Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for this week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

The CW has renewed the following shows: Arrow, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Jane the Virgin, Riverdale, Supergirl and Supernatural as well as Black Lightning and Dynasty. (Variety)

Shades of Blue will come to an end on NBC after its upcoming third season. (Variety)

BBC America has already given Killing Eve a second season renewal before the first season has even debuted. (Variety)

Amazon has cancelled Mozart in the Jungle after four season. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actor Eric Bana will star opposite Connie Britton in the upcoming Bravo anthology series Dirty John, which received a two-season order in January. The series is based on the series of articles published by the Los Angeles Times. Bana will star as John Meehan, a handsome and romantic charmer who sweeps Debra Newell (Britton) off her feet and pulls her into his web of lies. The series chronicles the true story of how a romance with Meehan spiraled into secrets, denial and manipulation. (Variety)

Actor Hugh Laurie (House) will appear alongside George Clooney in the Hulu upcoming adaptation of Catch-22, playing Major de Coverley, a squadron executive officer on Pianosa air base. Adapted from the 1961 Joseph Heller novel, the six-episode series is set in Italy during World War II, telling the story of on Capt. John Yossarian, a U.S. Air Force bombardier who is furious because the bureaucratic rule known as Catch-22, which specifies that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers which are real and immediate is the process of a rational mind; a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but a request to be removed from duty is evidence of sanity and therefore makes him ineligible to be relieved from duty. Clooney will star in the role of Colonel Cathcart. (Variety)

The following cast member of The Good Doctor will return as series regular next season: Will Yun Lee, Fiona Gubelmann, Christina Chang and Paige Spara (Lea) BUT Chuku Modu will not be back. (The Futon Critic and Deadline)

Actress Jes Macallan has been promoted to series regular on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, playing the role of Time Bureau Agent Ava Sharpe. (Deadline)

The CW has acquired the US rights to the Canadian drama Burden of Truth that stars Kristin Kreuk (Smallville and Beauty and the Beast). The 10-episode drama stars Kreuk as a big-city lawyer who returns to her hometown to take on what she thinks is a simple case, only to find herself in a fight for justice for a group of sick girls. The CW will launch the series in the summer. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Karl Urban will star in the Amazon straight-to-series superhero drama The Boys based on the comic book, which is set in a world where superheroes embrace the darker side of their massive celebrity and fame, revolving 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. Urban will play the Boys’ leader Billy Butcher. (Deadline)

Actress Kat Graham (The Vampire Diaries) will star in the Netflix holiday picture called Christmas Calendar that follows Abby Sutton, an aspiring photographer who inherits a magical advent calendar from her deceased grandmother that seems to be predicting her future and pointing the way to a new romance with a hunky admirer. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past week:

CASTING NEWS

Actress Connie Britton (9-1-1 and Nashville) is set to star in the Bravo drama series Dirty John, which received a two-season order back in January. The anthology series is based on the published article by the Los Angeles Times’ last fall about a charismatic con man, John Meehan, and the consequences of an ill-fated romance. Britton will star as Debra Newell, a single mother who fell in love with Meehan. (Variety)

Actress Willa Holland will depart from The CW series Arrow at the end of the show’s current, sixth season. (The Futon Critic and TV Line)

Veteran actress Sissy Spacek will have a recurring role alongside Julie Roberts in the upcoming Amazon series Homecoming, a psychological thriller that centers on Heidi (Roberts), a caseworker at a secret government facility, and a soldier (Stephan James) eager to rejoin civilian life. (Deadline)

Actress Elena Satine (Revenge and The Gifted) will appear opposite Rupert Friend (Homeland), Jack Reynor (Detroit) and Bella Heathcote (The Man in the High Castle) in the CBS All Access drama Strange Angel that is based on the George Pendle book of the same name. The series is inspired by the real-life story of Jack Parsons (Reynor), exploring the dramatic intersection between genius and madness, science and science fiction. Satine will play Maggie, Ernest’s (Friend’s) wife. (Deadline)

Actress Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) will star in the live-action feature adaptation of the popular 1990’s franchise Carmen Sandiego that will air on Netflix. The franchise started as an educational computer game series then was adapted as an animated series, centering on the globe-trotting thief that is the nemesis of the ACME detection agency. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Tobias Menzies (Outlander) will take over the role of Prince Philip from Matt Smith (Doctor Who) in the Netflix streaming series The Crown for the show’s 3rd and 4th seasons. Olivia Colman (Broadchurch) takes over the role of Queen Elizabeth from Claire Foy while Helena Bonham Carter (Cinderella and the Harry Potter franchise) will take over the role of Princess Margaret from Vanessa Kirby. (Variety)

RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS

CBS has renewed both S.W.A.T. and SEAL Team for a second season. (Variety)

Cinemax has given a second season renewal to Strike Back. (The Futon Critic)

Freeform has cancelled the sci-fi action series Beyond after two seasons. (The Hollywood Reporter)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Marvel Universe veteran Clark Gregg will appear in the upcoming box office film Captain Marvel, as his on-screen persona of Phil Coulson. Audiences could potentially see how Coulson first got started working with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. Gregg isn’t the only Marvel Studios alum to return for the film: Lee Pace and Djimon Hounsou (Guardians of the Galaxy) will appear in the film also. (ComicBook.com)

MOVIE TRAILER

The Darkest Minds Trailer:

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

CASTING NEWS:

Actor Matt Ryan (Constantine) has become a series regular on the expected fourth season of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow where he will play John Constantine, a role he originated on the short-lived NBC series. (The Futon Critic and Deadline)

Actor Scott Porter (Scorpion and Hart of Dixie) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, playing the husband of a woman who goes missing along with their young daughter. (The Futon Critic and Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Craig Parker (Legend of the Seeker and Reign) will appear in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Taryan, a formidable wheeler-dealer from another planet. (TV Line and The Futon Critic)

Actress Amanda Schull has been promoted to series regular for the recently ordered 8th season of Suits by the USA Network. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actor Jay Ali (The Fosters) will play Rahul “Ray” Nadeem, an honest, but ambitious FBI agent willing to go to any length for his family in the third season of Marvel’s Daredevil. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Allison Williams (Get Out) has joined the cast of Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, which will air its second season online on March 30. Her role remains a mystery, though. Also, actor Nathan Fillion (Castle and Firefly) will appear in the show as Jacques Snicket, the younger brother of Patrick Warburton’s Lemony Snicket and a former schoolmate of Harris’ Count Olaf. (Deadline and TV Line)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actor Josh Lucas (Sweet Home Alabama) has joined the cast of the faith-based film called The Impossible, the faith-based drama based on the true story of Joyce Smith’s account of her son’s miraculous recovery. Chrissy Metz (This Is Us), Mike Colter (Luke Cage), and Topher Grace (That ’70s Show) have already been announced as cast members. Lucas will play Brian Smith, the father of 14-year old John who fell through a frozen lake in Missouri one winter and was proclaimed lifeless.  (Deadline)

TV RENEWAL

Hallmark Channel has announced a season 6 renewal of the drama When Calls the Heart. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

RENEWALS

Netflix has exclusively picked up the third season of the Canadian series Travelers, which aired on Showcase in Canada and Netflix everywhere else for its first and second seasons. (Variety)

The USA Network has renewed The Sinner for season 2, continuing it as an anthology that will follow Detective Harry Ambrose (Bill Pullman) as he travels to his hometown in upstate New York to investigate the murder of two people by their 11-year-old son. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Hulu has picked up the limited series Little Fires Everywhere based on the 2017 best-seller by Celeste Ng. The series will follow the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and an enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives. The story explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, the ferocious pull of motherhood – and the danger in believing that following the rules can avert disaster. Actresses Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington are attached to star. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Annabella Sciorra (G.L.O.W.) has joined the cast of Marvel’s Luke Cage for the Netflix show’s second season. She will play Rosalie Carbone, a dangerous downtown criminal underworld power player with an eye, and an agenda, toward Harlem. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Christian Borle (Smash) will appear in two episodes of the TV Land dramedy Younger, playing Don Ridley, a man who intrigues Liza (series lead Sutton Foster) with his charm. (The Futon Critic and Deadline)

Actress Tati Gabrielle (The 100) and actor Ross Lynch (Austin & Ally) have joined the cast of the Netflix upcoming Sabrina the Teenage Witch series based on the Archie Comics graphic novel The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Gabrielle will play Prudence, a student at the Academy of Unseen Arts and the de facto leader of a trio of witches known as the Weird Sisters. Lynch will Harvey Kinkle, Sabrina’s boyfriend. (Deadline)

Actress Zoie Palmer (Lost Girl and Dark Matter) will guest star in the third season of Wynonna Earp. She will play Jolene, a fun-loving friend who enjoys karaoke, baking for her best buddies and creating mayhem wherever she goes. (Syfy Wire)

MOVIE CASTING

Actor Mike Colter (Marvel’s Luke Cage) will star alongside This Is Us actress Chrissy Metz in the faith-based film The Impossible based on the true story of Joyce Smith based on her novel The Impossible: The Miraculous Story of a Mother’s Faith and Her Child’s Resurrection. Smith’s 14-year old son fell through a frozen lake in Missouri one winter and was proclaimed lifeless. Through prayer and faith, she sat by her son’s bedside until his heart started beating again. Colter will play Tommy Shine, a Firefighter who saves Joyce’s (Metz) son from the water after hearing a voice telling him where to look. Before John’s drowning, he didn’t believe in God. After watching John fight, he finds a reason to believe. (Deadline)

TRAILER

The 100 | Season 5 Official Extended Trailer | The CW

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for this past week:

RENEWALS/CANCELLATION

The Netflix series Black Mirror has been renewed for a 5th season. (Variety)

The Good Doctor has been renewed for a second season by ABC. (Variety)

TNT has cancelled The Librarians after four seasons, but showrunner Dean Devlin has stated that he will look to find a new home for the drama. (The Hollywood Reporter)

NEW DRAMAS

The CW is adding another new show to their summer schedule in the form of the sci-fi drama The Outpost. The 10-part series, from executive producers Dean Devlin (The Librarians) and Jonathan Glassner (Stargate SG-1), stars Jessica Green (Ash vs. Evil Dead), who is the lone survivor of her race, bent on revenge against the mercenaries who killed her family. She discovers that she possesses a mysterious supernatural power. (The Hollywood Reporter)

The USA Network has given a series order to the as yet titled Suits spin-off that will star Gina Torres, focusing on her character Jessica Pearson as she adjusts to the dirty world of Chicago politics. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actresses Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew are leaving Grey’s Anatomy at the end of the show’s current, 14th season. (Variety)

Actor Dermot Mulroney will recur in the Amazon TV series Homecoming that will star his former big screen co-star Julia Roberts. The half-hour drama based on Gimlet Media’s fictional podcast is described as a psychological and political thriller, centering on Heidi, a caseworker at a secret government facility (Roberts) and a returning soldier (Stephan James from Shots Fired) eager to rejoin civilian life. Mulroney will play Anthony, the boyfriend to Heidi, who is eager to please but a bit needy. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actors Gil Birmingham (Wind River) and Denis Leary (Rescue Me) as well as actress Dichen Lachman (Altered Carbon) have landed recurring roles on TNT’s Animal Kingdom. Birmingham will play Pearce, an unflappable law enforcement officer with a dry sense of humor and more than 20 years on the job. Lachman will play Frankie, an edgy, free spirit who arrives at the Cody house with her partner, Billy (Leary). They’ve been living in a car up and down the West Coast. She seems innocent, but she’s dangerous. (Deadline)

Actor Bronson Pinchot (Perfect Strangers) has joined the cast of the untitled Riverdale spin-off based on Sabrina the Teenage Witch that will be coming to Netfllix. He will play George Hawthorne, the villainous, Puritanical principal of Baxter High, who regularly clashes with Sabrina and her friends. (TV Line)

Actor Alan Cumming (The Good Wife and the new CBS drama Instinct) will guest star in the new season of Doctor Who, which finds actress Jodie Whittaker (the original Broadchurch) taking over the lead role. Cumming will play King James I. (TV Line)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actress Mackenzie Davis (Halt and Catch Fire) is in negotiations to join the cast of the new Terminator movie that will find Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising their roles. Although plot details are being kept under wraps, the film will be a direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past week:

CASTING NEWS

Actor Denis Leary (Rescue Me) has landed a recurring role on Animal Kingdom where he will play Billy, Deran’s (Jake Weary) drifter dad whom Smurf (Ellen Barkin) kicked out years ago. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Legendary Patti LaBelle will recur on OWN’s Greenleaf as Maxine Patterson, a famous Christian motivational speaker and CEO of a global Christian self-help empire. She is an old friend of Mae (Lynn Whitfield) from college days. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

New cast members have been added to the second season of the Netflix drama Marvel’s The Punisher. Actor Josh Stewart (Shooter) and actress Floriana Lima (Supergirl) will play – respectively – John Pilgrim, a man whose calm exterior belies a ruthless interior, and Krista Dumont, a smart, compassionate, and driven psychotherapist for military veterans. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Mercedes Mason (Fear the Walking Dead) has landed a series regular role in the straight to series crime drama The Rookie that will star Nathan Fillion (Castle). She will play Capt. Zoe Andersen, John Nolan’s (Fillion) confident and irreverent commanding officer. (Deadline)

Actress Dana Delany (Body of Proof and China Beach) will guest star in an upcoming episode of Bull, playing AUSA (Assistant United States Attorney) Banner, a federal prosecutor who is bound and determined to imprison a young mother/physician who illegally purchased thousands of vials of marijuana-derived CBD oil to treat her patients in Virginia, where the oil is illegal. (TV Line)

Breakout actress Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) has landed a role alongside Elizabeth Olson (the Avengers franchise) in the Facebook watch series Sorry for Your Loss, a dark comedy that will explore the life of young widow Leigh Gibbs (Olsen) as she deals with the grief of losing her husband while reconnecting with relationships of her past. Tran will star as Jules, Leigh’s younger sister. (Variety)

Actor Brett Tucker (Mistresses) has landed a multi-episode arc in the upcoming ABC Grey’s Anatomy spin-off Station 19 that will follow a group of heroic firefighters. Tucker will play a character named Ripley, but no other character details have been revealed. (Deadline)

Actress Elena Kampouris (Before I Fall and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2) and actors Kevin Carroll (The Leftovers) and Ryan Robbins (Sanctuary) have been cast in lead roles in the half-hour drama Sacred Lies (the working title), a 10-episode series based on the classic Grimm Brothers tale The Handless Maiden and Stephanie Oakes’ novel The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly. The series is about a handless teen who escapes from a cult and finds herself in juvenile detention, suspected of knowing who killed her cult leader. Kampouris will play Minnow Bly, the lead character. Carroll will portray Dr. Wilson, Minnow’s mental health coordinator. And, Robbins will play Samuel Bly, Minnow’s father. (Deadline)

RENEWAL NEWS

The Magicians have been renewed for a fourth season by Syfy. (Variety)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actress Gemma Chan (Humans) will star alongside Brie Larson in the latest Marvel superhero movie Captain Marvel. Chan will play, Minn-Erva (aka Doctor Minerva) a Kree geneticist and spy. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past week:

CASTING NEWS

Netflix’s upcoming Sabrina the Teenage Witch series has cast another key character from the comic books as a lead opposite Kiernan Shipka. Miranda Otto (Homeland) has been tapped to play Zelda Spellman on the show. Also Actor Richard Coyle (Covert Affairs and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time) has been cast in the role of Father Blackwood, the High Priest of the Church of Night and Dean of the Academy of the Unseen Arts. (Deadline)

Actor Charles Michael Davis, who plays Zane Anders, has been promoted to series regular for the fifth season of the dramedy Younger on TV Land. (TV Line and The Futon Critic)

Actress April Bowlby (Drop Dead Diva) has been cast as Rita Farr, a.k.a. Elasti-Girl, on the upcoming series Titans. (Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Chris Johnson (47 Meters Down) has landed a recurring role in the upcoming second season of The Orville. (Deadline)

Actors Brandon Flynn (13 Reasons Why) and Michael Graziadei (Good Girls Revolt) will recur in the third season of the HBO crime anthology True Detective. Flynn will play Ryan Peters and Graziadei will portray Dan O’Brien. No further character information was provided. Also, actresses Sarah Gadon (Alias Grace) and Emily Nelson (Code Black) will also recur in the series. Gadon will play Elisa Montgomery and Nelson will portray Margaret. No additional character information has been provided for their characters either. The third season of the series tells the story of a macabre crime in the heart of the Ozarks, and a mystery that deepens over decades and plays out in three separate time periods. (Deadline)

Actress Mia Maestro (Alias and The Strain) and veteran actor Ronny Cox will both have recurring roles in Nashville on CMT when it returns for the rest of its final season in June. Maestro will play Rosa, a true-believer member of The Movement for Coherent Philosophy who is starting to doubt her involvement in the organization. Cox will play Deacon’s father, Gideon Claybourne. (TV Line)

Actor Robbie Amell will appear as Kevin the Freak in the second season of A Series of Unfortunate Events, which will air on Netflix started at the end of March. (Twitter)

Actress Alyssa Diaz (Ray Donovan) has landed a series regular role on the ABC light drama The Rookie – that stars Nathan Fillion in the lead role. She will play Angela, an LAPD Training Officer on the cusp of making detective-trainee. (Deadline)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past week:

RENEWALS

NBC has given Midnight, Texas a second season renewal. But, two cast members will not be returning. They are Sarah Ramos and Yul Vazquez. The hope is for them to appear as guest stars, reprising their characters. (Variety and Deadline)

NETWORK SCHEDULE

The CW is planning on launching a two-hour Sunday night primetime block of programming starting next fall season. (Variety)

CASTING NEWS

Actresses Michelle Gomez (Doctor Who) and Lucy Davis (Steve’s secretary Etta in Wonder Woman) have both been cast in the Netflix upcoming Sabrina the Teenage Witch series. Gomez will play Mary Wardell, Sabrina’s favorite teacher and mentor at Baxter High. Davis will play Hilda Spellman, one of Sabrina’s two witch aunts. (Variety and Deadline)

Actor Guy Pearce has joined the upcoming Netflix British supernatural teen series called The Innocents that will explore what happens when teenagers Harry (Percelle Ascott) and June (Sorcha Groundsell) run away from their repressive family lives to be together. They’re quickly thrown into an extraordinary journey of self-discovery that derails their innocent dream. Pearce will play Halvorson. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Damon Dayoub (Stitchers) has landed a multi-episode arc on Chicago Fire, playing Jake Cordova, a confident, rugged man’s man firefighter. (The Futon Critic and Deadline)

Actors Sullivan Stapleton (Blindspot) and Philip Winchester (Chicago Justice) will reprise their roles of Damien Scott and Michael Stonebridge in the new version of Strike Back. They will appear in the final two episodes this season. (The Futon Critic and Deadline)

Actors Richard T. Jones (Wisdom of the Crowd) and Titus Makin (Glee) have landed roles in the ABC drama The Rookie that stars Nathan Fillion in the lead role. Jones will play Sergeant Wade Grey, the station’s Watch Commander, who becomes a nemesis to Fillion’s 40 year-old rookie. Makin will play Officer Jackson West, an eager rookie whose father is a high-level commander in the LAPD. (The Futon Critic and Deadline)

Actress Jessica Szohr (Gossip Girl) has joined the cast of The Orville for its second season. (The Futon Critic and Twitter)

Veteran actress Betty Buckley (Eight Is Enough and Cats on Broadway) and actor Colin Cunningham (Falling Skies) have joined the cast of Preacher. Buckley will play Gran’ma, a spiritist with true powers, who can cast spells and even bring back the dead (for a price) while Cunningham will play TC, a man born of the bayou and the loyal caretaker and soldier for Gran’ma. (The Futon Critic and Deadline)

Actor Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) has landed a major recurring role on the 2nd season of Hulu’s The Handmaids’s Tale, playing Commander Joseph Lawrence, the architect of Gilead’s economy, who is gruff and intimidating, with a disheveled mad genius vibe. (Deadline)

Actor Bruno Bichir (Absentia) will star opposite Brenton Thwaites and Anna Diop in the new live-action series Titans, which is slated to premiere in 2018 as part of the inaugural slate of a new DC-branded direct-to-consumer digital service. Bichir will play 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)

Actress Alfre Woodard will recur on the FOX drama Empire, playing Renee, the estranged (and extremely formidable) mother of Cookie (Taraji P. Henson). (TV Line)

Actress Bella Heathcote (The Man in the High Castle) will star opposite Jack Reynor in the CBS All Access series Strange Angel, based on the George Pendle book of the same name. The series focuses on the real-life story of Jack Parsons (Reynor), exploring the dramatic intersection between genius and madness, science and science fiction. Heathcote will play Susan Parsons, Jack’s devoted and fiercely intelligent wife. (Deadline)

Actors Ray Fisher (Justice League) has joined the cast of the third season of the HBO crime series True Detective. Fisher will play Freddy Burns, Wayne’s (series lead Mahershala Ali) son. (Deadline)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actress Piper Perabo (Covert Affairs) will star opposite Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman in the third installment of the Olympus Has Fallen movie franchise: Angel Has Fallen, which follows Mike Banning (Butler) as he continues to be a target of terrorists, this time while mid-flight on Air Force One. (Deadline)

BROADWAY STAGE CASTING NEWS

Actress Katharine McPhee (Scorpion) will make her Broadway debut in April, taking over the lead role of Jenna in Waitress, the Tony-nominated musical based on the movie from Adrienne Shelley that is playing at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. (Deadline)

TRAILER

First-Ever Footage of Cobra Kai – The Karate Kid saga continues

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past week:

CASTING NEWS

Newcomer Murray Fraser and Parisa Fitz-Henley (Midnight, Texas and Jessica Jones) will portray Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle in the upcoming Lifetime movie Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance that will chronicle the courtship and love story. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Joel Kinnaman (Altered Carbon and The Killing) and actresses Mireille Enos (The Killing and Catch) and newcomer Esme Creed-Miles will star in the series adaptation of the action film Hanna that received a straight-to-series order at Amazon. The film follows the journey of a young girl with extraordinary skills as she evades the relentless pursuit of an off-book CIA agent and tries to unearth the truth behind who she is. Enos will play Marissa, an efficient and ruthless agent, having risen up the ranks of the CIA. However, beneath her cool exterior is a deeply buried secret that continues to haunt her. The reappearance of Hanna and her father Erik threaten to expose the past she has worked to repress. Kinnaman will play Erik, a hardened, intuitive and uncompromising soldier and mercenary, who, for the past 15 years, has raised his daughter in the remote forests of northern Poland. Isolated from the world he once knew, he has trained Hanna in every method of survival, with his only goal, to keep her safe. But, his teenage daughter begins to seek freedom from the restricted haven he has created. Creed-Miles will play the title character. (Variety)

Actor Eric Johnson (Smallville and 50 Shades franchise) will star in season six of the History Channel series Vikings, playing Erik, a formidable warrior who is an outlaw living on his wits and martial skills. (Press Release)

Actress Jaz Sinclair (The Vampire Diaries) will star opposite Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men) in the upcoming Netflix Sabrina-themed Riverdale spin-off. The series was picked up for two seasons. Sinclair will play Rosalind Walker, the brash, empowered and outspoken daughter of Greendale’s minister and Sabrina’s best friend at Baxter High. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actor Scott Speedman (Animal Kingdom) will appear in Grey’s Anatomy in a “top secret role.” (TV Guide)

Actress Megan Follows (Reign and Anne of Green Gables) will play Michelle, Wynonna’s “resurrected” birth mother. (Deadline and The Futon Critic)

Actress Kim Delaney (Army Wives) will appear in Chicago Fire, playing Jennifer Sheridan, mother of Kelly Severide (series regular Taylor Kinney). (Deadline)

Actress Mamie Gummer (The Good Wife) will appear in season three of HBO’s anthology drama True Detective, playing Lucy Purcell, a mother of two children who finds herself involved in a crime. (The Hollywood Reporter and TV Line)

Actor Eric Winter (Rosewood and Witches of East End) and actresses Afton Williamson (The Breaks and Banshee) and Melissa O’Neil (Dark Matter) will appear in the straight-to-series ABC drama The Rookie alongside Nathan Fillion (Castle and Firefly). Inspired by a true story, the series follows John Nolan (Fillion), the oldest rookie in the LAPD. Williamson will play Talia Bishop, a newly promoted training officer whose first assignment is Fillion’s 40-year-old rookie. Winter will play Tim Bradford, an overbearing training officer. O’Neil will play Lucy, a rookie cop in the LAPD who struggles with a domineering training officer and might be developing a budding romance with Nolan. (Variety and Deadline)

Actor Philip Winchester (Chicago Justice) has been promoted to series regular on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. While Raul Esparza will be exiting the series after 6 years. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Actress Elizabeth Olsen (Avengers franchise) will star in the 10-episode straight-to-series ½ hour Facebook dramedy tentatively titled Widow, which premise is not being revealed yet, but it’s believed that Olsen will be playing a young widow dealing with grief while reconnecting with relationships from her past. (Deadline)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actor Matt Smith (The Crown and Doctor Who) will play Charles Manson in the independent feature Charlie Says that will focus on the three young women who were sentenced to death following the 1969 murders that were ordered by Manson. After California abolished the death penalty, their sentences were commuted to life in prison. The film will follow their transformations as they face the reality of their crimes. (Variety)

CANCELLATION

Once Upon a Time will come to an end at the end of its current, seventh season on ABC. (Variety)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Here are the news items for the past week:

RENEWAL/CANCELLATION NEWS

Syfy has given the new series Happy a second season renewal. (The Futon Critic)

The Chi has been given a second season renewal by Showtime. (Variety)

Hulu has canceled the drama series “Shut Eye” after two seasons. (Variety)

While the Netflix streaming series A Series of Unfortunate Events will airs its second season online on March 30, the third season – which has yet to be given a return date – will be the final season. (The Hollywood Reporter)

CASTING NEWS

Suits will be back for an 8th season, but without actress Megan Markle, who – as everyone on the planet knows – is marrying Prince Harry in May and without actor Patrick J. Adams. Series creator Aaron Korsh will be back along with stars Gabriel Macht, Sarah Rafferty, Rick Hoffman and new series regular Dulé Hill. It was also announced that Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy) will be joining the show for its 8th season as Samantha Wheeler, a talented new partner at Pearson Specter Litt who challenges the status quo and will either become the firm’s greatest ally or most powerful enemy. (Variety)

Actress Tembi Locke (Eureka) has landed a recurring role on NCIS: Los Angeles, playing Leigha Winters, a powerful executive at an investment bank who assumes control after the death of the firm’s head. (Deadline)

Actor Jeff Pierre (Freeform’s Beyond) will play Prince Naveen opposite actress Mekia Cox, who has been playing Princess Tiana aka Sabine in Once Upon a Time. (Deadline)

Actress Shalita Grant will be exiting her series regular role of Sonja Percy on NCIS: New Orleans as of the April 3 episode. (Variety and The Futon Critic)

MOVIE CASTING NEWS

Actor Brandon Routh (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) will so-star in the live-action remake of Anastasia. Set in 1917, the family film follows Anastasia Romanov, who escapes through a portal when her family is threatened by Vladimir Lenin and finds herself in the year 1988, befriended by a young American girl. Emily Carey (she played young Diana in the box office film Wonder Woman) will play the title character and Amiah Miller (War for the Planet of the Apes) plays Megan. Routh will portray Czar Nicholas, the Czar of Russia and the father of Princess Anastasia. (Deadline)

Actor Robbie Jones (One Tree Hill and Necessary Roughness) will star in the Shaft sequel, which will also star past Shaft actors Samuel L. Jackson and Richard Roundtree. The film will also include Jessie T. Usher, Regina Hall, Alexandra Shipp, Cliff “Method Man” Smith and Matt Lauria. The film will follow John Shaft Jr. (a.k.a. JJ), a cyber security expert and FBI analyst who reluctantly enlists his estranged father to help to find out who killed his best friend Karim and bring down a drug-trafficking/money-laundering operation in NYC. (Deadline)

Tom Hanks will star in a biopic based on iconic Mister Rogers Neighborhood creator Fred Rogers, playing the lead role. (Deadline)

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