Netflix renews Ransom Canyon / Todd Haynes reteams with Kate Winslet / Why was Trump's live TV F-bomb so surprising?
PLUS: Alan Ritchson is hosting and co-creating Predator vs. Prey, a survival competition series for Bunim/Murray, starring reality TV fan favorites.
Netflix renews Ransom Canyon for Season 2
The romantic western drama starring Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly based on Jodi Thomas’ book series has been renewed two months after its April 17 premiere, according to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, who adds: "The news comes more than two months after the 10-episode first season of the series, an adaptation of Jodi Thomas’ books, was released. At the time, a Season 2 writers room, led by executive producer/showrunner April Blair, was already up and running. Filming on the new season is eying a September start, I hear. Set in Texas Hill Country, Ransom Canyon films in New Mexico, with production set to return to Netflix Studios Albuquerque where Season 1 was based." In a statement, Blair said: "I couldn’t be happier that Netflix is ready to get back in the saddle for Ransom Canyon!. Our dreamy little corner of Texas Hill Country is full of stories still untold, and we can’t wait to bring them to our incredible fans. Get ready for another ride.”
Todd Haynes reteams with Kate Winslet on HBO limited series Trust
Winslet won an Emmy starring in the May December director's 2011 HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce. Haynes will write Trust alongside his Mildred Pierce collaborator Jon Raymond and serve as director. Here's the official logline: “In a story told from multiple, competing perspectives, a 1920s Wall Street tycoon amasses a sudden fortune but loses a beloved wife. Decades later, his attempts to control the narrative of his life are undone by a biographer who uncovers the ultimate secrets of the legendary marriage."
Alan Ritchson is hosting and co-creating Predator vs. Prey, a survival competition series for Bunim/Murray, starring reality TV fan favorites
The Reacher star's Predator vs. Prey will follow "a cast of 15 stars who have previously appeared on survival series such as Alone, Outlast, Naked & Afraid and Survivor as they compete in a 21-day game of hide and seek set on a 25-square mile rugged wilderness course," according to Variety. "The group will be divided into two groups, with Predators able to bank up to $500,000 for capturing Prey, who earn cash prizes for staying in the game. Each episode will feature a different challenge that changes the game and forces Prey out of hiding. The project was developed by Gayani Wanigaratne, Bunim/Murray’s senior vice president of development, alongside Ritchson, who serves as game master and executive producer in addition to host."
Bodyguard creator Jed Mercurio sets new Netflix thriller series Trinity, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Richard Madden
Mercurio will reunite with Bodyguard star Madden on Trinity, which has the following logline: “A heroic female Naval Officer (Mbatha-Raw) becomes involved with the outwardly charismatic Secretary of Defense (Madden), only to discover he may be at the heart of a dangerous conspiracy.”
Netflix's Conversations with a Killer to tackle The Son of Sam
Joe Berlinger's three-part docuseries Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes, premiering July 30, "will explore one of the greatest manhunts in New York City history," per Deadline. "It will take viewers inside the NYPD’s desperate race to catch the infamous .44-caliber killer—and into the disturbing mind of David Berkowitz himself. Newly unearthed recordings offer rare insight into his twisted psyche, revealing what was going through his mind as he unleashed a reign of terror in the late 1970s. Alongside firsthand accounts from cops, journalists, and survivors, the series unpacks how fear spread through the streets, fueled by cryptic letters, a frenzied press, and a killer who seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at once.”
Paramount+ changes the name of its ad-free streaming plan from "Paramount+ With Showtime" to "Paramount+ Premium"
"Meanwhile, in what may potentially cause some confusion, the name of the Paramount+ With Showtime linear TV network on cable, satellite and internet TV streaming services (like Hulu with Live TV) will not be changing, according to Paramount," explains Variety's Todd Spangler, adding: "The company rebranded the ad-free package as Paramount+ With Showtime in the summer of 2023, and said it would eventually phase out the stand-alone Showtime streamer (which shut down in April 2024). Now, after two years, the company is dropping the Showtime name from Paramount+." The pricing of the package remains the same: It still costs $12.99 per month or $119.99 per year.
Why President Trump dropping an F-bomb on live TV this morning felt so surprising
"We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*ck they’re doing," Trump told reporters while heading out to Marine One in comments shown live on C-SPAN and other outlets. "General vulgarity has always been a core part of Trump’s political identity; his first presidential campaign was nearly done in by the disgustingly crude Access Hollywood video, and during his most recent run, he pretended to fellate his microphone at a rally," says Margaret Hartmann. "So why does this F-bomb still feel a bit surprising? First, though we’ve heard Trump curse plenty of times (as shown in this video compiled during the 2016 campaign), he’s tried to restrain himself since entering politics. He lamented during a 2016 rally, 'I’m not allowed to use any bad words. If I had used the A-word, they’d say, "Ooh, Trump used foul language" … horrible, horrible.' After Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally days before the 2024 election, the New York Times reported that his use of profanity had increased drastically during his third campaign...But the F-word still isn’t one of his most-used swear words, at least in public."
Jon Stewart's voice was sorely missed Monday in wake of the U.S.'s bombing of Iran: Could The Daily Show ever do an emergency episode?
The Daily Show is dark through the Fourth of July holiday weekend. But Stewart’s absence "begs the question: Is there any news event so major that perhaps the most celebrated comic voice on politics and current affairs might check in with his staff on a Sunday and suggest they really need to find a way to be on the air for this the next night?" says LateNighter's Bill Carter. "Sort of like what Rachel Maddow did, coming in on Sunday to anchor for MSNBC? Complicated? Expensive? Undoubtedly. Exciting? Attention-getting? Yep, that too." Carter adds: "Unrealistic? Probably. With the staff on break and the studio dark, to pull something like this off would mean rounding up a crew, at least a few writers, and finding an audience to show up and laugh. One imagines there are any number of other expensive logistical challenges that reduce this idea to the outer limits of whimsy. Still, it would be talked about—a not-irrelevant achievement in the current state of late-night television."
Netflix renews Bet for Season 2
The teen drama series inspired by Japanese manga Kakegurui will return for a second season after premiering last month and spending three weeks on the streamer’s global Top 10 English-language shows.
The CW orders six movies based on the Harlequin romance novels
Katherine McNamara will lead the first film, Montana Mavericks, which will be released in theaters Aug. 26 and 27 before it premieres on The CW in the fall. The other five movies in the channel’s Harlequin series are: Ordinary Girl in a Tiara, Paws in the City, Recipe for Romance, Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell and Second Guessing Fate.
Bobby Sherman dies: The 1960s teen idol, Shindig! and Here Comes the Brides star was 81
The actor and singer behind such Top 10 1960s hits as "Little Woman," "La La La (If I Had You)," "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" and "Easy Come, Easy Go" has died three months after he was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. John Stamos announced the news of Sherman's death, "from one ex teen idol, to another,” posting a statement from Sherman's wife Brigitte. In 1964, Sherman got his big break becoming a regular on ABC musical variety show Shindig! After 16 months, "the blue-eyed, brown-haired Sherman had made his acting debut as a kidnapped son of a millionaire businessman on a 1965 episode of ABC’s Honey West, then played a singing surfer in the mold of Frankie Avalon on NBC’s The Monkees in 1967 before landing on Here Come the Brides," says Mike Barnes in Sherman's The Hollywood Reporter obituary. "Sherman portrayed the youngest of three brothers, the shy, stammering logger Jeremy Bolt, on the 1968-70 Screen Gems/ABC show." Sherman went on to star in ABC's short-lived 1971-1972 The Partridge family spinoff Getting Together. In 1986, he played a former musician who lives next door to a Latino family led by Reni Santoni in the short-lived USA comedy series Sanchez of Bel Air, one of the first cable sitcoms.
Shane Gillis to host the ESPYs
"I'm excited to be at The ESPYs this year," the comedian and Tires star said in a statement of hosting ESPN's annual sports award show on July 16 on ABC and ESPN. "I like sports so this should be a good time." Craig Lazarus, ESPN vice president and executive producer of The ESPYs, said of tapping Gillis as host: "Shane is not only one of the top comedians today, but also a huge sports fan, which made him an easy choice to host The ESPYs. We are thrilled to work with him to create an entertaining show celebrating this year's best moments in sports and are excited to see what he'll do on stage."
House of David Season 2 will cost $8.99 to watch on Amazon Prime Video
"The faith-based drama will initially be exclusive to Wonder Project subscribers — a new subscription offering exclusively available through Amazon. That means, in addition to your Prime Video subscription, you’ll have to pay for Wonder Project, which will cost $8.99/month at launch," according to TVLine's Ryan Schwartz.
CBS is launching a soap opera podcast
Daytime vets Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart will host the audio and video podcast, titled Soapy, which promises to “dive deep into the legacy, fandom and enduring appeal” of the genre. Despite being a CBS podcast, Soapy will tackle current and former soap operas, as well as soaps on rival networks. Soapy premieres July 8 with new episodes dropping weekly through Sept. 30.
Tom Cruise's Today show clash with Matt Lauer turns 20
While visiting Today on June 24, 2005 to promote War of the Worlds (with his then-girlfriend Katie Holmes looking on off-camera), Cruise got heated when Lauer questioned him about his criticism of Brooke Shields, who had previously revealed she relied on the help of antidepressants to treat postpartum depression. At one point, the star insisted Lauer did not “know the history of psychiatry.” “I do,” Cruise proclaimed, before passing judgment on Lauer while still live on the air: “Matt, Matt, Matt, you’re glib.” Cruise later apologized to Shields. But the Today show incident became the latest negative headline for Cruise, who infamously jumped on Oprah Winfrey's couch a month earlier.
My Life with the Walter Boys will be back this summer for Season 2
Netflix didn't announce an exact Season 2 premiere date, but did release photos from the upcoming second season of the teen drama series.
Comedian Dusty Slay sets his second Netflix special
The Southern comedian's Wet Heat, premiering July 29, will follow last year's Workin' Man.
An Olivia Newton-John documentary is headed to Netflix
The streamer today announced the untitled project is being directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nicole Newnham and producer R.J. Cutler. will explore “the music, life, and magic of beloved pop star and cultural phenom Olivia Newton-John,” according to a release. “In her own words, through vivid archival and via reminiscences from close friends and collaborators, we’ll follow Olivia’s journey as the world falls madly in love with her and she ascends to the height of fame, only to be confronted by challenges of epic proportions.”
Amazon's Bloodaxe casts Xavier Molyneux in the title role
Molyneux, an Australian actor and reality star who starred in his home country’s Big Brother and Neighbours, will play the title role of Viking warrior Erik Bloodaxe in the drama series from The Tudors and Vikings creator Michael Hirst and his son Horatio Hirst. The historical drama will follow Erik Bloodaxe and his wife, Gunnhild, Mother of Kings, “as they fight for the throne of Norway.
Pedro Pascal doubles down on his J.K. Rowling criticism: "Bullies make me f*cking sick"
Asked about his comments earlier this year calling the Harry Potter author's anti-trans advocacy “heinous loser behavior," Pascal, whose younger sister Lux is transgender, told Vanity Fair: “Listen, I want to protect the people I love.But it goes beyond that. Bullies make me f*cking sick.”
Noah Wyle to direct an episode of The Pitt Season 2
"Noah, I heard Noah is writing four of the episodes and directing one this season, which I just cannot understand how you can do that many things," The Pitt star Taylor Dearden told Collider. Wyle only has previously directed episodes of Leverage: Redemption, The Librarians and Falling Skies. ALSO: The L Word: Generation Q alum Sepideh Moafi joins The Pitt Season 2.
American Love Story's Paul Kelly re-creates John F. Kennedy Jr.'s suited bike look
According to Women's Wear Daily, "Kelly was seen (on the streets of New York City) wearing a navy suit with a coordinated tie and a collared white button-down dress shirt with brown dress shoes and a white pocket square. Along with the suited look, Kelly was photographed wearing sunglasses and a black hat."
Jimmy Fallon crashes The Kelly Clarkson Show wearing a blonde mullet wig and shorts
"I'm hitchhiking," The Tonight Show said as he interrupted Kelly Clarkson's interview Tuesday with Allison Williams.
Nicole Curtis' series HGTV series Rehab Addict returns tonight after a three-year hiatus due to a personal "setback"
“I had a setback in my life that just rocked me to the core, and it was one of those moments where I thought, how do I get through this one?” Curtis tells People. She's keeping the exact nature of the incident private for now, but says it led her to make a big decision about her priorities. “I prayed on it and it was just devastating for me. I had to make a decision right there and then like, ‘Okay, we're going to let this affect us for a very long time, or we're going to pick it up and go.’”
PBS Kids renews Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood for Season 8
The season order for the children's show includes 10 new episodes as well as two new half-hour specials.
Netflix releases the full trailer of Building the Band
AJ McLean hosts with Nicole Scherzinger as mentor and judge and Kelly Rowland and the late Liam Payne in Netflix's new singing competition series, premiering July 9.
Judy Judy puts Justice on Trial in the trailer for her new Amazon court re-creation show
“Sometimes the impact of one decision by a police officer, a lawyer, or even a judge, can change the way justice is delivered,” Judy Sheindlin says of her new show, premiering July 21. “We’re taking landmark criminal cases and recreating them, using our own trial lawyers and yours truly as the judge. … Were these cases fair and the outcomes just? For some, the jury is still out.”
Watch Alicia Silverstone in Acorn TV's Irish Blood trailer
Silverstone plays a divorce lawyer who "receives a message from her estranged father, embarking on a journey to Ireland. She uncovers family truths and her father's dark past, realizing her life's abandonment story was a protective lie." Irish Blood premieres July 11.