Apple Nears Series Order for David Oyelowo-Led Dramedy ‘Government Cheese’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Sasha Urban editorHot off his Emmy nomination for his role in “Under the Banner of Heaven,” Andrew Garfield is in talks to portray billionaire business mogul Richard Branson in a limited series called “Hot Air,” Variety has confirmed. The series will be directed by David Leitch (“Deadpool 2”), with Universal International in discussions to produce.The six-part series is written by Jon Croker (“Paddington 2”), based on the book “Dirty Tricks: British Airways’ Secret War Against Virgin Atlantic” by investigative journalist Martyn Gregory.

EXCLUSIVE: Hidetoshi Nishijima (Drive My Car) is set to star opposite Rashida Jones in Sunny, Apple TV+’s a half-hour dark comedy series from  A24.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming Showtime comedy series “The Curse” has cast Corbin Bernsen, Barkhad Abdi, and Constance Shulman, Variety has learned exclusively.The show, which was picked up to series in December 2020, explores how an alleged curse disturbs the relationship of a newly married couple as they try to conceive a child while co-starring on their problematic new HGTV show. Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie co-created the series and will also star alongside Emma Stone.Bernsen is known for his Emmy-nominated performance as Arnie Becker in the NBC legal drama “LA Law” as well as for playing Henry Spencer in the popular USA Network series “Psych.” He will next be seen in a season-long arc in the third season of the Showtime series “City on a Hill.” He has also starred in films like the “Major League” franchise, “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” and “Shattered.” He is repped by A3 Artists Agency and Randy James Management.

EXCLUSIVE: The Outlaws and Poldark star Eleanor Tomlinson has joined the cast of Netflix’s romantic drama series One Day.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple’s upcoming limited series “The Big Cigar” has cast P.J. Byrne in a series regular role, Variety has learned exclusively.The six-episode series stars André Holland as Black Panther leader Huey P.

Anyone who has so much as turned on a television this year can tell you there is too much true crime. The genre has reached a saturation point: the stories are becoming thinner and are being repeated in different forms until they feel threadbare.

EXCLUSIVE: Apple is rounding out the recurring cast for Platonic, its new comedy series from Nick Stoller, Francesca Delbanco and Sony TV. Alisha Wainwright (Palmer), Guy Branum (BROS), Janet Varney (You’re the Worst), Emily Kimball (Daisy Jones and the Six) and newcomer Vinny Thomas have joined the cast in heavily recurring roles opposite leads Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen.

It’s been a couple of years, but Jason Momoa’s “See” was one of the very first original series that arrived on Apple TV+ in its infancy. Now, as the series approaches Season 3, it’s apparently time to call it quits.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor“The Prophecy,” Kerry Washington’s first foray into audio as an executive producer, is set to premiere next month on Audible with the actor starring in the modern-day spin on three Bible stories.Joining the cast are David Oyelowo (“Selma”), Asa Butterfield (“Sex Education”) and Steven Pasquale (“Rescue Me”), alongside Washington, Laurence Fishburne and Daniel Dae Kim. All eight episodes of “The Prophecy” will drop exclusively on Audible on July 28.In “The Prophecy,” when a series of unexplainable events happens simultaneously around the world, Dr.

Jason Momoa’s Baba Voss has fought his last battle after Apple TV+ revealed that season three of See would be its last.

Apple TV+ is close to a series order for dramedy Government Cheese, starring and executive produced by David Oyelowo. In addition to Oyelowo, the project hails from creators Paul Hunter and Aeyesha Carr (Midnight Run, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Macro Television Studios and Apple Studios.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw is a woman desperately seeking answers about what really happened to her in the just-released trailer for Apple TV+’s psychological thriller series “Surface.”In the series, Mbatha-Raw plays Sophie, a woman who has suffered a traumatic head injury that has left her with extreme memory loss. Per a logline from the streamer, the injury is believed to be the result of a suicide attempt.

departed the project.The show — executive produced by Portman and Har’el — is an adaptation of Laura Lippman’s New York Times bestselling novel of the same name. Set in 1960s Baltimore, it follows housewife and mother Maddie Schwartz (Portman), who is pushed to reinvent her life as an investigative journalist following an unsolved murder. She then crosses paths with Cleo Sherwood (Ingram), a dedicated mother who is juggling several jobs, along with a commitment to advancing Baltimore’s Black community.

Moses Ingram, fresh from starring in Disney+’s Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi, has joined the Apple TV+ and Endeavor Content limited series Lady in the Lake.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentParis-based Cottonwood Media and the Paris National Opera are re-teaming with U.S. streamer Hulu, Germany’s ZDF and  ZDF Studios and France Televisions, all partners on “Find Me in Paris,” for another premium live action tween series, “Spellbound.”Scheduled to commence production this summer in Paris, moving later to Brussels, “Spellbound” is created by Jill Girling and Lori Mather (“Ride”), the same original executive produces and showrunners of “Find Me in Paris.”Renaud Mathieu serves as line producer, a position he also held on “Emily in Paris.”Series lead director is Alexander Jacob (“Theodosia,” “4 O’clock Club,” “Hollyoaks”). Directors include Annie Bradley (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Expanse”), as well as Robert Burke (“Find Me in Paris,” “Free Rein”).

EXCLUSIVE: Yellowstone co-creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan will direct the first two episodes of Bass Reeves, the six-part limited series starring David Oyelowo as the legendary Wild West lawman.

, is back with season 4. And the cast, including returning stars Jeffrey Wright and Luke Hemsworth, talk about why the new episodes were worth the wait, while Angela Sarafyan teases how the new installment feels like a return to season 1. “It takes us a little time with this stuff.

Having starred as Martin Luther King in Selma, British actor David Oyelowo is planning to play another American icon, Sugar Ray Robinson.

Tiffany Boone (Hunters) is set to star alongside Andre Holland in The Big Cigar, Apple’s limited series that chronicles the story of Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton’s escape to Cuba, from Claws showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois, Don Cheadle, Joshuah Bearman and Warner Bros. TV.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBilly Crystal is set to star in the limited series “Before” at Apple, Variety has learned.Crystal will star in the show as Eli, a child psychiatrist who recently lost his wife when he encounters a troubled young boy. Crystal will also executive produce in addition to starring.The series comes from writer Sarah Thorp (“The Bounty Hunter,” “Hawthorne”), who is also an executive producer.