Hello Folks

Well, it’s that time of the year again.

The TCA Summer Press Tour 2011 has begun, and yesterday, it was the day for cable networks AMC and HBO.

Here’s what’s interesting (among the usual boring other stuff not worth mentioning) from the AMC and HBO panels, gathered from all over the place.

- AMC has announced the premiere date for its new western drama “Hell on Wheels”. The new series will debut on Sunday, November 6, at 10 PM ET/PT. Anson Mount, Common, Dominique McElligott, Colm Meaney, Ben Esler, Philip Burke and Eddie Spears star.

- A decision on a possible renewal of hit series “Breaking Bad” has to be made in the next two weeks, as the options on the actors are about to expire. Means, renew it ASAP!

- After much backlash from the fans, the AMC brass admits that it should have “managed expectations differently” regarding the first season of “The Killing”. Season 2 will present Rosie Larsen’s killer. Based on the comments of many viewers, it just might be a bit too late…

- HBO will bring back “Boardwalk Empire” for its second season on Sunday, September 25, at 9 PM ET/PT for its 12-episode second season. “Hung” will return for season 3 of 10 episodes on Sunday, October 2 at 10 PM ET/PT, with “How To Make It In America” offering the premiere of its 8-episode second season right after, at 10.30 PM ET/PT. Season 3 of “Bored TO Death”, with eight episodes, premiers on Monday, October 10 at 9 PM ET/PT, and new series “Enlightened”, starring Laura Dern as a woman who has a spiritual awakening after a meltdown, is launching right behind it, at 10.30 PM ET/PT. The first season consists of eight episodes.

- There won’t be a new season of “Nr. 1 Ladies Detective Agency”, but HBO is looking to continue the format in the form of two or more stand-alone TV movies. Producers are looking at scripts at the moment. If only someone had done this for “Veronica Mars”…

- Don’t expect to see an end to “Game of Thrones” in the near future. “We told [author George R.R. Martin] we’d go as long as he keeps writing,” said HBO co-president Richard Plepler to Entertainment Weekly. And HBO programming chief Michael Lombardo seconded, “I hope it lasts for 20 years. I promise you we won’t stop it before it’s ready to stop … There’s a great relationship fans have with the show and we appreciate that. We’ve never seen people get so excited about casting [decisions].” We’ll take you up on that, Michael. See you in 2031…

- If exec producer/creator Mark Wahlberg has anything to say, an “Entourage” movie is pretty much a sure thing. Even if he has to pay the bills himself. “I’ve said that if I have to finance it myself, I’ll do it,” he said with a grin. “I certainly hope that this has a chance to become a feature film.” Added co/creator Doug Ellin, “We’re gonna do a movie. It’s just a question of when and how quick… and then we’ll make it happen.” We’ll take you up on that, Mark and Doug. See you in 20… well, a lot sooner than 31 hopefully…

As of yesterday, the full pilot of NBC’s redo of “Wonder Woman” has found its way online.

It has appeared on various download sites. Fan reviews might start piling up pretty soon…

I won’t provide a link here, though, for obvious reasons. But I’m sure you can find it easily if you want.

Well, that was fast.

Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reports today that executive producer Glen Mazzara is taking over from Frank Darabont as new show runner on AMC’s “The Walking Dead”.

Darabont was quoted a month ago by Deadline, saying that Mazzara was hired as “[the] number 2 in the room”, and was considered the show’s head writer back then. So it makes sense that he is now appointed new showrunner.

Talks with Darabont to stay on the show in some capacity are still ongoing. Mazzara remains an exec producer on the show, alongside Robert Kirkman (who penned the comic series) and Gale Anne Hurd.

TVLine’s Michael Ausiello reports today that Max Martini (“The Unit”, “Castle”) is joining the cast of ABC’s upcoming new drama “Revenge”.

The show stars Emily VanCamp as a young woman moving to the Hamptons to exact revenge on the Grayson clan that ruined her family. Martini plays the recurring part of pragmatic, rugged Private Eye Frank Saunders, who gets hired by Conrad Grayson (Henry Czerny), the wealthy patriarch of the Grayson clan.

“Revenge” launches on September 21 at 10/9c on ABC.

Additionally, Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reports that Rex Lee (“Entourage”) has come aboard “Suburgatory”, ABC’s upcoming single-camera comedy about teen girl Tessa (Jane Levy), who moves with her dad (Jeremy Sisto) from New York to her own personal purgatory – the suburbs. Lee plays the series regular role of Mr. Wolf, the guidance counselor at the high school Tessa attends. He’s inviting but pretty clueless when it comes to knowing about the “mean girl” behavior at his school.

And some developments on the pilot front, also from Nellie Andreeva.

USA has passed on its pilot “Eden”, which was about a young hotel worker (Nick D’Agosto) who gets a job at a prestigious NYC hotel with the help of his cousin (Enver Gjokai), who is an escaped con man. USA’s other two pilots still in contention, “Over/Under” and “Wild Card” are set to shoot in late August.

And over at TNT, two pilots have officially been scrapped. “Meet Jane”, starring Molly Parker and Rick Schroeder in the story about a mother of two daughters who lives in an unhappy marriage. Things get interesting once the FBI enlists her to spy on her husband, who works as a computer technician and is suspected by the government to sell top-secret information to the Russians.
Also not going forward is the untitled Michael Sardo project, which was set to star Carrie-Anne Moss.

Even more casting news.

- Mike Doyle (“Law & Order: SVU”) and Rhys Coiro (“Entourage”) have both joined the cast of CBS’s upcoming medical drama “A Gifted Man”, TVLine’s Michael Ausiello reports. Doyle will play Dr. Victor Lantz, a potentially recurring part, while Coiro plays the recurring role of Dr. Zeke Barnes, a family doctor who moonlights as a rock musician. “A Gifted Man”, starring Patrick Wilson as a egomanical, brilliant surgeon who gets advise by his dead wife from the afterlife, premieres September 23.

- Melissa George (“Alias”, “Lie To Me”) has joined the cast of TNT’s upcoming two-part, four-hour miniseries “Bag of Bones”, based on the novel by Stephen King, per [Deadline. She joins a cast that includes Pierce Brosnan and Annabeth Gish. The story centers on writer Mike Noonan (Brosnan), who can’t stop grieving over the sudden death of his wife, Jo (Gish). After a dream, he returns to the couple’s lakeside retreat in Western Maine, and gets sucked into a nasty custody battle between the daughter of a young widow (George) and her wealthy grandfather. And all those ever-growing nightmares and the ghostly appearances let him realize his wife still has something to tell him. Mick Garris directs.

Two casting items from TVLine’s Michael Ausiello.

- Odette Annable (formerly Yustman) (“Brothers & Sisters”) has joined the cast of FOX’ “House” as a new series regular for the upcoming eighth season. Her character is kept under wraps, but is suspected to be a jailhouse doctor that Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) adds to his team after the deaparture of both Martha (Amber Tamblyn) and Thirteen (Olivia Wilde, who will return only for a short while).

The search for whoever will play the new Dean of Medicine at Princeton-Plainsboro after the departure of Lisa Edelstein, is still ongoing.

- Greg Grunberg (“Heroes”, “Love Bites”) and Lindsay Sloane (“Weeds”, “Grosse Pointe”) have both joined an upcoming episode of USA’s “Psych” – and its not your average episode. The segment, which will air in the midst of the sixth season, taks aim at the reality dating game, like “The Bachelorette”, for example. Grunberg plays Dimitri, exec producer of dating format “Missed Connections”, whom Shawn (James Roday) believes he has attacked one of the contestants. Sloane plays Melinda, the coveted single girl who the several men try to win over. “Psych” returns for season six in October.

FOX has announced via a press release that “The Big Bang Theory” star Kaley Cuoco will be hosting this years “Teen Choice”, which will air live on August 7, from 8-10 PM ET (PT tape-delayed). OneRepublic and Selena Gomez and The Scene are set to perform, with appearances scheduled from Justin Bieber, Cameron Diaz, Chris Hemsworth, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Victoria Justice, Ed Helms, Lucy Hale, Shaun White, Rose Byrne, Paul Wesley, Tom Felton, Kat Graham, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Shane West.

Additionally, at Comic-Con, actress Karen Gillan has told Zap2It that, after speculation that she might be leaving “Doctor Who” after this year, she will in fact be returning for the upcoming 7th season (or season 33, if you count from the very beginning) as the trusted, red-haired companion Amy Pond. No word yet on whether Arthur Darvill, who plays Amy’s husband Rory on the show, will be sticking around as well.

Hello Folks

Well, after Frank Darabont’s Comic-Con appearance, we certainly didn’t see this one coming…

Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reports that Darabont is stepping down as showrunner for AMC’s zombie drama “The Walking Dead”.

Word is that Darabont is completely leaving the show, which is currently in production for its second season. But there are apparently still talks happening to keep him on the show in some way, maybe as a consultant.

This is a surprising move because Darabont was just present at a Comcic-Con panel last Friday, and seemed “excited” about the new season.

The reason for this move is not clear, but speculation is that Darabont “never quite adjusted to the daily grind of producing a TV series”.

The search for a replacement is underway.

For more info on the subject, hit the link above.

Hello Folks

TNT has announced today that it has renewed its freshman legal drama “Franklin & Bash” for a second season.

The show starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer will return with 10 new episodes next summer.

“This summer, Franklin & Bash has broken out as a hugely entertaining series with great characters, sharp writing and a terrific cast,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president, head of programming, for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies, in a statement. “We’re thrilled that the show has drawn such a remarkably strong following and look forward to bringing it back next summer.”

Two casting updates from TVLine.

- John Goodman (“Damages”, “Roseanne”) has booked a recurring arc of at least six episodes on NBC’s “Community”. He will play Vice Dean Laybourne, the head of Greendale’s air conditioning repair school, and he will become a major adversary for Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) and the study group. Goodman first appears in the season 3 premiere on September 22 at 8/7c PM.

- Monica Raymund (“Lie To Me”) has joined CBS’ police drama “Blue Bloods” for multiple episodes, playing Leah Sosa, the new partner of Jamie Reagan (Will Estes). She’s described as “an accomplished rookie police officer who gets assigned to Jamie when his previous partner, Renzulli (Nick Turturro), gets bumped up the ranks to fill in as platoon commander.”

TV Guide’s Michael Logan reports today that James Franco has signed on to return to his TV roots.

The actor will be back on duty for “General Hospital” by September 20 for a “longterm” arc, as an ABC rep says. This means that Franco could be haning around way into the fall, and possibly even longer.

As for his return as artist/serial killer Robert “Franco” Frank, here’s the gist of it.

[Franco] has a hopelessly mad crush on beefy hit man Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) so the timing of his return to Port Charles is no coincidence — he’ll be hitting town just as Jason is all set to wed Sam McCall (Kelly Monaco). Will Franco stop the ceremony or turn it into an unforgettable nightmare? The ABC rep will only say that this is the baddie’s “most twisted plan yet” and that he’ll likely be pulling other characters into his web, including ditzy heroine Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms) and bitch queen Carly Jacks (Laura Wright) and her baby Josslyn.

Hello Folks

Deadline’s Nikki Finke reports today that the National Football league team owners and players have finally agreed to the terms of a new deal to bring the four-month lockout to an end.

The players will begin the voting process on the new deal today.

The hugh sigh of relief you’re hearing is coming from the heads of several broadcast and cable networks, now that it looks like there will be a Football season after all.

Hello Folks

Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva has posted two videos with scenes from the “Wonder Woman” pilot that NBC passed over.

I won’t post them here to not make this blog the host of leaked copyrighted material. Just hit the link above to check the videos out, as long as they are up.

Two casting bits from TVLine’s Matt Webb Mitovich.

- Cassidy Freeman (“Smallville”) has booked a guest spot on the season premiere of “CSI: New York”, which is set for Friday, September 23. She will play a bartender whose male co-worker dies during an ill-fated robbery.

- Santiago Cabrera reunites with his “Heroes” co-star Sendhil Ramamurthy for an upcoming episode of “Covert Affairs”, the latter actor has announced at Comic-Con. No word yet on who he’ll play, but it will lead to “some shenanigans” between his character and Annie Walker (Piper Perabo).

Hello Folks

Well, look’s like one half of this new show’s title is missing as of now. The Angels have lost their Charlie.

Per TV Guide’s William Keck, Robert Wagner has dropped out of voicing the iconic over-the-phone character in ABC’s upcoming “Charlie’s Angles” re-launch due to scheduling conflicts, ABC has informed the magazine in a statement.

“Due to his scheduling conflicts, Robert Wagner will need to step away from his duties as Charlie on Charlie’s Angels.” Wagner’s voice wasn’t used in the pilot that got sent out to the media. A temporary solution was used there.

The search for a replacement is currently underway.

So, who do you think should voice the new “Charlie” now? Sound off below!

FX has announced the dates for its original series premiering or returning in the fall.

“Sons of Anarchy” Returns Tuesday, Sept. 6, 10 PM ET/PT With a Special 90-Minute Premiere


“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” Begins Thursday, Sept. 15, 10 PM ET/PT


New Drama Series “American Horror Story” Premieres Wednesday, Oct. 5, 10 PM ET/PT


“The League” Kicks Off Thursday, October 6, 10:30 PM ET/PT


“Archer” Gets Special 3-Week Run Starting Thursday, Sept. 15, 10:30 PM ET/PT

Hello Folks

According to Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva, the new female leads for FOX’ upcoming “Bones” spinoff “The FInder” have been, well, found.

Mercedes Masöhn (“Chuck”, “Three Rivers”) has been tapped to play the new female lead of Deputy US Marshall Isabel Zambada, a focused, nuclear-powered cop on the rise, who is also a brilliant politician using a career in law enforcement to climb to the top of the heap in life.

Additionally, 16-year old newcomer Maddie Hasson has joined the cast as Willa, a criminal of the second generation who ends up helping Walter (Geoff Stults) and Leo (Michael Clarke Duncan) in their investigations.

“The Finder” will be launching in January, when “Bones” takes a pro-longed hiatus due to Emily Deschanel’s maternity leave.

Well, not that it’s a surprise, really.

After pulling the last episode of the first season off the schedule, no one really believed that NBC would bring back its often-delayed freshman comedy “Love Bites” back for more.

But no we have confirmation. The Hollywood Reporter reports today that NBC has officially confirmed that the show is canceled. The last episode will air this Thursday at 10 PM, with one episode being left unaired. No word yet on how and if the episode will become available at some point.

FX has announced today that it has picked up “Glee” and “Nip/Tuck” creator Ryan Murphy’s new pilot “American Horror Story” to series with an order of 13 episodes.

The show, set to begin production on July 27 for an airdate in October, stars Dylan McDermott (“The Practice”) and Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights”) as Ben and Vivien Harmon, a psychiatrist and his wife, who, along with their teenage daughter Violet (Tassia Farmiga), move from Boston to Los Angeles “as a means to reconcile past anguish”, as the press release reads.
Jessica Lange co-stars in her first regular TV role as the Harmon’s new neighbor. Evan Peters (“One Tree Hill”) plays one of Ben’s patients, and Denis O’Hare as someone only named Larry Harvey, with no other specification given. Frances Conroy (“Happy Town”, “Six Feet Under”) and Alexandra Breckenridge (“True Blood”, “Life Unexpected”) will be guest starring.

So, are you excited for a new Ryan Murphy show back at FX, where he was so successful with “Nip/Tuck”?

Hello Folks

BD Wong, who played Dr. George Huang for 11 years on NBC’s “Law & Order: SVU”, will not return to the veteran crime drama when it launches its 13th season in the fall, he has officially confirmed on Twitter.

The actor will instead move to its new series regular gig on “Awake”, NBC’s new midseason drama about Detective Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs) who, after a car accident, wakes up from a coma in two different realities. Wong plays Dr. Lee, Michaels therapist in one of the realities.

“It was amazing to have such a cool job for 11 years and to be a real NY Actor”, Wong continued to tweet.