Small Screen: The 52nd NAACP Image Awards, FX Commits To Diversity, And New Casting Developments
Dineo Langa - The Estate/SABC3
Broadcast: Jacob Aaron Gaines, best known for his roles in Motorvation and Netflix’s Fatal Affair, has joined the cast of The Young and the Restless. He was cast as the new and older Moses Winters, originally played by Dax Randall. Gaines will bring a new layer of maturity to the character who has grown quite a bit since the last time we saw him. Winters is the younger brother of Devon, played by Bryton James, and Lily played by Christel Khalil. In the show, Moses will be joining his brother, sister, and their cousin Nate, played by Sean Dominic in Genoa City on April 1st. This will be the actor’s daytime television debut.
SABC3’s new telenovela The Estate casts Dineo Langa as Mmakoena. Known for her previous role as Keabetswe on The Queen, Langa is returning to a new groundbreaking show. Besides acting, Langa is a TV producer, singer, and fashion curator. Last year, she launched the Port Of LNG clothing line alongside her husband. She nabbed the role in 2020, however, filming didn’t start until 2021. Langa said in an interview how moved she was by the plot and that the disparity between the “privileged the middle and the working class, is brought to dramatic life.” Langa will be starring with Sdumo Mtshali (Solomuzi), Clementine Mosimane (Mmathsepo), Linda Sebezo (Goniwe), and Aubrey Poo (Castro Kamanga), and more.
The 52nd NAACP Image Awards second night held a fresh variety of winners. Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series was given to I May Destroy You. Created by Michaela Coel, it is about a woman named Arabella who seeks to rebuild her life after she was raped. The show was critically praised and revered by audiences for its take on modern societal issues. Attica Locke, who wrote Little Fires Everywhere, took home the trophy for drama. The Image Awards also honored Anya Adams with outstanding directing for her “Hair Day” episode of black-ish in which she discusses the discrimination associated with black women's hair. Adams shines a light on the issue in the 22-minute episode as best she can and hammers home the point that all black hair is beautiful. Hanelle Culpepper won as well for her “Remembrance” episode of Star Trek: Picard which in turn uses the program to talk about the struggles of refugees.
Shakira Barrera - JC Olivera / Stringer
Cable: Showtime recently nabbed the upcoming drama series The Man Who Fell From Earth from CBS All Access/Paramount+. The series will star Naomie Harris, Oscar-nominated actor for Moonlight, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, Best Actor nominee for 12 years A Slave. Harris and Ejiofor are both POC who brings charisma, emotion, and depth to not only the story but the characters they portray. The Man Who Fell From Earth is inspired by the Walter Tevis novel of the same name and the iconic film that starred the late David Bowie. The plot of this adaptation will follow a different alien, played by Ejiofor, who arrives on Earth at the turning point of human evolution. In order to determine the future of humanity, he must face and overcome his past. Harris’s character, Justin Falls, must also overcome the skeletons in her closet in the race to save the two worlds from extinction. The show is being scribed by Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet. The two will also be executive producing with John Hlavin and will serve as showrunners. The series is scheduled to debut on Showtime in 2022.
In the past FX promotion of diversity has not been the best it could. Now, they have chosen to focus their efforts on changing that. Fx has created a new position of SVP, Creative and Cultural Diversity. The network has named their business affairs executive Shola Ajewole as the one to take on this title. Ajewole has proven himself as the best fit for this position by reporting to John Landgraf, FX Chairman, and by working closely with talent. He has been a prominent influence in the past when it came to diversity and inclusion and fully understands what needs to be promoted when talking about these topics. He has been tasked with ensuring FX and FX Productions reflect their commitment in all of their endeavors. Ajewole will also work closely with Disney General Entertainment Content’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion team on corporate and FX-specific initiatives.
Shakira Barrera will become Shamless’s last recurring character in the series final season. Barrera, well known for her role in Netflix’s GLOW, will play Heidi: ‘a recently released inmate who goes on a terrorizing crime spree when she hits the streets. Now in its 11th season, the show finds the Gallagher family and the South Side at a crossroads, with changes caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, gentrification, and aging to reconcile. Jeremy Allen, Ethan Cutkosky, Cameron Monaghan, Noel Fisher, Steve Howey, Shanola Hampton, Christian Isaiah, and Kate Miner also star. Shameless is produced by Bonanza Productions in association with John Wells Productions and Warner Bros. Television and was created by Paul Abbott.
Joo Won - Netflix
Streaming: Paramount+ has cast Ana Villafañe as KT in the seventh and final season of Younger. KT is a highly organized type-A music manager to Floaty V, a needy, on-the-go pop star. KT is always on call and never goes anywhere without her two phones. She manages to keep the chaos from exploding, often at the expense of her own personal life. In the final season, Liza’s personal life is on shaky ground as she tries to stay true to herself. After a setback at work, Kelsey (Hilary Duff) doubts her career decisions and discovers a new creative outlet. Maggie (Debi Mazar) gets canceled.
Netflix has confirmed Joo Won as the lead for their upcoming Carter. The new original series about an agent suffering from memory loss who is thrown into the middle of a mysterious mission. Won transformed into an action hero in Director Jung Byung-gil’s new work. In the popular drama Alice, Joo Won displayed his ability to tackle hard action sequences with ease. Carter should be a welcomed challenge for the actor. In the series, Carter is a top agent who awakens one day with a complete loss of memory but is then thrown into the mission of a lifetime.
