ABC unveils dramas
ABC will launch a trio of high-concept dramas this fall, including one about a young autistic surgeon.
The Good Doctor is part of the network’s 2017-18 schedule announced Tuesday. The medical drama stars Freddie Highmore as the physician who also has savant syndrome.
The other new fall dramas are The Gospel of Kevin, about a troubled man who’s instructed by a celestial being to save the world, and Marvel’s Inhumans.
The comic-book based series will explore the story of Black Bolt, king of the inhumans, and his royal family splintered by a military coup.
ABC also said it’s expanding its business with Shonda Rhimes. The latest series from the Grey’s Anatomy producer is For the People, a courtroom drama. An air date wasn’t announced.
BILES BOOTED FROM DWTS
Team USA will not repeat as Dancing With the Stars champions after Olympic gold medallist Simone Biles was eliminated from the reality competition despite perfect scores for her two dances during Monday night’s performance.
Judges were visibly shocked following host Tom Bergeron’s announcement that Biles and dance partner Sasha Farber finished last in fan voting.
Biles was gracious afterward, saying she learned a lot about herself and planned to return for next week’s finale.
Biles’ elimination leaves former Chicago Cubs catcher David Ross, NFL free agent Rashad Jennings and Fifth Harmony singer Normani Kordei in the running for the crown at the finale.
NEW HOPE FOR POPE
Fans of The Young Pope, rejoice. Another season of the HBO drama is on the way — sort of. The network has ordered a limited series titled The New Pope from Paolo Sorrentino, the creator and director behind The Young Pope. Sky Atlantic and HBO are re-teaming for the followup series.
Whereas the first show starred Jude Law as a rebellious American pope, with Diane Keaton as an American nun, the new miniseries will feature a completely new cast. Word has it The New Pope will follow a different fictional pontiff than Law’s character, Pope Pius XIII.
“Just like The Young Pope, Sorrentino is writing the script for the new show, but it will have a different twist than what would be expected,” Sky Italia chief of content Andrea Scrosati told Variety.
Sources also told the publication there will be elements in The New Pope that hark back to The Young Pope, and some of the characters from the earlier show return for the new series.
Production of The New Pope will begin later this year.