Skip to main content

CBS Nabs Simon Baker for "Mentalist" Role; NBC Puts Ian McShane on "Kings" Throne

Simon Baker is clearly willing to give CBS another go around.

The former Guardian star, who went on to co-star in CBS' short-lived action drama Smith, will again star in a drama project for the Eye.

Baker will play the lead in procedural drama The Mentalist. He'll play Patrick Jane, a former fake celebrity psychic who uses his powers of observation to assist the California Bureau of Investigations (CBI) to solve baffling crimes, including the hunt for a notorious serial killer called Red John to whom Jane has a personal connection.

Also cast in The Mentalist: Owain Yeoman (The Nine), Amanda Righetti (The OC), Tim Kang (Third Watch), and Shaun Toub (The Kite Runner).

Project comes from writer/executive producer Bruno Heller (Rome) and Warner Bros. Television. I do have to say that given the pedigree I was expecting more from this shrill script which played more like the dramatic version of USA's Psych than a companion for the aging CSI franchise.

Elsewhere, Ian McShane (Deadwood) has been cast in NBC drama pilot Kings, a modern-day retelling of the David and Goliath story set in a war-torn world similar to ours yet remarkably different in some respects (the story is set in a fictional kingdom ruled by a monarchy).

McShane will play King Silas Benjamin, this kingdom's ruthless ruler, opposite the already cast Christopher Egan (Pretty Handsome).

It's anticipated that NBC may grant the project a series order when it unveils its primetime schedule later this week. Given the casting on this, I would be surprised if it doesn't earn itself series stripes. It's anticipated that Kings, Knight Rider, and My Worst Enemy (starring Christian Slater) will appear on the schedule, along with The Philanthropist.

I thought the script, from writer Michael Green (Heroes), was an interesting read, but I am not quite sure how the American public in general will react to this alternate world tale of strife, conspiracy, and monarchical machinations. Only time will tell...

What's On Tonight

8 pm: The Big Bang Theory/How I Met Your Mother (CBS); My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad (NBC); Gossip Girl (CW); Dancing With the Stars (ABC; 8-9:300 pm); House (FOX)

9 pm: Two and a Half Men/New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC); Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious (CW); New Amsterdam (FOX); The Bachelor: London Calling (ABC; 9:30-11 pm)

10 pm: CSI Miami (CBS); Medium (NBC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Gossip Girl.

It's another chance to catch up on the teen soap. On tonight's repeat episode ("Roman Holiday"): it's time to deck the halls as Blair's father comes home for the holidays and brings his boyfriend with him while Serena and Dan plan holiday surprises for each other.

8-11 pm: Top Chef on Bravo.

Because why wouldn't you rewatch three hours of the best culinary competition series on television?

9:30 pm: Old Christine.

Seinfeld Reunion Alert! On tonight's episode ("One and a Half Men"), which also happens to be the third season finale (boo!), Christine takes matters into her own hands after her gynecologist (guest star Jason Alexander) suggests her flu-like symptoms are actually signs she's experiencing perimenopause.

Comments

Anonymous said…
This being a Bruno Heller project, I had high hopes. But the casting of Simon Baker isn't all that exciting and the premise is pretty yawn-inducing (and it sounds like the pilot script is too).
Anonymous said…
I was going to laugh about the Top Chef reruns, but then I remembered that I watch each episode twice - once with my girlfriend, once with friends. If not more. It's so tasty and entertaining!

Popular posts from this blog

What's Done is Done: The Eternal Struggle Between Good and Evil on the Season Finale of "Lost"

Every story begins with thread. It's up to the storyteller to determine just how much they need to parcel out, what pattern they're making, and when to cut it short and tie it off. With last night's penultimate season finale of Lost ("The Incident, Parts One and Two"), written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, we began to see the pattern that Lindelof and Cuse have been designing towards the last five seasons of this serpentine series. And it was only fitting that the two-hour finale, which pushes us on the road to the final season of Lost , should begin with thread, a loom, and a tapestry. Would Jack follow through on his plan to detonate the island and therefore reset their lives aboard Oceanic Flight 815 ? Why did Locke want to kill Jacob? What caused The Incident? What was in the box and just what lies in the shadow of the statue? We got the answers to these in a two-hour season finale that didn't quite pack the same emotional wallop of previous season

The Daily Beast: "How The Killing Went Wrong"

While the uproar over the U.S. version of The Killing has quieted, the show is still a pale imitation of the Danish series on which it is based. Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "How The Killing Went Wrong," in which I look at how The Killing has handled itself during its second season, and compare it to the stunning and electrifying original Danish series, Forbrydelsen , on which it is based. (I recently watched all 20 episodes of Forbrydelsen over a few evenings.) The original is a mind-blowing and gut-wrenching work of genius. It’s not necessary to rehash the anger that followed in the wake of the conclusion last June of the first season of AMC’s mystery drama The Killing, based on Søren Sveistrup’s landmark Danish show Forbrydelsen, which follows the murder of a schoolgirl and its impact on the people whose lives the investigation touches upon. What followed were irate reviews, burnished with the “burning intensity of 10,000 white-hot suns

Pilot Inspektor: CBS' "Smith"

I may just have to change my original "What I'll Be Watching This Fall" post, as I sat down and finally watched CBS' new crime drama Smith this weekend. (What? It's taken me a long time to make my way through the stack of pilot DVDs.) While it's on following Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars on Tuesday nights (10 pm ET/PT, to be exact), I'm going to be sure to leave enough room on my TiVo to make sure that I catch this compelling, amoral drama. While one can't help but be impressed by what might just be the most marquee-friendly cast in primetime--Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Jonny Lee Miller, Amy Smart, Simon Baker, and Franky G all star and Shohreh Aghdashloo has a recurring role--the pilot's premise alone earned major points in my book: it's a crime drama from the point of view of the criminals, who engage in high-stakes heists. But don't be alarmed; it's nothing like NBC's short-lived Heist . Instead, think of it as The Italian