Rueben's Ramblings

Hi All,

Here are the few news items for this past week:

PICK-UP NEWS

ABC has picked up A Million Little Things for a full season. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actress Emerald Fennell (Call the Midwife) will appear as Camilla Parker Bowles in the third season of The Crown on Netflix. (Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Claudia Black (Stargate: SG-1 and Farscape) will guest on Roswell, New Mexico, the reboot that will air on The CW next year, playing Ann Evans, the adoptive mother of Max and Isobel. (TV Line and The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE CASTING NEWS

Actress Katherine Langford (13 Reasons Why) has landed an as-yet unrevealed role in fourth Avengers movie. (Deadline)

Among the actors who have joined the Mister Rogers movie project that will find Tom Hanks in the lead role. Among those new cast members are Enrico Colantoni (Veronica Mars) and Sakina Jaffrey (Timeless). (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

PICK-UPS/CANCELLATIONS

Netflix has cancelled Luke Cage after two season. (Variety)

Station 19 has nabbed a full season order for this season on ABC. (Variety)

CBS has given full season orders to both God Friended Me and Magnum P.I. (Variety)

Orange Is the New Black will end with its 7th season, which is set to air on Netflix sometime next year. (Entertainment Weekly)

NBC is currently working on a spin-off to the fantasy drama Grimm. While the new show is currently untitled it will feature many of the same producers as the original show. The series will build off the mythology of the original series and will feature returning fan favorites while also introducing new characters, new dangers and new mysteries. (Variety)

BBC One and Netflix has commissioned the thriller Dracula from Sherlock creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. Inspired by the classic classic novel, the three 90-minute episodes will re-introduce the world to Dracula, the vampire who made evil sexy. In Transylvania in 1897, the blood drinking Count is drawing his plans against Victorian London. And be warned: the dead travel fast. (Deadline)

CASTING NEWS

Actor Ben Lewis, who was introduced in the 7th season premiere of Arrow as William, the grown-up son of Oliver Queen has joined the cast for a season-long arc. (Deadline)

Supergirl will be bringing Lex Luthor to the small screen; however, no official casting announcement has been made yet. (ComicBook.com)

Actresses Claire Coffee (Grimm) and Debbie Allen (Grey’s Anatomy) will both guest star in an upcoming episode of S.W.A.T. Coffee will play Kira, who is dating Chris (Lina Esco). Allen will play Hondo’s (Shemar Moore) mother Charice. (TV Line)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Luther and Thor alum Idris Elba is expected to appear alongside Ian McKellen, Jennifer Hudson, James Corden and Taylor Swift in the film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

Ozark has been renewed for a third season by Netflix. (Variety)

NBC has given New Amsterdam a full season order. It is the first official new drama to be given a full order. (Variety)

FBI has been given a full season order by CBS. (Variety)

The Resident has been given a full second season order by FOX. (Variety)

Netflix has cancelled the Marvel superhero drama Iron Fist after two seasons. (Deadline and TV Line)

SUMMER PROGRAMMING

The CW has picked up the second season of both Burden of Truth and The Outpost for next summer. The network also acquired the British action drama Bulletproof for this summer. The series stars Noel Clarke (Doctor Who) and Ashley Walters (Top Boy) as Bishop and Pike, two undercover cops who chase down hardened criminals in London’s East End. (TV Line)

NEW SHOW PICK-UPS

Actress Emma Roberts will star in Spinning Out, the new 10-episode Netflix drama series set in the world of ice skating. Roberts will play Kat Baker, an up-and-coming, high-level single skater who’s about to turn in her skates after a disastrous fall took her off the competition track. When Kat seizes an opportunity to continue her career as a pair skater with a talented bad-boy partner, she risks exposing a fiercely kept secret that could unravel her entire life. On and off the ice, Kat and her new partner will face daunting odds, injury to body and soul, financial sacrifice, and even potential mental breakdown on their way to realizing their Olympic dream. (Variety)

Another Netflix drama – October Faction – will star J.C. MacKenzie (Dark Angel) and Tamara Taylor (Bones) in the lead roles. The series will follow globetrotting monster hunters Fred and Deloris Allen who, after the death of Fred’s father, return to their hometown in upstate New York with their teenage children. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

CASTING NEWS

Veteran actor James Cromwell has joined the EPIX drama Berlin Station for its third season, which is set to premiere on December 3. He will appear in the recurring guest role of Gilbert Dorn, a former CIA legend put out to pasture who appears on a podcast revealing information about past missions. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Boris Kodjoe has been promoted to series regular status on Station 19. (Deadline)

Actress Jessica Biel will appear as a public radio journalist hunting down a major mystery in Facebook Watch’s Limetown. The series is based on a fictional podcast of the same name, in which an American Public Radio reporter named Lia Haddock investigates the unexplained disappearance of 300 people at a Tennessee neuroscience research center. (Deadline and TV Line)

Actor Sasha Roiz (Grimm and Caprica) has landed a recurring role on Suits, playing Thomas Kessler, the charming CEO of a high-end furniture design company that has been a longtime client of Zane Specter Litt Wheeler Williams. When he returns to the firm for help, Donna steps in to assist, but in doing so also catches his eye. (Deadline and TV Line)

Actors David Fumero (Power) and Jordan Rodrigues (The Fosters and the box office Lady Bird) have landed recurring roles in L.A.’s Finest, Spectrum’s 13-episode Bad Boys spin-off series that will star Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba. The series will follow Burnett (Union), who last was seen in Miami taking down a drug cartel. She now has left her complicated past behind to become an LAPD detective. Paired with a new partner, Nancy McKenna (Alba), a working mom with an equally complex past. Fumero will play Lt. Jason Calloway, an LAPD lieutenant with the Narcotics Division. He and Syd had a one-night stand that colors their occasionally adversarial relationship around the office. While Rodrigues will portray Arlo, a menacing figure who always appears cool, calm, and collected. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS

Mayans, M.C. has been given a second season renewal by FX. (Variety)

Queen of the South have been renewed for a 4th season by the USA Network. (Variety)

Lodge 49 has been given a second season renewal by AMC. (Variety)

The new DC Universe streaming series Titans hasn’t even aired its debut season, but it has received a 2nd season renewal already. (Variety)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Netflix is development new series and film projects based on the C.S. Lewis iconic book series The Chronicles of Narnia. (Variety)

TV NEWS

Actor Damon Wayans claims he is leaving the FOX drama Lethal Weapon after finishing production on the 13 episodes ordered by the network for the show’s third season. (Variety and Eurweb.com)

CASTING NEWS

Actor Giancarlo Esposito (Once Upon A Time, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul) has joined the cast of the upcoming EPIX drama Godfather of Harlem that tells the true story of crime boss Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker), who in the early 1960s returned after 10 years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles. Esposito will play Adam Clayton Powell, a Baptist minister, congressman and a legendary Harlem figure who more than any other New Yorker advanced the cause of civil rights at home and in Washington. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Winston Duke (Black Panther and Person of Interest) is set to star opposite Mark Wahlberg in the Netflix crime film Wonderland, which is being adapted from the novel “Robert B. Parker’s Wonderland” written by Ace Atkins. The story follows Spenser who, fresh out of prison, is sucked back into Boston’s underbelly as he uncovers the truth about a sensational murder and the twisted conspiracy behind it. Duke will play Hawk, Spenser’s close friend and an equally tough, but somewhat shady image of Spenser himself. (Variety)

Actress Gina Gershon will appear as Gladys Jones, the mother of Jughead on Riverdale. (Variety)

Actress Jodi Balfour (The Crown and Bomb Girls) has joined the cast For All Mankind, the previous untitled, upcoming Apple space drama series which explores what would have happened if the global space race had never ended. Balfour will play pilot Ellen Waverly. (Deadline)

Actress Erika Alexander (Living Single) will appear in 3 episodes of Black Lightning, playing Perenna, a therapist with telepathic abilities that works with Jennifer (China Anne McClain) to help her handle her manifesting powers and the complex bundle of emotions they stir up. (Deadline)

Actor Kyle Schmid (Six) has landed a lead role in the Netflix sci-fi adventure series The I-Land that is set to star Kate Bosworth, Natalie Martinez and Alex Pettyfer. The series will focus on what happens when 10 people wake up on a treacherous island with no memory of who they are or how they got there. They set off on a trek to try to get back home. They soon discover this world is not as it seems. Schmid will play Moses, a bit of a hippie who has a generally laid-back vibe, even in the face of real danger. (Deadline)

Actor Emmett J. Scanlan (Hollyoaks) has landed the iconic role of DC Comics villain Lobo on the 2nd season of the Syfy series Krypton. Lobo is the ruthless bounty hunter who murdered his entire species. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Matt Bomer (White Collar) has been added to the cast of the upcoming DC Comics series Doom Patrol. He will provide the voiceover performance for the character of Negative Man, and will appear as Larry Trainor in flashback scenes. (DC Universe)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actor Noah Centineo (The Fosters and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before) has landed a key role in the upcoming box office reboot of Charlie’s Angels, which will star Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska as the latest Angels as well as Elizabeth Banks as one of the Bosley characters. Centineo will be playing the love interest of one of the Angels. The film will focus on the next generation of Angels working for the mysterious Charlie. The Townsend Agency has grown considerably and gone global, providing security and intelligence services to a wide variety of private clients. The movie hits theater on September 27, 2019. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWAL NEWS

Harlots has been renewed for a third season by Hulu. (The Hollywood Reporter)

CASTING NEWS

Actress Molly Quinn (Castle) will have a recurring role on the upcoming ABC mid-season legal thriller The Fix, co-written and executive-produced by attorney/O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark, that will center on Maya Travis (Robin Tunney from The Mentalist), a Los Angeles DA who suffers a devastating defeat when prosecuting A-list actor Sevvy Johnson (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje from Lost) for double murder. With her high-profile career derailed, she flees for a quieter life in Washington. Eight years later, when Sevvy is under suspicion for another murder, Maya is lured back to the DA’s office for another chance at justice. Quinn will play Lindsay, the murder victim’s sister. (TV Line)

Actress Zoe Kravitz (Big Little Lies and the Divergent franchise) has landed a lead role in the adaptation of High Fidelity, which will air on Disney’s upcoming streaming series. The series received a 10-episode order that will reimagine the story from the female perspective. Kravitz will executive produce in addition to starring, playing the ultimate music fan, a record store owner who’s obsessed with pop culture and Top Five lists. The Disney direct-to-consumer streaming service is scheduled to launch in late 2019. (Variety)

Actor Michael Vartan (Alias and The Arrangement) will guest star in the new CBS drama God Friended Me, which is about an atheist (Brandon Micheal Hall from The Mayor) who is friended by the Almighty on Facebook. Vartan will appear as Cara Bloom’s (series regular Violette Beane) father. (TV Line and Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Teddy Sears (The Flash) will have a recurring role on Chicago Fire, playing Chaplain Kyle Sheffield, who enters Firehouse 51 after the beloved Chaplain Orlovsky (Gordon Clapp) announces his retirement. He has history with new paramedic Emily Foster. (TV Line)

Actor LaMonica Garrett (Designed Survivor and The Last Ship) will appear in the upcoming December crossover event of The CW superhero shows that will have a backdrop concept of Elseworlds. Garrett will play The Monitor, a cosmic character with a singular spot in the eight-decade publication history of DC Comics. The annual crossover will kick off with The Flash on December 9, followed by Arrow on December 10 and ending with Supergirl on December 11. (Deadline)

Actor Billy Lush (Kingdom) and Juliet Landau (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will have recurring roles on the 5th season of Bosch on Amazon, which stars Titus Welliver as homicide Detective Harry Bosch. Lush will play Stones, a tough, cold-blooded criminal, heavily involved in the opioid trade while Landau will portray Rita Tedesco, a court reporter living with a secret. (Deadline)

Actress Jennifer Beals (Taken) will have a recurring role in the DC Universe streaming series Swamp Thing, which is set to premiere in 2019. The series will follow Abby Arcane (Crystal Reed from Teen Wolf) as she investigates what seems to be a deadly swamp-born virus in a small town in Louisiana but soon discovers that the swamp holds mystical and terrifying secrets. When unexplainable and chilling horrors emerge from the murky marsh, no one is safe. Beals will play Sheriff Lucilia Cable, who is tough as nails and pragmatic. (Deadline)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actor Max Brown (The Royals and The Tudors) has joined the cast Downton Abbey, the upcoming box office movie that will continue the story of the extremely popular PBS series, which is expected to open in September next year. (Deadline)

Actress Karen Gillan (Avengers franchise, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Doctor Who) will join actors Harrison Ford and Dan Stevens in the latest Call of the Wild adaptation of the Jack London famous 1903 adventure novel set during the Klondike Gold Rush. Gillan will play the role of Mercedes. The plot centers on the trek of prospector John Thornton (Ford) across the Canadian Yukon during the gold rush. (Deadline)

Actresses Mary Elizabeth Winstead (BrainDead, Fargo and Mercy Street) and Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Underground and Friday Night Lights) will join Margot Robbie (as Harley Quinn) in Birds of Prey, the latest DC Entertainment superhero film. Winstead will play Huntress while Smollett-Bell will play Black Canary. (Variety)

SERIES PICK UP

Netflix has given series order to a number of new dramas; two based on romance novels and three sci-fi themed (Variety):

Romance Novels:

Virgin River, based on the book series by Robyn Carr, tells the story of Melinda Monroe, who answers an ad to work as a nurse practitioner in the remote California town of Virgin River thinking it will be the perfect place to start fresh and leave her painful memories behind. But she soon discovers that small-town living isn’t quite as simple as she expected and that she must learn to heal herself before she can truly make Virgin River her home.

Sweet Magnolias, based on the book series by Sherryl Woods, which centers on three South Carolina women, best friends since high school, as they shepherd each other through the complexities of romance, career, and family.

Both shows received 10-episode orders with production set for later this year.

Sci-Fi Themed:

The I-Land focuses on what happens when 10 people wake up on a treacherous island with no memory of who they are or how they got there. They set off on a trek to try to get back home; soon discovering this world is not as it seems. Kate Bosworth will star as KC and serves as a producer on the series. Other cast members will include Natalie Martinez (The Crossing and Under the Dome) will star as Chase and Alex Pettyfer (I Am Number Four and Magic Mike) will star as Brody. The I-Land received a 7-episode order with Neil LaBute serving as the writer, director, and showrunner.

October Faction, which received a 10-episode order and is based on the IDW comic book series, follows globetrotting monster hunters Fred and Deloris Allen who, after the death of Fred’s father, return to their hometown in upstate New York with their teenage children Geoff and Viv. As the family adjusts, Fred and Deloris must hide their identities as members of a secret organization, and quickly discover that their new small-town setting isn’t as idyllic as it seems. Damian Kindler will be the creator, executive producer, and showrunner.

Warrior Nun, which also received a 10-episode order and is inspired by the manga novels of the same name, revolves around a 19 year-old woman who wakes up in a morgue with a new lease on life and a divine artifact embedded in her back. She discovers she is now part of an ancient order that has been tasked with fighting demons on Earth, and powerful forces representing both heaven and hell want to find and control her. Simon Barry will be the writer, showrunner, and executive producer.

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

Greenleaf has been renewed for a fourth season by OWN. (TV Line)

Dietland has been cancelled after only one season by AMC. (Variety)

POTENTIAL AND NEW SERIES NEWS

Captain America himself Chris Evans will star and executive produce the limited series Defending Jacob, which has been ordered straight-to-series at Apple. The series is based on the 2012 best-selling novel of the same name by William Landay that tells the story of a father whose 14-year-old son is accused of murder. (Variety)

ABC has given a production commitment to a series that will feature female Marvel superheroes from Wonder Woman screenwriter Allan Heinberg. The exact details of the project are being kept under wraps, so there is no word on which character from the Marvel Universe will be featured, though. Should the project move forward, it would be the latest Marvel project to air on ABC. (Deadline and Variety)

Disney is enlisting Earth’s Mightiest Heroes as the company prepares to launch its upcoming streaming service. Disney is in early development on an ambitious plan for a number of limited series centered on popular characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These series will likely include shows centered on Loki and the Scarlet Witch, along with other beloved superheroes who have yet to appear in their own standalone movies. The actors who portrayed these heroes and villains in the Avengers films and their spin-offs, such as Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen, are expected to play them in the streaming shows. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actress Brec Bassinger (Nickelodeon’s Bella and the Bulldogs) has landed the title role in the DC Universe streaming series Stargirl, which follows high school sophomore Courtney Whitmore as she inspires an unlikely group of young heroes to stop the villains of the past. The series will reimagine Stargirl and the very first superhero team, the Justice Society of America. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Bethany Joy Lenz (One Tree Hill) will take over for Rebecca Rittenhouse in the series regular role of Keri Allen, in the upcoming Suits spin-off series for the USA Network. Keri is described as a driven, ambitious city attorney serving as unofficial right hand to the mayor. (Deadline and TV Line)

Actor Jeremy Davies (Lost) will appear in The CW crossover event between Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl as John Deegan, a doctor at the Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, who just might be crazier than the inmates he treats.  (TV Line)

Actress Katherine McNamara (Shadowhunters) has landed a pivotal recurring role on Arrow, playing Maya, a scrappy street fighter and thief from Star City.  (TV Line)

Actress Bellamy Young (Scandal) will be showing up in former Scandal co-star Scott Foley’s new ABC drama Whiskey Cavalier, which will air this mid-season. She will play Karen Pappas, the gorgeous widow of a nefarious Greek shipping magnate who dazzles agent Will Chase (Foley), promising romance, espionage and more. (TV Line)

Actress Kearran Giovanni (Major Crimes) has landed a recurring role on Black Lightning for its upcoming second season, playing Cutter, a smart, proud, tough and beautiful woman more than able to best a man in combat — a mercenary trained by British intelligence. (Deadline)

Actor Rob Benedict (Supernatural) has landed a recurring role on the fifth season of the Amazon drama Bosch, based on the Michael Connelly best-selling novels, which stars Titus Welliver in the lead role. Benedict will play Victor Hansen, a responsible, concerned, doctor who runs a group therapy for addicted vet. (Deadline)

Actress Annie Ilonzeh (Arrow and Person of Interest) has joined the cast of Chicago Fire for its upcoming 7th season. She will play Emily, an intelligent, easy-going and confident new paramedic, who is an effective worker but may have a chip on her shoulder. (Deadline)

Actor JR Bourne (Teen Wolf) has landed a recurring role on The 100, playing Russell, the charismatic and visionary leader of a peaceful society. (TV Line and Entertainment Weekly)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actor Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther) will play Tom Clancy’s character John Clark in a new film series from Paramount Pictures. Two movies are being developed based on the book “Rainbow Six” and “Without Remorse.” The latter will be the first film of the two, serving as an origin story for the character. Clark, a.k.a. John Terrence Kelly, is an ex-Navy Seal-turned-operations officer for the CIA. (Variety)

Actor Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) and actress Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) will star in the holiday rom-com movie Last Christmas from Universal Pictures. Details on the movie are being kept under wraps and a release date still has to be announced. (The Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS

Netflix has given Insatiable a second season order. (Variety)

Amazon has picked up a second season of the Stana Katic drama Absentia. (The Hollywood Reporter)

CASTING NEWS

Actor Lee Pace (Pushing Daises, Halt and Catch Fire and Guardians of the Galaxy) has been cast in the upcoming second season of the Hong Kong action-drama series Flying Tiger, which follows an elite Hong Kong police officer who is tasked with infiltrating a dangerous criminal organization. The exact details of Pace’s role are being kept under wraps, but it is known he will be playing an American villain on the show. (Variety)

Cassandra Jean Amell – the real-life wife of Arrow star Stephen Amell – will play Nora Fries, the wife of the DC Comics villain Mr. Freeze in the planned December crossover episodes of The CW DC shows. ALSO, actress Elizabeth Tulloch (Grimm) will play Lois Lane in the crossover event, which is set to air on December 9, 10 and 11. (TV Line and The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Barry Sloane (Revenge and Six) has landed a recurring role in L.A.’s Finest, the 13 episode small screen spin-off from the Bad Boys movie franchise that is planned to air on Charter Communications’ Spectrum cable service, starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba. The show follows Burnett (Union), who last was seen in Miami taking down a drug cartel. She now has left her complicated past behind to become an LAPD detective. Paired with a new partner, Nancy McKenna (Alba), a working mom with an equally complex past, Burnett is pushed to examine whether her unapologetic lifestyle might be masking a greater personal secret. These two women don’t agree on much, but they find common ground when it comes to taking on the most dangerous criminals in Los Angeles. Sloane will play Dante, the younger brother of bad guy Ray Sherman (Zach McGowan), with whom he shares a criminal past. Although he is an ex-con trying to turn things around, his big brother keeps getting the two of them mixed up with some dangerous criminals, pulling Dante back into his old, illicit life. The regular cast also includes Ernie Hudson, Zack Gilford, Duane Martin and Ryan McPartlin. (Deadline)

Actor Neal McDonough (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) has landed a recurring role in the 2nd season of the Paramount Network series Yellowstone. He will play Malcolm Beck, a wealthy business mogul who runs an area casino with his brother, Teal. They are power players, down and dirty fighters who know how to work the system to get what they want. (Deadline)

Actor Mykelti Williamson (Justified and Midnight Caller) has landed a recurring role in Lethal Weapon. He will play Tom Barnes, Wesley Cole’s (new cast member Seann William Scott) CIA recruiter. (Deadline)

Actor Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad and The Path) has joined the cast of Westworld, but details on his character are being kept under wraps. (Deadline)

Actress Ilfenesh Hadera (Deception) has landed a lead role opposite Forest Whitaker in the EPIX straight-to-series crime drama Godfather of Harlem that tells the true story of infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson (Whitaker), who in the early 1960s returned from ten years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles. With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy must take on the Genovese crime family to regain control. Hadera will play Mayme Johnson wife of Bumpy (Whitaker). (Deadline)

Actor Shane West (Salem and Nikita) has landed a recurring role in the upcoming 5th and final season of the FOX drama Gotham, playing Eduardo Dorrance, an old Army buddy of Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie), who returns to Gotham years later, leading a team of elite soldiers with the goal of helping Gordon restore order to No Man’s Land. But as the scales fall from Gordon’s eyes, he realizes Dorrance’s true intentions in Gotham are much darker and more evil than he could have believed. (Deadline)

Actress Lyndie Greenwood (Sleepy Hollow) has landed a recurring role in the FOX music drama Star, playing Megan Jetter, a lawyer who just set up her own firm back in town. (Deadline)

Actor Xander Berkeley (Nikita and The Walking Dead) will guest star in season 4 of Supergirl, playing Peter Lockwood, the dad of Ben Lockwood (aka Agent Liberty), the anti-alien character that will be introduced in the upcoming season, which will be played by Sam Witwer (Being Human). (TV Line and TV Insider)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actress Susan Kelechi Watson (This Is Us) will star opposite Tom Hanks and Matthew Rhys in the upcoming box office film You Are My Friend, the movie about one of America’s most beloved childhood icons Fred Rogers. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

CASTING NEWS

Superman himself, Henry Cavill, will lead the 8-episode Netflix series Witcher, based on the best-selling books and video games franchise. He will play Geralt, a mutant mercenary whose one true purpose in life is slaying monsters. (Syfy Wire)

Australian actress Jacki Weaver (the original Animal Kingdom) has joined the cast of the upcoming EPIX drama Our Lady, LTD that will star Sir Ben Kingsley. She will play Lillian who, along and Pastor Byron Brown (Kingsley), are known to their parishioners as Ma and Pa and have used religion to bilk hundreds of innocent men and women out of their life savings. Ma, who resembles at first glance a modest, dutiful church lady, is Pa’s willing accomplice, and his counterpart in regard to potency and cruelty. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Dermot Mulroney will have a recurring role on Station 19 as the father to police officer Ryan Tanner (Alberto Frezza). (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress Patricia Arquette (Medium) will star in the Hulu anthology series The Act which tells startling, stranger-than-fiction true crime stories, following Gypsy Blanchard, a girl trying to escape the toxic relationship she has with her overprotective mother, Dee Dee (Arquette). (Deadline)

Former 007 himself, Timothy Dalton, has joined the cast of the DC Universe upcoming live-action series Doom Patrol, playing leader, Dr. Niles “The Chief” Caulder, a pioneer in medical science, searching the world over for those on the edge of death in need of a miracle. (Deadline)

Actor Sinqua Walls (The Breaks and Teen Wolf) has landed the lead role in the upcoming BET drama series which will be based on the life and career of Soul Train creator Don Cornelius. Walls will play a young Cornelius in the 10-episode series that is inspired by the personal trials and professional successes of the young, ambitious and troubled impresario Cornelius. A premiere date has not yet been set. (Deadline)

Actress Crystal Reed (Gotham and Teen Wolf) has landed the female lead in the DC Universe upcoming drama Swamp thing, based on the legendary DC comic book character. The series will follow Abby Arcane (Reed) as she investigates what seems to be a deadly swamp-born virus in a small town in Louisiana but soon discovers that the swamp holds mystical and terrifying secrets. (Deadline)

Actor Ken Leung (Lost) will have a recurring role on The Blacklist when it returns for its new season this fall, but detail on what character he will be playing are being kept under wraps. (TV Line)

Actress Sofia Vassilieva (Supergirl and Medium) will appear in season two of Black Lightning, playing the DC Comics hero dubbed Looker, who in comic book lore, has had various incarnations: from a mousy bank teller who following a meta-human (and glam) transformation joined the Outsiders superhero team, to, yes, a vampire. But it has yet to be announced what incarnation Looker will be in The CW series. (TV Line)

Actress Jessica Camacho (The Flash and Sleepy Hollow) has joined the ever-growing cast of the upcoming Netflix sci-fi drama Another Life about an astronaut (Katee Sackhoff of Battlestar Galactica fame), who is focused on searching for alien intelligence. Camacho will play the exploratory spacecraft’s brutally honest communications expert. (Deadline and TV Line)

TV NEWS

The half-hour dramedy Younger, which has been airing on TV Land for the past 5 seasons, will return for its 6th season on the Paramount Network, formerly known as Spike TV. (The Hollywood Reporter)

The Paramount Network has canceled the Alicia Silverstone-led series American Woman after only one season on the air. (Variety)

Despite being cancelled after two seasons by ABC, the Kiefer Sutherland-led drama Designated Survivor will be back with a third season on Netflix. The new season will consist of 10 episodes, focusing on President Kirkman (Sutherland) as he faces a political reality–campaign. (Variety)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actress Margot Robbie and actor Matthias Schoenaerts are set to star movie thriller Ruin that will be set in the ruins of post-WWII Germany, pic will follow a Holocaust survivor (Robbie) who is forced to make an unlikely alliance with an ex-SS captain (Schoenaerts) in her quest to exact revenge. Together, they hunt down the surviving members of the captain’s former Nazi death squad. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

CANCELLATION NEWS

The USA Network has announced that the upcoming fourth season of Mr. Robot, which will air sometime next year, will be its last. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actress Lyric Ross has been promoted to series regular on This Is Us where she has been recurring as Deja, the teenage girl Randall and Beth took in from the foster system. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Sir Ben Kingsley and actor Jimmi Simpson (Westworld and Psych) have landed roles in the EPIX drama Our Lady, LTD, a modern noir drama that will follow James (Simpson), a young grifter, as he attempts to prey upon Pastor Byron Brown (Kingsley), who turns out to be far more dangerous than he suspects. (Variety)

Actors Tyler Hoechlin (Teen Wolf and Supergirl) and Justin Chatwin (Shameless) have joined the cast of the Netflix sci-fi drama Another Life that centers on astronaut Niko Breckinridge (Katee Sackhoff from Battlestar Galactica and Longmire) who is focused on searching for alien intelligence. She leads a crew on a mission to explore the genesis of an alien artifact. Hoechlin will plays Ian Yerxa, the former commander of The Salvare space explorations ship. Chatwin will play Erik Wallace, part of the United States Interstellar Command, dedicated to finding intelligent life out in the universe and Niko’s husband. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Anna Silk (Lost Girl) will have a recurring role in the CBS hour-long action adventure series Blood & Treasure that is set to premiere next summer. The show will center on a brilliant antiquities expert, Danny (Matt Barr from Sleepy Hollow and Valor), and a cunning art thief, Lexi (Sofia Pernas from The Brave), who team up to catch a ruthless terrorist who funds his attacks through stolen treasure. Silk will play Roarke, a skilled international tracker and fighter. (Deadline)

Actor Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill and Sun Records) will have a recurring role in the upcoming third season on the FOX drama Star, playing Xander McPherson, an opportunistic real estate investor who is involved in a toxic relationship with Cassie Brown (Brandy Norwood). (Deadline)

Actress Samantha Mathis (The Strain and Under the Dome) has joined the Showtime series Billions where she will play Sara Hammon, the new COO of Taylor Mason Capital. (The Hollywood Reporter and TV Line)

Actress Daniella Alonso (Revolution) has landed a recurring role in the second season of the FOX medical drama The Resident, playing Zoey Barlow, a strong single mother whose two adopted children both have chronic illnesses. (TV Line)

Actor Walton Goggins (Justified) will appear in season 2 of the EPIX drama Deep State, taking over for Mark Strong, who starred in the first season. He will play Nathan Miller, a former CIA operative who now works in the private sector as a Michael Clayton-like fixer for the deep state. Returning cast members include Joe Dempsie, Karima McAdams, Alistair Petrie and Anastasia Griffiths. (Deadline)

Actress Jane Krakowski will appear in the upcoming Apple series Dickinson, the comedy series that will follow renowned poet Emily Dickinson (to be played by Hailee Steinfeld from the Pitch Perfect franchise). Krakowski will play Mrs. Dickinson, Emily’s mother. (Variety)

Actor Alan Tudyk (Firefly) will play the villainous Mr. Nobody in the DC Universe upcoming live-action drama Doom Patrol. Formerly known as Eric Morden, Mr. Nobody is transformed into a baddie after being exposed to mysterious experiments by ex-Nazis in post-war Paraguay. (Deadline and TV Line)

Actor Blake Jenner (Glee) has joined the cast of the Netflix social thriller What/If, which will explore the ripple effects of what happens when acceptable people start doing unacceptable things. The show will star Renee Zellweger and Jane Levy (Suburgatory). Jenner will play a character named Sean, an EMT who is newly married to scientist-entrepreneur Lisa (Levy). (The Futon Critic)

Actor Malik Yoba (New York Undercover and Designated Survivor) has landed a recurring role in the upcoming new drama God Friended Me that will debut on CBS on September 30. He will play Terrence, the uncle of Miles (series lead Brandon Micheal Hall). (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actresses Shantel VanSanten (Shooter) and Rebecca Wisocky (Devious Maids) and actor Eric Ladin (Six and Shooter) have joined the cast of the Apple series For All Mankind, which will explore what would have happened if the global space race had never ended. VanSanten will play Karen Baldwin, the wife of astronaut Edward Baldwin (series Joel Kinnaman) while Ladin will play as Gene Kranz, one of the heads of mission control and Wisocky will play Marge Slayton, the wife of the head of the astronaut program. (Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and The Futon Critic)

Actress Jennifer Esposito (NCIS and Blue Bloods) has landed a key role in the Amazon straight-to-series superhero drama The Boys, which is based on the comic book that is set in a world where superheroes embrace the darker side of their massive celebrity and fame. It 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. Esposito will play CIA Agent Susan Raynor. (Deadline)

STORYLINE NEWS

It’s finally going to happen! Wedding bells will finally ring on NCIS: Los Angeles between Kensi and Deeks, who got engaged last season. It’s looking like the nuptials will happen after Christmas. (Entertainment Weekly)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actor Matt Smith (Doctor Who and The Crown) is joining the cast of Star Wars: Episode IX. It is unknown if he will be on the side of the rebels or the evil empire, but he will be joining returning cast members Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Adam Driver. (Variety)

Actor Dwayne Johnson will appear as Hawaiian king Kamehameha, the legendary king who was the first to unite the warring Hawaiian Islands. It is reported that it has been a dream of Johnson’s to play the legendary king. (Deadline)

Actors Michael Chiklis (The Shield) and Kyle Schmid (Six, Copper and Blood Ties) will star opposite Bruce Willis in the crime thriller film 10 Minutes Gone that follows a man who loses ten minutes of his memory due to being hit by a stray bullet during a bank heist gone wrong. He must put the pieces of his broken memory together in order to find out who sabotaged the job and took the money, all while being pursued by a powerful crime boss hell-bent on recovering the cash. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past week:

RENEWALS/SERIES PICK UPS

Glow has been renewed for a third season by Netflix. (Variety)

ABC has given a straight-to-series order to the drama Reef Break that will star Poppy Montgomery (Without a Trace and Unforgettable). The series will revolve around a woman who is a former thief who now works as a “fixer” for the governor of a fictional island in the Pacific. The series is based on an idea of Montgomery’s, which the network has given a 13 episode order to. It is expected to air next summer. (Variety)

Apple has given a series order to a drama based on the famed novel “Foundation” by Isaac Asimov that will revolve around the thousand year saga of the Foundation, a band of exiles who discover that the only way to save the Galactic Empire from destruction is to defy it. (Deadline and Variety)

It looks like Veronica Mars just might be coming back to the small screen via Hulu for a 4th season. While the decision has yet to be finalized, IF it goes forward it will be an 8-episode limited run with series star Kristen Bell set to return – around her schedule with the popular NBC comedy The Good Place – and series creator Rob Thomas in board as well. (Deadline)

CASTING NEWS

It looks like Brent Spiner is out but Bruce Boxleitner is in on Supergirl, taking over the role of Vice President Baker, who is described as adept and politically minded, an unlikely leader who steps up in a big way up when his country needs him most. Also, actor Anthony Konechny (Almost Human) will have a recurring role on the show, playing Agent Jensen, a DEO agent recruited by Alex (series regular Chyler Leigh) who struggles to find his footing at the DEO. (The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline)

Actress Karen David (Galavant) has landed a season-long arc on Legacies, the upcoming spin-off series from The Originals/The Vampire Diaries on The CW. The story follows the next generation of supernatural beings at the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted, where 17-year-old Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell) and others come of age in the most unconventional way possible, nurtured to be their best selves — in spite of their worst impulses — all under the watchful eye of headmaster Alaric Saltzman (Matthew Davis). David will play Emma Tig, a beautiful witch-turned-guidance counselor. (Deadline)

Actor Brendan Fraser has been cast as one of the leads – Robotman/Cliff Steele – in the DC Universe upcoming live-action series Doom Patrol. A former race car driver, Cliff Steele was in a horrific accident that left his body uninhabitable. Cliff’s brain was saved by the mysterious Dr. Niles Caulder and he lives on in a powerful robotic body. Fraser will provide the voice-over for Robotman and will appear in flashback scenes as Cliff Steele. (Deadline)

Actor Graham McTavish (Preacher and Outlander) will have a recurring role in the 4th season of Lucifer that will now be seen on Netflix, playing Father Kinley, a kind, deeply empathetic and revered priest, who is profoundly committed to guarding his flock. That includes doing whatever it takes to keep mankind safe from evil, which doesn’t bode well for a certain devil living in Los Angeles. Also, actress Inbar Lavi (Imposters) will appear as Eve – of Adam and Eve fame – who has “grown restless in her marriage and longs for a less predictable time when things were exciting.” (TV Line)

Actor Kyle Secor (Veronica Mars and The Purge: Election Year) will recur on season 5 of The Flash, playing Caitlin Snow’s hitherto absent father, an extremely intelligent geneticist who has been MIA for decades. Upon returning to Central City, he will try his best to make up for lost time with Caitlin (series regular Danielle Panabaker). (Entertainment Weekly)

Actress Jane Levy (Castle Rock and Suburgatory) will appear alongside Renee Zellweger in the upcoming new Netflix series What/If, a drama anthology from Mike Kelley that will explore the ripple effects when acceptable people start doing unacceptable things. Levy will play a character named Lisa, but other details about the role are being kept quiet for now. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Melanie Liburd has been promoted to series regular on This Is Us for the show’s third season, playing Zoe, Beth’s cool cousin who was seen in the season finale to be Kevin’s girlfriend, traveling to Vietnam with him. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Ennis Esmer has been promoted to series regular on Blindspot, where he has been recurring as Rich Dotcom for the past three seasons. (Deadline)

Actress Dana Delany (Hand of God and China Beach) has joined the cast of the new CBS drama series The Code, which will focus on the military’s brightest minds as they take on our country’s toughest challenges – inside the courtroom and out – where each attorney is trained as a prosecutor, a defense lawyer, an investigator – and a Marine. Delany will play Colonel Eisa Turnbull, the Commanding Officer of the Marine Corps’ Judge Advocate Division. The role was played in the pilot by Mira Sorvino. (Deadline)

Actress Selma Blair has joined the cast of the Netflix sci-fi drama Another Life in a recurring role. The series centers on astronaut Niko Breckinridge (Katee Sackhoff from Battlestar Galactica and Longmire), who is focused on searching for alien intelligence. She leads a crew on a mission to explore the genesis of an alien artifact. Blair will play 21st century media influencer Harper Glass, who uses journalism, social media and keen intelligence in an attempt to break one of the biggest stories in human history. (Deadline)

Actor Esai Morales (NYPD Blue and How to Get Away With Murder) will have a recurring role on NCIS: Los Angeles, playing Deputy Director Louis Ochoa, a special prosecutor from the Department of Defense who is investigating the NCIS office and its employees. (Deadline)

Actor Reggie Lee (Grimm) has landed a major recurring role in NCIS: New Orleans, playing Assistant Special Agent in Charge Steven Thompson, who will often butt heads with Dwayne Pride (series lead Scott Bakula) as each have a very different process to approaching and prioritizing their workload. Also, actress Necar Zadegan (Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce) has joined the cast of the show as a series regular, playing Hannah Khoury, a Special Agent who assumes a leadership spot on the New Orleans team in the wake of the season-ending attempt on Agent Pride’s life. (TV Line and Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Anthony Michael Hall (Dead Zone) will appear in the Riverdale flashback episode that will focus on the teen years of the parents in the show. Hall will play Principal Featherhead. (TV Line)

Oscar winner Louis Gossett Jr. will guest star in an episode of Hawaii Five-0, playing the father of Lou Grover (series regular Chi McBride, who also wrote the Thanksgiving-themed episode). (TV Line)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actress Monica Barbaro (UnREAL) will join Tom Cruise and Miles Teller in Top Gun: Maverick, which will be set in a world of drone technology, exploring the end of the era of dogfighting, with Cruise portraying a flight instructor. Barbaro is expected to be a pilot who is also Teller’s love interest in the film. Val Kilmer will reprise his role as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky. The film is set to be released on July 12, 2019. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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