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Exclusive: Barrett Carnahan (Cobra Kai) has been cast in the Apple TV+ series For All Mankind for the space drama’s upcoming fifth season. In a recurring role, he will portray ‘Marcus,’ a recent high school graduate living on Mars.

The latest season of For All Mankind, created by Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi, rocketed the series into the new millennium. In the eight years since Season 3, Happy Valley has rapidly expanded its footprint on Mars by turning former foes into partners. It’s now 2003, and the space program’s focus has turned to capturing and mining extremely valuable, mineral-rich asteroids that could change the future of both Earth and Mars. But simmering tensions between the residents of the now-sprawling international base threaten to undo everything they are working toward.

Carnahan joins the expanding cast that includes Mireille Enos, Costa Ronin, Sean Kaufman, Ruby Cruz and Ines Asserson.

Exclusive: Sean Kaufman (The Summer I Turned Pretty), Ruby Cruz (Bottoms) and Ines Asserson (Royalteen) are set as series regulars in Season 5 of Apple TV+’s For All Mankind. They join previously announced new series regulars Mireille Enos and Costa Ronin and returning cast Joel Kinnaman, Wrenn Schmidt, Krys Marshall, Edi Gathegi, Cynthy Wu, Coral Peña, Toby Kebbell, Tyner Rushing, Daniel Stern and Svetlana Efremova.

Season 4 of For All Mankind picked up eight years after the events of Season 3, when Happy Valley rapidly expanded its footprint on Mars by turning former foes into partners. Now 2003, the focus of the space program turns to the capture and mining of extremely valuable, mineral-rich asteroids that could change the future of both Earth and Mars. But simmering tensions between the residents of the now-sprawling international base threaten to undo everything they were working toward.

Kaufman will play Alex Poletov Baldwin, son of Kelly Baldwin...

Exclusive: Tyler Labine (New Amsterdam) has been tapped for a recurring role in the fifth season of Apple’s acclaimed space drama For All Mankind.

The actor will play Fred, a Mars Peacekeeper. The expanding cast for this season also includes Mireille Enos and Costa Ronin, as previously reported.

Created by Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi, For All Mankind picks up in an alternative version of 1969, in which the Soviet Union beats the United States to the Moon, watching as the space race continues on for decades with still grander challenges and goals. The latest season rocketed the series into the new millennium: In the eight years since Season 3, Happy Valley has rapidly expanded its footprint on Mars by turning former foes into partners. It’s now 2003, and the focus of the space program has turned to the capture and mining of extremely valuable, mineral-rich asteroids that...

Exclusive: Costa Ronin is joining the Season 5 cast of Apple TV+‘s For All Mankind as a new series regular.

Season 4 of For All Mankind picked up eight years after the events of Season 3, when Happy Valley rapidly expanded its footprint on Mars by turning former foes into partners. Now 2003, the focus of the space program turns to the capture and mining of extremely valuable, mineral-rich asteroids that could change the future of both Earth and Mars. But simmering tensions between the residents of the now-sprawling international base threaten to undo everything they were working towards.

Ronin will play Lenya, a Soviet politician and former cosmonaut. He joins fellow new series regular Mireille Enos as well as returning cast Joel Kinnaman, Wrenn Schmidt, Krys Marshall, Edi Gathegi, Cynthy Wu, Coral Peña, Toby Kebbell, Tyner Rushing, Daniel Stern and Svetlana Efremova.

For All Mankind, produced by Sony Pictures Television,...

When DC Studios announced its "Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters" slate at the end of last January, one of the most surprising projects was a TV series titled Paradise Lost.

While both Superman and Batman were given big screen reboots, there was no mention of Wonder Woman beyond a TV show which looks set to explore Themyscira's past long before Diana Prince was born.

Since then, filmmaker Patty Jenkins has confirmed she won't be back for Wonder Woman 3, while Gal Gadot has claimed to be the Dcu's Wonder Woman, only for insiders to debunk the notion. All the while, James Gunn has remained silent on the Amazon Warrior.

Today, Nexus Point News has shared an update on Paradise Lost, revealing that Kira Snyder and Janet Lin are in talks to take charge of the HBO/Max series.

Snyder is best known for writing and producing The Handmaid's Tale and The 100.

Mireille Enos has joined the cast of “For All Mankind” Season 5 at Apple TV+, Variety has learned.

Enos will appear in the space race historical fiction drama in a series regular role as Celia Boyd, described as “a member of the Peacekeeper Security Force on Mars.”

The role reunites Enos with “For All Mankind” star Joel Kinnaman. The two previously starred opposite one another in the AMC/Netflix series “The Killing,” for which Enos was nominated for an Emmy and Golden Globe for best lead actress in a drama. Her other TV credits include “Lucky Hank” at AMC, “Hanna” at Amazon Prime Video (which also starred Kinnaman), “Big Love” at HBO, and “The Catch” at ABC. In film, Enos has starred in features such as “Miranda’s Victim,” “World War Z,” and “The Lie.”

She is repped by CAA, Howard Green Entertainment, and Goodman Genow.

“For All Mankind” is one of...

Mireille Enos has joined the Season 5 cast of Apple TV+’s For All Mankind as a new series regular.

Season 4 of For All Mankind picked up eight years after the events of Season 3, when Happy Valley rapidly expanded its footprint on Mars by turning former foes into partners. Now 2003, the focus of the space program turns to the capture and mining of extremely valuable, mineral-rich asteroids that could change the future of both Earth and Mars. But simmering tensions between the residents of the now-sprawling international base threaten to undo everything they were working towards.

Enos will play Celia Boyd, a member of the Peacekeeper Security Force on Mars.

She joins a cast that includes Joel Kinnaman, Wrenn Schmidt, Krys Marshall, Edi Gathegi, Cynthy Wu, Coral Peña, Toby Kebbell, Tyner Rushing, Daniel Stern and Svetlana Efremova.

For All Mankind, produced by Sony Pictures Television for Apple TV...

Following its critically acclaimed fourth season, which has been praised as “the best-written show on all of television” and “superior sci-fi,” Apple TV+ announced that its hit, award-winning space drama series “For All Mankind” has landed a renewal for season five. Additionally, Apple TV+ and “For All Mankind” creators Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi will expand the “For All Mankind” universe with a brand-new spinoff series, “Star City,” which will be showrun by Nedivi and Wolpert. Both series are produced for Apple TV+ by Sony Pictures Television.

“Our fascination with the Soviet space program has grown with every season of ‘For All Mankind,’” said executive producers Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi. “The more we learned about this secret city in the forests outside Moscow where the Soviet cosmonauts and engineers worked and lived, the more we wanted to tell this story of the other side of the space race.

Following its critically acclaimed fourth season, Apple TV+’s award-winning space drama series For All Mankind has been renewed for season five.

Additionally, Apple TV+ and For All Mankind creators Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi will expand the universe with a brand-new spinoff series, Star City, which will be showrun by Nedivi and Wolpert. Both series are produced for Apple TV+ by Sony Pictures Television.

“Our fascination with the Soviet space program has grown with every season of ‘For All Mankind,’” said executive producers Wolpert and Nedivi. “The more we learned about this secret city in the forests outside Moscow where the Soviet cosmonauts and engineers worked and lived, the more we wanted to tell this story of the other side of the space race.

“We could not be more excited to continue building out the alternate history universe of ‘For All Mankind’ with our partners at Apple and Sony.

Today is a day for celebration.

If you’re a sci-fi fan, you already know the place to be is on Apple TV+.

They’re ushering in a new layer of top-notch sci-fi TV entertainment that sears through our hearts and right into our very souls.

At the top of that list is For All Mankind, a swooping alternate history story that imagines what would have happened if America hadn’t been first to the moon and the innovation that could have resulted.

Created by Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi, the series sparks the imagination and offers storytelling so compelling that it’s like walking on distant planets ourselves.

The latest season for “For All Mankind” rocketed the series into the new millennium in the eight years since season three, Happy Valley has rapidly expanded its footprint on Mars by turning former foes into partners.

Now 2003, the...

Apple is doubling down on For All Mankind.

The iPhone maker and streamer has handed out a fifth season renewal for Ron Moore’s For All Mankind and a straight-to-series order for Star City, a spinoff following the Soviet space race.

As with the flagship series, Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi co-created Star City, with the latter duo set to showrun both programs for producer Sony Pictures Television.

“Our fascination with the Soviet space program has grown with every season of For All Mankind,” said executive producers Wolpert and Nedivi in a statement announcing the news Wednesday. “The more we learned about this secret city in the forests outside Moscow where the Soviet cosmonauts and engineers worked and lived, the more we wanted to tell this story of the other side of the space race. We could not be more excited to continue building out the alternate history universe...

“For All Mankind” has been renewed for Season 5 at Apple TV+. In addition, Variety has learned the streamer has ordered a spinoff series focusing on the Soviet space program.

The spinoff is currently titled “Star City” and hails from “For All Mankind” creators Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi. Nedivi and Wolpert will serve as showrunners. The show will return to the beginning of “For All Mankind’s” alternative timeline, in which the Soviets are the first to reach the moon. But the show will then “explore the story from behind the Iron Curtain, showing the lives of the cosmonauts, the engineers, and the intelligence officers embedded among them in the Soviet space program, and the risks they all took to propel humanity forward,” per the official logline.

“Our fascination with the Soviet space program has grown with every season of ‘For All Mankind,’” said Wolpert and Nedivi.

Apple TV+ isn’t done exploring the depths of space.

The streamer has renewed its drama series For All Mankind for Season 5. Additionally, Apple TV+ has given the green light to a spinoff series titled Star City, also from creators Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi.

Apple is billing Star City is “a propulsive paranoid thriller” which will explore a key moment in the alt-history retelling of the space race — when the Soviet Union became the first nation to put a man on the moon. But this time, it will explore the story from behind the Iron Curtain, showing the lives of the cosmonauts, the engineers, and the intelligence officers embedded among them in the Soviet space program, and the risks they all took to propel humanity forward.

“Our fascination with the Soviet space program has grown with every season of For All Mankind,” Wolpert and Nedivi said in a statement.

Meredith Stiehm will seek a second two-year term as president of WGA West in the fall election, and the other top officials of the guild will also seek reelection.

Justine Bateman, the writer-director and former “Family Ties” star, is running for a spot on the WGA West board. Bateman has become outspoken on the need for tight regulation of artificial intelligence.

The guild announced its preliminary list of nominees on Wednesday. Stiehm, who has been active in both the agency campaign and the current strike, will run against challenger Rich Talarico, a “Key and Peele” writer who has faulted the guild for not doing more to fight back against the release of free clips of the show on YouTube.

Michele Mulroney is running for reelection as vice president, and Betsy Thomas is seeking another term as secretary-treasurer. They will run against Isaac Gomez and Jeffrey Thompson, respectively.

The WGA West has a 16-member board,...

The Writers Guild of America West is holding officer and board elections in the middle of its ongoing strike, which is now in its 51st day. Incumbent president Meredith Stiehm is seeking reelection and will face off against Rich Talarico – both of whom were selected by the guild’s nominating committee.

In the race for vice president, incumbent Michele Mulroney will face challenger Isaac Gómez, while in the contest for secretary-treasurer, incumbent Betsy Thomas will face Jeffrey Thompson.

The guild said Wednesday that the nominating committee also selected 24 candidates to run for eight open seats on the guild’s board of directors. They are incumbents Nicole Yorkin, Dailyn Rodriguez, Adam Conover, Dante W. Harper, and Zoe Marshall, and challengers Molly Nussbaum, Danielle Iman, Maggie Levin, Blake Masters, Rob Forman, Anthony Sparks, Justine Bateman, Alex O’Keefe, Jonterri Gadson, Leah Folta, Susannah Grant, Grant Scharbo, Safia M. Dirie, Sean Presant, Scott Alexander,...

HBO is officially not moving forward with J.J. Abrams’ ambitious HBO sci-fi drama series Demimonde. The decision comes after weeks of discussions with Abrams, his Bad Robot production company and Warner Bros. Television which were focused on the show’s budget. As Deadline reported last month, the studios on the project, Warner Bros. Television and HBO, had been trying to rein in costs, but Bad Robot kept firm on their proposed budget, said to be in the mid-200 million range, and would not agree to a reduction.

The final stages of the Demimonde conversations were held against the background of a larger reevaluation of the massive deal Abrams’ Bad Robot has at Warner Bros for film, TV, gaming and digital content as the new Warner Bros. Discovery is scrutinizing every aspect of the assets they took over when the merger was completed in April.

Bought by HBO four years ago with a straight-to-series order,...

J.J. Abrams’ science fiction drama series “Demimonde” will no longer move forward at HBO.

This is the end of a long road for the project, which was ordered to series at HBO in Feb. 2018 after a bidding war with Apple. The series order came over a year before Abrams and his wife Katie McGrath first set a major overall deal for their production company Bad Robot at WarnerMedia.

Rumored to have an impressively high budget, “Demimonde” looked to be a major project until recently. In 2020, “The Handmaid’s Tale” executive producer Kira Snyder and “Life” executive producers Rand Ravich and Far Shariat were set as showrunners, and casting announcements were underway as recently as April 2022, when Danielle Deadwyler was learned to be leading the series.

But progress took a turn in May, when the status of “Demimonde” reportedly came into jeopardy as Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav began to...

Alexis Bledel says she is leaving “The Handmaid’s Tale” ahead of Season 5. She’s played Emily (aka Ofglen), since the series premiered.

In a statement obtained by TheWrap, she wrote, “After much thought, I felt I had to step away from ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ at this time. I am forever grateful to Bruce Miller for writing such truthful and resonant scenes for Emily, and to Hulu, MGM, the cast and crew for their support.”

Miller is the creator and executive producer of the series, which is based on the book by Margaret Atwood.

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Madeline Brewer on Reuniting With Elisabeth Moss in ‘Shining Girls': ‘I Would Walk Through Hot Lava’ for Her (Video)

Bledel’s character, who at first seemed to be a docile handmaid, later admitted to main character June (Elisabeth Moss) that she is a lesbian, which was now forbidden, and a member of the underground resistance.

Alexis Bledel, who has portrayed Emily/Ofglen on The Handmaid’s Tale since the Emmy-winning Hulu series launched in 2017, is exiting ahead of the upcoming fifth season.

“After much thought, I felt I had to step away from The Handmaid’s Tale at this time,” Bledel said in a statement provided to Deadline. “I am forever grateful to Bruce Miller for writing such truthful and resonant scenes for Emily, and to Hulu, MGM, the cast and crew for their support.”

In Season 4, June (Moss) struck back against Gilead as a fierce rebel leader, but the risks she took brought unexpected and dangerous new challenges. Her quest for justice and revenge threatens to consume her and destroy her most cherished relationships.

Season 5 is expected to premiere later this year.

Bledel has received four Emmy nominations and one win for outstanding guest actress for her portrayal of the key character, a nom for each year of her four-year run.

Alexis Bledel will not return for “The Handmaid’s Tale” Season 5, Variety has learned exclusively.

Bledel, who has played the key character of Emily/Ofglen on the Hulu drama since its first season debuted in 2017, said in a statement Friday: “After much thought, I felt I had to step away from ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ at this time. I am forever grateful to Bruce Miller for writing such truthful and resonant scenes for Emily, and to Hulu, MGM, the cast and crew for their support.”

During her four-year run on “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Bledel received four Emmy nominations and one win for her performance in the Bruce Miller-created TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s iconic novel.

Aside from “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Bledel is best known for her starring role as Rory Gilmore alongside Lauren Graham’s Lorelai Gilmore on “Gilmore Girls” and the revival “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” as...

J.J. Abrams’ ambitious HBO sci-fi drama series Demimonde has hit a major roadblock in its long journey to the screen. The issues, related to the show’s price, come amid talk of a potential reevaluation of the massive deal Abrams’ Bad Robot has at Warner Bros for film, TV, gaming and digital content as the new Warner Bros. Discovery is scrutinizing every aspect of the assets they took over.

Bought by the network four years ago with a straight-to-series order, Demimonde is still in early pre-production, but major budget issues are threatening to derail it. According to sources, the studios on the project, Warner Bros. Television and HBO, have been trying to rein in costs, but Bad Robot has kept firm on their proposed budget, said to be in the mid-200 million range, and would not agree to a reduction below that.

While current talks between Warner Bros. and Abrams are focused on Demimonde,...

Danielle Deadwyler, known for her roles in The Haves and the Have Nots and Station Eleven, has been tapped as the lead for J.J. Abrams‘ upcoming HBO series Demimonde. According to Variety, Deadwyler plays Olive Reed, a woman who is ripped away from her husband and daughter in a brutal scientific accident. The series follows Reed as she sets about unraveling a conspiracy to reunite with her family, who are now lost to a dark and distant other world. Demimonde has been in development since 2018 and is currently in early pre-production. Abrams will write, direct, and executive produce the series through his Bad Robot Productions. Kira Snyder, Rand Ravich, and Far Shariat serve as co-showrunners and executive producers. Bad Robot’s Ben Stephenson and Rachel Rusch Rich are also on board as exec producers. Deadwyler is no stranger to HBO, having recently played Miranda Carroll in HBO Max’s miniseries Station Eleven.

Danielle Deadwyler is set as the lead in Demimonde, HBO’s sci-fi drama series, written, executive produced and to be directed by J.J. Abrams.

In Demimonde, produced by Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and HBO, when a woman, Olive Reed (Deadwyler), is torn away from her husband and daughter in a brutal scientific accident, she is forced to unravel a conspiracy to reunite with her family, now lost to a dark, distant other world.

Like with all their projects, Bad Robot has been methodical with Demimonde, which was sold to HBO with straight-to-series order in 2018. The drama is now now in early pre-production.

Kira Snyder, Rand Ravich & Far Shariat serve as showrunners. They executive produce with Bad Robot’s Abrams and Ben Stephenson. Rachel Rusch Rich is co-executive producer.

Deadwyler recently recurred on HBO Max’s limited series Station Eleven and starred in the Netflix film The Harder We Fall.

Danielle Deadwyler has been cast in the lead role of the J.J. Abrams HBO series “Demimonde,” Variety has learned.

The show was first reported to be in development back in 2018, though few details were available at the time. Now, it is known that the series focuses on Olive Reed (Deadwyler), a woman who is torn away from her husband and daughter in a brutal scientific accident. She is forced to unravel a conspiracy to reunite with her family, now lost to a dark, distant other world.

This is not the first time Deadwyler has been in an HBO or HBO Max series. She most recently appeared in HBO Max’s “Station Eleven” and also had a role in the hit HBO limited series “Watchmen.” Her other TV roles include “Atlanta,” “P-Valley,” and “The Haves and the Have Nots.” On the film side, Deadwyler turned in a standout performance in the...

“Don’t Look Up” and “Coda” have won the top feature film awards from the Writers Guild of America, which held its annual WGA Awards on Sunday evening.

On the heels of its Producers Guild Award victory on Saturday, “Coda” kicked off the show by winning the first award of the night, for Best Adapted Screenplay. The category also included “Dune,” “Nightmare Alley,” “tick, tick…Boom!” and “West Side Story” — but two of the biggest challengers to “Coda” in the Oscar race for adapted screenplay, “The Power of the Dog” and “The Lost Daughter,” were not eligible for the award because of WGA regulations.

In the Best Original Screenplay category, “Don’t Look Up” scored a surprise victory over “Licorice Pizza,” which was favored to take the award, and “King Richard.” Two other Oscar nominees, “Belfast” and “The Worst Person in the World,” were ineligible.

Television awards included “Succession” and “Hacks” for drama and comedy series,...

You made it through the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Directors Guild Awards, and the Producers Guild Awards, too. The wait for the Oscars is almost over, but one more major guild had yet to give out its trophies before the Academy Awards. Tonight, Hollywood’s top writers came together for the Writers Guild of America Awards, which honored the finest achievements in film and television writing.

On the film side, the nominees were actually quite different from what you’ll see at the Oscars next week. In the Original Screenplay category, “Licorice Pizza,” “Don’t Look Up,” and “King Richard” were still nominated, but “Belfast” and “The Worst Person in the World” were replaced with “Being the Ricardos.” The Adapted Screenplay category was even more distinct, with only two Oscar contenders (“Dune” and “Coda”) nominated.

But it ultimately did not matter, as two Oscar nominees took the top prizes. “Coda...

Sunday’s 74th Writers Guild of America Awards will wrap up the guild season, along with the American Society of Cinematographers Awards. Will the winners be an Oscar preview?

“Licorice Pizza,” written by Paul Thomas Anderson, and “Coda,” by Sian Heder, are favored to win Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay, respectively. However, they are not facing off against many of their Oscar rivals as the WGA’s rules have rendered several scripts ineligible, including Oscar nominees “Belfast” and “The Worst Person in the World” in original, and “Drive My Car,” “The Lost Daughter” and “The Power of the Dog” in adapted. But if they both prevail, they will have bagged the two top industry prizes as they won at BAFTA last weekend right in the middle of final Oscar voting (it ends Tuesday).

The TV field features heavy-hitters “Succession” and “Ted Lasso,” both of which are expected to...

Exclusive: Gersh has made a number of promotions across the company, including upping Eric Garfinkel, who is co-head of Gersh’s Motion Picture Lit Department, to partner.

“Eric is a very effective leader in our Motion Picture Lit Department,” David Gersh said Thursday. “I have been very impressed with his positive energy and laser focus on what is practical and how we can work together as a team to accomplish our goals. He is incredibly efficient in working with our clients and putting their films together while building a great business and helping to mentor our newer agents.”

Gersh also promoted Emily Herrmann, Josh Brandis, Catherine Barnes, Rachel Mangione, Casey Larkin and Jessica Sabanos to agent. In addition, six assistants have been upped to coordinators: Jimmy Cheng (Feature Lit), Alana Duthie (Feature Lit), Walker Harris (Production), Nathan Howard (Talent), Sam Putzer (Comedy) and Danielle Szyperek (TV).

“The promotions we are...

On Thursday, January 13, Writers Guild of America West (Wgaw) and Writers Guild of America East (Wgae) jointly announced their 2022 nominations for television and new media. Winners will be rewarded on Sunday, March 20 in a ceremony that also honors motion pictures. Read on for the complete list of 2022 Writers Guild Award nominations for TV, which includes a nice mix of new series (like Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building”) and established fare (like HBO’s “Succession”).

SEEReminder: Here’s who won last year’s WGA Awards

This year’s drama series contenders are “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Loki,” “The Morning Show,” “Succession” and “Yellowjackets.” Of these, only “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Morning Show” and “Succession” also showed up in the Episodic Drama category, which was rounded out by specific episodes of “1883,” “This Is Us” and “New Amsterdam.”

The comedy series nominees are “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Hacks,” “Only Murders in the Building,...

Nominations for the 2022 Writers Guild Awards were announced on Thursday, and quite a few members of TV’s freshman class — including Disney+’s Loki, Showtime’s Yellowjackets and Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building — found themselves on this year’s list.

HBO Max’s Hacks and FX’s Reservation Dogs were also among the rookies to net multiple nods, while veterans like Succession and The Handmaid’s Tale — both nominated in previous years — are in the running once again.

More from TVLineSAG Awards 2022: Succession and Squid Game Lead Nominations; Yellowstone Snags Best Ensemble NodGolden Globes 2022: Succession and Hacks...

The Writers Guild of America revealed nominations Thursday in television, new media, news, radio/audio and promotional categories for the 2022 WGA Awards, which are scheduled to take place Sunday, March 20 hosted by the WGA West and WGA East.

Nominees in the marquee TV categories include reigning Comedy Series winners Ted Lasso from Apple TV+, with newcomers to the list including several shows with multiple noms: HBO Max’s Emmy winner Hacks, Showtime’s Yellowjackets, Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building and Disney+’s Marvel series Loki. That group along with FX’s Reservation Dogs comprise the awards’ New Series nominees list.

The wide-ranging list also includes noms for Netflix’s Maid and Midnight Mass, HBO’s critically lauded The White Lotus and Emmy winner Mare of Easttown, Amazon Prime Video’s The Underground Railroad and Disney+’s WandaVision in the longform categories.

Other notables: noms for Taylor Sheridan’s...

“Only Murders in the Building,” “Hacks,” “Loki” and “Yellowjackets” are among the top nominees for this year’s Writers Guild Awards, announced on Thursday. Winners will be honored at a joint 2021 Writers Guild Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 20, 2022.

The nominations from the Writers Guild of America West (Wgaw) and Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) include outstanding achievement in television, new media, news, radio/audio, and promotional writing during 2021. The WGA Awards announcement caps a busy week that also included the Golden Globes’ unusual non-ceremony ceremony on Sunday, and this year’s SAG Awards nominations on Wednesday.

“Only Murders” led the WGA tally with three noms, including comedy, new series and comedy episodic. Shows with two nominations include “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Loki,” “The Morning Show,” “Succession,” “Yellowjackets,” “Hacks,” “Reservation Dogs,” “Bob’s Burgers” and “The Simpsons.” HBO led all networks with nine; followed by Apple TV Plus, FX, Hulu, NBC, Netflix and PBS,...

The Black List and Women In Film (Wif) have announced the participants selected for their sixth annual episodic lab.

Out of a record 1,200 applicants, six pilots from eight writers have been chosen to participate in the professional development-focused lab which includes master classes, pitch coaching, mentoring, and introductions to television industry representatives to help build writing careers. Over the past six years, previous mentors and instructors for the lab have included Monica Beletsky (Parenthood), Carly Wray (Watchmen), Sono Patel (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Glen Mazzara (The Dark Tower), Kira Snyder (The Handmaid’s Tale), Erika L. Johnson (The Good Lord Bird), and Lauren LeFranc (Impulse).

Lab alumni have worked successfully in television with 80% having representation in the industry, with over 80% having representation during or following the Lab, 44% staffed on television shows, and the majority continuing to work in entertainment.

“We’re so proud of our participants, past and present, who continue to persevere in an incredibly competitive landscape.

Exclusive: Talent manager Graciella Sanchez and literary manager Zadoc Angell have been named Co-Presidents of Echo Lake Entertainment’s management division.

Their promotion to these new leadership positions comes on the heels of the division’s growth to over 20 managers.

Mike Marcus will continue to serve as Chairman of Echo Lake Management, with Partner and Founder Doug Mankoff and twenty-year vet Andy Spaulding continuing to oversee parent company, Echo Lake Entertainment.

The Beverly Hill-based management company became the first to reopen its offices on June 15. Amidst the turbulence of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has kept all of its assistants employed and even managed to grow, welcoming five new talent and lit managers.

“I am so proud of our team. Every single employee chose to get vaccinated, which made reopening all the more easy,” said Mike Marcus in a statement. “During the beginning of the pandemic, our managers stepped up, organized themselves,...

“In Gilead, self-control was the essential survival skill,” reads Bruce Miller’s script for the Season 4 finale of The Handmaid’s Tale. “June’s an expert,” adds the details, which comes from the episode, which is titled “The Wilderness” and launched on Hulu on June 15.

Culminating in the death of Fred Waterford (Joe Fiennes), the conclusion of this season’s 10-episode run of the series based on Margaret Atwood’s classic novel saw the Elisabeth Moss’ June Osborne finally take her revenge upon the commander for all the sexual assault, torture, pain and patriarchal-fueled misery he and Gilead subjected her and many other women to over the years …and June wasn’t alone.

“It’s a very interesting episode to write because you have to remind the audience how despicable Fred is right before you kill him, but if you have to remind the audience, they haven’t been watching at all,...

(Warning: This post contains spoilers for Episode 408 of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” titled “Testimony.”)

Elisabeth Moss pulled double duty for Wednesday’s episode of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” sitting in the director’s chair for the hour, which saw her character June give her well-overdue testimony against her former captors, Fred and Serena Joy Waterford (Joseph Fiennes and Yvonne Strahovski). And being behind the camera meant Moss had two perspectives to think about while delivering that monologue detailing the atrocities the Waterfords inflicted upon her during the first three seasons of the Hulu drama.

First, there was the actor side, which pushed her to ask for the entire speech to be written out by the “Handmaid’s Tale” team, led on this episode by writer Kira Snyder.

“Originally in the script, we didn’t have the whole testimony written because, my God, that’s so long,” Moss told TheWrap. “You know, how...

Warning: contains spoilers for The Handmaid’s Tale season 4 episode 8: Testimony.

With June out of Gilead, the premise of The Handmaid’s Tale has shifted. A drama about resistance and endurance has become a drama about recovery and survivorhood, and those new themes are being treated with characteristic complexity. Over the years, this show could be accused of lacking forward momentum, but never of oversimplifying the messiness of its characters’ emotions. That continues in ‘Testimony’, which complicates the cliché in fiction that surviving trauma either gives a character saintly quietude, or turns them into an instant villain.

June and Janine are neither. They’re not mouth-foaming baddies, nor have they been purified and elevated by their suffering. Janine is exhausted and June is angry. Newly free, June is unwilling to let that anger go in the name of “feelings, forgiveness, journaling” healing. She still wants to make Gilead hurt, and...

This The Handmaid’s Tale review contains spoilers.

“A messy bitch who takes the big swings but doesn’t think about the consequences.” You could do worse for a description of June Osborne. In ‘Nightshade’, Moira’s words proved right when June followed her instinct that a brothelful of sitting-duck Commanders was too good an opportunity to miss. One bottle of homemade poison and David Bowie’s Suffragette City later, and Gilead had suffered another blow. That was the big swing. And now for the consequences.

One consequence of June sticking around to watch the fireworks at the brothel was leaving the Keyes household and its fugitive Handmaids without a leader. In the Guardian truck last time, and during the raid at the start of this episode, June was the one who kept the others cool, shushing and reassuring and giving orders to so they wouldn’t be detected. While she was out enjoying mass murder,...

Surprise! The first three episodes of Season 4 of “The Handmaid’s Tale” have released early on Hulu.

Originally planned to release on April 28, the first three episodes of the fourth season — “Pigs,” “Nightshade” and “The Crossing” — are now available to stream on Hulu. The rest of the 10-episode season will be released weekly on the streaming service, episode by episode.

“The Handmaid’s Tale” made the announcement with a video featuring its cast. “I know you’ve been waiting patiently for Season 4. Well guess what, I have some good news. The first three episodes of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ are available right now,” the cast says in tandem.

Warning: the Handmaid’s tale season 4 episode synopses below contain plot spoilers

The Handmaid’s Tale isn’t the kind of TV show that suits a binge-watch. Its heart-heavy dystopian story about a brutal theocracy that enslaves and rapes fertile women benefits from a little fresh air between episodes. On-screen torture and suffering are best delivered in small doses.

It’s good news then, that after its first three episodes are released on Hulu in one batch on Wednesday April 28th, the remaining seven episodes of season four will be released weekly each Wednesday until June 16th, giving US viewers all time to digest.

For UK viewers, season four is confirmed to be airing on Channel 4 as usual, but the broadcaster has yet to confirm a start date. As soon as one is announced, we’ll pass it on. The imported show traditionally airs weekly on the terrestrial channel. Seasons...

In today’s TV news roundup, Disney Plus released a trailer for “Star Wars: The Bad Batch,” and Hulu released a for the fourth season of “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

First Looks

Disney Plus released a for “Star Wars: The Bad Batch,” which debuts on May 4 (Star Wars Day) with a 70-minute premiere. Set after the events of “Revenge of the Sith,” the series follows the titular elite and experimental group of clones as they find their way in a rapidly changing galaxy in the immediate aftermath of the Clone Wars. Dee Bradley Baker, who worked on “The Clone Wars” and “Rebels,” returns to voice all of the clones in the series. Additionally, other familiar characters such as Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) from “The Mandalorian,” Grand Moff Tarkin (Stephen Stanton) and Saw Gerrera (Andrew Kishino) will appear. “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” is executive produced by Dave Filoni, Athena Portillo, Brad Rau...

June Osborne wants justice and it looks like the country of Gilead is prepping for an all-out war. Hulu has released the first full trailer for the fourth season of the popular Emmy-winning series, and the wait to learn more is coming to an end with the show’s return on April 28.

When audiences last left Gilead, June (Elisabeth Moss) embraced her inner freedom fighter after secreting 50 of the republic’s children into Canada. As the trailer shows, this information becoming known could lead to a large battle — though June and the other handmaids are seen bringing the fight to their doorstep.

June’s own attempts to bring Gilead down result in her testifying to an unknown group about the justice she’s seeking. In addition, her ongoing relationship with Nick Blaine (Max Minghella) is featured, as he might be coming to the realization that “some women don’t want to be saved.

Hulu released the trailer for “The Handmaid’s Tale” Season 4 Tuesday, revealing that June (Elisabeth Moss) is now “public enemy No. 1” in Gilead following the events of the Season 3 finale, when she unleashed a rebellion that has continued to spread throughout the oppressed land.

Season 4 of the TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel will launch with three episodes on April 28.

Per Hulu, “In the upcoming fourth season of The Handmaid’s Tale, June (Elisabeth Moss) strikes back against Gilead as a fierce rebel leader, but the risks she takes bring unexpected and dangerous new challenges. Her quest for justice and revenge threatens to consume her and destroy her most cherished relationships.”

Watch the trailer via the video above.

Production on Season 4 of Hulu’s No. 1 original series was just getting underway in Canada last March when it was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. “The Handmaid’s Tale’s...

As in the dystopian fictional world of The Handmaid’s Tale, in real life, one of the biggest obstacles of the upcoming fourth season of the Hulu drama was getting into Canada.

Though for the Elisabeth Moss starring series that barricade of sorts was more about the coronavirus pandemic than escaping a totalitarian theocracy.

“Honestly the biggest change is it was difficult to get our cast into Canada to shot,” Handmaid’s showrunner Bruce Miller admitted during today’s virtual TCA panel for the show.

The series based on Margaret Atwood’s acclaimed 1985 novel has filmed in and around Toronto since its first season.

Compelled to shutter like almost every other production around the globe due to then rising Covid-19 crisis last year, when the Handmaid’s Tale ramped up last fall the fact that it was filming north of the border became a deal breaker in some respects.

Trying to contain the pandemic,...

In today’s TV news roundup, Hulu announced release dates for “Love, Victor” and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and Comedy Central released a promo for the “South ParQ Vaccination Special.”

Dates

Hulu announced that the fourth season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” will premiere with three episodes on April 28 and then release the rest of the season weekly. Consisting of 10 episodes, the new season will follow fierce rebel leader June (Elisabeth Moss) as she strikes back against Gilead. As her quest for justice and revenge begins to destroy her most cherished relationships, June risks having to face unexpected and dangerous new challenges. The series also stars Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Samira Wiley, Alexis Bledel, Ann Dowd, Max Minghella, Madeline Brewer, O-t Fagbenle, Amanda Brugel, Bradley Whitford and Sam Jaeger. The season is executive produced by Moss, Bruce Miller, Warren Littlefield, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, Eric Tuchman, John Weber, Frank Siracusa, Sheila Hockin,...

Welcome to the resistance, June Osborne.

When last we were in Gilead, audiences saw a bloodied but not broken June (Elisabeth Moss) suffering from a gunshot wound after successfully secreting more than 50 of the restrictive republic’s children onto a plane for transport to safety in Canada. Carried to safety by her fellow handmaids, June recites Exodus 3: 7-8 to herself, which speaks of the Lord seeing the suffering of his people and delivering them to a land of milk and honey.

And so a freedom fighter was born.

On Thursday, Hulu released a teaser for the upcoming season of the critically-acclaimed series “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which returns to the streamer on April 28. Its fourth season adopts a more lean and mean model, returning to 10-episode seasons, three of which will be available to stream at launch, likely followed by weekly episodic releases afterwards.

The teaser trailer features June taking...

Ahead of its Season 4 premiere, Hulu has renewed its flagship drama series The Handmaid’s Tale for a fifth season. The announcement was made Thursday by Dana Walden, Chairman of Entertainment, Walt Disney Television, during the Disney Investor Day.

Based on Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name, The Handmaid’s Tale follows the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly part of the United States.

The series, produced by MGM Television and internationally distributed by MGM, stars Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Samira Wiley, Alexis Bledel, Ann Dowd, Max Minghella, Madeline Brewer, O-t Fagbenle, Amanda Brugel, Bradley Whitford, and Sam Jaeger.

In season four, June (Moss) strikes back against Gilead as a fierce rebel leader, but the risks she takes bring unexpected and dangerous new challenges. Her quest for justice and revenge threatens to consume her and destroy her most cherished relationships.

Exclusive: Mckenna Grace has joined the upcoming fourth season of Hulu’s flagship drama series The Handmaid’s Tale, which resumed production in Toronto two weeks ago, sources said.

Grace will recur as Mrs. Keyes, a sharply intelligent, teenaged wife of a much older Commander who rules her farm and household with confidence. She has a rebellious, subversive streak, and is calm and pious on the outside with turmoil, even insanity, on the inside.

The Handmaid Tale was a couple of weeks into filming its fourth season when the fast growing coronavirus outbreak shut down production in mid-March. Star and executive producer Elisabeth Moss, who had been set to make her directorial debut with the third episode of Season 4, made the announcement on Instagram:

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Hey guys:) we shut down production of season 4 in order to preserve the health...

The Emmy Awards ballot for Best Drama Writing lists 240 episodes (from 147 series), so there will be seven nominees in this category for the first time since 1987, per the new rules. The six nominees last year were:

“Better Call Saul” season 4: “Winner” (Peter Gould & Thomas Schnauz) “Bodyguard” season 1: “Episode 1” (Jed Mercurio) “Game of Thrones” season 8: “The Iron Throne” (David Benioff & D. B. Weiss) “The Handmaid’s Tale” season 2B: “Holly” (Bruce Miller & Kira Snyder) “Killing Eve” season 2: “Nice and Neat” (Emerald Fennell) Winner — “Succession” season 1: “Nobody is Ever Missing” (Jesse Armstrong)

“Better Call Saul” and “Game of Thrones” are out of contention, but “Big Little Lies,” “The Crown” and “Stranger Things” are all back, having been nominated at the Emmys for their writing the last time that they were eligible. “Black Mirror” was snubbed in Best Movie/Limited Writing last year after consecutive wins; this is its...

In today’s TV news roundup, Apple TV Plus released the trailer for its new drama series “Little Voice” and Hulu dropped a teaser for “The Handmaid’s Tale” upcoming fourth season.

Renewals

Quibi has announced that its LGBTQ+ comedy competition “Gayme Show” has been renewed for a second season. Hosted by Matt Rogers and Dave Mizzoni, “Gayme Show” pairs two straight contestants with a celebrity “life partner” to complete challenges in order to be crowned “Queen of the Straights.” “Gayme Show” is produced by Jax Media and executive produced by Rogers, Mizzoni, showrunner Genevieve Aniello, Brooke Posch, Séamus Murphy-Mitchell and Tony Hernandez.

Dates

Netflix announced Jim Jefferies’ fourth streaming stand-up special, “Jim Jefferies: Intolerant,” will premiere July 7. This time, the Australian comedian cracks jokes about things he just can’t tolerate, namely lactose, germaphobes and people with peanut allergies. Watch a trailer below.

Amazon Prime Video announced “World’s Toughest...