Two ‘Sherlock Holmes’ Spinoff Shows in the Works at HBO Max From Team Downey

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHBO is developing a half-hour comedy series based on the Dave Eggers novel “The Every,” Variety has learned.In the show, world’s largest tech company merges with the planet’s dominant e-commerce site, creating the richest and most dangerous – and, oddly enough, the most beloved – monopoly ever known: The Every.Eggers will serve as an executive producer on the project. Rachel Axler will adapt the book for the small screen and executive produce, with David Miner of 3 Arts also set to executive produce.“In this equally terrifying and hilarious cautionary tale, Dave Eggers shows us the increasing cost of the frictionless life that technology enables,” said Amy Gravitt, executive vice president of HBO Programming.

Matt Damon is hard at work on his upcoming movie Oppenheimer!

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Succession” breakout Nicholas Braun and Chris Buongiorno are developing a series together at HBO, Variety has learned exclusively.The half-hour series is titled “One for the Road.” It is described as candid and intimate story of a talented but dysfunctional band struggling to survive the rapidly changing landscape of independent music in the early 2000s. Braun and Buongiorno will co-write the series in addition to serving as executive producers.Braun has received widespread acclaim for his role on the hit HBO series “Succession,” on which he has played Cousin Greg in each of the show’s three seasons to date.

EXCLUSIVE:  Olivia Thirlby is joining the star-studded cast of Christopher Nolan’s feature film Oppenheimer. 

Robert Downey Jr. is a master at transforming for his movie roles and he proved it once again when he was spotted filming in New York on Tuesday, April 12. The 57-year-old thespian looked unrecognizable sporting a full head of white hair as he worked on a scene with Cillian Murphy for Christipher Nolan’s new historical drama Oppenheimer.

Robert Downey, Jr. sports a full head of white hair on the set of his new movie, Oppenheimer, in New York on Tuesday afternoon (April 12).

Chris Hemsworth has been packing on the muscle during his arm day workouts over the last two years in order to be convincingly jacked in the forthcoming Hulk Hogan biopic, as well as the respective Thor and Extraction sequels he's starring in. And he's found a novel way to show off just how hard he's been training his brachioradialis: with a "trippy" new forearm tattoo. The actor just shared some shots of his latest inking session with Dillon Forte, a tattoo artist based in Austin, Texas, and revealed the intricate new design on his right forearm.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDana Calvo will serve as showrunner and executive producer on the upcoming ABC mystery drama “Avalon.”The show hails from co-creators David E. Kelley and Michael Connelly, with the show based on a short story that Connelly wrote. It was ordered straight-to-series at ABC in February.The series takes place in the main city of Avalon on Catalina Island, where LA Sheriff Department Detective Nicole “Nic” Searcy heads up a small office.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe action series “The Ledger” starring Xolo Maridueña has been set up at HBO Max for development, Variety has learned exclusively.The half-hour series was first reported as being shopped to networks and streamers back in October. It follows the trials and travels of Gabriel (Maridueña), a young man who sets out into the world to right the wrongs of the deadly man who trained him.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterA new live-action series about Casper the Friendly Ghost is in development at Peacock, Variety has learned.The potential series hails from writer and executive producer Kai Yu Wu, with UCP and DreamWorks Animation set to co-produce.The series is described as a horror/adventure show that reimagines the origin of Casper in a coming-of-age story that explores what it means to be alive. When a new family arrives in the small town of Eternal Falls, Casper finds himself entangled in a mystery uncovering dark secrets that have been buried for over 100 years.Wu has previously written for shows such as “Hannibal” at NBC as well as “The Flash” at CW and “Deception” at ABC.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHBO Max is developing a series version of “You Brought Me the Ocean,” the YA graphic novel about the origins of DC’s Aqualad, Variety has learned from sources.The one-hour dramedy is based on characters from DC and the graphic novel by Alex Sanchez and Jul Maroh. The series will explore the life of Jackson “Jake” Hyde, a gay teenager living in New Mexico. All his life, he has had a strange attraction to the water and yearns to escape his desert surroundings for the ocean.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” has been renewed for Season 2 at HBO, Variety has learned.The news comes after the series has aired just five episodes of its 10-episode first season.“It’s been a thrill to bring ‘Winning Time’ to life with Adam McKay, Max Borenstein, our phenomenal producing team, and this incredible cast,” said Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO Programming. “This series not only tells the riveting story of the Lakers’ rise, but is also a look back at a transformative era in basketball, celebrity, and the city of Los Angeles.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple has greenlit the pyschological thriller series “Constellations” with Noomi Rapace and Jonathan Banks attached to star, Variety has learned.In “Constellation,” Rapace stars as Jo, a woman who returns to Earth after a disaster in space only to discover that key pieces of her life seem to be missing. The series is further described as a space adventure, an exploration of the dark edges of human psychology, and one woman’s desperate quest to expose the truth about the hidden history of space travel and for her to recover all that she has lost.Apple has given the show a 10 episode order.

Matthew Broderick wasn't sure what to expect when he signed up to work with his wife, Sarah Jessica Parker, who he has been married to since 1997, on a two person Broadway show, and the grueling hours that came with it.MORE: Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick celebrate 23rd wedding anniversary in the sweetest wayThe two first started with their show, Plaza Suite, back in 2020, but production was put to a halt due to the pandemic just a few weeks after they had started. He, like many, thought they would go on break for just a few weeks.Plaza Suite is a comedy play originally written by Neil Simon in 1969, and it follows a wife and husband staying in the same suite they stayed in for their honeymoon 23 years earlier.WATCH: SJP takes viewers behind the scenes on And Just Like That...MORE: Sarah Jessica Parker's $15m New York townhouse is better than Carrie Bradshaw'sNow it's back, and they perform a whopping eight shows a week.The Ferris Bueller's Day Off actor stopped by Live! With Kelly and Ryan to chat with Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest about the Broadway show, and what it's really like working with one's wife, particularly under such an intense schedule.Ryan hilariously started the conversation by saying: "You have a co-star who's a real up and comer, do you have good chemistry?" The couple looked dazzling during the premiere's red carpetKelly then didn't hesitate to ask him what everyone wanted to know: "How do you get away from each other?"MORE: Sarah Jessica Parker asks fans for help following surprising backstage momentMORE: Matthew Broderick responds to Robert Downey Jr's request to reconnect with SJPMatthew's answer was surprising, and even he wasn't expecting it.

After his stint as Marvel‘s “Iron Man,” Robert Downey Jr. has been moving into the role of producer.

HBO Max and Warner Bros. are looking to build a Sherlock Holmes film-TV universe in the mold of the TV series offshoots of Suicide Squad and The Batman on the WarnerMedia streamer.

EXCLUSIVE: Robert Downey Jr. has teamed with bestselling environmental author Thomas Kostigen to write Cool Food: Erasing Your Carbon Footprint One Bite at a Time. The book has been acquired by Blackstone Publishing’s president/CEO Josh Stanton. The actor/producer and Kostigen have written a book they say provides a smart, accessible, and game-changing roadmap to making climate-solving food choices. The deal marks the first major non-fiction book from Downey Jr., best known for his iconic turns as Iron-Man and Sherlock Holmes and partnering with wife Susan Downey in their Team Downey production label. Downey Jr. leaned into nutrition since early in his Marvel run to prepare for the rigors of that role. While there has been a preoccupation in Hollywood in cutting down carbon footprints, doing it through a diet seems an innovative wrinkle.

EXCLUSIVE: Christopher Denham (Being the Ricardos) and Josh Zuckerman (The Offer) have signed on for roles in Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer for Universal Pictures, which is currently in production.