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Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba are back on the beat: Their Spectrum Originals Bad Boys offshoot L.A.'s Finest will return for Season 2 with three episodes on Monday, June 8 via Spectrum's On Demand service. New installments will then debut weekly on Mondays.
In the upcoming season, "Syd (Union) mourns the sudden loss of a friend and struggles to find answers, while McKenna (Alba) must deal with the aftermath of Izzy's kidnapping and the rift it has left in her marriage," per the official synopsis. "But when a powerful crime wave in Koreatown threatens to destroy the community, Syd, McKenna and the team must find those responsible before it's too late."
IMG announced Wednesday that eight of its top tennis clients will face off via the Mario Tennis Aces game exclusively for Nintendo Switch. They will be joined in doubles matches by celebrities such as Gigi Hadid, Seal, Ryan Tannehill, Haley Bieber and Karlie Kloss.
The live virtual tennis tournament is called the "Stay at Home Slam." Competition is set to take place on Sunday, May 3 at 4:00 p.m. ET/ 1:00 pm PT. It will be streamed exclusively on Facebook via Facebook Gaming and IMG's tennis Facebook page.
Competitors will take the virtual courts from their homes across the country. Each will receive $25,000 donated to the charity of their choice, with the winner of the tournament receiving an additional $1 million donation.
"I am proud our IMG tennis clients came together so quickly to support a multitude of great causes," said Max Eisenbud, SVP of tennis clients at IMG. "It is a testament to the people we work with across all our divisions that we were able to bring this to life in such a short amount of time."
"It's been incredible to see the creative ways athletes are using social media to support people during this difficult time," said Evan Shugerman, Facebook Athlete Partnerships Lead. "We're excited to be partnering with IMG to contribute to those efforts, which will bring some of the world's top athletes together on Facebook for an entertaining and impactful competition."
Tennis stars participating, and their corresponding celebrity doubles partners are:
Serena Williams and Gigi Hadid
Naomi Osaka and Hailey Bieber
Venus Williams and JuJu Smith-Schuster
Maria Sharapova and Karlie Kloss
Kei Nishikori and Steve Aoki
Madison Keys and Seal
Taylor Fritz and Addison Rae
Kevin Anderson and Ryan Tannehill
John McEnroe and YouTube personality iJustine (Justine Ezarik) will offer commentary.
This first-ever tournament is made possible by various divisions across Endeavor, including IMG's tennis clients, events and esports teams, WME's talent clients and digital groups, as well as Endeavor Content's Film 45, which will produce the tournament livestream.
"Across the Endeavor network, we are pivoting in creative ways during this time of crisis," said Stuart Saw, SVP of esports at IMG. "We're thrilled to have the internal resources to bring a bit of levity to viewers' lives, and who better than Mario to bring people together for some friendly, competitive fun? We're also grateful to have the support of Facebook Gaming to help us bring this event to fans around the world."
"Gaming's superpower has always been bringing people together and right now that's the case more than ever," said Leo Olebe, Global Director, Games Partnerships for Facebook Gaming. "Blending that superpower with pro athletes and epic entertainment to raise money for COVID-19 relief and research efforts is a natural fit that we're proud to be a part of."
In Mario Tennis Aces for Nintendo Switch, Mario steps onto the court for all-out tennis battles against a variety of Mushroom Kingdom characters including Luigi, Peach, Donkey Kong and Bowser.
Garcelle Beauvais is making a move into the podcast space. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star is set to host Going to Bed with Garcelle, a weekly late-night talk show podcast for MGM.
Produced by New York-based podcast company Radio Point and her Beauvais Wilson Productions, Going to Bed with Garcelle will feature Beauvais and a celebrity guest dishing on relationships, dating, sex and more, with no topic off limits. Premiering May 7, the first season will consist of 26, 30-minute episodes and be distributed across all major podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.
"Garcelle is a rare talent…funny, fast, smart, and always full of surprises. Now that she's shown viewers part of her personal life on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, we think a podcast is the perfect platform to showcase Garcelle After Dark," said Barry Poznick, MGM's President of Unscripted & Alternative Television and Orion Television. "In this late-night, round-table talk show format Garcelle 'goes there' and no topic is off-limits. This is like Sex and the City meets The View!"
The podcast expands Beauvais' relationship with MGM, whose Evolution Media produces the popular Bravo reality series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, on which she stars. On the film side, she most recently appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming. She currently plays Dennis Quaid's love interest in Netflix's Merry Happy Whatever, is featured in CBS All Access' psychological thriller Tell Me a Story, and can next be seen in the anticipated Coming 2 America.
Canadian legal drama seriesDiggstownhas been added to BET+'s original programming lineup. In a deal with eOne, BET+ acquired the six-part series, starring Vinessa Antoine.
Created by Floyd Kane (Across the Line), Diggstown follows Marcie Diggs (Antoine), a lawyer who leaves her high-powered corporate job to work for a legal aid clinic in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, after her aunt commits suicide. The team of lawyers that Marcie works with are a curious band of do-gooders, cynics, and scrappers – messy souls struggling to keep personal disappointment and demons out of their practice. They work directly in the community to find justice for their diverse clients, exploring issues of racism, poverty, and gender bias.
Cast also includes Natasha Henstridge, C. David Johnson, Stacey Farber, Brandon Oakes, Shailene Garnett, Tim Rozon and Dwain Murphy.
Diggstown is co-produced by Circle Blue Entertainment and Freddie Films. Kane is creator, executive producer, and showrunner, and Amos Adetuyi, Brenda Greenberg and Todd Berger are executive producers. Kelly Makin directed the pilot and executive produces. Diggstown is produced in association with CBC.
The deal was brokered by Rosanna Canonigo, Global Television and Digital Distribution, Entertainment One, which handles international television rights.
A feature film on the life of iconic songstress Whitney Houston is fast forming. The Whitney Houston Estate, Primary Wave and Grammy-winning music producer Clive Davis have teamed up for I Wanna Dance With Somebody. They are negotiating with The Photograph helmer Stella Meghie to direct.
Scripting and producing is Anthony McCarten, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter who wrote the biographical films The Two Popes, Darkest Hour, Bohemian Rhapsody, and The Theory Of Everything. On those films, Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury), Gary Oldman (Winston Churchill), and Eddie Redmayne (Stephen Hawkins) won lead actor Oscars three years straight, and Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins were just both nominated for Pope Francis and Pope Benedict, respectively. Those films earned him four Oscar and two BAFTA noms for McCarten, who has been scripting the Bee Gees film for Paramount, GK, Sister and Amblin, and also wrote the book for an upcoming Broadway musical on the life of singer/songwriter Neil Diamond. Focusing on a female icon will be a new one for him.
The Whitney Houston film will be produced by Pat Houston on behalf of the Houston Estate, Davis, Larry Mestel on behalf of Primary Wave Music, Denis O'Sullivan, and McCarten through his Muse of Fire Productions banner. Primary Wave Music is a partner of the Whitney Houston estate. The film will benefit from the use of Houston's many hit songs.
McCarten's incredible biopic track record helped him win the support of the Houston family, after the late Houston's mentor Davis reached out to McCarten last April. McCarten self-financed a life-rights option and is writing the script on spec. Unclear when the project will be set with a distributor.
The big question is, who can possibly play Houston?
We all know about her tragic death in 2012. But if, even now, you listen to the soaring finish of The Bodyguard's signature tune I Will Always Love You, or her Super Bowl rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, and the hairs on the back of your neck don't stand up, it's because you don't have hair on the back of your neck. The producers will lean into that part of the story, but won't ignore her sad ending, much the way that McCarten handled the sensitivity around Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. The producers describe their vision of the film as a "joyous, emotional and heart-breaking celebration of the life and music of the greatest female R&B pop vocalist of all time, tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom. While being very frank about the price that super-stardom exacted, it will be both the rich and complex saga of the search for the perfect marriage between song and singer and audience, and at the same time the moving tale of a simple Jersey girl trying to find her way back home."
Houston is the most awarded female music artist of all time, selling more than 200 million records worldwide. With her first studio album in 1985 and for more than 25 years that followed, her music became the soundtrack for multiple generations. Her hit songs included Saving All My Love for You, How Will I Know, Greatest Love of All, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Didn't We Almost Have it All, So Emotional, Where Do Broken Hearts Go, I'm Your Baby Tonight and Million Dollar Bill, among many others. The six songs Houston recorded for her 1992 screen turn with Kevin Costner propelled The Bodyguard soundtrack to win multiple Grammy Awards including Album of the Year, and a Record of the Year award for the Dolly Parton-penned single I Will Always Love You. The album remains the best-selling soundtrack album in history and the film went on to earn $411 Million at the worldwide box office. She later did soundtracks for other motion pictures, including Waiting to Exhale and The Preacher's Wife, the latter which went on to become the best-selling gospel album in history.
In her all-too-brief life, Houston won six Grammy Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards and two Emmy Awards, among many others. She was inducted earlier this year into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Davis, who discovered Houston in 1983 when she was a doe-eyed 19 year old, said: "From all my personal and professional experience with Whitney from her late teenage years to her tragic premature death, I know the full Whitney Houston story has not yet been told. I am so glad that Anthony McCarten has committed to a no holds barred, musically rich screenplay that finally reveals the whole Whitney whose vocal genius deeply affected the world while she fiercely battled the demons that were to be her undoing".
Said Pat Houston, on behalf of the Estate: "The Estate of Whitney Houston is more than elated to be involved with a group of people that are as passionate about Whitney's life story as we are. Whitney's legacy deserves only the best that can be given. I stand with the hearts of these partners being the chosen ones to produce a film that's uplifting and inspiring to all that loved her, giving you a reason to continue to celebrate The Voice that we all fell in love with and will cherish forever!"
Said Mestel: "Whitney Houston was the voice of a generation and who better to tell her story then than Pat Houston, Clive Davis and the Oscar-nominated and award-winning Anthony McCarten. Anthony is a proven storyteller and we are honored to have the most "in demand" screen writer in the business as our partner on this important project."
Adds McCarten: "We are incredibly lucky to have the support and input of many of the key people who knew Whitney the best and who were there at the time, in the making of this film. I am working closely with all of them, to authentically tell the extraordinary story of a peerless talent, taken from us too soon. Recreating for the big screen those unforgettable performances, those beloved songs, and that incredible journey, will be an enormous responsibility, undertaking, privilege and delight for myself and for our entire team."
Meghie, whose four films have gotten her nominated for an Independent Spirit, NAACP and Toronto Film Fest awards, is a huge fan of Houston and chased this job hard. I expect distributors to do the same.
McCarten is repped by David Fox at Myman Greenspan Fox. Meghie is CAA and Del Shaw Moonves.
Beyoncé surprised Disney fans and music lovers everywhere Thursday evening by popping into the entertainment juggernaut's "Disney Family Singalong" on ABC.
"I'd like to dedicate to all of the healthcare workers who've been working tirelessly to keep us healthy and safe," Bey explained before starting her rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star," adding, "We greatly appreciate you."
The presence of the "Lion King" star, 38, in the Ryan-Seacrest-hosted show was not revealed ahead of time. The special, which featured stars broadcasting their renditions of classic Disney fare from quarantine, also had on its marquee Christina Aguilera, Michael Bublé, Kristin Chenoweth, Luke Evans, Josh Gad and John Stamos — among many others — and was aimed at raising awareness for charity Feeding America.
As hinted in last night's final episode of Chicago Fire's seventh season, series regular Annie Ilonzeh is leaving the NBC firefighter drama after two seasons.
Ilonzeh joined Chicago Fire as a new series regular at the beginning of Season 7. She played Emily, an intelligent, easy-going and confident new paramedic. Ilonzeh was initially set as a recurring, but was upped to series regular after production on Season 7 began.
Before becoming a paramedic, Emily was a medical student. She since found the courage to reapply to medical school, and in the Season 7 early finale, she was seen making an impassioned speech to the admission committee of Northwestern University. Like is the case for many other broadcast series, Chicago Fire's current season was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, which shut down Hollywood production.
The Chicago franchise — whose three shows were all recently picked up for three more seasons — is known for tweaking casts between seasons. Jon Seda, Colin Donnell and Norma Kuhling left the Chicago universe after the end of last season.
From Emmy-winning executive producer Dick Wolf and co-creator Derek Haas, Chicago Fire looks into the lives of everyday heroes committed to one of America's noblest professions. The firefighters, rescue squad, and paramedics of Chicago Firehouse 51 risk their lives week in and week out to save and protect the citizens of their incredible city.
Todd Arnow, Andrea Newman, Michael Gilvary, Michael Brandt, Arthur Forney and Peter Jankowski also executive produce. Chicago Fire is produced by Universal Television and Wolf Entertainment.
In response to the news of Black Americans being disproportionately harmed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BET has wasted no time and have stepped up to create initiatives to support communities of color affected by coronavirus. BET is teaming with the NAACP, United Way Worldwide, leaders in the African American creative, civil rights and business communities to provide financial, educational and community support directly to Black communities hit hardest by this crisis. One of the initiatives includes the the "Saving Our Selves: A BET COVID-19 Relief Effort" broadcast special which will air April 22 at 8 PM ET. Singer and actresss Kelly Rowland, TV personality Terrence J and actress Regina Hall will serve as hosts.
The relief fund is in partnership with United Way Worldwide to provide assistance to those severely impacted by COVID-19, and support of the NAACP's Town Hall Series. BET has a rich history of advocating for communities of color during a crisis. They raised $12 million for Katrina victims and millions more for Haiti earthquake victims. Donations to the fund begin on April 10. Visit BET.com for more information.
"The COVID-19 pandemic is savagely compounding the profound health and financial vulnerabilities many Black Americans face. Every day, there are new reports of how this pandemic is killing African Americans at much higher rates than other communities," said Scott Mills, President of BET. "BET is using all of our resources – our capital, our media platforms, our relationships with the creative community, sponsors, businesses and charitable organizations to support our community in this time of crisis."
"United Way is deeply embedded in communities across our country, and our 'local-ness' means we know the needs on the ground and how to get the right kind of help to those who need it most," said Stan Little, Chief Experience Officer of United Way. "We look forward to partnering with BET to bring much-needed relief and long-term recovery to already vulnerable communities that are being hit especially hard because of the COVID-19 pandemic."
"Saving Our Selves" will feature virtual appearances and musical performances from some of the biggest names in music and entertainment as they share tips on how to manage, cope and help during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Special guests slated to appear are DJ Khaled, Charlie Wilson, Chance the Rapper, Kirk Franklin, Fantasia, Melvin Crispell III, and more. The special will give up-to-date information and drive viewers to needed resources during this unprecedented time. In partnership with United Way, proceeds are being donated to African American communities severely impacted by COVID-19.
Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET will serve as Executive Producer of the special along with Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment.
In addition, BET is also providing resources and content on COVID-19 across multiple digital platforms including a "Unmasked: A COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall Series Powered by NAACP & BET" on April 8 at 8 PM ET.
HBO Max's upcoming Gossip Girl reboot has cast young actress Savannah Smith for a lead role. This marks the first booking for Smith, who is currently studying acting at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.
Start of production on the 10-episode series — from Joshua Safran, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage's Fake Empire, Alloy Entertainment, Warner Bros TV and CBS Television Studios — has been delayed by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Like the original series, the new iteration of Gossip Girl, written by Safran, is based on the book by Cecily von Ziegesar. Eight years after the original website went dark, a new generation of New York private school teens is introduced to the social surveillance of Gossip Girl. The prestige series will address just how much social media — and the landscape of New York itself — has changed in the intervening years.
Details about Smith's character were not released, but she is believed to be one of the cool girls at the school.
Smith joins fellow leads Emily Alyn Lind, Tavi Gevinson, Whitney Peak, Eli Brown, Johnathan Fernandez and Jason Gotay as well as Thomas Doherty, Adam Chanler-Berat and Zion Moreno
Safran executive produces with Fake Empire's Schwartz and Savage, and Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo of Alloy Entertainment. Fake Empire's Lis Rowinski is co-executive producer.
