Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the entertainment news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

Netflix has given Wednesday a season three renewal ahead of the show’s upcoming second season. (TV Line)

Sadly, the Syfy series Resident Alien will come to an end after its upcoming fourth season. (TV Line)

AMC has given The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon a fourth season renewal, but the show will come to an end after season four. (TV Line)

Paramount+ has pulled the plug on Happy Face after only one season. (TV Line)

BOX OFFICE MOVIE NEWS

Revenge star Emily VanCamp and her real life husband Josh Bowman will star in the upcoming supernatural spiritual mystery flick Little Audrey that will be inspired by the real life story of Audry Santo, who died at age 23 in 2007 after she was left in a vegetative state since childhood, the film centers on a Vatican-ordered investigation into reported miracles surrounding the teenage girl with akinetic mutism. The cast will also include Jennifer Esposito and Aidan Quinn. (Deadline)

Dawson’s Creek co-stars Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson will star in Happy Hours, a new feature film trilogy, in which she will also direct. The movie is about two people (Jackson and Holmes) navigating their relationship within the challenges of careers and family responsibilities and the pursuit of love, despite life’s inevitable obstacles. It’s a character-driven dramedy that explores the emotional journey of young love who reconnect as adults, with the connective thread of shared joys, loss, and hope. (Deadline)

More cast members have been announced for the new adaptation of the Jane Austen classic Sense and Sensibility. George MacKay (1917) will play Edward Ferrars, Outlander alum Caitriona Balfe will play Mrs. Dashwood, the mother of Elinor (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Marianne (Esme Creed-Miles) and Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter franchise) will play Mrs. Jennings. (Variety)

Andor alum Adria Arjona has joined the cast of the reimaging of The Thomas Crown Affair that will star Michael B. Jordan, Kenneth Branagh, Lily Gladstone and Danai Gurira. Jordan will not only star in the film but also direct it. (Variety)

Kelsey Grammer, Benjamin Hollingsworth (Virgin River) and One Tree Hill alum Jana Kramer will star in the upcoming holiday movie The Christmas Ring, an adaptation of the Karen Kingsbury novel. Kramer will play the widow of a U.S. Armed Forces member, looking for her missing family Christmas ring when she meets a charming antiques dealer (Hollingsworth), whose father might unwittingly have the lost heirloom. (Deadline)

Acting siblings Dakota and Elle Fanning will star as sisters in the upcoming movie The Nightingale, based on the Kristin Hannah best-selling novel. The movie will follow two sisters coming of age in France on the eve of World War II and their struggle to survive the German occupation of their country. (People)

It looks like director Gurinda Chadha will be revisited Bend It Like Beckham, as a sequel is officially in the works, and cast members Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Archie Panjabi, Juliet Stevenson and other members of the original cast “are aware that a sequel is being developed, but they obviously want to see a script before they commit. (Deadline)

TV CASTING NEWS

New Girl alum Jake Johnson and Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany will star in the upcoming Apple TV+ series Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, a half-hour darkly comedic thriller that follows Paula (Maslany), a newly divorced mom who falls down a dangerous rabbit hole of blackmail, murder, and youth soccer. Johnson will star as Karl, Paula’s ex-husband. (Deadline)

Law & Order alum Chris Meloni will star alongside William H. Macy in the upcoming Hulu drama tentatively titled 17 Sundays from creator Dan Fogelman (the man behind This Is Us and Paradise). Plot details are being kept under wraps, but it is believed the show will be a sprawling drama set inside the world of the NFL with a generational family component. (TV Line)

Arienne Mandi (The Night Agent) has joined the cast of Chicago P.D. as a series regular. She will play police officer Naomi Kerr, a former soldier and military contractor who is said to thrive in dangerous situations. (Deadline)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Lifetime has greenlit a new holiday movie that will star singer-actress Brandy Norwood and her real-life daughter Sy’Rai Smith, in her acting debut. Christmas Everyday will see Norwood play Francine “Fancy” Ballantine, a devoted fashion designer juggling family obligations and career ambitions. Following the death of her father, Fancy (Norwood) has been more determined than ever to uphold her father’s cherished Christmas traditions as her mother Evelyn (Debbi Morgan) has also begun losing her sight. But things aren’t a smooth ride as Fancy simultaneously is planning her bridezilla baby sister’s, Belle (Smith), wedding. When a water pipe bursts and disrupts the fairytale wedding plans, Fancy finds herself unexpectedly drawn to the rugged, yet charming, contractor Jaylen (Robert C Riley) who is tasked with renovating the house. Through all the chaos, she learns valuable lessons about faith, family, and the true meaning of Christmas. (SoulTracks.com)

That’s it. Enjoy!