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DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran announced DC’s new programming slate, which includes a Wonder Woman prequel series, Peacemaker spinoff, and more. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is making a Tomb Raider series at Amazon. Taylor Kitsch’s Netflix Western American Primeval builds its cast. King of the Hill to return with new episodes and the same cast to Hulu. Plus, trailers for Succession season 4, Party Down season 3, Kiefer Sutherland’s Rabbit Hole, a teaser for Invincible season 2, and more of the biggest news in TV and streaming from the past week.
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(Photo by Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection)
Three months after taking on the roles of studio heads at DC, Gunn and Safran have finally announced their plans for the DC Universe. As part of the first chapter in the studio’s gargantuan slate, which is to be titled “Gods & Monsters,” the duo presented five new live-action and animated TV series that will hit the small screen in the coming decade.
The programs mentioned during the presentation are the animated Creature Commandos; Waller, a live-action Peacemaker spinoff starring Amanda Waller; a revamped True Detective–like take on Greg Berlanti’s scrapped Lanterns series; Booster Gold, which follows a time-traveling pretend superhero; and a Wonder Woman prequel series called Paradise Lost.
Here are just a few of our plans. Up, up, and away! #DCStudios #DCU @DCComics pic.twitter.com/8XNDNLUEPq
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) January 31, 2023
To help lay out these creative blueprints, Gunn and Safran put together a formidable writers room of comic book aficionados which included Tom King (Mister Miracle, Batman), Drew Goddard (Daredevil, Cloverfield), Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight, The Umbrella Academy), and Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey).
Here’s a rundown of the television projects from DC’s Chapter One, “Gods & Monsters” slate:
Related: DC Studios Unveils New DC Universe with 10 Titles – Here’s What They Are
(Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images)
As part of her renewed overall development deal at Amazon, the Emmy-winning Fleabag alum is developing a new live-action television series inspired by the popular Tomb Raider video game franchise, THR reports.
Waller-Bridge will write the scripts for the project but has no plans to appear in the series, which centers on archeologist Lara Croft.
Previous adaptations of the video game include the Angelina Jolie-fronted films from 2001 and 2003, the 2007 Netflix anime Revisioned: Tomb Raider, which starred Minnie Driver, and the 2018 release led by Alicia Vikander and Walton Goggins. Agent Carter‘s Hayley Atwell will voice the iconic character in Netflix’s upcoming Tomb Raider anime, which will act as a sequel to Square Enix’s acclaimed 2018 video game release, Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
“This is not about getting back at dad,” Shiv says in the new trailer for Succession season 4. “But if it hurts him, it wouldn’t bother me.”
Yes, the Roy family chaos is about to continue, as the fallout from last season’s shocking betrayal continues.
The war between Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and patriarch and media mogul of Waystar Royco Logan Roy (Brian Cox) is just getting started, it seems. And things are going to get messy. Well, messier.
As a refresher, Logan threw everyone for a loop and sold off his kids shares to the company, putting the kibosh on their attempt at shutting him out of the company. What is this family, anyway, without all the secrets, lies, and backstabbing?
Succession season 4 premieres on Sunday, March 26 to HBO.
More trailers and teasers released this week:
• Party Down season 3 picks up 10 years after struggling actor Henry Pollard quit acting and gave up his day job working for Party Down Catering. A stroke of bad luck lands him back with his old team of Hollywood dreamers and misfits tending bar. Premieres February 24. (Starz)
• Bel-Air season 2 picks up with Will at a crossroads as a new figure comes into his life who challenges what he’s learned in Bel-Air and competes for control of his influence. Premieres February 23. (Peacock)
• True Lies is based on the blockbuster movie, and follows Harry Tasker (Steve Howey), a first-class international spy, and his wife, Helen (Ginger Gonzaga), a language professor bored with her daily routine, who makes the shocking discovery that her seemingly ordinary husband is leading an extraordinary double life. Premieres March 1. (CBS)
• Daisy Jones & the Six is about fictional band and based on a book inspired by Fleetwood Mac. Riley Keough stars as Daisy Jones with Sam Claflin co-starring as bandmate Billy Dunne. Premieres March 3. (Prime Video)
• Rabbit Hole stars Kiefer Sutherland as John Weir, a master of deception in the world of corporate espionage. When he’s framed for murder by powerful forces with the ability to influence and control populations, Weir must use all the resources at his disposal to stay alive and prove his innocence. Premieres March 26. (Paramount+)
• The Upshaws in season 3 continue to ride life’s ups and downs, including new jobs, bigger dreams, health struggles, and some major life surprises but still hang on with the love that comes with family. Premieres February 16. (Netflix)
• Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special follows Harley as she goes to obsessive lengths to ensure that her first Valentine’s Day with Ivy is the best ever. Bane’s efforts to impress an unexpected date go horribly awry. Meanwhile, after an unfortunate online dating encounter, Clayface engages in some self-love. Premieres February 9. (HBO Max)
• Invincible takes us to Burger Mart for a hot meal along with an update on Season 2. Sit in with Invincible and his good pal Allen the Alien as they enjoy a good burger and tease what’s to come in the new episodes. Premieres late 2023. (Prime Video)
• The Company You Keep follows con man Charlie and undercover CIA officer Emma who are romantically linked and, unknowingly, are on a collision course professionally. While Charlie ramps up the “family business” so he can get out for good, Emma’s closing in on the vengeful criminal who holds Charlie’s family debts in hand – forcing them to reckon with the lies they’ve told so they can save themselves and their families from disastrous consequences. Premieres February 19. (ABC)
• The Power is our world, but for one twist of nature. Suddenly, and without warning, teenage girls develop the power to electrocute people at will. The series features a cast of remarkable characters from London to Seattle, Nigeria to Eastern Europe, as the Power evolves from a tingle in teenagers’ collarbones to a complete reversal of the power balance of the world. Premieres March 31. (Prime Video)
• Bill Russell: Legend tells the remarkable life and legacy of an NBA superstar and civil rights icon. Premieres February 8. (Netflix)
• African Queens: Njinga is a new documentary series from Executive Producer Jada Pinkett Smith that explores the lives of prominent and iconic African Queens. The first season will cover the life of Njinga, the complex, captivating, and fearless 17th century warrior queen of Ndongo and Matamba, in modern day Angola. The nation’s first female ruler, Njinga earned a reputation for her blend of political and diplomatic skill with military prowess and became an icon of resistance. Premieres February 15. (Netflix)
• A Spy Among Friends dramatizes the true story of Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby, two British spies and lifelong friends. Philby was the most notorious British defector and Soviet double agent in history. This is a story of intimate duplicity, loyalty, trust, and treachery. Philby’s deeply personal betrayal, uncovered at the height of the Cold War, resulted in the gutting of British and American Intelligence. Premieres March 12. (MGM+)
• Planet Sex with Cara Delevingne follows Cara Delevingne on an immersive journey that puts her mind and body on the line in search of answers regarding human sexuality, its joys, mysteries, and constantly changing nature. Premieres February 14. (Hulu)
For all the latest TV and streaming trailers subscribe to the Rotten Tomatoes TV YouTube channel.
(Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
Netflix’s upcoming Taylor Kitsch-led Western series has added 11 actors to the cast. Jai Courtney, Kyle Bradley Davis, Dane DeHaan, Betty Gilpin, Nick Hargrove, Derek Hinkey, Saura Lightfoot Leon, Preston Mota, Shawnee Pourier, Joe Tippett, and Shea Whigham will all join Kitsch in the six-episode series. Courtney will play trapper and bounty hunter Virgil Cutter; Davis is Tilly, a violent trapper in Cutter’s employ; DeHaan will play Mormon settler Jacob Pratt; Gilpin is “extremely capable” Sara Rowell, a “woman with an air of composure and grace.” Hargrove is Cartrell, a young man that helps out around Fort Bridger; Hinkey will play Red Feather, the leader of a group of renegade Crow warriors known as the Wolf Clan; Leon is Abish, a Mormon woman challenged by her religious beliefs and that of being treated as property by her husband. Mota will play Sara’s sensitive and curious son, Devin; Pourier is the strong-willed Two Moons, who is determined to survive fleeing her village, at all costs; Tippett is James Wosley, a morally corrupt Mormon militia leader. And Whigham will play Jim Bridger, the grizzled realist who runs Fort Bridger, a popular stopping point for settlers and tappers.
Annette Bening (American Beauty) will star in Peacock’s upcoming limited drama series Apples Never Fall, in the role of “Joy Delaney, a former tennis coach whose family must re-examine their parents’ marriage and family history after she disappears. The limited series is based on Liane Moriarty’s (Big Little Lies) bestselling novel. Executive producers include Moriarty; Melanie Marnich (The OA), who also serves as showrunner; David Heyman (Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood); Albert Page (Love, Victor); Jillian Share (Pacific Rim); and Chris Sweeney (The Tourist), who will direct multiple episodes, including the first.
Nicole Kidman will headline and executive produce The Perfect Nanny at HBO. The thriller, which is based on Leïla Slimani’s novel “Chanson Douce (Lullaby),” will co-star PEN15 co-creator Maya Erskine, who is also slated to star in, write, and executive produce the project. The book follows an increasingly co-dependent relationship between a couple and the unexpectedly sinister nanny they end up hiring. (THR)
Gotham Knights has added real-life married couple Ethan Embry and Sunny Mabrey to the cast. The duo will play celebrity husband and wife Arthur and Crystal Brown in the series; Arthur Brown is the alter-ego of Batman villain Cluemaster, in the comics. (THR)
(Photo by CBS)
CBS has announced 18 new castaways for season 44 of the network’s Emmy-winning competition series, Survivor. Kicking off with a thrilling two-hour premiere on Wednesday, March 1 at 8 p.m., and taking place on the beautiful islands of Fiji, these motivated players must form a society and adapt to their physical and social surroundings, forcing them to decide what is more dangerous: the environment or navigating the complex social game and placing trust in their tribemates. Emmy-winning host Jeff Probst will once again return to guide these castaways to victory. Those competing this season come from diverse backgrounds who will bring fresh perspectives to this new era of the game. Head on over to the official announcement to find out more about the 18 players joining the series in 2023.
Are you ready to be DARING?🔥 Meet the 18 new castaways who have dared to give it their all to claim the Season 44 Sole #Survivor title. pic.twitter.com/iA2dVr1xov
— SURVIVOR (@survivorcbs) January 31, 2023
Starz’s upcoming drama series The Venery of Samantha Bird has added seven series regulars to the cast, opposite star, Katherine Langford. Finn Jones will play Jake Minot, Samantha’s former childhood sweetheart; Francesca Reale will play Ellie Bird, Samantha’s confident, intelligent and pleasantly outspoken youngest sister; Embeth Davidtz will play Carol Minot, Jake’s mother and an old family friend of the Birds; Brenda Strong will play Nan Bird, Sam’s mother; Adam Faison plays Nigel, a local New Hampshire-based podcaster, and close friend of Ellie Bird; Shalini Bathina plays Jake’s therapist, Dr. Priyanka Yalen; Tyrone Marshall Brown plays Gideon Yalen, Priyanka’s husband.
Michael Kelly will have a recurring role in Lioness, Taylor Sheridan’s upcoming espionage drama at Paramount+. He will play CIA Deputy Director Byron Westfield. (THR)
Kathy Bates is set to star in a new iteration of Matlock at CBS. She’ll play brilliant septuagenarian Madeline Matlock who returns to the workforce to help win cases and expose corruption. (Variety)
Michael Ealy has been added to the cast of Power Book II: Ghost for its recently picked up fourth season, ahead of the program’s season 3 premiere on March 17. Ealy will take on the role of rising NYPD officer, Detective Don Carter, who ditches his promising career after his wife is killed in a crossfire between rival drug gangs. Now, he fights drug-related violence as the leader of an elite drug task force. (THR)
Disney+’s live-action Percy Jackson and the Olympians has added Lance Reddick and Toby Stephens to its cast in guest star roles. Reddick will play the god Zeus and Stephen will play the god Poseidon. (Variety)
FX’s pilot for The Answers, which is based on the Catherine Lacey novel of the same name, has added Lucy Hale, Raul Esparza, Krys Marshall, Melanie Field, Pallavi Sharda, and Kineta Kunutu to the cast. (Variety)
Hulu’s The Other Black Girl has added Shakirah DeMesier, Langston Kerman, and Cassi Maddox as series regulars. The comedy is based on the book of the same name by author Zakiya Dalila Harris. (Variety)
Curb Your Enthusiasm has added Coda star Troy Kotsur as a guest star to season 12. The Oscar-winner will appear as himself as a member of Larry David’s golf club. (Variety)
Larry Wilmore will write, executive produce and star in ABC’s Lately, a new take on the late-night talk show formula that is being described as a behind-the-scenes look at the upstairs-downstairs dynamics of such a production. (Variety)
(Photo by 20th Television)
King of the Hill is making a comeback on Hulu. Original series creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels are behind the adult animated comedy’s return, along with executive producer Saladin Patterson who will also serve as showrunner. Judge will also pick up the mantle and lead the voice cast again as Hank Hill, alongside the return of original cast members Kathy Najimy (as Peggy Hill), Stephen Root (as Bill Dauterive), Pamela Adlon (as Bobby Hill), Johnny Hardwick (as Dale Gribble), and Lauren Tom (as Minh Souphanousinphone). (Variety)
An epic FBI crossover event is coming to CBS and Paramount+. The teams from series FBI, FBI: International, and FBI: Most Wanted will join forces in a three-hour global crossover event on Tuesday, April 4. The details on the high-stakes bicontinental case have yet to be revealed, but it promises to be high-stakes.
Curious beginnings indeed. Mighty Nein, from the brilliant minds behind Critical Role, is coming to @PrimeVideo.@Marisha_Ray @matthewmercer @VoiceOfOBrien @WillingBlam @LauraBaileyVO @executivegoth @samriegel pic.twitter.com/EPKwFjBa6b
— FanologyPV (@FANologyPV) January 25, 2023
Critical Role, the media company behind acclaimed animated series The Legend of Vox Machina, and Amazon Studios solidified their creative partnership with a multiyear exclusive overall television and first-look film deal. The first new program to come from the agreement is Mighty Nein – an animated series that follows a group of criminals and misfits who are tasked with preventing the kingdom from plunging into chaos when an arcane artifact capable of reshaping reality falls into the wrong hands.
Paramount+’s Frasier sequel series began production in front of a live studio audience in Los Angeles, with legendary television director and creator James Burrows helming the first two episodes. Kelsey Grammer reprises his role as Frasier Crane in the series which follows him as he returns to Boston. New challenges and new relationships await as he pursues an old dream or two to finally fulfill. Jack Cutmore-Scott also stars as Frasier’s son, Freddy; Nicholas Lyndhurst as Frasier’s old college buddy turned university professor, Alan; Toks Olagundoye as Alan’s colleague and head of the university psychology department, Olivia; Jess Salguerio as Freddy’s roommate, Eve; and Anders Keith as Frasier’s nephew, David.
Showtime will no longer be available as a standalone channel, according to the Paramount memos published by Deadline. Paramount Global announced plans to rebrand the premium cabler network as “Paramount+ with Showtime.” The move is part of a bigger strategy by the company to meld the two brands to encapsulate on future success in both the linear and streaming realms. This shift has led to the cancellation of underperforming shows Three Women, Let the Right One In, and American Gigolo.
Jerrod Carmichael will executive produce and star in a comedy documentary series for HBO. The program will center on the Emmy-winning comedian’s personal life and follow him through encounters with friends, family, and strangers, as he embarks on a quest for love, sex, and connection.
Greg Berlanti and Andy Serkis will produce the medical drama Wolf at NBC, which is inspired by the Oliver Sacks–penned books “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” and “An Anthropologist on Mars.” If picked up by the network, he series will follow a larger-than-life neurologist and his team as they explore the human mind, while also grappling with their own mental and physical health. (Variety)
Ryan Coogler and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson Questlove have new projects coming to Onyx Collective. Announced at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Onyx has acquired a yet-to-be-titled documentary about musician Sly Stone, which will be directed and executive produced by Questlove. Coogler will executive produce original scripted series Sheba, which will explore the first African queen’s rise to power. (Variety)
(Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AFI)
NBC will celebrate the life and legacy of icon Carol Burnett. Timed with her 90th birthday, the two-hour special Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love will feature an A-list lineup of musical performances and special guests who will come together to share their love of the comedy legend. Bernadette Peters, Billy Porter, Jane Lynch, Katy Perry, Kristin Chenoweth, and more will perform musical tributes and pay homage to Burnett with performances, including: “Old Friends,” dedicated to Carol’s 60-year friendship with Julie Andrews; “Only an Octave Apart,” which Carol sang alongside Beverly Sills in the 1976 television special Sills and Burnett at the Met; Carol’s memorable songs as Miss Hannigan from the hit film Annie; and a tribute to the classic theme song from The Carol Burnett Show, “I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together.” Special guests include Aileen Quinn, Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Bob Mackie, Cher, Ellen DeGeneres, Julie Andrews, Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Lily Tomlin, Marisa Tomei, Sofia Vergara, Steve Carell, Susan Lucci, Tracee Ellis Ross, Vicki Lawrence, among many more. The two-hour special will air Wednesday, April 26 at 8 p.m. on NBC and will also stream next day on Peacock.
