Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past couple of days:

TELEVISION

Revenge has promoted Elena Satine, Karine Vanasse, Brian Hallisay and James Tupper all to series regulars for its current season four. (Teresa Jue at Entertainment Weekly)

The USA Network has canceled Covert Affairs after five seasons. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line and Deadline)

Actor Liam McIntyre (Spartacus) will be seen as villain Weather Wizard on The Flash. (Punkd Images and Dark Horizons)

Actors Joe Anderson (The River and soon to be on Hannibal) and David Morse (Treme) will appear in the WGN America drama Outsiders that centers on the Farrell clan, a family of outsiders who have been in the hills of Appalachia since before anyone can remember. Living off the grid and above the law on their mountaintop homestead, they’ll protect their world and defend their way of life using any means necessary. Anderson will play Asa, a man who bridges the mountain and the “outside” world while Morse will play Big Foster, a weathered man with a brutal and grandiose primitive power who is hot-blooded and reactive, which makes him all the more dangerous. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) will have a recurring role on Jane the Virgin, playing Amanda, the leader of a romance writer’s group Jane Villanueva (series lead Gina Rodriguez) joins. (Bill Keveney at USA Today)

Young actor Max Charles (The Amazing Spider-Man and the made-for-TV movie Northpole) will take over for young actor Ben Hyland in the FX thriller The Strain, playing Zach Goodweather, the son of Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (series lead Corey Stroll). (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Jonathan Tucker (Kingdom) will appear in the final season of Justified that will start on FX on January 20. He will appear in the final five episodes of the series, but details are slim on who he will play. (Teresa Jue at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He will play Robert Gonzales, whose debut will have massive repercussions for Director Coulson (series lead Clark Gregg) and his team. (Natalie Abrams at Entertainment Weekly)

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

Netflix has renewed Marco Polo for a second season. (TCA Announcement)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

Actor Matt Bomer (White Collar and the HBO telefilm The Normal Heart) will be back on HBO for the biopic Monty Clift that will focus on the complicated life of legendary actor Montgomery Clift (Bomer), who finds himself deeply involved with a young Elizabeth Taylor following the filming of A Place in the Sun. (The Hollywood Reporter and Yahoo)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

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

1. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – 21.9 million
2. Into the Woods – 19 million
3. Unbroken – 18.4 million
4. The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death – 15.1 million
5. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb – 14.5 million
6. Annie – 11.4 million
7. The Imitation Game – 8.1 million
8. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 – 7.7 million
9. The Gambler – 6.3 million
10. Big Hero 6 – 4.8 million

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Q&A SECTION (with Kristin at E! Online)

Question: Outlander scoop! Saw on Twitter you got the first episodes back. – Manny H.

Kristin: LOVED THEM. HARD. All you need to know: The first episode back is gut-wrenching, uncomfortable/offensive and then basically straight-up porn. The second episode back is slower-paced and odd, but an amazing set up for the third episode back, which is STRAIGHT UP BANANAS. I didn’t breathe from about half-way through the episode to the end of it. Major game-changers galore and something that fans who didn’t read the books wouldn’t think would happen so soon.

Question: So glad Revenge is back from its break! Got any scoop on the craziness ahead? – Gabby

Kristin: Loving Louise? Good, because the show has just promoted Elena Satine to a series regular! And yes, you can expect to see her somewhat separated storyline intertwine with some of the Hampton’s other main players, namely Emily, very soon. “Right now, they seem to be on two separate tracks, but our goal is to get them altogether, so Emily will eventually cross into Louise’s world,” showrunner Sunil Nayar teases. And he describes the duo’s dynamic as “fun” and says to expect a bit of a return of “the parties and the snark” after the darkness that was Daniel’s death.

Question: I need Gotham scoop. – Matt

Kristin: You’re in luck! We hear that the Fox comic book drama is currently casting the role of Reginald “Reggie” Payne, a late 40s-early 50s Brit who is rough around the edges. Reggie is Alfred’s army buddy from the war, and while he was once a fit, handsome man, he’s unfortunately let himself go, and time hasn’t been kind on him at all. A scruffy beard, bloodshot eyes and raggedy clothes hide who he once was. Other new faces heading to Gotham? Dr. Dulmacher, aka The Dollmaker, a handsome, creepy, mad doctor; Gus Floyd, a young misfit who takes leadership of the bank robbers known as the Red Hood Gang who gains energy and confidence while robbing a bank; and Clyde Destro, a portly, serious man in his late 30s to mid-50s who is a member of the Red Hood Gang.

Question: Anything on Nashville?! – Tara

Kristin: If you hated Luke as much as we did, prepare to feel extremely validated in your hatred since he takes his canceled nuptials as well as a temper-tantrum-throwing toddler. Seriously, Rayna dodged quite the bullet by not marrying this immature brat! Also, the ABC southern soap is currently casting the role of late 20s-early 30s Kevin Shay, who is an openly gay singer-songwriter and is one of the most successful in Nashville, having written for some of the biggest country artists in the industry. Described as handsome, tough, and a man’s man, it sure sounds like Kevin might be paving the way for Will to finally come out!

Question: Are Once Upon a Time‘s Rumpelstiltskin and Belle ever going to be together again? –Ann

Mitovich: Or, does the pursuit of power come with a price? When I invited the series creators to take us inside Rumple’s mad-for-magic mindset, Eddy Kitsis explained, “Rumple let us know in Season 1 that he’s a difficult man to love. And he’s let us know that he always chooses power over love that is his fault. But he began the season with honorable intentions — he really was going to give Belle the knife – but when he saw the [Sorcerer’s] hat, that made him realize, ‘I did the noble thing and it ended up with my son dying and me being a slave. So if I can never have to wake up and worry about someone getting my dagger, why can’t I have everything?’ And as he learned, you can’t.” But to more directly answer your Q, Adam Horowitz offers this: “Rumple and Belle] have been through a lot together, and despite how it may have felt in the midseason finale, their story is not over.”

Question: Any spoilers about the upcoming episode of Castle? –Fred

Mitovich: Monday’s episode — the first in which NYPD outcast Rick hangs up his shingle as a P.I. — is a tremendous amount of fun, though in a way that can’t exactly be replicated on a weekly basis (for however long Rick winds up going solo). The “competition” between Beckett’s team at the 12th and Rick plays out in a highly entertaining way, as each entity tries to out-scoop the other — or, at one point, tries to coax intel over copious amounts of red wine. (Along those same lines, the good-natured rivalry also feeds into one of the first “Wait, what did they do?!” bed scenes in a while.) Will Rick save the day in a way that gets him back in Gates’ good graces? How does Perlmutter react to Rick rummaging in his office? And who at the 12th does the best Rick Castle impersonation? You’ll get those answers and more.

Question: I love Bellamy/Clarke together on The 100 — is there any chance these two will finally get romantic? There is so much sexual tension there! –Katrina

Mitovich: Finn was always intended to be Clarke’s primary love interest, but now that he’s out of the picture — sorry, it’s time we all accept it — there could be a chance for Bellamy to swoop in. “Never rule that out,” executive producer Jason Rothenberg says of a Clarke-Bellamy pairing.

Question: Please tell me The Librarians is going somewhere with Jake and Cassandra’s adorable chemistry! –Ashley

Mitovich: It may come down to the wire, seeing as the TNT drama has only two freshman episodes remaining. “Stone and Cassandra have a very complicated relationship,” exec producer John Rodgers tells the Inside Line. “They are going to get closer, but how close before the end of the world (and season) is a good question.”

Question: Got any scoop you can share about Abby’s boyfriend on NCIS? How long might this relationship last? –Robert

Mitovich: Showrunner Gary Glasberg told me that with the Sergei Michnev story heating back up as well as other fish to fry, “We step away from [Abby’s romance with Burt] for a little while” — though not for forever. “Everybody really likes having [Johann Urb] around, so I’m sure you’ll see him again,” Glasberg shares, adding: “It’s been nice to have everybody kind of in pleasant relationships!”

Question: Will Suits’ Katrina come back, or is Amanda Schull too busy with 12 Monkeysnow? –Christine

Mitovich: At the very least, Schull found time to pop up in the Season 4 premiere, which finds Louis before her on bended knee, popping a question.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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