ABC’s ‘The Son in Law’ Comedy Pilot Casts Meera Simhan

NEW YORK -- Relief was just starting to wash over director Sam Raimi the morning after the premiere of “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.”The film, which opens in theaters Friday, has been a headlong sprint for the 62-year-old, who took over two and a half years ago after Scott Derrickson departed the project over creative differences. Raimi had a script to retool but an unmovable shooting timeline to meet.“Every part of this moviemaking process has been great, but every part of the process went on too long and became a little too intense,” explained Raimi, speaking by Zoom from Los Angeles.

Wilson Chapman editorRobert Bailey Jr. has been cast in “The Son in Law,” an ABC comedy pilot from writer and executive producer Ajay Sahgal.Bailey will play Benjamin Greene, an EMT in a relationship with Charlie (Evangeline Young), a recent college graduate with plans to go to law school that get upended when she unexpectedly becomes pregnant.

Chad Michael Murray is giving us hope of a “One Tree Hill” revival.

EXCLUSIVE: TV and film investment fund APX Capital is expanding into Latin America with a co-financing deal with Cenya Productions, the investment group founded by a financier behind films such as The Revenant.

Sam Fender has shared dates for an upcoming North American headline tour, which is set to kick off this July in Toronto.The new round of shows comes after the announcement that Fender will be supporting select dates of Florence + The Machine’s US tour, including a stop at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on September 16.The headline tour is also set to stop in New York City on August 9 and in Los Angeles on August 15. See the full list of dates below and view ticket details here.He’s also set to play this year’s Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago and Quebec’s Osheaga festival.The singer had previously teased the US tour announcement, posting a photo on social media of a ‘Seventeen Going Under’ billboard in the middle of the desert that read ‘on tour this summer’.

Sam Smith has announced a new single called ‘Love Me More’.The London singer-songwriter will release the track next Thursday (April 28) at 11pm BST – you can pre-save/pre-add it here.Smith shared the news on social media yesterday (April 20) alongside the official black-and-white artwork for the upcoming track. Check out the post below.‘Love Me More’ will follow on from the star’s 2020 single ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’, a festive number that was produced and co-written by Labrinth.

Angelique Jackson Actor, comedian and writer Ali Wong is set to make her directorial debut, helming an hour-long comedy special for Netflix.After partnering with the streamer for three comedy specials and the rom-com “Always Be My Maybe,” Wong is getting behind the camera to direct fellow comic Sheng Wang’s Netflix debut.Wang’s hour-long special will be filmed on June 12 at The Belasco in Los Angeles and is planned to premiere later this year. Tickets for the show go on sale Friday, April 22 at 10 a.m.

EXCLUSIVE: ABC comedy pilot The Son In Law has found its father in law.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterIone Skye has joined the upcoming Netflix series “Beef” in a guest starring role, Variety has learned exclusively.The 10-episode dramedy series will be led by Steven Yeun and Ali Wong. It follows two people who find themselves involved in a road rage incident that begins to consume every thought and action of their lives.Netflix would not comment on the details of Skye’s character, but sources say she is a mysterious woman whose mere presence haunts one of the lead characters.Along with Yeun, Wong, and Skye, the cast for the series also includes Young Mazino, Joseph Lee, David Choe, and Patti Yasutake, while Maria Bello, Ashley Park, Justin H.

Meera Simhan (The Flash) is set as a lead opposite Reema Sampat and Chris Sullivan in The Son In Law, ABC’s single-camera comedy pilot from 20th Television.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorCasting directors Bernard Telsey and Adam Caldwell are already back at work on season two of HBO’s “The Gilded Age.”The series stars Christine Baranski as Agnes van Rhijn, a socialite living in early-1880s New York City with her sister, Ada Brook, played by Cynthia Nixon. “Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes brings wealth, scheming and social hierarchy to New York, and with that a wealth of Broadway actors who make appearances throughout the first season.Telsey and Caldwell spoke with Variety about how they were able to bring Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin and Steven Spinella to the show.

Britney Spears revealed that she is expecting her third child. The announcement came on Monday night, April 11, via an Instagram post in which the 40-year-old singer and dancer hinted that she may have already gotten married to her fiancé, Sam Ashgari. She wrote: "I lost so much weight to go on my Maui trip only to gain it back … I thought “Geez … what happened to my stomach ???” My husband said “No you’re food pregnant silly!!!” So I got a pregnancy test … and uhhhhh well … I am having a baby .

Chloë Grace Moretz (Mother/Android), Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) and Eugene Lee Yang (Spring Bloom) will lead the animated film Nimona, based on ND Stevenson’s New York Times bestselling graphic novel, which is heading to Netflix in 2023.

Sam Elliott is apologizing for his past comments about The Power of the Dog.

Last month Oliver Sim of The xx dropped his first solo single "Romance With A Memory" (complete with a drag queen-filled video) and today he returns with its follow up. "Fruit" is described in a press release as "a joyful celebration of queer identity and self-acceptance penned to his younger self" and comes with a video in which Sim is interviewed on a chat show before performing the song while a childhood version of himself watches on. Check that out below.

A day to remember! Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song rang in son Dakota’s first birthday in style — and they have the picture to prove it.