Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for all of last week:

TELEVISION

Actress-singer Vanessa Williams will guest star in an upcoming episode of the long-running USA Network series Royal Pains, playing Olympia Houston, a generous benefactor at the Hamptons Heritage Center for Rare and Orphan Diseases. Royal Pains will be back with new episodes starting on June 2. (Kate Stanhope at The Hollywood Reporter)

The USA Network is also moving forward with an American adaptation of the telenovela La Reina Del Sur, which will be known as Queen of the South. The series will debut in 2016, centering on Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga). When her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico, Teresa is forced to seek refuge in America, where she teams with an unlikely figure from her past to bring down the leader of the very drug trafficking ring that has her on the run. In the process, she learns the tools of the trade and strategically positions herself to become the leader of the cartel. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

ABC Family has added to the cast of the upcoming small screen adaptation of Mortal Instruments to be known as Shadowhunters. Actors Alan Van Sprang (Reign) and Harry Shum, Jr. (Glee) will appear as villain Valentine and Magnus Bane respectively. Shadowhunters will follow Clary Fray (Katherine McNamara from Happyland and The Fosters), a teenager who learns that she comes from a long line of Shadowhunters, (or human-angel hybrids who hunt down demons). (The Futon Critic and Whitney Friedlander at Variety)

Actress Kathy Najimy has joined the cast of Unforgettable that has been picked up by A&E after its cancellation by CBS. The show revolves around a female detective (Poppy Montgomery) who remembers everything except the day her sister was murdered. Najimy will play Rachel, a whip-smart, unflappable former street cop who is tough when she needs to be, but has the political chops/ambition to get her the gig as head of the Major Cases Department of the NYPD. (Kimberly Nordyke at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Portia de Rossi has been promoted to series regular on Scandal when it returns this fall. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

TV TRAILER

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

Lifetime is moving forward with more adaptation of V.C. Andrews’ books. The network has given a greenlight to a movie based on the 1982 novel My Sweet Audrina that centers on Audrina, a young girl with an inability to recall past events in her life. Living in her family’s secluded mansion, Audrina is kept alone and out of sight and is haunted by nightmares of her older sister, the First Audrina, who was left for dead in the woods after an attack. Everyone in her family knows the secret surrounding First Audrina’s death except Audrina herself. As she begins to question her past and her disturbing dreams, the grim truth is slowly revealed. Actress India Eisley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) will play the lead role while James Tupper (Revenge) will play her father Damian and William Moseley (The Royals) will portray Audrina’s love interest, Arden. (Kate Stanhope at The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

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

1. Avengers: Age of Ultron – 77.7 million
2. Hot Pursuit – 13.9 million
3. The Age of Adaline – 5.8 million
4. Furious 7 – 5.4 million
5. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 – 5.3 million
6. Ex Machina – 3.5 million
7. Home – 3.1 million
8. Woman in Gold – 1.7 million
9. Cinderella – 1.68 million
10. Unfriended – 1.5 million

That’s it. Enjoy!