Matthew López to Adapt LGBTQ History Bestseller ‘The Deviant’s War’ as Amazon Limited Series (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: Joe Chrest (Stranger Things) has been tapped for a heavily recurring role in A Friend of the Family, Peacock’s limited series From Nick Antosca and UCP.

EXCLUSIVE: BCDF Pictures has acquired film rights to Elena Armas’ 2022 New York Times bestseller The Spanish Love Deception, tapping Peter Hutchings (The Hating Game) to adapt it for the big screen.

Ethan Hawke‘s recent foray into television has gone well so far. First, he nabbed a Golden Globe nomination for his role as abolitionist Jim Brown in Showtime‘s “The Good Lord Bird.” And he also looked like he relished chewing scenery in the Disney+ show “Moon Knight,” where he played cult leader Arthur Harrow.

Tiffany Boone (Hunters) is set to star alongside Andre Holland in The Big Cigar, Apple’s limited series that chronicles the story of Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton’s escape to Cuba, from Claws showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois, Don Cheadle, Joshuah Bearman and Warner Bros. TV.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeMy recent column about the plight of awards consultants in this age of Too Much TV clearly struck a nerve. Among everything I’ve written about the Emmys this year, it’s received the most reaction — mostly from publicists nodding their heads in frustration with the jam of events and campaigns.Since I’m apparently in a solicitous mood, this time I’ll turn my attention to the awards rule makers at the Television Academy — the folks who receive the lion’s share of ire this time of year, including in columns such as this.

Billy Crystal is attached to star and executive produce new limited series “Before,” where he will play Eli, a child psychiatrist and recent widower who encounters a troubled young boy. Apple TV+ has picked up the show hailing from Paramount Television.Sarah Thorp (“The Bounty Hunter”) will serve as writer, with Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Levinson (“Dopesick”) attached to direct.

K.J. Yossman “Paris in Harlem” director Christina Kallas is set to direct limited series ‘The Second Attack’ for ARD Mediathek, Variety can exclusively reveal.The six-part political thriller envisions what would happen if an “unthinkable war” were to take place on the world stage.Oliver Bottini (“Algiers Confidential”) has written the screenplay alongside Abdel Raouf Dafri (“A Prophet”) and Frédéric Jardin (“Braquo”).“Inspired by true events, ‘The Second Attack’ follows Alex, a young German who tries to uncover the truth about the murder of his father in 2003, a sniper for the Bundeswehr,” reads the official logline.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBilly Crystal is set to star in the limited series “Before” at Apple, Variety has learned.Crystal will star in the show as Eli, a child psychiatrist who recently lost his wife when he encounters a troubled young boy. Crystal will also executive produce in addition to starring.The series comes from writer Sarah Thorp (“The Bounty Hunter,” “Hawthorne”), who is also an executive producer.

EXCLUSIVE: Apple TV+ has picked-up Before, a limited series starring Billy Crystal, who also will serve as executive producer, Deadline has learned. I hear details on the project, including the size of the order, are still being finalized.

Apple TV+ has set global premiere dates for Five Days at Memorial, its limited series from John Ridley and Carlton Cuse, and darkly comic thriller series Bad Sisters, starring Sharon Horgan.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorWhat’s harder to work with when it comes to writing a limited series — true stories taken from real life, or the stuff of fiction? A panel of top writers debated the challenges of working with headline-driven and historical material during the final hour of Variety‘s Night in the Writers’ Room on June 9 at 1 Hotel in West Hollywood.“There’s a little bit of a tightrope-walk in a true story that you don’t necessarily have to walk in fiction,” said Dustin Lance Black, the writer-producer behind FX’s “Under the Banner of Heaven.” He noted that the series, about the 1984 murder of a woman and her infant daughter in Salt Lake City, deals with three intertwined stories, one of which is fictional. “That one to me, I had a slightly easier time with.

EXCLUSIVE: Amira Casar (The Contractor), Billie Boulet (The Worst Witch) and Ashley Brooke (The Blacklist) are set as series regulars, joining Bel Powley, Liev Schreiber and Joe Cole in A Small Light, a National Geographic limited series that tells the remarkable story of a Dutch woman who risked her life to shelter Anne Frank’s family from the Nazis for more than two years and then preserved Anne’s diary. The project comes from Grey’s Anatomy alums Joan Rater and Tony Phelan, Susanna Fogel, ABC Signature and Keshet Studios.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentLos Angeles-based Dark Star Pictures has acquired North American distribution rights to Colombia-based Spanish director Ruth Caudeli’s Tribeca title “Petit Mal” from Italian sales company The Open Reel. “Petit Mal,” in which Caudeli also stars, is centered around three young women, Martina, Laia, and Anto, who are in a passionate, playful three-way relationship — the dynamic of which is reshaped when one is called away for a long-term project.The pic, which premieres in Tribeca’s Viewpoints section, is loosely based on the director’s personal life experiences.“Petit Mal” is Caudeli’s third feature segueing from her exploration of somewhat similar themes in “Eva + Candela” (2017), in which a female filmmaker falls in love with her leading lady, and “Second Star on the Right” (2019), about a 30-something bisexual woman who refuses to grow up. During Cannes, the Rome-based Open Reel, which is headed by Cosimo Santoro, also sold rights to “Petit Mal” for Germany and all German-speaking territories to Cinemien.de/Pro-Fun Media; and for Benelux to Cinemien.nl.

Apple on Wednesday unveiled the trailer for Black Bird, its six-episode original limited series from executive producer Dennis Lehane. The psychological thriller is set to debut globally Apple TV+ on July 8.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAllison Williams has boarded the upcoming Showtime limited series “Fellow Travelers” alongside Matt Bomer, Variety has learned exclusively.The series was picked up at Showtime back in April with an eight-episode order. It is based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Mallon.The show is described as an epic love story and political thriller, chronicling the volatile romance of two very different men who meet in the shadow of McCarthy-era Washington.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorFinding LGBTQ actors to cast in the new history docuseries “The Book of Queer” wasn’t that difficult.No, producers didn’t ask the actors about their sexuality.“If you’re casting for a show called ‘Book of Queer,’ and you’re saying in the audition process, ‘Is there any particular reason you want to be on this show?,’ they’re going to tell us,” series creator Eric Cervini tells me. “Of course, we weren’t discriminating, but it was kind of self-selecting.’”The five-episode “Book of Queer,” which premieres Thursday on Discovery+, features multiple stories about queer history and queer individuals, including Greek poet Sappho, Alexander the Great, King James, Joan of Arc, Akhenaten, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Alan Turning, Josephine Baker, Stormé DeLarverie, Sylvia Rivera, Eleanor Roosevelt, Gilbert Baker, Harvey Milk, Marsha P.

Falling in love is never easy. Matthew Morrison’s love life has made headlines through the years — long before he found The One in his now-wife, Renee Puente.

Taylor Zakhar Perez (The Kissing Booth 2 & 3) and Nicholas Galitzine (Cinderella) have been tapped to lead Prime Video’s romantic comedy Red, White & Royal Blue, based on Casey McQuiston’s bestselling novel of the same name. Tony Award-winning playwright Matthew López (The Inheritance) will direct, in his feature debut, with Clifton Collins Jr. (Westworld), Stephen Fry (The Dropout) and Sarah Shahi (Sex/Life) also aboard to star.