Month: April 2024

ABC has renewed its drama series Will Trent for a third season. According to Variety, the police procedural, based on the Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent novels, delivered its highest-rated episode ever with Ep. 5, with just over 9 million multi-platform viewers over seven days.

Will Trent stars Ramón Rodríguez as the title character: “the top agent at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who suffers from dyslexia and spent his childhood in the foster care system, giving him unique insight into his cases”.

The series also stars Sonja Sohn as Amanda Wagner, Erika Christensen as Angie Polaski, Iantha Richardson as Faith Mitchell, and Jake McLaughlin as Michael Ormewood.

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Due to popular demand, Bruno Mars has sold out both grand opening performances of Los Angeles’ new arena, Intuit Dome.  The 14-time Grammy-winning showman is set to play two back-to-back opening night shows on Thursday, August 15th and Friday, August 16th.

Fans first learned that Mars would be return to Los Angeles following a six-year hiatus for the special grand opening performances of Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.   Mars shared: “I moved to Inglewood, California when I was 18 years old in hopes one day I could write a song that would allow me to perform all over the world. Opening up this arena is a full circle moment and I can’t wait to celebrate the city that’s become my second home, Los Angeles.”

Intuit Dome is also the new home of the LA Clippers, and Halo Sports and Entertainment CEO Gillian Zucker said in a statement (per Deadline): “We are thrilled Bruno Mars will open Intuit Dome. Bruno, who has a strong connection to Inglewood, will undoubtedly deliver an iconic performance that is worthy of this moment, and will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression on everyone who attends these two shows.”

Sebastian Maniscalco, Phil Whickham and Brandon Lake, Twenty One Pilots, Usher, Weezer and Billy Joel will perform at Intuit Dome following its grand opening.

Tickets for Mars’ Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM are also on sale now, with dates including the following: June 7, 8, 12, 14, 15; August 20, 23, 24, 27, 28, 31, and September 1, 2024.

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Don Johnson is the latest addition to the cast of Ryan Murphy’s upcoming ABC drama series “Dr. Odyssey.” Per Deadline, Johnson will star opposite Joshua Jackson in Dr. Odyssey, set to debut this fall.

Variety reported that plot and character details for the show are being kept under wraps, but sources say the series is believed to be a medical procedural, possibly set on a cruise ship. It is slated to premiere during the 2024-2025 broadcast season, and will be the first new broadcast show from Murphy’s eponymous production company since ‘911: Lone Star’ premiered on Fox in early 2020. Disney’s 20th Television is producing with Ryan Murphy Television.

Dr. Odyssey marks Jackson’s first network series since Fox’s Fringe ended in 2013. The ‘Dawson’s Creek’ alum also recently starred in Paramount+’s Fatal Attraction and in the first season of Peacock’s anthology Dr. Death, and will be part of Sony Pictures’ next ‘Karate Kid’ film.

Johnson rose to fame in his role as Sonny Crockett on the classic 1980s NBC series Miami Vice, and as the title character in the CBS series Nash Bridges (1996). His recent credits include the Emmy-winning HBO limited series Watchmen, Rian Johnson’s ‘Knives Out’ and the Book Club feature franchise.

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Nicole Kidman will return for the second season of Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers. The sophomore run of the drama will again revolve around the wellness resort headed up by Kidman’s character, Masha, and will feature a new cast of series regulars led by Henry Golding, Mark Strong and Lena Olin.

Golding (‘Crazy Rich Asians’) will play the character Peter, with Strong (‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’) to portray David, and Olin (Alias) to appear in the role of Helena. Other character details have not been revealed.

Golding, Strong and Olin join a cast that includes the previously announced Murray Bartlett, Annie Murphy, Dolly De Leon, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, King Princess, Aras Aydin, Lucas Englander and Christine Baranski, all of whom have recurring roles.

Nine Perfect Strangers is based on Liane Moriarty’s novel of the same name. The drama launched in August 2021 with an all-star cast that included Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Shannon and Manny Jacinto.

Nine Perfect Strangers is executive produced by David E. Kelley (‘Big Little Lies’), who also serves as showrunner. The series premiered in 2021.

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The New York State Court of Appeals has overturned Harvey Weinstein‘s rape conviction from 2020, making the 4-3 decision on Thursday, April 25 on the basis that the judge on the trial prejudiced Weinstein with “egregious” improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.

According to the Associated Press, the decision also stated: “We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes. The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial,” and also noted that testimony “served no material non-propensity purpose” and “portrayed defendant in a highly prejudicial light.”  The court claimed that there was “an abuse of judicial discretion to permit untested allegations of nothing more than bad behavior that destroys a defendant’s character but sheds no light on their credibility as related to the criminal charges lodged against them.”

Weinstein was charged after being accused of forcibly performing oral sex on a woman in 2006 and raping another women in 2013; he was found guilty in February 2020 of criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree in a New York City courtroom, and was subsequently sentenced to 23 years in prison.

PEOPLE reports that it is unclear at this time if Weinstein, 72, will face another trial in connection with these charges. The former Hollywood mogul will be transferred to the custody of prison authorities in California and will remain imprisoned, stemming from his Los Angeles conviction in 2022 on other rape charges, where he was sentenced to 16 years in prison. (Weinstein was acquitted in Los Angeles on charges involving one of the women who testified in New York.).

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Amazon Prime Video announced that NFL star Travis Kelce, tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, will host the new game show ‘Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?,’ a spinoff of the series ‘Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?’ Amazon Prime Video posted on their socials:  “the man with the answers. Travis Kelce will host ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A CELEBRITY? Coming soon to Prime Video.”  Twenty episodes of the new game show have been ordered, though no launch date has been set.

Each game will feature an adult contestant who will call on a classroom full of celebrities to help them answer 11 questions on a range of subjects, pulled from elementary school curriculum, in pursuit of a $100,000 prize. An official synopsis reads: “they are not competing against the stars… they’re enlisting their help and, in some cases, can even ‘cheat’ off of them. And on the final question, worth $100,000, the contestant selects one celebrity to discuss the answer with before locking in. The final question is always at the 6th grade level.”

Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD originals unscripted and targeted programming at Amazon MGM Studios, said in a press release: “For years, fans around the world have tested their smarts with this fun, nostalgic game show, and we look forward to bring this reimagined format to Prime Video. Travis has proven to be an incredible talent on and off the field, and we appreciate the trust he has placed in us with his first foray into television. His natural, comedic dynamic with our panelists and guests, coupled with some exciting new twists, will keep our global customers coming back week after week.”

Kelce says in a statement via Entertainment Weekly: “I grew up loving game shows, and I’m excited to be following in the footsteps of so many TV icons by hosting my very first one with ‘Are you Smarter than a Celebrity?’ The original show is a great success, so to be bringing a new format with everyone’s favorite celebrities to the screen, will definitely be entertaining. I’m just happy to be on the hosting side of the equation here and excited to see how these famous faces keep up.”

Kelce is an eight-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro; his new hosting gig comes months after winning Super Bowl LVIII with the Chiefs in February (his third Super Bowl win) He is also famously dating superstar Taylor Swift, and hosts a podcast called ‘New Heights’ with his brother, former NFL offensive lineman Jason Kelce.

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