Hey All,
Here are the news items for this past week:
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Actress Thuso Mbedu (The Underground Railroad) is to create a suite of shows for Paramount+ outside the US. She will create, develop and produce scripted and documentary programs that will focus on equality, climate and health. (Deadline)
TV CASTING NEWS
When season two of The Gilded Age happens, actor Thomas Cocquerel (Tom Raikes) will not be returning. (TV Line and Deadline)
Teri Polo (The Fosters) will appear in a recurring role on NCIS. She will play Vivian Kolchak, the ex-wife of Alden Parker (Gary Cole) and former FBI agent, who left the FBI following their divorce and took a Defense Department job as a paranormal investigator. (Deadline)
Disney+ will air an eight-episode limited drama called A Small Light that will tell the true story of Miep Gies (Bel Powley from The Morning Show), who played a critical role in hiding Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis. A 20-something secretary Miep didn’t hesitate when her boss Otto Frank (Liev Schreiber from Ray Donovan) asked her to hide him and his family during World War II. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan (Joe Cole from Gangs of London) and several other everyday heroes watched over the eight souls hiding in the secret annex. It was Miep who found Anne’s diary and preserved it so that she and Otto could later share it with the world. (Variety)
Long-time The Flash cast member Jesse L. Martin is ending his run as a series regular on the show. He will, reportedly, appear in multiple episodes of season 9 that will air next season. (TV Line)
Elijah Kelley (2007’s Hairspray) will play Sammy Davis Jr. in the long-gestating biographical Hulu series about the legendary singer. The untitled eight-episode series will explore Davis’ life through the lens of his racial identity and his complex relationship with the Black community. (Variety)
New cast members for season 3 of The Witcher have been announced. Robbie Amell (Upload) will play Gallatin, a born fighter, who leads an army of guerrilla Scoia’tael fighting on behalf of Nilfgaard. Meng’er Zhang (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) will play as Milva, a human adopted by the dryads of Brokilon Forest. Hugh Skinner (Harlots and Fleabag) will play Prince Radovid, a royal playboy and younger brother to King Vizimir. And newcomer Christelle Elwin will play Mistle, a member of The Rats, a gang of misfit teenagers who steal from the rich and give to themselves – and sometimes the poor. (TV Line)
Young actor Walker Scobell (The Adam Project) has landed the lead role in the small screen adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians at Disney+. The live-action show will tell the fantastical tale of the titular 12-year-old modern demigod, who’s just coming to terms with his newfound supernatural powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. Now Percy must trek across America to find it and restore order to Olympus. (Variety)
Justin Bartha will reprise his role as Riley Poole in the small screen adaptation of National Treasure that is coming to Disney+. (The Hollywood Reporter)
SERIES PICK-UP
Netflix has given a series order to the drama Glamorous [which was previously set as a pilot at The CW]. The 10-episode series will star Miss Benny (Fuller House, Love, Victor and American Horror Stories), a non-binary performer born in Dallas. The show will tell the story of Marco Mejia, a young gender non-conforming queer man whose life seems to be stuck in place until he lands a job working for legendary makeup mogul Madolyn Addison. It’s Marco’s first chance to figure out what he wants out of life, who he actually is, and what it really means for him to be queer. (Variety)
BOX OFFICE NEWS
Grammy winner Jon Batiste will be adding acting to his resume. He has joined the cast of the upcoming latest adaptation of The Color Purple. He will play Grady, husband to Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson). (Variety)
MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS
Andrew Walker has signed an exclusive multi-picture deal with Crown Media Family Networks, the folks behind the Hallmark Channel and its franchise networks. (Deadline)
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries has released information on one of its new upcoming made-for-TV movies. Color My World With Love will chronicle the romantic story of a woman named Kendall (Lily D. Moore from Netflix’s Never Have I Ever), a skilled painter who has Down syndrome, who meets Brad (David DeSanctis from the 2014 movie Where Hope Grows). Erica Durance (Smallville and Supergirl) will play her mother Emma and Benjamin Ayres (The Chronicle Mysteries franchise). (Today.com)
KJ Apa (Riverdale) and Isabel May (1883) have landed the alien sibling lead roles in The Wonder Twins , a live-action DC comedy that will air on HBO Max. Apa will play Zan and May will play Jayna. The plotline of the movie is under wraps, but Jayna is known for her talent of transforming into an animal, while Zan is a shapeshifter of sorts. (Deadline)
That’s it. Enjoy!
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