James R | On 16, Sep 2017

Transparent star Alexandra Billings has signed on for a role in Season 2 of Amazon’s Goliath.

The legal drama, which premiered last year, was created by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro and stars Billy Bob Thornton as washed-up lawyer Billy McBride. Thornton went on to win a Golden Globe for his performance, leading to the renewal of the programme for a second run. The show recently appointed EP Lawrence Trilling as showrunner, marking the show’s third showrunner to date. In front of the camera, though, casting has continued apace, with Mark Duplass, Morris Chestnut and Ana De La Reguera all signing on for key roles.

Billings will recur in the second season as Judge Martha Wallace, whom Deadline describes as “a seasoned professional who is meticulous and controlled”, which doesn’t sound like someone who’ll be very sympathetic to McBride, as he takes on the case of a teenager accused of a double murder.

It marks a big step for Billings, who is known for playing Davina, the mentor to Jeffrey Tambor’s Maura in Transparent, as the transgender actress not only plays a non-transgender character but also bags a high-profile role in another of Amazon’s most popular series. With feature film Valley of Bones also under her belt, you can expect to see a lot more of her on our screens in the future.

 

Amazon’s Goliath moves on to third showrunner

11th September 2017

Amazon’s Goliath is now on its third showrunner, following the departure of Dexter’s Clyde Phillips.

The legal drama, which premiered last year, was created by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro and stars Billy Bob Thornton as washed-up lawyer Billy McBride. Thornton went on to win a Golden Globe for his performance, leading to the renewal of the programme for a second run. Kelley, though, stepped down as showrunner for the programme, with Phillips instead taking up the post.

While there were rumours of creative differences between Kelley and Amazon at the time, Phillips moved the production forward, with his writing team already penning all 10 episodes of Season 2, and Amazon and Thornton reportedly signing off on them.

However, sources tell THR that a fresh rift opened up after Thornton was unhappy with the Season 2 premiere. With the first four episodes reportedly in editing, production was then shut down on the project. Rather than re-arc the whole season, though, Phillips decided to exit the project.

EP Lawrence Trilling, who worked on Season 1, has now taken his post. Under Trilling’s guidance, the Season 2 premiere is being rewritten and reshot, with three episodes set to be axes altogether, leaving the season with a total of seven episodes. Production is expected to resume this week.

The move follows a similar process to Season 1, which originally began with 10 episodes from its straight-to-series order, before Kelley stepped out of his day-to-day role and two episodes were scrapped, with Episode 3 being revamped to become the pilot for an eight-part season.

The news is not good for Amazon’s budgets, as the online giant shows signs of tightening its purse strings: The Last Tycoon and Z: The Beginning of Everything have both been cancelled in the last week, as the company looks to focus its investment on larger original projects that will make a bigger splash, along the lines of The Man in the High Castle or Game of Thrones.

“That brings the per-episode cost to almost $10 million, and the budget overage to about $65 million,” sources tell THR.

Goliath, though, is likely to be thought worth it: the legal drama was Amazon’s most-binged show in its first month of release and was also the first to skip its pilot season process – an example that Amazon is increasingly looking to follow in the future to save on time and production costs. Goliath is the latest show to see a change in showrunners, with The Man in the High Castle, Bosch and Sneaky Pete all seeing their head writers step down for a multitude of reasons.

In front of the camera, though, Goliath’s second season is having no trouble attracting names, with Mark Duplass joining the series, alongside Zoo’s James Wolk and Narcos’ Ana de la Reguera.

There is currently no confirmed release date for Season 2.

 

Mark Duplass joins Goliath Season 2

11th Sptember 2017

Mark Duplass has signed on to star in the second season of Amazon’s Goliath.

The legal drama, Amazon’s legal drama, which picked up a Golden Globe this year for Billy Bob Thornton’s performance, was renewed by the streaming service shortly after its awards haul. The sophomore run will see washed-up lawyer Billy take on the case of a teenager accused of a double murder, only for the Deputy DA to handle the prosecution personally, aiming to crush Billy and his team.

Duplass, a writer, director, actor and all-round talented man, will play Tom Wyatt, a successful Los Angeles developer who wants to give the city a distinct skyline. A philanthropist, he is a major contributor to mayoral candidate Marisol Silva (Ana De La Reguera).

Both Duslass and De La Reguera will be series regulars, reports Deadline.

 

James Wolk joins Goliath Season 2

1st August 2017

Zoo star James Wolk has signed up for Season 2 of Goliath.

Amazon’s legal drama, which picked up a Golden Globe this year for Billy Bob Thornton’s performance, was renewed by the streaming service shortly after its awards haul. It has wasted no time in assembling an ensemble for its second run, with Morris Chestnut the most recent addition as lawyer Billy McBride’s (Thornton) new nemesis.

Now, Billy is getting some added support on his side of the bar. Deadline reports that Wolk will play FBI Special Agent Jeff Clayton, who agrees to help Billy (Thornton) track down the prime suspect in the Marcos Pena murder, which will be the crux of Season 2’s narrative. He will also have a potential romantic interest in Patty (Nina Arianda).

Wolk’s guest role follows a part not just in CBS’ Zoo but also a recurring role on Billions.

 

Morris Chestnut to play Billy Bob’s rival in Goliath Season 2

17 June 2017

When Goliath was renewed by Amazon for a second season, the immediate question was who would replace William Hurt as the series’ villain, after the conclusion of the brother’s antagonistic conflict. Now, it looks like the legal drama has found the person to go up against Billy Bob Thornton’s underdog lawyer: Morris Chestnut.

The actor, known for his roles in Boyz n the Hood and, more recently, Legends, Nurse Jackie and American Horror Story, was until recently the lead in Rosewood, playing Miami pathologist Dr. Beaumont Rosewood. With the programme cancelled by Fox after two seasons, Chestnut has slid into Amazon’s Goliath instead.

He will play Chief Deputy District Attorney Hakeem Rashad, who has a grudge against Billy (Bob Thornton), after being on the losing side of the central case in Season 1. With Billy taking on the case of a teenager accused of a double murder, the Deputy DA decides to handle the prosecution personally, aiming to crush Billy and his team.

Chestnut’s casting marks a reunion for the actor, as he finds himself once again working Dexter’s Clyde Phillips, who was an executive producer on Nurse Jackie. Phillips is the new showrunner for Season 2 of Goliath, following the departure of creator David E. Kelley. He joins a cast that includes Narcos’ Ana de la Reguera and Diana Hopper, who has been promoted from a recurring role to a series regular.

 

Diana Hopper promoted to series regular for Goliath Season 2

26th May 2017

Goliath Season 2 continues to take shape over at Amazon, with a growing emphasis placed on the daughter of Billy Bob Thornton’s lawyer, Billy McBride.

Diana Hopper, who played Denise in Season 1, has been promoted from a recurring star to a series regular for the programme’s sophomore run. Deadline reports that the show will focus on their relationship, as she effectively becomes a trust fund kid, due to the millions won by Billy in the first season. Billy’s drinking, though, continues to distance him from his daughter, so she gives him an ultimatum: go to therapy or get out of her life. With high school graduation drawing near, should she go to college or take care of her dad? Or find her own path?

The tweaked focus for David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro’s legal drama arrives at the same time as new showrunner on the series, with Clyde Phillips taking over from Kelley, who serves as an exec producer alongside Shapiro and Ross Fineman.

Nurse Jackie’s Dominic Fumusa has also signed on for Season 2 in a recurring role. He will play Detective Keith Roman, who hates Billy, blaming him for getting off a killer who went on to murder a family years ago.

 

Narcos’ Ana de la Reguera to star in Goliath Season 2

12th May 2017

Narcos’ Ana de la Reguera will star in Season 2 of Goliath.

Amazon’s legal drama, which picked up a Golden Globe this year for Billy Bob Thornton’s performance, was renewed by the streaming service shortly after its awards haul. Now, David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro’s sophomore season has found itself a female lead.

De la Reguera, who made an impression on Netflix’s drug crime drama about Pablo Escobar and has also appeared in Jane the Virgin, will play Marisol Silva, a “councilwoman from the seamier side of Venice”, reports Deadline. Silva is competing to be the first Latina mayor of Los Angeles, but when a white boy from Brentwood is killed on her turf, she doesn’t hesitate to point out the double standard in the way the rich white outsider gets more police and media attention than local murder victims.

A smart, driven woman with a belief in doing the right thing? Sounds like Billy Bob Thornton’s lawyer has just found his match.

 

Walter Hill to direct two episodes of Goliath Season 2

7th April 2017

Goliath is already beginning its journey back to our screens for Season 2, with Walter Hill signing on to direct two episodes of the Amazon legal drama.

Created by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro, the series’ second run will see Dexter’s Clyde Phillips take over from Kelly as new showrunner, with Billy Bob Thornton returning to reprise his role as washed-up lawyer Billy McBride, who’s seeking redemption in his fight to support the underdogs of the world.

Dwight Yoakam, Harold Perrineau, Olivia Thirlby, Molly Parker and Maria Bello also star in the show, with Kelley, Shapiro, Ross Fineman and Larry Trilling exec producing.

While Phillips will be the new face behind the camera, though, he’ll be joined by another new face on the team: Walter Hill, who Deadline reports will helm both the first and last episode of the sophomore season. Hill, of course, is far from a newcomer: the TV veteran won an Emmy and a DGA Award for his work on Deadwood’s pilot and also directed AMC’s award-winning TV film, Broken Trail.

 

Amazon renews Goliath for Season 2

16th February 2017

Amazon has renewed Goliath for Season 2.

The legal thriller, which premiered last year, was created by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro and stars Billy Bob Thornton as washed-up lawyer Billy McBride.

Thornton’s turn was good enough to bag the show a Golden Globe Best Actor in a TV drama, with Amazon saying that viewership figures were strong for the series. Since that award win, speculation has surrounded the possibility of a second run.

“Amazon is a company that was very kind to us,” said the actor at the Globes, “and allowed us to be what we wanted to be and encouraged us to be more than what was there.”

“They would like to do another season — I know that much,” he said. “This one was written in a way that it had a beginning, middle and an end… but I honestly believe there is more potential for the show than what was in the first season. I think we need to know more about where this guy came from.”

Now, another season has officially been ordered, but without Kelley as showrunner. The day-to-day showrunner will be Dexter’s Clyde Phillips, reports Deadline, although Kelley, Shapiro and Ross Fineman will remain as Exec Producers.

Deadline suggests that there may have been creative differences on the way to move forwards, although Kelley is, of course, a busy man, with HBO’s mini-series Big Little Lies on the way next month. Phillips work as showrunner on Dexter for four seasons, meanwhile, puts him in good stead for fleshing out an intriguing central character.

“Amazon is proud of Goliath and Billy Bob’s amazing, Golden Globe-winning performance,” Joe Lewis, Head of Comedy, Drama & VR at Amazon Studios, said in a statement. “Great shows like this help elevate the art of storytelling. We can’t wait to bring our customers a new season soon.”

 

Amazon “would like to do another season” of Goliath

9th January 2017

Amazon would like to do a second season of Goliath, Billy Bob Thornton revealed at last night’s Golden Globes.

The actor took home the prize for Best Actor for his role of Billy McBride in the Amazon original legal drama, beating competition from Rami Malek in Mr. Robot, Bob Odenkirk in Better Call Saul, Matthew Rys in The Americans and Liev Schreiber in Ray Donovan.

“Billy Bob Thornton is on blistering form in Amazon’s compelling legal drama,” we wrote in our review of the show.

Speaking to the press backstage, he said he always wanted to play a lawyer: “I think lawyers and actors have the same job. Lawyers are trying to convince the jury and actors are trying to convince the audience.”

He also praised Amazon for being willing to do the show.

“Amazon is a company that was very kind to us,” he explained, “and allowed us to be what we wanted to be and encouraged us to be more than what was there.”

He also confirmed that Amazon was interested in a return for Billy McBride, although he added that there is no definite word on a renewal yet.

“They would like to do another season — I know that much,” he said. “This one was written in a way that it had a beginning, middle and an end… but I honestly believe there is more potential for the show than what was in the first season. I think we need to know more about where this guy came from.”

In his acceptance speech, Thornton also thanked Luke Scott, a 23-year-old production assistant on the show who passed away last year.

“Luke made me want to come to work,” he added, backstage. “He was the guy who when I got there, I knew that his face, it was such a joyous face and he was so happy just to be there and have that job and be around the business. To lose your life at 23 years old, when you’re just starting that job… at the end of the day, the two entities I have to thank are Luke Scott and Amazon.”

You can read our spoiler-free review of Goliath Season 1 here.

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