Small Screen: Idris Elba Joins ‘Things Fall Apart,’ SAG-AFTRA Advocates For Intimacy Coordinators
Daniel Ezra - Victoria Sirakova
Broadcast: All American will see key cast members leave in its seventh season: Daniel Ezra will not return as a series regular, and following him include Samantha Logan, Cody Christian, Karimah Westbrook, Monét Mazur, and Chelsea Tavares. Only three original cast members will remain as full-time series regulars: Michael Evans Behling, Greta Onieogou, and Bre-Z. Season 7 will return the focus to Beverly Hills High and South Crenshaw High, introducing a new generation of characters and a new Beverly coach, Cassius Jeremy (Osy Ikhile). The upcoming season is set to premiere in 2025.
The upcoming CBS soap opera Beyond The Gates is set to debut in January 2025, and the production team are looking to fill the cast. The characters up for casting include Patrick, a retired senator with a family secret; Elizabeth, a paralegal in a love affair with a married man; Marcus, a congressman campaigning to be President; Sam, a plastic surgeon; Stacy, a high-end real estate agent in a failing marriage; and Courtney, a widow with resentment. Characters included in the series include Jillian, an attorney who connected to her grandmother through singing; Diane, a woman with a dual personality wanting to right a past wrong; Luis, a personal trainer at the Fairmont Estates Country Club interested in a married woman; Allison, the spoiled child of Jessica and Sam; Armand, a charming and wealthy photographer; Cheryl, a fashion model with aspirations to design; Rick, a firefighter; David, a law enforcement officer; and Katie, a nurse with a passion to help others. Those who audition for the cast must reside in Atlanta, GA.
Mike colter - Steve Granitz
Cable: Fox's procedural Accused has added Mike Colter, Sherri Saum, Kiara Barnes, Jamie Chung, and Sonequa Martin-Green to the cast of its second season. Colter is cast as John, Saum will play Erica, Barnes will play Eve, Chung will play Grace, and Martin-Green will play Megan. Each episode focuses on a new character's story and the trouble they find themselves in. They join existing cast members Danny Pino, Nick Canon, and Michael Chiklis, to name a few. The second season of Accused will premiere on October 8th, 2024.
HBO's series Lanterns is in debate about casting for the character John Stewart, with leading choices being Aaron Pierre (The Underground Railroad) and Stephan James (Homecoming). The series is based on the Green Lantern DC comic. The actor chosen will be set to star opposite Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan, though no official offers have been made yet. Other names thrown around for the role include Damson Idris (Snowfall). The series, developed by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King, follows intergalactic cops Stewart and Jordan as they investigate a murder on Earth.
Karen Rodriguez - IMDB
Streaming: A24 is developing a TV series adaptation of Things Fall Apart and has added Idris Elba (Hijack) to the cast. The series is based on Chinua Achebe's novel of the same title. Elba will play Okonkwo and serve as executive producer with David Oyelowo, Amanda N'Duka, and Gina Carter. The story follows African warrior Okonkwo as he grows and protects his culture from colonization.
Karen Rodriguez (Swarm) has been cast as a series regular in the live-action Spider-Noir series. The series is set in 1930s New York and follows a private investigator (Nicolas Cage) who reflects on his ex-life as the city's superhero. Rodriguez will join Lamorne Morris (New Girl), Brendan Gleeson (The Comey Rule), Abraham Popoola (Atlas), Li Jun Li (Babylon), and Jack Huston (Ben-Hur). The series will air on MGM+ and Amazon Prime Video.
Netflix has greenlit the limited series East of Eden, adding Hoon Lee (DMZ) to the cast. Lee will join actors Mike Faist (Challengers), Christopher Abbott (Sanctuary), and Florence Pugh (Hawkeye). Written and executive produced by Zoe Kazan, the seven-episode series is co-produced by Anonymous Content and Fifth Season. The series is based on John Steinbeck's novel of the same name, and the story will explore the Trask family and their experiences with trauma, love, betrayal, and free will.
Prime Video's series The Boys has added Daveed Diggs (The Good Lord Bird) to the cast as a series regular. The upcoming season marks the series' fifth and final one. Diggs joins actors Karl Urban (Dredd), Antony Starr (Banshee), and Jack Quaid (The Hunger Games), and details about his character and story are not yet disclosed. The Boys was created by Eric Kripke and was inspired by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comic series of the same name.
Hulu's series from Onyx Collective UnPrisoned has been canceled after its second season. Actress Kerry Washington (Scandal) shared the news on Instagram, expressing both disappointment and gratitude for the show’s journey. The series, which debuted in 2023 and released its second season in July 2024, received high praise from critics, holding a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Created by Tracy McMillan, the show centered on Washington’s character, Paige Alexander, whose life is disrupted when her father (Delroy Lindo) is released from prison.
Ruth Chen
Industry: Legendary Television has appointed Ruth Chen as its new Senior Vice President of Television Business and Legal Affairs. Chen will focus on developing international scripted and unscripted projects. Chen will report to Lee Rierson, Legendary's EVP and Head of TV Business & Legal Affairs. Previously, Chen worked at Sony Pictures Television, managing English-language scripted originals.
SAG-AFTRA has filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking to represent intimacy coordinators in negotiations with major studios. This petition aims to secure minimum pay, improve working conditions, and increase protections on health insurance and pensions for the coordinators. Currently, while some studios like HBO require intimacy coordinators, there are no industry-wide standards for safe environments for performers in intimate scenes. The petition requires a vote by the coordinators for union representation approval.
“Shifting the power imbalance that has been ingrained over a century is challenging but important work,” said SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher. “Work that can be done even more effectively with the backing of a union. Intimacy coordinators have our backs on set and now it’s our turn to have theirs.”
Luti Fagbenle and Sheila Nortley have launched a new TV production company called Osun Group. Nortley, producer of Supacell, will become head of drama and executive producer, while Fagbenle, founder of Luti Media, will lead. Osun will focus on high-end television, offering a comprehensive production framework across various departments and securing funding through venture capital, brand partnerships, and global alliances.
“Our vision for Osun is to provide the best home for diverse talent to tell their stories, offering the infrastructure and culturally attuned leadership needed to execute their most ambitious projects,” said Fagbenle.
Universal Studio Group has promoted Jonder Ho to senior vice president of business affairs, where he will negotiate key deals for writers, actors, directors, and other top talent for upcoming projects. Ho, who has been with the studio for eight years, will also serve as a liaison between internal departments and external stakeholders. He previously held the position of vice president of business affairs at Universal Television. Ho will report directly to Blossom Lefcourt, USG’s global head of business affairs.
Paramount Global has implemented a second round of staff layoffs as part of its broader effort to reduce costs ahead of their merger with Skydance Media. The cuts will affect about 15% of their U.S. workforce, which is roughly 2,000 employees. The company expects a $300-$400 million restructuring charge in the third quarter. Co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins acknowledged the difficulty of these decisions in a memo to staff, expressing gratitude to departing employees. While specific areas were not disclosed, the IBEW union noted that the layoffs impacted CBS editors, media ingest, distribution, and production workers.
UTA has signed actor Nicholas Duvernay (Purple Hearts) for representation. Duvernay will join the cast of HBO’s White Lotus in its upcoming third season alongside actors like Carrie Coon (The Nest) and Jason Isaacs (Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris). He is known for his roles in series such as Bel-Air, Lindor, Assisted Living, The Rookie, and All American: Homecoming, to name a few. He remains represented by Rebel Creative Group and Yorn Levine.
DirecTV is in talks to acquire Dish Network and its Sling TV service from parent company EchoStar, aiming to finalize a deal by late September. The merger is motivated by EchoStar CEO Charlie Ergen’s goal to pay the company's $1.98 billion debt due by November 2024, potentially avoiding a bankruptcy reorganization. Both satellite TV providers have suffered massive subscriber losses as consumers shift to streaming, with their combined customer base now about 20 million, down from double that a decade ago. Despite past regulatory hurdles to a merger, analysts believe it is unlikely regulators would block this deal today, given the sector’s decline. However, potential synergies between the companies are seen as limited, due to differing technologies and the diminishing role of satellite TV in the media industry.
