Justice Smith, Of ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ Fame Joins New Dramedy ‘Generation’ For HBO Max
The Lena Dunham-produced HBO Max teen dramedy Generation has rounded out its robust cast with series regulars Justice Smith, Chloe East, Michael Johnston, Uly Schlesinger, Haley Sanchez, Nava Mau, Nathanya Alexander, Lukita Maxwell and Chase Sui Wonders. Sam Trammell joins the cast as a recurring character.
Created by Daniel Barnz, Generation also stars Martha Plimpton and is a dark yet playful half-hour dramedy that follows a group of high school students whose exploration of modern sexuality (devices and all) tests deeply entrenched beliefs about life, love and the nature of family in their conservative community. Barnz wrote the series with Zelda Branz who also serves as co-executive producer.
Dunham executive produces for Good Thing Going Productions, with Daniel and Ben Barnz for We’re Not Brothers Productions. Zelda Barnz is co-executive producer. Marissa Diaz produces for Good Thing Going Productions.
Read the character descriptions below.
Justice Smith as “Chester” HS Senior. Queer. A deep thinker, Chester is also a star water polo player and a straight A student. Fabulous, funny, fearless, Chester pushes boundaries and resists labels in every way. Despite his seemingly friendly and open nature, there’s a deeper mystery behind his loneliness.
Smith recently starred in Legendary’s live-action Pokemon movie Detective Pikachu. He also starred in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Paper Towns and Baz Luhrmann’s hip hop Netflix series The Get Down.He is repped by WME and The Kohl Group
Michael Johnston as “Ollie” Introverted yet instantly likeable. Forthright and honest, he’s the school’s young new guidance counselor, still very green, and not always sure how to handle himself (though he sets himself apart from other teachers with his forthright honesty). Ollie’s accessible exterior hides an intensely complex inner emotional life; he connects on a deep level to Chester’s loneliness.
Johnston’s credits include the inde Slash as well as MTV’s Teen Wolf. He has also appeared in NBC’s Inbetween and CW’s Supergirl. He is repped by Tash Moseley Management and Innovative Artists.
Chloe East as “Naomi” Outspoken, crass, hard-edged twin sister to Nathan, she comes from a wealthy conservative Christian family which is part of Orange County’s socio-political elite. Naomi’s disposition has the tendency to drive others away, but she is also a vulnerable and insecure girl who’s always struggled to define herself separately from her brother and family.
East recently wrapped Jim Cummings’s indie comedy The Werewolf which also stars Jimmy Tatro and Riki Lindhome. She also appears in ABC’s Kevin (Probably) Saves The World opposite Jason Ritter and Kimberly Gregory. She is repped by Abrams Artists Agency, LINK Entertainment and Felker, Toczek.
Uly Schlesinger as “Nathan” A curious mixture of jaded and innocent. Nathan comes from a wealthy conservative Christian family which is part of Orange County’s socio-political elite, which fuels pressure on Nathan to be the family’s successful golden boy. Nathan hides his sexuality from his family, including his twin sister Naomi, until Episode 2 when he comes out publicly as bisexual at his older sister’s wedding reception. Sexually inexperienced but porn-savvy, earnest and wry, emotional and funny, Nathan is defined by an intense push-pull between extremes of his interior/ exterior life.
Schlesinger’s film credits include Two Eyes and The Shed. On the TV side, he has appeared on Divorce, Chicago Med, The Sinner and Two Sentence Horror Stories. He is represented by Take 3 Talent Agency.
Haley Sanchez as “Greta” A first generation Latinx who has been raised by a single activist mother who has just been detained by ICE. By turns tentative and bold, reserved and emotional, Greta is trying to figure out how to define herself amid powerful feelings of in-between-ness.
Nava Mau as “Ana” Greta’s aunt. Since coming out as trans, Ana’s relationship with her sister (Greta’s mother) deteriorated, but she wants to be a positive queer figure in Greta’s life. Ana is a kind and gentle person, but she doesn’t know much about raising kids and has zero tolerance for transphobia or toxic masculinity.
Nathanya Alexander as “Arianna” Caustically funny, lacking in social skills, Arianna loves gossip but can’t keep a secret. Arianna has gay dads but offhandedly makes homophobic comments and judges others harshly. More than anything, Arianna wants to be “seen”—and her more outrageous behavior stems from a fear of being invisible.
Alexander appeared in Ocean’s 8 as 9-ball’s (Rihanna) hacker sister Veronica. She is repped by Richard Rosenwald Associates.
Lukita Maxwell as “Delilah” A social justice warrior, fighting even the most unnecessary of causes. Most people take a dislike to her, but underneath the intensity of her political front is a deeply misunderstood soul. After being sexually assaulted, Delilah will have a profoundly emotional arc over series.
Maxwell recurred on ABC’s Speechless. She is represented by Trademark Talent.
Chase Sui Wonders as “Riley” So in control you often forget it: her independence and self-possessed maturity are well beyond her years. Her father sits on Anaheim’s city council; he’s a charismatic but self-sabotaging politician; Riley’s mother is also in politics but spends most of her time in DC.
Chase can be seen in HBO’s forthcoming experimental comedy series Betty co-created by Crystal Moselle and Lesley Arfin. She recently completed Sofia Coppola’s On the Rocks and Judd Apatow’s Staten Island. She is repped by Untitled Entertainment and UTA.
Sam Trammell as “Mark” He’s a successful Orange County investor and fixture in his Church. He has a wholesome Christian exterior, but is funny and vivacious. Initially more detached as a father, Nathan’s coming out will prompt Mark to examine himself in unexpected ways.
Trammell is a Tony nominated actor who is best known for his role on HBO’s True Blood. He will appear next as the Vice President on the final season of Showtime’s Homeland. He appeared in This Is Us and has completed production on the feature films Nancy Drew, Breakthrough and I See You. He also appears in the Netflix series The Order as the lead in Sony International television series Reckoning. He is repped by Luber Roklin Entertainment.
Source: Deadline
‘God Friended Me’ Casts ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Alum Peppermint In Groundbreaking Role As Transgender Pastor
RuPaul’s Drag Race alum and Broadway star Peppermint is joining CBS’s God Friended Me!
Peppermint will be a guest star for two episodes starting on the Oct. 6. episode, “The Lady.” She will play Pastor Olivia, a transgender pastor who heads a congregation that embraces the LGBTQ community. Peppermint’s character comes into the show as Ali (Javicia Leslie) leaves her father’s (Joe Morton) Episcopal Church in Harlem.
Photo: David Giesbrecht / 2019 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Photo credit: David Giesbrecht/Warner Bros.
“This role is proof that we’ve come so far,” Peppermint said to Entertainment Weekly. “A transgender pastor is not something you’d see being written or cast even five years ago. This season, they are raising the bar both in front and behind the camera. You ain’t ready, y’all!”
The second season of God Friended Me airs Sept. 29 at 8:30 p.m. ET after Sunday Night Football. Peppermint’s Oct. 6 arc airs at 8 p.m. ET.
New Rom-Com By Yvette Nicole Brown Titled ‘Always A Bridesmaid’ To Debut This Weekend On BET
The indie film Always A Bridesmaid, penned by actress Yvette Nicole Brown, will debut as a BET original movie this weekend on Saturday, September 28. The pic is from Brown’s Little Brown Girl, Inc. and Tri Destined Studios.
Directed by Trey Haley, Brown also appears in the film, which stars God Friended Me‘s Javicia Leslie and Black Lightning‘s Jordan Calloway.
Brandon Micheal Hall (God Friended Me), Michelle Mitchenor (Lethal Weapon), Richard Lawson (Saints & Sinners), Telma Hopkins (Family Matters), Marcel Spears (The Neighborhood), Meagan Tandy (The CW’s upcoming Batwoman), Bernard David Jones (The Mayor), Tosin Morohunfola (The Chi), Jasmin Brown (50 Central), Amber Chardae Robinson (Hell On Wheels), Joy Brunson (This is Us) and Lalah Hathaway co-star.
Here’s the description: Corina James has been a bridesmaid so many times that she is starting to wonder if she will ever be a bride. Always A Bridesmaid ponders the question, ‘Is love and marriage for everyone?’ And if so, how do you get over your own stuff in order to find and keep your one?
Source: Shadow & Acr
Saturday Night Live’ Promotes Chris Redd From Featured Player To Full Cast Member
While one featured player on Saturday Night Live got fired before he even started, another has been promoted.
Chris Redd, along with Heidi Gardner, has been promoted from featured player to repertory player (aka full cast member). This means their names will be now featured in the opening credits when the show returns this Saturday.
Redd and Gardner both joined in 2017. It is customary for a featured player (which is where new cast members start) to be promoted to full cast member after three years or so.
Saturday Night Live lured Redd to the show while he was starring in Netflix’s Disjointed. Redd has also notably been featured in the films Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping and Handsome: A Netflix Mystery Movie.
Nick Cannon To Host Daytime Syndicated Talk Show
Nick Cannon is adding another hosting gig to his schedule.
The Masked Singer host is teaming with Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury to front his own syndicated daytime talk show in 2020. Cannon will co-produce the series via his production company, Ncredible Entertainment. Details on the name of the show and a specific launch date — as well as plans surrounding a format — have not yet been determined.
The new venture arrives after Cannon filled in as the host of Wendy Williams’ Debmar-Mercury-produced talk show while she took an extended hiatus to focus on her heath after revealing her Graves’ disease diagnosis.
“After leaving America’s Got Talent, I wanted to focus on developing my own talk show,” Cannon said. “I’ve always dreamed of a platform where I can speak to America and discuss pop culture, as well as the topics on everyone’s minds. When I had the opportunity to guest host at my good friend Wendy Williams’ show this year, I experienced the energy and excitement of a daytime talk show and instantly knew I found my audience.”
Cannon has had a long career in entertainment, working as a host, comedian, actor, producer, rapper, writer, director, DJ, children’s book author and more. He currently hosts Fox’s competition series The Masked Singer, which broke out earlier this year and has already been renewed for two additional seasons. (Season 2 debuts Wednesday.) He also created, produced and hosted MTV sketch show Wild ‘N Out, which has been renewed through its 16th season. He returns to the road with a second 30-city arena tour to support the show in March 2020. He previously hosted Fox’s Teen Choice Awards, Nickelodeon’s Lip Sync Battle: Shorties and Halo Awards, the latter of which he also created and exec produced. This past summer, he took over as the drive time radio host of Power 106’s “Nick Cannon Mornings.”
“We are excited to be able to announce this collaboration with Nick, who has proven himself to be such a dominant creative and entrepreneurial force across film, primetime TV, music, comedy, stage and online platforms,” said Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein. “The daytime audience got to see that firsthand earlier this year with his stellar performance guest hosting The Wendy Williams Show. Now we can’t wait to see Nick put his own unique stamp on talk and add daytime to his impressive list of accomplishments.”
Cannon becomes the latest new face of daytime syndication. This season has featured a number of new arrivals, including talk shows hosted by Kelly Clarkson, Tamron Hall and Mel Robbins as well as courtroom shows with the likes of Jerry Springer, among others.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
‘Bob ♥ Abishola’ Co-Creator Gina Yashere Promoted To Series Regular On New CBS Comedy
Gina Yashere is getting a second full-time job on the new CBS comedy series Bob ♥ Abishola.
Yashere, who co-created the series with Chuck Lorre, Al Higgins and Eddie Gorodetsky, serves as a writer and producer on the show. She also had a scene-stealing guest-starring turn in the pilot as Kemi, Abishola’s (Folake Olowofoyeku) best friend. As a result, she has been promoted to a series regular on the show. She also will continue as a writer-producer.
Yashere joins an elite group of female writer-performers who star/co-star in the show they have created/co-created. It includes Girls‘ Lena Dunham, Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Catastrophe‘s Sharon Horgan.
This marks the second promotion on the show for Yashere. The British comedian, daughter on Nigerian immigrants, was initially brought in by Lorre, Higgins and Gorodetsky as a consultant for the development of Bob ♥ Abishola but quickly impressed them and ended up co-creating the series with the sitcom veterans.
Being a co-creator did not hand Yashere the role of Kemi, which she wanted to play. Yashere had to audition for it. She landed the part, and her scenes on the bus with Olowofoyeku became a highlight of the pilot. (you can see some of them in the official Bon♥ Abishola trailer below, toward the end.)
Bob ♥ Abishola premieres 9/23 at 8:30 PM on CBS.
Source: Deadline
Whoopi Goldberg Reveals Her Transformation For Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’
Whoopi Goldberg debuted a brand new hair color during Wednesday’s taping of The View. Her usual dark dreadlocks were white, a color she’ll have “for the next four months,” she said to the audience. The change comes as she takes on the role of prophet Mother Abigail in the TV miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s book The Stand.
“The woman I’m playing is over 100 [years old],” she said. “When [King] first wrote this book, Mother Abigail was probably this tall [signifying short], and she looked like Miss Jane Pittman on steroids,” she continued. “And the reason for that was people had no idea what older Black women looked like because no one ever looked at old Black women like that. So now we look at an older Black woman and you’re looking at amazing faces.”
Mother Abigail represents the good side of a world that has descended into chaos after an escaped patient infected with a mutated superflu strain has led to 99 percent of the world’s population dying. She also fights against a man named Randall Flagg, played by Alexander Skarsgård.
As the official description states:
“The Stand is Stephen King’s apocalyptic vision of a world decimated by plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil. The fate of mankind rests on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old other Mother Abagail (Goldberg) and a handful of survivors. Their worst nightmares are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the Dark Man.”
The cast also includes When They See Us star Jovan Adepo, Daniel Sunjata, Amber Heard, James Marsden, Henry Zaga, Odessa Young, Brad William Henke and Owen Teague. The miniseries will feature a new ending written by King.
The series will debut in 2020 on CBS All Access.
Source: Shadow & Act
‘The Boondocks’ To Get A Reboot On HBO Max For 2 Season Order
HBO Max has given a two-season, 24-episode order to a reimagining of the animated series The Boondocks, from creator Aaron McGruder and Sony Pictures Animation. The new Boondocks will launch in fall 2020 with a 50-minute special. All 55 episodes of the original The Boondocks series will also be available on WarnerMedia direct-to-consumer platform at launch.
The Boondocks revival was taken out to the marketplace in late spring and was confirmed by Sony Pictures Animation at the Annecy festival in June. HBO Max immediately emerged as the most likely home for the new series because of WarnerMedia’s history with the franchise. The original Boondocks animated series, based on the comic strip created by McGruder, aired on the company’s Adult Swim, a large part of whose programming will be available on HBO Max. The series earned McGruder a Peabody Award.
“The Boondocks was a revolutionary series that sparked conversations on hot button issues and brought dark subjects into the light with episodes like ‘The Trial of Robert Kelly’, ‘The Fundraiser’ and ‘The Story of Gangstalicious’,” said Kevin Reilly, Chief Content Officer, HBO Max and President, TBS, TNT and truTV. “Aaron is a gifted visionary whose unique style of storytelling is a welcome voice and we are elated The Freemans are making their thugnificent comeback on HBO Max.”
The new Boondocks follows the adventures of self-proclaimed “Civil Rights Legend” Robert “Granddad” Freeman, and his two rambunctious grandsons Huey and Riley. The family has recently moved to an idyllic community in suburban Maryland only to see it taken over by the tyrannical Uncle Ruckus and his bizarre neo-fascist regime. Life under Ruckus turns out to be an everyday struggle to survive.
“There’s a unique opportunity to revisit the world of The Boondocks and do it over again for today,” said McGruder, “It’s crazy how different the times we live in are now – both politically and culturally – more than a decade past the original series and two decades past the original newspaper comic. There’s a lot to say and it should be fun.”
McGruder returns as showrunner and will serve as executive producer along with Norm Aladjem for Mainstay Entertainment as well as Seung Kim and Meghann Collins Robertson. Sony Pictures Animation will produce the series in partnership with Sony Pictures Television.
On HBO Max’s original programming slate, The Boondocks joins another upcoming series with IP pedigree, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, a prequel to the Gremlins movies.
Sony TV has been very active in mining its library for revivals/reboots. It has One Day at a Time on Pop (formerly on Netflix), the Live In Front of a Studio Audience franchise at ABC based on Norman Lear titles, and the upcoming Mad About You limited series revival on Spectrum Originals, among others.
Source: Deadline
‘House Party’ Remake In The Works At New Line Cinemas
After winning an MTV Video Music Award for bringing his vision and humor to the video for Lil Nas X’s remix of “Old Town Road” with Billy Ray Cyrus, director Calmatic is looking to celebrate with a party…a House Party to be specific. The music video director will make his feature directorial debut with the forthcoming reimagining of the comedy classic House Party at New Line Cinema.
The remake from SpringHill Entertainment will be cut from the same cloth as the original 1990 comedy directed by Reginald Hudlin and starring Christopher “Kid” Reid and Christopher “Play” Martin of the rap duo Kid ‘N Play (it was also a dance shown in the pic). The movie, which told the story of a house party to end all house parties, was drenched in ’90s hip hop flair and featured Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell-Martin before they went on to star in the hit Fox TV series Martin.
The movie became a huge success and spawned two sequels: House Party 2 in 1991 and a third installment in 1994. The movie continued to party on with a direct-to-video sequels House Party 4: Down to the Last Minute in 2001, which did not include any of the original cast. The fifth installment House Party: Tonight’s the Night was released in 2012 and saw the return of Kid ‘N Play to the franchise.
Calmatic will direct the script written by Emmy-nominated Atlanta duo Stephen Glover and Jamal Olori. LeBron James and Maverick Carter of SpringHill will produce.
In addition to directing the wildly cinematic video to Lil Nas X’s viral record-breaking country-rap hybrid hit, Calmatic also helmed Anderson Paak’s “Bubblin’” and has worked with some of the most notable names in music including Kendrick Lamar, Khalid and Lizzo.
Spencer Beighley and Jamal Henderson are overseeing the House Party remake for SpringHill. Calmatic is repped by WME, LBI Entertainment and Ryan Goodell at Morris Yorn.
Source: Deadline
Issa Rae Remaking ‘Set It Off’ For New Line Cinemas
Syreeta Singleton (‘Black Monday’) and Nina Gloster (‘Star’) have been hired to pen the script.
Issa Rae, the co-creator of HBO’s Insecure, is tackling a re-imagining of Set It Off, New Line’s crime thriller that starred Jada Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah.
Rae will produce the new project with an eye to star. Producing with her will be Montrel McKay, her partner at Issa Rae Productions.
Syreeta Singleton (Black Monday) and Nina Gloster (Star) have been hired to pen the script.
The original movie told of four friends, fed up with by low-wage jobs and broken by institutional violence, desperately band to together for a series of bank robberies. After initial success, the spree ultimately leads to quartet to mostly tragic ends.
The movie, which also starred Vivica A. Fox and Kimberly Elise, proved to a be surprise hit while also garnering rave reviews. The movie was the rare action thriller that featured not only female leads but women of color, and also took on work issues, something that resonated with audiences. It also helped trampoline several of the talent to another level, including director F. Gary Gray, whose previous movie was the comedy Friday.
Rae co-created of the HBO comedy Insecure, in which she acted as writer, executive producer and actress. Earlier this year, she starred in Little, Universal’s comedy with Regina Hall and Marsai Martin.
Photo: David Giesbrecht / 2019 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Photo credit: David Giesbrecht/Warner Bros.