Underground Mercenary

Christopher Meloni has had a tough time finding his footing on the TV landscape post-SVU.

There was the short-lived Surviving Jack on Fox, and before that there was a pretty thankless role on HBO’s True Blood.

The tide, thought, could be turning for the actor now that he’s landed a starring part on Underground, a new straight-to-series WGN (Salem) drama about the slaves who followed the Underground Railroad.

Meloni will play a secretive mercenary who straddles the line between morality and survival.

Jurnee Smollett-Bell (TV’s Parenthood) and Jessica De Gouw (The CW’s Arrow) have been tapped for roles as well.

Photo: HollywoodReporter.com.

Ready for Another One?

It was wet. It was hot. And it will be back.

Wet Hot American Summer, a cult-hit comedy from 2001 (about the shenanigans that went down on the last day of a fictional Jewish summer camp in 1981), will rise again, in the form of a limited Netflix series.

And not only that, the lot of the original cast will be back on it. In case you need a refresher, that includes big-time stars of today like Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks and Christopher Meloni and Bradley Cooper and and Molly Shannon and Janeane Garofalo.

David Wain and Michael Showalter at back at the helm of the revival, which will deliver eight new eps some time...soon.

Photo: Variety.com.

What Ever Happened to Mom?

Coming up next month, Shailene Woodley and Eva Green will finally share the screen.

No joke, this is like, the pairing that you didn’t even know you wanted.

And in what can you see these two, you ask?

My, in indie director Gregg Araki’s White Bird In a Blizzard, an adaptation of Laura Kasischke’s recent novel.

A dramatic thriller, the film focuses on what happens after 16-year-old Kat Connors’ (Woodley) mom (that’d be Green) disappears one winter’s day.

Pretty sure the story also will take a look at what led to Mrs. Connors going MIA (including some possibly creeptastic business with her husband, played by Christopher Meloni). It definitely will busy itself with Kat’s sexual awakening, which is aided, in no small measure, by the character that Shiloh Fernandez (Red Riding Hood, The East) portrays.

Check out the trailer, and mark your calendars for this Sundance-approved title’ Sept. 25 release date.

Photo: FilmGuide.Sundance.org.

Dangerous Dame

Looks like Eva Green (pictured here) is gonna bring it once again in the upcoming Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.

Just like she did in 300: Rise of an Empire.

Green is but one of the dames featured in the Aug. 22 offering, which will feature returning-to-the-franchise stars Jessica Alba and Rosario Dawson, as well as Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Christopher Meloni, and Mickey Rourke (the movie’s plot is set to take place before the first Sin City).

Check out there trailer for the blockbuster.

Stylish stuff, huh.

Photo: LylesMovieFiles.com.

When Christopher and Mariska Reunited

It’s the reunion Law & Order: SVU fans had been waiting for.

Well...ish.

Mariska Hargitay and her former co-star, the studlicious Christopher Meloni, stepped out in public in L.A. earlier today, to help launch the No More domestic violence and sexual assault PSA campaign, which is co-sponsored by the actress’ Joyful Heart Foundation.

I hope the Emmy winner talked Meloni about putting on a guest appearance on the show some time soon.

That would get me watching again.

Photo: People.com.

Staying on the Beat

I’ll admit it: I haven’t watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit the last couple o’ few years, and not just because Christopher Meloni left.

Guess I kinda outgrew it, if that makes any sense. Plus, it repeats fairly quickly in syndication. So it’s not like I can’t jump back in at some point and catch up in no time.

Especially since Mariska Hargitay’s sticking around the show for its 15th season, as the Emmy winner tweet-announced herself last weekend.

And why wouldn’t she? It’s a good gig for her – one that earned her a cool $500,000 per ep in Year 14.

Photo: Rickey.org.

Daddy Funniest

We I forget about it, but Christopher Meloni is quite good at the comedy thing.

Rent Wet Hot American Summer, if you don’t believe me.

Anyway, His Ruggedness has said yes to coming back to the telly, but not to put on a guest appearance on his old show, Law & Order: SVU, or to star in another heavy drama.

Nah – he’s gonna try and make us laugh.

Indeed, Meloni has agreed to headline a comedy pilot for Fox based on Justin Halpern’s I Suck at Girls that Bill Lawrence (TBS’ Cougar Town) is developing for the fall. This is the story of a boy (to be played by newcomer Connor Buckley) becoming a man, and a no-bulls--- man becoming a father (Meloni), in a time before coming of age was something you could Google.

Kinda can’t to the big guy say it like it is and put a smile on my face.

Photo: FanPop.com.

Sin City’s Getting Studly

The powers that be working on Sin City: A Dame to Kill For weren’t happy with just upping the sequel’s hip factor by casting Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a key role, they also want its stud index to blow through the roof.

So to ensure this happens they have turned to Christopher Meloni.

The former SVU and True Blood star is joining the project as a safe-to-assume-crooked cop.

Mmm...Meloni and cuffs. Rough cuffs. There’s a thought for ya.

Oh, and btw: Josh Brolin is on board, too, as the younger version of Clive Owen’s character.

Just go with it.

Photo: UsMagazine.com.

Mr. Mean Boss Man

He may be getting his fangs on playing the head of the Vampire Authority on HBO’s True Blood, but Christopher Meloni wants to make us laugh, too.

So, for that he is turning to Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd.

Oh-so-versatile Meloni has joined the cast of the rom-par (that is, romantic comedy for those of you not in my head) They Came Together.

He will play the boss of Rudd’s character at a ridikolously named company (it’s too good to spoil) that tries to shut the Poehler’s decidedly smaller store.

The movie marks a reunion for all three since they were all in the ensemble of Wet Hot American Summer, which was directed by David Wain, who is also directing this project.

Photo: TVGuide.com.

Raise Your Hand If You’d Let This Guy Vamp Ya

Bon Temps will never be the same.

You could argue that that can be said every year before a new season of HBO’s True Blood starts, but this coming fifth season it’s different, for this time Christopher Meloni’s coming to town.

The erstwhile Det. Stabler is playing an ancient and very powerful (and H-O-T) vampire. It remains to be teased just how bad he will be, but I know this much: he’ll be bloody good at it. And I likey.

True Blood is set to return to our lives on June 10, if memory serves.

Photo: TVLine.com.

Potential Vamp

Christopher Meloni is eyeing a return to TV, but, sadly, not on network (sorry, NBC – I know how much you’d love to have him back on Law & Order: SVU) but on cable.

No, not cable: HBO, actually.

True Blood has come a-callin’, wanting him for a major role on the show’s fifth season that reportedly would see him play a very powerful vampire.

He. Must. Do it, right?

Photo: SuperiorPics.com.

The Editor

Amy Adams. Kevin Costner. Diane Lane. Michael Shannon. Russell Crowe. Julia Ormond. Christopher Meloni.

Nope, that’s not the guest list at Cut last night, but some of the names that appear on the cast sheet for Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman reboot.

Joining Henry Cavill et al. in the project as well will be Laurence Fishburne.

The Matrix man will play Daily Planet editor-in-chief Perry White in the blockbuster that’s now due in 2013.

Photo: Boston.com.

New Cop on the Block

No doubt, I will miss departing Law & Order: Special Victims Unit founding cast member Christopher Meloni next season, but I’m actually quite chuffed with his replacement.

Danny Pino (TV’s Cold Case), has been cast as a next-gen detective on the still-has-it show, which will return to the tube in the fall with Meloni’s old partner, Mariska Hargitay, still on the beat (albeit on a reduced basis).

The actor beat the likes of Kevin Alejandro (who did a stint on TNT’s Southland before moving to Bon Temps, a.k.a. the setting of HBO’s True Blood), Ghost Whisperer star David Conrad, and Rhys Coiro (HBO’s Entourage), among others.

Kelli Giddish also has nabbed a regular part to play on the SVU team, returning to NBC (for whom she starred on last season's Chase) after a left-us-wanting-more visit to The Good Wife over on CBS.

As to why I’m so happy Pino got the part? Easy: Because he's a Panther – we both went to FIU.

Photo: BroadwayWorld.com.

Update: Looks like Mariska Hargitay will not be scaling back as much as previously thought, if at all.

For now, the actress will be appearing on every ep next season.

The General

Life post-Law & Order: SVU is looking super for Christopher Meloni.

The actor has joined the star-studded cast of the Superman reboot.

The particulars of his role are scant, but he will be playing a general (not Zod – that’s Michael Shannon’s part) and shooting scenes opposite the Man of Steel himself, Henry Cavill.

Photo: Zimbio.com.

Off the Beat

Gasp!

Det. Stabler has gone and quit the Special Victims Unit.

Well, I don’t know if that will hold truth, plot-wise, when Law & Order: SVU returns to the tube in the fall, but what is totally true is we won’t be seeing Christopher Meloni anymore: the actor has left the show, after refusing a reportedly generous offer to stay put, and will not be joining Mariska Hargitay on its 13th season.

Both actors had been in will-they-won’t-they talks with NBC about coming back for a while. Hargitay, who recently adopted a baby and was eyeing to scale back, signed a new deal to return earlier this month.

Talk about DUN Dun – one of TV’s most enduring pairings has been torn asunder.

But, since we live in a fast-paced world, may I suggest a couple of names as replacements?

The comedy pilot that Adrian Pasdar was working on for the new season, that was passed over, right? Hello!

And how about Mark Lutz? He’s beefy and easy on the eyes, much like Meloni, and he has a young-Meloni-esque quality to him....

I’m just sayin’.

Photo: AccessHollywood.com.

Sharon Stone Joins the Rotation

This spring, Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Sharon Stone is suiting up as a cop-turned-prosecutor for a four-episode arc on Law & Order: SVU.

La Stone, natch, is expected to go toe-to-toe with Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Stabler (Christopher Meloni), and the rest of the squad.

“It is obviously a thrill and a delight to have a star of [S2]’s wattage and importance joining SVU,” said show creator Dick Wolf.

Also coming on board, for one episode, is Mischa Barton, who will play a hooker in March.

No word on how much of a thrill that piece of casting is for Wolf, though.

Photo: TimesSquareGossip.com.

Update 1: Christopher Meloni’s old Oz co-star, Lee Tergesen, is also coming on board SVU, playing a deranged religious zealot suspected of murder.

Update 2: Debra Winger is also guest-starring on the show, later this month, as an inner-city school principal covering for some students accused of murder.

Whatever John Krasinski Says I’ll Do

The adorable John Krasinski (TV’s The Office, Away We Go) is making his directorial debut with an adaptation of David Foster Wallace’s Brief Interviews with Hideous Men – and can I just tell you, once you check out the trailer below, you’ll want to do anything he ever says.

For now, though, just watch the trailer:



The film stars Julianne Nicholson as a woman who, after her boyfriend leaves her with little explanation, dedicates her anthropological dissertation to figuring out what the hell is going on in men’s brains.

Some of the men she studies include Will Arnett, Dominic Cooper, Bobby Cannavale, Timothy Hutton, Christopher Meloni (TV’s Law & Order: SVU), Max Minghella, Ben Shenkman, and Krasinski himself.

Lucky hen.

Staying Put

After months of tense negotiations, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’s Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay have signed on the dotted line of new, generous deals that will keep both of them on the job for two more years.

You should know this is especially interesting since SVU has been picked up for only one more season.

Meloni and Hargitay were said to be playing hardball a couple of months ago when they attempted to go after the show’s back-end profits. Just last month, and NBC higher-up said the show would go with or without its two leads, adding that “there’s an offer on the table.”

No one’s saying who gave in, but word is Meloni and Hargitay worked out a very happy compromise that sweetens their $385K-per-episode salary.

That’s a lot of cake! And these two deserve to take it.

Photo: EW.com.

Update: In more SVU news, Christine Lahti will be playing the show’s latest ADA next season. Lahti will appear in the first four episodes, after which Stephanie March will step up once again.

Earning His Hyphens

At last month’s Sundance Film Festival, actor John Krasinski (TV’s The Office) turned.

He turned director, that is.

As a student at Brown in 2000, Krasinski did a staged adaptation of late author David Foster Wallace’s short story collection Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, a project that solidified his desire to act. He then spent the last eight years adapting the book into a movie, which premiered in competition the festival.

Starring Julianne Nicholson as a grad student studying the male psyche, and Christopher Meloni (TV’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, and SNL’s Will Forte, the project is described by EW.com as “a risky debut for any first-time filmmaker, but the always-charming Krasinski appears to be holding himself together quite admirably.”

That’s because dude’s a star.

Photo: OfficeTally.com.

The Emmy Nominations: So Many Snubs, So Few Surprises

The nominations for the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced this morning. It has taken most of the day to begin to wrap my head around them – sad, isn’t it?

I still haven’t, actually, and I don’t know if I will since, yet again, Gilmore Girls’ Lauren Graham and Veronica Mars’ Kristen Bell have gone criminally unrecognized.

I was pleasantly surprised more than a few times, though, like when I heard Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’s Christopher Meloni’s name called, at long last. And, oh, I was quite happy when I found out that many of the big-name stars that made guest spots on the Ricky Gervais HBO show Extras were recognized.

You can find the complete of nominees here.

So here is my rant (and Michael Ausiello’s, and Matt Roush’s, and Kristin Veitch’s):

• Desperate Housewives may have suffered quite a sophomore slump, but Marcia Cross was stellar. And Eva Longoria deserved to be invited to the party as a first-time nominee.
• Guess the academy has lost its Lost love. Better to have had it once upon a time than never, right? Yeah, right – you tell that to Battlestar Galactica.
• Recognizing dead comedies (like Malcolm in the Middle, Out of Practice, or the mostly-phoned-in Will & Grace), with the exception of Arrested Development and The Comeback, is not funny.
• Where were any of the cast members of the surviving-and-thriving Scrubs? The show’s best season yet was included in the Best Comedy category, but I guess it acted itself.
• And finally, a question for the ages: Why do voters dislike The WB and UPN so much!? Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars are terrific shows, boasting some of the finest performances anywhere. They never recognized Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Gilmore Girls has one more year to go before it signs off and Veronica Mars needs all the support it can get.

On the other hand, Emmy voters got some things right:

• Lisa Kudrow overcame cancellation to score a deserved nomination for her dear fantastic portrayal of tragically funny Valerie “I don’t need to see that” Cherish in The Comeback.
• Kathy Griffin’s climb up the Hollywood ladder gets a little bit easier as her Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List netted an Outstanding Reality Program nomination.
• My Name Is Earl’s Jaime Pressly is officially a TV star.
• The Office and Steve Carell were singled out (but, sadly, not John Krasinski).
• 24 finally garnered some much-deserved attention in the supporting categories (for Gregory Itzin’s turn as the villainous President Logan and Jean Smart’s performance as the more-than-meets-the-eye First Lady).

The Emmys will be presented Aug. 27 in Los Angeles.

Photo: Amazon.com.