‘Shantaram’: Steven Lightfoot Named Showrunner Of New Apple Series

Daniel Holloway Executive Editor, TVThirty years after his first unscripted TV series aired, John Lurie is getting another.HBO will debut “Painting With John,” a new series directed by, written by and starring Lurie, Jan. 22.

In the pre-COVID-19 time of February of this year, which feels about a decade ago at this point, there was an exciting announcement that the Safdie Brothers would be joining forces with Nathan Fielder for a new comedy series on Showtime. Those names alone made it an automatic must-see.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJulia Roberts has signed on to star in a series adaptation of the upcoming Laura Dave novel “The Last Thing He Told Me” at Apple.Roberts will executive produce in addition to starring, with Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter of Hello Sunshine also executive producing. Hello Sunshine optioned the book from Dave, who will adapt the book for television and executive produce along with her husband, Josh Singer.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple has given a series order to “Extrapolations,” an anthology series about climate change from Scott Z. Burns, Variety has learned exclusively.Burns will write, direct, and executive produce the series, which hails from Media Res.

Microsoft has released a new ad for the Xbox Series X, helmed by filmmaker Taika Waititi, which is inspired by the console’s “Power Your Dreams” tagline.The short film is titled ‘Lucid Odyssey’ and stars streamer Krystal Holmes – aka MoonLiteWolf – playing an Xbox Series X before being led into a dream state.

The late Selena Quintanilla‘s husband Chris Perez is sharing his thoughts on the new Netflix series about her life.

PBS Kids’ roster will see a new face on the block come 2021 with Alma’s Way, a new animated series from Fred Rogers Productions and Sesame Street alum Sonia Manzano. Set to debut on PBS and PBS Kids next fall, Alma’s Way follows a 6-year-old Puerto Rican girl in the Bronx as she offers young viewers glimpses into her diverse and close-knit community.

Three decades. Two friends.

Pablo Sandoval As Argentina state film finance has dwindled, Argentine writers and directors are looking ever more to drama series creation as an alternative. MipCancun caught Argentine talent pitching 10 projects that have been awarded development coin by Argentina’s INCAA film-TV agency.

Felicity Huffman landed her first television role a little over a month after completing her full sentence for her involvement in the college admissions scandal.The actress, 57, is set to star alongside Peanut Butter Falcon actor  in an upcoming baseball comedy for ABC, Deadline reported on Monday, November 30. The Desperate Housewives alum will play the owner of a minor league baseball team with Gottsagen, 35, starring as her eldest son.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw will be starring in Apple’s upcoming new thriller series called Surface.

Growing up in a part of Texas he calls “Selena country,” Jaime Dávila inevitably became a lifelong fan of the singer-songwriter. Thus, the Campanario Entertainment president’s role as exec producer of a new series about Selena’s life, family and career has been a long time coming.But Selena’s life is not a story untold.

NEW YORK -- Kaley Cuoco knew she wanted to turn Chris Bohjalian’s best-selling novel “The Flight Attendant’ into a TV series when the book caught her eye online.“The cover of the book is a blonde woman. It just kind of looks like me,” she recalled in a recent interview.

Will Thorne Staff WriterApple’s “Shantaram” series starring Charlie Hunnam has found its showrunner.Steven Lightfoot has signed on to run the forthcoming show, Variety has confirmed. The “Hannibal” and “Punisher” alum has at the same time inked a multi-year overall deal with Apple.“Shantaram” is based on Gregory David Roberts’ 2003 novel of the same name and tells the story of Lin (Hunnam), a man on the run from an Australian prison looking to get lost in the teeming city of Bombay.

Greg Evans Associate Editor/Broadway CriticEncores!, the acclaimed series of concert-style theatrical productions founded to rediscover overlooked Broadway gems of years past, announced plans to stage Into The Woods, the beloved Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine musical that is anything but overlooked.Into The Woods, which has been staged, revived and filmed many times over (including the 2014 feature film starring Meryl Streep and James Corden), will be the first of a new Encores! mission to

Denise Petski Senior Managing EditorEXCLUSIVE: Apple TV+ has rounded out the ensemble cast for season 2 of drama series Truth Be Told.