Netflix YA Vampire Romance Series ‘First Kill’ Casts Imani Lewis, Sarah Catherine Hook

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAmanda Seyfried has signed on to play Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in the Hulu series “The Dropout.”Seyfried takes over the role from Kate McKinnon, whose exit from the project was reported in February. The series tells the story of Holmes, the enigmatic Stanford dropout who founded medical testing start-up Theranos.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series at Disney Plus is preparing to begin production, with the series also adding several new cast members.Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell and Benny Safdie have all joined series lead Ewan McGregor, who will reprise the role of Kenobi from the “Star Wars” prequel films.

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 ReporterJason Segel has been cast as Paul Westhead in the HBO series about the Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s.The untitled series was ordered at HBO in December 2019.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBo Burnham has been cast as Boston Celtics star Larry Bird in HBO’s upcoming series about the Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s.The untitled series was ordered at HBO in December 2019. It is described as chronicling the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of sports’ most revered and dominant dynasties, in what came to be called the Showtime Era.Bird is widely regarded as one of the best basketball players of all time.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNaomie Harris has signed on for a lead role in “The Man Who Fell to Earth” series at Showtime, Variety has learned.Harris joins previously announced series lead Chiwetel Ejiofor. The show is based on Walter Tevis’ 1963 novel and the 1976 Nicolas Roeg film that starred David Bowie, both of the same name.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHulu has ordered the animated comedy “Koala Man” to series.The series hails creator and executive producer Michael Cusack, with Benji Samit and Dan Hernandez onboard as executive producers and showrunners. “Rick and Morty” and “Solar Opposites” co-creator Justin Roiland will also executive produce along with Princess Pictures and Bento Box.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBen Hardy has been cast in the upcoming BBC One, HBO Max series “The Girl Before,” Variety has learned exclusively.Hardy joins previously announced cast members David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Jessica Plummer. The four-episode series is based on the book of the same name by J.P.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJamie Foxx will play boxing great Mike Tyson in a new biographical limited series, Variety has learned.The series, titled simply “Tyson,” is not currently set up at a network or streaming service, but will no doubt find one quickly given the names attached to it already.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterForest Whitaker has joined Tom Hardy in the upcoming Netflix crime drama film “Havoc,” Variety has learned.The film hails from writer, director, and producer Gareth Evans, the first under a new exclusive multi-year deal to produce and direct films for the streamer.In “Havoc,” after a drug deal gone wrong, a bruised detective must fight his way through a criminal underworld to rescue a politician’s estranged son, while unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe CW has cast the lead for “Naomi,” the pilot based on the DC Comics character of the same name. In addition, the pilot has added three series regulars.The pilot hails from from Ava DuVernay and Jill Blankenship. Kaci Walfall will star in the title role as Naomi, described as an effortlessly cool and confident high school student who is the adopted daughter of doting parents.

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 ReporterTom Hiddleston will star alongside Claire Danes in the series adaptation of the Sarah Perry novel “The Essex Serpent” at Apple, Variety has learned.The one-hour drama series follows newly widowed Cora (Danes) who, having being released from an abusive marriage, relocates from Victorian London to the small village of Aldwinter in Essex, intrigued by a local superstition that a mythical creature known as the Essex Serpent has returned to the area.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterFX has ordered a limited series based on the Taffy Brodesser-Akner novel “Fleishman Is in Trouble.”Brodesser-Akner will serve as the writer and executive producer on the series, with Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, and Susannah Grant also executive producing. ABC Signature is the studio, with Timberman-Beverly currently under an overall deal at the studio.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAnnie Murphy has been cast in “Russian Doll” Season 2 at Netflix.News of Murphy’s casting comes as the series recently began production on its second season. The details of Murphy’s character are being kept under wraps.Murphy is best known for her role as Alexis Rose in the hit comedy series “Schitt’s Creek.” The role won her an Emmy Award for best supporting actress in a comedy in 2020, part of the show’s historic sweep of the comedy categories at the Emmys.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNetflix has set an all-star cast for the animation-live action hybrid limited series “Lost Ollie.”Mary J. Blige, Gina Rodriguez, Jake Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Kesler Talbot, and Jonathan Groff have all been cast in major roles in the four-episode series.The show is inspired by the book “Ollie’s Oddyssey” by William Joyce.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Impeachment: American Crime Story” has found its Hillary Clinton in Emmy Award-winning actress Edie Falco.She is the latest high-profile star to join the series, which will detail the events surrounding the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. It was previously announced that Beanie Feldstein will star as Monica Lewinsky, with Clive Owen as Bill Clinton, Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp, Margo Martindale as Lucianne Goldberg and Annaleigh Ashford as Paula Jones.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSarah Niles has been cast in “Ted Lasso” Season 2 at Apple.Niles will play Sharon, a sports psychologist who has been brought in to work with AFC Richmond. The second season of the popular series is currently in production, with Apple having ordered a third season already.Niles recently wrapped on the limited series “Viewpoint” for creators Harry Bradbeer and Ed Whitmore.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDakota Fanning has signed on to play Susan Ford in the Showtime anthology series “The First Lady,” Variety has learned.Susan is the only daughter of Betty Ford and President Gerald Ford, who will be played in the series by Michelle Pfeiffer and Aaron Eckhart respectively.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterIndira Varma has joined the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series at Disney Plus, Variety has confirmed.The details of the character Varma will play are being kept under wraps. She joins previously announced series lead Ewan McGregor, who will reprise the role of Kenobi from the films.