NBC ANNOUNCES EMMY AWARD WINNER TOM SELLECK WILL RETURN TO DRAMATIC SERIES TELEVISION AS HE JOINS REGULAR CAST OF 'LAS VEGAS' AS CHARISMATIC BILLIONAIRE OWNER OF MONTECITO RESORT & CASINO
James Caan Returns for the New Season Premiere Episode
BURBANK - May 9, 2007 - NBC announced that Emmy Award winning Tom Selleck ("Magnum, P.I.") will return to television series drama when he joins the starring cast of NBC's "Las Vegas" (Fridays, 9-10 p.m. ET) next season as a charismatic, self-made billionaire who is surrounded by an air of mystery when he becomes the new owner of the Montecito Resort & Casino.
In addition, James Caan, who has starred as Ed Deline, the Montecito's surveillance head for four years, will return to the series for one episode in its 2007-08 season premiere after announcing earlier this year that he would be departing the series after its 2007 season finale.
"We have been honored and blessed to have had an actor of the magnitude of James Caan for the last four years and we've come up with four aces as legendary icon Tom Selleck has agreed to join the cast," said executive producer Gary Scott Thompson.
The popular Selleck established himself as a major television star with his performance as affable private detective Thomas Magnum on the hit drama "Magnum, P.I." from 1980-88. He eventually served as an executive producer of the series. At the same time, he began a successful feature-film career as he starred in "3 Men and a Baby," "Runaway," "High Road to China," "Lassiter," "Her Alibi," "Mr. Baseball," "Christopher Columbus: The Discovery," "In & Out," "Quigley Down Under," "The Love Letter" and the recent hit "Meet the Robinsons," in which he voiced the character of Cornelius.
Selleck also has developed an impressive acting resume in the television movie genre including his popular "Jesse Stone" movies. Selleck will next be seen in the fourth installment of this franchise called "Jesse Stone: Sea Change," on May 22nd. Television movies have also allowed him to explore his interest in Westerns, with roles in the similar-themed "Monte Walsh," "Crossfire Trail," "Last Stand at Saber River," "The Sacketts" and "The Shadow Riders," among others. Selleck earned strong reviews for his performance as General Dwight Eisenhower in the television movie "Ike: Countdown to D-Day," and starred in others, including "Twelve Mile Road."
In addition, Selleck was a recurring regular on "Friends" as Monica's (Courtney Cox Arquette) boyfriend, in which he garnered an Emmy nomination, and recently guest-starred in four episodes of "Boston Legal" as Candice Bergen's ex-husband.
Caan is best known for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of Sonny Corleone in the classic "The Godfather." His other feature-film credits include "For the Boys" (alongside Oscar-nominated Bette Midler), "A Bridge Too Far," "Thief," "Rollerball," "The Way of the Gun," "The Gambler," "The Program," "Alien Nation," "Honeymoon in Vegas" (opposite Nicolas Cage), "Elf" (opposite Will Ferrell), Lars Von Trier's "Dogville" (opposite Nicole Kidman) and the critically acclaimed "Misery" (opposite Kathy Bates). Caan's television credits include the movies "A Glimpse of Hell," "Poodle Springs," "Lathe of Heaven" and "The Warden of Red Rock."
Caan also garnered an Emmy Award nomination for his role as football star Brian Piccolo in the original movie version of "Brian's Song." He received a Best Actor Award from the Sebastian Film Festival for his performance in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Rain People," as well as the Actor of the Year honor from the National Associate of Theater Owners for "The Gambler."
NBC renewed "Las Vegas" (Fridays, 9-10 p.m. ET) for a fifth high-rolling season in February. From Thompson -- the writer of the hit film "The Fast and the Furious" -- "Las Vegas" is a fast-paced, sexy drama that follows an elite Las Vegas surveillance team charged with maintaining the security of one of "Sin City's" largest resorts and casinos.
"Las Vegas," recently concluded its fourth season. The fifth season stars Tom Selleck ("Magnum, P.I.), Josh Duhamel ("All My Children"), Molly Sims (MTV's "Starsky and Hutch"), James Lesure ("For Your Love") and Vanessa Marcil ("Beverly Hills, 90210").
Thompson serves as executive producer along with Justin Falvey ("Rescue Me") Darryl Frank ("Rescue Me"), Matt Pyken ("Queer as Folk") and Kim Newton ("The X-Files") for this series from NBC Universal Television Studio and DreamWorks Television.
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