TAGGED AS: casting, Drama, HBO Max
This week brings big news for Game of Thrones fans, J.J. Abrams’ bank account, American Horror Story fans, and more. Read on for more of the week’s biggest TV stories.
(Photo by HBO)
HBO? More like HBD: Here Be Dragons. (Pause for groan.) Sorry about that, but there’s some exciting dragon-related happenings at HBO. The network is planning another Game of Thrones prequel series, and this one will focus on the downfall of House Targaryen in the age where dragons ruled Westeros. According to Entertainment Weekly, the network is close to ordering a pilot for the potential new series, which would follow the Dance of the Dragons, a.k.a. the Targaryen civil war around 200 years before the events of GoT that marked the beginning of the end for the powerful family.
GoT author George R.R. Martin will executive produce the project, which should draw plenty of inspiration from the subject matter of his recently published history of House Targaryen, Fire and Blood. It’s the same topic that GoT writer Bryan Cogman previously tackled for his prequel series, which was passed on by HBO. The new version of the story was written by Colony’s Ryan Condal.
This potential new series is not connected to the other potential Game of Thrones prequel, which wrapped filming earlier this year.
American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy debuted the title sequence for the upcoming ninth season of the FX drama. The retro-inspired clip for AHS: 1984 was created by Murphy’s longtime collaborator Kyle Cooper, along with a newcomer: Corey Vega, whom Murphy hired after seeing the fan video Vega posted on Twitter after the season’s announcement.
“I liked it so much, I decided to bring him on board to work together with Kyle as the evolved the concept into something major,” Murphy said in an Instagram post featuring the credits.
(Photo by Kristin Callahan/Everett Collection)
The latest super-producer to get a major payday is J.J. Abrams, who just signed a huge new deal with WarnerMedia that will cover television, film, video games, and digital content from his production company Bad Robot. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the deal could be worth anywhere from $250 million to $500 million and gives WarnerMedia exclusive rights to the new projects Abrams and his company, which is also led by his wife, Katie McGrath, produce. (It also makes exceptions for Abrams’ previous commitments, including Star Wars.)
“These creatures were here before us. And if we’re not careful, they’ll be here after.” pic.twitter.com/RYXDSbrOQ0
— Colin Trevorrow (@colintrevorrow) September 10, 2019
A brand new short film set in the Jurassic World universe will debut on FX on Sunday, Sept. 15. The blockbuster’s director, Colin Trevorrow, announced Battle at Big Rock on Twitter this week. Andre Holland, Natalie Martinez, Melody Hurd, and Pierson Salvador star in the short, which was written by Trevorrow and his Jurassic World 3 co-writer Emily Carmichael.
? Season 45 Alert ?
Welcome to the cast, @chloefineman, @Shanemgillis, and @bowenyang!
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) September 12, 2019
NBC has hired three new comedians as featured players in Saturday Night Live‘s upcoming 45th season: Bowen Yang, a SNL writer known for his lip sync videos, Chloe Fineman, an impressionist known for her celebrity impressions on Instagram, and Shane McGillis, who came under scrutiny hours after the cast announcement when an 11-month-old video featuring the comedian making racist comments on a podcast surfaced online.
PSA: The second season of YouTube’s Cobra Kai is currently available to stream for free even without a Premium subscription: The first two episodes are now available to watch with ads, and new episodes will drop in front of the paywall weekly. You can watch the season 2 premiere above; the season, like the first, is Certified Fresh.
? #THESTAND CASTING NEWS?
We have found our Mother. @WhoopiGoldberg will portray Mother Abagail, a prophet who receives visions from God and guides survivors of the superflu.
More info here: https://t.co/dSrcIAvaA2 pic.twitter.com/gaXKdpmfIQ
— CBS All Access (@CBSAllAccess) September 11, 2019
Whoopi Goldberg has landed the role of Mother Abigail in CBS All Access’ The Stand series. She’ll be joined in the Stephen King adaptation by Jovan Adepo, playing young musician Larry Underwood, Owen Teague as Harold Lauder, Brad William Henke as Tom Cullen, and Daniel Sunjata as Cobb.
Hailee Steinfeld is reportedly “circling” the role of Kate Bishop in the Disney+ series Hawkeye with Jeremy Renner.
Season 2 of The Umbrella Academy has cast Ritu Arya, Yusuf Gatewood, and Marin Ireland. Humans’ Arya will play Lila, “a chameleon who can be as brilliant or as clinically insane as the situation requires. Unpredictable, mischievous and sarcastic, Lila’s gifted with a twisted sense of humor.” Good Omens and The Originals vet Gatewood is Raymond, “a born leader with the smarts, gravitas, and the confidence to never have to prove it to anyone. He is warm, dedicated and has the innate ability to disarm you with a look. A devoted husband, he’s the kind of guy everyone wants to know.” Homeland’s Ireland will play Sissy, “a fearless, no-nonsense Texas mom who married young for all the wrong reasons. Still in her prime, she’s eager to rediscover what life and love has to offer.”
Uzo Aduba will star in the upcoming fourth season of FX’s Fargo. Craig T. Nelson is playing coach once again. Not Coach, but rather a little league baseball coach in the upcoming third season of Young Sheldon. Dale Ballard butts heads with George Sr. when Missy wants to join the team. Amanda Peet and Christian Slater will star in season 2 of Bravo’s true crime series Dirty John.
Gather your girlfriends for this epic TV reunion. Jill Marie Jones, @RealPersiaWhite and @TheRealGolden47 join @TraceeEllisRoss on a must-see episode of #blackish! pic.twitter.com/NCGbuWox6O
— black-ish (@blackishabc) September 12, 2019
Liv Tyler will star opposite Rob Lowe in the upcoming spinoff 9-1-1 Lone Star. John Lithgow has signed on to star alongside Jeff Bridges in FX’s pilot The Old Man, as a former FBI agent called back into service by the FBI after suffering a terrible personal loss. He’s tasked with hunting down Bridges’ rogue CIA agent character, with whom he has a complicated past. The CW veteran Cassandra Jean Amell is joining season 2 of Roswell, New Mexico as Louise, an alien who seeks refuge in 1947 Roswell.
Speaking of The CW, John Wesley Shipp will return for the Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event, according to TVInsider.com. Also returning is Johnathon Schaech as Jonah Hex, per EW. Desperate Housewives’ Ricardo Chavira and The Purge’s Gabriel Chavarria have joined Netflix’s Selena series as the late singer’s father and brother, respectively, according to Deadline. John C. Reilly is replacing Michael Shannon in HBO’s pilot about the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers.
The CW is planning a Dark Shadows continuation series. Dark Shadows: Resurrections would follow the camp-tastic vampire Collins family in present-day Maine.
Upcoming streaming service HBO Max has ordered two unscripted series: Legendary, from a producer of Queer Eye, follows competing vogueing houses as they battle for the title (think Pose IRL, in 2019, on a reality competition); The Greatest Space follows interior designers traveling around the world and transforming various empty rooms into spectacular spaces.
Summer’s New York Times bestseller Fleishman Is In Trouble is being adapted into a limited series for FX, per Deadline. The novel follows a father whose estranged wife drops off their children one day and never returns to pick them up.
