Small Screen: ‘Blade Runner 2099’ Adds Dimitri Abold, Charithra Chandran Joins ‘Nikhil & Jay’
Charithra Chandran - Simon Ackerman
Broadcast: Nickelodeon renewed the sitcom Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan for a fifth season. Production will begin on July 8th at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta with a plan for 13 episodes. The sitcom stars Dylan Gilmer (The Kids Tonight Show) as a young hip-hop artist living with his wealthy uncle's family. The story will focus on Dylan and his cousin Rebecca's (Celina Smith) efforts to grow their hip-hop record label.
BBC's upcoming animated sitcom Nikhil & Jay cast Charithra Chandran (Bridgerton) to voice act. Based on Chitra Soundar's books, the series follows two Indian British brothers, exploring how their multicultural background intertwines with their family relations, customs, music, and culture. Chandran will voice Nikhil (Shiv Senthilkumar) and Jay's (Sai Ganesh Nadesan) mother Amma. The series will premiere on BBC's CBeebies later in 2024.
ABC News Studios has partnered with Laci Mosley (iCarly) to create a TV adaption of her podcast, Scam Goddess. The podcast updates listeners about current scams and tricks and features guest star comedians every week. The Scam Goddess podcast originally launched in 2019 with Earwolf and the TV series is currently in production.
Sandra Yi Sencindiver - Karwai Tang
Cable: Sandra Yi Sencindiver was cast in Alien, Noah Hawley's sci-fi series on FX. Sencindiver will play Yatani, a pivotal role with no further details released. Although specific plot details are not yet announced, Sencindiver suggested that fans of the original Alien films will be pleased with the new take on the franchise. Executively produced by Ridley Scott, the series will explore the early days of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. The series began filming in January 2024 and has plans to premiere in 2025. Sencindiver expressed her excitement about portraying a character that hasn't been depicted before.
“I can’t say anything more than that, other than it’s been very exciting and interesting to play this character. I also think it’s a pleasure that nobody has played that character before. That’s also great for me, that I get to set the bar for what this character is. We’ll be pleased—the old fans of the original movies,” said Sencidniver.
Prentice Penny - Kristina Bumphrey
Streaming: Netflix's sci-fi series Stranger Things has reached the midpoint of production for its fifth season. Production began on January 8th following delays from the WGA and SAG strikes in 2023. Maya Hawke, who plays Robin, described the show's production challenges on the Podcrushed podcast; Hawke noted the Duffer Brothers' detail-oriented approach to writing and filming. The final season will have eight episodes and is expected to take about a year to complete. Ross Duffer shared an Instagram update that featured a video of actor Finn Wolfhard dropping a marble into a jar and a photo of the cast and crew. It was captioned: “Week 24. Happy halfway to the best cast and crew ever.”
Amazon MGM Studios and Alcon Entertainment’s action series Blade Runner 2099 added Dimitri Abold (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) to the cast. Abold joins Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once) as a series regular, but his character details have yet to be revealed. The series is based on the sci-fi thriller Blade Runner universe and follows the film Blade Runner 2049.
Prime Video's series Young Sherlock cast Zine Tseng (3 Body Problem) as a leading character. Tseng will portray Princess Gulun Shou'an, a Chinese Princess attending Oxford University. The series is adapted from Andy Lane's Young Sherlock Holmes book series, which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle inspired. The story follows young Sherlock Holmes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) and his investigation of a murder at Oxford University with the help of a skilled royal martial artist, Princess Gulun Shou'an (Tseng).
Hulu's series Reasonable Doubt added Melissa Ponzio (Chicago Fire), Essence Atkins (First Wives Club), and Vaughn W. Hebron (The Oval) to the cast of its second season. Ponzio was cast as Lucy Wargo, an attorney new to the LA area; Atkins was cast as Dr. Brandy Michaels, a domestic violence expert; and Hebron was cast as Adrian Hunter, an NFL player and mentor. Produced by Larry Wilmore, Kerry Washington, and Raamla Mohamed, the series follows the story of LA-based attorney Jax Stewart (Emayatzy Corinealdi).
Onyx Collective will no longer proceed with Prentice Penny's pilot Not Cops. With timing issues as a contributing factor, the decision was made days before filming was set to begin in Atlanta. The half-hour pilot would have focused on residents of Leimert Park in Los Angeles taking charge of community safety after defunding the police. The cast lineup included Bethlehem Million (Throuple), Suzy Nakamura (Knox Goes Away), and Chi McBride (Pushing Daisies).
On another note, Onyx Collective's comedy series How to Die Alone set its premiere date for September 13th. Created and executively produced by Natasha Rothwell (Insecure), the half-hour episodes will be available to stream on Hulu. The series will follow JFK airport employee Mel (Rothwell) as she faces trials with relationships, aspirations, and near-death situations. Other cast members include Jocko Sims (New Amsterdam), KeiLyn Durrel Jones (Sparring Partner), and Conrad Ricamora (Fire Island).
Hulu's legal series All's Fair has welcomed Halle Berry (Monster's Ball) onto the cast. Created by Kim Kardashian and Ryan Murphy, Berry joins Glen Close (Fatal Attraction) in a series focused on an all-female law firm. Not only will they star next to Murphy and Kardashian, but Berry and Close will join the creators as executive producers. Specific details on the series and Berry's role are not yet announced.
Roma Khanna - Phillip Faraone / Stringer
Industry: Universal International Studios (UIS) head Roma Khanna exits her role after six months. While details of her departure are unclear, she will stay in her role temporarily to work on several UIS projects. Khanna replaced David Donoghue last year, and it is uncertain if her position will be filled or eliminated. UID President Beatrice Springborn praised Khanna’s global market expertise.
“[Khanna's] operational expertise in the global marketplace, coupled with Beatrice’s deft creative strategy, will fuel our ambitions and expand our footprint exponentially,” said Springborn.
Paramount Global's co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins announced that they’ve hired bankers to evaluate the sale of certain assets. The company is in talks to sell BET Media Group — which includes BET, VH1, BET+, and BET Studios — to a group of buyers led by BET CEO Scott Mills and Chinh Chu, founder of the private equity firm CC Capital. The deal is valued between $1.6 and $1.7 billion. This move is part of Paramount's strategy to streamline operations, including job cuts, asset sales, and streaming partnerships, as mentioned in the town hall meeting on June 25th. Cheeks noted that selling certain Paramount-owned assets would help pay down debt, including selling the Paramount Pictures Studio lot in Los Angeles. With this new potential BET sale, shares of Paramount Global rose 5.7% to $10.72.
After Keir Starmer's Labour Party won against the Conservatives in the U.K. election, Lisa Nandy was appointed as the new Culture Secretary. In this role, Nandy will oversee the legislation for television and media. Some of her first challenges to tackle include improving the broadcasting system and protecting freelance media makers from AI. Starmer replaced Thangam Debbonaire with Nandy after Debbonaire lost her seat to Green Party leader Carla Denyer.
David Ellison's Skydance Media and its investors are set to invest $8 billion to acquire Paramount Global after its seven-month negotiation. This deal involves first acquiring National Amusements Inc. followed by a full merger. Paramount Class A shareholders will receive $23 per share, while Class B shareholders will get $15 per share in a mix of cash and stock. Skydance will be valued at $4.75 billion and involves significant financial commitments, including $2.4 billion from the Skydance Investor Group. Set to close in the first half of 2025, the deal also features 45-days for considering alternative offers. Skydance's extensive history with Paramount's major franchises is expected to drive the company's next growth phase, as emphasized in the announcement by Ellison. Major investors have commented on the importance of investing in Paramount Global as a historical company.
“As one of the iconic media brands and libraries in Hollywood, Paramount has the intellectual property foundation to ensure longevity through this evolution – but it will require a new generation of visionary leadership together with experienced operational management to navigate this next phase,” said Gerry Cardinale, founder and investor of RedBird Capital.
Paramount Global's stock dropped 5% on July 8th following the announcement of its merger agreement with Skydance Media. Skydance and its investors are committing $8 billion, giving Paramount an enterprise value of $28 billion. The stock, already down 22% this year, closed at $11.18 a share with trading volume doubling. Some analysts are expressing concerns about the long-term strategic details and the high valuation compared to peers.
“At a high level, new leadership’s strategic focus on content creation, technology investments and financial discipline are rational, and we believe Skydance leadership is positioned to drive creative and operational improvements. That said, specific details on key issues including future structure of the streaming service, management of the portfolio of linear network assets, and expanded use of technology to drive growth remain in development. When combined with the length of time to close (expected in September 2025) and relatively high valuation compared to media peers…we expect investor enthusiasm to remain tempered,” said Guggenheim's Michael Morris.
The Pasifika Entertainment Advancement Komiti (PEAK) has announced its first class for the PEAK Writers Fellowship. The initiative was founded by PEAK co-founder and director Dana Ledoux Miller and will continue annually. With the help of Netflix, PEAKS's Fellowship selects six Pasifika television writers to be mentored by someone from the industry and help them land a job in a staff writing position. Alongside mentorship, the fellows will be involved in discussions and panels led by top TV and film industry professionals to assist them with the business side of the industry. The 6 current Fellows include Sophia Perez, Matthew Dekneef, Olivé (Jacqueline Olive), Tia Kanaeholo, David Kop, and Taylor Foreman-Niko. PEAK's Executive Director Kristian Fanene Schmidt expressed the importance of allowing Pasifika writers to use their full potential in the industry.
“There are only a handful of Pasifika writers in the industry, so there’s a real urgency to build that pipeline, especially given the growing number of Pasifika stories being told by Hollywood with no Pasifika writers involved,” said Schmidt.
