Small Screen: Oscar Isaac Joins Netflix’s ‘Beef’, Hulu Releases ‘Interior Chinatown’ Trailer
Chene Lawson - Amanda Edwards
Broadcast: CBS has renewed Matlock, starring Kathy Bates as Madeline “Matty” Matlock, for a second season following its successful debut. The reboot of the classic legal drama premiered on September 22 and garnered over 6 million viewers for its premiere. Bates plays Matty Matlock, a lawyer in her seventies who joins a top law firm to solve criminal cases. The series features a cast that includes Skye P. Marshall, Jason Ritter, David Del Rio, and Leah Lewis.
Loren Lott (All American: Homecoming) and Chene’ Lawson (All Things Undone) are reprising their roles for The Young and the Restless upcoming episodes, including the 13,000th on November 13th. Lott will return as Ana Hamilton, and Lawson will return as Yolanda “Harmony” Hamilton. Both characters will be returning to Genoa City for Devon's (Bryton James) and Abby's (Melissa Ordway) wedding. Chene' was last in the soap in May 2023, and Lott was last seen in 2019 as Ana.
ABC's comedy series Abbott Elementary has cast Matthew Law (Star Wars: Ahsoka) as O'Shon in the upcoming fourth season. In the episode featuring Law, O'Shon is the school district's IT representative and will be involved with the new computers provided by a developer constructing a golf course near the school, which poses a challenge to the teachers. Abbott Elementary is set in a predominantly Black Philadelphia school and stars Quinta Brunson (A Black Lady Sketch Show), Tyler James Williams (Dear White People), Janelle James (The Standups), and Sheryl Lee Ralph (The Fabulous Four), to name a few.
CBS’s new daytime soap opera Beyond the Gates has announced ten new cast members. The series explores drama with the Dupree family in a prestigious Maryland community. The cast includes filling the roles for the Richardson Family, with Maurice Johnson as Ted Richardson, a renowned plastic surgeon, and Brandon Claybon as his son, Martin, an ambitious congressman aiming to become the first gay Black president. Colby Muhammad is set as Martin’s sister, Katherine “Kat” Richardson, a privileged young woman, and Sean Freeman joins as Andre Hamilton, Ted’s playboy nephew who inherited a fortune. In the cast of the Hamilton family, Timon Durrett is cast as Bill Hamilton, an ambitious criminal defense attorney and ex-husband to Dani Dupree. Arielle Prepetit is cast as Naomi Dupree, a humble civil attorney with musical talent, and RhonniRose Mantilla as Chelsea Dupree, a fashion model and designer. Marquita Goings plays Hayley Lawson, Bill’s fiancée and a paralegal. In the Thomas family cast, Trisha Mann-Grant is set to play Dana “Leslie” Thomas, a charming bartender, and Ambyr Michelle will play her daughter, Eva, Nicole Dupree’s assistant. Created by Michele Val Jean with CBS Studios as the NAACP, Beyond the Gates will premiere in early 2025.
Tommie Earl Jenkins - Gregg DeGuire / Stringer
Cable: USA Network's The Rainmaker has added Tommie Earl Jenkins (Wednesday) to the cast. The Rainmaker is a drama series adaptation of John Grisham's novel and follows law graduate Rudy Baylor (Milo Callaghan) as he challenges veteran lawyer Leo Drummond (John Slattery) in a conspiracy case about the death of a client's son. Jenkins is set to play Prince Thomas, the owner of Yogi's Bar, Rudy's workplace. The series is currently in production and is led by showrunner Michael Seitzman, and executive producers Jason Richman, John Grisham, David Gernert, and Jason Blum.
Streaming: Netflix's series Beef has confirmed that Oscar Isaac (Dune) and Charles Melton (Riverdale) will star in the series' second season. The season's plot will follow a couple who witness a tense fight between their boss and his wife and the events in a country club run by a Korean billionaire. The series is released in 30-minute episodes and is created by Lee Sung Jin, along with Steven Yeun, Ali Wong, and Jake Schreier as executive producers.
Additionally, Netflix’s series Beef has added Youn Yuh-jung (Minari) to the cast of the second season. The series was created by Lee Sung Jin and follows a young couple in a conflict with a country club led by a Korean billionaire. Yuh-jung joins other cast members Oscar Isaac (Dune), Charles Melton (May December), Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), and Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman).
On October 22nd, Hulu released the trailer for Interior Chinatown. The series is directed by Taika Waititi and created by Charles Yu. Based on Yu’s 2020 award-winning novel of the same name, the series will premiere on November 19 on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+. The series stars Jimmy O. Yang (Love Hard) as Willis Wu, a background character in a police procedural called Black & White who dreams of having a larger role in his own uneventful life. When Willis witnesses a crime, he finds himself teaming up with a spy and uncovering a deeper mystery within Chinatown: a criminal web and his family’s hidden history. The cast includes Ronny Chieng (M3G4N), Chloe Bennet (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Lisa Gilroy (Stay The Night), and more.
Bela Bajaria - JC Olivera / Stringer
Industry: Omar J. Dorsey has signed with Gersh for representation. Dorsey has recently acted in a co-lead role in HBO Max’s Bookie, which premieres its second season in December. Dorsey starred in Ava DuVernay's acclaimed works Selma and When They See Us, as well as seven seasons of Queen Sugar. His TV roles include Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Ray Donovan, and Eastbound & Down, to name a few. He remains represented by Aligned Entertainment and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.
Paapa Essiedu has signed with WME for representation. Essiedu is best known for his Emmy-nominated role as Kwame in I May Destroy You. Essiedu recently starred in the sixth season of Black Mirror, The Genie, The Outrun, and The Scurry. On stage, he starred in The Effect and in Death of England on the West End, to name a few. Essiedu is also represented by Curtis Brown and Tapestry London.
Antonia Gentry has signed with Gersh for representation. Gentry is best known for her role as Ginny in the hit Netflix series Ginny & Georgia. Gentry will appear in Netflix’s thriller Time Cut with Madison Bailey, as well as Ginny & Georgia Season 3 in 2025. She is also represented by Industry Entertainment, Hansen Jacobson Teller, YMU Entertainment, and Shelter PR.
TFC Management has signed with Maisie Richardson-Sellers. Richardson-Sellers will star in the second season of Hulu's series Nine Perfect Strangers with Nicole Kidman. Her other projects include Hulu's Jagged Mind, The Undeclared War, The Kissing Booth movies, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, to name a few. Alongside her acting credits, Richardson-Sellers founded Barefaced Productions intended to boost the voices of those in marginalized communities. She will continue to be represented by The Gersh Agency, Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham, and Denton Brierley.
Range Media Partners has signed with Deborah Ayorinde (Sense and Sensibility) for representation. Ayorinde recently earned a Stage Debut Award nomination for starring in Lyric Hammersmith's theater production Wedding Band as Julia. Additionally, she will star in MGM+'s limited series Nine Bodies, and has other acting credits in Prime Video's Them, Amazon-ITV Riches, Apple TV+'s Truth Be Told, and Netflix's Luke Cage, along with many others. Ayorinde will continue to be represented by Gang, Tyre, Brown & Passman, 42West, and Ramer.
At Netflix’s post-Emmy party, Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria highlighted her leadership style of inclusivity and agility. Bajaria, whose career included roles at CBS and NBCUniversal, oversees Netflix’s multilingual content production, with a $17 billion budget for 2024. Raised in California, her Indian heritage and family’s entrepreneurial spirit shaped her drive into her career where she champions international storytelling. With her involvement in supporting women’s education, Bajaria is an advocate for Room to Read, focusing on educational opportunities to combat gender inequality globally. This includes setting up facilities in Cambodia and Tanzania to teach young girls life skills. The organization sets young girls up with adult mentors for years to help develop skills to take them into higher education.
“They’re part social worker, part big sister, part therapist,” Bajaria said about the mentors. “I’ve seen up close and personal the work that they’ve done and the impact it’s had on young women. And that’s why Room to Read is important to me.”
