The 2009 Winter and Spring TV Season is here. The networks have left us wondering about the future of our favorite shows like Eli Stone, Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money, but with 2009 we are welcoming back some old favorites like Burn Notice, Lost, Battlestar Galactica and Scrubs.
The Winter/Spring season brings us a new batch of new shows including The Beast, Castle, Dollhouse, Harper’s Island, Kings and The Unusuals. Full listings after the jump.
Continue reading 2009 Winter And Spring Premiere Schedule
TLC is gearing up a new reality show tracking the spouses of NASCAR drivers says The Hollywood Reporter. The cable network has ordered a docusoap series titled NASCAR Wives, starring women with last names familiar to racing fans. TLC will air an hour of the series as a special January 24 with a lead-in from the network’s most-watched annual event, the Miss America pageant. A full season, including an undisclosed number of episodes, will follow in the spring. The concept mixes racing with the “wives genre” peppering cable primetime, from Lifetime’s drama Army Wives to Bravo’s reality show The Real Housewives of Orange County.
Participants include DeLana Harvick (wife of Kevin, who has 11 career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins), Shana Mayfield (wife of Jeremy, a 15-year Sprint Cup veteran), Kelley Earnhardt (sister of Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s most popular driver) and Angie Skinner (wife of Mike, who competes in NASCAR’s top three national series). The series is produced by NASCAR Media Group for TLC.
David E. Kelley has cast 27-year-old English actress Charity Wakefield as the female lead in Legally Mad, his new quirky legal drama for NBC says The Hollywood Reporter. Jon Seda also has been cast in the project, which centers on Brady Hamm (Wakefield), a twenty-something woman who takes a job at her father’s law firm and quickly becomes the practice’s center.
Brady is deeply devoted to her father and chose to work for him despite being offered several prestigious clerkships out of law school. She is easygoing, deadpan funny and disarms with charm. Seda will play the rugged, grumpy but lovable Joe Matty, who is an equal-opportunity offender. The two join previously cast Kristin Chenoweth.
USA Network is moving forward with Royal Pains, giving a series pickup to the show starring Mark Feuerstein as an on-call doctor to the Hamptons elite. The cable channel has ordered 11 hourlong episodes in addition to the two-hour pilot for a potential summer launch. Royal Pains is eyed as a possible companion for House, the off-network rights to which USA has acquired.
Michael Ausiello is reporting that Balthazar Getty, who plays brother Tommy Walker, was informed last week that producers were not planning on picking up his option as a full-time series regular next season. This revelation doesn’t mean that Tommy will be permanently written out of the show.
A source close to Brothers and Sisters says Getty is currently in talks with the show to stay on in a reduced capacity, perhaps as a recurring guest star. While killing off Getty’s character was discussed, Tommy is more likely to either relocate with his wife and baby, or just drift into the background and reappear for the occasional disastrous dinner party.
Continue reading Balthazar Getty Leaving Brothers And Sisters As Series Regular
Dexter co-star Lauren Velez has been tapped for a multiepisode arc on ABC’s dramedy Ugly Betty says The Hollywood Reporter. Velez will play Elena, a nurse that enters the lives of the Suarez family. Details about her character and how she will interact with Betty (America Ferrera) and the rest of the Suarez clan are being kept under wraps, but word is that she is tied to a plot twist that might involve the death of a major character.
On Dexter, Velez plays Lt. Maria Laguerta, a higher-up and resident dictator at the Miami Police Department. Her series credits include HBO’s Oz and Fox’s New York Undercover.
TV Guide is reporting that NBC has set an airdate for Alex Kingston’s return to ER as Dr. Mark Greene’s widow, Dr. Elizabeth Corday. Kingston, whose original ER run spanned seven seasons (from 1997 to 2004), will resurface in the January 15 episode, when Neela goes in for an attending interview and is surprised to run into Dr. Corday. Kingston’s is the latest encore confirmed for ER’s final season. Most recently, Anthony Edwards appeared as Mark (in flashbacks revolving around Angela Basset’s Dr. Cate Banfield). Also expected back during the medical drama’s final months are Noah Wyle and Eriq La Salle (though only as a director). ER’s series finale is set for March 12.
