McKenna Grace, Lexi Underwood, Nasim Pedrad Join Disney Plus Anthology Series ‘Just Beyond’

Joe Otterson TV ReporterTaika Waititi is hitting the high seas as the dreaded pirate Blackbeard in the upcoming HBO Max comedy series “Our Flag Means Death,” Variety has learned.Waititi joins previously announced series lead Rhys Darby.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“NCIS: Hawai’i” has found its series lead in Vanessa Lachey, while also adding both Yasmine Al-Bustami and Jason Antoon to the cast.Lachey will star as Jane Tennant, the first woman SAC of NCIS: Hawai’i. She’s described as being as diplomatic as she is hard-charging.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterFinn Wittrock has been cast in a lead role of the upcoming “Green Lantern” series at HBO Max, Variety has learned.Wittrock will star as Guy Gardner, who is described as a hulking mass of masculinity, and, as rendered in the comics, an embodiment of 1980s hyper-patriotism. And yet, Guy is somehow likable.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJK Simmons is set to star opposite Sissy Spacek in the Amazon sci-fi series “Lightyears,” taking over a lead role in the series from Ed O’Neill.O’Neill’s casting was reported in March, but according to an individual with knowledge of the production, he has exited for personal reasons.The series follows Irene (Spacek) and Franklin (Simmons) York, a couple who years ago discovered a chamber buried in their backyard which inexplicably leads to a strange, deserted planet.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterToni Collette will star alongside Colin Firth in the HBO Max limited series “The Staircase,” Variety has learned.The eight-episode series is based on the docuseries of the same name as well as various books and reports about the case of Michael Peterson (Firth), who was accused of murdering his wife, Kathleen (Collette), in 2001.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLena Headey has joined the HBO series “The White House Plumbers,” which delves into the Watergate scandal, Variety has learned.Headey joins previously announced cast members Woody Harrelson, Justin Theroux, and Domhnall Gleeson. The five-episode series tells the story of how President Nixon’s own political saboteurs and Watergate masterminds, E.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterGreg Kinnear and Sepideh Moafi have been cast in the upcoming Apple drama series “In With the Devil,” Variety has learned.The pair joins previously announced series leads Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser as well as Ray Liotta. The six-episode series was ordered at Apple in January.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterGrace Gummer has been cast in the “Let the Right One In” pilot at Showtime, Variety has learned.She joins previously announced cast members Demián Bichir and Anika Noni Rose. The series centers on Mark (Bichir), a father and his 12-year-old daughter, Eleanor, whose lives were changed forever 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJulie Ann Emery has been cast in Apple’s upcoming Hurricane Katrina series, “Five Days at Memorial.”The series is based on the Sheri Fink novel of the same name. It chronicles the first five days in a New Orleans, LA, hospital after Hurricane Katrina made landfall.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Walker” Season 2 at The CW has upped Odette Annable to series regular status.Annable currently recurs on the series as Geri, an old friend of Walker (Jared Padalecki) and his late wife.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJosh Gad and Isla Fisher are set to star in the romantic comedy series “Wolf Like Me,” which has received a straight-to-series order at Peacock.The streamer has ordered six episodes of the half-hour series. In the show, Gary (Gad) is an emotional wreck and struggles to provide for his daughter since the death of his wife.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Ironheart” series at Disney Plus has tapped Chinaka Hodge to serve as head writer, Variety has learned exclusively from sources.“Ironheart” will star Dominique Thorne as Marvel character Riri Williams, a genius inventor and the creator of the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series at Disney Plus has cast Maya Erskine, Variety has confirmed.Details on Erskine’s role are being kept under wraps. She joins previously announced series lead Ewan McGregor as well as Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell and Benny Safdie.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming “Fantasy Island” reboot at Fox has added its first two cast members, Variety has learned.Kiara Barnes and John Gabriel Rodriguez will both star in the series, which was ordered straight-to-series at Fox back in December.The new series is described as a modern semi-anthology series that delves into the “what if” questions, both big and small, that keep us awake at night.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterOlivia Colman is in negotiations to join the “Secret Invasion” series at Disney Plus, Variety has confirmed with sources.Should Colman join the series, she would join previously announced cast members Samuel L.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Joe Exotic” limited series in which Kate McKinnon will play Carole Baskin has cast John Cameron Mitchell to play the infamous “Tiger King” himself, Variety has learned.Mitchell has been cast as Joe “Exotic” Schreibvogel, the larger-than-life zoo owner in Oklahoma who loses himself in his hatred for Carole Baskin (McKinnon).

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHenry Lloyd-Hughes and Thalissa Teixeira will star alongside Lucy Hale in the AMC-Alibi series “Ragdoll,” Variety has learned.The six-episode show, which was ordered to series back in February, is set to begin production on April 19 in London.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJohn Ortiz has been cast in a leading role of the ABC drama pilot “Promised Land,” Variety has learned.The show is described as an epic, generation-spanning drama about two Latinx families vying for wealth and power in California’s Sonoma Valley. Ortiz joins previously announced cast members Christina Ochoa and Mariel Molino.Ortiz will star as Joe Sandoval, the patriarch of the Sandoval family, a wealthy vineyard-owning family in the Sonoma Valley.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe horror comedy “Shining Vale” starring Courteney Cox, Greg Kinnear, and Mira Sorvino has been ordered to series at Starz, Variety has learned.The half-hour show had originally been picked up to pilot back in 2019. The premium cabler has given the series an eight-episode order.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“NCIS,” “Bull,” “SWAT,” “Blue Bloods,” and ‘Magnum PI’ have all been renewed at CBS.The network made the announcement on Thursday on Twitter.