Returning Series
Hannibal. In a bit of surprising news, Michael Pitt will not return as Mason Verger in Season 3 of the NBC show. No reason has been given for Pitt’s departure. Verger will now be played by Joe Anderson (The Divide, The River). I guess the recasting makes sense since the last time we saw Verger, Hannibal had drugged him and talked him into slicing his face off. (TVLine)
Broadchurch. The second season premiere on BBC America has been bumped from February to March 4. (Press Release)
Currently Airing Series
Once Upon a Time. Ernie “Zeddemore” Hudson will play Poseidon the Greek god of the sea on episode 15 of the ABC fantasy-drama when it returns from haitus in March. (Deadline)
Upcoming Series
American Crime Story: The People V. OJ Simpson. David Schwimmer has been cast as Robert Kardashian in Ryan Murphy’s FX series which is just one more reason not to watch it. (TVLine)
Badlands (working title). Hong Kong film star Daniel Wu will head AMC’s martial arts drama though the title might change before it actually hits the air. Wu will play Sunny, a warrior in feudal China who journeys with a young boy across a “dangerous land to find enlightenment.” (Press Release)
Pickups/Cancellations
Mr. Robot (working title). USA Network has ordered 10-episodes of the hacker drama starring Christian Slater. In addition to Slater, Mr. Robot stars Rami Malek (24), Portia Doubleday (Her), Carly Chaikin (Suburgatory) and Martin Wallstrom (Simple Simon) according to the press release, the show is “about a young programmer, Elliot (Malek), who suffers from a debilitating anti-social disorder and decides that he can only connect to people by hacking them. He wields his skills as a weapon to protect the people that he cares about. Elliot will find himself in the intersection between a cybersecurity firm he works for and the underworld organizations that are recruiting him to bring down corporate America. Slater stars in the title role of Mr. Robot, a mysterious anarchist who recruits Elliot into an underground hacker group.” (Press Release)
In Development
Divorce. Sarah Jessica Parker may return to HBO to star in a new half-hour comedy about a couple going through a divorce. (TVLine)
Human Resources. Howard Gordon (Homeland) is working on a half-hour single-camera action comedy for NBC described as “24 meets Die Hard” involving “an unlikely group of heroes who come together to save their co-workers, their jobs and, ultimately, themselves.” Yeah, I don’t really know what that means either. So far NBC has just ordered a script. (THR)
Untitled Facebook Show. The social media giant is teaming up with HLN Network for a pilot that will use Facebook “to find and tell interesting stories.” This begs the question “What’s HLN?” (Variety)