K.T Simpson
The CW is moving ahead with three new shows : DC’s “Gotham Knights”, in which the late Bruce Wayne’s rebellious adopted son forges an unlikely alliance with the children of Batman’s enemies when they are all framed for killing the Caped Crusader.
“Walker” prequel “Independence” which stars Katherine McNamara and Matt Barr and will be EP’d by Jared Padalecki.
“The Winchesters”, a “Supernatural” prequel about how John and Mary met and the various adventures they went on together.
Norm Macdonald, known for his singular style and delivery, shares a final, posthumous stand-up special on Netflix, launching May 30, 2022. Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special, which he named, was self-taped in the comedian’s home.
Macdonald kept his illness a secret for many years. In the summer of 2020, venues were shut down due to the pandemic, but Norm wanted to record the comedy special that he had worked so hard to prepare. He performed it alone in his living room. Being Norm, he did it in one take.
“Norm worked so hard on a new hour of material and wanted it to be seen. While this version of Nothing Special was not originally meant to be the final product, Covid restrictions prevented him from filming in front of an audience. We want to make sure his fans see this very funny hour. He left this gift for all of us,” said Lori Jo Hoekstra, Norm’s long-time producing partner and executive producer of Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special.
Following the special is a bonus featurette with Adam Sandler, Conan O’Brien, Dave Chappelle, David Letterman, David Spade and Molly Shannon, who discuss their friend Norm, a fearless comedian and joyful human being. The conversation was taped earlier this month during a tribute to Norm at Netflix is a Joke: The Festival.
Hulu has debuted a new trailer for “The Orville : New Horizons”, ahead of the show’s return June 2.
NBC has ordered renewals for three of its comedies: “Young Rock” for a third season and “American Auto” and “Grand Crew” for their respective second seasons.
Peacock announced today its new original film They/Them, pronounced “They-slash-Them,” from Blumhouse will premiere Friday, August 5. The LGBTQIA+ horror film, formerly known as ‘Whistler Camp,’ is a queer empowerment story set at a gay conversion camp.
“They/Them has been germinating within me my whole life. I’ve loved horror movies as long as I can remember, I think because monsters represent ‘the other’ and as gay kid I felt a powerful sense of kinship with those characters who were different, outlawed, or forbidden,” said writer and director, John Logan. “I wanted to make a movie that celebrates queerness, with characters that I never saw when I was growing up. When people walk away from the movie, I hope they’re going to remember the incredible love that these kids have for each other and how that love needs to be protected and celebrated.”
Today Prime Video and Blumhouse Television announced the upcoming slasher-comedy horror film Totally Killer, from Amazon Studios and Blumhouse. The film is a continuation of the deal forged by the two companies in 2019 and will star Kiernan Shipka (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Mad Men), Olivia Holt (Cruel Summer), Julie Bowen (Modern Family, Life of the Party), and Randall Park (Always Be My Maybe, Fresh off the Boat). Nahnatchka Khan (Always Be My Maybe, Young Rock, Don Wong) is directing, and Jen D’Angelo penned the screenplay based on an original script by David Matalon and Sasha Perl-Raver. Principal photography begins today in Vancouver.
The film follows Jamie (Shipka) whose mom, Pam (Bowen) is terrorized by the resurgence of the Sweet Sixteen Killer—a masked maniac that slaughtered a group of teenage girls in the ‘80s. With the help of her friend Amelia (Kelcey Mawema), she travels back in time to 1987 and teams up with the teen version of her mom (Holt) to try and stop the killer.
The cast of newcomers and established actors portraying characters in the film include Lochlyn Munro (“Adult Blake”), Charlie Gillespie (“Teen Blake”), Stephi Chin-Salvo (“Marisa Song”), Anna Diaz (“Heather Hernandez”), Jeremy Monn-Djasgnar (“Teen Randy Finkle”), Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson (“Teen Lauren”), Ella Choi (“Teen Kara Molnar”), Kelcey Mawema (“Amelia”), Liana Liberato (“Tiffany Clark”), Nathaniel Appiah (“Teen Doug Summers”), and Jonathan Potts (“Adult Chris Dubusage”).
Peacock has commissioned a series based on the 1994 film “Reality Bites”, directed by Ben Stiller and starring Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke and Stiller. Helen Childress, writer of the film, is attached to script the series with the original producing committee, including Danny DeVito and Michael Shamberg, returning. Like the movie, the series will be set in the ’90s.
CBS has ordered “Fire Country” (fka “Cal Fire”), “East New York” and “So Help Me Todd” (fka “Mother & Son Esq. & P.I. Pilot”). While the “Early Edition” reboot won’t be moving ahead, there’s still a chance that “True Lies” series could happen as a midseason offering.
EAST NEW YORK
EPs/W: William Finkelstein, Mike Flynn
EP/D: Michael M. Robin (Skyemac Productions)
EPs: Christine Holder, Mark Holder (Wonder Street)
Co-EP: Andrew Maher (Skyemac)
STUDIO: Warner Bros. Television
LOGLINE: Regina Haywood is the newly promoted deputy inspector of East New York, a working-class neighborhood at the edge of Brooklyn. She leads a diverse group of officers and detectives, some of whom are reluctant to deploy her creative methods of serving and protecting in the midst of social upheaval and the early seeds of gentrification.
CAST: Amanda Warren, Kevin Rankin, Jimmy Smits, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Richard Kind, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Lavel Schley and Olivia Luccardi
FIRE COUNTRY (formerly known as “Cal Fire”)
EPs/Teleplay Written by/Story Co-Written by: Tony Phelan & Joan Rater
EP/Story Co-Written by: Max Thieriot
EP/D: James Strong (pilot only)
EP: David Grae
EPs: Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman and KristieAnne Reed (Jerry Bruckheimer Television)
STUDIO: CBS Studios
LOGLINE: Seeking redemption and a shortened prison sentence, young convict Bode Donovan joins a firefighting program that returns him to his small Northern California hometown, where he and other inmates work alongside elite firefighters to extinguish massive blazes across the region. Inspired by Max Thieriot’s experiences growing up in northern California fire country.
CAST: Max Thieriot, Billy Burke, Kevin Alejandro, Diane Farr, Stephanie Arcila, Jordan Calloway, Jules Latimer
SO HELP ME TODD (formerly known as “Untitled Mother/Son Legal Drama”)
EP/Writer: Scott Prendergast
EPs/Showrunners: Liz Kruger, Craig Shapiro
EP/D: Amy York Rubin (pilot only)
EPs: Dr. Phil McGraw, Jay McGraw, Julia Eisenman (Stage 29 Productions)
STUDIO: CBS Studios
LOGLINE: Despite their opposing personalities, a talented but directionless P.I. who is the black sheep of his family begrudgingly agrees to work as the in-house investigator for his overbearing mother, a successful attorney reeling from the recent dissolution of her marriage.
CAST: Marcia Gay Harden, Skylar Astin, Madeline Wise, Tristen J. Winger, Inga Schlingmann and Rosa Arredondo
