Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

FULL ORDER

Quantum Leap has been given a full-season order by NBC. (TV Line)

RENEWAL/CANCELLATION

The Hardy Boys has been renewed for its third and final season by Hulu, set to air at some point in 2023. (TV Line)

The Man Who Fell to Earth has not been renewed for a second season by Showtime. (TV Line)

SERIES ORDER

Netflix has given a series order to the Western action drama The Abandons from Kurt Sutter. The series, which received a 10-episode order, will follow a group of diverse, outlier families who pursue their Manifest Destiny in 1850s Oregon where a corrupt force of wealth and power, coveting their land, tries to force them out. These abandoned souls, the kind of lost souls living on the fringe of society, unite their tribes to form a family and fight back. In this bloody process, ‘justice’ is stretched beyond the boundaries of the law. The Abandons will explore that fine line between survival and law, the consequences of violence, and the corrosive power of secrets, as this family fights to keep their land. (Variety)

TV CASTING NEWS

Disney+ has added cast members to the small screen adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Adam Copeland (retired wrestling star known as Edge) will recur as Ares, the god of War; Suzanne Cryer (All Rise) guest star as Echidna, The Mother of Monsters; and Jessica Parker Kennedy (The Flash and Black Sails) will guest star as Medusa, the infamous gorgon. (Variety)

Former 007 actor Timothy Dalton has joined the cast of the Yellowstone prequel series 1923. He will play Donald Whitfield, a powerful, self-confident man who reeks of wealth and the lack of empathy it requires to attain it. He is intimidating and nefarious and is used to getting what he wants. (Variety)

Bailee Madison (Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin and Good Witch) has joined the cast of the upcoming third and final season of The Hardy Boys set to air on Hulu sometime next year. She will guest star as Drew Darrow, a fun but often frustrating new ally with a brilliant mind and appetite for magic and mysteries. (TV Line)

Series regular Brian Tee will be leaving NBC medical drama Chicago Med later this year after eight seasons. His last episodes will air on December 7 (but he will be back to make his directorial debut with episode 16). (Deadline and TV Line)

Zooey Deschanel (New Girl) has joined the cast of the third season of the Apple TV+ series Physical. She will play Kelly, a former sitcom star who jumps into the burgeoning fitness industry. (Variety)

The 7th season of Outlander will find some familiar faces returning along with a few new faces as well. The familiar faces include Graham McTavish will reprise his role as Jamie’s uncle Dougal MacKenzie; Nell Hudson will be back as Laoghaire Fraser; Steven Cree as Old Ian Murray; Andrew Whipp as Brian Fraser, Jamie’s father; Layla Burns as Joan MacKimmie, Marsali’s sister and Jamie’s stepdaughter; and Lotte Verbeek as Geillis Duncan, Claire’s former friend-turned-enemy and a fellow time traveler. The new faces will include Gloria Obianyo (Dune) as Mercy Woodcock, a free Black woman navigating the hardships of life in Colonial America; Rod Hallett (The Last Kingdom) as Benedict Arnold, the notorious Revolutionary soldier turned traitor; Chris Fulton (Bridgerton) as Rob Cameron, a new acquaintance of Roger and Brianna; Diarmaid Murtagh (Vikings) as Buck MacKenzie, the illegitimate son of Dougal MacKenzie and Geillis Duncan, and Roger’s ancestor and Kristin Atherton (Shakespeare & Hathaway) as Jenny Murray, Jamie’s sister and Young Ian’s mother (the role that was originated by Laura Donnelly in seasons one to three). (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

It’s been nearly 30 years, but a sequel film to The Joy Luck Club by novelist Amy Tan is in the works. A director hasn’t been announced yet. (Variety)

Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria) is set to star in a new version of Barbarella, the 1960s film that starred Jane Fonda. The film hasn’t been confirmed yet, but rumors abound. (Variety)

A third Hercule Poirot film, starring Kenneth Branagh as the title characters, is in the works along with Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan, Michelle Yeoh [among others] set to star. The film will be set in post-WWII Venice on All Hallows’ Eve, following another mystery inspired by “Hallowe’en Party,” where the now retired and living in self-imposed exile Poirot reluctantly attends a séance at a haunted palazzo when one of the guests is murdered, and the former detective must once again find out who did it. (Variety)

The box office movie The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat” has rounded out its cast with Kyanna Simone (American Horror Stories), Tati Gabrielle (You and The 100), Abigail Achiri (The Underground Railroad) joining the cast. Uzo Aduba, Aunjanue Ellis and Sanaa Lathan lead the movie, which is based on the Edward Kelsey Moore 2013 best-selling novel, playing best friends affectionally dubbed “The Supremes.” The trio — Clarice, Odette and Barbara Jean — have weathered life’s storms together for two generations through marriage and children, happiness and the blues and they find their paths at a crossroads that test their lifelong bond. Simone, Gabrielle and Achiri will play younger versions of Ellis, Lathan and Aduba’s characters, respectively. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!