Netflix sets Laci Peterson doc in wake of Peacock's Scott Peterson doc / Charles Barkley sticking with TNT / AMAs to return after 2-1/2 years
PLUS: Eugene Levy and Dan Levy are in talks to host the Primetime Emmys on ABC.
Netflix counters Peacock's Face to Face with Scott Peterson with American Murder: Laci Peterson
One week after Peacock announced it will air a three-part exclusive interview with convicted killer Scott Peterson, Netflix announced has announced its own three-part docuseries on his murder victim Laci Peterson and her family — which will also feature an interview with his mistress, Amber Frey. Netflix's American Murder: Laci Peterson premieres Aug. 14, while Face to Face with Scott Peterson drops six days later on Aug. 20. In 2004, Peterson was convicted of killing his wife Peterson and their unborn child in 2002. He is currently serving life in prison. Face to Face with Scott Peterson will air months after Los Angeles Innocence Project announced it was taking up Scott Peterson's case. “In coming forward to tell Laci’s story for a new generation, they might empower other women experiencing intimate partner violence to escape a similarly tragic fate,” reads a synopsis of Netflix's docuseries.
Eugene Levy and Dan Levy are in talks to host the Primetime Emmys on ABC
The father-son duo and Emmy-winning former Schitt's Creek co-stars could return to ABC four years after their Emmy dominance, reports Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, adding: "Just like in 2020, when the Levys’ Schitt’s Creek swept the comedy categories, the ceremony is airing on ABC this year. Sources stress that negotiations are ongoing, and it is unclear whether a deal will be reached. Reps for the network, the TV Academy and the actors declined comment." Eugene Levy and Dan Levy have worked together on stage before, including delivering the opening monologue at the 2020 SAG Awards.
Charles Barkley cancels plans to retire, says he'll stick with his $210 million TNT Sports contract despite loss of NBA rights
TNT Sports said Tuesday that Barkley, who is currently in the third season of his 10-year, $210 million contract, has “reaffirmed his commitment” to the company, which will see him “exclusively contribute to TNT Sports for many years to come.” Barkley is currently in the midst of a lucrative 10-year deal with TNT Sports. “I love my TNT Sports family. My #1 priority has been and always will be our people and keeping everyone together for as long as possible. We have the most amazing people, and they are the best at what they do,” Barkley said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them both on the shows we currently have and new ones we develop together in the future. This is the only place for me. I have to say … I’ve been impressed by the leadership team who is fighting hard and have been aggressive in adding new properties to TNT Sports, which I am very excited about. I appreciate them and all of my colleagues for their continued support, and most importantly our fans. I’m going to give my all as we keep them entertained for years to come.”
TNT Sports couldn't match Amazon's NBA bid because it doesn't have the NFL
"Warner’s TNT, which has been an NBA media partner for more than three decades, had a contractual right to match a rival offer to carry games," reports The Wall Street Journal's Amol Sharma and Joe Flint. "The NBA’s deal with Amazon included several provisions that Warner couldn’t match, say people familiar with the situation, including one spelling out the promotion of the NBA in Amazon’s NFL telecasts. TNT doesn’t carry NFL programming. The league considered Amazon’s Thursday NFL telecasts an advantage, because they have helped build a sports-streaming audience that the NBA can benefit from. Amazon’s deal ensured that it would treat NBA games similarly to NFL games, some of the people said. Amazon intends to air NBA games on Thursdays as well. Warner has sued the NBA, alleging the league breached its media contract. The suit said Amazon’s deal was structured in a way that made it impossible for Warner to match the offer, but provided scant details on the provisions at issue."
American Music Awards, last held in 2022, will have its next ceremony in May 2025
The AMAs will take a second year off in 2024. Instead, the AMAs will air in the spring for the first time. In its place this October, CBS will air a two-hour event, the American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special.
Ryan Murphy's Kim Kardashian legal drama All's Fair adds Sarah Paulson, Niecy Nash, Teyana Taylor and Naomi Watts
Paulson, Nash and Watts, who are all Ryan Murphy veterans, will co-star with Kardashian and Glenn Close in the Hulu legal drama. Paulson, Nash and Watts will also serve as executive producers.
CBS orders a pilot for Monk creator's Einstein crime drama
The American adaptation of German TV’s Einstein-themed procedural, from Monk creator Andy Breckman, follows the "brilliant but directionless, the great grandson of Albert Einstein spends his days as a comfortably tenured professor until his bad boy antics land him in trouble with the law and he is pressed into service helping a local police detective solve her most puzzling cases," according to Deadline.
Disney+, ESPN and Hulu are raising their prices in October
Starting Oct. 17, monthly and annual plans for the three Disney-owned streaming services will get more expensive. According to Variety, "the pricing for the recently introduced Disney+/Hulu/Max combo offered in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery will remain unchanged, and the Disney+/Hulu Premium no-ads bundle will stay at $19.99/month."
Steve Martin is social media's top choice to play Tim Walz on SNL
Martin is nearly two decades older than the 60-year-old Minnesota governor, who was tapped this morning to be Kamala Harris' running mate and vice presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket. But that doesn't matter to Saturday Night Live fans. “Oh Steve Martin, get your a** to NYC NOW! SNL needs you!” one X user tweeted, with a second questioning: “So Steve Martin is definitely gonna play Walz on SNL right?” ALSO: Other suggestions include Nick Offerman, Danny DeVito and Jim Gaffigan.
Jenna Ortega says "I felt like a caricature of myself" over her Wednesday writing remarks
Ortega received backlash last year when she said on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, "there were times on that set where I even became unprofessional in a sense where I just started changing lines." Reflecting on her comments, Ortega told Vanity Fair: "Everything that I said felt so magnified….It felt almost dystopian to me. I felt like a caricature of myself.” She added: “You’re never going to please everybody, and as someone who naturally was a people pleaser, that was really hard for me to understand. Some people just may not like you…and that’s entirely fine. I got sick of myself last year. My face was everywhere…so it’s like, fair enough, if I were opening my phone and I saw the same girl with some stupid quote or something, I would be over it too.”
Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News, which have covered the TV industry for decades, are shutting down
UK-based media company Future plc, which owns the two trade publicans, announced the shutdown via its NextTV.com site. Broadcasting & Cable launched as Broadcasting in 1931 with coverage of radio. It became Broadcasting & Cable in 1993. Multichannel News was first published in 1980 by Fairchild Publications.
Days of Our Lives bringing back Alison Sweeney
After a two-year absence, Sweeney will reprise her Sami Brady role.
Game of Thrones "Red Wedding" extra wins a Gold medal at the Paris Olympics
Irish swimmer Daniel Wiffen, who took home the gold in the men’s 800-meter freestyle and the bronze in the 1500-meter freestyle at the Paris Games, appeared with his twin brother Nathan as background extras in Game of Thrones' infamous Season 3 "The Rains of Castamere" episode.
Rebecca Mader to guest on CBS' Poppa's House
The Lost and Once Upon a Time alum will play the headmistress of a prestigious private school on the Damon Wayans-Damon Wayans Jr. comedy.
The Bold and the Beautiful taps Rebecca Budig to play Dr. Taylor Hayes
The soap vet debuts today on the CBS soap opera, replacing Krista Allen, who was written off the show in October of 2023 after taking over for Hunter Tylo in 2021.
Stranger Things prequel play is coming to Broadway
Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the 1959-set three-hour play currently playing on London's West End, will move to Broadway starting in March 2025.
Patti Yasutake, Star Trek Generations and Beef actress, dies at 70
Yasutake, who died Monday after a long battle with a rare form of T-cell lymphoma, is best known for recurring as Starfleet officer Nurse Alyssa Ogawa aboard the USS Enterprise on Star Trek Generations from 1990 through 1994, a role she reprised in the films Star Trek: Generations and Star Trek: First Contact and in a Hallmark commercial. Last year, Yasutake appeared on seven of 10 episodes on the Emmy-winning Netflix series Beef as Fumi Nakai, the fierce mother of Joseph Lee's George Nakai and mother-in-law of Ali Wong’s Amy Lau. In addition to recurring roles on The Closer and Mr. Belvedere, Yasutake also co-starred with Scott Bakula and Gedde Watanabe on the short-lived 1986-1987 ABC sitcom Gung Ho, based on the 1986 Michael Keaton-starring Ron Howard-directed movie of the same name.
HBO teases My Brilliant Friend's final season
The fourth and final season of HBO's Elena Ferrante adaptation premieres Sept. 9.
Zachary Quinto plays an unconventional doctor in NBC's Brilliant Minds trailer
The medical drama series inspired by renowned neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks and premieres on Sept. 23.
Watch FX's English Teacher trailer, starring Brian Jordan Alvarez
Alvarez co-created and stars in English Teacher, playing a gay high school English teacher in Austin as he and his fellow teachers try to balance the competing demands of the students and their parents in a world where the rules seem to change every day. English Teacher premieres on Sept. 2.