DeMane Davis To Direct NBC Pilot ‘Found’ From Nkechi Okoro Carroll & Berlanti Productions

The Rookie world is expanding.Niecy Nash joins the fray as Simone Clark, the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy, for a two-hour backdoor pilot setting the table for a potential spinoff. In Nash's debut episode, which airs Sunday, Officer John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and the Los Angeles division of the FBI enlist the help of FBI trainee Clark when one of her former students is suspected of terrorism following an explosion at a local power station.«Simone is so fun to play,» Nash tells ET's Rachel Smith of her character.

NEW YORK -- Viola Davis' latest honor is not for her acting, but for her writing. The Oscar winner's upcoming memoir, “Finding Me,” is Oprah Winfrey's new book club pick.“Finding Me,” which comes out next Tuesday, traces Davis' journey from what she has called a “crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island” to acclaim for her work on stage and screen.

They almost do! Nearly only year after Zach Davis proposed to Cheyenne Floyd, the happy couple posed for a romantic engagement photo shoot.

EXCLUSIVE: Ben Rappaport (Younger) and Alexandra Chando (The Lying Game) have been cast as the leads of NBC’s untitled drama pilot based on the award-winning Dutch series Adam & Eva. The pilot is written by The Village creator Mike Daniels and will be directed by Stephanie Laing.

EXCLUSIVE: Stephanie Laing (Veep) has been tapped to direct and executive produce the NBC drama pilot, Untitled Mike Daniels Project, an adaptation of the Dutch series Adam & Eva. The project comes from The Village creator Mike Daniels and producers David Janollari and Rob Golenberg & Alon Aranya.

Clayton Davis Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official awards predictions for the upcoming Oscars and Emmys ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis; Awards Circuit Column, a weekly analysis dissecting the trends and contenders by television editor Michael Schneider (for Emmys) and Davis (for Oscars); Awards Circuit Podcast, a weekly interview series with talent and an expert roundtable discussion; and Awards Circuit Video analyzes various categories and contenders by Variety's leading awards pundits. Variety's unmatched coverage gives its readership unbeatable exposure in print and online, as well as provide inside reports on all the contenders in this year's awards season races.

Tom Collins on Broadway in the musical “Rent,” which he reprised in the 2005 film. Martin is repped by ICM and McGowan/Rodriguez Management.

Fans might think it's hard for a seasoned, award-winning and beloved actor like Viola Davis to be shaken by any role, but the  star isn't afraid to admit that her most recent project was a little nerve-wracking.In fact, the actress called portraying Michelle Obama for Showtime's scripted anthology series, , «absolutely terrifying.» Davis spoke with ET's Nischelle Turner ahead of the premiere of the non-fiction series alongside her co-stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson, who star as Betty Ford and Eleanor Roosevelt, respectively. The show’s first season, directed and executive produced by Susanne Bier, follows the three former first ladies for «a revelatory reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House.»Set in the East Wing,  will show how «many of history’s most impactful and world-changing decisions have been hidden from view, made by America's charismatic, complex and dynamic first ladies.» The show, set to premiere on April 17, will go into the personal and political lives of three such «unique, enigmatic women,» recounting their journeys from wife to Washington.Davis noted that the scariest aspect of portraying Obama was the idea that she was someone whom «everyone has ownership over.»«You’re terrified whenever you start a job because you are afraid you are going to be found out — that’s big imposter syndrome.

Jesse L. Martin has been tapped as the lead of NBC’s drama pilot The Irrational as he is leaving the CW’s The Flash after eight seasons. While Martin will no longer be a series regular on the Berlanti Prods./Warner Bros. TV-produced The Flash, he is expected to appear in multiple episodes of the DC drama in its recently picked up ninth season.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDavid Madden, the president of Berlanti Productions, is departing the company, Variety has confirmed.Madden has been the president of Berlanti Productions since 2020. He will leave the company at the end of the month, when his contract expires. No replacement has been named at this time.In his time at the Warner Bros.

EXCLUSIVE: David Madden is leaving Berlanti Productions after more than two years as President, shepherding the company’s television operation. I hear his departure at the end of next month is amicable and comes at the end of his contract. Search is underway for his replacement. Berlanti Prods. will continue to work with Madden on projects he had helped put together.

Deadline’s photo studio at the 2022 edition of Contenders Television finished its last day yesterday by hosting fest-goers such as Samuel L. Jackson of The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, Sydney Sweeney of White Lotus, Viola Davis of The First Lady, Winona Ryder of Stranger Things, and many more.

ABC has set Sunday, April 24 for part one of a two-part event that will serve as a backdoor pilot for a potential spinoff of The Rookie. Part two will follow on May 1. You can watch a trailer above.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThere’s a new regular Joe calling baseball games on Fox.Joe Davis, a veteran sportscaster who has been known on the West Coast for calling Los Angeles Dodger games and as a Fox Sports regular, will take over as the lead play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports’ Major League Baseball coverage. He succeeds Joe Buck, the longtime Fox baseball and football announcer who has moved to ESPN to work on “Monday Night Football.” Davis will join John Smoltz in the network’s lead baseball booth.“If you had asked me when I was 10 what I wanted to do when I grew up, I would’ve told you ‘Call the World Series.’ So when I say this is a dream-come-true, I really mean it,” said Davis, in a statement.  Davis and Smoltz, along with reporters Tom Verducci and Ken Rosenthal, are expected to call Fox’s coverage of the 2022 MLB All-Star Game, MLB at Field of Dreams Game and the MLB post-season Postseason, including its 25th Fall Classic.

British actress Talisa Garcia is breaking down barriers at Disney as the first known openly trans performer to be cast in one of the studio’s LucasFilm productions.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple has ordered the limited series “The Big Cigar” about Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton, Variety has learned.The six-episode series hails from Warner Bros. Television, with André Holland in talks to star as Newton.

Russell T Davies’ It’s a Sin and Jack Thorne’s Help, two hard-hitting Channel 4 shows about societal issues, have dominated this year’s BAFTA TV Awards nominations, taking six and four nods apiece.