When Private Practice debuts this fall, Kate Walsh’s character will have a new best friend – Audra McDonald. A spokesperson for ABC Studios confirms that the four-time Tony winner has been tapped to replace Merrin Dungey in the role of Dr. Naomi Bennet. The decision was made for creative reasons. Earlier this month, there were rumblings that execs had concerns that the Private Practice lineup wasn’t perfect, especially after some of the actors didn’t “pop” with audiences. “Grey’s Anatomy was cast off whoever seemed to fit the parts best and have good chemistry,” says a well-placed source. “The spin-off was cast with actors the network and studio already had under contract.” Nevertheless, there are not expected to be any further cast changes coming before the show goes into production next month.
According to Jim has just been picked up for an 18-episode seventh season, an ABC representative confirms. No reason was given for the 11th-hour reprieve, so that leaves us to speculate amongst ourselves. According to Jim was originally expected to be passed over for a new season, but perhaps ABC isn’t as confident in their new lineup of comedys this fall.
Welcome to the Spoiler Roundup, the most comprehensive weekly spoiler wrapup on the internet. We scour the web for all the best spoilers on some of the most popular shows on the air. Catch it here every Wednesday at The TV Remote.
This week: Bones, Brothers and Sisters, Criminal Minds, CSI: Miami, Desperate Housewives, House, Las Vegas, Law and Order: SVU, Lost, Men In Trees, Rescue Me, Scrubs, Smallville, The 4400, The Closer and Weeds.
Continue reading The Spoiler Roundup 06.27.07
Portia de Rossi will play a lesbian in the upcoming fifth season of FX’s Nip/Tuck, a role that should not prove too much of a stretch. The Australian actress, the real-life partner of Ellen DeGeneres, will recur as a manipulative mother whose teen daughter wants to have plastic surgery. De Rossi, who rose to fame as man-eating lawyer Nell Porter on Ally McBeal.
Oliver Platt has landed a recurring role on FX’s Nip/Tuck, says The Hollywood Reporter. In five episodes of Nip/Tuck next season, Platt will play Freddy Prune, the producer of a TV show on which Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh) and Christian Troy (Julian McMahon) serve as consultants.
Cartoon Network and Hasbro, Inc. are announcing today that the next generation of the epic animated series is being jointly developed by the two entities for a 2008 debut on the network in the U.S. The eye-popping 2-D animated series is a new twist on the original high-octane, animated action-adventure series with new characters alongside legends such as Optimus Prime and Megatron. Each episode will present a standalone storyline featuring everyday heroes who do good deeds that triumph over evil. “Transformers Animated” series will be co-produced by Cartoon Network Studios.
Twenty-six, half-hour episodes will be produced as well as a 90-minute special of “Transformers Animated” which is scheduled for release in early 2008 on Cartoon Network in the U.S. Matt Youngberg (”Teen Titans,” “The Batman”) is the supervising director, Derrick Wyatt (”Teen Titans”) will provide the character designs and Sam Register (”Ben 10,” “Teen Titans”) will serve as executive producer of the series. Marty Isenberg (”Danny Phantom,” “X-Men,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”) acts as head writer.
Continue reading Transformers Animated Coming To Cartoon Network
Joely Richardson is returning for the fifth season of the hit FX drama Nip/Tuck, says The Hollywood Reporter. She is set to appear in 15 of the 22 episodes of the show’s upcoming season, starting with Episode No. 2. Richardson’s return to Nip/Tuck follows months of speculation about the future of her and her character on the show, prompted by comments in the press made by Richardson in November regarding a serious health issue with her teen daughter. It is understood that Richardson’s daughter is doing much better now. Last season, Richardson did 11 out of 15 episodes in order to be able to spend more time with her family in England. The upcoming fifth season of Nip/Tuck will be set in Los Angeles. The series hails from creator/ executive producer Ryan Murphy, Warner Bros. TV and the Jinks/Cohen Co.
Shalim Ortiz has landed a recurring role on NBC’s “Heroes,” reports Variety. He’ll play an immigrant trying to escape his country to get to America with his sister (Dania Ramirez). Ortiz’s credits include Spin.
Hot off her recurring role on NBC’s Heroes, Missy Peregrym has landed the female lead on the CW’s upcoming one-hour series Reaper. The show centers on a 21-year-old slacker who becomes a bounty hunter for the devil. Peregrym will play the slacker’s pretty co-worker on whom he has a crush. She replaces Nikki Reed, who played the role in the pilot. Peregrym played Linderman’s “illusionist” associate Candice Wilmer, who could take on the appearance of other people.
Danay Garcia has landed a regular role on the Fox’s Prison Break next season when the drama will be set in a Panama prison. The Hollywood Reporter says she will play Sofia, a beautiful Latin woman living in Panama whose boyfriend Whistler (Chris Vance) is incarcerated with Michael Scofield. Garcia and Vance are two of four major new additions to the cast of Prison Break next season along with Robert Wisdom, who wil play Luchero, an incarcerated Panamanian drug kingpin, and Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, who woll play Betty Crocker, an operative for the Company, a shadowy government conspiracy organization. Garcia will be seen next in the feature From Mexico with Love opposite Bruce McGill and Steven Bauer.