Media Murder for Monday

 

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

THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES

Lionsgate has set a release date of Labor Day weekend, August 30, for the action crime thriller 1992, which is one of Ray Liotta's final film roles. The story follows Mercer (Tyrese Gibson), who is desperately trying to rebuild his life and relationship with his son (Christopher Ammanuel) amidst the turbulent 1992 L.A. uprising following the Rodney King verdict. Across town, another father and son (Liotta and Scott Eastwood) put their own strained relationship to the test as they plot a dangerous heist to steal catalytic converters, which contain valuable platinum, from the factory where Mercer works. As tensions rise in Los Angeles and chaos erupts, both families reach their boiling points when they collide. Ariel Vromen directs, from a screenplay and story written by Vromen and Sascha Penn.

Zaid Abu Hamdan has begun principal photography in Jordan on the new film Boomah ("The Owl"), which is described as an "expansive crime thriller" set against the backdrop of Jordan’s underworld, with a similar gritty edge as City of God, Gomorrah, and La Haine. Rakeen Saad stars as "Boomah," a notorious and knife-savvy female gang member who becomes embroiled in a power struggle between street thugs and religious extremists while battling the traumas of her harrowing orphaned past. Saad is joined by Joanna Arida in the role of Boomah’s best friend and confidant, Anoud.

TELEVISION/SMALL SCREEN

Patrick Brammall is set to star in a six-part series adaptation of Ryan David Jahn’s book, The Dispatcher, for Apple TV+. Brammall will play police detective Ian Hunt, whose life fell apart ten years ago when his young daughter Maggie disappeared without a trace. Now working as a police dispatcher, the only thing that has kept him going is his implacable refusal to accept that she might be gone forever. When he receives a distress call from a young girl he is certain is Maggie, he will stop at nothing to find her and reunite his broken family, whatever the cost. The book, which was published in 2011, is set in East Texas and features a bullet-strewn, cross-country chase from Texas to California in a wild ride that passes through the outlaw territory of No Country for Old Men.

Rian Johnson celebrated the first day of filming the sophomore season of Poker Face, sharing a photo of the show’s clapboard, which listed star Natasha Lyonne as the director for episode two. Inspired by the inverted detective format of Columbo and similarly described by Johnson as a "howcatchem" (as opposed to the "whodunit" structure of Knives Out), Poker Face follows Vegas casino worker and human bullshit detector Charlie Cale (Lyonne) as she runs from the mob while solving a string of murders along the way. The star-studded series has featured such guest stars as Adrien Brody, Ron Perlman, Chloë Sevigny, Rowan Blanchard, and Rhea Perlman.

Onyx is not proceeding with Not Cops, a pilot from former Insecure showrunner Prentice Penny, which had scheduled filming to begin in mid-July when the plug was pulled last week. The drama revolved around residents of the Los Angeles neighborhood of Leimert Park who take charge of the safety in their community after defunding the police. Not Cops was in the middle of casting when the axe fell, with Bethlehem Million, Suzy Nakamura, and Chi McBride among those already on board.

Essence Atkins (First Wives Club), Melissa Ponzio (Chicago Fire) and Vaughn W. Hebron (The Oval) have signed on for recurring roles in Season 2 of Onyx Collective's Reasonable Doubt. The drama centers on Los Angeles-based, high-powered criminal defense attorney Jacqueline "Jax" Stewart (Emayatzy Corinealdi) as she deals with past traumas, a failing marriage, motherhood, and a murder case, all while trying to keep her life together.

Garret Dillahunt (Fear the Walking Dead) is set to recur in the new ABC drama High Potential, premiering this fall. Created by Drew Goddard based on a French film, the series stars Kaitlin Olson as Morgan, a single mom with three kids and an exceptional mind who helps solve an unsolvable crime when she rearranges some evidence during her shift as a cleaner for the police department. When they discover she has a knack for putting things in order because of her high intellectual potential, she is brought on as a consultant to work with by-the-book seasoned detective Karadec (Daniel Sunjata), and together they form an unusual and unstoppable team. Dillahunt will portray Lieutenant Melon, a bit of a jerk who heads up the Robbery Division of the LAPD precinct, but he’d much rather be running Major Crimes.

If you're wondering about the status of your favorite returning TV shows or eagerly anticipated new ones, Deadline compiled a handy list of TV premiere dates.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO

On Crime Time FM, Laura Sims chatted with host Paul Burke about her new novel, How Can I Help You, libraries, and the discipline of poetry.

The Red Hot Chili Writers spoke with thriller fiction legend Karin Slaughter, discussing her latest book, This Is Why We Lied, and touching on the cricket world cup in America.

THEATRE

Hot-on-the-heels of the critically acclaimed new BBC TV series, Ian Rankin’s much-loved detective is set to return in the stage production of Rebus: A Game Called Malice, which visits Edinburgh's Festival Theatre from September 10-14. Best known for his roles in Coronation Street, Peak Practice, and Casualty, Gray O’Brien plays John Rebus, with Billy Hartman returning to the role of Jack Fleming, having created it for the stage in 2023, and Abigail Thaw playing Stephanie Jeffries.