Viola Davis News

Investigation Discovery Sets Sinister Summer Lineup with Four All-New Series and Five Returning Favorites

Investigation Discovery (ID), America's leading mystery and suspense network, announced today the premiere of four all-new series and the return of five fan-favorites to heat up the summer true-crime obsession. The number one cable network for women, ID's captivating mid-summer programing slate starts by diving into DARK WATERS: MURDER IN THE DEEP (Tuesday, July 31 at 10/9c), a thrilling new series that takes viewers deep into the world of murder on the water. Next up on ID's summer schedule is SOMEONE YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW (Thursday, August 2 at 10/9c), featuring true stories of those closest to you hiding dark secrets that end with a killer you'd never expect.

Cynthia Erivo rose to fame with her star-making performance as Celie in the hit Broadway revival of The Color Purple, earning Tony, Grammy and Emmy Awards all in the same year! Backed by a five-piece band, Erivo will sing Broadway and pop songs from shows and artists including The Color Purple, The Wiz, Annie Lennox, Etta James, The Beatles, Aerosmith, Aretha Franklin, Ariana Grande and more!

Conrad Ricamora is best-known to millions of TV viewers as Oliver, the cute computer whiz, on ABC's 'How to Get Away With Murder.' But this 2013 Theatre World Award winner also can slay an audience onstage as he has proven Off-Broadway in 'Here Lies Love' and on Broadway in 'The King and I.' And Ricamora is currently 'killing it' as the star of 'Soft Power,' David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori's bold, new musical. Directed by Leigh Silverman, it is playing through July 8 at the Curran in San Francisco.

Treasures of New York: The Juilliard School explores the rich history and legacy of the world's most prestigious performing arts conservatory, often referred to as simply Juilliard, from its creation to its move to Lincoln Center. 

In response to popular demand, Soho Rep. (Sarah Benson, Artistic Director; Cynthia Flowers, Executive Director) extends the world premiere of Jackie Sibblies Drury's Fairview, directed by Sarah Benson, through July 22. In Fairview, the Frasier family (MaYaa Boateng, Charles Browning, Roslyn Ruff, and Heather Alicia Simms) is gearing up for Grandma's birthday, and Beverly needs this dinner to be perfect. But the silverware's wrong, the radio's on the fritz, her sister Jasmine is drinking, her husband Dayton isn't helping, her daughter Keisha is a typical teenager, and her brother Tyrone might not show up at all!

INTIMATE APPAREL is running with Des Moines Performing Arts at the Stoner Theatre from August 15 to August 28. 

THE LAST DEFENSE Opens to ABC's Top Summer Audience in the Slot Since August '16

Executive producers Viola Davis and Julius Tennon have teamed up with XCON Productions and Lincoln Square Productions for the powerful, new documentary series, 'The Last Defense,' premiering TUESDAY, JUNE 12 (10:00 - 11:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network. The seven-episode docu-series explores and exposes flaws in the American justice system through emotional, in-depth examinations of the death row cases of Darlie Routier and Julius Jones. The series will seek to trace the path that led both Routier and Jones to their places on death row, while taking a deep look into their personal stories.

According to Deadline, ROME Flynn has been PROMOTED to a series regular on the ABC drama How to Get Away with Murder.

Seven strangers, each with a secret to bury, meet at Lake Tahoe's El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one fateful night, everyone will have a last shot at redemption... before everything goes to hell.

Executive producers Viola Davis and Julius Tennon have teamed up with XCON Productions and Lincoln Square Productions for the powerful, new documentary series, “The Last Defense,” premiering TUESDAY, JUNE 12 (10:00 – 11:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network. The seven-episode docu-series explores and exposes flaws in the American justice system through emotional, in-depth examinations of the death row cases of Darlie Routier and Julius Jones. The series will seek to trace the path that led both Routier and Jones to their places on death row, while taking a deep look into their personal stories.

The National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) has announced that applications to become a 2019 YoungArts winner will be accepted beginning today, June 5, through October 12, 2018. YoungArts identifies and nurtures the nation's most accomplished emerging artists in the visual, literary, design and performing arts between the ages of 15 and 18 or in high school grades 10-12.

The entertainment community is coming together for Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and its sixth biennial roadblock televised fundraising special, supporting urgently needed research and new treatments for cancer.  

From Academy Award®-winning director Steve McQueen ('12 Years a Slave') and co-writer and bestselling author Gillian Flynn ('Gone Girl') comes a blistering, modern-day thriller set against the backdrop of crime, passion and corruption. 'Widows' is the story of four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities. Set in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of turmoil, tensions build when Veronica (Oscar® winner Viola Davis), Alice (Elizabeth Debicki), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and Belle (Cynthia Erivo) take their fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms. 'Widows' also stars Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Daniel Kaluuya, Lukas Haas and Brian Tyree Henry.

Soho Rep. (Sarah Benson, Artistic Director; Cynthia Flowers, Executive Director) today announced that actor Charles Browning will take over for Lance Coadie Williams in the world premiere of Jackie Sibblies Drury's Fairview, which Soho Rep. Artistic Director Sarah Benson directs, and which the downtown Manhattan theater presents in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Due to unforeseen personal circumstances, Williams is unable to continue.The production now runs at Soho Rep. June 2 - July 8, with opening now set for Sunday, June 17. 

Executive producers Viola Davis and Julius Tennon have teamed up with XCON Productions and Lincoln Square Productions for the powerful, new documentary series, “The Last Defense,” premiering TUESDAY, JUNE 12 (10:00–11:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network.

New Dramatists, Tony® Honor recipient and the nation's premier playwright development laboratory, just honored Tony®and Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington at its 69th Annual Spring Luncheon tribute. Washington, currently starring on Broadway in The Iceman Cometh, directed by George C. Wolfe, received New Dramatists' 2018 Distinguished Achievement Award. Tributes to Mr. Washington and performances were presented by three-time Grammy Award-winner Branford Marsalis with bassist Noah Jackson, Tony®Award-winners George C. Wolfe and Stephen McKinley Henderson, Constanza Romero (August Wilson Estate), and Pulitzer Prize finalist and New Dramatists resident playwright Kristoffer Diaz (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity).

According to Variety, ABC has renewed the Viola Davis drama How to Get Away with Murder for a fifth season. 

New Dramatists, Tony® Honor recipient and the nation's premier playwright development laboratory, will honor Tony®and Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington at its 69th Annual Spring Luncheon tribute. Washington, currently starring on Broadway in The Iceman Cometh, directed by George C. Wolfe,will receive New Dramatists' 2018 Distinguished Achievement Award on Tuesday, May 15 at the New York Marriott Marquis. Tributes to Mr. Washington and performances will be presented by three-time Grammy Award-winner Branford Marsalis with bassist Noah Jackson, Tony®Award-winners George C. Wolfe and Stephen McKinley Henderson, Constanza Romero (August Wilson Estate), and Pulitzer Prize finalist and New Dramatists resident playwright Kristoffer Diaz (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity).