NBC drops Al Michaels from its NFL playoff coverage / Hightown to end with Season 3 / Love Is Blind renewed for 2 seasons

PLUS: Kate Micucci reveals she had a successful surgery to remove her lung cancer: “I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life."

NBC drops Al Michaels from its NFL playoff coverage
The legendary NFL broadcaster, who currently calls games Amazon's Thursday Night Football, was scheduled to call one playoff game in January for NBC as he did last season. But after he was dragged for his lifeless call of an epic playoff comeback last season, NBC has decided to drop the 79-year-old Michaels and replace him with Noah Eagle, the 27-year-old son of top sports broadcaster Ian Eagle. Noah Eagle is scheduled to call Nickelodeon's first-ever Super Bowl broadcast in February. "Michaels’ swap-out by NBC has been in the works for awhile, though Michaels was apparently caught off guard," reports the New York Post's Andrew Marchand. "During an early November interview with The Post, Michaels said he believed that he was still going to call the game on NBC, but did not know whom he would be working with. When informed by The Post about it being in limbo, Michaels sounded unaware of the possibility." Michaels told Marchand at the time: “It’s in my deal Where are you hearing that from? That’s part of my deal. Are you hearing something that I’m not hearing?” Michaels was moved to an emeritus role at NBC Sports following his departure from the Sunday Night Football booth after calling the Super Bowl in 2022. As Marchand notes, "there has long been tension between Michaels and top NBC executives, though they have done their best to hide it from public view, even giving Michaels an emeritus title when he was replaced. There was a failure to truly define what the emeritus role really meant, except for calling the playoff game." Michaels' association with NBC goes all the way back to 1971, but he joined NBC Sports from ABC in 2006 when NFL's top primetime package became Sunday Night Football on NBC. ALSO: Why NBC is making the right decision.

Hightown to end with Season 3
The Monica Raymund-led crime drama, which premiered in 2020, will return for its third and final season on Jan. 26. In Season 3, Raymund's Massachusetts State Trooper Jackie Quiñones is “off the wagon and off the force, but that doesn’t stop her from careening into the dark underbelly of picture-perfect Cape Cod to save missing prostitutes and murdered sex workers," per the official description.

Kate Micucci reveals she had a successful surgery to remove her lung cancer: “I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life”
The Garfunkel and Oates, DuckTakes and Big Bang Theory actress and singer revealed her diagnosis in a TikTok video posted Saturday. “Hey everybody, this is not a TikTok, it's a ‘Sick Tok,’” the 43-year-old Micucci said in the video from the hospital. “I’m in the hospital but it’s because I had lung cancer surgery yesterday. They caught it really early.” Micucci added: “It’s really weird, because I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life so uh, you know, it was a surprise. But also I guess, also, it happens and so the greatest news is they caught it early, they got it out, I’m all good.”

Love Is Blind renewed for Seasons 6 and 7 — Season 6 premieres on Valentine's Day
Watch Nick and Vanessa Lachey in Netflix's Date Announcement trailer.

Stephen Colbert details his experience with a ruptured appendix: "I was not aware of the amount of trouble I was in"
Colbert returned to The Late Show Monday night for the first time in 20 days, telling his audience that "I was in a heap of trouble" during his previous show on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Colbert said he started feeling symptoms the day before when he interviewed David Letterman. Colbert noted, once he got home from the taping, he began to feel bad. “I didn’t know what was going on," he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "I thought I might have caught something from Dave’s beard,” he joked. “I woke up the next morning just in abdominal agony, and I figured the pain would go away.” Colbert added that the pain was "extremely bad." “The pain was manageable. It only hurt when I moved — and when I didn’t,” he said, to audience laughs. “I held it together for two monologues and two-second acts and then a long interview with Bradley Cooper because there is no pain when you’re lost in those baby blues. But here’s the thing: the moment I was not prepared for — and I want to start off by saying I love this man — was the cooking segment I did with Jose Andres. At the end of it, he spontaneously grabbed me to dance with him afterward.”

Morning Joe sidelined by an 11-minute glitch this morning
The MSNBC morning program to show promos, ads and a portion of Lawrence O’Donnell’s primetime show to fill the time when it was supposed to start at 6 a.m. ET. “Thanks for bearing with us, everybody,” co-host Brzezinski said at 6:11 a.m. ET. MSNBC declined to comment on what happened, but Way Too Early anchor Jonathan Lemire tweeted there were "technical difficulties."

Bridgerton Season 3 gets May premiere date, will drop in two parts
Season 3 will consist of eight episodes, four dropping on May 16 and the remaining four released on June 13. “Gentle reader, you thought I was silenced, but you thought wrong,” Julie Andrews, who voices Lady Whistledown, says in a teaser for Season 3.

Check out Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Allison Janney, Carol Burnett and more in Apple TV+'s Palm Royale
The comedy series, formerly known as Mrs. American Pie, is set to premiere on March 20 with three episodes followed by a weekly release. Loosely based on Juliet McDaniel’s novel Mr. and Mrs. American Pie, Palm Royale is a true underdog story that follows Maxine Simmons (Wiig) as she endeavors to break into Palm Beach high society.

Luke Russert returning to MSNBC as host of its new live events brand
Russert, who worked for NBC News from 2008 to 2016 and hosted MSNBC.com's The Briefing, will host a series of in-person events called "MSNBC Live" that includes interviews and panel discussions. Russert recently released his memoir, Look for Me There, about coping with the loss of his father, Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert.

Peacock shares the first look at limited series Apples Never Fall, starring Annette Bening, Sam Neill, Alison Brie, Jake Lacy and more
Apples Never Fall, the latest TV adaptation from Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers author Liane Moriarty, premieres in March.

Charlotte Gainsbourg replaces Camille Cottin on Team Palladino's Étoile
The French actress, singer and songwriter will take over for Cottin, who dropped out over scheduling conflicts, on Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino‘s Prime Video series that follows the dancers and artistic staff of two world-renowned ballet companies in New York City and Paris.

PBS' Masterpiece sets premiere date for Alice & Jack, starring Andrea Riseborough and Domhnall Gleeson
They'll star in a "love story for the ages" when Alice & Jack premieres March 17.

Technical glitch blamed for Watchmen's brief disappearance from Max
On Monday, all nine episodes of the 2019 Emmy-winning series mysteriously disappeared from the Max streaming service. But hours later, Watchmen was restored. An HBO source told Vulture the show hadn’t been removed from the Max library and that its removal was the result of a technical glitch currently under investigation.

Shannen Doherty says Alyssa Milano and her family are at fault for rift between her and Holly Marie Combs on Charmed set
Doherty alleged on her podcast Let's Be Clear, with Combs as her guest, that Milano and her mother attempted to separate Combs from Doherty during filming of Season 2. "It was really interesting of (her) trying to pull you away from me," said Doherty, noting to Combs that they had been close friends before Charmed.

Spotify strikes deal with Warner Bros. Discovery for podcasts from HBO, CNN, TCM and more
CNN's All There Is with Anderson Cooper and HBO’s The Official Game of Thrones Podcast: House of the Dragon are among the podcasts joining Spotify’s enterprise podcast platform Megaphone. The platform will also be used for podcasts from TCM, Adult Swim, Tru TV and more.

Tubi adds DC Universe movies and TV shows
Batwoman, Gotham and Krypton are among the DC series that are now available on the Fox-owned ad-supported streamer.

Oprah Winfrey defends Drew Barrymore after the internet deems their The Drew Barrymore Show interview "cringey"
A clip of Barrymore gripping Oprah’s right hand and caressing her arm has gone viral, with some on social media accusing Barrymore of being too handsy. But in an interview with TMZ, Oprah said she wasn't uncomfortable at all. "I was actually comforted by the stroking of the arm," said Oprah. "I went home and told Stedman, 'You gotta stroke my arm. Stedman, I need to be stroked on the arm.' It’s so comforting. No, I was not uncomfortable at all. I’ve never seen her do that but I thought it was endearing."

Lifetime's new unscripted shows include Prison Brides and I Wasn’t Expecting a Baby!
Prison Brides follows seven women from around the world who believe they have found their soulmates in prison. I Wasn’t Expecting a Baby! tells the stories of women who were completely unaware they were pregnant…until they are just about to give birth.

Dua Lipa exits day drinking with Seth Meyers early
“Oh my God, I can barely see straight,” the singer admitted toward the end of her Late Night day-drinking experience.

Apple TV+ signs a first-look deal with David and Jessica Oyelowo
The producers behind Paramount+’s Lawmen: Bass Reeves, which stars David Oyelowo, will exclusively develop and produce both features and series for Apple TV+ on a first-look basis as part of their new deal.

Jennifer Aniston: Jon Hamm and I didn't need an intimacy coordinator for our steaming The Morning Show sex scene
“They asked us if we wanted an intimacy coordinator," Aniston said in a joint interview with co-star Reese Witherspoon for Variety. "I’m from the olden days, so I was like, ‘What does that mean?’ They said, ‘Where someone asks you if you’re OK,’ and I’m like, ‘Please, this is awkward enough!’ We’re seasoned — we can figure this one out. And we had Mimi there.”

Will Forte recalls his favorite moments as a David Letterman writer
Before emerging to fame on Saturday Night Live, Forte was a Late Show staff writer starting in 1997.

Bob Barker was born 100 years ago today
The legendary The Price is Right host, who died Aug. 26 at age 99, would’ve celebrated his 100th birthday today. Barker was born on Dec. 12, 1923.

Monday Night Football airing two games that started at the same time was an excellent idea
For the first time, Monday Night Football had two games kick off at the same time, at 8:15 p.m. ET: Packers-Giants on ABC and Titans-Dolphins on ESPN. "It was simply awesome to have a second competitive game to flip over to after the first one got all the juices flowing," says Kyle Koster. "Honestly, I think I'd prefer this structure to another MNF doubleheader. Sure it's shorter window but it feels more fun. More and more I've been finding myself locking in to the second halves of sporting events instead of the entire thing. Your mileage may vary but I am wagering — and ESPN/ABC should be wagering that people like the endings of sports more than the preamble. So in short, more of this. It was great. It won't always be great if one or both the games stink. On the rare occasion they both deliver, this is a recipe for success. Because it sure felt like Sunday again." ALSO: ESPN's MNF graphics department has no idea what chicken cutlets look like.

Hilary Duff is expecting her fourth child
The former Lizzie McGuire alum announced on Instagram she is pregnant with her and husband Matthew Koma's third baby together and her fourth child overall. Duff has two daughters with Koma and a son with ex-husband Mike Comrie.

Taylor Kinney's Severide is back in new Chicago Fire promo
"I’m here. We’re in this together,” Kelly Severide tells his wife Stella, played by Miranda Rae Mayo. Chicago Fire returns for Season 12 on Jan. 17.

HBO unveils the trailer for documentary Time Bomb Y2K
Premiering Dec. 30, Time Bomb Y2K recounts the 1999 doomsday computer glitch.