Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Syfy has canceled Being Human. The series finale will air on April 7. (The Wrap).

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Greg Grunberg (Felicity, Alias and Heroes) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot called Warriors that centers on the doctors and nurses at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center who treat returning soldiers. Grunberg will play Dr. Leonard Mooney, an offbeat OB/GYN who uses a wheelchair and thus can no longer operate — unless, that is, he can coax the resident prosthetics whiz to help jerry-rig a state-of-the art-chair. Mooney also has a fondness for one of his patients, a widowed Army sergeant who’s having a difficult pregnancy. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Film star Viola Davis (The Help) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot called How To Get Away With Murder centers on ambitious law students and their brilliant and mysterious criminal defense professor (Davis) who become entangled in a murder plot that could rock their entire university and change the course of their lives. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Sean Faris (the short lived drama Reunion and currently recurring on Pretty Little Liars) has joined the cast of The CW spin-off series Supernatural: Tribes that will be about the various mafia-esque monster families that unknowingly-to-humans “run” the underbelly of Chicago and who are being tracked by a newly-minted Hunter who’s trying to stop them and rid Chicago of anything or anyone supernatural. Fairs will play Julian Durant, the son of a wealthy family of lycanthropes who has no love for the shape shifting Hayden clan. (Andy Swift and Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

Actor Erik Palladino (666 Park Avenue and currently recurring on NCIS: Los Angeles) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot called Agatha that follows a former convict-turned-big-city criminologist who is brought in to help local police crack a case involving a perplexing disappearance. He will play Captain Benjamin Cooper, the admired and well-respected head of Philadelphia’s Major Crimes division. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Callum Blue (Smallville, Royal Pains and Dead Like Me) has joined the cast of the TNT drama pilot called Proof, which is a supernatural medical drama, centering on a skeptical, hard science, female surgeon who is persuaded to investigate cases of reincarnation. Callum will play Ivan Turing, a technology multi-billionaire who was recently diagnosed with cancer. (The Deadline Team)

Actor Geoffrey Arend (Body of Proof) has joined the cast of the CBS drama pilot called Madam Secretary that explores the personal and professional life of a maverick female Secretary of State (Tea Leoni) as she drives international diplomacy, wrangles office politics and balances a complex family life. Arend will play Matt, a speechwriter for Secretary of State. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Taraji P. Hanson (Person of Interest) will co-star alongside Terrence Howard in the FOX drama pilot Empire that is set in the world of a hip-hop empire, centering on Lucious Lyon (Howard), a charismatic, savvy music superstar who is about to take his company, Empire Entertainment, public. Hanson will play Cookie Lyon, Lucious’s ex-wife and former business partner. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Kenneth Choi (the short-lived remake of Ironside) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot called Coercion that revolves around the O’Connor family and their extremely intelligent son, Alex (Gavin Stenhouse), a decorated American war hero and newly minted CIA analyst. Unbeknownst to Alex, though, is that both of his parents and his sister are part of a dormant Russian sleeper cell that has just been reactivated. Choi will play Sam Luttrell, the CIA station chief for New York. (The Deadline Team)

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

The BBC series Ripper Street, which just started its second season here in the US on BBC America, was cancelled by its home network; but Amazon has stepped in to partner with the BBC to bring a third season of the period drama to a computer screen near you. Amazon Prime Instant Video has acquired the streaming rights to the show and that means a third season of the series will happen. (Leo Barraclough at Variety)

The ambitious new Netflix yet-to-be-titled Marvel Universe-based series, focusing on the characters of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist, will include 13 episode devoted to each of the four main characters but will also include a four-to-eight episode mini-series centered on “The Defenders” team to wrap all the stories together. (Jordan Zakarin at The Wrap)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Bailey Buntain (the short-lived drama Bunheads) has landed the role of Carrie Dollanganger in the planned Lifetime movie sequel Petals on the Wind. She joins recently cast Rose McIver (Once Upon a Time) and Wyatt Nash (Pretty Little Liars), who take over the lead roles of Cathy and Christopher Dollanganger. (Denise Martin at Vulture)

Q&A SECTION (with TV Scoop Team at E! Online and Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Question: I need some Once Upon a Time info that is not already out there. – Heather145

TV Scoop Team: There is a huge, HUGE (like, mind-blowing) reveal involving two major characters that no one will see coming. Another surprise family connection. Is it just us, or isn’t all of this starting to feel weirdly incestuous!? Everyone is related to EVERYONE! This reveal will go down before the season is over.

Question: Do you have any scoop on Reign? — Tina

Natalie: History tells us that Mary ends up marrying Francis, but it might not be so simple. Though she intends to wed Bash to save Francis’ life, Nostradamus’ vision may not be what it seems, which sparks the Queen to make a move that you won’t see coming.

That’s it. Enjoy!