Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Simon Kassianides (Nikita) will recur on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., playing Bakshi, a right-hand man who’s not afraid to do the dirty work. (Tierney Bricker at E! Online)

Actress Elena Satine (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) has landed a major recurring role on Revenge this fall, playing Louise, the black sheep daughter of a wealthy Southern family who will stir up trouble when she finds herself out east. (Deadline and Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actress Allison Williams (Girls) will star as Peter Pan in the upcoming NBC live musical production of the classic stage show, which will air on December 4. (Chris Harnick at E! Online)

Actress Claire Holt (The Originals) will star in the upcoming NBC drama Aquarius as a series regular. The show will be set in the 60’s, starring David Duchovny as an undercover cop tracking down infamous killer Charles Manson and his followers. She will play Office Chairmain Tully, a beautiful young female police officer who is trying to be taken seriously in the male-dominated world of the LAPD in 1967. (Tierney Bricker at E! Online)

Actress Kelly Frye (Rake) will appear on The Flash this fall as Bette Sans Souci, aka Plastique, who was a bomb disposal expert in Iraq who, following exposure to the energy released by the S.T.A.R. Labs meltdown, now has the ability to turn any object she touches into an explosive device. (Tierney Bricker at E! Online)

VH1 has given their drama Hit The Floor a third season renewal. (The Futon Critic)

Actor J.R. Ramirez (Emily Owens, MD) will appear in the potentially recurring role of Ted “Wildcat” Grant on Arrow this fall. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Tom Lipinski (who played Mike’s former roommate on Suits) has been promoted to series regular on the upcoming Cinemax 1900’s-set period drama The Knick that will debut on August 8. Lipinski will play Phillip Showalter, a charming and aristocratic young man whose father is a millionaire rubber king. The series stars Clive Owen and centers on the Knickerbocker Hospital and the groundbreaking surgeons, nurses and staff who push the bounds of medicine in a time of astonishingly high mortality rates and zero antibiotics. (The Deadline Team)

Actor Tiffany Hines (Nikita and Bones) will have a recurring role on the new USA Network medical drama Rush that follows Dr. William Rush, a medical fixer, who privately caters to LA’s elite. Hines will play Steffi, an expert at drumming up drama and chaos in any situation. (The Deadline Team)

Actor Mark Valley (Human Target and Body of Proof) will recur on CSI, as a former detective/current P.I. (Entertainment Weekly and Kimberly Roots at TV Line)

Stage and screen actress Donna Murphy (Tangled) will have a recurring role on Resurrection as a mysterious government agent who will be in charge of monitoring Agent Bellamy (series lead Omar Epps) and the activities in Arcadia. (Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Krysten Ritter (Veronica Mars) will guest star in an upcoming episode of The Blacklist, playing a troubled data security firm analyst. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Syfy has a new futuristic thriller in development called Absolute Zero that will be set in 2124, following the denizens of a remote mining colony who discover a dangerous new species on a moon of Jupiter, setting off the first stage of an alien invasion ultimately heading for Earth. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

The Maze Runner

BOOK TO FILM NEWS

Warner Bros. has optioned the book series Dragonriders of Pern by author Anne McCaffrey for the big screen. The 22-volume sci-fi book series focuses on an elite group of warriors who take to the skies on the backs of giant, fire-breathing dragons with telepathic powers. They try to save the exotic planet of Pern from a terrifying airborne menace — a rain of deadly spores that comes with the orbit of the Red Star. (Anita Busch and Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Question: Do Anna and Elsa have a connection to any of our favorite Once Upon a Time characters? — Nathan

Natalie: You mean other than Elsa having been locked up in Rumple’s vault all those years? It sure sounds like it! “Maybe there is an unlikely friendship that Charming had in his past that maybe literally changed the entire path of his life,” Josh Dallas told me at Comic-Con when I asked the exact same question. Safe money is on him being friends with Anna over Elsa, though.

Question: I’m so excited to see Mary-Louise Parker on The Blacklist. Do you know anything about her role? — Harold

Natalie: Talk about being guilty by association! Parker’s character, Naomi Hyland, has such a deep connection to Red’s past that she’ll find herself in Berlin’s crosshairs when the NBC drama returns for Season 2. In other Blacklist news, I hear Liz won’t waste much time officially cutting ties to faux-husband Tom Keen — though there’s at least one part of him she won’t be able to shed.

Question: I still can’t believe someone is going to die on Chicago Fire! What else can you say about Season 3? — Mitch

Natalie: Executive producer Matt Olmstead hints that the loss will be especially devastating for Chief Boden. “[He’s] at the pinnacle of being happy in his life — [he] just got married, a baby on the way — and then this tragedy happens,” he says. “So, he’s trying to stay present in these great moments in his life while also dealing with the grief of other people, and himself in particular.” Can’t we just pretend no one is going to die?

Question: Anything on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., specifically how Ward might factor into the first couple of episodes? —Mary, via Twitter

Natalie: Don’t worry, Ward will still play a big role in Season 2 — as will Hydra. “He spent his whole life being a follower and being told what to do,” executive producer Maurissa Tancharoen tells me. “Now he’s in our custody and alone, so what does that mean for him? Season 2 is Ward continuing to discover what he wants.”

Question: Is Irving out of the fight now that he’s stuck in Tarry Town Psychiatric Hospital on Sleepy Hollow? — Tara

Natalie: Nope. In fact, he’ll play a pivotal role in the new season, what with his battling demons and all! “He’s up against forces that are incredibly powerful,” executive producer Mark Goffman says. “As we find out, Tarry Town Psychiatric has a history with ghosts. Since it’s a mental institution, they’re not just ghosts, they’re crazy ghosts. He’s got his hands full. Over the course of the season, he will help lead a rebellion.”

Question: Thank you so much for all the Arrow scoop lately! Any more tidbits lying around?

Natalie: Oliver’s list is gone! Stephen Amell revealed to me that when Arrow returns for Season 3, Ollie will be busy picking off all the major crime bosses, whose names are now kept neatly organized on a board in his lair. That could problematic when Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) comes into the picture. “We both bid for Queen Consolidated in the season premiere,” Amell says. “Spoiler alert: He gets it.”

That’s it. Enjoy!