Murder in a Small Town Premiering on Fox and ITV Fall 2024

Marcia Gay Harden has been cast in Season 2 of “Murder in a Small Town,” Variety has learned exclusively. Harden will appear in a series regular role, playing Mayor Christie Holman in the mystery drama.

Along with Sutherland, the cast for Season 1 includes Kristin Kreuk, James Cromwell, Stana Katic, Mya Lowe, Savonna Spracklin, Aaron Douglas, and Fritzy-Klevans Destine. Ian Weir serves as head writer and executive producer. Nick Orchard of Soap Box Productions, which originally optioned the Alberg books, executive produces along with Morris Ruskin and Sharon Wisnia of Mojo Global Arts and Jon Cotton.

Toonz Media Group is booting up a new animated feature at AFM 2024 with the launch Minibots. Billed as a high-energy action-adventure with emotional depth aimed at a broad family audience, the CG pic is produced by Toonz, Evolutionary Films (U.K.) and Mojo Global Arts (U.S.), directed by Tony Bancroft (Mulan) and written by Michael Ferris (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines). “Partnering with Evolutionary Films and Mojo Global Arts has been a fantastic experience,” said P. Jayakumar, CEO of Toonz Media Gorup.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actress Mallory Jansen and Emmy and Tony Award winner Anthony LaPaglia are boarding Alex Proyas‘ upcoming sci-fi satire R.U.R. opposite Lindsay Farris (Ash vs Evil Dead). Cameras roll on Oct. 21 in Sydney, Australia. Proyas penned the screenplay which is an adaptation of Karel Capek famous science fiction play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots), published in 1920. R.U.R. follows Helena, played by Jansen, who visits the island factory of Rossum’s Universal Robots to emancipate the robots from capitalist exploitation, with catastrophic results.

(...)The series premiere of “Murder in a Small Town” gets a 90-minute opener on Tuesday, Sept. 24, before being joined by Season 2 of “Accused” on Oct. 1. And reality hits “The Masked Singer” and “The Floor” are back on Wednesday, Sept. 25.

When it arrives on streaming platforms, Shari & Lamb Chop should be catnip to the masses, since Lewis is one of the most instantly recognisable faces and acts in TV history, but her own personal story is previously untold. 

Fox has released trailers for several of its new series for the 2024-25 broadcast season — dramas Rescue: HI-Surf, Murder In A Small Town and Doc, and animated comedy series Universal Basic Guys. You can read about each and watch in the link below.

The History Film Forum co-presents Shari & Lamb Chop and the JxJ Film and Music Festival. The screening will be followed by a conversation with the director. 

Never has a sock provoked so many emotions.

The Milwaukee Film Fest kicked off Thursday night with a screening of Shari and Lamb Chop. The documentary chronicles the pioneering career of Shari Lewis, the ventriloquist, and entertainer who brought the sock puppet Lamb Chop into millions children’s lives. 

“Filmmaker Lisa D’Apolito (Love, Gilda) does a great job of capturing what the world loved about Shari. However, Shari and Lamb Chop also sheds light on the icon’s low moments. 

(…) D’Apolito has compiled one of the most charming documentaries I might see all year. We learn so much about Shari that it feels almost embarrassing to discover it over 25 years after her passing.”

James Cromwell (“Babe,” “Succession”), Stana Katic (“Castle,” “Absentia”), Mya Lowe (“My Life with the Walter Boys,” “Yellowjackets”), Savonna Spracklin (“Two-Spirit Odyssey,” “Wildhood”), Aaron Douglas (“Battlestar Galactica,” “The Watchful Eye”), and Fritzy-Klevans Destine (“The Boys,” “Superman & Lois”) have all joined the series. Cromwell and Katic will appear in guest star roles, while the other four will be recurring guest stars.

Murder in a Small Town will be produced in British Columbia, with Milan Cheylov (24, The Cleaning Lady) executive producing and directing multiple episodes of the program. Fox has acquired all U.S. rights of Murder in a Small Town, which will be executive produced by Nick Orchard (Soapbox Productions), Morris Ruskin and Sharon Wisnia (Mojo Global Arts), and Jon Cotton. Production will begin in January.

Edward James Olmos, his son Michael Olmos and Morris Ruskin’s MoJo Global Arts have pacted with Ecuador’s 2bLatam to make an English-language premium TV version of the YouTube phenomenon, “Mortal Glitch.” This is the first project in English for the Ecuadorian company as it seeks to expand its global reach.

Fox has picked up psychological crime drama Murder in a Small Town, starring Rossif Sutherland (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Kristin Kreuk (Smallville), for the 2024-25 season. The network has acquired U.S. rights to the series, based on the “Karl Alberg” books by L.R. Wright,, which hails from head writer Ian Weir (Edgemont), director Milan Cheylov (The Cleaning Lady) and Canada’s Sepia Films in association with Fox Entertainment and Future Shack Entertainment, the company of former USA Network President Jeff Wachtel. Also executive producing are Weir, Nick Orchard (Soapbox Productions), Morris Ruskin and Sharon Wisnia (Mojo Global Arts) and Jon Cotton.

New York City declared November 11, 2023, Shari Lewis & Lamb Chop Day, in honor of the late Bronx native ventriloquist Shari Lewis and her beloved sock puppet Lamb Chop. This day commemorates the extraordinary legacy of a resilient pioneer in television who educated generations of children. 

In today’s world, threats can arise without notice or planning. Night of the Hunted is incredibly gripping and timely. In a movie reminiscent of Phone Booth, this story is about survival amid fear and loathing. Heavy on ambiguity but balanced on suspense, this movie offers the audience a harrowing mystery that is one part social commentary and one part thriller. Aided by an engaging and heart-pumping performance, this one will leave the audience in a nervous sweat and have them debating the ending and the movie’s actual point.

NIGHT OF THE HUNTED is a well-made film that asks its audience several uncomfortable questions. The plot’s tense situation of a mass shooting involving a sniper parallels the dangers of our new technological world and our willingness to fight for our beliefs against zealots willing to die for theirs.

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Night of the Hunted, which screened at Beyond Fest, is a tense single location thriller. It effectively explores all the possibilities of its scenario with bursts of graphic violence too.

Héroes” llegará exclusivamente a Cinemex este 7 de septiembre luego de que incluso se llegara a rumorar que la película había sido “silenciada” por contar la historia de una forma poco convencional. ¿Estás listo para disfrutar de una historia que se antoja sobre todo en este mes de fiestas patrias?

La historia los inmortalizó como los Niños Héroes, aunque realmente por la edad, dos eran adolescentes y el resto, tenían el menos 18 años. La película "Héroes", que estrena en cines, los humaniza dejando de lado la imagen de papelería oficial que enseñan desde primaria. El director Ricardo Arnaiz consultó testimonios de cadetes sobrevivientes e hizo una investigación por meses, para darle a cada uno de ellos características únicas.

Fresh from helping create Australia’s first fully virtual production shoot for John Curran’s psychological thriller Mercy Road, director and producer Alex Proyas will again use the techniques to build the world for a feature adaption of classic sci-fi play R.U.R. Proyas has written the script and will direct, while also producing via his company Mystery Clock Cinema alongside Adam Krentzman and Morris Ruskin, with Cathy Rechichi on board as co-producer. Composer Michael Lira has also been confirmed as part of the creative team.

EXCLUSIVE: Texas Monthly, the magazine that has been chronicling life in the Lone Star State since 1973, has continued its expansion into film and TV by setting its first-ever feature documentary, to be made in partnership with Peabody and Critics' Choice Award-winning filmmaker Deborah Esquenazi (Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four).

The French Canadian city’s vibrant cultural mosaic is energetically captured in Patricia Chica’s “Montréal Girls,” a fittingly lyrical portrait of an aspiring poet who learns to find his own voice amidst the murmur of familial expectations.

CBS Stations’ Streaming Channels and Websites to Show the Exclusive Nationwide Release of “Connecting the Dots,” a First-of-Its-Kind Documentary on Mental Health.

Icon Film Distribution has acquired all Australia and New Zealand rights to Alex Proyas’ upcoming dark sci-fi comedy Heaven as the producers continue with buyers at EFM. Sci-fi specialist Proyas, whose credits include Will Smith starrer I, Robot and Dark City, wrote the story about a man whose life is going nowhere who agrees to be uploaded to an A.I. metaverse afterlife and discovers it more closely resembles hell than heaven.

A twist that actually works makes you rethink what you've just seen and sends you into a movie you didn't expect.

The ranking includes THE SWEARING JAR, executive produced by Morris Ruskin, in 7th place on a list of 31 films. Directed by Lindsay MacKay, the refreshing and totally tear-jerking musical dramedy starts with married couple Carey (Adelaide Clemons) and Simon (Patrick J. Adams) trying to curb their cursing with a baby on the way.

Cannes sensation "Aftersun," which went to A24, stars Paul Mescal. The lineup includes THE SWEARING JAR executive produced by Morris Ruskin.

Patricia Chica is here to break the mold. The director has practiced a new method of filmmaking called Chi Energy, which utilizes state of the art techniques and mind strategies to help bolster the quality of production.

CNN has scheduled a new documentary from CNN Films celebrating female photojournalists, No Ordinary Life, to premiere on the network on September 5.

AMC Networks has renewed the Emmy-nominated short-form series “Cooper’s Bar” for a second season, while Acorn TV — AMC Networks’ streamer devoted to British and international fare — has given a Season 2 renewal to “Harry Wild,” starring and executive produced by Jane Seymour.

Gravitas Ventures has acquired U.S. rights to Lindsay MacKay’s romantic drama The Swearing Jar, starring Adelaide Clemens (Under the Banner of Heaven), Douglas Smith (Don’t Worry Darling), Patrick J. Adams (Prime Video’s A League of Their Own) and Oscar nominee Kathleen Turner (The White House Plumbers). The Anthem Sports & Entertainment Company has slated the film for release on 20 screens in major markets across the country on September 23.

Produit par Alexandre Aja, Noëmie Devide, Alix Taylor et Morris Ruskin, le film est notamment financé par le fonds Logical Content Ventures de Logical Pictures.

Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired U.S. rights to Art of Love, the romantic drama from writer-director Betty Kaplan that stars Esai Morales and Tigertail‘s Kunjue Li. It will now be released in domestic theaters and on digital July 22.

Dozens of migrants performed an opera in the Mexican border city of Tijuana on Saturday aimed at dramatizing the struggles of those who seek to reach the United States.

White Horse Pictures, the production company behind recent documentaries about the Beatles, Lucille Ball, and the Bee Gees, is producing another look at a legendary entertainer: Gene Wilder. The documentary is produced in association with Sobey Road Entertainment and Harlem Hollywood. White Horse partners Nigel Sinclair and Jeanne Elfant Festa serve as executive producers alongside Mojo Global Arts’ Morris Ruskin and Joseph Mellicker.

Deadline has the first trailer and teaser scene from Patrick Longstreth’s documentary Iron Family, which is set to make its world premiere at the 2022 Slamdance Film Festival. The Unstoppable Feature Documentary follows Jazmine Faries, a 32-year-old young woman with Down syndrome who is obsessed with soap operas, Barbie dolls, and Matthew McConaughey.

Sassy Mohen’s innovative and bold, confident style has emerged as a pioneer in the genre of female-driven comedy. She has written, directed, produced, and edited multiple award-winning films, TV Pilots, Music Videos, Commercials, Specs, and Web series. Her latest comedy satire on real-world events, FEAR ACTUALLY was released to rave reviews and won three BEST FEMALE DIRECTOR AWARDS.

The film uses star Selina Ringel’s real-life 2020 pregnancy to tell a fictional story.

Beloved American ventriloquist Shari Lewis and her popular sock puppet Lamb Chop will be the subject of a new documentary feature from White Horse Pictures and MoJo Global Arts.“Shari & Lamb Chop” will be directed by Emmy-nominated Lisa D’Apolito, director of “Love, Gilda,” the documentary about the late Saturday Night Live comedian Gilda Radner.

Adelaide Clemens, Patrick J. Adams, Douglas Smith, and Kathleen Turner will star in “The Swearing Jar.” The musical romance will be directed by Lindsay MacKay (“Wet Bum”) from a script by Kate Hewlett (“Malory Towers”), who adapts her play of the same name. David Hewlett (“The Shape of Water”) and Jade Ma (“Zero Chill”) round out the cast.

In a bid to explore new avenues of distribution, Colombian-German-Italian co-production “When in Venice,” by Colombian director-producer Juan Zapata of Zapata Filmes, will bow simultaneously May 13 in theaters in at least eight countries and be available worldwide on VOD and TVOD platforms.

Comedy sells. With that adage in mind, Endemol Shine Boomdog, a division of Endemol Shine North America, has teamed up with Ecuador-based Touché Films, the driving force behind the hugely popular Latin American YouTube channel, enchufe.tv.

Written By Gabriel Campisi - Forward by Morris Ruskin

YouTube Originals y Touché Films, la casa productora detrás de Enchufe.tv (el canal de comedia en castellano de YouTube #1 del mundo), presentaron Mortal glitch, una miniserie de cinco episodios de aventura recreada en el mundo del videojuego Hero’s legend y que debutará el miércoles 2 de septiembre en la plataforma.

Morris Ruskin, Jordan Walker-Pearlman and Joseph Mellicker’s new production and management company MoJo Global Arts has licensed US rights on last season’s South African Oscar submission 

Knuckle City to Showtime.

Netflix's latest Spanish movie revolves around one employee's fight to outwit his oppressive seniors through a series of hilarious and dramatic events.

Mechanical Souls directed by Gaëlle Mourre and produced by Serendipity Films between the top 35 XR installations of 2019 according to Forbes magazine.

Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment is to produce a documentary series about a youth racing school that teaches kids motorsports after striking a deal with nascent production and management company MoJo.

Morris Ruskin and Jordan Walker-Pearlman’s new Los Angeles-based production and management company MoJo Global Arts has unveiled a slate of three projects featuring a Latinx comedy, a Jazz documentary, and an epic TV project about Harlem.

South Africa has selected Jahmil X.T. Qubeka's Knuckle City as its submission for the international feature film category at the 2020 Oscars.

Los Angeles-based MoJo Global Arts, former Shoreline Ent. CEO Morris Ruskin’s newly-minted production-management venture, has struck a strategic alliance with top Spanish-language group 2btube and its subsidiary Touché Films.

Morris Ruskin and Jordan Walker-Pearlman’s new production and management company MoJo Global Arts will launch North American sales in Toronto on festival selection and boxing drama Knuckle City.