Hey All,
Here are the entertainment news items for this past week:
RENEWALS/CANCELLATIONS
ABC has pulled the plug on Doctor Odyssey after one season. (Entertainment Weekly)
Outlander: Blood of My Blood has been renewed for a second season before the debut season has even aired. (TV Line)
NBC has pulled the plug on Grosse Pointe Garden Society after one season. (TV Line)
Paramount+ has given MobLand a season two renewal. (TV Line)
Netflix has renewed Ransom Canyon for a second season. (The Hollywood Reporter)
TV CASTING NEWS
Sepideh Moafi (The L Word: Generation Q) has joined the cast of The Pitt for its second season on MAX. She will play an attending physician in emergency medicine. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Grantchester alum Tom Brittney has landed the co-lead opposite J.K. Simmons in the upcoming MGM+ series The Westies that will be set in the early 1980s when the construction of the Jacob Javitz Convention Center on the Westies’ home turf in Hell’s Kitchen promises a financial windfall for the Irish-American organized crime gang. Despite being outnumbered 50-to-1 by the Five Families of the Italian mafia, The Westies’ legendary brutality and cunning have given them the leverage necessary to share the spoils through a fragile détente. However, internal conflict between the brash younger generation and the old-school leadership threatens to set a match to this powder keg, which will sweep the Westies into the FBI’s ever-deepening investigation into the Italian mafia. Brittney will play James “Jimmy” Roarke, the fiercely loyal, streetwise leader of the younger generation of Westies, a rising Irish gangster mentored by Eamon Sweeney (Simmons), whose allegiances will be challenged as the Westies forge a partnership with the Gambino Crime Family. (Deadline)
Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Lift and Surface) and Richard Madden (Bodyguard and Eternals) have been set as the leads of the new Netflix drama series Trinity that will follow a heroic female naval officer who becomes involved with the outwardly charismatic Secretary of Defense, only to discover that he may be at the heart of a dangerous conspiracy. Mbatha-Raw will play Commander Katherine Decker. She serves as second-in-command on the USS Kansas, a nuclear submarine and one of the deadliest weapons on Earth. Madden will play Secretary of Defense Webb Preston. With a technology background that makes him different from most politicians, Webb’s innovation and purpose are seen as a threat in more ways than one. (Deadline)
Levi Miller (Kraven the Hunter), Jessica Madsen (Bridgerton) and relative newcomer Xavier Molyneux will star in the Amazon Prime series Bloodaxe, a historical drama series from Vikings creator Michael Hirst and his son, Horatio Hirst. The series will chronicle the rise of one of history’s most famous Viking warriors, Erik Bloodaxe (Molyneux), and his formidable wife, Gunnhild (Madsen), Mother of Kings. As they fight for the throne of Norway, the land is torn apart by fierce rivals, shifting loyalties and bloody betrayals. With war looming and chaos consuming the kingdom, drawing in the ruthless kings of other Scandinavian countries and even a powerful English ruler, the stage is set for a thundering new Viking saga. And, Miller will play Haakon the Good, the younger half-brother of Viking Erik Bloodaxe. (Deadline)
Brandon Larracuente (On Call and the Party of Five reboot) has joined the cast of Chicago Fire as a series regular, but there are no details on what role he will play. (Variety)
Meanwhile, over on Chicago P.D., Toya Turner, will not return for the show’s upcoming 13th season. (Deadline and TV Line)
Leo Woodall (One Day and Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy) will star in the new Netflix limited series Vladimir, playing the titular character opposite Rachel Weisz. The series focuses on a woman’s (Weisz) life as it unravels and she becomes obsessed with her captivating new colleague (Woodall). (Deadline)
As for season 4 of Reacher, Christopher Rodriguez-Marquette (Barry) will take over the role of Jacob Merrick, a small-town policeman, from Jay Baurchel, who had to exit the series. (Deadline)
Steve Howey (Shameless) has joined the cast of High Potential for its much-anticipated second season, playing the precinct’s new captain Jesse Wagner, a savvy political animal who knows how to wear an expensive suit and oozes effortless charm. (Deadline)
BOX OFFICE MOVIE CASTING NEWS
Daisy Edgar-Jones (Twisters and Where the Crawdads Sing) has joined the cast of the Sense and Sensibility remake. She’ll play Elinor Dashwood in the legendary story of the two sisters, who navigate love, loss and financial uncertainty as they are forced to leave their family estate in Sussex. The role of Marianne Dashwood has yet to be announced. (Variety)
Alexander Ludwig (Vikings and Heels) has joined the cast of the upcoming thriller Unabom that will follow Ted Kaczynski’s (Jacob Tremblay) transformation from Harvard prodigy into the infamous Unabomber, who carried out a nationwide bombing campaign in the U.S. from 1978-95, killing three people and injuring 23. Subjected to controversial psychological experiments by Professor Henry Murray (Russell Crowe), Kaczynski’s troubled past resurfaces decades later when his manhunt, led by FBI agent Joanne Miller (Shailene Woodley), brings to light the chilling consequences of ambition and isolation. There are no details on who he will play, though. (Deadline)
That’s it. Enjoy!
Rueben's Ramblings 