casting-related stories
Posted Nov 18th 2009 9:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Casting, Reality-Free, Modern Family
There's an old adage in show business that says something to the effect that casting is half the battle. If you cast a part well, you're sure to have a winning finished project. If that's true, then
the casting of Fred Willard on Modern Family is sure to be a hit. I won't reveal what role Fred will be playing til after the jump, so if you don't want to know, don't read on. Suffice to say, the very funny Mr. Willard is being given a great opportunity to shine.
Willard, who was terrific on
Everybody Loves Raymond, not to mention all the Christopher Guest films like
Best In Show and
A Mighty Wind, was on sitcom TV just last season on Fox's
Back to You. In fact, it was on that show that Fred worked with
Modern Family's Ty Burrell. Now they get to do it again.
Continue reading Fred Willard checks in to Modern Family
Posted Nov 16th 2009 2:00PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Site Announcements, Casting, Reality-Free
Spoilers are a hot topic here on
TV Squad. Nary a day goes by when we don't hear something -- good or bad -- from readers about spoilers. And it's been going on a while; Isabelle wrote
this post on spoilers back in 2007.
What is a spoiler? Should they be included in titles? Should we always put them after the jump? Are casting announcements spoilers? What about short posts that only fit on the front page? What if the info is common knowledge?
Let's take a closer look at spoilers, what they are, and how we can run a great web site and all live together with these precarious bits of info known as spoilers.
Continue reading Let's talk about spoilers ...
Posted Oct 19th 2009 5:06PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Industry, Stargate, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
HBO has added another cast member to its upcoming
Game of Thrones pilot, based on George R.R. Martin's fantasy book series
A Song of Ice and Fire.
Stargate Atlantis alum
Jason Momoa has been cast as Drogo, a powerful warlord who has never been defeated in battle.
This sounds like the perfect role for the hulking 6' 4" actor, best known as
SGA's resident Wraith killin' badass, Ronon Dex. Hopefully, Momoa's potential
Game of Thrones schedule won't keep him from appearing in the proposed
Stargate Atlantis DVD movie/telefilm.
Continue reading Stargate vet joins HBO fantasy pilot
Posted Sep 24th 2009 4:10PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: House, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
Just when we started to think that things might be getting back to normal on House...
EW's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Jennifer Morrison is being written out of House and that her last episode will air in November. I don't want to say much more than that - details after the jump.
Continue reading House bombshell: Jennifer Morrison is out
Posted Sep 23rd 2009 3:04PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: Celebrities, Pickups and Renewals, Casting, Damages, Reality-Free
Hewes & Associates is getting bigger.
FX announced yesterday that season three of Damages, which returns to FX in January and begins filming today in New York, has added four big names to the cast. Martin Short and Campbell Scott have both signed on as regulars and Lily Tomlin and Keith Carradine are joining as guest stars.
This news has me really excited. Last season, after William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, John Doman, and Darrell Hammond all signed on, I said it was arguably one of the finest casts ever assembled for a TV drama. With these new names added to the roster, this season is shaping up to be just as good, if not better. The only thing missing from this news? Confirmation that Ted Danson will return for at least a few eps to reprise his role as Arthur Frobisher - hopefully, he'll be back as well.
Continue reading Martin Short, Lily Tomlin, and more headed to Damages
Posted Aug 20th 2009 5:02PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free, Gossip Girl
Unlike our own
Jane Boursaw, I've yet to dive head first into the trashy teen world of The CW's
Gossip Girl. I'm sure this comes as a surprise to no one, since my favorite shows tend to take place on spaceships or feature brooding vampires. But a recent addition to the cast might get me to start watching the saucy soap for the first time when it returns in September; one of my favorite sci-fi actors,
Firefly alum Gina Torres, has
signed on to play the recurring role of Gabriela Abrams, Vanessa's mother.
Gabriela is described as a warm and outgoing free spirit from Brooklyn who has been hiding out in Vermont. The show's privileged teens are in for one hell of a season if Gabriela is anything like Jasmine, Torres' duplicitous character from the fourth season of
Angel. It's probably not crazy to think that Gabriela will have some kind of edge to her. I've heard some of the parents on
Gossip Girl make
Lucille Bluth look like Mrs. Cunningham.
Torres is set to appear in two episodes and expected to recur throughout the series.
Gossip Girl's season premiere airs Sept. 14.
[Via
TV Guide]
Posted Jul 1st 2009 5:06PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: OpEd, Big Brother (US), Casting
What time is it? Well, it's almost Hamster Time as the new houseguests settle in the
Big Brother 11 house. Julie Chen and executive producer Allison Grodner introduced the cast this morning on
The Early Show.
The official Big Brother 11 website is up and running. We're almost there! All we need are episodes and the live feeds in the house. The esteemed Bob Sassone has already written about
this season's new "green" house. For me, it's just a bit garish, how about you?
The latest hamsters are: (top row) Casey, Jordan, Jeff, Braden, Chima, and Kevin. On the bottom row, we have Lydia, Laura, Michele, Natalie, Ronnie, and Russell. The oldest is Casey coming in with 41 years of age. To be honest, I really look for more diversity in ages, races, and more. But you never know -- I'm sure there's going to be some controversy in the house. The season premiere is July 9 at 8 PM. Be there or ... er, or be here on TV Squad!
Posted Jun 26th 2009 2:07PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, Celebrities, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Casting, Reality-Free
Being a nerd, I'm very familiar with Jeri Ryan's career. She helped make
Star Trek: Voyager watchable for a while as a self-aware Borg and recently starred in CBS'
Shark alongside James Woods. But it was her work on the David Kelley shows
Boston Public and
Boston Legal that has me thinking she'll be a good fit for
Leverage.
The actress handled Kelley's sharp dialogue like a pro, and I'm guessing she'll bring the same confidence to her role as a "smart-ass, street-wise con woman" on the second season of
Leverage. Ryan has
signed on for a recurring role on the TNT heist drama. Her character will be a friend of Sophie's (Gina Bellman),
Leverage's sexy grifter with a bag full of tricks and foreign accents.
Continue reading Another Star Trek actor joins TNT's Leverage
Posted Jun 11th 2009 12:02PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, Celebrities, Casting, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Reality-Free
Brian Austin Green won't be fighting Skynet or returning to prime time soaps next fall.
Last week,
we reported that the former
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles star was in talks to join the The CW teen drama
One Tree Hill. Nerds like me, who came to love Green as
TSCC's badass, cyborg-killing Derek Reese, were crushed. But it's time for those nerd hearts to heal. It turns out Green's reps didn't make a deal, and he won't be moving to
One Tree Hill.
Instead,
OTH has
turned to Lipstick Jungle's Robert Buckley, who recently showed up on the network's much-praised but still canceled drama
Privileged. Buckley will play the young, sexy sports agent role that was offered to Green.
Continue reading Brian Austin Green isn't joining One Tree Hill
Posted Jun 10th 2009 7:27PM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, TV on the Bigscreen, Casting, Reality-Free, Star Trek: Original Series
Rumors that Jack Black was headed to the next
Star Trek movie as stellar con man Harry Mudd were dismissed by director J.J. Abrams Tuesday.
Harcourt Fenton Mudd was originally played by Roger C. Carmel (right) in
Trek's 1960s series. Whether hustling beauty drugs or androids, Mudd was always looking for a quick space buck and was a humorous thorn in Captain Kirk's side.
While some sites suggested Mudd's would-be return in Abrams' next movie could prove a great opportunity for
Jack Black to come aboard the Enterprise,
Abrams denied the Black casting move.
Continue reading Jack Black not trekking to play TV's Harry Mudd
Posted Jun 5th 2009 3:02PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Heroes, Casting, Reality-Free
The
Heroes casting reports just won't stop. Yesterday, we learned that
Prison Break's Robert Knepper would come on board as a new villain. Now,
Star Wars baddie Ray Park is in talks to
appear in the show's next season for a sizeable arc.
As Darth Maul in
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Park famously wielded a double-bladed light saber to slice up Liam Neeson.
He showed his goofier side as Toad in the original
X-Men film and recently as a Skywalker Ranch security guard in
Fanboys. We still don't know any details about Park's role on
Heroes, but some Interweb bloggos are convinced that he'll play the "Knife Thrower" described in
Heroes' recent casting breakdowns.
Continue reading Star Wars' Ray Park in talks to join Heroes
Posted Jun 2nd 2009 11:02AM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Industry, Casting, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Reality-Free
Beverly Hills 90210 alum Brian Austin Green earned a number of new fans playing the tough, militaristic Derek Reese on
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Now, with
TSCC officially canceled, Green is heading back to the world of prime time soaps. The actor is currently in talks to
join the cast of The CW's One Tree Hill.
According to
Variety, Green will potentially play a sports agent who is "enjoying the spoils that come from being a wealthy, handsome single guy" on the veteran drama.
It looks like One
Tree Hill might be looking to Green to fill a void left by the departures of stars Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton. Green certainly has Murray beat in the charisma department, and I'm sure the show's fans -- I assume they are mostly young women -- will welcome him with open arms. But I can't help but feel disappointed by this news.
Continue reading Brian Austin Green in talks to join The CW's One Tree Hill
Posted May 28th 2009 12:24PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Industry, Casting, Reality-Free
The networks are in the process of
recasting some of their new shows before the fall season starts. Some of the shows getting new cast members include ABC's
The Forgotten, CBS'
NCIS: Los Angeles, and
Three Rivers, also from CBS.
Don't worry Alex O'Loughlin fans.
Three Rivers' hunky vamp turned transplant surgeon isn't going anywhere. But his lead co-star, Julia Ormond, has been shown the door. CBS has yet to announce who will replace Ormond on the show. If they're smart, the network will try to nab O'Loughlin's former
Moonlight co-star, Sophia Myles, to replace Ormond.
Our coverage of
Moonlight and our
recent interview with O'Loughlin taught us a few things: There are tons of
Moonlight fans out there. They love O'Loughlin, and they'll watch anything he does. O'Loughlin fans also love Sophia Myles. They couldn't get enough of Mick and Beth's season-long love story on
Moonlight.
Continue reading There might be hope for a Moonlight reunion on Three Rivers
Posted Apr 9th 2009 4:32PM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Survivor, Big Brother (US), Casting
CBS is looking for contestants for two of their biggest reality shows. Season 19 of
Survivor had an original application deadline of January 14, but it seems as though there aren't enough quality people applying. They are hoping to fill both casts of Season 19 and Season 20.
If roughing it isn't your style, consider being in a house without entertainment.
Big Brother 11 is casting for the summer season. Sure the prize is only $500,000, but you won't come home with any stomach viruses.
Casting on both shows have been hit or miss. In
Survivor: Tocantins, 12 of the 16 contestants were recruited. This includes the latest castoff,
Sydney who was recruited from a bar.
Continue reading Survivor and Big Brother are casting
Posted Mar 2nd 2009 8:29AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, Grey's Anatomy, Casting, Reality-Free
I've been a fan of
Melissa George since I first saw her in 2001's short-lived
Thieves. I was, quite possibly, the only person in the known universe who actually loved that show. She starred with John Stamos as lovers and professional thieves who worked a deal with the FBI. I guess I have a soft spot for anything that even resembles the 1960s show
T.H.E. Cat, though there will never be anyone like Robert Loggia.
Melissa George has held assorted roles since then, including Lauren Reed in
Alias, Laura in
In Treatment, and Dr. Sadie Harris in
Grey's Anatomy. These were great, but I don't think she's really found her place in TV history yet. But maybe that will change soon, because she's just nabbed the female lead in the CBS drama pilot
US Attorney.
Continue reading Has Melissa George finally landed a good role?
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