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Archive for the ‘News’ Category

DEADLINE – EXCLUSIVE: Hulu has put into development hourlong drama The Golden Cage, from producers Darryl Taja (The Perfect Guy) and Adam Rodin (Extant). Chilling Adventures of Sabrina alum Kiernan Shipka is attached to star in the project, created and written by Page Awards finalist Oskar Nordmark. BAFTA-winning British helmer Susanna White (Andor) is set to direct the potential pilot and serve as an executive producer.

Described as Suits meets Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, The Golden Cage explores the lengths one woman (Shipka) will go to camouflage her past while climbing the dizzying heights of Wall Street.

This marks the first major sale for Nordmark, who is a forensic accountant by trade. He executive produces alongside Taja via his Epidemic Pictures banner, Rodin, White and Roadside Attractions. Talks are underway with potential showrunners.

Rodin originally brought the project to Taja to develop and produce through Epidemic Pictures. Based on the experience Taja had working with Nordmark on the original draft, he signed the writer as a client to co-manage with Rodin. Taja then took the project to Jennifer Berman at Roadside, who also will executive produce alongside indie studio’s principals Eric D’Arbeloff and Howard Cohen. The script, with Shipka and White attached, was taken out, generating interest and landing at Hulu.

Through Epidemic, Taja has set up numerous TV projects during the past few years, including Reunited at NBC with Rodin. He is a producing partner with his client Felicia Henderson, who is coming off an overall deal at 20th Television.

Rodin, who was a co-producer on Extant, is an executive producer on Don’t Go in the Water for Universal Pictures, as well as the sequel to Open Water at Lionsgate. Recently, he wrote Emergency Landing for WB.

Roadside recently released the spy thriller The Courier, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel Brosnahan and Jessie Buckley, and Matteo Garrone’s Pinocchio. Past releases include Judy (for which Renee Zellweger won an Oscar), The Peanut Butter Falcon and Manchester by the Sea. Roadside Attractions also is the production company on Lionsgate’s Dear White People series for Netflix.

Shipka played the title role in Netflix’s series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. She recently wrapped filming the lead role in the remake of Swimming with Sharks alongside Diane Kruger. Beyond Sabrina, Kiernan probably is best known for playing Sally Draper on AMC’s Mad Men. She is repped by WME, Anonymous Content and Sloane Offer.

DEADLINE – EXCLUSIVE: Limelight and eOne have set an all-star cast for its upcoming drama Wildflower including Jean Smart, marking her the first film project she has signed on to since winning her Best Actress Emmy. Starring alongside Smart are Kiernan Shipka, Alexandra Daddario, Dash Mihok, Charlie Plummer and Samantha Hyde.

Limelight and eOne are fully financing with Matt Smukler directing and Jana Savage writing.

Dylan Sellers and Chris Parker of Limelight are producing along with Jamie Patricof and Katie McNeill of Hunting Lane Films and Ethan Lazar, Kyle Owens, Austen Rydell and Billie Lourd of Morning Moon Productions. Morning Moon has been developing the project since 2020, when it optioned Savage’s script. The company is in post-production on the doc Watershed.

Based on Smukler’s family, Wildflower is a coming-of-age dark comedy that follows Bea Johnson from birth to graduation as she navigates life with a parent with an intellectual disability and an extended family that can’t quite agree on the best way to help.

Jen Gorton and Jillian Share overseeing for eOne. CJ Barbato of Limelight will co-produce.

TV LINE – A chilling adventure is coming to Riverdale.

Kiernan Shipka, who starred on Netflix’s Riverdale spinoff Chilling Adventures of Sabrina from 2018 through to its 2020 series finale, is bringing her titular character to Riverdale in Season 6, TVLine has confirmed.

“We’ve been talking about having Sabrina visit Riverdale since season 1, so it’s thrilling that this is finally happening, as part of our Rivervale special event,” showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa said in a statement. “It’s also perfect that she shows up to help Cheryl Blossom during her hour of greatest need. Everyone on set lost their minds — I think fans will, too. It’s really fun and special.”

In this week’s Season 5 finale, Cheryl invoked a centuries-old curse spoken by her ancestor Abigail while she was burned alive as a witch, and a cold wind blew through Riverdale as a result. The curse was originally on the ancestors of Archie, Betty and Jughead, so Cheryl’s curse could spell trouble for those three when Season 6 kicks off with a five-episode event, dubbed “Rivervale.”

Riverdale Season 6 is set to premiere on Tuesday (a new night!), Nov. 16 at 9/8c (a new time!) on The CW. Shipka’s Sabrina will turn up in Episode 4, titled “The Witching Hour(s),” where she’ll assist Cheryl as she performs a dangerous spell “that may mean the difference between life and death for a beloved member of the Blossom family,” per the official description.

VARIETY – Kiernan Shipka has signed on to star in supernatural thriller “Treat,” studio Cadence13’s first feature-length podcast — which the company describes as an “audio movie.”

“Treat” is in production now and is scheduled to premiere on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, timed for Halloween, available worldwide on all major podcast platforms. The project comes from C13Features, the new scripted audio movie division of Audacy’s Cadence13, in partnership with Endeavor Content.

Written by Nathan Ballingrud, “Treat” tells the story of a seemingly perfect American town whose residents make a deal with a mysterious outsider possessing supernatural powers to help it recover from social turmoil. When the town falls behind on its payments, a trio of teenagers — led by Allie West (Shipka) — must unlock the secret of his powers. Additional casting for “Treat” will be announced in the coming weeks.

“I’m thrilled to be playing Allie — she’s a strong-willed, complex young girl with a true weight on her shoulders: She has to be the adult in her family, but she’s still just a teenager coming of age, and being able to play her and navigate her world is really fulfilling,” Shipka said in a statement. “‘Treat’ is a one-of-a-kind thrilling audio movie and story, and I’m so excited to be part of this experience with C13Features.”

Shipka will serve as executive producer alongside Cadence13 chief content officer/co-founder Chris Corcoran. C13Features has enlisted Two & Two Pictures’ Babak Anvari and Lucan Toh as well as Best Case Studios to co-produce.

Shipka most recently played the title role of Sabrina Spellman in Netflix’s “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” and starred as Sally Draper in seven seasons of “Mad Men.” She also appeared in FX’s “Feud: Bette and Joan” and is starring in the upcoming HBO series “The White House Plumbers” and Roku limited series “Swimming With Sharks.” Shipka is repped by WME and Anonymous Content.

Cadence13’s bread and butter remains in traditional episodic podcast series. But the studio hopes the movie-like style of “Treat” and other C13Feature titles will generate blockbuster hits.

With “Treat” as its inaugural audio movie, “we are aiming for premium quality and excellence across all sides of each production for mainstream appeal, exceptional originality, innovation and storytelling,” Corcoran said. “Casting is one of the most critical and important elements of this new audio movie experience from C13Features, and we are so honored and excited to have Kiernan join us to play this incredible role of Allie — we can’t wait to see her bring this pivotal character to life and help take ‘Treat’ to the level we all believe it can go.”

So sad 🙁 I know these final episodes will be amazing.

TV LINE – It’s been a rough week for the Archieverse. Just days after The CW pulled the plug on Riverdale spinoff Katy Keene, Netflix has gone and cancelled fellow sister series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina after two super-sized seasons (or four parts), multiple sources confirm to TVLine.

The Kiernan Shipka-headlined series’ final eight episodes (aka Part 4) will premiere later this year.

Working on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has been an incredible honor from Day One,” said showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa in a statement to TVLine. “The cast, beginning with Kiernan as everyone’s favorite teen witch, has been an absolute joy. I am beyond thankful to the crew, writers, editors, assistants, and everyone for pouring so much love into this dark dream of a show. I’m also grateful to our partners at Netflix, Warner Bros., Berlanti Television and Archie Comics for letting us tell the story we wanted to tell, the way we wanted to tell it. We can’t wait for everyone to see Part Four.”

Originally in development at The CW as a companion to Riverdale, Sabrina eventually moved to Netflix, where it scored a 20-episode straight-to-series order. It premiered on the streamer in Oct. 2018. A second season of 16 episodes was subsequently ordered, the first eight of which dropped in January.

The cast of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina includes Shipka in the title role, Miranda Otto as Zelda Spellman, Lucy Davis as Hilda Spellman, Ross Lynch as Harvey Kinkle, Gavin Leatherwood as Nicholas Scratch, Chance Perdomo as Ambrose Spellman, Jaz Sinclair as Rosalind Walker, Lachlan Watson as Theo Putnam, Michelle Gomez as Madam Satan, Richard Coyle as Father Blackwood, Tati Gabrielle as Prudence Blackwood, Adeline Rudolph as Agatha and Abigail Cowen as Dorcas.

In the final eight episodes, “The Eldritch Terrors will descend upon Greendale,” per Netflix. “The coven must fight each terrifying threat one-by-one (The Weird, The Returned, The Darkness to name a few), all leading up to…The Void, which is the End of All Things. As the witches wage war, with the help of The Fright Club, Nick begins to slowly earn his way back into Sabrina’s heart, but will it be too late?”

THR – The series is based on George Huang’s 1994 movie about a Hollywood assistant.
Kiernan Shipka and Diane Kruger are going Swimming With Sharks at Quibi.

The pair will topline the shortform streaming platform’s update of the 1994 Hollywood satire. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina star Shipka will play Lou, a young assistant at a Hollywood studio full of manipulators and schemers — none of whom know she is poised to outwit them all.

Kruger (Inglourious Basterds, FX’s The Bridge) will play Joyce, Lou’s boss and the sole head of the studio.

Writer and actress Kathleen Robertson (Little Bee, Netflix’s Northern Rescue) is adapting George Huang’s cult-classic film, which starred Frank Whaley as an assistant who turns the tables on his abusive boss (Kevin Spacey). Robertson, director Tucker Gates (Homeland, The Morning Show) and Chris Cowles (Blockers) are producing the Lionsgate TV series. Dana Brunetti and Liz Destro are executive producing along with Jay Cohen and Stephen Israel, who were EPs on the film.

Shipka currently plays the title role in Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, whose third season debuted in late January (it is renewed through its fourth cycle). The former Mad Men regular’s credits also include Feud: Bette and Joan and the Netflix movie Let It Snow. She is repped by WME, Anonymous Content and Sloane Offer.

Kruger’s recent credits include Welcome to Marwen and JT LeRoy. She is set to star with Lupita Nyong’o and Jessica Chastain in the spy thriller 355, which is set for a 2021 release. Kruger is repped by UTA, UBBA, Untitled Entertainment, Altitude and Peikoff Mahan.

Quibi has not set a premiere date for Swimming With Sharks. The mobile-centric streaming platform is slated to launch April 6 and will offer scripted and unscripted entertainment series and daily news, sports and lifestyle programming for $5 a month with ads and $8 without them.

DEADLINE – Netflix has assembled a solid group of young actors to star in Let It Snow, a YA film based on the 2008 NYT bestselling book by The Fault In Our Stars author John Green, as well as Lauren Myracle and Maureen Johnson. Kiernan Shipka, star of Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina series, Isabela Moner, who toplines the upcoming Dora The Explorer live-action film, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse’s Shameik Moore, and Dumplin actress Odeya Rush are attached as leads in the pic, which is being helmed by first-time feature director Luke Snellin.

In addition, Jacob Batalon (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Miles Robbins (Halloween), Mitchell Hope (Descendants), Liv Hewson (Santa Clarita Diet), Anna Akana (You Get Me), and Joan Cusack (Shameless) will also star.

Slated to begin production early this year, Let It Snow, set during a once-in-century snowstorm on Christmas Eve, follows several high school seniors who discover unexpected opportunities as well as complications that test their friendships, love lives, and aspirations for the future.

Finding Dory scribe Victoria Strouse wrote the latest version of the screenplay. Dylan Clark, the producer behind Netflix’s highly viewed Bird Box film and The Planet of the Apes series, is producing the project via his Dylan Clark Productions shingle, along with Alexa Faigen. Exec producers are Beau Bauman of Dylan Clark Productions and Brendan Fergusom.

Shipka is repped by CAA, Anonymous Content and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; Moner by CAA and attorneys Peikoff/Mahan; Moore by CAA and Three Six Zero; Rush by CAA, MGMT Entertainment, and Stone, Genow, Smelkinson, Binder & Christopher, LLP.

VARIETY – Netflix has ordered two more seasons of “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.”

The streamer has ordered another 16 episodes of the series, which will be split into two parts. Netflix initially ordered 20 episodes of the show, which was split into two 10-episode seasons. Season 3 and 4 will begin production in 2019. Season 2 is set to premiere April 5, 2019. The series also launched a holiday special, “A Midwinter’s Tale,” last Friday.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” imagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult and witchcraft. It finds Sabrina wrestling to reconcile her dual nature — half-witch, half-mortal — while standing against the evil forces that threaten her, her family and the daylight world humans inhabit.

It stars Kiernan Shipka, Miranda Otto, Lucy Davis, Ross Lynch, Michelle Gomez, Chance Perdomo, Jaz Sinclair, Richard Coyle, Tati Gabrielle, Adeline Rudolph, Abigail Cowen, Lachlan Watson and Gavin Leatherwood. Jedidiah Goodacre will join the series as Dorian Gray along with Alexis Denisof as Mary Wardwell’s boyfriend, Adam Masters.

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who also serves as chief creative officer of Archie Comics, is the showrunner for the series. Aguirre-Sacasa executive produces alongside Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater, and Lee Toland Krieger. Berlanti Productions produces along with Warner Bros. Television.

Praise Satan! I’m so grateful to my partners at Warner Brothers, Netflix, Berlanti Television, and Archie Productions for supporting this darker vision of the world’s most famous teen witch,” said Aguirre-Sacasa. “And I’m thrilled to be continuing to tell Sabrina’s chilling adventures with our incredible cast and crew, led by the unstoppable Kiernan Shipka.”