TV News Roundup: RuPaul’s Netflix Comedy ‘AJ and the Queen’ Adds 4 Cast Members
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) By Rachel Yang
CASTING
The upcoming Netflix comedy series “AJ and the Queen,” starring RuPaul, has added four cast members. Josh Segarra (“Arrow”) will play Hector, Michael-Leon Wooley (“The Princess and the Frog”) will appear as Louis, Katerina Tannenbaum (“Sweetbitter”) will play Brianna, and Tia Carrere (“Blue Bloods”) is set to portray Lady Danger. The show features RuPaul as Ruby Red, a down-on-her-luck drag queen who travels across America from club to club in a rundown RV with her sidekick AJ. A premiere date has not been announced. The show is written by RuPaul and Michael Patrick King (“Sex and the City”), and produced by MPK Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.
RENEWALS
Disney Channel has ordered a third season of the show “DuckTales” prior to its season two premiere. The animated comedy-adventure series chronicles the adventures of Scrooge McDuck (David Tennant), his mischievous triplet grandnephews Huey (Danny Pudi), Dewey (Ben Schwartz) and Louie (Bobby Moynihan), temperamental nephew Donald Duck (Tony Anselmo), and the trusted McDuck Manor team. The series reached nearly 100 million views on social media and digital platforms in its first season, and the second season will premiere Oct. 20 at 7:30 a.m. ET/PT on Disney Channel, DisneyNOW, and Disney Channel VOD.
DEALS
Goldenlight Films, the production company helmed by Academy Award nominated screenwriter Ted Melfi (“Hidden Figures”) and actress-producer Kimberly Quinn (“St. Vincent”), has signed a first-look television deal with Alcon Television Group, the television division of Alcon Entertainment. The deal, which encompasses all content created and developed by Melfi and Quinn for television including digital, will extend over the course of two years. During the two-year period of the deal, Melfi will write, direct, supervise, and produce original projects for Alcon Television Group.
AUDIO
Science-fiction and dark-fantasy novel “Mortal Enemy” is set for a multi-platform launch at 12 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018. Written and illustrated by Nicholas Ryan Howard, the project, which includes original artwork and will be available in paperback, hardcover, color collector’s edition, and ebook formats. It will be available for purchase on multiple platforms including Audible, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and BarnesAndNoble.com. “Mortal Enemy” is narrated by Reid Scott and Devin Kelley. The cast includes Eric Christian Olsen, Troian Bellisario, Patrick J. Adams, Keegan Allen, Brendan Hines, Sarah Wright Olsen, and Chris Pine.
RATINGS
“Big Brother” was steady in the key demo and up slightly in total viewers on a Thursday night filled largely with broadcast repeats. “Big Brother” drew a 1.6 rating in adults 18-49 and 6.2 million viewers for CBS for the night.