Watch:Gabrielle Union And Jessica Alba In This Exclusive Clip From ‘Bad Boy’s’ Spinoff ‘L.A.’s Finest’
Two extremely well-dressed cops bicker back and forth as glass shatters around them. Although they’re stuck in a convenience store shootout, they’re far more interested in debating their interpersonal, opposites-are-stuck-together shenanigans than the crime at hand. But, it’s not that these two detectives don’t care about saving lives. They’re just so good at their jobs, they know they’ll be able to cuff these petty bozos with their eyes closed.
Were you imagining two mismatched dudes like Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan in Rush Hour? What about Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in the 21 Jump Street universe? Or Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys? Well, you would be wrong.
Instead, this life threatening scene unfolds around Jessica Alba and Gabrielle Union in their brand new series, L.A.’s Finest (which is in fact a spin-off of the aforementioned Bad Boys films). And it’s only a taste of the genre-breaking fun ahead in the Alba and Union-executive produced sexy police drama, which premieres on Monday, May 13.
Finest, a Spectrum cable-only series, follows the saga of LAPD detectives Nancy McKenna (Alba) and Syd Burnett (Union). McKenna is a supposedly straight-laced officer married to Patrick (Ryan McPartlin), a rising member of L.A.’s district attorney’s office. Despite Nancy’s allegedly Type-A ways, she just may be hiding a dark secret.
On the other hand, it’s pretty obvious there is something going on with Syd, sister to Bad Boys’ Marcus Burnett (Lawrence). She is a loose cannon who joins the force after something mysterious went down in her hometown of Miami. The question is whether Syd’s past is tragic or criminally checkered. Considering one shocking twist in the upcoming premiere, it’s nearly impossible to know which possibility is more likely.
While L.A.’s Finest spends its first season unraveling the mysteries of its two badass stars, the drama also takes a few procedural cues from the likes of Law & Order. Every week, Syd and Nancy — get it? — juggle their enigmatic backstories with a case of the week splashed on your screen. That means technology-obsessed serial killers, twisty heist stories, and some wild homicide investigations. This way, Alba and Union can drop cutting CSI-y bon mots while catching the bad guys across La La Land.
And, yes, those convenience store robbers count as bad guys. Watch the video below to see exactly how Syd and Nancy take them down. Then, if you’re a Spectrum subscriber, tune in to L.A.’s Finest to see what happens next.
L.A.’s Finest premieres on-demand on Monday, May 13 via Spectrum.
‘Avengers: Endgame’ Porducers Join New Tiffany Haddish Comedy With Chris Hemsworth
Joe and Anthony Russo are re-teaming with Chris Hemsworth. The Avengers: Endgame directors have committed to producing Down Under Cover, the comedy that teams Hemsworth with Girls Trip‘s Tiffany Haddish on a two-hander buddy-cop action comedy that is being mounted in the spirit of films like 48 Hours, Rush Hour and The Heat. The Russos will produce with Mike Larocca under their AGBO banner, along with Thematic Entertainment — the production shingle hatched by Hemsworth, John Finemore, James Hoppe and Ben Grayson— and Haddish.
CAA Media Finance is brokering the domestic deal, and sources said there are already four strong offers on the table, before the market gets underway at Cannes. It figures to be one of the splashiest deals to be made on the Croisette. FilmNation, which is handling international sales, is getting the same heightened interest. Script is by Peter Hoare.
In Down Under Cover, Hemsworth will play a detective who goes undercover to crack a series of baffling casino heists in which the prime suspects are a troupe of Australian male erotic dancers. He’s forced to take the partner no one else will — Haddish’s character, a lone wolf who does things only one way: hers. Together they have to work as an unlikely duo to solve the crime of their careers. The Russos are already planning to make a splash on the Croisette on Thursday in the Grand Ballroom at the Carlton Hotel to discuss Cherry, their next directing project that will star Tom Holland.
No newcomers to the genre, the Russo brothers’ comedy credits include Arrested Development, Community and Larry Charles’ Dangerous World of Comedy.
Source: Deadline
Kyla Pratt’s New Comedy Titled ‘Patty’s Auto’ Not Moving Forward At FOX!
Fox is not moving forward with Patty’s Auto. Amid a bloodbath at the network, which saw series like Star not returning, a few pilots, including the Kyla Pratt-starring comedy, were not ordered.
The series would have also starred Carra Patterson, Joanna P. Adler, Sarah Levy and Paola Lázaro.
The project was inspired by the real-life Girls Auto Clinic founded by Patrice Banks, centering on Patty (Patterson) and the “eclectic” women who work for her.
Pratt would have played Tiny, Patty’s younger sister.
‘Empire’ To End With Season 6 On FOX
Empire‘s song is ending.
Fox on Monday revealed that the previously announced sixth season of Empire would indeed be its last. News that the Lee Daniels and Danny Strong drama would close up shop was part of Fox’s fall schedule release, which sees the Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard starrer move from its home Wednesdays to Tuesdays at 9 p.m. In its new slot, Empire will go head-to-head with the fourth season of TV’s top drama, NBC’s This Is Us. The final season will consist of 20 episodes, up two from its standard 18.
Empire will wrap after achieving a major milestone — its 100th episode — as the hip-hop drama reaches the threshold required for syndication, helping to provide another revenue stream for new owners Disney. The Mouse House acquired Empire as part of its $71.3 billion Fox buy, which included studio 20th TV.
The final season decision arrives days after Fox opted to cancel low-rated Empire spinoff Star following its three-season run. Fox, which enters the 2019-20 as an independent broadcast network, picked up 10 new scripted series — including three animated comedies. The network will air two new dramas — Prodigal Son, starring Michael Sheen and from exec producer Greg Berlanti, and Jason Katims-produced Not Just Me — in the fall alongside wrestling on Fridays, Thursday Night Football and The Masked Singer.
Meanwhile, there has been no change in the status of beleaguered former star Jussie Smollett. Producers 20th TV picked up Smollett’s option but there are no current plans for his character to return for season six.
Empire heads into its final season as Fox’s second-highest-rated drama series, behind only Ryan Murphy-produced procedural 911.
Empire joins Modern Family, Criminal Minds, Arrow, Supernatural and Blindspot as broadcast shows that will end next season.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Steve Harvey Replaced By Melissa McCarthy As Host Of ‘Little Big Shots’
Melissa McCarthy has been named host of NBC’s unscripted series “Little Big Shots,” replacing Steve Harvey as emcee of the talent competition for kids.
Harvey hosted the previous three seasons of the show, which hails from Warner Horizon Television and Ellen DeGeneres’ A Very Good Production banner.
“Little Big Shots” last aired on NBC in July 2018. NBC executives said the show was in for a “brand refresh” as McCarthy takes over. “Little Big Shots” is scheduled to return to NBC’s Sunday 8 p.m. berth after the end of football season next winter.
“Melissa’s just an incredible performer and incredible comedian,” said Paul Telegdy, NBC’s co-chairman of entertainment alongside George Cheeks. “She will bring a completely fresh perspective to it.”
Harvey’s departure from “Little Big Shots” comes on the heels of end of his NBCUniversal-distributed syndicated daytime talk show, “Steve,” which taped its final episode on Thursday.
There was no love lost between Harvey and the Peacock when the host opted in 2017 to cut a new deal for a new iteration of his daytime talk show that shifted ownership from Endemol Shine North America and NBCU to IMG Original Content and Harvey. It’s also understood that Harvey’s deal with “Little Big Shots” called for him to receive a hefty raise for a fourth season.
Telegdy did not reference the tussle with Harvey in discussing the host change with reporters on Sunday as NBC unveiled its 2019-2020 programming plans ahead of Monday’s upfront presentation at Radio City Music hall. Telegdy emphasized that McCarthy would bring her own comedic stamp to the show.
“Melissa is a strong creative force with her own ideas,” Telegdy said. “Changes will be apparent.”
SOurce: variety
Rihanna To Launch Groundbreaking New Fashion Label With LVMH
NEW YORK (AP) — Rihanna certified her status as a cultural fashion icon with her groundbreaking new deal with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury group.
The pop star, born Robyn Rihanna Fenty, announced Friday that she will debut a line called Fenty this spring through LVMH. Her luxury house will be based in Paris.
The 31-year-old singer becomes the first person since 1987 to launch a new house with LVMH (the last person was Christian LaCroix). Rihanna is also reportedly the first woman to create an original brand at LVMH and the first woman of color at the top of an LVMH maison.
“Designing a line like this with LVMH is an incredibly special moment for us,” Rihanna said in a statement. She added that Bernard Arnault, the chairman and CEO of LVMH, “has given me a unique opportunity to develop a fashion house in the luxury sector, with no artistic limits. I couldn’t imagine a better partner both creatively and business-wise, and I’m ready for the world to see what we have built together.”
LVMH’s leather and goods division includes Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior Couture, Celine, Kenzo, Givenchy, Fendi, Marc Jacobs and more, while its wine and spirts includes Moët & Chandon and Dom Pérignon. The company has also backed Rihanna’s ultra-successful cosmetics brand, Fenty Beauty.
Arnault said “everybody knows Rihanna as a wonderful singer, but through our partnership at Fenty Beauty, I discovered a true entrepreneur, a real CEO and a terrific leader.”
“She naturally finds her full place within LVMH,” he continued. “I am proud that LVMH is leading this venture and wish it will be a great success.”
Fashion has been synonymous with Rihanna’s name since the Grammy-winning superstar launched her music career in 2005. She has collaborated with brands like Armani, Puma, Dior and more to launch products and lines, and she debuted her lingerie line, Savage X Fenty, last year. Her Fenty Beauty collection disrupted the beauty industry when it launched in 2017, offering 40 foundation shades and bringing in more than $500 million by the end of last year. The success of it forced other cosmetic brands to be more inclusive and launch more foundation color shades, while Fenty even extended to 50 shades.
A release date for Rihanna’s new Fenty line with LVMH was not announced, but a website where consumers can eventually purchase the line launched Friday. The new line “is centered on Rihanna, developed by her, and takes shape with her vision in terms of ready to wear, shoes and accessories, including commerciality and communication of the brand,” according to a press release.
“Celebrity fashion brands have been around a long time and led by singers, but in the past they’ve tended to be done via licensing, wholesale distribution and often more with mass retailers or department stores. What’s different about this Rihanna project is her partner, which is the world’s largest luxury group, which has expertise across a range of leather goods, perfumes, fashion, beauty — so it really raises the bar for celebrity-led fashion brands,” Miles Socha, editor-in-chief of WWD, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Rihanna, a native of Barbados, expressed her excitement about the epic new deal in an Instagram post Friday.
“Big day for the culture,” she wrote. “Thank you Mr. Arnault for believing in this little girl from the left side of an island, and for giving me the opportunity to grow with you at @LVMH. This is proof that nothing is impossible. Glory be to God.”
Morgan Freeman Joins Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones, In New Comedy Film Titled ‘Comeback Trail’
The ‘Bad Boys’ writer will direct the action-comedy — based on Harry Hurwitz’s 1982 film — which is heading to the market in Cannes.
A trio of Oscar-winning legends are coming together for Bad Boys writer George Gallo’s upcoming action-comedy The Comeback Trail.
Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones and Morgan Freeman have boarded the film, which is heading the Cannes market next week with Storyboard Media repping international sales.
The Comeback Trail sees De Niro play Max Barber who, in debt to Freeman’s mob boss, creates an insurance fraud by casting washed-up, suicidal cowboy/movie star Duke Montana (Jones) in a poorly written Western with the intention of killing him during the first days of filming. Surprisingly, Duke somehow rises to the occasion, thereby redeeming his past misdeeds, and brings Max and others along on the same journey.
Josh Posner co-wrote the screenplay with Gallo, which is based on the 1982 film of the same name, written, directed and produced by the late Harry Hurwitz. Shooting begins in June in New Mexico. Donald Pemrick and Dean Fronk are handling casting.
The Comeback Trail is being produced by Steven Tyler Sahlein, March On Productions’ Richard Salvatore (The Big Wedding, The Poison Rose) and David Ornston, along with Joy Sirott Hurwitz and Julie Lott Gallo. The film is being financed and executive produced by Empire Media Partners’ Justin Calvillo and John DeMarco, Storyboard Media’s Philip Kim, Patrick Hibler and Elisabeth Costa de Beauregard, along with Ben Ruedinger and Joerg Fischer.
De Niro, Jones and Freeman have experience working together before (De Niro and Jones in 2013’sThe Family, De Niro and Morgan in Last Vegas the same year, and Jones and Freeman 2017’s Just Getting Started). Gallo and De Niro’s relationship goes back to the 1988 buddy cop hit, Midnight Run, while Gallo’s last film, The Poison Rose, starring Freeman and John Travolta, is being released by Lionsgate on Memorial Day weekend.
Gallo and Posner are repped by Industry Entertainment and Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown and Passman. De Niro is represented by CAA and Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks P.C. Jones is represented by CAA and Jacobson, Russell, Saltz, Nassim & de la Torre, LLP. Freeman is represented by CAA and Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern, LLP.
Empire Media Partners; Producers Sahlein and Salvatore; and Executive Producers Calvillo and DeMarco are represented by Harris Tulchin of Harris Tulchin & Associates.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
‘Fam’ Starring Comedian Tone Bell Comedy Canceled By CBS
CBS will not be picking up a second season of freshman comedy series Fam, starring The Vampire Diaries alumna Nina Dobrev and Tone Bell.
The multi-camera comedy was launched without much fanfare in midseason. The series, which hails from creator Corinne Kingsbury, Kapital Entertainment and CBS Television Studios, had a quiet run, averaging a 1.2 adults 18-49 rating (Live+7).
In Fam, a young woman’s (Dobrev) dreams of an upstanding life with her new fiancé (Bell) and his family are dashed when her younger trainwreck half-sister comes to live with her to escape their trainwreck of a father.
Odessa Adlon, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Sheryl Lee Ralph also starred.
Kingsbury executive produced with Kapital Entertainment’s Aaron Kaplan and Dana Honor as well as Wendi Trilling via TrillTV. Kapital co-produced with CBS TV Studios.
Kingsbury’s other freshman series, the CW’s In the Dark, was renewed for a second season.
Source: Deadline
‘Happy Together’ Starring Damon Wayans Jr. Canceled By CBS
CBS’ freshman comedy Happy Together, headlined by Damon Wayans Jr., will not be coming back for a second season. The cancellation came within an hour or so of Fox pulling the plug on Lethal Weapon, starring Wayans’ father, Damon Wayans.
The writing was pretty much on the wall when the multi-camera Happy Together did not get a back order in the fall. Odds of a fall freshman series getting a renewal after failing to secure a back order are usually slim.
Happy Together, from writers Tim McAuliffe and Austen Earl, underperformed in the ratings but had a few things going for it. It starred a sought-after comedy talent in Wayans Jr. and came from Late Late Show with James Corden producer Fulwell 73 as well as pop star Harry Styles. What’s more, because of co-lead Amber Stevens West’s pregnancy, the series rushed production on the first six episodes. In Episodes 7 and 8, ratings went up a bit. Its season averages were a 1.0 demo rating in 18-49 and 5.26 million total viewers. In the end, that wasn’t enough.
Happy Together revolved around Peter (Wayans Jr) and Claire (West), a thirtysomething couple who are tired of their mundane life and start to reconnect with their younger, cooler selves when an emerging pop star (Felix Mallard), who is drawn to their super-normal suburban life, moves in.
The cast also includes Stephnie Weir and Chris Parnell.
McAuliffe and Earl executive produced with Ben Winston via Fulwell 73, Styles, and 3 Arts Entertainment’s Michael Rotenberg and Jonathan Berry.
Source: Deadline
FOX Cancels ‘Lethal Weapon’ After Three Seasons
Fox has canceled its troubled cop series “Lethal Weapon” after three seasons, Variety has learned.
The show originally starred Clayne Crawford and Damon Wayans as a buddy cop duo, however, Variety reported that the pair were far from friendly and fought regularly off-camera, leading to Crawford’s sacking. Season three continued with Seann William Scott replacing Crawford, however, Wayans announced he was quitting and show, and coupled with a steep decline in ratings, it’s no great surprise that Fox decided to pull the plug.
The show averaged a 0.71 rating in the key 18-49 demographic and just over 3 million total viewers per episode in Season 3, which was a significant dip from the season 2 average rating of 1.0 and average viewership of just over 4 million. Even those numbers represented a pretty substantial decline from season 1, which had an average rating of 1.57 and 6.5 million total viewers.
The one-hour Fox drama was an adaptation of the “Lethal Weapon” film franchise, which starred Danny Glover and Mel Gibson. Wayans led the series as Roger Murtaugh, while Crawford played Martin Riggs and Scott played Wesley Cole in season 3. The series also starred Keesha Sharp, Kevin Rahm, Jordana Brewster, Johnathan Fernandez, Dante Brown, Chandler Kinney, and Michelle Mitchenor.
“Lethal Weapon” was produced by Warner Bros. Television in association with Lin Pictures and Good Session Productions. Miller, Dan Lin, Jennifer Gwartz, and McG served as executive producers.
Fox also canceled freshman drama “The Passage” and comedy “The Cool Kids” Friday but previously renewed “Empire,” “9-1-1,” “The Resident,” “Family Guy,” “Last Man Standing,” “Bob’s Burgers” and “The Simpsons.” New series orders for the 2019-20 television season include dramas “Deputy,” “Next,” “Prodigal Son” and the Untitled Annie Weisman/Jason Katims series, live-action comedy “Outmatched” and animated comedies “Duncanville,” “The Great North” and “Bless the Harts.”
