Hey All,
Here are the news items for today:
TELEVISION
Actress Sandra Oh will be leaving the ABC drama Grey’s Anatomy at the end of its upcoming 10th season. (Deadline)
Actor Charlie Bewley (The Vampire Diaries) will have a recurring role on Nashville this fall, playing Trey, a confident, charming and self-deprecating businessman and potential love interest for Juliette (Hayden Panettiere). Nashville will be back for its sophomore season on September 25. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)
Actress Kathleen Robertson (Boss) has joined the cast of Bates Motel for its second season on A&E. She will play Jodi, a smart, sexy businesswoman and artist who’s as hard-charging as she is successful. (Michael Slezak at TV Line)
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Lifetime has given the greenlight to a two-hour backdoor pilot from author Nicholas Sparks called Deliverance Creek. This project will be a period piece set at the end of the Civil War, centering on Belle Barlowe, who attempts to defend her family’s land by any means necessary. When the corrupt bank that runs their town pushes Belle into becoming an outlaw, the stakes become personal, setting off a chain of events that force her to question whether it’s better to be good or to survive. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
ABC is developing a drama project called Limelight that will chronicle a murder trial that becomes a national media obsession, thrusting the lives of the accused, the prosecution, the defense, and everyone in between into the public spotlight. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
BOX OFFICE NEWS
Actress Cassi Thomson (Switched at Birth) will replace actress Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical franchise) in the film adaptation of Left Behind that will star Nicolas Cage, Chad Michael Murray and Jordin Sparks. The story follow a group of survivors during the first few hours after millions of people around the globe simply vanish without warning. Thomson will play the daughter of Cage’s character. (Variety and Dark Horizons)
Q&A SECTION (with Natalie Abrams and Adam Bryant at TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)
Question: Will Abby and David get back together on Scandal this season? — Jones
NATALIE: Things are definitely not over between Abby and David. “They’re slowly circling each other and sniffing each other to see who’s going to make the first move,” Darby Stanchfield tells us. “Someone may stick their toe in the water, but those two never seem to be on the same page.” In the meantime, expect to finally learn more about Abby’s back-story this season. “They’re going to handle it differently than I thought they were, but we get to it right away,” she adds. “It already is completely unpredictable and it’s not just one thing, it explodes into a bunch of other scandals.”
Question: Is Ziva’s goodbye on NCIS going to be all about Tony, or will she say individual farewells to all her colleagues? — Nancy
ADAM: Executive producer Gary Glasberg says that, given the structure of Ziva’s send-off — Tony tries to bring her back to the team — every character may not get a final bit of face time. “I wanted to have as many moments as I could, but my main concern was for Tony and Ziva to have the time they deserved,” he says. “This is something that’s going to linger with him.” (Bonus exclusive casting scoop! Picket Fences vet Costas Mandylor will play a key role in the two-part premiere, as a businessman dedicated to fighting terrorism.)
Question: Any teases about the new season of Person of Interest? Will Reese and Finch still be working together now that the Machine is out of their control? — Ben L.
ADAM: Yes. “The Machine is now in charge of itself, but it still has an almost familial obligation to Finch,” executive producer Jonathan Nolan tells us. “It’s still honoring the terms of the relationship that Finch built into it.” But Finch will definitely not be calling the shots. “It’s a growing organism that is evolving, perhaps beyond the scale of his understanding,” says executive producer Greg Plageman. Adds Nolan: “A lot of people had plans for the Machine the past two seasons. This season, the question is: What are the machine’s plans for us?”
Question: Is Scarlett going to accept Gunnar’s proposal on Nashville? I love them together! — Annie
ADAM: I wouldn’t put money on it. “I don’t think he’ll be instantly a happy chappy when the show returns,” Sam Palladio tells us. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the relationship is dead. “He’s growing and that’s reflected in some of the music he writes and some other cool relationships that develop,” Palladio says. “We see a new guy.”
Question: Can you share anything on Arrow? — Martin
NATALIE: If Oliver’s journey is about becoming a hero, Moira’s is about seeking redemption. Unfortunately, her trial will be trouble for Oliver. “This season Laurel is going to be joining the District Attorney’s office, so she might have dealings with [the trial],” executive producer Andrew Kreisberg tells me. “Part of it is that she’s trying to stay out of it as much as she can, but as always with these things, bad stuff happens.”
Question: Homeland is too far away. Any more teases? — Raj
ADAM: Last season, Quinn appeared to be quite the company man, but not anymore. Not only will he question his mission in a startling act of defiance, he’ll also be one of the only people who sticks up for Carrie (Too bad she isn’t all that receptive to his concern…)
Question: Dying for scoop on NCIS: LA. What’s going to happen now that Kensi and Deeks have kissed? —Leah
Ausiello: They’re going to have a serious chat. Per Eric Christian Olsen, the Sept. 24 premiere features “the most honest conversation that Deeks and Kensi have ever had.” Speaking of the opener, it “picks up exactly where we left off, continuous — [Deeks is] mid-torture, Kensi’s in peril,” Olsen reveals, adding that the episode ends on a cliffhanger. “I can’t give it away, but even that is ‘To be continued…’”
Question: I need some scoop on my favorite (and miraculously alive) summer show Drop Dead Diva! Grayson and Jane are endgame, right? I’m sure this is the last season and it just doesn’t seem to be heading that way. —Rebecca
Ausiello: Yeah, Sunday’s summer finale — in which Jane was about to confess her feelings to Grayson, only to see him macking on new GF Nicole — certainly seemed like a setback for the unrequited pair. Moving forward, series creator Josh Berman says the challenge for Jane will be deciding “how much can she meddle” in Grayson’s new romance. ”It’s one thing when the object of your affection is engaged to somebody else — you kind of just say, ‘OK, I give up,’” he explains. “But with a new relationship right outside your office, and Jane’s going to be witnessing it, the question is: When does Jane jump in? When does Jane proclaim herself? And will she? Will Jane throw down the gauntlet and say, ‘I love you. Pick me. Love me’? Those are issues we deal with in the fall. We packed a lot of juice into the fall season.”
Question: After catching up on Orphan Black in two days, it quickly turned into my favorite new show of the year. Got any scoop on what’s ahead in Season 2? —Jack
Ausiello: Two new recurring characters, for starters. The first one, Cal, will be introduced in Episode 3 and is described as a ruggedly handsome, adaptive and extremely well connected woodsman who possesses the heart of a lover. (Boyfriend for Felix, perhaps?) The other, more sinister-sounding newbie, Pastor Johanssen, debuts in Episode 2 and is the mercurial leader of a radical faith based “Prolethean” sect “who is fervently anti-science and views GMO’s and synthetic biology as a modern affront to God’s work.”
That’s it. Enjoy!
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