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17:40 - The Deep - Ian Verdun Joins Freeform’s Mermaid Drama Pilot
Up-and-coming actor Ian Verdun is set as a series regular on Freeform drama pilot The Deep.
Based on a story by Eric Wald and Dean White, The Deep is a dark re-imagining of the classic mermaid mythology. Set in a small fishing village in the Pacific Northwest, it explores the discovery of a mermaid caught in local waters who turns out to be a wild, ferocious, marine predator.
Verdun will play Xander McClure, a burly deep sea fisherman, big-hearted and tough as nails, who is first mate to his father on a fishing trawler.
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00:05 - The Magicians - Season 1 - Gag Reel
Thanks to MatMaggi for the heads up.
03:45 - Gypsy - Brenda Vaccaro & Poorna Jagannathan Join Netflix Series
Poorna Jagannathan hot off her role in HBO’s summer miniseries The Night Of, and Brenda Vaccaro have joined the cast of Netflix’s upcoming drama series Gypsy. Naomi Watts stars as a therapist who begins to develop dangerous and intimate relationships with the people in her patients’ lives. Jagannathan will play a straight-shooting fellow therapist at Jean’s practice with an irreverent sense of humor and a laid-back vibe. No word on Vaccaro’s role. Billy Crudup and Melanie Liburd also star.
Universal Television and Working Title produce the 10-episode Gypsy for Netflix, which is created by writer Lisa Rubin. Fifty Shades of Grey filmmaker Sam Taylor-Johnson has signed on to direct and executive produce the first two episodes.
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03:45 - The Leftovers - Season 3 - Filming Completed
08:35 - Gotham - Season 3 - Ivy Pepper Is Reborn Featurette
Thanks to Ivan for the heads up.
08:30 - Marvel's Agents of SHIELD - Creating the Ghost Rider Featurette
Thanks to Ivan for the heads up.
03:50 - Postal - TV Adaptation Based on Comic from The Walking Dead Co-EP in Development at Hulu
In a competitive situation, Hulu has landed Postal, a TV series adaptation of the Top Cow comics, from Matt Tolmach Productions and Legendary TV.
The project, now in development, is being written by The Walking Dead co-executive producer Seth Hoffman. Based on the Postal comic series by Matt Hawkins (Think Tank) and Bryan Hill (Broken Trinity: Pandora’s Box), it centers on Eden, a unique town populated and run by fugitive criminals. In Eden, everyone has a secret past, but they come here for a second chance, redemption and the opportunity to be someone new…until their pasts come back to haunt them.
Matt Tolmach Prods.’ Tolmach (The Amazing Spider-Man) and David Manpearl will executive produce along with Marc Silvestri and Hawkins of Top Cow. Tolmach and Manpearl originally brought the project to Legendary TV, which acquired the comic in a bidding war.
The deal for Postal follows Hulu’s series pickup earlier this month of comedy Future Man, which Tolmach is executive producing along with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg for Sony Pictures Television. Additionally, Tolmach and Legendary Television also have a TV series based on the classic ’90s video game Myst in the works at Hulu. Meanwhile, Hulu just closed a deal for a series order to Legendary TV 9/11 drama series The Looming Tower.
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21:55 - Nashville - Season 5 - BTS Video
Thanks to Supergirl for the heads up.
We're back on set and ready for the best season yet! 🎬 Who else is counting down the days until #NashvilleCMT premieres?! 🎶📺 pic.twitter.com/bm4UBpXnBG
— Nashville on CMT (@NashvilleCMT) September 20, 2016
21:30 - Scream Queens - Season 2 - Jamie Lee Curtis to Direct an Episode
Jamie Lee Curtis is set to direct an episode of Scream Queens, Fox’s comedy-horror series from executive producers Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan.
Curtis will direct episode No. 208 as part of Ryan Murphy’s Half Foundation initiative. The episode is scheduled to begin shooting on October 12 and air in November.
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21:25 - The Alienist - Jakob Verbruggen to Direct as Cary Fukunaga Exits But Remains an EP
TNT’s upcoming straight-to-series drama The Alienist has tapped Jakob Verbruggen (London Spy, Black Mirror) as director. He replaces Emmy winner Cary Fukunaga (True Detective), who had been the driving creative force behind the project. Fukunaga, who wrote all episodes of the series based on the best-selling novel by Caleb Carr, will remain as executive producer for Paramount Television and Turner’s Studio T. Verbruggen is currently slated to direct the first two episodes, with a possibility for more. Filming will begin in early 2017 in Budapest.
The Alienist had gone through a difficult development process since the series was announced by TNT at its 2015 upfront presentation. Fukunaga, known for his cinematic approach, and Paramount TV went back and forth with the network on a budget for almost a year as location moved from Canada to New York and eventually Budapest. By the time all sides agreed on a budget, the schedule had been pushed back several times, pushing back Fukunaga’s other commitments. Meanwhile, TNT needs the series and was ready to go into production. That led to the hire of Verbruggen while Fukunaga is focusing on the feature The Black Count.
The Alienist is a psychological thriller set in the Gilded Age of New York City in 1896, a city of vast wealth, extreme poverty and technological innovation. When a series of haunting, gruesome murders of boy prostitutes grips the city, newly appointed police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt calls upon criminal psychologist (aka alienist) Dr. Laszlo Kreizler and newspaper reporter John Moore to conduct the investigation in secret. They are aided by a makeshift crew of singular characters, among them the intrepid Sara Howard, a young secretary on Roosevelt’s staff who is determined to become the first female police detective in New York City. Using the emerging disciplines of psychology and early forensic investigation techniques, this band of social outsiders tracks down one of New York City’s first serial killers.
“Jakob will capture the intensity of this edge-of-your-seat thriller,” said Sarah Aubrey, EVP of original programming for TNT. “The Alienist’s unique setting and characters, along with its pervasively tense and unsettling mood, couldn’t be in better hands.”
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21:20 - There Goes the Neighborhood - White Family in Cleveland Comedy from LeBron James in Development at NBC
NBC has given a script commitment with penalty to There Goes the Neighborhood, a single-camera comedy from NBA star LeBron James’ SpringHill Entertainment, Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence’s Doozer and Warner Bros TV, where both companies have deals.
Written by former Community executive producers Neil Goldman & Garrett Donovan and actor-comedian-writer Ron Funches, co-star of the upcoming NBC/WBTV comedy series Powerless, There Goes the Neighborhood is about the first white family to move into a predominantly black, newly gentrifying neighborhood in Cleveland.
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21:15 - GLOW - Britt Baron and Jackie Tohn to Recur in Netflix Series
Netflix is building out the cast for G.L.O.W., its 10-episode straight-to-series comedy executive produced by Orange Is the New Black creator Jenji Kohan.
Britt Baron and Jackie Tohn, are set for recurring roles opposite Alison Brie and Marc Maron. Kimmy Gatewood, Rebekka Johnson, Kate Nash, Sunita Mani and Kia Stevens also have joined the cast.
Created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, G.L.O.W. was inspired by the real story of the 1980s female wrestling league. Set in Los Angeles and showcasing big hair and body slams, the series tells the fictionalized story of Ruth (Brie), an out-of-work, struggling actress who finds one last attempt to live her dreams when she’s thrust into the glitter and spandex world of women’s wrestling via a weekly series about female wrestlers.
Baron plays Justine, a teenage runaway. Tohn is Melrose, a Hollywood party girl. Gatewood and Johnson play Stacey and Dawn, best friends/hairdressers. Nash is Rhonda, a British print model. Mani will portray Arthie, a med student with Hollywood dreams, and Steven is Tammé, an 80’s TV actress who is always the guest star, never the star.
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21:15 - MOVIES: Jumanji - Rhys Darby, Morgan Turner, Ser’Darius Blain and Madison Iseman Join Cast
EXCLUSIVE: Comedian Rhys Darby and Morgan Turner are the latest to join the cast of Sony’s Jumanji. Out July 28, the continuation to the original is toplined by Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, and Nick Jonas.
Helmed by Jake Kasdan, Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner wrote the most recent version of the script, based on draft by original writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. It’s all based on Chris Van Allsburg’s book, which bred the Robin Williams-starring film that grossed $260 million globally. Production is currently underway in Hawaii.
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EXCLUSIVE: Ser’Darius Blain and Madison Iseman have joined the cast of Jumanji, the Jake Kasdan-directed Sony remake that stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan and Nick Jonas. Said to be a continuation of the 1995 Robin Williams-starrer, Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner wrote the script based on draft by the original writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. The whole thing is based on the Caldecott Medal-winning adventure book by Chris Van Allsburg. Matt Tolmach and William Teitler are producing with Ted Field, Mike Weber, Kasdan, David Householter, Van Allsburg, Johnson and Dany Garcia serving as exec producers.
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06:20 - MOVIES: Ghost In The Shell - Teasers feat Scarlett Johansson
06:15 - MOVIES: Smurfs - The Lost Village - Teaser Trailer
06:10 - Keeping It Real - Walton Goggins to Star in Showtime Comedy in Development
Walton Goggins is set as the star of a high-profile comedy project, which has landed at Showtime for development with a significant commitment. Titled Keeping It Real, the dark comedy is created/written by Charles Randolph, an Oscar winner for co-writing The Big Short, and has two other writing Oscar winners, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (The Descendants), attached to direct. The project hails from Showtime as well as CBS TV Studios and studio-based Timberman/Beverly, reuniting Justified executive producers Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly with the hit series’ co-star Goggins.
Penned by Randolph, Keeping It Real chronicles a narcissistic but well-intentioned movie star (Goggins) who travels to global hot spots and inserts himself into international incidents, only to create more chaos. Goggins executive produces the project with Randolph, Faxon, Rash, Timberman, Beverly and B Story’s Kevin Walsh.
Goggins currently stars opposite Danny McBride on the HBO dark comedy series Vice Principals where he has fulfilled his two-season commitment. Goggins also has a pivotal role in History’s upcoming Navy SEALs drama series Six. He has just wrapped the feature The Three Christs of Ypsilanti, in which he plays the role of Christ opposite Richard Gere who portrays a doctor treating paranoid schizophrenic patients, each of whom believe they are Jesus Christ. Jon Avnet is directing from a script he wrote with Eric Nazarian, adapted from biographical novel by Milton Rokeach.
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06:10 - White Famous - Stephen Tobolowsky Joins Cast + Lonnie Chavis to Recur in Showtime Pilot
Californication creator Tom Kapinos has recruited series alum Stephen Tobolowsky for a role in his next Showtime half-hour comedy project, pilot White Famous, executive produced by Jamie Foxx who will play a version of himself on a recurring basis. And there may be a deeper connection to the long-running Showtime comedy toplined by David Duchovny.
White Famous centers on Floyd, a talented, young African-American comedian (Jay Pharoah) whose star is rising, forcing him to navigate the treacherous waters of maintaining his credibility as he begins to cross-over towards becoming “white famous.”
Tobolowsky will play the high-powered producer of Jamie Foxx’s new film. If that sounds familiar, that is because Tobolowsky also played a hot-shot Hollywood producer, Stu Beggs, for four seasons on Californication. While the producer character in White Famous was originally named Peter King, I hear that has evolved, and Tobolowsky would in fact be playing Stu Beggs. Showtime would not comment and would not confirm the name of Tobolowsky’s character.
The role was conceived as series regular though Tobolowsky was cast in the pilot as a guest star as he a series regular on Netflix’s One Day at a Time. His status if the pilot goes to series is TBD but he could recur the way he did on Californication.
Cast in White Famous as a regular is young actor Lonnie Chavis (This is Us) who will play Floyd (Pharoah) and Sadie’s (Megalyn Echikunwoke) son. Utkarsh Ambudkar and Jacob Ming-Trent co-star.
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06:10 - Dear White People - Jeremy Tardy to Recur in Netflix Comedy Series
Jeremy Tardy (War Dogs, The Mindy Project) has been tapped for a recurring role in Dear White People, Netflix’s upcoming comedy series based on Justin Simien’s acclaimed film.
Set among a diverse group of students of color as they navigate a predominantly white Ivy League college where racial tensions are often swept under the rug, Dear White People is a send up of “post-racial” America that also weaves a universal story about forging one’s own unique path.
Tardy will play Kenyan student Rashid Bakr, a brainy young man who speaks five languages. He’s trying to discover what it means to be an African in America among African-Americans.
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06:05 - The Legend of Master Legend - John Hawkes in Talks to Play the Lead in Amazon's Comedy Pilot
John Hawkes (Lost, Eastbound & Down) is in negotiations to play the lead in half-hour Amazon comedy pilot The Legend of Master Legend, directed by The Spectacular Now helmer James Ponsoldt.
Written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster based on Joshuah Bearman’s Rolling Stone article about real-life superheroes, the project centers on Master Legend (Hawkes), a man who tries to defend justice and defeat wrongdoers on the Las Vegas Strip. Fitzerman-Blue and Harpster are executive producing with Bearman. Shooting begins next month.
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06:05 - MOVIES: Jumanji - First Look Photo
Jumanji! Yes I'm wearing child sized clothes and YES there is a reason! The pay off is worth it, I promise! #Jumanji pic.twitter.com/qBshnhwV6K
— Karen Gillan (@karengillan) September 21, 2016
06:00 - MOVIES: Fallen - Trailer (YA Adaptation Based on Lauren Kate's Novels)
Thanks to 90sbaby for the heads up.
19:00 - MOVIES: Robin Hood: Origins - Jamie Dornan in Final Negotiations to Join Cast
Fifty Shades of Grey star Jamie Dornan in in final negotiations to join the cast of Robin Hood: Origins, Lionsgate’s take on the British archer-thief who stole from the rich and gave to the poor.
Taron Egerton is on board as Robin Hood, Jamie Foxx will play Little John and Eve Hewson will portray Maid Marian in the retelling that is being directed by Otto Bathurst.
Dornan will play Will Scarlett, known as the member of the band of Merry Men who is the hot-headed wearer of fine clothes and the best swordsman of the bunch. In this version, however, he is Marian’s husband, who will be none too happy when he learns that she loves the outlaw.
A January start in Budapest is being planned.
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19:00 - Making History - Ben Vereen to Recur
Ben Vereen has been cast in a recurring role opposite Yassir Lester and Adam Pally in Fox’s comedy series Making History.
Produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie), and written by Julius “Goldy” Sharpe (Family Guy), Making History follows three friends from two different centuries as they try to balance the thrill of time travel with the mundane concerns of their present-day lives. It’s described as a rollicking historical adventure and a contemporary comedy about love, friendship and trying to fit in to an increasingly complex and impersonal world.
Vereen will play Dr. Theodore Anthony Cobell, n eminent professor in the college History Department and the vaunted mentor of Chris(Lester). Dr. Cobell tries to guide Chris down the path to tenure, and does not take it lightly when Chris starts neglecting his career in favor of Dan (Pally) and his time machine.
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19:00 - CBS Developing Dysfunctional Family Comedy
In a preemptive buy, CBS has put in development a single-camera family comedy from Jake in Progress creator Austin Winsberg, Eric and Kim Tannenbaum and CBS TV Studios.
Written and executive produced by Winsberg, the Untitled Austin Winsberg Project is a semi-autobiographical look at a dysfunctional family in transition one year after the larger-than-life patriarch has passed away. Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum also executive produce. CBS TV Studios is the studio.
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19:00 - Younger - Season 3 - Ben Rappaport to Recur
Ben Rappaport (Mr. Robot) has been cast in a recurring role opposite Molly Bernard on Season 3 of Darren Star’s TV Land comedy series Younger.
He’ll play medical intern Max Horowitz, a new love interest for Lauren Heller (Molly Bernard). Max and Lauren went to camp together as kids, and when they run into each other in a bar, they start to rekindle their friendship and develop into something more. Ben will first appear in the third episode of the season, “Last Days of Books”, which airs Wednesday, October 12. Season 3 premieres on September 28.
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19:00 - Toy Wars - Limited Drama Series About Hasbro and Other Toy Companies in Development at Amazon
Actor-writer Josh Gad (Angry Birds) is set to star and co-write, Josh Schwartz is attached to co-write and showrun and Seth Gordon is expected to direct Toy Wars, a limited drama series in development at Amazon, which follows the real-life battle between American toy giants Hasbro, the company behind GI Joe, Transformer and My Little Pony toys, and Barbie maker Mattel in the 1980s and 1990s.
Gad, Schwartz and Ryan Dixon will co-write the project based on the non-fiction book by G. Wayne Miller Toy Wars: The Epic Struggle Between G.I. Joe, Barbie, and the Companies that Make Them. Schwartz will serve as showrunner, with Gordon attached to direct the pilot, subject to availability.
This is a personal project for Schwartz who boarded Toy Wars after Gad, Dixon and Horrible Bosses helmer Gordon had sold it to Amazon.
Journalist and novelist Miller wrote the book after five years of unprecedented access to Hasbro, sitting in on meetings and interviewing employees. It follows Alan Hassenfeld, a free spirit who never intended to be an executive. He was thrust into the spotlight, taking the reins of Hasbro when his older brother Stephen, the marketing genius who had built up the family toy company into a powerhouse, died of AIDS. The book features a number of real-life characters, like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. One of them is Stephen Schwartz, Josh Schwartz’s father. Both Josh’s father and mother Honey were toy inventors who worked for Hasbro before launching their own company. Stephen Schwartz was one of late visionary CEO Steven Hassenfeld’s “Three Musketeers”, who helped turn Hasbro into the number one toy company in the world.
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19:00 - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - Michael Zegen Joins Amy Sherman-Palladino’s Amazon Pilot
Boardwalk Empire alum Michael Zegen has been cast opposite Rachel Brosnahan in Amy Sherman-Palladino’s Amazon drama pilot The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Set in the 1950s, the project centers on Miriam “Midge” Maisel (Brosnahan), who had her life mapped out for herself: go to college, find a husband, have 2.5 kids and throw the best Yom Kippur dinners in her elegant Manhattan apartment. But when her life takes an unexpected turn, Midge will have to decide quickly what else she’s good at. Going from uptown housewife to a stand-up comic in a grungy club in the Village is an appalling choice to everyone but Midge.
Zegen will play Joel, Midge’s (soon-to-be-ex) husband. Joel is self-assured, charming, loves to make people laugh and to be the center of attention. Although he has a good job working for his father’s company, his real dream is to be a stand-up comedian. It’s his dream but not his destiny. And once he figures that out, he decides he can’t face his life, or his wife. He leaves but he never manages to completely untangle himself from Midge. In addition to Brosnahan, he joins the recently cast Tony Shalhoub.
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