Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Toni Trucks (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2) will have a seres regular role in the TNT legal dramedy Franklin & Bash when it returns for its fourth season later this year. She will play Anita Herrera, the new recruit attorney for the Franklin & Bash offices, a tough, smart and attractive Georgetown lawyer with a great sense of humor who can hold her own with the big boys. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Jocko Sims (Crash) has been promoted to full-time status on the upcoming TNT drama The Last Ship that will revolve around the crew of a lone naval destroyer after a global pandemic who must find a way to pull humanity from the brink of extinction. Sims plays Dalton Burk, a charismatic, fit and tough Navy lieutenant in charge of Tac Group One. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Michael Pitt (Boardwalk Empire) will have a major role in the NBC drama Hannibal, playing Mason Verger, an unstable wealthy patient of Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) who begins a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with the deadly serial killer. Hannibal will be back on NBC starting on February 28. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

NBC has ordered two more episodes of the mid-season drama Chicago P.D., bringing the total to 15 episodes. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Damian Lewis (Homeland) is expected to play the role of King Henry VIII in the BBC Two and Masterpiece adaptation of the Hilary Mantel’s prize-winning historical fiction novel Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies. (Nancy Tartaglione at Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Matt McGorry (Orange Is The New Black) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot How To Get Away With Murder from Shonda Rhimes that will center on ambitious law students and their brilliant and mysterious criminal defense professor who become entangled in a murder plot. McGorry will play one of the students. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Mike Colter (The Good Wife and Ringer) has joined the cast of the TNT action-drama pilot Agent X that will star Sharon Stone as America’s first female Vice President, Natalie Maccabee and her secret weapon, Agent X (Jeff Hephner). Colter will play Speaker Of The House Miles Lathem, who is privy to Natalie’s secret responsibilities and charged with oversight of them. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

French actress Carole Bouquet (the Bond franchise film For Your Eyes Only) and Christina Cole (Hex and What a Girl Wants) have joined the cast of the NBC four-hour mini-series Rosemary’s Baby that is an adaptation of the 1967 best-selling suspense novel by Ira Levin. The mini will center on Rosemary Woodhouse (Zoe Saldana), a young wife and would-be mother who, with her husband Guy (Patrick J. Adams), who move into a Paris apartment that has a dark past. After finally getting pregnant, she becomes increasingly suspicious that both her husband and their mysterious neighbors have ulterior motives about the future of her child. Bouquet will play Margaux Castevet, a sophisticated and beautiful Parisian socialite who befriends young Rosemary while Cole will play Julie, Rosemary’s spirited girlfriend. Jason Isaacs also co-stars. (The Deadline Team)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Chadwick Boseman (42 and Lincoln Heights) will appear in the box office film Gods Of Egypt that already includes Gerard Butler, Geoffrey Rush, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Brenton Thwaites as part of the cast. The film is based on Egyptian mythology. (Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)

Actors Jesse Eisenberg and Jeremy Irons have joined the cast of the much-buzzed-about Man of Steel sequel Superman vs. Batman. Eisenberg will assume the role of Lex Luthor while Irons will play Alfred, Batman’s loyal butler. (Adam B. Vary at Buzz Feed)

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

Question: Could you please get some scoop on what’s coming up for “Captain Swan” in Once Upon a Time Season 3B? –Kim

Mitovich: As already hinted, Hook will have a tough time getting back in Emma’s good graces, especially given how their first NYC “reunion” went. “She will be very wary” of this stranger, co-creator Eddy Kitsis previews. “I mean, if someone knocked on your door wearing leather and guyliner and tried to kiss you…? He’s lucky he didn’t get a baseball bat to the head!” Adds Adam Horowitz: “Emma’s a tough cookie when she has her memories. So without them, it’s not going to an easy road for him.”

Question: This Once Upon a Time hiatus feels like forever! Got any scoop to help make the remaining month-plus wait more bearable? –Stefanie

Mitovich: If you’re in your mid-30s to early 40s and look like a young Richard Schiff, call your agent now. A flashback in Episode 18 — the same hour that brings back Rose McGowan’s Young Cora, hmm — will introduce us to Prince Leopold aka the man who will one day be Snow White’s father. The younger Leo is described as grounded, humble and not afraid to open his heart, coveting more from marriage than just a political arrangement. Interestingly, I hear that Rena Sofer will not reprise her role as Eva for this episode.

Question: What can you hint about the upcoming episodes of Scandal? –Lindsey

Mitovich: I got Darby Stanchfield to elaborate for me – a bit – on the scenes she recently filmed with a cast member she’d never worked with before. “It has to do with the other world, the White House world,” she said of the first-time pairing. “It’s a role that Abby’s not used to being in, but sometimes Olivia Pope is busy and short-staffed. so Abby’s got to step in. It made for some really nice scenes.”

Question: After this week’s almost-revelation on Teen Wolf, is there any romance (with boys or girls — how radical!) on the horizon for Stiles? –Emony

Mitovich: The answer is an emphatic yes. While last week’s scene pointed to a moment of questioning for Stiles, there will be one person in particular in Episode 20, titled “Echo House,” to whom Stiles finds a mutual attraction… and more.

Question: I’ll take anything you’ve got on Graceland, please. –Jess

Mitovich: For Season 2, the USA Network drama is casting the recurring roles of Kelly, an alcoholic who meets Briggs at AA (but has no idea of his link to her own tragic past), and Vera Walker, Mike’s new FBI supervisor… and perhaps more. You’ll also meet Zagurski, the Fed now laying claim to Mike’s Graceland room – unless, that is, Mike can convince his new boss to let him return to the house and hunt down a very big fish.

Question: I would love some scoop on my favorite show, Beauty and the Beast! –Larissa

Mitovich: Believe me when I say that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to archaelogist Sam (guest star Tom Everett Scott), whom we meet this Monday.

Question: What is going on with NCIS‘ Jimmy Palmer? It seems that the show has toned down his involvement this season. –Sherry

Mitovich: Show boss Gary Glasberg reminds, “We’ve had this [storyline] runner that we started, about his personal life and his wanting to adopt. That’ll continue through the season,” ultimately leading to “an emotional bit of closure.”

Question: The latest episode of the Tomorrow People was my favorite yet, mostly because it featured Astrid and John. Anything else coming up for them? –Mahika

Mitovich: I have no fresh scoop on John and Astrid. But Luke Mitchell did tell us that an upcoming episode will reveal how John met Cara.

Question: I am really into Reign on The CW. Any scoop? –Niki

Mitovich: The next handful of episodes will gradually remove the proverbial bag from the mysterious Clarissa’s face. “We’ll learn how it is that she’s rooted to this castle, who it is that she’s kind of related to, and we’ll learn a back story that even she doesn’t know — and that back-story will anger her,” says EP Laurie McCarthy. As for her protection of Mary, McCarthy says, “It’s a little bit like having the Mafia as your best friend. Her moral compass is not quite set at the right angle and when she perceives a slight, she reacts pretty violently.”

Question: I do have a major question about Revenge: Will we have a new flash-forward in Episode 14? –Michael

Mitovich: Though showrunner Sunil Nayar had (long ago) told us he was considering possibly dropping a new “WTF Just Happened?” flash-forward teaser at midseason, it would appear he elected not to. Instead, I am told, the midseason premiere (airing March 9 at 10/9c) picks up right where the finale left off.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Bones has been renewed for a 10th season by FOX. A new episode of Bones will air tomorrow night (January 31) and then the show will return to its Monday night at 8 PM timeslot starting on March 10. (Bones Twitter Feed)

Actor Goran Visnjic (ER) will star opposite Halle Berry in the upcoming CBS summer drama Extant, which is a mystery thriller centered on Molly (Berry), an astronaut trying to reconnect with her family when she returns after a year in outer space. Her experiences lead to events that ultimately will change the course of human history. Visnjic will play Molly’s husband John Watts. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Cinemax has renewed the drama Banshee for a third season. The next new episode of the show will air tomorrow night (January 31). (TV By the Numbers)

MTV has picked up the hour-long pilot called Finding Carter to series with a 12-episode order. The series is about teenager Carter (Kathryn Prescott) who seemingly has the perfect life with fun-loving single mom Lori (Milena Govich), until she discovers Lori abducted her as a toddler. Now Carter must return to the family who thought they had lost her. As she navigates brand new parents (Cynthia Watros and Alexis Denisof), a twin sister (Anna Jacoby-Heron), high school and boys, she vows to find Lori before the only mom she’s ever known is gone forever. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Dianne Wiest will guest star in an upcoming episode of The Blacklist, playing the kind, sympathetic head of Amnesty United, an organization that fights against the death penalty. The Blacklist will be back on February 24 (after the Olympics come to a close). (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Tea Leoni has joined the cast of the TNT drama pilot called Madam Secretary that will explore the personal and professional life of a maverick female Secretary of State (Leoni) as she drives international diplomacy, wrangles office politics and balances a complex family life. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter) has joined the ABC drama pilot Sea Of Fire that focus on what happens when three teenage girls star in a pornographic film. It tears their families apart and leads to a disappearance, a murder and host of other secrets boiling under the surface in a small town. Carpenter will play Leah Pierce, a driven FBI agent brought in to investigate the disappearance. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

Amazon Studios is looking at possibly developing a new drama called Hysteria from former actor-turned series creator Shaun Cassidy (the man behind the short-lived series Invasion). Hysteria will center on a doctor who travels to her hometown of Houston to investigate an epidemic among high school girls that may be spreading through technology. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Lori Petty (Tank Girl and A League of Their Own) will guest star in the online series Orange Is the New Black, but there are no details on what character she will portray. (Kimberly Roots at TV Line)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor John Noble and actress Lyndie Greenwood have been made series regulars on the hit new FOX drama Sleepy Hollow, which will be back for its second season this fall. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Stephen Root (True Blood and Justified) will have a recurring role on the upcoming AMC period piece drama Turn that will be set in the summer of 1778, centering on farmer Abe Woodhull (Jamie Bell) who bands together with a group of childhood friends to form The Culper Ring, an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America’s fight for independence. Root will play the eccentric and secretive Nathaniel Sackett, a civilian member of the Committee to Detect and Defeat Conspiracies, an 18th century proto-CIA. (The Deadline Team)

Actor Jeremy Davidson (Army Wives) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Elementary, playing Gordon Cushing, a man long suspected of murdering his wife; but when he receives a ransom note claiming she’s still alive, Sherlock (series lead Jonny Lee Miller) and Joan (series lead Lucy Liu) must figure out if the apparent kidnapping is real or merely an attempt by Cushing to clear his owned name. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Actors Jeremy Davies (Lost and Justified) and Chris Diamantopoulos (The Three Stooges) will both appear in the upcoming new season of Hannibal. Davies will appear in two episodes as Peter Bernardone, an animal rescue worker who becomes a suspect when a bizarre murder is discovered at a stable where he once worked. While Diamantopoulos will play Clark Ingram, Peter’s longtime social worker who has perhaps been too influential in his client’s life. Hannibal will air its season premiere on February 28 on NBC. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Jeff Hephner (The O.C., Boss, Hellcats and King & Maxwell) has joined the cast of the TNT action-drama pilot called Agent X that will star Sharon Stone as America’s first female Vice President, Natalie Maccabee. He will play John Case a.k.a. Agent X, a 39-year-old secret agent who’s called into action by the newly arrived VP when the daughter of the FBI Director is kidnapped. (The Deadline Team)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Emma Roberts (American Horror Story: Coven) will replace actress Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) in the upcoming action thriller flick For The Dogs that will star Sam Worthington. The film is about a solitary assassin (Worthington) who agrees to help a young woman (Roberts) exact revenge on those who mercilessly murdered her parents and younger brother. His guidance unleashes events that ultimately stoke her thirst for vengeance while he desperately seeks peace and absolution. (Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Official Trailer for Upcoming Film The Fault In Our Stars

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

Question: Orphan Black is coming back! Any scoop? — Jennie

Natalie: Worried about Cosima? You should be, and not just about her health. “That Cosima-and-Delphine relationship is as complex as ever,” executive producer Graeme Manson tells me. “It stays romantic and stays scientific, but there’s a lot of gamesmanship going on.” Look for Cosima to get closer to the Dyad Institute in her quest to stay alive.

Question: Is Castle doing another two-parter this February? — Gina

Natalie: “We’re going to forgo tradition,” executive producer Andrew W. Marlowe says, noting that Season 6 defied convention by opening with a two-episode case. But never fear: The Castle team still has big plans for the sweeps month. First up, an episode that involves the murder of a high school student. “It appears our victim was killed telekinetically,” Marlowe says. “It takes us in that Carrie kind of world.” Then, look for a big episode that once again digs into the Beckett mythology. Could her mother’s history be involved?

Question: Do you have any scoop on Bill Paxton’s character on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? — Simon

Natalie: John Garrett is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who, like Coulson, was trained by Nick Fury. But he also has history with Ward, whom he actually trained before Ward joined Coulson’s team. “Coulson makes decisions based on instincts and intuition,” Brett Dalton says. “Ward is more about risk assessment and tactical skills. That’s all that he’s known until joining Coulson’s team. [Garrett is] the guy who trained Ward, so he’s a reflection of him in a lot of ways.”

Question: I can’t wait for Sleepy Hollow to return! Please give me some scoop to tide me over! — Katherine

Natalie: Now that Abbie realizes why she forgot War’s resurrection, she’ll become closer with Jenny, which is good because she’s going to need a friend. “Once you access a memory that’s painful, it opens the gates to others,” executive producer Roberto Orci tells me. “Both of them may have experienced things together that they don’t remember that may come back. This is the gateway to what else happened before we met all these people.”

Question: I’m waiting for Season 5 of Justified to kick into high gear — it does kick into high gear soon, yes? —Bruce

Ausiello: This week’s episode certainly takes things up a notch. Not only do we get our first big Boyd-Raylan scene, but a recurring character bites the dust and Buffy vet-turned-Emmy-winning scribe Danny Strong pops up as a lecherous prison guard who takes an interest in Ava.

Question: Nashville scoop, please! —Karen

Ausiello: The Season 2 finale will be considerably more subtle than Season 1′s much-maligned, over-the-top, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink cliffhanger. ”I would imagine we would not go out with a car wreck or anything like that,” series creator Callie Khouri assures me. ”We’re not going to have an explosion. Nothing like that. Whatever fireworks we go out on this season will be all emotional.”

Question: I miss Nashville‘s Juliette and Rayna being in a story together. Any chance they will be again? –Larry

Ausiello: In a word (or two): “Ohhhh, yeah,” Khouri promises. Without detailing what the show has on tap, she adds, “They have such great chemistry together that their roads will always converge somewhere.” Meanwhile, EP Dee Johnson notes that the singers enjoy “a very strange relationship, because Juliette totally admires Rayna — though she would never say that to her face — and Rayna has been down the road that Juliette is on currently. So they will always be crossing paths.”

Question: What is the Wicked Witch’s problem with Regina on Once Upon a Time? Is it a personal vengeance or something else? —Ana

Ausiello: The fourth episode back, “It’s Not Easy Being Green,” will shed light on the origin of Rebecca Mader’s character — possibly including her beef with the Evil Queen. “She’s got a whole back-story and mythology,” says series co creator Adam Horowitz. “We used the original [L. Frank Baum] book as a jumping-off point, and then spun her in a hopefully unique, Once Upon a Time way.” But rest assured that when Wicked meets and/or reunites with Evil, “There are sparks that fly,” Horowitz warns.

Question: I’m in dire need of some Reign scoop! With Mary’s new plan to marry Bash, will Francis move on with a new lady? And how will Mary deal?! I need scoop on this love triangle. —Julia

Ausiello: Mary never forgets she’s queen, executive producer Laurie McCarthy tells TVLine. As such, she says, Mary’s “attraction for somebody can only go so far – until she believes that it can go further, and then it might be surprising what happens between the two of them.” And you’ll remember Mary went as far as sleeping with Francis when she thought they were going to be husband and wife; now that she’s registering for china with Bash (whom she’s already kissed), it’s a safe bet to think things are going to steam up for the pair. BONUS SPOILER: “Things will come to a terrible head” for one of the show’s couples later this season, McCarthy adds.

Question: Loved the Sleepy Hollow finale. Anything you can share on Season 2? —Richard

Ausiello: Now that Katrina is part of the modern world, expect an increased presence for Mrs. Crane when the Fox drama returns. “She was trapped in Purgatory, [so] there were limitations to how she could be involved in our stories,” co-creator Alex Kurtzman says. “Now that she’s been freed from that place, she’s going to have a whole bunch of new stories to come.”

Question: The preview for this week’s Sherlock finale pointed to romance for Holmes. Can you shed any light? Also, assuming you’ve seen it, is Episode 3 as good (or better) than 1 and 2?—Kerri

Ausiello: Without giving too much away — which in the case of PBS’ bloody brilliant detective yarn, would be kind of criminal — that bit of nuzzling you spied between Sherlock and saucy bridesmaid Janine (Yasmine Akram) was definitely real — and not some kind of dream sequence or fantasy. But just because there’s giggling and splashing coming from the bathroom of 221B doesn’t mean you should be setting your DVR for The Incredibly True Adventures of Sherlock in Love. Not yet, anyway. As for how Episode 3.3 stacks up against 3.1 and 3.2? While “His Final Vow” has fewer funny zingers than “The Empty Hearse” and “The Sign of Three,” it more than makes up for it in terms of mind-blowing twists and genuine suspense. Watch it live.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today, few though they may be:

TELEVISION

Syfy has ordered a 5th season of Haven, giving it a 26 episode order. The first 13 episodes will air this fall with the remaining 13 scheduled to air at some point in 2015. (TV By the Numbers)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Austin Stowell (Dolphin Tale) has joined the cast of the TNT pilot called Public Morals from actor Ed Burns and Steven Spielberg. The pilot is set in 1967 in New York City’s Public Morals Division, where cops walk the line between morality and criminality as the temptations that come from dealing with all kinds of vice can get the better of them. It will center on cop Terry Muldoon (Burns), who knows the line between the good guys and bad guys is thin, and he is determined to raise his sons to be honest and hardworking as he deals with the dark underbelly of the vice world. Stowell will play Muldoon’s cousin Sean O’Bannon, a handsome, tough Irish cop who tries to keep his friends out of trouble. (The Deadline Team)

WEB SERIES NEWS

ABC Family’s new drama The Fosters is getting its own web series. The Fosters: Girls United, a five-part original web series, will follow the residents of the Girls United group home. The entire series will debut Monday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET immediately following an original episode of the series on ABC Family, providing additional content to supplement The Fosters universe. The Fosters airs Monday nights at 9 PM. (Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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