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'Elementary' casting: Sherlock Holmes' father finally arrives on CBS

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Author: 
Andrew Warren / TV Media
John Noble guest stars in "Elementary"

John Noble guest stars in "Elementary"

'Elementary' casting: Sherlock Holmes is back, and he's bringing another close family member along with him. Australian actor John Noble has joined the cast of "Elementary," and is scheduled to make his first appearance in the premiere of the fourth season, airing Thursday, Nov. 5, on CBS.

American TV audiences will best recognize the accomplished actor from his past roles in two hit Fox programs: as Dr. Walter Bishop in "Fringe" and Henry Parrish in "Sleepy Hollow."

In "Elementary," he'll be taking on the role of a character that, until now, has often been mentioned but never seen: that of Sherlock Holmes' (Jonny Lee Miller, "Trainspotting," 1996) estranged father.

"Elementary" fans will remember that it was Sherlock's father who set him up with the reliable Joan Watson (Lucy Liu, "Ally McBeal") as a "sober companion" to help with the young man's struggle to stay off drugs. Unfortunately, the younger Holmes relapsed at the end of the last season, and it will be under these grim circumstances that his father comes to America.

Mr. Holmes' return to Sherlock's life will mark the second major family member introduced in the series. Season 2 brought Sherlock's older brother Mycroft into the scene, played by Rhys Ifans ("The Amazing Spider-Man," 2012).

With the fourth season of TV's other big Sherlock Holmes drama, PBS's "Sherlock," still a long way off, fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary detective are lucky to have "Elementary" to give them their fix. Season 4 premieres Thursday, Nov. 5, on CBS.

 

Shush!: It's all right, a bit of noise is perfectly acceptable in this library, especially with the fate of the entire world hanging in the balance. TNT's family-friendly fantasy adventure "The Librarians" is prepping the card catalog for a second season, and it has recruited some new talent to help stop the books from getting too musty. This second season premieres Sunday, Nov. 1, on TNT.

While the cast and crew have been pretty tight-lipped regarding details of the sophomore season, they have let a few tantalizing casting tidbits leak out. Michael Trucco ("Battlestar Galactica"), Serbian model Nina Senicar ("Match") and Matt Nolan ("Argo," 2012) have all been teased, but whether they'll be playing allies, enemies or something in between is anyone's guess at this point.

"The Librarians" is a direct continuation of the trilogy of made-for-TV movies that starred Noah Wyle ("ER") and aired on TNT. The show stars Rebecca Romijn ("X-Men," 2000), John Kim ("Neighbours"), Lindy Booth ("Dawn of the Dead," 2004) and Christian Kane ("Leverage") as a team of librarians -- but these aren't your ordinary book shelvers.

Instead of minding musty books and shushing visitors who speak too loudly, they guard the library's collection of magical and historical artifacts, often battling the evil forces of the villainous Serpent Brotherhood, led by the immortal Dulaque (Matt Frewer, "Watchmen," 2009).

The danger continues to grow for the group of librarians, and the adventure is set to get a lot more rollicking for viewers at home. Season 2 of TNT's "The Librarians" premieres Sunday, Nov. 1.

 

From Armenia with love: Conan O'Brien sure has been getting around. In a late-night landscape that's been pretty chaotic for the past two years or so, the comedian's late-night show on TBS has remained stable, but that hasn't kept him in the studio. "Conan" has been jet-hopping all over the place lately, and his next big destination is Armenia.

O'Brien will be the first late-night talk show host from America to film his show in the country. Wedged between Georgia, Turkey and Iran in the South Caucasus region of western Asia, Armenia will certainly mark the most distant and most exotic locale yet for the funnyman. The Armenian episode is scheduled to air Tuesday, Nov. 10, on TBS.

Armenia is just the latest stop for O'Brien, and he's teased that there's more globe-trotting adventures to come. He's been filming shows all over the country in recent months, with stops in New York, Dallas, Chicago and San Diego. He even made history when he shot in Cuba earlier this year, the first late-night host to do so since the Cuban embargo was imposed more than five decades ago.

So, why Armenia of all places? Look no further than O'Brien's longtime assistant, Sona Movsesian. The native Armenian has never visited her historical homeland, and her boss is clearly excited about giving her the chance to explore the land of her ancestors.

“I think it’s every boss’s responsibility to take their assistant back to their ancestral land,” O'Brien said in a news release announcing the trip. “That’s why I’m going to make sure my next assistant was born in a five-star resort in Tuscany.”

Jokes aside, Conan O'Brien's trip to Armenia will air Tuesday, Nov. 10, on TBS.