Starz is canceling four of its series, Variety has learned exclusively. Specifically, “Heels,” “Run the World,” and “Blindspotting” will not get new seasons at the cable network, while “The Venery of Samantha Bird” Season 1 is being scrapped without airing.

“Heels,” “Run the World,” and “Blindspotting” all recently aired their second season at Starz, while “The Venery of Samantha Bird” was in production on its first season. Production was shut down, however, at the onset of the WGA strike. It was reported at the time that only two episodes of the first season were left to shoot.

“The Venery of Samantha Bird” was to star Katherine Langford as the title character. Per the official logline, “Samantha, while visiting family in New England, reconnects with her childhood sweetheart and falls headlong into a seemingly perfect storybook romance. But the couple’s picture-perfect love story isn’t as sweet as it seems on the surface.”

Starz has rounded out the series regular cast for The Venery of Samantha Bird, its upcoming drama series starring Katherine Langford. Finn Jones (Iron Fist), Embeth Davidtz (The Morning Show), Brenda Strong (13 Reasons Why), Adam Faison (Everything’s Gonna Be OK), Shalini Bathina (Little Voice) and Tyrone Marshall Brown (Love Is) join Langford in the series created by Anna Moriarty. Additionally, Larysa Kondracki (Power, Better Call Saul) has been added as executive producer and will serve as director on four episodes, including the pilot, and Nicole Jefferson Asher (P-Valley, The First Lady) has joined as co-executive producer. Starz also confirmed the casting of Francesca Reale, whom we previously reported.

The eight-episode series revolves around Langford’s Samantha Bird, who, while visiting family in New England, reconnects with her childhood sweetheart (Jones) and falls headlong into a seemingly perfect storybook romance. But underneath their fever dream lurks a more unsettling interpretation of this affair. The series is described as a haunting portrayal of addictive love and the repercussions that a relationship has on the families in a small New England town.

Jones will play Jake Minot, the fearless, ruggedly handsome and quietly charismatic former childhood sweetheart of Samantha Bird. It’s been many years since they’ve seen each other, but when they meet again during Sam’s trip to New England, they pick up, it’s like no time has passed.

Source: Deadline

A flagship original from Roku, the current “Swimming With Sharks” brings two forces to be reckoned with in Diane Kruger, the take-no-prisoners studio chief, and Kiernan Shipka, her cunning intern who will stop at nothing to become her professional idol. The series will drop in full on April 15 on The Roku Channel. The show will host a premiere and panel at the SXSW Film Festival on Monday.

Roku will release Quibi’s reboot series of Swimming With Sharks, starring Diane Kruger and Kiernan Shipka, this spring.

The Lionsgate-produced series is written and produced by Kathleen Robertson, and directed by Tucker Gates, with Chris Cowles and Liz Destro also executive producing.

Set to make its Roku debut in April, Swimming With Sharks follows Lou Simms (Shipka), an intern at Fountain Pictures. She seems like a naïve Hollywood newcomer, awestruck by the studios’ notorious CEO, Joyce Holt (Kruger). In truth, Lou has done extensive research on Joyce and landing this internship was no happy accident. As Lou’s obsession grows, she will do anything to get close to her idol.

Swimming With Sharks touts six 30-minute episodes and also features Donald Sutherland, Thomas Dekker, Finn Jones, Erica Alexander, Ross Butler and Gerardo Celasco. Stephen Israel, Jay Cohen and Dana Brunetti also serve as executive producers.

Before moving over to Roku, the series was initially set at Quibi, before the mobile-only streaming venture fronted by Jeffrey Katzenberg shuttered less than a year after its launch. In January 2021, Roku acquired most of the Quibi library.

Source: Deadline

Cast has been finalized on Canyon Del Muerto, Coerte Voorhees’ drama about America’s first female archaeologist.

Finn Jones (Dickinson), Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (The Queen’s Gambit) and Abigail Breslin (Stillwater) are joining Abigail Lawrie, who plays the lead character Ann Axtell Morris, as well as fellow cast members Tom Felton, Ewen Bremner, James Hillier, Hanako Footman, Wes Studi, Tatanka Means, and David Midthunder.

Based on Ann Morris’s book Digging in the Southwest, first published in 1933, the film tracks how she and her husband Earl Morris excavated the ancient Anasazi civilization in the American Southwest under the direction of Sylvanus Morley. Morris and Morley were thought to be inspirations for Indiana Joes.

Breslin and Jones are cast as the famous aviator couple Anne and Charles Lindbergh. Fortune-Lloyd stars as renowned French muralist Jean Charlot and love interest of the female protagonist.

First Line Films produced the pic with The Vladar Compan. Julius Elwood and John Tsosie are the film’s cultural liaisons with the Navajo Nation and are co-producing. The project has now wrapped after shooting in New Mexico and Arizona.

Source: Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: Epix and Blumhouse TV have set their next small-screen feature – The Visitor starring Finn Jones and Jessica McNamee.

The film, which is directed by Justin P. Lange from a script by Adam Mason and Simon Boyes, is the latest TV movie as part of the two companies’ deal to produce eight standalone films.

Dickinson and Awake star Jones and Battle of the Sexes and Mortal Kombat star McNamee lead the cast of the psychological horror-thriller.

After a series of tragedies including the death of his father-in-law, Robert and his wife Maia leave their home in London to move back to her childhood home. But when Robert discovers an old portrait in the attic of a man who is his spitting image, he goes down a rabbit hole to discover the identity of this mysterious doppelganger known only as the visitor. It isn’t long until he realizes – where the visitor goes, death follows.

The cast also stars Dane Rhodes (Creepshow) and Donna Biscoe (Hunger Games). Production is underway in New Orleans.

Adam Mason and Simon Boyes previously collaborated with Blumhouse Television on several episodes of Into the Dark, with McNamee also starring in the anthology series.

Executive producers are Jason Blum, Chris McCumber and Jeremy Gold for Blumhouse Television, Greg Gilreath and Adam Hendricks for Divide/Conquer, Bradley Pilz for Bradley Pilz Productions, Adam Mason & Simon Boyes, and David Viste.

Source: Deadline

Quibi’s present-day update of Hollywood satire Swimming With Sharks is filling out its cast.

Thomas Dekker, Finn Jones and Donald Sutherland will star with Kiernan Shipka and Diane Kruger in the series at the short-form streaming platform. The series is based on George Huang’s cult 1994 movie about a Hollywood assistant (Frank Whaley) who turns the tables on his abusive boss (Kevin Spacey).

In the new version, penned by writer and actress Kathleen Robertson (Little Bee; Beverly Hills, 90210), a young woman named Lou (Shipka) goes to work for studio head Joyce (Kruger). In a company filled with manipulators, schemers and intrigue, no one knows Lou is poised to outwit them all.

Iron Fist and Game of Thrones alum Jones plays Marty, Joyce’s vp production, who’s also a victim of chronic verbal abuse. Marty is immediately taken by Lou and gets her a job as one of Joyce’s interns. Jones, who just wrapped season two of Dickinson for Apple, is repped by CAA, Atlas Artists, Curtis Brown Group and Felker Toczek.

Finn Jones has been cast in the lead role of the Fox pilot “Prodigal Son,” Variety has confirmed.

The one-hour series centers on Malcolm Bright (Jones), an acclaimed criminal psychologist. He knows how killers think, how their minds work. Why? His father (Michael Sheen) was one of the worst — a notorious serial killer called “The Surgeon.” He will use his twisted genius to help the NYPD solve crimes and stop killers, all while dealing with a manipulative mother, annoyingly normal sister, a homicidal father still looking to bond with his prodigal son, and his own constantly evolving neuroses.

In addition to Jones and Sheen, the pilot will also star Bellamy Young, Lou Diamond Phillips, Aurora Perrineau, and Frank Harts.

“Prodigal Son” hails from writers and executive producers Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver. Fedak most recently created the FBI magician drama “Deception” for ABC, on which Sklaver was a writer and consulting producer. Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schecter will executive produce via Berlanti Productions. Lee Toland Krieger will direct the pilot and executive produce. The pilot will be a co-production between Warner Bros. Television and Fox Entertainment.

Deadline first reported this casting.

Here’s some Marvellous news: Digital Spy is hosting a pub quiz to celebrate the launch of Netflix series The Defenders.

Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock / Daredevil), Finn Jones (Danny Rand / Iron Fist) and showrunner Marco Ramirez will all be in attendance – and you can be too!

The event will take place on Monday, July 3 from 5.30pm at a central London pub – location TBC – and Digital Spy is looking for six teams of no more than four members.

To be in with a chance of winning entry to the quiz, all you need to do is send them an e-mail at events@digitalspy.com with your name, and the names of your three team-mates.

The first six teams to provide us with their details will be the winners – and they’ll notify you by e-mail if you’re one of the lucky few!

Cox, Jones and Ramirez will be hosting rounds of the quiz, testing fans’ knowledge of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist – with exclusive Defenders merchandise and Netflix goodies on offer.

This competition is open to UK residents aged 18 and over. This competition opens today (Wednesday, June 28) and closes at 00.01am on Friday, June 30. Entries received after the closing date will not be considered.

Travel will not be provided – all attendees will be expected to make their own way to and from the venue. Hearst reserves the right to amend the terms and conditions for this competition at any time without notice. See website for full terms and conditions.