Willy Wonka, the eccentric candymaking genius from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, has been played by Gene Wilder, Johnny Depp and Timothée Chalamet on the big screen.
He’s now set to come to the small-screen in a much different way.
Deadline understands that Netflix is preparing a reality competition series based on the Roald Dahl story. This comes after the streamer acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company in 2021.
The expansive project is the latest example of a burgeoning trend in the unscripted market in the U.S.: The Bake-Off.
We hear that Netflix went out to a number of production companies, believed to include American Idol producer Fremantle, Wall to Wall, the British production company behind Who Do You Think You Are?, Nobody’s Hero, the production company behind Netflix’s Bullsh*t: The Game Show and The Garden, which was one of the companies behind Squid Game: The Challenge. >>>Producers Wary |
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| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
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Brandi Glanville Would Like A Word - Despite Bravo’s insistence that an investigation by an outside party has cleared the Real Housewives franchise boss Andy Cohen of “unsubstantiated” allegations of cocaine use, alcohol abuse and sexual harassment, attorneys for franchise stars Leah McSweeney and Brandi Glanville say it’s all a sham. “NBC did not speak with the complaining witnesses,” Glanville’s attorney Bryan Freedman said. >>>" No One Is Going To Believe This"
Going Ape - Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes brought in 6.6 million bananas in previews, according to Disney. As Deadline previously reported, $1.6M of the 20th Century Studios release's take came from Wednesday night fan screenings, hence Thursday’s $5M ties with the preview cash of the franchise’s previous chapter, War for the Planet of the Apes. >>>Comps
Shipka Sails On - Kiernan Shipka, who is about to have a big year with Twisters and Red One upcoming, will star with Kiefer Sutherl and Krysten Ritter in action-thriller Stone Cold Fox. >>>Love Letter To '80s Action Films
“The Transition Will Be Seamless” - History may not automatically repeat itself in the deal now unfolding behind the filigreed Paramount gates, but the promised “seamless transition” already sounds problematic: It involves hyperactive entities like Skydance, Sony and Apollo, plus potential regulatory mandates. >>>Peter Bart's Column
Electionline Podcast: The Further Coarsening Of American Political Discourse - With America watching one historical norm after another collapsing in Donald Trump’s ongoing hush money trial, the greater debasing of political dialogue is among the results, say Deadline's Ted Johnson and Dominic Patten. >>>Listen Looming Large - A24 is reuniting with Causeway Films and Ari Aster‘s Square Peg for an adaptation of filmmaker Masha Ko's horror short The Looming. >>> Ko Will Write/dDrect Hooking A Rising Star - Ever Anderson, an up-and-coming actress known for roles in Disney+’s Peter Pan & Wendy and Marvel’s Black Window, has entered into a new strategic partnership with Amazon MGM Studios. >>> Building Relationship With Budding Star |
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The cast and producers of Red, White & Royal Blue acknowledge there is a fantastical element to their hit Prime Video rom-com that stars Uma Thurman, Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez: a female U.S. president. A gay prince from across the pond who falls head over heals with her bisexual Mexican-American son. A delicious wrestling match between the two men in a mound of wedding cake. But, they say, such a fantasy — besides charming the heck out of Gen Z viewers who love a good romance — could stand to make a difference in this otherwise contentious election year. >>>Watch The Interview |
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Exclusive
John Malkovich is poised to enter the MCU, as Deadline understands that the actor has come aboard for an undisclosed role in The Fantastic Four. Also, Ralph Ineson (The First Omen) has been tapped for the role of Galactus.
Exclusive
Saturday Night Live cast member Ego Nwodim has been tapped as the female lead opposite Adam Pally and Stephen Curry in the single-camera Peacock comedy series Mr. Throwback.
Exclusive
Juliette Lewis has boarded Alex Prager’s alternative reality debut feature DreamQuil alongside the previously announced Elizabeth Banks and John C Reilly. Also confirmed as joining the project are Kathryn Newton and Sofia Boutella.
Following their collaboration on Hulu’s Pam & Tommy, Sebastian Stan and Lily James are set to reteam on Let the Evil Go West, a psychological horror thriller from director Christian Tafdrup (Speak No Evil).
Manifest star Melissa Roxburgh is returning to NBC as a lead of the network’s new drama series The Hunting Party.
Kristen Johnston is reuniting with Chuck Lorre and Susan McMartin as she joins the cast of Netflix’s Untitled Leanne Morgan Project in a series regular role. |
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More News
📺 On AMC Networks' first-quarter earnings call with Wall Street analysts, entertainment and studio chief Dan McDermott said the company will still look to produce select shows for third parties, as it did with Silo for Apple TV+, but "it's not our primary business." The quarterly financials showed continued struggles in advertising and distribution as AMC battles cord-cutting.
🎬 Olivia Wilde has signed on to star in I Want Your Sex, a new thriller from director Gregg Araki and produced by Black Bear.
📺 Bravo has ordered one new show, New York-set reality series Making It In Manhattan, revealed it is developing a South African Bush series produced by Chrissy Teigen and handed out a large swathe of renewals including for buzzy Vanderpump Rules spinoff The Valley and Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.
🎙️ Jon Stewart will take an extended dive into current events in a new The Weekly Show With Jon Stewart a Comedy Central podcast set to launch in June. |
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Obituaries
🕯️ Harry J. Pappas, whose Pappas Telecasting Companies was at one time the largest privately-held commercial television broadcast group in terms of household coverage in the United States, died on April 24 in Reno, according to The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences San Francisco/NorCal chapter. He was 78. 🕯️ MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson , the last surviving original member of the influential group, died Thursday morning at MediLodge of Taylor, where he had been rehabilitating following a heart attack in April. He was 75. 🕯️ Media & Hollywood Deaths Gallery |
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On the Radar
Sat - Maya Rudolph hosts SNL
Mon - Upfronts begin in New York
Tue - Cannes begins; Caitlin Clark makes WNBA debut
Wed - Furiosa premieres in Cannes; Bob Iger Q&A at MoffettNathanson conference
Thu - Bridgerton S3 premieres |
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City Of Lights - After a two-month hiatus, Taylor Swift kicked off the European leg of the Eras Tour at La Défense Arena in Paris. |
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