The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
STARS ON SCREEN
It seems the Eye Network is eyeing another series that’s big on drama and star power, because CBS has decided to move forward with a Queen Latifah-led reboot of the 1980s action drama “The Equalizer.”
The original “Equalizer” series ran from 1985 to 1989 on CBS and starred Emmy-nominated actor Edward Woodward as a former spy who exacts justice for others. The TV series also inspired a 2014 big-budget film and its 2018 sequel, both featuring Denzel Washington in the lead role.
So CBS’s project isn’t the first reimagining of “The Equalizer.” But the fact that Queen Latifah (“Star”) is attached as both lead actress and producer has generated a lot of interest. Mind you, it also doesn’t hurt to have “Castle” creators Andrew Marlowe and Terri Miller on board as writers and showrunners. Latifah will play the role of Robyn, the enigmatic figure of considerable means who uses her extensive skills to “help those with nowhere else to turn” (per CBS). The cast also includes Chris Noth (“The Good Wife”) as Robyn’s former handler and an ex-CIA director who became more of a father figure. According to Deadline, Noth had a prior theater commitment that originally prevented him from signing on to “The Equalizer.” But with theaters closed due to the coronavirus crisis, Noth was able to join the cast as the series waits for production to resume.
“The Equalizer” is one of several projects that have been handed a full series order ahead of the 2020-21 broadcast season. CBS also picked up the “Silence of the Lambs” sequel series “Clarice” and a new Chuck Lorre comedy, “B Positive.”
COMING SOON»
According to a famous quote attributed to Confucius, “the man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” But the one who hopes to move or even beat The Mountain had better be able to lift some big stones, too.
BEAT THIS»
Icelandic weightlifter Hafthor Björnsson — better known as Ser Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane from HBO’s “Game of Thrones” — is coming off a big month. The six-foot-nine, 450-pound native of Reykjavik set a world record on May 2 by deadlifting 501 kilograms (1,104 pounds). And if you think you could do that, too, you might want to keep an eye out for casting calls from Wheelhouse Entertainment.
The media group’s Spoke Studios division has partnered with Björnsson on a new competition series titled “Beat the Mountain.” It’s described as a strength and endurance competition that pits top-performing athletes against one another in unique bouts. It’s a battle for supremacy, and the winner will get the opportunity to face off against The Mountain himself.
The project is being shopped around, and for Björnsson, it might be a case of striking while the iron is hot. According to IMDb, the 2018 World’s Strongest Man doesn’t have any acting gigs booked for 2020. Then again, Björnsson did say he would be dedicating the next year and a half to training for his boxing match against weightlifting rival Eddie Hall. That bout will likely take place in 2021, and there’s no word on how that might impact production of “Beat The Mountain” if the series finds a TV home.
How do you spin off an anthology series that’s already full of surprise twists and turns? Trust Ryan Murphy to find a way.
The creator of “Glee” and “9-1-1” took to Instagram recently to announce he’s working on an offshoot of his successful FX series, “American Horror Story.” The new project is simply titled “American Horror Stories,” and that plural noun is key, because Murphy sees this as more of an individual episodic anthology series (aka standalone episodes) instead of “the mothership’s” habit of featuring a new story each season.
Will it pop up on FX or Netflix? That’s hard to say. Murphy has been largely based at Netflix since signing a five-year, $300-million overall deal in 2018, and that’s
WHAT’S THE ‘STORY’»
where his limited series “Hollywood” dropped last month. But in January, FX renewed “American Horror Story” for three more seasons, effectively extending its run into Season 13. So it wouldn’t be out of place for the spinoff to have a spot in the FX lineup alongside the original series. Season 10 of “American Horror Story” is scheduled for its usual fall launch, but that may be delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. In the meantime, Murphy still has a full slate of projects to keep him busy, including Season 2 of “The Politician,” “Ratched,” “A Chorus Line,” “The Boys in the Band” (2020), “Halston” and a mini-series starring Billie Lourd (“Scream Queens”).