What's New On Your Television Set?

With the first of the year now past us and nearly a month of reruns almost history, I thought it was time to take a look at what's ahead for television in the near future.  While this article is not meant to be comprehensive, it is some of the stories that most interest me.

TV LAND CHOOSES CAST FOR GEORGE SEGAL PILOT.

I used to like TV Land most when it was nothing more than reruns of your favorite shows from Yesteryear.  In the past year or so what used to be my favorite channel for retro TV (remember when they even showed old commercials?), in order to attract a rider range and larger number of viewers, has begun showing and reshowing their own original programming, most of which has been reality based sludge.  I don't see the connection between great 60's sitcoms and dramas, and specifically "My High School Reunion", which deals mainly with the salacious affairs generated among those who never realized their dreams from their youth.  The show itself is sleazy, narcissistic, and especially boring.

 

This leads us to a pilot that TV Land is now filming, which stars George Segal.   The show is called "Retired At 35".  Jonathan McClain will star as David, a successful businessman from New York who decides to leave the pressures of the big city and move into his father Alan's (George Segal) Florida retirement home.

Casey Wilson, who was unexpectedly dropped last year from the cast of Saturday Night Live,  returns to television in the role of David's sister.  Jessica Walter, formerly a castmember of "Arrested Development", will portray David's mom.  Meanwhile, Christine Ebersole will be a love interest for Segal's character.

Besides "Retired At 35", TV Land is also making another sitcom pilot called "Hot In Cleveland".  It has yet to be cast.  This will be TV Land's first endeavor at original scripted series.  Let's hope they are better than their reality based dreck.

Part-time Gig Becomes Full-Time Role For Kim Raver.

Showing up in the ninth episode of "Grey's Anatomy" for what was originally intended as a guest starring role for actress Kim Raver has turned into full time employment at Seattle Grace Hospital, the setting for the ABC hit.  The former "Lipstick Jungle star portrays Teddy Altman, a new cardio surgeon brought in by her former Army colleague Owen (Kevin McKidd). She quickly stirred things up by professing her feelings for Owen, laying the groundwork for a love triangle with him and Christina (Sandra Oh).  She is expected to be in all but one of the remaining shows for this season.

 

Raver joins Kevin McKidd and Jessica Capshaw as the newest regulars to the show this season.  They too were originally brought on the show as recurring roles before being added to the series regular cast.

Kevin "Southland" Alejandro Joins "True Blood" Cast

Kevin Alejandro, currently the co-star of cop drama "Southland", will be joining the cast of HBO's vampire drama "True Blood".  He is expected to appear in almost every episode of the third season of creator Alan Ball's hit series, which stars Anna Paquin.

Alejandro will play Jesus, a Latino orderly who is taking care of Ruby Jean Reynolds (Alfre Woodard) at her care facility and becomes involved with her son, Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis).  Alejandro continues to be attached as a regular to "Southland," which will air on TNT after being dropped by ABC before any second season episodes ever aired.

Because of TNT's plan to air the already produced episodes of the show  before making a decision whether to order a second season, Alejandro can  accommodate "Blood" while keeping his obligation to "Southland."  Other new castmembers for "True Blood" include Denis O'Hare, Marshall Allman, Theo Alexander, Grant Bowler, Joe Manganiello and Lindsay Pulsipher.

Spoilers For "Chuck" Season Three

This list of spoilers for "Chuck" comes from BuddyTV.Com.  I am most looking forward to Kristin Kreuk (formerly Smallville's Lana Lang) appearing in several episodes as a love interest for Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi).  If these are all true, it will make for a really great season.  Incidentally, it seems that Fox is attempting to take the wind out of Chuck's sails by programming a new episode of "House" against The spy comedy when it returns to it's time slot on January 11th.  Hopefully, the fans who flocked to Subway to save Chuck from cancellation will tune in and Chuck will at last get some decent

ratings.

 

And now, here are the spoilers:

Chuck Season 3 Character Spoilers:

Chuck Bartowski

• The new season picks up right after the end of season 2 thus Chuck is still new to his abilities.

• Chuck will be crushing on a new Buy More employee in the form of Kristin Kreuk.

• When Ellie and Awesome move out of the apartment, Chuck and Morgan get their own bachelor pad.

Anna Wu

• The only female member of the Nerd Herd will be "MIA" during season 3's first 13 episodes, but there's a chance she could pop up in the last six.  Nevertheless, her absence at Buy More will be referenced early in the season.

John Casey

• The 10th episode of Chuck's third season entitled "Chuck vs. the Tic Tac" will feature a Casey-centric storyline which involves the arrival of Colonel Keller. Apparently, Casey will do something really bad that could cost him his job.

Captain Awesome

• Cast member Ryan McPartlin isn't sure if his character will eventually be turned into a spy but he is certain that he's getting more involved in the world of espionage.

• Expect more shirtless scenes beginning episode 3, which is a Captain Awesome-centric episode.

  • Part of Captain Awesome's storyline this season is learning how to keep Chuck's secret. "I feel like it's amazing because it's like the first season, when Chuck got to carry the weight of the secret. I get to bring that [spirit of the] first season back again, through Awesome's eyes. And I'm just gonna lean on [Sarah and Chuck] for advice on how to do that," Ryan McPartlin reveals to Eonline.com.

  Bryce Larkin

  • There's a chance that Bryce Larkin may live to see another day. According to Eonline.com, Bryce could return to spice things up a little. Even Bryce's portrayer, Matthew Bomer, hints of his possible return though "it's really going to depend on scheduling [with White Collar]."

  Morgan

  • Season 3 kicks off with Morgan working on becoming a hibachi chef in Hawaii, leaving Buy More in the hands of Emmet, according to SciFiWire.

  • Morgan will develop semi-serious feelings for Kristin Kreuk's Hannah.

  Chuck General Season 3 Spoilers:

  • A recurring character will die in the first episode of season 3.

  • We learn that there's a recurring character that is a closeted Wilson Phillips fan--- which may be connected to the death in the premiere.

  • Sarah's spy buddy Carina returns in the second episode.

• Chuck Season 3 Casting Spoilers:

• Angie Harmon (Law and Order) will play Sydney, an enemy operative.

• Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) is set to play CIA Agent Daniel Shaw.

• Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Unit) will play Colonel Keller, a mysterious from Casey's past.

• Kristin Kreuk (Smallville) appears as Hannah, a girl Chuck meets on a flight to Paris. Having been laid off from her glamorous publishing job, Hannah ends up working at the Buy More where she'll serve as a potential love interest for Chuck, according to Entertainment Weekly.

• Armand Assante (Judge Dredd) guest stars as dictator Premier Goya, who is the target of an assassin.

• Steve Austin (WWE Smackdown!) will portray Hugo Panzer, who becomes entangled in Chuck's first solo mission. He'll appear in the fifth episode of season 3 entitled "Chuck vs. First Class", as a master of close-quarters combat.

• Vinnie Jones (Snatch) will play Carl Stromberg, an arms dealer.

So there you have it, a quick look at some of the things you have in store for your television viewing.  Hopefully, it is something that you are looking forward to.  I know that I am really anticipating the return of "Chuck".