Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

The NBC summer dramedy Camp has been canceled after only one season. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC has picked up the Canadian police procedural series Motive for a second season, which will air next summer just as the first season did this past summer. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Colin Hanks(Roswell and Dexter) will star alongside Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman in Fargo, the first limited series from FX based on the box office film. The series will center on Lester Nygaard (Freeman), a small-town insurance salesman henpecked by his wife, whose life is changed when a mysterious stranger, Lorne Malvo (Thornton), comes to town. Hanks will play Duluth Police Deputy Gus Grimly, a single dad who must choose between his own personal safety and his duty as a policeman when he comes face-to-face with a killer. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor AJ Buckley (CSI: NY) has joined the cast of Justified, playing recurring character Danny Crowe, the romantic sociopath of the “white-trash Florida” Crowe family, led by Dale Crowe Jr. (previously announced recurring guest star Michael Rapaport). Justified will be back on FX in early 2014. (Liz Raftery at TV Guide)

Actresses Sara Canning (The Vampire Diaries) and Sarah Allen as well as actor Dillon Casey (Nikita) have joined the cast of the Canadian medical drama Remedy. They join the previously announced Enrico Colantoni (Veronica Mars and Person of Interest) in the cast. Canning will play a general surgeon in the fictional Broadview Hospital, while Allen will be an ICU nurse and Casey plays a medical school dropout. Colantoni will play the lead role of passionate father and doctor, who is acting chief of staff at the hospital. (Etan Vlessing at The Hollywood Reporter)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

FOX is developing a new potential drama called How To Lead A Life Of Crime based on the book by Kirsten Miller that is a how-to school for criminals. The project will be centered around a family dynasty of lawyers headed by a matriarch infamous for her narcissistic personality, biting witticisms and publicity-seeking antics. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor David Harewood (Homeland) has joined the cast of the HBO pilot The Money that will revolve around James Castman (Brendan Gleeson), a powerful media mogul who wields power and influence to expand his empire and control his family. Nathan Lane will play Gordon, a reporter for VistaCorp’s New York Herald who is desperate to garner evidence for a hot story. Harewood will play Kurt Corbitt, a grandiose, boisterous, irascible ideologue and the CEO of the parent company to Castman’s holdings. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

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

Question: Gimme that White Collar scoop! – Michael

TV Scoop Team: We just finished watching the season-five premiere (which airs October 17) and after we were done swooning over Matt Bomer’s perfection of a face, we gathered scoop to spill. Prepare yourselves for a blast from the past, because the big bad from the series premiere, aka “The Dutchman,” is back! With Neil’s father on the run, and Agent Peter Burke behind bars, it looks like Neil is ready to make a deal with the devil to make things right. And remember, a picture may be worth a thousand words, but a voicemail can save a man from prison.

Question: I’m so excited that Nashville is finally back! What’s coming up for Rayna? – Lacey

TV Scoop Team: Our reigning queen of country is finally getting out of the hospital in tonight’s episode—just in time to meet with the new head honcho at the label. While most everyone is thrilled to see Rayna out and about, there are two ladies in particular who are less than enthused by her stellar recovery. And if you’re thinking that one of those women is Juliette, then we’d suggest that you start testing your psychic abilities with a couple of lottery tickets.

Question: Castle and Beckett are engaged and nothing hurts! When’s the wedding?- Corky

TV Scoop Team: Don’t hold your breath. Molly Quinn told us that she doesn’t think a wedding between Castle and Kate will happen, at least not anytime soon. She even mentioned Alexis could sabotage it! Yikes! That’s it…we’re officially grounding her. However, Stana Katic revealed that she could see the show taking a different direction if Castle and Beckett get married. She didn’t specify if it was a good direction or a bad direction, so we guess fans will just have to wait and see what happens! Isn’t that the worst?

Question: Do you have any Scandal scoop not related to Mistress-gate? — Jennifer

NATALIE: Mistress-gate could actually be the least of the worries for Olivia’s team and the White House when the season’s overarching mystery is revealed. The cast adamantly agrees that this is one of the biggest scandals in the history of the show. And if you don’t believe them, find out what happens to Cyrus when he discovers the truth: “Somewhere in the first couple episodes, Cyrus is transported to a very ominous location for a very ominous meeting in a trunk of a car,” Jeff Perry teases.

Question: When will Neal and Emma be reunited on Once Upon a Time? —Anna

NATALIE: It’s going to be a while, Anna. We actually won’t even see Neal & Co. this week, but Episode 3 will bring us back to the Enchanted Forest. “Neal is going to, come hell or high water, get back to Neverland,” executive producer Edward Kitsis says, but Adam Horowitz adds that there will be a “wrinkle” in their story that will be revealed soon. Thankfully, Neal will find help in Robin Hood, who will repay his debt to Rumple via Neal. “Robin Hood’s story is just beginning,” says Kitsis. “We’re airing in two 11-episode pods. You’re going to get a little more into him in the beginning of this year, but we’re definitely going to get a lot of him in the second half. He’s a character we’re really excited about because he’s a thief, but he’s a thief with honor.” Does that mean I was right?

Question: I love that Aidan showed up at the end of Revenge! What’s his plan? — Rhonda

NATALIE: He and Victoria are definitely cooking up a scheme. “You will see a delicious relationship between him and Victoria in the first few episodes,” showrunner Sunil Nayar tells us. “Our goal was to define him better and he’s very much his own man with his own agenda that we’ll reveal as the season goes on. He’s the holder of many secrets, but nobody knows his ultimate secrets, so he’s the man of mystery. For Victoria, knowing what he meant to Emily and to Conrad and examining the relationships he has, Aidan provides for a mysterious asset that Victoria has to figure out how to use.”

Question: The Nikita cast filmed their last episode this week. Any chance you might have some new intel? —@Nutcase_ via Twitter

Ausiello: Fans who have longed for more (or any!) Alex and Owen scenes will not be disappointed with these final six episodes. Not by a long shot.

Question: Will Once Upon a Time‘s Snow, Charming et al rely on Hook’s expertise of Neverland while searching for Henry? –JJ

Ausiello: Hook’s familiarity with Pan’s ‘hood indeed proves helpful and thus finds him leading the group through the jungle — at first. Alas, no sooner does the pirate save Charming from a fatally “thorny” situation does he realize that Neverland has changed, for the worse, in the maaaaany years since he last visited.

Question: Do you know who shot Emily on Revenge? You do, don’t you? —Janet

Ausiello: I don’t! In fact, no one knows. According to Emily VanCamp, the writers “are still on the fence about” who ultimately pulls the trigger. And someone does pull the trigger. The show’s leading lady insists the show isn’t pulling a fast one in that flash-forward (i.e. it’s a dream, the shooting is staged or something else lame like that.) “From what I know, she is really going to get shot and fall off that boat,” she maintains. “Who knows what happens after that? I’ll have to wait until Episode 10 to read it.” (Email me a digital file when you’re done, K? You kinda still owe me for this. Didn’t want to have to play that card but you forced my hand, Ems.)

Question: Revenge isn’t going to take Aiden and Victoria’s partnership in a romantic direction, right? —Kelly

Ausiello: Although exec producer Sunil Nayar concedes that “there are definitely sparks” between Barry Sloane and Madeline Stowe, “That’s not exactly the road we’re taking them down.” When we pick up this Sunday, Victoria remains skeptical about Aiden’s motives. “She really wants him to prove his fidelity,” Nayar explains, “because what a great ally he would be. They’re both trying to feel each other out. It’s fun to watch two people start to dance when neither one knows who’s leading and neither one trusts their partner.” Bonus Scoop: Ana Ortiz’ one-off guest stint has officially been upgraded to a multi-episode arc. Ugly Betty alums, FTW!

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

I spent all day yesterday at the Paley Center for Media, hanging out with friends waiting patiently in line for the Castle event that took place last night, which kept me from posting any news update.

So, the following are the news items from yesterday and for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Leslie Bibb (best known for her role in the cult favorite series Popular) will appear in The Following as Jana Murphy, a suburban housewife who unexpectedly finds herself in the company of Joe Carroll (series lead James Purefoy). There are no other details on her character or how many episodes for which she will appear. The Following will be back mid-season on FOX. (Liz Raftery at TV Guide)

Character actor Patrick Fischler (Lost and Mad Men) will appear on Suits, playing A. Eliot Stemple, a Harvard Law School classmate of Harvey’s (series lead Gabriel Macht) with whom he has a unique (and tense) history. Suits will be back with the rest of its current, third season in early 2014. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

CBS has renewed Unforgettable for a 13-episode third season to air in summer 2014. (Broadcast & Cable)

The Hallmark Channel has given a second season order to their first ever scripted drama Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Alicia Witt (Cybill and Friday Night Lights) and actors Edi Gathegi (Twilight and X-Men: First Class) and Michael Rapaport (Prison Break and The Mob Doctor) have all been cast in the upcoming fifth season of Justified. Witt will play Wendy Crowe, the smart, sexy sister of crime lord Dale Crowe (to be played by Rapaport). Meanwhile, Gathegi will play Jean Baptiste, a Haitian criminal in the employ of the Crowe family. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline and Sadie Gennis at TV Guide)

TELEVISION TRAILER

Hot TV Teaser: ‘Breathless’

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actors Josh Kelly (Army Wives and One Life to Live) and Freddie Stroma (Harry Potter franchise) have landed roles in the Lifetime drama pilot called Unreal that is being executive producer by Marti Noxon (of Buffy and Angel fame) and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro based on the latter’s award-winning independent short called Sequin Raze. The project will star Shiri Appleby (Roswell and Life Unexpected) as Rachel, a young staffer whose sole job is to manipulate her relationships with (and among) the contestants to heighten the drama of a hit competition dating show. Kelly will play Jeremy, a cameraman on the dating show who also is Rachel’s ex-boyfriend while Stroma will play Adam, the bachelor on the competition dating show at the center of Unreal. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter and Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC is developing a new drama called Beverly Kills that will center on a wife and mom who retires from her job – as a highly skilled hit-woman for the mob – and settles into domesticity; but try as she might to live the life of a normal housewife, she soon spots crime, corruption, and evil-doing beneath the quiet, green surface of Beverly Hills, and decides to clean it up and keep her family safe in the only way she knows how. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC is developing a new project about a female CIA agent called Clandestine from Tall Girls Productions, the production of Twilight saga writer Melissa Rosenberg. This project takes a look into the CIA world through the perspective of an unlikely asset: the hard-partying daughter of the American ambassador to the UK. As her work grows more dangerous, she discovers skills and talents no one ever thought she possessed — especially not her father, from whom she is keeping a dark secret. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress turned producer Eva Longoria has yet another drama in development, this time with NBC. The hour-long project called Vega V. Vega will center on a brilliant, young, successful lawyer who suddenly finds herself forced to go into a practice with her mother, a pioneering female attorney with whom she has a love/hate relationship. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC Studios and producers Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage and Rina Mimoun are collaborating on a new project together called Sisterland that is based on the best-selling novel by Curtis Sittenfeld. The project tells the story of identical twin sisters born with paranormal abilities and how those abilities shape their very different lives. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

Actress Kellie Martin (Army Wives and ER) has a new project for which she will both star and executive producer. It is the made-for-TV movie Dear Viola for the cable network UP that will focus on Katie Miner (Martin), a shy accountant at the local newspaper in the quaint seaside village of Bellport. After the writer of beloved advice column “Dear Viola” retires, Miner begins penning the column on the sly, and discovers that the townspeople become enamored of the column’s new refreshing, no-nonsense tone. (Tim Kenneally at The Wrap)

Actress Jessica Brown Findlay (Lady Sybil on Downton Abbey) will star in the three-part adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s 1936 gothic novel, Jamaica Inn for BBC One (one of the major networks in the UK). The story is set in 1820s Cornwall, following spirited Mary Yellan (Brown Findlay), a young woman sent to live with her aunt (Joanne Whalley) after the death of her mother. When Mary arrives at the eerie, isolated Jamaica Inn, she finds her once carefree aunt is now firmly under the spell of domineering husband Joss (Sean Harris). The inn, it turns out, is a front for a smuggling ring. (Nancy Tartaglione at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Hugh Jackman has joined the cast of the upcoming movie called Chappie where he will play the rival to a character to be played by Dev Patel (The Newsroom and Slumdog Millionair) in the South Africa-set sci-fi picture about an android cop who’s kidnapped by gangsters. (The Deadline Team)

Full Trailer: “The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug”

Here are the top 10 box office films from this past weekend courtesy of TV Guide and Box Office Mojo):

1. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 – 34 million
2. Prisoners – 10.9 million
3. Rush – 10 million
4. Baggage Claim – 9 million
5. Don Jon – 8.7 million
6. Insidious Chapter 2 – 6.6 million
7. The Family – 3.7 million
8. Instructions Not Included – 3.5 million
9. We’re the Millers – 2.8 million
10. The Butler – 2.4 million

IF ONLY IT COULD HAPPEN DEPARTMENT

VOTD: “Wonder Woman” Short Film

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

Question: Need some OUAT scoop! – Storybrookecity:

TV Scoop Team: Let’s focus on season three’s big bad Peter Pan, shall we? We will learn how he became the twisted person he is today and some familiar names will definitely factor in, like Tinkerbell, who we will meet in episode three. “We try to have a spin on it that’s a little different than what you expect, and also there’s a connection to some of our characters that you’ve already met,” Adam Horowitz teases. “And as for the Darlings, they’re so integral to the Peter Pan story. We have not forgotten about them and there is a connection and a tie into what we’re doing with them as well.”

Question: January is so far away! Any Teen Wolf scoop to tide me over until then? – Keegan

TV Scoop Team: Sheriff Stilinski is getting some help! A new deputy will be coming to Beacon Hills in season 3B named Deputy Parrish, who is pretty young and very good looking.(Someone goodlooking on Teen Wolf?! How strange!) But Parrish isn’t the only newbie coming to town as Nogitsune, a malevolent man with inhumane movements will also be introduced. Bonus creepy factor: He speaks in riddles!

Question: Loving Sleepy Hollow, especially Tom Mison as Ichabod Crane. What’s coming up for my favorite time-traveler?

TV Scoop Team: We’ll be meeting his former bestie! In episode seven, we’ll be introduced to Abraham, a British-American colonist, via flashbacks to 1774. Abe (Yes, we’re already on nickname terms with him, get over it) is quite the fighter, especially when it comes to fencing.

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Martin Freeman (Sherlock and the latest The Hobbit franchise) will co-star alongside Billy Bob Thornton in Fargo, the first limited series from FX based on the box office film. This 10-episode series will follow a new case and new characters, all entrenched in the trademark humor, murder and “Minnesota nice” of the film. It will center on Lester Nygaard (Freeman), a small town insurance salesman henpecked by his wife, whose life is changed when a mysterious stranger, Lorne Malvo (Thornton), comes to town. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Charisma Carpenter (Buffy, Angel and Veronica Mars) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Blue Blood, playing Marianne Romano, a former popular girl in high school, who is now flashy, overly needy and just too obvious for a guy with a touch of class. Having had a fling with Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) a couple decades back, she calls on him for help when her bruiser-fiancée decks her in a fit of ‘roid rage. But her attempt to tweak Danny’s heartstrings backfires when it results in a police investigation of her boyfriend. Her episode is slated to air in November while Blue Bloods airs its season premiere tonight (September 27) on CBS. (Natalie Abrams at TV Guide)

Actor Dylan Neal (Blood Ties and Cedar Cove) will play DC comics villain Dr. Anthony Ivo in Arrow. Dr. Ivo will be part of a four episode arc in the shows second season that will start on October 9. Dr. Ivo will encounter Oliver Queen on the island and is a brutal and ruthless scientist determined to unearth a breakthrough that dates back to the Second World War. (Screen Crush and Dark Horizons)

Actor Scott Wolf (Party of Five and Perception) will appear in a multi-episode arc on the upcoming midseason medical drama The Night Shift on NBC, playing Scott Collins, a day-shift trauma surgeon who’s engaged to interim chief Dr. Jordan Alexander (Jill Flint). This new series follows a group of ex-Army physicians who work the 7 PM to 7 AM shift at a San Antonio hospital. (Dan Snierson at Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Laura Benanti (Royal Pains and Go On) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Elementary, playing Abigail Spencer, a nanny whose CEO boss is found dead while wearing S&M gear. She will appear in the October 17 episode. (Bruce Fretts at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Veteran character actor Titus Welliver (Lost and The Good Wife) has landed his first series lead role in the first ever Amazon drama pilot called Bosch that is a police procedural based on the Michael Connelly novels about Harry Bosch, a veteran police homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Warner Bros. TV and DC Comics have another show in development. This time around the project is called Constantine, which centers on the John Constantine character, 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)

FOX is developing a drama project called Guilt, a fictional project that will draw parallels to the story of Amanda Knox. Here is a description of the project: A sexy, soapy, twisted thriller about an American girl who is studying abroad in London. When her Irish roommate is brutally murdered, she finds herself the prime suspect and the focus of an international media frenzy. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

CBS is developing a drama project called Insecurity with NCIS: Los Angeles creator/showrunner Shane Brennan that will center on an obsessive compulsive former Federal Agent turned Head of Security at a Boston art museum who uses his unique professional and personal background — he was raised by criminals — to help solve complex local and federal cases across the country. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC is developing two drama projects with The Mark Gordon Company: a character-driven procedural written by Tom Donaghy (creator of The Whole Truth) and a project written by feature film writer Dean Georgaris (Paycheck). The first one will center on a big city criminologist who is brought in to help local police crack a case involving a shocking string of disappearances. But the chief detective she’s been hired to help is her father — and they haven’t talked in 10 years. The second project is called Clementine and it will focus on a profoundly troubled 28-year-old psychic who sees her life begin to change in unexpected ways when she decides to stop running from her past. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

The CW is teaming with actress turned producer Eva Longoria for a legal drama project that will be written by Albert Kim (Nikita). The untitled drama will center on a woman imprisoned for a double murder she didn’t commit, who earns her law degree while behind bars, then wins her freedom and joins the high-powered law firm that she believes is at the center of the conspiracy that framed her. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Katie Holmes (Dawson’s Creek) and singer (and would-be/wanna be actress) Taylor Swift have landed roles in the upcoming box office film adaptation of The Giver that will star Jeff Bridges as title old man, Meryl Streep as Chief Elder, who maintains order in the seemingly utopian society and Brenton Thwaites as the lead role. The story will focus on a 12-year-old boy who lives in a futuristic utopian society where all memory of human history has been erased. His life is thrown into turmoil when he is designated to inherit the role of the Giver and bear his community’s vast range of human emotions, which causes him to realize that living a pain-free life comes at a high cost. Holmes will play the boy’s mother, who obeys the laws without question, but Swift’s character has not been identified as yet. (The Hollywood Reporter and First Showing)

BOX OFFICE TRAILERS

Hot Trailer: ‘Free Birds’

Hot Trailer: Disney’s ‘Frozen’

Hot Teaser Trailer: ‘The Nut Job’

Q&A SECTION (with Tierney Bricker from E! Online, Michael Ausiello at TV Line and Sandra Gonzalez at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: So excited for Revenge’s return after your story about the premiere! Can you give me any spoilers for the rest of the season? – Jenny

Tierney: Around episode eight, Victoria is going to dig up someone from Emily’s past and bring him to the Hamptons. And it’s most definitely not just for the sake of a reunion.

Question: Anything you can say on Regina and her arc this season on Once Upon a Time? Will she be her sassy self this season? Will she have scenes with Snow in Neverland? – Carollattufe

Tierney: We love how curious you are, so we shall reward you with as much magical scoop as we can! Regina is pretty damn fierce in the first two episodes of season three, and she’s not holding back when it comes to using her powers. Fireballs? Yup! Casting someone in stone? You got it! The queen is ready to rescue her son, but she’s not fully ready to be working with the goody two-shoes Charming Family in order to do so. Oh and she does share a scene with Snow, but be warned, there’s some pretty intense hair-pulling.

Question: I’ll take any scoop you have on Castle, particularly how much longer Beckett will be a Fed. She belongs in the NYPD close to Castle! –Kristen

Ausiello: As you may have gleaned if you came across the photos from Episode 3, “Need to Know,” Beckett soon enough has cause to revisit the 12th, when a high-profile case that Ryan and Espoito are working catches the Feds’ attention. In fact, the instant that Castle talks his way into helping out the boys, “Beckett and McCord come in and take over the case,” show boss Andrew W. Marlowe previews. “So now it’s the boys against the girls. And Castle’s caught in the middle.” Bonus scoop: Having been on set for this episode, I can tell you that at one point they needed to do a close-up of Caskett’s hands as one slipped something small and shiny to the other.

Question: Any scoop on Castle‘s Lanie/Esposito? Esplanie shippers are hoping to see more of them soon! –Marine

Ausiello: When I spoke to Marlowe, nothing was firmly on the books yet, though he did tease “some Esposito/Lanie stuff coming up towards the end of the fall that we’re going to be exploring.” Between that, Ryan’s imminent fatherhood and, well, Alexis/Pi, “We’re taking a look at our secondary characters and having fun with them.”

Question: Andrew Marlowe said there were a few milestones between Castle and Beckett that he didn’t get a chance to show in Season 5. Any hints toward those? –Christina

Ausiello: I ran your question by Stana Katic, and this is what she was thinking: “I wonder where they’re going to live this season…” After all, she noted, with Pi now slinging papaya all over the place, more than ever “Castle’s loft is Union Station!”

Question: I’ve heard a rumor that we will meet Rumple’s father in Once Upon a Time Season 3. Is this real? –OUAT Spain

Ausiello: This much is real: Episode 4, titled “Nasty Habits,” will serve up Rumple’s first backstory of the season. “We’ve hinted in the past that his father was a coward and that his father’s name was something that haunted him and that his father left him,” co-creator Eddy Kitis reminds. “He definitely seems to have [Daddy issues].”

Question: I heard somewhere that Kevin Chapman is leaving Person of Interest this season. Please say is isn’t true. Fusco is so central to the show and such a beloved and broken character. –Casey

Ausiello: Now that you mention it, EP Greg Plageman did only discuss Carter when I asked for any scoop on “Carter and Fusco.” Hmm. Here’s what’s for certain: As Fusco helps out with Carter’s investigation into HR, it will involve him in a potentially dangerous situation. [Gulp]

Question: Will Scandal ever bring up the fact that Cyrus hired Charlie to kill Amanda Tanner way back in Season 1? –Dee

Ausiello: With that show, who knows. But if that reprehensible deed ever does come to light, don’t count on James to bail on his hubby. “There’s a lot about what my husband is capable of that I don’t know,” Dan Bucatinsky notes, “but I feel like on some level James knew exactly what he was getting in to — maybe not to that extent, but I think there’s a lot more to James than meets the eye in terms of raw ambition, not just to be a parent, but to succeed in Washington.”

Question: I know we won’t know for a bit about how Coulson survived Loki, but can the writers of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. at least promise us that they do have an answer in mind, and they won’t make it up at the 11th hour? –Joel T

Ausiello: It is on the record that Joss Whedon, in asking Clark Gregg to do S.H.I.E.L.D., sketched out for the actor some of the Level 7 details about Coulson’s après-Avengers existence. So at least some of the story is living in Whedon’s noggin. But, he has said, “It will be something of a drawn-out explanation… drawn out over several episodes.”

Question: Have you got any scoops on NCIS’ McGee or if we’ll get to see Delilah again? I really loved seeing her with McGee and how she held her own against Abby. –Marla

Ausiello: Thus far, Margo Harshman has shot one additional episode, with the potential for more drop-ins here and there.

Question: Who was the female artist singing at the end of the NCIS season premiere? Sounded like Enya. –Pat

Ausiello: Good ear — that was Enya’s “If I Could Be Where You Are.”

Question: Can you tell me anything exciting about the Once Upon a Time premiere? — Jennifer

Sandra: Tensions on the big ship will reach an intense climax — one that will find Snow and Regina coming to blows! And they’re not the only ones. That’s right: HOTTIE FIGHT! Charming vs. Hook. I’d buy that one on pay-per-view!

Question: Any Once Upon a Time scoop? — Cam

Sandra: I think Hook/Emma fans are going to like the premiere. Not that there’s a Moment or anything. But I certainly got the impression they’re having a little fun with these two this year more than ever. How far will it go, though? That was one of the questions posted to EPs Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz during a press conference after a select few got to view the first two episodes. I will share scoop from that chat this Sunday after the west coast airing of the premiere!

Question: Loved the season premiere of Castle. But I was sad we didn’t get to see Alexis’s reaction to the proposal. Will we ever flash back to that? — Violet

Sandra: As mentioned in my post-mortem with EP Andrew Marlowe, we will see her reaction in certain behavioral ways. One thing I didn’t tell you in that article? The cast and crew are currently working on a very interesting hour that centers on Alexis and her fight to free a man on death row. “We have an interesting episode where Alexis has been involved in an Innocence Project-type case with her professor that has not gone well and last-ditch efforts have not exculpated the guy. So with 72 hours left, she ends up recruiting her father to help,” he says. “It’s a really moving episode that allows Castle and his daughter — along with Beckett helping — to have them spend a lot of time together and also talk about what it means to be a family. That’s something we’re really excited about.” Me too!

Question: Scandal scoop for Gladiators!! — Mara

Sandra: If you saw the sneak peek I offered up earlier, then you already know: Mellie is going to come in and help Olivia and Fitz help figure out a way out of this sticky situation the administration find itself in. And at EW’s pre-Emmy party this weekend, the gorgeous Bellamy Young elaborated, saying “Mellie is ready to handle things….she has very specific ideas about who to throw under the bus. She will see her plan implemented come hell or high water.” But, she warned, “of course it will inevitably blow up in her face as Mellie’s plans tend to.” I will take any form of Scandal info you can give me. #Prettypleasewithfitzontop —

Sandra: Here’s something from Jeff Perry: “Somewhere in the first couple of episodes, Cyrus is transported to an ominous location in the trunk of a car.”

Question: I’m still fanning myself after that Beauty And the Beast photo you (recently) tweeted. How is it possibly Jay Ryan even looks sexy in full beast mode? Anyway, have you seen the episode? Any teases? — Joan

Sandra: Saw it. Loved it. And fans’ll love it too. You may have heard a lot about the “changes” that Vincent goes through that put a strain on their relationship (specifically, he’s all Grrr-y now) and while you get the sense it will definitely be a battle to recover what they once had, there’s one very important gesture he makes that will fill your heart with hope.

Question: Any scoop on Downton Abbey? I’ve promised myself I wouldn’t bootleg but would love some teases. — Erika

Sandra: Could having Matthew dead be even BETTER than watching him and Mary alive? Maybe not in fans’ opinions. But creator Julian Fellowes certainly thinks it packs a punch. “To be honest dramatizing Mary rebuilding herself is more interesting than just two people being happy,” he told us at EW’s pre-Emmy bash. “It will be interesting to see how the Americans take to the way we dealt with that, but I think it’s strong [season].” Now, if only we could see it AT THE SAME TIME AS THE UK. This is the last time I’ll rant about this. Probably.

Question: Can you tell me about this supposed Stelena moment in the Vampire Diaries season premiere? — Brandy

Sandra: Before you get all excited, I will tell you that it may not happen exactly how you’re imagining. There’s definitely a twist there (because, remember, they aren’t exactly next door to each other). That said, if your heart doesn’t swell while watching it, you’re as heartless as Katherine (used?) to be!

Question: I NEED some Vampire Diaries. PLEASE! — Brianna

Sandra: If you cry during the season premiere (hint: you will), then make sure you have EXTRA boxes of tissues for episode 4. I’m told it’s a whopper of an hour.

Question: White Collar scoop please! — Monica

Sandra: In the premiere, Peter does get a get-out-of-jail-free card (you didn’t REALLY expect them to keep him in the pokey, right?) but it happens in a way that will definitely cause problems down the line. I won’t say for who. Meanwhile, baby bump alert! Yup, someone’s pregnant. Guess who?

Question: I’m so excited about your Revenge chat with Gabe! Please ask whether Nolan will have a love interest this season. — Nicky

Sandra: Awkward turtle….our chat has unfortunately been rescheduled. I’ll let you know when that is as soon as I know. So hold on to that query!

That’s it. Enjoy!

PS: Have a great weekend!!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

ABC has given a second season order to its summer soap opera Mistresses. It will be back with new episodes next summer. (AJ Marechal at Variety)

Actor Andy Mientus (Smash) will recur on the upcoming ABC Family drama series Chasing Life that will follow April, an aspiring journalist (Unnatural History‘s Italia Ricci) who, just as things are starting to go her way, gets some terrible news from her uncle: She has cancer. Mientus will play Jackson, but no other details are available on his character. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

HBO has renewed Boardwalk Empire for a fifth season. (Variety)

Actress Ana Ortiz (Ugly Betty and Devious Maids) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Revenge, play Bizzy Preston, a confident, fearless public relations specialist who’s brought in by Conrad to do damage control for the Graysons. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

TNT has ordered a pilot for an untitled project that is being described as National Treasure meets The Bourne Identity, centering on persons called upon in times of extreme crisis, when traditional law and government aren’t in position to help. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

CBS is developing a new drama project with Jerry Bruckheimer called Oasis that would revolve around the inhabitants of a new self-sustaining perfect community who discover there may be danger and mystery to the greater purpose of this Oasis. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

CBS is developing a drama project based on characters in the Anne Rice novel series The Songs of the Seraphim that will be called Angel Time. This project will be set in New Orleans around a soulless assassin with a tragic past who finds himself on a road to redemption. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

CBS is also developing Battle Creek from Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad) and David Shore (House) that will center on two detectives with very different world views who are teamed up. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Q&A SECTION (with E! Online)

Question: Is there any hope for Caroline and Tyler??? – xPepperssPotts

E! Online: Shockingly enough, it’s kind of hard to be in a relationship when only one person actually appears on screen! Tyler doesn’t show up in the premiere, but Caroline still only has eyes for him; she even completely (and hilariously) rebuffs a cute frat guy. But we will tell you Tyler will cause our favorite blonde vamp to cry and we totally want to punch him in his werewolf junk for it.

Question: Only one week until my date with Olivia Pope, so I’m in dire need of Scandal scoop! – Dana

E! Online: Mellie is no longer America’s Sweetheart! Though the First Lady’s approval ratings were always high, it seems outing your husband’s affair on national TV tends to turn people off. Yes, Mellie’s approval rating has plummeted…we are talking double digits, people! Expect to see Mellie get all flustered during a TV interview when she’s pressed about the declining rating.

That’s it. Enjoy!

PS: Day four of the first official week of Fall TV is tonight; make sure you are ready for more programming options.

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Lifetime has canceled the military-themed drama Army Wives after seven seasons on the air. The last new episode of the drama aired this past June. But, a two-hour retrospective will air early next year. (Deadline and TV Fanatic)

Actress Joanne Kelly (Warehouse 13) will have a major recurring role on the new CBS drama Hostages, playing Vanessa, an ambitious ambassador and the sister of the First Lady of the United States (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Jack Coleman (Heroes and Burn Notice) will have a multi-episode arc on Scandal, playing Daniel Douglas, a charming Southerner with ties to one of the gladiators. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

FOX is developing a drama pilot called Gotham, an origins story about Commission James Gordon and the villains who made Gotham City famous. In this project, Gordon is still a detective with the Gotham City Police Department and has yet to meet Batman, who will not be part of the series. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

NBC is developing a drama series called Odyssey that will center on three families who are torn apart when a stranded female soldier, a disillusioned corporate attorney and a disrespected political activist are pulled into the same shocking international military conspiracy. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

The cable network Bravo is developing an as-untitled dramedy project that will center on an eccentric New England family that decides to take justice into its own hands when its matriarch is murdered. When the murderer is set free on a technicality, they decide to hunt down the killer together, as a family. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Rumer Willis (yes, daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore) has landed a role in the E! scripted pilot Songbyrd that will star One Tree Hill alum Bethany Joy Lenz in the lead role. The pilot will center on Lauren Byrd (Lenz), a writer of hit love songs, who employs a small staff, including her sister Mickey (Willis), to enable and manage her eccentric yet wildly successful process. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actor Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje (Lost) has joined the cast of the upcoming big screen adaptation of Annie, a reimagining of the Broadway musical. He will play Nash, the tough but lovable bodyguard and driver for Stacks (Jamie Foxx) and a good friend of Annie. (The Deadline Team)

Actress Agnes Bruckner (the star of Lifetime’s The Anna Nicole Story) will appear in the independent drama flick called There Is A New World Somewhere, playing Sylvia, a struggling artist who returns to her hometown and meets an enigmatic stranger who becomes the catalyst for a road trip through the Deep South. (The Deadline Team)

Actress Dakota Fanning (The Twilight franchise) and Theo James (the upcoming film Divergent and the short-lived TV series Golden Boy) will star in the Richard Gere-led movie Franny that will center around a gregarious hedonist (Gere) who finds a renewed sense of purpose by desperately ingratiating himself into the lives of a young couple, Olivia and Luke (Fanning and James). (The Deadline Team)

Actor Joseph Mazzello, who was a kid when he appeared in Jurassic Park, is working on his directorial debut (for which he will also star), the box office film called Undrafted, which was written by Mazzello based on his brother’s experience as a collegiate baseball star who was skipped over in the Major League Baseball draft. An intramural baseball game with his misfit teammates then becomes incredibly important to him as he tries to come to grips with his dashed dreams. The cast will include Aaron Tveit (Graceland), Matt Barr (The Hatfields & McCoys mini), Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl), Tyler Hoechlin (Teen Wolf), Manny Montana (Graceland), Philip Winchester (Strike Back) and James Belushi. (Mike Fleming, Jr. at Deadline)

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

Question: Love S.H.I.E.L.D. already, but I’d love it more if Cobie Smulders, aka Agent Hill, would stick around. Got any scoop on that? – Lorena

TV Scoop Team: Smulders told us she does appear in more than one episode this season, as well as hinted that she could be a series regular in season two after that other show she’s on is done. Or she could just mash up both roles to make How I Met Your Superhero. We’d watch that show.

Question: Can we expect a lot of flashback about Emma’s past in Once Upon a Time? We want to see more of that. – Alex96401212

TV Scoop Team: Then you definitely won’t want to miss the first two minutes of Sunday’s season premiere! Fans will be treated to a very special Emma-centric scene in which we flashback to 11 years ago. Hmm… interesting. Isn’t Henry 11 years old? What a magical coincidence! And speaking of magic, let’s just say that Emma’s powers have been with her long before her trip to Storybrooke

Question: Did you get any juicy Scandal scoop when you were on set? — Laura

NATALIE: Olivia Pope might be the First Mistress, but it’s her co-workers who will bear the brunt of that revelation in the season premiere. “It makes it hard because they go from being people who manage other people’s crises to people who have to manage their own crisis in a big way,” Kerry Washington tells me. “When Olivia herself is at the center of it, it really challenges everybody. It’s hard for them to figure out what their roles are. If she’s the client, how can she be the boss? Who gets to make the rules?”

Question: What can you tease about Once Upon a Time’s premiere? — Jessica

NATALIE: It’s very action-packed. There will be fighting — seriously, at least two people get punched in the face and it’s awesome — flying and betrayal. But before we get to Neverland, the third season will pick up in the real world with a moment fans have been waiting for since the beginning of the series. But manage your expectations: You won’t get the whole story about that moment until Episode 9.

Quesbtion: Any scoop on Bonnie next season now that she’s dead on The Vampire Diaries? — Jonah

NATALIE: When the show returns, Jeremy is still the only person who knows, and that secret, and their new circumstances, will bring them even closer. “It creates this intense intimacy, even as a friend, that they never had before,” Kat Graham told us during a recent visit to the set. “There were always distractions and they weren’t ever forced to always just ‘be.’ You’ll see a lot of us working together early on in the season.”

Question: Got any scoop on Revolution? —Kevin

Ausiello: The mystery man known as Mr. President will be unmasked “by midseason,” exec producer Eric Kripke confirms. “For now, he’s just this shadowy figure that is moving into the White House, and we’ll start to tease all that out.” Bonus Scoop: Adam Beach (SVU, Big Love) makes his first appearance in Wednesday’s premiere playing “the sheriff of the town of Willoughby that our heroes stumble into and immediately there’s a little friction with Miles because he senses that there’s [something off],” Kripke explains. “Miles comes into town using an alias and not wanting anyone to know his true identity, and Adam begins to realize pretty quickly that there’s more to Miles than meets the eye.”

Question: Please tell me anything about Scandal. —Katy

Ausiello: Now that Olivia has been outed as the POTUS’ mistress, “She is no longer the fixer,” explains Bellamy Young. “She is like the client. Mellie is the fixer in her own mind. We’re looking at a reelection campaign, so I’ve got to handle it because we need four more years. And Mellie has a very particular idea about who a scapegoat should be, what a strategy should be, how to push it all under the rug so we can get past it and get reelected. Of course, it will no doubt blow up in her face as Mellie’s plans inevitably do.” Bonus Scoop: This season’s third episode is going to be bananas.”So far, I have loved Episode 3,” raves Young. “Episode 3 was one of our best so far. I really look forward to [watching] that.”

Question: I have to wait so long until Season 2 of Under the Dome! Can you please give me some hint as to what the future holds for Barbie? —Alicia

Ausiello: A tighter, more compelling narrative? That’s my personal hope, anyway. I’m encouraged by something Dean Norris told us Saturday at BAFTA’s pre-Emmy Team Party. “I’m meeting with producers to start sorting it out, but [Season 2] is going to be good,” he said. “We get to reboot the whole thing… I think there’s going to be some changes. They want to beef it up in a lot of ways.” Bonus Scoop: Norris confirms that “Stephen King is going to write the first episode.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

PS: It’s day three of the first official week of Fall TV – check your calendars and guides carefully for what to watch tonight, as there is even more programming rolling out.

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

The new CW remake of The Tomorrow People (which debuts on October 9) will be welcoming back one of the original cast members of the original UK series. Nicholas Young, who played John in the original series, will have a recurring role, playing Aldus Crick, the scientist who first discovered and studied the original generation of Tomorrow People. (Kate Stanhope at TV Guide)

Actress Shannon Lucio (The O.C.) will guest star in Supernatural as April Kelly, a love interest for Castiel (series regular Misha Collins). Supernatural is back on The CW on October 8. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actress Sally Pressman (Army Wives) will have a multi-episode arc on Scandal. There are no details on who she will be playing, though, but it is known that she will debut in November. Scandal will be back on ABC on October 3. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Steven Pasquale (Rescue Me and the failed NBC drama Do No Harm) will appear in the final five episodes of the current season of White Collar, playing Conrad Worth, a rogue stock broker who sees an opportunity to exploit the world of high-frequency trading on Wall Street. White Collar will be back on the USA Network on October 17. (Mandi Bierly at Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Kyle Schmid (Copper) and Linda Hamilton (the original Beauty and the Beast and the Terminator franchise) will be guest starring in Lost Girl when the series returns for its fourth season on Syfy in 2014. Schmid will appear in a multi-episode arc, but there are no details on what character he will play. Meanwhile, Hamilton will reprise her role of Acacia, the tough, sexy and ruthless assassin. (Shaw Media Press Release)

The Bridge is given a second season renewal by FX. (Variety)

Legendary actress Vanessa Redgrave will co-star opposite actress Kelly Reilly (Sherlock Holmes) in the upcoming ABC 13-episode limited drama series called The Black Box. The series centers Elizabeth Black (Reilly), a world-renowned neuroscientist who appears to have it all, but is constantly haunted by her own struggle with mental illness. And that is not the only secret she’s kept locked away from her family and her new fiancé. Redgrave will play Dr. Hartramph, Elizabeth’s psychiatrist and the only one who knows all her secrets. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Zuleikha Robinson (Homeland) will have a recurring role in the upcoming CBS mid-season series Intelligence that stars Josh Hollway as Gabriel Black, a high-tech operative – the first of his kind – who has a microchip implanted in his brain. Robinson will play Amelia, Gabriel’s wife, an intelligence officer who has been missing from duty for some time. Intelligence will debut on CBS on February 24. (Jennifer Arellano at Entertainment Weekly)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

It looks like CBS is trying again for a spin-off from NCIS, this time possibly set in New Orleans. The planted pilot, which means an episode centered around the characters in the spin-off will be the focus of an NCIS episode – is set to air next spring and will be executive produced by NCIS star Mark Harman and NCIS executive producer Gary Glasberg. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy and Merlin) along with three relative unknown actors/actresses have joined the Syfy pilot called Dominion, based on characters from the 2010 box office film Legion, is set 25 years later in the aftermath of a catastrophic war between mankind and an army of angels. Head will play the president of the Senate of Vega, one of the few cities left standing. (The Deadline Team)

The CW is developing a western/sci-fi drama called Red from Bruno Heller (creator of The Mentalist that will be about the first human settlement on Mars and life on this new frontier, centering on the relationships between the town’s female sheriff, a doctor and a criminal. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis and The Glades creator Clifton Campbell have teamed up for a FOX drama project called Billy Ray about a family thrown into chaos when the child who was stolen from them as a baby is returned 16 years later after being raised in rural Alabama by someone with a questionable past. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC is developing a drama project from Hart Hanson (the creator of Bones) and Andrew Miller called The Good Thief’s Guide, which is based on the best-selling book series by British author Chris Ewan. The project will follow the charming and unpredictable Charlie Howard as he travels the world, blogging about his adventures while stealing for fun and profit. Each season is set in a new exotic city and centers around one perfect heist that usually turns into a tangled web of lies and double crosses. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Starz is developing a one-hour drama called Gringo that is inspired by the non-fiction book “The Shadow Center” that chronicles a Mexican-American Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agent who infiltrates one of Mexico’s most deadly drug and human smuggling cartels. (The Futon Critic)

Q&A SECTION (with Tierney Bricker at E! Online)

Question: Still in denial over Ezra being bad on PLL! What’s going to happen next?! – Beth

Tierney: Prepare yourselves because Rosewood High is currently in the market for a new substitute teacher. Yes, the ABC Family hit is casting a pretty new sub in her 40s, so it looks like Ezra may once again be losing the title of Hottest English Teacher on TV. The episode’s title, by the way, is called “She’s Come Undone”. Could that be in reference to our dear Aria?!

Question: How about some scoop on my favorite new show from last year, Arrow? What can we expect when it returns? – Jeff

Tierney: Even badder baddies! “Craziness, mayhem. We’re taking it up a level. Season one ended with literally a bang and this is going to get even bigger,” David Ramsey teases of what’s to come in season two. “A lot of bad guys, Bronze Tiger, Black Canary, a lot of stuff is going to happen. All the bad guys in season one, if they were nine, this season they’re 12.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

PS: Don’t miss out on all the new and returning programming that will be on tonight: Night Two of the Official Fall TV Season!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

TNT has canceled the drama King & Maxwell after only one season on the air. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actress Joelle Carter (Justified) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Castle, playing Maggie Ingram, the long-time girlfriend of a death row inmate who is on the verge of being executed. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actress Shiri Appleby (Roswell and Life Unexpected) has been cast in the Lifetime drama pilot called Unreal, written by Marti Noxon (of Buffy and Angel fame) and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro based on the latter’s independent short film Sequin Raze. The pilot will go behind the scenes of a hit competition dating show to follow the experiences of a young staffer (Appleby) whose sole job is to manipulate her relationships with (and among) the contestants to get the vital dramatic and outrageous footage the program’s producers demand. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Bethany Joy Lenz (One Tree Hill) has landed the starring role in the E! hour-long drama pilot Songbyrd, written by former Grey’s Anatomy writer Krista Vernoff and executive produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (both from Smash). Lenz will play Lauren Byrd, a genius songwriter who employs a small staff, including her sister, to enable and manage her eccentric, yet wildly successful process. But when her ex-fiancée reveals himself to be less than the man she remembers, she comes to the realization that she can no longer live in the past, and must find a new, true inspiration for her sake and those around her. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

It looks like the BBC America series Copper that just received its pink slip from the cabler may live on on the big screen thanks to the show’s co-creator and executive producer Tom Fontana as well as his fellow executive producers Barry Levinson and Tom Kelly, as they are considering a movie version of what would have been season 3 of the period piece drama. Fontana’s extensive story arc for the third season is now being eyed for a revamp in movie format, but it is too soon to tell if this plan will come to fruition. (Dominic Patten at Deadline)

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

1. Prisoners – 21.4 million
2. Insidious Chapter 2 – 14.5 million
3. The Family – 7 million
4. Instructions Not Included – 5.7 million
5. Battle of the Year – 5 million
6. We’re the Millers – 4.7 million
7. The Butler – 4.3 million
8. Riddick – 3.7 million
9. The Wizard of Oz 3d – 3 million
10. Planes – 2.9 million

That’s it. Enjoy!

PS: Today is the official start of the fall TV season. Make sure you get your DVR’s set to record all the great programming that will air starting tonight!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

TNT has picked up the new Steven Bocho drama Murder in the First to series. The series will
follow homicide detectives played by Taye Diggs and Kathleen Robertson, focusing on one major case a season; this season’s being about the murder of an apparent drug addict with ties to a Silicon Valley mogul. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter and Variety)

British actor Richard Coyle (Covert Affairs) will co-star alongside John Malkovich in the NBC pirate drama Crossbones that is set to air mid-season. The series is set in 1715 on the Bahamian island of New Providence where the diabolical pirate Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard (Malkovich), reigns over a rogue nation of thieves, outlaws and miscreant sailors. To gain control of this fearsome society, Tom Lowe (Coyle), a highly skilled undercover assassin, is sent to the pirates’ haven to take down the brilliant and charismatic Blackbeard. But the closer Lowe gets, the more he finds that his quest is not so simple. Lowe can’t help but admire the political ideals of Blackbeard, whose thirst for knowledge knows no bounds. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor John Noble (Fringe) will recur on the FOX thriller Sleepy Hollow as Henry Parrish, a kind and reclusive man who possesses supernatural powers that have the potential to help the series’ protagonist, Ichabod Crane (series lead Tom Mison). (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Melora Hardin (The Office) will guest star in the mid-season ABC drama Killer Women, playing Nan Reed, the long-suffering spouse of a yahoo husband who browbeats her into getting plastic surgery whenever the mood strikes. Or at least he does until she’s finally had enough. Killer Women stars Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) as Molly Parker, the only woman in an elite squad of Texas Rangers. (Adam Bryant at TV Guide)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

NBC is developing Ghost Projekt, a drama based on the Oni Press graphic novel that centers on an American UN weapons inspector and a Russian FSB agent who are forced to team up to chase a group of thieves before they end up spreading dangerous supernatural material stolen from an old abandoned Soviet weapons lab. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

British newcomer Tom Austen has joined actor William Moseley and actress Elizabeth Hurley in the hour-long E! pilot called The Royals that is a contemporary drama about a fictional royal family informed by the regal opulence of the British monarchy and framed by Shakespeare’s Hamlet. He will play Jasper, the new security detail/love interest to Princess Eleanor. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Syfy has teamed with Bryan Singer (director of X-Men) for a new drama project called Creature At Bay that is set in the wake of the US military taking down a giant, rampant creature, a modern-day “Kaiju” monster, just off the Northern California coast. A middle-management Undersecretary from the California Emergency Management Agency is charged with leading the clean-up efforts as the small town becomes the focus of the entire world. (Nellie Andeeva at Deadline)

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

Question: Will Once Upon a Time fans see how Regina adopted Henry this season? –Ishan

Mitovich: “Yes,” series co-creator Adam Horowitz confirms. “Before our Christmas break, we plan to show the why and the how of how baby Henry came to his new mother.”

Question: Any scoop on Suits’ Harvey and Donna? – Ro

Mitovich: The midseason finale may have deflated your ‘shipper balloon some, given Harvey’s resolve to make a go of real romance with Scottie, but rest assured, that won’t box a certain ravishing redhead out of his life. As EP Aaron Korsh previews, “Donna, regardless of what her feelings may or may not be about Harvey and Scottie, cares about Harvey. She wants him to be happy and is going to try to help him in this relationship like she did last year in [Episode] 216. That’s what’s going on for them in these last six.”

Question: Will Natalie Zea’s pregnant Winona be appearing on any episodes this season of Justified? I would love to see her back for the whole season. –Karen

Mitovich: Zea is very likely to return for Season 5 in a capacity TBD, but the smart money says that Winona will be toting her child, not expecting one, when next we see her.
Question: I’m really tired of all White Collar spoilers being about Neal’s love life. I watch the show for bromance, not romance! Give us some good Peter and Neal scoop, please! –Donna

Mitovich: Come midseason, one bromance will help out another when Peter and Neal (…and Jones and Diana) scramble to solve the potentially fatal poisoning of — wait for it — Mozzie!

That’s it. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actor Jere Burns (Burn Notice) has been promoted to series regular on Justified where he has played drug dealer Winn Duffy for most of the series’ run. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BBC has canceled their period piece drama Copper after two seasons. The show will air its, now, series finale this Sunday, September 22. (Michael O’Connell at The Hollywood Reporter)

Like father like son. Actor Gabriel Macht, who is the star of the USA Network legal drama Suits will see his actor-father Stephen Macht guest-starring in a winter episode of the show’s current third season. The elder Macht will play Professor Gerard, a longtime Harvard Law professor who is notorious for his high standards and rigid ways. (Vlada Gelman at TV Line)

Actress Beth Riesgraf (Leverage) will guest star in the upcoming new ABC mid-season series Killer Women that stars Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) as Molly Parker, a Texas Ranger surrounded by law enforcement peers who want to see her fail. Riesgraf will appear in the second episode, as Jennifer Jennings, an interior decorator with a secret sideline. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Looks like ABC isn’t just stopping at Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as their only Marvel universe drama. A “one-shot” from the upcoming blu-ray release of Iron Man 3 – featuring Peggy Carter – just might be in line for the network as a potential series. There are few details right now, but word has it that Agent Carter could be on a small screens if things pan out. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Will Kemp (Van Helsing and Step Up 2) and actress Kallee Stewart (the Hot Tub Time Machine franchise) have joined Alicia Silverstone in the Lifetime drama pilot called HR that centers on the uptight Director of Human Resources for a global company Ellen (Silverstone) who, after a head injury alters her outlook on life, throws standard corporate practices out the window and inspires the business to strive for new ambitions and profits. Kemp will play Piers Moore, a British salesman, co-worker and potential love interest for Ellen. Meanwhile, Stewart will play Judith, a coworker of Ellen’s in the HR department. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

VH1 has given a pilot order to a new hour-long drama called Hindsight that will center on Becca who, as she nears 40, is about to embark on her second wedding to Andy Kelly, but her joy is tempered by the absence of her old best friend Lolly who’s a no-show, having dropped out of their relationship years ago. As Becca mulls over her past with Lolly and the mishap of her marriage to her first husband, Sean, she wakes up on her wedding day and discovers that it’s 15 years in the past — she’s about to marry Sean, her own parents are still married, and Lolly is still in her life. Becca must now decide to either go ahead with her marriage to Sean and watch the years play out as they have before, or chuck it all and try for a re-do of the history of her life that’s still in the future. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actress Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives and executive producer of Lifetime’s Devious Maids) will produce the potential new ABC hour-long soap opera called Trust that is based on the popular Columbian telenovela Pura Sangre. Trust will center on David Montenegro, a humble attorney in Miami who is given the chance to become the Trustee of the Lagos estate. David takes the job to try and rekindle a romance with his first and only love, Rosella Lagos – who is now engaged to another man – but before long, he finds himself sucked into her dysfunctional family and discovers that, in a world of so much money, the only true currency is trust. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Spike TV is developing a new script program based on Tutankhamun, aka King Tut, the youngest Pharaoh to rule Ancient Egypt. The six-part series is based on historical facts from recently discovered DNA evidence, exploring the drama of power, political backstabbing, war and murder and chronicles King Tut’s rise to glory, his efforts to rule a chaotic empire and the enigma surrounding his death. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

NBC is developing a mini-series about the life of iconic late-night talk show host Johnny Carson based on the upcoming biography “Carson The Magnificent: An Intimate Portrait” by Bill Zehme. The project will cover Carson’s 30-year run (1962-92) as host of The Tonight Show, as well as his childhood growing up in Nebraska, his often secluded off-camera life and friendships he made throughout his career as one of the most beloved TV personalities of all time. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl) has landed the lead role in the independent drama film called Like Sunday, Like Rain about a struggling musician who becomes the guardian of a 12-year-old music prodigy one summer. (Jen Yamato at Deadline)

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

Question: Covert Affairs season finale nearly killed my Annie-Auggie shipping heart! Please tell me they get back together! – Veronica

TV Scoop Team: Sorry to burst your bubble, kill your dreams, kick you when you’re down, etc., but Auggie will be spending time with a new lady when the show returns. Beautiful and smart with a bit of an edge, Sarah Tam is a gifted officer Auggie needs for a top-secret mission. Though they start off a bit rocky, a tentative friendship forms between the two.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actress Emily Wickersham (The Sopranos and The Bridge) has landed a role on NCIS, playing Bishop, a bright, educated, athletic, attractive, fresh-faced, focused and somewhat socially awkward new agent. She has a mysterious mixture of analytic brilliance, fierce determination and idealism. There is a potential for this character to take over for departing Ziva David, but that is speculation at best right now. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

British actor Treva Etienne (Terminator Salvation and Pirates of the Caribbean) has joined the cast of Falling Skies where he will play Dingaan Botha, who will be very involved with the 2nd Mass. The series will return to TNT next summer. (Lesley Goldberg at The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor James Frain (The White Queen and True Blood) will appear in multi episodes of the new FOX thriller Sleepy Hollow, playing Rutledge, a modern-day nobleman who will interrogate Ichabod, who is being passed off as a “visiting Oxford professor,” about his past. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

NBC is developing an as-yet untitled thriller-family drama based on the Linwood Barclay novel “Never Look Away” that centers on an award-winning journalist whose wife goes missing. His life is turned upside down as he discovers the truth about his wife, the town they live in, and even himself. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC Family is developing a horror-laced series from writer Jeff Dixon called The Final Girls that would revolve around a group of girls who have, in essence, survived their own personal horror stories and are brought together by a mysterious older woman, to be played by Jamie Leigh Curtis, to channel the stress and scars of their experience for some greater good. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Anthony E. Zuiker, the creator of the CSI franchise, has sold a drama pilot called The Bounty to ABC that will look into what happens a woman’s family is murdered. She inspires America to create the largest bounty in history for the killer’s capture. (Tim Molloy at The Wrap)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Hot Trailer: Great Expectations

Extended Thor: The Dark World Trailer

Q&A SECTION (with Natalie Abrams and Adam Bryant at TV Guide and Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Question: Thanks for the Revolution scoop, but what’s going on with Monroe this season? — April

NATALIE: The deposed leader of the former Monroe Republic is drowning his sorrows in, well, sex — as is Charlie, who, thankfully is not sharing Monroe’s bed. But the horndogs will cross paths early on. Unfortunately, their meeting will be even more devastating for Charlie than that time that he, you know, tried to kill everyone she loves.

Question: What can you tell me about Lisa Edelstein’s character on Castle. Does she actually come between Castle and Beckett? — Kyle

ADAM: I wouldn’t say that Rachel McCord is actively scheming to tear the lovebirds apart, but she doesn’t necessarily see their relationship as a good thing. “McCord views Castle as a threat to Beckett,” Edelstein tell us. “He is hampering her potential.” That said, Edelstein says that she eventually warms to our favorite mystery writer. “She’s not an enemy of Castle’s,” she says. “She gets who he is, but she also knows what her job is. … McCord has made mistakes of her own, and that’s why she feels qualified to help Beckett avoid doing the same thing.”

Question: Do you have any scoop on The Originals? — Janette

NATALIE: Klaus’ daddy issues will resurface when Sebastian Roche returns in a flashback as Original father Mikael Mikaelson. “We’ll certainly get a better idea of why Klaus has turned out the way he has,” Joseph Morgan tells us. “One scene in particular, filmed in the woods in the dead of night, will hopefully help people to empathize a little more with this bloodthirsty, murdering sociopath I play.”

Question: What the heck was that horned thingy at the end of Sleepy Hollow?! — Jerry

NATALIE: “That’s a great question!” executive producer Alex Kurtzman says. “It’s going to be one of the driving questions of the first season.” The producers call the horned monster “The Blurry Man,” and say that he is responsible for unleashing Headless. His unique appearance is actually inspired by a famous figure, but don’t go poring through your Bible to find him.

Question: What else can you share bout the NCIS: Los Angeles premiere? — Shelley

ADAM: If you thought that Sam and Deeks’ torture in the finale was hard to watch, sorry, the brutality ain’t over yet. More than one team member will be shot in the first episode, which also features a dismembering and a really gross (if clever) ploy involving a large chunk of skin. But it’ll all be worth it in the fight against Sidorov and Janvier. By the end of the hour, one will be dead and the other will be locked away.

NOTE: It should be noted that actress Daniela Ruah (who plays Kensi) in NCIS: Los Angeles recently revealed she expecting a baby with her fiancé who just happens to be the brother of her co-star Eric Christian Olsen aka Deeks aka her maybe new boyfriend in the show IF the powers that be go in that direction – who knows if they will, though. It will be interesting to see how or if Daniela’ real life pregnancy will be written into the show and how that will be handled between their on-screen characters.

Question: Dude. Justified. Hit me. —Don

Ausiello: For Season 5, the FX drama is going back to the Cuckoo Crime Family From Hell conceit popularized by the Bennetts of Season 2 (RIP, Mags). This time around, we’ll be introduced to the white trash Florida-based Crowe clan, led by the sexy, charismatic and ruthless fortysomething patriarch Dale. Officially, the Crowes run a gator farm. Unofficially, they deal drugs and murder people and stuff. Dale’s inner circle includes sister Wendy (the public face of the family) and younger brother Danny (described as a romantic sociopath).

Question: Let’s assume Kate takes the job in DC on Castle. How long might the stint last before she returns to the 12th precinct? —Megan

Ausiello: If she takes the job in the nation’s capital — and that’s still a big if — I’ll hazard a guess that she’ll stay put for somewhere between two and five episodes.

Question: Do you have any info on NCIS, Castle or The Mentalist? –Jang

Ausiello: I choose Door No. 2! Lisa Edelstein told our Matt Mitovich that, regardless of how her character — a federal agent who factors into Beckett’s career conundrum — gets on with Kate, she and Stana Katic became the fastest of friends during her three-episode guest-starring turn. “I really didn’t want to do an arc on a show without really investing as much as I could in it, so I walked onto that show with a lot of ideas and wanting to create a real character — and Stana was psyched about that,” the House alumna happily reports. “Those things can go many different directions,” she adds with a laugh, “so I was really happy that she was so gracious.”

Question: Nikita scoop, please? Am I right to assume these last six episodes are going to blow us away? —Steph

Ausiello: Yes, you are absolutely, 100 percent right to assume that. You would also be absolutely, 100 percent right to assume that our titular heroine, who went MIA in the finale, will rejoin the team sooner versus later. “The first episode starts with her on the run,” previews co-star Lyndsy Fonseca. “And by the end of it, she’s back with the team.” Bonus Scoop: We hear Nik is keeping company with a pretty rough crowd during her time on the lam.

Question: Loved Sleepy Hollow and thrilled it did so well in the ratings. Got anything on Episode 2? —Henry

Ausiello: Though he very much died in the premiere, we have by no means seen the last of John Cho’s Andy.

Question: Please tell me that you have something about Zoe and Wade’s future in Season 3 of Hart of Dixie? Will they be back together at some point? – Lindsey

Ausiello: I’m sure they’ll get back together at some point. But for now, my hunch is Zoe will have her hands full with Josh Cooke’s new Joel character, whom Dixie creator Leila Gerstein says will be around “for a major arc.” Gerstein doesn’t outright confirm that Joel is coming in as a love interest for ex-Manhattanite Zoe, but her description of him as a “New Yorker moving to Bluebell” paints a pretty conclusive picture, no?

Question: I love Chris Carmack on Nashville. What can you tell me about Will’s love life this season? —Andy

Ausiello: You already know that Will is going to spend some time trying to figure out what his heart really wants, but showrunner Dee Johnson says that despite their awkward encounter on the couch last season, none of Will’s angst will involve Gunnar. “They worked through it, shockingly and admirably,” she tells TVLine. “I don’t think we’re in a situation going forward where he’s going to be pining for Gunnar. They’re friends. Genuine friends.”

Question: I’d love some scoop on the Miles/Rachel dynamic on Revolution this season. Any
movement with these two? —Claire

Ausiello: “It’s going to go back and forth a bit, as those things do,” Billy Burke shares with a wink. As Season 2 opens — dropping a big piece hint along the way that things were hot-n-heavy ‘tween the two in the past — “It’s a little chilly, and then it warms up a bit,” Burke says. “And then things ensue that cause another rift.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

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