The TV Zone

I like to start rumors at TVzone, which is much easier to do than actual reporting, and here's one I'd like to float: Is one of the great actors of stage and screen going to join "Eli Stone"? That would be Derek Jacobi, who I think has a "Sir" in front of his name by now.

As you may already know, Katie Holmes will be doing a cameo on this pretty good ABC show. That was formally announced by Big Mac during the morning session at the BH, while Greg Berlanti, showrunner / co-creator offered a few other details a few minutes ago. They are: She'll be on the Oct. 21 episode ... she'll play an attorney who doesn't actually practice law ... and she'll be in a "significant portion" of the show ... oh, and she'll sing and dance, too. No details on her numbers ... As tubeheads know, she and Berlanti go waaay back to "Dawson's Creek."

Now, to Sir Derek. During the Q&A someone wondered -- I guess "joked" is the better word -- about whether "Eli" star Jonny Lee Miller might prevail on his ex, Angelina Jolie, to appear on the show, which (Berlanti said) will look to bring aboard more guest stars to build sampling and viewership next season. Said Miller of Jolie, "YOU'LL have to ask her," and then noted that in fact a co-star on a film he's currently shooting did ask whether he could do a cameo on "Eli Stone." He declined to say who that star was, other than the fact that he's a pretty "big name..." He said that he hadn't even mentioned the offer to Berlanti or co-creator Marc Guggenheim.

And of course, this intriguing comment sends me straight over to IMDB, which reveals that Miller is currently shooting Pete Travis' "Endgame," about the end of apartheid. It stars...William Hurt (but no chance he'll be doing a cameo, unless John Landgraf at FX is much more generous than I think he is), and Clarke Peters and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Both are wonderful actors, but hardly the "big name" that the other co-star Jacobi is.

So there you have it, friends. One of the greats -- maybe THE greatest living actor -- could be joining "Eli," if only for a day. (And now you can see the trouble we get into at TCA when there's not enough to do...)

(Photo: A smiling Sir Derek from whatsontv.co.uk.)