‘The Penguin’ HBO Max Series Casts Carmen Ejogo, François Chau, David H. Holmes (EXCLUSIVE)

It’s not hard to picture the team behind HBO’s “White House Plumbers” finishing work on an episode of “Veep” and picturing that stellar comedy’s tone being applied to the idiots behind the Watergate break-in. (The director of all five episodes here is David Mandel, showrunner on that massive critical darling.) And as the country once again goes through considerations of impeachment and general malfeasance in the highest offices of the United States, the timing seems just right for a scathing look at one of the key points in our continuing disillusionment with the government.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Donald Sutherland is the latest addition to the cast of the Bass Reeves series currently in the works at Paramount+. The show is now officially titled “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” and is now described as an anthology series with future installments to follow other iconic lawmen who have impacted history in subsequent seasons. The logline for the Bass Reeves season states it will “bring the legendary lawman of the wild west to life. Reeves, known as the greatest frontier hero in American history, worked in the post-Reconstruction era as a federal peace officer in the Indian Territory, capturing over 3,000 of the most dangerous criminals without ever being wounded.”

Murder in the heartland. Elizabeth Olsen plays a Texas housewife with a very dark secret in HBO Max’s new series Love & Death.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The upcoming Peacock drama series “Hysteria!” is rounding out its main cast. Anna Camp (“Pitch Perfect” franchise, “True Blood) Emjay Anthony (“Physical,” “Chef”), Chiara Aurelia (“Cruel Summer,” “Luckiest Girl Alive”), Kezii Curtis (“Charm City Kings,” “Secret Headquarters”) and Nikki Hahn (“Magnum P.I.,” “American Housewife”) have all been cast in the series. They join previously announced cast member Julie Bowen. The show was originally ordered at Peacock in August 2022. Per the official series description, “When a beloved varsity quarterback disappears during the ‘Satanic Panic’ of the late 1980s, a struggling high school heavy metal band of outcasts realize they can capitalize on the town’s sudden interest in the occult by building a reputation as a Satanic metal band, until a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings, and reported ‘supernatural activity’ triggers a leather-studded witch hunt that leads directly back to them.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Charlie Sheen and Chuck Lorre are officially back in business together, with the actor joining Lorre’s HBO Max series “How to Be a Bookie.” Variety has confirmed with sources that Sheen will recur in the upcoming HBO Max series (with the streamer set to be renamed Max in the next month). The show stars Sebastian Maniscalco and was ordered to series in October. Reps for Warner Bros. Television and HBO Max declined to comment. Sheen and Lorre previously worked together on the hit CBS sitcom “Two and a Half Men.” Lorre co-created and executive produced the show, with Sheen starring. Sheen earned four Emmy nominations during his time on the show, but infamously left in the eighth season amid a public meltdown that included his viral “tiger blood” interview with ABC News and entering drug rehab. Sheen proceeded to make a number of disparaging remarks about Lorre publicly, with Lorre killing off Sheen’s character on “Two and a Half Men.” It was revealed in the series finale that Sheen’s character was not really dead, but died in the finale when a piano fell on his head.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Mischa Barton will appear in the new season of “Neighbours” coming to Amazon Freevee. Barton will guest star in the upcoming season of the long-running Australian soap opera, which was picked up by Freevee back in November. According to her official character description, Barton will play Reece, “an American new to Erinsborough who’s not quite who she appears to be.” “With ‘Neighbours’ launching on Amazon Freevee in North America, we are beyond excited to have an actor of Mischa’s calibre join us for the beginning of this exciting new chapter,” said executive producer Jason Herbison. “Mischa’s character is dynamic and unpredictable, and will have an instant presence on Ramsay Street. Our loyal viewers are going to love her, locally and abroad.”

Harry Potter book series by is being adapted for television. about an HP series since January 2021, but it looks like it's finally happening.

A new generation of wizards! HBO announced that a new Harry Potter series was officially in the works.

Despite author J.K. Rowling coming under fire during the pandemic over her comments on transgender issues, Warner Bros has boldly stood by the Harry Potter and Wizarding World architect, in particular this morning, when it was made official that Warner Bros Discovery has greenlit a Harry Potter Max streaming series.

Well, after the success of “House Of The Dragon” last year, it was only a matter of time before HBO announced another “Game Of Thrones” spinoff. And it’s one that “Thrones” fans already knew about, albeit with a different name now.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The thunder is hitting HBO Max. “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” is arriving on the streamer, which will soon be renamed to Max, on May 23.

At the end of Matt Reeve‘s ‘The Batman,’ Carmine Falcone’s death leaves the Gotham underworld without a kingpin. And as far as Colin Farrell‘s Oswald Copplepot is concerned, that position is his for the taking.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer Oswald Cobblepot is finally getting his moment in the sun. Warner Bros. Discovery executives have unveiled the first look at “The Penguin,” the spin-off series focusing on Colin Farrell’s titular Gotham City gangster from the 2022 blockbuster film “The Batman.” The preview was part of the company’s presentation on Wednesday of its streaming service, Max, a combination of the HBO Max and Discovery+ services. “The Penguin,” which is currently in production, will run for eight episodes. Spoiler alert for that film: After Paul Dano’s the Riddler kills Carmine Falcone, one of Gotham City’s top mob bosses, he floods the major downtown area in a coordinated terrorist attack — leaving Farrell’s Cobblepot with a city in chaos and a power vacuum within Gotham’s underworld.

BreAnna Bell The horror of “The Conjuring” is getting the TV treatment. HBO Max is developing a TV series based on New Line Cinema’s “The Conjuring” universe. The news was announced on Wednesday exclusively during Warner Bros. Discovery’s unveiling of the Max streaming service on the Warner Bros. lot in Los Angeles. According to Warner Bros., “The Conjuring” television series will continue the story established in the feature films. Producer Peter Safran is attached to executive produce the series via his Safran Company banner. James Wan, who also produced and directed several films within the franchise, is in talks to also executive produce. Wan’s Atomic Monster Productions is backing the project alongside Warner Bros. Television.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “This Is Us” alums Sterling K. Brown and Dan Fogelman are reuniting for a drama that has been ordered to series at Hulu, Variety has learned. Hulu is not commenting on exact plot details of the untitled series, but sources describe the show as a thriller and say Brown would star as the head of security for a former president. In addition to writing, Fogelman will executive produce via Rhode Island Ave. Productions along with Jess Rosenthal. Brown will executive produce in addition to starring, with John Hoberg also executive producing. 20th Television is the studio, with Fogelman currently under an overall deal there.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Ted Lasso” breakout Phil Dunster’s role in the second season of “Surface” has been revealed. Dunster joining the second season of the Gugu Mbatha-Raw-led Apple series was reported in early March, but character details were being kept under wraps at the time. Variety can now exclusively report that Dunster will star as Quinn, the older brother of Eliza (Millie Brady). Quinn is described as “the privileged scion of a troubled, old-money family who’s attempting to blaze a new trail for the younger generation – all the while struggling against his own darker tendencies.”

EXCLUSIVE: Andie MacDowell (Groundhog Day), Carmen Ejogo (True Detective) and Kevin Pollak (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) have joined Michael Keaton and Mila Kunis in comedy Goodrich, which began filming in LA this week.

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.'”

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