TV news round-up for Week 34 of 2018

Welcome to the weekly TV news round-up where we go into the latest TV news regarding renewals, cancellations, and pick-ups.

A first trailer (or rather teaser) was released for the new Star Wars animated TV series Star Wars: Resistance. The series will be set just before Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens and will include characters from that movie, like Poe Dameron, Captain Phasma, and General Leia Organa. The series will be launched October 7 on cable channels Disney Channel and later Disney XD in the US, with a later rollout worldwide.

Netflix has cancelled two of their talk shows, The Break With Michele Wolf and The Joel McHale Show With Joel McHale. It was former The Daily Show correspondent Wolf’s first solo show, in which she also takes on the news. McHale’s show was a spiritual successor to his previous show The Soup, taking on an absurd look at the week’s pop culture and news.

HBO has released a trailer for The Deuce Season 2, a series about the rise of the porn industry in 1970s New York City, which will premiere September 9.

Also at HBO, the long talked about Watchmen TV adaption from Damon Lindelof (The Leftovers, Lost) has been ordered to series, and is expected for 2019. Lindelof will be showrunner, while a serious number of cast members in undisclosed roles have been already been found in Jeremy Irons, Regina King, Don Johnson, Tom Mison, Tim Blake Nelson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Louis Gossett Jr., Adelaide Clemens, Andrew Howard, Frances Fisher, Dylan Schombing, Jacob Ming-Trent, Sara Vickers, Adelynn Spoon, and Lily Rose Smith.

According to TVLine Renée Zellweger (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Bee Movie) is going to star in the first season of anthology series What/If, coming to Netflix. The “social thriller” series from Revenge creator Mike Kelley will each season tell a tale about morality inspired by “culturally consequential source material,” whatever that means.

Netflix has renewed female wrestling drama series Glow for a third season.

Netflix, and Channel 4 in the UK, also renewed the dark comedy The End of The F***ing World for a second season. Based on the graphic novel by Charles S. Forsman, which follows 17 year old self-proclaimed psychopath James and his classmate of the same age Alyssa, who go on a road trip through England.

Netflix released a trailer for Season 3 of Las Chicas del Cable or Cable Girls, which will premiere Friday 7 September.

Netflix also released a trailer for the second season of Emmy-nominated true-crime satire series American Vandal. It will be released Friday 14 September, and will focus on the investigation of… the Turd Burglar. Check out the trailer below.

And yet another trailer from Netflix. This one for Season 2 of Ingobernable, the Mexican political drama focusing on Mexico’s First Lady. It will also be released on Friday 14 September.

No date yet on when the BBC will air it, but AMC in the US has announced that they will air the adaption of John le Carré’s The Little Drummer Girl on Monday 19, Tuesday 20, and Wednesday 21 November. The 1970s set story follows Israeli spymaster Martin Kurtz (Michael Shannon) who want to kill Palestinian terrorist Khalil, who has been bombing Jewish targets, mostly in Germany. It also follows Charlie (Florence Pugh), an English actress and double agent for the Israelis. It also stars Alexander Skarsgård.

According to TVLine Hulu is looking to revive Veronica Mars for an eight episode limited series. This would be the second time, as the series was revived by the fan funded Veronica Mars movie some years ago.

According to Deadline Brendan Fraser has been cast as Robot Man in Doom Patrol, the already ordered spinoff for the yet to launch streaming service DC Universe and it’s series Titans. It will be an acting and voice acting job for him, as Fraser will play the character of racecar driver Cliff Steele before his transformation into Robot Man, for which he will provide the voice for the physical form played by Riley Shanahan.

Warner Bros. Television, CBS and Chuck Lorre Productions have announced that Season 12 of The Big Bang Theory will be the hit comedy’s last. The series finale is already teased as being “epic.” Meanwhile spinoff Young Sheldon will return for its second season, and would only not be renewed if it suddenly made a ratings nosedive coming season.

The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Marvel’s Jessica Jones showrunner will leave the show and Netflix after the upcoming third season in favor of Warner Bros. Television. WB apparently outbid Netflix for her services with an eight-figure offer.

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow are not part of this season’s annual DC TV crossover on The CW, but ironically Superman returns! Next to Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) returning, we will be introduced by Batwoman (Ruby Rose) and non-other than Lois Lane! As was confirmed by a joined statement by Supergirl executive producers Jessica Queller and Robert Rovner. No actor has been confirmed yet. The crossover will kick off in the US on Sunday 9 October for a three night run.

According to TVLine, Hugh Laurie has signed up to at least star in the Pilot of Avenue 5, a sci-fi comedy for HBO from Veep creator Armando Iannucci. Laurie will play Ryan Clark the captain of the titular space station, another chance for the British actor to use his American accent.

Kate Mara is going to star in a limited series TV adaption of the 2013 movie A Teacher by US cable channel FX. Mara will play Diana Watts, a Texas high school teacher who has an affair with one of her students. To get the possible vibe of the TV series, here’s the trailer of the movie…

Amazon Prime Video has released a trailer for their third season of alternate history series The Man in the High Castle. Based upon Philip K. Dick’s award-winning novel which shows us a possible world in which the Allies lost World War II.

Poppy Montgomery (Unforgettable) has landed a new TV lead role in ABC’s new crime drama Reef Break, based on an idea of her own. Montgomery will play Cat Chambers, a thief who will use her skills as fixer for the governor of an island in the Pacific. The series has received a straight-to-series order bypassing the Pilot stage, will have Ken Sanzel (Numb3ers) as showrunner, and is slated for Summer 2019.

According to Deadline Black-ish creator Kenya Barris leaves ABC with one last series before heading to Netflix. The ABC Studios, Sony Pictures TV, and Davis Entertainment series is a reboot of the 1960s comedy Bewitched. This time Samantha the witch will be “a hardworking black single mom” who marries Darren “a white mortal who happens to be a bit of a slacker.” Next to that biracial relationship the series is also set to discuss social topics.

The first footage has been released of Fox’s Lethal Weapon Season 3. After a lot of behind the scenes issues actor Clayne Crawford who played Martin Riggs was fired and has now been replaced with a new character played by Seann William Scott, who will be Damon Wayans’ Roger Murtaugh’s new partner.

That’s it for this week, but join us next week when we round-up the TV news of that week.

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