ICYMI: Scandal completes production on final season, The Sinner gets season two renewal, and more!

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

And just like that ABC’s Scandal wraps up production on its seventh and final season. Creator Shonda Rhimes along with many of the cast members took to social media to bid adieu to the last seven years and thank their fans for coming along with them for the ride.

It was a good week for Fox’s 9-1-1 that aired its season one finale on Wednesday and showed an uptick in ratings.

USA renewed Jessica Biel’s drama The Sinner for season two after a very successful first season. The second season is set to premiere this summer.

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Hot Topic: Matt Smith got paid more than Claire Foy on The Crown, 13 Reasons Why to air warning video ahead of season two premiere, and more!

Deadline interviewed The Crown’s executive producers Andy Harries and Suzanne Mackie along with production designer Martin Childs at the INTV conference in Jerusalem. It was here that Mackie revealed Matt Smith was paid more than Claire Foy over the course of The Crown’s two seasons. The price gap was said to be because of Matt Smith’s connection with Doctor Who and because Claire Foy was not as well known. However, the producers intend to close the pay gap moving forward.

After the controversy of its first season, 13 Reasons Why will air a warning video before the season two premiere to alert viewers to the sensitive material in the second season.

The Tribeca Film Festival will incorporate television shows into their annual festival this year. Eighteen television shows will be part of the line-up and include series premieres, one season premiere, two documentaries, and five indie pilots. Amongst these shows will be The Trayvon Martin Story and Cobra Kai.

Fred Savage denied claims of harassment allegations from a crew member that he worked with during his time on Fox’s The Grinder. Savage states these accusations are “completely without merit and absolutely untrue.”

AMC will make the first season of its upcoming thriller, The Terror, available to all their Premiere customers when it premieres this Monday. They most recently used this binge tactic for their original series, McMafia.

During an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, actor Sean Penn shared that he is over acting and enjoys writing more. Penn will soon be releasing his first novel, Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff.

The cast and creative team of Outlander shared with The Hollywood Reporter nine things to know about the upcoming fourth season. Check out what they had to say here (warning: spoilers)!

Guess Who: Jenna Dewan Tatum joins the cast of Fox’s Mixtape, Margot Robbie to produce female-focused Shakespearean drama, Mira Sorvino joins CBS drama pilot The Code, and more!

The cast of CBS’ Chiefs continues to grow with the latest addition of Demetrius Grosse (The Brave), who is set to play the male lead opposite Aunjanue Ellis. Aubrey Dollar (One Small Hitch) will be joining as a co-star for the legal drama, Main Pilot. Mira Sorvino is taking her talents to the drama pilot The Code and will star opposite Dave Annable and Anna Wood. Stephen Hill (Law & Order: SVU) will join the cast of the Magnum P.I. reboot as a series regular, while newcomer Myles Bullock has been cast as a series regular in the CW’S supernatural cop drama, Dead Inside.

Looking star Raul Castillo has been cast in Fox’s musical drama pilot, Mixtape as the lead male. Jenna Dewan Tatum has also been cast in a female lead for the upcoming musical drama. Nora Zehetner (It Happened in L.A.) will star opposite Kiefer Sutherland in a recurring role for ABC’s Designated Survivor. As Once Upon a Time prepares to air its series finale, they have announced that Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Emilie de Ravin, and Josh Dallas will all return to close the series out.

A Series of Unfortunate Events is gearing up for its second season which will premiere next week. Allison Williams (Get Out) has been cast in the series, although her role remains a mystery. Anna Paquin’s Pop TV drama, Flack, adds to its cast with Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda), Rebecca Benson (Game of Thrones), Arinze Kene, Marc Warren, and Rufus Jones. British actor Daniel Ezra has landed the lead role in CW’s untitled Spencer Paysinger pilot from Berlanti Productions. Suits’ Amanda Schull has been promoted to a series regular for the upcoming eighth season.

Ione Skye (Say Anything) has been cast into HBO’s new comedy, Camping, created by Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner. Skye will join David Tennant and Jennifer Garner for the series. Boardwalk Empire’s Kelly Macdonald will star in the upcoming BBC One legal drama, The Victim, created by The Man in the High Castle writer, Rob Williams. The Resident’s Melina Kanakaredes to co-write and produce a film based on psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ life who illustrated the five stages of grief in her 1969 book.

Major Crimes’ Kearran Giovanni has landed the lead role in NBC’s drama pilot, Suspicion, and will star opposite Derek Luke and Jeri Ryan. Margot Robbie is set to produce a ten-part female-focused Shakespearean drama series with ABC Studios International. Amazon’s upcoming drama pilot, Homecoming, has added to its cast with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Brooke Bloom, Ayden Mayeri, and Jacob Pitts.

TVAD Writers Room: Check out this week’s roundtables of Scandal, Riverdale, and The Resident!

Our writers were busy discussing all the drama in this week’s episodes of Scandal, The Resident, and Riverdale. Check out our roundtables to see what the writers and guests had to say as they dissect everything that went down!

Interviews: Ryan Murphy talks about the success of 9-1-1, creators of FX’s Trust reveal multi-season plan, and more!

The cast and creative team of The Handmaid’s Tale went to PaleyFest in Los Angeles to discuss the upcoming second season of the critically acclaimed drama.

“I think one of the thematics from this year that Bruce really used is, ‘Gilead is within you.’ The other big theme is motherhood. When we start the season, Offred has an unborn child. So in this extremely volatile chess game of Season 2, all her moves are about her unborn child and what life will be for that child.” – Warren Littlefield (executive producer)

In a recent interview with Deadline, Ryan Murphy talked about the success of his crime drama, 9-1-1, on Fox.

Tom Rob Smith, a British writer, who wrote for Ryan Murphy’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace, discussed in an interview with Deadline that U.K. broadcasters are starting to push their writers to be a bigger part of creating the drama in television shows.

Creator/writer for Netflix’s Peaky Blinders, Steven Knight got his first BAFTA nomination for his work on the series–in the Drama Writing category. He shared his enthusiasm and excitement in an interview with Deadline.

Stacy McKee talked to Deadline about creating the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off Station 19 and the cliffhanger that had everyone talking at the end of this week’s series premiere.

The creator of Sundance TV’s Hap and Leonard, Michael K. Williams, states that the upcoming third season will be the series’ best yet and explore topics including race and male friendship.

ABC’s Once Upon A Time will explore another love story in their finale season–Zelena’s daughter, Robin and Hook’s daughter, Alice. Tiera Skovbye, who plays Robin, talked to EW about the love story and her role. The creators of FX’s Trust share that they have a plan set for three seasons of the upcoming drama series.

Netflix and Channel 4 will use the same vintage anamorphic lenses that were used on Apocalypse Now for their youth drama Kiss Me First. Misha Manson-Smith, the director of the series, discussed with Deadline the risk that was involved in using these lenses.

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Coming Soon: Fox and USA release summer premiere dates, Amazon releases first image of King Lear adaptation, Big Little Lies begins production on season two, and more!

HBO will be making a five-part mini-series, Chernobyl, that will follow the story of the 1986 explosion at the nuclear power plant. The series will star Stellan Skarsgard (Avengers: Age of Ultron) and Emily Watson (The Dresser).

Lifetime released the first look at their movie, Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance, that will chronicle the love story between Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. The movie will premiere on May 13th on Lifetime. Check out the teaser below!

Before the ring, before the “I do,” watch their love story unfold in Harry & Meghan: #ARoyalRomance premiering this May on Lifetime. pic.twitter.com/FfaMwgviYh

— Lifetime (@lifetimetv) March 17, 2018

Queen Sugar, created by OWN and Ava DuVernay, is premiering its third season in a two-night premiere event on May 29th and 30th. The third season will have an all-female directing team and bring in a new showrunner.

E! has picked up a pilot order for a dramedy series, Juicy Stories, that is inspired by Juicy Couture founders Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor. The story will follow the two women who created the “Juicy” tracksuit and their journey into creating a billion-dollar business.

Four new dramas have been ordered by the BBC and include thriller drama, The Capture. Ths series will be set in London and follow the conspiracy of an innocent man being arrested.

USA has also announced the premiere dates for its spring/summer lineup including for Shooter and Colony which will return June 21st and May 2nd, respectively.

Big Little Lies has begun production on season two and Laura Dern took to social media to share her excitement on their first day back on set.

Amazon and BBC have released the first look at their King Lear adaptation starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Amazon Prime Video has made a deal with Spiral International and Narcos producer Dynamo to air the remake of Mexican crime drama, Falco across Latin America.

Did you love The Karate Kid? Well, prepare yourselves because not only is the saga making a come back in the form of Cobra Kai, but a new trailer has just dropped. Check it out below!

Check out the trailer for YouTube Red’s action drama series, Impulse, below! The show is based on the third novel in the Jumper series.

Blumhouse Television and Time are teaming up to produce two documentaries that will discuss the history of gun violence and its impact on schools. FremantleMedia North America has obtained the rights to the superhero comic book series, Astro City, which will be developed into a live-action series. Studio 8 has just acquired the rights to Champion, an action thriller about two brothers that are wrongfully imprisoned in Thailand.

Street Fighter is being turned into a TV series at Entertainment One. Yes, that’s right, the insanely popular video game will soon grace our television screens as the creative team begins working on the game’s World Warrior story arc.

On April 18th, The CW’s Riverdale will air its first-ever musical episode and fans cannot contain their enthusiasm. On Friday, Dynasty left us with a lot to think about when Nicollette Sheridan made her dramatic entrance into a funeral as Alexis Carrington.

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