CBS may spin off The Equalizer with two leads / Netflix claims 108 million viewers watched Paul-Tyson / Newt Gingrich to tell stories of immigrants on PBS
PLUS: Morning Joe's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski reoprtedly visited with Donald Trump because they feared retribution.
CBS may spin off The Equalizer with two leads
The Queen Latifah-led CBS crime drama, currently in its fifth season, will air an episode this spring (Episode 16) that could lead to a spinoff series, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, who adds: "Casting is underway for the roles: a skilled younger female martial artist, weapons expert and criminologist with a secret origin story who turns to McCall (Queen Latifah) for help, and an older male former top CIA operative. (It is unclear whether he and McCall know each other from their time at the agency.) Both are guest-star roles with series regular options aimed at the potential spinoff. If the offshoot goes forward, its two-hander format would be a departure from the original 1985 Equalizer series, the current CBS reboot as well as the movie franchise, all of which had a single lead, male (first series and movies) and female (the Queen Latifah version)." Andreeva stresses that the episode isn't a backdoor pilot. CBS did something similar last season with Fire Country, which is spinning off a Sheriff Country series starring Morena Baccarin.
Netflix claims 108 million viewers worldwide watched Jake Paul-Mike Tyson boxing match
"Those figures are based on U.S. viewing tallies from analytics company TVision and Netflix’s first-party data for the rest of the world," says The Hollywood Reporter's Rick Porter. "The 108 million figure comes two days after Netflix said 60 million of its member households worldwide (about one of every five subscription holders) watched the bout, with a peak of 65 million concurrent streams." The 108 million is for the Paul-Tyson bout only. "In Netflix’s standard metric of views (total viewing divided by run time), the full event racked up 46.6 million from Friday through Sunday, easily the biggest total to date for a Netflix live presentation over that length of time," says Porter.
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Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert mock Netflix's Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight: “Was that a fight? It felt more like a disagreement than a fight," said Kimmel. “According to Netflix, more than 60 million households streamed or attempted to stream what is being called the most-watched instance of elder abuse since Joe Biden debated Donald Trump.” On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert showed a fake ad for "Jake Paul's Punch Out."
Peyton Manning used the Manningcast to take a jab at the Paul-Tyson fight
Morning Joe's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski reportedly visited with Donald Trump because they feared retribution
"In private conversations, Scarborough argued that having face time with a world leader is a no-brainer," reports CNN's Brian Stelter. "Some of his MSNBC colleagues agreed, but there was more to the Mar-a-Lago meeting. According to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, Scarborough and Brzezinski were credibly concerned that they could face governmental and legal harassment from the incoming Trump administration. Knowing that Trump has threatened retribution against his perceived political opponents, and that Trump has promoted lies about Scarborough and Brzezinski in the past, the MSNBC hosts decided to reach out to the president-elect, the sources told CNN. The two sources generally agreed with Scarborough and Brzezinski’s impression of the situation at hand – namely, that the incoming Trump administration could use its wide-ranging powers to punish people deemed enemies."
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Jon Stewart accuses Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski of hypocrisy for their Donald Trump meeting: “Because you said he was Hitler," Stewart quipped on The Daily Show, adding: “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Republicans are playing chess, and the Democrats are in the nurse’s office because they glued their balls to their thighs."
Joe Scarborough brushes off backlash over Trump meeting: "Yesterday I saw for the first time what a massive disconnect there was between social media and the real world because we were flooded with phone calls from people all day, literally around the world, all very positive, very supportive, ‘I understand what you did…’ etcetera, etcetera," Scarborough said Tuesday on Morning Joe, per Mediaite. "But once in a while I would get a text or call from someone going, ‘Oh, man, I hope you’re doing okay.’ I would call them back, Eddie Glaude was one of them, I’d go: ‘Are you on Twitter?’ And he goes, ‘I am.’ I’d go ‘Well I’m not so we’ve had a good day. Mika had a wonderful event and it’s fantastic.’ All of us will do the best we can do and we’re all working towards a better America."
Shaquille O'Neal isn't under contract for Inside the NBA's move to ABC and ESPN
According to Sports Illustrated's Jimmy Traina, O'Neal's contract expires on July 1, 2025, months before Inside the NBA moves to ABC and ESPN. "O’Neal has a slightly different deal than his three castmates because they do other things for WBD, including the NCAA tournament," reports Traina. "Shaq’s deal is strictly for the NBA and it’s up in about eight months. While sources say Shaq wants to remain on the show, he’s frustrated that there has been congratulations and press releases hyping that Inside the NBA is remaining the same while he is currently not under contract to be with the company next season. Given the unique deal that will see TNT produce Inside the NBA while it airs on ESPN, O’Neal could have plenty of options to explore. He could remain with the show, while also cutting a deal with Amazon or NBC, who will become the NBA’s new partners next season. He could also sign a deal with ESPN in addition to WBD."
PBS teams with Newt Gingrich and wife Callista Gingrich to tell stories of immigrants
Premiering Jan. 14, 2025, the 90-minute documentary Journey to America with Newt and Callista Gingrich will feature the Republican former House speaker and his wife as they tell the story of "nine remarkable Americans who emigrated to the U.S." “We’re very excited to bring this film to PBS because we hope to have this conversation with people across America, regardless of where they live, their politics, or their background,” Newt Gingrich said in a statement. “Ambassador and Speaker Gingrich have created a personal and visual essay that asks us to pause and reflect on the journeys of immigrants who have contributed so greatly to the larger American story,” said Sylvia Bugg, PBS chief programming executive & GM of General Audience Programming. “These are stories of hardship, challenges, creativity, perseverance, patriotism, and joy, American stories that help us better understand who we are as a nation.”
Yellowjackets sets Season 3 premiere date for Valentine's Day
The first two episodes of Season 3 will be available on Paramount+ with Showtime on Feb. 14, 2025. The Season 3 premiere will air on Showtime on Feb. 16.
Jay Leno is wearing an eye patch after injuring his face in a nasty sidewalk fall
"I'm holding up fine," Leno told TMZ of his injuries, which he said were the result of falling on the sidewalk, hitting his head on a rock, while walking down a steep hill from his hotel. In addition to a black eye, Leno has a bandaged wrist and a swollen face. Leno said he proceeded with his performance and went to the hospital when he returned to L.A. Leno’s injuries come two years after he survived a fire with third-degree burns while working on one of his vintage cars.
Hollywood Squares revival reveals its celebrity players, including Jay Leno, Tyra Banks, RuPaul and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog
Joining host Nate Burleson and center square Drew Barrymore are Leno, Banks, RuPaul, Triumph, Julie Bowen, Yvette Nicole Brown, Whitney Cummings, Akbar Gbajabiamila, Tiffany Haddish, Oliver Hudson, Pete Holmes, Gabriel Iglesias, Jo Koy, Justin Long, Kevin Nealon, Andrew Rannells, Kristen Schaal, Sheryl Underwood, Jimmy O. Yang. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog is no stranger to Hollywood Squares.
Kevin Hart’s Die Hart adds Kathryn Hahn, J.K. Simmons, Tony Cavalero and Anna Garcia for Season 3
In Season 3 of Hart's Roku Channel series, premiering Dec. 13, “Kevin Hart is done with the action — what he really wants is critical success." Hahn will play one of the greatest directors, Hahn will play an Oscar-winning actress, Cavalero is an agent and Garcia is a clueless aspiring actress.
Caroline Dries, creator of The CW's Batwoman, to help lead Amazon's Legally Blonde prequel series
Dries, who’s also a veteran of The Vampire Diaries and Smallville, will serve as co-showrunner on Elle, which tells the story of a young Elle Woods in high school.
Netflix renews Physical 100, announces Love Is Blind: France
South Korean competition show Physical 100 has been renewed for a third season, which will feature contestants from across Asia for the first time.
Jaleel White rejected a Family Matters sequel series, wanted a Young Sheldon-esque sequel series instead
White, whose Growing Up Urkel memoir goes on sale today, says one of the Family Matters producers pitched him a sequel series in fall 2016, amid the popularity of "TGIF" revivals Fuller House and Girl Meets World. The sequel series would've had Steve married to his crush Laura Winslow, played by Kellie Shanygne Williams, and they would've had a kid named Steve Urkel Jr. "I was offered the chance to do a reboot of Family Matters, but I turned it down for several reasons. The script would have been the same, and the show’s dynamics no longer work in the world that we live in," he wrote, according to EW. White added of his pitch: "Instead of a sitcom reboot, 'cause none of them work, quite frankly, we make a single-camera show like Young Sheldon. We cast a good actor and a smart kid to play Jaleel, a twelve-year-old from Pasadena who lands the part of Steve Urkel. We depict all the challenges that came with growing up in the nineties and being the kid who played that character. The show could explore the dynamic between me and my parents, struggling to adapt to fame while trying to live regular lives."
Netflix teams with Shah Rukh Khan for a series going behind the scenes of Bollywood
The Indian actor and producer's son Aryan Khan is actually creating and directing the show. "Set against the backdrop of the Indian film industry, the series 'promises an audacious, unabashed, entertaining ride through the adventures of a charming, ambitious outsider navigating the glitzy yet tricky world of Bollywood,'" according to Deadline, which adds: "Bollywood is no stranger to shows that probe behind its own curtains, with Disney+ Hotstar earlier this year launching Showtime, which stars Emraan Hashmi as a media mogul under pressure, as just one example."
Nat Geo's 2025 slate includes The Real Finding Nemo and Surviving Pompeii with Tom Hiddleston
National Geographic Channel has also announced the Ryan Reynolds-produced Meet the Planets and the Princess Diana docuseries Diana: One Day In Paris, exploring the late princess’ tragic 1997 death.
J.K. Rowling slams HBO colleague John Oliver over his transgender women in sports stance
Oliver recently argued on Last Week Tonight that there are “vanishingly few trans girls” competing in schools and there is “no evidence they pose any threat to safety or fairness," per Deadline. In an X post over the weekend, Rowling noted that she was reluctant to attack Oliver because he once gave his time to her charity, but that his stance is one of an “undoubtedly intelligent person (who) spouts absolute bulls**t to support something he wants to be true, but isn’t.” As Deadline notes, Rowling and Oliver are "effectively colleagues" since they both work for HBO as she develops a Harry Potter TV series.
CNN to debut a Luther Vandross documentary on New Year's Day
Director Dawn Porter's Luther: Never Too Much will use the late singer's voice to tell his story "from his formative years in Harlem, appearing in the Apollo Theater house band and the first episodes of Sesame Street, through his ascendance to become the indisputable master of the love song.”
The Voice winner Sundance Head says he thought he was going to die after accidentally shooting himself in the stomach
"I was sure that I was going to die," the Season 11 winner tells TMZ of the incident that left him briefly hospitalized with a bullet still in his belly.
Shaun White teams with NBC Sports to showcase the Olympic snowboarder's new Snow League
The Snow League, a professional winter sports league founded by White that launches in March, is dedicated to snowboarding and freeskiing.
Alice In Borderland will be back in 2025
Netflix announced that the hit Japanese sci-fi thriller return for Season 3 some time in 2025. Alice in Borderland's Season 2 dropped in December 2022.
Dave Coulier defends John Stamos over bald cap photos that were roasted online
On Monday, Stamos posted photos of himself wearing a bald cap in solidarity with Coulier's fight against cancer. But many online quickly branded the bald cap photos as "insulting." This morning, Coulier responded to the backlash, writing on Instagram: “I’m sorry to see a bunch of negative comments as l’ve just begun my cancer journey. It’s our friendship (me and John) and this is how we are handling a very tough time. I’m a comedian and humor is what drives me. John knows how to cheer me up and I laughed out loud when he arrived wearing a bald cap — being a true loving friend and brother.”
Sean Hannity to replace Pete Hegseth as host of Fox Nation's Patriot Awards
The veteran Fox News host will helm the sixth annual Fox Nation Patriot Awards on Dec. 5th. The ceremony will “honor and recognize America’s finest patriots, including military veterans, first responders and other inspirational everyday heroes." The award show was previously hosted by Pete Hegseth, who departed Fox News last week to become President-elect Donald Trump's defense secretary.
Seth Rogen struggles to be a good guy studio boss in Apple TV's star-studded The Studio trailer
Bryan Cranston, Martin Scorsese, Charlize Theron and Ron Howard make cameos in the trailer for The Studio, which also stars Catherine O’Hara, Kathryn Hahn, Ike Barinholtz, and Chase Sui Wonders. The Studio premieres March 26.
Netflix unveils the trailer for Biggest Heist Ever
The documentary, premiering Dec. 6, tells the story of the married couple known as the "Bitcoin Bonnie and Clyde."
Netflix teases Italian period drama The Leopard
The six-part drama based on the novel of the same name by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa tells the story of the Prince of Salina’s realization his family is in danger as Italy moves towards unification and the old aristocracy is threatened. The Leopard premieres in 2025.
Hulu releases the trailer for Paris Has Fallen
The action series offshoot of Gerard Butler‘s Has Fallen film franchise premieres Dec. 6.