‘In the Heights’ Star Anthony Ramos Joins Marvel Series ‘Ironheart’ at Disney Plus

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSpectrum Originals has ordered the dramedy series “Panhandle” starring Luke Kirby and Tiana Okoye, Variety has learned.Set in the Florida panhandle, the series follows agoraphobic arm-chair detective Bell Prescott (Kirby) and reluctant traffic cop Cammie Lorde (Okoye) as they wrestle with personal demons, shocking twists, and a few Florida gators on their journey to heal themselves and their town.Spectrum has ordered an eight-episode first season of the series, which will shoot in Savannah, GA. It will have a nine month exclusive ad-free run on Spectrum before an ad-supported second window on The Roku Channel.Nicholas Stoller and Carla Kettner created the series and will serve as executive producers.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Twisted Metal” TV show has landed at Peacock with a series order, Variety has learned.As previously announced, Anthony Mackie will star in and executive produce the series, which is baed on the video game franchise of the same name. The show was first reported as being in development back in February 2021.The half-hour action comedy will see Mackie play John Doe, a smart-ass milkman who talks as fast as he drives.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“This Is Us” star Lyric Ross has signed on for a role in the upcoming Marvel series “Ironheart,” Variety has confirmed with sources.Ross joins previously announced cast members Dominique Thorne and Anthony Ramos. As previously reported, The show follows Marvel character Riri Williams (Thorne), a genius inventor and the creator of the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man. Ross is believed to be playing Williams’ best friend.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming Apple limited series “Manhunt” has added Anthony Boyle and Lovie Simone to its cast, Variety has learned.The pair join previously announced series lead Tobias Menzies. The show is based on the book “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer” by James Swanson.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“SEAL Team” star Max Thieriot has signed on for the lead role in the CBS drama pilot “Cal Fire,” Variety has learned.It was previously reported that Thieriot co-wrote the story for the series, which is inspired by his life growing up in northern California. He will also serve as an executive producer.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMichael Chiklis is set to star in the first episode of the upcoming Fox crime anthology series “Accused.”The series is based on the BBC crime anthology of the same name. Each episode opens in a courtroom on the accused, with the audience knowing nothing about their crime or how they ended up on trial.Chiklis will play Dr.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMelissa Benoist could soon be returning to the Berlanti-verse.Variety has confirmed with sources that Benoist is in talks to star in the series “Girls on the Bus” at HBO Max, which is executive produced by Greg Berlanti. Berlanti previously executive produced The CW series “Supergirl,” which starred Benoist in the title role.Reps for HBO Max and Warner Bros. Television declined to comment.It was announced on Thursday that “Girls on the Bus” has received a straight-to-series order at HBO Max after previously having been set up at The CW and Netflix.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJulie Plec and Amy Chozick’s “The Girls on the Bus” is on the move again, this time to HBO Max.The streamer has given the drama series a straight-to-series order. It was most recently set up at The CW for development, having moved to the broadcaster from Netflix. Netflix had originally given the show a series order back in 2019, but it was previously reported that they had dropped the show after the pandemic pushed back the start of production.“The Girls on the Bus” is inspired by a chapter in Chozick’s book “Chasing Hillary.” The show is described as a comedic character-driven drama that chronicles four female journalists who follow every move of a parade of flawed presidential candidates, while finding friendship, love, and scandal along the way.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterKeri Russell has been cast in the lead role of the upcoming Netflix series “The Diplomat.”The series was ordered at the streamer in January. In the series, in the midst of an international crisis, a career diplomat (Russell) lands in a high-profile job she’s unsuited for, with tectonic implications for her marriage and her political future.Debora Cahn created the series and also serves as executive producer and showrunner.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterPaul Reiser has joined the cast of the upcoming Hulu comedy series “Reboot” from Steven Levitan.Reiser is taking over the role of Gordon in the series from Michael McKean. He joins previously announced cast members Judy Greer, Keegan-Michael Key, Johnny Knoxville, Rachel Bloom, Calum Worthy, and Krista Marie Yu.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMelissa Fumero has joined the upcoming Netflix comedy series “Blockbuster,” Variety has learned.Fumero joins previously announced cast member Randall Park in the single-cam comedy, which takes place at the last Blockbuster Video in America. Further castings for the ensemble workplace comedy will be announced at a later date.Fumero will play Eliza, described as a dedicated mother whose marriage to her high school sweetheart is on the rocks. She left Harvard after one semester to start a family and now works at Blockbuster alongside Timmy (Park) as his trusty number two.Fumero is best known for her starring role as Det.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterParamount Plus is mining even more Nickelodeon content to fill out its content slate.The streamer announced a slew of new projects that will be produced by Nickelodeon and Nickelodeon Animation as part of the ViacomCBS investor day presentation on Feb. 15.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterA “Sonic the Hedgehog” series about Knuckles is in the works at Paramount Plus.The announcement was made as part of the ViacomCBS (now Paramount) investor day presentation.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterRay Stevenson has been cast in the upcoming Disney Plus “Star Wars” series “Ahsoka,” Variety has confirmed with sources.He joins previously announced series lead Rosario Dawson, who will star as Ahsoka Tano, as well as cast members Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Natasha Liu Bordizz, and Ivanna Sakhno.Details on who Stevenson will be playing in the series are being kept under wraps, but it is believed that he will be playing a villain in the series, thought not the main villain, Grand Admiral Thrawn.Reps for Lucasfilm did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment.This is not the first time Stevenson has been a part of the “Star Wars” universe. He previously lent his voice to the two animated series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars Rebels” as the character Gar Saxon, a Mandalorian commando.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDaniella Pineda has signed on for a role in the AMC anthology series “Tales of the Walking Dead,” Variety has learned exclusively.Pineda joins previously announced cast members Terry Crews, Parker Posey, Poppy Liu, Anthony Edwards, and Jillian Bell. Details on the characters each will play in the series are being kept under wraps.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Beauty and the Beast” prequel series is no longer moving forward as planned at Disney Plus.According to sources, the live-action musical show is being postponed for an undetermined amount of time due to creative and scheduling issues. The show was meant to begin shooting this summer in Europe, but certain creative elements were not yet ready, which would have delayed shooting. Given the scheduling issues this would cause with the show’s cast as well as weather constraints, it was decided to hold off and revisit the show at a later date.News of the postponement comes just days after it was announced that Rita Ora was set to join the cast of the show, while Variety exclusively reported that “Hawkeye” alum Fra Fee was joining back in January.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAndrew Rannells has been cast in a recurring role in the upcoming Hulu limited series “Immigrant.”The darkly comedic series tells the true story of Somen “Steve” Banerjee (Kumail Nanjiani), the Indian-American entrepreneur who started Chippendales. Along with Nanjiani and Rannells, the cast also includes Murray Bartlett and Annaleigh Ashford.Rannells will play the rich kid investor in Chippendales New York and the love interest of Bartlett, who stars as producer-choreographer Nick De Noia.Rannells’ recent onscreen roles include “Black Monday” at Showtime and “Girls5Eva” at Peacock.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple has ordered the dark comedy series “Sunny” with Rashida Jones set to star, Variety has confirmed.The 10-episode series is based on the book “Dark Manual” by Colin O’Sullivan. In the half-hour show, Jones stars as Suzie, an American woman living in Kyoto, Japan, whose life is upended when her husband and son disappear in a mysterious plane crash. As “consolation” she’s given Sunny, one of a new class of domestic robots made by her husband’s electronics company.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming “American Born Chinese” series adaptation at Disney Plus has found its main cast, Variety has confirmed.Ben Wang, Michelle Yeoh, Yeo Yann Yann, Daniel Wu, Chin Han, Ke Huy Quan, Jim Liu, and Sydney Taylor will all star in the series, based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang.The series follows Jin Wang (Ben Wang), a teenager juggling his high school social life with his immigrant home life. When Jin meets a new foreign exchange student (Jim Liu) on the first day of school, their worlds collide as Jin becomes entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCatherine Zeta-Jones has been cast in the upcoming “National Treasure” series at Disney Plus, Variety has learned.Zeta-Jones joins previously announced cast members Lisette Alexis, Zuri Reed, Jordan Rodrigues, Antonio Cipriano, and Jake Austin Walker, and Lyndon Smith in the series continuation of the film franchise of the same name. Production is set to begin this month in Baton Rouge, LA.The series focuses on a young heroine, Jess (Alexis), a brilliant and resourceful DREAMer who embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to uncover the truth about her family’s mysterious past and save a lost Pan-American treasure.Zeta-Jones will portray Billie, described as a badass billionaire, black-market antiquities expert, and treasure hunter who lives by her own code.