‘The Golden Spoon’ Limited Series From Aline Brosh McKenna In Works At Hulu

EXCLUSIVE: Jason Winer (The Big Leap) has been tapped to direct Disney+’s upcoming The Santa Clause limited series starring Tim Allen. The Modern Family alum will also executive produce through his Small Dog Production Co. the series, which comes from Last Man Standing creator Jack Burditt.

Ellise Shafer The Writers Guild of America, East will host their annual “And the Nominees Are…” limited series contenders’ panel on March 1, with Variety hosting the livestream.The limited series panel will take place at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT and will run for 90 minutes.

Michael Douglas recently wrapped his Netflix series The Kominsky Method and he’s getting ready to head back to television right away!

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMichael Douglas will star as U.S. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin in a new limited series for Apple, Variety has learned.The untitled series is based on the book “A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America” by Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff. Kirk Ellis, the writer behind HBO’s “John Adams” series, will write the show for Apple and serve as an executive producer.Emmy-winning director Tim Van Patten will direct and executive produce.

Apple TV+ has officially confirmed a limited event series starring Michael Douglas as Benjamin Franklin. The Oscar winner executive produces the project about the American polymath, from John Adams writer-executive producer Kirk Ellis, TV director, writer and producer Tim Van Patten (Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos), Tony Krantz and his Flame Ventures and Richard Plepler’s Eden Productions under the company’s deal with Apple Studios. Based on Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff’s book A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, the series, which has been casting for the past couple of months, is a co-production between ITV Studios America and Apple Studios.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming Apple limited series “Manhunt” has added Anthony Boyle and Lovie Simone to its cast, Variety has learned.The pair join previously announced series lead Tobias Menzies. The show is based on the book “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer” by James Swanson.

Anthony Boyle and Lovie Simone are set as leads alongside Tobias Menzies in Manhunt, Apple TV+’s upcoming limited series about the Lincoln assassination, from Friday Night Lights and Fargo writer/producer Monica Beletsky, Lionsgate and 3 Arts.

Stephan James is attached to star and produce a scripted limited series about artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.

EXCLUSIVE: Dan Stevens (Legion, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga) has been tapped for a key role in the Hulu limited series Immigrant (working title), starring and executive produced by Kumail Nanjiani, from Pam & Tommy creator Robert Siegel.

EXCLUSIVE: Hulu has acquired the rights to develop Adrian McKinty’s upcoming novel The Island as a limited series. McKinty will executive produce with Shane Salerno and The Story Factory. The author’s previous novel The Chain was acquired by Universal and Working Title for Edgar Wright to direct. Wright is rewriting the Jane Goldman script. No numbers were forthcoming on the deal for The Island, but sources said that if the series goes, the author’s deal will exceed the $1.5 million that Universal paid for The Chain. Sasha Silver, head of drama series, was responsible for bringing The Island into Hulu.

French actress/singer Soko and Troye Sivan celebrate the launch of Frieze Los Angeles with Alexander McQueen and MatchesFashion at Simon House on Valentine’s Day in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Peacock has given a straight-to-series order to A Friend of the Family, a true-crime limited drama about the Jan Broberg kidnapping case, from Nick Antosca (The Act, Channel Zero) and UCP, with Oscar winner Anna Paquin, Jake Lacy, Colin Hanks and Lio Tipton attached to star. Eliza Hittman (Never Rarely Sometimes Always) is set to direct and executive produce multiple episodes, including the pilot.

When Marvel Studios announced their “Moon Knight” series starring Oscar Issac, a lot of folks seemed to be puzzled why that obscure Marvel character was given an adaptation on Disney+ above others still waiting to get the live-action treatment. Well, it’s starting to look like the studio isn’t shying away from the more bizarre and violent aspects of his comic book counterpart allowing for more mature and experimental superhero stories.

FX has set its cast for Retreat, a limited series from The OA creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij. Oscar nominee Clive Owen (Closer, The Knick) Harris Dickinson (Beach Rats, The King’s Man), Alice Braga (Queen of the South, The Suicide Squad), Jermaine Fowler (Coming 2 America, Judas & the Black Messiah), Joan Chen (The Last Emperor, Twin Peaks), Raul Esparza (Law & Order: SVU, Candy), Edoardo Ballerini (The Sopranos, Dinner Rush) Pegah Ferydoni (Turkish for Beginners, Drama Women Without Men), Ryan J. Haddad (The Politician, Hi, Are You Single?) and Javed Khan (The Bay, Gangs of London) join Corrin in the series, along with previously announced Marling.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAndrew Rannells has been cast in a recurring role in the upcoming Hulu limited series “Immigrant.”The darkly comedic series tells the true story of Somen “Steve” Banerjee (Kumail Nanjiani), the Indian-American entrepreneur who started Chippendales. Along with Nanjiani and Rannells, the cast also includes Murray Bartlett and Annaleigh Ashford.Rannells will play the rich kid investor in Chippendales New York and the love interest of Bartlett, who stars as producer-choreographer Nick De Noia.Rannells’ recent onscreen roles include “Black Monday” at Showtime and “Girls5Eva” at Peacock.

Andrew Rannells has been tapped for a recurring role in Hulu limited series Immigrant (working title), starring Kumail Nanjiani, Annaleigh Ashford and Murray Bartlett, from Pam & Tommy creator Robert Siegel.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming FX limited series “The Patient” has cast Alex Rich in a recurring role, Variety has learned exclusively.Rich joins previously announced series leads Steve Carell and Domhnall Gleeson as well as cast members Linda Emond, Laura Niemi, and Andrew Leeds in the series, which hails from “The Americans” duo Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields.In the half-hour series, a psychotherapist (Carell) finds himself held prisoner by a serial killer (Gleeson) with an unusual request: curb his homicidal urges. But unwinding the mind of this man while also dealing with the waves of his own repressed troubles creates a journey perhaps as treacherous as his captivity.Rich previously appeared in the critically-acclaimed Netflix series “GLOW” in the role of Florian, the butler and best friend of Sebastian “Bash” Howard.

EXCLUSIVE: The remarkable story of a Dutch woman who risked her life to shelter Anne Frank’s family from the Nazis for more than two years and then preserved Anne’s diary, is the subject of A Small Light, a National Geographic limited series ordered by Disney+. The project comes from Grey’s Anatomy alums Joan Rater and Tony Phelan, Susanna Fogel (The Flight Attendant), ABC Signature and Keshet Studios.

EXCLUSIVE: Quentin Plair (The Good Lord Bird) is set to recur opposite Kumail Nanjiani and Nicola Peltz (Transformers: Age of Extinction) will guest star in Hulu limited series Immigrant (working title), from Pam & Tommy creator Robert Siegel. Additionally, WandaVision and The Great director/executive producer Matt Shakman has joined as director and executive producer. He replaces originally announced Ramin Bahrani ahead of the series’ start of production.