Eddie Cibrian by Robert Mora/WireImage.com
Somewhere Ana Ortiz is thanking God and/or doing cartwheels. Why?'Cause the underrated Ugly Betty costar will be getting a new love interest later this season, and he's going to look a lot like Eddie Cibrian. Actually, he is Eddie Cibrian!Multiple unnamed moles (all of 'em Ugly) confirm to me exclusively that Dimples Cibrian — aka ABC's go-to guest star of late (see also: Dirty Sexy Money, Samantha Who?) — has been cast as Justin's phys-ed teacher slash eventual boyfriend to Ortiz's Hilda. He'll appear in three episodes this season and could return in the fall. Please join me in congratulating Ana!
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Samantha Who? by Randy Holmes/ABC
Coming in fall 2008: a new ABC sitcom starring Eddie Cibrian and Josh Randall as wacky roommates! That's my prediction based on the omnipresence of those two TV journeymen as guest stars for the Alphabet network. Within the span of a week, Ed alum Randall reprised his Men in Trees role of Annie's loutish brother (in an episode taped last season, I grant you) and also surfaced on Private Practice as Addison's would-be (if not for his propensity for probing his posterior...) beau. Cibrian, meanwhile, recently played Karen's ex-husband on Dirty Sexy Money, and this week can be seen pitching woo at Samantha Who? In a similar vein, ABC tapped Sara Gilbert to play a convenience-store robbing mom-to-be on Private Practice mere weeks after the Roseanne vet visited CBS' Big Bang Theory. (That was the PP episode which went for the sweeps month hat trick: Name Guest Star, Emergency Baby Delivery and Hostage Situation.)Setting aside my opinions of any of the aforementioned actors (Randall's app...
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Christina Applegate in Samantha Who? by Karen Neal/ABC
This Monday, TV's cutest amnesiac may not just be getting a new time slot (9 pm/ET), she may be getting a new boyfriend, too. On the next Samantha Who?, dimpled Invasion dreamboat Eddie Cibrian guests as the contractor Mama Newly hires to redo her floors and, um, kinda invites to do her daughter as well. Wacky chaos ensues when Sam fibs that she's a hockey fan, and turns to her ex, Todd, for G-rated explanations of terms like "high-sticking," much to the chagrin of his new squeeze (played by poor Kiele Sanchez, for whom Lost might as well have been called "Get Lost"). — Ben Katner
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Two words Freddie rapping Fantastic The Game was not a Halloween reference to bobbing for candy-covered apples or pinning the tail on the ghoul It referred to a high-stakes poker game where money you know its Dirty Sexy Money is worthless and real estate is king I had a heart attack just watching them toss around 80 million at a time I didnt understand why Tripp would argue with Nick in front of the poker players I found it unlike Nick for pushing something that hard with Tripp although when I learned the truth behind it it made more sense Tripp folded but I wonder what hand he actually had He may have thrown the game My favorite scene of the entire show was when the brothers played the video game It was too short-lived But one of the best lines came from that scene Doesnt your conscience feel the tiniest prick Not until you walked in Brian Funny and so nice to see the brothers interacting They dont get to do that
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Eddie Cibrian by Bob D'Amico/ABC
ABC's obsession with Eddie Cibrian shows no sign of letting up. Hot on the heels of his casting on Samantha Who?, Cibrian has closed a deal to guest-star on Dirty Sexy Money, sources confirm. The Dimpled One will play Sebastian Fleet, the irresistible third ex-husband of Karen Darling. Although Cibrian's only committed for one episode, I hear there's a good chance he'll be back for more. BTW, was I right about DSM or was I right?! If you missed last week's delectable series premiere, fret not — you can watch the whole thing right now at ABC.com. Ain't technology grand?
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Eddie Cibrian by Bob D'Amico/ABC, Kiele Sanchez by Bob D'Amico/ABC
If you needed two more reasons to catch ABC's unquestionably entertaining Samantha Who?, here they are: Sources confirm to me exclusively that producers have tapped ex-Invasion hottie Eddie Cibrian and short-lived Lost castaway Kiele Sanchez for multi-episode arcs. Cibrian has been cast as a love interest for Christina Applegate's title character, while Sanchez — who I swear is just one good role away from being a huge star — will romance Barry Watson's Todd. ABC is clearly looking to keep both actors on the payroll. In addition to their respective roles on Invasion and Lost, Cibrian and Sanchez starred in the Alphabet Net's ill-fated Football Wives pilot. Samantha Who? premieres on Oct. 15 and, trust me, you guys are gonna Eat. It. Up.
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It's not every day that a TV show kills off its leading man seven episodes into the first season. But that's exactly what happened on Monday's Vanished, when Gale Harold's Det. Kelton got caught in a hail of gunfire — punishment for learning too much, too soon. Now, for the first time, exec producer Josh Berman explains why he made his star, um, vanish. (Note: Shortly after this interview was conducted, a tip came in that Fox was relocating Vanished to Friday nights. No confirmation yet from the network. I'll keep you posted.)Ausiello: So, why'd you kill him off?Josh Berman: The premise of Vanished is that no one is safe. When we were thinking about going into baseball [hiatus] and leaving the viewers wanting more, what better way [to do that] than to have our lead character get too close to the truth? On this show, anything can happen at any time. Ausiello: The buzz going around is that Gale didn't exactly endear himself to the cast and crew. Is there any truth to that?Berman:...
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Anthony LaPaglia, Without a Trace
Question: Without a Trace is about the only show I look forward to watching on a regular basis. But I'm wondering, why CBS would mess with something that works and move it from Thursday to Sunday?
Answer: Simplest answer: It's not about the show, it's about the network's larger needs. That includes strengthening Sunday by dumping the two-hour movie block and replacing it with two strong crime-drama franchises. Cold Case and Without a Trace will be a good fit, no doubt. And though CSI and Trace were a perfect one-two punch on Thursdays, CBS would likely be criticized in some circles if it didn't eventually try to create a new hit show using CSI as a lead-in, which is what the network is attempting with Shark this season. In this business, you get knocked for complacency, and you get knocked when you shake things up a bit. CBS' scheduling is the most solid of any of the networks, and this sort of move was probably overdue ...
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Question: In your review of Vanished (which I agreed with except possibly for the "continue watching" part), you left off one serious flaw in this (to me) totally flawed show. The acting was completely lame. It felt like a daytime soap. Only Ming-Na, whom I liked on ER, seemed "natural." The misdirection "clues" hit you over the head (haven't the writers heard of subtlety?). The FBI is competent on the surface, yet I'm sure they will be proven completely inept. Is there any hope for this show?
Answer: Couldn't agree more that the biggest handicap Vanished faces at this early point is the lack of a galvanizing star presence. (Translation: Gale Harold is no Kiefer Sutherland, or Wentworth Miller for that matter.) The roles are generically written and formulaically played. It's really going to be up to the storytelling to carry this one, and subtlety is likely to have little to do with it. If there's hope for Vanished, it will be as a guilty pleasure. And for those with a little patience,
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Status report on the networks' attempts to bring sci-fi/fantasy back to prime time: CBS' Threshold is, sadly, history. NBC's Surface will be history soon enough (at least for this season), with only a handful of episodes to go. But ABC's Invasion — which triggered an outpouring of confused and worried mail when it disappeared in early December to be replaced by a couple of Alias episodes — is finally returning this week (Jan. 11, 10 pm/ET) and is expected to play out a full season's worth of episodes.
I don't know if absence made my heart grow fonder, but Invasion has now invaded my psyche. With this week's episode, the show is kicking into high gear. It's gone beyond creepy to the realm of the a
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