MJ Rodriguez, Wendell Pierce, Jharrel Jerome Among Nine Added to ‘Between the World and Me’ Cast at HBO

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHBO Max has given a series order to the period comedy “Our Flag Means Death,” Variety has learned.The series hails from writer, showrunner, and executive producer David Jenkins. Taika Waititi will also executive produce and direct the pilot.

Nellie Andreeva, Denise Petski EXCLUSIVE: Anika Noni Rose (Power) is set as a lead opposite Margaret Qualley and Nick Robinson in Maid, Netflix’s dramedy series from writer Molly Smith Metzler, John Wells Productions, Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television.Written by Metzler, Maid is inspired by Stephanie Land’s bestselling memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHBO is developing a drama series that boasts Lily Rabe among its executive producers.The project is currently titled “The Big D.” Set during a hot and hotly contested summer in Dallas 1980, the show follows a triangle of women as their lives collide to unearth a secret past involving the city’s would-be First Lady, Pat Pangburn, and her mysterious bout of amnesia.Samantha Buck and Marie Schlingmann will serve as writers and co-executive producers on the project.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCurtis “50 Cent” Jackson is adding to his already deep roster of shows at Starz, with the premium cabler developing two new shows on which Jackson will serve as executive producer under his rich Starz overall deal. Both shows will be produced by Jackson’s G-Unit Film & Television.The first series is an untitled drama inspired by the life of sports agent and attorney Nicole Lynn.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNielsen released its new weekly rankings of streaming titles on Thursday, with Netflix once again dominating the top ten.For the week of Aug.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHBO Max is developing a series adaptation of the classic children’s mystery “The Westing Game.”The project has been given a script-to-series order at the streaming service, with MGM/UA Television attached to produce. MGM’s recent slate includes “Fargo,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Vikings,” “Get Shorty,” and the upcoming CBS drama “Clarice.”No writer is currently attached to the project.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe cast of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” is reuniting at HBO Max to celebrate the show’s 30th anniversary.Series star Will Smith and series regulars Tatyana Ali, Karyn Parsons, Joseph Marcell, Daphne Maxwell Reid, and Alfonso Ribeiro will all be part of the special, as will DJ Jazzy Jeff. It is set to tape on Sept.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterM88, the new full-service management firm launched by former WME partner Phillip Sun and Macro founder and CEO Charles D. King, has lined up an all-star list of initial clients.Variety has learned exclusively that the following people are signing with M88 for representation: Idris Elba, Donald Glover, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Naomi Scott, Sullivan Stapelton, Caleb McLaughlin, Carmen Cuba, and Riz Ahemd.

Emmy winner Jharrel Jerome (When They See Us), Wendell Pierce (The Wire, Jack Ryan), Yara Shahidi (Grown-ish) and Pose star MJ Rodriguez have joined the star-packed cast of HBO's special Between the World and Me. Actors Kendrick Sampson (Insecure) and Michelle Wilson have also joined the adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates' book, along with Pose writer, director and executive producer Janet Mock, composer Marc Bamuthi Joseph and jazz artist Jason Moran.

Denise Petski Senior Managing EditorJharrel Jerome (When They See Us), Marc Bamuthi Joseph (We Shall Not Be Moved), Janet Mock (Pose), jazz pianist/composer Jason Moran, Wendell Pierce (Jack Ryan), Mj Rodriguez (Pose, Hollywood), Kendrick Sampson (Insecure), Yara Shahidi (Black-ish, Grown-ish) and Michelle Wilson (Sweat) have joined the cast of Between the World and Me, HBO’s adaptation of the stage show based on Ta-Nehisi Coates’ New York Times bestseller.They join previously announced cast

previously announced Angela Bassett, Alicia Garza, Joe Morton, Phylicia Rashad, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Courtney B. Vance, Pauletta Washington, Susan Kelechi Watson and Oprah Winfrey.Coates’ novel was first published in 2015 as a written letter to his teenage son.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCBS All Access is developing a series about former NYPD detective Derrick Parker with Tip “T.I.” Harris attached to star and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson onboard as an executive producer, Variety has learned.The project is currently titled “Twenty Four Seven.” It is based on the book “Notorious C.O.P.: The Inside Story of the Tupac, Biggie, and Jam Master Jay Investigations from NYPD’s First ‘Hip-Hop Cop'” by Parker and Matt Diehl.During his time with the NYPD, Parker worked

Joe Otterson TV ReporterFox is developing a one-hour music anthology series, Variety has confirmed.The series is currently titled “Icon.” Each season would focus on the true stories of the music legends we think we know.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe cast and creators of “The West Wing” are reuniting to perform together for the first time in nearly two decades in a special set at HBO Max, Variety has learned.“A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote” will debut on the streamer this fall. It will feature a theatrical staging of the “Hartsfield’s Landing” episode from the show’s third season and will be shot at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles in early October.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCarlos Portugal is developing the one-hour mystery drama “Miss NG” at HBO Max, Variety has learned exclusively.The series is set in the small town of Nuevo Guerrero, where nothing is more important than the annual Miss Nuevo Guerrero beauty pageant. But when last year’s winner goes missing, her former best friend, her arch-rival and her half-sister all enter the upcoming pageant.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBreakout TikTok star Sarah Cooper is developing a single-camera comedy at CBS inspired by her book “How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings.”In a competitive situation with a penalty attached, Cooper is attached to co-write and executive produce the potential series, with Cindy Chupack onboard as co-writer, executive producer, and showrunner. Nina Tassler, Denise Di Novi, and Joan Boorstein will executive produce under their PatMa Productions banner.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSeth MacFarlane and Chadwick Boseman are teaming as executive producers on a limited series about the Little Rock Nine that is currently in development at Universal Content Productions (UCP).The untitled series is set in 1957 after the landmark Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education.