CBS All Access at TCA: ‘Twilight Zone’ Season 2 Casting, ‘Interrogation’ Trailer & More
CBS All Access held their TCA session in Pasadena Sunday where many exciting announcements were made. Julie McNamara, Executive Vice President, Original Content, CBS All Access was on hand to share the latest regarding the service.
Among the news and notes are Season 2 casting for the platform’s Jordan Peele Twilight Zone reboot, news on their upcoming series Interrogation, and new titles in the works. Below, we’re rounding up everything you need to know about what’s coming to CBS All Access soon.
Early Picard Renewal
The platform it putting its faith behind Star Trek: Picard as they revealed the series has been renewed for Season 2 ahead of its debut later this month. “The energy and excitement around the premiere of Star Trek: Picard has reached a magnitude greater than all of us at CBS All Access could have hoped for,” said McNamara during the presentation. “We’re thrilled to announce plans for a second season before the series’ debut, and we are confident that Star Trek fans and new viewers alike will be captured by the stellar cast and creative team’s meticulously crafted story when it premieres on Jan. 23.”
Twilight Zone Packs More Star Power in Season 2
Morena Baccarin, Jenna Elfman, Tavi Gevinson, Tony Hale, Gillian Jacobs, Joel McHale, Chris Meloni, Billy Porter, Jimmi Simpson and Daniel Sunjata (Courtesy of CBS All Access)
Jordan Peele’s reboot of the beloved classic is stacked with talent as it was revealed Season 2 will include stars Morena Baccarin, Colman Domingo, Ethan Embry, Jenna Elfman, Tavi Gevnison, Tony Hale, Abbie Hern, Gillian Jacobs, Sophia Macy, Joel McHale, Chris Meloni, Billy Porter, Jimmi Simpson and Daniel Sunjata. Each star will appear in an episode from the upcoming 10-episode season slated to premiere exclusively on CBS All Access in 2020. Executive producer and narrator Jordan Peele has written an episode for the season titled “Downtime.”
Episodes featuring the announced cast are as follows (*note: these aren’t in any particular order):
“Downtime”
Starring: Morena Baccarin, Colman Domingo and Tony Hale
Written by: Jordan Peele
“The Who of You”
Starring: Daniel Sunjata, Ethan Embry and Billy Porter
Written by: Win Rosenfeld
“A Human Face”
Starring: Jenna Elfman, Chris Meloni and Tavi Gevinson
Written by: Alex Rubens
“8”
Starring: Joel McHale
Written by: Glen Morgan
“Among The Untrodden”
Starring: Abbie Hern and Sophia Macy
Written by: Heather Anne Campbell
“Meet in the Middle”
Starring: Jimmi Simpson and Gillian Jacobs
Written by: Emily C. Chang and Sara Amini
Interrogation Gets a Trailer
The first trailer and key art for the platform’s upcoming series Interrogation (debuting February 6) were unveiled during the platform’s presentation at TCA. Starring Peter Sarsgaard, Kyle Gallner, David Strathairn, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Vincent D’Onofrio, Interrogation follows a cases that spans over 20 years, in which a young man was charged and convicted of killing his own mother. Through the years, the young man fights to prove his innocence. Each episode will feature an interrogation informed by real police case files.
Linklater’s Series a Go
The streaming service announced they were moving forward with a series order on a Richard Linklater project that remains untitled. Set in Austin, Texas, the 10-episode series features Linklater’s hometown, and will highlight the world of animal rescue through moving tales between animals and the humans who love them.
“I come to this project hoping to shine a light on the folks I’ve met who are making a difference everyday in the lives of unwanted, abused and disabled animals. What strikes me most is the joy and discovery on both sides of the relationship between the animals and their human caregivers. These are inspirational stories that I believe will be a positive force in the world.” said Richard Linklater. “I’m grateful to CBS All Access for their support in this adventure.”
DreamWorks Love
During CBS All Access’ presentation, they shared plans for three new original children’s series from DreamWorks Animation’s Classic Media. On Friday, January 17, subscribers will be able to stream new editions of Lassie, George of the Jungle and Mr. Magoo. Marc DeBevoise, Chief Digital Officer, ViacomCBS, and President and CEO, CBS Interactive shared the update, saying “We’ve seen a tremendous response from our subscribers in just the few months since CBS All Access began offering children’s programming. Bringing new editions of legendary classics like Lassie, George of the Jungle and Mr. Magoo to the service is a fantastic benchmark for CBS All Access, and we look forward to continuing to expand our offering for families.”
Tooning Out the News
Stephen Colbert is executive producing this animated variety series alongside Chris Licht, RJ Fried and Tim Luecke. The show is going to provide short daily segments leading up to a weekly full episode featuring a cast of animated characters that mock news of the day and interview real-world guests.
The Harper House Series Order
CBS All Access also announced a series order for an animated comedy created by Brad Neely titled The Harper House. Executive producing alongisde Katie Krentz, Neely’s series follow an overconfident female head-of-a-household as she tries to retain a higher status for her family and herself after they move to the poor side of a small town in Arkansas. To save money, the group moves into a Victorian fixer upper known as Harper House.
“It’s the big animated family show for the 21st century with a fun fallible lady up front and a neurotic husband at home,” said Brad Neely. “Katie Krentz and I have been talking about this for years, and we know the folks at CBS Television Studios and CBS All Access get it. This will be crazy fun.”
