Dan Rather returning to CBS News after 18 years / Law & Order: Organized Crime close to Peacock move / Good Times boss reacts to backlash
PLUS: CBS renews The Equalizer for Season 5, leaving NCIS: Hawai’i as its only scripted series in limbo.
Dan Rather returning to CBS News for the first time since his bitter 2006 ouster
The 92-year-old Rather will appear this weekend in a profile on CBS Sunday Morning. “Lee Cowan talks with former CBS News anchor Dan Rather about his work at CBS and his life in news," says a CBS News press release. The interview will mark Rather's first appearance on CBS News since he was forced off the network in June 2006 after 44 years over his role in an unsubstantiated 60 Minutes II report questioning President Bush’s Vietnam-era National Guard service. His exit came after he came a year after he was forced to step down from CBS Evening News in March 2005 after a 24-year tenure as its anchor. Rather, who said he was the scapegoat in the scandal, sued CBS over his ouster. Rather's scandal was turned into the 2015 film Truth, starring Robert Redford as Rather. In recent years, Rather has been known for his presence on Twitter/X, where he has trolled conservatives.
Law & Order: Organized Crime is closing in on a move to Peacock
"Peacock is putting the finishing touches on a deal that would see Law & Order: Organized Crime move from NBC to the streamer for a fifth season consisting of 10 episodes," reports The Hollywood Reporter's Lesley Goldberg, who adds: "Marking a return to the L&O world for franchise favorite Chris Meloni, Organized Crime has overperformed on Peacock with the streamer serving as the streaming home for all things Dick Wolf. Once the deal is formalized, Peacock will now have a Wolf original series to go with next-day episodes of NBC’s already renewed L&O flagship as well as SVU. NBC renewed five of its six Wolf-produced procedurals in March, leaving Organized Crime on the bubble and prompting fan campaigns to save the show."
CBS renews The Equalizer for Season 5, leaving NCIS: Hawai’i as its only scripted series in limbo
The Queen Latifah-led The Equalizer will return for another 18-episode season, "which is something top talent often request when signing on for a broadcast drama series," reports Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. "There was an effort in the Queen Latifah negotiation to increase the number to 20 or more but I hear Season 5 will again consist of 18 episodes." Meanwhile, says Andreeva, NCIS: Hawai’i's future "is said to be the subject of tough business conversations, with a partial Season 4 of 13 or fewer episodes still a possibility. It could be a final chapter for the show, the first installment in the NCIS franchise with a female lead."
Netflix gives a big order to comedian Leanne Morgan’s sitcom from Chuck Lorre
The streamer says the untitled comedy, which received a 16-episode order, revolves around the comedian, whose life “takes an unexpected turn when her husband of 33 years leaves her for another woman. Starting over when you’re a grandmother and in menopause isn’t exactly what she had in mind, but with the help of her family she will navigate this new chapter with grace, dignity and Jell-o salad.” Lorre co-created the sitcom with Morgan and Susan McMartin. Morgan became a breakout success thanks to her 2023 Netflix special I’m Every Woman.
Heartstopper confirms fans predictions by casting Jonathan Bailey — Hayley Atwell and Eddie Marsan are also joining Season 3
Fans had expected Bridgerton and Fellow Travelers star Bailey to be cast as Jack Maddox, especially after an Instagram account surfaced recently featuring photos of of Bailey. Maddox is a twist on the Henry Maddox character from the Heartstopper graphic novels as "an Instagram-famous classicist and celebrity crush of Charlie," creator Alice Oseman confirmed. Atwell is playing Nick’s Aunt Diane, "who takes Nick on a summer holiday to Menorca and has some tough advice to impart about his relationship," says Oseman. Marsan will play Geoff, "Charlie’s wise and straight-talking therapist" from the graphic novels, Oseman confirmed.
Good Times animated reboot boss reacts to backlash
Showrunner Ranada Shepard explained her creative choices, including the drug-dealing baby, in an extensive interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Shepard admits the trailer, which sparked the initial backlash, was surprising. "There was no framing that the audience had, it was just: Watch this and form an opinion," she says. "And they watched and they formed an opinion. I was always rooted in (the fact that) I understand if this is jolting. Because what you needed was someone to tell everyone, 'I know you’re used to the sweet sitcom, but this is not only a reimagination, it’s in a different genre that requires it to be loud and offensive and have hard jokes and inappropriate. So your mind is doing a lot of different things.'" Shepard adds: "I don’t want to be defensive, but I want to be clear in that it’s great to hear the feedback. And you can look on my posts today and all throughout the week of people saying, 'I was reluctant because of what everyone was saying, but I watched this and it’s really good if you can get into it and really accept what this is,' and 'It’s different from the original, but actually it’s a really good show.' Look, there’s some people who it’s not going to be for. But I ask those people, 'Do you watch adult animation?' Because I know a lot of people don’t watch adult animation, so if that’s not your genre, this genre is going to be difficult for you. But are they well-written stories that stand in social commentary and each one has a message? Absolutely." Shepard also makes it clear that executive producer Seth MacFarlane "never wrote one word of any of these scripts," while late executive producer Norman Lear did offer his feedback.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by New York appeals court
New York's Court of Appeals found that the judge in the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the disgraced film mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case. “We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes because that testimony served no material non-propensity purpose,” the court said in a 4-3 decision. The ruling doesn't mean Weinstein is a free man since he's 2022 of rape and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Writers Guild of Canada "overwhelmingly" votes to authorize a strike
In scenes reminiscent of the Writers Guild of America and AMPTP back-and-forth that led to last year's 148-day strike in U.S., the Writers Guild of Canada and Canadian Media Producers Association have been negotiating a new deal for months with no resolution.
The Talk is inviting comedians to perform standup for the first time
“Stand Up At The Talk” will launch April 26 and return each Friday. The news comes as The Talk prepares to wrap its 15 seasons later this year.
The CW is sticking with Miss USA
The network has struck an exclusive, three-year deal to keep the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Teen USA Pageant.
Television Academy Honors 2024 recipients include Beef, The 1619 Project and Heartstopper
Lakota Nation vs. United States, Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court, A Small Light and 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed are also among the honorees of the Television Academy Honors, which celebrates programs that raise awareness about complex issues facing society.
Reba McEntire to return as host of the Academy of Country Music Awards
This will mark the 17th time McEntire has hosted or co-hosted the ACM Awards. This year's ceremony will stream live on Amazon Prime Video on May 16.
Selling the OC's Alexandra Jarvis exits the Oppenheim Group
"She decided to do what's best for her, and I have a lot of respect for that," her former boss, Selling Sunset star Jason Oppenheim, tells People.
Hallmark Channel orders a Three Wise Men and a Baby sequel movie
Paul Campbell, Tyler Hynes and Andrew Walker will reprise their roles from 2022's most-watched original TV movie in the sequel Three Wiser Men and a Boy. The sequel picks up five years later ahead of Christmas.
Maria Menounos to host shows on airport network ReachTV
Menounos will host the talk series Maria: Discover More and the game show Maria: Discover More on ReachTV, which is available at 2,400 gates at 90 airports and 500 thousand hotel rooms.
XO, Kitty adds three to Season 2 cast
Audrey Huynh is joining the cast full-time, while Sasha Bhasin and Joshua Lee will appear in recurring roles. Netflix released a video Thursday announcing that Season 2 is in production.
Paris Hilton developing a docuseries based on the book Toxic: Women, Fame, and the Tabloid 2000s
Author Sarah Ditum's book, released in January, is described as a "scathing reexamination of the lives of nine female celebrities in the 2000s—Britney, Paris, Lindsay, Aaliyah, Janet, Amy, Kim, Chyna, and Jen—and the sexist, exploitative culture that let them down." The book, which is being adapted as a docuseries from Hilton's 11:11 Media, "explores their battles with fame, their efforts to control their own narratives, and their various degrees of success and failure in doing so," per Variety. "Ditum portrays her subjects as nuanced individuals confronting the challenges of celebrity amid a 'ruthless and rapidly evolving media environment."
Sophia Bush comes out as queer
In an essay for Glamour, the former One Tree Hill and Chicago P.D. star confirmed she's in a relationship with soccer star Ashlyn Harris. “As I came into myself, I already felt it was my home. I think I’ve always known that my sexuality exists on a spectrum,” Bush wrote in the essay released Thursday. “Right now I think the word that best defines it is queer. I can’t say it without smiling, actually. And that feels pretty great.”
Italian hotel plays an Office-themed prank on Rainn Wilson
The Dwight Schrute actor's room service meal came complete with a knife and fork encased in bright red Jell-O.
Tiffany Haddish says eight miscarriages has left her with debilitating pain amid a battle with endometriosis
"I'm pretty sure the devil is real because the first day of my period, no matter what, the devil goes into overdrive. I feel like my life gets turned upside down," the comedian tells People in promoting her memoir, I Curse You With Joy, which will be released on May 7.
Jeremy Renner takes on the Russian mob in Mayor Of Kingstown's Season 3 trailer
The Paramount+ crime thriller returns on June 2.
Laurence Fishburne and Ed O’Neill go head to head in Hulu's Clipped trailer
They star as Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers and Clippers owner Donald Sterling in the limited series on Sterling's racial controversy that led to his ban from the NBA. Clipped premieres June 4.
Melissa Joan Hart and La La Anthony star in Lifetime's The Bad Guardian trailer
The TV movie inspired by several high profile conservatorships, including that of Britney Spears and Wendy Williams premieres May 18.
Watch Apple TV+'s Hollywood Con Queen trailer
The three-part docuseries from Tiger King and Fyre filmmaker Chris Smith tells how one person fooled the entire entertainment industry with their heist. Hollywood Con Queen premieres May 8.