Friday, June 1 - Today's items include another exit from NBC's
Saturday Night Live; an Oscar-winner joins the already high-pedigree cast of USA's
Political Animals; a
Law & Order: SVU alum is heading over to USA's
Suits to play a lawyer; Catherine Tate receives a promotion on the upcoming season of
The Office; and many more!
- Producer Zack Estrin (Prison Break) has decided to extend his deal with ABC Studios. With the new deal, he will join the new ABC drama, Zero Hour, as an executive producer/showrunner.
- Catherine Tate will be returning to the upcoming ninth season of the NBC comedy The Office as a full fledged series regular. Her return means that all major Office cast members will be returning in the fall except for Mindy Kaling - who's moving onto her new comedy, The Mindy Project.
- USA's upcoming mini-series Political Animals has tapped Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave for a vital guest stint. She will play Diane Nash, a lesbian Supreme Court Justice, the first openly gay member of the Court, who is a friend and mentor to lead character, Elaine Barrish (Sigourney Weaver).
- Law & Order: SVU alum Diane Neal is heading for a guest star role on the upcoming season of the USA drama, Suits. Neal will appear in the sixth episode of the second season as Allison Holt, a straight-shooting legal eagle who is hired by Pearson Hardman to defend Harvey in a lawsuit against him, and in doing so gleans that her client may not be completely innocent of a cover-up.
- Today, Andy Samberg officially announced that he would be leaving NBC's Saturday Night Live after six seasons on the program. Samberg called it, "one of the hardest decisions I've ever made."
- For the first time since being killed off in the Grey's Anatomy season eight finale, Chyler Leigh spoke out on her decision to leave the ABC medical drama. She says, "Earlier this year, I made the decision that season eight would be my last on Grey's Anatomy. I met with Shonda and we worked together to give Lexie's story appropriate closure. I am very lucky to have worked with this amazing cast and crew for five seasons. My experience on Grey's Anatomy is something that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I want to take this time to say thank you to the fans. Your unconditional love and support have made these last five years very special for me. I look forward to my next chapter and I hope you will continue to follow me on my journey."
