Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past week:

CANCELLATION NEWS

The next season of Arrow – the show’s 8th season – will be its last on The CW. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actor Santiago Cabrera (Heroes) and Michelle Hurd (The Glades and Blindspot) have joined the cast of the Captain Jean-Luc Picard Star Trek series that will air on CBS All Access. Exact details on what roles they will play is being kept under wraps. (Variety)

The Sinner has been picked up for a third season by the USA Network and actor Matt Bomer (White Collar) will star opposite Bill Pullman. The new season will follow Detective Harry Ambrose as he begins a routine investigation of a tragic car accident on the outskirts of Dorchester. Ambrose uncovers a hidden crime that pulls him into the most dangerous and disturbing case of his career. Bomer will play Jamie, an upstanding Dorchester resident and expectant father who looks to Ambrose for support in the wake of an accident. (Variety)

True Blood alum Sam Trammell will have a recurring role on the final season of Homeland, playing Vice President Benjamin Hayes, a political survivor with an aptitude for optics who crosses the aisle to serve alongside new president (to be played by Beau Bridges. (The Hollywood Reporter and The Futon Critic)

Actor Ernie Hudson will guest star in an upcoming episode of Arrow, playing four-star general of the Defense Intelligence Agency who shares a history with Diggle. (Deadline and TV Line)

BROADWAY HERE WE COME

The TV series Nashville may have left the air, but the theatrical rights have been sold to producer Scott Delman, who is planning a Broadway stage show based on the series. (The Hollywood Reporter)

SERIES ORDERS

Captain Marvel star Brie Larson will star and executive produce a drama that has been given a straight-to-series commitment at Apple. The untitled series is based on the real life experiences of CIA undercover operative Amaryllis Fox and her upcoming memoir, Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA. The series will take a look at a young woman’s (Larson) journey in the CIA, told through the prism of her closest relationships. (Variety)

The 90’s comedy Mad About You is being revived as a limited event series, set to premiere later this year, on Spectrum Originals. (Variety)

Freeform has given a 10-episode order to a new witch-themed drama Motherland: Fort Salem that will be set in an alternate, present-day America where witches ended their persecution 300 years before by cutting a deal with the government to fight for their country. Traditional power and gender roles have been flipped, with women on the front lines of defense and threats that seem familiar to our world, but with supernatural weapons and tactics. Motherland: Fort Salem will center on three young witches: Raelle (Taylor Hickson from Deadly Class), a reluctant recruit whose mother was killed in the line of duty; Tally (Jessica Sutton from The Kissing Booth), a kind, strong-willed and curious witch who enlisted over her mother’s objections; and Scylla (Amalia Holm), a playful yet dark and mischievous recruit who’s not what she appears to be. (The Hollywood Reporter)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actor Idris Elba will be taking over the role of Deadshot from Will Smith in the Suicide Squad sequel. Smith had to bow out of the movie due to scheduling conflicts. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWAL NEWS

NBC has picked up Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. for new seasons. (Variety)

Star Trek: Discovery has been renewed for a third season. (Variety)

Cinemax has renewed Strike Back for a 7th and final season (The Futon Critic)

SERIES ORDER NEWS

Syfy has given a series order to Resident Alien, a comic book adaptation that will star Alan Tudyk of Firefly fame. The series is a twisted and comedic fish-out-of-water story that follows a crash-landed alien named Harry (Tudyk) who, after taking on the identity of a small-town Colorado doctor, slowly begins to wrestle with the moral dilemma of his secret mission on Earth. The show will also star Corey Reynolds (The Closer). (TV Line)

CASTING NEWS

Actress Jacqueline Grace Lopez (East Los High) has landed the lead role in the Jane the Virgin spin-off pilot Jane the Novela. The pilot will be based on a different fictional novel “written by” Jane Villanueva and narrated by the author herself. The first installment takes place at a Napa Valley Vineyard, where family secrets (and family members) don’t stay buried for long. It centers on Estela (Lopez), an up and coming art curator who has spent years playing it safe and coloring within the lines. But a shocking secret changes everything and forces her to live a double life. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

CANCELLATIONS

Netflix has canceled The Punisher after its recently aired second season and Jessica Jones will end after its upcoming third season. (Variety)

The Man in the High Castle will come to an end on Amazon Prime after it airs its fourth season this fall. (Variety)

Syfy has cancelled the drama Nightflyers after one season. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actress Sophia Bush (One Tree Hill and Chicago P.D.) will guest star in the upcoming 5th and final season of Jane the Virgin. She will play a character named Julie, but no other details have been announced. (TV Line)

Actor Dougray Scott will appear in The CW pilot Batwoman, appearing as Jacob Kane, a former military colonel with a chip on his shoulder for Batman. He now commands Gotham’s private security firm The Crows, and has made it his mission to protect his city better than the Dark Knight ever could. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress Alicia Witt will have a recurring role in the final season of Orange Is the New Black, playing Zelda, a professional fundraiser for various high-end non-profit organizations. A strong, chic and low-key New York sophisticate who went to Dartmouth, she strives to be in control of every situation. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham) will recur in the Netflix (formerly Lifetime series) You, playing Will, who deals with unsavory sorts as part of his job, but is himself a thoughtful, personable, and highly intelligent guy who marches to the beat of his own drummer. That is, until he gets trapped in a bad situation. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress Amy Smart and actor Neil Jackson (Absentia) will both appear in the DC Universe live-action series Stargirl that follows high school sophomore Courtney Whitmore (aka Stargirl, Brec Bassinger) as she inspires an unlikely group of young heroes to stop the villains of the past. Smart will play Barbara Whitmore, Courtney’s mother and new wife of Pat Dugan (Luke Wilson). Details about who Jackson will be playing have yet to be announced. (Deadline)

Actress Stella Maeve (The Magicians) will appear in an upcoming March episode of God Friended Me, playing Sophia, a sous chef who works at her father’s restaurant and dreams of opening her own dining establishment. After Miles and Cara are sent her name by the God account, they discover that Sophia’s plans are in danger of falling apart. (TV Line)

Actress Rachael Leigh Cook (Perception) will appear in the 15th and final season of Criminal Minds playing Max, a quirky, kind-hearted, candid woman who strikes up an unusual relationship with Spencer (series regular Matthew Grey Gubler). (TV Line)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actress Tiffany Marie Smith and Charlie Field have landed the lead roles in the Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Lifetime made-for-TV movie entitled Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal, the sequel to the 2018 movie about their romance. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actor Chris Hemsworth (Avengers/Thor franchise) will play wrestler and pop culture icon Hulk Hogan in a Netflix movie. The biopic is expected to center on the rise of Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, and his “Hulkamania.” (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past week:

CANCELLATION

Counterpart has been cancelled by Starz after two seasons. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Once Upon a Time alum Ginnifer Goodwin has been tapped to star in the CBS All Access straight-to-series dark comedic drama Why Women Kill that revolves around three women living in different decades: a housewife in the 1960s, a socialite in the 1980s and a lawyer in 2018, each dealing with infidelity in their marriages. The series will examine how the roles of women have changed, but how their reaction to betrayal has not. Goodwin will star as Beth Ann, who in 1963, wants to be the ideal ’60s housewife. Goodwin joins the previously announced Lucy Liu (Elementary), who will play Simone, an elegant, stylish woman who is the picture of urbane confidence and moves through the world as if it were a delightful movie starring her. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Amy Acker (Person of Interest) will appear in an upcoming episode of Grey’s Anatomy as Kathleen Shepherd, the fourth Shepherd sister. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

The cast of the upcoming Dune reboot includes Timothee Chalamet, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, and Charlotte Rampling as well as Josh Brolin and Jason Momoa. Set in the distant future, the film follows Paul Atreides, whose family assumes control of the desert planet Arrakis. As the only producer of a highly valuable resource, jurisdiction over Arrakis is contested among competing noble families. After Atreides is betrayed, he leads a rebellion to restore his family’s reign. (Variety)

TV MOVIE NEWS

Psych-O’s rejoice. The USA Network has formally greenlit a two-hour follow-up movie to the 2017 Psych: The Movie, that finds Shawn (James Roday) and Gus (Dule Hill) going back to where it all began: Santa Barbara Police Chief Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) is ambushed on the job and left for dead. In a vintage Psych-style Hitchcockian nod, he begins to see impossible happenings around his recovery clinic. Shawn and Gus return to Lassie’s side in Santa Barbara and are forced to navigate the personal, the professional, and possibly the supernatural. Separated from their new lives in San Francisco, our heroes find themselves unwelcome in their old stomping grounds as they secretly untangle a twisted case without the benefit of the police, their loved ones, or the quality sourdough bakeries of the Bay Area. What they uncover will change the course of their relationships forever. The returning cast also includes Maggie Lawson, Kirsten Nelson and Corbin Bernsen. (TV Line)

A sequel to the Netflix movie The Kissing Booth is happening with the main cast set to return, but plot details are not being released just yet. (Variety)

Actress Rose Williams (Reign) and actor Theo James (Downton Abbey and the Divergent franchise) will star in the ITV and PBS Masterpiece adaptation of Jane Austen’s unfinished final novel Sandition, written only months before the legendary author’s death in 1817. The story of the impulsive, spirited and unconventional Charlotte Heywood (Williams) and her spiky relationship with the charming Sidney Parker (James). When a chance accident transports her from her rural hometown of Willingden to a would-be coastal resort, it exposes Charlotte to the intrigues and dalliances of a seaside town on the make. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

AMC has given The Walking Dead a 10th season renewal. (Variety)

New Amsterdam has been given a second season renewal by NBC. (Variety)

Legion will end after its upcoming third season on FX. (Variety)

Freeform has given the new drama Good Trouble a season 2 order. (Variety)

ABC has renewed The Good Doctor and A Million Little Things for new seasons. (Variety)

The History Channel has renewed Project Blue Book for a second season. (Variety)

SERIES PICK-UPS

Freeform has given a series pick-up order to a reboot of the FOX drama Part of Five, which will follow the five Acosta children as they navigate daily life struggles to survive as a family unit after their parents are suddenly deported to Mexico. (Freeform)

FX has picked up the series adaptation of the comic book series Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn and Pia Guerra. The series will be called Y and will traverse a post-apocalyptic world in which a cataclysmic event has decimated every male save for one lone human. The new world order of women will explore gender, race, class and survival. Diane Lane stars alongside Imogen Poots, Marin Ireland and Amber Tamblyn [among others]. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actress Danai Gurira will appear in a handful of episodes of The Walking Dead for its current 10th season, but then she will be leaving the show. (Variety)

Actress Rachel Skarsten (Lost Girl and Reign) will star opposite Ruby Rose (Orange Is the New Black) in the small screen adaptation of Batwoman in which Rose has the lead role. Skarsten will play the villainous role of Alice. If Batwoman had a Joker, it would be Alice, the leader of her Lewis Carroll–inspired Wonderland Gang. Swinging unpredictably between maniacal and charming, Alice has made it her mission to undermine Gotham’s sense of security. (Deadline)

Actress Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider and Game of Thrones) will star alongside Julian McMahon (Nip/Tuck and Charmed) in FBI: Most Wanted, the spin-off series to FBI. She will play Lynn Khanna, a cowboy boot-wearing FBI analyst from a conservative Dallas family, who is a master of data-mining and social engineering with a sharp, earthy sense of humor. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill) will appear in The CW series Riverdale, playing Edgar, the enigmatic leader of the cult-like Farm, who arrives in Riverdale to spread his teachings and heal the ravaged soul of this once wholesome town. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Carl Lumbly (Alias and Supergirl) will appear in This Is Us as Beth’s (series regular Susan Kelechi Watson) dad, Abe Clarke. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon a Time) has joined the cast of the upcoming CBS All Access series The Twilight Zone. She will star in the upcoming episode entitled “Point of Origin.” (Deadline)

Actress Lyndie Greenwood (Sleepy Hollow) has landed a role in the fourth season of The Expanse that will now air on Amazon Prime. She will play a character named Dr. Elvi Okoye. (TV Line)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

Netflix has cancelled Travelers after three seasons. (Variety)

CBS has renewed God Friended Me for a second season. (Variety)

The CW has given season renewals to the following shows: Charmed, Legacies, Black Lightning, Dynasty, Riverdale, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Supernatural. (Variety)

Showtime has given a series order to its long-awaited sequel to The L Word. (Variety)

SERIES PICK UP

CBS All Access has ordered the 10 episode limited series The Stand, based on the Stephen King novel that takes place in a world mostly wiped out by the plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil with the fate of mankind resting on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abagail and a handful of survivors. (Variety)

TV AND MOVIE CASTING NEWS

An 8 episode adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic War of the Worlds will include among its cast actor Gabriel Byrne and actress Elizabeth McGovern. (Variety)

Actress Sasha Lane will appear in the upcoming Amazon series Utopia, based on the British series of the same name created by Dennis Kelly that follows a group of young adults who meet online and are mercilessly hunted by a shadowy deep state organization after they come in to possession of a near mythical cult underground graphic novel. They discover the conspiracy theories in the comic’s pages may actually be real and are forced in to the dangerous, unique and ironic position of saving the world. She will play Jessica Hyde, tough and feral after a life on the run from a mysterious and dangerous group, who believes all the answers about her perplexing life story may be hidden in the graphic novel. (Variety)

Actress Darby Stanchfield (Scandal) has joined the cast of the Netflix adaptation of the graphic novel Locke & Key. She will play Nina Locke, who, after a traumatic home attack, moves her family across the country to Keyhouse for a fresh start. (Deadline)

Actor Bryan Cranston will star in the upcoming Showtime limited series Your Honor. The 10-episode legal thriller that rips through all strata of New Orleans society. He will star as a respected judge whose son is involved in a hit-and-run that leads to a high-stakes game of lies, deceit and impossible choices. (Variety)

Actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley will guest star as multiple versions of Renee Adler, one of Earth-221 detective Sherloque Wells’ (series regular Tom Cavanagh)many ex-wives on The Flash. (TV Line)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

RENEWALS

Syfy has renewed The Magicians for a 5th season. (Variety)

Suits has been renewed for its 9th and final season by USA Network. (Variety)

WGN America has given the comedic procedural Carter a second season order. (The Futon Critic)

CBS has renewed the freshman dramas FBI and Magnum P.I. (Variety)

SERIES ORDER

The USA Network has given a series order to the anthology drama Briarpatch that will star Rosario Dawson. The first season is based on the Ross Thomas book that follows Allegra Dill (Dawson), a dogged investigator returning to her border-town Texas home after her sister is murdered. What begins as a search for a killer turns into an all-consuming fight to bring her corrupt hometown to its knees. The series also stars Jay R. Ferguson, Brian Geraghty and Edi Gathegi. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actor Chandler Riggs (The Walking Dead) will appear in a multi-episode arc on A Million Little Things, playing PJ, a young man Rome (series regular Romany Malco) meets. Like Rome, PJ has had some dark days and their encounter proves meaningful to both of them in ways each of them doesn’t even fully realize at the time. (TV Line)

Actresses Marika Dominczyk and Christa Miller will both appear in the mid-season drama Whiskey Cavalier. Marika – who is married to series star Scott Foley – will play Martyna “Tina” Marek, a sexy, tough-as-nails mercenary who collides with Team Whiskey during a harrowing mission in Eastern Europe. Christa, wife of executive producer Bill Lawrence, will play Kelly Ashland, a close friend of Frankie’s (series lead Lauren Cohan) family who stepped in after the death of her parents. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

The Fosters star Sherri Saum and 21 Jump Street alum Steven Williams have landed roles in the long-in-the-works comic book adaptation Locke & Key. Saum will play Ellie Whedon, a teacher at Matheson Academy who has a mysterious history with the Locke family while Williams will recur as Joe Ridgeway, an esteemed teacher at Matheson Academy who connects with the newly arrived Locke family. (Deadline, TV Line and The Futon Critic)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

Hulu has cancelled The First, their space exploration drama, which starred Sean Pen and Natascha McElhone, after just one season. (Variety)

Netflix has given Grace and Frankie a season 6 renewal. (Variety)

Channel Zero has been canceled by Syfy after 4 seasons. (The Hollywood Reporter)

CASTING NEWS

Actor Goran Visnjic (Timeless and ER) will have a recurring role on This Is Us, playing Vincent, a teacher of Beth’s (series regular Susan Kelechi Watson). He will appear in the episode focused on Beth’s backstory that will air later this season. (Deadline)

Actor Matthew Rhys (The Americans) will play Perry Mason in the upcoming HBO limited series. This version of the legendary character will be set in Los Angeles in 1932. While the rest of the country recovers from the Great Depression, Los Angeles is booming (Oil, Olympic Games, Talking Picture, Evangelical Fervor and more). The story will follow the origin of the criminal defense lawyer. When the case of the decade breaks down his door, Mason’s relentless pursuit of the truth reveals a fractured city and just maybe, a pathway to redemption for himself. The Perry Mason in this version is living check-to-check as a low-rent private investigator, who is haunted by his wartime experiences in France and is suffering the effects of a broken marriage. (Deadline)

Actress January Jones (Mad Men) will play opposite actress Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner franchise) in the upcoming Netflix drama Spinning Out, which will be set in the world of competitive figure skating. The series centers on Kat Baker (Scodelario), an up-and-coming, high-level single skater who’s about to turn in her skates after a disastrous fall took her off the competition track. Jones will play Carol Baker, Kat (Scodelario) mother, a former high-level figure skater who had to forfeit her dreams when she became pregnant with her oldest daughter at a young age. (Deadline)

Actor Peter Sarsgaard (The Looming Tower and The Killing) will star in the upcoming CBS All Access true crime drama Interrogation. He will play a detective based on the true story of a young man who was charged and convicted of brutally murdering his mother. Each episode will revolve around an interrogation taken from real police case files, allowing the viewer to play detective. CBS All Access plans to release the first nine episodes to watch in any order, with the conclusive season finale available at a later date. (Deadline and TV Line)

Actress Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) will appear as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the fourth season of The Crown. (Deadline)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

The TV series Fantasy Island is going to be coming to the theatre as box office film, starring Michael Pena as Mr. Roarke. The cast will also include Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars), Maggie Q (Nikita and Designated Survivor), Ryan Hansen (Veronica Mars), Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy), Parisa Fitz-Henley (Midnight, Texas and Harry and Meghan: A Royal Romance) and Austin Stowell (Battle of the Sexes). (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past week:

RENEWAL/CANCELLATION

CBS has renewed Criminal Minds for a 15th season, which will be the show’s last season. The final season will consist of 10 episodes shot back-to-back with the Season 14 episodes currently in production. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actress Sarah Shahi (Person of Interest) will have a recurring role on The Rookie, playing Jessica Russo, a smart and intense rock star FBI agent who now uses her expertise training others in the private sector. A straight shooter with a subversive sense of humor, Jessica is an expert in hostage negotiations, predictive analysis and profiling and wrote the definitive book on the subject to prove it. (TV Line)

Actress Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show) will guest star in an upcoming episode of This Is Us, playing Carol, the mother of Beth (series regular Susan Kelechi Watson). (Deadline)

Actor Daniel Dae Kim (Hawaii Five-0) will play a key recurring role in The Good Doctor (where he also serves as an executive producer), playing Dr. Jackson Han, a brash new Chief of Surgery at St. Bonaventure. (Deadline)

Actor Luke Wilson has joined the cast of the DC Universe series Stargirl, playing mechanic-turned-superhero Pat Dugan, who pilots Stripe, a hulking 15-foot robot of his own invention. (Deadline)

Actor Adam Rose will reprise his role of geeky Max in the Veronica Mars revival expected to air on Hulu next summer as a limited series. This time around, though, Max works as the owner and operator of High How Are You? Neptune’s marijuana dispensary. (TV Line)

HBO is planning the prequel to Game of Thrones, which will include among its cast actors Jamie Campbell Bower (the movies Shadowhunters and the Twilight franchise) and Toby Regbo (Reign). The series will be set thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, and will chronicle the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. No character descriptions were released however. (E! Entertainment)

SERIES PICK-UP

Netflix announced they will adapt two of author Leigh Bardugo’s best-selling fantasy book series: The Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows novels. They will be made into 8-episode series, which will incorporate characters and concepts from the two franchises. The series will be set in a world cleaved in two by a massive barrier of perpetual darkness, where unnatural creatures feast on human flesh. A young soldier uncovers a power that might finally unite her country, but as she struggles to hone her power, dangerous forces plot against her. (TV Line)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

There hasn’t been a lot of news since the week of Christmas, but here are a couple items worth sharing:

PILOT ORDER

The CW has given a pilot order to Batwoman, starring Ruby Rose (Orange Is the New Black) as the lead. In this latest version, Batwoman, aka Kate Kane, is described as an out lesbian and highly trained fighter who has no trouble speaking her mind. She’s pressed into service as a crime-fighter as mayhem overruns Gotham, although Kane has to overcome her own demons before she can save the city. (Variety)

CANCELLATION

The History Channel will be bringing Vikings to a close at the end of its current 20-episode 6th season. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »