Media Murder for Monday

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

THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES

Netflix has preemptively landed feature rights to WIRED journalist Joseph Cox’s upcoming book, Dark Wire, which uncovers the true story of how the FBI launched a fake telecom company and became a phone service provider to some of the world’s most notorious gangs, culminating in the arrest of more than a thousand international criminals. Ozark star and director, Jason Bateman, will direct the Netflix thriller.

The next installment in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise is continuing to add to its all-star cast as Kevin Bacon is set to join Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley. Production on the sequel is underway with Mark Molloy directing the Will Beall-penned script. Franchise newcomers Jospeh Gordon-Levitt and Taylour Paige are also on board, along with Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, and Bronson Pinchot who will reprise their various characters from previous installments. The franchise moved from Paramount to Netflix in the winter of 2019 and follows the adventures of Detroit cop Foley, who first appeared in the 1984 smash hit that followed him to Beverly Hills to solve the murder of a friend. It was followed by two sequels, in 1987 and 1994.

Magic Mike's Alex Pettyfer is joining the Alec Baldwin-Olga Kurylenko action spy thriller, Chief of Station, which starts production in November. Pettyfer will play John Branca, a CIA agent overseeing a European intelligence division who’s been a steady hand for more than ten years and trusted ally to Ben Malloy (played by Baldwin), a legendary CIA Chief of Station. When Ben’s wife is killed in what appears to be a terrible accident, Branca takes over Ben’s old position as head of all Eastern European clandestine operations. But where do his loyalties lie? The pic is directed by Jesse V. Johnson off a script by George Mahaffey. Chris Petrovski has also boarded the feature project and will take on the role of Ben’s son, Nick.

TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICES

Kevin Costner’s Territory Pictures will team with Morgan Freeman and Lori McCreary's Revelations Entertainment to produce the Civil War spy drama, The Gray House, a six-hour limited series for Paramount Global. The project tells the story of the three women General Ulysses S. Grant credited as helping the North win the Civil War: a Richmond Socialite; her daughter, a formerly enslaved African-American; and a courtesan, as all three built the first successful female spy ring operating right under the noses of the Confederate High Command. The Gray House is based on an original script by Greif and Darrell Fetty (The Offer, Texas Rising) and Oscar-nominated John Sayles (Lonestar, 8 Men Out).

Robin Weigert, Abby McEnany, and Eric Graise are set as leads opposite Justin Hartley in the CBS drama pilot, The Never Game. Written by crime writer, Ben Winters, and based on a novel by fellow author, Jeffery Deaver, The Never Game follows the adventures of Colter Shaw (Hartley), who was raised by his paranoid survivalist father to be an expert tracker and now makes his living as a "rewardist," traveling America in his Airstream trailer, helping families recover their lost loved ones and their other most precious things — all while staying one step ahead of the memories that haunt him, and the unanswered questions from his past.

Alice Braga and Jimmi Simpson are set as leads opposite Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly in Dark Matter, an adaptation of Blake Crouch’s acclaimed sci-fi suspense novel, at Apple TV+. Written and showrun by Crouch, the nine-episode series will follow Jason Dessen, (Edgerton) a physicist, professor, and family man who — one night while walking home on the streets of Chicago — is abducted into an alternate version of his life. Wonder quickly turns to nightmare when he tries to return to his reality amid the multiverse of lives he could have lived. In this labyrinth of mind-bending realities, he embarks on a harrowing journey to get back to his true family and save them from the most terrifying, unbeatable foe imaginable: himself.

Jim Gaffigan has joined the cast of the HBO Max limited series, Full Circle, from director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ed Solomon. He joins previously announced cast Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes, Timothy Olyphant, Dennis Quaid, Jharrel Jerome, Sheyi Cole, and CCH Pounder. The project centers on an investigation into a botched kidnapping that uncovers long-held secrets connecting multiple characters and cultures in present-day New York City. Gaffigan is believed to be playing Manny Broward, an agent at USPIS battling his own demons who is Harmony’s (Beetz) immediate supervisor.

According to The Killing Times, viewers of BBC Four’s current Saturday-night German series, KaDaWe, were treated to a trailer for season two of the Norwegian crime drama, Wisting, confirming the channel’s acquisition of the show’s second series. Sven Nordin returns as Larvik detective William Wisting, taking on two of the most challenging cases of his career— a race against time to hunt down an escaped killer before the latter can strike again, and solving the macabre mystery behind an unknown woman’s head placed on a spike in the centre of Larvik. The series is based on the best-selling books by Jørn Lier Horst, a Norwegian author of crime fiction and a former Senior Investigating Officer at Vestfold police district.

Also from The Killing Times comes word that UKTV channel, Alibi, has announced its first ever Nordic Noir acquisition, the Icelandic Black Sands (Svörtu sandar). The eight-episode series stars Aldís Amah Hamilton as Anita, a DI in her thirties, who is forced to return to the hometown she fled 14 years ago. A reckoning with her mother is inescapable, but when the body of a young woman is found, everything is upended. Anita is dragged down into the dark abyss of her past, looking for a possible serial killer and the reckoning turns into a nightmare. Black Sands was created by Aldís Amah Hamilton, Andri Óttarsson, and Ragnar Jónsson, author of the Dark Iceland series and the Hulda series as well as translator of fourteen of Agatha Christie novels.

Prime Video has set a December premiere date for Season 3 of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. All eight episodes of the series, starring and executive produced by John Krasinski, will launch on Wednesday, December 21, exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. Season 3 of the action-thriller series finds Jack Ryan (Krasinski) on the run and in a race against time. In addition to Krasinski, also returning for the third season are Wendell Pierce as James Greer and Michael Kelly as Mike November. Joining as new series regulars are Nina Hoss as Alena Kovac and Betty Gabriel as Elizabeth Wright. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan was previously renewed for a fourth season with Michael Peña joining the cast, although as previously reported, that season will be the series' last.

Echo 3, the action thriller series starring Luke Evans, Michiel Huisman, and Jessica Ann Collins, will premiere on Apple TV+ on Wednesday, Nov. 23, with new episodes dropping every Friday through Jan. 13. Set in South America, the series follows Amber Chesborough (Collins), a brilliant young scientist who is the emotional heart of a small American family. When Amber goes missing along the Colombia-Venezuela border, her brother, Bambi (Evans), and her husband, Prince (Huisman) — two men with deep military experience and complicated pasts — struggle to find her in a layered personal drama, set against the explosive backdrop of a secret war. Echo 3 is based on the Israeli television series When Heroes Fly and inspired by the eponymous novel by Amir Gutfreund.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO

The Queer Writers of Crime podcast is apparently shutting down. On the final episode, Justene recommends a book by two authors, Austin Thomas Burton, and Ripley Hayes. In addition, the entire show's team comes together to say goodbye to the authors and fans who've supported the show.

My Favorite Detective Stories welcomed New York Times bestselling author Marc Cameron, author of the Jericho Quinn thriller series, the Arliss Cutter novels, and five Tom Clancy/Jack Ryan novels for the Tom Clancy estate.

On CrimeTime FM, Trevor Wood chatted with Paul Burke about his latest novel just out in paperback, Dead End Street; characters Jimmy, Deano and Gadge; PTSD and homelessness; The People's Kitchen; writing a new stand alone novel; the writer's journey; and the editor who wanted Dog to have a girlfriend.

On the latest episode of the Red Hot Chili Writers, crime writer Erin Kelly stopped by to discuss her new novel, The Skeleton Key; chat about the phenomenon that was the queue for the Queen's coffin-viewing; and take a look at the world of professional mourners.

It Was a Dark and Stormy Book Club featured a Fright Reads Book Festival 2022 author roundup.