In Brief: Stephen Amell returning to the “Arrowverse”, and more

Benedict Cumberbatch is in final talks to star in the Netflix limited series Eric, sources tell Variety. Cumberbatch would star as Vincent Sullivan, a puppeteer who finds his only companion is Eric, a seven-foot tall blue puppet, who leads him on a journey to find his missing son. This would be the latest limited series lead role for Cumberbatch, following his titular role in Showtime’s Patrick Melrose in 2018. He also played legendary detective Sherlock Holmes in the 2010 BBC series Sherlock…

Jillian Bell, star of the 2019 film Brittany Runs a Marathon, has been added to the cast of the Amazon holiday comedy Candy Cane Lane, opposite Tracee Ellis Ross and Eddie Murphy, according to Deadline. As previously confirmed by ABC, Murphy will also produce the film, directed by Oscar- and Emmy-nominated Django Unchained and Boomerang producer Reginald Hudlin. Candy Cane Lane, written by Kelly Younger, whose Muppets Haunted Mansion debuted on Disney+ in 2021, was reportedly based on the writer’s own holiday experiences. Further plot details are under wraps…

Entertainment Weekly reports Stephen Amell is set to reprise his role as Oliver Queen in the ninth and final season of The Flash. “…It was Oliver who originally launched [The Flash/Barry Allen, played in the series by Grant Gustin] on his heroic path. That’s why everyone on Team Flash felt so strongly that it was important to create a full-circle moment with Oliver’s return in the final season of The Flash,” executive producer Eric Wallace said in a statement. “The result is an epic-yet-emotional episode we hope Arrowverse fans will enjoy.” That episode — the ninth of season 9 — will also feature returns from David Ramsey as John Diggle/Spartan, Keiynan Lonsdale as Wally West/Kid Flash and Sendhil Ramamurthy as Ramsey Rosso/Bloodwork. The Flash season 9 launches February 8, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the CW…

After more than 40 years, the sequel to Mel Brooks‘ classic comedy History of the World Part I is almost here. Now an eight-part TV series streaming on Hulu, each episode of History of the World Part II will feature a variety of sketches that take us through different periods of human history. Co-creator, writer and executive producer Mel Brooks stars in the series, alongside Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes and Ike Barinholtz. History of the World Part II hits Hulu this spring…

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