Month: April 2023

Deadline reports that Charlie Sheen will reunite with Chuck Lorre on the HBO Max series How to Be a Bookie, which just started production in February.

How to Be a Bookie is a single-camera comedy starring Sebastian Maniscalco and will air on HBO Max (soon to be rebranded as Max). How to Be a Bookie, co-written by Lorre and Nick Bakay, follows a veteran bookie (Maniscalco), who “struggles to survive the impending legalization of sports gambling” in Los Angeles. Variety confirmed Sheen’s casting, sharing that he will have a ‘recurring role’ on the upcoming comedy from Lorre. Omar J. Dorsey, Andrea Anders, Vanessa Ferlito and Jorge Garcia also star in the series.

The casting news comes more than 10 years after the 57-year-old Sheen left the CBS series Two and a Half Men, co-created and executive produced by Lorre. Sheen was fired from the show in Season 8 amid a public meltdown and disparaging remarks about Lorre.

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A recent Rolling Stone article alleged that F. Murray Abraham was fired from the Apple TV+ comedy series Mythic Quest last year because of sexual misconduct allegations made against him.  At least two concerns were raised about Abraham’s behavior, with the first incident resulting in Abraham being given a warning and told to keep away from some of the show’s actresses, according to a production source. After a second alleged incident was brought to creator and star Rob McElhenney’s attention, Abraham was let go ahead of Season 3.

Now the 83-year-old actor is apologizing publicly for what happened. Abraham shared in a statement: “This is a sincere and deeply felt apology. Though never my intention to offend anyone, I told jokes, nothing more, that upset some of my colleagues and as a result lost a great job with wonderful people. I have grown in my understanding from this experience, and I hope they will forgive me.”  

Lionsgate Television, which produces “Mythic Quest,” previously said in a statement: “We take allegations of misconduct seriously and investigate them thoroughly. As a matter of corporate policy, we do not comment on personnel actions.”  Additionally, none of the stars of “Mythic Quest” have publicly commented on the misconduct report at the time of this publishing.

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A year after leaving the cast of Saturday Night Live, actor-comedian Pete Davidson will return to Studio 8H on May 6th to host the show for the first time. The long-running NBC sketch series tweeted the news, alongside the announcement that Lil Uzi Vert will be the night’s musical guest.

Davidson first joined SNL in 2014 as a featured co-star, eventually becoming a full-time regular on the show.  At 20 years old, he was also the youngest cast member ever to be on the show since its premiere in 1975.  Davidson appeared on SNL for eight seasons until his departure in 2022, when he shared a lengthy goodbye message on Instagram saying “I owe Lorne Michaels and everyone at ‘SNL’ my life. I’m so grateful and I wouldn’t be here without them. I appreciate you guys always having my back and sticking up for me even when that wasn’t the popular opinion. Thank you for always believing in me and sticking by my side even when it seemed comical. Thank you for teaching me life values, how to grow up and for giving me memories that will last a lifetime.”

In addition to his return to SNL, Davidson’s semi-autobiographical comedy series ‘Bupkis’ is set to debut on Peacock on May 4. Davidson co-wrote and executive produces the show, which also stars Edie Falco and Joe Pesci.

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HBO has shared a new teaser for the drama series ‘The Idol’, and announced it’s premiere date – June 4th.

The Idol, from Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, Reza Fahim and ‘Euphoria’ creator Sam Levinson, follows Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), an aspiring pop star who meets and falls for Tedros (The Weeknd), a self-help guru and the leader of a modern-day cult. An official series synopsis reads: “After a nervous breakdown derailed Jocelyn’s (Depp) last tour, she’s determined to claim her rightful status as the greatest and sexiest pop star in America. Her passions are reignited by Tedros (The Weeknd), a nightclub impresario with a sordid past. Will her romantic awakening take her to glorious new heights or the deepest and darkest depths of her soul?”

The Idol also stars Troye Sivan, Dan Levy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Eli Roth, Hari Nef, Jane Adams, and Jennie from BLACKPINK. The show will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Take a look at the teaser trailer for The Idol – here.

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Netflix has ordered a straight-to-series, untitled animated series set within the Stranger Things universe.

Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer say that the animated series will be in the vein of “Saturday morning cartoons,” but specific plot details for the series are being kept under wraps. It’s also unclear if any of the Stranger Things cast will have voice roles in the animated series. The Duffer brothers will also executive produce the series alongside their Stranger Things collaborator, Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen of 21 Laps.

Matt and Ross Duffer said in a statement: “We’ve always dreamed of an animated Stranger Things in the vein of the Saturday morning cartoons that we grew up loving, and to see this dream realized has been absolutely thrilling. We couldn’t be more blown away by what Eric Robles and his team have come up with — the scripts and artwork are incredible, and we can’t wait to share more with you! The adventure continues …”

In addition to the upcoming fifth and final season of the original series, the Duffer brothers recently announced a London stage show, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, and have another untitled live-action spinoff of the flagship series in the works.

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