BBC America has renewed Orphan Black for a third season and the mini-series Broadchurch for a second season. (Tierney Bricker at E! Online)
Actress Gina Gershon (Rescue Me) will guest star in an episode of Elementary when it returns this fall on CBS. She will play Elana March, a socialite whom Joan (series lead Lucy Liu) suspects of running a notorious drug cartel. Unable to prove Elana’s ties to the cartel’s operations, Joan hopes to turn one of Elana’s accountants into a key witness for the prosecution. But Joan’s pursuit of Elana quickly becomes personal, with Elana demonstrating the lengths to which she’s willing to go in order to avoid prison. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)
Actor Ryan Kennedy (Caprica and Defiance) will play Ricky Raydor, the son of Capt. Sharon Raydor (Mary McDonnell) on Major Crimes. Ricky is a Stanford grad and software engineer on the verge of his first big payday. However, Ricky comes back home to weigh in on some of his mom’s recent personal decisions. Those decisions will undoubtedly involve the recently out-of-the-closet Rusty (series regular Graham Patrick Martin) and Sharon and Ricky may not see eye to eye. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)
El Rey Network has already given a 13-episode second season order to their new drama Matador before the series has even debuted on the network. It will air its series premiere on July 15. (The Deadline Team)
The sixth and final season of the FOX musical dramedy Glee will consist of 13 episodes, which will run consecutively in mid-season. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Lifetime has ordered a drama pilot for The Clan of the Cave Bear that is based on the Jean M. Auel series of best-selling novels. The books take place at a time in prehistory more than 25,000 years ago when Neanderthals shared the Earth with the first early modern humans and a band of cave dwellers adopt blond and blue-eyed Ayla, a child of the “Others.” As Ayla matures into a young woman of spirit and courage, she must fight for survival against the jealous bigotry of Broud, who will one day be clan leader. The pilot is set for a potential 2015 launch. (The Futon Critic)
Syfy has given a green light to a pilot for The Magicians that is an adaptation of the best-selling fantasy book trilogy by Lev Grossman, which revolves around a group of New York twentysomethings who, while studying magic, discover the fantasy world they read about as children is all too real and poses a grave danger to humanity. (The Deadline Team)
BOX OFFICE MOVIE NEWS
Actress Rebecca Ferguson (The White Queen) will play the female lead opposite Tom Cruise in the upcoming film Mission: Impossible 5. (Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)
It was yet another night filled with reality and some repeats, but there were two new episodes of summer dramas on the major networks as well as the debut of a much anticipated new series.
Here is how the Wednesday night dramas fared in the overall ratings last night:
9 PM Show: Extant (CBS) [DEBUT]- 9.4 million
10 PM Shows: Taxi Brooklyn (NBC) [NEW] – 4.7 million Motive (ABC) [NEW] – 3.9 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:
7:45 PM: 42 movie on HBO
8 PM: Black Box on ABC (NEW) Defiance on Syfy (NEW) The Vampire Diaries on The CW (Reair) Being Mary Jane on BET (Reair) Castle on TNT NCIS: Los Angeles on USA Network Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol movie on FX Fir Crazy movie on Hallmark
9 PM: Rookie Blue on ABC (NEW) Gang Related on FOX (NEW) Dominion on Syfy (NEW) The Originals on The CW (Reair) Being Mary Jane on BET (Reair)
9:01 PM: Castle on TNT
10 PM: Elementary on CBS (Reair) Being Mary Jane on BET (Reair) Flashpoint on ION
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).”
The new vampire drama The Strain will debut on FX on July 13 at 10 PM.
When a plane lands at JFK International Airport with the lights off and doors sealed epidemiologist Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll from House of Cards) and his team are sent to investigate. On board they find two hundred corpses and four survivors. The situation deteriorates when the bodies begin disappearing from morgues. Goodweather and a small group of helpers find themselves battling to protect not only their own loved ones, but also the entire city, from an ancient threat to humanity.
The cast includes Mia Maestro (Alias), Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings franchise), Kevin Durand (Lost and Dark Angel), David Bradley (Harry Potter franchise) and Jonathan Hyde (MI-5 and Titanic).
Here are the news items for today, few though they may be:
TELEVISION
Actress Lorraine Toussaint (Orange Is the New Black) has landed a series regular role on the upcoming ABC fall drama Forever that stars Ioan Gruffudd (Ringer and the Fantastic Four franchise) as Dr. Henry Morgan, a New York City medical examiner who studies the dead — because he is secretly immortal. Toussaint will play Lt. Joanna Reece, a weathered, fiftysomething police vet who’s seen it all — and serves as the new boss for Detective Jo Martinez (Alana de la Garza from Law & Order). (Michael Slezak at TV Line)
Actress Marin Ireland (Homeland and the upcoming mini-series The Divide) will have a recurring role on Masters of Sex, playing Pauline, the wife of Frank (Christian Borle). The couple comes to town seeking Masters’ help in conceiving a child. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)
Actress Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost and Revolution) has joined the cast of Once Upon a Time where she will play a part of the much-anticipated Frozen-inspired storyline, but specifics on what role she will play are being kept under wraps, but it is known that she will play a “villainous character”. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Author Gillian Flynn (“Gone Girl”) is teaming with Entertainment One and producers Marti Noxon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity) to bring her debut novel Sharp Objects to TV. The book centers on reporter Camille Preaker — fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital — who faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming. No deal with any studio or network has been made yet, though. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)
On July 12, the UP Channel movie Comeback Dad will debut at 8 PM.
Nima Babineaux (Tatyana Ali from The Young and the Restless) looks like a woman who has it all – she is an accomplished pianist who runs her own music school and is engaged to Spence (Brad James from For Better or Worse), a successful engineer who adores her. But, in truth, she has never recovered from her alcoholic father, Othell (Charles S. Dutton from Roc), walking out on their family and it has made it hard for her to truly trust anyone. When Othell decides it is time to make amends and tries to reenter her life, Nima begins an emotional and eye-opening journey she could have never expected.
The film also stars Loretta Devine from Grey’s Anatomy.
There was still of plenty of repeats, reality and other mundane programming options on the major networks last night, but there was about a handful of new episodes to watch, including a season finale.
Here is how the Monday night dramas fared in the overall ratings last night:
9 PM Shows: 24: Live Another Day (FOX) [NEW] – 6 million Beauty And the Beast (The CW) [Season Finale] – 876,000 viewers
10 PM Shows: Under the Dome (CBS) [NEW] – 7.7 million Mistresses (ABC) [NEW] – 3.8 million
Rueben's Ramblings 