J.J. Abrams Returns With ’70s Crime Thriller

J.J. Abrams (“The Force Awakens”) and showrunner LaToya Morgan’s (“Shameless”) new series “Duster” will debut May 15, with the first official trailer teasing an increasingly dangerous crime syndicate.

Starring Josh Holloway (“Lost”), Rachel Hilson (“Love, Victor”) and Keith David (“The Thing”), “Duster” is set in the 1970s Southwest as a getaway driver gets entangled in a crime network that is threatened by the arrival of a young agent in town. Hilson stars as the first Black female FBI agent.

“Duster” was produced in association with Warner Bros. Television, with the eight episodes dropping weekly through the finale on July 3. The first two episodes are written by Abrams and Morgan, with Abrams and Rachel Rusch Rich executive producing for Bad Robot while Morgan executive produces for TinkerToy Productions.

Watch the official trailer below.

In other TV roundup news:

FIRST LOOKS/TRAILERS

Season 4 of the Irish mystery series “Harry Wild” is officially returning this May with Jane Seymour (“The Kominsky Method”) starring and executive producing.

The new season kicks off right where Season 3 left off, with the official synopsis reading: “Business couldn’t be better at the Wild/Reid Detective Agency as Harry (Seymour) and Fergus (Rohan Nedd) welcome an unexpected client: Charlie Wild (Kevin Ryan). Elsewhere, Harry is hired by a friend and former wild child turned nun, Lola (Rose O’Neill) stumbles upon a dance school mystery, a Dublin literary tour takes a bloody turn and more.”

The show is produced by Dynamic Television, with Acorn Media Enterprises co-producing alongside ZDF.  “Harry Wild” returns Monday, May 5 exclusively on Acorn TV with the first two episodes.

Check out first look images below.

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Jeffrey Dean Morgan (“The Boys”) and Lauren Cohan (“Supernatural”) are back in the action-packed new trailer for “The Walking Dead: Dead City” Season 2.

The new season picks up as Maggie (Cohan) and Negan (Morgan) travel into a post-apocalyptic Manhattan as a war picks up for control in New York City. Series stars this season include Gaius Charles (“Friday Night Lights”), Željko Ivanek (“Madam Secretary”), Mahina Anne Marie Napoleon (“NCIS: Hawai’i”), Lisa Emery (“Ozark”), Logan Kim (“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire”), Dascha Polanco (“Orange Is the New Black”) and Kim Coates (“Sons of Anarchy”).

“The Walking Dead: Dead City” Season 2 returns May 4 at 9 p.m. on AMC and AMC+.

Watch the trailer below.

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Viewers are getting their taste of the delicious French drama found in the first official trailer for “Carême.”

Starring César Award winner Benjamin Voisin (“Summer of 85”) and directed by Martin Bourboulon (“The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan”), the new Apple TV+ original series follows the world’s first celebrity chef who rose to fame in Paris. But as his talent and ambitions grow, he attracts the attention of world leaders and politicians who want to use him as a spy.

The series was created by Kelly and Davide Serino (“The Bad Guy”) and executive produced by Vanessa van Zuylen with VVZ Production and Dominique Farrugia with Banijay Entertainment’s Shine Fiction for Apple TV+.

“Carême” premieres April 30 on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes before new episodes air weekly every Wednesday.

Watch the official trailer below.

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“The Buccaneers” Season 2 is officially returning June 18, with a new clip teasing the return of the American girls in search of adventure and romance in 1870s London.

Based on Edith Wharton’s unfinished novel of the same name, Season 2 sees the return of Kristine Frøseth, Alisha Boe, Aubri Ibrag, Josie Totah and Imogen Waterhouse, with the ensemble cast also including Guy Remmers, Matthew Broome, Josh Dylan and Barney Fishwick. The official synopsis for the show teases: “All of the girls have been forced to grow up and now have to fight to be heard, as they wrestle with romance, lust, jealousy, births and deaths… themes consuming all women of any age, no matter what year it is. Last time we got a taste of England. This time we’re in for a veritable feast.”

New cast members this season include Leighton Meester as Nell, Greg Wise as Reede Robinson, Jacob Ifan as Hector Robinson, Grace Ambrose as Paloma Ballardino and Maria Almeida as Cora Merrigan.

“The Buccaneers” is written by series creator Katherine Jakeways and produced for Apple TV+ by The Forge Entertainment.

Watch the “Save the Date” clip below.

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Michelle Williams leads FX’s new limited series “Dying for Sex” in the first official trailer.

The series tells the true story of Molly Kochan (Williams) after she gets diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. With her life plans completely upended, she decides to leave her husband (Jay Duplass) and goes on a life-affirming journey to explore sexual desires — all with the support of her best friend (Jenny Slate). The cast also includes Sissy Spacek, Rob Delaney, Kelvin Yu, David Rasche and Esco Jouléy, alongside guest stars Marcello Hernandez, Margaret Cho, Robby Hoffman and Paula Pell.

The show is written and co-created by Kim Rosenstock (“Only Murders in the Building”) and Elizabeth Meriwether (“New Girl”), who also executive produce. “Dying for Sex” is produced by 20th Television and begins streaming on Hulu April 4.

Watch the trailer below.

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“Black Snow,” the AMC+ original series starring Travis Fimmel and Jana McKinnon, will return for a second season on April 24. AMC+ released a premiere date, official trailer, and new images for season two of “Black Snow,” which will return with a two-episode premiere on Thursday April 24. 

Season two of the six-part mystery-drama follows Detective Cormack as he tackles two missing persons cases: one professional (the disappearance of Zoe Jacobs (McKinnon)) and one personal, as Cormack continues to search for his younger brother. Cast members joining season two include McKinnon, Megan Smart, Alana Mansour, Dan Spielman, Victoria Haralabidou and Kat Stewart.

Black Snow is produced by Goalpost Pictures and the new season of the AMC+ Original Series is produced in association with Stan and All3Media International. Executive producers include Rosemary Blight, Ben Grant, Kylie du Fresne and series creator and showrunner Lucas Taylor. Sian Davies returns as director, joined in season two by Helena Brooks and Fimmel in his one-episode directorial debut.

See the first trailer for season two of “Black Snow:”

PROGRAMMING

NBC will air a three-episode “Suits LA” marathon Thursday March 27 from 8-11 p.m. The marathon will feature episodes three (“He Knew”), four (“Batman Returns”) and five (“You’re on Your Own”), with the latter airing for the first time this Sunday. 

A spinoff of the long-running legal drama “Suits,” “Suits LA” follows former New York federal prosecutor Ted Black (Stephen Amell), who has reinvented himself and is representing power players at a firm in Los Angeles. Lex Scott Davis, Josh McDermitt, and Bryan Greenberg also star. 

Aaron Korsh is creator and executive producer, with David Bartis, Doug Liman, Gene Klein, Anton Cropper, Genevieve Sparling, Rick Muirragui and Jon Cowan also executive producing. “Suits LA” airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on NBC and the next day on Peacock. 

DATES

Season 7 of Showtime’s original series “The Chi” will premiere Friday, May 16 on Paramount+ before making its on-air debut Sunday, May 18.

This latest season follows Alicia (Lynn Whitfield) as the group of women rise to power on the South Side of Chicago, with new rivalries and betrayals testing their relationships. The cast includes Jacob Latimore, Yolonda Ross, Shamon Brown Jr., Michael V. Epps, Birgundi Baker and Luke James.

“The Chi” is produced by 20th Television and created and executive produced by Emmy winner Lena Waithe (“Master of None”).

ACQUISITIONS

Starz has acquired “Magic City: An American Fantasy,” a five-part docuseries about the famed Atlanta strip club Magic City and its decades-long influence on hip-hop. The series will premiere this summer on Starz. 

“‘Magic City: An American Fantasy’ is a riveting behind-the-curtain look at one of the most unique places in Black culture,”  said Starz president of original programming Kathryn Busby. “The docuseries’ unprecedented insider access and history unveiled from those who built its empire is a perfect complement to Starz’s slate of adult, culture-driving shows.”

“Magic City: An American Fantasy” is created and executive produced by Cole Brown, with Drake, Jermaine Dupri, Jami Gertz, and Bayan Joonam serving as additional executive producers. “From politicians, to artists, to drug kingpins, Magic City has been a home for a broad cross-section of Black Atlanta for decades,” said Brown. “Everyone should know the unbelievable story of this institution and the man who founded it, and Starz is the perfect partner to bring it to the world.”

Charles Todd directs the series, which is produced by Scheme Engine with Ashely Brooke and Marlowe Blue alongside executive producers Joonam, Devin Amar, and Alex Kaplan.

DEVELOPMENT

Macy’s has acquired the exclusive option rights to Julie Satow’s best-selling novel “When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion.”

Under the deal, the book will be developed into a fictional television series, with Macy’s currently working to find a showrunner and talent.

“‘When Women Ran Fifth Avenue’ celebrates all of the pioneering women who helped shape retail fashion and their enduring legacy, women like Macy’s Margaret Getchell,” Satow said in a statement. “I can’t wait to see these trailblazing stories reach a wider audience, inspiring the next generation of innovators in fashion and business.”

Satow’s book tells the untold stories of women who shaped department stories that have become a crucial part of American culture, including Dorothy Shaver, Hortense Odlum and Geraldine Stutz.

CASTING

The Netflix drama series “Nemesis” has added Gabrielle Dennis and Michael Potts to its cast.

Dennis and Potts join as series regulars, playing Candace Stiles and James Sealey, respectively. The cast also includes Matthew Law, Cleopatra Coleman, Y’Ian Noel, Domenick Lombardozzi, Tre Hale, Jonnie Park, and Ariana Guerra.

The series, co-created by Courtney A. Kemp and Tani Marole, follows a criminal and a police detective. “What starts as a series that aims to subvert the heist genre at every turn, amped with thrilling life-or-death stakes, family dynamics, and explosive action, actually gives birth to an exploration of what drives us, sustains us, and ultimately destroys us,” per the official logline.

Kemp serves as showrunner and executive produces with Marole, Chris Selak and Philipp Barnett.

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CBS has announced nine guest stars from the past two seasons of “Elsbeth” will return in the upcoming season two finale, which airs Thursday May 8. While trying to crack a case, Elsbeth (Carrie Preston) comes face-to-face with a slew of familiar suspects: Stephen Moyer’s Alex Mondrian, Retta’s Margo Clarke, Gina Gershon’s Dr. Vanessa Holmes, Elizabeth Lail as Quinn Powell, Arian Moayed as Joe Dillon, André De Shields as Matteo Hart, Alyssa Milano as Pupetta Del Ponte, Mary-Louise Parker as Freya Frostad and Ethan Slater as Resse Chandler. 
 
“We have always tried to make “Elsbeth” a place for the best actors to come and play. We must be doing something right since so many of our special guest stars managed to clear their schedules and join us again,” said showrunner and executive producer Jonathan Tolins. “We couldn’t be more excited for this wild reunion between Elsbeth and some of her favorite suspects.” 

The episode, titled “Ramen Holiday,” is written by Tolins and directed by Lionel Coleman.  Based on the character featured in “The Good Wife,” “Elsbeth” is produced by CBS studios and stars Carrie Preston as the titular consent decree attorney who uses her unique perspective to catch killers in New York City. 

HONORS

Michelle Yeoh, Selena Gomez, Don Cheadle, Jason Momoa, Sterlin Harjo and Adam McKay are among the honorees in the inaugural National Geographic 33 initiative.

The National Geographic 33 is a new list curated by National Geographic to celebrate 33 figures across different fields who are advocating for the environment or working toward other positive goals. The honorees also include musicians Arlo Parks and Björk, actors Edward Norton and Yara Shahidi, designer Gabriela Hearst, climate activist Jennifer Uchendu and scientists Dr. Shu Yang and Emily Liman.

“For more than 137 years, National Geographic has been driven by the belief that bold thinking and collective action can change the world. This principle is what inspired National Geographic’s 33 founders—committed explorers, scientists and scholars—all those years ago,” Courteney Monroe, president of National Geographic Content, said in a statement.

“Since then and across all our platforms, National Geographic has believed in the power of visual storytelling to spark curiosity and inspire a deeper connection to our world. The inaugural National Geographic 33 represents an exciting milestone for us, as it embodies the very essence of our brand—sharing the stories of extraordinary individuals whose work is making a meaningful impact in the hope of inspiring others to help shape a better future,” Monroe added.

The full list can be viewed here.

Initiatives

The Paley Archive, a collection that traces the historical evolution of television and radio programs, is now free to browse following its opening Thursday at the Beverly Hills Public Library.

The collection is from The Paley Center for Media and contains more than 160,000 programs. Viewers can explore the “War of the Worlds” broadcast, some of the earliest Super Bowl games and the beginnings of MTV. The Archive also plans to host screenings and events.