Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Chloe Sevigny (Big Love) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, playing a stay-at-home mom who is attacked and kidnapped while video-chatting with her husband, who’s halfway around the world. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Kelly Bishop (Gilmore Girls) has joined the cast of the upcoming ABC Family drama Bunheads that comes from Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. In Bunheads, Tony winning actress Sutton Foster stars as a trained ballerina-turned-Vegas showgirl who impulsively marries a man, moves to his sleepy coastal town – Paradise, California – and assumes an uneasy role at her mother-in-law’s dance studio, the Paradise Dance Academy. Bishop will recur as said mother-in-law, Fanny. (Mandi Bierly at Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Ali Larter (Heroes) has landed the top role in the FOX spy dram pilot called The Asset. The pilot is described as a character-driven drama set in the CIA’s New York City station, focusing on a female agent with a very specialized and controversial area of expertise. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Katie Cassidy (Gossip Girl, Melrose Place and Supernatural) and actress Willa Holland (Gossip Girl and The O.C.) have both been cast in The CW drama pilot called Arrow that will focus on the comic-book character Green Arrow (aka Oliver Queen). The series stars Stephen Amell (Hung and Private Practice) in the lead role. Cassidy will play Dinah “Laurel” Lance, a young attorney with the City Necessary Resources Initiative who shares a romantic past with Oliver while Holland will play Thea Queen, Oliver’s celebutante younger sister who’s testing the boundaries of acceptable behavior. The cast also includes Susanna Thompson (Once and Again and NCIS) as Oliver’s mom Moira Queen and David Ramsey (Dexter) as an ex-military/special forces type now working in private security for Oliver. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actress Kristin Kreuk (Smallville) has landed the lead role in The CW’s new drama pilot loosely based on the 1980’s Beauty and the Beast series. This new version will center on Catherine (Kreuk), a tough-minded NYPD Homicide Detective haunted by witnessing her mother’s murder 9 years ago and the killers’ quick demise at the hands of a Beast. After years of searching, Catherine finally finds the Beast, Vincent Koslow, the survivor of a military experiment that went disastrously wrong, and becomes the protector of his secret life as a bestial superhero. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Dania Ramirez (Heroes) has been cast in one of the lead roles in the ABC pilot called Devious Maids that hails from Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry. The pilot is based on a Mexican series that follows four maids with ambition and dreams of their own while they work for the rich and famous in Beverly Hills. Ramirez will play Rosie, a single mother who left her son back in Mexico when her husband died, slipped into El Norte and now works as the housemaid/nanny for a pair of self-absorbed and successful actors. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Steven Pasquale (Rescue Me) has landed the dual lead role in the NBC Jekyll & Hyde-style medical drama called Do No Harm that chronicles the life of Jeffrey Kohn (Pasquale), a brilliant neurosurgeon who wrestles with his dangerous alter-ego Ian Price that threatens to wreak havoc on his personal and professional life. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Terry O’Quinn (Lost) has landed a lead role in the ABC supernatural drama pilot called 666 Park Avenue that is based on the Alloy book series by Gabriella Pierce. The pilot will center on a young couple who accept an offer to manage one of the most historic apartment buildings in New York City. Unwittingly, they begin to experience supernatural occurrences, which complicate and endanger the lives of everyone in the building. O’Quinn will play Gavin, the building’s owner. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actors Laurence Fishburne and Kevin Zegers will star in the independent Canadian sci-fi feature called The Colony. Details on the film are few and far between, but reportedly it will follow a group of underground survivors after the next Ice Age, fending off an invasion of feral cannibals. (The Hollywood Reporter and First Showing)

Actresses Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts will star in the film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play by Tracy Letts called August: Osage County. The darkly comic movie focuses on the story of the women of the Weston family, who have grown apart from one another, but return to their house in the Midwest after a family crisis. Streep will play Violet Weston, the dysfunctional matriarch while Roberts will play her adult daughter, Barbara. (Joshua L. Weinstein at The Wrap)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Paget Brewster will officially be leaving Criminal Minds as of the end of this season. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

NBC has given a 13-episode order to the new Bryan Fuller (the man behind Pushing Daisies) drama pilot called Hannibal. Yep, you read that right – Hannibal. The series will be a thriller, of course, featuring the classic characters from the Thomas Harris novel Red Dragon: FBI agent Will Graham and his mentor Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who are re-introduced at the beginning of their budding relationship. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Allison Janney (The West Wing) will guest star in the upcoming season of The Big C, playing an ultra-successful Hollywood producer who wants to purchase Cathy (Laura Linney) and Paul’s life rights in order to tell their story on the big screen. The third season of The Big C will start on Sunday, April 8 on Showtime. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Susanna Thompson (Once and Again) has been cast in drama pilot for The CW called Arrow, where she will play Moria Queen, the mother of Green Arrow’s alter ego Oliver Queen, which will be played by actor Stephen Amell (Hung and Private Practice). (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actress Agam Darshi (Sanctuary) have joined the cast of the Jason Katims NBC drama pilot called County that will chronicle the lives of young doctors, nurses, and administrators in a frenetic underfunded and morally compromising LA County Hospital. Darshi will play one of the staff members alongside already cast actors Jason Ritter and Michael B. Jordan. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville) will make his feature directorial debut, after recently completing his first short called Fade Into You, a horror-thriller that is currently in post-production. In addition to directing this new project, Rosenbaum wrote and will star alongside actress Morena Baccarin (Homeland). The film follows Jim Owens (Rosenbaum), a discouraged actor who returns home to Indiana for his 15th high school reunion. There he gets into mischief with his friends and falls for his high school sweetheart (Baccarin). (Brian Brooks at Deadline)

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

Question: What can you tell me about the end of Castle’s two-parter? — Ellen

ADAM: How about a cryptic hint from creator Andrew W. Marlowe? “Hang on to the end, because we have a couple of surprises in store,” he says. “There’s a revelation about Castle that should be interesting for fans.” We hear it’s connected to the mystery surrounding Castle’s absent father — who may have had a behind-the-scenes role in his son’s future successes.

Question: When is Alaric going to do something other than drink and flirt with Meredith on The Vampire Diaries? — Sam

NATALIE: To be fair, Alaric has lost both his wife and girlfriend to the blood-suckers, so we’ll give him a pass on the nascent alcoholism. But we’ll soon learn more about his vampire-hunting days, which may help us to figure out why Elena trusts him so blindly. “A lot more of his past will be revealed,” Matt Davis says. “Things that he’s been struggling with will be purged and come into clarity for him.”

Question: What are you hearing about the new season of Army Wives? I’m desperately missing our favorite tribe. Any scoop? Maybe a start date? —Jill

Ausiello: Season 5 launches on Sunday, March 4, and the opener features the following: a retirement, an intervention, a hurricane, a car accident, a finalized adoption and an explosion.

Question: I need a Season 2 Homeland scoop. —Carter

Ausiello: Morena Baccarin, who makes her second appearance on The Mentalist this Thursday, confirms that there will be “a bit of a time lapse” between seasons, adding, “I’ve heard that Brody’s in office to some extent. But I haven’t heard much more than that. I’m dying to get a script.” That makes two of us.

Question: Any spoilers on Revenge? —Paige

Ausiello: Someone will begin to dabble in drugs after becoming collateral damage in Emily’s quest of vengeance. And rumor has it this week’s episode more than lives up to the hype. (And, holy hell, there has been a lot of hype.) Bonus scoop: Grandpa Grayson (William Devane) proves that he can play dirty with the best of them (aka Victoria and Emily), particularly when it concerns keeping the Grayson name intact.

Question: I am dying for spoilers on The Killing, especially about Holder! —Claudia

Ausiello: Next season, Linden won’t be the only woman to whom your favorite cop answers: The show is bringing on his sister, Liz, who, for all intents and purposes, sounds a lot like a younger Mitch.

Question: I love Downton Abbey so much. Any scoop on this Sunday’s Season 2 finale? —Nicolas

Ausiello: There’s a pregnancy, a breakup, a proposal, a séance, a death and a poignant scene between Mary and her dad that will reinforce everything you love about this show.

Question: Does NCIS have any plans for an episode with Ziva and Abby working together on a case? Maybe going undercover? —Marla

Ausiello: As of right this instant, no — but series boss Gary Glasberg is chomping at the bit for when the right opportunity presents itself. “We talk about that, about bringing them together more often,” he said when we ran your question by him. “[Pauley Perrette and Cote de Pablo] love to work together, and if we can come up with a storyline that services that, I’d do it in a heartbeat!”

Question: Do you have anything more on NCIS: LA and the big Kensi storyline? —Rod

Ausiello: How about this — the two-parter, launching next week, won’t only reveal Kensi’s secrets. “At one point, for a period of time, Granger (played by Miguel Ferrer) and Hetty were partners on a task force together. So there is very much past history between those two,” says show runner Shane Brennan. And as viewers will see over the next two Tuesdays, “If you think you know why Granger is in Los Angeles, you’re wrong. He’s in town for a very specific reason, and it plays out through sweeps.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Happy Valentine’s Day for those who celebrate the day and for the rest of us, well, Happy Tuesday!

Now, let’s get into the news for today, shall we?:

TELEVISION

FOX has announced the series finale date for their long-running medical drama House: May 21. Mark your calendars! (E! Online)

Actor Peter Mensah (Spartacus) will be joining the cast of True Blood for the show’s upcoming 5th season. He will have the recurring role of Kibwe, a ruling member of the Vampire Authority. (Deadline and TV Line)

Actress Kelli Williams (The Practice and Lie to Me) has been promoted to series regular on Army Wives when the Lifetime series returns for its sixth season starting on March 4. Williams will play Jacqueline “Jackie” Clarke, the ambitious wife of 2-star Major General Kevin Clarke. Her character is described as well-educated and born into a well-to-do, politically connected family and was named after Jacqueline Kennedy, a family friend. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actors Jeff Fahey and Kevin Tighe – both of whom appeared in Lost – will appear in the same episode of the new USA Network drama Common Law. Fahey will appear as a hard-drinking narcotics detective with a cowboy swagger who Travis (Michael Ealy) credits for making him the detective he is while Tighe (Locke’s evil dad) will play a reasoned and methodical missing persons detective who brought Wes (Warren Kole) up through the police ranks. Common Law will air this summer on USA. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Alana De La Garza (Law & Order) has landed a lead role in the NBC medical drama pilot called Do No Harm that will center on Jeffrey Kohn, a brilliant neurosurgeon who wrestles with his dangerous alter-ego that threatens to wreak havoc on his personal and professional life. De La Garza will play Dr. Lena Steck, a confident neurosurgeon who has chemistry with Kohl. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Zachary Levi (Chuck) has landed the male lead in the single-camera comedy pilot Let It Go for FOX. The ensemble comedy is about a married couple, the husband played by Levi, his best friend and her sister as they try to navigate, negotiate and sometimes manipulate society’s unspoken rules. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Shawn Ashmore (of the X-Men movie franchise) has joined the cast of the as-yet-untitled FOX drama pilot from Kevin Williamson that is set to star Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy. The pilot is an edge-of-the-seat thriller about Joe Carroll (Purefoy) a diabolical serial killer who uses technology to create a cult of serial killers, and the retired FBI profiler Ryan Hardy (Bacon) who finds himself in the middle of it. Ashmore will play a junior FBI agent who is part of the task force assisting Hardy in the search for Carroll. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Jonny Lee Miller (Dexter and Eli Stone) has been cast in the CBS Sherlock Holmes reboot called Elementary, playing the famous detective. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

MMA fighter-turned-actress Gina Carano (Haywire) will star in the Taken-esque action thriller called In the Blood that will star with a husband disappearing while vacationing in the Caribbean with his wife (Carano). She then sets out in a relentless pursuit of the men whom she believes kidnapped and killed him. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

Director Guillermo del Toro is attached to direct and actress Emma Watson (the Harry Potter franchise) is attached to star in the box office movie Beauty that will be a new take on Beauty and the Beast. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Greta Gerwig and Adam Brody in First ‘Damsels in Distress’ Trailer

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

First of all the sad news that hit the airwaves over the weekend was the sudden and tragic passing of legendary singer-actress Whitney Houston topped off with the Grammy Awards airing Sunday night to its second highest audience in, well, a VERY long time much in part to the quickly planned tribute to Houston. I want to extend deepest condolences to Whitney’s family, her fans and her fans – Rest in Peace, Ms. Houston.

Sadly, within the same breath, I have to say congratulations to all of the Grammy Award winners, including Adele, The Foo Fighters, Bon Iver, Lady Antebellum, Tony Bennett and Corinne Baily Rae.

And now, here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Henry Ian Cusick (Lost) will make a guest appearance this spring on the FOX series Fringe, playing an FBI agent assigned to a Fringe case, but it is unclear if this is the same role as that of an “Alternate Universe Agent” that possesses strength and confidence as well as strong comic timing that was rumored to be coming up in a future episode. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Michael B. Jordan (Friday Night Lights) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot County from show runner Jason Katims. The medical drama also stars Jason Ritter (The Event and Parenthood) and chronicles the lives of a group of young doctors, nurses, and administrators in a troubled LA County Hospital. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor James Wolk (the short-lived Lone Star) has joined the six-episode USA Network drama series Political Animals from show runner Greg Berlanti. The pilot is based in DC, is slated to premiere this summer and focus on a fictional former first family in the throes of a crisis. Wolk will play one of her sons, who also serves as her chief of staff. (Deadline and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Ving Rhames will star opposite Alfred Molina in the TNT/David E. Kelley medical drama pilot Chelsea General, which is based on CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta’s upcoming novel Monday Mornings. The pilot follows the lives of five surgeons as they push the limits of their abilities and confront their personal and professional failings. Rhames will play a physically imposing former professional football player who now is the most celebrated trauma chief in the country. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Sarah Bolger, Blythe Danner and Madeline Zima are the first actors attached to the ABC period drama The Gilded Lilys from show runner Shonda Rhimes. The project is set in 1895 and focuses on the family who owns New York’s first true luxury hotel, the staff who work there and the people who pass through. Bolger will play the newly rebellious Violet Langton Lily with Zima as her personal maid, Abigail Perkins. Danner is set as Caroline Naughton Lily, a ruthless but wickedly funny matriarch widow. (The Futon Critic and Deadline)

Actor Ryan Phillippe has joined the cast of the previously known CBS drama pilot called Golden Boy from show runner Greg Berlanti that will track one cop’s meteoric rise from officer to detective to police commissioner. (Lynette Rice at Entertainment Weekly)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Saoirse Ronan is in final talks to star in the next Snow White box office film called Order of Seven that was originally developed as a Kung Fu retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. But now the film has been reworked as a standalone action adventure that’s cut all ties to the classic tale. Ronan would play Olivia Sinclair, a British expat in 19th century Hong Kong, who seeks the protection of a centuries old group of warriors, now a jaded group of outlaws. After the re-emergence of an ancient evil empress, Sinclair helps the warriors reclaim their destiny and noble roots. (Marc Graser at Variety)

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

1. The Vow, $41.7 million
2. Safe House, $39.3 million
3. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, $27.6 million
4. Star Wars: Episode 1—The Phantom Menace, $23 million
5. Chronicle, $12.3 million
6. The Woman in Black, $10.3 million
7. The Grey, $5.1 million
8. Big Miracle, $3.9 million
9. The Descendants, $3.5 million
10. Underworld Awakening, $2.5 million

Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) has signed on to co-star in the box office movie Oblivion alongside Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough and Olga Kurylenko. The picture is set in a future where the Earth surface has been rendered uninhabitable, with most humans living above the clouds. Back on earth, those who remain have to deal with brutal alien Scavengers that stalk the ruins. But when a surface drone repairman (Cruise) discovers a mysterious woman in a crash-landed pod, it sets off an unstoppable chain of events that will force him to question everything he knows. Coster-Waldau will play Sykes, a battle-hardened, physically imposing, intelligent and extremely athletic military technology and weapons expert. (Mike Fleming at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Watch: Teaser Trailer for ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ Arrives

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actors David Marciano and Navid Negahban have been promoted to series regulars on the Showtime drama Homeland for the series’ second season. As viewers will recall, Marciano played Virgil, Carrie’s “right-hand snoop” and Negahban played the renowned terrorist Abu Nazir. Homeland is expected to be back in the fall. (Matt Mitovich and Michael Maloney at TV Line)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Legendary actors Christopher Plummer and Frank Langella have signed on the upcoming HBO project Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight. Plummer will play Supreme Court Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan II, and Langella will take on the role of Chief Justice Warren Berger. An actor has yet to be named to play Ali himself, though. (Lanford Beard at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Bridget Regan (Legend of the Seeker), actor Ethan Embry (That Thing You Do!) [among others] have joined the cast of the NBC Western pilot called The Frontier that will chronicle the journey of a group of disparate travelers from Missouri to the West Coast in 1840. Regan will play Hannah, who is traveling with her husband but becomes close with one of the other travelers while Embry will play DJ Jackson, who pretends to be married to Payton, but is secretly gay. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actors Jon Voight and Elliot Gould have joined the Showtime drama pilot called Ray Donovan that will star Liev Schreiber in the title role. Voight will play Ray’s father Mickey Donovan, a newly freed ex-convict who heads to Los Angeles with suspicious intentions to reconnect with his estranged family. While Gould will appear as a recurring guest star named Ezra Goodman, a senior partner at a law firm who is Ray’s mentor and confidante, yet is showing signs of dementia. (The Futon Critic)

Young actor Max Thieriot (The Pacifier) has landed the lead role in the as-yet titled Roland Emmerich drama pilot for ABC. The pilot centers on Carter (Thieriot), an astrophysics grad student in NYC who learns that he is the chosen one to destroy the forces of evil. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Autumn Reeser (No Ordinary Family and The O.C.) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot called Last Resort that will star Andre Braugher. The pilot centers on the crew of the U.S.S. Nevada, a nuclear submarine, who, after disobeying a suspicious order, become fugitives. They land on the island of Sainte Marina, where they take over the NATO Listening Station and declare themselves an independent nuclear nation. Reeser will play Kylie, a charming lobbyist for her family’s weapons manufacturing company. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Kevin Alejandro (True Blood and Southland) has been cast in the as-yet titled Greg Berlanti drama pilot formerly known as Golden Boy that will chronicle a cop’s meteoric rise from officer to detective and eventually police commissioner. Alejandro will play the top detective in the squad who is disturbed by the new guy’s arrival and plots to derail his career. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

NBC is temporarily shelving their remake of the Munsters pilot – now titled Mocking Bird Lane – to June effectively removing it from this fall’s TV line-up; but that doesn’t mean it’s dead – just delayed. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Syfy is developing a series version of the box office film Legion, which chronicled human race’s battle for survival against God’s legion of angels sent by him to bring on the Apocalypse. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Keong Sim – who played Mike Chang’s dad on Glee – has joined the cast of the TNT medical drama pilot from David E. Kelley and for which is based on CNN chief medical correspondent’s Sanjay Gupta’s novel Monday Mornings. The pilot follows the lives of five surgeons as they push the limits of their personal and professional feelings. Sim will play Dr. Sung Park, an abrupt but socially awkward neurosurgeon who performs his job with a searing intensity and relentless ambition. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

It looks like yet another Beauty and the Beast project is getting underway – this time on the big screen with actor Vincent Cassel (Black Swan) and Lea Seydoux (Midnight in Paris and Robin Hood) in the lead roles. There are no story details at this time, though. The film is expected to be in theatres in 2014. (Deadline, Movie Web and Blastr)

Young actress Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) is in negotiations to join Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson in the box office film Can a Song Save Your Life? that has Johansson’s character moving to New York to pursue her dreams of a singing career but finding herself all alone when she’s dumped by her boyfriend. Enter a down-on-his-luck record producer (Ruffalo) who finds her singing in a local bar and the two realize that they may be each other’s last chance to turn their lives around. Steinfeld will play Ruffalo’s daughter. (Borys Kit at The Hollywood Reporter)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Former Charlie’s Angels beauty Jaclyn Smith has just signed on to play Wallace Langham’s mom on CSI, who makes a surprise visit to see her son and gets to interact with all his co-workers in an amusing fashion. (William Keck at TV Guide)

FOX has finally done it. They have cancelled the long-running medical drama House, which will end at the end of this season after being on the air for eight seasons. (Variety)

Syfy has ordered a third season of the US version of Being Human. The series will get a 13 episode order for that season. The current season just started airing as of January 16. (TV By the Numbers)

Actress Mercedes Ruehl has joined the cast of the new HBO horse-racing drama Luck where she will play Julietta Caligari, the mother of Renzo (Ritchie Coster). (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Catherine Dent (The Shield) has landed a recurring role on the upcoming FOX drama Touch. She will play the sister-in-law of Kiefer Sutherland’s widowed character — and won’t necessarily make his already tricky life any easier. The show will make its official debut on March 19. (Megan Masters and Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actress Jessica Tuck (True Blood) will appear in an upcoming episode of Grimm, playing Adalind’s (Claire Coffee) Hexenbiest mother Catherine. (Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Lisa Edelstein (House) will appear in a Lifetime made-for-TV movie called Blue-Eyed Butcher, which is based on a true story. The film will follow the story of Susan Wright (Sara Paxton), a gorgeous young wife and mother of two who violently kills her husband (Justin Bruening) in their Houston home after years of alleged abuse. When Susan claims that she needed to kill her hubby — out of self-preservation for herself and her children after years of mental abuse — prosecutor Kelly Siegler (Edelstein) argues that the accused is actually a cunning, doe-eyed sociopath. The film will premiere on March 3. (Megan Masters and Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor James Purefoy (Rome) will star opposite Kevin Bacon in the untitled Kevin Williamson pilot for FOX that centers on Joe Carroll (Purefoy) a diabolical serial killer who uses technology to create a cult of serial killers, and the retired FBI profiler (Bacon) who finds himself in the middle of it all. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Aimee Garcia (Dexter and Trauma) has been cast in the NBC drama pilot called County, (from creator Jason Katims) that will star Jason Ritter (The Event and Parenthood). The project chronicles the lives of a group of young doctors, nurses, and administrators in a frenetic underfunded and morally compromising LA County Hospital. Garcia will play a sharp-witted, no-nonsense new intern at the hospital. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Sullivan Stapleton (Strike Back) is in final negotiations to star in the untitled follow-up to the box office flick 300, but plot details are being kept under wraps. (Justin Kroll at Variety)

Actor Billy Connolly has been added to the cast of the two-part adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien novel The Hobbit. He will play Dain Ironfoot, a dwarf warrior and cousin of Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage). The first part of the film is slated to hit theaters on December 14. (Bruna Nessif at E! Online)

Actress Naomi Watts will play the role of Princess Diana in the upcoming movie Caught in Flight that will paint a portrait of Diana, Princess of Wales during the last two years of her life. It charts how finding true personal happiness for the first time allowed her to achieve her defining successes evolving into a major international campaigner and humanitarian. (Nancy Tartaglione at Deadline)

Actress Jaimie Alexander (Thor and Kyle XY) and Frank Grillo (The Grey and The Gates) have joined the cast of the upcoming thriller called Intersection. Alexander will play a woman who, along with her lover, plans to murder her husband. Things get complicated, however, when the lover and the husband wind up in a car accident together along a desert road in Morocco. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Morgan Freeman will star alongside Tom Cruise in the sci-fi film called Oblivion that has Cruise playing the last man on a post-apocalyptic and nearly uninhabitable Earth, who stays behind to repair ships that hunt down and blast a virulent alien species. Actresses Andrea Riseborough and Olga Kurylenko will also star. (Mike Fleming at Deadline)

Actor Henry Cavill (the upcoming Man of Steel reboot) is in negotiations to star in the upcoming film The Great Wall that looks at the mystery behind how China’s Great Wall was constructed. (Justin Kroll at Variety)

Legendary Pictures has officially pulled the plug on the planned film Paradise Lost. (Jeff Sneider at Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Maggie Lawson (Psych) will show up on an episode of Justified, playing a nurse who might have vital information to share with Raylan (Timothy Olyphant). And, in another episode of Justified actor William Mapother (Lost) will play an Oxy-addicted, woman-beating bar owner. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

ABC has given a straight to series pick-up to Mistresses, which is based on the BBC series of the same name. The series is targeted for summer 2013 and is described as a provocative thrilling drama that finds four women with scandalous romantic lives, caught in storms of excitement and self-discovery, secrecy and betrayal, and at the mercy of the complex relationships they’ve created. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Daisy Betts (Harry’s Law and the short-lived Persons Unknown) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot Last Resort that is set to star Andre Braugher. The project centers on the crew of the U.S.S. Nevada, a nuclear submarine, who, after disobeying a suspicious order, become fugitives. They land on the island of Sainte Marina, where they take over the NATO Listening Station and declare themselves an independent nuclear nation. Betts will play a member of the crew, Lt. Grace Shepard, the daughter of an Admiral father who is new to the sub and to command positions. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Alona Tal (Supernatural and the short-lived Cane) has been cast in the CW drama pilot Cult, which centers on Skye (Jessica Lucas), an inquisitive, young female production assistant on a wildly popular television show called Cult who, after a rash of disappearances and a likely murder, joins a journalist blogger in investigating the rabid fans of the series who might be re-creating crimes seen on the program in real life. Tal will play an actress portraying a young LAPD detective on the show. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Alfred Molina is set to star in the David E. Kelley-TNT medical drama pilot called Chelsea General, which is based on CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta’s upcoming novel Monday Mornings. The project follows the lives of five surgeons as they push the limits of their abilities and confront their personal and professional failings. Molina will play Dr. Harding Hooten, the steely-eyed Chief of Surgery at Chelsea General, known for his punishing and outwardly-uncaring ways. Other cast members include Jamie Bamber and Jennifer Finnigan. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actor Jonathan Patrick Moore (Savages and The L.A. Complex) is set to co-star opposite actresses Tori Spelling and Tia Mowry in The Mistle-Tones an ABC Family holiday movie that will anchor the network’s next ‘25 Days of Christmas’ event. The actor will play, Nick, Holly’s (Mowry) boss. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) is in final negotiations to join the cast of the upcoming box office film The Seventh Son which is based on the Joseph Delaney children’s book series called The Wardstone Chronicles (aka The Last Apprentice). The story follows a young man named Tom (Ben Barnes, The Chronicles of Narnia franchise) in training to be the apprentice of a ‘Spook’ (Jeff Bridges), a fighter against evil magic in the 1700’s. Trouble begins when his friend Alice (Alicia Vikander) is tricked into releasing the most sinister witch in the world (Julianne Moore). Harington will play the former apprentice of Bridges’ character. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is set to star in the modern day thriller A Most Wanted Man adapted from the novel by John le Carre. The story takes place in present day Hamburg, Germany where a mysterious, tortured and near-dead half-Chechen, half-Russian man on the run arrives in the city’s Islamic community desperate for help and looking to recover his late Russian father’s ill-gotten fortune. Nothing about this young man seems to add up, though. Is he a victim or a thief or, worse still, an extremist intent on destruction? Drawn into this web of intrigue is a private British banker and a young female lawyer determined to defend the defenseless. All the while, they are being watched by the brilliant, roguish chief of a covert German spy unit (Hoffman), who fights to put the pieces together as the clock ticks. (First Showing)

Actor Tom Felton (the Harry Potter franchise) is in negotiations to star opposite Elizabeth Olsen and Glenn Close in Therese Raquin. Close is attached for the role of Madame Raquin, while Olsen is set for Therese, who, with her lover Laurent, murder her husband (Felton), a sick boy that Madame Raquin forced Therese to marry. After Therese later marries her true love, the couple is haunted by the ghost of the dead husband and it poisons their love into all-consuming hatred. (Mike Fleming at Deadline)

Actor Jason Statham will star in a remake of the iconic 1987 film Heat that starred Burt Reynolds. The story centers on a recovering gambling addict (Statham) who makes his living providing protection to other gamblers and who refuses to resort to gunplay, strictly using hand and edged weapon combat. (Brent Lang at The Wrap)

Fringe producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have signed on with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer to help bring the vampire Lestat – from the acclaimed Vampire Chronicles series of books by Anne Rice – back to the big screen via the 1993 novel The Tale of the Body Thief. (The Hollywood Reporter and Blastr)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

First Full Teaser Trailer for ‘The Bourne Legacy’ with Jeremy Renner

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

Question: Any good Tiva moments coming up on NCIS? — Melissa

ADAM: If it’s Tiva tension you’re after, don’t miss next week’s episode, which features Tony’s ex-fiancée Wendy (guest star Perrey Reeves, aka Entourage’s Mrs. Ari). “There’s a whole lot of lip-locking,” Michael Weatherly teases. “I think Ziva understands there’s a real threat.” But even though Weatherly thinks something is brewing between Tony and Ziva, he doesn’t believe they will ever be a couple. “Who knows? Maybe they secretly try a kiss just to see what it might be like,” he says. “But putting them together? I don’t think it is a good idea for our show.”

Question: Very excited that Smallville’s Cassidy Freeman will be on The Vampire Diaries! Any scoop on her character? — Jones

NATALIE: “Expect her to be pretty badass,” Freeman tells us. We’ll meet her character, Sage, in the “1912” episode where she’ll find herself in some, ahem, compromising positions. There have been all those “naked Damon” teases…

Question: Where’s the scoop on Drop Dead Diva? — Mel

NATALIE: Jane’s new guardian angel is the polar opposite of Fred. With an oversized sense of entitlement and a bottomless bank account, Luke’s hedonistic ways are perfectly suited to Los Angeles. To put it bluntly: Yes, he works for God, but he’d also probably do just fine working for the guy downstairs.

Question: I really love Justified, but I am wondering what will happen with Winona and her pregnancy. I just have a hard time imagining Raylan with a baby on his lap in the future. Any scoop on that front? —Muriel

Ausiello: That story takes a surprising turn at the tail end of Episode 5 (airing Feb. 14) when Raylan comes home after a long day’s work and find something very spoilery waiting for him.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings franchise) will guest star in a March episode of NCIS as a psychological operations investigator working alongside guest star Jamie Leigh Curtis. (Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Noah Bean (Nikita and Damages) will guest star on Once Upon a Time as a handsome stable boy in fairytale land who tends to horses at the royal manor; and young actress Bailee Madison (Just Go With It) will also appear on Once Upon a Time as a young Snow White while singer Roger Daltrey (from the legend rock group The Who) will provide the voice for the talking caterpillar in an Alice in Wonderland-themed episode of the series. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line, James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly and Variety)

Actor Stephen Lang (Terra Nova and Avatar) will appear in a three-episode arc of In Plain Sight, playing the troubled father of Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack). The show will be back for its final season on USA on March 16 at 10 PM. (William Keck at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Chi McBride (Pushing Daisies) has been cast in the CBS drama pilot called Golden Boy, which tracks an ambitious young police officer’s meteoric rise through the department ranks. He will splay his new partner, Detective Owen. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC Family is moving forward with a new series from Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino called Bunheads that will star Sutton Foster as Michelle, a Las Vegas showgirl who impulsively marries a man and moves to his sleepy coastal town, and takes an uneasy role at her new mother-in-law’s dance school. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Young Australian actors Brenton Thwaites and Indiana Evans (both co-stars on the popular Australian soap opera home and Away) are stepping into the roles made famous by Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins in The Blue Lagoon, the contemporary remake being made by Lifetime. Thwaites and Evans will play Dane and Emma, a boy and a girl marooned on a tropical island where they grow up together, fall in love and discover sexuality. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Amy Adams is set to star in and produce an adaptation of comedian/actor/author Steve Martin’s novel called An Object of Beauty that follows fifteen years of a young art entrepreneur’s life. (The Hollywood Reporter and First Showing)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

New Amazing Spider-Man Trailer—Watch It Now

ME: I have to admit that I wasn’t sold on this new reboot of Spider-Man because I enjoyed the first two movies from the franchise that starred Tobey Maguire; but now that I have seen this trailer, I will, most likely, end up seeing this movie after all. It impressed me enough to give it a chance.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Bobby Cannavale (Third Watch) has joined the cast of the HBO drama Boardwalk Empire for Season 3. He will play Gyp Rosetti, a charming gangster who poses as a threat to Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi). (Movie Web)

Sons of Anarchy has been picked up for another season; it’s sixth. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

The A&E series Breakout Kings will be back for its second season on March 4 at 10 PM. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Terry O’Quinn (Lost) will appear in the final two episodes of the second season of Falling Skies, which returns this summer. He will play a former history professor and mentor to Tom Mason (Noah Wyle). (Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Jonathan Groff (Glee) and film star Sanaa Lathan (Something Borrowed ) will be part of the cast of the Starz series Boss. Lathan is expected to play Mona, the incorruptible new chief of staff, who becomes an obsession for Tom Kane (Kelsey Grammer) while Groff will play Ian Todd, a smart and ambitious staffer in Kane’s office who steps into the void Ezra Stone (Martin Donovan) has left to offer astute council to Kane. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

CONDOLENCES

Legendary actor Ben Gazzara passed away late last week from pancreatic cancer. He was 81 years old. He was in such films as Anatomy of a Murder, Road House and The Thomas Crowne Affair. (The Wrap)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The Dave Cullen 2009 book about the tragic events surrounding the deadly 1999 school shootings in Columbine is being developed as a mini-series by Lifetime. (The Hollywood Reporter and The Futon Critic)

Actor and Emmy winner Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age) is set to lead the ensemble cast of the ABC drama pilot Last Resort that centers on the crew of the U.S.S. Nevada, a nuclear submarine, who, after disobeying a suspicious order, become fugitives. They land on the island of Sainte Marina, where they take over the NATO Listening Station and declare themselves an independent nuclear nation. Braugher will play Capt. Marcus Chaplin, the commander of the U.S.S. Nevada, a veteran of real combat, a leader by nature and a patriot, but will not follow any man blindly. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Jane Levy (Suburgatory) is in talks to play the lead in the remake of Evil Dead, replacing Lily Collins, who recently exited the film. In the planned remake Levy is to play Mia, a character that corresponds to Ash played by Bruce Campbell in the original 1981 movie. Mia is one of five young people who head to the remote cabin where evil awaits. Recovering from a recent overdose, Mia is particularly vulnerable. The movie is targeted to open April 12, 2013. (Mike Fleming at Deadline)

Here are the top 10 box office films for this past weekend according to Exhibitor Relations:

1. Chronicle, $22 million
2. The Woman in Black, $21 million
3. The Grey, $9.5 million
4. Big Miracle, $8.5 million
5. Underworld Awakening, $5.6 million
6. One for the Money, $5.3 million
7. Red Tails, $5 million
8. The Descendants, $4.6 million
9. Man on a Ledge, $4.5 million
10. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, $3.9 million

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Watch: Extended Super Bowl Spot for Marvel’s ‘The Avengers’ Online!

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

Question: I’ve been watching Once Upon A Time from the beginning, and I thought by now, we’d start to see some real movement towards the present-day fairy-tale folks realizing that something was amiss. But it seems to be dragging and dragging, and while the “fairy tale” portions are fun to watch, there’s nothing there that gives one hope that finally, someone other than Henry knows something’s amiss. It’s getting boring. Any tidbits as to when that might finally happen? — Holly

Matt Roush: We’re only 11 episodes into the first season (which didn’t even premiere until late October), which seems awfully early to be getting impatient for game-changers. Although I’ve felt from the start that the Storybrooke stories tend to pale next to what’s going on back in fabulous Fairy Tale Land. And judging from the questions I’ve been fielding lately, the entire convoluted premise of the town living under this curse has thrown lots of fans into a nit-picking frenzy. I won’t project what’s down the road because this isn’t a spoiler column, but your dissatisfaction with the present-day stuff seems more a reflection of the show’s overall unevenness — and I’m speaking here as someone who’s learned to enjoy the show — than a problem with pacing, because they’re actually breaking a fair amount of story from week to week. Just not the story you’d like to see being played out quite yet. But give it time. These are early days, and Once Upon a Time is going to be with us for a long time to come.

Question: I was wondering with Alcatraz and the new show Touch on Fox, where does that leave Terra Nova for Monday nights? Terra Nova started out with a bang, but it fizzled midway through the season then had an interesting cliffhanger for the winter finale. Is Terra Nova gone the way of The Event, or is it coming back at a different time and or day? — Stephanie

Matt Roush: Terra Nova is done for the season, so is currently in limbo, and its renewal chances are probably dimming, given the solid performance of Alcatraz and the strong opening of Touch in its sneak-peek premiere. If Touch and Alcatraz hold up, Fox may not need to bring back Terra Nova, which was already pretty much “on the bubble” at the time of its December finale. On the other hand, if Fox were to plot out a schedule where some of these shows were renewed for shorter 13-episode seasons (if the economics made sense) and shared time periods the way Terra Nova and Alcatraz (and later, Touch) have done this year, maybe the show could be saved.

Question: I watched Touch, and I really enjoyed it. However, I have my concerns over whether the premise could be stretched out into a series that could potentially last years. The idea, in fact, seemed far more conducive to a two-part miniseries or movie-length format. Interestingly, I’ve found that problem with a lot of shows: The premise is awesome, the pilot interesting, and then over time the idea becomes stretched so thin that the story starts running out of steam. I’m thinking of shows like Touch or Alcatraz or even a show like Ringer. Do you think American television will ever take a note from Spanish-language TV and its concept of telenovelas? That is, shorter-run series that have a defined running period? Or is that a pipe dream? — Barb

Matt Roush: This is a question that dogs any long-running serialized show built around a tantalizing high concept. It’s almost inevitable that whenever an out-of-the-box pilot captures our attention, especially those that play more like a movie than a formula TV show, that we end up asking: How long can they sustain it? Even something as captivating as Showtime’s Homeland has us wondering, after the first season: What next? How can they top it? Should they even try? Currently, I’m wondering how far they can take the thrill ride of ABC’s riveting The River beyond the first eight-episode season should it explode the way it deserves to. Some premises do seem better suited for miniseries (the telenovela concept) than for the long-run, but the networks have turned away from that format, and if a show somehow becomes a hit, the bottom line typically demands more, not less. I do think we’ll see (and to a small degree are already seeing) the networks moving closer to the cable model, and this midseason could provide a few watershed moments in watching limited-run series — like The River and NBC’s fascinating Awake — try to break through.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Gabourey Sidibe has been bumped up to series regular for the third season which will air starting on April 8 on Showtime. (Andy Patrick at TV Line)

The new NBC sci-fi drama Awake is finally getting placed on the TV schedule, taking over the 10 PM Thursday night timeslot from failing new legal drama The Firm beginning on March 1. The Firm isn’t completely gone – for those few who are watching it – as it will finish its run on Saturday night at 9 PM with repeats of Grimm following at 10 PM. (The Wrap)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Jamie Bamber has joined the cast of the new David E. Kelley TNT medical drama called Chelsea General which is based on CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s upcoming novel called Monday Mornings. The project follows the lives of five surgeons as they push the limits of their abilities and confront their personal and professional failings. Bamber will play one of them, Dr. Tyler Wilson, supernova vascular neurosurgeon who has a fling with a fellow neurosurgeon (Jennifer Finnigan). (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Ernie Hudson has booked a recurring role on the new NBC pilot called Beautiful People, which is set in the near future in a society where humans co-exist with mechanical androids that look like people but are treated like second-class citizens. Hudson will play the owner of a law firm. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

NBC has green lit the drama pilot called Revolution from Eric Kripke (the man behind Supernatural) and J.J. Abrams (who really needs no introduction anymore, right?). The project is being described as a high-octane action drama following a group of characters struggling to survive and reunite with loved ones in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Viola Davis (The Help) will appear in two upcoming high-profile films based on popular books. First, she will in the film adaptation of the best-selling novel Beautiful Creatures, which is about two star-crossed teenage lovers, Ethan, a local boy, and a mysterious new girl, Lena, who uncover dark secrets about their families, their history and their town. Davis will play Amma, a seer who looks after Ethan and his father after Ethan’s mother’s death. Second, she will appear in the film adaptation of Ender’s Game, which follows a genius boy strategist recruited by the government to help destroy an insect-like alien race. Davis will play a military psychologist who oversees the emotional welfare of young trainees. (Mike Fleming at Deadline, Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actress Jessica Chastain and actor Joel Edgerton have signed on to star in the film called The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, which is about a New York restaurant owner and his wife, who goes back to college. The twist is the story will be played out across two feature-length movies — one from the husband’s perspective, one from the wife’s. (Reuters and Dark Horizons)

Actress Octavia Spencer (The Help) has joined the cast of the high-profile sci-fi indie film called Snow Piercer, which is set in a future when an Ice Age has killed off all life on the planet except for the inhabitants of the Snow Piercer, a train that travels around the globe and is powered by a sacred perpetual-motion engine. A class system evolves on the train but a revolution brews. Spencer plays a passenger on the train who joins the revolt in order to save her son. Chris Evans, John Hurt and Tilda Swinton (among others) will star. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

Actor Edwin Hodge (the upcoming Red Dawn remake) will star in the sci-fi thriller called Vigilandia that already includes cast members Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey. The story details are being kept under wraps, though. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Actor Al Pacino will dip his toes into new territory when he provides his voice for the animated sequel to Despicable Me. No details are available on storyline as yet. (Deadline and First Showing)

SIDE DISHES (with Sandra Gonzalez from Entertainment Weekly)

Question: You’re the only person who listens to my calls for scoop from my beloved USA shows! So Psych me, please! — Billie

Sandra: This season’s finale is going to blow your socks off. Two words: Kama sutra. Just kidding! (Sort of.) But in the episode, a case from the past suddenly reopens that puts Jules in danger and makes Shawn’s dad begin to doubt his skills. It all leads to a shocking decision and an even more shocking conclusion. Yes, there’s a cliffhanger.

Question: I have a Revenge question. I know you can’t say WHO the killer is or the killed person, but I want to know what my reaction will be. — Robyn

Sandra: Satisfaction — at least according to EP Mike Kelley. “I’m hoping for satisfaction, and I think that there will be some gasps, some ‘I told you so.

Question: After the murder on Revenge, are we going to switch locations for the trial? — Josh

Sandra: Not immediately. “For a lot of reasons, our key players will be staying in the Hamptons in the off season,” Kelley assures.

Question: I would love some Grimm scoop. — Sue

Sandra: You’re going to find out very soon why Nick can’t tell others the truth about who he is, but not telling people is going to get harder and harder, according to EPs David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf. “Their partnership will be tested and its going to get to the point where some things are going to happen that are truly not easily explained to Hank. So we’re going to push it as far as we can and hold off as long as we can.”

Question: Do you know when/if The Glades and In Plain Sight will return? I keep seeing cast members in other shows and am hoping this doesn’t mean the shows were canceled. They are two of my favorites and everything was left hanging on both of them. — Merrilee

Sandra: Of course they’ll be back, but Glades isn’t slated to come back until summer. In Plain Sight, meanwhile, returns March 16 with a batch of eight new episodes. As you’ll recall, the latter ended with Mary going into premature labor and still uncertain if she was going to keep the baby. Your scoop? An episode in this upcoming season will find her doing background checks on nannies!

That’s it. Enjoy!

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