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CBC
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Indigenous-led projects are landing hits and winning awards. How are they making inroads?
Cody Lightning is far from alone. First of all, the Edmonton-based creator is surrounded by fellow community members on the set of Smudge the Blades, his upcoming film about hockey, growing up and Indigenous identity. But he's also part of a wave of new Indigenous talent — a raft of creators crafting a host of projects that, Lightning said, is unlike anything he's seen in his 30 years in the industry. "Throughout my adolescent years and teenage years, it was roles that I auditioned for, that were presented to me. And I adapted to that — to someone else's story," he said. "There was, like, one project per year that everyone knew about — everyone was trying to be on those projects. And now we're making our own." Alongside his upcoming film, there are projects running the gamut — from Reservation Dogs, the series about four Indigenous teenagers in Oklahoma that aired for three seasons on FX, to Rutherford Falls, the Michael Greyeyes-starring comedy written by Indigenous comedian Jana Schmieding. And then there are this year's Canadian Screen Awards-nominated titles North of North, Don't Even and Bones of Crows. Those projects are paired with Indigenous talent stepping in front of the camera, from Season 4 of True Detective, to Indigenous stars in series Dark Winds, American Primeval and Alaska Daily. Perhaps most notable is Lily Gladstone, who became the first Indigenous woman to be nominated for a best actress Academy Award — and the first to win a Golden Globe — for her turn in Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon. As to why we're seeing the swell now, Indigenous filmmaker and actor Jennifer Podemski said there are multiple reasons. The first could be historically laid groundwork. As Podemski has spoken about in the past, Indigenous-led productions often included mentorship programs, designed to train up-and-coming Indigenous creators to be ready to launch their own careers. That, she said, has paired with a shifted lens from decision-makers. Specifically, after the 2020 murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, studios changed how they looked for talent. WATCH | Filmmaker and actor Jennifer Podemski on Indigenous resilience: Filmmaker/Actor Jennifer Podemski on Indigenous resilience 7 months ago Duration 1:46 Filmmaker and veteran actor Jennifer Podemski sat down with Tom Power to discuss her new series, Little Bird, how the story resonates with her own family history and making a production company that tells Indigenous stories with authenticity. "When people are casting for movies, they're more inclined to question ... 'Am I on the right side of history here, or am I perpetuating harmful narratives?'" Podemski said of the shift following Floyd's murder. "People became a little bit more aware of the steps that they were taking, and that's why we were seeing more Indigenous people on screen, maybe, where we wouldn't otherwise have seen them." Centralized source of funding As for the shift behind the camera and north of the border, Podemski credits that more to executive changes — specifically to the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO), which was created in 2017-18. While it began as an advocacy group, in 2021, the ISO began receiving federal funding earmarked for distribution to any Indigenous-led production headed to the screen. Kristy Assu, its director of funding programs, said that outreach has been furthered now that the ISO receives permanent government funding — including about $65 million to be distributed over the next five years. And starting this year, the ISO will administer the Canadian Media Fund's Indigenous Program, which allocates roughly $10 million annually to Indigenous-led productions. That sets up the ISO as a centralized source of funding for Indigenous creators in Canada, which has never happened before, Assu said. As a filmmaker herself, she said the change helps to break down systemic obstacles in the industry: While the Canadian Media Fund's Indigenous Program existed previously, there was "very little to access" — even more so for emerging, unestablished filmmakers, she said. "I think that's why we're seeing this huge surge in [Indigenous] filmmakers," Assu said. "Because there's access to funding now, there's support. People can make a living on being a creative in this industry." As well, with Indigenous people allocating the funding themselves, rather than through an intermediary organization, a more central issue emerges: narrative sovereignty. The term refers to a group able to choose how it's represented — and in a larger sense determine how it's perceived by society at large. That has been an especially entrenched issue in this country; the very concept and word "documentary" was first coined by National Film Board of Canada founder John Grierson in his review of American filmmaker Robert Flaherty's 1926 movie Moana. Both that film and his earlier Inuit-focused Nanook of the North — widely considered to be the first commercially successful documentary — used Indigenous people as their subjects. Particularly in Nanook, Flaherty's work has come under increasing scrutiny for staged scenes and general inaccuracies, with its widespread success continuing to reinforce romanticized and stereotypical aspects of a people who were unable to establish their own identity through film. 'Cost of carelessness' "Because of filmmakers like Flaherty, we've seen the damage wrought by policies built on visual misrepresentation, salvage ethnography, and the lines of ownership that become purposefully blurred by others extracting our own images," Indigenous filmmaker Adam Piron wrote for the International Documentary Association about Nanook. "For Indigenous artists, there's an added weight to engaging with the moving image because we know the cost of carelessness." An entrenched and inaccurate depiction of Indigenous people and their stories, Lightning said, led to decades of period pieces he described as "leathers and feathers" — productions that utilized pop culture ideas of various Indigenous groups, while barring those people from input into how their stories should actually be told. At the same time, there has been consistent pushback, such as Toronto-born Indigenous actor D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, who starred in Reservation Dogs, attending the 2024 Emmy Awards with a red handprint on his face. The makeup was intended to bring attention to missing and murdered Indigenous women, and, according to the organization Native Hope, "the silence of the media and law enforcement in the midst of this crisis." Lightning said that rebellious streak has only increased in recent years. "I want our younger generations in this industry to push boundaries, make people feel a little uncomfortable at times," he said. "That's good. I'm looking forward to that. Those are the filmmakers I wanna see." And while territorial sovereignty — the ability to decide on laws within proscribed borders — is a topic often touched on for Indigenous people in Canada, Podemski said the right and ability to control how, and which, stories are told about them is also of huge importance. As an example, she told the story of how just the day before, a passport agent made an offhand complaint about her getting "stuff for free" after seeing her Indigenous status card — a discriminatory response that a 2022 study by the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs found 99 per cent of Indigenous respondents had experienced. The team behind North of North on making TV magic in the Canadian Arctic 5 months ago Duration 2:49 Actor Anna Lambe and the co-creators of the new CBC co-production North of North talk to the CBC's Eli Glasner about how the Iqaluit community came together to bring the heartwarming comedy to life. Podemski said she spent the next 20 minutes speaking about that stereotype to the agent, who said apologetically that she simply hadn't heard the historical context before. "Afterwards I thought, 'You know what? This is why I do what I do,'" Podemski said. "Because if we take up space on the screen, and if we help people to understand a little bit more about who we are in our own communities and in our own experiences, then maybe they won't write us off as easily as they do."
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘The Bear': Apologies and reconciliations lift the mood in Season 4
FX on Hulu has asked that a spoiler alert head any detailed reviews of the new, fourth season of 'The Bear.' And while this review is not really detailed, everyone has their own idea of what constitutes a spoiler. So, read on, if you dare. Most television series, and not just the best ones, are organic. You can plan in a vague way, but you learn as you go along — what the actors can do, what characters are going to demand more screen time, what unexpected opportunities present themselves, what the series is telling you about itself. This can make a show feel inconsistent across time, but often better in the end, as much as it may irritate viewers who liked how things were back at the beginning. Early in the fourth season of 'The Bear,' premiering Wednesday on FX on Hulu, the staff of the series' eponymous restaurant finally sees the Chicago Tribune review they were anticipating throughout much of Season 3, and when it comes, it contains words like 'confusing,' 'show-offy' and 'dissonant.' (It's beautiful to see the review represented in a physical newspaper.) The show's third season was accused by some fans and critics of similar things, and whether or not creator and showrunner Christopher Storer is drawing a comparison here, it's true that 'The Bear' doesn't behave like most series — the recent shows it most resembles are 'Atlanta' and 'Reservation Dogs,' both from FX, and going back a little, HBO's 'Treme,' which, like 'The Bear,' are less invested in plot than in character, place and feeling. For all the series' specific detail and naturalistic production, the eponymous Bear is a fairy-tale restaurant, staffed by people who not long before were hustling to get beef sandwiches out the door but, encouraged by Jeremy Allen White's brilliant chef Carmen, have revealed individual superpowers in relatively short time. (Carmy asks Marcus, a genius of dessert played by Lionel Boyce, how he achieved a certain effect in a new sweet; 'Legerdemain,' Marcus replies.) If you want to see real restaurants in operation, there are plenty of options, from Netflix's 'Chef's Table,' to Frederick Wiseman's 'Menus-Plaisirs — Les Troisgros,' a four-hour film about a Michelin three-star restaurant in central France. (It streams from you have until March 2027 to catch it there, and should.) But this invented place, which is real enough for its purposes, is primarily a stage for human striving, failure and success — and love. Come for the food, stay for the people. After the first two seasons, which involved transforming the Beef, the sandwich shop Carmy inherited from his late brother Mikey, and creating the Bear, the third looked around and over its shoulder, flashing back and stretching out and developing themes that are taken up again in Season 4, which begins so hot on the heels of three they might as well be one. (They were filmed back-to-back.) The chaos and expense created by Carmy's 'nonnegotiable' decision to change the menu every night; the prospect of the Tribune review; and a participation agreement for sous-chef-turned-creative partner Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) are still working their way through the story. It begins more prosaically, certainly when compared with the impressionistic montage that occupied the whole of last season's opening episode. And, apart from an opening flashback in which Carmy tells Mikey (Jon Bernthal) of his vision for a restaurant ('We could make it calm, we could make it delicious, we could play good music, people would want to come in there and celebrate … we could make people happy'), it stays in the present, facing forward. Once again, we get a ticking clock to create pressure; installed by the 'uncle' they call Computer (Brian Koppelman), it's timed not as before to the opening of the restaurant but to the point at which backer Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) will pull out and the Bear will 'cease operations.' (It's set to 1,440 hours, or 60 days.) But deadlines come and go on this show, and though we're treated to repeated shots of the countdown clock, it doesn't create much actual tension. There is always something more immediately concerning, in the kitchen or out in the world. For all his messing with the menu in search of a Michelin star, Carmy is stuck in a rut — cue clip from 'Groundhog Day' — and has also become maddeningly inarticulate, almost beyond speech; much of what White does this year is listen and react, doing subtle work with his face and fingers, interjecting an occasional 'Yeah,' while family or colleagues unburden themselves or take him to task. 'Is this performative?' Richie asks a moping Carmy. 'You waiting for me to ask if you're OK?' Some of his self-flagellation feels unearned — which I suppose is often the case with self-flagellation. ('You would be just as good … without this need for, like, mess,' says Syd.) Carmy can be a handful, but he's led his team into this land of milk and honey, and if the Bear is dysfunctional, it nevertheless manages to put food on the table, create delight and pay its people. Still, this is a season of apologies — even Uncle Jimmy is saying he's sorry, through a closed door, to his teenage son — and reconciliations. (You didn't suppose you'd seen the last of Claire, Carmy's on-again, off-again romantic interest, played by Molly Gordon?) Some developments can seem abrupt, possibly because so many of these characters are bad at communicating or lie about how they're feeling, saying that everything is OK when everything is not OK. But in the long view, the view that extends even beyond the end of the series, whether it comes sooner or later, everything will be OK. Whatever Emmy nitpickers might have to say about its category, 'The Bear' is most definitely a comedy; there'll be obstacles, but everyone's on a road to happiness. A double-wide episode, set at the wedding of Richie's ex-wife, Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), mirrors the calamitous 'Fishes' Christmas-dinner episode from Season 2, with most of that extended cast present again. But here, there is dancing. Richie, running the front of the house, continues on his journey of self-improvement, crafting inspirational addresses to the staff, meditating on a photo of a Japanese Zen garden and dealing in an adult way with his soon-to-be-remarried ex-wife and daughter; the Bear has become his lifeline. Gary (Corey Hendrix, getting some deserved screen time) is being educated as a sommelier; Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) is working to put pasta on the plate in under three minutes; Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) is killing it at the sandwich window and looking to 'create opportunity' with a new delivery app, a robot called Chuckie and a business mentor (Rob Reiner). Come for the food, stay for the people. Above all, this is Syd's year, which is, of course, also to say Edebiri's. She's got decisions to make and has been given long, often intense, two-person scenes, not only with Carmy but with Jimmy and Claire and an 11-year-old girl she suddenly finds herself babysitting, and with whom she spends most of an episode; Syd describes her dilemma in terms an 11-year-old might understand and receives the blunt advice an 11-year-old might give. Carmy, for his part, thinks he knows how to fix things, which he will finally get around to sharing. Is it a good idea? Will it work? Will we ever know, and do we need to know? Is this the final season? (No one has said.) It closes on what is not quite an end — that not everything ties up feels very on brand for the series, and like life, which doesn't run on schedule — and a sort of beginning. (I would just point out that R.E.M.'s 'Strange Currencies,' or as I have called it, 'Love Theme From 'The Bear,'' playing very quietly in a scene behind Richie and highly evolved Chef Jessica [Sarah Ramos] may be a gentle nod to their unseen future.) It can be corny, it can be obvious. It indulges in gestures as grand and unlikely as creating snow for a guest, and as small as a sandwich being cut to make it a little more friendly, a little more fancy. Both are moving. Good restaurants serve a reliable version of familiar food, food anyone can like. Great ones do something peculiar that won't be to everyone's taste, won't even make sense, but might inspire love. So it is with television shows.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Dark Winds' Star Zahn McClarnon: 'I've Learned More in the Last Four Seasons Than in 30 Years'
Zahn McClarnon has been a film and TV actor for more than 30 years, and in that time, he's often played, as he puts it, 'the bad guy or Indian No. 1 over here by the tipi.' He went on to be featured in a succession of popular shows, including Longmire, Westworld and Fargo, as well as playing the quirky police officer (and Big Foot enthusiast) Big on FX's Reservation Dogs. So when George R.R. Martin and Robert Redford called him a few years ago asking him to be No. 1 on the call sheet for AMC's '70s-set Navajo detective series Dark Winds, there was no hesitation. What followed was a learning experience that surpassed anything he had done before, culminating in his upcoming directing debut in season four. The recently released third season saw McClarnon go deep into his character's past, uncovering repressed traumas that mirror experiences in McClarnon's own life, all while Joe Leaphorn tried to stop a murderer and reconcile his own morally questionable role in an earlier death. More from The Hollywood Reporter Jessica Biel, Meghann Fahy, Rashida Jones Dissect Their Characters' Complicated Emotions and the Challenges of Performing in Water 'Good Mythical Morning' Duo Rhett and Link Answer Five Burning Questions Grammys Reveal Key Dates for 2026 Awards, Unveil New Rules and Categories As we ease into Emmy season, the veteran actor hopped on a Zoom with THR to discuss the cultural strides that have been made, the role that he finds both hugely challenging and hugely rewarding, and how he untethers himself from his character at the end of the day. Joe Leaphorn is a complex character — he's got a lot of trauma and loss in his past, yet he's a mentor, leader and husband, too. What was it that originally drew you to playing him, and what are the things that excite you most as he continues to evolve? [Executive producers] Chris Eyre, Tina Elmo and George R.R. Martin came to me and asked if I wanted to be part of the show, and I was familiar with the Hillerman books [on which Dark Winds is based]. I'd read quite a few of them and I've read more since I started the show, but I was very familiar with Hillerman growing up and Chris Eyre is an old friend of mine. Just being part of a team with George R.R. Martin and Robert Redford is very exciting to me. Joe Leaphorn is already pretty much a fleshed-out character throughout the books, so it wasn't an easy task, but the foundation was already set for Joe and I just had to bring my own version of the characteristics he has. Just to be No. 1 [on the call sheet of a TV show] is a dream come true for an actor. I've been in the business for a long time, and these kinds of opportunities don't come along — especially for somebody like me, because I'm not the typical leading man. So, I jumped at the opportunity, and I've become very close to my new family in the last four seasons. And what I like about Joe Leaphorn and how he's changing is that he's got a lot going on and he's been through a lot, and to be able to explore those aspects of a character are a dream for any actor in this business. I recentlyand he pointed out how rare it is for a Native couple like Joe and his wife, Emma (Deanna Allison), to have their relationship shown in all its three-dimensionality. How do you feel about that relationship? We all grew up with the stereotypes, and we just have not seen these kinds of relationships with Native people on television, ever. To be able, as an actor, to explore being in a relationship as a Native man, I've never had an opportunity to do that before. So people are seeing different parts of our culture and of the Navajo culture and seeing these characters from a different perspective because we have the Native writing room and Native directors, Native producers, Native crew people. I've just had a wonderful time being on the show and we hope to keep going with it. And you're already in production on season four. We are. We're getting down to the last two episodes now. I understand you're making your directing debut this upcoming season. Have you gotten to work on that episode yet? Yeah, we've shot my episode, which is episode two. We shot that first so I had time to prep, because otherwise I wouldn't have time to prep being in almost every scene. It was a great experience. And I have wonderful people to learn from: [executive producers] Jim Chory, Tina Elmo, [dialogue coach] Rob Tepper, Chris Eyre, a great DP in Blake Evans and Dennis Crow is my first AD. I can take that and put it under my belt and maybe do it again, we'll see what happens. Why did you feel it was important or appealing to take on these additional roles of executive producing and directing at this point in your career? They asked me to be an EP on the show, they offered that to me, and to be able to have the opportunity to sit in all the production meetings and help with casting and give notes on scripts and edits of the episodes is brand new for me and it's been a wonderful learning experience. I've learned so much being on Dark Winds for the last four seasons, more than I've learned in the previous 30 years of being an actor, because you are completely involved in all aspects of production. And as far as directing, AMC asked me if I wanted to direct in the fourth season and I can't pass up an opportunity like that. It scared the heck out of me, it really did, being the number one [on the call sheet] and trying to direct. And I never had really any aspirations to direct, so when they asked me, it was just a huge learning opportunity for me to expand my horizons in this business. I've got a great team, and I knew that I wasn't going to fail with this team around me. The episode turned out really good, the story's being told and most importantly, AMC liked it. (Laughs.) So maybe we'll do it again, we'll see what happens. Looking back, did you have a favorite moment from season three? As an actor, you don't [often] get to be part of a character or show that develops over four seasons. It's not like a movie where you do this character for three months and you're done; I've been doing it now for four seasons, so those moments of realization were pretty special for me in season three. My character falling in love with his wife is a pretty special moment. And again, you rarely see that [with Native characters] on television. There was also some really tough content in season three. Was there an aspect of the season that was most challenging for you? The whole season was. It's a continued exploration of the tragedy that befell the Leaphorn family and the son's death and the consequences that come from that into what Joe Leaphorn did and his actions last season, and how it affects him mentally and his marriage with Emma. Just the struggle with guilt and the moral gray areas he's found himself in, the questioning of his decisions in season two with B.J. Vines: Did he really murder B.J. Vines or did he just leave B.J. Vines in the desert to fend for himself? Is that murder? Those choices have [led] him to a lot of fear and anxiety throughout the season, but also it's a growth season, more about self-understanding and healing and going back into his past and reconciling those traumatic events that affected him and his loved ones. It was a challenging season, but it's [also] fun to dive deep into those psychological issues that any character has and we've got a good writing team. You've said this season was cathartic for you as you tapped into experiences and traumas from your own past, which were similar to the relating to Joe's cousin when they were younger. What did that process entail for you? Great directors helped me through all that and just created a safe environment, along with my first ADs. We closed down some of the sets with only the camera people, the first AD and the actors. And I've got a great team around me that allowed me to be vulnerable and be in those moments. Yeah, I've had some past history with some very similar events in my life, so it's pretty easy to tap into a lot of that … trauma? Sure, I've dealt with a lot of stuff throughout my life and one of the things I enjoy about acting is to tap into that stuff and make it real, because if it's not real and not honest, it shows up on the camera. I could relate to a lot of what Joe had gone through, and it was cathartic. But mainly it was the environment, the trust of the people around me, that [allowed me] to be vulnerable and [still] feel safe. When you're dealing with such difficult, emotional content, how does it impact you? Do you find you take it home with you? There was a moment in season three that — I wish I could articulate this — the lines became blurred. As actors we have to make things real, they have to feel real in my body and I have to feel like I'm in that situation. So, you do find yourself in moments where it's very real, and the whole environment makes it [feel even] more real. We've got great production designers that make it feel like the '70s, and you have the dialogue and the script, so you get to [these] moments where you really feel like you're in that situation. And that's what we all strive for as actors. Again, I had this great team around me, so when I'm off the set and I'm still feeling that, I can go talk to them about it. Tina Elmo helped me out with that a lot, she held my hand or she hugged me. We talk through it, and then you come out of it. I think the main thing is the focus, that's what I have a hard time with. You're working a job for four months, and you're in it every day for 14 hours a day. It's that focus that the job requires, and it's hard to get out of. When the job is over, what do you do with all that focus? That's what I struggle with. So, what do you do? I've found things to help me with it, like taking off on a motorcycle for a month or going and hanging out with my mom or just driving in the car. I love driving, and I'll drive for a few days and go up and see my mom, and it helps me deal with losing all that focus, where I can replace it with somebody I love. I find different tools to deal with being that focused for so long and then dropping out of it immediately. And you know, they're healthy tools. (Laughs.) Back in the day, 25 years ago, I unfortunately had unhealthy ways to deal with some of that stuff. Today, it's healthy. That's important. By the way, what kind of motorcycle do you ride? I've got a couple bikes. I had four and I just got rid of a couple but they're all Harleys. I might be changing to a BMW GS, like a dual sport where I can do a little bit more gravel road, off-road, elastic stuff. Emmy nominations are coming, and you could be nominated. In recent years, several other Native actors have been. I wonder if you feel like that win is coming soon for a Native actor, and what it would mean to you? Oh, I think somebody's going to. We've got such great talent out there — D'Pharoah [Woon-A-Tai] was nominated last year for Rez Dogs, and Lily [Gladstone] came really close to winning the Academy Award. And we've got more content coming out. Sierra Ornelas just did a pilot for NBC, it's a Native comedy. We've just got too much talent out there for somebody not to get nominated or hopefully win one of those awards. And to be recognized by your community is a pretty cool thing. But we'll see what happens. Just to be in the conversation, to be honest with you, having a billboard or having people interviewing you, that's enough for me, it really is. People are recognizing the work you do. Speaking of , you also played on a police officer on that show. Do you have a special affinity for those characters? No, they just keep asking me to do them. (Laughs.) None of my family were in law enforcement or anything like that. I've learned quite a bit. On Longmire, I was a cop, too. And I did a film called The Silencing up in Canada with [Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau], where I played a cop. I just get cast as cops. I'm this little 5-foot-6-inch guy, it doesn't make sense to me, but I guess it's because I have (in a deep voice) a strong presence. (Laughs.) I'm not going to say no, though! Any last thoughts before I leave you? We're not a documentary but it's an opportunity to reeducate people about [Navajo] culture and the values of that culture and it can lead to people getting more involved politically [because they get] to peek into a different culture. And it's a beautiful thing to be part of a television show that's also opening doors for Native talent. That's important to me. If I walk away from this business, I can say I was involved with something that did open these doors for Native writers, Native directors, Native producers, Native crew people. It's so difficult to get your foot into this business, and we've given a lot of Native people a foothold and something to put on their résumé — even myself as a first-time director. It's just a wonderful thing that AMC is backing and getting behind it and I'm very, very grateful for it. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Casting News: Lifetime's Lucifer Reunion, Prison Break Addition and More
Lucifer alumni Lesley-Ann Brandt and Aimee Garcia are set to star with Taye Diggs (Private Practice) in the Lifetime movie Terry McMillan Presents: His, Hers & Ours, due out later this year. The premise: Single father Darius (played by Diggs) discovers his teenage daughter in bed with her boyfriend Chase, and wastes no time kicking him out. However, a knock at the door changes everything — it's Chase's mother, Kelly (Brandt), furious and ready for confrontation. Buuuuut… forced to spend time together due to their children's relationship, Kelly and Darius slowly develop feelings for each other. More from TVLine Shrinking Boss Bill Lawrence Tees Up Reunion With His 'Hero' Michael J. Fox, Shares Favorite Spin City Memory Ncuti Gatwa Bids Doctor Who Farewell as Finale Ends With a Most Surprising Twist - Grade It! Lester Holt Signs Off as NBC Nightly News Anchor - Will You Miss Him? Diggs and Brandt will both also serve as executive producers on the TV-movie, while Garcia will play Sofia, Kelly's best friend who grows suspicious of the budding relationship. In other recent casting news… * Hulu's Prison Break reboot has added Priscilla Delgado (A League of Their Own) as Cheyenne, a prison inmate and the girlfriend of a prisoner in the men's unit just a floor away; Deadline first reported on the casting. * NBC's single-cam comedy pilot set at a Native American community center in Oakland, Calif. has cast Jana Schmieding (Rutherford Falls), Bobby Wilson (Reservation Dogs), Wes Studi (Reservation Dogs) and SNL vet Rachel Dratch, per Variety. * Presenters for this Sunday's Tony Awards, airing live on CBS starting at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT, include Aaron Tveit, Adam Lambert, Alex Winter, Allison Janney, Ariana DeBose, Ben Stiller, Bryan Cranston, Carrie Preston, Charli D'Amelio, Danielle Brooks, Jean Smart, Jesse Eisenberg, Katie Holmes, Keanu Reeves, Kelli O'Hara, Kristin Chenoweth, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Lea Michele, Lea Salonga, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Michelle Williams, Oprah, Rachel Bay Jones, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Samuel L. Jackson, Sara Bareilles and Sarah Paulson. * Country stars Cody Johnson and Ashley McBryde will host this year's CMA Fest, airing Thursday, June 26 at 8/7c on ABC (and streaming on Hulu the following day). Hit the comments with your thoughts on the above castings! Best of TVLine Stars Who Almost Played Other TV Roles — on Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, Lost, Gilmore Girls, Friends and Other Shows TV Stars Almost Cast in Other Roles Fall TV Preview: Who's In? Who's Out? Your Guide to Every Casting Move!
Digital Trends
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Buffy reboot has a new slayer: Hulu casts Ryan Kiera Armstrong in lead role
The Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot has found its lead in Ryan Kiera Armstrong. The Skeleton Crew will star opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar, who will executive produce and reprise her role as the iconic Buffy Summers. On her Instagram, Gellar shared a video where she announced the news to Armstrong. Recommended Videos 'How do you feel about helping me save the world?' Gellar asked Armstrong. 'You want to be my chosen one?' An overjoyed Armstrong broke down in tears and thanked Gellar for 'trusting' her with the role. 'From the moment I saw Ryan's audition, I knew there was only one girl that I wanted by my side,' Gellar wrote in the caption. 'To have that kind of emotional intelligence, and talent, at such a young age is truly gift. The bonus is that her smile lights up even the darkest room.' Armstrong is best known for playing Fern in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and Charlie Mcgee in the Firestarter remake. Armstrong will next appear in a guest role in Stick, Owen Wilson's Apple TV+ golf comedy. Later this year, Armstrong stars alongside Ethan Hawke in FX's The Lowdown, a new series from Reservation Dogs' Sterlin Harjo. The Buffy reboot received a pilot order at Hulu in February. Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, the showrunners on Poker Face season 1, will write, showrun, and executive produce the untitled reboot. 'We are so overjoyed to have found this generation's slayer in Ryan Kiera Armstrong, she absolutely blew us away — there is no question in our mind that she is the chosen one,' the Zuckermans said in a statement. Oscar winner Chloé Zhao will executive produce and direct the pilot. Plot details remain under wraps. Armstrong's slayer is expected to be a high-school student. The next chapter in the Buffyverse comes from 20th Television and Searchlight TV. Buffy the Vampire ran for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003. Stream the entire series on Hulu or Disney+.
