John Skipper, Dan Le Batard’s Meadowlark Media Hires Deirdre Fenton as Head of Unscripted (EXCLUSIVE)

Joe Otterson TV ReporterYvonne Orji has set up a variety special at HBO, Variety has learned exclusively.The project is in the early stages so details are scarce, but sources say it would incorporate comedy elements beyond traditional stand up and would dive into the Nigerian-American experience. Orji will write and executive produce in addition to starring.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterA new “Earthworm Jim” animated TV series is in development, Variety has learned exclusively.The project hails from Interplay Entertainment Corp., which owns the rights to the “Earthworm Jim” games. Interplay has partnered with APA to bring the project to television.Like the games, the series would follow the adventures of the titular Jim, a worm in a futuristic robotic suit who fights evildoers.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming NBC series “The Endgame” has added Karl Josef Co and Massiel Mordan to its cast.The duo join previously announced series leads Morena Baccarin and Ryan Michelle Bathé.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Reno 911: The Hunt for QAnon” has set a premiere date on Paramount Plus.The special will air on the streamer starting Dec. 23.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterParamount Television Studios has promoted Jenna Santoianni, Cheryl Bosnak, and Erika Kirkwood.Jenna Santoianni has been upped to executive vice president of Paramount Television Studios after previously serving as executive vice president and head of development.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterIndustrial Media has entered into an overall deal with House of NonFiction, Alex Stapleton’s new unscripted production company.Stapleton is an Emmy-winning filmmaker who is currently directing two projects for HBO. She recently completed the docu-series “Pride” for FX, which chronicles the American LGBTQ+ civil rights movement.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterRichard T. Jones is launching an independent production company dubbed Prophecy Pictures Entertainment, Variety has learned exclusively.Jones is starting the company with producing partners Jeremy Loethen and Kristy Horiuchi.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe legal drama “Reasonable Doubt” at Onyx Collective on Hulu has cast Tim Jo, McKinley Freeman, and Angela Grovey in series regular roles.The trio join previously announced series lead Emayatzy Corinealdi. In the series, viewers will judge Jax Stewart (Corinealdi) for her questionable ethics and wild interpretations of the law until they’re the one in trouble.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe single-cam comedy “Ghosts” is far from dead at CBS, with CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl high on the show’s potential given its rating success.“Every few years, you’re lucky enough to watch a show grow week by week and watch the word of mouth grow and watch the delayed viewing grow,” Kahl said in an interview with Variety. “I think ‘Ghosts’ is on its way to being the breakout comedy of the year.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLegendary Television and Scholastic Entertainment are developing a TV series based on “The Royal Diaries” books, Variety has learned exclusively.“The Royal Diaries” is a series of 20 fiction books published by Scholastic Press between 1999 and 2005. Each book is written as the fictional diary of a real female royal at a key moment in history as well as her adolescent years.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterRegina King and David E. Kelley are teaming to adapt the Tom Wolfe novel “A Man in Full” as a Netflix limited series, Variety has learned exclusively.The drama project has received a straight-to-series order at the streamer, with Netflix ordering six one-hour episodes.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterIsabel Sandoval has been tapped to direct an episode of the upcoming FX drama series “Under the Banner of Heaven,” Variety has learned exclusively.Sandoval is currently in Calgary filming her episode.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe Patricia Arquette-led Apple comedy series “High Desert” has added six new cast members, Variety has learned.Matt Dillon (“Wayward Pines,” “Crash”), Rupert Friend (“Homeland,” “Death of Stalin”), Weruche Opia (“I May Destroy You”), Brad Garrett (“Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Fargo”), Bernadette Peters (“Mozart in the Jungle,” “The Good Fight”) and Christine Taylor (“Search Party,” “Zoolander”) will all star alongside Arquette in the half-hour series.The series follows

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJohn Skipper and Dan Le Batard’s Meadowlark Media has signed a multi-year first-look deal with Apple.Under the deal, Meadowlark will produce documentary and unscripted series for the streamer. Meadowlark was launched in January, with the company at that time announcing an initial focus on sports content.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLila Byock has signed a two-year overall deal with ABC Signature, Variety has learned exclusively.Byock spent five years on the editorial staff of The New Yorker magazine.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBenedict Cumberbatch is set to star in the limited series “Londongrad” currently in development at HBO, Variety has learned exclusively.Based on the book “The Terminal Spy” by Alan Cowell, the series tells the true story of Alexander Litvinenko, the KGB agent and later defector killed by poisoning with the radioactive isotope polonium-210 in 2006 in England.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNetflix is developing a new drama series titled “Revenge Inc.” Variety has learned exclusively from sources.Plot details on the show are being kept mostly under wraps, but sources say it would focus on a secret, underground company that specializes in revenge.Matthew Arnold serves as the writer, executive producer, and showrunner on the project.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe Amazon YA pilot “Shelter” has added three new cast members, Variety has learned exclusively.Adrian Greensmith, Abby Corrigan, and Sage Linder have all joined the pilot, which is based on the first novel in Harlan Coben’s Mickey Bolitar book trilogy.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterPeacock has given a straight-to-series order to a new crime drama that hails from David E. Kelley, Variety has learned exclusively.The one-hour series is titled “The Missing,” based on the Dror A.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterRandall Einhorn and his Sad Unicorn banner have moved to Warner Bros. Television with a multi-year first-look deal, Variety has learned exclusively.Einhorn previously had an overall deal at ABC Signature.