TV Talk

Guillermo Del Toro Assembles Team of Modern Horror Masters for Netflix Anthology Series Cabinet of Curiosities

The terrorizing dream team includes the people behind The Babadook and Mandy. Plus, Emma Corrin to star in steamy literary favorite, Bel-Air finds its new Fresh Prince, and more of the week's biggest TV and streaming news.

by | September 2, 2021 | Comments

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What’s more exciting to genre fans than a horror anthology series led by the great Guillermo del Toro? A horror anthology series led by GDT populated by some of the most exciting filmmakers in horror – and the best actors around – all handpicked by the man himself. That particular project leads a busy week in TV in streaming news, with Paramount+ making its claim for relevance with a Television Critics Association (TCA) presentation jam-packed with big reveals. For all that and more, read on!


TOP STORY

The Minds Behind Some of the Best Recent Horror Movies Join Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities Anthology Series at Netflix (Along with Some Top-Tier Acting Talent)

Guillermo Del Toro

(Photo by Margaret Malandruccolo)

Oscar winner Guillermo Del Toro has added an all-star cast for his upcoming Netflix horror anthology series Cabinet of Curiosities, with some equally impressive writers and directors also in the mix.

Netflix released some specific episode details for the series previously known as Guillermo del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight, and they include our favorite MIA Walking Dead star:

— Essie Davis (The Babadook), Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead), and Hannah Galway (Sex/Life) star in an episode written and directed by Jennifer Kent (The Babadook; The Nightingale), based on an original story by Del Toro

— Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham (Mythic Quest), Glynn Turman (Fargo), and Luke Roberts (Black Sails) will appear in an episode written by David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight; Batman Begins) and based on a short story by Michael Shea, and directed by David Prior (The Empty Man; AM1200)

— Tim Blake Nelson (Watchmen), Elpidia Carrillo (Predator), Demetrius Grosse (Fear The Walking Dead), and Sebastian Roché (The Man in the High Castle) star in an episode written by Regina Corrado (Deadwood; The Strain), based on an original story by Del Toro, and directed by Guillermo Navarro (Godfather of Harlem; Narcos)

The Babadook

(Photo by ©IFC Midnight)

— Crispin Glover (Back To The Future) and Ben Barnes (Shadow and Bone; The Punisher) star in an episode written by  Lee Patterson (Curve; The Colony), based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, and directed by Keith Thomas (Firestarter; The Vigil)

— Peter Weller (RoboCop) stars in an episode directed by Panos Cosmatos (Mandy), who also writes along with Aaron Stewart-Ahn

— Mika Watkins (Black Mirror) writes an episode, based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen; Lords of Dogtown; Twilight), with cast to be announced

— David Hewlett (The Shape of Water; Stargate: Atlantis) stars in an episode based on a short story by Henry Kuttner and written and directed by Vincenzo Natali (Hannibal)

— Haley Z. Boston (Brand New Cherry Flavor) serves as writer of an episode based on a short story by comic book author Emily Carroll and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night; Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon; The Bad Batch) with cast to be confirmed.


Mayor of Kingstown: Kyle Chandler Joins Paramount+’s Jeremy Renner Family Drama

The already impressive list of creatives on camera and behind the scenes on Paramount+’s upcoming family crime drama Mayor of Kingstown got just that much more impressive with the newly-revealed addition of Kyle Chandler. Friday Night Lights Emmy-winner and Bloodline alum Chandler will play Mitch McLusky, the older brother of Jeremy Renner’s Mike McLusky, the town mayor of Kingstown, Michigan, with a local economy and power structure that revolves around the town’s prison system. As the local fixer inside and outside the prisons, Mitch may actually have more power than Mike. The series, created by Oscar nominee and Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan and actor Hugh Dillon, also features Antoine Fuqua as an executive producer and director, Oscar-nominated Renner as an EP, and among the cast: Oscar- and Emmy-winner Dianne Wiest as the McClusky family mama, Taylor Handler as the youngest McClusky brother, The Wire and Game of Thrones alum Aidan Gillen, and Sons of Anarchy and Third Watch alum Michael Beach. Mayor of Kingstown premieres Nov. 14.


Plus, The Game Revival Cast Revealed and Kate Beckinsale Found Guilty

Wendy Raquel Robinson and Hosea Chanchez

(Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images for BET, Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

The above Chandler casting news was revealed at Paramount+’s Television Critics Academy presentation. Other big reveals from the new-kid-on-the-block streamer included…

— The streaming network announced the new half-hour, “genre-bending” series Guilty Party, starring Kate Beckinsale as a disgraced journalist who tries to use the case of a woman accused of murdering her husband to help her redeem her own career and reputation. The 10-episode series premieres Oct. 14.

— Paramount+’s revival of the 2006-15 BET and The CW dramedy The Game will premiere on Nov. 11. The reboot moves from San Diego to Las Vegas, and puts a modern spin on the examination of Black culture via pro football, starring Wendy Raquel Robinson (above left) as sports agent Tasha Mack, Hosea Chanchez  (above right) as football player Malik Wright, Adriyan Rae as Brittany Pitts, the daughter of original series characters Jason and Kelly Pitts, Vaughn as free agent player Jamison Fields, and Analisa Velez as Brittany’s best friend Raquel Navarro. Brittany Daniel and Coby Bell will make special appearances as Kelly and Jason Pitts, while Pooch Hall will also make special appearances as original series character Derwin Davis. New cast members and characters announced for the reboot include Tim Daly as billionaire team owner Col. Ulysses S. Thatcher and Toby Sandeman as Garret Evans, the league’s best player.

— And in the session of the animated Star Trek kids series Prodigy, star Kate Mulgrew said her Captain Janeway “has never left me, and I am thrilled to be back and to be introducing this to children.”

Here is the main title sequence for Star Trek: Prodigy, which premieres this fall, and also features the voice-work of John Noble and Jimmi Simpson. The series follows a group of six young aliens who try to make the world better with the help of a ship they commandeer, and the Starfleet teaching that come along with it.


NEW TRAILERS: Red Notice Pits Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds Against Super Art Thief Gal Gadot … and She’s Winning

Red Notice is an adventure movie in which the world’s top FBI profiler (Dwayne Johnson) is drawn into a heist with two of the world’s most wanted art thieves (Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds), who are also rivals. Premieres Nov. 12 (Netflix)

More trailers and teasers released this week:
• You Season 3 finds Joe Goldberg living his best domesticated life with wife Love and baby… well, watch the trailer for the name. But as much as he once loved Love, he’s now got his eyes on some new women … and the people who might stand between them. Stars Penn Badgley, Victoria Pedretti, Saffron Burrows, Shalita Grant, Scott Speedman, Mackenzie Astin, Scott Michael Foster, and Dylan Arnold. Premieres Oct. 15 (Netflix)
• The Problem with Jon Stewart is a new bi-weekly current affairs series featuring the return of the former Daily Show host and his special spin on the world (and in this trailer, his face). Premieres Sept. 30 (Apple TV+)
• CSI: Vegas is the limited-series sequel to CBS’ original drama, featuring the return of William Petersen and Jorja Fox to the Sin City action, along with co-stars Wallace Langham and Paul Guilfoyle. New cast members include Paula Newsome, Mel Rodriguez, Matt Lauria, and Mandeep Dhillon. Premieres Oct. 6 (CBS)
• It’s Doom Patrol Season 3, and things get a lot more complicated for the gang, as Madame Rouge (Michelle Gomez) arrives in a time machine with a very specific mission … if only she could remember it. Stars Brendan Fraser, Matt Bomer, April Bowlby, Diane Guerrero, and Timothy Dalton. Premieres Sept. 23 (HBO Max)
• Untold: Breaking Point is the final entry in the five-part docuseries from Netflix, this one focusing on one-time top-ranked American tennis star Mardy Fish, who dealt with life- and career-changing mental health issues while climbing the tennis ranks. Premieres Sept. 7 (Netflix)
• All Creatures Great and Small Season 2 finds the Yorkshire Dales crew returning for more heartwarming and humorous stories based on James Herriot’s bestselling novels. Stars Samuel West, Nicholas Ralph, Anna Madeley, Rachel Shenton, and Callum Woodhouse. Premieres 2022 (PBS)
• The Show is a behind-the-scenes documentary about the massive amount of preparations that were necessary to pull off the Super Bowl LV Halftime Show with The Weeknd. Premieres Sept. 24 (Showtime)
• The Circle, Season 3, is the four-week event/social media experiment with a new group of eight contestants looking for clout and cash. Mostly cash. Michelle Buteau returns as host. Premieres Sept. 8 (Netflix)
• The Sinner Season 4 launches a new mystery with Bill Pullman’s Harry, who is supposedly retired, but gets drawn into another case when he goes to Maine on vacay. Also stars Jessica Hecht and Frances Fisher. Premieres Oct. 13 (USA)

For all the latest TV and streaming trailers subscribe to the Rotten Tomatoes TV YouTube channel.


CASTING: The Crown Emmy Nominee Emma Corrin Will Star in Netflix Adaptation of Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Anna Corrin in The Crown

(Photo by Des Willie / Netflix)

The Crown star Emma Corrin, who’s up for a Lead Actress/Drama Emmy for her performance as Princess Diana in Season 4 of The Crown, will next play the lead in Netflix’s adaptation of the steamy D.H. Lawrence novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover, about a married woman who has an affair with an employee at her estate. Jack O’Connell (Seberg) and Matthew Duckett will co-star.

Newcomer Jabari Banks has been cast in Will Smith’s role in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air dramatic reboot Bel-Air for Peacock. Smith delivered the news to the younger actor in a Zoom call. (THR)

Poison Ivy is on the scene: Jane the Virgin star Bridget Regan is joining the cast of The CW’s Batwoman for Season 3, playing Pamela Isley, a.k.a. Poison Ivy, the scientist who had intentions to change the world until her colleague experimented on her and led her to turn to villainy.

The Resident star Emily VanCamp will not return to the medical drama for Season 5. Since her nurse practitioner Nic had a baby with hubby Conrad (Matt Czuchry) in the Season 4 finale, and the trailer for Season 5 shows Conrad holding the baby alone when cops come to his door, there could be a very sad season premiere on the way on Sept. 21.

Peacock’s Queer as Folk remake has added four regulars to its cast: Fin Argus (The Gifted) as a cocky, but inexperienced high school student; Candace Grace (Acts of Crime) as a non-binary professor trying to get used to being a new parent; Johnny Sibilly (Hacks and Pose) as a successful lawyer whose life is not as together as it appears; and Devin Way (Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19) as a charming commitment-phobe who stays in New Orleans after tragedy rocks his community. They join previously announced Blue Sky star Jesse  James  Keitel, who will play a trans, semi-reformed party girl who is struggling to grow up.

Katy Mixon

(Photo by Raymond Liu/ABC via Getty Images)

The Thing About Pam, the true-crime limited series on NBC, has cast Katy Mixon (above) as Betsy Faria, the woman whose husband was falsely accused of killing her, while Judy Greer has been cast as the prosecutor who tried Russ Faria twice. Renee Zellweger plays Pam Hupp, Betsy’s one-time friend who was up to no good instead. (Deadline)

The Girl from Plainville, Hulu’s upcoming limited series about Michelle Carter (Elle Fanning), the young woman convicted of involuntary manslaughter for encouraging her mentally ill boyfriend in text messages to end his own life, has added to its cast: Bloodline star Norbert Leo Butz will play the father of Conrad Roy III (Colton Roy), the young man who died by suicide, Deadline reports. Meanwhile, Cara Buono (Stranger Things) and Kai Lennox (Falling Water) have been cast as Carter’s parents. (Deadline)

Grey’s Anatomy alum Jesse Williams has joined the cast of the Hulu drama pilot Olga Dies Dreaming, based on the upcoming book of the same name by author Xóchitl Gonzalez. Aubrey Plaza and Ramón Rodríguez are already set to star as siblings Olga and Pedro, she a wedding planner for wealthy Manhattanites and him a congressman in Brooklyn, who, despite their successful public lives, are still dealing with the aftermath of their mother abandoning them when they were children. Williams will play Matteo, a charming love interest for Olga, while CSI: Miami and Sons of Anarchy alum Wanda De Jesús has signed on to play Olga and Pedro’s absent mom. (Deadline)

Dave Annable (Brothers & Sisters) has joined the Season 2 cast of The CW’s Walker, where he’ll play a rival of Cordell (Jared Padalecki) and family. (Deadline)

Netflix’s Addams Family spin-off Wednesday, the coming-of-age comedy revolving around the Addams family’s daughter, has added several new cast members, including Thora Birch (The Walking Dead) as Wednesday’s dorm mother at Nevermore Academy; Riki Lindhome (Knives Out) as Wednesday’s therapist; Jamie McShane (Bloodline) as the local sheriff who has a beef with Gomez; Hunter Doohan (Your Honor) as Tyler, a townie who befriends Wednesday; Georgie Farmer (Treadstone) as shy Nevermore student Ajax; Moosa Mostafa (The Last Bus) as quirky Nevermore student Eugene; Emma Myers (Girl in the Basement) as Enid, Wednesday’s super-upbeat roommate; Naomi J. Ogawa (Skylin3s) as Yoko, one of the cool kids; Joy Sunday (Dear White People) as Bianca, one of Nevermore’s most popular students; and Percy Hynes White (The Gifted), as Xavier, an artistic student whose father is a celebrity psychic. Jenna Ortega was previously announced as Wednesday, while Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán will play Morticia and Gomez, her parents, Tim Burton will direct, and Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar will write the series. (Deadline)

J. August Richards

(Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for SCAD aTVfest 2020)

Peacock has announced the cast for its supernatural YA drama, Vampire Academy, based on the bestselling book series by author Richelle Mead, and adapted by Vampire Diaries creator Julie Plec: J. August Richards (Angel, above) leads the ensemble as Victor Dashkov, a noble vampire with a heart of gold who’s highly regarded for his role as advisor and political strategist. Other regulars include Sisi Stringer (Mortal Kombat) as outspoken Rose Hathaway, a vampire-human hybrid known as a Dhampir; Daniela Nieves (Sex Appeal) as vampire princess Lissa Dragomir; Kieron Moore (Sex Education) as Dimitri Belikov, a bodyguard; André Dae Kim (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) as Christian Ozera, a smart and thoughtful social pariah because of sins committed by his parents; Anita-Joy Uwajeh (King Lear) as Tatiana Vogel, a political underdog who shouldn’t be underestimated; Mia Mckenna-Bruce (The Dumping Ground) as ruthless social climber Mia Karp; Rhian Blundell (Doctor Who: The Dread of Night) as Meredith, a smart strategist who is considered a valuable asset; Jonetta Kaiser (Breakwater) as quiet outsider Sonya Karp; and Andrew Liner (Grown-ish) as chraming, popular Mason Ashford, Rose’s rival who’s also in love with her.

30 Rock star Jane Krakowski has joined the cast of NBC’s upcoming special Annie Live!, where she’ll play Lily St. Regis, partner of Rooster Hannigan. Rooster will be played by Tituss Burgess, Krakowski’s co-star on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. The production will air on Dec. 2.

David Makes Man star Daniel Augustin will replace Brandon Micheal Hall in Hulu’s How I Met Your Mother spin-oof, How I Met Your Father, because of a scheduling conflict for Hall, Deadline reports.


PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT: Eddie Murphy and Jonah Hill Co-Starring in Kenya Barris Comedy at Netflix

Jonah Hill and Eddie Murphy

(Photo by Brian Dowling/Getty Images)

Eddie Murphy is reteaming with Kenya Barris – who was a writer on Coming 2 America – on an untitled comedy movie that will star Murphy and Jonah Hill, with a script written by Barris and Hill. THR.com reports the film will be “an incisive examination of modern love and family dynamics and how clashing cultures, societal expectations and generational differences shape and affect relationships,” with Murphy and Hill on opposite sides of many issues. (THR)

Oscar-winners Kevin Costner and Barry Levinson are teaming up for the limited series One Giant Leap, about the 1969 moon landing. Stephen Kronish (24) will write and serve as showrunner on the series, which will focus on the personality conflicts within the flight team that nearly derailed the mission before it could launch. Costner will be an executive producer on the project, while Levinson will direct. (Deadline)

Steve Urkel returns! Did I Do That to the Holidays? A Steve Urkel Story is an upcoming animated holiday musical special that brings the iconic Family Matters character (voiced by actor Jaleel White) back to the tube as part of WarnerMedia Kids & Family’s new ACME Night, Sunday night lineups on Cartoon Network and HBO Max that will center on family programming. Holiday comedy special Merry Little Batman, a new Looney Tunes Cartoons movie, a Harry Potter competition series, and Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai will also be part of ACME Night, which launches on Cartoon Network on Sept. 19 and HBO Max next year.

The CW has officially ordered Nancy Drew spinoff Tom Swift to series. Swift, a billionaire inventor who is Black and gay (and played by Tian Richards), was introduced to viewers at the end of Nancy Drew’s second season. In the spinoff, he’ll be off on a quest to find his missing father, while solving mysteries and fighting off an illuminati-type group that wants to stop him.

NBC

(Photo by NBC)

Manifest fans’ save-the-show campaign worked: one final season of their missing-plane drama, dropped by NBC, has been picked up by Netflix for a super-sized, 20-episode fourth season, with leads Josh Dallas and Melissa Roxburgh set to return, and other cast members still negotiating.

Reservation Dogs co-creator Sterlin Harjo and writer-director Erica Tremblay are teaming with House of Cards creator Beau Willimon as executive producer and Paramount+ to develop Yellow Bird, a series adaptation of author Sierra Crane Murdoch’s Pulitzer Prize-finalist book Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder and a Woman’s Search for Justice in Indian Country. It’s the true story of Lissa Yellowbird, who, newly released from jail and trying to repair her relationships with family, became obsessed with solving the mystery of what happened to a missing oil worker on her reservation in North Dakota. (Deadline)

American Vandals creators Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda are developing a Paramount+ sports mockumentary called Players, about a fictitious esports league team that’s trying to win its first championship, if only its 17-year-old and 27-year-old video-game–playing stars can put their egos aside. (Variety)

It’s been an unnecessarily long, messy process, but Mike Richards is not only out as Jeopardy! host, he’s been fired as the series’ executive producer. (L.A. Times)

Disney+ is planning a series about the life and career of fashion legend Karl Lagerfeld and his rise to the top of the global fashion industry. Titled Kaiser Karl, the series will be shot in France. (THR)

Because you’ve only seen every episode 37 times, mark your calendars for Oct. 1, when Seinfeld debuts on Netflix, which has global streaming rights to the classic sitcom.

More classic sitcom news: with the success of the interactive Friends Experience in New York, Chicago will soon play host to The Office Experience, also an interactive exhibit with two stories, 17 rooms of set recreations, and the chance for fans to put themselves in some of the show’s best scenes. The exhibition opens in Chicago on Oct. 15. (THR)

Umbrella Academy star Elliot Page has signed a first-look deal to develop scripted and unscripted programming for NBCUniversal’s UCP studio.


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