John Cho and Kal Penn in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle courtesy New Line
John Cho will guest-star as a private-school principal who squares off with Eddie Kaye Thomas' public school veep in three episodes of Fox's 'Til Death this coming season. With Kal Penn now on House, both Harold and Kumar should have plenty of cash for future White Castle runs. Also per the Hollywood Reporter, Jessalyn Gilsig, aka the mom of Heroes' Claire, has joined the cast of NBC's Backyards & Bullets pilot, playing Mathew St. Patrick's wife.... Camryn Manheim (Ghost Whisperer), Leslie Hope (24) and Kathy Baker (Picket Fences) are all on board for Jesse Stone: Thin Ice, the fifth installment in CBS' hit TV-movie franchise.
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You know the drill. Fall. Pilots. Variety. The Reporter. Read:• 24's Teri Bauer, Leslie Hope, is returning to Fox, playing the wife of a cop in The Apostles. Jessalyn Gilsig (Claire's bio-mom on Heroes, Nip/Tuck) has also joined the cast.• As first scooped by the Ausiello Report, Lucy Liu, who is currently in the midst of an Ugly Betty run, is now part of ABC's Cashmere Mafia.• James Brolin is Alyssa Milano's father (and thus Mary Steenburgen's hubby) in Everwood creator Rina Mimoun's untitled ABC drama. Ooh, Barbra is gonna sing the theme song, you just know it!• Aimee Garcia (George Lopez) and Paul Campbell (Battlestar Galactica) are the weather girl and news director for Fox's Action News.• Eddie Matos (General Hospital) is Jimmy Smits' youngest brother in CBS' drama about a family-run rum dynasty.
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Sorry for the lateness, but I realized I should probably make a post concerning the recent news: if you haven’t heard yet, the CW cancelled Runaway last week. Even more disappointing, although there’s a handful of episodes left that haven’t been aired, they’ve chosen to just shelve them and air America’s Next Top Model in the timeslot instead.I was really starting to get hooked on this show and I’ll miss Runaway: it was a surprisingly effective mix of serialized thriller and family drama, and pulling off just one of those on a regular basis is tough enough. I won’t try to second-guess whether or not pulling the plug was justified (the ratings were pretty dismal), but I still think it’s a shame that it couldn’t be afforded more time for an audience build. Maybe in today’s overstuffed marketplace if you can’t start strong right from the beginning it’s already too late.It’s possible that the remaining episodes might be...
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I realize it’s not the most important thing to mention at the beginning of my first blog for Runaway, but seriously, Donnie Wahlberg is playing the middle-aged dad who’s described in the police bulletin as “gray-haired?” I wasn’t exactly a New Kids on the Block fan back in the day, but I can clearly remember a time when he was a teen idol encouraging kids to “Hang Tough” and inspiring them that they had the “Right Stuff.” Jeez, I feel old.Although I know it’s a bit late, I really liked the premiere episode of Runaway, and I’m most impressed by the fact that it’s got three or four compelling storylines already. It’s really two genres merged into one: for the dad it’s a conspiracy thriller as he tries to unravel the mystery of who killed his former colleague and framed him and what secrets the murderers are protecting; for everyone else, it’s another “moving to a small town and reconnecting with each ot...
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My thoughts on Runaway coming soon.
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Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Where do the winners go after accepting their Emmys? Backstage to the (overly air-conditioned, brrrr) press room! Here is your minute-by-minute guide to who said what about their most memorable night.
8:06: Show's just starting, and we're watching it back here like the rest of ya. Host Conan O'Brien's pretaped opening says it all: NBC (and The Office) gets second billing in a funny bit that leads off instead with rival ABC's Lost.
8:18: Alan Alda wins, giving The West Wing its 26th Emmy ev
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Leslie Hope, Runaway
Leslie Hope and Elisha Cuthbert were two of the first actors I interviewed for TVGuide.com, back in 2002, during the debut season of a little-show-that-could called 24. Coincidentally, I was slated to talk with each of the "Bauer women" again this week, but one of them "politely passed" at the last minute. The actress I now like a bit more is Ms. Hope, who called me from the set of Runaway, a CW drama debuting Sept. 25, and concerning a family that assumes a new id
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Leslie Hope has scored the female lead as a wrongfully accused murder-suspect-turned-fugitive's wife in Runaway, the CW pilot being created by Sex and the City's Darren Star.... Dan Castellaneta will play a snippy bank teller on TBS' The Jeff Garlin Project.... Barry Bostwick has joined Fox's The 12th Man.... Kirk! Jere Burns seems to be revisiting Dear John territory as the latest addition to Help Me Help You, an ABC comedy starring Ted Danson as a therapist... Jessy Schram has grabbed the lead and Vanessa Lengies will costar in the CW drama Split Decision.... Rick Peters has come on board CW's untitled Aquaman series.
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Question: One of my favorite new shows is Commander in Chief, but one reason I wanted to watch it was because of Jason Wiles. I always loved Jason on Third Watch as Bosco, and was anxious to see if he could play another character besides the hardened cop with a soft heart. So what's up? Since they fired his character, is he gone for good? Say it isn't so!
Answer: Sorry, it's so. Like the characters played by Leslie Hope and Julie Ann Emery, Wiles' character made a mistake fatal to his career during the president's turbulent transition. Which made it even more interesting in last week's episode when Mac's special assistant Vince, who had kept secret his HIV status, turned in his resignation. You might actually have thought she would stick to her guns and let him go, since she had set the precedent with all of these other characters who had made critical blunders ...
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Question: I was just wondering if Leslie Hope or Julie Ann Emery will be back on Commander in Chief and what the reasoning behind their departures was. I think both of these actresses are underrated, and I know series creator Rod Lurie was a fan of theirs. Now I fear that Steven Bochco has already influenced the show in a negative light by casting off talented actors like Hope and Emery and bringing in actors like Mark-Paul Gosselaar.
Answer: Nothing wrong with our NYPD Blue pal Gosselaar, but the show is going through a fascinating (and unprecedented for a brand-new hit) transformation right now. From a purely story point of view, Hope's and Emery's departure made sense. Hope's character defied the president and was sacked, and Emery's agent made a mistake in handling the president's daughter and was reassigned. If Rod Lurie were still running the show, there's no reason to think he wouldn't have found a way to bring them back in a different capacity. He's famously loyal to actors.
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