Casting News: Nicole Kidman Lands Yet Another Series, Power Reunion at Netflix and More
The Emmy- and Oscar-winning actress will star in and executive produce Girls and Their Horses, which is in development at Prime Video, our sister site Variety reports. Based on Eliza Jane Brazier's 2023 novel, the series is a murder-mystery set in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. Per the official logline, the plot 'follows the newly wealthy Parker family as they aim to position their teenage daughters in the rarified, sometimes deadly world of competitive horse racing.'
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Jenna Lamia, with whom Kidman worked on The Perfect Couple, will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Brazier will pen the pilot and also be an EP.
Girls and Their Horses is the latest on Kidman's long list of TV projects over the past few years, which includes Nine Perfect Strangers, Lioness, Top of the Lake: China Girl, The Perfect Couple, Big Little Lies, The Undoing, Expats and the upcoming Scarpetta and Margo's Got Money Problems.
In other recent casting news…
* Mark Feuerstein (Royal Pains) has joined the cast of Nemesis, the Netflix drama from Courtney Kemp and Tani Marole. Feuerstein will play Sam Morrow, 'a high-powered attorney and total shark willing to toe the ethical line in the name of protecting his clients,' Deadline reports. In addition to reuniting with Kemp, who cast him as a recurring character in the Powerverse, Feuerstein will join fellow Power alum Shane Johnson on the new series.
* Isabella Briggs (Sugar) and Kristen Connolly (FBI: International) have landed series-regular roles in the third and final season of Prime Video's The Summer I Turned Pretty, premiering with all 11 episodes on Wednesday, July 16. Additionally, Sofia Bryant (I Am Not Okay With This), Lily Donoghue (Daisy Jones & the Six), Zoé de Grand'Maison (Riverdale), Emma Ishta (Stitchers) and Tanner Zagarino (Shrinking) will recur in the final season.
* Asante Blackk (This Is Us, When They See Us), Peyton Alex Smith (All American: Homecoming, Legacies), and Simmie Sims III have joined FX's Snowfall spinoff pilot, Variety reports. Character details are being kept under wraps.
* Victoria Pedretti (YOU, The Haunting of Bly Manor) and Kiera Allen (Watson) will star in Disinherited, new drama pilot from Peter Gould (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) in development at FX, per our sister site Deadline. The potential series will find a pair of scrappy sisters entering a world of generational wealth and long-buried crimes after receiving an unexpected inheritance.
Hit the comments with your thoughts on the castings above!Best of TVLine
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The leading man we didn't know we needed is a 50-year-old 'daddy' with a heart of gold
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Yahoo
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The series offers a refreshing spin on the investigative procedural and an alternate view of what it looks like when Americans are targeted for deportation by a country that doesn't want them. — Lorraine Ali A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they're working on — and what they're watching Kyle Newacheck is no stranger to directing, with a long résumé in TV ('What We Do in the Shadows,' 'Workaholics') and film ('Murder Mystery,' 'Game Over, Man!'), nor to working with Adam Sandler, who stars in their latest collaboration, 'Happy Gilmore 2.' At the time 'Happy Gilmore' was released in 1996, it was a modest success, but it gained a cult following thanks in part to repeated screenings on basic cable. Like the first, the sequel was co-written by Sandler and his longtime collaborator Tim Herlihy, and many of their iconic characters have returned too, like Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald), Virginia (Julie Bowen) and Hal (Ben Stiller). The film also nods to the iconic actors from the original who are no longer with us, including Carl Weathers, Joe Flaherty and Richard Kiel. Here, the director talks about what it is like joining the project and working with Sandler and other members of the cast. 'Happy Gilmore' is a comedic cornerstone from the '90s. Do you remember the first time you watched it? What was it like to come on board for the sequel? I was 12 years old in 1996 when the movie came out, so I think the visuals are imprinted on the back walls of my brain. It was one of the first movies where I realized that movies didn't just 'appear' — somehow people are making these funny movies. After I watched the film, I picked up my grandfather's video camera in 1997 and began shooting funny videos with my friends. 'Happy Gilmore' was a movie that made all of my friends laugh. I remember everyone from my school constantly quoting lines and laughing together. Joining the sequel was a surreal moment for me, to say the least. The sequel brought back a lot of the original cast members who were so memorable, like Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald and Ben Stiller, but you also see new faces in the 'Happy Gilmore' universe like Bad Bunny, John Daly and Benny Safdie. Do you have a favorite moment from filming or a scene where the OG cast and new cast came together? I loved filming the scene where Frank (Safdie) confronts Happy outside the batting cages. Benny and Adam have such great chemistry, and it was fun to see the two worlds collide. Happy stands against his Duster while Frank leans against his electric Rolls-Royce. The scene itself holds this cool subtext that, to me, reaches through the screen. Plus, Happy dissing Frank's breath is always gonna be funny to me. You've directed a couple of other films, but a lot of your work has been on television, including on 'Workaholics' and most recently 'What We Do in the Shadows.' How is directing a film like 'Happy Gilmore 2' different from television? My approach is similar in everything I make, attempting to get the truth of the scene while prioritizing humor. Sometimes I have a lot of resources to do that and sometimes I don't. What was it like getting notes from Adam Sandler on the film as you were working on it? I love working with Adam, a.k.a. Sandman. He is a true maverick. He is not only the star but also wrote the film as well as produced it. He likes to roll up his sleeves and do the work. Him and I share a deep love for the set, and we have a ton of fun out there and definitely challenge each other along the way. Collaboration is at the core of creation. What's your go-to comfort watch, the film or TV show you return to again and again? 'The Big Lebowski' [HBO Max]. Love it. It's another formative one for me — this time, I was in high school, about to graduate, and I played on the varsity bowling team. I love the characters/performances the most, and honestly assumed that most of it had to be off the cuff, but learn[ing] years later that the Coens [sibling directors Joel and Ethan Coen] had written every line the way it was performed made me fall in love with the screenplay. I love everything about that movie and can watch it over and over.
