Robert Langdon Drama Starring Ashley Zukerman Moves to Peacock From NBC With Series Order

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 Reporter“Rival Peak,” the first-ever interactive AI reality series, has ended on Facebook Watch with more than 100 million minutes watched over the course of its 12-week season.The show hailed from dj2 Entertainment, Pipeworks Studios, and Genvid Technologies. It attracted viewers from over 70 countries, with the biggest audiences coming from the U.S., India, Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterWWE is set to shift its ThunderDome residency to its third location thus far. The sports entertainment company announced Wednesday it will move ThunderDome to the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida starting April 12.The WWE had been set up at Tampa’s Tropicana Field since December, and previously established the ThunderDome model at the Amway Center in Orlando in August.

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 ReporterShowtime has ordered a drama series about Zulu king Shaka, with Antoine Fuqua onboard to direct and executive produce, Variety has learned.“Shaka: King of the Zulu Nation” hails from writers and executive producers Olu Odebunmi and Tolu Awosika.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNatasha Lyonne will star in a mystery series for Peacock that hails from Rian Johnson.Johnson will serve as writer, director and executive producer on the one-hour series, which is titled “Poker Face,” with Lyonne executive producing in addition to starring. Peacock has ordered 10 episodes.“I’m very excited to dig into the type of fun, character driven, case-of-the-week mystery goodness I grew up watching,” Johnson said.

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 ReporterWill Forte is attached to star in a drama series in development at Peacock from Harry and Jack Williams.Titled “Expiration Date,” the series is described as a dark suburban soap about Robin (Forte), who, consumed by grief, finds a life insurance policy that covers suicide, provided that the individual doesn’t carry out the deed within one year.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLucy Hale has signed on for a starring role in the AMC-Alibi series “Ragdoll,” Variety has learned exclusively.In the six-episode show, which was ordered to series back in February, six people have been murdered, dismembered, and sewn into the shape of one grotesque body — nicknamed the “Ragdoll.” Assigned to the shocking case are DS Nathan Wolf, recently reinstated to the London Met; his best friend and boss, DI Emily Baxter; and the unit’s new recruit, DC Lake Edmunds

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The Boys” spinoff at Amazon is nearing a series order.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe TV adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s “Wild Card” book series is moving from Hulu to Peacock.The project was originally set up at Hulu in 2018.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBrandy Norwood, best known by the stage name Brandy, has signed on for one of the lead roles in the ABC drama pilot “Queens.”The pilot is about four estranged and out-of-touch women in their 40s who reunite for a chance to recapture their fame and regain the swagger they had as the Nasty Bitches – their ’90s group that made them legends in the hip-hop world.Brandy will play Naomi, better known as Xplicit Lyrics — the highly skilled musical engine of the Nasty Bitches.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterRay Liotta has signed on the upcoming Apple drama series “In With the Devil,” Variety has confirmed.Liotta joins previously announced series leads Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser.The six-episode series would be based on the 2010 novel “In With The Devil: A Fallen Hero, A Serial Killer, and A Dangerous Bargain for Redemption” by James Keene and Hillel Levin.