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Black Panther director Ryan Coogler is rebooting The X-Files. The White Lotus season 3 is heading to Thailand. Game of Thrones alum Lena Headey to star in Kurt Sutter’s Netflix Western The Abandons. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World cast will reunite for Netflix anime series. Plus, trailers for Dead Ringers, Barry season 4, and more of the biggest news in TV and streaming.
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(Photo by Arnold Turner/Getty Images for Essence)
Ryan Coogler, writer-director of the Black Panther films and Creed, is planning to “remount” The X-Files, original show-creator Chris Carter revealed to Gloria Makarenko on an episode of CBC’s On the Coast.
During a conversation celebrating the 30th anniversary of the beginning of production of the hit paranormal series, Carter spoke of how today’s obsession with conspiracy theories would inform a new version on the program, saying, “We’re so steeped in conspiracies now. The X-Files dealt with a central conspiracy, but now the world is so full of conspiracies that I think that it would be a different show.”
Carter then dropped the news of Coogler’s new take on the program: “I just spoke to a young man, Ryan Coogler, who is going to remount The X-Files with a diverse cast. So, he’s got his work cut out for him because we covered so much territory.”
The X-Files starred David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as government agents solving otherworldly cases, while constantly searching for the truth. The series originally aired on Fox from 1993 to 2002, spawned two movies, and returned to the network with a 10th and 11th season dropping in 2016 and 2018, respectively.
(Photo by HBO)
Mike White’s hit HBO series The White Lotus is heading to Thailand, sources close to the production revealed to Variety.
White previously alluded that the third installment of the anthology would head to Asia, saying in the “Unpacking S2 E7” tied to the finale of season 2, “The first season kind of highlighted money, and then the second season is sex,” White said in a clip pegged at the end of the season 2 finale. “I think the third season would be maybe a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality. It feels like it could be a rich tapestry to do another round at White Lotus.”
Production on the new season hasn’t started yet, meaning the story and cast have not been revealed. However, Friends alum Jennifer Aniston is pitching herself as a worthy addition to the franchise.
Rachel Weisz pulls double duty in Prime Video’s twisted thriller Dead Ringers.
The reimagining of David Cronenberg’s 1988 psychosexual classic, which starred Jeremy Irons as renowned twin gynecologists Elliott and Beverly Mantle, finds Weisz putting a female twist on the characters.
Following the blueprint of the movie, Weisz’s ob-gyn twins share everything: drugs, lovers, and a drive to move women’s healthcare practices into the 21st century, pushing ethical boundaries in the name of progress.
Britne Oldford, Poppy Liu, Michael Chernus, Jennifer Ehle, and Emily Meade also star.
Dead Ringers season 1 will drop all six episodes on Friday, April 21 on Prime Video.
See Also: Everything We Know About Marvel’s Secret Invasion — See the New Trailer!
More trailers and teasers released this week:
• Florida Man follows a struggling ex-cop (Edgar Ramírez) forced to return to his home state of Florida to find a Philly mobster’s runaway girlfriend. This quick gig becomes a wildly spiraling journey into buried family secrets, and an increasingly futile attempt to do the right thing in a place where so much is wrong. Premieres April 13. (Netflix)
• A Black Lady Sketch Show returns with more smart comedy and biting satire. Robin Thede, Quinta Brunson, Gabrielle Dennis, and Ashley Nicole Black star. Premieres April 14 (HBO)
• Firefly Lane Season 2, Part 2 continues the story of besties Kate and Tully and answers the question: What could possibly have ended their tight-knit 30-year friendship. Premieres April 27. (Netflix)
• Schmigadoon! find Josh (Keegan-Michael Key) and Melissa (Cecily Strong) missing the magic they felt in Schmigadoon and in an attempt to return, find themselves in Schmicago—the reimagined world of ’60s and ’70s musicals. Premieres April 5. (Apple TV+)
• Angel City is a gripping docuseries that goes behind the scenes and onto the pitch of the groundbreaking Los Angeles-based professional women’s soccer team, Angel City Football Club. Premieres May. (HBO)
• Barry season 4 finds Barry Berkman’s story nearing its end. The final trailer for HBO’s Emmy-winning series finds Bill Hader’s titular hitman behind bars and, by all accounts, losing his mind. With so many loose ends needing to be tied and questions to be answered, the series, which is officially categorized as a comedy, will probably come to a tragic, yet satisfying end. We shall see. Premieres April 16. (HBO)
• The Walking Dead: Dead City continues the undead adventures of AMC’s landmark zombie series as Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) find themselves trying to survive new threats in New York City. Premieres June 18. (AMC and AMC+)
• Fear Walking the Dead season 8 finds Morgan (Lennie James) and Madison (Kim Dickens) working to reignite everyone’s belief in a better world, by setting out to rescue a now eight-year old Mo from PADRE. Premieres May 14. (AMC)
• Transatlantic stars Gillian Jacobs, Lucas Englander, and Cory Michael Smith and tells the story of the scrappy rescue operation formed by two Americans and their European allies in 1940 Marseilles. Their mission: to help artists, writers and other refugees gain safe passage from Europe during WWII. Premieres April 7. (Netflix)
• Single Drunk Female season 2 picks up with a year and a half of sobriety under Samantha’s belt. She finally feels like she has a life worth celebrating. However, Sam quickly learns that sometimes life has other plans. She must figure out how to effect change where she can, sit in her discomfort when she can’t, and maybe even enjoy the ride. Premieres April 12. (Freeform)
• Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head is back for more of that dumb comedy you’ve been itching for. Season 2 gives so many reasons to never leave the couch. Premieres April 20. (Paramount+)
For all the latest TV and streaming trailers subscribe to the Rotten Tomatoes TV YouTube channel.
(Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
Kurt Sutter’s much-anticipated 10-episode western series The Abandons has cast Lena Headey in a lead role, Variety reported.
The show description says: “A group of diverse, outlier families pursue their Manifest Destiny in 1850s Oregon, a corrupt force of wealth and power, coveting their land, tries to force them out. These abandoned souls, the kind of lost souls living on the fringe of society, unite their tribes to form a family and fight back. In this bloody process, ‘justice’ is stretched beyond the boundaries of the law.”
Headey steps into the role of strong, devout matriarch Fiona, who takes in four orphans to create her own family after reconciling with her inability to have her own children. “Driven by a higher purpose – and a strong-willed Irish temper – her faith and love for her family trump all.”
Outlander star Sam Heughan and Poldark‘s Eleanor Tomlinson will star in The Couple Next Door. The six-part thriller from STARZ and Channel 4, which will also feature Jessica De Gouw and Alfred Enoch, centers on Evie (Tomlinson) and Pete (Enoch) a couple who move into an upscale neighborhood and find themselves immersed in a world of status and anxiety. Hueghan is traffic cop Danny, De Gouw is his glamorous yoga instructor wife Becka, and the budding friendship results in a “deliciously dark, psychological drama, exploring the stultifying claustrophobia of suburbia and the fallout of chasing your darkest desires.”
Daredevil: Born Again has added Arty Froushan to the cast. The details of his role are being kept under wraps, but thanks to a leaked photo that was released from the set, Froushan can be seen with Vincent D’Onofrio, leading to speculation he may be playing Harry, a character close to Wilson Fisk (D’Onofrio). (Deadline)
Jessica Chastain is set to star in and executive produce Apple TV+’s new drama series The Savant, based on a true story published by Cosmopolitan Magazine. The plot and character details have not been released.
Tony Shalhoub will star as disgraced Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn in The Fall of the God of Cars from Michael Winterbottom. (Variety)
(Photo by Netflix)
Ali Wong will star in and executive produce the supernatural action animated series Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld for Netflix. Wong will voice Chau, a Chinese-American teen living in a small Texas town, who finds out a demon is hunting her for the supernatural powers she has been working her entire life to repress. With the help of her weapons expert great-aunt and a millennia-old jiangshi (a Chinese hopping vampire), she must battle an entire underworld’s worth of monsters all while balancing the horrors of high school. Bowen Yang, Lori Tan Chinn, Lucy Liu, Jimmy O. Yang, Sheng Wang, and Woosung Kim will also star.
Only Murders in the Building adds Don Darryl Rivera, Allison Guinn, and Gerald Caesarto in recurring roles for season 3. Details of their roles have not been released. (Deadline)
Ryan Murphy’s Feud: Capote’s Women will feature Chris Chalk playing civil rights icon James Baldwin. Chalk joins previously announced cast members Tom Hollander, Molly Ringwald, Calista Flockhart, Naomi Watts, Chloë Sevigny, and Diane Lane. (Deadline)
Former Daily Show host Trevor Noah will headline Prime Video’s first South African original series LOL: Last One Laughing. The Noah-hosted series will have 10 famous South African comedians and entertainers competing to see who can keep a straight face while also trying to make their opponents laugh. (Variety)
David Alan Grier will star opposite Wendy McLendon-Covey in NBC comedy pilot St. Denis Medical. He will play emotionally defeated Emergency Department doctor Ron. (Deadline)
Netflix is getting the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World band back together for an all new anime series. The original cast from Edgar Wright’s 2010 cult film (which was inspired by Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novel series that ran from 2004-2010), is set to reunite for the highly-anticipated project.
The book series and movie followed the titular slacker/musician Scott Pilgrim (played by Michael Cera), who falls for a girl named Ramona Flowers (Elizabeth Winstead). But to win her love, he must face off against her seven evil exes.
🚨🚨THIS IS NOT A DRILL!🚨🚨
Announcing Scott Pilgrim, an anime series voiced by the cast of the 2010 film!
It comes from executive producers Edgar Wright, Bryan Lee O’Malley, and BenDavid Grabinski and is animated by Science Saru. pic.twitter.com/8iyZuaj6eL
— Netflix (@netflix) March 30, 2023
Joining Cera and Winstead in the new anime series are:
O’Malley and BenDavid Grabinski will serve as executive producers/writers/showrunners on the series. Wright, who co-wrote and directed the original film, will serve as executive producer. Award-winning animation house Science SARU (DEVILMAN crybaby) is the animation studio involed, with executive producer Eunyoung Choi and director Abel Gongora.
“One of the proudest and most enjoyable achievements of my career was assembling and working with the dynamite cast of Scott Pilgrim,” Edgar Wright said in a statement. “Since the film’s release in 2010 we’ve done Q&A’s, remembrances and charity read throughs, but there was never the occasion to reunite the whole gang on an actual project. Until now … Original creator Bryan Lee O’Malley, along with writer BenDavid Grabinski have conjured up an anime series of Scott Pilgrim that doesn’t just expand the universe, but also … well, just watch it. I’m more than happy to announce that I have helped coax the entire original cast back to voice their characters on this epic new adventure. You are in for a treat.”
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is a new live-action original series coming to Paramount+. The latest addition to the streamer’s expanding Star Trek universe will follow the adventures of a class of Starfleet cadets as they come of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, the newcomers will learn what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they create friendships, face explosive rivalries, discover first loves and contend with a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself. Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau will co-showrun and executive produce the series which will go into production in 2024.
Netflix has given a straight-to-series order for Man on Fire, a new TV series adaptation of A.J. Quinnell’s books. The eight-episode program will follow John Creasy (Denzel Washington played him in the 2004 movie), an ex-mercenary on a mission to avenge the death of his only friend, while protecting their daughter from the dangers that destroyed her family. (Hollywood Reporter)
A Snowfall spinoff series is in early development at FX with star Gail Bean, who played Wanda on the hit drama, being eyed to headline. (Deadline)
A reboot of The L Word, which originally ran for six seasons on Showtime from 2004-2010, is in the works with creator Ilene Chaikin attached. The working title for the project is The L Word: New York. (Variety)
Jenna Bush Hager, Carla Banks Waddles (Bel-Air), and Jenna Bans (Good Girls) have come together to adapt Black Candle Women, the debut novel from Diane Marie Brown. HarperCollins describes the book as: “A warm and wry family drama with a magical twist about four generations of Black women, a family love curse, and the secrets they keep for and from each other over one very complicated year.” (Variety)
Hang the Moon, the acclaimed novel from author Jeannette Walls, is being developed for TV by Tomorrow Studios. The book tells the story of Appalachian small town outcast Sallie Kincaid, who strives to regain her position amongst her family. (Variety)
Detective drama series The Mysterious Mortons is in the works at CBS. The show will follow a homicide detective who gets the help of his quirky family of mystery writers to crack the difficult cases that law enforcement can’t. (Deadline)
Gina Rodriguez is developing the Sonoro podcast series Princess of South Beach for Netflix. The podcast (which pays homage to beloved telenovela tropes) follows the story of twin sisters Maria del Carmen and Gloria, who were separated at birth and raised on different sides of the wealth spectrum. When Gloria is killed in an accident, Maria del Carmen takes on her identity and lives the rich life she never had. Rodriguez is not set to star. (Deadline)
Amazon Studios will develop Aaron Foley’s debut novel Boys Come First for television with Ted Lasso’s Chuck Hayward tapped to write the pilot and executive produce. The show will follow the story of three gay millennial Black men in Detroit who navigate love, friendships, and professional pursuits. (Deadline)
According to GLAAD’s 18th annual “Where We Are on TV” report, LGBTQ representation on television is down. Counted in the report are 596 regular and recurring LGBTQ characters who appear (or will appear) on shows across broadcast, cable, and streaming from June 1, 2022 through to May 31, 2023. The previous year found 637 LGBTQ characters appearing on television, marking -6.44percent decrease.
Representation is still thriving on streaming, with 356 LGBTQ characters appearing on Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Peacock, and Paramount+. There were decreases across the board on broadcast in the percentage of LGBTQ series regulars from the previous report. That said, The CW still holds the top spot 14.8% of all series regulars being LGBTQ. Still, that is down -2.3 percent. The changed ownership of the network is acknowledged as a potential cause for the dip.
Of LGBTQ characters, 175 (29 percent of the 596) will not be returning due to multiple reasons: their shows are ending, a character is dying or leaving a show, or a program that features LGBTQ characters is presented in a miniseries/anthology format. Of that number, 140 characters will disappear due to series cancellations or their respective shows coming to an end.
You can view the full “Where We Are on TV” report here.
