Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

The CW has announced that The Flash will end with its upcoming 9th season, which will consist of only 13 episodes. (TV Line)

Showtime has pulled the plug on The First Lady after only one season. (Variety)

Netflix has cancelled the teen vampire drama First Kill after just one season. (TV Line)

Freeform has renewed the drama Good Trouble for a 5th season. (The Hollywood Reporter)

MOVING

After 57 years on NBC, the soap opera Days of Our Lives will move to the streaming service Peacock. (TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Starz has officially announced that the prequel Outlander: Blood of My Blood is in development. The proposed series will center on the the love story of Jamie Fraser’s parents, Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser. (TV Line)

TV CASTING NEWS

Nancy Travis (The Kominsky Method) and Tiera Skovbye (Riverdale) have joined the cast of the new, upcoming Hallmark Channel series Ride that will center on a rodeo dynasty. Travis will play Isabel McMurray, the tough-as-nails family matriarch fighting to keep her family legacy afloat following a tragedy while Skovbye will play Missy, a former rodeo queen who is a McMurray by marriage and struggles to find her place in the family. The cast includes Beau Mirchoff (Good Trouble and Awkward.) will play Cash McMurray, the second-born son who will carry on his family’s legacy; Sara Garcia (The Flash), who will play Valeria Galindo; and Jake Foy (Designated Survivor) who will depict Tuff McMurray, Isabel’s youngest son. Tyler Jacob Moore (Shameless) will play Gus, a handsome stranger who comes into their lives. (Deadline)

Rosanna Arquette has joined the cast of the ABC drama Big Sky for the show’s upcoming 3rd season. She will play Virginia “Gigi” Cessna, Jenny’s (series lead Katheryn Winnick) charismatic and fast-talking mother, who is also a world-class scam artist who used childhood Jenny in some of her grifts, much to the now grown Jenny’s resentment. When Gigi returns to Helena, Montana, to pull her latest con, Jenny catches on to her, and mother and daughter have to work through their relationship. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Aidan Turner (Poldark and the upcoming Leonardo) will star in the Amazon U.K. drama Fifteen-Love that will explore the fictional story of Justine Pearce (Ella Lily Hyland), a young sports prodigy, who enjoyed a meteoric rise in the world of Grand Slam Tennis, aided by her coach Glenn Lapthorn (Turner), with whom she shared an intense rapport. Together they reached the semi-final of the French Open but Justine’s dream was cut brutally short by a devastating injury and the end of her professional career. Five years later, now aged 22, Justine has a new life as a therapist at her old tennis academy Longwood, but when she makes an explosive allegation against her former coach, everyone is forced to reconsider what they thought they knew about Justine and Glenn’s past success. (Variety)

Keanu Reeves will executive produce and star inthe Hulu series Devil in the White City, based on the best-selling novel by Erik Larson, that tells the story of Daniel H. Burnham, a demanding but visionary architect who races to make his mark on history with the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and Dr. H. H. Holmes, America’s first modern serial killer and the man behind the notorious ‘Murder Castle’ built in the Fair’s shadow. It is unclear which of the two characters Reeves will play. (Deadline and TV Line)

Merle Dandridge (Greenleaf), Josh Randall (Ed) and veteran actor Pat Healy have been promoted to series regulars on Station 19. Dandridge plays Chief Natasha Ross; Randall returns as Captain Sean Beckett; and Healy plays former chief Michael Dixon, who stands for everything our team despises and who has a history of undermining the crew at Station 19; and he is currently running for mayor. (Deadline)

Georgina Reilly (City on a Hill) has booked a key recurring role in the NBC reboot of Quantum Leap that will debut on the major network this fall. The series follows Dr. Ben Seong (Raymond Lee from Here and Now) as he takes the Quantum Accelerator into the past, leaving his team to figure out why he did it and bring him back. There are no specifics on what role she will play, though. (Deadline)

Susan Heyward (Orange Is the New Black) and Valorie Curry (The Following) have joined the cast of season 4 of the Amazon series The Boys, playing rookie Supes named Sister Sage and Firecracker, respectively. (TV Line)

Elizabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale and Mad Men) will appear in the FX limited series called The Veil, that will be exclusively for Hulu. The show is being described as a thriller that will explore the surprising and fraught relationship between two women who play a deadly game of truth and lies on the road from Istanbul to Paris and London. One woman has a secret, the other a mission to reveal it before thousands of lives are lost. (Variety)

An end of an era is starting: Ellen Pompeo will be scaling back her duties as Meredith Gray in the exceedingly long-running ABC drama Grey’s Anatomy. Pompeo will appear in a “limited capacity” (translation about 8 episodes out of roughly 20 to 23 episodes set to be produced for the show’s 19th season. Pompeo will remain as an executive producer, and will continue to narrate every episode. She will move onto a new Hulu series that has yet to be given an official name that is inspired by the true story of a Midwestern couple who adopt what they believe is an 8-year-old girl with a rare form of dwarfism. But as they begin to raise her alongside their three biological children, they slowly start to believe she may not be who she says she is. As they question her story, they’re confronted with hard questions of their own about the lengths they’re willing to go to defend themselves, falling into a battle that’s fought in the tabloids, the courtroom and ultimately their marriage. (TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

As everyone has undoubtedly read by now, the theatrical release of Batgirl that was set to star In the Heights cast member Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl) is not going to happen after all. (Variety)

STREAMING MOVIE NEWS

In a move that has movie fans at odds is the announcement that Jake Gyllenhaal will take on the remake of Road House, which – of course – starred Dirty Dancing hunk Patrick Swayze. This version will follow a former UFC fighter (Gyllenhaal) who takes a job as a bouncer at a rough-and-tumble roadhouse in the Florida Keys, but soon discovers that not everything is what it seems in this tropical paradise. The cast will include Billy Magnussen (No Time to Die and Into the Woods), Travis Van Winkle (The Last Ship) and Daniela Melchior (The Suicide Squad). (TV Line)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

CANCELLATION

Prime Video has cancelled the survivalist teen drama The Wilds after just two seasons (and a big cliffhanger too). (TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

PBS is developing a drama series based on the public and private life of Clementine Churchill, wife of British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. Each episode of the limited series will follow Clementine through pivotal moments of her life. Raised by an unstable mother in relative poverty, caring for her siblings, Clementine became a suffragette working two jobs. Known as the “Broke Beauty,” she refused to marry for money or to a man she didn’t love. The series will follow her courtship with Winston and struggle with motherhood, her broken relationship with her young niece, Diana Mitford, who was brainwashed by fascism, her pivotal relationship with American Harry Hopkins, known as FDR’s conscience, who held the purse strings to (yet to be created) Land Lease, ensuring England could survive against the Germans until America joined the war, and a climactic trip to Russia where she goes toe to toe with Stalin. (Deadline)

NETWORK RENAMING AND NEW STREAMING SERVICE

It looks like the folks at GAC Media TV (the rival network to Hallmark Channel) are making some changes. First some name changes to their existing channels: GAC Living will now be known as Great American Living and GAC Family will now be known as Great American Family. The media “giant” is also launching a new network in the form of a free streaming TV channel that will be called Great American Adventures. (Heavy.com)

TV CASTING NEWS

The Orphan Black off-shoot series Orphan Black: Echoes has announced that Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones and Veronica Mars) will star in the series that is set to premiere next year on AMC+ and AMC. The 10-episode season will be set in the near future, exploring the scientific manipulation of human existence. The series will follow a group of women as they weave their way into each other’s lives and embark on a thrilling journey, unravelling the mystery of their identity and uncovering a wrenching story of love and betrayal. Ritter (who will also serve as an executive producerO will play Lucy, a woman with an unimaginable origin story, trying to find her place in the world. (TV Line)

Oscar winner Troy Kotsur (CODA) will star in a Disney+ series based on the football team from the California School for the Deaf Riverside (CSDR). He will play the team’s coach in the drama that will tell the true story of the CSDR Cubs’ 2021 football season, when the team went undefeated and got all the way to the California State Championship. The series will portray the students, teachers, and their families. The writing and production team, both in front of and behind the cameras, will include artists from the Deaf community. (Variety)

Kim Rhodes (Supernatural) and Ben Levin (Legacies) have joined the upcoming 3rd season of The CW’s Kung Fu. Levin will play Bo, a barista/vigilante who lives across the Bay in Oakland while Rhodes will play Carrie, a blunt, funny professional who works as a representative for a large restaurant investment group. When Carrie’s company takes an interest in Harmony Dumplings, Mei-Li (Kheng Hua Tan) is quick to decline their overtures, but when an unexpected friendship blooms between her and Carrie, Mei-Li opens herself up to a possible alliance. (Deadline)

Kate Winslet is set to star in her 4th HBO limited series called The Palace. The series tells the story of one year within the walls of the palace of an authoritarian regime as it begins to unravel. It was announced in June that Winslet is also attached to star in the HBO limited series The Trust. (Variety)

Disney+ is in early development on a live-action TV series based on Eragon, the young adult novel by author Christopher Paolini, which was also made into a box office movie. The story is about a farmboy named Eragon who discovers an egg that hatches into a dragon he names Saphira. Through their bond and the help of his mentor Brom, Eragon learns to be a Dragon Rider, an ancient order that had long been thought to be wiped out by the evil king Galbatorix. Eragon and Saphira set out to defeat Galbatorix and free the land of Alagaësia from his tyranny. (Variety)

Harry Shum Jr. (Glee and Crazy Rich Asians sequel) has joined the cast of Grey’s Anatomy for the show’s upcoming 19th (19th?!) season, playing Daniel “Blue” Kwan, a sharp-witted, impatient, and brilliant new surgical resident. Also, Adelaide Kane (Reign and This Is Us) has joined the cast where she will play Jules Millin, a first-year surgical resident who was raised by drug addled artist/hippies and somehow emerged as the only real grown-up in the family. (Deadline and TV Line)

Rick Gonzalez (Arrow) and Brent Antonello (Dynasty) have joined the cast of the upcoming season of Law & Order: Organized Crime where they will play NYPD detectives assigned to the Organized Crime unit, where they’ll work alongside Elliot Stabler. (TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

It’s been revealed that Ben Affleck will return as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Star Jason Momoa posted the news on Instagram this week. (The Hollywood Reporter and Instagram)

Embattled actress Ruby Rose (former star of The CW’s Batwoman) will be back on the big screen in a new movie called Stowaway, starring alongside Frank Grillo (the Marvel Universe movies) and Patrick Schwarzenegger (The Terminal List and The Staircase). The film is a cat-and-mouse chase about a tenacious party girl who fights to survive after three thieves commandeer her luxury yacht. Unable to escape and trapped on the yacht at high seas, she turns the tables on the intruders and takes matters into her own hands. (Deadline)

STREAMING MOVIE NEWS

It looks like Netflix is planning to turn the new movie The Gray Man, which starred Chris Evans, Ana de Armas and Ryan Gosling) into a spy franchise. The streaming service plans to expand the franchise with a movie sequel and a spin-off, both of which are in development. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items (other than what was released from Wednesday to today at San Diego Comic Con):

RENEWAL

Apple TV+ has given For All Mankind a fourth season renewal. (I)

Amazon has given a 3rd season renewal to its fantasy drama The Wheel of Time ahead of its upcoming second season, which has yet to be given an official air date just yet. (TV Line)

SERIES PICK-UP NEWS

NBC has ordered the new drama Found to series. The show is built around the fact that, in any given year, more than 600,000 people are reported missing in the U.S. More than half that number are people of color that the country seems to forget about. Public relations specialist Gabi Mosley (Shanola Hampton from Shameless) — who was once herself one of those forgotten ones — and her crisis management team now make sure there is always someone looking out for the forgotten missing people. But unbeknownst to anyone, this everyday hero is hiding a chilling secret of her own. The show also stars Brett Dalton (Agents of SHIELD) and Mark-Paul Gosselaar. (Variety)

TV CASTING NEWS

Midori Francis (Netflix’s Dash & Lily) is joining the cast of Grey’s Anatomy, playing Mika Yasuda, a first-year surgical resident. (TV Line)

Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games and The Hate U Give) will star in upcoming Disney+ series The Acolyte, a mystery-thriller set in the final days of the High Republic era. The series will unearth a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark side powers. Additional plot specifics as well as details about Stenberg’s potential role are being kept under wraps, though. (TV Line)

Edwin Hodge (The Tomorrow War) has joined the cast of season 4 of FBI: Most Wanted. (TV Line)

Kurt Russell and his son Wyatt Russell have joined the cast of the upcoming Apple and Legendary live-action series about Godzilla and the Titans. In the show, following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real, the series will explore one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch. (Variety)

Freema Agyeman will not be returning to New Amsterdam for the show’s 5th and final season. (TV Line)

LIVE ACTION TV SPECIAL NEWS

Grammy-winning singer H.E.R. will play Belle in the upcoming ABC live-action take on Beauty and the Beast that is set to air on December 15. (TV Line)

PODCAST NEWS

Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets) will play the title role in a new podcast telling the origin story of Harley Quinn (from her perspective) that will be coming to Spotify. Billy Magnussen (No Time to Die) will play The Joker and Justin Hartley (This Is Us) will play Bruce Wayne. There is no release date set for the podcast as yet. (Variety)

STREAMING MOVIE NEWS

Olivia Colman (Landscapers), Jessie Buckley (Men) and Luke Evans (Crossing Swords) will provide their voices to the upcoming Netflix CG animated feature Scrooge: A Christmas Carol that will be a supernatural, time-travelling, musical adaptation of the beloved Christmas story. (Variety)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) has joined the cast of The Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, playing Casca Highbottom. (Variety)

Storm Reid (Euphoria) will star in the Paramount Pictures feature film called Becoming Noble that will follow a high school senior who learns she’s a princess of an African nation and travels to her home country on the continent to discover her roots, and to determine if “royal” is something she really wants to be. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS

Only Murders in the Building has been renewed for Season 3 at Hulu. (TV Line)

Peacock has renewed Dr. Death for a second season. This time around the series will tell the story of real-life surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, aka “The Miracle Man,” whose professional acclaim is hiding some shocking secrets. (TV Line and Variety)

RETURNING

Criminal Minds is getting a reboot of sorts at Paramount+ with a 10-episode series order. (TV Line)

REBOOT NEWS

It looks like Amazon Prime just might be rebooting the Stargate franchise, bringing back some of the original cast of the long-running franchise TV series along with new actors playing new characters. Nothing is confirmed yet, however. (Giant Freakin’ Robot)

TV CASTING NEWS

FBI: International is losing an original cast member. Christiane Paul, who plays Europol agent Katrin Jaeger, will not be returning for the show’s upcoming 2nd season. Eva-Jane Willis (Amazon’s The Power) will take over in the new role of Europol agent Megan “Smitty” Garretson, a street-wise Europol agent with an extensive undercover background who is embedded with The Fly Team and liaises with each host country they inhabit. (TV Line)

Singer-actress Lily Allen and Freema Agyeman (Doctor Who and New Amsterdam) will star in the Sky Original (in the UK) dark comedy Dreamland, which is based on the Sharon Horgan BAFTA-winning short about secrets, lies, loves and aspirations within a family of four sisters that will be set in the sun-drenched British seaside town of Margate, exploring the multi-generational female relationships, and their (somewhat dysfunctional) family dynamics. (Variety)

The Boy’s college-set superhero spin-off will be called Gen V, and will explore the lives of hormonal, competitive Supes as they put their physical, sexual and moral boundaries to the test, competing for the best contracts in the best cities. The cast will include Jaz Sinclair and Chance Perdomo (both from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Lizze Broadway (Here and Now), Shelley Conn (Bridgerton), Maddie Phillips (Teenage Bounty Hunters), London Thor (Shameless), Derek Luh (Shining Vale), Asa Germann, Patrick Schwarzenegger (The Terminal List), Sean Patrick Thomas (For All Mankind) and Marco Pigossi (Brazil’s Invisible City). Marvel’s Agent Carter‘s Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters serve as showrunners and will executive-produce. (TV Line)

Jonathan Bailey (Anthony on Bridgerton) will star opposite Matt Bomer in the Showtime period-set limited series Fellow Travelers, that is based on the Thomas Mallon novel. The 8-episode drama is an epic love story and political thriller, chronicling the volatile romance of two very different men who meet in the shadow of McCarthy-era Washington. Bailey will play Tim Laughlin, a young Fordham University graduate, earnest about his political and religious convictions and filled with optimism about the post-WWII future. His life is turned upside down when he meets and falls for charismatic and intimacy-avoidant “Hawk” Fuller (Bomer). The pair begin a romance just as Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn declare war on “subversives and sexual deviants,” initiating one of the darkest periods in 20th-century American history. (TV Line)

Kaci Walfall (The CW’s short-lived superhero series Naomi) will guest star in the final season of Queen Sugar. There are no details what role she will play, but Greenleaf vet Lamman Rucker will also guest star as well as Tracie Thoms (from 9-1-1), who will play Nova’s (Rutina Wetley) long-lost high-school love. (TV Line)

The Resident has promoted Kaley Ronayne, who plays Dr. Cade Sullivan, to a series regular in the FOX medical drama. (TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Adam Scott (Severance) has joined the cast of the upcoming Sony superhero film Madame Web, which will star Dakota Johnson in the title role. The movie will be an origin story for the character, who served as an ally to Spider-Man in the Marvel comics. There are no details on what character Scott will play, though. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWAL/CANCELLATION

Paramount+ has given the thriller series Evil a 4th season renewal. (TV Line)

Amazon Prime Video has pulled the plug on the sci-fi series Night Sky after only one season. (TV Line)

HBO has cancelled Gentleman Jack after two seasons. (TV Line)

The Showtime legal drama Your Honor, that stars Bryan Cranston, will end after its upcoming 2nd season. (TV Line)

TV CASTING NEWS

The CW series Kung Fu will welcom Yvonne Chapman back as a series regular for the show’s third season along with JB Tadena being promoted to a series regular. (TV Line)

Ella Jay Basco (Grey’s Anatomy and the box office movie Birds of Prey) has landed a recurring role in the upcoming Peacock limited series A Friend of the Family that is based on the true story of the Broberg family, whose daughter Jan (Hendrix Yancey) was kidnapped multiple times over a period of years by Robert “B” Berchtold (Jake Lacy), a charismatic, obsessed family “friend.” The Brobergs — devoted to their faith, family and community — were utterly unprepared for the sophisticated tactics their neighbor used to exploit their vulnerabilities, drive them apart and turn their daughter against them. “A Friend of the Family” follows how their lives were permanently altered and how they survived. (Variety)

Megan Boone (The Blacklist) will appear in the upcoming FOX anthology series Accused, based on the British show, that opens in a courtroom with a defendant being accused of a crime, then backtracks to reveal how these people got caught up in the extraordinary situations in which they find themselves. (TV Line and Deadline)

Michael Cimino (Love, Victor) has joined the cast of the 4th and final season of the Netflix series Never Have I Ever where he will play Ethan, a skater and new heartthrob at Sherman Oaks High. And, he will star opposite Peyton List (from Cobra Kai) in the HBO Max romantic special B-Loved. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Michael Raymond-James (Lost and Terriors) will play the key role of mob boss Joe Colombo opposite Forrest Whitaker in the upcoming third season of Godfather of Harlem on EPIX. (Deadline)

Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark) has joined the cast of the Netflix romantic drama series One Day, playing Sylvie. The series charts a series of intense personal encounters between Emma and Dexter that begin on their university graduation day on July 15, 1988. Every episode wthill follow them on that one particular day as they grow and change, move together and apart, and experience joy and heartbreak. (Deadline)

TV NEWS

A crossover involving all three Law & Order series is being eyed to launch the show’s respective new season this fall. (TV Line)

TV MOVIE NEWS

ABC has announced its next live-action, animation hybrid movie will be Beauty and the Beast set to debut on December 15 in celebration of the film’s 30th(ish) anniversary. (TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Steven Yeun (Minari and The Walking Dead) will star alongside Robert Pattinson in an upcoming sci-fi movie from Bong Joon Ho that follows an “expendable” — a disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Niflheim — who refuses to let his replacement clone, dubbed Mickey8, take his place. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

FX has given a second season order to The Old Man, starring Jeff Bridges. (TV Line)

Apple TV+ has pulled the plug on the Jason Momoa drama See. The series will air its third and final season on the streaming servie on August 26. (TV Line)

The CW has canceled the new drama Tom Swift after only one season. (TV Line)

Despite getting a third season renewal, the Paramount+ drama Why Women Kill isn’t going to get its third season after all since the renewal has been reversed. (TV Line)

HBO has pulled the plug on The Time Traveler’s Wife after only one season. (TV Line)

RESCUED AFTER ALL

NBC has come to rescue in saving the reboot of Magnum P.I., giving the series a two-season renewal (the show’s 5th and 6th), which will consist of 10 episodes each season with an option for more episodes. (Deadline and TV Line)

NOT MOVING FORWARD

Peacock is not moving forward with the small screen TV adaptation of the box office film Field of Dreams although the project is being shopped around to other outlets. (Variety)

BLAST FROM THE PAST REBOOT

The streaming service formerly known as IMDbTV – now known as Amazon’s Freevee – will be moving forward with a sequel to the 1980’s sitcom Who’s the Boss with original series stars Alyssa Milano and Tony Danza reprising their roles. The reboot will focus on Samantha Micelli (Milano), a single mother who lives in the same house where she grew up on the original series. Her retired dad, Tony (Danza), lives with her. There’s no word yet on whether Judith Light and Danny Pintauro will also reprise their roles. (The Hollywood Reporter)

TV CASTING NEWS

Kate Winslet will be returning to the small screen again, this time in the limited HBO series Trust, based on the Hernan Diaz novel. Winslet will executive produce in addition to starring, in a story that focus on what happens when a wealthy financier reads a novel based on his own life and is dissatisfied by his and his wife’s portrayal. He asks a secretary to ghostwrite his memoir and set the record straight. She, however, grows uncomfortably aware that he is rewriting history—and his wife’s place in it. (Variety)

Freeform is moving forward with thriller The Watchful Eye that centers on a young nanny who goes to work for a wealthy New York family that harbors a closetful of secrets. Mariel Molino (from ABC’s failed drama Promised Land) will play the lead role of Elena Santos, who maneuvers her way into a job with an affluent family and has some shocking secrets of her own. Molino takes over from Andrea Londos, who played Elena in the show’s pilot. The actor who will be among the cast include Warren Christie, Kelly Bishop and Amy Acker. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Supergirl alum Melissa Benoist will star in the HBO Max series The Girls on the Bus, inspired by a chapter in Amy Chozick’s book Chasing Hillary. Benoist will play Sadie McCarthy, a journalist who romanticizes the original “Boys on the Bus” and who scrapped her whole life for her own shot at covering a presidential campaign for the paper of record. Sadie hits the trail and eventually bonds with three female competitors. Despite their differences, these women become a found family with a front-row seat to the greatest soap opera in town: the battle for the White House. (Variety)

The new Netflix action-comedy Obliterated – from the creators of Cobra Kai – has cast Nick Zano (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) and Shelley Henig (Teen Wolf) as the leads. The show tells the story of an elite special forces team who thwarts a deadly threat to Las Vegas. After their celebratory party, filled with booze, drugs and sex, the team discovers that a bomb they deactivated was a fake. The now intoxicated team has to fight through their impairments, overcome their personal issues, find the real bomb, and save the world. Zano will star as Chad McKnight, who heads up the special forces team. The team loves him despite his reputation for being a wild guy on and off the job. The night from hell in Vegas will test his commitment to both keeping the good times going and saving the world while he’s at it. Hennig will play Ava Frost, a CIA lead agent who likes to play by the book while overseeing an elite Special Forces team. But the book gets thrown out the window when she and the team have to go back to work while impaired. (Variety)

Andie MacDowell is returning to the Hallmark Channel to star in the network’s new original series The Way Home, playing Del, the matriarch of the Landry family and a pillar of the close-knit community of her small, Canadian farm town. She and her daughter Kat have been estranged from each other following tragic events that left their family forever changed and prompted Kat to move away. When Kat unexpectedly returns many years later with her teenage daughter whom Del has never met, the three generations of women embark on an enlightening journey to find their way back to each other and learn important lessons about their family’s past. (Deadline)

Outlander has added new cast members to its upcoming 7th season. Those actors are Izzy Meikle-Small (Never Let Me Go) and Joey Phillips (Billy Elliot). They will play brother and sister Rachel Hunter and Dr. Denzell Hunter, respectively. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Kathryn Newton (Supernatural and Little Women) and Cole Sprouse (Riverdale) will star in the box office film Lisa Frankenstien from Oscar winner Diablo Cody. Set in 1989, the film follows an unpopular high schooler who accidentally re-animates a handsome Victorian corpse during a lightning storm and starts to rebuild him into the man of her dreams using the broken tanning bed in her garage. (Deadline)

Emma Roberts has joined the cast of the Marvel flick Madame Web that will star Dakota Johnson as the title hero. The movie is an origin story for the comic book character, a clairvoyant whose psychic abilities allow her to see within the spider world itself. In the comics, her abilities prove to be greatly beneficial to Spider-Man and his fellow arachnid allies but given her condition she’s never battled villains herself. (Variety)

STREAMING MOVIE NEWS

Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things and Enola Holmes) will star in the next Russo Brothers project. Rumors surfaced earlier this year that Chris Pratt was in talks to co-star, but no deal has been set yet. The film will be set in a retro-futuristic past, where an orphaned teenager (Brown) traverses the American West with a sweet but mysterious robot and an eccentric drifter in search of her younger brother. (Deadline)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

Reba stars Melissa Peterman and Reba McEntire herself will star alongside each other as sister in the Lifetime made-for-TV movie The Hammer, which is inspired by the life of traveling circuit judge Kim Wanker. McEntire will play Wheeler, an outspoken, firecracker lawyer who is appointed Judge of the 5th District of Nevada and is one of the few traveling judges left in America. After the reigning judge passes away under suspicious circumstances, Kim finds herself covering a circuit that stretches between Las Vegas and Reno — a rugged, often desolate area where anything and everything can happen. With gavel in hand, she lays down the law with a no-nonsense brand of justice, that quickly earns her the nickname ‘The Hammer.’ As the investigation of the former judge’s death heats up, Kim’s sister Kris (played by Peterman), who runs the local brothel, suddenly becomes the prime suspect. As a result, Kim is forced to work even harder to make certain the appropriate justice is served. McEntire’s real-life boyfriend Rex Linn (CSI: Miami) will co-star. A premiere date has not yet been announced. (TV Line)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWAL

AMC has given a second season renewal to the new drama Dark Winds. (Variety)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The CW is considering another soapy, noir thriller teen dama called Jake Change that will be set in the world of Archie Comics. The potential series will focus on an Asian-American–led mystery, following a 16-year-old private investigator as he navigates the racially and socio-economically diverse worlds of his ever-gentrifying home of Chinatown, and the elite private high school he attends. (Deadline)

Netflix is developing a new limited series adaptation of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden with Florence Pugh on tap to star in an as-yet unconfirmed role. The story is set in California’s Salinas Valley over a period that stretches from the Civil War to the end of World War I, telling the interconnected stories of the Hamilton family, an Irish immigrant family with nine children, and the Trask family, led by the wealthy Adam Trask. The story eventually narrows its focus to center around the Trask family and the drama surrounding Adam, his wife Cathy and their sons Cal and Aron. (Variety)

CHANGE OF PLANS

The Yellowstone spin-off originally title 1932 will now be called 1923. The “tweak” in the show’s name is because the series will encompass the end of World War 1 and the start of prohibition. (TV Line)

TV CASTING NEWS

Kevin Zegers has joined the cast of the spin-off series The Rookie: Feds, playing Brendon Acres who is just out of Quantico. He’s got a lot to prove in his first posting – not least because his background as the lead on the long-running TV series Vampire Cop means few people take him seriously. His years of method-actor training led not only to martial arts and gun skills, but also a master’s in computer science. (Deadline)

Actress Moses Ingram (Obi-Wan Kenobi) will star opposite Natalie Portman in the Apple limited series Lady in the Lake, taking over the role of Cleo Sherwood in the series from Lupita Nyong’o. (Variety)

China Beach alum Dana Delany has joined the cast of the Sylvester Stallone Paramount+ series Tulsa King that follows New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi (Stallone), just after he is released from prison after 25 years and unceremoniously exiled by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, Okla. Realizing that his mob family may not have his best interests in mind, Dwight slowly builds a crew from a group of unlikely characters to help him establish a new criminal empire in a place that to him might as well be another planet. (Variety)

Doctor Who alum Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo (The Good Fight) will star in the Apple TV+ one-hour London thriller Criminal Record, a powerful, character-driven thriller set in the heart of contemporary London. An anonymous phone call draws two brilliant detectives into a confrontation over an old murder case: one a young woman in the early stages of her career and the other a well-connected man determined to protect his legacy. Capaldi will play Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Hegarty, and Jumbo will play Detective Sgt. June Lenker. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

The reboot of the Spy Kids movie franchise will star Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) and Zachary Levi (Chuck) in the lead roles. (Deadline)

Hunter Schafer (Euphoria) has joined the cast of The Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, starring opposite Tom Blyth (Billy the Kid) and Rachel Zegler (West Side Story). Schafer will play Tigris Snow, the cousin and confidante of Coriolanus Snow (Blyth). (Variety)

MINI-SERIES NEWS

PBS Masterpiece is developing a 4-part mini-series adaptation of the acclaimed novel Miss Auten by author Gill Hornby. The novel centers on the lives and loves of Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra. It delves into why Cassandra burned a treasure trove of letters written by her sister, Jane – an act of destruction that has troubled academics and Austen fans for centuries. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

Netflix has renewed Lincoln Lawyer for a second season. (TV  Line)

The Hallmark Channel has given When Calls the Heart at 10th season renewal. (Hallmark Channel Press Release)

Snowpiercer will come to an end on TNT after its upcoming 4th season. There is no official air date for that final season just yet. (TV Line)

TV CASTING NEWS

Mehcad Brooks (Supergirl) will play a detective in the reboot of Law & Order this fall, but no details have been revealed about who that character will be. (TV Line)

Peyton List (Cobra Kai) will star in the 8-episode Paramount+ young adult drama School Spirits, which is based on the graphic novel by Nate and Megan Trinrud and Maria Nguyen, that revolves around a teen who is stuck in the afterlife who decides to investigate her mysterious disappearance alongside a group of other students who are also stuck in limbo at their high school. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Carlos Valdes (The Flash) will star opposite Mae Whitman (Good Girls) in the upcoming Hulu 8-episode musical romantic comedy Up Here that will be set in the waning days of 1999 in New York City, following the extraordinary story of one ordinary couple, as they fall in love – and discover that the single greatest obstacle to finding happiness together might just be themselves – and the treacherous world of memories, obsessions, fears, and fantasies that lives inside their heads. (Variety)

Alyssa Milano (the original Charmed) will write and executive produce a series adaptation of the Peter Bognanni book Things I’m Seeing Without You for A+E Studios. In the show, 16-year-old Tess talks to Jonah every day; through texts, tweets and emails. So when she discovers he has committed suicide, her world implodes. Feeling heartbroken and traumatized, Tess unexpectedly finds herself living with her estranged father, Duncan, wondering how well she knew the boy she called her boyfriend. Now struggling with questions about life and loss, this complicated teenager and her less complicated father come together, trying to learn what it means to love someone, to lose someone and to wade through the beautiful/strange agony of the aftermath. (Variety)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Viola Davis will play Michael Jordan’s mother in the upcoming Nike biopic at Amazon that will also star Chris Tucker, Marlon Wayans, Jason Bateman, Chris Messina and Julius Tennon. (Deadline and Yahoo News)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

The Amazon drama The Summer I Turned Pretty has been renewed for a second season before the show’s first season has even debuted. (Variety)

Netflix has given the Korean hit Squid Game a second season renewal. (TV Line)

Spectrum Originals has pulled the plug on the drama series Long Slow Exhale after only one season. (Deadline)

Despite getting cancelled by Showtime, the drama series American Rust is getting a second chance via Amazon’s Freevee (formerly known as IMDbTV. (TV Line)

HBO Max has given the drama series Tokyo Vice a second season renewal. (Variety)

Apple TV+ has given the dramedy Schmigadoon a second season renewal. (TV Line) [NOTE: See TV Casting News for more details.]

Only a week into season three and The Boys has already been renewed for a 4th season. (TV Line)

Despite being handed a series order FOUR years ago by HBo, the J.J. Abrams sci-fi drama Demimonde has been scrapped. (Variety)

TV CASTING NEWS

Schmigadoon will be back from a second season, and this time around it will find Josh (Keegan-Michael Key) and Melissa (Cecily Strong) in Schmicago, the world of ’60s and ’70s musicals. The will be joined by new series regulars Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) and Patrick Page (The Gilded Age) with original cast members Ariana DeBose, Dove Cameron, Jaime Camil, Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Ann Harada, Jane Krakowski, Martin Short and Aaron Tveit returning. (TV Line)

Hulu has ordered a series adaptation of Tiny Beautiful Things based on the Cheryl Strayed best-seller. The series will star Kathryn Hahn as a woman who reluctantly becomes Dear Sugar — an anonymous, revered advice columnist — when her own life is falling apart. (Variety)

The new Damon Lindelof drama series Mrs. Davis will stream on Peacock, and it will star Ben Chaplin, Margo Martindale, Betty Gilpin and Jake McDorman. The series is an exploration of faith vs technolog. Gilpin will play the lead character, a nun who takes on an all-powerful artificial intelligence, while McDorman will play her rebellious ex, who also has a vendetta against the algorithm. Details about who Chaplin and Martindale are playing are being kept quiet, though. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Jesse James Keitel (the new Queer as Folk reboot and ABC’s Big Sky) will have a guest starring role in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, as the nonbinary character Dr. Aspen, who once worked as a Starfleet counselor, but whose experiences on the Federation border prompted them to shift careers and work as a humanitarian aid worker. (Variety)

Jon Hamm, Juno Temple and Jennifer Jason Leigh are set in the lead roles of season 5 of the FX anthology series Fargo that will be set in 2019, asking the questions when is a kidnapping not a kidnapping, and what if your wife isn’t yours? (Variety)

SMALL SCREEN MOVIE NEWS

The Netflix sequel movie The Old Guard 2 has added Uma Thurman and Crazy Rich Asian hunk Henry Golding to its cast with returning member Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Veronica Ngo and Chiwetel Ejiofor reprising their roles. No word on who Thurman and Golding will be playing, though. (Variety)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

David Oyelowo will star opposite Kaley Cuoco in the high-concept thriller box office flick Role Play, which centers around a married couple whose life turns upside down when secrets come out about each other’s pasts. Oyelowo will play Cuoco’s husband in the film. (Deadline)

Maria Bakalova (who was the only good thing in the Borat film) has joined the cast of the box office franchise Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. No details have been released on what character she will play, however. (Variety)

Julia Garner (Inventing Anna) has been offered to play the lead role in the forthcoming biopic about pop icon Madonna (who will direct the movie).  (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATION

AppleTV+ has renewed the drama Slow Horses for season 3 and 4. (Variety)

HBO Max has pulled the plug on Raised by Wolves after two seasons. (TV Line)

Kaley Cuoco has alluded that The Flight Attendant is likely to end with only two seasons. (TV Line)

TV CASTING NEWS

FBI: Most Wanted is losing cast member Miguel Gomez, who plays Special Agent Ivan Ortiz. He won’t be returning for the show’s upcoming 4th season. (TV Line)

Amanda Peet will join Lizzy Caplan and Joshua Jackson in the TV series adaptation of Fatal Attraction that will be coming to Paramount+. The series is described as a deep-dive reimagining of the film that will explore fatal attraction and the themes of marriage and infidelity through the lens of modern attitudes toward strong women, personality disorders, and coercive control. Peet will star as Beth Gallagher, a loyal wife, loving mother and successful small business owner whose world unravels when her husband Dan’s (Jackson) indiscretion threatens to destroy their life together. (Variety)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler will play Lucy Gray Baird in the Hunger Game prequel film The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. (Giant Freakin Robot and Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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