According to reports in the television industry, it looks like another favorite daytime talk show is getting canceled. Word on the street is that ‘The Real’ is allegedly getting canceled. Reports are that the show, which has been on for 8 seasons, will be ending soon.
While the specific reason for the cancellation hasn’t been confirmed, it’s speculated that ratings played a part in its end, even though the show just celebrated its 2500th episode.
The Real is a syndicated talk show created by SallyAnn Salsano (495 Productions). The series initially received a trial run on Fox-owned markets in the summer of 2013 and premiered for full syndication in 2014. It is currently co-hosted by singer and actress Adrienne Bailon, comedian and actress Loni Love, television host and fashion stylist Jeannie Mai, and actress and model Garcelle Beauvais.
Comedian Kevin Hart is making the rounds across the country on his latest comedy tour. He performed Saturday night in Albany at the Palace Theatre. It was a sell-out crowd. But the show started with a slight problem. An announcement was made at the beginning of the show that Kevin was running late and the crowd would be entertained by a local comedian.
Turns out, that ‘local comedian’ was Chris Rock!
As it turns out, Albany may have been a type of ‘test market’ (as it often is) to gauge how the crowd would react since Chris Rock and Kevin Hart will be hitting the road together this summer for their ‘Rock Hart’ tour starting in July. The duo will be performing a limited number of shows on Long Island, New York City, and New Jersey.
One of the security requirements for Saturday’s show mandated that everyone turn in their cell phones into secure bags so no recording could take place. Now we partly know why. And unless someone was REALLY sneaky, there’s probably no photo or video from inside the Palace. Which kinda makes a moment like that even more special – when there aren’t thousands of cell phone lights glowing.
Still, what a cool night for so many in attendance at the Palace. Nobody saw that one coming. Major props to Kevin Hart and Chris Rock for keeping it hush-hush and letting everyone in the audience get the surprise of a lifetime – and thanks for making it happen in Albany!
Longtime Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson is headlining his own comedy series inspired by his life, I have learned. Davidson is poised to play the lead in the project, tentatively titled Bupkis, which he is co-writing with his long-time friend and collaborator Dave Sirus as well as Judah Miller (Crashing). Deals are still being finalized for the series, which hails from SNL honcho Lorne Michaels’s Broadway Video and Universal Television where the company is under a deal.
Bupkis is described as a raw, unflinching, fictionalized version of Pete Davidson’s real life. It will include a mixture of grounded storytelling with absurd elements depicting an unfiltered view through Pete’s eyes.
The show, which has been compared to Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, is expected to reflect Davidson’s real-life persona with an unapologetically unfiltered, R-rated storytelling. It is being pitched to streamers, with Prime Video and Peacock believed to be among those interested. Talks are currently underway with A-list talent for the ensemble cast around Davidson.
Bupkis is executive produced by Davidson, Sirus and Miller as well as Broadway Video’s Michaels, Andrew Singer and Erin David.
Davidson, who started off as one of the youngest ever SNL cast members, initially only making sporadic appearances on Weekend Update, has become one of the sketch comedy’s most recognizable stars who has been making headlines with his work as well as his high-profile relationships, most recently with Kim Kardashian. He is currently in his eighth season on SNL, and for the last few years, he has juggled the sketch comedy with a burgeoning feature career as Michaels has allowed established cast members to take leaves of absences to pursue other projects — features as well as TV series, which are often produced by Broadway Video.
Such Michaels-produced series headlined by current SNL stars include Shrill, starring Aidy Bryant, Schmigadoon! with Cecily Strong, Kenan, starring Kenan Thompson and Chris Redd, Bust Down with Redd, and That Damn Michael Che with Che.
Davidson is currently on a leave from SNL while he is filming the Miramax horror thriller The Home. He will next be seen on big screen in Bodies Bodies Bodies, which premieres on SXSW, Good Mourning with a U with Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox, and in Meet Cute opposite Kaley Cuoco.
Davidson and Sirus, who have worked together on SNL for years, co-wrote the film The King of Staten Island with Judd Apatow. Miller served as an executive producer alongside Davidson on the film which starred Davidson and was based on his life. Davidson is repped by ICM Partners, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Granderson Des Rochers.
Source: Deadline
According to reports, which started out with the reporting from New York’s Page Six, word is spreading that Nick Cannon’s Talk Show has been canceled.
Page Six reported earlier today that the staff was unaware but the nationally syndicated show’s staff were already looking for new jobs because the outlook seemed bleak for the struggling show. It’s almost no surprise that this was coming as the show was struggling to gain ratings for months and has been one of the lowest-rated shows in its time slot in years. There was talk that the show was going to replace The Wendy Williams Show time slot since Williams was absent due to her health, but Sherri Shephard took over that mantle.
We also tried to reach out to several people who are on staff and they neither confirmed nor denied the report.
After six months, it looks like the plug will get pulled. Anyway, Cannon is still hosting his Morning Show on the radio, and still hosting The Masked Singer for FOX.
More as this story develops…
Attached to its hit freshman sitcom “Abbott Elementary,” ABC has partnered with Scholastic to become the first entertainment brand to provide underfunded schools with free book fairs.
The book fairs take place at seven Title 1 schools between March 14 and 18. Each student will receive two free books and each teacher will receive 10. Participating schools include Philadelphia’s Harrity Elementary, which “Abbott Elementary” is based on, as well as Diehl Elementary in Erie, Pa., Bond Elementary in Chicago, Dayton’s Bluff Elementary in Minneapolis, Freeman Elementary in Flint, Mich. and Cortada Elementary and Florence Griffith Joyner Elementary in Los Angeles.
Additionally, ABC is relaunching its Traveling Teacher’s Lounge initiative, which provides teachers with books from Scholastic, classroom supplies, breakfast and “Abbott Elementary” merchandise. The first round of the lounge, which began on Jan. 3 and visited schools in Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey and Maryland, donated more than 1,000 books, 10,000 notebooks, 100,000 writing utensils and 15,000 art and craft materials. The six new stops added to the traveling lounge are Dallas on March 10, Houston on March 11, Santa Fe, N.M. on March 15, Phoenix on March 16, Reno, Nev. on March 18 and Los Angeles on March 22.
“‘Abbott Elementary’ shines light on and reflects the experiences and challenges faced by our country’s educators,” said Erin Weir, executive vice president of marketing for ABC & General Entertainment. “We had an extraordinary opportunity and responsibility to amplify that mission in our series marketing efforts. Giving back to this deserving community has been a pillar of our campaign from day one, and thanks to several incredible partnerships, like our collaboration with Scholastic, we’ve had the great fortune of celebrating teachers through supply donations, grassroots activations and more, while also sharing the joy of our hilarious new comedy.”
“Our mission at Scholastic has always been to support teachers and provide them with the resources and materials needed to build warm, positive classroom experiences for their students. That’s why we are so thrilled to team up with ABC and ‘Abbott Elementary’ — a show dedicated to uplifting educators and reflecting their experiences — to put books into the classrooms that need them most and get kids excited about reading and learning,” added Billy DiMichele, senior vice president of creative development at Scholastic.
“Abbott Elementary” is a workplace comedy starring creator Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues, a young and eager second grade teacher doing her best to support the students of her underfunded Philadelphia school. For support, she relies on colleagues including two more experienced less optimistic teachers (Sheryl Lee Ralph and Lisa Ann Walter), an overbearing fellow newbie (Jacob Hill), a kooky and disinterested principal (Janelle James) and a new substitute teacher (Tyler James Williams).
Executive producers include Brunson, Randall Einhorn, Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker. The series, which has received the strongest comedy ratings since the finale of “Modern Family” in 2020, debuted in December 2021 and will return to ABC with new episodes on March 22.
Source: Variety
Paramount+ today announced Emmy Award winner André Braugher (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) will join the upcoming sixth season of the critically acclaimed Paramount+ Original series THE GOOD FIGHT. Now in production, THE GOOD FIGHT is set to return this summer, streaming exclusively on Paramount+.
Braugher will star as Ri’Chard Lane, a showman lawyer and rainmaker who is forced on Liz as a new name partner. A force of nature, Ri’Chard is a wild mix of brilliance, geniality, religion, and joyful hedonism. In short, he’s a handful.
“Our dream of an actor is always someone who can mix comedy and drama equally, and André Braugher is exactly that,” said Robert and Michelle King, series co-creators, showrunners and executive producers. “His work on ‘Men of a Certain Age,’ ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ and ‘Homicide’ has been amazing and funny. We’re ecstatic that he finally has time in his schedule to come play.”
The series is produced by CBS Studios in association with Scott Free Productions and King Size Productions. The series is distributed worldwide by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
Most recently, Braugher completed an eight-season run on NBC’s hit comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” as Captain Ray Holt. He won two Critics Choice Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and received four Emmy Award nominations for his role. Braugher also won an Emmy Award and received a Golden Globe nomination for his starring role in FX’s mini-series “Thief.” In addition to his success on television, Braugher can be seen in numerous feature films including “Baytown Outlaws,” “Salt,” “Passengers,” “The Mist,” “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” and “Poseidon,” among others. On stage, Braugher has performed for the New York Shakespeare festival in “Measure for Measure,” “Twelfth Night” and “Henry V,” earning him an Obie Award for the titular role. Other credits include performances with Joseph Papp’s Public Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club and the Williamstown Theater Festival.
The sixth season of THE GOOD FIGHT has Diane feeling like she’s going crazy, struggling with an uneasy sense of déjà vu, with everything from Roe v. Wade to voting rights to Cold War aggressions returning. Meanwhile, the lawyers of Reddick & Associates wonder if the violence that they see all around them points to an impending civil war.
“Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler was briefly detained by police in Atlanta in January after he was mistaken for a bank robber at a Bank of America, according to a police report filed Wednesday.
The director confirmed the incident to Variety. “This situation should never have happened,” he said. “However, Bank of America worked with me and addressed it to my satisfaction and we have moved on.”
Coogler was detained and handcuffed after he went to Bank of America to make a transaction on Jan. 7, according to the Atlanta police report. The 35-year-old director — who was wearing a hat, sunglasses and a COVID face mask — went to the counter and handed the bank teller a withdrawal slip with a note written on the back that reportedly read, “I would like to withdraw $12,000 cash from my checking account. Please do the money count somewhere else. I’d like to be discreet.”
The teller, however, misinterpreted the situation as an attempted robbery when the amount of the transaction exceeded $10,000 and triggered an alert notification from Coogler’s bank account. The teller then informed her boss that she suspected it was a robbery attempt and together they called the police. Four Atlanta PD officers arrived at the scene and detained two of Coogler’s colleagues, who were waiting for him outside the bank in a car with the engine running. They informed the officers who Coogler was and what he was wearing, which matched the description of the man suspected of robbing the bank. Coogler’s colleagues were detained in the back of a police vehicle, and Coogler was handcuffed and taken out of the bank by two of the officers. After verifying Coogler’s identity and his Bank of America account, the officers released him and his colleagues.
A Bank of America spokesperson told Variety: “We deeply regret that this incident occurred. It never should have happened and we have apologized to Mr. Coogler.”
Coogler has been filming the sequel to the superhero tentpole, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” in Atlanta. The film is set for release in November.
Ever since the renewed Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police, there has been heightened scrutiny of incidents of racism across myriad industries — and a laser focus on racism in Hollywood.
Source: Variety
Giancarlo Esposito is staying at AMC for his next series role.
The Better Call Saul veteran will star in and executive produce a drama called The Driver for AMC and its AMC+ streaming service. It will be the third series for Esposito at the cable outlet, following Saul — whose final season begins in April — and Breaking Bad.
“I am over the moon excited, enthused and inspired to be in collaboration with the stellar network and creative team of AMC,” said Esposito in a statement. “Thanks for believing in me. It’s great to be back home!”
Created by Sunu Gonera and Danny Brocklehurst (and based on a 2014 BBC miniseries from Brocklehurst and Jim Poyser), The Driver follows a cabbie (Esposito) whose life is turned upside down when he agrees to chauffeur a New Orleans-based Zimbabwean gangster notorious for exploiting undocumented immigrants at ports in the southern United States. The six-episode first season, produced by AMC Studios in association with A+E Studios and Thruline Entertainment, is set to premiere in 2023.
Esposito was a fan of the BBC series, which starred David Morrissey as the title character, and Gonera got involved through their shared management firm, Thruline Entertainment.
“It’s surreal to be at this point,” said Gonera. “This whole journey started as a simple conversation four years ago in my manager Josh Kesselman’s living room when he said, ‘Giancarlo is keen to play an everyman as his next role. There’s a British show he loves called The Driver. Would you watch the pilot and see if you could come up with a take you both could get excited about?’ Um, would I? You had me at Giancarlo and everyman.”
Said Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks, “Giancarlo is a singular talent who is already beloved by AMC viewers through his standout performances in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. We are excited to be continuing his relationship with AMC and AMC+ in a series built around him and an unforgettable character who takes what he thinks is a straightforward job opportunity and finds himself confronted with a world that tests him in ways he could never have imagined.”
Theo Travers (Billions, Power) will serve as showrunner for The Driver. Gonera (Snowfall, Raised by Wolves) will direct the first episode.
“It is a pleasure and a privilege to be working with AMC on this bold reimagining of my U.K. miniseries,” said Brocklehurst. “Sunu Gonera and Theo Travers have both brought superb original voices to the premise and I am thrilled to be going on this ride with them.”
Added Travers, “I couldn’t be more excited to help bring this show to life. I’ve been a fan of Giancarlo’s work since Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing. It’s a true honor to have the chance to collaborate with him in this way. The Driver is a high-voltage, dark identity quest for an everyman trying to find renewed purpose in his life.”
Esposito, Gonera, Brocklehurst and Travers will executive produce the series along with Thruline’s Kesselman and Danny Sherman, alongside A+E Studios head Barry Jossen and executive vp creative affairs Tana Jamieson.
The Driver is the latest project for the ever-busy Esposito, who in addition to Better Call Saul recurs on Amazon’s The Boys and Disney+’s The Mandalorian. He’s also attached to Netflix’s forthcoming series Jigsaw and stars opposite Forest Whitaker in Godfather of Harlem on Epix. He is repped by ICM Partners, Thruline Entertainment, Jackoway Austen and Imprint.
Travers is repped by Echo Lake Management and attorney J.R. McGinnis at Felker Toczek.
AMC and AMC+ have been solidifying their future rosters of late. In addition to The Driver, the network and streamer have made three other series pickups recently: Isle of the Dead — a fifth Walking Dead spinoff starring Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan — and dramas Demascus and Invitation to a Bonfire.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
There have been more than a few moments of unintentional comedy gold surrounding the NBA and NBA-adjacent life of former Boston Celtics, Los Angels Clippers, and Orlando Magic big man and 2008 champion Glen “Big Baby” Davis, including a snafu that saw him get kicked out of the wrong seats at the Celtics’ recent home game against the Brooklyn Nets.
But not all of the comedic gold being put out into the universe by the onetime Celtics center is an accident. In fact, quite a bit of it is intentional. The Boston alumnus is pursuing a career as a stand-up comedian, and if you happen to live in the greater Boston area, you can check out Big Baby’s jokes live for yourself at any number of local venues.
With Black-ish nearing the end of its run on ABC, two key members of that show’s team will move to its spinoff, Freeform’s Grown-ish.
The Disney-owned cable outlet has renewed Grown-ish for a fifth season. Marcus Scribner, a series regular on Black-ish throughout its run, will join the show’s cast for season five as Andre Johnson Jr., who will join older sister Zoey (Yara Shahidi) on his journey to being grown.
Additionally, Black-ish showrunner Courtney Lilly will also move to the spinoff. He and Zakiyyah Alexander (Russian Doll, Hunters) will serve as co-showrunners for the coming season. They take over for Julie Bean, who served as showrunner in season four; executive producer Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry is also departing.
For Lilly, joining the spinoff will mean he has worked on all three shows in creator Kenya Barris’ -ish franchise. He was also an executive producer of prequel series Mixed-ish, which ran for two seasons on ABC.
The renewal comes a couple of weeks before Grown-ish finishes its fourth season on Freeform. The changes for the next season come at a transition point for the show as Zoey and her classmates are about to graduate from college. Additional casting for season five will be announced later.
ABC Signature produces Grown-ish. Barris will executive produce season five with Alexander, Lilly, Craig Doyle, Shahidi, Anthony Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland, E. Brian Dobbins and Michael Petok.
Scribner is repped by CAA, Artists First, Imprint and Del Shaw. Alexander is repped by WME, Map Point Management and Gang Tyre. Lilly is with UTA, The Framework Collective and McKuin Frankel.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter