Negro League Baseball Drama in the Works at Apple With Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson Producing

EXCLUSIVE: In competition, Apple has landed a multi-year, first-look deal for scripted feature films with Hyperobject Industries, the multi-platform production company from Oscar-winning writer/director/producer Adam McKay.

The telecast peaked with 8,685,000 viewers from 9:30-9:45 p.m. ET during the swing-off between Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto.

A limited series about Effa Manley, aka the “Queen of the Negro Leagues,” is in the works from Alcon Television.The project is based on James Overmyer’s novel “Queen of the Negro Leagues: Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles.” Byron Motley and Jeffrey Miiller are leading the adaptation, which is looking for talent and a showrunner.Anya Adams will direct the pilot.

EXCLUSIVE: The remarkable story of Effa Manley, the first and to-date only woman to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, is headed to the screen.

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Police have confiscated more than a dozen weapons and 1,000 rounds of ammunition from a hotel near Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, the site of Tuesday’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game, thanks to a tip from an alert hotel maid.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Lovecraft Country” creator Misha Green has signed a multi-year overall deal with Apple in a competitive situation.Under the deal, Green will create and develop television projects for Apple’s streaming platform. News of the deal comes just days after it was announced that “Lovecraft Country” will not return for a second season at HBO.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAMC has ordered a series adaptation of “Dark Winds,” based on the Leaphorn & Chee book series by Tony Hillerman.Zahn McClarnon will star and executive produce with Kiowa Gordon also starring. Graham Roland will write and executive produce.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterUzo Aduba and Matthew Broderick are set for two of the lead roles in the Netflix drama series “Painkiller,” Variety has learned.The six-episode limited series is about the origins of the opioid crisis in America. Along with Aduba and Broderick, the series will also star West Duchovny, Dina Shihabi, and John Rothman.

Dwayne Johnson has become my most enormous buddy," Emily Blunt says of her co-star in a new featurette, exclusive debuting on ET. In Disney's latest adventure, the duo plays unlikely allies-turned-true odd couple (the movie is also a love story!), while on set, the actors didn't just become fast friends — they became swole mates.«I think I imagined that he would be larger than life — which physically, clearly he is,» Blunt says.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Lovecraft Country” is not being renewed for a second season at HBO, Variety has confirmed.“We will not be moving forward with a second season of Lovecraft Country,” HBO said in a statement. “We are grateful for the dedication and artistry of the gifted cast and crew, and to Misha Green, who crafted this groundbreaking series.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterABC is passing on three more drama pilots from its 2021 pilot season slate.“National Parks Investigation,” “Triage,” and “Dark Horse” have all been passed over by the network after being in consideration for midseason pickups. Fellow dramas “Epic” and “Promised Land” remain in contention.“National Parks Investigation” boasted Kevin Costner as co-writer and executive producer.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJoel Kim Booster has joined the upcoming Maya Rudolph-led comedy series at Apple.The untitled series follows Molly (Rudolph), a woman whose seemingly perfect life is upended after her husband leaves her with nothing but 87 billion dollars. Booster will play the role of Nicholas, Molly’s loyal assistant.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple has ordered a series adaptation of the Garth Risk Hallberg “City on Fire” from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage.The eight-episode series falls under the first-look deal Fake Empire, Schwartz and Savage’s production banner, set up at Apple in 2019. It is the first series order to come from the deal.In “City on Fire,” an NYU student is shot in Central Park on the 4th of July, 2003.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe Weeknd is developing a series at HBO which he would star in as well as co-write.Currently titled “The Idol,” the series follows a female pop singer starts a romance with an enigmatic L.A. club owner who is the leader of a secret cult.The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, will server as co-writer and executive producer along with Reza Fahim and Sam Levinson, with all three credited as creators of the show.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNetflix has ordered a series based on the Ali Novak YA novel “My Life With the Walter Boys,” Variety has learned exclusively.The streamer has given the drama series a 10-episode order, with episodes set to be approximately 50 minutes each. In the coming of age show, following the loss of her family in a tragic accident, 16-year old Manhattanite Jackie Howard has to learn to adapt to a new life in rural Colorado with her guardian – and 12 very rowdy kids.

Dave Bautista is one of the most popular wrestler turned actors with a wide variety of roles. During the promotion of Fast and Furious 9, John Cena was asked if his character Jakob Torreto could come eye to eye with Dwayne Johnson’s Hobbs in the same cinematic universe.

Apple Studios has secured the rights to Donald Spivey’s non-fiction book, If You Were Only White: The Life of Leroy ‘Satchel’ Paige, for drama development with an eye toward a series order. The high-profile Negro League Baseball project comes from Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Mandelay’s Peter Guber, and Oscar nominee Ron Shelton, who is behind such sports film classics as Bull Durham and White Men Can’t Jump.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSasha Silver has been promoted to head of drama for Hulu Originals.Silver takes over the role from Jordan Helman, who was recently promoted to lead scripted content for the streamer. Silver will report to Helman in her new role.“Sasha’s incredible relationships with artists and discerning eye for rich, compelling dramas have been a not-so-secret weapon in the success of Hulu Originals for years now,” said Helman.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple has given out a straight-to-series order for an animated adaptation of “Strange Planet.”The show hails from creators Dan Harmon and Nathan Pyle, with Pyle having created the webcomic and graphic novels of the same name. Amalia Levari will serve as showrunner.The “Strange Planet” series is said to tell profound and heartfelt stories about beings on a distant planet not unlike our own.