‘Naomi’: DC Pilot at CW Casts Kaci Walfall in Title Role, Sets Three Series Regulars

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNatalia Anderson will direct the ABC single-camera comedy pilot “Maggie,” Variety has learned exclusively.Anderson started out as a director and producer on the CBS comedy series “Life in Pieces,” directing multiple episodes. Other TV directing credits for Anderson include “Black-ish,” “Single Parents,” “Brews Brothers,” “Grown-ish,” “American Housewife,” and “Perfect Harmony.” She previously worked at Brownstone Productions under Elizabeth Banks.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The Powerpuff Girls” live-action pilot at The CW has found its Mojo Jojo.Nicholas Podany has joined the pilot in the role of Joseph “Jojo” Mondel Jr. As a kid, the nerdy, power-hungry, insecure JoJo was obsessed with The Powerpuff Girls, despite his father’s grudge against them.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The Three of Us,” a comedy pilot at CBS, is no longer moving forward at the network.The multi-camera pilot was a holdover from CBS’ 2020 pilot crop, which was thrown into disarray due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It starred Oliver Hudson, Malin Akerman, Brent Morin, and Vanessa Lachey.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSarah Michelle Gellar is set to star in the YA comedy “Hot Pink,” which has been ordered to pilot at Amazon, Variety has learned.The show is loosely inspired by Elana K. Arnold’s book “What Girls Are Made Of.” In the book, Nina Faye was raised to believe that there is no such thing as unconditional love, meaning she will do anything for her boyfriend to prove her worthiness.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterEugenio Derbez’s upcoming Apple comedy series “Acapulco” has added four new cast members, with Richard Shepard now onboard to direct the pilot.Enrique Arrizon, Damian Alcázar, Camila Perez, and Raphael Alejandro will all star alongside Derbez in the half-hour series.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDonald Faison has joined “The Powerpuff Girls” live-action pilot at The CW in the role of Professor Drake Utonium.The series, now titled simply “Powerpuff,” was first announced as being in development back in August. Based on the Cartoon Network series created by Craig McCracken, the new series sees the pint-sized superheroes as disillusioned twentysomethings who resent having lost their childhood to crime fighting.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterChristina Ochoa has been cast in a major 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.Ochoa will star as Veronica Sandoval, the eldest daughter of the Sandoval family, a wealthy vineyard-owning family in the Sonoma Valley.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDon Cheadle will serve as the narrator on the “Wonder Years” reboot pilot currently in the works at ABC, Variety has confirmed.Cheadle will voice the adult version of main character Dean, who will played by Elisha Williams. Daniel Stern served as the narrator on the original series.The pilot will show how a black middle-class family in Montgomery, Alabama in the turbulent late 1960s, made sure it was The Wonder Years for them too.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The Witcher: Blood Origin,” the “Witcher” prequel series currently in the works at Netflix, has cast Laurence O’Fuarain in a lead role.Set in an elven world 1200 years before the events of “The Witcher,” “Blood Origin” will tell a story lost to time – the creation of the first prototype Witcher, and the events that lead to the pivotal “conjunction of the spheres,” when the worlds of monsters, men, and elves merged to become one.O’Fuarain will star as Fjall.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterTisha Campbell, Essence Atkins, Tahj Mowry, Isaiah Mustafa, and Beth Grant have all been cast in ABC’s multi-cam comedy pilot “Black Don’t Crack,” Variety has learned.The group joins previously announced series star Sherri Shepherd. The show follows three former sorority sisters (Shepherd, Atkins, Campbell) who lost touch after college and reunite during a pivotal point in their lives.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJane Lynch has been cast in a lead role in the ABC multi-cam comedy pilot “Bucktown,” Variety has learned.Lynch joins previously announced cast members Shannon Woodward and Nicole Richie.In the multi-cam sitcom, after being dumped by her boyfriend and kicked out of her apartment on the eve of a big promotion, Amy (Woodward) finds refuge at her mom’s (Lynch) house in the blue-collar neighborhood where she grew up.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterFX has ordered a half-hour pilot from Christopher Storer, Variety has learned.“The Bear,” as the show is called, is about a young chef who returns to Chicago to run the family restaurant. Storer will write, direct, and executive produce the pilot.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDulé Hill and Laura Kariuki have been cast in “The Wonder Years” reboot pilot at ABC, Variety has learned.They join previously announced cast members Elisha Williams, who will play main character Dean, and Saycon Sengbloh, who will play family matriarch Lillian.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNicole Richie has been cast in the ABC comedy pilot “Bucktown,” Variety has learned.In the multi-cam sitcom, after being dumped by her boyfriend and kicked out of her apartment on the eve of a big promotion, Amy finds refuge at her mom’s house in the blue-collar neighborhood where she grew up.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMatthew McConaughey is attached to star in a series adaptation of the John Grisham novel “A Time for Mercy,” which is currently in development at HBO, Variety has learned from sources.The book, published in 2020, is a followup to Grisham’s books “A Time to Kill” and “Sycamore Row,” all of which center on the character of attorney Jake Brigance. McConaughey previously starred as Brigance in the film adaptation of “A Time to Kill” in 1996.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAdrien Brody will play legendary basketball coach Pat Riley in HBO’s upcoming drama series about the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s, Variety has learned. The untitled series was ordered at HBO in December 2019.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterShowtime has ordered a pilot inspired by the hit Swedish novel and film “Let the Right One In,” Variety has learned.Demián Bichir is attached to star in the series, with Andrew Hinderaker onboard as showrunner and executive producer.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterElisha “EJ” Williams has been cast in the main role of “The Wonder Years” pilot at ABC, Variety has learned.The project will show how a black middle-class family in Montgomery, Alabama in the turbulent late 1960s, made sure it was The Wonder Years for them too.Williams will star in the role of Dean, described as an inquisitive and hopeful 12-year-old kid coming of age in a turbulent time.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterPatti LuPone and Erinn Hayes have signed on to star in the HBO Max comedy pilot “OK Boomer,” Variety has learned.In the show, a self-centered boomer (LuPone) shows up at her estranged daughter’s (Hayes) house hoping to live off the family’s money, but forms an unexpected bond with her progressive granddaughter who’s quick to challenge her on their differing views, of which there are plenty.LuPone’s character, Barbara, is described as a comically outrageous, wildly

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe Netflix series “First Kill” has cast Imani Lewis and Sarah Catherine Hook in the lead roles, Variety has learned.The one-hour show is based on the short story of the same name by Victoria “V.E.” Schwab that was published in the Imprint story collection “Vampire Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite” in September 2020. Netflix ordered eight episodes back in October.