Small Screen: Ramy Youseff To Host ‘Saturday Night Live,’ U.K. Writers Guild and Netflix Reach Deal
Ramy Youssef - Sarah Morris
Broadcast: Saturday Night Live announced that Ramy Youssef will host alongside musical guest Travis Scott. Youssef’s episode will air on March 30th, which was announced on the March 9th episode of SNL hosted by Josh Brolin. Youseff is an American comedian and actor known for the Hulu series Ramy and Academy Award-winning film Poor Things. His upcoming HBO comedy special Ramy Youssef: More Feelings debuts on March 23rd. Scott is an American rapper whose fourth studio album, Utopia, was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2024 Grammys.
CBS renewed Ghosts for a fourth season. The supernatural comedy is based on the BBC’s British comedy, with its third season averaging over 10 million viewers in live, seven-day, multi-platform viewing. This renewal arrived early, presumably accounting for a potential IATSE strike. Ghosts stars Rose McIver (The Lovely Bones) and Utkarsh Ambudkar (Pitch Perfect) as a couple who are left a rundown mansion in upstate New York, which they convert into a bed and breakfast. McIver has a near-death experience and suddenly can see the ghosts who inhabit the house. Additional actors include Danielle Pinnock (Candy Cane Lane), Román Zaragoza, and Sheila Carrasco (A Lot of Nothing). CBS Entertainment’s Amy Reisenbach commented that Ghosts is a “proven viewer favorite.”
CBS is developing the detective drama Grace with DeVon Franklin. Founder of Franklin Entertainment and producer of Flamin’ Hot, Franklin reupped his overall deal with the studio for two more years. Grace follows a true-blue detective with a reputation for brashness and cynicism who works alongside a passionate community pastor to solve complex crimes. The duo argues over their contrasting beliefs and attempts to ignore their prominent chemistry. Writers Devon Greggory (The Game) and Corey Moore (NCIS: New Orleans) will executive produce alongside Franklin.
CBS is also developing an animated adaptation of Among Us, for which they set a lead cast. Voiceover actors will include Randall Park (Fresh Off The Boat), Ashley Johnson (The Last of Us), Yvette Nicole Brown (Community), and Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings). CBS’s Eye Animation Productions is currently developing the project in partnership with Innersloth, the independent studio who created the online game. Titmouse will serve as the animation studio. Park will voice Red, aka Captain of The Skeld; Johnson will voice Purple, aka Chief of Security; Brown will voice Orange, aka HR; and Wood will voice Green, aka Unpaid Intern. Among Us launched in 2018 and experienced over 500 million monthly active users during Q4 in 2020. A new map, The Fungle, was recently released and the game continues to host millions of players daily. There is not yet a network or streamer attached to the adaptation.
The series’ official logline describes the premise of the game: “Members of your crew have been replaced by an alien shapeshifter intent on causing confusion, sabotaging the ship, and killing everyone. Root out the ‘Imposter’ or fall victim to its murderous designs.”
The BBC and Disney+ announced a simultaneous Doctor Who premiere. The latest season of the classic sci-fi series will be released on Disney+ in the U.S. and on the BBC streamer, iPlayer, internationally on Friday, May 10th at 7 p.m. ET. Doctor Who will air on linear television on Saturday, May 11th. The synchronized global premiere will please British fans of the series, as they were concerned other parts of the world would receive the new season before they did. This new season of Doctor Who follows the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) through endless adventures in the TARDIS across time and space. Settings will include the Regency era in England and war-torn futures. Guest stars include Yasmin Finney, Michelle Greenidge, Genesis Lynea, Indira Varma, and Angela Wynter.
“At last, it’s my great delight to unleash a whole new season of the Doctor and Ruby’s adventures together,” shared showrunner Russell T. Davies. “Monsters! Chases! Villains! Mysteries! And a terrifying secret that’s been spanning time and space for decades. Don’t miss a second!”
CBS CEO George Cheeks discussed their new soap, The Gates, during an interview with Vulture. The conversation largely covered the streaming wars between major networks following the Hollywood strikes, though Cheeks provided insight into CBS’s development of The Gates. Cheeks worked alongside the CBS/NAACP venture president, Sheila Ducksworth, to create a daytime series in which the core family is Black. They secured Michele Val Jean (General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful) to write the series, who has worked on soaps for 30 years. Procter & Gamble will be involved with product placement to ensure holistic and organic integration. Cheeks is uncertain about the production timeline, explaining that they want to execute the show well.
“One of the things that the data made very clear to both of us is that daytime soap operas over index with Black women,” shared Cheeks. “And yet when you look at soap operas, it’s usually sort of a white-led family with supporting characters that reflect more of our society. So we just thought, wouldn’t it be interesting to flip that and make the core anchor family a Black family, and then make the other characters reflect more the broader scope of society? … [Michele Val Jean] came up with a pitch, and we loved it.”
Reba McEntire’s NBC comedy pilot cast Pablo Castelblanco (Alaska Daily, Scream Queens). The pilot follows Bobbie (McEntire) who inherits her father’s restaurant and discovers she has a new business partner in the half-sister she did not know existed. Castelblanco was cast alongside Tokala Black Elk (Yellowstone) and Rex Linn (Young Sheldon). Tokala is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and he speaks several Native languages. Castelblanco will play Steve, the restaurant accountant with OCD who is resistant to change. Belissa Escobedo (Blue Beetle, Hocus Pocus 2) and Melissa Peterman (Reba) were also cast, with Escobedo portraying Bobbie’s half-sister Isabella and Peterman playing the restaurant's bartender Gabby.
Antonia Thomas and Brandon Larracuente will return for the final season of The Good Doctor. Thomas starred as Dr. Claire Brown for the first four seasons of the ABC drama; she will return for two episodes in the seventh and final season, including the finale. Larracuente’s character, Dr. Daniel Perez, was integral to season six, and he will return for one episode. Separately, Rubey Kelley (PUSH) and Guillermo Diaz (Scandal) were cast for the final season, with Kelley joining in a recurring role and Diaz cast in a guest spot. The main cast features Freddie Highmore, Richard Schiff, Fiona Gubelmann, Will Yun Lee, Christina Chang, Paige Spara, Bria Samoné Henderson, Noah Galvin, and Chuku Modu
Michael Rainey Jr. - Power Book II: Ghost / Starz
Cable: Curb Your Enthusiasm’s latest episode featured Lori Loughlin, depicting her as a cheater and referencing her college admissions scandal. The March 10th episode began with Ted Danson asking Larry David to help his theater co-star (Loughlin) obtain membership to David’s country club. Despite Loughlin’s prison time due to paying $500,000 to get her daughters into USC, her membership is approved after David delivers a speech to the club board. When David plays golf with her, she begins cutting corners and shows a fraudulent disabled flag to gain special access to the fairway. David discovers that Loughlin has a disabled person’s plate on her car, she tipped $50 to secure a better tee time, and she lied about her golf score. This plotline references Loughlin’s real-life 2020 scandal, in which she and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, plead guilty to conspiracy charges in connection with the USC admissions scandal. She received two months in prison, a $150,000 fine, two years of supervised release, and 100 hours of community service.
Power Book II: Ghost will end after season four. A spinoff of the hit crime drama Power, Starz’s Power Book II: Ghost was renewed for a fourth season in January of 2023. The season will air in two parts, with part one premiering June 7th and part two on September 6th. Fans learned of Ghost’s ending shortly after Starz announced the development of the Power prequel series, Origins. The prequel will explore the early days of Ghost and Tommy from the original series. Ghost stars Michael Rainey Jr., Mary J. Blige, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Gianni Paolo, Woody McClain, Lovell Adams-Gray, LaToya Tonodeo, Alix Lapri, Larenz Tate, Caroline Chikezie, LightSkinKeisha, and Michael Ealy. Showrunner Brett Mahoney (CSI: Miami) executive produces alongside Courtney A. Kemp (Power) and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
The Power prequel is currently in development at Starz. Produced by Lionsgate Television, Origins will follow the early years of duo Ghost and Tommy, played by Omari Hardwick and Joseph Sikora respectively. This new Power spinoff is a product of Starz CEO Jeff Hirsch’s plans to contain content costs by developing more new shows instead of producing longer series that only grow more expensive. Power ran for six seasons; Power Book II: Ghost is returning for a fourth season; and Power Book III: Raising Kanan and Power Book IV: Force are currently in production for season four and season three, respectively.
“You look at the [Power] map and say, ‘OK, if I take one of those characters out and spin one of those out, I can bring that on to replace the Power show at half the cost,’” Hirsch explained. “Now I’m putting a lot of money right to the bottom line. And I’m really not losing anything in terms of acquisition costs and subscriber viewership, because we know what those demos want. And we know how to line those up. And so that’s really the core of getting to that 20% [margin] — turning that slate over with fresh content to drive the business.”
HBO’s untitled task force drama added Elvis Nolasco (Roxanne Roxanne, Godfather of Harlem) as a recurring character. Created by Brad Ingelsby (Mare of Easttown), this project follows a multi-unit operation to assist FBI agent Tom, played by Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things, Now You See Me). The task force must end drug-house robberies around the working class suburbs of Philadelphia. Nolasco will play Freddy Frias, the savvy, ruthless captain of Philadelphia’s largest drug trafficking group. He was cast alongside recurring cast members Raphael Sbarge (Once Upon a Time), Mickey Sumner (Snowpiercer, Marriage Story), Brian Goodman (Fatal Attraction), and Colin Bates (American Rust).
AMC acquired season four of Snowpiercer. The post-apocalyptic drama originally aired on TNT, though they did not air the fourth season due to budget cuts. Warner Bros. Discovery previously announced season four would be the show’s last, so producer Tomorrow Studios shopped the show and its final season to other outlets. Upon acquisition, AMC possesses the exclusive U.S. linear and streaming rights to all four seasons. Snowpiercer is based on the eponymous 2013 film and previous graphic novel by Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette. Cast members included Daveed Diggs, Jennifer Connelly, Sean Bean, Rowan Blanchard, Alison Wright, Mickey Sumner, Iddo Goldberg, Katie McGuinness, Lena Hall, Sam Otto, Chelsea Harris, Mike O’Malley, Roberto Urbina, and Sheila Vand. The thriller series has a loyal fanbase who will be able to binge the first three seasons on AMC+ later this year before season four’s release in early 2025 on AMC and AMC+.
Liza Colón-Zayas - Axelle/Bauer-Griffin
Streaming: The Bear was quietly renewed for a fourth season, which will film directly after season three. Production for season three has begun in Chicago, so the cast and crew will continue shooting straight through season four. Season three is set to be released on Hulu in June. It is not clear if season four will be the last. The second season followed Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) restaurant opening, but season three will return to the kitchen and more closely match the fast-paced energy of season one. Cast members include Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott, and Matty Matheson.
Jurnee Smollett will star in Apple TV+’s Firebug. Smollett (Lovecraft Country, Friday Night Lights) will play Michelle, an up-and-coming detective. Her co-star, Taron Egerton (Rocketman), plays an arson investigator who pursues serial arsonists alongside Michelle. Firebug is inspired by Kary Antholis’ podcast of the same name. Set in the Pacific Northwest, the series is loosely based on true events.
Netflix greenlit the Black Rabbit series, with four new actors joining the project. Jason Bateman (Ozark, Arrested Development) and Jude Law (The Holiday, The Talented Mr. Ripley) headline and executive produce this limited series, which recently cast actors Cleopatra Coleman (Infinity Pool, The Last Man on Earth), Amaka Okafor (Bodies), Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù (Slow Horses, Gangs of London), and Dagmara Dominczyk (Succession). Black Rabbit is an original 60-minute drama executive-produced and written by Zach Baylin (King Richard) and Kate Susman. Black Rabbit follows a New York City hotspot owner (Law) who allows his turbulent brother (Bateman) back into his life, inviting risk and danger into the empire he’s built.
Tamera Tomakili joined Paramount+’s Happy Face. Tomakili (Fruitvale Station, Winning Time) joins previously announced cast members Annaleigh Ashford (Masters of Sex), Dennis Quaid (The Day After Tomorrow, The Parent Trap), and James Wolk (Mad Men, You Again). Happy Face is inspired by Melissa Moore’s real-life story, which she wrote about in her autobiography, Shattered Silence, and speaks about on her eponymous podcast. The series follows Quaid, an incarcerated serial killer, and Melissa’s estranged father. He re-enters Melissa’s life after decades of no contact, and Melissa must determine if an innocent man will be executed for a crime her father committed. Melissa experiences a reckoning with her identity and discovers her father’s impact on his victims’ families. Tomakili plays Ivy, a true crime segment producer on the show where Melissa works as a makeup artist. Produced by CBS studios, the eight-episode series will begin filming in Vancouver this spring, and it will premiere exclusively on Paramount+ globally in 2025.
Apple’s The Big Cigar provides the first look at André Holland as Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton. The six-episode limited series will premiere globally May 17th with the first two episodes, followed by singular episodes every Friday through June 14th on Apple TV+. Executive produced by Janine Sherman Barrois (Criminal Minds, Claws), the series is based on the Playboy magazine article of the same name by Joshuah Bearman. The Big Cigar follows Newton as he escapes to Cuba from the FBI with the help of notable producer Bert Schneider; they fake a movie production and plot other strategies to fuse Hollywood revolution with social revolution. The ensemble cast includes Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, P.J. Byrne, Marc Menchaca, Moses Ingram, Rebecca Dalton, Olli Haaskivi, Jordane Christie, and Glynn Turman. Don Cheadle (Crash, Hotel Rwanda) directed the first two episodes.
Netflix’s Harlan Coben adaptation, Missing You, rounded out its cast. Richard Armitage (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey), Lenny Henry (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chef!), Jessica Plummer (The Girl Before), and Rosalind Eleazar (Slow Horses) were cast in the limited series based on Coben’s eponymous novel. Netflix shared the news March 14th at the Next on Netflix event in London, following the success of Coben’s latest hit Netflix series, Fool Me Once. Eleazar will portray the protagonist, Kat Donovan; Plummer will play Stacey Embalo; Armitage portrays Ellis Stagger; and Henry is set to play Clint Donovan. After Kat’s fiance disappeared 11 years ago, she finds his profile on a dating app. She is thrown back into the mystery of her father’s murder and the buried secrets of her past. Additional cast members include Steve Pemberton (Happy Valley), Paul Kaye (The Stranger), Samantha Spiro (Sex Education), Lisa Faulkner (Archie, Unforgotten), and Mary Malone (Doctor Who). Missing You is Coben’s ninth on-screen adaptation with Netflix
Disney+ set a premiere date for the new Star Wars series, The Acolyte. The series will be released on the streamer on June 4th, starring Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. A new poster was also revealed. The official logline shared that the series will feature an investigation into a collection of crimes, which introduce conflict between a respected Jedi Master (Lee) and a threatening warrior from his past (Stenberg). The Acolyte takes place during the High Republic era of Star Wars, before the events of the franchise films. Other Star Wars series released by Disney+ include Skeleton Crew, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett, and The Mandalorian.
Paramount+’s Landman cast Mustafa Speaks (Joe Pickett, All American). Created by Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace, Landman stars Billy Bob Thornton. In a recurring role, Speaks will play tough-as-nails Boss, a roughneck in Tommy’s (Thornton) group. Series regulars include Ali Larter, Michelle Randolph, Jacob Lofland, Kayla Wallace, James Jordan, Mark Collie, Paulina Chavez, and Demi Moore. The series is based on the 11-part podcast Boomtown, Landman, a story of fortune-seeking in the world of oil rigs, roughnecks, and billionaires. Landman is currently filming in and around Fort Worth, Texas.
Joseph Lee - Dia Dipasupil
Industry: Netflix reached an unprecedented agreement with the Writers Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) for live-action scripted series. The streamer also aligned with the Personal Managers Association, which represents U.K. agents. Passed February 1st, the deal was called “trailblazing” by a PMA spokesperson as it “introduces a structure for ongoing payments.” Terms published on the WGGB website establish that writers will be paid a minimum script fee of £17,000 ($21,700) for a one-off 60-minute show and £15,000 for a series. This fee includes six months exploitation on the Netflix service worldwide, as well as non-theatrical and promotional rights. Writers will be given 5.6% of gross receipts if their production is exploited off Netflix. Another feature of the agreement is that writers must receive a Subsequent Use Advance (SUA) of 125% of the agreed script fee, which must be paid to the credited writer of the episode on the first day of principal photography.
“For the first time in the U.K., writers working for a global streamer will have their rights enshrined in a collective trade union agreement and will enjoy improved terms and conditions. We are delighted to have reached this agreement with Netflix,” shared WGGB general secretary Ellie Peers.
Talaria Media is developing a comedy series about a retired Navy SEAL. The untitled single-camera series comes from writer and director Jamie Anderson and is loosely based on Mark Greene’s book Unsealed. Greene served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years and wrote about the transition back to life as a civilian. Anderson pulled from his personal life experiences and his relationship with his veteran father. The logline states the series is “about a retired Navy SEAL struggling to adjust to civilian life after he’s forced to work at a new age spiritual center with his estranged daughter.” The series is not yet attached to a network or streaming service.
Allen Media Group renewed its carriage deal with Charter Communications. The multiyear deal covers retransmission consent for AMG’s local TV stations and cable networks, including The Weather Channel, TheGrio, Justice Central.TV, Pets.TV, Recipe.TV, and Cars.TV. Charter’s Spectrum video subscribers will also receive access to The Weather Channel DTC app. This agreement marks three years since Allen and Charter resolved the $10 billion discrimination lawsuit Allen filed against the cable operator for not carrying his channels.
M88 signed writer Justin Calen-Chenn. A staff writer on Netflix’s The Brothers Sun, Calen-Chenn has found success drawing from his personal life experiences in the writers’ room. He was unhoused as a teenager and fell into criminal behavior, until a severe tragedy stopped him in his tracks. Calen-Chenn became a 2020 Sundance Episodic Lab fellow and went on to be an executive story editor, writer, and co-producer for Peacock’s Bel-Air. He most recently sold a sports/crime series to Paramount with Carmelo Anthony and Justin Simien’s Culture Machine. He is currently writing feature projects for industry stars such as Taraji P. Henson, RuPaul, Matt Jackson, Netflix Africa, Made With Love, AMC, 50 Cent, and more.
A British casting scandal was revealed. Agents from the boutique Manchester agency Bodhi Talent have been sending clients fake invitations to record self-tape auditions. Founder Archie Purnell was accused of copying real self-tape invites and sending them in emails to clients who had not truly been called to audition. One actor discovered the scam when an audition arrived in her inbox 30 minutes after the deadline for submission passed.
Similar accusations arose against the larger International Artists Management (IAM) in London. Run by Luc Chaudhary, IAM represents 400 clients. They were forwarding clients emails in which casting directors allegedly requested to see actors in auditions. The requests were not real. Outlander actor Mark Barrett notified Deadline about IAM’s practices during an interview. He felt emotional about the wasted work and the false hope the auditions provided him. Former IAM insider Vix Anderson-Cross publicly stated that the action of sending out misrepresented tapes to actors occurs on an “industrial scale.” Bianca Sowerby (Coronation Street) stated that she was "devastated" to learn she filmed illegitimate audition tapes while pregnant. Actors did not suffer financial losses, but many felt cheated and no longer trust their agents. The news triggered a wave of suspicious actors demanding casting directors to know if their tapes were fake and if they can trust their agents. Such inquiries are unorthodox, as there are written rules about how information travels between a casting director, agent, and actor.
IAM explained, through media law firm Carter-Ruck, that they were attempting to secure maximum exposure for actors by providing them opportunities to open locked doors without a key. They stated the strategy was in the best interest of the clients and they did not benefit financially. The Personal Managers’ Association (PMA), the professional body for U.K. agencies including Curtis Brown and Independent Talent, revoked IAM’s membership, citing cornerstones of “honesty and integrity.” Industry casting directors have issued advice on tightening the process, such as sending audition invites as PDFs to ensure verification of authenticity. North American casting platforms appear to be a more transparent model, which provide audition notices, requests, and self-tape uploads.
The Casting Directors Association (CDA) commented, “Actors should never be misled into thinking they have been requested to tape by a casting director. To do so destroys the chain of trust between casting director, agent, and actor which is the core of our industry.”
Joseph Lee signed with Gersh. The Emmy-nominated actor is known for A24’s Beef, where he portrays George Nakai opposite Steven Yeun and Ali Wong. Other recent acting credits include Star Trek: Picard, Searching, and Miracle That We Met. Lee is also a self-taught artist who began painting eight years ago. His works, with their signature elements, have developed a cult following. He typically uses large-scale canvases with colorful, abstract strokes that conceal the faces of his subjects. Lee continues to be represented by Anonymous Content and Sloane, Offer, Weber, and Dern.
Joseph Lee signed with Gersh. The Emmy-nominated actor is known for A24’s Beef, where he portrays George Nakai opposite Steven Yeun and Ali Wong. Other recent acting credits include Star Trek: Picard, Searching, and Miracle That We Met. Lee is also a self-taught artist who began painting eight years ago. His works, with their signature elements, have developed a cult following. He typically uses large-scale canvases with colorful, abstract strokes that conceal the faces of his subjects. Lee continues to be represented by Anonymous Content and Sloane, Offer, Weber, and Dern.
Soo Hugh signed an overall deal with Apple TV+ and Media Res. The multi-year agreement establishes that Hugh and her Moonslinger Productions banner will create, write, and produce content for the streamer and the television studio/film production company. The trio worked together on the adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s novel Pachinko, with Hugh as writer, showrunner, and executive producer. Media Res produced and Apple TV+ distributed. Hugh has collaborated with the two companies for six years, calling them her “creative family.” She was also a co-showrunner for AMC’s The Terror and a creator of ABC’s The Whispers.
AGC Studios promoted Lourdes Diaz to partner, with a seat on the board. Diaz was previously chief creative officer at AGC Studios, an independent film and television studio currently producing Those About to Die. Her new multi-year employment agreement was signed shortly after founders Stuart Ford, chairman and CEO, and Miguel Palos, COO, each signed new multi-year agreements in late 2023. AGC was founded in 2018 and quickly became a leading production and financing studio, with 41 major film and TV productions under its belt. As chief creative officer, Diaz shaped major decisions for feature film and unscripted projects, helped develop the family and young adult divisions, and increased viewership in the Hispanic film and TV sector. Additional credits for AGC include Ron Howard’s psychological thriller Eden, Justin Kurzel’s thriller The Order, and Sugar Bandits, a Will Smith action thriller. Before employment at AGC, Diaz worked as president of entertainment for Univision Communications Inc. and collaborated with Televisa, Netflix, Globo, and Endemol to diversify entertainment content.
DirecTV will allow subscribers to cut local stations. The satellite content distributor stated on Sunday that they would provide subscribers with the choice to “opt out” of receiving local TV stations. Customers can opt out “for as long as they want,” with their bills reduced by $12 a month or $144 annually. If users test the “No Locals'' package during summer reruns, subscriptions can be reinstated in the fall, just in time for the start of the NFL season. DirecTV’s decision arrives at a time when content distributors are concerned about the industry shift to streaming. Content from local stations is often contested between large entertainment companies and their cable and satellite distributors. Stations provide access to local and national news, as well as sporting events that keep consumers paying for their service. Yet even sports will be available on streamers, as Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox, and Disney are collaborating on a sports joint venture to stream Fox’s games. Another factor for DirecTv’s new package is frequent local station blackouts from station operators like Tegna. According to Fitch Ratings, DirecTV had around 11.3 million subscribers at the end of Q3 in 2023.
