Recaps
The Weekly Round Up for March 8 to 14
Here are the entertainment news items for this week:
CONDOLENCES
Lost Boy actor Corey Haim passed away this week at the young age of 38.
Pro football star turned actor Merlin Olsen who appeared in Little House on the Prairie and then his own show Aaron’s Way (among others) passed away this week. Co
Condolences are extended to both their families, friends and fans.
NEWS
Congratulations to all the Oscar winners especially Lauren Bacall (Governor’s Award), Sandy Powell (Costume Design for The Young Victoria) Mo’Nique, Sandra Bullock and Kathryn Bigelow.
The Glee tour has become so popular that additional dates have been added in both New York and Los Angeles. A matinee and evening performance on May 22 in Los Angeles and a May 29 matinee and new evening show on May 30 in New York.
TV SERIES NEWS
FOX has renewed Fringe for a third season. The series returns on April 1.
Jesse Plemons will not be returning for the fifth and final season of Friday Night Lights. He may return on a guest star basis, however. New episodes will start on NBC on April 30.
Lie To Me will be back with new episodes on FOX starting on June 7 at 8 PM.
The Human Target season finale has been moved up to April 14 to make room for repeats of Lie To Me from April 28 to May 12.
It looks like this will be the final season of the FOX drama 24. Official word is expected to be made in the next couple of days. However, rumor has it that NBC is showing some interest in picking the series up should it be canceled.
ABC officially canceled the Christian Slater-led series The Forgotten. Two remaining episodes have been shot, but it’s unclear whether the network will air them.
Jennifer Morrison will be returning to House for the April 12 episode to be directed by Hugh Laurie and she will be back next season for about 3 or 4 episodes.
ABC will air a special clip show called V: The Arrival on March 23 at 10 PM, allowing viewers to get caught up on the four episodes that aired last fall.
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Jon Voight and David Keith are set to appear in the FOX drama pilot Midland, which is about Robert Allen (Jimmy Wolk), a con artist juggling two lives in two Texas cities with two different women.
Constance Zimmer has one of the lead roles in the TBS drama pilot In Security about two sisters who take over their father’s private-security business protecting the super-elite while dealing with personal and family issues.
Stephen Rea will appear in the CBS drama pilot Chaos about rogue CIA operatives who combat bureaucratic gridlock, rampant incompetence and political infighting.
Elisha Cuthbert (24) has booked the female lead in the ABC comedy pilot Happy Endings about a couple that breaks up at the altar, forcing them and their group of friends to figure out how to maintain their friendships after the split.
Traylor Howard (Monk) landed a lead role in the ABC as-yet untitled comedy pilot about a guidance counselor (Dana Gould) at a local high school and father to two young children, who is caught between his father’s (Brian Dennehy) old school parenting beliefs and his wife’s very progressive ideals. Todd Stashwick (Heroes) also stars.
Alan Tudyk (Firefly) has joined the NBC drama pilot/remake of the Rockford Files.
The Colin Hanks/Bradley Whitford FOX drama that was known as Code 58 will now be called The Good Guys.
Nicholas Bishop (Past Life) has booked a lead role in the ABC drama pilot Body of Evidence about Megan Hunt (Dana Delany), a medical examiner whose background as a neurosurgeon gives her a unique and refreshing crime-solving perspective, but puts her at odds with nearly everyone.”
Breckin Meyer and Mark-Paul Gosselaar have landed title roles on the TBS drama pilot Franklin & Bash, which follows two street lawyers and lifelong friends who, after taking down a white-shoe law firm in a high-profile case, are recruited by the firm’s patriarch. Malcolm McDowell (Entourage) has also joined the cast.
Aly Michalka (Phil of the Future) and Gail O’Grady (NYPD Blue) have been cast in the CW drama presentation (not an actual full-fledged pilot) called Hellcats, which is set in the world of competitive college cheerleading.
Kathy Bates is in final talks to star in the NBC drama pilot Kindreds about a curmudgeonly former patent lawyer (Bates) and her group of misfit associates. Brittany Snow (American Dreams) has also joined the cast.
Scott Foley (The Unit) has landed a role on the ABC drama pilot True Blue about six former best friends who rose through the ranks at the San Francisco Police Department and reunite to solve the murder of one of their own.
Michael Cassidy (Privileged) has a lead role in the NBC comedy pilot The Pink House about two Midwestern guys who move to Los Angeles and rent a house on the beach.
Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous) and Melissa Rauch (The Big Bang Theory) have joined the ABC comedy pilot Wright Vs. Wrong about Evelyn Wright (Debra Messing) a driven conservative pundit who tries to maintain her public persona despite facing her own vulnerabilities.
Tom Cavanagh has landed the title role in the ABC pilot Edgar Floats, about a police psychologist who becomes a bounty hunter. Raoul Trujillo (True Blood) has also joined the cast.
Rob Morrow (Numb3rs) will star opposite Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck) in the ABC drama pilot The Whole Truth, a legal drama about Kathryn Pearle (Richardson), a successful New York prosecutor.
Jerry O’Connell will play the lead alongside Jim Belushi in the CBS drama pilot Defenders about two fiery Las Vegas defense attorneys who go to the mat for their clients.
Madchen Amick (Twin Peaks) will star in the FOX drama pilot Pleading Guilty alongside Jason Isaacs. The show is about an ex-cop and recovering alcoholic now serving as a partner in a top-drawer corporate law firm.
Anna Chlumsky (Cupid) has joined the cast of the CBS drama pilot The Quinn-Tuplets about the personal and professional lives of adult quintuplets, whose whole lives have been documented on TV.
Jimmy Smits will star in the NBC drama pilot Rough Justice about a Supreme Court Justice who excuses himself from the bench to go into private practice and fight constitutional injustices.
Jay Hernandez (Six Degrees) and Michael Beach (Stargate: Atlantis) have joined the as-yet untitled CBS medical project about a mobile medical team traveling the U.S. helping people in need.
Judy Greer (Miss Guided) will star alongside David Krumholtz (Numb3rs) in the FOX comedy pilot Tax Men about an IRS office in Fresno, California.
Keri Russell is in negotiations to star in the comedy pilot Wilde Kingdom about a Beverly Hills jackass who falls in love with a charitable tree-hugging woman who can’t stand his lifestyle or values.
Sendhil Ramamurthy (Heroes) has joined the cast of the upcoming USA drama Covert Affairs, which stars Piper Perabo as a young CIA trainee who is thrust into the inner sanctum of the agency when she is unexpectedly promoted to field operative.
Sarah Wynter (24) has scored a role in the ABC drama pilot Cutthroat about Nina Cabrera (Roselyn Sanchez), an upscale Beverly Hills widow and soccer mom who runs an international drug cartel.
Jean Smart has joined the CBS remake of the classic police drama Hawaii Five-O where she will play Governor Pat Jameson.
Nick Nolte is in talks and Richard Kind and Ian Hart (Dirt) have joined the HBO drama pilot Luck, which takes a look at the worlds of horse racing and gambling through a diverse group of characters surrounding a racetrack.
Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe has joined the Showtime comedy series, The Big C. that stars Laura Linney as Cathy, a repressed suburban wife and mother who reclaims her life after a terminal cancer diagnosis.
BOX OFFICE NEWS
Billie Piper and David Tennant (both from Doctor Who) are in talks to star in the urban thriller Love On The Murder Mile. Details of the movie are under wraps.
Anna Faris and Chris Evans are set to star in What’s Your Number?, a new comedy which focuses on a woman who decides to re-visit her ex-boyfriends in the hopes of finding the man of her dreams.
Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson, Terrence Howard and Charlie Hunnam have joined The Ledge, which focuses on a man standing on a high-rise ledge who insists he will jump by noon as the cop below tries to manage the situation.
Ryan Gosling will star alongside Steve Carell in the as-yet unnamed comedy about a father dealing with a marital crisis.
Viggo Mortensen will star as Sigmund Freud in the David Cronenberg movie The Talking Cure, starring opposite Michael Fassbender as his pupil Jung. Keira Knightley will play Sabina, a disturbed young woman brought to see Jung by her father
Robert De Niro will play iconic coach Vince Lombardi in the ESPN Films biopic titled Lombardi. The film will focus on the 8 or so years that Lombardi rebuilt the Green Bay Packers into gridiron NFL champions.
Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess are in negotiations to join the movie One Day, an adaptation of a David Nicholls novel, about two people who met for the first time during their high school graduation in 1988 and meet one day every year for the next two decades. Over that time they led their own lives and have relationships with others until they realize they’re meant for each other.
Gary Oldman, Malin Akerman and Milo Ventimiglia will star in the indie gangster movie Criminal Empire for Dummys about a charismatic young guy who goes from a tragic childhood living in the ghetto to his current position as the head of a large multi-national organized crime syndicate. Michael Clarke Duncan and Harvey Keitel also star.
Barry Pepper has been cast in the western remake of True Grit, starring Matt Damon, Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld.
CASTING SCOOP
Coby Bell (Third Watch) will be joining Burn Notice next season as a series regular. He will play a cocky, smooth and sexy counter intelligence expert who has a chameleon-like ability to assume different aliases. He’s also able to read people instantaneously and come up with a character perfectly suited for preying on their vulnerabilities.
Kelly Carlson (Nip/Tuck) will be guest starring in an upcoming episode of Castle as a love interest for Richard.
Dania Ramirez (Heroes) will appear in the 7th season of Entourage as a new love interest for Turtle (Jerry Ferrara).
Lennie James (Jericho) is set to appear in the 2nd season of Hung as a potential love interest for Tanya (Jane Adams).
Kenny Johnson (Saving Grace) is set to recur on the FX drama Sons of Anarchy in its upcoming third season, in a role he had in the 2nd season.
Navi Rawat (Numb3rs) will make a guest appearance in an upcoming episode of Castle.
Emmanuelle Vaugier and Autumn Reeser will both make return appearances on upcoming episodes of Human Target. Guest stars on the series will also include Grace Park, Amy Acker, Moon Bloodgood, Lee Majors, Lennie James and Armand Assante.
Michael Madsen will appear in upcoming episodes of 24 as an ex-military guy from Jack’s past.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
The following movies, specials and new series will debut and/or air this weekend and throughout next week:
The Lifetime movie Who Is Clark Rockefeller?, starring Eric McCormack and Sherry Stringfield will air at 9 PM on Saturday, March 13.
NOTE: This movie will reair on Monday, March 14 at 9 PM.
The ABC Family Channel movie The Cutting Edge 4: Fire & Ice will debut at 8 PM on Sunday, March 14. The movie stars Francia Raisa (Secret Life) and Brendan Fehr (Roswell).
The HBO 10-part mini-series The Pacific will premiere on Sunday, March 14 at 9 PM.
NOTE: This first episode will reair on Wednesday, March 17 at 10 PM.
Justified premieres on FX on Tuesday, March 16 at 10 PM.
FlashForward returns to ABC with a two-hour opener at 8 PM on Thursday, March 18.
NOTE: This two-hour premiere will reair on Saturday, March 20 at 8 PM.
The CBS special Thin Ice, which is a figure skating contest starring 10 pros, will air the first of two parts on Friday, March 19 at 8 PM.
NEW EPISODES OF EXISTING SHOWS
Here are the new episodes of the dramas that will be airing this coming week:
Saturday, March 13:
Survivors on BBC America at 9 PM
Parenthood (pilot) reairs on NBC at 8 PM
NOTE: Legend of the Seeker will air a repeat episode in syndication this weekend. Check your local listings for date, time and channel.
Sunday, March 14:
Desperate Housewives on ABC at 9 PM
Brothers & Sisters on ABC at 10:01 PM
Cold Case on CBS at 10 PM
Big Love on HBO at 9 PM
NOTE: Legend of the Seeker will air a repeat episode in syndication this weekend. Check your local listings for date, time and channel.
Monday, March 15:
Life Unexpected on the CW at 8 PM
Gossip Girl on the CW at 9 PM
House on FOX at 8 PM
24 on FOX at 9 PM
Chuck on NBC at 8 PM
Trauma on NBC at 9 PM
Law & Order on NBC at 10 PM
The Secret Life of the American Teenager on ABC Family at 8 PM
Greek on ABC Family at 10 PM
Damages on FX at 10 PM
Tuesday, March 16:
Lost on ABC at 9 PM
FlashForward Special on ABC at 10 PM
NCIS on CBS at 8 PM
NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS at 9 PM
The Good Wife on CBS at 10 PM
90210 on the CW at 8 PM
Melrose Place on the CW at 9 PM
Parenthood on NBC at 10 PM
Southland on TNT at 10 PM
Wednesday, March 17:
Ugly Betty on ABC at 10:01 PM
Human Target on FOX at 8 PM
Mercy on NBC at 8 PM
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on NBC at 10 PM
Being Erica on SOAPNet at 10 PM
Friday, March 19:
Caprica on Syfy at 9 PM
Spartacus: Blood and Sand on Starz 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!
Please note that I will feature a weekly round-up of sci-fi based (and similar genres) news items at our sister site located at http://scifitvzone.com/. Please visit there as often as you can. Thanks!
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