Tony Romo, Chace Crawford to Develop Pro Football Drama Series at Showtime

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming “Dark Winds” series at AMC has cast Deanna Allison in a series regular role, Variety has confirmed.The series is based on the Leaphorn & Chee book series by Tony Hillerman. It follows Navajo police officer Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) as he investigates the murder of a young Navajo woman and begins to uncover ominous, dark forces at work in a 1970’s ‘reservation’ world. Season 1 will consist of six episodes.

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 ReporterMelissa Benoist could soon be returning to the Berlanti-verse.Variety has confirmed with sources that Benoist is in talks to star in the series “Girls on the Bus” at HBO Max, which is executive produced by Greg Berlanti. Berlanti previously executive produced The CW series “Supergirl,” which starred Benoist in the title role.Reps for HBO Max and Warner Bros. Television declined to comment.It was announced on Thursday that “Girls on the Bus” has received a straight-to-series order at HBO Max after previously having been set up at The CW and Netflix.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Fallout” TV series at Amazon has cast Walton Goggins in a lead role, 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.Amazon had no comment on the character Goggins will play in the series. According to sources, he will play a character based on the ghouls from the games.

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 ReporterKeri Russell has been cast in the lead role of the upcoming Netflix series “The Diplomat.”The series was ordered at the streamer in January. In the series, in the midst of an international crisis, a career diplomat (Russell) lands in a high-profile job she’s unsuited for, with tectonic implications for her marriage and her political future.Debora Cahn created the series and also serves as executive producer and showrunner.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Billions” has been renewed for Season 7 at Showtime, Variety has learned exclusively. Season 6 of the series debuted on Jan. 23, with new episodes airing every Sunday on Showtime.In season 6 , the dust of season five clears to reveal a world that has evolved.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe business anthology series “Super Pumped” has been renewed for Season 2 at Showtime.The news was announced as part of the ViacomCBS investor day presentation. Each season of the show will focus on a different major story from the world of business.

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 ReporterRay Stevenson has been cast in the upcoming Disney Plus “Star Wars” series “Ahsoka,” Variety has confirmed with sources.He joins previously announced series lead Rosario Dawson, who will star as Ahsoka Tano, as well as cast members Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Natasha Liu Bordizz, and Ivanna Sakhno.Details on who Stevenson will be playing in the series are being kept under wraps, but it is believed that he will be playing a villain in the series, thought not the main villain, Grand Admiral Thrawn.Reps for Lucasfilm did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment.This is not the first time Stevenson has been a part of the “Star Wars” universe. He previously lent his voice to the two animated series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars Rebels” as the character Gar Saxon, a Mandalorian commando.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming FX limited mystery series “The Retreat” has added 10 new cast members, Variety has learned.Clive Owen, Harris Dickinson, Alice Braga, Jermaine Fowler, Joan Chen, Edoardo Ballerini, Raul Esparza, Pegah Ferydoni, Ryan J. Haddad and Javed Khan have all joined the series.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCary Joji Fukunaga and chef René Redzepi are teaming for a new docuseries at Apple, Variety has learned exclusively.The series is produced by Film 45, Noma Projects, Parliament of Owls and Endeavor Content, with Endeavor serving as the studio. Narrated by Redzepi of the famed restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, the series is titled “Omnivore.”It will look at the world through the lens of food and explores how food binds and defines us, powers politics, shapes our beliefs, explains our past, and forecasts our future .Each episode will take viewers on a journey around the world, exploring the ingredients that have built societies, shaped spirituality, and forever altered the human story. The series was developed by Redzepi, Fukunaga, James Beard, and Matt Goulding, Xan Aranda serves as showrunner and executive producer.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming “American Born Chinese” series adaptation at Disney Plus has found its main cast, Variety has confirmed.Ben Wang, Michelle Yeoh, Yeo Yann Yann, Daniel Wu, Chin Han, Ke Huy Quan, Jim Liu, and Sydney Taylor will all star in the series, based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang.The series follows Jin Wang (Ben Wang), a teenager juggling his high school social life with his immigrant home life. When Jin meets a new foreign exchange student (Jim Liu) on the first day of school, their worlds collide as Jin becomes entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCatherine Zeta-Jones has been cast in the upcoming “National Treasure” series at Disney Plus, Variety has learned.Zeta-Jones joins previously announced cast members Lisette Alexis, Zuri Reed, Jordan Rodrigues, Antonio Cipriano, and Jake Austin Walker, and Lyndon Smith in the series continuation of the film franchise of the same name. Production is set to begin this month in Baton Rouge, LA.The series focuses on a young heroine, Jess (Alexis), a brilliant and resourceful DREAMer who embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to uncover the truth about her family’s mysterious past and save a lost Pan-American treasure.Zeta-Jones will portray Billie, described as a badass billionaire, black-market antiquities expert, and treasure hunter who lives by her own code.

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 Reporter“The L Word: Generation Q” has been renewed for Season 3 at Showtime, Variety has learned.The second season of the followup to “The L Word” aired between August and October 2021. Like the second season, the third will consist of 10 episodes.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDisney Branded Television has brought on Charlie Andrews to serve as executive vice president of live-action and alternative series, Variety has learned.Andrews joins Disney Branded TV from Fox Entertainment, where he most recently worked as head of drama development for the broadcaster before exiting in December. Andrews will begin in his new role on Feb.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBill Nighy has signed on to star in the upcoming Showtime series version of “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” Variety has learned.Nighy joins previously announced cast members Chiwetel Ejiofor, Naomie Harris, Jimmi Simpson, Rob Delaney, Sonya Cassidy, Joana Ribeiro, Annelle Olaleye, Kate Mulgrew and Clarke Peters in the series.Based on the Walter Tevis novel of the same name and the film that starred David Bowie, the series will follow a new alien character named Faraday (Ejiofor) who arrives on Earth at a turning point in human evolution and must confront his own past to determine our future.Nighy will play Thomas Newton, the main character of the novel and the character played by Bowie in the film version. Newton was the first alien to arrive on earth over 40 years ago. Alone and desperate, Newton summons Faraday to complete his original mission.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple has given a series order to the drama “Presumed Innocent” from David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams, and Dustin Thomason.Inspired by the Scott Turow novel of the same name, the courtroom thriller series tells the story of a horrific murder that upends the Chicago Prosecuting Attorneys’ office when one of its own is suspected of the crime.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNetflix has ordered the drama series “The Brothers Sun” from co-creators Brad Falchuk and Byron Wu, Variety has learned.The streamer has given the series an eight-episode order. It follows a Taipei gangster, Charles Sun, who’s settled into his life as a ruthless killer. But when his father is shot by a mysterious assassin, Charles must go to L.A.