Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve put out an update (since July 22 to be exact), and there has been a lot of news since that time. Let’s dig into it all below:

CASTING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Actor Peter Gallagher (The O.C. and Covert Affairs) has landed a recurring role on The Good Wife, playing Irving Carter, a witty and sophisticated attorney for conservative billionaire Reese Dipple (Oliver Platt). (Carissa Pavlica at TV Fanatic)

Actor Tom Everett Scott (Arrow and That Thing You Do!) will appear in Reign this fall, playing William, a trusted advisor/counselor for Queen Elizabeth. (Samantha Highfill at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Kenny Johnson (The Shield) will have a series regular role in the returning anthology series Secrets and Lies, which will focus on Eric Warner (Michael Ealy from Almost Human), a well-educated newlywed and heir apparent to his family’s private equity firm in Charlotte, N.C. while Eric is attending a party to honor his dad’s (Terry O’Quinn from Lost) retirement, Eric’s wife, Kate (Jordana Brewster from Dallas and the Fast & Furious franchise), is murdered — and he must turn to Det. Cornell (returning cast member Juliette Lewis) to investigate Kate’s death. Johnson will play Danny, who quickly becomes a possible suspect in Kate’s murder and complicates Eric’s life. (Rebecca Iannucci at TV Line)

Actress Olivia Taylor Dudley (Chernobyl Diaries and Arrested Development) has landed the lead role of Alice Quinn in the upcoming Syfy adaptation of the Lev Grossman books The Magicians. She will be joined by actor Rick Worthy (Battlestar Galactica) and actress Anne Dudek (House and Covert Affairs). (Keely Flaherty at BuzzFeed)

Actor Robert Knepper (Prison Break and Heroes) will appear in the second season of iZombie as Blaine’s (series regular David Anders) father Angus, a polished, articulate and successful businessman, who regards Blaine as a lifelong disappointment. (Natalie Abrams at Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Kim Raver (24) will guest star in an episode of Bones, playing FBI Special Agent Grace Miller, who is involved in the investigation surrounding the disappearance of FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (series lead David Boreanaz). (Natalie Abrams at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Keiynan Lonsdale (the box office film Insurgent) has joined the cast of The Flash where he will appear as Wally West. (Laura Prudom at Variety)

Danish actor Casper Crump will appear as Vandal Savage, the comic book villain, in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Also actor Falk Hentschel (White House Down) will appear in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow as Carter Hall (aka Hawkman), the latest reincarnation of an Egyptian Prince who is fated to be reborn throughout time along with his soulmate, Kendra Saunders (aka Hawkgirl, series regular Ciara Renée). (Laura Prudom at Variety)

Actors Max von Sydow and Ian McShane (Deadwood) will both appear in season 6 of Game of Thrones. von Sydow will appear as the Three-Eyed Raven, but McShane’s role is being kept tightly under wraps. (Laura Prudom at Variety and James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Jenna Dewan-Tatum (Witches of East End) will have the recurring role of Lucy Lane, the younger sister of Lois Lane, on this fall’s CBS series Supergirl that focuses Kara Zor-El (series lead Melissa Benoist from Glee),who escaped Krypton amid its destruction years ago (at the same time as her legendary cousin), but since arriving on Earth, she has been hiding the powers. But now at age 24, she decides to embrace her superhuman abilities and be the hero she was always meant to be. Also, actor Chris Browning (Sons of Anarchy and The 100) will appear in the show as Ben Krull (aka Reactron), a deadly adversary of Superman’s from Metropolis, who wears an armored suit powered by nuclear energy. (Natalie Abrams at Entertainment Weekly and Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Parker Young (Enlisted and Suburgatory) had landed a recurring role on Arrow, where he will play Alex Davis, a smart and driven young man, who will work for Oliver Queen (series lead Stephen Amell) and become a potential love interest for Thea (series regular Willa Holland). Also actor Ryan Robbins (Arrow and Falling Skies) has landed a recurring role, playing Conklin, a sadistic and ruthless member of Shadowspire who will be an adversary for Oliver (Stephen Amell) in the flashback sequences. And, actress Jeri Ryan will appear as Jessica Danforth, a friend of the late Moira Queen who has set her sights on the open mayoral position. (Carissa Pavlica at TV Fantatic, Entertainment Tonight Online, Spoiler TV and Laura Prudom at Variety)

Actress Famke Janssen (X-Men franchise) will appear in a multi-episode arc on How to Get Away With Murder, playing a brilliant, revered defense attorney who takes her job very seriously. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Constance Zimmer (UnReal) has landed a recurring role on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. where she will the head of a mysterious new government agency that will cross paths with S.H.I.E.L.D. as both seek out new Inhumans. (Natalie Abrams at Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Sonya Walger (Lost and FlashForward) will replace Bethany Joy Lenz in this fall’s The Catch, the new ABC drama from Shonda Rhimes that has already seen actor Damon Dayoub be replaced by Peter Krause (Parenthood). The series will star Mireille Enos (The Killing) as Alice, a successful fraud investigator, who’s about to be the victim of fraud herself by her fiancé (Krause). Walger will play Krause’s character’s real wife and partner in crime. (Elizabeth Wagmeister at Variety)

Actress Shannyn Sossamon (Wayward Pines and Moonlight) has landed a series regular role on Sleepy Hollow, playing Pandora, a mysterious new presence in Sleepy Hollow who seeks assistance from Witnesses Ichabod and Abbie (series leads Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie). Actress Nikki Reed (the Twilight franchise) will also appear in the show as Betsy Ross. And, actor Lance Gross (Crisis) has landed a major recurring role where he will play Daniel Reynolds, the FBI special agent in charge — aka Abbie’s new boss. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actress Scottie Thompson (NCIS) has landed a recurring role on the Syfy thriller 12 Monekys, playing Mantis, a calculating and menacing time traveler. (Denise Petski at Deadline)

Actor Zach McGowan (Black Sails) will play a rogue Grounder warrior on The CW thriller The 100. In addition, actor Michael Beach (Secrets and Lies and Sons of Anarchy) will also be joining the cast playing Pike – someone from the Ark we have yet to meet. (Carissa Pavlica at TV Fanatic)

Actor Brian white (Scandal and Moonlight) has landed a recurring role on Chicago Fire where he will play Dallas Patterson, the new captain of the squad. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

Actor James Lafferty (One Tree Hill and Crisis) has joined the cast of the upcoming WGN America period piece Underground that follows a group of slaves who plan their 600-mile escape from a Georgia plantation, helped along the way by a secret abolitionist couple running a station on the Underground Railroad. Lafferty will play Kyle Risdin, a U.S. marshal who is intent on enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act. (Rebecca Iannucci at TV Line and The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Riley Smith (True Blood and The Messengers) has joined the cast of the ABC drama Nashville, playing Markus Keen, the hotshot frontman of a highly successful mainstream band who signs with Rayna’s (series lead Connie Britton) record label when he decides to go solo. (Kimberly Roots at TV Line)

Actor Colin Salmon (Arrow) has landed a major, season-long recurring role in the upcoming CBS drama Limitless based on the 2011 feature that starred Bradley Cooper. The series will center on Brian Finch (Jake McDorman from Greek) — a new character that exists in the same world as the movie’s Eddie Mora (Cooper) — who discovers the brain-boosting power of the mysterious drug NZT and is coerced by the FBI into using his extraordinary cognitive abilities to solve complex cases for them. Salmon will play Jared Sands, a former intelligence officer who now works as a fixer. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

TV RENEWALS AND CANCELLATIONS

Netflix has renewed Sense8 for a second season. (Variety)

The Strain renewed for a third season by FX. (Deadline)

Black Sails renewed for season 4 by Starz while the network has also decided this will be the last season of Da Vinci’s Demons. (Variety)

Rizzoli & Isles has been given a 7th season order by TV. (The Hollywood Reporter and TV By the Numbers)

The Hallmark Channel has renewed When Calls the Heart for a 10-episode third season to air in 2016. This season will include a two-hour sneak peak in the holiday season. (Facebook)

MTV has renewed Scream: The TV Series for a second season. (Andy Swift at TV Line)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige have joined the cast of the upcoming NBC holiday musical production of The Wiz Live! with Latifah as Wiz, the mysterious and powerful wizard who holds the keys to the Emerald City, while Blige will play Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West. The movie will debut on December 3. (The Futon Critic)

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

Actor Hugh Dancy (Hannibal) will appear in the faith-based Hulu drama The Way that examines a family at the center of a controversial movement struggling with relationships, marriage and power. Dancy will play cult leader Cal Roberts, who is the charismatic face of the movement, known as The Way. As he battles personal demons and strives to take the organization into its next generation, Cal develops a complicated relationship with Monaghan’s Sarah and Paul’s Eddie. The cast includes Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and Michelle Monaghan (True Detective). (Rebecca Iannucci at TV Line)

Actress Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck and The Astronaut Wives Club) and actors Max Martini (The Unit) and Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) have joined the cast of the Amazon western drama pilot Edge based on the books by George Gilman, which follows Josiah Hedges, better known as Edge (Martini), a man who’s out for vengeance after his younger brother is killed by a group of his former Union army comrades, lead by his nemesis, Merritt Harknett (Kwanten). Strahovski will appear as Beth, a mysterious Pinkerton detective. (Elizabeth Wagmeister at Variety)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Chris Pine will star opposite actress Gal Gadot in the stand-alone Wonder Woman movie that is expected to be at the box office in 2017. Gadot will appear as the title character in the upcoming Batman vs. Superman film while Pine will appear in this future film as Steve Trevor. (Garth Franklin at Dark Horizons and The Wrap)

Q&A SECTION (with Michael Ausiello at TV Line, Natalie Abrams at Entertainment Weekly and Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Question: Do you have any spoilers for Castle you can share with us about some of the changes we can expect to see this season? —Mariana

Ausiello: Molly Quinn’s newly shorn mane is one step in a much larger, more adult makeover for Alexis in Season 8.

Question: Do you have any intel on Heroes Reborn? —Nicky

Ausiello: You already know that actor Clé Bennett (Rookie Blue and Lost Girl) has joined the NBC revival in a recurring role. But what I’m fairly certain you don’t know is that his character Harris Prime’s special power involves a certain C-word that is way less filthy than this tease suggests.

Question: Do you have any info as to who will not be returning for Gotham Season 2 as a series regular? —Alex

Ausiello: Matt Mitovich did some digging around and learned that, as suspected, neither Victoria Cartagena nor Andrew Stewart-Jones (AKA Montoya and Allen) will return as regulars. Meanwhile, though Michael Chiklis is coming on board as GCPD Captain Nathaniel Barnes, Zabryna Guevara, who plays Captain Essen, is still a series regular — and in fact will play a key role this season.

Question: SleepyHeads are dying for information about Sleepy Hollow Season 3. We are starving over here! —Regina

Ausiello: Season 3 picks up one year later and finds Abbie, having completed her training at Quantico, returning to Sleepy Hollow as a FBI agent. We will also see the return of Joe Corbin (Zach Appelman), who will team up with Jenny to aid Ichabod and Abbie.

Question: How are the Charmings dealing with Emma going dark on Once Upon a Time? — Luis

Natalie: Not well. “It is definitely going to put a strain on Snow and Charming’s relationship,” Josh Dallas says. “There are things they’re going to go through in finding their way back to Emma.” But it’s not all doom and gloom this season. “You’re going to see Charming have a big bromance with King Arthur and go on some adventures,” he says. “We’re going to see Charming at his most heroic in Camelot.”

Question: Clearly Barbara is alive on Gotham, so what can you tell me about her arc this season? — Amy

Natalie: If you thought Barbara killing her parents was bad, it’s only the beginning. “That moment where she kills her parents is the moment she sets herself completely free from every tie she ever had — her ties to Jim, to society, or maybe even sanity, you could argue,” Erin Richards says. Furthermore, she says that Barbara is headed to Arkham in episode 1, where she’ll meet “this band of emerging villains who shape who she’s going to be in this series.”

Question: Is there anything you can tease about Jay Garrick coming to The Flash? — Derek

Natalie: As the season aims to explore Barry finessing his powers, Jay Garrick’s arrival is “going to have an impact on everybody on Team Flash,” according to Danielle Panabaker. “He’s going to be a very cool mentor to Barry and he’s going to help Barry expand his powers and the things that he’s capable of doing.”

Question: I need more Blacklist scoop! — Kyle

Natalie: Liz will turn to a very unlikely place in her bid to escape, which enrages Ressler, who is very gung-ho about catching his former partner and will go to great lengths to do so, even if it means putting others in danger. Twist: Ressler will be forced to save Liz during her escape.

Question: Is there any truth to the rumor that Arrow might turn Diggle into the Green Lantern? — Kieran

Natalie: I’m going to let executive producer Marc Guggenheim definitively set the record straight: “He’s not going to be Green Lantern,” he says. “We have our own plans for Diggle that we’ve very excited about. It doesn’t benefit us or David Ramsey to let that rumor fester. What excites us is what we’re doing with Diggle this year and the fact that Diggle has become a character in the comics.”

Question: Do you know who possesses the Dark Swan’s dagger on Once Upon a Time? — Rachel

Natalie: As of this very moment, it’s to be determined. “That is a discussion [and] that is absolutely addressed immediately,” Ginnifer Goodwin says, noting that it’s probably not a great idea for the Charmings to be the one to take it. “I don’t know that I would trust us with it,” she adds. However, whoever does end up with the dagger will learn that it’s not so easy to call upon the Dark Swan. “There’s also some caveats in how and when you can control the Dark One through the dagger,” Josh Dallas says. “Somethings can be possible and somethings are impossible.”

Question: I’m really looking forward to seeing Hawkgirl come to life on Legends of Tomorrow. Is there anything you can tease? — Frannie

Natalie: Here’s the first thing you need to know: She does not know she’s Hawkgirl the next time we see her, which will be on The Flash. “She’s not bold, she’s not strong,” Ciara Renee tells me. “It’s a dichotomy of someone who is awkward and all of a sudden she has this huge power and strength and she’ll have to reconcile that within herself.” Fun fact: Kendra’s past lives will come into play eventually. “You have to keep in mind there were these other humans you were at some point,” she says. “We’re going to be able to dive into those other humans, which is cool, with the whole time travel thing.”

Question: I require information on Once Upon a Time‘s Camelot crowd! –Meredith

Mitovich: This casting notice would seem to apply: For Season 5’s fourth episode, Once is guest-casting the role of a medieval manservant who is devoted to his employer but harbors a deep resentment… that may lead him to do very bad things.

Question: If there’s anything you can tell me about Once Upon a Time, specifically on Emma being the new Dark One? –Sarah

Mitovich: The cast touched on that during our free-wheeling, at-times blush-worthy Comic-Con Q&A, but maybe there is a smidgen more to be gleaned by watching this “deleted scene,” in which everyone teases the Season 5 opener with two words:

Question: Do you have any scoops on Season 2 of TNT’s Legends? Will Ali Larter and Tina Majorino return? –Ivan

Mitovich: Neither Larter nor Majorino are returning alongside Sean Bean for Season 2, though Morris Chestnut is.

Question: Since the finale of Supernatural, fans have been wondering: Will there be consequences for Dean after he killed Death? –Ana

Mitovich: Rest assured there will be repercussions “to a certain extent — and probably in the first batch of episodes, we’ll start to address that,” executive producer Jeremy Carver teases. “You can imagine that it causes some issues.”

Question: Any scoop on where our Supernatural boys will be in Season 11? Particularly Castiel? —Meg

Mitovich: Cas has a lot on his plate, like “dealing with the effects of the attack dog spell and the stabbing of Crowley and The Darkness,” Misha Collins previews. Speaking of that pre-biblical foe, “It is a very, very big bad ominous force that angels only heard of as a scary bedtime story,” the actor explains. “Cas didn’t think that The Darkness was a real thing. So it’s that old of a force.”

That’s it. Enjoy!