TV Bits: 'A Million Little Things', 'F Is For Family', 'Fuller House', 'Fleabag', 'Homeland', 'Ratched', 'The Walking Dead', 'Archer' And More
In this edition of TV Bits:
Chandler Riggs, who played Carl on The Walking Dead, has a new gig. The actor will join ABC's A Million Little Things, playing a character named PJ, "a young man Rome (Romany Malco) meets. Like Rome, PJ has had some dark days and their encounter proves meaningful to both of them in ways each of them doesn't even fully realize at the time. The series is "set in Boston and "follows a group of friends who bonded under unexpected circumstances. Some have achieved success, others are struggling in their careers and relationships, but all of them feel stuck in life. After one of them dies unexpectedly, it's just the wake-up call the others need to finally start living. Along the way they discover that friends may be the one thing to save them from themselves." So it's kind of like The Big Chill, I guess. Without the kitchen dancing.
Netflix has renewed two of their shows. First: the animated F is for Family, which "transports viewers back to the 1970s, a time when political correctness, helicopter parenting and indoor smoking bans weren't part of anyone's vocabulary, let alone the norm," is coming back for season 4. Then, Fuller House, the Full House sequel, will return for a fifth and final season. The cast posted a farewell message, which you can watch here.
I've yet to watch Fleabag, but I've heard nothing but great things about it. It's returning for a second season, and adding some damn impressive cast members. Both Kristin Scott Thomas and Fiona Shaw will appear in the Phoebe Waller-Bridge series (via Deadline). Shaw also works on Waller-Bridge's other series, the fantastic Killing Eve. In season 2 of Fleabag, "Waller-Bridge's eponymous character goes toe to toe with the man upstairs and meets a Priest, played by Sherlock's Andrew Scott, who jolts her into seeing the world in a different way. Fleabag's family is also as dysfunctional as ever: her uptight sister Claire, played by Sian Clifford, hasn't forgiven her, and Claire's obnoxious alcoholic husband is still on the scene, while the pair are presenting a united front as they come to term with their father's relationship with their godmother, played by Olivia Colman." It has yet to be revealed who Thomas and Shaw are playing.
The final season of Homeland was supposed to drop in January, but...obviously that didn't happen. The last season of the Claire Danes drama will now arrive sometime in the fall. Showtime Entertainment President Gary Levine said, "We previously announced a June premiere but because of [international] production demands... we're moving the final season premiere back to the fall." So there you have it: you'll have to wait a little longer to see Claire Danes run around yelling about bombs and stuff like that.
The above Instagram post from Sarah Paulson is both an announcement that Rosanna Arquette is joining the cast of Ryan Murphy's Ratched, but also an emotional statement about how Paulson was inspired to hire Arquette after the actress admitted she had trouble getting work after speaking out against Harvey Weinstein. Arquette's character will have a "multi-episode arc" on the series, which is a prequel of sorts for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The show is described as "an origins story, beginning in 1947, which will follow Ratched's journey and evolution from nurse to full-fledged monster. The series will track her murderous progression through the mental health care system."
Wow, who could've seen this coming?! Everyone. The Walking Dead has been renewed for season 10, as the above post from showrunner Angela Kang reveals. The series has been slipping in ratings, but it's also one of AMC's biggest hits, so they're not about to let it end anytime soon. And even when it does end, the network is hoping for spin-offs, movies, and more. In short, The Walking Dead will enjoy a very long life.
I watched Archer when it first started, but I kind of lost track of the series after a while. In fact, I didn't even realize it was still on-going. But it is, and the 10th season is set to debut in April. The series has been jumping genres for a while, and season 10 will be titled Archer: 1999. Per IndieWire, "Archer, voiced by H. Jon Benjamin, will play the co-captain of the USS Figgis. Alongside him is his co-captain and ex-wife Lana Kane (played by Aisha Tyler); the two just went through a nasty divorce, so fans can expect more of their trademark heated (and hilarious) bickering. Lana is the co-captain and that causes a lot of tension between her and Archer because she owns half the ship...Mallory (Jessica Walter) will be the ship's artificial intelligence and a possible being of pure energy; Cheryl (Judy Greer) is a hotshot fighter pilot, but she's not happy about it...Ray (voiced by series creator Adam Reed) is the loneliest courtesan in the galaxy, while Pam Poovey (Amber Nash) is a brutish alienoid. Finally, the former Dr. Krieger is now a synthetic android."
A Bewitched reboot from Black-ish creator Kenya Barris has been "rolled" at ABC. That means that rather than develop the show right now, the network will roll development into the 2020-21 broadcast season. Per THR, "The single-camera comedy about a blended family — a hardworking black single mother who happens to be a witch and winds up marrying a white mortal slacker — had a sizable pilot-production commitment." But the show is not happening...for now.
The Bewitched reboot may not be taking off, but the Party of Five reboot is. Freeform has picked up the series, which is described as "a modern twist on the original series, as the new one-hour drama will follow the five Acosta children as they navigate daily life struggles to survive as a family unit after their parents are suddenly deported to Mexico." The original Party of Five aired for six seasons on Fox, from 1994 to 2000.
People can't get enough of thrillers on Netflix, and Netflix is paying attention. The streaming service has just ordered a series based on Pieces of Her, by bestselling author Karin Slaughter. Here's the synopsis: "When a Saturday afternoon trip to the mall with her mother suddenly explodes into violence, an adrift young woman's conception of her mother is forever changed. As figures from her mother's past start to resurface, she is forced to go on the run and on that journey, begins to piece together the truth of her mother's previous identity and uncovers secrets of her childhood." The series will have 8 episodes.
Modern Family, a show that feels like it's been on forever, is finally coming to an end. ABC has announced the series will end in 2020 with its 11th season. ABC entertainment president Karey Burke said that she would be open to a potential spin-off once the series ends, and that during the final season, "there are some surprises and big milestones coming. They intend to really go out big, so it would be terrific if a spinoff were part of that, but I haven't heard anything." I've never seen a single episode of this show, so I can't comment much. But if its lasted this long, people must obviously love it.
Mom, a Chuck Lorre series that stars Anna Faris and Allison Janney, has been picked up for two more seasons, according to Deadline. The two season deal comes at the end of lengthy negotiations, including increased salaries and more. This is yet another network show I've never watched, but I'm a fan of both Faris and Janney, and if this gets them even more money, I can't complain. In the series, "A newly sober single mom tries to pull her life together in Napa Valley while dealing with her wayward mother."