Hey All,
Here are the entertainment news items for this past week:
RENEWAL
Hulu has given the Emmy Rossum-lead drama thriller Furious a second season order. (Variety)
TV CASTING NEWS
Game of Thrones alum Kit Harington will be taking over the role of Gilderoy Lockhart from Nicholas Hoult in the upcoming second season of the HBO series Harry Potter. (Variety)
The new fall NBC drama Line of Fire will see Sam Waterston (Law & Order), Campbell Scott (Dying Young) and Chris Chalk (Perry Mason) making guest appearances, playing former President Thomas Barnes, a U.S. Senator named Terry and current President Kayana respectively. (Deadline)
Netflix has given a greenlight to a spin-off to the drama series Manifest (which started out on NBC before moving to the streamer). Arrivals: A New Manifest Mystery will focus on what happens when a mysterious plane crash-lands in Denver. The passengers emerge with no memory of who they are, where they came from, or why they’re here. A young social worker and a novice Homeland Security agent team up with the new arrivals in an attempt to stop a humanity-ending catastrophe, discovering along the way that they are all part of the very puzzle they’re trying to solve. (Variety)
Netflix has a new, currently untitled, drama based on the short stories for adults by Roald Dahl. The series will find Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan, The Crown star Imelda Staunton and The Wire star Dominic West appearing alongside previously announced cast members Carmen Ejogo, Clark Peters and Toby Jones (among others). The logline for the upcoming series is: A young couple, marooned in a faded seaside town, navigate conmen, adulterers, murderous mothers and snake charmers as they attempt to escape before their own fate is sealed. (Deadline)
Kate Winslet will star in the new limited series The Unheard at Netflix from Adolescence writer Jack Thorne. The series will be about two sisters who go on the run after an act of vengeance goes wrong. As they are desperately pursued, we ask the question: What pushed them to this reckless act, and was it ever their intention to get away with it? (Variety)
Downton Abbey alum Dan Stevens will play the titular hero in the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series RoboCop based on the box office movie. This 8-episode series will focus on how a giant tech conglomerate persuades the city to place a powerful robot on its police force – a robot implanted with the consciousness of a beloved fallen officer, Alex Murphy (Stevens). (Deadline)
BOX OFFICE MOVIE NEWS
The box office movie Lincoln in the Bardo that will star Tom Hanks as Abraham Lincoln has added Willem Dafoe, Jonathan Bailey and Peter Dinklage to its voice cast. The movie will explore one of the most intimate moments of Lincoln’s life, centering on his relationship with his recently deceased 11-year-old son. The feature mixes history and imagination in a story that unfolds through an ensemble of characters – living and dead, historical and invented – to explore themes of love, empathy and the human capacity for connection in the face of unimaginable grief. (Deadline)
Looks like Paramount is working on a sequel to the box office movie How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with original star Kate Hudson attached to produce. This sequel is in the early stages of development, though, so there aren’t many details. (Variety)
Anne Hathaway will star alongside Tom Cruise in the upcoming sequel film Days of Thunder 2 that will be released in June of 2028. (Deadline)
SERIES PICK-UP
Looks like the USA Network is getting back into the groove of airing TV dramas, as the cabler has picked up a medical drama called Diplomatic Immunity about a doctor assigned to the U.S. embassy in Rome, who finds himself encountering challenging medical cases that require him to navigate diplomacy, government personalities and geopolitical situations — all while managing the romantic entanglements set against the thrill of a new life in a new country. Casting details have not been announced. (The Hollywood Reporter)
MGM+ has picked up the five-part Gemma Arterton-led drama series Secret Service. Arterton will star as senior MI6 officer Kate Henderson as a covert investigation uncovers evidence that a high-ranking UK politician may be working as a Russian asset. With trust shattered and her career on the line, Kate must navigate the shifting sands of political loyalty, international threat, and personal sacrifice as she races to uncover their identity before it’s too late. (Deadline)
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Peacock is developing an all-new spin-off series to Bel-Air (which was a dramatic reimaging of the Will Smith-led comedy The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air). This spin-off called Hilary will focus on Bel-Air cast member Coco Jones’s character. (CBR)
BROADWAY NEWS
Harry Potter alum Rupert Grint will reprise his role of Ron Weasley as he is joining the cast of the Broadway play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. He will play an adult version of Ron in a story that focuses on the next generation of Hogwarts students. (Variety)
That’s it. Enjoy!
Rueben's Ramblings 