Greenlit means a project is officially a go, so all you have to do is follow these leads to stay up to date. You never know where you’ll find an opportunity to land an audition!
“A League of Their Own”
D’Arcy Carden might already be in a league of her own on NBC, but now she’ll be heading off the lineup at Amazon for the remake of “A League of Their Own.” The “Good Place” actor will star opposite Abbi Jacobson (“Broad City”) in the Amazon series adaptation of the hit 1992 feature film, written by Jacobson and Will Graham. Gbemisola Ikumelo is also finalizing a deal to co-star in the project. Like the film, the series will revolve around a women’s professional baseball league during World War II. The formerly half-hour series has become a one-hour comedy in pre-production. Felicia Fasano is the series casting director.
Untitled Sandra Bullock-Led Netflix Drama
Sandra Bullock is heading back to Netflix in a new drama. The actor will star in the currently untitled film about life after prison from director Nora Fingscheidt. “Mission: Impossible: Fallout” helmer Christopher McQuarrie will write the script, which will follow Bullock’s character, who has recently been released from prison after serving time for a violent crime and who re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past. This will be the second collaboration between Netflix and Bullock, following last winter’s much-talked-about “Bird Box.” Jina Jay and Mary Vernieu were the casting directors on that project, so it’s possible they could return for the new collaboration.
“Joe Exotic”
Kate McKinnon will add another series starring role to her CV this year. The “Saturday Night Live” star has signed on to star in and executive produce a series adaptation of the podcast “Joe Exotic.” The story follows big cat enthusiast Carole Baskin, who learns that fellow exotic animal lover Joe “Exotic” Schreibvogel is breeding and using big cats for profit and tries to shut down his venture. This is the second series starring role McKinnon has signed on for this year, following her upcoming portrayal of disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in the Hulu series “The Dropout.” Wondery’s Hernan Lopez and Marshall Lewy will executive produce with McKinnon.
“Severance”
Apple is continuing to build its catalog and has greenlit a new series with two major comedy stars. “Severance,” starring Adam Scott and directed by Ben Stiller, has been given a series order. The show, a workplace thriller that introduces Lumen Industries, a company that is looking to take work-life balance to a new level, will star Scott as Mark, an employee with a dark past trying to put himself back together. Scott will produce with Stiller, who is also executive producing. The series will be written by Dan Erickson (also executive producing). This will mark one of a few television projects Stiller has directed, joining the shortlist including his recently Emmy-nominated “Escape at Dannemora.” Regular Stiller collaborator Rachel Tenner was the series casting director on the Showtime series and she might follow him to Apple.
“Genius: Aretha Franklin”
Courtney B. Vance has reportedly joined the cast of the upcoming “Genius: Aretha Franklin,” the third season of the anthology series at Nat Geo. Vance will play Franklin’s father, C.L. Franklin, opposite Cynthia Erivo and joining a supporting cast of Malcolm Barrett, Patrice Covington, Kimberly Hébert Gregory, Rebecca Naomi Jones, and Sanai Victoria. Suzan-Lori Parks serves as showrunner and executive producer of the eight-episode season. It is slated to debut in the spring. Rose Wicksteed is the original “Genius” casting director but Kim Coleman has been working on the most recent season.
“Del & Charna”
First reported by Deadline, “Blockers” director and “Pitch Perfect” franchise writer Kay Cannon will direct the upcoming biopic “Del & Charna.” The picture will follow Charna Halpern and her partnership with the late improv maestro Del Close as they built Chicago’s Improv Olympic, a training ground for major award-winning comedians such as Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Stephen Colbert, and more. Rich Talarico (“Key & Peele”) and Alex Fendrich (“Teachers”) will write the screenplay. No casting director has been assigned at this point, but Cannon’s “Blockers” CDs were Nicole Abellera and Jeanne McCarthy if she’s looking for a return collaboration.
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