Media Murder for Monday

MOVIES

Author Walter Mosley and producer Denise Grayson have hired writer-director Paul Chart to adapt Mosley’s thriller Killing Johnny Fry for a feature film that  Mosley will produce through his company BOB Filmhouse together with Denise Grayson Productions. Mosley’s novel centers on nice guy Cordell Carmel, who discovers his long-time girlfriend is secretly enjoying a darkly sexual double life with the handsome but menacing Johnny Fry, and soon finds himself seduced into a twisted world of sex, drugs and murder.  

Two teaser stills were released for the upcoming film Budapest Noir, featuring actors Krisztian Kolovratnik and Reka Tenki. The project was adapted for the screen by Andras Szeker (The Notebook) from the original novel by Vilmos Kondor, and centers on Zsigmond Gordon, Kondor’s reporter hero, who's often compared with the detective protagonist in Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther historical thriller series.

Warner Bros. added four new movies to its 2017 calendar, including the release date of October 20 for Live By Night, the Ben Affleck-directed adaptation of Dennis Lehane's book that follows Joe Coughlin (played by Affleck), the son of a police captain who gets dragged into the world of organized crime. The studio also announced other 2017 releases including "an untitled mystery project."

TELEVISION

The CBS pilot Four Stars has added Jackson Davis in a potentially recurring role of Jeff, described as an "epic underachiever" who is the love interest of character Krissy. The pilot, which revolves around two powerful rival families in Tampa, Florida’s military community who make decisions at the highest levels in the interest of national security, already signed Wilmer Valderrama, Ashley Zukerman, Bojana Novakovic, and Anna Cruz Kayne to the cast.

A TV series adaption of Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley novels has found it screenwriter in Luther creator Neil Cross.The project is being developed via Endemol Shine with an eye toward a launch in the U.S. and other key territories at the same time.

TNT has given a pilot order to Claws, an hourlong dramedy set in a Southern Florida nail salon and described as "a dark, wickedly funny meditation on female badness which follows the rise of five diverse and treacherous Florida manicurists in the traditionally male world of organized crime."

Elijah Wood has been tapped to co-star in BBC America’s Dirk Gently, an adaptation of the novel Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, by Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy author Douglas Adams. The Gently series is described as "a comedic thriller that follows the bizarre adventures of eccentric ‘holistic’ detective Dirk Gently and his reluctant assistant Todd (played by Wood), as they wend their way through one big, seemingly insane mystery a season, crossing unlikely paths with a bevy of wild and sometimes dangerous characters, each episode landing them a few random steps closer to uncovering the truth.”

Shemar Moore is bidding farewell to his role on the CBS drama Criminal Minds after playing special agent Derek Morgan on the CBS series (which also stars Thomas Gibson, Joe Mantegna and Kirsten Vangsness) for eleven years. Viewers may not have to miss him forever, since Moore said he is open to returning for appearances.

Following a lengthy and extensive casting search, CBS has found its new MacGyver, with X-Men alum Lucas Till taking on the character that was originally made famous by Richard Dean Anderson. Joshua Boone has also joined the drama pilot as a series regular, playing Gunner, MacGyver's best friend from high school.

NCIS has signed 24 actress Sarah Clarke to play Tess Monroe, guest starring in the final two episodes of the veteran series’ current season with an option to become a new regular in the upcoming Season 14. Monroe is an FBI Special Agent who has recently transferred to D.C. from New York City, who is quick-witted, tough and shrewd.  

Lorraine Toussaint is joining Chicago Justice, NBC’s next installment in its Windy City franchise. Toussaint is set to guest star in the forthcoming backdoor pilot as defense attorney Shambala Green, a role she originated on Law & Order in 1990 and last played in 2003. Chicago Justice's trial run will air this spring, as Episode 21 of Chicago P.D.

Richard Belzer will reprise his role as Detective Munch on Law & Order: SVU in a May episode that centers on a young model who accuses a famous fashion photographer of assault. Det. Munch has also crossed over into other shows, including The X-Files, The Wire, and Arrested Development.

CBS renewed eleven series on Friday including crime dramas Blue Bloods, NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, Hawaii Five-0, Elementary, and Scorpion. A renewal for NCIS was previously announced, while The Good Wife and Person of Interest are all ending this season. No word yet on the fates of new crime dramas Limitless, Code Black, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, CSI: Cyber, or the original Criminal Minds.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO

It’s A Mystery to Me host Stacy Verdick Case spoke with bestselling author JA Jance about the 13th book in her Ali Reynolds series Clawback.

THEATER

The play that was named the best on Broadway in 2015 will be ending its run there this summer. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which won five 2015 Tony awards including Best Play, will host a final performance at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Sept. 4. The play, an adaptation of the 2003 Mark Haddon novel, stars Tyler Lea as 15-year-old Christopher, a boy with an exceptional intelligence who sets out to solve the mystery of who killed his neighbor’s dog. In the process, Christopher uncovers a deep family secret that shakes his world to the core.