‘The Rookie’ Sets FBI Spinoff Starring Niecy Nash With Two-Episode Backdoor Pilot Order

Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts are making history. The 52-year-old actress and her 39-year-old bride cover the March/April 2022 «Black Women in Hollywood» issue of , becoming the first same-sex couple to cover the magazine.On the cover, Nash and Betts both pose topless, with the former looking at the camera as the latter lovingly cradles her face.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“SEAL Team” star Max Thieriot has signed on for the lead role in the CBS drama pilot “Cal Fire,” Variety has learned.It was previously reported that Thieriot co-wrote the story for the series, which is inspired by his life growing up in northern California. He will also serve as an executive producer.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBoat Rocker Studios and Shamier Anderson and Stephan James’ Bay Mills Studios are teaming to co-produce a limited series about the life of Jean-Michel Basquiat.James is attached to star in the untitled series, which would be set in 1980s New York City. It will showcase the rise of Basquiat, from an obscure graffiti artist to a Neo-expressionist painter of rockstar status. It will also explore Basquiat’s close friendship with Andy Warhol and his ultimate demise.“We’re grateful to be working with Shamier, Stephan, and the entire Bay Mills Studios team to tell the story of a visionary artist whose profound cultural influence only continues to grow with time,” said Steve Lescroart, president of scripted for Boat Rocker Studios.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMichael Chiklis is set to star in the first episode of the upcoming Fox crime anthology series “Accused.”The series is based on the BBC crime anthology of the same name. Each episode opens in a courtroom on the accused, with the audience knowing nothing about their crime or how they ended up on trial.Chiklis will play Dr.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJulie Plec and Amy Chozick’s “The Girls on the Bus” is on the move again, this time to HBO Max.The streamer has given the drama series a straight-to-series order. It was most recently set up at The CW for development, having moved to the broadcaster from Netflix. Netflix had originally given the show a series order back in 2019, but it was previously reported that they had dropped the show after the pandemic pushed back the start of production.“The Girls on the Bus” is inspired by a chapter in Chozick’s book “Chasing Hillary.” The show is described as a comedic character-driven drama that chronicles four female journalists who follow every move of a parade of flawed presidential candidates, while finding friendship, love, and scandal along the way.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMost of the “Teen Wolf” main cast is reuniting for the previously announced Paramount Plus film revival.Variety exclusively reported that the film was in the works in September 2021. “Teen Wolf” creator Jeff Davis will write and executive produce the film. The returning cast includes: Tyler Posey as Scott McCall, Holland Roden as Lydia Martin, Shelley Hennig as Malia Tate, Crystal Reed as Allison Argent, Orny Adams as Coach Bobby Finstock, Linden Ashby as Sheriff Noah Stilinski, JR Bourne as Chris Argent, Seth Gilliam as Dr.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterParamount Plus is mining even more Nickelodeon content to fill out its content slate.The streamer announced a slew of new projects that will be produced by Nickelodeon and Nickelodeon Animation as part of the ViacomCBS investor day presentation on Feb. 15.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterA “Sonic the Hedgehog” series about Knuckles is in the works at Paramount Plus.The announcement was made as part of the ViacomCBS (now Paramount) investor day presentation.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterPeacock has given a straight-to-series order to the true crime series “A Friend of the Family,” which tells the story of the multiple kidnappings of Jan Broberg.Anna Paquin, Jake Lacy, Colin Hanks, and Lio Tipton will all star in the series, which hails from “The Act” co-creator Nick Antosca. The show was originally announced as being in development back in May 2020.“A Friend of the Family” is based on the true story of the Broberg family, whose daughter Jan was kidnapped multiple times over a period of years by a charismatic, obsessed family “friend.” The Brobergs — devoted to their faith, family, and community — were utterly unprepared for the sophisticated tactics their neighbor used to exploit their vulnerabilities, drive them apart, and turn their daughter against them.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterABC has ordered a drama pilot from Kay Oyegun.In the untitled one-hour series, five therapists in Philadelphia find unique ways to solve problems in their patients’ lives while grappling with their own. Ellen Roman, the owner of the practice and a brilliant therapist, has her life shockingly turned upside down when she begins working with a sociopathic patient who may hold the key to the disappearance of her sister five years earlier.Oyegun will serve as the writer and executive producer on the pilot.

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.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCBS has ordered a pilot for a reboot of the drama series “Early Edition,” Variety has learned.The original series starred Kyle Chandler as a man who magically received tomorrow’s edition of the Chicago Sun-Times today, delivered to his door each morning by a mysterious ginger tabby cat. His knowledge of the future then gave him the chance to change it for the better.In the rebooted version, an ambitious but uncompromising journalist starts receiving tomorrow’s newspaper today.

Niecy Nash is taking the lead for a potential Rookie spinoff.The actress will be introduced as Simone Clark in two episodes of for a potential standalone series on ABC, the network announced Tuesday. Her multi-episode guest appearance on the police procedural is meant to serve as a potential table-setter for an untitled spinoff that would air during the 2022-23 television season, if ABC were to greenlight it to series.Clark is described as «a force of nature, the living embodiment of a dream deferred — and the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy,» per the network's description.In Nash's debut episode on, Officer John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and the Los Angeles division of the FBI enlist the help of FBI trainee Clark when one of her former students is suspected of terrorism following an explosion at a local power station.“I’m so excited to guest star on  and bring Simone Clark to life! She is a spirited and spicy fish out of water,” Nash said in a statement.

EXCLUSIVE: ABC is looking to recruit another Rookie. The network is exploring a spinoff of its popular police procedural starring Nathan Fillon with another bonafide TV star, Niecy Nash, and a new setting, the FBI. The potential new series for next season will be introduced in a two-episode arc of the current fourth season of The Rookie. It will serve as a backdoor pilot for the yet-untitled project, which comes from The Rookie creator/executive producer Alexi Hawley, executive producer Mark Gordon and studios eOne and ABC Signature.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Reacher” has snagged an early Season 2 renewal at Amazon.The action thriller series debuted on the streamer just three days ago, on Feb. 4. It is based on the Jack Reacher novel series by Lee Child.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCBS has given out a pilot order to a drama about convicts that fight wildfires in California.Titled “Cal Fire,” the potential series focuses on young convict Bode Donovan. Seeking redemption and a shortened sentence, he joins a firefighting program that returns him to his small Northern California hometown, where he and other inmates work alongside elite firefighters to extinguish massive blazes across the region.“SEAL Team” star Max Thieriot co-wrote the story for the pilot and serves as an executive producer. The show is inspired by his experiences growing in Northern California fire country.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe new “Goosebumps” TV series has been picked up by Disney Plus, Variety has learned exclusively.The new series version of the beloved R.L. Stine books was first reported as being in the works in April 2020. Disney Plus has given the show a 10-episode order.The series follows a group of five high schoolers who unleash supernatural forces upon their town and must all work together – thanks to and in spite of their friendships, rivalries, and pasts with each other – in order to save it, learning much about their own parents’ teenage secrets in the process.Nick Stoller and Rob Letterman serve as writers and executive producers on the show, with Stoller executive producing via Stoller Global Solutions.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe new “Orphan Black” series in the works at AMC has found its writer.Variety has learned exclusively that Anna Fishko is onboard to write and executive produce the potential new iteration of the series, which was first reported as being in the works back in 2019. A writers’ room for the project is now open, though exact plot details remain under wraps.It is known, however, that the project is not a reboot of the original show, but rather a new story set in the same world.