CBS orders mountain climbing reality show The Summit / Is Che Diaz leaving And Just Like That? / Faith-based series House of David is coming to Amazon

PLUS: Forest Whitaker to star in MGm+'s Emperor of Ocean Park.

CBS orders mountain climbing reality competition The Summit
Hosted by former Spartacus and The Shannara Chronicles star Manu Bennett, a native New Zealander, The Summit is based on the Australian reality show of the same name. It follows16 strangers as they set out on “a once-in-a-lifetime journey through the treacherous New Zealand Alps in an attempt to reach the peak of a distant, towering mountain,” according to the official description. “With their backpacks containing an equal share of $1 million, the group must traverse an exhausting distance in just 14 days in order to win the cash they are carrying. But not everyone will make it, as these strangers must work together to tackle the dangerous terrain, unforgiving Antarctic winds, heart-pounding challenges and gut-wrenching eliminations on their way to the peak. Tracking them along this journey is the ‘Mountain’s Keeper,’ who will surprise the trekkers with brutal twists and force decisions that complicate an already grueling ascent,” the press release continues. “Morals and relationships will be tested when they must decide what to do if someone falls behind, because if the group fails to reach The Summit in time, all the prize money will be lost." Watch The Summit's teaser.

Is Sara Ramirez exiting their Che Diaz role on And Just Like That?
On Tuesday, Ramirez posted a lengthy Instagram post denouncing the "duplicitous" entertainment industry amid the Emmy celebrations for "making blacklists of actors and workers who post anything in support of Palestinians in Gaza to ensure they will not work again." Ramirez added: "It’s wild how performative so many in Hollywood are. Even more performative than the last character I played." As Jezebel's Audra Henrichs notes, "Considering the curious past tense of 'play,' many are assuming we’ve seen the last of Che Diaz on AJLT. But the actor returned to the app on Wednesday morning with a slightly different message: 'Don’t let tabloids distract you from what’s happening in Gaza. Really nice try, though.' So...are they or aren’t they coming back??? In fairness, Ramirez’s onscreen love interest, Cynthia Nixon, hasn’t exactly been shy about her support for Palestine and she’s still expected to reprise her role—however, it’s considerably more difficult to axe one of the primary characters."

Forest Whitaker to star in MGM+'s Emperor of Ocean Park
On the drama series from John Wells, the Oscar-winning actor will play Judge Oliver Garland, a notable name in national politics and the judicial system as well as the leader of his family. “He is stern, intelligent, calculating, and proud. As a Black man in America, navigating unwelcoming and often hostile environments, he has formed a hard exterior—that he’s come to rely on as a shield. He is a devoted father whose commitment to his family simultaneously bolsters and undercuts his deeply and rigidly held conservative principles,” according to the official description. This will be Whitaker's second series on MGM+. He currently stars on Godfather of Harlem.

Faith-based series House of David is coming to Amazon
Amazon MGM Studios is partnering with The Wonder Project and The Chosen creator Dallas Jenkins on House of David, which "follows the once-mighty King Saul as he falls victim to his own pride. A prophet prepares to overthrow him — anointing the outcast shepherd boy David as a second king. As Saul’s fury grows, David navigates love, violence and politics in the court of the very man he’s destined to replace. Two kings. One Kingdom. The outcome is war." House of David will stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.

Dana Carvey returns to his and David Spade's podcast two months after his son's death: "Doing this and riffing with you is going to be very healthy for me”
“If you’re listening to our podcast right now, you probably know about my family’s loss,” Carvey said on their Fly on the Wall podcast while thanking people for their messages of support, two months after his son Dex Carvey died of an accidental drug overdose at age 32. “I thought about this over the holidays and decided to come back to the podcast because I think it’s a long day when you’re not working, and you get in your head.” Carvey and Spade decided not to have any guests for this week's episode. “Doing this and riffing with you is going to be very healthy for me as I recover, because I’m kind of on the pain train with millions of other people on this planet,” Carvey explained about his grief. “And you don’t know how long you’re going to be on it or when it will stop or when it will get better. But in the meantime, all this kind of stuff is very healthy.”

Jenny Slate joins Michelle Williams on FX's Dying for Sex
In the podcast-based series, Williams plays a woman diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer who leaves her husband of 15 years and begins to explore her sexuality. Slate will play a joyful and life-affirming who agrees to be the caretaker of Williams' character on her journey of sexual exploration in the face of death.

Jimmy Kimmel explains to John Oliver why losing outstanding talk show every year to him was easier than losing this year to Trevor Noah
“If you had any idea how much we — and when I say ‘we’ I mean the network talk show hosts, and you know who I’m talking about, all of our friends — complain about you being in our category,” Kimmel told the Last Week Tonight host, whose show was moved to a different category this year, on Jimmy Kimmel Live! “We’re like, ‘This is crazy, it’s not fair. Why are we in the category with him?' And they moved you out of our category. Guess what? We all lost again, which, in a way, hurt a whole lot more.” Oliver responded: "At least when I was there there was an excuse and you could all think you were second. It was a healthier situation." To which Kimmel admitted: "I think we made a terrible mistake."
ALSO:

• Trevor Noah offers proof that his show, and not John Oliver's, won the Emmy

• John Oliver joked to Jimmy Kimmel that he butts heads with HBO lawyers assigned to his show mostly because of one issue

• Oliver on beating SNL head-to-head at the Emmys: "I don’t really think of it that way...The whole thing just feels very confusing"

Taylor Tomlinson's After Midnight has a deliberately low-key premiere on CBS
“I’m Taylor Tomlinson and this is After Midnight, where three comedians enter, one wins and two will regret participating,” the comedian said in opening the first episode of the late-night game show, which was taped Tuesday at Paramount Studios (in contrast to James Corden's The Late Late Show, which was filmed at Television City three miles away). According to Variety's Michael Schneider, "the decision to keep the After Midnight premiere lowkey is by design: Allow the new show to find its voice over the next few weeks, prior to the Super Bowl and return of first-run scripted series in February, when more eyeballs will be back at the broadcast networks."

HBO boss weighs in on Pedro Pascal's injured arm, says it’s too early to greenlight Big Little Lies Season 3
“Where you have all these stars, you’ve got to get their schedules in line, we have to get it written,” HBO's Casey Bloys tells Variety of Big Little Lies Season 3. “So, there’s a lot that needs to be done. It’s very early stages right now. The entire cast is doing shows and movies, and everybody’s very busy. But it’s a very special group. They love working together. And when they land on an idea, I believe they will make it happen. We’re excited when they’re ready, and we will take those steps when they’re ready.” As for how The Last of Us plans to work with Pascal's injured shoulder as filming begins soon on Season 2, Bloys says: “I think they figured out a way. I can’t tell you exactly what the production plan is. But I know that they have taken that into account. I don’t even know the exact nature of the injury, but I know that production has figured out a way to work around it.”

Pauly Shore to fulfill his dream of starring in a Richard Simmons biopic, even if it isn't with the fitness guru's blessing
Last September, Shore responded to a viral meme showing how similar him and Simmons looked. He also told TMZ Live that he was determined to get Simmons' blessing for a biopic. Deadline reports today that a movie starring Shore as Simmons is "Simmons is in development at The Wolper Organization, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Additional casting is currently underway." The news comes as the release of a trailer for a short called The Court Jester, starring Shore as Simmons. The Court Jester will premiere as part of the Sundance Film Festival. Amid the movie news, Simmons' rep reiterated that the fitness guru has no connection to the movie and that he might not even be aware that it's being made.

Disney+'s scrapped Lizzie McGuire reboot would've featured rebound sex
Writer Jonathan Hurwitz revealed on TikTik just how adult the Lizzie McGuire series, which was scrapped three years ago over its mature content, would've been.

A Build-A-Bear children's animated series is in the works
Titled Kabu ("cub" Japan's kawaii culture) and aimed at kids ages 7 to 11, the Build-A-Bear series is described as a “stylized, colorful new offering with a fun ensemble cast of a variety of ‘stuffed animal’ friends,” with the creative influenced by the popularity of kawaii styling and each episode utilizing “an entertaining, sometimes ‘wacky’ way of exploring concepts ranging from creative problem solving to friendship where the viewer goes on adventures with the cadre of critters who learn that working together and staying positive leads to the best result.”

CNN joins ABC in canceling its Republican primary debate
Next Sunday's debate was canceled due to only one candidate agreeing to participate. The news follows ABC News' decision to cancel its debate on Thursday. Instead, CNN will host a town hall with candidate Nikki Haley.

Ed O'Neill tells Modern Family son Jesse Tyler Ferguson about nearly joining the mob
On Ferguson's Dinner's on Me podcast, O'Neill recalled how he considered a life of organized crime in the late 1960s before heading to New York to pursue a career in acting.

Game of Thrones creators reveal the one thing they'd change about the show
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss say they regret not bringing Mord the Jailer, who famously tormented the imprisoned Tyrion Lannister in the Sky Cells at the Eyrie, back for more scenes.

HGTV renews Fix My Frankenhouse
The home renovation reality show starring husband-and-wife team Denese and Mike Butler has been picked up for an eight-episode second season.

Paramount+ sets premiere date for The Family Stallone Season 2
The Sylvester Stallone family docuseries returns Feb. 21.

Peacock's The Tattooist of Auschwitz reveals premiere date and first-look photos
The drama series based on Heather Morris' bestselling novel featuring a cast that includes Harvey Keitel and Melanie Lynskey premieres May 2.

Meet the cast of Love Is Blind Season 6
The 30 singles will make their debut on Valentine's Day.

The Vince Staples Show gets a Netflix premiere date and trailer
The rapper's meta comedy series premieres Feb. 15. "Who’s Vince Staples? Well, that’s a tricky question," reads the synopsis. "He’s kind of famous, but he’s not. He’s kind of rich, but he’s not. He’s also kind of a criminal. But he’s…not? Follow him on his daily adventures, where anything that can go wrong usually does."

Jacob Elordi trips and falls in his first SNL promo
The Euphoria star hosts the first Saturday Night Live episode of 2024 with musical guest Reneé Rapp.

Christian Dior and Coco Chanel face-off in Apple TV+'s The New Look trailer
Ben Mendelsohn plays Dior and Juliette Binoche portrays Chanel in the 10-episode historical drama focuses on the period during and right after the World War II Nazi occupation of Paris. The New Look premieres Feb. 14.

Watch Chrissy Teigen and Dave Chang in Freeform's Chrissy & Dave Dine Out trailer
They'll be joined by Joel Kim Booster as they visit restaurants with celebrities. Chrissy & Dave Dine Out premieres Jan. 24.