‘Swagger’: Orlando Jones & Shannon Brown Join Season 2 Cast, Christina Jackson & Sean Anthony Baker Upped To Series Regulars

Watching pop culture bicker with itself is a rare hoot. Last Sunday, HBO premiered “House of the Dragon,” the network’s first “Game of Thrones” spin-off; tacitly acknowledging the medieval fantasy misery fest’s brand, the pilot episode builds to a birth scene shot with grisly excess and ending with mother and child wrapped in funeral shrouds.

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, Music Two years of the COVID pandemic have yielded some silver linings. For Virginia songwriter and independent artist Anees, it led to a fortuitous meeting — and eventual collaboration — with Scooter Braun.    The music mogul is no stranger to the creative process, and has been credited as a songwriter and producer on tracks by his longtime clients Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, as well as Ed Sheeran, and on the latest album by Demi Lovato, “Holy Fvck,” for which he served as EP and is credited as a producer on five songs alongside Warren “Oak” Felder. But Anees’ song “Leave Me” marks a public acknowledgment of Braun’s work as a co-writer, contributing lyrics that are clearly drawing from his own recent experience of splitting from his wife of seven years. Anees shared a snippet of the song via Instagram on Aug. 21, writing, “The universe has sent me a million signs that this song will absolutely shake ground. … This song has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams and it’s not even released yet. Especially as an independent artist, some of these blessings feel too good to be true … like the fact that I got to write this song with my brotha @scooterbraun. Truly a special experience.” 

EXCLUSIVE: Bill Camp (The Queen’s Gambit) will reunite once again with his American Rust and The Looming Tower co-star Jeff Daniels in A Man in Full, Netflix’s six-episode limited series from David E. Kelley and Regina King based on Tom Wolfe’s 1998 novel.

Simu Liu and Sterling K. Brown will be starring with Jennifer Lopez in her upcoming movie, Atlas.

EXCLUSIVE: After establishing himself as one of the key pillars of the next phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Simu Liu is ready to show some edginess. Sources tell Deadline that he is set to play the antagonist in Netflix’s Atlas starring Jennifer Lopez. Sterling K. Brown and Abraham Popoola have also landed key roles in the pic, which is being directed by Brad Peyton. Aron Eli Coleite is writing the most recent draft of the script based off Leo Sardarian’s original screenplay.

EXCLUSIVE: Industry star Myha’la Herrold has become the latest big name to join the cast of Black Mirror’s highly-anticipated sixth season.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorMorfydd Clark was at the Toronto Film Festival promoting “The Personal History of David Copperfield” when she was told she was cast as Galadriel in the upcoming Amazon series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.”“I found out and then I went to a screening and Q&A for ‘David Copperfield,” Clark told me Monday night at the “Rings of Power” premiere at Culver Studios. “I suddenly realized what a big deal it was for me, and I passed out during the Q&A. I was caught by a lovely security guard.”Set thousands of years before the “Lord of the Rings” films, Clark plays the same character portrayed by Cate Blanchett on the big screen.“I knew I was auditioning for an elf but I didn’t know which one,” Clark recalled.

Zack Sharf When the first trailer for Olivia Wilde’s psychological thriller “Don’t Worry Darling” dropped in May, all anyone on social media could talk about was a provocative moment in which Harry Styles’ character performs oral sex on Florence Pugh’s character on a dining room table. The mere tease of a racy sex scene sent the internet into overdrive, but Pugh refused to discuss the scene during a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar. In fact, Pugh criticized viewers for reducing the entire film to its one sex scene.“When it’s reduced to your sex scenes, or to watch the most famous man in the world go down on someone, it’s not why we do it.

Angelique Jackson With Netflix’s “Never Have I Ever” now speeding toward its senior season, series star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan shared what sets it apart from other high school shows — its heart.“We pack a punch into a good old half-hour comedy,” Ramakrishnan told Variety in an interview ahead of the show’s Season 3 launch. “It’s very heartwarming. Real things are being spoken about, in a way that it’s natural.

MTV has announced the upcoming series Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, which will feature eight of the women who were on Teen Mom OG and Teen Mom 2.

Brian Tyree Henry just shot up Japan mid-commute with Brad Pitt and Aaron Taylor Johnson in David Leitch‘s “Bullet Train.” Now, he’ll do the same on the streets of Philadelphia, courtesy of Apple TV+, Ridley Scott, and “Top Gun: Maverick” scribe “Peter Craig.” READ MORE: ‘Bullet Train’ Review: An Exhausting Action Comedy Of Squandered Potential Deadline reports that Apple TV+ is about to make a series order for “Sinking Spring,” a crime story set in the City Of Brotherly Love.

John Stamos and The Beach Boys are paying tribute to the late "Full House" star Bob Saget. At the "Sixty Years of the Sounds of Summer" concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, Stamos and The Beach Boys dedicated the song "Forever" to his former co-star as a video montage of Saget was displayed to the audience.  The 1970s classic "Forever" was performed several times on "Full House" by Stamos’ beloved character Uncle Jesse.

A new man in her life? Rosario Dawson has seemingly moved on with Nnamdi Okafor — and her ex-boyfriend Cory Booker already offered his stamp of approval to the new couple.

Hallmark Channel has officially added Chyler Leigh to its upcoming series, The Way Home.

Fargo has rounded out the main cast of its upcoming fifth installment, with Joe Keery (Stranger Things, Free Guy), Lamorne Morris (New Girl, Barbershop: The Next Cut) and Richa Moorjani (Never Have I Ever) joining the previously announced Juno Temple, Jon Hamm and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

OWN has set the premiere date for the seventh and final season of Queen Sugar. The series created and executive produced by Ava DuVernay will return on Tuesday, September 6 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Carson Burton Alexander Skarsgård, Nicholas Braun, French actor Liliane Rovère and others have joined the cast for Season 53 of “Documentary Now!,” IFC announced Friday. The channel also released a first look teaser as well as final details for two new episodes to round out the season.Known for paying homage to the world of documentaries, “Documentary Now!” Season 53 will debut with on Wednesday, Oct.

EXCLUSIVE: Investigation Discovery is supersizing In Pursuit with John Walsh.

EXCLUSIVE: CSI: Vegas has set its medical examiner team. Sara Amini (Future Man) and Joel Johnstone (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) are set for recurring roles in the second season of CBS’ sequel to the groundbreaking 2000 series.

EXCLUSIVE: We’ll be seeing more of Carlo, Fia and Eugene in the upcoming second and final season of Showtime’s Your Honor. Jimi Stanton (Castle Rock) Lilli Kay (Chambers) and Benjamin Flores Jr. (Fear Street), who recur as the characters, respectively, have been promoted to series regulars for Season 2.