Small Screen: ‘Queen Sugar’ Season 7 Gets Premiere Date; Eva Longoria's ‘Land Of Women’ Ordered By Apple TV; Quinta Brunson Signs Deal With Warner Bros
Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP
Broadcast: The drama pilot Will Trent starring Ramón Rodriguez has landed a series order from ABC for a midseason launch. Based on the best-selling books by author Karin Slaughter, the procedural follows Special Agent Will Trent (Rodriguez) of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations who is able to use his experience growing up in Atlanta’s foster care system on the job, giving him the highest clearance rate in the GBI. The pilot, written by Liz Heldens and Dan Thomsen, was directed and executive produced by Paul McGuigan and is the first contender of four 2022 drama pilots to be picked up by the network.
Celebrity Chef Jamika Pessoa made a cameo appearance on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. The host of The Good Dish told Soap Opera Digest about her excitement when the show approached her about the cameo and also how nervous she was about her acting debut. “Normally I go out there and we’re just talking about food and having fun, so to have someone tell me what to say, I was kind of nervous. You should have seen me in the mirror practicing, like, ‘Do I say it like this? Do I say it like this?’” Chef Jamie spoke about how having her friend actor Cameron Mathison, who plays Drew, there helped her relax but she admitted to missing the amount of food on set that she’s accustomed to, and offered to cook for the crew next time around. The episode of General Hospital aired Monday August 8th.
Steven J. Kung - Oliver Walker
Cable: Lamorne Morris (New Girl, Woke) and Richa Moorjani (Never Have I Ever) have joined the cast of the fifth season of Fargo. The two actors were announced along with Stranger Things’ Joe Keery to be accompanying stars Jon Hamm, Juno Temple, and Jennifer Jason Leigh for the upcoming season of the FX drama series. There are few details but from what has been released we know that Morris will play a character called Witt Farr and Moorjani will play a character named Indira Olmstead.
The third season of The L Word: Generation Q has announced a number of guests stars including comedian Margaret Cho and singer Kehlani. The two were announced with Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy, Big Daddy) and Joanna Cassidy (Blade Runner, Six Feet Under) as the new season's guest stars. Cho is playing herself as a guest host on the “Alice” talk show and Kehlani plays a makeup artist and young parent who heads up Alice’s glam team. The third season will premiere on November 18th on Showtime.
The seventh and final season of Queen Sugar is set to premiere Tuesday, September 6th on OWN. Ava DuVernay will direct the series finale while the other episodes will continue to be helmed by an all-women directorial team that consists of Kat Candler, Stacey Muhammad, showrunner Shaz Bennett, Patricia Cardoso, Aurora Guerrero, and DeMane Davis. Just as DuVernay had envisioned at the show’s start, all 88 episodes of Queen Sugar have been directed by women, including DuVernay who also executive produces the show with Oprah Winfrey, Paul Garnes, and Shaz Bennett.
Starz is developing a comedy series called Book of Marlon, inspired by the life and career of comedian Marlon Wayans. The pilot episode is being written by Wayans, his producing partner Rick Alvarez, with Diallo Riddle and Bashir Salahuddin of HBO Max’s South Side. Wayans is set to star in the Warner Bros TV produce show while Salahuddin and Riddle will serve as showrunners and executive producers with Wayans and Alvarez via Ugly Baby Productions and Michael Rotenberg of 3 Arts Entertainment.
Starz is also developing a new Asian American comedy series from Steven J. Kung. The Dear White People writer’s new show Plan A, about Asian Americans trying to achieve the American Dream in Los Angeles, will see him reteam with Justin Simien, the director of the Dear White People feature film that led to the show, for which he served as head writer and occasional director. Simien will also executive produce along with showrunner Leann Bowen, a Filipino African American comedy writer who also worked on Dear White People as well as Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso and Hulu’s I Love You America with Sarah Silverman.
Lucy Liu - Irvin Rivera
Streaming: Newcomer Tanzyn Crawford has been cast in Hulu’s Tiny Beautiful Things as a series regular. Created and written by Liz Tigelaar and based on the book by Cheryl Strayed, the half-hour series will also feature Roswell, New Mexico’s Quentin Plair. Crawford plays the queer teenage daughter of Plair and WandaVision’s Kathryn Hahn, whose marriage is on the rocks as Hahn takes over an anonymous advice column. Tigelaar will executive produce the series with Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Lauren Neustadter, Stacey Silverman, Jayme Lemons, author Strayed, and Hahn.
Apple has ordered the six-episode limited series Land of Women starring Eva Longoria and Carmen Maura. Based on the Sandra Barneda novel, the series is currently in pre-production in Spain and will be shot in both English and Spanish. It tells the story of Gala (Longoria), who is forced to flee New York City for Northern Spain alongside her aging mother (Maura) and college-age daughter when her husband becomes indebted to dangerous criminals. This adaptation comes from showrunner Ramón Campos and Gema R. Neira and will be directed by Carlos Sede. Longoria will also serve as an executive producer under her UnbeliEVAble Entertainment banner with Ben Spector and Teresa Fernández-Valdés.
Insecure star Yvonne Orji is set to star in a bodybuilding drama series being developed by Netflix. Created and written by Sheldon Turner, Stronger (the working title) comes from A+E Studios and is rumored to follow Orji as a single mom who becomes obsessed with bodybuilding and undergoes both physical and physical and emotional transformation. Turner will executive produce the show with Vendetta Productions’ Jennifer Klein, Orji, and her manager DC Wade of Odenkirk Provissiero.
Netflix has added Lucy Liu to the cast of the Jeff Daniels and Diane Lane-led series A Man In Full. The six-episode series from David E. Kelley and Regina King is based on the Tom Wolfe novel about an Atlanta real estate mogul facing sudden bankruptcy. Liu joins the cast of Daniels, Lane, William Jackson Harper, Aml Ameen, Tom Pelphrey, Sarah Jones, Jon Michael Hill, and Chanté Adams, playing the role of Joyce Newman, the founder of a booming clean beauty company.
Roger E. Mosley - Leon Bennett
Industry: Television actor Roger E. Mosley, who starred alongside Tom Selleck on the original 1980s series Magnum P.I. has passed away at the age of 83. His death was confirmed via his daughter on Facebook but there are no other details regarding his death. Mosley made a number of television appearances during his career, including stints on Love Boat, Sanford and Son, Kung Fu, Kojak, The Rockford Files, Starsky and Hutch, Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper, and Walker, Texas Ranger, and had a lead role in the 1979 TV film The Jericho Mile, which was the feature debut of director Michael Mann. But his best-known role was that of helicopter pilot Theodore “T.C.” Calvin which he played for 158 episodes of the CBS series Magnum, P.I.
Current Emmy nominee Quinta Brunson, the creator, executive producer, writer, and star of the breakout new series Abbott Elementary, has signed a multi-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group. As part of the deal, Brunson will create, develop, and produce original programming for all platforms, including but not limited to Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO Max, external streaming platforms, cable channels, and the U.S. broadcast networks. Warner Bros. Television Group Chairman, Channing Dungey called Brunson a “tour de force and a powerhouse talent” and added, “we cannot wait for season two, and to explore many future projects with her in the coming years.”
Book and IP manager Becca Rodriguez has joined Curate Management, the boutique firm founded by film and TV lit manager Britton Rizzio. She has previously worked as a book manager at The Gotham Group and in the literary department and media rights department of Anonymous Content. Some of her clients include Chantal V. Johnson, author of Post-Traumatic (just longlisted for The Center for Fiction 2022 First Novel Prize); author of Cook Once Dinner Fix Cassy Joy Garcia; author Ayşegül Savaş; and author and editor-in-chief of Catapult Magazine Tajja Isen.
Blindspotting star Jaylen Barron has signed a deal for representation with Innovative Artists and Gilbertson Entertainment. Barron previously starred as Zoe on Netflix’s Free Rein and as Dominique on Showtime’s Shameless before landing the role of Trish in the Starz TV adaptation of the 2018 feature film from Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs. Barron was also featured in last year’s Variety Power of Young Hollywood Up Next List.
NBC announced it has promoted Margaret Walker to SVP, NBC Brand Strategy, and Audience Growth. Walker currently oversees digital audience acquisition and growth across the company’s network and cable networks including NBC, Bravo, E!, Oxygen, SYFY, Universal Kids, and USA Network, and will add oversight of brand strategy and consumer engagement to her list of responsibilities. Walker previously served as SVP, Audience Acquisition and Growth for the Entertainment and Sports divisions and SVP, Digital Product & Distribution Marketing for NBCUniversal.