Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actors Alex Carter (CSI and Burn Notice) and Carlos Bernard (24) will guest star on Major Crimes, when the show returns in November. Carter will play Ronald Glover, an affluent man who has been paying out the nose for a surrogate baby—his wife’s fondest dream. But when they are hauled in by the police for questioning, their dream takes on a nightmarish quality. On the other hand, Bernard will play Pete Sims, a celebrity driver and recovered substance abuser who is trying to stay on the straight and narrow. (Natalie Abrams at Entertainment Weekly)

Hemlock Grove has been renewed by Netflix for its third and final season, which will consist of 10 episodes. (TV By the Numbers)

Actor Brendan Hines (Suits and Lie to Me) will recur on the new CBS drama Scorpion, playing Drew Winters, father of Paige’s (series regular Katharine McPhee) genius son, Ralph. The drama will debut on September 22. (Rebecca Iannucci at TV Line)

The FOX summer drama Gang Related has been cancelled. (Tim Kenneally at The Wrap)

Syfy has given a greenlight to Childhood’s End, a six-hour mini-series based on the Arthur C. Clarke classic novel. The story follows the peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious “Overlords,” whose arrival begins decades of apparent utopia under indirect alien rule, at the cost of human identity and culture. The mini-series will premiere in 2015. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Dominic Purcell (Prison Break) will play pyromaniac Mick Rory (aka Heatwave) in an upcoming episode of The Flash. Ironic or not, but his Prison Break co-star Wentworth Miller will also appear in an upcoming episode of the series as Leonard Snart (aka Captain Cold) while fellow Prison Break co-star Robert Knepper will be crossing over from Arrow to The Flash as The Clock King. (Andy Swift at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

NBC is developing a 10-hour mini-series that will examine the Ten Commandments. The project called Decalogue will have a modern setting and will be based on the Danish format of the same name that is expecting to follow the same format of 10 one-hour films, with each short exploring one or several moral and ethical issues. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter) will star in the USA Network pilot called Stanistan that revolves around the staff at the American compound in the Middle Eastern country of Stanistan, where State Department workers, covert CIA officers and journalists strike a delicate balance of danger and levity. Carpenter will play public affairs officer Marcie Post, the daughter of a well-respected diplomat and the newly appointed spin-master for all US government activity in the country of Stanistan. This is one of three projects currently under development by the cabler. (Tim Kenneally at The Wrap).

HBO is developing an hour-long romantic drama called Elizabeth that will star and be executive produced by actress Patricia Clarkson (Easy A and Shutter Island). The project will be set in the world of international politics. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Michael Green, a producer on Gotham, The Flash, Smallville and Heroes is attached to a TV adaptation of Supergirl, but no further details are available at this time. (Bleeding Cool and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Dwayne Johnson (Fast and Furious franchise) will play DC Comics villain Black Adam in the upcoming film adaptation of Shazam. The role of Shazam has yet to be cast, though. (Brett Malec at E! Online)

Q&A SECTION (with Adam Bryant at TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Question: Do you have any new information on The Blacklist’s new season? — Roger

Adam: How about some exclusive casting news? Tony-nominated Broadway veteran Norm Lewis — who is currently starring in the title role of The Phantom of the Opera and did a stint last season on Scandal — has been tapped to play J.P. Laskin, a business associate of Red’s who doesn’t exactly agree with his recent moves in the ongoing war with Berlin. In fact, I hear Laskin may even be tempted to switch sides. Of course, once Red finds out about the betrayal, he’ll probably make the choice for him. Perhaps playing a “phantom” will come in handy!

Question: Is Gotham’s version of James Gordon more of an antihero? — Matt

Adam: Not initially. But when you consider that all of Gordon’s steel-jawed good intentions to clean up Gotham eventually end with a man dressed in a rubber Batsuit coming to save the day, it’s pretty much assured that he’ll face some challenges. But that doesn’t mean he’s doomed to fail. “There will be triumphs. The mere fact that he tries to maintain his integrity is a victory,” executive producer Danny Cannon says. “He finds a way, not to control it, but he learns what Gotham is. It’s this vast machine and its internal engines are driven by corruption and have been since the beginning of time. Gordon has to change in order for that machine to not break down.”

Question: I would love pretty much anything you can give me on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., as long as it’s not about romance/’shipping. —Joseph

Ausiello: When pressed by Matt Mitovich to tease the opening moments of Season 2, EP Jeff Bell ultimately said, “We come in in a surprising way,” adding: “Coulson was always interested in getting back to the roots of S.H.I.E.L.D., to the kind of organization it used to be — you know, this small, covert, ‘men in black’ kind of thing. And I think you get a feel for that when we come into the second season.”

Question: Do you have any Grimm scoop? –Lil

Ausiello: Adalind and the royals will have some competition as they search for her missing daughter: The NBC drama’s upcoming fourth season will feature a “new character who will enter the fray who also really wants to find that baby,” series co-creator David Greenwalt tells TVLine.

That’s it. Enjoy!