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A largely forgotten prequel to Liam Neeson’s most beloved action franchise is finding success thanks to free streaming. Beginning back in 2017, the first season of Taken, which follows a younger version of Neeson’s unstoppable ex-Green Beret and CIA agent Bryan Mills, has audiences hooked as they flock to load up the series and delve into the early, but no-less action-packed career of one this fan-favorite action hero.

Exploring the origins of Bryan Mills, with Clive Standen cast in the Neeson role, the Taken series was developed by writer, producer, and former soldier Alexander Cary and ran for two seasons before being unceremoniously canceled in 2018. The Taken prequel series has now fought its way into the top 10 on the streaming platform Freevee, and you can check out the official synopsis below.

“Driven by personal tragedy, former Green Beret and CIA operative Bryan Mills specializes in deadly rescue missions --...

Freeform has put into development The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, a drama based on Taylor Jenkins Reid’s critically acclaimed novel, with Reid attached to pen the series adaptation, and Ilene Chaiken and Jennifer Beals (The L Word) executive producing. Fox 21 Television Studios, where Chaiken is under a deal, is the studio.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo the series follows Monique, a struggling 20-something journalist handpicked by Evelyn Hugo, an iconic starlet from the Golden Age of Hollywood, to write her final tell-all book. Told in dual time periods, we follow both women at the precipice of adulthood in their 20s as they navigate career challenges, racial identity and sexuality, and find love. Evelyn’s influence pushes Monique to take risks and discover her true self, even as Evelyn evades the long-standing secret that irrevocably binds them together.

In addition to The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo,...

Jennifer Beals is set for a key recurring role opposite Crystal Reed and Maria Sten on Swamp Thing, the upcoming streaming drama series based on the DC characters created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson. The project, which hails from James Wan’s Atomic Monster in association with Warner Bros. Television, is set to premiere in 2019 on the DC Universe digital subscription service.

Written by Mark Verheiden and Gary Dauberman, Swamp Thing follows Abby Arcane (Reed) as she investigates what seems to be a deadly swamp-born virus in a small town in Louisiana but soon discovers that the swamp holds mystical and terrifying secrets. When unexplainable and chilling horrors emerge from the murky marsh, no one is safe.

Beals will play Sheriff Lucilia Cable. Tough as nails and pragmatic, Sheriff Cable’s fierce devotion to her son, Matt, is rivaled only by her sworn duty to serve and protect the town of Marais.

Frank Doubleday, who played the ghoulish, spike-haired henchman from John Carpenter’s sci-fi cult classic Escape from New York, has died at 73.

The actor’s wife Christina Hart confirmed his death on Facebook, and told The Hollywood Reporter that he died on March 3 of complications from esophageal cancer at his home in Los Angeles.

Doubleday is survived by his two famous daughters Portia Doubleday, who stars in Mr. Robot, and Kaitlin Doubleday, who has appeared on Nashville and Empire, as well as his mother, Jane.

“This cool, confident, intelligent looking man, was my partner for 40 years,” she wrote on Facebook,...

Frank Doubleday, who played a henchman in “Escape From New York,” died on March 3, his wife and companion Christina Hart confirmed in a Facebook post. Doubleday was 73.

Doubleday is best known for playing Romero in John Carpenter’s sci-fi cult classic, which starred Kurt Russell and Lee Van Cleef. Doubleday died on March 3 of complications from esophageal cancer at his home in Los Angeles, Hart told The Hollywood Reporter.

“John gave me total creative freedom. The voice and the look were my ideas,” Doubleday said in an interview about playing Romero. “I did a lot of character work and worked on Romero through voice, costume and movement. All my behavior was improvised. Once a character is created and is in one’s skin, the behavior just comes naturally. … If the character has been internalized, it all just happens.”

Also Read: Robert Rodriguez to Direct 'Escape From New York' Remake

Doubleday...

Frank Doubleday, a specialist in portraying villains who turned in a pair of especially creepy performances in the John Carpenter films Assault on Precinct 13 and Escape From New York, has died. He was 73.

Doubleday died March 3 of complications from esophageal cancer at his home in Los Angeles, his wife and companion of 40 years, actress Christina Hart (Charley Varrick), told The Hollywood Reporter. She revealed the news of his death just this week.

He also is survived by his daughters, actresses Portia Doubleday (Mr. Robot) and Kaitlin Doubleday (Nashville, Empire), and his mother, Jane.

In his first collaboration with Carpenter ...

Frank Doubleday, a specialist in portraying villains who turned in a pair of especially creepy performances in the John Carpenter films Assault on Precinct 13 and Escape From New York, has died. He was 73.

Doubleday died March 3 of complications from esophageal cancer at his home in Los Angeles, his wife and companion of 40 years, actress Christina Hart (Charley Varrick), told The Hollywood Reporter. She revealed the news of his death just this week.

He also is survived by his daughters, actresses Portia Doubleday (Mr. Robot) and Kaitlin Doubleday (Nashville, Empire), and his mother, Jane.

In his first collaboration with Carpenter ...

Take a bow, Taken: NBC has officially cancelled the action thriller after a two-season run, TVLine has learned.

Taken thus far this season has averaged a 0.4 demo rating along with 2.8 million total weekly viewers (in Live+Same Day numbers), down dramatically from its freshman average (1.0/5.1 mil) and leading to its upcoming Saturday burn-off. In the demo, it stands as NBC’s lowest-rated drama, while in total audience, it only outpaces bubble drama Timeless.

Based on the Liam Neeson hit film franchise, Taken starred Clive Standen (Vikings) as a member of an elite team of covert operatives who conduct dangerous rescue missions across the globe.

The NBC series Taken is back for Season 2, with a new team and a new focus. From executive producer Luc Besson, the thriller follows a young but deadly Bryan Mills (Clive Standen), a covert operative who goes on rescue missions that require his very particular and very dangerous set of skills, along with the help of his team – made up of former CIA spy Christina Hart (Jennifer Beals), Santana (Jessica Camacho), a rule breaker who believes that bigger is better, and Kilroy (Adam Goldberg), a black hat hacker. While at the TCA Press Tour for the NBC presentation, Collider …...

Season 2 of NBC’s Taken has added two faces to Christina Hart’s team, and TVLine has your first look at the new recruits.

RELATEDTaken Season 2: The Story Behind the New Team

As previously reported, The Flash favorite Jessica Camacho and TV vet Adam Goldberg (Fargo, The Unusuals) have boarded the action-thriller’s revamped ensemble, respectively playing Santana, a former Army quartermaster who was discharged for misconduct, and Kilroy, a grey-hat hacker who she sent to prison for hacking into the FBI.

As Season 2 opens on Friday, Jan. 12 at 9/8c, Bryan Mills (played by Clive Standen) — after defying Christina...

Adam Goldberg has joined the cast of NBC’s Taken, marking the second addition to the action-drama’s Season 2 rejiggering.

Weeks after the series was renewed for the 2017-18 TV season, TVLine reported that Gaius Charles (who played John), Brooklyn Sudano (Asha), Monique Gabriela Curnen (Vlasik), Michael Irby (Scott), Jose Pablo Cantillo (Dave) and James Landry Hébert (Rem) would not be returning, while Clive Standen (Bryan Mills) and Jennifer Beals (Christina Hart) will.

Explaining that the half-dozen excised characters had not been defined enough, “We just took a look at what the essence of the show was and tried to focus in on that,...

Call it Taken: Take Deux.

Back in June, TVLine broke the news that NBC pink-slipped six series regulars in the wake of the action-drama’s down-to-the-wire Season 2 pickup. The network also made a showrunner switch, tapping Person of Interest Ep Greg Plageman to replace Season 1 boss Alex Cary.

Per NBC Chairman Robert Greenblatt, the drastic overhaul stemmed from a belief that Taken “needed” a creative reboot. “There’s a better show in there,” the exec tells TVLine, noting that the “essence” of the series — leads Clive Standen (Bryan Mills) and Jennifer Beals (Christina Hart) — will remain in Season 2. “We love Clive and Jennifer,...

NBC’s Taken is adding a superhero to its depleted ranks, tapping The Flash‘s Jessica Camacho to join the drama’s rejiggered second season as a series regular, TVLine has learned exclusively.

As we previously reported, Taken is shedding six series regulars — Gaius Charles (John), Brooklyn Sudano (Asha), Monique Gabriela Curnen (Vlasik), Michael Irby (Scott), Jose Pablo Cantillo (Dave) and James Landry Hébert (Rem) — under new showrunner Greg Plageman. Clive Standen (Bryan Mills) and Jennifer Beals (Christina Hart) are the only two regulars returning.

Camacho, whose TV credits also include Sleepy Hollow and Last Resort, is set to play Santana, a scary-smart, rule-breaking former Army captain who possesses an acerbic wit and calculated bravado. Her forte is logistics.

Taken‘s 16-episode second season was recently bumped from fall to midseason to give Plageman more time to execute his new vision for the series.

The Season 2 cast of NBC’s drama series Taken is going to have a very different look. Only series regulars Clive Standen (Bryan Mills), and Jennifer Beals (Christina Hart) will return for the second season. The shakeup is tied to the show’s change in creative direction under new showrunner Greg Plageman; he succeeds Alex Cary, who developed the series and served as executive producer/showrunner on Season 1. Renewed for a 16-episode Season 2, the new iteration is expected…...

NBC giveth and NBC Taken-eth away.

On the heels of Taken‘s surprise Season 2 renewal, the drama’s ensemble is undergoing a dramatic overhaul, with six series regulars on their way out.

TVLine has learned exclusively that Gaius Charles (John), Brooklyn Sudano (Asha), Monique Gabriela Curnen (Vlasik), Michael Irby (Scott), Jose Pablo Cantillo (Dave) and James Landry Hébert (Rem) will not be back for the show’s 16-episode second season.

That leaves Clive Standen (Bryan Mills) and Jennifer Beals (Christina Hart) as the only two regulars returning.

RelatedNBC Fall Premiere Dates: The Voice and This Is Us Kick Things...

NBC this Monday served up Taken, it’s prequel, set in 2017, to the film franchise that started up in 2008. Will you stick around to follow the evolution of Bryan Mills’ certain grouping of abilities?

RelatedRatings: Timeless Closes Freshman Season With 3-Week Highs

Whereas Mills when we met him in the first Taken film was a retired CIA operative, here (with Vikings‘ Clive Standen succeeding/preceding? Liam Neeson) he only has his Green Beret past behind him, having served three tours in Afghanistan. He is making a trip home, via train, with his younger sister Cali, when he senses something isn’t quite kosher.

Four episodes were provided prior to broadcast.

In 2008’s minor classic Taken, Liam Neeson’s former covert operative Bryan Mills famously informs his daughter’s kidnappers “I don’t have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career.” Enter NBC’s Taken, in which we find out how Mills acquired said skills and what his mysterious career involved.

There’s just one glaring problem with all this. Taken (the movie) takes place in the late 2000s. Taken (the TV show) should take place in the late 70s then, but in fact takes place now. It doesn’t try to fuzz the setting, either, this is a tech thriller about hacked iPhones and stolen laptops.

About five minutes into the first episode I paused it to double-check I’d understood what this was about. But nope, the official series description says,...

Jennifer Beals has been cast as the lead in NBC’s “Taken” series. The “Proof” star joins Clive Standen in the series, which will serve as a prequel to the popular movie trilogy starring Liam Neeson. Beals will star as Christina Hart, the Special Deputy Director of National Intelligence who has taken Bryan Mills (Standen) under her wing. Cultured and powerful with a wealth of field experience, she oversees an elite team of operatives who take care of America’s national security emergencies. Also read: 'Taken' Prequel Picked Up Straight to Series at NBC In the 2008 film “Taken,...

Exclusive: Jennifer Beals is set as the female lead opposite Clive Standen in Taken, NBC's straight-to-series adaptation of the hit movie franchise. Written and executive produced by Alex Cary, who serves as showrunner, the Taken TV series is a modern-day prequel to the film franchise that depicts how Bryan Mills (Standen) developed and sharpened his particular set of skills. Beals will play Christina Hart, the Special Deputy Director of National Intelligence who has…...