Mike Tyson getting the Netflix docuseries treatment / Disney drops transgender storyline from Pixar series / Amazon renews Secret Level
PLUS: English Teacher creator and star Brian Jordan Alvarez accused of sexual assault by his former collaborator.
Mike Tyson getting the Netflix docuseries treatment
A month after losing to Jake Paul in a much-hyped Netflix boxing match, Tyson is reteaming with the streamer to tell the authorized story of his life, controversies and all. Netflix says the docuseries will not only tackle Tyson's success in the boxing ring, but his personal struggles that established him “as one of the most compelling and polarizing figures of our time.” “From his meteoric rise as the ‘Baddest Man on the Planet' to his personal struggles – including a period of incarceration and widely publicized struggles (i.e. finances, substance abuse, in-ring controversies) – and eventual redemption, this series will explore the man behind the gloves," reads the official logline. In a statement, Tyson suggested that he intends to take an objective look at his complicated life. “Having an opportunity to share my story through the reflective lens of my growth and maturity in a multi-part documentary on Netflix will be a challenging journey, yet a very welcoming one,” said Tyson. “Most people are too scared to look at their lives objectively, wanting to paint themselves as the hero of their own story. But if we are truly objective, we know we can never be the hero in our own story. We have to be able to face the man in the mirror, taking the good with the bad to give a full account of our contributions in this life. Netflix is the perfect platform to tell my story because of their global reach.”
English Teacher creator and star Brian Jordan Alvarez accused of sexual assault by his former collaborator
Last August, a month before English Teacher's acclaimed premiere on FX, actor Jon Ebeling heavily implied that Alvarez had committed some kind of sexual misconduct by referencing Baby Reindeer. Eberling is now detailing his accusations in a lengthy Vulture article. Ebeling alleged that Alvarez, his former close friend, committed sexual assault via oral sex while filming their web series The Gay And Wondrous Life Of Caleb Gallo. Eberling says he felt like he'd been "raped." Through a representative, Alvarez claims all sexual contact with Ebeling was consensual. "On September 1, the day before the English Teacher premiere and more than eight years after the occurrence, Ebeling filed a police report with the LAPD and later reported Alvarez to the Screen Actors Guild (California law allows civil claims of sexual assault to be filed up to ten years after the fact)," says Vulture's E. Alex Jung. "By then, his Instagram post had traveled far in comedy circles." English Teacher premiered to critical acclaim and a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score. But two months after its season finale, English Teacher has yet to be renewed for Season 2 — perhaps because of Eberling's sexual assault allegation.
Disney drops transgender storyline from upcoming Pixar animated series Win or Lose
Premiering Feb. 19, Win or Lose "follows a co-ed middle school softball team named the Pickles in the week leading up to their championship game," according to The Hollywood Reporter's Pamela McClintock. "Each of the eight episodes center on the off-the-field life of a character and their point of view, whether it be a player, a parent, a coach or an umpire." One of the characters is transgender. "The character remains in the show, but a few lines of dialogue that referenced gender identity are being removed,” reports McClintock. “A source close to Win or Lose said the studio made the decision to alter course several months ago." In a statement, Disney confirmed the removal, saying: “When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.”
UCLA diversity study finds streaming TV's lead actors and showrunners are predominantly white men
UCLA's latest Hollywood Diversity Report tackles streaming television in 2023, finding that “streaming audiences want new offerings, diverse stories as most watched metrics fall short of capturing the market," according to Variety, which adds that, based on the report, "streaming audiences have a desire for diverse stories and female viewers are a significant force in regards to total viewership. The study indicated that women overindexed in regards to nine of the top 10 shows ranked by both total household minutes viewed and total household ratings. Households of color were found to be overrepresented among viewer demographics for 6 of the top 10 shows based on ratings. Data indicated that women represented the largest audiences, even exceeding their population share for each top 10 streaming series, with the exception of The Last of Us, for which women made up 46.9% of viewers and Family Guy, for which women made up 46.7% of viewers...Other key findings indicated that showrunners, creators and lead actors across television tend to be predominantly white and male. However, data shows that top streaming shows with BIPOC leads consistently outperform others in regards to median ratings and series following “underrepresented stories” also rank higher in ratings. Furthermore, BIPOC households are reported to drive high ratings among the top streamed shows yet have a less substantial impact in regards to total minutes viewed."
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UCLA's study argues that ranking shows by total minutes watched tells an incomplete story: "By this metric, 77.5% of most-watched streaming shows in 2023 were led by white actors, while 5.5% of the most-watched shows featured Black leads, 4.4% featured Latinx leads, 2.2% featured Asian leads, 1.8% featured Middle Eastern or North African leads and 9.3% were led by multiracial actors," says the Los Angeles Times' Tracy Brown. "No shows were led by a Native actor. But according to the report, the median rating (the percentage of television-owning households that are watching a particular program) for shows led by actors of color and those featuring stories of underrepresented communities were higher across all viewer demographics — meaning, these shows were more popular across all audiences." As UCLA's interim chancellor Darnell Hunt, who worked on the report, explains: Focusing on total minutes watched gives an advantage to older shows that have more episodes and seasons on streaming platforms. Current shows, which our research has repeatedly shown to be more diverse, face a disadvantage in some ways from the onset. Inevitably, that just feeds into the legacy of inequity that was built into the industry.”
UCLA's study found that women drove household ratings for streaming series: "The latest Hollywood Diversity Report from UCLA also measured streaming series for household ratings to reveal a hidden market not fully accounted for: women and BIPOC audiences preferring new and current titles that tend to be more diverse in terms of storylines and characters," says The Hollywood Reporter's Etan Vlessing. "The UCLA study found women are the most engaged audience for new streaming series measured for overall household minutes viewed and also ranked by total household ratings. The median ratings were higher across demographics for shows led by actors of color and for shows featuring underrepresented stories, researchers added."
Camila Morrone and Adam DiMarco to star in Duffer Brothers' Netflix horror series Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen
Created by Haley Z. Boston with the Duffer Brothers as executive producers, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen "is described as an atmospheric horror series. Set at a wedding, it follows a bride (Morrone) and groom (DiMarco) in the week leading up to their ill-fated nuptials," according to Deadline. "That’s not a spoiler – just read the title…"
Amazon renews Secret Level for Season 2
The adult animated video game adaptation anthology series has been picked up for a second season a week after its Prime Video debut. Without offering details, Amazon said Secret Level achieved the most-watched animated series debut of all time for the streamer within its first week.
What We Do in the Shadows has alternate series finales
The FX vampire mockumentary used a hypnosis spoof from Natasia Demetriou's Nadja to create different versions of the series finale.
Bluey is headed to the big screen
A feature film based on the hit Australian animated children’s series is set for a global theatrical release in 2027 from BBC Studios and Walt Disney Studios, Good Morning America announced this morning.
Kevin Zegers among four joining Yellowstone spinoff The Madison
Rebecca Spence, Alaina Pollack and Danielle Vasinova are also joining Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone offshoot, which doesn't yet have a network or streaming home. Zegers will play the new neighbor of Michelle Pfeiffer's character.
ESPN may expand Pardon the Interruption to one hour with cancelation of Around the Horn
"ESPN has made overtures to expand the long-running hit featuring Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon from a half-hour to an hour. Kornheiser, 76, and Wilbon, 66, have been kibitzing on the 30-minute show for nearly a quarter century," reports The Athletic's Andrew Marchand. "ESPN is still in the process of figuring out what it will do next in regards to the weekday 5 p.m. timeslot, but this is one of its top ideas. When reached, the network declined to comment." ESPN is expected to cancel Around the Horn next summer, though an official announcement has yet to be made.
Saul Rubinek boards James Wan and Simu Liu‘s untitled Peacock espionage thriller series
He'll play Victor Simonek, a retired special agent and confidante to Liu’s character.
Yellowstone's series finale was the show's most-watched episode in series history
The Taylor Sheridan drama series went out Sunday after five seasons with 11.4 million watching on Paramount Network.
The Big Bang Theory is coming to MTV and Nick at Nite
The 2007-2009 CBS sitcom hit will make its way to Nick at Nite starting with a two-day marathon on Dec. 24. On Dec. 27, the network will begin airing the series from 12-2 a.m. every night, starting with Season 4. On New Year's Day, MTV will host “MTV’s New Year with a Bang,” a non-stop New Year’s marathon of Season 3.
Mina Kimes: Netflix's "Coachella-style" Christmas Day NFL doubleheader talent announcement is misleading
Last week, Netflix tweeted an on-air talent roster featuring a whopping 22 well-known people from the world of NFL media, plus comedians Nate Bargatze and Bert Kreischer. The tweet raised concerns that Netflix was going overboard for just two NFL games. Kimes clarified on Kay Adams' Up & Adams show that the doubleheader's studio show will not be that big. The studio show will feature Adams as host and Kimes as panelist alongside Drew Brees, Manti Te'o and Robert Griffin III. The rest of the talent will be spread out around the country.
Milhouse is back for The Simpsons' Disney+ Christmas special
Pamela Hayden last month retired from The Simpsons after 35 years, yet she is part of The Simpsons' O C’mon All Ye Faithful Disney+ Christmas special, voicing the characters Milhouse and Rod.
NCIS: Origins produces the NCIS franchise's first episode without a case
"We’re really proud of the episode and how it turned out," says co-creator David J. North of Monday's episode. "To our knowledge, this is the first episode in 1,000+ episodes that doesn’t have a case. And we’re really proud of it."
The Jonas Brothers join ABC's New Year’s Rockin’ Eve
The familial pop rock outfit are the latest artists added to the list of performers to board Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2025.
In Netflix docuseries, Aaron Rodgers slams brother Jordan Rodgers for The Bachelorette empty chairs stunt
In 2016, when Aaron Rodgers was in a high-profile relationship with Olivia Munn, his younger brother Jordan Rodgers was competing on The Bachelorette, aiming to win the heart of his now-wife JoJo Fletcher. When Fletcher visited the Rodgers family house in Chico, California, two chairs were left empty to emphasize the NFL QB's estrangement from his family. In Aaron Rodgers' new Netflix docuseries Enigma, released today, the QB talked about the empty chairs stunt, saying he and Munn weren't invited and that the filming occurred during the NFL season. "They go on a bullsh*t show and leave two empty chairs," he said. "They all agreed this was like a good thing to do, to leave two empty chairs at a stupid dating show that my brother just went on to get famous—his words, not mine—that he ended up winning."
Kelly Clarkson mistakenly thought Clay Aiken was her American Idol champion successor
“We spent a lot of time, we toured, I won the season before you, but we toured after you won,” Clarkson, Idol's Season 1 winner told Idol's Season 2 runner-up on The Kelly Clarkson Show. After Aiken corrected her, Clarkson jokingly referred to Aiken by the actual Season 2 winner's name, Ruben Studdard, adding: “Look, I’m 42, bro. Okay, like, I forgot.”
Dream Productions premieres to 5.6 million viewers in five days, Disney says
The Inside Out spinoff's debut is Disney+'s biggest animated series premiere since What If…? debuted in 2021, according to Disney.
Happy 50th birthday, Sarah Paulson!
The Emmy-winning Paulson celebrated turning 50 today over the weekend with a star-studded birthday party.
Stephen Colbert says "I broke the internet" with his viral dancing with Gayle King at her surprise 70th birthday party
"Not only did I bust a move, I might have torn a hamstring," Colbert said on The Late Show of his viral dance.
The Joe Schmo Show revival gets a TBS premiere date and trailer
The Cat Deeley-hosted of the classic reality show featuring actors and one "Joe Schmo" will debut on Jan. 21. "The series will follow Ben, an electrician from Baltimore, who believes he is competing for a chance to win $100,000 on a popular game show when he is, in fact, surrounded by a cast of improv comedians," according to Deadline. "The ten-part series will see actors and the entire working crew scramble to keep Ben from discovering the hoax. With each challenge, the stakes grow higher as production is forced to pivot storylines, and castmates, who Ben sees as competition, improvise strategies to pave the path to his victory."
Noah Centineo is back for Netflix’s XO, Kitty Season 2 trailer
Peter Kavinsky visits his girlfriend Lara Jean Song Covey's little sister at boarding school in Season 2 of the To All the Boys I've Loved Before spinoff, premiering Jan. 16.
Philomena Cunk is back in the trailer for Netflix's Cunk on Life
Diane Morgan's alter ego will tackle nature in her newest BBC/Netflix special, premiering Jan. 2.