Vince McMahon Steroid Trial Scripted Series Taps Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster to Showrun

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLee Daniels’ long-gestating Sammy Davis Jr. biographical series has been ordered at Hulu, with Elijah Kelley set to play the lead role.The untitled series has received an eight-episode order at the streamer.

EXCLUSIVE: After collaborating  on the film Greyhound — with  sequel in the works — and the just wrapped WWII series Masters of the Air, Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman have made multi-year exclusive television overall deal with Apple TV+.

. Patrick Stewart's wife, Sunny Ozell, makes a cameo guest appearance on the upcoming episode, which drops Thursday on Paramount+, and only ET has the exclusive first look and inside story on how it all came to be.In the episode, Ozell plays a singer at a bar Alison Pill's Agnes Jurati wanders into. The singer-songwriter performs one of her original songs off her 2020 album,  in the guest spot.«My appearance as a bar-band singer in Patrick's show was entirely his idea, and when he first proposed it to me, I have to admit I was a bit reluctant. I like that our professional lives don't overlap, even though we're both performers,» Ozell tells ET exclusively.

Clayton Davis New Zealand-born actor, director and producer Russell Crowe had one of the most incredible runs in the late 1990s and early 2000s, quickly becoming a huge star in Hollywood. With a career that started opposite George Takei in “Blood Oath” (1990), he’s delivered a treasure trove of unforgettable performances over the last three decades.After making a name for himself in Australia with nominations and wins at the country’s equivalent to the Oscars for “The Crossing” (1990), “Proof” (1991) and “Romper Stomper” (1992), his debut in American cinemas began opposite Denzel Washington in Brett Leonard’s sci-fi flick “Virtuosity” (1995) as the virtual reality entity turned serial killer android SID.

EXCLUSIVE: Peacock is developing a 1960s crime saga set in Hawaii from The Eternals writers Kaz and Ryan Firpo, Fast & Furious director Justin Lin and The Walking Dead and Minari star Steven Yeun.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterFX has ordered a limited series based on the ESPN 30 for 30 podcast “The Sterling Affairs” with Laurence Fishburne and Jacki Weaver attached to star, Variety has learned.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, 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. Stiviano.Gina Welch serve as writer and executive producer on the series.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeSupermodel Bella Hadid has joined the cast of Hulu’s “Ramy” as a recurring guest star in Season 3. Details have not yet been revealed on Hadid’s character or her relationship to the show’s other characters just yet.“Ramy” reps the first credited scripted role for Hadid.

NBCUniversal is developing a fictional series based on the beind-the-scenes goings on in wrestling culture with producers from the WWE. It’s titled “Pinned.”The show is being described as an “adrenalized upstairs-downstairs soap that gives a behind-the-scenes look at a fictional wrestling promotion and the unforgettable characters that populate it,” per NBCU.

Vince McMahon is getting in the ring for another scripted wrestling series.

J. Kim Murphy NBCUniversal has announced that it is developing “Pinned,” a new dramatic scripted series about the world of wrestling.“Pinned” comes from Universal Content Productions and World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. The production is billed as a dramatic series with a logline touting “an adrenalized upstairs-downstairs soap that gives a behind-the-scenes look at a fictional wrestling promotion and the unforgettable characters that populate it.”“Pinned” will offer a look into the world of wrestling culture, documenting the mayhem both within the locker room and the boardroom of wrestling organizations.Craig O’Neill serves as an executive producer on the series, alongside Tom Rinaldi.

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.

EXCLUSIVE: Eva Longoria is launching a new slate of podcasts—both scripted and unscripted—in collaboration with iHeartMedia‘s My Cultura Podcast Network.

“The United States of America Vs. Vince McMahon” has found its showrunners. Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster will co-showrun, write and executive produce the series from WWE and Blumhouse Television. The show was in development last year.

Emmy-nominated writers Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster (Transparent) have been tapped as co-showrunners for The United States of America Vs. Vince McMahon, a limited series in development by WWE and Blumhouse TV.

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 ReporterHendrix Yancey has been cast in a main role of the Peacock true crime series “A Friend of the Family.”She joins previously announced cast members Mckenna Grace, 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.”Yancey will play Jan Broberg in the early 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.

Megan Thee Stallion is in the works, it’s been reported.According to Variety, the forthcoming show is being produced by Time Studios alongside Megan’s management company, Roc Nation. There is currently no set platform for the programme.An official release states that the as-yet-untitled docu-series will “touch on how Megan overcame various personal hurdles to thrive in her professional career”, as well as highlighting the milestones she has reached so far.“We are thrilled to be able to work with Roc Nation to share Megan’s story with the world,” said Time Studios’ co-head of documentary, Loren Hammonds.“Millions of people are familiar with her as an entertainer, but this series will give her a chance to share her truth as never before.

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy nominated actor Cameron Britton and Mike Birbiglia have joined the cast of SF Studios’ A Man Called Otto, starring Tom Hanks. Marc Forster will direct with two-time Oscar nominee David Magee adapting the screenplay from Fredrik Backman’s comical 1# New York Times Bestseller A Man Called Ove – with the titular character being renamed to reflect the shift to an American setting. Britton and Birbiglia join a cast that already includes Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo are also on board