The television world moves so fast that by the time you learn of a show’s premiere, it could already be canceled. It’s hard to keep track of the constant stream of television news, so Flavorwire is here to provide a weekly roundup of the most exciting — and baffling — casting and development updates. This week, Showtime considers a Cameron Crowe comedy, HBO considers a True Blood musical, and AMC considers everything related to The Walking Dead.
Showtime has ordered a pilot for Roadies, a comedy written and directed by Cameron Crowe. (Winnie Holzman, of My So-Called Life, will serve as showrunner) Roadies “follows the day-to-day life of a successful rock tour as seen through the eye’s of music’s unsung background players — the crew members who help get the show on the road.” J.J. Abrams is one of the executive producers. [Showtime]
Chelsea Handler is getting a Netflix talk show. [Deadline]
NBC ordered six episodes of Into the Wild With Bear Grylls, in which celebrities — like Channing Tatum and Zac Efron!! — hang out in the wild for 48-hour treks with Grylls. [Variety]
True Blood may become a musical. Nathan Barr, the show’s composer, is developing a stage show. Nothing is guaranteed yet, but it looks promising. [The Wrap]
Jay Leno will receive the 17th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor — proving, once again, that humor is totally subjective. [EW]
Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville) landed the lead role in the TV Land comedy Impastor about a con man who tricks a town into believing he’s a gay pastor. Sure. [THR]
The ridiculously titled crime drama Sex, Lies and Handwriting will get a straight-to-series order if ABC greenlights the pilot script. [Deadline]
Martin Sheen joined the Jane Fonda/Lily Tomlin Netflix comedy Grace and Frankie! The show centers on two enemies who come together when their husbands announce that they are getting married to each other. Sheen will play Fonda’s husband. [THR]
The opening credits for IFC’s Garfunkel and Oates is on YouTube.
Mindy Kaling and Carson Daly will announce the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards nominations on July 10. [TVLine]
Z Nation, Syfy’s post-apocalyptic zombie series, now has a cast. Harold Perrineau will play the leader of the group, Tom Everett Scott is his second-in-command, and DJ Qualls is the group’s computer hacker (because that’s who everyone runs to during a zombie attack?). Also cast: Michael Welch and Kellita Smith. [Variety]
Artemis from It’s Always Sunny in California joined the cast of Masters of Sex! [THR]
NBC is developing an event series about The Beatles. The team behind The Tudors is in the “early stages” of developing an eight-episode series that tells the story of The Beatles — which means it’s time to start speculating on who will be cast. [Deadline]
ABC renewed Extreme Weight Loss for a fifth season. Additionally, the show will have three specials next summer, called Extreme Weight Loss: Love Can’t Weight (great pun!), in which couples lose weight before their wedding. [TV Guide]
AMC is basically rebranding itself as The Walking Dead network (especially since Halt and Catch Fire isn’t exactly catching on). AMC will marathon all four seasons of The Walking Dead on July 4. On July 6, Talking Dead Season 5 Preview Special (seriously?) will air. After that comes two documentaries: Inside The Walking Dead on July 8 and Inside The Walking Dead: Walker University (gotta be creative with these titles!) on July 15. [TVLine]
Nickelodeon renewed the surprisingly fun Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for a fourth season. [Deadline]