TV Talk Podcast: A Plethora Of Riches Glitters Among Limited Series Hopefuls For This Year’s Emmys

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy, is set to helm a Star Wars TV series for Disney+.Following rumours of his involvement in the franchise back in February, a report on Vanity Fair has confirmed Watts is working on a Star Wars show under the working title Grammar Rodeo – a reference to an episode of The Simpsons.According to the report, the show takes places “during the post-Return Of The Jedi reconstruction that follows the fall of the Empire” – the same time period as The Mandalorian.While the plot is being kept under wraps, the show is described as a “galactic version of classic Amblin coming-of-age adventure films of the ‘80s” with a casting notice calling for four children around 11 to 12 years old.Watts is an executive producer on the show alongside his Spider-Man: Homecoming writing partner, Chris Ford. A release date has yet to be announced.The series joins an expansive slate of Star Wars TV shows, including Obi-Wan Kenobi later this month, Andor this summer, and The Mandalorian season three due “late 2022 or early 2023”.Other shows in the works include Ahsoka starring Rosario Dawson and The Acolyte, set roughly 100 years before Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

Vanity Fair, the future of “Star Wars” will be deeply rooted in new television series on Disney+, beginning with the premiere of “Obi-Wan Kenobi” on May 27, followed by the Diego Luna-led “Andor” series, “The Mandalorian” Season 3 and Rosario Dawson’s solo “Ahsoka” series. But there’s an additional series in the works, shrouded in mystery, led by Watts.There’s no official title or synopsis just yet, but the working title is reportedly “Grammar Rodeo,” which is a reference to an episode of “The Simpsons.” (In the episode, Bart and some of his classmates steal a car and run away for a week, but that’s the only hint toward a plot so far).

1996s “Irma Vep” saw Olivier Assayas contribute to a rich tapestry of meta cinema stretching back to Federico Fellini’s 1963 masterpiece “8½.” Itself drawing upon François Truffaut’s metafictional “Day For Night” as a direct source, the film followed René Vidal, an over-the-hill film director whose recent output has descended into alienating pseudo-intellectualism, and his attempt to remake the classic French film serial, “Les Vampires.” Introducing veteran of Hong Kong cinema, Maggie Cheung, to a western audience, playing herself as an actress cast in the fictional director’s film as Irma (keeping up?), Assayas’ film contemplated the nature of the creative process, using its verité aesthetic to capture the mania of a film set while also providing a broader meditation on the state of modern French cinema.

On this week’s edition of the Deadline Podcast series, TV Talk,  Deadline’s television critic Dominic Patten and Awards columnist Pete Hammond take on network broadcast tv’s Emmy dilemna. Although the Television Academy heavily relies on fees from the four broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) who share the annual Primetime Emmy telecast on a rotating wheel, it is each of those networks that benefit the least from Emmy attention in the major marquee categories of  Drama, Comedy, Limited Series, and other categories which almost exclusively cater to pay cable networks like HBO or streamers like Netflix, Apple, Hulu, Amazon and others who have simply – and successfully – crashed and taken over bragging rights for TV’s most valued award which when the wheel with rights to telecast the Emmys was originally created, the Primetime Emmys was dominated by nominees and winners from those TV networks. My how times have changed.

Jennifer Lopez is taking on a new project!

Joe Otterson TV ReporterSkydance Television, Concord Originals, and Jennifer Lopez’s Nuyorican Productions are teaming to develop a limited series based on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella.”Rachel Shukert will write the adaptation in addition to serving as executive producer and showrunner. Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, and Benny Medina will executive produce for Nuyorican.

There’s a limited series based on Rodgers & Hammerstein’s  in the works from Jennifer Lopez‘s Nuyorican Productions, Skydance Television, and Concord Originals. The project is an original take on the musical to be written by Rachel Shukert (GLOW, The Baby-Sitters Club) who will also executive produce and serve as showrunner.

Star Wars spin-off series Ahsoka has officially started filming.The forthcoming Disney+ series will tell the standalone story of Ahsoka Tano, a character first introduced on screen in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.Lucasfilm confirmed the news with a new image from the set, featuring a director’s chair and a cowboy hat resting on it.Take a look at the tweet here:Ahsoka, an Original series, starts production today.

EXCLUSIVE: Even as their hit Emmy-winning comedy Barry makes its long awaited return, HBO is looking to stay in business with its star Henry Winkler as sources tell Deadline that HBO is developing the new limited series King Rex with Henry Winkler attached to star and his son, Max, directing the pilot. It would mark the first time the father-son duo have worked together in the business and both Winklers are also exec producing. Joining them as exec producers are Malcolm Spellman and Nichelle Tramble Spellman who will exec produce through their The 51 banner along with Eli Dansky (the Spellman’s have a first look deal with HBO). Scott Brown and Megan Creydt of Texas Monthly (who also has first look deal with HBO) will also exec produce with Trey Selman writing the pilot and co-exec producing.

Clayton Davis Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official awards predictions for the upcoming Oscars and Emmys ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis; Awards Circuit Column, a weekly analysis dissecting the trends and contenders by television editor Michael Schneider (for Emmys) and Davis (for Oscars); Awards Circuit Podcast, a weekly interview series with talent and an expert roundtable discussion; and Awards Circuit Video analyzes various categories and contenders by Variety's leading awards pundits. Variety's unmatched coverage gives its readership unbeatable exposure in print and online, as well as provide inside reports on all the contenders in this year's awards season races.

Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard), Boyd Holbrook (The Premise), Adelaide Clemens (The Great Gatsby), Vondie Curtis Hall (Harriet), Marin Ireland (Y: The Last Man), Norbert Leo Butz (Bloodline), Victor Williams (The Good Lord Bird) and Vivian Olyphant are set as leads opposite Timothy Olyphant in FX’s Justified: City Primeval, the limited series inspired by Elmore Leonard’s City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit. Production begins this week in Chicago.

The state of Netflix has become the subject of endless media speculation and investor worry as their value on Wall Street started plummeting dramatically late last month.  The streamer has even floated the once verboten (for them) idea of an ad-supported version to help stem the bleeding, and all of this seemingly is affecting the public and industry perceptions of the steaming behemoth.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterEd O’Neill is set to play Donald Sterling in the upcoming FX limited series “The Sterling Affairs,” Variety has learned.The show was picked up to series at FX back in April. It is based on the ESPN 30 for 30 podcast of the same name. O’Neill joins previously announced stars Laurence Fishburne and Jacki Weaver.The six-episode series tells the behind the scenes story of Doc Rivers (Fishburne) and the Los Angeles Clippers’ quest to bring a championship to one of the historically worst franchises in all of sports during the impending downfall of the team’s owner, Donald Sterling (O’Neill), whose notoriously racist behavior is brought to light amid the power struggle between his wife of 60+ years, Shelly Sterling (Weaver), and his mistress, V.

Ed O’Neill is set to star opposite Jacki Weaver and Laurence Fishburne in The Sterling Affairs. The Modern Family alum will play the title role in FX’s six-episode limited series about the downfall of Los Angeles Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling amid the team’s drive to win a championship under coach Doc Rivers.

EXCLUSIVE: Aisha Tyler (Fear the Walking Dead, Archer) has joined the cast of the Apple limited series The Last Thing He Told Me in a leading role.

Drew Barrymore is at a crossroads.No, not figuratively; in her life and career, the actor-turned-director-turned-talk-show-host has never been more confident in her path. But literally speaking, she’s a bit stuck.On a Tuesday evening in April, the Variety Power of Women honoree arrived at a Chelsea photo studio, only to find a broken elevator. It’s posing a problem because Barrymore hurt her ankle, making the trek up five flights of stairs more perilous than it needs to be.The gaggle of publicists and assistants who surround the actor debate what to do: Reschedule the shoot? Carry her upstairs? Never mind.

“We’re telling a story about New York, which if you take a 10% cross section of New York, you are going to get all people from all walks of life, from all faiths, and we needed to do that justice,” DMZ showrunner Roberto Patino says of the decision to look at the periphery of the acclaimed comic for its March 17 launching HBO Max adaptation.

Is losing the new winning? If you’re an actress trying to earn a nomination in the Emmys’ Lead Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie category, that may have to be your mantra. There are only five nominee slots and 10 performances and no one would be surprised to make the cut.

Take your bets on who will be joining Michael Keaton in the Lead Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie category. The “Dopesick” actor has already won the SAG Award equivalent of this category, but with the Emmys, the competition is much more intense.