Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Alice Eve, who played mom Esther to the original vampire of Mystic Falls, on The Vampire Diaries, will show up in an upcoming episode of Grimm. She will play Mia, a powerful Royal who comes to Portland to see Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz). Mia and Renard have an “ongoing relationship” for many years, but Renard suspects there’s more to her visit than he’s led to believe. Grimm is back with its second season starting on August 13. (Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Sinqua Walls, who has a recurring role on the MTV thriller drama Teen Wolf, will guest star as Sir Lancelot on Once Upon a Time. This Lancelot will be a sword for hire with nothing to lose; a one-time proud member of King Arthur’s Round Table who has since been banished, tearing him away from his true love. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Kenny Johnson (The Shield) will guest star in the mid-season finale of Burn Notice, playing Tyler Gray, a merciless, cunning and physically fit operative. He is the target of a CIA snatch-and-grab operation in Panama. (Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Virginia Madsen is joining the cast of the AMC period Western Hell On Wheels for a three-episode arc. She will play Mrs. Hannah Durant, wife of Thomas “Doc” Durant (Colm Meaney). (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Jon Seda (Treme) will have a three-episode arc on the new NBC firefighter drama Chicago Fire that will debut this fall. He will play Det. Antonio Dawson, brother to paramedic Gabriela Dawson (Monica Raymund). (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Billy Zane (Titanic) has been cast as the title character in the upcoming Reelz Channel four-part miniseries called Barabbas, which is based on the novel by Par Lagerkvist. The miniseries follows the life of Barabbas (Zane), a man who was jailed at the same time as Jesus Christ, but who was spared from crucifixion when the masses demanded his release over Jesus. The series picks up where the Bible left off. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress (and Mrs. Channing Tatum) Jenna Dewan has joined the cast of American Horror Story. She will star opposite singer and The Voice judge Adam Levine. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Julian Morris (Dr. Wren Kingston on Pretty Little Liars) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Once Upon a Time. He will play Prince Phillip, a man who’s traveled from a kingdom that’s in decline. He is a young, skilled warrior and selfless hero who’s the veteran of many tough journeys. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

TEASER TRAILER FOR TV

Doctor Who New Season 2012 Teaser Trailer Season 7

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Masterpiece, the cable network WGBH and ITV Studios will co-produce a new project tentatively called Mr. Selfridge that will star Jeremy Piven in the lead role. This new project will
recount the real life story of the flamboyant and visionary American founder of Selfridge’s, Harry Gordon Selfridge, London’s lavish department store. The project is slated to air next year. (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Brendan Fraser and actress Annabelle Wallis (Pan Am) will star in the wild-west comedy called In with the Outlaw that will follow a sheriff and his troupe of hapless sidekicks as they try to rid their hometown of the sheriff’s own notorious outlaw family. (Screen Daily and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Watch: First Trailer for ‘Chasing Mavericks’ with Surfer Gerard Butler

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

NBC has ordered a ten-episode series called Dracula that will star Jonathan Rhys Meyers of The Tudors and Bend It Like Beckham fame. The series will take place in the 1890s and finds Dracula living a double life in London as an American businessman interested in bringing modern science to Victorian society. His true plan to exact revenge on those who burdened him centuries ago, however, is derailed when he falls in love with a with a woman who seems to be a reincarnation of his dead wife. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Young actress Maddie Hasson, who played delinquent gypsy girl Willa on the short-lived FOX drama The Finder (the spin-off from Bones) will appear in an upcoming episode of Grimm. She will play the daughter of “a nice guy”, who is kidnapped by family members and held hostage because they want to bring her back into the family. Of course, since this is Grimm the members of the family are supernatural creatures. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Actress Polly Walker (Rome and Caprica) has landed a recurring role on The Mentalist. She will play Senior FBI agent Alexa Shultz, a whip-smart alpha female. She will first appear in the season premiere, which is set to air on September 30 on CBS. (TV Line and TV Guide)

Film and TV actress Penelope Ann Miller (Men of a Certain Age) will join the cast of the upcoming drama Mistresses that is set to air mid-season. She will play Sam’s (Erik Stocklin) mother on the series who has no idea her late husband had a romance with another woman (Yunjin Kim). This new series tells the story of four women with turbulent romantic lives that features amongst it cast Alyssa Milano and Rochelle Aytes. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Jason Beghe (Californication) has joined the cast of the upcoming NBC drama Chicago Fire that explores the complex and heroic men and women of the Chicago Fire Department. The series stars Jesse Spencer (House) and Taylor Kinney (The Vampire Diaries). Beghe will have the recurring role of Detective Hank Voight, a dangerous, feared and formidable gang unit cop who will do anything to protect his delinquent son from the long arm of the law. Chicago Fire will debut on October 10 on NBC. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

The MTV comedy Awkward has been renewed for a third season and has been given a 20-episode order which is nearly double its episode order from this current season. Awkward airs new episodes on MTV every Thursday at 10:30 PM. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Saving Hope and The Listener have both received renewals from their Canadian broadcasters. Both shows received a 13-episode order. (Etan Vlessing at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Luke MacFarlane, who played Scotty on Brothers & Sisters, will guest star in the second episode of the new Beauty and the Beast TV series that will debut this fall on The CW. This remake is loosely based on the 80’s classic series, starring Kristin Kreuk (of Smallville fame) as Catherine Chandler, a cop who intersects with Vincent Keller (Jay Ryan from Terra Nova), who was turned into a beast after a faulty military experiment. MacFarlane will play Philippe Bertrand, the artistic director of the Bertrand Ballet Company who’s intrinsically involved in his dancers’ lives. Catherine will investigate the company after their prima-ballerina is murdered. Beauty and the Beast will debut on October 11 on The CW. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Lifetime has given the drama project called Cinnamon Girl a pilot order. This project comes from Renée Zellweger and is a period drama set against the backdrop of the Los Angeles music and movie scenes of the late 1960s/early 1970s. The drama tells the story of four coming-of-age girls — Cassie, Lola, Penny and Lou — and explores their lives at the crossroads of the era’s political, artistic, social and sexual rebellions. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

MTV is currently developing an hour-long “found-footage mystery” project in the style of Paranormal Activity called The Experiment. (Lacey Rose at The Hollywood Reporter)

CONDOLENCES

Actor Sherman Hemsley, who played George Jefferson in the classic comedies All in the Family and The Jeffersons, passed away yesterday. He was 74. (E! Online)

Actor Chad Everett, who starred in the 1970s TV drama Medical Center and appeared as old Dean in a recent episode of Supernatural, passed away yesterday. He was 75. (Variety)

ME: Rest in Peace, Mr. Hemsley and Mr. Everett. Condolences are extended to their family, friends and fans.

MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actors Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), David Morse (Treme) and Cory Monteith (Glee) will star in the retro cop action drama called McCanick. Morse will play a narcotics detective (and Routh his partner) who learns that a seemingly harmless young criminal (Monteith) has been released from prison, a criminal who holds the secret to a truth from the detective’s past. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Ryan McPartlin (Chuck) will star in two upcoming films. The first is called Mr. Christmas where he will play a male mannequin (um, male version of the 1987 film Mannequin, anyone?) come to life whose plastic core makes it difficult to woo his human crush. And the second is called Sex and Sunsets where he will play a consummate charmer who clashes horns with struggling writer (Ryan Kwanten from True Blood) who makes overtures toward his fiancé. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Liev Schreiber will play President Lyndon B. Johnson in the upcoming film called The Butler, a biopic that follows Eugene Allen, a White House servant who worked for eight First Families. The cast of this film already includes Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, Melissa Leo, James Marsden, Mariah Carey, Vanessa Redgrave and Alex Pettyfer. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Must Watch: First Magnificent Full Trailer for Ang Lee’s ‘Life of Pi’

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

Question: Any Covert Affairs scoop? —Susan

Ausiello: Auggie fans, rejoice! Chris Gorham reveals that he’s got some meaty stuff ahead. “In Episode 7, there’s a really nice moment between Auggie and his therapist where he tells a story, which was actually an idea of mine that I had pitched to the writers,” he shares. “It’s a really nice reveal about Auggie’s past. It’s a very revealing character moment.” Then things will get “very heavy for [Auggie in Episode 9],” says Gorham, an outing he calls “maybe the most emotional” episode to date for his character.

Question: Any details on Matthew and Lady Mary’s wedding on Downton Abbey? —Neil

Ausiello: You’re assuming there will be a wedding — something series creator Julian Fellowes stopped short of confirming when I spoke to him over the weekend at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour in Beverly Hills. “They’re certainly engaged — that much I will say,” he said with a laugh. “But in Downton, the path of true love never did run smooth.”

Question: Any Season 3 Downton Abbey scoop about my favorite TV spinster, Lady Edith? — Jeff

Ausiello: Good news! She may not be a spinster forever! “Edith has a tough time,” acknowledges Fellowes. But “she’s still very keen on [Sir Anthony] Strallan [and] hasn’t allowed his disability to put her off. So let’s hope that comes to some kind of fruition in Season 3.”

Question: I am a huge fan of Nikita. The show is awesome. So excited Devon Sawa is a series regular now. Any scoop on what Owen will be up to in Season 3? —Alberto

Ausiello: “He’s in for a pretty big system shock [when he discovers that] Division is running — and that Nikita is still running it,” reveals showrunner Craig Silverstein. “He doesn’t think that’s a good idea, and around the time that happens, Nikita will also be wondering if it’s a good idea.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Sarah Jones, who just appeared in the failed FOX drama Alcatraz has joined the cast of this fall’s CBS period drama Vegas, appearing as the smart, fiery daughter of one of Chicago’s most powerful men who works in the casino running the skim. The series stars Dennis Quaid as real-life 1960’s sheriff Ralph Lamb who takes on Vincent Savino (Michael Chiklis), a Chicago gangster. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Ken Leung (Lost) and actress Margo Martindale (Justified) will both guest star in upcoming episodes of Person of Interest. Details on the characters they will both play are being kept under wraps. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Laurence Fishburne is currently circling the role of Jack Crawford in the upcoming Hannibal Lecter prequel series Hannibal to air on NBC. In the books and films, Crawford is the agent in charge at the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI which is tracking down an unknown cannibal/serial killer. (TV Line and Dark Horizons)

VH1 has ordered its second hour-long scripted series called Bounce, which will star Dean Cain, Kimberly Elise and Charlotte Ross. This series will follow the lives and loves of the Los Angeles Devil Girls, the dance team for the No.1 professional basketball team in the country. It centers on Ahsha (newcomer Taylour Paige), a sheltered young woman who joins the team against the wishes of her mother Sloane (Elise), who knows this treacherous, tempting world all too well having been an original Devil’s Girl herself. Olivia (Ross) is the shrewd squad manager, Jelena (newcomer Logan Browning) is the ruthless star captain of the dance team and Pete Davenport (Cain) is the former All-Star who’s come back to coach his old team only to have to contend with the girls both stealing the spotlight and distracting his players. Bounce joins the Queen Latifah-produced Single Ladies on slate for VH1. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

CONDOLENCES

Former Astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space, passed away yesterday after battling pancreatic cancer. She was 61. (Sally Ride Science and TV Guide)

ME: Rest in Peace, Ms. Ride. Condolences are extended to her family and friends.

MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Iwan Rheon (Misfits) has landed the role of Lord Roose’s illegitimate son Lord Ramsay Snow (aka “The Bastard of Bolton”) in the upcoming third season of Game of Thrones. (Winter is Coming and Dark Horizons)

Actors Robert Duvall and Jeremy Irvine will star in the upcoming film A Night in Old Mexico”, that follows the developing relationship between a man (Duvall) and his grandson (Irvine). (Dark Horizons)

It’s official: Actress Jena Malone has been cast in the role of Johanna Mason in the film adaptation of Catching Fire. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Here are the box office results from this past weekend for the top 10 movies courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1. The Dark Knight Rises – 160 million
2. Ice Age: Continental Drift – 20 million
3. The Amazing Spider-Man – 10.9 million
4. Ted – 10 million
5. Brave – 6 million
6. Magic Mike – 4.3 million
7. Savages – 3.4 million
8. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection – 3.3 million
9. Moonrise Kingdom – 1.8 million
10. To Rome with Love – 1.4 million

Actor Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation and Avatar) will join Arnold Schwarzenegger in the action film called Ten that tells the story of an elite but crooked DEA unit who robs a cartel of millions of dollars during a tactical raid. The agents think they’ve pulled off the perfect crime until they start getting assassinated one by one. (Variety and First Showing)

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

Question: So excited for Captain Hook on Once Upon a Time! Have any information on any other new characters coming to town? – Emily

WWK Team: The ABC hit is introducing a damaged (but in the sexy kind of way) character named Jack, who is described as charismatic and mysterious. While he’s got swagger like Jagger, Jack is from a dangerous land and is running from his past. Basically, this guy has got “new TV crush” written all over him and viewers might see him stick around on the show for awhile.

Question: TVD scoop please! – Michael

WWK Team: In addition to new girl April, played by Nine Lives of Chloe King alum Grace Phipps, another female will be joining the CW hit in season four on a recurring basis: Hayley, who is described as gorgeous and sexy, nurturing and tough, but also protective. She’ll share some kind of history with Tyler.

Question: Downton Abbey scoop!! Downton Abbey scoop!! Please? – bronzia88

WWK Team: You got it, but now we have a dilemma, you didn’t specify if you want spoilers of the upstairs or downstairs variety. So we’ll have to choose for you. Although we told you there was some rocky seas ahead don’t worry Matthew-Mary fans, they do have a chance to have a blush-inducing conversation mere steps from Matthew’s mother. It’s adorably risqué.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Congrats to the folks over at Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries, Teen Wolf and Awkward for the wins at the Teen Choice Awards this weekend.

Now for today’s news:

TELEVISION

Actor Adam Baldwin (Chuck and Firefly) will play Capt. Steven Harris, the new interim captain, on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, taking over the duties of Capt. Donald Cragen (Dann Florek), who was suspected of murder in the season finale. He will appear in the first three episodes of the new season while Cragen’s fate is being determined. The series returns for its 14th season with a two-hour premiere on September 26 on NBC. (TV Guide)

Actor Jack Coleman (Heroes and The Vampire Diaries) will guest star on Castle this fall, playing a popular U.S. senator who becomes an antagonist to Beckett (Stana Katic). (TV Line and TV Guide)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor James Marsden (The Notebook) will replace Matthew McConaughey as former U.S. President John F. Kennedy in the historical drama flick called The Butler, which will chronicle the life of Eugene Allen, who served as a White House butler under an incredible eight presidents and through the years 1952 to 1986. Forest Whitaker and Aml Ameen will play Allen at different ages. The cast of this upcoming film will include Oprah Winfrey, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, John Cusack, Robin Williams, Liam Neeson, Minka Kelly, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, Lenny Kravitz, Alex Pettyfer and Vanessa Redgrave [among others]. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Jackie Earle Haley has joined the cast of the upcoming remake of the film Robocop. He will play Maddox, the man who dispenses the military training to Robocop (Joel Kinnaman). Gary Oldman, Hugh Laurie, Samuel L. Jackson and Abbie Cornish are also set. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actor Emilie Hirsch has joined the cast of the upcoming military film Lone Survivor, which is based on the book of the same name by real life Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell. The story follows a Navy SEAL team which fought to stay alive after being ambushed in Afghanistan in 2005 by Taliban forces during a covert mission in the Hindu Kush mountain region, where the team went to kill a terrorist leader. Mark Wahlberg will star as the author and Taylor Kitsch and Ben Foster will play two of the other team members. There are no details yet on what role Hirsch will play. (Variety and First Showing)

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Roush at TV Guide)

Question: Since Eureka was left wide open for a new and improved show, when will Syfy be stepping through the portal and giving us back our show? Can we expect a fall offering or will we have to wait a year until next summer? My eldest thinks they are going to drop the ball on this. I hope he’s wrong. — Debbie

Matt Roush: Your eldest is right. What you saw as “wide open” the rest of us saw as closure. This was Eureka’s swan song, unmistakably billed as a series finale, and giving the town and its characters a happy open ending is probably as much as we could have hoped for given the circumstances. I found the finale to be very satisfying, although as a fan of course I would have liked there to be more. But that’s not going to happen. It’s over. Job well done.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

First of all, let’s all take a moment to remember the people who were senselessly murdered in Aurora, Colorado last night while trying to see The Dark Knight Rises. Such sad news to wake up to this morning…

MOMENT OF SILENCE

Now, on to the news for today (with a heavy heart):

TELEVISION

Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh (Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Single White Female) will play mom to Emily Thorne (aka Amanda Clarke) on Revenge this fall. (Kristin at E! Online)

Actress Clean Duvall (Carnivale) will appear in multiple episodes of American Horror Story. Details are scarce on the character she will be playing but she will appear in scenes with returning co-star Sarah Paulson. (TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Lifetime has ordered the drama pilots The Secret Lives of Wives, which is the working title and Witches of East End. Both pilots are slated for next year. The Secret Lives of Wives, inspired by the book by Iris Krasnow, will explore the unvarnished truth behind the marriages of four different women, breaking down the creative ways each close friend nurtures, maintains and endures what many see as an impossible convention of modern life. Meanwhile, Witches of East End, based on Melissa de la Cruz best-selling novel, centers on the adventures of a mother and her two adult daughters — both of whom unknowingly are their family’s next generation of witches — who lead seemingly quiet, uneventful modern day lives in Long Island’s secluded seaside town of North Hampton. When one of the daughters becomes engaged to a young, wealthy newcomer, a series of events forces her mother to admit to her daughters they are, in fact, powerful and immortal witches. (Deadline)

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (the men behind the Star Trek reboot) and director Len Wiseman (Underworld) are working on a drama project based on the tale of Sleepy Hollow. This version would be a modern–day supernatural thriller that would follow Ichabod Crane as he partners with Sleepy Hollow’s local female sheriff to solve the mysteries of a town ravaged by the battle between good and evil. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) and Jared Harris (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) have joined the cast of the upcoming film The Mortal Instruments (written by Cassandra Clare), the latest young adult fantasy book series being adapted to film. They join Lily Collins (Mirror Mirror), Jamie Campbell Bower (Twilight saga) and Kevin Durand (Lost and I Am Number Four) who were cast earlier). The books follow NYC teen named Clary Fray (Collins), who finds out she is the latest in a line of “Shadowhunters,” a secret society of half-angel warriors caught up in an ancient battle against demons. The first film is set to release on August 23, 2013. (Hit Fix)

Actress Abigail Breslin will star as the daughter of Julia Roberts in the upcoming film called August: Osage County. She will play Jean Fordham, the 14-year old angry and acerbic pot smoking child of Barbara (Roberts). The film is based on the Tracy Letts Pulitzer- and Tony-winning play, which chronicles several summer weeks in the life of a severely dysfunctional Oklahoma family and the crisis that gathers them back together. Meryl Streep and Juliette Lewis are also set to star in the film. (Deadline)

Actor/Director Kenneth Branagh may be appearing in the upcoming Jack Ryan reboot. He is in negotiations to play the Russian villain in the franchise based on the famous Tom Clancy literary hero. In this version, Chris Pine will play Ryan, an ex-Marine who now works as a successful financial analyst in Moscow. He discovers a plot by his employer to finance a terrorist attack designed to collapse the U.S. economy. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Josh Holloway (Lost) has joined the cast of the upcoming film Paranoia, which is an adaptation of the Joseph Finder thriller that finds Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games) playing a blue-collar guy who is blackmailed by his boss into spying on a rival company. Holloway will play the investigating FBI agent keeping a close eye on Hemsworth. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Q&A SECTION (with Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: Supernatural scoop please!! — Remy

Sandra: Want a follow-up to the hyper-meta episode “The French Mistake”? Ben Edlund told reporters after the show’s panel at Comic-Con that he has an idea that could produce a part 2 — but he’s not sure if it’ll work. He’s also into dinosaurs, but “I’ve never been able to get them on.”

Question: So Jim Beaver was at the SPN panel at Comic-Con. Does that mean he’s coming back? I love him, but… — Sarah

Sandra: Everyone I chatted with after the panel was hesitant to confirm or deny a return, but Beaver would certainly be up for it. And, he added, he doesn’t think it’d be one too many trips back to the land of the living. “Dramatically speaking, you’ve hit on one of the dilemmas of the show and I think they’ve managed very well to walk the line without crossing over too much into making death less meaningful,” he says. “It’s dangerous if your show is about threatening people with destruction every week but destruction doesn’t matter because you get to come back. You don’t always get to come back and you don’t always get to come back well. What the show has done really well is creating characters that fans love so much that any step over that line gets attenuated by the fact that the audience is so happy to see the character back.”

Question: Is there anything new on the upcoming season of Supernatural? I’m hoping that we get a few episodes centered on Purgatory. — Annabelle

Sandra: As I’m sure you heard, it’ll be more than a few. And these flashbacks will be intense, I hear. Especially episode 2, which is when we see Castiel again. That’s when we’ll find out whether he left Dean seemingly fending for himself in Purgatory for a good reason (to find help/provisions)…or a bad one.

Question: You know what sucks? Waiting for Hart of Dixie to come back! So any and all scoop is appreciated! — Lucy

Sandra: The show is currently looking for a musically talented gal to play Wade’s ex-bandmade — and former flame!

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

And, again, deepest condolences to those affected by the shooting in Colorado. No words can make the pain dissipate; but time will heal the wounds. Sympathies extended to all!

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Hey All,

Well after yesterday’s long news update today’s update seems much simpler. Here are the news items for today:

NEWS

Congrats to all the Emmy nominees (they were announced this morning). Some of the big “winners” (at least for now) include Downtown Abbey, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Homeland, Game of Thrones and Sherlock (among others). The official awards ceremony will be televised on September 15. (E! Online)

TELEVISION

Actress Camilla Luddington (from William & Kate, the Lifetime movie and True Blood) has landed a recurring role as a young doctor on Grey’s Anatomy. (Deadline)

Actor Richard Burgi (Desperate Housewives) will appear in the season premiere of Blue Bloods when it returns this fall to CBS. HE will play Councilman Anthony Russo, the powerful, wealthy chairman of the Committee on Public Safety. Blue Bloods will be back on September 28. (TV Guide)

Actress Megalyn Echikunwoke (The 4400 and CSI: Miami) will be a series regular on the new CBS legal drama Made in Jersey that tells the story of how working-class Jersey girl Martina Garretti (Janet Montgomery from Human Target) shows her stuffy New York law-firm colleagues a thing or two. Echikunwoke will play Riley, the daughter of an ambassador and a Silicon Valley pioneer and a second-year associate at the law firm of Stark & Rowan. The series will debut on September 28. (TV Line)

Actor Santiago Cabrera (Heroes and Merlin) will appear in a number of episodes of Dexter during the show’s 7th season. He will guest star as Ethan Price, the author of a true crime book series about famous murders. Dexter returns to Showtime on September 30. (Entertainment Weekly and TV Line)

Actress Grace Phipps (The Nine Lives of Chloe King) will appear in episodes of The Vampire Diaries when the series returns to The CW for its new season this fall. She will play April, a natural beauty with a bit of an edge, who has some history with both Elena (Nina Dobrev) and Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen), but Elena will try to protect her from the supernatural secrets of Mystic Falls. The Vampire Diaries will be back on October 11. (TV Guide)

Actor Patton Oswalt (Caprica) and actress Sonja Sohn (The Wire) will make guest appearances on upcoming episodes of Burn Notice. Oswalt will play Colin Schmidt, a notorious smuggler who is just the man the gang needs in order to escape the grasp of the CIA and disappear indefinitely. While Sohn will play a high-level CIA director. (Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Marlene King, executive producer of the ABC Family teen drama Pretty Little Liars is in the early stages of developing a TV project based on her 1995 feature film Now and Then. The film centered on four friends during the summer of 1970 and starred Christina Ricci, Demi Moore, Rosie O’Donnell, Melanie Griffith and Rita Wilson. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Bryan Fuller, the man behind the quirky but short-lived TV shows Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies announced some news about the latter of his creations. It seems that the tale of pie maker Ned (Lee Pace), who was able to bring the dead back to life with a single touch, could be making its way to Broadway as a musical. Fuller told TV Line the following: “We’re working on something that is definitely a Pushing Daisies revival, and the idea would be to have as many cast [members] as we can to participate in it.” No other specifics are known at this time, however. (TV Line and Blastr)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

I’m back from Comic Con 2012 and boy is there a lot of news for which to catch up on. Today’s update needless to say is going to be very long and has taken me the better part of three days to put together.

Here goes:

TELEVISION

Actress Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds) will guest star in the two-hour premiere of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which is set to air on CBS on September 26. (The Futon Critic)

The CBS series Unforgettable is getting a second chance with 13 all-new episodes that will air next summer, but the supporting cast will be changing significantly. Season one co-stars Kevin Rankin, Daya Vaidya, Michael Gaston and Britt Lower will not be back; but Jane Curtin, who joined as a series regular halfway through the first season will be back along with series stars Poppy Montgomery and Dylan Walsh. (Deadline)

Actor Will Chase (Smash) will make a guest appearance on Necessary Roughness, playing a band member who goes to Dr. Dani to resolve past conflicts before going on a reunion tour. (TV Line and TV Guide)

Actor Todd Williams (In Plain Sight) has landed a recurring role on The Vampire Diaries where he will play Connor, a mysterious and powerful new vampire hunter who comes to Mystic Falls when the show returns this fall. The Vampire Diaries will be back on October 11 on The CW. (TV Guide)

Actress Amanda Peet will have a multi-arc role on The Good Wife, playing a military lawyer who enlists the law firm’s aid when the show returns for a 4th season this fall. The series returns on September 30 on CBS. (TV Line and TV Guide)

Well-known actress Linda Hamilton (Chuck and the Terminator franchise) will guest star in a season 3 episode of the Syfy series Lost Girl. She will play Acacia, a tough, sexy and ruthless assassin who has enjoyed a storied and deadly career. Her arrival will spell trouble for Bo and company. Lost Girl will move to Friday night this Friday with the finale set to air on September 14. Season 3 will return some time next year. (TV Line)

Actor Mark Consuelos will appear in the upcoming season of American Horror Story, playing a patient named Spivey. (Entertainment Weekly and The Futon Critic)

Actor Gaius Charles (Friday Night Lights) has landed a recurring role on Grey’s Anatomy. It is being presumed that he will play a young doctor at Seattle Grace. (TV Line and The Futon Critic)

Actor Ty Olsson (Eureka and Men In Trees) has landed a recurring role on Supernatural. He will play Benny, a darkly handsome survivor with a tell-it-to-you-straight sense of honor. The series will air its 8th season premiere on October 3. (Deadline)

Actor Devon Sawa has been made a series regular on The CW series Nikita. (Deadline)

It looks like the web series Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog from Joss Whedon will air on The CW sometime next year; but a date or time has not been announced yet. (Deadline)

Actress Shannyn Sossamon (Moonlight and A Knight’s Tale) has landed a role on the upcoming ABC soap Mistresses. She will play Alex, one-half of a lesbian couple who become a client of Josslyn (Jess Macallan) and are on the search for an expensive house. Mistresses will also star Alyssa Milano, Yunjin Kim and Rochelle Aytes. The soap will debut next May for a summer run. (Deadline)

Actor Iain Glen (Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey) will guest star in the season of Haven, playing Roland Holloway, a refined yet bitter man who’s been trapped inside his house for more than 27 years and is bent on vengeance. Haven will return to Syfy on September 21. (Deadline)

Falling Skies has been renewed by TNT for a third season. (Deadline)

MTV has renewed Teen Wolf for a third season. (Deadline)

Actors Sean Murray and Michael Weatherly and actress Pauley Perrette have signed contracts to return for the 10th season of NCIS. (Deadline)

Legendary actress Diana Rigg (the original TV series The Avengers) has joined the cast of Game of Thrones for its third season. She will play Olenna Redwyne the Queen of the Thorns. (Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Ron Moore (the executive producer of Battlestar Galactica) will develop the best-selling Outlander series of books by Diana Gabaldon for TV. The project will be taken to cable networks this week. The book series starts off in 1945, following Claire, a married WWII combat nurse who accidentally steps back in time to the Scottish Highlands of 1743. (Deadline)

TNT has given a pilot order to The Last Ship, an action drama series to be executive produced by Michael Bay. The project is based on the popular novel by William Brinkley and will be written by Hank Steinberg (Without a Trace) and Steven Kane (The Closer). The project centers on the crew of a naval destroyer who, after a global catastrophe decimates the earth’s population, are forced to confront the reality of their new existence in a world where they are among the only survivors. (Deadline)

Author Neil Gaiman will collaborate with artist J.H. Williams III (Batwoman) on a new limited series based on his classic graphic novel The Sandman. The mini-series will be published next year. (Deadline)

Hung co-creators Dmitry Lipkin and Colette Burson are developing a new series for Starz entitled Called Sleep No More, a supernatural thriller that will tell the tale of a town where the dead keep returning to life. (Deadline)

The drama pilot The Joneses by Liz Tigelaar, the series creator of The CW series Life Unexpected has been picked up by Bravo. The family drama follows the All-American Joneses, who have just moved into an upscale suburb to start a new life; but they have a secret they must keep from their new friends and neighbors — they aren’t a real family at all. (Deadline)

The cable network Starz has two original projects in development: Incursion, a sci-fi action thriller from Steven S. DeKnight (creator of Spartacus) and Vlad Dracula from the team of J. Michael Straczynski, Roy Lee and Rob Tapert. Incursion follows a squad of soldiers caught in a war against a hostile alien race while Vlad Dracula will blend historical facts of the 15th century Prince of Wallachia with the fictional Dracula. (Deadline)

A&E has secured the rights to Those Who Kill, the Danish crime series based on the books by Elsebeth Egholm. The cabler has also ordered a pilot. The original series revolves around a police detective and a forensic profiler who possess a deep understanding of the serial killers they hunt. (Deadline)

CONDOLENCES

Queen of Country Music, Kitty Wells, passed away last week after suffering complications from a stroke. She was 92. (E! Online)

Oscar-winning actress Celeste Holm passed away last week at the age of 95. (Deadline)

Actor-director Sage Stallone, son of Sylvester Stallone, passed away last week. He was only 36. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here are the top 10 box office films for last weekend courtesy of online research:

1. Ice Age Continental Drift – 46 million
2. The Amazing Spider-Man – 34 million
3. Ted – 22 million
4. Brave – 11 million
5. Savages – 9.3 million
6. Magic Mike – 9 million
7. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection – 5.6 million
8. Katy Perry: Part of Me – 3.8 million
9. Moonrise Kingdom – 3.7 million
10. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted – 3.6 million

Actress Dianna Agron (Glee) is in negotiations to play the daughter of the characters to be played by Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer in the dark action comedy called Malavita. De Niro plays an American mob boss in Witness Protection hiding with his family in the Normandy region of France. But the man can’t stop his Mafia ways and begins to impose his will on the unsuspecting small town. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

Actress Viola Davis and actors William Hurt and Ciarin Hinds (among others) have joined the cast of the upcoming film The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby that will be dual films following a love story between a New York City couple (James MacAvoy and Jessica Chastain) during a difficult time in their marriage. (Screen Daily and Dark Horizons)

Actress Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) and actor Sam Claflin (Snow White and the Hunstman) have joined the cast of the upcoming film Overdrive that will star Karl Urban in a story about two American brothers who decide to take their careers as car thieves to the next level by fleeing to the South of France, where they run afoul of a black marketeer. (Deadline)

Actress Jessica Biel will appear as Viper from the X-men mythology in the upcoming movie The Wolverine. (Deadline)

Actor Richard Armitage, who will be seen in The Hobbit, will star alongside Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead) in an upcoming untitled tornado film. (Deadline)

Actor Tobey Maguire has joined the cast of the upcoming film called Labor Day, which is an adaptation of the Joyce Maynard book that centers on 13-year old Henry, who learns valuable life lessons over a five-day Labor Day weekend. Maguire will play the adult version of the boy. (Deadline)

Actress Britt Robertson (Life Unexpected and The Secret Circle) has joined the cast of the upcoming dark bully drama called White Rabbit that will also star Sam Trammell (True Blood). (Deadline)

Actor Billy Campbell (The Killing) will play Abraham Lincoln in the National Geographic Channel docu-drama called Killing Lincoln, based on the book by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard that chronicles the conspiracy behind Lincoln’s assassination. (Deadline)

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

Question: Vampire Diaries scoop, please and thank you! – Beth

WWK Team: Matt Donovan fans, you may want to avert your eyes: “Matt’s going to have a tough year. I’m not kidding you, Matt’s going to have a really tough year. I feel bad for Matt,” Ian Somerhalder warns of Damon’s feelings toward Mystic Falls’ No. 1 quarterback/busboy after learning that Stefan chose to save him over Elena.

Question: I’ll take anything you’ve got on Once Upon a Time! – Samantha:

WWK Team: Princess Aurora comes in a package deal! The ABC hit series is currently looking for a Prince Phillip to go hand-in-hand with Aurora and he kind of reminds us of Charming: He is known to selflessly shoulder the burden for those around him and is a skilled warrior. Oh, and he’s very handsome.

Clarissa: Any news on the Mad Hatter from Once Upon a Time? – _serenachan

WWK Team: Showrunner Edward Kitsis was pretty tight-lipped about season two, but did say fans will “absolutely” see Sebastian Stan in season two, so Jefferson/Mad Hatter’s story is far from over. Small victories, people!

Question: Any scoop on NCIS: LA would be greatly appreciated! – Clarissa

WWK Team: The show will be adding a new potentially recurring character this season, an 18-year-old girl named Astrid (how Fringe of the CBS hit!), who has high-functioning autism and a punk style. Though she’s socially awkward and low on the empathy, she’s brilliant and has a knack for numbers and patterns. New team member alert, anyone?!

Question: Teen Wolf, when will we find out more about Lydia’s immunity? – Paigerzz22

WWK Team: Holland Roden would only tell us that episode nine is a big one for Lydia, but Colton Haynes let a bit more spill when we asked who the bigger threat was, Jackson or Lydia: I think Lydia is a huge threat because in the show we make you think Lydia is fully unaware of what’s happening and is kind of off in space, but I think it could be otherwise,” he says. “Jackson is a huge threat, but I think one character in the show will find a way to possibly cure something in all of us. Someone could have a cure.” Can Lydia cure lycanthropy? Things that make you go hmmm…

Question: ANYTHING on the Hart of Dixie Wade/Zoe/George situation? This wait is killing me! – Charlottexoxo

WWK Team: How about that both men won’t stay in the dark about their situation with the town’s resident shorts-lovin’ doc for long? In fact, the whole town will find out about George and Zoe, branding her the home wrecker of Bluebell.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Liane Balaban has landed the enviable role of new love interest for Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki) on Supernatural when the series returns this fall. She will play Amelia, who is described as a tragedy-damaged soul who soon reveals herself to be a brave, sweet, smart, sarcastic woman. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here are the top 10 box office movies for this past weekend courtesy of Exhibitor Relations and E! Online:

1. The Amazing Spider-Man, $65 million
2. Ted, $32.6 million
3. Brave, $20.2 million
4. Savages, $16.2 million
5. Magic Mike, $15.6 million
6. Madea’s Witness Protection, $10.2 million
7. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, $7.7 million
8. Katy Perry: Part of Me, $7.2 million
9. Moonrise Kingdom, $4.6 million
10. To Rome With Love, $3.5 million

Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has signed on to play Plutarch Heavensbee in Catching Fire, the second installment in the Hunger Games trilogy. Heavensbee is the new Head Gamemaker who may (or may not) be more loyal to reigning champ Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) than the diabolical President Snow (Donald Sutherland). (The Hollywood Reporter and E! Online)

Actress Radha Mitchell (who will be seen this fall in the new ABC drama Red Widow) has joined the cast of the upcoming film called Olympus Has Fallen. She will play Leah, the wife of Gerard Butler’s Secret Service character in the White House thriller. The film sees the president (Aaron Eckhart) and key members of his administration taken hostage. Butler’s character tries to stop the terrorist plot. (Dominic Patten at Deadline)

Actor Kevin Durand (Lost) has joined the cast of the film adaptation of The Mortal Instruments novel by Cassandra Clare. Lily Collins plays a seemingly ordinary teenager who discovers she is the descendent of a demon-hunting clan. Durand will play one of the antagonists. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Kevin McKidd (Grey’s Anatomy) and Ashley Jensen (Ugly Betty) will play the leads in the upcoming film called Indian Summer that follows an orphaned boy, his embittered uncle, and beautiful but lonely aunt, whose lives are changed forever by the arrival of an exotic stranger – a Native American Indian U.S. Marine. (Movies.ie and Dark Horizons)

Actor Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class) will co-produce and star in the film adaptation of the popular video game franchise Assassin’s Creed. (Variety and First Showing)

Actress Keri Russell (Felicity) has joined the cast of the supernatural thriller called Dark Skies. She will play the lead role, but details on the film have yet to be revealed. (Mike Fleming at Deadline)

Legendary actor Anthony Hopkins will appear in the Biblical epic film Noah that is set to star Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly as Noah and his wife. Hopkins will play Metheselah, Noah’s grandfather who dies seven days before the great flood. (Twitter and First Showing)

CONDOLENCES

Legendary film and TV actor Ernest Borgnine passed away over the weekend. In addition to being an Oscar winner, he appeared in the classic TV show McHale’s Navy and the popular 80’s actioner Airwolf [among countless other movies and TV shows]. He was 95. (Variety)

ME: Rest in Peace, Mr. Borgnine. Condolences to his family, friends and fans.

MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

Actor Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica) has joined the cast of the upcoming online series from called Hemlock Grove. He will appear as Sheriff Sworn, the local lawman investigating a young girl’s gruesome murder in a Pennsylvania steel town. The online series is based on a novel by Brian McGreevy and will stars Famke Janssen and Dougray Scott (among others). (The Deadline Team)

That’s it. Enjoy!

NOTE: I leave for Comic Con tomorrow and won’t be back until Sunday so there won’t be any daily entertainment updates until next week.

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Hey All,

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

TELEVISION

Actress Sarah Bolger (The Tudors) has been cast as Sleeping Beauty while actress Jamie Chung (Hangover 2) will play Chinese fighter Mulan on Once Upon a Time. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line and James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

There will be a lot of interesting guest stars on Alphas this summer, including some returning guest stars. Those returning include John Pyper-Ferguson, Kathleen Munroe , Mahershala Ali and Summer Glau. The new faces popping up with include Sean Astin, C. Thomas Howell, Lauren Holly, Steve Byers, Kandyse McClure and Noah Reid. (TV By the Numbers)

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

Question: I am desperate for some new Vampire Diaries scoop. – Chloe

WWK Team: Pretty soon you’ll (have plenty of) TVD scoop, because the show and its stars are headed to Comic-Con next week! But because we love you so much, we’ll tell you something now: there’s a new vampire hunter in town next season! His name is Connor, and word on the street is that he’ll be sticking around for awhile after he pops up in episode two.

Question: Can I get some Once Upon a Time season-two scoop? – Leslie

WWK Team: What’s interesting about next season is really in the way the cast has been describing it to us. For example, check out Ginnifer Goodwin’s take on season two: “We’re going to remember our parallel lives, so we’ll be creating essentially a third character. They are going to blend the two characters we’ve already been playing.” Never fear, fans of OUAT’s first season won’t be forgotten. “It’s going to be a brand-new show. But I think it will still be all the characters the fans know and love,” she says.

Question: Got anything on Covert Affairs? – Riley

WWK Team: We’re happy you asked, because we just finished watching the July 10 season premiere of Covert Affairs and it’s crazy. Crazy, we tell you! And crazy hot, too! After a top-secret plot twist, Annie (Piper Perabo) will find herself with a new boss, new job and a new hot man. But are any of these things permanent? Let’s not kid ourselves, they are all going to put her in danger.

Question: I would like some Psych scoop. Please and thank you. – Trey in Houston

WWK Team: Juliet is getting a new roomie. Laura is a bubbly, perky, upbeat, positive, and a complete and total copycat. In episode eight, we’ll see Laura start to change her appearance, and mannerisms to become more and more like her new BFF. Creepy. Not surprisingly, Shawn has some serious “issues” with this new Juliet duplicate, especially when she starts to flirt with him. Gasp! Shawn and Gus decide to follow the twenty-something in hopes of finding out why she’s trying to become the new Juliet.

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!!

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Hey All,

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

TELEVISION

Actor Kristoffer Polaha (Ringer and Life Unexpected) has joined the cast of this fall’s new CBS legal drama Made in Jersey as a series regular. This new series will follow Martina Garretti (Janet Montgomery from Human Target), a working-class Garden State gal who holds her own among the snooty lawyers at Stark & Rowan, a New York law firm. Polaha will play Nolan, a handsome, charming third-year associate at the firm. Though Nolan came of age against a backdrop of private schools and wild getaways in the Hamptons, his dad’s squandering of the family fortune means he doesn’t have much in the bank. Nevertheless, Nolan’s a well-established member of the Manhattan elite. (Kimberly Roots at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Samuel L. Jackson and actress Angela Bassett will join singer-actress Jennifer Hudson in the holiday musical film called Black Nativity, which is an adaptation of the Broadway musical by Langston Hughes. Be prepared for both A-listers to sing on the big screen too. The story follows a young black teen from Baltimore who is sent by his single mother (Hudson) to Harlem to spend Christmas with the grandparents he’s never met (because she hasn’t spoken to her father since they had a falling out after she got pregnant). Through his grandfather’s Christmas Eve sermon and a stylized, dream-sequence retelling of the classic Nativity story, he learns about the importance of faith and family. The teen son has not been cast yet; but Jackson and Bassett will play his grandparents Reverend Clarence and Aretha Cobbs respectively. (Variety and First Showing)

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

Question: I know it’s early, but got any scoop on Revenge? —Jennifer

NATALIE: Daniel isn’t the only Grayson making a play for the family business. Conrad’s son from his first marriage will pop up next season. Intelligent and effortlessly handsome, this other heir apparent will attempt to reclaim his role in Conrad’s life and company, throwing the family and corporate dynamic into chaos. Anyone else hoping Emily sets her sights on him next?

Question: I still miss Jill on Royal Pains! Are there any more details on Hank’s new possible love interest? —Allison

ADAM: You mean love interests, plural! Co-creator and executive producer Andrew Lenchewski says there will be two new women coming into Hank’s life, one he meets through a matchmaker (as we first reported, Kat Foster plays a pediatrician who has zero interest in dating another doctor) and a woman we meet “because of an adventure Boris invites Hank on,” he says.

Question: Sadie is my favorite character on Awkward! I hope she stays sassy! —Lonie

NATALIE: Sadie will always be sassy! But will she be sassy enough to deal with “the Julies”? Creator Lauren Iungerich tells us that later in the season viewers will meet Julie (Tru Collins) and Julie (Sophia Tilson), who Iungerich says “are even more queen bee than Sadie.” But when we asked Molly Tarlov if Sadie will lose her reigning title, she told us, “I don’t think in the world of Awkward it can happen.”

Question: Any Lying Game scoop?! —Georgia

Ausiello: Although it may seem like fans are enduring an epic poem between seasons — even now, Season 2 is only penciled in for “winter” — I can exclusively report that only 10 days will have passed since the events of the freshman finale, which included Alec’s arrest for suspicion of murder and the reveal that Rebecca is the twins’ mother. Adrian Pasdar, who plays Alec (as well as portrays POTUS in USA’s Political Animals, debuting July 15) recently lunched with Lying Game EP Chuck Pratt, and tells us, “It sounds like [Season 2] is going to go in a direction that nobody is going to expect.”

Question: Do you have a tidbit on the series finale of Eureka? —Eric

Ausiello: I’ll see your tidbit and raise you an 87-word review, courtesy of TVLine’s Matt Mitovich: “The finale is a real crowd-pleaser, featuring gobs of closure, a storyline moment that allows for a ‘clip reel’ which will make many an eye well up and appearances by all of the usual suspects (plus at least one good surprise). You’ll be subject to at least one fake-out, one dismemberment (sad face), the proffering of a ring box, one teeny-tiny secret revealed and a final twist that is 100-percent Eureka. Oh, and Felicia Day’s Holly reclaims and lays sole ownership in perpetuity to the word ‘adorkable.’”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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