Small Screen: Fox's Fantasy Island Reboot Casts Roselyn Sanchez; Disney+ and Lucasfilms are adapting the 1988 film Willow for television
Roselyn Sanchez - JC Olivera
Broadcast: Roselyn Sanchez has been cast as the lead role for Fox’s upcoming Fantasy Island reboot. Sanchez will be playing Elena Roarke, a descendant of Mr. Roarke from the original show. Her character is described as follows: “Elena set aside her own ambitions, and even the love of her life, to uphold her family’s legacy. Sophisticated, insightful and always charming, Elena’s calm exterior masks the challenges of the responsibilities she has assumed as steward of this mysterious island.” The reboot comes from writers and executive producers Liz Craft and Sarah Fain, with the series being a co-production between Sony Pictures Television, Gemstone Studios, and Fox Entertainment. The show will premiere on August 10.
Adam Hororwitz and Edward Kitsis, creators of the hit show Once Upon A Time are at it again with a new pilot for ABC entitled Epic. Alexander Hodge, known for his roles in Insecure Abe, joins previously announced cast members Eleanor Fanyinka from Masters of Love and Brittany O’Grady from Little Voice in the ABC Signature drama. It will be an anthology series that subverts well known fairytales and presents them to a new audience. ABC did not provide a character description for Hodge. O’Grady will play Luna, who is a fairytale princess made cynical by a broken heart. She doesn’t believe in love stories, which is unfortunate because she is about to find herself caught in the most epic one of all — her own. Fanyinka will play The Seer, a mysterious and playful figure who can lead you down the path of true love. ABC did not provide a character description for Hodge.
Tracy Ifeachor of Quantico fame is set to star as one of the leads in BBC’s new drama entitled Showtrial with World productions producing. The series will be in five parts and air on the flagship channel BBC One. It is an exploration of the prejudice and politics that corrupt the legal process. Ben Richards of The Tunnel is penning the script while Zara Hayes of Poms is directing. Other actors attached to the project are: James Frain of Star Trek: Discovery, Sharon D. Clarke of Rocks, Kerr Logan of Strike, Sinéad Keenan (“Little Boy Blue”), Celine Buckens (“Bridgerton”),and Lolita Chakrabarti (“Vigil”). Director Hayes said: “These scripts are thoroughly gripping and yet say something truly resonant about the justice system. I couldn’t be more honoured to bring them to life along with such a wonderful cast and the dream team in British TV drama.”
Fox Entertainment and CBS Studios will be producing a new comedy series inspired by the life of Tracey Ashley. Tiffany Haddish, under her She Ready Productions banner and Wanda Sykes under her Push It Productions are both onboard as executive producers. The single-camera show entitled Tracey’s Life Matters will follow Tracy, an independent black woman who moves in with her white husband to his hometown in Indiana. There she must face challenges such as her career in sales and her “Karen-like” mother-in-law. Ashley will pen the script and be executive producing.
Amer Chandha-Patel - Jay L. Clendenin
Streaming: Disney+ and Lucasfilms have announced a television adaptation of George Lucas’ 1988 fantasy film Willow. Amer Chadha-Patel from Doom: Annihilation, has been cast as one of the male leads named Boorman. This character is very similar to Madmartigan, played by Val Kilmer in the original. Boorman is a thief who joins the quest in exchange for his release from incarceration. Other actors attached to the project are Ellie Bamber, Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman and Warwick Davis, who will be reprising the titular role. The series comes from Jonathan Kasdan, who penned the pilot and is co-showrunner with Wendy Mericle. Jonathan Entwistle is on board as director. Executive producing the series are Kasdan, Mericle, Howard and Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy and Michelle Rejwan. The series will be shot in Whales, however its release date is still to be announced.
BET+ has just acquired Victoria Rowell’s popular show The Rich and the Ruthless. The upcoming fourth season debuts May 13 and will join seasons 1-3 on the ViacomCBS platform. This is a behind the scenes soap fused with dramatic and at times comedic elements following the fictional story of the first black owned family sudser on broadcast TV. Rowell created, stars and directs The Rich and the Ruthless and even produces alongside Days Ferry Productions. The other stars of the show are Richard Brooks (Good Trouble; Shameless), Alesha Reneé (Kenan), Robert Ri’chard (Harlem), Chrystale Wilson (All the Queens Men), Michael Colyar (BET’s Hollywood Heartbreak), Dawnn Lewis (Star Trek; Lower Decks), Vivian Lamolli (All the Queens Men), Kristen Mako (The Big Rant), Bryton James (The Young & The Restless) and new talent Akilah Releford.
Kimi Howl Lee’s new project $ugar has just been acquired by Hulu after a four-way bidding war with unnamed studios. The show is said to be a darkly comedic neo-feminist drama set at Stanford University that focuses on the accidental formation and rise of a Sugar Baby ring. Micah Shraft (FX/Hulu's Mrs. America, The CW's Jane the Virgin and Netflix's Jessica Jone) and Sarah Condon (Dare Me, Sex and the City and Entourage) will be executive producing with the former also attached as showrunner. Lee is an alumni of Stanford and her recent staffing credits include Amazon's The Expatriates and Netflix's Locke and Key. $ugar does not have a release date scheduled yet.
