We won’t be able to laugh at Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie as they stumble (and drink) their way through life on their reality show The Simple Life. E! has not picked up the show for the next season. Since Paris Hilton’s jail stint and the supposed upcoming baby Nicole Richie will be having, you can’t really blame E! for dropping them!
Apparently there are still problems at Cavemen, and people are starting to wonder if the show will actually be ready in time for its October 2nd premiere. As you remember, the pilot episode was being re-shot for multiple reasons. But critics are saying that it’s just plain bad.
During ABC’s presentation at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour Wednesday, the network said the pilot was being reshot, as the show’s creators felt it flashed too far forward in the characters’ lives, while failing to properly establish their backstories.
Meanwhile, reporters drilled the producers about perceived parallels between the protagonist cavemen and black stereotypes.
Executive producer Josh Gordon said there was no intention of trying to have the cavemen represent any minority group in particular, though he acknowledged that some of the humor in the show’s pilot episode could be misconstrued.
“We’re aware that the pilot seems to lean a little bit more in that direction. But in the episodes that we’re coming up with now, we never saw them as, again, a stand-in for one group,” Gordon said.
His fellow executive producer Mike Schiff added that the theme of ethnic prejudice provided a “background to the show…but it’s not a driving force.”
We’ll keep you posted… but things aren’t looking good for those Geico cavemen at the moment!
Edward Herrmann has joined Grey’s Anatomy for a guest run of episodes next season. Not much is known about the role except that he will be playing a surgeon.
He played Lorelai’s father on the Gilmore Girls as an Emmy winning role on The Practice.
Shonda is keeping this under wraps, we will scoop when we know more!
It looks like CBS is taking the resurrection of Jericho seriously by bringin aboard new talent for the upcoming seven episode second season of Jericho. Esai Morales has signed on for the new season of Jericho to star in six of the seven episodes currently scheduled.
Morales will be playing a career military officer who hasn’t heard from his wife since the nuclear attacks that started the show’s first season. The trade paper offers no explanation for how Morales’ Col. Hoffman will tie into the lives of the struggling community of Jericho.
Shooting on “Jericho” begins this week and will run through September. CBS has yet to set a premiere date for the series, which was cancelled in May, but earned a reprieve after an extensive fan advocacy campaign.
Esai Morales has most recently appeared in the cancelled Vanished and NYPD Blue before that.
Michael Rapaport, best known for his role on The War at Home the past two seasons, has joined the cast of My Name is Earl to play an inmate.
Rapaport will have a recurring part on the NBC series in the coming season, playing an inmate in the jail where Earl (Jason Lee) is serving time. He’s also signed a development deal with 20th Century Fox TV, which produces the show.
“He is a TV star. He is one of the few guys out there that can carry a show, Sharon Klein, senior VP of casting at 20th TV, tells The Hollywood Reporter.
As part of the deal, the studio will develop a project, either comedy or drama, around Rapaport for the 2008-09 season. He could also be cast in one of the studio’s other pilots.
No word yet on what the development deal will be, but we will keep you posted!
Brooke Langton, who played Samantha Reilly on Melrose Place for several seasons and more recently Jackie Miller on Friday Night Lights, has joined NBC’s new series Life, as we reported back in February. And we finally have more scoop as they are getting to film the new season’s episodes.
NBC’s new series “Life” has added Brooke Langton to its cast, while the show she appeared on last season — “Friday Night Lights” — has expanded its world a little too.
Langton is replacing Melissa Sagemiller (”Sleeper Cell”) in “Life,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. She will play the lawyer who helped free a cop (Damian Lewis) who spent 12 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, and also won him a huge settlement and a spot back in the LAPD.
I can’t wait to see her in her new role.
Fox’s 24 has elected Cherry Jones to play the new president on the show, which is drawing plenty of parallels to Hillary Clinton. Cherry Jones, who is best known for her roles on The Village and the Signs, has signed on to 24 for next season to play President Allison Taylor.
It will be interesting to see how this new female president affects the real life potential female president Hillary Clinton, if at all.
Go girls!
If you were a fan of Knights of Prosperity, we have good news for you. ABC is bringing back the comedy next month for a summertime fling. One episode, Operation: Rent Money, never aired when the majority of the rest of the original episodes were aired. So ABC will be bringing back the show for fans who still have a desire to catch up on a new episode.
Rumor has it that there might actually be two new episodes airing that night, starting at 8:30 on August 8th. And there might be additional episodes airing August 15th and 22nd, also at 8:30.
We will keep you posted as we hear more!
Did you watch the Nine? If you are one of the nine people who did, you will be happy to hear that ABC has plans to finally air the final six episodes of the short-lived show.
The first seven episodes aired in the fall, but the final six have yet to hit the airwaves. They will begin airing on August 1st at 10pm. But surprisingly, fans shouldn’t expect any kind of resolution because believe it or not, the central plot is never concluded! So even if you are a fan, not sure what closure this will actually bring you!
Robert Buckley has joined the cast of Lipstick Jungle in a recurring role on the new NBC show. He is actually taking over the role of Kirby from Will Toale, who played the part in the pilot episode. Kirby is hot for Nico, played by 24’s Kim Raver.
Julie White is now a series regular on ABC’s upcoming Cavemen, which follows the lives of three modern day cavemen. Julie guest starred in the initial pilot episode of the series as Caveman Joel’s mother-in-law-to-be.
Cavemen follows the lives of three Cavemen, who are best known by their appearance in the Geico commercials.
I wonder if Geico gets any on-screen publicity because the Cavemen were inspired by their series of commercials. Or maybe one of the cavemen works for Geico in the show!
NBC has announced that Scrubs will premiere its seventh season opener on October 25th. It will be airing on Thursday nights in the 9:30-10pm time slot.
Kidnapped’s Linus Roache has signed on with NBC’s Law & Order to play the new executive assistant district attorney. As you may remember, Sam Waterston’s character Jack McCoy was in that position, but he has been elevated to DA for the upcoming season after Fred Thompson left the show for a potential run for president in 2008.
From the press release:
I’ve known Linus’ work for several years, said Wolf. He is an actor who totally gets inside his roles. I think he and Sam are going to raise the bar and add intellect and passion in the back half of the show.
They certainly have been making plenty of changes for the upcoming season. Jeremy Sisto has signed on for next season as a new DA and Jesse L. Martin has also signed a new deal to return to the show as well.
Law & Order does not yet have a season premiere date, but it will return sometime mid-season.
When 30 Rock returns for its season opener on October 4, Jerry Seinfeld will be guest starring in the episode. He will play a rival who headbutts with Jack Donaghy, played by Alec Baldwin.
“I was thrilled to be asked to guest star on NBC’s hit comedy ‘30 Rock,’ ” Seinfeld said. “I think it’s going to be so refreshing for me to be playing myself in a show that has nothing to do with neurotic, dysfunctional New York characters.”
You definitely have to wonder if he is considering a comeback to sitcoms, and this definitely would lead people to think that he’d be considering an NBC return. But who knows, his appearance could simply be a favor to someone.
Looks like Rosie isn’t interested in being a contestant on celebrity Apprentice, unfortunately, but not really surprising. It could have been so entertaining for all of us!
“It will never happen in this lifetime or beyond,” said Cindi Berger, O’Donnell’s spokeswoman.
Darn!
But Rosie will have her hands full with a new multiple-episode appearances on Nip/Tuck, including talks about spinning off her character to its own show.
Looks like Donald Trumps answer to low rankings is to go for a celebrity version of the once-popular reality show. And he has publicily asked that Rosie O’Donnell consider being a contestant on the show.
OK, part of me would love to see their fued go public on the Apprentice. But to be fair to Rosie (and boy, I do think she has brought everything on herself!) you know that Trump would be firing her first!
“It would be great to have Rosie on ‘The Apprentice,’ ” Silverman said at a morning Television Critics Association news conference. “Donald personally told me to extend an invitation to her.”
NBC entertainment co-chairman Marc Graboff echoed Silverman’s comment, saying “we’d love her” to be on the show.
No celebrities have been named yet, but it seems that Trump is almost taking it as an open casting call for celebrities to sign up for the show… after all, think of all the B-listers trying to secure a slot on shows like Dancing with the Stars.
Cybil’s Alicia Witt has signed on to star in Law & Order: Criminal Intent next season playing a detective.
Witt will play police detective Nola Falacci, who will be partnered with detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth). She’ll be a temporary replacement for Julianne Nicholson, who is on maternity leave.
Original episodes of “Criminal Intent” this coming season will air first on cable’s USA network and then later, with no date yet specified, on NBC. “CI” reruns have ranked among USA’s most popular shows.
No word if there is a chance she might stay on after the maternity leave or not, we’ll keep you posted!
Well, nothing like getting your butt canned from the hottest television show in years and then deciding your comeback role will be as a recurring character in Bionic Woman. But that is exactly what Isaiah Washington is doing for his career comeback…. sheesh. He will appear in a five episode arc in the show’s freshman season on NBC. And reportedly, NBC is in the planning stage of a new action/drama show which will presumably star Isaiah Washington, and is based on a story idea of his.
I am pretty surprised NBC wants to even touch him with a ten foot pole. But I feel most sorry for those who are already connected to the project now having to put up with him… not exactly the ideal castmate!
Well, Mandy Patinkin - whose failure to show up last week at the Criminal Minds season premiere table read sparked widespread publicity - is leaving the show, citing creative differences. Yeah, like creative differences because Patinkin thought he was worth so much more money than CBS was willing to pay for him.
He had already been written out of the season premiere after his hissy fit led him to be a no-show last week, but now he will be completely written out of the show, without any further appearances. Instead, his exit will be explained in an upcoming fall episode. But Criminal Minds will now be getting a new character… let’s hope he’s a hottie!
And yet another example of an actor trying to play hardball with a network… and losing.
Not only will Rosie O’Donnell be returning to Nip/Tuck as Dawn Budge the powerball winner, but rumors are running rampant that she may also star in a Nip/Tuck spin-off with her character.
Rosie will be back for multiple episodes next season, starting with the fourth episode of the upcoming fifth season. Perhaps they will be following the Grey’s Anatomy / Private Practice lead with a spin-off pilot episode within the parent show.
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