CBS quickly renews Matlock after two episodes / Wheel of Fortune No. 1 / Baywatch star Michael Newman dies
PLUS: Netflix officially announces Beef Season 2, starring Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny.
CBS quickly renews Matlock after two episodes
The Kathy Bates-led Matlock reboot premiered on Sunday, Sept. 22 to strong ratings and CBS’ best series debut in more than five years. Yet CBS waited nearly a month, until its timeslot premiere last Thursday, to air the second episode, which also had strong viewership, paving the way for today’s renewal. “This reconceived Matlock was devised by Jennie Snyder Urman with a brilliant surprise plot twist, and we knew we had something very special the moment we saw the first episode brought to life by the incredibly talented Kathy Bates,” CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach said in a statement. “The audience reception and critical acclaim for it has been overwhelming. We can’t wait to get started on a second season.”
Netflix officially announces Beef Season 2, starring Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny
After Beef’s Emmy-winning first season starred Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, Season 2 will feature two couples and will continue to be billed as a limited series. “A young couple witnesses an alarming fight between their boss and his wife, triggering chess moves of favors and coercion in the elitist world of a country club and its Korean billionaire owner," reads the official logline. Deadline reported the casting of Isaac, Mulligan, Melton and Spaeny earlier this year, though Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway were originally eyed for Isaac and Mulligan’s roles.
Wheel of Fortune was TV's No. 1 most-watched entertainment program during premiere month
With Ryan Seacrest replacing longtime host Pat Sajak, Season 42 of the iconic game show "averaged 7.99 million total viewers from Sept. 9 to Oct. 6, marking Wheel‘s biggest premiere month audience in three years," according to TVLine's Matt Webb Mitovich, adding: "Year-over-year, that audience of nearly 8 million marked a 12% increase; in the 25-54 demo, Wheel of Fortune is up +3%. Wheel of Fortune also stands as TV’s No. 1 most-watched entertainment program, besting every series — including all primetime fare — during the month of September, across broadcast, cable and syndication."
A.J. McLean recalls working with Liam Payne on Netflix's Building the Band: "We had a lot of similarities"
The Backstreet Boys star hosted the Netflix music reality competition, featuring the late Payne, Nicole Scherzinger and Kelly Rowland as judges. “We really got to know each other very quickly. We had a lot of similarities, we had a lot of things and stories to talk about,” McLean told TMZ. He also went on to remember Payne, who died in Argentina on Oct. 16 at age 31, as an “absolute light” and an “absolute sweetheart.” “He was funny, lighthearted,” McLean added. “We really got to know each other very quickly. We had a lot of similarities, we had a lot of things and stories to talk about.”
Baywatch star Michael Newman dies at 68 after an 18-year battle with Parkinson's disease
The actor and trained lifeguard died Sunday "surrounded by his family and friends," said Matt Felker, who directed the recent Hulu docuseries After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun, which featured interviews with Newman. The actor played Michael "Newmie" for the first 10 seasons of Baywatch, appearing in 150 episodes — more than any other cast member except David Hasselhoff. "I got to see Mike the last time he was conscious and he looked (at) me and in typical Mike fashion said, 'You’re just in time,'" Felker tells People. When Baywatch ended its run, Newman — the show's only trained lifeguard — he continued firefighting until he retired after 25 years. Newman, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2006, spent recent years raising money with the Michael J. Fox Foundation to help find a cure for the disease.
Stephen Amell, Minnie Driver and Hamza Haq to star in Canadian crime streaming drama Underbelly
In the six-part series for Canadian streamer Crave, Amell plays Officer Henry Roland. "He finds evidence linking a case of missing illegal substances to his childhood best friend, Tommy Hawley, played by Haq," per Deadline.. "As Henry embarks on a mission to save his friend, a ruthless British crime family, led by matriarch May Ferguson, played by Driver, is also looking for the missing contraband and Tommy."
Bill Maher hit with defamation lawsuit from political activist Laura Loomer for promoting Donald Trump affair rumors
Loomer is suing the Real Time host for comments on his show “broadcasting with actual malice that Republican female conservative activist Laura Loomer has committed adultery with President Donald Trump.” On the Sept. 13 Real Time, Maher said: “I think maybe Laura Loomer is in an arranged relationship to affect the election because she’s very close to Trump. She’s 31, looks like his type. We did an editorial here a few years ago … it was basically, who’s Trump f*cking? Because, I said, you know, it’s not nobody. He’s been a dog for too long, and it’s not Melania. I think we may have our answer this week. I think it might be Laura Loomer.”
CNN sets Sanjay Gupta-hosted Ozempic special
Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: Is Ozempic Right For You?, premiering Nov. 17, "will see Gupta travel the world to speak to those directly involved in the drug’s discovery and creation, as well as people who have used it, with varying experiences," per The Hollywood Reporter.
Phil Hartman's hometown honoring him with a mural
The late SNL legend and star of The Simpsons and NewsRadio, who was shot and killed by his wife Brynn in a 1998 murder-suicide, is being celebrated with a mural in his hometown of Brantford, Ontario, Canada that will be formally unveiled on Nov. 4. The mural includes a "delicate purple ribbon near his lapel serves as a tribute to victims of domestic violence." Paul Hartmann, Phil's brother, said the mural was "a beautiful tribute to someone who is missed by so many. Phil would be very proud and humbled by this fantastic mural."
Smash musical to officially open on Broadway
The stage adaptation of the 2012-2013 NBC musical drama series starring Debra Messing, Jack Davenport, Megan Hilty, Katharine McPhee and Christian Borle will begin performances on March 11, 2025 with opening night scheduled for April 10.
Malcolm in the Middle's Frankie Muniz announces he's becoming a full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver
"I don't want to say it's a long time coming, but this has been a dream of mine for forever," says Muniz, who began racing in 2004 and started his professional career in 2006.
Kevin Costner's John Dutton continues to be a peripheral figure in Yellowstone's Season 5, Part 2 trailer
"This war is just beginning," says Dutton in the trailer, even though Costner isn't returning for the final episodes premiering Nov. 10.
Hulu unveils the trailer for Interior Chinatown
Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng and Chloe Bennet star in Hulu's limited series adaptation of Charles Yu’s bestselling 2020 novel of the same name, in which Yang plays Willis Wu, "a background character trapped in a police procedural called Black & White. Relegated to the background, Willis goes through the motions of his on-screen job, waiting tables, dreaming about a world beyond Chinatown and aspiring to be the lead of his own story. When Willis inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, he begins to unravel a criminal web in Chinatown, while discovering his own family’s buried history and what it feels like to be in the spotlight.” Interior Chinatown premieres Nov. 19.
Suspicions rise in Bad Sister's Season 2 trailer
The Sharon Horgan‘s dark murder-mystery returns to Apple TV+ on Nov. 13.
Olivia Rodrigo tells fans to "Let It All Out" in Netflix Guts concert film trailer
trailer
Rodrigo's Guts World Tour concert film debuts on Oct. 29.