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Three new series ideas are being considered at HBO that would continue the world of Game of Thrones, Steven Yeun may return to TV for a series costarring Ali Wong, a trailer for new Idris Elba film Concrete Cowboy, and more TV and streaming news.
(Photo by HBO)
What do you get when you combine TV juggernaut Game Of Thrones with Star Wars– and MCU-like franchise aspirations? A bunch of giddy TV journalists.
The latest report has HBO considering three new spinoffs of the HBO series set in novelist George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire universe. The first is called 9 Voyages or Sea Snake, the second is Flea Bottom, and the last is 10,000 Ships, according to Deadline.
The leading idea among them is about a young Corlys Velaryon, whose ancestry dates back to old Valyria like the Targaryens. Velaryon was also known as The Sea Snake, which was also the name of the ship upon which he sailed nine voyages to Essos and became very wealthy. A series featuring his journeys would bring viewers to completely new and wondrous locations, some magical and mystical with people and creatures not seen in Game Of Thrones.
According to Martin’s writings, Corlys would later marry young Princess Rhaenys Targaryen and become embroiled in the Dance of Dragons period of civil war between the Targaryens, which is the subject of prequel House of the Dragon in production. Steve Toussaint has been cast as the older Lord Corlys Velaryon in House of the Dragon; franchise continuity, therefore, means the newer series in development creates a leading role for a young Black actor.
Martin and Bruno Heller (Rome) are said to be involved with the project.
Flea Bottom would be set in the poorest area of King’s Landing. It is the setting for Arya’s escapades after she flees the Red Keep in the first season of Game Of Thrones and the former home of King Robert Baratheon’s son Gendry and Ser Davos Seaworthy.
Series 10,000 Ships would reportedly follow the immigration to Dorne by Rhoynar warrior Princess Nymeria and her followers after their defeat by the Valyrians in Essos. The story is set 1,000 years before the events in Game of Thrones, and features a treacherous journey with many obstacles along the way.
The three series join another reported Game of Thrones prequel series based on Tales of Dunk and Egg, the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall and Aegon V. Targaryen, set 90 years before the time of A Song of Ice and Fire book series’ storyline. A Game of Thrones animated series is also said to be under consideration for HBO Max.
Read also: “Everything We Know About Game Of Thrones Prequel Series House of the Dragon“
(Photo by David Bornfriend / © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection)
The only news better than the Best Actor Oscar nod Steven Yeun received for his performance in the family drama Minari is the news that one of our all-time favorite alums of The Walking Dead may soon be headed back to TV.
Yeun is teaming with comedian and writer Ali Wong for a 10-episode dramedy from A24, the company also behind Minari. Deadline reports the project, storyline details for which are being kept under wraps, set off an auction frenzy when it was pitched last week, with Netflix, Amazon, FX, and Apple all among those anxious to land the hot property.
Yeun and Wong would not only star in, but will also act as executive producers on the show, with creator/writer Lee Sung Jin serving as the showrunner. He is also a co-executive producer on FX’s Dave, developed the Showtime pilot Omniverse with Kanye West, Scooter Braun, and Jaden Smith, and previously worked on Tuca & Bertie (which starred Wong) and Silicon Valley.
Though the project would be Yeun’s first live-action series-regular TV role since his character Glenn Rhee was killed off in The Walking Dead season 7 premiere, he will also star in the upcoming animated series Invincible, from TWD creator Robert Kirkman. The superhero drama stars Yeun as Mark Grayson, a teen whose father is Nolan (J.K. Simmons), the most powerful superhero on the planet. Just after his 17th birthday, Mark begins to develop powers of his own, and Nolan begins to train him to use them.
Invincible premieres on Amazon Video on March 26, and also features TWD stars Khary Payton, Lennie James, Lauren Cohan, Sonequa Martin-Green, Chad L. Coleman, Michael Cudlitz, and Ross Marquand.
Check out Tom Hiddleston in the first poster for #Loki.
The new Marvel Studios' series premieres June 11. pic.twitter.com/n4GC0iJkmw
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) March 18, 2021
Disney+ released the first poster from its upcoming MCU series Loki, starring Tom Hiddleston, who reprises his God of Mischief role from the Avengers films. The series premieres on June 11.
(Photo by Christine Loss / © Warner Bros / courtesy Everett Collection)
He’s got a memoir on The New York Times bestseller list and some persistence buzz that he’s mulling a run for the governor’s mansion of Texas, and now True Detective star Matthew McConaughey is going to add a return to HBO to his to-do list.
McConaughey will star in HBO’s adaptation of A Time for Mercy, the John Grisham novel that would find the actor reprising his role as Jake Brigance, the attorney he played in the 1996 movie A Time to Kill. In that big-screen thriller, McConaughey’s Brigance defended a Black man (Samuel L. Jackson) who killed two white men who raped his daughter. Sandra Bullock also starred.
In A Time for Mercy, published last year, Brigance defends a a boy who murders a deputy sheriff, the boy’s mother’s boyfriend, who the boy claims was abusive to his mother, sister, and him. (Variety)
Read also: “5 Reasons Why The Lincoln Lawyer Was the Perfect Film to Kick Off the McConaissance”
(Photo by Prashant Gupta / © FX Network / Courtesy: Everett Collection)
Bust out that Stetson for what would be one of the most exciting TV developments of the year: Variety reports Timothy Olyphant may be returning to his Emmy-nominated role as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens for a project that is reuniting the Justified creative team to develop an Elmore Leonard novel at FX.
Justified creator Graham Yost will executive produce the adaptation of City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit, a 1980 Leonard novel about a killer, “Oklahoma Wildman” Clement Mansell, with a penchant for getting away with murder, and the good homicide detective, Raymond Cruz, who’s committed to making sure that doesn’t happen again.
Variety reports that Yost and much of the Justified creative team is attached to the series, which is in the early stages of development. Olyphant isn’t yet committed to the new drama, and if he does appear in the project, it could be as the lead or as a supporting character.
Concrete Cowboy is a father-son movie starring Idris Elba as Harp, whose estranged son, Cole (Caleb McLaughlin), comes to live with him in Philadelphia after the 15-year-old is expelled from school in Detroit. Harp finds solace in rehabilitating horses for inner city cowboys at the Fletcher Street Stables, a real-life Black urban horsemanship community that has provided a safe haven for the neighborhood residents for more than 100 years. Torn between his growing respect for his father’s community and his reemerging friendship with troubled cousin Smush (Jharrel Jerome), Cole begins to reprioritize his life as the stables themselves are threatened by encroaching gentrification. Inspired by the novel Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri, and produced by Elba and Lee Daniels. Lorraine Toussaint, Method Man, and members of the Fletcher Street Stables also costar. Premieres April 2 (Netflix).
More trailers and teasers released this week:
• WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn is a documentary that explores the rise and fall of one of the biggest corporate flameouts and venture capitalist bubbles in recent years – the story of WeWork, and its hippie-messianic leader Adam Neumann. Premieres 2 (Hulu).
• The Irregulars is the new crime drama about the teens (the Baker Street Irregulars) who help in the supernatural investigations of Sherlock Holmes and his pal Dr. Watson. Stars Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Royce Pierreson, Clarke Peters, and Olivia Grant. Premieres March 26 (Netflix).
• The fifth and final season of Van Helsing premieres on April 16. Stars Kelly Overton, Jonathan Scarfe, and Christopher Heyerdahl (Syfy).
• The Great Pottery Throw Down is the “ultimate hands-on competition,” of 120 artisans making beautiful, intricate works of ceramics. Premieres April 1 (HBO Max).
• Dad Stop Embarrassing Me! is a new sitcom about a businessman (Jamie Foxx) who becomes the single father to his teen daughter, with some help from his father (David Alan Grier) and sister (Porscha Coleman). Based on Foxx’s relationship with his daughter, Corinne (an executive producer on the show). Premieres April 14 (Netflix).
• Godfather of Harlem Season 2 features new cast members Justin Bartha, Method Man, Annabella Sciorra, Michael Rispoli, Ronald Guttman, Gino Cafarelli, Isaach De Bankolé, and Neal Matarazzo joining Forest Whitaker, Vincent D’Onofrio, Paul Sorvino, Giancarlo Esposito, Luis Guzman, and Chazz Palminteri. Premieres April 18 (EPIX).
• The Challenge: All Stars is a reunion of old school contestants of MTV’s The Challenge, including popular competitors like Mark Long, Nehemiah Clark, Ruthie Alcaide, Syrus Yarbrough, Beth Stolarczyk, Teck Holmes, and Trishelle Cannatella, who are competing for the $500,000 grand prize. Premieres April 1 (Paramount+).
• The Last Cruise is a first-person documentary short about the ill-fated Diamond Princess Cruise, which set sail from Yokohama, Japan on January 20, 2020 in the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and by Feb. 26, accounted for more than half of all the documented COVID-19 cases outside of China, with more than 700 people on board infected. Streams March 30 (HBO Max).
• Rutherford Falls is a new comedy about two lifelong best friends (Ed Helms and Jana Schmieding) and the quirky small town they live in, from executive producer Michael Schur, and with Native representation on screen and with five Native writers in the writers room. Premieres April 22 (Peacock).
• Birdgirl is the new spin-off of the animated gem Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, featuring Birdgirl (Paget Brewster) and her band of misfit crimefighters. Also stars Tony Hale, Rob Delaney, Sonia Denis, Kether Donohue, John Doman, Negin Farsad, and Lorelai Ramirez. Premieres April 4 (Adult Swim).
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(Photo by Apple TV+)
Tom Hiddleston has been busy. The actor will star opposite Claire Danes in the Apple TV+ drama series The Essex Serpent, an adaptation of the Sarah Perry novel of the same name. Hiddleston, seen in a first-look photo above, will play the leader of a local community where Danes’ recent widow, who was an abused wife, moves after her husband’s death, and becomes involved with the superstition of a mythical creature known as the Essex Serpent.
Sally Field will play Jessie Buss, the mother of NBA Hall of Fame owner Jerry Buss, and Adrien Brody will play Lakers coach Pat Riley in Adam McKay’s HBO drama series about the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, based on Jeff Pearlman’s book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s. Jessie Buss was also her son’s advisor and bookkeeper when he was the Lakers’ owner, while Riley led the Lakers to NBA titles in 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988. The still-untitled series also stars John C. Reilly as Jerry Buss, Jason Clarke as Jerry West, Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson, Solomon Hughes as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hadley Robinson as Jeanie Buss, DeVaughn Nixon as Norm Nixon, Spencer Garrett as Chick Hearn, and Tamera Tomakili as Earletha “Cookie” Kelly.
Bates Motel star Vera Farmiga will star in Apple TV+’s adaptation of Five Days at Memorial, Sheri Fink National Book Critics Circle Award winner about the first five days at a New Orleans hospital after Hurricane Katrina. Carlton Cuse, who worked with Farmiga on Bates, and John Ridley will write, showrun, produce, and direct the series.
Mindy Kaling has joined the voice cast of Disney+’s Monsters At Work animated series. The Office star will voice Val Little, a member of the facilities team in the series sequel to the Disney movie hit Monsters, Inc. Previously announced cast members include John Goodman, Billy Crystal, and Bonnie Hunt reprising their roles from the movie, as well as Henry Winkler, Ben Feldman, Alanna Ubach, Lucas Neff, John Ratzenberger, Jennifer Tilly, and Aisha Tyler.
Maya Rudolph will star in an untitled comedy at Apple TV+, where she’ll play a woman whose life is turned upside down when her husband leaves her … with nothing but $87 billion. The series is created by Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard, who also created Forever, the Amazon comedy starring Rudolph and Fred Armisen. (Deadline)
(Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)
Kaley Cuoco will play classic TV, movie, and singing star Doris Day in a limited series, based on the 1976 biography Doris Day: Her Own Story, by author A.E. Hotchner, which was based on a series of interviews with Day. Cuoco’s production company will also produce the series, which is not attached to a network or streaming service yet.
Puppy Dog Pals star Elisha “EJ” Williams will be the new Kevin Arnold in ABC’s upcoming reboot of The Wonder Years. Williams will play Dean in the remake, which is set in 1968 Montgomery, Alabama, where 12-year-old Dean is coming of age and trying to find his place in his family, his school, with his friends, and in the world. Original series star Fred Savage is directing the remake, and Lee Daniels is the executive producer. (TVLine)
Schitt’s Creek star Emily Hampshire, who recently joined the cast of the reboot of Norman Lear’s Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, has just signed on to star in the miniseries The Rig, with Game Of Thrones star Iain Glen. She’ll play a scientist and oil company executive who works onboard the titular oil boat in the Amazon UK thriller. (Deadline)
(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Another Game Of Thrones star, Lena Headey, will be executive producer and star in the Spectrum Originals psychological thriller Beacon 23, about “a woman who mysteriously finds her way to a lonely beacon keeper on his lighthouse in the darkest recesses of space.”
Mork & Mindy star Pam Dawber will guest star on NCIS with real-life husband Mark Harmon. Beginning on April 6, Dawber will play Marcie Warren, “a seasoned investigative journalist who uses her savvy wit and down-to-earth people skills to aid in her tireless pursuit of truth,” according to EW.com.
The Bridge star Demián Bichir will star in the Showtime drama Let the Right One In (based on the 2008 Swedish movie of the same name), about a father whose tween daughter who became a vampire 10 years ago. Eleanor the vampire may be locked into being 12-years-old forever, and her dad spends much of his time procuring enough blood for her.
Pretty Little Liars alum Lucy Hale will star in the six-episode AMC crime drama Ragdoll, in which she’ll play a British police officer assigned to the case of “The Ragdoll,” a serial killer who murdered six people, dismembered them, and sewed them together in the shape of one person. (Variety)
(Photo by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Lucasfilm Ltd.)
Peacock has given a 10-episode order for Poker Face, the first TV series from Oscar-nominated Knives Out scriptwriter Rian Johnson. Natasha Lyonne will star in the mystery series, which Johnson calls the kind of “fun, character driven, case-of-the-week mystery goodness I grew up watching.” Johnson, who also directed the classic Breaking Bad episode “Ozymandias,” will serve as creator, writer and director of the series, and both he and Lyonne will serve as executive producers.
Ridley Scott and Steven Knight are adapting Sir Antony Beevor’s Roads to Freedom books for a 10-episode series that will unfold the story of World War II from many different international perspectives, including not just the American and British point of view, but also Russia, Germany, and France, Deadline reports.
Natalie Portman and producing partner Sophie Mas have signed a first-look, multi-year deal with Apple TV+ for projects the team’s MountainA company will develop and produce. Portman and Mas just paired with Apple on Lady in the Lake, a limited series that will be Portman’s TV series debut, co-starring with Lupita Nyong’o on an adaptation of Laura Lippman’s New York Times bestseller. (Deadline)
Production began in Vancouver this week on Disney+’s live-action Peter Pan & Wendy, starring Jude Law as Captain Hook, Yara Shahidi as Tinkerbell, Ever Anderson as Wendy, Alexander Molony as Peter Pan, Molly Parker as Mrs. Darling, Alan Tudyk as Mr. Darling, newcomers Joshua Pickering as John, Jacobi Jupe as Michael, and Alyssa Wapanatâhk as Tiger Lily, and Jim Gaffigan as Smee. The production will debut in 2022.
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— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) March 16, 2021
Daniel Kaluuya and Carey Mulligan, who both received Oscar nominations this week, were also named upcoming Saturday Night Live hosts along with Maya Rudolph, who will host March 27 with musical guest Jack Harlow. Kaluuya will host on April 3 with musical guest St. Vincent, while Mulligan will host on April 10 with musical guest Kid Cudi. It will be the hosting debut for both Kaluuya and Mulligan.
HBO Max has ordered a two-part docuseries about the late Clueless movie star Brittany Murphy from Blumhouse Television, with an in-depth look at her career and the mysterious circumstances surrounding her 2009 death at age 32. Murphy’s death was ruled accidental, from a combination of pneumonia and over-the-counter drugs, but her husband, Simon Monjack, died five months later with the death also attributed to pneumonia and anemia. That led to ongoing conspiracy theories, which the HBO Max will go beyond, featuring new interviews by those closest to Murphy and new archival footage.
Showtime has ordered the origin series Shaka: King of the Zulu Nation. An epic drama centered around one man’s personal journey from stigmatized childhood to warrior king, the story is rooted in real events and unfolds the drama of the Zulu Empire chief Shaka, uniting multiple tribes across vast stretches of Africa in the early nineteenth century. Antoine Fuqua will direct and executive produce.
Hank Azaria will reprise his Brockmire sportscaster Jim Brockmire, for The Jim Brockmire Podcast, an upcoming celebrity interview show where he’ll chat with famous types like Charles Barkley, Ben Stiller, Jemele Hill, and Don Cheadle. The IFC TV series wrapped last season after four seasons. (THR)
