Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are all of the news items for this past week:

TELEVISION

Hallmark Channel has given a second season order to Good Witch with a 10-episode season set to air sometime in 2016. (TV By the Numbers)

NBC has changed its mind on the Oz-inspired Emerald City, giving the pilot a straight-to-series 10-episode order. The series will follow 20-year-old Dorothy Gale and her K9 police dog who, after a tornado, are transported to another world far away: a mystical land of competing kingdoms, lethal warriors, dark magic and a bloody battle for supremacy. (Elizabeth Wagmeister and Cynthia Littleton at Variety)

Orange Is the New Black has been renewed for a fourth season by Netflix (LA Times)

MTV has canceled their thriller series Eye Candy after only one season. (Variety)

Dominic Cooper has been cast as the lead in the AMC drama Preacher, which centers on Jesse Custer, a conflicted preacher in a small Texas town who merges with a creature that has escaped from heaven and develops the ability to make anyone do anything he says. Along with his ex-girlfriend, Tulip (Ruth Negga from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), and an Irish vampire named Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun from Misfits), the three embark on a journey to literally find God. Also, Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds) will play Vyla Quinncannon, a genteel but formidable businesswoman who owns the local slaughterhouse in town. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and Variety)

Actress Mimi Rogers will appear in the two final episodes of NCIS, playing a CIA. (Rebecca Iannucci at TV Line)

Actor Dayo Okeniyi (The Hunger Games) has joined the cast of the Jennifer Lopez drama Shades of Blue that will air on NBC. The straight-to-series drama centers on Harlee McCord (Lopez), following a tight-knit crew of police officers who are effective at keeping the streets safe but also corrupt when it comes to lining their pockets and protecting their own. When one of the officers is forced to become a federal informant, she must decide between her own family’s welfare and that of her police family. Okeniyi will play Michael Loman, a new detective assigned to Lt. Bill Wozniak’s (Ray Liotta) tight-knit plainclothes situation unit. The cast also includes Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos) and Warren Kole (Common Law). (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor David Meunier (Justified) has joined the cast of the upcoming Lifetime drama Damien (the follow-up, of sorts, to the classic horror film The Omen). The series follows the adult life of Damien Thorn (Bradley James from Merlin and Homeland), who has grown up seemingly unaware of the satanic forces around him. Meunier will play Detective Shay, a decorated veteran and cynical no-nonsense cop who is investigating the strange occurrences surrounding Damien Thorn. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Christina Cole (What a Girl Wants and Hex) has booked a recurring role on Suits, playing Dr. Paula Agard, a Harvard-educated psychiatrist specializing in high-end corporate consulting. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

TV TRAILER

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

ABC Family has given the greenlight to the supernatural drama Beyond, which is about a young man who wakes up from a coma after 12 years and discovers new supernatural abilities that propel him into the middle of a dangerous conspiracy. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) has teamed with Reunion Pictures for Rain, a drama set in the future that is her own creation. Sackhoff wrote and will executive producer the project that is being described as an evolutionary parable that gives us a look into our possible future as a species viewed through the eyes of a soldier named Rain (Sackhoff). It explores how the long-term effects of global warming, the burning of fossil fuels and the scientific manipulation of nature’s balance rot the world and contribute to its decline. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Olivia Munn (The Newsroom) has joined the cast of the upcoming box office film X-Men: Apocalypse, playing Betsy Braddock aka Psylocke. (Alex Stedman at Variety)

Actress Jayma Mays (Glee) will star opposite Tom Cruise in the upcoming box office film Mena, which is a fact-based tale about Barry Seal (Cruise), a pilot who was a gun runner and drug trafficker transporting contraband for the CIA and the Medellin cartel during the 1980s. (Patrick Hipes at Deadline)

Actress Sofia Boutella (Kingsmen: The Secret Service) has landed a lead role in Star Trek 3, but there are no details on what role she will play. (Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)

Actor Jason O’Mara (Sons of Liberty and the upcoming Complications on the USA Network) will star alongside Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey and Once Upon a Time) in the upcoming box office film Jadotville that is based on the 1961 siege of an Irish UN battalion by 3,000 Congolese troops led by French and Belgian mercenaries working for mining companies. (Ali Jafar at Deadline)

Actors Bill Pullman and Judd Hirsch will be joining the long-in-gestation Independence Day sequel, joining returning stars Jeff Goldblum and Vivica A. Fox. New members of the cast of this sequel will include Liam Hemsworth, Jessie Usher, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Travis Tope and Joey King. (Ethan Anderton at First Showing)

Here are the top 10 box office films for last weekend courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1. Furious 7 – 60.5 million
2. Home – 19 million
3. The Longest Ride – 13.5 million
4. Get Hard – 8.6 million
5. Cinderella – 7.2 million
6. Insurgent – 6.8 million
7. Woman in Gold – 5.8 million
8. It Follows – 2 million
9. Danny Collins – 1.6 million
10. While We’re Young – 1.3 million

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

ME: My head is SO spinning after watching this latest trailer. WHOA!!!!

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Mitovich and Michael Ausiello at TV Line and Kristin Dos Santos at E!)

Question: We’ve not had many spoilers for Once Upon a Time‘s Rumbelle recently. Is there anything that Adam and Eddy are willing to spill? Will we see them in the Dark Castle again? Will we see the chipped cup again? –Betsy

Mitovich: As I do, I hand-delivered your question to the Once creators, and Adam Horowitz confirmed that while there will be no revisiting of the Dark Castle during this last stretch of episodes, “The chipped cup does come back.”

Question: Do you have any scoop on the final episodes of The Blacklist this season? – shellerm

Mitovich: When the series returns April 23, you won’t have to wait long to find out Red’s post-gunshot fate — and his survival will be more touch-and-go than you’d expect. “We pick up immediately, in the moments of the shooting. Dembe was being shot at, and Red’s bleeding on the ground, clearly wounded in a horrible way,” creator Jon Bokenkamp tells us. “[Red’s condition] creates a void, and Liz is going to have to step up and fill the space that is occupied by Red and work through this situation.”

Question: I was wondering if I could get any insight on Revenge as we approach the season (or possibly series) finale. (The season finale has been named “Two Graves”!) –Sabrina

Mitovich: It certainly sounds ominous, doesn’t it? “We’ve only ever done one-word episode titles since the show began,” showrunner Sunil Nayar reminds, “and the show began with this quote Mike [Kelley] had chosen from Confucius: ‘Before embarking on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.’ We wanted … to tell people that there is an element to this journey that will be over [in the finale]. You just have no idea for whom those graves are dug, or who will end up in them.”

Question: What’s the plan for Gotham‘s Barbara? Will she and Jim come face-to-face again before the end of the season? Or perhaps she confronts Leslie? –Nicole

Mitovich: Barbara actually figures into the Ogre storyline that kicks off Monday, and since Gordon will be on the hunt for the killer (played by Milo Ventimiglia), it’s safe to say the estranged lovers will be reunited, though perhaps under less-than-ideal circumstances. As for Barbara/Leslie, “Yes, they are going to meet in Episode 22 — and it’s a corker!” show boss Bruno Heller effuses. “Those two have several agendas they need to work their way through.”

Question: I’m so worried about the upcoming death of a main character in the Grimm season finale! What can you tell us about the events leading up to the big moment? – Sam

Mitovich: Right before the offing, there’ll be “a lot of vengeance coming to a head,” series co-creator James Kouf tells TV Line. Co-creator David Greenwalt adds that the scene will be filled with “revenge and wild surprise.”

Question: In the May 27 episode of Grimm, Viktor was rushed away in a way that was obvious it wasn’t Alexis Denisof in the scene. Will he appear again anytime soon or is he now too busy with Finding Carter? – Jordan

Mitovich: You answered your own Q, Jordan – Denisof’s Finding Carter schedule is keeping him plenty busy, so Viktor won’t be seen again anytime soon. Ergo the recent introduction of Nico Evers-Swinddell as Kenneth, an even more ruthless member of the royal family.

Question: In the last four episodes of NCIS, will there be some recurring characters or guest stars? –Ann

Mitovich: I can tell you that in the season’s antepenultimate episode (airing April 28), Matt Jones reprises his role as NCIS Special Agent Ned Dorneget (and for multiple episodes) and Jamie Bamber returns as Bishop’s husband. (If you also watch NCIS: New Orleans, know that Steven Weber will be back as Councilman Hamilton in the final two episodes, while Stacy Keach returns as Pride’s pop in the May 12 season finale.)

Question: Melisandre is already creeping me out this season on Game of Thrones. What is up with her? – Greg

Kristin: You are not alone. We actually screamed during the season five premiere: Stay away from Jon Snow! “It’s my favorite season as far as my character goes,” Carice van Houten says. “I had a lot more to do and a little more of an arc, and you’ll see things that you haven’t really seen before. You’ve seen that I’m interacting with Jon Snow. [Stannis and I] need him. We’re stronger now because we have an army and it looks like we have a chance to get on the throne. But we might need Jon Snow to do that.”

Question: Anything about Ezria from PLL?! – adoringezriax

Kristin: We’d totally tell you what’s going on with Aria and Ezra, but even Lucy Hale is in the dark! “I don’t know. I truly, genuinely have no idea,” she tells us. “I want to think hopefully when we do the time-jump they’re trying to have babies and stuff. But we’ll see!” But Hale promises we will see who all the Liars are dating after the time-jump, though she wouldn’t reveal exactly how many years the show will be skipping.

Question: Will the significance and meaning of Robin Hood’s lion tattoo be addressed on Once Upon a Time in the future? – TLM1262

Kristin: Even though we just found out a lot about Robin Hood in his origin story episode, we still didn’t learn anything about that dang lion tattoo! Even Sean Maguire wants to know more about it. “I thought about that myself, and I’m really intrigued to hear the genesis and origin of the lion tattoo as well,” Maguire says. “We just learned a lot about how Robin became the man he is today, but the lion tattoo is going to remain a secret for a bit longer.”

Question: The Royals just gets better and better! Anything new coming up, like maybe a new romance? – Jen

Kristin: Kind of! Get ready to meet a guy who makes Eleanor “fall to pieces” and act “like a total dog.” That may not sound very Eleanor-like, and it’s not. You’re about to meet a whole new, much softer side of the princess, and you might just fall even more in love with her than you already are.

Question: Any word on what’s happening with Revenge? The last few episodes have all felt very series-finale leaning. Will it be renewed or cancelled? And if we do get a Season 5, is there a major revamp in store? —Sean

Ausiello: Based on what I’m hearing about the finale, there would have to be a major revamp if the show returns for a fifth season. Actually, forget revamp — there’d have to be a whole new show.

Question: Ever since Emily VanCamp tweeted that picture of herself with Tom Amandes, I’ve been freaking out over the impending Everwood reunion. What do you know? — Tim

Ausiello: Oh, we know quite a bit, Tim, including that the circumstances of their meeting might not be as clear-cut as they seemed in VanCamp’s tweet. “I know that it appears Amanda Clarke is in prison garb in a courtroom, but in regards to this show, it really means nothing,” Revenge showrunner Sunil Nayar advises. “It could mean she’s been arrested, or it could mean she’s undercover, or it could mean she’s pulling a play on someone.” All right, Tim, take your pick!

Question: Can you please give up any news or spoilers on Jane the Virgin? —Bev

Ausiello: Just because Jane and Rafael have broken up doesn’t mean sex is off the table. The titular virgin is “looking for anything she can do to salvage the relationship because she’s so in shock,” executive producer Jennie Urman reveals. “[Sex] comes up in a few different contexts, and then there are some surprising turns in that area.”

Question: I won’t ask about Castle‘s renewal chances, but they started shooting the last episode last week, so I hope there is something you can share about it!? —Mandy

Ausiello: Outside of what showrunner David Amann shared with Inside Line, all I can add at this point is that the Season 7 finale finally has a title — and it’s… “Hollander’s Woods,” which of course is a reference to the “password” that Not Henry Jenkins used to earn Rick’s trust after his vanishing.

Question: Any scoop or spoilers on Person of Interest? —Steph

Ausiello: Lucky for you, Matt Mitovich chatted up the cast at this week’s Paley Center for Media event. So for one, we’ve got Kevin Chapman teasing the April 28 episode (aka Part 1 of the season finale), in which the POIs are no less than Dominick and Elias: “Fusco gets himself into a situation that he almost doesn’t get out of!” As for the season-ender itself, Michael Emerson warns, “It ends on a note of, ‘They cannot survive.’ That it is impossible that this can go on.”

Question: Will we see Laura Benanti again on Nashville? Sadie’s departure seemed awfully abrupt. I love the character and the chemistry she was developing with Luke. —Erin

Ausiello: It’s highly unlikely you will see her again this season (Benanti’s a little busy headlining the tourist-trap musical New York Spring Spectacular), but, if Nashville is renewed, there’s a decent chance you will see a fair amount of Sadie next season.

Question: Any interesting news on Scorpion? — Dylan

Ausiello: Even though Happy has been giving Toby the iciest of shoulders since he stood her up on their first date, EPs Nick Santora and Nick Wootton can promise a light at the end of the tunnel for fans of their relationship. “Toby’s not the type to give up,” notes Wootton. “It’s two people with very difficult, checkered emotional and romantic pasts trying to come together.” Adds Santora: “There’s a little wink and nod at the end [of the finale] that there might be a thawing between them.”

Question: Any update on Outlander casting Brianna and Roger for next season? —Lana

Ausiello: “We’re not close,” series creator Ronald D. Moore says about the process of picking actors to play [Spoiler alert!] Claire’s adult daughter and the Rev. Wakefield’s grown-up son (briefly glimpsed as a child asking for biscuits earlier this season). We can tell you that the Starz series also is actively casting the part of [No, seriously: Spoiler alert!] Alexander Randall, Black Jack Randall’s beloved brother — though star Tobias Menzies tells TV Line he hasn’t yet screen-tested with anyone in the role. “It’s the one human relationship he has in his life,” the actor adds, “so yeah, that could be very fruitful.”

Question: Any news you can share about The Blacklist season finale? —Robert

Ausiello: After last year’s finale killed off one character (RIP Meera) and brought life-threatening injuries upon another, series creator Jon Bokenkamp made it clear that he’s not afraid of shocking people again in Season 2. “Those things that sometimes scare us in the writers’ room are often the things that we find most exciting, and we try to surprise ourselves,” he says. So, what does that mean for Harold Cooper, whose terminal cancer may go untreated in the coming weeks? In short, it doesn’t look good. “That might fall into the realm of cliffhangers and surprising storytelling,” Bokenkamp hints. “He’s in a bad place. That is definitely a storyline that we’re going to be embracing and wrestling with until the end of the season.”

Question: Any tiny scoop for the last episodes of NCIS? —Ann

Ausiello: In the season’s penultimate episode, “The Lost Boys” — which airs May 5 and continues a story arc about a terrorist group that recruits young people online — one of the NCIS agents will form a special connection with a boy caught in middle of the scheme.

Question: Gotham spoilers, please! —Zara

Ausiello: The Season 1 finale, airing May 5, is titled “All Happy Families Are Alike.” Now, is that not-at-all ominous, or ominous in its non-ominousness?

That’s it. Hope your weekend has been great!!