Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

E! has picked up their first scripted drama called The Royals, which will be a sweeping ensemble series set in London, revolving around the high-class modern life in the fishbowl for the regal set. Actress Elizabeth Hurley will play the demanding matriarch Queen Helena. The series is expected to air sometime in 2015. (Cynthia Littleton at Variety)

Actor Neil Hopkins (Lost) has joined the cast of the upcoming action drama series Matador on the El Rey Network. The series will chronicle the unlikely rise of Antonio “Matador” Bravo (actor Gabriel Luna), a popular soccer star who in reality is a covert operative for a little known branch of the CIA. Hopkins will play Noah, female lead Annie’s (actress Nicky Whelan) brilliant but awkward partner. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Timothy Hutton (Leverage) has landed the lead role in the ABC drama pilot American Crime that will center on the racially charged murder of a war veteran and the subsequent trial, both of which are examined through the personal lives of the players involved. Hutton will play Chuck Skokie, a former gambling addict-turned-honest working man whose adult son Matt is the victim. Actress Penelope Ann Miller has also joined the cast, playing Eve, the emotionally shattered mother of the killed man’s badly beaten wife who is on life support. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Rufus Sewell has landed the lead role in the ABC drama pilot from Richard LaGravenese, which has yet to be titled. The pilot is set in New York and revolves around the love and rivalry between two equally matched, powerful socialites – Philip Fitzgerald Julien (Sewell) and Margot Worth Cole – who play out their obsessive attraction and seduction of each other through their manipulation of others. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Brianna Brown (Devious Maids) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot The Visitors, which chronicles the race against the clock to defeat an unseen alien enemy out to destroy the world. Brown will play Lena, who discovers that her daughter is being turned against her by a covert alien operation. She refuses to play victim and joins forces with her husband Wes (actor Barry Sloane) and Claire (actress Lily Rabe), revealing herself as the most ruthless fighter of all in order to get her daughter back. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Annie Ilonzeh (Arrow, Drop Dead Diva, Switched at Birth and Charlie’s Angels) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot Coercion that revolves around the O’Connor family and their son, Alex (actor Gavin Stenhouse), a decorated American war hero and CIA analyst. Unbeknownst to Alex, both of his parents and his sister are part of a dormant Russian sleeper cell that has just been reactivated. Ilonzeh will play Julia, a no-nonsense Special Agent with the FBI assigned to work closely with Alex. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Diogo Morgado (The Bible mini-series) has joined the cast of The CW drama pilot The Messengers that focuses on what happens when a mysterious object crashes down to earth. A group of seemingly unconnected strangers die from the energy pulse, but then awaken to learn that they have been deemed responsible for preventing the impending Apocalypse. Morgado will play The Man, a mysterious figure who wakes up naked and burned in the desert and sets out on a mission to provide some answers about the strange events. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Mariana Klaveno (Devious Maids and True Blood) has been cast in the as-yet-titled Kevin Wiliamson drama pilot for CBS that will revolve around two detectives, Beth and Jack (Dylan McDermott), who handle stalking incidents for the Threat Assessment Unit of the LAPD. Klaveno will play Janice, one of the Threat Assessment Unit’s detectives who is often underestimated because of her somewhat flashy appearance. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE TRAILERS

Hot Trailer: ‘Grace Of Monaco’

Hot Trailer: Quvenzhané Wallis In ‘Annie’

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Leven Rambin (The Hunger Games and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) will appear in the final three episodes of the CW drama The Tomorrow People, playing Natalie, a troublemaking paranormal who has no love for humans. She and Russell (series regular Aaron Yoo) quickly hit it off and become a homo-superior version of Bonnie and Clyde. But things take a turn for worst when Natalie threatens to join Ultra, inciting a potential mutiny. (Sadie Genis at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Julia Stiles (The Prince and Me and the Bourne movie franchise) has taken over the lead role in the TNT drama pilot Guilt By Association (Neve Campbell recently stepped away from this project). The pilot centers on Rachel Knight (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. Rachel relies on her cohorts, fashionable prosecutor Toni LaCollette (Rose Rollins) and tough-as-nails Detective Bailey Keller (Elisabeth Röhm), for all things professional and personal. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Virginia Madsen (Witches of East End) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot Babylon Fields that is about a town’s residents coming back from the dead. Madsen will play Rhonda Wunch, CDC scientist Thomas Wunch’s (Kyle Schmid) mother who is close to her son and wants him to stay home in Babylon. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Patricia Arquette (Medium) has landed the lead role in the CBS spin-off CSI pilot that centers on Avery Ryan (Arquette), Special Agent in Charge at the Cyber Crime Division of the FBI in Quantico, VA, who is tasked to solve high octane crimes that start in the mind, live on-line, and play out into the real world. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Lucy Griffiths (True Blood and the UK series Robin Hood) and actor Harold Perrineau (Lost) have joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot Constantine, which is based on the DC Comics character John Constantine, an enigmatic and irreverent con man-turned-reluctant supernatural detective who is thrust into the role of defending us against dark forces from beyond. When Liv (Griffiths), the daughter of a late friend, is targeted by demons, Constantine steps in to save her. Perrineau will play Manny, an authoritative angel assigned to watch over Constantine who has the power to step into other people’s bodies, and although he is meant only to observe, Manny will not hesitate to help out if he can save a life. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with Michael Ausiello at TV Line, TVScoop Team at E! Online and Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Question: Do you have anything on Once Upon a Time in Wonderland? –Logan

Ausiello: In Thursday’s midseason premiere, you’ll see the Knave as a genie being forced to use his newfound powers — with dire consequences — as well as meet the ABC series’ version of the Jabberwock . Next week, Lost alum Zuleikha Robinson reprises her role as Amara, and on March 20 Barbara Hershey makes her Wonderland debut as Cora.

Question: Can you tell us anything about Mary’s upcoming wedding on Reign? Is there any hope for us Mash fans to cling to? –Melissa

Ausiello: Cling away, Melissa! Though I can’t tell you which brother Mary will choose to meet at the altar, I can say that Thursday’s episode includes one of Mary’s classic passionate speeches, in which she reaffirms her love for Bash.

Question: Please tell me that Jules and Chief Vick are in the final episode of Psych!! —Ross

Ausiello: Jules and Chief Vick are in the final episode of Psych!!

Question: Got anything for Covert Affairs or Suits? —Peggy

Ausiello: Eenie, meenie, miny… Suits! Mike’s getting his very own “Donna” in Season 4! Her name is Sarah and she will enjoy a fun, easygoing rapport with her new boss. (Hmm… should Rachel be worried?) Also among the new players coming into the USA hit are a hotshot, charming attorney at the SEC who makes a play for a senior position at Pearson Specter, and a young man who wants to expand his father’s billion-dollar empire, which bonds him with Harvey.

Question: Since you’ve hardly given The Tomorrow People any love in your column, I’m demanding some scoop on it. Preferably something on John and Astrid. – Anna

Ausiello: Demand and you shall receive. When we spoke to EP Phil Klemmer recently, he had just finished breaking the season finale in the writers’ room and divulged this teaser: “Everybody has their big moment. And John and Astrid get theirs, and it’s totally heartbreaking and really beautiful.”

Question: This season of Arrow is amazing! Any idea what we can expect from the last few episodes? – Andrew

TV Scoop Team: How about an epic finale tease, will that suffice? EP Marc Guggenheim dishes, “If everything goes according to plan, that’s a caveat, you’ll see some familiar faces in the finale. Maybe ones that you’re not expecting.”

Question: Obsessed with The Fosters, so I’m desperate for any spoilers! – Karina

TV Scoop Team: Brandon is joining a new band and getting a new love interest in season two! Look for Lou, the new band’s charismatic and free-spirited lead singer, to have quite the impact, though she doesn’t handle criticism too well. The role is recurring, so Lou will be sticking around for quite some time.

Question: Desperate for any Reign info! – Sarah

TV Scoop Team: Thursday’s wedding episode is the CW drama’s best yet and is a total feast for shippers. However, some fans will be left devastated (while other will celebrate!) when Mary finally reveals which brother she loves more.

Question: What’s coming up on Castle? — Jonah

Natalie: Get ready to meets Capt. Gates’ sister! Eureka star Salli Richardson-Whitfield will play Elizabeth Watts, a U.S. Attorney with ties to Castle and Beckett’s latest murder. “We end up with a victim who it turns out is a confidential informant for the U.S. Attorney’s office,” creator Andrew W. Marlowe tells us. But don’t expect a lot of sisterly love during the investigation; they’re apparently estranged. “Gates doesn’t talk about her,” Marlowe says.

Question: Grimm is getting good! What can you tell me about Adalind’s little Hexen-baby? — Erica

Natalie: After giving birth, Adalind’s powers as a Hexenbiest return as promised, and the child’s powers that were hinted at in utero continue to manifest themselves in interesting ways. Over in Portland, the P.D. will investigate its own mother-and-child problem, e.g., someone’s eating babies!

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today, few though they are:

TELEVISION

The USA Network has given the untitled drama pilot created by Sean Jablonski that will star Matt Passmore (The Glades) as investment banker Neil Truman, who accidentally discovers his wife’s (Stephanie Szostak) involvement with an escort. When Neil gains possession of the escort’s phone, he uncovers a unique perspective on his life and what motivates women to stray, as his wife contemplates whether her needs are being met and if her marriage is worth saving. The series received a 10-episode order. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actors Benito Martinez (The Shield and Supernatural) and W. Earl Brown (Deadwood) have been cast in the ABC drama pilot AMericn Crime that centers on the racially charged murder of a war veteran and the subsequent trial, which are examined through the personal lives of the players involved. Martinez will play Alonzo, a hardworking, middle-class widowed father whose son is accused of the crime. Meanwhile, Brown will play Tom, the emotionally distraught father of Lily, widow of the murdered war vet. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Young actor David Mazouz (who played Kiefer Sutherland’s son on the FOX drama Touch) has landed the role of young Brue Wayne in the FOX drama pilot Gotham. The pilot will tell the origin stories of Commissioner James Gordon, who is still a detective and has yet to meet Batman, and the villains who made Gotham City famous. Meanwhile, young newcomer Camren Bicondova (a Michelle Pfeiffer look-alike) will play Selina Kyle (the future Catwoman). (Team TV Line)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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