Guest Casting News: Ray Romano on The Middle, Ricky Gervais on Family Guy

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In what is being touted as an "Everybody Loves Raymond" reunion of sorts, Ray Romano will be heading to the ABC comedy The Middle, where he will star alongside his former on-screen wife Patricia Heaton.


But it's not the first time a "Raymond" alumnus has guested on the show, with Doris Roberts appearing in the Season 2 premiere.


Romano will play "Nicky Kohlbrenner, a man from Frankie Heck's (Heaton) past. Look for the character to have had some involvement in ruining Frankie's honeymoon many years ago," according to AOL TV.


This news will be bitter-sweet for Romano-fans, as it comes at the same time as his TNT show Men of a Certain Age was cut down in its prime after only two seasons.


Ricky Gervais will also be lending his voice to a character on the popular Fox series Family Guy. He will play Billy Flinn, a dolphin who moves to Quahog, according to TV Fanatic.


But here's the twist (if the fact he was playing a dolphin wasn't a twist enough): he will be sticking around for a full season.


Family Guy is Gervais' favourite show, and this appearance only adds to the mountainous list of projects he has lined up for 2011-12.

Renewal and Cancellation Wrap: May 11

Well, the axe has certainly been a-swinging down at FoxLand.

After a fairly hefty block of renewals over the past week (Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, House), there have been four fresh cancellations. One of which was a mercy killing, three others were not unexpected and the other coming as somewhat of a surprise.

The shows, in order of predictability are Human Target, Traffic Light, Breaking In, Lie to Me and The Chicago Code.

Human Target was struggling in the ratings and was never a hit critically.

Traffic Light was an interesting case in the way that people could instantly see right through it. It was yet another relationship comedy about x number of couples. That was pretty much it. However, it did try to eschew the typical hammy sitcom tropes by filming it in the style of The Office, or more specifically, Modern Family (in the way that there seems to be a documentary being filmed, however, it is never remotely acknowledged). It was never panned, yet no-one ever raved about it.

There was a similar situation with Breaking In, in that it wasn't terrible, yet simply didn't do enough to capture anyone's attention. Christian Slater can also chalk up another 'miss' on his... chalkboard. It also seemed a bit too "high-concept" for a comedy- it was about a crack team of professionals "Breaking In" to places to test their security. Even though it was a somewhat bizarre concept, at least it was original. But no-one could really see it going for six seasons.

Another "high-concept" idea was probably the death of Lie to Me as well, which was also axed. It lasted for three seasons and didn't seem to form any permanent connection with viewers. Essentially, it was the poor-man's House, and Cal Lightman came off as cold, without the accompanying endearing wit and flaws of Gregory House.

The Chicago Code had a lot of potential, if nothing else for the fact that it was created by Shawn Ryan (creator of The Shield), and there will be a small amount of outrage, yet it will probably blow over. Next!

Renewal and Cancellation Wrap

Aaaand now for a quick wrap-up of this week's Renewals, and they all have two things in common (I'm betting that they have more); they're all on Fox and they're all popular shows, so you could say that it doesn't come as much of a surprise that;

House has been renewed for an EIGHTH SEASON, which is simply great news. Yes, it may have gone off the boil in the past two or three seasons (as well as dabbling in all manner of shark-jump police-worthy violations, such as dream sequences, the original team split up, "Huddy" finally happening, etc.), and has never quite recovered its original magic. But it can't be denied that Hugh Laurie is one of the most talented and engaging actors on the small screen at the moment, and his eponymous character plays arguably one of the greatest of all time.

Also, the show continues to defy formula, something which endeared the show to viewers. And let's face it, the show deserves a decent, well thought-out ending. Whether this ending occurs in the eighth season remains to be seen, however, ratings are still fairly strong, which could well guarantee another season or two.

Family Guy will get a TENTH SEASON, which is really quite astonishing given the fact that Fox cancelled it some time ago. The show could well go the way of the Simpsons too, given its popularity among the younger demographic.

The Cleveland Show will also get a FOURTH SEASON, which was to be expected, given its strong ratings. This rounds out the mighty triumvirate of Seth MacFarlane animated comedies that have been renewed, with American Dad having been renewed earlier.

Australian Perspective: This is great news for Ten with House, which continues to, well, fill a hole in its schedule. It isn't the ratings powerhouse it once was but Ten still need it. Ten's multichannel Eleven will also be nicely stocked with fresh new eps of 'Cleveland', Bob's Burgers (previously renewed), Futurama and The Simpsons.

Family Guy's renewal is also good news for Seven and its multichannel, 7Mate.

This Week in Movies: Week of Feb 6

Take a gander at this week's offerings on the box.

Channel 31	Monday 7th     10.00 am Breakfast In Hollywood
Seven	Monday 7th     12.00 pm The Good Times Are Killing Me
7mate	Monday 7th     12.00 pm The Haunting
7mate	Monday 7th     9.00 pm Family Guy Movie
Seven Two	Monday 7th     2.30 pm A Shot In The Dark
ABC 3	Monday 7th     7.35 am League Of Super Evil: Vote Voltar/ L.o.s.e The Movie
ABC 3	Monday 7th     1.35 pm League Of Super Evil: Vote Voltar/ L.o.s.e The Movie
GEM	Monday 7th     12.00 pm Loser Takes All
GEM	Monday 7th     8.30 pm I Am Sam
GO!	Monday 7th     7.30 pm Suddenly 30
SBS	Monday 7th     12.30 am The Betrayal
SBS Two	Monday 7th     10.30 pm Ghost In The Shell
Channel 31	Tuesday 8th     10.00 am Cry Of The Penguins
Seven	Tuesday 8th     12.00 pm Hope Springs
Seven Two	Tuesday 8th     12.00 am Carry On Up The Khyber
Seven Two	Tuesday 8th     2.30 pm Son Of The Pink Panther
Seven Two	Tuesday 8th     11.10 pm Carry On Up The Khyber
GEM	Tuesday 8th     12.00 pm The Constant Husband
GO!	Tuesday 8th     12.00 am A Scanner Darkly
GO!	Tuesday 8th     7.30 pm Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
SBS	Tuesday 8th     12.05 am Gandhi My Father
SBS	Tuesday 8th     1.00 pm The World
SBS Two	Tuesday 8th     12.00 am The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin
SBS Two	Tuesday 8th     9.30 pm Curse Of The Golden Flower
SBS Two	Tuesday 8th     11.35 pm The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin
ABC	Wednesday 9th     10.00 pm The Movies
Channel 31	Wednesday 9th     10.00 am Kansas City Confidential
Seven	Wednesday 9th     12.00 pm Ntsb - The Crash Of Flight 323
7mate	Wednesday 9th     9.30 pm 8 Mile
Seven Two	Wednesday 9th     2.30 pm Some Like It Hot
GEM	Wednesday 9th     12.00 pm Heart Of A Stranger
GEM	Wednesday 9th     8.30 pm Just Cause
One	Wednesday 9th     8.30 pm Extreme Ops
SBS	Wednesday 9th     12.50 am Cero Y Van Cuatro
SBS	Wednesday 9th     1.00 pm The Colour Of Paradise
SBS	Wednesday 9th     10.05 pm Persepolis
SBS Two	Wednesday 9th     12.00 am Looking For Cheyenne
SBS Two	Wednesday 9th     9.30 pm Heaven On Earth
SBS Two	Wednesday 9th     11.20 pm Looking For Cheyenne
Channel 31	Thursday 10th     10.00 am The Legend Of The Lone Ranger
Channel 31	Thursday 10th     9.30 pm Rage Of The Master
Seven	Thursday 10th     12.00 pm Crimes Of Fashion - Killer Hair
Seven Two	Thursday 10th     2.30 pm 7two Mid Arvo Movie
Seven Two	Thursday 10th     7.30 pm The Kar e Kid Iii
Seven Two	Thursday 10th     9.50 pm Rain Man
GEM	Thursday 10th     12.00 pm The Treasure Of Pancho Villa
GO!	Thursday 10th     9.30 pm Superbad
SBS	Thursday 10th     12.05 am The Yacoubian Building
SBS	Thursday 10th     10.05 pm Loft
SBS Two	Thursday 10th     12.00 am 12.08 East Of Bucharest
SBS Two	Thursday 10th     9.30 pm Whisky
SBS Two	Thursday 10th     11.15 pm 12.08 East Of Bucharest
Channel 31	Friday 11th     10.00 am Voyage Of The Yes
Seven	Friday 11th     12.00 pm Beaches
Seven	Friday 11th     8.30 pm Eagle Eye
7mate	Friday 11th     9.30 pm Rocky II
Seven Two	Friday 11th     12.00 am Lawman
Seven Two	Friday 11th     2.30 pm Mermaids
Nine	Friday 11th     12.00 am The Enforcer
Nine	Friday 11th     1.00 am The World According To Garp
Nine	Friday 11th     8.30 pm Iron Man
Nine	Friday 11th     11.05 pm The Enforcer
GEM	Friday 11th     4.10 am The Treasure Of Pancho Villa
GEM	Friday 11th     12.00 pm Merrill's Marauders
GO!	Friday 11th     12.00 am Lords Of Dogtown
GO!	Friday 11th     1.40 am Pink Cadillac
GO!	Friday 11th     6.00 pm Scooby Doo! And The Loch Ness Monster
GO!	Friday 11th     7.30 pm Balls Of Fury
GO!	Friday 11th     9.25 pm Chaos
GO!	Friday 11th     11.25 pm Lords Of Dogtown
SBS	Friday 11th     11.10 pm Chaotic Ana
SBS Two	Friday 11th     12.00 am A Bittersweet Life
SBS Two	Friday 11th     9.30 pm Mad Detective
SBS Two	Friday 11th     11.10 pm A Bittersweet Life
Ten	Saturday  12th     10.30 pm Doom
Channel 31	Saturday  12th     1.30 am Rage Of The Master
Seven	Saturday  12th     6.30 pm Madagascar
Seven	Saturday  12th     8.30 pm Casino Royale
Nine	Saturday  12th     7.30 pm Journey To The Centre Of The Earth
Nine	Saturday  12th     9.25 pm Batman Begins
ABC 2	Saturday  12th     8.30 pm Chinatown
ABC 2	Saturday  12th     10.35 pm Drive, He Said
GEM	Saturday  12th     12.30 am Doctor Zhivago
GEM	Saturday  12th     4.00 am The Time Machine
GEM	Saturday  12th     6.00 am Manuela
GEM	Saturday  12th     8.00 am Fear Is The Key
GEM	Saturday  12th     11.10 am The Time Machine
GEM	Saturday  12th     1.20 pm Doctor Zhivago
GO!	Saturday  12th     12.00 am The Condemned
GO!	Saturday  12th     1.15 am Matchstick Men
GO!	Saturday  12th     6.30 pm Daddy Day Camp
GO!	Saturday  12th     8.30 pm The Longest Yard
GO!	Saturday  12th     10.50 pm The Condemned
SBS	Saturday  12th     10.05 pm Into The Wild
SBS Two	Saturday  12th     12.00 am Novo
SBS Two	Saturday  12th     9.30 pm Empire Of The Wolves
SBS Two	Saturday  12th     11.40 pm Novo

Source: www.ourguide.com.au