EXCLUSIVE, June 16th: Fresh off of casting Lisa Palfrey as a series regular, BBC Two’s police anti-corruption drama Line of Duty has added Aiysha Hart in a guest starring role. The actress, who most recently played Ariadne on both seasons of BBC One’s short-lived fantasy series Atlantis, will play Detective Sergeant Sam Railstone. Other guest stars lined up for season three include Polly Walker, Kiran Landa and Natasha Gordon.
From Jed Mercurio, Line Of Duty follows police anti-corruption unit AC-12. The six episode third season sees the unit investigate Sergeant Danny Waldron. The highly proficient leader of an Armed Response Unit, Waldron’s unpredictable behaviour is becoming a threat to colleagues and suspects. When AC-12 are called in to investigate Danny’s conduct, even they could find themselves in the firing line. BBC Two has already renewed Line Of Duty for a six episode fourth season, set to air in 2017.
The drama series is produced by World Productions and stars Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar. Cast additions for season three include Daniel Mays (Common), Will Mellor (Broadchurch), Leanne Best (Ripper Street), Arsher Ali (Arthur & George) and Lisa Palfrey (Family Tree). Peter Norris is the series producer, while Jed Mercurio, Simon Heath and the BBC’s Stephen Wright are serving as executive producers. Critical helmer Michael Keillor is directing the first three episodes of the show’s third season.
Fox’s The X-Files Revival is continuing to build its cast. Annet Mahendru, best known for her series regular role as KGB agent Nina on FX’s Cold War spy drama The Americans, has joined the cast of the six episode series in guest starring role. Few precise details are available about Mahendru’s character, though she is believed to be playing Sveta, a victim of alien abduction. Word of the casting first leaked on Twitter.
Mahendru is the latest actor to sign of for a guest role on the revival. Other guest stars include Joel McHale as Tad O’Malley, the anchor of a popular conservative Internet news network who becomes an unlikely ally for Mulder; and iZombie alum Aliza Vellani in an as-yet undisclosed role. Further casting announcements are expected shortly, with the latest (and I must stress UNCONFIRMED) rumours suggesting that Jaden Smith is being eyed for a guest role later in the run of episodes.
The X-Files Revival, which is set to premiere in January, is envisioned as a follow up to the original nine season series and both feature films, with David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and Mitch Pileggi reprising their roles as Mulder, Scully and Walter Skinner, respectively. Series creator Chris Carter is shepherding the six episode revival, which he is also writing alongside Glen Morgan, Darin Morgan and James Wong. The executive producers are Chris Carter and Glen Morgan, while Darin Morgan and James Wong are also attached to direct.
UPDATE, June 18th: A senior Fox source is now telling me that despite hopes that both Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish would appear in the revival in some capacity, Patrick is not set to make a comeback after the studio failed to reach a deal with the actor. According to my source, scheduling was a big issue here and at a certain point it was decided that the six episodes should focus solely on Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny as Scully & Mulder. Annabeth Gish’s representatives remain in talks with the studio and I’m told the plan is for her to make a guest appearance in one episodes. I’m also told that, despite reports to the contrary, long-time X-Files contributor Frank Spotnitz is not involved in the revival due to prior commitments to his Amazon series The Man In The High Castle, which is in production on its first season.
