Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Hope Davis (In Treatment) and actor Justin Kirk (Weeds) have joined the cast of Wayward Pines, the upcoming FOX event series from M. Night Shyamalan that is based on the best-selling novel by Blake Crouch that revolves around Ethan Burke (Matt Dillon), a Secret Service agent who arrives in the bucolic town of Wayward Pines, Idaho, on a mission to find two missing federal agents. But instead of answers, Ethan’s investigation only provokes more questions. Davis will play Megan Fisher, a teacher at Wayward Pines Academy, while Kirk will portray Peter McCall, an unassuming Realtor in Wayward Pines. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Khandi Alexander (CSI: Miami and Treme) will recur on Scandal, playing Maya Lewis, Olivia’s late mother in flashbacks. (The Hollywood Reporter and Zap2It)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

HBO is developing an hour-long project called Headhunters based on the best-selling book by Norwegian crime fiction author Jo Nesbo. The project will be centered on a corporate headhunter who becomes the hunted when his life and marriage are suddenly targeted by an unknown individual. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

FOX bought a drama pitch from Jaime Paglia (co-creator of Eureka) and producer Marcus Wiley called Pomona Kings that is the saga of two rival families, one white and one Latino, who vie for power and prestige in the world of custom car shops and drag racing in Southern California. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with TV Scoop Team at E! Online, Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams at TV Guide and Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: Reign is my new obsession, so I’ll take anything you’ve got to share. I’m not picky! – Dina

TV Scoop Team: The castle might as well be as high school hallway as rumors will start circulating that Queen Catherine is having an affair with Nostradamus. But while that would land a girl some nasty whispers behind her back in school, it could lead to a beheading for Catherine.

Question: So excited to see Tom and Red finally share a scene on The Blacklist! Will we see Tom start interacting with anyone else soon? – Thomas

TV Scoop Team: Yes, but not someone you know as Ryan Eggold shares quite the tease for new scene partner: “I shouldn’t say too much about this, but potentially further down the road, there is a new character coming on the show that I will be working with a lot,” he spills.

Question: Loved the reveal of the Black Canary on Arrow! Will we see a romantic connection between Oliver and Sarah? – Deb

TV Scoop Team: Given how damaged Sarah is, probably not. “I think she’s changed so much that crushes and things like that are not something she feels like she can even afford to have anymore,” Caity Lotz explains. She doesn’t get that kind of liberties, so I don’t think that’s really in her mind anymore. That’s also another thing we kind of learn more about too is the history of her feelings for Oliver.”

Question: Can you give us any more information about Bartholomew on Supernatural? —Gina

ADAM: Let’s just say that he might pose a few more problems for the Winchester boys than previous angel Naomi did. “Bartholomew set out to be a headhunter to kind of rule the roost, whereas Naomi was more in the business of trying to preserve heaven and ruling that landscape,” Jensen Ackles tells us. “With that comes [new] rules of the game.” And those new rules are likely to more deadly. “Bartholomew is malicious in a way that Naomi wasn’t,” Misha Collins says. “She would engage in torture, but there’s something more sinister about Bartholomew. He seems to me to be less sympathetic.”

Question: Will Charming and Snow White really try to have a baby on Once Upon a Time? —Adam

NATALIE: If they can find a way to get Charming off the island without killing him, yes. But first, we’ll get another look into Snow and Charming’s past, specifically the day of their wedding after Regina threatened something dastardly in store — the curse! “We’re going to open up right after they get married,” Josh Dallas teases. “Snow wants to get back at Regina for destroying her wedding basically. Charming just wants to go on the honeymoon. He just thinks it’s a threat coming from Regina, that’s all it is at the moment.”

Question: What happened to Slade and Shado on Arrow? —Jennie

NATALIE: It won’t be long before we discover their whereabouts, but expect the duo to be together — possibly in more ways than one since Manu Bennett likens their relationship to the English Patient. “Slade genuinely cares for Oliver as a young, vulnerable guy, and he cares for Shado as a capable young girl who has proven herself,” Bennett says. “He respects the fact that she’s a seasoned killer in her own right. She’s also a caring character, which has brought up some emotion in Slade, who has been stuck on this island for Lord knows how long. At the end of the day, two men around a beautiful woman are always going to be primitive.”

Question: How will Astrid react to Stephen’s powers on The Tomorrow People? —James

NATALIE: When Stephen’s plan to take Astrid to homecoming goes awry, Astrid will go “full-on Harriet the Spy” to figure out what’s really going on with her friend, Madeleine Mantock teases. But her sleuthing may put her in the line of fire. “I do meet a Tomorrow Person who works for the other side very briefly,” she adds. “I have a little bit of an encounter with a not-very-nice figure.” Bonus tease: Look for Astrid’s backstory to be revealed in Episode 12.

Question: When are Castle and Beckett getting married on Castle? — Mandy

ADAM: Don’t go buying a wedding gift anytime soon, but a save-the-date could be in the not-too-distant future. “As we come into the spring, pressing questions — like, ‘When are we going to set a date?’ — will be a significant part of the storytelling,” creator Andrew W. Marlowe tells us. In the meantime, the couple will focus on a more immediate concern. “Castle’s place is a very masculine bachelor pad, and Beckett is spending a lot of time over there,” Marlowe says. “What changes does she want to make and how does Castle react to that?” But is true co-habitation in their future? Not right away. “Is Beckett going to give up her rent-controlled loft?” Marlowe teases. “They’re on a trajectory, and we want to play out that trajectory instead of making huge proclamations. They’re just trying to find who they are in the relationship, and they both are very strong-willed.”

Question: Got any Scandal scoop? —Dennis

NATALIE: We’re finally going to learn more about Harrison this week! But viewers may get more than they bargained for when we discover that Harrison’s past is much more dangerous that we could’ve imagined. Plus: We’ll see Cyrus make a surprising ask of Harrison, which could have scary, even deadly ramifications

Question: Any Covert Affairs scoop? — Jeffrey

ADAM: How about a covert guest star? The season finale will reveal the director of Central Intelligence, and it’s so major that the casting is being kept under wraps. “We are so, so excited about it,” co-creator Matt Corman tells us. “There’s a huge bombshell at the end that will change the whole trajectory of the show, and it’s in part from this person.” Start guessing now!

Question: With all the pressure Emily is getting from Jack and Nolan to end her vendetta, it seems like we are coming up on a game-change. Is there a plan for a Revenge in which Emily’s quest for vengeance is not the focus? Perhaps someone else’s quest for revenge? Victoria’s against Emily? —Jessica

Ausiello: Showrunner Sunil Nayar tells me that the season is actually building to several game-changers, adding, “Emily’s quest for vengeance will always be alive, but there’s going to be a major shift — not only in her approach to it, but in other people’s approaches to her. Suffice it to say, gloves are coming off and everyone’s getting into the ring.”

Question: I’d love some Amanda-related Nikita scoop. —Alex

Ausiello: Expect to see Melinda Clarke’s evildoer “crack a little” in the show’s final six episodes. “She really starts to cause problems for The Shop because of her own personal agenda,” previews the actress. “There are some really intense things that happen along the way because of Amanda’s obsession with Nikita. [Amanda’s] trying to create World War III this season and she keeps trying to stop it.” Fun Aside: The Big Bad org will no longer be known as The Shop. “Percy called it The Shop,” Clarke tells us. “We’re now calling it The Group.”

Question: Please tell me Arrow is merely setting up a flirtation and not a full-fledged romance between Felicity and Barry/Flash? (Yes, I ‘ship ‘Olicity’.) —Deb

Ausiello: I feel like what you’re really asking me is if they have sex. That I don’t have an answer to. I can tell you that Oliver’s actually the one who plays matchmaker in this scenario. So if they end up playing R-rated Twister, he has no one to blame but himself.

Question: Now that Sara is revealed to be alive and well on Arrow, will we see her mom Dinah, played by the excellent Alex Kingston, make her way back to Starling City? –Vanessa

Ausiello: Given the events of this Wednesday’s episode, I’m going to respond with a rather confident “no.”

Question: Is Tim Omundson going to be on Supernatural? – Vivian

Gonzalez: YES!!! I can confirm the Psych fave is headed to one of my favorite shows on TV, and I could pop from excitement. Furthermore, I bring you a little scoop on his role: I’m told Omundson is going to play Cain, of Cain and Abel lore!! Now, if you’ve watched this season’s Dorothy/Oz episode, you know Supernatural writers never play these things straightforward, so look for this classic character to have his own Supernatural twist!

Question: Any scoop on Olicity?! — Patty

Gonzalez: When we caught up with Emily Bett Rickards, we posed to her a question that’s been on our Olicity-loving brains: When are Oliver and Felicity going to lock lips already on Arrow? (Didn’t they hear? All the ‘shipped couples are doing it!) “They kind of have to earn it,” Rickards opines. “I understand that there are those moments, but they have to get to the point where there’s the option, because there honestly hasn’t been an option. They are alone together sometimes, and they haven’t really ever talked about it or they’ve never hung out outside of the Arrow cave.” Moreover, she says, “I don’t want Felicity to get lost in Olicity moments. I would love to see Felicity do things other than things that revolve around Oliver…once she does start doing other things, then Oliver will have his eyes opened. I think that’s the only way to do it, for him to be like, ‘Oh something’s missing.’” Fair enough. Now let’s get this girl a hobby ASAP.

Question:   I love Diggle and Felicity’s relationship, any scoop you could tease about them? – Angel

Gonzalez:  I do too! It’s very big brother/little sister…with guns! In this week’s episode, the focus is largely put on the gang trying to teach the Canary how to be part of a team, which doesn’t go too smoothly. But I think the Nov. 13 episode is going to be the one for you if you like seeing Team Arrow together — the Dig-centric episode will find him going overseas to go after Deadshot!

Question: Are we ever going to learn more about the numbers that Ray got in the Blacklist? You know the “payment” he got in that one episode? — Annie

Gonzalez: It will come back into play soon! And while you’ve had to wait a bit for answers, says EP Jon Bokenkamp, “Those are sort of the little breadcrumbs that are exactly what’s fun about the show. The viewer who comes back and watches more than just the third episode, there is sort of a larger puzzle that’s developing.”

Question: So Nick killed a guy on Grimm. I’m guessing that’s going to come back to bite him in the butt? — Laurie

Gonzalez: You bet! (Well, not literally) But the guilt is going to weigh very heavily on Nick, throughout the third episode. But my highlight in episode 3 actually had little to do with that. The best part was watching Nick and Monroe get in the most intense physical fight we’ve ever seen between them. There’s more to this story; don’t worry.

Question: The new Nikita promo has me so worried about Michael and Nikita. What the heck is going on? They can’t end up NOT together, right? Freaking. Out. — Danielle

Gonzalez: Let Maggie Q quell your fears a bit. “When people love each other the way that they do, it’s hard to think that there isn’t [hope for the two characters],” she says. “I think people would be really upset if, in the end, nothing happened for them. They’ve been fighting for them all these years.” Moreover, the actress teases that in the fourth or fifth episode of the short season, there will be a third party who is “sort of the catalyst for the understanding of how big it all is and what she really sacrificed.” “That moment happens for Michael, which I think is really important, because without it, it’s hard for him to step back from all the emotion, all the pain and hurt of it to go, ‘Well I get why she did this,’ because he’s too in it,” she says. So who is this third party? Q teases the character is someone she’s been fighting to bring back since season 2! “He is the person who sort of looks at Michael and says, ‘I get [that] you’re mad, but do you even understand what’s happening here?’ And I think that really, really changes Michael’s perspective of everything,” she says. The fourth and final season begins Nov. 22.

Question: Any new NCIS scoop? What’s in store for my favorite special agent DiNozzo? I love that the show still acknowledges Ziva’s absence and I hope it doesn’t disappear completely as I’m not ready to move on. — Cheryl

Gonzalez: It won’t. 1) Michael Weatherly seems to be enjoying having so much to sink his teeth into. 2) EP Gary Glasberg says it won’t. And 3) Nos. 1 and 2 are enough. “We’re letting the character continue on this natural path of dealing with the ups and downs of Ziva’s absence,” says Glasberg. “Those ups and downs will continue. Slowly but surely — just as in the real world — he’s getting refocused and getting his life together. He’s figuring things out.”

Question: NCIS scoop! Where was Vance last week?! — Terri

Gonzalez: Don’t worry, he’s around. And look for him to have a huge storyline in a December episode that will [SCOOP!] guest-star BEN VEREEN as a relative of the late Jackie Vance. “Vance and his kids have to get through the holidays with all the emotion that comes with it, and part of it is to introduce this character and the interaction that Vereen’s character will have with Vance,” says Glasberg.

Question: Any Scandal scoop? — Lindsey

Gonzalez: While many more twists await us this season, Dan Bucatinsky warns that we should watch episode 9 with a cuddle-willing companion because it’s “crazy.” “I’m not just saying that. We just did the table read for the ninth episode, and I needed to be held afterwards,” he says. “The question if those writers could keep it up is yes. I don’t know what Viagra they took over the summer. They have taken a writer’s Viagra and the show is really exciting. You learn things about Olivia Pope that you never imagined you’d know.”

That’s it. Enjoy!