Small Screen: ‘Gen V’ Refuses To Recast, SAG-AFTRA Contract In Works
Vanessa Lachey - ncis: hawaii
Broadcast: Boris Kodjoe, known for his roles in Station 19 and Soul Food, is gearing up for career growth since the cancellation of Station 19. Kodjoe is set to direct one of the final 10 episodes of Station 19. Especially given the series’ cancellation, Kodjoe wanted to make his episode count. The show had to wrap up unfinished storylines, so Kodjoe emphasized the importance of considering each character’s story arc.
“It’s really hard to give each character a proper sort of sendoff, if you will, because there’s so many characters with so many years of storylines, so many ups and downs,” said Kodjoe.
ABC's upcoming series Dr. Odyssey announced that Sean Teale (Skins) will join the cast of this on-sea medical procedural. Teale will be joined by Phillipa Soo (Hamilton: An American Musical). The show has not yet announced the official plot and characters, so Teale and Soo’s roles remain unknown. Additionally, Paris Barclay will join creator Ryan Murphy as director and executive producer.
Weigel Broadcasting Co., owner of MeTV, announced that MeTV Toons will launch on June 25th. MeTV Toons will broadcast classic television cartoons nationally. This launch is in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery. Some familiar faces to be featured include Woody Woodpecker, Betty Boop, Bugs Bunny, Scooby Doo, Yogi Bear, and more. MeTV Toons will be available to watch on broadcast television and ad-supported streaming services.
All American: Homecoming set a release date for its third season on The CW. The third season will run starting on July 8th at 9 p.m. ET. The young adult drama focuses on the experiences of students at Bringston University, particularly as it pertains to “Black Excellence.” Geffri Maya (LOCO) stars as Simone, a tennis player who finds family as she discovers the difficulties of young adulthood.
Courtney B. Vance and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor will revisit television screens in the second season of 61st Street. Executive produced by Peter Moffat, J. David Shanks, and Michael B. Jordan, this drama will return on July 22nd at 9 p.m. ET. In January 2023, the series was canceled after its initial season release by AMC Networks in order to cut expenses. The CW acquired the show and the already-filmed second season, partnering with AMC Networks in May 2024.
CBS Network canceled NCIS: Hawaii after its third season. The finale date is set for May 6th. The series broke milestones, including casting Vanessa Lachey as the first female lead in the NCIS franchise. The series totalled 54 episodes across its three-season run.
Lachey commented on her thoughts about the show, saying:
“The NCIS franchise is all over the world and it brings people together to watch and talk about, as well as provide comfort and entertainment, which is what you want when you dive into a show.”
Executive producer Queen Latifah's The Equalizer was renewed for a fifth season by CBS. Queen Latifah stars alongside Lorraine Toussaint, Tory Kittles, and Laya DeLeon Hayes to tell the story of a former CIA operative.
In celebration of the announcement, CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach stated that the series:
“is stacked with suspense, heroism, high stakes and formidable characters our audience roots for.”
The CW is bringing back Taye Diggs for the sixth season of All American. However, there are no public details on the producers’ plan to reintroduce Diggs after his character's death in season five. Billy Baker, Diggs’ character, passed away in a tragic bus crash, sending the sixth season of the show into an exploration of grief for all the characters.
CBS's NCIS: Origins series will add Julian Black Antelope (Prey) to their cast. Antelope will play chief medical examiner Kai Blackrock of the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office. Origins is the prequel to NCIS and follows Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Austin Stowell) at the start of his career. Antelope’s character will star alongside Gibbs.
Comedy series Shifting Gears brings Daryl "Chill" Mitchell (Fear the Walking Dead) and Froy Gutierrez (Hocus Pocus 2) onto their cast line up for the pilot episode. Shifting Gears centers on the relationship between a father and daughter, played by Tim Allen and Kat Dennings, respectively. Mitchell will play Ed, a former marine, while Guitierrez will play Nick, the son of Matt (Allen). The series is produced by ABC and executively produced by Mike Scully and Julie Thacker-Scully. ABC has yet to set the premiere date for the pilot.
Gail bean - Unique Nicole / Stringer
Cable: Gail Bean (Snowfall), Bertram Williams Jr., and Thomas Q. Jones (A Violent Man) will become recurring characters in Starz’ P-Valley. They join the cast alongside Mea Wilkerson, who will play Haiku in the series' upcoming season. Bean, Williams Jr., and Jones play Roulette, Woddy, and Mane, respectively, in the first two seasons. As the third season begins production, these characters will be brought to the forefront.
Michelle yeoh - ARTURO HOLMES/MG22
Streaming: Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (The Lincoln Lawyer) joins the Firebug ensemble cast alongside Jurnee Smollett and John Leguizamo. Firebug is an Apple Studios-produced drama series created by Dennis Lehane and Taron Egerton. Much like his previous role as Detective Raymond Griggs in The Lincoln Lawyer, Mwine will star as a “troubled detective” who follows a reality-inspired case of two serial arsonists.
After CBS’s announcement to renew The Neighborhood for a sixth season in January 2023, Paramount+ has claimed the spin-off series Crutch, written by Owen Smith. The series will star Tracy Morgan and Cedric the Entertainer. It will focus on Frank Crutchfield (Morgan) and his two children as they move home together.
Morgan shared his excitement for Crutch’s development, saying:
“I am so happy to be able to do this with my brother Cedric The Entertainer, Owen Smith and the rest of the amazing crew we have put together. Get ready for your new favorite show!”
Oscar-winning Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once) was cast in Prime Video’s sci-fi sequel series Blade Runner 2099. Based on the science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick, the series will follow the universe presented in its predecessor films Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049. The series, its characters, and its plot is not yet public information.
Since his passing on March 30th, 2024 in a motorcycle accident, Gen V producers will not recast Chance Perdomo‘s character in the Prime Video series. Instead, they will honor him when the second season premieres.
In a post on Instagram, the producers stated:
“As we continue to navigate the tragic loss of Chance Perdomo, everyone at Gen V is determined to find the best way to pay respect to his memory. We won’t be recasting the role because no one can replace Chance.”
A recent deal between sports and entertainment streamer Begin and Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) will allow Begin to license rights to SPE shows. Some of these series include The Goldbergs, Jackie Chan Adventures, and Men in Black. Begin is a popular platform in Southeast Asia that focuses on sports and entertainment.CCO Jonathan Mark expressed enthusiasm about working with SPE.
“This not only allows us to bring their impressive slate of beloved film franchises to Begin in the Pakistan market, but it also establishes a new source of first run films for Begin movie lovers,” said Mark.
Amazon Prime Video announced that they will release a series adaptation of James Patterson's Alex Cross novels. Before the debut of its first episode, the series already garnered approval for a second season. The thriller series Cross will star Aldis Hodge (Black Adam) as Alex Cross. The ensemble cast includes Isaiah Mustafa (Murder at Yellowstone City), Karen LeBlanc (The Kings of Napa), Samantha Walkes (Orphan: First Kill), and Juanita Jennings (A Man Called Otto). Hodge will also join writer, showrunner, and executive producer Ben Watkins in producing the series with Skydance Television and Paramount Television Studios.
Prime Video's coming-of-age drama Motorheads will introduce Sophia Esperanza, a new face in the acting world. She joins Matt Lanter, Michael Cimino, and Melissa Collazo. The series follows a group of high school friends whose interests revolve around their love for cars. Social media influencer Esperanza will play Ryan, a "fun and dangerous" leader of an outsider town crew.
Adam Sussman (12 Monkeys) and Mark Perez (Game Night) are developing a medical procedural with Amazon Freevee. The series will showcase non-traditional treatments for strange and unique medical cases. Sussman will join production as a co-writer and executive producer alongside Bill McGoldrick and Perez.
Nabeel Muscatwalla (Good Trouble) was cast as Arvind, a recurring character in the third season of Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble's The Sex Lives of College Girls. The series explores the young adult problems, successes, and formative moments of four roommates at Essex College.
The trailer for Apple TV+’s the upcoming series The Big Cigar revealed that André Holland as the leading role. He will play Huey P. Newton, founder of the historical Black Panther Party. Holland will portray the story of Newton's flee and escape to Cuba after he was framed for murder in 1974. Holland is joined by Tiffany Boone, P.J. Byrne, Marc Menchaca, and Moses Ingram. The series will premiere on Apple TV+ on May 17th.
The Paramount+ mafia drama Tulsa King cast Rich Ting (Warrior) to star alongside Sylvester Stallone. Ting’s character, Jackie Ming, is a quiet man who makes his way in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There, he joins a rising criminal group led by Dwight Manfredi (Stallone).
Paramount+ cast Damon Gupton (Whiplash) and Momona Tamada (To All the Boys) in the series Happy Face. This drama is based on the true story of Melissa Moore, the daughter of serial killer Keith Jesperson. Gupton will play Elijah, a convicted murderer on death row, while Tamada will play teenager Eva, a true crime fan who finds out her old best friend is linked to the Happy Face Killer.
Hulu's Unprisoned will release its eight-episode season on July 17th. The series explores the ups and downs of the lives of the Alexander family. Kerry Washington will play Paige Alexander, Delroy Lindo will play Edwin, Marque Richardson will play Mal, Faly Rakotohavana will play Finn, Jordyn McIntosh will play Little Paige, and Jee Young Han will play Esti The second season of Unprisoned will be available to stream on Hulu, Star+ (Latin America), and Disney+.
Showtime renewed The Chi for its seventh season. Creator and executive producer Lena Waithe was called a "generational storyteller" for her work on the show by Nina L. Diaz. The Chi is currently in its sixth season and streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime.
Michael Peña (A Million Miles Away) was cast in Paramount+'s Landman, produced by Taylor Sheridan. He joins Billy Bob Thornton, Ali Larter, and Michelle Randolph, to name a few, to tell the story of a Texan oil business, as inspired by the podcast "Boomtown." The series will film in Fort Worth, aptly portraying the story’s setting.
GREGORY CHEEKS - CBS
Industry: CBS president and CEO George Cheeks spoke about the expected next steps after Bob Bakish stepped down from CEO of Paramount Global. However, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management announced their bids to buyout Paramount with $26 billion before Cheeks could comment. With the lack of clarity for Paramount's future, Cheeks is determined to keep morale high.
“We can only control what we can control,” said Cheeks.
SAG-AFTRA EVP Linda Powell and SAG-AFTRA VPJodi Long met with Shari Belafonte in Denver to bring up their 2026 contract with AMPTP. Important discussion topics included healthcare, residual bonuses on streaming services, and AI protections in actors’ self tapes. SAG-AFTRA agreed to protect the right to consent and payment for using an actor's digital scans; these protections will be reexamined every six months. There are plans to further discuss distribution of residual bonuses.
Noriko Kelley, executive vice president of programming strategy at CBS Entertainment, joined The Hollywood Radio and Television Society's HRTS Foundation board. Kelley's responsibilities include planning programs and scheduling primetime programs for CBS Television Network. This makes her the first woman to head scheduling for broadcast television.
Deborah Williams will step down as the head of the U.K.’s Creative Diversity Network. Beginning her reign in 2016, she not only led training for producers and broadcasters, but successfully led the Diamond Initiative that collected data on diversity in television. Her initiatives in diversity also included doubling the current number of disabled individuals working on television shows in the U.K.
On April 23th, 2024, actor Terry Carter passed away at 95 in his home in Manhattan, New York. Aside from his time on Broadway, Carter famously directed the documentary American Masters about Duke Ellington, and more notably played Private Sugie Sugarman on The Phil Silvers Show. In 1965, he earned the title of the first Black news anchor on WBZ-TV.
Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery will bundle some of the largest streaming services on the market: Disney+, Hulu, and Max. Warner Bros. There are plans for the bundle to offer ad-free and ad-supported versions in order to increase viewership. This deal is expected to launch this summer.
“Offering this unprecedented entertainment value for fans across all the complimentary genres these three services offer, presents a powerful new roadmap for the future of the industry,” commented Discovery CEO J.B. Perrette commented.
TV Collective's Breakthrough Leaders program chose 50 individuals of Black, Asian, Indigenous, African, and Latin American descent across Amazon, BBC Studios, Fremantle, and ITV Studios to guide in their path to become leaders in U.K. television. This will be the fourth group to join the TV Collective’s Breakthrough Leaders program. The individuals will receive a curated program in television industry leadership, consisting of masterclasses, networking within the industry, strategizing, and coaching. These new leaders are more diverse than ever before, with more women and more non-London industry workers. The full official list can be found on the TV Collective website.
