‘Insecure’ Star Yvonne Orji to Premiere Comedy Special ‘A Whole Me’ on HBO in October (EXCLUSIVE)

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Lukas Gage has joined the cast of the “Dead Boy Detectives” series at HBO Max, Variety has learned. The eight-episode series was ordered at HBO Max back in April. It is based on the DC comics of the same name as well as “The Sandman,” from characters created by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner. The official series description states, “It’s a fresh take on a ghost story that explores loss, grief, and death through the lens of Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri), two dead British teenagers, and their very alive friend, Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson). So, it’s a lot like a vintage detective series — only darker and on acid.”

Cher is making a rare red carpet appearance!

Fox News subscription streaming service.The program will highlight the 69-year-old actress’ “signature comedic take on a variety of topics, with no subject off limits,” according to a press release.“Roseanne is a comedy icon whose humor connects with the American audience like no other. Her ability to channel the challenges of everyday people and find the humor in it all has earned her the passionate following of millions of dedicated fans,” president of Fox Nation Jason Klarman said in a statement. “We are thrilled to add her comedy special exclusively to the Fox Nation catalog.”The one-hour program will mark her first stand-up special in 16 years and one of her first appearances after being fired from — and killed off of — her ABC sitcom in 2018.“Roseanne” aired from 1988 through 1997, and was rebooted in 2018.

Angelique Jackson Actor, producer and Emmy-winning writer Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions has a new series in the works for HBO Max. The half-hour, single-camera comedy, titled “Rollin,’” is in development under the multi-platform entertainment company’s overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group. According to the official logline, the series centers on “an easily corruptible newbie skater and her ragtag rink crew who find drive and deliverance on the hardwood at an ATL skating rink known for its good music, food, vibes and stellar stunts. They soon discover that walking away from your past is easier said than done — but as all skaters learn, when you fall down, you must get back up.”

Roseanne Barr will produce and perform in a new comedy special for Fox Nation, Fox News Media’s subscription streaming service.

live+3 viewing records. That show was canceled, however, after racist tweets from the star drew major backlash.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Roseanne Barr, who left audiences doubting her ability to perform in anything following a controversial exit from a reboot of her popular sitcom on ABC, now plans to produce a new comedy special for Fox Nation, the Fox News-backed subscription streaming service. The new one-hour program, “A Roseanne Comedy Special,” is expected to debut in the first quarter of 2023.  “Roseanne is a comedy icon whose humor connects with the American audience like no other. Her ability to channel the challenges of everyday people and find the humor in it all has earned her the passionate following of millions of dedicated fans,” said Jason Klarman, president of Fox Nation, in a statement. “We are thrilled to add her comedy special exclusively to the Fox Nation catalog.”

Brent Lang Executive Editor RLJE Films is partnering with Shudder on “Kids vs. Aliens,” which it will fully finance and premiere at Fantastic Fest later this month. Both companies are business units of AMC Networks. Shudder is a streaming service that focuses on horror, thriller and supernatural films. RLJE Films will release the alien invasion film in theaters, on demand and across digital platforms in early 2023. A Shudder release will follow later in the year.  “Kids vs. Aliens” centers on Gary, who wants to make awesome home movies with his best buds. All his older sister Samantha wants is to hang with the cool kids. When their parents head out of town one Halloween weekend, a teen house party turns to terror when aliens attack, forcing the siblings to band together to survive the night. 

Ben Croll Emmy-winning writer Alice Prodanou and cross-media brand Star Stable Entertainment will bring their hit web show “Star Stable: Mistfall” to television. Working with animation studios Ferly and Atmosphere Media, Prodanou will oversee creative duties on the tween-skewing episodic series, set to enrich and expand the world of the YouTube short-form that premiered in 2020. “We’ve always intended on doing a full-length series,” Prodanou tells Variety. “The 10 x 5-minute YouTube series that we’ve already produced was proof-of-concept and an exciting part of our development process. [The web series] got over 15 million views and amazing engagement from fans who were vocal about wanting to see more.”

is back! More than three years since the last episode dropped, the original series — inspired by the popular dance movie franchise — returns for season 3 on a new network, Starz, and promises to feature even more twists and turns.In celebration of National Dance Day on Saturday, ET exclusively debuts the juicy official trailer for the upcoming season and reveals the premiere date: Sunday, Oct. 16 at 10 p.m.

and kick off new seasons on Monday with a special crossover, and only ET was on the set of the upcoming premiere event. star Noah Mills takes over the ET mic as he goes from actor to interviewer, chatting it up with the casts of both CBS dramas.

Bobby Cannavale has a busy 2022 with “Blonde,” Netflix‘s “The Watcher,” and “Seriously Red” all coming out before the end of the year. Now he has his next project lined up: “Inappropriate Behavior,” a road-trip family comedy with a stacked ensemble cast.

EXCLUSIVE: Iliza Shlesinger’s upcoming Netflix comedy special now has a title and a premiere date. Titled Hot Forever, Shlesinger’s 6th(!) Netflix special, will launch globally on October 11.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. A new Bo Burnham-directed comedy special is hitting Hulu this Thursday, adding to the streamer’s small but mighty library of stand-up specials. “Kate Berlant: Cinnamon in the Wind” is the New York comedian’s second solo show directed by Bo Burnham for FX, and if it’s even close to as experimental and controversial as Berlant’s first outing, it will generate a lot of conversation. The special, which was filmed in 2019 before she began her off-Broadway show “Kate,” finally premieres on Hulu on Sept. 15, two years after it was recorded . Jerrod Carmichael and Chris Storer (“The Bear”) serve as executive producers on “Cinnamon in the Wind,” which features the “League of Their Own” star performing in an “absurdist set, in an intimate space, shared not only with the audience but the mirror reflection of herself,” according to FX. She plans to warp “audience expectations of her comedy, while also exploring her clairvoyant connection to the crowd and her inability to stop performing.”

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi is an animated show that was written by the same group who brought us Season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Tales will focus on the Jedi of the prequel era such as Count Dooku, Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu, Ashoka Tano, and of course Anikan Skywalker.

In a first for FX, the network is bringing two comedy specials to Hulu featuring stand-ups Kate Berlant and Byron Bowers. Both of the specials will be available Thursday, September 15 on the streamer.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Rachel Bloom has joined the cast of “Julia” Season 2 at HBO Max, Variety has learned exclusively. The series is inspired by the life of Julia Child and her long-running cooking show “The French Chef.” The first season debuted in March 2022 and the show was renewed in May. Bloom will appear in a recurring role as Elaine Levitch. The character is described as “a dynamo who comes to WGBH by way of CBS to work with Julia on ‘The French Chef.'” Bloom will next be seen in the Steve Levitan Hulu comedy series “Reboot,” which premieres Sept. 20. She is best known for her work on the CW musical dramedy series “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” which she co-created and executive produced in addition to starring. She received five Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations for her work on the series, winning one of each. Her recent credits include the Disney+ film “Chip ‘N’ Dalel: Rescue Rangers” and the upcoming Netflix film “The School for Good and Evil.” She published the book “I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are” in 2020.

Manori Ravindran International Editor Ulrich Seidl’s “Sparta” has been pulled from the Toronto International Film Festival amid allegations of impropriety and child exploitation against the director, but its premiere at next week’s San Sebastian Film Festival will continue as planned, Variety can reveal. A spokesperson for the Spanish festival tells Variety on behalf of festival management that “Sparta” will remain in competition. Providing a three-point list explaining their reasoning, San Sebastian said “the festival team assesses the films after their viewing according to their interest and quality” and that the event “does not have the ability to judge how a film has been shot and whether a crime has been committed in the course of the filming. If anyone has any evidence of a crime, they should report it to a judge.”

EJ Panaligan editor Dane Cook’s new stand-up special, “Above It All,” will be released through the social media platform Moment next month, the comedian announced on Friday. The special will first premiere on October 4 during a special screening event at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood — which, according to his reps, marks the first time a comedian has premiered a special at the venue.