Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is set to become an Amazon TV series / Amazon greenlights Carrie / Lorne Michaels producing a UK SNL
PLUS: Pride and Prejudice casts The Crown's Emma Corrin and Olivia Colman.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is set to become an Amazon TV series
Battlestar Galactica and For All Mankind’s Ronald D. Moore and Lucifer and The Brothers Sun’s Jason Ning are set to executive producer an adaptation of Wang Dulu's 1940s book series that was part of the Crane Iron Pentalogy. Ang Lee famously directed the 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a loose adaptation of the book series starring Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen that earned 10 Oscar nominations, winning three including Best Foreign Language Film. "Amidst stunning landscapes and spectacular action, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon follows Shu Lien and Mu Bai, two star-crossed warriors, as they struggle between forbidden love and the pull of modernity — caught between preserving their way of life or embracing a future together," says Deadline's Nellie Andreeva of the potential series, adding: "The film is part of Sony’s library as it was produced and distributed by the studio. The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon TV series originated a couple of years ago when Sony regained the rights to the books through a first-look deal with Vertigo and tapped Ning to adapt it as part of an overall deal. Moore came on board last year after returning to Sony TV with a new overall deal. It is one of two major Sony IP-based TV series projects the Battlestar Galactica creator has boarded since rejoining the studio, along with God of War, which also is set up at Prime Video."
Netflix's Pride and Prejudice casts Emma Corrin and Olivia Colman
The Crown alums are returning to Netflix, joining previously announced Slow Horses star Jack Lowden on the six-episode limited series based on the classic Jane Austen novel from bestselling author Dolly Alderton. Corrin has been cast as Elizabeth Bennet, Lowden as Mr. Darcy and Colman and Mrs. Bennet. “Playing Elizabeth Bennet is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Corrin said in a statement. "To be able to bring this iconic character to life, alongside Olivia and Jack, with Dolly’s phenomenal scripts, is truly the greatest honour. I can’t wait for a new generation to fall in love with this story all over again.” Netflix says Alderton's adaptation “will be a faithful, classic adaptation of the novel” from Alderton, who hopes audiences will cherish it “whilst inspiring a new generation to fall in love with Austen for the first time.”
Amazon greenlights Mike Flanagan's Carrie series
The Prime Video series based on Stephen King's classic 1974 horror novel is described as “a bold and timely reimagining of the story of misfit high-schooler Carrie White, who has spent her life in seclusion with her domineering mother. After her father’s sudden and untimely death, Carrie finds herself contending with the alien landscape of public high school, a bullying scandal that shatters her community and the emergence of mysterious telekinetic powers.” Variety reported earlier this week that Summer H. Howell is in talks to star in the title role of Carrie White, while Siena Agudong has been cast as Sue Snell.
Lorne Michaels will produce a British version of SNL launching next year for Sky
The London-based UK version of Saturday Night Live, expected to premiere in 2026, will be similar to its American counterpart, but with a cast of British comedians. As The Hollywood Reporter's Abid Rahman notes, "it’s been a long time coming for an official SNL adaptation for the U.K., despite the show boasting local offshoots in countries like Germany, France, Spain, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Finland and Poland — although it must be said, all the local versions were short-lived and went off the air some years ago. An unofficial, but heavily inspired by, version of SNL aired in the U.K. under the title Saturday Live on Channel 4 from 1985 to 1988 and then was resurrected for a short-lived run on ITV in 1996, as were a few specials. Saturday Live was notable as it showcased a number of U.K. comedians and comedy writers who would go on to have enduring success including Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Ben Elton, Harry Enfield, Patrick Marber, Morwenna Banks, Chris Barrie, Julian Clary, Emo Philips, Tracey Ullman, Craig Ferguson, Craig Charles, Josie Lawrence, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson."
Sony tentatively wins legal fight with CBS to take over Jeopardy!-Wheel of Fortune distribution rights
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled today in Sony's favor after Sony Pictures Television sued last October alleging that CBS Media Ventures failed to live up to its contract to distribute Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune to local TV stations in the United States and entered into unauthorized distribution deals overseas. CBS countersued a month later. “The Court believes that Sony had the right, in its discretion, to terminate the distribution agreements in August 2024,” Judge Kevin Brazile wrote in his tentative ruling. “The evidence shows that the agreements limit licensing agreements to a two-year period, but that CBS had made a number of agreements in Australia and New Zealand for a longer period of time.” CBS Media Ventures responded in a statement: “This is only a preliminary ruling based on partial evidence, not the outcome of the full case. We’re confident once all the evidence is heard at trial, we will prevail on the merits. In today’s ruling, the court itself recognized the balance of harm tips in CBS’s favor, so we will ask the appellate court for a stay pending our appeal.”
Lifetime gets Steve Guttenberg to play a serial killer
Guttenberg will star alongside Jana Kramer and Rachel Stubington in the Lifetime “ripped from the headlines” film Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story.
Brittany Snow boards Hulu's Murdaugh Murders limited series
Snow will play Mandy Matney, "a journalist with a sunny smile and a suspicious view of the world," per Deadline. "When Mandy starts searching for a story with teeth, she stumbles upon the news of a girl missing as a result of a boat crash. Mandy uses her keen instinct to unravel the complicated layers of the Murdaugh family and ensure that the guilty party is brought to justice."
Check out Jimmy Kimmel's Hacks cameo opposite Jean Smart's Deborah Vance
Kimmel plays himself as Vance's antagonist as she launches a late-night show, telling her: "I just don’t want to see you end up like James Corden." Smart, who was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night, joked: "Seriously, we’re going to see the dark side of Jimmy Kimmel. No more mister nice guy.”
Shrinking adds Sherry Cola and Isabella Gomez
Good Trouble's Cola and One Day at a Time's Gomez will recur in Season 3 of the Apple TV+ series.
Everybody's Live with John Mulaney delivers its most accessible episode yet
"Make no mistake: Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney is still offbeat and often delightfully befuddling," says Dennis Perkins. "But over the last two weeks, whether intentionally or not, it seems to have hit a certain stride that one imagines would make it a bit more scrutable to the average Netflix viewer. It doesn’t hurt that Mulaney’s guest list for Episode 5 included a trio of recognizable faces in Bill Hader, Chelsea Peretti, and Jackass‘ Johnny Knoxville (who Mulaney states in all sincerity should be next in line for a Kennedy Center honor for his contributions to American comedy). And if the series’ conceit of tossing out an extremely loose organizing theme for the episode (this week it was 'getting fired') is as seemingly unrelated to the guests as ever, at least Mulaney finally explains of Everybody’s Live‘s topics, 'It’s just whatever I want.'" ALSO: David Letterman to return to John Mulaney’s couch next week.
SNL alum Cecily Strong becomes a mom
”It’s been a week and a day with my beautiful squirmy baby girl. I recognize all her little squirms and kicks from when she was on the other side of me and now I get to say 'see what I was talking about!'" Strong wrote in a lengthy Instagram post this morning, announcing she and her fiancé Jack have welcomed a baby girl.
The White Lotus' Jason Isaacs tells Andy Cohen: "I did not watch or base anything on anybody from Southern Charm"
"That's the end of that conversation — sorry," Isaacs told the Bravo honcho on his SiruisXM radio show. Isaacs' comments come weeks after he was asked by Variety if he based his performance as Southern patriarch Timothy Ratliff on Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel. "Funny enough, some of my castmates think I did," he told Variety. "Mike (White) did send me Thomas to look at before we started the show. His demeanor is interesting, because he comes from generational wealth, but his accent is wrong. The music of his accent is fine — it’s very different on Southern Charm from when he was campaigning politically. But a Durham accent has two completely different vowel sounds from Thomas." ALSO: Grey’s Anatomy star Jessica Capshaw says she auditioned for Leslie Bibb's White Lotus role.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers' Black Ranger Walter Jones isn't offended by his casting: "It wasn’t a mistake; it was a milestone"
Jones has responded to the headlines over former head writer Tony Oliver saying on this week's episode of Investigation Discovery's Hollywood Demons that it was a mistake to cast an actor of Asian descent as the Yellow Ranger and a Black actor as the Black Ranger. "While some choose to seek out the negative, I’ve always believed in focusing on the positive," Jones wrote on Instagram.. "I understand the impulse to address what might be seen as cultural insensitivity, but calling it a 'mistake' would dismiss the impact it had on countless people around the world who found inspiration and representation in TV’s first Black superhero — morphin’ into none other than the Black Power Ranger! It wasn’t a mistake; it was a milestone. It was an honor."
Olivia Munn briefly returns as a Daily Show correspondent after 14 years
Jon Stewart's former “Senior Asian Correspondent" crashed Desi Lydic's monologue, serving as a correspondent before returning as Wednesday's guest.
MobLand has a record debut week for Paramount+
The Guy Ritchie series starring Pierce Brosnan, Tom Hardy and Helen Mirren drew 8.8 million viewers in its first seven days.
All American books WWE's Trick Williams for the Season 7 finale
Williams will guest as the athletic director of South Crenshaw High.
Hulu recruits Rickey Smiley for his first standup special in more than a decade
The top-rated syndicated DJ's Fool-ish will mark his first standup special since 2011's Open Casket Sharp.
Comedian Morgan Jay's YouTube special is headed to Hulu
Morgan Jay: Live at The Village will stream on Hulu starting this Friday as part of a licensing deal with Hulu.
Black Mirror Season 7 arrives with a "Thronglets" game
"Thronglets," a mobile building game, is a companion to the Season 7 episode "Plaything."
Netflix unveils the trailer for Judy Blume-inspired Forever from Mara Brock Akil
Girlfriends and The Game creator Mara Brock Akil’s reimagining of Blume's influential and controversial 1974 novel tells the epic love story of two Black teens, exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018. Forever premieres May 8.
Netflix teases Pop the Balloon Live ahead of tonight's premiere
The popular YouTube dating show makes the leap to Netflix with Yvonne Orji hosting starting tonight at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
Carlos Alcaraz shows off his humble digs in the trailer for Netflix's Carlos Alcaraz: My Way
The 21-year-old Spanish tennis star, despite earning more than $39.1 million in prize money, lives in a quaint bedroom, the trailer for his Netflix documentary premiering April 10 reveals.
SkyMed gets a Season 3 Paramount+ premiere date and trailer
The Canadian medical drama returns May 15 with the release of all nine Season 3 episodes.
Netflix releases the trailer for Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror
From the producers of Waco: American Apocalypse and Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer comes Netflix's documentary on Timothy McVeigh's April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror premieres April 18.