TV News Wrap-Up: The Walking Dead Welcomes a Familiar Face, Jared Padalecki To Become a Ranger, Mandy Moore Lands New Role, and More
It’s still early in the fall TV season, so while your favorite characters tread slowly toward mid-season, on the news front, we are looking as far ahead as 2020 at upcoming series.
New York Comic-Con provided many details about some new and returning favorite shows. There are also some pilots to discuss, cast updates to talk about, series orders to get excited about, and sadly some cancelations to announce.
Settle in because this week was jam-packed with news from the small screen!
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The Walking Dead will get a Season 11 featuring Lauren Cohan as a series regular. Showrunner Angela Kang announced at New York Comic Con Saturday, Oct 5. that the show will return for Season 11, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. On the heels of the Whiskey Cavalier cancelation, Lauren Cohen will return as a series regular on the show, reprising her role as Maggie. “It’s completely surreal,” THR reported Cohan saying during her surprise appearance on stage at Comic Con. “It feels just like home. It feels so emotional.”
The Walking Dead’s third spin-off series gets a trailer. The as-yet-untitled series is set ten years after the apocalypse and will focus on two female survivors played by Alexa Mansour (The Resident) and (The Red Line) according to TV Line. This post-apocalyptic world will also feature the first generation of walkers, biters, and roamers to come of age since they became undead. According to the official synopsis of the show, some Endlings, as they are called, will become heroes. Others will become villains. “In the end, all of them will be changed forever.” The series was co-created by showrunner Scott M. Gimple and Matt Negrete. At Comic-Con, series star Mansour called the show similar to Stand By Me, only apocalyptic TV Line reported. The series will also star Nico Tortorella (Younger), Annet Mahendru (The Americans), and Nicolas Cantu (The Amazing World of Gumball). The series is expected in spring 2020. You can watch the trailer on YouTube.
Walker, Texas Ranger reboot finds a home on the CW. Jared Padalecki isn’t ready to leave home just yet. He will star in and executive produce the re-imagination of the 1990s action crime series, which has officially found a home on The CW. Padalecki has been with the network for about two decades, thanks in large part to the cult hit Supernatural, which is currently airing its final season. As reported by Deadline Oct. 11, the series was written by Anna Fricke and is executive produced by Dan Lin. Deadline reported that it will be a straightforward reboot, and Padalecki’s title character Cordell Walker will have a female partner. Odds are already good for this one, with Deadline reporting Walker is already a top contender in the CW’s lineup for 2020-2021.
Star Trek: Picard gets new trailer, premiere date. Sir Patrick Stewart will reprise his role as Jean-Luc Picard in the CBS All Access series Star Trek: Picard to be released on the steaming network Jan. 23, TV Line reported from the show’s New York Comic-Con panel. The series will follow Picard into the “next stage of his life” and will also star Santiago Cabrera (Salvation), Michelle Hurd (Blindspot), Alison Pill (The Newsroom), Harry Treadaway (Mr. Mercedes), and Isa Briones (American Crime Story: Versace). Jeri Ryan and Brent Spiner will reprise their respective roles from the franchise shows Star Trek: Voyager and Next Generation. You can watch the trailer for Star Trek: Picard on YouTube.
Marvel’s Helstrom announces cast. The Hulu series Marvel’s Helstrom has welcomed some key additions to its cast including Tom Austen (The Royals) and Sydney Lemmon (Fear the Walking Dead), according to TV Line. The actors will play siblings Daimon and Ana Helstrom. Austen’s Daimon is “a professor of ethics who moonlights as an exorcist, someone who has no illusions about saving a world he has no patience for. In his battle against a hidden world, Daimon is determined to root out demons as they arise, and will not stop until they’re vanquished,” TV Line reported. His sister Ana runs an auction house and passionately hunts down people who hurt others. They are the children of “a mysterious and powerful serial killer” and an institutionalized mother to be played by Elizabeth Marvel (most recently of Unbelievable). Brother and sister have “a complicated dynamic as they track down the terrorizing worst of humanity — each with their attitude and skills.” The Hulu horror series will also star Ariana Guerra (Raising Dion), Robert Wisdom (Ballers), June Carryl (Mindhunter) and Alain Uy (True Detective). It’s on track for a 2020 release.
CBS Studios has cast the roles of James Comey and Donald Trump in the limited series based on Comey’s book A Higher Loyalty. Jeff Daniels (The Looming Tower) will star as former FBI Director Comey, reported TV Line. “Jeff is so perfect for this part,” said series writer Billy Ray in a statement to TV Line about the choice. “Great actor, instant integrity, loads of warmth, intelligence, complexity and gravitas.” Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter) will play Donald Trump. “It’s hard to imagine a bigger acting challenge than playing Donald Trump,” Ray said in a statement to TVLine. “You have to have presence, and a singular kind of dynamism. You also have to have the courage and the will to play Trump’s psychology from the inside out.”
Manifest Season 2 trailer released at Comic-Con. NBC’s hit sci-fi drama Manifest won’t land on the small screen until spring 2020, but its trailer was released at Comic Con, so fans know there is a lot to prepare for. Led by Ben, the passengers will try to find more information about their June 2, 2024 death date. Plus, Grace is pregnant, though it’s unclear if the baby is Ben’s or Danny’s. There will be bodies uncovered, and Saanvi is about to accidentally share important 828 information with the show’s biggest villain, The Major. You can watch the teaser trailer on TV Line.
Apple TV+’s Truth Be Told gets a release date. Apple’s new streaming service Apple TV+ has been slowly rolling out information about its programming. The latest series to get a trailer and release date is the Octavia Spencer led crime drama, Truth Be Told. The show will be released on Dec. 6 and is a limited series, TV Line reported. Spencer plays podcaster and journalist Poppy Parnell who is “compelled to reopen the murder case that made her a national sensation,” according to the show’s logline. She’ll have to face Warren Cave (Breaking Bad‘s Aaron Paul) the possibly innocent man she may have helped put behind bars. Truth Be Told also features Lizzy Caplan (Master’s Of Sex) in a dual role, Elizabeth Perkins (Sharp Objects), Ron Cephas Jones (This Is Us), and Tracie Thoms (9-1-1) among others. You can watch the official trailer on YouTube.
Prodigal Son lands network TV’s first full-season order. FOX has ordered the “back nine” episodes of the hit crime drama Prodigal Son, bringing the Season 1 episode count to 22, TV Line reported. In the series, Tom Payne (The Walking Dead) stars as Malcolm Bright, an NYPD profiler who is uniquely qualified to help police catch serial killers. He’s the son of infamous serial killer Martin Whitly (Michael Sheen, Master’s Of Sex). “The series has razor-sharp writing, cinematic visuals and is an inventive twist on the genre,” said Michael Thorn, president of FOX Entertainment in a statement. We can’t wait to see how this twisted journey continues to unfold.”
Grand Hotel is canceled. ABC has canceled its scandalous summer soap, Grand Hotel after just one season, TV Line reported. The series ended with hotel owner Santiago Mendoza being shot and executive producer Brian Tanen told TV Line he doesn’t want to let fans know who did it just yet.“I’m being a little bit coy about answers for a potential Season 2 because, somewhere deep in my heart, I’m hopeful that there’s life for the show — if not on ABC then possibly on another platform. We’ve had meetings, and if anyone is out there reading this and wants a fun, soapy gem, I think everyone would like to come back and make another season of the show,” he said.
All American scores a full-season order. CW’s teen football drama All American will play a full season, pun intended. The network ordered its last three episodes, bringing the Season 2 count up to 16, according to TV Line. The show’s first season also featured 16 episodes, but its fate was not always this secure. Season 1 is now featured on Netflix, a fact that likely played a part in the show receiving a full 20% ratings boost in the Season 2 premiere.
The Little Mermaid Live adds Amber Riley. ABC is presenting a live version of America’s favorite mermaid movie, The Little Mermaid Live! Apparently, the sea adventure needs a narrator because the network has hired Amber Riley (Glee) to emcee the adventure. She“will present the Daughters of Triton with a special performance for King Triton and his subjects,” TV Line reported ABC saying. The event will also star Queen Latifah as Ursula, John Stamos as Chef Louis, Shaggy as Sebastian, Graham Phillips as Prince Eric, and Auli’i Cravalho as Ariel. Watch it live on ABC Nov. 5.
Raven-Symoné to recur on The Bold Type. Scarlet has a new girl on staff or at least visiting the office. Raven-Symoné will play Alice, a beauty influencer on the Freeform hit The Bold Type, E! News reported. “Look for Alice to come to Scarlet studios as a celebrity model for their upcoming photo spread focusing on anti-cultural appropriation,” E! News said. The Bold Type will premiere in early 2020 with an extended order of 18 episodes.
Mandy Moore to revisit her 90s Popstar roots as executive producer. ABC has approved a put pilot of 90’s Popstar, a drama based on This Is Us star Mandy Moore’s childhood. Moore’s role will be behind the scenes this time, as she will executive produce the show written by Amanda Lasher (The Bold Type) and also executive produced by This Is Us co-showrunners Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger. 90’s Popstar is about “a family from small-town Florida who must adapt to their extraordinary new reality when their teenage daughter goes from aspiring singer to pop superstar practically overnight,” according to Deadline.
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What is your favorite bit of TV news from the last week? Let us know in the comments below.
Esme Mazzeo
Esme Mazzeo is a lifestyle and entertainment journalist from Long Island. When she's not writing for work, she's writing for fun, or searching for something to satisfy her sweet tooth. She thinks rainy days are the best kind of days. Certified night owl.