Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Despite a big cliffhanger ending, TNT has cancelled Dallas after three seasons on the air. (Variety)

The Hallmark Channel drama Signed, Sealed, Delivered will move to its sister network Hallmark Movies & Mysteries as a movie franchise consisting of a series of 2-hour original films. The first movie in the franchise will be Signed, Sealed, Delivered For Christmas on November 23 with three more movies slated for 2015. A marathon of the first series episodes will air on its new home on October 11 from 11 AM to 11 PM. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Tyler Hilton (One Tree Hill and Extent) will guest star on an upcoming episode of Castle entitled “One Upon A Time in the West”. He will play Tobias, a fun-loving resort guest (at an Old West-style resort) privy to a scandalous secret. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

MINI-SERIES NEWS

Actresses Thandie Newton (Rogue) and Melissa George (Hunted and The Good Wife) have joined the cast of the upcoming NBC 8-episode mini-series The Slap that is based on the 2011 Australian short-run series that is a complex family drama that explodes from one small incident where a man slaps another couple’s misbehaving child. This seemingly minor domestic dispute pulls the family apart, begins to expose long-held secrets and ignites a lawsuit that challenges the core American values of all who are pulled into it. Newton will play Aisha, a doctor, wife and mother of their two children. Meanwhile, George reprises her role from the Aussie mini as Rosie, a hippie wife and meddlesome mother of Hugo, the 5-year-old boy who is slapped after waving a bat in another boy’s face. (The Deadline Team)

The National Geographic mini-series Killing Jesus, based on the Bill O’Reilly book, has announced its casting, including Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) who will play King Herod and Stephen Moyer (True Blood) who will play Pontius Pilot. Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage), Eoin Macken (The Night Shift) and John Rhys Davies (Sliders) will also co-star. (Andy Swift at TV Line)

FOX is working with Len Wiseman (Underworld franchise) on the event mini-series St. Patrick about the patron saint of Ireland, a historic epic in the vein of Braveheart. The series explores Patrick‘s dramatic transformation from a rebellious teenager into a legendary peacemaker and chronicles his story as a slave who becomes a priest, a priest who becomes a warrior, and ultimately a warrior who becomes a saint. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The CW is looking to develop another Latin American telenovela called First Lady that chronicles one woman’s rags-to-riches journey from illegal immigrant to the White House, where she battles injustice and her own sordid past which has come back to haunt her. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead and Prison Break) has joined the pilot of the USA Network pilot Colony that will also star Josh Holloway (Lost). The series centers on Will Bowman (Holloway), a former FBI agent who — to protect his family — is forced to collaborate with the occupational government to bring down the growing resistance movement inside the Los Angeles colony. Callies will play Will’s wife, Katie Bowman, a mother of three who faces a daily struggle to keep her family safe and united in an occupied L.A. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Starz is developing a mystery/thriller drama called The Disappearance that tells the story of Alice Grimson, who is overjoyed when her teenage son Josh shows up seven years after being kidnapped. She and her husband Tom set aside long-simmering tensions in their marriage to help Josh in his struggle to resume a normal life. But when she connects his return to a series of horrific local murders, Alice begins to wonder if Josh knows something he’s not telling them. Determined to protect her son, she digs deeper into what really happened to him while he was missing — and she enters a nightmare that threatens her life and everything she holds dear. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here are the top 10 box office movies for this past weekend courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1. Gone Girl – 37.5 million
2. Annabelle – 37.1 million
3. The Equalizer – 18.8 million
4. The Boxtrolls – 12 million
5. The Maze Runner – 11.6 million
6. Left Behind – 6.3 million
7. This is Where I Leave You – 4 million
8. Dolphin Tale 2 – 3.4 million
9. Guardians of the Galaxy – 3 million
10. No Good Deed – 2.5 million

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Question: Do you have any scoop on Once Upon a Time‘s Belle? The appearance of what appears to be The Sorcerer’s Hat from Fantasia has some worried that Rumplestiltskin may again keep secrets from her. –Natalie

Mitovich: Those “some” would be wise to worry. “Rumple certainly seemed to recognize the hat when he saw it. And he certainly seemed to think it was quite important,” co-creator Adam Horowitz teases. “What it is, and why he desires it become important to the story in the near future.” Now, if it cleans your palate any, Robert Carlyle promises that the Belle-centric Episode 6 should be a huge fan-pleaser: “Anyone that loves that [Rumbelle] relationship will really enjoy those scenes.”

Question: While I love Once Upon a Time‘s Hook/Emma, do you have any scoop on what’s in store for our favorite pirate this season outside of romance? I hear he has some conflict with the Knave. –Stef

Mitovich: You heard right. As Michael Socha says of his onetime Merry Man, “He’s a thief and a drunk, so he pisses a few people off” upon arriving in Storybrooke. “He gets locked up. He gets put in jail. He’s naughty. He’s always up to something.” As for the Knave/Hook dynamic, Colin O’Donoghue simply says: “It’s complicated. And I’m going to leave it at that.”

Question: Have you any information on The Fosters‘ Christmas episode? –Tricia

Mitovich: I can tell you that as Callie and Jude spend their first Christmas with the Fosters, Stef feels that Grandma Sharon is a bit excessive with her gift giving — especially when she learns where the money is coming from. Meanwhile, Lena must face her bias against a family member.

Question: Who will be the Big Bad of Supernatural Season 10? –Tom

Mitovich: Would you believe it’s… Sam and Dean? As the Winchesters battle their inner demons — literal and figurative — the show “be introducing, over the course of the season, characters that are very, very, very personal to our main characters,” executive producer Jeremy Carver previews, “and that’s all going to start to snowball into, ‘You are who you are,’ and having to deal with all this and drawing some lines. Of course, there’ll be Bigger Bads that emerge, but the central focus of the season is really on these personal arcs.”

BONUS SCOOP: Carver reveals, “You will most definitely see Charlie’s (played by Felicia Day) return from Oz.”

Question: Any Arrow scoop that is Roy Harper-related? –Andrew

Mitovich: Showrunner Marc Guggenheim says that Roy is more a member of Team Arrow than ever, and not just because he’s got a mod new Arsenal outfit. “He’s really present and a member of this group, so the trio becomes a quartet,” Guggenheim explains. “And that’s definitely true in Episode 6, [which] is a very Roy-centric episode. It speaks, in some ways, to Episode 212 [‘Tremors,’ in which Oliver trained his padawan]. I wouldn’t call it a sequel, but they’re thematically related.” All told, the EP says, “What you see in Season 3 is a much more mentor/mentee, master/apprentice relationship. You really see how Oliver is training this kid to be a hero in his own right.”

Question: Please tell me you have some scoop on Chicago Fire? – Quanita

Mitovich: It looks like Casey could be bound for Chicago P.D. to hash out his issues with Voight. Executive producer Matt Olmstead tells us that a visit from the firefighter is being targeted for the back nine of this season. “It all started with Voight almost losing his mind, trying to convince Casey not to get his own son jammed up, and obviously [he] went too far, apologized for it, copped to it, but Casey’s never going to forgive that,” the EP says. “That day’s coming [where they cross paths]. I’m not quite sure what it’s going to be, but it’ll be powerful.”

Question: Any scoop on Gotham‘s Riddler? –Mason

Mitovich: Given he’s rather mild-mannered (if quirky) thus far, I asked Cory Michael Smith what might ultimately steer Edward Nigma toward his villainous destiny. “He is incredibly well-intentioned… but he’s a little misunderstood and mistreated. He’s certainly abused by Harvey Bullock,” the actor shared. “He’s a brilliant guy who doesn’t have much power but thinks he deserves it, so when he finally starts to taste it, he’ll want more.”

Question: Do you have any Reign news you can divulge? –Cindy

Mitovich: In surveying Francis’ Season 2 journey, EP Laurie McCarthy told us he isn’t about to subject his own child to the life he had growing up under King Henry’s stern thumb. “Francis will have a chance to do it differently with his child by Lola, but it is going to pull him and Mary apart, among other things,” she said. “And they will, in fact, be drawn to others. But whether they’ll give into that temptation or not is anyone’s guess.”

That’s it. Enjoy!