Small Screen: New K-Drama Casting Announcements For ‘Deluxe Taxi’ & ‘Mouse’, Plus Structural Changes & Executive Promotions At BBC Studios, Telemundo Enterprises & AMC
Ronald Day - Telemundo
Broadcast: Looking to make a direct and measured move forward in boosting diversity in its programming, BBC Studios will be implementing an inclusion rider for upcoming productions from the BBC and third-party U.K. commissions in drama, comedy, and factual content. The newly implemented inclusion rider, which became effective immediately upon announcement, mandates that a minimum of 20 percent of its onscreen talent and production staff fit at least one of the three following categories: be of Black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) descent; have lived with a disability, or come from a low-income background. This requirement also extends to senior production staff for both scripted and unscripted content, as they must now include at least one person who fits at least one of these three categories. In addition to these three categories, the inclusion rider will also extend to LGBTQ+ visibility, though this only applies for onscreen talent as the BBC has already met its goals for adequate LGBTQ+ representation behind the camera. BBC Studios will supplement its diversity initiative by establishing a mentorship program reserved for those underrepresented groups working as assistant producers, script editors or in higher positions and will develop a short film to be screened in schools giving students an in-depth look into the careers they can pursue behind the camera in drama, entertainment, and factual television programming.
Lee Je-hoon, Esom, Kim Eui-sung, and Lee Na-eun are all joining SBS’ upcoming vigilante drama Deluxe Taxi. The series centers on a taxi service that operates to empower victims by offering them an avenue for revenge and justice against powerful wrongdoers. Lee Je-hoon stars as a former military member-turned head driver of the vigilante taxi service “Rainbow Transport.” As Rainbow Taxi’s CEO, Kim’s character relentlessly pursues aggressors with the hope of providing comfort to their victims. Lee Na-eun plays the operation’s hacker, keeping a watchful eye on Rainbow Taxi’s targets by tracking their every move through infiltrated CCTV, cell phones, and computers. Rounding out the leads is Esom’s role as a star prosecutor nicknamed “The Crazy Fiery Prosecutor” for her unforgiving ways with criminals. Deluxe Taxi, written by Oh Sang-ho with direction from Park Joon-woo, premiers in 2021.
Arrow star David Ramsey will be expanding his reach within The CW’s slate of DC Comics adaptations after it was recently announced that the actor has been tapped to direct for two new DC series and return to the Arrowverse in a new role. Making his directorial debut with a 2018 episode of Arrow, in which he also starred as John Diggle/Spartan, Ramsey will now be directing five episodes of the upcoming series Superman & Lois and Supergirl. The actor has also been confirmed to be joining Legends of Tomorrow, though his exact role on the show has yet to be revealed, with fans speculating that the Arrow series finale implied that his character would go on to become the Green Lantern.
Telemundo Enterprises has announced a series of executive promotions in content and distribution as part of an ongoing restructuring effort that the broadcaster has been undertaking in various divisions. Ronald Day, Programming Chief for Telemundo Networks, has been promoted as NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises’ new President of Entertainment and Content Strategy, while the broadcaster’s Head of Digital, Romina Rosado, will now act as Vice President of Entertainment and Content. In addition, Peter Blacker, who has long played an integral role in Telemundo’s business strategy, will now act as the Executive Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer, and Head of DTC Licensing for the network. With an already-successful track record in telenovelas, game shows, and reality programming, the promotions of Day, Rosado and Blacker are part of Telemundo’s growing efforts in expanding the network’s output of original entertainment, news, and sports content for streaming and on-demand audiences.
Lee Seung-gi and Kyung Su-jin - Han Myung-Gu/WireImage
Cable: Lee Seung-gi, Lee Hee-joon, Kyung Su-jin, and Park Joo-hyun are all set to star in Mouse, an upcoming crime-drama series from tvN. As Jung Ba-reum, Lee Seung-gi plays a young, respectable and amiable police officer whose assignment to the case of tracking down a notorious serial killer threatens to push him to his breaking point. Playing his veteran partner Go Moo-chi, Lee Hee-joon’s character feels a personal responsibility in solving the case and catching the murderer due to the fact that, as a child, his parents were victims of a serial killer. Kyung’s PD Choi Hong-joo, known especially by the nickname “Sherlock Hong-joo,” is a highly respected television journalist who focuses on current affairs and culture while also harboring a dark childhood secret as an unwilling accessory to murder. Rounding out the leads is Park’s Oh Bong-yi, a high school-aged tomboy with a close, sibling-like relationship to Jung. Ahn Jae-wook, Kim Jung-nan, and Pyo Ji-hoon/P.O. will also appear in supporting roles. Slated for a 2021 premier, Mouse is written by Choi Ran, with direction from PD Choi Joon-bae.
Aisha Thomas-Petit will be joining AMC’s executive team as the network’s first Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. In her new role, Thomas-Petit will provide a foundation for AMC’s efforts at boosting diversity and inclusiveness in both its onscreen and behind-the-camera “community of talent” by setting strategies and putting in place the measures that will be used to track AMC’s progress in this initiative. Coming from ADP as its Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Corporate Social Responsibility, Thomas-Petit will be entering AMC with direct expertise in the responsibilities of her new position. Said the executive in a statement, “I am proud to join the company’s leadership team and look forward to building on AMC Networks’ commitment to a diverse and inclusive workplace and to being a home for authentic stories that resonate; stories created in an inclusive environment that reflect the rich diversity of our audiences.”
The cast for the upcoming Blindspotting series adaptation at Starz continues to grow, with Benjamin Earl Turner, Atticus Woodward, Jaylen Barron, Candace Nicholas-Lippman and Helen Hunt joining star and producer Jasmine Cephas Jones, who starred in the original 2018 film and will reprise her role as the series’ lead. Written by executive producers Daveed Diggs and showrunner Rafael Casal, who wrote, produced and starred in the original, the series focuses on Cephas Jones’ character, Ashley, after her partner Miles, played in a recurring role by Casal, becomes suddenly incarcerated. Turner, who will also write for the series, plays Earl, a newly released inmate looking for ways to occupy his time without getting in trouble while he serves the final year of his sentence on house arrest. As Sean, Woodward takes on the role of Ashley and Miles’ son. Barron’s Trish is Miles’ younger half-sister, a loyal person who has her share of difficult moments. Discovered by Diggs and Casal after submitting for an open casting call, talented thespian Nicholas-Lippman will play Janelle, Ashley’s close friend who returns to Oakland after living in Bali for years. Rounding out the new casting additions is Hunt’s Rainey, the opinionated mother of Miles. Diggs described the series as “a half-hour comedy…about how a broken prison system affects all of us,” that parallels the intent of the film in “using comedy to talk about very real systemic effects in the country with the largest prison population in the world.” Seith Mann, Snoot Entertainment’s Jess Wu Calder and Keith Calder and Barnyard Projects’ Emily Gerson Saines, Ken Lee and Tim Palen join Diggs and Casal on the executive producing team for Blindspotting. Produced by Lionsgate Television, the series will be overseen by Lionsgate’s Maggie Leung and Starz’ Senior Vice President of Original Programming Kathryn Tyus-Adair.
Streaming: Following the launch of Disney Plus in Latin America this past November, the streaming platform recently unveiled its upcoming production slate of over 70 original series from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia. Hailing from Disney’s four biggest markets in the region, the series span multiple genres, including documentaries, fiction, talk shows and live offerings, with some already available on the app while others are slated to become available over the coming weeks and throughout the course of 2021. Diego Lerner, President of The Walt Disney Company Latin America, emphasized the importance of “locally relevant stories,” for Latin American audiences, noting the company’s ongoing commitment of “more than two decades,” in “[producing] original content from and for Latin America and the rest of the world.” Lerner continued by stating that Disney’s focus on developing local content “[reinforces their] strategic commitment to Latin America to produce original content with the talents of the region.” Disney Plus’ original Latin American productions include the docu-series Sobrevolando and Lo Que No Sabías Del Humor; drama series El Repatriado and Chaparreando and children-targeted series El Ristorantino de Arnoldo, Opa Popa Dupa and Conecta y Canta. The upcoming production slate has been confirmed to feature 15 original series from Brazil, 21 from Mexico, 29 from Argentina and six from Colombia.
Netflix has released the trailer for its upcoming French art heist thriller Lupin. Starring Omar Sy, the series follows Assane Diop’s quest for vengeance following the wrongful criminalization of his father. Hervé Pierre, Nicole Garcia, Clotilde Hesme, Ludivine Sagnier, Antoine Gouy, Shirine Boutella and Soufiane Guerrab star alongside Sy in the series based on the stories of fictional French art thief Arsène Lupin. Created by George Kay and François Uzan with direction from Louis Leterrier and Marcela Said, Lupin will be available to stream on Netflix starting January 8.
Eugenio Derbez is set to star in Acapulco, a new series for Apple TV+ based on his 2017 starring feature How to Be a Latin Lover. Set in 1984, the English- and Spanish-language series follows the story of a young Mexican man, narrated and played by Debrez, who believes that he has landed the job of a lifetime when he starts working at an Acapulco resort. He soon finds out, however, that he may have taken on more than he bargained for when he discovers how utterly complicated his dream job actually is in reality. Co-created by Austin Winsberg, Eduardo Cisneros and Jason Shuman, Acapulco features an executive producing lineup that features 3Pas’ Debrez, co-showrunners Winsberg and Chris Harris and Benjamin Odell; The Tannenbaum Co.’s Eric and Kim Tannenbaum and Jason Wang; Shuman and Cisneros. In addition, Gaz Alazraki will direct and act as an executive producer on the series’ pilot.
Netflix will be developing a Korean version of its hit original Spanish series Money Heist. A joint production from BH Entertainment and Contents Zium, the 12-episode first season will be written by Ryu Yong-jae with direction from Kim Hong-sun and is planned to go into production sometime during the upcoming year. Building on Álex Pina’s original story of two highly calculated heists on some of the biggest possible scores to be had in Spain, the new version, set in the Korean peninsula, adds a new spin to the series while retaining Money Heist’s format.
