According to this article in TV Guide Magazine, Ben is one of the voice talents in the newest reboot of “Scooby Doo”. The series will begin airing on the Cartoon Network in July.
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Inc – 7/6c Cartoon Network
Scooby-Doo, where are you? A hip reboot of the 40-year-old cartoon franchise puts the meddling kids and their—talking!—canine pal Scoob in Crystal Cove, the most-haunted town in the world, where they solve mysteries much to the chagrin of everyone else who lives there. Among the celebs who lend their voices to the series (either as guest stars or recurring characters) are: Patrick Warburton, Gary Cole, Linda Cardellini, George Segal, Ben McKenzie, Tricia Helfer, Tia Carrere, Julie Bowen, science fiction writer Harlan Ellison and—for those who know their Scooby history—Vincent Van Ghoul.
TV Guide
From: deadline.com
Two years after being unveiled at NBC’s upfront presentation, cop drama Southland will once again be introduced at an upfront presentation, this time at TNT’s event tomorrow after the show was recently renewed by the cable network.
“We’re delighted that we’re still alive,” executive producer John Wells said. “So far, we’ve used up the fourth of our nine lives.”
But along with the excitement of staying on at TNT came the reality of having to adjust the series, originally developed and produced for a broadcast network, to the economics of cable. The budget of Southland is being cut by more than a third going into Season 3.
As a result, not all cast members will continue as regulars and those who remain had been asked to reduce their fees and/or the number of episodes they appear in.
Staying on as regulars are Regina King and Michael Cudlitz, who have completed their deals, and Ben McKenzie and Shawn Hatosy who are in negotiations. McKenzie, King and Cudlitz are scheduled to appear at TNT’s upfront presentation tomorrow, while Hatosy had to pull out because of personal commitment.
I wish we had more money,” Well said. ”We are hoping to find a way to have a couple of more regulars if they prefer it that way or recurring if they want to have the opportunity to also appear on other series.”
For instance, after Southland’s cancelation by NBC, series regular Kevin Alejandro landed a recurring gig on HBO’s True Blood where he was upped to a regular with the blessing of the Southland producers. He is still expected to do several episodes of the TNT drama next season. Wells also is looking to bring back in some capacity former regulars Arija Bareikis and Michael McGrady.
Tom Everett Scott started off as a regular on the show on NBC but was switched to a guest star status after the network didn’t like his character and wanted him killed. But the producers loved him and kept him alive and now they have had preliminary conversations with Scott to return for next season, possibly as a regular.
And the producers on the show themselves will take deeper cuts than the actors, said to be larger than 30%. But Wells is not complaining.
“I don’t’ want to sound upset about it,” he said. “We got to keep doing the show, and we are delighted that TNT stepped up and that have been very generous. The reality is in the big difference between how you set up to do a show off the bat on cable and how you transition a broadcast show to cable. It’s new ground.”
From THR
TNT has renewed “Southland” for a third season.
The network has picked up 10 episodes of the critically acclaimed John Wells cop drama, which will air starting next January.
“Southland” has been a modest performer for the cable network, which picked up the series after NBC canceled the series right before the start of its second season.
“’Southland’ is a challenging, visceral show that engages viewers with its immersive style, provocative storylines and complex characters,” said Michael Wright, head of programming for TNT. “These qualities have made ‘Southland’ a favorite among critics and appointment viewing for an extremely loyal audience.”
TNT points out that “Southland” gains about 50% more viewers via DVR time shifting, which is above average. In live-plus-same-day ratings, the final episodes of the show averaged about 2.2 million viewers. The show averaged 2.7 million viewers for the season once seven-day DVR gains are added.
This adorable picture was posted by Ben’s co-star, Michael Cudlitz, at his Twitter page:
Mr. Cudlitz wrote: Ben is reviewing questions with his asst.
To read Ben and Michael’s Q&A Twitterview visit twitter’s tntweknowdrama account.
Southland (2009-2010)
Sin Bin (2010)
The Eight Percent (2009)
Johnny Got His Gun (2008)
