Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for yesterday and today:

TELEVISION

ABC has given Mistresses a third season order and it will air next summer; but actress Alyssa Milano will not be returning to the cast. (TV Fanatic and E! Online)

Actor Dominic Cooper will reprise his role of Howard Stark in the upcoming ABC drama Agent Carter that will star Hayley Atwell in the lead role of Agent Peggy Carter. The series takes place in 1946; and with World War II over, Peggy finds herself marginalized now that the men have returned home. The series will see Peggy working for the SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve), balancing work and secret missions with Cooper’s Howard Stark. There is no word on whether Cooper will be a series regular or just appear as a guest, though. (Chris Harnick at E! Online)

Actress Yvonne Strahovski (24: Live Another Day and Chuck) has joined the upcoming ABC 10-episode drama The Astronaut Wives Club that is based on the Lily Koppel book that tells the real story of the women who stood beside some of the biggest heroes in American history during the height of the space race. Strahovski will play Rene Carpenter, an independent and confident astronaut wife who awakens to a high calling in politics, civil rights and women’s issues. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Ryan Hansen (Veronica Mars and Party Down) will guest star in the mid-season CW drama iZombie. Hansen will appear as a cocky, uncomplicated golden boy and pro snowboarder who is paid handsomely to put his face on things. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

TV TRAILER

Ascension Trailer

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Heather Graham will appear in the third movie in the Flowers in the Attic franchise, If There Be Thorns, reprising her role of Corrine Dollanganger. The third film follows Christopher (Jason Lewis from Sex and the City) and Cathy Dollanganger (Rachael Carpani from McLeod’s Daughters and Against the Wall) as they live together as man and wife in California with Cathy’s two sons, who are unaware of the nature of their parents’ relationship. The movie should air in late 2015. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) and actress Teresa Palmer (Warm Bodies and I Am Number Four) will appear in the box office film The Choice based on the Nicholas Sparks book of the same name. Walker will play Travis Parker, who meets neighbor Gabby Holland (Palmer) in a small coastal town. The story spans a decade of their love affair, which is ultimately tested by life’s most defining events. (The Deadline Team)

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

Question: You were so right about Robin Lord Taylor on Gotham! He’s amazing as the Penguin. How long do we have to wait until he’s back in the city to get his revenge? – Tom

E! Online: As we all saw Monday night, Oswald Cobblepot is determined to make his way back to his city come hell or high water. And his return will come sooner than you expect!

Question: What’s the word on any female characters on Supernatural this season? – Rachel

E! Online: While females generally don’t have the longest life span on this CW fan-favorite series, the show is currently casting the role of Claire Novak, a 17-year-old tough, angry teenager described as “punk-rock-pretty.” Claire is sarcastic, smart and defiant because of her rough past: she has bounced from foster home to foster home since the death of her father and the disappearance of her mother. Even though Claire is always in trouble, underneath it all she has a big heart. Let’s hope that heart makes her a survivor!

Question: I need some Gotham spoilers! — Brandon

Adam: Yes, Batman is many years in the future, but Monday’s episode will offer up a prototype vigilante who targets Gotham’s most corrupt citizens using weather balloons! (The character and episode are fittingly titled “The Balloonman.”) The case will help Gordon realize that, as long as the GCPD is crooked, vigilantes will continue to rise.

Question: Is there any chance knowledge of the Machine could go public on Person of Interest? — Tyler

Adam: I had the exact same thought, particularly after last season’s finale when Finch seemed almost relieved to be confessing its existence during the “trial.” (His attitude about the Machine this season seemed unchanged.) But executive producer Jonathan Nolan insists that Finch’s faith will be restored. “Finch is kind of stuck in this shadow world, in which you have this group of operators who understand exactly what’s happening,” Nolan says. “We always said our show works best in the shadows. The Machine is the world’s last secret and Finch is kind of stuck with it.”

Question: What will Mary and Francis’ reunion be like on Reign after the way he left? — Bree

Ausiello: As you can imagine, “complicated” doesn’t even begin to describe Francis and Mary’s relationship in Season 2. “There is a connection between Francis and Lola, and he has to have a civil relationship with her, but he’s determined to show Mary that he cares about their relationship more than anything — and he does that through sex,” Toby Regbo says. “He just throws sex at his problems until they go away.”

Question: Some Sleepy Hollow scoop, please? —Becca

Ausiello: Next week’s hour spotlights money that has really bad mojo. “There’s a coin that
Henry puts into circulation around Sleepy Hollow that starts turning people against the ones that they love and they start killing each other, as well,” Tom Mison tells TVLine, adding that the cash has ties to at least two other severely bad moments in human history. Oh, and the Mills sisters will fall under its evil spell.

Question: Anything Ichabod-related from Sleepy Hollow would be more than welcome, thanks. —Jane

Ausiello: Ichabod’s finally learning how to drive! In an upcoming episode, “We see Ichabod and Abbie swap seats,” says Mison, who recently got his own first driver’s license and admits that his lack of experience was evident during production. At one point, the show’s stunt coordinator hopped in the passenger’s seat to talk Mison through a sequence where he was the only person in the shot. “I made one of the leading stunt coordinators on the East Coast whimper,” the actor reports, laughing.

Question: Is the Leo-Emma-Jordi triangle going to be an ongoing source of drama on Red Band Society?

Ausiello: I can answer your question in two words: Mmm. Hmm. But I’ll let series star Charlie Rowe, who plays Leo, flesh out the details. “We are shooting the last couple days of Episode 6,” Rowe reveals, “and things are escalating. We’re almost at the point where a decision is being made in terms of the triangle — and who wins who. There’s a lot of anger and upset involved from both guys, but it’s getting good and juicy.”

Question: Do you have anything to share for Hart of Dixie? —Nicole

Ausiello: A few weeks ago, Matt Mitovich regaled you with a little ditty about Dixie adding a character that sounded like the 2.0 version of Rachel Bilson’s Zoe. Well, allow me to welcome you to Dixie‘s upcoming O.C. reunion, bitch, because Autumn Reeser got the role! Reeser will play Olivia, a very attractive, fashionable and quick-witted New York attorney struggling to make sense of life in BlueBell. She’s set to appear in the Season 4 finale.

That’s it. Enjoy!