News Briefs: Demi Lovato Is Joining Glee

SHE LOVES YOU LIKE A LOVE SONG

Demi Lovato has signed on for a significant role in Glee‘s upcoming fifth season. She’ll play Dani, a struggling artist type in New York who’s friends with Rachel and Santana, and who will be spending a lot of her time with Adam Lambert’s incoming character. Lovato is signed on for at least six episodes and will first appear in the October 3 Beatles tribute episode. And because I know you’re all worried, fear not: She’ll carry on her X Factor judging duties as normal. [TV Line]

BUSINESS TIME

… In the wake of the sudden suicide of Lee Thompson Young this morning, TNT has halted production on its hit series Rizzoli & Isles in order to give the cast and crew time to grieve the loss of their colleague and friend, and to give the writers time to chart a proper course of action for the series. Young played Detective Barry Frost, the partner of Angie Harmon’s Jane Rizzoli. [Deadline Hollywood]

… On a much happier note, Sophie Turner, the actress who plays Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones, has adopted her character’s “direwolf.” Fans of the series know that Lady went to direwolf heaven in Season 1, but when the owners of the dog who played her were looking to re-home the pup, Turner’s mom convinced them to let her adopt the animal instead. [The Coventry Telegraph]

… The History Channel has greenlit a four-hour miniseries about Harry Houdini, creatively titled Houdini. The miniseries will trace Houdini’s life from extreme poverty to extreme famousness. Adrien Brody is set to star as the magician, while House of Cards‘ Kristen Connolly will play his wife Bess. [Deadline Hollywood]

… Forty-one percent of people recently polled in Louisiana think Duck Dynasty star Willie Robertson should not run for Congress.  [Politico]

… In an attempt to beef up FXX, the new sister channel to FX that will launch on September 2, FX Networks is developing a new comedy series with comedian D.L. Hughley. The deal was just closed last week so there’s not much info available, but Hughley says it’s a series about doing a radio show. If you’re confused, it’s probably because Hughley’s actual radio show, The D.L. Hughley Show, launched today in five cities, and hits 45 other markets in the near future. FXX will also begin airing re-runs of The Hughleys this fall.  [Laughspin]

… Beginning September 17, you can watch The Middle every day at 5pm on ABC Family. If you’re on the fence about whether you want to make such a big commitment, ABC Family is airing an eight-hour marathon on September 16, starting at 11am. Episodes airing during the marathon include the pilot, “The Bee,” “Average Rules,” “A Birthday Story,” and “The Sit Down.” [ABC Family via press release]

 

CASTING NEWS

… Rachel Dratch will guest-star on The Middle as Brick’s new middle school principal. She’ll appear early in Season 5. [TV Line]

… Dana Davis (Franklin & Bash) and Peter Macon (The Shield) are joining Jake Sandvig and Chris Diamantopoulos in the cast of Bryan Fuller’s High Moon. Davis plays Yama Winehart, the one and only human to be born on the moon, and she can never leave it because something about gravity. Macon plays her father, General Gale Lynn Winehart, a wary army general with years of battle experience. [Deadline Hollywood]

… Sarah Clarke (24, The Tomorrow People) has landed a lead role in a new drama pilot from AMC. The project, Line of Sight, is about Lewis Brent, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator who survives a horrific plane crash. This leads him on a personal quest to discover the cause of the accident. Clarke will play Lewis’s wife Dot, who is attempting to save both her marriage and her husband’s life. [Deadline Hollywood]

… Ravenswood, the Pretty Little Liars spin-off has cast two of its parental figures. Henry Simmons (NYPD Blue) and Sophina Brown (Numb3rs), who are married in real life, will play Simon and Terry Beaumont, the parents of Remy (American Horror Story). Simon runs the local paper, and Terry is a war veteran struggling with survivor’s guilt.  [TV Line]

 

TODAY IN BREAKING BAD NEWS

… A bunch of crazy people in southern Connecticut dialed 911 on Sunday night when their cable went out during Breaking Bad. Look, I get that you’re upset—I probably would’ve burned a bunch of my roommate’s stuff in a blind rage—but let’s save the 911 calls for real emergencies, like if Jesse Pinkman dies. [NY Daily News]

… The coordinates in Walt’s lottery numbers from last night’s episode actually direct you to Albuquerque Studios, where the series is filmed. So please stop digging holes in the desert like a meth addict. [Wired]

 

AND IN THE HOLY CRAP COLUMN…

… Television legend Dick Van Dyke had to be rescued from his car today; the vehicle had burst into flames on the 101 in Los Angeles. The 87-year-old actor is said to be doing fine. [THR]