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Exclusive: Hulu and 20th Television‘s Prison Break pilot has cast Clayton Cardenas, Jr Bourne, Georgie Flores and Myles Bullock as series regulars.

The project reunites Cardenas and Bourne with Mayans M.C. co-creator Elgin James, who is leading the efforts on the Prison Break pilot as writer and executive producer. Bourne also starred in James’ feature debut in the indie drama Little Birds (2011).

They join series leads Emily Browning, Lukas Gage and Drake Rodger.

As we previously reported, James’ version will be its own thing and set within the same universe as the original Fox series of the same name from Paul Scheuring. This new project is not expected to involve the characters at the center of the Og project, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), and Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell...

Exclusive: Eric Appel has been tapped by TriStar Pictures to direct The Breadwinner, starring comedian Nate Bargatze. TriStar preemptively acquired the comedy pitch written by Bargatze and Dan Lagana.

Bargatze, the world’s top touring comedian, will make his feature film acting debut in the film and serve as a producer alongside Lagana. Jeremy Latcham will produce the film through Wonder Project. Shary Shirazi will oversee for the studio.

Bargatze and Lagana are co-writing the script. Plot details for the comedy remain under wraps.

After working on several hit TV series for almost two decades, Appel made a big splash in the feature world with Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. Appel co-wrote, directed and produced the Roku Channel pic that starred Daniel Radcliffe as the iconic singer-songwriter. The film premiered at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival and won the People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award, eventually winning the Emmy for Outstanding TV Movie.

Exclusive: Lionsgate has closed a deal for Bryce Dallas Howard to direct All of Her, details of which are under wraps.

The feature project is written by Sarah Streicher based on an original story by Jurassic World filmmaker Colin Trevorrow and Streicher. The studio is currently seeking an actress to play the lead character, which encompasses multiple roles.

Metronome Film Company’s Trevorrow and Annys Hamilton will produce. Howard will also produce with her Nine Muses Entertainment.

Nathan Kahane, president, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said, “This movie has it all—a hugely fun idea, an incredible part for a lead actress, and amazing talent behind it all, with Bryce leading the way as director. We’re excited to get the ball rolling.”

Previously Howard has directed the Apple TV+ feature documentary, Dads, as well as episodes of Disney+ Star Wars series The Mandolorian and The Book of Boba Fett, and...

Taylor Sheridan’s new “Yellowstone” spinoff “The Madison” is adding three new cast members.

Patrick J. Adams, Elle Chapman, and Beau Garrett are all set to star in the series, joining previously announced lead Michelle Pfeiffer.

“The Madison” was previously in development under the title “2024.” Per the official logline, the show is a “heartfelt study of grief and human connection following a New York City family in the Madison River valley of central Montana.” It is not yet clear if the show will debut exclusively on Paramount+ or start off on Paramount Network like “Yellowstone.”

Adams will play Russell McIntosh, described as “a young investment banker who has followed the life path set before him from the start.” Chapman will play Paige McIntosh, said to be “a somewhat self-centered woman who indulges in a luxurious New York lifestyle provided by her parents and investment banker husband.” Garrett will play Abigail Reese,...

Michelle Pfeiffer’s Yellowstone world is filling in its stable.

Patrick J. Adams will be suiting up once again to play a young investment banker on The Madison, the next installment in the Yellowstone-verse from Taylor Sheridan, which stars Pfeiffer.

Adams, best known from his time playing Mike Ross on former USA Network drama turned streaming juggernaut Suits, joins the cast as Russell McIntosh, “who has followed the life path set before him from the start,” according to the character description.

The Madison is the first official sequel series to flagship Yellowstone, which premieres its long-delayed final episodes beginning Nov. 10. The series is described as a heartfelt study of grief and human connection following a New York City family in the Madison River valley of central Montana.

Elle Chapman (A Man Called Otto, Florida Wild) and Beau Garrett (Firefly Lane, The Good Doctor, Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce) have also joined the cast,...

Patrick J. Adams and Beau Garrett have been officially announced as leads opposite Michelle Pfeiffer in The Madison, the new Yellowstone universe series from Taylor Sheridan. They are joined by newcomer Elle Chapman and Amiah Miller.

Produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios and Bosque Ranch Productions, The Madison is a heartfelt study of grief and human connection following a New York City family in the Madison River valley of central Montana.

Pfeiffer plays the mother of two daughters, played by Chapman and Garrett.

Chapman is Paige McIntosh, a somewhat self-centered woman who indulges in a luxurious New York lifestyle provided by her parents and investment banker husband, Russell McIntosh (Adams), who has followed the life path set before him from the start.

Garrett plays Abigail Reese, a resilient and sardonic New Yorker, who is a recently divorced mother of two. Miller plays Brigitte, Abigail’s eldest daughter.

The Madison is executive produced by Sheridan,...

Patrick J. Adams is the latest big name to surface for the upcoming Yellowstone contemporary spinoff series. The Suits star is expected to join previously rumored Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell in the Taylor Sheridan project, at one point titled 2024.

None of the castings have been confirmed by MTV Entertainment Studios, which produces the series with 101 Studios. Pfeiffer and Russell have both been in talks for months, with their names first tied to the series in February and June, respectively.

There have been no official details on the premise of the spinoff beyond the vague original logline of the Yellowstone franchise continuing the exploration of the Dutton family dynasty past and present with new locations and characters, as well as some crossover characters.

According to TVLine, the offshoot is rumored to follow wealthy matriarch Stacy Clyburn and her family as they leave New York City and head to...

“Pam & Tommy” stars Sebastian Stan and Lily James will reunite to star in psychological horror thriller “Let the Evil Go West.”

The film sounds very different from Stan and James’ previous collaboration, which saw them playing Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson in a Hulu mini-series. In “Let the Evil Go West,” a railroad worker stumbles upon a fortune under deeply disturbing circumstances. As horrifying visions and manifestations drive him toward madness, his wife becomes convinced that an evil presence has attached itself to their family.

Christian Tafdrup is set to direct from a screenplay by Xc Vs. The film is produced by Tim and Trevor White (“King Richard”) under their Star Thrower Entertainment banner, Mark Fasano and Nathan Klingher for Gramercy Park Media, which is also financing the film, and Allan Mandelbaum. Stan and James will also executive produce along with Gramercy Park’s Joshua Harris and Ford Corbett and north.five.six.

Following a highly successful collaboration on Hulu’s Pam & Tommy, Sebastian Stan and Lily James are set to reteam on Let the Evil Go West, a psychological horror thriller from director Christian Tafdrup (Speak No Evil).

north.five.six. reps the film’s international rights and will introduce it to buyers at Cannes, while CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group arranged the financing and will handle the domestic sale.

Let the Evil Go West follows a railroad worker who stumbles upon a fortune under deeply disturbing circumstances. As horrifying visions and manifestations drive him toward madness, his wife becomes convinced that an evil presence has attached itself to their family.

Xc Vs penned the script. Tim and Trevor White are producing under their Star Thrower Entertainment banner, alongside Mark Fasano and Nathan Klingher for Gramercy Park Media, which is also financing the film, and Allan Mandelbaum.

Lionsgate will handle U.S. distribution of eagerly awaited “Greenland” sequel “Greenland: Migration,” Variety can confirm.

STX, which has a distribution partnership with Lionsgate, is handling international distribution.

Directed by Ric Roman Waugh from a screenplay by Chris Sparling and Mitchell Lafortune, “Greenland: Migration” sees Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin return as John and Allison Garrity. Along with their diabetic son Nathan, the couple were forced to flee in the first film as a comet hurtled towards earth, threatening to destroy the planet. In the sequel the family embark on a perilous journey across what’s left of Europe to find a new home.

Butler and Baccarin are joined by Roman Griffin Davis (“Jojo Rabbit”), Amber Rose Revah (“The Punisher”) and Trond Fausa (“Oppenheimer”) in the film, which is produced by Anton, STX Entertainment, Thunder Road Pictures and Butler’s G-base Entertainment.

“In the film, the Garrity family, having found...

Exclusive: Amazon MGM Studios has optioned the film rights to Elizabeth Rose Quinn’s unpublished novel Follow Me, with Adele Lim in negotiations to write and direct. Megha Parekh at Amazon Publishing has also acquired novel rights in a preempt for publication in 2025.

Sue Kroll’s Kroll & Co. are attached to produce the film via the banner’s first-look deal with the studio, along with Lim and Naia Cucukov also negotiating to produce.

Follow Me is a dark thriller described as Heathers meets The Stepford Wives at a mommy influencer retreat in Northern California. It’s a propulsive and witty novel, mixed with the scary social-commentary edge of Black Mirror.

Chelsea Bradshaw and Jessica Pugh are overseeing the project for Kroll & Co.

Deal marks the start of 100 Tigers, a new production company formed by Lim and producer Naia Cucukov. Lim’s work includes Joyride, Crazy Rich Asians, Raya and the Last Dragon,...

Exclusive: Thirteen years after its launch on USA Network and almost a year after becoming the surprise hit of the summer, Suits stars Patrick J. Adams and Sarah Rafferty are ready to talk about the series – on a podcast.

The actors have signed up to host a new rewatch podcast series for SiriusXM.

Adams played Mike Ross, who hustled his way into working at prestigious law firm Pearson Hardman, and Raffterty played Donna Paulsen, the legal secretary and confidante of Gabriel Macht’s Harvey Specter. They will break down each episode of the show, sharing exclusive, behind-the-scenes stories about the making of the series.

The pair will be joined by cast members and crew as well as friends and fans of the show, which had a nine-season run on the NBCUniversal cable station.

It comes after the legal drama broke streaming records when it was licensed by Netflix. That success...

Exclusive: Zooey Deschanel has signed on to star in Merv, a romantic comedy that Jessica Swale will direct for Amazon MGM Studios.

Written by Linsey Stewart and Dane Clark, the film (Merv is a working title) watches as an estranged couple learns that the dog they share is suffering from depression following their break-up, awkwardly reconciling over the holidays when they take their dog on a sunny vacation to Florida to lift his spirits.

Producers of the pic are Matt Baer and Roma Downey.

Best known for starring in films like (500) Days of Summer, Yes Man, Almost Famous, and the holiday classic Elf, as well as Fox’s hit sitcom New Girl, Deschanel has most recently been seen starring opposite Casey Affleck in Roadside’s Emerson brothers drama Dreamin’ Wild from Love & Mercy helmer Bill Pohlad, which world premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Other recent projects for the Emmy...

Apple TV+ has ordered a series adaptation of the William Gibson novel “Neuromancer,” Variety has learned.

The 10-episode series hails from co-creators Graham Roland and Jd Dillard. Roland will also serve as showrunner, while Dillard will direct the pilot. Skydance Television will co-produce with Anonymous Content.

Per the official logline, the series “will follow a damaged, top-rung super-hacker named Case who is thrust into a web of digital espionage and high stakes crime with his partner Molly, a razor-girl assassin with mirrored eyes, aiming to pull a heist on a corporate dynasty with untold secrets.”

“We’re incredibly excited to be bringing this iconic property to Apple TV+,” said Roland and Dillard in a joint statement. “Since we became friends nearly ten years ago, we’ve looked for something to team up on, so this collaboration marks a dream come true. Neuromancer has inspired so much of the science fiction...

With their upcoming pic Ghostlight premiering this weekend at the Sundance Film Festival, filmmaker duo Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson have landed new reps signing with Gersh.

The film, which O’Sullivan wrote and co-directed with Thompson, who also produced, debuts in the Premiere section of Sundance on January 18.

Their previous film, Saint Frances, starring and written by O’Sullivan, and directed by Thompson premiered at SXSW in 2019, winning a Special Jury Prize for “Breakthrough Voice” and the Audience Award for Narrative Feature. Released in 2020, the film was one of the most acclaimed independent films of the year and was nominated for three Gotham Awards, an Independent Spirit Award, and named by the National Board of Review as one of the Top Ten Independent Films of the year.

O’Sullivan and Thompson will next collaborate on Mouse, a dramatic coming-of-age comedy written by O’Sullivan, which they will also co-direct...

Exclusive: Following major roles in everything from Netflix’s Sex/Life to the hit Prime Video pic Red, White & Royal Blue and New Line/Warner Bros’ Black Adam, actress Sarah Shahi has signed with agency Independent Artist Group, at the same time inking with Untitled Entertainment for management.

Shahi is perhaps best known for leading Stacy Rukeyser’s show Sex/Life, which had her playing Billie Connelly, a Connecticut mother of two suffering a midlife crisis, whose wild child past winds up on a collision course with her very married present. Inspired by Bb Easton’s novel 44 Chapters About 4 Men, the drama wrapped up a two-season run in March.

The actress has more recently been seen starring in the hit Prime Video film Red, White & Royal Blue, based on Casey McQuiston’s bestseller, which debuted as the streamer’s #1 movie globally in August and ultimately became one of its...

Exclusive: Jill Alexander, who featured on HBO’s Silicon Valley for four seasons, has signed with APA.

The agency has signed Alexander, who has been writing for Disney’s Pixar, in all areas.

It comes after APA’s growth with over a dozen new agents following the CAA/ICM merger. Alexander is the latest signing following the likes of Hayden Panettiere, Nathalie Emmanuel, Pam Grier and Regina Hall.

Alexander spent the last two years writing for Pixar and before that created Sunshine Scouts, an apocalyptic comedy series that Shonda Rhimes developed for Netflix. She was also a participant in the WGA Showrunner Training Program.

This came after she starred as Patrice in Mike Judge’s Silicon Valley as well as playing Peggy Olson’s secretary Marsha in the final season of Mad Men.

She has also appeared in series including Modern Family, New Girl and American Housewife.

Alexander continues to...

Exclusive: Golden Globe nominee Aaron Eckhart is leading Bee Holder and Concourse’s Midair, an action thriller set in the skies, which starts production this July.

Magnus Martens (Sas: Red Notice), is directing from a script penned by George Mahaffey.

After flying rogue missions for the CIA, a cargo pilot’s flight goes haywire when he’s stalked, midair, by a terrorist who forces him to overcome a series of deadly obstacles. To outsmart him and keep everyone alive, he must outmaneuver and uncover the truth.

“Aaron is a stellar leading man who posses all the qualities of this character; honor, focus and incredible loyalty. I look forward to bringing this heart pounding, exhilarating story to life for audiences around the globe” said Martens.

This is Bee Holder and Concourse’s second production with Eckhart after completing spy thriller Chief of Station, now in post-production.

Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow has teamed up with Charmaine DeGraté, a writer and co-executive producer on HBO’s House of the Dragon, to take a trip to Atlantis for Skydance.

Skydance has closed a deal with Trevorrow to direct and produce a feature that is being titled Atlantis, with DeGraté on board to write the screenplay.

Trevorrow will produce via his Metronome Film Company alongside David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger for Skydance.

Atlantis was previously in development at Universal, with Trevorrow directing and developing. Universal returned the project to Trevorrow in turnaround, and Skydance seized the opportunity to acquire the feature. The previous draft of the script, developed at Universal, was written by Dante Harper, who worked on 2017’s Alien: Covenant.

DeGraté and Trevorrow have reconceived the project although it still remains a fantasy adventure based on the fabled advanced civilization that sank and then was lost due to either the elements,...

Exclusive: UTA has signed writer and producer Aaron Carew for representation.

Carew is a co-executive producer on the CW’s Walker. He’s writing two drama series for CBS from CBS Studios – the legal drama Carver Law, which he is producing alongside Martin Lawrence and Sheila Duckworth; and Guard, a series about the Los Angeles National Guard that he is producing with Franklin Entertainment’s DeVon Franklin.

Carew also co-created and is executive producing a series titled Va for A&e, which is being executive produced by Bradley Cooper and Alyssa Milano. Co-created with Marcie Ulin and Meredith Lavender, the series is part medical drama and part war story that delves into the challenges veterans face after returning home from combat. The story is told through the eyes of the doctors and the patients at an underfunded Va Hospital in San Diego.

Previously, Carew was nominated for a Writer’s...

On the heels of his critically-acclaimed “‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,” filmmaker Eric Appel has been tapped as writer and director for a new Sony Pictures comedy.

This project has had an intriguing shelf life. It was originally developed as a script called “Oh Hell No,” set to star rapper Ice Cube and comedian Jack Black. In late 2021, Cube grabbed national headlines when he dropped out of the film weeks before shooting was set to commence in Hawaii. His exit was reportedly attributed to his refusal to receive a Covid-19 vaccine at the request of producers.

Black is still a producer on the revamped “Stepdude,” but does not currently have a deal to star. The premise of “Oh Hell No” saw two men close in age go to war after one develops a romantic relationship with the other’s mother. No updated plot was given for Appel’s pass, except...

Following last week’s premiere of his quasi-biopic comedy Weird: The Al Yankovic Story on Roku, director Eric Appel has found his follow-up film. He is set to direct and write the comedy Stepdude for Sony Pictures, with Matt Tolmach producing along Jack Black and Roz Music.

The plot is being kept under wraps. Insiders say studio execs view this as having big potential at the theatrical level, with plans to fast-track it now that Appel is on board.

Appel most recently directed Daniel Radcliffe in Roku’s Weird: The Weird Al Yankovich feature, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to rave reviews. Appel was the director on Quibi’s action-comedy series Die Hart, starring Kevin Hart and John Travolta.

On the TV side, he beat out a strong field to direct the pilot of the Lord Miller live action/animation hybrid Fox series Son of Zorn,...

Exclusive: CBS is developing a pair of drama series from Aaron Carew, a writer and co-exec producer of The CW’s Walker.

Carew is working on Carver Law, a legal drama, and Guard, about the LA National Guard, for the network. Both series come from CBS Studios and Carew is writing and exec producing both.

Carver Law follows a charismatic bachelor and his judicious legal savant twin sister clash as they take on celebrity clients and high-profile social injustices across Los Angeles through their family’s historic, black-owned law firm.

Martin Lawrence is an exec producer alongside Rae Proctor, Stacy Lyles and Rob Lawrence as well as Derrick Johnson, CEO of the NAACP, which has a production partnership with the studio, Sheila Ducksworth and Leon Russell.

Guard follows a squad of citizen-soldiers for the LA National Guard takes on heart-pounding crises beyond the scope of standard first responders or law enforcement.

Exclusive: Brenda Hsueh, a writer on Disney and Pixar’s upcoming feature film, Elemental, has inksed with Verve after a competitive signing.

She joins a stable of the agency’s clients working in the animation space and Pixar brain trust.

Hsueh began her career working on the first three seasons of How I Met Your Mother, then as a Co-ep on The Afterparty and Mr. Corman, both at Apple.

In the feature space, in addition to working on the 2023 release Elemental for Disney and Pixar, Brenda also consulted for Domee Shi, the director of Turning Red, and, most recently wrote the animated Ghostbusters movie for Sony.

Hsueh also wrote and will make her feature directorial debut with Match, a live-action sci-fi romantic dramedy in the vein of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Hsueh, along with her producing partner Yvonne Cheng also produce through their Shoe’s Off Productions which...

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Sara Hess is solidifying her future at HBO.

The House of the Dragon exec producer and writer has signed a new, two-year overall deal with the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed cable network.

Under the pact, Hess will continue her role on Dragon’s upcoming second season as well as continue to develop new projects for the premium outlet.

“We’re thrilled to have Sara in an exclusive partnership with HBO. She’s an exceptional talent who writes with great depth and complexity while never failing to bring humor and wit to her work,” said Francesca Orsi, exec vp programming and head of drama series at HBO. “We’re incredibly grateful to her for her contributions to House of the Dragon as both a writer and executive producer as she’s a key ingredient to the show’s success. She’ll remain in her...

“House of the Dragon” executive producer Sara Hess is going to continue developing original projects for HBO.

The network announced Friday that Hess, who is also a writer on the “Game of Thrones” prequel series, is extending her overall deal for another two years. In addition to new projects, Hess will also remain in her role on “House of the Dragon” for Season 2.

In a statement, Francesca Orsi, EVP, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films said: “We’re thrilled to have Sara in an exclusive partnership with HBO. She’s an exceptional talent who writes with great depth and complexity while never failing to bring humor and wit to her work. We’re incredibly grateful to her for her contributions to ‘House of the Dragon’ as both a writer and executive producer as she’s a key ingredient to the show’s success.”

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‘House of the Dragon...

Sara Hess, who serves as a writer and executive producer on the “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon,” has renewed her overall deal at HBO for another two years. Under the deal, she will continue to develop original projects for the network.

Hess was the writer behind “House of the Dragon” Episode 6, “The Princess and the Queen,” as well as the upcoming ninth episode, “The Green Council.”

She also wrote for seven seasons of Fox’s “House” in addition to serving as a producer on the last four, and produced and wrote for the first four seasons of Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black.” Hess has received NAACP Image Award nominations for four episodes of television, winning one in 2015 for “Orange is the New Black,” which also earned Emmy nominations in the comedy and drama series categories during her time on the show.

Hess is repped...

House of the Dragon executive producer Sara Hess is staying put at HBO. The cabler has extended her overall deal for an additional two years. Hess also serves as a writer on the Game of Thrones prequel.

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Under her overall, Hess will continue developing original projects for HBO. She will remain on Hotd for Season 2.

“We’re thrilled to have Sara in an exclusive partnership with HBO. She’s an exceptional talent...

Exclusive: Austin Hébert (Unbelievable), Jonah Wharton (The Rookie) and Hannah Love Lanier (A Black Lady’s Sketch Show) are the latest cast additions to Taylor Sheridan’s CIA drama series Lioness at Paramount+. They join previously announced series regulars Zoe Saldaña, Laysla De Oliveira, Dave Annable, Lamonica Garrett and James Jordan.

Lioness is based on a real-life CIA program and follows Cruz Manuelos (De Oliveira), a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine recruited to join the CIA’s Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from within. Saldaña will play Joe, the station chief of the Lioness program tasked with training, managing, and leading her female undercover operatives.

2022 Paramount+ Pilots & Series Orders

Hébert will play Randy, a tech specialist in charge of surveillance and gathering intelligence within the Strike Team of the CIA Special Activities Division operative.

Wharton will portray Tex, a CIA Special Activities Division operative, part...

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Hinoki & the Bird, the unofficial midday canteen for CAA and WME execs craving wagyu burgers and barbecue Jidori chicken, reopened for lunch July 15. Its trellised Century City patio is most in-demand — companies from Amazon Studios to UTA have held “welcome back” gatherings there — but covers are still down 50 percent as hybrid and fully remote schedules bite into business. “I think this is the new normal,” says owner Walter Schild.

Call it a vibe shift, or something more difficult to swallow, but two and a half years after the onset of Covid, Hollywood’s sit-down restaurant scene has transformed. One o’clock no longer is what it used to be. Propagate chairman Ben Silverman, known for his Before Times ubiquity in dining rooms around town, muses of the new rhythm, or at least his own, “Lunch is out, walks are in, Zooms will never die.

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Emma Holly Jones, the fast-rising British filmmaker whose debut feature Mr. Malcolm’s List was recently released by Bleecker Street in the U.S. and is being looked after by Universal internationally, has signed with CAA.

A Regency-era romantic comedy set in 19th century London and based on Suzanne Allain’s novel of the same, Mr. Malcolm’s List packed an impressive ensemble cast, including Freida Pinto, Zawe Ashton, Ashley Park, Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù, Theo James and Oliver Jackson-Cohen. It was produced by Jones alongside Rebelle Media, Untitled Entertainment and Blinder Films.

Jones was behind the 2019 short film Mr. Malcolm’s List: Overture, which starred Gemma Chan, Pinto and Dìrísù, among others and debuted as part of Refinery29‘s Shatterbox anthology series, becoming its most-watched installment in less than 72 hours, with more than five million impressions across social channels. Her first short film, Everything Carries Me to You,...

Universal Pictures has acquired an untitled buddy comedy from Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy, the comedy trio known as Please Don’t Destroy.

Apatow Productions’ Judd Apatow and Mosaic’s Jimmy Miller are producing the feature which is being directed by SNL alum Paul Briganti. Shooting is currently underway in North Carolina and will hit theaters on Aug. 18, 2023.

The film tackles the story of three childhood friends who live and work together. The trio decides they don’t like where their lives are headed and set off to find gold treasure rumored to be buried in the nearby mountain.

Please Don’t Destroy met at NYU and started performing together in NYC. During the pandemic, the trio caught fire and grew a massive cult following with their self-produced videos online. They were hired as writers on the latest Season 47 of Saturday Night Live (SNL) and were also tapped...

Thomas Barbusca has joined the cast of “Incoming,” a high-school comedy from directors Dave and John Chernin.

The project reunites Barbusca and the Chernin brothers, who worked together on the Fox TV comedy “The Mick.”

“Incoming” follows four incoming freshmen as they navigate the terrors of adolescence at their first-ever high school party. The cast also includes “The Black Phone” actor Mason Thames, Bobby Cannavale and fellow “Mick” alum Kaitlin Olson.

The Chernin brothers, also known for the long-running show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” are writing and directing in their feature filmmaking debut. Artists Road and Spyglass Media Group are co-financing “Incoming,” which is currently in production in Los Angeles.

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Bros” filmmaker Nick Stoller will produce with Conor Welch through his company Stoller Global Solutions. Additional producers include Artists Road principals Todd Garner, Peter Principato and Ben Silverman, and CEO Mark Korshak.

Spyglass chairman and...

Exclusive: In a competitive situation, HBO Max has landed for development Uptown Bodega, an adult animation comedy series.

Written by Oz Rodriguez (Saturday Night Live) and Lemon Andersen (She’s Gotta Have It), Uptown Bodega centers on Tati Cruz who has inherited her father’s old Bodega and vows to keep the business booming in a fast-changing Nueva York with the help of her husband, three kids, and Rocky the bodega cat.

Veteran comedy showrunner Peter Murrieta, who is supervising the script, Rodriguez and 3 Arts’ Greg Walter executive produce the project, which is a co-production between HBO Max and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, where Rodriguez is under an overall deal.

Rodriguez won an Emmy for his directing work on Saturday Night Live. He started off by directing Digital Shorts, went on to become head of the film unit, and won an Emmy for his behind-the-scenes series Creating SNL.

Netflix has launched production on You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah!, a new YA comedy from Happy Madison & Alloy Entertainment. Adam Sandler (Hustle), Tony winner Idina Menzel (Uncut Gems) and SNL cast member Sarah Sherman are part of the pic’s sprawling ensemble, which also includes Sunny Sandler (Hustle), Sadie Sandler (Hubie Halloween), Luis Guzmán (Boogie Nights), Ido Mosseri (Sandy Wexler), Samantha Lorraine (The Walking Dead: World Beyond), Dylan Hoffman (Next), Dean Scott Vazquez (Theater Camp), Miya Cech (Always Be My Maybe), Ivory Baker, Dylan Dash, Millie Thorpe (Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion), Zaara Kuttemperoor and Jackie Sandler (The Wrong Missy).

The film from director Sammi Cohen—who most recently helmed the Hulu rom-com Crush—is based on the Alloy Entertainment novel of the same name by Fiona Rosenbloom, in which a girl’s bat mitzvah plans comedically unravel and threaten to ruin one of...

Exclusive: Will Greenberg (Perfect Harmony) and John Gemberling (Broad City) are set to recur in Season 2 of Apple’s The Afterparty from Oscar winners Chris Miller and Phil Lord.

Details regarding the new season are tightly under wraps. All that is known regarding Greenberg and Gemberling’s characters are their names: Judson and Jaxon, respectively.

Created by Miller, The Afterparty is a genre-defying comedy series in which each episode 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.

Season 2 will revolve around a murder at a wedding. Sam Richardson and Zoë Chao will reprise their respective roles as Aniq and Zoe, who will take on lead duties solving the crime, with Tiffany Haddish back as Detective Danner.

New cast for the show’s sophomore season includes Elizabeth Perkins, Zach Woods, Paul Walter Hauser,...

Exclusive: Lily James, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Himesh Patel are set to star in Providence, a comedy from Dylan Sellers and Chris Parker’s Limelight and David Boies and Zack Schiller’s Boies Schiller Entertainment. Limelight and Bse will fully finance and produce, along with Shannon Houchins’ Hideout Pictures with Potsy Ponciroli directing. Michael Vukadinovich penned the script.

The story follows the eclectic residents of a small, picturesque island town who must navigate a sensational murder and the discovery of a million dollars as a series of increasingly bad decisions upends the once-peaceful community. Principal photography begins this week in North Carolina.

Sellers, Parker, Hutchins, Schiller and Boies will produce, with Vukadinovich, Tyler Zacharia, Sam Slater, Phil Keefe and Dane Eckerle executive producing. Cj Barbato will co-produce. Ponciroli recent collaboration with Hideout include Old Henry, which has been a critic’s darling since its premiere at Venice. Verve Ventures and UTA...

Bianca A. Santos and Cedric Sanders have been added as recurring cast members on Season 18 of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” playing a married couple in a dire medical situation — as if there is any other kind at Grey Sloan Memorial these days.

Sanders is playing Simon Clark, who is desribed thusly: “A devoted husband/ father-to-be, Simon is depleted from a long-term battle with a serious illness. He uses humor to distract himself from how serious his condition really is.” Santos is playing Kristen Clark, who as Simon’s spouse “struggles to remain stress-free for her unborn baby, while trying to support her extremely ill husband.”

Viewers will first see the Clarks on the May 12 episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” titled “I’ll Cover You,” and the episode’s logline reveals that Link (Chris Carmack) is Simon’s doctor: “A former patient of Link’s, Simon, is in the ER with his...

Exclusive: Mike Leech and Zach Smilovitz, co-creators of Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out The News, are staying put at CBS Studios, the studio behind the Paramount+ animated news satire. The duo have renewed their overall deal at the studio, originally signed in 2020, where they will continue to write and produce across all platforms.

Leech and Smilovitz are currently co-creators and co-executive producers of CBS Studios/Paramount+ series Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out The News. Each previously served as a supervising producer on Our Cartoon President for CBS Studios/Showtime.

Smilovitz was most recently a writer on Comedy Central’s show Problematic With Moshe Kasher. Previously, he was a writer for Robert Smigel’s Triumph’s Election Watch 2016, and before that he was a writer on The Late Show With David Letterman.

Leech was most recently a writer for Robert Smigel’s Triumph’s Election Watch 2016. Previously, he was a writer...

Exclusive: Mather Zickel (Better Things) will star alongside Olivia Applegate, Clé Bennett, Zoé De Grand Maison, Nicholas Logan Sam Trammell and Jessica Frances Dukes in Michael Patrick Jann’s Western horror film Organ Trail for Paramount Pictures, which has wrapped production.

The film written by Meg Turner finds a young Abigale Archer friendless and alone in a brutal Montana winter during the 1870s—fighting for survival and to retrieve her one earthly possession, her family’s horse, from a gang of bloodthirsty bandits. Zickel is playing Pa Archer, a gaunt but imposing figurehead that has a commanding energy balanced by an instinctive compassion. In the throes of a brutal Montana winter, Pa’s steadfastness and sense of purpose—along with the skills he learned as a soldier in the Civil War—are the foundation on which his family’s survival rests. Jann is producing alongside David Codron.

Zickel will next...

Exclusive: Stephen Schneider (Broad City) has joined the cast of Paramount+’s upcoming esports series Players. The series hails from American Vandal co-creators Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, Funny or Die, Riot Games and CBS Studios.

Players, co-created and executive produced by Yacenda and Perrault, who also directs; follows a fictional pro League of Legends esports team as they pursue their first championship after years of close calls and heartache. To win it all, they will need their prodigy, a 17-year-old rookie, and their 27-year-old veteran to put their egos aside and work together.

The series is produced by CBS Studios in association with Funny or Die. Funny or Die’s Joe Farrell and Mike Farah also serve as executive producers alongside Tim McAuliffe, Riot Games, 3Arts’ Ari Lubet and Brillstein Entertainment Partners’ Todd Sellers.

Schneider is set for a recurring role. No charcter details have been revealed. He will appear opposite Da’Jour Jones,...

Exclusive: WME has signed writer, actor, and producer Maurice Williams.

Williams is known for his acting roles via various mediums; on the digital side, he co-starred in Broke, created and written by Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson; in film, he has appeared in indies Clemency and Drib; and on TV, he had guest spots on ABC’s Conviction and CBS’s Superior Donuts.

Alongside How To Make It In America’s Ian Edelman, Williams is the writer, showrunner, and executive producer of the upcoming animated series for Netflix, Entergalactic, starring Kid Cudi.

Also at Netflix, Williams — teaming once again with Edelman — is in development on the live-action, half-hour comedy The Vince Staples Show, starring rapper Vince Staples.

Williams got his start as a writer in the Kenya Barris camp. Barris serves as executive producer on both Entergalactic and The Vince Staples Show.

Williams has also appeared on stage, on both coasts,...

Exclusive: New Regency and Tko Studios are developing a television series based on graphic novel The Banks, created by Roxane Gay and artist Ming Doyle. Gay is set to pen the adaptation, which stems from the exclusive development and production partnership New Regency and Tko Studios entered last year.

The Banks focuses on the women of the Banks family who are the most successful thieves in Chicago. During the heist of a lifetime, they must band together to avenge a loved one taken too soon.

Gay is the author of the books “Ayiti,” “An Untamed State,” the New York Times bestselling “Bad Feminist,” the nationally bestselling “Difficult Women,” and the New York Times bestselling “Hunger.” She is also the author of “World of Wakanda” for Marvel. She is repped by WME, Massie&McQuilkin and Lev Ginsburg.

New Regency’s upcoming television slate includes a series based on their 2005 film Mr. and Mrs. Smith,...

Exclusive: Steven Ogg has signed on to star alongside Christina Ricci and Samantha Win in The Dresden Sun, a cyberpunk indie from writer-director Michael Ryan.

The film observes as a heist goes south when a brilliant, principled mercenary with a traumatic past works with an insider to steal a valued asset from Peredor Corporation called “the sphere”. The C & Earth corporation, vying for global dominance, seeks to find a solution to an otherworldly technology via a scientist’s project. Meanwhile, a financial analyst, who despises his job at the powerful investment firm Mutual One, finds himself caught between deadly corporate rivals, financial fraud, and technological espionage, and is ultimately forced to run from a psychopathic military contractor.

Ogg will play the film’s mercenary protagonist, Crilenger. Michael Ryan and Tyler Lockamy are producing via their Archetype Pictures banner,...

Exclusive: Comedian, actor and podcaster Tom Segura has signed with WME for representation in all areas.

Segura is best known for his Netflix specials Ball Hog (2020), Disgraceful (2018), Mostly Stories (2016), and Completely Normal (2014). While he’d planned to unveil an additional Spanish-language special on Netflix last fall, its release has been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Segura previously released the hour-long stand-up albums White Girls With Cornrows and Thrilled in 2012 and 2010, respectively. He’ll kick off his latest world tour, “I’m Coming Everywhere” on December 31, with two shows at the Hawaii Theater Center in Honolulu, Hi, and will continue touring throughout 2022.

Segura’s film credits include Paramount Pictures’ comedy Instant Family, in which he starred opposite Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne, comedian Steve Byrne’s The Opening Act, Justin Dec’s horror-thriller Countdown and Cameron Van Hoy’s crime drama Flinch. He’s appeared on the TV side in The Cabin with Bert Kreischer,...

Exclusive: The family comedy Mexican Beverly Hills is being developed for CBS by Erick Galindo, Aaron Izek, and Wilmer Valderrama, Deadline has learned. The single-camera project is inspired by Galindo’s New York Times essay of the same name.

Mexican Beverly Hills tells the story of a working-class Mexican-American family that moves to the wealthy, heavily Latinx city of Downey—also known as the Mexican Beverly Hills—where they both fit in and stand out in ways they never have before.

Galindo and Izek will write and executive produce; Wilmer Valderrama and Kaitlin Saltzman will also executive produce under Valderrama’s Wv Entertainment banner.

Galindo is a five-time Telly Award-winning writer, director, and producer known for his personal essays. He regularly writes about culture for LAist, NPR station Kpcc, and The New York Times, and was the first managing editor of L.A. Taco, where his work won a James Beard Foundation award.

Exclusive: Paul Bettany is set to star in the Miramax dramedy Harvest Moon, from a script he co-wrote with Dana Brown. Mark Waters is on board to direct, with Miramax producing. Bettany will star alongside Carmen Ejogo, Candice Bergen, Cary Elwes, Riley Looc, Malia Baker, Staz Nair, Rodney Richardson and Connor Falk.

“I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Bill Block and Miramax again to make Harvest Moon,” Bettany said. “The fact that it has come together so quickly is enormously gratifying and also hilarious. Dana and I wrote it to keep ourselves sane during lockdown and now we’re off to shoot with an incredible creative team led by Mark Waters. It’s all a bit of a dream. I’m very excited.”

The film revolves around a young boy who sees an opportunity to reunite his separated parents while the pandemic shuts down the world. Bettany, Brown...

Exclusive: Suits alum Patrick J. Adams is set for a key recurring role opposite Abbi Jacobson in Amazon’s A League Of Their Own, a reimagining of Penny Marshall’s 1992 film, from co-creators Jacobson (Broad City) — who also stars — and Will Graham (Mozart in the Jungle) and Sony Pictures TV.

The hourlong series, described as a fresh approach to Marshall’s classic about the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, will follow new characters who embody the spirit of a generation of women who dreamed to play professional baseball. “The show takes a deeper look at race and sexuality, following the journey of a whole new ensemble of characters as they carve their own paths towards the field, both in the league and outside of it,” according to the streamer.

Adams will play Charlie, Carson’s (Jacobson) handsome, midwestern husband, on his way home soon from fighting overseas during WWII.

Exclusive: Fox is developing How To Be Human, a multi-camera comedy from writer Brenda Hsueh (Disjointed) and Party Over Here, the production company founded by The Lonely Island’s Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone.

Written by Hsueh, How To Be Human revolves around Eve, a robot becoming sentient who breaks free from her lab so she can learn how to be human by living among them. But when she tries to convince three housemates to let her live with them, she realizes it’s not going to be so easy.

Hsueh and Yvonne Cheng executive produce via their Shoes Off Productions, along with Samberg, Schaffer, Taccone and Ali Bell for Party Over Here. Fox Entertainment is the studio.

Party Over Here produces Hulu’s praised comedy series Pen15 and also is behind the upcoming SNL offshoot series MacGruber for Peacock. The company also recently set single-camera comedy Black Magic...

Exclusive: Odelya Halevi (Good Girls Revolt) has joined the Season 3 cast of Freeform’s Good Trouble in a recurring role. Good Trouble follows the residents of Downtown Los Angeles’ The Coterie as they juggle career, love, and friendship and learn that standing up for what you believe in requires making a little noise and getting into trouble. Halevi will play Angelica, a waitress at Douro, where Malika works. The two ladies bond over their shared experiences and work ethic. Her character will be introduced in Wednesday’s episode. Created by Joanna Johnson, Peter Paige and Bradley Bredeweg, Good Trouble stars Maia Mitchell, Cierra Ramirez, Tommy Martinez, Emma Hunton, Sherry Cola, Zuri Adele, Beau Mirchoff and Josh Pence. Halevi became known following a key recurring role in Good Girls Revolt. On the film side she’ll be seen in DC’s Black Adam, releasing in summer 2022. She’s repped by Global Artists,...