Upcoming season TV News

FOX’s The Following has added more talent to its season 2 roster, as Connie Nielsen (Boss) joined the cast this week.

Nielsen will play Lily Gray, a Soho art dealer who finds herself in trouble and is aided by Ryan (Kevin Bacon). Eventually, the two become romantically involved, which only causes more problems for her.

This casting news obviously raises more questions about Natalie Zea’s future on the series. Zea – whose character Claire may or may not have met her demise in the season 1 finale – has already signed on for season 2, but with Nielsen on board as Ryan’s new love interest, it’s unclear if Zea will return in a recurring or full-time role, or if she will only shoot a couple of scenes.

We’ll have to see how everything plays out when The Following returns to FOX on January 14, 2013.

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 CBS is developing a medical drama series based on The Wizard of Oz. 

While we don’t know much about the project yet, we’re hearing that it will be a medical soap (possibly like Grey’s Anatomy?) set in New York City. How the iconic story and its characters fit into all of this is still the biggest question.

At the outset, the show doesn’t sound like network TV material, but there are some fairly big names already attached, including Elementary executive producers Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman and Emily Fox (Ghost Whisperer), who has been commissioned to write the pilot.

After seeing Oz the Great and Powerful score big at the box office earlier this year, the network might be figuring that the classic tale is making a comeback. So even though it seems like a strange idea, there may be some sound reasoning behind it.

I'll definitely be interested to see how this project shapes up and I'll be passing along more info as it becomes available.

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New ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Poster

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t technically a part of Phase 2 for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, given that the series will air on ABC – rather than screening at your local theater – starting in Fall 2013. Nonetheless, Joss Whedon’s S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show may pave the way for additional Marvel ventures on the small screen in the future, if it proves to be a large-enough success. Who knows, maybe even Guillermo del Toro’s defunct Incredible Hulk TV show will be resurrected – if things work out, that is (but don’t hold your breath).

On that note: Whedon’s been preoccupied with promoting Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. of late, during the Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour. While the Avengers writer/director and the bigger-name S.H.I.E.L.D. cast members mostly just restated what they’ve said in previous interviews from the past year, the former (again) touched on one of the more interesting subjects that reporters keep asking him about: will Earth’s Mightiest Heroes be showing up at all, in the show’s future?

The focus in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will be regular humans (read: no super-powers) – who are employed by the eponymous organization – as portrayed by people like Ming-Na Wen (SGU Stargate Universe), Ian De Caestecker (How to Catch a Monster), Chloe Bennet (Nashville) – and, of course, the formerly presumed-dead Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg). Hence, it’s appropriate that the down-to-Earth S.H.I.E.L.D. company men and women get to share the newly-unveiled poster together.

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‘Flash’ TV Series Coming From ‘Arrow’ Creators;

It certainly isn’t the news that comic book movie fans were hoping for, but The Flash may be making his live-action debut sooner than some might have thought. Despite the lack of any Justice League announcements at Comic-Con 2013 (beyond that Batman vs. Superman movie, of course) Warner Bros. is apparently moving forward with an adapted Flash TV series for The CW.

With writing from DC mainstay Geoff Johns and two out of the three Arrow creators attached – Andrew Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti – the project centering on Central City’s Flash – a character and city alluded to with tongue-in-cheek references in Arrow itself – is being fast-tracked by the network, with Barry Allen to first appear as a recurring character in Arrow‘s Season 2.

That blending of C.S.I. and superhero is an odd mix that was apparently at the heart of the proposed Flash movie script, so it’s easy to see how it could work on television. As for the villains… well, any Flash fan will tell you that viewers who found some of Arrow‘s antagonists silly haven’t seen anything yet.  I'll keep you updated on The Flash TV series and movie as more news develops.

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‘Doctor Who’: Peter Capaldi Revealed as Twelfth Doctor – What Do you think?      

A new Doctor has been found and, now, has finally been revealed. After much speculation as to who would replace Matt Smith in the iconic role, famed Scottish actor Peter Capaldi was revealed on Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor as the next actor to become the Doctor. Should fans be excited to have an older Doctor?

Capaldi, who starred in the spin-off series’ Torchwood: Children of Earth, was actually on the short list of actors many thought might fill the role. In the UK, he’s most famously known as the star of the long-running comedy series The Thick of It, which is in the vein of HBO’s Veep. Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurtiwtz was at one time enlisted to create an American adaptation.

Of course, fans aren’t likely going to have issue with a well-known comedic actor stepping in to the legendary role; it’ll likely be his age. Capaldi, who is 55, isn’t the oldest actor the play the Doctor but… not by much. William Hartnell, who played the First Doctor at age 55, is still the oldest actor to play the character, besting Capaldi by just a few months. But will the switch from Matt Smith, the youngest actor to play the role, to Capaldi appease the series’ ever growing fanbase?      Although a few might think it’s odd to have an older actor step in to the role of the Doctor – especially with its young audience – there are more than enough reasons to be excited about what’s to come, and what Capaldi can bring to the role. With the younger Smith, grand adventures of exploration is what best fits the character. Sure, Smith can deliver a dramatic monologue like the best of them, but the overall series was at its best when he was able to take advantage of his youthful exuberance.

With Capaldi stepping in to the role, Moffat will be able to make the Doctor more introspective, more aware of his actions. And since age equals experience, audiences are more likely to believe it, thus allowing Moffat to more earnestly explore the weighted past of everyone’s favorite Time Lord without having to worry about writing “run, you clever boy” all too often. And after this season, perhaps a change will be good for the series overall.

Still, fans of Smith have the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary and the Doctor Who Christmas Special left, allowing everyone some time to get used to the fact that he will no longer be on the series. And though no one really knows what to expect from the upcoming, final adventures with the Doctor, Moffat surely won’t disappoint.

That's all for now. I'll be back with more movie and TV news tomorrow.

As Joe Ferrier uses to say: "Watch the Skies"