The Weekly Round-Up for May 31 to June 4

Here are the entertainment news items for this week:

CONDOLENCES

Legendary actor Dennis Hopper passed away last weekend after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. He was 74.

Actress Rue McClanahan suffered a stroke this week and passed away at the age of 76.

Condolences are extended to both of their families, friends and fans.

TV SERIES NEWS

Ryan Murphy, the creator of the FOX musicomedy Glee, will be adding a new character next year: a Christian who will speak her mind and be listened to and respected by the other members of New Directions.

The new series premiere of the A&E show The Glades has been moved up two days to July 11 at 10 PM.

Mark Your Calendars: Syfy will be airing a marathon of The Greatest American Hero episodes on Sunday, July 4 from 9 AM to 5 PM.

Two actors are exiting the new fall ABC series No Ordinary Family: Tate Donovan and Christina Chang. They are leaving the series due to a storyline-related decision.

ABC has rejected picking up the recently cancelled CBS comedy The New Adventures of Old Christine.

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Wes Bentley (American Beauty), Leland Orser (Daredevil) and Sanaa Lathan (Nip/Tuck) have all joined the HBO series Tilda about a powerful female online Hollywood journalist named Tilda Watski (Diane Keaton) who has a no-holds-barred style. Ellen Page also stars.

CBS has given the comedy pilot Mad Love a 13-episode order. The series is expected to air mid-season and will star Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights), Lizzy Caplan (Party Down), and Jason Biggs (American Pie).

Joseph Fiennes (FlashForward), Eva Green (Casino Royale), Jamie Campbell Bower (The Twilight Saga: New Moon) and Tamsin Egerton (St. Trinian’s) will appear in the new Starz series Camelot, which will be a fresh approach to telling the Arthur story. Fiennes will play the wizard Merlin and Eva Green as the powerful sorceress Morgana. Bower will play Arthur and Egerton will play Guinevere.

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass) will star in the indie coming-of-age comedy called Hick, which is an adaptation of the Andrea Portes novel about a 13-year-old Nebraska girl who gets more than she bargains for when she runs away to Las Vegas.

Hope Davis will join Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly (Lost) and Kevin Durand (Robin Hood) in the “robot boxing” movie Real Steel, which is about a former boxer (Jackman) who gets one last shot at a comeback when he teams with his long-lost son to train the perfect contender for the high-tech sport.

Adam Beach (Flag of our Fathers) has joined the cast of Cowboys and Aliens, which stars Daniel Craig in a story about Apache Indians and Western settlers who must lay their differences aside when an alien spaceship crash lands in Silvery City, Arizona. Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde and Sam Rockwell co-star.

Sigourney Weaver has joined the cast of the thriller Abduction that stars Taylor Lautner as a young man who realizes he was kidnapped as a child, and is forced to run for his life after he reaches out to find his real parents.

Ashley Judd is replacing Liv Tyler in the independent film Flypaper that focuses on a bank being robbed by two groups of crooks at the same time who both come under attack by a secret enemy (Patrick Dempsey), to save the bank teller whom he loves.

Neal McDonough has been cast as Dum Dum Dugan in the Captain America movie. Dugan is one of Captain America’s sidekicks, who is part of Nick Fury’s team and is also an officer at S.H.I.E.L.D.

Malin Akerman (Watchmen), Forest Whitaker and Bruce Willis will star in drama Catch .44 that focuses on three women who are thrust into an extraordinary situation involving a psychopathic hitman (Whitaker), a grizzled trucker and a delusional line cook. Willis will play the crime boss mastermind behind the chaos.

CASTING SCOOP

Tom Skerritt will make a guest appearance in the TNT series Leverage as Nate Ford’s (Timothy Hutton) father.

Diane Farr (Rescue Me and Numb3rs) will guest star in White Collar as Gina De Stefano, a waitress for whom Mozzie (Willie Garson) has a crush on.

Jason Priestley will appear in a multi-episode arc of the new summer series Scoundrels, playing a “profilic TV personality” who becomes smitten with Heather (Leven Rambin).

RUMOR PATROL

There is talk that Josh Holloway MAY be signing on the dotted line to play a lead role in an upcoming Marvel film, but no confirmation has been made as to which movie or role, though.

Rumor has it that Liz Vassey will be leaving the CBS series CSI, as her contract has not been picked up for next season.

Jeremy Renner is negotiating to join The Avengers movie as the character of Hawkeye.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

The following shows and specials will air this weekend as well as next week:

The Hallmark Channel movie Freshman Father will air on Saturday, June 5 at 9 PM. The movie is about a single dad (Drew Seeley) who goes to Harvard and must learn how to balance fatherhood and his studies. Annie Potts and Kim Zimmer co-star.

NOTE: This movie will reair on Sunday, June 6 at 9 PM and on Friday, June 11 at 9 PM.

New episodes of Lie To Me will start airing on FOX on Monday, June 7 at 8 PM and the new series The Good Guys will return with new episodes the same night at 9 PM.

The new NBC mini-series Persons Unknown will debut on Monday, June 7 at 10 PM. The show is about seven strangers who are abducted and taken to a deserted town.

The ABC Family Channel series The Secret Life of the American Teenager will start airing new episodes on Monday, June 7 at 8 PM.

The debut of Pretty Little Liars will air on the ABC Family Channel on Tuesday, June 8 at 8 PM. The series is about 4 teenagers who share secrets that are being used by their presumed dead friend against them.

NOTE: This episode will reair at 10 PM that same night.

Here are the new episodes of the dramas (and a few others) that will be airing this coming week:

Saturday, June 5
Doctor Who on BBC America at 9 PM

Sunday, June 6
Breaking Bad on AMC at 10 PM
Treme on HBO at 10 PM
The Tudors on Showtime at 9 PM
Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime at 9 PM
Army Wives on Lifetime at 10 PM

Monday, June 7
Saving Grace on TNT at 10 PM

Tuesday, June 8:
Glee on FOX at 8:59 PM – Season Finale
Justified on FX at 10 PM – Season Finale
Law & Order: Criminal Intent on USA at 10 PM
Ashes to Ashes on BBC America at 10 PM

Wednesday, June 9:
Happy Town on ABC at 10:01 PM
In Plain Sight on USA Network at 10 PM

Thursday, June 10:
Burn Notice on USA at 9 PM
Royal Pains on USA at 10 PM

Friday, June 11:
Miami Medical on CBS at 10 PM
Past Life on FOX at 8 PM
Friday Night Lights on NBC at 8 PM
Stargate Universe on Syfy at 9 PM – Season Finale
Merlin 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!