This Week in TV:

FX orders Donald Glover's (Community) Atlanta pilot; True Detective season 2 adds musician/actor Rick Springfield; Showtime's Roadies casts Christina Hendricks (Mad Men); Starz renews The Missing for season 2; and U.K. network ITV orders a Beowulf adaptation to series.

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FX Networks ordered comedy pilot Atlanta from Community alum Donald Glover.

Troy Barnes in Community

The semi-autobiographical comedy, which has been in the works at the network for more than a year, will star Glover as Earnest "Earn" Marks, a college-drop out who sets out to become a star in the Atlanta hip-hop scene - a competitive arena that includes his already-successful rapper cousin.

While TV viewers know Glover primarily for his role as Troy on Community, he has also launched a successful music career in the past few years under the stage name Childish Gambino. As Gambino, Glover has released two studio hip-hop albums, the second of which - titled "Because The Internet" - earned him two 2015 Grammy nominations earlier this month. As Atlanta's creator, producer and star, Glover will bring his own voice and experiences into the show.

Said FX:

“Donald Glover is a uniquely talented actor and performer who brings real-life experience to this subject matter. He, along with (executive producer) Paul Simms, has a very honest, sometimes serious, and funny perspective on life, the world of rap music and the city of Atlanta.”

As we learn more about Donald Glover's Atlanta, we'll let you know.

Source: Deadline

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Musician/actor Rick Springfield announced that he will appear in True Detective season 2.

Rick Springfield Californica

While he didn't divulge anything about his character, Springfield did confirm he would be a part of HBO's hit anthology series via Twitter last week, writing:

"Just finished my 1st day of shooting for season 2 of HBO's True Detective. What a great script. Working w/ Colin Farrell & Rachel McAdams!"

Along with Ferrell and McAdams, Springfield joins a hotly-discussed cast that includes Vince VaughnTaylor Kitsch (Lone Survivor), Michael Hyatt (Nightcrawler) and C.S. Lee (Dexter). While this season's roster could be classified as a more eclectic and diverse group, many would argue that the show's casting choices have been just as, or perhaps more interesting when compared to its movie star-led first season.

Look for True Detective season 2 to premiere this summer on HBO.

Source: Rick Springfield

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Cameron Crowe's Showtime comedy pilot Roadies has added Mad Men star Christina Hendricks to its already star-studded cast.

Christina Hendricks Cast Dark Places

In the potential series centering around the unsung heroes behind the scenes of a successful rock and roll tour, Hendricks will star alongside Luke Wilson and Imogen Poots (Need for Speed) as Shelli, the band's tough production manager. The ingenious work partner of Wilson's character Bill, Shelli is described as "privately emotional, but married to her job...and scary-good at it."

With Mad Men coming to an end this year, the comedy project comes at a good time for Hendricks. In the J.J. Abrams-produced Roadies, she'll join another talent-laden cast that includes Rafe Spall (Prometheus), Peter Cambor (NCIS: Los Angeles) and Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider) - along with Wilson and Poots.

Roadies will begin shooting in early 2015 with an expected premiere date on Showtime later in the year.

Source: Deadline

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Starz renewed rookie drama The Missing for season 2.

The Missing renewed starz

Like HBO's True Detective, the series will take on an anthology format, with season 2 of the critically-acclaimed crime drama featuring new investigators taking on an entirely new disappearance case over eight episodes. Brothers Harry and Jack Williams will return to write every episode of season 2, however, it's unclear if any season 1 cast members will come back - including 2015 Golden Globe nominee Frances O'Connor. The show's second season will once again air on both Starz and BBC One, which are co-producing the series.

The series also earned a Golden Globe nom for Best Miniseries last week, which likely made Starz and BBC One's renewal decision even easier. Said Starz managing director Carmi Zlotnik:

“The remarkably talented Williams brothers crafted a beautifully complex and heart wrenching story with ‘The Missing’ and while the story, character and locations will be different in this new iteration, we anticipate the same captivating long-form storytelling and character development that critics and viewers have responded so well to.”

We'll pass along the latest on The Missing season 2 as it comes in.

Source: Variety

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ITV commissioned a 13-episode first season of a Beowulf series from Strike Back producer James Dormer.

Beowulf ITV

Described as an epic re-imagining of the classic Old English poem featuring one of literature's legendary heroes, ITV's Beowulf adaptation will be a western set in the Dark Ages, and in the fictional Shieldlands, a mythical place where both humans and fantastical creatures roam. This version will follow the titular warrior as he reconnects with family and his home, which he must also defend from the monster Grendel.

Series creators are promising viewers plenty of action-packed battles, raids chases and celebrations in a show that will explore the timeless struggle between good and evil. Said executive producer and writer, Dormer:

"Hundreds of years ago our ancestors listened to the story of 'Beowulf' because it was a great adventure story — it scared them, thrilled them, made them laugh and cry. But they also listened because they recognized themselves and their fears in it. By holding a mirror up to them, this story helped define them and thus — us. So it’s incredibly exciting to have the opportunity to make it relevant again for a wide audience — to let them own it again. To let them see themselves in it."

After ordering The Frankenstein Chronicles and Jekyll & Hyde to series last month, the network's Beowulf show is simply the latest addition to its collection of ambitious adaptations. The series hasn't secured a cast just yet, but we do know it is scheduled to begin shooting in April.

Stay tuned for more on ITV's Beowulf as the series nears production.

Source: Deadline