CBS All Access Expanding to Australia
The US studio CBS will launch its streaming platform in Australia before the end of 2018.
Speaking to media at a programming showcase in Los Angeles, the streaming platform's president and chief operating officer Marc DeBevoise said it would launch here in the fourth quarter of the year.
That means the local market's two leading streaming platforms Netflix and Stan could have a new competitor as early as October.
Speculation among US media, however, suggests a December launch is more likely.
"That doesn't even include the subscribers we plan to generate internationally," he said. "We have had early success in Canada and we are now getting ready to expand into Australia."
Speculation has surrounded the timing of a local CBS All Access launch since the CBS studio acquired the Ten Network last year.
It is still unclear whether the paid CBS All Access service would complement or replace Ten's free Tenplay catch-up streaming service.
One of the key elements of the CBS All Access launch strategy which is still being finalised is the strength of its content play.
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MOVIES: Sonic the Hedgehog - Ben Schwartz to Voice Sonic
Ben Schwartz has been tapped to voice the title character in Paramount Pictures’ “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie, sources tell Variety.
James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, and Jim Carrey will also star in the live-action hybrid.
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Black-ish - Season 5 - New Co-Showrunner Kenny Smith Inks Overall ABC Studios Deal
Kenny Smith, who was recently named executive producer/showrunner on black-ish, has signed a three-year overall deal with the studio behind the praised ABC comedy series.
Under the pact, Smith, who had served as co-executive producer on the show’s third season, will be co-showrunner/executive producer alongside Jonathan Groff. In addition, under his new deal, Smith will develop new projects for both ABC Studios and ABC Signature Studios.
The show also will focus more on the twins, Miles and Marsai. “We’d never had that, 13-14 year-olds on the show. Now we are dealing with middle school issues, which generates new stories,” Smith said. (The Johnsons’ older children, Junior and Zoey, were already in high school when the series started.)
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The studio has inked new Black-ish co-showrunner Kenny Smith to a three-year overall deal that sources say is valued at a total of $4.5 million.
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As Kenya Barris closes in on a $100M overall with Netflix, ABC Studios has signed new #Blackish co-showrunner Kenny Smith to a $4.5M three-year deal: https://t.co/teZqKzmE2M
— Lesley Goldberg (@Snoodit) August 8, 2018
MOVIES: Power Rangers - Sequel in Early Development
Hasbro’s licensing plans for Power Rangers will resemble the playbook used for Transformers and My Little Pony, featuring a “very robust” line of products “coming from a number of different partners,” CEO Brian Goldner told analysts.
Hasbro acquired Power Rangers and other brands from Saban Brands for $522 million earlier this year. Goldner termed 2019 a “transition year” for Power Rangers as Hasbro introduces new products in March and April. The existing inventory of Power Rangers products is expected to be sold through retail by mid-2019 and new entertainment content and licensed products will arrive the following year, he said.
Many of Saban’s licensees also have developed My Little Pony and Transformers products, so Power Rangers’ shift to new ownership will be “relatively seamless,” Goldner said. Hasbro also has hired “key personnel” from Saban responsible for the Power Rangers brand, with Saban CEO Haim Saban serving as a creative consultant, he said.
Power Rangers’ will generate an operating profit similar to Hasbro’s other franchise brands and has a “significant opportunity for growth given where the brand had been most recently,” Goldner said. Hasbro will work with a film studio to develop a new Power Rangers movie as a follow-up to the 2017 release. In addition to Power Rangers, Hasbro also acquired Saban properties including My Pet Monster, Luna Petunia, Popples and Julius Jr.
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SEAL Team - Season 2 - Michael McGrady & Ruffin Prentiss to Recur
Michael McGrady (Ray Donovan) will play Commanding Officer Harrington, a confident and skilled mentor to members of Bravo team. Having been a Tier One operator himself, the wisdom he carries from both in and out of the field is invaluable.
Ruffin Prentiss (The Arrangement) will portray Summer Kairos, the team’s new EOD (Explosives Ordinance Disposal) tech.
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Law and Order: SVU - Mark Tallman to Recur
Mark Tallman (Rise) Tallman will play Gavin Riley, the chief of detectives who’s on his way to being governor one day and isn’t afraid to step on toes. He’s looking to make his presence felt and name known.
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7th August 2018
Watchmen - Dylan Schombing, Adelynn Spoon & Lily Rose Smith Join HBO Pilot
Dylan Schombing (Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce), Adelynn Spoon and Lily Rose Smith (The Vampire Diaries) have been cast in Damon Lindelof’s HBO Watchmen pilot, a take on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ iconic limited comic series.
As per all Watchmen castings, no details about the actors’ characters are provided.
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6th August 2018
The Rookie - Danny Nucci to Recur
Former The Fosters lead Danny Nucci is set for a key recurring role on ABC’s straight-to-series light crime drama The Rookie, starring and executive produced by Castle alum Nathan Fillion.
Nucci will play Detective Sanford Motta, a tough major assault crimes detective in the station.
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Bull - Season 3 - Carolyn McCormick to Guest
TVLine has learned that Carolyn McCormick (who plays Law & Order-verse shrink Dr. Olivet) will guest-star on CBS’ Bull as an authoritative, tough, seasoned, fair-minded judge who doesn’t tolerate a lot of drama in her courtroom.
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Jack Ryan - Season 2 - Jovan Adepo, Jordi Molla, Cristina Umaña & Francisco Denis Join Cast
Jovan Adepo (The Leftovers), Jordi Molla (Genius) and Narcos’ Cristina Umaña and Francisco Denis have been cast in the second season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan as series regulars, joining previously announced Noomi Rapace (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Michael Kelly (House of Cards) and John Hoogenakker (Colony).
Adepo will play Marcus, a former special crewman in the Navy now repairing boats. His life takes a turn when an old colleague offers him a critical position in a covert operation.
Molla will play Nicolas Reyes, the powerful and charismatic leader of a South American Country, he uses his intelligence and strategic mind to lead his country and battle his foes.
Umaña will play Gloria Bonalde, a woman who fearlessly balances her career in politics with the demands of motherhood. She is charismatic, confident and displays unnatural courage and a strong moral center in the chaotic and supercharged world of our story.
Denis will play Ubarri, a senior government official in a South American country. A man of wisdom, intellect and force, Ubarri plays a pivotal role in the unfolding of the season’s narrative.
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MOVIES: The After Party - Trailer feat Kyle Thomas Harvey, Harrison Holzer & Shelley Hennig
3rd August 2018
St. Luke's - Basketball Drama & Pantheon - Animated Drama in Development at AMC
EXCLUSIVE: AMC is looking to break new ground with a primetime animated drama series, Pantheon. The basic cable network has open writers rooms for two series projects, Pantheon, from Turn creator/executive producer Craig Silverstein, and drama St. Luke’s, from The Walking Dead co-executive producer Seth Hoffman. Both hail from AMC Studios. St. Luke’s also is from Channing Tatum’s Free Association.
Pantheon is based on a series of short stories by Ken Liu about uploaded intelligence.
Written by Hoffman, St. Luke’s centers on 18-year-old Derrick Dunn. He lives in a one-bedroom apartment with his mother and two brothers. He’s a budding basketball star with a seemingly limitless future ahead of him… if no one discovers who he really is.
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Guantanamo - Prison Drama from The Weinstein Company Dead at Showtime
The pay cable network originally picked up the high-profile project from The Weinstein Company a year ago with a 10-episode series commitment. Created by Daniel Voll, it had Oscar winner Oliver Stone poised to direct the two-hour opening episode in his first foray into scripted TV.
In October, Guantanamo got engulfed in the Weinstein scandal when the mogul was accused by numerous women of sexual harassment and sexual assault. At the time, Showtime said that the project, which had set up a writers room, remained in development with no greenlight decision made, but the network made it clear that it would not proceed with the series if TWC remained involved.
It is unclear whether it will be shopped elsewhere. I hear Showtime’s decision was made before TWC’s sale to Lantern, which recently closed.
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Central Park Five - Niecy Nash, Storm Reid, Kylie Bunbury, Aunjanue Ellis & Marsha Stephanie Blake Join Ava DuVernay's Limited Netflix Series
Ava DuVernay's Central Park Scripted Drama Adds Powerful Female Lineup to Cast
Emmy Award Nominee Niecy Nash (Claws), Aunjanue Ellis (Quantico), Kylie Bunbury (Game Night, Pitch), Marsha Stephanie Blake (Crown Heights) and Storm Reid (A Wrinkle in Time) join limited series in supporting roles.
Niecy Nash will play Delores Wise, mother of Korey Wise; Aunjanue Ellis will play Sharone Salaam, mother of Yusef Salaam; Kylie Bunbury will play Angie Richardson, sister of Kevin Richardson; Marsha Stephanie Blake will play Linda McCray, mother of Antron McCray; Storm Reid will play Lisa, a friend of Korey Wise.
Synopsis: Based on a true story that gripped the country, the limited series will chronicle the notorious case of five teenagers of color who were convicted of a rape they did not commit. The four episode limited series will focus on the five teenagers from Harlem -- Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise. The series will span from the spring of 1989, when each were first questioned about the incident, to 2014 when they were exonerated and a settlement was reached with the city of New York. The limited series will be released on Netflix on 2019.
It was previously announced that Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, Jharrel Jerome and Jovan Adepo joined the cast. Ava DuVernay will write and direct the narrative series which will be four episodes. Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King from Participant Media, Oprah Winfrey/Harpo Films, Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh from Tribeca Productions and Ava DuVernay will executive produce the limited series.
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Just when you think the cast for @ava's Central Park Five limited series can't get any better ... @NiecyNash @kyliebunbury @stormreid & @aunjanuejlt will play friends & family members of the wrongfully accused teens. pic.twitter.com/I3AkFwDufr
— See What's Next (@seewhatsnext) August 3, 2018
Rob Riggle to Star in FOX Comedy Pilot with Leah Remini and Kaitlin Olson
Rob Riggle is set as a lead opposite Leah Remini and Kaitlin Olson in Fox’s off-cycle half-hour multi-camera comedy pilot from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-creator Rob McElhenney, Rob Rosell and 20th Century Fox TV.
The untitled comedy, written by McElhenney and Rosell, centers on the unconventional family set-up of a woman (Remini), her new wife (Olson) and her ex-husband (Riggle) all living under the same roof while raising two kids.
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MOVIES: If Beale Street Could Talk - Teaser Trailer feat Kiki Layne, Stephan James, Regina King & More
2nd August 2018
Fuller House - Season 4 - Josh Peck to Guest
Lesser Gods - Comedy Based on Podcast in Development at HBO
HBO is developing a half-hour comedy series based on the “Lesser Gods” podcast created by Colleen Scriven, Variety has learned exclusively.
The series is set in a future where men and women are no longer able to reproduce. The five youngest people on Earth indulge in parties, affairs, rivalries, and fame while contending with the struggle to save the species.
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MOVIES: Nappily Ever After - Trailer feat Sanaa Lathan, Ricky Whittle & More
MOVIES: Smallfoot - Final Trailer feat Channing Tatum, Zendaya & More
Jack Ryan - Season 2 - Michael Kelly Join Cast
House of Cards’ Michael Kelly has been cast in the second season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan as a series regular, joining previously announced Noomi Rapace and John Hoogenakker.
Kelly will play Mike November, a smart, seasoned career field officer in the CIA who works with both Jack Ryan and Jim Greer across the new season.
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Erase - Donald Faison & Eric Nelsen Join USA Network Pilot
Donald Faison (Ray Donovan) and Eric Nelsen (A Walk Among the Tombstones) have been cast in key series regular roles opposite Denis Leary and Callie Thorne in Erase, USA Network’s crime thriller-with-a-twist drama pilot.
Faison will play Raffi Dumauge, Donal’s (Leary) ex-partner and closest friend. Now retired from the NYPD, he has reinvented himself as a family man.
Nelsen will portray Sean O’Neal, Donal’s (Leary) son who works as a DJ a couple nights a week, surrounded by booze and blow in a Long Island club, raking in enough cash to put a strut in his step. At this rate, he risks heading down the same path as his father.
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MOVIES: Men In Black Spinoff - Rebecca Ferguson Joins Cast; Closes Deal to Star in Doctor Sleep, The Shining Sequel
EXCLUSIVE: Hot off Mission: Impossible Fallout, Rebecca Ferguson is being set for a plum role in the Men in Black spinoff. She has separately closed her deal to play the scary Rose the Hat in Doctor Sleep, based on the Stephen King novel that continues the story line King started in The Shining.
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1st August 2018
Legacies - Peyton Alex Smith Joins Cast
Former The Quad star Peyton Alex Smith has signed on a series regular in the CW’s upcoming Legacies, the next chapter of The Vampire Diaries/The Originals trilogy from executive producer/writer Julie Plec.
Smith plays Rafael, a dangerously charismatic and newly-triggered werewolf. With a combination of a pure and loyal heart mixed with a lifetime of abuse and anger, Rafael wants to be a good person but lives in a constant struggle with the emotional demons that have plagued him through a difficult childhood.
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Less Than Zero - Lily Donoghue, Cooper Koch, Keenan Jolliff, Ronen Rubinstein, and James Bloor Join Hulu Drama Pilot
The story follows Clay, a college freshman returning home for Christmas to spend time with his ex-girlfriend and his friend who struggles with addiction. The series is described as a look at the culture of wealthy, decadent youth in Los Angeles.
Donoghue will play Blair, described as Clay’s sexy, smart former girlfriend who hopes to rekindle their relationship. Koch will play Julian, Clay’s childhood best friend who has forgone college to live as a free spirit but that freedom is coming at a hard price. Jolliff will play Rip, Clay’s friend and drug dealer, who feels his trust fund might never run out. Rubinstein will play Trent, a good-looking, entitled, and vain, UCLA student whose real focus is modeling. Bloor will play Daniel, a college classmate of Clay’s and an outsider to his high school friends, but every bit as troubled as they are.
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Legacies - Steven R. McQueen to Guest
Steven R. McQueen, who played Elena’s younger brother/cousin Jeremy on The Vampire Diaries, will appear in the third episode of The CW’s Legacies, the next chapter in the TVD franchise, TVLine has learned exclusively.
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MOVIES: Animal Farm - Netflix Acquires Rights to George Orwell Novel with Andy Serkis Directing Motion-Capture Adaptation
EXCLUSIVE: Days after acquiring his film Mowgli from Warner Bros, Netflix has doubled down with Andy Serkis by acquiring rights to the George Orwell novel Animal Farm. Serkis will direct a performance-capture film.
Orwell’s allegorical novella was published in 1945, and the author said it was informed by the Russian revolution of 1917 and the subsequent Stalinist regime of the Soviet Union. If you didn’t read it in school, the premise involves a group of animals who rebel against the humans who own their farm and win their independence. The architects of the revolution create a utopian environment based on equality, but a pig named Napoleon twists the original intent, slowly eliminates his rivals and enacts seven commandments — the basic of which declares that “all animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
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MOVIES: Doctor Sleep - Carl Lumbly, Alex Essoe & Zahn McClarnon Join The Shining Sequel
Thanks to Darthlocke4 for the heads up.
EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros is setting Carl Lumbly to play Dick Halloran and Alex Essoe to play Wendy Torrance in Doctor Sleep, the continuation of the storyline from The Shining. Those are the roles that Scatman Crothers and Shelley Duvall played in the Stanley Kubrick-directed original, if you are keeping score at home.
Mike Flanagan is directing Doctor Sleep, which stars Ewan McGregor as grown up Danny Torrance, and Rebecca Ferguson plays Rose The Hat, head of a cult that feeds on the “steam” created by young people who have a touch of the “shining.” It is an excruciating fatal process for the victims and Torrance finds himself in their crosshairs as he tries to help a young girl elude their grasp.
Mike Flanagan is directing Doctor Sleep, which stars Ewan McGregor as grown up Danny Torrance, and Rebecca Ferguson plays Rose The Hat, head of a cult that feeds on the “steam” created by young people who have a touch of the “shining.” It is an excruciating fatal process for the victims and Torrance finds himself in their crosshairs as he tries to help a young girl elude their grasp.
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Zahn McClarnon is in talks to join Ewan McGregor and Rebecca Ferguson in Warner Bros.’ adaptation of the Stephen King novel “Doctor Sleep,” the sequel to the horror classic “The Shining.”
Sources say McClarnon would portray Crow Daddy, the right-hand man of Ferguson’s character.
“Doctor Sleep” begins as Torrance carries the trauma of the Overlook Hotel into adulthood. He’s become a reflection of his murderous father, with a drinking problem that dulls his pain as well as his “shining” powers. Those abilities return when he embraces sobriety and uses his gift to help those dying at a hospice. He establishes a psychic connection with a young girl who shares his extreme skills, and who is being targeted by a group with similar abilities. They’ve found that their powers grow if they inhale the “steam” that comes off others, who have the power to shine, when they’re suffering painful deaths.
Sources say McClarnon would portray Crow Daddy, the right-hand man of Ferguson’s character.
“Doctor Sleep” begins as Torrance carries the trauma of the Overlook Hotel into adulthood. He’s become a reflection of his murderous father, with a drinking problem that dulls his pain as well as his “shining” powers. Those abilities return when he embraces sobriety and uses his gift to help those dying at a hospice. He establishes a psychic connection with a young girl who shares his extreme skills, and who is being targeted by a group with similar abilities. They’ve found that their powers grow if they inhale the “steam” that comes off others, who have the power to shine, when they’re suffering painful deaths.
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Origin - New Promo - Pale New Dot
Thanks to kay462 for the heads up.
ALF - Reboot in Development at Warner Bros. Television
A reboot of the '80s sitcom ALF is now in the works at Warner Bros. The reboot of the series, starring the friendly alien ALF (an acronym for Alien Life Form) who lands in the home of a middle-class family, would reportedly focus on ALF returning to earth, with a new family and new characters. Original writers Tom Patchett and Paul Fusco are attached, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.
No network is attached as of yet, and sources stress that the reboot is in very early development.
The project has been in the works since May. Additional details are not immediately available.
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MOVIES: Top Gun: Maverick - Glen Powell in Talks to Join Cast
Glen Powell will be headed into the danger zone, after all. The actor, who stars in Netlix’s Set It Up, is in talks to join the cast of Paramount’s Top Gun sequel.
Details of Powell's role are being kept in the hangar.
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City On A Hill - Tom Fontana Tapped as Showrunner for Upcoming Showtime Series
EMMY(R) WINNER TOM FONTANA NAMED EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AND SHOWRUNNER ON SHOWTIME(R) DRAMA SERIES CITY ON A HILL
Fontana Will Work Closely With Series Creator Chuck MacLean On The 10-Episode Series, Starring Kevin Bacon And Aldis Hodge And Premiering In 2019
LOS ANGELES - August 1, 2018 - SHOWTIME has named multiple Emmy winner Tom Fontana (Homicide: Life on the Street) as showrunner, executive producer and one of the writers on the upcoming drama series CITY ON A HILL, starring Golden Globe(R) winner and Emmy nominee Kevin Bacon (The Following) and Screen Actors Guild(R) award winner Aldis Hodge (Underground). Fontana will work closely with series creator and executive producer Chuck MacLean (Boston Strangler) on the 10-episode series premiering in 2019. Today's announcement was made by Gary Levine, President of Programming, Showtime Networks Inc.
Based on an original idea by Academy Award(R) winner Ben Affleck, CITY ON A HILL is set in the early 1990s Boston, rife with violent criminals emboldened by local law enforcement agencies in which corruption and racism was the norm. In this fictional account, assistant district attorney Decourcy Ward (Hodge) arrives from Brooklyn and forms an unlikely alliance with a corrupt yet venerated FBI veteran, Jackie Rohr (Bacon). Together, they take on a family of armored car robbers from Charlestown in a case that grows to involve, and ultimately subvert, the entire criminal justice system of Boston.
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Bosch - Season 5 - Ryan Hurst Joins Cast
Ryan Hurst (Sons of Anarchy, Bates Motel) is joining the cast of Amazon drama series Bosch for the upcoming fifth season. Hurst will play Hector Bonner, a former client of attorney Honey Chandler (Mimi Rogers), currently working as her investigator.
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