Michael Che to Star in Sketch Comedy Series at HBO Max

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNetflix and Ubisoft have teamed for an anime series adaptation of the video game “Splinter Cell”, Variety has learned.Derek Kolstad, best known for his work writing the “John Wick” film franchise, will serve as writer and executive producer on the series. According to sources, the series has received a two-season, 16 episode order at the streaming service.Netflix, Ubisoft, and reps for Kolstad declined to comment on the specifics of the deal.The first “Splinter Cell”

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHBO has optioned a book proposal about the hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine with Adam McKay onboard as an executive producer, Variety has confirmed.The potential limited series is based on the book proposal “The First Shot” by Brendan Borrell.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNina Dobrev and Bruna Papandrea are teaming to adapt the Greer Macallister novel “Woman 99” for television.Dobrev will star in and executive produce the series, with Papandrea also executive producing under her Made Up Stories banner. Made Up Stories’ Steve Hutensky and Casey Haver will also serve as executive producers with Janice Park serving as producer.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterElisabeth Moss is attached to star in and executive produce a series adaptation of the 2013 Lauren Beukes novel “Shining Girls,” which has been ordered to series at Apple.Moss will star as a Chicago reporter who survived a brutal assault only to find her reality shifting as she hunts down her attacker.Silka Luisa will write the adaptation and serve as executive producer and showrunner.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterVince Vaughn is attached to executive produce an animated comedy series in the works at Fox, Variety has learned exclusively.Fox has given Vaughn, Victoria Vaughn, and Peter Billingsly’s Wild West Picture Show production company a blind script deal for an animated series. No writer is currently attached, but Fox Entertainment will produce.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJonathan Majors is on — well, a major roll at the moment. Majors has appeared in a string of high-profile features in a matter of a few short years.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCAA announced Tuesday that Praveen Pandian has been promoted to head up the agency’s TV literary department.“Praveen is an exceptional agent with a tremendous work ethic and great taste,” said Joe Cohen, CAA Board Member and Head of Scripted Television. “He is a shining example of what we stand for at CAA, and I am thrilled to have him serve in this important leadership role.”Pandian first joined CAA in 2012 and was promoted to agent in 2015.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“grown-ish” star and executive producer Yara Shahidi has signed an overall deal with ABC Studios.As part of the deal, Shahidi is forming a production company with her business partner and mother, Keri Shahidi. The company is called 7th Sun.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDon Johnson and Chris Redd have signed onto a starring role in “Kenan,” the upcoming NBC series starring Kenan Thompson.“Kenan” was originally ordered to series last year for a spring 2020 debut, but NBC announced in January that the show was being pushed to the 2020-2021 season to continue developing it.Johnson will play Rick, Kenan’s father-in-law in the series. He takes over the role from Andy Garcia.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDiego Boneta has signed on to star in a limited series currently in the works at HBO Max, Variety has learned exclusively.Hailing from Legendary Television, the series is titled “Brujo” and will feature both English and Spanish dialogue. It is inspired by the true story of the infamous Adolfo Constanzo and the power he acquired as his acts of dark magic came to light.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAmazon is developing a half-hour comedy series with Crab Club Inc. and SB Projects.The series is titled “The Undesirables.” It is set in a near-future Los Angeles that explores the unexpected relationships that form when a group of outcasts are forced to bond under unusual circumstances.Ken Cheng of Crab Club and Arvin Chen will write and executive produce.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterGreg Kinnear has signed on for a leading role in the Starz pilot “Shining Vale.”He joins previously announced series star Courtney Cox. “Shining Vale” is a half-hour horror comedy about a dysfunctional family that moves from the city to a small town into a house in which terrible atrocities have taken place.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe Quinn Colson novels by Ace Atkins are being developed as a TV series at HBO, Variety has learned exclusively.In the books, Colson is a former Army Ranger who returns to his home in rural northeast Mississippi.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHBO Max has given a series commitment to a drama set in the Gotham police department from Matt Reeves and Terrence Winter, Variety has learned.The untitled series will be set in the world Reeves is creating for the feature film “The Batman,” with the intent being to launch a new Batman universe across multiple platforms. It is said to build on the film’s examination of the anatomy of corruption in Gotham City.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterOscar Isaac and Michelle Williams are attached to star in an HBO limited series adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s “Scenes From a Marriage,” Variety has learned.Bergman’s version aired on Swedish television in 1973, consisting of six episodes. Bergman directed the series with Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson starring.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLucy Liu has been cast in the lead role of Shana Goldberg-Meehan’s multi-camera workplace comedy pilot at ABC formerly known as “Bossy” and “Kids Matter Now.”Liu will play Devin, described as the fierce and powerful head of Shelter, a large and successful modern furniture company. She is a force and is unfamiliar with failure.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHBO Max has renewed the competition series “Legendary” for a second season.The news comes on the same day that HBO Max dropped the final two episodes of the show’s first season. Season 1 MC Dashaun Wesley will return for Season 2 along with judges Leiomy Maldonado, Jameela Jamil, Law Roach and Megan Thee Stallion.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAmazon has landed the rights to develop the 2020 Pulitzer Prize finalist New York Times story and podcast “The Jungle Prince of Delhi” as a drama series, Variety has learned.The story, written by Ellen Barry, delved into the history of the royal family of Oudh, deposed aristocrats living in a ruined palace in the Indian capital claiming to be the heirs to a fallen kingdom.Mira Nair is attached to direct the project and will also executive produce.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Batwoman” has found its new series lead, with Javicia Leslie set to step into the cape and cowl for the show’s upcoming second season on The CW.“I am extremely proud to be the first Black actress to play the iconic role of Batwoman on television, and as a bisexual woman, I am honored to join this groundbreaking show which has been such a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community,” Leslie said.Leslie will portray a new character on the show named Ryan Wilder.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterShowtime is developing a limited series about entertainment icon and activist Lena Horne.The series is currently titled “Blackbird: Lena Horne and America,” named for Horne’s favorite poem “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.” Jenny Lumet, Horne’s granddaughter, will co-write the first few episodes of the series with Alex Kurtzman, with both also executive producing.The series will span 60 years of Horne’s life, from dancing at the Cotton Club when she was 16,