Recaps
The Weekly Round-Up for July 12 to 16
Here are the entertainment news items for this week:
TV SERIES NEWS
Bones will undergo a big transition as the investigative team finally closes the case on its greatest adversary. But as the dust settles, an even worse threat will emerge — and one fan favorite will not survive! Watch for Deidre Lovejoy to reappear for her final turn as murderous Heather “Gravedigger” Taffet, who has one last card to play after being convicted. Executive Producer Hart Hanson says the same episode will introduce “someone much worse, who will dog us for the season.” Who could possibly be worse than the Gravedigger? “It’s someone highly motivated to do great harm to our people — a personal vendetta,” teases Hanson. “One of our characters will be a victim.” Hanson won’t give up any clues, though.
Frederic Lehne will reprise his role of the Yellow-Eyed Demon on Supernatural, at least according to what the actor stated at a Supernatural convention in New Jersey this past weekend.
ABC is renewing its summer drama series Rookie Blue after only three weeks on the air. The series has averaged 7.1 million viewers since its debut. No word yet on when the second season of episodes will be aired, however.
Another long-running CBS procedural has been rocked by a high-profile departure: Melina Kanakaredes is leaving CSI: NY. Sela Ward will join the show as an experienced investigator from Washington, D.C., whose work is driven by her empathy for the victim.
Laura Vandervoort (V) will make a return guest appearance as Clark’s cousin Kara on Smallville for its final season on the CW. The episode is tentatively set to air in October.
FOX has announced the premiere dates for their shows. The following are the dates for their dramas: House at 8 PM and the debut of new show Lone Star at 9 PM on September 20; Glee at 8 PM on September 21; Bones and Fringe at 8 and 9 PM respectively on September 23; Human Target at 8 PM and The Good Guys at 9 PM on September 24 and Lie To Me at 8 PM on November 10. Mark your calendars.
TNT has announced finale dates for their summer lineup. Dark Blue will have a two-hour finale on September 22. Hawthorne and Memphis Beat will finish up on August 24. Leverage is done on September 5 with The Closer and Rizzoli & Isles concluding on September 13. Both The Closer and Leverage will then return this winter for their remaining installments, presumably to help launch the new seasons of Men of a Certain Age and Southland and/or newcomers Franklin & Bash and Fallen Skies.
NBC has announced the premiere dates for their fall season. Chuck, The Event and Chase will air on September 20 at 8, 9 and 10 PM respectively. Parenthood will be on at 10 PM on September 21. Undercovers will debut at 8 PM with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Los Angeles on at 9 and 10 PM on September 22. Outlaw will be at 10 PM on September 24. Repeats of Law & Order: Los Angeles, Chase and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will air on Saturday nights at 8, 9 and 10 PM respectively.
FX has also set their fall schedule with their dramas to air as follows: Sons of Anarchy premieres on September 7 at 10 PM. And, the new series Terriers – a comedic drama starring Donal Logue (Damages) and Michael Raymond-James (True Blood). The series centers on Hank Dolworth (Logue), an ex-cop who partners with his best friend Britt Pollack (Raymond-James) to launch an unlicensed private investigation business. The duo, both struggling with maturity issues, solve crimes while avoiding danger and responsibility. The debut is set for at 10 PM on September 8.
Kirsten Vangsness may pull double-duty and appear on the Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior spinoff in either a regular or recurring capacity, following a similar trend to Rocky Carroll on NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles. Vangsness would bring her Penelope Garcia to a cast that also includes Forest Whittaker and Janeane Garofalo.
Joseph Mallozzi, executive producer for both Stargate Universe and Stargate Atlantis, announced that a crossover between the two series will happen at some point. No details were revealed as to which Atlantis cast will appear on Universe though.
The CW will air the hit Canadian comedy series 18 to Life, which is a modern-day Romeo and Juliet, starting on August 3 with back-to-back episodes airing at 9 and 9:30 PM. The network will air all 12 half-hour episodes. The series follows Tom and Jessie – 18-year-old next-door neighbors who have grown up together – who run off and get married, forcing their warring families to become one in this hilarious multi-generational half-hour about relationships, true love, and who takes out the garbage. The series stars Stacey Farber (Degrassi: The Next Generation) and Michael Seater (Life With Derek) as the young lovers.
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Timm Sharp (‘Til Death) has been cast in the HBO comedy series Enlightened, where he will play the new boss of Laura Dern’s formerly self-destructive character who returns to work after a spectacular meltdown. Sharp replaces Mos Def, who exited the series due to “deal issues.”
Despite the fact that the actor options have expired, the CW’s medical drama pilot HMS is said to still be in contention for a series order. “There is still no final word from the CW but I hear producer Warner Bros. TV is not giving up and is still hoping for a series order for the project, written/executive produced by Amy Holden Jones, co-executive produced by Hayden Panettiere and directed by Mark Piznarski. The actors are aware of the studio’s efforts and appear willing to return if there is a pickup soon.”
Showtime will bring in the New Year with the premieres of the new drama series Shameless on January 9 at 10 PM; the new comedy series Episodes on January 10 at 10:30 PM and the fourth season premiere of the hit comedy series Californication on January 10 at 10 PM. Shameless is based on the long-running hit UK series with William H. Macy playing a far-from-stellar working class patriarch of an unconventional Chicago brood of six motley kids (headed by eldest sibling Emmy Rossum) who keep the home afloat while he’s out drinking and carousing. Episodes Matt LeBlanc and focuses on a British couple whose hit, erudite UK show is turned into an Americanized sitcom starring LeBlanc (as himself). Californication, of course stars David Duchovny as hedonistic novelist Hank Moody who struggles to raise his teenage daughter Becca (Madeleine Martin), with on-again, off-again girlfriend Karen (Natascha McElhone).
HBO has picked up the series Luck, which stars none other than Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte. The series is set in the world of high stakes horseracing. The pilot featured an ensemble cast including Richard Kind, John Ortiz, Kevin Dunn, Jason Gedrick, Richie Coster, Ian Hart, Tom Payne, Kerry Condon and Gary Stevens. The pilot episode included a guest appearance from Jill Hennessy.
BOX OFFICE NEWS
Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives) will star opposite Milla Jovovich in the indie drama Bringing Up Bobby. Famke Janssen (X-Men) is making her feature directorial debut working from a script which she also wrote herself. The film tells the story of a European con artist and her 10-year-old son who find themselves in Oklahoma in an effort to escape her past and build a better future. The two move quite successfully through a myriad of adventures until the mother’s criminal past catches up with her. Cross plays a woman who’s able to deal with the loss of her own child by becoming the adoptive mother of the son, and Bill Pullman plays her husband.
Gillian Anderson will appear as MI7 secret agent Pamela Head in the silly sequel Johnny English Reborn. Rowan Atkinson is returning as the clumsy British spy as he embarks on a search for traitors within Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Kathryn Morris (Cold Case) has joined the cast of the box office movie Moneyball, playing second wife to Brad Pitt’s Billy Beane, while Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) has signed on to play ball player Scott Hatteberg.
Amanda Seyfried has been cast in the lead role in the box office movie called I’m.mortal. The description of the movie is: “Time has become the currency. The rich are immortal, while the rest struggle to stay alive. When a “rebel” from the ghetto is falsely accused of murdering a wealthy man for his time, he is forced to go on the run with a beautiful hostage (Seyfried). Together, they rage against the system, living minute to minute. They discover that love is more powerful than all the time in the world.”
Sam Trammell (True Blood) will appear in the indie crime thriller Guns, Girls and Gambling, playing a sheriff working with a corrupt sheriff (Dane Cook).
Allison Janney (The West Wing) will play Charlotte Phelan, the mother to heroine Skeeter Phelan, in the film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling novel The Help. Emma Stone (Zombieland) is set to star as aspiring writer Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, while Viola Davis will play Aibileen. Octavia Spencer has been cast as Minnie, and Bryce Dallas Howard is set to play Hilly, Skeeter’s childhood friend and adult nemesis. The Help will open in theaters next year.
It looks like Tom Cruise will be back in the fourth Mission Impossible film.
Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Patricia Clarkson, Richard Jenkins, Andy Samberg and Jenna Elfman have all joined the cast of the romantic comedy Friends With Benefits. Justin Timberlake will play a headhunter who agrees to sleep together with a female magazine editor friend (Mila Kunis) with no strings attached. He soon falls for her, despite the fact she’s dating someone else.
Disney is developing a new Tinkerbell live-action romantic comedy called Tink that has Elizabeth Banks set to star. There is no clue as to how soon this movie could move into production, but Banks’ schedule isn’t too packed, so it could happen anytime in the next few years.
Julie Bowen (Modern Family) will play Kevin Spacey’s wife in the star-packed comedy Horrible Bosses, which also features Jason Bateman, Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrell, Jennifer Aniston, and Jason Sudeikis. She will then take on the role of “a high-strung wedding planner” in Jumping the Broom, which revolves around “two black families from opposite ends of the socio-economic spectrum meeting for the first time during a weekend wedding in Martha’s Vineyard.” That ensemble includes Paula Patton (Precious) and Laz Alonso (Avatar) as the happy couple, and Angela Bassett as the mother of the bride.
Amy Adams (Julie & Julia and Enchanted) is confirmed to play Janis Joplin in a biopic, which will be directed by Fernando Meirelles (City of God).
Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone and The Burning Plain) has been cast as the mutant Mystique in the box office prequel/reboot X-Men: First Class. Mystique is a shape-shifter who can mimic other people, though she can’t replicate superpowers. The cast includes James MacAvoy as Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender as Magneto as young men discovering their powers for the first time, and meeting up with other mutants. The movie is expected to be released on June 3, 2011.
MADE FOR TV MOVIES
The first photos have been released for the BBC’s new take on Sherlock Holmes, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Holmes and Watson respectively. The three 90-minute made-for-TV movies will kick off in the UK in late July/early August. You can see the photos here
Emma Roberts stars in the coming-of-age comedy Wild Child, which will premiere on the ABC Family Channel on August 8 at 8 PM. The movie will premiere during the network’s annual 10-day summer programming event called Campus Crush, which runs from August 1 – August 10. Roberts stars as 16-year-old Poppy, an LA teen diva who does what she wants whenever she wants. But after an over-the-top prank pushes her father (Aidan Quinn) one step too far, she finds herself shipped off to the one place where everything will change – British boarding school. No cell phones, no designer clothes, no way. Desperate to break free, she sets in motion the ultimate escape plan involving the son (Alex Pettyfer) of the head mistress (the late Natasha Richardson) – only to discover that this could be the reason she wants to stay.
Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) has been cast as the lead in the upcoming Lifetime made-for-TV movie Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story. She will play a woman who underwent a daring rescue mission to locate and free her seven-year-old son Kobe, who was seized by her ex-husband during a custody battle and taken to South Korea.
CASTING SCOOP
Andre Royo (The Wire) will guest star in the third season premiere of Fringe, reportedly playing Henry, “a soulful taxi driver who is unexpectedly forced into a tense situation with Olivia (Anna Torv).”
Shaun Sipos (Melrose Place) will have a recurring role in Life Unexpected when it returns to the CW with new episodes this fall. He will play Eric, a new teacher at Westmonte High School, where Lux (Britt Robertson) attends.
In other Life Unexpected news, Arielle Kebbel (Gilmore Girls and Vampire Diaries) will play Paige, the new hottie in town who may well wind up tending more than bar for Baze (Kristoffer Polaha). Also, Amy Price-Francis (24 and The Cleaner) will play Kelly, a conservative author/chatterbox who becomes a partner on the radio show that Cate (Shiri Appleby) and Ryan (Kerr Smith) front. Both roles are recurring.
Peter Weller will join Dexter for eight of the 12 episodes of the upcoming 5th season. He will play a Miami Metro cop who gets entangled in an internal affairs investigation. The series returns to Showtime on September 25.
Aidan Gillen (The Wire) will be a series regular on the upcoming HBO drama series Game of Thrones, playing Littlefinger, who is described as a scheming “adviser to King Robert who manipulates those in power to fit his own agenda.
Joe Jonas will guest star on TV Land new comedy Hot in Cleveland, playing the son of Valerie Bertinelli’s character.
Taylor Kinney (Trauma) will be seen in the second season of The Vampire Diaries in the recurring role of Mason Lockwood, the younger brother of late Mayor Lockwood. “Uncle Mason” is sexy and athletic and possesses an easygoing charm. Though he has more control than his nephew, he can “flip in an instant” if crossed. Kinney will make his first appearance in Diaries’ second-season premiere on Sept. 9.
Michael Gambon and Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins will guest star in this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special. The story is said to be a spin on “A Christmas Carol” and will be entitled “Father Who?”
D. B. Woodside (24 and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) will play Derrick Altman, a handsome young physician who takes care of the cheerleaders on the fall CW series Hellcats.
Josh Stewart (Criminal Minds and Dirt) will play Watcher to Michael Chiklis’ nascent superhero clan on the ABC fall drama No Ordinary Family. He will recur throughout the first season.
Dolph Lundgren will guest star in the season premiere of the NBC series Chuck this fall. No details have been made available, yet, as to his character. Harry Dean Stanton (Big Love) is also confirmed to guest-star in the season premiere.
Betty White will appear in the season premiere of the NBC comedy Community, as an esteemed anthropology professor who is slightly unhinged.
Illeana Douglas has signed on for a recurring role on Entourage. The veteran actress will portray Ari’s sister-in-aw and debut later this season. She may return for season eight, as well. In recent years, Douglas has guest-starred on episodes of Ugly Betty and Law & Order: SVU, but is better known for big screen roles in films such as Cape Fear and Stir of Echoes.
Casting changes have taken place on the upcoming HBO fantasy drama Game of Thrones. Varys, the calculating spymaster for the king of Westeros, will be played by UK actor Conleth Hill and the role of Waymar Royce has been recast due to a scheduling issue. Jamie Campbell-Bower had played the role in the pilot but when the producers decided to do reshoots of his scenes, Campbell-Bower was unavailable. The role of Royce will now be played by Rob Ostlere.
Tammy Blanchard (Guiding Light) has been cast in a recurring role on The Good Wife, playing a fair-minded assistant state’s attorney who looks more like an indie-band drummer than a lawyer, and who will serve as “one of Glen Childs’ underlings and a confidante to Cary (Matt Czuchry). Meanwhile, Chris Saradon (Judging Amy) has been cast as Judge Goode. He will recur throughout the season.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
The following new movie will air this coming week:
The new Lifetime movie The Client List, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt will air on Monday, July 19 at 9 PM.
Here are the new episodes of the dramas that will be airing this coming week:
Saturday, July 17:
The Bridge on CBS at 8 PM
Persons Unknown on NBC at 8 PM
Doctor Who on BBC America at 9 PM
Jack’s Family Adventure movie on Hallmark at 9 PM
Goblin movie on Syfy at 9 PM
Sunday, July 18:
Leverage on TNT at 9 PM
Scoundrels on ABC at 9 PM
The Gates on ABC at 10 M
The Glades on A&E at 10 PM
True Blood on HBO at 9 PM
Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime at 9 PM
Army Wives on Lifetime at 10 PM
Masterpiece Mystery movie on PBS at 9 PM
Revenge of the Bridesmaids movie on ABC Family Channel at 8 PM
NOTE: This movie will reair at 10 PM
NOTE: Check your local listings for Unnatural History on Cartoon Network.
Monday, July 19:
Lie to Me on FOX at 8 PM
The Good Guys on FOX at 9 PM
The Secret Life of the American Teenager on ABC Family Channel at 8 PM
Huge on ABC Family Channel at 9 PM
The Closer on TNT at 9 PM
Rizzoli & Isles on TNT at 10 PM
Weeds on Showtime at 10 PM
Warehouse 13 on Syfy at 10 PM
Tuesday, July 20:
Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family Channel at 8 PM
Make It Or Break It on ABC Family Channel at 9 PM
HawthoRNe on TNT at 9 PM
Memphis Beat on TNT at 10 PM
Rescue Me on FX at 10 PM
Warehouse 13 on Syfy at 9 PM
White Collar on USA at 9 PM
Covert Affairs on USA at 10 PM
Wednesday, July 21:
Psych on USA at 10 PM
Thursday, July 22:
Rookie Blue on ABC at 9 PM
Burn Notice on USA Network at 9 PM
Royal Pains on USA Network at 10 PM
Friday, July 23:
Flashpoint on CBS at 10 PM
Friday Night Lights on NBC at 8 PM
Eureka on Syfy at 9 PM
Haven on Syfy at 10 PM
NOTE: Please check your local listings for the correct air dates and times for all of the above.
Have a great weekend!
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