‘Magnum PI’ Reboot Pilot At CBS Casts Jay Hernandez Of ‘Suicide Squad’ Fame In Lead Role
The “Magnum P.I.” reboot pilot has cast Jay Hernandez as the titular private eye.
Hernandez will play Thomas Magnum, a decorated ex-Navy SEAL who, upon returning home from Afghanistan, repurposes his military skills to become a private investigator. Tom Selleck, who currently stars in the CBS drama “Blue Bloods,” played the role in the original series.
Hernandez’s recent film roles include the DC Entertainment film “Suicide Squad” and appearances in both entries in the “Bad Moms” comedy franchise. He has also appeared in films like “Friday Night Lights,” “Hostel,” and in the Netflix fantasy-action film “Bright.” On the television side, he has recently appeared in “Scandal,” “Nashville,” and “The Expanse.”
He is repped by ICM Partners, Alchemy Entertainment and Fuller Law.
Source: Variety
‘This Is Us’ Star Sterling K. Brown To Debut As Host On ‘Saturday Night Live’
CREDIT: JORDAN STRAUSS/INVISION/AP/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
Sterling K. Brown, star of the hit NBC series “This Is Us,” will make his “Saturday Night Live” hosting debut in March, NBC announced Tuesday.
Brown will host the long-running sketch show on March 10. In addition to his Emmy-winning role on “This Is Us,” Brown also currently appears in “Black Panther.” Joining Brown and making his “SNL” debut as musical guest is three-time Grammy nominee and multi-platinum English singer-songwriter James Bay. His single, “Wild Love,” from his forthcoming sophomore album was released on Feb. 8.
In addition, NBC also announced that Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley will return to as host for the fourth time on March 3. Grammy Award-nominated recording artists Migos will join Barkley as musical guest for the first time. Their new album, “Culture II,” recently debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart in its first week.
Finally, “SNL” alum Bill Hader will host for the second time on March 17. He is the creator, executive producer, director, and plays the title character in the upcoming HBO comedy series “Barry,” premiering March 25.
Arcade Fire will appear alongside Hader, marking the band’s fourth time as musical guest. The band released its fifth studio album, “Everything Now,” last July, and the single of the same name became the group’s first to reach number one on a Billboard chart.
Source: Variety
First-Look At Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Directorial Debut, ‘The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind’
A first-look image has been released for Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut, which is a film adaptation of The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind
The film is produced by Potboiler Productions’ Andrea Calderwood (The Last King of Scotland) and Gail Egan (A Most Wanted Man). Ejiofor stars in the film he also adapted from the book “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” written by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer.
The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind follows 13-year-old William Kamkwamba (newcomer Maxwell Simba) who is thrown out of the school he loves when his family can no longer afford the fees. Sneaking back into the school library, he finds a way, using the bones of the bicycle belonging to his father Trywell (Ejiofor), to build a windmill which then saves his village from famine. The emotional journey of a father and his exceptional son at its heart, William’s tale captures the incredible determination of a boy whose inquisitive mind overcame every obstacle in his path. Key themes from the film aim to raise awareness around environmental sustainability and the power of education.
In addition to Ejiofor and Simba, the cast features Lily Banda as William’s older sister Annie; Noma Dumezweni (Hermione in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) as Edith Sikelo, the librarian who helped bring William’s story to public attention; Aissa Maiga (Anything for Alice) as William’s mother Agnes; Joseph Marcell (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) as Chief Wimbe; and Lemogang Tsipa (Eye in the Sky) as teacher Mike Kachigunda.
Check out the image below:
Source: Shadow & Act
Alfre Woodard Joins Cast as Cookie’s Mother On New Season Of ‘Empire’!
An ax-wielding Demi Moore is going to be the least of Cookie Lyon’s problems when Empire returns this spring. TVLine has learned exclusively that Alfre Woodard has been tapped to play Renee, the estranged (and extremely formidable, natch) mother of Taraji P. Henson’s leading lady.
Woodard — a four-time Emmy winner — will appear on a recurring basis during the second half of Empire‘s current fourth season, which resumes on Wednesday, March 28 at 8/7c. The actress began shooting her arc earlier this month (as evidenced by the exclusive on-set image of Woodard and Henson above.)
The gig marks a reunion for the two Oscar-nominated powerhouses: They co-starred together in the 2008 pic Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys.
Woodard’s recent TV credits include series-regular stints on Netflix’s Luke Cage(which is returning for Season 2) and NBC’s ill-fated State of Affairs.
Source: TV Line
Shoniqua Shandai Cast In Series Regular Role For ABC’s ‘The Greatest American Hero’ Pilot
Actress Shoniqua Shandai has landed a series regular role in the ABC comedy pilot, The Greatest American Hero, a ‘diverse’ reboot of the 80s comedy series of the same name.
The potential series stars Hannah Simone as the leading woman.
The description: Meera loves tequila and karaoke and has spent her life searching and failing to find meaning, much to the chagrin of her traditional Indian-American family. An inexplicable event occurs that will change the course of Meera’s life forever: She is entrusted with a super suit to protect the planet. Meera finally might have found purpose, but the world has never been in more unreliable hands.
Shandai’s character is Tawnia Nichols, the office manager and resident gossip at the marketing agency where Meera works.
The actress will also have upcoming recurring roles on TV Land’s Nobodies and TNT’s miniseries, One Day She’ll Darken.
Source: Shadow & Act
WATCH: New Trailer For TBS Comedy Series, ‘The Last O.G.,’ Starring Tracy Morgan & Tiffany Haddish
We’ve got the first trailer for the Tracy Morgan’s TBS comedy series, The Last O.G. Jordan Peele is an executive producer.
The show will kick things off on April 3. After that, episodes will air on Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m.
Starring Morgan, alongside Tiffany Haddish, Cedric the Entertainer, Dante Hoagland (Young Michael Bivins in The New Edition Story), Allen Maldonado (black-ish, Survivor Remorse) The Last O.G. is Morgan’s return to television. Haddish, who also starred in the recently-canceled, yet critically acclaimed The Carmichael Show, is having a moment, coming off of what is her breakout performance in Girls Trip.
The Last O.G. revolves around Tray (Morgan), an ex-con who is shocked to see just how much the world has changed when he is released from prison for good behavior after a 15-year stint. Returning to his newly=gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood, he discovers that his former girlfriend, Shay (Haddish), has married an affable, successful white man (Ryan Gaul) who is helping raise the twins (Taylor Mosby & Hoagland) Tray never knew existed. Wanting nothing more than to connect with his kids, but having neither the money to support them nor himself, Tray falls back on the skills he learned in prison to make ends meet while treading unfamiliar territory.
Cedric the Entertainer stars as the head of the halfway house where Tray is staying, and Allen Maldonado as Tray’s cousin Bobby, who helps him adjust to life on the outside. Guest stars will include Edi Patterson, Chrissy Metz (This is Us), Malik Yoba, Heather Simms and more. Executive-producing with Morgan, Peele and co-creator John Carcieri are Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum and Joel Zadak of Principato Young.
Check out the trailer below:
Source: Shadow & Act
Duane Martin Cast In Gabrielle Union’s ‘Bad Boys’ TV Spinoff Pilot
Duane Martin has joined the cast of the potential series for Gabrielle Union’s Bad Boys TV spinoff.
Ernie Hudson was cast as Union’s father earlier this year.
Martin plays “smart and competitive” LAPD homicide detective Ben Baines. He is partnered with Ben Walker, who will be portrayed by Zach Gilford, and together they are described as “the Bens.”
After landing at NBC after an intense bidding war, and receiving a pilot commitment at the network, the potential series was officially ordered as a pilot earlier this month.
The series would see Union reprising her character, Special Agent Sydney “Syd” Burnett from the second Bad Boys film. Burnett was an undercover DEA operative and sister of Martin Lawrence’s Marcus Burnett and love interest for Will Smith’s Mike Lowrey.
Her status in the show: “Syd Burnett, last seen in Miami taking down a drug cartel, now is an LAPD detective and can pursue all the pleasures Los Angeles has to offer and leave her past behind. But things will get complicated when her new partner, Nancy McKenna, learns that Syd’s unapologetic lifestyle might be masking a greater personal secret.”
The key role of Nancy McKenna, Syd’s partner, has yet to be cast.
The project is from Jerry Bruckheimer and Doug Belgrad and Sony Pictures TV Studios is the studio.
The spinoff is being written by NBC’s The Blacklist writers and producers Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier.
A third film itself, Bad Boys 3, has been in development for some time, and Belgrad was one of the financiers. Just a few months ago Lawrence said he believed the movie wasn’t going to happen.
Source: Shadow & Act
Jordan L. Jones Lands Lead Role Opposite Lil Rel Howery In Jerrod Carmichael-Produced Fox Comedy Pilot
Fox’s comedy pilot Rel, produced by Jerrod Carmichael, has found its second lead.
Newcomer Jordan L. Jones has joined the cast.
He’ll play the young brother of Lil Rel Howery’s Rel.
It revolves around a “prideful, self-made success who lives by the code to ‘always believe in yourself and great things will come,’ who finds that attitude put to the test when he learns his wife is having an affair with his own barber. He tries to rebuild his life post-divorce as a long-distance single father on the South Side of Chicago who is on a quest for love, respect and a new barber.” Howery is writing the script and Carmichael is an EP. Mike Scully is the would-be showrunner.
This is Jones’ first series regular role. Deadline says it was a competitive pursuit from networks/studios to land Jones in a role before he went with Rel.
Source: Shadow & Act
TBS Orders Pilot For Lena Waithe’s ‘Queer Black Girl’ Comedy, ‘Twenties”
Lena Waithe is on a roll right now!
TBS has given the green light to a pilot from the Emmy winner called, Twenties.
The show as created by Waithe nine years ago. It follows “the adventures of a queer black girl, Hattie, and her two straight best friends, Marie and Nia, who spend most of their days talking shit and chasing their dreams. It’s a show about friendship, finding love, and messing everything up along the way.”
Waithe executive produces via her Hillman Grad Productions, along with her manager Andrew Coles for the Mission Entertainment.
“I wrote Twenties back in 2009. I always wanted to tell a story where a queer black woman was the protagonist, and I’m so grateful to TBS for giving me a platform to tell this story. Queer black characters have been the sidekick for long enough; it’s time for us to finally take the lead,” said Waithe
Waithe will executive produce through her Hillman Grad Productions.
The Chi, which she created and executive produced,just got renewed for a Season 2 at Showtime. The first season has been critically-acclaimed so far.
Source: Shadow & Act
WATCH: Trailer For ‘Uncle Drew’ Starring Kyrie Irving, Lil Rel Howery, Erica Ash & Tiffany Haddish
The first trailer has been released for the upcoming basketball film, Uncle Drew.
From Lionsgate’s Summitt Entertainment, is based on a series of Pepsi commercials starring NBA star Kyrie Irving.
Alongside Irving is Lil Rel Howery, Erica Ash and Tiffany Haddish, as well as basketball stars Lisa Leslie, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller and Nate Robinson.
The film’s description: “Dax (Howery) who, after draining his life savings to enter a team in the Rucker Classic streetball tournament, is dealt some unfortunate setbacks, including losing his team to his longtime rival (Kroll). Dax stumbles upon the man, the myth, the legend Uncle Drew (Irving) and convinces him to return to the court one more time.”
