In Brief: ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ headed back to the movies, and more

Posted on August 5, 2022 by Stephen Iervolino and George Costantino

Paramount has announced the title of an animated reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. The studio announced Thursday that the project will be called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and will hit theaters on August 4, 2023. Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird‘s Mirage Studios comic creation, those “heroes in a half-shell” have been adapted several times, both in live-action for the big-screen and for TV in popular animated shows…

Jamie Pressly, veteran of Fox’s My Name Is Earl and the recently-wrapped CBS comedy Mom, has joined the cast of Fox’s quirky Welcome to Flatch. Variety reports the actress will play Barb Flatch, a realtor who returns to her titular hometown after a messy divorce. Welcome to Flatch also stars The Boys‘ Aya Cash, Sam Straley, and Seann William Scott…

Hulu on Thursday released the trailer for its original drama series Tell Me Lies, premiering September 7. The film, per the streaming service, follows “a tumultuous, but intoxicating, relationship as it unfolds over the course of eight years. When Lucy Albright and Stephen DeMarco — played respectively by Jackson White and Grace Van Patten — meet at college, they are at that formative age when seemingly mundane choices lead the way to irrevocable consequences. Although their relationship begins like any typical campus romance, they quickly fall into an addictive entanglement that will permanently alter not only their lives, but the lives of everyone around them. Catherine Missal, Spencer House, Sonia Mena, Branden Cook, Benjamin Wadsworth, and Alicia Crowder also star…

In brief: Universal closes in on new ‘Fast X’ director, ‘Masked Singer’ goes global, and more

Posted on May 3, 2022 by Stephen Iervolino and George Costantino

Universal may have found its replacement for director Justin Lin, who made the surprising announcement last week that he was exiting Fast X. Deadline reports Louis Leterrier is in the running to take Lin’s place; the French director is known for the Transporter movies and the 2013 surprise hit Now You See Me. The 10th Fast and Furious adventure is set to open May 23, 2023…

Fox’s hit The Masked Singer is taking a page from the Eurovision Song Contest and going global, according to Variety. The trade says the planned program, tentatively titled One World, One Masked Singer, will see competitors from various overseas version of The Masked Singer competing against each other on a global stage…

Jeff Daniels is set to star in Netflix’s Man in Full, a limited series based on a Tom Wolfe novel. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series is being adapted by David E. Kelley, who will produce the project along with Regina King. Daniels will play Charlie Croker, an egotistical real estate mogul facing bankruptcy…

On Monday, Paramount+ announced the revival of Yo! MTV Raps will premiere on May 24. According to the streamer, the series, which originally ran from 1988 until 1995, “will be a comprehensive deep dive into the current state of hip hop, with hosted segments from renowned battle rapper Conceited and celebrated deejay DJ Diamond Kuts, live performances, cyphers and lifestyle content.” Paramount+ also revealed the star-studded guest list, which features rappers Latto, Trina, Tee Grizzley and more…

Pretty in pink: Check out Margot Robbie in her ‘Barbie’ Dream Car

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Stephen Iervolino and George Costantino

The Greta Gerwig-directed live-action Barbie movie has been given a release date of July 21, 2023, and with Warner Bros.’ announcement came the first image of Margot Robbie as the titular toy come to life.

Oscar nominee Robbie, who produced the movie, is seen smiling in the driver’s seat of a classic pink Corvette, which, as you might imagine, is Barbie’s Dream Car.

As reported, Barbie also stars Ryan Gosling as Ken, as well as SNL‘s Kate McKinnon, tick…tick..BOOM!‘s Alexandra Shipp, Superstore‘s America Ferrera, Shang-Chi‘s Simu Liu, Will Ferrell, and And Just Like That… actor Hari Nef.

Plot details are being kept under wraps.

In Brief: CNN+ cancelled after a month, and more

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Stephen Iervolino and George Costantino

Warner Bros. Discovery has pulled the plug on CNN+, just a month after its launch. “As we become Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN will be strongest as part of WBD’s streaming strategy which envisions news as an important part of a compelling broader offering along with sports, entertainment, and nonfiction content,” Chris Licht, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said in a statement on Thursday. “We have therefore made the decision to cease operations of CNN+ and focus our investment on CNN’s core news-gathering operations and in further building CNN Digital. Licht said the move was “not a decision about quality,” but that their customers and CNN would “be best served with a simpler streaming choice”…

Paramount has announced the title of its forthcoming movie based on the beloved role playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves will star Chris Pine, Hugh Grant, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridgerton vet Regé-Jean Page, Sophia Lillis, Justice Smith, Chloe Coleman, and Daisy Head, and will debut March 3, 2023. Pine previously called the movie’s tone a cross between Game of Thrones and The Princess Bride, with a little of Monty Python and the Holy Grail thrown in for good measure…

In a post on social media, 90 Day Fiancé stars Robert Springs and Anny Francisco confirmed their seven-month-old son Adriel has died. “I am devastated and [so is] my family,” Anny wrote, adding, “I never thought I would lose my son. He was a fighter… his heart couldn’t take it… my heart is broken it’s a big pain…so difficult.” The pair, whose courtship was followed by the reality series, also have a 20-month-old daughter, Brenda Aliyah…

Robert Morse, who played Bertram Cooper on AMC’s Emmy-winning series Mad Men, has died at the age of 90, The Hollywood Reporter notes. A two-time Tony winner, Morse was remembered by screenwriter Larry Karaszewski on Twitter as a “good pal,” and “a huge talent and a beautiful spirit”…

Freeform’s Cruel Summer is returning as an anthology series, the cable outlet announced on Thursday. The second season will feature a new mystery, along with a new cast, including Sadie Stanley, Eloise Payet, Griffin Gluck and KaDee Strickland, Lisa Yamada and Sean Blakemore. Additionally, Power Book IV: Force co-exec producer Elle Triedman is the new showrunner, replacing Tia Napolitano. Napolitano replaced creator Bert V. Royal after disagreements with the network. Set in an idyllic waterfront town in the Pacific Northwest, the next chapter of Cruel Summer “follows the rise and fall of an intense teenage friendship,” approached from “three different timelines surrounding Y2K,” according to press materials…

In Brief: CNN+ cancelled after a month, and more

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Stephen Iervolino and George Costantino

In Brief: CBS gets more ‘Talk,’ and more

Posted on April 19, 2022 by Stephen Iervolino and George Costantino

CBS has renewed its chat show The Talk for a 13th season. Show hosts Amanda Kloots, Jerry O’Connell, Akbar Gbajabiamila, Natalie Morales and Sheryl Underwood all made the announcement during Monday’s installment of the syndicated program. The series has undergone several high-profile staff shakeups, including Sharon Osbourne‘s on-set argument regarding racism that led to her ouster last July. Original co-host Julie Chen stepped down in 2018, after her husband, former CBS head Les Moonves, became embroiled in a sexual misconduct scandal…

Rio Hackford, a character actor who appeared Swingers, and later performed in that movie’s writer, Jon Favreau‘s, series The Mandalorian, has died at 51. The Hollywood Reporter notes that Hackford, who also appeared in Pam & Tommy, and American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson, as well as HBO’s Treme, had been suffering from an unspecified illness. Hackford was the son of Oscar-winning filmmaker Taylor Hackford. He was memorialized in a photo posted on Instagram by his stepmother, Helen Mirren, who called him “El Rio”…

Aquaman and Dune star Jason Momoa is in final talks to star in the Warner Bros.’ live-action movie adaptation of the popular video game Minecraft, which Napoleon Dynamite filmmaker Jared Hess is on board to direct, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Minecraft, which allows players to use blocks to create structures and worlds, reached 100 million users just a few years following its 2011 debut. It’s the latest movie based on a video game to hit the big screen, following the success of Ryan Reynolds’ Free Guy last year, and Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 earlier this month…

“They’re coming back”: Walter White and Jesse Pinkman will appear in final season of ‘Better Call Saul’

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Stephen Iervolino and George Costantino

“They’re coming back.” That’s the caption of a picture of Breaking Bad stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul in character, which was posted to Better Call Saul‘s official social media channels Sunday.

Ever since the Breaking Bad prequel series began, fans hoped to once again see the pair, who earned Emmys for respectively playing Walter White and Jesse Pinkman on AMC’s acclaimed drama. And now it’s official: Fans will get their wish in the spin-off’s final season.

“I don’t want to spoil things for the audience, but I will say the first question we had when we started the show was, ‘Are we gonna see Walt and Jesse on the show?’ Instead of evading, I’ll just say yeah,” Better Call Saul co-creator Peter Gould told Variety on Saturday.

It’s not yet known how the pair will show up or in what capacity, as Better Call Saul takes place in 2002, six years before unlikely partners Walter and Jesse started their lucrative meth operation.

The follow-up stars Bob Odenkirk, along with Rhea Seehorn, Jonathan Banks, Michael Mando and Tony Dalton.

The first half of Better Call Saul‘s sixth and final season premieres April 18 on AMC.

In Brief: ‘Marry Me’ scores for Peacock; Ben Affleck gets in ‘Deep’ in new trailer

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Stephen Iervolino and George Costantino

Lots of people said “I do” to the Jennifer Lopez/Owen Wilson romantic comedy Marry Me on Peacock. Comcast CEO and chairman Brian Roberts told investors that the feature, in which the global pop star plays, well, a global pop star, who ties the knot on stage on a whim with a teacher and mathletics coach — played by Wilson — is the most-streamed streaming movie in Peacock’s history. Furthermore, its recently launched Fresh Prince reboot, Bel-Air, has become the most-streamed new series on the young NBC-owned service…

Hulu on Thursday released the official trailer for the psychological thriller Deep Dive, from Fatal Attraction and Indecent Proposal director Adrian Lyne and starring Ben Affleck and Knives Out‘s Ana de Armas. Based on Patricia Highsmith‘s novel, Deep Water explores “the marriage of picture-perfect Vic and Melinda Van Allen — played respectively by Affleck and de Armas — to discover the dangerous mind games they play and what happens to the people that get caught up in them.” Deep Water, which also stars Tracy Letts, Lil Rel Howery and Jacob Elordi, debuts March 18 on Hulu…

Netflix released a teaser video announcing April 20 as the premiere date the long-awaited second season of Natasha Lyonne’s Emmy-winning comedy Russian Doll, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Season two, per the streaming service, will “continue to explore existential thematics through an often humorous and sci-fi lens. Discovering a fate even worse than endless death, this season finds Nadia and Alan delving deeper into their pasts through an unexpected time portal located in one of Manhattan’s most notorious locations. At first they experience this as an ever-expanding, era-spanning, intergenerational adventure, but they soon discover this extraordinary event might be more than they bargained for and, together, must search for a way out”…