Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past week:

RENEWAL

HBO has renewed His Dark Materials for a third and final season. (TV Line)

TV NEWS

The Book of Boba Fett – the spin-off from The Mandalorian – is already filming with an anticipated December 2021 premiere, and then Mandalorian Season 3 will begin filming in 2021with Pedro Pascal back in the lead role. (TV Line)

CASTING NEWS

Actor-singer Christian Borle (Smash) will recur in the second season of FOX’s Prodigal Son, playing Friar Pete, who became famous for a notorious killing spree that has landed him in the psych ward with Martin Whitley (Michael Sheen). A former friar ejected from his church for extremist views, Pete is a careful listener who offers respite to the other patients and he becomes a key consultant in Bright’s latest case. (TV Line)

Actress Nikki DeLoach (Awkward and numerous Hallmark Channel movies) will appear in the season premiere of 9-1-1, playing Janell, a cyclist who gets caught in the middle of a dam break; Maddie (series regular Jennifer Love Hewitt) in the call center must try to locate and rescue her. (TV Line)

MOVIE NEWS

A third Wonder Woman movie is in the works now that Wonder Woman 1984 has finally been released (it came out in theatres and on HBO Max on Christmas Day). Patty Jenkins will direct again with Gal Gadot back as Diana Prince. (Variety)

The animated movie Sing 2 will be happening with the one and only Bono, actress Letitia Wright (Black Panther) and singer/producer Pharrell Williams lending their voices alongside new characters to be voiced by Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Eric Andre and Chelse Peretti. Those returning to the sequel include Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton and Nick Kroll. The sequel is expected out on December 22, 2021. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATION

The Wilds has been renewed for a second season by Amazon. (Variety)

Locke & Key has been given a third season renewal well ahead of its season 2 premiere that is set for sometime in 2021. (TV Line)

The Flight Attendant has been renewed for a second season by HBO Max. (Variety)

Hulu has cancelled the thriller series Helstrom after only one season. (Variety)

Virgin River has been given a third season renewal by Netflix. (TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Disney+ has picked up the action-adventure drama Secret Guide to Celestial Creatures, which will center on a Korean American family of legendary guardians who protect the supernatural community that lives among us in plain sight. (The Futon Critic and Deadline)

The CW is considering a spin-off of its drama All American, which would be set at a historically Black university, following college-bound Simone Hicks (Geffri Maya, who joined All American in its second season). (TV Line)

The CW is also developing an adaptation of the book The Disasters by M.K. England that is described as The Breakfast Club meets Guardians of the Galaxy, as it’s set in a near-future where humans have colonized space to save Earth from climate crisis. It follows a group of washouts from Earth’s prestigious military academy who are framed for treason and forced to go on the run to the Colonies to clear their names. (Deadline)

SERIES PICK-UP

Actress Alicia Vikander is working with French director Olivier Assayas on the HBO series Irma Vep, loosely based on the 1996 film of the same name. Assayas will write and direct while Vikander will play the lead role. The project revolves around Mira (Vikander), an American movie star disillusioned by her career and a recent breakup, who comes to France to star as “Irma Vep” in a remake of the French silent film classic, “Les Vampires.” Set against the backdrop of a lurid crime thriller, Mira struggles as the distinctions between herself and the character she plays begin to blur and merge. (Variety)

Showtime has given a series order to the drama Yellowjackets, an epic, psychological horror story and coming-of-age drama about a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness. The series chronicles their descent from a complicated but thriving team to savage clans, while also tracking the lives they’ve attempted to piece back together nearly 25 years later. The cast will include Melanie Lynskey, Juliette Lewis, Christina Ricci and Tawny Cypress as well as Ella Purnell, Sammi Hanratty, Sophie Nelisse and Jasmin Savoy Brown (among others). (Variety)

TV CASTING NEWS

Actors Russell Hornsby and Steve Harris will star in the Starz original series Black Mafia Family, which is inspired by the true story of two brothers who rose from the decaying streets of southwest Detroit in the late 1980’s,giving birth to one of the most influential crime families in this country. Hornsby will play Charles Flenory, the principled patriarch of the Flenory family; a struggling musician who uses faith, fortitude and humor to keep his family on the straight and narrow. Harris will play Detective Bryant, a 20-year veteran of the Detroit Police Department, who has a longstanding relationship with Charles’s brother Demetrius Flenory. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Matthew Rhys will star in the FX series Wyrd, which is the story of the ultimate immigrant, an extraterrestrial in exile. The series centers on Wyrd (Rhys), who was sent to earth in an attempt to better understand humanity. When his people don’t come back for him, he’s forced to assimilate – all while investigating paranormal activity and searching for a way home. (The Futon Critic and Deadline)

Actor Adam Rayner (Tyrant) will appear as sinister media mogul Morgan Edge in the upcoming CW series Superman & Lois. (ComicBookMovie.com)

Actor Jeffrey Nordling (Big Little Lies) will recur in the upcoming CW series Walker as Stan Morrison, a businessman and networker who is a close friend of the Walker family. (TV Insider and TV Line)

Actress Merrin Dungey (Alias) will appear in the 6th and final season of Lucifer (airing now on Netflix). She will play Sonya, a no-nonsense cop who forms an unlikely bond with Amenadiel (DB Woodside). (Netflix and TV Line)

Actress Jessica Lucas (Gotham and Gracepoint) will appear in The Resident, playing Billie, who was once a top neurosurgery resident at Chastain who was cut after a tragic error and left under a cloud. (Deadline)

Actor Ray Fisher (Justice League) will appear in the ABC limited series Women of the Movement that centers on Mamie Till-Mobley (Adrienne Warren), who devoted her life to seeking justice for her son Emmett Till (Cedric Joe), following his brutal killing in the Jim Crow South. Fisher will play Gene Mobley, the man who would have been Emmett Till’s stepfather, if not for his murder. A devoted partner to Emmett’s mother, Mamie, Gene was considered the love of her life. They later married. (Deadline)

Actor Samuel L. Jackson will star in the Apple limited series The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, based on the novel of the same name by Walter Mosley. He will play Ptolemy Grey, a 91 year old man forgotten by his family, by his friends, by even himself. On the brink of sinking even deeper into a lonely dementia, Ptolemy experiences a seismic shift when he’s given the tremendous opportunity to briefly regain his memories, and uses this precious and fleeting lucidity to solve his nephew’s death and come to terms with his past. (Variety)

Additional cast members have been added to the HBO Max Suicide Squad spin-off series Peacemaker, including Loclyn Munro and Christopher Heyerdahl, but exact character details have yet to be announced. (Variety)

Hulu is planning a limited series centered around Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson and rocker Tommy Lee focusing on their salacious relationship in the 1990s, including the leak of their private honeymoon video and the legal battle that ensued. Lily James (Downton Abbey and Cinderella) and Sebastian Stan (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) have been cast in the lead roles. (Deadline and TV Line)

Actress Michaela Conlin (Bones) has joined the cast of Apple TV’s upcoming 2nd season of For All Mankind, playing Helena Webster, a former pilot who is now an astronaut. (Deadline)

Actors David James Elliott (JAG) and Joel Murray (Mad Men) will have recurring roles in the 8-episode Starz drama series Heels that is set in the outrageous world of independent professional wrestling, following a family-owned wrestling promotion as two brothers and rivals, Jack Spade (Stephen Amell from Arrow) and Ace Spade (Alexander Ludwig from Vikings), war over their late father’s legacy. Elliott will play patriarch Tom Spade, a former wrestler and proprietor of the Duffy Wrestling League (DWL); and the father of Jack and Ace. Murray will portray Eddie Earl, a local proprietor and sponsor to the DWL, and one of the most successful and determined men in town. (Deadline)

STREAMING MOVIE NEWS

Jennifer Lopez will be working with Netflix on the film adaptation of the best-selling book The Cipher. Lopez will executive produce and star in the series, playing FBI agent Nina Guerrera, who finds herself drawn into a serial killer’s case after he strategically posts complex codes and riddles online. The codes correspond to recent murders, designed to lure her into a cat-and-mouse chase. (Variety)

BOX OFFICE CASTING NEWS

Actress Kiersey Clemons (the thriller box office movie Antebellum) will star in the darkly comic thriller Susie Searches, which centers on Susie (Clemons), an awkward college student who seizes the opportunity to bolster her popularity and her under-the-radar true-crime podcast by solving the disappearance of a classmate. Her investigation reveals that the truth and Susie aren’t at all what they seem to be. (Variety)

Actor Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice) has joined Letitia Wright (Black Panther) and actor Jamie Bell (the box office movie Rocketman) in the film Surrounded that follows former Buffalo Soldier Moses “Mo” Washington (Wright) who, five years after the Civil War, travels West to lay claim on a gold mine bequeathed by her late slave owner father. Donovan will play Wheeler, a successful rancher who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. (Deadline)

Actress Naomi Ackie (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) will play Whitney Houston in the Sony-Tristar biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody. (Deadline)

Actress Rachael Leigh Cook has joined the cast of He’s All That, the gender role-flipped remake of She’s All That in which Cook starred as Laney Boggs. In this new version Addison Rae will play Padgett Sawyer, who accepts a challenge to turn the school’s least popular boy (Tanner Buchanan from Cobra Kai) into prom king, attempting to avenge herself following a humiliating fallout with her boyfriend. Cook will play Padgett’s wise and caring mother. (Deadline)

Actress Eiza Gonzalez will star alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Yaha Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman and Watchmen) in the action-thriller Ambulance, an action thriller along the lines of Speed and Bad Boys, but the storyline is being kept under wraps. (Deadline)

Actress Florence Pugh (Black Widow and Little Women) will play the title character in the upcoming film The Maid that is set at the Regency Grand Hotel, where Molly the maid leaves every room perfect and pristine, while getting to know each guest’s dirty secrets. A Clue-like, locked-room whodunnit, the movie explores Molly’s descent into the murderous underbelly of her gilded workplace, while telling a timely story about the strengths of our differences. (Deadline)

Actor Simu Liu (who will star in the upcoming Marvel film Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) will next appear in the Mark Wahlberg flick Arthur the King. Inspired by a true story, the film will follow Lindnord, captain of a Swedish adventure racing team who met and befriended a wounded stray dog during a 400-mile race through the Ecuadoran jungle where they crossed rivers and battled illness and injury through some of the world’s toughest terrain. Wahlberg will play the Swedish adventurer, while Liu will play the role of Liam. (Deadline)

Actor Chirs Pine is anticipated to star in a film adaptation of the popular fantasy role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS

Hulu has renewed Handmaid’s Tale for a 5th season. (Variety)

The 2nd season of the already renewed Canadian medical drama Transplant has been picked up by NBC. (TV Line)

Apple TV has renewed the drama For All Mankind for a third season. (Variety)

Industry” has been renewed for Season 2 at HBO. (Variety)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

HBO is supposedly developing a new iteration of True Blood from Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Alan Ball, who created the original, is expected to return as executive producer. (TV Line)

A U.S. remake of the Canadian drama Being Erica is being developed with actress Allison Williams (HBO’s Girls and the box office movie Get Out) taking on the lead role. In the original series actress Erin Karpluk played Erica Strange, a woman whose therapist sends her back in time to revisit her biggest regrets in life. This new iteration would tell the story of two women, both of whom are sent back in time, discovering their lives are inextricably intertwined. (Deadline and TV Line)

TV CASTING NEWS

Actor Andrew Leeds (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) will appear on A Million Little Things playing Peter, a highly skilled music teacher who works with young artists; but his style is decidedly not gentle — which likely will be a shock to Sophie, Danny, Theo or whatever kid winds up on the other side of his music stand. (TV Line)

Actress Julia Roberts has signed on to executive produce AND star in the TV series adaptation of the upcoming Laura Dave novel “The Last Thing He Hold Me” at Apple. The series follows a woman (Roberts) who forms an unexpected relationship with her sixteen-year-old stepdaughter while searching for the truth about why her husband has mysteriously disappeared. (Variety)

Actor Matt Smith (Doctor Who) and actress Olivia Cooke (Bates Motel and box office movie Ready Player One) have joined the cast of the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragons. (Variety)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Paul Schneider (Lars and the Real Girl), Shantel VanSanten (The Shooter and The Boys), Kevin Corrigan (Pineapple Express and Ray Donovan) and Moises Arias (Five Feet Apart) have joined the cast of the upcoming box office film American Murderer, which tells the story of a charismatic con man turned party king who bankrolls his high living through a series of scams. The cast already includes Tom Pelphrey, Ryan Phillippe, Idina Menzel and Jacki Weaver. (Variety)

Actor Alfred Molina will reprise his role of Doctor Octopus (from the 2004 Spider-Man movie) in the third installment of the Tom Holland Spider-Man blockbuster. It’s also being reported that Jamie Foxx just might appear as Electro, the villain from the Andrew Garfield movie The Amazing Spider-Man 2. And (yes, there’s more!) actor Benedict Cumberbatch will appear as Doctor Strange in the next movie in the current franchise. (Variety)

MASSIVE DISNEY NEWS [From Variety]

For Disney Films:

Christian Bale is joining the cast of Thor: Love and Thunder where he will play the villain Gorr the Godbutcher.

Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer will return for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaina that will introduce Kathryn Newton (Supernatural, Big Little Lies and the recent box office movie Freaky) as Cassie Lang.

Chinese actor Simu Liu landed the lead role in the upcoming box office movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings; and cast members for that film has finally been revealed, including Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, Tony Leung, Ronny Chieng, Fala Chen and Florian Munteanu.

Disney is also in very early development on (another!) reboot of the Fantastic Four; and it’s been confirmed there will be no recasting of Chadwick Boseman for Black Panther 2.

There will be a Sister Act 3 with Whoopi Goldberg returning to the film franchise with Tyler Perry serving as a producer.

Newcomer Iman Vellani will star in the Disney Plus series Ms. Marvel; and she will also appear in the upcoming Captain Marvel 2, starring opposite Brie Larson.

For Disney Plus:

Mark Ruffalo will reprise his role of Bruce Banner (aka The Incredible Hulk) in the small screen adaptation of She-Hulk that will star Orphan Black alum Tatiana Maslany in the title role. Tim Roth will also reprise his role of Abomination the series as well.

Don Cheadle will reprise his role of James Rhodes (aka War Machine) in the standalone series Armor Wars, based on the comic book series of the same name, in which Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor designs fall into the hands of those who would use them to do harm rather than good.

In 2022, there will be a Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special, featuring the popular film characters.

Secret Invasion, based on the comic book series of the same name, will see Samuel L. Jackson return as Nick Fury with Ben Mendelsohn reprising his role of Skrull leader Talos from Captain Marvel.

Dominique Thorne (Judas and the Black Messiah) will star in the new series Ironheart will follow genius inventor Riri Williams, the creator of the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man.

Other new Disney Plus series will include:

Andor: A Rogue One prequel that will focus on Cassian Andor (Diego Luna). Set for 2022.

Ahsoka: Rosario Dawson will reprise her role of Ahsoka Tan from The Mandalorian

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Starring Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen returning as Darth Vader

Lando: Will focus on rogue Lando Calrissian, but it’s unclear with Donald Glover, who played the character in Solo: A Star Wars Story, will return for the series

The Acolyte: A female-centric series billed as a “mystery-thriller” set in the final days of the High Republic era

Disney Animation includes:

An animated series based on Moana is being developed.

Baymax, which will follow the medical robot from the feature film Big Hero 6 is set for a fall 2021 premiere.

Zootopia Plus, based on the talking-animal feature, will premiere in early 2022.

Tiana, based on the heroine from the animated feature The Princess and the Frog is set for 2022.

Pixar’s Dug Days, a spinoff from the feature film Up, focusing on the titular talking dog, will premiere in fall 2021.

Pixar’s Cars, a series based on the box office movie, will debut in fall 2022.

Pinocchio, with Tom Hanks, and Peter Pan and Wendy, with Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell and Jude Law as Captain Hook are skipping their planned theatrical releases and will debut on Disney Plus instead.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWAL

Fear the Walking Dead has been renewed for a 7th season by AMC. (Variety)

SCHEDULING NEWS

CBS will debut the reboot of The Equalizer series, starring Queen Latifah in the lead role, for February 7 right after the Super Bowl. The show stars Latifah as an enigmatic woman who uses her extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn. Chris Noth, Lorraine Toussaint, Tory Kittles [among others] also star. The series will then move to its regular timeslot on Sunday at 8 PM on February 14. (TV Line)

TV CASTING NEWS

The upcoming Hawkeye series at Disney+ has added cast members to join Jeremy Renner, who reprises his film role for the small screen. Hailee Steinfeld has already been cast as Kate Bishop, and now her mother Eleanor Bishop will be played by Vera Farmiga; Florence Pugh will reprise her role of spy and assassin Yelena Belova, the sister of Black Widow; and Zahn McClarnon will play William Lopez, a take of Willie “Crazy Horse” Lincoln from the comics. (Variety)

Actor Raul Esparza will return to Law & Order: SVU, reprising his role of former ADA Rafael Barba. (TV Line)

Actress Dichen Lachman has joined the cast of the upcoming Apple thriller Severance, starring alongside Adam Scott and Patricia Arquette. The series takes place at Lumen Industries, a company that’s looking to take work-life balance to a new level with a severance procedure, which separates work and out-of-work memories. Lachman will play Ms. Casey, an employee at Lumen Industries. (Deadline)

Actor Brandon Routh will have a potential season-long story arc in The Rookie, playing Doug Stanton, an 11-year veteran of the LAPD, whose views prove to be polarizing at the Mid-Wilshire station. (Deadline)

The upcoming FOX ballet-themed hour-long dramedy pilot The Big Leap has announced some recasting. The series is a funny and contemporary tale about second chances, chasing your dreams and taking back what’s yours, revolving around a group of diverse underdogs from all different walks of life who compete to be part of a competition reality series that is putting on a modern, hip remake of Swan Lake. Actress Piper Perabo will take over the role of Paula Dirks from Laura Benanti. Paula is a dancer and white-collar former VP at one of the major car companies who decides that The Big Leap is a chance to just be vulnerable, let go of her fears and explore her artistic side. Actor Kevin Daniels will take over the role of Wayne Sleep from Matt Lucas. Wayne Sleep ia a gay, joyful fellow who is one of the co-hosts of The Big Leap. A former dancer, he is entertaining, enthusiastic and encouraging. And actress Mallory Jansen has been added to the cast, playing Monica Sullivan, a former ballerina with an acid tongue who has come on to co-host and choreograph The Big Leap. She is intimidating, ruthless and convinced that this show is going to be an absolute disaster. The cast already includes Teri Polo, Scott Foley and Ser’Darius Blain. (Deadline)

The new ABC drama Big Sky is adding cast members, including actress Camille Sullivan and actor Chad Willett, who will play Joanie and Robert Sullivan, the parents of the two kidnapped sisters; while actor Patrick Gallagher will play Sheriff Walter Tubb, an officer for the Lewis and Clark County sheriff’s department. (Deadline)

Twenty cast members have been added to the ensemble cast of The Lord of the Rings small screen TV series, including actress Cynthia Addai-Robinson, actors Benjamin Walker, Augustus Prew and Peter Mullan [among countless others]. (TV Line)

Actor Armie Hammer will star in the upcoming limited event series The Offer from Paramount+ (aka CBS All Access), which is about the making of the iconic Oscar-winning film The Godfather. The 10-episode drama is told from the perspective of film producer Al Ruddy (to be played by Hammer), who also serves as an executive producer on the series. (TV Line)

Actor Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole will exit their roles of Graham and Ryan, two of the three new companions on Doctor Who after the holiday special “Revolution of the Daleks” airs on New Year’s Day on BBC America. (TV Line)

Actress Julianna Margulies will recurring in the second season of the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show, appearing as Laura Peterson, the newest talking head of UBA News. Season 2 is slated for 2021. (TV Line)

Actress Helen Hunt will appear in the upcoming 8-episode half-hour dramedy Starz drama Blindspotting, based on the film of the same name that stars Jasmine Cephas Jones (reprising her role) as Ashley, who is nipping at the heels of a middle class life in Oakland until her partner Miles is suddenly incarcerated, leaving her to navigate a chaotic and humorous existential crisis when she is forced to move in with Miles’ mother Rainey (to be played by Hunt). (Variety)

Actor David Ramsey will be back in front of AND behind the camera on The CW. He will not only return to direct 5 episodes in the DC Universe, including the new series Superman & Lois, and Supergirl; but he will also guest star in 5 episodes across the Arrowverse, returning as John Diggle in Superman & Lois, Supergirl, The Flash, Batwoman and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. (Deadline)

Actress Imogen Poots will star in the upcoming Amazon drama series Outer Range which centers on Royal Abbott (Josh Brolin), a rancher fighting for his land and family, who discovers an unfathomable mystery at the edge of Wyoming’s wilderness. Poots will play Autumn, an itinerant woman who charms the Abbotts enough to let her camp on their land. A seeker of cosmic truths with a checkered past, she lives without regrets and embraces the unknown with reckless abandon. The cast includes Lili Taylor and Tom Pelphrey. (Variety)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actor Oscar Isaac is expected to play Solid Snake in the action movie Metal Gear Solid, based on the video game franchise that launched on PlayStation in 1987, which follows Solid Snake, a soldier who infiltrates a nuclear weapons facility to neutralize the terrorist threat from Foxhound, a renegade special forces unit. (Variety)

Actress Jada Pinkett Smith is set to star in the Netflix drama film Redd Zone, which is based on the true story of Tia Magee (to be played by Pinkett Smith), a single mother who helps her sons and their high school football teammates, “The Bros,” heal after the murder of their best friend, Dominic Redd. One by one, the boys start moving into her house, and soon, 17 of “The Bros” are living under her roof. Eventually, all of them go to college, and four make it to the NFL. Magee’s son, Brandon Magee, became a linebacker for the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and was later drafted by the Boston Red Sox to play outfield. (Variety)

MOVIE NEWS

Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that it will release its entire 2021 theatrical slate direct to HBO Max, the same day they hit theaters. Those movies include: The Matrix 4, Dune, The Suicide Squad, the Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark, The Little Things (starring Denzel Washington), Judas and the Black Messiah, Tom & Jerry, Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat, Those Who Wish Me Dead, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, In The Heights, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Reminiscence, Malignant, King Richard and Cry Macho. (TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT/PICK-UP NEWS

Director Ava DuVernay and Arrow writer and EP Jill Blankenship are teaming up to executive producer Naomi, based on the DC Comics character. The potential series follows a teen girl’s journey from her small northwestern town to the heights of the multiverse. When a supernatural event shakes her hometown to the core, Naomi sets out to uncover its origins, and what she discovers will challenge everything we believe about our heroes. (Variety)

Netflix has inked a multimillion-dollar deal for the rights to the sci-fi survival thriller Stowaway, that stars Anna Kendrick, Toni Collette, Daniel Dae Kim and Shamier Anderson. The movie charts how, on a mission to Mars, an unintended stowaway (Anderson) accidentally causes severe damage to the spaceship’s life-support systems. Facing dwindling resources and a potentially grim outcome, a medical researcher (Kendrick) emerges as the only dissenting voice against the clinical logic of both her commander (Collette) and the ship’s biologist (Kim). (Deadline)

Apple has given an 8-episode straight-to-series order to the drama series Surface that will star Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the series is to be a psychological thriller that includes Reese Witherspoon as an executive producer. Mbatha-Raw will co-executive produce as well. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

Amazon has given a 6th and final season order to The Expanse. The show’s 5th season will premiere on Amazon on December 16. (TV Line)

Amazon has cancelled Gillian Flynn’s apocalyptic conspiracy thriller ‘Utopia’ after one season. (TV Line)

CASTING NEWS

Actor John Barrowman will be reprising his role of Captain Jack Harkness in the upcoming Doctor Who holiday special “Revolution of the Daleks. He will be “on hand to help ‘the fam’ as they discover a disturbing plan involving one of the Doctor’s most feared and dangerous enemies, the Daleks.” (TV Line)

Actress Marianne Jean-Baptise (Blindspot and Without a Trace) will join the cast of the third season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on Amazon. She will play Elizabeth Wright, the Chief of Station. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Xavier de Guzman (the Netflix movie Operation Christmas Drop and The 100) has joined the cast of the Netflix series Maid, inspired by the best-selling memoir by Stephanie Land that centers on Alex (Margaret Qualley), a single mother who turned to housekeeping to make ends meet as she battles against poverty, homelessness and bureaucracy. The cast also includes Nick Robinson. (Deadline)

Actor Nic Bishop (Body of Proof) will guest star in an upcoming episode of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow where the show will riff on Dr. Strangelove, an homage to the dark 1964 feature comedy. In the episode: Nate (Nick Zano) and Zari (Tala Ashe) must infiltrate the Kennedy White House to stop Bishop’s warmongering General Kilgore from steering JFK to start WWIII when an alien begins wreaking havoc in Fidel Castro’s Cuba in 1962. (TV Line)

Actor Anthony Konechny (Supergirl and Witches of East End) will recur as the younger version of Billy (Denis Leary) in the TNT series Animal Kingdom for the show’s upcoming 5th season. (The Futon Critic and Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

CANCELLATION NEWS

The CW superhero series Black Lightning will come to an end after its upcoming fourth, and now final, season, which will get started on February 8. The recently announced spin-off centered around Painkiller (to be played by Jordan Calloway) is still in development. (TV Line)

TV CASTING NEWS

Actress Keala Settle (The Greatest Showman) and actor Emery Kelly (Alexa & Katie) will recur in the upcoming Disney+ series Big Shot that stars John Stamos and Jessalyn Gilsig (Glee), which follows a temperamental college basketball coach (Stamos) who gets fired from his job and must take a teaching and coaching job at an elite all-girls private high school. Settle will play Christina Winters, while Kelly will play Dylan, a high school student who plays basketball on the public court with the girls team. (Deadline)

The second season of the Apple TV+ streaming series Truth Be Told has added to its cast. Among the additions are Merle Dandridge (Greenleaf), Jason O’Mara (The Man in the High Castle), Alona Tal (SEAL Team), Hale Appleman (The Magicians) and David Lyons (Revolution). They will star alongside Kate Hudson and Octavia Spencer. Season 2 will provide a glimpse into America’s obsession with true crime podcasts. (Deadline)

Actor Wentworth Miller (Prison Break) will reprise his role of Isaiah Holmes on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He is slated to appear in episodes set to air in 2021. (TV Line)

Actress Alfre Woodard (who just appeared in the Apple TV drama See) will shift from futuristic sci-fi to a drama more rooted in real history. She will star in and executive produce a limited series about civil rights and voting activist Fannie Lou Hamer for ABC Studios. (Woman and Hollywood)

The fourth season of the Netflix 80s-set series Stranger Things has added to its cast, including actors Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street) and Jamie Campbell Bower (the Twilight franchise). (TV Line)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actress Glenn Close has joined the cast of the upcoming Apple Original film Swan Song that stars Oscar winner Mahershala Ali as well as Awkwafina and Naomie Harris. The film is a genre-bending drama set in the near future, which explores how far someone will go, and how much they’ll sacrifice, to make a happier life for the people they love. Close will play a head scientist at a facility. (Deadline)

Actress Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Power and Arrow) will star in the film Always and Forever, a psychological thriller that follows the lives of four childhood friends who experienced trauma long ago at a summer camp. Determined to get past it, the group moves on with their lives, barely talking about what happened. Though it seems like the past is buried, it comes back to haunt them when an unidentified stalker comes for all of them, one by one. The film also stars Loretta Devine. (Deadline)

Actress Cara Gee (The Expanse) and actor Mpho Koaho (Falling Skies) have joined the cast of the 2021 sci-fi thriller Levels. After witnessing the murder of his girlfriend (Gee), Joe (Koaho) risks everything — including reality itself — to discover the truth about her death. (Deadline)

Actor Russell Tovey (Being Human) [among others] has joined the cast of the upcoming rom-com tentatively called Text For You that stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Quantico), Sam Heughan (Outlander) and music icon Celine Dion. The film is about a woman, who, to ease the pain after tragically losing her fiancé, starts to send romantic texts to his old cell. It turns out the phone number has been reassigned to a man across town suffering from similar heartbreak. The two meet and feel an undeniable connection, but can’t seem to leave the past behind. (Deadline)

Actor Colin Hanks (Life in Pieces and Fargo), actress Diane Guerrero (Doom Patrol) and hip-hop star Nelly have joined the cast of the Buddy Holly biopic Clear Lake, which will star Ruairi O’Connor (The Spanish Princess) in the lead role. The movie will tell the story of how Holly and other famous musicians of the late 1950s gave birth to rock ‘n’ roll while changing the trajectory of civil rights in America. Hanks will play Norman Petty, Holly’s brilliant but often controlling manager and producer; Guerrero will play Holly’s wife, Maria Elena Holly; and Nelly will play Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Chuck Berry. (Variety)

Actresses Jennifer Garner and Zoe Saldana will star in the upcoming Netflix film The Adam Project that will star Ryan Reynolds as a pilot who uses rudimentary time travel technology to reunite with a younger version of himself in order to solve a mystery. (Variety)

Actor Zachary Levi (Chuck) will star in the inspirational family drama The Unbreakable Boy, playing the father of Austin, a boy with both a rare brittle-bone disease and autism. But what makes Austin truly unique is his joyous, funny, life-affirming worldview that transforms and unites everyone around him. Levi’s character changes his life as he comes to see Austin not as the symbol of something broken, but the triumph of an indestructible spirit. (Variety)

Actor Zachary Levi will then be the lead in the upcoming film American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story, playing the NFL quarterback. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

Emily in Paris has been renewed by Netflix for a second season. (Variety)

Netflix has canceled the supernatural drama The Order after two seasons. (TV Line)

HBO has pulled the plug on the horror crime drama The Outsider after only one season. (Variety)

Netflix has given a third season renewal to The Umbrella Academy. (Variety)

IMDbTV has renewed Alex Rider for a second season. (TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

The CW has ordered a pilot for a spin-off to Black Lightning that will center on the character Painkiller, starring Jordan Calloway. The show would follow Khalil Payne (Calloway), a young man ridden with the guilt of his troubled past from his former life in Freeland City. As a super-enhanced killing machine known as Painkiller, he was both a member of Tobias Whale’s gang and a weapon of Agent Odell and the shadowy ASA. After attempting to bury the darker, devastatingly lethal Painkiller part of his persona, Khalil has distanced himself away from everyone he knows and loves in a new city, Akashic Valley, in order to find peace. But peace never comes easy for men with pasts like his. As his violent, destructive history crashes his idyllic new beginning, Khalil is thrust back into action with a new mission – bring justice where he once gave out punishment – but to do that, he will first have to deal with and harness his darker side. (Variety)

The series The Mysterious Benedict Society, based on the book series by Trenton Lee Stewart, is being moved to Disney+ from its original home of Hulu. The 8-episode series will star Tony Hale, Kristen Schaal and Ryan Hurst [among others]. Placed undercover at a boarding school known as The Institute, a group of orphans must foil a nefarious plot with global ramifications while creating a new sort of family along the way. (Variety)

The CW is developing Modern Austen, a contemporary reimagining of Jane Austen’s novels. IT will be a one-hour anthology series that will focus on her beloved novels in six modern stories. (Deadline)

TV CASTING NEWS

Actor Robert Patrick has joined the spin-off series Peacemaker that will air on HBO Max, joining John Cena, who has the lead role. Patrick will star as Auggie Smith. The series is to explore the origins of Peacemaker, a man who believes in peace at any cost, no matter how many people he has to kill to get it. (Variety)

Actress Ruth Wilson and actor Andrew Scott are set to star in the movie Oslo, based on the Tony Award-winning play by J.T. Rogers [that counts Steven Spielberg among its executive producers. The movie will focus on a committed group of Israelis, Palestinians and one Norwegian couple that led to the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords. Wilson will play Mona Juul, a Norwegian foreign minister while Scott will play Terje Rød-Larsen, a sociologist and Mona’s husband. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Millie Bobby Brown is reteaming with Netflix on the fantasy film Damsel, following the success of her recent fall hit Enola Holmes with the streamer. Brown will not only star but also executive produce. She will play Princess Elodie, who thinks she is marrying Prince Henry, only to find out that she is being sacrificed to a dragon. (Deadline)

Broadway star Audra McDonald has been cast in the Julian Fellowes period drama The Gilded Age that will be on HBO. She will play Dorothy Scott, the wife of a powerful man and the backbone of her family. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actor Sylvester Stallone has joined the ensemble cast of The Suicide Squad, the stand-alone seque. But it is unclear what role he will play. (Variety)

Actor Paul Mescal (Normal People) will star opposite actress Melissa Barrera (Vida and the upcoming In the Heights) in the modern-day reimagining of Carmen, one of the world’s most celebrated operas. Mescal replaces Jamie Dornan in the role while Barrera will play the lead role. (Deadline)

Actress Danai Gurira will play the title role in the upcoming box office movie The Fighting Shirley Chisholm, the first black congresswoman. The story will follow Chisholm’s historic 1972 presidential run. The film is not a biopic; rather it’s focused more centrally on the campaign and how “the Chisholm Trail was populated by young people who sought social and political change during one of the most turbulent times in American history. (Deadline)

Since Johnny Depp was forced out of his role in the Fantastic Beasts franchise it is rumored that actor Mads Mikkelsen just might take over the role of wizard Gellert Grindelwald. (Variety)

Dwayne Johnson and his producing partner Dany Garcia are teaming up with Universal Pictures for a relaunch of The Scorpion King, which is the very first role Johnson ever had on the silver screen. (Variety)

The following actors joined Maggie Gyllenhaal in the star-studded drama The Lost Daughter, which has been adapted from the acclaimed novel by Elena Ferrante. Those cast members include Ed Harris, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard, Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal. (Variety)

Actor Chris Pratt will reprise his role of Peter Quill in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder that will also find Natalie Portman back as Jane Foster, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and new addition Christian Bale in a mysterious role. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past week:

CANCELLATIONS

CBS All Access has cancelled the Peter Sarsgaard drama Interrogation after one 10-episode season. (Deadline)

Hulu has cancelled the thriller series Castle Rock after two seasons. (TV Line)

CASTING NEWS

Veteran actor Christopher Walken has joined the cast of the upcoming Apple drama series Severance, a workplace thriller that introduces Lumen Industries, a company that’s looking to take work-life balance to a new level. Walken will star as Burt, the department head of Optics and Design at Lumen. The cast of the new series includes Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette and John Turturro. (Variety)

Actress Betsy Brandt (Breaking Bad) will have a major recurring role in the upcoming 2nd season of the Hulu comedy series Love, Victor that follows Victor (Michael Cimino), a new student at Creekwood High School on his own journey of self-discovery, facing challenges at home, adjusting to a new city and exploring his sexual orientation. Brandt will play Dawn, the loving mother of Felix (Anthony Turpel) [Victor’s neighbor], who struggles with mental health issues. Felix. (Deadline)

Actress-singer Kayla Smith (All American, Star and Ambitions) will recur this season on NCIS: Los Angeles as Kamran, the now grown daughter of Agent Sam Hanna (series lead LL Cool J). (TV Line)

Actress Odette Annable (Supergirl) will have a recurring role in the upcoming CW series Walker that stars Supernatural alum Jared Padalecki in the lead role. Jared’s real-life wife (and fellow actor) Genevieve Padalecki will play Walker’s wife in flashbacks. Annable will play a bartender and old friend of both Walker and his late wife. (Entertainment Weekly and TV Line)

Actor Anthony Ramos (Hamilton and the upcoming In the Heights) will recur alongside Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black0 in the upcoming 4th season of In Treatment. The reimagining of the series brings a diverse trio of patients in session with an observant, empathetic therapist (Aduba), who is wrestling with her own issues. Ramos will play Eladio, a patient who works as a home health aide for a wealthy family’s adult son. (Deadline)

Actress Hilarie Burton (One Tree Hill and White Collar) will guest star in The Walking Dead as the late wife of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who is Burton’s husband in real-life). (Variety)

Actor William Jackson Harper (The Good Place) has joined the cast of the second season of Love Life at HBO Max, which will be set in New York City, focusing on Harper’s character as he comes out of a years-long relationship with the woman he thought was going to be his person. The rug pulled out from under him, he is plunged back into the search for the romantic fulfillment that he thought he had already found. (Variety)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actress Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars and The Good Place) and Jonathan Groff (Hamilton and Glee) will star in the movie Molly and the Moon, an original musical from the creators of How I Met Your Mother. Bell will Kate and Groff will Brian, Molly’s dad. There are no specific details on the movie’s storyline, however. (Deadline)

Johnny Depp has been asked to resign by Warner Bros to resign from his role as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, and has agreed to do so. This resignation comes days after Depp lost his libel case against the British tabloid The Sun. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

CANCELLATIONS/RENEWALS

Peacock has cancelled Brave New World after one season. (TV Line)

Netflix has renewed The Baby-Sitters Club for a second season. (TV Line)

FOX has cancelled both new dramas Filthy Rich and NEXT mere weeks after each show debuted. Any remaining episodes for each show will be aired, however. (TV Line)

The CW has picked up the Canadian dramas Burden of Truth and Coroner for a fourth and third season respectively. Both dramas have already been renewed by their home Canadian network CBC. Burden of Truth will follow Joanna (Kristen Kreuk) and her husband and law partner Billy (Peter Mooney) as they take on a mining company. (The Hollywood Reporter)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actresses Awkwafina and Sandra Oh will star in an as-yet untitled comedy flick at Netflix, playing sisters. Oh will star as a lonely recluse whose life is upended when her train-wreck sister (Awkwafina) vows to mend their relationship by helping her fulfill a lifelong dream: to appear as a contestant on her favorite game show. (Variety)

Father-daughter duo Ethan and Maya Hawke are set to star in the romantic coming-of-age comedy Revolver that will be set in 1966. Maya will play Jane, a teen resident of Anchorage, Alaska. When the impossible happens — a flight to Japan carrying The Beatles is forced to make an unexpected stop — all hell breaks loose as the unsuspecting residents are consumed by Beatlemania. Jane devises a plan to lose her virginity to George Harrison, discovering that adventure (and romance) are actually a little closer to home than she thought. (Variety)

Actor Joel Kinnaman will executive produce and star in a feature film about NFL player Jerry Smith and his long-time teammate Brig Owens. The film will be set at the height of the civil rights movement between the mid-1960s and mid-1970s, during a time of societal upheaval. Smith was secretly gay — a fact he kept hidden until his death from AIDS in 1986 — and Owens faced constant challenges and bigotry as a Black man while attending law school. Through it all, the men formed a close bond to always be there for each other regardless of differences or obstacles. (Variety)

Actor Sam Heughan (Outlander and actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Quantico) will star in the romantic drama tentatively titled Text For You that will include international music icon Celine Dion. The movie is inspired by the 2016 German-language box office hit SMS Fur Dich about a woman who, to ease the pain after tragically losing her fiancé, starts to send romantic texts to his old cell. It turns out, the phone number has been reassigned to a man across town suffering from similar heartbreak. The two meet and feel an undeniable connection, but can’t seem to leave the past behind. In this verion the music and influence of Dion gives them the courage to take a chance on love again. (Deadline)

CASTING NEWS

Nicole Kidman will star in and executive producer the Amazon drama series Things I Know to Be True, based on the play by Andrew Bovell, that is about the resilience of an enduring marriage and the evolving nature of a family’s love, as Bob and Fran Price watch their adult children make unexpected decisions which change the course of their lives. (Variety)

Actor/musician Felix Mallard (Locke & Key, Happy Together and the Australian soap Neighbours) has joined the cast of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. He will recur as Zoey’s childhood free spirit neighbor Aiden, who has returned from backpacking around Asia, moving back in with his parents while trying to launch a garage band. (TV Line)

Some of the new cast members for the second season of Why Women Kill, the anthology series on CBS All Access, have been announced, including Alison Tolman (Fargo and Emergence), Lana Parrilla (Once Upon a Time), Matthew Daddario (Shadowhunters) and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead) [among others]. (The Futon Critic and Deadline)

Actress YaYa Gosselin has been promoted to series regular on FBI: Most Wanted where she plays Tali, the daughter of Jess LaCroix (Julian McMahon). (Deadline and TV Line)

Actor Jason Diaz (The 100) has landed a recurring role in season 3 of Charmed where he will play Antonio, a charming classmate of Maggie’s (series lead Sarah Jeffery) who becomes her nemesis. (Deadline and TV Line)

Actor Nick Tarabay (Arrow) has joined the cast of season two of DC’s Stargirl. He will play Eclipso. Jonathan Cake will recur as The Shade. The arrival of Eclipso and The Shade was foreshadowed in the final moments of Stargirl‘s first season finale. While Cindy (Meg DeLacy) found a mysterious diamond shard in The Magician’s storage locker, The Shade was seen materializing inside the ISA lair. (Deadline and TV Line)

Actresses Claudia Doumit and Colby Minifie have been promoted to series regular for season 3 of The Boys. Claudia plays Victoria Neuman, the young wunderkind congresswoman who harbors a dark secret while Colby plays Ashley Barrett, the often stressed VP of Hero Management for Vought. (Deadline)

Actress Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy and Everwood) will appear in the upcoming Freeform thriller Cruel Summer, which takes place over three summers – 1993 to 1995 – in a small Texas town when a beautiful popular teen, Kate (Olivia Holt), is abducted and, seemingly unrelated, a girl, Jeanette (Chiara Aurelia), goes from being a sweet, awkward outlier to the most popular girl in town and, by ’95, the most despised person in America. Each episode is told from the point of view of one of the two main girls. Drew will play Cindy Turner, the mother to Jeanette. Although once the most popular girl in town, Cindy struggles to hold her family together while being in the crosshairs of town gossip. (Deadline)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Mindy Kaling will produce and star in the film Good in Bed based on the best-selling book by Jennifer Weiner that tells the story of an up-and-coming journalist in Philadelphia, grappling with shaky self-esteem, a fresh-out-of-the-closet mom, an absent father and the guy who broke her heart. In the course of one eventful year, with the help of a fairy godmother’s best friend (also a movie star), the protagonist weathers public humiliation, finds true love and learns to accept herself, and her life, in all of its messy, imperfect glory. (Variety)

The CW is working on a Nancy Drew spin-off drama (no not The Hardy Boys), but rather a series centered on iconic inventor Tom Swift with a twist: the formerly white, blonde and straight lead character will now be Black and gay. Tom Swift will follow the serialized adventures of the billionaire inventor who is thrust into a world of sci-fi conspiracy and unexplained phenomena after the shocking disappearance of his father. Tom takes to the road on a quest to unravel the truth, leaving behind the comforts of his usual moneyed lifestyle, all while fighting to stay one step ahead of an Illuminati-scale group hell-bent on stopping him. The Tom Swift character will appear in an episode of Nancy Drew‘s upcoming second season. (TV Line)

Actor Oscar Isaac (the Star Wars franchise) is expected to star in the Marvel series Moon Knight at Disney+, which tells the story of Marc Spector, an elite soldier and mercenary, who decides to fight crime after he becomes the human avatar of Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon. (Variety)

Netflix is developing a live-action series based on Assassin’s Creed, the best-selling video game franchise that first debuted in 2007 and became an instant hit. The game explores the war between the rival secret orders of the Assassins and the Templars as they use advanced machines to access the genetic memories of Assassins in different periods of the past to track down powerful artifacts called Pieces of Eden. (Variety)

Actress Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black and Mrs. America) is set to star in a 4th season of the HBO drama In Treatment. The reimagined series will focus on a diverse trio of patients in session with the observant, empathetic Dr. Brooke Lawrence (Aduba) while she wrestles with her own issues. The show is slated to debut in 2021. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week

CANCELLATIONS

Netflix has cancelled the Hilary Swank drama Away after one season. (Variety)

NEWS

Six months after it was launched, the cell phone based streaming service Quibi has officially ended. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actress Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost) will have a recurring role in the 2nd season of the Netflix young adult drama Outer Banks that follows a tight-knit group of local teens (the “Pogues”) in the beach vacation destination of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. When a hurricane kills the power for the summer season, it sets off a chain of illicit events that force the friends to make life-altering decisions. Mitchell will play Limbrey, a long-time Charleston native; a compelling woman with a level of toxicity and menace underneath her seemingly courteous ways. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Scott Speedman (Felicity) has joined the cast of You for its third season. He will play Matthew, a successful CEO, husband and uncommunicative father. He’s reserved, mysterious, and has a tendency to be withdrawn all of which masks a deep well of emotion underneath. (Twitter and The Futon Critic)

Actor Regie Lee has been promoted to series regular on All Rise where he recurred as Head DDA Thomas Choi last season. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress Jessica Chastian will take over the lead role from Michelle Williams in the upcoming HBO limited series Scenes From a Marriage where she will star opposite Oscar Isaac. The show is a limited series adaptation that will re-examine the show’s depiction of love, hatred, desire, monogamy, marriage and divorce through the lens of a contemporary American couple. (Variety)

Actor Dominic West (The Affair) is reportedly going to be playing Prince Charles in the final two seasons of The Crown on Netflix. Those seasons will center around the Royal family in the 1990s and early 2000s. (Variety)

Actress Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars and The Good Place) will star in the limited series The Woman in the House set to air on Netflix. She will play Anna who, for her, every day is the same. She sits with her wine, staring out the window, watching life go by without her. But when a handsome neighbor moves in across the street, Anna starts to see a light at the end of the tunnel. That is until she witnesses a gruesome murder or did she? (Variety)

Actress Connie Britton (Nashville) has joined the cast of the HBO limited series The White Lotus that follows the guests and employees at an exclusive tropical resort over the course of one week. (TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Actor Jake Gyllenhaal will star in a limited series HBO adaptation of The Son based on the 2014 novel by Jo Nesbo, which is described as a tale of vengeance set amid Oslo’s brutal hierarchy of corruption. (TV Line)

NBC has given a pilot commitment to the drama Sovereign, the first Native American family drama developed for network TV that will chronicle the lives, loves and loyalties of a sprawling Indigenous family struggling to control the future of their tribe against outside forces and themselves. Among the executives involved will be Ava DuVernay and Bird Runningwater. (Deadline)

Actresses Lili Taylor (Perry Mason) and Tamara Podemski (Coroner) and actor Tom Pelphrey (Ozark) will join actor Josh Brolin (The Avengers franchise) in the Amazon mystery drama Outer range that centers on Royal Abbott (Brolin), a rancher fighting for his land and family, who discovers an unfathomable mystery at the edge of Wyoming’s wilderness. Taylor will play Cecilia Abbott, the matriarch of the Abbott family, who is a woman of deep faith, which she finds tested as never before. Podemski will play Deputy Sheriff Joy, a life-long cop, running for county sheriff, and is the first gay Native American to ever do so in Wyoming. Pelphrey is Perry Abbott, the dutiful, eldest Abbott son, who is torn up inside by the lingering mystery of his missing wife. (Deadline)

Spectrum Originals will add another drama to its line-up. The Second Wave follows an unexpected, deadly second wave of the coronavirus outbreak in New York City, focusing on the lives of two neighbors, Rachel (Broadway star Audra McDonald) and Lily (Taylor Schilling from Orange Is the New Black), as they navigate life in quarantine in New York City. While Rachel juggles her many telemedicine clients as well as a shaky, passionless marriage, Lily is upstairs just trying to convince her Wall Street clientele that her very specific skill set is still just as valuable over video as it was in person. Steven Pasquale (Rescue Me) will play Rachel’s husband, Zach, a top official at the CDC who is stuck between the medicine he knows and the politics thrust upon him. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, is developing a series based on the Burt Reynolds movie Smokey and the Bandit that will explore the crossroads where humble realities meet those larger-than-life, all in a blast of tailpipe exhaust. (Variety)

The box office movie Willow will be coming to the small screen courtesy of Disney+. The sequel series will take place years after the events of the original film. Ron Howard, who directed the original film will executive producer alongside original star Warwick Davis, who will once again play the titular hero Willow Ufgood. (Variety)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actress Chante Adams (Roxanne, Roxanne) will star opposite Michael B. Jordan in the box office movie A Journal for Jordan that is to be directed by Denzel Washington. The film will be based on the Dana Canedy best-selling memoir that tells the true story of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Canedy’s love affair with First Sergeant Charles Monroe King. King kept a journal full of poignant life lessons for their newborn son Jordan while deployed overseas. He was killed in Iraq in 2006 when Jordan was just seven months old, but his spirit lives on in his messages of love to Dana and Jordan. Adams will play Canedy. (Deadline)

Actress Scarlett Johansson will produce and star in the science-fiction, genre-bending film Bride that follows a woman created to be an ideal wife — the singular obsession of a brilliant entrepreneur. When she rejects her creator, she’s forced to flee her confined existence, confronting a world that sees her as a monster. While on the run, she finds her true identity, her surprising power and the strength to remake herself as her own creation. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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