The Weekly Round-Up for Nov. 1 to 5

Here are the entertainment news items for this past week:

TELEVISION NEWS

Actress Renée Felice Smith has become an official series regular on NCIS: Los Angeles, after playing the recurring role of Intelligence Analyst Nell Jones this season.

The Shonda Rhimes-produced medical drama Off the Map, which is about young doctors working at a remote clinic in South America, will premiere on ABC on January 12 at 10 PM. The show stars Martin Henderson, Caroline Dhavernas, Mamie Gummer, Rachelle Lefevre and Zach Gilford.

The CW announced late last night that they are not picking up the remaining 9 episodes of their show Life Unexpected. What does this mean? Simply, the show will only air 13 episodes, but it hasn’t “officially” been canceled. That final decision will “supposedly” be made in May.

Undercovers has not been picked up for a full season by NBC. It is unclear if the remaining episodes will be aired. Keep check your local listings for possible upcoming airings.

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Warner Bros. isdeveloping a reboot of its 1998 film Practical Magic, which starred Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, for ABC Family. The studio and network are in the very early stages of bringing backthe fantasy, which is based on a novel by Alice Hoffman.Practical Magic is about the Owens family, including two sisters andtheir orphaned nieces, who are the latest in an ancestral line of witches. If any of the Owens women find true love with a man, he dies tragically.

The USA Network has given pilot orders to three new shows: Eden, Wild Card and Over/Under. Eden is about a young hotel worker who, with the help of his escaped con artist cousin Eddie, gets a job as the concierge at an elite NYC hotel. Together they manage to provide the hotel guests with whatever they desire, at whatever the cost. Over/Under is about a day trader with a gambling problem who’s fired from his job six months after a bad trade costs his firm millions. Shut out of the job market, he and his wife retreat to a neighborhood on the cusp of gentrification. He finds an unlikely partner and starts to turn his life around in an unexpected way. Wild Card is a Las Vegas-set procedural about people behaving badly, and two very different lawyers. These pilots join the previously announced titles, A Legal Mind, Necessary Roughness and Common Law.

Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes) is back at NBC as the star/executive producer of Rest, a new drama project based on a comic book series he co-created. The story centers on John Barret (Ventimiglia), a normal twentysomething guy in New York City who spends every waking hour working. He enrolls in a testing program for a drug that eliminates the need of sleep and soon becomes addicted to it, which helps him accomplish more but also leads to serious consequences.

FX has put in development the first major series project centered on an illegal alien character. The potential series is to be about an illegal Mexican immigrant working as a private investigator. Part of the executive producer team will be Dawn Parouse and Marti Noxon.

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Alex Pettyfer (from the upcoming movie I Am Number Four) and Matthew Bomer (from White Collar) have joined the upcoming sci-fi film Now (formerly titled I’m.Mortal) that stars Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, and Olivia Wilde. The film is set in the future where people can live forever, but time itself becomes a currency to prevent overpopulation.

Joel Edgerton (King Arthur) will play the male lead role opposite Jennifer Garner in the fantasy fable film The Odd Life of Timothy Green, which centers on a childless couple who bury all their wishes for a baby in a box in their backyard. One day, they wake up to find that a child is born – a child that is not all that it appears.

Rebecca Hall (The Town and The Prestige) is rumored to be the top contender to play Daisy in Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s acclaimed novel The Great Gatsby. Luhrmann will audition a number of Hollywood’s major actresses before making a decision with the likes of Keira Knightley, Amanda Seyfried, Blake Lively, Abbie Cornish, Michelle Williams, Natalie Portman, and Scarlett Johansson all making his current wish list.Hall has an edge however, she participated in Luhrmann’s workshop reading in the role last week alongside Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby and Tobey Maguire as Nick Carroway.

Abigail Breslin (My Sister’s Keeper) has joined the ensemble cast of the pseudo-sequel to the romantic comedy Valentine’s Day called New Year’s Eve. There are no details known on her character at this point, but the film is supposed to be set in New York and will follow intertwining stories of characters trying to navigate their way through romance on New Year’s Eve. Glee star Lea Michele is the only other announced cast member so far.

It has been announced that James McAvoy (Atonement), Hugh Laurie (House),Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge), Bill Nighy (Love Actually), Imelda Staunton (Taking Woodstock) and Ashley Jensen (Ugly Betty) will all provide voices for the Christmas themed, 3D animated, family comedy film Arthur Christmas. The film sets out to answer the question of how Santa Claus delivers all his presents in one night. The movie will hit theaters on November 23, 2011.

Cillian Murphy has joined Robert De Niro and Sigourney Weaver in the new film Red Lights. The story centers on a psychologist (Weaver), and her assistant, whose study of paranormal activity leads them to investigate a world-renowned psychic (De Niro).

Rachel Weisz will star in the movie The Deep Blue Sea, a period drama that stars Tom Hiddleston (Thor) and Simon Russell Beale (MI-5). The story is about a privileged housewife (Weisz) in 1950s London society who leaves her husband (Beale) for a young ex-Royal Air Force pilot (Hiddleston). The story is an adaptation of the 1952 stage play of the same name.

Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones) has taken the title role in Effie, a biopic on Effie Gray, the wife of English art critic John Ruskin, who became entangled in a famous Victorian love triangle. Emma Thompson wrote the script and her husband Greg Wise and Orlando Bloom are to co-star.

Martin Sheen (The West Wing) has been cast as Uncle Ben in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot. Sally Field (Brothers & Sisters) is in early talks to play Aunt May. Already part of the cast is Emma Stone (Easy A) as Peter’s love interest, Gwen Stacy, Rhys Ifans as the film’s unnamed villain and Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker.

Dame Judi Dench is set to make a cameo in the box office film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. The film apparently *SPOILER ALERT* opens with Captain Jack (Johnny Depp) on trial for piracy in London’s Old Bailey before he escapes in a Keystone Cops-esque chase sequence through the city’s streets. Dench is to play a noblewoman in a carriage who is “ravished” by Captain Jack as part of his attempted escape. The cast of the movie already includes Geoffrey Rush, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane and Keith Richards.

Aaron Eckhart is set to star in the thriller The Expatriate, playing a CIA operative who leaves the agency to start a new life as a security consultant in Belgium and to spend time with his estranged teenage daughter. The pair soon end up on the run together when he discovers the security company no longer exists and his assistant is an assassin out to kill him. To make matters worse, his daughter doesn’t trust him when she learns of his past.

Bill Nighy (Love Actually) and Jackson Rathbone (The Twilight Saga) are negotiating to star in a 3D adaptation of the Peter Straub novel Shadowland. The story follows two young boys who spend a summer with a famous magician, who teaches them more than just harmless tricks but real sorcery.

CASTING SCOOP

Two former 24 alumni will show up in a January episode of No Ordinary Family. Rick Schroder will appear as a man whose life is saved by big Jim (Michael Chiklis). Annie Wersching will appear in the same episode, playing Schroder’s wife.

Actress Christine Adams (The Whole Truth and Pushing Daisies) has joined the cast of the FOX drama Terra Nova, playing a resident of the time-traveling colony.

Canadian actress Camille Sullivan has joined the cast of the series Rookie Blue and Lauren Holly (NCIS) will guest star in an upcoming episode of the series. Sullivan will play detective Jo Rosatiin the second season.

Actor Mark Dacascos (Iron Chef America and The Crow: Stairway to Heaven) has been cast as Wo Fat (the long-time nemesis of Steve McGarrett) in the new version of Hawaii Five-0. There is no word yet on when Dacascos will make his first appearance though.

Cybill Shepherd will not only show up in an episode of No Ordinary Family, but she will also guest star on $#*! My Dad Says. On the comedy, she will play Charlotte Ann Robinson, a motivational life coach.

Joan Allen has signed on for her first TV series, the upcoming HBO drama Luck. She will appear in a multi-episode arc in the series that examines the horse racing world through the owners, jockeys and gamblers. The cast includes Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte and Dennis Farina. Allen will portray a woman who runs a program that uses prison inmates to care for broken-down racehorses.

Michaela McManus (One Tree Hill and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) will appear in a multi-episode arc on The Vampire Diaries, playing a gal pal of Mason’s (Tyler Kinney) who comes to Mystic Falls looking for her missing-in-action friend.

Kurtwood Smith (That 70’s Show) has joined the cast of the CBS midseason drama Chaos, replacingStephen Rea (The Crying Game) in the role of a covert government agency director. The series stars Freddy Rodriguez as a rookie CIA operative assigned to spy on some fellow team members.

Craig Bierko (Cinderella Man and Damages) has been cast in the USA Network pilot Necessary Roughness. The pilot stars Callie Thorne (Rescue Me) as a psychologist who becomes the therapist for a professional football team. Bierko will play her estranged husband, Ray. The pilot also stars Mehcad Brooks (True Blood), Marc Blucas (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer), Scott Cohen (Gilmore Girls), ConcettaTomei (Providence) and Amanda Detmer (What About Brian).

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

With the fall season fully upon us, there is a lot of programming for which to keep track. The listbelowcovers most of what you can expect this coming weekend and next week:

Saturday, November 6:
Outlaw on NBC at 8 PM
Law & Order: UK on BBC America at 10 PM (reair)
The Big C on Showtime at 8 PM (reair)
Weeds on Showtime at 8:30 PM (reair)
In Treatment on HBO2 at 8, 8:30, 9 and 9:30 PM (reairs)
A Family Thanksgiving movie on Hallmark at 9 PM (Debut)

Sunday, November 7:
Desperate Housewives on ABC at 9 PM
Brothers &Sisters on ABC at 10 PM
CSI: Miami on CBS at 10 PM
Luther on BBC America at 7 PM
Boardwalk Empire on HBO at 9 PM
The Walking Dead on AMC at 10 PM
Dexter on Showtime at 9 PM
Weeds on Showtime at 10 PM (reair)
The Big C on Showtime at 10:30 PM (reair)
Masterpiece Mystery! Sherlock miniseries on PBS at 9 PM (Last one)
A Family Thanksgiving movie on Hallmark at 9 PM (reair)

Monday, November 8:
Hawaii Five-0 on CBS at 10 PM
Castle on ABC at 10:01 PM
90210 on The CW at 8 PM
Gossip Girl on The CW at 9 PM
House on FOX at 8 PM
Lie To Me on FOX at 9 PM
The Event on NBC at 9 PM
Chase on NBC at 10 PM
Dexter on Showtime at 9 PM (reair)
Weeds on Showtime at 10 PM
The Big C on Showtime at 10:30 PM
Boardwalk Empire on HBO2 at 8 PM (reair)
In Treatment on HBO at 9 and 9:30 PM (New)

Tuesday, November 9:
No Ordinary Family on ABC at 8 PM
Detroit 1-8-7 on ABC at 10:01 PM
NCIS on CBS at 8 PM
NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS at 9 PM
The Good Wife on CBS at 10 PM
One Tree Hill on the CW at 8 PM
Life Unexpected on the CW at 9 PM
Glee on FOX at 8 PM
Parenthood on NBC at 10 PM
Sons of Anarchy on FX at 10 PM
Tower Prep on Cartoon Network at 8 PM
Stargate Universe on Syfy at 9 PM
Weeds on Showtime at 9 PM (reair)
The Big C on Showtime at 9:30 PM (reair)
Dexter on Showtime at 10 PM (reair)
In Treatment on HBO at 8 and 8:30 PM (reairs)
In Treatment on HBO at 9 and 9:30 PM (New)

Wednesday, November 10:
The 44th Annual CMA Awards special on ABC at 8 PM
Criminal Minds on CBS at 9 PM
The Defenders on CBS at 10 PM
Hellcats on The CW at 9 PM
Undercovers on NBC at 8 PM
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on NBC at 9 PM
Law & Order: Los Angeles on NBC at 10 PM
Terriers on FX at 10 PM
Friday Night Lights on DirecTV at 9 PM
Psych on USA Network at 10 PM (Return)
Law & Order: UK on BBC America at 8 PM (reair)
Boardwalk Empire on HBO at 8, 9 and 10 PM (reairs)
In Treatment on HBO Signature at 9, 9:30, 10 and 10:30 PM (reairs)
Dexter on Showtime2 at 8 PM (reair)
The Big C on Showtime2 at 9 PM (reair)
Weeds on Showtime2 at 9:30 PM (reair)

Thursday, November 11:
CSI on CBS at 9 PM
The Mentalist on CBS at 10 PM
Grey’s Anatomy on ABC at 9 PM
Private Practice on ABC at 10:01 PM
The Vampire Diaries on the CW at 8 PM
Nikita on the CW at 9 PM
Bones on FOX at 8 PM
Fringe on FOX at 9 PM
Weeds on Showtime2 at 9 PM (reair)
The Big C on Showtime2 at 9:30 PM (reair)
Dexter on Showtime at 10 PM (reair)
Burn Notice marathon on USA Network – check local listing
Burn Notice on USA Network at 10 PM (Return)

Friday, November 12:
Medium on CBS at 8 PM
CSI: NY on CBS at 9 PM
Blue Bloods on CBS at 10 PM
Smallville on the CW at 8 PM
Supernatural on the CW at 9 PM
House on FOX at 8 PM (reair)
The Good Guys on FOX at 9 PM
The Walking Dead on AMC at 10 PM (reair)
Law & Order: UK on BBC America at 9 and 10 PM (reairs)
Sanctuary on Syfy at 10 PM
Gigantic on Teen Nick at 9:30 PM
Weeds on Showtime at 8 PM (reair)
The Big C on Showtime at 8:30 PM (reair)
Dexter on Showtime2 at 9 PM (reair)
A Family Thanksgiving movie on Hallmark at 9 PM (reair)
Avalon High movie on Disney at 8 PM (Debut)

NOTE: Please check your local listings for the correct air dates and times for all of the above.

Have a great weekend!