Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

Both NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans have been renewed for a new season next year. (Variety)

Better Call Saul will end at the end of season 6. (The Hollywood Reporter)

CBS All Access has renewed The Good Fight for a 4th season. (Variety)

The CW has given season renewals to All American, The 100, In The Dark and Roswell New Mexico. (Variety)

Netflix has cancelled Santa Clarita Diet after three seasons. (Variety)

Blindspot has been pulled for several weeks by NBC. It will return for its final episodes on May 24 and May 31. (The Hollywood Reporter)

CASTING NEWS

Actress Laura Donnelly (Jenny Fraser on Outlander) has landed a lead role in the upcoming HBO Joss Whedon series The Nevers that got a straight-to-series order back in July. The series is a sci-fi epic about a gang of Victorian women who find themselves with unusual abilities, relentless enemies, and a mission that might change the world. Donnelly will star as Amalia True, the most reckless, impulsive, emotionally damaged hero of her time. A menace to stuffy Victorian society, she would die for the cause and kill for a drink. (Variety)

Actress Rosemarie DeWitt (La La Land) has joined the cast of the Hulu limited series Little Fires Everywhere based on Celeste Ng’s 2017 that follows the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and an enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives. DeWitt will play Linda McCullough, the best friend of Elena (to be played by Reese Witherspoon). After longing for a child for decades and suffering losses no mother should suffer, Linda happily and wholeheartedly takes in an infant who was abandoned at a local fire station. Kerry Washington also stars in the series. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Amber Midthunder (Legion), who plays Rosa Ortecho on Roswell, New Mexico has been promoted to a series regular in the recently ordered 2nd season of the series. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past week:

RENEWAL/CANCELLATION

Manifest has been renewed for a second season. (Variety)

The Gifted has been cancelled by FOX. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actor Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) has landed the lead role in the planned series adaptation of Brave New World, which imagines a utopian society that has achieved peace and stability through the prohibition of monogamy, privacy, money, family, and history itself. As citizens of New London, Bernard Marx and Lenina Crowne have only ever known a rigid social order, a perfect pharmaceutical called Soma, and a culture of instant gratification and ubiquitous sex. Curious to explore life beyond the strictures of their society, the two New Worlders embark on a vacation to the Savage Lands, where they become embroiled in a harrowing and violent rebellion. Bernard and Lenina are rescued by John the Savage (Ehrenreich), who escapes with them back to New London. The series was originally in development at Syfy but was ordered straight-to-series at USA Network in February. (Variety)

Actor Pablo Schreiber (American Gods) has been cast in the upcoming Showtime series Halo based on the hit video game franchise. He will play Master Chief, Earth’s most advanced warrior in the 26th century and the only hope of salvation for a civilization pushed to the brink of destruction by the Covenant, an unstoppable alliance of alien worlds committed to the destruction of humanity. (Variety)

LEAVING THE SHOW

Actors Jon Seda and Colin Donnell and actress Norma Kuhling will be leaving the Chicago One franchise at the close of this current season, but they could return for guest appearances. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS

Killing Eve has been given a third season renewal (Variety)

Preacher will end after its upcoming fourth season on AMC. (Variety)

Hulu has renewed Future Man for its third and final season. (Variety)

CBS has renewed NCIS for its 17th season and Blue Bloods was renewed for a 10th season as well.  (Variety)

Good Girls has been given a third season renewal by NBC. (Variety)

Amazon has given Hanna a second season renewal. (Variety)

Hallmark Channel has given When Calls the Heart a 7th season renewal as viewer await the return of the show’s 6th season. (Hallmark Channel Promo)

SERIES PICK-UP NEWS

AMC is launching a third series in The Walking Dead franchise, which will debut in 2020, and will focus on two young female protagonists. No other specific details are available just yet. (Variety)

TV CASTING NEWS

Actor Iain Glen (Game of Thrones) will recur in the DC Universe second season of Titans, playing the iconic role of Bruce Wayne, an older version of the character actually who, after decades of fighting crime as Batman, is just as driven to protect Gotham from evil as he was in his Caped Crusader days. The 2nd season will premiere this fall. (Deadline and TV Line)

Actress Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) has landed a lead role in the upcoming Perry Mason HBO series that will star Matthew Rhys (The Americans) in the lead role. Maslany will play Sister Alice, the leader of the Radiant Assembly of God, preaching three sermons a day to a hungry congregation and a radio audience that spans the country. An entertainer, politician, God’s conduit to the City of Angels, Sister Alice wields great power when she speaks, and plans to use it in ways only she can know. (Variety)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Mark Wahlberg and Connie Britton will star in the box office movie Monsters and Men with Wahlberg playing real-life Oregonian father Joe Bell, who sets out on a walk across the United States with his son. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past week:

RENEWAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Netflix has renewed The Umbrella Academy for a second season. (Variety)

NETWORK SERIES ANNOUNCEMENTS

The TV Land dramedy Younger was supposed to be moving to Paramount Network, but it will actually stay at TV Land after all. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Paramount Network also announced a new dramedy – Emily in Paris – from Younger creator Darren Star. The series will star Lily Collins (the upcoming PBS mini-series Les Miserables) as a driven young woman from the Midwest who moves to Paris when an unexpected job opportunity arises. The 10-episode series will follow Emily as she adjusts to her new home, deals with culture clash at her job and juggles her career, new friendships and love life. (The Hollywood Reporter)

CASTING NEWS

Four days after it was announced that David James Elliott will reprise his JAG role as Navy Capt. Harmon Rabb Jr. for a multi-episode arc on NCIS: Los Angeles it was announced that Catherine Bell (Good Witch) will also return to play Lt. Col. Sarah “Mac” MacKenzie. (Entertainment Weekly)

This Is Us favorite Ron Cephas Jones has joined the cast of the 8-episode limited Hulu series Looking For Alaska. The series is based on the John Green novel that is told through the eyes of teenager Miles “Pudge” Halter (Charlie Plummer from All the Money In the World), as he enrolls in boarding school to try to gain a deeper perspective on life. He falls in love with a girl, Alaska Young (Kristine Froseth from Sierra Burgess is a Loser), and after her unexpected death, he and his close friends attempt to uncover the truth behind her death and make sense of it. Jones will star as Dr. Hyde, a History of Religion teacher at Culver Creek Academy, who is impossibly old, with only one lung – but once he’s in full command, Dr. Hyde is an enthralling presence who finds his own jokes amusing and who has been very smart for a very long time indeed. (Hulu Press Release)

Melanie Field (Heathers) and Magda Apanowicz (Continuum) will have recurring roles on the upcoming second season of Netflix’s series You, that follows bookstore manager Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley). This season will follow Goldberg to Los Angeles where he meets Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti from The Haunting of Hill House), an aspiring chef that isn’t into social media like his previous leading lady. Field will play Sunrise, a stay at home mommy blogger who raises a toddler with her partner Lucy in their gorgeous Venice Beach home. A new age wellness aficionado who’s monetized her interests with a popular Instagram, she’s the cheerleader of her friend circle. Apanowicz will portray Sandy, a woman from Joe’s past with an infectious smile and restless spirit. She has been beaten up by life. (Deadline)

Actress Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica) will appear in much-anticipated return of Veronica Mars on Hulu this summer. The only details known about what character McDonnell will play is Jane, a warm-hearted therapist. (TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Idris Elba will appear in the Suicide Squad sequel, but he will NOT be playing Deathshot as originally announced. Deathshot will not be included in the sequel with Elba playing a new character. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

FOX has renewed by 9-1-1 and The Resident for third seasons. (Variety)

Sadly EPIX has cancelled Berlin Station after three seasons, the final episode aired back in February. (Variety)

NBC has given a record 21st season renewal to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actor Hugh Dancy (Hannibal) will appear in a multi-episode arc of Homeland, the show that stars is real-life wife Claire Danes. The 8th and final season of Homeland catches up with Carrie Mathison (Danes) recovering from months of confinement in a Russian gulag. Memory issues from the tortures she’s suffered prove problematic for Saul (series regular Mandy Patinkin), who calls on her to engage the Taliban in peace negotiations. Dancy will play John Zabel, a beltway consultant who joins the new White House as a foreign policy adviser to the president and butts heads with Saul along the way. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor David James Elliott will reprise his role of Harmon Rabb, Jr. in NCIS: Los Angeles starting in the May 12 episode. (TV Line)

Actress Emily Bett Rickards, who has played Felicity Smoak on Arrow since season one, will be leaving at the end of the show’s current, 7th season. (CBR.com)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

The venerable Broadway musical Guys and Dolls is set to return to the big screen, as TriStar Pictures has purchased remake rights to the original short stories about gamblers and gangsters that inspired the shows, as well as the rights to the Broadway musical. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

Hulu has renewed Marvel’s Runaways for a third season. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Supernatural will be coming to an end after its 15 season, which will consist of 20 episodes, airing this fall. (Variety)

OWN has given a straight-to-series order to the new drama Cherish the Day that hails from Ava DuVernay. The anthology series will chronicle the romance of one couple, with each episode spanning a single day. The season-long narrative will unfold to reveal significant moments in a relationship that compel people to hold true to the ones they love, from the extraordinary to the everyday. The show is currently slated to debut in winter 2020. (Variety)

TV CASTING NEWS

Actress Miranda Richardson will be a series regular on the highly anticipated yet-untitled Game of Thrones prequel series. (Variety)

Actress Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey) and young actor Jaeden Martell (IT) will star alongside actor Chris Evans in the upcoming Apple limited series Defending Jacob based on the 2012 best-selling novel of the same name by William Landay that tells the story of Andy Barber (Evans), a father whose 14 year old son Jacob (Martell) is accused of murder. Dockery will star as Laurie Barber, Andy’s wife and Jacob’s mother. (Variety)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actress Florence Pugh (The Little Drummer Girl) is anticipated to star alongside Scarlett Johansson in the upcoming Black Widow box office film that has been in development for quite some time. It’s unclear whether Black Widow will be an origin tale or set after the next Avengers film. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

RENEWALS

NBC has given The Blacklist a 7th season renewal. (Variety)

American Gods has been given a season 3 renewal by Starz. (Variety)

AMC is currently in the early development stages of a new series set in the universe of the cult popular series Orphan Black. Supposedly, this series will not be a spinoff or reboot of the original series, but rather a completely new story set in the same world. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actress Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars) has landed the titular role in The CW pilot Katy Keene, the Riverdale spin-off that will follow the lives of four characters, including fashion legend-to-be Katy Keene, as they chase dreams in New York City. The musical dramedy chronicles the origins and struggles of four aspiring artists trying to make it on Broadway, on the runway and in the recording studio. The character of Katy is described as a bold, big-hearted and independent twenty-something New Yorker, who aspires to be a fashion designer. When she’s not working as a personal shopper at a luxury department store, she’s navigating friendship and dating in the big city. (Variety)

Actor Ethan Hawke will star in the 8-part Showtime limited series Good Lord Bird based on the award-winning novel of the same name by James McBride. The story is told from the point of view of Onion, an enslaved teenager who becomes a member in 19th-century abolitionist John Brown’s motley family during the time of Bleeding Kansas, eventually participating in the famous 1859 raid on the Army depot at Harpers Ferry. Brown’s raid failed to initiate the slave revolt he intended, but was the instigating event that started the Civil War. (Variety)

Actor Esai Morales (NYPD Blue and NCIS: Los Angeles) has been cast as Deathstroke in the DC Universe series Titans when it returns for its 2nd season. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actors Bailey Chase (Longmire) and David Andrews (Shooter) will appear in the fourth season of the USA Network drama Queen of the South. Chase will play Eddie Brucks, a musician attempting to overcome his personal demons who crosses paths with Teresa while Andrews will play Judge Cecil Lafayette, a member of one of the oldest blue blood families in Louisiana who may prove to be one of the most dangerous adversaries Teresa has ever encountered. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actresses Megan Hilty (Smash and The Good Wife) and Jessie Mueller (Broadway’s Waitress) will appear in the newly greenlit Lifetime move Patsy & Loretta with Hilty playing Patsy Cline and Mueller as Loretta Lynn. The telefilm will tell the untold true story of the friendship between the two country music icons. (The Futon Critic)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past week:

CANCELLATION NEWS

The next season of Arrow – the show’s 8th season – will be its last on The CW. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actor Santiago Cabrera (Heroes) and Michelle Hurd (The Glades and Blindspot) have joined the cast of the Captain Jean-Luc Picard Star Trek series that will air on CBS All Access. Exact details on what roles they will play is being kept under wraps. (Variety)

The Sinner has been picked up for a third season by the USA Network and actor Matt Bomer (White Collar) will star opposite Bill Pullman. The new season will follow Detective Harry Ambrose as he begins a routine investigation of a tragic car accident on the outskirts of Dorchester. Ambrose uncovers a hidden crime that pulls him into the most dangerous and disturbing case of his career. Bomer will play Jamie, an upstanding Dorchester resident and expectant father who looks to Ambrose for support in the wake of an accident. (Variety)

True Blood alum Sam Trammell will have a recurring role on the final season of Homeland, playing Vice President Benjamin Hayes, a political survivor with an aptitude for optics who crosses the aisle to serve alongside new president (to be played by Beau Bridges. (The Hollywood Reporter and The Futon Critic)

Actor Ernie Hudson will guest star in an upcoming episode of Arrow, playing four-star general of the Defense Intelligence Agency who shares a history with Diggle. (Deadline and TV Line)

BROADWAY HERE WE COME

The TV series Nashville may have left the air, but the theatrical rights have been sold to producer Scott Delman, who is planning a Broadway stage show based on the series. (The Hollywood Reporter)

SERIES ORDERS

Captain Marvel star Brie Larson will star and executive produce a drama that has been given a straight-to-series commitment at Apple. The untitled series is based on the real life experiences of CIA undercover operative Amaryllis Fox and her upcoming memoir, Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA. The series will take a look at a young woman’s (Larson) journey in the CIA, told through the prism of her closest relationships. (Variety)

The 90’s comedy Mad About You is being revived as a limited event series, set to premiere later this year, on Spectrum Originals. (Variety)

Freeform has given a 10-episode order to a new witch-themed drama Motherland: Fort Salem that will be set in an alternate, present-day America where witches ended their persecution 300 years before by cutting a deal with the government to fight for their country. Traditional power and gender roles have been flipped, with women on the front lines of defense and threats that seem familiar to our world, but with supernatural weapons and tactics. Motherland: Fort Salem will center on three young witches: Raelle (Taylor Hickson from Deadly Class), a reluctant recruit whose mother was killed in the line of duty; Tally (Jessica Sutton from The Kissing Booth), a kind, strong-willed and curious witch who enlisted over her mother’s objections; and Scylla (Amalia Holm), a playful yet dark and mischievous recruit who’s not what she appears to be. (The Hollywood Reporter)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actor Idris Elba will be taking over the role of Deadshot from Will Smith in the Suicide Squad sequel. Smith had to bow out of the movie due to scheduling conflicts. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWAL NEWS

NBC has picked up Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. for new seasons. (Variety)

Star Trek: Discovery has been renewed for a third season. (Variety)

Cinemax has renewed Strike Back for a 7th and final season (The Futon Critic)

SERIES ORDER NEWS

Syfy has given a series order to Resident Alien, a comic book adaptation that will star Alan Tudyk of Firefly fame. The series is a twisted and comedic fish-out-of-water story that follows a crash-landed alien named Harry (Tudyk) who, after taking on the identity of a small-town Colorado doctor, slowly begins to wrestle with the moral dilemma of his secret mission on Earth. The show will also star Corey Reynolds (The Closer). (TV Line)

CASTING NEWS

Actress Jacqueline Grace Lopez (East Los High) has landed the lead role in the Jane the Virgin spin-off pilot Jane the Novela. The pilot will be based on a different fictional novel “written by” Jane Villanueva and narrated by the author herself. The first installment takes place at a Napa Valley Vineyard, where family secrets (and family members) don’t stay buried for long. It centers on Estela (Lopez), an up and coming art curator who has spent years playing it safe and coloring within the lines. But a shocking secret changes everything and forces her to live a double life. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

CANCELLATIONS

Netflix has canceled The Punisher after its recently aired second season and Jessica Jones will end after its upcoming third season. (Variety)

The Man in the High Castle will come to an end on Amazon Prime after it airs its fourth season this fall. (Variety)

Syfy has cancelled the drama Nightflyers after one season. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actress Sophia Bush (One Tree Hill and Chicago P.D.) will guest star in the upcoming 5th and final season of Jane the Virgin. She will play a character named Julie, but no other details have been announced. (TV Line)

Actor Dougray Scott will appear in The CW pilot Batwoman, appearing as Jacob Kane, a former military colonel with a chip on his shoulder for Batman. He now commands Gotham’s private security firm The Crows, and has made it his mission to protect his city better than the Dark Knight ever could. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress Alicia Witt will have a recurring role in the final season of Orange Is the New Black, playing Zelda, a professional fundraiser for various high-end non-profit organizations. A strong, chic and low-key New York sophisticate who went to Dartmouth, she strives to be in control of every situation. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham) will recur in the Netflix (formerly Lifetime series) You, playing Will, who deals with unsavory sorts as part of his job, but is himself a thoughtful, personable, and highly intelligent guy who marches to the beat of his own drummer. That is, until he gets trapped in a bad situation. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress Amy Smart and actor Neil Jackson (Absentia) will both appear in the DC Universe live-action series Stargirl that follows high school sophomore Courtney Whitmore (aka Stargirl, Brec Bassinger) as she inspires an unlikely group of young heroes to stop the villains of the past. Smart will play Barbara Whitmore, Courtney’s mother and new wife of Pat Dugan (Luke Wilson). Details about who Jackson will be playing have yet to be announced. (Deadline)

Actress Stella Maeve (The Magicians) will appear in an upcoming March episode of God Friended Me, playing Sophia, a sous chef who works at her father’s restaurant and dreams of opening her own dining establishment. After Miles and Cara are sent her name by the God account, they discover that Sophia’s plans are in danger of falling apart. (TV Line)

Actress Rachael Leigh Cook (Perception) will appear in the 15th and final season of Criminal Minds playing Max, a quirky, kind-hearted, candid woman who strikes up an unusual relationship with Spencer (series regular Matthew Grey Gubler). (TV Line)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actress Tiffany Marie Smith and Charlie Field have landed the lead roles in the Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Lifetime made-for-TV movie entitled Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal, the sequel to the 2018 movie about their romance. (Deadline)

BOX OFFICE MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actor Chris Hemsworth (Avengers/Thor franchise) will play wrestler and pop culture icon Hulk Hogan in a Netflix movie. The biopic is expected to center on the rise of Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, and his “Hulkamania.” (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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