News

Gordon Pinsent, one of Canada’s most iconic actors, has died. He was 92 and died in his sleep Saturday, his family confirmed.

“Gordon Pinsent’s daughters Leah and Beverly, and his son Barry, would like to announce the passing of their father peacefully in sleep today with his family at his side,” said a note written on behalf of Pinsent’s family by his son-in-law, actor Peter Keleghan.

“Gordon passionately loved this country and its people, purpose, and culture to his last breath.”

Pinsent’s career spanned dozens of films and TV projects over six decades, including Away From Her, Due South, The Red Green Show, Babar and the Adventures of Badou, The Grand Seduction and The Shipping News, The Forest Rangers, Quentin Durgens, M.P., the original Street Legal and Republic of Doyle, among others.

In the U.S., where he lived in Los Angeles for six years, he...

Julianne Nicholson has landed the role of defense attorney Jill Lansing in NBC’s “Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders.” This marks Nicholson’s fourth series with “Law & Order” franchise creator Dick Wolf. The actress guest-starred on the original “Law and Order,” was a series regular on “Conviction” and co-starred in “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” Launching this fall, “Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders” is an eight-episode series offering a dramatization of the real-life murder trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez that dominated headlines in the 1990s. Also Read: 12 New TV Shows We're Actually Excited About, From 'Gifted' to.

Marvel-ous news for patient Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fans: ABC has renewed the ratings-challenged but creatively re-energized series for Season 5, ending many months of speculation about its future.

Related2017 Renewal Scorecard: What’s Coming Back? What’s Getting Cancelled? What’s on the Bubble?

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. this season has averaged 2.4 million weekly total viewers and a 0.7 demo rating, down 30 and 40 percent from Season 3. Among ABC dramas, it equals Quantico, The Catch and died-on-the-vine Conviction in the demo, and outperforms short-lived freshman Time After Time and Season 3 of American Crime.

That said, it enjoys a robust 129 percent boost via DVR playback,...

To find the lead for its upcoming Marvel’s The Inhumans, ABC went to hell. On wheels.

Hell on Wheels star Anson Mount will play Black Bolt in the upcoming comics-based drama, Marvel announced Tuesday.

RelatedStephen Moyer Lands Lead Role in Fox’s Marvel Mutant Drama Pilot

Per the official release, Black Bolt is the “enigmatic, commanding King of the Inhumans, with a voice so powerful that the slightest whisper can destroy a city.”

The eight-episode series will tell the story of Black Bolt and the royal family. In the comics, Maximus is Black Bolt’s somewhat deranged brother/adversary.

Busy Philipps is moving in with The Odd Couple.

The Cougar Town actress is set to guest-star during Season 3 of the CBS comedy as Natasha, a love interest for Thomas Lennon’s Felix, EW.com reports.

RelatedOitnb Star to Lead Jane the Virgin Team’s CBS Immigration Drama Pilot

The pair’s one-night stand turns into a standoff when Natasha decides she likes Felix and his amazing apartment so much that she never plans to leave.

The Odd Couple returns Monday, Oct. 17, at 9:30/8:30c on CBS.

Ready for more of today’s newsy nuggets? Well…

* Marvel’s The Punisher...

The broadcast networks have nearly 20 shows debuting this fall, including Kiefer Sutherland’s term as Potus, Michael Weatherly’s NCIS follow-up and the story of Mlb’s first female player. To help you prep for it all, TVLine is offering First Impressions of the not-for-review pilots.

First up on our list….

PhotosEarly Fall TV Preview: Grey’s Baby, New Legends and More

The Show | ABC’s Notorious (Thursdays at 9/8c, premiere date Tba)

The Competition | Chicago Med (NBC), Thursday Night Football (CBS), Supernatural (The CW) and Pitch (Fox, new)

The Cast | Piper Perabo (Covert Affairs), Daniel Sunjata (Graceland), J. August Richards...

“Law & Order: Svu” has named Rick Eid executive producer and showrunner beginning with the upcoming Season 18. The role comes under the terms of a new two-year overall deal Eid has signed with Universal Television. Eid had previously worked with “Svu” creator Dick Wolf as a co-executive producer on the original “Law & Order” series and as co-creator of NBC’s short-lived drama “Conviction.” Also read: NBC Renews 'Chicago Med,' 'Law & Order: Svu' The producer most recently served as executive producer on CBS’ “Hostages” and showrunner on TNT’s “Dark Blue.” He is repped by Wme. NBC picked up the long-running drama for an.

"I had the advantage of being from that area," says Julianne Nicholson as we chat about her co-starring in the crime drama "Black Mass," which centers on the infamous Boston gangster Whitey Bulger (played by Johnny Depp). "I grew up there in the '70s and '80s, so I had a familiarity with the place and the mood and the sound of that area in time." Watch our complete video chat with Nicholson below. -Break- Related: Watch dozens of interviews with top awards contenders Nicholson is a native of Medford, Massachusetts, just a few miles outside of Boston, and she admits she had been "wanting to do a Boston story for years. I'd go to movies and see these trailers for 'The Fighter,' 'Conviction,' and I was like, when's my turn? So I was very excited to be included in this, one of the ultimate Boston stories.

Oscar-nominated cinematographer of The Passion of the Christ and The Right Stuff to accept lifetime achievement award at cinematography festival in Poland.

Caleb Deschanel is to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Camerimage, the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography (Nov 15-22).

Deschanel will also present screenings of his films at the 22nd edition of the festival followed by Q&A’s with the audience.

His five Oscar nominations in the Best Cinematography category were for The Right Stuff, The Natural, Fly Away Home, The Patriot and The Passion of the Christ.

Other notable credits include Being There, National Treasure, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Jack Reacher.

Deschanel was also involved in creating one of the essential tools of modern cinematographers, the Steadicam.

He directed his first feature film The Escape Artist in 1982, and later Crusoe in 1989. Deschanel has also directed episodes for TV shows including David Lynch’s Twin Peaks as well...

Feature Sarah Dobbs 5 Mar 2014 - 07:00

Sarah digs into the post-Angel careers of David Boreanaz, Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker, Charisma Carpenter and more...

It’s been about a decade since the last episode of Angel, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off series about the vampire with a soul, aired. The final episode of season five, Not Fade Away, first appeared on Us television screens on 19 May 2004. That seems simultaneously like a very long time ago, and not very long ago at all, because time is vast and human brains are small and fallible, but it’s safe to say that in TV years, it’s a pretty long goddamned time.

The men and women behind the characters we used to spend one night a week with have gone on to other things – some bigger and better, others kind of rubbish – and unless you’re a particularly obsessive superfan, you...

Exclusive: Drama writer-producer Rick Eid has closed an overall deal with Warner Bros TV. Under the two-year pact, Eid will develop new projects for the studio. He also is boarding Warner Horizon’s newly picked-up Lifetime drama series The Lottery as executive producer/showrunner. Written by Timothy J. Sexton and starring Marley Shelton, David Alpay, Michael Graziadei and Martin Donovan, The Lottery is set in a dystopian future when women have stopped having children. Remarkably, 100 embryos are successfully fertilized and a national lottery is held to decide the surrogates. Eid will executive produce alongside Sexton, the pilot’s director Danny Cannon and Dawn Olmstead. Eid is coming off executive producer/showrunner duties on Wbtv’s drama series for CBS Hostages. Before that, he was under a deal at CBS TV Studios where he served as co-executive producer on the studio’s long-running CBS crime drama CSI. At Wbtv/Warner Horizon,...

One of the most anticipated movies of 2014 is Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and 20th Century Fox knows it. The studio has revealed that Matt Reeves has signed on to direct the third film in the franchise, and will likely go right into making the movie after he finishes up Dawn.

Reeves will co-write the script with Mark Bomback, who also helped write the Dawn.

In the second sequel, we’ll see a growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth’s dominant species. The film stars Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Enrique Murciano, Kirck Acevedo and Judy Greer,...

The studio released this new viral video from the upcoming film “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” by director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Conviction, Let Me In) and starring Keri Russell (Dark Skies, The Americans), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight Rises, Child 44, RoboCop), Judy Greer, Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) and Andy Serkis (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Freezing Time). Synopsis: A group of scientists in San Francisco struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that is wiping out humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes. Follow @Shockya on Twitter for the latest from “Dawn of the Planet of [ Read More ]

The post New Dawn of the Planet of The Apes Viral Video appeared first on Shockya.com.

Here’s a first look at an aged Caesar from the upcoming film “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” by director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Conviction, Let Me In) and starring Keri Russell (Dark Skies, The Americans), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight Rises, Child 44, RoboCop), Judy Greer, Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) and Andy Serkis (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Freezing Time). Synopsis: A group of scientists in San Francisco struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that is wiping out humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes. Follow @Shockya on Twitter for the latest from “Dawn of the Planet [ Read More ]

The post First Look at Caesar from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes appeared first on Shockya.com.

The studio just released the first official movie poster for the upcoming film “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” by director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Conviction, Let Me In) and starring Keri Russell (Dark Skies, The Americans), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight Rises, Child 44, RoboCop), Judy Greer, Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) and Andy Serkis (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Freezing Time). Synopsis: A group of scientists in San Francisco struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that is wiping out humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes. Follow @Shockya on Twitter for the latest from “Dawn of the [ Read More ]

The post First Official The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug Movie Poster appeared first on Shockya.com.

Here’s the first official movie still featuring Evangeline Lilly in the upcoming film “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” by director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Conviction, Let Me In) and starring Keri Russell (Dark Skies, The Americans), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight Rises, Child 44, RoboCop), Judy Greer, Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) and Andy Serkis (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Freezing Time). Synopsis: A group of scientists in San Francisco struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that is wiping out humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes. Follow @Shockya on Twitter for the latest from “Dawn of the [ Read More ]

The post First Look at Evangeline Lilly from The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug Released appeared first on Shockya.com.

Check out some really cool behind the scenes photos from the set of the upcoming film “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” by director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Conviction, Let Me In) and starring Keri Russell (Dark Skies, The Americans), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight Rises, Child 44, RoboCop), Judy Greer, Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) and Andy Serkis (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Freezing Time). Synopsis: A group of scientists in San Francisco struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that is wiping out humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes. Follow @Shockya on Twitter for the latest from [ Read More ]

The post More Set Photos from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes appeared first on Shockya.com.

Here’s a first look at Keri Russell and Andy Serkis on the set of the upcoming film “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” by director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Conviction, Let Me In) and starring Keri Russell (Dark Skies, The Americans), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight Rises, Child 44, RoboCop), Judy Greer, Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) and Andy Serkis (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Freezing Time). Synopsis: A group of scientists in San Francisco struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that is wiping out humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes. Follow @Shockya on Twitter for the latest [ Read More ]

The post New Behind the Scenes Photos from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes appeared first on Shockya.com.

A familiar face from the Whedonverse is joining the cast of ABC's pilot "S.H.I.E.L.D."

J. August Richards, who starred on "Angel," is reteaming with Joss Whedon on the show, about the organization that provides support for the Avengers and occasionally has to save the world on its own. His casting was first reported by SHIELDtv.net and later confirmed by other outlets.

No details about Richards' role are available.

Whedon is directing the pilot and co-writing it with his brother Jed and Jed's wife, Maurissa Tancharoen ("Dollhouse"). Or rather, Whedon directed the pilot -- it was on an earlier production schedule than most pilots and wrapped filming in mid-February.  

That would mean either that Whedon will shoot some extra scenes for the pilot featuring Richards ... or that ABC has signaled that it's Ok to begin planning for a series pickup. To be clear, the network has not made any kind...

Rick Eid has joined CBS‘ drama pilot Hostages as executive producer. Eid will serve as co-showrunner on the project, from Jerry Bruckheimer TV and Warner Bros. TV, alongside writer/director/executive producer Jeffrey Nachmanoff. Based on an Israeli format, Hostages centers on Ellen (Toni Collette), a successful surgeon who is selected to operate on the President of the United States (James Naughton) and thrust into the middle of a political conspiracy when her family is taken hostage, with Dylan McDermott as a righteous FBI agent at the center of the conspiracy. The gig extends Eid’s relationship with Bruckheimer TV — he was a consulting producer on the company’s long-running CBS series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and was executive producer/showrunner on its TNT series Dark Blue. Hostages also reunites Eid, who is under an overall deal at CBS TV Studios, with Warner Bros. and Dark Blue star McDermott. Wme-repped...

Felicity co-creator Matt Reeves is returning to television with an overall deal at 20th Century Fox TV. Under the pact, Reeves is expected to create, write and direct broadcast and cable projects as well as supervise other writers. Reeves was a feature writer-director (The Pallbearer) when he teamed with J.J. Abrams to co-create Felicity, which helped put the WB on the map. Since the end of the series in 2002, he has only directed two drama pilots — ABC’s Miracles and NBC’s Dick Wolf series Conviction – focusing his attention on features including directing the Abrams-produced sleeper hit Cloverfield and writing and directing Let Me In. 20th TV chairman Gary Newman said Reeves “has been one of the top 2-3 drama director names every pilot season that every studio goes to with their best projects.” Reeves had resisted returning to TV until now. “This is an incredibly exciting time in the...

Why do "Bent" and leading man David Walton get no love?

In ensemble comedies, there's always one actor that manages to transform their character and inadvertently transcend the others -- even just a little. It's a totally subjective thing, but as far as I'm concerned, Monica Geller ("Friends"), Jack McFarland ("Will & Grace"), Brad Williams ("Happy Endings"), Ellie Torres ("Cougar Town") and Jay Pritchett ("Modern Family") could or can do no wrong, and they shine just a teensy bit brighter than the rest.

Aside from those characters, my new favourite is Pete Riggins, played to scene-stealing perfection by David Walton. Oh, David Walton. (If this was Twitter, the hashtag would be #swoon.) He isn't exactly sublime or particularly innovative with his performances (based on his latest series, "Bent," the criminally undervalued "Perfect Couples") and he was the one notable exception in the dismal "100 Questions." In fact, he's really a two-note pony...

AMC’s been on roll with its original series for the past few years, and they intend to keep it going with railroad drama Hell on Wheels. The first teaser trailer for the new series was posted this week.

Hell on Wheels takes its name from the traveling work camps that helped expand railroads westward after the Civil War. Anti-hero and former Confederate Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) travels to such a camp under the guise of looking for work; in actuality, he’s searching for his wife’s killers.

Mount has been around the block a few times without landing a breakout role. He played Ada Steele on the short-lived Law & Order spinoff Conviction, as well as leads on the equally curtailed The Mountain and Line of Fire. One-off characters on Smallville, Lost and Click to continue reading AMC’s Western ‘Hell On Wheels’ Sneak Peek Trailer...

Syfy has posted a new exclusive clip (embedded below) from the Caprica Season 1.0 DVD. In it, executive producers Jane Espenson, Kevin Murphy and David Eick talk about where the show is headed in the second half of the season. It’s a short clip, but it might bring up some of the old controversies from the Battlestar Galactica series finale. There is also a brief glimpse of Sam and Tamara Adama in V world in one of the upcoming episodes.

Make sure you also check out the new behind the scenes clip at AirlockAlpha.com.

On other fronts, Alessandra Torresani tweeted that she will be on Attack of the Show on October 5, Sasha Roiz is doing a conference call with the press today, and Starry Mag is talking to Magda Apanowicz.

Other cast updates:

Hollywood Life has a bunch of pics of Eric Stoltz on the set of Glee and...

Last week we were given a chance to see what the 54th BFI London Film Festival has in store, and kicking aside the disparaging comments about the lack of world premieres, a complaint which misses the point completely, there’s a real sense of excitement and discovery about the festival this year.

Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go will open the festival and there are other high profile films on offer in the capital this October. Of chief interest are Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan and Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech with Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. Whether it is a deliberate choice to wait for an English Language version, or for the curiousity value alone there will be a keen audience for Let Me In, Matt Reeves’ take on Let The Right One In, which is playing in the festival and hopefully surpassing expectations.

Mike Leigh...

The release of Let Me In, the remake of the brilliant Let the Right One In, is fast approaching (October 1st), and I’ve got the first clip for you. While some have questioned the remake in terms of value and necessity (as was the case with Insomnia), and the choice of Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) as director, I think this clip gives some good indications that we’re going to get a worthwhile effort.

From the dark mood and potential creepiness, to the overall style and camerawork, there’s a lot you can get from this scene.

Speaking as one of those who wondered about remaking a film that was already head and shoulders above most of what hits theaters, I have to say that I’m quite a bit more interested already.

Check it out, along with some images, and let me know what you think.

Chloe Moretz (Hit...

Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake in The Social Network

Photo: Columbia Pictures Immediately when you think of October movies you think of horror films and thrillers and October 2010 has got its share, but it also has a bit of a unique flavor to it. This year's batch of fright flicks aren't solely dominated by blood and gore. Certainly we have a new Saw film, we also have the unnecessary sequel to last year's breakout supernatural hit Paranormal Activity. Wes Craven is in tow with a new film, a controversial remake is on its way, Clint Eastwood even has a film dealing with the afterlife and depending on how you look at it, Charles Ferguson's Inside Job documentary may be the scariest, most maddening film of the year.

Yeah, October 2010 appears to have the goods on paper. Let's take a closer look and see what all it has to offer.

August 15 has come and gone with no news about the actors' contracts getting picked up for a second season or any word on what Syfy is thinking these days, but with the cast appearing in about a gazillion other things this fall, the hiatus blues should be getting easier.

If you're in New York some time between September and January, you can catch a short film, Untitled, with Eric Stoltz starring, at MoMA (see article.)

No release date has been set yet for his last feature, Fort McCoy (pic left), but IMDb still says 2010, so fingers crossed.

And this is still unconfirmed, but an extras casting director tweeted yesterday that our daddy Graystone will direct one of the new episodes of Glee. If true, the episode should air in the first half of the season. The show returns on Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 8 on Fox.

Alessandra Torresani has been cast in Playback,...

Rachel Weisz in The Whistleblower The Toronto International Film Festival has added even more films to their line-up today as the complete line-up was announced, which ended up causing the festival's server to crash, but I was lucky enough to get in and get out before missing out on the information.

First off, the festival's Mavericks line-up is quite interesting, which includes a series of guest presentations and this year will see Edward Norton interview Bruce Springsteen, NBA All-Star and native Canadian Steve Nash will present his hour-long film Into the Wind, Apichatpong Weerasethakul will talk with the audience as his Cannes Palm d'Or-winning film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall his Past Lives was just added to the Masters programme, Ken Loach and Paul Laverty will be interviewed by Michael Moore on politics and cinema and Philip Seymour Hoffman will have his own panel. Also on hand will be Bill Gates,...

The organizers at the Toronto International Film Festival have put together one hell of an impressive line-up that has grown significantly since my first list announcing the Galas and Special Presentations, a pair of lists that have also grown since then.

The lists have grown to include Massy Tadjedin's Last Night starring Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Eva Mendes and Guillaume Canet, which will serve as the closing night film.

It's also grown to include Danny Boyle's 127 Hours starring James Franco. Boyle recently spoke about the film at Movie Con and told the audience there it may be a challenge to watch saying, "It's a lovely way of doing a new kind of filmmaking, really. We want it to be a challenge to you [the audience] to see if you can sit and watch it."

In the film Franco plays real-life mountain climber Aron Ralston who ended up trapped under a...

We'll find out exactly at the beginning of next month, what Telluride manages to steal from the world premiere mentions below, but regardless of world preem status, Tiff this year is Big. In the award season contention list, Tiff have stole the thunder from Nyff by adding Clint Eastwood's Hereafter and the always welcomed helmer Danny Boyle is bringing 127 Hours - this one is Telluride bound you can smell it. The addition of the Boyle film means Fox Searchlight is owning this festival by taking out real estate spots for its entire fall line-up: Never Let Me Go, Conviction and Black Swan are all showing at the fest.On the top of the buyer's lists we have the trio of Dan Rush's Everything Must Go (we broke the news two weeks back), Dustin Lance Black's What's Wrong With Virginia and Passion Play which makes my predictions list fairly accurate this year.

Exclusive: Anson Mount has landed the lead in AMC's period drama pilot Hell on Wheels. Meanwhile, Irish actress Dominique McElligott has been cast as the female lead in the Western, set during the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. The project centers on Cullen (Mount), a former slave owner and a Confederate soldier determined to avenge the rape/murder of his beloved wife by tracking and killing the Union soldiers who killed her. Fearless, Cullen winds up working on the Nebraska prairie's Hell on Wheels' portion of the transcontinental railroad. McElligott will play Lily Bell, an intelligent woman taking care of her ill husband who is part of the team of surveyors mapping the railroad's course. In the pilot, Mount and McElligott join recently cast rapper-actor Common. Mount, most recently seen in the feature Cook County, on which he also served as producer, just wrapped production on Straw Dogs and Burning Palms.

TNT has added three more shows to its lineup of originals, picking up a pair of cop shows for later this year and a Steven Spielberg-produced drama about an alien invasion for 2011.

The cable channel has picked up 10 episodes each of the untitled alien series, which stars Noah Wyle as the leader of a resistance group; "Delta Blues," featuring Jason Lee as a quirky Memphis cop; and "Rizzoli & Isles," about a Boston homicide detective (Angie Harmon) and medical examiner (Sasha Alexander) who work together on cases.

"Delta Blues" will star Lee ("My Name Is Earl") as Dwight Hendricks, a Memphis police officer with deep ties to the city who lives with his mom (Celia Weston). Alfre Woodard ("Three Rivers") plays his boss; the cast also includes Robyn Lively ("Savannah," "Saving Grace"), Sam Hennings, Abraham Benrubi ("ER"), DJ Qualls ("Hustle & Flow") and Leonard Earl Howze. George Clooney and Grant Heslov...

It’s interesting that Luc Besson would help produce Staten Island, as tonally, structurally and morally, it hearkens back to the French film noir he most likely grew up on. Stories where there is only one possible outcome and the viewer makes his or her own assessment of whether the poetic nature of the denouement justifies the events leading up to it.

The Staten Island portrayed in the directorial debut of James DeMonaco (writer of Coppola’s Jack, among other stuff) is, well, it’s a trap. It’s a trap for the rich, the needy, and those few lucky contented in-between. An ugly, derelict and inescapable prison, condemning its inhabitants to futile efforts, simply by letting them destroy each other, and worsen each others’ fortunes. In actuality, it’s not an uncommon issue to deal with…but rarely is it done so intriguingly. DeMonaco is able to wring an...

Following the news that ABC will not be ordering additional episode of freshman drama Eastwick, costar Lindsay Price (pictured) has been named a suspected show killer. Though undeniably adorable, the actress has a long rap sheet of failed TV shows that also includes NBC's Lipstick Jungle, Pepper Dennis, and Coupling. Which other actors are on TV's Most Wanted (and Least Lucky) List? Our top offenders: • Jason Gedrick: Truly impressive versatility in terms of the number of networks he's failed on. Victims include: Fox's Class of '96; CBS' Sweet Justice, Ez Streets, and Falcone; ABC's Murder One and The Beast; and NBC's Boomtown and Windfall.

In a move that will no doubt trigger an avalanche of show killer jokes, Eric Balfour is joining the cast of The CW's The Beautiful Life for a multi-episode arc. The star of Hawaii, Conviction, Sex Love & Secrets, and a slew of other short-lived series will play Eric, a charming rival to Claudia (Elle Macpherson) at a competing modeling agency. To be fair, Balfour has also appeared on a bunch of shows that weren't euthanized after nine episodes. In addition to The O.C., he had arcs on 24, The West Wing, and Six Feet Under. He was also really charming on The Ex List, so lighten up on the dude. Fun fact free of charge: The gig reunites Balfour with his former O.C. co-star Mischa Barton. Photo Request: Macpherson: Takashi Seida /The CW; Balfour: Robin Wong/PR Photos...

Raising the Bar is a somewhat predictable law show, but it manages to stay entertaining thanks to its cast. The series is from Emmy-winning producer Steven Bocho, but it seems to lack the bite of some of his past television success . most notably NYPD Blue. The series stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar (NYPD Blue), Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle), Gloria Reuben (ER), Currie Graham (Desperate Housewives, NYPD Blue), Melissa Sagemiller (Sleeper Cell), Teddy Sears (Ugly Betty), Natalia Cigliuti (All My Children), and J. August Richards (Conviction). All 10 episodes from Season One get collected on a three-disc set that also comes with several features to take fans behind the scenes. The series follows a group of...

Television Rating: 3.5/5.0 Chicago – The revolving door of casting in the world of “Law & Order” continues this month when Jeff Goldblum joins the cast of USA Network’s “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” as the new partner for Detective Megan Wheeler (Julianne Nicholson). The season kicks off with a well-paced and intriguing episode featuring the old cast on Sunday, April 19th, 2009 and the new member joins the squad a week later.

“Criminal Intent” has always been an intriguing installment of the Dick Wolf franchise, largely due to what I consider the best performance across all three versions including the original “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” - the work by the great Vincent D’Onofrio. This versatile and unique actor makes decisions that others wouldn’t even consider.

Law and Order: Criminal Intent

Photo credit: Miranda Penn Turin/NBC Just watch D’Onofrio work in the eighth season premiere of...

Remember on Tuesday nights when you used to turn on the TV and see this?

Those were the days, weren’t they?

Ada Alex Cabot, played by Stephanie March, was once a regular character on Law & Order: Svu, and I was happy. Then, a drug dealer shot her and she disappeared into the Witness Protection Program — to be seen only once more* when she came back to testify against her alleged assassin, and I was sad. (*Yes, I realize she reappeared in the show Conviction, but I prefer to pretend the show never existed. The real Alex Cabot would never have had sex on her desk at the office.)

And I’m clearly not the only person who has missed Alex. There are people who care a lot more about this than I do writing blogs and signing petitions.

But now, happiness for many is just a few weeks away.

Get ready, New York defendants: Alexandra Cabot is coming to a courtroom near you.

Stephanie March is reprising her role as the prosecutor on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for a six-episode arc starting Feb. 17, the AP reports. The actress starred on the show for four seasons, until 2003, when Cabot went into a witness protection program.

March's character resurfaced again for a 2005 episode in which she testified against the head of a drug cartel, and once again in 2006, in the NBC series Conviction.

The actress compared Svu to "an old flame."

Read More >...

High school students in a familiar zip code. A spy with a split personality. A woman with a year to find her soul mate. These are just some of the colorful characters dotting the landscape when the new TV season kicks off this fall. Back Stage takes a look at some of the most promising shows the networks will offer and talks with the people behind the scenes to find out what to expect in casting opportunities.90210The CWClass is back in session at West Beverly Hills High, but just as in real life, it's not the same as it was when you were last here. Sure, the place looks pretty much the same (it's being shot at the same Torrance High School location), but the faces are new. Well, not entirely. Nat (Joe E. Tata) is still discharging his duties as proprietor-avuncular figure at the Peach Pit, and hey,...

Their shows may be finished but your favorite stars are still keeping busy on new projects.

Kyle Gallner (Veronica Mars) and Virginia Madsen (Smith) have been booked for the Gold Circle-Lionsgate horror movie The Haunting in Connecticut. Filming is underway in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with Peter Cornwell directing.

On NBC's Bionic Woman, Jordan Bridges (Conviction) will play a teacher's assistant at a prestigious university who also works for the CIA and is a potential love interest for bionic chick Jamie Sommers (Michelle Ryan).

Garret Dillahunt (Deadwood, The Book of Daniel, John from Cincinnati) has come on board Fox's midseason drama Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, as a mysterious character named Cromartie. The series will pick up where the second Terminator movie left off.

The Sopranos' Paul Schultze will play an FBI agent on an upcoming episode of NBC's Journeyman.

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development) has been signed to join Brad Pitt...

A quartet of actors have joined three freshman drama series as recurring.

Law & Order alum Elisabeth Rohm and Ryan Devlin have come aboard ABC's Big Shots, Jordan Bridges is doing NBC's Bionic Woman, and Brando Eaton has been added to NBC's Journeyman.

On Big Shots, Rohm will play Alex Mason, a TV stock analyst and love interest to Amerimart COO James Walker (Michael Vartan). Devlin will play Zack Wells, a new intern at Reveal Cosmetics who sparks the interest of Cameron Collinsworth (Peyton List).

Rohm, who played assistant district attorney Serena Southerlyn on NBC's "Law & Order" for four seasons, is repped by UTA and Evolution Entertainment. Devlin, who had a recurring role on Veronica Mars, is repped by Innovative Artists and Grant Management.

On Bionic, Bridges will play Tom, an unassuming teacher's assistant at a prestigious university who also works for the CIA and is a potential love interest for Jamie Sommers (Michelle Ryan).

Bridges, who co-starred on NBC's Conviction, is repped by Fortitude and MJ Management.

On Journeyman, Eaton will play the younger version of the time-traveling lead character Dan Vassar (Kevin McKidd).

Dennis Farina is leaving NBC's crime drama Law & Order after two years, while Milena Govich, who co-starred in Conviction, Dick Wolf's midseason drama for NBC, has come on board Wolf's flagship L&O series. On L&O, from Wolf Films and NBC Universal Network TV, Farina played Detective Joe Fontana, who investigated crimes and apprehended suspects with partner Edward Green (Jesse L. Martin). "Dennis is the consummate professional, and I respect his decision to pursue other opportunities, and he will be sorely missed," Wolf said. "I genuinely hope we work together again."...

Following one of NBC's worst seasons, the peacock network is understandably making quite a few changes for the fall season. There are a number of interesting shows on the schedule which includes Aaron Sorkin's Studio 60. Will the new shows and the addition of Sunday Night Football help return the National Broadcasting Company to its ratings glory days? Time will tell. Here's what won't be returning:

The Apprentice: Martha Stewart - This show didn't quite gel and the result of having two versions of The Apprentice on the air at the same time, seemed to weaken both.

The Book of Daniel - This controversial Aiden Quinn show was cancelled before airing all of its initial six episodes. Click here for previous coverage.

Conviction - Though not technically a Law & Order spin-off, this series did feature Law & Order: Svu actress Stephanie March in her role as Chief Cabot. All thirteen...

NBC broke new ground Tuesday with its legal drama Conviction, becoming the first network to premiere a primetime series in the iTunes Music Store for free and before its televised broadcast. As part of a multiplatform launch, iTunes users can download the Dick Wolf-produced hourlong pilot in its entirety at no cost. The promotion will extend until the show's network debut March 3, after which each episode will become available to download for $1.99 the day after it airs. "We believe we have a youthful and energetic cast that should appeal to a new audience increasingly comfortable with this downloadable format as a viewing option, and we want to reach out to these viewers," NBC Entertainment Group CEO Jeff Zucker said.

Dick Wolf is ready to take the fifth with NBC. With four series already on the air, the Law & Order mastermind is in development on another legal drama for the peacock. Wolf has three different versions of L&O on NBC, and a new series, Conviction, set to begin March 3. Titled Power, the series will follow a task force of young federal agents and U.S. attorneys investigating Hollywood power brokers involved in everything from wiretapping to extortion. Like L&O, its stories would seem ripped from the headlines. But unlike everything Wolf Films has ever done in the scripted arena, the new series will not be a traditional procedural with story lines that wrap up at the end of each episode.