TV News Wrap-Up: ‘Evil’ Renewed, ‘The Witcher’ Season 2 Premiere Date, Jeff Goldblum in ‘Search Party’

HBO continues the party with Sam Jay, Marvel explores the multiverse, and Batwoman may have found her mother.

Toss a coin to your Witcher and check out this week’s news!

‘The Witcher’ Season 2 Set for December Return

• The long drought is finally over for fans of The Witcher. The Henry Cavill fantasy epic is set to debut Season 2 Friday, Dec. 17, per TVLine.
• Season 2 has been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and an on set injury to Cavill.
• While once again protecting a powerful young woman, Geralt of Rivia will seek safe haven at home.
• Per the official Season 2 description: “Convinced Yennefer’s (Anya Chalotra) life was lost at the Battle of Sodden, Geralt of Rivia brings Princess Cirilla (Freya Allan) to the safest place he knows — his childhood home of Kaer Morhen. While the Continent’s kings, elves, humans and demons strive for supremacy outside its walls, he must protect the girl from something far more dangerous: the mysterious power she possesses inside.”
• Cavill, Chalotra, and Allan will be joined by new cast members Kristofer Hivju as Nivellen, Yasen Atour as Coën, Agnes Bjorn as Vereena, Paul Bullion as Lambert, Thue Ersted Rasmussen as Eskel, Aisha Fabienne Ross as Lydia, and Mecia Simson as Francesca.
• The Witcher Season 1 is now streaming on Netflix, with Season 2 premiering Friday, Dec. 17.

Season 7 to be Last for ‘Good Witch’

• After seven seasons Cassie Nightingale has cast her last spell. Deadline reports, Hallmark’s Good Witch will end with its upcoming Season 7.
• Catherine Bell first played Cassie in the 2008 TV movie The Good Witch. Seven movies later, the characters of Middleton became a series in 2015.
• Bell co-stars with James Denton, Sarah Power, Catherine Disher,
  Kylee Evans, Katherine Barrell, Marc Bendavid, and Scott Cavalheiro.
• Good Witch airs Sundays at 9 pm on Hallmark Channel.

Michelle Yeoh Joins ‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’

• Michelle Yeoh continues her TV domination by joining The Witcher: Blood Origin, per Deadline.
• Yeoh will play Scian, “the very last of her nomadic tribe of sword-elves. No one can comes close to her artistry with the blade, and no one carries as much loss within their heart. When a chance presents itself to retrieve a stolen sacred sword, taken from her fallen tribe by nefarious means, she launches herself into a deadly quest that will change the outcome of the Continent.”
• Blood Origin is a prequel to Netfilx’s popular The Witcher, which stars Henry Cavill and is based on the video game of the same name.
• The Witcher: Blood Origin is a six episode limited series that takes place 1200 years before The Witcher. It follows “a story lost to time: the creation of the first prototype Witcher and the events that lead to the pivotal ‘conjunction of the spheres,’ when the worlds of monsters, men and elves merged to become one.”
• Yeoh can be seen in the upcoming films Gunpowder Milkshake, which premieres Wednesday, July 14 on Netflix, as well as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, debuting in theaters Friday, Sept. 3.

‘Batwoman’ Adds Robin Givens as Season 3 Series Regular

• Batwoman Season 3 is adding a TV favorite to its series regular ranks. Deadline reports, Robin Givens will join The CW series as Jada Jet.
• “A powerful CEO for Jet Industries, Jada isn’t bossy: she’s the boss. Passionate and hard working, a woman who has worked her way through life’s ups and downs to climb her way to the top — all while being extremely protective over her impetuous son. A woman with a deep past that forced her to give up her first-born child, Jada is a woman with a good heart, but will do whatever it takes to protect her family.”
• Ryan has spent her life thinking her biological mother died in childbirth. In Batwoman Season 2 Episode 18, “Power,” Alice dropped the bombshell that she’s actually alive.
• Based on Jada’s character description, it sounds like she could be Ryan’s presumed-dead mother. Of course, that’s just a guess, so we’ll have to wait for Batwoman Season 3 to see who Jada really is.
• Batwoman is currently streaming on The CW, with Season 3 scheduled to premiere Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 9/8c.

‘What If…?’ Set for August Premiere

• Marvel Studios continues its streak of releasing projects back to back, with its newest Disney+ series What If…? scheduled to premiere Wednesday, Aug. 11, per Marvel.
• Animated series What If…? takes familiar events from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and examines them through the multiverse. For example, what if Peggy Carter got the super-soldier serum, or what if Yondu took T’Challa instead of Quill?
• Jeffrey Wright stars as the voice of Uatu The Watcher, and he is joined by MCU actors like Hayley Atwell, Michael Rooker, Samuel L. Jackson, Sebastian Stan, Chris Hemsworth, and Tom Hiddleston reprising their roles.
• The late Chadwick Boseman will be featured in his final performance as T’Challa, as he recorded his work before his passing.
• What If…? premieres Wednesday, Aug. 11 on Disney+.

‘Evil’ Renewed for Season 3

• Evil’s move to Paramount+ is a success, as the supernatural drama has been renewed for Season 3, per TVLine.
• Starring Mike Colter, Katja Herbers, Aasif Mandvi, and Michael Emerson, Evil Season 2 has featured Kristen, David, and Ben battling the consequences and trauma caused by their work exorcising demons.
• Evil Season 2 will take a short break following its Sunday, July 25 episode. It returns to finish the season Sunday, Aug. 29.
• Evil is streaming on Paramount+, with new episodes premiering Sundays.

Jeff Goldblum Joins ‘Search Party’ Season 5

• No one has ever accused Jeff Goldblum of being predictable. To that end, the actor is joining HBO Max’s Search Party Season 5 in a recurring role.
• Variety reports, Goldblum will play Tunnel Quinn, “a charismatic tech billionaire who enters a very public business partnership with Dory (Alia Shawkat) on the other side of her near-death experience. Dory folds her old friends Portia (Meredith Hagner), Elliott (John Early) and Drew (John Reynolds) into the venture as they embark on an altruistic but terrifying journey.”
• “Search Party is such a brilliant show,” Goldblum said. “What a thrill and a privilege it is to get to be a little part of it! I respect and adore everyone involved with this magical entertainment.”
• In addition to his numerous Apartments.com commercials, Goldblum can currently be heard as Dr. Erwin Armstrong in The Boss Baby: Family Business, which is playing in theaters and streaming on Peacock.
• He is also set to reprise the Grandmaster in Marvel’s animated What If…?, as well as in 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder.
• Search Party is currently streaming on HBO Max.

HBO Renews ‘Pause With Sam Jay’

HBO is shoring up its late-night lineup by renewing Pause With Sam Jay, per Variety.

The series features Sam Jay and guests in a party setting discussing current events. It’s written and created by Jay and Prentice Penny.

“I can’t express how excited I am to bring you all a second season of Pause. We learned so much during the first season and hope to take those lessons into this new chapter and deliver something even better,” Jay said. “There are so many topics to explore and so much growth to be had. I can’t wait to dig in with the team and get to work! See y’all mofos soon!”

Pause With Sam Jay is available to stream on HBO Max.

‘Rutherford Falls’ Gets Season 2 Renewal

• Michael Schur has delivered another successful offbeat comedy, because Rutherford Falls has been renewed for Season 2 at Peacock, per TVLine.
• The series stars Ed Helms as a man dealing with his scandalous past in a small town full of interesting characters.
• “We are beyond ecstatic for Season 2! I’m probably slightly biased, but Rutherford Falls is made by the best writers, cast, and crew, on earth. Not to mention Ed Helms and Mike Schur, two of the nicest guys in the business,” said showrunner Sierra Teller Ornelas. “We are very grateful to the folks at Universal Television and Peacock for continuing to champion Indigenous comedies.”
• Rutherford Falls is now streaming on Peacock.

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