‘The Big Cigar’: ‘Oppenheimer’s Olli Haaskivi Latest To Join Apple Series As Recurring

Emily Longeretta Grab your cowboy boots. Fox is making a major push for the upcoming premiere of “Monarch,” Variety can exclusively share. On Thursday, Sept. 8, the “Monarch” retail pop-up shop will open in New York City on 27 Mercer Street. It will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Sunday, Sept. 11, the premiere date. The fully customized space will include items from many of the show’s partners including Allen’s Boots, Fret Zealot Music, Nyrelle Jewelry and Union Western Apparel. There will be a photo opportunity for fans to sit in the “Queens of Country” throne and attendees can take home a customized bandana or snapback hat.

K.J. Yossman Fresh from seeing “Elvis” become his highest-grossing film of all time in the U.K., Australian director Baz Luhrmann is set to be one of the leading speakers at this year’s Royal Television Society (RTS) conference in London, set to take place later this month. Luhrmann, who has also created series such as “The Get Down,” will be in conversation with British host Edith Bowman, discussing “the power of creativity.” Also joining the lineup are head of interactive at BBC Studios Tom Burton, Vicki Dobbs Beck, VP for immersive content at Lucasfilm and ILMxLAB, BBC technology correspondent Marc Cieslak and Jan Koeppen, president of The Walt Disney Company EMEA.

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.”

EXCLUSIVE: Apple TV+’s Huey P. Newton series The Big Cigar has rounded out its cast, with Jaime Ray Newman (Dopesick), Noah Emmerich (Dark Winds), John Doman (City on a Hill), Chris Brochu (Zero Contact) and newcomer Breton Edwards Allen coming aboard in recurring roles. André Holland leads the cast, with Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, PJ Byrne, Marc Menchaca, Jordane Christie, Moses Ingram, Olli Haaskivi and Glynn Turman also set to star, as previously announced.

Brooks & Dunn, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town and Zac Brown Band will be among the country music stars helping to ring in 2023 on CBS with the return of New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash.

EXCLUSIVE: The Girls On The Bus, Warner Bros. TV’s upcoming series for HBO Max about female political reporters on a presidential campaign trail, has tapped Abby Phillip, senior political correspondent and anchor of Inside Politics Sunday at WBD corporate sibling CNN as a consultant.

Apple TV+’s Colin Farrell-led drama series Sugar has rounded out its cast.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Colin Farrell’s upcoming Apple series “Sugar” has added five new cast members, Variety has learned. James Cromwell (“Succession,” “Babe,” “Six Feet Under”), Anna Gunn (“Breaking Bad,” “Deadwood”), Dennis Boutsikaris (“Better Call Saul,” “Mayfair Witches”), Alex Hernandez (“Invasion,” “Bloodshot”), and Lindsay Pulsipher (“The Beast,” “True Blood”) have all joined the series. Cromwell and Gunn will recur, while Boutsikaris, Hernandez, and Pulsipher will be series regulars. Along with Farrell, previously announced cast members include Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Amy Ryan. Exact plot and character details for the show remain under wraps, aside from the fact that it is described as a genre-bending contemporary take on the private detective story set in Los Angeles.

An Apple TV+ series filming in Baltimore stopped production Friday after several people threatened the producers and tried to extort money from them, Baltimore police said.

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.

Jennifer Garner has had to drop out of My Glory Was I Had Such Friends, according to Deadline.

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy winner Glynn Turman (Women of the Movement) has joined Apple TV+’s Huey P. Newton limited series The Big Cigar as a recurring guest star. He’ll be part of an ensemble led by André Holland, which also includes Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, PJ Byrne, Marc Menchaca, Jordane Christie, Moses Ingram and Olli Haaskivi, as previously announced.

EXCLUSIVE: Mari Yamamoto (Pachinko, Kate) has joined the cast of its upcoming Apple Original live-action monster series, a Legendary Television production based on Legendary’s Monsterverse franchise. Details regarding the character she will portray are under wraps.

EXCLUSIVE: Amy Ryan is set as a lead opposite Colin Farrell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste in the Apple TV+ series Sugar.

Hilary Linstead, the agent, casting director and film producer who launched Australia’s first talent agency, has died aged 83.

“Monarch,” the upcoming Texas-sized, multigenerational musical drama about America’sleading family of country music also stars Golden Globe nominee Anna Friel, Joshua Sasse and Beth Ditto. The series follows the wildly talented, but tough-as-nails Queen of Country Music Dottie Cantrell Roman (Sarandon) and her beloved husband, “Texas Truthteller” Albie Roman (Adkins), who have fought to create a country music dynasty.

Kirby Howell-Baptiste (The Sandman, The Good Place) will star opposite Colin Farrell in the Apple TV+ series .

Joe Otterson TV ReporterRon Perlman, Nick Nolte, Charles Melton, and Tim Blake Nelson have all joined the cast of the upcoming Peacock series “Poker Face,” Variety has learned exclusively.Perlman (“Sons of Anarchy,” “Hellboy”), Nolte (“Warrior,” “Graves”), Melton (“Riverdale,” “American Horror Stories”), and Nelson (“Watchmen,” “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”) join the show’s already expansive cast. Natasha Lyonne will lead the series, with previously announced cast members including: Adrien Brody, Audrey Corsa, Benjamin Bratt, Chloe Sevigny, Danielle MacDonald, Dascha Polanco, Ellen Barkin, Jameela Jamil, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Judith Light, Lil Rel Howery, Niall Cunningham, Nicholas Cirillo, S. Epatha Merkerson, Simon Helberg and Tim Meadows.

Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy, Pacific Rim) is back on a motorcycle in a first-look photo of Shantaram, a new Apple drama series set to premiere October 14.