‘Armor Wars’ Disney Plus Series Starring Don Cheadle Enlists Yassir Lester as Head Writer

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDavid and Jessica Oyelowo have signed a TV overall deal with ViacomCBS and MTV Entertainment under their Yoruba Saxon production banner, Variety has learned.Under the deal, David is attached to star in and executive produce a series about legendary Old West lawman Bass Reeves. Reeves was known as the greatest frontier hero in American history and is also believed to be the inspiration for The Lone Ranger.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCountry music star Trace Adkins has been cast in the upcoming Fox drama series “Monarch.”Adkins joins recently announced cast members Susan Sarandon and Anna Friel. In the series, “Texas Truthteller” and reigning king of country music Albie Roman (Adkins), along with his insanely talented, but tough as nails wife, Dottie Cantrell Roman (Sarandon), have created a country music dynasty.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDan Harmon’s upcoming animated comedy “Krapopolis” at Fox has cast Hannah Waddingham, Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry, Pam Murphy and Duncan Trussell in the lead roles.The series, which was picked up to series in February, centers on a flawed family of humans, gods and monsters that tries to run one of the world’s first cities without killing each other.In the series, Ayoade voices Tyrannis, the mortal son of a goddess.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSusan Sarandon and Anna Friel have been cast in the upcoming Fox country music drama series “Monarch,” Variety has learned.In the series, the Romans are headed by the insanely talented, but tough as nails Queen of Country Music Dottie Cantrell Roman (Sarandon). Along with her beloved husband, Albie, Dottie has created a country music dynasty.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMatt Bomer is attached to star in and executive produce a series adaptation of the Thomas Mallon novel “Fellow Travelers” that is currently in development at Showtime, Variety has learned exclusively.Ron Nyswaner is adapting the book for the screen and will also serve as showrunner and executive producer on the series. “Fellow Travelers” is described as a political thriller and epic love story that unfolds in the era of McCarthyism and resolves in the age of AIDS.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe Showtime anthology “Super Pumped,” the first season of which will chart the rise of Uber, has cast Bridget Gao-Hollitt, Variety has learned exclusively.Gao-Hollitt joins previously announced cast members Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kyle Chandler, Kerry Bishé, Babak Tafti, Mousa Hussein Kraish, Jon Bass, and Hank Azaria.Planned as anthology, the first season of “Super Pumped” is based on Mike Isaac’s book of the same name.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHBO Max has ordered a pilot for a potential “Dead Boy Detectives” series, Variety has learned exclusively from sources.Based on the DC Comics characters created by Neil Gaiman, the one-hour series would follow the Dead Boy Detectives — Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine — who decided not to enter the afterlife in order to stay on earth and investigate crimes involving the supernatural.Sebastian Croft and Ty Tennant are set to play Rowland and Paine respectively in the

Joe Otterson TV ReporterRainn Wilson has joined the cast of the upcoming AMC series “Dark Winds.”He joins previously announced series leads Zahn McClarnon and Kiowa Gordon. “Dark Winds” is based on the Leaphorn & Chee book series by Tony Hillerman.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Big Shot” has been renewed for Season 2 at Disney Plus.The dramedy series centers around Marvyn Korn (John Stamos) after he is ousted from his position as head coach for an NCAA basketball team. He is given a chance at redemption with a coaching position at Westbrook, an elite private high school for girls and soon learns that the teenage players require empathy and vulnerability – foreign concepts for the stoic Coach Korn.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNkechi Okoro Carroll has renewed her overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group, where she has been based since 2018.In addition, Okoro Carroll has formed a new production company called Rock My Soul Productions.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe television adaptation of the hit video game series “Life Is Strange” is enlisting music star Shawn Mendes and Anonymous Content.The TV version of the Square Enix games hails from Legendary Television and dj2 Entertainment, with Anonymous Content now also producing. Anonymous and Legendary will serve as co-studios, with Legendary as the lead studio.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJesse Williams has joined the cast of the Hulu drama pilot “Olga Dies Dreaming.”Williams joins previously announced series leads Aubrey Plaza and Ramón Rodríguez in the pilot, which is based on the yet-to-be-released novel of the same name by Xóchitl Gonzalez.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Dead Ringers” series at Amazon has added both Jennifer Ehle and Emily Meade in recurring roles, Variety has learned.They join previously announced series lead Rachel Weisz as well as cast members Michael Chernus, Poppy Liu, Britne Oldford and Jeremy Shamos.The series was announced at the streaming service in August 2020 with a straight-to-series order. It is a modern update of the 1988 David Cronenberg film of the same name.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Tom Swift” has been ordered to series at The CW, Variety has learned.The show is a spinoff of the CW series “Nancy Drew.” Tian Richards made his first appearance as the character in the “Nancy Drew” episode “The Celestial Visitor” during that show’s second season. It served as a backdoor pilot to the “Tom Swift” standalone series.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Vampire Academy” series at Peacock has set its main cast as well as the directors for Season 1, Variety has learned.The show, based on the book series by Richelle Mead, will star Sisi Stringer, Daniele Nieves, Kieron Moore, André Dae Kim, J. August Richards, Anita-Joy Uwajeh, Mia McKenna-Bruce, Rhian Blundell, Jonetta Kaiser, and Andrew Liner.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“American Vandal” creators Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault have landed a series order at Paramount Plus for an eSports mockumentary series called “Players,” Variety has learned.“Players” follows a fictional pro “League of Legends” team as they pursue their first championship after years of close calls and heartache.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJacob Anderson has been cast in the lead role of the “Interview With the Vampire” series at AMC, Variety has learned.Anderson will play the titular vampire, Louis, known in the novel as Louis de Pointe du Lac. The book centers on Louis as he relates the story of his life to a reporter, in particular how he was turned into a vampire and then mentored by Lestat de Lioncourt.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLaKeith Stanfield will star in an adaptation of the Victor LaValle novel “The Changeling,” which has been ordered to series at Apple, Variety has learned.The series is described as a fairytale for grown-ups. It is further described as a horror story, a parenthood fable, and a perilous odyssey through a New York City you didn’t know existed.Kelly Marcel will write the adaptation in addition to serving as executive producer and showrunner on the series.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSteven Soderbergh and Ed Solomon have landed a series order at HBO Max for the drama “Full Circle,” Variety has learned exclusively.The series reunites the pair after they worked together on the film “No Sudden Move,” which was released on HBO Max in July. Casey Silver, who was a producer on “No Sudden Move,” will be an executive producer on the series.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterShowtime’s co-presidents of entertainment, Gary Levine and Jana Winograde, addressed moving the “Halo” series to Paramount Plus during a virtual TCA session on Tuesday.“The truth is that [“Halo”] was always a bit of an outlier for us in terms of its fit in the Showtime universe,” Winograde said. “And we did an amazing job of imbuing into the series, the character drama that we’re so well known for.