Fox’s two-hour musical event The Passion has added Grammy winner Seal to the cast as Pontius Pilate. Set to air live on Palm Sunday, March 20, 2016 at 8pm ET (taped delayed on the West Coast), Fox’s epic event will also star Jencarlos Canela as Jesus Christ, Chris Daughtry as Judas, Prince Royce as the disciple Peter, and Trisha Yearwood as Mary, the mother of Jesus. Tyler Perry is the host and announcer.
Peter Barsocchini (High School Musical) wrote the script and Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, Mark Bracco, Jacco Doornbos, Adam Anders, David Grifhorst, and Robert Deaton are executive producing. Deaton’s also The Passion‘s showrunner.
Seal’s sold over 30 million albums and recently released his ninth studio album, 7.
The Passion Plot:
The Passion tells the 2000-year-old story of the last hours of Jesus Christ’s life on earth through passages from the Bible and a variety of contemporary popular music, sung by the cast, and arranged specifically for this event by executive producer and hit music producer Adam Anders (Glee, Rock of Ages). Set in modern day, the event will follow the dramatic and inspirational story of Jesus of Nazareth, as he presides over the Last Supper, and then is betrayed by Judas, put on trial by Pontius Pilate, convicted, crucified and resurrected.
The event will unfold live at some of New Orleans’ most iconic locations, while featuring a procession of a thousand people carrying a 20-foot, illuminated cross from outside the Mercedes Benz Superdome to the live stage at Woldenberg Park on the banks of the Mississippi River.
Dan Stevens stars in ‘Legion’ (Photo Credit: Chris Large-FX)
Fargo co-stars Rachel Keller and Jean Smart are reuniting for FX’s Legion, a spin-off of The X-Men. Dan Stevens (The Guest, Downton Abbey) and Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) are also confirmed for the sci-fi drama. According to the network, filming will kick off in March 2016 with Fargo‘s Noah Hawley penning the pilot and executive producing.
Lauren Shuler Donner, Bryan Singer, Simon Kinberg, Jeph Loeb, Jim Chory, and John Cameron are also on board the Marvel Television and FX Productions project as executive producers.
FX released the following info on the characters Stevens, Plaza, Smart, and Keller will be playing:
· DAVID (Dan Stevens) – Diagnosed as schizophrenic at a young age, David is a haunted man trying to find his way back to sanity, but he’s getting tired and is about to give up when he meets the girl of his dreams.
· LENNY (Aubrey Plaza) – David’s friend, who despite a life of drugs and alcohol abuse, knows that any day now her life is gonna turn around, which gives Lenny the likeable energy of the impossible optimist despite her rough demeanor.
· MELANIE (Jean Smart) – A nurturing, demanding therapist with a sharp mind and unconventional methods.
· SYD (Rachel Keller) – Self-sufficient and street smart, Syd uses her sharp and prickly demeanor to protect her soft core, because even though it makes her a sucker and puts her at risk, she still believes in happily ever after.
Alex Neustaedter, Isabella Crovetti-Cramp, Sarah Wayne Callies, and Josh Holloway in ‘Colony’ (Photo by Paul Drinkwater / USA Network)
The sci-fi drama Colony will be back for a second season, as announced by USA Network. Season one stars Josh Holloway (Lost), Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead) and Peter Jacobson (House), with Carlton Cuse and Ryan Condal executive producing.
Season one is currently airing on Thursday nights at 10pm ET/PT and has been averaging 3.4 million viewers.
“Carlton and Ryan have successfully delivered a story that tests the strengths and weaknesses of a society in duress, and the bonds of a family divided,” said Chris McCumber, President of USA Network. “Colony‘s performance across all platforms has been impressive, and we can’t wait to see where the story takes us.”
The Colony Plot:
Set in the very near future, Colony‘s world is a dangerous one of divided ideologies. While some choose to collaborate with the occupation and benefit from the new order, others rebel and suffer the consequences. After being separated from their son during the invasion, former FBI agent Will Bowman (Holloway) and his wife Katie (Callies) are willing to do whatever is necessary to be reunited with him. Thus, when the powerful Proxy Snyder (Jacobson) offers Will a chance to get his son back if he will collaborate with the occupational government, Will and Katie find themselves faced with the toughest decision of their lives. They will have to go beyond whatever they thought possible, risking their lives and their relationship to protect their family.
Bobby Cannavale stars in ‘Vinyl’ (Photo Credit: HBO)
Season one of Vinyl, HBO’s new music-driven drama from Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese, will premiere on February 14, 2016 at 9pm ET/PT with Bobby Cannavale, Ray Romano, and Olivia Wilde in starring roles. The series was created by Mick Jagger, Martin Scorsese, Rich Cohen, and Terence Winter, and Scorsese directed the pilot from a script by Winter and George Mastras (story by Cohen, Jagger, Scorsese and Winter). Jagger is the executive music producer and Winter is the showrunner.
The Vinyl cast also includes Ato Essandoh, Max Casella, P.J. Byrne, J.C. MacKenzie, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Juno Temple, Jack Quaid, James Jagger, and Paul Ben-Victor. Season one of HBO’s new one-hour series will consist of 10 episodes.
The Plot: “Richie Finestra (Cannavale), the founder and president of American Century Records, is trying to save his company and soul without destroying everyone in his path. With his passion for music and discovering talent gone by the wayside, and American Century on the precipice of being sold, he has a life-altering event that reignites his love of music, but severely damages his personal life.
Richie Finestra’s wife, Devon (Wilde), a former actress and model who was part of Andy Warhol’s Factory scene in 1960s New York City, is now a suburban mother of two. Richie’s personal and professional crises put additional stress on their relationship, inspiring a desire to return to her Bohemian roots.
Meanwhile, as head of promotions and a partner at American Century, Zak Yankovich’s (Romano) experience in the industry and hundred-dollar handshakes make him an invaluable part of the company, though he works in Richie’s shadow. Their professional relationship is strained by disagreements over how to guide the company through the music landscape of 1973.”
New York City, 1973. Together with his partners, Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale), president of American Century Records, is on the verge of selling his struggling company to German Polygram, in a deal that includes an impending distribution agreement with Led Zeppelin. But after a disastrous meeting, it’s clear that the sale is in jeopardy.
Heading home to Greenwich, Conn., Richie takes a detour to an unplanned reunion with Lester Grimes (Ato Essandoh), a musical artist with whom he has a complicated history. With thoughts of Lester weighing on him, Richie heads to the office, where, in addition to the Led Zeppelin situation, he learns of another problem: Bombastic Frank “Buck” Rogers (Andrew Dice Clay), owner of a chain of radio stations, is about to boycott American Century due to a perceived slight by one of the label’s artists. In crisis mode, Richie gives his A&R department the mandate to find new acts, prompting office assistant Jamie Vine (Juno Temple) to bring in The Nasty Bits, a proto-punk band unlike anything anyone has ever heard.
Meanwhile, Richie enlists thuggish independent promotion man Joe Corso (Bo Dietl) to help with the Buck Rogers situation. After a three-day coke binge, Corso summons the sober Richie to Rogers’ home, where things go horribly awry. Despite American Century’s troubles, Richie learns that Polygram has agreed to buy the company after all. That night, with both Lester and the Buck Rogers debacle on his mind, he goes violently off the wagon, trashing the den of his Connecticut home and severely jeopardizing his relationship with his wife, Devon (Olivia Wilde), and their two children.
Richie ultimately finds himself coked out and on his own, drawn by a crowd of young people to the Mercer Arts Center in Manhattan, where he sees The New York Dolls perform, a night that sets him on a completely new course.
Teleplay by Terence Winter and George Mastras; story by Rich Cohen & Mick Jagger & Martin Scorsese and Terence Winter; directed by Martin Scorsese.
Episode #2: “Yesterday Once More”
Debut: SUNDAY, FEB. 21 (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
Other HBO playdates: Feb. 21 (11:30 p.m., 2:00 a.m.), 22 (12:10 a.m.), 23 (9:00 p.m., 4:30 a.m.), 24 (10:00 p.m.), 25 (2:10 a.m.) and 27 (1:30 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: Feb. 26 (9:00 p.m.) and 28 (8:00 p.m.), and March 4 (8:00 p.m.), 12 (6:00 p.m.) and 26 (4:00 p.m.)
With German Polygram executives in town to complete the deal for American Century, Richie (Bobby Cannavale) delivers a bombshell that shocks the prospective buyers, as well as his partners, Zak Yankovich (Ray Romano), ACR’s head of promotions, and Skip Fontaine (J.C. MacKenzie), head of sales. When the dust settles, the Germans storm out of the ACR offices, leaving Richie to face the ire of Zak, Skip and company attorney Scott Levitt (P.J. Byrne).
In Greenwich, Devon (Olivia Wilde) ponders what to do about her husband, who broke his promise by going off the wagon, though her anger is tempered by memories of the man she fell in love with back in 1966, when she was a fixture in the downtown art/music scene and a muse to Andy Warhol.
Back at American Century, Richie gives the A&R team a mandate to land a cutting-edge act or lose their jobs. Jamie (Juno Temple), pushing The Nasty Bits, is encouraged that Richie is interested in the band, but dismayed she’ll be working with A&R head Julius “Julie” Silver (Max Casella), who vows to polish the Bits’ sound. A devastated Zak considers changing his alibi for a recent injury, while Richie decides to pay a visit to an estranged mentor.
Written by Terence Winter; directed by Allen Coulter.
Episode #3: “Whispered Secrets”
Debut: SUNDAY, FEB. 28 (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
Other HBO playdates: Feb. 28 (11:30 p.m., 2:00 a.m.) and 29 (10:25 p.m.), and March 1 (9:00 p.m.), 2 (10:00 p.m.), 3 (2:35 a.m.) and 5 (11:40 p.m.)
HBO2 playdates: March 1 (1:45 a.m.), 4 (9:00 p.m.), 6 (8:00 p.m.), 11 (8:00 p.m.), 12 (7:00 p.m.) and 26 (5:00 p.m.)
At a record producers’ banquet honoring Maury Gold (Paul Ben-Victor), Richie (Bobby Cannavale) is embarrassed when the emcee, rival record exec Jackie Jervis (Ken Marino), makes a joke about the failed German Polygram deal. Later, Maury and mob cohort Corrado Galasso (Armen Garo) pay a visit to American Century to probe a detective’s recent inquiry, and Joe Corso (Bo Dietl) drops by to pitch Richie a demo by his banquet date, Nora (Bianca Madison).
As Richie cuts down his roster to free up money to sign and promote new artists, junior A&R rep Clark Morelle (Jack Quaid) courts Alice Cooper (Dustin Ingram) in an attempt to sign him to a solo deal. Trying to find purpose in the suburbs, Devon (Olivia Wilde) turns to an old friend in hopes of raising funds to renovate a Greenwich barn that could house a displaced Russian ballet company. Approaching Lester (Ato Essandoh) about releasing some of his old blues demos, Richie reopens old wounds instead. The revamped Nasty Bits fail to win over Richie, prompting Jamie (Juno Temple) to change up their set list.
Written by Jonathan Tropper and Debora Cahn & Adam Rapp; directed by Mark Romanek.
Sir Elton John performs on ‘The Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60’ (Photo by Eric McCandless / ABC)
The roster of celebrities who will be helping celebrate Disneyland’s 60th anniversary will include stars from films, music, and television. ABC announced The Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60 will feature appearances by Alfonso Ribeiro, Ariel Winter, Bryce Dallas Howard, Eric Stonestreet, Ginnifer Goodwin, Dame Helen Mirren, Hilary Duff, Jason Bateman, Jessica Alba, Jimmy Kimmel, John Stamos, Julie Bowen, Kerry Washington, Kiefer Sutherland, Kristen Bell, Lupita Nyong’o, Neil Patrick Harris, Nolan Gould, Pink, Priyanka Chopra, Sabrina Carpenter, Sarah Hyland, Sofia Carson, Ty Burrell, Viola Davis, and Zendaya.
The just-confirmed celebrities join the list of previously announced guests Harrison Ford, Elton John, Josh Gad, Tori Kelly and Kermit the Frog, Jessie J, Kelsea Ballerini, Witney Carson, Maddie Ziegler, and The Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.
The two-hour special will air on Sunday, February 21, 2016 at 8pm ET/PT on ABC.
Details on The Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60:
Walt Disney, one of the ultimate dreamers, used his uninhibited imagination and determination to create what became the springboard for all of the Walt Disney Company’s spirited and wildly successful creativity that followed – his crowning achievement: Disneyland. ABC will celebrate the inventiveness and inspiration of Disney’s big, bold creation with a glamorous, star-studded Diamond Anniversary event, both in the heart of Hollywood at the Dolby Theater and throughout some of the most iconic locations at Disneyland Park, including Sleeping Beauty Castle and Main Street U.S.A., and Cars Land, a themed area of Disney California Adventure Park. The special will also showcase two dazzling displays of technology – the ”Paint the Night” Parade and “World of Color – Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney” in Disney California Adventure Park, along with many more.
JImmy Kimmel, Hugh Laurie, and George Clooney on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ (Photo by Randy Holmes / ABC)
Jimmy Kimmel threw an E.R. reunion and only one person showed up. Thankfully, that one person was George Clooney who played Dr. Doug Ross in the award-winning series. Clooney, who stars in Hail, Caesar! heading to theaters on February 5, 2016, was the only E.R. star on hand to represent the medical drama but no worries – he got an assist in the operating room from House star Hugh Laurie. Together, the TV doctors attempted to save Kimmel’s life (or maybe just a very sensitive body part).
Who knew the key to performing CPR was to break out in Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight?”
Brenton Thwaites (The Giver, the upcoming Gods of Egypt) will star in the zombie film Office Uprising to be directed by Steven C. Miller (Silent Night, Extraction). Ian Shorr (Splinter) and Peter Gamble wrote the script and Giulia Prenna (The Evil Gene) and William Clevinger (Submerged, The Bits are Coming) are producing. According to CEO Brian O’Shea, The Exchange is bringing the project to Berlinale and EFM’16 where the company will be selling the film’s worldwide rights.
“Fans of the growing zombie genre craze are going to love Office Uprising,” said O’Shea, “We are truly excited to have cast Brenton Thwaites, a sensational, versatile young leading man who will hit the comedic notes and sell the action. Similar to Nicholas Hoult in Warm Bodies, and Jesse Eisenberg in Zombieland, Brenton Thwaites has the star quality to make Office Uprising into a breakout theatrical hit.”
Thwaites credits also include Oculus, Maleficent, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Son of a Gun, The Signal, and Home and Away.
The Office Uprising Plot:
Office Uprising tells the story inside one of the worlds leading arms manufacturers where a substance is slipped into the employees’ drinks by the board of directors that supposedly makes them work more efficiently. Due to a slacker within the company though, they are fed the wrong formula and start turning into homicidal maniacs. It soon is up to the slacker to step up his game to rescue himself and his friends from the growing Zombie plague inside the company compound.
Christina Milian joins ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ (Photo by D. Dipasupil/Getty Images)
Fox’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show has added another key member to its ensemble cast. Grammy nominee Christina Milian has signed on to play Magenta in the musical which is described as a reimagining of the 1975 cult classic that starred Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick. Magenta was played by Patricia Quinn in the original film.
For those not up on their Rocky Horror trivia, Magenta is “the castle’s compliant maid, who, along with her brother, Riff Raff, plots a secret plan to return to their native planet of Transsexual.” Penny Dreadful‘s Reeve Carney plays Riff Raff. Orange is the New Black‘s Laverne Cox leads the ensemble as Dr. Frank-N-Furter. The cast also includes Victoria Justice as Janet, Ryan McCartan as Brad, Adam Lambert as Eddie, Staz Nair as Rocky, Annaleigh Ashford as Columbia, and Tim Curry as the show’s Criminologist Narrator.
High School Musical‘s Kenny Ortega is choreographing, directing, and executive producing. Lou Adler and Gail Berman are also involved as executive producers.
The Rocky Horror Show Plot:
The Rocky Horror Show follows sweethearts Janet (Justice) and Brad (McCartan), who stumble upon Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s (Cox) bizarre abode. Frank-N-Furter, a sexually ambiguous, flirtatious alien mad-scientist – with the help of his faithful servants Riff Raff (Carney) and Magenta (Milian) – is holding an annual, Transylvanian science convention to showcase the birth of “Rocky Horror” (Nair) – a fit, attractive man created solely to fulfill Frank’s desires.
The third episode of season three of Starz’ riveting pirate tale Black Sails is set to air on February 6, 2016 at 9pm ET/PT, with our favorite pirates in precarious situations. Starz has just released a couple of new photos as well as two new clips from the upcoming episode titled ‘XXI’ featuring Toby Schmitz and Jessica Parker Kennedy. The series also stars Toby Stephens, Zach McGowan, Luke Arnold, Hannah New, and Ray Stevenson.
The ‘XXI’ Plot: “Stranded at sea, Flint pushes Silver to his limit. As Nassau prepares to repel an invasion, Rackham takes the reins, while Max gets her house in order. To stave off defeat, Vane makes a difficult choice.”
Grab your tissue box… The trailer and poster have arrived for Me Before You, the romantic drama based on the bestselling book by Jojo Moyes. Game of Thrones‘ Emilia Clarke and The Hunger Games‘ Sam Claflin lead the cast that includes Charles Dance, Jenna Coleman, Matthew Lewis, Vanessa Kirby, Stephen Peacocke, Brendan Coyle and Janet McTeer. Moyes, Scott Neustadter, and Michael H. Weber adapted the book for the screen and Thea Sharrock made her feature film directorial debut with the romantic tale.
New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures will release Me Before You in theaters on June 3, 2016.
The Plot:
Oftentimes you find love where you least expect it. Sometimes it takes you where you never expected to go…
Louisa “Lou” Clark (Clarke) lives in a quaint town in the English countryside. With no clear direction in her life, the quirky and creative 26-year-old goes from one job to the next in order to help her tight-knit family make ends meet. Her normally cheery outlook is put to the test, however, when she faces her newest career challenge. Taking a job at the local “castle,” she becomes caregiver and companion to Will Traynor (Claflin), a wealthy young banker who became wheelchair bound in an accident two years prior, and whose whole world changed dramatically in the blink of an eye. No longer the adventurous soul he once was, the now cynical Will has all but given up. That is until Lou determines to show him that life is worth living. Embarking together on a series of adventures, both Lou and Will get more than they bargained for, and find their lives—and hearts—changing in ways neither one could have imagined.
