Watching New Celebs

With news of actors leaving and coming back to CSI and its franchise - CSI Miami and CSI New York, I have a hard time keeping up with all the changes. I’m not even an avid viewer of this crime series, all three of them. But seeing that it is the most watched TV program in the world, I should add that, fans of the series should know that two of the three CSI shows are adding new cast members.

First, Kathleen Munroe is joining CSI New York as a recurring character. She will play the role of Samantha Flack, younger sister of Detective Flack (played by Eddie Cahill).

“She’s a bad girl,” explains exec producer Pam Veasey. “She’s trouble. It’s a great dynamic.” Veasey reveals that the role was originally going to be small, but then they met Munroe and “she was so his sister and so authentically New York and so wonderfully young and beautiful and shifty and dangerous that we were like, ‘Oh my God, this is a great opportunity.’ It adds a great human element to Eddie’s character, and [her presence] will touch a lot of other people, including A.J. and Stella.” | Ausiello

Kathleen Munroe was in the cast of Beautiful People, which ran for only one season two or three years ago. She has also appeared in several TV shows like Moonlight, Supernatural, Dresden Files and Cold Case.

And joining another CSI franchise - CSI Miami-  is Megalyn Echikunwoke, who will now be the show’s new corononer since Khandi Alexander left the series last season. Among Megalyn’s TV credentials — she was a regular on The 4400 and like Kathleen, she also guest starred on Supernatural, as well as plenty of other series like Veronica Mars, That 70’s Show, What I Like About You, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and most notably as Pres. Palmer’s daughter, Nicole, in the first season of 24.  She looks rather young to be a doctor-coroner, don’t you think?

Big Brother Season 10 is opening its door to a diverse cast this summer with two older house guests, two Black Americans and one Asian American…which doesn’t normally happen on the show. Will they keep that popular summer house interesting? For the next three months, these people much talked about by fans of Reality TV.

The House Guests:

America’s Next Top Model is conducting a nationwide search which will begin soon, as the show prepares for its newest season.

The production is looking for women at least 5′ 7″ tall, individuals who are interesting and enthusiastic about being part of the series where they will be scrutinized by the public. They should also be articulate and willing to share a part of their private life to fans of the series.

As always, the winner of this model-search will have doors of opportunity opening for them which will include a modeling contract with a major agency.

If you believe you’re the one this show is looking for, apply here.

Requirements when submitting your profile:
- Name
- Age
- Height
- Weight
- Location/Hometown
- At least 3 photos including 2 close up and one full body shot.

Video Requirements:
- Length: Maximum length is three (3) minutes. Anything over three (3) minutes will not be considered.
- Content: Tell us who you are and why you would make the ultimate top model. Be creative! Part of your video should at least include you showing us your best runway walk.
- No Music: Please do not include any music in your audition video.

Last season, the show has produced its very first plus size winner, Whitney Thompson.

America’s Next Top Model, created and produced by Tyra Banks and has been on the air since May of 2003. It has, so far, 11 seasons, thus producing 11 models, many of whom have had great success in the industry. The show is expected to continue until the year 2010.

Technorati Tags: America’s Next Top Model,America’s Next Top Model Casting Call

The newest comedy duo to join the MTV crew is hooking up for a reality series that will premiere on July 23, Wednesday, at 10:30PM ET/PT. Music artist Shwayze will be joined by his longtime friend and producer, Cisco Adler in Buzzin’ , a show that will chronicle the duo’s path to stardom with the release of their album in August, in this eight episode offering.

The carrier single of the album, Buzzin’, incidentally, is already slowly climbing the charts. Their sound is described as “fresh Cali” sound…If you have no idea what’s that like, watch Shwayze’s Buzzin’ video:

Shwayze is an up and coming music star, who proudly claims he is “the only black kid in Malibu”. Cisco, on the other hand is no stranger to this line of work and show business in general. He is the son of producer director Lou Adler.

In their reality series, Buzzin’ , the duo will be joined by Warren Gumple, the tour manager as well as the head of Suretone Records, Jordan Schur, who has taken care of careers of artists like Limp Bizkit and Ashlee Simpson.

The first episode will be made available for free download on iTunes, Xbox Live and Amazon starting in the week of july 15th, with all eight episodes a day after they are aired on MTV.

For more information, fans may check the Buzzin Website and watch exclusive trailers, read cast bios and view photos as well as other interesting footages. The cast also post their vlogs and pictures, including performances and song samplings.

Here’s Buzzin’s promo:

Technorati Tags: Buzzin’,Shwayze,Cisco Adler,MTV Buzzin’

I forgot that Celebrity Circus was airing on NBC last night. Although, I already have pre-formed judgments about the show (such as — what were they thinking?!), I can’t help but be curious about it.

Celebrity Circus brings together stars who are well-known in other fields (and in the circus called Hollywood!). The show, hosted by Joey Fatone (is he not on every other 2nd rate reality TV series now, huh?), stars Antonio Sabato, Jr. - an actor and a Calvin Klein model, Blu Cantrell - singer, Christopher Knight - actor, Janet Evans - Olympian, Jason Acuna - actor, Rachel Hunter - actress/model and Stacey Dash - actress.

These celebrities first went on an intensive training with circus act experts before the show premiered. They learned how to balance, fly the trapeze, work the Chinese poles, dance with fire and do deathly stunts. Every Wednesday nights, they get to perform their acts live on television. And each week, viewers of Celebrity Circus will have to cast their votes for their favorites, American Idol style.

It’s no joke what these celebrities are doing and I’m pretty sure the training has been hard on their bodies… which is why I’d feel a little sorry for whoever goes home early.

While some quarters may think this show brings television to a new low, my grandfather reminds me that in the old, old days, the circus was the highest form of entertainment. But today though, the idea of pitting non-circus performers against each other in the name of it (entertainment)… I guess there lies the difference. Right?

I’ll try to catch one episode of this sometime.

Celebrity Circus, Joey Fatone, Antonio Sabato Jr, Rachel Hunter

One of the most celebrated people of last year, Diablo Cody, is making her mark on television. The cable network, Showtime, has just greenlighted a comedy series she wrote. The series is entitled The United States of Tara and the network has made a 12 episode order for it.

The show will star Toni Collete who will play a wife and mother afflicted with dissociative identity, a kind of multiple personality disorder. Playing opposite her is John Corbett (Aidan, from Sex and the City). The half-hour comedy will tackle their domestic front, or how their family is able to cope with the mother’s different personalities.

Diablo Cody pretty much became an instant celebrity following the success of her feature film, Juno, last year. The movie has earned for her an Oscar trophy for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.

She will be writing the pilot episode of Tara and aside from serving as writer for the rest of the series, she is also the show’s exectutive producer. Dreamworks Television, Steven Spielberg’s production outfit, is also behind the series.

Showtime is very eager to have Diablo Cody on their network. As its president, Robert Greenblatt says, “What a pleasure to watch Diablo Cody and Toni Collette work together, a combination of inspired writing and acting that raises this show from just a curiosity to a compelling examination of a modern family.”

The combination of Diablo Cody and Toni Collette (who is so good at many things she does)? Looks like it will be a very viable one.

The series will begin shooting this summer.

Diablo Cody, Toni Collete, United States of Tara

The Hollywood Reporter thinks she is following in the footsteps of Jennifer Garner (Alias), Evangeline Lilly (Lost) and Keri Russell (Felicity), as JJ Abrams latest discovery. But unless you’re an Australian, this would have to be the first time you’ll hear of actress, Anna Torv, who has landed the female lead in JJ Abrams upcoming series, Fringe.

In the story, Anna Torv will portray the role of Olivia Warren, who is a young FBI agent tasked to work with an in institutionalised scientist named Dr. Walter Bishop (played by Lord of The Ring’s John Noble) and his son, who is played by former Dawson’s Creek star, Joshua Jackson, in tracking down phenomenons.

The new series has been compared to the cult hit, The X Files and is scheduled to premiere in the last week of August on the Fox network.

Born and raised in Australia, Anna Torv has been working as an actress in the United Kingdom before landing this role of a lifetime, one that would possibly make her the next most popular TV actress. She laughs off suggestions to such, showing that she has her feet firmly planted on the ground.

While she is the niece of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, she doesn’t make use of this influence and connection and has instead worked her way through the business, starring in a number of projects including UK’s drama series, Mistresses.

To console gamers though, Anna Torv’s voice may be all too familiar as she is the voice to Nariko of Heavenly Sword, a very popular console game for the Playstation.

Watch Anna in this sneak peek of Fringe:

Anna Torv, Fringe, JJ Abrams, Joshua Jackson, John Noble

Beginning June 1st, Sunday at 10 PM, Mary McCormack will be regular face on cable television as her new series, In Plain Sight, debuts on the USA Network.

But of course, the actress is no spring chicken. But she gets this special spot on this site because we sure do recognize her newest milestone. In Plain Sight will mark her first TV series as top billing.

More familiar to viewers as Kate Harper on The West Wing, McCormack is also a seasoned Broadway actress, who has appeared in the production of Boeing, Boeing playing the role of a German flight attendant. This role has earned her a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play this year.

Beginning with acting at age 12, the almost 40-year old Mary has worked in several theater productions in New York and has appeared in three seasons of the television series Murder One. But it was her role as Howard Stern’s wife in the movie, Private Parts in 1997, which has boosted her Hollywood career. The role demanded too much from whoever was going to portray her; and she was capable enough to deliver what it called for.

In the last decade, McCormack has played supporting roles in movies like Deep Impact, Mystery Alaska, Full Frontal and 1408.

In Plain Sight is about a US Marshall named Mary Shannon who is assigned to the Witness Protection Program. Much like a government babysitter (with a license to own a gun), Mary is posed to keep watch of all kinds of witnesses, regardless if they are innocent or known criminals. The troubling part is, there’s always someone who wants these witnesses dead and it’s up to Mary to make sure they are not.

Joining McCormack in this series is Fred Weller, who plays her partner, Marshall Mann. To make their situation even harder, Mary doesn’t get along with her partner; and her personal life is just as complicated.

Watch the teaser to In Plain Sight and inquire from your cable provider about it.

Mary McCormack, In Plain Sight

Here’s a first look at The CW’s upcoming spin-off series Beverly Hills 90210 (are they calling it with the same name?). They are mostly composed of unfamiliar actors, except for one or two veterans of television like — Jessica Walter who was formerly Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development, now playing the grandmother on 90210; and Lori Loughlin who was Full Houses’ Aunt Becky, now playing the mother of  one the main teenage characters.

But I guess that in a couple of months, these kids will be names you will often hear. Will the young ones be TV’s toast and stars next season?

(From Left to Right): Dustin Milligan, AnnaLynne McCord, Jessica Walter, Shenae Grimes, Tristan Wilds, Lori Loughlin, Ryan Eggold, Jessica Stroup and Michael Steger.

It has been recently reported that Jennie Garth, from the original cast back in the 90’s, will reprise her role as Kelly Taylor on the series and will serve in a semi-regular capacity as her former Alma Mater’s guidance counselor. News sources also say Tori Spelling is coming on board, reprising her role as Donna Martin.

But the spin-off’s central character will be played by Shenae Grimes and her character is Annie Mills, whose family, supposedly patterned after the Walsh’s,  moves from Kansas City to take care of their ailing grandmother (Jessica Walter).

Shenae Grimes is a teenage Canadian actress most famous for playing Darcy Edwards on Degrassi: The Next Generation. She’s also a singer and has recorded an album in Toronto along with Nelly Futado.

Class of Beverly Hills, 90210 Spinoff class picture, 90210 Spinoff, Shenae Grimes

This is what New York Magazine says of the freshman hit series, Gossip Girl on The CW. I wouldn’t know about how great it is. The last teen drama I got hooked on was 90210 (which the same network is reviving, incidentally! We’ll look into the new cast at another time) and even then, I watched only half of its entire run.

So yes, I am not this show’s target audience nor its regular viewer. Best show ever? I don’t think so. But I am very aware the ensemble cast of Gossip Girl is very much the stars a lot of kids follow today.

Blake Lively, Leighton Meister, Penn Badgely, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick — not since Sex and the City have kids been so obsessed about television stars. And they’re mostly who we read about in entertainment pages. A year ago, I did not even know who Blake Lively is and Leighton to me was just that kid I saw on House.

Why is this show such a hit among the younger set?

From what I’ve seen of a few episodes, it’s a show which projects impeccable style. From the wardrobe down to the props and the location….the attention to detail is commendable and impressive.

From what my young friends have told me about — It’s also a show filled with beautiful but flawed people they really wanna car for. The relationship between the two lead characters is complicated and intriguing. You wonder if are they really friends or are they enemies? The characterizations are nearly accurate, it’s a good depiction of how life is for young troubled teens or the rich and privileged (which sadly I wouldn’t know about). Music plays a big part, too. I’m told they carry great soundtracks in this show.

Last month, the show ran a controversial campaign which the Parents Television Council lost no time to protest over. While I have no qualms about that, it’s partly the reason why this show has failed to hook me in. It just feels like one big marketing machine and I see little substance in it.

But that’s just my take and it doesn’t matter. This show is a hit and the kids are stars.

Gossip Girl, New York Magazine, Blake Lively, Leighton Meister, Penn Badgely, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick