Will Forte to Star in Drama Series in the Works at Peacock From ‘Fleabag’ Producers

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNBC has given a series order to the drama “Ordinary Joe.”The show was originally picked up to pilot at NBC last pilot season, but was held until this year due to the production shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.The series explores the three parallel lives of the show’s main character (James Wolk) after he makes a pivotal choice at a crossroads in his life.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterChristina Ochoa has been cast in a major role of the ABC drama pilot “Promised Land,” Variety has learned.The show is described as an epic, generation-spanning drama about two Latinx families vying for wealth and power in California’s Sonoma Valley.Ochoa will star as Veronica Sandoval, the eldest daughter of the Sandoval family, a wealthy vineyard-owning family in the Sonoma Valley.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHulu has ordered the animated comedy “Koala Man” to series.The series hails creator and executive producer Michael Cusack, with Benji Samit and Dan Hernandez onboard as executive producers and showrunners. “Rick and Morty” and “Solar Opposites” co-creator Justin Roiland will also executive produce along with Princess Pictures and Bento Box.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterFX has ordered a half-hour pilot from Christopher Storer, Variety has learned.“The Bear,” as the show is called, is about a young chef who returns to Chicago to run the family restaurant. Storer will write, direct, and executive produce the pilot.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The L Word: Generation Q” at Showtime has added Vanessa Williams in a recurring role for Season 2, Variety has learned exclusively.The new iteration of the series follows the intermingled lives of Bette Porter (Jennifer Beals), Shane McCutcheon (Katherine Moennig) and Alice Pieszecki (Leisha Hailey) from the original “The L Word” drama series that aired from 2004 to 2009.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterShowtime is developing a limited series about the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterVera Farmiga has been cast in a lead role of the Apple drama series “Five Days at Memorial,” Variety has learned.The series is based on the Sheri Fink novel of the same name. It chronicles the first five days in a New Orleans, LA, hospital after Hurricane Katrina made landfall.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMatthew McConaughey is attached to star in a series adaptation of the John Grisham novel “A Time for Mercy,” which is currently in development at HBO, Variety has learned from sources.The book, published in 2020, is a followup to Grisham’s books “A Time to Kill” and “Sycamore Row,” all of which center on the character of attorney Jake Brigance. McConaughey previously starred as Brigance in the film adaptation of “A Time to Kill” in 1996.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple has ordered a half-hour comedy series starring Maya Rudolph that hails from Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard.The series is about Molly (Rudolph), a woman whose seemingly perfect life is upended after her husband leaves her with nothing but 87 billion dollars.Yang and Hubbard created the series and will serve as executive producers. Rudolph will executive produce in addition to starring under her Animal Picture banner.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLena Headey will star in and executive produce the Spectrum-AMC Networks series “Beacon 23,” which hails from Zak Penn, Variety has learned.The series is described as a sci-fi psychological thriller. It follows two people whose fates become entangled after they find themselves trapped together at the end of the known universe.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterShowtime has ordered a drama series about Zulu king Shaka, with Antoine Fuqua onboard to direct and executive produce, Variety has learned.“Shaka: King of the Zulu Nation” hails from writers and executive producers Olu Odebunmi and Tolu Awosika.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterTom Hiddleston will star alongside Claire Danes in the series adaptation of the Sarah Perry novel “The Essex Serpent” at Apple, Variety has learned.The one-hour drama series follows newly widowed Cora (Danes) who, having being released from an abusive marriage, relocates from Victorian London to the small village of Aldwinter in Essex, intrigued by a local superstition that a mythical creature known as the Essex Serpent has returned to the area.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“One Night in Miami” star Kingsley Ben-Adir has been cast alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn in the Disney Plus Marvel series “Secret Invasion,” Variety has learned.Exact character details for Ben-Adir’s character are being kept under wraps, but according to sources he will be playing a main villain.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” is officially in production, Paramount Plus announced Friday.The announcement came in the form a video featuring series leads Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, and Ethan Peck, as well as newly added series regulars Babs Olusanmokun, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Jess Bush, and Melissa Navia.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLucy Hale has signed on for a starring role in the AMC-Alibi series “Ragdoll,” Variety has learned exclusively.In the six-episode show, which was ordered to series back in February, six people have been murdered, dismembered, and sewn into the shape of one grotesque body — nicknamed the “Ragdoll.” Assigned to the shocking case are DS Nathan Wolf, recently reinstated to the London Met; his best friend and boss, DI Emily Baxter; and the unit’s new recruit, DC Lake Edmunds

Joe Otterson TV ReporterA series adaptation of the Victoria Schwab novel “City of Ghosts” is in the works at ABC Signature and Searchlight Television, Variety has learned exclusively.David Lowery and Sehaj Sethi are attached to write the adaptation, with Lowery also onboard to direct. Schwab will executive produce along with with Sailor Bear’s Toby Halbrooks and James M.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNatalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o will star in a series adaptation of the Laura Lipman novel “Lady in the Lake,” which has been ordered straight-to-series at Apple.The series will be co-written by Alma Har’el and Dre Ryan, with Har’el writing the pilot. Endeavor Content is the studio.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe TV adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s “Wild Card” book series is moving from Hulu to Peacock.The project was originally set up at Hulu in 2018.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJosh Holloway is set to star in the HBO Max series “Duster,” which hails from co-writers LaToya Morgan and J.J. Abrams, Variety has learned from sources.Set in the 1970’s Southwest, “Duster” explores the life of a getaway driver for a growing crime syndicate.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDominique Fishback has signed on to co-star with Samuel L. Jackson in the Apple drama series “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey,” Variety has learned.In addition, Ramin Bahrani has come onboard to direct and executive produce the limited series, which is based on the novel of the same name by Walter Mosley.Jackson stars as Grey, a 91 year old man forgotten by his family, by his friends, by even himself.