Small Screen: ‘The Simpsons’ And ‘Family Guy’ Recast Characters Of Color, Plus A New Series Inspired By Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Rashomon’ In Development
Carl - The Simpson’s (Fox) / Cleveland - Family Guy (Fox)
Broadcast: The recasting of animated colors of character with voice actors of color continues, with recent announcements made for the recasting of The Simpsons’ Carl Carlson and Family Guy’s Cleveland Brown. Alex Désert recently debuted as the new voice of Carl on The Simpsons’ Season 32 premiere on September 27, though representatives for the long-running animated series did not confirm whether Désert will continue in the role in the long-term. Regarding the recent recasting news for Fox’s other major animated series, YouTube star Arif Zahir will be taking on the role of Family Guy’s Cleveland Brown, beginning with Season 19, which is currently in production. Already-completed episodes featuring Cleveland for Season 18, which premiered September 27, will still feature the character’s previous voice actor, Mike Henry. Zahir called Cleveland his “favorite cartoon character of all time,” and expressed his “overabundant gratitude…to have received this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” While Zahir may be a newcomer to the animated series, he is no stranger to the role, having accrued millions of YouTube views for his impersonations of the popular character.
ABC has agreed to a pilot commitment for Lee Daniels’ and Julian Breece’s hour-long drama Mason Dixon. In a story that explores Southern race and class dynamics, the potential series follows the unlikely alliance between Angela Dixon, the wife of a liberal politician, and conservative Paul Mason after the revelation that both Dixon’s and Mason’s spouses have been involved in extramarital affairs. Micah Schraft will act as consulting producer for the show, which is produced by 20th Television, with direction from co-executive producer Daniels and writing by co-executive producer Breece. In addition to Daniels and Breece, Marc Velez will also act as an executive producer (via Lee Daniels Entertainment).
Sherri Shepherd has been cast in a recurring role for the upcoming ABC comedy Call Your Mother. Shepherd plays Sharon, the best friend of Jean (Kyra Sedgwick), an empty-nester from Iowa who struggles to adjust to life without her kids and moves to join them in Los Angeles; Sharon is a rock in Jean’s life, maintaining their close friendship and keeping Jean grounded in her Iowan roots. Rounding out the cast are Rachel Sennott, Joey Bragg, Patrick Brammall, Emma Caymares and Austin Crute. Call Your Mother, which will air sometime this fall season, is a joint production from Sony Pictures Television and ABC Signature with 20th Television and Touchstone Television.
Riverdale has cast actress Erinn Westbrook as a series regular for its upcoming fifth season. The actress will play Tabitha Tate, the granddaughter of Pop Tate, who comes to Riverdale to take over her grandfather’s diner, Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe, and works to franchise the popular eatery. Westbrook joins a cast that includes KJ Apa, Cole Sprouse, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Casey Cott and Madelaine Petsch. Based on the characters from the long-running Archie Comics series, Riverdale is produced by Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios in association with Berlanti Productions for The CW.
Amma Asante - Film Independent
Cable: Amma Asante is set to direct a series adaptation of Peter Höeg’s 1993 bestseller, Smilla’s Sense of Snow, for Constantin Film. Set in Greenland, the series is centered on an immigrant Inuit child’s mysterious death and the investigation taken on by Smilla Jaspersen that ventures into the supernatural. Written and created by Clive Bradley, the upcoming series is produced by CEO of Constantin Film Martin Moszkowics, with executive producing duties split between Constantin’s Oliver Berben and Robert Kulzer and oversight from Colin Scully, Alex Westmore and Brandon Zimon. Smilla’s Sense of Snow has yet to find a home and will be presented to premium cable channels and streaming platforms in the United States.
BET has ordered a 10-episode series adaptation of its 2019 legal thriller Sacrifice. As with the film, which premiered exclusively on BET’s streaming platform BET+, the series will star Paula Patton as Daniella Hernandez, a Los Angeles-based entertainment lawyer who handles high-profile music clients connected to the criminal underworld. Focusing on Hernandez’s own personal demons, the series will follow the lawyer’s struggles with alcoholism, an addiction to men and both the adrenaline and stress of the work she does on behalf of her clients with a hawking D.A. over their heads. In addition to Patton, Marques Houston, James Trevena, Veronika Bozeman, Altonio Jackson, Liliana Montenegro, Michael Toland and Nelson Bonilla are all set to reprise their original roles for the upcoming series. Chris Stokes, who wrote, executive produced and directed the original film, will return as an executive producer for Footage Films along with Houston, with Patton and Kevin Arkadie- who will also act as showrunner- rounding out the executive producing team.
JTBC has released casting details for its upcoming series Fly High Butterfly, a drama centered around the Fly High Butterfly salon in its mission to “transform” its clients and teach them to see themselves with more self-love. Kim Hyang-gi, Park Jung-woo, Moon Tae-yoo and Kim Ga-hee star as interns, with Daniel Choi as a hair designer who tunes his attention especially toward what his critics have to say, Oh Yoon-ah as the titular salon's director and Shim Eun-woo as an engineering school graduate-turned-hairdresser. Helmed by a directing team of Kim Da-ye and Kim Bo-kyung with writing from Park Yeon-sun, Fly High Butterfly is slated to premiere in early 2021.
HBO confirmed that nine more cast members will join its upcoming special Between the World and Me, an adaptation of the bestselling book and subsequent stage production by Ta-Nehisi Coates. In a third round of casting announcements, Mahershala Ali, Angela Davis, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Mimi Jones, Ledisi, Greg Alverez Reid, Nate Smith and Olivia Washington will join the already star-studded cast of HBO’s new special. Between the World and Me is currently in production under pandemic safety protocol and is set to air on November 21; the special will later be available to stream on HBO Max.
Streaming: Akira Kurosawa’s iconic 1950 film Rashomon is set to be reimagined and repurposed into a new series from Amblin Television and HBO Max. While not a direct adaptation of the original story, the upcoming series will center on the original film’s main theme of the subjective nature of truth based on differing perspectives, retaining the key plot and narrative driven around sexual assault and murder. Set in the modern day, each episode will focus on the series of events from a different character’s point-of-view, point of view, and will be written by duo Billy Ray and Virgil Williams. Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, Amblin’s Co-Presidents of Television, will split executive production duties along with Mark Canton, Leigh Ann Burton and David Hopwood. Calling Rashomon “a revolution in storytelling, as cinema’s most impactful and influential early exploration of subjective points of view and flawed narration,” Frank and Falvey promised in a joint statement to “honor the impact of the original work and explore the age-old concept of objective truth versus subjective perspective.”
Disney plans to develop a new series for Disney+ focused on Marvel character Nick Fury, with Samuel L. Jackson set to reprise his role from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a career first for the actor as a television regular. Bradstreet is set to serve as both writer and executive producer, with Marvel Studios producing the series. Plot details for the upcoming series have yet to be announced.
Miguel Penella, AMC Networks’ President of SVOD, is adding to his responsibilities with the network to now include oversight of AMC Plus. Prior to the promotion, Penella’s oversight had already included Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now and UMC.
Netflix recently released the first trailer for its upcoming pandemic-inspired anthology series Social Distance. Set during the initial shutdowns that occurred at the beginning of the pandemic and exploring the stories of its characters through standalone episodes, the series is a completely remote production. The upcoming series features a slate of executive producers that includes creator and showrunner Hilary Weisman Graham, Tara Herrmann, Blake McCormick, Jenji Kohan and Diego Velasco. All eight episodes of Social Distance will be available to stream on Netflix starting October 15.
