The TV casting news is in full force today. First up, EW reports that Gregory Itzin, the once deceptive president of 24, has signed on for another government role as the actor will join the cast of Big Love as a pivotal politician. Itzin will take on the major recurring role of Senator Richard Dwyer, the Republican Majority Leader of the Utah State Senate. And since series lead Bill Paxton has just become a member of the State Senate, you can be sure they'll be having plenty of interaction once the series starts production for its fifth season sometime this week.
Hit the jump for casting additions to The Good Wife, Detroit 1-8-7, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior and the prequel series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.
The cast of The Good Wife is growing as well with EW reporting Michael Ealy (FlashForward) joining the cast of the second season. If you haven't finished the first season then read no further as his character details are chock full of spoiler information. Ealy will play Derrick Bond, the head of the D.C. firm that’s merging with Will (Josh Charles) and Diane’s (Christine Baranski) struggling firm. Ealy's character is described as a "casual, soft-spoken attorney whose egalitarian beliefs seem at odds with Will and Diane’s self-serving practices," and he'll be around for at least 10 episodes.
Also, another cast member has just been added to ABC's new upcoming police drama Detroit 1-8-7. EW reports Rochelle Aytes (The Forgotten) has landed a recurring role on the series as Alice Williams, a smart, sexy, ambitious lawyer in the Wayne County prosecutor’s office. You can check out this brand new series starting September 21st on ABC.
CBS also announced today via press release that Criminal Minds star Kirsten Vangsness will bring her series character Penelope Garcia into the midseason spin-off series Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior. Vangsness will maintain a series regular role on both shows. Executive Producer Chris Mundy said, "In reality, the real Behavioral Analysis Unit teams share analysts, so it made sense for us to combine the positions on TV." So expect to see Vangsness helping out Special Agent Sam Cooper (Forest Whitaker) quite a bit.
Finally, Starz Entertainment has revealed (via press release) the cast and storyline for the upcoming series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. The new series acts as a prequel to Starz breakout epic Spartacus: Blood and Sand and follows Gannicus, the first gladiator to become Champion of Capua. Australian actor Dustin Clare (Underbelly) will play the gladiator with other new cast members like Jaime Murray (Dexter) and Marisa Ramirez (General Hospital) joining as well. In addition, returning cast members from Blood and Sand include Lucy Lawless (Lucretia), John Hannah (Batiatus), Peter Mensah (Oenomaus) and Manu Bennett (Crixus). I'm sure there will be plenty of blood and nudity for all to enjoy.