Rueben's Ramblings

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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Hey All,

It’s Friday!! Is everyone excited? Hope so!! And, I hope you have some funs activities planned for this weekend. For those in LA tonight or over the next two weeks, and you can get your hands on tickets (if you don’t have them already) you might want to attend one of the 2011 Paley Fest events held at the Saban Theatre. The first one is tonight, featuring the cast and crew of the AMC new hit series The Walking Dead. You can find out more about the 2011 Paley Fest here.

TELEVISION

Three big names will be guest starring in upcoming episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit this spring, including John Stamos (ER and Glee), Terrence Howard (Law & Order: Los Angeles) and Lori Singer (Footloose). Stamos will appear as an adoption attorney with a secret passion. Singer will have the role of a new mother who is struggling with her increased responsibilities. Terrence Howard will be part of a crossover episode between “Law & Order: Los Angeles” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” (The Futon Critic)

Scott Michael Foster (Greek) will appear in three episodes of the ABC Family Channel comedy Melissa & Joey. He will play George, a younger guy who catches Melissa’s (Melissa Joan Hart) fancy — and thus likely irks Joey (Joey Lawrence). (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

HBO will present a sneak peek of the first 15 minutes of the first episode of the new series Game of Thrones on Sunday, April 3 at 9 PM, which will be followed by the debut of part three of the HBO mini-series Mildred Pierce. Game of Thrones, based on the popular book series called “A Song of Ice and Fire” by George R.R. Martin, is set in a vast and violent fantasy kingdom. The ensemble cast includes Mark Addy, Sean Bean, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Fairley, Lena Headey, Kit Harington and Aidan Gillen. (The Futon Critic)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Aidan Quinn will appear alongside Maria Bello in the American version of the UK hit Prime Suspect, which is being rebooted as a pilot for NBC. He will play Lt. Kenny Rowe. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Enrique Murciano (Without a Trace) will co-star opposite Minnie Driver in the CBS drama pilot Hail Mary that is a buddy P.I. show centering on Mary Beth (Driver), a suburban single mom in Atlanta who teams up with a streetwise hustler to solve crimes. Murciano will play Carlos Moreno, a detective with the Atlanta P.D. working the Major Crimes Division who went to high school with Mary Beth and has had a crush on her ever since. He winds up being Mary Beth’s de facto mentor in criminology, although he yearns for something more. (Deadline)

Actress Rebecca Mader (Lost) has landed a role in the ABC comedy pilot called Work It, which is about out-of-work car salesmen Lee and Angel (Amaury Nolasco) who realize that it is now a woman’s world and decide that in order to find work again and succeed they are going to have to dress as women to get jobs as pharmaceuticals reps. Mader will play a bitchy and pseudo-sophisticated drug sales rep with a know-everything attitude. (Deadline)

Actress Amber Stevens (Greek and soon to be seen in The Amazing Spider-Man) has joined the cast of the FOX medical drama pilot called Weekends at Bellevue that centers on Ellie (Lauren Ambrose), the psychiatrist in charge of the weekend shift of Bellevue Hospital psychiatric unit. Stevens will play a fresh faced psychiatry intern. (Deadline)

Battlestar Galactica alums James Callis and Tricia Helfer and Matt Long (The Deep End and Jack & Bobby) have joined the Ron Moore NBC drama pilot called 17th Precinct that already stars BSG alum Jamie Bamber, legendary actress Stockard Channing (The West Wing) and Eamonn Walker (Kings). The pilot is set in the fictional town of Excelsior where magic and supernatural elements rule over science and the story revolves around the cops at the local 17th Precinct. Helfer will play Morgana, a necromancer, the magical equivalent of a coroner, who is an expert at manipulating the potions, tools, herbs and spells of her trade. Details on the roles that Callis and Long will play have not been announced. (Deadline)

Actress Lucy Griffiths (the UK series Robin Hood) is the first cast member of the CW drama pilot called Awakening that is about two combative sisters who come of age amid the beginning of a zombie uprising. Griffiths is set to play Jenna Lestrade, the elder sister, a public defender in Manhattan who’s less comfortable with her zombie status than her younger sister, Jayce. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Jeff Hephner (Hellcats and The O.C.) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot called Playboy, which is a period drama set at the Playboy Club in Chicago in 1963. He will play Nick Darlton, an attorney/fixer who used to work for the Bianchi crime family. The cast of this pilot includes Amber Heard, David Krumholtz, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Laura Benanti, Leah Cudmore, Naturi Naughton and Wes Ramsey. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Joe Anderson (Across the Universe) has joined the cat of the ABC drama pilot called The River, which is about the crew of a state-of-the-art research vessel on a quest to find a missing TV explorer in the Amazon. He will play Lincoln Cole, the aforementioned man’s son. Eloise Mumford (Lone Star) also stars. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Tracie Thoms (Cold Case) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot/reboot Wonder Woman. Thoms will play Etta Candy, the cheerful secretary for Diana Themyscira (Adrianne Palicki), Wonder Woman’s public identity. Also, Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride) has joined the cast, starring as Henry Detmer, the acting CEO of Themyscira Industries who is deeply devoted to Diana. (The Futon Critic and Deadline)

Actress and Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) has landed the lead in the J.J. Abrams/CBS drama pilot called Person of Interest. She will star alongside Lost alum Michael Emerson. The series is about an ex-CIA agent who is recruited by a crazy billionaire to help fight crime in New York City. Henson will play a female detective named Carter who will presumably team up with the as-yet uncast ex-CIA agent. (Vulture)

Roswell actor Nick Wechsler has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot Revenge that centers on a young woman who is welcomed into a community filled with people who don’t know she’s only there to exact revenge on those who destroyed her family. The pilot also stars Ashley Madekwe (The Beautiful Life). (The Hollywood Reporter)

Grey’s Anatomy actor Jeff Perry (Lexie and Meredith’s dad) has joined the cast of the Shonda Rhimes ABC drama pilot called Damage Control that follows the follows the life and work of a professional fixer, Olivia Price, and her dysfunctional staff. Kerry Washington stars as Price, who is based on the career of legendary crisis management consultant Judy Smith. The other members of the cast include Columbus Short, Henry Ian Cusick, Katie Lowes and Guillermo Diaz. (Robyn Ross at TV Guide)

Singer-actress Caitlin Crosby (That 70’s Show and Malcolm in the Middle) will play Kelly in the NBC drama pilot called A Mann’s World that stars Don Johnson as a fifty-something Beverly Hills hairdresser and salon owner struggling to remain relevant in a superficial world. (The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Dancer-turned singer/actress Julianne Hough (Burlesque and Dancing With the Stars) will join Tom Cruise (yes, you read that right) in the film adaptation of the Broadway hit musical Rock of Ages. Hough will play Sherri Christian, a girl from the Midwest who moves to Hollywood with dreams of becoming an actress. Tom Cruise has already signed on to play musician Stacee Jaxx. A nationwide search to fill the part of Drew Boley (Sherri’s love interest) is underway. (E! Entertainment Online)

Catherine Zeta-Jones is in talks to join the cat of the upcoming film Lay the Favorite based on the Beth Raymer best-selling memoir called Lay the Favorite: A Memoir of Gambling. The story charts her rise from lowly Vegas cocktail waitress to one of the top sports gambling bookmakers. Rebecca Hall has been cast in the lead role while Zeta-Jones would play the wife of Raymer’s mentor, a cantankerous ex–New York bookmaker (Bruce Willis). (Deadline and Dark Horizons)

Julianne Moore and Olivia Thirlby have joined the cast of the upcoming movie Another Night based on the Nick Flynn memoir called Another Bullsh*t Night in Suck City. The story revolves around the author’s experiences as a case worker for the homeless and his relationship with his father. As a teenager, Flynn (Paul Dano) had received letters from his estranged father (Robert De Niro), a delusional con man and self-proclaimed poet. The memoir follows Flynn and his father, whose self-destructive behavior eventually drives him onto the streets and into the homeless shelter where Flynn works. (The Film Stage and Dark Horizons)

Rhys Ifans and Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation and Everwood) have joined the cast of the upcoming comedy movie called Five-Year Engagement that stars Jason Segel and Emily Blunt in a story about the highs and lows of a lengthy relationship. Alison Brie (Community) will play Blunt’s younger sister. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE TRAILERS

Another Epic New Trailer for Fox’s ‘Water for Elephants’ Adaptation

Must Watch: Epic New Theatrical Trailer for ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ Hits

Watch: First Teaser Trailer for DreamWorks’ Spin-Off ‘Puss in Boots’

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a terrific weekend!

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Hey All,

It feels good to know that the weekend is nearly here, right? And, the start of the 2011 Paley Fest is tomorrow night. Safe travels are wished to all those who are traveling from far and wide to attend the annual fete.

In the meantime, here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

What is expected to be the final episode of the new NBC series The Cape – that was to air this past Monday night as part of double-header – will now air online only later this month. No more specifics have been provided, but check NBC.com for more details if you are a fan of the show. (TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Abigail Spencer (Mad Men) has landed the female lead opposite Eric Roberts in the ABC drama pilot called Grace that focuses on a dysfunctional family drama set in the world of professional dance. It centers on Michael Grace (Roberts), a famous choreographer who tends to sleep with his dancers and has three daughters with different mothers. He is in danger of losing his studio until his daughter Sarah (Spencer), a former dancer-turned-lawyer, decides to buy her father’s studio and run it for him before he loses it. Newcomer Anabelle Acosta will play Eden, a beautiful and talented dancer who is the daughter Michael Grace never knew he had. (Deadline)

Actress Alex Breckenridge (Life Unexpected) will play one of the two leads in the CW pilot called Cooper & Stone that is about Jenna Cooper (Breckenridge) and Stone (still to be cast), two smart young female detectives on Chicago’s North Side who are best friends, equally adept at discussing fashion, music, pop culture as they are solving homicides. (Deadline)

Actor Martin Henderson (who is currently starring in the ABC drama Off the Map) has been cast in the NBC drama pilot called The Crossing. He is expected to play Jason, a Civil War soldier who crosses the country and settles into a complicated town where he is welcomed as its savior – whether he likes it or not. This casting is in second position to his current series, though. (Deadline)

Actress Sarah Paulson is to star in an as-yet untitled comedy pilot from Warner Bros. TV, about a relationship-challenged woman (Paulson) who, with the help of her co-workers, guides people through unexpected career transitions and downsizings. (Deadline)

Actress Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) will appear in the FOX drama pilot called Weekends at Bellevue that centers on Ellie (Ambrose), the psychiatrist in charge of the weekend shift of Bellevue Hospital psychiatric unit. (Deadline)

Actress Ginnifer Goodwin (Big Love) has joined the ABC drama pilot called Once Upon a Time where she will play Snow White/Sister Mary Margaret Blanchard. The details for the show are as follows: When a young boy who purports to be her son shows up on her doorstep, Anna Swan is drawn into a town where the magic and mystery of fairytales may be real and hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of her troubled past. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Angela Bassett (ER) has joined the ABC drama pilot called Identity that is set at the Identity Crimes Division, the FBI’s first cyber-crime unit mixed with traditional investigators. She will play Martha Adam, the head of the ICD. Also, actor Jay Paulson (Happy Town) is expected to play Jose Rodriguez, a junior member of the team. Orlando Jones also stars and Wentworth Miller is in talks to join the pilot. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Jaime King (My Generation) 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. King will play Lemon Breeland, an overly effusive member of the Blue Belles, elite young ladies chosen to keep the town’s history alive. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Elizabeth Hurley announced via Twitter that she will play the “evil villain” in the much-talked-about drama pilot Wonder Woman. (Twitter and Coming Soon)

MADE FOR TV MOVIES NEWS

Mark Harmon (NCIS) will star in an in-development made-for-TV movie for USA Network based on the John Sandford “PREY” novels. This particular movie will be based on the 10th novel in the series called “Certain Prey” that pits popular antihero, Minneapolis Deputy Police Chief Lucas Davenport, against a duo unlike any he’s ever encountered; a lethal hit woman and a ferociously cunning killer determined to hunt him down. (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Diane Lane will play Martha Kent in the upcoming Superman movie that stars Henry Cavill (The Tudors) in the lead role. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

Actress Alison Brie (Community and Mad Men) is joining the cast of the upcoming movie Five-Year Engagement that charts the ups and downs of the relationship between a couple (Emily Blunt and Jason Segel). Brie will portray the younger sister to Emily Blunt’s character. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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