Posted by Vee | February 23, 2010, 18:12 (EST) | 16 Comments
Category: TV Series

Via Michael Ausiello, there’s more casting news out of Mystic Falls: David Anders, seen most recently on 24, will guest star as…

The Alias and Heroes alum will play Elena and Jeremy’s uncle, Jonathan Gilbert, who comes to Mystic Falls to “cause some trouble,” teases an insider.

If that name sounds familiar, it’s because, well, it should. Johnathan Gilbert is the name of Elena and Jeremy’s circa-1800 ancestor. Old school Johnathan debuted via flashback earlier this month as played by Joe Knezevich.

Read the notice over at Ausiello Files. Anders is set to appear in April. (OMG it’s SARK!)

UPDATE: TV Guide reports Anders’ first episode will be April 15th (episode 18/#117 – if the show runs with no breaks upon its return on March 25th).

Posted by Vee | December 23, 2009, 2:14 (EST) | 4 Comments
Category: TV Series

For those wanting clarification on who exactly Brandon Quinn will be playing in the next episode of Vampire Diaries (January 21st), Michael Ausiello has this tidbit via Kevin Williamson (highlight for spoilers):

Question: Got any scoop on who Brandon Quinn is playing in Vampire Diaries‘ Jan. 21 episode? –Seth
Ausiello: According to Diaries boss Kevin Williamson, “He’s a vengeful guy with a score to settle with Damon.”

Thanks to VDO for the heads up that the audio from the London Apple store appearance (with Paul Wesley, Nina Dobrev, and Ian Somerhalder) is now available on iTunes for your listening pleasure. Not that you haven’t already watched the videos five million times, but we understand the need for completion.

Posted by Vee | December 1, 2009, 23:39 (EST) | 10 Comments
Category: TV Series

The Wrap counts Vampire Diaries as one of Fall’s 6 Buzziest Shows (along with Glee, The Good Wife, Modern Family, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, and Parks & Recreation), crediting the show’s success to the current vampire trend, “breakout star” Ian Somerhalder, and a still-growing audience:

The CW’s foresight has been rewarded with the network’s biggest new hit since “Gossip Girl.” Viewers are responding to the show’s juicy storylines, its super-hot cast and the always appreciated sense of humor that showrunner Kevin Williamson (“Scream”) brings to the table.

Direct link to the Vampire Diaries segment.

E!’s Watch with Kristin has confirmed Kelly Hu’s casting (which we tweeted then blogged on Sunday night – thanks to @thetelevixen/Fancast for actually giving us credit on that one). As we suspected, she is indeed playing Pearl, but (as usual) don’t place too much faith in those casting sides:

Kelly will be appearing in flashbacks as an apothecary named Pearl, but contrary to other reports, she doesn’t go door to door and accidentally try to sell vervain to Katherine (Nina Dobrev). We’ll first see her on Jan. 28.

Tweeted this last night, so in case you missed it: E’s Spoiler Chat talked with Jasmine Guy about upcoming episodes:

We just chatted up Jasmine Guy, and she tells us she’s “having a ball” playing Bonnie’s grandmother and will be back sooner or later. She also hinted at a bigger picture storyline arc for the series: “There’s this whole inner life between the witches and the vampires where there’s this pact between the two forces that they won’t expose each other. So I’m excited to explore that.” She also calls the show’s producers “elusive” and that she learns what she’s going to do when she gets on set.

UPDATE: TV Guide’s Mega Buzz has quite the tidbit (highlight to read – it’s definitely spoilery):

What if I were to tell you that Elena will soon find herself in the romantic company of a Salvatore brother not named Stefan? Said Salvatore introduces her to a friend who allowed himself to be “turned” by his vampire lover, which gets the hamster wheels in Elena’s pretty, pretty head spinning.

And if you missed Zach Roerig’s interview with The VRO tonight, never fear: the entire thing is up for your listening pleasure.

Posted by Vee | November 29, 2009, 22:05 (EST) | 9 Comments
Category: TV Series

If Kelly Hu’s Twitter is to be believed (and we think it is), she will be guest starring in episode 13 (#112) of The Vampire Diaries. You may know Ms. Hu best as Lady Deathstrike in X2, various appearances on shows like NCIS, Law & Order: SVU, CSI: New York, and not to mention voice work for Robot Chicken and The Spectacular Spider-Man. Or perhaps you remember her kicking Ian Somerhalder’s ass in The Tournament? In any case, we’re not 100% certain who she is playing (though we have an idea), but that information will most likely come to light soon.

Posted by Vee | November 26, 2009, 13:23 (EST) | 13 Comments
Category: TV Series

Benjamin Ayres guest starred as the infamous William Tanner in the first three episodes of The Vampire Diaries – the Pilot, Night of the Comet, and Friday Night Bites, where he met his untimely (seriously – worst timing ever) end. Canadians may know him best as Casper “Cowboy” Jesperson from jPod, the cult favorite TV series based on Douglas Coupland’s novel; Americans will recognize him for guest appearances on shows like Psych, Smallville, The L Word, and films like Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Good Luck Chuck. His career as an actor (theater, film, television), writer (he’s currently writing and developing a pilot), and director (Scott’s Land) is wildly varied. Watch for his new 12-episode CTV series and keep up with his upcoming projects, witticisms, and music obsessions on Twitter, @BenjaminAyres.

I interviewed Mr. Ayres a few hours before the airing of History Repeating on November 12th – which happened to mark the introduction of Alaric Saltzman (played by Matt Davis), Mr. Tanner’s replacement at Mystic Falls High. (Oh, how I wish I’d known about Tanner’s “Jackass Folder” beforehand…) You can experience Mr. Tanner’s violent demise all over again during the CW’s encore airing of Friday Night Bites tonight at 8/7c. (UPDATE: Ben was kind enough to change his Twitter profile picture to a nice, up close and personal shot of his neck wounds.)

Vee: First off, I just want to say we’re eight episodes into the show now, but Mr. Tanner’s death is still my favorite.

Benjamin Ayres: Awww. [laughs]

Vee: Were you told early on that you were not long for the world?

Ayres: It was interesting because the pilot was actually filmed in Vancouver, and then when the show got picked up, they moved it to Atlanta, Georgia – which is where they’re filming it now. And I wasn’t sure, actually, if (after the pilot) I was even going to be in it. So once the show got picked up and moved to Atlanta – and at that point I had moved [from Vancouver] to Toronto to work on another show – I was unsure what was going to happen. Then I got the phone call that they still wanted me on the show and they got me a Visa in time, and then I flew down from here to work for those two episodes. But I knew I’d be in it for those two episodes. I didn’t know how I was going to die, but I knew it was only two episodes. So, you know, it was so fun to work on, but at the same time I knew I was coming back [to Toronto] to start a different show, so contractually I wouldn’t have been able to – I may have been able to do one more [episode]. Obviously I would’ve loved to have done as many as I could have, but I was very happy with getting to do what I got to do on the show and to work with those guys.

READ MORE: BEN AYRES TALKS ABOUT HIS DEATH SCENE, FILMING, AND HOW MR. TANNER COULD COME BACK.

Posted by Vee | November 21, 2009, 1:21 (EST) | 7 Comments
Category: TV Series

Weird seeing a fandom pet name pop up in TV Guide Magazine. William Keck has just posted that actor James Remar, aka Harry Morgan from Dexter (aka One of the Greatest TV Shows There Ever Was), has been cast as Giuseppe Salvatore (Stefan and Damon’s father). He starts filming December 2nd and also reveals he may be making more than one appearance on the show.

Keck: You seem like a great choice to play Papa Salvatore. How did you get the role?
Remar: I was brought in by Marcos Siega, who has directed several episodes of Dexter and Vampire Diaries. He’s now the show runner on Vampire Diaries and thought I’d be right for this role.

Check out the interview at TV Guide Magazine. (Two of my favorite things colliding – thanks, Marcos!)

Posted by Vee | November 13, 2009, 22:06 (EST) | 6 Comments
Category: TV Series

We tweeted a hint about this earlier this afternoon, because we love teasing book fans: The Vampire Diaries is casting two characters for episode 13 (production #112), one of which has a name (and role) book readers will recognize. If you’re dying to know, and don’t mind spoilers, head over to the Spoiler Zone. As always, these things are subject to change, so take it with a grain of salt. But can you say…more flashbacks?

TV Guide Magazine’s William Keck has a tease about next week’s episode, The Turning Point, though we’re not sure exactly how spoilerific this is considering the promos released last night and this morning. Maybe someone’s pulling a fast one? Thanks to Ina for the heads up.