In today’s roundup, Melissa Rosenberg signs an overall deal with Warner Bros. Television, while Kim Dickens joins the pilot for “Queen Fur” at Showtime.
FIRST LOOKS
BBC America has released initial photos for upcoming five-part series “Dynasties,“ presented by Sir David Attenborough (“Blue Planet II,” “Planet Earth II“) and executive produced by Mike Gunton (“Planet Earth II“). The series will focus on one family within a species per episode, including lions on the savannahs of Kenya’s Masai Mara and painted wolves on the floodplains of the great Zambezi river in Zimbabwe.
CASTING
Kim Dickens (“Fear the Walking Dead“) will star in the hour-long drama pilot “Queen Fur” for Showtime. Michael Mosley (“Seven Seconds“), Jon Foster (“Like Father“), Joshua Mikel (“The Walking Dead“), Keith Machekanyanga (“Timeless“), and Spencer Howell (“Ithaca“) have also joined previously announced star Lily Mae Harrington (“Some Freaks“). Harrington plays Macy Dunleavy, a high school dropout finding her womanhood and is ready to seize a big opportunity. Dickens will play Macy’s mom, a former local beauty queen.
Tyler Hoechlin will return as Superman for all three episodes of the crossover for “The Flash,” “Supergirl,” and “Arrow” on The CW. Lois Lane will also be joining the Man of Steel, but casting is still TBA. “The Flash” will air on a special night–Sunday, Dec. 9– with a regular episode of “Arrow” following Monday, Dec. 10, and a special night of “Supergirl” on Tuesday, Dec. 11. All episodes will be at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Lauren Ambrose (“Six Feet Under,” “My Fair Lady”) and Nell Tiger Free (“Game of Thrones”) have signed onto an untitled psychological thriller series for M. Night Shyamalan. Ambrose will play Dorothy Turner, a mother, while Free has been cast as Leanne Grayson, a nanny. Shyamalan will direct the first episode and executive produce the series along with series creator and writer, Tony Basgallop.
“The Code” has added Dana Delany to its cast of characters as Colonel Elsa Turnbull, the commanding officer of the Marine Corps’ Judge Advocate Division, who CBS describes as demanding excellence of herself and her staff, inspiring fierce loyalty from the attorneys who serve under her command, as well as a mother of two sons who are serving overseas. Delany will join main cast members Luke Mitchell, Anna Wood, Ato Essandoh, Phillipa Soo and Raffi Barsoumian. She takes over the role from Mira Sorvino, who played the role in the pilot.
DATES
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Justin Johnson — also known as Alyssa Edwards — is heading to Netflix with his own docu-series, “Dancing Queen.” Filmed in his hometown of Mesquite, Texas, the series goes behind the makeup and into the drag performer’s Beyond Belief Dance Company as he prepares a young class for an intensely competitive season. RuPaul Charles serves as an executive producer. “Dancing Queen” launches globally on Oct. 5. View some stills from the series and watch the trailer below.
DATES
Sony Crackle has released the first trailer for Season 2 of “Snatch,” which will premiere with 10 episodes on Sept. 13. In the new season, series star and executive producer Rupert Grint (“Harry Potter“) will take viewers to Spain’s Costa del Sol where the Hill Gang remains on the lam. Luke Pasqualino, Lucien Laviscount, Phoebe Dynevor, Juliet Aubrey, Tamer Hassan, and Dougray Scott also star. New to this season are Spanish actors Úrsula Corberó, Hovik Keuchkerian, and Tristan Ulloa. Watch the trailer below.
DEVELOPMENT
Topic Studios has announced their new slate of projects based on articles from news organization, The Intercept. Among the new TV programs is “Merchant of Doubt,” a crime series based on an article written by Trevor Aaronson and Murtaza Hussain about an informant pinned between federal agencies. “Inside Menwith Hill” is an international drama based on Ryan Gallagher‘s report about a clandestine NSA base in the UK, while “Crisis Games Society” is a drama series about a university student prosecuted on terrorism charges for downloading a book.
The DC Universe‘s digital subscription service has unveiled a daily news show, “DC Daily,” which will offer an added depth of content like insights, exclusive guest appearances, interviews, and panel discussions with familiar DC Universe faces. Kevin Smith will host the inaugural live stream event to kick off the new series on Aug. 29 at 4:30 p.m. PT. The subscription service will launch in Fall 2018.
DEALS
Melissa Rosenberg has signed an overall deal with Warner Bros. Television to develop new television projects. Rosenberg is the creator, executive producer, and showrunner of “Jessica Jones” for Seasons 1-3. Rosenberg said in a statement: “All of my attention remains with the extraordinary cast, writers and production team of ‘Marvel’s Jessica Jones,’ until the completion of Season Three. It continues to be a career highlight working with my partners at Marvel Television and Netflix. We’re extraordinarily grateful to the viewers who have supported us every step of the way on Jessica’s journey, which is so beautifully realized by Krysten Ritter and the amazing cast including Rachael Taylor, Eka Darville and Carrie-Anne Moss. We have so many talented storytellers in every area of this show, who I’m honored to call friends and collaborators. As I look ahead after this season, I’m thrilled that I will be able to explore new projects with the talented team at Warner Bros. Television and push myself in new challenging creative directions.”
RENEWALS
Paramount Network has renewed “Lip Sync Battle” for a fifth season. Twelve new half-hour episodes will premiere in 2019. “‘Lip Sync Battle’ continues to grow rapidly across the globe and is now seen in more than 120 countries around the world due in large part to our incredible hosts LL Cool J and Chrissy Teigen, the dream team!,” said executive producers Casey Patterson and Jay Peterson in a joint statement. “We feel we reached new heights with the Emmy-nominated ‘Michael Jackson LIVE’ episode in January and are excited to show the fans all of the big surprises we have in store for Season 5!”
EXECUTIVE NEWS
Noticias Telemundo has named Romina Rosado as Senior Vice President of Digital News, effective immediately. Based in Miami, Rosado will lead the development and execution of all digital programs across Noticias Telemundo and Digital News. Rosado will report to Luis Fernandez, Executive Vice President of Network News, Telemundo Networks.