Gina Rodriguez ABC Comedy Pilot ‘Not Dead Yet’ Adds Five to Cast

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe Netflix spy series led by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Monica Barbaro has set its main cast, Variety has learned.Appearing in series regular roles in the series are: Jay Baruchel, Aparna Brielle, Andy Buckley, Milan Carter, Fortune Feimster, Barbara Eve Harris, Gabriel Luna, Fabiana Udenio, and Travis Van Winkle. Additionally, the following actors will appear in recurring roles: Devon Bostick, David Chinchilla, Rachel Lynch, Stephanie Sy, and Scott Thompson.Full character descriptions for all the new cast members can be found below.The untitled spy drama was ordered at Netflix in May 2021, with the streamer giving the one-hour show an eight episode order.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterErika Christensen has been cast in the “Will Trent” pilot at ABC, Variety has learned.Christensen joins previously announced series lead Ramón Rodríguez in the drama pilot, which is based on Karin Slaughter’s bestselling “Will Trent” novel series.The show follows Special Agent Will Trent (Rodríguez) of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI). Trent was abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterIlana Glazer is in talks to star in and executive produce a comedy series currently in the works at Amazon, Variety has learned exclusively.The series is titled “The Suck” and hails from writer and executive producer Ally Israelson. The show asks the question “What if the last year on earth was the best year of your life?” It follows Lydia (Glazer) to London, in search of an other-worldly end.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Genius” Season 4 will now focus on both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.When the fourth season was originally announced in December 2020, it was reported that it would solely focus on King.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The Goldbergs” has been renewed for Season 10 at ABC.However, questions still remain about how the single-camera comedy series will handle Jeff Garlin’s character, Murray Goldberg, going into the new season.Garlin exited “The Goldbergs” in December following an investigation into the comedian’s onset behavior after he was  accused of misconduct. Variety exclusively reported that Garlin would still be a part of Season 9 through the use of off-camera dialogue pulled from earlier episodes and unused takes, as well as previously shot images of Garlin.According to an individual with knowledge of the production, official plans for Garlin’s character are forthcoming, but it is likely that he will be written off the show.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterRamón Rodríguez has been cast in the lead role of the “Will Trent” drama pilot at ABC.The pilot had been given a cast contingent order back in February and will now officially move forward, with Rodríguez’s casting lifting the contingency.Based on Karin Slaughter’s bestselling “Will Trent” novel series, the pilot follows Special Agent Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI). Trent was abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSeth MacFarlane’s “Ted” series adaptation at Peacock is taking shape. Variety has learned the live-action comedy has added three new cast members as well as co-showrunners.Firstly, MacFarlane is officially onboard to reprise the voice role of Ted, the foul-mouthed, pot-smoking teddy bear he played in the two “Ted” movies. This is in addition to creating the series and serving as executive producer, director, and co-showrunner.Giorgia Whigham, Max Burkholder, and frequent MacFarlane collaborator Scott Grimes have also been cast in the show. Furthermore, “Modern Family” executive producers Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh have joined the series to serve as co-showrunners, writers, and executive producers.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDana Calvo will serve as showrunner and executive producer on the upcoming ABC mystery drama “Avalon.”The show hails from co-creators David E. Kelley and Michael Connelly, with the show based on a short story that Connelly wrote. It was ordered straight-to-series at ABC in February.The series takes place in the main city of Avalon on Catalina Island, where LA Sheriff Department Detective Nicole “Nic” Searcy heads up a small office.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNetflix has given a series order to the drama “Glamorous,” which was previously set up as a pilot at The CW.The show has received a 10-episode order, with Miss Benny set to star. It tells the story of Marco Mejia (Miss Benny), a young gender non-conforming queer man whose life seems to be stuck in place until he lands a job working for legendary makeup mogul Madolyn Addison. It’s Marco’s first chance to figure out what he wants out of life, who he actually is, and what it really means for him to be queer.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterFX has ordered a half-hour comedy pilot from Lauren Ludwig.The pilot is described as a metaphysical comedy about a group of queer twenty-somethings forced by the most unlikely source to confront their generational anxieties and unpack their emotional baggage.Ludwig is writing and executive producing the pilot. Chris & Paul Weitz of Depth of Field, Andrew Miano, Dan Balgoyen and Aaron Kogan will also executive produce.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterWhoopi Goldberg is set to play Bird Woman in the upcoming Amazon series adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s “Anansi Boys.”The series follows Charlie Nancy (Malachi Kirby)—sometimes known as Fat Charlie (it was his father’s nickname for him; he’s not fat)—a young man who is used to being embarrassed by his estranged father (Delroy Lindo). But when his father dies, Charlie discovers that he was Anansi: Trickster God of stories. And he learns that he has a brother.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCarla Woodcock and Callum Kerr are set to star in the Hulu pilot “History of a Pleasure Seeker,” Variety has learned.The project is described as a a musical drama set in Amsterdam in 1907, a tale of a charismatic young man’s explosive adventures through all the temptations of the Belle Époque.Woodcock will play Constance, the most magnetic girl in Amsterdam and the undisputed queen of the city’s gilded youth. Kerr will play Piet, tutor to a very troubled child and an extreme empath, with the confidence to back himself against the odds.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLauren Lapkus and Krysta Rodriguez are set for the lead roles in the CBS multi-cam comedy pilot “Sober Companion,” Variety has learned.Rodriguez will play Eliza, described as a fun-loving, quick-witted alcoholic who runs a bookstore/bar with her uncle in New Orleans. After one too many run-ins with the law, she is assigned a court-appointed Sober Companion who will force her to confront her demons, get her act together, and stay sober, all while driving her completely nuts.Lapkus will play Shelley, Eliza’s Sober Companion.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterRob Lowe and his son, John Owen Lowe, have teamed with Victor Fresco on the Netflix comedy series “Unstable,” Variety has learned.The Lowes will star in the series and also co-created it with Fresco, with all three serving as executive producers. It is set in a cutting-edge biotech research company, following an introverted, socially-challenged son who goes to work for his very successful, wildly eccentric father in order to save him from disaster.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterGeorge Lopez and Mayan Lopez’s NBC comedy pilot “Lopez vs. Lopez” has added three new cast members, Variety has learned exclusively.Selenis Levya, Brice Gonzalez, and Matt Shivley will star alongside the Lopezes in the multi-cam pilot.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHarrison Ford has signed on to star opposite Jason Segel in the Apple comedy series “Shrinking,” Variety has learned.The show was first announced in October 2021. Segel will write the series alongside “Ted Lasso” co-creator Bill Lawrence and “Ted Lasso” star, writer, and co-executive producer Brett Goldstein.“Shrinking” follows Jimmy (Segel), a grieving therapist who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBill Lawrence’s upcoming Apple series “Bad Monkey” has found three new cast members, Variety has learned exclusively.L. Scott Caldwell, Ronald Peet, and Charlotte Lawrence will all appear in the series, joining a cast that includes Vince Vaughn, Michelle Monaghan, Jodie Turner-Smith, Meredith Hagner, Rob Delaney, Arturo Luis Soria, and Natalie Martinez.The series, based on the Carl Hiaasen novel of the same name, tells the story of Andrew Yancy, (Vaughn) a one-time detective demoted to restaurant inspector in Southern Florida.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBoth “The Rookie” and “The Good Doctor” have been renewed at ABC.For “The Rookie,” that means the show will go to a fifth season, while “The Good Doctor” will be back for a sixth. “The Rookie” currently airs Sundays on ABC with “The Good Doctor” airing on Mondays.The renewals come as ABC is also prepping a potential spinoff of “The Rookie” starring Niecy Nash. The spinoff will be introduced in a two-episode backdoor pilot during “The Rookie’s” fourth season.“The Rookie” stars Nathan Fillion as John Nolan, Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper, Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez, Richard T.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Walker: Independence” pilot at The CW has cast Gabriela Quezada in a recurring guest star role, Variety has learned exclusively.The pilot is a prequel to the current CW series “Walker,” a reboot of “Walker, Texas Ranger.”  The one-hour drama pilot is set in the late 1800s and follows Abby Walker (Katherine McNamara), an affluent Bostonian whose husband is murdered before her eyes while on their journey out West. On her quest for revenge, Abby crosses paths with Hoyt Rawlins (Matt Barr), a lovable rogue in search of purpose.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterPeacock has commissioned a sketch comedy special from Kate Berlant and John Early, Variety has learned exclusively.The special is titled “Would It Kill You to Laugh? Starring Kate Berlant & John Early” and is slated to debut on Peacock this summer. The one-hour special will see Berlant and Early playing exaggerated versions of themselves as they reunite after suffering a public falling out many years earlier.