TVLine Items: Bateman Back at Netflix, Houdini & Doyle Premiere Set and More
The return of Arrested Development is still TBD, but rest assured, Jason Bateman is sticking around at Netflix.
The streaming service has picked up Bateman’s drama Ozark, which he will star in, executive-produce and direct.
Set in Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks, the series focuses on the dark and dangerous world of drug-money laundering, SlashFilm reports Bateman as sharing during a Zootopia junket. Production is slated to begin this spring.
Ready for more of today’s newsy nuggets? Well…
* Fox announced Thursday that its mystery drama Houdini & Doyle — in which the illusionist and Sherlock Holmes author team up to investigate supernaturally tinged crimes — will premiere on Monday, May 2, at 9/8c.
* Rapper/actor Xzibit will guest-star on an upcoming episode of Empire as Leslie “Shyne” Johnson, a manager whose bread and butter has always been drugs, guns and extortion. Feeling shut out by the other heavy hitters in the music industry, he carries a big chip on his shoulder — especially for Lucious.
* CBS on Thursday announced the first wave of performers for the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards, airing Sunday, April 3, at 8/7c: Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Cam, Keith Urban and Florida Georgia Line.
* Cinemax has released a new trailer for the final season of Banshee, and much like a nightclub that SNL‘s Stefon would tout, it’s got everything. Press PLAY below to see the teaser in all its house-exploding, rifle-pointing glory.
I did not expect Jason Bateman to make a dark, hour-long drama about drugs and money laundering. Has the guy ever done any dramatic work before? Even his roles in drama films like Juno or Up in the Air had the usual Bateman glib and sarcasm.
He was in a great thriller last year called The Gift.
I hope Houdini & Doyle is okay