TV Bits: 'The Mysterious Benedict Society', 'Lucifer', 'Langdon', 'The Brides'
In this edition of TV Bits:
What is The Mysterious Benedict Society? I don't know – it's mysterious! But seriously folks, it's a YA series being turned into a TV series for Hulu. And the show has found a cast member in Tony Hale, of Veep and Arrested Development fame. Hale is playing two roles, actually, according to Collider – that of Mr. Benedict, "an eccentric, wealthy, and kind-hearted benefactor who gathers the children together and sends them on an undercover mission at an infamous boarding school called The Institute," and also Mr. Benedict's evil twin brother, Mr. Curtain. That all sounds fine, but seriously, how many YA adaptations are there going to be about special kids who live in special boarding schools? There has to be another set up out there. Right?
Lucifer, the show that somehow keeps on keepin' on, has yet to be granted an official sixth season by Netflix. But according to TV Line, Netflix did just close deals with co-showrunners Ildy Modrovich and Joe Henderson to keep running things. That certainly sounds like promising news for fans of the show, but it's also worth noting that Lucifer himself, star Tom Ellis, has yet to sign a deal with the streaming service. Will it eventually happen? Stay tuned. Season 5 of the show has yet to arrive on Netflix, but when it does, it'll be split into two parts.
Remember those Robert Langdon books that were crazy popular, and eventually turned into rather lackluster movies starring Tom Hanks? Well, there's going to be a TV series now – called Langdon. And the show has found its lead in Ashley Zukerman (not pictured above; that's the o.g. Langdon, Tommy Hanks). Per Variety, the series "follows the early adventures of famed Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (Zukerman), who must solve a series of deadly puzzles to save his kidnapped mentor and thwart a global conspiracy." I am 100% unfamiliar with Zukerman, but he's appeared on that Succession show all the kids love.
Gina Torres, who appeared on Firefly and Hannibal, has joined the cast of ABC's The Brides. The series is a reimagining of Dracula from Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina's Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Per Deadline, The Brides is "a family drama with a trio of powerful female leads at its heart. With strong horror elements, The Brides is a vampire soap about empowered, immortal women and the things they do to maintain wealth, prestige, legacy — and their nontraditional family." Torres will play Cleo Phillips, "One of the three Brides of Dracula and the leader of this vampire trio, Cleo is an imperious woman with a queenly manner —understandably, as she was a queen in her former life who was turned by Dracula after the death of her husband. Now a maven of New York City real estate, Cleo is challenged professionally by a mysterious newcomer — even as her ties to her sisters are dangerously fraying."