Shabana Azmi Says Paramount Plus Series ‘Halo’ Achieved Color Blind Casting

The Starfleet crew residing in the “lower decks” of the U.S.S. Cerritos includes Ensign Beckett Mariner, voiced by Tawny Newsome; Ensign Brad Boimler, voiced by Jack Quaid; Ensign Tendi, voiced by Noël Wells; and Ensign Rutherford, voiced by Eugene Cordero. The Starfleet characters that comprise the U.S.S. Cerritos’ bridge crew include Captain Carol Freeman, voiced by Dawnn Lewis; Commander Jack Ransom, voiced by Jerry O’Connell; and Doctor T’Ana, voiced by Gillian Vigman.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. “Start Trek: The Motion Picture,” the seminal first film of the franchise that first premiered in 1979, is finally available to stream on Paramount Plus. The remastered 4K version has been given a special effects makeover and includes a new “Directors Edition.”This isn’t the first time the sci-fi film has been re-released with updates.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorTo underscore the strange spin on work-life balance in the new Apple TV Plus series “Severance,” cinematographer Jessica Lee Gagné worked closely with production designer Jeremy Hindle on a variety of subtle lighting choices to deliver a world of contrast to audiences.In the sci-fi drama, which is currently streaming, workers at tech company Lumon Industries have agreed to be microchipped, dividing their memories between home and office.The corporate world of Lumon is windowless and sparsely furnished, with stark white walls, a deep green carpet and four cubicles for new employee Mark, played by Adam Scott, and co-workers Helly (Britt Lower), Irving (John Turturro) and Dylan (Zach Cherry). Gagné was able to find lighting cues and nuances in the script to offer variation in the overwhelming white office.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterTahj Mowry will star in the upcoming Disney Plus series “The Muppets Mayhem,” Variety has learned exclusively.Mowry joins previously announced cast member Lilly Singh in the series, which was first announced in March. The live-action show follows The Electric Mayhem Band — consisting of Dr. Teeth on vocals and keyboards, Animal on drums, Floyd Pepper on vocals and bass, Janice on vocals and lead guitar, Zoot on saxophone, and Lips on trumpet — as they record their first album ever.Mowry will star as Gary “Moog” Moogowski.

Naman Ramachandran Paramount Plus has revealed a further slate of scripted and unscripted U.K. original series ahead of the launch of the streaming service in the U.K. this summer.

EXCLUSIVE: Michael Shannon starred as FBI negotiator Gary Noesner in Paramount Network’s 2018 series Waco and four years later he has boarded the follow up series as an executive producer.

Naman Ramachandran Filming commenced on Monday in U.K. cities Sheffield and Manchester on “The Full Monty,” a Disney Plus limited series adaptation of the BAFTA-winning hit 1997 film.

HALO is already a big winner for Paramount+.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Teen Wolf” revival movie at Paramount Plus has added five actors to the cast, including multiple returning stars of the original series.The new cast members are: Ian Bohen returning as Peter Hale; Vince Mattis as Eli Hale, fifteen year-old son of Derek Hale; Nobi Nakanishi as Deputy Ishida; Khylin Rhambo returning as Mason Hewitt; and Amy Lin Workman as Hikari Zhang. Nakanishi had also previously appeared on the original “Teen Wolf” in a different role, playing Young Katashi in two episodes of Season 3.The quintet joins previously announced stars Tyler Posey, Holland Roden, Shelley Hennig, Crystal Reed, Orny Adams, Linden Ashby, JR Bourne, Colton Haynes, Ryan Kelley, Melissa Ponzio, and Dylan Sprayberry in the film revival of the beloved MTV drama series. In the film, a terrifying evil emerges in Beacon Hills.

Paramount+ this March. The streaming platform's new action-packed series adaptation of the popular video game,, premieres this month alongside plenty of new shows and movies.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterA live-action version of “The Loud House” has been picked up to series at Paramount Plus.The announcement was made as part of Nickelodeon’s upfronts presentation on Thursday. Production will begin on the new series in June with the premiere set for later this year.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentParamount Plus, which is the global streaming service of recently rebranded Paramount — formerly ViacomCBS — has forged a three-year partnership with Gaumont, the storied French studio behind Netflix’s “Lupin” and “Narcos,” to jointly produce a slate of high-end original shows for its growing subscribers around the world.Under the partnership Gaumont will produce these series in association with Paramount’s international studio, VIS. The shows will be part of Paramount Plus’s stated plans to green light 50 new non-U.S.

Paramount Plus has released the official trailer for “The Offer,” the upcoming drama miniseries that chronicles the making of “The Godfather.”Set in the early 1970s, “The Offer” stars Miles Teller as Albert S. Ruddy, who is hired as the producer for the film adaptation of the best-selling novel “The Godfather,” written by Mario Puzo (played by Patrick Gallo). While the series faces typical behind the scenes tension between its director Francis Ford Coppola (Dan Fogler) and producing team, the filming grows more complicated when mob boss Joe Colombo (Giovanni Ribisi) signs on to help assist in the production.

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 ReporterLaysla De Oliveira will star alongside Zoe Saldaña in the upcoming Paramount Plus series “Lioness” from Taylor Sheridan, Variety has learned exclusively.The series is based on a real-life CIA program and follows Cruz Manuelos (De Oliveira), described as a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine, who is recruited to join the CIA’s Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from within. Saldaña will play Joe, the station chief of the Lioness program tasked with training, managing and leading her female undercover operatives. The series is set to go into production in June.De Oliveira currently stars in the Netflix series “Locke & Key,” with the third season of that series set to debut later in 2022.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefRising Australian star Lincoln Younes has been cast as the lead of “Last King of the Cross,” a biographical series about a notorious night club owner and gangster being produced for Paramount Plus. Told in ten episodes, the series is an operatic story of two brothers, Sam and John Ibrahim who organize the street but lose each other in their ascent to power.Kieran Darcy-Smith (“Wolf Creek,” “The Duel”) has writing credits and is set as the director.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” has cast Paul Wesley in the iconic role of James T. Kirk for the Paramount Plus show’s upcoming second season.“Strange New Worlds” is due to premiere on Paramount Plus on May 5. It was renewed for a second season back in January, with that season already in production.The show follows the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike prior to Kirk becoming captain of the Enterprise.