Tobias Menzies and Joanna Lumley headline Mark Gatiss’ new BBC Christmas ghost story, The Room in the Tower. Set in post-World War 1 Britain, it follows Roger Winstanley’s recurring nightmare, adapted from E.F. Benson’s book of the same name. Gatiss writes and directs for BBC Two and iPlayer, with Adorable Media producing and BBC Studios handling global sales.
Ashley Thomas (Hostage) and Finn Wittrock (American Horror Story) join Alison Brie in FX’s Untitled Witness Protection pilot, playing her FBI handler and manipulative ex-partner, respectively. This is a cool series regular spot for Wittrock, who, aside from being part of Murphy’s rotating ensemble, has a pretty solid career in film and TV, blending a bit of the everyman with something unhinged. Let’s hope this pilot goes.
Oliver Ridge, the EP for Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada and Gus Van Sant’s Dead Man’s Wire, is making his directorial debut with Synthetic. It’s a sci-fi centering on a soldier (Daredevil’s Charlie Cox) falling in love with a female android (Swalow’s Haley Bennett).
Australian actress Essie Randles (Peacock’s Apples Never Fall) is sticking within the crime drama genre, joining The Killings: Parrish Station for streamer Stan. Shooting is currently ongoing in Wales, with Randles’ role not yet announced.
Peter Landesman’s Eleven Days, an indie prison hostage thriller, has added:
Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice)
Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter)
Lola Kirke (Gone Girl)
John Gallagher Jr. (10 Cloverfield Lane)
They join Taylor Kitsch, Diego Luna, and Jason Isaacs. Based on William T. Harper’s book, the film recounts Federico Carrasco’s 1974 Huntsville Penitentiary takeover.
Amazon MGM’s The Boys prequel, Vought Rising, adds:
Cecily Strong (Saturday Night Live)
Mark Pellegrino (American Rust)
Eric Johnson (Fifty Shades)
Annie Shapero (House of the Dragon)
Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent casts Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve) to join its exciting ensemble led by Rachel Brosnahan (Superman). Along with the hilarious dark comedy Bad Sisters (clip), this will be Shaw’s second Apple TV program. The legal drama (now an anthology series) is expected to drop sometime during 2026.