Alec Baldwin, Betty Gilpin and David Costabile join Oscar Isaac Netflix drama / Queen Latifah joins The Voice / Jimmy Fallon to go dark for Stephen Colbert's last show
PLUS: ABC reveals its fall schedule: No Bachelor franchise, High Potential and Shifting Gears will return at midseason.
Alec Baldwin, Betty Gilpin and David Costabile join Oscar Isaac’s Netflix Las Vegas drama The Roman
The untitled series from Billions creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien now has a title: The Roman. Set in the high-stakes, sharp-elbowed present-day Las Vegas casino business, Isaac stars as Robert “Bobby Red” Redman, “president of the hottest hotel casino in town, who has to make some long odds moves to try and secure his position and take more ground.” Baldwin will play Paul “Primo” Clark, “a legendary and flint-eyed business technician, Primo is the longtime chairman of the organization and a surrogate father figure to Bobby who isn’t afraid to let his protégés fight for his favor.” Former GLOW star Gilpin is returning to the streamer as Marla Blake, “Bobby’s formidable wife and a brilliant, highly connected lawyer, who knows how to navigate the town’s darkest corners just as well as her husband.” Former Billions star Costabile is reteaming with Koppelman and Levien as Bill Saverick, “the operator of a rival casino, Saverick is a longtime associate of Bobby’s who often finds himself caught between being a loyal friend and a target of the town’s aggressive business maneuvers.” This will not be the first time Baldwin has played a casino boss. Baldwin earned an Oscar and Golden Globes nomination for playing casino manager and partner Sheldon “Shelly” Kaplow in the critically acclaimed 2003 film The Cooler.
ABC reveals its fall schedule: No Bachelor franchise, High Potential and Shifting Gears will return at midseason
“Keeping with the stability theme in the other broadcast schedules released so far, ABC too went for minimum changes, keeping multiple nights intact,” says Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva. “But the one major move the network has made is pretty bold — it has left its No. 1 series, High Potential, off the fall schedule, keeping the hit crime drama starring Kaitlin Olson on the bench for midseason.” The Rookie and Will Trent will again at midseason. Andreeva adds: “And for the first time since before the pandemic, there will be no Bachelor-branded series on ABC’s fall schedule amid the turmoil surrounding the most recent installment of The Bachelorette.” Meanwhile, two series that premiered this spring, R.J. Decker and the Scrubs reboot, will return in the fall. “With Scrubs given a 10-episode Season 2 order, Shifting Gears is expected to succeed it alongside Abbott Elementary in midseason where its return ‘will be very prominently featured alongside,” the high-profile sports and entertainment specials at the start of the year to promote it,” says Andreeva.
Why ABC renewed R.J. Decker and picked up The Rookie: North when it appeared to have room left for one more show
“Early on, it looked like it may be one slot that would go to either the freshman drama series starring Scott Speedman or the drama pilot starring Jay Ellis so ABC could keep the volume of scripted shows flat year to year,” says Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva. “It was touch and go for awhile, with the decision coming down to the wire.” Ari Goldman, ABC’s scheduling chief, tells Deadline: “Yeah, we had a lot of discussion heading into scheduling meetings and throughout that week about both of these shows. We are thrilled that not only we were able to renew R.J., but also that we’re adding to our slate for the second straight year with Rookie: North, that’s something that no other network can say heading into this upfront week.”
Queen Latifah joins The Voice as a coach
The Grammy winner will join Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine and fellow newcomer Riley Green on Season 30 of the NBC reality show. Latifah was previously a guest judge on America’s Got Talent.
Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show joins Jimmy Kimmel Live! in airing a rerun vs. Stephen Colbert’s final The Late Show
In what NBC is calling “a sign of late-night solidarity,” The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon will go dark on Thursday, May 21, as Colbert signs off from CBS after 11 years. Fallon, who is usually off Fridays, will return the next night for a new episode.
Stephen Colbert’s Strike Force Five reunion on The Late Show was wonderful and yet bittersweet
“Seeing these four men from Colbert’s past show up to support him this way made the whole thing really feel like the end for the first time,” says Andrew Sanford of Colbert reuniting on The Late Show last night with Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver. “It was like a character in a sitcom running into old guest stars in the last two or three episodes of the show. It felt like a sendoff, which sucks. But, if he’s got to go, at least he’s going out with a bang, and by letting us know who among them has the highest rating on Wikifeet. Still, just because Colbert’s show is ending doesn’t mean Strike Force Five is. One of the most exciting parts of the interview (aside from Jon Stewart being named designated survivor, should anything happen) was the announcement that a special video episode of their podcast would be recorded immediately after they were done. It will go up on Wednesday, and I could not be more excited to see what they talk about. There were certainly a few shots fired on Colbert, but I have a feeling that they will be a bit more free-wheeling when it comes to what they put on their own YouTube channel.”
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Stephen Colbert’s Strike Force Five reunion was funny, warm — and pointed: “As these five talented men traded jibes and stories like old college friends, drawing laughs from the audience and from one another, it only underscored how separate—sadly separate—Trump and his entourage are from some of the best times people can have watching television,” says Bill Carter. “Watching that engaging bonhomie must also have felt painful for those at CBS who understand how central a late-night show has long been to the identity and stature of a broadcast network. The new ownership clearly doesn’t care about that, because it doesn’t seem to value what a show like Colbert’s brings to the larger enterprise. Late-night shows are entertaining. They always have been; they still are. Unless you literally can’t take a joke. The guys who shared the stage last night did not look like terrorists, or dangerous in any way. They looked like five white guys of vaguely the same age and almost exactly the same height, wearing similar blue suits—except Fallon, who wore black. Guys who have fun together.”
The Late Show house band brought back three original members: Ibanda Ruhumbika, Eddie Barbash and Maddie Rice
CNN announces “flashdoc” special The Last Laugh: Stephen Colbert
Michael Ealy to play Vin Tanner in MGM+’s The Magnificent Seven series
The Reasonable Doubt and Power Book II: Ghost vet will take on the role played by Steve McQueen in the eight episode drama series based on the classic 1960 Western film. “Understated, sharp-eyed, and drier than a drought, Vin (Ealy) spent his early adulthood as a Pullman Porter — smiling on cue while passengers snapped their fingers for whiskey,” per Deadline. “When a gang held up his train, Vin talked his way into allowing him to join their gang. What followed was the freest stretch of his life, a found family, rough and loyal. It didn’t last. Now he drifts — watching everything carefully, reading people and terrain with uncanny precision. Underneath the dry wit is a deep longing to believe in something principled. He just hasn’t found it yet.”
NBC unveiled its peacock logo 40 years ago today
“In the history of broadcast network logos, NBC’s Peacock is relatively young,” says Variety’s Michael Schneider. “CBS introduced its ‘Eye’ icon in 1951, while the ABC meatball has been more or less the same (with some slight font alterations) since 1962. But although NBC first started using a peacock to promote color TV in 1956, the ubiquitous six-feathered Peacock everyone now identifies as NBC’s logo didn’t premiere until forty years ago today. The Peacock as we now know it was first introduced on screen on May 12, 1986, at the very end of the star-studded NBC 60th Anniversary Celebration special. The event, hosted by The Cosby Show stars Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Keshia Knight Pulliam, featured some of the most iconic NBC stars of all time: Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Johnny Carson, Jack Paar, Steve Allen and more. At the end of the three-hour special, a crowd of NBC stars gathered to sing a tribute song to the network — as they surrounded the new NBC logo, the first time that version of the Peacock had been seen.”
BET orders Lot Patrol, a comedy series about security guards working on a Hollywood backlot
“Lot Patrol follows a mismatched squad of eccentric security guards who patrol the chaotic backlot of a major Hollywood studio, where they wrangle unhinged actors, rogue crew members, and their own wildly dysfunctional personal lives,” says Deadline’s Rosy Cordero. “Lot Patrol will star DeRay Davis (21 Jump Street), Carl Anthony Payne (Martin), Tamera Kissen (White Men Can’t Jump), and Darius McCrary (Family Matters). The cast will also include Skeet Carter, TK Kirkland, Alex Thomas, Nick Nervies, Dawn Raven, Iyana Halley, and G Thang.” Writer/producer Manny Halley says Lot Patrol “shines a light on the people behind the scenes who keep Hollywood running, told with humor, heart, and a bit of chaos. It’s a fresh, culturally rooted take on the industry, and we’re excited to partner with BET to bring this story to life.”
Paul McCartney turned down his own Netflix roast
Before Kevin Hart agreed to be roasted as part of this year’s Netflix is a Joke Fest, “we did ask Paul McCartney at one point,” Roastmaster General Jeff Ross, who executive produces the roast, told Variety. “To me, that would be a fantasy roast. Paul McCartney doesn’t need anything, but a Paul McCartney roast would be good for the world. It would be so funny to me because he is so loved.”
Netflix launches “The Netflix Effect,” a website touting that it has contributed $325 million to the global economy in the past decade
In a promo and website, Netflix says it has “invested more than $135 billion in films and series — which have contributed a total of more than $325 billion to the global economy,” per Variety. “Those productions created more than 425,000 jobs plus over 700,000 additional extras and day workers, the company claims.” In a blog post Tuesday, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the website is “a comprehensive look at the economic, cultural and social impact of our films and series, and how it ripples out across economies, industries and everyday life, day after day, week after week.”
Super Bowl LXI will have two different Spanish-language telecasts across ESPN and Univision
ESPN will broadcast Super Bowl LXI on its own ESPN Deportes, but also sublicense a telecast for TelevisaUnivision’s Univision in the U.S. “We’re pleased to collaborate with TelevisaUnivision to expand access to Super Bowl LXI for Spanish-speaking fans across the U.S.,” said Oscar Ramos, vice president of digital content and ESPN Deportes, in a statement. “ESPN Deportes has a long history of serving NFL fans in the Hispanic community, and presenting Super Bowl LXI through multiple Spanish-language telecasts builds on that commitment.”
Rex Reed, acerbic film critic famous for his TV and movie appearances, dies at 87
The longtime New York Observer film critic, who died this morning, “reviewed films and wrote about movie stars in prose that was graceful and evocative but often also the literary equivalent of a poison-tipped dagger plunged between the shoulder blades,” Clyde Haberman writes in Reed’s New York Times obituary. Years before film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were talk show regulars, Reed regularly visited The Dick Cavett Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, starting in the late 1960s. Reed was a celebrity roaster on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast, he was a judge on The Gong Show and a panelist on To Tell the Truth. In 1986, Reed began co-hosting the syndicated At the Movies, replacing Siskel and Ebert, who exited after a contract dispute. He co-hosted At the Movies with Bill Harris through 1990. Reed played himself twice on Fox’s The Critic and was also known for his movie appearances, from Myra Breckinridge to 1978’s Superman, where he played himself.