Admit it. Once the lottery payout reaches a certain level, you start fantasizing about what type of home you’d buy, even if you never play the lotto. I know I do. Next best thing to buying your own dream house is watching someone else buy theirs, and that you can do on HGTV’s My Lottery Dream House, which has just received a 28 episode renewal. Last season it attracted over 15.7 million viewers. And if you’ve never seen it, you’ll have plenty of time to catch up, as the news season won’t premiere until Friday, September 21 at 9 pm. To get a little taste, see my interview with host David Bromstad here. It’s really surprising.

If you love historical fiction as much as I do, both in print and on the small screen, you’ll be destroying your latest manicure in anticipation of HBO’s four-part miniseries Catherine the Great, starring everybody’s fave Hellen Mirren in the title role. Word’s out that they just signed Jason Clarke (Chappaquiddick) to play Grigory Potemkin, a Russian military commander who became her lover…and more. Talk about a royal production pedigree! The series will be written by Nigel Williams (HBO’s Elizabeth I) and direct by Philip Martin (The Crown). Find out more at Hollywood Reporter.com.

The much loved vampire slayer series is about to get more inclusive, as 20th Century Fox Television, the same guys who produced the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Joss Whedon, have put a new spin in development, with the title role going to an as yet unnamed African American actress. Whedon is reported to be working with writer/show runner Monica Breen, (Agents of Shield) to get the series up and running. No one has been officially cast yet, but I’ll keep you posted as it develops. Find out more about it at The Hollywood Reporter.

Guess what we’ll be watching in the gym as we workout here at Chez Mandell today? That’s right, we’re starting on the final season of UnREAL, one of our favorite guilty pleasures. It’s a dishy drama series about the dirt that goes on behind the scenes on shows like The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, and it’s actually won many industry awards, including a Peabody and a Critics Choice Award. After seasons on A&E about the first death on the show, the first African American “suitor,” and the first female “suitress,” the series is moving to Hulu for a season that revolves around all-stars.  After that, where were they gonna go? We’ll miss it, but we think it’s ending at the right time. See more here.

Woo Hoo! Production has been officially announced on a Downton Abbey movie, with many members of the original cast coming back. That’s according to Focus Features, which also states that the project will commence in the late summer—just a few weeks away! With series creator Julian Fellowes writing the screenplay, producing and directing, how can they go wrong? Get more details here.

Just in case you’re wondering why past winners like Veep, Master of None, Better Call Saul and House of Cards didn’t get nominated, know that they didn’t air new episodes during the 2018 eligibility period. Meanwhile, HBO’s Game of Thrones grabbed the most nods with 22; NBC’s Saturday Night Live and HBO’s Westworld, which I have issues with this season, each earned 21. See a full list of nominees and get more interesting tidbits here.

The center of the Stephen King universe is a small Maine town called Castle Rock, and the new Hulu series is based in this imaginary bad-luck burg, referencing many of the author’s greatest hits. It stars some of your favorite actors like Terry O’Quinn,  Sissy Spacek and Bill Skarsgård.  Staci Layne Wilson says the J.J. Abrams production is off to a smooth and scary start. Read her full review here.

Do you love House of Cards, The Crown and GLOW on Netflix? If so, you are among the service’s most affluent viewers. Numbers from Nielsen’s new SVOD content ratings data show that the median income for those who watch The Crown is  the highest of all Netflix shows, at  $84,200 per year, and House of Cards is second, at $80,400. The surprise came with the recent announcement of GLOW viewers’ median income, third highest at $80,200. That’s the comedy that centers on the Glorious Ladies of Wrestling of the ’80’s, and stars Alison Brie and Marc Maron. I’m not as crazy about it as I am about the other two, but it does make for fun watching. Read more at Deadline Hollywood.

Personally, I’ve never understood the world’s fascination with Shark Week, but apparently I’m the only one who’s not in the swim. The Paley Center for Media, the NY and BH based organization that “leads the discussion about the cultural, creative, and social significance of television, radio, and emerging platforms,” has announced the multimedia experience called SHARK WEEK: 30 Years of Shark ‘N’ Awe! The Exhibit. It’s free and open to the public and will run at the Paley Center’s Beverly Hills location July 14 through July 29. So if you, unlike me, would like to “relive the annual ‘fin-tastic’ celebration’s greatest moments through compelling video, never-before-seen photography, props, and costumes, including NBA legend Shaquille O’Neil’s custom wetsuit from the 2018 promo campaign; and the opportunity to get an up-close look at Shark Week’s popular mascot, “Chompie, Jr.” visit paley.me/sharkweek for ‘de-tails.’

Run, don’t walk, to whatever small screen you use for viewing, click on Amazon and queue up A Very English Scandal, starring Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw doing their best work to date. You would expect nothing but brilliance from director Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons, The Queen) and he delivers on this true story of popular British politician Jeremy Thorpe’s (Grant) alleged affair with Norman Scott (Whishaw) back in the early 60’s, when homosexual behavior was illegal in Great Britain. The scandal escalates when a plot to have Scott killed is uncovered. It takes three hour-long episodes to tell the titillating tale, each one more fascinating than the one before. Get more info on the production at Business Insider.

It’s the sweetest little British comedy out right now, full of dry humor and quirky characters, most of whom live to sweep local fields with metal detectors. It may sound dull, but you soon become engrossed and find it charmingly optimistic and effervescent, with nary a nod to darkness or smug insider humor. Toby Jones (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Captain America, Harry Potter) and Mackenzie Crook (Game of Thrones, several Pirates of the Caribbean movies) star with understated divinity.  Queue it up on Netflix Amazon, or  Acorn TV. 

Foodies rejoice! The second season of Phil Rosenthal’s Somebody Feed Phil is finally launching on Netflix today, and I’m warning you, do not watch on an empty stomach! The man behind “Everybody Loves Raymond” is now wearing a professional foodie chapeau, as he eats his way through Venice, Dublin, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Capetown and New York, schmoozing with the greatest chefs and his hungry chums. I got a sneak peek at the New York episode, land it was delicious. Find out more about the show, the man, and his legendary home pizza oven here.