Greg Grunberg, Susanna Thompson, Christopher Egan and Sebastian Stan by Chris Haston/NBC Photo
NBC's new series, Kings, made headlines when Deadwood alum Ian McShane signed on to play King Silas Benjamin. But at the show's panel and press line at Comic-Con, it was the newcomers who were heating up the scene, especially in the absence of their elder costar.The upcoming series, which is a modernized, soapy adaptation of the story of King David, features a number of newbies to look out for when it airs. Aussie actor Christopher Egan stars as David Shepherd, whose heroism draws him into Silas' court in a futuristic Manhattan. Egan's soft-spoken manner, sexy accent and looks akin to a fellow famous Aussie are sure to keep viewers (or just an editor or two) tuning in to see what he's got — and even more so when things heat up with the princess, played by the lovely Allison Miller. Recent Gossip Girl guest (and Covenant star) Sebastian Stan plays Jack Benjamin, the gorgeous and arrogant son of King Silas who is on an oh-so-realistic downward spiral. Add some high couture, edgy ...
read more
Ian McShane by Albert L. Ortega/ WireImage.com
Deadwood's Ian McShane will play King Silas in Kings, a new series inspired by the story of King David (Aussie actor Christopher Egan) and reportedly a lock for NBC's 2008-09 slate. Sources tell the Reporter that the Peacock on Wednesday will also announce series pickups for Knight Rider, the Christian Slater spy drama My Worst Enemy and The Philanthropist, which centers on a billionaire who sets out to help others.It is hoped that NBC will also confirm the rumored DirecTV pickup of Friday Night Lights. The Wednesday upfronts reveal is the earliest in the network's history, and at least six weeks ahead of the standard May fanfare. As long as it's bringing us more series news, faster, I'm all for it. How 'bout you? — Anna Dimond
read more
Jason Statham courtesy 20th Century Fox
The Hanna-Barbera adventure series Jonny Quest is being revived by Warner Bros. Pictures as a potential movie franchise.... Also per the Reporter, Joan Allen, Jason Statham, Ian McShane and Tyrese Gibson are all on board for Death Race, a remake of the Roger Corman classic. Statham will play "Frankenstein," while Allen, McShane and Gibson are the prison warden, a coach and sociopath Machine Gun Joe, respectively.... Thomas Haden Church is in final talks to play Eddie Murphy's workplace rival in NowhereLand.... Per Variety, Nicole Kidman will produce and star in a remake of Al Final del Espectro, a Colombian horror film about an agoraphobic who begins to see a ghost in her apartment.
read more
Picket Fences Season 1 courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Animation fans will have a blast on June 19! Warner Bros. is releasing sets for The Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain on the 19th. Both shows hit "volume 3" on the same day, though this is the last time they'll be paired together; it's the final volume for Pinky. Warner also has the first season of The Powerpuff Girls, and Shout! Factory will put out the complete Batfink set, featuring 100 episodes (well, they're shorts) on four discs.Fans of classic shows can pick up Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Season 3, volume 1, Perry Mason Season 2, volume 1, or Daniel Boone Season 4 from Liberation Entertainment. Sony will release the first season of Silver Spoons, though that's not really "classic" television (are the '80s considered "classic" now? Maybe "semi-classic"?).My "Pick of the Week" goes to Picket Fences, the 1992 series from David E. Kelley. Though the set contains a single featurette ("All Roads Lead to Rome"), this is one of the most-requested titles on TVShowsOnDVD.com. Fans...
read more
Twentieth Century Fox's Fox Walden banner has set four films' release dates:• The Dark Is Rising (Oct. 5), about a young man who learns he is the last in a line of mythical warriors. Stars Ian McShane, Frances Conroy, Christopher Eccleston and Jonathan Jackson.• Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (Nov. 16), a family fantasy starring Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman and Jason Bateman.• Nim's Island (April 25, 2008), featuring Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin.• City of Ember (Columbus Day '08), a sci-fi adventure helmed by Monster House's Gil Kenan.
read more
Per Variety, Ian McShane will star in the fantasy pic The Dark Is Rising.... Jennifer Garner will produce and possibly star in Devil in the Junior League, a comedy about a lawyer who agrees to help a socialite scorned if she will make over his trashy wife.... Per the Hollywood Reporter, Matthew Lillard and Efren Ramirez are set for an American Summer, playing a pool boy and gardener who squat in a Beverly Hills mansion and become neighborhood pimps. I can't decide who should sue first: Joel Goodson, Deuce Bigalow or Axel Foley.... Bend It Like Beckham's Gurinder Chadha is in talks to helm Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging, a comedy based on the best-selling 1999 novel.
read more
The Hollywood Reporter has Luke Perry joining the cast of John from Cincinnati, HBO's new drama series from Deadwood creator David Milch, and to debut in summer '07. I'm not great with math, but this could mean that Windfall is not returning.... Speaking of Deadwood, Ian McShane will make his first appearance on Broadway in 40 years when he stars in a revival of Daniel Sullivan's The Homecoming, says the New York Times.
read more
Question: I'm officially starting to worry. My top favorite shows of the new season are being stomped in the ratings! Kidnapped and Friday Night Lights both premiered with really bad numbers, Studio 60 has lost a third of its premiere numbers, and it's only three episodes into the season. If The Nine doesn't premiere with good numbers, I'm really gonna be depressed. Plus Veronica Mars' third-season premiere wasn't spectacular. (Is 70 percent retention really that bad?) I have this bad feeling that some of my favorite shows won't make it to November sweeps, let alone finish the season. Please tell me there is a silver lining somewhere!
Answer: It has been a discouraging few weeks, with several notable exceptions (the strong opening for Ugly Betty in particular), but the best spin I can put on the situation at this early stage of the game is that the networks can't cancel everything. There is certainly cause for concern regarding Kidnapped (although NBC seems committed to airing at least
...
read more
Ian McShane, Deadwood
This Sunday at 9 pm/ET, HBO shuts the saloon doors on Deadwood with a series finale in which, the press notes say, "Deadwood turns out to vote, Alma makes a deal, and Utter receives one body for Hearst, who demands to see another." In other words, more of the frickin' good down-and-dirty times that fans have come to love and look forward to. So why even say goodbye to this town full of ne'er-do-wells?
Ian McShane suggests, "It was a very expensive show to do." Expounding on that thought, Swearengen's portrayer says, "On Deadwood it's 15 working days, usually, to do a show, and that was one of the contentious reasons why I think the show was abruptly halted."
Halted, yes, but it also was exalted, by critics as well as viewers. "You'd think wi
read more
Question: What is the status of the two Deadwood movies? The last I'd heard, they were all but agreed upon and the contracts had to be settled. Is there any update you can give us?
Answer: Glad you asked. Ian McShane told TVGuide.com's Matt Mitovich that the actors are currently working out deals and the two movies are scheduled to begin shooting next May. McShane even offered a prediction as to how it'll end. "It will probably end with the town burning down," he says. "Actually, the real Deadwood burned twice. My character, Swearengen, died in the stockyards in Denver, broke, in 1899. Nobody seems to know why. When you look at the history of Deadwood, there's a lot more known about the other characters than there is about Swearengen, except that he was married twice, divorced twice, a wife-beater... a terrible guy."
read more
