TV Bits: ‘Arrested Development’, ‘American Horror Story’, ‘Once Upon A Time’, ‘Hannibal’, ‘The Farm’, ‘Revolution’, ‘Bates Motel’, ‘Jersey Shore’, Robin Williams
Fall doesn’t technically start for another three weeks, but we all know Labor Day is the unofficial turn of the season. In this very late summer edition of TV Bits:
Robin Williamsis eyeing a return to primetime, with his first regular series gig sinceMork & Mindywent off the air in 1982. CBS has just entered talks to pick up a new single-camera workplace comedy byDavid E. Kelley, which would star Williams as a talented ad exec working at an agency with his daughter.
Williams still finds plenty of big screen work — he hasThe Big Wedding,Look of Love, andThe Butlerdue out within the next year or two — but he’s recently made a couple of forays into TV as well, guest-starring onLouieandWilfred. [Deadline]
FormerLostproducersAdam HorowitzandEdward Kitsishave plucked another one from the island for their ABC fantasyOnce Upon a Time.Jorge Garciais set to appear in a Season 2 episode as a character called “the Giant,” joining fellowLostalumsAlan Dale(King George) andEmilie de Ravin(Belle).Once Upon a TimereturnsSeptember 30. [EW]
I don’t think this bit of casting is at all surprising, but confirmation comes as welcome news all the same.Judy Greerwill make an appearance on the fourth season ofArrested Development, reprising her role as unstable assistant/mistress Kitty Sanchez. Say hello to these!
The news comes via Greer’sTwitter, on which she shared a photo of the door to her trailer. Shooting on the new batch of episodes is currently underway, with all ten (or so) episodes expected to hit simultaneously in Spring 2013. [viaScreen Crush]
The Officespin-offThe Farmis getting ready to introduce us to a whole new crop of Schrutes, including Dwight’s brother (Thomas Middleditch), sister (Majandra Delfino), nephew (Blake Garrett), cousin (Matt Jones), and crazy uncle (Tom Bower). But a more familiar face is set to make a return as well.Parks & Recreationco-creatorMike Schuris set to reprise his role as Dwight’s weirdo cousin Mose, though likely not on a regular basis. Schur says he’d just as soon see the character killed off in the pilot. “That would be the best case scenario, I think,” he said. “If Mose was in a horrible tractor accident, and he was chopped up into little pieces so that there was no way he could come back… I’d be really psyched.”
Schur then added that his desire to see Mose dead simply had to do with his not knowing how to act. But also, the guy’s probably busy enough as it is between showrunningParks & Recand setting up hisnew Fox series. [TV Line]
In an effort to drum up publicity for the newJ.J. Abrams-produced seriesRevolution, NBC is offering advance screenings of the pilot episode in eleven cities across the U.S. next week. And if you happen to be in New York, the Peacock’s got something extra-special planned for you:
At the New York event (September 4 at 7:30pm at Hudson River Park’s Pier 57), all power will be manually generated by 80 power pedalers, including series star Tim Guinee (“Iron Man”). Prior to the event, members of the public are invited to join the “power pedaler” team on-site to help power up the screening. Guests are encouraged to bike or walk to the screening and bike valet will be provided.
The unusual method of generation ties into the series' premise, a world in which a mysterious event has caused electricity to simply stop working. Hit upTV OvermindorFacebookfor more details.Revolutionwill make its on-air debutSeptember 17at 10 PM.
Early this year, A&E revealed their plans to explore Norman Bates' early years with the seriesBates Motel, and now details are emerging on how, exactly, they’ll do that.Shock Till You Dropgot their hands on a May 2012 draft of the script, which reveals quite a few details.
For starters, although the show is sort of a prequel to the 1960 filmPsycho, it’s actually set in the modern day. So naturally, that means one of Norman’s early steps toward sexual sadism apparently comes from a manga comic featuring “young, Asian girls in various states of sexual slavery.” Head toSTYDfor much more, including details on new characters. Be warned thatspoilers follow— but then again, it’s not like we don’t already know how this all ends.
And while we’re on the topic of famous cinematic killers in their early years: Shooting is underway on NBC’sThomas Harrisprequel seriesHannibal, which centers around young FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and psychologist Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen). CreatorBryan Fullerhas justshareda few photos from the set, which you can see in the gallery below.
The first snap shows Dancy, starLaurence Fishburneas FBI boss Jack Crawford, and directorDavid Slade, while the second is of Scott Thompson as FBI agentJimmy Price. Last but not least is a photo of Hannibal the Cannibal himself, along with Dancy and Slade.Hannibalwill hit NBC sometime in midseason. [viaCinema Blend]
After two big HBO hits,Alan Ballis heading to HBO’s somewhat sleazier sister Cinemax for his next sex-and-action-fueled extravaganza. The first teaser has dropped forBanshee, which revolves around an ex-con who poses as a small-town sheriff in order to hide from his enemies. It appears he’s not the only shady character in town, though. As one character sighs, “God, how can one town have so many scumbags?”
Cinemax hasn’t announced a date forBanshee, but look for it to hit sometime in 2013. [viaCinema Blend]
The latestAmerican Horror Story: Asylumteaser is almost as cryptic as all the previous ones, but with one big difference: It actually features the major characters, instead of just weird white-faced nuns. Get a look atJessica Lange,Joseph Fiennes,Adam Levine,Chloë Sevigny,Zachary Quinto,Joseph Fiennes,James Cromwell, and many more below.
True, it’s not actual footage from the series, but at least we’re getting closer. The second season ofAmerican Horror StorypremieresOctober 17. [viaScreen Rant]
