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Bless This Mess, a new single-camera comedy, has been picked up to series by ABC. The comedy, starring Lake Bell and Dax Shepard, is a co-production from 20th Century Fox Television and ABC Studios. Elizabeth Meriwether (Single Parents, New Girl) and Bell are executive producers and co-creators of the series, which will air next year (2019-2020 season) on The ABC Television Network. In Bless This Mess, a newlywed couple's (Bell, Shepard) plan to ditch big city living for a simpler life in Nebraska doesn't go as expected. Jake Kasdan and Melvin Mar (Fresh Off the Boat, Speechless) are non-writing executive producers, as are Shepard and Katherine Pope. Bell also directed the pilot. The original pilot was passed on by Fox in May and starred Lake Bell, Dax Shepard, Ed Begley Jr., Christina Offley, J.T. Neal and Pam Grier.

Premium pay television network EPIX(R), an MGM company, has renewed its original dark comedy Get Shorty for a third season. The dark comedy from MGM Television, based in part on the 1990's bestselling Elmore Leonard novel of the same name and created for television by Davey Holmes (Shameless, In Treatment) will return in 2019 with all-new episodes. The series follows Miles Daly (Chris O'Dowd), muscle for a Nevada crime ring who tries to become a movie producer in Hollywood with the help of a washed-up producer, Rick Moreweather (Ray Romano), as a means to leave his criminal past behind. In season two, Miles struggles to reconcile his ambitions as a filmmaker and a family man with his skill set as a career criminal. His progress in Hollywood is jeopardized when the washed-up producer, with whom he partnered in season one, agrees to wear a Federal wire. In season three, Miles embraces more ruthless methods as he settles scores and attempts to climb the Hollywood ladder.

The cast of Get Shorty season three is led by Screen Actors Guild Award(R) and BAFTA TV Award nominee O'Dowd (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, The Sapphires, Bridesmaids) and multiple Emmy(R) winner Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond, Men of a Certain Age, Parenthood), and also includes Sean Bridgers (Rectify, Room), Lidia Porto (Horrible Bosses 2), Carolyn Dodd (The Adventures of Catty Wompus), Goya Robles (11:55), Megan Stevenson (Review), Steven Weber (Ballers, Wings) and Sarah Stiles (I'm Dying Up Here).

MGM Television, Eagle Pictures and Barbary Films have started production in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on a 10-part television series event for premium cable network EPIX, an MGM company, based on the bestselling European novel by Joël Dicker, The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair, which has sold more than two million books worldwide and was translated into more than 25 languages. The suspenseful dramatic series stars Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominated actor Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy, Bridget Jones's Baby) in the title role as Harry Quebert, a literary icon who suddenly finds himself indicted for murder after the body of a young girl is found buried on his property. Marcus Goldman, a successful young novelist who has been mentored by Harry Quebert, will be played by Ben Schnetzer (Snowden, Pride). Jean-Jacques Annaud (Seven Years in Tibet, Black Gold), Director of the Academy Award winning film Black and White in Color, will make his television directorial debut, directing every episode of the series.

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair takes place in coastal Maine and focuses on Marcus Goldman who is visiting Harry Quebert's home to find a cure for his writer's block as his publisher's deadline looms. Marcus' plans are suddenly upended when Harry is sensationally implicated in the cold-case murder of Nola Kellergan, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been missing for many years. Damon Wayans Jr. (Happy Endings, New Girl) will play Sgt. Perry Gahalowood, a Maine State Police investigator who is investigating the death of Kellergan. Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen (Joy, Designated Survivor, Sideways) plays Tamara Quinn, Jenny Quinn's mother and the owner of a local diner who learns of a secret about Quebert.

Rounding out the cast are Kristine Froseth (Apostle), a newcomer who plays Nola Kellergan, the teenage girl who captivates Harry Quebert and becomes his muse; Colm Feore (House of Cards) as the wealthy and inscrutable Elijah Stern, one of the most powerful men in New England who's spent his life atoning for a secret past; Josh Close (Person of Interest) plays Luther Caleb, Elijah Stern's right hand man who suffers from disfiguring scars caused by a horrific attack that happened in his past; Matt Frewer (Timeless) as Reverend Kellergan, Nola's eccentric father; Connor Price (X Company) as Young Travis Dawn, a rookie cop who falls love with Jenny Quinn, a former prom queen played by Tessa Mossey (The Glass Castle) in her teenage years and by Victoria Clark (Homeland) in her adult years; Craig Eldridge (The Death and Life of John F. Donavan) plays the elder Travis Dawn who has risen in the ranks to become chief of police; Kurt Fuller (Phil) plays Police Chief Gareth Pratt who originally ran the investigation into Nola's disappearance, but is now retired; Don Harvey (The Deuce) as Bobbo Quinn, Tamara Quinn's husband; Felicia Shulman (Brad's Status) as Maggie Pratt, Chief Gareth Pratt's wife and the town busybody; Wayne Knight (Narcos) as Benjamin Roth, Harry's high-priced, high-pressure attorney.

Showtime Networks announced that four-time Emmy(R) nominated actress Connie Britton (Nashville, Friday Night Lights) will appear in a multi-episode guest arc on the half-hour comedy series SMILF, starring writer, director and executive producer Frankie Shaw (Mr. Robot). Britton will play Ally, Bridgette's (Shaw) unstable boss who struggles with boundaries and finds herself in constant pursuit of self-betterment. Her expectations for Bridgette's role in her life go far beyond tutoring her kids. SMILF will premiere on Sunday, November 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, following the 9 p.m. ET/PT season premiere that night of the SHOWTIME hit series Shameless. In addition, two other SMILF roles have been cast. Raven Goodwin (Being Mary Jane) will recur as Eliza, Bridgette's best friend and sometimes roommate who's in pharmacy school. Eliza and Bridgette's ties run deep as Eliza is allowed to let go of her perfectionist tendencies when she's with her messy friend. Goodwin has also appeared in such films as Snatched and television series as Glee, Good Luck Charlie and Huge. Mark Webber (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) will also recur as Father Eddie, a sober priest who runs a Catholic Parish in South Boston. Webber's other credits include Happy Christmas and The Laramie Project.

SMILF will take a raw and honest comedic look at a single, 20-something from Southie, Bridgette (Frankie Shaw), whose desires for relationships, sex and a career collide with the realities of young, single motherhood. Adapting her Sundance Film Festival Jury award-winning short film, Shaw will star, write, produce and direct the semi-autobiographical comedy, with Oscar(R) nominee Michael London (Sideways), Emmy(R) nominees Janice Williams (Confirmation), Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (The Office, Bad Teacher), and Scott King (Difficult People) executive producing. Multiple Emmy winner Rosie O'Donnell will co-star in her first series regular TV role as Tutu, Bridgette's prideful Southie mother who lives by her own set of rules. The series is produced by ABC Signature Studios as a co-production with SHOWTIME.

ABC Family announced that new comedy series Kevin from Work will premiere with back-to-back episodes on Wednesday, August 12 at 8:00PM & 8:30PM ET/PT. Returning hit comedy Young & Hungry will join the Wednesday comedy line up the following week on Wednesday, August 19 at 8:30PM ET/PT. Reality series Job or No Job rounds out the Wednesday line-up, with the series premiering on Wednesday, August 5 at 9:02 PM ET/PT following the finales of Melissa & Joey and Baby Daddy.

Kevin from Work launches with back-to-back episodes on Wednesday, August 12 at 8:00PM & 8:30PM ET/PT. The half-hour workplace comedy is centered on Kevin, a young man who declares his unrequited love for his coworker Audrey in a letter, believing he’ll never see her again after he accepts a job overseas. But when the opportunity falls through and Kevin is forced to return to his old job, how will he and Audrey continue to work together now that his feelings are no longer secret? The comedy stars Noah Reid as Kevin, Paige Spara as Audrey, Matt Murray as Brian, Jordan Hinson as Roxie, Punam Patel as Patti, with recurring guest star Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy) as Julia. Kevin from Work will air in its regularly scheduled time slot Wednesdays at 8:00 PM ET/PT starting August 19. The summer season of Young & Hungry will premiere on Wednesday, August 19 at 8:30PM ET/PT. The midseason finale left off with Gabi (Emily Osment) leaving Josh (Jonathan Sadowski) behind to start a dream job in Switzerland, just as they were finally poised to take their relationship to the next level. When the show returns, Gabi and Josh must decide what their next step is, both professionally and personally.

Premium TV network EPIX® announced that Oscar®-winning actress Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking), has been cast to star with Nick Nolte in Graves, a single-camera half-hour political satire produced by Lionsgate. Sarandon will play Margaret Graves, the wife of former U.S. President Richard Graves (Nolte), who decides to follow her own political ambitions just as her husband embarks on a Don Quixote-like journey to right the wrongs of his administration. Joshua Michael Stern (Swing Vote) created the project and will write and executive produce the 10-episode series. Stern will also direct select episodes. Oscar®-winning producer Greg Shapiro (The Hurt Locker), Keith Eisner (The Good Wife) and Eric Weinberg (Anger Management) are also executive producers. Production on the series is scheduled to begin this fall and premiere on EPIX in Autumn 2016. Graves marks the second project in which Nolte and Sarandon play a married couple. In 1992 they starred in Lorenzo's Oil, a true-life drama of a father and mother who battle against the odds to find a cure to save their son afflicted with a rare disease.