Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica and Dollhouse) will guest star in at least one episode (if not more) of Arrow. He will play Tom Salvati, the right-hand man to mob boss Frank Bertinelli (Jeffrey Nordling), who is the father to Helena Bertinelli, aka The Huntress. Arrow debuts on October 10 on the CW. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Amanda Tapping (Stargate franchise and Sanctuary) will have a major recurring role on Supernatural, playing Naomi, who is part of a new group of angels never seen before. The show will be back starting on October 3 on The CW. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

Actress Laura Prepon (That 70’s Show) will star opposite actress Taylor Schilling (The Lucky One and Mercy) in the Netflix 13-episode hour-long online series called Orange Is The New Black from Jenji Kohan (creator of Weeds). The series is based on the book by Piper Kerman that tells the story of Piper (Schilling) an engaged Brooklynite whose decade-old relationship with a drug-runner (Prepon) in college results in her arrest and multi-year detention in a federal penitentiary. Lacking any real-world experience to deal with this harsh new environment, Piper immerses herself in women’s prison culture. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

DEVEOPMENT NEWS

The CW has teamed with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television to adapt for television the recently published young adult novel Embrace from the book series by Jessica Shirvington. The book centers on twentysomething Violet Eden, who discovers that she is half-angel and the key to a centuries-old war between fallen angels and their earthly protectors. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Executive producer Laurie Zaks (Castle) has set up a drama pilot called Rise & Fall at ABC. The project is a high-concept thriller about the events that precipitate and immediately follow the kidnapping of a wealthy Chicago businesswoman, told from the point of view of her ne’er-do-well son who must unravel the truth about what happened in order to clear his name. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

NBC has closed a deal on a drama pilot from Peter Berg (Battleship and Friday Night Light) based on the Israeli series M.I.C.E. (which is an acronym for Money, Ideology, Coercion and Ego, used to understand the motives of spies in betraying their countries). The project revolves around the Gordin family and centers on Israeli-born Eyal Gordin, a decorated Israeli Air Force officer in a high-security post who loves his country and family. His parents Michael (Miki) and Diana, Grandmother Nina and elder sister Natalia emigrated from the USSR in 1990. Eyal has no idea that his parents were Russian spies. When Miki and Diana’s former handler appears one day, demanding that they recruit their son into espionage activity (watch the scene below with English subtitles), Eyal faces an impossible dilemma: his cooperation with Russian intelligence determines his family’s fate, while his dedication to Israel’s homeland security tests his family allegiance. His country, or his family who will he choose to betray? (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Penn Badgley Carries a Tune in ‘Greetings from Tim Buckley’ Trailer

Q&A SECTION (with Jenna Mullins at E! Online)

Question: I recently watched Scandal now I’m addicted! Any scoop on season two?! – kbenko6

Jenna: According to series lead Kerry Washington, “In the very first episode, you will find out who Quinn Perkins; but typical Scandal style, you’ll also leave with about four more questions.” We only have one question: what’s going on with Olivia and the president?! “At the end of the first season, Olivia really is trying to let go of her relationship with Fitz and not interact at all, but there is a strong pull there, so we’ll see.” We won’t see soon enough! The premiere (Sept. 27) is still too far away.

Question: Can I get just a bit more scoop on the Halloween episode of Pretty Little Liars? – Leslie B.

Jenna: It’s funny you should say “bit,” because Lucy Hale described the episode in just three words. Sort of. “OK, if I can give you three words that will describe the Halloween episode: Adam Lambert, which is two words,” she laughs to us. “So technically I have one more word to fill. OK: Adam Lambert, a box and red lips.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

A&E has chosen their new Norman Bates for the new prequel thriller series Bates Motel. The winner is: Freddie Highmore (from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Finding Neverland). Additionally, actor Max Thieriot (House at the End of the Street) will play Norman’s older brother. The series will debut next year. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Nikki Blonsky (Hairspray) will have a recurring role on Smash when it returns mid-season on NBC; but there are no details on what character she will be playing. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor turned TV producer/series creator Shaun Cassidy (Invasion) has teamed with Howard Gordon, Executive Producer for Homeland on a pilot for FOX that is being described as an adrenalized, dysfunctional family adventure series, centering on two former CIA operatives — now married with teenagers — who are forced to face their past when their identities are exposed and they’re nearly killed. Now they’ll need to start over, under new cover, this time with their children in on the secret as they tackle cases, come together as a family, and elude those who would rather see them dead. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

The Lifetime drama pilot Cinnamon Girl, co-created and executive produced by Renee Zellweger, has announced the casting of newcomers Allie MacDonald, Alexis Knapp, Brooke Anne Smith and Jade Bartlett as well Sebastian Piggott (Being Erica and Bomb Girls) as the leads. The pilot is set against the backdrop of the Los Angeles music and movie scenes of the late 1960s/early 1970s, telling the story of four coming-of-age girls — Cassie (MacDonald), Lola (Knapp), Junie (Smith) and Lou (Bartlett) — and explores their lives at the crossroads of the era’s political, artistic, social and sexual rebellions. Meanwhile, Piggott will play Billy, a heartthrob and future superstar who has immediate chemistry with Cassie. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Jenna Dewan (The Playboy Club and Step Up) has landed a role in Witches of East End, a new Lifetime pilot. She will play one of Julia Ormond’s secretly supernatural daughters, Freya Beauchamp, a sexy and fearless former wild child who settles down after becoming engaged to fiancé Dash Gardiner, a rich philanthropist. Though not initially aware that she and her sister are their family’s newest generation of witches, a series of events forces Ormond’s Joanna — also a witch — to tell her daughters the truth. (Kimberly Roots at TV Line)

Q&A SECTION (with Team Watch with Kristin at E! Online and Matt Roush at TV Guide)

Question: Can I please get some scoop on Daniel on Revenge? – Vanessa

Team Watch With Kristin: “At the beginning of the season, we are in a relationship,” Ashley Madekwe told us of Daniel and Ashley at the Nylon magazine and Sony X headphones event for the mag’s annual TV issue. “You’re not really sure what they’re in it for or where it will go.” What does their new relationship mean for Ashley’s friendship with Emily? “They’re not not friends, but they’re definitely not as close as they used to be,” Ashley says.

Question: Dying for some PLL scoop, preferably of the Ezria variety! – Noelle

Team Watch With Kristin: According to Lucy Hale, “What’s so interesting about Aria and Ezra’s relationship is that Ezra up to this point has been flawless, kind of like the perfect boyfriend,” she told us at the Nylon party. “And I think it’s so interesting that now Ezra has this secret and it’s getting deeper. And once we dig in this [season], it gets more intense. Ezra will be gone for a little bit and people are going to be so angry. They’re going to be so mad.”

Question: White Collar has become known for exciting cliffhangers — but with the mid-season finale coming up on Tuesday, there have been few clues as to what to expect. Any inside info? Will we be treated to another exciting, dramatic cliffhanger to keep us in suspense? — Laura

Matt Roush: It’s no secret I’m spoiler-averse, but since I have screened the episode, let me just tease that the show goes on its hiatus with not so much a cliffhanger as it is a reveal that could change everything — about what, I won’t say. But much of the episode, as hinted last week, hinges on the issue of trust. Can Neal ever trust Peter again? Can Peter win back Neal’s confidence and good humor? Can anyone trust Sam? It all sets up the back half of the season (in early 2013) pretty nicely.

Question: I have a couple of questions for you in regards to Army Wives. I’ve heard a couple of rumblings that the season 6 finale was indeed a series finale and not a season finale, but after watching it the other night, it definitely felt like a season finale. If this is what the producers behind the show felt would be a proper way to end a series that I felt by Lifetime standards was actually a very well thought out, provocative series that depicted Army life in a positive manner, then they totally disrespected the loyal viewers by ending with a possible plane crash. Also, what on earth happened to the star Kim Delaney the last several episodes as I was hoping she would re-appear for the finale? Have you heard anything about a season 7? I know the show is still a strong utility player for Lifetime, but I also read that the contracts were up for all the principal actors. Also, what were your thoughts on the finale (if you had a chance to watch it)? — Tom

Matt Roush: My e-mailbag has runneth over for some time with Army Wives questions and concerns, but for now, it’s still wait and see. I only watched the very end of last week’s finale to see if it looked like a wrap-up, which it most definitely did not. And given the show’s importance to the Lifetime brand over the years, I am confident it will get at least another season, and this is one of those cases where when the time comes to call it a day, the network and studio had better be on the same page to give the loyal fans a satisfying ending. A possible plane crash is the very opposite of that scenario. It’s worth noting that just last week, the network’s president was promoted to a new position overseeing all of the A&E Networks (including A&E as well as Lifetime and History), so there was more on their plate than deciding the fate of this one show. It wouldn’t surprise me if some announcement regarding Army Wives is imminent; just can’t say when, or whether it will address the fate of individual cast members, including Delaney, whose recent extended absence on the show has been much remarked by fans but unaddressed as far as I can tell by the show itself, whose response to questions has been “no comment.”

Jackie also wrote in to ask: “Is Sally Pressman (Roxy) really leaving the show? If that’s the case, three of the original five ‘wives’ are now gone, and the show, while still very good, is certainly not the same. The new characters aren’t getting it done for me; if their purpose was to pick up the slack, it didn’t work. I know the show hasn’t yet been renewed for the new season, so maybe these questions are moot, but I do wonder if you have any insight to offer.”

Matt again: The only perspective I can give is that shows like this can be a victim of their own longevity, and when actors decide to move on for whatever reason — for the record, I have no idea who’s returning or not if and when Army Wives is renewed — it does tend to change the dynamic of a show. On a much-larger canvas, I’m always reminded of ER, which by the end was almost unrecognizable character-wise (and to me, quality-wise) from where it started.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

NEWS

It has been confirmed that British singer-songwriter Adele will indeed be writing and singing the theme song for the latest James Bond flick Skyfall. (Showbiz 411 and First Showing)

TELEVISION

Actor Brad Beyer (Jericho, Third Watch and GCB) has booked a two-episode arc on NCIS, playing Marine Capt. Joe Westcott, an upstanding unit leader who returns from a tour in Afghanistan after his best friend and many more of his men lose their lives. As Gibbs and other federal investigators question him, he begins to unravel and perhaps shows signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. Some of Westcott’s issues may stem from his tense relationship with his gruff father, himself also a former Marine. NCIS returns to CS on September 25 with Beyer’s episodes set to air in November. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Actress Rachel Ticotin (the original Total Recall and TV’s Lost and Weeds) will guest star in an upcoming episode of NCIS: Los Angeles, playing Monica Tenez, a politician. NCIS: LA will be back on CBS starting on September 25. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Tom Amandes (Everwood) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Scandal, playing Governor Reston opposite former Everwood co-star Brenda Strong, who will play his first lady. Scandal is back on ABC starting on September 27. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Jesse L. Martin (Law & Order) will have a recurring role on Smash when the NBC musical drama returns in mid-season. He will play Scott Welker, an Artistic Director of a theater company who has history with a couple of the characters. NBC has yet to announce an official air date for the series. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Isaiah Mustafa (the Old Spice guy himself) will guest star on an upcoming episode of Nikita, playing a charming former Division agent with ambiguous loyalties named Cyrus, who is being described as a suave, handsome and charismatic arms dealer and procurement guy who used to get late Division chief Percy anything he wanted. Nikita is back for a new season on The CW starting on October 19. (Hanh Nguyen at TV Guide)

Actress Grace Gummer (daughter of Meryl Streep) will join the cast of the new ABC mid-season drama Zero Hour. This series is a conspiracy drama about a publisher of a paranormal enthusiast magazine (Anthony Edwards of ER fame) whose wife is abducted from her antique clock shop. Gummer is expected to recur as FBI Agent Paige Willis. (Lynette Rice at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

ABC has bought a new drama project called SkinDeep, a sexy soap set against the backdrop of a family-run beauty empire, from Sheldon Turner (co-writer of the box office film Up In The Air). (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Leslie Grossman (Popular and What I Like About You) will star opposite actors Kyle Howard (My Boys and Royal Pains) and Joel David Moore (Bones) in the USA Network comedy pilot called Paging Dr. Freed that is a comedy that will center on gynecologist brothers who inherit their father’s thriving medical practice after he suffers a heart attack during an attempt at “playing” doctor with his young secretary. Grossman will play the wife of one of the brothers. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Aunjanue Ellis (The Help) has joined the cast of the as-yet-untitled AMC drama project from Richard LaGravenese and Tony Goldwyn project that is a legal ensemble drama thriller centering on Adam Page (Damon Gupton), a District Attorney who uncovers new evidence that prompts the reinvestigation of a sensational murder case. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Nurse Jackie co-creator Liz Brixius will team with Grimm executive producers Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner as well as Lawrence Bender and Kevin Brown for a new drama project at NBC. The as-yet-untitled project, that will be written by Brixius, is an hour-long soap about a Dr. Oz-type that has fallen from grace. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

The series creator and executive producer of the short-lived cop drama Life Rand Ravich and his producing partner Far Shariat have sold a drama project to FOX. The project is called The Prodigy and it will center on a young CIA officer who has to infiltrate the New York City field office of the FBI on the hunt for agents who are working with enemies of the U.S. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

The USA Network has given a pilot order for an untitled hour-long project from Numb3rs series creators Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton. The project, based on a short story from Elmore Leonard‘s anthology When the Women Come Out To Dance, will center on a Miami businessman who, contemplating a run for political office, tries to increase his chances of being elected by marrying a Colombian woman who is on the run from her troubled past. What starts as a marriage of convenience quickly escalates into much more as his new wife proves to be more resourceful at “fixing” any problem the corrupt South Miami political scene throws at her husband. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

British actress Annabelle Wallis (The Tudors and Pan Am) will star opposite actor Cillian Murphy (Inception) in the six-part BBC Two (over in the UK) drama series called Peaky Blinders that is in 1919 Birmingham where a ruthless family of gangsters rule the lawless post-war slums. Wallis will play a mysterious new arrival in the neighborhood who peaks the interest of the mob leader Tommy (to be played by Murphy). The mini-series is expected to air in 2013 in the UK. (Nancy Tartaglione at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Young actress Chloe Moretz (Kick Ass) is out and young actress Isabelle Fuhrman (The Hunger Games) is now in for the lead role in the upcoming box office film called The Wilderness of James, an independent coming-of-age movie that is about a young boy dealing with the absence of his father. Fuhrman will play the role of Val opposite actor Kodi Smitt-McPhee (The Road). (Mike Fleming at Deadline)

Actress Ashley Jones (True Blood) will appear in the independent family drama called Angel’s Perch that will focus on a young man returning home to care for his grandmother when she is afflicted by Alzheimer’s. Jones will play a childhood friend who is not afraid to make him confront his past and move on. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Kevin Costner is adding another project to his already long list of new projects after the success of the TV mini-series Hatfields & McCoys brought his career trajectory back on track. The new project for which he is developing is a multi-platform project called The Explorers Guild that will span multiple books and a feature film. This is a new adventure series that Costner is working on with writer/art director Jon Baird that is expected to hit the book shelves in 2014. It follows the title group, an adventurous bunch that travels to places like the Himalayas, the Mongolian desert, and the bottom of the ocean to find answers to life’s unknown questions. The first book takes place during World War I, involving a member of the group searching for spiritual enlightenment while another seeks to save his brother’s life as they hunt for the mythical city of Shambhala. An animated series is also in the works. (First Showing)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Lincoln Trailer

Q&A SECTION (with Team Watch with Kristin at E! Online)

Question: What’s coming up for my favorite Hart of Dixie couple Lavon and Lemon? – Brittany

Team Watch with Kristin: Fans can expect to see the two spending quite a bit of time together as they will be working on Lavon’s re-election campaign. Jaime King hints to us that Lemon will rediscover her feelings for Bluebell’s mayor, so “Levon” shippers should definitely tune into the CW charmer’s Halloween episode. That is all we’re going to say.

Question: I need Teen Wolf season three scoop. – Michael

Team Watch with Kristin: Since we’re missing it just as badly as you are, we rounded up three things you can expect in season three:

1. The Lydia as a possible cure storyline might return. “We didn’t delve into it too deeply, but it may come back as a plot thread next season,” Jeff Davis teases.

2. More CGI…probably! Jeff says, “I’m excited to see how our Alphas turn out because I have some big ideas for them.” As for what they look like, he explains. “It’ll be a combination. Full CGI creatures are very difficult to do on a budget our size and with the time as well. So I’m very wary of doing anymore full CGI creatures.”

3. “It’ll be a challenge next season to see how long they can keep the secret from [Sheriff] Stilinski,” Jeff says when we brought up that almost everyone on the show has been brought in on the werewolf secret.

Question: I cannot wait for the Psych musical episode. Please tell me you have some scoop on it! – Leo

Team Watch with Kristin: Psych is on a mad hunt for a Broadway actor to play “Z,” who went from successful playwright to mental institution guest after murdering a theater critic. Obviously he’ll have a musical number, since they need someone who can sing with the best of them.

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today, few though they may be:

TELEVISION

Actor Dylan Baker (The Good Wife and Political Animals) has joined the cast of the mid-season drama on ABC called Zero Hour that will star Anthony Edwards (ER) as a skeptics magazine editor who is pulled into one of the most compelling conspiracies in human history after his wife (Jacinda Barrett) is kidnapped. Baker will play FBI Section Chief Terrence Fisk, who has a personal connection to the conspiracy case. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Actor Brian McNamara (Army Wives) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Bones, playing a Steve Irwin-type pet expo proprietor named Eric Neibling. When one of his day laborers is found murdered, Neibling’s secret side business, importing endangered species for sale, is exposed, making him a prime suspect. Bones is back on September 17 on FOX. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Perrey Reeves (Entourage) has been cast in one of the lead roles in the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced drama pilot called The Secret Live of Husbands and Wives that is inspired by the Josie Brown novel. The project is being described as a thriller-dramatic soap that centers on a murder and the secrets and lies within a tightly woven group of three suburban couples and their families exposed in its aftermath. Reeves will play half of one of the three couples. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (the team behind Gossip Girl) have a new project at The CW that will take place in an elite school. The project is called Copeland Prep and is set at the premier secondary school in the nation, which is so fiercely competitive it’s turning its students into monsters — literally — and spreading the disturbing ramifications throughout the town. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Gilles Marini has been promoted to series regular on the ABC Family drama Switched At Birth. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

The Glades has been renewed for a fourth season by A&E. It will be back sometime next summer. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Emma Caulfield (best known for her role on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) will make a guest appearance in at least a couple of episodes of Royal Pains, playing Hank’s ex-girlfriend Winnie. The summer run will end on September 19 and then the rest of the season will return this winter. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

A&E has given a pilot order to a new drama called Occult from Transformers director Michael Bay and The X-Files writer James Wong. The project centers on an FBI agent who returns from administrative leave after going off the deep end while investigating his wife’s disappearance. Eager to be back on the job, he is paired with an agent with her own complicated back-story who specializes in the occult. Together, they will solve cases for the newly formed occult crimes task force. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

The cable network Bravo had picked up four new projects. First, they are working on a reboot of the 1980’s flick Heathers with this version taking place 20 years later, focusing on the daughter of Veronica (the character played by Winona Ryder in the original film), who goes head-to-head with the new generation of mean girls called the Ashleys — who are also the daughters of the surviving Heathers. Second, the aptly titled Apartment is about two siblings in their 20s who inherit an apartment from their late mother. After learning the home was where their mom had an 18-year affair, the siblings start renting the place out to people who also want to engage in extramarital affairs. Third, The Darlings is based on the novel by Christina Alger that follows a high-society family from New York City’s Upper East Side who becomes involved in a financial scandal. And, lastly, All American Girl will take place over three decades and revolve around three women who all work for a magazine throughout different time periods. The series will focus on the changing points of view about women in the workplace and feminism. (Robyn Ross at TV Guide)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Camryn Manheim (The Practice and Ghost Whisperer) will appear in the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie called The Makeover that will star Julia Stiles (Dexter) and David Walton (Perfect Couples) in a modern twist on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. Stiles will play Hannah, a driven, Harvard-educated professor who runs for Congress. Manheim will play Colleen Pickering, who decides to enlist the help of Walton’s average guy, Elliot Doolittle, for the next election. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Diane Neal (Law & Order: SVU) will play Helen, a charming, strong and witty actress who gets caught up in a love triangle in the Hallmark made-for-TV movie called This Magic Moment that will center on a video store owner and budding screenwriter named Clark Gable who falls for a famous actress in town to film a movie while he also deals with residual feelings for an old flame. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Ewan McGregor will star alongside Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in the upcoming box office film called August: Osage County, which is an adaptation of the Tracy Letts Pulitzer- and Tony-winning play. McGregor will play Bill Fordham, the estranged husband of Barbara (Roberts) and son-in-law of pill-popping matriarch Violet Weston (Streep). A college professor, he left his wife for one of his students but wants to be there for his family. His marriage is disintegrating and his patience is running thin. (Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with Tierney Bricker at E! Online; Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams at TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Question: I need Once Upon a Time scoop! – Kelli

Tierney: A warlock is coming! Quinn is a handsome young man who is shunned by his parents when they find out about his magical abilities, which leads him to a new family of people with gifts similar to his. While he seems nice enough, Quinn is someone you don’t want to cross. The show is also looking to cast Anita, a sexy and earthy sorceress who is devoted to taking in lost souls. However, don’t let her maternal instincts fool you; because she can be ferocious when it comes to the people she cares about.

Question: Have you seen the NCIS premiere? I need details! — Robbie

ADAM: As expected, the team dusts itself off pretty easily after the explosion at headquarters, although McGee is banged up much worse than some of his colleagues. As for Harper Dearing, the man behind the blast, he’s got a few more tricks up his sleeve — and as you might have guessed, they all involve a big boom. That said, the much-anticipated Gibbs-Dearing showdown surprisingly ends up being a great deal more intimate than expected.

Question: I’m so excited that Daniel Gillies was included in the new Vampire Diaries cast gallery! What can you say about his role this season? — Heather

NATALIE: Elijah will definitely be back. In fact, Gillies just told us about a recent flashback scene he filmed. “It was the 11th century,” Gillies says. “It was an episode that depicted a brand new menace on The Vampire Diaries and not just a menace to the beautiful boys and girls of Mystic Falls, but also to the Originals. A big threat.”

Question: I can’t wait for Person of Interest to return. Will Reese be able to rescue Finch? — Luke

ADAM: Despite a valiant effort on Reese’s part, Reese and Finch’s reunion won’t come in the season premiere. In fact, most of Finch’s scenes take place in flashbacks, as we see how he trained the Machine to work. (Fun fact: The machine’s excellent at blackjack!) What we do see of Finch in present day is a pretty certain fear of Root, who both reveals why she wants the Machine and proves exactly how ruthless she will be in order to get it.

Question: I am dying to know what’s going to happen to Belle on Once Upon A Time. Got anything you can share? —Donald

Ausiello: Freshly plucked out of her hospital cellar confines and thrust into the orbit of the purple smoke-conjuring Mr. Gold, Emilie de Ravin’s beauty is in for quite a bit of culture shock as Season 2 opens. Is somewhere inside this Rumplestiltskin the same imp she fell in love with in the other realm? “Rumple has always been a character who has had to choose between love and power, and he has always chosen power,” series co-creator Eddy Kitsis reminds. “So now that Belle, this wild card, has come into his life, how will it affect his meticulous plan? And which path will he now choose because of it?”

Question: Any news at all on Justified? —Jay

Ausiello: The FX western is recruiting a new batch of freaks for Season 4, and they include a rule-bending military police sergeant who shares a past with Boyd, a fugitive family man who teams up with a pair of drug addicts, a local Constable who went to high school with Raylan, and a charismatic young preacher who starts cutting into Boyd’s profits. Bonus Spoiler: The Season 4 premiere is titled “Hole in the Wall.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Showtime is developing a new potential drama with former Californication executive producer Gina Fattore that is being described as a high-concept multi-cultural family drama called Holiday. There are no other details about the project at this time, though. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC is developing another fantasy project called A Kingdom Far Away from feature writer Justin Marks. The project is being described as a fantasy adventure about a quirky family surviving together on a lawless frontier; a magical land where monsters are real and one young woman’s unlikely destiny is about to change their lives forever. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

CBS has committed to a new potential drama The Mentalist creator Bruno Heller called The Advocates, a legal drama that centers on a female lawyer and a male ex-con who team up as “victim advocates,” going to the edge of the law to right wrongs and fight for the underdog. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City) is set to play reclusive poet Emily Dickinson in the upcoming film called A Quiet Passion that will follow Dickinson’s life from precocious schoolgirl to tortured recluse who saw only seven of her 1,000+ poems published in her lifetime. After her death though, Dickinson was recognized as one of the greatest American poets of all time. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

Actor Peter Facinelli (the Twilight franchise) will star in the upcoming supernatural horror flick called Gallows Hill where he will play an American, widowed from his Colombia-born wife, who flies to Bogota with his new fiancée (Sophia Myles) to retrieve his rebellious teenage daughter Jill (Nathalia Ramos). After a car accident leaves them stranded in a rundown isolated inn, they discover the old innkeeper has locked a young girl in the basement and their decision to set her free has unintended consequences. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

Q&A SECTION (with Tierney Bricker and Team Watch with Kristin at E! Online)

Question: I am literally counting down the minutes until the season two premiere of Scandal! Give me some good news about my favorite couple Fitz and Olivia?! – Kasey

Tierney: The fact that his wife is expecting obviously complicates his relationship with Olivia as well, and in the season two premiere, we learn the two haven’t spoken in quite some time. However, they do share a moment that left us breathless…and they aren’t even face-to-face. Yeah, their chemistry is that good.

Question: Downton Abbey spoilers if you got them! – Christina

Tierney: Elizabeth McGovern says the world of Downton Abbey will be dealing with “massive change” in the new season. “There is starting to be a lot more movement between classes and that is funny, heartbreaking, disturbing, and wonderful. You find out a lot more about the characters because you see how they react to a changing world,” she tells us. “The kids who are growing up of course in the ’20s, [when] everything started to be much more liberated. There were a lot more possibilities for those girls than had been at the start of the series. They’re now looking to maybe have careers. So, that is the sort of dramatic thrust of a lot of the stories in Season three.”

Question: What’s next for Stiles on Teen Wolf?! While I like the more serious stuff with his dad, I kind of miss the funny side of him! – Sarah

Team WWK: Fret not, Stiles fan, you’ll be seeing all the sides of Stiles in season three. “They can expect him to get back to being funny, which is another reason we wanted that space of four months,” executive producer Jeff Davis says of what the show’s four-month time jump will mean for Scott’s partner-in-crime. “We could kind of hit the reset button on the characters and put them back into a place where they begin to feel human again after all these inhuman events. We’ll definitely get back to him being funny, but he’s going to have more drama ahead and probably some more complications with Scott now that Scott has changed so much, too.”

Question: Do you have anything on the NCIS premiere? I hear it’s going to be epic. – David

Team WWK: Michael Weatherly let us in on all the season premiere secrets. “It’s going to be an awesome thing. I’m stuck in an elevator with the beautiful Cote de Pablo. Tony and Ziva stuck in an elevator. TiVo that,” he insists. “It’s a massive season premiere. I would be hugely surprised if there was one person on the planet earth that didn’t like it. I’d be hugely shocked.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

PS: Please remember to honor all those we lost 11 years ago on that fateful 9-11.

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Gil Bellows (Ally McBeal) will guest star in the new fall drama Vegas, playing mayoral candidate George Grady, who is campaigning against incumbent Ted Bennett and is intrigued with and inspired by Vincent Savino (Michael Chiklis). Vegas will debut on CBS on September 25. (Lynette Rice at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor John Shea (Gossip Girl and Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman) will appear on The Good Wife as Cary’s (Matt Czuchry) dad. This will potentially be a recurring role. The series returns to CBS on September 30. (TV Line and TV Guide)

Actress Alfre Woodard will play Sam’s (Taye Diggs) mom on Private Practice. The series will return to ABC on September 25. (Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Angela Bassett will star and executive produce the potential new drama at NBC for which the network just closed a deal. The project is called Vanishing Point and comes from writer Ben Ripley (the box office film Source Code). The project is being described as a character-driven legal franchise revolving around two women. One, to be played by Bassett, is a brilliant yet unsympathetic rainmaker at a powerful New York law firm whose world is suddenly and permanently upended by a health issue. Facing this crisis, she makes her condition public and vows to continue her practice with the help of a young brilliant attorney she chooses to be her right hand. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Shonda Rhimes and Grey’s Anatomy writer Peter Nowalk will be working together on a potential new drama for NBC called Under the Gun. The project revolves around Erin Kain, a woman who goes to work for the FBI as she struggles to make sense of a terrible event in her past that ruined her life and tore her family apart. While her young and fragile appearance doesn’t typically suggest that she’s best suited to work as a field agent, her dark past helps her get inside the head of criminals who were normal one day and cracked the next. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Jason Katims, the creative mind behind Friday Night Lights and Parenthood, will be working with feature writer Simon Kinberg on the potential new pilot called Anonymous for which FOX. The project follows a rebellious, hot-shot wunderkind who is plucked as the CIA’s latest recruit and teamed with a seasoned handler with whom he forms an unlikely father-son relationship. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

A potential hour-long drama from producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (the men behind Smash) has been selected by NBC. The tentatively titled White House Confidential is being described as an upstairs-downstairs type soap set in the White House, told from the point of view of a young female doctor who has a secret from her past. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here are the top 10 box office movies for this past weekend courtesy of Deadline:

1. The Possession – 9.3 million
2. Lawless – 5.9 million
3. The Expendables 2 – 4.9 million
4. The Words – 4.7 million
5. ParaNorman – 4.2 million
6. The Bourne Legacy – 4 million
7. The Odd Life of Timothy Green – 3.6 million
8. The Campaign – 3.3 million
8. 2016 Obama’s America – 3.3 million
10. The Dark Knight Rises – 3.2 million

Actor Sean Bean (Lord of the Rights) is set to star in the post-apocalyptic action thriller called Scorched Earth that is set after an environmental collapse causes billions to die where mankind has finally re-established a rudimentary society with a new set of laws for the ravaged wastelands. Bean will play a bounty hunter named Atticus Gage who is very similar to the criminals he hunts. He is soon presented with the bounty of a lifetime, and goes off in search of the most wanted criminal in these badlands. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actor David Thewlis (Harry Potter and War Horse) is expected to have a supporting role in the sequel film RED 2. The original film was about a group of retired special agents (Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich). Thewlis will play a character called The Frog, an information dealer who got his name by poisoning the water supply at the Kremlin using a poisonous Amazonian frog. (Heat Vision and First Showing)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

NEWS

Congrats to the winners at the VMA’s last night, including (but not limited to) Rihanna, One Direction, Coldplay, Beyonce and Katy Perry.

TELEVISION

Actor Mitch Pileggi (The X-Files and Sons of Anarchy) has been promoted to series regular on the reboot of Dallas, as it airs on TNT. He will back, full time, when the series returns next year as Harris Ryland, the ex-husband of Brenda Strong’s character, who controls influence over the entire Ewing family. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Matt Long (Jack & Bobby) will appear on Private Practice in the recurring role of a new doctor – yep, that’s all I got right now. The series will be back for its final season starting on September 25 on ABC. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Actor Blake Hood (90210 and The Young and the Restless) and actress Alyssa Diaz (The Nine Lives of Chloe King and Army Wives) will both have guest star roles on The Vampire Diaries, playing new “minion” (aka hybrids) of Klaus (Joseph Morgan). The CW series will be back starting on October 11. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Actress Debra Mooney (Everwood) will play a Supreme Court Justice in a multi-episode arc on Scandal. The ABC drama returns for its second year on September 27. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The box office film Act of Valor is being shopped around as a TV series to both the major and cable networks. The original film mixed real life U.S. Navy SEALs and Navy Special Warfare Combatant Crewmen with actors. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

Howard Gordon and Alex Cary (who worked behind the scenes on Homeland) are adapting another international series for possibly US consumption. This time it will be the Icelandic series Réttur that centers on a seasoned lawyer with an unorthodox approach who demonstrates his personal contempt for the law by using it as a blunt instrument. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

TNT gave the green light to three new pilots. First is the Howard Gordon pilot called Legends, based on the novel by Robert Littell, that follows a deep-cover operative who has an uncanny ability to transform himself into a different person for each job. The next pilot is from Jerry Bruckheimer called Trooper, which centers on a recently divorced female state trooper who is as unconventional at work as she is at home raising her three kids. Her partner on the job is a widowed father who has a much more by-the-book approach to policing. The third pilot is from Shane Brennan and is called King & Maxwell, which is a based on the popular characters Sean King and Michelle Maxwell from author David Baldacci. They are former secret service agents whose unique skill set often gives them a leg up on both suspects and conventional law enforcement. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Chris Evans (The Avengers) and Michelle Monaghan (Source Code) will star in the upcoming “anti-romantic comedy” called A Many Splintered Thing that is described as in the vein of the films Amelie and (500) Days Of Summer, telling the story of a young man disillusioned by love who meets a breathtaking young woman at a charity dinner by pretending to be a philanthropist. But, it turns out that she’s engaged to a guy who doesn’t like her going on dates. Challenged by the chase, and egged on by his eclectic friends, he feigns a platonic relationship in order to keep seeing her as he tries to conquer her heart. (Mike Fleming at Deadline)

Legendary actor Christopher Plummer and Rosamund Pike (Pride & Prejudice) have joined the cast of the upcoming comedy film called Hector and the Search For Happiness that is based on the novel by François Lelord. The film will star Simon Pegg as an eccentric yet irresistible London psychiatrist in crisis: he’s going nowhere and his patients are just not getting any happier. One day Hector breaks out of his sheltered vacuum of life into a global quest to find out if happiness exists for not just everyone else, but himself. The quest takes him on an exotic, dangerous and hysterical journey. Pike will play his long-term girlfriend while Plummer will play UCLA’s Happiness Studies guru Professor Coreman. (Dark Horizons)

Actor Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale) has been cast in the role of Beetee in the sequel film The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Latest Breaking Dawn: Part 2 Trailer

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Syfy has picked up the overseas series Sinbad for broadcast here in the States. The series chronicles the famous Middle Eastern sailor’s voyages in a 12-episode first season that is expected to premiere on Syfy in April 2013. The series stars Elliot Knight in the title role, with Lost alum Naveen Andrews co-starring. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Kim Raver (Grey’s Anatomy and 24) will join the new fall drama Revolution in a recurring role. The show takes place 15 years in the future, showing the aftermath of a global blackout where the entire world lost power. There are few details on the character that Raver will play, but she will play a pivotal role. Revolution debuts on NBC on September 17. (Kate Stanhope at TV Guide)

Actress Christina Ricci (Pam Am) has landed a guest starring role on The Good Wife, playing a controversial comedienne in need of the firm’s help. The Good Wife returns on September 30 on CBS. (Kate Stanhope at TV Guide)

Character actor Roger Rees (Warehouse 13, Grey’s Anatomy, The West Wing) will have a guest starring role in the new fall drama Elementary, the modern-day Sherlock Holmes drama on CBS. The only details known about the character he will play is that he is “an important figure from Holmes’ mysterious past. Elementary debuts on September 27. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Brenda Strong (Desperate Housewives) will have a guest appearance on Scandal, playing Joan Reston, the wife of a governor. Scandal returns for a second season on September 27 on ABC. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

TV TRAILERS

Hunted (New Cinemax Series) Promo

Downton Abbey Series 3 Trailer

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

JJ Abrams and J.H. Wyman (one half of the team behind Fringe) are teaming up for a new futuristic drama at FOX that is described as an action-packed buddy cop show, set in the near future, when all LAPD officers are partnered with highly evolved human-like androids. This is the 2nd of two robot-themed dramas on the development block, but that one is from Howard Gordon (24) and Josh Friedman (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) over at NBC. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Looks like Wonder Woman just might make it back to TV after all. At least, The CW, Warner Bros. and DC Comics think so as they have found a new way to revive the legend of Diana of Themyscira. This time around it’s an origins story. The plan is for Allan Heinberg (Grey’s Anatomy and The O.C.) to write the script under the working title of Amazon; but unlike other failed incarnations, this version will focus on Wonder Woman as a young, budding superhero, rather than a fully formed defender of liberty. But before anyone starts freaking out or bellowing, The CW is only developing a script at this point; no pilot production has been greenlit or even contractually guaranteed. (Josef Adalian at Vulture)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Full Theatrical Trailer for The Wachowskis’ and Tykwer’s ‘Cloud Atlas’

RETROSPECTIVE TRAILER

Mischief Managed: the Harry Potter Retrospective

Q&A SECTION (with Team Watch with Kristin at E! Online)

Question: I miss Hart of Dixie…spoilers please! – Helen

WWK Team: We were on set for the Halloween episode, and based on what we saw, fans are going to go crazy…for the costumes, for the love triangle drama and, well, for the costumes. We can’t reveal much right now, but we will say that someone is dressed as James Bond, with a license to be damn handsome.

Question: You haven’t given us Psych scoop in a long time. How about if I tell you that you’re pretty? Will that help? – Gordon

WWK Team: Flattery gets you everywhere! And now that we know you think we’re pretty, this Psych scoop just happen to fall into our laps. Psych is looking for a big name to play a very important guest star and possibly recurring eccentric character named Trout. The only other thing we know is that he’ll appear in the season-seven finale. We cannot wait to see who Psych picks for this role.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

The final two episodes of the Canadian series Saving Hope that has been airing on NBC over the summer will not be aired on the network, but rather have been relegated to online. Once the episodes have aired in Canada, they should be available here in the States at NBC.com. The episodes were to air on September 8 & 15. (Twitter and TV Line)

Actress Amanda Schull (Center Stage and Pretty Little Liars) has landed a recurring role on Suits. She will play Katrina Bennett, a tenacious assistant district attorney; described as an ambitious go-getter, who knows how to play people’s weaknesses to get what she wants within Manhattan’s D.A.’s Office and proves to be a foil for Harvey (Gabriel Macht). Suits returns to the USA Network in January. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actors David Meunier and David Andrews – both who appeared in this past season of Justified – will both have minor roles in the new NBC drama Revolution. Meunier will play Strasser, a tough and psychotic militiaman who works for General Monroe (David Lyons) while Andrews will play O’Halloran, a kind family man and former cop. Revolution debuts on NBC on September 17. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

TV TRAILER

Downton Abbey Season 3 Preview

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

FX has put a new martial arts drama called Downtown Dragons into development. The project will be set in the underworld of modern day Chinatown, New York, focusing on rival gangsters who must rely upon traditional fighting techniques to maintain their territories after the triad bosses bans all firearms in the area following a bloody shootout. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Kyle Killen (the creator of the short-lived shows Lone Star and Awake) has another drama in development; this time with ABC. The project is called Influence and is a provocative workplace ensemble centered on the complicated relationship between two brothers — a bipolar genius in human psychology and a slick ex-con — who head a unique agency designed to solve their clients’ problems using the real science of human motivation and manipulation. In addition to helping their clients, the agency’s staff sometimes turns their powers to pull strings on one another. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC has landed another family soap from playwright-screenwriter Kate Robin (Six Feet Under) and director-producer Jake Kasdan. The untitled drama explores what happens when a successful NYC woman suddenly disappears. The lives of her husband, daughter, siblings and parents are turned upside down as they struggle to find out what happened to her while trying to survive the investigation and media circus that considers them as potential suspects, uncovering their darkest secrets. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Graham Yost, the EP behind Justified, is developing a drama for NBC called L.A. Woman, which revolves around a female spy in 1970s Los Angeles. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Michael Fassbender is attached to star in the upcoming comedy flick called Frank that is about a young wannabe musician who discovers he’s bitten off more than he can chew when he joins an eccentric pop band led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank (Fassbender). (Entertainment.Ie and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Lea Michele and Martin Short in Trailer for Animated ‘Dorothy of Oz’

Q&A SECTION (with Adam Bryant from TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Question: Have you heard anything new about Psych? — Ebony

ADAM: Looks like the Santa Barbara Police Department is about to get a makeover. The show is casting a new oddball (think Paul Reubens or Alan Cumming) who is brilliant at turning dysfunctional departments into top-notch law enforcement institutions. That’s bad news for Shawn and Gus, whose lack of professionalism bewilders their new overseer. Do we see unemployment in their futures?

Question: Got any intel on Covert Affairs? — Jacob

ADAM: Wanna know what’s in the file on Annie that Lena gave Arthur before she shot her and Simon? We hear that it’ll help Lena wipe her hands clean of the shooting, while simultaneously implicating Annie in some wrongdoing. “[The file] puts Annie in a bit of a gray area with the committee,” co-creator Matt Corman tells us. “The whole thing has been well-thought-out by Lena.”

Question: Now that you’ve seen the Castle premiere, what can you tell us about “the morning after”? — Brittney

ADAM: Based on Castle and Beckett’s post-coital glow and hilariously giddy morning chatter, it sounds like their (possibly kinky?) night won’t soon be forgotten. But it also won’t soon be replicated. Just when the couple seems ready for Round 2 (or Round 4, if you ask Castle), a comedy of errors will foil their plans — and force Beckett to do a bit of a walk of shame.

Question: Any scoop on Switched At Birth? – Miguel

Ausiello: Bay’s rebound boyfriend from Monday’s premiere? “He comes back!” reveals Vanessa Marano. “As we all know, Bay likes her boys. We did a count, and she has had the most boyfriends on the show — and that includes Regina, who, as we know, has had many good-looking men herself.” So will fists fly between her new guy and her other ex, Emmett? “Actually, there is a fight this season — a big fight. But not between those two characters actually — though Emmett is involved.”

Question: I’m so ready for new episodes of Haven. Do you have any scoop on what’s coming? Last we saw Nathan had a gun to Duke. I gotta know what’s coming! —April

Ausiello: The Sept. 21 season premiere overfloweth with testosterone as Nathan and Duke have at each other in a donneybrook tinged with more than a little supernatural weirdness. Luckily, heads cool in time to track down MIA Audrey, who’s been abducted by a faceless figure hungry for intel on “The Colorado Kid.” One Close Encounters of the Third Kind homage later, the hour closes with the introduction of many new questions about Audrey’s past, including one raised by a warning message she left for the world 20some years ago.

Question: I would highly appreciate any Nikita scoop. —Joseph

Ausiello: Nikita is forced to work with one of the Dirty Thirty ex-Division agents she’s hunting when a mission puts the two in Ari’s (and perhaps Amanda’s?) crosshairs.

Question: Any juicy new scoops on Once Upon a Time? The second season isn’t arriving fast enough! —Trippie

Ausiello: As a power struggle ensues in the newly magically enriched Storybrooke, Episode 2 will flash back to when the Evil Queen first met Rumplestiltskin. Also, series co-creator Adam Horowitz told Matt Mitovich that the show got Sebastian Stan back as the Mad Hatter for no fewer than three of the early batch of episodes — “and he doesn’t just show up to say, ‘Hey, I’m still here.’ He has his own story, because his daughter is still out there.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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