Small Screen: Kirby Howell-Baptiste Cast In Netflix's Adaptation of Neil Gaiman's ‘The Sandman’; HBO Renews ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’ For Season Three
Telma Hopkins - The Young and the Restless/NBC
Broadcast: Family Matters star Telma Hopkins has been cast in a short-term role as Denise Tolliver, a private detective who reveals shocking information about Amanda Sinclair’s (Mishael Morgan) past. Hopkins will be reuniting with her former television son Bryton James (Devon Hamilton.) This will be the duo's first time working together since the Family Matters final season in 1998. Hopkins commented on her opportunity to work on Young and The Restless: "It is kind of like coming home. It is the full circle. I don't feel I have ever lost touch with [James] but certainly, it is nice to look across a room and see that smiling face that I am so used to. It feels like home, like family, like Family Matters." Hopkins will appear in multiple episodes beginning June 1st.
Fox’s drama series 9-1-1: Lone Star has just bumped up recurring actor Brianna Baker to a series regular for its upcoming third season. Baker’s character is Paramedic Nancy Gillian whose partner tragically lost his life on a call. She now works under Gina Torres’s Captain Tommy Vega at the 126. Over the two seasons of the show, Baker has appeared in 20 episodes. The 9-1-1 spinoff is produced by 20th Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television and Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear are creators, executive producers, and writers on the series. Bradley Buecker is an executive producer and directed the series premiere. Alexis Martin Woodall, Rashad Raisani, John J. Gray, Angela Bassett, and Rob Lowe are executive producers.
Jackee Harry - NBC
Cable: Earlier this week, two scripted series were green-lit by the CW for next year's television slate. The first is a spinoff of the popular show All American called All American: Homecoming and the second is based on a DC Comic entitled Naomi. The former will focus on a tennis player from Beverly Hills (Geffri Maya) and a rising baseball star from Chicago who experiences life at HBCU. Nkechi Okoro Carroll wrote the spinoff and is executive producing with Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schecter, Davis Madden, and Robbie Rogers. Michael Schultz is directing. Naomi is an adaptation of the 2019 DC title from Brian Michael Bendis and David F. Walker. Attached are Warner Brothers TV with Ava DuVernay, her Array Filmworks, and Jill Blakenship. Kaci Walfall is the lead character as she goes on a journey to identify the cause of a supernatural occurrence in her hometown. DuVernay and Blankenship write and executive produce the series; Array’s Sarah Bremner and Paul Garnes also executive produce. Amanda Marsalis directed and co-exec produced the pilot.
Starz Power universe has just cast grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and rapper Jeremih to their Power Book IV: Force. The show focuses on Tommy Egan, played by Joseph Siora, who leaves behind his life in New York and relocated to Chicago where he is introduced to a new amalgamation of power players. Jeremiah is playing Elijah, a highly ranked member of CBI who is very learned on the drug business and will change the rules to fit his own needs. He is allied with Kris D. Lofton’s Jenard Sampsoon and is hell-bent on proving his loyalty to Issac Keys aka brothers Jenard and Diamond. The show’s cast also includes Lili Simmons, Gabrielle Ryan, Shane Harper, Anthony Fleming III, Lucien Cambric, and Tommy Flanagan. The series is currently in production in Chicago. Lionsgate Television produces Power Book IV: Force along with Power creator Courtney Kemp’s End of Episode and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s G-Unit Film and Television. Robert Munic (Empire, DirecTV’s Ice) serves as showrunner and executive produces with Kemp, Jackson, Mark Canton of Atmosphere Entertainment MM, Danielle DeJesus, and Chris Selak from End of Episode, Shana Stein, and Bart Wenrich.
Jackée Harry of 227 fame and who currently appears on Days of our Lives is attached to a new comedy pilot from Freeform entitled Everything’s Trash, But Thats Okay. The series is based on Phoebe Robinsons’ novel of the same name. Robinson is playing the lead Phoebe: ‘a thirty-something podcast star navigating her messy life. When Phoebe's younger brother Jayden emerges as a leading politician, she's forced to grow up and relies on her friends and close-knit family to help her figure out adulthood, since she doesn't seem to have a clue.’ Harry is set to play Phoebe's Mom, Zora, who does not act or dress her age. She straddles the line between the mother and the daughter's best friend. Comedian George Wallace playing Phoebe’s dad Abraham.
Streaming: Neil Gaiman's best-selling graphic novel The Sandman is getting an adaptation with a fat budget courtesy of Netflix. A dozen new actors have been added to the project. Kirby Howell-Baptiste known for her role on The Good Place is Death, the wiser, nicer, and more sensible sister of Dream lead actor Tom Sturridge. Mason Alexander Park, Donna Preston, Jenna Coleman, Niamh Walsh, Joely Richardson, David Thewlis, Kyo Ra, Stephen Fry, Razane Jammal, Sandra James Young, and Patton Oswalt will also be part of the series. These actors are joining cast members: Sturridge, Gwendoline Christie, Vivienne Acheampong, Boyd Holbrook, Charles Dance, Asim Chaudhry, and Sanjeev Bhaskar. Production of the series is currently underway.
HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show has just been renewed for season three a couple of days before its season two finale. Created by and starring Robin Thede, season three episode count has yet to be released. HBO executive VP of comedy programming Amy Gravitt said this: ‘Robin continues to break new ground in the world of sketch comedy. She delivered a hilariously sharp second season, and we’re looking forward to seeing where Robin, [executive producer] Issa Rae, and the A Black Lady Sketch Show team take us in season three.’ Thede is the showrunner and executive produces alongside Rae, through her Hoorae banner, 3 Arts Entertainment’s Dave Becky and Jonathan Berry, Tony Hernandez, and Brooke Posch of JAX Media. Head writer Lauren Ashley Smith is a co-ep, and Hoorae’s Deniese Davis and Montrel McKay and JAX Media’s John Skidmore are producers.
HBO Max is reviving their super successful series Sex and the City entitled And Just Like That… Sara Ramírez of Grey’s Anatomy and Madam Secretary fame is set to play the first nonbinary character in the franchise. Ramírez is playing Che Diaz (they/them), a queer stand-up comedian who hosts a podcast on which Carrie is regularly featured. Che is a big presence with a big heart whose outrageous sense of humor and progressive, a human overview of gender roles has made them and their podcast very popular. The show will be 10 episodes with Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis returning in their old roles. Michael Patrick King is returning to executive produce the series alongside Parker, Davis, and Nixon. Darren Star, the original creator, is not involved and showrunner is still being sought.
HBO Max has released a trailer for its upcoming reboot of the early 2000s hit Gossip Girl. Here is a brief summary of the series: ‘Eight years after the original website went dark, a new generation of New York private school teens are introduced to the social surveillance of Gossip Girl. The prestige series will address just how much social media—and the landscape of New York itself—has changed in the intervening years.’ None of the original cast seems to be attached except for Kristen Bell who will return as the voice of the titular Gossip Girl. The new cast includes Jordan Alexander as teen influencer Julien Calloway, Eli Brown as Otto “Obie” Bergmann IV, a wealthy German altruist. Zión Moreno as Luna La, and Savannah Smith as Monet De Haan in ‘Greek-chorus-type roles but are still fully fleshed-out characters with inner lives of their own. Joshua Safran, a Gossip Girl showrunner, will write and executive-produce the show's revival. The series' original creators, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage are also attached to the project as executive producers.
MultiChoice
Industry: MultiChoice Africa and M-Net claim that they have followed the guidelines for Covid-19 during the filming of their TV shows. Recent images have surfaced that refute everything said by the networks. There is evidence that no masks were being worn and that calls for social distancing were not taken seriously. According to teeveetee, MultiChoice Group CEO Yolisa Phahle released a statement praising the cast and crews of various productions saying, "as our industry navigated the complexities brought on by the global Covid-19 pandemic which were characterized by production stoppages and a period of uncertainty for many creatives". There is serious speculation whether the TV operator is about keeping people safe or not. Journalists and influencers were taken to the set of Sanyu and pictures show the cast and crew failing to adhere to the Covid-19 safety guidelines. After all this, MultiChoice has not changed its position/approach when handling safety measures regarding Covid-19.
Originally called Openview Plus with a launch date of October 2020, e.tv has renamed the streaming service to eVOD and will be launching it this July. eVOD will join and compete with a crowded space of VOD services available in South Africa including Netflix, MultiChoice's Showmax, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Acorn, Vodacom's Video Play, Telkom ONE, VIU, and a few smaller services. The new financial year will also see the launch of the group's over-the-top (OTT) service eVOD in July 2021. eMedia didn't specify any eVOD pricing or reveal any further details about its planned video streaming service and whether it would be using a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) model where users will have to pay to watch, or if it will go the advertiser-funded "freemium" route.
