TV Cancellations and Pickups
It was definitely an exciting week for those of us still stuck in our teen years or really passionate about young adult dramas. After canceling its new reality show H8R last week, The CW has given full seasons to all three of its new dramas Hart of Dixie, Ringer, and The Secret Circle. These three shows marked the first drama pickups for any of the networks so congrats! [Deadline]
ABC has picked up new fan favorites Revenge and Suburgatory for full, 22-episode seasons. Revenge got its highest ratings so far this past week when it placed #1 in the 10pm hour on Thursday. ABC has also given a vote of confidence to comedy Happy Endings by ordering six more scripts. I can’t say the same for Charlie’s Angels though because the girls have been given their swan song of cancellation. [Deadline, Deadline]
Meanwhile, NBC doesn’t have much left to gamble on, so they’ve ordered six more scripts each for dramas Prime Suspect and Harry’s Law. The only other drama the network has on right now is Parenthood after they cancelled The Playboy Club recently. Their new series Grimm and the last season of Chuck won’t premiere until October 28th. For NBC’s sake, let’s hope Grimm is a hit. [Deadline, Deadline]
Speaking of Grimm, if you’d like to see this new NBC series before its October 28th premiere date, head on over to Grimm Sneak Peek.
Let’s Talk About TV, Let’s Talk About You and Me
If you feel like you’re just not getting your fill of British television, the first season of BBC’s series Case Histories, starring Jason Isaacs, will premiere this Sunday (October 16th) on PBS. Check your local listings for times. The crime drama has also been renewed for a second season to premiere on BBC in 2012. [SpoilerTV]
The fourth season of Merlin has already started in England, but Syfy has just announced the new season will premiere in the U.S. on January 6th at 10pm. [KSiteTV]
Those of us with other methods of tuning into British television may be happy to learn that sci-fi series Misfits will return very soon to E4. (I’m hearing in November.) The premiere of the third season was shown to press the other day at the British Film Institute in London, and a few sites have since put up their reviews. [Bleeding Cool, Den of Geek, SFX]
The rest of us will just have to settle with watching the series over again on Hulu. Word of advice: If you were thinking about watching it for the first time, the second season is when when they start getting into the more interesting mythology.
Then again, if The CW shows are more your cup of tea, Netflix has bought the rights to show Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Nikita, and The Vampire Diaries effective October 15th. Supernatural and 90210 won’t be available until January. [Deadline] Check out this awesome new trailer for Nikita while you’re at it.
Who’s That Knocking on the Door?
I mentioned it last week, but now it’s official, Emma Caulfield will guest star on Once Upon a Time as the Blind Witch from Hansel and Gretel. And she’s not the only one visiting Storybrooke, Covert Affairs‘ Eion Bailey has signed on to recur as the mysterious ‘The Stranger’. I can’t wait until this new series premieres in a week on October 23rd. [TVLine, TVGuide]
It’s been a long time Jason Behr! The Roswell actor has landed a potentially recurring role on A&E’s Breakout Kings as a convicted rapist and murderer. Times sure have changed since he was an alien on the run. [TVLine]
If you haven’t been watching The Secret Circle, last week’s game-changing episode was the time to start. On the heels of that episode, two new characters will be coming soon to Chance Harbor: Newcomer Chris Zylka will be making his first appearance this week on episode six as Jake Armstrong, a character with a past history to the other members of the circle, and American Dreams‘ Arlen Escarpeta is set to play Melissa’s cousin starting in episode nine. [EOnline, EOnline]
For someone who doesn’t usually care about comedy, ABC’s midseason series Apartment 23 has somehow stayed with me ever since I saw clips from it this past summer. Now we have more reasons to watch as word of guest stars continue to filter in. The series, which already guest stars James Van Der Beek, will have Dean Cain and Kevin Sorbo stopping by the apartment. [TVGuide]
Battlestar Galactica‘s Tricia Helfer has been cast as the lead in TNT’s new pilot Scent of the Missing, about a K-9 Search and Rescue Volunteer and her dog. I’m with everyone else, they should totally cast the dog from Revenge in the second role.
Writer Frank Spotnitz, of The X-Files fame, has been working on new spy series Nemesis in collaboration with Cinemax and the BBC. The lead role was originally written for X-Files Gillian Anderson, but due to the timing, she’ll no longer be involved. Alias star Melissa George has instead taken over the role, and Hawthorne star Adam Rayner has been cast as one of her team members. The series will go into production this fall. [Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter]
TV Development
The BBC is hoping to build on the success of its series Sherlock with new crime drama Ripper Street, which will go into production early next year. Considering the fact detectives and serial killers are “in” right now, this could be a good decision. [The Guardian]
NBC is buying up new projects like there’s no tomorrow. Added to their plate this week are a modern day take on Treasure Island and an astronaut drama [Deadline], a Latin dance studio drama from Kenny Ortega [Deadline], a comedy from Ryan Murphy about a gay couple and their surrogate mother [Deadline], a Friends-like comedy from Courteney Cox [Deadline], and a new family sitcom from Roseanne Barr [Deadline].
Over on FOX, Shonda Rhimes has sold a put pilot commitment to Wildwood, a 1980s coming-of-age dramedy about an Irish-Italian teenager who poses as an adult and secretly gets a job at a bar over the summer. [Deadline]
HBO has decided to turn the Oscar-nominated film The Kids Are All Right into a series pilot. No word yet on who will be cast in the roles. [Deadline]
All Right, I’ll Give You Some Movie News!
The trailer for the new Marvel film The Avengers has arrived! The trailer was downloaded 10 million times on iTunes within 24 hours of its release. Wow. [Deadline]
David Fincher’s version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will be released in December, but for now have a few new images. [indieWire]
Let Me In and Cloverfield director Matt Reeves has been picked by Warner Bros to direct the film adaption of the popular television series The Twilight Zone. [Deadline]
After being derailed for budget issues, Johnny Depp’s The Lone Ranger is back in the saddle with new agreement. [Deadline]
As a Literature major whose favorite epic poem is Paradise Lost, I’m really excited to see this classic brought to the screen by Alex Proyas. Camille Belle, Diego Boneta, Bradley Cooper, and Benjamin Walker are set to star. [Deadline]
A release date of December 25th, 2012 has been set for Baz Luhrmann’s adaption of the American classic novel The Great Gatsby. [Deadline]