Funny + Hot = Series Regular. Makes sense.

For those following the continued reworking of Scrubs into a medical school drama, there is good news today in that one of last year's interns Denise (played by the lovely Eliza Coupe) has been cast as a series regular. While this isn't surprising news, it is certainly welcome:

Coupe joins a refreshed ensemble that will include three or four new regulars in addition to returning vets Donald Faison and John C. McGinley. Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes and Ken Jenkins are expected to make guest appearances.

Given that Coupe was one of the few interns in the past few years who was actually likable and funny (also Aziz Ansari's far-too-short turn as Ed the Intern) I think its a good direction for the show to take. She's also not bad too look at, which will in some small way make up for the trauma of the departure of Sarah Chalke. No word yet on who the "big name" they're getting is, although we not it will NOT be Lauren Graham, despite earlier speculation. Also no word on whether next season will be better or worse than the Scrubs porno. At the very least, they did just take one small step towards approaching that level of sexy. Good job, Scrubs.

via Ausiello Files

Not Interested to join the cast of Don't Care

From the further annals of "Good God Nothing Is Going On This Week" comes a thoroughly underwhelming bit of casting news. Hilary Duff, who you might remember as the 11th most famous late-teen/early-twenty-something actress/singer/annoying attention whore to come out during the late 1990s/early 2000s when those sorts of people were all the rage is joining the cast of Gossip Girl, which you might remember as that show which sucks. From Ausiello:

The actress-designer-pop chanteuse will play Olivia Burke, a movie star who enrolls at NYU in search of a traditional college experience. She ends up rooming with Vanessa (Jessica Szohr) so it's safe to say she'll be majoring in Drama!

Duff will debut in this season's fourth episode, slated to air Oct. 5.

Gossip producers spotted an opening in Duff's schedule after NBC passed on her comedy pilot Barely Legal.

Really? Olivia Burke? If you were to ask me, a heterosexual male who has never seen a single minute of Gossip Girl, to guess what the creators of this show would name a character, my first guess would be Olivia Burke. That's possibly the most generic "bitch" name of all time, I'm amazed they didn't already have a character named that. Apparently they were saving it for a "big get" like Hilary Duff. Smooth operating, creators of this terrible CW show, smooth operating. Now back to your regularly scheduled boredom.

[Ed note: Here's Hilary Duff wet. Why not? - mike]




via Ausiello

Fringe to add... Some chick...

In news sure to interest only myself and Deal or No Deal enthusiasts, unknown actress Meghan Markle has signed on to join the cast of Fringe in Season Two as "an attractive, brash and quick-witted junior FBI agent." Presumably she's being brought in to replace Kirk Acevedo's character, since it was previously announced that he was leaving the show. A quick glance at Markle's imdb page reveals a pretty scant resume. The downgrade from a Band of Brothers alum to a Deal or No Deal alum seems pretty striking in terms of acting talent. But in terms of T&A, we're going to call this a win. I'm not even saying she's that hot, but a deformed anteater would be an upgrade over Anna Torv at this point.

via Hollywood Reporter

RETURN OF CHARLIE PACE? ACTUAL NEWS

MONAGHAN NOT ON LOST- As I reported earlier, ABC promos are not trustworthy sources for casting rumors. (Shocking!) It seems there are no plans for the hobbit to return to the island. Instead, he's been cast as a series regular on a yet to be named ABC show. Stay tuned for that scoop whenever we see it on some commercial.

OBAMA IS THREATENING- And not just our redneck way of life. He's very concerned that we won't be ready for the digital transition, set to take place on June 12. When reached for comment, the parts of America who weren't ready yet said, "It's really hard to care since According to Jim got canceled."

NPH PICKS UP TONY (AWARDS)- Friend of the blog, Neil Patrick Harris (if I say it enough, it might come true), hosted the Tony Awards on Sunday and lifted the show to it's highest ratings in 3 years. No word on whether this will cause CBS to move forward with a new version of King of Queens.

What? It's just a screenshot from the official show of bambat, How I Met Your Mother. Nothing gay about that.

Sources: Ausiello Files, Hollywood Reporter, Variety

Starbuck vs. Jack Bauer (aka my annual reason to watch 24 for a few weeks)

If you thought the casting of Robert Knepper on Heroes, or the potential of Summer Glau on Dollhouse sent me into a nerd tizzy, you ain't seen nothing yet. From Ausiello comes a scoop which made the Battlestar Galactica fanboy in me (scientists have estimated this may make up as much as 72% of my character) dizzy with elation. The occasionally hot but always entertaining Katee Sackhoff will follow up her turn as resident badass/ghost?/bitch Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on Battlestar with a series regular role on 24's next season. Now I have completely soured on 24 the last few years, having given up around the ten hour mark both of the last two seasons. But the addition of Sackhoff definitely has me geeked up to tune in next year, so well played Fox. Of course, the news is somewhat dampened by the fact that her character is in a relationship with that of the other recently announced series regular: Freddie Prinze Jr. The world hasn't seen a talent mismatch like that since the last time Mike tried to fornicate.

As always, the visual evidence:























via Ausiello Files

RETURN OF CHARLIE PACE?

A new ABC promo shows Dominic "stop calling me a hobbit" Monaghan playing foosball with Al Bundy, Courtney Cox, and some other boring guy. This is of course iron clad proof that Meriadoc Brandybuck will be returning to Lost next season. Or maybe Married With Children is coming back. Who knows. It's iron clad proof in the sense that hairy kids are proof of werewolves and Brett's plastic sports participation trophies are proof he was once athletic.



source: Ausiello Files

As the TV world turns

Any fan of television knows that all shows you love must eventually come to an end (except the Simpsons, apparently). Sometimes they end before their time, victim of the idiocy of either the network or the public - often both. But there is a silver lining to our favorite shows getting canceled, namely spending the summer months seeing where favorite actors from canceled shows will end up. Oftentimes they get delusions of grandeur and try to make it big on the silver screen (which, for example, Zach Braff is likely to attempt once again). Some will appear in exciting new pilots, most of which won't get picked up.

But the best possible outcome is when a favorite actor from a canceled show ends up on another favorite show. I was greeted to just such news this morning when I read the news that resident Prison Break creep-master Robert Knepper was joining the cast of Heroes as (what else) a new primary Villain for season four.

For those who watched Prison Break, Knepper's "T-Bag" was the villain you loved to hate for four seasons. And, in my opinion anyway, easily the standout character on the show. Easily the creepiest anyway, and yet any actor who can make you root for such a psychopath is definitely worth the price of admission.

I haven't read much on Knepper's character on Heroes yet, other than that he plays a smooth-talking Jim Jones type, which seems right up his alley. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

I may do a post soon about all the canceled shows and what my dream scenarios for those actors are soon. Or I may not. As long as the rumors bear out and Summer Glau makes an appearance on Dollhouse (or, really, anywhere) I can die a happy man...

...

Yes, that was just an excuse to post this picture of Summer Glau:





















Via Hollywood Reporter