Evan Jones Signs With Buchwald, Lands Role in HBO Max Series ‘Duster’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “The Penguin” series at HBO Max has cast Carmen Ejogo, François Chau, and David H. Holmes in recurring roles, Variety has learned exclusively. The trio join a cast that includes series lead Colin Farrell, who will reprise the role of Oswald “The Penguin” Cobblepot from “The Batman, as well as Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, and Clancy Brown. Character details for Ejogo, Chau, and Holmes are being kept under wraps. Ejogo’s recent TV credits include “Your Honor,” “I’m a Virgo,” and “True Detective” Season 3. In film, she has starred in features such as the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise, “Alien: Covenant,” and “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” She is repped by WME and Peikoff Mahan.

Strictly Come Dancing favourite Katya Jones, 33, separated from husband Neil Jones, 40, in 2019 after six years of marriage. Neil has since found love with Love Island star Chyna Mills, 24, and announced this week that they are expecting a baby. Despite no longer being together romantically, Katya and Neil are still the best of friends and she is overjoyed about his baby news.

Taylour Paige, an Independent Spirit Award winner for “Zola,” is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360 and Granderson Rochers. She appears opposite Jonathan Majors in Sundance hit “Magazine Dreams.” Jovan Adepo of “Babylon,” who was Emmy-nominated for the HBO series Watchmen, is represented by Powerline Entertainment, WME and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller.Chris Chalk, who plays Paul Drake on HBO’s “Perry Mason,” is represented by Brillstein Entertainment Partners, Paradigm Talent Agency and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.James Remar of “Sex and the City” and “The Warriors” fame, is among the all-star casts of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and Francis Ford Coppola “Megalopolis.” Hei represented by Gersh Agency and Lighthouse Entertainment.Logline: Set in the world of Stephen King’s “IT” universe, “Welcome to Derry” (wt) is based on King’s “IT” novel and expands the vision established by filmmaker Andy Muschietti in the feature films “IT” and “IT Chapter Two.”The series is produced by HBO Max and Warner Bros.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The “It” prequel series at HBO Max has added its first four cast members, Variety has learned. Taylour Paige (“Zola,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), Jovan Adepo (“Babylon,” “Watchmen”), Chris Chalk (“Perry Mason,” “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt”), and James Remar (“Oppenheimer,” “Megalopolis”) will all star in the series, which is currently titled “Welcome to Derry.” Exact plot and character details are being kept under wraps, but the official logline for the series states, “Set in the world of Stephen King’s ‘It’ universe, ‘Welcome to Derry’ is based on King’s ‘It’ novel and expands the vision established by filmmaker Andy Muschietti in the feature films ‘It’ and ‘It Chapter Two.'”

Stephen King’s It lives on in the Max Original prequel series Welcome to Derry (working title) from the franchise filmmakers Andy and Barbara Muschietti as well as It Chapter Two co-producer Jason Fuchs, with Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, and James Remar set to star.

Apparently, it’s time to “get high on science.”

reported by Bloomberg, the show would be based directly on J.K. Rowling’s best-selling novels, with each season focusing on one book in the seven-book series.The potential series would not be based on an in-universe spin-off, such as the “Fantastic Beasts” films.The concept of one season per book suggests that the franchise would be an ongoing, years-long project from Warner Bros.Rowling is in preliminary talks to join the project as a producer and would have a degree of creative involvement, though she would not be the primary creator or showrunner of the series.Once Rowling is officially on board, the project is expected to look for a writer.There have long been talks about a “Harry Potter” television series, with rumors first sparking in January 2021 — although Warner Bros.

Harry Potter is back!

J. Kim Murphy Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to close a deal to produce a “Harry Potter” television series. According to Bloomberg, which was first to report news of recent talks surrounding the project, the project would be directly based on J.K. Rowling’s best-selling book series, rather than an in-universe spinoff such as the “Fantastic Beasts” film series. Each season would reportedly draw from one of the books, suggesting an ongoing franchise that would stretch for years for the studio. Sources close to the situation suggest that talks between Warner Bros. Discovery and Rowling’s camp remain in a preliminary state. The studio is looking to house the series under its streaming banner HBO Max, soon to be combined with Discovery+ and rebranded under a new name.

EXCLUSIVE: Corbin Bernsen (City On A Hill) is set for a key recurring role opposite Josh Holloway and Rachel Hilson in J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan’s HBO Max period drama Duster.

Nearly three months after Us Weekly confirmed that Riley Keough and husband Ben Smith-Petersen welcomed their first child, the actress has shared her first statement about motherhood.

EXCLUSIVE: Rising British actor Emilia Jones has signed with Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

Lena Headey has landed a new gig.

K.J. Yossman U.K. podcast production outfit Blanchard House has tapped HBO Max podcasting strategy director Hassan Chaudhry as its new head of partnerships and strategy, Variety can exclusively reveal. Meanwhile Amica Sciortino Nowlan, formerly of The Economist, joins as managing producer. The new hires come ahead of a busy year for the podcast outfit, which is set to launch five shows this year, including two at Audible. Chaudhry, who is based in New York, is responsible for establishing and leading HBO Max’s podcasting group, whose output includes “The Game of Thrones Podcast” and “Batman: The Audio Adventures.” At Blanchard House Chaudhry will look after film and TV relationships and lead growth.

Ellise Shafer SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for Episode 9 of “Daisy Jones & the Six,” titled “Feels Like the First Time.” At the beginning of Episode 9 of “Daisy Jones & the Six,” viewers are greeted by a needle drop that may seem too good to be true: As Daisy (Riley Keough) wakes up from almost overdosing the night before, Fleetwood Mac’s “Gold Dust Woman” starts to play. As the mystical track builds, Daisy realizes that her husband, Nicky (Gavin Drea), abandoned her while she was near death, leaving Daisy in the arms of Billy (Sam Claflin), her bandmate and frequent temptation. While Stevie Nicks sings “is it over now, do you know how?/ Pick up the pieces and go home,” Daisy yells at Nicky to “pack his shit up” and leave while the rest of the Six (Suki Waterhouse, Will Harrison, Josh Whitehouse and Sebastian Chacon) form a united front behind her.

star appears on Friday's episode of , and in ET's exclusive clip of her visit, the actress recalls a special charge from her childhood gig — Blake Lively!«Long story short, I went to a ton of acting classes and that was on the advice of Tisha Campbell's mom. I met a representative who wanted to try me out a little bit, told me, 'I'm going to send you out on auditions.' And that person introduced me to Blake Lively's parents,» Jones remembers, explaining to Hall and the audience how she became the  alum's babysitter.Blake's parents, Ernie and Elaine Lively, were an actor and talent scout, respectively, before they became talent managers. Jones explains that the Livelys helped her with getting headshots and enrolling in their acting school, with Jones babysitting Blake in exchange. She adds, «When they became managers, I was already going to their acting school and I would babysit Blake to attend school because I couldn't afford it.

What’s the worst-case scenario for an extramarital affair? Divorce? Ruined families and reputations? Murder? Such is the backdrop to “Love & Death,” an upcoming HBO Max original limited series. READ MORE: Elizabeth Olsen Says Scarlet Witch Could Appear In ‘Agatha’ Series: “I Think I’ll Be Back” Based on the real-life case of Candy Montgomery, “Love & Death” follows two church-going couples, Candy and Pat Montgomery and Betty and Allen Gore, whose once-quiet lives get upturned when Candy decides to pursue an affair with Allen and, soon enough, someone is picking up an axe… Elisabeth Olsen and Jesse Plemons star in the new series from “Ally McBeal” and “Big Little Lies” scribe David E.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter HBO Max is developing a drama series based on the life of Heidi Fleiss, Variety has learned exclusively. The untitled series hails from writer and executive producer Maggie Cohn, who most recently served as the co-showrunner on HBO Max’s critically acclaimed limited series “The Staircase.” Fleiss will serve as a consultant on the project. Emma Tillinger Koskoff (“Joker,” The Irishman”) of First Love Films will also executive produce, along with Alex Goldstone (“Dickinson”) for Anonymous Content, Bill Gerber (“Muhammed Ali,” “A Star Is Born”) of Gerber Pictures, and David Bernon, Paul Bernon, and Sam Slater of Burn Later Productions (“Support the Girls,” “Mile 22,” “Drinking Buddies”).

EXCLUSIVE: Gersh on Tuesday announced their signing of Raúl Martínez, the Mexican director known for Spanish-language titles including The Waiter, which came in as the highest-grossing film native to the country in its July 2021 debut.

British TV stars Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie will return for the second series of hit BBC drama Vigil with a new investigation into the world of the British air force.The first series of the show, which came to a nail-biting conclusion in September 2021, saw Suranne, 44, and Rose, 36, as police detectives in vestigating a murder on a submarine. It became the UK’s most watched new drama since Bodyguard in 2018.