CBS eyes NCIS spin-off for next fall
No-brainer alert: NCIS' odds-defying ratings uptick this season has
prompted CBS to quietly begin developing a spin-off. Although a
spokesperson for the hit procedural declined to comment, industry
sources confirm that a new crop of naval sleuths will likely be
introduced in an episode of NCIS later this season and launched into
their own show as early as next fall. ''It's still in the early stages,''
maintains an insider, who says no final decisions have been made about
the premise or the setting. Casting will be key, suggests one producer
at a rival network. ''Mark Harmon's personality is the central strength
of NCIS,'' says the exec. ''There's only a handful of available actors out
there who can provide that type of center to a show.'' Whoever ends up
headlining, you can be sure he (or she) will be closer in age to Mark
Wahlberg than to Mark Harmon. ''That's NCIS' one weak spot,'' the suit
points out. ''It gets huge overall numbers, but a low concentration of
young viewers.'' I guess that would rule out Gerald McRaney in NCIS: Boca
Raton.
Fringe Casting
One of the Fringe benefits of a full-season order? More characters to
play with! To wit, the Fox spooker has tapped Ari Graynor — who won raves
for her work as party girl Caroline in Nick & Norah's Infinite
Playlist — to play the younger sis of Anna Torv's Olivia. Her
three-episode arc kicks off in January.
Shield Burning Questions
As amazing as The Shield's shocking series finale was last week, it left
us wanting some answers. Luckily, series creator Shawn Ryan gave us a
little postmortem. Warning: Do not read if you have yet to watch the
finale. Massive spoilers below.
Q: Why didn't Julien come out of the closet in the finale?
A: In the timeline of our story — the entire run of The Shield takes place
over about three years — it felt like he would still be in denial.
Q: Did you want us to think Dutch might have killed Rita?
A: I never felt like Dutch was that far off the deep end. But we joked
about how, in the finale, Dutch would come home and unlock some padlock
on a door leading to a basement and there would be a bunch of kids
chained to the wall.
Q: I understand Shane committing suicide, but did he have to take wife Mara
and son Jackson with him?
A: To us, it made sense. It wasn't fun to write. But in terms of the
overall arc of the show, it felt like the place it should go.
Q: At the end, Vic left his desk job with his gun. Where was he racing off
to?
A: We've always viewed Vic as a shark. He's someone who, in order to
survive, has to move forward. Is he going to search for his kids? Is he
going to pursue his own sort of police work on his own time? Is he going
to do something postal? I don't know. But I do think the shark swims
forward.
