BW Manilowe

I don't think an exact number of episodes Grace wanted out of was ever specified in the press. The way I always saw her "demand" written in the press was "(she) wanted to do less than half the season's episodes, then be written out permanently." And she wanted the same pay as Alex & Scott for doing less than half the work they'll be doing (for the most part, considering Scott's "5 episodes less than Alex each season" deal). I've heard they're supposedly only doing 23 eps this season; half of that would be 11.5, which I suppose would've either been raised to 12 eps, or lowered to 11 in Grace's case. So she didn't even wanna do 11 or 12 eps; she wanted out before that. They were gonna give DDK's production company a development deal with CBS (DDK's company already has a show, The Good Doctor starring Freddie Highmore from Bates Motel, on ABC's schedule this fall), plus a raise which would've paid him 10-15% less than Alex & Scott this season (I think that's what his final offer ended up being, at least according to CBS; DDK's camp said it wasn't that good). Presumably the development deal was in lieu of a backend deal for DDK.

VIDEO: TVLine interviews James Roday & Dulé Hill about Psych: The Movie

And Masi Oka was in the same situation as Michelle Borth: Considered a "regular" cast member, presumably with those "perks" & everything, but used as if he were still "recurring" as he was in S1 when the Max Bergman character was introduced (not appearing in every episode in a season). My feeling, honestly, is that Dennis, Taylor, & Kimee may also be in a similar situation, considered (& given the perks, etc., of being) "regular" cast members, but still having the same type of "recurring" situation they all had already as far as the number of episodes they actually appear in this season. I mean, there are now 10 actors considered "regular" cast members (the 4 existing cast members who stayed when DDK & GP left; the 4 cast members promoted from "recurring" to "regular" status; & the 2 entirely new cast members as of S8). There's probably no way all 10 will get screentime in all 23 eps (or however many they're filming this season)--& we probably already know Scott will only be in, like, 18 of those apparently 23 eps they're filming this season because of his contract, which should at least give more screentime to 1 or more of the actors from among Dennis, Kimee, & Taylor (&, to be fair, I don't think Scott was the only 1 who renegotiated his contract before the original 1 was over, as some have said upthread; I do remember Alex was signed for additional seasons after the show started, before his original contract was due to end--as I remember, Alex was signed for S6 & S7 while he was still on his original contract; those 2 seasons were added to his contract [& probably Scott's] after the show started... & Scott renegotiated his contract & was skipping 5 eps a season even before his daughter was born).

Perhaps I could've phrased that better. What I was trying to say was, among the 6 actors involved, 4 have been promoted from "recurring" to "regular" cast status (Ian Anthony Dale, Dennis Chun, Taylor Wily, & Kimee Balmilero), & 2 (Meaghan Rath & Beulah Koale) are entirely new "regular" cast members. I thought that's how it came across, & I apologize for the lack of clarity.

From the Honolulu Star-Advertiser: Actors Chun, Wily, Balmilero added to Hawaii Five-0 regular cast Dennis Chun, the son of actor Kam Fong who played Chin Ho Kelly in the original Hawaii Five-O, plays HPD Sergeant Duke Lukela who often works with Five-0; Taylor Wily plays Five-0 Criminal Informant & Honolulu entrepreneur Kamekona Tupuola; Kimee Balmilero plays the new Medical Examiner on the show, Dr. Noelani Cunha, who held down the fort in S7 in the Coroner's office while Max was on his Doctors Without Borders sabbatical & then took over as the permanent Medical Examiner when Max decided to join the group permanently because Masi Oka left the show at midseason. I believe Dennis Chun is of Chinese & Hawaiian descent; Taylor Wily is of Samoan descent, & Kimee Balmilero is of Filipino descent. The 3 call Hawaii home. Chun & Wily have been with the show since S1; Balmilero joined last season (though I think I also read she appeared--apparently as a different character--in an earlier episode of the show). Since this makes 6 new/upgraded to regular status cast members for S8 (these 3 plus Ian Anthony Dale, Meaghan Rath, & Beulah Koale who were announced as new regulars this past Wednesday) with the existing 4 cast members (Alex, Scott, Chi & Jorge) that gives us a total of 10 actors who are considered regular cast members. I'd be surprised, however, if all 10 actors appeared in the opening credits based on time constraints alone. I'm betting Chun, Wily, & Balmilero will still be in the "Also Starring" credits after the main titles, mostly because they may not be in every episode based on the functions of their characters. But I'm also betting they'll be the first 3 actors listed in that part of the credits since they're considered regulars now. There is precedent for having a regular cast member not included in the main title credits. In S2, Lauren German's character, Lori Weston, was a regular character & in every episode from 2-16 (15 eps) but she was always billed as "Also Starring" after the main titles where the other regulars were credited. I don't know, but some of the reason for this may have been so they didn't have to change the credits 2 weeks in a row, to add Masi Oka the premiere week of S2 & then Lauren the next week--though they do change the credits in a timely manner to remove actors from the opening credits (Michelle Borth, Masi Oka) once they've left the show, including in midseason like Masi did.

Fashion jewelry designer Kenneth Jay Lane died in his sleep earlier this week; he was 85.

Also, it was announced at the Comic-Con panel that Jimmi Simpson, who was moderating the panel, WILL be in the movie as Mary Lightly

From TVGuide: The first Psych: The Movie teaser (I couldn't get it to play, but maybe I didn't wait long enough). If you can't get the teaser to play above, try here. TVLine also posted it & I could see it there.

From USA Today: Coroner confirms Chester Bennington died via hanging

From EW.com/Entertainment Weekly: Deborah Watling, who played the Companion to Dr. Who's Second Doctor, dead from lung cancer at 69

From TV Guide: Info on Gus' love interest in the movie, who's being played by Dulé's real life fiancée, Jazmyn Simon (some might consider this spoilery)

From the Honolulu Star-Advertiser: CBS Wastes Opportunity with New Hawaii Five-0 Cast Picks

As I remember it, Adam WASN'T a willing participant in the prison break. And it wasn't a prison break, per se. Someone set off an explosion in order to get all or some of the real bad guys (most of whom, maybe not so coincidentally, were pursued & busted by Five-0 in previous eps) out of Hālawa Correctional Facility. For whatever reason (I don't remember right now) Adam ended up being evacuated with the real bad guys after the explosion. Once they all were on the bus being moved to another jail, or wherever, the real bad guys either caused something to happen, or something they didn't cause happened, which allowed the real bad guys to escape. ADAM HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO GO ALONG, AS HE WAS CHAINED TO 1 OF THE LEGITIMATE ESCAPEES! He was actually dropping beads from a necklace he was wearing, as he & the con he was chained to moved around in the jungle (or wherever), so that HPD & Five-0, which he apparently assumed would eventually get involved in tracking the escapees, would hopefully catch on that he was the 1 dropping the beads & he was doing it so that they would at least find him... & hopefully the real escapee he was chained to. Once the surviving escapees (some had killed each other/gotten killed in other ways while on the run) were captured, the Warden at Hālawa apparently saw Adam as having been forced to go with the escapees & because he dropped his necklace beads & used them to lead HPD/Five-0 to him & the other escapees, with the surviving ones being recaptured as a result, the Warden, or whomever, commuted Adam's sentence to (basically) time served (the last part of S6, or whenever it was, until the beginning of S7) because he helped in capturing the real escaped cons. When Five-0 was set up, the now late Governor Jameson gave McGarrett permission to staff the team with whomever he chose--no conditions. I'm assuming Governor Mahoe, or whomever the Governor is this coming season, is allowing the same thing & the other terms under which Governor Jameson set up the task force (immunity & means, etc.). And Steve is hiring Adam because he promised he'd be there for Kono & Adam/help in any way that he could after Adam (stupidly, in my book) confessed to killing those Yakuza guys (or whomever they were) without saying he did it in self-defense/believed if he hadn't done it, then his &/or Kono's life was in danger & the DA took advantage & put Adam in prison because of his family's ties to the Yakuza. He's also hiring Adam because Adam needs a job, as a paroled convict, & he knows Adam either hasn't gotten jobs or he's had trouble keeping them because of his paroled prisoner status. He's also hiring Adam to pay him back for all the information on/help with the Yakuza Adam's provided the team in the past (which is what's the press release announcing the character's new status as a regular & the casting of the 2 totally new characters said). Most of all, Steve's hiring Adam because he's ʻohana through Kono. As I remember, Adam's a lawyer. So he does have a law background, though not specifically law enforcement. Who knows? He may have learned something about tactics through Kono (or hanging around with the team). And he knows how to shoot a gun since he also killed his brother in self-defense. And there's probably other stuff he could've learned from being in a Japanese Yakuza-connected family, though he was the "good" son, that he can potentially use in working with Five-0. Meaghan Rath (Tani, the new girl) is Eastern Indian on her mom's side, Austrian Jewish on her dad's, & she's apparently Canadian by citizenship like Grace Park. They aren't replacing 2 Asians with 3. Beulah Koale, the actor playing the ex-SEAL who's new to the team, is a New Zealander of Samoan descent. I don't think New Zealand or Samoa (especially not American Samoa) are considered Asian countries. Meaghan Rath, the new girl, Tani, is East Indian/Austrian/Jewish/Canadian. And Ian Anthony Dale (Kono's husband Adam) is Japanese-American. I think it's more like an even trade, 2 Asians/people of Asian descent (Grace P & DDK) for 2 others (Meaghan & Ian Anthony Dale).

I don't think they had much of a way to get Ian signed as a (presumably full time) regular before this. He started playing Adam in S2; for, like, the 1st 2 or 3 seasons he was on H50 as a recurring actor Ian also was on Murder in the First on TNT as a series regular, so he needed to be available for that show's filming schedule. That show has been cancelled so Ian is now available to do a regular role on H50. And he could do Salvation--Peter Lenkov's newest CBS show, airing right now--because it's only a summer show & because Ian hadn't been promoted to regular cast member status on H50 at the time this was filming (& because the new show doesn't seem to be getting good ratings & may be a "1 & done" show only airing this summer).

Her (Jill's) brother is Drew Barrymore's most recent ex-husband & the father of her 2 daughters. Despite the divorce, Drew & Jill have apparently remained close/best friends... or so I keep reading.

Ryan's Idol return confirmed--contract details in the article are interesting

I'm not sure we're getting Kevin back. About 10 days ago, Mark Dacascos' Twitter retweeted this pic of Mark & Alton with a youngish lady named Jaymee (from her Twitter feed) who seems to be on the show in some capacity. I had the feeling she may be replacing Kevin this go around when I saw the pic.

Claire van der Boom writes about working with Australia's Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander children as a Save the Children ambassador

Robert Gene "Red" West, bodyguard to Elvis & member of his "Memphis Mafia", & later a film & TV actor, dead at 81 from an aortic aneurysm

Unfortunately nothing to see here anymore. The BTS photo that was here has apparently been removed from the original poster's Instagram. Sorry!

My Mom probably just doesn't go to the right places, or they're out when she does, or something. I think some flavors are exclusive to certain store chains though.

The panel's at 10AM Pacific/1PM Eastern & 12 Noon Central Time THIS FRIDAY. You can follow along on Twitter & Instagram using the hashtags #SDCC & #PsychTheMovie.

I have to say I'm happy they found a way to keep Ian Anthony Dale/Adam Noshimuri on the show's canvas, if you will. I like the character (although his romance with Kono did come out of left field)--I expected (& I think a lot of viewers did) that Kono was gonna end up with Charlie Fong, the original lab guy (from before Danny's nephew Eric--aka "E-Train"--getting the job); especially considering how Kono & Fong met, or rather renewed their acquaintance. The way they're keeping Adam in the storyline doesn't bother me, though I'm sure at least some will object to it. For 1 thing, Adam needs a steady job because of his status as a paroled ex-con. And Ian kinda needs 1 too--he & his wife are expecting their first child (it's a boy). For another thing, I remember McGarrett telling Kono (at least) that he'd be there for her & Adam, whatever they needed, when Adam confessed to what was clearly, really, a self-defense shooting (the guys he killed were supposed to kill him) that Adam shouldn't have done any time for but the DA decided to make an example of him because of his family's ties to the Yakuza. If anyone's interested, Ian's on Twitter. As for the actress playing Tani, the character's not a surprise--they announced the casting for the role practically as soon as the S7 finale aired, so they probably knew GP was taking a hike for good by then. And there have already been photos from the set on social media, during what looked to be Tani's introduction to McGarrett & Danny, although at the time it wasn't stated that was actually the character of Tani or the actress who has the part (& was rumored to be cast at least that point--the first day of shooting for S8). The actress is on Twitter; so far no Tweets about filming. As for the new ex-SEAL on the team, I think that's cool though I didn't necessarily expect an all-new male team member. I wonder if his character & McGarrett will see eye-to-eye, as far as employing "SEAL tactics" in their work or if their "SEAL techniques" will come from different eras of learning (like technology changes, I would think SEAL tactics would also, to some extent), since I expect McGarrett & new guy were in different BUDs classes. I also wonder if he'll notice McGarrett sort of runs the team like it's a SEAL team (I always kinda thought so, anyway) though with that sense of ʻohana to it. The actor playing the new ex-SEAL is also on Twitter--again nothing about filming, & nothing since January, actually.

The death of former NFL player James Hardy III, who was from my hometown & was found dead in a local river in early June (see my original post quoted immediately above) has, sadly, been ruled: Cause of Death--Asphyxia due to drowning; Manner of Death--Suicide (see Tweet from my local NBC affiliate with embedded copy of our Coroner's Office's press release giving his investigator's findings in Hardy's death at the top of the post).

I really like the new caramel ones. But I think you may only be able to get them at Walmart. Or Walmart & a very few other places.