TV Casting: SHOOTER, THE PATRIOT, James Franco in THE DEUCE

The Patriot, Shooter, The Deuce, and other TV productions have made recent TV show casting, TV movie casting, and TV directing news. These shows and movies air on The CW and Fox.

The Flash (The CW)

Wally West is finally coming to Central City.

“The Flash” has cast “Insurgent” actor Keiynan Lonsdale in the role..The actor will be a series regular addition to the second season cast of the CW superhero drama.

Lonsdale will make his first appearance in the winter, playing the iconic character from the DC comic book universe who became the speedster known as Kid Flash. In the comics, Wally West is related to Iris West, played by Candice Patton on the show.

Empire (Fox)

Mariah Carey is set to guest on Season 2 of “Empire”

Pitbull will appear on “Empire’s” second season…The singer will play himself, in addition to performing on the hit show.

Though Pitbull’s “Empire” date is not set yet, he will appear sometime in the fall…he will perform “No Doubt About It” with Jamal (Jussie Smollett).

The Wiz Live! (NBC)

Shanice Williams [will]…star as Dorothy in NBC’s “The Wiz Live!”

David Alan Grier to play the Cowardly Lion in its live production of “The Wiz”

Grier will play the fraidy cat who asks Dorothy if he can join her on her journey down the yellow brick road to Oz.

Latifah will star as the Wiz, the mysterious and powerful wizard who holds the keys to the Emerald City, but whose metamorphosis from ordinary to extraordinary is itself a hoax. She rose to her lofty position after being transported by accident to Oz in a hot air balloon during a snowstorm.

Mary J. Blige will play Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, who holds sway over the Winkies and the Winged Monkeys that do her bidding. She captures Dorothy and her friends to avenge the unintentional murder of her evil sister, Evvamean, and to get back the powerful silver slippers given to Dorothy by the Good Witch of the North.

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Stephanie Mills…is taking on the role of Auntie Em for the broadcast TV version.

Choreographer Fatima Robinson is also on board, along with music producer Harvey Mason Jr. and Stephen Oremus as music director, orchestrator and co-producer of the music.

Kenny Leon (“A Raisin in the Sun”) will direct, with Harvey Fierstein (“Torch Song Trilogy,” “Hairspray” and “La Cage aux Folles”) providing new written material.

Uzo Aduba and Amber Riley have been cast as the good witches in NBC’s upcoming “The Wiz Live!”

Aduba…will play Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, who finally reveals the secret of the silver slippers to Dorothy and points her way home.

Riley…will play Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North who isn’t the best at magic but she does try. She is a sister of Glinda, Evillene and Evvamene, the other three witches of Oz. She points Dorothy to the Yellow Brick Road and her journey to Emerald City.

Legends of Tomorrow (The CW)

“DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” has found its big bad villain Vandal Savage, casting actor Casper Crump in the role

Crump’s character is immortal, having spent the past 6,000 years moving like a virulent disease through history, whispering in the ears of despots and dictators, all leading to his eventual domination of the world.

Doctor Who (BBC)

Reece Shearsmith has been set as a guest star in a BAFTA TV Craft Awards special episode of the upcoming season of Doctor Who…He’ll appear in what’s deemed “a very scary episode” penned by Mark Gatiss, who says the story has “been brewing in the dark recesses of my mind for a while now.” Shearsmith…joins other guest stars across the series including Michelle Gomez, Maisie Williams, Rufus Hound, Ingrid Oliver and Rebecca Front.

Grantchester (ITV)

Neil Morrissey is joining the cast of ITV/Masterpiece’s Grantchester…Morrissey will play Harding Redmond, a resident of Grantchester and grieving father whose teenage daughter Abigail (Grace Holley) is found dead amid suspicious circumstances. Heartbroken and desperate to get to the bottom of what happened to Abigail, Harding accuses Sidney (Norton) of having an inappropriate relationship with her. Sidney is determined to prove his innocence, but will Harding’s accusations change the way the villagers feel about him? Other new cast include Claudie Blakley (Lark Rise To Candleford, The Driver), Nigel Planer (The Young Ones, Episodes), Andrew Knott (Black Work, The Driver), Nicky Henson (Downton Abbey, Vera Drake) and Oliver Dimsdale (Harley Street, He Knew He Was Right). Tessa Peake-Jones, Morven Christie, Kacey Ainsworth and Al Weaver are returning.

Secrets & Lies (ABC)

AnnaLynne McCord (90210, American Heiress) has booked a recurring role on the second season of ABC’s Secrets & Lies.

McCord will play Melanie Warner, the outspoken, slightly inappropriate housewife of Patrick Warner, the third child of private equity magnate, John Warner. Although she thought she finally arrived when she married Patrick, her victory was short-lived as it became clear the Warner family would never fully accept her into the fold.

The Last Man on Earth (Fox)

Jason Sudeikis [is] set to make another appearance on the Fox comedy, opposite Will Forte. Sudeikis (“We’re the Millers,” “Horrible Bosses”) will reprise his role as Phil’s (the Emmy-nominated Forte) brother.

In the Season 2 premiere, Phil, Carol (Kristen Schaal) and their legion of loyal sports balls strike out on their own after Phil was banned from Tucson by the rest of the group.

Shooter (USA)

Ryan Phillippe has been tapped to star in the USA Network drama pilot “Shooter”…inspired by the Stephen Hunter novel “Point of Impact,” revolves around an ex-Marine sniper, Bob Lee Swagger, who is recruited to thwart a presidential assassination but winds up framed for the crime.

John Hlavin wrote the pilot and is exec producing. Simon Cellan Jones (“Ballers”) is on board to direct.

The Way (Hulu)

Hugh Dancy has joined the cast of Hulu’s “The Way”

Dancy will play Cal Roberts, the charismatic face of The Way, entangled in a complicated relationship with two other members of the movement, Sarah (Michelle Monaghan) and her conflicted husband, Eddie (Aaron Paul).

Cal will battle personal demons and bold ambition as he strives to take the organization into its next generation.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox)

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” has found its new boss in the form of Bill Hader, who will replace Andre Braugher as Andy Samberg’s precinct captain.

Captain Holt (Braugher) took an NYPD Public Relations job on Fox comedy’s Season 2 finale. The character will still be on the show, just in a new gig.

The Patriot (Amazon)

Michael Dorman (The Water Diviner, Wonderland) and Resurrection‘s Kathleen Munroe have been cast as male and female leads in Amazon pilot The Patriot

The comedic thriller/family dramedy centers on not-quite-master spy John Allerton (Dorman), the son of Tom Allerton, a Director of Intelligence with the State Department. John’s career as a spy working under Non Official Cover (NOC) is plagued by one little detail: he’s got a government job, and in the real world, everyone in the Federal Government screws up. John has one ally when he goes into the field to stop Iran from getting a short-range nuclear weapon: his older brother Congressman Edward Allerton, who always has his back. Munroe plays Alice, John’s wife and an elementary school teacher who is forced to hold down the fort when her husband is away for long periods of time.

The Patriot is written and directed by Steve Conrad

The Deuce (HBO)

a 1970s/’80s porn drama titled The Deuce, has snagged boldface names James Franco and Breaking Bad’s Michelle MacLaren as the potential series’ star and director, respectively.

The Deuce…follows the story of the legalization and subsequent rise of the porn industry in New York of the early 1970s and continues through the mid-1980s. The long-in-the-works entry will explore the rough-and-tumble world that existed in midtown Manhattan until the rise of HIV, the violence of the cocaine epidemic and the renewed real estate market all ended the bawdy turbulence. Named for 42nd Street, The Deuce is inspired in part by the career of twin brothers who were players in the Times Square world and became fronts for Mob control of the volatile and lucrative sex industry from its origins.

Franco…is slated to play both twins. Simon and Pelecanos have penned the pilot, with Richard Price (Clockers, The Color of Money) also credited on subsequent scripts.

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