Harvey Keitel Joins Sky, Peacock Series ‘Tattooist of Auschwitz’

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Sydney Chandler has been cast as a lead in Noah Hawley’s “Alien” series currently in the works at FX, Variety has learned. Plot and character details are being kept under tight wraps on the project, which was first announced in December 2020. The only detail that has been confirmed is that the show will take place on Earth in the not-too-distant future. The role brings Chandler back to FX, as she previously made her network television debut in the cabler’s 2022 limited series “Pistol” from Danny Boyle, which told the story of the legendary band The Sex Pistols. Chandler starred in the series as Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders. Chandler’s other credits include the film “Don’t Worry Darling” and the Facebook Watch series “SKAM Austin.” She is also set to appear in the upcoming Apple series “Sugar” opposite Colin Farrell.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Adam Brody will star opposite Kristen Bell in an upcoming comedy series for Netflix, Variety has learned. The untitled series was ordered at the streamer back in March. It centers “on the unlikely relationship between the outspoken, agnostic Joanne (Bell) and unconventional rabbi Noah (Brody).” The character Noah is further described as “a charming rabbi who is stuck in his ways and used to playing things safe. He starts to stumble when he meets a brutally honest and provocative Joanne, totally upending his safe life plan.” Brody is best known for his role in the hit Fox drama series “The O.C.,” while his other TV credits include “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” “Mrs. America,” “StartUp,” and “Single Parents.” He has also appeared in films such as “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” “Jennifer’s Body,” “Sleeping with Other People,” and “Promising Young Woman.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Donald Sutherland is the latest addition to the cast of the Bass Reeves series currently in the works at Paramount+. The show is now officially titled “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” and is now described as an anthology series with future installments to follow other iconic lawmen who have impacted history in subsequent seasons. The logline for the Bass Reeves season states it will “bring the legendary lawman of the wild west to life. Reeves, known as the greatest frontier hero in American history, worked in the post-Reconstruction era as a federal peace officer in the Indian Territory, capturing over 3,000 of the most dangerous criminals without ever being wounded.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Sarah Goldberg is staying put at HBO, with the “Barry” star set for a recurring guest star role in Season 3 of “Industry.” Production is set to begin in the U.K. soon on the new season of the series, which is a co-production with the BBC. The Season 3 logline states “As Pierpoint looks to the future and takes a big bet on ethical investing, the desk find themselves front and center in the splashy IPO of Lumi, a green tech energy company — in a story that runs all the way to the very top of finance, media and government.” Goldberg will appear in the role of Petra Koenig, described as “a portfolio manager at ethical investment fund FutureDawn.” Goldberg is the latest recurring guest star announced for Season 3, alongside Kit Harington, who will play the CEO of Lumi.

Murder in the heartland. Elizabeth Olsen plays a Texas housewife with a very dark secret in HBO Max’s new series Love & Death.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter WME has hired Carly Frankel as an agent in the digital department and Samantha Korn as an agent in the talent department focused on comedy, Variety has learned exclusively. Frankel will focus on the agency’s podcasting business, including the comedy, personal development, and narrative nonfiction verticals. Prior to joining WME, she was senior development executive at Wondery, having originally joined the company in 2019. In that role, she worked across creative and business development to identify original podcast concepts and to bring them to production. She was previously at Wondery where she most recently served as a senior development executive, working across creative and business development to both identify hit original podcast concepts and bring them to production. Following Wondery’s acquisition by Amazon Music in 2021, Frankel was instrumental in designing the company’s consolidated greenlight and deal protocols for original programming. She is based in WME’S Beverly Hills office.Korn comes from “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” where she most recently served as a creative executive for Colbert’s production company, Spartina. Prior to that, she started her professional career at CAA and went to “The Late Show” to work for then-executive producer and showrunner Chris Licht. In addition to “The Late Show” and its associated specials, her credits include “Pickled” for CBS and “Tooning Out the News” for Paramount+. She is also based in the Beverly Hills office.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino have scored a two-season order for a series set in the world of ballet at Amazon, Variety has learned. Titled “Étoile,” the series will take place in both New York and Paris. Each season will consist of eight episodes. The official logline states that the show “follows the dancers and artistic staff of two world-renowned ballet companies, as they embark on an ambitious gambit to save their storied institutions by swapping their most talented stars.” The cast for the series includes Luke Kirby (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Deuce”), Camille Cottin (“Call My Agent!,” “House of Gucci”), Simon Callow (“Outlander,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral”), Lou de Laâge (“The Innocents”), Gideon Glick (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Marriage Story”), and David Alvarez (“West Side Story”).

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Emperor of Ocean Park,” the best-selling novel by Stephen L. Carter, is being adapted into a TV series at MGM+. MGM+ (formerly Epix) has ordered 10 episodes of the show. The order brings the book’s long road to the screen to near completion. It was originally optioned back in 2001 ahead of the book publishing. Multiple attempts have since been made to adapt the book into a film and later a television series, though none of those projects have moved forward until now. “Emperor of Ocean Park is much more than a murder mystery,” said Michael Wright, head of MGM+. “While it is an engrossing whodunit in its own right, it also explores important themes of middle-and-upper-class Black identity, making it an outstanding addition to MGM+’s slate of engaging and thought-provoking original series.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Nic Pizzolatto is developing a series version of “The Magnificent Seven” at Amazon, Variety has confirmed. The project was originally reported on back in March with a series commitment. It was originally intended to be an original series, but was refashioned to be a new take on the Western classic. Pizzolatto previously co-wrote the 2016 remake of “The Magnificent Seven.” The logline for the reboot states, “In the tradition of the great epics from the golden age of westerns, an outlaw and his cohorts must unite a disparate band of indelible fighters to defend a settlement of immigrant homesteaders in an open range war against cattle barons in central Texas, telling an expansive saga of adventure, action and romance.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Bruce Campbell has joined the upcoming Peacock series “Hysteria!” in a recurring role, Variety has learned exclusively. The show was originally ordered at Peacock in August 2022. Per the official series description, “When a beloved varsity quarterback disappears during the ‘Satanic Panic’ of the late 1980s, a struggling high school heavy metal band of outcasts realize they can capitalize on the town’s sudden interest in the occult by building a reputation as a Satanic metal band, until a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings, and reported ‘supernatural activity’ triggers a leather-studded witch hunt that leads directly back to them.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter A “Twilight” TV series adaptation is in very early development at Lionsgate TV, Variety has confirmed with sources. The series would be based on the Stephanie Meyers book series of the same name, which was previously adapted into a film franchise. At this time, there is no writer or a network/streaming service attached to the project. According to sources, Wyck Godfrey and Erik Feig are attached as executive producers. Feig is the former co-president of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, while Godfrey and his Temple Hill production company produced the five “Twilight” films. Meyers is also expected to be involved in any potential series.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter AMC is developing a third series set in what they have dubbed the Anne Rice Immortal Universe, with the new show set to focus on the Talamasca. Per the official description from AMC, the series “is set in the world of the Talamasca, a secretive organization featured in a number of Rice’s iconic novels that is devoted to studying the supernatural world and keeping mortals safe from its darkest elements.” John Lee Hancock will serve as writer and showrunner. His past credits include co-writing the films “The Blind Side” and “The Alamo” and directing films like “The Highwaymen” and “The Founder.” The announcement was made by Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks, during the AMC Networks upfront presentation in New York on Tuesday.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The upcoming Peacock drama series “Hysteria!” is rounding out its main cast. Anna Camp (“Pitch Perfect” franchise, “True Blood) Emjay Anthony (“Physical,” “Chef”), Chiara Aurelia (“Cruel Summer,” “Luckiest Girl Alive”), Kezii Curtis (“Charm City Kings,” “Secret Headquarters”) and Nikki Hahn (“Magnum P.I.,” “American Housewife”) have all been cast in the series. They join previously announced cast member Julie Bowen. The show was originally ordered at Peacock in August 2022. Per the official series description, “When a beloved varsity quarterback disappears during the ‘Satanic Panic’ of the late 1980s, a struggling high school heavy metal band of outcasts realize they can capitalize on the town’s sudden interest in the occult by building a reputation as a Satanic metal band, until a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings, and reported ‘supernatural activity’ triggers a leather-studded witch hunt that leads directly back to them.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Ewan McGregor is set to star in a drama series currently in development at Amazon Prime Video, Variety has learned exclusively. Currently titled “Lodi,” the series is inspired by a true story as told in an Alta online article by Andrew Dubbins. The official description of the series states, “In 1977, a car salesman, Lou (McGregor), goes from ordinary small-town citizen to FBI informant infiltrating the mafia when a key member of organized crime offers to buy his Cadillac dealership. Over the next three years, Lou finds his quest for glory tested when he becomes embroiled in the inner workings of the crime family – from fronting a multimillion-dollar operation, to becoming a surrogate son– before procuring the first-ever conviction of an infamous crime boss.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Charlie Sheen and Chuck Lorre are officially back in business together, with the actor joining Lorre’s HBO Max series “How to Be a Bookie.” Variety has confirmed with sources that Sheen will recur in the upcoming HBO Max series (with the streamer set to be renamed Max in the next month). The show stars Sebastian Maniscalco and was ordered to series in October. Reps for Warner Bros. Television and HBO Max declined to comment. Sheen and Lorre previously worked together on the hit CBS sitcom “Two and a Half Men.” Lorre co-created and executive produced the show, with Sheen starring. Sheen earned four Emmy nominations during his time on the show, but infamously left in the eighth season amid a public meltdown that included his viral “tiger blood” interview with ABC News and entering drug rehab. Sheen proceeded to make a number of disparaging remarks about Lorre publicly, with Lorre killing off Sheen’s character on “Two and a Half Men.” It was revealed in the series finale that Sheen’s character was not really dead, but died in the finale when a piano fell on his head.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter A “Galaxy Quest” series is in early development, this time at Paramount+. Variety has learned that Paramount+ and Paramount Television Studios are in the nascent stages of adapting the cult classic comedy film into a television show. At this time, the only member of the creative team officially attached is Mark Johnson, who produced the original film and would serve as an executive producer on the potential series. Paramount Television Studios and Paramount+ declined to comment. This is the latest attempt to adapt “Galaxy Quest” for the small screen. It was previously reported in 2015 that Amazon was developing a series version that would have reunited the film’s cast, but those plans ended upon the death of Alan Rickman. There have since been various writers attached to the project, though none of their versions have ultimately gone forward.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The live-action “Knuckles” series starring Idris Elba at Paramount+ has assembled its cast. The show was first announced in February 2022. In addition to Elba reprising the role of Knuckles from “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” Variety has learned that Adam Pally (“Happy Endings,” “The Mindy Project”) is set to star in the series, once again playing the role of Wade Whipple from the film franchise. The film takes place between the events of “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” which is slated to hit theaters Dec. 20, 2024. In the series, Knuckles “agrees to train Wade as his protégé and teach him the ways of the Echidna warrior,” per the official logline.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent British director Joe Wright, who helmed Winston Churchill drama “Darkest Hour” – which earned Gary Oldman an Oscar for his portrayal as the British prime minister – has now changed historical sides.  Wright is at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios shooting high-end TV drama “M. Son of the Century” which chronicles Benito Mussolini’s rise to power. A timely tale because, as he puts it: “Populist leaders are sprouting up all over the world.”  Aesthetically, the show will be “quite outlandish” with deeply saturated colors, punctuated by a “kind of techno score,” the director said during a recent set visit. Though “It’s not told in a vérité style,” Wright pointed out that “All the facts of what happened, they’re all there.” 

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “The Last Kingdom” is ready for its last run. With the debut of the feature-length film “Seven Kings Must Die” on Netflix on April 14, the epic series is wrapping up, with the fifth and final season having aired on Netflix in March 2022. The film serves as a fitting send off to the series, which is based on the Bernard Cornwell novel series “The Saxon Stories.” Like the books, the show follows the fictional character Uhtred (played by Alexander Dreymon), a Saxon who was captured and raised by Danish invaders in England in the ninth century A.D. Uhtred is raised to live the life of a viking, but destiny puts him in the employ of the House of Wessex and King Alfred, who seeks to unite the disparate kingdoms into one country called England.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter A “Harry Potter” TV series is officially moving forward at HBO Max. The announcement was made during Warner Bros. Discovery’s presentation to press and investors on April 12, during which it was announced that HBO Max and Discovery+ are officially being combined into a new service dubbed simply Max. News of a show based on the megahit J.K. Rowling book series first leaked on April 3, but details have now been confirmed. Each season of the show will be based on one of the books in the franchise, with Warner Bros. Discovery describing the show as a “decade-long series.” It will feature an entirely new cast from the films.