This week in TV news: Comic book-t0-TV development continues creating work, Oscars blunder still hasn’t quite blown over, Bill Paxton’s Training Day to honor him posthumously, and more.
The Marvel Universe is expanding, with cast additions to both Fox’s untitled X-Men TV pilot from Bryan Singer and Matt Nix and ABC’s upcoming Inhumans. True Blood‘s Stephen Moyer joins the untitled X-Men pilot as Reed, a lawyer and father whose family joins up with the band of mutant superheros. Sean Teale (Incorporated), Jamie Chung (Gotham), and Blair Redford (Switched at Birth) have also been cast in the project. On Inhumans, Hell on Wheels star Anson Mount will star as Black Bolt with Ballers’ Serinda Swan as Medusa (queen of the Inhumans and wife of Black Bolt), and Ken Leung (Night Shift) as royal cousin and adviser Karnak. Not to be outdone, DC Comics reports that Batman universe archvillain Ra’s al Ghul will be played on Fox’s Gotham by Game of Thrones alum Alexander Siddig (pictured).
It was the most memorable Oscars in recent history and not for the right reasons — starting with including a photo of a still very much alive person to the in memoriam segment of the 89th Annual Academy Awards and topping it off with the now-infamous Best Picture gaffe, in which presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced La La Land the winner due to an envelope-swapping debacle, but Moonlight was actually the winner. The event’s ratings really dug in the knife, coming in at a nine-year low.
And the envelope snafu is not quite over yet. While Moonlight and La La Land’s teams have been nothing but gracious about the mix-up, the PwC (formerly PricewaterhouseCoopers) accountant responsible, Brian Cullinan, and his colleague Martha Ruiz have been barred from working on the Oscars again, although the firm itself may still work for the Academy in the future. The accounting firm has also been forced to hire bodyguards for Ruiz and Cullinan (pictured above with actor Ryan Gosling), because they have received death threats and people have congregated outside their homes. Meanwhile Beatty’s sister Shirley MacLaine, who was a presenter earlier in the evening), told USA Today she’s “still processing the horror” of what happened.
When Bill Paxton died unexpected on Saturday, he left behind the current series Training Day on CBS. Now the series, which he had completed shooting by the time of his death, will find a way to honor him by including a dedication in this week’s episode, Variety reports.
Paxton was among several notable deaths this week: People’s Court Judge Wapner died at the age of 97. And the actor who played Mag the Mighty on Game of Thrones — and was one of the world’s tallest men — Neil Fingleton also died. He was 36.
Game of Thrones stars Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner have been added to the list of big TV talent attending Austin’s annual South by Southwest Conference. The event kicks off next week, running March 10-19, and the list of TV luminaries participating also includes: Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss; Legion creator Noah Hawley; Preacher executive producers Seth Rogen, Sam Catlin, and Garth Ennis; VEEP writer-EP David Mandel, EP and star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and cast members Tony Hale, Anna Chlumsky, Reid Scott, Matt Walsh, Gary Cole, Tim Simons and Sam Richardson; WWE superstar John Cena; film and TV director, writer, and producer Lee Daniels; Transparent creator Jill Soloway; and many more.
As if the ending of the Oscars wasn’t shocking enough, Nashville stunned fans with the death of its star Rayna (Connie Britton) in its most recent episode. It was a week of needing extra tissues in primetime, as This Is Us also tackled the death of Randall’s father, William. For more of the character losses that made us cry, check out the most heartbreaking deaths of the last 20 years.
It’s been delayed several times, but Star Trek Discovery will launch on CBS All Access late this summer or in early fall, according to CBS head Les Moonves. “It’s important to get it right. Star Trek is the family jewels. We’re not going to rush it in. There’s lots of postproduction, but I’m very confident based on what I’ve seen so far,” Moonves told investors at a conference this week.
Doctor Who — the last season with Peter Capaldi as the Time Lord — returns to BBC America April 15.
BBC America also released a trailer for the final season of Ripper Street, which stars Matthew MacFadyen and returns — along with Joseph Mawle (Game of Thrones) as mad, bad, and dangerous to know Det. Insp. Jedediah Shine — March 8.
Get ready for the lift: New poster art from ABC’s Dirty Dancing — a musical reimagining of the 1987 film — hit the web this week. The image features stars Abigail Breslin and Colt Prattes.
