Live chat with Jane Espenson, The Walking Dead returns, interviews with Luc Roderique and William B. Davis

Three things to check out on TV tonight.

Jane Espenson's latest episode of Once Upon a Time, "Skin Deep," airs tonight at 8 pm ET. Jane will do a live Q&A on Twitter during the West Coast airing. From ABC's press release:

Fans of ABC's hit drama, "Once Upon a Time" will be able to submit questions and receive real-time responses from writer/consulting producer Jane Espenson, who will be up on Twitter at @JaneEspenson during the West Coast broadcast of the show on SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12 from 8:00-9:00 p.m., PT. Espenson will also offer commentary and behind-the-scenes anecdotes about working on the show.

On Sunday's episode, "Skin Deep" - which was written by Espenson -- after Mr. Gold's house is robbed, Emma keeps a close eye on him when it looks like he wants to track down the criminal and dole out some vigilante justice as payback, and Valentine's Day finds Mary Margaret, Ruby and Ashley (Jessy Schram, "Falling Skies") having a girls' night out. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was, Belle (Emilie de Ravin, "Lost") agrees to a fateful deal to give up her freedom in order to save her town from the horrors of the Ogre war.

The Walking Dead (Bear McCreary scoring) returns with episode 2x08, "Nebraska," on AMC at 9/8c. Synopsis:

Rick and the others try to restore order in the aftermath of a terrible discovery. Hershel takes up an old habit and disappears, Rick and Glenn must follow him into town.

And Californication 5x06, "Love Song," directed by Eric Stoltz, airs at 10:30 pm on Showtime. Synopsis:

When Samurai Apocalypse hits a lyrical roadblock with his protege, he calls on the best writer he knows: Hank Moody, who unites with Kali to imbibe, bear his soul, and write a song that takes Hank back in time to an era when he, Karen and Charlie were happier and life was simpler before “A Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” But the present comes roaring back when Karen shows up at Hank’s door, worried that she made a mistake.

Eric is currently working on another episode of Glee. It's episode 3x15, "Big Brother," with Matt Bomer guest starring. Based on the Fox spring schedule and a few other things, it will air on April 10 at 8 pm.

Paula Malcomson cast in new Showtime pilot, Luke Camilleri in Arctic Air tonight, Falling Skies DVD release date, and more updates

A few quick updates.

To start with some frakking excellent news, Deadline writes that Paula Malcomson has landed a leading role in Showtime's new pilot, Ray Donovan:

A dark family drama with comedic undertones, the show centers on Ray (Schreiber), a professional “fixer” for LA’s rich and famous, the go-to guy in Hollywood who deftly solves the highly confidential problems of the city’s most intriguing personalities but can’t quite escape the damage in his own troubled family. Malcomson will play Ray’s wife Abby, a Boston tough girl who is still finding it hard to assimilate into the fast lane of Hollywood.

Luke Camilleri makes an appearance in tonight's episode of Arctic Air, "Hijacked," which airs at 9 pm on CBC in Canada. Michael Hogan is also back. Hit the pic to see a gallery of stills from the episode.

Here is the synopsis for Jane Espenson's next episode of Once Upon a Time, "Skin Deep," which airs on February 12 - Jessy Schram from Falling Skies and Emilie de Ravin from Lost guest star:

"Skin Deep" - After Mr. Gold's house is robbed, Emma keeps a close eye on him when it looks like he wants to track down the criminal and dole out some vigilante justice as payback, and Valentine's Day finds Mary Margaret, Ruby and Ashley (Jessy Schram, "Falling Skies") having a girls' night out. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was, Belle (Emilie de Ravin, "Lost") agrees to a fateful deal to give up her freedom in order to save her town from the horrors of the Ogre war, on "Once Upon a Time," SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

The Firm series premiere, Once Upon a Time, and interviews with Tricia Helfer, Callum Keith Rennie and Christopher Heyerdahl

^ In other words, here is what's on TV tonight:

Jane Espenson's new episode of Once Upon a Time, "Desperate Souls," airs at 8 pm on ABC.

Here is the synopsis (previews below):

Regina (Lana Parrilla) and Gold (Robert Carlyle) join forces to thwart Emma's (Jennifer Morrison) attempt to run for sheriff. In the fairy tale world, Rumplestiltskin continues his quest to help his son by finding him the power necessary to avoid war.

At 9 pm, The Firm premieres on NBC. Callum Keith Rennie is a series regular and, from the looks of it, Tricia Helfer makes her first appearance in the pilot, too.

The show was picked up for 22 episodes and, after tonight's premiere, it will air on Thursdays at 10 pm, in Prime Suspect's slot. Meanwhile, the last two episodes of Prime Suspect (with Jonas Pate on the producing team) will be aired back-to-back on Saturday, January 21.

Synopsis for The Firm (two sneak peeks below):

After young lawyer Mitchell McDeere (Josh Lucas, “J. Edgar”) exposed the law firm he worked for was a front for the Chicago mob, he and his family found themselves in the Federal Witness Protection Program. Now, a decade later, McDeere, his wife Abby (Molly Parker, “Deadwood”) and daughter Claire (Natasha Calis, “The Possession”), begin their efforts to reclaim their lives, which proves to be an uphill battle. Also starring Juliette Lewis (“Cape Fear”) and Callum Keith Rennie (“The Killing”). Tricia Helfer (“Battlestar Galactica”) and Shaun Majumder (“Detroit 1-8-7″) guest star.

Tuesday round-up: Blood & Chrome, Sanctuary, cast news, interviews with Jane Espenson, William B. Davis and Patton Oswalt

Okay, some updates.

It's Tuesday, so keep an eye on Beginning of Line. A new episode of Caprica season 2 goes up today.

There are a couple of things to check out on TV tonight. Patton Oswalt is on Conan at 11 pm on TBS, and on Chelsea Lately, also at 11 on E!

Deck the Halls with Luciana Carro and Hiro Kanagawa premieres at 9 pm on TNT. From the press release:

Holiday cheer turns to holiday fear when a private investigator’s father is kidnapped in TNT’s all-new original movie Deck the Halls, starring Kathy Najimy, Scottie Thompson, Jane Alexander, Larry Miller and David Selby. Based on the book by Mary Higgins Clark and daughter Carol Higgins Clark and the first in their series of holiday mystery novels.

A crackling good mystery with a warm holiday heart, Deck the Halls brings together two of the Higgins Clarks’ most popular characters: cleaning-woman-turned-amateur sleuth Alvirah Meehan, played by Kathy Najimy (Sister Act, Franklin & Bash) and private eye Regan Reilly, played by Scottie Thompson (Star Trek, Skyline). The women investigate the kidnapping of Regan’s father, Luke Reilly (David Selby – The Social Network, Dark Shadows), and a young female driver just before the holidays. The race is on to rescue the pair and get them home in time for Christmas.

TNT has released a sneak peek with Luciana Carro. You can watch it here.

Snowmageddon, interviews with Jane Espenson, Scott Porter and Calum Worthy, and more updates

Okay, the last round of updates for the week.

Snowmageddon, Syfy's Christmas movie with Magda Apanowicz and Michael Hogan saving the world, premieres tonight at 9 pm ET.

You can also catch Magda on Robot Chicken tomorrow at 11:30 pm on Adult Swim. She will be voicing Gladys/Mother/Herman's Wife according to the IMDB. And, speaking of Michael Hogan, he will be playing a "lethal werewolf hunter" in the second season of Teen Wolf. TV Guide reported the news earlier this month.

Press release, teaser and sneak peeks from Snowmageddon:

To usher in the holiday season, Syfy will present a snow globe with the power to destroy the world in the Saturday Original Movie Snowmageddon, airing Saturday, December 10 at 9PM (ET/PT) during the channel’s second annual Countdown to Christmas Week.

Starring Michael Hogan (Battlestar Galactica), David Cubitt (Medium) and Magda Apanowicz (Caprica), the Christmas-themed Snowmageddon is about a mystical snow globe that makes very bad things happen in the real world when it is shaken.

The movie is a production of Cinetel.

Friday round-up: previews, cast interviews and new projects

This is the first part of the weekend monster update, with more news & stuff coming in the next couple of days.

I got my Grimms confused in yesterday's post as it turns out. Tonight's episode won't be "Let Your Hair Down," but "The Three Bad Wolves." Rapunzel doesn't show up until next week.

Nick (David Giuntoli) is called to a suspected arson case, which exposes a longstanding family feud that brings Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) face-to-face with characters from his troubled past. While Monroe wrestles with restraining his wild side, it’s up to Nick to keep everything from going up in flames. Russell Hornsby, Bitsie Tulloch, Sasha Roiz and Reggie Lee also star.

There are a few sneak peeks at THR and Dread Central. Spoiler TV has the promotional stills. Here is the teaser:

Patton Oswalt on Raising Hope, Young Adult Q&A, new Sanctuary tonight, and interviews with Hiro Kanagawa, Jane Espenson and Christopher Heyerdahl

If you missed it on Twitter: Beginning of Line is back and the new episode of Caprica season two, "Children Through the Cracks," written by Vikki Bingham, has been posted. Check it out at the link.

Several notable TV appearances tonight.

Tahmoh Penikett is in Scott Turow's Innocent, a TV film that premieres on TNT as part of the network's mystery movie night at 9 pm. Spoiler TV has the press release and a behind-the-scenes video.

Aaron Douglas' episode of Flashpoint that aired in Canada a couple of weeks ago airs in the U.S. tonight at 10 pm on AON.

Patton Oswalt guest stars on Raising Hope in episode "Bro-gurt," which airs at 9:30 pm on Fox. Synopsis:

When the National Invention Convention Extravaganza comes to town, Virginia encourages the family to submit their own inventions that could bring home a large cash prize. Burt teams with the family’s neighbor Andrew (guest star Ethan Suplee) and invents unusually flavored yogurts, while Jimmy partners with Sabrina to develop a new baby mop. When convention day arrives the competition between each team escalates as they pitch their inventions to Andrew Dice Clay (guest-starring as himself). During the competition, the family ends up realizing family and friends are what matter the most.

And here is a sneak peek with Patton, Martha Plimpton, Garret Dillahunt and Ethan Suplee:

Weekly roundup: cast updates, interviews, previews and new projects

A bunch of stuff has happened since the last update. Let's start with Caprica.

Caprica season two will resume on Beginning of Line with episode 14 (of 18) this Tuesday. Teresa Jusino posted this earlier:

There are 18 episodes total in Caprica Season 2 here at Beginning of Line. Episodes will now be posting every Tuesday between November 29th and December 27th. Just in time for your Solstice celebrations. :)

Anyone interested in writing an episode of season three (coming in 2012) or submitting fan art, hit the link.

Luciana Carro (Caprica's Priyah Magnus, Battlestar's Kat) has joined Twitter. You can follow her here: @LucianaCarro. These days, she is working on season two of Falling Skies, along with Ryan Robbins and a bunch of Caprica and BSG writers -- Remi Aubuchon, Mark Verheiden, David Weddle and Bradley Thompson. From their recent tweets, Luciana is playing a character called Crazy Lee and they recently wrapped filming episode four. Season two will most likely start airing in June.

On TV tonight:

New interviews with Sasha Roiz and Christopher Heyerdahl

Just a few updates today.

Christopher Heyerdahl is back in Hell on Wheels tonight at 10 pm on AMC, in episode 1x03, "A New Birth of Freedom." Pizquita has the promotional photos and Warming Glow has a region-locked preview. Hop over to watch it if you can. Here is what they say about tonight's episode:

Hell on Wheels (AMC, Sunday) — I’m sticking with “Hell on Wheels” right now mostly for the scenery-chewing performances by Colm Meaney and Christopher Heyerdahl, who plays The Swede. His monologue about Andersonville (embedded below) is probably the highlight of the show through two episodes, but in terms of calculated menace, The Swede is still several steps behind Michael Shannon’s Agent Van Alden on “Boardwalk Empire.”

Entertainment Heartbeat has a new interview with Sasha Roiz, mostly about Grimm. Snippets below, read the rest at the link.

So, how does an actor prepare to be likable while working as the top bad guy on a show crowded with genuine monsters and their supernatural power?

Cast updates and new interviews with Jane Espenson, Carmen Moore and Scott Porter

A few updates to start the week.

Jamie Bamber guest stars on House tonight (9 pm, Fox, teaser below) and a new episode of Hart of Dixie with Scott Porter also airs at 9 pm, on the CW.

The Boston Herald has a new interview with Scott. He talks about Hart of Dixie, Friday Night Lights and the possibility of returning to The Good Wife. Snippet:

“Blake was the trickiest character I ever played,” he said.

Any chance Blake could return to stir up trouble?

“The (producers) and I have talked about it,” he said. “If Blake does come back, he’s going to come back in a much different capacity. This time, maybe, he’s the one who needs the help. It’s going to be great to see if he can repair those bridges that he burned. Not just burned, but dropped bombs on.”

Elsewhere:

Spoiler TV has the promotional photos from Grimm 1x04, "Lonelyhearts." Here are the ones with Sasha Roiz:

Grimm update, James Marsters' Wizard World Q&A and a new interview with Jane Espenson

Just a few updates today, but they're fun.

Grimm premiered to surprisingly strong ratings last night (6.5 million viewers, 2.1 million in the 18-49 demo), or as NBC puts it in the press release, the "largest non-sports 18-49 audience on the night by any network since last year's "New Year's Rockin' Eve" on ABC (2.8 rating)."

What makes this news particularly great is that the show aired opposite the most watched baseball game in the last seven years, and after one of the lowest rated episodes of Chuck ever (the show hit a series low in the key demo, according to TV by the Numbers).

NBC is re-airing the Grimm pilot tonight at 9 pm and the episode will also be shown on Syfy this Tuesday at 7 pm.

Here is the synopsis for next Friday's episode, "Bears Will Be Bears:"

A barbaric family history is revealed when Nick and Hank investigate a case of breaking and entering. Meanwhile, Nick assigns Eddy to look after Aunt Marie.

And a new teaser for the upcoming episodes, with Sasha Roiz:

Once Upon a Time premieres tonight

Just a reminder that Jane Espenson's new show, Once Upon a Time, premieres tonight at 8 pm on ABC.

Blogcritics talked to Jane about the show last week. Here are a few snippets from the interview:

So this is the year of the fairytale on primetime TV with Once Upon a Time, and then Grimm is also premiering shortly thereafter. Why did that happen, do you think? Does it have to do with the whole True Blood and vampire and mythology thing, do you think?
Yeah, the vampires. The era of the vampire lasted for longer than I though it would. And I’ve been sort of waiting to see what would be the next thing. Because aliens, robots, and monsters, including vampires, all play the same role in fantasy drama. I've heard it expressed, and I think this is pretty smart, that in sort of Depression-era times, there’s something about fairytales that start to have resonance again, like the original [Disney] Snow White, the animated Snow White in 1937. There may be something there that makes a familiar tales of childhood resonate in dark economic times, and it may simply be that in these times, we need that next thing. There are only so many basic fantasy genres. And one of the genres is fairytales. And one is monster stories. And one is alien stories. And we happen to be in an era in which it’s just time for fairytales to cycle back around again. So it’s a really long-winded answer… (...)

New interviews with Jane Espenson, William B. Davis, Scott Porter and Patton Oswalt

The first part of the weekly round-up includes several new interviews.

The A.V. Club has an interview with William B. Davis, whose autobiography, Where There’s Smoke...: Musings Of A Cigarette Smoking Man, was published last week. He talks about his work in The X-Files and some of the movies that he has appeared in over the years. Here is a snippet about the latest one, called The Tall Man:

The Tall Man (forthcoming)—Sheriff Chestnut
WD: That’s still in post-production. I just did the [additional dialogue recording] for it just last week. I think they’re trying to get it ready for Sundance, so maybe it will première there.
AVC: And you play a sheriff in this film? What’s the role exactly?
WD: It’s an interesting plot. There are children disappearing in this small town. And everybody assumes that they’ve been murdered. Without giving a spoiler—well, I am giving a spoiler—but it turns out that they’re actually being kidnapped from poor families and sent to rich families, where they can get a better childhood. It’s someone’s perverse idea of how to make a better a world.
AVC: That’s interesting. Pascal Laugier’s previous film, Martyrs, has a similar plot. But Martyrs seems much grislier than this.
WD: Does it? I haven’t seen that. Maybe I will. The Tall Man is beautifully shot, though. It looks great.

Comic Book Resources has an interview with Patton Oswalt from the New York Comic Con. He mostly talks about his new show, The Heart, She Holler.

Patton Oswalt in Bored to Death, new interviews with Scott Porter and Jane Espenson & general updates

Patton Oswalt guest stars in Bored to Death again tonight at 9 pm on HBO. Also at 9, there is a new episode of Hart of Dixie with Scott Porter on the CW.

If you are in Los Angeles, Patton Oswalt will take part in a live reading of The Breakfast Club this Thursday at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to raise funds for Film Independent (the group behind the Spirit Awards).

The Walking Dead, still scored by Bear McCreary, returned yesterday and broke the cable ratings record with its season premiere.

Elsewhere in Undead, remember Bryan Singer's Battlestar Galactica movie (TOS reboot, not really related to our BSG & Caprica) that was supposed to happen at one point but didn't? Looks like it zombied its way back to life. Here is what Singer told SFX the other day, when asked about his Excalibur remake not going ahead:

“Yeah, unfortunately it is no longer going to happen,” he says. “I was really enthused to do it. I’m a fan of John Boorman’s movie and it was my intention to get it going after Jack The Giant Killer was completed. The project was with Warner Bros and what happened is that another King Arthur project was brought to them during that time. Basically, it was just more ready to go into production than ours was. That is why our version of Excalibur ended up being negated. But, when that happened, it allowed me to go straight into developing Battlestar Galactica – which I think will be really exciting.”

A couple of updates to the TV Appearances page:

Sanctuary season premiere, new interviews with Christopher Heyerdahl, Jane Espenson and Scott Porter, and general updates

Sanctuary is back tonight at 10 pm with the season four opener, "Tempus." Ryan Robbins and Christopher Heyerdahl are still series regulars and Peter Wingfield is back as Dr. Watson. Here is the synopsis:

Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) pursues Adam Worth (Ian Tracey) back to 1898 London as he attempts to save his daughter. If successful, Magnus knows he will destroy the natural order of history and must stop him from irreparably altering the world’s future at whatever cost.

Space has a couple of behind-the-scenes videos that include interviews with the cast here and here, and Pop Culture Zoo has an early review, a preview and some cast photos.

Eric Stoltz is back on the set of Glee. Jenna Ushkowitz posted this photo of him yesterday. If you're in the Seattle area, you can catch Fort McCoy at the Tacoma Film Festival tomorrow (Saturday) at 2 pm.

Husbands episode eight, "This Together Thing," has been posted on HusbandstheSeries.com.

Previews for Grimm & Psych, and new interviews with Luciana Carro, Jane Espenson, Sasha Roiz, Ryan Robbins, Scott Porter and Patton Oswalt

Since yesterday:

Spoiler TV has the promotional pics from the next episode of Hart of Dixie and Comic Book Resources has a new interview with Scott Porter. He mainly talks about the X-Men animated series, which premieres on October 21. Snippet:

This version of the X-Men story is a very modern one that Warren Ellis initially wrote with a lot of influence from his "Astonishing X-Men" run, but the one twist that brings in the classic thread for Cyclops is that the series starts just after the death of Jean Grey at the end of "The Dark Phoenix Saga." What was it like to pick up the character after the worst tragedy in his life?
That made it completely interesting for me. To allude to why I have such respect for Cyclops, it's because he's been through hell. He's lost Jean how many times now? He has to control this odd band of misfits who are under constant duress by the universe. He is ultimately powerful and has to always rein this power in or he could level cities with it. Seeing the control that Cyclops has to have and then seeing him in a very vulnerable position at the start of this cartoon where he just doesn't care anymore and is more careless with his powers. He wants to hang it up and quit. That's a very emotional place for the character, and then he falls back into his natural role where he's always been the leader because the X-Men need him. You really see all that here.

New interviews with Alessandra Torresani, Jane Espenson and Aleks Paunovic, and a new Sanctuary teaser

Updates, round two.

Alessandra Torresani did an interview for the Sci Fi Talk podcast this week. You can listen to it here. She talked about Caprica, Husbands, Warehouse 13 and the new show she has been working on (still no official announcement).

A new episode of Husbands goes live tomorrow at HusbandstheSeries.com.

IamRogue.com posted the second part of their interview with Jane Espenson. Snippet:

Paula Malcomson in Prime Suspect tomorrow, general updates & new interviews with Leah Gibson, Jane Espenson, Scott Porter and Eric Stoltz

A bunch of updates and previews today. Let's start with the last minute catch.

Paula Malcomson will make an appearance in Prime Suspect, episode 1x02, "Carnivorous Sheep," which airs tomorrow (Thursday) at 10 pm on NBC. She will play a character called Noelle Tanner. The teaser is embedded below.

Here is the synopsis:

Jane plays second banana when Duffy leads the case of a murdered mother and her missing daughter.

We Have Your Husband, the Lifetime film with Esai Morales, has been licensed to several European broadcasters. From the Virtual Press Office:

Weekend updates & new interviews with Jane Espenson, Patton Oswalt and Aleks Paunovic

First, a reminder that you can catch Callum Keith Rennie in CSI: Miami tonight at 10 pm (CBS). Horatio promises payback time in the teaser.

And the usual round of updates. Here is one for The X-Files fans:

William B. Davis wrote an autobiography, called Where There's Smoke... Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man, A Memoir, which will be published in October.

If you're in Toronto, you can catch him at a Q&A at the book launch on October 17. Details here.

Patton Oswalt will make another appearance in Bored to Death, which returns on October 10 on HBO. No word yet on the exact episode. Patton was the guest on this week's How Was Your Week? podcast. Hit the link to listen to it.

Luciana Carro Fans posted an update on Luciana's character in Deck the Halls.

Peter Wingfield will make his next appearance in Sanctuary in the season four opener, "Tempus." Spoiler TV has more promotional stills from the episode.

Here is the first synopsis for Klapstock Syndrome, with Leah Gibson, taken from this job ad:

'Klapstock Syndrome' is a feature film about an ambitious city councilman whose life is turned upside down when he discovers that his every move is being filmed by a camera crew that only he can see.

Cast interviews, previews, behind-the-scenes clips and new projects

A bunch of new interviews with the cast and Jane Espenson showed up in recent days. In random order:

KTLA has a new video interview with Scott Porter, mostly about Hart of Dixie, which premieres on Monday, September 26. The clip can't be embedded, so go here to see it. Hollywood Reporter also has a short interview with Scott and his co-stars that has a bunch of new information about the show's characters. Spoiler TV has posted the stills from episode 1x02, "Parades and Pariahs." Here is one with Scott: