It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news:
THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES
The thriller drama, Rainbow Six, a sequel to the 2021 film Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, is now officially moving forward. Helmed by the director behind the John Wick movies, Chad Stahelski, and based on Tom Clancy’s 1988 novel (which also has long been a popular video game franchise), Rainbow Six will star Michael B. Jordan reprising his role as John Kelly, a Navy SEAL who becomes a CIA operative. The actor’s 2021 debut as the Tom Clancy character was released straight to Amazon Prime. Clancy's novel sees Jordan's character (named John Clark in the novels) become the newly named head of Rainbow, an international task force dedicated to combating terrorism. In a trial by fire, he must stop a terrorist group of men and women so extreme that their success could literally mean the end of life on earth as we know it.
TELEVISION/STREAMING
PBS’s MASTERPIECE Mystery! announced that it will co-produce and broadcast Moonflower Murders, a new six-part drama based on the best-selling novel written by Anthony Horowitz. The first book in that series, Magpie Murders, was adapted as a PBS miniseries in 2022. Returning in the lead roles they originated in Magpie Murders are Academy Award-nominee Lesley Manville (The Crown, Phantom Thread) as editor-turned-sleuth, Susan Ryeland, and Timothy McMullan (Patrick Melrose, The Crown) as famous literary detective, Atticus Pünd. Published in 2020, Moonflower Murders was lauded as "a fiendishly plotted crime novel, with a fabulous twist" by The Guardian and picks up where Magpie Murders left off: Susan has left the cut-throat world of publishing and is living in Crete with her longtime boyfriend, Andreas. She ends up returning to London when she is asked to investigate a mystery relating to Alan Conway, the author of the best-selling Atticus Pünd mysteries, whose death changed her life in Magpie Murders.
Fox is developing a one-hour drama about undercover FBI agents from Joy Blake (Beacon 23), The Nacelle Company, and Fox Entertainment Studios. Written and executive produced by Blake, the untitled project follows a female FBI agent suffering a bad case of career burnout who is sent to train a team of ambitious, determined rookies in what it takes to go deep undercover. Former FBI agents Scott Payne and Melissa Fortunato are serving as consultants to the project.
Only Murders in the Building is adding the legendary Meryl Streep to the third season cast. In a surprise announcement made via social media, star Selena Gomez posted a behind-the-scenes video that shows her with her co-stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, Andrea Martin, and Paul Rudd. Suddenly, Streep pops up to make sure her new castmates are comfortable with pillows. Hulu confirmed the news but didn't provide additional information about Streep’s character.
NBC has ordered a pilot for the drama series Murder by the Book from Good Girls creator, Jenna Bans. Good Girls executive producer, Bill Krebs, will pen the script with Bans. Starring actor/comedian "Retta," the story will follow a big city Instafamous book reviewer who takes a page from the murder mystery books she reviews and becomes an unlikely detective to uncover the shocking truths about an eccentric seaside town. The project, which had received a put pilot commitment in September, reteams Retta with Bans and Krebs after the actress previously starred in all four seasons of NBC’s crime comedy-drama, Good Girls.
Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer has added Matt Angel (Dave) to its Season 2 cast in a recurring role. Angel joins previously announced additions Yaya DaCosta and Lana Parrilla. He will portray Henry Dahl, the host of a successful true crime podcast. Distrustful of Henry’s motives, Mickey (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) warns him not to interfere with an ongoing case. Based on the series of bestselling novels by Michael Connelly, The Lincoln Lawyer follows the redemption of Mickey Haller, a Los Angeles attorney who regains much of what he lost due to addiction with hard work and hustle. His success is also thanks to his devoted supporters: his ex-wives Maggie (Neve Campbell) and Lorna (Becki Newton), his driver and unofficial sponsor Izzy (Jazz Raycole), and the best investigator in town—and Lorna’s newly minted fiancé—Cisco (Angus Sampson).
Sharon Taylor (Fire Country) has joined the cast of the Amazon Original series, Cross, which stars Aldis Hodge in the role of Alex Cross. Taylor will portray Lt. Oracene Massey, Alex’s immediate superior at the Metro PD, and replaces the originally cast Karen LeBlanc, who exited due to scheduling conflicts. Alex Cross is a detective and forensic psychologist, uniquely capable of digging into the psyches of killers and their victims, in order to identify — and ultimately capture — the murderers. He is brilliant, flawed, and full of contradictions. A doting father and family man, Cross is single-minded to the point of obsession when he hunts killers. He is desperate for love, but his wife’s murder has left him too damaged to receive it. The series, which is based on the bestselling books by James Patterson, also stars Ryan Eggold, Isaiah Mustafa, Alona Tal, Johnny Ray Gill, Eloise Mumford, and Siobhan Murphy.
PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO
Speaking of Mysteries featured City Under One Roof, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Iris Yamashita’s debut crime fiction novel.
On the latest Crime Writers of Color podcast, Robert Justice interviewed Sulari Gentill, author of The Woman in the Library.
Spybrary Spy Book podcast host, Shane Whaley, interviewed David Brierley (Big Bear, Little Bear), joined by Mike Ripley, publisher, thriller critic, and author of the award-winning "Angel" series of comedy thrillers.
The Red Hot Chili Writers chatted with crime writer Helen Fields to discuss her new novel, The Institution; dissect Prince Andrew's autobiography; and talk about their favorite biographies, "quite possibly the best biographies of all time."
On the Writer's Detective Bureau, Detective Adam Richardson took a look at US Marshal Task Forces; warrant time restrictions; and "good faith."
It Was a Dark and Stormy Book Club chatted with Claire Douglas, author of The Girls Who Disappeared.
Crime Time FM's Paul Burke continued his look ahead to the crime titles of 2023 with the second part in that series.
THEATRE
The world premiere of Rebus: A Game Called Malice will be staged at Queen's Theatre Hornchurch in London, February 2-5. The play is written exclusively for the stage by Ian Rankin (based on the character from Rankin's novels) and Simon Read, and will be directed by award winner Robin Lefevre. The lead role will be played by John Michie (best known for his roles as DI Robbie Ross in STV’s Taggart and Karl Munro in ITV’s Coronation Street). Michie will be joined by Rebecca Charles, Billy Hartman, Emily Joyce, Forbes Masson, and Emma Noakes. A splendid dinner party concludes with a game created by the hostess. A murder in a stately home needs to be solved. Suspects, clues and red herrings await… but the dinner-party guests have secrets of their own, threatened by the very game they are playing. And among them is Inspector John Rebus. True crime is his calling – is he playing an alternative game, one to which only he knows the rules? There is danger with every twist and turn – and a shocking discovery will send this game called Malice hurtling towards a gasp-inducing conclusion. (HT to Shots Magazine)
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