Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for last week:

TELEVISION

Actress Meghan Ory will reprise her role of Ruby for multiple episodes of Once Upon a Time when the show returns for its 5th season this fall. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Dennis Haysbert (24 and The Unit) has joined the upcoming BBC One drama Undercover that will air on BBC America here in the States. This 6-part political thriller will star Sophie Okonedo (The Slap and After Earth) as Maya, who can only watch as her dearest friend and client (Haysbert) refuses to go quietly, urging her to fight the deep-grained injustices that have tainted two decades of his life. (Nancy Tartaglione at Deadline)

AMC has given a series order to Preacher, the small screen adaptation of the 1990s comic that centers on Rev. Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper from Agent Carter), a conflicted Texas minister who merges with a spiritual force called Genesis, making him more mighty than the Almighty. The 10-episode series is expected to debut in mid-2016. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Richard Armitage (The Hobbit franchise and Hannibal) and actress Michelle Forbes (The Killing and Battlestar Galactica) will star in the10-part contemporary spy series Berlin Station on Epix. The series follows Daniel Meyer (Armitage), a newly anointed case officer who has arrived at the CIA foreign station in Berlin to uncover the source of a leak who has supplied information to a whistleblower. Forbes will play Valerie Edwards, the no-nonsense administrator who serves as a Berlin Station Section Head. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Vivica A. Fox (Kill Bill and Independence Day) will appear on season 2 of Empire as Cookie’s (series lead Taraji P. Henson) older sister. (Denise Petski at Deadline)

Actress Shiri Appleby (UnReal and Roswell) will guest star in an episode of the new, upcoming CBS medical drama Code Black, playing Dr. Carla Niven. (Andy Swift at TV Line and Variety)

Actor Edwin Hodge (Chicago Fire) will appear in season two of the anthology series Secrets and Lies, playing Dr. Greg Young, a charming man who is married to defense attorney Amanda Warner (Mekia Cox from Undercovers). (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Bradley James (Merlin, iZombie and the upcoming Damien) will co-star alongside Kate Beckinsale and Theo James in Underworld 5, appearing as the male villain. (Mike Fleming, Jr at Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with Natalie Abrams at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: Anything on The Flash would be great, especially regarding Iris West. — What Other Girls?

Natalie: How about scoop on everyone? Apparently I’m a big fan of lightning rounds because I got EP Andrew Kreisberg to give me a quick scoop for each Flash character. Ready? Set. Scoop! Barry: “New love.” Iris: “Face from the past.” Caitlin: “Brrrr.” Cisco: “Metahuman.” Wells: “Alive?” Joe: “Stalwart.” Ronnie: “Bravery.” Henry: “Heart.” Jay: “Broken.” Patty: Delightful.”

Question: Will Once Upon a Time explore any storylines for Belle outside of Rumple this season? — Kelley

Natalie: If you’re wondering whether we’ll see any flashbacks to Belle in her pre-Rumple days, “That might happen,” executive producer Edward Kitsis says. “I would say that the second half of the season is looking a lot like some of our past will come back to haunt us.”

Question: For Arrow, anything Merlyn other than his connection to the resurrection? — Raissa

Natalie: I’ll let EP Marc Guggenheim take this: “The best way to put it is its father knows worst,” he says. “Malcolm comes into the story very much more in the role of Thea’s father than in the role of the Head of the League of Assassins. It’s so much fun to play with Malcolm as dad because his choices are just very unusual. Much to the chagrin of Thea, he doesn’t handle things the way a typical father would.”

Question: How will Tom Keen fit into the new season of The Blacklist? — Karin

Natalie: He’s basically switched places with Liz. “Tom has been cleared and Liz is now a fugitive on the run,” EP Jon Bokenkamp says. “They’re completely flipped in who they are and almost also in the way they approach the situation — she’s now feeling the desperation of being a criminal and trying to operate in the shadows, and he’s trying to come clean and trying to redeem himself in her eyes. Tom was sailing off to white sands and blue beaches and felt it was over. What he doesn’t know is she assassinated the Attorney General of the United States. When he catches wind of this, he’ll have something to say about it and will not want to sit back.”

Question: Where does the new season of Gotham pick up? — Zac

Natalie: There’s a mini-time jump in the season premiere, which finds Jim working the streets as a beat cop after being demoted. He may be down, but trust me when I tell you that he’s not out. In fact, we’ll see him go to great lengths to achieve his goals, even if that means being on the wrong side of the law and getting his hands a little (or a lot) dirty.

Question: What kind of new monsters will we be seeing on Sleepy Hollow? — lilslim142000

Natalie: I’ve got three for you. 1. The show is taking on one of the greatest unsolved series of murders in modern history when an instrument of evil unleashes Jack the Ripper. 2. We’re going to meet The Abyzou, which is basically a tooth fairy — but not like one you’ve ever seen before — who has, unbeknownst to Crane, plagued his mission in both his lifetimes. 3. The undead rise in the form of Draugur, a battalion of undead British soldiers who return under the command of the demonic turncoat General Howe to finish the mission they started 240 years ago.

That’s it. Enjoy!