Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Zeljko Ivanek (Damages, Heroes and Big Love) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Revolution this fall, playing Dr. Calvin Horn, a meticulous and deeply curious scientist. Revolution will be back on NBC on September 25. (Sadie Gennis at TV Guide)

Actor Brendan Hines (Lie to Me and Scandal) will have a recurring role on the new fall series Betrayal, playing Aidan, a wine representative. Betrayal will debut on ABC on September 29. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Todd Stashwick (Supernatural and Heroes) will have a recurring role on The Originals, playing Father Kieran, a tortured Priest with a dark past. The Originals will debut on October 3 on The CW. (Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

NBC is developing a new hour-long series called Outbreak with former ER executive producers John Wells and Jack Orman. This project will be based on the 1995 feature film that is a medical thriller, following an ensemble of characters as they race to contain a lethal virus before it becomes a global pandemic. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

FOX is developing a drama project from writer John Scott Shepherd (creator of the short-lived NBC comedy Save Me) called Broken Girl that will focus on emotionally damaged Trish Derring who, after she loses the man she saw as her last hope for happiness, decides she has nothing left to live for only to discover she’s literally invincible. Blending elements of Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Unbreakable, this project follows an anti-heroine who must live with a body that has become both her fortress and her cage. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor David Morrissey (The Walking Dead) has been cast in the lead role for the AMC drama pilot Line of Sight that is about Lewis Bernt, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board who survives a mysterious plane crash and becomes obsessed with finding out what caused it. (Liz Raftery at TV Guide and Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) has joined the cast of the upcoming Bible drama Exodus from Ridley Scott that is already set to star Christian Bale as Moses and Joel Edgerton as the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II. Paul will play Joshua, the Hebrew slave who leads the people into the promised land after Moses. (First Showing)

Actor Allen Leech, who plays Sybil’s Irish husband on Downton Abbey, is in talks to co-star with Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley in the upcoming biopic called The Imitation Game. Turing (to be played by Cumberbatch) was responsible for cracking the German Enigma Code during World War II that helped the Allies stave off defeat, and who would later be prosecuted for being a homosexual. Leech plays a Scottish spy who worked with the Soviets to plot against Turing. (Vulture and Dark Horizons)

Q&A SECTION (with Natalie Abrams and Adam Bryant at TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Question: What’s going to happen to Henry on Once Upon a Time? — Melanie

NATALIE: Though the Charmings and their foes are working together to rescue Henry, the real question you may want to ask yourself is what happens to Henry if and when they do save him? Does he go home with Emma, Snow and Charming? Or does the Evil Queen have other ideas about his future? First, though, they’ll have to figure out why Peter Pan even wants Henry. “In the first few episodes, you’re going to start realizing what he wants Henry for, but like any good mystery, you won’t know the whole picture until you watch the whole 11 episodes,” executive producer Edward Kitsis says.

Question: Any Vampire Diaries scoop on Damon and Elena? — Kayla

ADAM: For once they’ll be happy. But their bliss will be foiled — yet again! — by Katherine, who’ll be back to meddle in everyone’s lives. Although Damon says that he’s over her, what will Elena — who’s now off at college — think when she learns that Damon and Katherine have been bunking together at Chez Salvatore all summer long?

Question: Are there any Beauty and the Beast Spoilers? –Viv

Ausiello: I foresee a helper… and a headache. The show is currently casting the guest-starring roles of Zach, a cocky former soldier who uses a reunion with an old friend (perhaps Vincent?) for vengeance (against, perhaps, Muirfield?), and Beth, a high school pal of Cat’s who is now the hard-charging producer at a news station — suggesting to me that she’ll be the next one to get wind of the beasts now in our midst.

Question: Can you please keep us updated with the latest on Beauty and the Beast? It will be much appreciated! –Carol

Ausiello: Speak of the devil, here is the very, very latest: I can exclusively report that Bryan Dechart (Jane By Design) will debut in Episode 4 as Aaron Keller, a relative of Vincent’s (!) who is a street-smart arson investigator prone to being a (ahem) “hot” head. Hailing from a family of firefighters, Aaron is desperate to make his mark. And there you have the very latest!

Question: Can we look forward to any substantial Snow/Emma scenes in Once Upon a Time Season 3? Also, is Snow finally going to get back to her warrior ways? –Christina

Ausiello: Yes, and thus yes. As mom and daughter brave Neverland together while still adjusting to their family dynamic, “In a lot of ways, Mary Margaret may not be able to bond with Emma, but Bandit Snow and Emma have a lot in common,” notes co-creator Eddy Kitsis. Meaning, going up against Peter Pan and his Lost Boys will bring bow-toting Snow to the fore. “David and Mary Margaret last year were saying, ‘We are both,’” Kitsis reminds. “But this year it’s, ‘We need Snow and Charming.’ That’s what this mission requires.”

Question: Since Person of Interest announced that Sarah Shahi would be a series regular, social media has been lit up by passionate fans who either love or hate her character, Sam Shaw. Are they sticking by their choice? —Casey

Ausiello: Absolutely — and the thing to keep in mind is that as a result, Shaw isn’t now some full-time member of Finch’s team. As show runner Greg Plageman explained to Matt Mitovich as part of our Fall Preview Spectacular, Shaw’s betrayal by her own government “informed her opinion about belonging to anything or giving allegiance to anyone right now.” And as such, “She helps us out only when she feels like it.”

Question: Anything new on the NCIS front? –Cheryl

Ausiello: If you are by chance among the McAbby fans who worry that Tim’s new computer geek girlfriend Delilah (played by Big Bang Theory brainiac Margo Hasrhman) will be some ersatz Abby, Gary Glasberg is here to set the record straight. “I’d like to believe that maybe he’s drawn to people like that and is intrigued by women like that, but I wouldn’t say that [Abby and Delilah] are that similar,” the show runner tells us. “They have their differences, that’s for sure!”

Question: Any scoop on Grimm? –Jordan

Ausiello: The third season of the supernatural drama will feature “alligators in the sewer” and “a reemergence of the Bauerschwein-Blutbad feud,” show bosses James Kouf and David Greenwalt tell TVLine. A word to the wise: You might want to DVR the Wu-centric episode – in which the cop comes face-to-face with the Wesen world – and watch it after dinner. The baddie in that hour is “something so creepy that the last thing that creepy was the fly episode,” Greenwalt promises. “This is right on par with that.”

Question: I have to say, the more I hear about Revenge Season 3, the more encouraged I become. Anything else you can share? —Melody

Ausiello: The weekly takedowns are back, but with a twist: They’ll play out over multiple episodes. They’ll also be less plot-driven. “We’re going to use them to explore who Emily is a little bit more than we’ve had a chance to in the past,” previews new show runner Sunil Nayar. “We’re 44 hours into the show now. She’s experienced so many different things, culminating in the revelation of who [really] is to Jack. We’re examining not just who she is and what happiness means to her, but what are the ramifications of her plans are. Because now there’s someone who knows. And that’s going to have an impact on Emily. So the takedowns are still going to be wonderful, but they’re also going to have a deeper meaning and a deeper effect.”

That’s it. Enjoy!