Joel Kim Booster Joins Maya Rudolph Comedy Series at Apple

Joe Otterson TV ReporterA television series based on the life of Malcolm X is in the works at Sony Pictures Television’s TriStar, Variety has learned exclusively.The series will be based on the novels “X: A Novel” and “The Awakening of Malcolm X,” both of which were co-written by Malcolm’s daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz. “X: A Novel” was also co-written by Kekla Magoon while “The Awakening of Malcolm X” was also co-written by Tiffany D.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Lovecraft Country” creator Misha Green has signed a multi-year overall deal with Apple in a competitive situation.Under the deal, Green will create and develop television projects for Apple’s streaming platform. News of the deal comes just days after it was announced that “Lovecraft Country” will not return for a second season at HBO.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAMC has ordered a series adaptation of “Dark Winds,” based on the Leaphorn & Chee book series by Tony Hillerman.Zahn McClarnon will star and executive produce with Kiowa Gordon also starring. Graham Roland will write and executive produce.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The Offer,” the Paramount Plus drama series that will go behind-the-scenes of the making of “The Godfather,” is adding over a dozen actors to its cast.Burn Gorman has been cast in the series regular role of Charles Bluhdorn, the volatile head of Gulf & Western, while 14 recurring guest stars have also joined the series.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJeff Goldblum has joined the cast of “Search Party ” Season 5 at HBO Max, Variety has learned.Goldblum will appear in a recurring role as Tunnel Quinn, a charismatic tech billionaire who enters a very public business partnership with Dory (Alia Shawkat) on the other side of her near death experience.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Cruel Summer” creator Bert V. Royal is no longer affiliated with the series, Variety has confirmed.According to sources, Royal departed the series after the pilot finished filming last year due to creative differences.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterKyle MacLachlan will play Howard Baskin in the upcoming Peacock series “Joe Exotic,” Variety has learned.MacLachlan will star opposite series lead Kate McKinnon, who will play Carole Baskin. Howard is described as Carole’s even-keeled husband who supports her throughout the endeavor with Joe.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMichelle Yeoh has joined the prequel series “The Witcher: Blood Origin.”Yeoh joins previously announced cast member Laurence O’Fuarain. Yeoh will star as Scían, the very last of her nomadic tribe of sword-elves.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe HBO Max reboot of “Pretty Little Liars” has found its first two cast members.Chandler Kinney and Maia Reficco have both been cast in the series, which is titled “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin.” In addition, Lisa Soper has come onboard to direct the first two episodes of the series.Twenty years ago, a series of tragic events almost ripped the blue-collar town of Millwood apart.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterStarz has added five actors in recurring roles to its upcoming Watergate series “Gaslit.”Allison Tolman (“Fargo,” “Why Women Kill”), Chris Bauer (“The Wire,” “True Blood”), J.C. MacKenzie (“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “October Faction”), Hamish Linklater (“Legion,” “The Big Short”), and Chris Messina (“The Mindy Project,” “Argo”) have all joined the series.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple has ordered a series adaptation of the Garth Risk Hallberg “City on Fire” from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage.The eight-episode series falls under the first-look deal Fake Empire, Schwartz and Savage’s production banner, set up at Apple in 2019. It is the first series order to come from the deal.In “City on Fire,” an NYU student is shot in Central Park on the 4th of July, 2003.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The Last of Us” series at HBO has added Nico Parker in a guest starring role, Variety has confirmed.Parker will appear as Sarah, the daughter of Joel (Pedro Pascal). Along with Pascal, Parker joins previously announced cast members Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, and Merle Dandridge.Parker most recently appeared in a lead role in the HBO/Sky miniseries “The Third Day,” starring opposite Jude Law.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe Weeknd is developing a series at HBO which he would star in as well as co-write.Currently titled “The Idol,” the series follows a female pop singer starts a romance with an enigmatic L.A. club owner who is the leader of a secret cult.The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, will server as co-writer and executive producer along with Reza Fahim and Sam Levinson, with all three credited as creators of the show.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple is developing a drama series about Negro League Baseball, Variety has learned.The streamer has acquired the rights to the non-fiction book “If You Were Only White: The Life of Leroy ‘Satchel’ Paige” by Donald Spivey to develop as a series.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe co-showrunners of the “Halo” series at Paramount Plus are exiting the series, Variety has learned exclusively.Steven Kane and Kyle Killen are both out of the long-gestating video game adaptation. According to sources, Killen departed the project ahead of the start of production last year as he felt he was unable to render full-time showrunner duties during the show’s shoot in Budapest.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAndrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones will star in the FX on Hulu limited series “Under the Banner of Heaven,” Variety has learned.The series hails from write Dustin Lance Black and is based on the Jon Krakauer novel of the same name.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJuno Temple has signed on to star in “The Offer,” the Paramount Plus series that will explore the behind-the-scenes drama during the making of “The Godfather.”“The Offer” is based on the experience of Oscar-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy (Miles Teller), about the behind-the-scenes events of the original 1972 film.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAMC is officially moving forward with a series adaptation of Anne Rice’s “Interview With the Vampire.”News of the series order comes just over a year after Variety exclusively reported that AMC had acquired the rights to Rice’s book series “The Vampire Chronicles” and “The Lives of the Mayfair Witches.” “Interview With the Vampire” is the first series to be greenlit out of the acquisition.The cabler has given the series an eight episode order with an eye toward a 2022

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDean Winters has joined the “Joe Exotic” series at Peacock in the role of Jeff Lowe.Fans of the hit Netflix docuseries “Tiger King” will recall that Lowe became Exotic’s business partner and ally in his fight against Carole Baskin before eventually turning on him.Winters is the latest addition to the already stacked cast of “Joe Exotic.” He joins previously announced series leads Kate McKinnon, who will play Baskin, and John Cameron Mitchell, who will play Exotic.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple has given out a straight-to-series order for an animated adaptation of “Strange Planet.”The show hails from creators Dan Harmon and Nathan Pyle, with Pyle having created the webcomic and graphic novels of the same name. Amalia Levari will serve as showrunner.The “Strange Planet” series is said to tell profound and heartfelt stories about beings on a distant planet not unlike our own.