Bye Bye Tom, Hello Tyra
Longtime Dancing With the Stars host Tom Bergeron is being replaced by Tyra Banks of America’s Top Model fame. Banks will also serve as executive producer of the ABC competition series. Co-host Erin Andrews is also leaving. “It’s been an incredible 15 year run and the most unexpected gift of my career,” Bergeron commented. “I’m grateful for that and for the lifelong friendships made.”
Martha Knows Best
Emmy® Award-winning television personality, The New York Times bestselling author and ex-con Martha Stewart is bringing her iconic home and garden talents to HGTV in the net’s newest series, Martha Knows Best, premiering Friday, July 31, at 10 and 10:30 pm ET/PT. The series will follow Martha as she completes a variety of outdoor projects at her Bedford, New York, farm. Throughout the series, Martha’s superfans—as well as a few of her famous friends, including Jay Leno, Snoop Dogg, Richard Gere, Lupita Nyong’o, Zac Posen, Daniel Boulud, and Hailey Baldwin Bieber—will virtually pop in to chat with her and get advice on their own home projects. Go Martha!
Cate Blanchett Teams Up with FX Again
The gracious and talented Cate Blanchett is returning to FX, signing an exclusive first-look TV deal with FX Productions to produce scripted and unscripted programming for FX, and possibly other divisions of Walt Disney Television as well. As you may or may not recall, the two-time Oscar winner recently starred on FX Hulu’s Mrs. America. Get more details here.
Where the Wild Things Are Going to Be:
Apple TV now has a multiyear deal with The Maurice Sendak Foundation, to develop and produce new shows and specials based on Sendak’s work, the most famous, of course, being Where the Wild Things Are. Forget about the kids, I could watch Max and the hairy beasts all day!
Colin Kaepernick Moves Into the Mouse House
Colin Kaepernick has signed with Disney for overall first-look production deal involving scripted and unscripted stories that explore race, social injustice and the quest for equity. The deal extends across all Disney—owned platforms, including Walt Disney Television, ESPN, Hulu, Pixar and ESPN’s The Undefeated. The first project to be aired is a docuseries produced by ESPN Films, about Kaepernick’s life, produced by ESPN Films
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Hamilton Scores for Disney+
I did it—did you? Seems like you’re in good company if you downloaded Disney+ in order to watch Hamilton over the holiday weekend. Downloads of Disney+ actually shot up a whopping 74 percent in the US and 47 percent globally from July 3-5. The app was downloaded 513,323 times globally and 266,084 times in the US during the three days, according to research firm Apptopia.
Good and Bad News About The Kominsky Method
The good news is that The Kominsky Method from Netflix has been renewed for a third season. The bad news is that Season 3 will be the series’ last. The seminal series, starring Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin as a couple of Hollywood self-proclaimed alta cockers, won two Golden Globes for its first season, and will likely get a few more for its second season. I will be sorry to see it go.
Long Live THE GREAT
Hulu has just revealed that The Great will get a second term, and I am absolutely ecstatic, because for my money right now it’s the best comedy on the small screen. The streamer has renewed the oh-so-naughty series starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult for a 10-episode second season. I’m hoping you’ll be hearing more about the partially true, semi-biopic series on Russia’s Catherine the Great when the Emmy nominees are announced.
Even More Enthusiasm to Be Curbed!
Curmudgeons unite! (and kvetch about it all day long.) Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm has been renewed for an astounding 11th season on HBO. Airdate to be determined, of course, as production is in limbo until the COVID-19 crisis is sorted out. Larry’s quote: “Believe me, I’m as upset about this as you are. One day I can only hope that HBO will come to their senses and grant me the cancellation I so richly deserve.” Read more here.
Here’s Your New THIS IS US Fix
With Emmy campaigns in full swing, I get a lot of fun FYC (For Your Consideration) goodies for various TV contenders. Just received this wonderfully weepy This is Us promo video, wrapping up the entire last season. Yes this show, even two minutes of it, still brings tears to my eyes. How ’bout you?
https://youtu.be/58VHw0ZbtIM
Check Out the Winners of the Critics Choice Real TV Awards 2020
Well I didn’t vote for all the winners, but I was happy to see that Cheer and Queer Eye leach took home two awards – Cheer for Unstructured Series and Male Star of The Year Jerry Harris, and Queer Eye for Lifestyle: Fashion/Beauty Show and Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series. The Culinary Show category resulted in a tie, with both Chopped and Top Chef honored. If that whets your appetite to see the rest of the winners, click here.
The Bachelorette Cast Goes Full Quarantine
So much for the saying that “You can’t hurry love.” Bachelorette fans will not just have to wait any longer, as shooting is about to commence on Clare Crawley’s season on a quarantined set—a private resort somewhere in Southern California but outside of LA County, which is experiencing a COVID-19 surge. The cast and crew will be tested prior to arrival and consistently throughout the shoot. No glamorous dates on exotic islands, producers will have to get really creative. Look for high drama in close quarters. Betcha Clare gets sick of them all.
