Hope everyone in the U.S. enjoys a happy and safe Fourth of July holiday! Meanwhile, here's the latest news of crime dramas on air and screen:

MOVIES

If you're rained in on the Fourth holiday (as we will likely be here in the Mid-Atlantic) or if you're just in more of a stay-at-home frame of mind, grab some popcorn, fire up the TV/Roku/FireStick and check out Variety's list of "15 Patriotic Movies to Watch on Independence Day."

Daniel Craig is in talks to star opposite Halle Berry in Mustang director Deniz Gamze Erguven’s English-language debut Kings. The project, set against a backdrop of rising tensions in Los Angeles during the Rodney King trial in 1992, has Craig playing a loner who lives in South Central who befriends and falls in love with Berry’s character, a tough, protective mother who looks after a group of kids. When the riots explode in the city, Craig’s character helps Berry try and track down the kids from the worst of the violence.

The next Kingsman film, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, has added Vinnie Jones to its all-star cast. His role in Kingsman is being kept under wraps but he will join returning cast members Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Sophie Cookson, Colin Firth, and Edward Holcroft. The sequel also welcomes Kingsman rookies Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry, Elton John, Channing Tatum, and Pedro Pascal to the cast. The movie will continue Eggsy’s (Egerton) spy adventures as he and Merlin (Strong) head to the U.S. to team up with the "Statesman" after the destruction of Kingsman HQ at the hands of evil mastermind Poppy (Moore).

Lionsgate has released the trailer for The 9th Life of Louis Drax, the new thriller from Alexandre Aja (High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes). Based on Liz Jensen‘s best-selling novel of the same title, the story follows a psychologist who finds himself drawn into a mystery of a young boy who has suffered a near-fatal fall. The film stars Jamie Dornan, Sarah Gadon, Aaron Paul and Aiden Longworth.  

TELEVISION

Paulist Productions optioned James Reston Jr.’s book The Innocence of Joan Little: A Southern Mystery (originally an iUniverse title) published in 1977 by Time Books. The story centers on the landmark trial and acquittal of Joan Little, a young black woman who stabbed her white jailer/rapist and was tried for capital murder in 1974, drawing international attention regarding a woman’s right to kill a rapist in self-defense, civil rights, prisoners’ rights and capital punishment.

Sundance TV renewed Hap and Leonard for a second season. The series is based on the crime novel series by Joe Lansdale and centers on Hap Collins (James Purefoy), a former '60s idealist and an ex-con, and Leonard Pine (Michael K. Williams), a gay Vietnam vet. In the second season, when the buddy duo and sometime crime solvers discover the skeleton of an infant wrapped in child pornography under the floorboards of Leonard's deceased uncle's home, they go on a mission to clear his name.

Felicity Huffman has joined Regina King as the second cast member to sign on for the upcoming third installment of John Ridley’s praised ABC anthology series, American Crime.

This year's ComicCon, to be held in San Diego from July 21 to July 24, will feature cast and production members from shows including Bones, Blindspot, Lucifer, Gotham, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, 24: Legacy, and Prison Break, among many more.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO

PBS' Tavis Smiley welcomed Walter Mosley to talk about his latest Easy Rawlins mystery, Charcoal Joe.

Authors on the Air host Pam Stack featured author Owen Luakkanen, whose 2012 debut, The Professionals, earned rave reviews from critics and readers alike.

The latest podcast fronm Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine features novelist and short-story writer Brendan DuBois, a contributor to the 'zine for twenty years, who reads his tale "The Lake Tenant" (EQMM November 2015), a finalist in EQMM's annual Readers Award competition.