Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Veteran actor Peter Coyote (currently recurring on Intelligence) will guest star in season 3 of the TNT drama Perception, which is slated for this coming summer. He will play James Alan Pierce, dad of Daniel Pierce (series lead Eric McCormack), who comes to town with some stunning news. The second half of the show’s current, second season will be back on TNT starting on February 25. (Robyn Ross at TV Guide)

The Lifetime dramedy Drop Dead Diva, that received life-support for its fifth season, will not be coming back after its upcoming sixth season, which starts on March 23 with a two-hour premiere. There will be 13 final episodes of the fan favorite before it comes to its final end. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

The CW has given early renewal orders to the following five shows: Arrow, Reign, Supernatural, The Originals and The Vampire Diaries. The fate of their other remaining shows, though, including Beauty And the Beast, Hart of Dixie, The Carrie Diaries and The Tomorrow People are still up in the air and most likely won’t known until the May upfronts. (AJ Marechal at Variety)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Christina Chang (Nashville) and Jeffrey Nordling (Body of Proof and Killer Women) have joined the cast of the ABC pilot Sea of Fire, which chronicles the fallout from three teenage girls starring in a pornographic film, an event that tears their families apart and leads to a disappearance and a murder. Nordling will play Reverend Bobby McAllister, the father of the missing girl, Jane (who is yet to be cast) while Chang as Dr. Kristen Harper, the mother of Jane’s troubled boyfriend, Xander (also yet to be cast). Jack Davenport and Jennifer Carpenter will star. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Jamey Sheridan (Homeland and Arrow) 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, and her secret weapon, Agent X (Jeff Hephner). Sheridan will play FBI Director Stanton, who is inclined to be patronizing and disdainful, especially in Natalie’s direction. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Juliette Lewis (The Firm) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot Secrets & Lies that will center on a patriarch (Ryan Phillippe) who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a young boy when he finds the body. Lewis will play Andrea Cornell, the unflappable, somewhat formidable detective conducting the investigation into the slaying of 4-year-old Tom Mullen who has her sights set on Ben (Phillippe), the loving father who found the boy’s body. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Matt Barr (Hatfields & McCoys mini and Hellcats) has landed the male lead role in The CW drama pilot Identity that will center on Mia (Ahna O’Reilly from The Help), a young New Yorker who learns she needs an organ transplant to survive and her only living relative is a newfound half-brother, Davis (Barr), the charming, privileged only son of a wealthy and powerful Charleston family. She connects with them only to find they’re the target of a CIA investigation for involvement in domestic terrorism, and the agency wants her as their newest informant. As Davis bonds with his newfound sister, he begins to question his family’s nefarious plans. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Vondie Curtis-Hall (Chicago Hope) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot Tin Man, which is a futuristic thriller, centering on robot Adam Sentry (Patrick Heusinger from Revolution and Royal Pains), accused of the first-degree murder of his creator. Curtis-Hall will play Det. Jack Garrison, a veteran homicide investigator called in to investigate the murder, who places Adam under arrest. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!