Small Screen: NBC Continues Casting For ‘Connecting’, Freeform Looks For Love & A New Program Aims To Boost South Asian Representation
Kerry Washington in Little Fires Everywhere - Simpson Street
Broadcast: Kerry Washington and her production company, Simpson Street, will be extending their relationship with ABC Studios after the two sides have agreed to renew their pre-existing overall deal for another three years. Washington launched Simpson Street in 2016, with the studio’s productions including Confirmation (HBO), Five Points (Facebook Watch), Little Fires Everywhere (Hulu), American Son (Netflix) and the upcoming Number One Chinese Restaurant (Hulu). The actress and her production banner recently garnered four Emmy nominations: Best Limited Series and Best Actress in a Limited Series for Little Fires Everywhere, Best TV Movie for American Son and Best Variety Special for Live in Front of a Studio Audience, all three of which Washington acts as an executive producer on.
Following the casting announcement of Otmara Marrero on the new pandemic-inspired ensemble comedy Connecting, NBC continues to add to its cast as the new series begins to take shape. Joining Marrero as series regulars are Parvesh Cheena, Keith Powell, Jill Knox, Shakina Nayfack, Ely Henry and Preacher Lawson. Cheena plays Pradeep, a loving father who must adjust to seeing his kids more than he ever has before upon entering quarantine. Real-life couple Powell and Knox will play Garrett and Michelle, a husband and wife duo who seem to be taking quarantine in stride as the two continue to thrive throughout the ordeal. In the role of Ellis, Nayfack portrays a character who is type-A and pragmatic, and a Clippers superfan. Rounding out this group of friends are Rufus (Henry), an apprehensive person with a tendency to fall down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and the recently single Ben (Lawson), who considers whether to get back together with his ex-girlfriend.
Lawrence Saint-Victor, who plays Carter Walton on The Bold and the Beautiful, has been promoted to contract status on the CBS soap opera. Executive producer Brad Bell called him “a great talent and a great actor,” and expressed his excitement in continuing to “have Carter in the mix” on the long-running soap. Saint-Victor has been a mainstay on the series since 2013.
A new series from Zahir McGhee, Sabrina Wind and ABC Studios about a female hip hop group has recently received a production commitment from ABC. The currently untitled series follows a major female hip hop group from the 1990s who reunite after more than 20 years in the hopes of recapturing the fame they once enjoyed and re-energizing the friendships that were torn apart at the height of the group’s fame. McGhee and Wind will co-executive produce the series through Wind’s Windpower Entertainment, with writing from McGhee.
Cable: Fresh off the recent news of their involvement in the upcoming Cookie Lyon-focused Empire spinoff, Sanaa Hamri and Danny Strong are bringing a new Arab American dramedy to Freeform. Ya Bint follows three best friends- Maya, Jumana and Lara- who move from the Middle East to Los Angeles and discover what it means to be young Arab women in America, exploring the cultural differences they find in their new home from the one they left behind. Hamri is set to direct the new series, which features writing from Dina Shihabi and Rolla Selbak; Hamri, Shihabi and Selbak will also co-executive produce alongside Strong and Mandy Safavi.
AMC plans to develop a series adaptation of Maurice Broaddus and Otis Whitaker’s novella Sorcerers. Set in Harlem, hip hop ghostwriter Malik Hutchins discovers that he is a sorcerer whose powers come from a tradition of African sorcery that has existed before time began and has been passed down within his family for generations. In a journey that takes him through Harlem and beyond, Malik must use his powers of ancient magic in order to protect his family, Harlem and the world at large from dark magic forces.
Freeform has released the trailer for its upcoming limited series Love in the Time of Corona. The series, which was produced and filmed completely remote within the actors’ homes, focuses on four couples and the effects that the pandemic and social distancing have on their relationships. Created by Joanna Johnson, the series is executive produced by Johnson, Christine Sacani, Robyn Meisinger, Leslie Odom Jr. and Nicolette Robsinson, and stars Odom Jr., Robinson, Gil Bellows, Rya Kihlstedt, Ava Bellows, Rainey Qualley, Tommy Dorfman and L. Scott Caldwell, with a special guest appearance by Charlie Robinson. Love in the Time of Corona airs August 22 and 23 in a back-to-back premier that will air two episodes of the new series each night.
HBO’s Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Kelly Edwards, will be stepping away from her executive duties after signing a new first-look deal with the network in which she will write and produce content for HBO, HBO Max and Turner. Edwards previously oversaw the HBOAccess program, a series of fellowships for emerging artists that works to propel the careers of up-and-coming writers and directors. Under Edwards, several fellowship participants have had their pilots screened at major festivals, resulting in multiple awards. She returns to writing following her participation in last year’s Sundance Episode Lab and the completion of her MFA from Emerson College earlier this year.
Yeon Sang-ho - Han Myung-Gu/WireImage
Streaming: The official cast for Hell, a new Netflix series from director Yeon Sang-ho, has recently been confirmed, including Yoo Ah-in, Park Jung-min, Kim Hyun-joo, Won Jin-ah and Yang Ik-june in starring roles. The upcoming horror series is based on a Korean webtoon in which angels from hell ascend to earth and condemn people to death, leading the confused masses to flock toward the New Truth Society, a religious group that claims to understand the meaning of this new phenomenon that has overtaken the world. Yoo will star as Chairman Jung Jin-soo, head of the New Truth Society, with Won playing his wife and fellow New Truth Society follower, Song So-hyun. Opposite them, Park plays Bae Yeong-jae, the producer for a broadcaster that is investigating this new religious sect, with Kim playing Min Hye-jin, a lawyer who opposes the New Truth Society and those who follow it. Rounding out Hell’s leads is Yang as Jin Kyeong-hoon, a detective investigating the mysterious appearance of the angels from hell, with Lee Re playing Jin’s teenage daughter. In addition to directing, Yeong will be co-writing the series in a collaboration with Choi Kyu-seok, who illustrated the original webtoon.
Netflix has integrated a new feature for Android users that allows them to manipulate playback speed while streaming, offering speeds that are 0.5x, 0.75x, 1.25x and 1.5x slower or faster from a program’s normal speed rate. Despite heavy criticism from filmmakers, Netflix Vice President Keela Robinson noted that the speed change functionality was “much requested by members,” and that it is especially helpful for viewers due to the fact that some may want to “[slow] things down because they’re watching with subtitles or have hearing difficulties.” To Robinson’s point, the new feature has received support from the National Association of the Deaf and the National Federation of the Blind in making Netflix more accessible for viewers with disabilities. While it is currently only available for Android users, the streaming giant is testing the feature for later use by iOS and web users.
Noel Huyhn and Liz Lundy are joining WarnerMedia’s research team, with Huyhn acting as Vice President of Research for HBO Max and Lundy as Vice President of Content Research for WarnerMedia Entertainment. Huyhn comes to WarnerMedia from Facebook Marketing Research and will be responsible for leading a team in designing and implementing brand, content and market strategy research for HBO Max. In addition, Huyhn will also head research that is aimed at optimizing service offerings regarding partnership opportunities and at growing the acquisition and retention of subscribers for the streaming platform. Coming from Netflix, Lundy will lead WarnerMedia’s Content Research Center of Excellence, which produces qualitative and quantitative research on original programming from HBO, HBO Max, TBS, TNT and truTV.
Damon Wayans Jr. is set to star in and executive produce a new bounty hunter comedy for Peacock. Created by David Caspe and written by Matthew and Daniel Libman- who all previously worked with Wayans Jr. on Happy Endings- the series follows a struggling married couple who turn to bounty hunting. Produced by CBS TV Studios as part of its overall deal with Wayans Jr.’s Two Shake Entertainment, Wayans Jr. executive produces alongside Matthew and Daniel Libman, as well as Shark Vs. Bear’s Caspe and Ian Durney with Two Shake Entertainment’s Kameron Tarlow.
Reena Singh - Twentieth Television & Rajani Rajani - Leon Bennett / Stringer
Industry: Reena Singh, Senior Vice President of Current Programming for Twentieth Television, and Rishi Rajani, President of Production and Development for Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions, are launching a mentorship program intended to bolster South Asian visibility in front of and behind the camera. The program is being run in conjunction with The Salon, a coalition of South Asian industry creatives that includes literary manager Bash Naran and actor-producers Nik Dodani and Vinny Chhibber. Applications are open through August 22, with the year-long program that will connect aspiring South Asian talent with established industry professionals beginning in October. Mentors include Sara Rastogi, Nirokhi Raychaudhuri, Nick Krishnamurthy, Anu Valia, Punam Patel, Sim Hothi, Sanjay Shah, Simran Baidwan, Meera Menon, Manish Dayal, Melanie Chandra, Sri Rao and Aneesh Chaganty, all actors, writers, directors and executives of South Asian descent.
