Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

A handful of guest stars will be showing up on Royal Pains when it returns for its sixth season on USA Network, starting on June 10. Actress Gillian Alexy (Damages and The Americans) will recur as the mysterious Charlotte, who Hank (series lead Mark Feuerstein) met while traveling in Europe. Actor Patrick Breen (Kevin Hill and Men in Black) will play Bob, an unconventional couples counselor who has a big impact on Paige (series regular Brooke D’Orsay) and Evan (series regular Paulo Costanzo). Actor Jeremy Davidson (The Americans and Army Wives) will play Ray Mazzarino, a new HankMed patient who recently moved to the Hamptons for a fresh start and goes into business with Evan. And actresses Martha Higareda (El Mariachi) and Natalie Hall (True Blood and Star-Crossed) have landed roles, playing the lively bartender at a quiet local bar that becomes a sanctuary for Jeremiah (series regular Ben Shenkman) and Hope, a burlesque dancer who asks for Jeremiah’s help when she complains of pain during her act respectively. (The Deadline Team)

Actor Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi and Million Dollar Arm) has landed a recurring role in Homeland where he will play Aayan Ibrahim, a Pakistani medical student who crosses paths with Carrie Mathison (series lead Claire Danes). Homeland will back on Showtime this fall. (Dan Snierson at Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Merritt Patterson (Ravenswood and Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief) has landed a role on The Royals, the first original scripted series from E!. She will play an American girl whose father works for the royal family, causing her to end up in a relationship with the prince (series regular William Moseley from The Chronicles of Narnia franchise). The series is set to debut sometime in 2015. (Kamala Kirk at E! Online)

Actress Rachel Nichols (Continuum) and Harry Hamlin (Veronica Mars, L.A. Law and Mad Men) will recur on the new upcoming USA Network drama Rush that stars Tom Ellis (The Fades and The Secret of Crickley Hall) as Dr. Rush, a renegade physician, who privately caters to L.A.’s elite. Hamlin will play Rush’s estranged father, Warren, a retired doctor who has been a controlling, domineering and judgmental presence in his son’s life while Nichols will portray Warren’s much younger trophy wife, Corrine. (The Hollywood Reporter and Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

HBO is developing a drama series called MaddAddam based on the Margaret Atwood book trilogy that is set in the mid-21st century in a world where corporations have taken over for governments and the genetic modification of organisms is perversely ubiquitous. The project will center on the events before and after a Waterless Flood that wipes out almost all of the world’s population and follows an extensive cast of characters, including those responsible for the apocalypse and those struggling to survive it. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Doug Savant (Desperate Housewives) and actress Diane Farr (Numb3rs) have joined the cast of two ABC Family drama pilots. Savant will appear in Recovery Road, which is based on the Blake Nelson’s young adult novel of the same name that focuses on teenager Maddie Graham (Samantha Logan from 666 Park Avenue), who’s dealing with addiction. Savant will play Alan, Maddie’s father and a charismatic politician. Farr will appear in the paranormal pilot Stitchers, which centers on a young woman recruited into a covert government agency to be “stitched” into the minds of the recently deceased, using their memories to investigate murders and decipher mysteries that otherwise would have gone to the grave. Farr will play the brilliant and intrepid Maggie, the head of a secret program at a federal agency that investigates serious crimes. (Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Daniel Dae Kim (Hawaii Five-0 and Lost) has joined the cast of the Divergent sequel Insurgent, playing Jack Kang, a representative of the Candor faction. (Erin Strecker at Entertainment Weekly)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

That’s it. Enjoy!