Polly Walker on The Mentalist & Once Upon a Time season premiere

Once Upon a Time and The Mentalist are among the shows returning with new seasons tonight (if anyone needs a reminder about Dexter, Homeland, The Good Wife, The Simpsons and Revenge - they're also back tonight), and there is also a new episode of Hell on Wheels at 9/8c on AMC.

Polly Walker has a recurring role on The Mentalist this season, and will make her first appearance in the premiere tonight at 10/9c on CBS.

Synopsis:

“The Crimson Ticket” — While Jane tries to decipher Lorelei’s connection to Red John, the CBI team is forced to partner with the FBI to solve the murder of a hotel employee, on the fifth season premiere of THE MENTALIST on Sunday, Sept. 30 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Emmanuelle Chriqui (“Entourage”) returns as Lorelei Martins, Polly Walker (“Rome”) guest stars as Senior FBI Agent Alexa Schultz and Ivan Sergei guest stars as FBI Agent Gabe Mancini.

And another bit from EW:

The CBI’s New FBI “Colleagues.” Season 5 will see the CBI squad working — and clashing — with a trio of FBI agents also chasing Red John. Polly Walker from Rome plays the group’s boss; Ivan Sergei (Jack & Jill, Gravity) and Drew Powell (Southland, Straw Dogs) play a “lovely bizarro world version of Rigsby and Cho.”

The season two premiere of Once Upon a Time airs at 8/7c on ABC. Jane Espenson is still on the writing team and her first episode airs next Sunday. Speaking of, watch this puppy if you haven't:

And back to Once, BSG's Keegan Connor Tracy returns as Mother Superior/Blue Fairy in the premiere.

Here is what to expect this season:

In the premiere episode, "Broken," reality and myth begin to merge as the fairytale characters awaken from Evil Queen Regina's broken curse and remember who they were. But to their dismay, they aren't transported back to fairytale land. To make matters worse, Rumplestiltskin - aka Mr. Gold - in an effort to gain the upper hand in his power struggle with Regina, has introduced magic into the town. In fairytales magic has its place, but in our world it can have unfathomable consequences. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale land, Prince Phillip awakens his sleeping beauty, Aurora (Sarah Bolger, "The Tudors"), but discovers that he and his traveling companion, Mulan (Jamie Chung, "Sucker Punch," "The Hangover Part II"), will soon have to face a deadly foe, on the Season Premiere of "Once Upon a Time," SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Promo:



And a BTS featurette:

Winston Rekert, R.I.P.

Very sad news today.

Winston Rekert lost his battle with cancer yesterday. He was 63.

He played Obal Ferras in Caprica ("Unvanquished"). Before that, he appeared in a couple of episodes of Battlestar Galactica as the priest who swore in Baltar ("Lay Down Your Burdens, Pt. 2") and Roslin ("Collaborators") as presidents.

He is best known for starring in the Canadian shows Adderly (1986-87) and Neon Rider (1989-94), and for his theatre work in Vancouver.

Earlier this year, he received the Sam Payne Lifetime Achievement Award for his "accumulative outstanding body of work in the industry."

The Vancouver Sun has a great article about his life and work.

And this is from The Province:

Rekert, 63, is best known as the star of the B.C.-filmed Neon Rider TV series in the late 1980s and 1990s, for which he also did some writing, directing and producing. The Vancouver actor won Gemini awards for his roles in Cold Squad (2001) and Blue Murder (2003). Rekert also starred alongside Jane Fonda, Meg Tilly and Anne Bancroft in the 1985 feature Agnes of God.

He and his childhood friend, producer Danny Virtue, created the syndicated series Neon Rider together in 1989.

"He got half the town started in this business," Virtue said. "He was cherished by a lot of people. I’ve known him and loved him since we were kids."

The show, which starred Rekert as a therapist who ran a ranch for troubled teens, ran for 64 episodes and helped launch Vancouver as a film and TV production centre. Details of a celebration of Rekert’s life were being worked out.

Our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, colleagues, and fans.

TV tonight: Grimm season two & Major Crimes series premiere

Grimm is back with the season two premiere, "Bad Teeth," tonight at 10 pm on NBC, and Mary McDonnell finally gets her own show at 10 pm on TNT.

Here is the synopsis for the Grimm season premiere:

After their face-off with Kimura (guest star Brian Tee), Nick (David Giuntoli) finds himself trying to come to grips with the return of his mother, Kelly Burkhardt (guest star Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). A trail of brutal murders unveils a foreign conspiracy to hunt down Nick, leading to several revelations about his past. Meanwhile, Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) still lies in her mysteriously-induced coma as Rosalee (Bree Turner) and Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) work tirelessly to bring her out of it safely.

Elsewhere, Hank (Russell Hornsby) struggles with the shocking truths he’s recently seen and Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz) deals with unexpected family issues when his estranged brother (guest star James Frain) comes back into his life. Reggie Lee also stars.

Mike Dopud will make an appearance in next week's episode, and John Pyper-Ferguson guest stars in episode 2x03.

Grimm will air Mondays at 10 until Friday, September 14, when it moves back to its old slot, Fridays at 9. Collider has a pretty good overview of things to look forward to this season. Here is a preview with the cast:

Hell on Wheels is back tonight

Hell on Wheels is back with the season two premiere tonight on AMC at 9 pm.

Christopher Heyerdahl is a regular this season and Ryan Robbins makes his first appearance as Hawkins the train robber in tonight's episode.

Synopsis:

On the run for his crimes, Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) robs trains with a group of ex-Union soldiers, while Lily Bell (Dominique McElligott) and Durant (Colm Meaney) continue the Union Pacific Railroad's westward progress.

On Sun., Aug. 12 at 9/8c, the second season of Hell on Wheels continues its epic story of post-Civil War America, focusing on Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount), a former Confederate soldier, and his dramatic journey west as he struggles to leave his past behind.

Executive produced by John Shiban (Breaking Bad, The X-Files), Joe and Tony Gayton (Faster, Uncommon Valor) and Endemol USA’s Jeremy Gold, the show depicts the traveling town known as Hell on Wheels, a dangerous, raucous, lawless melting pot that follows and services the construction of the first transcontinental railroad.

Hell on Wheels also stars Common as Elam Ferguson; Colm Meaney as Thomas “Doc” Durant; Dominique McElligott as Lily Bell; Christopher Heyerdahl as The Swede; Robin McLeavy as Eva; Tom Noonan as Reverend Cole; Ben Esler as Sean McGinnes; Philip Burke as Mickey McGinnes; and Eddie Spears as Joseph Black Moon.

Here is a sneak peek:

Alphas returns tonight (10/9c, Syfy)

Alphas is finally back tonight with the second season premiere, "Wake-Up Call," which airs at 10 pm ET on Syfy.

John Pyper-Ferguson will appear in at least six of the 13 episodes, including the season opener and the finale, and Kandyse McClure will guest star in episode 2x09 as one of the Red Flag Alphas who work for him.

Season one was released on DVD last week. You can get it from Amazon.

Here is the synopsis for tonight's episode:

Eight months after Dr. Rosen's startling announcement to the world about the existence of Alphas, the government has locked him up at Binghamton. His Alphas, which have gone their own ways, must decide whether to reunite and save their friend.

And more info about this season:

The second season of Syfy's hit series Alphas, produced by Universal Cable Productions and BermanBruan Television, returns Monday, July 23 at 10PM ET/PT with a deep roster of guest stars. New this season are Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Rudy), C. Thomas Howell (Southland), Lauren Holly (NCIS), Steve Byers (Immortals, Total Recall), Kandyse McClure (Battlestar Galactica) and Noah Reid (Rookie Blue). Returning guest stars include John Pyper-Ferguson (Caprica, Brothers and Sisters) as Stanton Parish, Kathleen Munroe (Haven, Stargate Universe) as Dani Rosen and Mahershala Ali (Treme, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) as Agent Nathan Cley. Summer Glau (Dollhouse, Firefly) who was a fan favorite last season playing an Alpha, Skylar Adams, will return for three episodes.

What to see at Comic Con 2012

Some panels to check out:

WEDNESDAY, JULY 11

6:00-9:45 Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings — Comic-Con and Warner Bros. Television proudly continue their annual Preview Night tradition, with exclusive world premiere screenings of the pilot episodes of five of the most highly anticipated TV series pilots of the 2012-13 television season: 666 Park Avenue, Arrow, The Following, Revolution and Cult.

Arrow - From executive producers Greg Berlanti (Green Lantern), Marc Guggenheim (Green Lantern), Andrew Kreisberg (Fringe), and David Nutter (Smallville), hard-hitting action series Arrow reinvents the DC hero. After being marooned for five years on a remote island, billionaire Oliver Queen returns home with a mysterious agenda and a lethal new set of skills that he uses in a war on crime. The series stars Stephen Amell (Private Practice), Colin Donnell (Pan Am), Katie Cassidy (Supernatural), David Ramsey (Dexter), and Willa Holland (The O.C.), with Susanna Thompson (Dragonfly) and Paul Blackthorne (The River). From Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, Arrow will air Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW this fall. Ballroom 20

(Brian Markinson, Hiro Kanagawa and Ben Cotton appear in the pilot.)

THURSDAY, JULY 12

10:30-11:30 Battlestar: So Say We All — Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek, Capt Apollo) hosts a 35th anniversary preview panel and fan discussion of the Battlestar universe, politics, philosophy, and 35 year history. Joining Hatch for this exciting BGcelebration, roundtable, and Q&A session are Jane Espenson (producer/writer, Battlestar and Caprica), Lili Bordan (actress, Blood and Chrome), Michael Taylor (Battlestar, Caprica, Blood and Chrome), Toni Graphia (Battlestar producer/writer), and Dr. Kevin Grazier (science consultant for BSG and Defiance), plus surprise guests. Room 6BCF

Falling Skies premiere, The Killing finale, Christopher Heyerdahl in True Blood, and a few more updates

Falling Skies returns tonight at 9 pm on TNT with a two-hour season premiere, season two of The Killing ends at 9 pm on AMC, Christopher Heyerdahl makes his first appearance in True Blood (HBO, 10 pm), and there are new episodes of Continuum and Longmire.

First stop, Falling Skies. Luciana Carro and Ryan Robbins will be recurring this season, and other than the showrunner, three BSG/Caprica writers -- Mark Verheiden, Bradley Thompson and David Weddle -- worked on season two.

Rémi Aubuchon (showrunner) and the cast have been doing interviews left and right in recent weeks. Jim Halterman talked to him about the new season. You can read the interview at The Futon Critic. Snippets:

Jim Halterman: Having watched the first few episodes of the second season - and not taking anything away from the first season - I felt like things were sharper and tighter.
Remi Aubuchon: Steven [Spielberg, Executive Producer] is very terse and concise in his direction and basically what he said was 'Look, I want you to amp up the second season.' And I think that what a lot of that comes from is us deciding that we've set the backdrop, we've established the foundation of the story now let's just go with it and I think you can feel that energy in the second season.