‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Stars Anson Mount, Ethan Peck Boldly Go Back to Franchise’s Roots in New Series

Joe Otterson TV ReporterNBC is in negotiations on a pilot order for a multi-cam comedy from Mike O’Malley with Jon Cryer in talks for a lead role, Variety has learned.The untitled series follows Jim and Julia, who decide to still live together to co-raise their children after an amicable divorce. But navigating the waters of divorce and child-sharing gets more complicated when a rich suitor for Julia’s heart enters the picture and sees them (Jim included) as the family he never had.Lionsgate is the studio behind the project.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Daria” spinoff “Jodie” is taking shape, but will now be an animated film rather than a series as originally announced. In addition, Variety has learned exclusively that the spinoff has set its main cast.It was previously announced that Tracee Ellis Ross will voice the title role of Jodie, Daria’s friend from high school.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterEdie Falco has been cast opposite Pete Davidson in the upcoming Peacock comedy series “Bupkis,” Variety has learned.The announcement was made during NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation on Monday. “Bupkis” was picked up straight-to-series at Peacock back in April. The show is described as a heightened, fictionalized version of Davidson’s real life.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“9-1-1: Lone Star” has been renewed for Season 4 at Fox, Variety has learned.The announcement was made ahead of Fox’s upfronts presentation to advertisers on Monday afternoon. At the time of this publishing, there is still no word on a renewal for “Lone Star’s” companion series, “9-1-1,” though an announcement is expected soon.CLICK HERE to follow Variety’s coverage of Upfronts 2022“9-1-1: Lone Star” stars Rob Lowe as Owen Strand, who moves with his son (Ronen Rubinstein) to Austin, TX, to rebuild a firehouse after it experienced a tragedy.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterStephanie Beatriz is set to star opposite Anthony Mackie in the “Twisted Metal” series currently in the works at Peacock, Variety has learned.The show was ordered to series at the NBCU streamer back in February. It is an adaptation of the video game series of the same name.In the half-hour show, Mackie will play John Doe, a motor-mouthed outsider who is offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterKerry Washington and Delroy Lindo are set to star in a new comedy series set up at Onyx Collective on Hulu, Variety has learned.The series is titled “Unprisoned” and has received an eight-episode order. It is inspired by the life of series creator Tracy McMillan. In the show, a messy but perfectionist relationship therapist and single mom (Washington) has her life turned right-side-up when her dad (Lindo) gets out of prison and moves in with her and her teenage son.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Legacies” has been canceled after four seasons at The CW, Variety has learned.The show is the latest CW drama to get canceled. Previously, the network announced it was not moving ahead with new seasons of the DC shows “Naomi,” “Batwoman,” and “Legends of Tomorrow” as well as “4400,” “Charmed,” “Dynasty,” “Roswell, New Mexico,” and “In the Dark.”The cancellation of “Legacies” brings the “Vampire Diaries” universe to a close at The CW. “The Vampire Diaries” ran from 2009-2017 at the network, while the spinoff “The Originals” aired from 2013-2018.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterCBS has ordered three new drama shows for the 2022-2023 broadcast season. According to sources, the network has decided not to move forward with any of its four comedy pilots.The network has picked up the police drama “East New York,” the firefighter drama “Fire Country” (formerly known as “Cal Fire”), and legal drama “So Help Me Todd.” The comedies “Rust Belt News,” “Unplanned in Akron,” “Sober Companion,” and “The Hug Machine” have been passed over.“East New York” follows Regina Haywood (Amanda Warren), the newly promoted deputy inspector of East New York, a working-class neighborhood at the edge of Brooklyn. She leads a diverse group of officers and detectives, some of whom are reluctant to deploy her creative methods of serving and protecting in the midst of social upheaval and the early seeds of gentrification.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterE! is getting into the original TV movie business.The NBCUniversal cabler has announced plans to begin programming original romantic comedy films beginning in 2023. The network has commissioned six films to start, though further details about the films were not readily available.The move into made-for-TV movies at the network comes amid shifting tides in the world of cable and linear television channels.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterGarrett Hedlund has joined the cast of the Sylverster Stallone-led Paramount+ series “Tulsa King,” Variety has learned exclusively.The series follows New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi (Stallone) just after he is released from prison after 25 years and unceremoniously exiled by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, OK. Realizing that his mob family may not have his best interests in mind, Dwight slowly builds a “crew” from a group of unlikely characters, to help him establish a new criminal empire in a place that to him might as well be another planet.Hedlund will appear in the series regular role of Mitch Keller, an Oklahoma native and ex bull-rider who retired prematurely after injuries led to addiction.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming Apple limited series “Manhunt,” which details the hunt for presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth, has added seven new cast members.Brandon Flynn, Betty Gabriel, Will Harrison, Hamish Linklater, Damian O’Hare, Patton Oswalt and Lili Taylor have all joined the cast of the show. They join previously announced cast members Tobias Menzies, Anthony Boyle, Lovie Simone, and Matt Walsh.“Manhunt” is a true crime series based on the events of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and the book “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer” by James Swanson.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterStephanie Hsu is set for a guest starring role in Disney+ series “American Born Chinese,” Variety has learned exclusively.The role reunites Hsu with previously announced cast member Michelle Yeoh, with whom Hsu starred in the hit film “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang, the series follows Jin Wang (Ben Wang), a teenager juggling his high school social life with his immigrant home life. When Jin meets foreign exchange student Wei-Chen (Jim Liu) on the first day of school, their worlds collide as Jin becomes entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMaisie Williams has joined the upcoming Apple drama series “The New Look.”Williams joins previously announced series leads Ben Mendelsohn and Juliette Binoche in the series. “The New Look” is set against the World War II Nazi Occupation of Paris when Coco Chanel’s (Binoche) reign as the world’s most famous fashion designer ends and Christian Dior (Mendelsohn) rises helping return spirit and life to the world with his ground-breaking, iconic brand.Williams will play the role of Catherine Dior, Christian’s younger sister and Medal of Honor winner for Courage in the cause of Freedom.Williams is best known for playing Arya Stark in the megahit HBO series “Game of Thrones.” She starred in all eight seasons of the series, earning two Emmy nominations for best supporting actress in a drama in the process.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Saved by the Bell” revival at Peacock has been canceled.The show aired two seasons at the streamer, with the most recent one debuting in November 2021. The first season premiered in November 2020.“We are so proud to have been the home of the next iteration of ‘Saved by the Bell’ for both new and OG fans,” Peacock said in a statement.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterViola Davis is eyeing a return to the role of Amanda Waller in her own spinoff series currently in the works at HBO Max, Variety has learned from sources.Exact plot details are mostly under wraps at this point, but sources say the show will build off of Waller’s appearance at the end of the “Suicide Squad” spinoff series “Peacemaker.”SPOILER ALERT: In the Season 1 finale of “Peacemaker,” Waller’s daughter and spy Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) outs her mother publicly for her work with Task Force X and the Suicide Squad. Davis made brief cameo appearances in the first and last episodes of the show.Davis would executive produce the series in addition to starring.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLouis Partridge has joined the cast of the upcoming Apple psychological thriller series “Disclaimer,” Variety has learned exclusively.Partridge joins previously announced series leads Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline and cast members Sacha Baron Cohen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Hoyeon.Based on the novel of the same name by Renee Knight, “Disclaimer” will star Blanchett as Catherine Ravenscroft, a successful and respected television documentary journalist whose work has been built on revealing the concealed transgressions of long-respected institutions. When an intriguing novel written by a widower (Kline) appears on her bedside table, she is horrified to realize she is a key character in a story that she had hoped was long buried in the past.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHulu has ordered a limited series adaptation of the Georgia Hunter novel “We Were the Lucky Ones” with Joey King attached to star, Variety has learned.Hulu has given the show an eight episode order. It is inspired by the true story of one Jewish family separated at the start of World War II, determined to survive—and to reunite.Erica Lipez is adapting the book for the screen and will executive produce. Thomas Kail will direct and executive produce via Old 320 Sycamore.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJudge Judy Sheindlin is expanding her relationship with Amazon Freevee, formerly IMDb TV, with a new courtroom show.Sheindlin will serve as creator and executive producer on “Tribunal,” which will feature a panel of three judges collectively adjudicating real cases. Scott Koondel will also serve as an executive producer.The three judges are: Judge Patricia DiMango, a former New York State Supreme Court Justice and Administrative Judge of the New York State Supreme Court, Criminal Term, Kings County; Judge Tanya Acker, a Yale Law School graduate, experienced civil litigator, former Judge Pro Tem in Los Angeles County Superior Court; and Adam Levy, former Putnam County, New York District Attorney, and an instructor for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and New York Prosecutors Training Institute.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMelissa McBride is no longer going to star in a Daryl-Carol “Walking Dead” spinoff at AMC, Variety has confirmed with sources.The show was originally announced in September 2020 with McBride and Norman Reedus set to star. The pair have long been praised for their characters’ onscreen chemistry, with Reedus and McBride currently being the only two cast members of the flagship show who have been onboard since Season 1.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The Afterparty” Season 2 at Apple is bringing back Season 1 stars Sam Richardson and Zoë Chao while also adding seven new cast members, Variety has learned.Richardson and Chao join previously announced returning Season 1 star Tiffany Haddish. The new season will revolve around a murder at a wedding.The new cast members are: Zach Woods (“Silicon Valley,” “The Office”) as Edgar; Elizabeth Perkins (“Sharp Objects,” “Weeds”) as Isabel; Poppy Liu (“Dead Ringers,” “Hacks,” “Better Call Saul”) as Grace; Paul Walter Hauser (“Black Bird,” “Cruella”) as Travis; Anna Konkle (“Pen15”) as Hannah; Jack Whitehall (“Travels With My Father,” “Jungle Cruise”) as Sebastian; and Vivian Wu (“Away,” “Dead Pigs”) as Vivian. Created by Chris Miller, each episode of “The Afterparty”  explores a different character’s account of one fateful evening, all told through the lens of popular film genres and unique visuals to match the storyteller’s perspective.Miller and Phil Lord executive produce “The Afterparty” under their Lord Miller banner along with Anthony King. King and Miller will work as co-showrunners on Season 2.