Rueben's Ramblings

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!