Recaps
The Weekly Round for January 17 to 21
Here are the entertainment news items for this past week:
TELEVISION NEWS
Syfy has renewed Sanctuary for a 4th season, giving the series a 13-episode order and a presumed fall 2011 premiere.
The premiere date for the new A&E series Breakout Kings has been changed to March 6 at 10 PM. The drama follows an unconventional partnership between the U.S. Marshals’ office and a group of convicts as they work to catch fugitives on the run. The series stars Laz Alonso, Domenick Lombardozzi, Jimmi Simpson, Malcolm Goodwin, Serinda Swan and Brooke Nevin.
Mark your calendar for January 22! Oxygen will air a Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon from 10 AM to 8 PM.
Congrats to the winners of the Golden Globe Awards that were presented on Sunday night.
NBC has confirmed they are pulling new episodes of Law & Order: Los Angeles, beginning February 8. The show will return on “a day to be determined.” Thus hiatus announcement comes after the cast shake-up where Regina Hall, Megan Boone and Skeet Ulrich – three original cast members – left the show.
Viewers of Grey’s Anatomy will find Loretta Divine returninglater this year as Adele Webber, Chief Webber’s (James Pickens Jr.) ex-wife.
The USA Network has picked up two pilots for series. They are A Legal Mind and Necessary Roughness. Both are getting an 11-episode order in addition to the 90-minute pilots. A Legal Mind centers on a top Manhattan corporate lawyer (Gabriel Macht) who recruits a brilliant but unmotivated college dropout (Patrick J. Adams) as a new associate. Meanwhile,Necessary Roughness focuses on a tough, sexy Long Island divorcee (Callie Thorne) who gets a job as the therapist for a professional football team in order to make ends meet. When these shows will be scheduled, however, is unclear at this time.
JAG alum David James Elliott will make a return visit to CSI: NY as Russ Josephson, the FBI agent ex-husband of Sela Ward’s Detective Jo Danville. This episode is slated to air in April and has Russ returning to support Jo through a difficult family situation — as well as aid Mac with an ongoing murder investigation.
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
CBS has just made the legend of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans happy (well, maybe at least some of the). They have picked up a drama pilot called Ringer that will star Sarah Michelle Geller. The pilot centers on a troubled young woman on the run who hides out by living the life of her wealthy twin sister. One problem: Her sibling has a bounty on her head as well.
Melora Hardin (The Office) will have a recurring role in the TBS pilot called The Wedding Band, which is an hour-long comedy that follows a group of guys performing in a wedding band, anchored by 2 lifelong best friends – perennial bachelor Tommy (Brian Austin Green) and Eddie (Peter Cambor), a married father of two. Hardin will play the sassy, demanding and opinionated president of Rutherford Events who hires the band for her events every week.
Tim Kring (creator of Heroes) has a new pilot that has been picked up by FOX. The pilot called Touch centers on a father who discovers that his autistic, mute son can actually predict events before they happen.
FOX has given the green light to Little in Common, a single-camera comedy from Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas.
NBC has been given a pilot order to the Ronald D. Moore project now being called 17th Precinct, which is an ensemble drama in the “Hill Street Blues” vein, but is set in the town of Excelsior, where magic and supernatural elements rule over science.
General Hospital cast member Annie Ilonzeh has reportedly landed one of the three leads in the pilot of the remake of Charlie’s Angels, which will be set in and will be a modern take on the Angels. It will center on a new trio of young and sexy private eyes – Kate, Abby and Marisa – working for a wealthy mystery man.Ilonzeh will play Kate, a very smart and very athletic ex-cop and a master of martial arts.
Actress Dawn Olivieri (Heroes) will star alongside Don Cheadle in the new Showtime series House of Lies, about a less-than-honest management consultant.
The drama pilot Rookies from Robert De Niro has been given the green light by CBS.
MADE-FOR-TV MOVIES
Brian J. Smith (Stargate Universe), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day), Kate Vernon (BattlestarGalactica), Danielle Nicolet (The Starter Wife), Gareth David-Lloyd (Torchwood), Tamzin Merchant (The Tudors) and Devon Graye (Dexter) will star in the original Syfy movie called Red Faction: Origins (which is currently the working title). This movie is based on the highly successful video game franchise, which follows the children of rebel hero Alec Mason. The premise of the movie is: Twenty-five years have passed since Alec Mason (Robert Patrick) led the Martian Colonies to freedom and 12 years since vengeful enemies killed his wife, kidnapped his daughter Lyra (Tamzin Merchant), and left a broken hero in their wake. Jake Mason (Brian J. Smith), Alec’s last surviving son and an officer in the Red Faction Militia, has his world turned inside out when he discovers that now, 12 years after her kidnapping, his sister is still alive. As a powerful new enemy swarms across the planet, Jake goes out to find her, only to learn that his lost sister is one of them: a cold-blooded soldier sworn to destroy the Red Faction. Jake must now battle the relentless regime and somehow reunite a family torn apart by war. The movie is scheduled for release in May 2011.
The original Disney Channel movie Lemonade Mouth has been moved from March 25 to its new debut date of April 15.
ONLINE SERIES NEWS
Thanks to the enormous success of the online series Riese: Kingdom Falling, which generated 1.2 million streams in only two months, Syfy.com will expand its original digital content slate with the 10-part The Mercury Men. This new online series will premiere exclusively in early 2011. The online series is set in Pittsburgh in 1975, following Edward Borman (Mark Tierno), a lowly government office drone, who finds himself trapped when the deadly Men of Mercury seize the building as a staging ground for their nefarious plot. Aided by Jack Yaeger (Curt Wootten), a daring aerospace engineer from a mysterious organization known as “The League,” and Grace (Amy Staggs), who was only at the building to get a government form stamped, Edward must stop the invaders and their Doomsday Device, the Gravity Engine.
CONDOLENCES
Celebrated movie and stage actress Susannah York passed away on Friday at the age of 72 from cancer. She is best known for her role in the 1969 film They Shoot Horses, Don’t They where she starred alongside Jane Fonda.
Music mogul Don Kirshner passed away yesterday at the age of 76. He was instrumental in shepherding the work of monstrously talented young songwriters to the top of the pop charts in the 1960s, launched the career of The Monkees, then made his face familiar to millions of rock fans as impresario of his late-night live-music TV series in the 1970s.
MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…
BOX OFFICE NEWS
Actor Ben Foster is negotiating to join the upcoming movie called 360, which is based on the 1900 play Reigen, which scrutinizes the sexual morals and class ideology of its day through a series of encounters between pairs of people before and after a “sexual encounter.” Actress Rachel Weisz and actor Anthony Hopkins are part of the cast.
Actress Rosemarie DeWitt has joined while actress Dianne Wiest is in negotiations to join the fable fantasy film called The Odd Life of Timothy Green, which centers on a childless couple (Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton) who bury all their wishes for a baby in a box in their backyard. One day, they wake up to find that a child (Cameron Adams) is born – a child that is not all that it appears.DeWitt plays Garner’s perky sister, while Ron Livingston also stars.
Josh Lucas will play the infamous aviator Charles Lindbergh in the upcoming biopic J. Edgar, which stars LeonadroDiCaprio as the titular FBI director.
Anthony LaPaglia, Vera Farmiga, Mia Wasikowska, Sam Neill and Sebastian Stan will appear in the adaptation of the 1955 Arthur Miller play A View from the Bridge. The story follows Eddie Carbone (LaPaglia), who agrees to shelter his wife’s (Farmiga) cousins who are seeking refuge in New York as illegal immigrants, but trouble begins when his wife’s niece (Wasikowska), who they have raised since childhood, is attracted to Eddie’s younger brother. Eddie’s jealousy and obsession become the big turning point in a story that has a tragic end.
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) has signed on to join Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the box office thriller called Dibbuk Box, playing a mom whose youngest child becomes strangely attached to an antique wooden box purchased at a yard sale. The girl’s behavior becomes erratic and her divorced parents get the carvings on the box deciphered and find the box contains a spirit bent on devouring its human host.
Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle in the third Christopher Nolan Batman film: The Dark Knight Rises. In comic book lore, Kyle is also known as Catwoman. Tom Hardy (Inception) has been set to play Bane. The movie opens nationwide on July 22, 2012.
It looks like Keira Knightley may be replacing Marion Cotillard in the upcoming sci-fi thriller Cosmopolis. She would play the female lead and love interest of Robert Pattinson’s character.
Robert Downey Jr. has dropped out of the prequel movie Oz, the Great and Powerful, which follows a young illusionist with a grandiose attitude who is forced to flee a traveling circus. His hot air balloon is swept up by a tornado to the land of Oz, which is run by two magical wicked witches. He of course goes on to become the titular Wizard. It sounds like Johnny Depp MIGHT take over the role, but there is no confirmation of that yet.
British hunk Alex Pettyfer (who will be seen in the upcoming movies Beastly and I Am Number Four) is expected to begin negotiations this week for the male lead role in the film adaptation of the supernatural novel series The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. The first installment called City of Bones follows an ordinary teenage girl named Clary Fray (Lily Collins) who learns she is the descendent of the Shadowhunters, a clan of demon hunters who track and kill the creatures who run loose on the streets of New York City. Pettyfer would play sarcastic Shadowhunter Jace Wayland, the love interest of the lead with a terrible secret.
Actress Viola Davis and actor Jeffrey Wright have joined the cast the adventure movie called Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which is based on the Jonathan Safran Foer novel. The story follows multi-talented nine-year-old Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) whose father died in the 9/11 attacks. Given a mysterious key by his father before he died, Oskar now wanders New York City in search of the lock it will open. Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock and John Goodman also star.
Actor Jeff Daniels and actress Piper Perabo have joined the sci-fi action movie called Looper, which follows a group of killers who send bodies of their victims back in time. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano and Xu Qing are already set to star.
A fourth incarnation of the classic movie A Star Is Born is coming to a theatre near you courtesy of Clint Eastwood, who is set to direct and produce the flick. The story, of course, centers on a showbiz ingénue who falls for an alcoholic musician, only to see their careers move in opposite directions. Back in February of 2010, Russell Crowe and Beyonce Knowles were the reported front runners for the roles though Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Hamm had all been floated as potential candidates. There is no confirmation on cast and the movie would be out sometime in 2012.
CASTING SCOOP
Actor Austin Butler (Jones on Life Unexpected will guest star in an episode of CSI: NY this March as a good looking and confident kid name Benjamin, who attends a top-notch prep school in Manhattan. He becomes a murder suspect when one of his classmates is killed.
Lost star Michael Emerson will guest star on Parenthood, playing a socially awkward bug specialist called Amazing Andy, who is hired to entertain at Max’s birthday party. Andy and Max have something in common beyond their mutual love of creepy-crawlies: They both have Asperger’s syndrome.
Ryan Murphy wasn’t only busy scooping up a Golden Globe award last night, but he also finalized a deal with Anne Hathaway to appear on his FOX hit Glee. It is unclear which part she will have (yet), but if Hathaway has her way she wants to play “the lesbian aunt of Kurt (Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer).
Actor Lee Majors (from The Six Million Dollar Man) will appear on the CBS sitcom $#*! My Dad Says, playing an arrogant millionaire who competes against Ed (Shatner) for Rosemary (Jean Smart). The episode will air February 3.
Two more villains have been added to recurring status on the new NBC series The Cape. Actor Michael Irby (The Unit) will be introduced in the 9th episode, playing a high-level associate of Scales (Vinnie Jones) called Pokerface. Additionally, actor-rapper Romeo Miller (formerly known as Lil’ Romeo) will play Lil’ Z, a baby “gangsta” and a mean, smack-talking chatterbox who works for Pokerface.
Actor Bill Sadler (Roswell, Wonderfalls and more recently Hawaii Five-0) will appear as William Frost, the father of lead character Annie Frost in the NBC drama Chase. He will appear in episodes to air in March.Chase returns tomorrow (Jan. 19) at 9 PM.
Actor Liam McIntyre has been cast as Spartacus, replacing Andy Whitfield on the Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand.
Actress Illeana Douglas has dropped out of playing the role of Lily’s older sister Carol on Gossip Girl due to a scheduling conflict. Producers are in the midst of recasting the character.
Tricia Helfer (BattlestarGalactica) will guest star on No Ordinary Family as a sexy and mysterious woman who, like the Powells, may possess some special powers of her own. She will appear in the show’s 17th episode.
Santiago Cabrera (Heroes) has been added as a regular in the upcoming FOX drama pilot Alcatraz from J.J. Abrams, which chronicles the efforts of tenacious cop Rebecca (Sarah Jones) and team of FBI agents tracking down a group of missing Alcatrazprisoners and guards who reappear in the present day. Cabrera will play Jimmy, Rebecca’s sweet-natured fiancé, a uniform cop.
Larisa Oleynik(Mad Men and the box office film 10 Things I Hate About You) will appear in Hawaii Five-0 as Jessica Kaye, a highly educated ex-CIA analyst who goes to Hawaii to assist Five-0 in the pursuit of Steve McGarrett’s arch nemesis, Wo Fat (Mark Dacascos). Jessica has a personal stake in the manhunt since Wo Fat was responsible for the murder of her fiancé, a well respected CIA field agent.
Actress Paula Malcomson (Deadwood and Caprica) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Private Practice, playing the wife of a convicted killer on death row who is nearing execution. While Violet (Amy Brenneman) attempts to help her accept her husband’s impending death, Malcomson’s character obsessively seeks a stay of execution. She will appear in Episode 14.
The proposed Bones spinoff by FOX is starting to take shape with Michael Clarke Duncan being tapped to co-star. He will be introduced in Episode 19. The spinoff, based on The Locator series of books written by Richard Greener, centers on Walter Sherman aka “the Locator” (this role is still being cast), a former military policeman who can find anything. Duncan will play Walter’s partner Leo, a tough, raw-hide cowboy philosopher.
Actor Eric Balfour (Haven) will appear in two upcoming episodes of No Ordinary Family, playing a death row inmate named Marcus Winnick. These episodes are expected to air in March.
Actress Sheila Kelly (most recently seen in the final episodes of Lost) will now appear as “Aunt Carol” in Gossip Girl. She replaces Illeana Douglas who was forced to drop outdue to scheduling reasons.
Well-known character actor Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad) will guest star on Modern Family as Jay’s (Ed O’Neill) brother Tommy, who is described as a working class lunk of a guy who’s more comfortable communicating with his fists than his mouth. Tommy reunites with his brother in an episode slated to air in February or March.
Actress Paige Turco will guest star on Blue Bloods on February 9, appearing as Detective Patricia Ryan, who is assigned to investigate a dicey robbery case. She has most recently been seen on an episode of The Good Wife and in episodes of Damages.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
There is a lot of programming to keep track of each, so, the listbelowcovers most of what you can expect this coming weekend and next week (including reairs, new episodes and made-for-TV movies):
Saturday, January 22:
Chuck on NBC at 8 PM (Reair)
Law & Order: Los Angeles on NBC at 9 PM (Reair)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on NBC at 10 PM (Reair)
Primeval on BBC America at 8 PM (Reair)
Primeval on BBC America at 9 PM (NEW)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon on Oxygen from 10 AM to 8 PM
Backyward Wedding movie on Hallmark at 9 PM (Debut)
Sins of the Mother movie on Lifetime Movie Network at 10 PM (Reair)
Sunday, January 23:
Desperate Housewives on ABC at 9 PM (Reair)
Brothers & Sisters on ABC at 10 PM (Reair)
Hawaii Five-0 on CBS (check local listings after football)
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena on Starz at 10 PM (Reair)
Army Wives on Lifetime at 9 and 10 PM (Reairs)
Big Love on HBO at 9 PM (Reair)
And Back Will Fall movie on Lifetime Movie Network at 8 PM (Debut)
Downton Abbey mini-series on PBS at 9 PM (Four-part mini-series)
Mean Girls 2 movie on ABC Family at 8 and 10 PM (Debut)
Uncorked movie on Hallmark at 7 PM (Reair)
Backyard Wedding movie on Hallmark at 9 PM (Reair)
Monday, January 24:
Castle on ABC at 10:01 PM
Hawaii Five-0 on CBS at 10 PM (Reair)
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
Chuck on NBC at 8 PM
The Cape on NBC at 9 PM
Harry’s Law on NBC at 10 PM
Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family at 8 and 10 PM (NEW and Reair)
Greek on ABC Family at 9 PM
Being Human on Syfy at 8 PM (Reair)
Being Human on Syfy at 9 PM (New)
Big Love on HBO2 at 10 PM (Reair)
Tuesday, January 25:
NOTE: President Obama will be making the State of the Union Address tonight, which means all programming will be pre-empted or rearranged, not necessarily matching what is listed below. Check your local listings.
No Ordinary Family on ABC at 8 PM (Reair)
NCIS on CBS at 8 PM (Reair)
One Tree Hill on The CW at 8 PM
Hellcats on The CW at 9 PM
Glee on FOX at 8 PM (Reair)
Southland on TNT at 10 PM
Lights Out on FX at 10 PM
White Collar on USA Network at 10 PM
Wednesday, January 26:
Off the Map on ABC at 10 PM
Criminal Minds on CBS at 9 PM
Blue Bloods on CBS at 10 PM
Friday Night Lights on DirecTV at 9 PM
Nikita on The CW at 8 PM (Reair)
The Vampire Diares on The CW at 9 PM (Reair of Mid-Season Finale)
Chase on NBC at 9 PM (Part 1 of 2) (Conclusion)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on NBC at 10 PM (Reair)
Being Erica on SOAPNet at 11 PM (Season Premiere)
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena on Starz at 10 PM (Reair)
And Baby Will Fall on Lifetime Movie Network at 8 PM (Reair)
Growing the Big One on Hallmark at 9 PM (Reair)
Thursday, January 27:
Grey’s Anatomy on ABC at 9 PM (Reair)
Private Practice on ABC at 10:01 PM (Reair)
Criminal Minds on CBS at 9 PM (Reair)
The Mentalist on CBS at 10 PM (Reair)
The Vampire Diaries on The CW at 8 PM (Return)
Nikita on The CW at 9 PM (Return)
Bones on FOX at 9 PM
Royal Pains on USA Network at 9 PM
Fairly Legal on USA Network at 10 PM
Elevator Girl on Hallmark Channel at 9 PM (Reair)
Friday, January 28:
NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS at 8 PM (Reair)
CSI: NY on CBS at 9 PM (Reair)
Hawaii Five-0 on CBS at 10 PM (Reair)
Smallville on The CW at 8 PM (Return)
Supernatural on The CW at 9 PM (Return)
Fringe on FOX at 9 PM
Law & Order: UK on BBC America at 9 and 10 PM
Merlin onSyfy at 10 PM
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena on Starz at 10 PM (Season Premiere)
Big Love on HBO Signature at 9 PM (Reair)
Backyard Wedding on Hallmark Channel at 9 PM (Reair)
Downton Abbey mini-series on PBS at 9 PM (Four-part mini-series) (Reair)
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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