ICYMI: Paramount’s Waco brings in high ratings and more!

To catch up on past news, check out the last issue of Drama After Dark here.

Paramount’s Waco, starring Taylor Kitsch and Melissa Benoist, is off to a strong start for the network, averaging 2.4 million viewers in the first four episodes.

Janet Montgomery will be starring in the female lead for NBC’s untitled Bellevue medical drama. The drama pilot will be written by David Schulner (Desperate Housewives), directed by Kate Dennis (The Handmaid’s Tale), and produced by Dr. Eric Manheimer (Bellevue’s former medical director).

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Hot Topic: BBC One begins production on The Cry starring Jenna Coleman, The Young and the Restless turns 45, and more!

BBC has released the first look at their psychological drama, The Cry, starring Victoria’s Jenna Coleman. The story follows Coleman’s character’s journey with her husband as he fights for custody of his daughter in the midst of a tragedy. The four-part drama will be produced by Scottish production company, Synchronicity for BBC One.

The Walking Dead’s Lauren Cohan and Ugly Betty’s Ana Ortiz have landed roles on ABC drama, Whisky Cavalier. Cohan has not yet signed a contract for The Walking Dead’s ninth season which has raised speculation about her future with the show. Ortiz will play the role of Dr. Susan Sampson, a behavioral scientist for the FBI.

Black Lightning showrunners Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil are taking their talents to the OWN network for the upcoming dramedy, Love Is ___. The Wire’s Clarke Peters has been cast in a series regular role for the hour-long relationship drama.

Dear White People executive producer, Stephanie Allain will be adapting Shomari Wills’ book, Black Fortunes into a limited series. The series will depict the biographies of former slaves who went onto become America’s first black millionaires.

Brian J. Smith (Sense8) and Walton Goggins will star in lead roles in CBS drama pilot, L.A. Confidential. Known for her work in Hamilton, CBS has cast Phillipa Soo for their drama pilot, The Code. Joe Morton (Scandal) is heading to CBS to join the cast of God Friended Me as Reverend Arthur Finer. Jay Hernandez will be playing the iconic role of Thomas Magnum for CBS’ reboot of Magnum P.I.

For its 45th anniversary, The Young and The Restless will bring back three fan favorites from the show, Jaime Lyn Bauer (Lorie Brooks), Janice Lynde (Leslie Brooks), and Meg Bennett (Julia Newman).

Most notably known for his directing work on The Big Sick, Michael Showalter, will be directing and executive producing CW’s pilot, In The Dark.

TNT is moving forward with its thriller pilot, Deadlier Than The Male, a year after it was picked up the network. Lily Rabe (American Horror Story) will be starring in the series.

Guess Who: Scandal’s Bellamy Young joins the cast of ABC’s False Profits, Emmanuelle Chriqui to star in a Fox vampire drama, and much more!

ABC’s straight-to-series crime drama, The Rookie, has cast Titus Makin (Glee) and Alyssa Diaz (Ray Donovan) opposite Nathan Fillion. Designated Survivor’s Xavier De Guzman will star opposite Rachel Bilson (Hart of Dixie) and Eddie Cibrian (Rosewood) in ABC’s Take Two. Romany Malco (Weeds) and Valor’s Christina Ochoa will be starring in the ABC drama pilot, A Million Little Things. John Dahl (Outlander) will be directing the drama pilot, For Love, written by Michael Cooney. Law & Order: SVU’s Andy Karl will be playing the male lead as an Oregon State Trooper in ABC’s drama pilot, Staties.

Amirah Vann (Underground) will star in Regina King and Robin Roberts’ ABC untitled drama pilot. Josh Randall (Ten Days in the Valley) and Vannessa Vasquez (East Los High) will be starring in series regular roles for ABC’s crime drama pilot, Safe Harbor. Scandal’s Bellamy Young is heading to another ABC drama, False Profits, in which she has landed the lead role. Roselyn Sanchez of Devious Maids will be heading to another ABC drama, Grand Hotel, executive produced by Eva Longoria and directed by Ken Olin (This Is Us).

Rachel Lee Goldenberg will direct CW’s dramedy pilot, Playing Dead, about a mortician and his family. Former Buzzfeed development partner, Quinta Brunson will co-star in the CW’s The End of the World as We Know It. Taye Diggs will be playing a Beverly Hills High coach in the upcoming CW drama pilot inspired by football player Spencer Paysinger, set to be directed by The Quad’s Rob Hardy.

Madeleine Stowe (Revenge) will be taking on a series regular role on Fox’s romantic musical drama pilot, Mixtape. Entourage star Emmanuelle Chriqui will star in Fox’s vampire drama, The Passage, as surgeon Dr. Lila Kyle. Katie Holmes is heading to the land of television and has been cast in the lead role for an untitled Fox drama pilot where she will play an FBI Special Agent.

Raza Jaffrey (Code Black) will be taking on a lead role as an FBI agent in NBC’s drama thriller pilot, The Enemy Within. Grace Van Dien (Greenhouse Academy) and Warren Christie (Alphas) have been cast for the lead role in NBC’s ensemble drama, The Village. Harriet Dyer (Love Child) will make her American television debut in NBC’s crime drama pilot, In Between Lives as a clairvoyant.

Lifetime has cast additional roles for its upcoming film, Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance. Burgess Abernethy (Australia Day) will be playing Prince William while Laura Mitchell (Menendez: Blood Brothers) will play the role of Kate Middleton, his wife.

TVAD Writers Room: This week’s Victoria roundtable discusses the latest episode!

According to our Victoria roundtable writer, corn prices, assassinations, and the breaking of old ties dominate the penultimate episode of season 2. Check out this week’s Victoria roundtable as our writer and guests discuss the drama of the episode!

Interviews: Jeff Daniels talks about his role in Hulu’s The Looming Tower, Nathan Fillion talks about his debut an executive producer, and more!

Jeff Daniels talks about his upcoming Hulu drama, The Looming Tower and his character, FBI counterterrorism chief John O’Neill.

“This guy truly believes he was right. And in hindsight he was. But no one would listen to him.”

Nathan Fillion aims to follow in the footsteps of Joss Whedon for his debut as an executive producer in the ABC drama The Rookie.

“I had an experience on Firefly where everybody that worked on that show considered it the bar to which we could compare all of our other jobs. That was the benefit of Joss Whedon, who said ‘I want great actors that can make this language sing and I want people I can potentially spend seven years with’ and I benefited from that. I want The Rookie to be similar.”

Showrunner Jenna Bans talks about her upcoming NBC drama, Good Girls and how she used Donald Trump’s election to write the show.

“It was in the heights of the election late last summer. I was talking to my mom, and I said, “I can’t just believe the sexism is so overt.” he was like, “Where have you been?” That just got me thinking. I owed NBC a pilot, and I wanted to write something escapist and fun and chock full of wish fulfillment and something that made my mom feel better about her life. It was a love letter to my mother, who was really depressed and down about the way the election was going.”

Creator and showrunner of Starz drama Vida, Tanya Saracho, has signed on for a three-year deal with the company. Starz’s President of programming, Carmi Zlotnik, shared her enthusiasm over the deal in an interview with Variety.

“Tanya Saracho’s unique voice brings a fresh and real perspective to Latinx programming/ We’re thrilled to have an overall deal with this tenacious playwright-turned-TV writer/executive producer who doesn’t pull any punches when bringing these characters – who are not usually seen in mainstream media – to life.”

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Coming Soon: FX’s The Americans releases multiple teasers and gets a premiere date, Sons of Anarchy showrunner reveals plans for additional spin-offs, and more!

BBC America has released the trailer for its upcoming drama thriller, Killing Eve, starring Grey’s Anatomy alum Sandra Oh, set to premiere Sunday, April 8th. Check out the trailer below!

CMT’s Nashville has announced the final eight episodes of the series are set to begin airing on June 7th, with the series finale scheduled for July 26th. All episodes will be available to watch on Hulu the day after they air.

Titus Welliver (Lost) will guest-star in an upcoming episode of Chicago P.D. as meth dealer Ronald Booth. He will appear in this season’s 18th episode later this spring.

FX’s The Americans is all set for its final season premiering on March 28th. Along with the premiere date, the network has released details about the sixth season story and what to expect for the series conclusion.

Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter reveals he has plans for at least two more spin-offs apart from the upcoming series, Mayans MC, set to premiere on FX in just a few months. The additional spin-offs would involve a prequel and sequel to the original show.

Look below to check out the newest trailer for HBO’s Paterno, starring Al Pacino. The movie is set to air on HBO on April 7th.

That’s a wrap on this week’s issue of Drama After Dark!