Hey All,
Here are the news items for this past week:
RENEWAL NEWS
Harlots has been renewed for a third season by Hulu. (The Hollywood Reporter)
CASTING NEWS
Actress Molly Quinn (Castle) will have a recurring role on the upcoming ABC mid-season legal thriller The Fix, co-written and executive-produced by attorney/O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark, that will center on Maya Travis (Robin Tunney from The Mentalist), a Los Angeles DA who suffers a devastating defeat when prosecuting A-list actor Sevvy Johnson (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje from Lost) for double murder. With her high-profile career derailed, she flees for a quieter life in Washington. Eight years later, when Sevvy is under suspicion for another murder, Maya is lured back to the DA’s office for another chance at justice. Quinn will play Lindsay, the murder victim’s sister. (TV Line)
Actress Zoe Kravitz (Big Little Lies and the Divergent franchise) has landed a lead role in the adaptation of High Fidelity, which will air on Disney’s upcoming streaming series. The series received a 10-episode order that will reimagine the story from the female perspective. Kravitz will executive produce in addition to starring, playing the ultimate music fan, a record store owner who’s obsessed with pop culture and Top Five lists. The Disney direct-to-consumer streaming service is scheduled to launch in late 2019. (Variety)
Actor Michael Vartan (Alias and The Arrangement) will guest star in the new CBS drama God Friended Me, which is about an atheist (Brandon Micheal Hall from The Mayor) who is friended by the Almighty on Facebook. Vartan will appear as Cara Bloom’s (series regular Violette Beane) father. (TV Line and Entertainment Weekly)
Actor Teddy Sears (The Flash) will have a recurring role on Chicago Fire, playing Chaplain Kyle Sheffield, who enters Firehouse 51 after the beloved Chaplain Orlovsky (Gordon Clapp) announces his retirement. He has history with new paramedic Emily Foster. (TV Line)
Actor LaMonica Garrett (Designed Survivor and The Last Ship) will appear in the upcoming December crossover event of The CW superhero shows that will have a backdrop concept of Elseworlds. Garrett will play The Monitor, a cosmic character with a singular spot in the eight-decade publication history of DC Comics. The annual crossover will kick off with The Flash on December 9, followed by Arrow on December 10 and ending with Supergirl on December 11. (Deadline)
Actor Billy Lush (Kingdom) and Juliet Landau (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will have recurring roles on the 5th season of Bosch on Amazon, which stars Titus Welliver as homicide Detective Harry Bosch. Lush will play Stones, a tough, cold-blooded criminal, heavily involved in the opioid trade while Landau will portray Rita Tedesco, a court reporter living with a secret. (Deadline)
Actress Jennifer Beals (Taken) will have a recurring role in the DC Universe streaming series Swamp Thing, which is set to premiere in 2019. The series will follow Abby Arcane (Crystal Reed from Teen Wolf) as she investigates what seems to be a deadly swamp-born virus in a small town in Louisiana but soon discovers that the swamp holds mystical and terrifying secrets. When unexplainable and chilling horrors emerge from the murky marsh, no one is safe. Beals will play Sheriff Lucilia Cable, who is tough as nails and pragmatic. (Deadline)
MOVIE CASTING NEWS
Actor Max Brown (The Royals and The Tudors) has joined the cast Downton Abbey, the upcoming box office movie that will continue the story of the extremely popular PBS series, which is expected to open in September next year. (Deadline)
Actress Karen Gillan (Avengers franchise, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Doctor Who) will join actors Harrison Ford and Dan Stevens in the latest Call of the Wild adaptation of the Jack London famous 1903 adventure novel set during the Klondike Gold Rush. Gillan will play the role of Mercedes. The plot centers on the trek of prospector John Thornton (Ford) across the Canadian Yukon during the gold rush. (Deadline)
Actresses Mary Elizabeth Winstead (BrainDead, Fargo and Mercy Street) and Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Underground and Friday Night Lights) will join Margot Robbie (as Harley Quinn) in Birds of Prey, the latest DC Entertainment superhero film. Winstead will play Huntress while Smollett-Bell will play Black Canary. (Variety)
SERIES PICK UP
Netflix has given series order to a number of new dramas; two based on romance novels and three sci-fi themed (Variety):
Romance Novels:
Virgin River, based on the book series by Robyn Carr, tells the story of Melinda Monroe, who answers an ad to work as a nurse practitioner in the remote California town of Virgin River thinking it will be the perfect place to start fresh and leave her painful memories behind. But she soon discovers that small-town living isn’t quite as simple as she expected and that she must learn to heal herself before she can truly make Virgin River her home.
Sweet Magnolias, based on the book series by Sherryl Woods, which centers on three South Carolina women, best friends since high school, as they shepherd each other through the complexities of romance, career, and family.
Both shows received 10-episode orders with production set for later this year.
Sci-Fi Themed:
The I-Land focuses on what happens when 10 people wake up on a treacherous island with no memory of who they are or how they got there. They set off on a trek to try to get back home; soon discovering this world is not as it seems. Kate Bosworth will star as KC and serves as a producer on the series. Other cast members will include Natalie Martinez (The Crossing and Under the Dome) will star as Chase and Alex Pettyfer (I Am Number Four and Magic Mike) will star as Brody. The I-Land received a 7-episode order with Neil LaBute serving as the writer, director, and showrunner.
October Faction, which received a 10-episode order and is based on the IDW comic book series, follows globetrotting monster hunters Fred and Deloris Allen who, after the death of Fred’s father, return to their hometown in upstate New York with their teenage children Geoff and Viv. As the family adjusts, Fred and Deloris must hide their identities as members of a secret organization, and quickly discover that their new small-town setting isn’t as idyllic as it seems. Damian Kindler will be the creator, executive producer, and showrunner.
Warrior Nun, which also received a 10-episode order and is inspired by the manga novels of the same name, revolves around a 19 year-old woman who wakes up in a morgue with a new lease on life and a divine artifact embedded in her back. She discovers she is now part of an ancient order that has been tasked with fighting demons on Earth, and powerful forces representing both heaven and hell want to find and control her. Simon Barry will be the writer, showrunner, and executive producer.
That’s it. Enjoy!
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