Regina King by Rebecca Sapp/WireImage.com
John Wells – the mighty force behind The West Wing and ER – has cast his new LAPD project with Regina King, Kevin Alejandro and Michael McGrady for NBC.According to The Hollywood Reporter, King will play Lydia, a smart, sympathetic detective in the Hollywood division.Alejandro will play Nate, a happily married detective with several kids, and McGrady will play a detective who deals primarily with gang-related crimes and is obsessed with his family's safety. All that's missing is the wise-cracking "goofball" character, but it's still early in the casting process. What's Justin Long up to these days?And for all you The O.C. fans out there, stay tuned, because Benjamin McKenzie is also in talks to star in LAPD. Ladies, start your fangirl engines! — Erin FoxRelated• Wells Finds LAPD Arresting
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"The Rainy Day Women"- Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson courtesy FOX
After four seasons and countless fistfights, the soap headed into the sunset, and we take a look back on its juiciest twists.1)"Welcome to the O.C., Bitch!” “Premiere” (August 5, 2003) Luke’s bon mot to new punching-bag-in-town Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie) quickly became the signature line of the series. Says Schwartz, “Kids from Orange County say they’re from ‘the O.C.’ like it’s ‘the Ukraine.’ I always found it funny so I gave Luke that line.”2) Marissa Dies “The Graduates” (May 18, 2006) Marissa (Mischa Barton) died in Ryan’s arms after being run off the road by her bad-boy ex Volchok in Season 3’s shocking finale. Despite what the rumor mill would have you think, Schwartz contends that the tragedy was not dictated by anyone’s off-set antics: “Losing Marissa—and Mischa—was a big loss for the show.”3) Julie’s Affair With Luke “The Telenovela” (February 25, 2004) Jaws...
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Mischa Barton and Benjamin McKenzie, The O.C.
After four seasons and countless fistfights, the Newport group is hanging it up with a finale that executive producer Josh Schwartz promises will "offer real closure." So what better way to say goodbye to The O.C. (Thursdays at 9 pm/ET) than a look back at the Fox serial's best moments?
1. "Welcome to the O.C., Bitch!" — "Premiere," 8/5/03 Luke's bon mot to new punching bag in town Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie) quickly became the signature line of the series. Says Schwartz, "Kids from Orange County say they're from ‘the O.C.' like it's ‘the Ukraine.' I always found it funny so I gave Luke that line."
2. Marissa Dies — "The Graduates," 5/18/06Marissa (
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“Dude, it’s bad,” Seth told Ryan. While having a piece of glass lodged in your back is not a good thing, this scenario led to the best scenes of this post-earthquake episode. And not surprisingly, they were all Seth-Ryan scenes. The relationship between these two so very different foster brothers was the initial premise of The O.C., and it has always remained the heart of the show. I was glad they were paired up for this next-to-last episode; I wouldn’t have minded if nearly the whole hour focused on them. From Ryan quietly text-messaging Seth for help, to Seth valiantly letting nothing stop him from reaching his brother, it was all good. Then when Seth, who’s not great in high-pressure situations, began to fall apart, an injured Ryan was there for him, trying to talk him through how to fix a flat (which of course did not go well). But their endless obstacles (including Seth’s shortcut that got them lost) were lightened by moments of humor, a tricky bal...
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‘Twas the night before Chrismukkah,when people worried through The O.C.Because Ryan wasn’t stirring,stuck in a coma was he.Chrismukkah is always very special on The O.C., and this installment didn’t disappoint. This year they borrowed a popular page from the TV Christmas Handbook and did their own “alt-universe” spin on It’s a Wonderful Life. George Bailey stand-in Ryan was able to see what life in Newport would have been like if he never arrived there, and it wasn’t pretty. But it was funny. Funniest of all had to be Summer, Chester’s “mindless bimbo” of a bride-to-be. Every time the clueless, bling-loving junior Newpsie was on screen I cracked up. And although the save-the-earth Summer that we have come to know the past few months can be a bit of a downer, this episode showed how things would have been much worse if Summer had gone in the opposite direction.Likewise, it showed Sandy going in a direction that strayed far from the et...
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So it’s really no surprise that Taylor keeps a blog, one that no less details “the erotic memoirs of a soulful college girl” (even though technically she’s not in college at the moment). What is surprising is how this show manages to keep Taylor and Ryan’s budding relationship so refreshingly adorable. I love how Taylor doesn’t even realize that Ryan’s asking her out at first, and gets all apologetic about their kiss (“I’m a lip-biter... sometimes I draw blood”). She’s self-deprecating, while he’s inadvertently insulting, calling her “weird” and “strange.” She stages elaborate soap-opera schemes (“What if I did rent a homosexual for the evening, and pay him with rare collectibles from Asian cinema?”), while he has fantasies involving roller skates and soapy window-washing that Seth deems “pedestrian” and “average.” This opposites-attract plotline isn’t an original conce...
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Sure, Taylor was enamored with Ryan for rescuing her from her loveless marriage. And she appreciated the beauty of the sight of a shirtless Ryan. But what was the telltale sign that she had truly fallen for the guy? She actually thought the king of brooding was funny. And while Ryan’s far from Seth when it comes to witty retorts, Taylor has no problems in the humor department. Becoming someone’s uncertified sleep therapist is definitely a novel way to go about seducing someone. And she gets bonus points for the elaborateness of her approach: 50 candles, flannel pajamas and an offer to be a warm body. Her false denial when Ryan finally asked her whether she liked him was priceless, as well as somewhat believable. I can’t say that I fault him for not picking up on things initially — Taylor is a little bit kooky, and she’s always jumped into projects (like high school committees) with tremendous gusto, so attacking his insomnia with such tenacity wasn’t ou...
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Ben McKenzie and Rachel Bilson, The O.C.
With Mischa Barton's Marissa gone, graduation over, and Kaitlin Cooper back in Newport for good, can The O.C. remain as juicy and scandalous as ever? You bet it can. With Marissa's death and everyone dealing with it in their own way, there's plenty of room for relationship turmoil, new story lines, and guest stars to stir the pot.
When Season 4 premieres (Thursday, Nov. 2, at 9 pm/ET, on Fox; now streaming at MySpace.com), the twisted O.C. family is displaced and obviously changed five months after the season finale's fatal accident. With the very first glimpses of Ryan, it's hard not to think back to his Chino days, and with Summer starting her first semester at Brown University, things for the fake-tan-loving freshman have cl
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One's natural reaction to The O.C.'s return (Thursday, Nov. 2 at 9 pm/ET) is to wonder, "Is that still on?" It's looking awfully creaky for a fourth-season show, as it picks up five months after May's tragic graduation finale. That's when golden-girl Marissa died, although some might say Mischa Barton had been playing dead for years.
Did you know one of the stages of grief was getting yourself beaten senseless in cage matches? That's how her beau Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie) is moodily coping, just another excuse for him to throw punches in his T-shirt.
Meanwhile, her best friend Summer (Rachel Bilson) has shed her materialism as a Brown undergrad in Rhode Island, where she's busy with environmental protests. "I don't do sarcasm anymore. I'm post-ironic," she tells Seth (Adam Brody). Here's an inconvenient truth: She's not great company anymore, and neither's the show.
Granted,
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[Editor's Note: The Teen Choice Awards were rebroadcast on Wednesday night on the TV Guide Channel.] I have to say right away, our TV Guide Channel kicked butt on the official red carpet two-hour preshow, and I'd state this even if I didn't work here. Kimberly Caldwell, Rosanna Tavarez and Chris Booker were awesome hosts and set the proper tone for Fox's awards show. Speaking of which…8:00 pm Gwen Stefani opens the show with her No. 1 hit "Hollaback Girl." Can I stress how much I love the original, unedited version and how much I detest the edited version? I know it's network TV, but why perform the song if it has to be edited? Sing "Rich Girl" or something else. All those "shhh" sounds go right through me. OK — got that off my chest.8:06 I said this about the MTV Movie Awards and I'll say it here. How does Andy Dick continue to get booked on these awards each year? So. Not. Funny.8:12 Jim Car
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