TV Casting: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Prequel TV Series, RESIDENT EVIL, Megan Boone Exits THE BLACKLIST, & More

Beauty and the Beast Prequel, Resident Evil, The Blacklist, and more TV Show Casting News

Beauty and the Beast Prequel, Resident Evil, The Blacklist, The Staircase, Reacher, Yellowjackets, The First Lady, The Watcher, With Love, Westworld, and Station Eleven have made recent TV show casting, TV mini-series casting, TV movie casting, and TV directing news. These shows and TV movies air on: Amazon Prime Video, Showtime, Disney+, NBC, HBO, HBO Max, and Netflix. Beware of spoilers in these casting announcements.

Showtime

The First Lady

Rosalind Chao has been cast as Tina Tchen, “a brilliant lawyer known for her strategy and wit, who was Chief of Staff to the First Lady Michelle Obama and served as Executive Director for the Council on Women and Girls.”

Michael Potts has been cast as Fraser Robinson III, “the father of Michelle Obama.”

Donna Lynne Champlin has been cast as Melissa “Mel” Winter, “a democratic political aide who was Michelle Obama’s first hire during Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and continues to serve as her trusted Chief of Staff.”

The First Lady’s plot synopsis: “The First Lady is a revelatory reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House. Season 1 focuses on Eleanor Roosevelt (Anderson), Betty Ford (Pfeiffer) and Michelle Obama (Davis).”

They join already cast Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Gillian Anderson.

Susanne Bier is directing all the episodes of the TV series.

Yellowjackets

Sarah Desjardins has been cast as Callie, “the teenaged daughter of Shauna (Melanie Lynskey).”

Kevin Alves has been cast as Travis. “Guarded, insecure, and sometimes obnoxious, Travis struggles to be decent while using his mask of indifference to navigate his inexperience with girls and figure out how to live among them.”

Alexa Barajas has been cast as Mari. “A member of the varsity Yellowjackets, she’s known as a chatterbox and yearns for the attention of the popular crowd.”

Produced for SHOWTIME by Entertainment One (eOne), YELLOWJACKETS was created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson (Narcos), who are executive producing and serving as showrunners. Karyn Kusama (Destroyer) will executive produce and direct the pilot.

Written by Lyle and Nickerson, YELLOWJACKETS is equal parts survival epic, horror story and coming-of-age drama and tells the narrative of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the Ontario wilderness. The series chronicles their descent from a complicated but thriving team to warring, cannibalistic clans, while also tracking the lives they’ve attempted to piece back together nearly 25 years later, proving that the past is never really past and what began out in the wilderness is far from over.

Netflix

Resident Evil

Lance Reddick has been cast as Albert Wesker.

Adeline Rudolph, Siena Agudong, Paola Nunez, Tamara Smart, and Ella Balinska have been cast in unspecified roles.

Resident Evil’s plot synopsis: “In the first timeline, fourteen-year-old sisters Jade and Billie Wesker are moved to New Raccoon City. A manufactured, corporate town, forced on them right as adolescence is in full swing. But the more time they spend there, the more they come to realize that the town is more than it seems and their father may be concealing dark secrets. Secrets that could destroy the world.

In the first timeline, fourteen-year-old sisters Jade and Billie Wesker are moved to New Raccoon City. A manufactured, corporate town, forced on them right as adolescence is in full swing. But the more time they spend there, the more they come to realize that the town is more than it seems and their father may be concealing dark secrets. Secrets that could destroy the world.”

Bronwen Hughes will direct the first two episodes of the TV series.

The Watcher

Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale have been cast as a married couple.

The Watcher’s plot synopsis: “The Watcher follows a married couple (Watts, Cannavale) whose move into their dream home is being threatened by terrifying letters from a stalker, signed “The Watcher”.”

Amazon Prime Video

With Love

Constance Marie has been cast as Beatriz Diaz, “Jorge (Mark Indelicato) and Lily’s (Emeraude Tobia) mother. She is going through a midlife/identity crisis with her kids getting older and her marriage being on auto-pilot.”

Benito Martinez has been cast as Jorge Diaz Sr. “He’s a hug in human form, a loving and caring father and husband, even if he has gotten a bit too comfortable in his relationship.”

Vincent Rodriguez III has been cast as Henry, “Jorge’s charismatic boyfriend who is about to meet the Diaz family and be the first man that Jorge has brought home ever. Henry is a Filipino dreamboat and the perfect guy but will he and Jorge have a happy ending?”

Reacher

Kristin Kreuk has been cast as Charlie. “Happily married to Hubble, the refined former debutante is living the Country Club life but is much tougher than she looks.”

Marc Bendavid has been cast as Hubble, “a frazzled accountant living a grander life than he can afford and gets caught up in a business he would never remotely consider. Hubble loves his family and will do whatever’s necessary to protect them.”

Willie C. Carpenter has been cast as Mosley. “A life-long resident of Margrave and the town barber, Mosley hates what’s going on in Margrave and is happy to help Reacher, advising him on the ins and outs of the small town.”

Currie Graham has been cast as Kliner Sr. “Beloved by the townspeople for his generosity in saving the struggling town of Margrave, this formidable businessman has a very dark side.”

Harvey Guillén has been cast as Jasper, “Margrave’s medical examiner who is suddenly overwhelmed and terrified by multiple murders in his small town.”

Maxwell Jenkins has been cast as Young Reacher. “He learns the life lessons that make Jack Reacher the man he becomes.”

NBC

The Blacklist

Megan Boone is leaving the TV series at the end of Season 8 during its season finale.

The decision about Boone’s exit was made early on, well ahead of The Blacklist‘s Season 9 renewal in January. That allowed the writers to craft the arc for her character, Elizabeth “Liz”” Keen, this season as her final chapter.

HBO

Westworld

Aurora Perrineau has been cast in an unspecified role.

HBO Max

Station Eleven

Luca Villacis has been cast as Cody, “a teenaged member of The Prophet’s cult.”

Prince Amponsah has been cast as “August, a member of The Traveling Symphony and one of Kirsten’s oldest friends.”

Dylan Taylor has been cast as Dan, “the newest member of The Traveling Symphony.”

Joe Pingue has been cast as Dieter, “a trusted confidante of Kirsten in The Traveling Symphony.”

Maxwell McCabe-Lokos has been cast as Vlad, “a musician in The Traveling Symphony.”

Ajahnis Charley has been cast as Chrysanthemum, “the wry conscience of The Traveling Symphony.”

Milton Barnes has been cast as Miles, “a TSA Agent at the Severn City Airport.”

Kate Moyer has been cast as Haley Butterscotch, “a young member of The Prophet’s cult.”

They join already cast: David Wilmot, Matilda Lawler, Nabhaan Rizwan, Philippine Velge, Daniel Zovatto and Lori Petty, Andy McQueen, David Cross, Enrico Colantoni, Julian Obradors, and Deborah Cox.

Station Eleven’s plot synopsis: “Station Eleven is a post-apocalyptic saga spanning multiple timelines. It tells the stories of survivors of a devastating flu as they attempt to rebuild and reimagine the world anew while holding on to the best of what’s been lost.”

Patrick Somerville wrote the screenplay for the TV series, based on the book by Emily St. John Mandel.

Hiro Murai will be directing various episodes.

The Staircase

Dane DeHaan has been cast as Clayton Peterson, “Michael Peterson’s son.”

He joins already cast: Colin Firth, Toni Collette, Rosemarie DeWitt, Juliette Binoche, Parker Posey, and Sophie Turner.

The Staircase’s plot synopsis: the series “explores the life of Michael Peterson (Firth), his sprawling North Carolina family and the suspicious death of his wife, Kathleen (Collette).”

Maggie Cohn and Antonio Campos wrote the screenplays for the Campos-directed TV mini-series.

Disney+

Beauty and the Best (Working Title)

Luke Evans is reprising his role as Gaston from Beauty and the Beast.

Josh Gad is reprising his role as LeFou (Louie) from Beauty and the Beast.

Briana Middleton has been cast as Tilly, Louie’s stepsister.

Beauty and the Best is the prequel TV series to 2017’s Beauty and the Beast film.

Beauty and the Best’s plot synopsis: ” Set in the iconic kingdom of Beauty and the Beast years before the Beast and Belle’s epic romance, the series will follow Gaston (Evans) and LeFou (Gad) as they set off with LeFou’s step-sister, Tilly (Middleton), after a surprising revelation from her past comes to light, sending the unlikely trio off on an unexpected journey filled with romance, comedy, and adventure. While the mysteries of the past are uncovered and the dangers of the present grow, old friends and new enemies reveal that this familiar kingdom harbors many secrets.”

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