Q and A: Week of Aug. 19

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Q and A: Week of Aug. 19

Q: Can you tell me what Mary McCormack has been doing since “In Plain Sight” ended? — Paula S., via e-mail

A: You can catch Mary now in the independent film “Escape from Polygamy,” which premieres Saturday, Aug. 24 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime. Beginning Oct. 3, Mary returns to series television in the new NBC single-camera comedy “Welcome to the Family,” which also stars Mike O’Malley (“Glee”), Ella Rae Peck (“Deception”) and Ricardo Chavira (“Desperate Housewives”). “Family” gets a prime spot, airing after NBC comedy mainstay “Parks and Rec,” hopefully helping to fill the void that “The Office” has left in the network’s Thursday night comedy block.

Q: A while back you mentioned “Witches of East End” was going to be a series on Lifetime, and I wondered if you had any more information on it? I loved the book, so I am curious about the series. — Annette D. in Connecticut

A: Lifetime recently announced a premiere date for its newest drama, which features an all-star cast headlined by Emmy Award-winner Julia Ormond, Madchen Amick, Jenna Dewan Tatum and Rachel Boston as a family of witches living in the secluded seaside town of East Haven. “Witches of East End” will cast its spell beginning Sunday, Oct. 6, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Also set to star are Eric Winter, Daniel DiTomasso, Jason George and Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee Virginia Madsen.

As you mentioned, the series is inspired by Melissa de la Cruz’s best-selling novel “Witches of East End,” and centers on the mysterious Beauchamp family: Joanna (Ormond) and her two grown daughters: Freya (Dewan Tatum) and Ingrid (Boston), both of whom are unaware that they are witches. Freya is recently engaged to the man of her dreams, wealthy playboy Dash Gardiner (Winter), but when she finds herself inexplicably drawn to Dash’s troubled, enigmatic brother, Killian (DiTomasso), bizarre occurrences begin to manifest in her life. Joanna’s long-estranged sister Wendy (Amick) shows up, forcing Joanna to reveal to her daughters they are immortal witches who possess great untapped powers.

Q: I thought Tom Cruise was passing the “Mission: Impossible” mantle to Jeremy Renner. Now I hear Tom will star in the fifth movie. Is that true? — Gerald L., via e-mail

A: Yes and no. Tom will star in “Mission: Impossible 5,” which is scheduled for a 2015 release (most likely summer). Jeremy will be his co-star, but he was never brought on to replace Tom; he was added to the roster to partner with him. And as long as Tom keeps drinking from the Fountain of Youth, I say they should keep him on as long as they can.

Q: Is “Poltergeist” being remade? — Linley J., Harrisburg, Pa.

A: Details are sketchy about the new project, but I can tell you that an updated “Poltergeist” is in production, with Sam Rockwell in talks to co-star with Rosemarie DeWitt, according to “Variety.”

Q and A: Week of Aug. 5

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Q and A: Week of Aug. 5

Q: I am just heartbroken over the death of Cory Monteith; I still find it difficult believe. Do you know what will come of “Glee” in the wake of his death? — Diana P., via e-mail

A: Fox has decided to delay the fall premiere of season five of “Glee” from Sept. 19 to Sept. 26. The show’s creator, Ryan Murphy, has said: “When you’re faced with something so sad and so shocking, what do you do?”

He said that a big part of the decision to go forth with the show’s production came from talking with the show’s star, and Cory’s real-life girlfriend, Lea Michele, saying that Lea felt “the best thing for the cast and crew was to get back to work and be together every day and talk about our memories of him. So we decided to do that with Lea’s blessing, and we’re going to go back to work and have grief counselors on the set for two weeks because people are really hurting.”

“Glee”’s first two episodes already have been planned out as a Beatles’ tribute, and that is still the plan but, of course, they will have to make a few changes. The third episode will be a tribute episode for Cory, and then after that, the show will go on hiatus for a while to regroup.

Ryan revealed there are no plans to recast the role of Finn, saying: “The right thing to do for the show, at least at this point, is to have that character pass. When we do the tribute episode to that character, we’ll have to do it in a way where the cast members will not have to re-create [their own] feelings of grief, but do it in an upbeat way.”

Q: Will Masterpiece Classic’s “Mr. Selfridge” return for another season? — Janet R., Rochester, N.Y.

A: Following its ratings success earlier this year, Masterpiece and PBS have announced that there will indeed be a second season of “Mr. Selfridge” — which stars Jeremy Piven as the flamboyant American entrepreneur who founded the famous Selfridge’s department store — with plans to air in 2014.

Q: Will Jeremy Renner be in the new “Avengers” movie? — James H., via email

A: Director and writer Joss Whedon told convention-goers at Comic-Con that he is looking forward to writing the character of Hawkeye for the sequel, “The Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Joss said: “He did get possessed pretty early by a bad guy and had to walk around scowl-y for most of the last movie. Now it’s nice to actually have the character there and really see him interact with the other guys.”

Q: Did Penelope Cruz have her baby yet? — Leila W., St. Louis, Mo.

A: Penelope and husband Javier Bardem — who celebrated their third wedding anniversary last month — welcomed a daughter on July 22 in Madrid. She joins big brother Leonardo, who turns 3 in January. The day of her daughter's birth was particularly fortuitous for the notoriously private couple, as a certain prince was born that day as well, which took up all the media's attention.