Anne Hathaway to lead Paramount+ true-crime limited series Fear Not / Craig Robinson to play Tracy Morgan’s rival / Hans Zimmer to score HBO’s Harry Potter series
PLUS: Pamela Anderson felt “yucky” sitting near Seth Rogen at the Golden Globes four years after he made Hulu’s Pam & Tommy.
Anne Hathaway to lead Paramount+ true-crime limited series Fear Not
The Oscar and Emmy winner has boarded a six-episode limited series based on the 2023 Vanity Fair article “True Crime, True Faith: The Serial Killer and the Texas Mom Who Stopped Him.” Written by Boardwalk Empire vet Bash Doran, Fear Not “tells the story of prolific serial killer Stephen Morin — accused of more crimes than Ted Bundy — and the unlikely bond he formed with Margy Palm (Hathaway), the last woman he ever kidnapped. Morin’s abduction of Palm, which started as a deadly captive situation, took an unlikely turn; one which included compassion, prayer, and profound courage,” per Deadline. “Palm’s devotion to her faith and her insistence that Morin could be transformed, became the impetus of a relationship that lasted long after Palm was returned to safety — until Morin received the death penalty.” This is Doran’s third greenlighted series in three months, following Hulu’s Foster Dade and HBO Max’s How to Survive Without Me. Fear Not will mark Hathaway’s first TV series since the 2022 Apple TV WeWork limited series WeCrashed.
Dakota Fanning to star as an undercover Treasury agent in an Apple TV thriller series
The untitled series, created by Homeland vet Alex Cary and executive produced by Fanning, will star the actress as “an undercover Treasury agent in a multi-billion dollar international conglomerate, with world-changing political and criminal tentacles, who becomes conflicted between her mission and a belief that her principal target, the heir apparent to all that corrupt power, is at his core a good man and worthy of her love,” according to Deadline. Fanning is coming off starring opposite Sarah Snook in the Peacock limited series All Her Fault.
Craig Robinson to play Tracy Morgan’s rival on NBC’s The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins
The Office alum will guest on the NBC comedy series as Jerry Basmati, the longtime rival of disgraced football star Reggie Dinkins, per EW, which adds: “The two athletes first butted heads when Reggie was the star player of the New York Jets, and Jerry still carries a grudge today. He’ll do anything to prove he’s better than Reggie, both on and off the field.”
Khandi Alexander to visit Abbott Elementary
The NewsRadio, CSI: Miami and Scandal vet is heading back to her comedy roots starting with next week’s episode. Details of her character are being kept under wraps.
Amazon officially announces Fallout Shelter, a Fallout-inspired reality competition show
Prime Video’s Fallout Shelter will feature “a series of escalating challenges, strategic dilemmas, and moral crossroads (in which) contestants must prove their ingenuity, teamwork, and resilience as they compete for safety, power, and ultimately a huge cash prize.” It will be set inside the bomb-proof Vault-Tec vaults seen in the series. Fallout Shelter comes from Studio Lambert, which also produces Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge.
Starz nabs U.S. rights to British limited series Amadeus, starring Will Sharpe and Paul Bettany
The five-part Sky series, adapted from Peter Shaffer’s 1979 stage play that was adapted for the 1984 Oscar Best Picture-winning film Amadeus, stars Sharpe as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Bettany as fellow composer and rival Antonio Salieri and Gabrielle Creevyas as Mozart’s wife, Constanze Weber. It will come to Starz later this year. “Amadeus is a perfect fit for our original series lineup — a bold, character-driven reimagining of one of history’s most intoxicating rivalries,” said Starz Networks president Alison Hoffman. “With Will Sharpe, Paul Bettany and Gabrielle Creevy leading an extraordinary ensemble, the series captures the passion, envy, and genius at the heart of Mozart’s world. Audiences continue to be drawn to Starz because of the power of our premium period dramas, and Amadeus delivers that in spectacular form.” Watch the trailer.
Hans Zimmer to score HBO’s Harry Potter series
The two-time Oscar-winning composer and his Bleeding Fingers collective have started work on the composition alongside the collective he co-founded with Russell Emanuel and Steven Kofsky. Zimmer, Kara Talve and Anže Rozman said in a statement: “The musical legacy of Harry Potter is a touch point for composers everywhere and we are humbled to join such a remarkable team on a project of this magnitude. The responsibility is something that myself, Kara Talve and Anže Rozman do not take lightly. Magic is all around us, often just beyond reach, but as in the world of Harry Potter, you simply must look for it. With this score we hope to bring audiences that little bit closer to it whilst honoring what has come before.”
Nick Reiner was placed in a yearlong mental health conservatorship in 2020
Reiner, who is accused of killing his parents Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, was placed in a mental health conservatorship that started in 2020 and ended in 2021, reports The New York Times, which adds: “The revelation of the conservatorship underscores the severity of the mental health challenges Mr. Reiner faced in recent years, issues that are likely to be central to his legal defense.”
Heated Rivalry inspires real-life hockey player to come out as gay
Jesse Kortuem, a real-life hockey player who competed in several hockey leagues — but not the NHL — tells Out magazine: “I know many closeted and gay men in the hockey world are being hit hard by Heated Rivalry’s success. Never in my life did I think something so positive and loving could come from such a masculine sport. I’ve struggled the last few weeks to put these emotions into words, fearing the impact on team dynamics, etc.”
Sophie Turner channels classic Lara Croft in first Tomb Raider TV series photo
The former Game of Thrones star channels Croft’s signature look from the early days of the video game series in the first look at Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s upcoming live-action series adaptation for Amazon Prime Video. “Turner sports the look first introduced in the original 1996 Tomb Raider game (and slightly improved in 1997’s Tomb Raider II), complete with Croft’s red-hued sunglasses, short shorts, a leather backpack, a teal tank top, and a braided ponytail,” according to EW.
PBS agrees with Jimmy Kimmel’s “We’re Still Here, Bitch” fake ad
“Shout out to jimmykimmel for our new tote bag design,” PBS responded on social media to Kimmel, who explained why many wrongly think that PBS went off the air after news of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting shutting down.
CBS Evening News says “Whiskey Fridays with Tony Dokoupil” was an “experimental mockup” and is “not a real title”
CBS News is pushing back on a mockup of “Whiskey Fridays with Tony Dokoupil” that went viral earlier this week after Zeteo’s Prem Thakker posted an image of it, complete with Jack Daniel’s branding. “This is not a segment for broadcast. This is not a real title. This is not a real sponsor. And this is not a real story,” CBS News said in a statement to People. “This is simply an experimental mockup the graphics team created with placeholder text for a potential non-televised, in-person private event.”
Susan Kelechi Watson boards High Potential
The former This Is Us star will play a woman from Daniel Sunjata’s Kardec’s past on the Jan. 27 episode.
The Rookie: North pilot casts Chris Sullivan
The This Is Us alum joins Jay Ellis on the ABC The Rookie spinoff. “Sullivan will portray Sgt. Nix, a recently promoted Watch Commander, whose heart still wants to be out on the street,” per Deadline. “If the project gets picked up to series, Sullivan’s role will be series regular.”
Fox’s Baywatch reboot announces an open casting call
The network and Fremantle have set an open casting call in Los Angeles, seeking actors and non-actors to play everything “from lifeguards and beachgoers to bartenders, buddies and love interests to rescuers and rescuees of all kinds, as well as additional characters yet to be written.” Adults of all ethnicities and genders are welcome to audition.
The Actor Awards will have a 1920s and 1930s Met Gala-inspired “fashion theme” on the red carpet
The first-ever “fashion theme” will be “Reimagining Hollywood Glamour From the ’20s and ’30s” on the red carpet of the March 1 Actor Awards, which will air on Netflix. The guidelines are part of the annual film and TV awards show’s new collaboration with fashion magazine Elle. “As the Actor Awards continue to evolve for a global audience, partnering with Elle allows us to elevate fashion as a central part of the show’s creative expression,” said Actor Awards showrunner and executive producer Jon Brockett. “It’s an opportunity to align the red carpet, the show and the culture around it into a single, cohesive moment.”
Pamela Anderson felt “yucky” sitting near Seth Rogen at the Golden Globes four years after he made Hulu’s Pam & Tommy
Anderson said on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show she left the Globes shortly after presenting Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy to Rose Byrne because she was sat near Rogen, who executive produced the 2022 limited series Pam & Tommy, about her and Tommy Lee’s 1990s sex tape scandal. Rogen also starred as the porn producer selling the tape. “Seth Rogen, he did that (series) without talking to me, you know Pam & Tommy, and that was another — I just felt like, ‘Eh.’ You know?” Anderson said, per People. “Like how can someone make a TV series out of the difficult times in your life, and ‘I’m a living, breathing human being over here. Hello.’” Anderson added: “I don’t know. It just felt like a little yucky. But eventually, hopefully he will, maybe he’ll reach out to me and apologize. Not that that matters.”
Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman to announce the Oscar nominations next week
The actors will reveal this year’s nominees in 24 categories, including the new casting award one week from today, Jan. 22 at 5:30 a.m. PT/8:30 a.m. ET.
Sesame Street posts more than 100 episodes on YouTube for free
The new YouTube collection includes recent seasons, episodes with iconic moments and the 1969 series premiere that introduced Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Kermit the Frog and more. “Our Street just got a little longer,” Sesame Street tweeted Thursday. “YouTube now has the largest digital library of Sesame Street content! For the first time ever, more than 100 full episodes of Sesame Street are available for free on YouTube. Watch everything from beloved, iconic episodes to recent season adventures across the Sesame Street and Sesame Street Classics channels. Whether you’re an old friend or a brand-new pal, we’re so excited to welcome you to our neighborhood on YouTube.”
Industry Season 4’s premiere up 20% over Season 3
The Season 4 premiere of the HBO finance drama drew 800,000 viewers in its first three days of availability, marking the show’s best-ever season opening performance.
Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association gets an Amazon premiere date
The four-part docuseries on the rise and fall of the ABA premieres Feb. 12 on Prime Video.
Bachelor Mansion Takeover gets an HGTV premiere date, unveils guest judges
The reality makeover competition series will debut on March 2 at 8 p.m., with new episodes streaming the next day on HBO Max and Discovery+. Among the guest judges are former Bachelorette Hannah Brown, Bachelor fan Nate Berkus, actress and Bachelor fan Rachel Bilson, former Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher, HGTV host and designer Christina Haack and former Bachelor Sean Lowe.
Phineas and Ferb’s third movie is in the works at Disney+ and Disney Channel
Co-creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh have come up with a time-warp-themed adventure story for their third movie, in which the very existence of Phineas and Ferb as brothers is threatened to be erased. “Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s latest time‑travel experiment backfires, erasing the moment Phineas’ mom meets Ferb’s dad — meaning the boys never become brothers and every day is merely adequate. As reality unravels and the future hangs in the balance, Phineas and Ferb must restore the timeline before it’s too late,” reads the logline.
Jimmy Kimmel Live!’s Guillermo Rodriguez launches a salsa brand
Jimmy Kimmel’s longtime sidekick has co-founded Guillermo’s Salsa, which will be available at Costcos in the Northeast beginning today.
Billy Eichner to release an audio memoir titled Billy on Billy
“I wanted the book to be released exclusively in audio so that my fans could get a better sense of my real voice and where I came from,” the former Billy on the Street star said of Billy on Billy: An Audio Memoir, which will be released on May 19.
Check out the first look Ryan Murphy’s FX series Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette
Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon star as JFK Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette in the nine-episode anthology series, premiering in February.
Zahn McClarnon is on the hunt for a trained killer in Dark Winds’ Season 4 trailer
McClarnon’s Lt. Joe Leaphorn is in a desperate search for a missing Navajo girl on the “dangerous” streets of L.A. for “a possible trained killer out there who wants to finish the job” in the trailer for Season 4, premiering Feb. 15.
Ted’s Season 2 trailer touts “Dirty Bear Sex”
The Seth MacFarlane prequel comedy series returns to Peacock on March 5.
Watch Netflix’s trailer for Mike Epps: Delusional
The comedian’s fifth Netflix special premieres Jan. 27.
Derry Girls creator’s How to Get to Heaven from Belfast gets a Netflix trailer and premiere date
Lisa McGee’s eight-episode comedy thriller series debuts on Feb. 12. How to Get to Heaven from Belfast will feature a reunion with Derry Girls star Saoirse-Monica Jackson.