TV Tidbits 25: CSI, Numb3rs, Fall Schedule

I know this is old news by now BUT... just in case you haven't heard or read about it elsewhere:

Laurence Fishburne Joins CSI

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Ausiello confirms that the chick taking over for Diane Farr (as the female lead... not as Megan) has been made a series regular on Numb3rs.

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TVGuide.com has posted "[a]n A-to-Z list of more than 100 shows, explaining where each show left off and revealing exclusive plot and casting details of what to expect in the new season." It also has links to online episodes (when available) in case you missed any or need a refresher.

TV Tidbits 23: CSI, SVU, Daisies Scoopage

Blar. I have been in a general TV funk for a while now - oh, how I've loved the summer and its nearly non-existent TV watching demands - but since shows are going to be slowly creeping back onto the air with new episodes within the next couple months, I guess I'd better prepare myself for the onslaught. Boo. That being said, here are some spoilers for:

Law & Order: SVU (Season premiere: September 23rd)

• Luke Perry's appearing in the.... season premiere, an hour that also features guest turns by Sara Gilbert (Roseanne, ER) and Julie Bowen (Lost, Boston Legal, Ed). According to sources, the plot revolves around a couple (Perry and Bowen) that stands accused of abusing their foster child. Gilbert plays the boy's biological mother. [Ask Ausiello]
• The episode also marks the debut of SVU's new ADA, played by One Tree Hill knockout Michaela McManus, and deals with the repercussions of Benson's attempted rape, and answers some lingering questions surrounding the possible transfer of Ice-T's Fin. (Side note: Robert and I haven't watched the season finale of SVU yet - did I mention I'm sort of averse to watching TV shows right now? - but if Fin gets transferred, Robert will have a STROKE. I don't even want to be in the room if/when he finds out. The man loves him some Ice-T.)

• "Is this the season Benson and Stabler will finally go there?" Because that's the question I posed to executive producer Neal Baer yesterday, and behold his titillating answer. "In the first eight episodes, circumstances put them in a very interesting place," he hinted. Where might this, um, place be located? "Somewhere without clothes." [Ask Ausiello]

• Josh Charles and Teri Polo will play a married couple whose son becomes a suspect in — yep, you guessed it — some kind of grisly sex crime investigation.
  
• The episode is currently being shot and is slated to air on Sept. 30. [Ask Ausiello]

• There will be some serious Stabler drama this season. "We'll be meeting someone in his life who we haven't met before," teases exec producer Neal Baer. "As a result, he'll be dealing with some unexpected problems." [Ask Ausiello]

CSI (Season Premiere: October 9th)

You all already know that William Petersen/Gil Grissom will be leaving the show next season, so I won't go over all that stuff again. I do have some details on his storyline and potential replacement, however, so here goes...

• According to executive producer Naren Shankar, when Melinda Clarke's dominatrix returns in November to console an in-crisis Grissom, "This will be the most intimate that we have seen them." Shankar's partner in Crime, EP Carol Mendelsohn, takes it a step further, revealing that, "Grissom will go to bed at Lady Heather's. Whether he will go to bed with Lady Heather remains to be seen. But Grissom will spend most of that episode at Lady Heather's." [Ask Ausiello]

• Gil's replacement will have a "genetic quirk"- some funky (and potentially lethal) DNA. Hint: This isn't the first time a character in the CSI-verse had this specific abnormality. [Ask Ausiello]
• ...like a chromosome abnormality. (Think: One too many letters.) [Ask Ausiello]

• Film vet Laurence Fishburne is close to signing a deal to... fill the considerable void being left when [Gil] steps down after this season's 10th episode.
• Fishburne will play a doctor/scientist who comes into the CSI as an outsider, and not as the team's new boss, CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler revealed at the TCA press tour. As a DNA expert, this new character has identified a common profile among serial killers — and it's even in his own genes. [TVGuide.com]
  
  

• Just how many episodes will Jorja Fox/Sara Sidle be in? Ausiello says: "I don't want to give away the exact number, so let's just say she's doing two more than Gary Dourdan and seven less than William Petersen." I'm guesstimating that puts Gil in 10 episodes, Warrick in 1 and Sara in 3.

Pushing Daisies (Season Premiere: October 1st)

• The O.C.'s Taylor Townsend herself, Autumn Reeser, will guest star in the season premiere as a Southern Belle named Kentucky Fritz who has a deadly run-in with some killer bees. "She's the number one girl at Betty's Bees, who may or may not have been up to some mischief when she was stung to death by a swarm of bees," teases Daisies creator Bryan Fuller. [Ask Ausiello]
  

• Beloved Everwood curmudgeon Debra Mooney has been cast as Chi McBride's chain-smoking, no-nonsense mother... sources confirm to me exclusively. As of now, Mooney's on board for one episode, but I'm told the role has significant recurring potential. Mooney's character, Calista Cod, is one of the best private investigators in the biz. She arrives for a visit with her boy (and ex-partner) Emerson, and winds up helping him with a murder case. As the two begin to reconnect, Mama discovers that her chip off the old block has been keeping some vital information from her. And before you ask, no, Calista's not blind. [Ask Ausiello]

• Stephen Root has booked a four-episode arc on Daisies. His character "has a shared history with both Ned's dad and Chuck's dad," explains series creator Bryan Fuller. "He stirs up a lot of hullabaloo for everyone, particularly Aunts Lily and Vivian." [Ask Ausiello]
  

(UPDATED) TV Tidbits 16 - Bones, American Idol, SYTYCD, CSI

I don't watch either of these shows but their season finales were apparently gigantenormous so I thought I should provide a few links for those who are interested:

Bones

• TVGuide.com Q&A with Eric Millegan (Zack)
• TVGuide.com Talks Finale "Zack-lash" with Show Creator

Idol

• EW.com Backstage Q&A: David Cook
• EW.com Backstage Q&A: David Archuleta
• EW.com Pre-Finale Q&A with Both Davids
• EW.com 4-Page Finale Recap

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Just as an aside, So You Think You Can Dance starts its new season tonight - yay!!! This is one of my favorite reality shows; I could watch dancing all day, every day. I know, I'm a dork. Still, it floats my boat and that's all that matters. :o)

EW.com Q&A with Nigel Lythgoe

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According to Ausiello, Jorja Fox will be returning to CSI next season - as not as part of a flashback sequence:

Sources confirm that [Fox] has inked a deal to return for the show's ninth-season premiere next fall.

Specifics of her comeback are being kept under lock and key, but my CSI mole assures me that she "won't be appearing in a flashback." The likely scenario has Sara returning to Vegas to shag Grissom mourn ex-colleague Warrick, who was shot (and presumably) killed in last week's finale. I say "presumably" because in the current issue of TV Guide, Mendelsohn says Gary Dourdan will be back in the fall — and "not just in flashbacks."

I've got three words for you: Gut-wrenching death scene.

TV Tidbits 15 - Numb3rs, House, CSI

Okey doke, it seems like all the fantabulously new TV info is slowing down a bit so I only have a few bits to share, here and there:

• Diane Farr has a Q&A with TVGuide.com re: her series departure. Excerpt:

TVGuide.com: Why did you decide to leave Numbers? Creative differences? The aforementioned twins?
Farr:It was actually none of the above. I'm not leaving because I'm having babies. I'm leaving because I'm going to do a different job. I think after three years, most actors feel the need to see what else they can use their brain for. Numbers was such a perfect job. It was easy and it was fun and it was good people. I pitched an idea to a boss that I had before. He liked [it], and I decided to go with it.

TVGuide.com: You mean Peter Tolan, from The Job and Rescue Me. So what's the project?
Farr: It's an hour drama. There's no gun, no fire hoses. I want to wear a pretty dress for the next few years! But I've done five series where I'm the only girl, and it works perfectly for me. We'll probably keep that going.

• Ausiello has a scoop on House's potential spin-off character - looks like it'll be a private investigator played by Michael Weston (aka: Olivia's brother on SVU)
  

• Ausiello also has scoop on Jorja Fox's 'replacement' on CSI - Lauren Lee Smith will play Bryce Adams, a "flirtatious, witty and strong-willed non-conformist" that is recruited to join the graveyard shift." Gosh! And right when I quit watching... dang.
  

TV Tidbits 07 - Men in Trees, CSI, House, Project Runway

I actually don't watch any of these shows but hey, I'm all about you, people. (Except you, Christina - I will never post about American Idol!!) :o) So, here goes:

• Men in Trees - ABC has gone and canceled one of TV's most consistently heartwarming hours. The sad, depressing news was just confirmed to me by series creator Jenny Bicks, who says she was informed of the network's decision late last week. "I am really proud of the work we did on MIT," she tells me. "A huge thank you to our supportive fans."
  
  Bicks believes that two years of schizophrenic scheduling ultimately did the cherished dramedy in. "I wish the show had not been moved six times and put onto two long hiatuses," she sighs. "No show could survive that."
  
  Truer words have never been spoken. As soul-crushing as this is, I managed to find a silver lining in all this: Viewers will get their happy ending. Bicks and her team prepared for Trees' possible demise by shooting an alternate series-finale ending that will now be tacked onto the show's last episode, which is slated to air this summer. Trees kicks off its final run of episodes on Wednesday, May 28. [TVGuide.com]

• House - With the May 30 premiere of the Sex and the City movie looming, fans of that storied show might want to catch House to sample an appetizer course of Jason Lewis (aka Samantha's boy toy Smith Jerrod) as this week's whipping boy…er…patient.Lewis plays Evan Greer, the star of the crank's favorite daytime serial, Prescription Passions. But House's interest soon turns professional when something about the actor's appearance on TV triggers his medical Spidey-sense. He gets no help from Greer, who denies having a problem and refuses treatment. The doc doesn't give up on him though, administering a stealth injection while Greer jaws on a cell phone. So why is House so fixated on this guy and his soap? "It's almost a release for him to see a skewed view of his world," says executive producer David Shore. "This is somebody in a weird way House cares about. He cares about [the actor's TV] character surviving." [TVGuide.com]

• CSI - Gary Dourdan on Saturday acknowledged regret over his recent arrest in Palm Springs. In his statement to People the former CSI star says, "Obviously I am embarrassed to find myself in this situation, and I am profoundly grateful to everyone for their support."
  
  Earlier Saturday, AccessHollywood.com posted a personal e-mail Dourdan purportedly sent in which he lamented the situation, insisted on his innocence and apologized to fans. Dourdan had been at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival prior to his arrest. "The after party, it ran me ragged," he explains, "but I'm glad pulling over did prevent a DUI. I recommend not driving at all, but a little [nap] is always good."
  
  Dourdan continued, "I am blessed that the [sergeant] realized that the luggage carrying whatever [drugs] they found was not mine and that my tests have been coming back negative." The actor also apologized to fans, "especially the young ones, like Taylor Swift." (Dourdan was slated to present an award to the country-music starlet at last weekend's Young Hollywood Awards.) [TVGuide.com]
  

UPDATE: Oh great. This is just what the gradually-becoming-worse PR move from Bravo to Lifetime needs - the departure of Magical Elves!!! And they are magical... if you recall, the lack of Elves was blamed for Top Design's failure and now PR thinks they can make it on their own? In Golden Girls-land? Tsk, tsk, tsk Heidi. I think you and your are in for some trubba!!

Less than a month after Lifetime announced that it nabbed future seasons of Project Runway away from Bravo, NBC/Universal announced today that it has signed an exclusive first-look deal with Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz of Magical Elves, the production team responsible for the Heidi Klum-hosted fashion show. According to NBC, Cutforth and Lipsitz will walk away from Project Runway after season 5 (which will air on Bravo) and begin developing exclusively for all NBC-owned platforms. Lifetime will begin airing originals of Project Runway in season 6, under a deal it forged with Miramax Television. Magical Elves has been responsible for the award-winning Project Runway since its inception on Bravo, as well as Last Comic Standing, Treasure Hunters, Top Chef, and Step It Up and Dance. Developing.... [EW.com}

TV Tidbits 06 - CSI

Maybe this is why Gary and CSI "mutually" parted ways...

CSI's Gary Dourdan was busted in Palm Springs yesterday on suspicion of possessing heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and prescription drugs. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ the actor was asleep in his car at 5:21 AM when they approached the vehicle and made the bust.

TV Tidbits 04 - CSI & SVU

Soo... if you don't like either of these shows, you're really tired of seeing them pop up in my blog all the time! Sorry. But, for those of you who are interested (hi, Dad!), here's a little scoop-ola on the departures of CSI's Gary Dourdan and SVU's Diane Neal (courtesy of Ausiello, of course):

I believe it was Mark Twain who once said: "Cast shake-ups are like Transformers — there is usually more to them than meets the eye."

And I was reminded of how true those words were this week following my back-to-back exclusives that CSI and Law & Order: SVU would be losing Gary Dourdan and Diane Neal, respectively.

Initially, I reported that the actors were leaving for the most mundane of reasons: Both of their contracts were up, and they had decided to move on. But in the hours that followed the posting of those stories, new information came to light that now calls into question my original sources the exact circumstances surrounding the exits — specifically, whether the stars were leaving of their own accord or if they had been shown the door.

In the case of Dourdan, an insider at the show insists that he and CSI execs "mutually agreed" to part ways for "creative reasons." However, a CBS mole claims the 41-year-old actor was essentially fired, adding that producers are trying to be "as supportive and protective" of him as possible by portraying the departure as mutual. That same mole wasn't willing to share the specific reason for Dourdan's ouster, except to say that it involves an "ongoing problem personal to Dourdan."

That doesn't exactly narrow it down. In 2005, Dourdan pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery and was ordered to stay away from then-girlfriend Anne Greene and attend domestic-violence counseling. And last July, a video of him allegedly attacking a TMZ photographer made the rounds on the Web.

Meanwhile, CBS still won't officially "confirm or deny" that Dourdan is on his way out, even as a search for his replacement is underway. Repeated calls to the goodbye guy's camp went unreturned.

Over at SVU, the situation surrounding Neal has become equally suspicious. On Tuesday, a show spokesperson confirmed to me exclusively that the actress would be vacating her role as ADA Casey Novak in what appeared to be a mutual decision. However, shortly after I posted that story, a show insider says an emotional Neal gathered the crew together on the set and informed them that she had just been fired.

While Neal confirms that she "did talk to the crew" about her departure, she declined to say whether she used the F-word. "Rumors are rumors," she shrugs. "I love the crew. The crew loves me. We've really gotten along and bonded over these past five years. And they're always looking out for me and watching my back."

Asked if she was blindsided by the news, Neal, choosing her words carefully, responds, "I don't know if blindsided is the right word.... I've lasted longer – by several years – than almost any other ADA [in the Law & Order universe]. So every year I've been like, 'Is this going to be the one when I leave?' Dick Wolf is known for replacing his cast regularly. And the truth is, I'm really looking forward to the future."

There's the evidence. Who/what to believe?

Juicy! Well, ish. No definitive answers per se but a good inkling of the real deal, no? My gossip peeps are good!

UPDATE: Defamer picked up on this story, as well, and added this funny little bit to the end of their discussion:

Of course, more definite clues could arise once we get a better look at how the show's writers choose to dispatch their series regulars. We're reminded of a similarly acrimonious parting of Prison Break's Sarah Wayne Callies, whose gruesome demise involved the discovery of her character Sara's decapitated head in a box. Should we tune in to the season finale of CSI to find Marg Helgenberger running a black light over Dourdan's battered, limp body to get a better look at the tell-tale semen stains left after his fatal gang-raping, we'll know producers were not entirely broken up about the actor's departure.

Hee! Me likey. :o)

TV Tidbits 01

Okay... since these "TV Tidbit" posts keep popping up lately, I'm going to start numbering them and that way I won't have to think of a clever title every time. Suck it up, people!

Here's my latest blurb, courtesy of TV Guide's Ausiello, on CSI:

With all the attention focused on William Petersen's successful contract negotiations, this ginormous scoopbit nearly slipped right by: Sources confirm to me exclusively that original CSIer Gary Dourdan — whose contract is also set to expire next month — has informed producers that he is leaving the show.

Although a precise timeframe is not known, CSI's May 15 season finale could serve as Warrick's swan song. Regarding Dourdan's exit, a CBS spokesperson says, "We can't confirm or deny this information."This is the second major departure to rock CSI this season. As anyone with a pulse and/or access to TVGuide.com knows, Jorja Fox made her final appearance as Sara in November. The good news: Marg Helgenberger and George Eads are expected to follow Petersen's lead and re-up with the show.Meanwhile, CSI execs aren't wasting any time searching for Dourdan's replacement. I'm told producers have put out a casting call for a new male series regular in his late twenties to early thirties to play Ray Santoro, a "handsome, smart and athletic" CSI who transfers from Henderson to join the graveyard shift at the Las Vegas crime lab.

CSI is one of the shows affected by the strike, at least in my house. Neither Robert nor I missed the show at all while it was gone and so have since decided to delete its season pass on our TiVo. The show has been dragging for the past couple seasons, in my opinion, and the strike was just the kick in the pants I needed to ditch this show for good. From what I can remember, however, Warrick wasn't featured too prominently in any of the episodes since... uh... well, that one episode after he got married and Catherine was all pissed off about it. Or something. Anyway, his storyline always seemed kind of weak and I definitely think Gary has had his eye on greener pastures for some time now. Rumor had it that part of the reason he wasn't in the show too often was because he was off "filming movies" and had requested a more lenient schedule with the show. Has he been in some movies? Yes. Have you heard of or seen any of them? No. Still, I'm not surprised Gary's decided to leave and, quite frankly, I don't care. But you might, so here - a gift from me. :o)