Napoleon Bonaparte Origin Story Series In Works From Tod Williams & Timberman-Beverly Productions

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Blindspotting” series at Starz has cast several key roles as production kicks off in Los Angeles and Oakland, Variety has learned exclusively.Along with previously announced series lead Jasmine Cephas Jones, the eight-episode, half-hour dramedy will also star Benjamin Earl Turner, Atticus Woodward, Jaylen Barron, and Candace Nicholas-Lippman.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefJustin Kurzel has assembled a high-profile cast to shoot “Nitram,” a feature film about a mass murder. He has also reteamed with writer Shawn Grant, who previously delivered the screenplay for Kurzel’s incendiary feature debut, 2011’s “The Snowtown Murders.”The picture is now shooting and will play in theaters and screen as an original show for local streamer Stan in 2021.

European film, TV and media group Wild Bunch is moving to strengthen its involvement in production and co-productions in France, placing longtime in-house execs Adeline Fontan Tessaur and Jerome Rougier in charge of the effort. They will respectively continue as Managing Director of Elle Driver and Director of French Theatrical Distribution, and will spearhead acquisitions with a particular focus on co-productions. The first films will be announced in the coming weeks.

Police work is currently in a “great state of confusion,” Ted Williams, a former Washington D.C., police detective, warned on “America’s News HQ” on Sunday amid a surge in violent crime in major cities across the country. In New York City, for example, shootings have nearly doubled -- from 698 last year to 1,359 this year as of Nov.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentThree French media executives with track records at Canal Plus, TF1 and M6 have joined forces to create the production company Taleseed.The banner will be developing, producing and distributing internationally driven series, films and documentaries with remake potential, and will aim to work with both broadcasters and streaming platforms.

French execs Valérie Billaut, Stéphane Cadoch and Hugues Laigneau are launching Paris-based production company Taleseed.

Spandau Ballet and EastEnders star Martin Kemp has recalled the moment son Roman nearly died in his godfather, George Michael’s pool.

Anthony D'Alessandro Editorial Director/Box Office EditorNetflix reports that its limited series The Queen’s Gambit has scored 62M households, becoming their most watched limited series to date in its first 28 days. The series starring Anya Taylor-Joy has been consumed Russia and Hong Kong, to France, Taiwan and Australia.

French television festival Series Mania has pushed back its 2021 event from mid-March to late May-early June amid concerns the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will restrict public events and international travel. Series Mania 2021, originally scheduled for March 19-27, will now be held in Lille, France from May 28 to June 5.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorBond — James Bond — is coming to a console and computer screen near you with an all-new origin story about the iconic British superspy.IO Interactive, in collaboration with MGM, EON Productions (the production entity owned by the Broccoli/Wilson family) and game financier Delphi, announced that it is developing and publishing the first-ever Bond origin story with the working title “Project 007.” IO Interactive, founded in 1998, has produced multiple award-winning

Series Mania, one of Europe’s biggest and most prestigious TV festivals, has pushed back its 2021 edition by two months, setting new dates of May 28 to June 5.Remaining in Lille, northern France, the event’s industry centerpiece, the Series Mania Forum, will be held at the Lille Grand Palais over June 1-3.Series Mania was originally slated to run over March 19-27 next year.

A group called Move Oregon's Border is leading an initiative to have Oregon's rural counties secede from the rest of the state and join Idaho. Mike McCarter, 72, a retired plant nursery worker and lifelong Oregonian, has been leading the effort for almost two years.

Robbie Williams and Geri Halliwell were the new showbiz power couple. It all began when Geri was spotted leaving Robbie 's home at 1am before they holidayed in France together, fuelling speculation of a blossoming romance.

Also on this day: Elizabeth I accedes to the English throne upon the death of her half-sister, Queen Mary, beginning a 44-year reign.Congress holds its first session in the partially completed U.S. Capitol building.The Suez Canal opens in Egypt.The Union Pacific Railroad Co.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorThe BBC’s classic comedy The Vicar Of Dibley is to return for a series of lockdown specials as part of the corporation’s festive line-up this year.Penned by Four Weddings And A Funeral writer Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, the series of three, 10-minute shorts will feature Dawn French reprising her role as vicar Geraldine Grainger.Grainger will reflect on an extraordinary year for the country and her parish, during which she has been delivering sermons

Naman Ramachandran Six-time Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan (“My Left Foot,” “In the Name of the Father”) is to make his documentary series debut with “Murder at the Cottage: The Search for Justice for Sophie.”The five-part series examines the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in West Cork, Ireland in 1996.In 1996, two days before Christmas, Sophie, the wife of French filmmaker Daniel Toscan du Plantier, was murdered at her holiday cottage in Schull, West Cork.