Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

TELEVISION

Syfy has given a 12-episode order to a new drama called The Magicians, which is based on the best-selling fantasy book series by Lev Grossman. The drama stars Jason Ralph (A Most Violent Year, Aquarius) as Quentin Coldwater, a brilliant grad student who enrolls in Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, a secret upstate New York university specializing in magic. He and his 20-something friends soon discover that the magical fantasy world they read about as children is all too real — and poses grave danger to humanity. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Orlando Jones is leaving the FOX drama Sleepy Hollow before the start of show’s third season. (Variety)

iZombie has been renewed for a second season by The CW; meanwhile, the network has officially pulled the plug on Hart of Dixie. (Variety)

Actress Katherine McNamara (Happyland) has been cast as heroine Clary Fray in the upcoming ABC Family series Shadowhunters, which is an adaptation of the Cassandra Clare young adult book series “The Mortal Instruments”. The story follows 18-year-old Clary, who discovers that she comes from a long line of supernaturally powered folks known as Shadowhunters, bringing her into a world filled with fairies, werewolves, vampires, and warlocks. Also added to the cast is Old Spice spokesman Isaiah Mustafa, who will appear as NYPD detective Luke Garroway. (Megan Daley at Entertainment Weekly and Marianne Zumberge at Variety)

BBC America has renewed Orphan Black for a fourth season. (TV Guide)

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

Powers has been renewed for a second season at PlayStation. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

The top 10 box office movies for last weekend, courtesy of Box Office Mojo, were:

1. Avengers: Age of Ultron – 187.7 million
2. The Age of Adaline – 6.3 million
3. Furious 7 – 6.1 million
4. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 – 5.6 million
5. Home – 3.3 million
6. Cinderella – 2.4 million
7. Ex Machina – 2.2 million
8. Unfriended – 2 million
9. The Longest Ride – 1.7 million
10. Woman in Gold – 1.68 million

Actress Sela Ward will appear as the current President of the United States in the upcoming sequel to Independence Day. (Anita Busch at Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Question: Do you have any scoop on the season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? —Deana

Ausiello: The first half of Tuesday’s two-hour closer alone is chock-a-block with reveals, including what exactly was in the vials found on Cal (gorilla testosterone?!), what Ward wants from Bobbi and just how far (too far?) Jiaying will go to ignite a war between the Inhumans and S.H.I.E.L.D. The first hour also boasts two sizable hand-to-hand combat sequences (girl-girl, guy-girl), you’ll find out what the “key” to saving the Inhumans from “death and destruction” is, and you’ll hear someone say this about Ward: “When I find him, I’m gonna kill him.” (And you believe that person!)

Question: I have a question concerning Once Upon a Time. Will we ever know what happened between Will Scarlett and Anastasia (The White Queen)? Any chance to see her in the future? —Marine

Ausiello: In the future, yes, there’s a chance. But during this season, which has only Sunday’s two-hour finale remaining, no. “Unfortunately, there was not room to bring Anastasia on this year,” says series co-creator Adam Horowitz. “But hopefully we will in the future, because we’d love to tell that story.”

Question: Any new Beauty and the Beast Season 3 spoilers? —Jacob

Ausiello: Forget Season 3. I’ve moved on to Season 4, production on which begins later this month. The show is adding a new series-regular character by the name of Kyle. He’s a mid-20s EMT who is ridiculously charming, super-athletic and unnaturally handsome. So, he’s basically Colton Haynes?

That’s it. Enjoy!