Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

TELEVISION

The Hallmark Channel has ordered a 10-episode scripted series for their long-running made-for-TV movie franchise The Good Witch that will find actress Catherine Bell (Army Wives and JAG) reprising her lead role of Cassie Nighingale. The seventh movie in the franchise – The Good Witch’s Wonder – will air on October 25 with the new series to kick off on the cable network sometime in early 2015. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actress Bailee Madison (Trophy Wife and Once Upon a Time) will have a recurring role on the ABC Family drama The Fosters during the show’s upcoming second season that will air this summer. She will play a girl who is connected to Callie’s (series regular Maia Mitchell) past. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

Actor Matt Lauria (The Chicago Code and Friday Night Lights) will star opposite Frank Grillo (The Gates) in DirecTV’s 10-episode straight-to-series drama Navy St. that is a gritty family drama set against the backdrop of a mixed martial arts (MMA) gym in Venice, California. Lauria will play Ryan, a former three-time All-American wrestler at Arizona State and an ex-Olympian, who was once on top of the world , but when he shows up at Alvey’s (Grillo) gym, he is a changed man. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

Actor Wyatt Nash (Pretty Little Liars and Mistresses) will take over the role of Christopher Dollanganger in the Lifetime made-for-TV movie sequel Petals on the Wind. He joins recently announced actress Rose McIver (Once Upon a Time), who takes over the role of Cathy Dollanganger, and returning stars Heather Graham and Ellen Burstyn. (Tierney Bricker at E! Online)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Clifton Collins, Jr. (Red Widow and The Event) will join Ryan Phillippe, Juliette Lewis and KaDee Strickland in the ABC drama pilot called Secrets & Lies, which centers on Ben (Phillippe), a family man who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a young boy when he finds the body. Clifton will play Ben’s childhood friend and tenant in Ben’s pool house who is unwaveringly supportive of Ben. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Tim Daly (Private Practice) has joined the cast of the CBS drama pilot Madam Secretary that explores the personal and professional life of a maverick female Secretary of State (Tea Leoni) as she drives international diplomacy, wrangles office politics and balances a complex family life. Daly will play her husband Henry, a professor of medieval religious history. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Skeet Ulrich (Jericho) will star alongside Meagan Good (Deception) in the NBC drama pilot called Babylon Fields in which the dead are resurrected and try to resume their former lives. He will play the dual roles of Father Harries, a local priest, and his estranged identical twin brother Graham, a junkie who returns from the dead. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Mykelti Williamson (Justified) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot Clementine, which focuses on Clementine Ross (newcomer Sarah Snook), a habitual criminal who digs into the mystery of her origins after she becomes the target of a group of zealots who fear she possesses latent supernatural abilities that she will one day harness for either profound good or monstrous evil. Williamson will play Ray Allison, a hard-working, recently divorced detective with the Philadelphia Police Department. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress Michelle Harrison (Emily Owens, M.D.) has joined the cast of The CW drama pilot The Flash that will focus on the DC Comics hero Barry Allen (Grant Gustin from Glee), a Central City assistant police forensics investigator-turned-superhero. Harrison will play his mother, Nora Allen, who will obviously be seen in flashbacks since in the story that is already known about Barry his mother was killed. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Charlie Weber (90210 and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot How to Get Away With Murder that is about a group of ambitious law students and their brilliant, mysterious criminal defense professor, Annalise Dewitt (a role that has yet to be cast), who become entangled in a murder plot that will rock their entire university and change the course of their lives. Weber is expected to play Frank Delgado, her associate, a macho, takes-no-shit type of guy, a local Philly boy done good. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Veteran actress Jamie Lee Curtis has joined the cast of the CBS drama pilot Only Human that is about four siblings who had their entire lives documented by a filmmaker until age 32, when the documentary stops and everyone comes to find the four’s real lives are quite different from the way they had been portrayed on TV. Curtis will play their mother, Caroline Lang, a part time clinician, who runs a hospital with the authority of a woman with a distinguished career behind her. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actors Malcolm Goodwin (Breakout Kings) and David Anders (Alias and Once Upon a Time) have joined the cast of The CW drama pilot called iZombie, a supernatural crime procedural that centers on Liv, a med student-turned-zombie who takes a job in the coroner’s office to gain access to the brains she must reluctantly eat to maintain her humanity, but with each brain she consumes, she inherits the corpse’s memories. With the help of her medical examiner boss and a police detective (to be played by Goodwin), she solves homicide cases in order to quiet the disturbing voices in her head. Anders will play the show’s bad guy Blaine, an entitled rich kid who bites off more than he can chew in the drug business. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

NOTE: SO iZombie is going to be Tru Calling but with a zombie as the lead. Great?! That’s a not so happy great, by the way!

Actress Lily Rabe (American Horror Story) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot The Visitors that is about a race against the clock to defeat an unseen alien enemy out to destroy the world by using the Earth’s most precious resource: children. Rabe will play Claire Bennigan, an FBI agent and single mother who is torn between work and home life. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Michael Trucco (Killer Women and Battlestar Galactica) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot Sea of Fire that follows the fallout — including one murder and a disappearance — from the discovery that three teenage girls in a small town starred in a pornographic film. He will play Pete Harper, the father of the lost girls’ boyfriend. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actress Ashley Judd (most recently seen on the small screen in the short-lived Missing) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot Salvation that follows a family that rallies together after the death of their father, the leader of a Texas mega church. She will play the matriarch of the family. (Whitney Friedlander at Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

GENERAL NEWS

Congrats are extended to the winners of the NAACP Image Awards, including (but not limited to) Scandal, Kerry Washington, LL Cool J, Taraji P. Henson, Joe Morton, Morris Chestnut, Being Mary Jane, Gabrielle Union and Idris Elba.

TELEVISION

It seems that NBC has decided to charge up their defunct series Heroes for a 13-epiosde mini-series event next year. It will be called Heroes: Reborn, but no other details have been released. A digital series will debut prior to the event series to introduce/reintroduce the series to viewers. (Cynthia Littleton at Variety)

British actor Samuel Anderson (Gavin & Stacey) will have a recurring role on Doctor Who alongside new incoming Doctor Peter Capaldi and current companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman). Anderson will play Danny Pink, a teacher at Coal Hill School where Clara also teaches. (Nancy Tartaglione at Deadline)

Legendary actress Ann-Margaret will have a recurring role on the Showtime drama Ray Donovan, playing the ever-beautiful June Wilson, a major star back in her day who has a past with Ray’s boss Ezra Goldman (Elliott Gould). (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Janet McTeer (The White Queen) will star opposite Kal Penn (House) in the CBS drama series Battle Creek that is set for next season. The series centers on a detective and an FBI agent with very different world views who are teamed up to clean up the semi-mean streets of Battle Creek, MI. McTeer will play Commander Guziewicz, Commander of the Battle Creek Police Department. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actresses Meta Golding (The Tomorrow People) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot called Agatha, which is about Agatha McAuliffe, a former convict turned big city criminologist who is brought in to help local police, including her estranged chief detective father, to crack a case involving a perplexing disappearance. Golding will play Stacy Soto, a smart, sassy, tough-as-nails DA who is not only Agatha’s nemesis but is dating Agatha’s father. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Matt Ryan (Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior) has landed the title role in the NBC drama pilot Constantine based on the DC Comics character. The pilot is about an enigmatic and irreverent con man-turned-reluctant supernatural detective who is thrust into the role of defending us against dark forces from beyond. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress Sandrine Holt (Hostages and House of Cards) and actor Pedro Pascal (Graceland and soon-to-be-seen on Game of Thrones) have joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot Exposed, which is about Anna Loach (a role that is yet to be cast), an investigative journalist who will stop at nothing to uncover the truth, including making questionable alliances. Holt will play Jill Hwang-Joffe, Anna’s managing editor who wants her to look into the whistle blower story while Pascal will play Anna’s boyfriend Oscar Castro Vargas. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Kevin G. Schmidt (The Young and the Restless and Unnatural History) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot called Sea of Fire, which chronicles the fallout from three teenage girls starring in a pornographic film (one of whom goes missing), an event that tears their families apart and leads to a disappearance and a murder in their small town of Serenity Falls. He will play Xander Harper, Jane’s (a role that has yet to be cast) all-American athlete boyfriend who becomes a suspect in her disappearance. Also, actress Amanda Detmer (Necessary Roughness) has joined the cast, playing Jane’s mother. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress Justina Machado (Welcome to the Family and The Fosters) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot Warriors that is about the best and brightest active duty military doctors and nurses as they practice trailblazing medicine. She will play Anna Stonecifer, a surgical nurse. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Laz Alonzo (Breakout Kings) will star opposite Debra Messing in the NBC drama pilot The Mysteries Of Laura that follows the life and relationships of Laura Diamond (Messing), a female homicide detective who can handle murderous criminals, but not her hell-raising twin children. Alonso will play Billy, Laura’s partner in crime. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Hope Davis (The Newsroom) and Margarita Levieva (Revenge) have joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot Coercion that revolves around the O’Connor family and their extremely intelligent son, Alex, a decorated American war hero and newly minted CIA analyst who is a true patriot and loves his country and family. Unbeknownst to him, his father, his mother (Davis) and his sister (Levieva) are part of a dormant Russian sleeper cell that has just been reactivated. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Ioan Gruffudd (Ringer and the Fantastic Four franchise) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot Forever that centers on Dr. Henry Morgan (Gruffudd), New York City’s star medical examiner. But what no one knows is Henry studies the dead for a reason, he is immortal. His investigative work with Detective Jo Martinez and relationship with best friend Abe (Judd Hirsch) will peel back the layers of Henry’s colorful and long life. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here are the top 10 box office films from this past weekend courtesy of TV Guide:

1. The LEGO Movie – 31.5 million
2. 3 Days to Kill – 12.3 million
3. Pompeii – 10 million
4. RoboCop – 9.4 million
5. The Monuments Men – 8.1 million
6. About Last night – 7.4 million
8. Frozen – 4.4 million
9. Endless Love – 4.3 million
10. Winter’s Tale – 2.1 million

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

Question: I need some Pretty Little Liars scoop! What’s up with Spencer? She’s totally losing it! – Riley

TV Scoop Team: Brace yourself because Spencer’s erratic behavior is only going to get worse and worse. FYI, this is not the first time that little miss Hastings has gone off the deep end. Executive producer Oliver Goldstick explains that when it comes to the summer that Alison disappeared, Spencer’s mind was not in the healthiest state. “With Spencer, there are big gaping holes in her memory which will serve as incredibly difficult realizations about what she may have done. There are revelations and realizations that she maybe had confrontations or ugly encounters that she may have blotted out and can’t remember,” he revealed. “But there are people that are going to remind her, you better believe it! Somebody was taking notes that summer.”

Question: Do you guys have anything for Once Upon a Time? – Michelle

TV Scoop Team: Two words: Flying. Monkeys. The winter premiere of the magical ABC drama is packed with jaw-dropping moments and heart-warming scenes—especially for all you CaptainSwan shippers out there! We’re serious, after watching this hour, even the strongest Neal fan will begin to doubt their feelings and wonder if they’re rooting for the right couple.

Question: Twisted is so good this season! What’s coming up? – Laurel

TV Scoop Team: A lot of inner turmoil for Danny, that’s what. Not only is a blast from the past trying to wreck havoc on Danny’s world, he’s also going to trying to come to terms with the fact that he killed his father. “I think that’s going to be his main internal battle for some time,” Twisted star Avan Jogia spilled to us. “I think it’s something you don’t recover from ever, and but he learns how to deal with it. It’s another thing he can’t be truthful about.” But it was totally self-defense! “if you think it’s self-defense or not, there’s also other factors that come up in the season that make everyone question whether that’s the case or not.” Yikes.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

It looks like TNT is thisclose to or ordering a straight-to-series version of the network’s popular Librarian movie franchise, which starred Noah Wyle (now the lead in the network’s alien apocalypse series Falling Skies). This potential new series would center on four ordinary people with extraordinary talents who discover that they have been selected by Wyle’s Flynn to work for The Library, an ancient fellowship of knowledge and heroism. The quartet would travel the world investigating strange occurrences, battling ancient conspiracies and protecting the innocent from the dangerous, secret world of magic. Wyle is in talks to appear in the premiere and make guest appearances throughout the series. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Kip Pardue (Remember the Titans) has been cast in a multi-episode arc on the Showtime series Ray Donovan, playing FBI agent Volchek, who works for James Cochran (Hank Azaria), the ambitious head honcho of the Los Angeles FBI. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Stephen Bishop has been made a series regular on the popular new BET drama Being Mary Jane where he plays David, a man with whom Mary Jane (series lead Gabrielle Union) tries to work things out. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes) and Barry Sloane (Revenge) have landed roles on the ABC drama pilot called The Visitors that is being described as a race against the clock to defeat an unseen alien enemy out to destroy the world by using the Earth’s most precious resource: children. Ventimiglia will play Drew Bennigan, initially a John Doe who is covered in strange tattoos and diagrams and speaks in a strange language while Sloane will play Wes Lawrence, a former FBI agent now with the Special Projects Division of the Defense department who investigates military threats that are better off solved outside the public’s knowledge. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress Morena Baccarin (Homeland, V and Firefly) has landed a role on the ABC drama pilot called Warriors that is about the best and brightest active duty military doctors and nurses as they practice trailblazing medicine. She will play Tory Sterling, a psychiatrist who is just back from a tour in Afghanistan. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Charlie Cox (Boardwalk Empire and the box office film Stardust) has joined the cast of the as-yet titled CBS drama pilot that will be set in the world of Wall Street power and money that will be executive produced by John Cusack (among others). Cox will play Jackson, a smart, sophisticated, Wall Street hedge fund trader, who served his country in Iraq, and possesses integrity and the desire to do good. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Sherry Stringfield (ER) has joined the cast of the CBS summer series Under the Dome, which will be back on June 30 for the start of its second season. She will play Pauline, a mysterious woman who may be connected to the origins of the dome. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Bravo Media has greenlit its first original scripted series; an hour-long drama from writer-producer Marti Noxon called Girlfriends’ Guide To Divorce that will star Lisa Edelstein (House). The 13-episode series will follow Abby (Edelstein), a self-help book author who hides the fact that she’s separated from her husband, as she starts to navigate her life as a single woman in her early 40s in Los Angeles. She finds herself seeking advice from her divorced friends instead of her married ones, which leads to some unexpected and life-changing experiences. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

NOTE: Ironic or not, I have a friend who directed a webseries this past summer with nearly an identical storyline, based on a popular online blog. Funny how that happens and that bigger names prevail with the networks.

Actor Ryan McPartlin (Chuck) will guest star in the upcoming USA Network comedy series Playing House [NOTE: I usually don’t cover comedy, but when it comes to anyone from Chuck, I’ll excuse it]. The series will revolve around mom-to-be Maggie (Lennon Parham from Best Friends Forever) and her childhood best friend, Emma (Jessica St. Clair also from Best Friends Forever), who abandons her blossoming business career in China to help Maggie raise her baby. McPartlin will play a hunky officer who helps the women install their baby seat. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Kathleen Munroe (Alphas and Stargate Universe as well as the upcoming ABC drama Resurrection) has landed a role on the ABC drama pilot called Clementine that is about Clementine Ross (newcomer Sarah Snook), a habitual criminal who digs into the mystery of her origins after she becomes the target of a group of zealots who fear she possesses latent supernatural abilities that she will one day harness for either profound good or monstrous evil. Munroe will play Lydia Tomas, the practical, regimented, and protective fiancée of Charlie (Kevin Alejandro from Arrow and Ugly Betty), who is often at odds with Clementine. Actors David Strathairn and Edwin Hodge also star. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Veteran actor Judd Hirsch (Numb3rs) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot called Forever that is about Dr. Henry Morgan, a 200-year-old man who spends his days working in the New York City Morgue trying to find a key to unlock the curse of his immortality. Hirsch will play Abe, Henry’s best (and only) friend. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actors Nathaniel Buzolic (Kol on The Vampire Diaries) and Lucien Laviscount (Episodes and Skins) have joined the cast of The CW’s spin-off series Supernatural: Tribes. The series will follow the various mafia-esque monster families that unknowingly-to-humans “run” the underbelly of Chicago, who are being tracked by a newly-minted Hunter trying to stop them and rid Chicago of anything or anyone supernatural. Buzolic will play David Hayden, a shape shifter from one of the ruling monster families who’s been living as a human, having given up the monster life years ago. Laviscount will play Ennis Roth, a resolute police academy trainee (and the newly-minted Hunter) whose fiancée is killed in the crossfire of the monster war. The tragedy leads him to the truth about what lurks in the shadows and becomes a monster-hunter himself. They will both appear in the April 29 episode of Supernatural. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Veteran actor Treat Williams (Everwood) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot called Odyssey that centers on three families whose lives are torn apart when a stranded female soldier (Anna Friel from Pushing Daisies), a disillusioned corporate attorney (Peter Facinelli from Nurse Jackie) and a disrespected political activist (Jake Robinson from The Carrie Diaries) are pulled into the same shocking international military conspiracy. Williams will star as Col. Glen, who has a significant role in covering up the assassination of the 24th Special Ops unit. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

The cast members of the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot were announced last night with the following taking on the iconic roles: Miles Teller (The Awkward Moment and Footloose), Kate Mara (House of Cards) Jamie Bell (Billy Elliott) and Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station). Mara, of course, will play Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman with Bell expected to play Ben Grimm/The Thing, Teller to play Reid Richards/Mr. Fantastic and Jordan to play Johnny Storm/The Human Torch. (Justin Kroll at Variety)

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Question: You had mentioned that Episode 14 of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would introduce two recurring characters. One of them seems to be Bill Paxton’s character, but what about the African-American role? Do you know who’s playing that, and if he is a Marvel character or not? –Andy B.

Mitovich: B.J. Britt (One Tree Hill, Being Mary Jane) wound up scoring the role of Agent Triplett, an associate of Bill Paxton’s character, who appears in the March 4 episode.

Question: Have you got anything on the Reign episode “The Consummation”? Specifically, something Mary and Francis-related? –Bree

Mitovich: Do I have anything on “The Consummation” aka the March 6 episode I watched just this morning? Oh yes. Most simply said, a lot happens. For one, Nostradamus has a new vision that, as he puts it, “changes everything.” Also, news of a significant death sets in motion events that will force Mary to make an impossible decision, and pronto, all while her deliciously devious mum (Private Practice‘s Amy Brenneman) plays puppet master in a way that must even impress Catherine.

Question: At the end of Once Upon a Time’s midseason finale, why did Emma end up in New York City, Neal’s recent home, rather than Boston, her most recent place of residence outside of Storybrooke? –R.T.

Mitovich: Hook poses that exact question in the March 9 midseason premiere – and Emma does have an explanation.

Question: Can you give us a hint as to what Belle’s “plan” might be on Once Upon a Time? –Intarr

Mitovich: Belle’s plan to get the definitive 411 on Rumple is sparked by something she has come to realize about her man’s epic clash with Pan.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today (there are a lot of development items coming your way):

TELEVISION

Actress Janel Parrish (Mona on Pretty Little Liars) will make a guest appearance on Drop Dead Diva, appearing in the show’s upcoming final season. She will play Chelsea Jones, a cheerleader for a professional basketball team who finds viral video fame after someone captures her epic on-field meltdown on camera. When she decides to sue the team, she calls in Jane (series lead Brooke Elliot) for help, but also becomes a target of bullying by the head cheerleader. Drop Dead Diva is back for the start of its last season on Lifetime on March 23 with a 2-hour premiere. (Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Olivia Williams (Dollhouse) has joined the cast of the WGN America 13-episode scripted series Manhattan that is set during the clandestine mission to build the world’s first atomic bomb in Los Alamos, NM. The drama will follow the brilliant but flawed scientists and their families. Williams will play Liza Winter, a brilliant botanist with a complicated past who begins to notice unsettling changes to the environment when she accompanies her husband Frank Winter (John Benjamin Hickey) to the secret birthplace of the atomic bomb. (The Deadline Team)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Paige Turco (the upcoming CW series The 100 and Person of Interest) has been cast opposite Scott Bakula in the planned NCIS spin-off pilot that will be set at the NCIS New Orleans office. Turco will play Linda, the wife of NCIS Special Agent Pride (Bakula). (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Jada Pinkett Smith has joined the cast of the FOX drama pilot Gotham, based on the DC Comics characters, that will focus on a younger version of Batman ally James Gordon (Ben McKenzie from Southland and The O.C.). Pinkett Smith will play Fish Mooney, a sadistic gangster with street smarts and a short temper. (Whitney Friedlander at Variety)

Actress Neve Campbell (the Scream franchise and Party of Five) has pulled out as the lead of the TNT drama pilot Guilt By Association. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Edi Gathegi (the Twilight Saga and X-Men: First Class) has joined the cast of the TNT drama pilot called Proof that will follow Katherine Russo (a part that is yet to be cast), a skeptical, hard science, female surgeon who is persuaded to investigate cases of reincarnation, out-of-body experiences and hauntings to find verifiable proof whether death truly is the end. Gathegi will play Zed, a former refugee from the Sudan with a gentle soul in an intimidatingly tall and lanky frame. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Derek Webster (Revolution) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot called The Visitors that will take a look at a race against the clock to defeat an unseen alien enemy out to destroy the world by using the Earth’s most precious resource: children. He will play Jessup Rollins, an FBI agent with two disciplinary reprimands on his record and a past of difficult behavior. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Australian actor Don Hany has landed the lead role in the ABC drama pilot called Warriors that is about the best and brightest active duty military doctors and nurses as they practice trailblazing medicine. He will play trauma surgeon George Mann. Actor Courtney B. Vance (FlashForward) and actress Eloise Mumford (Lone Star and The River) also star. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress KaDee Strickland (Private Practice) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot Secrets & Lies, which is an adaptation of the upcoming Australian crime mystery series that centers on Ben (Ryan Phillippe), a family man who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a young boy when he finds the body. Strickland will play Ben’s wife Christy whose feelings towards Ben are complicated by the discovery of the neighbor boy’s body. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Debra Messing (Smash and Will & Grace) has landed the lead role in the NBC drama pilot called The Mysteries of Laura, which is based on the Spanish series Los Misterios De Laura. The pilot will follow the life and relationships of a female homicide detective (Messing) who can handle murderous criminals but not her hell-raising twin children. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

A&E is developing a high-concept drama called The 36 that stems from the mystical Jewish concept of the Righteous 36, which stipulates that at all times there are 36 people in the world possessing special powers who don’t necessarily know each other but if even one of them was missing, the world would come to an end. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Terrence Howard (The Butler) will star in the FOX drama pilot called Empire that is a family drama set in the world of a hip-hop empire, centering on Lucious Lyon (Howard), a charismatic, savvy music superstar who is about to take his company, Empire Entertainment, public. Raised on the streets, he has never backed away from a fight and will resort to any measures, fair or foul, to defend his beloved Empire. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

Actor Dylan Bruce will reprise his role of Bart Winslow in the Lifetime sequel film Petals on the Wind, based on the V.C. Andrews novel. Already announced is actress Rose McIver has been cast in the lead role of Cathy, taking over for Mad Men actress Kiernan Shipka. And, actor Will Kemp (Van Helsing) will play Julian Marquet, Cathy’s abusive boyfriend. (Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter and James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Jai Courtney (the upcoming film Divergent and A Good Day to Die Hard) has landed the plum role of Kyle Reese in the upcoming Terminator reboot being called Terminator: Genesis. Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke has already been announced to play Sarah Connor and Zero Dark Thirty actor Jason Clarke will play John Connor. (Justin Kroll at Variety)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Hot Trailer: Guardians of the Galaxy

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

Question: Teen Wolf is insane this season! I’m almost nervous for the finale! – Carrie

TV Scoop Team: We suggest you start preparing yourselves for one epic mind game, based on what Jeff Davis tells us of “The Divine Move,” the finale. So what does it mean? “People in the know will understand that it refers to a move in the game of Go, which is the Japanese version of Chess, basically,” he explains. “It’s a Go game. Go is a very Asian game. It’s Chinese, Korean and Japanese. It’s a very difficult game to learn and compete in.”

Question: I need some Scandal scoop ASAP! — Jennie

Natalie: The campaign will be in full swing when the show returns, but Fitz may not make it out unscathed. He’ll have to deal with both someone swearing vengeance against him and resurfacing old rumors. In unrelated news, you will see some interesting nudity in the midseason return.

Question: I so envy you! I want to watch Once Upon a Time’s midseason premiere too! — Emma, via Twitter

Natalie: It was everything that I imagined and more. The midseason premiere, which jumps back a year to tell the story of everyone’s return to the Enchanted Forest, also features a shocking proposal that doesn’t quite go the way of happily-ever-after.

Question: Do you have any scoop on the Supernatural spin-off? — Jonah

Natalie: Supernatural: Tribes will air its backdoor pilot in the 20th episode of this season and longtime SPN fans will notice more than a few similarities to the original series’ pilot. After the death of a loved one, the show’s protagonist, Ennis, is dragged into the world of hunting and monsters. It comes as no surprise that Sam is far more sympathetic to the wannabe cop than his brother when they run into Ennis working a case in Chicago. And while Tribes lacks Supernatural’s beloved sibling angst, Ennis has his fair share of Winchester-level daddy issues.

Question: I’m really enjoying The Blacklist. Any idea about what’s coming up? — Nancy

Natalie: So that upcoming episode featuring both Dianne Wiest and Lance Reddick is pretty much going to be off the hook. But NBC’s description of Wiest’s character as “kind and sympathetic” is not quite how I’d put it, particularly since she has a vendetta and will make Cooper pay for a past mistake. While she’s fighting against capital punishment, she’s not above using it herself.

Question: Do you have any Chicago Fire scoop? — Brian

Natalie: Dawson and Casey are still together… for now. But the EMT-turned-firefighter-in-training will soon seek solace in her new teacher, Severide. “We really get close,” Monica Raymund says. “I need him and he’s there for me and we have this… truthful moment where I don’t want to admit something to him and he just gets it and he takes me out and brings me to the firehouse to cheer me up.”

Question: I hope I’m not too late to beg for Castle scoop! —Mandy

Ausiello: This season’s 20th episode is called “That ’70s Show,” and word on the street is it will literally be set in ’70s New York.

Question: I see Matt Mitovich visited the Once Upon a Time set. Did he get anything on Neal? —Viviane

Ausiello: He most certainly did. The good news is that Neal is resolved to reunite with Emma, some way, somehow. The bad news is that his baby momma’s parents don’t immediately agree with his agenda, since they know that Emma is now living in NYC, partially oblivious yet unarguably happy with son Henry. As Josh Dallas explained to MM on the set, “When we get back to fairytale land, Neal is determined to go find Emma, but Charming and Snow just want their daughter to be happy. So they try to say, ‘Look, this is where we live now. This is what we have and that [other realm] is where she and Henry are. We have to let them go.’” But will Neal listen?

Question: In Episode 2.05 of Once Upon A Time, “The Doctor,” there is a scene with young Regina, Rumple and Jefferson at his castle. When Rumple mentions something about the “ruby slippers,” the camera focuses on Regina’s face and she appears nervous and drops something on the table, indicating that the mention of the ruby slippers had some effect on her. Was that on purpose? Is Regina somehow connected to OZ or the footwear in question? —Ana

Ausiello: First off, the slippers you refer to “probably won’t be ruby,” exec producer Eddie Kitsis reveals. Adds fellow EP Adam Horowitz: “The ruby slippers may have been a false road because, in the books, they were silver slippers.” And Once will be “sticking to the book for legal reasons,” confirms Kitsis. Now, back to your actual question regarding Regina’s connection to OZ, I have no clue. But at least I cleared up the ruby confusion! That’s gotta be worth something!

Question: Please tell me Sara/Canary isn’t going anywhere on Arrow. I’m loving her so much! —Joseph

Ausiello: Sara/Canary is alive and well. Thus far. Though her big sister Laurel may wish otherwise. Coming out of their icy reunion, “Sara is heartbroken,” Caity Lotz tells us. “For Sara to be like, ‘I’m not dead, yet [the fling with Oliver] is still that big to you?’ It’s heartbreaking that Laurel isn’t over that [comparatively] small stuff. Sara feels like her sister would rather have her dead!”

Question: I heard that Nashville is finally bringing on Scarlett’s mom/Deacon’s sister later this season. Any scoop for the remaining Claybourne? —Jill

Ausiello: The role hasn’t been cast yet, if that’s what you’re asking. I can, however, share that mother and daughter have a very strained relationship, even by Nashville standards.

Question: Us Grimmsters still have another week to wait until the next new episode. Any word on what to expect when the show returns? –Will

Ausiello: We’re going to meet at least one more member of the royal family: King Frederick, aka Sean and Eric Renard’s father, a formidable man whom we’re guessing is going to lay down some regal smack regarding all of this Eric’s death/Adalind’s baby nonsense.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

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

TELEVISION

Veteran actor James Brolin (who has most recently appeared in episodes of Castle and Community but is probably best known for the classic soap opera Hotel) will guest star in the season finale of the new Hallmark Channel period piece drama When Calls the Heart, playing circuit judge Jedidiah Black, a legendary man who is insolent, insufferable and incorruptible who is welcomed to Coal Valley in a bid to bring justice to the town. The season finale of When Calls the Heart will air on March 29. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

ONLINE SERIES NEWS

Actress Jacinda Barrett (Suits and Zero Hour) has joined the cast of the Netflix 13-episode psychological thriller, which has yet to be named, that will center on a close-knit family of adult siblings whose secrets and scars are revealed when the black sheep oldest brother, Danny (Ben Mendelsohn), returns home. Barrett will play the strong-willed and devoted wife of the family’s “responsible” brother John (Kyle Chandler). The online series will also star Linda Cardellini. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Rose McIver (Masters of Sex and Once Upon a Time) will appear in Petals on the Wind, the Lifetime movie sequel to Flowers in the Attic. She will take over the lead role of Cathy from Mad Men’s Kiernan Shipka. In this adaptation of the V.C. Andrews novel, the story takes place about 10 years after the events in the first film. Heather Graham and Ellen Burstyn will reprise their roles of Cathy’s mom and grandmother respectively. (Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

ABC Family has canceled their new drama Ravenswood, the spin-off of Pretty Little Liars, after only 10 episodes. (AJ Marechal at Variety)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Veteran actor Gerald McRaney (Major Dad and Jericho) has joined the cast of the TNT drama pilot Agent X that is about Natalie Maccabee (Sharon Stone), the newly elected Vice President of the United States who is tasked with protecting the Constitution in times of great crisis with the aid of her Chief Steward and a secret operative designated “Agent X” (Jeff Hephner). McRaney will play Malcolm Millar, the refined Chief Steward of the Vice President’s mansion, and keeper of its many secrets. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Oscar winner Octavia Spencer (The Help) has joined the cast of the FOX drama pilot Red Band Society that is about a group of teenagers who meet as patients in the children’s wing of a hospital, becoming unlikely allies and friends. Spencer will play Nurse Jackson, who works in the pediatrics ward. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actresses Neve Campbell (Scream franchise and Party of Five) and Elisabeth Rohm (Angel and Law & Order) have joined the cast of the TNT drama pilot called Guilt by Association that is about Rachel Knight (Campbell), a gutsy Deputy District Attorney in the Special Trials Unit of the D.A.’s office for L.A. County. She works closely with a tough-as-nails female LAPD detective named Bailey Keller (Rohm) and a stylish female prosecutor named Toni LaCollette (Rose Rollins), both of whom routinely crash at Rachel’s place. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Warren Kole (Common Law) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot Salvation, which is a family saga set against the backdrop of a Texas mega church where faith, family and corruption are explored in equal measure. He will play Jacob, a charismatic, fresh-out-of-jail, fire-and-brimstone, rattlesnake-handling, poison-drinking Pentecostal preacher who found his faith in prison. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

Lifetime is developing a new mini-series called The One that is being described as a coming-of-age story exploring Jesus’ early life and formative years as he comes to learn he is the Son of God and is destined for greatness. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

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

1. The LEGO Movie -$63.5
2. About Last Night – $28.5 million
3. Robocop – $25.6 million
4. The Monuments Men – $18 million
5. Endless Love – $15 million
6. Ride Along – $10 million
7. Winter’s Tale – $8.1 million
8. Frozen – $8.07 million
9. Lone Survivor – $4.7 million
10. That Awkward Moment – $3.9 million

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY EVERYBODY!!

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Some new faces will be seen on the upcoming 5th season of Downton Abbey, as new cast members were recently announced. Actor Richard E. Grant (Doctor Who) will play Simon Bricker, who visits the estate as a guest of the Granthams while actress Anna Chancellor (The Hour) will have a guest appearance as Lady Anstruther. Actor Rade Sherbedgia (The Saint and Taken 2) will play Russian refugee, Kuragin, who has fled the Russian revolution after World War I. (Nancy Tartaglione at Deadline)

Actress Sunny Mabrey (Memphis Beat and The Client List) has landed the role of Glinda the Good Witch of the South on Once Upon a Time, which returns for the rest of its current season on ABC on March 9. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor-singer Nick Jonas and actress Kiele Sanchez (The Glades and Lost) have joined the cast of DirecTV’s gritty new drama series Navy St. that is set against the backdrop of Navy Street, a Venice, CA-based mixed martial arts (MMA) gym owned by Alvey Henderson (actor Frank Grillo from The Gates), a former fighter who never made it big due to a drug addiction but is now sober. Jonas will play Nate Henderson, Alvey’s youngest son and the prized fighter at the gym while Sanchez will play Lisa Prince Alvey’s long-time girlfriend. Navy St. has a 10-episode order and is set to air this coming fall. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Jason Isaac (Harry Potter franchise) will star in the six-episode USA Network event series called DIG that centers Peter (Isaacs), an FBI agent stationed in Jerusalem who, while investigating a murder of a woman archeologist, uncovers a conspiracy 2000 years in the making that threatens to change the course of history. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Meagan Good (Deception) has been cast in the NBC drama pilot Babylon Fields that is about a town’s residents who coming back from the dead. Good will play Janine Beltran, a local doctor with an edge to her. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Leslie Hope (24, Revolution and The River), who be seen in the upcoming FX series The Strain, will appear in the upcoming box office film Crimson Peak, playing the gossipy mother of Charlie Hunnam’s character in the gothic horror story that also stars Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska and Tom Hiddleston. (The Deadline Team)

Hollywood is looking at producing a feature film about the long love affair between screen legends Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, who starred in nine films together, were madly in love off screen despite Tracy being married. (Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)

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

Question: Where does Teen Wolf go from here?! Please tell me Stiles isn’t going to die, I’m hearing rumors! – Stacey

TV Scoop Team: Silly, silly TV viewers. Don’t you know rumors are for kids? Or, um, fans on Tumblr and Twitter? “It’s about dealing with are we going to be OK with that if [Stiles] does [die] and the fallout of this evil spirit being in him and what is the consequence of that,” Holland Roden spills of the rest of the season at Guess’ Fall 2014 Road to Nashville collection at New York Fashion Week. But will this evil spirit squash any chances of a Lydia-Stiles romance for the time being? Roden teases, “Lydia likes bad boys, so now that Stiles is one…dot, dot, dot.”

Question: Any Switched at Birth scoop would be much appreciated! – Lauren

TV Scoop Team: A definitive answer to one of this season’s burning questions: Will Bay and Emmett finally get together? “This is a very juicy season. Bay has this ongoing romantic, not romantic, will-they-or-won’t-they relationship with Emmett,” Vanessa Marano previews at Guess’ celebration for the Fall 2014 Road to Nashville collection during NYFW. “But it definitely ends up somewhere.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a nice long holiday weekend (for those in the US who celebrate Presidents’ Day!)

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Veteran actor Peter Coyote (currently recurring on Intelligence) will guest star in season 3 of the TNT drama Perception, which is slated for this coming summer. He will play James Alan Pierce, dad of Daniel Pierce (series lead Eric McCormack), who comes to town with some stunning news. The second half of the show’s current, second season will be back on TNT starting on February 25. (Robyn Ross at TV Guide)

The Lifetime dramedy Drop Dead Diva, that received life-support for its fifth season, will not be coming back after its upcoming sixth season, which starts on March 23 with a two-hour premiere. There will be 13 final episodes of the fan favorite before it comes to its final end. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

The CW has given early renewal orders to the following five shows: Arrow, Reign, Supernatural, The Originals and The Vampire Diaries. The fate of their other remaining shows, though, including Beauty And the Beast, Hart of Dixie, The Carrie Diaries and The Tomorrow People are still up in the air and most likely won’t known until the May upfronts. (AJ Marechal at Variety)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Christina Chang (Nashville) and Jeffrey Nordling (Body of Proof and Killer Women) have joined the cast of the ABC pilot Sea of Fire, which chronicles the fallout from three teenage girls starring in a pornographic film, an event that tears their families apart and leads to a disappearance and a murder. Nordling will play Reverend Bobby McAllister, the father of the missing girl, Jane (who is yet to be cast) while Chang as Dr. Kristen Harper, the mother of Jane’s troubled boyfriend, Xander (also yet to be cast). Jack Davenport and Jennifer Carpenter will star. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Jamey Sheridan (Homeland and Arrow) has joined the cast of the TNT action-drama pilot called Agent X that will star Sharon Stone as America’s first female Vice President, Natalie Maccabee, and her secret weapon, Agent X (Jeff Hephner). Sheridan will play FBI Director Stanton, who is inclined to be patronizing and disdainful, especially in Natalie’s direction. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Juliette Lewis (The Firm) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot Secrets & Lies that will center on a patriarch (Ryan Phillippe) who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a young boy when he finds the body. Lewis will play Andrea Cornell, the unflappable, somewhat formidable detective conducting the investigation into the slaying of 4-year-old Tom Mullen who has her sights set on Ben (Phillippe), the loving father who found the boy’s body. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Matt Barr (Hatfields & McCoys mini and Hellcats) has landed the male lead role in The CW drama pilot Identity that will center on Mia (Ahna O’Reilly from The Help), a young New Yorker who learns she needs an organ transplant to survive and her only living relative is a newfound half-brother, Davis (Barr), the charming, privileged only son of a wealthy and powerful Charleston family. She connects with them only to find they’re the target of a CIA investigation for involvement in domestic terrorism, and the agency wants her as their newest informant. As Davis bonds with his newfound sister, he begins to question his family’s nefarious plans. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Vondie Curtis-Hall (Chicago Hope) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot Tin Man, which is a futuristic thriller, centering on robot Adam Sentry (Patrick Heusinger from Revolution and Royal Pains), accused of the first-degree murder of his creator. Curtis-Hall will play Det. Jack Garrison, a veteran homicide investigator called in to investigate the murder, who places Adam under arrest. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Patrick Fabian (Big Love and Veronica Mars) has landed a recurring role on Grey’s Anatomy, playing a pediatric surgeon who comes in to help Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Grey’s Anatomy will be back on ABC on February 27. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Actress Emily Rose (Haven) will have a recurring role on the USA Network drama Graceland, playing Jessica Foster, one of Mike’s (series lead Aaron Tveit) superiors in Washington, D.C., but also his ally. Actress Brianna Brown (General Hospital and Devious Maids) will also recur on the show as Kelly Badillo, the widow of Juan Badillo, murdered by Briggs and Mike’s former control agent. And, actor Benito Martinez (The Shield) will guest star in an upcoming episode of the show as Alfredo Armas, the head of the Caza Cartel. (Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor C. Thomas Howell (Southland) will make a guest appearance on Grimm later this season, playing FBI agent Weston Steward. Grimm will be back on NBC starting on February 28. (Sadie Gennis at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

BBC America is developing a Game of Thrones reinvention of the classic Robin Hood story called Nottingham. The project will be written by Cole Haddon (the series creator of the recent NBC series Dracula) and it will center on the Sheriff of Nottingham whose wife is killed by King John’s men. When no one is brought to justice, the Sheriff launches a one-man war against the Crown. By day, he remains the reviled Sheriff, loyal servant of the King, but by night he puts on a hood and, using the intelligence he gains from his office, attacks the King where it hurts the most – his coffers. As Robin Hood, he systematically raids the King’s men, his noble loyalists and political allies, giving the spoils to the starving peasantry and starting a rebellion that will change England forever. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor John Wesley Shipp (Dawson’s Creek and the 1990s TV series The Flash) has been added to the cast of the CW pilot The Flash that is in the works right now. There are no details on what character he would be playing, though, should the show get picked up. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Ahna O’Reilly (The Help and Fruitvale Station) has landed the lead role in The CW drama pilot called Identity that centers on Mia (O’Reilly), a grounded, whip-smart but restless young New Yorker who finds her world upended when she learns she needs an organ transplant to survive and her only living relative is a newfound half-brother from a wealthy and powerful family in Charleston, SC. She connects with the family only to find they’re the target of a CIA investigation, and the agency wants her as their newest informant. Her loyalty and morality are tested as she slowly builds a case against the family who saved her life. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Donal Logue (Vikings and Terriers) has joined the cast of the FOX Batman prequel pilot Gotham. He will play Det. Harvey Bullock, the rough-around-the-edges partner of the future Commissioner Gordon to be played by Ben McKenzie (Southland and The O.C.) (Cynthia Littleton at Variety)

HBO is developing a pilot for a potential new show called Utopia, a US adaptation of another British series that revolves around the die-hard fans of an iconic, underground graphic novel who are suddenly launched into their own pop-culture thriller when they learn that the author has secretly written a sequel. Unfortunately, the new manuscript is much more than just a book and those on the hunt for it suddenly find themselves in a game of shifting loyalties, conspiracy and shocking twists as the true meaning of the book is slowly revealed. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Michiel Huisman (Nashville and soon to be seen in Game of Thrones) has joined the cast of the upcoming box office film The Age Of Adaline that will star Blake Lively (Gossip Girl). The film follows the miraculous life of 29-year old Adaline, who stops aging after recovering from a near-fatal accident. Over the course of the 20th century she embarks on an epic but isolated worldwide journey, keeping her secret, until she meets a man who forever alters her life. Huisman will play that man. (The Deadline Team)

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

Question: Will we see Peter Pan in the second half of Once Upon a Time Season 3? I was thinking that even if he’s dead, that doesn’t mean he can’t show up in flashback or maybe in Rumpelstiltskin’s subconscious. —Natalie

Ausiello: Series co-creator Eddy Kitsis shares your fandom of Robbie Kay’s run as Pan, saying, “We definitely would like to see him in a flashback, because the character was so much fun to write. I’m not sure it will happen this season, but there is a potential.” Concurs Adam Horowitz: “We would hate to not be able to use him again.”

NOTE: Once Upon a Time will be back on March 9 after its extended winter break.

Question: Can you give me any scoop on Stiles from Teen Wolf? He’s my favorite character. –Amy

Ausiello: Scott and Stiles’ friendship will be tested to the limit this season… possibly with fatal results.

Question: Not going to be picky — I’ll take anything you have on Arrow. —Josh

Ausiello: How ’bout I give you everything I have: Cynthia Addai-Robinson will next appear as Amanda in the mid-March episode “Suicide Squad,” which flashes back to Dig’s days in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, we’ll find out what Ollie’s biz partner (and sometimes business partner) Isabel Rochev has been up to when Summer Glau resurfaces in Episode 18.

Question: I’m begging for some scoop on Pretty Little Liars! I’d like information about Ezra, but I’ll take anything! –Estee

Ausiello: Now that Spencer has told Hanna and Emily about Ezra, it’s only a matter of time before Aria finds out. But given Spencer’s recent dalliance with pills, Aria vehemently refuses to believe her soul mate is evil. (Fun fact: I don’t have the foggiest idea what I just wrote.)

Question: I love The Fosters. Got any scoop? — Cora

Ausiello: We’re only halfway through the season, but you might want to start bracing yourself for the winter finale, airing March 24. When we brought up the episode with exec producer Peter Paige at the Family Equality Council’s Annual Los Angeles Awards Dinner this past Saturday, where he and fellow EP Bradley Bredeweg were being honored, Paige got choked up. “I literally almost cried, just now standing here talking to you,” he said. “It’s a freight train. And it’s coming for your heart.” Added young star Hayden Byerly: “It’s so dramatic. It’s so heartbreaking for Callie and Jude, especially. Something terrible happens to both of them.”

Question: Do you have any scoop on Season 6 of Royal Pains? Will Hank ever get a love interest? —Laura

Ausiello: Not sure about Hank, but I hear Jeremiah is going to get some action courtesy of Natalia, a drop-dead gorgeous immigrant who is spending the summer working as a bartender in the Hamptons. And it looks like their romance will be semi-serious; the character is slated to appear in roughly seven episodes. Casting is underway.

Question: Any new information on Fitz and Mellie’s two oldest children on Scandal? —Dan R.

Ausiello: Jerry and Karen (as played by Dylan Minnette and Madeline Carroll) will buck the episodic drama’s annoying teen trend and be “complicated, substantial and interesting people” in their own right, according to their onscreen dad Tony Goldwyn, who adds that their arrival from boarding school “really escalates” things for the Grant household.

Question: Please make my day with some Scandal scoop. —Whittney

Ausiello: When the show returns on Feb. 27, Cyrus will be in full-tilt damage-control mode, both on the home and work fronts. “He has rocked his marriage to the core and he also screwed up every chance he has of keeping Sally on the ticket,” explains his portrayer, Jeff Perry. “Cyrus is more scared of what he’s done than we’ve ever seen him, and he’s scrambling like hell to get out of it.”

Question: Any Pretty Little Liars scoop about my favorite TV bad boy, Ezra? – Laur_darb

TV Scoop Team: Sounds like the season finale will be a game changer, with Ian Harding even wondering where the hell the show can go next. “I don’t know what I’ll be doing next season,” he admits, adding that things will never be the same in Rosewood. “They just can’t after what happens.”

Question: Seriously concerned for Teen Wolf’s Stiles! Is he really the big bad this season? – Thomas

TV Scoop Team: Not according to Tyler Posey, who dishes, “The ninjas are definitely the main villains of the season.” But that doesn’t mean we should stop worrying about Stiles. “You’ll definitely see [him] go more in the direction that you can already see him going in,” Posey spills. “Of course, It’s Teen Wolf, so we’re going to pop up with a couple of different villains in there, so there’s no shortage of evilness to come.”

Question: In desperate need of info on Reign! – Ashley

TV Scoop Team: A new suitor is coming to French Court! The CW period drama is currently looking to cast a very gorgeous and masculine visiting nobleman who will woo one of our ladies. And get this? He may be sticking around for quite some time, like possibly for season two.

Question: Can you tell me more about the Beckett episode coming up on Castle? — Julie

Natalie: Beckett’s going undercover — with potentially disastrous complications. “Beckett thinks she’s pretending to be one person, but discovers that [the criminals] think that she’s somebody else completely,” creator Andrew W. Marlowe says. “She has to navigate those waters and figure out who she’s supposed to be, and any misstep could get her killed.” Adding an extra layer of danger? As the undercover operation unravels, Beckett will once again come into contact with some familiar faces from the Johanna Beckett murder investigation. Any guesses?

Question: Please share some Scandal news. — Aidy

Natalie: Sally Langston is far from being out of the picture after killing off her husband. In fact, she’ll redouble her efforts to maintain a sense of power in the White House by working closely with Leo to plan her next career steps. In related news, the midseason premiere is called “Ride Sally Ride.”

Question: When it comes to Downton Abbey, I’m on Team Downstairs! Now that Alfred got accepted to the culinary school at the Ritz, is that love triangle with Ivy and Daisy done? — Sarina

Natalie: Daisy still carries a torch for the ginger-haired former footman, and his absence doesn’t necessarily make it easier for her to get along with Ivy. Daisy will soon catch somebody’s eye, though, and each girl will have to make a major decision that could change their lives forever after receiving two very promising proposals. I’ll just say this: By the end of the season, somebody could be packing their bags.

Question: Please share some Arrow scoop. — Jeremy

Natalie: If you’ve also been thinking that Moira has been getting away with far too much — in particular, lying about Thea being the daughter of Malcolm Merlyn — then you’re in for a real treat. “She still really hasn’t had her come-to-Jesus moment, despite what you think would be rock-bottom… and that’s coming,” executive producer Andrew Kreisberg says. Her fractured relationship with Oliver over the big lie will have far-reaching implications for every character. “The cold war between Oliver and Moira is not going to go unnoticed by anyone.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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