Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past two weeks, covering December 25 through January 7:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATION

Netflix gave a second season order to My Life With the Walter Boys, just 12 eyas after the premiere of the series. (AugustMan.com)

Disney+ has pulled the plug on American Born Chinese after only one season, but the folks behind the scenes of the streaming series are shopping it around to other outlets. (TV Line)

Apple TV+ has given the Gary Oldman spy drama Slow Horses a 5th season renewal just days after the third season wrapped. Season 4 was already ordered in 2022. (TV Line)

NEW SERIES ORDERED

CBS has given a straight-to-series order to NCIS: Origins, a new series that will turn back the clock on Leroy Jethro Gibbs, played by Mark Harmon for 18 seasons. Set in 1991, the series will pick up with Gibbs as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks. Harmon will not only executive produce the series, but he will also narrate. (TV Line)

CBS has also given a straight-to-series order to Watson, a contemporary story based on the Sherlock Holmes character. The series will star Morris Chestnut in the title role, which will see Dr. John Watson resuming his medical career as the head of a clinic dedicated to treating rare disorders one year after the death of Holmes at the hands of archnemesis Moriarty. Watson’s old life isn’t done with him, though, as Moriarty and Watson are set to write their own chapter of a story that has fascinated audiences for more than a century. Watson is expected to air during the 2024-2025 TV season. (Variety)

CBS has given a straight to series order to a drama series that will see Morris Chestnut star as the iconic literary character Dr. John Watson, the companion of master detective Sherlock Holmes. Watson is a contemporary story set one year after the death of Holmes at the hands of his archnemesis Moriarty. Per the official logline, the show will find Dr. John Watson resuming his medical career, one year after the death of Holmes at the hands of the archnemesis Moriarty, as the head of a clinic dedicated to treating rare disorders. Watson’s old life isn’t done with him, though, as Moriarty and Watson are set to write their own chapter of a story that has fascinated audiences for more than a century.  Watson is expected to air during the 2024-2025 TV season.  (TV Line)

STREAMING MOVIE NEWS

Jacob Elordi seems to be everywhere right now. Coming off roles in Priscilla and Saltburn, he will next be seen in Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming adaptation of Frankenstein, taking over the role from Andrew Garfield, who has to departe the Netflix project due to scheduling conflicts. Elordi will play Frankenstein’s monster while Oscar Isaac will Victor Frankenstein with Mia Both, Christoph Waltz, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley and Christian Convery also starring. (Variety)

TV CASTING NEWS

The third season of The White Lotus had added Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey and Leslie Bibb to the cast. (TV Line)

Despite his near fatal injury last year, Jeremy Renner will be back for a third season on the Paramount+ series Mayor of Kingstown. (Variety)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Topher Grace and Michelle Dockery will star opposite Mark Wahlberg in the upcoming suspense thriller Flight Risk from director Mel Gibson. Wahlberg will play a pilot transporting an Air Marshal (Dockery), who’s been tasked with accompanying a fugitive (Grace) to trial. As they cross the Alaskan wilderness, tensions soar and trust is tested, as not everyone on board is who they seem. (Deadline)

Jack Black will star opposite Jason Momoa, Emma Myers (Wednesday) and Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple) in the live-action adaptation of the popular video game Minecraft. It’s unclear what the movie will be about though. (Variety)

BEEF and The Walking Dead alum Steven Yeun is no longer involved in the upcoming Marvel movie Thunderbolts, and it’s unclear whether his undisclosed role is being rethought or will simply be recast. (Variety)

NEW SERIES NEWS

Samuel L. Jackson will star in the upcoming limited series Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist that is set to air on Peacock. The series will be set in Atlanta in 1970, telling the infamous story of how an armed robbery during the night of Muhammad Ali’s historic 1970 comeback fight changed not only one man’s life, but an entire city’s destiny. Jackson will star as notorious gangster Frank Moten, who was given the moniker the Black Godfather by New York tabloids. Kevin Hart will also star. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!