Small Screen: MGM+ Drops ‘Emperor of Ocean Park’ Trailer, ‘Big E’ Ewen and Indya Moore Join ‘Laid’

Malcolm D. Lee - Gilbert Flores

Broadcast: The 1976 film Car Wash from Universal Pictures will be adapted into a TV comedy series by producer Malcolm D. Lee (The Best Man) and writer Opeyemi Olagbaju (Bob Hearts Abishola). Set in a modern Washington, D.C. car wash, the NBC series will explore the generational and cultural clashes within an immigrant family and their diverse group of employees, expanding on the original film's narrative. While casting for the series is still under wraps, there's potential for cameos from original cast members, which would appeal to fans. Olagbaju and Lee will executive produce alongside Dominique Telson.

UKTV's drama series The Marlow Murder Club confirmed a second season following good reviews from viewers. Returning to the main cast as Detective Tanika Malik, Judith, Becks, and Suzie are Natalie Dew, Samantha Bond, Cara Horgan, and Jo Martin, respectively. The first season followed these characters’ efforts to solve the  seemingly unrelated murders of three people, and they will return for further crime fighting in the second season. The series will broadcast on UKTV and will stream on U in 2025.

Streaming: Nahnatchka Khan's (Young Rock) comedy series, Laid, introduced Indya Moore (Pose) and Ettore “Big E” Ewen (WWE) to its cast list. They will co-star alongside Tommy Martinez (Good Trouble) and executive producer Stephanie Hsu (Joyride). The show will explore how a woman's ex-lovers are mysteriously dying, and which partner was the problem in these relationships. The show will stream on Peacock.

Comcast announced the $15 starting price for their Xfinity StreamSaver Bundle, which includes Netflix, Peacock, and Apple TV+. The bundle will release during the last week of May 2024, and the company expects customers to relish in saving up to $100 a year.

"[StreamSaver is] offering customers new ways to save money on streaming entertainment via the nation’s best and most reliable network in and out of the home," Comcast stated.

HBO and Max's drama series Industry will return for a third season. Mickey Down co-created, co-wrote, and co-executive produced the show with Konrad Kay. The series follows a group of bankers as they face internal and external pressures working at Pierpoint & Co's London international bank. The third season’s synopsis reveals that the new season will focus on ethical investing. Marisa Abela (Barbie) and Ken Leung (Missing) will play Yasmin and Eric, respectively, as their characters explore a new business in a green tech energy company, IPO of Lumi. Harper (Myha’la) will face her own thrills in finance partnerships. Fady Elsayed (Class) was also confirmed as a new addition to the third season’s cast. The third season will be released on August 11th on HBO and Max.

HBO's series The Last of Us cast Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction) in the role of Issac. This casting follows Wright playing Isaac in The Last Of Us Part II video game for PlayStation, in which his character is the quiet leader of a militia. He will costar alongside Pedro Pascal, Rutina Wesley, and Gabriel Luna.

Amazon Prime Video's thriller series Obsession cast Avan Jogia (Choose Love) to star as Oliver. He will act alongside Dove Cameron (History of the World: Part II), who plays Ciara, as the lead suspect in a murder case. Oliver is accused of killing and decomposing Ciara’s body inside of his apartment. The show will follow the 56 days of the investigation, as well as their romantic affairs prior to the homicide.

Executive producer and actor David Oyelowo (Selma) reflected on the profound impact of working on Lawmen: Bass Reeves. The series faced numerous rejections, in which Oyelowo was told that “the story isn’t global” and “people aren’t going to want to see it far and wide.” However, upon its November 2023 premiere on Paramount+, the series earned the distinction of the streamer’s most-watched global debut.

Oyelowo highlighted the show's success raising awareness about overlooked aspects of American history, including the significant presence of Black cowboys and the complexities of the Reconstruction era. The series also depicts a loving Black family and a poignant love story, offering representation rarely seen on such a grand production scale. Additionally, Bass Reeves furthers Oyelowo's mission to support the next generation of Black actors, featuring talents like Lonnie Chavis (The Boy Behind the Door), Demi Singleton (King Richard), Storm Reid (Euphoria), and Oyelowo’s son, Caleb Oyelowo.

Cable: MGM+ has released the trailer for their series Emperor of Ocean Park. Based on the Stephen L. Carter novel Emperor of Ocean Park, the series follows law professor Talcott (Grantham Coleman) and his sister Mariah (Tiffany Mack) as they delve into the mystery behind what killed their father, Judge Oliver Garland (Forest Whitaker). Also joining the cast is Paulina Lule, Keith Powers, and Deanna Reed-Foster, to name a few of the faces in the preview. The trailer takes a look at the drama, action, and thrills that comes as they explore their suspicions of foul play in the world of politics. The series will be available to watch on July 14th. 

Yulin Kuang - Rodin Eckenroth / Stringer

Industry: After releasing her first romance novel, How to End a Love Story, in April 2024, TV and film writer Yulin Kuang expressed interest in seeing a series adaptation of her book. With experience adapting novels such as Emily Henry’s novels Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation, Kuang explained that she would want voices in the writing process outside of her own if the adaptation were to happen. An adaptation of the novel is not confirmed. 

"I would be very interested in seeing what other artists would bring to it because I think that’s the fun part of filmmaking being a team sport," Kuang shared. 

Following Brian Beneker's lawsuit against CBS, CBS motioned to throw out the case about their diversity hiring for writers on SEAL Team. Beneker claimed that he was not hired because he is a straight, white man. CBS argued that based on the First Amendment, the company can hire anyone they want to. The company did not say that they are above anti-discrimination laws. 

“The First Amendment rule of speaker’s autonomy gives CBS, and CBS alone, the right to decide what stories to tell in its television programming, and it has the corresponding right to select which writers are best suited to tell those stories,” clarified Molly Lens, a partner at O'Melveny & Myers.

Priya Dogra was hired as the chief advertising and revenue officer at Sky. Dogra previously worked as Warner Bros. Discovery’s EMEA boss. Now, Dogra will join Sky's executive management committee and manage Sky Media's advertising, sales, streaming revenues, and long-term relationships with the company's partners. 

“Sky has been at the forefront of delivering best in class consumer experiences in entertainment and connectivity and I’m delighted to be part of driving future innovation. I look forward to collaborating with our many partners on delivering innovative brand solutions and driving monetisation across linear and digital video,” Dogra commented.

Chuti Tiu (Yellowstone) signed with The Luedtke Agency, a casting agency based in New York. Her filmography background includes CSI: Vegas, Expats, How to Get Away With Murder, and many other roles. Following her Best Actress award at New York Cinefest, she wroten the indie film Pretty Rosebud.

Jon Petrie, head of BBC comedy, told producers to find their "funny bones" in his determination to lead a “sitcoms first” approach to series proposals. He denounced streaming companies for not releasing comedy content that is culturally relevant to the audiences in the U.K. With the current climate following the writer's strikes, Petrie wants more laughs coming from the writers’ room. Petrie noted that the “comedy ecosystem is much smaller than any of us would like” and producers should overcome their fear of failure to risk success with the audiences.

Charter Communications and Paramount Global announced they will continue the partnership that will distribute Paramount's linear cable networks, CBS broadcast stations, and direct-to-consumer streaming. With this, Spectrum TV customers will get ad-supported versions of Paramount's direct-to-consumer services. They will also offer products to their Internet-only customers at retail rate, especially for ad-free upgrades. 

“We are very pleased to renew and expand our long-standing partnership with Charter to provide continued access to Paramount’s leading portfolio of broadcast, entertainment, news and sports brands,” Ray Hopkins, president of Paramount's U.S. Networks Distribution, shared about this partnership.