Skip to main content

Channel Surfing: "Skins" Star Rumored for "Doctor Who" Role, Melissa Leo and Rebecca Romijn Land Pilots, Matt Czruchy Returns to TV, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. I don't know about you but this time change is killing me. Still, last night's episode of Chuck went a long way to making me feel better about the week.

While we now know who will be playing the Eleventh Doctor, there's been much speculation about who will play the companion to the next Doctor, to be played by Matt Smith in the fifth season of Doctor Who. The latest rumor? That former Skins star Hannah Murray--who played the delightfully out-there Cassie--is in "secret chats" with the BBC about joining Smith in Doctor Who's fifth season, set to air in 2010. "Hannah did some challenging stuff in Skins and they see her as an up-and-comer," said an unnamed BBC insider. Of course, this rumor is being floated by the News of the World, so take it with a (very large) grain of salt. (Digital Spy, News of the World)

Oscar nominee Melissa Leo (Frozen River) has joined the cast of HBO ensemble drama pilot Treme, where she will play a New Orleans civil rights lawyer. Project, from writers David Simon (The Wire) and Eric Overmyer (Law & Order) and director Agnieszka Holland, also features Clarke Peters, Wendell Pierce, Steve Zahn, Khandi Alexander, Rob Brown, and Kim Dickens. (Variety)

Elsewhere, Rebecca Romijn (Ugly Betty) has will play the lead in ABC drama pilot Eastwick, a remake of the 1987 feature film The Witches of Eastwick. Romijn will play Roxie, in the pilot, from Warner Bros. Television, writer/executive producer Maggie Friedman, and director David Nutter. [Editor: In the pilot script, Roxanne "Roxie" Torcoletti is described as a sexy, bohemian artist with a penchant for making fertility goddess statues.] (Variety)

More pilot casting goodness: Jeremy Northam (The Tudors) will star in CBS drama pilot Miami Trauma; Matt Czuchry (Gilmore Girls) will star opposite Julianna Margulies in CBS drama pilot The Good Wife, where he'll play a first-year associate at the law firm where politician's wife Margulies gets a job; Missy Pyle (The Sarah Silverman Program), Deanna Dunagan (Prison Break), and Chris Parnell (30 Rock) have joined the cast of CBS comedy pilot Big D; and Saffron Burrows (My Own Worst Enemy), Jesse Bradford (The West Wing), and Gaby Hoffmann (200 Cigarettes) will fill out the cast of CBS drama The Eastmans, about a family of doctors. (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC is said to be involved in "active talks with DirecTV to extend their unique shared-window experiment with Friday Night Lights," according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello who credits an unnamed "insider close to the negotiations" alleging that DirecTV and NBC may only agree to jointly renew the series if they can negotiate a two-season pickup. (
Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Matt Barr (
One Tree Hill) has been cast in the CW's untitled Gossip Girl spinoff, where he will play Keith van der Woodsen, a wealthy Malibu scion and love interest for Lily (Brittany Snow). Given his surname, it's thought extremely likely that Keith is Lily's future husband and the father of Serena. (Hollywood Reporter)

Kevin Sussman (Ugly Betty) will guest star in an upcoming episode of CBS' The Big Bang Theory, where he will play a comic book nerd friend of the gang who begins dating Penny. Sussman's episode is currently slated to air April 13th. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Michael J. Fox will return to primetime with a one-hour special entitled Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist on ABC. Special, set to air Thursday, May 7th, will follow Parkinson's Disease-afflicted Fox as he attempts to spread his positive outlook to others during some the current economic climate and interviews a mix of everyday people and celebrities about how they stay optimistic. Elsewhere, CBS has ordered a hidden camera special entitled I Get That a Lot, in which celebs--including Heidi Klum, Jeff Probst, Jessica Simpson, and Ice-T--will work ordinary jobs and tell the people around them that they are look-alikes and not the real deal. Special, which will air April 1st, is from LMNO Entertainment. (Variety)

Former Aliens in America star Adhir Kalyan--who will next appear in a five-episode story arc on CBS' Rules of Engagement--wants to land a role on CW's Gossip Girl. "I think that's the long-term goal for me in my career: at some point to get onto Gossip Girl and share screen time with either Blake Lively or Leighton Meester, whomever they see fit," said Kalyan. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

30 Rock star Alec Baldwin will co-host Turner Classic Movies' The Essentials with Robert Osborne, who previously shared co-host duties with Rose McGowan last year. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Comments

I'm trying not to set my expectations too high in regards to Treme (because how can you top The Wire?) but the addition of Melissa Leo to the cast has me really excited. She was phenomenal in Frozen River and I look forward to seeing more of what she can do.
Anonymous said…
I love Hannah Murray, truly, but I just can't quite wrap my head around her being the Doctor's companion. She'd probably be brilliant but I really had my heart set on Michelle Ryan. Of course, I've had my concerns before about Doctor Who casting and have always been proven wrong (who knew that Catherine Tate would be so brilliant?) so I will withhold my reservations for now!
Anonymous said…
I'm excited about Jeremy Northam doing 'Miami Trauma'. He was excellent in The Tudors; it'll be good to see him on screen on a weekly basis. Can't wait.

I agree about Michelle Ryan...i don't think she's the best actress in the world. But i would love to see her as Doctor Who's companian. I've been a fan since Jekyll.
Anonymous said…
Oh yeah! Jeremy Northam on US television.

Popular posts from this blog

Katie Lee Packs Her Knives: Breaking News from Bravo's "Top Chef"

The android has left the building. Or the test kitchen, anyway. Top Chef 's robotic host Katie Lee Joel, the veritable "Uptown Girl" herself (pictured at left), will NOT be sticking around for a second course of Bravo's hit culinary competition. According to a well-placed insider, Joel will "not be returning" to the show. No reason for her departure was cited. Unfortunately, the perfect replacement for Joel, Top Chef judge and professional chef Tom Colicchio, will not be taking over as the reality series' host (damn!). Instead, the show's producers are currently scouring to find a replacement for Joel. Top Chef 's second season was announced by Bravo last month, but no return date has been set for the series' ten-episode sophomore season. Stay tuned as this story develops. UPDATE (6/27): Bravo has now confirmed the above story .

BuzzFeed: Meet The TV Successor To "Serial"

HBO's stranger-than-fiction true crime documentary The Jinx   — about real estate heir Robert Durst — brings the chills and thrills missing since Serial   wrapped up its first season. Serial   obsessives: HBO's latest documentary series is exactly what you've been waiting for.   The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst , like Sarah Koenig's beloved podcast, sifts through old documents, finds new leads from fresh interviews, and seeks to determine just what happened on a fateful day in which the most foul murder was committed. And, also like  Serial  before it,  The Jinx may also hold no ultimate answer to innocence or guilt. But that seems almost beside the point; such investigations often remain murky and unclear, and guilt is not so easy a thing to be judged. Instead, this upcoming six-part tantalizing murder mystery, from director Andrew Jarecki ( Capturing the Friedmans ), is a gripping true crime story that unfolds with all of the speed of a page-turner; it

BuzzFeed: "The Good Wife Is The Best Show On Television Right Now"

The CBS legal drama, now in its sixth season, continually shakes up its narrative foundations and proves itself fearless in the process. Spoilers ahead, if you’re not up to date on the show. At BuzzFeed, you can read my latest feature, " The Good Wife Is The Best Show On Television Right Now," in which I praise CBS' The Good Wife and, well, hail it as the best show currently on television. (Yes, you read that right.) There is no need to be delicate here: If you’re not watching The Good Wife, you are missing out on the best show on television. I won’t qualify that statement in the least — I’m not talking about the best show currently airing on broadcast television or outside of cable or on premium or however you want to sandbox this remarkable show. No, the legal drama is the best thing currently airing on any channel on television. That The Good Wife is this perfect in its sixth season is reason to truly celebrate. Few shows embrace complexity and risk-taking in t