Joan Vassos will search for love on the debut season of The Golden Bachelorette.
Vassos, a 61-year-old widowed grandmother from Maryland, was announced as the franchise's first Golden Bachelorette during the Disney Upfront 2024 presentation on Tuesday.
The Golden Bachelorette, which was announced in February, will air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET this fall on ABC.
Gerry Turner appeared as the lead on The Golden Bachelor and proposed to Theresa Nist during the season finale of the hit show. The two were married during a televised wedding in January and announced their divorce on Good Morning America in April.
ABC News Studios and independent film studio NEON announced on Monday that Andrew McCarthy's anticipated documentary Brats will debut on Thursday, June 13, on Hulu.
The streaming premiere will come after the movie makes its debut earlier that month as part of the Tribeca Festival in New York City.
According to its producers, Brats "looks at the iconic films of the 1980s that shaped a generation and the narrative that took hold when their young stars were branded the Brat Pack."
"McCarthy reunites with his fellow Brat Packers — friends, colleagues and former foes, including Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, Jon Cryer, Lea Thompson and Timothy Hutton, many of whom he had not seen for over 30 years — to answer the question: What did it mean to be part of the Brat Pack?"
The doc also has McCarthy chatting with writer David Blum, who coined the term back in a 1985 New York Magazine cover story.
Mike Kelley, who heads ABC News Studios, said of McCarthy, "Andrew, as a seminal member, brings unbelievable access and perspective to the phenomenon as director of this film," calling Brats "a deeply personal, surprising and entertaining journey and a film we are so proud of at ABC News Studios."
HBO has released photos of two-time Oscar winner Jessica Lange in the title role of its upcoming original film The Great Lillian Hall.
In the film, Lange plays another legendary actress — from the silent era.
The network teases, "As beloved Broadway star Lillian Hall pours her heart, soul, and time into preparing for her next big role, she finds herself blindsided by confusion and forgetfulness."
The tease continues, "Battling against all odds to make it to opening night, while holding on to her fading memories and identity, she must navigate a tumultuous emotional journey — balancing her desire for the spotlight and the stark demands of the real world."
Lange is joined by fellow Academy Award winner Kathy Bates, as well as Lily Rabe, Jesse Williams and Pierce Brosnan in the film from actor-director Michael Cristofer, who called the shots on 1998's Gia for HBO.
The film debuts Friday, May 31, at 8 p.m. ET on the cable network before streaming on Max.
On Tuesday, May 14, ABC revealed its fall 2024 schedule, revealing some new faces to its regular prime-time lineup.
Following Dancing with the Stars on Tuesday nights will be the new drama High Potential, from Oscar-nominated writer and Daredevil veteran Drew Goddard. It stars Always Sunny's Kaitlin Olson as Morgan, "a single mom with an exceptional mind whose unconventional knack for solving crimes leads to an unusual and unstoppable partnership with a by-the-book seasoned detective."
Wednesday nights will see a 90-minute version of The Golden Bachelorette, followed by the Emmy-winning comedy Abbott Elementary and another new entry, the ABC News Studios documentary series Scamanda.
That latter is based on the hit podcast of the same name and "tells the story of Amanda Riley — a wife, mother, blogger and Christian — whose tragic cancer tale captivates thousands, but who is harboring a dark secret."
A new series from American Horror Story's Ryan Murphy called Doctor Odyssey is bound for Thursday evening, airing after his established hit 9-1-1 and before the long-running Grey's Anatomy.
Odyssey stars Joshua Jackson as Max, the on-board physician for a luxury cruise ship "where the staff works hard and plays harder."
The network teases, "It's all hands on deck as Max and his small but mighty medical team navigate unique medical crises and each other, miles from shore."
ABC also announced that new seasons of returning dramas The Rookie and Will Trent will debut midseason, along with the celebratory farewell season of The Conners.
Also returning midseason are American Idol; The Bachelor; Celebrity Jeopardy!; Celebrity Wheel of Fortune; What Would You Do?; and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, from executive producer Reese Witherspoon.
On a recent episode of Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett's Smartless podcast, Emmy winner Sarah Paulson called out an actress who once gave her six pages of notes on a play performance.
In 2013, Paulson was starring in an off-Broadway revival of the Lanford Wilson play Talley's Folly. The actress who originated Paulson's role of Sally Talley was in the audience for a performance, at Paulson's mom's invitation.
"I'm going to say this, and I'm not going to ask you to cut this out, because I don't f****** care," Paulson told the podcast's hosts.
"Her name is Trish Hawkins — Hi, Trish! Hi, Trisha!" Paulson continued. "Trish Hawkins came to the play — am I going to get sued? I don't care, because I think this is outrageous."
Paulson continued, "Cut to two days later, I got an email that was six pages long of notes and a communication to me about what she had done when she had done the play, what she recommended I do. It was outrageous. It was really outrageous. Trish Hawkins, I have not forgotten it, and I hope to see you never."
Her fellow actors were aghast. Arnett called her his hero for calling out the actress.
Paulson said she never confronted her mother about her guest's actions. "I just put it back in the file of things my mother has done," she said with a sarcastic laugh.
In spite of Hawkins' advice, Paulson is doing well on her own: She recently scored her first Tony nomination for her performance in the dramedy Appropriate.
Cross, the new series starring Aldis Hodge as bestselling author James Patterson's brilliant detective Alex Cross, has yet to debut, but season 2 is already in the works.
The first season drops later in 2024.
"Bringing one of James Patterson's most iconic literary characters to life for our global Prime Video customers was a dream come true, and we can't wait for everyone to see Aldis Hodge’s dynamic performance as Cross," said Vernon Sanders, Amazon MGM Studios' head of television, at the event. "[Show creator] Ben Watkins and his team have created something unique within the crime-thriller genre that long-time fans and newcomers alike will all enjoy. And with over thirty [Alex Cross] novels written by Patterson ... it was an easy choice to bring Cross back for a second season."
For his part, a "thrilled" Watkins enthused, "Moments like this don't happen by accident. Getting a Season 2 pick-up before our first season even drops is a huge testament and vote of confidence in the amazing work that our crew, cast, directors, writers and production team have delivered thus far."
Prime Video also dropped a teaser to the first season, showing how smooth Hodge is as the beloved character.
"You're getting a confession. You're not in my head," a suspect tells him cockily. "Oh, I'm definitely living there, rent free," Cross counters, smiling.
Prime Video had its inaugural upfront presentation on Tuesday, and the streamer had a lot to announce. Here are some of the major headlines:
Noir Lifelong comic fan and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse voice cast member Nicolas Cage is taking his fan-favorite, monochromatic character from that Oscar-winning film into real life. Noir will have him playing"an aging and down on his luck private investigator in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life as the city's one and only superhero."
Mr. and Mrs. Smith, season 2 Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios, called the spy series with Donald Glover and Maya Erskine an "incredibly modern, sexy reinvention of the original film," adding, "We are proud to bring you another season filled with unforgettable journeys and new adventures."
Tomb Raider Fleabag Emmy winner Phoebe Waller-Bridge writes, executive produces and stars as Lara Croft in a globe-trotting adaptation of the hit adventure video game series. "If I could tell my teenage self this was happening I think she'd explode," Waller-Bridge says. "Tomb Raider has been a huge part of my life," she continues. "Lara Croft means a lot to me, as she does to many, and I can't wait to go on this adventure. Bats 'n all."
Road House 2 After reaching an audience of 80 million around the world, Jake Gyllenhaal's Dalton will be back. "I am so ready, like I love this character, I love this world, I love the thing that we've created, and I can't wait to bring more," he told the crowd.
Prime Video also released a teaser trailer and a release date for the second season of The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power, which returns on August 29.
The fourth season of The Boys doesn't drop on Prime Video until June 13, but the streamer announced the skewed superhero show is coming back for a fifth.
Based on The New York Times bestselling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, the series' cast includes Karl Urban, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty and Jack Quaid.
This season, Jeffrey Dean Morgan also joins the cast.
The series' showrunner, Eric Kripke, who co-executive produces along with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, says of the series, "The Boys could be the best job I'll ever have. What other show allows me to write about politics, capitalism, family, and exploding genitalia, though not in that order."
As a presidential election looms in season 4 — and in real life — he adds, cheekily, "My only problem is that since this year promises to be free of any conflict or misinformation, we're not sure what to write about."
The Boys season 4 debuts with three episodes on June 13, followed by a new episode each week, ending with the epic season finale on Thursday, July 18.
Legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola has posted an epic teaser trailer to his highly anticipated, mostly self-funded film Megalopolis, ahead of its world premiere at the Cannes International Film Festival on Thursday, May 16.
A calamity has befallen a New York-like city called New Rome; meteor-like streaks careen into the metropolis from space.
"When does an empire die?" intones Laurence Fishburne, one of the film's many stars, in voiceover. "Does it collapse in one terrible moment? No, no. But there comes a time when people no longer believe in it."
The clip is replete with both stunning realistic sequences, and what appear to be hallucinations, like a walking statue of Lady Justice physically collapsing from exhaustion.
"Don't let the now destroy the forever," Adam Driver's idealistic artist Cesar Catilina says. "Is this society, is this way of living, the only one that's available to us?"
While Cesar dreams of a utopia from the catastrophe, the city's Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), "remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare," according to the official synopsis.
The description calls Megalopolis "a Roman Epic fable set in an imagined Modern America," and if Cesar and Cicero's names don't drive that home, there's a chariot race staged for Roman-clad elites at Madison Square Garden.
"We are taking our city back!" screams Shia LaBeouf's Clodio, in full Julius Caesar armor. In real life, Clodio invaded the Roman Empire in 428, and established a kingdom within it.
Driver's character closes the tease: "And when we ask these questions, when there's a dialog about them, that basically is a utopia."
Megalopolis' extensive cast also includes Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, James Remar, and D.B. Sweeney.
Seth Meyers' Late Night seat is safe for at least the next four years. Meyers, who recently marked his 10-year anniversary as host of NBC's nighttime staple, has extended his deal with the network through 2028. "Over the last 10 years, Seth has resonated with his audience night after night with a sharp monologue and established segments such as 'A Closer Look' and 'Day Drinking,'" Katie Hockmeyer, executive vice president of late night programming for NBCUniversal Entertainment, said in a statement on Monday, May 13. "We're so happy to continue this legacy franchise with Seth at the helm and watch him continue to elevate the success of Late Night." Late Night with Seth Meyers airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock ...
Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are reuniting for a new reality series. "New Era. Same Besties. Coming soon to Peacock," they captioned a graphic of their staticky voices coming from an old TV set with no picture. Peacock confirmed the news, according to Deadline, though details of the show, including the title, are still under wraps. Hilton and Ritchie last teamed up for The Simple Life, which debuted 20 years ago on Fox, before moving to E! for its fourth and fifth seasons ...
Variety reports Ellen DeGeneres will appear in her final stand-up special, and second for Netflix, later this year. "To answer the questions everyone is asking me – Yes, I'm going to talk about it," DeGeneres said in a statement obtained by the outlet, apparently referring to her controversial exit from her popular daytime talk show in 2022, amid allegations of a toxic workplace. "Yes, this is my last special. Yes, [Ellen's partner] Portia really is that pretty in real life," DeGeneres continued. DeGeneres will also launch a multiple-city stand-up tour June 19 in San Diego ...
In the apocalyptic epic Mad Max: Fury Road, Tom Hardy's Max and Charlize Theron's Furiosa didn't like each other very much — which was handy, because the stars were at odds behind the scenes, too.
To the U.K.'s Telegraph, director George Miller unpacked the famous feud, which was quite different from his experience working with Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth in his prequel, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
According to the making-of book Blood, Sweat and Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road,Theron "didn't feel safe" around Hardy and requested a female producer to shadow her.
To the Telegraph, Miller said "they were just two very different performers," though he added the escalating situation "never should have happened."
The filmmaker explains, "Tom has a damage to him but also a brilliance that comes with it, and whatever was going on with him at the time, he had to be coaxed out of his trailer. Whereas Charlize was incredibly disciplined — a dancer by training, which told in the precision of her performance — and always the first one on set."
Miller added, "I'm an optimist, so I saw their behaviour as mirroring their characters, where they had to learn to co-operate in order to ensure mutual survival."
But he admitted, "There's no excuse for it, and I think there's a tendency in this business to use great performances as an excuse for other disruption that could be avoided."
Apparently having learned from his mistakes, Miller said he advised Chris and Anya, the latter of whom plays the younger Furiosa in the prequel, to be "obsessive about safety — not just physical but also psychological safety."
On Monday, May 13, Focus Features announced a third Downton Abbey film is in the works, and The Holdovers' Paul Giamatti will be returning.
According to the studio, Giamatti will reprise as Harold Levinson, the brother of Elizabeth McGovern's Cora Grantham, in Downton Abbey 3.
The character last appeared in the hit 2022 film Downton Abbey: A New Era, which was directed by Simon Curtis.
The Gentlemen series' Joely Richardson and former Sopranos co-star Alessandro Nivola are also along for the ride for the threequel, being written by Academy Award-winning Downton creator Julian Fellowes, and BAFTA and Emmy Award winners Gareth Neame and Liz Trubridge.
Joining McGovern will be her fellow Downton vets, including Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Robert James-Collier.
(L-R) Clooney, Ray Wise, Heslov on 'Good Night, and Good Luck' - Warner Bros. Pictures
George Clooney and his longtime producing partner Grant Heslov are taking their Academy Award-nominated 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck to Broadway.
The spring 2025 production, co-written by Clooney and Heslov, will be directed by Tony winner David Cromer and will mark Clooney's Broadway debut.
The play will have Clooney playing legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow, who was portrayed by David Strathairn in Clooney's film.
Cromer said in a statement, "Edward R. Murrow operated from a kind of moral clarity that feels vanishingly rare in today's media landscape. There was an immediacy in those early live television broadcasts that today can only be effectively captured on stage, in front of a live audience."
Clooney added, "I am honored, after all these years, to be coming back to the stage and especially, to Broadway, the art form and the venue that every actor aspires to."
The play will be staged at a Shubert Organization theater yet to be announced.
When Halle Berry popped up on Instagram on Mother's Day, most of the attention became about her being nude on a balcony for the second time in two years.
The new photo showing the Oscar winner looking over her shoulder, her bare butt against a railing, was posted by musician Van Hunt, Berry's man since 2020. He said in the caption, "happy Mother's day from the bottom… of my heart. …oh s***, i wasn't s'posed to post that!"
Cheekily, Hunt added, "butt…u hav to admit thassa bada**… mutha right there!"
However, understandably lost in all that was Berry's own post, in which she specifically wished a Happy M-Day not to her own mother, Judith Hawkins, but her "beautiful mother-in-law, DJ," referring to Hunt's mother, Doris Edwards Drayton.
For the record, Berry and Hunt never confirmed they tied the knot.
"Happy Mother's Day to all the glorious mothers of the world and especially my beautiful mother-in-law, DJ!" Berry said. "You've come into our lives and brought the sunshine with you," Halle continued. "When you shower us with your pearls, we are instantly made better! We love you so very much."
Halle's followers immediately noticed "the not spoken shade," as one put it, as Halle's own mom wasn't depicted. Many weren't having it. "What about your mother??" asked one. "WHO IS THIS WOMAN?" another posted.
For her part, Drayton replied to Halle, "Happy Mother’s Day, daughter! The love and light that you bring to my life shines bright. You are a wonderful mother, friend and inspiration. My son loves you and so do I."
Harris and Madigan in 2018 - Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
ABC Audio has confirmed that Oscar-nominated actor Ed Harris will direct The Ploughmen, a neo-crime thriller starring Nick Nolte, Bill Murray and Owen Teague.
Harris' real-life wife and Gone Baby Gone co-star Amy Madigan also stars in the adaptation of Kim Zupan’s acclaimed novel of the same name that is getting underway in Montana this fall. The movie also stars the famous couple's only daughter, Lily Harris.
According to BCDF Pictures, the movie is in the vein of the acclaimed films Hell or High Water and Wind River. "In the wilderness of Montana ... a strange friendship develops between a haunted young deputy sheriff and a notorious old murderer," the producers tease.
Nolte's John Gload "is a killer so adept at his job that only now has he been apprehended." Teague plays Val Millimaki, described as the "low man in the Copper County Sheriff department."
The producers continue, "As Val continues his unlucky streak of finding dead bodies, Sheriff (Murray) puts him on night duty to try and get Gload to reveal his past. Val finds much in common with his prisoner, and dangerously seeks counsel from him."
The Ploughmen will be the third film that the Apollo 13 star directs, after his Western Appaloosa and Oscar-nominated Pollock. "Been trying to get this film made for a while," Harris says of the project. "It's worth the wait to tell this intriguing story with a great cast and crew and the beauty of Montana."
