Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland and Touched by an Angel) will appear in two upcoming episodes of the new Hallmark Channel series Signed, Sealed, Delivered that is set to debut on April 20. The series follows a team of four postal detectives who specialize in investigating misdirected letters and delivering them when they are needed most. Bertinelli will play the team’s Mailroom Supervisor, a revolving role featuring TV icons. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Boris Kodjoe (the short-lived Undercovers) will guest star in an upcoming summer episode of Unforgettable, playing Secret Service Agent Benjamin Hernandez, who informs the Major Case team that he and his partner, Agent Briggs, are taking over a murder case because of its connection to a federal counterfeit case they’ve been working on called “Mata Hari.” (Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress S. Epatha Merkerson (Law & Order) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot Babylon Fields that is about a town’s residents who come back from the dead. Merkerson will play Pearl Montoya, Janine’s (series lead Meagan Good) stepmother. (The Deadline Team)

Actor Oded Fehr (The Mummy franchise and Covert Affairs) has joined the cast of the untitled ABC Richard LaGravenese drama pilot that is set in New York, revolving around the love and rivalry between two equally matched, powerful socialites, Philip Fitzgerald Julien (Rufus Sewell) and Margot Worth Cole, who play out their obsessive attraction and seduction of each other through their manipulation of others. Fehr will play Anderson Cole, Margot’s ex-husband and one of the Forbes 500 whose power has resulted in expanding a multimillion-dollar company into a multibillion-dollar corporation. (The Deadline Team)

Actor David Morse (Treme and The Green Mile) and actress Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda and After Earth) have joined the cast of the untitled CBS Wall Street drama pilot that already includes Charlie Cox (Boardwalk Empire) and Maggie Grace (Lost) as part of the cast. The pilot centers on Jackson (Cox), a smart, sophisticated, hedge fund trader. Morse will play Conklin, a powerful and authoritative hedge fund genius, worth billions himself and always planning his next move to consolidate his power and wealth. Okonedo will play Bryce, an Assistant Attorney General who’s deeply committed to her work of heading a task force investigating Wall Street. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actors Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do and Beauty And the Beast) and Niall Matter (Eureka and Primeval: New World) have joined the cast of the TNT drama pilot Guilt By Association that centers on Rachel Knight (Julia Stiles), a talented, unorthodox and impulsive Deputy DA in the LA County District Attorney’s office who sometimes operates outside the law in order to uphold it. Scott will play Eric Northup, the Head Deputy of the Special Trials Unit while Matter will play Lt. Graden Hales, a police lieutenant and Detective Bailey Keller’s (Elisabeth Röhm) boss. (The Deadline Team)

Actor Joe Morton (Scandal and Eureka) has joined the cast of the TNT drama pilot Proof, which centers on a skeptical, hard-science, female surgeon, Katherine (Jennifer Beals from Flashdance and The Chicago Code), who has been struggling with family issues, including a tragic death. She is persuaded to investigate cases of reincarnation, out-of-body experiences, hauntings — all of it looking for verifiable proof to answer one of life’s greatest questions: Is death truly the end, or is there something else beyond? Morton will have the recurring role of Dr. Charles Russell, the serious, dry and intimidating head of Katherine’s hospital. He’s hard-pressed to control her but appreciates her abilities and commitment. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

MINI-SERIES/MADE-FOR-TV NEWS

Syfy has given a greenlight to the 6-hour mini-series event Ascension that will be set in 1963, where the U.S. government launches a covert space mission sending hundreds of men, women and children on a century-long voyage aboard the starship Ascension to populate a new world. Nearly 50 years into the journey, as they approach the point of no return, a mysterious murder of a young woman causes the ship’s population to question the true nature of their mission. This event series is slated to launch in November 2014 and air through December. (The Futon Critic)

Actors Christopher McDonald (Requiem For A Dream) and Trevor Donovan (90210) have joined the cast of the History Channel mini-series Texas Rising that will detail the Texas Revolution against Mexico and the rise of the legendary Texas Rangers. McDonald will play Henry Karnes, a grizzled, tough taskmaster of the ranging company while Donovan will play Kit Acklin, a handsome, wise-ass, expert horseman whose chivalry and equestrian skills are matched only by his gun-fighting prowess. The cast already includes Bill Paxton, Brendan Fraser, Ray Liotta, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Thomas Jane, Olivier Martinez, Chad Michael Murray, Michael Rapaport and Max Thieriot. (The Deadline Team)

Actress Anne Heche (Men In Trees) will appear in the USA Network upcoming event series called Dig that centers on Peter (Jason Isaacs of Harry Potter fame), an FBI agent stationed in Jerusalem who, while investigating the murder of an archaeologist, uncovers a conspiracy 2,000 years in the making that threatens to change the course of history. Heche will play Lynn, the head of the Jerusalem FBI office and Peter’s boss. She’s also his only friend and love interest. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Chadwick Boseman Has Soul as James Brown in First ‘Get on Up’ Trailer

Q&A SECTION (with TV Scoop Team at E! Online)

Question: Please, please, please, give me deets on Teen Wolf. – Jess

TV Scoop Team: Get ready to meet Violet, she’s a pretty 16-year-old high schooler who is very unassuming…but she’s a lot tougher than you’d think.

Question: Please, please tell me Will does not end up marrying Layla on Nashville! – Vicki

TV Scoop Team: Sorry, but we mustn’t tell lies. It’s going to get even crazier for the engaged duo as Layla manages to convince Will that, in addition to getting married, they also need to have their own reality show documenting the whole process.

Question: Revenge has the best twists. How ‘bout a little tease of one? – Matt

TV Scoop Team: Margaux’s half-brother, the devious and dashing Gideon, make an appearance in the season three finale. And he’s sticking around for season four (it’s just a formality that ABC hasn’t announced one yet). But be warned: he has a dark side.

Question: I think Beauty and the Beast fans deserve a little scoop after our tireless voting in Save One Show. So let’s have it! – Jill

TV Scoop Team: That you do, Beasties. That you do. (Also: feel free to nap for an hour or ten, you earned it.) Guess who’s coming back? Cat’s sister Heather, played by Nicole Anderson! Too bad she’ll be put in serious danger as she gets caught up in Gabe’s revenge scheme against Vincent. Uh oh!

That’s it. Enjoy!

PS: Have a great weekend!!