Disney+ rebooting The Mickey Mouse Club / Hamish Linklater, Michelle Buteau and Simu Liu join Elizabeth Banks’ Apple TV series / Ava DuVernay reteams with Netflix for 14th
PLUS: Today intruder arrested after confronting Craig Melvin with a racial slur after breaking into the studio looking for Al Roker.
Disney+ rebooting The Mickey Mouse Club
The streamer has ordered a pilot for a new The Mickey Mouse Club variety show decades after the 1990s version discovered future stars Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Ryan Gosling and Keri Russell. The potential series comes from James Corden and Ben Winston’s Fulwell Entertainment, which produced Corden’s The Late Late Show and currently produces Hulu’s The Kardashians. Winston will oversee the pilot that will feature 11 new youngsters, including three of the stars from Camp Rock 3. “The Mickey Mouse Club, created by Walt Disney himself, started as a stage show in the 1920s before its original run on ABC between 1955 and 1959, which featured two of Mickey Rooney’s sons,” says Deadline’s Peter White. “It was rebooted between 1977 and 1979 as a syndicated series that featured Lisa Whelchel, who went on to star in NBC’s The Facts of Life, before being revived by the Disney Channel in 1989. That run, which ended in 1996, featured a host of Mouseketeers that went on to become households names.” The Mickey Mouse Club was previously rebooted in 2017 as Club Mickey Mouse for digital platforms including Facebook and Instagram.
Today intruder arrested after confronting Craig Melvin with a racial slur after breaking into the studio looking for Al Roker
At around 9 a.m. ET, a man made his way into the NBC studio at Rockefeller Plaza and confronted co-host Craig Melvin, yelling racial slurs, according to People’s Julia Moore and Elizabeth Rosner. “The man allegedly asked for Al Roker when he managed to slip past studio security. A law enforcement source confirms to PEOPLE that the man was detained on Thursday at the morning show’s studio. Roker, 71, Melvin, 47, and their co-hosts continued on with the live broadcast after the incident.” In a statement, the NYPD said that at approximately 9:19 a.m. “it was reported to officers that there was a disorderly person inside 30 Rockefeller Center, within the confines of the Midtown North Precinct. Officers responded and placed an unidentified individual into custody. There were no injuries reported. The investigation remains ongoing.” In a statement, Today said of this morning’s incident: "There was a security incident this morning at the Today show studio. An individual entered an unauthorized area in a vestibule near Studio 1A. The person approached anchor Craig Melvin, who alerted security. The individual was detained and taken into custody by law enforcement without further incident. There was no altercation, and no one was injured. Today is cooperating fully with law enforcement as they investigate the matter. NBC and Today take the safety and security of our employees, talent, staff and guests extremely seriously. We are reviewing the incident and our security protocols and remain committed to providing a safe and secure environment for everyone who works at and visits our studios." ALSO: Craig Melvin will be off next week for a vacation announced before today’s incident.
Savannah Guthrie will be absent from Today for “a few weeks” to tape NBC’s Wordle in Britain
“We’re going to shoot the whole season, and we’re super excited. Cannot wait for everyone to see it,” Guthrie told her Today colleagues Thursday of her Jimmy Fallon-produced game show based on the popular New York Times puzzle of the same name. Wordle will be filmed in Manchester, England and is expected to debut next year.
Hamish Linklater, Michelle Buteau and Simu Liu join Elizabeth Banks’ Apple TV comedy series
Linklater, Buteau and Liu will recur on the untitled comedy series led by Banks and also starring Ted Danson, Katey Sagal, Rob Delaney, Jared Goldstein and Spencer Moss. The untitled series, from creators Liz Heldens and Matt Ward, “follows Heidi (Banks), who is fresh off a messy divorce and sets out to secure a lively second act for herself and her kids. But when she stumbles into coordinating her father’s (Danson) retirement community sexcapades, Heidi is forced into an unlikely alliance with his girlfriend’s perpetually single son.” Linklater will play Evan, Heidi’s ex-husband. Buteau will play Melissa, a talented ad executive. Liu will play Dr. Zhou, a doctor who treats Heidi’s son.
Will CBS, NBC and ABC cover tonight’s President Trump primetime speech without airing it live?
With hours to go, the major broadcasters have not said they will give Trump time for his speech tonight, which MS NOW reports will focus on voting machine security and alleged efforts by foreign nations to influence U.S. elections. According to CNN’s Brian Stelter, Trump’s speech “may not receive the type of “roadblock” live coverage that a presidential address on war or peace would. CBS is considering a middle-ground approach, I’m told: Instead of automatically taking the speech live on the broadcast network at 9, CBS may tape-turn some clips and air a Tony Dokoupil special report later in the hour, reporting on what the president announced while fact-checking the claims. In that scenario, which other broadcasters are also considering, CBS would show the entire speech live on its streaming news channel and on social platforms. That way, the broadcaster would be acknowledging that the White House claims Trump is making a major address, while still exercising some editorial judgment.” ALSO: ALSO: Trump’s teleprompter operator placed on leave for allegedly winning more than $100,000 on prediction market Kalshi based off the president’s remarks.
The CW renews Sullivan’s Crossing for Season 2
“The 10-episode fifth season, which will start production in Nova Scotia later this summer, will premiere on the CW in 2027, keeping the series’ yearly cadence,” says Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva. “The pickup by the CW, which has been Sullivan’s Crossing‘s first-window U.S. home since Season 1, follows the show’s Season 5 renewal by CTV and Crave in Canada more than a month ago as part of parent Bell Media’s upfront announcements.”
Ava DuVernay reteams with Netflix for constitutional documentary 14th
A decade after directing the prison–industrial complex documentary 13th for Netflix, DuVernay will explore the Constitution in 14th. “Spotlighting America’s long running and sometimes bloody battle with itself over who is a citizen and how much freedom they get, DuVernay’s documentary 14th is set to launch on Netflix later this year,” says Deadline’s Dominic Patten. As DuVernay explains to Deadline: “If 13th asked who gets caged, then 14th asks who gets counted. This is not a film about the past tense of freedom. I’m not interested in asking you to look back.”
Sophie Nélisse to star in Netflix’s This Summer Will Be Different
The Yellowjackets star and Heated Rivalry actress will play one of three leads in Netflix’s Carley Fortune novel adaptation. “From creators and showrunner Dane Clark and Linsey Stewart, This Summer Will Be Different, the series, is a simmering, sun-soaked romance set across multiple summers on Prince Edward Island about Lucy, a young woman navigating her 20s and her first real love with her best friend’s brother, the one person she was never supposed to fall for,” according to Deadline. “Nélisse will portray Lucy, one third of the trio of main characters in the story alongside best friend Bridget, and the latter’s brother Felix.”
Sex and the City’s Candace Bushnell and Real Housewives of New Jersey alum Margaret Josephs to be featured on E!’s The Golden Life
The Sex and the City author and Josephs will make appearances throughout the first season of the reality show that follows original Real Housewives of New York City stars Kelly Bensimon, Countess Luann de Lesseps, Dorinda Medley, Sonja Morgan and Ramona Singer to the Hamptons. Bushnell has been featured on Real Housewives of New York City multiple times throughout its run.
William Jackson Harper joins Hulu legal drama Conviction
The Good Place alum will star alongside lead Elisbeth Moss in the legal drama from House and The Good Doctor creator David Shore. He joins the previously cast Jimmi Simpson, Kevin McKidd, Sebastian De Souza, Adam Godley, Linda Emond and Ella Anderson. Details of his character are being kept under wraps.
Netflix’s Enigma Variations casts Riley Keough, Devon Terrell, Nicholas Podany and Carl Clemons-Hopkins
They join the previously announced leads Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alicia Vikander in the drama series that “tells the story of Paul (Taylor-Johnson), a man remade by the lovers who ignite and undo him across ten transformative years,” according to Deadline. “It’s an intimate yet sweeping portrait of masculinity, sexuality, and modern love—and in a world of endless choices, it asks the question: will we know when we’ve found the one?”
The View briefly censors Ana Navarro and Joy Behar over their colorful language used in discussing Jay Clayton’s confirmation hearing
“The panelists both had their audio cut during two separate discussions about director of national intelligence nominee Jay Clayton’s confirmation hearing and the government’s handling of the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files,” according to EW’s Emlyn Travis.
Robin Hood Season 2 adds James Purefoy, Colin O’Donoghue and Luke Roberts
Season 2 of the MGM+ period drama series “expands the world of Robin Hood, as the arrival of King Henry (Purefoy), Prince Richard (O’Donoghue) and the ambitious Amaury D’Montfort (Roberts) reshapes the political landscape, forcing Rob and his allies to navigate shifting loyalties, royal power struggles and dangerous new threats,” says Deadline’s Denise Petski, adding: “Purefoy’s King Henry is the formidable monarch whose ruthless vision for England sets the season’s events into motion.”
Independent series Odysseus aims to take advantage of the success of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey
“Tanweer, the Greek distributor of Nolan’s film, is producing the new and unrelated TV series out of Athens, with Karl Gajdusek, Jordan Dykstra and Sean Finegan of newly launched U.S. production label Tectonic, and U.S.-Armenian outfit USATV,” reports Deadline’s Andreas Wiseman, adding: “The take is described to us as ‘visceral, and muscular – the real Bronze Age world of blood, ships, betrayal, and characters trying to survive the era that inspired Homer’s epic. The emphasis on real history lets the story collide with the wider convulsions of the age leading up to the Bronze Age collapse breaking the known world apart into legend.’”
Power: Origins shares the first look at young Ghost and Tommy
Spence Moore plays Ghost while Charlie Mann will play Tommy — the young versions of Omari Hardwick and Joseph Sikora — in the Starz prequel series.
Madonna confused The Studio’s Evan Goldberg with Chris Martin from Coldplay
Jimmy Kimmel Live! guest-host Ike Barinholtz and guest Seth Rogen discussed their Emmy-winning Apple TV show Wednesday night, recalling how Madonna would call The Studio co-creator and director Goldberg “Coldplay” because of his resemblance to Chris Martin. ALSO: The Studio is almost done filming Season 2.
Apple TV sets Season 5 premiere date for Stillwater
The Peabody and Daytime Emmy-winning animated kids and family series returns Aug. 21.
British crime drama Cooper & Fry is headed to BritBox in the U.S.
The four-episode Channel 5 crime drama that premiered last November has been picked up by BritBox. “Adapted from Stephen Booth’s bestselling detective novels, Cooper & Fry follows unlikely detective duo Ben Cooper and Diane Fry, played by Robert James-Collier (Downton Abbey) and Mandip Gill (Doctor Who),” according to Deadline. “Set in and around England’s picturesque Peak District, the series follows Cooper, who is struggling to emerge from the shadow of his late father, while Fry is an outsider fleeing tragedies in her past. Together, they tackle grisly crimes in the remote countryside.” Watch the trailer.
Zoe Saldaña faces her most personal mission yet in Lioness’ Season 3 trailer
Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ espionage thriller returns for its third season on Aug. 2.