TV News Wrap-Up: ‘Luther’ is Back, ‘Succession’ Season 3 Premiere Date, Gwendoline Christie in ‘Wednesday’

Idris Elba returns to a signature role, Gwendoline Christie feuds with Morticia, and more comical sleuthing.

Expelliarmus, check out this week’s news!

Idris Elba Returning for ‘Luther’ Movie at Netflix

• Idris Elba will return to familiar stomping grounds, as he once again hunts down criminals as DCI John Luther, per The Hollywood Reporter.
• The new Luther film is set at Netflix, with Elba joined by acclaimed actors Cynthia Erivo and Andy Serkis.
• Erivo plays “a detective who is also Luther’s nemesis,” and Serkis is the big bad.
• Series creator Neil Cross is writing the film, and producing alongside Elba.
• For the uninitiated, the series stars Elba as Detective Chief Inspector John Luther, a cop who isn’t afraid to go to the same dark places as London’s most insidious criminals.
• Luther has aired off and on since 2010, delivering short seasons between Elba’s big screen outings.
• If you need to catch up, all five seasons of Luther are currently streaming on HBO Max and STARZ.

‘Succession’ Season 3 Finally Gets Premiere Date

• The extremely long wait is over for fans of the HBO drama Succession, as Season 3 is finally set to premiere Sunday, Oct. 17 at 9/8c.
• Season 2 ended with Kendall turning on his father, setting up a Roy family battle for control.
• Alexander Skarsgård, Adrien Brody, Sanaa Lathan, and Hope Davis will appear in Season 3.
• Per the Succession Season 3 official logline: “Ambushed by his rebellious son Kendall at the end of Season 2, Logan Roy begins Season 3 in a perilous position, scrambling to secure familial, political, and financial alliances. Tensions rise as a bitter corporate battle threatens to turn into a family civil war.”
• Succession is now streaming on HBO Max, with Season 3 premiering Sunday, Oct. 17 at 9/8c on HBO.
• Caution: clip contains profanity

Helen Mirren to Host ‘Harry Potter’ Trivia Competition

• Wizards grab your wands! Cartoon Network, TBS, and HBO Max are delivering the ultimate Harry Potter trivia competition hosted by Dame Helen Mirren.
• According to Deadline, Harry Potter: Hogwart’s Tournament of Houses features teams of superfans answering hundreds of trivia questions, so they will be named House Cup Champion.
• Shockingly, Mirren is the one of the few legendary British actors to not appear in the Harry Potter films.
• “I knew someday I’d get a Harry Potter role, and I’m so pleased to take part in the 20-year film celebration,” Mirren said in a statement. “The films inspired such enchantment and wonder for so many of us, and it will be such a treat to reignite that magic for the countless fans who continue to revel in this spellbinding world.”
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses is a four-part show set to include surprise guests, and will air simultaneously on Cartoon Network and TBS, followed by streaming on HBO Max.
• Mirren can be seen in Solos, currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Gwendoline Christie Joins ‘Wednesday’

• Netflix and Tim Burton’s Wednesday has added another fan favorite to its star-studded cast.
• TVLine reports, Gwendoline Christie has joined the eight episode series as a old rival of Morticia.
• Christie’s Larissa Weems is “the principal of Nevermore Academy who still has an axe to grind with her former classmate Morticia Addams.”
• Christie joins Jenna Ortega as Wednesday, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia, Luis Guzman as Gomez, Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley, Victor Dorobantu as Thing, George Burcea as Lurch, Thora Birch, Riki Lindhome, Jamie McShane, Hunter Doohan, Georgie Farmer, Moosa Mostafa, Emma Myers, Naomi J. Ogawa, Joy Sunday, and Percy Hynes White.
• Wednesday “is a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy. That’s where she attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore.”

‘Twisted Metal’ Series Adds Anthony Mackie as Lead, EP

• Anthony Mackie is not resting on his heroic laurels. The actor has lined up his next role as the lead in a Twisted Metal series.
• Deadline reports, Mackie, who is also executive producing, will play John Doe, “a smart-ass milkman who talks as fast as he drives. With no memory of his past, he gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make his wish of finding community come true, but only if he can survive an onslaught of savage vehicular combat.”
• The half-hour action/comedy based on the popular video game follows “a motor-mouthed outsider offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With the help of a trigger-happy car thief, he’ll face savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road, including a deranged clown who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck.”
• Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions are developing the series, which is being written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Deadpool).

Renewals and Cancellations

• Peacock wants more hilarious nonsense, as it has renewed The Amber Ruffin Show for Season 2, which premieres Friday, Oct. 8, per The Hollywood Reporter.
• “We are thrilled to keep doing what we love for another season,” said Ruffin. “Margaritas for everyone!”
• Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez have more murders to solve, since Hulu has renewed Only Murders in the Building for Season 2, per TVLine.
• Co-creator Dan Fogelman responded to the news on Twitter, “Thank God Steve didn’t name it Only One Murder in the Building. Congrats to this delightful team and thanks to all who are watching.”
• To the surprise of no one, Disney+ has given High School Musical: The Musical: The Series a Season 3.
• Season 3 features a new setting, with the kids headed to summer camp for “campfires, summer romances, and curfew-less nights.” As such production is moving from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles.
• After four seasons, The CW has canceled The Outpost, with the series finale airing Thursday, Oct. 7 at 9/8c, per TVLine.
• HBO Max is moving on from its young adult dramedy Genera+ion, as it has been canceled, per Variety.
• “We will not be moving forward with a second season of Genera+ion,” said a spokesperson for HBO Max. “We are very proud to have partnered with Zelda and Daniel Barnz to faithfully and authentically represent LGBTQ youth with such a diverse group of characters and layered stories. We thank them and our wonderfully gifted cast for all their hard work and collaboration.”

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