News

Five-time Emmy nominee Connie Britton is set to play a suspected Phony, in a coming-of-age comedy pilot for Hulu.

The prospective mystery series follows Sonny, a teenager who wakes up in the hospital after a car accident to discover that his mom — his only parent, and his best friend — appears to have been replaced by an impostor.

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Deacon Phillippe has landed his first major movie role!

The 20-year-old son of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe has been cast in the upcoming movie 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, which will be lead by Liam Neeson and a star-studded cast of rising actors.

While Deacon previously made his acting debut as a guest star on Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, this will be his first feature film.

So, who else is in the movie?

Keep reading to find out more…

The cast will feature rising stars Talia Ryder, Noah Jupe, Whitney Peak, and Jack Dylan Grazer.

Deadline reports that 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank follows “ex-bank robber Danny (Neeson) whose teenage granddaughter Paige (Ryder) means the world to him. So when she overhears that his former gang is pulling him back in for one more score to pay a debt, she comes up with the only logical solution:...

Exclusive: New Line’s horror thriller Weapons has rounded out its cast with the addition of Benedict Wong (3 Body Problem), Amy Madigan (Antlers), Austin Abrams (Euphoria), and Cary Christopher (Days of Our Lives).

As previously announced, Josh Brolin, Julia Garner and Alden Ehrenreich will lead the cast.

Pic’s plot and all roles are under wraps. Written and directed by Zach Cregger, it marks his follow-up to Barbarian, the horror film marking his debut solo outing which opened #1 at the box office in 2022 and sits at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Starring Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, and Justin Long, that film grossed ten times its production budget of $4.5 million to ultimately take in more than $45 million worldwide.

Cregger will also produce Weapons alongside his Barbarian producing team, Roy Lee of Vertigo and J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules of BoulderLight Pictures, as well as Vertigo’s Miri Yoon.

Best known for his...

The ladies of And Just Like That… are about to be joined by another New Yorker who loves to talk. (We’re not sure how she feels about high heels, though.)

Rosie O’Donnell has joined the Season 3 cast of Max’s Sex and the City continuation, TVLine has confirmed. The actress and comedian first revealed the news on Instagram, sharing a photo of the season premiere script. The episode is titled “Outlook Good” and written and directed by showrunner Michael Patrick King, and O’Donnell revealed that her character’s name is Mary.

More from TVLineYoung Sheldon Welcomes Octavia Spencer, 16 Years...

A couple days ago, Neon announced that they will be releasing the horror film Cuckoo, which stars Hunter Schafer (Euphoria), in just a few months, on May 3rd. Now Deadline reports that Schafer has signed on to star in another genre project, the psychological horror thriller Palette, where she’ll be sharing the screen with Noomi Rapace (Prometheus).

The screenplay for Palette landed on the Black List last year, the Black List being an annual survey of the most-liked screenplays that are bouncing around in the system but haven’t been produced yet. Now this one is going into production with writer Zach Strauss at the helm. This will be the first feature directing credit for Strauss, who has also written Spike Lee’s upcoming film Da Understudy and episodes of the Frankie Shaw Showtime series Smilf.

Palette will see Schafer taking on the role of Dolly, a woman suffering from extreme synesthesia,...

Hunter Schafer and Noomi Rapace are set to star in Zach Strauss’ debut feature Palette with Anton launching world sales on the title at Berlin’s European Film Market (February 15-21).

Schafer, best known for Euphoria, will play a woman who suffers from a condition where she hears colours and becomes entangled in the underbelly of the colour design industry. Frankie Shaw also stars.

Palette is produced by Anton alongside Ryan Christians with Strauss and Frankie Shaw for Uncle Pete Productions. CAA Media Finance and Verve Ventures will co-rep US rights with Anton.

Strauss is best known as the creator...

Hunter Schafer and Noomi Rapace will star in “Palette,” a psychological horror film directed by Zach Strauss (“Smilf”) in his feature debut.

Strauss penned the script for “Palette,” which was featured on the 2023 Black List. He is also a writer on Spike Lee’s upcoming feature “Da Understudy.”

“Palette” follows Dolly (Schafer), “a woman suffering from extreme synesthesia, a rare condition where she is able to hear colors,” according to the film’s synopsis. She is soon “recruited into a secretive, cult-like industry of color design, uncovering the dark reality of what it takes to make the world’s greatest hues.”

Rapace is set to play Latrice, the company’s enigmatic executive. Frankie Shaw is also in the cast as Sidney, Dolly’s cutthroat rival.

Schafer is starring in another horror film, Tilman Singer’s “Cuckoo,” which is set to have its world premiere at Berlin Film Festival this month.

Hunter Schafer (Euphoria) and Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) are set to star in upcoming psychological horror thriller Palette.

The production marks the feature directorial debut of writer-director Zach Strauss who also wrote its 2023 Black List screenplay, with other recent screenwriting credits including Spike Lee’s upcoming film Da Understudy and episodes of Frankie Shaw’s Showtime series Smilf.

Anton will rollout sales on the package at the EFM at the Berlinale, which Schafer will be attending this year for the Special Gala premiere of upcoming Neon film Cuckoo, having also recently come off the set of David Lowery’s Mother Mary and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness.

In Palette, Schafer stars as Dolly, a woman suffering from extreme synesthesia, a rare condition through which she is able to hear colors.

She is recruited into a secretive, cult-like industry of color design, where she discovers the dark...

ABC Signature veteran Tracy Underwood has been elevated to President of the Disney Television Studios division. Underwood, most recently EVP of creative affairs for ABC Signature, is taking over the top post vacated by Jonnie Davis in July.

In her new position, Underwood will add oversight of current series to her current role overseeing development of drama, comedy and limited series, which will not be backfilled. Sydnee Rimes, SVP of Series and head of ABC Signature’s current series team, will now report into Underwood; Susan Lewis, SVP of Drama Development, and Danny Feldheim, SVP of Comedy Development, will continue to report into her.

Underwood’s promotion caps a lengthy search for Davis’ successor led by Eric Schrier, President of Disney Television Studios and Global Original TV Strategy for Disney Entertainment, to whom she will report. Outside candidates were considered, with Underwood emerging as the leading candidate by October.

While streamlining its content leadership,...

Exclusive: Vertical has acquired North American rights for Lola, written, directed by, and starring Nicola Peltz Beckham (Transformers: Age of Extinction). Marking Peltz Beckham’s directorial debut, the film also stars Virginia Madsen (Sideways), Trevor Long (Ozark), Luke David Blumm (Where the Crawdads Sing), Raven Goodwin (Smilf), Richie Merritt (Euphoria), and Will Peltz (The List).

Vertical has slated the film for a day & date release on February 9, 2024.

Set in 2002 Middle America, Lola revolves around nineteen-year-old Lola James (Peltz Beckham) who is desperately working to save enough money to get her little brother, Arlo (Luke David Blumm), out of their toxic home dominated by their mother, Mona (Madsen). All Lola wants is for Arlo to have a chance at the life she never had, nor will. One tragic night her whole world gets uprooted, and from that moment on, nothing will ever be the same.

Filmmaker and star Peltz Beckham stated,...

“UnPrisoned,” an Onyx Collective dramedy executive produced by and starring Kerry Washington, has been renewed for a second season at Hulu.

The series, whose writers’ room for Season 2 is already up and running, follows a messy but perfectionist relationship therapist and single mom whose life is turned right-side-up when her dad gets out of prison and moves in with her and her teenage son.

The series is created by Tracy McMillan and inspired by her life. McMillan, Washington, Delroy Lindo, Yvette Lee Bowser, Joy Gorman Wettels and Jen Braeden and Simpson Street’s Pilar Savone executive produce. In addition to Washington and Lindo, the show’s cast includes Marque Richardson, Faly Rakotohavana and Jordyn McIntosh.

The move comes as Washington has reupped her overall deal with ABC Signature, a part of Disney Television Studios. The exclusive 3-year-pact will see her continue to produce broadcast, cable and streaming projects through her Simpson Street banner,...

Exclusive: Writer, director and comedian Rochée Jeffrey has signed with Independent Artist Group for representation.

A writer on Showtime’s Golden Globe-nominated comedy series Smilf, as well as Hulu’s Woke, BET+’s Bigger and Freeform’s Grown-ish, Jeffrey additionally served as a co-executive producer on the latter.

Boasting multiple TV projects in development at Netflix with Imagine, Roc Nation, and Tomorrow Studios, she most recently co-created, co-wrote and directed the Audible narrative podcast series Yes We Cannabis. Sam Richardson, Method Man, and Tichina Arnold star in the series, launched back in August, which is produced by Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video.

A graduate of the 2022 WGA Showrunner Training Program, Jeffrey has also completed fellowships with Sundance, Women In Film, Film Independent, and the Viacom Emerging Directors Program. Among her upcoming projects is Not Your Average Queen, her first feature as a director, which will be produced by Valerie Steinberg. Killer Films,...

Peter Chernin’s North Road Company has hired Amy Israel in the role of president of television.

Israel was most recently the head of scripted for Showtime, though it was announced in September she would be stepping down from that role by year’s end. In her new role, Israel will oversee all of North Road’s scripted television development and production. The role reunites her with fellow Showtime alum David Nevins, who currently serves as North Road’s CEO and to whom Israel will report.

“Amy is among the best in the business, the driving force behind a long list of the most impactful shows in our time,” Nevins said. “I know first-hand the value of her unique combination of creative leadership and producorial drive, and I am fully confident she will make a fantastic addition to North Road’s leadership and the ongoing expansion of our industry-leading content portfolio.

Crank up the witch house and start peeling those grapes for the eyeball bowl, because the spookiest month of the year is once again upon us! All roads lead to Halloween in the month of October, including the zombie-prowling highways and byways of Film Independent Fiscal Sponsorship.

Of course, horror and short films go together like peanut butter and mini Reese’s cups, which is why were turning this month’s #FiSpo column over to three concise, high-concept chillers that are sure to send a shiver down your spine—and perhaps bring up a salient social point or two, as horror so often does.

As always, these films are being supported by Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program, enabling filmmakers to solicit tax-deductible donations and organizational grants in partnership with Film Independent. Here’s how:

This month’s Fiscal Spotlight projects are The Flacalta Effect, Hive and Burnout. Learn more...

Exclusive: Amy Israel, the respected Showtime Scripted chief, might be headed to Peter Chernin’s The North Road Company.

There is increased speculation that Israel, whose departure from Showtime after 12 years was just announced at the Paramount Global network, may be reuniting with her former boss, David Nevins, who joined The North Road in July as CEO.

Israel, who has an extensive background in both TV and film, has been in talks with North Road, I hear, but sources stressed that there is no deal in place. A rep for The North Road Company declined comment.

Israel joined Showtime Networks in 2011 as SVP, Original Programming and most recently served as EVP, Scripted Programming, overseeing for the development and creative oversight of original scripted series, including drama, comedy and limited series. She was the highest-level Showtime content executive to remain in her role following the major restructuring earlier this year when...

Amy Israel, the head of scripted at Showtime, is stepping down, Variety has learned.

Israel’s formal title is executive vice president of global programming. She will remain with Showtime through the end of the year in a transitional role. The announcement of her departure was made by Paramount’s Chris McCarthy and Nina L. Diaz.

“For the past 12 years, Amy has been an integral part of the creative team and the driving force behind some of Showtime’s most iconic franchises,” McCarthy and Diaz wrote in a memo to their staff. “From the beloved ‘Billions’ to the bold hit ‘Yellowjackets,’ Amy’s love for mentoring staff as well as her ability to nurture and foster talent toward realizing their vision is nothing short of inspiring. Her instrumental role in bringing upcoming, fresh and groundbreaking series like ‘The Curse’ and ‘Fellow Travelers’ to life is a testament to her unwavering dedication and devotion.

There’s more change at Showtime.

Amy Israel, who has been with the brand for more than 10 years, is the latest executive to leave.

Israel, who was most recently EVP, Original Programming, Global Scripted, has been responsible for series such as Billions, Smilf, The Affair, Masters of Sex and Black Monday as well as more recent projects such as Yellowjackets, Halo, The Curse and Fellow Travelers.

Her departure comes a few months after the departure of David Nevins and Jana Winograde and a new role for Gary Levine. Other execs who left included Vinnie Malhotra, Michael Crotty, Rob Rosenberg and Kent Sevener as part of a new leadership team under Nina Diaz that included Keith Cox as President of Scripted.

It comes after Showtime was merged with MTV Entertainment Studios under Chris McCarthy and it was rebranded Paramount+ with Showtime.

See note from Diaz and McCarthy below.

Team,

We have...

Exclusive: Netflix’s highly-anticipated adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s best-selling novel The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo looks to have found a director as sources tell Deadline, Leslye Headland is on board to helm. Liz Tigelaar penned the script with Liza Chasin producing for 3Dot Productions while Brad Mendelsohn will produce for Circle of Confusion. Jenkins Reid and Margaret Chernin will exec produce.

The book, which has spent 100 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller Paperback, six years after publishing, and has turned into a TikTok book phenomenon before Netflix landed the rights. The story is set during a long awaited interview with a young journalist, where Evelyn Hugo, an aging Hollywood starlet, pulls back the curtain on her seven marriages, and as she tells tales of Hollywood scandals, betrayals, and woe, she unveils shocking truths about her own life and the lives of everyone around her.

The project...

Stand-up comic. Talk show innovator. The View firebrand. Betty Rubble. There’s very little Rosie O’Donnell, 61, has left to accomplish in her singular career. From the moment she broke out of Long Island with a performance on Star Search in 1984, O’Donnell has proved a highly resilient, sometimes confrontational and always entertaining force. She’s also among the most fiercely outspoken advocates of LGBTQ+ causes in Hollywood. (She launched her own gay family cruise line, for heaven’s sake.) Then, as the country’s far right kicks up its attacks on queer people and their art forms, who better than O’Donnell, the original Donald Trump adversary and Broadway’s biggest cheerleader, to celebrate in The Hollywood Reporter‘s 2023 tribute to Pride?

THR sat down with the actor (American Gigolo, Smilf) and podcaster (iHeart’s Onward With Rosie O’Donnell) at a seaside restaurant near her home in Malibu — she moved...

Sleepless in Seattle is a romantic comedy-drama that captured hearts worldwide in 1993. The movie starred Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as the lead characters, Sam and Annie. However, a young yet pivotal character stole the show and left a lasting impression on viewers. This character was none other than Jonah Baldwin, Sam’s son, played by Ross Malinger.

The star was only 9 years old when he appeared in the movie, but his acting skills were remarkable. Despite the success of Sleepless in Seattle, Ross Malinger ultimately decided to leave acting behind. Today, Malinger is a car salesman living away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.

Ross Malinger began his acting career in the early ’90s Ross Malinger | CBS Photo Archive/Contributor

Malinger made his acting debut at 6, starring as Elliot Brody on Beverly Hills, 90210. He followed that up with his role as Harvey in Kindergarten Cop with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Netflix has ordered its first ever pilot. The streaming giant, which has typically opted to order projects straight to series, has greenlit a pilot for the single-camera comedy “Little Sky,” Variety has confirmed.

Samara Weaving is attached to star in the pilot, which hails from creator Rightor Doyle.

According to an invidual with knowledge of the situation, Netflix does not plan to shift to the traditional broadcast model of ordering multiple pilots and comparing them for potential series orders. The “Little Sky” pilot is the only one planned at present.

Nevertheless, the fact that Netflix is willing to order a pilot is significant. The streamer has heavily influenced broadcast networks and other outlets in recent years into using a script-to-series model and mini rooms, the latter of which are a sticking point in the current WGA negotiations. To that point, the number of pilots ordered at the major broadcast networks...

Take a look at new images of actress Samara Weaving ("Chevalier"), posing for the April 2023 issue of "Marie Claire" (Australia) magazine, photographed by David Roemer:

Weaving began her acting career playing 'Kirsten Mulroney' on the Australian drama series "Out of the Blue" (2008). She then played 'Indi Walker' on the soap opera "Home and Away" (2009–2013).

In the US, Weaving starred in the first season of the series "Ash vs Evil Dead" (2015–2016) and becoming a series regular on "Smilf".

She starred in the features "Mayhem" (2017), "The Babysitter" (2017), "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (2017) and "Ready or Not", followed by starring roles in TV miniseries "Picnic at Hanging Rock" (2018), "Hollywood" (2020) and "Nine Perfect Strangers" (2021).

Weaving also had roles in the features "Guns Akimbo" (2019), "Last Moment of Clarity" (2020), "The Babysitter: Killer Queen" (2020), "Bill & Ted Face the Music" (2020) and "Scream VI" (2023).

Click the images to enlarge...

“Creed 3” star Jonathan Majors is set to star in and produce “Da Understudy” from Westbrook Studios, now in development at Amazon Studios.

Spike Lee is in early talks to direct, according to an insider with knowledge of the project.

Majors will produce the feature under his Tall Street Productions umbrella. Amazon Studios landed the script on spec in a competitive situation.

Also Read:

Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor Group Invested in Elon Musk’s Twitter 2.0

Tom Hanada, Zach Strauss (“Smilf”) and Tyler Cole wrote the screenplay, which is based on an original story by Cole that was developed in-house by Westbrook.

“Da Understudy” tells the story of life imitating art when the understudy of a Broadway production finds a role he’s willing to kill for.

The news comes on the heels of the massive, record-breaking weekend for “Creed 3,” which became the biggest opening for a sports film in...

Take a look at Australian actress Samara Weaving (“The Valet”) posing for "Harper’s Bazaar" magazine:

Weaving’s first major role was in the series “Out of the Blue (2008). She then came to prominence with her portrayal of ‘Indi Walker’ on the soap opera “Home and Away” (2009-2013).

Weaving starred on the first season of series “Ash vs Evil Dead” (2015–2016) before becoming a series regular on “Smilf” in 2017.

She then starred in the features “Mayhem” and “The Babysitter”, plus a supporting role in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”.

In 2019, Weaving starred in the feature, “Ready or Not”, her first lead role in a theatrical American film.

Weaving has since alternated between film and television, appearing in the miniseries “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (2018), “Hollywood” (2020), and “Nine Perfect Strangers” (2021).

Her film roles also include “Guns Akimbo” (2019), “Last Moment of Clarity” (2020)…

… and “Bill & Ted Face the Music” (2020) and currently stars in “The Valet...

Fans of HBO Max’s “Julia” were boiling mad when the delicious series about the legendary Julia Child’s early days of television stardom failed to earn a single Emmy nomination over the summer. But with Golden Globes nominations less than a week away, some hope is beginning to simmer again for its captivating star Sarah Lancashire, who could rightly nab her first ever bid for her transformative and utterly charming performance.

According to our current combined odds, Lancashire will just make the cut in the TV comedy actress race, rounding out a category that we anticipate will feature returning champion Jean Smart (“Hacks”), Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”), Selena Gomez (“Only Murders in the Building”) and past winner Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”).

Watch our exclusive video interview with ‘Julia’ actor David Hyde Pierce

Lancashire’s egregious Emmy snub notwithstanding, the Golden Globes have long loved to forge their...

Exclusive: AMC is developing Queen of the Jungle, a Latinx family drama created and executive produced by Michal Zebede with Oscar-nominated Michael London executive producing via his Groundswell Productions banner. The project is in the works for AMC and its sister streamer AMC+.

The series follows the estranged granddaughter of the Cortez family, which has the largest eco-luxury hotel real estate empire in Costa Rica. When her grandfather dies, she pulls the thread that unravels her family’s dark past, as descendants and rivals fight to the death for control of the lucrative Cortez empire. Queen of the Jungle tackles themes of power, machismo, greed, family betrayal, Latin American classism, ancestral wounds, and modern colonialism.

“At a time when our world is in crisis, Queen of the Jungle offers the escapism we all crave, while addressing through the microcosm of one family the...

Here is a wrap-up of all the news you need to know from Thursday, October 13, 2022.

Disney+ is rounding out the cast of its Percy Jackson and the Olympians series with three new additions.

Adam Copeland (WWE Hall of Famer), Jessica Parker Kennedy (The Flash), and Susan Cryer (Silicon Valley) have all joined the cast, according to Variety.

Copeland plays Ares, described as “handsome in a wicked way, and arrogant, despite not always being the sharpest tool in the shed.”

Parker Kennedy plays Medusa in a guest-starring capacity.

Medusa has been "wronged by the dogs" and loves a bitter life away from society, until travelers find her place.

Cryer is set to play Echidna, who is the Mother of Monsters.

"‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ tells the fantastical story of a 12-year-old modern demigod, Percy Jackson, who’s just coming to terms with his newfound divine powers when the sky god...

Click here to read the full article.

FX’s Fargo has filled out its regular cast for season five and is set to begin production.

The anthology series from creator, showrunner and director Noah Hawley has added David Rysdahl, Sam Spruell, Jessica Pohly and Nick Gomez to its ensemble. They join the previously cast Juno Temple, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Lamorne Morris, Joe Keery and Richa Moorjani.

Production on the season is slated to begin Monday; a premiere date hasn’t been set.

FX Networks chairman John Landgraf told The Hollywood Reporter in August that the coming season is “particularly comedic” and said that Ted Lasso star Temple’s character is “a housewife with a secret and is surprisingly capable.”

The season five logline is typically enigmatic, reading: “When is a kidnapping not a kidnapping, and what if your wife isn’t yours?” The story is set in 2019, in...

Charmaine Bingwa (The Good Fight) & Nkeki Obi-Melekwe (Tina -The Tina Turner Musical) are set as series regulars opposite Charles Babalola in Showtime’s King Shaka, (fka Shaka: King of the Zulu Nation), executive produced by Antoine Fuqua. Tony Kgoroge (Invictus), Sindi Dlatu (The River) and Bahle Hadebe (Bone of My Bones) also have been cast in recurring roles in the series from writers Olu Odebunmi and Tolu Awosika, Propagate, Fuqua Films and CBS Studios.

Rooted in actual events, King Shaka tells the story of the Zulu Empire founder Shaka (Babalola) and his unlikely rise to power, uniting multiple tribes across vast stretches of southern Africa in the early 19th century to transform his power into legend, on par with history’s most seminal figures. The outcast son of a Zulu Chief, Shaka is a visionary who is prophesied to become a king like none before him. In ferocious battles that test the body and soul,...

Rosie O’Donnell explained the hurt feelings that led her to never appear on Ellen Degeneres’ eponymous daytime talk show for its entire run on a recent Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen interview.

O’Donnell was responding to a fan question who noted that Ellen had appeared on her show, but the reverse never occurred.

The retelling of this story included a funny impression of the late Larry King, because DeGeneres’ comments that rubbed her the wrong way took place on that show.

“Whatever happened to Rosie O’Donnell, her show went down the tubes! She came out as a lesbian and disappeared!” O’Donnell said as King.

“And Ellen said, and I’m quoting, ‘I don’t know Rosie, we’re not friends,'” O’ Donnell said. “And I was in bed with Kelly, and I just went, ‘Did I just hear that?'” She said she, “Never really got over it,...

Michael London and his Groundswell Productions banner have entered into a multi-year first-look deal with Lionsgate Television.

Under the terms of the deal, Groundswell will develop premium scripted shows for Lionsgate across all platforms. One project already in development as part of the deal is a limited series about the scandals surrounding former Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr, based on a Vanity Fair article by Gabriel Sherman. Sherman is adapting his article for the screen and will executive produce along with London and Groundswell’s president of production, Shannon Gaulding.

“There’s nothing better than having creative partners who are truly creative, as well as collaborative and smart,” London said. “The Lionsgate team is all of those things and more. Shannon Gaulding and I are excited to jump into this new venture focusing on the kind of smart, singular, and entertaining television that both companies stand for.”

Groundswell is...

Click here to read the full article.

Producer Michael London has signed a first-look deal with Lionsgate TV, and his first project at the studio is a high-profile one.

London (FX’s Snowfall, Sideways, Milk) and Shannon Gaulding, president of production at the former’s Groundswell Productions, are developing a limited series about the rise and fall of Jerry Falwell Jr., the former president of Liberty University and son of the prominent evangelist and conservative activist. Lionsgate has optioned Gabriel Sherman’s Vanity Fair profile of Falwell, which he’ll adapt for TV.

The multiyear deal will also have London and Groundswell developing other scripted series for Lionsgate.

“There’s nothing better than having creative partners who are truly creative, as well as collaborative and smart,” London said in a statement. “The Lionsgate team is all of those things and more. Shannon Gaulding and I are excited to jump into...

Rosie O’Donnell revealed why she’d never been on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in its 20-year run as she chatted to Andy Cohen on Thursday’s “Watch What Happens Live”.

O’Donnell explained that she and DeGeneres “had a little bit of a weird thing.”

DeGeneres had gone on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” back in 1996, where she revealed her character was going to come out as “Lebanese,” months before she famously came out as gay on her “Ellen” sitcom.

Read More: Rosie O’Donnell Reveals She Turned Down A Woody Allen Movie Due To Abuse Allegations: ‘F**k No’

O’Donnell told Cohen, “After my show went off the air, and her’s was coming on the air, Larry King was on with Ellen and he said, ‘Whatever happened to Rosie O’Donnell? Her show went down the tubes. She came out as a lesbian and disappeared.’ And Ellen said,...

Exclusive: Netflix has rounded out its series regular cast for Obliterated, its hourlong action comedy series from Cobra Kai creators Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh Heald as production gets underway. Terrence Terrell (B Positive), Alyson Gorske (Head of the Class), C. Thomas Howell (Southland), Eugene Kim (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Paola Lázaro (The Walking Dead) and Amalia Yoo (Grand Army) have been cast opposite Nick Zano and Shelley Hennig in the series produced by Sony Pictures Television.

Written by Hurwitz, Schlossberg and Heald, the eight-episode Obliterated is a high-octane action-comedy that tells the story of an elite Special Forces team who thwarts a deadly threat to Las Vegas. After their celebratory party, filled with booze, drugs and sex, the team discovers that a bomb they deactivated was a fake. The now-intoxicated team has to fight through their impairments, overcome their personal issues, find the real bomb and save the world.

Gorske plays Lana,...

Take a look at new images of Australian actress Samara Weaving (“The Valet”) posing for "Harper’s Bazaar" magazine:

Weaving’s first major role was in the series “Out of the Blue (2008). She then came to prominence with her portrayal of ‘Indi Walker’ on the soap opera “Home and Away” (2009-2013).

Weaving starred on the first season of series “Ash vs Evil Dead” (2015–2016) before becoming a series regular on “Smilf” in 2017.

She then starred in the features “Mayhem” and “The Babysitter”, plus a supporting role in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”.

In 2019, Weaving starred in the feature, “Ready or Not”, her first lead role in a theatrical American film.

Weaving has since alternated between film and television, appearing in the miniseries “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (2018), “Hollywood” (2020), and “Nine Perfect Strangers” (2021).

Her film roles also include “Guns Akimbo” (2019), “Last Moment of Clarity” (2020)…

… and “Bill & Ted Face the Music” (2020) and currently...

Take a look at new images of Australian actress Samara Weaving (“The Valet”) posing for "Harper’s Bazaar" magazine:

Weaving’s first major role was in the series “Out of the Blue (2008). She then came to prominence with her portrayal of ‘Indi Walker’ on the soap opera “Home and Away” (2009-2013).

Weaving starred on the first season of series “Ash vs Evil Dead” (2015–2016) before becoming a series regular on “Smilf” in 2017.

She then starred in the features “Mayhem” and “The Babysitter”, plus a supporting role in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”.

In 2019, Weaving starred in the feature, “Ready or Not”, her first lead role in a theatrical American film.

Weaving has since alternated between film and television, appearing in the miniseries “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (2018), “Hollywood” (2020), and “Nine Perfect Strangers” (2021).

Her film roles also include “Guns Akimbo” (2019), “Last Moment of Clarity” (2020)…

… and “Bill & Ted Face the Music” (2020) and currently...

FBI: Most Wanted fans will have to say goodbye to another beloved cast member.

Deadline is reporting that Miguel Gomez will not return for FBI: Most Wanted Season 4.

While details are scarce about the exit, the outlet says it is "believed to be a creative decision."

Gomez joined FBI: Most Wanted during its second season as Special Agent Ivan Ortiz.

He was drafted in to fill the void left by Nathaniel Arcand, who exited the CBS procedural.

It sounds like fans have already seen the last of Ivan, with the character leaving the Fugitive Task Force to return to L.A. to look after his sick father.

This is just the latest in a long line of casting changes for the series, which this year said goodbye to Julian McMahon as Jess Lacroix.

Earlier in the third season, Kellan Lutz departed the series as Special Agent Kenny Crosby.

However, the...

Exclusive: Miguel Gomez will not be returning to FBI: Most Wanted when the crime drama series is back for a fourth season next fall. Gomez, who joined the FBI spinoff as a series regular midway through Season 2, playing Special Agent Ivan Ortiz, is leaving the series. His departure is believed to be a creative decision.

The recent Season 3 finale provided a suitable ending to the arc of Ortiz, a former LAPD Gang Unit officer born and raised in Los Angeles who, after a stint with the FBI’s counter-terror unit in Washington, DC, joined the team that tracks down the country’s most wanted fugitives. In the finale, which aired last week, Ortiz returned to Los Angeles to take care of his ailing father.

FBI: Most Wanted underwent a major casting change this season when original lead Julian McMahon exited and was succeeded by Dylan McDermott playing a new character.

Not every TV series gets the kind of warm reception that Apple TV+ series “Severance” received upon its release.

The series which just concluded its first season has a 98 critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an average audience score of 93 — very impressive statistics. Fans are raving about this one and if you haven’t seen “Severance” then you’re missing out.

This article discusses the cast, characters, and the latest updates about “Severance” season two — as well as what to expect.

Where can you watch Severance?

All episodes of “Severance” are available for streaming on Apple TV+ — Apple’s exclusive streaming service. Signup and access Apple TV+ on the Apple TV app, which is unsurprisingly available to Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Mac computer users, and select third-party devices.

What is Severance about?

The series revolves around a mysterious company — Lumon Industries — which makes employees working on certain restricted projects undergo a severance procedure.

Take a look at new images of Australian actress Samara Weaving (“The Valet”) posing for the latest international fashion magazines, including “Harper’s Bazaar” and a whole lot more:

Weaving’s first major role was in the series “Out of the Blue (2008). She then came to prominence with her portrayal of ‘Indi Walker’ on the soap opera “Home and Away” (2009-2013).

Weaving starred on the first season of series “Ash vs Evil Dead” (2015–2016) before becoming a series regular on “Smilf” in 2017.

She then starred in the features “Mayhem” and “The Babysitter”, plus a supporting role in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”.

In 2019, Weaving starred in the feature, “Ready or Not”, her first lead role in a theatrical American film.

Weaving has since alternated between film and television, appearing in the miniseries “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (2018), “Hollywood” (2020), and “Nine Perfect Strangers” (2021).

Her film roles also include “Guns Akimbo” (2019), “Last Moment of Clarity...

Six top TV costume designers will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022 Emmy Awards contenders. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Wednesday, May 25, at 4:00 p.m. Pt; 6:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Daniel Montgomery and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.

RSVP today to our entire ongoing Emmy contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.

This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2022 contenders:

Black-ish (ABC)

Synopsis: A couple struggles to gain a sense of cultural identity while raising kids in a predominantly white, upper-middle-class neighborhood.

Bio: Michelle R. Cole was an eight-time Emmy nominee for “Black-ish” and “In Living Color.” Other projects have included “Martin,...

Kevin Bacon (City on a Hill) and Farrah Mackenzie (United States of Al) have signed on for roles in Sam Esmail’s Netflix film Leave the World Behind, Deadline can confirm. They join a cast that also includes Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke and Myha’la Herrold, as previously announced.

Leave the World Behind is based on Rumaan Alam’s novel about a family vacation on Long Island that is interrupted by two strangers bearing news of a mysterious blackout. As the threat grows more imminent, both families must decide how best to survive the potential crisis, all while grappling with their own place in this collapsing world.

Esmail adapted the screenplay and is producing with Chad Hamilton through Esmail Corp, alongside Roberts, Lisa Gillan, and Marisa Yeres Gill for Red Om Films. Higher Ground’s Tonia Davis is exec producing alongside Alam, Danny Stillman and Esmail Corp’s Nick Krishnamurthy.

Exclusive: Peacock has put in development Pure, a one-hour drama based on Allen Salkin’s Vanity Fair article “The Runaway Vegan,” from Weimaraner Republic Pictures and Warner Bros. Television.

Written by Heather Regnier (Veronica Mars), Pure chronicles the rise and fall of the relationship between Sarma Melngailis and Anthony Strangis, two people who fulfilled each other’s desires to live in a world that existed outside of reality — which ultimately destroyed them. A tragic, twisted love story, doomed from the start.

The title of the series likely comes from Pure Food and Wine, Melngailis’ upscale New York City raw food restaurant, which made her famous. But falling under the influence of Strangis, who promised her everything, from financial prosperity to immortality for her and her dog if she obeyed him, Melngailis siphoned 2 million off her businesses and the two went on the run until they were arrested at a motel...

Exclusive: A limited scripted series exploring the rise and fall of Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr is in the works.

Lionsgate Television has optioned Gabriel Sherman’s Vanity Fair article on Falwell Jr with the journalist and The Loudest Voice in the Room author adapting and exec producing his story with Michael London and Shannon Gaulding of Snowfall producer Groundswell Productions.

The article, which was published last month, tells the story of the Trump-anointing dark prince of the Christian right who was brought down by a sex scandal. He resigned in disgrace from Liberty in August 2020 after it emerged that a former Miami pool boy claimed he had been having a seven year affair with Falwell Jr.’s wife Becki and Falwell often liked to watch them have sex.

In the piece, Sherman spoke extensively to Falwell and Becki about the tumultuous events that led to his ouster, their fallout,...

Exclusive: The material marketplace is beginning to perk up. Deadline hears that Wonderland has Annie Mumolo and Emily Goldwyn co-writing Bad Habit, a proposed comedy series that would star Mumolo about nuns who get into the pot-selling business.

When a convent in California’s Central Valley is rocked by a scandal that puts it on the brink of bankruptcy, a resourceful group of nuns struggles to keep it afloat in a community that desperately needs them. On a wing and a prayer, they get into cultivating and selling marijuana in the name of the Catholic Church. This nuns navigate local drug cartels, the church, their friendships, their longstanding spiritual beliefs and, most importantly, how to grow the dankest weed west of the Mississippi.

Goldwyn separately is adapting Mergers and Acquisitions for Sony’s 3000 Pictures, and her series...

The legal drama “Reasonable Doubt” at Onyx Collective on Hulu has cast Tim Jo, McKinley Freeman, and Angela Grovey in series regular roles.

The trio join previously announced series lead Emayatzy Corinealdi. In the series, viewers will judge Jax Stewart (Corinealdi) for her questionable ethics and wild interpretations of the law until they’re the one in trouble. Then they’ll see her for what she is: the most brilliant and fearless defense attorney in Los Angeles who bucks the justice system at every chance she gets.

Jo has been cast in the role of Daniel. Described as your dorky next door neighbor who grew up to be hot but couldn’t shake being a dork, Daniel is an investigator at Jax’s law firm. He makes his living talking to people, and yet he’s afraid to ask Jax’s prickly assistant for parking validation.

Jo’s most recent...

Exclusive: Mia Kaplan (Smilf), Rainn Wilson (Jerry and Marge Go Large), Missi Pyle (Y: The Last Man), newcomer Jemima Yevu and Jolene Purdy (The White Lotus) have signed on to star in Empire Waist, a body-positive, coming-of-age dramedy from writer-director Claire Ayoub and Wayfarer Studios, which is currently in production in New York.

Ayoub’s first feature centers on a group of teens who overcome societal bias and celebrate self-acceptance through inclusive fashion design and friendship. Kaplan plays the lead role of Lenore, a teen deeply insecure about her weight. Hiding her passion for fashion design, Lenore tries to make herself invisible in her day-to-day life to avoid being bullied — both by her classmates and image-conscious mother (Pyle). Meanwhile her best friend Kayla (Yevu) is confident, funny, outgoing, and proud of her plus-sized body.

Wilson will play Lenore’s father, Mark, who is his daughter’s biggest cheerleader, with Purdy as Ms.

Onyx Collective has given a series greenlight to Reasonable Doubt to stream on Hulu. Emayatzy Corinealdi (Middle of Nowhere) is set to star in the lead role of the legal drama, from writer/executive producer Raamla Mohamed (Scandal); executive producer Kerry Washington, who will direct the first episode; and ABC Signature.

This marks the first scripted series order for Onyx Collective, Disney’s new curated content brand for creators of color and underrepresented voices, led by Tara Duncan, whose output is tailored primarily for Hulu.

In Reasonable Doubt, you’ll judge Jax Stewart (Corinealdi) for her questionable ethics and wild interpretations of the law… until you’re the one in trouble. Then you’ll see her for what she is: the most brilliant and fearless defense attorney in Los Angeles who bucks the justice system at every chance she gets.

Reasonable Doubt was put on a script-to-series development track by...

Onyx Collective on Hulu has greenlit the legal drama “Reasonable Doubt” starring Emayatzy Corinealdi in their first scripted series order, Variety has learned.

The series was originally reported as being in development at Onyx Collective back in July after having previously been in the works at ABC.

“Reasonable Doubt” will be executive produced by Kerry Washington and Pilar Savone for Simpson Street and Larry Wilmore via Wilmore Films. Raamla Mohamed is writing and executive producing the series, which features an all-Black writing staff. Attorney Shawn Holley is a co-executive producer as is Jon Leshay. ABC Signature will produce. Simpson Street and Mohamed are currently under overall deals with the studio. Washington will also direct the first episode after previously directing episodes of “Scandal,” “Smilf,” and “Insecure.”

“It’s hard to imagine a more ideal creative partnership for our first Onyx Collective scripted series,” said Tara Duncan, president of Freeform and Onyx Collective.

Exclusive: Being Mary Jane alumna Raven Goodwin and Nicole Chanel Williams (Boomerang) are set for recurring roles opposite Yaya DaCosta, Morris Chestnut and Joe Morton in the Fox drama series Our Kind of People, from writer/executive producer Karin Gist and executive producer Lee Daniels.

Inspired by Lawrence Otis Graham’s book Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class, the series written by Gist takes place in the aspirational world of Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, a historical stronghold where the rich and powerful Black elite have come to play for more than 50 years. Our Kind of People follows strong-willed single mom Angela Vaughn (DaCosta) as she sets out to reclaim her family’s name and make an impact with her revolutionary haircare line that highlights the innate, natural beauty of Black women. But she soon discovers a dark secret about her mother’s past that...