Small Screen: Kamal Bolden Joins Untitled NBC Heist Pilot; ‘The Midwich Cuckoos’ Is Being Made Into An Eight-Part Sky Original; Brian Tyree Henry Joins Fx On Hulu's ‘Class Of '09’
Kamal Bolden - Tasia Wells
Broadcast: NBC’s new untitled bank heist pilot has just cast Kamal Bolden as a male lead. He will be playing ‘Elgin Turner, a former FBI agent sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement with a drug cartel. He’s married to his childhood sweetheart, FBI agent Val Turner.’ The series is written by Nick Wootton with Justin Lin attached as director. Bolden joins Morena Baccarin and Ryan Michelle Bathé. The untitled series plot is as follows: “a high-stakes two-hander about Elena Federova (Baccarin), a recently captured international arms dealer and brilliant criminal mastermind who orchestrates a number of coordinated bank heists throughout NYC for a mysterious purpose, and Val Turner (Bathé), the principled, relentless and socially outcast FBI agent who will stop at nothing to foil her ambitious plan. The sexy and twisted heist show reveals how far some people will go for love, justice, and the most valuable commodity in the world: the truth.”
Cherrelle Skeete - Karwai Tang
Cable: HGTV is launching a new show slated to air early next year with the working title Married to Real Estate. Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson, the spouses from Property Virgins, are attached to star. There will be eight episodes in the first season each with a runtime of one hour apiece. The series “will follow the couple as they juggle their busy professional and personal lives while helping clients land their perfect home in a dream neighborhood. With an eye for design and ensuring future profit, Sherrod leverages her knowledge of the market to find affordable properties in desirable locations for her clients. Jackson and his team then create a gorgeous home with smart renovations that increase its worth and return on investment. Together, they turn houses into dream homes.”
John Wyndham’s science fiction novel The Midwich Cuckoos is being made into an eight-part Sky Original drama by the same name. The adaptation has cast Cherrelle Skeete (Hanna) in an undisclosed supporting role. She joins Bodyguard’s Keeley Hawes and The Outsider’s Max Beesley. David Firr, another Hanna alum, will write the script with the help of Sasha Hails, Namsi Khan, and Laura Lomas as co-writers. The Midwich Cuckoos is set in a distant British town where the women become mysteriously pregnant with alien children. The series is produced by ITV Studios-backed Route 24 and Snowed-In Productions in association with Sky Studios. Alice Troughton from Baghdad Central is the lead director, with Jennifer Perrott of Gentleman Jack serving as director. Exec producers are Marc Samuelson and Robert Cheek for Route 24 and Ruth Kenley-Letts and Neil Blair for Snowed-In Productions. The series producer is Eliza Mellor.
Kyle Bary of Ginny & Georgia joins Yaya DaCosta, Morris Chestnut, and LeToya Luckett in Our Kind Of People on Fox in a series regular role as Quincy Dupont. Karin Gist is penning the series and executive produces alongside Lee Daniels. The show, based on Lawrence Otis Graham’s novel Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class, is set in Oak Bluffs Martha’s Vineyard. Historically this has been an area where the wealthiest Black gentry have lived for half a century. The plot ‘follows strong-willed single mom Angela Vaughn (DaCosta) as she sets out to reclaim her family’s name and make an impact with her revolutionary haircare line that highlights the innate, natural beauty of Black women. But she soon discovers a dark secret about her mother’s past that will turn her world upside-down and shake up this community forever.’ Bary’s Quincy is a suave and talented basketball player who had the privilege of being raised in a prosperous household. His dreams of becoming an NBA star are shattered when his father pressures him into continuing the family business against his will.
Ziwe Fumudoh’s late-night comedy sketch show Ziwe has just been greenlit for a new 12 episodes in the second season by Showtime. This time around, the show will be split into two installments and continue featuring celebrity guest stars/interviews. Past guests include Phoebe Bridgers, Fran Lebowitz, Andrew Yang, Eboni K. Williams, Gloria Steinem, and Stacey Abrams. Ziwe’s executive producers consist of A24, Ziwe, Jamund Washington, and Hunter Speese. The show does not have a release date yet.
Brian Tyree Henry - Alberto E. Rodriguez / Stringer
Streaming: A new thriller is coming to FX on Hulu. The eight-episode limited series entitled Class of ‘09 centers on “A group of FBI agents who graduated from Quantico in 2009 who are reunited following the death of a mutual friend. Spanning three decades and told across three interweaving timelines, the series examines the nature of justice, humanity, and the choices we make that ultimately define our lives and our legacy.” Brian Tyree Henry of Atlanta fame is attached as Tayo Miller alongside A Teacher’s Kate Mara. Penning the script is Tom Rob Smith know for The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Henry’s character is one of the smartest and unconventional agents ever to walk the halls of the FBI. His goal is to completely reconstruct the institution to make it what he believes it should be. Mara is playing Amy Poet, a woman who finds herself at the center of the most significant transformation in the bureau's history, even though she never saw herself going into this profession. Class of ‘09 is produced by Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson.
Fear The Walking Dead star Colman Domingo will be writing an adaptation of his stage production Dot entitled West Philly, Baby. Domingo is also attached to direct and will be executive producing from his Edith Productions banner alongside AMC Studios and ALLBLK. The series “Will follow the journey of a Philadelphia family forced to grapple with their matriarch’s declining memory amidst uncovering long-held family secrets that shake the foundation of their home. Midlife crises, troubling revelations, childhood trauma, and complications of Alzheimer’s make for an American family story set in the heart of one of the country’s oldest and most historically significant cities.” West Philly, Baby is set to premiere on the AMC streamer next year.
