In today’s TV news roundup, Peacock has announced that “Brave New World” will be available to stream for free this weekend, and Disney Channel has promoted Theresa Helmer to executive director of integrated content strategy and development.
CASTING
Brandon Jay McLaren has been cast in the Bounce TV film “Will You Marry Me?,” which is currently in production and set to premiere in December. McLaren will play Daniel English, an energetic pastor who returns to his hometown church and falls for a parishioner. She soon asks him to marry her — but she actually just wants him to officiate her wedding to another man. McLaren can also be seen in Netflix’s upcoming drama series “Firefly Lane” alongside Katherine Heigl, Sarah Chalke and Ben Lawson. McLaren is represented by Berwick & Kovacik, Trisko Talent Management and Buchwald.
EXECUTIVE NEWS
Disney Channel has promoted Theresa Helmer to executive director of integrated content strategy and development, a new position created to strengthen the network’s racial and cultural diversity and inclusion in content for kids aged 2-14. Helmer has worked for Disney since 2014, most recently as the director of social media strategy for Disney Channel’s marketing sector. In her new role, Helmer will collaborate with consumer insights, movie and series development, short and long-form current series, the educational resource group and Disney Television animation. For the past two years, Helmer has also served as the president of The Bond, Disney’s Enterprise Business Employee Research Group for Black employees and consumer interests.
SPECIALS
Peacock announced that the full first season of “Brave New World” will be available to stream for free this weekend starting at 8 p.m. ET on today. Based on the novel of the same name by Aldous Huxley, “Brave New World” details a utopian society in which monogamy, privacy and money are illegal. The show stars Jessica Brown Findlay, Harry Lloyd, Alden Ehrenreich, Hannah John-Kamen and Joseph Morgan. It initially premiered on July 15.