Casting News
Entertainment Weekly reports that Seth Gabel has been tapped for a recurring role in the CW’s successful freshman drama Arrow. Gabel conquered the viewers’ hearts with his portrayal of Agent Lincoln Lee in Fox’s Fringe, but in the CW’s hit series he will play a vastly different character. Instead of an all-around good guy, he will portray the super-villain Vertigo (from the comic books behind Arrow). The show being a more “grounded” version of the comics, Gabel’s Vertigo is likely to be a less colorful character (probably not a Count and probably without super-powers) but certainly not nicer.
Full-Season Orders and Renewals News
Syfy has picked up its supernatural drama Haven for a fourth season of thirteen episodes. According to Deadline Hollywood, the show ranks as the number one cable program among adults 18-49 in its Friday 10 p.m. EST slot. Regular viewers of the series (which was moved from summer to the fall) have one more year to enjoy the oddities and quirkiness of the town of Haven, while those who are yet to discover the show still have the chance to catch those wonderful shots of Nova Scotia (Canada).
If you were wondering whether NBC’s freshman drama Chicago Fire would have the tragic fate of Animal Practice (already cancelled) or bask in glory with Revolution and Go On, wonder no more. The firefighter drama, with its cast of pretty people, has received a back-9 order. This is a case where having a strong lead-in (The Voice) has certainly helped.
Now and then, there is a surprising full-season order. The latest one comes from the CW which really wants nine more episodes of the critically despised The Beauty and the Beast. Then again, this is the CW, so an average of 2.4 million viewers is not that bad, no matter what the critics say. The surprise is such that I don’t have an appropriate snide remark.
Business News
The elections have been over for more than a week now and all results of the presidential contest are in, including Florida! So which TV network won the night? It turns out there is more than The Voice and Revolution to NBC this fall. The peacock network won Election Night in both ratings and total viewers, dominating the election scene with both its viewers and its ice-rink map on “Democracy Plaza”.
Remember when a few months would pass without news of a legal battle involving TV satellite carriers? Well, I don’t either. Dish Networks is again in the news, this time trying to fend off the wrath of ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, all unhappy with the carrier’s AutoHop, a feature that allows viewers to skip advertisements in DVR recordings. If you forget the fact that this works only on programs from the big four and not at all on cable channels’ recordings (which makes one wonder if there’s nothing else going on here), it looks like a lawsuit where we might be tempted (as viewers) to side with Dish for a change.
