EXCLUSIVE: Lifetime is already in the Christmas spirit, announcing three new movies for its annual It’s a Wonderful Lifetime holiday slate.
09.02.2022 - 01:11 / deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Katie McGrath (Supergirl), Ray McKinnon (Rectify) Adam Shapiro (Never Have I Ever), Mark Musashi (Fear of the Walking Dead) and Marina Mazepa (Malignant) have been cast opposite Colin Woodell and Mel Gibson in Starz’s The Continental, the prequel to the Keanu Reeves film series John Wick. The Continental will be presented as a three-night special-event TV series, produced for Starz by Lionsgate Television.
In addition to Woodell and Gibson, the five join previously announced cast members Hubert Point-Du Jour, Jessica Allain, Mishel Prada, Nhung Kate and Ben Robson.
McGrath will play The Adjudicator; McKinnon portrays Jenkins; Shapiro is Lemmy; and Musahi and Mazepa will play High Table assassins Hansel & Gretel.
Executive producers Greg Coolidge (Wayne, Ride Along) and Kirk Ward (Wayne) are writing the event series and serve as showrunners. Thunder Road Pictures’ Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee, Chad Stahelski, Derek Kolstad, David Leitch, Shawn Simmons, Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese will also serve as executive producers.
McGrath recently wrapped filming the role of Lena Luther in the CW’s Supergirl. Her other TV credits include Dracula and BBC’s Merlin. On the film side, she has been seen in Jurassic World and in Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of The Sword. McGrath is repped by A3 Artists Agency and Hamilton Hodell in the UK.
McKinnon is best known as the creator of the Peabody Award-winning series Rectify. As an actor, he has appeared in FX’s Sons of Anarchy in the role of Lincoln Potter, and in a reprisal of the role in FX’s Mayans MC. He recently wrapped the Fox limited series Dopesick.
Shapiro’s credits include the role of Mr. Shapiro in Mindy Kaling’s Netflix series Never Have I Ever. On the film side, he was
EXCLUSIVE: Lifetime is already in the Christmas spirit, announcing three new movies for its annual It’s a Wonderful Lifetime holiday slate.
Starz will expand the world of Outlander with a prequel series now in the works.
Outlander is expanding!
Joe Otterson TV ReporterAn “Outlander” prequel series is in development at Starz, Variety has learned exclusively.According to sources, “Outlander” executive producer and showrunner Matthew B. Roberts is attached to write and executive produce the prequel. A writers’ room is currently being assembled with an eye to begin work in the coming weeks.Exact plot details for what the prequel would focus on are being kept under wraps.
EXCLUSIVE: Paramount+ is rounding out its supporting cast for the upcoming Grease prequel series Rise of the Pink Ladies, adding Charlotte Kavanagh (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist), Josette Halpert (The Other Kingdom), Nicholas McDonough, Maximo Weber Salas and Alexis Sides. Production is underway in Vancouver.
EXCLUSIVE: Wrestler and actor Paul “Big Show” Wight (AEW Dark: Elevation), Richard Harmon (The 100), Kandsye McClure (Battlestar Gallactica), Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Gallactica) and Bethany Brown (The 100) have joined Aleks Paunovic (Marvel’s Hawkeye) in sci-fi NFT series GenZeroes.
Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin is excited about HBO’s upcoming prequel series House Of The Dragon, as revealed with a blog post on Thursday.
Joe Otterson TV ReporterFX and BBC have announced the main cast for the upcoming “Great Expectations” limited series, Variety has learned.The six-episode version of the Charlies Dickens classic will star: Olivia Colman (“The Favourite,” “The Crown”) as Miss Havisham, Fionn Whitehead (“Dunkirk,” “Bandersnatch”) as Pip, Ashley Thomas (“Them,” “The Night Of”) as Jaggers, Johnny Harris (“London to Brighton,” “This Is England ’86”) as Magwitch, Shalom Brune-Franklin (“Roadkill,” “Line of Duty”) as Estella, Hayley Squires (“I, Daniel Blake,” “The Electrical Life of Louis Wain”) as Sara, Owen McDonnell (“Killing Eve,” “Women on the Verge” as Joe, Trystan Gravelle (“A Discovery of Witches,” “The Terror”) as Compeyson, and Matt Berry (“What We Do in the Shadows,” “Toast of London”) as Mr. Pumblechuck. Steven Knight is writing and executive producing the series.
There is a Sexy Beast prequel series happening after all.
ViacomCBS is further expanding its Dora The Explorer universe. Paramount+ has given a series order to a new Dora the Explorer CG-animated preschool series, produced by Nickelodeon Animation. Additionally, the first-ever live-action Dora the Explorer series, inspired by the tone of Paramount Pictures’ 2019 film Dora and the Lost City of Gold, is shifting its demo target to tweens. The details were revealed Tuesday by Brian Robbins, Chief Content Officer, Movies and Kids & Family for Paramount+, during ViacomCBS’ Investors Day Event.
He's best known for playing heroin addict Sick Boy in the hit Brit flick Trainspotting.
With “The Book of Boba Fett” in the rearview, Lucasfilm is putting its attention towards other upcoming streaming series. The third season of “The Mandalorian” is the most recent “Star Wars” show to go in front of cameras, even though star Pedro Pascal has been shooting “The Last of Us” in Calgary, Alberta simultaneously.
Joe Otterson TV ReporterRay Stevenson has been cast in the upcoming Disney Plus “Star Wars” series “Ahsoka,” Variety has confirmed with sources.He joins previously announced series lead Rosario Dawson, who will star as Ahsoka Tano, as well as cast members Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Natasha Liu Bordizz, and Ivanna Sakhno.Details on who Stevenson will be playing in the series are being kept under wraps, but it is believed that he will be playing a villain in the series, thought not the main villain, Grand Admiral Thrawn.Reps for Lucasfilm did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment.This is not the first time Stevenson has been a part of the “Star Wars” universe. He previously lent his voice to the two animated series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars Rebels” as the character Gar Saxon, a Mandalorian commando.
Zack Snyder is gathering quite the ensemble for his next film as Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Ray Fisher and Doona Bae are set to join Snyder’s Rebel Moon at Netflix starring Sofia Boutella. Jena Malone, Staz Nair, E. Duffy, Charlotte Maggi and Sky Yang are also set to round out the cast. Snyder is directing the film as well as co-writing it with Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad, based on a story by Snyder and Johnstad. Deborah Snyder, Wesley Coller and Snyder will produce for The Stone Quarry along with Eric Newman for Grand Electric.
The John Wick prequel series cast is growing!
Rita Ora has landed a role in Disney+’s Beauty and the Beast prequel series!
British pop star Rita Ora is joining Disney+’s Beauty and the Beast prequel series.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeSinger/songwriter Rita Ora has joined the cast of Disney Plus’ upcoming ‘Beauty and The Beast’ prequel. The news was announced Monday during Disney Branded Television’s session at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour. On the “Beauty and the Beast” (working title) prequel, Ora will star as “a fugitive with surprising abilities who carries with her a secret that could potentially affect an entire kingdom.” She joins a cast that includes Josh Gad, Luke Evans, Briana Middleton, Fra Fee and Jelani Alladin.Gad also serves as an executive producer and co-showrunner, along with Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.