MOVIES
Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively have boarded the murder mystery A Simple Favour, which is being touted as the next Gone Girl. The project is directed by Ghostbusters' Paul Feig and is based on the novel of the same name by Darcey Bell about a mommy blogger in a small town and her best friend who suddenly vanishes.
Justin Theroux and Gillian Anderson are joining the cast of Lionsgate’s action-comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me, joining already-signed stars Mila Kunis, Kate McKinnon, Sam Heughan, and Hasan Minhaj. Kunis and McKinnon will play best friends who become entangled in an international conspiracy once they discover that one of their ex-boyfriends was a spy. When he’s killed in the middle of a mission, they decide to take up the cause and finish it. Anderson will play an M-like figure who serves as Heughan’s boss, while Theroux’s role is being kept under wraps.
Cristal Pictures has acquired an original pitch entitled The Steward from John Wick screenwriter Derek Kolstad. Not much is known about the details, but the project is described as an action thriller that is "driven by a charismatic male lead, [and] possesses the kind of proven genre appeal that has resonated in both the domestic and worldwide markets."
CBS Films has released a new trailer for the superspy thriller American Assassin, based on the best-selling novel by Vince Flynn, which stars Dylan O’Brien as CIA black ops recruit, Mitch Rapp.
TELEVISION
Tony Danza is returning to television in the Netflix dramedy The Good Cop for ten one-hour episodes. Danza will play a disgraced former NYPD officer who never followed the rules and lives with his son - who is currently a detective for the NYPD and the complete opposite personality type from this father. Andy Breckman, who created Monk, will be the showrunner and executive producer for the series, and Randy Zisk, who worked on Bones, will direct the first episode.
The upcoming Psych movie has managed to snag all the original cast (James Roday, Dulé Hill, Timothy Omundson, Maggie Lawson, Corbin Bernsen and Kirsten Nelson) for the revival, but the producers announced that Ballers actress Jazmyn Simon will also be joining the movie as a new love interest for Gus.
Finn Wittrock is boarding FX’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. The La La Land star will play Jeff Trail, who is friends with serial killer Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss) and becomes his first victim.
Criminal Minds is snapping up a star from the cancelled spinoff Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders to join the cast of the original program. The Beyond Borders actor Daniel Henney has been tapped to join the flagship BAU squad when it returns for a 13th season.
The ABC action-based FBI series Quantico has been going through a shakeup after losing Joshua Safran as showrunner and cast members Yasmine Al Massri and Pearl Thusi. Now, the Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Aunjanue Ellis and Russell Tovey will also be leaving the show, although there are hints the duo may return for occasional appearances. The program has signed a new showrunner, Michael Seitzman, creator of Code Black, who will somehow manage to head both series simultaneously.
Prime Suspect: Tennison heads to PBS Masterpiece for a three-part series beginning Sunday night June 25 for three episodes. This project is the backstory to the highly acclaimed series Prime Suspect starring Helen Mirren and turns back the clock to spotlight the early career of policewoman Jane Tennison. Stefanie Martini takes on the role of the rookie WPC. (HT to Mystery Fanfare)
CBS will give the remaining eleven episodes of Doubt a new home on Saturday nights over the summer, which will give fans a chance to see how the short-lived drama turned out. Doubt starred Katherine Heigl as an attorney who falls in love/lust with a client, played by Steven Pasquale, who was the target of new accusations that he murdered his girlfriend almost 25 years earlier.
Fox is getting an early jump on development season with its first drama order, a partnership with wrapper-actor-producer Tip "T.I." Harris and Jerry Bruckheimer. The police procedural is titled Atlanta's Most Wanted and stars T.I. as Marcus Armstrong, the son of an infamous Atlanta criminal kingpin who is recruited to be part of a new vice squad that tackles the growing criminal elements in his hometown. Marcus' involvement will jeopardize his own long-held secret that threatens to upend his entire life.
Fox also set the fall premiere dates for its program lineup, which includes Lethal Weapon and Gotham.
Not to be outdone, NBC announced its fall lineup premiere dates, with the vast majority of programs premiering the week of September 25. Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders bows on Tuesday, September 26, Law & Order: SVU and Chicago P.D. on the 27th, and Chicago Fire on the 28th. Both The Blacklist and Blindspot return in early October.
A sneak peek clip was released by Epix for the upcoming original series Get Shorty, based in part on the 1990 Elmore Leonard novel that became a hit 1995 film. The 10-episode series stars Chris O'Dowd, Ray Romano, Sean Bridgers, Lidia Porto, Megan Stevenson, Carolyn Dodd, Goya Robles and Lucy Walters and premieres August 13 on Epix.
PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO
The View welcomed David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI.
Capital Public Radio hosted a Q&A with author Barry Lancet, who just published his fourth novel in the Jim Brodie thriller series, The Spy Across The Table, which follows an antique dealer and private eye investigating a double murder connected to the most powerful people in Washington D.C.
CPR also grilled John Lescroart on his latest thriller, Fatal, an explosive story of infidelity, danger, and moral ambiguity in the vein of Fatal Attraction.
The Two Crime Writers and a Microphone podcast featured guest co-host Stuart Neville chatting about writing advice and how much of it is ridiculous, writers block, and his forthcoming novel Here and Gone (under his pen name Haylen Beck); and also author Erin Kelly, who talked about being a bestseller, courtroom research, series vs standalone, influences, and more.
The special guest on the most recent Story Blender podcast was Jon Land, discussing his latest novel Strong Cold Dead, which sees the return of Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong.
Crime Corner host and author Matt Coyle welcomed former policewoman and award-winning author Robin Burcell to his debut broadcast. Burcell spent nearly three decades working in law enforcement as a police officer, hostage negotiator, criminal investigator and FBI Academy-trained forensic artist, and currently co-writes with international best-selling author Clive Cussler on the Fargo series.
A Stab in the Dark host Mark Billingham was joined by David Simon, creator of The Wire, and his bestselling author-wife, Laura Lippman. David and Laura talked about their wedding (officiated by John Waters), how newspaper journalism has changed over the years, and how the lines between fiction, reality and truth are becoming blurred. Plus, Paul Hirons spoke with award-winning crime writer, Megan Megan Abbott.
Book Riot's Read or Dead podcast talked about the difference between mysteries, thrillers, and suspense books and provided some recommendations for each genre and sub-genre.
North Carolina Public Radio sat down with Margaret Maron, who is retiring from novel writing after 35 years and 31 titles by coming full circle with her character NYPD homicide detective Sigrid Harald.
THEATER
Bruce Kimmel will serve as director on the Group Rep's upcoming production of Frederick Knott's mystery thriller Dial "M" for Murder which opens on the Main Stage, June 30th, at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood. The show will run weekends from June 30 - August 19.
Comments