American Idol’s new live social voting has been a disaster / Druski to host the BET Awards / Lanterns trailer was pulled over an expired music license
PLUS: ABC rejects Rachel Bloom-led comedy pilot Do You Want Kids?
American Idol’s new live social voting has been a disaster
Idol this season became the first reality show to take the leap and embrace social media voting. But fans have found the new voting method — which resulted in a delayed elimination due to a voting crash a month ago — confusing and frustrating, says Rolling Stone’s Philiana Ng. “Viewers are now asked to throw support behind their favorite contestants by engaging on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook,” says Ng. “For their votes to count, they must leave comments with the contestant’s correctly spelled name on specific pinned posts, up to 10 times each in individual comments, during limited voting windows — usually until the last commercial break during the show’s East Coast airings on Monday nights. Only those 18 and older are allowed to vote on social media, but it’s unclear how that is being policed. Social voting replaced the official American Idol app, which had been used as one of the main voting tools in recent seasons, before the app was discontinued following the last cycle. (Viewers can still text and vote on the American Idol website.)” Ng adds: “Scroll through the dedicated Idol pages on TikTok, Instagram (where the latest voting post on April 27 drew over 777,000 comments late that evening), and Facebook, and there’s ample evidence of people thinking they’re voting for their favorite finalists but leaving comments on incorrect (often old) posts, replying to someone else’s comment or their own in a thread, or simply misspelling the contestant’s name, effectively negating their votes.” Idol fan Alexa Rockwell is among those who found social voting confusing. “The rules weren’t clear, but at the same time, they were too specific,” she says. “A simple typo or extra letter could make it so a vote doesn’t count, and I know people would have a hard time finding which post to vote on.” As Ng points out, “the lack of transparency with regards to Idol’s social voting mechanism has led some to question the validity of the weekly elimination results.”
FCC chair Brendan Carr says early review of Disney-owned ABC stations is about DEI, not Jimmy Kimmel: “There was no pressure from the outside”
“This was based on DEI conduct, not speech,” Carr said today at an FCC hearing, denying the early review had anything to do with President Trump calling for Kimmel’s firing over his recent “expectant widow” roast joke “There was no pressure from the outside. There was no suggestion from the outside,” Carr said. “There was no call for agency action from the outside.” Carr insisted that the early review was all about Disney’s DEI practices. “You can’t discriminate based on race and gender, and there’s evidence that have been submitted that that’s what Disney was doing, and so that’s the timeline of the agency’s actions,” Carr said.
President Trump to nominate former Fox News opinion contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier as new surgeon general
Saphier, the latest Trump pick from the Fox News world, replaces Trump’s previous pick Dr. Casey Means, a wellness influencer who faced scrutiny over her qualifications and views on vaccines. Saphier, director of breast imaging at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s facility in Monmouth, NJ, and a regular commentator on both Fox News and Fox Business, was described by Trump on Truth Social today as “a STAR physician who has spent her career guiding women facing breast cancer through their diagnosis and treatment while tirelessly advocating to increase early cancer detection and prevention.” He added: “She is also an INCREDIBLE COMMUNICATOR, who makes complicated health issues more easily understood by all Americans.”
Druski to host the BET Awards
The 31-year-old comedian, actor and influencer will become the youngest-ever BET Awards host when he helms the annual ceremony on June 28. “It’s an honor to be the youngest host ever for the BET Awards,” Druski said in a statement. “I grew up watching the BET Awards and, to know the comedic legends that hosted before me set the bar so high, I’m just grateful to be a part of the history. But I’m still bringing my brand of comedy to the stage, so expect a little chaos, a lot of laughs, and some of your favorite Druski characters to pop out along the way.”
ABC rejects Rachel Bloom-led comedy pilot Do You Want Kids?
After renewing Scrubs and Shifting Gears, ABC has passed on its sole comedy pilot for next season. Created by Bloom and her husband Dan Gregor, with Rory Scovel playing Bloom’s husband, Do You Want Kids? “is about a married couple, Rosie (Bloom) and Alex Vasilescu (Scovel), who in one universe have a baby and in the other do not, and the many ways that huge decision alters their lives.” According to Deadline, the pilot was met with mixed reaction.
NBC and the TV Academy tap Jesse Collins Entertainment to produce the Primetime Emmys for the fourth consecutive year
“This now means Jesse Collins Entertainment will have gone through a full cycle of Emmys, having produced the kudocast for all four networks under the current ‘wheel deal’ (which expires after this next Emmys),” says Variety’s Michael Schneider. “In January 2024, the producers earned rave reviews for the 75th Emmys on Fox, hosted by Anthony Anderson. Nine months later, they were also behind the 76th Emmys on ABC, hosted by the father/son team of Eugene Levy and Dan Levy. Last year, the group returned for the 77th Emmys on CBS, hosted by Nate Bargatze.” The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards will air on Monday, Sept. 14 live on NBC and streaming on Peacock.
Starz orders Southwest Texas Black rodeo drama series
The untitled, one-hour series, which has been given an eight-episode order, has the following logline: “Infused with hip hop swagger and country soul, the series unfolds in Southeast Texas, where rodeo isn’t just what you do – it’s who you are. At the center are three siblings bound by the legacy their mother built and the unfinished business their father left behind. Driven by their own ambitions and drawn into each other’s orbit, alliances shift, relationships tangle, and nothing stays private for long.”
A Monarch of the Glen reboot is coming to PBS’ Masterpiece
A reimagining of the 2000-2005 BBC drama series “will return to the Scottish Highlands for a rich, romantic and humorous family saga rooted in legacy, love and survival,” according to TVLine. But while the original series followed London restaurateur Archie MacDonald as he was called back to Scotland to tend to his family’s crumbling estate, the new Monarch of the Glen centers on “high-flying London lawyer Isla Campbell” who returns to Scotland for her father’s funeral where “she discovers she has inherited a million-pound debt, a bank closing in, and a brother who refuses to let go of their ancestral home. Under the same roof for the first time in years, brother and sister will have to find a way to save the struggling estate before time runs out and they lose it for good.”
Lanterns trailer was pulled over an expired music license
HBO’s first-look teaser that was released on March 4 quietly vanished recently for a few days, prompting online speculation. But EW says the trailer was pulled due to an expired music license. The restored trailer now has an Aug. 16 premiere date for Lanterns.
“Unsavory details” of the Taylor Frankie Paul-Dakota Mortensen domestic violence allegations to be aired in court
Prosecutors recently announced that The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Paul wouldn’t face criminal charges after she and Mortensen were investigated for domestic violence. But she is still locked in a custody battle with Mortensen over their 2-year-old son, and the court has decided to make Thursday’s hearing public. “In court papers, Mr. Mortensen has said that abusive behavior continued even as Ms. Paul was on probation. He accused her of a “pattern of behavior where she becomes physically aggressive, prevents me from leaving and escalates situations to a dangerous level,” says The New York Times’ Julia Jacobs. “Ms. Paul has said in her own petition that Mr. Mortensen became increasingly possessive and ultimately violent as the premiere of The Bachelorette neared. Her court filing accuses him of threatening to report her to the authorities at the same time that he was pressuring her to resume their romantic relationship. Though they disagree on who bears the most responsibility, each side has described the relationship as plagued by a ‘cycle of abuse.’” Jacobs adds: “If further unsavory details about Ms. Paul and her relationship are released at Thursday’s hearing, it could affect how Disney executives view the future of her season of The Bachelorette. Her lawyers sought to prevent the court hearing from being streamed online by news media, but the court declined to grant the request.”
Summer House spinoff In the City filmed a new scene to address the Amanda Batula-West Wilson romance
“The reality series, filmed in Fall 2025, touches on Amanda Batula and Kyle Cooke‘s marital woes,” says Deadline’s Armando Tinoco. “However, the show had wrapped when Batula and Cooke announced their separation earlier this year, and when Batula and co-star, West Wilson, confirmed their relationship. Production for Summer House had already been completed when the bombshell of Batula and Wilson betraying Ciara Miller had dropped, but it was not too late for In the City. Cameras picked up for the spinoff to address the romance that shook the Bravoverse to its core and has been dubbed ‘Scamanda.’”
The Second Lady thriller series is in the works at Amazon, produced by Kevin Williamson
Based on author Irving Wallace’s bestselling 1980 novel of the same name, The Second Lady has the following logline: “When America’s beloved First Lady is abducted and replaced by a Russian double, both women must fight to survive—one navigating captivity in Siberia, the other infiltrating the White House to sabotage NATO during the G7 Summit.” American Horror Story vet Jessica Sharzer will adapt the book, while Dawson’s Creek creator Kevin Williamson will serve as executive producer.
Princess Diana’s secret tapes are coming to light in a new docuseries
The late Princess of Wales told her own version of her full life story just once — in 1991, on secret, taped conversations made with her close friend James Colthurst, which formed the basis of Andrew Morton’s book Diana: Her True Story. The five hours of unheard tapes will be used for a docuseries with the working title Diana: The Unheard Truth.
Amazon’s Bishop adds John Larroquette, Rob Yang and Erik Svedberg-Zelman
Ulrich Thomsen has also joined the thriller series starring Joel Kinnaman and John Malkovich.
Christine Quinn is returning to Selling Sunset four years after her dramatic exit
Quinn and fellow original cast member Heather Rae El Moussa, who went on maternity leave in 2023, are returning for the Netflix reality show’s upcoming Season 10.
Phillipa Soo and India Fowler join Off Campus
Both are joining the Amazon college romance series full-time for Season 2.
Netflix picks up, orders viral short-form series Minimum Wage
The ensemble workplace comedy set a local pizza shop from American High Shorts has been given a 28-episode order, with each episode running 12.5 minutes. Minimum Wage shorts have drawn more than 30 million views across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
Andy Cohen on Real Housewives of Miami: “It’ll be back”
Southern Hospitality star and diehard RHOM fan Michols Peña asked Cohen on Watch What Happens Live about the show’s fate after it was put on pause in March. “It’ll be back,” Cohen told Peña. “If it was my decision, it will be going all the time.”
Netflix’s mobile app adds a vertical video feed, but viewers will still have to watch shows and movies horizontally
The updated Netflix mobile app adds “Clips,” a vertical video feed “designed for the way you actually use your phone: quick, visual and easy to tap into something that catches your eye,” the streamer said, adding that it is aimed at “streamlined navigation and a visual, vertical discovery experience that feels right at home on your phone.”
Online influencers The Bucket List Family getting the animated series treatment
Former Paramount CEO Brian Robbins‘ Big Shot Pictures is developing a new animated series based on The Bucket List Family, AKA the Gee family (Garrett, Jessica and their three kids), who have traveled to more than 100 countries over the last decade, garnering millions of followers across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. The Bucket List Family has already released a children’s book, launched an app, and have their own “bucket list” eco-friendly island resorts. “The Bucket List Family has built a global audience of millions who don’t just follow along, they show up for everything Garrett, Jessica and the kids do,” said Robbins. “That kind of real, earned connection is exactly what great franchise IP is built on. We’re thrilled to be partnering with them to bring their adventures to life in animation and to build something that will resonate with families around the world.”
Amazon faith-based family drama It’s Not Like That, starring Scott Foley and Erinn Hayes, sets a premiere date
The “character-driven family drama about love, loss, and starting over” will be binge-released on May 15.
Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci honored in a joint Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony
The Devil Wears Prada co-stars and real-life in-laws (Tucci is married to Blunt’s sister Felicity Blunt) got Walk of Fame stars together this afternoon in a ceremony featuring Meryl Streep, Dwayne Johnson, Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jr.
The Bachelorette alum Katie Thurston undergoes double mastectomy surgery as part of her treatment for stage 4 breast cancer
Thurston’s husband, comedian Jeff Arcuri, posted that Wednesday’s surgery was successful: “Katie is out of surgery and everything went great.”
Watch Netflix’s trailer for Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano
The “historic” fight on May 16 will mark Netflix’s first-ever live MMA broadcast.
Netflix unveils the trailer for Murder Mindfully Season 2
The German black comedy thriller series returns May 28.