TV News Wrap-Up: ‘The Mandalorian’ Gets Season 2 Release Date, Sony Pictures TV Options Two Wattpad Series, Tom Hiddleston to Star in Political Drama ‘White Stork’, and More

It’s casting announcements galore this week! 

As pilots get ready to film and new series are secured, production companies and networks are announcing the latest casting news. 

Take a look at the highlights on this week’s TV news wrap-up! 

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Toni Collette will star in Netflix’s drama series Pieces of Her. Coming off her acclaimed starring role in Unbelievable, Deadline reports that Collette will star a new crime drama based on Karin Slaughter’s 2018 book. The eight-episode series will be directed by Minkie Spiro and will be produced by an all-female creative team including executive producer Lesli Linka Glatter, Charlotte Stoudt and Bruna Papandrea. The sereis is “… set in a sleepy Georgia town where a random act of violence sets off an unexpected chain of events for 30-year-old Andy Oliver and her mother Laura (Collette). Desperate for answers, Andy embarks on a dangerous journey across America, drawing her towards the dark, hidden heart of her family.”

Star Trek: Picard has added How to Get With Murder alum Amirah Vann to its cast. According to Deadline, Vann will play Zani, a member of Qowat Milat, an all female Romulan religious order. Vann will make her first appearance on this Thursday’s episode, entitled “Absolute Candor.”

Ray Donovan has been canceled by Showtime after seven seasons. Deadline reports that the Season 7 finale which aired on January 19th will now stand as the series finale. Last month, the outlet reported that Gary Levine stated that the fixer drama was nearing the end of it’s run, but hoped that there would be a final farewell season since season 7 ended on a cliffhanger. 

Tom Hiddleston will star in the Netflix political thriller series White Stork. According to Deadline, Hiddleston will play the male lead and the series will explore the paradox of truth in a post-truth world. The series has received a 10-episode order and hails from Eleven, the same company that produces Sex Education. White Stork‘s synopsis is as follows “James Cooper (Hiddleston) is selected to run for a seat in parliament, Asher Millan is sent to vet him for primetime. But she quickly uncovers potentially damaging secrets buried deep in James’ past. Secrets that will threaten to blow everything apart – his career, his marriage, even the powerful people backing his campaign.”

Wattpad’s She’s With Me and The Last She are being developed for television by Sony Pictures Television. A Deadline exclusive states that series have been optioned thanks to a first-look deal the studio signed with the self-publishing platform back in April. She’s With Me is one of the most popular series on the platform with 140 million reads worldwide. A print version was released on January 7th, debuting among the top 50 on Amazon. The Last She has 12 million reads making it one of the most popular science-fiction stories on the platform. 

Patrick Dempsey lands CBS political pilot, Ways & Means. Deadline reports that the Grey’s Anatomy alum will star as a powerful congressional leader who has lost his faith in politics and aligns himself with a young congresswoman from the opposing party in order to “subvert the hopelessly gridlocked system he helped create; together, they’ll attempt to save American politics — if they don’t get caught.” The project comes from former SEAL Team showrunner Ed Redlich. 

Jeanne Tripplehorn has joined the cast of The Gilded Age. Deadline reports that Tripplehorn has joined Julian Fellowes’s new period drama playing Sylvia Chamberlain, a tall and beautiful enigmatic figure. She’s, “…[a] genuine expert in the creative arts and a great art collector, she is entirely excluded from high society because of her suspected past until Marian is kind to her.” Other names signed onto the project include Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Amanda Peet, Morgan Spector, Taissa Farmiga, Blake Ritson and Simon Jones. The Gilded Age is set in 1882 and follows Marian Brook, the orphaned daughter of a Southern general who moves in with her “rigidly conventional aunts in New York City… Marian gets caught up in the dazzling lives of her stupendously rich neighbors, led by a ruthless railroad tycoon and his ambitious wife struggling for acceptance by the Astor and Vanderbilt set.”

Spinning Out has been canceled by Netflix after one season. The news comes one month after the competitive skating drama’s January 1st premiere. According to Deadline, “Netflix, which goes straight-to-series on all of its shows, examines viewing (and awards recognition) vs. cost for each show when making a renewal decision.” This also comes on the heels of the cancellation of Soundtrack. 

Disney+ has set the streaming dates for The Mandalorian Season 2. According to Deadline, the series will return in October. Like the first season, the series will deploy new episodes on a weekly basis.  Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO has stated on a call with analysts, “The priority in the next few years is television.” Iger also talked about expanding the universe, hinting that The Mandalorian may have life to it beyond Season 2. Iger specifically said they were looking at, “infusing it with more characters and taking those characters in their own direction in terms of series.” 

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What’s your favorite bit of TV news from the last week? Let us know in the comments below. 

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