24th November 2017
16:45 - Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Renewed for 2nd Season
22nd November 2017
04:35 - S.W.A.T. - MC Lyte to Guest
Thanks to Blanca for the heads up.
02:00 - MOVIES: Smallfoot - Teaser Trailer feat Channing Tatum
02:00 - Law and Order: SVU - Season 19 - To Tackle Harvey Weinstein Scandal
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will continue its tradition of ripped-from-the-headlines storytelling with a take on the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
“We are hitting Harvey Weinstein head-on, but it’s not in the realm of the entertainment business,” executive producer Michael Chernuchin tells EW exclusively. “It’s a real important episode about the rape culture in an industry, and we wanted to try stretch the law to criminalize that sort of environment.” (A rep from NBC noted that SVU is fiction.)
Instead of SVU‘s episode directly taking place in Hollywood, however, the hour is centered on the airline industry. The SVU writers had already been working on the episode when the Weinstein news initially broke. “We were actually working on a story about airline pilots and what a boys club that is,” Chernuchin says. “We were beating the story out and said, ‘Wow, this is exactly what the actresses go through in Hollywood. It’s the same environment.’ So we got all of our Harvey stuff out with airline pilots.”
The episode is slated to air in 2018.
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21st November 2017
19:00 - MOVIES: Peter Rabbit - Trailer 2
19:00 - The Little Drummer Girl - Alexander Skarsgård Joins BBC & AMC's John le Carré Adaptation
EMMY(R) AWARD WINNER ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD SET TO STAR IN THE INK FACTORY, BBC AND AMC'S "THE LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL"
Production on the Park Chan-wook directed six-part le Carré adaptation begins in early 2018
London and Los Angeles, 21 November 2017 - The Ink Factory, BBC ONE and AMC announced today that Emmy(R) Award-Winner Alexander Skarsgård ("Big Little Lies", "True Blood", Tarzan) will join Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth), in Park Chan-wook's (Old Boy, The Handmaiden, Stoker) television debut "The Little Drummer Girl", based on the best-selling novel of the same name by John le Carré. Production on the six-part mini-series begins early next year with global sales handled by Endeavor Content/IMG.
In "The Little Drummer Girl" brilliant young actress Charlie (Pugh) strikes up an acquaintance with an intriguing stranger while on holiday in Greece, but it rapidly becomes apparent that his intentions are far from romantic. The man is Becker (Skarsgård), an Israeli intelligence officer, who entangles her in a complex and high stakes plot which unfolds as she takes on the role of a lifetime in the 'theatre of the real'. Set in the late 1970s, yet sharply contemporary, "The Little Drummer Girl" weaves a dynamic and exciting story of espionage and international intrigue; of love and betrayal.
Simon and Stephen Cornwell, Co-CEOs and Founders of The Ink Factory said: "The level of expertise and creativity behind this series is unmatched, and we are excited to be gathering a cast of incredible talent to inhabit the brilliant world le Carré has created. Alexander Skarsgård is a captivating actor with great depth and we are delighted to have him join the project."
Park Chan-wook added: "To play an enigmatic man who hides his true feelings deep inside, I couldn't think of a more fitting actor. I believe Skarsgård's growing depth as a great character actor and his soaring energy will elevate "The Little Drummer Girl" to a higher place."
The series will be financed and produced by The Ink Factory in partnership with 127 Wall and co-producers the BBC and AMC. Laura Hastings-Smith ("Howards End", Macbeth and Hunger) will work as Producer with Simon and Stephen Cornwell serving as Executive Producers alongside John le Carré, Mona Qureshi for the BBC, Joe Tsai and Arthur Wang for 127 Wall, and Wonjo Jeong.
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19:00 - East of Jingletown - Multigenerational Female Drama in Development at TNT
TNT is developing East of Jingletown, a drama series from former CSI: NY executive producer/showrunner Pam Veasey, Girls Trip producer Will Packer and Makeready, Brad Weston’s Entertainment One-backed independent studio and financier for film, television and branded content.
Written by Veasey, East of Jingletown is a multigenerational female drama about four women who have formed an incredible friendship through their sons and sports. We meet them at a crossroads, and the series explores their friendship and their individual lives, and all the amazing warmth of these women’s complicated relationships through the ups and downs of it all.
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19:00 - City on a Hill - Mark O'Brien Joins Showtime Pilot
Mark O’Brien (Halt and Catch Fire) has been cast as a series regular opposite Aldis Hodge and Kevin Bacon in Showtime’s drama pilot City on a Hill, executive produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Michael Cuesta (Homeland, American Assassin) is directing and executive producing.
Written by Chuck MacLean (Boston Strangler) based on an original idea by Affleck and MacLean, City on a Hill is set in Boston in the early ’90s when the city was rife with violent criminals emboldened by local law enforcement agencies, in which corruption and racism was the norm, until it all suddenly changed. The drama is a fictional account of what was called the “Boston Miracle.” The change agent is District Attorney Decourcy Ward (Hodge), who comes from Brooklyn and forms an unlikely alliance with Jackie Rhodes (Bacon), a corrupt yet venerated FBI veteran who is deeply invested in maintaining the status quo. Together they take on a family of armored car robbers from Charlestown in a case that grows to encompass and eventually upend Boston’s citywide criminal justice system.
O’Brien will play Jimmy Ryan, the younger brother of Frankie Ryan, who is the leader of the Two Saints Gang that robs banks in Boston. Jimmy has addiction problems, psychiatric problems and is generally unpredictable, unreliable and selfish. Against his better judgement, Frankie lets Jimmy join his gang on a bank job.
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20th November 2017
MOVIES: Death on the Nile - Murder on the Orient Express Sequel in Development
After first taking the train, Twentieth Century Fox is now readying to hop on a riverboat cruise.
On the heels of Murder on the Orient Express, Fox is staying in the Agatha Christie business by putting into development Death on the Nile, its next Hercule Poirot mystery.
Michael Green, who wrote Orient Express, is penning the script and while there is no deal currently in place, Kenneth Branagh is expected to return as director and reprise his role as Poirot.
Nile, first published in 1937, saw the detective on a vacation in Egypt and becoming involved in a love triangle gone murderously bad. The novel once again featured socialites, social climbers and high society’s help in the cast.
Orient Express, which was made for $55 million, has choo-chooed its way to almost $150 million worldwide since its Nov. 10 opening.
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17th November 2017
01:00 - Supernatural - Legal Fight Brewing Over Profits
Since AT&T announced in October 2016 that it would be acquiring Time Warner for $85 billion, there has been hardly any talk about how the deal will impact creative talent. When the issue of vertical integration comes up, it's often a discussion on whether distributors including Comcast, Dish, and Verizon will get fair terms to license networks like HBO or TBS, or whether AT&T might try to unfairly compete for telecom customers by holding exclusives on a would-be owned show like Game of Thrones or a franchise like "Batman." AT&T executives insist this would make no business sense, that receiving money for content is the name of the game, and that antitrust history prevents government officials blocking a merger between a supplier and a distributor. But virtually ignored is how this deal will impact those who create, write, star, and direct in popular entertainment.
If the question hasn't provoked more examination, there could be a reason for that beyond the complexity of the topic. Almost all contracts in entertainment include arbitration provisions. As a result, most of the disputes that arise from vertical integration are kept hushed. But The Hollywood Reporter has learned about one pending fight in arbitration — and it's a battle that not only involves Warner Bros. and the very lawyer now tasked with fighting the Justice Department, but it also addresses the fairness of media consolidation and the mechanism to resolve disputes from those who feel shortchanged by studios selling to their affiliated distributors.
The arbitration is over Supernatural, the CW series that is now in its thirteenth season. It's obviously a successful show given its longevity, but few appreciate the economics underpinning the series. According to a 2013 profit participation statement sent out by Warner Bros., the total gross receipts for the show's first eight seasons amounted to $570 million. But after expenses, distribution fees, interest payments, and money to the talent agency that packaged the show, Warner reported that Supernatural had a deficit of nearly $23 million, meaning nothing in the pool for those entitled to a percentage of net profits
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01:00 - Dietland - Ricardo Davila Joins AMC Series
Newcomer Ricardo Davila is set as a series regular opposite Joy Nash, Julianna Margulies and Adam Rothenberg in Dietland, AMC’s 10-episode straight-to-series darkly comedic drama based on Sarai Walker’s novel, which is set for a 2018 premiere. Dietland, from Marti Noxon (UnReal), Skydance TV and AMC Studios, is set against the backdrop of the beauty industry. It follows Plum Kettle (Nash), an obese woman who is preparing for weight-loss surgery when her world is upturned by two rival feminist factions. Davila will play Eladio, a loose-lipped assistant at Austen Media who happens to be a close—and unexpected—confidante to magazine editor Kitty Montgomery. Still, it’s not always clear whose side Eladio is on, if anyone’s but his own. Davila is a recent Yale MFA grad. This is his first major TV role.
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22:30 - Dollface - Kat Dennings to Star in Hulu Pilot
EXCLUSIVE: Kat Dennings has found her next series vehicle after 2 Broke Girls. She is set to star in Dollface for Hulu. She plays a young woman who, after being dumped by her long-time boyfriend, must metaphorically re-enter the world of women, and rekindle the female friendships she left behind. Jordan Weiss is the writer, creator and executive producer. Veep‘s Stephanie Laing will direct the pilot and be a producer. 2 Broke Girls ended last May after six seasons, and after setting a record for the richest off-network syndication deal when it sold to TBS.
The catalyst here as producers are Margot Robbie and Brett Hedblom from LuckyChap Entertainment and Bryan Unkeless and Scott Morgan from Clubhouse Pictures. They just produced together I, Tonya, the Craig Gillespie-directed black comedy about the rise and fall of Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding that will be released next month by 30WEST and NEON after becoming the biggest sale at the Toronto Interntional Film Festival. LuckyChap and Clubhouse will produce the Hulu show alongside Management 360’s Nicole King, and Dennings.
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21:00 - Highway 59 - Drama Based on Attica Locke's Novel, Bluebird, in Development at FX
In a competitive situation with multiple bidders, FX has bought a pitch for Highway 59, a drama series based on Attica Locke’s new novel Bluebird, Bluebird from 3 Arts Entertainment.
The book, set in Locke’s native East Texas, is the first of a trilogy published by Little Brown Company.
Locke will write the series adaptation of her novel, which centers on Darren Mathews, a black Texas Ranger who knows too well that when it comes to law and order, East Texas plays by its own rules. Deeply ambivalent about growing up black in the lone star state, he was the first in his family to get as far away from Texas as he could. Until duty called him home. When his allegiance to his roots puts his job in jeopardy, he travels up Highway 59 to the small town of Lark, where two murders–a black lawyer from Chicago and a local white woman–have stirred up a hornet’s nest of resentment. Darren must solve the crimes–and save himself in the process–before Lark’s long-simmering racial fault lines erupt.
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19:25 - Orange Is The New Black's Jenji Kohan Signs Overall Multi-Year Deal with Netflix
In its ongoing bid for Hollywood domination, Netflix has inked another gargantuan deal.
This time, the streaming giant is pacting with one of its most successful collaborators, Jenji Kohan. The deal will make Netflix the Orange is the New Black and Glow producer’s exclusive creative home to produce new original series and other projects. The pact follows an even larger one inked in August with Shonda Rhimes, poaching her away from her home of more than a decade, ABC Studios, in a deal estimated to be worth $100 million.
The move comes as Netflix has made clear that ownership is a sizable part of its plan going forward. It’s a shift in strategy for the streamer, which entered the originals business only four year ago, and has drummed up the price of content with its aggressive offers and massive $6 billion content budget. For much of that time, Netflix was focused simply on licensing programming, and thus has no need to have talent in its stable. Now that that has changed, with plans to own many of its shows in the coming years, the need for content creators to be focused exclusively on Netflix fare becomes increasingly important.
“Bold, outspoken and totally fearless, Jenji has constantly raised the bar for storytelling at Netflix. She possesses a rare and special talent to say what’s unspoken, choose the unexpected over the safe and drive the cultural conversation - and audiences love her for it,” the company’s VP of original content Cindy Holland said in a statement Friday.
Added Kohan, “Current climate aside, it’s great to be in bed with Netflix.”
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16th November
04:25 - Splitting Up Together - Geoff Pierson to Recur
Dexter alum Geoff Pierson has booked a recurring role opposite Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson in ABC’s single-camera comedy series Splitting Up Together, from Suburgatory and Selfie creator Emily Kapnek, Ellen DeGeneres’ A Very Good Prods. and Warner Bros TV.
Written by Kapnek, based on the 2016 Danish series created by Mette Heeno and directed by Dean Holland, Splitting Up Together is the story of a couple, Lena (Jenna Fischer) and Martin (Oliver Hudson) whose marriage is reignited by their divorce. They still live in the same house, alternating weeks, with one living upstairs and doing the parenting while the other lives downstairs in the guest apartment.
Pierson will play Henry, the wry and supportive father of Lena (Fischer) who sees clearly that his daughter has control issues.
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04:25 - MOVIES: Detective Pikachu - Justice Smith to Star in Live-Action Adaptation
Justice Smith, who starred on Netflix’s musical drama The Get Down, has been set as the lead of Legendary’s live-action Pokemon movie Detective Pikachu.
The project, originally tipped by Deadline in summer 2016 amid the heat of the Pokemon Go craze, is being directed by Rob Letterman from a script by Nicole Perlman and Alex Hirsch. No plot details yet. Universal Pictures, Legendary’s distribution partner, will release the live-action film outside Japan, where Toho has rights.
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04:25 - Mercury 13 - Space Miniseries from Bradley Whitford & Amy Pascal in Development at Amazon
Amazon has put into development Mercury 13, based on Martha Ackmann’s book The Mercury 13: The Untold Story of Thirteen American Women and the Dream of Space Flight, as an event miniseries, I have learned. The project hails from Bradley Whitford, Amy Pascal’s Pascal Pictures and Tim and Trevor White’s Star Thrower Entertainment.
Written by Liz Hannah (The Post), who also will serve as showrunner and executive producer, Mercury 13 is set in 1961. Just as NASA launched its first man into space, a group of women underwent secret testing in the hope of becoming America’s first female astronauts. They passed the same battery of tests at the legendary Lovelace Foundation as did the Mercury 7 astronauts, but they summarily were dismissed by the boys club at NASA and on Capitol Hill. The USSR sent its first woman into space in 1963; the United States did not follow suit for another 20 years.
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04:25 - MOVIES: A Christmas Prince - Trailer feat Rose McIver
21:10 - MOVIES: Rampage - Trailer feat Dwayne Johnson
21:10 - MOVIES: Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation - Trailer
21:10 - MOVIES: A Quiet Place - Teaser Trailer feat Emily Blunt and John Krasinski
21:10 - Frontier - Season 2 - Trailer
Streaming November 24th on Netflix
21:10 - Dietland - Adam Rothenberg to Star in AMC Series
Former Ripper Street star Adam Rothenberg is set as the male lead opposite Joy Nash and Julianna Margulies in Dietland, AMC’s 10-episode straight-to-series darkly comedic drama based on Sarai Walker’s novel, which is set for a 2018 premiere.
Dietland, from Marti Noxon (UnReal), Skydance TV and AMC Studios, is set against the backdrop of the beauty industry. It follows Plum Kettle (Nash), an obese woman who is preparing for weight-loss surgery when her world is upturned by two rival feminist factions. Caught between old ideas and radical new extremes, Plum must decide for herself what it means to be a revolutionary as the “war of the sexes” becomes literal.
Rothenberg will play a rough-around-the-edges NYPD detective whose investigation into a hack at Austen Media gives him far more than he bargained for, including an unexpected emotional and intellectual attraction to Plum (Nash), the show’s heroine.
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15th November
00:40 - Dietland - Tramell Tillman, Robin Weigert & Will Seefried Join AMC Series
AMC is rounding out its cast for Dietland, its 10-episode straight-to-series darkly comedic drama based on Sarai Walker’s novel, which is set for a 2018 premiere.
Joining as series regulars are newcomer Tramell Tillman, Robin Weigert (Big Little Lies) and Will Seefried (The Deuce).
Dietland, from Marti Noxon (UnReal), Skydance TV and AMC Studios, is set against the backdrop of the beauty industry. It follows Plum Kettle (Joy Nash), an obese woman who is preparing for weight-loss surgery when her world is upturned by two rival feminist factions. Caught between old ideas and radical new extremes, Plum must decide for herself what it means to be a revolutionary as the “war of the sexes” becomes literal.
Tillman will play Steven, the owner of a Brooklyn bakery and café frequented by Plum (Nash). When Plum’s universe turns upside-down, Steven is the only friend she keeps on the other side. Weigert will portray Serena Baptist, a body-positive therapist who notoriously exposed the secrets of her family’s weight-loss program as a pyramid scheme. Her peaceful feminist principles are thrown into doubt when an underground group of vigilantes begin taking matters into their own hands and shaking up the patriarchy. Seefried is Ben, the cute, sweet and overly accommodating server at Steven’s café who also happens to harbor an unrequited—perhaps even completely unnoticed—crush on Plum (Nash).
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22:30 - Escape at Dannemora - Michael Imperioli to Guest in Showtime's Limited Prison Series
“The Sopranos” alum Michael Imperioli has signed on for a guest starring role in the upcoming Showtime limited series “Escape at Dannemora,” Variety has learned exclusively.
Imperioli will appear as Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, who ordered the official investigation into all factors involved in the escape of convicted murderers Richard Matt (Benicio Del Toro) and David Sweat (Paul Dano) from Clinton Correctional Facility.
He joins previously announced cast members Del Toro, Dano, Patricia Arquette, and Bonnie Hunt. Ben Stiller will executive produce and direct. The eight-hour limited series is based on the true story of a prison break in upstate New York in the summer of 2015 that spawned a massive manhunt for two convicted murderers, who were aided in their escape by a married female prison employee who was sleeping with both prisoners.
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15:30 - Dynasty - Kelly Rutherford to Guest
Kelly Rutherford, who previously worked with executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage on The CW’s Gossip Girl, will appear in an upcoming episode of the network’s Dynasty reboot, TVLine has learned.
Rutherford will play Melissa Daniels, whose seemingly perfect marriage to a powerful senator is revealed to be nothing more than a face-saving sham. In private, she’s actually a “spiraling lush” whose life story serves as a cautionary tale to Cristal about the dangers of marrying men in high places.
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15:00 - Absentia - Amazon Acquires Streaming Rights for the U.S.
Thanks to Mili for the heads up.
Amazon has acquired Sony Pictures Television Networks’ crime thriller drama Absentia toplined by former Castle star Stana Katic in her return to television.
Prime Video will be the exclusive U.S. home to the ten-episodes series, slated for a 2018 Premiere. Amazon also will carry Absentia in several international markets, including the U.K., Australia, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Austria, Netherlands, Singapore and South Korea, and Turkey. The series will also be available in other territories after its linear broadcast debut.
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14th November
03:20 - One Day She'll Darken - Shoniqua Shondai to Recur in TNT Limited Series
Shoniqua Shondai, who appeared in Joseph Kahn’s Toronto hit Bodied, is set to recur in One Day She’ll Darken, the six-part TNT miniseries that has Patty Jenkins attached to direct the first two episodes.
Written by Sam Sheridan, One Day She’ll Darken tells the incredible story of Fauna Hodel (India Eisley), who was given away at birth. As Fauna begins to investigate the secrets to her past, she follows a sinister trail that swirls ever closer to Dr. George Hodel (Mays), an infamous Hollywood gynecologist who is involved in the town’s darkest debauchery. Shondai will play Tina, Fauna’s older L.A. cousin who lives in Watts. She’s more experienced and outspoken than Fauna’s friends in Nevada.
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00:30 - Difficult People - Cancelled by Hulu
Thanks to Michelle for the heads up.
Hulu has opted not to renew comedy series Difficult People for a fourth season. All 28 produced episodes of the show’s 3 seasons are currently streaming on the digital platform.
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00:30 - MOVIES: How to Train Your Dragon 3 - F. Murray Abraham Joins Cast in Villainous Role
EXCLUSIVE: The Amadeus Oscar winning actor will play the villain Grimmel in DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon 3, which is set to conclude the story arc established by the first two movies about young viking Hiccup and Night Fury dragon Toothless.
Universal is releasing the third title on March 1, 2019 and F. Murray Abraham joins Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Kit Harrington, Cate Blanchett in the Dean DeBlois directed and written animated feature. Bonnie Arnold and Brad Lewis are producing.
We hear Abraham’s voice test cinched the casting: Animators put his voice from his other titles against his animated persona, and it was a perfect fit. Abraham won’t be donning a Scottish accent, rather a deep-baritone voice in the classic villain sense.
“We are thrilled that F. Murray Abraham has joined our How To Train Your Dragon 3 cast as the villainous Grimmel. This character brings a captivating new story line to the culmination of our trilogy. There is a gentlemanly calm to this sinister role, one that dovetails beautifully with this iconic actor’s immense range and talents,” said Chris deFaria, Head of DreamWorks Animation.
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22:20 - Waco - Trailer 2
Thanks to johnhelvete for the heads up. Prepare for revelations. WACO, a 6 part TV event, premieres January 24 on Paramount Network.
19:15 - Modern Family - Season 9 - Chris Martin to Guest
Chris Martin is about to get his fill of Phil.
The Coldplay frontman will guest-star on Modern Family, EW has learned. The Nov. 29 episode of the ABC family comedy, titled “Brushes with Celebrity,” will feature various family members unspooling their stories of crossing paths with famous folks, and as it turns out, Phil (Ty Burrell) dealt with an “embarrassing health issue” while trying to sell a house to Martin. The role is described as more than a cameo, as Martin plays a significant role in the episode.
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13th November
19:15 - The Blacklist - Season 5 - Nathan Lane to Guest in 100th Episode
Nathan Lane will guest-star on The Blacklist‘s milestone 100th episode, EW has learned.
The multiple award-winning actor will guest as the episode’s blacklister-titled criminal Abraham Stern. Loyal to no one, Abraham Stern proves that Raymond Reddington (James Spader) isn’t the only dangerous man in a three-piece suit. Using his leverage over the finances of others, he manipulates the desperate into committing illegal and immoral acts in pursuit of his ultimate goal, the claiming of a fortune that is his birthright.
“Nathan Lane is someone we’ve wanted to have on The Blacklist for a very long time, so when we started crafting our 100th episode, we decided to try and do something special and write a part specifically with Nathan in mind,” executive producer Jon Bokenkamp says. “Imagine our excitement when he said yes! We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome him to the Blacklist family of criminals, weirdos, and nut-jobs. I promise, watching Nathan Lane and James Spader together on screen is going to be an absolute blast.”
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19:15 - MOVIES: The Greatest Showman - Trailer 2 feat Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron & Zendaya
