July 15, 2008
"You're looking at 19 months off the air, which is technically cancellation, I believe," says Peter Tolan, Rescue Me writer and producer. Due to the writers' strike, the FX dramedy series about New York firefighter Tommy Gavin (Dennis Leary) faces a prolonged break, which, in today's fast-paced world of ridiculously short attention span, almost automatically translates to fading into oblivion. As new shows are being churned out by networks, even a critically acclaimed series like Rescue Me can just as easily be forgotten.
To remedy this delay (new episodes won't arrive until April), the people behind Rescue Me opted to launch a series of weekly five-minute segments they like to call “Minisodes” that will air Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT.
July 9, 2008
Veteran actor Michael J. Fox is supposedly close to inking a contract with FX's Rescue Me for a multi-episode arc. Entertainment Weekly reports that the former Spin City and Back to the Future star is considering a role in the firefighter comedy drama as the love interest of Janet, played by Andrea Roth, Denis Leary's ex. Fox is reportedly seriously thinking about it, as he and Leary are longtime friends. If this pushes through, however, fans have to wait a teeny bit as Rescue Me won't be back until March next year.
Meanwhile, according to E! Online, Fox, who is also renowned for battling Parkinson's Disease, is also in talks with creator Bill Lawrence to reprise his role on the ABC comedy Scrubs. Now the two, Fox and Lawrence, go way back with Spin City, which Lawrence co-created. Fox's last appearance on the show was in 2004 for two episodes.
June 18, 2008
Following her controversial drug bust, Tatum O'Neal is back in shape and ready to reprise her role as Tommy's sister Maggie on the FX series Rescue Me, according to the actress' publicist. Fortunately, producers of the show are also eager for her return.
"We want to bring her back, and I haven't heard anything about why she wouldn't be available to us," series co-creator Peter Tolan told TV Guide. "It's a misdemeanor, so she's not going to do time, and nobody has said to us we can't insure her or anything like that. So I'm assuming she's available to us and it's 'business as usual.'"
June 5, 2008
Fans of Rescue Me won't be able to catch the new season until March 2009, however FX will be releasing a number of “mini-sodes” airing in June and July to bridge the fourth and fifth season of the comedy-drama series. To ease the long wait, the network has also released the highly anticipated fourth season DVD.
In case you have never watched a single episode of Rescue Me, the series stars Dennis Leary as Tommy Gavin, a firefighter with more problems than your average person. While his occupation is already stressful as it is, his work has also generated other side effects such as alcoholism. Firefighting has also affected his personal relationships as professional traumas can have such in-depth effects that they can start to worsen existing personal problems.
June 2, 2008
In New York City yesterday, police arrested 44-year-old Oscar-winning actress Tatum O'Neal on suspicion of buying drugs on the streets. She was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.
The New York Daily News reported that she was caught buying crack cocaine from a homeless street vendor Sunday night, three blocks from her home in Manhattan's Lower East Side. A judge released her today after she spent the night in jail. She was ordered to return on July 28.
November 5, 2007
Fans of FX's Rescue Me will be delighted to know that the cable network has renewed the critically-acclaimed drama series for another year.
FX has ordered 22 episodes of Rescue Me for its fifth season, which will be split and aired in two distinct blocks. Production for the new season is scheduled to begin in the Spring.
September 26, 2007
Charles Durning, who most recently appeared in FX's Rescue Me, has been chosen by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) to receive its annual lifetime achievement award. The 84-year-old actor will be presented with the award at next year's Screen Actors Guild Awards, to be aired on January 27 on TNT and TBS.
"Charles Durning is the perfect choice for the Life Achievement Award as Screen Actors Guild celebrates its 75th anniversary," SAG President Alan Rosenberg said Monday in a statement. "Throughout his career, he has epitomized the art and grace of acting and brought something special to every role. He is, above all things, a great actor with the talent to which we all aspire: the power to create indelible characters."
September 12, 2007
The much-awaited season 4 finale of Rescue Me finally airs tonight. Fans can expect one hell of a season ender as a huge dose of drama and chaos unfold in the episode entitled “Yaz.”
Created by Denis Leary and Peter Tolan, Rescue Me centers on the professional and personal lives of New York City Firefighters after the trauma of the September 11 attacks. Leading the cast is Leary, who plays firefighter Tommy Gavin. He struggles with his self-destructive personal issues, his chaotic family life and the loss of his cousin, and best friend, Jimmy Keefe, who died in the 9/11 tragedy and frequently visits Tommy in visions. The show also features Sean Garrity (Steven Pasquale), Mike Silletti (Michael Lombardi), Franco Rivera (Daniel Sunjata), Lieutenant Kenneth Shea (John Scurti), Janet Gavin (Andrea Roth), and Colleen Gavin (Natalie Distler) among others.