Scrubs reboot is officially in the works at ABC / The Rookie may get a second spinoff / American Idol nabs ABC's post-Oscars timeslot
PLUS: HBO announces Harry Potter series will begin filming this summer in the same studio where the films were made.
Scrubs reboot is officially in the works at ABC
"The long-rumored Scrubs reboot is getting closer to reality," reports Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. "The project is now officially in development at ABC from 20th Television after overcoming the main hurdle, securing the involvement of series creator/executive producer Bill Lawrence. As Deadline has reported, an agreement had to be worked out with Warner Bros TV, where Lawrence is under an exclusive overall deal and has four series. After weeks of negotiations, the Scrubs reboot has been carved out of that pact, allowing Lawrence to develop the followup for Disney’s 20th TV and ABC. (He won’t serve as Scrubs showrunner though.) With Lawrence on board, 20th TV is moving in to secure the main Scrubs original cast,” including Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke and John C. McGinley. But, says Andreeva, “There have been question marks around original cast member Judy Reyes who left the medical comedy ahead of its final season. According to sources, her character, no-nonsense nurse Carla Espinosa, is factored into early plans for the reboot. The participation of Reyes, who is a series regular on ABC/20th TV breakout new drama series High Potential, remains uncertain though sources indicate she could potentially do both."
The Rookie may get a second spinoff at ABC
After the failure of the Niecy Nash-Betts-led FBI-set 2022-2023 ABC series The Rookie: Feds, The Rookie creator Alexi Hawley is penning another spinoff that would revolve around a cop like the original series. "Set in Washington state, the potential spinoff follows a male cop who is stepping into a new phase of life in his second act," reports Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. "It keeps the major midlife change concept of the Los Angeles-set original series, which started off with Nathan Fillion‘s John Nolan switching careers to become the oldest rookie in the LAPD."
American Idol nabs ABC's post-Oscars timeslot
ABC will air a special half-hour preview of Idol Season 23 after the Oscars on March ahead of the show's official premiere on March 9. The preview will air at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT following the live Oscar telecast.
Like Water for Chocolate renewed for Season 2
Salma Hayek, an executive producer on the Max series adaptation of Laura Esquivel's 1989 magical realism novel, announced the renewal at the Max showcase in London, saying the plan is not to go beyond Season 3. "We don’t want to do more than two (seasons),” Hayek said. “We want this to be very special.”
Ghosts taps Nat Faxon to play Alexander Hamilton
Faxon will appear in a single episode this season to play the founding father who is also the target of Isaac’s scorn.
Squid Game criticized for casting a cisgender male actor to play a transgender woman in Season 2
As revealed in a “Meet the Cast” featurette, K-drama vet Park Sung-hoo will play Hyun-Ju, a former special forces soldier who joins the drama series’ reality competition to fund her gender-affirming surgery. Some on social media wondered why the role couldn't be played by an actual transgender woman. According to The Independent, the "inclusion of a transgender character in a Korean drama is a big deal for a traditional country where same-sex marriage is still not legally recognized, yet many viewers remained upset that the series didn’t cast a transgender actor in the role."
Kamala Harris' campaign wanted then-ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski to reveal Tim Walz's selection as her running mate
Wojnarowski, who left his ESPN job in September to become general manager of the men’s basketball team at St. Bonaventure University, his alma mater, made the revelation as part of a Sports Illustrated story on his ESPN departure. "In August, representatives from Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign reached out," writes SI's Chris Mannix. "They had settled on their nominee for vice president and wanted Woj to break it. Alas, another outlet scooped him before he could." ALSO: Adrian Wojnarowski reveals a cancer scare earlier this year contributed his decision to exit ESPN.
HBO announces Harry Potter series will begin filming this summer in the same studio where the films were made
The TV series will be filmed this summer at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, England, where the original Harry Potter films were made. Showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod revealed today that the show had auditioned 32,000 kids for lead roles, and that the team is currently reviewing 5,000 audition tapes per day. They also announced that the Harry Potter series will stick with the correct canonical ages: Snape (potentially played by Paapa Essiedu) will be in his 30s, while James and Lily Potter will be younger, because they were 21 when they died, according to Variety.
1923 returns for Season 2 in February
The Yellowstone prequel series starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren will return for its second season on Paramount+ on Feb. 23, with new episodes dropping weekly.
SNL to take a month off for its 50th anniversary primetime special
According to LateNighter, the regular edition of Saturday Night Live will be off between Jan. 25 and March 1. The 50th anniversary special is set for Sunday, Feb. 16. SNL also took a month off for its 40th anniversary special in 2014.
Joe Scarborough goes on 20-minute Morning Joe rant rebutting the notion that he and Mika Brzezinski are now subservient to Trump
Scarborough's rant came in response to The Atlantic writer David Frum, who objected to a disclaimer issued for a flippant joke he made on Wednesday’s show about Fox News about the network’s former host and defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth’s alleged drinking behavior. Frum's comment drew a rebuke from Brzezinski. "You can’t be fearful," Scarborough said, per Mediaite. "Just because some people have said that we are fearful. Let me tell you something, you can talk to anybody that has worked in the front office of NBC and MSNBC over the past 22 years. I tell you, I’m not fearful. If you talk to anybody served with me in congress, they will tell you, not fearful of leadership. Now? Not fearful."
Shōgun leads Critics Choice TV nominations
The Emmy-winning FX series scored six nominations. Abbott Elementary, Disclaimer, Hacks, The Diplomat, The Penguin and What We Do in the Shadows tied for second with four nominations each. The nominations include two posthumous nods in the same category for Treat Williams and Ron Cephas Jones, who both died in 2023. Anna Sawai was nominated twice for non-English-speaking roles, for Shōgun and Pachinko. The winners will be revealed at the Critics Choice Awards on Jan. 12.
Carrie Underwood to headline ABC’s New Year's Rockin' Eve
Underwood, who is replacing Katy Perry as a judge on American Idol, will reteam with Ryan Seacrest on his ABC New Year's eve staple.
CBS to temporarily fill The Talk's timeslot with The Price is Right reruns
After The Talk says goodbye after 15 seasons on Dec. 16, CBS will fill its afternoon timeslot with The Price is Right for two months — until new daytime soap Beyond the Gates premieres on Feb. 24.
Investigation Discovery announces a new Aaron Hernandez documentary
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Aaron Hernandez and the Untold Murders of Bristol will focus on "the circumstances in Bristol, Connecticut, that bred a community of dangerous men, including three athletes on the same high school football team — Hernandez, Alex Ryng and Nicholas Brutcher — who all went on to become murderers."
Peter Madrigal says he's the only original Vanderpump Rules star returning for Bravo’s reboot
“The one that’s still there is yours truly,” the SUR manager said on The Domenick Nati Show. Bravo has yet to confirm his involvement.
Variety's Actors on Actors sets its full Season 21 lineup
Participants include Ariana Grande and Paul Mescal, Zendaya and Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Josh O'Connor, Demi Moore and Amy Adams and Colman Domingo and Kieran Culkin — but not Sebastian Stan.
Amazon's Étoile rounds out its cast
Ivan du Pontavice and Taïs Vinolo have joined the cast of Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino‘s upcoming ballet dramedy. Details of their roles are being kept under wraps.
50 Cent is curating his own action channel on Roku
Launching Dec. 10, the 50 Cent Action Channel will feature 50 Cent’s personal favorite films and TV series drawn from Lionsgate’s library of 20,000-plus titles, plus some of the rapper's music.
Jamie Foxx addresses last year's health issue in the trailer for Netflix's Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was
“I’m back and I’m so glad to be here,” he says in the trailer for his standup special, premiering Jan. 17.
Taylor Kitsch and Peter Berg reteam for brutal Netflix's American Primeval trailer
The Friday Night Lights alums, who also teamed up for Lone Survivor, Battleship and Painkiller, are reteaming to face raw violence in American Primeval. Kitsch plays a grieving man struggling to overcome his demons amid a brutal battle for territory. American Primeval premieres Jan. 9.
Watch the trailer for Doctor Who's holiday special
Former Doctor Who boss Steven Moffat penned the episode, titled “Joy to the World,” premiering just after noon ET on Christmas Day, Dec. 25.