TV News Roundup: ‘Sesame Street’ Sets 50th Anniversary Special

Lorraine Wheat

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In today’s TV news roundup, Sesame Workshop announced a premiere date for “Sesame Street’s Historic 50th Anniversary Celebration” and “Brave New World” adds Sophie McIntosh.

CASTING

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New Zealand actress Sophie McIntosh has been cast in USA Network’s “Brave New World” series, Variety has learned exclusively. She will play the recurring role of Jane, and joins a cast which includes Alden Ehrenreich, Harry Lloyd and Jessica Brown Findlay. McIntosh is repped by Echo Lake Entertainment, Johnson and Laird Management in New Zealand, and Bloomfields Welch Management in the U.K.

DATES

Iliza Shlesinger’s fifth original Netflix comedy special will premiere Nov. 19 on the streaming platform. In the hour-long special, the newly married Shlesinger will pull back the veil on the dangers of having a zombie bachelorette army while also discussing wedding planning, garters and honeymooning.

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind “Sesame Street,” announced the historic 50th season of the beloved kids’ show will premiere Nov. 9 on HBO with a special entitled “Sesame Street’s Historic 50th Anniversary Celebration.” The celebration will have celebrity appearances from Whoopi Goldberg, Patti LaBelle, Elvis Costello, Meghan Trainor, Sterling K. Brown, Norah Jones, Nile Rodgers and Itzhak Perlman. Former cast members Bob McGrath, Sonia Manzano, Emilio Delgado, Loretta Long, Roscoe Orman, Linda Bove, Alison Bartlett, Nitya Vidyasagar and Olamide Faison will return to act alongside current cast members Alan Muraoka, Suki Lopez and Chris Lawrence Knowings. Legendary puppeteers Fran Brill and Caroll Spinney will also be a part of the special. This special will also air the following week, on Nov. 17 on PBS stations and PBS Kids 24/7. The first regular episode of the 50th season will air Nov. 16.

FIRST LOOKS

Amazon has released the trailer for the final season of “The Man in the High Castle,“ which launch Nov. 15. The fourth and final season focuses on The Resistance becoming a full-blown rebellion led by Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos). Chief Inspector Takeshi Kido (Joel De La Fuente) must confront the rebellion while being torn between his familial duties while Reichsmarschall John Smith (Rufus Sewell) is drawn towards a Nazi portal that accesses another universe.

 

DEVELOPMENT

Netflix announced it has secured the rights to Jeff Smith’s New York Times bestselling comic “Bone” with plans to develop it into an animated series for kids. The series will tell the story of the iconic Bone cousins and their adventures through an uncharted desert that leads them into a mysterious valley filled with terrifying creatures.

MHz Networks announced it acquired the North American rights for “Twin,“ a Norwegian drama series co-created by and starring Kristofer Hivju (“Game of Thrones”). The eight-part series tells the story of an identical twin that accidentally kills his brother and now must assume his brother’s identity to avoid being caught. The series will premiere on MHz Networks’ streaming service MHz Choice on February 4, 2020. Kristoffer Metcalfe co-created with Hivju and serves ad head writer and director. Erika Calmeyer also directs.

Quibi and Entertainment Weekly announced a partnership to create “Late Night This Morning” for Quibi’s Daily Essentials programming. Series hosts will provide a morning breakdown of the previous evening’s late-night television that will include highlights on the best monologues, sketches and interviews. The show will air Monday through Friday exclusively on Quibi’s platform, and will be a source for viewers to gain insight into America’s late-night television. It is produced by B17 Entertainment with B17’s Rhett Bachner and Brien Meagher serving as executive producers along with Will Lee and Bruce Gersh of Meredith.

EVENTS

The Paley Center for Media will host “An Evening with ‘How to Get Away with Murder'” on Nov. 19 at the Paley Center’s Beverly Hills location. This will be the final Paley event for the series, which is airing its final season Thursday nights on ABC. The cast and creative team members who will be in attendance at the event are still to be announced.

RENEWALS

The CW has ordered a second season of “Pandora,“ the sci-fi action series centered on a resourceful young woman (Priscilla Quintana) who has lost everything but finds a new life at Earth’s Space Training Academy where she and her friends learn to defend the galaxy from threats, both alien and human. “Pandora” is executive produced by Mark A. Altman, Steve Kriozere, Thomas P. Vitale, Karine Martin and Chris Philip, and is produced by Radioactive Fishtank, Vital Signs Entertainment and Starlings Television. The second season is scheduled to be released summer 2020.

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