‘Prodigal Son’ Books Chris Grismer for Season 2 (TV News Roundup)

Natalie Oganesyan
·6-min read

In today’s TV news roundup, Chris Grismer will join Fox’s “Prodigal Son” as co-executive producing director, and Audible unveiled a multi-project deal with LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s The SpringHill Company.

DATES

Apple TV Plus’ “Servant,” executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan, will return for its second season Jan. 15. Lauren Ambrose (“Six Feet Under”), Toby Kebbell (“Kong: Skull Island,” “Black Mirror”), Nell Tiger Free (“Game of Thrones”) and Rupert Grint (“Harry Potter” franchise) will all reprise their roles for the new season.

Showtime announced that its new limited series “Your Honor,” starring Bryan Cranston, will premiere Dec. 6. The 10-episode legal thriller follows Michael Desiato (Cranston), a revered New Orleans judge whose teenage son Adam (Hunter Doohan) is involved in a hit-and-run. Michael Stuhlbarg stars as Jimmy Baxter, a feared crime boss, opposite Hope Davis, who plays his wife. The saga unfolds as the characters face impossible decisions amid growing lies and the pursuit of justice. Watch a trailer below.

Karate Combat, the full-contact martial arts league, will launch its second season in Spanish on ESPN Deportes beginning Oct. 22. The 12-week season will feature new fight cards weekly and a diverse roster of men and women athletes from more than 32 countries, kicking off with Latin American champions Delvis Ferreras from the Dominican Republic, and Jesus Paucarcaja Lopez of Peru. Season 2’s fights take place in four virtual worlds rendered real-time using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, the video game engine behind Fortnite. A series of guest stars, including NFL Super Bowl champion Marshawn Lynch and a surprise guest from “Game of Thrones,” will appear throughout the season. Watch the trailer below.

FIRST LOOKS

Netflix premiered the trailer for its animated series “The Liberator,” based on the true story of Operation Avalanche, the Allies’ invasion of Italy during World War II. Set to release on Veterans Day, the show centers on the 45th Infantry Division, also known as the Thunderbirds, who sought to surprise the German forces, but were met with heavy resistance and considered evacuation as they faced potential defeat. The four-part drama is based on a book by Alex Kershaw, who serves as co-producer, and created by Jeb Stuart. Watch the trailer below.

Showtime released the trailer for its new docuseries “The Reagans,” which premieres on Nov. 15. Directed and co-executive produced by Matt Tyrnauer, the four-part series contextualizes the legacy of the Reagan White House to the current generation, featuring never-before-seen footage and interviews with the Reagans’ family and friends. The show delves into the lasting impact of the couple’s ideology on today’s conservatism, the economy and the nation as a whole, touching on the War on Drugs, Iran-Contra scandal and AIDS epidemic. Watch the trailer below.

PROGRAMMING

PBS Kids’ beloved series “Arthur” launched a get-out-the-vote video as part of its Election Collection series, joining previous releases “Wash your Hands,” “2020 Commencement Address,” “Arthur on Racism: Talk, Listen and Act” and “Wearing a Mask!” “Arthur: Get Out the Vote!” features characters Buster and Binky sharing some of the ways children can encourage the adults in their lives to make a voting plan. Watch the video below.

PRODUCTION

Chris Grismer joined Fox’s “Prodigal Son” as a co-executive producing director ahead of its Season 2 premiere in Jan., Variety has learned exclusively. He will direct multiple episodes of the upcoming season. The news marks an expansion of Grismer’s relationship with the network, as he served in the same role on last year’s Stephen Dorff drama “Deputy.” His other directorial credits include “Designated Survivor” and “Legacies.” Grismer is represented by Paradigm.

EXECUTIVE NEWS

The Public Media Group of Southern California, the parent organization of PBS SoCal, KCET and Link TV, named Louise Bryson and Anne Gates as chairperson and vice chair of the Board of Directors, respectively. Bryson succeeds 38-year Disney veteran Dick Cook, who is stepping down from the position after seven years but will continue his service on the Board. Bryson brings more than 30 years of media experience to the position, including president of distribution for Lifetime Entertainment Services and executive vice president and general manager of Lifetime Movie Networks. Gates previously served as president of MGA Entertainment and as executive vice president and chief financial officer of The Disney Company’s Consumer Products Division.

DEALS

Tom Brady and Alex Guerrero’s health and wellness company TB12 signed with IMG for licensing and brand collaborations to extend its reach to new audiences. The brand reflects Brady and Guerrero’s personal philosophies of the holistic approach toward healing from and preventing injury through a focus on nutrition, hydration, cognition, flexibility, strength and conditioning. The deal with IMG will expand the company’s presence by leveraging traditional retail and ecommerce, as well as digital channels to bring more consumers to the TB12 method.

PODCASTS

Audible announced a multi-project development deal with LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s The SpringHill Company to produce culturally salient audio content, kicking off with “More Than A Vote: Our Voices. Our Vote.” The special, to be released Oct. 27, is produced in collaboration with Cadence13 and will launch in support of the More Than A Vote initiative spearheaded by a coalition of Black athletes and artists, including James, who aim to combat voter suppression and misinformation, which disproportionately disenfranchises voters of color. Two additional original audio projects from The SpringHill Company are currently in development exclusively for Audible, with details to come.

LATE NIGHT

Tonight, Octavia Spencer and Jay Pharoah will appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” with Lauv featuring Conan Gray performing. Guests on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” are Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Patton Oswalt and Of Monsters and Men, while Michael Keaton, HAIM and Todd Sucherman will be on “Late Night With Seth Myers,” and Sen. Elizabeth Warren will appear on “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah.”

INITIATIVES

NBC announced the new classes of its scripted directing programs, Female Forward and the Emerging Director Program: For the former, Kay Oyegun, “This is Us” writer and co-producer, will helm an episode of the series, while Maureen Bharoocha, Lara Everly, Kantú Lentz, Afia Nathaniel and Pratibha Parmar will direct an episode of “Superstore,” “Good Girls,” “New Amsterdam,” “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Med” and “Law & Order: SVU,” respectively. Juan Avella will direct an episode of “The Blacklist” as part of the Emerging Director Program. Participants will shadow on two episodes of an NBC show and then direct an episode of the series. Due to the pandemic, if participants are unable to fulfill the program curriculum, they will do so the following season.

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