With a possible writers’ strike looming around the corner, the networks are a bit more hesitant than usual to cancel their newest shows. That’s good news for the stars of current series but, what about the actors from the shows that have already been cancelled? They’re still around. Just read on.
Director Oliver Stone has once again cast Woody Harrelson (Cheers) in one of his films. Harrelson will co-star alongside Bruce Willis (Moonlighting) and Michael Pena (The Shield) in the mystery drama Pinkville. The movie tells the story of the infamous 1968 My Lai Massacre, in which hundreds of Vietnamese civilians were reportedly killed by U.S. soldiers.
Joshua Jackson (Dawson’s Creek) has been signed to appear in several episodes of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. Jackson will play a doctor who will first appear by mid-season. (Note: Because of the writers strike, this didn’t happen. Jackson later signed on to FOX’s Fringe.)
Kurtwood Smith (That ’70s Show) and Frankie Faison (The Wire) have joined the cast of an untitled NBC legal pilot. Firefly’s Alan Tudyk was previously cast in the project. Production began this week in New York.
After the demise of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Steven Weber is going back to NBC. He’ll be starring in a single-camera sitcom pilot called Zip. The network passed on an earlier version of Zip last Spring but, after NBC’s management change, the project was put back in development. Weber is currently recurring on ABC’s Brothers & Sisters and starred on the NBC sitcom Wings in the 1990s.
Speaking of Studio 60, Sarah Paulson, along with Carrie Preston, will soon be seen playing Felicity Huffman’s sisters in the November 11th episode of ABC’s Desperate Housewives. The women are tired of taking care of their mother, played by Polly Bergen (Commander in Chief), who refuses to move into a retirement home.
Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood) will be playing a recurring role on ABC’s Samantha Who?. Olyphant will play a potential love interest for Samantha (Christina Applegate).
On November 22nd, Wil Wheaton (Star Trek; The Next Generation) is scheduled to appear on CBS’ Numb3rs. Wheaton will be playing a young and wealthy comic artist at a comic-book convention. The week before, Ari Graynor (The Sopranos) will play a spoiled rich girl who finds herself kidnapped.
Larenz Tate (Love Monkey, Waterfront) has joined the cast of NBC’s police drama pilot Blue Blood. Traveler’s Logan Marshall-Green was previously announced as being part of the project.
Six Feet Under’s Chris Messina is a busy guy. He has roles in an upcoming Woody Allen film as well as Alan Ball’s directorial debut called Nothing Is Private. On TV, Messina has been cast in a new HBO medical drama series from J.J. Abrams.
Eliza Dushku (Tru Calling) will soon be seen on ABC’s Ugly Betty. Dushku who cuts a rehab stay short to do a photo shoot for the magazine.
And finally, be sure to watch NBC’s Las Vegas tonight. New castmember Tom Selleck will be reunited with his Magnum P.I. buddies Roger E. Mosley and Larry Manetti.
My girlfriends and I loved “Medium”. We hope it wasn’t cancelled. It was one of the best series ever and my husband agrees. We love the family involved, so natural. Please tell me it isn’t so . . .