Zendaya complained to HBO over Euphoria creator's The Idol / Josh Charles joins The Handmaid's Tale / Benedict to lead Bridgerton Season 4
PLUS: Homicide: Life on the Street's Tom Fontana talks potential reboot, says the HD/4K remaster for Peacock "intensifies it in a weird kind of way."
Zendaya complained to HBO over Euphoria creator Sam Levinson’s work on The Idol
According to The Hollywood Reporter's Kim Masters, Zendaya and the Euphoria creator, once “thick as thieves,” became alienated from each other. She was upset with Levinson turning his attention away from Euphoria to focus on The Idol. Meanwhile, "a source close to Levinson blamed Zendaya for dragging her feet with an eye toward a burgeoning film career...," reports Masters. "Eventually, as Levinson wound up spending far more time on The Idol than anticipated, Zendaya’s frustration grew," reports Masters. "Levinson had not yet delivered scripts for Euphoria‘s third season — scripts that are still a work in progress more than two years after viewers watched the last episode of season two. Zendaya was so perturbed that she asked for a meeting with HBO’s (Casey) Bloys and (Francesca) Orsi, demanding to know why the network allowed Levinson to turn his attention to another show — an HBO show, no less — with Euphoria hanging in the balance. Zendaya had nothing to do with The Idol but was swept up in fan backlash for a project she hadn’t wanted Levinson to take on in the first place. Sources note that she was already a seasoned actress when she appeared in Euphoria at 22, and she closely tracks the mood on social media. 'Her image is pristine,' says an executive who has dealt with her. 'And fans were turning against Sam,' urging Zendaya to distance herself. Months later, with the relationship having curdled, there was another meeting at HBO with Zendaya, Levinson, Bloys and Orsi, ostensibly to discuss creative issues. But HBO execs who hoped the gathering would help bring about a reconciliation between director and star wound up disappointed. 'They went from being so close, and they couldn’t fix it,' says a source involved with the show." Masters adds: "Levinson’s first crack at an idea for the new season, in which Zendaya was to be a private detective, was rejected by both HBO and Zendaya. Zendaya’s idea that she could play a surrogate mother also was a nonstarter. But HBO sources say that there is finally the beginning of a thaw between writer-director and star, and an inkling of an idea that will work. 'Good luck to us,' says one person closely involved in the show. 'Who knows what the hell will happen.'" ALSO: Season 3 delays have caused Sydney Sweeney to lose out on big paydays.
Josh Charles joins The Handmaid's Tale for its final season
The former The Good Wife star will be a series regular on the Hulu drama's sixth and final season. Details of his role are being kept under wraps.
President Biden announces a primetime address for Wednesday
"Tomorrow evening at 8 PM ET, I will address the nation from the Oval Office on what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people," Biden tweeted this morning.
Luke Thompson's Benedict Bridgerton to lead Bridgerton Season 4
Netflix announced via a video that the Season 4 romance will revolve around Benedict. “The fourth season of Bridgerton turns its focus to bohemian second son Benedict (Luke Thompson)," reads the official description. "Despite his elder and younger brothers both being happily married, Benedict is loath to settle down — until he meets a captivating Lady in Silver at his mother’s masquerade ball.”
What We Do in the Shadows reveals its final season premiere date
The acclaimed FX comedy will return for its sixth and final season on Oct. 21 with three episodes, followed by a weekly release. ALSO: Showrunner Paul Simms teases seven storylines for the final season.
Are Celine Dion and Lady Gaga performing at the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremonies?
Both artists have been spotted in Paris in recent days, though the lineup of performers for Friday's Opening Ceremony has been kept under wraps. For Dion, the Opening Ceremonies would mark her first performance in four years, since she was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome in December 2022.
Homicide: Life on the Street's Tom Fontana talks potential reboot, says the HD/4K remaster for Peacock "intensifies it in a weird kind of way"
The Homicide executive producer tells Vulture he wasn't directly involved in the remaster for streaming on Peacock. "We just saw the end product, but that was fine," he says. "The people doing it were really great at it. I’m one of these people who can’t watch one of my shows once I’ve finished. All I want to do is fix them." Asked how Homicide's grainy feel looks with a 4K and HD remaster, Fontana says: "I’ve seen a little bit. It actually intensifies it in a weird kind of way, but you’ll be the judge. You’ll tell me." Meanwhile, Fontana says he wasn't told that any music was lost due to music rights issues in the streaming edition, though NBC told Vulture that the remaster will have "much of the original music." Fontana reveals that "five or six years ago," an NBC executive called about a potential Homicide reboot. But it never got off the ground. "If there’s a spark that comes off the Peacock streaming, maybe we’ll take another look at it," he says. "My biggest fear is being haunted by the original, and because so many of the actors are gone. We would have to start with a whole new cast and probably in another city just to break the spell, if you will. I don’t know."
Another Batman series is in the works that will look "at this entire world as it relates to who Batman is"
The Batman director Matt Reeves and his producing partner Dylan Clark have dubbed their DC expansion plans the “Batman Epic Crime Saga.” The Penguin, a Scarface-esque story, is part of the plan. They also nixed plans for Gotham City Police Department series with Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter and an Arkham Asylum concept. “There’s another television exploration we’re going to do,” Clark tells EW. “We’re looking at this entire world as it relates to who Batman is — the antagonists around them, all the crime that has to be navigated in the city — and trying to figure out where are the areas that are best to explore.”
Snoop Dogg and Salma Hayek are carrying the Olympic torch for the Paris Games
Snoop Dogg, a special correspondent for NBC, will carry the torch on Friday. Hayek, who is tied to France through her husband François-Henri Pinault, carried the torch today.
Amazon Prime Video rolls out a new user interface
In a blog post, Amazon said its new look will help customers “seamlessly navigate” the platform and “quickly find something to watch.” “We’re always listening to customers and reviewing feedback, and it’s clear that many are in search of a more intuitive streaming experience,” said Kam Keshmiri, VP of Design at Prime Video. “With the improvements we have made to the user experience, customers will be presented with an easy-to-navigate entertainment destination where they can discover new titles and enjoy favorites, as well as sign-up or switch add-on subscriptions with just a few clicks.”
Peacock lost 500,000 subscribers in the second quarter as the Paris Olympics loom
The subscriber loss comes after Peacock hiked its prices.
Comedian Tim Dillon is returning to Netflix with a talk show-style special focusing on America’s current events
Dillon, star of Netflix's 2022 comedy special Tim Dillon: A Real Hero, will focus his next special on the "often overlooked, element of our political system: The People," per Deadline. "And pose the question: Do we get what we deserve? Topics will lead to conversations no one wants to have at the holiday table (but that Dillon isn’t afraid to lead)."
TNTs Ernie Johnson taking leave of absence for rest of Major League Baseball season
“I’d like to thank the leadership at TNT Sports for allowing me the time away to take care of a family matter during the baseball season,” the longtime TNT Sports host said in a statement. “I look forward to returning to the studio for the start of the NBA season.”
MTV renews Caught In The Act: Unfaithful for Season 3
Former Basketball Wives and The Real World star Tami Roman will be back with her investigative series that empowers suspicious lovers to catch their cheating partners in the act.
Peacock unveils star-studded trailer for Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist
Kevin Hart, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard are among the stars on the heist series that follows "the infamous story of how an armed robbery on the night of Muhammad Ali’s historic 1970 comeback fight changed not only one man’s life but ultimately transformed Atlanta into the 'Black Mecca.'" Fight Night premieres Sept. 5.