Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

FULL SEASON ORDER

The first new drama of the fall to receive a full season order is FOX’s Prodigal Son. (TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

That Walker, Texas Ranger reboot that will feature Supernatural alum Jared Padalecki in the lead role has landed at The CW for development. The show will focus on Cordell Walker (Padalecki), a man finding his way back to his family while investigating crime in the state’s most elite unit. (TV Line and Deadline)

MINI-SERIES/LIMITED SERIES CASTING NEWS

CBS TV Studios is working on a mini-series based on former FBI director James Comey’s memoir A Higher Loyalty with Jeff Daniels signed to play Comey and Brendan Gleeson as Donald Trump. Holly Hunter will appear as Acting Attorney General Sally Yates. The book covers Comey’s tenure as FBI director, his role in the 2016 election and his relationship with Trump, who fired Comey in May 2017. (The Hollywood Reporter and Variety)

More cast members have been added to the cast of the upcoming CBS All Access limited series The Stand, based on the Stephen King novel that already stars James Marsden, Amber Heard, Alexander Skarsgard and Whoopi Goldberg. The new cast members are Eion Bailey (Once Upon a Time) as Teddy Weizak, a superflu survivor and member of the body crewin Boulder, Colo. Katherine McNamara (Shadowhunters and Arrow) will play Julie Lawry. A small-town girl with a wild side, she is one of Lloyd’s conquests in Las Vegas. And, Hamish Linklater (The New Adventures of Old Christine) will play Dr. Ellis, a military colonel and infectious disease specialist who dreams of being the hero who stops the superflu. (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman) has landed a lead role in the reboot of the Matrix franchise, but it is unknown what role he will be playing. (Variety)

Actress Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) will produce and star in the box office film Irena Sendler, based on the Polis heroine who saved thousands of Jewish children during the Holocaust. (Variety)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actress-singer Amber Riley (Glee) will serve as emcee on the ABC live action adaptation of The Little Mermaid Live. (TV Line)

TV CASTING NEWS

Actor-singer-game show host Wayne Brady will have a recurring role on Black Lightning, playing Tyson “Gravedigger” Spikes, a World War II-era member of the U.S. military who became a “super soldier” after a secret experiment gifted him with enhanced strength, agility, tactical genius, and hand-to-hand combat expertise. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Cas Anvar (The Expanse) will have a recurring role in the final season of How to Get Away With Murder, playing Robert Hsieh, an in-house lawyer of a popular dating app who works closely with Caplan & Gold on a discrimination suit. (Deadline)

Actress Raven-Symone will appear in The Bold Type, as a successful beauty influencer who is part of Scarlet’s anti-cultural appropriation photo spread. (E! Onlne and TV Line)

Firefly alum Alan Tudyk will guest star in an episode of The Rookie, playing Ellroy Basso, a bioremediation specialist who schools Nolan on the art of crime scene cleaning. (TV Line)

There will be a reunion (of sorts) of cast members from the short-lived series Life Unexpected in the upcoming Hulu series Little Fires Everywhere, based on the Celeste Ng bestseller of the same name. The series follows the Richardson family, whose life is upended by a mother-daughter duo who come into their lives, which will star Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon. The Life Unexpected cast that will appear in the Hulu series are Britt Roberton, who will play Rachel, the nanny employed by the Richardsons so that Elena (Witherspoon) can continue to work at the local Shaker Heights newspaper; Kristoffer Polaha and Reggie Austin, who will play reporters covering the contentious custody hearing between the white McCullough family and their adopted baby’s biological mother; Austin Basis will play Principal Peters, who runs East Shaker High School and oversees the rebellious antics of the youngest and most troublesome Richardson child. Life Unexpected came from Liz Tigelaar, who is the creator of Little Fires Everywhere, which will premiere next year. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!