Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Ron Glass (Barney Miller and Firefly) will show up in an upcoming episode of CSI, who will play the mentor of Greg Sanders (series regular Eric Szmanda). (William Keck at TV Guide)

Actress Nicole Ari Parker (Soul Food and more recently seen on Revolution) has joined the cast of the upcoming TNT drama Murder in the First that will revolve around two seemingly unrelated high-profile murder cases and the subsequent police investigation, arrest and trial. The series will star. Taye Diggs (Private Practice) and Kathleen Robertson (Boss) as two homicide detectives who partner on the case. Parker will play Sonia Perez, a brilliant and tough district attorney whose career hedges on a high-profile murder case. The cast already includes Tom Felton (Harry Potter franchise), Raphael Sbarge (Once Upon a Time), Ian Anthony Dale (The Event) and Steven Weber (Wings). The show will debut on TNT sometime this summer. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Syfy has decided to switch timeslots for two of their Monday night programs: Lost Girl and Bitten. Lost Girl will now air at 10 PM and Bitten will move to 8 PM (with Being Human remaining at 9 PM) starting on January 27. (The Futon Critic)

Most people know, or have at least heard of, the box office film franchise Transporter. Well back in 2011 Cinemax picked up the TV adaptation Transporter The Series, but due to several setbacks the show never went anywhere on the cable network. But now, TNT has stepped up and will air both the first and second seasons of the international series that stars Chris Vance (Prison Break and Rizzoli & Isles) in the lead role of Frank Martin, a professional transporter, who can always be counted on to get the job done. No official airdate has been announced, though. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Charlotte Grayson (series regular Christa B. Allen) will be moving on from her grieving of boyfriend Declan Porter on Revenge with a new boyfriend. Newcomer Henri Esteve will play Javier, a guy from the wrong side of the tracks who is accomplished in the world of hacking. Won’t mommy Victoria be so proud? (William Keck at TV Guide)

Actor Sam Witwer (Syfy’s Being Human) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Grimm, playing a tortured soul named Maximillian, who is the main attraction at a carnival. (Michael Ausiello and Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

TV TRAILER

Hot TV Trailer: WGN America’s ‘Salem’

http://www.deadline.com/2014/01/salem-trailer-wgn-america-series-video/

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

ABC has given a greenlight to a new project that will be overseen by director David O. Russell (American Hustle) and writer-producer Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich). The project is currently unnamed, but is being described as an upstairs-downstairs soap set at a tony country club. (Cynthia Littleton at Variety)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy and Country Strong) has landed the lead role of Hook in the upcoming movie called Pan, yet another new take on the J.M. Barrie classic. (Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)

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

Question: I really miss badass Beckett on Castle — might she show up again soon? –Stephanie

Mitovich: Oh yes. I’m hearing you’ll want to keep an eye out for Episode 17, “In the Belly of the Beast,” to be directed by Rob Bowman.

Question: This NCIS: LA fan needs something good on the Densi front. Anything you can share? –Monica

Mitovich: I have good… and not-so-good. Showrunner Shane Brennan confirmed for me that the timing of Daniela Ruah’s maternity leave “worked out perfectly,” in that the show had already pre-shot enough Kensi scenes to keep her in every episode, without missing a single beat. Thing is, when Kensi eventually returns from her Afghanistan op — during which something “totally unexpected” and calamitous happens, leaving her understandably shell-shocked — being back in Deeks’ orbit “doesn’t work out the way she thinks it’s going to work out.”

Question: With the new team dynamic on NCIS, Tony really looks overqualified for his job. He’s been there forever. As part of his promised “growth” are we going to see him get a promotion? –Sandra

Mitovich: OK, so I brought to showrunner Gary Glasberg everyone’s concern about Tony’s “growth,” especially as Ziva’s exit grows farther and farther away. He avowed, “It’s really important to all of us — it’s important to me, it’s important to Michael Weatherly — that the character of Tony DiNozzo continues to grow.” But outgrowing Gibbs’ team likely will never be a part of that. “That’s something that we at one point or another talk about…. But at the end of the day, as I have learned from real agents that I’ve spoken to, once you find a team that you feel comfortable with, that’s just where you stay,” Glasberg explained. “You become a part of the family, and that’s just what it is.”

Question: Revenge is on their winter hiatus, and I need something just to get me by until it returns. Got anything good? –Drew

Mitovich: In the winter finale we got a first look at Conrad’s ex-wife Stevie (played by Gail O’Grady), but just you wait until she starts mixing and mingling with others. “Needless to say, she and Victoria are at odds, because Victoria came in just as Stevie was on the way out,” Henry Czerny told me. “But yeah, she’s a firecracker, and the electricity that you’ll see between Stevie and Jack — yes, Stevie and Jack — and between Stevie and Victoria will be fantastic.”

That’s it. Enjoy!