Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Veteran actor Frank Langella will have a recurring role in the third season of the FX drama The Americans, playing Gabriel, Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth’s (Keri Russell) former KGB handler who comes out of retirement to take back responsibility for overseeing these two KGB operatives from their previous handler, Claudia (Margo Martindale). (The Deadline Team)

Forever has been given an order for three more scripts. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Victor Garber (Alias) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Blue Bloods where he will play Donald Stein, the charismatic scion of a New York real estate dynasty. As a highly respected Jewish leader, Stein is deeply disturbed by the recent murders of several prominent Jewish men in the city. Convinced they are hate crimes, he grows frustrated when Frank (series lead Tom Selleck) refuses to share that conclusion without more evidence. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

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

Question: Nashville scoop, please! — Molly

Mitovich: I hear that Rayna and Luke are going to compete against each other at this year’s CMAs — that’ll make for some awkward pillow talk — and Teddy will find love in the wrong place. Follow-up: Has Teddy ever found love in the right place?

Question: I was hoping you had some scoop on the rest of this season of Covert Affairs. If it could be about Eyal’s role, then all the better! –Michelle

Mitovich: Oded Fehr’s Eyal resurfaces in Episode 11 when Annie heads on a reconnaissance mission in Istanbul, while McQuaid’s health hangs in the balance. In that same mid-season opener, Arthur takes the reins at McQuaid Security and Calder recruits a surprising new asset.

Question: Things between Grimm’s Nick and Juliette ended very intensely last season. Any clue if they will be OK? — Theo

Mitovich: The couple isn’t in a great place, what with Nick sleeping with Adalind and subsequently losing his powers, but Juliette is doing her best to be a supportive girlfriend. That said, she does make a trip to the Spice Shop at one point in the first few episodes to put a subtle, yet firm, kibosh on Monroe and Rosalee’s efforts to restore Nick’s Grimm-ness. Make of that what you will.

Question: Trust me when I say that I am holding the Dark One’s dagger and command you to give us something on Once Upon a Time‘s Rumplestiltskin that isn’t Belle-related! –Christina

Mitovich: During our visit to the Once set this week, Robert Carlyle teased Rumple’s ties to Elizabeth Mitchell’s Snow Queen, saying, “A lot of these magical characters, Rumple has either trained or helped in some way. He hasn’t exactly trained her, but he’s helped her along the way. So there’s deep, deep history there, but it’s a really strange relationship. They’re very, very dangerous to each other [and] both slightly afraid of each other, I think.”

Question: Will Once Upon a Time’s Elsa get out of that blue dress and into new clothes? –Lindsay

Mitovich: I’m betting on no. For one, Georgina Haig was in said costume when we saw her on set. And two, I could imagine Disney having an issue with Once drastically altering the appearance of a current movie franchise character/golden goose.

Question: Anything new on Castle? – Sam

Mitovich: Episode 9, “titled “Role of a Lifetime,” revolves around the murder of a Stallone-like action-movie headliner, with the persons of interest including the victim’s onetime co-star, his Brigitte Nielsen-esque wife, and their club promoter son.

Question: Are there any past characters coming back to Arrow in Season 3? Along the lines of Kelly Hu’s China White? –Alamin

Mitovich: As you may have heard, Katrina Law will soon return as Nyssa al-Ghul, and given what happened to her lover Sara, the LOA badass “absolutely” has some bones to pick, Katie Cassidy told me. “You will see [Nyssa go through] a wide range of emotions,” Cassidy previewed, “but ultimately, through the resentment and negativity, you’ll get a chance to see [her and Laurel] sort of come to understanding.”

Question: I’ve heard conflicting reports — will Arrow’s Ray Palmer be turning into The Atom or not? –Bill

Mitovich: “Anything is possible,” showrunner Marc Guggenheim allows, before adding: “My instinct is if Ray Palmer is going to shrink he’ll probably shrink on another show. With The Flash in existence, there’s no compelling reason for us to do superpowers on Arrow.” That said, the EP teases, “We have plans for Ray that don’t involve shrinking but are actually really cool.”

Question: Any Beauty and the Beast info you can reveal? Maybe who has been cast as Detective Harris? –Stephanie

Mitovich: Brandon Gill (Golden Boy) will debut in Episode 305 as Detective Wesley Atchison, Cat’s new partner. Being his first day of the job and all, Wes is eager to work with an accomplished detective such as Ms. Chandler.

Question: I’m not ashamed to admit this is a very shallow question, but: Is there any way that NCIS’ Jake could be from Oklahoma by way of London? I know that Jamie Bamber also plays characters who are not British, but that accent… sigh. –Andrea

Mitovich: Many a reader has echoed your sentiment/sigh/wish, Andrea, but I’ve confirmed that Bishop’s husband is American, so no accent for you.

Question: What Dr. Wells said on The Flash has me wondering: Do we have any idea how far into the future it will be before Barry starts being called “The Flash”? –Susan

Mitovich: I reckon that, as with “The Hood”/Arrow, it’s a ways away. And Jesse L. Martin confirmed as much, telling us, “They stick with [‘The Red Streak’] for a while.”

BONUS SCOOP: In Episode 12, we’ll meet Clay Parker, an Iron Heights escapee who leans on his girlfriend to use her metahuman skills in the name of “one last heist.”

Question: I really enjoy Gotham, but I’m confused. What era is the show in? It’s about young Bruce Wayne, therefore, the cars should be older — which they seem to be most of the time. That being said, why are there cell phones? –James

Mitovich: This has been covered, but it’s worth repeating. As show boss Bruno Heller has said of the seemingly incongruous temporal cues, “It’s a mash-up, to use the modern phrase… a kind of timeless world. It’s yesterday, it’s today and it’s tomorrow all at the same time, because that’s the world that dreams live in.”

That’s it. Enjoy!