Small Screen: New Casting Announcements & Production Deals, Plus ‘Peacock’ Streaming Options
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Broadcast: Grown-ish star Yara Shahidi has signed an overall deal with ABC Studios to develop scripted and unscripted programming for the network through 7th Sun, with Lajoie St. George set to lead development. Some of the themes that the production company looks to focus on in its programming include history, heritage, culture and joy, with a goal of showcasing the stories of those whose voices are typically not heard. 7th Sun was recently formed by Shahidi alongside Keri Shahidi, her mother and business partner. The announcement marks a major accomplishment on Shahidi’s resume to go alongside another milestone of hers, as she also recently became ABC’s youngest producer.
Rashida Jones, Wiz Khalifa and Joy Osmanski have been upgraded to series regulars on Fox’s Duncanville, having originally appeared as guest stars on the first season of the animated series. Duncanville focuses on the life of 15-year-old Duncan (Amy Poehler), who yearns for the freedoms that every teenager eagerly anticipates as they inch closer to adulthood. Included in his social circle are his on and off crush Mia (Jones), beloved schoolteacher Mr. Mitch (Khalifa) and Duncan’s adopted younger sister Jing (Osmanski), who both idolizes and crushes on her older brother. The second season is currently in production and is set to premier sometime next year.
A new television drama is coming to CBS, as the network has announced that it will be developing Repeat, a drama series based on Kurumi Inui’s award-winning book and the 2018 series from Japan’s Yomiuri Television. The story is centered on a group of strangers who mysteriously go back 10 months in time, allowing them each a second chance to correct their mistakes of the recent past, though the trip is not as simple- or as safe- as it seems. David Zabel will be writing for the upcoming series and splits executive producing responsibilities with Masi Oka and Sabrina Wind from ABC Studios. Oka and Wind had originally pitched the project to CBS last year with a different writer, and while it did not go to pilot, CBS was fond of the concept and put it into redevelopment with Zabel as its new writer, maintaining Oka in a hands-on creative position.
NBC has announced the casting of Otmara Marrero as one of its leads for the new ensemble comedy Connecting. The series follows a group of friends as they stay connected via webcam to combat the social isolation brought on by the pandemic. Marrero stars as Annie, one of the female members of this group of friends who already hardly went out prior to the pandemic. Connecting comes from the creative partnership of Martin Gero and Brendan Gall, who will be co-executive producing and co-writing the upcoming series.
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Cable: A limited drama series on the life of Josephine Baker, the first Black performer who went on to become a major star, is in the works, in a collaboration between Studiocanal, CPB Films and Leyland Films, with more international partners potentially joining later on. The untitled project has yet to settle on a screenwriter for the series, and has instead been sent out to various screenwriters for them to present their take on a Baker story; the production team will be looking to work with a screenwriter that will match their vision of creating a grand and inspiring series, rather than a traditional biopic. Baker is primarily remembered today for her meteoric ascent into stardom upon joining Paris’ Folies Bergère cabaret in the 1920s. However, her accomplishments outside of the world of entertainment may be even more impressive, as Baker acted as a spy for the French Resistance during World War II and was heavily involved in the civil rights movement, including her speaking alongside Martin Luther King Jr. at the March on Washington in 1963. Marco Cherqui of CPB Films called Baker the rare star “who knew that she could leverage her fame and audiences for causes bigger than just her own career,” adding that the causes she championed- including feminism and gender and racial equality- are “still relevant today.”
Hiro Murai and Nate Matteson’s Super Frog has signed a first-look deal with FX, under which the production company will develop scripted and unscripted programming for the network. The deal expands Murai’s involvement with FX, as he was already previously under a first-look deal with the network and currently acts as an executive producer and director for FX’s Emmy-winning series Atlanta. Murai and Matteson- who have been working together since 2012- founded Super Frog last year. The production company’s current production lineup includes Where I End (Netflix), Man Alive (20th Century Fox) and the Murai-directed Station 11 (HBO Max).
ViacomCBS recently launched SHOxBET, a new Showtime plex channel that seeks to cater to the large Black audience that both premium channels share. Scott Mills, president of BET Networks, emphasized the connection between both channels in “[understanding] premium programming to African American viewers and people who value content that is anchored in African American narratives and African American stories.” Confirmed programming for SHOxBET includes same-night replays of popular Showtime originals such as The Chi, Black Monday, Desus & Mero and the upcoming The Good Lord Bird, new runs of House of Lies, Guerilla and Sleeper Cell, as well as movies, miniseries, boxing events, documentaries, sports series and stand-up comedy specials from Black comedians. Currently, SHOxBET has not announced any original programming, but the network has not closed the door to that possibility, which will likely be revisited once production is safely able to resume. The new channel will be replacing the sci-fi, fantasy and horror Showtime plex channel, SHO Beyond.
Margot Bingham will be joining The Walking Dead for its eleventh season, AMC has announced. Despite the casting news, there is still no official confirmation on Bingham’s character, although she has previously done voiceover work on two episodes of the show’s previous season as Stephanie, who is heard via radio.
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Streaming: NBCUniversal has launched its new streaming service Peacock, offering over 20,000 hours of content to subscribers, with over 13,000 hours being available for free to non-subscribers. Among the free-to-stream programming are This Is Us, Everybody Hates Chris, Friday Night Lights, 21 Jump Street, Mi Familia Perfecta, Perro Amor, Quien es Quien, Donde Esta Elisa, Betty en NY, El Barón, Victoria, Preso No. 1, and Reina De Corazones. Premium subscribers will have access to all free content as well as other exclusive content such as George Lopez, Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Days of Our Lives, 100 Días Para Enamorarnos, Celia, Cennet, Enemigo Intimo, and La Dona. The streaming service will begin offering original series later this year, including the Archie Panjabi- and Christopher Plummer-led drama Departure, which premiers September 17.
UMC, AMC’s streaming service focused on Black film and television programming, has announced several original series renewals. Craig Ross Jr.’s Monogamy and A House Divided have been renewed for their third seasons, along with Double Cross and Stuck With You for second seasons. Craig Ross Jr.’s Monogamy and Stuck With You focus on relationships, with the former following troubled relationships and the latter on a seemingly-perfect couple who, behind closed doors, have their own issues. The other two renewed series are built on family ties, as A House Divided focuses on a Black-owned banking family while Double Cross is a drama series about fraternal twins turned vigilantes. The third season of A House Divided is set to premier later this year, while the second seasons for both Double Cross and Stuck With You are planned to release in 2021. While Craig Ross Jr.’s Monogamy does not yet have a premier date, production on the third season is planned to begin in January.
HBO Max has signed an overall deal with Marlon Wayans that includes an original stand up special and a multi-act special hosted by Wayans, as well as a first-look deal for future scripted and unscripted projects. Already confirmed for the streaming service is Book of Marlon, a scripted comedy based on a fictionalized version of the comedian’s life, co-created and co-written by Wayans and Rick Alverez. With this deal, Marlon Wayans joins Chelsea Handler, Tracy Morgan, John Early, Rose Matafeo, Ahir Shah and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco in a strong comedy lineup for the streaming service.
Diego Boneta is set to star in HBO Max’s Brujo, a limited series based on Adolfo Constanzo, a high-profile witch doctor who eventually descended into criminal notoriety as a cult leader and serial killer. The series will feature both English and Spanish dialogue, with Humberto Hinojosa directing, Pablo Garcia producing and writing from Daniel Krauze; in addition to his starring role, Boneta will also serve as an executive producer for the series. Brujo is the second confirmed production for HBO Max from Legendary Television.
