Now here's one casting rumor to get many a 'Game of Thrones' fan all a-quiver: Christopher Eccleston is said to be eyeing a major role in Season 2.

According to Blastr.com, the 'Doctor Who' and 'Elizabeth' star could be in the running to play the late King Robert's younger brother, the oft-mentioned but as yet unseen Lord Stannis Baratheon.

The brooding Stannis is, according to Lord Eddard Stark, the rightful heir to the Iron Throne and the Seven Kingdoms.

Production on the second season of 'GoT' is slated to get underway in Northern Ireland at the end of July and producers are continuing to cast roles. Last week 'The Tudors' star Natalie Dormer was confirmed as Margaery Tyrell.

Of all the Gleeks, Corey Monteith is probably the last you'd consider for a solo record deal.

Yet the man otherwise known as 16-year-old Finn on Fox's 'Glee' talked to Parade magazine about his solo deal with Columbia Records in an article due out this weekend.

"I have a solo deal with Columbia Records. So it's about, do I want to release an album, when can we do it, what kind of album should it be, how should it be released and marketed and what's the right timing? Do I have time to do it?," Monteith told the magazine. "It's all about questions."

Then again, Monteith is a talented drummer, so perhaps his potential album would feature less singing and more drumming. Would you listen to a Monteith-only record?

In other TV news ...

It's no 'Arrested Development' movie, but Jeffrey Tambor is in talks to return to TV, eyeing a role in NBC's 'Bent.'

According to Deadline, Tambor will play a former actor who lives with this son, Pete (David Walton). Pete is hired to redo the kitchen of Amanda Peet's character, Alex, a single mom.

Tambor's character lives with his son, has to be driven everywhere and plays piano in the Nordstrom lobby when not chasing after ladies.

In other casting news ...

• Judith Light will star opposite Jesse Bradford and Bonnie Somerville in 'Other People's Kids.' The 'Who's the Boss?' veteran will play Somerville's ex-mother-in-law who has a live-in lover. [Deadline]

• Louise Lombard is dusting off her 'CSI' badge and reporting back to the hit CBS series. Lombard's Sofia Curtis is now deputy chief. "She's gotten her shield and she has a real take-no-prisoners attitude," Carol Mendelsohn said. [TVLine]

• 'The Vampire Diaries' actress Arielle Kibbel has joined ABC's 'Hallelujah.' Kibbel will play Veda Roman in the show about good versus evil. [Hollywood Reporter]

(S02E10) I'm just going to come out and say it. I really enjoyed the season finale of The Tudors. The wife-number-two storyline is all wrapped up. And now next season we'll move on to wife-number-three, Jane Seymour. I think I'm even more excited for next season because I know next to nothing about Henry's wives post Boleyn drama. I know many of you history buffs will disagree, saying that you'd rather they keep to the facts because Tudor history alone is interesting enough. I feel, at this point, I'd rather just watch the story --which is basically a primetime melodrama with corsets and crowns and public executions. So, I'm not as worried about accuracy. And by the way, public executions on Melrose Place would have been awesome.

But, enough about what's to be, let's talk about what happened tonight. My review of the season finale is after the jump.

(S02E09) "These bloody days have broken my heart. My lust, my youth do them depart. And blind desire of ambitious souls who haste to climb, seeks to revert. And about the throne, the thunder rolls." --Sir Thomas Wyatt (voiceover)

This was a dark episode. As much as I disliked Anne during her ascension to the throne and sided with the steadfast and pious Queen Catherine, I hated seeing Anne's demise come to a head this episode. Somewhere along the way, Anne became the victim on this show. The Tudors, in my opinion, has done a good job of creating a multi-faceted character on the part of Anne Boleyn. Once a villain, she ended up a sacrifice to male-dominated political power play.

(S02E08) Much to Anne's chagrin and Henry's delight, Jane Seymour joined the queen as the new lady-in-waiting. Henry, not as athletic and spry as he once was, was injured in a jousting match. Everyone scrambled to figure out who will succeed him if he does die. Pope Paul III decided to execute the Bull of Excommunication against the king. Jane Parker started planting her seeds of revenge against her husband. And Thomas Cromwell continued to do what he's done since the end of season one, play puppet master. (Okay, puppet master is harsh.)

What an episode! My review is after the jump.

(S02E07) I need to point something out first. When they show Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the opening credits, he stares into the camera and widens his eyes just a little bit at the last second. It's perfectly sexy and haunting and dangerous at the same time. I know some readers have commented that his portrayal of Henry is insufferable at times (too much screaming "I'm the king of England" and the like). But I think Rhys Meyers' Henry VIII balances a good amount of wanting to do the right thing (or at least feel like he's doing the right thing) with wanting to do exactly what he wants, because after all, he's king.

A review of tonight's The Tudors (not just the opening credits!) is after the jump.

(S02E06) "It's called a printing press, my lord. And it will change the world." --Thomas Cromwell to George Boleyn

Thomas Cromwell continues to wage war on the Catholic Church. Henry is haunted by the death of Thomas More. A paranoid Anne loses her grip on her husband's affections. The turbulent royal couple try to fix up baby Elizabeth with King Francis's youngest son. George Boleyn marries, much to his dismay and even more to the dismay of his new wife Jane (not to mention the dismay of George's lover Mark Smeaton).

Just another day in the life of a Tudor. A review of tonight's show is after the jump...

(S02E05) This was by far the heaviest episode of The Tudors I've seen. I'll get to my review of the heavier parts later. First, however, I think I'll begin with some of the lighter parts of the episode, all of which were provided by the Pope. I know I've said it before but Peter O'Toole is an invaluable addition to this show. All of his scenes were impeccable tonight (not really anything different from any other night). I think by far his best scene was after Michelangelo threw a tantrum and used foul language when one of his apprentices didn't paint Moses right. Also great but a little haunting was the pope's mention of Cardinal Fisher's martyrdom. He had this eerie expression on his face while he "lamented" that he would not be able to die for Christ like Fisher.

Read on after the jump for my full review of The Tudors...

The Tudors just got picked up for a third season slated to air in 2009. Production will begin June 16th in Dublin, Ireland and Jonathan Rhys Meyers will star once again as Henry VIII. Season three will follow Henry as he weds Jane Seymour and then Anne of Cleves.

This really doesn't come as a surprise to me. The show, when it premiered in April 2006, garnered both a large audience and critical acclaim. In fact, the series and Rhys Meyers earned Golden Globe nominations. "The Tudors is now a fixture for us at Showtime and we're on our way to completing the entire saga of all six wives of Henry VIII," says President of Entertainment Robert Greenblatt. He goes on, "We are enormously proud of this show, the extraordinary cast, and the production team that recreates the grandeur of the Renaissance year in and year out. There is nothing like this anywhere on American television."

I only have one question, Is season three the season they will make Rhys Meyers wear a fat suit? I love the JRM but come on, he doesn't look one bit like the real-life portly king that changed the political and spiritual landscape of England.

(S02E04) The 16th century soap opera continues... George Boleyn is having an affair with Mark Smeaton. Anne's pregnant again. Henry's on mistress number two to keep him company while the bun is in the oven. Henry passed a bill making him supreme ruler of everything. Lady Mary lost her title to a little baby named Elizabeth.Trouble is brewing overseas with the French king not recognized Anne as queen and the Spanish emperor planning Anne's assassination. Now, all we need is for someone to come back from the dead or have a sex change.

I can barely keep up with The Tudors. How about you? Let's talk about it after the jump...

(S02E03) And to the right, my dear readers, is the main reason I watch The Tudors. Let's face it, if they hired an actor who actually resembled King Henry VIII, I don't think this show would be quite as popular. But shameless appreciation of Jonathon Rhys Meyer's hotness aside, I kind of like the show too. *wink*

Tonight's episode had some big plot progressions but in between was a lot of the same old stuff they've been using since the very beginning of the series. There was more Team Katharine (led by the Duke of Suffolk and loyal Catholic Thomas More) versus Team Anne (led by her family...oh, and the king). For a discussion of what happened tonight, read on after the jump.

(S02E02) This week we see just how much Anne has beguiled Henry (some might even say, bewitched?). The gifts, the trip to France, the title--all tokens of his love and all signs of how narrow-minded he is about her. I think the gifts, while very special and expensive, are nothing compared to the trip to Calais and Henry's elevating Anne to Marquess of Pembroke. Those two things show, more than anything else, that Henry is indeed serious about divorcing Queen Katharine and marrying Anne Boleyn.

(S02E01) The Tudors is back. And in true Tudor style, it's back with a vengeance. Last year in the season finale we left Henry on the brink of a climax. And I would say no pun intended, but if you saw the season finale, you know that pun was definitely intended.

A lot was set in motion with the premiere of The Tudors. The ambitious Boleyns will rise even higher in the king's esteem this season. However, if you know your history, you'll know that we will watch their bloody fall from grace too. Henry and Anne's fiery relationship will deteriorate. And influence of Protestantism will continue to surge, while Catholicism in Britain will collapse almost entirely.

If you are excited for season 2 of The Tudors on Showtime but can't wait until it airs on Sunday March 30th, check this out. Showtime is making the season premiere available to fans online now. Just click here and enter the password: Royal.

For an early look at the show, read on past the jump...