BBC announced nine new guest actors joining the cast of “Doctor Who: Flux,” the show’s 13th season, along with releasing a new trailer and images. “Doctor Who: Flux” premieres on Oct. 31.
The new cast members are Robert Bathurst, Thaddea Graham, Blake Harrison, Kevin McNally, Craig Parkinson, Sara Powell, Annabel Scholey, Gerald Kyd and Penelope Ann McGhie.
The trailer shows the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and her companions Yasmine Khan (Mandip Gill) and Dan Lewis (John Bishop) running from returning monsters such as the Sontarans, Weeping Angels, Cybermen and the Ood, as well as new monsters including the Karvanista, in their fight to save the future.
The science-fiction series, which first premiered in 1963, follows a “Time Lord,” an extraterrestrial being that looks like a human and is called the Doctor. The doctor travels through space and time on a ship called the TARDIS to fight monsters and save people in need. The Doctor has been played by 13 actors in the show’s history, with Whittaker being the first woman to take the role. “Doctor Who” is a BBC Studios production for BBC One and a BBC America co-production. BBC Studios distributes. See the trailer and images below.
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Also in today’s TV news roundup:
FIRST LOOKS
Netflix released a trailer and key art and announced new guest stars for Season 5 of “Big Mouth,” premiering Nov. 5. The animated series follows a group of middle schoolers through the process of puberty, which is represented by different “hormone monsters.” New guest stars include Adam Scott, Jemaine Clement, Kristen Schaal, Kumail Nanjiani and Chloe Fineman. Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett serve as creators and executive producers. See the trailer and art below.
Showtime Sports Documentary Films released a first look at “Passion Play: Russell Westbrook,” premiering on Oct. 15 at 9 p.m. The documentary features exclusive footage and interviews with the NBA player, his family, and his former teammates Kevin Love and Nick Collison among others. Gotham Chopra and Erik LeDrew direct. Executive producers include Westbrook, Chopra for Religion of Sports, Ameeth Sankaran and Donnell Beverly. On behalf of Religion of Sports, Meg Cirillo produces and Rob Ford co-produces. Raynard Westbrook co-produces. Watch the new clip below.
CASTING
Netflix announced Michael O’Neill, Celia Weston and Gable Swanlund have been cast as series regulars in “Echoes,” an upcoming limited series about identical twins named Leni and Gina who regularly swap lives until one of the sisters goes missing. Additionally, Tyner Rushing, Hazel and Ginger Mason, Alise Willis and Maddie Nichols have been cast in recurring guest roles. O’Neill plays Leni and Gina’s father Victor McCleary, while Weston plays Dylan James’ grandmother Georgia Taylor and Swanlund plays Leni and Jack’s daughter Mathilda “Mattie” Beck. Rushing plays Leni and Gina’s mother Maria McCleary with the Masons as young Leni and Gina, Willis as Leni’s best friend and Dylan’s cousin Meg and Nichols as Mattie’s babysitter Natasha. They join previously announced cast members Michelle Monoghan, who plays both Leni and Gina; Matt Bomer; Daniel Sunjata; Ali Stroker; Karen Robinson and Rosanny Zayas. Showrunners Brain Yorkey and Quinton Peeples executive produce alongside creator Vanessa Gazy and Imogen Banks of Endemol Shine Banks Australia.
Starz announced additional recurring cast members that will appear in the upcoming series “Gaslit,” which tells the story of Martha Mitchell’s role in exposing the Watergate scandal. Newly announced cast members include Patton Oswalt as Richard Nixon’s advisor Chuck Colson, Nat Faxon as White House chief of staff Bob Halderman, Erinn Hayes as the Mitchells’ friend Peggy Ebbitt, Patrick Walker as Watergate security guard Frank Willis, Carlos Valdes as FBI agent Paul Magallanes, Raphael Sbarge as John Dean’s attorney Charles N. Shaffer, Chris Conner as Nixon’s right-hand man John Ehrlichman, Diana Oweiss as John Mitchell’s secretary Diana Oweiss, Brian Geraghty as the Mitchells’ security guard Peter, Nelson Franklin as John Dean’s right hand man Dick Moore, Reed Diamond as FBI associate director Mark Felt, Johnny Berchtold as Martha Mitchell’s son Jay Jennings, Adam Ray as White House press secretary Ron Ziegler and Billy Smith as John Mitchell’s friend Ken Ebbitt. They join previously announced cast members Julia Roberts and Sean Penn, who play Martha and John Mitchell, respectively. “Gaslit” is executive produced by creator Robbie Pickering, directors Sam Esmail and Chad Hamilton for Esmail Corp, Roberts for Red Om Films and Gabriel Roth and Josh Levin for Anonymous Content and Slate. UCP produces. Starz executive vice president of original programming Karen Bailey oversees.
DATES
Nickelodeon announced that “A Loud House Christmas,” a special holiday spinoff of animated series “The Loud House,” will premiere on Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. In the movie, Lincoln Loud (Wolfgang Schaeffer) realizes his family may be apart for Christmas and enlists the help of his best friend, Clyde McBride (Jahzir Bruno), to ensure that the entire Loud family celebrate the holidays together. Lizzie Maccie writes. Executive producers include director Jonathan Judge, Michael Rubiner and Matt Bierman. Darlene Caamaño Loquet produces. Shauna Phelan and Zack Olin oversee for Nickelodeon, while Jessica Brown serves as Nickelodeon’s executive in charge of production.
PROGRAMMING
ABC announced that “The Queen Family Singalong,” the fourth installment of the “Singalong” franchise, will air on Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. Darren Criss will host as some of Queen’s most popular songs are performed by Adam Lambert, Derek Hough featuring Alexander Jean, Fall Out Boy, Jimmie Allen featuring Miss Piggy, JoJo Siwa and Orianthi, OneRepublic, Pentatonix and Broadway cast members from “The Lion King” and “Aladdin.” “The Queen Family Singalong” is produced by Done+Dusted. Executive producers include Patrizia Di Maria, RJ Durell, Nick Florez, Hamish Hamilton, Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan.
EXECUTIVES
The Television Academy Foundation named two new members to its board of directors: Nne Ebong, vice president of overall deals for series at Netflix, and Jamila Hunter, executive vice president of programming and development at Freeform. Both have been elected to three-year terms. At Netflix, Ebong leads the development of original series under creative partnerships with Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland, Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions and others. Hunter oversees all of Freeform’s scripted and unscripted development and current originals.
LATE NIGHT
Oscar Isaac, Jo Firestone and Alec Benjamin will appear on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”