Stephanie Savage: Last News

Emily Longeretta The days of fall TV being the time for new shows to premiere are long gone. This summer, prep for bingeing per usual with a slew of unscripted and scripted series coming to both streamers and network TV. Likely the most-anticipated series of the year, HBO’s “The Idol,” will premiere in July after a great deal of delays and reshoots.

Apple Studios has greenlit the new original drama series The Last Frontier from Jon Bokenkamp (The Blacklist) and Richard D’Ovidio (The Call) with Jason Clarke (Winning Time, Zero Dark Thirty ) set to lead.

EXCLUSIVE: Apple Studios has launched its first-ever Apple Studios Directors Program, described as an inclusive, new initiative focused on expanding opportunities for mid-career directors across the U.S.

Gossip Girl‘s return will not go beyond its current second season. HBO Max has opted not to order a third season of the reboot, with the upcoming Season 2 finale on Jan. 26 serving as a series finale.

In Apple TV+’s City on Fire, which hails from executive producers and showrunners Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, a suburban teenager must unravel the mystery of his friend’s murder after she’s shot in Central Park on Fourth of July in 2003.

EXCLUSIVE: Lis Rowinski, executive producer on Nancy Drew, is expanding her relationship with CBS Studios, the studio behind the series, signing an overall deal. Terms of the pact include producing her own projects through her shingle Ship in a Bottle, as well as sourcing material for various creatives at CBS Studios.

EXCLUSIVE: star Grace Duah has been upped to series regular for the show’s upcoming second season, premiering December 1.

star Mischa Barton reunited with her onscreen Cooper family last weekend, posting a selfie with co-stars Melinda Clarke and Tate Donovan in Charleston, South Carolina. “SO THIS HAPPENED! Cooper family reunion!” wrote Barton wrote, who starred as Marissa Cooper from 2003 to 2006 in the series, before it came to an end the next year. Clarke and Donovan played Marissa’s mother and father. A post shared by Melinda Clarke (@themelindaclarke)“Warmed my heart to see these two, @mischabarton and @t8dono, at @tripleellc in Charleston.

Wilson Chapman editor“Tom Swift” has been canceled by The CW after one season, Variety has confirmed.The news comes less than a month after the series, a spinoff of “Nancy Drew,” premiered on May 31. Sources close to the project tell Variety the decision came down to ratings, as the show failed to find an audience via linear TV or streaming.

There will be no Season 6 for the CW’s Dynasty. The CW has opted not to renew the reboot of the iconic 1980s soap, and it will end with the current fifth season.

Jemima Kirke (Sex Education), Nico Tortorella (Younger), Ashley Zukerman (The Lost Symbol), Xavier Clyde (Hard), Max Milner (The Dirt), Alexandra Doke (Grey’s Anatomy), Omid Abtahi (The Mandalorian), Kathleen Munroe (FBI) and John Cameron Mitchell (Joe vs. Carol) round out the ensemble cast for Apple TV+’s upcoming drama series City on Fire. They join previously announced Chase Sui Wonders and Wyatt Oleff, who star in the series inspired by Garth Risk Hallberg’s novel of the same name, from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. Production is underway in New York City.

Selome Hailu “City on Fire,” Apple TV Plus’ upcoming drama series from creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, has added nine new cast members.Jemima Kirke, Nico Tortorella, Ashley Zukerman, Xavier Clyde, Max Milner, Alexandra Doke, Omid Abtahi, Kathleen Munroe and John Cameron Mitchell will all be series regulars alongside previously announced stars Chase Sui Wonders and Wyatt Oleff.Based on Garth Risk Hallberg’s 2015 novel of the same name, “City on Fire” is set in 2003 New York, when an NYU student named Samantha (Wonders) is shot in Central Park with no witnesses and very little physical evidence. As the crime is investigated, Samantha is revealed to be the crucial connection between a series of mysterious citywide fires, the downtown music scene and a wealthy uptown real estate family fraying under the strain of the many secrets they keep.

Wilson Chapman editor“Tom Swift,” a spinoff of the mystery series “Nancy Drew,” will premiere its first episode May 31 on The CW, the network announced Friday.The series, which was first announced in 2020, stars Tian Richards (“Burdin,” “Dumplin'”) as the title character, who was first created in the 1910 book “Tom Swift and His Motor Cycle.” Originally portrayed as a teen inventor, the series reimagines Swift as a Black, gay billionaire who is thrust into conflict with a mysterious global cabal following the sudden disappearance of his father. Richards first appeared as the character in Season 2 of “Nancy Drew.”Ashleigh Murray (“Riverdale,” “Katy Keene”) co-stars in the series as Swift’s best friend Zenzi.

Tom Swift has an early-summer date with the CW. The Nancy Drew spinoff series starring Tian Richards will premiere at 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 31, following a new episode Superman & Lois.

EXCLUSIVE:  Curate Management founder Britton Rizzio has promoted TV and film literary manager Courtney Conwell to partner, Deadline has learned.

Breeda Wool (Mass) is set for a key recurring role opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones in National Treasure, Disney Branded Television’s TV series for Disney+ produced by ABC Signature. The project, executive produced by the films’ producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Jon Turteltaub and writers Marianne and Cormac Wibberley, is an expansion of the National Treasure movie franchise told from the point of view of young heroine Jess (Lisette Alexis) — a DREAMer in search of answers about her family — who embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to uncover the truth about the past and save a lost Pan-American treasure. Wool will play Kacey, a sarcastic, kick-ass henchwoman and Billie’s (Zeta-Jones) second-in-command. Wool co-stars in the critically acclaimed film, Mass, directed by Fran Kranz, and also stars in the soon-to-be-released, Ultrasound, from Magnolia Pictures. She previously starred in the Stephen King series, Mr. Mercedes from David E. Kelley. Most recently she wrapped a starring role on the film, Detained, opposite Abbie Cornish. She is repped by Bold Management & Production, Innovative Artists Agency, and attorney Karl Austen.

EXCLUSIVE: Marquise Vilsón (Blindspot), April Parker Jones (Supergirl) and Albert Mwangi (Bump) round out the series regular cast for CW’s Nancy Drew spinoff Tom Swift. They join previously announced leads Tian Richards and Ashleigh Murray in the series from Nancy Drew co-creators/executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, their Fake Empire banner and CBS Studios.

Selome Hailu Ashleigh Murray is set to star as Zenzi Fullington in “Tom Swift,” the CW’s upcoming spinoff of “Nancy Drew.”She stars opposite Tian Richards, who plays the titular character as previously announced. Zenzi is described as “efficient and effervescent, but nobody’s fool.

EXCLUSIVE: Riverdale and Katy Keene alumna Ashleigh Murray is returning to the CW as the female lead opposite Tian Richards in Nancy Drew spinoff Tom Swift, based on the classic book series. Tom Swift, which has a series order, comes from Nancy Drew co-creators/executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, their Fake Empire banner and CBS Studios.

Gossip Girl, it has been revealed.In the new premiere episode of the new Gossip Girl focused podcast, XOXO With Jessica Szohr, it says early feedback from test audiences watching the show did not like the voiceovers. Bell gave voice to the teen drama’s titular anonymous blogger in the series’ original run from 2007 to 2012.The test audience reaction led creators Josh Schwarz and Stephanie Savage to consider cutting her voice-over – which eventually became a signature of the show.The creators told Szohr, the host of the show and the actor who played Vanessa Abrams on the show, that test audiences interest would “drop” when Bell’s narration began.“People were into [the show] and like, ‘Who’s this voice that’s coming in and distracting me?'” Schwartz remembered.“Do you lose the voice-over? We can’t. That’s part of the show, and we just have to ride with it.”You can listen to the podcast episode below:Savage went on to reveal that Bell was the only character who read for the role but that her other role in Veronica Mars caused some concern for the network hosts.“We had some reluctance of, ‘Did we feel comfortable having two shows on the same network with the same voice-over?'” Savage explained.“When [Bell] recorded it, she created an entirely different character with just her voice than how she read Veronica Mars.”Bell returned to HBO Max’s remake of the show as the narrator.

Saturday Night Live‘s Alex Moffat has joined Bill Lawrence’s Apple TV+ series Bad Monkey in a key recurring role opposite Vince Vaughn. Written and executive produced by Lawrence based on Carl Hiaasen’s popular 2013 novel, Bad Monkey tells the story of Andrew Yancy (Vaughn), a one-time detective demoted to restaurant inspector in Southern Florida. A severed arm found by a tourist out fishing pulls Yancy into the world of greed and corruption that decimates the land and environment in both Florida and the Bahamas. And yes, there’s a monkey. Moffat will play Evan Shook, an obnoxious real estate developer from Maryland who has bought the land next door to Andrew Yancy (Vaughn) on a secluded promontory in Big Pine Key and is in the process of developing a hideous spec house that is an affront to Yancy’s environmentalist sensibilities. Yancy makes it his mission to scuttle Shook’s plans, creating one problem after another for Shook as he desperately tries to find a buyer for his McMansion. Moffat has been a cast member on SNL since 2016. His other credits include features Clifford the Big Red Dog, Holidate and Someone Great and a guest-starring role on Billions.