Jared Padalecki is set to play a country doctor on CBS / NBC renews St. Denis Medical / Donald Trump slams Seth Meyers
PLUS: Squid Game 2 is now Netflix's third most-watched season of TV after Squid Game 1 and Wednesday.
Jared Padalecki reateaming with Walker boss to play a country doctor in a Texas-set CBS rural medical drama
Anna Fricke, who created the Padalecki-led 2021-2024 The CW Walker, Texas Ranger spinoff, is developing the untitled series with Padalecki set to star as a rural doctor. "Like Walker, the untitled one-hour takes place in Padalecki’s home state of Texas, but instead of a ranger, he will now play a doctor," says Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. "Unlike most medical dramas, which take place at big, urban hospitals, the Fricke/Padalecki project spotlights rural medicine, which is rarely seen on TV. It centers on a headstrong, devoted country doctor (Padalecki) who practices his unique style of improvisational medicine alongside his new protégé, a young doctor running from her past, as they operate a mobile clinic and heal the bodies and souls of their underserved community in the medical desert of rural Texas." Andreeva adds: "The Fricke/Padalecki project does not impact the chances of Padalecki headlining a Fire Country spinoff after he did a three-episode arc on the popular CBS/CBS Studios drama this season. That offshoot, referred to as Fire Country: Surfside, is in early stages. It remains in contention to follow Fire Country‘s greenlighted spinoff, Sheriff Country, slated to premiere next season."
NBC renews St. Denis Medical for Season 2
The hospital mockumentary, starring Wendi McLendon-Covey, David Alan Grier and Allison Tolman, has been averaging "a little below 3 million viewers for its initial airing and improves to 5.2 million with a week of streaming and other delayed viewing," says The Hollywood Reporter's Rick Porter. "It’s the top new series on NBC among adults 18-49 so far this season, and the network says 21.4 million people have watched at least a few minutes of the show across all platforms."
Squid Game 2 is now Netflix's third most-watched season of TV after Squid Game 1 and Wednesday
The sequel to Squid Game Season 1, which premiered Dec. 26, has already amassed 152.5 million total views, below Squid Game 1’s 265 million and Wednesday Season 1’s 252 million, per Netflix. ALSO: Missing You tops Netflix’s Top 10, outpacing American Primeval.
MSNBC to keep its name with Comcast spinoff as network president Rashida Jones departs
MSNBC will still be called "MSNBC" when the NBC Universal cable news network becomes part of the cable channel spinoff SpinCo. Jones, who has led MSNBC since February 2021, will exit and be replaced on an interim basis by Rebecca Kutler, described as "a veteran news executive with a long track record of managing talent and devising innovative programming concepts."
Donald Trump slams "dumb and untalented" Seth Meyers, threatens Comcast in Truth Social rant
"How bad is Seth Meyers on NBC, a 'network' run by a truly bad group of people - Remember, they also run MSDNC," the president-elect wrote of the Late Night host in an early morning Truth Social post. "I got stuck watching Marble Mouth Meyers the other night, the first time in months, and every time I watch this moron I feel an obligation to say how dumb and untalented he is, merely a slot filler for the Scum that runs Comcast. These guys should be paying a lot of money for the right to give these 'in kind' contributions to the Radical Left Democrat Party. These are not shows or entertainment, they are simply political hits, 100% of the time, to me and the Republican Party. Comcast should pay a BIG price for this!"
The View was in disagreement over Carrie Underwood performing at Donald Trump's inauguration
Joy Behar accused the American Idol star of normalizing Trump by agreeing to appear at his inauguration, while Alyssa Farah Griffin denounced cancel culture. Whoopi Goldberg defended Underwood, but said: "I won't be watching." ALSO: Josh Gad calls out The View's "so distracting" air conditioning noise.
90 Day Fiancé is getting its first-ever throuple
In Season 11, premiering Feb. 16, Amani and Matt, a couple from San Diego, will consider whether their relationship with Any, a single mother and exotic dancer from Tijuana, Mexico, is marriage material.
Skeleton Crew has a Star Wars franchise-low debut
The Disney+ series launched last month with two episodes that had less than 382 viewing minutes, per Nielsen, according to The Direct. That is less than previous low The Acolyte, which was canceled last year after one season.
BBC is closing in on greenlightting "its next big sitcom"
BBC has agreed to fund writers' rooms for BBC Studios, Big Talk Studios, Various Artists Limited, Roughcut and Hat Trick in the hopes of launching the next The Office. "Projects are being kept under wraps but we are told writers’ rooms have opened and are beginning to staff up," says Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. "The indies are tasked with coming up with a pilot script, episode outlines and a writing team ready to go. More than one idea could make it to screen."
DirecTV to offer MySports, a small streaming package offering lots of sports
With Venu Sports now dead, DirecTV will begin offering access to numerous sports networks, including ESPN, Fox Sports and TNT Sports. MySports will also offer broadcast channels, starting at $49.99 per month for three months. The price will then rise to $69.99 per month, which is $13 less than the current cost of YouTube TV.
Children's show Ms. Rachel is set to make her Netflix debut
YouTuber and educator Rachel Accurso will bring her online series to Netflix starting Jan. 27. Ms. Rachel features interactive lessons that teach letters, numbers, shapes, colors and much more.
Netflix cancels The Night Agent's Season 2 New York City red carpet premiere due to Southern California wildfires
Even though tonight's premiere was set to take place in New York City with the cast already in town, the event was canceled due to the ongoing wildfires.
Superstore is being remade for African viewers
Showmax has ordered a Zulu-language adaptation of the 2015-2021 NBC workplace comedy.
CBS to give Hollywood Squares a special airing after the NFL's AFC Divisional Playoff Game
The Hollywood Squares reboot hosted by Drew Barrymore and Nate Burleson will premiere Thursday and air its second episode on Sunday.
Amazon draws its biggest-ever NFL audience with its first playoff game
About 22.07 million watched Saturday night's Steelers-Ravens game. That's down from last year's Peacock-exclusive playoff game that drew 22.86 million viewers.
Kansas City Chiefs launches a scripted show featuring Pete Holmes, Holly Robinson Peete, David Koechner and narrated by Jason Sudeikis
Holmes and Robinson Peete star as two friends looking for a third to complete their superfan set in The Magic Number, the first episode of which was released today on the NFL team's YouTube channel. Robinson Peete’s father-in-law, Willie Peete, landed his first assistant coaching job in the league with the Chiefs in 1984. The Magic Number is the latest move into the scripted space from the defending Super Bowl champions, who helped produce last year's Touchdown: A Chief’s Love Story for Hallmark Channel.
Love Island: All Stars is returning to Peacock for Season 2
The British dating reality show’s second season will be available to U.S. viewers starting Wednesday.
David Schwimmer agrees to take Stephen Colbert as his date to SNL's 50th anniversary celebration
One-time SNL host Schwimmer, who has known Colbert since they were in the same improv group at Northwestern University in the 1980s, was invited to next month's special. But Colbert wasn't, despite lending his voice to Robert Smigel's "Ambiguously Gay Duo" SNL shorts. “I worked over there for a little bit, and no one invited me,” Colbert said.
One Piece adds three for Season 2
Sophia Anne Caruso has been cast as Miss Goldenweek, Mark Penwill as Chess and Anton David Jephtha will play K.M in recurring roles.
Twin Peaks is getting a 4K boxed set
Twin Peaks: From Z to A will be released Feb. 3 with more than 20 hours of bonus features.
Saudi Arabia to pay more than $1 billion to buy into sports network DAZN
The Persian Gulf kingdom is close to acquiring up to a 10 percent stake in DAZN, a sports-only network that has been privately funded by the billionaire businessman Len Blavatnik, reports The New York Times' Tariq Panja, who adds: "The network, which is available as a streaming platform and on cable networks worldwide, is already the biggest partner for Saudi Arabia’s growing portfolio of sports properties, including its soccer league, tennis championships and top-tier boxing events."
Tony Slattery, British actor, comedian and Whose Line is it Anyway? alum, dies at 65
Slattery, who died today of a heart attack was a regular on British TV shows before breaking out on the British version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? in 1988.. "So sorry to hear about the passing of Tony Slattery," tweeted fellow Whose Line? star Colin Mochrie. "Outrageous, dangerous and funny onstage, a lovely human offstage. Glad I got a chance to reconnect with him at Edinburgh Fringe a couple of years ago. He will be missed."
Kaitlyn Dever is a wellness guru who admits to fake cancer for social media clout in Netflix's new Apple Cider Vinegar trailer
Dever plays a successful and beloved advocate for natural and alternative medicine in the limited series premiering Feb. 6.