Wednesday, January 30, 2013

TV NEWS - 'Dracula,' 'How I Met Your Mother,' 'The Office,' 'Hot in Cleveland,' 'The Neighbors,' 'The Big Bang Theory,' 'Vegas,' 'Graceland,' 'Once Upon a Time,' 'Southland' & 'Motive'

        Wednesday, January 30 - Katie McGrath (Merlin) and Nonso Anozie (Game of Thrones) have joined NBC's Dracula as series regulars. McGrath will play Lucy Westenra, Mina's (Jessica De Gouw) best friend who gradually becomes entwined in a web of lies. Anozie will play R.M. Renfield, the fiercely loyal confidante of Dracula's (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) alter ego, Alan Grayson.

CBS has officially confirmed that How I Met Your Mother will return next fall for its ninth and final season - during which the titular mother will be revealed. Dana Walden and Gary Newman, Chairmen of 20th Century FOX Television, had this to say, "We're thrilled to have the entire and incredibly talented How I Met Your Mother cast back for one final season to bring the series to a proper close. Carter Bays and Craig Thomas are masterful and hilarious storytellers, and we have no doubt that they will guide one of the greatest comedies of the last decade to a gratifying conclusion when they finally reveal the identity of the Mother."

Comedienne Roseanne Barr is making her way to NBC's The Office for a guest appearance. She will play Carla, a big-time talent agent who offers to help the aloof Andy (Ed Helms) break into showbiz.

Michael Urie (Ugly Betty, Partners) has landed a guest spot on TV Land's Hot in Cleveland. He will play Jeffrey, a highly in-demand wedding planner who former soap star Victoria (Wendie Malick) is desperate to hire. The episode is slated to air in July 2013.

Star Wars vet Mark Hamill will appear alongside George Takei on the season finale of ABC's The Neighbors.

Kate Micucci (Raising Hope) is joining CBS' The Big Bang Theory for a multi-episode arc. She will play Lucy, a potential new love interest for Raj (Kunal Nayyar). She will first appear in the Valentine's Day episode on February 14.

The O.C.'s Melinda Clarke will play Mia Rizzo's (Sarah Jones) mother on an upcoming episode of CBS' Vegas. Her character, Lena, is described as a charismatic, shrewd and strong woman who is attracted to even stronger men. Mia's father (Michael Wiseman) insisted that Lena had died when Mia was a baby so her reappearance is bound to get the questions and confrontations running.

USA's upcoming summer drama Graceland has tapped Vincent Laresca (24) to recur throughout the first season. He will play Rafael Cortes, a diligent and dedicated Mexican Federale who teams up with Charlie (Vanessa Ferlito) on a case, but who may also have his own agenda.

Jamie Dornan will be reprising his role on ABC's Once Upon a Time later on in the drama's second season. He plays Sheriff Graham/The Huntsman and the details surrounding his return are being kept under wraps but it has been confirmed that he will only be appearing in flashbacks.

Gerald McRaney (Major Dad) will appear in at least five episode of the upcoming fifth season of TNT's Southland. He will play Detective Hicks, a retired police officer who was Officer John Cooper's (Michael Cudlitz) training officer but now drinks a little too much and lives on a boat in Marina Del Rey.

ABC has picked up the Canadian original drama series Motive to air during summer 2013. The 13-episode CTV series focuses not on who did the crime, but why the crime was committed in the first place. The killer and victim are identified at the beginning of each episode, with the crime then explored via stylized flashbacks which piece together the connection between the two characters and what drove the killer to commit murder. In Canada, the series will premiere this Sunday - February 3 - after the Super Bowl. The series stars Kristin Lehman, Louis Ferreira, Lauren Holly, Roger Cross, Brendan Penny and Cameron Bright.

Jon Favreau (Revolution, Iron Man) is set to direct the NBC comedy pilot, About a Boy. The single camera project comes from executive producer Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood) and is based on the Nick Hornby book and the 2002 movie of the same name.