The Weekly Round-Up (July 13 to 17)

The following are the entertainment news highlights for the past week (July 13 to 17):

NEWS

Here is the complete list of Emmy nominations for those of you haven’t seen them yet:

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b134405_complete_list_of_emmy_nominations.html

NBC has postponed production on its new drama Parenthood, due to co-star Maura Tierney undergoing an eight-week treatment for a breast tumor. Parenthood will be pushed to a midseason berth with the new series Mercy taking its place in the fall line-up.

Matt Damon has shot a top-secret airport scene for Entourage’s sixth season finale.

Brothers & Sisters star Matthew Rhys (aka Kevin Walker) is going to direct an episode this new season.

Writer Drew Greenberg (Buffy and Smallville) has joined the writing staff of SyFy’s new 2010 series Caprica.

CBS will be the first broadcast network to join the online TV service, providing content to online consumers similar to Hulu.

Jennifer Garner (Alias) has a development deal with ABC; not for her acting, but rather for her production company, Vandalia Films, which has primarily dabbled in independent films until now.

Barbara Walters will be honored on September 21 when she receives a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (i.e. the Emmy’s).

Network sources have confirmed The Listener will wrap its broadcast run on July 23, as repeats of Law & Order will take over the Thursday 10 p.m. slot starting July 30.

Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) will voice Boodikka, the most prominent female member of the Green Lantern Corps in Green Lantern: First Flight, the next DC Universe animated original PG-13 movie, coming to DVD on July 28.

NBC has acquired the series Persons Unknown, starring Jason Wiles (Zodiac), Chadwick Boseman (Lincoln Heights), Daisy Betts (Out of the Blue), Tina Holmes (Six Feet Under), and Alan Ruck (Drive). The series revolves around a group of strangers who are seemingly kidnapped and taken to a deserted ghost town from which they cannot leave and where they are watched by omnipresent security cameras. No US launch date was announced but 13 episodes have been produced.

The mismatched Big Bang Theory pair (played by Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki) will finally embark on a relationship, after the gang of four returns from their Arctic adventure this fall.

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Ryan Reynolds has been cast as the Green Lantern for the big screen. But the question is what is happening with the Wonder Woman movie? Why is this movie still in production limbo?

Natalie Portman will star as Jane Foster opposite Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek) in Thor, which arrives in theatres in May 2011.

Danny Huston (Wolverine) will play King Richard the Lionheart opposite Russell Crowe in Robin Hood. Cate Blanchett and William Hurt have already signed on as Maid Marian and the Earl of Pembroke, respectively. Filming is under way for a May 14, 2010, release.

CASTING SCOOP

Jeff Nordling (24) and Beau Mirchoff (Heartland) will play the landscaper husband of Drea de Matteo‘s brassy, Bronx-bred transplant to Wisteria Lane on Desperate Housewives. Mirchoff will play their 19-year-old son.

Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) will play a therapist and potential love interest for Julia Louis-Dreyfus on The New Adventures of Old Christine.

Friday Night Lights will be adding some new blood to the 4th season. The new characters (series regulars except for last one in the list below) are described as:

• Vince: A charming yet dangerous East Dillon junior. He’s African-American and, when we first meet him, he’s running from the cops. Look for Coach Taylor to put his speed to better use as a member of the Lions..

• Luke: Vince’s classmate and arch nemesis. He’s Caucasian, cocky, and charming. Reminds some of a young Paul Newman. Dillon’s new geographical breakdown has him playing for the Lions, and he’s not happy about it.

• Jess: The super-energetic daughter of a onetime NFL hopeful, she knows the game inside and out. When she’s not busy coaching her younger brothers, this sophomore/junior is getting crushed on by every guy in Dillon, East and West.

• Becky: A freshman beauty queen whose family is purebred trailer trash. Think Blair Waldorf with lousy genes. She finds Riggins in bed with her mother and reacts by trying to seduce him herself.

The Mentalist is casting two new roles:

• Melanie: Sam’s plain-but-pretty female assistant (NOTE: Isn’t that a misnomer?). She’s in her late 20s. Five-episode arc. Debuts in episode 2.

• Agent Hicks: A white male in his late 20s to mid 40s, Hicks works under Sam at the CBI Serial Crimes Unit. Five-episode arc. Debuts in episode 2.

The recurring role of Raphael, a mechanic who becomes possessed by one of the most powerful beings in the universe, is being added to Supernatural.

David Naughton (An American Werewolf in London) will guest star in Psych’s Halloween-themed episode, co-written by leading man James Roday. He’ll play Dr. Ken Tucker, a self-serving sociopath with a plan that Shawn and Gus uncover.

Producers are searching for a “name” actress to play the late wife of Robert Carlyle‘s Nic Rush on Stargate Universe. The character will appear via flashbacks.

Steven Weber (Brothers & Sisters) and newcomer Ben Schnetzer are in talks to come aboard ABC midseason drama series Happy Town, replacing Dean Winters and John Patrick Amedori, who appeared in the original pilot.

Tyne Daly will appear with her former Cagney & Lacey co-star Sharon Gless in the August 6 episode of Burn Notice.

Martha Plimpton (the movie Parenthood) will appear in multiple episodes of Grey’s Anatomy as the mother of a sick young patient.

Mitch Pileggi (The X-Files) will return to Grey’s Anatomy for the season premiere, again playing hospital board chairman Larry Jennings.

Daphne Zuniga will return to the remake of Melrose Place, reprising her role as photographer Jo Reynolds. She will star in at least two episodes.

Eliza Coupe will appear as a series regular in Scrubs when it returns to the air next season.

The NBC cop drama Southland is adding two new recurring roles. They are:

• Andre: A good-looking, slick, at times overly aggressive African-American male in his 30s. He will be Lydia’s (Regina King) new partner. Andre sees Lydia as a rising star. She sees him as a pain in the ass.

• Gil: A native Los Angeleno of Mexican-American heritage is a NARC Detective on the force. He goes back and forth between aggressive and friendly.

D.B. Woodside (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and 24) has been cast opposite Skeet Ulrich (Jericho) in the drama pilot Back.

Elisabeth Harnois (Point Pleasant) has been added to the medical series Miami Trauma, appearing as a first-year trauma resident alongside Jeremy Northam and Richard Coyle.

Sarah Carter (Shark) will be a series regular role on CSI: NY this fall, playing a forensic school graduate on track to (hopefully) become a CSI. She will serve Mac Taylor’s team as a crime scene clean-up technician.

A new, potentially recurring role for Fringe has been announced, and it is as follows:

• Rebecca: A 50 year-old never-married blond female. Far from being a spinster, she is beautiful, wealthy, and completely comfortable with who she is. She also has psychic abilities, which has been both a blessing and a curse. Debuts in episode 4.

Stephen Rea (The Crying Game) will guest-star in the third episode of Law & Order: SVU when the series returns this fall. It will be Rea’s first appearance on American episodic television.

Luke Grimes (Ryan Lafferty on Brothers & Sisters) has been added as a series regular to the show for the fall.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

The movie Mending Fences, starring Laura Leighton (Melrose Place) and Angie Dickinson will air on the Hallmark Channel at 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 18.

The first of the final 4 episodes of Dirty Sexy Money will begin at 10 p.m. on ABC on Saturday, July 18.

For those interested (or willing to suffer through it), Lindsay Lohan will appear in the ABC Family Channel movie Labor Pains on Sunday, July 19 at 8 p.m.

The movie Held Hostage will air on the Lifetime Movie Network on Monday, July 20 at 8 p.m and stars Julie Benz (Dexter).

Torchwood will air its 5-night special event (i.e. its 3rd season) from 9 to 10:30 p.m. Monday, July 20 through Friday, July 24 on BBC America.

The half-hour comedy Ruby & the Rockits, starring Alexa Vega (Spy Kids) and former teen idol David Cassidy, will debut on the ABC Family Channel on Tuesday, July 21 at 8:30 p.m.

The new series Being Human will debut on BBC America on Saturday, July 25 at 9 p.m.

Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead will air on BBC America on Sunday, July 26 at 8 p.m. (running 1 ½ hours), featuring David Tennant and Michelle Ryan (The Bionic Woman).

Here is a list of new episodes from this summer’s slew of shows that will air over the next two weeks. Since the staff of NiceGirlsTV will be attending Comic Con there will not be a weekly round-up on Friday, July 24:

Kings on NBC on Saturday, July 18 and Saturday, July 25 at 8 p.m.
Merlin on NBC on Sunday, July 19 and Sunday, July 26 at 8 p.m.
True Blood on HBO on Sunday, July 19 and Sunday, July 26 at 9 p.m.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent on USA on Sunday, July 19 and Sunday, July 26 at 9 p.m.
In Plain Sight on USA on Sunday, July 19 and Sunday, July 26 at 10 p.m.
Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime on Sunday, July 19 and Sunday, July 26 at 9 p.m.
Army Wives on Lifetime on Sunday, July 19 and Sunday, July 26 at 10 p.m.
Secret Life of An American Teenager on ABC Family on Monday, July 20 and July 27 at 8 p.m.
Make It or Break It on ABC Family on Monday, July 20 and Monday, July 27 at 9 p.m.
The Closer on TNT on Monday, July 20 and Monday, July 27 at 9 p.m.
Raising the Bar on TNT on Monday, July 20 and Monday, July 27 at 10 p.m.
Hung on HBO on Monday, July 20 and Monday, July 27 at 9:30 p.m.
10 Things I Hate About You on ABC Family on Tuesday, July 21 and Tuesday, July 28 at 8 p.m.
Hawthorne on TNT on Tuesday, July 21 and Tuesday, July 28 at 9 p.m.
Saving Grace on TNT on Tuesday, July 21 and Tuesday, July 28 at 10 p.m.
Warehouse 13 on SyFy on Tuesday, July 21 and Tuesday, July 28 at 9 p.m.
The Cleaner on A&E on Tuesday, July 21 and Tuesday, July 28 at 10 p.m.
Leverage on TNT on Wednesday, July 22 and Wednesday, July 29 at 9 p.m.
Dark Blue on TNT on Wednesday, July 22 and Wednesday, July 29 at 10 p.m.
The Philanthropist on NBC on Wednesday, July 22 and Wednesday, July 29 at 9 p.m.
Burn Notice on USA on Thursday, July 23 and Thursday, July 29 at 9 p.m.
Royal Pains on USA on Thursday, July 23 and Thursday, July 29 at 10 p.m.
The Listener on NBC on Thursday, July 23 at 10:01 p.m.
Mental on FOX on Friday, July 24 and Friday, July 30 at 9 p.m.
Eureka on SyFy on Friday, July 24 and Friday, July 30 at 9 p.m.

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

RUMOR PATROL

Showtime is said to be developing drama series Revelation, from Dirty Sexy Money creator Craig Wright and executive producer David Janollari. The project is to follow the lives of an “unconventional minister who moves to a Texas church with his two teens after his wife suddenly dies.”

Vanessa Williams told TVGuideMagazine.com that the musical episode of Ugly Betty should be the 16th episode of the new season.

Have a great weekend!