HBO Max to Develop Heidi Fleiss Scripted Series From ‘The Staircase’ Co-Showrunner Maggie Cohn (EXCLUSIVE)

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “The Penguin” series at HBO Max has cast Carmen Ejogo, François Chau, and David H. Holmes in recurring roles, Variety has learned exclusively. The trio join a cast that includes series lead Colin Farrell, who will reprise the role of Oswald “The Penguin” Cobblepot from “The Batman, as well as Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, and Clancy Brown. Character details for Ejogo, Chau, and Holmes are being kept under wraps. Ejogo’s recent TV credits include “Your Honor,” “I’m a Virgo,” and “True Detective” Season 3. In film, she has starred in features such as the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise, “Alien: Covenant,” and “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” She is repped by WME and Peikoff Mahan.

Hank Azaria, Sutton Foster, Darren Criss, Danny Strong and Sean Gunn will guest star on the fifth and final season of the Prime Video series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Amazon announced Thursday.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “This Is Us” alums Sterling K. Brown and Dan Fogelman are reuniting for a drama that has been ordered to series at Hulu, Variety has learned. Hulu is not commenting on exact plot details of the untitled series, but sources describe the show as a thriller and say Brown would star as the head of security for a former president. In addition to writing, Fogelman will executive produce via Rhode Island Ave. Productions along with Jess Rosenthal. Brown will executive produce in addition to starring, with John Hoberg also executive producing. 20th Television is the studio, with Fogelman currently under an overall deal there.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Ted Lasso” breakout Phil Dunster’s role in the second season of “Surface” has been revealed. Dunster joining the second season of the Gugu Mbatha-Raw-led Apple series was reported in early March, but character details were being kept under wraps at the time. Variety can now exclusively report that Dunster will star as Quinn, the older brother of Eliza (Millie Brady). Quinn is described as “the privileged scion of a troubled, old-money family who’s attempting to blaze a new trail for the younger generation – all the while struggling against his own darker tendencies.”

As superhero fans prep for the long-awaited world premiere of “The Flash” later this month at CinemaCon, director Andy Muschietti preps his next project, “Welcome To Derry,” at HBO Max. And Variety has the first casting news from the “IT” prequels.

Taylour Paige, an Independent Spirit Award winner for “Zola,” is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360 and Granderson Rochers. She appears opposite Jonathan Majors in Sundance hit “Magazine Dreams.” Jovan Adepo of “Babylon,” who was Emmy-nominated for the HBO series Watchmen, is represented by Powerline Entertainment, WME and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller.Chris Chalk, who plays Paul Drake on HBO’s “Perry Mason,” is represented by Brillstein Entertainment Partners, Paradigm Talent Agency and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.James Remar of “Sex and the City” and “The Warriors” fame, is among the all-star casts of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and Francis Ford Coppola “Megalopolis.” Hei represented by Gersh Agency and Lighthouse Entertainment.Logline: Set in the world of Stephen King’s “IT” universe, “Welcome to Derry” (wt) is based on King’s “IT” novel and expands the vision established by filmmaker Andy Muschietti in the feature films “IT” and “IT Chapter Two.”The series is produced by HBO Max and Warner Bros.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The “It” prequel series at HBO Max has added its first four cast members, Variety has learned. Taylour Paige (“Zola,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), Jovan Adepo (“Babylon,” “Watchmen”), Chris Chalk (“Perry Mason,” “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt”), and James Remar (“Oppenheimer,” “Megalopolis”) will all star in the series, which is currently titled “Welcome to Derry.” Exact plot and character details are being kept under wraps, but the official logline for the series states, “Set in the world of Stephen King’s ‘It’ universe, ‘Welcome to Derry’ is based on King’s ‘It’ novel and expands the vision established by filmmaker Andy Muschietti in the feature films ‘It’ and ‘It Chapter Two.'”

Stephen King’s It lives on in the Max Original prequel series Welcome to Derry (working title) from the franchise filmmakers Andy and Barbara Muschietti as well as It Chapter Two co-producer Jason Fuchs, with Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, and James Remar set to star.

Apparently, it’s time to “get high on science.”

HBO Max at the end of the month, but luckily you have the whole month to stream them.They include cinema classics like “Ben Hur,” the winningest film in Oscars history (tied with “Titanic” and “Avatar”, Gene Kelly’s “An American in Paris,” “Cabaret,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Citizen Kane,” and “King Kong.”Popular films like “The Bodyguard,” “Dumb & Dumber,” “Friday,” “The Fugitive,” “Interview with a Vampire,” “Menace II Society,” “Purple Rain,” “Se7en,” “Space Jam” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” will stop streaming on April 30.And many popular action franchises, including the “Bourne,” “Expendables,” and “Lethal Weapon” films, are leaving the service.Here’s a full list of everything leaving HBO Max in April 2023.Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell, 2013We’re The Millers, 2013 (HBO)The Inside Story, 1948Reminiscence, 2021 (HBO)Adult Swim Yule Log (aka The Fireplace)About Face: Supermodels Then and Now, 2012 (HBO)The Last Duel, 2021Game Theory With Bomani Jones, Season 1The LEGO Batman Movie, 2017Tom and Jerry Cowboy Up!, 2022Malignant, 2021 (HBO)47 Ronin, 2013 (HBO)3 Godfathers, 1948Accepted, 2006 (HBO)The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1938A Private War, 2018 (HBO)An American in Paris, 1951The American President, 1995Any Given Sunday, 1999Australia, 2008 (HBO)Before I Fall, 2017 (HBO)Ben-Hur, 1959Black Legion, 1937Blade, 1998Blood Diamond, 2006Blow Out, 1981 (HBO)The Bodyguard, 1992Boogie Nights, 1997The Book of Eli, 2010The Bourne Identity, 2002 (HBO)The Bourne Supremacy, 2004 (HBO)Bringing up Baby, 1938Brothers By Blood, 2020 (HBO)Cabaret, 1972Caddyshack, 1980Captain Phillips, 2013 (HBO)Carefree, 1938Car on a Hot Tin Roof, 1958The Champ, 1979Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 2005Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, 1968 (HBO)A

reported by Bloomberg, the show would be based directly on J.K. Rowling’s best-selling novels, with each season focusing on one book in the seven-book series.The potential series would not be based on an in-universe spin-off, such as the “Fantastic Beasts” films.The concept of one season per book suggests that the franchise would be an ongoing, years-long project from Warner Bros.Rowling is in preliminary talks to join the project as a producer and would have a degree of creative involvement, though she would not be the primary creator or showrunner of the series.Once Rowling is officially on board, the project is expected to look for a writer.There have long been talks about a “Harry Potter” television series, with rumors first sparking in January 2021 — although Warner Bros.

reported that insiders at Warner said the studio hadn’t ruled out more theatrical films and HBO Max projects for the “Harry Potter” universe, even as the “Fantastic Beasts” films came to a close.“‘Fantastic Beasts’ was always meant to be one piece of a larger plan to build the Wizarding World,” Warner Bros. domestic distribution head Jeff Goldstein told TheWrap at the time.

The long-rumored Harry Potter TV series for HBO Max is on track to clear the biggest hurdle in its path to the screen, a deal with the books’ author JK Rowling who has creative control over any adaptation of her work.

J. Kim Murphy Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to close a deal to produce a “Harry Potter” television series. According to Bloomberg, which was first to report news of recent talks surrounding the project, the project would be directly based on J.K. Rowling’s best-selling book series, rather than an in-universe spinoff such as the “Fantastic Beasts” film series. Each season would reportedly draw from one of the books, suggesting an ongoing franchise that would stretch for years for the studio. Sources close to the situation suggest that talks between Warner Bros. Discovery and Rowling’s camp remain in a preliminary state. The studio is looking to house the series under its streaming banner HBO Max, soon to be combined with Discovery+ and rebranded under a new name.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Jessica Chastain will star in the eight-episode limited series “The Savant” at Apple, Variety has learned. The series is inspired by a true story published in Cosmopolitan in August 2019. Exact plot details for the series are being kept under wraps, but the Cosmopolitan article tells the story of a real woman who has come to be known as “the Savant” as she infiltrates hate groups online to help stop large-scale public attacks. The series hails from Fifth Season and Anonymous Content. Melissa James Gibson (“Anatomy of a Scandal,” “The Americans”) will serve as writer, executive producer, and showrunner under her overall deal with Fifth Season. Matthew Heineman (“A Private War,” “Retrograde”) will direct and executive produce. Chastain will executive produce in addition to starring via Freckle Films. Kelly Carmichael of Freckle Films also executive produces along with Jessica Giles, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan. Brian Madden, senior VP of development for Hearst Magazines, will produce. Andrea Stanley, writer of the original Cosmopolitan feature, will consult.

Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz is opening up about her feelings on the cancellation of Gordita Chronicles, the HBO Max show about a chubby Dominican girl growing up in the 1980s.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid series in the works at Amazon has found its showrunners. Variety has learned that Alex Metcalf has boarded the show, currently titled “Butch & Sundance,” as showrunner and executive producer. Series creators Kaz Firpo and Ryan Firpo will serve as co-showrunners and executive producers alongside Metcalf. The Firpos most recently wrote the screenplay for the Marvel film “Eternals.” Amazon has ordered the show straight-to-series. The show was first reported as being in development in September, with Regé-Jean Page attached to play Cassidy and Glen Powell playing Sundance. At that time, it was reported that deals for the show were not yet closed and discussions were ongoing.

What’s the worst-case scenario for an extramarital affair? Divorce? Ruined families and reputations? Murder? Such is the backdrop to “Love & Death,” an upcoming HBO Max original limited series. READ MORE: Elizabeth Olsen Says Scarlet Witch Could Appear In ‘Agatha’ Series: “I Think I’ll Be Back” Based on the real-life case of Candy Montgomery, “Love & Death” follows two church-going couples, Candy and Pat Montgomery and Betty and Allen Gore, whose once-quiet lives get upturned when Candy decides to pursue an affair with Allen and, soon enough, someone is picking up an axe… Elisabeth Olsen and Jesse Plemons star in the new series from “Ally McBeal” and “Big Little Lies” scribe David E.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Evan Jones has signed with Buchwald for representation, Variety has learned exclusively. In addition, Jones has landed a recurring guest star role in the upcoming HBO Max crime drama series “Duster” from J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan. Jones will continue to be represented by Artists First and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis. Jones is best known for his roles in films like “8 Mile,” in which he played Cheddar Bob, and “Jarhead,” in which he played Fowler. Jones’ other notable film roles include “Den of Thieves,” “The Book of Eli,” “Guardians of the Galaxy 2,” “A Million Ways to Die in the West,” “Shot Caller,” and “Hotel Artemis.” In television, Jones has appeared in shows like “October Road,” “Houdini,” “Brothers & Sisters,” “Midnight, Texas,” and “CSI: Cyber.”

A whopping four television shows are coming to an end on both HBO and HBO Max this year.