Monday, June 4, 2012

TV News - 'Red Widow,' 'Hannibal,' 'The Next,' 'CSI' & 'Mockingbird Lane'

        Monday, June 4 - Today's items include the long-awaited announcement of who will be playing the title role in the NBC midseason re-imagining of Hannibal; The CW's new summer singing series rounds out its cast of celebrity mentors; another CSI star inks a new deal to return to the drama; and many more!

  • Clifton Collins, Jr. (Southland, The Event) has joined the new ABC drama Red Widow as a series regular. He will play FBI Agent James Ramos - a role played by Mido Hamada in the pilot but had since been looking to be recast.
  • Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, Thor 2) has landed the title role in NBC's upcoming midseason drama, Hannibal - a contemporary series take on the characters from Thomas Harris' Red Dragon novel.
  • Singers Joe Jonas and Nelly have joined The CW's new reality singing competition series, The Next: Fame Is at Your Doorstep, as celebrity mentors. Nelly and Jonas, alongside the previously announced Gloria Estefan and John Rich, will find talent all over the country and then immerse themselves into their day-to-day lives as they ready their contestants for live TV sing-offs. The series is slated to debut later this summer.
  • CSI veteran Eric Szmanda has signed a new deal with CBS Television Studios to return to the long-running police procedural for its upcoming thirteenth season. Szmanda joins fellow cast members Jorja Fox and George Eads who both have re-upped with the studio to return already.
  • Jerry O'Connell (The Defenders, Piranha) has landed the starring role in NBC's potential midseason Munsters reboot, Mockingbird Lane. He will play the family's patriarch, Herman Munster - a Frankenstein-ish character made of a mishmash of parts from other people and in a constant state of decay.