Will Sasso, Tim Chiou, Zoe Manarel and Carter Chee Join ‘OK Boomer’ Cast (TV News Roundup)

Ethan Shanfeld
·6 min read
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WarnerMedia announced that Will Sasso, Tim Chiou, Zoe Manarel and Carter Chee will star in HBO Max’s original pilot “OK Boomer.”

The show, which also stars Patti LuPone, Erinn Hayes and Devere Rogers, follows self-centered “boomer” Barbara (LuPone) as she moves into her daughter Sarah’s house and forms an unlikely bond with her progressive granddaughter.

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Sasso will play Nick, Sarah’s recently divorced older brother who is now living in Sarah’s guest house as he puts his life back together. Chiou will star as Trevor, Sarah’s even-tempered husband who runs his own construction company. Manarel will star as Campbell, Sarah’s oldest child who fights for progressive causes but is not immune to self-doubt and teen angst in her personal life. Chee will portray Jacob, Sarah’s bright, sensitive and anxiety-ridden youngest child.

“OK Boomer” is produced by Sony Pictures Television and created by co-executive producer Todd Linden. Showrunner Vanessa McCarthy serves as executive producer along with Jamie Tarses for Fanfare, with Fanfare’s McCrae Dunlap serving as co-executive producer. Victor Gonzalez will direct.

Also in today’s TV news roundup:

DATES

HBO Max announced that “Ellen’s Next Great Designer” will premiere on April 22. Hosted by Scott Foley, the series will feature up-and-coming furniture designers competing for $100,000 through a series of innovative challenges from studios in their hometowns. DeGeneres will appear in each episode alongside the contestants and judges, which include Foley, Brigette Romanek and Fernando Mastrangelo. The contestants are Cristina Antonio, Arielle Assouline-Lichten, Erica Sellers, Alejandro Artigas, Mark Grattan, Paul Jeffrey and Urvi Sharma. “Ellen’s Next Great Designer” is produced by A. Smith & Co. Productions and Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Telepictures and A Very Good Production, with Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Kleeman, Arthur Smith, Caroline Baumgard, Ian Mallahan and Sharalynn Cornwall serving as executive producers. Watch a trailer below.

FIRST LOOKS

Amazon Prime Video debuted a trailer for “The Underground Railroad,” a limited series from showrunner and director Barry Jenkins. All 10 episodes of the series, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, will premiere on May 14. “The Underground Railroad” follows Cora Randall’s journey to freedom in the antebellum South as bounty hunter Ridgeway seeks to bring her back to the plantation she escaped. Thuso Mbedu, Chase W. Dillon and Joel Edgerton star alongside Aaron Pierre, William Jackson Harper, Sheila Atim, Amber Gray, Peter De Jersey, Chukwudi Iwuji, Damon Herriman, Lily Rabe, Irone Singleton, Mychal-Bella Bowman, Marcus “MJ” Gladney, Jr., Will Poulter and Peter Mullan. Jenkins executive produces with Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Brad Pitt, Richard Heus, Jacqueline Hoyt and Colson Whitehead. “The Underground Railroad” is a production of Plan B, Pastel and Big Indie with Amazon Studios. Watch the trailer below.

Peacock released a teaser for its upcoming original musical comedy series “We Are Lady Parts,” which does not yet have a premiere date on the platform. Written, directed and created by Nida Manzoor, the show follows a Muslim female punk band in search of a lead guitarist and a proper gig. The series stars Anjana Vasan, Sarah Kameela Impey, Juliette Motamed, Faith Omole, Lucie Shorthouse, Zaqi Ismail and Aiysha Hart. The series is packed with original punk songs and surprising cover tracks, written and adapted by Manzoor and her siblings Shez Manzoor (who also scored the show), Sanya Manzoor and Benni Fregin. “We Are Lady Parts” is from Peacock in association with Channel 4. Watch the teaser below.

Netflix debuted a trailer for “Selena: The Series Part 2,” the final installment of the two-part coming-of-age drama that explores the life of Selena Quintanilla, the “Queen of Tejano Music.” The series chronicles Selena’s rise, from singing small gigs in Corpus Christi with her family to becoming one of the most successful Latin artists of all time. Out May 4, Part 2 stars Christian Serratos, Gabriel Chavarria, Ricardo Chavira, Noemí Gonzales, Seidy López, Jesse Posey, Julio Macias and Natasha Perez. Creator Moises Zamora executive produces alongside Jaime Dávila, Rico Martinez, Suzette Quintanilla, Simran A. Singh and Hiromi Kamata, who also directs with Katina Medina Mora. Watch the trailer below.

CASTING

Netflix announced that Carlacia Grant will join the “Outer Banks” cast for Season 2 in a recurring role. Grant will play Cleo, a confident and fearless Nassau girl whose world collides with the Pogues. She will appear alongside Elizabeth Mitchell, also joining the cast for Season 2, as well as returning stars Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Rudy Pankow, Austin North, Drew Starkey and Charles Esten. “Outer Banks” is created by Josh Pate, Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke, who serve as showrunners.

DEVELOPMENT

Saloon Media announced its collaboration with StoryFirst on its first scripted drama, “Ghost Walk.” Created by Brendan Foley, the show follows Melissa Roth, an aspiring Canadian actor who takes a temporary position as a ghost tour guide in York, England. She starts seeing spirits after falling down a flight of stairs and teams up with Charles Conroy, a prickly British scientist, to cure her in exchange for the fame and fortune to come from proving whether or not ghosts exist. Melissa Williamson, Michael Kot, Dominic Barlow, Sam Linton and Blue Ant Media serve as executive producers.

EXECUTIVE NEWS

Walt Disney Television has named Lindsey Kasabian as the new senior vice president of casting for Freeform. Working closely with Freeform president Tara Duncan, Kasabian is responsible for identifying and helping select the acting talent for all ongoing series and pilots. The new assignment is effective immediately. Kasabian’s first started her career in 2006 as a casting department assistant at the former 20th Century Fox Television. Recently, she led the casting efforts as vice president at Touchstone Television. Her tenure included serving as principal casting executive on Showtime’s “Homeland,” helping secure Many Patinkin, Damian Lewis and Rupert Friends, among others, for the series’ eight-season run. She also oversaw casting for “Fosse/Verdon,” “Pose” and “The Old Man.”

Lionsgate has named producer Craig Piligian as the new president of nonfiction television. Under a new long-term agreement, Piligian has also been elevated to chair of Lionsgate’s Pilgrim Media Group and will continue as Pilgrim’s CEO. As president of nonfiction television, a new role, Piligian will be responsible for overseeing Lionsgate’s unscripted television business, developing new nonfiction series and managing the company’s partnerships with unscripted television producers.

LATE NIGHT

Ice T, Tig Notaro and Orlando Leyba will appear on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” while Anderson Cooper, Emily VanCamp and Zoe Wess will be on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “Late Night With Seth Meyers” will feature Rob Lowe, Domhnall Gleeson, Brian Gleeson and Emerald Fennell, while Forest Whitaker and Kane Brown will appear on “The Late Late Show With James Corden,” and Caleb McLaughlin will be on “A Little Late With Lilly Singh.”

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