Ron Perlman, Nick Nolte, Charles Melton, Tim Blake Nelson Join Peacock Series ‘Poker Face’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Carson Burton Amiah Miller and Bill Heck are rounding out the cast of Searchlight Pictures’ upcoming horror thriller film “Dust.” The film stars Sarah Paulson of “American Horror Story,” Annaleigh Ashford and Ebon Moss-Bachrach in a story set in 1930s Oklahoma. It follows a woman who, during the region’s increasingly perilous dust storms, is convinced that a sinister presence is threatening her family. The film is directed by Will Joines and Karrie Crouse, and Crouse penned the script. “Dust” commenced principal photography this week in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Miller previously starred as Nova in the 2017 film from 20th Century Studios “War for the Planet of the Apes” alongside Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson and Steve Zahn. In 2020, she was also seen in David Oyelowo’s feature directorial debut “The Water Man.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The upcoming “Spiderwick Chronicles” TV series at Disney+ has cast Joy Bryant, Variety has learned exclusively. Bryant joins previously announced cast members Lyon Daniels and Noah Cottrell as well as Christian Slater. The show is based on the popular book series of the same name by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. In the show, upon leaving New York and moving to Michigan and into their run-down ancestral home—The Spiderwick Estate—with their mother, twin brothers Jared (Daniels) and Simon Grace (Cottrell), along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate, fantastical world.

Nikki Blonsky made her professional acting debut as the star of 2007’s movie adaptation of “Hairspray” but her friendship with John Travolta carries just as much weight, if not more.

EXCLUSIVE: Bodyguard and Line of Duty star Keeley Hawes has been tapped as a co-lead opposite Krysten Ritter in Orphan Black: Echoes, the upcoming offshoot series set in the world of Orphan Black, which is slated for a 2023 debut on AMC Networks’ digital platform AMC+ and linear nets.

Carson Burton Jimmy Fallon, Willie Nelson, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jimmie Allen, Zach Williams and Miley Cyrus have been cast as guest stars in NBC’s “Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas.” The film sees Parton in the lead role and also stars Tom Everett Scott, Ana Gasteyer and Angel Parker. “Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas” is a movie musical about the making of a network TV special. The film follows the backstage story and on-camera results of Parton’s desire to share “mountain magic” at Dollywood during Christmas. When three characters known as the “Three Wise Mountain Men” appear to Parton, she finds herself on a private journey into her past. By the time her special is set to air, a newly inspired Parton finds that she has renewed understanding of the magic of Christmas.

EXCLUSIVE: Clea DuVall (The First Lady), Shane Paul McGhie (American Skin), Angel Desai (NCIS: New Orleans), newcomer Jasmine Aiyana Garvin and Leslie Silva (Women of the Movement) have joined the cast of Peacock’s Poker Face, a mystery drama series starring Natasha Lyonne, from Rian Johnson, his T-Street banner and MRC Television.

Prince Charles has guest-edited the 40th anniversary edition of British Black newspaper The Voice.

Joe Pesci is taking on a new role!

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Joe Pesci has signed on to star in Pete Davidson’s upcoming Peacock comedy series “Bupkis,” Variety has learned. Davidson will star in the series along with Pesci and previously announced cast member Edie Falco. The show was ordered to series at Peacock in April. “Bupkis” is a half-hour comedy that is loosely based on Davidson’s real life. Falco will star as Davidson’s mother with Pesci now set to play Davidson’s grandfather. This marks just the second regular television role of Pesci’s career. Prior to this, he starred in the short-lived NBC series “Half Nelson” in 1985. Pesci is best known for his film career, in particular his collaborations with Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. The trio have worked together on seminal films like “Raging Bull,” “Goodfellas,” “Casino,” and “The Irishman.” Pesci won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for his work in “Goodfellas” and was nominated in the same category for both “Raging Bull” and “The Irishman.” Pesci is also known for his roles in films like “My Cousin Vinny,” the “Lethal Weapon” franchise, the first two “Home Alone” films, and “JFK.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter WWE superstar Bianca Belair has signed with WME for representation in all areas, Variety has learned exclusively. With the signing, the powerhouse Hollywood agency will work to build her business across podcasting, acting, marketing, and more. Belair was originally a track and field standout at the University of Tennessee, where she earned All-SEC and All-American Honors. She first signed with WWE in 2016, joining the sports entertainment giant’s developmental brand, NXT. During her time there, she challenged for the NXT Women’s Championship on multiple occasions and went on a winning streak that lasted just over a year.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Christian Slater has signed on to play a major villain in the upcoming Disney+ series adaptation of “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” Variety has confirmed. The show was first announced as part of Disney+ Day in November 2021. Based on the best-selling children’s books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, “The Spiderwick Chronicles” follows the Grace family — twin brothers Jared and Simon, sister Mallory and their mother Helen — as they move into their great-great uncle’s home and discover a world of fairies that exists parallel to their own. Slater will star as Mulgarath, whose alter ego is Dr. Dorian Brauer. The character is described as a capital-V Villain who does what all ogres do — he eats people, an insatiable desire to consume. Mulgarath wants the secrets contained in Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Natural World for a nefarious scheme that will satisfy his hunger.

Toni Collette (The Staircase) has been tapped as a lead in The Power, Prime Video’s 10-episode global thriller drama based on Naomi Alderman’s feminist sci-fi book, while The Good Wife alum Josh Charles is set for a key recurring role in the series from Jane Featherstone’s Sister and director Reed Morano. They replace Leslie Mann and Tim Robbins, respectively, who both exited the series in May.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterABC has given a series order to the spy drama “The Company You Keep” starring “This Is Us” alum Milo Ventimiglia, Variety has learned.The series was originally ordered to pilot as part of ABC’s 2022 pilot season slate. It will now debut at midseason on ABC in 2023.The show is based on the Korean series “My Fellow Citizens” from Korean Broadcasting System. In the American version, a night of passion leads to love between con-man Charlie (Ventimiglia) and undercover CIA officer Emma (Catherine Haena Kim), who are unknowingly on a collision course professionally.

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.

Kanye West has taken to US network television to defend selling his Yeezy Gap line in black “construction bags” that some people mistakenly thought were bin bags.Posting on Instagram last week (August 13), the rapper shared a note that reads: “Look to the children… Look to the homeless… As the biggest inspiration for all design.”Speaking to Fox News’ Fox & Friends following accusations of insensitivity, West apparently declared it was “God’s plan” for him to clarify his comments on television, according to quotes summarised by the network’s correspondent Eric Shawn, who added that Ye felt he was being “misrepresented and misunderstood”.“I’m an innovator, and I’m not here to sit up and apologise about my ideas,” West said in the interview clip. “This is not a joke, this is not a game, this is not just some celebrity collaboration.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterShowrunner, playwright, and performer Rick Cleveland has signed with APA for representation, Variety has learned exclusively. Cleveland will continue to be represented by Rain as well as attorney Ken Richman at Hansen Jacobson TellerCleveland is a six-time Emmy nominee, winning the award for best writing for a drama series alongside Aaron Sorkin for the first season episode of “The West Wing” titled “In Excelsis Deo.” Cleveland was then nominated three times as part of the producing time on the hit HBO series “Six Feet Under” and again as part of the producing teams behind the Showtime series “Nurse Jackie” and the Netflix series “House of Cards.”Cleveland has also worked on a number of other critically-acclaimed shows.

Netflix has released the first full-length trailer for Tim Burton‘s Wednesday, the Addams Family reboot series.In the two-minute clip shared today (August 17), Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) is seen causing chaos at her public school swimming pool (with the help of some piranhas), before being transferred to Nevermore Academy, a place for exceptional but troublesome students.“Little did I know I was stepping into a nightmare, full of mystery, mayhem and murder,” narrates Wednesday.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterA rebooted version of the reality series “The Mole” has been ordered at Netflix, Variety has learned.The new version of the former ABC series is expected to bow on Netflix this fall. Like the original American version, the Netflix version is based on the Belgian format “De Mol” created by Bart De Pauw, Michel Vanhove, Michiel Devlieger, and Tom Lenaerts and distributed by Primitives.The streamer has given the new show a 10-episode order.

was going to be a tough sell — but he was more than ready to take on the dark side. And it's paid off so far, scoring him his second career Emmy nomination for the show's second season!The actor joined ET at the Banc of California Stadium — home to Los Angeles FC -- earlier this week to talk about the beloved Apple TV+ series, which cleaned up at last year's Emmys and is poised to make a solid run with their season 2 nominations this year, earning a total of 20 nods.On the show, Mohammed plays AFC Richmond kit man-turned-assistant coach Nate «The Great» Shelley, whose lovable demeanor took a «heel turn» in season 2, earning the actor his second consecutive Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.Mohammed shared that while fans may have been surprised by his character's season 2 shift, he knew it was coming when he took on the part. «I felt like I was in my comfort zone in season 1 with Nate,» the actor said of his character's first episodes, where he got close with Richmond's new coach, Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), before becoming disillusioned with his cheery, positive coaching strategies.

EXCLUSIVE: Three-time Oscar nominee Nick Nolte is set to star in Eugene The Marine, a psychological thriller due to begin production this fall.