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Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will reportedly star in Marvel’s upcoming Wonder Man series for Disney+. Bryan Fuller has teamed with A24 and Peacock on the Friday the 13th prequel series Crystal Lake. WandaVision spinoff Agatha: Coven of Chaos adds Aubrey Plaza to the cast. HBO releases key art and announces premiere date for video game adaptation The Last of Us. Severance gives a first look at season 2. Plus, trailers for His Dark Materials season 3, the Charles Dickens musical Spirited, starring Ryan Reynolds, and more of the week’s biggest news in TV and streaming.
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(Photo by Bruce Glikas/WireImage)
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is no stranger to playing superheroes, and by the looks of things, he’s about to take on another high powered role of Wonder Man in the Disney+ series, Variety reports. Abdul-Mateen II is currently in talks to star as the superhero in the program, which is being developed by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton and Hawkeye co-producer Andrew Guest. This will mark the actor’s third major comic book character on-screen, previously playing Black Manta in James Wan’s 2018 Aquaman movie (which he’s set to reprise in the 2023 sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom), and Dr. Manhattan in Damon Lindelof’s critically acclaimed Watchmen series on HBO.
In the comics, Marvel character, also known as Simon Williams, is the son of wealthy industrialist Sanford Williams, whose company, Williams Innovations, ends up going out of business due to competition from Stark Industries. Simon eventually turns to Baron Zemo for help. He grants Simon powers and is given a directive by Zemo to join the Avengers, only to betray them. That doesn’t go as plan, though, as Wonder Man goes on to become the founding member of the the West Coast Avengers. There’s no clear sign, at this point, how much the series will follow the guidelines of the original comic book storyline.
Wonder Man doesn’t yet have a release date.
(Photo by ©New Line Cinema/courtesy Everett Collection)
Bryan Fuller has partnered with A24 to bring to life Crystal Lake, the highly-anticipated Friday the 13th prequel series at Peacock. While the story details of the series are currently under wraps, speculation leads us to believe Fuller’s series will take a trip back to the formative years of Jason Voorhees, before he became the hockey mask-wearing horror icon we all know and love today.
Like the Bates Motel TV series did with the Psycho canon, the murderous mother of the notorious killer — Pamela Voorhees, who was the killer in the first Friday the 13th movie — will probably play a prominent role on the prequel. That’s not to say that we won’t get various iterations of Jason. The legal kerfuffle New Line has been in over the movie rights of the Friday the 13th franchise have no bearing on what can be done with the canon on television.
“Friday the 13th is one of the most iconic horror franchises in movie history and we were dying to revisit this story with our upcoming drama series Crystal Lake,” Susan Rovner, Chairman, Entertainment Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming (who previously worked with Fuller on Pushing Daisies) said in a statement. “We can’t wait to get to work with Bryan Fuller, a gifted, visionary creator who I’ve had the pleasure of being a longtime friend and collaborator, along with our incredible partners at A24, in this updated version for Peacock that will thrill long-standing fans of the franchise.”
“I discovered Friday the 13th in the pages of Famous Monsters magazine when I was 10 years old and I have been thinking about this story ever since,” Fuller said in the official press release.
“When it comes to horror,” he continued, “A24 raises the bar and pushes the envelope and I’m thrilled to be exploring the camp grounds of Crystal Lake under their banner. And Susan Rovner is simply the best at what she does. It’s a pleasure and an honor to be working with her again.”
The trailer for the third and final season of HBO’s His Dark Materials has finally dropped and, by the looks of things, the final battle is right around the corner. These storyline featured in the upcoming episodes is taken from “The Amber Spyglass,” Philip Pullman’s third novel in the His Dark Materials book trilogy, and finds Lyra (Dafne Keen) and Will (Amir Wilson), the bearer of The Subtle Knife, trekking to the land of the dead. A journey to such a foreboding place will surely come at a cost, but risks must be taken considering the fact that her father’s war against the Authority is nearly here. How exactly will she stop it and save all the worlds? That’s just one of the burning questions as we head into the final epic season.
More trailers and teasers released this week:
• The Pale Blue Eye stars Christian Bale as detective Augustus Landor who investigates a series of grisly murders with the help of a young cadet who, eventually, will grow up to become world-famous author Edgar Allen Poe. Premieres December 23. (Netflix)
• Riches follows the exploits of the stylish, privileged, super-successful Richards family. When Stephen Richards passes suddenly, the family’s world comes crashing down. As his business hangs in the balance, his different sets of children are about to collide as they vie for control. Premieres December 2. (Prime Video)
• In Irreverent, an American criminal is forced to hide out in a small Australian reef town in Far North Queensland, posing as the new church Reverend. Premieres November 30. (Peacock)
• The Best Man: The Final Chapters continues the story from the Best Man movie franchise, and stars Morris Chestnut, Melissa De Sousa, Nia Long, Taye Diggs, Sanaa Lathan, Harold Parrineau, Regina Hall, and Terrence Howard. Premieres December 22. (Peacock)
• Mickey: The Story of the Mouse will explore the history, evolution, and enduring impact of the 100-year-old cartoon mouse. Premieres November 18. (Disney+)
• Spirited is a new musical twist on Charles Dickens’ holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. Ryan Reynolds plays Clint Briggs (the Scrooge in this story) and turns the tables on the Ghost of Christmas Present (played by Will Ferrell), who is forced to re-examine his own existence – past, presence, and future. Premieres November 18. (Apple TV+)
• A Christmas Story Christmas sees Peter Billingsley return to his A Christmas Story role as Ralphie Parker. Ralphie’s all grown up now and is a dad dealing with his own holiday expectations. Premieres November 17. (HBO Max)
• In Bumper in Berlin, several years have gone by since we last saw Adam Devine’s Bumper Allen in Pitch Perfect. The spinoff follows him to Germany, where his music career gets a revival after one of his songs becomes big in Berlin. Premieres November 23. (Peacock)
• The Great British Baking Show: Holidays is back with its fifth season of low-stakes competition goodness to cook up some holiday cheer as fan-favorite bakers from past seasons reunite in the tent for more one-off holiday-themed competitions. Premieres November 18. (Netflix)
• Firefly Lane will continue the friendship-centered story of besties Kate (Sarah Chalke) and Tully (Katherine Heigl) in the program’s second and final season, which will be split into two halves. Part 1 premieres December 2. (Netflix)
For all the latest TV and streaming trailers subscribe to the Rotten Tomatoes TV YouTube channel.
(Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Aubrey Plaza, who can currently be seen in season 2 of The White Lotus on HBO, has been added to the cast of Disney+’s upcoming WandaVision spinoff series, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, opposite Kathryn Hahn. While details regarding who Plaza will be playing is unknown at this time, word has it she will be stepping into a villainous role opposite Hahn and Heartstopper’s Joe Locke, whose addition to the cast was previously announced. Hahn reprises her witchy role as Agatha Harkness, the big bad featured in WandaVision, which followed Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) as they lived out their TV family suburban dreams. As it turned out, though, there was something strange lurking just under the surface of this quaint quiet town. Agatha: Coven of Chaos has no official release date but is expected to premiere in 2023 on Disney+. (Deadline)
Cristin Milioti has been cast in The Penguin, the spinoff series to The Batman, as Sofia Falcone, the daughter of Gotham mob boss Carmine Falcone (played by John Turturro in the movie). The Penguin (Colin Farrell) served as his right-hand man. (Variety)
Prime Video’s fantastical comedic drama My Lady Jane is rounding out its cast. Dominic Cooper will play Lord Seymour, Rob Brydon is Lord Dudley, Will Keen will play the Duke of Norfolk, Anna Chancellor will be Lady Frances Grey, and Jim Broadbent is the Duke of Leicester. They join previously announced cast members Emily Bader, who steps into the tile role of Jane Grey, Edward Bluemel who is Guildford Dudley, and Jordan Peters who is set to play King Edward.
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Amazon has tapped Aldis Hodge to star as Alex Cross in a new series based on James Patterson’s books. The thriller, simply titled Cross, will follow our hero who, as the official press release for the project says, is “brilliant, flawed, and full of contradictions. A doting father and family man, Cross is single-minded to the point of obsession when he hunts killers. He is desperate for love, but his wife’s murder has left him too damaged to receive it.”
Joel McHale’s Animal Control comedy at Fox has added five more actors to its cast. Michael Rowland will play Fred “Shred” Taylor, the optimistic rookie Animal Control officer and Frank’s (McHale) new partner; Grace Palmer is Victoria Sands, the hedonistic free spirit of the Animal Control officers; Gerry Dee is Templeton Dudge, an Animal Control officer from a neighboring precinct with a real chip on his shoulder; Kelli Ogmundson is Dolores Stubb, the receptionist at the Animal Control precinct; and Alvina August is Dr. Summers, the Animal Control veterinarian. They join McHale, Vella Lovell, and Ravi Patel, who were all previously announced. (Variety)
The Dead Boy Detectives has added Caitlin Reilly and Max Jenkins to the cast. The eight episode series is inspired by the DC comics of the same name, as well as characters created by Neil Gaimain and Matt Wagner as featured in The Sandman. (Variety)
Euphoria star Jacob Elordi will star in The Narrow Road to the Deep North, the limited series adaptation of Richard Flanagan’s Booker Prize-winning novel. He will play an army surgeon named Dorrigo Evans whose brief love affair with Amy, the young wife of his uncle, haunts him through his darkest days at a Thai-Burmese camp during World War II. (Variety)
Three new cast members will be joining Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina in Peacock’s thriller Based on a True Story. Tom Bateman, Liana Liberato, and Priscilla Quintana are on-board as as series regulars. (Variety)
Never Have I Ever alum Poorna Jagannathan has been added to the cast of Onyx Collective’s Deli Boys comedy pilot for Hulu. She will play Baba’s right-hand woman, Lucky, who can be nurturing or a badass business boss lady, depending on what’s needed. (Variety)
(Photo by HBO)
After what feels like an eternity, the wait for HBO’s The Last Of Us, the highly-anticipated adaptation of the popular survival horror video game, is nearly over. The nine-episode first season will touch down on Sunday, January 15 at 9 p.m. to HBO and will be available to stream in 4K on HBO Max.
The official announcement may have come sooner than planned as some viewers caught an accidental leak of the release date on HBO Max on Tuesday.
To the edge of the universe and back. #TheLastOfUs premieres January 15 on HBO Max. pic.twitter.com/O9EZ73MVXr
— HBO Max (@hbomax) November 2, 2022
Starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as survivors Joel and Ellie, The Last of Us follows the duo as they travel across the post-apocalyptic American wasteland as zombie-like monsters called “clickers,” born out of the deadly cordyceps fungus disease, run rampant. Joel helps Ellie, who is on an important mission, while doing their best to not be killed by the blind mutant clickers or feral bandits that wander the land.
Gabriel Luna, Anna Torv, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, Melanie Lynskey, Storm Reid, Merle Dandridge, Jeffrey Pierce, Lamar Johnson, Keivonn Woodard, Graham Greene, and Elaine Miles also star.
Read More: Everything We Know About The Last of Us HBO Series
(Photo by Netflix)
David Letterman traveled to Kyiv, Ukraine to sit down with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for an insightful interview, in front of a small audience, for an upcoming special episode of his four-time Emmy Award-nominated Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman. The standalone special will premiere later this year.
Netflix is expanding its natural history documentary slate with six new series, beginning with the Morgan Freeman-narrated Our Universe, premiering on November 22. Each program will focus on different parts of the natural world, from exploring the universe’s origins to digging into all the facets of life on Earth. Included in this announcement, as well, is the sequel to 2019’s Our Planet, David Attenborough returning to narrate Our Planet II in 2023. Also coming next year is Life on Our Planet, narrated by Freeman. Our Oceans, Our Living World, and Our Water World will premiere in 2024 and 2025.
The Day of the Jackal is getting the TV series treatment at Sky and Peacock. The bold, contemporary reimagining is inspired by both Frederick Forsyth’s classic novel and the 1973 film adaptation, which starred Edward Fox and Michael Lonsdale. While remaining true to the DNA of the original IP, the new series is set to delve deeper into the chameleon-like ‘anti-hero’ who resides at the heart of the story. The result will be a high octane, cinematic, globetrotting cat and mouse thriller, set amidst the turbulent geo-political landscape of our time.
Johnny Knoxville and Eric André will executive produce and star in The Prank Panel, an unscripted reality series at ABC that will pull pranks on everyday people, family members, and friends. The duo will also serve, along with Gabourey Sidibe, as the program’s panel of “pranxperts” as they take viewers into the elaborate planning process in bringing their iconic pranks to life. (Deadline)
(Photo by Apple TV+)
Praise Kier! Production on season 2 of Apple TV+’s mind-bending thriller Severance is officially underway. The workspace drama from creator and writer Dan Erickson and director and executive producer Ben Stiller, revealed a first look behind-the-scenes image from set.
Along with the new photo, the production announced eight additions to the cast for season 2: Oscar and Emmy Award-nominee Bob Balaban, Robby Benson , Stefano Carannante, Emmy Award-nominee Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones, Wednesday), John Noble (Fringe), Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (The Tourist, The Missing), Alia Shawkat (Search Party, The Old Man), and Emmy Award-winner Merritt Wever (Godless, Nurse Jackie).
Severance follows Mark Scout (Adam Scott), the leader of a team at Lumon Industries, a company where employees have undergone a severance procedure, an experiment in “work-life balance,” that surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives. The process is called into question when Mark finds himself immersed in an workplace mystery that will force him to confront the true nature of his job … and of himself.
Along with Scott, the already established ensemble cast includes Britt Lower, Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman, Dichen Lachman, and Christopher Walken.
“We are thrilled and delighted to be back on set for the exciting second chapter of Severance,” Stiller said in the press release. “Though we don’t know how long we’ve been gone or who we are outside, we are told people enjoy the show and we couldn’t be happier. Praise Kier!”
(Photo by Netflix)
The nominations are in for the inaugural Children’s and Family Emmys, which will be presented on Saturday, December 10 (Creative Arts) and Sunday, December 11 at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles, California, and Netflix and Disney have garnered the most nominations among the 50 categories up for awards.
According to the National Academy of TV Arts and Sciences, Children’s & Family content is the fastest-growing genre that NATAS recognizes, with a 23% increase in related programming the past two years. With more than 3,000 submissions, the organization revealed the competition is now the largest that NATAS oversees. And that includes the likes of Daytime, Sports and News/Documentary Emmys.
“Putting a spotlight on children’s & family programming after years of unparalleled growth in content quality and quantity in this space is an exciting moment for the television industry,” said Adam Sharp, President and CEO, NATAS. “These programs entertain, inform and educate family members of all ages, and NATAS is proud to mark this milestone event and give these creators the stage they deserve.”
Netflix garnered a brag-worthy 83 nominations, that includes nods for popular family titles like Heartstopper and The Baby-Sitters Club, and The Walt Disney Company clocked in a total of 86 across content on Disney+, Disney Junior, The Disney Channel, and Disney XD.
The scope of the ceremony includes categories like:
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Preschool, Children’s Or Young Teen Program: Kit Connor as Nick Nelson, Heartstopper (Netflix), Loretta Devine as M’Dear, Family Reunion (Netflix), Mark Feuerstein as Watson Brewer, The Baby-Sitters Club (Netflix), Joe Locke as Charlie Spring, Heartstopper (Netflix), Alicia Silverstone as Elizabeth Thomas-Brewer, The Baby-Sitters Club (Netflix), and Rueby Wood as Nate, Better Nate Than Ever (Disney+).
Outstanding Animated Series: The Cuphead Show! (Netflix), The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (Disney+), Star Trek: Prodigy (Paramount+), and A Tale Dark & Grimm (Netflix).
Outstanding Voice Performance in an Animated Program: Eric Bauza as Bugs Bunny, Marvin the Martian, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Looney Tunes Cartoons (HBO/HBO Max), Grey Delisle as Lola, Lana, Lily, Meryl, Cheryl, Scoots, Mopes & Mrs. Bernardo, The Loud House (Nickelodeon), Mark Hamill as Skeletor, Masters of the Universe: Revelation (Netflix), Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants, SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon), and Frank Welker as Himself, Fred and Scooby, Scooby-Doo And Guess Who? (Cartoon Network).
Check out the full list of nominees at TheEmmys.tv
