REinvent Boards Female Empowerment Series ‘Vigdis’ from ‘Blackport’ Creators (EXCLUSIVE)

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greenlit the untitled project.The logline is as follows: “A comedy centered on the unlikely relationship between an irreverent, outspoken, agnostic woman and an unconventional rabbi.” Erin Foster serves as creator and executive produce alongside EPs Steven Levitan, Craig DiGregorio, Bell, Sara Foster and Danielle Stokdyk. Hailing from 20th Television in association with Steven Levitan Productions, Oly Obst and Josh Lieberman serve as executive producers for 3arts.Best known for his beloved Seth Cohen on the popular teen series, “The O.C.”, Brody recently starred in “Fleishman Is in Trouble” and reprised his role as Superhero Freddy in “DC’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods.” He will appear in the upcoming reboot of the classic film “River Wild,” which also stars Leighton Meester and Taran Killam.

Naman Ramachandran Director Thordur Palsson has wrapped principal photography in Iceland on “The Damned,” starring Odessa Young. Newly revealed cast for the psychological horror film includes Joe Cole (“Gangs of London”), Siobhan Finneran (“Happy Valley”), Rory McCann (“Game of Thrones”), Turlough Convery (“Killing Eve”), Lewis Gribben (“Somewhere Boy”), Francis Magee (“The Tourist”), Mícheál Óg Lane (“The Guard”) and Andrean Sigurgeirsson (“A Song Called Hate”). The script was written by Jamie Hannigan and is based on a story by Palsson (“The Valhalla Murders”). “The Damned” tells the story of Eva, a 19th-century widow who faces a difficult decision when a ship sinks off the coast of her isolated fishing post in the middle of an especially cruel winter. Eva and her crew must decide whether to rescue the shipwrecked or survive the winter with their last remaining food. As they face the consequences of their decision and are tormented by guilt, the inhabitants begin to believe they are being punished for their choices.

Naman Ramachandran “Luther” star Idris Elba has joined the team at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre as an associate producer for the U.K. production of “School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play” by Jocelyn Bioh, in association with Mark Gordon Pictures and Francesca Moody Productions. The play is set in Ghana’s prestigious Aburi Girls Boarding School in 1986, and follows Queen Bee Paulina and her crew as they await the arrival of the Miss Ghana pageant recruiter. It’s clear that Paulina is in top position to take the title until her place is threatened by Ericka – a beautiful and talented new transfer student. The cast includes Heather Agyepong, Bola Akeju, Deborah Alli, Francesca Amewudah-Rivers and Jadesola Odunjo, with further casting to be announced.

McKinley Franklin editor Amazon has acquired the animated film “Merry Little Batman” after it was previously scrapped at HBO Max. “Merry Little Batman” has been picked up alongside the spinoff series, “Bat-Family.” The acquisitions follow the previously announced two-season order for “Batman: Caped Crusader,” which was similarly axed at HBO Max in 2022. “We are excited to partner with Amazon to begin an all-new animated chapter of ‘Batman.’ From the cinematic noir storytelling of ‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ to the comedic adventures of ‘Merry Little Batman’ and ‘Bat-Family,’ these new projects ensure that there will be an animated Batman story ready to excite fans of all ages,” said Sam Register, president of Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios.

EXCLUSIVE: Ice Cube is teaming with Jesse Collins Entertainment on a sports docuseries revolving around his successful Big3 sports league. Ice Cube will star in and produce via his Cube Vision with Jesse Collins Entertainment.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales agent M-Appeal has come on board to sell “Power Alley,” the debut film by Brazilian filmmaker Lillah Halla, which will world premiere in Cannes’ Critics’ Week, it was announced Tuesday. Set in Brazil, where abortion is illegal, “Power Alley” is a suspense-filled drama tackling one of society’s most divisive issues. The story follows star volleyball player Sofia who is faced with an impossible scenario on the eve of her championship game. Pregnant and panicked, Sofia seeks an illegal abortion but unwittingly becomes a target instead. As the town’s herd-mentality turns violent, Sofia risks being consumed by the fervor – but neither Sofia nor those who love her are willing to surrender.

Sam Hewson only ever wanted to be a footballer growing up.

Naman Ramachandran U.K.-based sales and distribution company Blue Finch Film Releasing has acquired international sales rights, excluding North America, to the debut feature from the Burghart Brothers, “Head Count.” The company plans to begin sales on the film during the Cannes Film Market. “Head Count” follows the story of an escaped prisoner, Kat, who finds himself facing an unknown assailant with his own revolver pointed straight at his head. To survive, he must remember what happened on the crazy ride that brought him to this point, one bullet at a time. The cast includes Ryan Kwanten (“True Blood”), Aaron Jakubenko (“Tidelands”), Melanie Zanetti (“Bluey”), Chris Bylsma (“El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie”), Addam Bramich (“Poker Face”), Polaris Banks (“Reklaw”) and Cinnamon Shultz (“Winter’s Bone”).

EXCLUSIVE: In what is shaping up to become one of the biggest TV comedy packages to hit the marketplace in awhile, Will Ferrell & Jessica Elbaum’s Gloria Sanchez Productions and Rian Johnson & Ram Bergman’s T-Street have joined forces to develop a comedy TV series as a starring vehicle for Ferrell, I have learned.

EXCLUSIVE: Asia-focused production, financing and sales outfit EST Studios has acquired international sales rights to Canneseries selection Streams Flow From A River, produced by Canada’s Fae Pictures. 

EXCLUSIVE: Bret Easton Ellis’ The Shards, which is both a podcast and novel, is in the works at HBO as a drama series, Deadline has learned.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Netflix has swooped on “Vortex,” the event drama-fantasy series which recently launched on France Televisions and garnered stellar ratings. The limited series will be available on Netflix in 190 countries starting June 2. The mini-series was produced by Quad Drama, the banner behind “Women at War” and “The Bonfire of Destiny” — a pair of highly successful shows which were jointly commissioned by Netflix and TF1. Set in 2025, the show stars Sisley as Ludovic, the police captain in the French city of Brest who lost the love of his life, Melanie, 27 years prior in a tragic accident. 

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' relationship book. The pair co-hosted their first episode of, and the handsome new host says he was excited by the opportunity.The real-life husband and wife — who now co-host the popular daytime talk show following the recent departure of Ripa's former co-host Ryan Seacrest — spoke with ET's Rachel Smith on Monday following their debut.«I was very excited to see so many close friends and family and have an audience today, which is, really, live,» Consuelos shared.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer “Floyd,” an original action feature centered around a Latino veteran described as “John Wick” meets “The Big Lebowski,” is currently in development. Erik Olsen (“The Dirt,” “The Book of Eli”) is writing the script and will produce the project with Navid Mcllhargey. Story Kitchen, a media company focused on world-building and untapped intellectual property rights, is on board to produce the project with Exile Content Studio. The Los Angeles-set story will follow a former marine given the nickname Floyd by his corps. Marine vet William Brownleefe will serve as a co-producer and consultant.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Eco-thriller “The Swarm,” which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, has been acquired in the U.K. by pay-TV operator Sky. Negotiations with a U.S. partner are in the final stages. The show, produced by multiple Primetime Emmy award winner and “Game of Thrones” executive producer Frank Doelger and NDF IP’s managing director Eric Welbers, is set to play on the Sky Max channel in the U.K. later this year. “The Swarm” scored huge ratings in Germany on ZDF and on Austria’s ORF. In Germany, it attracted up to 10 million views per episode (linear and catch-up combined), multiple prime time wins, and big successes within the younger target group (between the ages of 14-49).

It was on the set of Wild that Tiny Beautiful Things author and executive producer Cheryl Strayed knew she wanted to work with Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Dern again after having “so much fun” collaborating together.

Alex Wolff (The Line, Hereditary, A Quiet Place: Day One) has been cast as legendary singer Leonard Cohen in So Long, Marianne, the NRK drama series we first revealed last year.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic In her own home, Italian American working mom Kristin Balbano Jordan (Toni Collette) is hardly the boss. When her deadbeat hubby isn’t cheating on her, he calls the shots, and her independent-minded son can’t wait to leave for college. At work, her male colleagues undermine her every idea. What Kristin doesn’t realize is that it’s not her destiny to be a doormat. Far from it. Come to find, she’s next in line to run Italy’s well-connected Balbano clan, and though Kristin couldn’t have imagined she was heir to an organized crime family, taking charge amounts to an offer she can’t refuse. A fun fish-out-of-water farce with “Godfather” DNA and a clever female-empowerment kick, “Mafia Mamma” makes inspired use of Collette, who’s never better than when playing women we oughtn’t to have underestimated. Here, using stiletto heels to brutally stab a rival clan’s top assassin, first in the crotch and then in the face, demonstrates that Kristin’s better suited to the job than her enemies could have imagined. While such a graphic scene may come as a shock in a movie that’s more “Under the Tuscan Sun” than “Scarface” (“He had bits of his scrotum stuffed in his eye socket,” reports Monica Bellucci as Bianca, Kristin’s seen-it-all consiglieri), it more than proves that Donna Balbano deserves some respect.

Jeremy Renner is on the mend and getting back into the spotlight — and he's crediting his new docuseries for giving him the motivation to keep striving to heal.The actor walked the red carpet on Tuesday at the premiere of his new docuseries for Disney+, , at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles, where he was joined by his daughter, Ava.Renner spoke with ET's Kevin Frazier about how he's recovering after his frightening New Year's Day snow plow accident, and the impact his new TV show had in driving him to get back on his feet.Renner explained that it was «very important» for him to walk the carpet, and promote the show, because of how much the series meant to him.«The only scary part of it for me was the accident and then [the possibility of] postponing the show, 'cause I worked so dang hard to get it to come out in the timely manner that it was gonna come,» Renner explained with a laugh. «It was a bit frustrating telling Disney, 'I'm gonna be fine. Don't worry about it.