Hey All,
Here are the news items for this past week:
RENEWALS
NBC has given season renewals to all three shows in the Law & Order franchise EXCEPT Organized Crime will have a shorter season than the other two shows. Also the network has renewed Chicago Fire, Chicago Med and Chicago P.D. (TV Line)
Syfy has given a second season renewal to the sci-fi series The Ark. (Variety)
NEW SERIES ORDER
The Duffer Brothers are expanding the Stranger Things world with a series order being given to an as-yet-untitled animated show set in that universe as well as a stage prequel titled The First Shadow that will be unveiled in London’s West End later this year. (TV Line)
HBO has given a greenlight to another Game of Thrones prequel. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight will be based on George R.R. Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas. The series will be set a century before the events of Game of Thrones, following two unlikely heroes who wandered Westeros: the young, naive but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall” (aka Dunk) “and his diminutive squire, Egg. (TV Line)
The combined HBO Max and Discovery+ will now be known as Max (yep, you read that right); and a new series based on the Harry Potter novels has been officially ordered. It will be a “faithful adaptation” of each of the seven books in the franchise. At this point, it is unknown if this adaptation will equate to 10 seasons or simply follow a 10-year lifespan for the series. (TV Line)
TV CASTING NEWS
Blue Bloods viewers will see two familiar faces returning to the long-running series. Jennifer Esposito will be back as Jackie Curatola, Danny’s old partner and Sami Gayle will be back as Nicky Reagan-Boyle. (TV Line)
Kelli Giddish will be back as Amanda Rollins on Law & Order: SVU for the show’s upcoming season finale as well as in the penultimate episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime. (TV Line)
The animated series Creature Commandos, which will premiere in 2024 as the first title in the new DC Universe (headed by James Gunn and Peter Safran) will include David Harbour, Indira Varma, Frank Grillo and Alan Tudyk [among others] as voices of Eric Frankenstein, the Bride of Frankenstein, Rick Flag Sr., and Doctor Phosphorus respectively. (Variety)
STREAMING SERVICE MOVIE NEWS
Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington will star in the Netflix feature film The Piano Lesson, which is an adaptation of the August Wilson play, reprising their roles from the highly successful Broadway revival. Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, the film will follow the lives of the Charles family, a household led by Doaker Charles (Jackson), and an heirloom, the family piano, which is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor. Washington will play Boy Willie, Doaker’s nephew, a role. (Variety)
BOX OFFICE NEWS
Billy Porter will portray author and civil rights activist James Baldwin in an upcoming biopic that will be adapted from the 1994 book by David Leeming, who will co-write the untitled movie with Porter. (Variety)
Buzz-about actress Mia Goth will star opposite Oscar winner Mahershala Ali in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Blade, but details on her role are being kept under wraps. (Variety)
It looks like Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) will be starring alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones (Where the Crawdads Sing) in the movie Twisters, the sequel to the 1996 Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt flick Twister. Plot details are being kept under wraps. (Variety)
That’s it. Enjoy!
Rueben's Ramblings 