TV News Wrap Up: Emily Bett Rickards Returning for ‘Arrow’ Series Finale, New ‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel Announced, Netflix Series ‘Inventing Anna’ Adds Five to Cast, and More

It’s been another exciting week in the world of television news. With HBO Max set for a May premiere, more information about its programming is coming out. 

Meanwhile, more streamers are starting to make casting decisions about programming in development, and networks are making decisions about their midseason shows. 

Check out the latest news in this week’s TV News Wrap-Up. 

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The InBetween has been canceled by NBC after one season. Deadline reports that the cancellation isn’t entirely surprising since it was the lowest-rated NBC summer 2019 series in Live+Same Day ratings and delayed viewings couldn’t compensate. The InBetween‘s core team has already moved on work on the upcoming CBS show, Queens which has landed at the network with penalty. 

USA Network has canceled Pearson after one season. The Suits prequel starring Gina Torres as Jessica Pearson was among the network’s lowest-rated originals. According to Variety, it also failed to get critical acclaim when it launched back in July. The cancellation news comes just one month after the series finale of Suits, which remained popular with fans even in its later seasons. 

HBO has killed one Game of Thrones prequel. The cabler announced that the Naomi Watts led prequel pilot is officially dead after the network was not happy with the pilot. Deadline reports that this decision came after lengthy post-production included re-editing the original pilot which wasn’t well received. 

Hours later, HBO Max has ordered the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon straight to series. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the news came at the end of HBO Max’s formal unveiling to investors. The series was created by George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal (Colony) and is set 300 years before the flagship series. The project will consist of ten episodes and will be based on Martin’s book Fire & Blood.

Lodge 49 has been canceled by AMC. According to TV Line, the cable network has opted not to renew the series for a third season. AMC said in a statement: “We are so proud to have had Lodge 49 on our air. This wonderful show gave audiences fresh and unforgettable characters in a world that did not exist anywhere else on television. Thanks to the stellar cast, including Wyatt Russell, Sonya Cassidy and Brent Jennings, and to our partners in this unique labor of love, [creator] Jim Gavin, [showrunner] Peter Ocko and [executive producer] Paul Giamatti, for two remarkable seasons that initiated the world into The Ancient and Benevolent Order of the Lynx.” Deadline reports that they will be shopping the series around. 

Emily Bett Rickards will be closing out her run as Felicity Smoak in the Arrow series finale. Stephen Amell broke the news on Twitter stating, “There’ll be a lot of news coming out about our final episode over the next few months. I prefer when you hear it from us. Welcome back, Emily.” Read more about this announcement right here. 

Shonda Rhimes’ Netflix series Inventing Anna casts five actors. Deadline reports that six-time Emmy nominee Anna Chlumsky, and Emmy winner Julia Garner have joined the 10-episode limited series based on Anna Delvey. The showrunner has also recruited Katie Lowes (Scandal), Laverne Cox (Orange is the New Black) and Alexis Floyd (The Bold Type). The series is inspired by Jessica Pressler’s viral New York Magazine article “How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People.” Chlumsky will play Vivian, a reporter who is looking to salvage her career, opposite Garner’s Delvey. The two will form a love-hate bond as Anna’s trial approaches and Vivian tries to answer the answer the big question: Who is Anna Delvey? 

Elizabeth Banks, Issa Rae, and Mindy Kaling have new comedy series coming to HBO Max. In its unveiling to investors on Tuesday, HBO Max announced that it will be leaning into TV’s inclusive landscape with three new comedy projects. According to Deadline, Banks will executive produce DC Superhero High, ” a half-hour comedy that follows a group of students experiencing the fun and drama of adolescence at a boarding school for gifted kids.” Rae will executive produce a half-hours series called Rap Sh*t which “follows a female rap group from outside Miami trying to make it in the music industry.” Kaling will write and showrun College Girls, a half-hour single-camera comedy that follows three 18-year-old freshman roommates at Evermore College in Vermont. A bundle of contradictions and hormones, these sexually active college girls are equal parts lovable and infuriating.

Netflix has ordered Another Life Season 2. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streamer has ordered ten more episodes of the space drama. Production will resume next year in Vancouver, and no premiere date has been set. The renewal comes three months after the series debuted to largely negative reviews. 

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What was your favorite bit of TV news this week? Let us know in the comments below. 

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