Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Vanessa Ray (Pretty Little Liars) will have a recurring role on Blue Bloods, playing Edit “Eddie” Janko, a rookie cop who is assigned as Jamie Reagan’s (series regular Will Estes) new partner upon graduating from the Academy. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actress Josie Davis (Charles in Charge) will guest star in the season premiere of The Mentalist, playing Sonya, a waitress in a truck stop Jane (Simon Baker) and Lisbon (Robin Tunney) visit while investigating the seven possible Red John suspects. (Robyn Ross at TV Guide)

Actor Glenn Morshwer (24) will guest star in Castle this fall, playing Michael Reed, a former general who will stop at nothing to protect the secrets of his past. (Robyn Ross and Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Actor Freddie Prinze, Jr. will appear in a multi-episode arc on Bones, playing Danny, a very covert CIA agent, who is also an old associate of Booth who has an interest in Booth and Brennan’s current murder investigation. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Peter Weller (RoboCop) will have a role in the upcoming season of Sons of Anarchy, playing a former cop who works at the Stockton port and has a run-in with the SAMCRO motorcycle club. (Rebecca Ford at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Indira Varma (Human Target and Rome) will play Ellaria Sand on Game of Thrones, the sexually adventurous love interest Prince Oberyn Martell to be played by Pedro Pascal. (Matt Richenthal at TV Fanatic)

Actress Rose McIver (The Lovely Bones) will appear as Tinkerbell on Once Upon a Time this fall. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Cinemax has ordered the 10-part series called The Knick that will star Clive Owen. The series will be set in 1900 at the Knickerbocker Hospital, focusing on a group of groundbreaking surgeons and nurses who worked together to expand the bounds of modern medicine during an era when antibiotics were unheard of and mortality rates were extremely high. The series will premiere in 2014. (Cinemax and TV Equals)

Actor Esai Morales (Caprica) will join the cast of Criminal Minds as the new BAU section chief Matt Cruz, a longtime FBI agent who gets promoted to work with the BAU and has a previous professional relationship with JJ (A.J. Cook) that will be revealed as the season progresses. (Joyce Eng at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Roger Cross (Continuum and Motive) has joined the cast of the FX pilot The Strain based on the vampire novel trilogy by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan that tells the story of Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll), the head of the Centers for Disease Control Canary Team who are called upon to investigate a mysterious viral outbreak with hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. Cross will have the recurring role of Mr. Fitzwilliams, Palmer’s (Jonathan Hyde) Head of Security, as well as, his caregiver. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Looks like the USA Network is talking about possibly doing a spin-off of Burn Notice that will follow operatives Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) and Jesse Porter (Coby Bell), but nothing definitive has been arranged yet. (Bruce Fretts at TV Guide)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Daphne Zuninga (Melrose Place and One Tree Hill) has joined the cast of the upcoming Hallmark Channel movie Dead Letters that will debut on October 12 The and could be developed into a series for 2014. The movie tells the inspiring story of a group of postal detectives whose mission is to deliver letters and packages from the past, which arrive miraculously when they are needed most. The cast includes Eric Mabius (Ugly Betty), Kristin Booth (The Newsroom), Crystal Lowe, (Smallville) and Geoff Gustafson (Primeval: New World). (The Futon Critic)

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

Netflix has given a 10-episode order to the new sci-fi series called Sense8 that will stream in 2014. The series will tell the gripping global tale of minds linked and souls hunted. (Patrick Munn at TV Wise)

TV TRAILER

Watch A First Look At VH1′s Original Movie CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Titus Welliver (Lost) has joined the cast of Transformers 4 in a role that has yet to be announced. (Jen Yamato at Deadline)

Actor James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class) will play Victor Von Frankenstein alongside Daniel Radcliffe, who will play Igor in the upcoming film from Paul McGuigan. (Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Question: Will Teen Wolf’s Scott become the Alpha before the midseason finale (airing Aug. 19)? –Anonymous_A

Mitovich: “Scott is well on his way to becoming an Alpha,” answers exec producer Jeff Davis. “Whether he remains a True Alpha — one who doesn’t have to kill or steal the power — and who survives to make up his pack, might be the important questions.”

Question: How about some juicy Scandal scoop to celebrate Kerry Washington scoring an Emmy nomination? –Miranda

Mitovich: Are you suggesting that in the course of congratulating Miss Emmy Nominee last week, that I pumped her for scoop? Handled! First, we batted around theories on who ratted out Liv to the press, and Washington believes Mellie is “too obvious” a culprit. (Plus, she noted, “Mellie got [Fitz] back at the end, so I don’t know why she would do that.”) Washington then relayed the cast’s excitement about Scott Foley being upped to series regular, though we both agreed it’d be a shame if Jake stayed in “the hole” all season long. On the topic of the premiere, she was skeptical that it will pick up with Olivia and her dad still in the car, saying, “I really love how the show plays with time and jumps all around, so I hope there’s some of that.” But one of the Season 3 stories that has Kerry most jazzed is this one: “Shonda [Rhimes] has teased that we are going to get more backstory on Harrison” – finally, I say – “and when I heard that, I was jumping up and down in the hair-and-makeup trailer like, ‘Yeah!’”

Question: I was wondering if you knew how many episodes Scandal has this season? Also, are they doing what OUAT is doing with the show running? –Lizzie

Mitovich: Scandal as of now is working off a 22-episode order, and if the second part of your question meant to suggest “airing non-stop”-ish/in repeat-free chunks, I have nothing to report on that. Yet.

Question: The Glades is my favorite summer show!!! Any details on Jim and Callie’s upcoming nuptials? –Kari

Mitovich: As the wedding gets closer and the to-do list continues to grow, so will the list of family and friends that come out of the wood work — some more welcome and expected than others, I hear. That throws a few wrenches in their plans… and potentially ruins Jim’s big surprise for his bride.

Question: Considering Cote de Pablo’s (incredibly disappointing) departure from NCIS this fall, does the show have plans to introduce another female agent (as they did when Sasha Alexander departed)? Or are they planning something very different to fill the void? –Cassaundra

Mitovich: While I haven’t heard anything about a replacement for Ziva per se, I do know that — as teased by NCIS boss Gary Glasberg — we will in fact be laying eyes on McGee’s new (and yet-to-be-cast) honey: Delilah, a “perky, smart, eccentric and downright lovable” computer wonk at the Department of Defense. And that role is possibly recurring.

Question: Anything “burning” on the Chicago Fire front? I desperately miss the folks at 51. –Vikki

Mitovich: Here’s something that’s “heating up” – a love life! Blonde beauty Larisa Polonsky, who guested last season as Otis’ Russian cousin Zoya, is set to recur during Season 2, pouring drinks at her cousin’s bar and ultimately “lighting Cruz’s fire,” as a love interest.

Question: Could you please tell me if Jeff Eastin plans to explore more about Neal’s mother on White Collar? – Ellie13

Mitovich: In a word (or three), not right now. As a note I was just slipped from the White Collar writers room explains: “Having spent time with dear old Dad last season, Neal is done looking backward for now, and will be focused on moving forward in his life for Season 5. But the story of Neal’s mother is definitely a tale we hope to tell down the road.”

Question: Can you share anything about who ends up in the hospital on The Fosters? –Mariana

Mitovich: You can probably already guess who ends up in the hospital from the promo, so let us instead tease that the dire situation opens the door for some touching and emotional flashbacks revealing how Stef and Lena came to create their loving family. Also in the hour: Wyatt does something that should endear him to even the most hardcore Callie/Brandon ‘shippers (who, by the way, will not want to miss this episode).

That’s it. Enjoy!