Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items from last week:

TELEVISION

The TV Land new series Younger has been given a second season order by the network. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Regina King (Southland and American Crime) has joined the cast of the HBO drama The Leftovers. She will play Erika Murphy, a doctor who runs the local urgent care in the town. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Eric La Salle (ER) has joined the cast of the summer CBS series Under the Dome where he will play Hektor Martin, a ruthless CEO of the energy company run by Barbie’s (series lead Mike Vogel) father. (Denise Petski at Deadline)

Actor Marc Blucas (Buffy and Necessary Roughness) has joined the cast of the upcoming WGN America series Underground, which focuses on the pre-Civil War Underground Railroad. He will play John Hawkes, an abolitionist lawyer, replacing Devon Gummersall, who was originally cast in the role. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Bruce Davison (Last Resort) has replaced actor Stephen Collins as Lena’s dad on the ABC Family drama The Fosters. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

Actress Maggie Grace (Lost) will guest star in an episode of Masters of Sex, playing Christine Wesh, a well-respected gynecologist who helps Masters and Johnson on a case with international implications. (Rebecca Iannucci at TV Line)

TV TRAILER

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Franz Drameh (Edge of Tomorrow) has joined the cast of the as yet titled Arrow/The Flash spin-off on The CW. He will play Jay Jackson, a former high school athlete whose pro-career was derailed by injury. Now making ends meets as an auto mechanic, Jay will come to have a surprising affiliation to the S.T.A.R. Labs crew. (Laura Prudom at Variety)

ONLINE NEWS

The Netflix series Marvel’s Daredevil has been given a second season order. (Whitney Friedlander at Variety)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Two more actors have joined the growing cast of the upcoming live action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. They are Ewan McGregor and Stanley Tucci. McGregor will play the maître d’, who is turned into a candelabra due to the curse put upon the prince and his castle while Tucci will play Cadenza, the grand piano, a new character being added to the story. (Ethan Anderton at First Showing and Justin Kroll at Variety)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Q&A SECTION (with Kristin Dos Santos at E!; Michael Ausiello at TV Line and Natalie Abrams at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: Cannot believe Victoria Grayson is dead on Revenge! Will Charlotte come back to the Hamptons after she finds out? – Jeaneen

Kristin: Christa B. Allen will definitely be returning, but won’t be sharing any scenes with Madeleine Stowe, even in flashbacks. “I unfortunately didn’t get to work with Christa,” Stowe tells us. But when asked if we could possibly be seeing any other returns before season’s end, Stowe teases, “There will be surprises, for sure.”

Question: Game of Thrones has been slow in the first two episodes this season. Is the action going to pick up soon? – Eric

Kristin: We asked Kit Harrington that very question, and his answer has got us all kinds of excited! “There is one really big battle coming up,” Harrington says. “There is one really epic battle. There’s some other good fights and some good action, too, towards the end of the season. It’s definitely one to watch.”

Question: Got anything on Orphan Black? – Leah

Kristin: Who’s ready for some Team Hendrix this season?! “Allison and Donnie have found a renewed interest in each other and their relationship is in a reparative phase,” Jordan Gavaris tells us. “They are very much enjoying being together in the suburbs and doing that whole suburban thing, being the perfect suburban couple. Sometimes that leads to a caper or two, and sometimes Felix is there to help out. He’s still going to be a crisis counselor. It’s in those moments I relish the comedy and have fun with it. He’ll be called upon in the very near future to help with a crisis, and it has hilarious results.”

Question: I need some answers before pull all of my hair out. When will we get the next big question-making answer about the relationship between Red and Liz on The Blacklist? – Tamim

Ausiello: Here’s a tiny bone for you involving The Fulcrum, which has caused quite a rift in Red and Liz’s relationship. According to series creator Jon Bokenkamp, that pesky blackmail file is going to play a major role in the season’s final episodes. “It’s less about the information that’s in The Fulcrum,” he says, “and more about what that device is going to do to our characters, and the problems it’s going to create for them.”

Question: Bummed Colton Haynes is leaving Arrow, but I’m happy he’ll be back for one more episode this season to wrap up his story. Any scoop on that? – Carrie

Ausiello: As Guggenheim points out, “Thea was too busy getting ‘killed’ by Ra’s to say goodbye to Roy. So we owed the audience some closure for this love story.” The pair’s farewell will take place in this season’s penultimate episode airing May 6.

Question: Could you confirm that Agah Bayar is returning to NCIS? – Zoe

Ausiello: Indeed, I could: Showrunner Gary Glasberg says that Tamer Hassan will put in a “really important” encore in the season’s penultimate episode, titled “The Lost Boys.” An arms dealer who has been featured on the series thrice before, “Agah Bayar has specific information” about an “unfortunate event” being planned by a terror group that recruits young people online. Notes the EP, “He and Gibbs always have good stuff together.”

Question: I’m a big fan of The Flash, specifically Iris West. I was wondering if you could tease anything coming up for her towards the end of the season? – Janneh

Ausiello: Iris will learn the truth about what’s going on with the men in her life “a lot sooner than” the May 19 finale, executive producer Andrew Kreisberg reveals. “How that happens and how it plays out with everybody else is going to make up the core of the last few episodes,” he confirms, adding, “She is not [going to be] happy with Joe and Barry and Eddie.”

Question: Any info about Tyrion and Daenerys’ first meeting on Game of Thrones? – Courtney

Ausiello: I can tell you that it doesn’t happen this Sunday. And speaking of the youngest Lannister sibling and this week’s episode, make sure you stay tuned until the very end: Tyrion runs into a familiar face on his path to Meereen.

Question: Will the audience ever find out what is in the box that Deeks opened on NCIS: LA? I’m dying to find out what “everything he ever wanted” actually means. – Leah-Margaret

Ausiello: I’m going to farm this one out to exec producer Shane Brennan, if that’s cool with you Lea-Margaret. “The mystery of what’s in the box will be revisited next season,” confirms the EP, before cryptically adding, “Will we find out what’s in it? Maybe….”

Question: What will the reunion with Ward look like on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? – Ralph

Natalie: Remember when Simmons vowed to kill Ward? She may finally make good on that promise—or at least try to. “Simmons meant what she said,” Elizabeth Henstridge tells me. “She hates him so much. He did the worst thing possible to her and took away the most precious thing in her life, which is Fitz.” In that case, do it!

Question: What’s going to happen now that Oliver is in the League on Arrow? – Danny

Natalie: Well, it looks like the League will be setting their sights on Nyssa next week. “Nyssa was the Heir to the Demon,” executive producer Marc Guggenheim says. “There’s a real question as to whether or not Nyssa poses a threat to Oliver’s ascension to Ra’s. Into that dynamic, we insert Team Arrow, who are not necessarily all on the same page in terms of how involved they should be getting here. There’s an argument to be made that she’s not the nicest person ever.”

Question: I know there’s no chance of Bruce Wayne becoming Batman anytime soon on Gotham, but will there at least be any hints toward his future in the finale? – Christine

Natalie: Bruce will actually make a shocking discovery about his family. “He’s going to find the biggest clue of all,” executive producer Bruno Heller tells me. “There’s going to be a huge discovery. What could he possibly discover at this point in his life? What could he and Alfred find out about the family and where they live and the future? That’s what we’re going to discover in this last episode. It’s a huge reveal.”

Question: Any scoop for the season finale of Forever? – Clark

Natalie: Henry will set his sights on getting his vengeance on Adam for what happened to Abigail, even if it means playing the long game. But his plans may come to fruition much sooner than he expected when the dagger that could potentially kill Adam practically falls in his lap. But the question is whether he’ll actually go through with it.

That’s it. Enjoy!