Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items, few though they are, for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Athena Karkanis (Low Winter Sun) has joined the cast of the upcoming Lifetime conspiracy thriller The Lottery, the 10 episode drama that is set in a dystopian future where women have stopped having children, threatening extinction of the human race. Karkanis will play Vanessa who has earned her job and risen through the political ranks all the way to chief of staff to the POTUS. (The Deadline Team)

Actress Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) has joined the cast of the upcoming USA Network 6-episode event series Dig that centers on Peter Connelly (Jason Isaacs), an FBI agent currently stationed in Jerusalem who, while investigating the murder of an American archeologist uncovers a conspiracy 2,000 years in the making. Ambrose will play Debbie, a dedicated follower of evangelist Ted Billingham (David Costabile). She spends most of her time looking after fellow disciple 13-year-old Josh (Zen McGrath), but when Josh suddenly disappears, Debbie begins to question the beliefs and choices that have led her to this isolated place. The cast includes Anne Heche and Regina Taylor. (Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter)

It looks like TNT might be spinning-off a series from Major Crimes, which is itself a spin-off from The Closer. This potential spin-off would focus on Agent Fitz Howard (actor Jon Tenney), a character introduced in The Closer – married to Brenda Leigh Johnson (actress Kyra Sedgwick) and also appeared in a few episode of Major Crimes. The potential spin-off could also possibly include actor Malcolm Jamal Warner (The Cosby Show), who has appeared in several episode of Major Crimes. No confirmation has been made by TNT as yet though. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Brett Cullen (Lost, Person of Interest and Revenge) will appear in a multi-episode arc of Under the Dome, playing Don, who runs a multi-national corporation and also just happens to be Barbie’s (series lead Mike Vogel) dad. Under the Dome will be back on CBS starting on June 30. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Brett Dalton (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) will appear in the indie film The Tourist, playing Eric Lazard, a heartbroken former college football star who gets in over his head with a dangerous Florentine sport and an alluring local woman. Castle alum Stana Katic will co-star. (The Deadline Team)

Actress Tessa Thompson (Copper and Veronica Mars) has joined the cast of the box office film Selma that will focus on the often violent 1965 marches in Selma, AL, that marked the political and emotional peak of the civil rights movement. She will play Diane Nash, a civil rights activist and adviser to Dr. Martin Luther King (actor David Oyelowo) who is connected to his day-to-day operations. (The Deadline Team)

Actor Hugh Dancy (Hannibal) will have the lead role in the upcoming film The Happy Prince that will tell the untold story of the last days in the tragic life of Oscar Wilde. (Screen Daily and Dark Horizons)

Actress Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) and actor Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class) will play bank-robbing duo Bonnie and Clyde in the upcoming film Go Down Together, an adaptation of the Jeff Gunn non-fiction book, which is a revisionist take on the legend of the Depression-era bank robbers. (The Wrap and Dark Horizons)

Here are the top 10 box office movies for this past weekend courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1. Godzilla – 93.2 million
2. Neighbors – 25.9 million
3. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – 16.8 million
4. Million Dollar Arm – 10.5 million
5. The Other Woman – 6.3 million
6. Heaven Is for Real – 4.4 million
7. Rio 2 – 3.8 million
8. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – 3.7 million
9. Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return – 1.95 million
10. Mom’s Night Out – 1.9 million

Q&A SECTION (with TV Scoop Team at E! Online)

Question: I know you guys were at the Pretty Little Liars set last week! I want some scoop! – Tanaya

TV Scoop Team: Ah, we’ve been caught red-handed. Here’s your prize: Not only will Ezra survive from his rooftop battle with “A,” but the history buff will also find a way to win back a certain brunette’s affections.

Question: I still can’t get over the ridiculously hot Orphan Black sex scene! What’s next for Rachel and Paul? – Mandi

TV Scoop Team: We chatted with the incredibly wonderful Dylan Bruce and he revealed that things are going to get pretty darn serious for Paul and Rachel. “It progresses to the point where she really stars relying on him, which he wants,” Bruce teased. “He wants to be as useful to her as he possible can be, become her inside man for reason for his own agenda.” Unfortunately, it looks like Paul will be going off the gird once again this season, but Bruce promises it’s all a part of the grand plan for Paul’s schemes.

Question: I’m obsessed with The Fosters and I need it to come back now. Please give me something to make the waiting less horrible. – Rayna

TV Scoop Team: Uh-oh! We hate to break it to you but the uber-skeevy Liam will be making an appearance within the first ten episode of season two (We’re not telling you which one!) And if you guys want to be able to punch Liam in his smug little face—you are not alone! In fact, Wyatt is so pissed to see him that they may or may not get into a huge fist fight. Please excuse us, we’re off to go print our Team Wyatt t-shirts.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the whopping Two news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Matt Davis will return to The Vampire Diaries this fall – the show’s 6th season – as a series regular. (Robin Ross at TV Guide)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a fantastic weekend!!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Gilles Marini (Switched at Birth) will make a guest appearance on Devious Maids in July, playing opposite series lead Roselyn Sanchez, but details are being kept under wraps as to who he will be playing. (Kate Stanhope at TV Guide)

Actor John Barrowman (Torchwood) has been promoted to series regular status on Arrow when it returns this fall for its third season on The CW. (Twitter and Dark Horizons)

TV TRAILER

MINI-SERIES NEWS

Actress Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds) and actor Donald Sumpter (Game of Thrones) have joined the cast of the upcoming SundanceTV four-hour mini-series One Child that crosses the world as a Chinese-born young woman adopted by British parents must struggle with who she really is in order to decide where her loyalty lies. Perkins and Sumpter will play Katherine and Jim Arthurton, the adoptive parents of Mei, a first-born Chinese girl adopted by English parents who gets called back to Guangzhou when her birth mother desperately seeks her assistance in saving her son. (The Futon Critic)

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

Actress Joan Chen (Twin Peaks) has joined the cast of the Netflix series Marco Polo that will follow a young Marco Polo, who finds himself at the center of a brutal war between two empires in 13th century China, rife with close combat, romance and sexual intrigue, religious tension, political skullduggery and spectacular battles. Chen will play Chabi, empress of the Yuan Dynasty. The 10-episode series will debut on Netflix later this year. (Justin Kroll at Variety)

Actor T. R. Knight (Grey’s Anatomy) has landed the male lead in the Amazon Studios drama pilot Hysteria that will star Mena Suvari (Chicago Fire) as an exceptionally bright but socially awkward neurologist/psychiatrist who travels to her hometown of Austin, Texas, to investigate a mysterious epidemic that might be spreading among high school girls through technology. Knight will play Suvari’s brother, who tries convince his sister that the panic currently swallowing Austin is the same hysteria that sent him to prison 25 years ago, and if she will help to exonerate him, he’ll give her the clues she needs to resolve the crisis. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

BOX OFFICES NEWS

Actress Zoe Deutch (Vampire Academy and Beautiful Creatures – and who is also the daughter of actress Lea Thompson of Switched at Birth and Back to the Future fame) will star in the upcoming box office film called Cover Girl, about Meg, a Queens, NY girl who finds herself a fish out of water attending Cambridge Business School while financing her studies in an unusual way. (Jen Yamato at Deadline)

Halle Berry will star in the upcoming box office thriller Kidnap as the mother who will stop at nothing to rescue her abducted son. (Nancy Tartaglione at Deadline)

Actors Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl), Jeremy Sumpter (Peter Pan and Friday Night Lights and actress Phoebe Tonkin (The Originals) have joined the cast of the upcoming box office film Toy Soldiers that focuses on the sons and daughters of billionaires who have been sent by their frustrated parents to an exclusive, tough-love boot camp on a remote island. When they are taken hostage by a group of sophisticated kidnappers, the captives suddenly need every ounce of their brief training to survive. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Mike Colter (The Good Wife and Ringer) will star in the live-action digital feature film Halo that will follow a similar format to the “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” web series, following a 26th century surgically-enhanced super soldier. Colter is expected to play Marlowe, a rising star in a futuristic army who is troubled by aspects of the military industrial complex he inhabits. Approaching combat situations with caution and logic, he inspires loyalty in his fellow Spartans. (The Wrap and Dark Horizons)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Sundance TV is adding another drama to its ranks in the form of Babylon, a workplace satire set inside a modern police force, Brit Marling (Another Earth) and James Nesbitt (The Hobbit) star in the drama that centers on an earnest executive who attempts to modernize the culture only to discover her certainties shattered and herself undermined in the murky realpolitik of contemporary policing. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Jaime Ray Newman (Red Widow and Eastwick) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Franklin & Bash, playing Anita Haskin’s (Toni Trucks) law-school nemesis Cheryl Koch. (Andy Swift at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Edgar Ramirez (The Counselor and The Bourne Ultimatum) is supposedly going to take Gerard Butler’s place in the planned remake of Point Break, playing the role of Bodhi, which was played by Patrick Swayze in the original. (Justin Kroll at Variety)

Actress Katey Sagal (Sons of Anarchy) has joined the cast of the Pitch Perfect sequel. She will play the mother of new cast member Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit). (Jen Yamato at Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with TV Scoop Team at E! Online, Natalie Abrams at TV Guide and Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Question: I saw Marc Guggenheim tease on Twitter that someone will say “I love you” in the Arrow finale. Any scoop on who says it?! – Carly

TV Scoop Team: “I can’t say s–t about that!” Stephen Amell said when we asked if Oliver is the one dropping those three little words. “I can’t say anything about that line!” However, Amell teased, “Possibly the loudest reaction from viewers in the finale will take place in a moment of complete silence.”

Question: I cannot get over Revenge’s finale! David Clarke’s return was insane! But will Emily’s mother also return in season four? – Meghan S.

TV Scoop Team: Kara is still out there, so it’s a definite possibility, showrunner Sunil Nayar hinted to us. “She’s definitely come up in conversations. Season four is going to be much more about the nature of Emily’s family as opposed to the Grayson family than it’s ever been before,” he spilled. “She’s someone we’re talking about, but we haven’t figured out the stories yet, but we love her and we love the character. You never know, she could pop up.”

Question: I’m still processing that Castle cliff-hanger. Who ran Castle’s car off the road? — Linda

Natalie: Although there are a number of possibilities (3XK comes to mind, for example), it sounds like at least one person isn’t involved: the recently arrested Sen. William Bracken. “I think that aspect of the mythology is closed now,” creator Andrew W. Marlowe says. “Beckett knows who killed her mother. If there’s further storytelling there, I think we’re going to be breaking new ground.” And for those fans miffed that we didn’t get to see Castle and Beckett’s wedding, look on the bright side: The show will have a fresh budget to work with in Season 7! “That’s right,” Marlowe says with a laugh. “We were running on fumes, financially, at the end of this year.” When can we expect our diamond-encrusted invite?

Question: I’m confused about The Blacklist. Did the burn scars on Red’s back mean that he’s Liz’s father? — Evan

Natalie: Creator Jon Bokenkamp thought he made it pretty clear in our postmortem that Red is not Liz’s dad, but I went back to the source to double check. “All I would say is that Red was obviously there during that fire,” Bokenkamp says. “Or so it would seem. Don’t think it means he’s her father — he has said no to that question, after all.” Everybody clear now?

Question: Is this the final chapter for 24 or do you think there will be more? — Brandon

Natalie: No official decisions have been made at this point, but there’s at least one person who’s confident the show will go on. “When [the idea] was first delivered…it was delivered as this is wrapping up the franchise,” Mary Lynn Rajskub says. “But when the rewrites came back… it must have felt fresh enough [because] everyone was really happy. I would be really surprised if they didn’t do more after this installment.” Whether or not that turns out to be true, the writers certainly aren’t approaching this as the ultimate ending. “We’re not going to kill him, I can guarantee you that,” co-creator and executive producer Robert Cochran says.

Question: I need more Once Upon a Time scoop! — Karen

Natalie: Now that Rumple has pledged his life to Belle, he’s going to have a tough time lying to her about his role in Zelena’s death. Could this be the first crack in his seemingly unbreakable façade? “It’s probably not going to be easy for him,” executive producer Adam Horowitz tells me. “Those were genuine vows and he loves Belle, but he’s got his own weaknesses that he has to fight.” It’s like they always say: The best marriages are the ones built on lies! (What? No one says that?)

Question: Does Branch survive on Longmire? — Caleb

Natalie: Being shot is actually the least of Branch’s worries when the drama returns for Season 3. Suffice it to say, Branch is not in top condition when he sets out to find the White Warrior who shot him. His failing health impairs his judgment in a way that makes it nearly impossible for him to keep the trust of those around him — especially Cady, who has a particularly scary run-in with Branch in the premiere.

Question: How long will Layla and Will be able to keep up their reality show charade on Nashville? — Michael

Natalie: Not very long! “He is the kind of guy who cracks under pressure,” Chris Carmack says. “With this reality show, the camera’s on him 24/7. He can’t punch a wall and then apologize and be good old Will.” When that pressure reaches fever pitch in the finale, Will is forced to have an extremely uncomfortable conversation with Layla. But will that conversation stay private?

Question: I can’t wait for Graceland to return! — Laura

Natalie: Fortunately for you, I’ve already screened the premiere. Needless to say Mike won’t be away from Graceland for long. And while his return from D.C. won’t please everyone, there’s at least one party eagerly awaiting his arrival: the Caza Cartel, which has put a price on Mike’s head!

Question: What can you tease about the Arrow finale? — Tiger

Natalie: Diggle and Deadshot will cross paths again when Arrow’s right-hand man is tasked with preventing A.R.G.U.S. from destroying Starling City. “There’s a fairly big development with Diggle in the finale that will set up his story for next year,” executive producer Marc Guggenheim teases. “We get to see Amanda Waller again, and the episode helps explain how Amanda knows so much about Oliver Queen.”

Question: I am dying for any scoop on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.! Please tell me you have something. –Dee

Mitovich: As a matter of fact, just as the season finale faded to black on Tuesday night, we asked Clark Gregg about Coulson’s plum new job title. “It’s a very important gig,” he acknowledged. “I saw it [Monday] night for the first time myself, and I got choked up watching it. As someone who grew up reading the S.H.I.E.L.D. comics, I kind of couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It is a big deal” — especially given the second post-credits scene, which suggested that all is not right in Coulson’s mind. “I think it’s interesting that Director Fury gave Agent Coulson this job, given that he still has GH-325 pumping through him,” Gregg observed. “We don’t know 100 percent what he is, but we’ll see what happens. It’ll be an exciting Season 2.”

Question: Is there now going to be tension again between Once Upon a Time’s Emma and Regina? They developed so well this season! –Tass

Mitovich: While Jennifer Morrison concurs that it was “cool and interesting” to explore “this idea of these adversaries finding common ground to save Henry,” she also says, “It makes sense that we’re going back to a place where these two women are going to be adversaries.” Surveying Emma’s bit of time travel tampering, she adds, “Emma definitely wants Regina to be with Robin, and she never would have intentionally done anything to hurt that. But she’d also never let someone die in the circumstance that [Marian] was in. So it’s one of those situations where doing the right thing is going to have terrible repercussions. But I think it’s good for the show. We should have conflict between Regina and Emma, because that’s where the show got its feet in the first place,”

Question: Besides Elsa, can we expect other Frozen characters to show up on Once Upon a Time? Maybe a CGI Olaf? –Heather

Mitovich: I like warm hugs and my sons and I love Olaf, so I was sure to ask Adam and Eddy precisely that: Do you wanna build a CGI snowman? They responded with a laugh, followed by a firm, “No comment.”

Question: In the new season of Major Crimes (premiering June 9), is there a chance for a deeper development of a friendship between Sharon and Andy? If yes, is there a chance for anything romantic? –Ilona

Mitovich: “They’re getting closer…,” Tony Dennison, who plays Det. Flynn, told me this morning. “I don’t really know the specific details about how it will progress, but it seems like it is progressing. I mean, they’re been going out for dinners and stuff, so

Question: Do you have any spoilers on The Vampire Diaries and on The Originals and on Pretty Little Liars? –Nancy

Mitovich: Pretty Little Liars it is! I’m hearing that the Liars are heading back to Radley Sanitarium — and they’ve got company. A Season 5 episode will introduce viewers to “Big Rhonda,” a 19-year-old patient described as “unkempt, disruptive and unsettling.” Somehow I don’t see her fitting into the girls’ inner circle.

Question: It wasn’t right how Castle Season 6 ended, but I do believe it has something to do with Castle’s dad. Is he going to make an appearance in Season 7? –Nola

Mitovich: When I asked show boss Andrew W. Marlowe if he had in mind a third beat for the Jackson Hunt/Spy Daddy storyline, he said, “There’s always stuff floating in the back of our minds, but it all depends on [James] Brolin’s availability and finding a story that makes sense and honors the characters.” So I myself am speculating no, Castle’s dad was not involved in that finale twist.

Question: The Nashville finale promo is driving me mad. Please tell me Rayna doesn’t get engaged to Luke. –S.D.

Mitovich: Will Chase, who will become a series regular in Season 3, played it right down the middle when we felt him out about just that. “Oh, you know TV — it could be yes and it could be no. Or I could be in a car crash and all of a sudden be, like, evil,” he shared with a laugh. “My gut says that Luke and Rayna will end up [together], but you never know.” And yet, we’d think he knows, right?

Question: What did Orphan Black‘s Mrs. S. mean when she said she knew “what” Sarah is? –Claire

Mitovich: That is the million-dollar question the latest episode left us with, but Maria Doyle Kennedy won’t disclose any details. “I do feel that she has a lot more information than anybody realizes,” she says. After parting ways with Carlton all those years ago, “I think she went to investigate as much as she could everything surrounding Carlton and Sarah and their lives together in order to protect herself, so that she would have as much information as she could,” the actress ventures. “That was she was always one move ahead of anybody who might be coming after her.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today, few though they may be:

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Sundance TV is developing a drama about Rip Van Winkle entitled Crack in the Sky that will find a “Don Draper-type” (the character Jon Hamm plays in Mad Men) fallen asleep in 1962 but waking up in 2012. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

NBC will air a live production of The Music Man at some later point in their scheduling. This follows the announcement a few months ago that the network will put on a live production of Peter Pan. The network aired the live production of The Sound of Music last December. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE MOVIE NEWS

Oscar winner Octavia Spencer (The Help) has joined the cast of the upcoming film adaptation of Insurgent, the 2nd book from Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy. She will play Johanna, the leader of the Amity faction, which is dedicated to peacefulness, kindness, forgiveness, trust, self-sufficiency, and neutrality. Actress Shailene Woodley will be back as Tris Prior along with Theo James as Tris’ love interest Four and Kate Winslet as Jeanine, the leader of the Erudite (intelligence) faction. (Movie Web)

Actress Noomi Rapace (the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) will star alongside Will Smith in the upcoming box office film Brilliance that is an adaptation of the Marcus Sakey novel that focuses on a world where a rare set of people are born with extraordinary abilities called “brilliants.” At the center of the story is a federal agent with great hunting gifts who is drafted to hunt down a terrorist, another such brilliant who intends to start a civil war. (Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)

Good, bad or otherwise, actor Channing Tatum (Magic Mike and 21 Jump Street) has been cast as Gambit in the next planned X-Men franchise film(s). (Laura Prudom at Variety)

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

The USA Network has given a series order to a new sci-fi series called Colony that will be executive produced and written by Carlton Cuse (Lost and Bates Motel) and Ryan Condal (Hercules). The series is set in the near-future of 2015 that follows the residents of Los Angeles, who are living under alien occupation; some collaborate with the alien authorities and benefit from the new order, while others rebel and suffer the consequences. (Zap2It and Blastr)

NBC has given a third season order to Hannibal while they have cancelled Revolution as well as canceling the new dramas Believe and Crisis. (Cynthia Littleton at Variety)

ABC has renewed the following existing dramas: Once Upon a Time, Revenge, Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy and Castle. The network also gave second season orders to new dramas Resurrection and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The new dramas that have been picked up to series include the following:

American Crime

CAST | Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), Timothy Hutton (Leverage), Benito Martinez (Sons of Anarchy), W. Earl Brown (Deadwood), Penelope Ann Miller (Mistresses), Richard Cabral

Set in California’s Central Valley, it centers on a racially charged murder and the subsequent trial, which are examined through the personal lives of the players involved. The case takes on greater meaning in the community, bringing to the forefront America’s hardened views on race, class and gender politics.

Forever

CAST | Ioan Gruffudd (Ringer), Judd Hirsch (Damages, Numb3rs), Alana de la Garza (Law & Order), Joel David Moore (Bones), Barbara Eve Harris, Donnie Keshawarz

Dr. Henry Morgan is New York City’s star medical examiner, but what no one knows is Henry studies the dead for a reason: He is immortal. With the help of detective Jo Martinez, the show peels back the layers of Henry’s colorful and long life through their cases.

How to Get Away With Murder

CAST | Viola Davis, Matt McGorry (Orange Is the New Black), Liza Weil (Scandal, Gilmore Girls), Aja Naomi King (The Black Box), Charlie Weber (90210), Katie Findlay (The Carrie Diaries), Billy Brown (Hostages), Tom Verica (American Dreams), Jack Falahee, Alfred Enoch, Karla Souza

A sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller about a group of ambitious law students and their brilliant, mysterious criminal defense professor who become entangled in a murder plot that will rock the entire university and change the course of their lives.

Marvel’s Agent Carter

CAST | Hayley Atwell

Set in 1946, this drama tells the story of Captain America‘s Peggy Carter, who goes on secret missions for Howard Stark while adjusting to losing the love of her life.

The Whispers

CAST | Lily Rabe (American Horror Story), Barry Sloane (Revenge), Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes), Derek Webster, Brianna Brown, Catalina Denis, Kylie Rogers, Kyle Harrison Breitkopf

A drama about an alien invasion, in which earth’s enemies possess children’s bodies to take down humanity.

(Cynthia Littleton at Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and TV Line)

Actors Patrick Fabian (Joan of Arcadia and Veronica Mars) and Michael Mando (Orphan Black) and actress Rhea Seehorn (Franklin & Bash) have joined the cast of the upcoming AMC series Better Call Saul, a prequel to Breaking Bad that will center on criminal lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) before he become Walter White’s lawyer. Full casting details are being kept under wraps. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

TV MINI-SERIES NEWS

HBO has cast actor Casey Affleck (younger brother of Ben) in the six-hour mini-series Lewis And Clark that will tell the story of America’s first contact with the land and native tribes of the country west of the Mississippi River. The mini-series will chronicle the epic journey of the Corps of Discovery and its captains Meriwether Lewis (Affleck) and William Clark traversing uncharted territory on a mission to deliver President Jefferson’s message of sovereignty as they search for his fabled all-water route to the Pacific. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Nikki Reed (the Twilight franchise) will star in the independent film called The Sunday Horse that is based on the true story of Debi Connor, an equestrian rider from the wrong side of the tracks who overcame the odds and a near-fatal accident to win the U.S. championship on a horse saved from slaughter. (Jen Yamato at Deadline)

Actress Julia Stiles (the Bourne franchise) has joined the cast of the big screen adaptation of the Katherine Paterson novel The Great Gilly Hopkins that will star Sophia Nelisse (The Book Thief) as Gilly, a young girl who dreams of being reunited one day with her mysterious and exotic mother, who will be played by Stiles. (Jen Yamato at Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

As we gear up for upfronts next week (that’s the presentations made by the networks to the advertisers in New York where each network announces their plans for the new TV season, including what shows have been cancelled, renewed and picked up), here are some early announcements:

Fox has cancelled comedies Dads, Enlisted and Surviving Jack and the drama Rake. (Variety and The Hollywood Reporter)

NBC has renewed Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for a 16th season and they have picked up the DC Comics/Warner Bros. TV adaptation of Constantine as well as Mysteries of Laura (that will star Debra Messing). (Entertainment Weekly and Variety)

The CW has canceled dramas The Carrie Diaries and the new dramas Star-Crossed and The Tomorrow People but renewed Beauty And the Beast and Hart of Dixie. They have picked up the new dramas The Flash, Jane the Virgin, Zombie, and The Messengers, but the Supernatural spin-off is NOT happening. (Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Christian Cooke (the short-lived BBC supernatural drama Demons) has joined the cast of Witches of East End, which will start its second season on Lifetime on July 6. He will a stranger who arrives in town. (Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter)

TV TRAILER

Extant

TV MINI-SERIES NEWS

Lifetime is jumping on the bandwagon of bible-themed projects with a small screen adaptation of The Red Tent, which is based on the best-selling novel by Anita Diamant. The two-night mini-series will tell the story of Dinah (Rebecca Ferguson from The White Queen), the daughter of Leah and Jacob, who is only briefly referenced in the Old Testament. The cast will also include Mini Driver (About a Boy), Morena Baccarin (Homeland and Firefly) and Debra Winger. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Luke Kleintank (Bone and Pretty Little Liars) has joined the upcoming family adventure film called Max that will follow a Belgian Shepherd Malinois military dog who returns from Afghanistan traumatized by his handler’s death. Adopted by the soldier’s family, he bonds with his fallen partner’s 14-year-old brother. Kleintank will play a returning vet who worked with Max. (Jen Yamato at Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Question: Please, any scoop about Revenge? —Julien

Ausiello: Sunday’s season finale isn’t just gonna be nuts, it’s gonna be an entire display case of Payday bars. We’re talking handcuffs for one major character, toe tags for two others, the emergence of a new scheme team and a scene that’s so horrifying, it’ll make Pascal’s death-by-helicopter-blade seem mercifully tame by comparison.

Question: Is there any hope for Bash and Mary on Reign? —Sara

Ausiello: Don’t shoot the messenger, Sara, but star Toby Regbo tells TVLine that Reign‘s original love triangle is no more. “The writers might come back and turn it on its head, but for the most part, the show has entered a different [chapter],” he explains. “I don’t think people expected things to settle down that quickly; Francis and Mary were married by Episode 13. So this whole Team Bash/Team Francis thing they set up … that part of the show has shifted.”

Question: I love Major Crimes and I can’t wait to watch it again! Do you have some spoilers or info for us? –Luana

Ausiello: Jon Tenney will reprise his role as G-man Fritz in at least one early episode of Season 3, which opens June 9. Alas, still no signs of wife Brenda Leigh!

Question: Are we going to meet Will’s “friend” from Texas on Nashville this season? They keep alluding to him. —Kelly

Ausiello: We put that question to series creator Callie Khouri and here’s what she said: “Not this season.” (I’ll take that to mean we’ll be meeting him next season. Or never.)

Question: I know it’s probably early yet, but anything on the huge, final season of Haven? –Amy

Ausiello: Could the Syfy series possibly end with the titular town cured of all its troubles? That’s something to ponder as the show sets out to cast the recurring role of a military vet/doctor who comes to suspect that science might be able to snuff the supernatural.

Question: Even with addition of the Knave next season on Once Upon a Time, is there any chance Robin Hood could become a series regular? I love him and Regina together! —Robyn

Ausiello: Even though series co-creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis are both fans of Sean Maguire’s work as the Prince of Thieves, “It’s too soon to say,” Kitsis answered when we ran your Q by them. “I would wait and see.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

The cable network WGN America has renewed their new thriller, period piece drama Salem for a 13-episode second season that will air in 2015. (Kimberly Roots at TV Line)

Sleepy Hollow has been given at least a 15 episode order for its returning second season and there is a possibility it will have as many as 18 episodes. The show’s first season was only 13 episodes. (James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Daniel Sharman (Teen Wolf) will have a major role on The Originals for the show’s second season. He will play Kaleb, the handsome, devilish and charming new witch in the French Quarter’s coven. (Tierney Bricker at E! Online)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The annual upfront presentations by the major networks will officially take place next week, but a few announcements on new pilots that have been picked up to series are already been made, including the following:

Odyssey on NBC is a Traffic-like action drama, which centers on what happens when three strangers’ lives unexpectedly collide: a female soldier, a corporate lawyer and a political activist. The cast includes Peter Facinelli (Nurse Jackie), Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies) and Adewale Akinnouoye-Agbaje (Lost) [among others].

Red Band Society on FOX will focus on a diverse group of teenagers who become unlikely allies and friends in the pediatric wing of a hospital. The cast includes Oscar winner Octavia Spencer.

Empire on FOX will be set in the world of a hip-hop empire that will feature both original and current music. The cast includes Terrence Howard (Iron Man) and Taraji P. Henson (Person of Interest).

State of Affairs on NBC is the new drama starring Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy) as a CIA agent, who is tasked with briefing the president on the most vital security issues facing the nation. Other cast members include Alfre Woodard, Leslie Odom, Jr. (Smash and Person of Interest) and Adam Kaufman.

Gotham on FOX is the origins story of young James Gordon (aka Commissioner Gordon from the world of Batman). The cast includes Ben McKenzie (Southland), Donal Logue (Vikings) and Jada Pinkett Smith (the Matrix franchise).

Also in the mix are the following new TNT pilots that have been picked up to series:

Proof, which will star Jennifer Beals (The Chicago Code) as a surgeon who investigates reincarnation with the help of funding from a billionaire.

Public Morals, which is a detective drama set in 1967 New York City that will star Ed Burns as a vice cop struggling to stay honest.

(Cynthia Littleton at Variety, Whitney Friedlander at Variety and The Futon Critic)

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

Actor Josh Stewart (The Dark Knight Rises and No Ordinary Family) will star opposite Mena Suvari in the Amazon Studios drama pilot Hysteria that centers on Dr. Logan Harlow (Suvari), an exceptionally bright but socially awkward neurologist/psychiatrist at the University of Texas Medical School who travels to her hometown of Austin to investigate a mysterious epidemic among high school girls that might be spreading through technology. Stewart will play a local man who is trying to reconnect with his family after he had an affair with the family babysitter and now finds the girl not wanting to let go. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

Actor Johnathon Schaech (currently recurring on Star-Crossed) has joined the cast of the upcoming History Channel mini-series Texas Rising that details the Texas Revolution against Mexico and the rise of the legendary Texas Rangers. Schaech will play Colonel Sherman, the blustering Kentucky aristocrat who thinks Sam Houston (Bill Paxton) is a disastrous commander and challenges his orders at every opportunity. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Laura Linney (The Big C) will appear in the upcoming film A Slight Trick of the Mind that will star Ian McKellen as an aging Sherlock Holmes, playing Holmes’ housekeeper Mrs. Munro. (Nicole Sperling at Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect) will star in the planned reboot of the 1980 comedy film Private Benjamin that will follow a redneck (Wilson) and a rich city girl who get more than they bargained for when they enlist in the Marines to escape their present situations. (Tracking Board and The Wrap)

Q&A SECTION (with Natalie Abrams at TV Guide and TV Scoop Team at E! Online)

Question: I’m so glad 24 is back. What’s coming up? — Casey

Natalie: Though it was fun to see Jack and Chloe at odds in the premiere, the ice between the two will thaw a little when Chloe fills Jack in on the last four years of her life — including a particularly heartbreaking story about some of Chloe’s loved ones. (Suddenly, Chloe’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo get-up will make much more sense.) Unfortunately, whatever progress the former partners make will go out the window when a member of Chloe’s team tries to double-cross Jack.

Question: I want Deacon and Rayna to end up together on Nashville! — Jessie

Natalie: Don’t we all. Unfortunately, you may have to wait a little longer. In fact, I hear that after Luke professes his love for Rayna on Wednesday’s episode, he will make an even bigger play for Rayna’s heart in the finale. Though it’s safe to assume Deacon won’t be pleased by that particular development, his reaction will surprise everyone.

Question: Anything on Under the Dome would be great. — Marciella

Natalie: Julia will take on a leadership role in Chester’s Mill in Season 2 — and that won’t sit well with Big Jim’s supporters. However, Julia’s initiative will backfire in a big way when one of her big ideas for the town goes awry in explosive fashion. The question is: Was she set up?

Question: Revenge has me hooked once again. Please tell me the finale won’t disappoint! – Meggy

TV Scoop Team: Um, it won’t. Seriously, you need to watch this finale live as more than one major death goes down by episode’s end. Plus, Emily will receive both the best and worst news of her life, while Victoria will make her biggest move against Emily yet. And if that’s not enough, the show will manage to pull off its most shocking twist ever.

Question: Holy crap, The Blacklist is insane right now! What can we expect next?! – Seth

TV Scoop Team: Tom’s true feelings for Liz to be revealed, an intense showdown between Red and Berlin…and the death of a major player on the team. Break out the tissues, y’all!

Question: I can’t wait for my favorite summer show Under the Dome to return! What can you tell me about season two? – Kevin

TV Scoop Team: Expect to learn a whole lot more about Barbie’s past…and to meet someone very close to him midway through the season.

Question: Holy crap, I can’t believe Leith is coming back on Reign! Please tell me there’s hope for him and Greer? – Nellie

TV Scoop Team: What was the French Court’s version of Facebook because things are complicated between the duo. “It will change everything when Leith comes back [to French Court]. He’s a different person,” Laurie McCarthy previewed for us. “He has different opportunities and different ambitions, we’ll come to find out as well.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today, few though they may be:

TELEVISION

Starz has renewed Da Vinci’s Demons for a third season. (Starz Press Release)

Actor Timothy Busfield (thirtysomething) will have a recurring role as Benjamin Franklin on Sleepy Hollow when it returns for its second season this fall on FOX. This version of Franklin will be a mentor of Ichabod Crane (series lead Tom Mison), who is also involved in the “secret war” within the American Revolution. (Kimberly Roots at TV Line)

TV TRAILER

Extended Gotham Trailer

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

The Veronica Mars online spin-off series Play It Again, Dick will air later this summer on CW Seed. The spin-off series, co-written and produced by Rob Thomas (the creator of Veronica Mars) will star series regular Ryan Hansen as himself, as he begs, cajoles and pleads with his former Veronica Mars cast members and friends to help him get his character, Dick Casablancas, his own spin-off show. (Art imitating life, much?!) (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Britt Robertson (Under the Dome and The Secret Circle) has landed a lead role in the upcoming adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel The Longest Ride. She will play Sophia Danko, the college student who falls for a young cowboy while elsewhere a 91-year-old man trapped in a crashed car reflects on the love of his life. The cast will include Scott Eastwood (son of Clint Eastwood). (Jen Yamato at Deadline)

It has been officially announced that actress Michelle Forbes (Battlestar Galactica, True Blood and The Killing) has joined the cast of the upcoming Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 cast. (Hunger Games Twitter Feed)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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