Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items from this past week:

CANCELLATIONS

The first casualty of the fall TV season is the comedy Sunnyside followed closely by NBC announcing that the new Jimmy Smits drama Bluff City Law will not get a full season order, airing only the 10 episodes it was initially given. (Variety)

RENEWALS

CBS All Access has given Why Women Kill a second season renewal. (Variety)

The CW sci-fi series Pandora has been given a second season renewal. Also, The Outpost has been renewed for a third season. (WorldScreen.com, Deadline and The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actress Zoe Kravitz (Big Little Lies) will play Catwoman in the upcoming box office movie The Batman that will star Robert Pattinson as Batman. (Variety)

Actor Neil Patrick Harris has joined the ensemble cast of the upcoming installment of the Matrix franchise that will find Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss reprising their roles. No plot details are available and Harris’s role has yet to be specified. (Variety)

Actress DeWanda Wise (Netflix’s She’s Gotta Have It) will star alongside Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard in the third installment of Jurassic World that will find Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum returning too. (Variety)

TV MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actresses Carey Mulligan and Lily James and actor Ralph Fiennes have been cast in the Netflix film The Dig that revovles around a wealthy widow and the amateur archaeologist who make a historic discovery when excavating the burial mounds on her estate. (The Futon Critic and Twitter)

FIRING

Kurt Sutter, co-showrunner of Mayans M.C., has been fired from his post on the show. (Variety)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

It looks like CBS TV Studios is planning to reboot Clueless that makes Cher Horowitz the subject of a mystery. The story would center on Dionne (played by Stacey Dash in both previous iterations), Cher’s best friend and lifelong right-hand woman. When Cher disappears, Dionne must take on the pressures of being the new most popular girl in school while also unraveling the mystery of what happened to her friend. (The Hollywood Reporter)

TV CASTING NEWS

Actor David Anders (iZombie and Alias) will guest star in upcoming season of Roswell, New Mexico on The CW, playing Travis, a bootmaker, banjo player and bovine enthusiast who offers Alex (series regular Tyler Blackburn) and Maria (series regular Heather Hemmens) some help when their car breaks down miles from civilization. (TV Guide)

Actor Aidan Turner (The Hobbit and Poldark) has been cast as Leonardo da Vinci in the Frank Spotnitz drama series about the celebrated Renaissance artist’s life and work. The series doesn’t have a network yet and only has the working title of Leonardo. (Deadline)

Actor Greg Kinnear and actress Heather Graham have joined the cast of the upcoming CBS All Access limited event series The Stand based on the Stephen King novel. Kinnear will play Glen Bateman, a widowed professor when the superflu hits, who was accustomed to a solitary life. When he encounters other survivors, his curiosity is piqued by Mother Abagail’s (Whoopi Goldberg) visions. Graham will playRita Blakemoor, a wealthy woman who is ill prepared for the end of the world and attempts to escape superflu-infested New York City. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actors Tom Everett Scott and William Sadler will both guest star on God Friended Me. Scott will play Cara’s stepfather Paul Levine while Sadler will play Reverend Elias, a leader within the Episcopal Church with whom Arthur finds himself at odds. (TV Line)

Actress-singer Renee Elise Goldsberry (Altered Carbon and Broadway’s Hamilton) will have a recurring role on the CBS series Evil, playing Renee Harris, a dynamic, hard-driving attorney who works for the Catholic Church. She has a past connection with David: She’s the sister of his late girlfriend Julia. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress Tricia Helfer will be back for Lucifer’s upcoming final season on Netflix. (TV Line and The Futon Critic)

Actor Justin Kirk will recur on the latest adaptation of Perry Mason, that will air on HBO as a limited series. The role he will play has not been revealed yet. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

FULL SEASON ORDER

The first new drama of the fall to receive a full season order is FOX’s Prodigal Son. (TV Line)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

That Walker, Texas Ranger reboot that will feature Supernatural alum Jared Padalecki in the lead role has landed at The CW for development. The show will focus on Cordell Walker (Padalecki), a man finding his way back to his family while investigating crime in the state’s most elite unit. (TV Line and Deadline)

MINI-SERIES/LIMITED SERIES CASTING NEWS

CBS TV Studios is working on a mini-series based on former FBI director James Comey’s memoir A Higher Loyalty with Jeff Daniels signed to play Comey and Brendan Gleeson as Donald Trump. Holly Hunter will appear as Acting Attorney General Sally Yates. The book covers Comey’s tenure as FBI director, his role in the 2016 election and his relationship with Trump, who fired Comey in May 2017. (The Hollywood Reporter and Variety)

More cast members have been added to the cast of the upcoming CBS All Access limited series The Stand, based on the Stephen King novel that already stars James Marsden, Amber Heard, Alexander Skarsgard and Whoopi Goldberg. The new cast members are Eion Bailey (Once Upon a Time) as Teddy Weizak, a superflu survivor and member of the body crewin Boulder, Colo. Katherine McNamara (Shadowhunters and Arrow) will play Julie Lawry. A small-town girl with a wild side, she is one of Lloyd’s conquests in Las Vegas. And, Hamish Linklater (The New Adventures of Old Christine) will play Dr. Ellis, a military colonel and infectious disease specialist who dreams of being the hero who stops the superflu. (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman) has landed a lead role in the reboot of the Matrix franchise, but it is unknown what role he will be playing. (Variety)

Actress Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) will produce and star in the box office film Irena Sendler, based on the Polis heroine who saved thousands of Jewish children during the Holocaust. (Variety)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actress-singer Amber Riley (Glee) will serve as emcee on the ABC live action adaptation of The Little Mermaid Live. (TV Line)

TV CASTING NEWS

Actor-singer-game show host Wayne Brady will have a recurring role on Black Lightning, playing Tyson “Gravedigger” Spikes, a World War II-era member of the U.S. military who became a “super soldier” after a secret experiment gifted him with enhanced strength, agility, tactical genius, and hand-to-hand combat expertise. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Cas Anvar (The Expanse) will have a recurring role in the final season of How to Get Away With Murder, playing Robert Hsieh, an in-house lawyer of a popular dating app who works closely with Caplan & Gold on a discrimination suit. (Deadline)

Actress Raven-Symone will appear in The Bold Type, as a successful beauty influencer who is part of Scarlet’s anti-cultural appropriation photo spread. (E! Onlne and TV Line)

Firefly alum Alan Tudyk will guest star in an episode of The Rookie, playing Ellroy Basso, a bioremediation specialist who schools Nolan on the art of crime scene cleaning. (TV Line)

There will be a reunion (of sorts) of cast members from the short-lived series Life Unexpected in the upcoming Hulu series Little Fires Everywhere, based on the Celeste Ng bestseller of the same name. The series follows the Richardson family, whose life is upended by a mother-daughter duo who come into their lives, which will star Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon. The Life Unexpected cast that will appear in the Hulu series are Britt Roberton, who will play Rachel, the nanny employed by the Richardsons so that Elena (Witherspoon) can continue to work at the local Shaker Heights newspaper; Kristoffer Polaha and Reggie Austin, who will play reporters covering the contentious custody hearing between the white McCullough family and their adopted baby’s biological mother; Austin Basis will play Principal Peters, who runs East Shaker High School and oversees the rebellious antics of the youngest and most troublesome Richardson child. Life Unexpected came from Liz Tigelaar, who is the creator of Little Fires Everywhere, which will premiere next year. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

Stranger Things has been renewed for a fourth season by Netflix. (Variety)

Grand Hotel has been cancelled after only one season by ABC. (Variety)

TNT has renewed Claws for a fourth and final season. (Variety)

AMC has renewed The Walking Dead for an 11th season, and actress Lauren Cohan will reprise her role of Maggie in season 11. (TV Line)

CHANGE OF NETWORK (AGAIN)

The small screen adaptation of the box office movie Snowpiercer will be moving back to TNT. It was announced earlier this year that the show was moving to TBS after it had been in development at TNT for years. The show will now debut on TNT in spring 2020. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actor Christian Kane (Angel and The Librarians) will guest star in the final season of Supernatural, appearing as Leo Webb, a former hunter and friend of Dean Winchester (series lead Jensen Ackles). (Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Sebastian Roche (The Vampire Diaries, The Originals and Supernatural) will have a recurring role in the new CW series Batwoman, playing Dr. Campbell, one of Gotham’s most well-respected plastic surgeons and philanthropists. (Deadline)

Actor Jesse Williams (Grey’s Anatomy) will have a recurring role in the upcoming Hulu limited series Little Fires Everywhere, that stars Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington in the lead roles based on the best-selling book by Celeste Ng. The series follows the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and an enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives. Williams will play Joe Ryan, a wealthy Wall Streeter who for years has struggled to conceive. Joe and his wife, Madeline, turn to an unlikely source to help start their family. (Deadline)

Actress Mekia Cox (Once Upon a Time and Chicago Med) has joined the cast of The Rookie, playing Nyla Harper, an LAPD detective who after four years of undercover work nearly lost herself. Hoping to find normalcy, she takes on the role of John Nolan’s (series lead Nathan FIllion) new training officer. (TV Line and Deadline)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actress Rachael Leigh Cook (Perception and Hallmark Channel movies) and actor Damon Wayans, Jr. (New Girl) will star in the upcoming Netflix original film Love, Guaranteed that centers on earnest, hard-working lawyer Susan (Cook), who has taken one too many pro bono cases. To save her small law firm, Susan begrudgingly takes a high-paying, high-profile case from Nick (Wayans Jr.), a charming new client who wants to sue a dating website that guarantees users will find love. But Susan and Nick soon find themselves in the middle of a media storm, and as the case heats up, so do their feelings for each other — which could jeopardize everything. (Deadline)

Tony, Emmy and Grammy winner Cynthia Erivo will star as the one and only Aretha Franklin in the upcoming season of Genius on National Geographic that will focus on the life of the titular Grammy Award winner and musical icon. (Variety)

BOX OFFICE MOVIE NEWS

Actress Ciara Bravo (Big Time Rush and Red Band Society) will star alongside Spider-Man actor Tom Holland in the box office movie Cherry, an adaptation of the best-selling novel by Nico Walker. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

Freeform has canceled Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists. (Variety)

Amazon has given the Stana Katic drama Absentia a third season renewal. (Deadline)

CASTING NEWS

The long-gestating drama The Gilded Age from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellows has announced some of its cast. They include Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon and Amanda Peet. The series is set in the titular period of American history, beginning in 1882, centerting on young Marian Brook, the orphaned daughter of a Southern general, who moves into the home of her rigidly conventional aunts in New York City. Accompanied by the mysterious Peggy Scott, an African-American woman masquerading as her maid, Marian gets caught up in the dazzling lives of her stupendously rich neighbors, led by a ruthless railroad tycoon and his ambitious wife struggling for acceptance by the Astor and Vanderbilt set. Baranski will star as Agnes van Rhijn, a proud and stubborn aristocrat who will never accept that the world has changed, and that ancient values are being replaced by new ones. Nixon will play Ada Brook, another victim of the collapse of the old south, but unlike her sister Agnes, she never found a way to get out until it was too late, and she was forced back on her sister’s charity. Peet will appear as Bertha Russell, who comes from the ordinary middle-class. She backed her instincts when she set out to catch her husband George, the son of a merchant family who has proved to be a financial genius. She is determined to use her money and position to break into a society that resists change at every turn. (Variety)

Actress Ashley Scott will reprise her role of Helena Kyle aka Huntress from the short-lived series Birds of Prey in the upcoming Arrowverse “Crisis on Infinite Earth.” Also, actor Osric Chau (Supernatural) will recur as Ryan Choi, a physics professor at Ivy Town Universiry, who is a normal guy who comes to learn that he has a pivotal role to play in the crisis crossover. (TV Line and Deadline)

Actresses AnnaSophia Robb (The Act) and Alona Tal (SEAL Team) and actor Luke Bracey (Hacksaw Ridge) will appear in the flashback episode of the upcoming Hulu limited series Little Fires Everywhere, which is based on the best-selling book by Celeste Ng that will star Reese Witherspoon (as Elean Richardson) and Kerry Washington in a story that follows the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and an enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives. Robb will play a young Elena, a young mother with four children under four, who struggles to reassert control over her life after her youngest child is born. Tal portrays Young Linda, Elena’s best friend, who along with her husband Mark long for a child of their own while enduring heartbreaking loss and the grief of infertility. Bracey will play Jamie Caplan, Elena’s college boyfriend. (Deadline)

Actor Chuku Modu, who plays Dr. Gabriel Santiago (aka Xavier) on The 100, has been promoted to series regular for the show’s 7th and final season. Acto Chad Rook (Siren, Timeless, Supernatural and The Flash) has also joined the cast, recurrnng as Hatch, a charming Eligius convict who is determined to forge a better life for those he loves,” TVLine has learned exclusively. (Deadline)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

Actor John Stamos and Graham Phillips (The Good Wife and Riverdale) have joined the cast of the upcoming ABC live musical The Little Mermaid Live with Stamos reprising his role as eccentric French cook Chef Lous while Phillips will play Prince Eric. (Variety)

SHOWS IN DEVELOPMENT

Actor Jared Padalecki (Supernatural) could soon be starring in a reboot of Walker, Texas Ranger, as CBS TV Studios is currently developing a new version of the long-running CBS series that starred Chuck Norris in the lead role. At this time no network is currently attached, but the the series would focus on Walker as he returns from years undercover. A widower and father of two, he begins fighting crime with a new partner, who is one of the only female Rangers in history. (Variety)

The CW is developing an Arrow spin-off that would focus on the crime-fighting team The Canaries that would star Katherine McNamara (Shadowhunters) as Mia Smoak and Arrow alums Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance and Juliana Harkavy as Dinah Drake. The Canaries are a vigilante group operating in a future of Star City in which the city was overrun by an uprising by the denizens of the city known as The Glades. (Variety)

BOX OFFICE CASTING NEWS

Actress Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Hulu’s Veronica Mars) will join Emma Stone in the Disney live-action film Cruella, an origin story based on the classic 101 Dalmatians villian Cruella de Vil (Stone). Details on what character Howell-Baptiste has yet to be revealed. (Variety)

Jurassic Park alums Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill will reprise their roles in the third chapter of the Jurassic World franchise. (Variety)

Actor Aidan Turrner (The Hobbit, Being Human and Poldark) has joined the cast of the upcoming under-the-radar life of Christ movie The Last Planet. He will play Apostle Andrews. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS

GLOW has been renewed for a fourth and final season by Netflix. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actor Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) has been cast as the lead in the upcoming Apple series Shantaram, based on Gregory David Robert’s novel, that tells the story of Lin (Hunnam), a man on the run from an Australian prison looking to get lost in the teeming city of Bombay. Cut off from family and friends by distance and fate, he finds a new life in the slums, bars and underworld of India. (Variety)

Actor Alexander Ludwig (Vikings) will star opposite Arrow star Stephen Amell in the upcoming Starz drama Heels that will center around the world of independent professional wrestling. Set in a close-knit Georgia community, it follows a family-owned wrestling promotion as two brothers and rivals, Jack (Amell) and Ace (Ludwig) Spade, war over their late father’s legacy. In the ring, somebody must play the good guy (Ludwig) and somebody must play their nemesis, the heel (Amell). But in the real world, those characters can be hard to live up to — or hard to leave behind. (ComicBook.com and Deadline)

Actor Justin Theroux will star in the Apple adaptation of The Mosquito Coast, which follows an idealist who uproots his family and moves them to Latin America. (Variety)

Actor Kiefer Sutherland (24 and Designated Survivor) will star in the new take on The Fugitive for the new short-form streaming platform Quibi. Boyd Holbrook (Narcos) will also star, playing the wrongfully accused man Sutherland’s detective is trying to track down. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Timothy Olyphant (Justified and Deadwood) has joined the cast of the fourt season of Fargo in the recurring role of Dick “Deafy” Wickware. He will join a cast that includes Chris Rock, Jack Huston, Jason Schwartzman, Ben Whishaw, Uzo Aduba and Amber Midthunder [among others]. (Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Jim Parrack (True Blood and Escape from Dannemora) will star alongside Rob Lowe and Liv Tyler in the spin-off series 9-1-1: One Star that follows Owen (Lowe), a sophisticated New York firefighter who, along with his son, relocates to the Texas capital and must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in his own life. Parrack will play Judd Ryder, a lifelong Texas firefighter marred by tragedy. (Yahoo)

Actress Willa Holland will be coming back to reprise her role of Thea Queen on the final season of Arrow. (TV Line)

Actor Tom Welling and actress Erica Durance, who played Clark Kent and Lois Lane on Smallville will appear in The CW crossover event “Crisis on Infinite Earth.” (TV Line)

Actress Cara Buono (Stranger Things) and actor Mitch Pileggi (The X-Files) will have recurring roles on the fifth season of Supergirl. Buono will play Gamemnae, an ancient alien, who with others of her kind, have been safeguarding the Earth from the follies of humanity throughout the ages. Meanwhile, Pileggi will play Rama Khan, an ancient alien who is able to control the four ancient elements — fire, water, earth, and air. Arrogant and willful, Rama Khan has been entrusted to use his powers to protect the Earth from mankind for millions of years but now his agenda puts him at odds with Supergirl as well as Lena Luthor. (Deadline)

Actress Alaina Huffman (Supernatural) will recur on the 7th and final season of The 100, playing a character named Nikki, one of the newly-awakened Eligius IV convicts who is a bank robber and spree-killer who is both unpredictable and fierce. She will take on an unexpected leadership role, advocating for her people in the complicated new world of Sanctum. (Deadline)

Veteran actor Tim Matheson will recur on the upcoming season of This Is Us, playing Rebecca’s (Mandy Moore) father. (Deadline and TV Line)

NEW SHOWS-NEW STREAMING SERVICE

NBC is jumping on the bandwagon by offering a streaming series called Peacock that will feature a reboot of Battlestar Galactica from Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail. Other shows for Peacock wil include Dr Death, based on the true-crime podcast that will star Jamie Dornan (Once Upon a Time and Fifty Shades franchise), Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater (Mr. Robot); Brave New World, based on the dystopian novel by Aldous Huxley that will star Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) and Demi Moore; the Queer as Folk reboot; a limited series from Shameless‘ Emmy Rossum; and One of Us Is Lying, based on the New York Times best-selling young adult mystery-thriller. (TV Line)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS

OWN has renewed Queen Sugar for a fifth season. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actress Liv Tyler will star opposite Rob Lowe in the upcoming 9-1-1 spin-off, that will follow a sophisticated New York fireman (Lowe) named Owen, who, along with his son, relocates to Austin, Texas, and must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in his own life. Tyler will play Chief Paramedic Michelle Blake, the only one who can match wits with Owen in the station. Michelle has an obsession she struggles to control: finding out what happened to her little sister Iris, who disappeared two years ago. (Variety)

Actress Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black) has joined the cast of the fourth season of Fargo, but details on who she will play is being kept under wraps. (Variety)

Actress Amanda Peet and actor Christian Slater will star in the 2nd season of the anthology series Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story that will air on the USA Network. The story will span the 60’s to the 80’s through the breakdown of a marriage that was deemed one of “America’s messiest divorces” even before it ended in double homicide. Peet will play the titular character, the perfect California blonde wife and moher married to her handsome college boyfriend Dan (Slater). But after years of sacrifice and suffering while supporting Dan through both medical and law school until he exploded into the San Diego legal community as a superstar, Betty finally enjoyed the fruits of their labors UNTIL Dan hired Linda, a bright, beautiful young woman whom he can happily forget the struggles of his past. (Variety)

Actress Whoopi Goldberg and actors Daniel Sunjata and Alexander Skarsgard have joined the cast of the upcoming CBS All Access adaptation of the Stephen King novel The Stand. They will be joining the already announced James Marsden and Amber Heard. The story shows an apocalyptic vision of a world decimated by plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil. Goldberg will play 108-year-old Mother Abigail who will battle villanous Randall Flagg (Skarsgard) while Sunjata will play Cobb, a member of the military. (Variety and TV Line)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

James Gunn, the director of the upcoming The Suicide Squad, has announced the cast for the movie. Returning cast members are Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman and Viola Davis with new members including Peter Capaldi, Idris Elba, John Cena, Storm Reid and Taika Waititi. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

CASTING NEWS

Actors Steven Cree (Outlander) and James Purefoy (The Following) have joined the cast of A Discovery of Witches for its second season. Cree will play Gallowglass De Clermont, a vampire and soldier of fortune who is particularly fond of his uncle, Matthew (series lead Matthew Goode) while Purefoy will play Philippe De Clermont, founder of the Congregation, commander of the Knights of Lazarus, mate of Ysabeau, and stepfather to Matthew. (SkyGroup Press Release)

Actor Goran Visnjic and actress Claudia Doumit (both from Timeless) will both have recurring roles in the season two of the Amazon superhero drama The Boys, which revolves around a group of vigilantes known informally as “the Boys” who set out to take down corrupt superheroes with no more than blue-collar grit and a willingness to fight dirty. Visnjic will portray Alistair Adana, the charismatic and shadowy leader of a mysterious church while Doumit will play Victoria Neuman, a young wunderkind congresswoman. (Deadline)

Actor Gary Sinise (Forrest Gump and CSI: NY) is joining the cast of 13 Reasons Why for the shows fourth and final season, playing Dr. Robert Ellman, a compassionate, incisive, no-nonsense adolescent and family therapist who works to help Clay Jensen (series lead Dylan Minnette) battle anxiety, depression, and grief. Ellman helps guide Clay to accept the help he needs and come to terms with the trauma in his past. Season 4 will focus on the core cast’s graduation from Liberty High. (Variety)

Actress Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) will play Margaret Thatcher in season four of the Netflix drama The Crown. (FOX News)

Actor Milo Ventimiglia (This Is Us) will play daredevil Evel Knievel in the upcoming USA Network limited series entitled Evel, based on the story of the larger-than-life 1970s daredevil as he prepares for his greatest death-defying feat, the historic Snake River Canyon jump. (Variety)

Actor Wentworth Miller (Prison Break and Legends of Tomorrow) will have a recurring role on Madam Secretayr for its sixth and final season. He will play a ruthless politician who hates the fact that Elizabeth McCord (series lead Tea Leoni) has been elected President. (TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Actress Hayley Atwell (Agent Carter and the Avengers franchise) has joined the cast of the next Mission: Impossible film, but there are no details on what character she will play. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey There,

Here are the news items for the past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

The USA Network has renewed Queen of the South for a fifth season. (Variety)

The Lifetime drama American Princess has been cancelled after only one season. (Variety)

NEW SERIES NEWS

Executive producer Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries) has taken on her next new project. She will write and executive produce the Netflix series Chasing Hilary, based on the best-selling book by Amy Chozick, which centers on four female journalists who follow every move of a parade of flawed presidential candidates, finding friendship, love, and a scandal that could take down not just the presidency but our entire democracy along the way. Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter will executive produce. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actress Viola Davis (How To Get Away With Murder) will play former First Lady Michelle Obama in a series titled First Ladies, a new series in development at Showtime. The network has given the prospective one-hour drama a three-script commitment, with novelist Aaron Cooley on board to write and executive produce. The series will peel back the curtain on the personal and political lives of First Ladies throughout history, with season one focusing on Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford and Michelle Obama. The series will turn it lens on the East Wing of the White House, as opposed to the West, where many of history’s most impactful and world changing decisions have been hidden from view, made by America’s charismatic, complex and dynamic First Ladies. (Variety)

Actress Cote de Pablo will appear in four episodes of NCIS when it returns for its 17th season on CBS on September 24. (The Cheat Sheet)

Actress Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls) has joined the cast of the upcoming mid-season NBC dramedy Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. She will play Joan, the boss of Jane Levy’s (Suburgatory) titular computer coder. The series will follow San Francisco-based Zoey who, after an unusual events, begins hearing the innermost wants and desires of the people around her through songs. She initially questions her own sanity, but soon realizes this unwanted curse may just be an incredibly wonderful gift. (TV Line)

Actor Manu Bennett (Arrow, Spartacus and The Shannara Chronicles) and actress Charisma Carpenter (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Veronica Mars) will be showing on the summer sci-fi series Pandora, airing on The CW. Bennett will play Leone Vokk, an intergalactic bounty hunter sent by the malevolent Parallax Corporation to capture Jax (Priscilla Quintana) and gain the secret of portal technology. But Vokk will need to face off against Jax’s allies, who will sacrifice anything to protect their friend. Carpenter will play a mysterious woman named Laura, who might have all the answers to Jax’s questions about her origins, but who also might be Jax’s most dangerous enemy yet. (ComicBook.com)

Actress Lela Loren (Power) has joined the cast of Netflix futuristic series Altered Carbon. She will play Danica Harlan, the charming and ambitious governor of planet Harlan’s World. She has the support of the people, but keeps an uneasy grip on the political players who surround her. The second season of Altered Carbon will air sometime in 2020. (The Hollywood Reporter)

This Is Us has announced a number of new cast members, who will joining the show’s upcoming fourth season, which will debut on September 24. They include (but are not limited to) Timothy Omundson (Psych), Omar Epps (House and Shooter), Nick Wechsler (Roswell and Revenge) and even director M. Night Shyamalan. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Abby Brammell (9-1-1 and The Unit) will have a recurring role in the upcoming sixth season of the Amazon streaming series Bosch, which stars Titus Welliver as homicide Detective Harry Bosch. She will play Heather Strout, a tough, smart, blue-collar woman who may or may not be mixed up in some of her husband’s issues. (Deadline)

Actress Garcelle Beauvais (The Magicians) has joined the cast of the second season of the CBS All Access fairy-tale drama Tell Me a Story, which will center on a trio of fairy-tale princesses from the classic tales Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beautyand Cinderella. Beauvais will recur as hard-charging businesswoman Veronica Garland, who marries a widower and wastes no time in pushing aside his Cinderella-esque daughter to be played by actress Ashley Madekwe (Revenge).. (Deadline and TV Line)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actor Himesh Patel (Yesterday) will star alongside John David Washington (that would be Denzel’s son) in the box office movie Tenet, an action epic evolving from the world of international espionage. The cast will include Elizabeth Debicki, Robert Pattinson, Michael Caine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Kenneth Branagh. (Variety)

Actor Dylan O’Brien (Teen Wolf and The Maze Runner franchise) will star alongside Mark Wahlberg and actress Sophie Cookson (Kingsman) in the box office movie Infinite, based on the novel The Reincarnationist Papers by D. Eric Maikranz that centers on the Cognomina, a secret society of people who possess total recall of their past lives. A troubled young man haunted by memories of two past lives stumbles upon the centuries-old society and decides to join their ranks. Ian Shorr is adapting the story for the screen. Details of O’Brien’s role have not been revealed. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS

Succession has been renewed for a third season by HBO. (TV Line)

CASTING NEWS

Actress Liza Weil (How to Get Away With Murder and Gilmore Girls) will appear in the third season of the streaming series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in a hush-hush role. (TV Line)

Actor Stephen Amell (Arrow) has landed his first post-Arrow gig on the upcoming Starz drama Heels, about the men and women who chase their dreams in the world of small-town pro wrestling. Set in a close-knit Georgia community, Heels follows a family-owned wrestling promotion as two brothers and rivals war over their late father’s legacy. In the ring, somebody must play the good guy and somebody must play their nemesis, the heel. But in the real world, those characters can be hard to live up to (and just as hard to leave behind). Amell will star as Jack, the charismatic villain — or heel — of the Duffy Wrestling Association. Outside the ring, he’s its hard-working owner, a husband and father trying to make ends meet while fighting to realize his impossible dreams. He has the mind of an artist in the body of a warrior, and a Steve Jobs-ian need for perfection — and for control. He says he’ll do whatever it takes to build the DWA into an empire. The series has an 8-episode order with the network. (TV Line)

Actor Reggie Lee (Grimm) has landed a recurring role in the upcoming CBS legal drama All Rise, playing Thomas Choi, the new Head Deputy District Attorney in the downtown courthouse and the new boss of DDA Mark Callan (series regular Wilson Bethel). (The Futon Critic and Deadline)

Actor Eddie Cahill (CSI: NY) will appear in a multi-episode arc on NCIS: New Orleans. His as yet named character will have a connection with some trouble that Lasalle’s (series regular Lucas Black) brother Cade finds himself in during the show’s upcoming new season. (Parade and The Futon Critic)

Lost alum Terry O’Quinn will recur on the new ABC drama Emergence, playing Richard Kindred, the head of Augur Industries, a diversified far-reaching tech holding company. He is a self-made billionaire with countless professional and personal casualties in his wake, who will go to great lengths to protect his company and reputation. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Brandon Routh and his real-life wife actress Courtney Ford will be leaving The CW series DC’s Legends of Tomorrow during the show’s upcoming 5th season. (Deadline)

Actress Bianca Santos (The Fosters) will have a pivotal recurring role in the upcoming 2nd season of Legacies on The CW, playing Maya, a sharp-tongued and flirtatious new student at Mystic Falls High. (Deadline)

Actor William Jackson Harper (The Good Place) will star in the Amazon streaming series The Underground Railroad, based on the best-selling novel by Colson Whitehead, which tells the story of young slave Cora, who’s an outcast on her Georgia cotton plantation. When she hears about the Underground Railroad and its promise of freedom, she decides to risk her life and escape. Harper will play Royal, a freeborn black man who meets Cora during her journey. The cast includes Joel Edgerton (Zero Dark Thirty), who will play a slave catcher named Ridgeway. (TV Line and Deadline)

Actor Michael Beach (The 100 and Aquaman) will recur in the upcoming season of Chicago P.D., playing Darius Walker, a Chicago crime boss who’s working to revitalize his African American community. (Deadline)

Actress Yasha Jackson (Blue Bloods) will recur in the 2nd season of Manifest on NBC this fall, playing Suzanne, a dean at Astoria University and ex-girlfriend of Ben Stone (series regular Josh Dallas). (Deadline and TV Line)

Actress Ming-Na Wen (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) has joined the cast of The Mandalorian that will debut on the new streaming service Disney+. It has not been announced yet who she will be playing, but the series set in the world of Star Wars will star Pedro Pascal as the bounty hunter, gunfighter and native of Mandalore, known in the Star Wars universe as the home planet of bounty hunter Boba Fett and Jango Fett. The cast already includes Gina Carano, Giancarlo Esposito, Emily Swallow, Carl Weathers, Omid Abtahi, Werner Herzog and Nick Nolte. Disney+ launches on Tuesday, Nov. 12. (Deadline)

Actress Emily VanCamp (Revenge) will reprise her role of Sharon Carter (Peggy Carter’s grand-niece) in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Solider that will star Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan in the title roles. Also, actor Wyatt Russell (Lodge 49) will play John Walker, who in comic book lore adopts the alter egos of U.S. Agent or Super-Patriot, an adversary to Captain America. Disney+ launches on Tuesday, Nov. 12. (TV Line)

MOVIE NEWS

Actor Chris Pine (Wonder Woman and Star Trek) will star in a movie from Amazon Studios, starring as John Dean, a pivotal figure in the Watergate scandal. The film, which has yet to have a title, will follow the life and political saga of Dean, who served as White House counsel for President Richard Nixon from July 1970 through April 1973. (Variety)

It looks like director Lana Wachowski, Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss will be re-entering the Matrix, as a fourth film in the franchise is set to happen. (Variety)

Actress Priyanka Chopra (Quantico) will star in the Netflix superhero movie We Can Be Heroes that will directed by Robert Rodriquez (Spy Kids and Sin City). The film revolves around a group of aliens who invade earth and kidnap its superheroes, leaving it to the heroes’ kids to join forces, rescue their parents, and save the planet on their own. The cast will also include Christian Slater (Mr. Robot), Akira Akbar (Captain Marvel) and Pedro Pascal (Narcos). (The Hollywood Reporter and Screen Rant)

Actor Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) has joined the cast of the upcoming box office movie The Eternals, about an immortal alien race, created by the Celestials, who are sent to Earth to protect humanity from their evil counterparts, the Deviants. Harington will play Dane Whitman (also known as the Black Knight). The cast also includes Angelia Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek, Brian Tyree Henry and Gemma Chan [among others]. (Variety)

It was announced at D23 (the Disney Expo) that actor Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us) and actress Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld) will provide voices in the animated sequel Frozen II. Brown will voice Lieutenant Matthias while Wood will voice Queen Iduna. (Vital Thrills)

It looks like actor Nathan Fillion (The Rookie, Castle and Firefly) will be joining the cast of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, but details on what role he will play are being kept under wraps. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

CANCELLATIONS

Syfy has cancelled Krypton after two seasons. (The Hollywood Reporter)

CBS has cancelled Instinct after two seasons. (TV Line)

BOX OFFICE MOVIE NEWS

Actress Awkwafina will star in the fantasy-adventure film The Last Adventure of Constance Verity, that follows Constance Verity who, for mysterious reasons, was thrust into a battle with the supernatural from the moment she was born, and has been saving the world from disaster ever since. She’s exhausted and wants to sample what she has missed out on: a boyfriend, a normal job, best friends. But it’s not easy to walk away from a life of adventure when in fact you are the chosen one. (Variety)

Actors Raymond Cruz (Breaking Bad, The Closer and Major Crimes) and Brendan Fehr (Roswell and The Night Shift) will appear alongside Heather Graham, Aaron Eckhart and Katheryn Winnick (Vikings) in the upcoming box office conspiracy thriller Wander that follows Arthur Bretnik (Eckhart), a mentally unstable private investigator, who, after being hired to probe a suspicious death in the town of Wander, becomes convinced the case is linked to the same ‘conspiracy cover up’ that caused the death of his daughter. (Deadline)

TV CASTING NEWS

Actor Jason Ritter (Kevin Probably Saves the World) has landed a multi-episode arc on the ABC drama A Million Little Things playing someone with ties to Maggie’s (Allison Miller) mother, Patricia (Melora Hardin). Upon his arrival in Maggie’s life, this stranger will “upend everything.” Chandler Riggs, Drea de Matteo and James Tupper are also set to return, as PJ, Barbara and Andrew. A Million Little Things kicks off Season 2 on September 26. (TV Line)

Actress Kartina Law (Arrow) will join the cast of Hawaii Five-0 this fall, playing Quinn Liu, a former Staff Sergeant with Army CID who was recently demoted for insubordination. After an explosive collision with Five-0 during a case involving veterans, she becomes a loyal ally to the team. Sharp-tongued in several languages, she has a deep understanding of military culture, a mysterious past and a deft ability to match wits with McGarrett. (TV Line)

BET+ (the streaming service from BET Networks) has greenlit the two-hour movie Sacrifice, a legal thriller that will star Paula Patton (Precious) as Daniella Hernandez, an entertainment lawyer navigating the nefarious lives of her rich and famous clients. Erica Ash (In Contempt) will play a powerful DA and sorority sister of Daniella. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Professional wrestler and actress Ronda Rousey will appear in the upcoming season 3 of 9-1-1 on FOX, playing Lena Bosko, a stoic and fearless member of the Los Angeles Fire Department Station 136 who leaps into action to save lives when a disaster hits. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress Keesha Sharp (Lethal Weapon) will have a recurring role in the upcoming 6th and final season of FOX’s drama Empire, playing Dr. Paula Wick, a smart, insightful woman who offers endless compassion but doesn’t take sh*t from anyone. (Deadline)

Actress Sarah Chalke (Scrubs and Roseanne) will star opposite Katherine Heigl (Suits and Grey’s Anatomy) in the upcoming Netflix 10-episode series adaptation of Kristin Hannah’s best-selling book Firefly Lane that centers on two inseparable best friends – legendary talk show host Tully (Heigl) and the awkward and shy Kate (Chalke) – and tracks their enduring, complicated bond over the course of four decades, as they weather career ups and downs, love triangles, marriage and divorce, and countless dramas along the way. Also, actor Ben Lawson (Designated Survivor) will play Kate’s ex-husband Ryan, who also has a long history working with Tully. (TV Line)

Relative newcomer Michael Cimino has landed the lead role in Love, Simon, the forthcoming sequel series at Disney+ based on the box office movie that starred Nick Robinson in the lead role. Robinson will return as the show’s narrator. Set in the world of the film, the series follows Victor (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 struggling with his sexual orientation. When it all seems too much, he reaches out to Simon to help him navigate the ups and downs of high school. Actress Ana Ortiz (Ugly Betty, Devious Maids and Whiskey Cavalier) will play Victor’s smart and warm mother, who loves her husband and her family, but is under a lot of pressure as they move their family across the country. (TV Line)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE NEWS

Actresses Penelope Ann Miller and Mia Kirshner will headline the upcoming Lifetime movie The College Admissions Scandal, following the story of two wealthy mothers, Caroline (Miller), a sought-after interior designer and Bethany (Kirshner), an owner of a successful financial services firm, who share an obsession with getting their teenagers into the best possible college. When charismatic college admissions consultant Rick Singer (Michael Shanks, Stargate: Atlantis, Saving Hope) offers a side door into the prestigious institutions of their dreams, Caroline and Bethany willingly partake with visions of coveted acceptance letters in their heads. But when Singer cooperates with the FBI and pleads guilty, the mothers who risked everything for their kids, must face the consequences of their crimes and the loss of trust and respect from their families. (Deadline)

Actor George Newbern (Scandal), Phil Morris (Doom Patrol) and Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) have landed supporting roles in the ABC holiday movie Same Time, Next Christmas that will star Glee actress Lea Michele as Olivia Henderson, a young woman who met her childhood sweetheart, Jeff, during her family’s annual Christmas visit to Hawaii. After being separated by distance and years, the two reunite at the same Hawaii resort years later and the old chemistry between them flares up anew – but circumstances conspire to keep them apart. Newbern will play Woody Harrison, Olivia’s father, a laid-back easygoing southern California man who is still deeply in love with Faye, his wife of more than 30 years. Vardalos will portray Faye Henderson, Olivia’s mother, a fit, attractive woman, a vegetarian who does yoga and keeps her husband Woody on a healthy regimen as well. Morris is Alec Cutler, Jeff’s dad, an energetic, funny guy who was widowed early on, made an unfortunate second marriage, and has kept resolutely single ever since. A competitive guy who speaks in amusing sports metaphors. He befriended the Henderson family on his family’s annual Christmas visits to Hawaii. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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