‘This Is Us’ Star Chris Sullivan to Lead ABC Comedy Pilot ‘The Son-in-Law’

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHarrison Ford has signed on to star opposite Jason Segel in the Apple comedy series “Shrinking,” Variety has learned.The show was first announced in October 2021. Segel will write the series alongside “Ted Lasso” co-creator Bill Lawrence and “Ted Lasso” star, writer, and co-executive producer Brett Goldstein.“Shrinking” follows Jimmy (Segel), a grieving therapist who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNaomi Watts has signed on to star in the long-gestating second season of “Feud” at FX, Variety has confirmed with sources.The second season of the Ryan Murphy anthology series will be based on the book “Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era” by Laurence Leamer. Watts will play famed socialite Barbara “Babe” Paley.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBoth “The Rookie” and “The Good Doctor” have been renewed at ABC.For “The Rookie,” that means the show will go to a fifth season, while “The Good Doctor” will be back for a sixth. “The Rookie” currently airs Sundays on ABC with “The Good Doctor” airing on Mondays.The renewals come as ABC is also prepping a potential spinoff of “The Rookie” starring Niecy Nash. The spinoff will be introduced in a two-episode backdoor pilot during “The Rookie’s” fourth season.“The Rookie” stars Nathan Fillion as John Nolan, Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper, Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez, Richard T.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterElla Purnell has been cast in a lead role of the upcoming “Fallout” TV series at Amazon, Variety has learned.Like the video games on which it is based, the “Fallout” series is set in a world where the future envisioned by Americans in the late 1940s explodes upon itself through a nuclear war in 2077.Purnell joins previously announced cast member Walton Goggins in the series. As with Goggins, Amazon had no comment on the character Purnell would be playing.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterGina Rodriguez is set for the lead role of the ABC comedy pilot “Not Dead Yet,” Variety has learned.In the single-cam pilot, Nell Stevens (Rodriguez) is broke, newly single and feeling old. Nell – a self-described disaster – works to restart the life and career she left behind 10 years ago.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple is adapting the Blake Crouch novel “Dark Matter” as a series with Joel Edgerton set to star, Variety has learned.The nine-episode series will follow Jason Dessen (Edgerton), a physicist, professor, and family man who – one night while walking home on the streets of Chicago – is abducted into an alternate version of his life. Wonder quickly turns to nightmare when he tries to return to his reality amid the multiverse of lives he could have lived.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterVictoria Pedretti has signed on for a lead role in the upcoming Hulu drama series “Saint X,” Variety has learned.The series is based on the Alexis Schaitkin novel of the same name. It is described as a psychological drama, which is told via multiple timelines and perspectives.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming live-action “One Piece” series at Netflix has cast Peter Gadiot in the role of Shanks.Gadiot joins previously announced cast members: Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D Luffy, Mackenyu as Rorona Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp, Taz Skylar as Sanji, Morgan Davies as Koby, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino as Alvida, Aidan Scott as Helmeppo, Jeff Ward as Buggy, McKinley Belcher III as Arlong, and Vincent Regan as Garp.Based on the iconic Japanese manga of the same name, “One Piece” centers on Monkey D. Luffy (Godoy), a young man who embarks on a journey to become king of the pirates and find the celebrated “One Piece” treasure.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterA live-action version of “The Loud House” has been picked up to series at Paramount Plus.The announcement was made as part of Nickelodeon’s upfronts presentation on Thursday. Production will begin on the new series in June with the premiere set for later this year.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMckenna Grace has joined the upcoming Peacock limited series “A Friend of the Family.”Grace joins previously announced cast members stars  Anna Paquin, Jake Lacy, Colin Hanks, and Lio Tipton. The series 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.”Grace will star as Jan Broberg in the later years. Jan is the oldest daughter of Bob (Hanks) and Mary Ann Broberg (Paquin) and leads a happy, traditional life in an idyllic American city.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJulia Garner has signed a first-look television deal with Tomorrow Studios, Variety has learned.Under the deal, Garner and her producing partner, Rowan Riley, will develop scripted series via their Alma Margo production company for Tomorrow Studios, an ITV partnership.“Above all else, Alma Margo is looking for bold and original content, so we thought it only natural to partner with a studio that also fits that description,” said Garner and Riley. “We are incredibly proud to be working with Tomorrow Studios who exhibit every quality that we’re looking for in a partner: intelligence, drive, experience and passion.”Garner is perhaps best known for her role in the critically-acclaimed Netflix series “Ozark,” which will release the second half of its fourth and final season in April.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterABC has ordered a new pilot for the drama about the National Parks Investigative Services Branch, Variety has learned.The broadcaster commissioned a pilot for the project last year as well with a different creative team, though it ultimately did not go forward. The original team included Kevin Costner as co-writer and executive producer, but Costner is no longer attached to the project in any capacity.Instead, Rashad Raisani is writing and executive producing the pilot, which is described as a propulsive, soapy procedural set in the stunning world of National Parks.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAlice Eve is set to headline the “Early Edition” reboot pilot at CBS, Variety has confirmed.In the rebooted version, ambitious but uncompromising journalist Beth (Eve) starts receiving tomorrow’s newspaper today. She then finds herself in the complicated business of changing the news instead of reporting it.Beth is further described as the executive producer of KSEA, a local Seattle TV news station.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Squid Game” star Hoyeon has been cast in Alfonso Cuarón’s upcoming Apple series “Disclaimer.”Hoyeon will star in the series alongside previously announced cast members Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Kodi Smit-McPhee.Based on the novel of the same name by Renee Knight, “Disclaimer” will star Blanchett as Catherine Ravenscroft, a successful and respected television documentary journalist whose work has been built on revealing the concealed transgressions of long-respected institutions. When an intriguing novel written by a widower (Kline) appears on her bedside table, she is horrified to realize she is a key character in a story that she had hoped was long buried in the past.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAlexandra Daddario has been cast in the lead role of the “Mayfair Witches” series at AMC, Variety has learned exclusively.Based on Anne Rice’s “The Lives of the Mayfair Witches” novels, the show was picked up to series at AMC in December 2021. Daddario will star as Rowan, a brilliant doctor who grapples with her fate as the heir to a family of powerful witches.“Alexandra is a singular talent who has lit up the screen in everything she’s been in and we couldn’t be happier to have her on board leading the cast of a series that will be a centerpiece of an expanding Anne Rice universe on AMC+ and AMC,” said Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” has cast Paul Wesley in the iconic role of James T. Kirk for the Paramount Plus show’s upcoming second season.“Strange New Worlds” is due to premiere on Paramount Plus on May 5. It was renewed for a second season back in January, with that season already in production.The show follows the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike prior to Kirk becoming captain of the Enterprise.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHulu has ordered the comedy pilot “Bammas” written by and starring Opeyemi Olagbaju and Biniam Bizuneh, Variety has learned.The show follows a pair of young Ethiopian- and Nigerian-American best friends as they struggle to overcome their loser reputations in a magical realist version of Washington DC.Olagbaju and Bizuneh serve as executive producers in addition to starring and writing. Danny Chun (“The Office” “The Simpsons”), who mentored the pair at the Sundance Lab in 2019, will serve as showrunner and executive producer.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSPOILER ALERT: Do not keep reading if you have not finished Season 5 of “The Last Kingdom.”“The Last Kingdom” is coming to an end.Although a two-hour movie followup is currently filming, Season 5 of the Netflix historical drama wraps up the story of its central character, Uhtred of Bebbanburg, played by Alexander Dreymon, in a very satisfying way — as the sins of Uhtred’s past collide head on with his present and the future of England.Uhtred finds himself in an unusual place at the beginning of the season — unable to be with Aethelflaed (Millie Brady), the woman he loves and the Lady of Merica, he presides over a Mercian border town at her request. But strange things are in the air, as Brida (Emily Cox) is determined to have her vengeance once and for all and the enemies of the House of Wessex are gathering.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Quantum Leap” sequel series pilot at NBC has rounded out its main cast with three new additions.Caitlin Bassett, Nanrisa Lee, and Mason Alexander Park have all joined the cast of the project. They join previously announced cast members Raymond Lee and Ernie Hudson.In the followup to the original “Quantum Leap,” the new version takes place 30 years after Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterErnie Hudson has joined the “Quantum Leap” sequel series pilot at NBC, Variety has confirmed.Hudson joins previously announced series lead Raymond Lee in the pilot. Serving as a sequel series to the original “Quantum Leap,” the new version takes place 30 years after Dr.