TV Casting: BIG SKY, SHE-HULK, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, and Emma D’Arcy in HOUSE OF THE DRAGON & More

Big Sky, She-Hulk, House of the Dragon, and more TV Show Casting News

Big Sky, She-Hulk, House of the Dragon, Verbatim, Upload, and Nancy Drew 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, The CW, ABC, Disney+, HBO, and HBO Max. Beware of spoilers in these casting announcements.

HBO

House of the Dragon – Game of Thrones Prequel

Olivia Cooke has been cast as Alicent Hightower, “the daughter of Hand of the King Otto Hightower who was raised in the Red Keep, close to the king and his inner circle. Described as ‘the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms,’ Hightower has both ‘courtly grace and a keen political acumen.'”

Emma D’Arcy has been cast as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, “the king’s first-born, pure Valyrian-blooded child who is a dragonrider. Some say Rhaenyra was ‘born with everything… but she was not born a man.'”

Matt Smith has been cast as Prince Daemon Targaryen, “King Viserys’ younger brother and heir to the throne. Described as a ‘peerless warrior and a dragonrider, Daemon possesses the true blood of the dragon. But it is said that whenever a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin in the air…'”

They join already cast Paddy Considine.

House of the Dragon‘s plot synopsis: “Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, the series will chronicle the rise and the downfall of the Targaryens, who is the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria. It will take place 300 years before.”

Clare Kilner, Geeta V. Patel, and Greg Yaitanes have been added as directors.

They join already hired Miguel Sapochnik.

ABC

Big Sky

Sharon Taylor has been cast as Commander Elena Sosa. “A decorated twenty year veteran of the Montana Highway Patrol, Elena Sosa has worked her way up the ranks to her current status as Commander. She considers herself a community police officer, and takes that role seriously in her efforts to keep the streets and citizens of Montana safe. Commander Sosa is also a proud member of Montana’s indigenous community, and will work with Cassie and Jenny to bring the kidnappers to justice.”

She joins already cast: Patrick Gallagher, Camille Sullivan, Chad Willett, Kylie Bunbury, Katheryn Winnick, John Carroll Lynch, Brian Geraghty, Natalie Alyn Lind, Jesse James Keitel, Valerie Mahaffey, Brooke Smith, Jeffrey Joseph, Gage Marsh, Gabriel Jacob-Cross, and Dedee Pfeiffer.

Big Sky‘s plot synopsis: based on the book by C.J. Box, “In the procedural thriller, private detective Cassie Dewell partners with ex-cop Jenny Hoyt (Winnick) on a search for two sisters who have been kidnapped by a truck driver on a remote highway in Montana. When they discover that these are not the only girls who have disappeared in the area, they must race against the clock to stop the killer before another woman is taken.”

David E. Kelley wrote the screenplays for Big Sky.

Amazon Prime Video

Upload

Josh Banday has been upped to a series regular in Season 2. Banday was previously cast as Ivan, who “works the night shift at Horizen and takes over for Nora (Andy Allo) when she is done with her shift.”

Upload’s plot synopsis: “takes place in the near future, where people can be ‘uploaded’ into a virtual afterlife of their choice. The series follows a young app developer, Nathan Brown (Amell), who winds up in the hospital following a self-driving car accident, needing to quickly decide his fate. After a rushed deliberation with his shallow girlfriend Ingrid (Edwards), he chooses to be uploaded to her family’s luxurious virtual afterlife, the Horizen company’s ‘Lakeview.’

Once uploaded, Nathan meets his customer service ‘Angel’ Nora Anthony (Allo), who at first is his charismatic concierge and guide but quickly becomes his friend and confidante, helping him navigate this new digital extension of life.”

HBO Max

Verbatim

Chris Messina has been cast as the lead but unspecified role in the TV series.

Verbatim’s plot synopsis: “Verbatim is based on his New York Times Op-Docs digital series. It tackles actual events with all dialogue taken from primary sources and presented verbatim. The pilot episode follows the story of the 2019 college admissions scandal.”

The CW

Nancy Drew

Aadila Dosani has been cast as Amanda Bobbsey. “One half of the Bobbsey Twins, Amanda is charming, but possesses a manic energy and street smarts as a result of growing up poor and on the wrong side of the tracks. Often resorting to petty crimes with her twin brother, Amanda puts herself and her twin above everyone and everything else.”

Nancy Drew‘s plot synopsis: “Kennedy McMann stars as the brilliant teenage detective whose sense of self had come from solving mysteries in her hometown of Horseshoe Bay, Maine – until her mother’s untimely death derails her college plans. Devastated by her mother’s passing, Nancy swears off crime-solving while crossing off the days until she can re-apply to college. But when a socialite is murdered, Nancy finds herself a prime suspect in the crime, along with a group of other teens present at the scene.”

Noga Landau, Josh Schwartz, and Stephanie Savage write the screenplays for the Larry Teng-directed TV series.

Disney+

She-Hulk

Mark Ruffalo will be reprising his role as a nuclear physicist, biochemist, and member of the Avengers Bruce Banner / Hulk.

Tim Roth will be reprising his role as former United Kingdom’s Royal Marines Commando Officer Emil Blonsky / Abomination.

They join already cast Tatiana Maslany.

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