TV Dream Team: Carell, Aniston, Witherspoon and More
How can you lose with Steve Carell, Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon together on the same project? They’re joining forces in a drama about a morning news show, and as much as we love us some Candice Bergen, we hope this series, to run on Apple TV, will be a damned sight better than Murphy Brown.
Carell will play Mitch Kessler, a morning show anchor who is struggling to maintain relevance in a changing media landscape. Production on the show is set to begin next week in Los Angeles.
Aniston and Witherspoon will both executive produce and star. This is another one that would probably be worth figuring out how to watch Apple TV for, if you don’t already know.
Update: Nestor Carbonell (Lost, Bates Motel) and Mark Duplass (Togetherness,The Mindy Project) have also joined the series.
Carbonell will play Yanko Flores, the morning show’s weatherman. Charming and with an artist’s soul, he thinks of meteorology as poetry. Duplass will play the show’s executive producer, Chip Black.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw has also been added as the show’s head talent booker and Billy Crudup is also on board as the head of the news division at the network.
Get more details from The Hollywood Reporter.
In Case You Can’t Get Enough of CRAZY RICH ASIANS…
…And who can? CBS has given a pilot order to the multi-camera sitcom The Emperor of Malibu written and produced by Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan and David Sangalli.
The show focuses on two very different families, one from Shanghai with new money and one from the East Coast of the U.S. with old money, who must learn to co-exist when their children get married. The dueling in-laws theme never gets old (and I’m not being sarcastic).
Get Ready for ‘The Passage’ — It’s Gonna Be a Killer
The series stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Saniyya Sidney. Watch the trailer to see what it’s all about:
Want to See Something Scary?
The new Hulu series Into the Dark is a daring dive into the streaming world by Blumhouse Productions because unlike most anthology series, these installments span the length of a feature film. This means bloodthirsty horror fans will be treated to a brand new, full-on scary movie the first Friday of every month courtesy of Hulu. Each episode is holiday-themed, which makes it twice the fun.
The first one out the gate, just in time for Halloween on October 5, is called The Body. It’s a real wild, whacky and wonderful concept—the tale follows a high-class hitman known as Wilkes (Tom Bateman) who does his best work on All Hallows Eve. It’s the perfect cover: He can drag a bloody body from the killing floor to its makeshift resting place without anyone even raising an eyebrow.
Read more here.
STAY HERE — A Fab New Netflix Reno Series You MUST Watch!
Super cool new reno series alert! As you know, I’m a hopeless renovation series addict, and the latest one to capture my fancy has a fascinating twist: Savvy and engaging experts Peter Lorimer and Genevieve Gorder help you spiff up your property and your business plan so you can make gazillions of dollars renting it out on Airbnb.com, VRBO, etc. It’s all in the new Netflix series Stay Here.
Got much more info in my full length feature.
Property Brothers Get Their Own Sitcom
Talk about men with the Midas touch, as if Property Brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott didn’t have enough renovation reality spin-offs (five and counting) a new scripted comedy based on the bros is in development.
Fox is working on single-camera sitcom called It Takes Two, based on the Scott brothers’ memoir of the same name. The show follows entrepreneurial twin brothers who decide to join forces in the real estate business when they realize they are stronger together than apart.
The big question is, who is going to play these long-legged drinks of water? Identical twins who are good-looking and have comedic timing are hard to come by. Maybe Armie Hammer, in a Winklevoss situation? I’d watch!
Orange is the New Black is Done Done Done Done
Well I can’t say I’ll miss the Netflix female prison dramedt too much. The first three seasons were grand, but I kind of lost track and interest after that.
But the series did have legs. It lasted six seasons, with the upcoming seventh season to be its last. The streaming service announced the news on Twitter with the warning, “This may make you cry.” Get more info on HuffingtonPost.com
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Aretha Franklin to Be the Next Featured ‘Genius?’
The New, Heidi and Tim Free ‘Project Runway’
Now that Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn have left the Project Runway building and high (fashion) tailed it to Amazon, Bravo has been left to retool the venerated design competition show from scratch. The recent casting announcements indicate that they’re gearing toward a younger demo.
Supermodel Karlie Kloss will take Klum’s place as host, and former PR winner Christian Siriano will takeover for Gunn as mentor. The one familiar face returning is Elle magazine’s Nina Garcia, who will be joined on the judge panel by fashion designer Brandon Maxwell and journalist Elaine Weltroths.
Get more info at TheWrap.com.
Kevin Hart Gives the Best Quote Ever About Developing New Kids’ Programming
After signing a first look deal with Nickelodeon to develop and produce live-action scripted kids’ content for the network, Kevin Hart said:
“For me, Nick has always represented everything fun about being a kid, and it’s still at the forefront today of kids’ and family entertainment. I’ve been slimed at Kids’ Choice, won a lot of Orange Blimps, and my kids are my very own built-in focus group, so I’m ready to dive in.”
New Worldwide Talent Competition Brings in Heavy Hitting Judges
Because not only America’s Got Talent, the newest competition series is called The World’s Best, and has signed on a whole slew of celebrity judges including Drew Barrymore, RuPaul Charles, James Corden and Faith Hill.
There are some heavy hitters behind the scenes too, including Mike Darnell (American Idol) and Mark Burnett (Survivor). It looks like this might be a one season wonder, with more to follow if the 10-episode limited series is a hit when it runs in 2019.
The premise is that acts from around the world will have to impress the aforementioned judges, but also a “wall of the world,” made up of 50 experts from around the world. The logistics are staggering. Here’s hoping the talent is as well.
Jim Parsons Makes a Bang at ABC
Jim Parsons of Big Bang Theory fame just sold ABC a comedy inspired by his childhood in Texas. It’s sounding a little like Young Sheldon to me, but ABC must know what it’s doing.
The series will be called Bless Her Heart, which is promising, and is about two very different Texas matriarchs who wreak havoc on their children’s lives when they all end up living together. So far there’s only an order for a pilot, but with the right casting, it could be all systems go in no time.
