NBC Eyes Pilot Order for Comedy From Mike O’Malley, Jon Cryer in Talks to Star

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe comedy pilot “Belated” from creator Peter Tolan and starring Kal Penn is not moving forward at FX, Variety has learned exclusively from sources.The half-hour series was meant to follow an unexpected intergenerational friendship between Sachin (Penn), a recently out man in his 40s, and Clay (Kaden Kearney), a 17-year-old trans teen, as Sachin and his ex-wife and children attempt to find their new normal. Along with Penn and Kearney, the pilot starred Ellie Taylor, Amir Bageria, and EaeMya ThynGi.FX did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.Tolan wrote, directed, and executive produced the “Belated” pilot. Nick Alford of Cloudland also executive produced.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterFX has commissioned a comedy pilot from Brian Jordan Alvarez.The pilot is called “English Teacher.” Alvarez will star as Evan, a gay high school English teacher in Austin, TX, and his fellow teachers trying to balance the competing demands of the students and their parents in a world where the rules seem to change every day. Alvarez is writing the pilot and will also executive produce in addition to starring.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDanielle Macdonald has been cast in the Natasha Lyonne-led Peacock series “Poker Face,” which hails from creator Rian Johnson.Macdonald is the latest addition to the growing cast. In addition to Lyonne, previously announced cast members include Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Benjamin Bratt, Stephanie Hsu, and David Castañeda.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJodie Foster is set for one of the lead roles in “True Detective” Season 4 at HBO, Variety has learned.The new season of the anthology crime series was first reported as being in development in March 2022, though no official plot details were confirmed at that time.Now it is known that In the fourth season, when the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, the six men that operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace. To solve the case, Detectives Liz Danvers (Foster) and Evangeline Navarro will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves, and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJude Law is going to star in a new “Star Wars” series coming to Disney+. The announcement was made at the “Star Wars” Celebration in Anaheim, CA.The show was previously reported as being in the works earlier in May as part of a larger “Star Wars” story published by Vanity Fair.The description they gave was, “The show takes place during the post–’Return of the Jedi’ reconstruction that follows the fall of the Empire, the same as ‘The Mandalorian,’ but its plot remains a secret.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSusan Sarandon and Fat Joe are set to lead the voice cast of the animated comedy series “The Movers” in development at Fox, Variety has learned exclusively.The series is based on an original idea by Sarandon, her son Jack Henry Robbins, and Danielle Uhlarik. All three are credited as co-creators and executive producers, with Robbins and Uhlarik writing the script.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterOmar Sy has signed a first-look television deal with HBO Max.Under the deal, the French actor and producer will develop series for the streamer for multiple markets around the globe.“I am very happy to be partnering with HBO Max who share my dreams of developing globally appealing content for audiences around the world, including French speaking Africa, France and the United States,” Sy said.Sy broke out with his starring role in the French film “The Intouchables,” for which he earned a César for best actor. He was the first Black actor to win the award.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterStephanie Leifer is stepping down from her role as executive vice president of current programming at ABC Signature, Variety has confirmed.The announcement marks the end of Leifer’s time across both the studio and ABC, where she originally began working in 1994. She switched over to the studio side in 2006.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLeslie Jones is set to lead the voice cast of an adult animated comedy series currently in early development at Warner Bros. Animation, Variety has learned exclusively.Jones will executive produce the untitled series in addition to voicing the lead character of Plastic Woman. According to an individual with knowledge of the project, the show is not connected to the female-led take on the DC character Plastic Man that was reportedly in the works as a feature back in 2020.Plot details for the show are being kept under wraps.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAmazon has picked up the sci-fi animated comedy “The Hospital” for two seasons.The series was originally reported as being in development at the streamer in early 2020. Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne are part of the voice cast and will also executive produce under their Animal Pictures banner.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Riverdale” will end with Season 7 at The CW, the broadcaster has announced.The news was part of The CW’s 2022 fall schedule release, which stated that the popular series will debut its seventh and final season at midseason in 2023.The show was renewed for Season 7 back in March among a slew of other CW shows like “The Flash,” “All American,” “Kung Fu,” and “Walker.” It is now the latest long-running CW shows to come to an end, with the network having recently canceled “Legends of Tomorrow” after seven seasons, “Dynasty” after five seasons, and “Legacies” after four seasons.CLICK HERE to follow Variety’s coverage of Upfronts 2022“Riverdale” proved to be a major hit for The CW upon its debut. The show debuted to solid ratings by the network’s standards, but exploded in popularity once it became available on Netflix.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe NBC drama pilot “Found” has cast Kelli Williams, Variety has learned exclusively.Williams joins previously announced series lead Shanola Hampton in the project along with fellow cast member Mark-Paul Gosselaar.The show is built around the fact that, in any given year, more than 600,000 people are reported missing in the U.S. More than half that number are people of color that the country seems to forget about. Public relations specialist Gabi Mosley (Hampton) — who was once herself one of those forgotten ones — and her crisis management team now make sure there is always someone looking out for the forgotten missing people.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterEdie Falco has been cast opposite Pete Davidson in the upcoming Peacock comedy series “Bupkis,” Variety has learned.The announcement was made during NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation on Monday. “Bupkis” was picked up straight-to-series at Peacock back in April. The show is described as a heightened, fictionalized version of Davidson’s real life.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“9-1-1: Lone Star” has been renewed for Season 4 at Fox, Variety has learned.The announcement was made ahead of Fox’s upfronts presentation to advertisers on Monday afternoon. At the time of this publishing, there is still no word on a renewal for “Lone Star’s” companion series, “9-1-1,” though an announcement is expected soon.CLICK HERE to follow Variety’s coverage of Upfronts 2022“9-1-1: Lone Star” stars Rob Lowe as Owen Strand, who moves with his son (Ronen Rubinstein) to Austin, TX, to rebuild a firehouse after it experienced a tragedy.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “True Lies” series adaptation has been ordered at CBS for the 2022-2023 broadcast season.The series order comes after the show was originally ordered to pilot at CBS in February 2021 before it was pushed off-cycle for consideration during this year’s pilot season.In the series, an unfulfilled suburban housewife (Ginger Gonzaga) is shocked to discover that her bland and unremarkable computer consultant husband (Steve Howey) is a skilled international spy. She is propelled into a life of danger and adventure when she’s recruited to work alongside him to save the world as they try to revitalize their passionless marriage.Along with Howey and Gonzaga, the cast includes Erica Hernandez, Omar Miller, Mike O’Gorman, Annabella Didion, and Lucas Jaye.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterKerry Washington and Delroy Lindo are set to star in a new comedy series set up at Onyx Collective on Hulu, Variety has learned.The series is titled “Unprisoned” and has received an eight-episode order. It is inspired by the life of series creator Tracy McMillan. In the show, a messy but perfectionist relationship therapist and single mom (Washington) has her life turned right-side-up when her dad (Lindo) gets out of prison and moves in with her and her teenage son.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Legacies” has been canceled after four seasons at The CW, Variety has learned.The show is the latest CW drama to get canceled. Previously, the network announced it was not moving ahead with new seasons of the DC shows “Naomi,” “Batwoman,” and “Legends of Tomorrow” as well as “4400,” “Charmed,” “Dynasty,” “Roswell, New Mexico,” and “In the Dark.”The cancellation of “Legacies” brings the “Vampire Diaries” universe to a close at The CW. “The Vampire Diaries” ran from 2009-2017 at the network, while the spinoff “The Originals” aired from 2013-2018.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCBS has ordered three new drama shows for the 2022-2023 broadcast season. According to sources, the network has decided not to move forward with any of its four comedy pilots.The network has picked up the police drama “East New York,” the firefighter drama “Fire Country” (formerly known as “Cal Fire”), and legal drama “So Help Me Todd.” The comedies “Rust Belt News,” “Unplanned in Akron,” “Sober Companion,” and “The Hug Machine” have been passed over.“East New York” follows Regina Haywood (Amanda Warren), the newly promoted deputy inspector of East New York, a working-class neighborhood at the edge of Brooklyn. She leads a diverse group of officers and detectives, some of whom are reluctant to deploy her creative methods of serving and protecting in the midst of social upheaval and the early seeds of gentrification.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterStephanie Hsu is set for a guest starring role in Disney+ series “American Born Chinese,” Variety has learned exclusively.The role reunites Hsu with previously announced cast member Michelle Yeoh, with whom Hsu starred in the hit film “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang, the series follows Jin Wang (Ben Wang), a teenager juggling his high school social life with his immigrant home life. When Jin meets foreign exchange student Wei-Chen (Jim Liu) on the first day of school, their worlds collide as Jin becomes entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” breaks new ground among the more recent “Trek” shows by going back to the old ways — that is to say that the show is much more episodic as compared to the heavily serialized “Star Trek: Discovery” and “Star Trek: Picard.”In an interview with Variety, series star Anson Mount said that the idea of the show following that format was always the intention of its creators and allowed the cast to “get ourselves out of the way a little bit.”“I like to think that Pike is not the star of the show,” said Mount, who plays Captain Christopher Pike. “The star of the show is the Enterprise.