In Wednesday’s roundup, ABC announces the premiere date for “Schooled,” and “Fleabag” releases a first look image ahead of the second season.
FIRST LOOKS
“Fleabag” has released a first look image from Season 2, which will debut on BBC Three and Amazon Prime Video in 2019. Created by and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the comedy series centers on a young woman navigating her life in London and coping with a recent tragedy. Returning to the principal cast are Olivia Colman, Sian Clifford, Bill Paterson, Brett Gelman, Jenny Rainsford, and Hugh Skinner. Andrew Scott joins the cast for the new season.
DATES
ABC has announced that “Schooled,” the spinoff of the comedy series “The Goldbergs,” will premiere Jan. 9. “Schooled” will air Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT, following “The Goldbergs.” “American Housewife” will move to Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m., beginning Tuesday, Feb. 5. “Schooled,” set in the 1990s, follows the eccentric faculty of William Penn Academy, and stars AJ Michalka, Tim Meadows, Bryan Callen, and Brett Dier.
Variety has exclusively learned that The CW will premiere “Discontinued,” a Comedy Dynamics special, on Dec. 16 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT. The special, hosted by YouTube star Andre Meadows, is a humorous and informative look at the rise and fall of the world’s most famous discontinued foods, toys, customs, and businesses. It is created and directed by Brian Volk-Weiss, who is also the creator/director behind the Netflix docuseries “The Toys That Made Us.”
Related
Epix will premiere the docuseries “Elvis Goes There” on Feb. 4 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The four-episode, one-hour series follows journalist Elvis Mitchell as he travels with filmmakers and actors to places of inspiration around the world and explore how each location shaped their work and identity. Filmmakers slated to appear are Paul Feig, Sofia Coppola, Ryan Coogler, and Guillermo del Toro.
CASTING
McKenna Grace (“Gifted”) will guest star as Li’l Sabrina on Netflix’s holiday special, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: A Winter’s Tale,” which will air Dec. 14. Additionally, Alexis Denisof (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) and Jedidiah Goodacre (“The Originals”) will be recurring guest stars for Part 2 of “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” as Mary Wardwell’s boyfriend, Adam Masters, and Dorian Gray, respectively.
Alona Tal has been cast in the “NYPD Blue” follow-up series currently in the works at ABC. Tal will play one of the four main characters on the show, Detective Nicole Lazarus, Tal previously starred in “SEAL Team,” “Hand of God,” “Veronica Mars,” and “Supernatural.” She is repped by McKeon Myones Entertainment, Innovative Artists, and attorney Mark Temple.
DEVELOPMENT
Netflix has tapped director Vishal Bhardwaj as the showrunner and executive producer on its upcoming series, “Midnight Children,” based on the 1981 novel by Salman Rushdie. Bhardwaj has adapted several literary works for the screen, including “Macbeth” (“Maqbool”), “Othello” (“Omkara”), “Hamlet” (“Haider”), and “The Blue Umbrella.” He is the recipient of seven National Film Awards in India.
RATINGS
The “This Is Us” fall finale on NBC ticked up in the ratings from last week, leading Tuesday night in the key adults 18-49 demographic. The show drew a 2.0 rating and 8.9 million viewers, up around 10% in both measures from last week. On CBS, the annual broadcast of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” drew a 1.7 and 8.1 million viewers.