ICYMI: The Alienist sets TNT records, Shut Eye is cancelled, This Is Us hits series high, and more!
If you missed last week’s Drama After Dark issue, don’t worry! You can get all the info with the full article here!
Hulu has officially cancelled Shut Eye. Jeffrey Donovan led this drama about a scamming fortune-teller who’s big lie becomes his truth after a blow to the head. Even though both The Brave and Valor seemed to do a bit better with ratings the past week, renewals still don’t look likely for either of them.
On the other end of things, TNT’s drama The Alienist gave the network their most successful launch since 2012. But NBC was also getting all-time high numbers from This Is Us from their episode revealing the cause of Jack’s death. But NBC’s new drama, A.P. Bio wasn’t able to pull in a significant amount of viewers. FOX was also feeling the highs and lows as 9-1-1 topped out Wednesday night, and The X-Files hit an all-time low.
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Hot Topic: Shalita Grant to leave NCIS: New Orleans, Ernest Waddell returns to Law & Order: SVU, Chuck Norris sues CBS, and more!
Jay Curtis, brand manager for CBS and promo producer for NBC, FOX, and CBS has passed away at 67. Curtis had been suffering from ALS since 2015. Mark Salling of Glee has committed suicide at 35 years old. His death comes shortly after the actor plead guilty to possession of child pornography. Alley Mills has come forward to say that the real reason The Wonder Years was cancelled was due to a sexual harassment lawsuit against the show’s stars Fred Savage and Jason Hervey. Ann Gillis of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Singing Cowboy, Little Orphan Annie, and many other movies, has passed away at the age of 90.
BBC Worldwide has purchased the majority shares in Killing Eve. This comes just one week after increasing their stakes in Clerkenwell Films. HBO has come to an agreement with Amazon Prime Video in Japan to begin launching their original series such as Game of Thrones, True Detective, and Westworld.
Chuck Norris has entered a legal battle with CBS and SONY for money not paid to Norris for his series Walker, Texas Ranger. Head of Television for The Mark Gordon Company, Nick Pepper, has officially declared that he is stepping down from his position. Zachary Lutsky, a writer and medical consultant on new FOX drama, The Resident, has left his ER doctor position after sexual harassment allegations made against him.
The CW has ordered a reboot for 90’s favorite, Roswell. But this time it will have a different twist with an immigration story line. The network has also ordered five other pilots. In The Dark, Playing Dead, Skinny Dip, The End of the World as We Know It, and Spencer have also been added to the roster. FOX has also ordered a pilot for a new drama based on the bestselling novel, Gone Baby Gone. Netflix and A Series of Unfortunate Events star Neil Patrick Harris have announced the show coming to an end after the third season.
Melissa Claire Egan has recently announced that she will be leaving CBS daytime soap, The Young and the Restless, after six years of playing Chelsea Lawson. Ernest Waddell has announced that he will be returning to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in a storyline that’s being kept quiet. Tembi Locke will be playing a recurring role in NCIS: Los Angeles. Shalita Grant has recently announced that she will be making her exit from NCIS: New Orleans.
Guess Who: Sofia Carson joins Pretty Little Liars spinoff, Greg Kinnear and Diane Lane join House of Cards, and more!
Sofia Carson has announced that she will be joining the cast of Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists as a blogger that wants to get into the fashion industry. John Ortiz has been cast in a new Netflix series created by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, titled Messiah. Tomer Sisley and Mehdi Dehbi have also joined the cast. Katherine Heigl has announced that she will be joining the cast of Suits as a series regular. Greg Kinnear and Diane Lane will be joining the final season of House of Cards.
CBS has announced a new drama series from Dick Wolf, F.B.I. that will be directed by Niels Arden Oplev of Mr. Robot. Oplev is also set to be executive producer on the new series. Craig Turk, former executive producer of The Good Wife is set to be the showrunner.
TVAD Writers Room: This Is Us, Riverdale, and The Resident roundtables gave us all the feels this week!
The Resident continued down their path of no fear when it comes to social issues. Things also got deeper with Doctor Bell and his tremors. Check out what the roundtable had to say here! Things on Scandal got just as edgy as an inside look was given into what really happened with Quinn. Our roundtable got together to break it all down here.
Victoria was able to brighten things up a bit as she took an entourage with her on a trip to France. This royal roundtable discussed what will mean for the group. You can check it out here! The This Is Us roundtable took us on an emotional roller coaster as they discussed the clear cluse to what is sure to be Jack’s death. Grab the tissues before checking out this roundtable!
But tissues certainly aren’t what’s needed for the Riverdale roundtable as they broke down dark Betty and manipulative Archie and Veronica. You can check that roundtable out here.
Interviews: Kurt Sutter talks SOA spinoff, Stana Katic talks joining new series Absentia, Roma Downey speaks about The Baxters, and more!
Mayans MC is set to start out with a ten episode run on FX. But that isn’t the only SOA project Kurt Sutter is working on as he is also working on the comic book based on the series. Sutter had a lot to say about his relationship with FX and Fox 21.
“In a scary world of orange monsters and spontaneous castrations, Fox 21 and FX is my ‘safe place’. Where I feel loved and appreciated”
Stana Katic has been cast in Amazon’s latest thriller, Absentia, and she is playing a cop once again! But not only does Katic discuss how she feels about this different take on another police role, but she also discusses her role on Castle and the abrupt cancellation of the show.
“It would be a disservice to those people, to the work that we did together, and to my work, which I feel contributed, in part, to the success of the show, to be anything but grateful. Because, at the end of the day, that was a fantastic platform.”
David Farr has created a new series, Troy: Fall of a City, that is a result of the partnership between Netflix and BBC. Farr is planning on showing a different spin on the classic tale with the new series.
“Instead of stabbing your treacherous wife in a carpark you send the Greek army, it’s not that different. Her desire for self-empowerment, by leaving in this case it has catastrophic consequences.”
The cast and showrunner of Altered Carbon, another new Netflix series, all sat down together to discuss what fans could expect from the upcoming drama. Laeta Kalogridis, the showrunner, plans on expanding the female characters more than the book series.
“It was very, very important to me to represent a broader swath of humanity that often isn’t seen in futuristic sci-fi.”
Lexi Alexander and Scott Derrickson have teamed up to develop a new Blumhouse Television series, You Bury Me. Not only will Alexander be executive producing with Derrickson, but she will also be a writer for the series as well. Jeremy Gold, co-president of the company is excited to see Alexander and Derrickson work together.
“The ability to pair an industry veteran like Scott, with whom we have an established relationship, with a filmmaker like Lexi. Provides us with a great opportunity to cultivate a new and compelling creative voice.”
Netflix is partnering up with Fusion Media Group, a subsidiary company from Univision, to bring at least five more English and Spanish series to the platform. CEO of FMG studios, Camila Jimenez Villa, is excited to see how the shows will do.
“This is a critical time to be talking about what journalists around the world face every day in the pursuit of the truth, particularly in Mexico.”
Karen Kingsbury’s novel series, The Baxters, is coming to the small screen in an all new scripted series. This will be the first drama series for Roma Downey’s streaming platform, Downey’s Lightworkers Media. Downey is excited to see the series hit her service.
“By making it ourselves it gives us a creative freedom we wouldn’t have elsewhere.”
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Coming Soon: FOX orders new legal drama, CBS joins The CW with reboots, Grey’s Anatomy gets a spinoff, and more!
Danny Strong, co-creator of the hit series Empire, has been given the green light for a new legal drama for FOX. Although the Wuthering Heights partner novel, Ill Will has yet to be released, Kudos has already bought the television rights.
CBS has jumped on the reboot train and ordered reboots of both Magnum P.I., and Cagney and Lacey. Though there still hasn’t been much news on who will be cast in the reboots. The Grey’s Anatomy spinoff has finally been given a title, and it’s Station 19. The show follows a group of firefighters in Seattle, Washington. David Frankel has been recruited to direct the new NBC drama, Manifest. NBC has also ordered a new drama from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, The Gilded Age. Bravo has officially given the new true crime scripted series, Dirty John.
Ilene Chaiken has decided to leave as the showrunner of Empire and will now be in charge of an untitled FBI drama for FOX. Meanwhile, Erin Foster has been given the go ahead for a new FOX comedy series. ABC has also given the green light to a few new pilots, including an Eva Longoria produced drama, Grand Hotel. E! has decided to develop a new drama based on Yesi Ortiz, a Los Angeles radio personality. Suburra: Blood on Rome has been given a second series on Netflix.
Don’t burst into tears yet!
Drama shows give us all the feels and constantly put us in tears. So be sure to give yourself a little comedic relief with our Comedy After Dark! If you’re more into the super side, we’ve got you covered with our Superhero After Dark!Drama After Dark
Your weekly round-up of all drama-related news. Casting news, talent interviews, teasers and trailers, renewals/cancellations, promotional pictures, rumors, and more!
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