TV Bits: ‘Mockingbird Lane’, ‘The Walking Dead’, ‘The Wire’, ‘Dexter’, ‘L.A. Noir’, ‘True Blood’
Among today’s TV-related odds and ends:
What gorgeous detail — not that we expected any less from the man who brought us the sumptuous visuals ofPushing Daisies. While you’re able to’t actually go over and hang out at the Munster home, you can catch a peek of the structure from the tram tour of Universal Studios in LA. Head toOn Location Vacationsfor more pics.
Summer can be kind of a dead time for TV, with so much of the regular programming on hiatus, but networks are doing what they can to entertain. AMC has scheduled a marathon of its zombie dramaThe Walking DeadforJuly 7-8, starting at 11:30 AM each day. The marathon will encompass all nineteen episodes of the series to date, and conclude with a special hourlong episode of theWalking DeadshowThe Talking Deadon July 8 at 9:00 PM.
The very first episode of the series will be shown in black and white, as a nod toRobert Kirkman’s original comic book series. TheTalking Deadshow will also include details on “The Walking Dead” Watch to Win Sweepstakes, in which one viewer will get a trip to Atlanta for a walk-on role on the show.
To whet your appetite for more zombie kills, AMC has also released this new still from Season 3:
The Walking Deadwill return to AMC this fall. [Dread Central]
Has it really been a decade since the debut of HBO’sThe Wire? Apparently! And what a long way it’s come since then: While the show struggled to gain traction with viewers early on, over time it’s gained a reputation as a bona fide modern masterpiece. To celebrate that anniversary,Maxim’s posted a must-read oral history of the Baltimore-set drama.
Tons of people once involved with the project (including creatorDavid Simon, writer/co-exec producerEd Burns, starsIdris Elba,Michael K. Williams, andDominic West, and many, many more) weigh in on everything from how the show came to be, how the cast and crew spent their downtime, and how it felt to be perpetually ignored by Emmy voters. Head toMaxim.comto read the full piece. [viaVulture]
Frank Darabont’sL.A. Noirhas picked up another familiar face, and no, it’s not another formerWalking Deadstar.Thomas Jane, of HBO’s recently cancelledHung, is in talks to play legendary gangster Bugsy Siegel in the TNT drama — but only if it actually passes the pilot phase to get picked up to series. The character may appear in the pilot in the form of “printed materials.”
Set in ’40s and ’50s Los Angeles, L.A. Noir centers arond the real-life struggle between the LAPD and the city’s gangsters.Jon Bernthal,Neal McDonough,Jeffrey DeMunn, andAndrew Rothenbergare all set to play LAPD cops, whileMilo Ventimiglia(Heroes) will play an ex-Marine who’s now becoming a “fixer” for the mob. Also set to appear, as a guest star, isSimon Pegg. [The Playlist]
Tina Majorinoalready knows a thing or two about dealing with weirdos, having starred inNapoleon Dynamite, but she’ll be handling a whole other level of outrageousness in her new gig. TheBig LoveandBonesalum has just landed a recurring role in HBO’sTrue Blood, as “a key member of the Vampire Authority’s support staff.”
Majorino will make her debut in the third episode of the upcoming fifth season, which airs on June 24. Season 5 beginsJune 10. [TV Line]
That first teaser ofDexter’s seventh season didn’t offer any hints, but this new report from the set might. A reader atOn Locations Vacationsdropped by the South Pasadena, CA set and noticed that the cast was shooting in the same location where the sixth season ended (spoilers follow):
I didn’t see any of the cast. The whole cast [including James Remar (Harry)] was filming in the “Doomsday Church”, that’s where the season six finale left off. Then some of the cast went across the street to film scenes inside a house. New actors were filming inside the house [including] two kids and their parents.
That could mean that Season 7 picks up right where Season 6 left off — or it could just mean that the characters later go back to the same site.OLValso has a few snapshots of the set, though they don’t really give anything away. Season 7 premieresSeptember 30.
