Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

It’s finally the end of the week and I hope everyone has some fun activities planned for this weekend or maybe you’re just hoping to take it easy. Whatever you have planned – have a great weekend. In the meantime, let’s take a look at the world of entertainment news for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Alimi Ballard (Numb3rs) and former NFL player Matthew Willig have been cast as two recurring agents on NCIS who join Gibbs and company in the hunt for a psychopath called the Port-to-Port Killer. Willig plays Special Agent Simon Cade, a hulking but friendly federal agent with a photographic memory with an Ivy League education to go along with his intimidating presence. Meanwhile, Ballard plays Special Agent Gayne Levin, a weathered, well-traveled federal agent who’s just happy to be back in Washington. Both agents are members of the team led by recently introduced E.J. Barrett (Sarah Jane Morris). Their episodes will begin airing in April. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Actor Grant Show (the original Melrose Place and more recently Private Practice) will have a recurring role on Burn Notice when the show returns to the USA Network for its fifth season sometime this summer. He will play Max, a CIA operative. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actresses Jessica Parker Kennedy (Smallville) and Shelley Hennig (Days of Our Lives) have joined the cast of the CW drama pilot Secret Circle, which is based on the books by L.J. Smith about a California teen (Britt Robertson from Life Unexpected) who moves to her mom’s hometown of New Salem, Maine and discovers that she comes from a family of witches. Kennedy will play Melissa, one of the seven members in the show’s coven of witches. Meanwhile, Hennig will play Diana, the leader of the seven-member coven who has been dating Adam (Thomas Dekker from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) since childhood. (Tierney Bricker at Zap2It)

Actor Jimmy Smits has been cast in the NBC drama pilot S.I.L.A. that examines Los Angeles from the perspective of an elite law enforcement unit. He will play a mayor with aspirations to run for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat — but who may be undone by a reputation for womanizing and ties to a criminal overlord. (The Wrap)

Veteran actor Donald Sutherland will join actress Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds) in the NBC comedy pilot My Life as an Experiment, which chronicles the adventures of gonzo magazine journalist A.J. Wilder (comedian Jon Dore) and how his unique profession impacts his family. Sutherland will play Stacie’s (Brewster) dad and A.J.’s father-in-law, a highly respected, very accomplished heart surgeon and a pompous, arrogant guy to boot. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Esai Morales (Caprica) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot 17th Precinct from Ron Moore that currently includes former Battlestar Galactica alums Tricia Helfer, James Callis and Jamie Bamber as well as Eamonn Walker (from the short lived series Kings). Morales is set to play Lt. Liam Butterfield in the pilot that is set in a city ruled by magic and revolves around the workings of the 17th Precinct. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Alan Tudyk (Firefly) has been cast in the upcoming box office film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which concerns the former president’s quest to rid the world of vampires. (Variety)

Actor Kevin Costner will star alongside Henry Cavill and Diane Lane in the upcoming reboot of the Superman franchise, playing Jonathan Kent. (Dark Horizons)

Actress Miracle Laurie (Dollhouse) has a role in the upcoming box office film The First Ride of Wyatt Earp, starring Val Kilmer in the title role. She posted a picture of herself in character (full on western costuming) at Twitter this afternoon. (Twitter)

BOX OFFICE TRAILERS

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 Featurette

Watch: Another New Trailer for Scott Stewart’s ‘Priest’ Adaptation

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

Question: I heard Supernatural is going to get pretty serious in the last few episodes, which is sad. I love their funny moments even more than the drama sometimes. Are there any fun episode coming up to break up the sad? — Diandra

Sandra Gonzalez: I don’t think there are whole episode of funny (See: “The French Mistake”) but there is certainly some funny on the way. The next episode back, for instance, shows us the world that would exist if the Titanic never sank. (Balthazar decides he doesn’t like the end of the movie and decides to save the ship.) “It’s kind of about the butterfly effect of that,” she said. Other exciting moments coming up: Dean’s showdown at high noon. Sam on horseback. A saloon girl hitting on Dean.

Question: Whatever happened to the Glee show that Ryan Murphy was supposedly developing for Kristen Chenoweth? I haven’t seen it mentioned in any of the pilot reports? Thanks! – Amanda

Sandra Gonzalez: Well, considering K. Cheno just joined a pilot from Sex and the City EP Darren Star (titled Good Christian Bitches), I’d say it’s safe to say it’s on hold. Meanwhile, as mentioned in my earlier Glee post, she is teaming up with Murphy and Co. for one more episode of Glee this season. And this time around, she’ll be singing a Glee original titled “It’s 10 AM and I’m drunk” when her character returns to Lima to put on a one-woman showed called “Crossroads” (or maybe it’s “CrossRhodes”?), after her all-white version of The Wiz turns out to be a stinker.

Question: Some spoiler scoopage on Justified, please! — Susola

Sandra Gonzalez: I hope some Boyd news will do the trick. In a chat with reporters this week, Walton Goggins hinted to a big moment of realization coming up for the ever-evolving character that — if you’ve been as awed as I have by this character this season — sounds completely fantastic. “Coming up in three or four episodes, you’re basically going to see what Boyd has taken away from this introspective, this journey within. He’s going to be able to articulate this in a way that Boyd would articulate this, in a poetic way. He’s going to just lay it all out there. Like having taken the time and looked at life from all these different angles, this is what I walk away with,” he says. “It’s beautiful, and in some ways, I think for the audience, hopefully you’ll really understand this guy and not just feel sympathy for him, but you’ll kind of understand it from a birds-eye point of view and you’ll see kind of his worldview laid out in a way that makes sense.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!

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Hey All,

As I posted yesterday, I attended the Glee panel as part of this year’s Paley Fest and was camped out all day in front of the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills (where the annual fete is now held) for most of the day without any access to the internet. That means yesterday’s update is combined with today’s news, making the update a little longer; but containing some really interesting items. Here goes:

TELEVISION

Veteran character actor William Forsythe (John Doe, Raising Arizona and The Rock) will play Steve Rigsby, a career criminal and the biker father of CBI’s own Wayne Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) on The Mentalist. This episode will air on May 5. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Actor Rich Sommer (Mad Men) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Nikita, playing Malcolm Mitchell, a CIA consultant who helps Nikita (Maggie Q) break into Percy’s black boxes. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Actor Neal McDonough and actress Jeri Ryan will make guest appearances in the 10th and final season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, which is back on the USA Network starting May 1. McDonough will play a Monsignor who does very good things for the Church, starting soup kitchens, orphanages, cancer wards and what not; but behind closed doors he does bad things with the women of his parish. Meanwhile Ryan will play a former CIA official who has started a private security company worth hundreds of millions, but this no-nonsense businesswoman also is harboring a secret. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Syfy has officially renewed its hit freshman drama Being Human. (Meg Masters at TV Line and Deadline)

The USA Network hit shows White Collar and Covert Affairs will both return with all new episodes, starting on June 7 at 9 and 10 PM respectively. Mark your calendars! (The Futon Critic)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

More casting has been announced for the ABC drama pilot Georgetown, including actor Kevin Zegers (Gossip Girl) and actresses Wendy Crewson and Tiya Sircar (The Vampire Diaries). The series is about a quartet of young staffers in Washington, D.C. – Sam (Daisy Betts), Nikki (Katie Cassidy), Peter (Joseph Mazzello) and Andrew (Jimmy Wolk) – who share a DuPont Circle townhouse together. Zegers will play Montgomery “Monty” Knox, a handsome, incredibly wealthy young stockbroker who went to college with Andrew and Sam. While Crewson is set as the GOP minority leader, Senator Caroline Wallace and Sircar as Harper Hawley, Andrew’s longtime assistant who Peter has a crush on. (The Futon Critic)

Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights and The Good Wife) has landed a role in the CW drama pilot Hart of Dixie that is about Zoe Hart (Rachel Bilson), a young big-city doctor who inherits a medical practice in the oddball town of BlueBell, Alabama. He will play George Tucker, a handsome, charming attorney who’s engaged to the overly effusive Lemon Breeland (Jaime King). (The Futon Critic)

Actress Lauren Cohan (Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries and Chuck) has landed the female lead in the CW drama pilot called Heavenly that is about Lily DeMarco, a San Francisco attorney who teams with Dashiell Coffee, an angel-turned-human, to save the futures – and the souls – of their clients. She will play Lily. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Dylan Walsh (Nip/Tuck) has landed the lead role opposite Poppy Montgomery in the CBS drama pilot The Rememberer that follows Carrie Wells (Montgomery), an ex-cop struggling with the blessing/curse of hyperthymesia – the ability to remember everything – who is drafted back into the NYPD. He will play her new boss, Detective First Class Al Burns, a former high school jock who’s always going forward and believes life is to be lived, not dwelled upon. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Madeleine Stowe and actor Henry Czerny are set to co-star in the ABC drama pilot Revenge that centers on Emily Thorn/Amanda Clarke (Emily VanCamp from Everwood and Brothers & Sisters), a mysterious woman who comes to the Hamptons to exact revenge on the Graysons who destroyed her family. Stowe will play Victoria Grayson, the matriarch of the family and a social power broker. Czerny will play Victoria’s husband Conrad. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Robert Knepper (Heroes and Prison Break) will have a supporting role in the NBC drama pilot Reconstruction that is set in a Missouri town during the post-Civil War Reconstruction era and centers on Jason (Martin Henderson from Off the Map), a soldier who crosses the country and settles into a complicated town where he is welcomed as its savior. He will play the town sheriff, an unhinged veteran Confederate whose bizarre behavior alternates between Southern courtliness and a hair-trigger temperament. (Deadline)

Actors Brett Cullen (The Gates) and Jonathan Scarfe (Raising the Bar) have been added to the cast of the ABC drama pilot Hallelujah that is set in the town of Hallelujah, Tennessee where the forces of good and evil are exemplified by hardworking, moral diner owner Rye Turner (Donal Logue), a family man who has had a run of tragic luck, and his longtime nemesis, corrupt millionaire Del Roman (Terry O’Quinn), who is a law unto himself. Cullen will play Sherriff Bob Clement, a corrupt local lawman in the pocket of Del while Scarfe will play Rye’s brother Caleb, a self-confessed miserable sinner. (Deadline)

Actor David James Elliott (JAG) has been added to the cast of the ABC dramedy pilot Good Christian Bitches that stars Leslie Bibb as Amanda, a mother of two and onetime “mean girl” in high school who returns home to Dallas humbled following a scandalous divorce, hoping to get a second chance at winning over her old classmates. He will play the husband of one of Amanda’s former classmates, Darlene (Kristin Chenoweth). (Deadline)

Australian actress Phoebe Tonkin has joined the CW drama pilot The Secret Circle based on the book series from L.J. Smith, that tells the story of a young woman (Britt Robertson from Life Unexpected) who moves to a new town and discovers that not only is she a witch and part of a secret coven, but she’s also the key that will unlock a centuries-old battle of good versus evil. She will play Faye, part of the witches’ circle. (Deadline)

The Disney Channel has added 13 original series to their line-up for next season. Among those 13 (which includes children’s programming and new animated shows) is the new show called Jessie that stars Debby Ryan as a rural teen from Texas who moves to New York and becomes an au pair to a wealthy family with four teens; the new music/dance comedy Madison High that stars young actor Mark Indelicato (Ugly Betty). (The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) has landed the coveted role of Katniss Everdeen in the upcoming adaptation of the best-selling novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The first in a planned trilogy (since there are 3 books the collection) tells the story of a young love triangle playing out against a dystopian future where North America has been divided into twelve oppressed districts, each of which is forced to send tributes in the form of a boy and a girl to compete in a televised battle to the death once a year. (Dark Horizons)

Actress Drew Barrymore will return to the director’s chair for her second film, a romantic comedy called How To Be Single based on the Liz Tuccillo novel that explores the love lives and break-ups of a group of New Yorkers over the course of ten years. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

Actor Matthew Fox (Lost) has landed a role in the big-screen reboot of James Patterson’s Alex Cross stories, playing villainous assassin Michael Sullivan, a man who kills both for money and thrills. Tyler Perry and Ed Burns co-star in the film, titled I, Alex Cross. (Dark Horizons)

Actor Val Kilmer will play Wyatt Earp in the box office film The First Ride of Wyatt Earp that follows an elderly Earp as he sits down with a reporter to reflect on the ride that made him a legend, when the young marshal rounded up a posse to track down the outlaw who mistakenly murdered the woman he loved. The cast includes Matt Dallas (Kyle XY) and American Idol finalist Diana DeGarmo [among others]. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Taylor Swift, Zac Efron, Betty White, Danny DeVito and Ed Helms will lend their voices to the box office film based on Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, which focuses on a boy who searches for the one thing that will help him win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it, he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world. (The Wrap)

CONDOLENCES

British character actor Michael Gough best known for his role as Alfred in the Batman franchise and as villains in Doctor Who passed away this week at the age of 94. He also appeared in the box office films Out of Africa, The Age of Innocence and Sleepy Hollow (among many others). (The Wrap and Dark Horizons)

ME: Rest in Peace, Mr. Gough. Deepest condolences to his family, friends and fans.

MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…

Q&A SECTION (with Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams from TV Guide)

Question: I can’t wait for Leverage to come back this summer. Have you heard anything about the new season? — Luke

ADAM: I’m hearing that the show is looking to add an evil Warren Buffet type to recur throughout the season. But it’s how the man has amassed his wealth that’s worth noting. Apparently, he has figured out exactly what it is that the Leverage team does and has made himself rich by preying on the companies that Nate and his crew take down.

Question: What’s going to happen with Castiel (Misha Collins) and Raphael on Supernatural? — Nathan

NATALIE: We’ll let executive producer Eric Kripke lay it out for you: “The battle with Raphael and the war in heaven gets hotter and hotter. Castiel’s really backed against a corner as he’s just battling to stop the evil forces in heaven,” Kripke says. “He’s assembling as powerful an arsenal as he possibly can,” Collins adds. “He’s going to use all of those weapons to the best of his ability.” One of those weapons is Castiel’s lieutenant angel, Rachel, who viewers will soon meet.

Question: What’s coming up on NCIS: Los Angeles? — Jill

ADAM: Look for the team to work a protection detail — only they’ll be trying to keep the bad guy safe. The show is looking for an actor to play a lifelong criminal who is as charming as he is talented at building high-end custom guns. He also happens to be the government’s key witness in an arms trafficking case — which is precisely why someone wants him dead.

Question: I love that Brendan Hines is going to stir up jealousy on Castle. What else can you tell me? — Monica

ADAM: While Castle is plenty peeved by the easy rapport his protégé establishes with Beckett, his remedy is to kill the young pup with kindness. And what better way to do that than to invite him to a mystery writers’ poker night? Of course, after the cards are dealt, real-life novelists Michael Connelly and Dennis Lehane make it embarrassingly clear that Hines’ character still has plenty to learn before he can truly throw in his chips with the big boys.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Due to my attendance at tonight’s Paley Fest event honoring the FOX musicomedy Glee, I will not be doing an entertainment update. All the news from today will be combined with the news from tomorrow.

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today. Since there is a good bit to share with all of you, let’s get right into it, shall we?:

TELEVISION

Actor Brandan Hines (Lie to Me) will make a guest appearance on an April issue of Castle, playing Alex Conrad, a first-time mystery writer who owes some of his debut novel’s success to a glowing review written by Castle (Nathan Fillion). The storyline is this: When Castle invites Alex down to the precinct to play mentor, Alex becomes much more interested in what Beckett (Stana Katic) has to say about being a police detective. As Castle and Beckett investigate a swimming star’s murder, Castle becomes increasingly agitated by how willingly (and privately) Beckett shares information with the newbie author. But don’t think the jealous Castle will go down without a fight. This episode will also feature actress Josie Loren (Make It or Break It) and Justin Bruening (the short-lived Knight Rider) as the victim’s swimming coach, while Loren plays the victim’s former girlfriend. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Casting announcements have been made for the NBC drama pilot REM that already stars Jason Isaacs as Detective Mark Britten (Isaacs), who wakes up after an accident to find he is living in two different realities, one in which he has killed his son Rex (Dylan Minnette from Lost) and one in which he has killed his wife Hannah. The casting includes Wilmer Valderrama (That 70’s Show) as Detective Richard Vega, Britten’s gregarious new partner in one reality; Steve Harris (The Practice and Friday Night Lights) as a seasoned, cynical, wry-humored police detective who’s Britten’s partner in the other reality; BD Wong (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) as Britten’s therapist in the reality where he has killed his son and Laura Allen (Terriers) as Rex’s tennis coach, who has become Rex’s confidante in the wake of the recent loss of his mother. (Deadline)

Actor Noah Emmerich (White Collar and The Walking Dead) has been added to the cast of the NBC drama pilot called S.I.L.A. that is set in the world of crime, law enforcement and politics in sprawling modern-day Los Angeles. He will play Terry Mullins, who has returned to Los Angeles to re-connect with his 15-year-old daughter Jennifer and try to get along with his ex-wife and Jennifer’s mother, high-powered attorney Mary McCarthy (Madchen Amick from Twin Peaks and Damages). (Deadline)

The cable network Starz is developing a supernatural crime drama pilot called The Brink that is based on the J.C. Hutchins book Personal Effects: Dark Art that chronicles art therapist Zach Taylor’s investigation into the life and madness of Martin Grace, an accused serial killer who claims to have foreseen, but not caused, his victims’ deaths. (Deadline)

Actress Vanessa Ferlito (CSI: NY) has joined the cast of the CW drama pilot Cooper & Stone in one of the lead roles. The show is about two pop culture savvy detectives – Jenna Cooper (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Angela Stone (Ferlito), working in Chicago’s Northside precinct. (The Futon Critic)

Emmy-winner Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies and Glee) has joined the ABC drama pilot Good Christian Bitches that is about Amanda Vaughn (Leslie Bibb), a widowed mother of two who – to get a fresh start – moves back to the affluent Dallas neighborhood where she grew up. Chenoweth will play Darlene Cockburn, a church-going housewife with a skewed sense of goodness and the alpha of the group. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Leslie Hope (24 and The Mentalist) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot The River that is about a state-of-the-art research vessel on a quest to find Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood), a missing TV explorer, in the Amazon and the crew documenting said endeavor. She will play Tess Cole, Emmet’s thoughtful and determined wife. (The Futon Critic)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Chloë Sevigny (Big Love) has joined the cast of the upcoming four-hour HBO miniseries about Lizzie Borden, starring in the lead role. The story will follow Borden’s trial, from which she was acquitted of killing her father and stepmother with a hatchet. The mini-series will air in 2012. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Logan Marshall-Green (The O.C. and 24) has landed a role in the upcoming box office film Prometheus, playing Holloway, a crewman on the space ship and the love interest for the character played by Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo star). The film also stars Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron and Idris Elba. (Deadline)

Actress Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) will star in the box office film Seconds of Pleasure that takes place on an airplane and connects the lives of people on the plane through vignettes. She will play a wife who catches her husband (Brendan Fraser) in a compromising position. Julia Stiles, Matt Dillon and Kristen Scott Thomas also star. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

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

Question from Tatpsy: Any news about Jonathan Groff’s return on Glee? He’s in LA and there are a lot of rumors that he’s back on Glee.

Kristin: You know we always keep our eyes, ears and arms open for any info on the Groff’s return to our television. We believe Ryan Murphy’s promise that Jesse St. James will be back, and we have a feeling he’ll show up just in time for Nationals in New York City.

Question from fannie13: News about Castle please!

Kristin: Next week’s episode will have one of the most dramatic and theatric arrests ever made on the show. But stay tuned in after the handcuffs are snapped on, because Castle and Beckett have a sweet little moment that will surely leave you smiling.

Question from MeganEWorley: Justified! Please…

Kristin: Remember how we told you Winona (Natalie Zea) was going to go “a little crazy” well that time has come. In this week’s episode Winona is a bad, bad girl, and her actions are going to have big consequences if she gets caught. Key word: If. Thank god she has a gorgeous ex-hubby who is willing to go the extra mile to keep her out of the big house. But if you think her brush with the law is going to be wrapped up easily in one episode? Think again.

Question from RosewoodGirl94: Any major spoiler…or anything on Pretty Little Liars, something like a real hint? Pretty please?

Kristin: Well, since you asked so nicely, here’s a hint: In next week’s finale, murder suspect Spencer (Troian Bellisario) confronts Ian (Ryan Merriman)—the guy she believes killed Allison—in a church with what seems to be some crucial evidence. What it is?

Question from KimLVHart: White Collar scoop would be much appreciated!

Kristin: We’ll be meeting Neal’s parents next season! They haven’t cast anyone yet, though.

Question from reebsreiswig: Do you have anything on season four of Leverage?

Kristin: The Leverage team will face a new nemesis in season four (premiering June 26 on TNT) in Latimer, an “unflappable laidback bastard” who has become rich thanks to Nate Ford & Co.’s Robin Hood cons. Like an evil Warren Buffet, he’s figured out what the team is up to and she’s taking advantage of the companies they bring down.

SIDE DISHES (with Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: I just found out that Drop Dead Diva comes back in June, but there are no promos. Anything? PLEASE! — Michelle

Answer: By “anything” I’m sure you’re referring to Grayson’s brush with death, correct? Well, I wouldn’t worry. It is, indeed, a brush with death, but it will make for great Jane/Grayson moments (and musical daydreams) when the show returns in June. (I will let you know at first notice when there’s a specific date.) By episode 3, Grayson’s just fine and preparing for his wedding to Vanessa, which of course includes the intimidating task of asking her judge father for her hand and having a bachelor party! Jane especially enjoys (aka is completely mortified by) the latter — because she gets a lap dance.

Question: I’m dying for some White Collar scoop, can you help me, please? Most burning question: Regarding [Hilarie] Burton is now regular. How much attention and screen time will the romance storyline get?

Answer: An inside source tells me there’s only a handful of episodes for next season penned, so I can’t say for sure in the big picture. But if there is any significant romance time, expect it to be kept to a minimum because there’s definitely a ton going on next season (specifically, a metric ton of treasure to be dealt with). Moreover, any romance/flirty time will definitely be split between Sara and Alex. But if it’s the boys getting screen time you’re worried about, don’t be. I can tell you that the first episode back will have more Neal than you can handle.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

How is the start of your week going so far, folks? Hope not too bad. The news isn’t too voluminous, but there is a lot of casting news for the pilot season among other items. Let’s get right to it:

TELEVISION

On Friday FOX announced they are pulling the sneak peek airing of their “big” new show Terra Nova from the May TV schedule, holding it back for a fall premiere in order for all the special effects to be laid in properly. The season finale of The Chicago Code will now air Monday, May 23 at 9 PM and the season finale of Glee will now air Tuesday, May 24 at 9 PM. (The Futon Critic)

ABC has teamed with Global Television on a gritty new medical drama called The Hot Zone. This new series has yet to be given a debut date, but it has received an order for13 one-hour episodes. The series is set in 2006 at the only military hospital providing advanced surgical care in all of Southern Afghanistan and charts the frantic lives of the hospital’s resident doctors and nurses from Canada, America, the U.K. and other allied countries. The cast includes Elias Koteas (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Michelle Borth (Hawaii Five-0 and The Forgotten) and Luke Mably (The Gates) among others. (The Futon Critic)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Scott Foley (Felicity and The Unit), Michael Boatman (The Good Wife and China Beach) and Kyle MacLachlan (Desperate Housewives and Twin Peaks) have landed roles on the CBS drama pilot Doctor that is about Emily Campbell (Christine Lahti), a mother who reconnects with her two adult children – David (Foley) and Natasha (Eva Amurri) – when she joins the family medical practice following their father’s death. Foley will play the aforementioned David, a cardiologist; with Boatman as Robert Brody, the chief-of-staff at the show’s Hartford Medical Center who was once an intern under Emily at Mt. Sinai. And MacLachlan is set as Jason Walden, the best friend of Emily’s late husband and a fellow partner at the practice. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Kate Burton (Grey’s Anatomy) will appear in the drama pilot for NBC called Grimm that is about Nick Burckhardt (David Giuntoli), a police detective who discovers fairy tale creatures live among us and is tasked with defending humans from these mythical beasts. Burton will play his aunt, Marie Brannigan, who indoctrinates him into the supernatural world. (The Futon Critic)

Actresses Zoey Deutch (The Suite Life on Deck) and Della Reese (Touched by an Angel) have landed roles in the ABC drama pilot Hallelujah that is about a tiny town in Tennessee which finds itself being torn apart by the forces of good and evil. Deutch will play Willow, the thoughtful daughter of the hardworking, moral Rye Turner (Donal Logue), who waits tables at the family’s diner. While Reese is on board as Dulcie Prejean, a blind woman with a flair for the autoharp. (The Futon Critic)

Veteran character actor Raphael Sbarge will appear in the ABC drama pilot called Once Upon A Time, which is about Anna Swan (Jennifer Morrison), a woman with a troubled past who is drawn to Storybrooke, a small town in Maine where the magic and mystery of Fairy Tales just may be real. He will play Archie, an eccentric looking gentleman walking a Dalmation and, oddly, carrying an umbrella, who’s also the Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio lore. (The Futon Critic)

Actors Michael Gaston and Kevin Rankin have joined the CBS drama pilot The Rememberer that is about Carrie Wells (Poppy Montgomery), an ex-cop struggling with the blessing/curse of hyperthymesia – the ability to remember everything – who is drafted back into the NYPD. Gaston is expected to play Detective Mike Costello and Rankin will play Detective Second Class Roe Sanders, the junior member of the squad. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Terry Kinney (The Unusuals) has joined the CBS drama pilot Rookies that is about six NYPD rookies (Adam Goldberg, Judy Marte, Leelee Sobieski, Stark Sands, Tom Reed and another yet to be cast) who balance their personal lives with learning the beat on the streets of Manhattan. He will play Larry “Yoda” Rivers, the group’s Field Training Officer. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Julie Benz (No Ordinary Family and Dexter) has joined the as yet unnamed CBS supernatural medical drama from Susannah Grant, which centers on Michael (Patrick Wilson), an ultra-competitive surgeon whose life is changed forever when his ex-wife (Jennifer Ehle), a doctor running a free clinic, dies and begins teaching him what life is all about from the hereafter. Benz will play Michael’s sister, an unfocused and overwhelmed single mother with a huge heart. (Nellie Andreeva at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Hayley Atwell and Charlotte Rampling (both from The Duchess) are to re-team on the upcoming box office movie called I, Anna, which is an adaptation of the Elsa Lewin novel following a woman’s life as its turned upside down after a date gone wrong, and the impossible love of the policeman tracking her down. Rampling will play Anna with Atwell as her daughter. (Dark Horizons)

Here are the top 10 movies at the domestic box office, with foreign grosses when available, according to studio estimates and Hollywood.com:

1. Battle: Los Angeles – $36 million.
2. Rango – $23.1 million
3. Red Riding Hood – $14.1 million.
4. The Adjustment Bureau – $11.5 million
5. Mars Needs Moms – $6.8 million
6. Hall Pass and Beastly (tie) – $5.1 million
8. Just Go With It – $4 million
9. The King’s Speech – $3.6 million
10. Gnomeo & Juliet – $3.5 million

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

Question: Long time reader, first time e-mailer. How is it that the same parent company (NBC Universal) that can produce good shows for their cable network USA like Burn Notice, White Collar, Royal Pains, etc., can’t come up with a quality show for the flagship network and instead gives us garbage like The Cape, The Event, Outlaw and Chase? Wouldn’t it make sense to at some point soon turn over creative control of NBC to the people who are in development for USA? — Chip

Matt Roush: You’re hardly alone in suggesting such a thing, but from NBC/U’s perspective, why would anyone want to disrupt a well-oiled machine like the USA Network hit factory, which is helping the corporate bottom line during this period of NBC decline. A few things to keep in mind: A show that’s a hit on cable may not look as successful in the broadcast-network marketplace, though it’s hard to argue that NBC wouldn’t be better off with shows as appealing as Burn Notice and White Collar on the schedule. Plus, more pragmatically, a new NBC programming regime led by Showtime vet Bob Greenblatt is about to plant its flag, and some of the pilots in the fall pipeline sound very promising and ambitious, in the same sort of out-of-the-box way that revived ABC’s fortunes back in 2004 (the year of Lost, Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy). Should NBC’s new leadership bottom out as well, which I hope doesn’t happen, then maybe it will be time for the powers that be to take a hard look at what USA is doing right and see if that formula could be adapted to the NBC big top.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Lots of news to share with everyone on this Friday so let’s get right into it, shall we (with my prefacing that we should all send our thoughts and prayers to the people of Japan after the horrible earthquakes that hit that nation):

TELEVISION

Jason Priestley (the 90210 actor-director) will appear in a four-episode arc on the Syfy series Haven, playing Chris Weekly, a brilliant, principled but anti-social marine biologist who must deal with an affliction most would consider a blessing. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) has landed the male lead in the CW drama pilot Secret Circle, which is based on the book series of the same name by L.J. Smith (the author behind The Vampire Diaries books). The story revolves around a young woman named Cassie (Britt Robertson from Life Unexpected) who discovers that not only is she a witch and part of a top-secret coven, but she’s also the key that will unlock a centuries-old battle between good and evil. He will play Adam, the oldest member of the aforementioned coven and a love interest for Cassie. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actress Marisol Nichols (The Gates and 240 has joined the ABC pilot Good Christian Bitches that follows a woman (Leslie Bibb) who moves back to her Dallas neighborhood after a divorce only to become the center of salacious gossip from the community’s churchgoing wives. She will play the role of Heather (no other details on the character are available). (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Titus Welliver (The Good Wife and Lost) has joined the cat of the CW drama pilot Awakening about two combative sisters (Lucy Griffiths and Meredith Hagner) who come of age amid the beginning of a zombie uprising. He will play the character initially known simply as “The Hunter,” a member of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Division. (The Futon Critic)

Legendary choreographer-actress Debbie Allen has booked a role on the ABC drama pilot Grace that is about Michael Grace (Eric Roberts), a famous choreographer whose womanizing ways have produced three daughters – Sarah (Abigail Spencer), a lawyer; Shay (Sherri Saum), a photographer; Eden (Anabelle Acosta), a teenager – all with different mothers. Allen will play Helen Grace, Shay’s mother. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Cress Williams (Friday Night Lights and Grey’s Anatomy) has joined the cast of the CW drama pilot Hart of Dixie that is about Zoe Hart (Rachel Bilson), a young big-city doctor who inherits a medical practice in the oddball town of BlueBell, Alabama. It is believed he will play Lavon Hayes, the town’s unorthodox mayor, a former NFL star who lets Zoe stay in his plantation’s carriage house. (The Futon Critic)

Sean Maher (Firefly) will have a role in the NBC drama pilot Playboy, which is a period drama set at the Playboy Club in Chicago in 1963. It is believe he will play Sean, Alice’s (Jenna Dewan-Tatum) husband. Meanwhile, the lead role has been changed from Jeff Hephner (Hellcats and The O.C.) to Eddie Cibrian (Third Watch). His character is Nick Dalton – described as “the ultimate playboy” – an attorney in Chicago and a Keyholder at the glamorous, exclusive Playboy Club. (The Futon Critic and Deadline)

Actress Lily Rabe (All Good Things and No Reservations) is set for a recurring role in the FOX drama pilot Exit Strategy that stars Ethan Hawke as the head of a team of five experts associated with the CIA who are deployed when a CIA operation goes bad. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Paul Blackthorne (The Gates and The Dresden Files) has landed a role in the ABC drama pilot The River, which is about a state-of-the-art research vessel on a quest to find Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood), a missing TV explorer in the Amazon. He will appear as the producer of the show documenting this endeavor. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Ellen Barkin will star in the NBC drama pilot A Mann’s World. Allan Mann, a fiftysomething handsome and sexy straight Beverly Hills hairdresser (Don Johnson) struggling to stay young and relevant in a place where looks are everything. She will play Allan’s forgiving, funny ex-wife and the mother of their three children. (Deadline)

Actor Eric Winter (Brothers & Sisters) has been cast in the FOX drama pilot Weekends at Bellevue, which is based on the Julie Holland memoir. It centers on Ellie (Lauren Ambrose), the psychiatrist in charge of the weekend shift of Bellevue Hospital’s psychiatric unit. Winter will play a scruffy and sexy doctor attending in the ER. (Deadline)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

A large cast has been added to the HBO biopic called Hemingway & Gellhorn that is set to appear on the TV network in 2012. The story covers the tumultuous romance and subsequent marriage of literary master Ernest Hemingway (Clive Owen) and up-and-coming war correspondent Martha Gellhorn (Nicole Kidman) from their first meeting in a Key West bar in 1936 to their cross-Europe romance and five-year marriage. Among the cast are David Strathairn, Rodrigo Santoro, Molly Parker, Parker Posey, Santiago Cabrera, Peter Coyote and Tony Shalhoub. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Welsh hunk Luke Evans (Clash of the Titans) will appear in the upcoming action-thriller The Amateur American, playing a young American living in Paris who accepts a job working for a shadowy employer and soon finds himself framed for murder and caught up in a web of deceit. Evans will soon be seen in the following roles in these upcoming movies: Zeus in Immortals; Aramis in The Three Musketeers; a British DI in Blitz and Edgar Allan Poe’s assistant in The Raven. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Must Watch: Phenomenal Full Trailer for J.J. Abrams’ Sci-Fi ‘Super 8’

Q&A SECTION (with The TV Addict)

Question: Any good news for fans of NIKITA? Specifically fans of Nikita and Michael? — Kimra

The TV Addict: According to sources, the nineteenth episode of the season will see a potentially deadly situation forcing Michael and Nikita to work together as Alex’s life hangs in the balance. What’s more, it’s a night of double-crosses and high stakes that will not only be explosive, but force Michael to make a decision that may finally drive Nikita away from him forever.

Question: Any chance we’ve seen the last of Josh on CASTLE? — Dave

The TV Addict: Having just had the opportunity to screen CASTLE’s not-to-be-missed love letter to daytime entitled “One Life to Lose,” we’ve got some bad news for you. The only disappointing aspect of what is hands down the most entertaining episode of the season was Josh’s seemingly inexplicable ability to ruin what should have been yet another beautiful Castle/Beckett moment. Seriously. This guy could not have worse timing if he tried.

WARNING: Tread lightly on the next section as it is a SPOILER ROOM (from Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

‘V’ SEASON FINALE: ELIZABETH MITCHELL DISHES ON MAJOR DEATHS

Oh, you didn’t really think everyone would be safe, right? Of course you didn’t. But what you won’t anticipate is how big these three (incredibly bloody!) main character deaths are as ABC’s sci-fi series closes its second season next week. “I think that the people who die are going to affect everyone in different ways,” Elizabeth Mitchell tells EW. “The people they chose, they chose for a reason because they will mean something. I think it’s going to create an entirely new dynamic for everybody. Nobody is going to be unscathed.” (And you can bet that the terrifying Female-Visitor Lizard-Tail figures prominently in at least one of these death scenes.) “There will be some interesting betrayals, which I always enjoy, and there will be tears and hopefully some fun. We’re all very active in this and everyone has an important part,” she adds. Some more than others — as will be revealed when Marc Singer (star of the original V series) guest-stars as the leader of a top-secret anti-V organization. And to know exactly what I mean by that, I ask you to review the above quote about “betrayals” once again. Yup, prepare to see some surprising faces among the ranks of the said top-secret org. And that’s only where the twists, gore, and horrifying acts begin. As for where they end…that news is just as grim. “I’d love to say the fans will be satiated because I’m a fan and I know how wonderful it is to feel like, ‘Oh, thank God.’ But you’re going to want to see the rest,” Mitchell says.

Then there are the SIDE DISHES FROM THE SPOILER ROOM (from Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: Chuck‘s awesome. (<<CHUCK PUN!!!!!) Any news? — J.J.

Answer: [Breaking news: Your question made me laugh out loud. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming…] Monday’s Chuck is going to answer many of the questions you have about the GRETA, and in many ways acts as a launching pad for the next couples of episodes. It also marks the return of Isaiah Mustafa and Stacy Keebler, who find themselves at odds with Chuck and Sarah. “We definitely wanted to see some of the GRETA characters we established earlier in the season and see what happened to them next and explain what the government was up to and why there were GRETAs inside the Buy More,” says co-creator Chris Fedak. “Once we got the order for more episodes, after the initial 13, we were like ‘Oh, we gotta get in there and explain what the GRETA project was.’ And so it was kinda neat to take those characters, who we’d only had a little big of time with in episode 2 and episode 3 [of the season], and say, ‘Well, let’s explore them; let’s meet them a little bit better.’”

Question: I need me some Chuck scoop! — Elise

Answer: There’s trouble in the spy world — and not in the normal way where they can simply shoot something and solve their problem. It’s more of an internal issue. “Casey is very much tied into what’s happening with the GRETA project at this moment. He might very well be in charge of this project. So there’s tension within the team. There’s a rift growing,” Fedak explains. “The question, and essentially where the A-Team title comes from — is: Who is the A Team? Is it Chuck and Sarah or is it Casey and his new team? That’s definitely at the heart of this episode.”

Question: Peter and Neal better still be friends when White Collar comes back, or I’ll be unforgivably mad. They MAKE the show. Please tell me this is the case. Need my bromance!! — Shana

Answer: You don’t have anything to worry about. Jeff Eastin is totally aware of the appeal of this dreamy twosome, which is why he tells me he plans to preserve their friendship. “Ultimately, in season 3, we will restore the friendship that Peter and Neal had to get us here. But it’s a rocky road to get there,” he says. But even through those hard times, he adds, he stayed strong on one important principle: “Neal never lies to Peter, and he still doesn’t. But keeping him from lying to Peter has been a real challenge.” A conman with a conscience — and they wonder why we’re smitten.

Question: Thanks for the White Collar interview this week. The finale was great. I felt like Elizabeth was a little snubbed, though. She’s never been a huge part of the show, but I love Tiffani-Amber Theiessen! I never really recovered from my SBTB girl crush on her. — Alison

Answer: You and about 1,000 of my male friends of a similar age never quite recovered from Kelly Kapowski’s spell, Alison. No shame. As for season 3, now that Thiessen is back on set full-time (Her pregnancy interfered with some of the filming during this recent season, and some of her scenes were even done on green screens) creator Jeff Eastin says we can look forward to a more active Elizabeth, thanks largely to the art treasure plotline. “We’ve added to her responsibility; she’s no longer just an event planner. One of the things we had initially in the series was that she worked at an art gallery, and that’s where she and Peter met. We found a really great opportunity in the first episode back with all this art — this treasure — to have Elizabeth go back to that word a bit,” he says. “It’s actually something I’m pretty excited about — to get her out of the Burke house a little bit more and see her more active in these cases.”

Question: I need some more Nikita finale scoop!! Things are really getting good! — Sarah

Answer: Agreed! And should the show get a second season (those fingers crossed? They better be. Toes, too) you should look for some existing regulars to slowly become more prominent, namely the people at Division, who each have their own dark past. And I’m told Amanda (Melinda Clarke) will become more and more important as the season rolls on as well.

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!!

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Hey All,

The news is a little light today, but there are still some great items to share. Let’s get into it:

TELEVISION

Actress Elizabeth Berkley (Saved By the Bell) will be back on CSI: Miami presumably as Julia Winston, Horatio’s (David Caruso) ex-lover and mother of Kyle Harmon (Evan Ellingson). The episode is set to air in May. (Spoiler TV)

Actor-singer Rick Springfield (General Hospital) will guest star in an episode of Hawaii Five-0 set to air this spring. He will play Renny, a fashion photographer who is in Hawaii shooting a swimsuit cover alongside his model fiancé Kenza when tragedy strikes. (Maggie Furlong at AOL TV)

Actor Nick Zano (Melrose Place) and actor turned entertainment news reporter Mario Lopez will appear in the season premiere episode of Drop Dead Diva. Lopez will play himself while Zano will play movie star Tim Kline, whose hit-and-run accident and impending divorce are handled by Jane (Brooke Elliott). Country singer LeAnn Rimes stars as Kline’s soon-to-be ex-wife. (Jethro Nededog at Zap2It)

Mark your calendars: TNT has announced the return dates for their summer series, including: Men of a Certain Age on June 1 at 10 PM; Memphis Beat on June 14 at 9 PM; HawthoRNe on June 14 at 10 PM; Leverage on June 26 at 9 PM; The Closer on July 11 at 9 PM and Rizzoli & Isles on July 11 at 10 PM. (TNT)

Also, TNT will launch their new shows as follows: Franklin & Bash, starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar (NYPD Blue) and Breckin Meyer (Road Trip) as two fly-by-the seat-of-their-pants lawyers working for a button-down law firm, which debuts on June 1 at 9 PM. And, Falling Skies, which has its 2-hour debut on June 19 at 9 PM (with its regular time slot being Sundays at 10 PM) stars Noah Wyle (ER) in the story of the aftermath of an alien invasion and the resistance movement formed by the survivors. (TNT)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actors Terry O’Quinn (Lost) and Donal Logue (Terriers) have landed roles in the ABC drama pilot called Hallelujah. The pilot is set in the town of Hallelujah, Tennessee where the town is being torn apart by the forces of good and evil and whose fortunes change when a stranger comes to town, bringing justice, peace and possibly restoring faith. O’Quinn will play the show’s main villain Del, a charming yet wholly corrupt local millionaire who virtually owns the town. Meanwhile, Logue will play Rye Turner, an honest family man and the owner of the local diner who’s tired of being under Del’s thumb. (Michael Ausiello and The Futon Critic)

Actor Jeremy Sisto (Law & Order) will appear in the ABC comedy pilot called Suburgatory that centers on Tessa (Jane Levy), a teenage girl who is moved by her dad George (Sisto) from Manhattan, where she grew up, to her version of hell: the suburbs. (Deadline)

Actress Jennifer Morrison (House) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot called Once Upon a Time about Anna Swan (Morrison), a woman with a troubled past who is drawn to Storybrooke, a small town in Maine where the magic and mystery of Fairy Tales just may be real. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Joe Mazzello (the little kid from Jurassic Park as well as The Social Network and The Pacific) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot called Georgetown, which centers on Andrew Pierce (Jimmy Wolk), an effortlessly charming and brilliant Yale graduate and the youngest Presidential speech-writer on record. Mazzello will play Peter, another junior White House staffer who lives with his best friends Andrew, Nikki (Katie Cassidy) and Sam (Daisy Betts). (Deadline)

Actor Reggie Lee (Prison Break) has landed a role in the NBC drama pilot Grimm that is a dark but fantastical cop drama set in a world where characters inspired by Grimm’s Fairy Tales exist. The pilot centers on Nick Burckhardt (David Giuntoli), a good-looking detective who starts to see humans as beast/animals and discovers that he has a legacy – to protect “humans” from these beasts. Lee will play a cop who works with Nick. (Deadline)

Actress Jordana Spiro (My Boys) has landed a role on the ABC comedy pilot called Lost and Found, which centers on Jo (Spiro), a narcissistic thirtysomething New York City bartender and party girl whose life is turned upside-down when the conservative 18-year-old son she gave up for adoption turns up on her doorstep. (TV Line)

Actor Kristoffer Polaha (Life Unexpected) has landed a role opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar in the CBS drama pilot called Ringer that has Geller playing a troubled young woman named Bridget who, while on the run from the mob, hides out by inhabiting the life of her rich wealthy twin sister, Siobhan. But there is a bounty on her sis’ head, too. Polaha plays the out-of-work husband of Siobhan’s best friend (Tara Summers) who also happens to be having an affair with Siobhan. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Keira Knightley will provide her voice for the role of Tinker Bell in the upcoming made-for-TV movie Neverland that will air on Syfy. The cast of this mini-series, that will air in December, includes Rhys Ifans, Anna Friel and Bob Hoskins. (John Sellers at The Wrap)

Julianne Moore is set to play Sarah Palin in the HBO movie called Game Change that is to chronicle the failed 2008 presidential campaign by John McCain. (The Futon Critic)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Happy Over the Hump Day! There is quite a bit of interesting news to share with all of you so let’s get right into it:

TELEVISION

Actress Louise Lombard will be back on CSI for one episode to reprise her role as Sofia Curtis during the CSIs’ hunt for escaped serial killer Nate Haskell (Bill Irwin) in a May sweeps episode. (TV Line)

Mark your calendars!! Doctor Who will be back on BBC America with a two-part episode starting on April 23 at 9 PM. You can expect the following for the return of the doctor: “The Doctor (Matt Smith), and his companions Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill), find themselves on a secret summons that takes them on an adventure from the desert in Utah — right to the Oval Office in 1969.” (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Sean Patrick Flanery (The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and The Dead Zone) will be heading to the CBS soap The Young and the Restless, playing a country veterinarian named Sam. (Michael Logan TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Natalie Dormer (The Tudors) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot Poe, which is a crime procedural following Edgar Allan Poe (Christopher Egan), the world’s very first detective, as he uses unconventional methods to investigate dark mysteries in 1840s Boston. She will play Celeste, a beautiful spitfire, with a firm moral center – the logical yin to Poe’s wildly theoretical yang. She owns the newspaper for which Poe writes, having inherited it from her fiancée who died in mysterious circumstances. (Deadline)

Actor Sasha Roiz (Caprica) has joined the cast of the NBC pilot called Grimm that is about Nick Burckhardt (David Giuntoli), a police detective who discovers fairy tale creatures live among us and is tasked with defending humans from these mythical beasts. Sasha will play Captain Ericson, Nick’s supervisor. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Arielle Kebbel (Life Unexpected and The Vampire Diaries) is the newest cast member of the ABC drama pilot called Hallelujah, which is about a tiny town in Tennessee which finds itself being torn apart by the forces of good and evil. She is expected to play Veda Roman, the stunning wife of Del Roman (yet to be cast), a local mobster. (The Futon Critic)

Brian O’Byrne (Flash Forward) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot Prime Suspect, which is about Jane Timoney (Maria Bello), an iconoclastic female detective who has to make her bones in a tough New York precinct dominated by men. He is expected to play Reg Duffy, a detective who’s the most hostile towards Jane. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Brooke D’Orsay (Drop Dead Diva and Royal Pains) has landed the female lead in the ABC comedy pilot called Smothered that is about a young couple – Zach (Kyle Howard) and Gillian (D’Orsay) with a one-year-old daughter who find themselves smothered by their two very different sets of parents – his (Marcia Gay Harden and Adam Arkin) are pretentious and disengaged while hers (John C. McGinley and Julie White) are scrappy and exuberant. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Kristin Kreuk (Smallville) will guest star in the Ron Moore/NBC drama pilot called 17th Precinct, as Susan Longstreet, the wife of Jamie Bamber’s crime scene expert. If the pilot is picked up to series her role could becoming a recurring one. The pilot is set in the fictional town of Excelsior, where magic and supernatural elements rule over science, 17th Precinct revolves around the lawmen at the local cop shop. (TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice) and rising young actor Miles Fisher (Final Destination 5) have joined the cast of the Clint Eastwood Hoover biopic called J. Edgar. The story focuses on the FBI director’s scandalous career and controversial private life. Donovan will play Hoover’s rival Robert F. Kennedy while Fisher will play Agent Garrison, an FBI man who interviews Hoover at different points throughout the movie. (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Q&A SECTION (with Adam Bryan and Natalie Abrams from TV Guide, Maureen Ryan from AOL TV and Michael Ausiello from TV Line)

Fair Warning: SPOILER ALERT – tread lightly:

Question: What can you tell me about my favorite new show, The Chicago Code? — Wes

ADAM: It sounds like Vonda (Devin Kelley) and her partner Isaac (Todd Williams) might be doing more than just working cases. “We just got upgraded to organized crime, so we’re going to explore a little more of that,” Williams tells us. “And then we’re going to explore a little more of each other.” But it won’t all be about, er, nightstick-waving. We’ll also learn more about Wysocki’s family through his cop niece. “It gets a little rocky,” Kelley tells us.

Question: I’m so glad Stargate Universe is back. Can you share any spoilers about the final season? — Toby

NATALIE: Two main characters will bite the dust, and much sooner than you think. Plus, two other passengers of the Destiny fall victim to a deadly radiation attack.

Question: Pretty please, can I get some No Ordinary Family scoop? —Stephanie

Ausiello: A series regular will perish in the show’s season finale.

Question: I am addicted to Castle! Please, please, please tell me that Josh will be gone by season’s end. And any really good spoilers leading up to the season finale? —Laura

Ausiello: Poor Victor Webster. Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t believe we have seen the last of Josh. In other Castle news, I hear a dangerous character from the past will reappear in the season finale. And that can’t be good.

Question: With the Chuck/Sarah wedding likely this season, any word of if we will get to meet Sarah’s mom or will her family only consist of Gary Cole? I’d love to see Cheryl Ladd cast as Sarah’s mom. [Is] the sister she mentioned in ‘Chuck Versus The Wookiee’ real or just a cover story? Will we find out about her?

Mo says: I did speak to ‘Chuck’ executive producer Chris Fedak recently, and though he did talk a bit about Sarah’s mom in the interview, it didn’t sound like introducing her was going to be a priority for the current season. Of course Fedak could have been faking me out, but at this point I’m going to take him at his word. I did want to ask him about potential Sarah siblings, but the interview was brief and we didn’t get around to that subject. Personally, I think it’d be fun to find out more about Sarah’s mom and possible siblings next season, if there is another season. There’d be more time to explore her back-story in depth at that point, and I think your idea of casting Cheryl Ladd sounds just about perfect.

Question: I trust the ‘Supernatural’ writers, but I can’t figure out who the ultimate threat for the season finale will be. Any thoughts?

Mo says: I wondered about that same topic in my most recent weekly review of the show. Will it be the Mother of All? The Wall in Sam’s mind? Will there be a climactic angel battle? Who knows. So far the Mother is shaping up to be the Big Bad at the end of the season, but I’m guessing we won’t really know much until the show returns in April.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Today’s news is from both today and yesterday, as I mentioned I attended the White Collar panel at this year’s Paley Fest last night and was camped out in line for part of the day yesterday to ensure my friends and I got good seats in the section for which we purchased tickets. It was a great panel that included a sneak peek at tonight’s season finale (which rocked by the way).

Anyway, here is all the news for the past two days:

TELEVISION

Singer-actor Marc Anthony has joined the cast of the TNT medical drama HawthoRNe, reprising his newly expanded role of police Det. Nick Renata. (The LA Times)

Actor Victor Webster (Charmed and Melrose Place) [and who is currently playing Beckett’s boyfriend on Castle] will make a guest appearance on NCIS: Los Angeles as Stanley King, a world-class thief suspected of several high-end heists. He lands on NCIS’ radar after a secure facility housing sensitive materials on a Marine base is compromised. In order to get close enough to keep an eye on King, Kensi (Daniela Ruah) must work alongside him as a savvy thief. His episode is expected to air on March 29. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

A newly revamped Law & Order: Los Angeles will be re-launched in April by NBC. It will return with a two-hour episode on April 11 at 9 PM before moving to its regular timeslot on Mondays at 10 PM the following week. Part-time cast members Alfred Molina and Terrence Howard are now full-time regulars, with Molina’s character moving from the district attorney’s office to the police force (to work as a detective alongside Corey Stoll’s character) and Howard’s character will become the show’s sole senior district attorney. Alana De La Garza will reprise her Law & Order role of A.D.A. Connie Rubirosa to team with Howard’s character in the courtroom. (Kate Stanhope at TV Guide)

Congrats to all the winners of this weekend’s NAACP Awards, including Denzel Washington, Halle Barry, Regina King, LL Cool J, S. Epatha Merkerson, Usher, Idris Elba, John Legend and Keke Palmer (among many others).

MUSIC NEWS (WITH A TV-TIE IN)

Blaine and the Dalton Academy Warblers – characters in the popular FOX musicomedy Glee are releasing their own album in April. Be on the look-out for its release if you are a fan. (Denise Martin at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The NBC series Love Bites that has been on hold for months is looking like it is officially DOA. Reason being: Lead actress Becki Newton (Ugly Betty) has signed on to star in a CBS comedy pilot that revolves around a blue-collar man who lives under the same roof with his wife, their grown daughter (Newton) and her 12-year-old son, and his recently widowed mother. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Jim Caviezel (The Prisoner and Passion of the Christ) has been cast in the CBS drama pilot Person of Interest (that comes from J. J. Abrams). He joins Michael Emerson (Lost) and Oscar-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson in this drama that centers on a paramilitary CIA officer (Caviezel) who is presumed killed in the line of duty, but resurfaces in New York City where he teams up with an eccentric billionaire (Emerson) to clean up the city’s violent underworld. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actresses Darby Stanchfield and Liza Weil have joined the ABC drama pilot called Damage Control that is about Olivia Price (Kerry Washington), a professional fixer with a dysfunctional staff. Stanchfield is set as Abby, the tireless investigator for Olivia’s firm while Weil will play Julia Tannen, the woman at the center of the pilot’s crisis – an aide that’s going around saying she’s sleeping with the President. Columbus Short and Henry Ian Cusick are among the co-stars. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Chris Egan (Kings) and actress Tabrett Bethell (Legend of the Seeker) have joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot called Poe that is a period drama which envisions famed author Edgar Allan Poe as the world’s very first detective in 1840s Boston. Egan will play the title role while Bethell is set as Sarah Elmira Royster, Poe’s sweetheart in adolescent and muse in adulthood. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Bruce Greenwood has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot called The River, which is about a family who travels to the deep Amazon to locate and rescue their missing father, a famous TV explorer. He will play the missing man, Emmet Cole who is billed as part Don Herbert, part Carl Sagan, and part Doctor Henry Walton Jones. Eloise Mumford and Joe Anderson co-star. (The Futon Critic)

Anjelica Huston has joined the growing cast of the NBC drama pilot called Smash that is to be a show-within-a-show about a group of people who come together to put on a Marilyn Monroe-themed Broadway musical. She will play Eileen, a shrewd Tony-winning producer. Among the cast members are Debra Messing, Jack Davenport, Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Brandon T. Jackson (Tropic Thunder) will play the lead role opposite Minnie Driver in the CBS pilot called Hail Mary, that centers on Mary Beth Baker (Driver), a suburban single mom in Atlanta who, after her teen son gets killed, teams up with her son’s best friend KZ (Jackson), a fast-talking con artist from the streets, to solve her son’s murder and other crimes. (Deadline)

Actor Robert Carlyle (Stargate Universe) is set to portray Rumplestiltskin in the ABC drama pilot Once Upon a Time, about a woman drawn into a town where the magic and mystery of fairy tales may be real and hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of her troubled past. An expert on black magic, Rumplestiltskin agrees to help Snow White and Prince Charming counteract the Evil Queen’s dark spells, but for a price. (Deadline)

Actress Emma Bell (The Walking Dead) has been added to the NBC drama pilot now called Reconstruction (formerly called The Crossing) that is set in a Missouri town during the post-Civil War Reconstruction era and centers on Jason (Martin Henderson from Off the Map), a soldier who crosses the country and settles into a complicated town where he is welcomed as its savior. Bell will play a strong-willed woman who denounces Jason as a coward. (Deadline)

Actress Emily VanCamp (Everwood and Brothers & Sisters) has landed the lead in the ABC drama pilot called Revenge that is a contemporary re-imagining of The Count of Monte Cristo. It centers on Emily Thorn (Van Camp), a mysterious woman who comes to the Hamptons to exact revenge on the people who destroyed her family. (Deadline)

Actress Meredith Hagner (Lights Out) has been cast as the second lead opposite actress Lucy Griffiths in the CW zombie pilot called Awakening that is about two sisters, Jenna (Lucy Griffiths) and Jayce (Hagner), who are coming of age and facing off against one another amidst the beginning of a zombie uprising. Also, actor Brian Hallisay (Privileged) will play Jenna’s Calvin Klein-handsome boyfriend. (Deadline)

Actor Riley Smith (24) is set to co-star in the CW pilot Cooper & Stone that is about Jenna Cooper (Alex Breckenridge) and Stone (yet to be cast), two smart young female detectives on Chicago’s North Side who are best friends, equally adept at discussing fashion, music and pop culture as they are solving homicides. Smith will play a hot-shot vice detective with the Chicago PD who is transferred to the Northside from the Southside after his cover is blown in a high-risk operation. He enjoys needling Stone, whom he competed against at the academy, and it seems they have a history of sexual tension as well as professional tension. (Deadline)

Actor Chris Carmack (The O.C.) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot called Grace, which centers on famous choreographer and womanizer Michael Grace (Eric Roberts). He will play a musician. (Deadline)

Actress Nancy Travis has joined the CW drama pilot Hart of Dixie in a guest-star/recurring role. The comedic drama centers on a young New York City doctor, Zoe Hart (Rachel Bilson), who inherits a medical practice in a small Southern town inhabited by an eclectic group of characters. Travis will play a no-nonsense nurse who becomes a surrogate mother to Zoe. (Deadline)

Actress Madchen Amick (Twin Peaks and Damages) has landed the female lead in the NBC drama pilot S.I.L.A., which is a complex drama in the vein of Traffic set in the world of crime, law enforcement and politics in modern-day Los Angeles. She will play Mary, who came from a blue-collar background to become a successful Century City lawyer. (Deadline)

Kelli Garner (My Generation) is set to co-star opposite Christina Ricci in the ABC drama pilot called Pan Am that is a sexy soap set against the Jet Age about a group of pilots and flight attendants working at Pan Am Airlines in the 1960s. She will play Kate, a well-educated, sharply intelligent and tri-lingual stewardess who is also a bit of a rebel. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

It looks like it’s been confirmed that Kristen Stewart (The Twilight franchise) will appear as Snow White in the upcoming box office film Snow White and the Hunstman, joining Viggo Mortensen as the huntsman and Charlize Theron as the evil queen. (MTV, Twitter and First Showing)

Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) has joined the cast of the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages, playing the part of Dennis Dupree, an ex-rocker hanging onto his glory days while he runs the Rock of Ages nightclub. Julianne Hough, Mary J. Blige and Tom Cruise are among the cast. (Dark Horizons)

Actress Brie Larson (United States of Tara and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) has landed the coveted lead role of Molly in the remake of 21 Jump Street. She will star opposite Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and Ice Cube. (Deadline)

Here is the list of the top 10 movies at the box office for this past weekend courtesy of Exhibitors Relations and E! Entertainment Online:

1. Rango, $38 million
2. The Adjustment Bureau, $20.9 million
3. Beastly, $10.1 million
4. Hall Pass, $9 million
5. Gnomeo & Juliet, $6.9 million
6. Unknown, $6.6 million
7. The King’s Speech, $6.501 million
8. Just Go With It, $6.5 million
9. I Am Number Four, $5.7 million
10. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, $4.3 million

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Watch: New Action-Packed Official Trailer for Universal’s ‘Fast Five’

Q&A SECTION (with E! Entertainment Online and TV Guide)

QUESTION: Supernatural!!!

ANSWER: All we dare tell you is that the final episodes of the season are dark, dark, dark. No more funny meta episodes for the duration.

QUESTION: Chuck intel, por favor!

ANSWER: Zachary Levi was gracious enough to give us the goods on how much trouble Lauren Cohan will be causing. “We’re going to get some super secret weapon component,” he tells us. “Then [Vivian] shows up unexpectedly and all hell breaks loose and Bob’s your uncle.” Sidenote, when was the last time you heard someone use the phrase “Bob’s your uncle?” Keep being you, Zach.

Question: Chuck scoop pretty, pretty please with chocolate sauce on top (just not the way Morgan and Alex used it…ewww). — Ann

Answer: Since you brought up couples, what about some news on one of our favorite TV couples: Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski)? When Gary Cole reprises his role as Sarah’s papa, expect not only to learn more about Sarah’s backstory, but also to witness the pair seeing new sides of each other. “I think when you decide to take the leap, and you’re engaged to be married, you’re going to learn more about the person you’ve decided to spend the rest of your life with, but you often learn what they’re like in the most grueling of life situations,” co-creator Chris Fedak says. “And that isn’t disarming a bomb of prepping for a mission — it’s preparing yourself for a wedding.”

Question: Any idea what’s going to happen on the Nikita finale? Maybe a little Mikita action? I know you love them. — Lizzy

Answer: Guilty as charged. As for the finale, Maggie Q teases the following: “Let’s just put it this way, by the end of season 1 it’s going to be a different show. When I think about where we started, and I think about how we’re going to end this season, it makes me laugh. It’s a different show. We’re going to go, fingers crossed, season 2, and people’s heads are going to roll.” Um, like, literally? “Well, I guess it depends on how much you love people — how devastating it’s going to be.” Gulp.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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