Homeland's Zuleikha Robinson Joins Covert Affairs


A reimagining of the popular 1970s TV series about a female athlete who is given bionic strength.
A reimagining of the popular 1970s TV series about a female athlete who is given bionic strength.
Zuleikha Robinson is hopping from one CIA drama to another: The Homeland actress has landed a recurring role on the upcoming season of Covert Affairs, TVGuide.com has learned.Who are your favorite TV crime fighters?Robinson will make her debut in the ninth episode as ...

Does Annie need to watch her back?Bionic Woman star Michelle Ryan will recur on Covert Affairs next season as a new CIA operative, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively.Ryan will play ...

Looks like you're ready for a Revolution.NBC's new mystery series premiered to a strong 11.7 million viewers and a 4.1 rating in the adults 18-to-49 demographic on Monday. That is a huge improvement from last year's premiere of The Playboy Club, which drew 5 million viewers ...

ABC's Charlie's Angels redux didn't work, and NBC's new take on Wonder Woman never even made it to air. But just like the feature film world — where everything from Footloose to Conan the Barbarian has been recently updated — TV execs continue to mine the vaults in search of more classic titles to reboot.

Cheers to Nikita for putting the boot in reboot.Want more Cheers & Jeers? Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine.Lots of action franchises have been revamped in recent years, with mixed results (Bionic Woman, we hardly knew ye). But with a sizzling star (Maggie Q), a sleek visual style and a sly sense of humor about itself, the fourth incarnation of La Femme Nikita may be the sexiest — and most successful — yet. Paired with The Vampire Diaries, this rogue assassin could kick serious butt for the CW on Thursdays...

Tia Carrere will return to Warehouse 13 for Season 2, Syfy announced on Thursday. The 43-year-old actress — who co-starred in the Wayne's World movies in the early '90s — will reprise her role as...

How's this for perfect casting? Syfy's Warehouse 13, centered around the U.S. government's secret stash of supernatural objects, has cast TV's original government-owned-and-operated superhero. Lindsay Wagner, who won an Emmy for playing The Bionic Woman's Jaime Sommers, pops up in the Aug. 17 episode as Dr. Vanessa Calder. "She's the official doctor for Warehouse agents. She is quite worldly ...

It's now official: The Commander in Chief award for the most spectacular freshman flame-out of the 07-08 TV season goes to... Bionic Woman!Although NBC isn't talking, I'm told by multiple sources that Bionic staffers were informed late last week that the troubled reboot has indeed been canceled. That means no spring relaunch under new show-runner Jason Cahill — which is too bad. Cahill's a talented guy (see: The Sopranos), and I was anxious to see what he would do with the show. But I guess it wasn't meant to be.At least now the first stage of grief can get under way. No, not shock — the snarky postmortem! What do you think felled Bionic Woman in the end? Was it the lackluster pilot? The absence of a clear, creative vision? Not enough Starbuck? Too much Isaiah Washington? All of the above? Sound off in the comments section below!

Question: Any update on what's going on with Bionic Woman? Answer: Yes. Multiple sources are now confirming to me exclusively that NBC is in advanced talks to sell Jaime Sommers' used parts to Radio Shack. And not just any Radio Shack. The one on the lower level of Port Authority. That's quite a coup for them.
Will Bionic Woman, which before the WGA struck was hoping to reverse its fortunes with a two-part January "relaunch," ever get the chance to fine-tune its engine? Although there were earlier reports that not only had the NBC series exhausted its supply of scripted episodes but had been altogether scrapped, a spokesperson for NBC Universal Media Studios tells TVGuide.com, "Bionic Woman has not been canceled. Production was shut down due to the WGA strike. In addition, we have not completed the initial 13-episode order, which will be the first order of business when the strike ends." What's your take? Is Bionic Woman beyond repair? Me, I think they could kill off Jaime, somehow merge her memory circuits with Sarah's, and then set Corvus out to avenge her successor.

Question: I just read a rumor that Katee Sackhoff might be leaving Bionic Woman. Is it true? Answer: What it is is a moot point, since there may not even be a Bionic Woman for her to come back to. There's only one episode left in the can, and it airs tonight. And given the ratings, there's no guarantee it'll go back into production when the strike ends.
Katee Sackoff, who plays rogue beta model Sarah Corvus on Bionic Woman, could be completely done with NBC's struggling series, and not because of the writers' strike. According to the blog of at least one Battlestar Galactica/Stargate SG-1/Atlantis convention attendee, Sackoff said at a public Q&A that she has a meeting with one of the producers after Thanksgiving, but does not expect to return to the show even if it does resume production. Sackhoff never came out and explicitly stated the reason for her breakup with the show, but reportedly through thinly veiled sassy comments and during a more private confab at a luncheon table, suggested "there isn't a lot of love going on between her and Michelle Ryan," says the blogger. — Erin FoxUPDATE: Another attendee of the convention refutes the above account, saying in her own blog that during the public Q&A "at no time did Katee Sackhoff say that she was quitting the show or that she had any problem with Michelle Ryan. She d...

Whatever you think about the writers strike, ya gotta feel for guys like Lost writer-producer Carlton Cuse. As a writer, he's on strike. But as a producer... mmm. Not so much. So even though he's a member of the WGA's negotiating committee, he's returning to work, at least to do some post-production on the eight episodes that have already been shot. "We feel we owe that to our fans," he tells the Wall Street Journal. "We would harm our franchise if we didn't do it ourselves." Who'll be next to punch back in? We'll keep you posted... In other strike news, um, did they just hear about it in Canada? Bionic Woman, which shoots in Vancouver, powered down just last week, and Battlestar Galactica wraps early up north this Friday... And although the Hollywood Reporter says that secret meetings are taking place that would bring the hosts of the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien back to their desks, nothing is expected to happen b...

Sci Fi is pulling the plug on its Bionic Woman repeats and USA is cutting short its run of Life encores after this week, according to the thefutoncritic.com.... But the news isn't all fatalistic for Life. NBC has scheduled the first of a two-part arc for Dec. 3 at 10 pm/ET, following Heroes' fall finale. (And if that doesn't breathe some life into the ratings.... ) Part 2 will air in the show's regular time slot, on Dec. 5.... Forget Deal or No Deal, this is more like "Making a Killing or Overkill." The briefcase-picking game show will "treat" us to two-hour episodes on Dec. 10 and 12, and just for good measure, NBC is squeezing in yet another hour-long installment on the 11th. — Ben Katner

Can Jaime Sommers be made even stronger, better and faster? After an explosive start, NBC's Bionic Woman (Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET) in recent weeks has slowed down a bit. Cue a major tune-up at the hands of Friday Night Lights whiz Jason Katims and new show-runner Jason Cahill (The Sopranos). Miguel Ferrer gave us a fresh look under the Bionic show's hood. TVGuide.com: So, not much time off between TV gigs for you, eh? Miguel Ferrer: No, there wasn't much of a break [since Crossing Jordan], that's true! That's how I wanted it. I want

The production staff of Bionic Woman now officially has more Jasons than the entire Friday the 13th franchise. Jason Cahill, who won a Writers Guild award for his work on The Sopranos, has grabbed a wrench, pliers and duct tape and come on board the waning NBC series as show-runner, sources tell the Reporter. His mission: to make the show stronger and faster, or at least teach Jaime how to make a savory puttanesca sauce.Cahill joins executive producers Jason Smilovic and David Eick, while Jason Katims — who has been pulling double duty while "on loan" from Friday Night Lights — has been pitching in for the past month as a consultant.POLL: Can Bionic Woman be saved? Vote here.

Will time-shifting viewers ride to the rescue of NBC's time-tripping Journeyman? As the first batch of live-plus-seven DVR ratings are digested, network Nielsen-crunchers are careful not to suggest that the observed "lifts" could bring a flatlining show back to life.While 15 shows saw increases in the million-viewer-plus range, Bionic Woman, Journeyman and Private Practice were the only freshman series to enjoy any measurable increase. Outside of those three, however, no boosts were noted "that would save a show or make a show look even stronger," Fox's scheduling chief tells the Hollywood Reporter. NBC's own research chief echoes that cautious optimism (skepticism?), warning that live-plus-seven "is not the magic bullet that will make a struggling program into a success. They're not going to get a miracle."Related: DVR Ratings: Grey's, CBS Each Claim Bragging Rights

NBC has issued a vote of confidence to all four of its freshman series by ordering three more scripts for the buzzworthy Chuck and Bionic Woman as well as the less-warmly received Life and Journeyman, Variety reports.Typically, though never guaranteed, additional-script requests are seen as a precursor to a full-season nod. But realistically, who could say no to Yvonne Strahovski?!

This Wednesday's ratings recap:8 pm/ETABC's Pushing Daisies pushed all comers to the side, premiering to 12.83 million total viewers and also dominating in the key demos. Deal or No Deal placed second (with 11 mil), followed by Kid Nation (7.5 mil, down another 110 thou) and Fox's sitcombo of Back to You (6.58 mil, down a mil) and 'Til Death (holding steady with 6.22 mil). Top Model (4.52 mil) dropped another 330K.9 pmSurging 1.7 mil from its season premiere, Criminal Minds came out on top with 14.4 million viewers (albeit a No. 3 finish in demos). Private Practice (12.3 mil) dipped 15 percent from its debut yet stayed on top of Bionic Woman (10.94 mil), which itself slipped 19 percent. Gossip Girl (2.8 mil) got people talking again, inching up a quarter-mil.10 pmCSI: NY won the hour with the same tally as last week, 12.7 mil. ABC's Dirty Sexy Money saw 670,000 cash out yet kept ahead of NBC's listing Life, which with 8.8 mil was down 13 percent.

Question: I thought the Bionic Woman season premiere was awesome. Have you heard anything about what we can expect next? Answer: Watch my vodcast for scoop on Jaime's hot new boyfriend. Also, pick up this week's issue of TV Guide magazine — the one with Michelle Ryan on the cover — for Bionic spoilers galore, including prattle on tonight's death.
This Wednesday, as DWTS' first results show topped the night with 16.62 million total viewers:8 pm/ETKid Nation was a distant second with 7.61 mil, a 15 percent drop from its premiere. Similarly, Fox's twofer of Back to You (7.54 mil) and 'Til Death (6.2 mil) each shed 20 percent of their previous audiences. Top Model (4.85 mil) saw 300K take a catwalk.9 pmPrivate Practice (14.4 mil) came away with a slight lead over Bionic Woman (13.6 mil) in total viewers, though Jaime Sommers drew a slightly sexier demo. (Note: The Grey's eppy that laid the foundation for the spin-off drew 21 mil. Apples, oranges, I know.) Criminal Minds was No. 3 with 12.7 mil (a 23 percent plunge from a year ago). Gossip Girl (2.55 mil) was down 30 percent from its debut. UPDATE: BW was NBC's highest-rated Wednesday series launch (in 18-49) since '99's The West Wing, and is the TV-season-to-date's best drama debut in said demo.10 pmCSI: NY delivered 12.7 mil (down 21 percent from last fall's opener), followed b...

Question: I just watched the premiere of Bionic Woman and if I can't see Starbuck until 2008 at least I can see her as evil Bionic Woman! Any scoop? Answer: Yeah, but it's probably not the kind NBC wants out there. You already know that Friday Night Lights exec producer Jason Katims was summoned by NBC to help run Bionic Woman. Well, at the Emmys last week FNL's Scott Porter revealed that one of the drama's directors, Jonas Pate, was recently pulled off the show in the middle of an episode to go work on Bionic. At this rate, I wouldn't
NBC has drafted one of its MVPs to tinker with Bionic Woman. According to sources, Friday Night Lights executive producer Jason Katims has agreed to lend a helping hand on the Peacock's highly touted redo as a consultant. The move comes less than a week after the abrupt exit of Bionic boss Glen Morgan, apparently over creative differences. I'm told Katims will split his time between Bionic and FNL. And I think I speak for FNL fans when I say our brilliant little show better not suffer as a result. I do speak for you guys, right!?

As of, like, right now, Amazon's Unbox service is offering free downloads of the very first episodes of four new NBC series: Bionic Woman, Chuck, Life and Journeyman. I can vouch for at least two of these shows, thus far.If you're on dial-up, there's always the VHS tape you have of last season's Twenty Good Years.For much more on the upcoming "Is it here yet?" season, check out our super-special online Fall Preview Guide.
Maybe he got a better offer from The Six Million Dollar Man. Although no official reason was given, The Ausiello Report has learned that Bionic Woman executive producer Glen Morgan (of X-Files fame) has left the buzzed-about fall series. (Can you say "creative differences"? Good, because we're not supposed to speculate.) Says NBC: "Glen Morgan has helped create a great template for Bionic Woman but has decided to pursue other endeavors now. We wish him the best. The creative team of David Eick and Jason Smilovic continue as executive producers on Bionic Woman, and we are excited about the new series' debut September 26." How about you? Still excited about Woman without her main man? In his absence, will his successors make the show better, stronger, faster than before? Discuss. — Additional reporting by Ben Katner

In an arrangement touted as "unprecedented in terms of its scope and participation," all four of NBC's freshman series — Chuck, Bionic Woman, Journeyman and Life — are being made available early, starting Sept. 10, as free video-on-demand offerings via Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Charter and other major cable operators, Variety reports. The cablers' VOD services will also make available the Peacock's 30-minute fall-preview special, a two-minute trailer for Heroes, exclusive scenes from The Office and 30 Rock, as well as other featurettes. Dish Network is also making the four premieres available, while DirecTV is said to be offering a version of the NBC preview show.
The Peacock is unfurling The NBC Primetime Preview Show, a 30-minute showcase for its coming season, starting Aug. 11 on select affiliates and NBCU-owned cablers (check local listings). If you're lazy like me, the special can be found Sept. 8 at 8:30 pm/ET on NBC proper.Hosted by Heroes' Greg Grunberg, the Primetime Preview will feature drop-bys from the Bionic Woman (Michelle Ryan), Chuck's Zachary Levi and others. As part of the initiative, NBC is also letting cable, satellite and telco (that Fios thing?) outlets premiere the first episodes of Bionic Woman, Chuck, Life and Journeyman two weeks early.But remember, Matt Parkman is hosting the special, so be careful with your thoughts on the new programs. He can hear them.

According to a TV Dailies poll of 3,100 people, NBC's Bionic Woman reboot and ABC's Cavemen com are the highest-rated fall debuts in terms of viewer buzz, awareness and intent to watch. Among the 18-to-49 crowd, Jaime Sommers boasts the most awareness and intent to watch, while the GEICO-inspired Cro-Mags are tops in buzz. (I know Ausiello and I disagree on this, but I think Cavemen is kinda cute, with the Nick character being a real scene-stealer.)Placing third were Kid Nation (in awareness and buzz) and Kitchen Nightmares (in intent to watch). Coming in fourth were Pushing Daisies (awareness and buzz) and Private Practice (intent to watch).

• The paparazzi seem to have two new obsessions: Sarah Michelle Gellar, and celebrities with dogs. What begat either of 'em? No offense to Buffy at all, but it's as if they just this past week "discovered" her, or did she suddenly recover from agoraphobia? And Heigl with a dog, Paris with a dog, Duff with a dog.... Do the paps carry a spare Chihuahua in their film bag? • Knock me over with a feather, the Hairspray movie remake/redo/reimagining is getting some 4-star raves, including from the Post. Never underestimate the power of a luminous Michelle Pfeiffer.• Drew is the frontrunner! Ian is the fave! Don't count out Steines! I grow more and more convinced that the person who should ultimately "win" the Price Is Right gig is the overzealous publicist whose leaks helped get him there.• Does Posh ever crack a smile? Sexy gal, but... ever? UPDATE: I have since read that Mrs. Beckham thinks she looks "dorky" when she smiles, and thus (steadfastly) sticks to the "Posh...
Not long after her semiconspicuous absence from Bionic Woman's TCA press tour session, Katee Sackhoff and NBC agreed to terms that will make her a recurring player on the new series, says the Hollywood Reporter. Sackhoff's Sarah, a bionic woman herself (but one in desperate need of debugging), plays a meaty role in the pilot. Despite being passed off thus far as a recurring cast member, the actress and the studio had actually still been negotiating terms.According to the trade mag, some had speculated that Sackhoff — a bit of an icon to the lesbian community from her run as Battlestar Galactica's Starbuck — had taken issue with Bionic Woman's hiring of Isaiah Washington, yet others deny that that played into her holdout. (I hear she was lobbying to make her borg an eco-friendly hybrid.)RELATED: Bionic Sis Gets New Face (and Ears), Isaiah's Bionic Makeover and Other Random Thoughts

Lucy Hale has joined NBC's Bionic Woman as Jaime Sommers' younger sister, replacing Mae Whitman (who filled the role in the pilot). Hale is best known (by me) as Robin's kid sis on How I Met Your Mother. Definitely more of a "family resemblance" now. Also, as rumored and since confirmed in the Ausiello Report, the sibling is no longer deaf, and has also gained mad hacking skills.Also per the Reporter, Julie White has been upped to series-regular status on ABC's Cavemen, where she plays nice Cro-Mag Joel's (Bill English) prospective (and WASPy) mother-in-law, while Drive's Kristin Lehman has been cast as a police detective's wife in Backyards & Bullets, an NBC pilot (formerly known as The Watch) about a neighborhood-watch program gone extreme.

NBC co-chairman Marc Graboff seemed assured that Bionic Woman guest star Isaiah Washington wouldn’t repeat the mistakes that led ABC to can him from Grey’s Anatomy. "If anybody has learned his lesson about the way he reacts around his fellow actors and in the public — you have to be very careful of what you say privately and publicly," Graboff said Monday at the Television Critics Association press tour. "It’s a second chance; he deserves a second chance and we’re giving it to him. He knows he came this close to losing his career." Washington will have good reason to be on his best behavior. His five-episode stint on NBC's Bionic Woman is a dry run for a possible drama series that he will develop and star in for the network. "It’s an idea of his," NBC Entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman said. "Seeing him in an action environment will hopefully show us what he could do. But as we’re in production on Bionic Woman, we may decide whether he should ...

Isaiah Washington is back in action — literally. First up, says USA Today, the actor will guest-star this fall on at least five episodes of NBC's Bionic Woman update, playing "an outsider with a mysterious agenda" that will either help or raise hell for Jaime Sommers. Beyond that, the disgraced Anatomy star has inked a deal to star in a potential action drama he pitched to the Peacock for the 2008-09 TV season.Hailing Washington as "a brilliant actor," NBC Universal Media Studios president Katherine Pope believes viewers will welcome him back to the screen, in that "people watch characters... not personalities. He's put that [drama] behind him," Pope adds. "Let's give him a chance to do what he does."UPDATE: In a statement, NBC co-chairman of entertainment Ben Silverman says, "Isaiah Washington is a very talented and versatile actor and I've always admired his work, These episodes on Bionic Woman and the new development deal will showcase his talents, and we look forward to pro...

Bionic Woman is undergoing a little surgery.Mae Whitman (Thief) is being replaced in the role of Becca, the title character's deaf sister. An NBC spokesperson confirmed the move, adding, "The decision was purely creatively driven. It is very common to change story lines, characters, actors after the initial pilot is shot."The search for a replacement is under way — and the new actress might not be required to learn sign language. Rumor has it that someone high up requested that the character's hearing be restored. It's a miracle!
I'm working my way through the 2007-08 TV season pilot screeners, and thought it time to share my initial batch in a series of kneejerk thoughts. The theme for this one, you might say, is "Ladies first," as it covers ABC's new Christina Applegate comedy, NBC's Bionic Woman and Fox's The Sarah Connor Chronicles.Samantha Be Good (né Sam I Am, thanks to Dr. Seuss), is, I am prompted to rave, an early and huge favorite. I watched the pilot last Friday (and again with the wife on Saturday) and both times was disheartened to see it end. Applegate, you may know, stars as a young woman who awakens from an eight-day coma with no knowledge of what she soon realizes was a very bad-girl past. Pre-amnesia, Sam was a boozing floozy of a party gal who could probably drink Lindsay Lohan under the table... at rehab. Now she's an innocent desperate to come to terms with her "reputation" and prove that she need not revert to it. But oh, is it fun seeing her juggle who she was with who she believe...
The new NBC series Bionic Woman and Chuck, as well as the CW's Life Is Wild, have earned a thumbs-up from the Family Friendly Programming Forum, whose mission is to promote the development of programming appropriate in theme, content and language for adults and children. According to the Hollywood Reporter, this fall marks the first time the FFPF has an approved program airing each night of the week (meaning minus Saturday, which literally nobody seems to care about), with the new options joining the ranks of Ugly Betty, Brothers & Sisters, Notes from the Underbelly, Friday Night Lights and Everybody Hates Chris. But Bionic Woman, really? Methinks someone at the FFPF actually fancies two hot gals duking it out in a nighttime downpour.
The message from NBC's new 2007-08 schedule is pretty clear: The network wants another Heroes. Badly.Entertainment president Kevin Reilly picked up three fantasy/sci-fi-type shows that all could have been compatible with Heroes and thrive the 10 pm on Monday time slot, now the most attractive piece of real estate for a new NBC series. Journeyman got the nod, thanks to being the network's highest-testing drama pilot in five years. Chuck — about a geeky guy who has government secrets planted in his head — will do battle on Tuesday at 9 pm because it didn't seem to boast the same broad appeal.Oddly enough, it was Bionic Woman — which had terrible buzz during the development season — that looked best when it was presented to advertisers at NBC's presentation at Radio City Music Hall. Although clips can be deceiving, the lavishly produced remake of the '70s fave looked intriguingly dark (though not depressing), and had great action sequences. The network placed it on ...
Upfronts week — the near-euphoric annual event where television enthusiasts such as you and I anticipate the new and returning fare heading our way — is upon us. Though some scheduling news has started to leak out — NBC has renewed Medium and fan-fave bubble show Friday Night Lights but is possibly crossing Jordan off its list — the official presentation of each network's fall schedule begins Monday with the Peacock showcasing its feathers, and concludes Thursday when the CW answers such questions as, "What will fill Gilmore Girls' void?"This here blog, my friends, is one to bookmark, as it will serve as a veritable clearinghouse for any and all news coming out of the upfronts. Each morning we will hurry to the fore the latest unveiling of network lineups, then throughout the day supplement it with expert insight from the likes of Matt Roush, Stephen Battaglio and Michael Ausiello.With the fun about to start, I leave you with these burning questions, which will, ...
You read it here first: Sources confirm that NBC has renewed Friday Night Lights for a 22-episode second season! Woo-hoo! Who's buying the first round? And are we meeting at the same spot under the bleachers?In other Peacock news, the time traveler saga Journeymen, the cop drama Life, Josh Schwartz's Chuck and David Eick's Bionic Woman redo have received series orders. Look for an official announcement from NBC on Monday. But getting back to FNL for a second... Woooo-hooooo!
