Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today. Again, I hope you find some of them to be interesting.

GLEE NEWS

‘Glee’ and Claire’s introduce Gleek jewelry, accessories line

TELEVISION

Cybill Shepherd (Moonlighting) and Bruce McGill (Rizzoli & Isles) will guest star as the parents of Julie Benz’s character on the new ABC drama No Ordinary Family. The pilot episode airs on September 28. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Maiara Walsh (Desperate Housewives) will appear as Sarah, a high schooler who likes to party on the October 7 episode of The Vampire Diaries. She has her eyes set on Jeremy and encourages him to party it up at the Lockwood house. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Jack Coleman (Heroes) will play Max Armstrong, described as a wealthy, regal, arrogant, self-important man who becomes the prime suspect in a murder on the October 14 episode of The Mentalist. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Sharon Lawrence (NYPD Blue) will have a multi-episode arc on One Tree Hill playing the never-before-seen mother of Justin (Austin Nichols). She is in town to plan the wedding of her son and Brooke (Sophia Bush). She will first appear in episode 6, which is slated to air at the end of October. The series returns to the CW on September 14. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

George Takei (Star Trek) will play himself on the CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory. He will appear alongside Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), who is returning to the series to play Wolowitz’s conscience. (Maureen Ryan at AOL TV)

Jennifer Esposito (Samatha Who?) will guest star on several episodes of Blue Bloods, the new drama about a family with deep roots in law enforcement whose cast includes Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg and Bridget Moynahan. Esposito will be featured in several episodes as Wahlberg’s partner in the New York Police Department. (Associated Press and Fancast)

Mariska Hargitay will make a guest appearance on the new fall drama Law & Order Los Angeles in a crossover episode where she visits Los Angeles on a case about the backlog of untested rape kits. (E! News and M.L. House at TV Fanatic)

Kevin Rankin (Friday Night Lights) will play the son of a hard line of polygamists on Big Love. No return date has been set for Big Love yet, but the show is expected to premiere on HBO in January. (The Hollywood Reporter and M.L. House at TV Fanatic)

Stan Lee, the comic book legend, will not only be seen in upcoming episodes of Eureka and The Big Bang Theory, but he will also guest star on the new fall show Nikita, appearing in the October 7 episode. (M.L. House at TV Fanatic)

The new AMC series The Walking Dead hasn’t even aired yet (it is set to debut, fittingly, on October 31) and already the network has given the 6-episode series a second season order. This additional season will be extended to 13 episodes and will start filming in February with an as-yet determined airtime. (Inside Pulses)

The HBO half-hour dramedy Hung has been picked up for a third season. (Twitter)

TNT has renewed Memphis Beat for a second season. (Live Feed at Hollywood Reporter)

In the October 12 crossover episode between One Tree Hill and Life Unexpected, singers-songwriters Sarah McLachlan and Ben Lee will be making special appearances. The episode will have One Tree Hill characters Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti) and Mia (Kate Voegele) taking the stage at the Sugar Magnolia music festival hosted by the radio station for which Life Unexpected characters Cate (Shiri Appleby) and Ryan (Kerr Smith) work. Haley and Mia will be part of the opening act for McLachlan and Lee. (Carina Adly MacKenzie at Zap2It.com)

Mekhi Phifer is out and Monique Gabriela Curnen (The Unusuals) is in at Lie To Me, as The Lightman Group is severing ties with the FBI. Curnen will play a “bent cop” by the name of Woloswky. The series will be back on FOX on November 10. (Archana Ram at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

NBC has ponied up a substantial amount of money to secure a new project from Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica). The project is being described as an adult Harry Potter set in a world ruled not by science but by magic. No other details were immediately available, but the sizable commitment (estimated at around 2 million) made by NBC indicates that they were particularly keen to land this project. (Deadline Hollywood Daily and Televisionary)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Dwayne Johnson is in final negotiations to star in the sequel to the box office movie Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D entitled Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (loosely based on the Jules Verne classic). Johnson will play the boyfriend of Sean’s mother (Josh Hutcherson), who is forced to come along on a trip with Sean to find his missing grandfather on a mythical and monstrous island. Three other characters will be introduced and cast in the next few weeks. (Heat Vision and Dark Horizons)

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti have signed on for the next George Clooney directed film Farragut North, adapted by Beau Willimon from his own off-Broadway play, which is based on his own experiences working on the 2004 Howard Dean Presidential campaign. Set in Des Moines, Iowa just before the Democratic caucus, the story revolves around political manipulator Stephen Myers who uses dirty tactics to get his candidate a nomination. Hoffman will play Myers’ boss Paul Zara, while Giamatti will play the campaign manager of the opposing candidate. (Vulture and Dark Horizons)

Rami Malek (The Pacific, Night at the Museum and 24) has joined the cast of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn. He will play Benjamin, a member of the Egyptian coven who stands by the Cullens when they face the Volturi. (Mandi Bierly at Entertainment Weekly)

Luke Wilson, David Morse (Disturbia) and Riley Keough (The Runaways) have joined the cast of the box office movie Yellow, which is about a young woman with a drug habit and a myriad of other problems. Other cast members include Sienna Miller, Lucy Punch, Ben Foster, Melanie Griffith and Gena Rowlands. Hank Azaria will have a cameo in the movie as well. (Coming Soon and First Showing)

Ted Danson and Vinessa Shaw (3:10 to Yuma) have joined Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Kristen Bell and Tim Blake Nelson in the cast of the film Everybody Loves Whales, which is a true story about a small-town reporter (Krasinski) and a Greenpeace volunteer (Barrymore) who enlist the help of rival superpowers to save three majestic gray whales trapped under the ice of the Arctic Circle. Danson will play a win-at-all-costs oilman who has no interest in saving the mammals while Shaw plays a White House staffer who wants the government to help the whales. (The Hollywood Reporter and First Showing)

Thomas Haden Church, Martin Landau and Ezra Miller (City Island) have joined the cast of The Reasonable Bunch. Few plot details are known, but the indie is supposed to be some sort of wedding comedy which has also already signed Kate Bosworth, Ellen Barkin, Ellen Burstyn and Demi Moore to star. (Variety and First Showing)

Q&A SECTION (with Kristin at E! Entertainment Online, Adam Bryant at TV Guide and Vlada at Staying In):

Question: Laney in Las Vegas: Enough Rachel and Finn already! Please tell me Tina and Artie won’t stay broken up for long! They’re my favorite couple!

Kristin: They are superadorable, aren’t they? Never fear, according to Kevin McHale, Artie is going to fight for his woman! “Tina broke up with him, so he goes above and beyond to try to get her back, which is fun” he tells us. “We’re doing stuff that I never thought possible with my character.” Perhaps more dream-dancing sequences? Can’t wait to see!

Question: So Brennan really isn’t going to be jealous of Booth’s new girlfriend on Bones? — Tina

ADAM: Executive producer Stephen Nathan says that Brennan will no doubt wrestle with regret about her decisions last season, but it may be Booth who torpedoes his new relationship. “He has forged a new life for himself emotionally,” Nathan says. “Of course, all of this occurred when he was not around Brennan. So Brennan’s presence in the mix will alter the relationship — it just has to. He’s moved on, but whether he continues to move on is another thing entirely.”

Question: Will The Good Wife be even better in season two?

Vlada: One of the most successful new dramas of last season isn’t playing it safe. Season two spoilers hint at major shakeups and new characters played by incredible actors like Tammy Blanchard and Friday Night Lights‘ Scott Porter in a storyline that will set him up against the mysterious Kalinda. Add to that guest star Michael J. Fox, Carey working for the other side, Alan Cumming as a regular cast member, and The Good Wife seems poised to top itself. I can’t wait.

Question: Can The Vampire Diaries‘ Nina Dobrev successfully pull off playing two characters in more than just flashbacks?

Vlada: Early buzz seems to suggest, “Yes,” and what we’ve seen so far in previews of season two looks very promising. Plus, after Dobrev’s surprise Emmys performance, I’m not going to bet against the girl.

Question: Which version of Glee will air this fall?

Vlada: Ryan Murphy keeps telling the press that season two will be more intimate and will focus on the regular cast. “We’re scaling it back and concentrating on the stories,” he said at the TCA Press Tour. Then he proceeded to talk about more tribute episodes, the Britney Spears episode, the big Super Bowl episode, Susan Boyle possibly guesting, a book tour, etc.

Question: Is Lonestar on the wrong network?

Vlada: A morally ambiguous and thoughtful character study, I’m worried that my favorite fall pilot might be too sophisticated for Fox. The show would feel more at home on cable, but with direction by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) and an ambitious conceit — a con man juggles a girlfriend and a wife (also his mark), both of whom he’s in love with — Lonestar is really more like an indie film than a TV show.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Happy Tuesday! There isn’t too much news today, but I hope you find at least some of it interesting:

TELEVISION

Joan Cusack has joined the cast of the Showtime one-hour drama series Shameless, appearing in all 12 episodes of the new series. She will play the role of Sheila, an agoraphobic Chicago housewife with a sexually active teenage daughter who strikes up a special friendship with William H. Macy’s character, Frank Gallagher. The series is based on the long-running hit UK series and the cast includes Emmy Rossum (The Phantom of the Opera), Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds) and Steve Howey (Reba) [among others]. (The Futon Critic)

Kevin Sorbo will make a guest appearance on an upcoming episode of Hawaii Five-O. (Twitter)

Eddie Izzard (The Riches) is joining the third season of the Showtime comedy United States of Tara in a major recurring role, playing Tara’s (Toni Collette) brilliant psychology professor who starts as a DID skeptic, but becomes fascinated with Tara as a subject, leading him to explore the condition further. The third season is expected to premiere in 2011. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

Gregory Harrison will guest star on CSI: NY in the fifth episode of the new season, as Roland Carson, New York City’s top criminal defense attorney. When a violent heist takes place at Carson’s Manhattan penthouse, the high-priced lawyer must field questions from Mac and his team. The show returns on September 24. (Matt Webb Mitovich at Fancast)

UPCOMING TV

Soon, the cast of Glee will learn which parts they’ll be playing in their Halloween episode send-up of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. “It’s the most closely guarded secret on set at the moment,” says Naya Rivera (Santana). If it were up to the actors, here’s who they’d play:

Lea Michele (Rachel): “I’m so excited to do it. If Rachel ends up doing the Susan Sarandon role that would be really cool!”

Cory Monteith (Finn): “I might be in some Brad briefs, let’s put it that way. But I don’t know for sure.”

Jane Lynch (Sue): “I would love to be the Narrator.”

Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina): “There’s Magenta. She could be fun.”

Chris Colfer (Kurt): “I pray that I’m Riff Raff because he’s the best one. He sings ‘Time Warp.’ From the time we shot the pilot I’ve been stressing to Ryan Murphy how much I want to sing ‘Time Warp.'”

But the real question is this: Which character would you like to see suit up in lace stockings as the sweet transvestite Frank-N-Furter, originally played by Tim Curry? Matthew Morrison, I’m thinking there’s some stockings with your name on ’em! (William Keck at TV Guide)

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Webb Mitovich at Fancast):

Question: Do you have any new information on Henry Ian Cusick’s ‘Law & Order: SVU‘ character, and what’s in store for him and Benson (played by Mariska Hargitay)? – Dee93

Matt: The ‘Lost’ alum was hesitant to spill too much on his ‘SVU’ stint when I saw him at the Emmys, but he did say that graphic artist Erik and Benson “first meet in a train station, there’s sort of a flirtation, and it goes on from there.” Though Cusick is around for just two episodes – the September 22 season opener and the one after that – he promises, “It’s going to be an interesting role.”

Question: I cannot wait for ‘Glee’s return – any scoop to share? – Alicia

Matt: Heather Morris – who looked positively golden at the Emmys – told me that in the Britney Spears/Brittany-centric episode airing September 29, “People will see more of what I do as an artist, which is dancing.” (If you’ve ever seen Heather back up Beyoncé, you know girl’s got mad moves.) Morris also said that while we will learn Brittany’s last name, her increasingly fleshed-out Cheerio won’t also gain a brain. “No, that’s confirmed – I will not be smarter!” she happily reported.

Question: Do you have any scoop on ‘Nikita‘? Especially on Melinda Clarke’s character? – Angela

Matt: Shortly after the CW action-drama debuts on September 9, it will be revealed that the ‘O.C.’ alum’s character, Amanda, is nicknamed “The Inquisitor” because of her very thorough interrogation skills. Meaning, if you’re a hostile being detained by the top-secret Division and you won’t talk, expect a visit from Amanda… and don’t be surprised if she comes wearing (eek) a latex glove.

Question: With the ‘Caprica‘ actors’ contracts expiring, executive producer David Eick said we’d hear a decision on Season 2 by August 15. It’s now almost September. Is the show canceled? – Pete

Matt: That deadline came and went, yes, but a source very close to Syfy’s ‘Caprica’ told me during Emmys weekend that NBC Universal worked out an “extension” that bought them until November to make a call on a pick-up. So hold out hope, Pete.

Question: At Comic-Con, John Schneider said the ‘Smallville‘ Season 10 premiere (airing Sept. 24) features “the best-written scene I’ve ever done on [the show].” Any details? – Kipper

Matt: “I agree with him,” exec producer Brian Petersen said of Schneider’s rave. “He has a great scene with Tom Welling – kind of a reunion thing.” EP Kelly Souders added that Pa Kent’s improbable “return” is designed to kick off the final season with a bit of “the warmth, the mentor and sort of moral compass that Jonathan always was in Clark’s life – and that Clark has kind of been missing. He brings that aspect of ‘Smallville’ back.” Yes, this item is brought to you by Kleenex.

Question: EW’s Michael Ausiello says that ‘Smallville’s Erica Durance is playing DC’s Isis. So, is she playing the comic/TV character or not? – history1776 via Twitter

Matt: Mere moments after I hit play on Oz’s video, I quadruple-confirmed what I had heard and posted in last week’s Big Tease. And I had it right: According to exec producer Kelly Souders, ED is doing double duty as an Egyptian goddess named Isis, but she is not the DC Comics character.

Question: Thank you so much for sharing the news about David Tennant and the ‘Fright Night’ remake during your Emmy tweets. Did he say anything about the status of NBC’s ‘Rex Is Not Your Lawyer’? – Dawn

Matt: I did ask about ‘Rex’ – which last I heard was being eyed by USA Network after NBC opted not to order the series – and Tennant confirmed what we sorta knew: It’s truly and sincerely dead. Shame, too – in addition to the former Doctor Who, ‘Rex’ also starred ‘Mad Men’ schoolteach Abigail Spencer.

Question: I read that the ‘Covert Affairs‘ season finale is in mid-September. How long will I have to live without it? And to cope during its absence, what show(s) should I add to my Tivo season pass list? – Alicia

Matt: Sad but true, ‘Covert Affairs’ double-episode season finale airs September 14 – and the spy drama won’t be back until summer 2011. In the meantime, I would suggest that you DVR/watch On Demand the new shows ‘Nikita‘ (Thursdays, The CW) and ‘Undercovers‘ (Wednesdays, NBC), both of which offer a similar mix of espionage, intrigue and romance.

Question: I was excited to hear that Gale Harold will play Marti’s law professor on ‘Hellcats‘! Do you have any scoop on his character, or any idea how many episodes he’ll be in? – Tariel22

Matt: I scooped back in July, Gale’s law professor is someone Marti (played by Aly Michalka) will look up to – but not necessarily hook up with. At least not right away, seeing as The CW series will quickly handspring the blonde bombshell into a triangle with BFF Dan (‘Harper’s Island’s Matt Barr) and fellow cheerleader Luis (’One Tree Hill’s Robbie Jones). At this time, Harold’s episode count is TBD.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Welcome to the end of summer folks! Well, at least as close to the end of summer as we can get, right?

And, how about those Emmy Awards last night? Granted, I don’t watch the televised ceremony anyway (it’s simply too yawn-inducing), but I was paying close attention as the winners were announced online. Did any of your favorites win? I know a few of mine did.

You can see the list of Emmy winners here.

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

TELEVISION

Jackson Rathbone (The Twilight Franchise) may have a potentially recurring role on the new fall ABC series No Ordinary Family. He will play Trent Stafford, a high school classmate of Kay Panabaker’s telepathic Daphne. No Ordinary Family debuts September 28. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Debra Monk (NYPD Blue and Grey’s Anatomy) has signed on to Brothers & Sisters as a rival for Sally Field. She will debut in episode five of the new season as Alexandra Kirby. When Nora is offered a job as the host of an Ask Mom radio program, she’ll face some stiff competition from the more experienced and flashy Alexandra. (William Keck at TV Guide)

The BBC and “Doctor Who” show runner Steven Moffat have confirmed today that the upcoming 13-episode sixth season of the series will be split into two blocks to air several months apart. The split is the result of a request from Moffat to write a new story arc which involves a big plot twist in the middle of the season. Said twist will serve as a mid-season cliffhanger to be resolved in the second half of the season. (Dark Horizons)

Lois Smith (True Blood) will guest star on Desperate Housewives in the 5th episode of the new season, as Allison Scavo, who moves in to Lynette and Tom’s home to help son Tom (Doug Savant) get over a unique case of male postpartum depression. (William Keck at TV Guide)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Looks like Ryan Reynolds and Bradley Cooper are teaming up for an as-yet untitled buddy cop action comedy. They are to play two San Francisco cops and friends, whose fathers were once partners on the police force. Things get interesting when they have to bring their fathers out of retirement to help crack a new case. (RiskyBiz and First Showing)

The top 10 box office movies for this past weekend, according to details from Fancast are as follows:

1. The Lost Exorcism – $21.3m
2. Takers – $21m
3. The Expendables – $9.5m
4. Eat Pray Love – $7m
5. The Other Guys – $6.6m
6. Vampires Suck – $5.3m
7. Inception – $5.1m
8. Nanny McPhee Returns – $4.7m
9. The Switch – $4.6m
10. Piranha 3D – $4.3m

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

Question: I absolutely love The Closer! It’s one of my favorite shows and I am always so eager to watch that I usually don’t even wait for my DVR to get ahead enough to allow me to skip commercials. This season started off with a bang and I’ve loved it, but I’m a little concerned. What will happen if Brenda does become chief? On one hand, as a woman, I think it would be great for the character to be a female Chief of Police in Los Angeles. On the other hand, I am afraid for what that would mean for her position as a “closer.” If she gets some distance from the cases, how can she possibly get all of those confessions that have the audience on the edge of their seats? Plus, I have not enjoyed the rather jerk-like qualities this whole process has brought out in Pope. I know he’s got his heart set on being chief, but it seems a little uncharacteristic for him to be such a jerk now when he has not gone completely into that territory before. Please tell me that whatever is in the works is going to maintain the same quality of scripts and keep Brenda right in the middle of the action! Do you have any insight into the rest of the season or what impact this whole development would have for the future of the show? — Beth

Matt Roush: Now that’s a true sign of devotion, watching a show in real time, not DVR time. I’m very fond of The Closer as well. It’s easily my household’s favorite summer procedural. And we’re watching it just as you are, with no foreknowledge of how this hunt for the new chief is going to turn out. (See my recent discussion of this being a spoiler-free zone for why that’s the case.) Your concerns make sense to me, in that too much tinkering with a successful formula doesn’t always make much sense and can do more harm than good in the long run. (See recent seasons of House.) Still, I can’t imagine a scenario in which Brenda is removed from the day-to-day detection of cases, and if she were promoted to such a position, I would bet it would be short-lived. But this current arc has been mostly good for the show this season, I think, adding some tension — between Brenda and Pope, between Brenda and the long-suffering Fritz — and distinguishing it from years past. (Not always easy for a long-running crime drama.) Showing chinks in Pope’s armor, and then watching him deflate last week when he learned he wasn’t even on the short list, gives the invaluable J.K. Simmons something to play, which is always a good thing. Whatever happens as this season winds down, I’m thinking you shouldn’t worry that they’ll muck up the show you love too drastically.

On another Closer note: Even if you’re not a regular viewer, this week’s episode is a standout, as Brenda contends with a military overseer (Gary Cole, excellent as usual) after off-duty soldiers are gunned down in what looks like a gang-related murder. Strong stuff.

Question: TV Guide Magazine used to run a “best show you’re not watching feature,” but perhaps there should be subcategories? I would like to put in a vote for Eureka as “the most charming show people aren’t watching.” I’ve always enjoyed Eureka, but I feel as if it has been rejuvenated this year with the alternative time-line reboot. While always light, I’ve felt some urgency in terms of the multiple ongoing romantic stories this year. Henry’s rendition of “She Blinded Me With Science” for Grace made me smile more than any romantic gesture on TV for some time. What have you thought of it recently? I see it has been renewed, but what is the timeline for seeing the back end of these episodes or the new season? While USA is always good about telling the audience the minute a finale ends when the new episodes will be, SyFy barely advertises Eureka — I always have to hunt for the start date. Why do they do that? — Rebecca

Matt Roush: Cable schedules, especially when they split seasons in two, are often confusing, and Syfy can be especially mystifying. It would be nice if Syfy would announce the return date for a show like Eureka around the time of its summer finale, but maybe they want to keep their options open in case they need this asset to return to the schedule sooner or later than they think. The good news is that Eureka is still going strong, and I agree this has been its most enjoyable and freshest season in quite a while. The show that seems to me to have been hurt the most by Syfy’s stop-and-start scheduling is Caprica, which was just beginning to build some momentum when it ended its season back in March. The second half of its season won’t air until January, and that’s a potentially fatal amount of time to be dark. Especially for a show that dark.

Question: I have a question about BBC America [BBCA] as a whole. Now don’t take this as meaning I’m in a show for the nudity and profanity. However, I find the censoring they do enormously annoying. BBCA does this frequently. They blur George’s rumpus-roast in Being Human and eliminate words, and since I’m deaf and need the closed captions, occasionally use symbols. An example would be in the late-great Torchwood they used @ in certain words. In Being Human’s case they seem to have neither rhyme nor reason. They let a euphemism for fecal matter fly while censoring the “frak” symbolized word. I remember seeing far worse on Saving Grace and Nip/Tuck. I know they don’t censor on-demand, however, nor do they closed-caption the on-demand. I find the censoring does distract my attention from the story; my mind jumps to the “aw, come on” mode. I still watch, and love, some, but well, aw come on. Other times I can’t even make it through the initial episodes (Inbetweeners and Skins jump to mind). Mind you, I do buy the DVD later and watch and enjoy some of the shows. Why the [censor] do they [censor] do this [censor]? Pun intended, but you get the idea. — Scott

Matt Roush: This and the next question both find fault and express surprise that ad-supported cable (whether on the basic tier or, in the case of BBCA, digital) still operates with standards-and-practices prudence. While the decency rules are much looser on cable than for broadcast, and certain networks (FX in particular, and AMC more and more) are pushing the envelope as far as they can, there are still concessions made to placate advertisers and to agree not go quite as far as on the pay (no commercials) services. I agree it’s a much different experience watching the uncut Inbetweeners and Skins than watching them on BBCA, where the bleeps are so constant it feels like they’re written in Morse code. Call me old-fashioned, but I can still be shocked by what they get away with on over-the-air TV across the pond. But with Being Human, I tend to get the gist of what they’re saying and (often graphically) doing. I can live with the bleeps as long as they keep importing the good stuff.

Question: Was The Glades made for another broadcast company and then somehow found its way on to A&E? I ask because I notice it having dialogue removed, and that seems strange for a show it ordered. I also notice this on its many reruns, almost as if it seems more concerned with language than the broadcast networks. Insights? — Dennis

Matt Roush: I’ve watched a handful of Glades episodes and never noticed this “problem,” but I got a handful of comments about this, so it must have been noticeable on some of the episodes I’ve missed. The Glades was produced for A&E, so that’s not the issue, but the way I figure it, having seen the same thing happen with other basic-cable entities (I’m thinking here of Breaking Bad and AMC), when the language gets too rough, the network steps in and as opposed to cutting the scene entirely, it just omits the offending word, leaving it to our imagination. Gives the producers creative license to film the scene the way they want (which can be preserved on DVD), but then is altered to adhere to what can sometimes seem an arbitrary and inconsistent set of standards.

Question: Have really enjoyed Army Wives from the beginning. Will there be a season 5? The spin-off cop show is just not the same for me. Already lots of those kind of shows on now. — Virginia

Matt Roush: As of last week, according to my sources, Lifetime hadn’t officially renewed Army Wives. And the spin-off is still being considered a pilot in development, with no solid green light. Which doesn’t mean we won’t see both next year — but I’m with you about the show spinning off into yet another crime drama. Do we really need it?

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Today’s update is shorter than usual, but there were still some good news items to share with all of you. Hope you find something that you like:

TELEVISION

Devon Sawa (Final Destination) will play the role of Owen in the new CW series Nikita. He will be Nikita’s (Maggie Q) nemesis starting with the 5th episode, which is expected to air on October 7. Owen is described as a highly trained Division agent who is equal to Nikita in skill. (Kristin at E! Entertainment Online)

Timothy Dalton (License to Kill) will guest-star in a multi-episode arc on Chuck, playing a mysterious stranger who has a history with Chuck’s mom, who will be played by Linda Hamilton (Terminator and Beauty & the Beast). (The Futon Critic)

Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under) will guest star on Grey’s Anatomy as a patient named Eleanor who blacks out, but her black outs may not be all they seem, as Eleanor claims she blacked out right around the time she raced into a Laundromat and caught her naughty husband folding another woman’s panties. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Allison Miller (the short-lived NBC drama Kings) has joined the FOX drama Terra Nova, which stars Jason O’Mara (Life on Mars). The time-traveling drama revolves around humans from 2149 who travel back 85 million years to pre-historic Earth to try to save the planet from destruction. Miller will play Skye, a Terra Nova resident who bonds with O’Mara’s character’s son. Terra Nova was originally scheduled to premiere mid-season, but was pushed back to fall 2011. Fox will preview the pilot in May before launching the first season in the fall. (Variety and Joyce Eng at TV Guide)

Tia Carrere will return to Warehouse 13 on August 31, reprising her role as Katie Logan, a Secret Service agent who has a history with Pete (Eddie McClintock). She returns because a close colleague is murdered in a plot of revenge against Artie (Saul Rubinek). (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

ABC has ordered the as-yet untitled new pilot, from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (the people behind The O.C., Gossip Girl and Chuck), about a group of twenty-something roommates who juggle their personal and professional lives in Washington. The young politicos find that the ideals that brought them to D.C. don’t always match with the realities of living in the nation’s capital. (Variety)

NOTE: The TV Addict made a comment about the above new pilot for which I have to whole heartedly agree. Here is his statement: “Good News: ABC has green-lit an OC-esque drama centering around a group of twenty-somethings in Washington D.C. Bad News: We’re still smarting over the CW’s hair-brained decision not to pick up the Brian Austin Green (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Jason Dohring (Veronica Mars and Moonlight), Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights) OC-esque drama centering around a group of twenty-somethings in Washington D.C that was The Body Politic.”

DVD ANNOUNCEMENT

Army Wives

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Malcolm McDowell, Marilu Henner and Zak Orth have joined the cast of the vampire romance drama Vamps, which is a contemporary story following two beautiful young vampires (Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter) who enjoy the New York City nightlife until romance jeopardizes their immortality. McDowell plays Vlad the Impaler, now living in NYC as the velvet jogging suit-wearing Vlad Tepish. Henner will play a dying woman who gets the chance to resurrect her once-sexy self while Orth will appear as a nerdy friend to the two female characters. Sigourney Weaver, Kristen Johnston, Richard Lewis, Wallace Shawn and Justin Kirk also star. (Dark Horizons)

Stephen Dorff (Public Enemies) is in negotiations to star opposite Maria Bello (The History of Violence) in the indie thriller Carjacked. The story follows a single mother and her child who are carjacked by a thief who has no intention of letting them go. (The Wrap)

That’s it. Enjoy! Have a great weekend!

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Hey All,

Counting down the hours until its Friday; but for now it’s countdown mode until I attend a Writers Guild event tonight with a good friend. The WGA is honoring writers who are nominated for Emmy Awards, which will be presented this Sunday.

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

TELEVISION

Christine Lahti will be back on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, reappearing as overbearing ADA Sonya Paxton sent by the DA’s office to ride herd on the SVU team. (Ileane Rudolph at TV Guide)

Katee Sackhoff will be returning to The Big Bang Theory this fall, where she will reprise her role as “Katee Sackhoff,” the conscience of Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), in an episode that will also guest star Melissa Rauch’s Bernadette. Sackhoff is slated to appear in the September 23rd episode. (Maureen Ryan at AOL TV and Televisionary)

ARTICLES ABOUT TELEVISION

‘Chuck’ Exclusive: Meet Casey’s A-Team!

EXCLUSIVE Interview: Erin Karpluk talks Season 3 of Being Erica!

NOTE: The premiere date for Being Erica is for CANADA. For those of us in the States, we’ll have to wait to see when SoapNet decides to give it an airdate and time.

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The new Syfy pilot Three Inches has announced more casting news. The show that already boasts James Marsters (Smallville, Caprica and Buffy), Andrea Martin (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Naoko Mori (Torchwood) and Stephanie Jacobsen (Melrose Place and Battlestar Galactica: Razor) as part of the cast now also includes Noah Reid (Strange Days at Blake Holsey High). Antony Del Rio (The Super Hero Squad Show), Kyle Schmid (Blood Ties) and Brandon Jay McLaren (TRON: Legacy, Harper’s Island). The pilot will be 90-minutes long and will feature Alona Tal (Veronica Mars), Craig Eldridge (Covert Affairs) and Julian Richings (Supernatural) as guest stars in the pilot episode. The series is about professional daydreamer and underachiever, Walter Spackman (Reid) who is struck by lightning, and develops a unique “super” power — the ability to move any object using just his mind… but only a distance of three inches. He’s soon recruited by a covert team of superheroes each gifted with their own extraordinarily ordinary abilities. Together, the unlikely band of heroes proves that “super” is simply a state of mind.

The rest of the casting breaks down as follows:

Jace Alexander (Rescue Me, Prison Break) is directing the pilot, written by Harley Peyton (Twin Peaks), who also serves as executive producer. Fox Television Studios is producing with Executive Producer Robert Cooper, through his company Landscape Entertainment. J.J. Jamieson heads up television for Landscape Entertainment.

James Marsters will star as Troy Hamilton, a former government agent who takes Walter in to his own team of “super” heroes who fight evil wherever they find it. He is a father figure to Walter.

Andrea Martin will play Belinda Spackman, Walter’s mother, a brutally honest, comically cynical force of nature that loves her son more than words can say and will do anything to protect him.

Stephanie Jacobsen plays Watts, a beautiful “super” hero who has the ability to shape the emotions of anyone she meets at close range.

Antony Del Rio will portray The Human Smell, an adventurous, often irritating teenager who is able to emit a pungent gas through his pores that disables anyone nearby.

Naoko Mori plays Annika, a woman who can duplicate and broadcast any sound she hears.

Kyle Schmid will play Brandon, the “super” hero team leader with all the cockiness and strength of a true action hero, minus the superpowers. He is the opposite of Walter and sees most of the team as freaks.

Brandon Jay McLaren plays Macklin Sportello, Walter’s best friend, a big talker with not a lot to back it up. His relationship is tested when Walter begins to change, but he’s the friend that will always be there for him.

Alona Tal will guest star in the pilot as Lily Theroux, the kind, pretty girl next door and Walter’s long time crush who loves him but “not in that way.”

Craig Eldridge will guest as Todd, part of Troy’s team of “super” heroes who can see two minutes into the future at the cost of a massive disabling headache.

Julian Richings will also appear as a guest star playing Ethan, a man with the ability to communicate with and control the insect kingdom.

NOTE: Thanks to The Futon Critic for providing these details.

FALL TV PROMO PHOTOS

Get Your GLEEK On!

DVD ANNOUNCEMENT

The Mentalist

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Channing Tatum will star in and co-produce the ensemble drama movie Ten Year, which follows a group of friends reunited a decade after their graduation. Jenna Dewan (Tatum’s wife), Anna Faris, Chris Pratt, Chris Pine and Scott Porter are among those being sought for other roles in the film, but no deals are yet locked. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

Jeremy Renner has been cat opposite Tom Cruise in the upcoming Mission: Impossible IV. Paramount has stated the following: “[We] have struggled to find the right co-star to play an operative opposite Cruise, and one factor was selecting an actor who could potentially carry the series down the line, should Cruise’s Ethan Hunt character not continue.” A scheduled release date for Mission: Impossible IV is December 2011. (First Showing)

Q&A SECTION (with Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: Any Glee scoop? —Ines

Ausiello: I’m hearing a major character (a series regular!) will find himself/herself in a literal life-and-death situation in this season’s third episode. In possibly related news (I say possibly because I honest-to-goodness don’t know), Chris Colfer’s Emmy-nominated TV dad Mike O’Malley tells us that episode 3 will be “another emotional, emotional episode” for father and son. The actor goes on to hint that the show will revisit the complicated dynamic between Burt and Kurt’s crush, Finn. “The last time I was on the show, [Burt] threw Finn out of the house. There [may] be some resolution there. One of the things I think is really important in life and for human beings is to forgive and be able to rise up from our mistakes. I’m hoping that Finn and Burt are able to cross that chasm.”

Question: Got anything on Brothers & Sisters? —Tim

Ausiello: Producers are looking for a “celebrity name” to play Gilles Marini’s gorgeous (natch) sixtysomething TV mom, who comes to town and makes quite an impression on the Walker family.

NOTE: I would suggest Raquel Welch or Ann-Margret since they would be gorgeous “older” women who could play his mom. Or if they want to go for slightly older than sixtysomething – there is always Sophia Loren.

Question: Are you going to make a list of the new shows we should watch, and the ones that we should miss? I have no idea how to set my DVR! —Amanda

Ausiello: Help has arrived…

Watch: Lone Star (Fox), Undercovers (NBC), The Event (NBC), No Ordinary Family (ABC), Raising Hope (Fox), Mike & Molly (CBS), Better With You (ABC), Hawaii 5-0 (CBS), and Nikita (The CW).

Miss: $#*! My Dad Says (CBS) and Hellcats (The CW).

If a new show you’re curious about isn’t listed above, it means either I’m on the fence (e.g., CBS’ The Defenders) or I haven’t watched the pilot yet (e.g., Outlaw).

NOTE: I cannot believe that I actually agree with Ausiello on the “to watch” shows – except for the comedies, none of which I will watch since I don’t comedies anyway. And, good for him for saying “miss” to Hellcats, as I didn’t really care for it either.

Question: Got any Castle scoop for us? —Jennifer

Ausiello: There’s a somewhat significant death in the second episode. I’m also hearing something about Castle revealing his REAL name.

Question: Anything on Chloe’s return yet on Smallville? —Maria26

Ausiello: Allison Mack will appear in the premiere and then return “in the middle of the season in a very impactful way in Clark’s life,” reveals Peterson. “It’s a great wrap-up to her character, and it also dovetails into the Chloe/Oliver relationship.”

Question: I have loved this season of Burn Notice so far, and I’m totally digging the addition of Coby Bell. But last week’s episode has me wondering: Now that (SPOILER ALERT!) Jesse knows that Michael burned him, what will become of Mr. Bell? —Kristina

Ausiello: He’ll be back for the second half of the season, don’t you worry. In the meantime, Jesse makes a choice in this week’s finale that will affect Michael in a major way. In possibly related news, the cliff-hanger finds Michael in the most perilous situation we’ve ever seen him in. And this dude’s been in some seriously perilous situations.

Question: The last two Ask Ausiellos haven’t had any scoop on the best series at this moment: The Good Wife! —Ingmar

Ausiello: Good thing we spoke to Alan Cumming over the weekend at the Creative Arts Emmys or else it would’ve been three in a row. Look for Eli to get “more heavily involved in Peter’s campaign,” he teases about his character’s story line this fall. “He gets meaner and ruthlesser.” Regarding his recent upgrade to series regular, Cumming says the biggest difference is “I get paid more. And I sort of have an idea of where my character is going now. [Before] I had no idea what was going to happen. The next week I could’ve been a murderer.”

Question: What are the chances Chuck will get a back-nine order? I’m freaking out over here! —Eric

Ausiello: I assumed exec producers Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz would be too. But they’re not. As Schwartz points out, “We never started a season with more than 13 episodes. Like last year, we will hope for the best, plan for the worst, and be ready to have an incredible final episode 13 if need be with a contingency plan to keep the season going.” Adds Fedak: “Episode 13 no matter what will be epic.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

It’s over the hump day and there is quite a bit of news to share with all of you:

TELEVISION

Angela Sarafyan has joined the cast of The Good Guys in a major recurring role, playing the offbeat and socially awkward Samantha Evans. Since she’s a lowly assistant crime scene investigator, she jumps at the chance to help Jack (Colin Hanks) and Dan (Bradley Whitford) with their cases. Angela has appeared on such series as The Mentalist, In Plain Sight and CSI: NY. The Good Guys will move to Fridays this fall, starting on September 24 at 9 PM on FOX. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Newcomer Simon Miller has been cast as the patriarch of the Lockwood pack, George Lockwood, on The Vampire Diaries. He will appear – in flashbacks – in the 4th episode of Season 2. (Carina Adly MacKenzie at Zap2It)

Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy) and Tom Cavanagh (Ed) are set to guest star in an upcoming episode of Royal Pains when the series returns for its first ever winter season this January on the USA Network. Sedaris will play Nan Noonan, Jill’s partner for a Hamptons golf tournament, while Cavanagh will play pro golfer Jack O’Malley. (Fancast and Televisionary)

ARTICLE ABOUT TV

‘Brothers & Sisters’: Bobby Soto cast as Kevin and Scotty’s possible foster son

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Stephanie Jacobsen (Melrose Place) and Naoko Mori (Torchwood) have joined the new SyFy drama pilot Three Inches as series regulars. The series centers on Walter (Noah Reid), a twentysomething underachiever who acquires a seemingly worthless superpower after getting struck by lightning: he can move any object three inches with his mind. He goes on to recruit a team of fellow heroes, each with their own less-than-spectacular abilities. It was announced yesterday that Buffy alum James Marsters was cast in a lead role as well. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

Andrea Martin (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) has also joined the cast of the Syfy superhero pilot Three Inches, where she will play Belinda Spackman, the mother of the main character, who is described as “a brutally cynical force of nature who will do anything to protect her son, who has developed a unique not-so-superpower: the ability to move any object three inches using his mind.” (The Hollywood Reporter and Televisionary)

FOX is developing an untitled drama pilot with writer Rick Eid and executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci about a prosecutor who discovers that he can tell whether a defendant is guilty or innocent. “Show revolves around an overly ambitious prosecutor who wrongfully convicts an innocent man for murder, an event that becomes the trigger for his magical flashes and an understanding that he has a debt an understanding that he has a debt to repay to the innocent,” writes Variety’s Cynthia Littleton. (Variety and Televisionary)

Meghan Markle (Fringe) has landed the female lead role on the USA Network pilot A Legal Mind, playing Rachel Lane, an attractive paralegal with an encyclopedic knowledge of the law. Patrick Adams (Weather Girl) plays Mike Ross, a brilliant yet slacking college student impersonating a high-powered Manhattan corporate attorney. Gabriel Macht (The Spirit) also stars in the show as the firm’s recruiter who brings him on board. Additionally, Gina Torres (Huge and Firefly) was cast in second position as Katherine Pearson, a senior partner at the law firm. (The Live Feed by James Hibbard)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Looks like Al Pacino and Katie Holmes will be joining Adam Sandler in the upcoming romantic comedy Jack and Jill, a story about Jack, a family man who deals with his twin sister Jill visiting for Thanksgiving. Sandler will be playing both of the siblings. (The Hollywood Reporter and First Showing)

Anna Paquin (True Blood) and Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) have joined the cast of Scream 4, but no confirmation has been made as to what roles they will play. The film stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, as well as Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, and Adam Brody. (Jeff Labrecque at Entertainment Weekly)

Jim Caviezel (The Passion of Christ) and James Frain (True Blood and The Tudors) have joined the cast of the box office thriller called Transit, which follows a band of thieves on the run from a bank robbery who stash their stolen money in a family SUV at a rest stop. The suburban family is on a camping trip and unaware of the murderous band of outlaws on their trail. Caviezel will play the protective father of the family. Elisabeth Rohm plays the family’s mother. Harold Perrineau (Lost) and Diora Baird play two of the bank robbers. There is no word on Frain’s role yet. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

Q&A SECTION (with the TV Gurus as TV Guide):

Question: Stefan seemed different in the Vampire Diaries finale. Where is he heading? — Katherine

MICKEY: Interestingly, it’s Katherine’s arrival that awakens something in Stefan. “He accepts that he’s a vampire more; he’s less plagued by being a victim and being run over by his brother,” Paul Wesley says. “He becomes more proactive, and he knows how to have fun sometimes.”

Question: Why is Beckett getting another boyfriend on Castle? Can’t she and Castle get together already? — Melinda

ADAM: “If you don’t create obstacles, the flirtation will lead to something much sooner than the audience wants,” creator Andrew Marlowe tells us. But he promises the roadblocks, including Castle’s reunion with his ex-wife, aren’t just there for the sake of keeping the characters apart. “Part of our metaphor in the early stretch of the season is that these two people, who many feel belong together, ‘married’ the wrong people,” Marlowe says. “So, we’re rooting for them to wake up and find each other again.”

Question: What more can you tell me about the Smallville premiere? — Allen

ADAM: I can tell you that it ends with a twist that executive producer Kelly Souders says “rocks [Clark’s] world and sends him on a different trajectory. … He realizes that he’s not the guy that everybody looks to when they think of Superman, an inspirational totally pure-hearted guy. That’s not who Clark Kent is right now, and that becomes very clear to him.”

Question: Do you have any Chuck scoop about Casey? —Melanie

MICKEY: We’ll meet two former members of Casey’s Special Ops team. One will be as grounded as the other is skittish. They’ll also, oddly, kind of remind you of Justin “I’m a Mac” Long and John “I’m a PC” Hodgman.

Question: What more can you tell me about the Smallville premiere? — Allen

ADAM: I can tell you that it ends with a twist that executive producer Kelly Souders says “rocks [Clark’s] world and sends him on a different trajectory. … He realizes that he’s not the guy that everybody looks to when they think of Superman, an inspirational totally pure-hearted guy. That’s not who Clark Kent is right now, and that becomes very clear to him.”

Question: Do you have any Chuck scoop about Casey? —Melanie

MICKEY: We’ll meet two former members of Casey’s Special Ops team. One will be as grounded as the other is skittish. They’ll also, oddly, kind of remind you of Justin “I’m a Mac” Long and John “I’m a PC” Hodgman.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Some really great casting news has been announced today along with some trailers for upcoming fall shows; and much more. Please check out the following TV and movie news for today:

TELEVISION

Judd Hirsch will join his former Numb3rs co-star Rob Morrow on Rob’s new fall show The Whole Truth, starring as Ruben Wright, a distinguished and well-respected judge who is accused of corruption and murder. He hires Morrow’s rising criminal attorney to represent him. Maura Tierney’s character, who tried the first case of her career in front of Judge Wright, reluctantly takes on the task of prosecuting him. The Whole Truth premieres on September 22. Hirsch’s episode is slated to air in October. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Reggie Austin (Life Unexpected and The Starter Wife) will play the New York baseball star husband of Vanessa Williams’ new housewife, Renee Perry, on Desperate Housewives. (William Keck at TV Guide)

James Marsters (Buffy, Angel and Caprica) will finally get to play a good guy. He will play Troy, leader of a gang of superheroes with substandard powers, in the new series Three Inches on Syfy. The show revolves around a man named Walter who gets struck by lightning and finds he can move objects with his mind — but he can only move them three inches. He is then recruited into a superhero gang full of people with similarly lackluster powers. (TV Squad and Digital Spy)

AMC will launch their newest drama The Walking Dead with a 90-minute premiere on Halloween night (October 31), starting at 10 PM. The series is based on the comic book written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics. The six-episode series tells the story of life following a zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually), traveling in search of a safe and secure home. Jon Bernthal (The Pacific and Eastwick) plays Rick’s sheriff’s department partner before the apocalypse, Shane Walsh, and Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break), is Rick’s wife, Lori. Supporting cast include Laurie Holden (The Shield), Jeffrey DeMunn, Chandler Riggs and Steven Yeun. Also, Lennie James (Jericho and Hung) will be featured in the pilot. Subsequent episodes will be one-hour long presentations. (The Futon Critic)

Alicia Coppola (Jericho) will guest star in an upcoming episode of NCIS: Los Angeles, playing FBI agent Amy Rand, an expert on kidnapping cases. Her first appearance is slated to air in October. NCIS: Los Angeles returns with back-to-back episodes on Tuesday, September 21 at 9 PM on CBS. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

FALL TV

Will Lone Star Live Up to its Promos?

AMC’s epic ‘The Walking Dead’ trailer, premiere date

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Steven Spielberg and Fringe’s Kurtzman/Orci to Turn the Graphic Novel Locke & Key into a TV Show

Looks like Jamie-Lynn Sigler (The Sopranos) has been tapped to star opposite Sherry Stringfield (ER) in the new as-yet untitled Josh Berman pilot for Lifetime. The series is a closed-ended drama set in San Diego, centering on police detective Molly Collins (Stringfield), married mother of two on the verge of divorce, who, along with her partner Brooke Kross (Sigler), investigate the city’s most high-profile crimes while navigating their divergent personal lives. This series is one of 3 new pilots ordered by the network in June. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline Hollywood Daily)

Meanwhile, John Hawkes (Deadwood and Lost) is set to star in the FX drama pilot Outlaw Country, which is a crime thriller/family drama set against the backdrop of southern organized crime and Nashville royalty. It focuses on 4 main characters, played by Luke Grimes (Brothers & Sisters), Haley Bennett (Marley & Me), Mary Steenburgen and Hawkes. Grimes plays twentysomething Eli Larkin, a half-cowboy, half-modern guy who tries to get out of the crime ridden life he has grown accustom. Bennett plays twentysomething Annabel Lee, a gorgeous country singer who is living in the shadow of her overprotective mother (Steenburgen). Hawkes plays Tarzen Larkin, Eli’s uncle and one of the most charismatic and compelling characters in Slaughter, a big-time player in the Southern crime world. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline Hollywood Daily)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Andrea Bowen (Desperate Housewives) will star as a driven equestrian who suffers a near fatal injury during a horse show in the Hallmark Channel movie After the Fall set to premiere on October 9 at 8 PM. The movie co-stars Greg Evigan, Gail O’Grady, Rick Malambri (Step Up 3-D) and Fiona Dourif (Deadwood). (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

A script by Ahmet Zappa and Michael Wislon called Monster Witness Relocation Program, based on an original idea by Zappa, is being made into a movie. The book follows a brother and sister who discover they hail from a long line of monster hunters, who must learn the family business quickly when their father is kidnapped and they take on the most diabolical creature in the universe. (Deadline New York and Dark Horizons)

Paul Rudd, Topher Grace and Kristen Wiig are being recruited for the independent film Bobby Blue Sky, which focuses on three dysfunctional siblings dealing with their baby brother’s accidental fame (as a character in their father’s children’s book series) warping their lives. (Pajiba and First Showing)

Jessica Alba will be taking on a parental role in the film sequel Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World. The fourth installment of the franchise will see Alba as a retired spy who has been reactivated and mother of a baby and two preteen stepchildren who will step up to be the new Spy Kids. Although this is technically a reboot, apparently franchise star Antonio Banderas and original kids Alexa Vega & Daryl Sabara (all grown up) are expected to get supporting roles. (Heat Vision and First Showing)

Harold Perrineau (Lost), Diora Baird (My Best Friend’s Girl) and Elisabeth Rohm (Heroes) will be starring in the thriller Transit, which follows a band of thieves on the run from a bank robbery and the suburban family they come across during their escape. When the criminals stash their stolen money in the family’s SUV at a rest stop, the road trippers unwittingly draw the murderous band of outlaws on their trail. Rohm plays the mother of the traveling family heading out on a camping trip while Perrineau and Baird are members of the bank robbery crew. (First Showing and The Hollywood Reporter)

Taylor Schilling (Mercy) will star opposite Zac Efron in the screen adaptation of The Lucky One based on the Nicholas Sparks romance novel. The story follows a young Marine who, upon completing three tours in Iraq, returns home to North Carolina attributing his survival to a photo of a mysterious girl, who he then sets out to find. When he finally meets her, the two begin to develop feelings for each other. (The Wrap and Variety)

Looks like Sam Worthington is heading to his hometown of Perth, Australia to star as the lead in the surfing drama Drift, which is an inspired-by-facts story that follows how surfing evolved from a pastime to a global industry. Worthington will play a photographer and journalist instrumental in that revolution. (The West Australian and Dark Horizons)

Andie MacDowell has signed on to play the wife of Dennis Quaid in the upcoming Footloose remake. The acting vets should be a welcome addition to a cast that boasts relative newbies Kenny Wormald (Center Stage: Turn it Up) and Julianne Hough (Dancing with the Stars) as the teen leads. The movie should be on the big screen next April. (Nicole Sperling at Entertainment Weekly)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

‘Red Hill’ trailer: Ryan Kwanten is a real cop with his real accent

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

Question: Alex in Venice, Italy: Is Jonathan Groff ever coming back to Glee?

Kristin: Yes! Executive producer Dante DiLoreto tells us, “Yes, absolutely, without a doubt Jonathan will be back. He’s in London right now. We’re hoping he’ll finish that pesky play and come back and work with us.”

SPOILER ALERT!!! – Tread lightly!!

Question: Drew in Chicago: What’s the latest on Brothers and Sisters? You haven’t talked about it in a while!

Kristin: I forgot! And that’s exactly what’s going to be happening to Holly (Patricia Wettig) in the new season—except she’s gonna forget something much bigger. She has memory loss and can’t even remember her own daughter Rebecca, from what I hear. I’m guessing this makes the loss of Emily VanCamp somehow easier? I’m also told that Emily will appear in episode three and four of the new season and that she and Justin will have some serious problems. And there may be another little Walker on the way! One of the women wants to get pregnant.

Question:Nikki in Bowling Green, Ohio: Parenthood was one of my favorite new shows last year, and I need some scoop on the second season!

Kristin: You’re in luck, because the season premiere date is just around the corner (September 14) Erika Christensen was gracious and lovely enough to spill some tidbits on what’s coming up for Julia, and it involves spawning. “My character decides she wants to get pregnant and have a second child. Her husband maybe isn’t quite as enthusiastic about it as she is.” And if her hubby ain’t gonna do the job, someone else might! There are plenty of hot dudes coming on the show next season, after all. “When a woman makes up her mind, she gets what she wants. I do occasionally think maybe she’ll have an affair at one point,” she says. Relax, she’s joking. Or is she?

Question:Roland in Toluca Lake, Calif.: It would be so double rainbow if you could give me any secrets from the next season of Castle.

Kristin: Remember when you thought Stana Katic couldn’t get any hotter? You are so wrong. “Beckett rides a motor bike!” she tells us gleefully. And this won’t be a one-time thing either, so don’t you worry—it’s her new thing. “Beckett definitely has a motor bike at home. I’m so stoked. I can’t wait!” We can’t either. Meanwhile, that sound you hear is millions of fanboys drawing up concepts for Stana’s leather biker-babe ensembles.

Question:Sarah in Massapequa, N.Y.: Am I the only person sensing some romantic tension between Aria’s dad Byron (Chad Lowe) and Hanna’s mom Ashley (Laura Leighton) on Pretty Little Liars?

Kristin: Trust us, you are definitely not the only one catching the pair’s meaningful stares and ever-growing connection, but there might be someone standing in their way when this guiltiest of guilty pleasures returns, and that someone isn’t his estranged wife, Ella (Holly Marie Combs). We caught up with Amanda Schull, aka Byron’s former mistress Meredith, who tells us fans will be seeing more of her in the second half of the season: “As far as I know I will be [back]. I don’t know the details of that but I know that the story line, especially the story lines in the book say I will be.” Well, according to the books she’s around for a long time.

Question:Kiley in Colorado: Any scoop on Psych? My friends and I all agree that this season’s run of episodes has been awesome—so much better than all of last year’s serious drama!

Kristin: Agreed! Lost’s Nestor Carbonell spilled to us about his upcoming guest gig on Psych: “I play a criminal profiler who rivals Shawn and who one-ups him at every turn. Shawn’s never had somebody one-up him. Shawn’s always the man in charge—he’s pretty much a superhero. But I come in and I destroy him—which is a lot of fun.”

Question:Britney in Dallas, Texas: I’m so over Stelena and Delena on The Vampire Diaries. Please tell me we will see more Dalaric!

Kristin: You can rest easy because we will be seeing plenty of Damon and Alaric teaming up in season two. We asked Matt Davis about the unlikely duo’s partnership and here’s what he told us: “Our bromance is definitely developing. You’ll see much more of that for sure. I love Ian to pieces and I love working with him and I think our chemistry as friends and the way Kevin and Julie write the two of them together, just the archetypes of the two characters together I think fit really well.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Can you guys believe that Labor Day is coming up in two weeks? Where in the world did the summer go? Maybe it’s me, but this year is flying by so fast.

In the meantime, here are the news items for today that I hope you will find interesting:

TELEVISION

The CW will be giving viewers a second chance to see the networks new dramas Hellcats and Nikita. Hellcats will debut on September 8 with Nikita premiering on September 9. Then the shows will be rebroadcast on September 10 (back to back). The network will do the same thing for both show’s second episodes, airing rebroadcasts on September 17. Don’t worry Smallville and Supernatural fans; both shows return on September 24. (The Futon Critic)

Jennifer Morrison (House) will make a guest appearance on the 6th episode of the new NBC drama Chase as Faith, a single mother-turned-fugitive who embarks on a bloody killing spree across Texas with her innocent little daughter in tow. Chase premieres September 20 at 10 PM. (William Keck at TV Guide)

Tia Texada (Third Watch and Huge) will guest star in the 4th episode of Chuck, starring as the exotic wife of Premier Alejandro Goya (Armand Assante). (William Keck at TV Guide)

Jennifer Aniston will reunite with Courteney Cox as a guest star on the season premiere of Cougar Town on September 22 at 9:30 PM. (The Futon Critic)

MORE GLEE NEWS

Glee Scoop: Britney “Lockdown,” a Romance Update and…John Stamos Is Getting His Own Show!

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah are to star in the upcoming box office movie Joyful Noise, which centers around two women who join forces to prevent a small-town gospel choir from shutting down. Latifah will play the mother of two teens who is put in charge of the Pacashau Gospel Choir after the death of its choir director. Parton will appear as the choir director’s widow who hopes to take over her late husband’s job. (Dark Horizons)

Carey Mulligan (An Education) will be joining Ryan Gosling and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) in the action movie Drive, which is an adaptation of the novel by James Sallis that follows a nameless Hollywood stuntman (Gosling) who moonlights as a freelance getaway driver during robberies. When a bank heist goes wrong, he ends up on the run with a contract on his head and an ex-con’s girlfriend (Mulligan) sitting in the passenger’s seat along for the ride. (First Showing)

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

1. The Expendables, $16.5 million
2. Vampires Suck, $12.2 million
3. Eat Pray Love, $12 million
4. Lottery Ticket, $11.1 million
5. The Other Guys, $10.1 million
6. Piranha 3D, 10 million
7. Nanny McPhee Returns, $8.3 million
8. The Switch, $8.1 million
9. Inception, $7.7 million
10. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, $5 million

MORE X-MEN NEWS

Bryan Singer Talks “X-Men” Details

AWARD WINNERS

Congratulations are in order for the winners of the Creative Arts Emmys that were presented over the weekend (courtesy of E! Entertainment Online):

Guest Actor in a Drama Series: John Lithgow, Dexter
Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Ann-Margret, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Betty White, Saturday Night Live
Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Neil Patrick Harris, Glee
Voice-Over Performance: Anne Hathaway, The Simpsons
Animated Program: Disney Prep & Landing, ABC
Short-Form Animated Program: Robot Chicken, Cartoon Network
Reality Program: Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, ABC
Children’s Program: Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, Disney Channel
Variety, Music or Comedy Special: The Kennedy Center Honors, CBS
Special Class Program: 63rd Annual Tony Awards, CBS
Commercial: “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” (Old Spice Body Wash)
Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series: The Colbert Report, Comedy Central

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

Question: I am a long-time follower of your columns and reviews, and I just want to thank you for all the great series you have steered me toward over the years. The latest is Breaking Bad, which I never would have gone near if not for your raves. What an amazing show. Now I’m wondering if you have been watching The Glades and what you think of its development. Being from South Florida, I am always curious about shows located there. Most shows don’t get the feel of the place (we won’t even speak of that CSI show), but this one seems to be doing it right so far. And talk about someone coming out of left field: Where did this amazing guy Matt Passmore come from? Because I know he is Australian, I’ll forgive his lack of a Chicago accent, but he has developed such an interesting and believable character (thank you also, writers) and is such a charismatic lead. After Lost, I never thought I could appreciate Kiele Sanchez in anything, but I am enjoying her performance as well. Thanks again for all the enjoyable hours of TV and please keep writing your columns! — Susan

Matt Roush: Well, thanks for that encouraging feedback. With The Glades, I’ll fess up that I haven’t seen every episode (which is one of the blessings of a show like this; it doesn’t penalize the viewer who merely samples), but what I’ve seen I’ve liked. Especially Passmore, whose biggest previous credits include Australian standouts Underbelly (which has aired on DirectTV) and McLeod’s Daughters. I enjoy his character’s laid-back irreverence. It fits the funky swampy setting, which as you noted does feel more authentic than the Miami of you-know-what. It’s a fun show, perfect for summer, much like the various USA Network hits — and can I just say, while we’re plugging not-so-guilty summer pleasures, how much Covert Affairs is growing on me; fans won’t want to miss this week’s Christopher Gorham-“Auggie”-centric episode.

Question: I loved Alex O’Loughlin in Moonlight, and I loved the show’s blend of crime, mystery and romance. Have you seen any of the new Hawaii Five-0? I’m trying to decide if I should try it out, but I worry that it will be too much of just a cop show, which I don’t think I’d like. Does it have a fun side? Any romance? — Amanda

Matt Roush: More like “bromance,” at least in the pilot, which is all anyone has seen at this point. The new Hawaii Five-0 is more of an action than “cop” show — the heroes form an anything-goes task force that operates almost outside the law — and takes full advantage of the island’s native beauty, both natural and human. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before O’Loughlin gets a love interest if they haven’t developed one for him already, but the real relationship that matters in the early going is the fractious bantering between his character of Steve McGarrett and Scott Caan’s scene-stealing sidekick, “Danno.” That’s where the fun and humor come in during a pilot that otherwise is pretty violent and is fueled by tragedy and revenge.

Question: I’ve finally finished the first season of Stargate: Universe, and I’m curious about your thoughts on it (and whether you thought it was worth watching, as I don’t remember reading anything about your opinion of it). Stargate: SG-1 was much lighter and had a sense of humor that was usually near the surface, and we’ll just pretend Atlantis was a bad dream. However, SG:U seems like an attempt to shoehorn the Stargate mythology into the dark style and brutal sensibilities of Battlestar Galactica. Don’t get me wrong, I was entertained by the first season and will keep watching, but it’s a departure from what the franchise was, and the melding of the SG mythos with the BSG style results in the proverbial machine that knows all the words but can’t quite get the music right (if that makes any sense). However, I can’t fault it for providing an unexpected reboot of the franchise, and if I only watched shows as good as BSG, then I wouldn’t be watching much. Also, I said I’d watch when it comes back, but I guess that’s making a pretty big assumption: Has it been renewed? — Mike

Matt Roush: Yes, it will be back, with the second season starting Sept. 28 — in a new Tuesday time slot, now that Fridays on Syfy have been turned over to wrestling this fall. (Don’t get me started.) It’s one of my so-far-fruitless goals to catch up with the second half of the Universe season before the new episodes begin. Your reaction of the show feels pretty spot-on to me. There’s no question its tone is darker and harsher than the Stargate norm, and I got the sense many franchise fans were turned off by its relentlessly downbeat nature. I’m certainly intrigued by it, but the fact that so many episodes remain unwatched on my DVR tells me that either my priorities are out of whack or it’s not a world I’m particularly eager to keep exploring. For now, though, keeping an open mind, and even if I end up jumping into the second season without completely finishing the first, I’ll try to give it a shot.

Question: I’ve been getting a bit concerned about Being Human lately. It’s gotten very dark this season as Mitchell has headed down a very scary path in the power vacuum after Harrick’s death. It’s bothered me that we’ve lost some of the whimsy that made me love the first season so much. I hope they lighten things up a bit as we go. I did thoroughly love the scene where Mitchell, stressed out by a long day of vampire taming and a really bad date, goes ape nuts because his favorite TV show has been moved. There’s a vampire after my own heart. — Ann Marie

Matt Roush: Yes, the show is darker and (with those mad experimenting scientists) scarier this season, but I’m OK with that. The characters themselves remain so engaging and amusing, when they aren’t being beaten down by their inner and sometimes outer demons, that I find the new conflicts in their lives (and afterlives) quite gripping. This is still among my favorite supernatural shows of the moment, and I hope Syfy’s Americanized version doesn’t diminish my appetite for this very original piece of dark brilliance.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

The news isn’t too voluminous for once, making this update one of the shortest in a long time; but there is still some good news to share.

TELEVISION

Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica and Dollhouse) will guest star in the season premiere of the returning FOX series Human Target. Also, Timothy Omundson (Psych) will return to guest star in that same episode. Molly Parker (Swingtown) and M.C. Gainey (Lost and Justified) are set to guest in episode two. (Korbi at Give Me My Remote)

Michael J. Fox is set to guest star in an upcoming episode of The Good Wife as a pharmaceutical lawyer with a neurological condition. (Maureen Ryan Via Twitter)

Ryan Devlin (Cougar Town) is headed back to Grey’s Anatomy for a multi-episode November sweeps arc, playing the husband of Mandy Moore’s ailing character who will also return to the series in this season’s sixth and seventh episodes, which are slated to air on October 28 and November 4). (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Ross McCall is set to reprise his role on White Collar. He first appeared as Keller an episode to be called Bottlenecked. In this appearance his character looks to avoid a stint in a maximum-security prison. He will receive an assist from a fellow criminal played by Adam Goldberg (The Unusuals and Entourage). It is unclear when this episode will air, but the series will return in January 2011 with new installments. (Fancast and M. L. House at TV Fanatic)

Tiya Sircar (Make It or Break It and The Suite Life on Deck) will guest star on The Vampire Diaries as Amiee Bradley, a high school student who gets involved in supernatural. She will show up on the September 23 episode. (M. L. House at TV Fanatic)

John Glover will be back to reprise his role of Lionel Luthor for multiple episodes of Smallville’s final season. This will be interesting considering the last time he was seen in the show his son Lex pushed him out a window to his death. Glover is booked for at least two episodes, both of which are expected to air in November. He joins a growing list of Smallville alums rejoining the show in its final season, including John Schneider (Pa Kent), Laura Vandervoort (Supergirl), James Marsters (Brainiac), and Michael Shanks (Hawkman). (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Diane Farr (Numb3rs and Rescue Me) will guest in an October episode of Grey’s Anatomy as a patient with Huntington’s disease. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

TV SPECULATION

Longtime followers on Twitter will remember that I [that would be the Televisionary talking] pushed Josh Holloway for the role of Jim Rockford in NBC’s resurrected The Rockford Files back in the spring when I read the pilot script. Michael Ausiello is now pushing Holloway as well and reports that the former Lost star has been “mentioned in connection to the project, but [an unnamed] insider stresses that there are no serious talks going on at this time.” So it’s not like an offer has gone out to Holloway or anything but the project is still alive and kicking, even after an abysmal pilot that starred Dermot Mulroney in the role that James Garner made famous. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly and Televisionary)

DVD ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mutant X

CSI: NY

Andromeda

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Wow, Friday is nearly here. I can’t believe how quickly this work week has flown by. I hope that doesn’t hold true for the weekend, as I think we all would like that to go slowly, right?

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

TELEVISION

Stephen Collins (7th Heaven) will be stopping by Brothers & Sisters this fall, as a new love interest for Saul (Ron Rifkin). No word yet on how long Stephen’s character will stick around, though. (Kristin at E! Entertainment Online)

Fans can relive every triumph, tragedy and touchdown from the very beginning when Friday Night Lights comes to ABC Family on weeknights beginning Tuesday, September 7 at 6 PM. (The Futon Critic)

Bobby Cannavale (Third Watch) has been added to the cast of the new CBS cop drama Blue Bloods, playing Charles Rosselini, the boss of Bridget Moynahan’s Assistant District Attorney Erin Reagan. Blue Bloods will premiere on September 24 at 10 PM. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad) will guest star on the Fox drama Lie To Me this fall, playing Internal Affairs Detective Jenkins, an ambitious, politically savvy police officer on the fast track to the top. She realizes Lightman is someone who must be handled with caution as she tries to bring down Detective Wallowski. She will appear in the third episode, which is slated to air on November. 24. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

The CW has dropped its Canadian import 18 to Life after only three weeks on the air. Repeats of Life Unexpected will return to the Tuesday 9 PM timeslot effective immediately. Six episodes will remain on the shelf here in the U.S. The series, however, will continue in Canada where CBC has ordered a second season. (The Futon Critic)

Stan Lee will guest-star on Eureka, but the network (Syfy) is keeping mum on who or what the comic book legend will play. On the other hand Ming-Na (Stargate Universe), will guest-star next season, portraying Alice Wen, a senator who arrives in Eureka to handle a sensitive matter within Global Dynamics. She may appear in more than one episode. The show airs Fridays at 9 PM. (Denise Martin at TV Guide)

CBS will air a half-hour fall preview on September 6 at 8:30 PM (hosted by Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell, stars of the new drama series, The Defenders) to showcase all the new shows – comedy and drama – that the network will be unveiling this fall. Mark your calendars if you want to get details on the new shows. (The Futon Critic)

The USA Network just renewed Covert Affairs for a second season. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

DVD ANNOUNCEMENTS

Glee

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Idris Elba (The Wire and the upcoming movie Takers) has signed on to play Alex Cross (the James Patterson character) in a reboot of the role originated by Morgan Freeman. This reboot will be an adaptation of the 2006 novel Cross where the forensic psychologist tracks a serial rapist who may have murdered his pregnant wife years before. Elba will next be seen on Showtime’s The Big C and recently starred as a serial killer hunting, unstable cop in the British series Luther that will air on BBC America this fall. (Deadline Hollywood Daily and Dark Horizons)

Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood) has signed on for the ensemble drama Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You, which follows an isolated young adult (Toby Regbo) who must contend with his dysfunctional family during his pre-college summer. She will play his sister. Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden, Lucy Liu and Stephen Lang also star. (The Hollywood Reporter and Dark Horizons)

Scott Speedman (Underworld) is in negotiations to join the box office film The Vow, which is based on the true story of the newlyweds Kim and Krickitt Carpenter, whose love was tested two months into their marriage when a car accident left her in a coma for weeks. When she awoke, she remembered everyone but her husband. Rachel McAdams will star as the bride while Channing Tatum will be the groom. Speedman is expected to play the bride’s former fiancé who reenters the picture. (Mandi Bierly at Entertainment Weekly)

Maggie Gyllenhaal has confirmed that she and her husband Peter Sarsgaard will team for the biopic about bluegrass legend Bill Monroe for which Sarsgaard has been attached to play Monroe. No official announcement has been made yet. (Dark Horizons)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Watch: Naomi Watts in Doug Liman’s Fair Game Official Trailer

Q&A SECTION (with Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: I need some Chuck scoop! —Taylor

Ausiello: Captain Awesome won’t be reviving his short-lived career as international superspy anytime soon. “Last season Awesome realized if there was one place in the world where he wasn’t awesome, it was on spy missions,” notes exec producer Chris Fedak. “He’d like to stay as far away from the spy world as he can.” That’s particularly true now that there’s a mini Awesome on the way. “He is going to be way more into all of the rituals of pregnancy than even Ellie is,” says fellow EP Josh Schwartz of the daddy-to-be. “Like all things in life, Awesome is going to throw himself into the pregnancy with his usual fervor.”

Question: Can you give us Smallville fans any juicy Lois and Clark spoilers? —Wahyu

Ausiello: Episode 6, titled “Harvest,” contains some good Clois action. “It’s a creepy ghost town episode, and Lois and Clark find themselves forced together,” reveals exec producer Brian Peterson. “He doesn’t have his powers, and she finds out a lot more about him than she thought she knew.”

Question: When does the 10-episode final season of Greek premiere? —Emily

Ausiello: Sometime in January. Speaking of which, the final day of shooting is Aug. 26. I’ll be hosting a group hug that morning aboard Los Angeles-bound American Airlines flight # [spoiler alert]. Let’s meet outside the rear lavatory at around, say, 10 a.m. ET.

Question: What did CW prez Dawn Ostroff mean when she said at press tour that Dean will be like Sam and Sam will be like Dean on Supernatural this season? —Isaiah

Ausiello: Let’s ask exec producer Sera Gamble. “When we start the season we very consciously riffed a little bit on season 1 in that Dean is out of the business and Sam comes for him,” she explains. “When we started the series, Sam had attachments. He had a girlfriend he was really serious about, and he had retired from hunting essentially. Dean was this very intense hunter who came for his brother. On the surface anyway, the situation is reversed at the beginning of the season.”

Question: Any scoop on what’s going to happen to Dell’s orphaned daughter Betsy on Private Practice? —Afton

Ausiello: I hear an entire episode will be devoted to answering that very question.

Question: Please tell me some good Castle scoop about Castle and Beckett. —Ilaira

Ausiello: This is probably more bad than good, but Monet Mazur is confirmed to reprise her role as Castle’s ex Gina in this season’s fifth episode.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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