Stay in the loop on industry and casting news with our write-up on who’s been slated for recent film and television roles!
Please note that shoot dates are subject to state and county restrictions and may change. Refer to Call Sheet for updates, and keep checking Backstage for the latest news on project development during this time.
“Women of the Movement”
Jay-Z and Will Smith are teaming up to produce a series about those who worked behind the scenes of the American civil rights movement. ABC has given the greenlight to the limited series, based on Devery S. Anderson’s book “Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement,” which will be directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and written by Marissa Jo Cerar. The 14-year-old Till was visiting family in Mississippi when he was kidnapped, horrifically beaten, and lynched for supposedly flirting with a white woman in a grocery store. The series will follow his mother, Mamie Till Mobley, as she travels the country seeking justice for her son. Till’s grandmother, Alma Carthan, will also be a focus while she tries to protect her family in Chicago as her grandson’s story becomes national news. The adapted series, cast by Marci Phillips at ABC Primetime, has brought on Adrienne Warren as Mamie and Niecy Nash as Alma, as well as Glynn Turman and Cedric Joe. Production is set to begin in mid-January in Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee.
“Chucky”
Syfy and USA Network are reviving a horror favorite with “Chucky.” The flame-haired, diabolical doll that has scared kids and adults for decades will make a serial return on the cable network. The series follows a boy who unknowingly brings home a demonic doll from a yard sale, which proceeds to wreak havoc on a small town. The murderous toy meets past friends and enemies as the series returns to the character’s 1980s origins. The show has already brought on Jennifer Tilly, as well as “Child’s Play” veteran Brad Dourif to voice Chucky; Bonnie Zane Casting is assembling the remaining cast. The project, which will air on both Syfy and USA, will start shooting in March 2021 in Toronto.
“The Chair”
Sandra Oh and Jay Duplass are heading back to school in the new Netflix series “The Chair.” The show will follow the chair of the English department at a large university, played by Oh. D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, the writers and creative minds behind “Game of Thrones,” will join Oh and co-showrunner Amanda Peet in executive producing the series. Avy Kaufman is currently casting the project, which, as of now, only has Oh and Duplass attached. Production on the six-episode dramedy is set to start in February 2021 in Pittsburgh.
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This story originally appeared in the Dec. 31 issue of Backstage Magazine. Subscribe here.