Olivia Colman, Matt Berry Among Cast for FX & BBC’s ‘Great Expectations’ Series

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “One Piece” live-action series at Netflix has added six new cast members, Variety has learned.Morgan Davies (“The End,” “The Evil Dead: Rise”), Ilia Isorelýs Paulino (“The Sex Lives of College Girls,” “Me Time”), Aidan Scott (“Action Point,” “Between the Devil”), Jeff Ward (“Brand New Cherry Flavor,” “Hack”), McKinley Belcher III (“Ozark,” “The Good Lord Bird”) and Vincent Regan (“300,” “Troy”) have all joined the series.They join previously announced cast members Iñaki Godoy, Mackenyu, Emily Rudd, Jacob Romero Gibson and Taz Skylar. The new cast members will appear as the following characters: Davies as Koby, Paulino as Alvida, Scott as Helmeppo, Ward as Buggy, Belcher as Arlong, and Regan as Garp.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.Hollywood stars are fundraising for Ukraine on Cameo.As Russian troops continue to attack major Ukrainian cities, displacing more than a million refugees from their homes, actors such as Olivia Colman, Busy Philipps, Denise Richards and Maggie Wheeler have committed to donating a portion of their proceeds from the video-sharing platform to the organization Choose Love.The nonprofit will use the funds to support projects providing vital aid and services to those still in and fleeing Ukraine, including emergency medical care, food, shelter, clothes, legal support, support for the LGBTQIA+ community and mental health resources.More than 400 stars have joined the platform’s fundraising efforts, such as John Bradley West, Jay Sean, Montell Jordan, Dule Hill and Carson Kressley. Starting at $100, fans can buy personalized messages from the site’s long list of bold-faced names, a portion of which, for a limited time, will go to Choose Love’s relief efforts.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterRobin De Jesús has joined the Hulu series “Immigrant,” which tells the story of the founding of Chippendales.He joins previously announced series lead Kumail Nanjiani as well as series regulars Annaleigh Ashford, Murray Bartlett, and Dan Stevens.“Immigrant” is the true story of Somen “Steve” Banerjee (Nanjiani), the Indian-American entrepreneur who started Chippendales. The series will detail the darkly comedic, crime-ridden story behind the unique male revue that became a cultural phenomenon.De Jesús will appear in the recurring role of Ray Colon. Described as a proud Nuyorican from the Bronx, Colon comes on the Chippendales scene as the resident handyman and self-proclaimed jack of all trades.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSpectrum Originals has ordered the dramedy series “Panhandle” starring Luke Kirby and Tiana Okoye, Variety has learned.Set in the Florida panhandle, the series follows agoraphobic arm-chair detective Bell Prescott (Kirby) and reluctant traffic cop Cammie Lorde (Okoye) as they wrestle with personal demons, shocking twists, and a few Florida gators on their journey to heal themselves and their town.Spectrum has ordered an eight-episode first season of the series, which will shoot in Savannah, GA. It will have a nine month exclusive ad-free run on Spectrum before an ad-supported second window on The Roku Channel.Nicholas Stoller and Carla Kettner created the series and will serve as executive producers.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCallum Greene and Sara Greene’s Bright Greene production banner has entered into a first-look deal with Amazon, Variety has learned.Callum is an executive producer on Amazon’s highly-anticipated TV series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” Under the deal, Bright Greene will develop and produce new projects for Amazon’s streaming platform. UTA brokered the deal on behalf of Bright Greene.\“After the epic journey of Season One we couldn’t be more excited to continue our work with Amazon,” said Callum Greene.

EXCLUSIVE: Sam Mendes has begun principal photography on the south coast of England for his upcoming feature, Empire Of Light. From Searchlight Pictures, the drama is written by Mendes — his first solo screenplay — and stars Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Crystal Clark and Tanya Moodie.

The highly-anticipated Season 6 premiere of period gangster epic Peaky Blinders was watched by 3.8 million viewers in the UK on Sunday, according to overnight figures. That makes it the biggest launch for the Shelby clan ever, coming in above the Season 5 debut’s 3.7 million overnight average. It also ties the series record previously set by the Season 5 finale in September 2019. The market share was 21.8% on Sunday with a peak of 4.1 million viewers. The episode faced strong competition from the season finale of ITV drama Trigger Point which ended up winning the 9pm slot.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAn “Outlander” prequel series is in development at Starz, Variety has learned exclusively.According to sources, “Outlander” executive producer and showrunner Matthew B. Roberts is attached to write and executive produce the prequel. A writers’ room is currently being assembled with an eye to begin work in the coming weeks.Exact plot details for what the prequel would focus on are being kept under wraps.

Russell T Davies’ It’s a Sin has been nominated six times for the UK’s prestigious Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) Awards next month, with Jeremy Clarkson, Olivia Colman and Stephen Graham also picking up nods.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMichael Chiklis is set to star in the first episode of the upcoming Fox crime anthology series “Accused.”The series is based on the BBC crime anthology of the same name. Each episode opens in a courtroom on the accused, with the audience knowing nothing about their crime or how they ended up on trial.Chiklis will play Dr.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming AMC anthology series “Tales of the Walking Dead” is continuing to build out its cast.Variety has learned that Olivia Munn (“The Newsroom,” “X-Men: Apocalypse”), Danny Ramirez (“The Falcon & The Winter Soldier”), Loan Chabanol (“Fading Gigolo”), Embeth Davidtz (“Old,” “Ray Donovan”) and Jessie T. Usher (“Shaft,” “The Boys”) have all joined the series set in the “Walking Dead” universe. Previously announced cast members include Daniella Pineda, Terry Crews, Parker Posey, Poppy Liu, Anthony Edwards, and Jillian Bell.“Olivia, Danny, Loan, Embeth, and Jessie are the latest massive talents that will bring new worlds of TWD to life with big, daring, different, emotional, shocking, scary, and crazy stories.

The work of Charles Dickens always seems prescient and allows for multiple incarnations when it’s adapted for the stage, big screen, and television. Another version of his classic love story “Great Expectations” is coming from FX and BBC as the two are teaming for an ambitious new series from Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders“).

Great Expectations has cast its Miss Havisham. Oscar winner Olivia Colman will star as the wealthy, wedding dress-wearing spinster in the FX and BBC limited series adaptation of the Charles Dickens’ novel, which comes from Steven Knight.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterPaul Reiser has joined the cast of the upcoming Hulu comedy series “Reboot” from Steven Levitan.Reiser is taking over the role of Gordon in the series from Michael McKean. He joins previously announced cast members Judy Greer, Keegan-Michael Key, Johnny Knoxville, Rachel Bloom, Calum Worthy, and Krista Marie Yu.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterPeacock has given a straight-to-series order to the true crime series “A Friend of the Family,” which tells the story of the multiple kidnappings of Jan Broberg.Anna Paquin, Jake Lacy, Colin Hanks, and Lio Tipton will all star in the series, which hails from “The Act” co-creator Nick Antosca. The show was originally announced as being in development back in May 2020.“A Friend of the Family” is based on the true story of the Broberg family, whose daughter Jan was kidnapped multiple times over a period of years by a charismatic, obsessed family “friend.” The Brobergs — devoted to their faith, family, and community — were utterly unprepared for the sophisticated tactics their neighbor used to exploit their vulnerabilities, drive them apart, and turn their daughter against them.

BBC One has set the premiere date for the sixth and final season of Peaky Blinders with the award-winning period gangster saga set to return on February 27 at 9pm in the UK. The date was made official this morning in Birmingham, home to the fictional Shelby clan, via a 42-foot high mural looming over Digbeth’s Old Crown (see it in full below).

BBC axe. Among others to get a leg-up from the show were X Men stars Nicholas Hoult and Michael Fassbender. Michael, then 25, appeared in series four as a patient having his spleen removed.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming FX limited mystery series “The Retreat” has added 10 new cast members, Variety has learned.Clive Owen, Harris Dickinson, Alice Braga, Jermaine Fowler, Joan Chen, Edoardo Ballerini, Raul Esparza, Pegah Ferydoni, Ryan J. Haddad and Javed Khan have all joined the series.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAndrew Rannells has been cast in a recurring role in the upcoming Hulu limited series “Immigrant.”The darkly comedic series tells the true story of Somen “Steve” Banerjee (Kumail Nanjiani), the Indian-American entrepreneur who started Chippendales. Along with Nanjiani and Rannells, the cast also includes Murray Bartlett and Annaleigh Ashford.Rannells will play the rich kid investor in Chippendales New York and the love interest of Bartlett, who stars as producer-choreographer Nick De Noia.Rannells’ recent onscreen roles include “Black Monday” at Showtime and “Girls5Eva” at Peacock.