Courteney Cox, Greg Kinnear, Mira Sorvino Horror Comedy ‘Shining Vale’ Ordered to Series at Starz

Joe Otterson TV ReporterKym Whitley and Danny Garcia have been cast in recurring roles in the Amazon YA pilot “Hot Pink,” Variety has learned exclusively.The pair joins previously announced stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nina Bloomgarden, David Iacono, Mimi Davila, Dana Donnelly, and Myra Molloy, as well as fellow recurring star David Arquette.The show is loosely inspired by Elana K.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDiscovery Plus is venturing into scripted development, with the streamer acquiring the TV rights to the book “Girls with Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman,” Variety has learned exclusively.The move to develop the series, which is in the very early stages, is significant given that Discovery Plus is largely made up of original unscripted programming and library content from channels like HGTV, TLC, Discovery Channel, and Food Network among others.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Law & Order” franchise is expanding again at NBC, with the network giving out a straight-to-series order for “Law & Order: For the Defense,” Variety has learned.“For the Defense” will take a look inside a criminal defense firm.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterTaika Waititi is hitting the high seas as the dreaded pirate Blackbeard in the upcoming HBO Max comedy series “Our Flag Means Death,” Variety has learned.Waititi joins previously announced series lead Rhys Darby.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBassett Vance Productions, the production company formed by Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance, has hired Lynnette Ramirez as head of development, Variety has learned exclusively.Ramirez is tasked with finding and developing diverse stories with a strong emphasis on BIPOC voices in front of and behind the camera for multiple platforms.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterGreg Kinnear and Sepideh Moafi have been cast in the upcoming Apple drama series “In With the Devil,” Variety has learned.The pair joins previously announced series leads Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser as well as Ray Liotta. The six-episode series was ordered at Apple in January.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterGrace Gummer has been cast in the “Let the Right One In” pilot at Showtime, Variety has learned.She joins previously announced cast members Demián Bichir and Anika Noni Rose. The series centers on Mark (Bichir), a father and his 12-year-old daughter, Eleanor, whose lives were changed forever 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Walker” Season 2 at The CW has upped Odette Annable to series regular status.Annable currently recurs on the series as Geri, an old friend of Walker (Jared Padalecki) and his late wife.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterFox has ordered the dramedy “The Big Leap” to series for the 2021-2022 broadcast season.The one-hour show was originally ordered to pilot last year, but production was shutdown by the pandemic.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJosh Gad and Isla Fisher are set to star in the romantic comedy series “Wolf Like Me,” which has received a straight-to-series order at Peacock.The streamer has ordered six episodes of the half-hour series. In the show, Gary (Gad) is an emotional wreck and struggles to provide for his daughter since the death of his wife.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“NCIS: Los Angeles” has been renewed for Season 13 at CBS, with the broadcaster also ordering “NCIS: Hawaii” to series.“NCIS: Hawaii” was first announced as being in development back in February. Matt Bosack, Jan Nash, and Chris Silber are co-writing and executive producing, with Larry Teng attached to direct and executive produce.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterTracey Ashley is developing a comedy series inspired by her life and stand up at Fox with Wanda Sykes and Tiffany Haddish onboard as executive producers, Variety has learned exclusively.Title “Tracey’s Life Matters,” the single-camera show follows Tracey, a savvy, independent black woman, who moves with her white husband to his hometown in rural Indiana. There she must deal with a challenging career in sales and a mother-in-law who has “Karen-like” tendencies.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterA “How I Met Your Mother” sequel series titled “How I Met Your Father” has been ordered at Hulu with Hilary Duff attached to star.In the near future, Sophie (Duff) is telling her son the story of how she met his father: a story that catapults us back to the year 2021 where Sophie and her close-knit group of friends are in the midst of figuring out who they are, what they want out of life, and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Wings of Fire” books by Tui T. Sutherland are being adapted into an animated series at Netflix with Ava DuVernay set to executive produce.The “Wings of Fire” books have sold more than 14 million copies around the world to date.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAmazon Studios has ordered a YA pilot based on the Harlan Coben novel “Shelter,” Variety has learned exclusively.Shelter” is the first novel in Coben’s Mickey Bolitar book series. MGM has acquired the rights to all the other books in the Mickey Bolitar series as well.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNBC has given out a pair of comedy pilot orders, including one starring music superstar Demi Lovato.The Lovato project is titled “Hungry.” NBC had previously given the single-camera show a put pilot commitment back in January.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMcKenna Grace and Lexi Underwood will star in their own standalone episodes of the upcoming Disney Plus anthology series “Just Beyond,” with Nasim Pedrad set to join Grace in a guest starring role.The horror-comedy series is based on the RL Stine graphic novels of the same name. Disney Plus ordered eight episodes of the show last year.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNBC has ordered two more drama pilots for the 2021-2022 broadcast season.The first is an untitled project co-created by Nick Wootton and Jake Coburn, with Wootton having written the pilot.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterShowtime has ordered the anthology series “Cinema Toast” from creator Jeff Baena and executive producers the Duplass brothers.The series is described as a post-modernist reinvention of older movies that turns pre-existing imagery from the public domain on its head to tell brand new unique stories. It will feature the voices of actors like Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Fred Armisen, John Early, Christina Ricci, Megan Mullally, Chloe Fineman and Chris Meloni.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterChi McBride has joined the untitled CBS multi-cam comedy pilot based on the life of pro bowler Tom Smallwood, Variety has learned.In the series, after being laid off from the assembly line at the GM factory, seemingly ordinary man Tom (Pete Holmes) makes the extraordinary decision to provide for his family by following his dream of becoming a professional bowler.McBride will star as Archie.