Neve Campbell to Headline David E. Kelley, Michael Connelly ABC Series ‘Avalon’

Heather Matarazzo has got Neve Campbell’s back.

William Earl Variety’s annual Showrunners Dinner will return in-person on Sept. 8, to celebrate the year in television ahead of the 74th Emmy Awards. The event will be presented by A+E Studios and will feature opening remarks by Barry Jossen, president and head of A+E Studios.   The Creative Conscience Award will be given to writer and producer David E. Kelley for his prolific career in television. David remains one of the most influential figures in television – having created iconic roles for women in “Ally McBeal,” “Big Little Lies” and “Big Sky.” Kelley is a trailblazer for creating complex female characters on television, especially in his early career when such characters were unknown in primetime television.  

EXCLUSIVE: Demetrius Grosse, coming off playing one of the leads in ABC’s untitled Kay Oyegun drama pilot, has been cast by the network as a lead opposite Neve Campbell in another drama project, Avalon. The series, based on Michael Connelly’s short story, comes from David E. Kelley, A+E Studios and 20th Television.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Michael Fishman has released a statement regarding his departure from ABC’s “The Conners” ahead of the show’s fifth season. “It has been my honor to play D.J. Conner,” Fishman said in a statement to People. “It’s every actors dream to be a series regular, especially on a groundbreaking show, where we tackle significant topics.” “While I wholeheartedly will miss Friday night tapings in front of our loyal audiences, alongside our amazing cast and crew, I am excited for the opportunities coming in the next chapter of my career,” he continued. “While I was told I would not be returning for season 5, Lanford was a valuable place to grow up, learn and develop,” Fishman concluded. “I was incredibly lucky to return home and demonstrate my expansion. As I venture into the world to build the future, I send tremendous love and success to everyone involved in production.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Jennifer Connelly is set to star opposite Joel Edgerton in the Apple series adaptation of the Blake Crouch novel “Dark Matter,” Variety has learned. The nine-episode series was ordered at Apple in March. It will follow Jason Dessen (Edgerton), a physicist, professor, and family man who – one night while walking home on the streets of Chicago – is abducted into an alternate version of his life. Wonder quickly turns to nightmare when he tries to return to his reality amid the multiverse of lives he could have lived. In this labyrinth of mind-bending realities, he embarks on a harrowing journey to get back to his true family and save them from the most terrifying, unbeatable foe imaginable: himself.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “The Conners” star Michael Fishman is leaving the ABC sitcom ahead of Season 5, Variety has confirmed. Fishman played DJ Tanner in the series, reprising the role he played for 10 seasons on “Roseanne.” Exact details on how Fishman will be written out of the show are currently under wraps, but it will supposedly leave the door open for him to return. Jayden Rey, who plays DJ’s daughter Mary in the show, will also not be back as a series regular, though she will appear in a guest star role. John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson, Emma Kenney, Ames McNamara, Jay R. Ferguson, and Katey Sagal will all return for the new season. Fishman first began playing DJ Tanner in 1988 in the second episode of “Roseanne.” He stayed with the show throughout its first nine seasons, returning along with the rest of the original cast for the 2018 revival. He has also directed five episodes of “The Conners” since 2020, most recently directing the Season 4 episode “Messy Situation, Miscommunication and Academic Probation.”

EXCLUSIVE: The Walking Dead: World Beyond star Alexa Mansour has been cast as a lead opposite Neve Campbell in Avalon, ABC’s drama series based on Michael Connelly’s short story, from David E. Kelley, A+E Studios and 20th Television.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter A live-action series about the origin of King Kong is in early development at Disney+, Variety has confirmed. The series would be a serialized drama that would explore Kong’s origins as well as the mysteries of his home, Skull Island. The series would be based on the original “King Kong” written by Merian C. Cooper as well as new novelizations by artist Joe DeVito produced in conjunction with Cooper’s estate. Stephany Folsom, who recently developed the Amazon series “Paper Girls” for television, will write and executive produce the King Kong show. James Wan, Michael Clear and Rob Hackett will also executive produce on behalf of Atomic Monster along with Dannie Festa for World Builder Entertainment. Disney Branded Television will produce.

EXCLUSIVE: Roslyn Ruff (Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector) has been tapped as a lead opposite Neve Campbell in Avalon, ABC’s drama series based on Michael Connelly’s short story, from David E. Kelley, A+E Studios and 20th Television.

A new iteration of the beloved TV show “Ally McBeal” is said to be in the works.

EXCLUSIVE: Exactly two decades since David E. Kelley’s Ally McBeal ended its five-season run on Fox, the Emmy-winning legal dramedy starring Calista Flockhart is plotting a comeback with a sequel series, which is in early development at ABC, I have learned.

A new Ally McBeal series might be coming to small screens soon.

Steven Pasquale has been tapped as the male lead opposite Neve Campbell in Avalon, ABC’s drama series based on Michael Connelly’s short story, from David E. Kelley, A+E Studios and 20th Television. Avalon, which received a straight-to-series order from ABC, takes place in the city of Avalon on Catalina Island, where L.A. Sheriff’s Department Detective Nicole “Nic” Searcy (Campbell) heads up a small office. Catalina has a local population that serves more than 1 million tourists a year, and each day when the ferries arrive, hundreds of potential new stories enter the island. Detective Searcy is pulled into a career-defining mystery that will challenge everything she knows about herself and the island.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSteven Pasquale is set to star opposite Neve Campbell in the upcoming ABC series “Avalon,” Variety has learned.The announcement of Pasquale’s casting comes just one day after Campbell’s, with Campbell set to play the lead role in the show. It hails from co-creators David E. Kelley and Michael Connelly, with the show based on a short story that Connelly wrote.

Neve Campbell will be returning to broadcast television in the upcoming ABC show Avalon, which already has a straight-to-series order.

Neve Campbell is returning to television.The star, who rose to prominence on “Party of Five” and had a main role on “House of Cards” in its later seasons, is reuniting with her collaborators on Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer,” creators/executive producers Michael Connelly and David E. Kelley, for a new ABC series called “Avalon.” “Avalon” is based on a short story by Connelly, whose novels inspired “The Lincoln Lawyer” and who once again executive produces and serves as the co-creator.

EXCLUSIVE: Neve Campbell has been tapped as the lead of Avalon, ABC’s drama series based on Michael Connelly’s short story, from David E. Kelley (Big Sky, Big Little Lies), A+E Studios and 20th Television.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “John Wick” prequel series “The Continental” will now air on Peacock rather than Starz.The series is expected to debut on the streaming service in 2023, with Peacock currently having all three of the “John Wick” films released to date. The series hails from Lionsgate, which also produces the film franchise.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorWelcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.”Melissa Barrera admits she had some major issues to overcome while shooting her new Netflix series, “Keep Breathing.” The “In the Heights” star plays an attorney who is the only survivor after her small plane crashes into a lake in the frigid wilderness. “Diving into that water was probably one of the scariest things,” Barrera tells me on this week’s “Just for Variety” podcast. “I have this real fear of drowning.