Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Young actress Bailee Madison (young Snow White on Once Upon a Time) has joined the cast of the upcoming Hallmark Channel drama The Good Witch, which is based on the network’s popular movie franchise. (CelebsVibe via Tumblr)

Actor Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad and Revolution) will reprise his role of Sidney Glass in Once Upon a Time when the show returns for its fourth season this fall on ABC. How Sidney (aka The Magic Mirror) will return to the storyline, however, is being kept under wraps. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Actor Robbie Amell (The Tomorrow People) has landed a recurring role in the new CW Arrow spin-off series The Flash, playing Ronnie Raymond (aka Firestorm), a maintenance worker at S.T.A.R. Labs and Dr. Caitlin Snow’s (series regular Danielle Panabaker) fiancé, who will play an integral part in the particle accelerator accident that transforms Barry Allen (series lead Grant Gustin) into The Flash. (Laura Prudom at Variety)

BBC America is producing an 8-episode historical drama adaptation of the Bernard Cornwall best-selling “Saxon Stories” novels that are set in the year 872, when many of the separate kingdoms of what we now know as England have fallen to the invading Vikings. The great kingdom of Wessex has been left standing alone and defiant under the command of King Alfred the Great. Against this turbulent backdrop lives our hero, Uhtred. Born the son of a Saxon nobleman, he is orphaned by the Vikings and then kidnapped and raised as one of their own. Forced to choose between the country of his birth and the people of his upbringing, his loyalties are ever tested. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Gil Bellows (Ally McBeal) has joined the cast of the upcoming 6-hour Syfy limited series Ascension that tells the story of a ship that 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. Bellows will play the son of Abraham Enzmann, the founder of the Ascension mission, who is determined to continue his father’s work. Ascension will debut on Syfy in November. (Andy Swift at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The Hallmark Channel is teaming with author Charlaine Harris (the woman behind all of the Sookie Stackhouse novels on which True Blood is based) for a new series for the cable network that will center on another book series of hers: the 8-book “Aurora Teagarden” series. Actress Candace Cameron Bure (Full House) will star as the lead character, a librarian who is also a crime buff, a lover of mystery novels and a member of the Real Murders Club who meet to analyze famous crimes and mysteries. Her insight into true crime ends up putting her at the center of different crimes that happen in her community. (The Live Feed)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Matthew Rhys (The Americans) will star in the upcoming independent film called Darling Buds of May that will follow a stranded British army officer (Rhys), who teams up with a German fugitive to find his son in Nazi-occupied France. (Anthony D’Alessandro at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Q&A SECTION (with Natalie Abrams at TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Question: Do you have any scoop on the new season of The Blacklist? — Charlie

Natalie: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, right? Red Reddington will learn that the hard way when a ruthless female Mossad agent, who’s been hunting him for some time, finally tracks him down. But even though Red will once again get the best of his enemy, I hear it’s not all bad news for her. After all, there is a vacant slot on Red’s team…

Question: I need Sleepy Hollow scoop! — Bridget

Natalie: I hear there are several new characters the producers aren’t revealing in advance of Season 2 in order to maintain some element of surprise. But we were able to squeeze the following hints out of executive producer Mark Goffman: “We’re going to be digging into Abbie’s past a lot more and getting to know more about her family and her heritage, which is a big part of the show this season. We’re also going to be filling out the town even more, so we’ll get to see what the people of Sleepy Hollow are like.”

Question: When will we find out what happened to Annie on that beach on Covert Affairs? — Sina

Natalie: There won’t be a flashback episode, but pieces of the puzzle will be peppered throughout the season before culminating in the midseason finale. “There’ll be a little something at [Episode] 10 that I think people will be waiting for and will be very revealing, so to speak,” executive producer Matt Corman says. “It answers questions fans will have and it will be something to propel us forward.”

Question: Will there be more death on Under the Dome? — Jamie

Natalie: Unfortunately, I hear the Grim Reaper isn’t through with the folks of Chester’s Mill just yet — especially once the dome decides to randomly change its shape.

Question: How will Stahma respond to Datak’s attempted matricide on Defiance? — Etienne

Natalie: To say she doesn’t take it well would be putting it lightly. While she initially attempts to make the best of a tricky situation, after Alak gets hurt in the fallout of Datak’s return, Stahama sets out to upset the patriarchal Castithan status quo, fighting violence with violence. But will the other Castithans follow a woman’s lead?

Question: Any word on who will be writing Castle‘s season premiere? —Ben

Ausiello: The good news: Newly coronated showrunner David Amann is penning the Season 7 opener. The even better news: Rob Bowman is directing. And now, the provocative news: Castle will return with a two-parter, and to that end is casting the guest-starring role of “Henry,” a highly intelligent yet unassuming gent who’s deft at blending into a crowd. (A spook-y nemesis of Jackson Hunt’s? 3XK with a new face c/o Dr. Niemann? Discuss.) Also being guest-cast for the premiere are a Hamptons police sergeant, a doctor, a shrink and… a Coast Guard captain?!

Question: Dying to know who sent Dash that e-mail in the Witches of East End premiere! Any hints? —Char

Ausiello: Hold tight because the big e-mail mystery will be resolved over the next couple of episodes. However, it sounds like the entire East End gang is in for much bigger trouble come Episode 10, when a mysterious woman named Raven Moreau arrives in town to investigate a string of murders. Smart, intense and not at all opposed to having a one-night stand, Ms. Moreau has dedicated her entire life to accomplishing a “secret mission.” In a nutshell, this is bad news for everyone.

Question: Anything on the Devious Maids finale? —Christian

Ausiello: I’ve got two scoops for you, both of them courtesy of co-star Tiffany Hines. “For those people that are Rosie and Spence supporters, we will get to see Rosie and Spence move forward now that Reggie is no longer in the picture. I believe that we may see another major character’s life hanging in the balance at some point (too).”

That’s it. Enjoy!