Boston Legal

Despite being previously reported that Mark Valley and Rene Auberjonois’ contracts were not renewed, they will return in a limited capacity in “multiple episodes” next season.  Also joining the cast, Taraji P. Henson of “Hustle and Flow”, as “a high-powered corporate litigator out of the New York office whom Sack [John Laroquette] brings in to help wrestle more political sovereignty within the firm. The character will be introduced later in the season.”

“[Saffron] Burrows will play a sexy, sophisticated commercial litigator who once had a passionate affair with Alan Shore (James Spader), the chemistry of which still lingers and distracts.”

“[Gail] O’Grady, who appeared on several episodes this year, will reprise her role as Judge Gloria Weldon, who is in a heated relationship with Shore.” (AOL)

CSI: Miami

Horatio has a 16-year-old son, and we meet him in the upcoming season. His arrival creates quite a bit of conflict, since he’s not exactly the model teenager every daddy hopes for. (eOnline!) 

Desperate Housewives

Nathan Fillion and Debra Delany are in talks to join the Wisteria Lane neighborhood as husband and wife.

Dr. Who

“Comedian Catherine Tate is to play Doctor Who’s new companion, reprising her role from the 2006 Christmas special, the BBC has announced…Freema Agyeman, who played the Doctor’s companion Martha Jones in the third series, will return mid-series.  Kylie Minogue will also be starring in this year’s Christmas special.”  (BBC)

Grey’s Anatomy

The title of the season premiere will be “A Change is Gonna Come”. (TVGuide)

Clara, who is with her two young children, discuss the status of her husband Henry with one of the doctors. Henry has suffered extremely traumatic injuries during a car accident. The doctor says that the only thing holding Henry’s head to his body is skin and muscle and that he will surely died very soon, even with surgery. A boy brings a near-dead racoon to Seattle Grace in the hope they will be able to save it. His father wants his son to grow up and stop living in a make-believe world. Some of the doctors need to deal with new stressed out interns. One of the interns will help deliver a baby. (Spoilerfix)

Heroes

Dominic Keating will be taking on the role of an Irish mobster. (Variety)

Ugly Betty

“It may be over before it began for Betty and Henry. I hear producers are bringing on a new twentysomething love interest for America Ferrera. The character’s name is Gio, and he runs the sandwich cart at “Mode.” He’s described in the script as “ambitious, aggressive and lovable,” and it sounds like he’ll be sticking around all season…”Mode” is staffing up, adding a new female editor who is stylish and pretty and very knowledgeable about fashion. (TVGuide)

The 4400

(Kristin @ eOnline) Did you watch The 4400 season premiere?! I can’t believe Alana is stuck in the 1800s!  Will she ever come back?
Actually, no. Not this season, at least. We’re told that the painting Alana in Repose is the last we’ll see of her this year, and that  was intended to wrap up her storyline. P.S.: The pretty new head of NTAC eventually becomes a love interest for Tom… 

Battlestar Galactica

(Kristin @ eOnline) Ronald D. Moore dished at the recent Battlestar Galactica event that there’s a gay relationship in the film about the Battlestar Pegasus. We can now report/confirm that (as some have speculated) Admiral Cain (played by Michelle Forbes) is one-half of that gay relationship. We’re also told that the movie features some “old-school Cylons.”

Bones

(Kristin @ eOnline) ‘Bones’ will return with a 28 episode season, rather than the usual 22.  Expect to see the “Player Under Pressure” episode, which was dropped since it was due to air the week of the Virginia Tech shooting, to show sometime in September.

Desperate Housewives

(Kristin @ eOnline) “There’s a new family moving to Wisteria Lane for season four…but the missus is no stranger to Fairview, having lived there more than a decade ago. We’re hearing she gives Bree a run for her money in the uptight homemaker of the year contest. Too bad her 17-year-old daughter, Dylan, is an undercover hussy just like Danielle Van De Kamp, and her hubby is a sexy young doctor whom she may have trouble keeping up with.”

ER

(Kristin @ eOnline) ER, however, is still very much alive, and it is currently adding new characters for the upcoming 14th season. One of them is a Doogie Howser of sorts. And we also get acquainted with Neela’s young cousin, who has a bit of a wild streak that Neela must monitor.   

Heroes

We discussed here that ‘Heroes’ got a big casting update this week, with Japanese pop star and actress Eriko Tamura being cast as a Japanese princess, and possible love interest for Hiro.  Also cast were the characters of NYPD cop Detective Fuller, played by Barry Shabaka Henley and Ricky, a ringleader of an Irish group of thugs, played by Holt McCallany.  As for the parts of Southern California cheerleaders, Lyndsy Fonseca and Dianna Agron have been cast.  The big shakeup was David Anders being cast as Kensei, the center of the ancient stories that Hiro’s father told him when he was young.

Next season is set to run through April, with the ‘Heroes Origins’ episodes to follow up during May sweeps.

Lost

(Ausiello @ TVGuide) At the Promax convention last week, Team Darlton announced that they will be breaking radio silence about the Season 4 finale at the annual geekfest. “At Comic-Con we will for the first time discuss the events of the finale,” Carlton Cuse said. To tide us over until then, Cuse offered this ambiguous tease: “Lost is like a mosaic, and there are 48 tiles left to go in the mosaic. And up until this season, you saw the present island, and you saw the past. And now you’ve seen the future. So when all the tiles are in place, the picture of Lost will be complete.” (I warned ya it was ambiguous.) Damon Lindelof chimed in, “The fact that people are saying, ‘What is the show going to be next year?’ is really exciting for us. People are going, ‘Are there going to be flashbacks? Flash forwards? Is it going to be [set] off the island? On the island? Where in time will it be?’” Answers are (hopefully) coming at Comic-Con!  

Not much on the ‘Lost’ front, other than a couple of fan creations on YouTube.  First, a video cut together showing the crash of Oceanic 815.  Second, a mock report of the discovery of the remains of the crashed plane.

Battlestar Galactica

(BuddyTV)In Bless my BG source who was able to get me spoilers for 1 upcoming episode. “Razor,” we join young Bill Adama in his fight against the cylons when he was just a Lieutenant. He can’t believe a treaty is signed, ending the war at that time. We’re also on Battlestar Pegasus when Lee Adama moves in as the new Commander, and he meets some of the old crew. He’s trying to get everything running again. “Razor” is said to be a two-part arc that which will take place for episodes 4.01 and 4.02. 

Grey’s Anatomy

(AOL) Executives tied to the show say the fourth-season plan is to add several cast members, including at least one fresh-faced new intern: Meredith Grey’s half-sister Lexi (Chyler Leigh) will become a frequent presence with a multi-episode story arc. They are also seeking a new recurring male character to compete with Patrick Dempsey’s Dr. McDreamy.

Heroes 

(TVGuide) …the Japan-born Riyo Mori says one “super” job lead might find her on no less than NBC’s Heroes, playing Yaeko, a new character whom she describes as a love interest for one of the main characters. “I went to the casting audition and read a script in English and Japanese, and they said it was really good,” the 20-year-old dancer tells the Associated Press. “So I hope I can be in the show.”

(eOnline) …they’re welcoming a new recurring character named Will, aka Blackie, an Irish mobster who’s mixed up in small-time crime!

(eOnline) I’m hearing we meet a new character who’s been alive for 1,000 years. And sadly, he is not played by David Boreanaz. I’m pretty sure it’s the character David Anders is in the running for, but not sure.

(Spoilerfix) The episode will feature a villainous Japanese warlord who is known as “White Beard,” various old Japanese villagers as well as Tuko, a West-African man working for Irish mobster Ricky.

(This is Bollywood) Bollywood actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai has signed up to star in top US sci-fi serial Heroes. The Indian babe, who recently married fellow actor Abhishek Bachchan, will appear in 8 episodes of the coming series of the NBC show revolving around a batch of super-enhanced human beings. It has been reported that Aishwarya Rai will play the role of Dr. Mohinder Suresh’s elder sister Shanti Suresh, and will have a super-power of her own, something which has not yet been disclosed. Aishwarya will begin shooting in Los Angeles later this month, and is expected to be seen on-screen as early as October of this year.

(National Ledger) With all the talk about new heroes showing up on “Heroes” in the coming season — which, by the way, starts shooting next week — it’s especially interesting that the show is casting for several possibly recurring characters. Per casting sources, they include: a pretty and kind elementary school teacher, a hippie-ish high school chemistry teacher, a Kinko’s store manager, a small-time Irish mobster and a California high school girl who isn’t especially athletic. Save the klutz, save the world?

Kyle XY

(BuddyTV) Darcy, one of our chat regulars, sent me the following spoilers: Episode 2.02, “Homecoming,” Claiming that his parents were killed in a car crash, Kyle is back at the Tragers’ to stay. But his homecoming isn’t as happy as he thought it would be when he realizes all of the secrets he must keep from the family he loves. Torn between wanting to be home and not wanting to keep anything from the Tragers, Kyle wonders if he should have come back after all. Meanwhile, XX begins her journey outside of the walls of Zzyzx.

Darcy also sent us spoilers for “The List is Life,” episode 2.03. Kyle finds that returning to his old life is virtually impossible, as Tom Foss hounds him to work on his new skills and he is devastated to know he played a part in Lori and Declan’s break-up. Meanwhile, now that Madacorp’s boss Ballantine knows of Kyle’s existence, he has a new mission for Emily and XX to bring Kyle back at any cost.

The Office

(FOX News) Is Dwight Schrute about to have his own TV series? That’s the buzz at NBC, where new head of programming Ben Silverman could be thinking about a spin-off from the hit sitcom “The Office.”…When I ran into Rainn Wilson, the actor who plays Dwight on the show, at Sunday night’s post-Tony party, he actually brought up the idea, then seemed a little surprised he’d said it out loud.

(TVGuide) …a source close to Mr. Schrute’s portrayer, Rainn Wilson, tells TVGuide.com that the “buzz” is “totally made up… a complete farce.”

Prison Break

(BuddyTV) What I can tell you tonight is that in “Orientacíon,” Lincoln goes to a bar in a high rise restaurant. He is set to meet someone there. He sits at the bar and orders water. A woman, known as Betty Crocker for now, sits besides him and starts talking to him. He doesn’t know her, but she does know him and Michael. As they talk, he clearly tells her it is the wrong time and he is waiting for someone. But she presses on and eventually says that it is the right time “Lincoln” and “We have a lot to discuss. Specifically your brother.” She then gives him an iPod. It is not clear what/who Betty is exactly but she seems to be an agent of some sort. Question is, for which side is she working for?

24

“…it’s looking very good that Mary Lynn Rajskub will be back next season, although she’ll find herself in very different surroundings.” (Source: TVGuide) 

Heroes

Is it true that Heroes will be recasting Micah? Why would they get rid of Noah Gray-Cabey?— Vanessa

Ausiello: Let’s ask executive producer Dennis Hammer: “False. We love Noah.” 

(Source: TVGuide) 

Love is in the air for our boy Hiro, and rumor has it that it’s the Japanese princess that the casting call went out for last week. (Source: eOnline)

Did anyone ever really expect for Nathan to stay dead? Adrian Pasdar had this to say: “I think there’s gonna be a little bit of a journey of redemption for the sins of past, for his association with people who are probably less than good. I think there’s gonna be some climbing up the moral ladder. He’s gonna have to do a little bit of work.” (Source: eOnline)

Lost

Straight from producer Damon Lindelof: “Desmond will have to deal with the aftereffects and the guilt of it. He will question whether or not Charlie would have made this sacrifice had he not told him that it was what he was going to do. He will question the role he played in Charlie’s death.” (Source: eOnline)

Bear in mind (especially this week, as I’m trying to get into the swing of this), that I may miss a tidbit here and there.  Feel free to leave a note in the comments about something I may have missed.

Due to the length, we’ll continue after the jump.

24

From TVGuide:

Producers have gone on the record saying that CTU will most likely be MIA next season, which has me a little worried about Chloe. Adding to my anxiety is their decision to treat Mary Lynn Rajskub like a glorified extra this past season.  

Heroes

TV Squad broke some ‘Heroes’ Season 2 casting news:

• The yet-to-be-titled Season 2 premiere will introduce new series regular Maya, a Hispanic woman in her mid 20s. Could she be linked with Alejandro who’ll recur next season?
• The episode will also introduce Kane, a recurring character that may become a possible regular. This man in his late 20s is referred, in the info we were given, as an ageless American with an European feel. He is said to be a charming womanizer who as a soul that seems to be older than he appears to be.
• A new Japanese recurring female character will be named Princess Keriyama.
• A few high school characters living in California will be added to the recurring cast. They are: Gay cheerleader April; charming 18-year-old West, who doesn’t fit in much; May, a mean cheerleader high schooler.
• Other recurring characters making their first appearances in the premiere are: Georgie and Blackie, two Irish thieves, who are under orders of 45ish ringleader Ricky; friendly 40-year-old mild-mannered Bob who is said to be the “unassuming face of a very powerful organization”; NYPD detective Kincaid.
• The second episode will introduce new regular Monica. She is a beautiful African-American in her late 20s. She is very kind to people and always thinks of them before taking care of herself.

According to Reuters, four new regulars would be added to the show, including a new boyfriend for Claire (could it be West listed in our spoilers above?) and a black woman who is said to be Micah’s surrogate mother (Monica?). The article says that recurrings like Ricky may do arcs instead of being regulars.

Lost

BuddyTV posts that Harold Perrineau and Malcom David Kelley have been asked to reprise their roles as Michael and Walt, respectively.  Though the story doesn’t actually confirm that they will be back (Perrineau was asked to return for the finale and declined), we can probably expect to see Walt on the island next year.

Aint It Cool News also reports that Season 4 will contain both flashbacks and flash-forwards.