The Jennifer Hudson Show renewed for Season 5 / Chelsea Handler is set to play a washed-up reality star on Hulu / ESPN announces Women’s Sports Sundays
PLUS: Apple TV French thriller The Hunt gets a new premiere date after resolving plagiarism controversy.
The Jennifer Hudson Show renewed for Season 5 amid concerns over the future of daytime talk shows
Fox-owned stations have picked up Jennifer Hudson’s syndicated daytime talk show for a fifth season. The Jennifer Hudson Show’s renewal comes weeks after the back-to-back Feb. 2 news that Kelly Clarkson was ending The Kelly Clarkson Show and Sherri Shepherd’s Sherri was being canceled, sparking concerns that the daytime talk show format was dying. As The Hollywood Reporter’s Rick Porter notes, “so far this season, The Jennifer Hudson Show has improved its ratings among women 25-54 — a key demographic for daytime shows — by 10 percent compared to 2024-25. The show also has a big digital and social media footprint, fueled in part by the show’s spirit tunnel walks for guests.” In a statement, Hudson said: “I could not be more honored to continue this journey alongside a phenomenal group of brilliant producers, dedicated crew, and collaborative partners. It is such a joy to connect with people in meaningful ways every day across this country and to share stories of heart and inspiration, all while bringing entertainment into people’s lives. None of this would be possible without our incredible audience. They are the heartbeat of the show, and I am so excited to take this to new heights in season five.”
Chelsea Handler is set to play a washed-up reality star in a Hulu comedy
In Townhouse, from fledgling writer Zoe Young, “Handler is set to play the reality star and the series also follows her live-in entourage of misfits as they scramble to rehab her image and reboot her career,” according to Deadline. “When her estranged daughter unexpectedly moves into their crumbling Manhattan townhouse, the TV has-been is confronted with the one role she’s spent her entire life avoiding: motherhood.” Handler, who will also serve as executive producer, is no stranger to the world of reality TV. Handler was an executive producer on the 2010 E! reality show Pretty Wild, which starred Alexis Neiers, who was arrested after the pilot for being part of the Bling Ring. Handler also starred in Oxygen prank series Girls Behaving Badly and hosted the Steven Spielberg- and Mark Burnett-produced 2007 Fox filmmaking reality competition series On The Lot.
Apple TV French thriller The Hunt gets a new premiere date after resolving plagiarism controversy
The French series Traqués (The Hunt), now set to premiere March 4, was originally scheduled to drop on Dec. 3, but was yanked from the schedule after production company Gaumont began investigating allegations the project might have been plagiarized from Douglas Fairbairn’s 1973 novel Shoot. “Originally scheduled for December 2025, The Hunt‘s release was postponed after it was identified in November 2025 that the project, presented as an original work, was based on an existing work, Douglas Fairbairn’s Shoot,” Gaumant said in a statement. “As soon as this information came to its attention, Gaumont, the series’ producer, immediately took the necessary steps to identify the rights holders, and obtain the required authorizations. Respect for works and authors’ rights is a fundamental principle for Gaumont, which can only be exercised with the trust and transparency of creative artists.” The last part is a likely reference to The Hunt‘s director Cédric Anger who was originally credited as creator of the series when it was sold to Apple TV as an original project. The Hunt is now billed as “a series by Anger based on the novel Shoot by Douglas Fairbairn, which was first adapted into a feature film of the same name, directed by Harvey Hart from a screenplay by Richard Berg.” Watch the trailer.
Jury Duty reveals its Season 2 cast of 14 comedic actors
Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat will feature comedic actors Alex Bonifer, Blair Beeken, Emily Pendergast, Erica Hernandez, Jerry Hauck, Jim A. Woods, LaNisa Renee Frederick, Marc-Sully Saint-Fleur, Rachel Kaly, Rob Lathan, Ryan Perez, Stephanie Hodge, Warren Burke and Wendy Braun.
ESPN announces Women’s Sports Sundays to replace Sunday Night Baseball
In one of the biggest investments in women’s sports programming by a major sports-media provider, Women’s Sports Sundays will feature top match-ups from the WNBA and National Women’s Soccer Leagdue. “Sunday is a day of the week when we see a ton of our best women’s sports programming, and we will have events outside of our primetime window,” Susie Piotrkowski, vice president of women’s sports programming and espnW, tells Variety. ESPN plans to run nine weeks of Women’s Sports Sundays, she says, and expects to surround the games with bespoke studio programming that could rely on talent already assigned to coverage of either league. There are some hopes, she says, of running a similar destination during other times of the year when pivotal women’s sports events take place. ESPN also has an eight-year pact with the NCAA for many women’s sports, including basketball, and also has rights to the Little League Softball World Series and Athletes Unlimited Softball League.
What is the significance of Harrison Ford making an Indiana Jones reference on Shrinking?
This week’s episode featured a very meta moment that begs the question: Who plays Indiana Jones in the Shrinking universe? ALSO: Ted McGinley says this week’s Shrinking “was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever had to do as an actor.”
A&E reality show Desert Sun isn’t filming the Pima County Sheriff’s Department’s Nancy Guthrie investigation
”Production sources tell us ... they have not been filming Desert Law during the Nancy Guthrie investigation,” TMZ reports of the A&E reality show that premiered on Jan. 7. “The show has been in the can for quite a while, and they’re not looking to do reshoots.”
Former CBS Evening News co-anchor John Dickerson to return to CBS for Stephen Colbert’s post-State of the Union Late Show
Dickerson will make his 20th appearance on The Late Show next Tuesday two months after signing off as co-anchor of the CBS Evening News alongside Maurice DuBois. ALSO: An ill Stephen Colbert nearly loses his voice.
Robert Carlyle boards Line of Duty for Season 7
The former Once Upon a Time star will play Detective Constable Shaun Massie throughout the seventh season in a guest role on the BBC police drama. “Having been a huge admirer of (creator) Jed Mercurio’s work for many years, I’m delighted to be given the opportunity to join such an exceptional cast for series 7 of Line of Duty,” Carlyle said. “The scripts for the series are excellent and will absolutely maintain the quality that the audience have come to expect from this fantastic show. DC Massie is an extraordinary character and I look forward to bringing him to life.”
Joe Pantoliano joins Power Book III: Raising Kanan’s final season
The Emmy-winning actor will play Pino Bernardi, the head of the Manhattan Mafia, in the Starz series’ fifth and final season.
Netflix orders adult animated series Dang! from The Good Place alums, starring Poppy Liu and Stephanie Hsu
The Good Place creator Mike Schur is reteaming with his former writers Andrew Law and Matt Murray, who co-created Dang! Law also stars in the series about a brother and sister (Law and Liu) “whose fun, messy lives in New York City are interrupted when their worst nightmare comes true: their high-achieving older sister (Hsu) shows up and wants to hang out with them,” the logline reads.
Percy Jackson casts Ming-Na Wen, Jennifer Beals and Hubert Smielecki
Wen will guest in Season 3 as Hera, who is described as queen of Olympus, and wife to Courtney B. Vance’s Zeus. Beals will guest star as Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, the harvest and the cycle of life and death. And Smielecki will guest as Apollo, the dazzling and charismatic god of the sun as well as music, poetry, archery and prophecy.
Oscars bringing back all four of last year’s acting winners to present at this year’s ceremony
Adrien Brody, Kieran Culkin, Mikey Madison and Zoe Saldaña will hand out awards during the March 15 ceremony, though which awards haven’t been revealed.
House of David Season 2 sets Match premiere date
The Amazon Prime Video biblical drama will binge-release its second season on March 27.
Rich AF series in the works at Amazon
Vivian Tu‘s bestselling self-help book Rich AF: The Winning Money Mindset That Will Change Your Life is being adapted for TV. Created and written by Mallory Rosenthal, “Rich AF is a riches to rags story that follows 23-year-old Lia, a billionaire’s daughter and Wall Street rising star who has to start from scratch after exposing her father’s white collar crimes and losing everything she once held dear,” per Deadline. “She’ll be pinned between her former glittering life and a new scrappier one as she painstakingly builds a freelance career and learns that wealth isn’t only measured in dollars.”
TCM sets tribute to Robert Duvall
Following Duvall’s death on Sunday at age 95, Turner Classic Movies will honor the legendary actor’s life on March 10 by showing his Oscar-winning performance in Tender Mercies, followed by The Great Santini and Apocalypse Now.
Country singer Riley Green to make his acting debut on Yellowstone spinoff Marshals
CMA and ACM Award winner Green will guest in a multi-episode arc as a former Navy SEAL on the CBS drama. “I’m so excited to be joining the cast of Marshals. Being on set with my buddy Luke Grimes made the experience even more memorable,” Green said in a statement. “This is my first go around in the acting space and I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to this world.”
Nickelodeon orders Ryan Reynolds’ Bedtime Stories with Ryan
Created by Reynolds and George Dewey and premiering March 2, Bedtime Stories with Ryan features Reynolds :reading new and classic bedtime stories as the tales magically come to life around him – creating a warm, playful and imaginative wind-down experience for kids and parents to enjoy together,” per Deadline. Watch the trailer.
A bloody Rob Mac has to remind Kaitlin Olson that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is a comedy
“I just feel like you’re on the show for a long time and forgot that it’s comedy,” Mac says to his wife Olson, who stars on ABC hit drama series High Potential.
Game of Thrones siblings Sophie Turner and Kit Harington gag after kissing in behind the scenes footage from their horror film
Footage from the set of The Dreadful shows the former Game of Thrones co-stars struggle to make it through their “incestuous”-looking kissing scene.
House of the Dragon releases a fiery Season 3 teaser
Members of the divided House Targaryen go into battle in the first look at Season 3 of the Game of Thrones prequel series, which premieres in June.
Tyler Perry’s Beauty in Black unveils Season 2, Part 2 trailer
Perry’s hit Netflix series returns March 19.
Peaky Blinders movie trailer features Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby going to war with his new son, played by Barry Keoghan
Keoghan plays Duke Shelby, who was previously played by Conrad Khan on the Peaky Blinders series. Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man premieres on Netflix on March 20.