News

The Amazon series based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s bestselling novel “56 Days” has added four new cast members, Variety has learned exclusively.

Kingston Rumi Southwick, Ella Victoria, Megan Peta Hill, and Alfredo Narciso have all joined the series, which is now titled “Obsession.” Exact character details are being kept under wraps, but Hill and Narciso will appear in recurring guest star roles while Victoria and Southwick will be guest stars.

They will appear alongside previously announced main cast members Dove Cameron, Avan Jogia, Dorian Missick, and Karla Souza. Recurring guest stars include Kira Guloien, Celeste Oliva, Jesse James Keitel, Matt Murray, and Patch Darragh.

The official description for “Obession” states that it “follows Oliver (Jogia) and Ciara (Cameron), who, after meeting randomly in a supermarket, fall for each other fast, and dangerously hard. Fifty-six days later, homicide investigators arrive at Oliver’s apartment to find an unidentified body—brutally murdered and intentionally decomposed.

Exclusive: Cloud Nine Productions, one of the production companies behind CBS’ Matlock, has a new President.

The company, which was founded by NCIS: Los Angeles star Eric Christian Olsen, has named Amanda Tudesco to the role.

Tudesco was previously Head of TV & Film at Jenny Kissed Me, Jenny Han’s production company that had an overall deal at Amazon.

She will help Olsen expand the company’s television footprint and develop a slate of projects under its first-look deal with CBS Studios, which is the studio behind the Kathy Bates-fronted legal drama.

It comes after Matlock was handed an early season two renewal.

Separately, Anna Volain Jones has been promoted to VP. Volain Jones, who previously worked at Legendary Entertainment, where she supported development on projects including HBO’s Dune: Prophecy and Apple’s Monarch, is a co-exec producer on Matlock, having joined the company in 2021.

Tudesco helped build...

Atomic Monster, the production company headed up by genre regular James Wan, is teaming with Amazon Studios to produce a psychological thriller series based on the best-selling novel 56 Days, by Catherine Ryan Howard (pick up a copy Here). Titled Obsession, this adaptation of Howard’s work got an official series order at the end of last year, and over the last couple of months, casting announcements have been revealing the names of the actors we’ll be seeing on the show. Dove Cameron of Schmigadoon! and Descendants and Avan Jogia, who dealt with zombies in both Zombieland: Double Tap and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, have been cast in the lead roles, and now Deadline has revealed that they’ll be sharing the screen with Kira Guloien (The Good Doctor), Celeste Oliva (Julia), Jesse James Keitel (Big Sky), Matt Murray (Snowpiercer), and Patch Darragh (Long Bright River).

Also...

Exclusive: Prime Video is rounding out cast for Obsession, a thriller series produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Atomic Monster, starring Dove Cameron and Avan Jogia. Patch Darragh (Long Bright River), Kira Guloien (The Good Doctor), Celeste Oliva (Julia), Jesse James Keitel (Big Sky) and Matt Murray (Snowpiercer) are set for recurring roles, written and executive produced by Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher.

In addition to Cameron and Jogia, they join previously announced Dorian Missick and Karla Souza.

Based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s 2021 international bestseller 56 Days, the story follows Oliver (Jogia) and Ciara (Cameron), who, after meeting randomly in a supermarket, fall for each other fast, and dangerously hard. 56 days later, homicide investigators arrive at Oliver’s apartment to find an unidentified body — brutally murdered and intentionally decomposed. Did he kill her? Did she kill him? Intercutting between an intense single day in the present investigation and the...

Atomic Monster, the production company headed up by genre regular James Wan, is teaming with Amazon Studios to produce a psychological thriller series based on the best-selling novel 56 Days, by Catherine Ryan Howard (pick up a copy Here). Titled Obsession, this adaptation of Howard’s work got an official series order at the end of last year, and last month we learned that Dove Cameron of Schmigadoon! and Descendants and Avan Jogia, who dealt with zombies in both Zombieland: Double Tap and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, have been cast in the lead roles. Now they have their first pair of co-stars. Cameron and Jogia are being joined in the cast of Obsession by Karla Souza of How to Get Away with Murder and Dive, and Dorian Missick of The Burial and Shirley.

Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher, who were behind the Starz drama The Rook, are writing...

Exclusive: Dorian Missick and Karla Souza are set as series regulars opposite Dove Cameron and Avan Jogia in Prime Video’s Obsession, a thriller series produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Atomic Monster.

Written and executive produced by Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher, the show is based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s 2021 international bestseller 56 Days. The story follows Oliver (Jogia) and Ciara (Cameron), who, after meeting randomly in a supermarket, fall for each other fast, and dangerously hard. 56 days later, homicide investigators arrive at Oliver’s apartment to find an unidentified body — brutally murdered and intentionally decomposed. Did he kill her? Did she kill him? Intercutting between an intense single day in the present investigation and the twisted trajectory of the young lovers’ affair in the past, the series is both a crime story and an erotic, psychological thriller.

Missick will play Karl. Disorganized and in the midst of a horny midlife crisis,...

Dove Cameron and Avan Jogia have been cast to lead Amazon Prime Video’s thriller series “Obsession,” which was ordered at the end of last year.

The series is based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s novel “56 Days” and, per the official description, it follows “Oliver (Jogia) and Ciara who, after meeting randomly in a supermarket, fall for each other fast, and dangerously hard. Fifty-six days later, homicide investigators arrive at Oliver’s apartment to find an unidentified body—brutally murdered and intentionally decomposed. Did he kill her? Did she kill him? Intercutting between an intense single day in the present investigation and the twisted trajectory of the young lovers’ affair in the past, the series is both a unique crime story and a riveting, erotic, psychological thriller.”

The series is written and executive-produced by Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher. Horror legend James Wan is also on board as one of the executive producers,...

Atomic Monster, the production company headed up by genre regular James Wan, is teaming with Amazon Studios to produce a psychological thriller series based on the best-selling novel 56 Days, by Catherine Ryan Howard (pick up a copy Here). Titled Obsession, this adaptation of Howard’s work got an official series order at the end of last year – and now Deadline has learned that Dove Cameron of Schmigadoon! and Descendants and Avan Jogia, who dealt with zombies in both Zombieland: Double Tap and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, have been cast in the lead roles.

Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher, who were behind the Starz drama The Rook, are writing the adaptation and serve as executive producers alongside Wan and Atomic Monster’s Michael Clear and Rob Hackett. Danielle Bozzone will oversee the series for Atomic Monster. Howard is a co-executive producer.

Written by Howard during the pandemic lockdown...

Exclusive: Dove Cameron (Schmigadoon!) and Avan Jogia (Orphan Black: Echoes) have been set to topline Obsession, a thriller series produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Atomic Monster, which was ordered at the end of last year.

Written and executive produced by Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher, the show is based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s 2021 international bestseller 56 Days. The story follows Oliver (Jogia) and Ciara (Cameron), who, after meeting randomly in a supermarket, fall for each other fast, and dangerously hard. 56 days later, homicide investigators arrive at Oliver’s apartment to find an unidentified body — brutally murdered and intentionally decomposed. Did he kill her? Did she kill him? Intercutting between an intense single day in the present investigation and the twisted trajectory of the young lovers’ affair in the past, the series is both a crime story and an erotic, psychological thriller.

James Wan, Michael Clear, and Rob Hackett are exec producing via Atomic Monster,...

Obsession is headed to Prime Video. Amazon has ordered a crime drama series based on the novel 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard. Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher are writing and executive producing the series.

The drama tells the story of a couple that meets randomly and quickly falls in love. Then, 56 days later, the unidentifiable remains of a body are found in the couple's apartment. As an investigation gets underway, viewers are left to wonder if she killed him or if he killed her.

Read More…...

Eight months ago, it was announced that Atomic Monster, the production company headed up by genre regular James Wan, would be teaming with Amazon Studios to produce a psychological thriller series based on the best-selling novel 56 Days, by Catherine Ryan Howard (pick up a copy Here). Now we have a positive update on that project, as The Hollywood Reporter learned that the 56 Days adaptation – which is going by the title Obsession – has been given the greenlight to go into production!

Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher, who were behind the Starz drama The Rook, are writing the adaptation and serve as executive producers alongside Wan and Atomic Monster’s Michael Clear and Rob Hackett. Danielle Bozzone will oversee the series for Atomic Monster. Howard is a co-executive producer.

Written by Howard during the pandemic lockdown in Dublin back in 2020, 56 Days is set during that very same lockdown. It tells the story of an intense,...

Catherine Ryan Howard’s novel 56 Days is getting a series adaptation at Prime Video, with Deadline reporting this week that horror master James Wan will produce the series.

From James Wan’s Atomic Monster and Amazon MGM Studios, the upcoming series adaptation is titled “Obsession,” and Prime Video has officially given it a series order.

The series is said to be “a mix of a crime story and an erotic, psychological thriller.”

Deadline details, “It follows Oliver and Ciara, who, after meeting randomly in a supermarket, fall for each other fast, and dangerously hard. Fifty-six days later, homicide investigators arrive at Oliver’s apartment to find an unidentified body—brutally murdered and intentionally decomposed. Did he kill her? Did she kill him?

“The series intercuts between an intense single day in the present investigation and the twisted trajectory of the young lovers’ affair in the past.”

Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher...

Today, Prime Video announced that it has ordered Obsession to series, from executive producer James Wan’s Atomic Monster. Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher are set to write and executive produce the series, which is based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s international best-selling novel 56 Days. Obsession will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. Obsession follows Oliver and Ciara, who, after meeting randomly in a supermarket, fall for each other fast, and dangerously hard. Fifty-six days later, homicide investigators arrive at Oliver’s apartment to find an unidentified body—brutally murdered and intentionally decomposed. Did ... Read more...

’56 Days’ by Catherine Ryan Howard

Catherine Ryan Howard’s critically acclaimed bestseller 56 Days is getting the series treatment at Prime Video, with the streaming service greenlighting Obsession, based on Howard’s novel. Prime Video ordered Obsession to series, and The Rook‘s Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher are on board as writers and executive producers.

Atomic Monster’s James Wan, Michael Clear, and Rob Hackett are also involved as executive producers. Author Catherine Ryan Howard is confirmed as a co-executive producer.

“It’s a privilege to be trusted by the ingenious Catherine Ryan Howard in adapting the engrossing story of 56 Days for the screen,” stated Nick Pepper, head of U.S. SVOD wholly owned development, Amazon MGM Studios. “I have no doubt that the visionary team of James Wan, Lisa Zwerling, and Karyn Usher will transform this page-turner into a must-see original series for Prime Video subscribers around the globe.

Lena Dunham is bringing an international romance to Netflix.

The Girls star/creator will write and direct the 10-episode romantic comedy Too Much, starring Megan Stalter (Hacks) and Will Sharpe (The White Lotus), for the streamer, our sister site Variety reports.

More from TVLineChicago Fire: Taylor Kinney's Severide Reunites With Stella in New PromoGrey's Anatomy Is Coming to Disney+ - What Does This Mean for Those Binge-Watching on Netflix?Virgin River Video: Here's What Alexandra Breckenridge Thinks Mel and Jack's Wedding Will Look Like

Stalter will play Jessica, a New York workaholic recovering from a breakup who decides to...

Prime Video has given the green light to a thriller series that counts James Wan as one of its executive producers.

Amazon’s streaming platform has ordered Obsession, which follows two people who fall fast and hard for one another — only for the relationship to end in murder. The series is based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s best-selling novel 56 Days.

Lisa Zwerling (ER, When We Rise) and Karyn Usher (Bones, Prison Break) are adapting the novel and will executive produce along with Wan’s Atomic Monster banner. The project from Amazon MGM Studios has been in the works since the spring, although work on it halted during the writers strike.

“It’s a privilege to be trusted by the ingenious Catherine Ryan Howard in adapting the engrossing story of 56 Days for the screen,” said Nick Pepper, head of U.S. SVOD wholly owned development for Amazon MGM Studios. “I have...

Exclusive: Prime Video has given a series order to Obsession, a drama based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s international bestselling novel 56 Days. It hails from James Wan’s Atomic Monster as well as Amazon MGM Studios, which earlier today landed its most ever Golden Globe nominations, 16, ten of them for television.

Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher are writers and executive producers of the series, a mix of a crime story and an erotic, psychological thriller. It follows Oliver and Ciara, who, after meeting randomly in a supermarket, fall for each other fast, and dangerously hard. Fifty-six days later, homicide investigators arrive at Oliver’s apartment to find an unidentified body—brutally murdered and intentionally decomposed. Did he kill her? Did she kill him? The series intercuts between an intense single day in the present investigation and the twisted trajectory of the young lovers’ affair in the past.

Based on the bestselling novel by Catherine Ryan Howard, Amazon Studios is turning “56 Days” into a television series, with James Wan’s Atomic Monster on board to produce.

THR reports, “Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher are adapting the book,” with Wan producing alongside Amazon Studios.

“56 Days is a psychological thriller that tells the story of an intense, erotic romance that turns deadly.

“It follows two young professionals, striking out on their own in a new city, who are entangled quickly in a charged relationship that leads to a powerful intimacy that is soon cracked open by their secrets … and to murder.”

Zwerling and Usher will executive produce 56 Days along with Wan, Michael Clear and Rob Hackett of Atomic Monster. Howard is a co-exec producer, and Atomic Monster’s Danielle Bozzone will oversee development.

The post “56 Days” – James Wan Producing Thriller Series for Amazon Studios appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Atomic Monster, the production company headed up by genre regular James Wan, is teaming with Amazon Studios to produce a psychological thriller based on the best-selling novel 56 Days, by Catherine Ryan Howard (pick up a copy Here). The Hollywood Reporter shares the news that Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher, who were behind the Starz drama The Rook, are writing the adaptation.

Written by Howard during the pandemic lockdown in Dublin back in 2020, 56 Days is set during that very same lockdown. It tells the story of an intense, erotic romance that turns deadly. It follows two young professionals, striking out on their own in a new city, who are entangled quickly in a charged relationship that leads to a powerful intimacy that is soon cracked open by their secrets … and to murder.

Here’s the book description: No one even knew they were together. Now one of them is dead. 56 Days...

Amazon Studios is going back to the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic for its latest TV project.

The tech giant’s studio arm is developing a TV thriller based on 56 Days, a best-selling 2021 novel by Catherine Ryan Howard. Lisa Zwerling (ER, When We Rise) and Karyn Usher (Bones, Prison Break) are adapting the book, and M3GAN producer James Wan’s Atomic Monster banner is producing along with Amazon Studios.

Howard wrote 56 Days during pandemic lockdowns in Dublin in 2020, and it’s set in that time as well. The logline reads, “56 Days is a psychological thriller that tells the story of an intense, erotic romance that turns deadly. It follows two young professionals, striking out on their own in a new city, who are entangled quickly in a charged relationship that leads to a powerful intimacy that is soon cracked open by their secrets … and to murder.”

Zwerling and...

Exclusive: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and The Summer I Turned Pretty author Jenny Han has brought on Carpool Entertainment exec Amanda Tudesco as Head of Film & TV at her Jenny Kissed Me production company. Jenny Kissed Me is based at Amazon Studios where Han recently signed an overall television and film deal. Tudesco joins the company’s existing coordinator, Victoria Storm.

Tudesco most recently served as Head of Development & Production at Carpool Entertainment. During her six years with the company, Tudesco oversaw a slate of development under deals at Lionsgate TV and Universal Television, while selling series across cable, broadcast, and streaming platforms.

Her producing credits include The Rook at Starz, working alongside the series’ showrunners Karyn Usher and Lisa Zwerling of Carpool Entertainment.

Prior to Carpool, Tudesco was an associate casting director and worked on numerous series, pilots, and features, including Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,...

Anna Konkle, Lisa Zwerling, and Katherine Collins are the official mentors of ScreenCraft’s 2023 pilot competition. Additionally, Colin Trevorrow and Emily V. Gordon have joined ScreenCraft’s annual Writers Summit as speakers.

Konkle, Zwerling and Collins will each select one grand prize winner from the pilot competition, which is accepting submissions through Sept. 30 and will announce winners by Feb. 1, 2023. Winners will receive a round of notes, a virtual meeting and project development insight from their mentor, as well as entry into the ScreenCraft Writer Development Program and introductions with Hollywood literary managers. In addition, all 10 finalists of the competition will receive written feedback from a jury member.

Previous winners of the competition have been staffed in writers rooms and signed with companies including 3Arts, Management 360 and CAA. Notably, Chris Webster and James King sold their pilot to “Power” and “Lovecraft Country” producer David Knoller directly through the program.

Konkle...

Exclusive: Blindspot creator Martin Gero has closed an overall deal with Universal Television, a division of NBCUniversal Content Studios.

Under the major multi-year pact, which was negotiated before the start of the current Hollywood production shutdown, Gero will develop new series for Universal TV through his Quinn’s House production company. He is moving from his previous longtime studio home at Warner Bros. TV.

More from DeadlineNBC Pushes 'Blindspot' Return, Shifts 'Council Of Dads' Thursday Debut To Make Way For 'Parks And Recreation' Special'Blindspot' Sets Premiere Date For Fifth & Final Season On NBCKaryn Usher & Lisa Zwerling Ink Overall Deal With Universal TV For Their Carpool Entertainment Banner

Gero created, executive produces and showruns NBC/Wbtv’s drama Blindspot, which returns May 7 for its fifth and final season. The project was bought and developed at NBC by Universal Television President Pearlena Igbokwe who was then head of drama at the network.

Exclusive: Oscar-winning Spotlight producer Blye Faust and Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning producer Cori Shepherd Stern have acquired the exclusive rights to Beltway strategist Riva Levinson’s life story for a TV series. The duo have teamed with former The Rook showrunners Karyn Usher and Lisa Zwerling to develop the series at Universal Television, where Zwerling and Usher are under a deal. The four will executive produce, with Zwerling and Usher writing.

Fresh out of college and finding herself relegated to waiting tables in early 1980’s DC, the brash and ambitious Levinson finagled an interview with Paul Manafort and became the first female executive hired to work for Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly – the powerhouse lobbying firm headed by Manafort and Roger Stone who were both recently convicted over matters related to the Trump campaign.

The series will largely focus on her time at the firm as...

Exclusive: Writers-producers Karyn Usher (Prison Break) and Lisa Zwerling (Betrayal) of Carpool Entertainment have signed an overall deal with Universal Television, a division of NBCUniversal Content Studios, to develop, write and executive produce programming for network, cable and streaming platforms.

“We are grateful to be working with the multi-talented Karyn Usher and Lisa Zwerling, two exceptionally smart and passionate creators with a knack for great storytelling,” said Universal Television President Pearlena Igbokwe. “Their work is incredibly imaginative but emotionally grounded, the hallmarks of the Universal Television brand.”

Usher and Zwerling, who previously had worked together on John Wells’ Presidio Med, formed Carpool Entertainment four years ago to develop and oversee series for premium cable and streaming. The duo was most recently under an overall deal at Lionsgate TV and served as executive producers and showrunners on the studio’s spy thriller series The Rook, which aired on Starz for one season.

Exclusive: The Rook is bringing its intrigue to Comic-Con.

The superpowered fueled spy thriller that debuted June 30 on Starz is set for a panel July 19 in Room 6A of the San Diego Convention Center, I’ve learned. As you would hope for an inaugural appearance at the confab, The Rook’s stars Olivia Munn, Joely Richardson and Emma Greenwell will all be in attendance.

No word on who will be moderating the spyfest, but I do know it will take place starting at 6 Pm for those planning their Sdcc schedule.

Based on the often dark-humored 2012 novel by Daniel O’Malley, the series executive produced by Kari Skogland and Stephenie Meyer with showrunners Karyn Usher and Lisa Zwerling traces the steps and global-protecting lower-grade spycraft of Greenwell’s Myfanwy Thomas as she tries to reconstruct her memories after waking up in a very unusual situation underneath London’s Millennium Bridge.

Faking...

Network: Starz.

Episodes: Ongoing (hour).

Seasons: Ongoing.

TV show dates: June 30, 2019 — present.

Series status: Has not been cancelled.

Performers include: Emma Greenwell, Joely Richardson, Adrian Lester, Olivia Munn, Jon Fletcher, Ronan Raftery, Catherine Steadman, Gina McKee, Ruth Madeley, Eleanor Matsuura, Shelley Conn, Tamsin Topolski, Barry Atsma, Luke Roberts, James D'Arcy, Michael Karim, and Michael McElhatton.

TV show description:

Based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Daniel O'Malley, The Rook TV show comes from executive producers and showrunners Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher. The fantasy spy thriller follows Myfanwy Thomas (Greenwell), who awakens in the rain at London’s Millennium Bridge, but has no memory and cannot explain the circle of corpses surrounding her.

Myfanwy...

Starz has released a trailer for a new series they’ve produced called The Rook. It’s an adaptation of the book written by Daniel O’Malley and the story centers on a woman with amnesia who slowly learns that she is a Secret Service agent who is part of a group that recruits people with supernatural abilities and takes on paranormal threats. She also learns that she has special abilities of her own.

This looks like an interesting series worth checking out and it stars Olivia Munn, Adrian Lester, Ronan Rafter, Catherine Steadman, Jon Fletcher, Shelley Conn, and James D’Arcy.

Here is the synopsis for The Rook:

The Rook tells the story of Myfanwy Thomas, a woman who wakes up in London with no memory of who she is and no explanation for the circle of dead bodies around her. When Myfanwy discovers she’s a high...

Starz released its trailer for original series “The Rook” on Tuesday, which stars a very confused — and very much in danger — Emma Greenwell.

“The Rook” is a supernatural spy thriller, which tells the story of Myfanwy Thomas (Greenwell), a woman who wakes up in the rain beside London’s Millennium Bridge with no memory of who she is and no way to explain the circle of latex-gloved dead bodies splayed around her. When Myfanwy discovers she is a high-ranking official in the Checquy, Britain’s last truly secret service for people with paranormal abilities, she will have to navigate the dangerous and complex world of the agency to uncover who wiped her memory — and why she is a target.

Watch the trailer above. In it, Greenwell wonders aloud, “What kind of monster am I?”

Also Read: See 'Game of Thrones' Star Sophie Turner and 'Veep' Actor...

The fifth edition of SeriesFest will deliver panels and programming designed to celebrate individual talent as well as companies who are “taking creative risks and leveraging advances in technology to reimagine storytelling.” On the linup is Starz’s upcoming supernatural thriller “The Rook,” a panel with the creatives behind Shondaland, a look at Lgbtq representation on television and attendees such as Stevie Wonder and Ted Sarandos, Variety has learned exclusively.

“The ‘Year of Innovation’ speaks to the powerful narratives and groundbreaking work that our growing SeriesFest community has come to be known for,” said Randi Kleiner and Kaily Smith Westbrook, founders of SeriesFest. “During this milestone year we’re thrilled to present a lineup of programming which will highlight and further inspire unique and poignant approaches to storytelling. We’re truly honored to have such an incredibly impressive roster of participants who want to be part of the conversation.”

The...

Myfanwy Thomas’ life is about to get a very crazy.

Starz has dropped the first official trailer for The Rook, a brand new supernatural drama starring Emma Greenwell as a young woman whose life is plunged into chaos when she awakens in London with no recollection of who she is or how she got there.

More worrying, a string of dead bodies surround her and she no idea how they got there.

Things get worse when she learns that she works for Checquy, Britain’s last truly secret service for people with paranormal abilities, Myfanwy “will have to navigate the dangerous and complex world of the agency to uncover who wiped her memory — and why she is a target,” according to the official logline.

Related: Get Starz via Prime Video Channels for Captivating Original Series & Hit Movies!

Olivia Munn (The Newsroom), Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck) and James D’Arcy (Agent...

Starz has slotted Sunday, June 30 at 8 Pm Et/Pt for the premiere of its supernatural spy drama The Rook. The series will premiere on Starz in the U.S. and Canada, and on the Starzplay platform in Germany and Spain. Starz also released key art (below).

Based on the novel by Daniel O’Malley, The Rook is adapted and co-produced by playwrights and screenwriters Sam Holcroft and Al Muriel. It stars Greenwell as Myfanwy Thomas, a woman who wakes up in the rain beside London’s Millennium Bridge with no memory of who she is and no way to explain the circle of latex-gloved dead bodies splayed around her. When Myfanwy discovers she is a high-ranking official in the Checquy, Britain’s last truly secret service for people with paranormal abilities, she will have to navigate the dangerous and complex world of the agency to uncover who wiped her memory...

Less than two months remain until Myfanwy Thomas’ life is plunged into chaos.

Starz announced Wednesday that its supernatural thriller The Rook will premiere on Sunday, June 30 at 8/7c. Based on Daniel O’Malley’s 2012 novel, the series stars Emma Greenwell (Shameless) as Myfanwy Thomas, a woman who wakes up in the rain beside London’s Millennium Bridge with no memory of who she is and no way to explain the circle of dead bodies around her.

After discovering she is a high-ranking official in the Checquy, Britain’s last truly secret service for people with paranormal abilities, Myfanwy “will...

A trio of fierce females is at the center of Starz’s upcoming drama The Rook — and if you need any proof, look no further than these new photos from the show.

Based on Daniel O’Malley’s 2012 novel, The Rook centers on Myfanwy Thomas (Emma Greenwell, Shameless), a woman who wakes up in the rain beside London’s Millennium Bridge with no memory of who she is… and no way to explain the circle of latex-gloved dead bodies around her. When Myfanwy discovers she is a high-ranking official in the Checquy, Britain’s last truly secret service for people with paranormal abilities,...

Diana Rigg, who rose to stardom in “The Avengers” in the 60s and continues to attract admirers today in “Game of Thrones,” received the Variety Icon Award at Canneseries Friday.

The actress, who won a BAFTA for “Mother Love” and an Emmy for “Rebecca,” underscored the longevity of her career, and the progression of the series artform. “I date back to when the series were in black and white, and so I can tell you about how far series have come,” she told the audience at the Cannes Palais. “They are coming into their own because they are being recognized as a major cultural power in the world, and rightly so.”

Lindsey Morgan, the star of sci-fi drama “The 100,” received the festival’s Rising Star award. Morgan paid tribute to the potential of series to “inspire” and “empower.”

“Sharing someone’s story has the power to inspire and empower...

Netflix movies may still be question mark in terms of being allowed in competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival in May, but the streaming giant will be present at Cannes Series. The Cannes television festival will mark its second year next month with Netflix going up against rival Amazon in the competition section. The full lineup includes series from Israel, Norway, Spain, and Belgium.

Netflix’s competition entry is the German series “How to Sell Drugs Online Fast,” from writers Philipp Käßbohrer and Matthias Murmann. Amazon is heading to Cannes Series with “The Feed,” a London-set drama created by Channing Powell and based on the novel Nick Clark Windo. “The Feed” stars “Game of Thrones” favorite Michelle Fairley opposite David Thewlis in a story about a piece of technology that allows people to instantly share thoughts and emotions. The tech falls into the wrong hands and becomes a murderous weapon.

The Rook is a supernatural spy drama – a genre particularly suited to be made by “naturally duplicitous” Brits, according to exec producer Stephen Garrett. Character Seven boss Garrett, who co-founded Broadchurch producer Kudos, also discussed the departure of Twilight author Stephenie Meyer from the Starz drama.

The Rook tells the story of Myfanwy Thomas (Emma Greenwell), who wakes up in the rain beside London’s Millennium Bridge with no memory of who she is and no way to explain the circle of latex-gloved dead bodies splayed around her. When Thomas discovers she is a high-ranking official in the Checquy, Britain’s last truly secret service for people with paranormal abilities, she will have to navigate the dangerous and complex world of the agency to uncover who wiped her memory – and why she is a target.

Garrett said Brits are particularly good at spy stories such as James Bond and John...

Europe hasn’t gone Hollywood quite yet, but it’s getting there, slowly. The standing of the writer within the hierarchy of drama production in Europe has never been higher, but the Hollywood showrunner model, in its purest sense — in which the writer often has the final say in all creative decisions — is still a relative rarity in Europe.

Eight years ago, British exec producer Stephen Garrett, whose credits include “The Night Manager” and is now working on “The Rook” for Starz, persuaded American showrunner Frank Spotnitz to move to Europe and transplant the Hollywood showrunner model in the shape of BBC thriller series “Hunted.” Spotnitz, who brings “Medici: The Magnificent” to Mipcom, recalls one BBC exec telling him British writers were “categorically not capable of collaborating in a [writers’] room.”

Spotnitz proved that exec wrong, but admits that he has adapted the U.S. model to suit European conditions. The...

Shelley Conn (Liar) and James D’Arcy (Homeland) are set for key recurring roles opposite Emma Greenwell, Joely Richardson and Olivia Munn in Starz’s upcoming spy thriller series The Rook, from Lionsgate and Liberty Global.

Based on the novel by Daniel O’Malley, The Rook is adapted and co-produced by playwrights and screenwriters Sam Holcroft and Al Muriel. It stars Greenwell as Myfanwy Thomas, a young woman who wakes up in a London park suffering total amnesia and pursued by shadowy paranormal adversaries. Grappling with supernatural abilities of her own, she must fight to uncover her past and resume her position within Britain’s secret service, the Checquy, before the traitors who stole her memory can finish what they started.

Conn will play Danielle Wulff, classified as a Chevalier within the hierarchy of the Checquy. Wuff is a high-level operative responsible for creating elaborate cover stories to obscure her...

Exclusive: There is change at the helm of Starz’s upcoming spy thriller series The Rook, from Lionsgate and Liberty Global. Lisa Zwerling (Betrayal) and Karyn Usher (Bones) have come onboard as showrunners. They will replace in the role The Night Manager‘s Stephen Garrett who remains an executive producer. Meanwhile, Twilight‘s Stephenie Meyer who, via her production company originally brought The Rook to Lionsgate, is stepping away due to differences in creative visions of the project.

The behind-the-scenes change comes early in the production of The Rook, which is currently filming the first two episodes of its first-season order in London. The showrunner switch will have no impact on production, which will continue as scheduled. The Rook is slated to air on Starz in the U.S., and across Liberty Global’s international platforms in 2019.

Zwerling and Usher will executive produce via their Carpool Entertainment production company alongside Garrett under his Character 7 banner.

Twilight creator Stephenie Meyer is exiting her own Starz series The Rook.

The author, who had brought the spy thriller to studio Lionsgate via her production company, is said to be stepping away due to creative differences on the project. In the wake of her departure, Lisa Zwerling (Betrayal) and Karyn Usher (Bones) have joined Stephen Garrett as the drama's showrunners. Garrett was previously attached to The Rook as a showrunner and executive producer.

The series, based on Daniel O’Malley’s novel, is currently shooting its first two episodes in London and is slated to air in 2019. ...

Hulu is developing “Demons,” a drama inspired by real events of the Satanic Panic hysteria of the 1980s and ’90s. The project, which comes from Lionsgate studios, will follow Marilyn Jones — “patient zero” in the Satanic Ritual Abuse — and her husband Bennett Lewis, a manipulative psychiatrist. Each new season of “Demons” would follow a new crime affected by the couple’s exploration into memory and guilt. Also Read: Two Film Executives Step Down From China's Dalian Wanda Group The drama is created and written by Juliet Lashinsky-Revene. Karyn Usher and Lisa Zwerling will executive produce with Lashinsky-Revene under Carpool Entertainment. Amanda Tudesco will also produce. “Demons”...

Writers-producers Karyn Usher (Prison Break) and Lisa Zwerling (Betrayal) have signed an overall deal with Lionsgate TV. Under the pact, the duo will develop and produce original scripted programming through their new Carpool Entertainment banner. Usher and Zwerling, who previously worked together on John Wells' Presidio Med, reunited to form Carpool Entertainment to develop cable content and provide a platform for new voices. Zwerling had a previous overall deal with ABC…...

ABC's new series "Betrayal" is about two people who have an affair, but it's not out to make viewers root for the end of two marriages -- at least not necessarily.

"Something that we all decided on the pilot ... was to be truthful about this and not try to construct something that makes it too easy for the lovers," executive producer David Zabel said Sunday (Aug. 4) at the TCA summer press tour. "By that I mean, they're both in relationships that are viable marriages. I think most people could look at it and go, 'That's kind of like my marriage. That's no so far off.'"

The lovers on "Betrayal" are a photographer, Sara (Hannah Ware of "Boss"), and an attorney, Jack (Stuart Townsend), both of whom are married but who embark on a relationship. The complicated feelings they have about what they're doing get more complicated when Sara learns...

Diane Haithman contributes to Deadline’s TCA coverage. At today’s TCA, Hannah Ware, who plays Sara in ABC’s new drama Betrayal, said she could not speculate on what might have happened to her character in her other recent TV drama, the canceled Starz series Boss, because that show might have a new life “in some film format.” On the panel for Betrayal, Ware said in response to a question that she believes Boss had the creative juice to last for a third year. She added that a “bad time slot” contributed to Boss’s demise after two seasons. But when pressed about how her character’s story might have evolved, she said she couldn’t reveal that because of the tentative film plans. Related: ‘Boss’ Won’t Return To Starz For Season 3, May Wrap Story With Two-Hour Movie But she quickly added “I don’t know” when asked for specifics,...

NBC has added two more projects to its drama development roster hailing from Universal TV and two of its pods: a soapy drama from writer Patricia Resnick (9 To 5) and Scott Stuber‘s Bluegrass TV, and a high-concept drama from up-and-coming writer Moira McMahon and Peter Traugott‘s Tbd Prods. Resnick’s project is described as a semi-autobiographical drama with comedic overtones set around the professional and private lives of the harried staff of a formerly famous novelist suffering from decades-long writer’s block. The hire of an ambitious young writer as the author’s new personal assistant sets off seismic shifts throughout the already unsteady household. Stuber, Quan Phung and Jonathan Baruch executive produce. The project reunites Resnick, repped by Rain Management and Sandy Weinberg, with NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt. In addition to co-writing the 1980 movie 9 To 5 starring Dolly Parton, she also co-wrote with Parton the Broadway musical, which was produced by Greenblatt.

NBC is blending the medical with the supernatural. The network has given script orders to Maddox, a high-concept family drama from Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice alum Moira McMahon, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Photos: Broadcast TV's Returning Shows 2012-13 McMahon will pen the hour about a family that moves into an idyllic community where medicine and technology are the closest thing to Utopia -- until they suspect that something darker might be afoot. Peter Traugott and Rachel Kaplan will executive produce Maddox, which hails from Universal Television and Tbd Productions; ER's Lisa Zwerling will serve as a supervising

read more...

Genre: Fantasy | Procedural | Drama

Air Date/Time: March 29 at 10/9c

Network: NBC

Created by: Kyle Killen

Director: Aaron Lipstadt

Writer: Lisa Zwerling

Summary:

When Detective Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs, Brotherhood and Harry Potter) regains consciousness following his family’s car accident, he is told that his wife Hannah (Laura Allen, Terriers) perished, but that his teen son, Rex (Dylan Minnette, Lost), has survived. As he tries to put the pieces of his life back together he awakens again in a world in which his wife is very much alive, but his son Rex died in the accident. In order to keep both of his loved ones alive he begins living two dueling realities. Trying to regain some normalcy Michael turns to his work solving crimes in both worlds with the help of two different partners, Detective Isaiah “Bird” Freeman (Steve Harris, The Practice) and Detective Efrem Vega (Wilmer Valderrama, That...

Julia Stiles has joined the cast of new NBC pilot Midnight Sun. It has been adapted from an Israeli show by FlashForward writer Lisa Zwerling, and tells the story of a mysterious disappearance within a commune in Alaska. According to TV Line, Stiles will star as an FBI cult specialist named Leah Kafka, investigating a conspiracy surrounding the disappearance. Emma Bell, known for her work on The Walking Dead, has also signed on to play the daughter of the cult leader, played by Titus (more)...

Former Dexter star Julia Stiles is set to continue her run in gritty crime dramas with a starring role in the NBC pilot Midnight Sun.

The thriller — which is being adapted from the Israeli format by FlashForward‘s Lisa Zwerling — revolves around an investigation into mysterious disappearances within a group living on a cult-like commune in Alaska. As first reported by Deadline, Stiles will play Leah Kafka, an FBI cult specialist leading the investigation that ultimately uncovers a larger conspiracy.

The Walking Dead‘s Emma Bell has also joined the cast, playing the daughter of Lost alum Titus Welliver’s manipulative cult leader.