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The Goodbye: Cush Jumbo leaving 'The Good Fight'

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Author: 
Michelle Rose / TV Media
Cush Jumbo as seen in "The Good Fight"

Cush Jumbo as seen in "The Good Fight"

The Good-Bye: "The Good Fight" actress Cush Jumbo has been playing the role of fan favorite Lucca Quinn since 2015, but it looks like this past season was her last.

Jumbo, who originated the role in parent series "The Good Wife," has announced she is leaving the CBS All Access spinoff. The news came just a few weeks after the makeshift season finale aired on May 28, after Season 4's 10-episode run was cut short by three episodes.

Said Jumbo in a statement: "I have had the most amazing time over the last five years working with Robert, Michelle and the crews of both 'The Good Wife' and 'The Good Fight.' I will miss them all so much but am so excited to explore pastures new. Due to the pandemic forcing us to shut down early, we weren't able to wrap up Lucca's story fully, and so I hope if schedules allow, I can return next season to do that."

The good news is that there will be a "next" season since CBS has already renewed the legal drama. But Jumbo's departure isn't the only one that will need to be folded into Season 5's "ripped from the headlines" storylines: Delroy Lindo ("Point Break," 2015), who stars as Adrian, also left the series to star in the ABC pilot drama, "Harlem's Kitchen." And the Jeffrey Epstein-focused Season 4 finale left many unanswered questions about the future of the firm and the mystery of Memo 618.

"It's been weird to not be able to finish the fourth season," co-creators Robert and Michelle King said in a statement. "It left the story in an even more absurd a place than usual. So we're thrilled that CBS All Access wants to bring 'The Good Fight' back for an additional season, and we know what story we're planning to tell. It's like getting the answers to the SAT ahead of time."

 

'Prodigal Son' returns: Fox has decided to cancel its freshman series "Outmatched," "Deputy" and "Almost Family." But don't worry, the network has handed renewals to most of its other scripted series, including the Tim Allen-led comedy "Last Man Standing" and the serial killer drama "Prodigal Son." And that last bit is good news for fans of actor Michael Sheen ("Masters of Sex").

"Prodigal Son" stars Tom Payne ("The Walking Dead"), Lou Diamond Phillips ("Longmire") and, of course, Sheen, who has garnered rave reviews for his performance in Season 1. The series is centered on Malcolm Bright (Payne), a brilliant criminal psychologist who knows how killers think -- especially since his father (Sheen) is a notorious serial killer known as "The Surgeon."

Where the series will fit in the 2020-21 schedule, exactly, is yet to be determined. Fox was the first network to unveil its fall schedule, and there was no mention of "Last Man Standing," "The Resident" or "Prodigal Son," which means they'll likely be midseason additions to the lineup.

In the meantime, Sheen has been surprisingly busy despite working from home. The Welsh actor recently reteamed with his "Good Omens" co-star David Tennant ("Broadchurch") for the BBC lockdown comedy, "Staged," in which the two play caricatures of themselves. Through a mix of self-shot footage and video conferencing, each of the six episodes follows the (fictional) cast of a West End theater production as they struggle to keep rehearsals going remotely.

Sheen and Tennant also reprised their "Good Omens" roles last month in a three-minute, lockdown-themed audio clip written by author Neil Gaiman to mark the novel's 30th anniversary.

 

Remember Attica: Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the Attica Prison uprising, and Showtime is already planning to commemorate the event with a new feature-length documentary from Emmy-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson ("The Murder of Emmett Till").

Scheduled to air in 2021, "Attica" will chronicle the deadly five-day prison riot that transpired from Sept. 9-13, 1971, at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York. The riot was a flashpoint in the fight for prisoners' rights and a catalyst for change, but at the cost of at least 43 lives.

Don't expect this documentary to be a simple chronicle of events, because Nelson is known for shining light into previously hidden corners of American history. And Nelson intends to frame the story of the Attica Prison riot within a larger socioeconomic and political context of racial and wealth divide.

"'Attica' is a film I've been itching to make for a very long time," Nelson explained in a statement from the network. "It's a dramatic story, with so many great voices that have not been heard. The uprising and its aftermath shaped the present in ways I think will be surprising to an audience. I'm thrilled to be partnering with Showtime on this project."

It should be noted that the project's lead historical consultant is Heather Ann Thompson, whose 2016 book "Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy" earned her a Pulitzer Prize and sparked a bidding war for the film rights.