Friday, October 26, 2012

NEWS ROUNDUP: Jack Wagner & Nancy Lee Grahn Visit CASTLE; Walt Willey Web Series; Kalinda Story Ending; Celtic Woman To B&B; GH Stars On MILLIONAIRE

GENERAL HOSPITAL's Nancy Lee Grahn guests in CASTLE's War of the Roses-Esque Episode
Grahn will play Samantha Voss, a wealthy, recently divorced woman, caught in a hilariously ill-willed War of the Roses struggle with her ex-husband (played by WEEDS star Brendan Ford.)

Jack Wagner to guest in CASTLE too!
In the same January episode in which Grahn appears, titled "Significant Others," the MELROSE PLACE, GENERAL HOSPITAL and BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL alum will play former pro golfer Billy Piper whose career went down in flames amidst a nasty divorce scandal. But unlike the Tiger Woods saga, Piper's ex ended up dead, along with a prominent divorce attorney.

ALL MY CHILDREN alum Walt Willey joins web series THE EVERYDAY LIVES
Producer/director Steve Royall describes as "a half scripted/half improv comedy in the vein of CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM about an aspiring director navigating through the treacherous shark-filled waters of Hollywood while trying to achieve movie-making success!"

THE GOOD WIFE Bosses on Peter's New Opponent and Wrapping Up the Kalinda-Nick Story Line
"You don't give James Bond a girlfriend." That's how THE GOOD WIFE co-creator and co-showrunner Robert King defines what went wrong with the introduction of fan favorite Kalinda's (Archie Panjabi) estranged husband, Nick (Marc Warren). The story line has left fans of the critically acclaimed drama surprisingly split after three seasons of following the seductive and mysterious private investigator's every move. "Some characters you actually don't want to see that much backstory. We're adjusting," he tells TVGuide.com. "No matter where we went, this was not a place where the audience wanted to go."

THE GOOD WIFE Bringing Back Dallas Roberts and Anika Noni Rose
Roberts, who plays Alicia's rebellious, outspoken younger brother Owen, will appear when Stockard Channing makes her debut as Alicia (Julianna Margulies) and Owen's mom. Although Roberts recently joined THE WALKING DEAD, GOOD WIFE creators and executive producers Robert and Michelle King are eager to have both mother and brother back later this season. "We're trying to get Dallas for more than one as we are trying to get Stockard for more than one," Robert King tells TVGuide.com. "You never know what you're going to get when you throw people together but after the first day of dailies, we said, 'OK, let's try to book him and her for the future.'"

ABC Buys Political Drama CITY HALL From Producer Bob Sertner And ABC Studios
The show follows the mayor of Oakland and her irreverent City Hall staff of twenty- and thirtysomethings who take on the political and social establishment of a city in crisis while trying to maintain their own personal and social lives.

Grant Gustin returning to GLEE for multiple episodes
News of Gustin’s return as Sebastian comes just weeks after Canadian actor-singer Nolan Gerard Funk was tapped to play the Warblers’ new frontman Hunter. The rookie’s first order of business? Bringing Blaine back into the fold so the DAW’s can win a national championship.

GLEE Star Naya Rivera 'Almost Quit' Before She 'Made It'
"I am half Puerto Rican, a quarter German and a quarter black," she recalls in the THIS IS HOW I MADE IT episode airing Saturday at 12 p.m. on MTV. "That was always a big issue for me — being mixed race — because casting directors tended to be very like, 'OK, are you Hispanic for this role?' 'Or is she going to be African American?' "

Community college students protest in 'The Walking Debt' in L.A.
Southwest College student Celena Hill joined dozens of other California community college students who dressed up like zombies Friday afternoon to take part in "The Walking Debt" — a march from Los Angeles City Hall to the governor's downtown Los Angles office in support of Proposition 30 and education funding.

Final TREME season to feature five episodes
"Strike up the band. Production on the 5-episode final season of Treme begins November 5th."

Bravo To Develop Cola Wars Drama From ‘Flipping Out’ Showrunner
The untitled workplace drama is set in New York at the height of the Cola Wars in the 1980s, in which soda giants Coca Cola and Pepsi went after each other in their ad campaigns.

All-female band Celtic Woman will be appearing on episodes airing Monday, November 12 and Tuesday, November 13
"I can't think of a more beautiful way to pay tribute to the character of Stephanie Forrester and her Irish heritage than to bring in Celtic Woman to serenade her," said executive producer and headwriter Bradley Bell in a statement. "Their distinctive voice and angelic melodies were the perfect accompaniment to this powerful and emotional storyline."

Finola Hughes and Jason Thompson tape WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE appearance
In honor of GENERAL HOSPITAL's 50th anniversary, Finola Hughes (Anna) and Jason Thompson (Patrick) were invited to compete on WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE! Of course, being celebrities, the pair were raising money for charity, and their winnings went to The Art Of Elysium, which helps children battling serious medical conditions. The episode of MILLIONAIRE taped yesterday, and will air in January.

SCANDAL's Darby Stanchfield returning to CASTLE
Stanchfield will reprise her role as Castle's ex-wife Meredith in a January episode. And much to the chagrin of Castle (Nathan Fillion), she'll make herself right at home.

PARENTHOOD Breaks Our Hearts Real Good
It’s always been a good show, but it’s had issues that kept it shy of greatness: a lot of Braverman storylines to juggle, characters getting lost in the shuffle or relegated to comic relief, and a tendency to be emotionally manipulative. Right now, though, PARENTHOOD is the best it’s ever been. It’s mastered its tone, its fantastic cast is getting well-used, and it’s jerking tears (and laughs) honestly.

Walt Willey bringing "Wild Bill! An Evening with James Butler Hickok" to Jackson, TN
The event will take place Saturday, December 8, and be live-streamed.

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