Media Murder for Murder

It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news:

AWARDS

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences handed out the 73rd primetime Emmy Awards last night. There weren't very many crime drama winners this year, with most of the nods going to The Crown for, well, just about everything. However, Mare of Easttown had several nods:  Kate Winslet won Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie for her role as Mare Sheehan; Evan Peters won Outstanding Supporting Actor for his role as Detective Colin Zabel; and Julianne Nicholson won an Outstanding Supporting Actress award for her role as Lori Ross.

THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES

Megan Fox has been set to star with Tyson Ritter in the feature thriller, Johnny And Clyde, a "new take on the famous Bonnie and Clyde story." The movie will follow the two eponymous serial killers, madly in love and on an endless crime spree, who have their sights set on robbing a prosperous casino run by crime boss Alana (Fox) and her head of security (Ritter). The movie is currently in production in Rhode Island with the roles of Johnny and Clyde to be cast "imminently."

Bridget Regan and Patrick Heusinger (Jack Reacher: Never Go Back) have signed on to star alongside Katherine Castro in Weak, a new thriller from writer-director, J.S. Mayank. The film is inspired by a true story and follows an investigation involving two women: Audra (Castro), who’s suffering from depression, and her friend, Jen (Regan), who’s trying to help her cope with the mental health issues. Upon their visit to a gun range, an unexpected turn of events leads to a surprising and horrifying revelation.

Winona Ryder is starring alongside Dermot Mulroney, John Gallagher Jr., Owen Teague, and Brianne Tju in The Cow, described as "a mystery thriller" that marks the feature directing debut of Eli Horowitz, co-creator of Amazon’s anthology series, Homecoming. However, plot details are being kept under wraps about the script, which was co-penned by Horowitz and Matthew Derby.

Netflix is teaming up with Vishal Bhardwaj Films for the espionage feature, Khufiya. Based on the spy novel, Escape to Nowhere, by Amar Bhushan, as well as true events, the film tells the story of Krishna Mehra, an intelligence operative at India’s Research and Analysis Wing who is assigned to track down the mole selling defense secrets.

Travis Fimmel, Brady Noon, and Frances Fisher have been added to the cast of Rust, the feature Western that stars Alec Baldwin and is written and directed by Joel Souza (Crown Vic). The story centers on infamous Western outlaw, Harland Rust (Baldwin), who's had a bounty on his head for as long as he can remember. When his estranged 13-year-old grandson Lucas (Noon) is convicted of an accidental murder and sentenced to hang, Rust travels to Kansas to break him out of prison. Together, the fugitives must outrun the legendary U.S. Marshal, Wood Helm, and bounty-hunter, Fenton "Preacher" Lang (Fimmel), who are hot on their tail.

TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICES

Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton’s HiddenLight Productions have optioned film and TV rights to Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs series. Hillary, who has made no secret of her love of the mystery series throughout the years, told attendees at the Royal Television Society Cambridge Convention last week how much she and Chelsea love the character and her journey during a time of "great social upheaval."

Mark Gordon Pictures is moving along with its series adaptation of Norman Mailer’s spy epic, Harlot’s Ghost. Éric Rochant (who is also developing a global spy thriller with Snowpiercer producer Tomorrow Studios), will write, direct, executive produce, and showrun the project. Harlot’s Ghost, which was published in 1991, is a fictional chronicle of the CIA and centers on Harry Hubbard, the son and godson of CIA legends. His journey to learn the secrets of his organization—and his own past—takes him through the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the "momentous catastrophe" of the Kennedy assassination. All the while, Hubbard is haunted by women who were loved by both his godfather and President Kennedy.

Hulu has given a formal green light to Career Opportunities In Murder & Mayhem (working title), a pilot headlined by Mandy Patinkin and Violett Beane. Joining the duo as series regulars are Lauren Patten, Hugo Diego Garcia, Angela Zhou, and Rahul Kohli. Written by Stumptown duo, Mike Weiss and Heidi Cole McAdams, and to be directed by Marc Webb, the project asks the question, "How do you solve a murder in a post-fact world? Especially when sailing the Mediterranean on an ocean liner filled with the wealthy and powerful?" Everyone on board is hiding something…but is one of them a killer? That’s what the "World’s Once Greatest Detective," Rufus Cotesworth (Patinkin), and his protégé, Imogene (Beane), aim to discover.

Idris Elba will officially reprise his role as the brilliant detective John Luther for a Luther movie at Netflix and will be joined in the cast by Cynthia Erivo and Andy Serkis. Neil Cross, the series creator of Luther, will return to write the script for the movie, and Emmy nominee Jamie Payne is set to direct. The film will continue the events of the "Luther" saga, which aired in 2010 and ran for five seasons on the BBC. Other plot details, however, are being kept under wraps.

Emily Deschanel has been cast as the lead in Netflix’s limited series adaptation of Devil in Ohio. The eight-episode thriller is based on a book of the same name by Daria Polatin, which is inspired by a true story. The series will be written, executive produced, and showrun by author Polatin and follows hospital psychiatrist, Dr. Suzanne Mathis, whose world is turned upside down when she shelters a mysterious cult escapee.

The CW has acquired Professionals, a loose remake of the Christian Slater-fronted action movie, Soldiers of Fortune, which was made for the Scandinavian SVOD service, Viaplay. The series stars Smallville’s Tom Welling as Vincent Corbo, a top-tier security operative paid to protect the interests of rich and powerful clients by any means necessary. After a next-gen medical satellite explodes on launch, Corbo is hired by the rocket’s designer, billionaire futurist Peter Swann (Brendan Fraser), who suspects sabotage. Complicating Corbo’s new gig is his former paramour and now Swann’s fiancée, medical visionary Dr. Grace Davila (Elena Anaya), who is racing to help stave off a global catastrophe. Even worse, Corbo must also contend with a rogue Europol agent (Ken Duken), who is hell-bent on busting him for past sins.

The real-life story about $70 billion in bonds that went missing in downtown Manhattan during Hurricane Sandy is being loosely adapted as a series for Netflix. Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) is among the cast in Jigsaw, an eight-part heist action drama that the streamer says takes a "nonlinear approach to storytelling in a way where viewers are in control." Spanning a quarter-century, Jigsaw centers on the largest heist ever attempted and the vengeance, scheming, loyalties, and betrayals that surround it.

The Hulu series, Only Murders in the Building, has officially been renewed for a second season. The comedic murder-mystery series follows three strangers—Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one when a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building. As they record a podcast to document the case, the three unravel the complex secrets of the building which stretch back years. Soon, the endangered trio comes to realize a killer might be living amongst them as they race to decipher the mounting clues before it’s too late.

Freeform has ordered an untitled Hitchcockian nanny-drama pilot that follows a young woman as she's thrust into a world of old money and deadly secrets. Andrea Londo plays Elena, who at first seems like just a wholesome, friendly young woman trying to get a job as the live-in nanny to a wealthy widower (Warren Christie) and his young son at the Greybourne. However, she’s not the wide-eyed innocent she seems to be. Once Elena is ensconced in this world, she’ll discover she’s not the only one with dark secrets or a hidden agenda.

Netflix has given a series order to the legal drama, Partner Track, with Arden Cho set to star. Based on Helen Wan’s 2013 novel of the same name, Partner Track centers on Ingrid Yun (Cho), an idealistic young lawyer who struggles with her moral compass and her passions as she fights to climb the partner track at an elite New York City law firm. Bridgerton’s Julie Anne Robinson will direct the first two episodes of the series.

Law & Order: SVU’s Demore Barnes reacted to news of his upcoming exit from the long-running NBC series, sharing on social media that he’s proud of his work but in the dark about the shift in casting, adding "I don't know why this happened." Barnes and co-star Jamie Gray Hyder, who play Deputy Chief Christian Garland and Officer Kat Tamin, respectively, are departing Law & Order: SVU ahead of its Season 23 premiere next Thursday. Barnes and Hyder were introduced in Season 21 as recurring characters, and both were promoted to series regulars for Season 22. Barnes said his character was the "first Black deputy chief in SVU history."

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO

Colson Whitehead joined NPR's Fresh Air to discuss his latest novel, Harlem Shuffle, and the extensive background research he conducts whenever he works on a book.

Writer Types regular host, Eric Beetner, was joined by guest co-host, Frank Zafiro, and guests Amanda Jayatissa (My Sweet Girl); Swedish author Tove Alsterdal (We Know You Remember); and Suruthi Bala & Hannah Maguire from the podcast Redhanded! and its associated book (Redhanded: An Exploration of Criminals, Cannibals, Cults, and What Makes a Killer Tick).

Nadine Matheson—author of The Jigsaw Man—was interviewed by Robert Justice for Crime Writers of Color. When bodies start washing up along the banks of the River Thames, DI Henley fears it is the work of Peter Olivier, the notorious Jigsaw Killer. But it can’t be him; Olivier is already behind bars, and Henley was the one who put him there. The race is on to find the killer before more bodies are found.

A new Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast is up featuring the first chapter of Murder Under a Blue Moon by Abigail Keam, as read by actor Brianne Vogt Debbas.

The All About Agatha podcast hosted their own event at the recent International Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay, revisiting Christie's first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

Speaking of Mysteries welcomed Amanda Jayatissa to discuss her debut thriller, My Sweet Girl, which centers on Paloma, who thought her perfect life would begin once she was adopted and made it to America, but she’s about to find out that no matter how far you run, your past always catches up to you.

Lisa Regan stopped by Meet the Thriller Author to discuss her Detective Josie Quinn series, including the latest installment, Her Deadly Touch.

CrimeTime FM's Paul Burke chatted with Simon Scarrow about his new-to-paperback thriller, Blackout; the importance of teaching and understanding history; challenging views of the past; and writing historical fiction.

Over the past two weeks, the Cozy Ink podcast highlighted cozy mysteries featuring cats and dogs. This week, host Leah Bailey tackled cozy mysteries that feature a variety of animals.

James Swallow returned to Wrong Place, Write Crime to talk about his new Marc Dane novels, his Star Trek tie-in novels, and some writing theory (including making location an integral part of the book). Regular host, Frank Zafiro, was also joined by Writer Types host, Eric Beetner, as they chatted about other recommended books and the craft of writing.