ABC Picks Up ‘The Company You Keep’ Starring Milo Ventimiglia To Series

Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae is set to star in Disney+’s upcoming Star Wars series.According to Deadline, Lee is set to star as the male lead in Disney+’s The Acolyte. The series, which promises to depict the dark side of the Force’s rise to power during the final days of the film franchise’s High Republic era, marks the South Korean actor’s first leading role in a television series since starring in Squid Game.As of writing, specifics about Lee’s role in the series have yet to be released.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Luke Hemsworth (“Westworld”), Milo Ventimiglia (“This Is Us”), Ricky Whittle (“American Gods”), Daniel MacPherson (“Poker Face,” “Foundation”) and Chika Ikogwe (“Heartbreak High”) join Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth in the cast of action thriller “Land of Bad.” The previously announced title will shoot from later this month on the Gold Coast and Southeast Queensland, it was announced on Thursday.

Luke Hemsworth (Westworld) and Milo Ventimiglia (This Is Us) have joined the cast of the upcoming action-thriller Land of Bad, starring Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth.

previously announced star Amandla Stenberg.Going farther back in time than any live-action “Star Wars” project before it, “The Acolyte” will take place in the last days of the High Republic Era, centuries before “The Phantom Menace,” where the thought-to-be eradicated Siths have returned. “Russian Doll” co-creator Leslye Headland will be showrunning.Speaking to TheWrap last year, Headland — who is the first queer woman to be behind a “Star Wars” title — said “The Phantom Menace” appealed to her upon its release, when she was first discovering her sexuality.“I actually was very intrigued by why George Lucas had started us at that particular point.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Prolific Japanese film director Miike Takashi and Indonesian genre specialist Kimo Stamboel will be among the star names in the ‘On Screen’ section of the Busan International Film Festival given over to TV series. Miike has made “Connect,” a Korean-language crime fantasy thriller about a man who is kidnapped and has one of his eyes removed by a gang of organ harvesters and transplanted into the body of a notorious serial killer. The unwilling donor now has terrible visions as he witnesses terrifying attacks on the residents of Seoul. The show was written by Nakamura Masaru and Heo Dam (“Monstrum”). It features Korean talent including Jung Haein (“Snowdrop,” “Start-Up,” “Tune in for Love”) in the lead role and Ko Kyungpyo (“Decision to Leave,” “Seoul Vibe,”) as the serial killer, and Kim Hyejun (“Inspector Koo,” “Kingdom,” “Sinkhole”) as the mysterious Irang.

Gregg Goldstein Becoming Nicholas Sparks’ literary agent and then film production president might not seem like the best preparation for making a romantic drama about cannibalism, but Per Capita Prods. founder Theresa Park is transitioning to a wider, edgier range of projects with ease.  Park is producing an animated children’s show based on Michael Buckley’s bestselling fantasy novel series “The Sisters Grimm” for Apple TV+. And she arrives in Venice for the Sept. 2 world premiere of “Bones and All,” Luca Guadagnino’s adaptation of Camille DeAngelis’s novel about a couple (Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell) whose tastes run more towards hand eating than the hand holding found in Sparks’ works. The MGM/UA feature follows two other offbeat projects in Per Capita’s first year of releases: A24’s robot drama “After Yang” starring Colin Farrell and the Apple TV+ female-centered series “Roar” with Nicole Kidman. 

Korean actor Song Kang-ho, who starred in Parasite and won best actor at this year’s Cannes film festival for his role in Broker, is set to make his debut in a Korean series with Uncle Sam Shik for Seoul-based production company Slingshot Studio.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Song Kang-ho, known for his roles in “Memories of Murder” and “Parasite,” has signed up to make his TV series debut. He will star in indie-produced drama “Uncle Sam Shik.” “Uncle Sam Shik” is a 1960s-set tale of two men, their pride, greed and bromance, local Korean media reports. Song’s co-lead actor has not been disclosed. The series is to be directed by Shin Yeon-shick, with whom Song has recently shot feature films “Coweb” and “One Win.” Both films have completed physical production but have not yet been released. The series is reported to be a ten-episode drama, produced by Slingshot Studio. A broadcast or streaming partner has not yet been announced.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Lee Jung-jae, the star of hit Netflix series “Squid Game,” is to reprise his role as a manic killer in “Ray,” a TV series spun off from 2020 Korean action-horror film “Deliver Us From Evil.” Korean media sources report that Lee will star in and co-produce the series through his own Artist Studio company and Hive Media, producer of “Deliver Us From Evil.” Variety has reached out for further details. In the original movie, Hwang Jung-min played In-Nam, a former black ops agent who travels to Thailand to investigate an abduction. There he is pursued by Lee’s character Ray, a Korean-Japanese ruffian whose brother had been killed by In-Nam. Both heavily tattooed and charming, Ray embarks on a bloody rampage of revenge.

Arden Cho rocks a bold blue suit for the premiere of her new Netflix series, Partner Track, in Los Angeles on Tuesday night (August 23).

movie, but she had a message for fans who are sad about her character's absence. The upcoming Paramount+ movie reunites the majority of the original series cast, minus key alumni such as Cho and Dylan O'Brien. Cho, who headlines Netflix's new workplace series , confirmed in an interview earlier this summer that her decision not to appear in the movie was due to significant pay disparity with a few of her co-stars.Nonetheless, Cho expressed her gratitude to the fans for their support and love for her character, Kira.

Parasyte, helmed by Train to Busan and Hellbound director Yeon Sang-ho, is currently in the works at Netflix.Titled Parasyte: The Grey, the adaptation of the manga series is set in a world where humans wage war against unidentified parasitic life-forms. The series will be produced by Wow Point and Climax Studio, the production company behind Hellbound and 2021 military procedural D.P., according to The Hollywood Reporter.A separate report by Deadline adds that Jeon So-nee (When My Love Blooms) is set to star as Jeong Su-in, who begins to co-exist with a parasite that fails to completely take over her brain.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Train to Busan” director Yeon Sang-ho is to direct a Korean, live action series adaptation of hit Japanese manga “Parasyte: The Grey.” Netflix is the exclusive distributor worldwide. The story is about unidentified parasitic life-forms that live off human hosts and strive to grow their power. As they start to disrupt society, a group of humans wage war against the rising evil. Korean stars Jeon So-nee, Koo Kyo-hwan, Lee Jung-hyun have been confirmed to head the cast. The series is being produced on behalf of Netflix by Climax Studio and Wow Point. The series is adapted from a hit manga series created by Iwaaki Hitoshi about invasive life-forms that seize and control human bodies. Published by the Kodansha company in its Morning Open Zkan and its Monthly Afternoon magazine from 1988 to 1995, it sold over 25 million copies in over 20 territories and countries.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefKakao Piccoma, a Japanese online animation firm, has reportedly pushed back its plans for a share listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, previously indicated for December this year. The company hopes that the delay will help it hold on to a $6 billion valuation.The company is jointly owned by Kakao, the Korean tech and messaging giant, and Kakao Entertainment, with shareholding respectively 73% and 18%. Piccoma raised finance last year though a private share sale that brought in Anchor Capital, valued it at JPY847 billion ($6.17 billion at current exchange rates).

The Company You Keep, starring Milo Ventimiglia, based on the 2019 Korean drama My Fellow Citizens!.On August 22, Variety reported that ABC has picked up the series for a full season, which is now set for a 2023 premiere, after it was originally ordered to pilot this year. The Company You Keep is set to star This Is Us actor Milo Ventimiglia, alongside Catherine Haena Kim.It is an adaptation of the 2019 South Korean drama My Fellow Citizens!, which starred Super Junior member Choi Si-won, Dr.

EXCLUSIVE: 20th Television has re-upped the deal for Milo Ventimiglia and Russ Cundiff’s DiVide Pictures, the company behind the studio’s drama The Company You Keep, headlined by the This Is Us alum. The drama just received a series order by ABC.

Milo Ventimiglia is coming back to the small screen!

Joe Otterson TV ReporterABC has given a series order to the spy drama “The Company You Keep” starring “This Is Us” alum Milo Ventimiglia, Variety has learned.The series was originally ordered to pilot as part of ABC’s 2022 pilot season slate. It will now debut at midseason on ABC in 2023.The show is based on the Korean series “My Fellow Citizens” from Korean Broadcasting System. In the American version, a night of passion leads to love between con-man Charlie (Ventimiglia) and undercover CIA officer Emma (Catherine Haena Kim), who are unknowingly on a collision course professionally.

ABC will not be moving forward with drama pilot Criminal Nature, from Rashad Raisani, 20th Television and A+E Studios. Criminal Nature was one of two remaining “second cycle” ABC pilots that had not heard their fates, along with fellow drama The Company You Keep, starring and executive produced by This Is Us alum Milo Ventimiglia. I hear the latter continues to look promising for a series pickup. Like drama pilot Will Trent, which just picked up to series, The Company You Keep also had started a writers room in anticipation of a series order. In another encouraging sign,The Company You Keep also has brought on seasoned writer-producer Phil Klemmer as co-showrunner, I hear.