Jesse Williams Joins Aubrey Plaza, Ramón Rodríguez in Hulu Drama Pilot ‘Olga Dies Dreaming’

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMRC has promoted Emily Spence to the role of chief communications officer, with Kristin Robinson also joining the company as senior vice president of communications.In her new role, Robinson will oversee external communications across MRC’s portfolio of television, film, non-fiction and live/alternative programming.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMandy Patinkin will star in the detective drama “Career Opportunities in Murder and Mayhem,” which has been ordered to pilot at Hulu.The series asks the question: How do you solve a murder in a post-fact world? Especially when sailing the Mediterranean on an ocean liner filled with the wealthy and powerful.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNetflix has ordered the heist drama “Jigsaw” to series.Spanning 24 years, the series centers around the largest heist ever attempted, and the vengeance, scheming, loyalties, and betrayals that surround it.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterParamount Plus and CBC have partnered on the drama series “Skymed.”The series is produced by Piazza Entertainment in association with CBC and CBS Studios. It is currently in production in Manitoba and Ontario and will be available to stream on Paramount Plus in 2022.The series follow the triumphs, heartbreaks and tribulations of budding nurses and pilots flying air ambulances in remote Northern Canada.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterKrysten Ritter has signed on to the cast of the upcoming HBO Max series “Love and Death.”The series is based on the true story of Texas housewife Candy Montgomery, who murdered her friend from church, Betty Gore, with an axe in 1980.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe dramatic reboot of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” at Peacock has filled out its main cast.The upcoming series, known as “Bel-Air,” has added eight actors, who will star alongside previously announced series lead Jabari Banks in the role of Will. The new cast members are: Adrian Holmes (“At That Age,” “V Wars”) as Phillip Banks; Cassandra Freeman (“The Enemy Within,” “Atlanta”) as Vivian Banks; Olly Sholotan (“Run Hide Fight,” “Evolution of Nate Gibson”) as Carlton

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJoshua Sasse has been cast in the Fox country music drama “Monarch.”Sasse joins previously announced cast members Susan Sarandon, Trace Adkins, Anna Friel, and Beth Ditto.In the series. Reigning King of Country Music Albie Roman (Adkins), along with his insanely talented, but tough as nails wife, Queen of Country Music Dottie Cantrell Roman (Sarandon), have created a country music dynasty.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHilary Swank is set to star in a drama from Tom McCarthy that has been ordered to pilot at ABC, Variety has learned.In the untitled series, a star journalist (Swank) moves to Alaska for a fresh start after a career-killing misstep, and finds redemption personally and professionally joining a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage.McCarthy is writing and directing the pilot in addition to serving as executive producer under his Slow Pony banner.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterElisabeth Shue has joined the cast of the upcoming Showtime anthology series “Super Pumped,” Variety has learned.Each season of the series will focus on a different story from the business world, with Season 1 set to focus on the rise of the ride sharing app Uber.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSteve Howey has been cast in one of the lead roles in the CBS drama pilot based on the movie “True Lies,” Variety has learned exclusively.Howey will star as Harry, the role played in the film by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The character is described as a benign, play-it-safe, seemingly risk-averse computer salesman and devoted family man, married with two kids.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCountry music star Trace Adkins has been cast in the upcoming Fox drama series “Monarch.”Adkins joins recently announced cast members Susan Sarandon and Anna Friel. In the series, “Texas Truthteller” and reigning king of country music Albie Roman (Adkins), along with his insanely talented, but tough as nails wife, Dottie Cantrell Roman (Sarandon), have created a country music dynasty.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSusan Sarandon and Anna Friel have been cast in the upcoming Fox country music drama series “Monarch,” Variety has learned.In the series, the Romans are headed by the insanely talented, but tough as nails Queen of Country Music Dottie Cantrell Roman (Sarandon). Along with her beloved husband, Albie, Dottie has created a country music dynasty.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHBO Max has ordered a pilot for a potential “Dead Boy Detectives” series, Variety has learned exclusively from sources.Based on the DC Comics characters created by Neil Gaiman, the one-hour series would follow the Dead Boy Detectives — Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine — who decided not to enter the afterlife in order to stay on earth and investigate crimes involving the supernatural.Sebastian Croft and Ty Tennant are set to play Rowland and Paine respectively in the

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Reservation Dogs” has been renewed for Season 2 at FX on Hulu.The critically-acclaimed comedy series is still airing its first season, with the sixth episode set to debut on Sept. 6.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming Netflix drama series “Breathe” has cast Austin Stowell, Variety has learned exclusively.In the series, Melissa Barrera stars as Liv, a razor-sharp Manhattan attorney who finds herself profoundly out of her comfort zone when her small plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness and she must battle for survival.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterRainn Wilson has joined the cast of the upcoming AMC series “Dark Winds.”He joins previously announced series leads Zahn McClarnon and Kiowa Gordon. “Dark Winds” is based on the Leaphorn & Chee book series by Tony Hillerman.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” drama reboot series at Peacock has cast newcomer Jabari Banks in the lead role, Variety has learned.Banks will play the role of Will, who was played by Will Smith in the original 90’s sitcom. Banks was informed by Smith himself that he had landed the part in a video which can be seen above.Banks currently lives in West Philadelphia, also the birthplace of his character.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe FX on Hulu series adaptation of “Under the Banner of Heaven” has set its main cast.Sam Worthington (“Avatar,” “Clash of the Titans”), Denise Gough (“Andor,” “Angels in America”), Wyatt Russell (“The Falcon and the Winter Solider,” “Lodge 49”), Billy Howle (“The Serpent,” “Outlaw King”), Gil Birmingham (“Yellowstone,” “Hell or High Water”), Adelaide Clemens (“Rectify,” “The Great Gatsby”), Rory Culkin (“Waco,” “Halston”), Seth Numrich (“Turn: Washington’s Spies,”

Joe Otterson TV ReporterPeacock is developing a one-hour drama series about millennial nuns from “The Thing About Pam” creator Jessika Borsiczky, Variety has learned exclusively.The series is titled “Called” and is based on the Huffington Post article “Behold, The Millennial Nuns” by Eve Fairbanks.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterShowtime’s co-presidents of entertainment, Gary Levine and Jana Winograde, addressed moving the “Halo” series to Paramount Plus during a virtual TCA session on Tuesday.“The truth is that [“Halo”] was always a bit of an outlier for us in terms of its fit in the Showtime universe,” Winograde said. “And we did an amazing job of imbuing into the series, the character drama that we’re so well known for.