Reeves takes rare television role in historical thriller

LOS ANGELES, Aug 7, (AP): Keanu Reeves will star in a TV adaptation of “The Devil in the White City,” the bestselling nonfiction thriller about ambition, a killer and the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.

Reeves will portray Daniel H. Burnham, an architect “trying to make his mark on history” with his designs for the fair, Hulu said in announcing the limited series Thursday. The other central role, that of convicted murderer Dr H.H. Holmes, has yet to be cast, the streaming service said.

Erik Larson’s novelistic-style account of the fair - formally called the World’s Columbian Exposition - was published in 2003. The fair’s nickname was White City, stemming from the color of many of its building exteriors.

Various Hollywood players circled the book, and Leonardo DiCaprio acquired the rights in 2010, with the aim of starring in a big-screen version as Holmes. Martin Scorsese reportedly was set to direct.

Scorsese, DiCaprio and Reeves are among the series’ producers. There was no immediate word of an on-screen role for DiCaprio in the Hulu project, and its release date was not announced.

Reeves has worked almost exclusively in films, including the “Matrix” and “John Wick” franchises. He took an excursion into TV with “Swedish Dicks,” a 2016-18 comedy series about Swedish private eyes in which Reeves made brief appearances.

Holmes, born Herman Webster Mudgett, was linked to and confessed to a number of murders. He was convicted and sentenced to death for only one and was executed in 1896.

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ABC’s “The View” has named two Republicans - Alyssa Farah

Griffin and Ana Navarro - as regular panelists on the daytime talk show, and neither are fans of former President Donald Trump.

Farah Griffin fills the chair left empty when Meghan McCain quit last summer after four years on the show. Farah Griffin is a communications strategist who worked as a spokesperson at the Pentagon and for Trump and Vice President Mike Pence during the last administration.

Navarro, a familiar face as a frequent guest host at “The View” since 2015, was officially named as an addition to the show’s group of five hosts.

McCain was a magnet for controversy and attention during her time at “The View,” where she often fought onscreen with her more liberal co-hosts, and complained after she left of a toxic work environment.

“The View” took its time replacing her, spending a year with conservative guest hosts in informal on-air tryouts. Farah Griffin appeared 29 times.

Divides

“If there’s one thing that I believe, it’s that there’s more that unites this country than divides it,” Farah Griffin said. “I think we can demonstrate at this table what our elected leaders often can’t, which is disagreeing but doing so respectfully and doing so in a fact-based manner. We don’t need any of these conspiracies and lies that have taken up so much of news.”

Farah Griffin, who is also a CNN contributor, quit the Trump administration after the Jan 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol. She said the last two years have been turbulent for her, including dealing with death threats.

“I worked for an administration that I ended up speaking out against fervently and continue to do so daily,” she said. “It changes a lot in your life. I lost a lot of friends. I’m estranged from family members, but I have to say this: I am so proud to have found my voice.”

Not everyone is quick to turn the page, and there’s a social media campaign to boycott “The View” because of her hiring, with some fans unwilling to forgive the new host’s service to Trump.

On “The View,” lead host Whoopi Goldberg refuses to even say Trump’s name.

Farah Griffin told her co-hosts, who also include Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin and Sarah Haines, that she knew it was “going to get sporting sometimes.”

“It’s going to get more than sporting,” Hostin replied. Navarro has worked for GOP figures John McCain and Jeb Bush. She had a Twitter tiff with the former president’s son last September; after Donald Trump Jr. made an online comment about Navarro’s weight, she called him a dimwit.

Navarro has worked for GOP figures John McCain and Jeb Bush. She had a Twitter tiff with Donald Trump Jr. last September; after he made an online comment about Navarro’s weight, she called him a dimwit.

She said she was pleased to be joining the show officially, even if it means a commute from her home in Miami.

“We’re finally putting a ring on it,” she said.