Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

The CW has announced that The 100 will end after its 7th season, which will air during the 2019-2020 TV season. (TV Line)

Netflix has renewed 13 Reasons Why for its 4th and final season. (Variety)

The Anna Paquin-led series Flack has been given a 2nd season renewal by POP. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Showtime has renewed City On A Hill for a second season. (Variety)

NEW SERIES ANNOUNCEMENTS

Showtime has given a straight-to-series order to American Rust, based on the Phillipp Meyer novel, that is a family drama that will explore the tattered American dream through the eyes of complicated and compromised chief of police Del Harris (Jeff Daniels) in a Rust Belt town in southwest Pennsylvania. When the woman he truly loves sees her son accused of murder, Harris is forced to decide what he’s willing to do to protect him. (Variety)

CBS All Access has given a series order to a new adaptation of The Man Who Fell to Earth, based on the Walter Tevis sci-fi novel that inspired the 1976 David Bowie film that centered on an alien who arrives on Earth at a turning point in human evolution and must confront his own past to determine our future. (TV Line)

CASTING NEWS

The new HBO series The Nevers, from Joss Whedon, that stars Laura Donnelly (Outlander) has has announced other cast members, including Olivia Williams (Counterpart), James Norton (McMafia), Tom Riley (Da Vinci’s Demons), Ben Chaplin (Cinderella), Eleanor Tomlinson (The White Queen) and Denis O’Hare (True Blood) [among others]. The series is an epic science-fiction drama about a gang of Victorian women who find themselves with unusual abilities, relentless enemies and a mission that might change the world. (TV Line)

CBS All Access has set actor James Marsden (Westworld) and actress Amber Heard (Aquaman) to star in the new small screen adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand, which is an apocalyptic vision of a world decimated by plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil. The fate of mankind rests on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old other Mother Abagail and a handful of survivors. Marsden will portray Stu Redman, an ordinary working-class factory man in an extraordinary situation with a damaged quality to him that belies his exterior. Meanwhile, Heard will play Nadine Cross, a deeply conflicted woman who feels the consequences of her actions, but is still compelled by her allegiance to Randall Flagg, the Dark Man. (Variety)

Actor Chris Messina (The Mindy Project) will star opposite Matt Bomer (White Collar) in the USA Network’s anthology series The Sinner when it returns for a third season. Messina will play Nick Haas, a college friend of Jamie (Bomer’s character), a Dorchester resident and expectant father who looks to Det. Harry Ambrose (returning cast member Bill Pullman) for support in the wake of an accident. A surprise visit years later alters the course of their friendship and their lives. A return date for The Sinner has not been announced. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Sam Witwer (Supergirl and Being Human) will appear in The CW’s series Riverdale, playing Mr. Chipping, a creative writing teacher at the Jughead’s (series regular Cole Sprouse) new school. (TV Guide)

Actress JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Keving Probably Saves the World) will take over one of the lead roles in the Netflix adaptation of Sherryl Woods’ romance novels Sweet Magnolias, taking over the role from Monica Potter. The series will center on three South Carolina women who have been best friends since high school, as they shepherd each other through the complexities of romance, career and family. The cast already includes Brooke Elliott (Drop Dead Diva) and Heather Headley (Chicago Med). (Deadline and TV Line)

Actress Azita Ghanizada (Alphas) will recur in the back half of season 2 of Freeform’s Good Trouble, playing Kendra Zahir, a new employee at Speckulate, where Mariana (series regular Cierra Ramirez) works, who arrives to shake up the company culture. (TV Line)

Actress Gal Gadot (Wonder woman) will star in a Showtime limited series about legendary actress Hedy Lamarr. The as-yet-untitled biopic about the famed actress/inventor. Lamarr stood at the forefront of many issues that challenged women and our society. (TV Line)

TV NEWS

A crossover episode between Freeform’s Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger and Hulu’s Marvel’s Runaways will happen this fall when Runaways enters its 3rd season. (TV Guide)

That’s it. Enjoy!