In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix revealed the release date and teaser for “Last Chance U: Basketball,” and Disney Channel announced the voice cast for “Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil’s Dinosaur.”
DATES
Netflix revealed that “Last Chance U: Basketball,” a spinoff of Greg Whiteley’s football-centric docuseries, will premiere globally on March 10. Over the course of eight episodes, the show will follow the East Los Angeles College Huskies (ELAC) in their high stakes chase to an unprecedented California state basketball championship. Led by head coach John Mosley, the ELAC team consists of former D1 recruits and powerhouse athletes hustling to showcase their college potential, but the players are tested as they battle adversity, inner demons and emotions on and off the court. In addition to Whiteley, Joe LaBracio, Lucas Smith and James D. Stern serve as executive producers on “Last Chance U: Basketball.” Co-executive producers on the project include Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard and Adam Leibowitz. Episodes are directed by Whiteley, Leibowitz and Daniel George McDonald. Watch a teaser below.
HBO revealed that the limited series “Mare of Easttown” will premiere on April 18 at 10 p.m. From creator and writer Brad Ingelsby, Kate Winslet stars as Mare Sheehan, a small-town Pennsylvania detective who investigates a local murder as life crumbles around her. The crime drama will examine the dark side of a close community and how family and past tragedies can define the present. The series consists of seven episodes that were all directed by Craig Zobel. “Mare of Easttown” also stars Julianne Nicholson, Jean Smart, Angourie Rice, Evan Peters, Guy Pearce, Cailee Spaeny, David Denman, John Douglas Thompson, Patrick Murney, James McArdle, Sosie Bacon, Joe Tippett and Neal Huff. HBO is co-producing the series with Wiip Productions. Ingelsby, Zobel and Winslet serve as executive producers alongside Wiip’s Paul Lee and Mark Roybal, Gavin O’Connor and Mayhem Pictures’ Gordon Gray.
Discovery Plus announced that MGM and LightWorkers’ feature-length film “Resurrection” will premiere globally on March 27. Following the Emmy nominated mini-series “The Bible” and the film “Son of God,” producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett have teamed up again for this biblical epic, which follows the immediate aftermath of Jesus’ crucifixion. After Jesus rises from death, his followers realize that hope didn’t die on the cross but lives on in them. “The Bible” showrunner Richard Bedser also produced the film alongside Downey and Burnett.
PROGRAMMING
HBO announced that the Emmy-winning drama series “In Treatment” will premiere its fourth season in May. The upcoming reimagining of the series, which returns a decade after the show last delivered new episodes, stars Uzo Aduba in the lead role of the therapist Dr. Brooke Taylor. While Brooke works out complications in her own personal life, issues such as the global pandemic and recent major social and cultural shifts will serve as a backdrop to the work she will undertake. The fourth season will also co-star Anthony Ramos, John Benjamin Hickey and Quintessa Swindell as Brooke’s patients. Jennifer Schuur and Joshua Allen serve as showrunners and executive produce alongside Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg, Hagai Levi and Melissa Bernstein; Joanne Toll and Noa Tishby co-executive produce.
HBO Documentary Films announced that the two-part docuseries “The Crime of The Century” will debut on HBO in May. Helmed by writer and director Alex Gibney, the series will explore Big Pharma and government regulations over the reckless distribution and abuse of synthetic opiates. The film will showcase how the opioid epidemic is not a public health crisis that came out of thin air by displaying exclusive interviews with whistleblowers and insiders, as well as newly-leaked documents and testimonies from victims of opioid addiction. Presented by Jigsaw Production in association with Storied Media Group, “The Crime of the Century” was produced by Gibney, Sarah Dowland and Svetlana Zill. Executive producers on the project include Stacey Offman, Richard Perello, Todd Hoffman, Aaron Fishman, Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller. HBO’s Tina Nguyen served as senior producer.
CASTING
Disney Channel announced the full voice cast for “Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur,” which includes Diamond White, Fred Tatasciore, Alfre Woodard, Sasheer Zamata, Jermaine Fowler, Gary Anthony Williams and Laurence Fishburne. Making its Disney Channel debut in 2022, the series will follow the adventures of 13-year old super-genius Lunella Lafayette (White) and her 10-ton T-Rex, Devil Dinosaur (Tatasciore), as they fight supernatural threats in the Lower East Side of New York City. Executive producers on the project include Fishburne, Helen Sugland and Steve Loter. Rodney Clouden serves as supervising producer; Jeffrey M. Howard and Kate Kondell are co-producers and story editors, and Pilar Flynn is a producer.
PODCASTS
A&E Networks announced the debut of their all-new original podcast “The Table Is Ours,” which will feature in-depth, meaningful conversations with Black influencers about Black identity, vulnerability and achievement. The 15-episode series was created by Amira Lewally and Kirby Dixon, who will also host. The premiere episode is available today, which features a conversation with New Orleans Bounce Queen, hip-hop artist, and author, Big Freedia. Additional guests joining the conversation this season include TV personality, author and activist Karamo Brown; singer, actor, author and philanthropist Vanessa Williams, and other influential Black icons. New episodes will air every Wednesday and drop everywhere podcasts are available.
DEALS
Ron D. Moore exited his home at Sony Pictures Television for a new overall deal at 20th Television, Variety has confirmed. Moore made the move to the Disney-owned studio over the summer. The multi-year pact will see more development projects across the Disney Television portfolio, starting with the “Swiss Family Robinson” series at Disney Plus that he is currently developing with Jon M. Chu. He will continue to executive produce both the Sony shows “Outlander” and “For All Mankind,” with the former airing on Starz and the latter on Apple.
BET and HealthiNation are launching a digital content initiative to provide informative, culturally relevant health and medical information to help address healthcare disparities among African Americans. These disparities will be addressed through an ongoing series of videos that feature industry-leading healthcare professionals of color examining topics such as mental health, COVID-19 and vaccinations, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and preventative care. New content will be uploaded every Wednesday on bethealth.com.
LATE NIGHT
Tonight, Mila Kunis, KJ Apa and Sam Dew will appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” while “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” will feature Dwayne Johnson, Daniel Kaluuya and Chris Stapleton. Kristen Wiig and Rebecca Breeds will be guests on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert“; “Late Night With Seth Meyers” will welcome Allison Janney and Rep. Cori Bush, and “The Late Late Show With James Corden” will feature Noah Centineo and Madison Cunningham.
