Showtime Orders Public Domain Anthology Series ‘Cinema Toast’ From Jeff Baena, Duplass Brothers

Joe Otterson TV ReporterTaika Waititi is hitting the high seas as the dreaded pirate Blackbeard in the upcoming HBO Max comedy series “Our Flag Means Death,” Variety has learned.Waititi joins previously announced series lead Rhys Darby.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterFinn Wittrock has been cast in a lead role of the upcoming “Green Lantern” series at HBO Max, Variety has learned.Wittrock will star as Guy Gardner, who is described as a hulking mass of masculinity, and, as rendered in the comics, an embodiment of 1980s hyper-patriotism. And yet, Guy is somehow likable.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJK Simmons is set to star opposite Sissy Spacek in the Amazon sci-fi series “Lightyears,” taking over a lead role in the series from Ed O’Neill.O’Neill’s casting was reported in March, but according to an individual with knowledge of the production, he has exited for personal reasons.The series follows Irene (Spacek) and Franklin (Simmons) York, a couple who years ago discovered a chamber buried in their backyard which inexplicably leads to a strange, deserted planet.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterToni Collette will star alongside Colin Firth in the HBO Max limited series “The Staircase,” Variety has learned.The eight-episode series is based on the docuseries of the same name as well as various books and reports about the case of Michael Peterson (Firth), who was accused of murdering his wife, Kathleen (Collette), in 2001.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLena Headey has joined the HBO series “The White House Plumbers,” which delves into the Watergate scandal, Variety has learned.Headey joins previously announced cast members Woody Harrelson, Justin Theroux, and Domhnall Gleeson. The five-episode series tells the story of how President Nixon’s own political saboteurs and Watergate masterminds, E.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterGrace Gummer has been cast in the “Let the Right One In” pilot at Showtime, Variety has learned.She joins previously announced cast members Demián Bichir and Anika Noni Rose. The series centers on Mark (Bichir), a father and his 12-year-old daughter, Eleanor, whose lives were changed forever 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJulie Ann Emery has been cast in Apple’s upcoming Hurricane Katrina series, “Five Days at Memorial.”The series is based on the Sheri Fink novel of the same name. It chronicles the first five days in a New Orleans, LA, hospital after Hurricane Katrina made landfall.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Dark Side of the Ring” will debut Season 3 on Vice TV on May 6. In an interview with Variety, series narrator Chris Jericho says the show allows non-wrestling fans to learn to appreciate what wrestlers go through in their careers.“I think one of the reasons why the show is very important and very relevant is because you’re learning and maybe getting a little more respect for these guys,” Jericho says.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Walker” Season 2 at The CW has upped Odette Annable to series regular status.Annable currently recurs on the series as Geri, an old friend of Walker (Jared Padalecki) and his late wife.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The Summer I Turned Pretty” series at Amazon has cast Lola Tung, Rachel Blanchard, Jackie Chung, and Christopher Briney, Variety has learned.The series is based on the Jenny Han YA novel of the same name. It is described as a multigenerational drama that hinges on a love triangle between one girl and two brothers, the ever-evolving relationship between mothers and their children, and the enduring power of strong female friendship.

EXCLUSIVE: Orange Is the New Black alumna Taylor Schilling has been tapped for a series regular role opposite Lily James, Sebastian Stan and Seth Rogen in Pam & Tommy, Hulu’s limited series based on the true story behind the release of the first ever viral video — the sex tape of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. Nick Offerman also stars.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterFox has ordered the dramedy “The Big Leap” to series for the 2021-2022 broadcast season.The one-hour show was originally ordered to pilot last year, but production was shutdown by the pandemic.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” series at Apple is rounding out its main cast with five new additions, Variety has learned.Walton Goggins (“Justified,” “The Unicorn’), Omar Miller (“Ballers,” “The Unicorn”), Marsha Stephanie Blake (“I Am Your Woman,” “When They See Us”), Damon Gupton (“Black Lightning,” “Bates Motel”), and Cynthia Kaye McWilliams (“Coyote,” “Real Husbands of Hollywood”) have all been cast in the show alongside previously announced stars Samuel L.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“NCIS: Los Angeles” has been renewed for Season 13 at CBS, with the broadcaster also ordering “NCIS: Hawaii” to series.“NCIS: Hawaii” was first announced as being in development back in February. Matt Bosack, Jan Nash, and Chris Silber are co-writing and executive producing, with Larry Teng attached to direct and executive produce.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterA “How I Met Your Mother” sequel series titled “How I Met Your Father” has been ordered at Hulu with Hilary Duff attached to star.In the near future, Sophie (Duff) is telling her son the story of how she met his father: a story that catapults us back to the year 2021 where Sophie and her close-knit group of friends are in the midst of figuring out who they are, what they want out of life, and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Wings of Fire” books by Tui T. Sutherland are being adapted into an animated series at Netflix with Ava DuVernay set to executive produce.The “Wings of Fire” books have sold more than 14 million copies around the world to date.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAmazon Studios has ordered a YA pilot based on the Harlan Coben novel “Shelter,” Variety has learned exclusively.Shelter” is the first novel in Coben’s Mickey Bolitar book series. MGM has acquired the rights to all the other books in the Mickey Bolitar series as well.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe horror comedy “Shining Vale” starring Courteney Cox, Greg Kinnear, and Mira Sorvino has been ordered to series at Starz, Variety has learned.The half-hour show had originally been picked up to pilot back in 2019. The premium cabler has given the series an eight-episode order.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAnika Noni Rose has been cast in the “Let the Right One In” pilot at Showtime, Variety has learned.She joins previously announced cast member Demián Bichir. The series centers on Mark (Bichir), a father and his 12-year-old daughter, Eleanor, whose lives were changed forever 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNBC has given out a pair of comedy pilot orders, including one starring music superstar Demi Lovato.The Lovato project is titled “Hungry.” NBC had previously given the single-camera show a put pilot commitment back in January.