SciFiAndTvTalk

Tony Hale Cast in Hulu's The Mysterious Benedict Society

Actor Tony Hale. Courtesy of The American Conservatory Theater,

Two-time Emmy Award winner Tony Hale (Veep, Arrested Development, and creator of Archibald’s Next Big Thing) has been cast to play the dual role of Mr. Benedict and his twin brother Mr. Curtain in Hulu's The Mysterious Benedict Society.  Hale recently wrapped Wakey, Wakey the one-man play at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, and is also featured in Toy Story 4 as the voice of Forky.

Based on the best-selling novel, The Mysterious Benedict Society is the tale of four gifted orphans who are recruited by an eccentric benefactor to go on a secret mission. Placed undercover at a boarding school known as The Institute, they must foil a nefarious plot with global ramifications, while creating a new sort of family along the way.

Mr. Benedict, a rumpled, affable eccentric genius, is the head of the Mysterious Benedict Society – a group of orphans he has recruited to save the world.  While Mr. Benedict is reluctant to put the children in harm’s way, he feels there is no other choice. His Society is mysterious and so is Mr. Benedict himself; he is the genial, cunning mastermind. Mr. Curtain is Mr. Benedict’s frustratingly sharp, well put-together (if villainous) twin brother.

The Mysterious Benedict Society is executive produced by Sonar Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Television, Jamie Tarses, Karen Kehela Sherwood, Matt Manfredi (writer/creator) and Phil Hay (writer/creator).  Showrunners for the series are Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin.

SYFY Greenlights The Surrealtor and Day of the Dead

SYFY has announced the pickup of two new co-productions – the 10-episode The Surrealtor, produced by Blue Ice Pictures, and Day of the Dead, a 10-episode series based on George A. Romero’s classic film and produced by Cartel Entertainment. Both are expected to air on SYFY in 2021.

In The Surrealtor, realtor Nick Roman and an elite team of specialists handle the cases that no one else can: haunted and possessed houses that literally scare would-be buyers away. Researching, investigating and “fixing” the things that go bump in the night, the team works to create closure—and closings --even as they struggle with demons of their own.

The 10-episode series is executive produced by Lance Samuels, Daniel Iron along with George Olson who will also serve as showrunner.

Day of the Dead is the intense story of six strangers trying to survive the first 24 hours of an undead invasion. This ode to George A. Romero’s famous flesh-eaters reminds us that sometimes all it takes to bring people together is a horde of hungry zombies trying to rip them apart.

The 10-episode series is produced by Cartel Entertainment. Showrunners are Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas who will also write. Stan Spry, Jeff Holland, Drew Brown executive produce on behalf of Cartel Entertainment, along with Robert Dudelson, James Dudelson, Jordan Kizwani from HiTide Studios.

Day of the Dead and The Surrealtor join a SYFY originals lineup that includes upcoming new drama series Resident Alien, Vagrant Queen and the Chucky television adaptation; longstanding scripted favorites Wynonna Earp, Van Helsing and The Magicians; late night animation block TZGZ; and fan-focused franchises including SYFY Wire’s The Great Debate, the upcoming series hosted by Baron Vaughn.

Courteney Cox Joins STARZ Comedy Horror Pilot Shining Vale

STARZ, a Lionsgate company, today announced Golden Globe nominee Courteney Cox (Friends, Cougar Town) is set to star in the horror comedy pilot Shining Vale, playing the lead role of Patricia “Pat” Phelps. The half-hour comedy from Jeff Astrof and Sharon Horgan is produced by Warner Bros. Television and Lionsgate in association with Other Shoe Productions, Merman and Kapital Entertainment.

“As STARZ continues to expand its slate of original comedy series, we are incredibly proud to bring a talented actress such as Courteney Cox to the network to topline Shining Vale," said Jeffrey Hirsch, President and CEO of STARZ. “Her previous success in the genre combined with her well-honed comedic chops make her the ideal actor to bring Pat to life.”
 
Shining Vale is a horror comedy about a dysfunctional family that moves from the city to a small town into a house in which terrible atrocities have taken place. But no one seems to notice except for Pat (Cox), who’s convinced she’s either depressed or possessed – turns out, the symptoms are exactly the same. Patricia “Pat” Phelps is a former “wild child” who rose to fame by writing a raunchy, drug-and-alcohol-soaked women’s empowerment novel (a.k.a. lady porn). Fast forward 17 years later, Pat is clean and sober but totally unfulfilled. She still hasn’t written her second novel, she can’t remember the last time she had sex with her husband, and her teenage kids are at that stage where they love their vile friends and want you dead. She was a faithful wife until her one slip-up: a torrid 15-night-stand with a hot, young artist/handyman/musician neighbor. In a last-ditch effort to save her marriage, she and her family move from the “crazy” of the city to a large, old house in the suburbs where evil and humor collide.

Courteney Cox gained overnight fame as she endeared herself to millions as the neurotic yet loveable Monica Geller on the Emmy Award–winning NBC/WBTV comedy Friends. For six seasons, Cox starred as Jules Cobb in her Golden Globe–nominated role as a recently divorced mom in her forties facing the humorous challenges, pitfalls and rewards of life's next chapter in the comedy sitcom Cougar Town. Cox also currently serves as an executive producer and the host on Facebook Watch's documentary series, Nine Months with Courteney Cox via her Hopper Productions banner and Ample Entertainment. The widely popular series received a nomination for "Short Form Series" for the first ever Critics' Choice Real TV Awards in 2018 and is currently filming its second season, set to air in 2020.

Shining Vale is executive produced by Jeff Astrof (Trial & Error, Ground Floor,) from Other Shoe Productions, Sharon Horgan (Divorce, Catastrophe) and Clelia Mountford (Motherland, This Way Up,) from Merman, and Aaron Kaplan (Life in Pieces, The Chi) and Dana Honor (A Million Little Things, The Neighborhood) from Kapital Entertainment. Astrof wrote the pilot, from a story by Horgan & Astrof. Dearbhla Walsh (The Handmaid’s Tale, Traitors) directs and executive produces the pilot. Senior Vice President of Original Programming Susan Lewis is the executive overseeing Shining Vale on behalf of STARZ.

Vagrant Queen Coming In March! (SYFY)

SYFY today announced the 10-episode series, Vagrant Queen is set to premiere on Friday, March 27 at 10/9c. Based on the original comic book series from Vault Comics, Vagrant Queen is comprised of an all-female team of writers and directors featuring Jem Garrard as creator and showrunner. Check out the trailer below!

Vagrant Queen follows Elida (Adriyan Rae) from child queen to orphaned outcast, as she scavenges the treacherous corners of the galaxy, always one step ahead of the Republic government out to extinguish her bloodline. When her old friend Isaac (Tim Rozon) shows up claiming her mother Xevelyn is still alive, they head off with their new ally, Amae (Alex McGregor), to stage a rescue that will take her back into the perilous heart of her former kingdom and up against a deadly foe from her childhood, Commander Lazaro (Paul du Toit).

The series is produced by Blue Ice Pictures and filmed in Cape Town, South Africa. Jem Garrard developed the series for television and serves as showrunner and executive producer. Lance Samuels and Daniel Iron serve as executive producers. F.J. DeSanto and Damian Wassel also serve as executive producers on behalf of Vault Comics.

Temple Premieres In March! (Spectrum)

Spectrum Originals goes underground with the premiere of the Mark Strong-fronted crime drama, Temple, on Monday, March 9th.   Heartfelt and darkly comic, the gripping eight-part series will drop ad-free exclusively on Spectrum’s On Demand platform. Check out the sneak peek below!

In this character-driven drama, a brilliant but haunted surgeon, Daniel Milton (Mark Strong), sacrifices everything for love when he opens an illegal medical clinic in the network of tunnels beneath London’s Temple subway station.  When word of the clinic starts to spread among outcasts and the criminal underworld, Daniel becomes entrenched in dangerous battles between life and death — and one for his very soul.

“I’m excited to be launching our show in the US with our partners at Spectrum,” exclaimed executive producer and star, Mark Strong. “We really hope audiences here love the show as much as they did in the UK!”

Additional cast includes Carice van Houten (Game of Thrones), Daniel Mays (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Catherine McCormack (Genius: Einstein), Craig Parkinson (Misfits), Wunmi Mosaku (Fantastic Beasts) and young, up and coming stars, Tobi King Bakare and Lily Newmark.

Mark Strong and Liza Marshall serve as executive producers for Hera Pictures and Gabriel Silver executive produces for Sky. Temple is written and adapted by Mark O’Rowe from the critically acclaimed Norwegian drama series Valkyrien.

Utopia Falls Coming This Month! (Hulu)

Hundreds of years in the future, in the last living colony on earth, a city called New Babyl, twenty-four teenage candidates are chosen to take part in an annual musical competition known as The Exemplar. For all of them it's a chance to write their names in the history books, but for Aliyah, the independent and adventurous daughter to a city government official, it’s the beginning of an incredible adventure. Through the discovery of a mysterious archive, she is exposed to hip-hop, an ancient form of music culture, which will lead her to question everything she has ever known and change her world forever.

The journey to unravel that mystery will play out over the course of the first season while our candidates prepare and participate in The Exemplar competition. Channeling the rebellious spirit of Hip-hop, Aliyah and her friends face off against the government for the freedom of the people in a finale that will rock the very foundation of their society, changing all of their lives forever.
 
Utopia Falls is the first ever Sci-Fi Hip-hop television series and is from the creator/director of Find Me In Paris. It is prestige television for a new generation of young audiences who are culturally diverse, socially and politically minded, and are motivated to see themselves and their issues represented on screen. The series premieres (with all its episodes) February 14th on Hulu.

The series stars Robyn Alomar (Riot Girls), Akiel Julien (American Gods), Robbie Graham-Kuntz (Full Out), Phillip Lewitski (Supernatural), Humberly Gonzalez (Orphan Black), Devyn Nekoda (Degrassi: The Next Generation) and Mickeey Nguyen (Make It Pop). Also joining the cast are Kate Drummond (Wynonna Earp), Jeff Teravainen (Dark Matter), Huse Madhavji (Saving Hope) and Dwain Murphy (The Strain), and hip hop icon Snoop Dogg as the voice of the Archive.
 
Showrunner Joseph Mallozzi (Syfy’s Dark Matter, Stargatefranchise) and Creator/Director R.T. Thorne (NBC’s Blindspot, Hulu’s Find Me in Paris) who serve as Executive Producers on Utopia Falls; Boi-1da, renowned music producer (Drake, Rihanna, Eminem, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar), has been tapped as the show’s Executive Music Producer; and choreographer Tanisha Scott, three-time MTV VMA-nominated choreographer (Cardi B, Rihanna, Sean Paul). Executive produced by Andrea Gorfolova and Ashley Rite for Sonar Entertainment.