TV on Tap: “American Horror Story” Pursues Kathy Bates, Lee Pace Picks an AMC Pilot and Lindsay Lohan Signs Up for “Anger Management”

by Mild Mannered Man · February 27, 2013

Looks like this is the season of Psych where shippers grab Shawn and Gus, push them together
and demand, “Now, kiss!”

News

AMC has (at least) two period dramas in development. Turn is a show set during the American Revolution, following the spies of the Culper Ring while Halt and Catch Fire is set in 1980s Silicon Valley. Both shows added to their cast recently. Billy Elliott star Jamie Bell has joined Turn as the cabbage farmer who ends up organizing the spy ring. Meanwhile, Lee Pace has been recruited for the lead role in Halt and Catch Fire.

As Netflix is getting ready to debut new episodes of Arrested Development, the streaming video service is warning that this may be a one-time event, saying that while they’d be open to another season, getting the cast together took a lot of effort. They don’t want to promise they could manage to get all those schedules to come together twice.

The cast of American Horror Story‘s third season keeps getting more interesting. TVLine reports that the anthology series is in talks with Kathy Bates, who would play a close friend of Jessica Lange character who eventually becomes her enemy.

I keep thinking actor Jay Hernandez is on the verge of breaking through to major stardom, maybe his new pilot role will be the one that does the job. He’s joined the Fox pilot Gang Related, which follows a Gang Task Force in the San Francisco Police Department. Hernandez will play the first person in his family to go to college, but he ends up being dragged back into gang life to protect his family.

TBS is expanding its late night presence, airing a talk show hosted by comedian Pete Holmes after Conan in the fall.

On the bright side, the faboo Amanda Setton has a new role. Too bad it’s on The Crazy Ones, the comedy pilot written by David E. Kelly and starring Robin Williams. I’ll be surprised if Setton is used any better on this show than she was on The Mindy Project.

In singing the praises of Bunheads Time‘s James Poniewozik observes that ABC Family‘s struggling drama is just the kind of low-key show TV needs, one that doesn’t jump from violent event to violent event to keep people engaged, just witty dialogue and character drama. If we’re going to ponder violence on television, we should remember the importance of making shows like Bunheads viable. Of course, we can also take comfort in knowing that Switched at Birth is also a great show with great ratings.

The CBS legal drama pilot Reckless has grabbed Twilight hunk Cam Gigandet and Mad Men alum Michael Gladis. Gigandet will play a northern city lawyer who starts practicing in South Carolina, only to clash with the City Attorney while fighting his attraction to her. That sounds like a plot that’s going to require multiple shirtless scenes for Gigandet if it’s going to hold my interest.

Brace yourselves, Adult Swim has ordered ordered a second season of The Heart, She Holler, with Amy Sedaris joining the cast.

Hunger Games star Amanda Stenberg (who played Rue) will play Craig Robinson‘s daughter in the comedy pilot being developed around the former Office star.

In news that should surprise no one, Lindsay Lohan will play herself in an episode of Anger Management.

FX is developing a series with Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter about a former special ops soldier who has moved on to tracking down rogue demons.

Listings

Anderson Live (syndicated) Check local listings
Today’s guest-host is Heather McDonald who will likely be working to prove she’s not as bad as the version of herself that appears on After Lately. Then, Al Roker visits with weight loss tips. I’m not sure if I can take it seriously or not.

The View (ABC) Check local listings
Today’s show has the stars of The Americans, Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys. I’m hoping there will be some discussion about the surreal feeling of being in a period drama for a period they’re old enough to remember.

Arrow (CW) 8:00 PM ET
Sure, John Barrowman‘s been fun as the guy lurking in the shadows (usually figuratively, but it was literal that one time, right?) But he’s about to get the spotlight when his character Malcolm becomes Deadshot‘s latest target? I’m going to try to imagine that it’s not Malcolm but Captain Jack in the episode and next week will see Malcolm and Deadshot as Starling City’s new power couple.

The Middle (ABC) 8:00 PM ET
Malcolm in the Middle star Jane Kaczmarek appears in tonight’s episode which also promises more of Brad.

Supernatural (CW) 9:00 PM ET
Sam and Dean have been dealing with battles between heaven and hell for a while, but tonight they’re dealing with a different pantheon. They encounter a man who might be the titan Prometheus on the run from Artemis. If Supernatural is in the midst of a mid-series reboot, I’d be thrilled if we’re going to start seeing all sorts of gods and goddesses. We did see Thor‘s hammer a few episodes back.

Modern Family (ABC) 9:00 PM ET
Mitch and Cam‘s gal pal Sal (Elizabeth Banks) returns to announce her engagement — for a wedding that’s going to happen tomorrow. Sure, being the best men in a wedding sounds great, but it also requires that they ignore all the glaring warning signs that this marriage sounds like a really bad idea.

Suburgatory (ABC) 9:30 PM ET
It’s time for Tessa to have that talk with Ryan. The talk that begins with, “I finally figured out that your cover story made absolutely no sense, so where were you?”

Psych (USA) 10:00 PM ET
USA’s original slashwink couple kicks off a new season tonight as Shawn and Gus deal with last season’s shooting.

Workaholics (Comedy Central) 10:00 PM ET
The guys meet Adam‘s grandfather, a man from the “greatest Generation” and a case study on how the kids these days just aren’t up to doing anything that would get them declared the Greatest Generation. They’re too busy messing up people’s lawns.

Southland (TNT) 10:00 PM ET
Cooper gets a new partner this week, which means we’re avoiding some incredibly tense patrol duty after what happened last week.

The Americans (FX) 10:00 PM ET
Phillip and Elizabeth are in crisis mode once again when it looks like the FBI might have gotten their hands on information about the whole network of KGB agents operating in the DC area. Apparently, that means facing the “darker aspects” of being a spy… er, are they saying that poisoning an innocent student just to be able to blackmail his mother does not count as one of those darker moments? Or should we expect that to look like the Super Happy Funtime Show in comparison?

The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) 11:35 PM ET
A show with Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Tina Fey? Bliss.

What will you be watching tonight? Please share in the comments!