SNL's Please Don't Destroy era ends as Ben Marshall and 4 more join cast / Judy Reyes returning to Scrubs / The Pitt will feature a sick baby over 15 episodes
PLUS: Candice Bergen played Vogue's boss on Sex and the City — her daughter Chloe Malle has been named Vogue's boss in real life.
SNL's Please Don't Destroy era ends with Ben Marshall among five joining the cast for Season 51
Saturday Night Live today announced five new cast additions: SNL writer and Please Don’t Destroy member Ben Marshall, standup comic Tommy Brennan, comedy actor Jeremy Culhane, standup comic Kam Patterson and TikTok star Veronika Slowikowska. Marshall's casting confirms a LateNighter report last week that Please Don't Destroy is breaking up — at least on SNL. The comedy group consisting of Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy have been a sensation since joining SNL Season 47 in fall 2021. But with Season 51, Marshall will join the show's cast as a featured player, "Higgins will depart the show to pursue acting projects, while Herlihy will remain on the SNL writing staff," according to Vulture's Hershal Pandaya. "After developing an online following during the pandemic, Please Don’t Destroy was initially hired by SNL in 2021 as writers and performers who starred in their own pre-taped shorts," says Pandaya. "They quickly became fan favorites by adapting their banter- and non sequitur-heavy sketch sensibility to the show. They starred in sketches where Taylor Swift called them ‘three sad virgins’ and Bad Bunny dressed like Shrek, and their success led to writing and starring in their own feature film, Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, in 2023. Despite the news of Marshall’s SNL casting, a source tells Vulture that Please Don’t Destroy is not breaking up. The trio are presently on tour and currently have two movies in development for major studios that have yet to be announced." In an Instagram post, John Higgins confirmed his exit, writing: “I can’t believe how lucky I was to be a part of this show. It was my dream and I got to live it. And to do it with my two best friends and my dad was an unbelievable experience. Thank you to everyone who made my time there so special, it made this decision that much harder. But for now, I’m excited to pursue acting opportunities that I’ll announce soon but today I’m just grateful for everything we got to do. As that fat lil bear Winnie the Pooh once said, ‘How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.’”
ALSO:
Meet SNL's new cast members: Kam Patterson may be the most controversial new hire because he's a regular on the Kill Tony podcast. Veronika Slowikowska is a Canadian Instagram/TikTok star whose famous for her viral sketches. Jeremy Culhane is a Upright Citizens Brigade vet who is also famous for his TikTok videos. Tommy Brennan is a standup comedian who has performed on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show and was named a Just for Laughs New Face of Comedy in 2023.
Devon Walker says his SNL departure was a mutual decision: "To be frank, I guess the best way I put it is like me and the show kind of looked at each other and we decided together that it was time to go our separate ways," Walker tells Rolling Stone. "I think I felt ready to leave the show, and I think the show felt ready to leave me. I was just ready to do something else. We both felt like it was time. This was such a big time commitment, and life commitment. There’s been a lot of life stuff that I feel like I’ve had to miss out on. And I felt ready to do a different version of my life. I think that me and the show are both ready to turn the page."
Michael Longfellow reportedly complained on stage about how "it sucks" to have gotten fired from SNL
Judy Reyes will return for ABC’s Scrubs reboot will juggling High Potential
Reyes will reprise her Carla Espinosa role, head nurse at Sacred Heart Hospital, from the original Scrubs series on the ABC revival while juggling her series regular role on ABC's High Potential. She joins returning cast members Zach Braff, Donald Faison and Sarah Chalke. As Deadline's Rosy Cordero explains, "special arrangements were made to accommodate Reyes’ busy schedule, as she is currently a series regular on another ABC series, High Potential, from Drew Goddard." On High Potential, Reyes stars as Selena Soto, the beloved Lieutenant of Major Crimes.
Charlie Hunnam is poised to stay in Ryan Murphy’s Monster-verse as Lizzie Borden's father
Hunnam, who recently completed filming Monster Season 3 playing notorious serial killer Ed Gein, is in talks play Andrew Jackson Borden, Lizzie’s father, on Monster Season 4, reports Variety. Lizzie will be played by Ella Beaty, while Rebecca Hall will play Lizzie’s stepmother, Abby, and Vicky Krieps will play Bridget Sullvan, a maid in the Borden household.
Sheinelle Jones to return to Today nearly four months after her husband Uche Ojeh's death
Jones has been on a leave of absence from Today since January to be with her husband Ojeh, who died in May of glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. "We've got some other great news that we are so excited to share with you and it involves a member of our own Today family," Craig Melvin said this morning on Today. "Yes, our beloved Sheinelle will be returning to the show," added Savannah Guthrie. "She and her family have been through so much after the devastating loss of her husband, Uche."
The Pitt will feature a sick baby over the course of its 15-episode Season 2
“Some genius came up with an idea of what to do with a baby this year over 15 hours,” admits a deadpan The Pitt creator R. Scott Gemmill said during a panel at the Writers Guild of America. “That’s a whole season. You’ve got to use multiple babies. They can only work for 20 minutes … By the time the shift is over, which will be in January, this baby’s going to be walking to craft service by himself.”
Warwick Davis will reprise his Professor Flitwick Harry Potter movie role in the HBO series
Davis, who played Charms Professor Filius Flitwick across all eight original films, is reprising the role for the HBO series. While Davis was double-billed in the Potter films as both Flitwick and Griphook, he’ll only play the former in the TV adaptation of J.K. Rowling's book series. Leigh Gill will take on the role of Griphook. Also joining the cast are Sirine Saba as Herbology Professor Pomona Sprout, Richard Durden as the ghostly Professor Cuthbert Binns and Bríd Brennan as Madam Poppy Pomfrey. HBO also announced the casting of several students: Elijah Oshin as half-blood Dean Thomas, and Finn Stephens and William Nash as Draco Malfoy’s cronies, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, respectively.
Howard Stern delays his big announcement until next week
Stern was scheduled to return from his traditional two-month summer vacation this morning, where he was supposed to make a big announcement about his SiriusXM future. But early this morning, The Howard Stern Show’s social accounts announced “Howard Stern will now speak Monday, Sept. 8,” urging listeners to “stay tuned.”
Succession's Nicholas Braun arrested for DUI
The three-time Emmy nominee was taken into custody in New Hampshire Friday night. According to TMZ, "he landed in Carroll County lockup for about an hour before walking free on his own recognizance. No bail, just a court date coming up. And get this — no mugshot either ... turns out the police camera wasn’t working."
South Park's teases tackling Trump tariffs and Labubu madness on this week's episode
The description for Season 27, Episode 4 reads: “Butters experiences the reality of tariffs when he has to buy a Labubu doll for his girlfriend’s birthday.”
Corporation for Public Broadcasting will be honored by the Television Academy following Trump defunding
One of the Television Academy‘s top prizes, the 2025 Governors Award, will be given to the CPB, which is closing its doors after the Trump administration called for $1.1 billion in funding that had previously been approved for the next two years. According to the TV Academy, the CPB was chosen for its “more than five decades of service in enriching America’s media landscape through funding and support for educational, cultural and public-interest programming.”
Gordon Ramsay undergoes surgery to remove skin cancer
The Fox reality celebrity chef posted on Instagram Saturday that he was diagnosed with skin cancer and had the basal cell carcinoma removed from the side of his face. “Grateful and so appreciative for the incredible team at The Skin Associates and their fast reactive work on removing this Basal Cell Carcinoma thank you! Please don’t forget your sunscreen this weekend,” Ramsay wrote in the caption.
IT: Welcome To Derry gets an HBO Max premiere date timed for Halloween
The Bill Skarsgård-led IT prequel series premieres Oct. 26.
Pod Meets World opted to edit out misconduct allegations against Fred Savage out of respect for Boy Meets World star Ben Savage
Listeners of the Boy Meets World rewatch podcast wondered why Fred Savage's 2022 firing from The Wonder Years reboot over "allegations of inappropriate conduct" wasn't mentioned when the show tackled his first guest-starring appearance. According to Buzzfeed, co-host Danielle Fishel said she decided to edit out the discussion because the podcast doesn't have a connection to Fred's brother Ben Savage, their Boy Meets World co-star. “We talked about it and truthfully, out of respect for Ben, we decided not to comment on it,” she said. “We have still not spoken to Ben, but we know that Ben’s family are incredibly private. Even the reason he gave us for not wanting to be a part of the podcast was that he just didn’t think it was for him… I’m speculating, but I think a large part of that is because we’ve been very vulnerable, and we’ve been very open, and that’s not for everybody.”
NFL accuses Nielsen of underestimating its viewership
“There are millions of viewers that we believe they are systematically undercounting,” Ballew, the NFL's chief data and analtics officer tells The Wall Street Journal, pointing how lower numbers could cost the league’s media partners ad revenue and hamper its rights negotiations. Ballew says the NFL has also been experimenting with alternatives to Nielsen for additional viewing data. A Nielsen spokeswoman says it is “confident this will be the most accurately rated football season in history.” She adds that Nielsen is working closely with the league to innovate its data collection. Ballew, who serves on Nielsen’s quality advisory board, says Nielsen's recently launched "Big Data + Panel" methodology doesn’t yet include first-party audience data from most of the streaming services that carry NFL games, which is crucial to the league and its media partners. Ballew also reiterates a longtime concern of the league and networks that Nielsen appears to be underrepresenting the number of people watching games together at home, a ratings category known as “co-viewing.” Nielsen stands by its co-viewing measurement, the spokeswoman says, but she acknowledged “we owe the NFL a deeper co-viewing analysis.” ALSO: NFL's Paul Ballew: "The measurement movement that Nielsen has taken to go to big data + panel is something we strongly support."
Nielsen will take more time to establish final viewing data because of streaming
"Nielsen is keeping track of so much more viewing data in the age of streaming that getting to a final count of TV audiences is going to take a little more time," says Variety's Brian Steinberg. "The measurement giant, which recently won approval to include viewership data from smart TVs along with its usual panel of video consumers, says final tabulation of audiences that includes people who watch traditional linear TV as well as streaming services will likely take as much as two to three days following a specific premiere. Broadcasters have been accustomed for many years to releasing Nielsen viewership estimates as soon as the day after a program’s debut."
Candice Bergen played Vogue's boss on Sex and the City — her daughter Chloe Malle has been named Vogue's boss in real life
Bergen recurred on Sex and the City Seasons 4, 5 and 6 as Vogue editor-in-chief Enid Frick. This morning, Vogue named Chloe Malle, Bergen's 39-year-old daughter with the late French filmmaker Louis Malle, as the new editor of Vogue U.S., succeeding the legendary Anna Wintour, who's overseen Vogue since 1988. Malle, the editor of Vogue’s website and co-host of its podcast, will officially have the title of “head of editorial content." As The New York Times' Jessica Testa notes, the new title is "a sign of how much the magazine business has changed since Vogue established itself as fashion’s monthly print bible, ruling the industry with a bejeweled iron fist."
Meghan Markle's With Love, Meghan Season 2 fails to crack Netflix's Top 10
Season 2 didn't make Netflix's Top 10 after Season 1 placed No. 10 when With Love, Meghan premiered in March.
Kenya Barris and Kim Kardashian's Hulu pilot Group Chat adds four, including Yaya DaCosta and Melanie Liburd
Rebecca Rittenhouse and Stephanie Suganami will also join La La Anthony in the satirical comedy series based on her bestselling book The Love Playbook: Rules for Love, Sex, and Happiness, Group Chat. According to Deadline, Kardashian will serve as Group Chat’s narrator and guest star, we hear.
Mark Consuelos says he'll play a billionaire on 9-1-1
“I play a tech billionaire. His name is Trip. And he experiences an emergency situation, so he needs to call 9-1-1,” Consuelos teased on this morning's Live with Kelly and Mark, per Decider. “That’s all I can say.”
Seth Rogen is attending the Venice Film Festival for research on The Studio Season 2
Rogen "was in research mode at the Venice Film Festival on Monday," reports Variety's Alex Ritman. :"Though he’s not involved with A24’s The Smashing Machine, he attended the afternoon press conference for the Dwayne Johnson’s wrestling drama before hitting the red carpet for the world premiere. During the film’s 15-minute standing ovation (something Remick’s Continental Studios could only dream of), while Johnson and Safdie both wept for joy, Rogen — seated a few rows back — spent much of the time capturing footage on both his phone and a chunky digital camera (and also cheering and merrily posing for the occasional selfie with fans). He later carried on to the after party, where he chatted to fellow guests — and took more photos, with organizers telling Variety that he’d been dubbed 'The Snapping Machine.'"
Real Housewives of Potomac star Karen Huger released from prison
Huger was released six months early this morning, after serving six months after being convicted for DUI, negligent driving, failing to control her vehicle’s speed to avoid a collision and more. "Moving forward ... Karen won't allowed behind the wheel for a year," according to TMZ. "She'll also serve 5 years of supervised probation upon release -- with an interlock device required once she's cleared to drive again. If there aren't any violations, probation will switch to unsupervised after 3 years."
Walmart+ subscribers will be able to choose between memberships to Peacock and Paramount+
"Walmart wants to take on Amazon Prime Video in the video aggregation space, overhauling its subscription offering with a new benefit called 'Video Subscription Choice,' and adding Peacock as a partner," explains The Hollywood Reporter's Alex Weprin. "The retail giant on Monday announced its new plan, which includes an extension of its deal with Paramount+, originally signed three years ago. The new offering will see subscribers to its Walmart+ bundle be able to choose between a complimentary subscription to Peacock’s premium tier, or the Paramount+ essential plan. Subscribers can also switch between Paramount+ and Peacock every 90 days, if they so choose."
Lee Corso's goodbye delivered College Gameday its best ratings ever
About 3.5 million watched the 90-year-old Corso's final Gameday, with 5.1 million tuning for his last headgear pick. In fact, Corso went 6-0 in his final picks segment. ALSO: College Gameday longtime producer Chad Hanna, who joined the show in 1993 and who died in July.
TCU shades Bill Belichick’s Hulu docuseries after blowing out the Super Bowl-winning coach in his North Carolina debut, 48-14
"when does episode one come out?" the TCU football X account tweeted in reposting a video last week of Belichick announcing the Hulu docuseries. Meanwhile, the game got so out of hand that ESPN used Kirk Herbstreit's dog to call the game.
Local reporter alleges an ESPN cameraman shoved after LSU-Clemson game
Chessa Bouche, a sports reporter for Louisiana First News, alleges an ESPN cameraman shoved her aside as she was trying to do her job following LSU's win Saturday night. “To the ESPN camera guy who shoved me after the game bc I was in your way. All you had to do was say something, not physically put your hands on a female who is half your size. There’s a thing called mutual respect in this industry & I’m solo doing the work of multiple people while y’all have crews for every game. Maybe next time just say hey move. Do better man!” Bouche tweeted.
Netflix shares the first look at Lady Gaga on Wednesday
The Wednesday account described Gaga's character, Rosaline Rotwood, as "a vision in venom." Gaga is rumored to be playing a teacher at Nevermore Academy.
The Morning Show Season 1 is now available to Amazon Prime Video customers at no extra cost
Now that Prime Video subscribers can subscribe to Apple TV+ on the app, The Morning Show's first season has been made available ahead of its Season 4 premiere later this month.
American Love Story spotted filming a fight scene between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette
Paparazzi captured the tense scene filmed by actors Paul Anthony Kennedy and Sarah Pidgeon.
"Leno's Law" bill fails in California
The California Assembly Appropriations Committee has blocked the Jay Leno-backed bill to pass a measure allowing classic car owners to be fully exempt from the state's rigorous smog-check requirements.
Graham Greene dies: Oscar-nominated actor who appeared on Longmire, Reservation Dogs and Defiance was 73
The Indigenous Canadian actor, who earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for Dances with Wolves, starred on the small screen on Canadian comedy The Red Green Show and Syfy's Defiance. He also had guest roles on Longmire, Reservation Dogs, Riverdale, Goliath, American Gods, The Last of Us and Echo.
Kelsey Bateman, Rock of Love with Bret Michaels star, dies at 39
Bateman appeared on the third and final season as a contestant on Bret Michaels' 2007-2009 VH1 reality show. No cause of death was given.
The Virginian star Randy Boone dies at 83
Boone, who portrayed the singing and guitar-playing ranch hand Randy Benton on Seasons 2, 3 and 4 of the long-running 1960s NBC Western series, died Thursday. Boone also starred on the short-lived 1962-63 NBC comedy-drama It’s a Man’s World and the short-lived 1967-68 CBS Western Cimarron Strip. He also starred on the 1963 Twilight Zone episode “The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms."
Netflix unveils the trailer for Next Gen Chef
The reality cooking competition, hosted by Olivia Culpo, sees 21 of America’s hottest young chefs under the age of 30 compete in a rigorous gauntlet of tests at the prestigious culinary school The Culinary Institute of America. Next Gen Chef premieres Sept. 17.
Abbott Elementary teachers are "under attack" in Season 5 teaser
Watch what happens when they are confronted by an adorable apple-flinging student. Abbott Elementary returns Oct. 1.
HBO Max reveals the trailer for Marco Bellocchio’s Portobello
The acclaimed Italian filmmaker's upcoming series "tells the story of “one of the most blatant errors of Italian justice” involving TV presenter Enzo Tortora, and is billed as a tragic tale of the fall of an innocent man," per Deadline.
Marvel releases the trailer for Marvel Zombies
The four-part series, premiering Sept. 24 on Disney+, re-contextualizes the Marvel Universe as Earth's mightiest heroes go head-to-head against a zombie outbreak, turning even the strongest of them into undead nightmares.
Watch the trailer for Netflix's Billionaire's Bunker
Premiering Sept. 19, the Spanish drama series from the creators of Money Heist follows a group of billionaires who are forced to coexist after locking themselves in a luxury bunker due to the threat of an unprecedented global conflict.
Netflix teases cannabis drama Amsterdam Empire
Famke Janssen gets to finally speak her native Dutch in the crime drama premiering Oct. 30.
What's up with Glen Powell's voice in Hulu's Chad Powers official trailer?
"We’ve been sitting here for a couple of minutes now, trying to think of a way to put Powell’s choices here into words, and the best we can come up with is 'What if Porky Pig got bit by a rabid Matthew McConaughey?,'" says The A.V. Club's William Hughes. "Listen to his character—hotshot football a**hole Russ Holliday, who slathers himself in prosthetics to get a second chance at collegiate football—intone 'That red rocket is big and dirty' in a sort of nasal swagger, speaking like no human being ever has. Listen to him somehow manage to fit, by our count, four distinct vowels into the name 'Chad.' Listen to him babble out interview answers in a way that is supposed to be comedically awkward, but instead comes off like the 'funny guy' in the office bombing Baby’s First Improv Scene."