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Tian Richards’ ‘Tom Swift’ gets series order at The CW; Jesse Williams lands first TV gig after ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

By Candice Williams Aug 30, 2021 | 4:00 PM


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The CW has given a a straight-to-series order to Tom Swift, a Nancy Drew spinoff series, Deadline has learned.

The order comes after the titular character, played by Tian Richards, was introduced in an episode during Nancy Drew‘s most recent season. Co-created by Melinda Hsu Taylor, Noga Landau and Cameron Johnson, Tom Swift follows the “serialized adventures” of Tom Swift, a “Black, gay, billionaire inventor who is thrust into a world of sci-fi conspiracy and unexplained phenomena after the shocking disappearance of his father.” The series will take Tom “on a quest to unravel the truth…all while fighting to stay one step ahead of an Illuminati-scale group hell-bent on stopping him.” A release date for Tom Swift has yet to be announced.

In other news, Jesse Williams has nabbed his first TV role since departing Grey’s Anatomy. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Williams will star alongside Aubrey Plaza and Ramón Rodriguez in Olga Dies Dreaming. Based on Xóchitl Gonzalez’s forthcoming debut novel of the same name, the show will center on a Nuyorican brother and sister from a gentrifying area of Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Together they grapple with “their absent, politically radical mother” and their hopeful careers among New York City’s elite. Williams will play Matteo Jones, a devoted Brooklynite, who’s described as “a collector of music, objects, trivia, and mainly, of opinions.”

Finally — ICYMI, a teaser for the long-awaited ATL sequel, ATL 2: Homecoming, has been released. ATL, which marked Chris Robinson’s directorial debut and launched Lauren London’s acting career, was loosely based on the experiences of the film’s producers, Dallas Austin and TLC’s Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, who both grew up in Atlanta. A release date for ATL 2: Homecoming has not been announced.

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