‘Lord of the Rings’ Amazon Series Moves Production From New Zealand to U.K. for Season 2

EXCLUSIVE: Good Grief will make its way to IFC and Sundance Now, which have acquired North America and U.K. rights to the New Zealand comedy, from sisters Eve and Grace Palmer. IFC and Sundance Now have also teamed with Kiel McNaughton and Kerry Warkia’s Brown Sugar Apple Grunt Productions Ltd.’s to co-commission a second season.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Dead Ringers” series at Amazon has added both Jennifer Ehle and Emily Meade in recurring roles, Variety has learned.They join previously announced series lead Rachel Weisz as well as cast members Michael Chernus, Poppy Liu, Britne Oldford and Jeremy Shamos.The series was announced at the streaming service in August 2020 with a straight-to-series order. It is a modern update of the 1988 David Cronenberg film of the same name.

Pre-production on the upcoming NBC/Blumhouse limited series The Thing About Pam, starring Renée Zellweger and Josh Duhamel, has been suspended, a rep for Blumhouse told Deadline. Based on a the real-life, stranger-than-fiction story behind the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria, the series has been in final stages of pre-production in New Orleans, with filming slated to begin Sept.

EXCLUSIVE: Renée Victor (Dead To Me) and veteran character actor Pepe Serna are set for recurring roles opposite Emeraude Toubia and Mark Indelicato in With Love, Amazon’s one-hour romantic comedy series from Gloria Calderón Kellett and her GloNation Studios and Amazon Studios.

Francis “Frankie” Mossman has sadly died.

While Lisa Joy’s new feature directorial debut Reminiscence isn’t a crossover to her co-created HBO series Westworld, one could easily argue that they’re distant cousins.

Hong Kong government has confirmed it has given Nicole Kidman an exemption from the city’s strict quarantine procedures, while currently tightening inbound travel restrictions for ordinary residents.Through her Blossom Films production company, Kidman is attached as an executive producer on “The Expats,” an Amazon Studios series directed by U.S.-based Chinese helmer Lulu Wang (“The Farewell”) that is currently shooting in the city.

Francis “Frankie” Mossman, who appeared on television shows like Spartacus and The Horizon, died on Aug. 14 in Sydney, Australia. He was 33 and his death was confirmed by his brothers, who did not disclose a cause .

Anthony and his courtship of new character Kate Sharma (“Sex Education” alum Simone Ashley). If the show keeps following the format laid out in the books, Seasons 3 and 4, which the show has already been renewed for, will focus on Daphne’s brothers Benedict (Luke Thompson) and Colin (Luke Newton).Dynevor previously spoke to TheWrap about her new supporting role in the sophomore season (one that won’t include her leading man, Regé-Jean Page’s Simon Basset, at all).

Mónica Marie Zorrilla “Bridgerton” breakout Phoebe Dynevor is attached to star and executive produce “Exciting Times,” a book-to-screen adaptation and romance series in development at Amazon Studios. Based on Irish author Naoise Dolan’s debut novel, “Exciting Times” centers on Ava, an Irish transplant teaching English grammar abroad to wealthy children.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNew Zealand is to return to a full, nationwide lockdown from midnight local time following the discovery of a case of COVID-19 that was locally transmitted. Film and TV productions will have to halt, but the pain may be brief.The move to a “Level 4” lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday afternoon at a televised press conference.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefEndeavor Content has come on board as the global sales agent for “The Panthers,” a musical social justice drama series from New Zealand.It was Friday confirmed that the series will make its international premiere as an official selection at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, as part of the Primetime program.The six, hour-long episodes, based-on-a-true-story series covers a devastating and resonant period in New Zealand’s history through the

Middle Earth is moving from New Zealand to the United Kingdom.

Lord Of The Rings TV show has confirmed that production on its second season will be relocating to the UK.The show, which takes place thousands of years before the events of JRR Tolkien’s books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, has just wrapped shooting its first season in New Zealand.However, Amazon has announced that the next batch of episodes will begin pre-production in early 2022, with the show relocating to the UK.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAmazon Studios’ decision to shift production of its untitled “Lord of the Rings” series from New Zealand to the U.K. has left the Kiwi production sector in shock.

Amazon Studios announced Friday it would film the second season of its original series, inspired by the books of J.R.R. Tolkien, to Britain.“The shift from New Zealand to the U.K.

told New Zealand’s “Morning Report” in April, which translates to roughly $465 million U.S. dollars.

Amazon Studios’ big-budget The Lord of the Rings TV series is leaving the franchise’s longtime home in New Zealand and moving production to the UK starting with the upcoming second season.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle apparently considered living in New Zealand when deciding to step away from their royal roles. Governor-General Patsy Reddy, who represents Queen Elizabeth II in New Zealand, claimed the couple spoke with her about their interest in moving to the country during the 2018 royal tour.

EXCLUSIVE: Britne Oldford (The Path, The Umbrella Academy) is set as a lead opposite Rachel Weisz in Amazon’s Dead Ringers series, a reimagining with a gender swap of David Cronenberg’s cult classic 1980s film. Jeremy Shamos (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) also will recur in the series, which hails from Weisz, writer Alice Birch (Normal People), Annapurna Television and Morgan Creek Entertainment, the company behind the original movie.