October 5 and will actually star Maggie Grace (Lost) and Stephen Amell (Arrow), chronicling the story of Elizabeth Thatcher, a young teacher accustomed to high society life, who receives her first classroom post in a small coal-mining town in the Western frontier lead by two strong coal-miner widows, Abigail Stanton (Lori Loughlin) and Frances Tunnecliffe (Jean Smart). (Deadline)

Actor Greg Finley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) will have a guest appearance on Necessary Roughness, playing a high school baseball coach who Dani (series lead Callie Thorne) mistakenly enlists to help with another patient. Finley will next be seen in the mid-season CW drama Star-Crossed. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

Actress Beth Riesgraf (Leverage) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Perception, as Daisy Brannen, a fiercely loyal woman who is startled when Pierce and Moretti (series leads Eric McCormack and Rachael Leigh Cook) catch her at her boyfriend’s motel room. Daisy is terrified but protective of her mysterious beau. Perception will be back with its new season on TNT starting on June 25. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Lauren Lee Smith (CSI and Mutant X) has landed a regular ole on the high-profile drama pilot The Strain at FX that is being eyed for a 13-episode pick-up. The thriller tells the story of Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll from House of Lies), the head of the Centers for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City. He and his team are called upon to investigate a mysterious viral outbreak with hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. Smith will play Ephraim’s ex-wife Kelly Goodweather, who after winning a bitter custody battle, she embarks on a new life with her boyfriend, but when she fails to heed her husband’s warning about the contagion spreading in Manhattan, she pays the ultimate price. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Stellan Skarsgard (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) has joined the cast of the Cinemax drama pilot Quarry that is loosely based on a series of books by Max Allen Collins. The project centers on a Marine marksman (Logan Marshall-Green) who returns home from Vietnam in 1973 only to find himself shunned and demonized. The disillusioned vet is quickly recruited into a network of contract killers and immersed in corruption along the Mississippi River. Skarsgård will play The Broker, a shadowy figure who lures Green’s character into his criminal ranks. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Emma Watson (The Perks of Being a Wallflower and the soon to be released The Bling Ring as well as the Harry Potter franchise) has landed the lead role in the upcoming box office movie (possible franchise) that is based on a trilogy of fantasy-based novels that won’t be released until 2014 called Queen of the Tearling written by Erika Johansen. The story is set three centuries after an environmental catastrophe when a malevolent Red Queen holds considerable power. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE MOVIE TRAILER

Watch: First Trailer for the Charming Sundance Comedy ‘In a World…’

That’s it. Enjoy!