‘Players’: Ely Henry Joins Paramount+ Esports Series As Series Regular

EXCLUSIVE: Stephen Schneider (Broad City) has joined the cast of Paramount+’s upcoming esports series Players. The series hails from American Vandal co-creators Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, Funny or Die, Riot Games and CBS Studios.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMckenna Grace has joined the upcoming Peacock limited series “A Friend of the Family.”Grace joins previously announced cast members stars  Anna Paquin, Jake Lacy, Colin Hanks, and Lio Tipton. The series 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.”Grace will star as Jan Broberg in the later years. Jan is the oldest daughter of Bob (Hanks) and Mary Ann Broberg (Paquin) and leads a happy, traditional life in an idyllic American city.

EXCLUSIVE: Former Propagate President Greg Lipstone has been appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of American Song Contest Inc., one of the companies behind NBC’s upcoming music reality competition series of the same name, which premieres March 21.

EXCLUSIVE: Devon Bostick (Pink Skies Ahead) is the latest addition to the cast of Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer for Universal Pictures.

EXCLUSIVE: Rhys Ifans (Spider-Man: No Way Home) has signed on to star alongside Annette Bening and Jodie Foster in the Netflix film Nyad, which marks the narrative directorial debut of Oscar, BAFTA and Emmy winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (The Rescue, Free Solo).

Juliette Lewis has been tapped for a key role opposite Kumail Nanjiani and Murray Bartlett in the Hulu limited series Immigrant (working title), from Pam & Tommy creator Robert Siegel.

EXCLUSIVE: ABC’s Filipino American pilot Josep, starring Jo Koy, has added Kaden Alejandro to the cast. He also joins Mia Katigbak and Rory O’Malley.

Mirror singer and actor Anson Lo has joined the cast of Bizhan Tong’s upcoming action thriller Chungking Mansions. Billed as Hong Kong’s biggest zombie film ever, the Phoenix Waters Productions pic, in co-production with AMM Global and Salon Films Japan, has also added Hong Kong-Canadian actresses Selena Lee and Jeannie Chan, Korea’s Choi Si-Hun and Hong Kong actor Louis Cheung.

Henry Rollins has spoken out about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, reflecting on the upheaval in the lives of Ukrainians as a result of the war.Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country’s military to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The UN reported that 549 civilians had died as of March 10 – although they believe the total could be much higher – while the US military estimates that between 2,000 and 4,000 Ukrainian armed forces, national guard and volunteer forces have also been killed.In an interview on New York’s 102.3 WBAB radio station, Rollins spoke about the conflict and shared his experiences of visiting Ukraine. “The thing is still, in a way, breaking news,” he said, per Blabbermouth.

executive order that directs law enforcement officials to investigate gender affirming medical treatments for transgender youths as a crime has grown loud and intense, with many demanding LGTBQ organizations condemn the order through significant action not just words.In an op-ed posted to SB Nation’s Outsports.com on Tuesday, March 1, Brittney Miller — 11-year veteran of the Gay Softball World Series (GSWS) and manager of the Puget Sound Pronouns — called for the 2022 event to be removed from Dallas and held in another city.Citing the fact that the GSWS has an “economic impact” of $5 to 7 million, Miller stated the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) should find a new host city in a different state to support the transgender community.Miller called the executive order cruel and explained how it criminalizes the mere existence of transgender people, but her most severe criticisms were reserved for NAGAAA itself.The organization, which Miller stated is one of the “largest governing bodies of queer athletes in America,” has yet to release a statement on the issue, a decision Miller believes is indicative of how the organization views its transgender members.“NAGAAA’s failure to release even a milquetoast statement shows we [the transgender community] are an afterthought to them,” she wrote. “If the trans community can’t count on them to stand up to bullies in the face of cruelty and intolerance, who can we count on?”She explained that the “wait and see” approach NAGAAA seems to be employing with the executive order should be abandoned, immediately.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix is in negotiations for a green light to The Gentlemen, a series adaptation of the 2019 Guy Ritchie movie, sources said. Ritchie co-wrote the pilot script, will direct the first two episodes and will serve as an executive producer on the series, which Miramax TV is producing alongside Moonage in the UK.

EXCLUSIVE: La La Anthony (The Chi), who recurred in the first season of Starz’s drama series BMF, has been promoted to series regular for Season 2. Kelly Hu (The Scorpion King) also joins as a series regular and Christine Horn (Snowfall) will recur in the series from executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (Power franchise) and writer/executive producer and Detroit native Randy Huggins (Star).

Wyatte Grantham-Philips editorFunny Or Die has optioned writer and illustrator John Paul Brammer’s “¡Hola Papi!: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons” to develop into a scripted series.Brammer started the Substack advice column “¡Hola Papi!” in 2017, and published his memoir of the same name last year through Simon & Schuster. The paperback edition is set for release in June.“Working with the team at Funny Or Die is a dream come true, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to take ‘¡Hola Papi!’ to yet another medium,” said Brammer, who will also serve as an executive producer on the series.

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.

EXCLUSIVE: Louise Lombard (After franchise) has signed on to a role in Christopher Nolan’s Universal Pictures thriller Oppenheimer.

EXCLUSIVE: Even with his highly-anticipated HBO series Winning Time set to bow on Sunday, Jason Clarke is already lining up his next major project as he is the latest top talent to join Christopher Nolan’s next film Oppenheimer. The A-list ensemble already includes Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh and Cillian Murphy, who is set to star in the title role as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist who ran the Manhattan Project that led to the invention of the atomic bomb. The film will bow on July 21, 2023, a slot typically saved for Nolan films in the past. It’s also roughly two weeks before the anniversary of the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima. Details behind who Clarke will be playing are unknown at this time.

HBO Max has unveiled the first footage for its upcoming Julia Child drama series Julia, starring Sarah Lancashire as The French Chef creator and host herself.