Small Screen: Ron Cephas Jones Joins 'Law & Order: Organized Crime'; Spiderman's Jacob Batalon Moves To Syfy
Ron Cephas Jones - CHRIS DELMAS
Broadcast: Ron Cephas Jones joins the second season of NBC’s Law & Order: Organized Crime. Cephas Jones will appear as a recurring character on the sophomore effort as Congressman Leon Kilbride. His character is described as ‘a born politician who fosters connections and always plays his cards right.’ Specific plot details have not been released, however it is known that the show will be split into three parts. Dick Wolf said in a statement: “The first third of the season is The Godfather. The second third is American Gangster. And the last third is Scarface. These villains are going to be really bad guys that give Chris a constant source of energy, outrage, belief in justice, and a different way of pursuing criminals than we’ve had before.”
Jacob Batalon - Amy Sussman
Cable: Johnny B. Truant’s Fat Vampire book series is being adapted into a series at Syfy. The upcoming show entitled Reginald The Vampire will be a 10-episode blend of comedy and drama. Spiderman Homecoming and Far From Home’s Jacob Batalon will star. At the helm is Twin Peak’s Harley Peyton as writer and showrunner. The plot of the series is as follows: ‘set in a world populated by beautiful, fit and vain vampires. Reginald Baskin (Batalon) tumbles headlong into it as an unlikely hero who will have to navigate every kind of obstacle – the girl he loves but can’t be with, a bully manager at work and the vampire chieftain who wants him dead. Fortunately, Reginald discovers he has a few unrecognized powers of his own. A new show with a lot of heart and just enough blood, Reginald the Vampire proves the undead life is just as complicated as life itself.’
Season 2 of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network’s and Ava DuVernay’s anthology drama series Cherish The Day cast two new recurring characters. ‘Roundtree will play Mandeville “MV” St. James a proud, loving, wry-humored former judge and widowed father of Sunday (Bryant). Vaughn will recur as Anastasia, Ellis’ (Simmons) soon-to-be ex-wife and the mother of their children.’ The two will star alongside Henry Simmons and Joy Bryant. The plot is as follows: Cherish the Day, from DuVernay, ARRAY Filmworks and Warner Bros. Television, is an anthology series that chronicles the relationship of one couple, with each episode spanning a single day. In season two, the rekindling of a romance is told — the love story of Ellis Moran (Simmons) and Sunday St. James (Bryant), who fell in love in high school but find themselves reunited in beautiful New Orleans. Ellis is a former basketball player who is now a single father of two, and Sunday is a vegetarian celebrity chef on the cusp of fame. Each episode of the season-long narrative unfolds in a single day to reveal significant moments in a relationship that compel us to hold true to the ones we love, from the extraordinary to the everyday.’
Raza Jaffrey - Adrian Edwards
Streaming: Keegan-Michael Key, known for his sketch comedy show Key and Peele and Apple TV+’s breakout musical-comedy series Schmigadoon! is headed to Hulu to star in its comedy pilot Reboot. Helming this project is Emmy-winning Steve Levitan know for co-creating Modern Family. Based on a short story by Levitan and co-written by iZombie’s John Enbom the script focuses on an early 2000s family sitcom getting rebooted at Hulu. This in turn ‘brings the dysfunctional cast back together who must deal with their unresolved issues.’ Levitan, Enbom and Danielle Stokdyk will executive produce with 20th Television acting as the studio.
HBO is making a limited series based on Olivier Assayas feature film of the same name entitled Irma Vep. Alicia Vikander is attached to star. Following a recasting Byron Bowers has also joined the series. Assayas is writing and directing the loose adaptation with HBO’s Euphoria: A24’s Sam Levision and Kevin Turn producing. The series is described as follows: ‘set against the backdrop of a lurid crime thriller, follows Vikander’s Mira, an American movie star disillusioned by her career and a recent breakup who comes to France to star as Irma Vep in a remake of the French silent film classic, Les Vampires. Mira struggles as the distinctions between herself and the character she plays begin to blur and merge. Irma Vep reveals the uncertain ground that lies at the border of fiction and reality, artifice and authenticity, art and life.’
Starz drama series The Serpent Queen has cast Raza Jaffrey as Francois Guise. Stacie Passon will direct multiple episodes, including the premiere episode. ‘Series stars Samantha Morton as Catherine De Medici, based on the book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda. The eight-episode series was written and executive produced by Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road). Catherine de Medici went from commoner to the center of power when she married into the 16th century French court as an orphaned teenager expected to bring a fortune in dowry and produce many heirs. It’s a rough start, as she discovers her husband is in love with an older woman, her dowry is unpaid and she’s unable to conceive. Yet, only with her intelligence and determination, she manages to keep her marriage alive and masters the blood sport that is the monarchy better than anyone else, ruling France for 50 years.’ Executive producers are also Francis Lawrence and Erwin Stoff. The Serpent Queen is produced for Starz by Lionsgate Television and 3 Arts Entertainment.
