Posted Nov 21st 2009 2:09PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Video, Commercials, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
You know how sometimes you see an actor or actress and they look so familiar, but you can't remember where you saw him or her, or what the TV show was? That's how I've been with the little boy who plays Brick on
The Middle. His name is
Atticus Shaffer, and since the ABC sitcom began this fall, I've been scratching my head over him. Where did I see him before?
Turns out that it was on a commercial for AIG. Yes, AIG, that huge insurance company that was a big part of the economic collapse. The company that was too big for America to let fail.
Continue reading That's why I recognize Brick from The Middle!
Posted Nov 20th 2009 11:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Casting, Reality-Free
It's taken a while, but
The Young and the Restless has finally filled a role that's been vacant for too long. No, David Hasselhoff is not coming back as Snapper Foster. The role of
Malcolm Winters is returning and Darius McCrary's got the Y&R role. Malcolm, the dynamic younger brother of Neil Winters, has been missing in action for a while because the previous actor in the part, Shemar Moore, has become a star in primetime.
The Winters family is an important element in the
Y&R canvas and they've missed Malcolm. Shemar was asked to come back, but with his success on
Criminal Minds, there simply wasn't time in his schedule for both shows. Truth be told, there probably wasn't enough money to compel him to work that hard. So,while the fans might have liked Shemar back, they'll have to get used to a new face instead.
Continue reading Family Matters meets The Young and the Restless ... casting wise
Posted Nov 19th 2009 4:03PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Celebrities, Heroes, Casting, Reality-Free
I love hearing stories about how certain stars auditioned for certain roles and didn't get them. What would the show/movie have been like if they were cast in it instead of the person who eventually got the role? For example, did you know that Danny DeVito was almost cast as Serena on
Gossip Girl?
Here's another tidbit:
Ugly Betty star Eric Mabius auditioned for the role of Peter Petrelli on
Heroes. It's not really clear whether he didn't get the role because Milo Ventimiglia got it or if producers of
Ugly Betty grabbed him for the role of Daniel Meade before Heroes producers could sign him up. Whatever happened, he's now playing the head of
Mode magazine while Ventimiglia is absorbing people's superpowers.
The interview above is rather interesting. Mabius has moved back to Massachusetts with his family (he met his wife here while in college and wants to raise his kids here). He says he doesn't have a plan for his future, though he might have to get one. I have a feeling this might be the last season for
Ugly Betty.
Posted Nov 18th 2009 9:00PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
When you think of
Brooke Shields, you think glamor and fashion and high style... Well, I do anyway. She's
Suddenly Susan and one of the hot ladies on
Lipstick Jungle. I do not think of her as a suburban mother of four in Orson, Indiana. However, that's exactly what she's going to be on an upcoming episode of ABC's sitcom
The Middle.
As oxymoronic as it seems, I love the idea of
Brooke on The Middle. She'll be going deep into the heart of the heartland to play a character who's supposed to be like Fran Heck,
Patricia Heaton's character on The Middle. There's nothing as liberating for an actor as the chance to let loose and break the mold.
Continue reading Brooke Shields is getting in The Middle
Posted Nov 18th 2009 4:04PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
When I first heard the plot of the new TNT drama pilot that George Clooney is producing,
Delta Blues, I thought it might be funny at first but way too odd to watch for several episodes. It's about George Hendricks, a Memphis police officer who lives with his mom and is also a part-time Elvis Presley impersonator (I'm going to assume that he doesn't dress up as Elvis while he's on duty or this show will go be way into the red zone of the QUIRKY meter).
Well, at least they grabbed someone good for the role.
My Name Is Earl's Jason Lee is going to play the lead character, and I can definitely picture that. Now I just wonder if he's going to dress up as younger, thinner Elvis (circa 1959) or older, wider Elvis (circa 1975).
The pilot will be directed by Clark Johnson, who worked on
The Shield.
Posted Nov 18th 2009 9:34AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Industry, Programming, OpEd, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
Gretchen Mol, who was last seen in last season's short-lived American television version of
Life on Mars and in the feature
An American Affair,
will be going to HBO for the series
Boardwalk Empire. She's scheduled to have a recurring role as a showgirl. The series is being produced by Martin Scorsese.
Gretchen Mol was on
Life on Mars with Michael Imperioli, who was also on
The Sopranos on HBO and was in Scorsese's
Goodfellas.
Boardwalk Empire star Steve Buscemi also appeared on
The Sopranos. In short, all these people know each other and it's definitely a case of cast inbreeding. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Seriously, Gretchen Mol is a terrific actress and was fantastic in
The Notorious Bettie Page. Given the talent already behind
Boardwalk Empire, it was likely to be a fantastic series. Now its volume just went up to 11.
Posted Nov 18th 2009 9:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Casting, Reality-Free, Modern Family
There's an old adage in show business that says something to the effect that casting is half the battle. If you cast a part well, you're sure to have a winning finished project. If that's true, then
the casting of Fred Willard on Modern Family is sure to be a hit. I won't reveal what role Fred will be playing til after the jump, so if you don't want to know, don't read on. Suffice to say, the very funny Mr. Willard is being given a great opportunity to shine.
Willard, who was terrific on
Everybody Loves Raymond, not to mention all the Christopher Guest films like
Best In Show and
A Mighty Wind, was on sitcom TV just last season on Fox's
Back to You. In fact, it was on that show that Fred worked with
Modern Family's Ty Burrell. Now they get to do it again.
Continue reading Fred Willard checks in to Modern Family
Posted Nov 17th 2009 3:09PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
I know, saying "Don Draper's mistress" doesn't really narrow it down, does it?
Abigail Spencer, who played (plays?) schoolteacher Suzanne Farrell on AMC's
Mad Men this past season, has landed a role on the new NBC drama
Rex Is Not Your Lawyer. I guarantee that will be one of the odder titles for a new show in 2010 or whenever the show debuts. It's about a lawyer who gets anxiety attacks (that has to be a career killer) so he actually teachers his clients how to represent themselves in court. Spencer will play another lawyer.
What does this mean for Miss Farrell? Who knows. She could appear on both shows though. Alison Brie appears on two different shows too (
Mad Men and NBC's
Community), so it's possible that Spencer could still appear on
Mad Men while on this show. Of course, I hope she's out of the picture and we see Rachel or Midge again.
Posted Nov 17th 2009 9:02AM by Mike Moody
Filed under: OpEd, Smallville, Casting, Reality-Free
I'm sure most of you
Smallville fans have already seen this preview pic of
Michael Shanks as Hawkman, taken from the upcoming Justice Society episode. So why am I posting it here?
Because that photo looks weird, man!
First off, I must say that I'm really looking forward to this
Smallville two-parter, and I think
Stargate's Shanks is a fine pick to play Carter Hall.
Smallville has been a lot of fun to watch this season, and I hope the upswing continues through next year.
Now, back to that photo ... Why does it look like a still image from a video game? Is it a mostly CGI shot? Concept art? Did somebody switch the real photo of Shanks with a fan photo manip? I'm hoping that some of you graphic designer-types can tell me what's really going on here, because ... yeah ... that photo looks weird.
Continue reading Smallville: Let's talk about that Hawkman photo
Posted Nov 17th 2009 8:09AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Law and Order, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
There's another Bravo to NBC crossover afoot. First,
The Real Housewives of New Jersey popped over to play themselves on
Mercy. Now it turns out that
Kathy Griffin is on her way to Law and Order: SVU. And, get this, she's not playing herself. The queen of the D-list will be acting.
Kathy has been tapped to play a lesbian activist in the February 10 episode. As anyone who's watched Kathy on her Emmy-award winning reality show,
My Life on the D-List, Kathy is a shameless over-achiever and loves to work. She's ambitious and determined to get off the D-list. As she might say, she would go to the opening of a refrigerator if it would help her career.
Continue reading Kathy Griffin lands guest spot on Law and Order SVU
Posted Nov 16th 2009 2:00PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Site Announcements, Casting, Reality-Free
Spoilers are a hot topic here on
TV Squad. Nary a day goes by when we don't hear something -- good or bad -- from readers about spoilers. And it's been going on a while; Isabelle wrote
this post on spoilers back in 2007.
What is a spoiler? Should they be included in titles? Should we always put them after the jump? Are casting announcements spoilers? What about short posts that only fit on the front page? What if the info is common knowledge?
Let's take a closer look at spoilers, what they are, and how we can run a great web site and all live together with these precarious bits of info known as spoilers.
Continue reading Let's talk about spoilers ...
Posted Nov 13th 2009 3:03PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Battlestar Galactica, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
Question: is it possible for
Heroes to add enough actors and actresses from cool, hip shows so it also becomes cool and hip again?
Kate Vernon, who played Ellen Tigh (and a Cylon - hope that wasn't a spoiler!) on the
Battlestar Galactica remake, is joining the cast of the NBC show. Greg Grunberg first unveiled the news on
his Twitter account a couple of days ago. Seems like that's where a lot of breaking news happens nowadays, eh?
Continue reading Battlestar Galactica star coming to Heroes
Posted Nov 13th 2009 10:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Casting, Reality-Free
The Addams Family is coming back. No, this times it's not a TV series, nor a motion picture. No, this time Broadway is taking Charles Addams' amazing dysfunctional gothic family and putting their antics to music. That's right,
The Addams Family is becoming a Broadway musical.
One of the things that sounds really promising about the musical is the casting. The two leads seem perfect for their roles -- Nathan Lane as Gomez and Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia. They're both like cartoon characters already, and in that bizarro world, they should be right at home. Hams on parade ... with music! It sounds glorious.
Continue reading The Addams Family's latest incarnation is a Broadway musical
Posted Nov 13th 2009 9:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Casting, Emmys, Reality-Free
There's reason to be hopeful about
All My Children's move to Hollywood. Oh, yes, Thorsten Kaye has decided not to go -- bye, bye Zach -- but there's a list of stars lining up for the anniversary that's pretty spectacular.
In honor of
All My Children's 40th Anniversary, Julia Barr is coming back as Brooke English. Also
slated to appear are a bunch of other former AMC stars, including Eva LaRue, Taylor Miller, Laurence Lau, Eden Riegel, Leven Rambin and the previously announced Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos.
Julia's return is a big get because she was such big part of the soap for so long. The two-time Emmy winner was on
AMC from 1976 to her exit in 2006. This anniversary show will be a chance for fans to hear what Brooke -- Erica's rival for all those years -- has been up to.
Next in line is Eva LaRue. She's become a prime time star with
CSI: Miami. She did two stints with
AMC as Dr. Maria Santos Grey.
Continue reading For All My Children's 40th anniversary, Julia Barr and more will be back
Posted Nov 11th 2009 6:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Video, Celebrities, Alumni, Casting, Reality-Free
The
James Franco experiment has begun on General Hospital. Actually, we have now learned that the movie actor, best known for
Spider-Man and
Milk and
The Pineapple Express, has decided to do a two-month guest role on the ABC soap opera as part of a project he's doing with a filmmaker named Carter.
Franco and Carter are making
a documentary called Erased James Franco. His guest turn on
30 Rock may also be part of the movie. Nobody knows for certain.
One thing I do know for certain is that ABC is taking Franco's appearance on
GH very seriously. They're working around his schedule, giving him a strangely interesting character to play, and promoting it like mad.
Continue reading Who will die? Check out James Franco's General Hospital promo
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The Prisoner -- An early look
