K.T Simpson
HBO’s “Veep” is ending its run after the seventh season, set to air in 2018. The Emmy-winning series starring Julia Louis Dreyfus as the former vice-President.
Deadline revealed a statement from the HBO President of Programming Casey Bloys:
“The decision to bring Veep to a close at the end of next season is bittersweet. We love the show and everyone involved but respect the producers’ choice to bring Selina Meyer’s journey to its conclusion after an extraordinary run of critical and award-winning acclaim. Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ comedic brilliance infused Selina with a dynamic presence and a vibrant wit which will ensure her a place in the history of television’s most iconic comedic characters. We look forward to producing the seventh and final season.”
The show also stars Tony Hale, Anna Chlumsky, Matt Walsh, Reid Scott, Timothy Simons, Kevin Dunn, Gary Cole and Sam Richardson. Though it’s been a successful series for HBO, when the cast only signed a one-year contract following season 6, the writing was on the wall.
Netflix has landed the rights to “Ratched”, which is a spinoff show about Nurse Ratched from the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. The series is from Ryan Murphy, and will star Sarah Paulson as the title character. Murphy is set to direct the first episode, and Michael Douglas – the film’s producer – will executive produce the 18-episode series (via Deadline).
“Ratched” will be an origins story, set before “Cuckoo’s Nest”, to explain the Nurse’s journey from nurse to full-fledged monster. It begins in 1947, and will track her murderous progression through the mental health care system. Louise Fletcher played Nurse Ratched in “Cuckoo’s Nest”, and won a Best Actress Academy Award for the role.
Netflix is bringing “The Pope” to the screen, with a feature film telling the story of Pope Benedict’s election and his subsequent resignation from the papacy. Jonathan Pryce has been tapped to play Pope Francis in the TV film, and Anthony Hopkins is reportedly in talks to play Pope Benedict. Production is set to begin in November in Argentina.
Deadline has the news, noting that the film will see Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio) take over from Pope Benedict, and the drama that ensues from his reluctance to take the top spot.
Antonio Banderas will star as artist Pablo Picasso in the second season of National Geographic’s “Genius”. The artist, whose full name is a tongue twisting Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso, was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, stage designer, poet and playwright. Is there anything he CAN’T do?! Well, I’m not sure he ever finished a Rubix Cube. So there is that. Picasso is renowned as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
Per Variety, Banderas commented:
“The life story of Pablo Picasso has long since fascinated me and I have so much respect for this man, who also comes from my birthplace Málaga. I am thrilled to work with National Geographic, Brian, Ron, Ken and the rest of the ‘Genius’ team to tell an authentic story of one of the most innovative painters in the world.”
