- Wicked director Jon M. Chu revealed that Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will play Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, in the forthcoming feature adaptation of the Tony-winning musical.
- Daniel Dae Kim is joining the cast of Netflix’s live-action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender. This is not his first time lending his talents to the franchise. Kim previously voiced General Fong in the original series and played Hiroshi Sato in The Legend of Korra. Fans are excited to see him as Fire Lord Ozai, leader of the Fire Nation and father of Prince Zuko, in the upcoming series.
- As Marvel’s Eternals premieres in American theaters this weekend, many international Arab countries have banned the film ahead of its release in the Gulf region due to censorship rules surrounding same-sex relationships. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait are among the countries choosing not to air Marvel’s latest installment that features its first openly gay superhero.
- Regina King isn’t leaving our Netflix queues anytime soon. The day after the release of The Harder They Fall, which stars King, it was announced that she would serve as an executive producer and director of the first three episodes of the limited series A Man in Full. Based on the novel of the same name, David E. Kelley will serve as writer, showrunner, and executive producer.
- SNL’s Bowen Yang has joined the cast for Billy Eichner’s groundbreaking gay rom-com Bros. The Judd Apatow-produced movie is continuing to move toward its tentative August 2022 release date and is adhering to a casting mandate that allows for exclusively LGBTQ+ actors to work on the film.
- Isabel Sandoval, director of the critically acclaimed Lingua Franco is set to direct an episode of the upcoming FX drama Under the Banner of Heaven based on the Jon Krakauer novel of the same name. The series stars Andrew Garfield, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sam Worthington, Wyatt Russell, and Gil Birmingham and follows a devout detective whose faith is tested as he investigates a brutal murder that seems to be connected to an esteemed Utah family’s spiral into LDS fundamentalism and their distrust in the government.
- Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle‘s R-rated teen “traumedy” Pen15 is set to return December 3 on Hulu and they released a new trailer. Watch below.
- Magic Johnson is the latest athlete to get the docuseries treatment. Apple TV+ has announced a four-part series chronicling Johnson’s NBA career, his influence as a cultural icon, and the global impact of his positive HIV status. The series will be directed by Dope’s Rick Famuyiwa.
- Simu Liu, Sandra Oh, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan among others are set to be honored at the 19th Annual Unforgettable Gala, the largest awards show in the U.S. recognizing Asian Pacific Islander talent.
- A year after the series finale of Modern Family, Sofía Vergara is returning to television in an upcoming Netflix limited series titled Griselda. Vergara will be playing Colombian drug queen pin Griselda Blanco, who ran a billion-dollar empire. Blanco, also known as the Queen of Narco Trafficking, is credited with pioneering the Miami-based cocaine drug trade throughout the 80s and early 2000s.