It was another night of repeats and reality on the major networks, but there were at least a couple new episodes of major network dramas on last night.
Here is how those dramas fared in the overall ratings last night:
8 PM Show: Black Box (ABC) [NEW] – 3.9 million
9 PM Shows: Rookie Blue (ABC) [NEW] – 4.9 million Gang Related (FOX) [NEW] – 2.5 million
Here are the news items for today, few though they may be:
TELEVISION
Actress Andrea Roth (Rescue Me) has joined the cast of the 6-hour limited Syfy series Ascension that will star Brian Van Holt (Cougar Town) as the captain of the titular vessel, which was launched into space by the U.S. government in 1963 to populate a new world. The series picks up 50 years into the mission, as a mysterious murder causes those on board to question the true nature of their mission. Roth will play Juliet Bryce, the head doctor on the Ascension. Her relationship with her daughter Nora (Jacqueline Byers) has been difficult and strained for a while and the murder on board the ship has made it worse. The cast also includes Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) as manipulative power broker Vionda Denninger — aka the captain’s wife, with whom he shares a difficult marriage. Ascension is due to air on Syfy in November. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)
WEB SERIES NEWS
Actor Elden Henson (The Hunger Games) has joined the Netflix series Daredevil based on the legendary Marvel Universe character. Henson will play Foggy Nelson, best friend and legal partner of Matt Murdock (aka Daredevil). The cast includes Charlie Cox (Boardwalk Empire) in the lead role, Vincent O’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk and Rosario Dawson. The series is set to debut on Netflix sometime in 2015. (Nikara Johns at Variety)
BOX OFFICE TRAILERS
This isn’t Matthew Crowley (from Downton Abbey) material at all, but here is Dan Stevens’ new film:
Details on this film since the teaser is a bit vague: The story follows the Peterson family when a soldier named David (Dan Stevens) turns up at their doorstep, a man who claims to be the friend and fellow platoon member of their deceased son. David says he’ll fulfill the last with of his friend by watching over the Petersons to make sure they’re safe. Soon though, accidental deaths begin to occur and they all seem to be connected to David’s presence in the house.
ME: How did they film this movie?! The special effects with the airplanes, et al and that gigantic hurricane, holy spinning funnels, Batman!!
It was yet another night of repeats and reality on the major networks last night. But there was one new debut of a summer drama and a new episode of a returning summer drama.
Here is how those two dramas fared in the overall ratings last night:
10 PM Shows: Taxi Brooklyn (NBC) [DEBUT] – 5.4 million Motive (ABC) [NEW] – 3.5 million
Trying to figure out what to watch tonight? Be it new episodes of the TV season, reairs of cable series or a movie, here are some suggestions:
8 PM: Defiance on Syfy (NEW) The Vampire Diaries on The CW (Reair) Scandal on BET Castle on TNT Toy Story 3 (animated) movie on Disney The Odd Life of Timothy Green movie on Encore The Bourne Supremacy movie on USA Network
9 PM: Rookie Blue on ABC (NEW) Gang Related on FOX (NEW) Dominion on Syfy (NEW) The Originals on The CW (Reair) Scandal on BET Castle on TNT The Wolverine movie on HBO2 P.S. I Love You movie on Oxygen
10 PM: Elementary on CBS (Reair) Flashpoint on ION Scandal on BET Castle on TNT
So far The CW, CBS and NBC have announced the premiere dates for their fall line-ups.
Let’s take a look at the dramas that will be airing this fall (and mid-season) on those networks:
The CW:
October 2: The Vampire Diaries and Reign
October 6: The Originals and a retrospective Supernatural special
October 7: The Flash and Supernatural
October 8: Arrow
October 13: Jane the Virgin
October 22: The 100
The CW will bring back returning dramas Beauty And the Beast and Hart of Dixie as well as the new dramas iZombie and The Messengers at some point during mid-season.
CBS:
September 21: Madam Secretary and The Good Wife
September 22: Scorpion and Under the Dome (Season 2 Finale)
September 23: NCIS, NCIS: New Orleans and Person of Interest
September 24: Extant (2-Hour Season Finale)
September 26: Hawaii Five-0 and Blue Bloods
September 28: CSI
September 29: NCIS: Los Angeles
October 1: Criminal Minds and Stalker
October 30 – Elementary
CBS will roll out returning drama The Mentalist and the new drama Battle Creek sometime during mid-season.
NBC:
September 22: The Blacklist
September 23: Chicago Fire
September 24: The Mysteries of Laura, Law & Order: SVU and Chicago P.D.
September 25: Parenthood
October 24: Grimm and Constantine
November 17 – State of Affairs
NBC has quite a bit of activity planned for mid-season including the return of Hannibal and the debuts of new dramas Allegiance and Odyssey as well as the event series Emerald City, Aquarius, A.D. and Heroes Reborn.
Actor Alex Russell (Carrie and Chronicle) has landed a starring role in the AMC drama pilot Galyntine that is set in a post-apocalyptic future without technology where a band of survivors is forced to adapt to isolation and the challenges of their new world. Russell will play Roman, an orphan who was unofficially adopted by his best friend Aethys’ family, and he hopes to marry Aethys’ sister Essyn to make his membership in the family official. A very public victory appears to cement his status as a future leader of the colony, but a twist of fate (and a deeply wounding betrayal) set him on a different, more dangerous path. (The Deadline Team)
BOX OFFICE NEWS
Actress Melissa Benoist (Glee) has joined the cast of the upcoming box office adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel The Longest Ride that will star Britt Robertson (Under the Dome) and Scott Eastwood (son of Clint Eastwood) as a young couple whose romance parallels the intertwined love story of a local elderly man and his lady love. Benoist will play Marcia, the well-intentioned roommate of Sophia (Robertson). The cast also includes veteran Alan Alda and Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire). (Jen Yamato at Deadline)
Actress Rooney Mara (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) will star in the box office adaptation of the memoir “A House in the Sky” by Amanda Linhout and Sara Corbett, that tells the story of Linhout, specifically her abduction in 2008 in Mogadishu, Somalia by a rebel terrorist group. (Jordan Zakarin at The Wrap)
Actor Ben Kingsley will provide his voice to the Disney live-action The Jungle Book, playing Bagheera, the black panther companion to human Mowgli. The film is set to come out on October 9, 2015. (The Deadline Team)
BOX OFFICE TRAILER
Q&A SECTION (with Natalie Abrams at TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)
Question: I really liked The Last Ship. What’s coming up next? — Sean
Natalie: Did you catch lab rat Quincy’s mysterious phone call at the end of the pilot? You’ll very soon find out who was on the other line (hint: they also have a very big boat) and why he appears to be betraying Dr. Scott. Fortunately, before that big showdown, Capt. Chandler & Co. will stop off at Guantanamo Bay, where they pick up some new faces who prove to be valuable assets. The bad news: Gitmo is also crawling with some Al Qaeda prisoners who want to make the Nathan James crew go boom.
Question: What’s the state of Abbie and Ichabod’s relationship when Sleepy Hollow returns? — Gina
Natalie: It’s probably not in the best place. After all, Abbie probably won’t be too happy about being left behind in Purgatory, even if it was for the greater good. “There’s a real question of trust,” executive producer Len Wiseman tells me. “If it’s ever broken once, can you ever get it back again?” Their relationship will continue to be tested next season when they face a very difficult choice. Let’s just say it’s not easy being a Witness!
Question: Irzu was making Irissa do and see some bad things in the Defiance premiere. Should I be worried about her? — Chantelle
Natalie: It turns out Irzu might not be as bad as we think. Or, at least, that’s what she wants Irissa to believe when the duo is involved in a near-fatal stand-off in Episode 3. When Irissa refuses to continue killing for Irzu, the mystical being proves just how powerful she is, while also providing Irissa insight into exactly who she is.
Question: I’m so glad Falling Skies is back. What can you tease? — Marcus
Natalie: The Espheni will set their sights on discovering the identity of the mysterious Ghost who has been helping those trapped in the internment camp. But when the Espheni threat grows, Tom will take the ultimate risk by going to their ship in search of a way to destroy the fences once and for all. But will he actually be able to help everyone escape?
Question: I can’t believe Evan and Paige are in therapy on Royal Pains! Should I be worried about any upcoming bumps in the road for them? —Jeanine
Natalie: Actually, Jeanine, you should actually turn your concern to Hank, who will spend some time on the couch himself this summer when a new woman enters his life and throws our favorite doctor for a serious loop. Maybe the Lawson brothers can get a 2-for-1 discount?
Question: I love seeing Scott Michael Foster back on ABC Family on Chasing Life! Will any other Greek alums pop up? — Sherry
Natalie: Yep! Now that April’s BFF Beth quit her job at the coffeehouse, she will go to work for Nora Kirkpatrick in the second half of the season. Fortunately for Beth, Kirkpatrick’s character isn’t as much of a hard-ass this time around. Although executive producer Patrick Sean Smith wouldn’t say too much about Beth’s new gig, he did hint that it has something to do with design. “[Beth] has a very special, distinct style,” he says.
Question: Any news on whether Caity Lotz will return to Arrow in Season 3? —Mena
Ausiello: As Colton Haynes (who plays Roy) reminds, Sara “gave up her jacket” to sis Laurel before rejoining Nyssa and the League of Assassins in the season finale. But hey, that’s nothing a trip to Wilson Leather Goods can’t fix, right? “I think we’ll definitely see Sara back,” Haynes ventures. “I’m not sure how soon, but obviously, when she does, we might see different facets of her.”
Question: Every season of Covert Affairs, Auggie has found himself in handcuffs at least once. Any hints as to what kind of trouble he’ll get into this season? —Rhiannon
Ausiello: Female trouble — sans handcuffs (I think). In next Tuesday’s episode, Felicity‘s Amy Jo Johnson makes her debut as Hayley, an investigator with the National Counter-Terrorism Center who takes a shine to Auggie. But first and foremost, “Hayley comes into the show in a spy story-related capacity,” previews executive producer Chris Ord. “So [that] will collide and make their relationship something more than just romantic.”
Question: Any scoops on Falling Skies Season 4? –Ganon
Ausiello: This Sunday, Tom takes a very important meeting, Dr. Kadar resurfaces (whether Lourdes likes it or not!), the nature of the “black hornet” ET is revealed and a pair of someones will share a first kiss.
Question: Any scoop you can give us on Season 5 of Rizzoli & Isles would be brilliant — like, will Chris Vance be back at any point as Casey? –Michelle
Ausiello: “It’s all about scheduling,” Vance aka Rizzoli’s baby daddy told us recently, just before heading off to Morocco, the Czech Republic and other far-off locales to resume filming Transporter: The Series (which bows on TNT this fall). “I’m shooting way across the world, but we’re trying to resolve it. There’s no reason there shouldn’t be [an encore].”
Question: Please tell me we will see Patrick J. Adams on Orphan Black again? —Em
Ausiello: No word on Adams’ Jesse, but EP Graeme Manson is hoping to bring back another popular character — clone romancer Cal (played by Game of Thrones and Nashville actor Michiel Huisman). The one (rather significant) obstacle? Notes Manson with a laugh: “[He’s] one busy actor.”
Question: Anything about The Fosters? —Karyn
Ausiello: Look for Callie to forge an “instant connection” with her surprise half-sister Sophia, previews the actress’ portrayer, Maia Mitchell, adding, “As an older sister, she absolutely wants to protect this girl — she can see that she is going through some tough stuff and maybe is a little lonely. She’s really trying to find a balance between staying true to her family and the Fosters, [and] also looking after this girl, who is obviously needing her right now. It’s a balancing act.”
On June 29, the new HBO drama The Leftovers will debut at 10 PM.
Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, the series will revolve around the mysterious disappearances, world-wide, and specifically follows a group of people who are left behind in the suburban community of Mapleton. They must begin to rebuild their lives after the loss of more than 100 people.
The series stars Justin Theroux (Wanderlust), Amy Brenneman (Private Practice), Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), Liv Tyler (Lord of the Rings franchise), Michael Gaston (Jericho and TURN), Charlie and Max Carver (Teen Wolf) and Chris Zylka (The Secret Circle and The Amazing Spider-Man).
The new drama Reckless will debut on June 29 on CBS at 9 PM.
The series is set in Charleston, S.C., where a gorgeous Yankee litigator and a charming southern attorney must hide their intense mutual attraction as a police sex scandal threatens to tear the city apart. Jamie Sawyer (Anna Wood from Deception) is enviously cool, confident and armed with south side of Chicago street-smarts as she takes on the good ol’ boys in the South. Her handsome courtroom rival is Roy Rayder (Cam Gigandet from Burlesque and Twilight), is a divorced father of two who embodies the Old South and is the newly minted City Attorney, thanks to his influential former father-in-law, Dec Fortnum (veteran actor Gregory Harrison).
When disgraced cop Lee Anne Marcus (Georgina Haig from Fringe) hires Jamie to represent her in a lawsuit against the police department, Jamie and Roy discover that Lee Anne is at the epicenter of a sinister case with dire implications for the members of the Charleston PD. Heading that department is Deputy Chief Holland Knox (Michael Gladis from Mad Men), a family man who radiates integrity. Working under him are Terry McCandless (Shawn Hatosy from Southland), a cocky and corrupt detective, and Preston Cruz (Adam Rodriguez from CSI: Miami), Jamie’s well-respected boyfriend who might not be all that he appears. Helping Jamie is her confidante and paralegal, Vi Briggs, an expert at digging up case-winning information. As Jamie and Roy spar in and out of the courtroom, dark secrets simmer behind every door and threaten to tarnish the genteel facade of seductive Charleston.
The cast also includes Kim Wayans (In Living Color).