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TV Casting News: True Blood, Housewives, Grey's, Mercy

BuzzSugar — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:30:47 -0800

After Julie Benz's shocking Dexter exit, she's moving into a new neighborhood: Wisteria Lane. Benz will join the cast of Desperate Housewives as an educated stripper (you read that right) to whom Susan offers a job.
True Blood's Lafayette is getting a new love interest! It's in the form of Southland star Kevin Alejandro, who will play Jesus, an orderly caring for Lafayette's ailing mother (a recently cast Alfre Woodard).
After appearing as a guest star on Grey's Anatomy, Kim Raver has been promoted to permanent cast member.
How's Dawson's bedside manner? James van der Beek has been cast in hospital drama Mercy as Dr. Liam West, the hospital's new ICU director.

Kim Raver Scrubs Up For Grey's Anatomy

BuzzSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:53:28 -0700

Seattle Grace may be downsizing its staff on Grey's Anatomy, but there's still room at the hospital for some fresh meat. Kim Raver will join the cast in a recurring role as a new surgeon, making her first appearance on Nov. 12.

Word on the street is that Raver's character will be stirring up trouble for Owen and Cristina, possibly as a love interest from Owen's past. Can't say I'm surprised about this one, since happy couples on Grey's usually don't stay that way for too long.

Raver's had some trouble finding a home on the small screen in recent years after The Nine and Lipstick Jungle were both canceled, but maybe she could breathe some new life into Grey's - especially since we know both Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl will be out for least a handful of episodes. Are you excited to welcome Kim Raver back to TV?

Kim Raver Is Shonda Rhimes's Newest Star

BuzzSugar — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:31:07 -0800

Another Lipstick Jungle leading lady is moving on. Following Lindsay Price's casting in Eastwick, Kim Raver has just landed a role in Inside the Box, a pilot from Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes about a Washington, DC news bureau.

She's not straying too far from the media maven she played in Lipstick: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Raver's character is "a knockout blond reporter who once was considered the next Diane Sawyer." She'll star alongside Sarah Drew and Jason George, with Drew playing a young reporter and George a bureau correspondent.

Like Price's role, Raver's casting is technically second fiddle to Lipstick - if NBC decides to renew the show, they'd still be back to play Nico and Victory.

Can you see Price as a television correspondent? Is anyone still hopeful about Lipstick's future? And since Raver and Price have options, what kind of role do you hope Brooke Shields takes next?

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President Obama Is Joined by Stars for a Ball of a Time

PopSugarUK — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:00:00 -0800

After being sworn in yesterday, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama celebrated with stars from both sides of the Atlantic in Washington DC last night. The overjoyed couple had their first dance to the strains of Beyonce singing "At Last", and there were lots of performances at all the balls. Alan Cumming watched fellow British stars Sting and Elvis Costello sing together at the Creative Coalition's Ball, while Tobey Maguire, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher and Rosario Dawson enjoyed music from Kanye West and Kid Rock at the Be the Change Ball. Be sure to check out the whole Sugar Network's coverage of this historic inauguration.

BellaUK has the lowdown on how to get Michelle's makeup look.

To see all 30 pictures from the balls, including Anne Hathaway, Heather Graham, Kim Raver, Maura Tierney, Rachael Leigh Cook, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Kid Rock, Kanye West, Usher, Pete Wentz, Sam Moore and Jennifer Meyer, just read more.

View 30 Photos ›

Images include: Anne Hathaway, Elvis Costello, Heather Graham, Kim Raver, Maura Tierney, Rachael Leigh Cook, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Tobey Maguire, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Kid Rock, Rosario Dawson, Kanye West, Usher, Sting, Alan Cumming, Pete Wentz, Sam Moore, Jennifer Meyer

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Lipstick Jungle Style: Nico Reilly

PopSugar — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:00:11 -0800

When Nico gets grilled on The Today Show, you can bet it has nothing to do with what she's wearing. That's because she looks amazing in her Rag and Bone tuxedo blouse, which she pairs with a high-waisted black skirt and black Louboutins. Get her top, and all the rest, now.

Photo courtesy of NBC

Lipstick Jungle Rundown: Episode 13, "La Vie en Pose"

BuzzSugar — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:30:06 -0800

Aw, you guys! I was doing OK with the (probably) final episode of Lipstick Jungle - until they went and hit me with a montage! Seeing the ladies in all their stages of friendship (happily toasting and tearfully consoling each other) made me realize just how much I'll miss this show.

But if it's gone, it went out with an episode that answered many of the questions I've had: Will Joe and Victory actually get married? Is Shane gone for good? To talk about it, just read more.

First of all, Victory's parents are adorable. And very Midwestern. And not used to Joe at all. At the same time, Joe isn't used to people being put off by his grand gestures. So he just keeps trying to wine and dine them with private visits to museums ("they're burning all these lights just for us?") and fancy dinners (but Victory's mom would rather eat her leftovers from the plane).
So it's all pretty much a disaster, to the point that Victory's dad won't give a toast at the engagement party and Joe suggests maybe just not getting married at all.
Nico, meanwhile, apparently spent New Year's Eve with Griffin - and, in typical Griffin fashion, he immediately wants her to sign a letter saying they have a relationship outside the office. I know he's a by-the-books guy, but that still seems a little sudden.
Shane's gone, and it seems to have made things better between him and Wendy. Maddie isn't seeing that, however, and so she acts out big time - even sneaking out to see that college guy she met at Victory's urging. Hee! Love Maddie.

This week's silly work plotline (Wendy wants the rights to a story, but Parador wants them too, and Griffin assumes Nico tipped Wendy off) mostly just serves as a way to get Nico over to Wendy's for one of the most honest conversations I've heard in the whole series: She admits she's been in free fall since Charles died.
It cracks me up that Dahlia and Sal are still together. I imagine the two just going around and stirring up trouble all over town.
The trouble she stirs up for Nico is that appearance on the Today show where the hosts just want to talk about her cougar tendencies. But Nico handles it with grace and says some sweet things about Kirby, including that the age gap that was supposed to divide them "gave us room to breathe." I loved the reaction shots of Griffin and Kirby both watching.
I did not, however, love Griffin's actual reaction. I mean, of course Nico could talk openly about Kirby - she'd had months to process the rise and fall of that relationship! She's been with Griffin what, a week?
Nothing like a toast to make me teary even before the montage.
Drunk Maddie's back! And she's mad because Wendy isn't being honest with her about splitting up with Shane. Except Wendy's totally not splitting up with Shane, a fact Maddie can only realize after puking into a trash can and then talking to her dad.
The second Victory told Wendy that Joe was in financial trouble, I knew that would come back to haunt her, and sure enough, Joe's silently livid and tells Victory some things have to be just between them.
But then! He tells Victory's mom to see if their hometown church can host their wedding!
Then Kirby shows up at Nico's, and he wants her, and they're maybe going to kiss, until Nico's cell phone rings - and it's Griffin. But she doesn't answer, either; we're just left with that moment.
And then: montage!

So, that's (most likely) it. Are you happy with the way things wrapped up? Which guy do you think Nico chooses? And which of the series' greatest moments did you wish had been in the montage?

Photos courtesy of NBC

TV Tonight: Lipstick Jungle's Finale (Forever?)

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 07:00:29 -0800

NBC is still billing tonight's episode of Lipstick Jungle as a season - not series - finale, but it's hard to tell how much hope there actually is for the show to return. The buzz has been that the show could return if ratings picked up - but with just 4.2 million viewers watching the most recent episode, will that be enough?

So while I'm trying to maintain hope going into tonight's finale, I'm going to approach it like it's the last chance I might have to hang out with Wendy, Victory, and Nico. I'd love to get some resolution, some kind of closure, but from NBC's episode description, it sounds like, well, just another Lipstick episode: Wendy has trouble controlling Maddie with Shane away, Victory tries to broker peace between Joe and his parents, and Nico goes on the Today Show. Still, "just another Lipstick episode" is more than I might have soon - so I'm hoping it's a good one.

Meanwhile, if you missed last week's episode (being that it aired on the second day of the new year, it wouldn't be surprising if you did!), you can watch Victory and Joe's big moment if you read more.

Photo courtesy of NBC

Lipstick Jungle Rundown: Episode 12, "Lovers' Leaps"

BuzzSugar — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:30:23 -0800

On this week's ~~ad for Natasha Bedingfield's music~~ next-to-last episode of Lipstick Jungle, many of our characters go out on a limb for love - and none more so than Victory, who spends most of her time cooking up the perfect proposal for Joe. Wendy, meanwhile, drags Shane into counseling to talk about his desire to go on tour-slash-flee from his family, and Nico gets smooched in an elevator! Lots of stuff here with only one episode to go, so to talk about it, just read more.

First of all: Joe owns Victory's heart! Aw! While there's a part of me who just thinks he treats her like crap all the time and doesn't deserve to own her heart (case in point: stranding her alone with a bottle of champagne and the special proposal suit on a Friday night), I've started to find their love affair kind of sweet.
And proposing with a "Will You Marry Me" suit is totally adorable - and so much better than the Times Square jumbotron and whatever else she considered.
It's also interesting to see Joe so down on his luck and down on himself as a result. His whole identity is wrapped up in being Joe Bennett, Super Billionaire. But Victory just cares about the cupcake, and I think Joe finally realizes that.
Also, does anyone else think Victory's assistant would be best friends with Kenneth from 30 Rock? I cracked up at his handkerchief comment: "That's vulgar. I always keep it in my outside pocket, especially during flu season."

Meanwhile, Shane's still sneaking around and kind-of-maybe making plans to go on tour with Natasha Bedingfield. So of course Wendy finds out, flips because he kept it a secret, and drags him into an extremely ineffective marriage counseling session. Man, I've never seen two people who needed more to just sit down and talk to each other like adults.
Which they finally do! Hallelujah! After some false starts (including Wendy suggesting the whole family go out on tour, which Shane is almost stupidly resistant to), she realizes she should let him go. While I still think Shane was being a jerk for a few weeks and I really didn't want him to win this one, it's pretty clear their marriage will be better for it - as evidenced by that scene with the two of them in bed setting "ground rules."
Nico's whole plotline with the young firecracker of a web producer feels kind of silly, but it gets us to the real point: Griffin gets what he wants, and what he wants is to make out with Nico in an elevator!
He also wants to protect her, though, and that's an interesting position for Nico, who - if nothing else - does not believe she needs to be taken care of.
Which makes it all the more interesting when Kirby shows up and asks Nico to go to Aspen with him. As friends. Yeah, I bet they'll be "just friends" once they lay eyes on their romantic cabin in the snow.

So: One week to go! Will Nico choose Griffin or Kirby? Will Joe Bennett still find some way to ruin Victory's proposal? Will we ever get to see Shane in that ridiculous rockstar jacket? I guess it won't be long now till we know. NBC is billing the next episode as a "season finale" but in the event that Lipstick does go off the air for good, how do you hope it ends?

Photos courtesy of NBC

TV Tonight: Lipstick Jungle

BuzzSugar — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:30:35 -0800

Hey, Lipstick Jungle fans, I hope your New Year's celebrations are all over - or that you've got ample TiVo space - because the show returns tonight with the first of what could be its final two episodes.

When we last saw our ladies, things were all kind of tense in Wendy's marriage, with Shane about to take off on tour with Natasha Bedingfield. Meanwhile, Victory was going to propose to Joe, and Nico and Griffin were getting flirty. They were the kind of stories that made me wish we would still have a whole season to watch what happened, so I'm curious to see what the writers can pull off in just two hours.

This episode is called "Lover's Leaps," and according to NBC, Victory will be trying to use her artistic skills to whip up the perfect proposal, while Nico and Griffin are drawn even closer at work. Oh, and from the looks of this preview, there's some kissing in an elevator. To check out a quick preview, just read more.

Photo courtesy of NBC

Lipstick Jungle Rundown: Episode 11, "Indecent Exposure"

BuzzSugar — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:32:27 -0800

This week's episode of Lipstick Jungle really made me sad that things aren't looking good for the show's future. It wasn't that the episode was so good on its own, necessarily - it just set into motion a lot of interesting stories, like Nico's maternal impulses and Wendy's faltering marriage, that I'm not sure we'll get to see through to the end. Ready to talk about it? Just read more.

First of all - this started bugging me last week, but when did Shane become so evil? Did I, like Wendy, just like him better when he was the slightly subservient househusband? He's being such a jerk these days! I get that he thinks it's time to focus on his career for a change, and I understand why he'd be a little surprised at not getting support from Wendy considering she's the one who pushed him to work. But still, read your son a bedtime story, OK?
Also, even though the writers don't seem to know what to do with characters in stable relationships, I think I liked it better when at least one marriage on the show was relatively happy.
And really - going on tour for months on end with Natasha Bedingfield and your teenage-ish manager who's kind of in love with you, without asking your wife? Who does that? Though Maddie's reaction is pretty fantastic: "Oh my gosh, she opened for Justin Timberlake. Do I get to meet him?"
Anyway, Nico's forging ahead with her motherhood plan, enlisting Wendy to help teach her how to give herself injections ("if you'd feel more comfortable, there's a cat hospital down the block") and feeling kind of miserable as the hormones make her hot and shaky. I was initially surprised Nico was going the baby route so quickly, but this story makes sense to me. She doesn't know what she wants, so she's just trying to keep her options open.

Despite the fact that we've hardly seen her design clothing, Victory is apparently branching out into home furnishings and pitches an ad with a naked woman lounging in some sheets. Great - except the woman is supposed to be Victory. She freaks out a little, first taking the moral stance ("why would I objectify myself just to sell bed linens?") and then the "I just . . . don't like nudity" stance. I love her friends pointing out all her nudity hangups, including that she never showers at the gym and wears a bathing suit in the sauna.
Maybe my favorite scene is Roy walking in on Victory as she's tentatively disrobing in the store and immediately babbling "I didn't see anything! Honestly!" He's adorable.
But this whole experience makes Victory think she needs to be bolder, so she hires Kirby for the photo shoot, has a drink, fumbles around with a cigarette, and eventually discovers that nudity is liberating.
So liberating that she shows up at Joe's place dressed like Audrey Hepburn! And makes martinis! And tells him she would have married him! And totally sleeps with him on his sheets made of clouds!
Meanwhile, Nico passes out in the office and Griffin takes her home, where he's surprisingly, adorably sweet. For all his cutthroat nonsense, he can be a pretty understanding person, and he tells Nico not to make the mistakes he did and commit only to work.
And Wendy tells Shane she'd like to see a marriage counselor, and he's all "yeah, sure" and then tells Josie he'll do the tour. Whatever, jerkface.

Do you think Victory will really propose to Joe? Can anyone help me see Shane's side of all this? And are Nico and Griffin getting all flirty? What did you think?

Photos courtesy of NBC