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 30-Day Archives |
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Disney is leaning into the recent resurgence of Dancing with the Stars. The network is eyeing a spinoff series focused on finding the series' next pro dancer. Deals are still in the works, but Season 34 winner Robert Irwin is in talks to host the new series, currently titled Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro. Longtime pro Mark Ballas and his mom Shirley Ballas, also a pro ballroom dancer and head judge on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, are in talks to serve as judges. There will be a third judges slot, expected to be filled with a rotating judge each week — likely including many from the DWTS family. DWTS: The Next Pro is expected to air this summer and stream on Hulu. The winner would then appear on Season 35 of the flagship series, which generally premieres in September. ABC declined to comment. This marks the first major expansion of the Dancing with the Stars since it premiered in 2005. Over the years, the series has gone through dozens of pro dancers, many of whom returned for last season's 20th anniversary celebration. Ballas has been with DWTS on and off since 2007, most recently dancing with Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt for Season 34. Dancing with the Stars exploded in popularity last season, raking in its largest audience in years driven by interest from younger viewers. In November, Season 34 posted the show's highest-rated finale in nearly a decade. |
posted 2/12/2026 |
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The community has come together in a big way following the death of James Van Der Beek. The actor died at 48 on Feb. 11, following a battle with colorectal cancer. Shortly after the news broke, his friends started a GoFundMe account, asking for help for his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek and their six children. On Feb. 12, the account reached $1 million. The goal was originally set at $250,000 but increased throughout the day on Wednesday to $1.3 million. "Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning," his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, said in a statement. "He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace. There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend." The father of six kids, Van Der Beek announced in November 2024 that he had "been privately dealing with this diagnosis" — it was Stage 3 — since August 2023. During two summer hiatuses from his hit series, Van Der Beek starred as the principled Texas high school quarterback Jonathan "Mox" Moxon in the Brian Robbins-helmed Varsity Blues (1999) and as the hedonistic Sean Bateman in the Bret Easton Ellis adaptation The Rules of Attraction (2002), written and directed by Roger Avary. The good-natured Connecticut native also played versions of himself in 2001's Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (in the movie within the movie) and in 2019's Jay & Silent Bob Reboot and for two seasons of the 2012-13 ABC sitcom Don't Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, where he had the self-assurance to portray an actor on the decline. Van Der Beek had been directed by Edward Albee on a New York stage and had played a bully in the coming-of-age film Angus (1995) when he was hired as a Steven Spielberg wannabe on Dawson's Creek, created by Kevin Williamson for Columbia TriStar Television. (He was 20 portraying a 15-year-old.) The oldest of three kids, Van Der Beek was born on March 8, 1977, in Cheshire, Connecticut, a bucolic town of white picket fences, not unlike Capeside. His father, Jim, pitched with the Albuquerque Dukes, then the Los Angeles Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate, before working for decades as a telephone executive. His mother, Melinda, attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, danced on Broadway and ran her own gymnastics tumbling school in Cheshire for 27 years. "In eighth grade, we were asked to write a letter to ourselves about where we would be in five years," he said in an interview with Teen Machine. "I wrote that I either wanted to be a pro baseball player like my father or I wanted to be a physical therapist. Acting wasn't anywhere near my mind." After he was banned from playing football in junior high for a year because of a concussion, he turned to acting and was cast as Danny Zuko in a community theater production of Grease. When he was 15 and attending the prestigious Cheshire Academy prep school as a do-no-wrong student on a scholarship, he got his mom to take him to Manhattan to secure representation — and landed an agent and manager on his first trip. Still, it took about a half and a half of auditioning without success — that included making six-hour trips back and forth between Cheshire and New York — before he was cast as a drummer on a December 1993 episode of Nickelodeon's Clarissa Explains It All. A few months later, Van Der Beek played a swimmer in an off-Broadway production of Albee's Finding the Sun, with The New York Times in its review calling him "refreshingly un-self-conscious as a teenager yet to suffer the inevitable 'tarnish'." Still in high school, he made his film debut in Angus, then appeared as another aggressive kid in the romantic drama I Love You, I Love You Not (1996). He attended Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, as an English major and sang in an all-male a cappella group called 36 Madison Avenue but quit college when Dawson's Creek came calling. After the series was rejected by NBC and Fox, the three-year-old WB gave it a green light, and shooting began in Wilmington, North Carolina. Holmes, Jackson and Williams had all been cast before Van Der Beek was. He competed on Dancing With the Stars in 2018 and The Masked Singer last year. He would further extend his game show cred with appearances on "The $100,000 Pyramid", "25 Words or Less", and "Match Game". It was announced in May that he would recur in Elle, a Legally Blonde prequel set up at Prime Video. The show, which got an early season two renewal last month, is set to premiere in July. In addition to his father and Kimberly, whom he married in August 2010, survivors include their children, Olivia, 15; Joshua, 13; Annabel, 12; Emilia, 9; Gwendolyn, 6; and Jeremiah, 4; his brother, Jared; and his sister, Juliana. His first wife was actress Heather McComb (Profiler, Party of Five); they were married from 2003 until their 2009 divorce. The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with expenses following his cancer battle: "The costs of James's medical care and the extended fight against cancer have left the family out of funds. They are working hard to stay in their home and to ensure the children can continue their education and maintain some stability during this incredibly difficult time. The support of friends, family, and the wider community will make a world of difference as they navigate the road ahead." In December 2024, Van Der Beek, Anthony Anderson and NFL players Taye Diggs and Chris Jones were among those stripping to raise awareness for prostate, testicular and colorectal cancer testing in the Fox special The Real Full Monty. He was all set to appear in September at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York to participate in a live reading of the Dawson's Creek pilot script with Holmes, Williams, Jackson, Mary Beth Peil, Busy Philipps and other castmembers in a benefit for the nonprofit F Cancer organization. However, he couldn't make it from his home in Austin, citing "two stomach viruses" as the reason. "Despite every effort … I won't get to be there," he wrote on Instagram. "I won't get to stand on that stage and thank every soul in the theater for showing up for me, and against cancer, when I needed it most." Looking gaunt, he also recorded a video that played to cheers in the theater. His wife and kids were there, however, and everyone lined up to sing the Dawson's Creek theme song, Paula Cole's "I Don't Want to Wait."
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posted 2/12/2026 |
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Traitors Lights Up Season 4 |
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The Traitors is sneakily becoming Peacock's next reality hit. The competition series ranked as Nielsen's top streaming original reality title for four consecutive weeks following its Season 4 premiere on January 8, per the latest data, provided by NBCUniversal. The Traitors amassed 3.2B minutes viewed on Peacock from its Season 4 premiere through February 1, Nielsen's data shows. Nielsen doesn't separate viewing by season, so this is the tally for all available episodes of the series thus far. That said, the chatter around Season 4 does appear to be the driving force here. Considering tensions have only continued to heat up since, it is likely the ongoing season will continue driving gains as it heads toward the finale. Via first party data, NBCU also touts that Season 4 is seeing 66% growth over Season 3 in its average minute audience through the first 27 days of an episode. Contributing to this success is likely it's high co-viewing rates. The Traitors ranks as Peacock's top unscripted title for co-viewership with 56% of season 4's audience watching with someone else, Nielsen says. In its fourth season, The Traitors has seen the Faithful once again try to uncover the Traitors, which are Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum Lisa Rinna, Real Housewives of Potomac alum Candiace Dillard Bassett, and Love Island USA alum Rob Rausch. |
posted 2/12/2026 |
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Thursday Lightning Round |
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Dean Franklin, a former contestant on The Voice UK, has died just weeks after he was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer. He was 36. The singer-songwriter, from London, died on Saturday, Feb. 7, his mother Marie confirmed in a Facebook post. "As a family, we are truly heartbroken to announce that our precious boy, Dean Franklin who fought so courageously over 8 weeks and 3 days passed over at 21.39pm last night," Marie wrote on Feb. 8, alongside a photo of Franklin in a hospital bed. "He was surrounded by love." She continued, "I have been getting MSG's from people this morning and wanted as his ma to manifest my son's courage to share with you all. As a family, we will post in more length when we are able." "Until then, please know that the love you gave to our Dean and all of us has meant so very much ����❤️," Marie concluded. Franklin revealed to fans that he had been diagnosed with cancer in an emotional video shared on Instagram in December. The father of one routinely posted health updates in the weeks after, with the last shared on Jan. 30. "Over the last few weeks, my life has changed very fast," said Franklin on Instagram at the time. "What started as esophageal cancer ended up spreading aggressively to my liver and weirdly, I had almost no symptoms from the esophagus itself." Having then candidly described his health challenges, he continued, "Sometimes cancer doesn't shout where it starts. Sometimes it whispers and shows itself somewhere else." "Right now, I'm in palliative care while still continuing treatment. I've chosen to keep fighting with chemo even though it has been incredibly tough," said Franklin. "Some days have been harder than others, especially the nighttime." He concluded by expressing gratitude for everyone supporting him, saying, "Every bit of love, I feel every single piece of it." "If there's one thing that I'd ask is please listen to your body, push for answers, don't ignore changes and early checks really, really do matter," said Franklin. The street performer impressed the judges during the blind auditions of the 2016 season of The Voice UK, leading Paloma Faith to mentor him. "You are so brave xxx," Faith, 44, commented on a Jan. 25 health update he shared on Instagram. A GoFundMe page Franklin set up before his death has almost achieved its $48,000 goal. The singer wrote in the fundraiser's description that he needed financial support while unable to work because of his cancer treatment and to support his daughter. "This is not about giving up. It is about giving me peace of mind," Franklin wrote. "Knowing that my daughter will be supported, and that practical worries will not take away from the time I have now." |
posted 2/11/2026 |
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The Price is Right is celebrating two upcoming holidays in a major way. In the coming weeks, the game show will ring in Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras, and St. Patrick's Day. On Friday, Feb. 13 on CBS, couples will team up to compete in crush-worthy games. Host Drew Carey acts as Cupid as the duos compete for romantic getaways, cars, cash, and more. On Tuesday, Feb. 17, a New Orleans spirit takes over the studio as the show rings in Mardi Gras. Carey acts as Grand Marshal, with the audience wearing purple, green, and gold. Contestants can win cash and prizes like a luxury New Orleans vacation. On Tuesday, March 17, The Price is Right celebrates St. Patrick's Day. Carey, as well as models Alexis Gaube and James "Leprechaun" O'Halloran, asks fans to play games such as Lucky Seven and Golden Road. Contestants can win cash, luxury vehicles, and a trip to Ireland. Produced by Fremantle, The Price is Right airs on CBS and Paramount+ at 11 AM EST. Serving as executive producer is John Quinn. |
posted 2/11/2026 |
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Back to the Farm... |
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Love is back in the fields and this time, it's more intimate, more intense and more unpredictable than ever. FOX's hit dating series Farmer Wants a Wife returns for Season Four Tuesday, April 21 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) introducing three new farmers who are ready to put their hearts and their livelihoods on the line in the ultimate search for lasting love. Hosted once again by actress and New York Times bestselling author Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Season Four strips the experience down to the roots, focusing on fewer farmers and deeper connections as a new group of single women leave behind city comforts for muddy boots, early mornings and the promise of forever. Farmer Wants a Wife is the most successful dating show in the world, having aired in 32 countries and resulting in 250 marriages and more than 500 children - proof that true love can grow anywhere. From Midwest cornfields to Southern pastures to a sun-soaked California farm-to-table operation, this season's farmers are the total package: hardworking, heartfelt and undeniably charming. Meet Braden Pridemore, Brett Maverick and Sean Cavanaugh, the farmers of Season Four: For the first time ever, Season Four follows just three farmers, allowing their stories to unfold with more depth, vulnerability and emotional stakes. The result? A season that's more immersive, more romantic and even more hearts break. |
posted 2/11/2026 |
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Wednesday Lightning Round |
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Fans of Dancing With The Stars will get a chance to mix and mingle with pros and former contestants when the competition stages its first-ever fan convention and live show this summer. Set for July 31 to August 2 at the Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, California, the DWTS Con, announced today on Good Morning America, will be a three-day immersive experience featuring live dance performances, panels, Q&A sessions, interactive photo opportunities, exhibits and exclusive merchandise inspired by the ABC competition show, which recently marked 20 years on air. Among the 17 pro dancers and 14 celebrity contestants taking part are pros Brandon Armstrong, Lindsay Arnold, Rylee Arnold, Alan Bersten, Hailey Bills, Sharna Burgess, Witney Carson, Val Chmerkovskiy, Sasha Farber, Jenna Johnson, Daniella Karagach, Pasha Pashkov, Jan Ravnik, Gleb Savchenko, Emma Slater, Ezra Sosa and Britt Stewart. Former contestants and winners at the convention will include Hannah Brown, Danielle Fishel, Xochitl Gomez, Joey Graziadei, Elaine Hendrix, Rashad Jennings, Amanda Kloots, Whitney Leavitt, Phaedra Parks, Jojo Siwa, Johnny Weir, Rumer Willis, Kristi Yamaguchi and Ginger Zee. Judges Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli also will attend. More guests will be announced soon. "It's really cool because it's never been done before," DWTS pro Witney Carson said on GMA. "You're going to have access to pros and celebrities, which is really fun, and we're just really excited to see you guys there." The weekend will kick off on Friday with a welcome event featuring appearances from pros and a game show–style experience. On Saturday, fans can attend behind-the-scenes panels featuring concersations and Q&As. A live dance performance directed by Mandy Moore is scheduled for Saturday evening, and Sunday will feature additional panels, a matinee performance, a mock competition and a special farewell to close out the weekend. |
posted 2/10/2026 |
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From the Island to the Casa |
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Love Island USA's Kenny Rodriguez is the latest celebrity confirmed to star in Telemundo's La Casa de los Famosos Season 6. Rodriguez starred in Season 6 of the Peacock dating series and was one of the breakout stars that year, making it to the final and finishing in third place, coupled with Jana Craig. Following the success of Love Island USA, Rodriguez was also part of the inaugural season of the streamer's spinoff series Love Island: Beyond the Villa. For his next stint on reality TV, the New York City-born Rodriguez, who has Dominican roots, will keep it in the NBCUniversal family and trade the villa for a house full of Latino celebrities for La Casa de los Famosos. Rodriguez will join other celebrities announced for Season 6, which includes Laura Zapata, Lupita Jones, Yina Calderón, Kunno, Jailyne Ojeda, and Caeli. More stars will be announced in the coming days, with the full cast reveal on premiere night. La Casa de los Famosos is produced by EndemolShine Boomdog, part of Banijay Americas company. The format is based on Celebrity Big Brother, in which a group of celebrities live under 24/7 surveillance and are completely cut off from the outside world as they compete for a cash prize. Who advances in the competition and the winner of the series are determined by votes from the viewing public. Hosted by Jimena Gállego and Javier Poza, La Casa de los Famosos Season 6 premieres on Tuesday, February 17 at 7 p.m. ET on Telemundo and stream on Peacock. |
posted 2/10/2026 |
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Tuesday Lightning Round |
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He started his journey in radio as an air personality at radio stations in Atlantic City, N.J., before launching a Top 40 radio success story at stations including WAEB-FM in Allentown during its "Laser 104" era and, later, at WNVZ "Z104" in Norfolk. From summer 1990 through today, the individual known to listeners as "Doc Holliday" became a household name in the Orlando market, thanks to memorable roles at "XL106.7" and, until 2010, the Cox Media Group Country station serving Central Florida. Now, the host whose legal name is Jeffrey Duncan is being mourned. As "Doc Holliday," Duncan found an audience at stations that include Malrite Communications' WEGX "Eagle 106" in Philadelphia in an era when Tiffany and Debbie Gibson were competing against New Kids on the Block for teen pop supremacy. By the time Ghost hit theaters and "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers had resurfaced as a chart hit, Duncan was at a newly rechristened Contemporary Hit Radio station that had been WHLY "Y106" and, for a brief moment, WCAT "The Cat." This was WXXL, which relocated from Leesburg, Fla., to become "XL106.7" and challenge WBJW "BJ 105," today WOMX "Mix 105.1." That effort worked, as "XL" was a success — in part to Doc Holliday's afternoon shift. By February 1991, he shifted to mornings to team with another icon of Central Florida radio — Johnny Magic. Magic continues today as XL 106.7 morning host at the helm of Johnny's House. For Duncan, a 17-year pairing ended when he and fellow "XL" talent Grace Vaquez headed across town to WWKA "K92.3" in 2007. There, Mark Hlavin, who shared the news of Holliday's passing with the radio industry early Monday, served as Executive Producer. "Doc Holliday" left K92.3 in 2010. Aside from his time on the radio, Duncan was also the stadium announcer for the Orlando Predators Arena Football League team and in 1992 served as the announcer for the Nickelodeon series Family Double Dare. Duncan was 64 years of age and in more recent years was an instructor at a Connecticut School of Broadcasting branch in Central Florida. |
posted 2/9/2026 |
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The previously announced premiere date for "Celebrity Jeopardy! All Stars" will be shifting two weeks and now premieres Friday, March 13 (8:00 p.m. ET/PT), on ABC, streaming next day on Hulu. Hosted by Ken Jennings, "Celebrity Jeopardy! All Stars" features the brightest stars putting their best brain forward for a chance to win $1 million for a charity of their choice. The series will highlight past "Celebrity Jeopardy!" champions and other strong players from prior seasons as they battle for victory in the most competitive "Celebrity Jeopardy!" yet. "Celebrity Jeopardy!" is produced by Sony Pictures Television. Multiple Emmy(R) Award winner Michael Davies serves as executive producer. Follow "Celebrity Jeopardy! All Stars" on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. |
posted 2/9/2026 |
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"The Floor" won't be empty anytime soon: Fox has renewed the primetime game show hosted by Rob Lowe for two more seasons, through Season 7, TVLine has confirmed. (The Ankler first reported the news.) Based on a Dutch game show, "The Floor" pits contestants against each other in head-to-head trivia duels while they stand on a giant floor of light-up squares. The goal is to gain control of more squares on the floor, with the winner of each duel claiming the loser's squares for themselves. Debuting in 2024, "The Floor" returned for Season 4 in September. (It previously earned another two-season renewal last May, through Season 5.) "From day one, 'The Floor' has fit the very definition of Fox's bold, high-energy approach to entertainment, becoming a true fan favorite and TV's No. 1 game show," Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn told The Ankler in a statement. |
posted 2/9/2026 |
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Monday Lightning Round |
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NBC's 2026 celebration of its first hundred years kicks off this weekend with a new "NBC100" tagline and promo spots that will launch during the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony and the Super Bowl. "This is an anniversary for all of us," NBCUniversal TV & Streaming chief marketing officer Jenny Storms says of the Peacock network's 100th anniversary tagline, "A Century Together." "This is an anniversary for everyone that enjoys and watches NBC. We are celebrating them and us together." Storms says before introducing the centennial spots, NBC execs had to first decide how and why the network would tout its anniversary. " I think when any company comes up to a milestone, if you're going to talk about it publicly to consumers, you ask yourself, 'why is this something that we would want to share?' Why would we be sort of outwardly talking about it, other than just saying that you've been around for a certain amount of time? I think what's special about celebrating how long NBC has been around is that it's about celebrating how long we've been with people, and it's really about the collective us, the collective memories we've created in generational viewership." That includes the legacy IP both past and present — among them, the origin of "Today" in the 1950s, "Star Trek" from the 1960s, "Saturday Night Live" from the 1970s, "Cheers" for the 1980s, "Friends" and "Seinfeld" and "ER" from the 1990s, "Law & Order" and then this century's "The Office," "30 Rock," "This Is Us," "The Good Place" and more. That, of course, leaves a lot of NBC history that didn't make the spots — a quick montage of "Tonight Show" hosts, for example, omits Jack Paar and Conan O'Brien. A through-the-years morphing of NBC logos missed the "NBC snake" from the 1960s and "NBC trapezoid" from mid 1970s. But Storms said there will be time to represent more NBC history in future spots. "Keep in mind, this is the beginning, and it provides us an opportunity throughout the entirety of the year, to now go into different parts of our history, whether it is comedy, sports, entertainment, film, and go deeper, depending on time period and who we're talking to," she said. "There's a lot more to come." "NBC100" will play a role on events the company has planned for the coming year; besides the Super Bowl and the Olympics, that includes the 100th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, FIFA World Cup on Telemundo, NBA and WNBA, Sunday Night Football, Big Ten, Ryder Cup, U.S. Open Golf Championship, Emmys, MLB, Kentucky Derby and Macy's 4th of July Fireworks. ADVERTISEMENT Then there's the planned "NBC100" special set to air later this year. |
posted 2/6/2026 |
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Happy Friday Lightning Round |
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CBS continues to put a distance between the May upfront week and its own fall schedule reveal and upfront events. The network, in its first year following Skydance's acquisition of parent Paramount Global, plans to announce its 2026-27 primetime schedule on April 15. That is significantly earlier than the last three years (May 10, May 2, May 7) and four weeks ahead of the day CBS had held its upfront presentations for decades, Wednesday of Upfront week. Like the last two years, the unveiling of CBS' schedule by CBS executives will be followed by a red carpet party that evening on the Paramount Studio lot featuring talent and producers from new and returning series. The rest of the major broadcast networks are still set to present their fall schedules during Upfront week. The move is not entirely surprising. CBS has been steering away from the traditional development cycle, shifting to long-term development about two years ago. The network's new drama series for the 2026-27 have been known for months — Einstein, starring Matthew Grey Gubler, which was originally ordered for 2025-26, and Robert and Michelle King's Cupertino, which received a full writers room order at CBS' 2025-26 schedule reveal last May followed by a series greenlight in October. CBS also had two comedy pilots, Eternally Yours and Regency, picked up by end of 2025. Both are expected to be filmed and ready for 2026-27 schedule consideration before April 15. There are no plans for further pilot orders targeting next season until then, I hear. The network also already renewed the bulk of its lineup for next season, with drama Watson and comedy DMV the only current series left on the bubble. CBS is expected to make renewal decisions on Watson, DMV and most — if not all — of its midseason entries, FBI offshoot CIA (debuts Feb. 23), Yellowstone spinoff Marshals (March 1), as well as the unscripted Culinary Cup (March 4), by April 15. |
posted 2/5/2026 |
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"Love Is Blind" Comes to The Netherlands |
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Famous Dutch celebrity couple Nicolette van Dam and Bas Smit will host the Dutch edition of the popular reality dating series Love Is Blind. Netflix announced the news today. Love Is Blind debuted in the United States in 2020 and quickly grew into a global phenomenon, with local versions in countries including Brazil, Japan, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Mexico, Love Is Blind: Habibi, and Argentina. In this social experiment, participants search for true love based solely on emotional connection, without ever seeing each other. Love Is Blind: Netherlands is set to premiere on Netflix later this year. Nicolette van Dam and Bas Smit: "When we were asked to host the very first Dutch version of Love Is Blind, we felt incredibly honored!" Bas: "Hosting a TV show was never my ambition, but Love Is Blind is hands down our entire family's favorite program. It's a beautiful, sincere show about real love. In a time when everyone is endlessly swiping based on looks, there's nothing more powerful than watching people fall in love with who someone truly is, without seeing them. That's what made me say yes immediately, as Nicolette's sidekick." Nicolette: "Love Is Blind is about genuine love and real connection. It's not about looks, status, or expectations, but about who you truly are. Getting to host a dream show like this together with the love of my life is unbelievably special." In Love Is Blind, single men and women set out to find real, lasting love, without seeing each other. They date in so-called "pods" - rooms separated by a thin wall - where they build emotional connections over a short period of time. If the bond is strong enough, it can even lead to a proposal, before they ever meet face to face. Only after getting engaged do they finally see each other and begin life outside the pods. They move in together, plan their wedding, and discover whether their emotional connection can survive in the real world. In the end, at the altar, they must make the ultimate decision: do they say 'I do' and prove that love truly is blind - or do they choose to walk away and go their separate ways? |
posted 2/5/2026 |
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Thursday Lightning Round |
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The Ultimate Bachelorette Reunion |
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Today, it was announced that "The Bachelorette: Before the First Rose," a special preview of "The Bachelorette," will debut following the live telecast of "The Oscars(R)," SUNDAY, MARCH 15, on ABC and Hulu. Ahead of the new season, 18 former Bachelorettes look back on their unforgettable journeys, share juicy behind-the-scenes stories, and offer heartfelt advice to the franchise's newest leading lady, Taylor Frankie Paul. Featured Bachelorettes include Trista Sutter, Meredith Phillips, DeAnna Pappas, Ali Fedotowsky-Manno, Ashley Hebert-Rosenbaum, Emily Maynard-Johnson, Desiree Siegfried, Andi Dorfman-Hart, Kaitlyn Bristowe, JoJo Fletcher, Rachel Lindsay, Becca Kufrin, Hannah Brown-Woolard, Tayshia Adams, Katie Thurston, Rachel Recchia, Charity Lawson and Joan Vassos, the Golden Bachelorette. The new season of "The Bachelorette" premieres SUNDAY, MARCH 22 (8:01-10:02 p.m. EDT/PDT), and streams next day on Hulu. Taylor Frankie Paul, the 31-year-old Utah native who ignited "#MomTok" and went viral for pulling back the curtain on Salt Lake's soft-swinging scene in Hulu's Emmy(R) Award-nominated series "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives," is a TikTok powerhouse whose comedic, heartwarming and bitingly honest content has earned her a massive following. As a single mother of three, Paul shares the highs and lows of her life with unfiltered candor. As previously announced, Emmy Award-winning television host, writer, producer and comedian Conan O'Brien will host "The Oscars," which will air live coast to coast SUNDAY, MARCH 15 (7:00-10:30 p.m. EDT/4:00-7:30 p.m. PDT), on ABC and Hulu. The telecast will also be rebroadcast in the Pacific time zone in primetime after the live presentation. |
posted 2/4/2026 |
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Double the Voice All the Time |
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The Voice: Battle Of Champions will be getting more exposure in Season 29. NBC's hit singing competition series will air in a two-hour timeslot for the entire spring cycle from 9 pm to 11 pm, beginning with its premiere on Feb. 23. Brilliant Minds, which airs at 10 pm Mondays, has been pulled from the schedule and will air its remaining six episodes later this season or in the summer, NBC said Wednesday. The revamped season marks the return of judges Kelly Clarkson, John Legend and Adam Levine, who will reunite for the first time since Season 16. Season 29 is promising an updated format for the new season, which the network said will be "infused with fast-paced, competitive elements" inspired by NBC Sports, which has Super Bowl LX, the Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games and the NBA All-Star Game all on the docket this month. There will be four rounds with the coaches competing against each other in a "Triple Turn Competition" – essentially vying for the most three-chair turns – with the winner gaining a special advantage in the next round. The coach with the most three-chair turns automatically earns a "Super Steal" for the battles rounds, which can only be used once and trumps any other coach's attempt to steal, guaranteeing a win. In the knockouts, each coach brings back two fan-favorite artists from their teams in previous seasons to compete in an "In-Season All-Star Competition" and the coach with the most sing-off wins is guaranteed a second finalist in the finale. OG Voice coach CeeLo Green will determine the winner. The semifinal and finale week will kick off with a Top 9 semifinal and culminate in a Top 4 finale, and for the first time a new voting block comprised of super fans and past Voice artists will be involved. Coaches will also enter the competition with 10 artists per team. |
posted 2/4/2026 |
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Wednesday Lightning Round |
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Beginning March 30, "American Idol" will stream live on Disney+, alongside its traditional broadcast on ABC, expanding the reach of the franchise and connecting with new audiences. The "'American Idol' Official Podcast" also debuts on Disney+ and Hulu, coinciding with the start of the "American Idol" live shows. Each week, the podcast will dive deeper into America's most iconic music competition series, exploring the performances everyone's talking about, and offering exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes insights, and expert analysis of the judges' critiques · "American Idol" airs live Mondays at 8:00 p.m. on ABC, streams next day on Hulu and, beginning March 30, will also stream live on Disney+ in addition to ABC in local time zones. "American Idol" returned for a new season jumping to 8.27 million Total Viewers and a 1.04 rating among Adults 18-49 after three days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms. In multiplatform viewing, the show rose +20% among Total Viewers versus the previous season premiere (8.27 million vs. 6.88 million) and +7% in Adults 18-49 (1.04 rating vs. 0.97 rating), with the show's best premiere performance among Total Viewers in four years - since 2/27/22. On linear over three days, the "American Idol" season premiere was the No. 1 show of the night on broadcast and cable among both Total Viewers (7.23 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.72 rating), also earning its best premiere performance among Total Viewers in four years - since 2/27/22. The "American Idol" Season 9 premiere drove more video views than any other premiere episode in the 2025-2026 TV season. |
posted 2/3/2026 |
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TV Choice Awards: And the Winners Were... |
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Adolescence, The Traitors and Gavin & Stacey were among the winners at the 2026 TV Choice Awards. Headline-making Netflix show Adolescence, which sparked a national conversation around online safety, took home Best New Drama at the awards ceremony. It comes after the show, about a teenage boy arrested for the murder of a classmate, won four Golden Globes in January and a number of Emmys last year. Meanwhile, hit game show The Traitors took home the award for Best Reality Show after its dramatic fourth UK season came to an end in January. Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, the recent season saw two deceitful traitors, Rachel Duffy and Stephen Libby, claim the win as a team – a first for the series – after the pair had decided to form an alliance at the very start of the game. The series beat ITV's I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and the BBC's Race Across The World and its celebrity spin-off. Strictly Come Dancing won Best Talent Show, beating Channel 4's The Great British Bake Off, ITV's The Masked Singer and Britain's Got Talent and the BBC's The Great British Sewing Bee. Meanwhile Channel 4's Gogglebox won Best Entertainment Show award, and ITV's The 1% Club named Best Game Show. |
posted 2/3/2026 |
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Tuesday Lightning Round |
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Bravo's Emmy, James Beard and Critics Choice Award-winning series "Top Chef" returns Monday, March 9 from 9:00-10:15 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo with host Kristen Kish, head judge Tom Colicchio and perennial judge Gail Simmons as they venture south to the Carolinas. Season 23 will be centered in the emerging and eclectic culinary hub of Charlotte, N.C., with several episodes in Greenville, S.C. Fans can get a head start on the new season with early access to the premiere episode, available beginning Tuesday, March 3 on Peacock, Bravo's YouTube channel and VOD. Beginning Monday, March 16, the series will move to its regular timeslot at 9:30 p.m. with episodes available the next day on Peacock. All episodes of season 23 will be supersized to 75 minutes. Produced by Magical Elves, the highly lauded cooking competition series highlights 15 rising star chefs as they put their skills to the ultimate test, competing for the coveted title of "Top Chef." The chefs must showcase their culinary expertise, originality, and endurance as they face off in pressure-filled challenges showcasing the regional history, diverse cultural flavors, and rich agricultural bounty across the Carolinas. For the first time in the show's history, the cheftestants include life partners who co-own and operate a restaurant and a pair of highly competitive identical twin brothers vying for the ultimate title. The winner will take home the grand prize of $250,000 provided by Graza Olive Oil, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, an appearance at the annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, headline their own exclusive dinner at the historic James Beard House in New York and have the opportunity to present at The James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards in Chicago, IL. Along the way, the chefs will have the chance to win immunity, advantages in the competition or cash prizes with more than $150,000 in total up for grabs. MEET THE CHEFTESTANTS |
posted 2/2/2026 |
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"Wheel Slots" Celebrates 30 |
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IGT, a global gaming leader, announces the 30th anniversary of the wildly popular Wheel of Fortune Slots game. Famous for awarding players $1 million-plus life-changing jackpots and the familiar "WHEEL-OF-FORTUNE!" chant that can be heard across a casino floor, Wheel of Fortune Slots is credited for changing the casino experience as the gaming industry's first licensed slots game. To recognize this monumental milestone, IGT kicked off a multi-month celebration that includes new product launches, coast-to-coast in-casino celebrations, contests run via Instagram and Facebook, slots influencer collaborations, a new creative campaign, a week of integrations to be featured on "Wheel of Fortune," and more. "For three decades, IGT's Wheel of Fortune Slots have captivated slots players around the world and earned a reputation for delivering world-class entertainment combined with huge jackpots in casinos and online," said Hector Fernandez, IGT Incoming CEO. "Through our relationship with Sony Pictures Television and Carnival Cruise Line®, IGT created a robust campaign for 2026 that honors the legacy of Wheel of Fortune Slots, while rewarding players and delivering value to our customers worldwide." A highly anticipated element of the campaign is IGT's "Spin and Sail Cruise." Presented in partnership with Carnival Cruise Line, IGT's Spin and Sail Cruise empowers select casinos across the U.S. to reward players with eight-day cruises aboard the Carnival Jubilee®, where travelers will compete in a slot tournament with a $1 million prize pool. Players also have the chance to win a seat aboard the November Spin and Sail Cruise via contests run on the IGT Jackpots Facebook and IGT Gaming North America Instagram pages. "Our longstanding relationship with IGT has been a remarkable success, and we're thrilled to continue building on that momentum as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of IGT's Wheel of Fortune Slots," said Suzanne Prete, Sony Pictures Television, President, Game Shows. "Much like our Wheel of Fortune game show, IGT's Wheel of Fortune Slots is a category leader that resonates with a wide audience, and we value IGT 's enduring commitment to the franchise." |
posted 2/2/2026 |
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More on "Love Is Blind" Season 10 |
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The pods are back, this time in Ohio, with a brand-new group of singles dating sight unseen. Will they be able to see love from a new perspective? Love is Blind Season 10 premieres February 11, only on Netflix. Starting February 11, new episodes of Love Is Blind will roll out each Wednesday across 12 episodes, as these singles embark on their journey of romance and self-discovery: Creator Chris Coelen executive produces for Kinetic Content alongside Ally Simpson, Morgan Harris, Eric Detwiler, and Brian Smith. |
posted 2/2/2026 |
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Going Up... |
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The Traitors producer Studio Lambert and John de Mol's Talpa Studios are on the rise. The pair has teamed to bring psychological quiz format The Golden Elevators to the U.S. and UK after Talpa's creative team developed the show. Talpa has international format rights. Strengthening the Traitors link, Talpa Studios' Chief Creative Officer Jasper Hoogendoorn is a co-creator of the original Dutch format De Verraders. He worked with Studio Lambert to adapt the format for the BBC in the UK and NBC in the U.S. into what became market-changing remakes. The Golden Elevators is billed as a "high-stakes" quiz show in which ten contestants begin together in the lobby of a spectacular skyscraper with the aim of reaching the top floor and securing a $100,000 prize. They compete in several rounds of trivia questions where there are only two possible answers, each one linked to a different, iconic elevator. They collectively decide on the answer, with the right one ascending the elevator upwards and the other plunging it down and eliminating all the players in a single swoop. The format will be made out of Netherlands-based Talpa's international production hub in Belgium, where the likes of The Floor, The Quiz with Balls and Caught in the Middle are made. "The last time we collaborated with Jasper the result was the U.S. and UK versions of The Traitors, which have been spectacularly successful on both sides of the Atlantic," said Studio Lambert CEO Stephen Lambert. "We think we have lightning in a bottle for the second time with The Golden Elevators, a show that combines the joy of a quiz with a psychological drama of trust and betrayal. We can't wait to find the right home for it in America and Britain." "This outstanding new format combines quiz and strategy elements with a gripping psychological layer and a strong, simple visual identity," added Hoogendoorn. "Add our hub strategy and the reunion with Stephen and his team, and you're truly aiming for the top. John, Stephen and I all believe in deceptively simple ideas that create genuine psychological depth and global appeal, and this powerful collaboration provides a strong platform to bring the format to the international market." Hoogendoorn has previously adapted several Studio Lambert formats for the Dutch market, most notably Race Across the World. In January last year, we revealed Hoogendoorn had joined Talpa Studios from IDTV, the Dutch production house that like Studio Lambert is part of All3Media. IDTV had teamed with Pos Film and RTL's creative unit to develop The Traitors. Last week, Hoogendoorn's Traitors co-creator, Pos, revealed he is working on a secretive reality format titled Project M in an interview with The Telegraph newspaper. In the same article, it was reported The Traitors had been turned down between 30 and 40 times before getting the greenlight at RTL4. De Mol set up Talpa Studios after leaving his ITV-owned production business Talpa Media in 2019. The company is behind the likes of The Floor, which was remade for Fox in the U.S. and Million Dollar Island, which NBC remade but shelved before its broadcast. Talpa is now working with Fox Entertainment Studios on The House of Hide & Seek, which is set to launch on RTL4 this year. |
posted 2/2/2026 |
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After Midnight (CET) |
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German network ZDF Neo has commissioned a local adaptation of Paramount-owned comedy panel gameshow After Midnight. The new Constantin Entertainment-produced version, titled Neo Social Club, will premiere on ZDF Neo on February 5. The eight-episode first season is hosted by German podcaster and content creator Laura Larsson, who will challenge German media personalities as they unpack pop culture trends of the day. This marks the first international adaptation of the After Midnight format, which is sold internationally by Paramount Global Content Distribution. The German market has proven to be fertile ground for Paramount-controlled formats, with streamer RTL+ commissioning local versions of Are You the One? and Ex on the Beach. Are You the One? was recently greenlit for seasons 13 and 14, while Ex on the Beach will return for a seventh season. In addition, Germany's Next Top Model has long been a key part of ProSieben's schedule, with the series returning for its 21st season later this month. |
posted 2/2/2026 |
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Ifunanya Nwangene, a rising singer who appeared on season 3 of The Voice Nigeria, has died after suffering a snake bite. She was 26, according to BBC Africa. Music director Sam C. Ezugwu with Amemuso Choir, which Nwangene participated in, confirmed her "sudden" death in a statement shared on Facebook on Sunday, Feb. 1. Nwangene died "due to a snake bite" at a Nigerian hospital on Saturday, Jan. 31, according to the statement. "Amemuso Choir [regrets] to announce the sudden demise of our beloved soprano," the choir wrote. "A rising star, Ifunanya was on the cusp of sharing her incredible talent with the world. Her voice and spirit will be deeply missed." Nwangene, originally born in Enugu, was bitten by a snake in Abuja, where she lived, according to BBC Africa. The outlet spoke with several of her fellow choir members, including Hillary Obinna, who shared more details about the fatal bite. The Voice Nigeria alum — who was also an architect — was asleep when "the snake bite woke her up," Obinna told BBC Africa. He also claimed to the outlet that two snakes were later discovered in her home. Footage circulating on social media shows a snake handler taking one of the reptiles from the residence, according to the outlet. The soprano singer attempted to get treatment for the snake bite at a nearby clinic, but no antivenom was available, so she sought further assistance at a hospital, according to BBC Africa. Lula Lahfah Ezugwu identified the hospital as Federal Medical Center in his post announcing her death. The Nigeria Police Force did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Sunday. Nwangene first gained a following after turning two chairs on The Voice Nigeria's third season with her rendition of Rihanna's "Take a Bow." The official YouTube video for her audition has more than 80,000 views. The late singer shared covers — including more Rihanna — and original music on her YouTube channel, and her final Instagram post teased a "new project" with another Nigerian musician, who goes by Tbrass. Following her death, Tbrass revealed that Nwangene had been at his studio on Jan. 28, recording a feature for his next album. He wrote a tribute to the late artist alongside a video of her singing into a microphone. "An irreplaceable loss to the Abuja music society and Nigeria at large��," the artist wrote of Nwangene. "My hand and heart feels very heavy writing this, because it is unimaginable [losing] such a young promising great, talented music artist who touched so many lives, it is very heartbreaking — especially in Nigeria where music runs deep in our souls and connects us all." |
posted 2/2/2026 |
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Monday Lightning Round |
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Demond Wilson, who starred alongside Redd Foxx and answered to "Hey, Dummy" for six seasons on the wildly popular 1970s NBC sitcom Sanford and Son, has died. He was 79. Wilson died Friday of complications from cancer at his home in Palm Springs, his son Demond Wilson Jr. told TMZ. On the strength of his performance on the 1971 All in the Family episode "Edith Writes a Song" — he and Cleavon Little are burglars from Harlem who hold the Bunkers hostage in their home — Wilson was hired as Lamont Sanford, the son of aging widower Fred G. Sanford, proprietor of Sanford and Son Salvage at 9114 South Central Ave. in Watts. "After learning about the series format, I was doubtful about my involvement in the project. I thought about it long and hard and decided to take a chance," Wilson says in the 2011 book Black and Blue: The Redd Foxx Story. "Redd and I thought we could grab some quick cash, plus notoriety, then move on to the next project." Developed by All in the Family executive producer Bud Yorkin and based on the British TV comedy Steptoe and Son, the show debuted on Jan. 14, 1972, as a midseason replacement for the Robert Conrad-starring The D.A. Airing Friday nights at 8 p.m., Sanford and Son was soon clobbering CBS' The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and ABC's The Brady Bunch in the ratings. It reached No. 2 in 1972-73 and 1974-75 and was a top-10 hit in each of its last five seasons. In 1974, Wilson kept the show humming after Foxx walked off in a salary dispute (the writers sent Fred to St. Louis to attend the funeral of his cousin). However, Foxx was gone for good after the 1976-77 season, quitting to host his own (short-lived) ABC variety show. Wilson turned down an offer to go it alone, then signed what he called a "million-dollar contract" to star in CBS' Baby … I'm Back. In another midseason replacement, he played a man who abandons his family but returns seven years later when he discovers his wife (Denise Nicholas) is about to remarry (Kim Fields played one of their kids). That sitcom, however, lasted just 13 episodes. Wilson then starred as Oscar Madison opposite Ron Glass as Felix Unger on The New Odd Couple, but the 1982-83 remake was gone after 18 episodes. In the '80s, Wilson beat an admitted cocaine problem, sold his home in Beverly Hills and was ordained as an interdenominational minister. "I love preaching the gospel more than anything I've ever done," he said in 1985. "I'm so happy now. I feel honored to be chosen. Even when you've got everything — clothes, jewelry, nice house — you don't feel happy. I was like Jonah, running from the Lord." Grady Demond Wilson was born on Oct. 13, 1946, in Valdosta, Georgia. He grew up in Harlem, appeared on Broadway at age 4 with William Marshall and Ossie Davis in a revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Green Pastures and danced at the Apollo Theater at 12. He studied acting at the American Community Theater and at Hunter College but was drafted and then wounded in Vietnam while serving in the 4th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. When his 13-month tour ended in 1968, he appeared in several off-Broadway plays. The year 1971 was a big one for him: In addition to All in the Family, he appeared in the Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs film The Organization and on an episode on Mission: Impossible. Demond Wilson (left) and Redd Foxx of 'Sanford and Son.' NBC/Photofest CBS, in business with Yorkin and partner Norman Lear with All in the Family, had first crack at Sanford and Son, but network entertainment president Fred Silverman passed, figuring he already had a show about a bickering father and son. Incredibly, Silverman said he was never told that Sanford and Son was about a Black family. "It was one of the stupidest things I did at CBS," he said. With Lamont and Fred now residing in Arizona, or so the story went, NBC tried to keep things going after the end of Sanford and Son with Sanford Arms, featuring supporting players Whitman Mayo, LaWanda Page and others. It was canceled after four episodes. Foxx was back as Fred in 1981 on a new NBC series titled Sanford, but Wilson and Lamont were missing, and it was done after a season. Later, Wilson played Kenneth Miles, the father of Persia White's character, on UPN's Girlfriends and wrote a 2009 book, Second Banana: The Bitter Sweet Memories of the Sanford & Son Years. In game shows, Wilson was in episodes of Hollywood Squares and It's Your Bet. He married stewardess turned model Cicely Johnston in May 1974, and they had six children.
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posted 1/31/2026 |
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Catherine O'Hara, a gifted comedic actress and two-time Emmy winner, has died. O'Hara died Friday at her home in Los Angeles after a brief illness, her reps at CAA confirmed. She was 71. A native of Toronto, O'Hara was part of the SCTV ensemble that also helped launch the careers of John Candy, Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis and others. She's arguably best known for playing Kevin's (Macaulay Culkin) mother, Kate, in the Home Alone movies and had a career renaissance in the past 10 years with Schitt's Creek — winning an Emmy for her role as a faded soap opera actress opposite old friend Levy — and The Studio, for which she earned an Emmy nomination last year. She won an Emmy in 2020 for playing Moira Rose in Schitt's Creek. She also earned an Emmy for her work on SCTV Network in 1982 and was nominated eight other times for acting and writing awards. O'Hara was a double nominee in 2025, scoring anod best guest actress in a drama series for HBO's The Last of Us along with her comedic turn in The Studio. O'Hara was born March 4, 1954, and grew up in Toronto. She joined the city's Second City company at age 20, first serving as an understudy to Gilda Radner and moving up to the main cast when Radner left to become part of the original Saturday Night Live ensemble. In 1976, the troupe launched SCTV, a sketch comedy show that originally aired on Canada's Global network. The show's initial cast, all of whom were writers as well, featured a murderer's row of comic talent in Candy, Joe Flaherty, Levy, Andrea Martin, O'Hara, Harold Ramis and Dave Thomas; Moranis joined later in the show's run, as did Martin Short. NBC later picked up the show to run in the United States. O'Hara would go on to play the overbearing Delia Deetz in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (a role she reprised in the 2024 sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) before being cast in 1990's Home Alone, the now holiday classic where she plays Kate McCallister, a mother who races back from a Paris Christmas trip after realizing the family left their 8-year-old son, Kevin (Culkin), behind. She played Kate once more in the sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. She became part of Christopher Guest's regular ensemble in the films Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006). O'Hara earned an Emmy nomination for her supporting role in HBO's 2010 film Temple Grandin. With Schitt's Creek, co-created by Eugene Levy and son Dan, O'Hara won a new generation of fans for her role as Moira, who rails at the formerly wealthy Rose family's diminished circumstances. The show swept the comedy categories at the 2020 Emmys, winning best comedy series and acting honors for O'Hara, Dan Levy, Eugune Levy and Annie Murphy. The show became a breakout hit in its later seasons on Canada's CBC, Pop TV in the U.S. and streaming on Netflix, in addition to its awards haul. "There's so many projects that get a ton of attention right at the beginning, maybe before they're even quite ready for it, and then it's kind of downhill attention-wise from there," O'Hara told The Hollywood Reporter after her 2020 nomination. "We're so lucky to do the show we wanted and, apparently, leaving people wanting more. I'm happy to be a late bloomer, I always have been in my life and I'm grateful for it." What turned out to be O'Hara's final series role came in The Studio, Apple TV's Hollywood satire in which she played deposed studio head Patty Leigh, who alternately relishes in and sympathizes with her replacement Matt Remick's (Seth Rogen) struggles. She had been set to continue her role in the show's second season, which began filming in mid-January. In game shows, O'Hara appeared on episodes of Face Off, Celebrity Poker Showdown, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and Whose Line Is It Anyway?. O'Hara is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, sons Matthew and Luke, along with siblings Michael O'Hara, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Maureen Jolley, Marcus O'Hara, Tom O'Hara and Patricia Wallice.
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posted 1/30/2026 |
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The Ultimate Baking Champion Is Coming to Food Network |
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Sixteen elite pastry chefs push their innovation and execution skills to the limit in the new series The Ultimate Baking Championship, premiering Monday, March 9th at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network and streaming the next day on HBO Max and discovery+. In each episode, host Jesse Palmer tests the competitors on the core techniques that outstanding pastry chefs must master, from laminated dough and pâte à choux to chocolate work and sugar artistry. Duff Goldman is joined every week on the judging panel by a baking legend to determine who has the skill, vision and endurance to rise above the rest and who will leave the competition. Guest judges include Bryan Ford, Amaury Guichon, Shinmin Li, Jacques Torres, Sherry Yard, Molly Yeh and Zac Young. In the end, only one pastry chef will be named the Ultimate Baking Champion and win the $50,000 grand prize. "The pastry chefs competing are the best of the best - they are true artists whose desserts are mind-blowingly beautiful and delicious," said Betsy Ayala, Head of Content, Food, Warner Bros. Discovery. "The Ultimate Baking Championship chefs elevate pastry technique and artistry to the highest level we've ever seen." The competitors are: Julian Belon (Miami, Florida); Florencia Breda (San Luis Obispo, California); Molly Coen (Monterey, California); Rochelle Cooper (Washington DC); Sarah Craichy (Lake Tahoe, Nevada); Adalberto Diaz (Salt Lake City, Utah); Casey Doody (Chicago, Illinois); Arlety Estévez (Atlanta, Georgia); Robert Gonzalez (Boston, Massachusetts); Juan Gutierrez (Chicago, Illinois); Clement Le Deore (San Diego, California); Oralia Perez (Houston, Texas); Lasheeda Perry (Fort Walton Beach, Florida); Cesar Ryan Sajulan (Brooklyn, New York); Christopher Teixeira (Chicago, Illinois) and Steven Weiss (Martinsburg, West Virginia). |
posted 1/30/2026 |
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Happy Friday Lightning Round |
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Guy Fieri Brings "Food Fight" to Flavortown |
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Mayor of Flavortown Guy Fieri will welcome the world to the tastiest place on earth in the new Food Network series Flavortown Food Fight premiering Wednesday, March 4 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and streaming the next day on HBO Max(R) and discovery+. Long referred to but never before seen, the mythical and delicious Flavortown will be the setting for this multi-round, culinary competition. In each episode, Fieri will welcome three chefs to Flavortown where skills and cooking chops can earn advantages and ultimately a win. Competitors will choose their own adventure as they compete in authentic food establishments ranging from street food carts to neighborhood spots to fast casual eateries and the finest fine dining restaurants in the world. The chefs must be quick on their feet as their culinary knowledge, technical skills, and overall cooking acumen are tested round after round. With restaurant names inspired by Guy's life, the series will deliver everything fans have ever dreamed Flavortown could be. The winner of each episode has a chance to score up to $20,000 in prize money and will return to defend their title against two new chefs the following week. "For the first time in television history, we're opening the gates of Flavortown and inviting some of America's most talented chefs to showcase their skills in a never-ending list of off-the-hook restaurants that you'll only find here," said Fieri. "We've been building out this universe for years and I'm stoked to finally invite everybody in!" In each episode competitors will first complete the skills challenge, followed by two rounds of cooking challenges to earn their "paycheck," but the catch is that only the final winner will get to take home the cash in this winner-takes-all game. Winners of the skills challenge will select the first restaurant kitchen where competitors will work to tackle real world menu-based challenges such as "Mexican Street Food" or "Five Star Fine Dining." Guy as the Mayor of Flavortown will declare the theme of each episode and present each challenge with Hunter Fieri also stopping by Flavortown to present the menu for some of the cooking challenges. Two guest judges determine who moves on and who goes home. Episode winners have the chance to win up to $20,000 across the challenges and will return to face two new competitors the following week with no limit to the amount of wins they're able to achieve. "After years of hearing Guy talk about it, we are so excited to finally give fans a chance to see Flavortown in all its glory,"said Betsy Ayala, Head of Content, Food, Warner Bros. Discovery. "We know viewers will love this fresh take on the competition format, and the endless variables will make it one of our most exciting and unpredictable series yet." Over on Food Network's social pages, Guy will lead an exclusive all-access tour through the Flavortown for the first time ever! Plus, fans can see what the judges are up to behind the scenes as they play hilarious games and attempt tricky food challenges. Also, check out exclusive photos from Flavortown, stay up to date on the competition and more via FoodNetwork.com. Flavortown Food Fight is produced by Knuckle Sandwich and Lando Entertainment for Food Network. |
posted 1/29/2026 |
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A Third Lap for The Answer Run |
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Popular quiz show The Answer Run with Jason Manford, created and made by BBC Studios Entertainment Productions, is to for a third series on BBC One with applications now open. The innovative program format sees three pairs of contestants battle it out in a fast paced, quick-thinking general knowledge quiz show, where contestants are always one swipe away from banking the cash or crashing out. Families watching at home can also play along and test how they would fair when facing The Run! In each round of this addictive 50/50 quiz, contestants are given the choice of two possible answers. Questions fly down The Run and players must swipe towards the answer they think is correct. Under time pressure will they make the right decision? Answer categories will range from "Ariana Grande or Taylor Swift" to "Jupiter or Mars" and everything in between. Teams will be eliminated throughout the show, until one pair remains. They will then face The Final Run to attempt to take home all the money they've banked. The Answer Run is available now on BBC iPlayer and here in the states on the BBC Game Shows Channel. |
posted 1/29/2026 |
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"Love Is Blind" Returns to Sweden |
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Today, Netflix announced the premiere date for the third installment of Love is Blind: Sweden. A new group of singles will enter the pods in the search of love and testing the premise of Is Love Truly Blind? Without ever having seen each other, they will form connections, get engaged and meet for the very first time. In the following week, they will move in together, plan their wedding and attempt to add a physical connection to their emotional bond - embarking on a journey of romance and self-discovery. Viewers will once again be reunited with Jessica Almenäs who will host the reality dating show. The 10-episode series will premiere globally on Netflix on March 12, 2026 - with episodes rolling out each Thursday. Love is Blind is a social experiment where singles, who want to be loved for who they are on the inside, will date without ever seeing each other. When they get engaged, they'll meet for the very first time. Over the next 5 weeks they'll move in together, plan their wedding, and attempt to add a physical connection to their emotional bond. When their wedding day arrives, will they marry the person they fell blindly in love with? Or have the physical realities and external factors sabotaged their relationship? Hosted by Jessica Almenäs, this addictive 10-episode series will uncover whether looks, race, or age do matter - or if love really is blind. Starting March 12, 2026, new episodes of Love is Blind Sweden will roll out each Thursday across 10 episodes, following the singles' journeys for love. Batch 1 - March 12, 2026 at 08.00 CET (4 episodes) |
posted 1/29/2026 |
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Thursday Lightning Round |
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Head to Head... to Head |
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The latest game show ratings for the week ending January 4 have seen a change at the top of the chart as Wheel of Fortune has taken a slight lead over the usual frontrunner, Jeopardy! According to Nielsen ratings, Wheel of Fortune finished No. 2 among syndicated shows (behind only ESPN's NFL coverage), averaging 8,124,000 total viewers for the week of December 29. This was up over a million viewers from the week prior, which averaged 7,061,000 viewers. The Ryan Seacrest-hosted game show also increased its demo average to 2.51 in the key 18-49 demographic, up from the week prior's 2.19. In comparison, Jeopardy! averaged 8,009,000 viewers, only 100,000 viewers behind its game show rival. This number was also up on the week prior, which scored 7,193,000 million viewers. The Ken Jennings-fronted show ranked No. 3 among syndicated broadcasts. During the period in question the show was featuring its Second Chance Tournament. Jeopardy! was also up in the demo compared to the week before. For the week of December 29, the show averaged 2.48 in the 18-49 demo, up from the 2.23 from the previous week. While the numbers have been close for months, this marks only the second time Wheel has topped Jeopardy! in both viewers and demo since the shows kicked off new seasons last September. Jeopardy regularly remained on top throughout the fall, as it did last summer. However, for the week beginning September 29, Wheel averaged 7,595,000 million viewers and 2.35 in the demo, compared to Jeopardy's 7,513,000 viewers and 2.33 in the demo. Another game show faring well is the Steve Harvey hosted Family Feud, which finished as the No. 4 syndicated broadcast for the week of December 29 to January 4. The show averaged 7,876 million viewers, only 200,000 viewers away from beating Jeopardy and 300,000 from Wheel. |
posted 1/28/2026 |
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The Great British Bake Off is hoping Nigella Lawson can rise to the occasion as its new judge. Lawson, a fixture of British TV cooking for decades, known for her comforting and often sumptuous recipes, is to replace Prue Leith, who announced she was leaving the Bake Off tent last week. Lawson will join Paul Hollywood in presiding over contestant bakes on the hit series, which streams on Netflix in the U.S. under the title The Great British Baking Show. In a statement, Lawson said: "I'm uncharacteristically rather lost for words right now! Of course it's daunting to be following in the footsteps of Prue Leith and Mary Berry before her, great dames both, but I'm also bubbling with excitement. "The Great British Bake Off is more than a television programme, it's a national treasure – and it's a huge honour to be entrusted with it. I'm just thrilled to be joining the team and all the new bakers to come, I wish the marvellous Prue all the best, and am giddily grateful for the opportunity." Leith posted on Instagram in the past hour saying, "now feels like the right time to step back," adding: "I'm 86 for goodness sake!" "There's so much I'd like to do, not least spend summers enjoying my garden," she added. "Whoever joins the team, I'm sure they'll love it as much as I have. I feel very lucky to have been part of it." Leith said she has judged more than 400 challenges on the hit baking show across nine years. She first joined Bake Off when it was audaciously poached by Channel 4 from the BBC, replacing Mary Berry. She has since worked alongside fellow judge Paul Hollywood and hosts Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond, and before them Matt Lucas and Sandi Toksvig. Leith was known for her frank responses, warm demeanor and trademark "delicious" response when enjoying a treat cooked by one of the many contestants who enters the Bake Off tent. |
posted 1/28/2026 |
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100 Choices: Into the Aquaverse |
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Sony Pictures Television has secured an option agreement with Thailand's TV Thunder and Columbia Pictures' Aquaverse to develop "100 Choices," SPT's unscripted entertainment format, with production set to take place at the Columbia Pictures-themed water park in Thailand. The comedy family format challenges contestants to answer a single question with 100 possible answers for a large cash prize. Given the near-impossible nature of the questions, participants compete in five physical challenges that allow them to eliminate potential answers based on their performance in each round. The game show combines strategy, physical prowess and teamwork as contestants work to narrow down their options. Thunder will adapt and produce the local version, customizing the format for a large-scale waterpark environment. Columbia Pictures' Aquaverse, located in the seaside town of Bangsaray, near Pattaya, will serve as the production's home base. The arrangement aims to engage family audiences while driving visibility for the theme park, which features rides and attractions based on Hollywood franchises including "Ghostbusters," "Jumanji," "Bad Boys" and "Hotel Transylvania." |
posted 1/28/2026 |
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Wednesday Lightning Round |
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More on "America's Culinary Cup" |
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AMERICA'S CULINARY CUP announced today 16 of the nation's most decorated chefs who will compete on the new high-stakes culinary competition series, including six Michelin-starred chefs - an honor held by fewer than 1% of restaurants worldwide - two Bocuse d'Or medalists, two James Beard Award winners, 14 James Beard Award nominees and recipients of numerous other top-tier culinary honors. These standout chefs will battle through a season of signature challenges for the biggest cash prize in culinary television history - $1 million. The ultimate culinary showdown premieres with a 90-minute episode following SURVIVOR 50 on Wednesday, March 4 (9:30-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ Premium plan subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs)*. Hosted and executive-produced by Emmy(R) Award-nominated food expert Padma Lakshmi, with acclaimed chefs Michael Cimarusti and Wylie Dufresne serving as judges, the competition will test these elite chefs against the series' 10 culinary commandments - meat, vegetables, sauces, dessert, innovation, flavors, sustainability, world cuisine, consistency, culinary science and technology. Lakshmi, Cimarusti and Dufresne will evaluate taste, creativity, presentation and technique to decide who advances, who is eliminated and who ultimately masters the commandments to claim America's Culinary Cup. Introducing AMERICA'S CULINARY CUP chefs: |
posted 1/27/2026 |
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More on "Wheel of Fortune India" |
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Akshay Kumar is bringing Wheel of Fortune to Indian television. The game show, which has been adapted in over 60 countries since the 1970s, gets its Indian version starting next week. The makers have locked the premiere date and time slot for what could be one of the bigger launches this season. The show follows the classic format where contestants spin a giant wheel, win prize money and solve word puzzles. Akshay Kumar takes on hosting duties after his earlier television appearances on Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi and MasterChef India. The latest promos show him explaining the three ways to play: spin, buy and solve. Prize money ranges from one rupee to a crore. Wheel of Fortune India starts on January 27, 2026 with fresh episodes Monday to Friday at 9 PM. Viewers who prefer watching online also have the option to stream it on OTT platform. The channel has positioned it as a family-friendly game show that works across different age groups. Special episodes around festivals and celebrity participation are also planned. The Indian edition will use locally relevant word puzzles, familiar phrases and culturally rooted themes to connect with audiences here. |
posted 1/27/2026 |
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Netflix's reboot of Star Search won't be worrying the broadcast networks after all, it seems. The talent competition failed to hit Netflix's global top 10 charts in its first week and it scored fewer than 2.3 million views on the service with its opening two episodes. The show was, however, able to crack the top 10 in the U.S. It came in at No. 5 behind His & Hers, Skyscraper Live, Free Bert and Agatha Christie's Seven Dials and above WWE's Raw. South Africa was the only other country where it reached the top 10, coming in at No. 9. The result will be a disappointment for the streamer, which was hoping that Star Search could give it a splashy entry into the world of broadcast-style entertainment formats, rivaling the likes of NBC's The Voice, Fox's The Masked Singer or ABC's American Idol. It wasn't for lack of star power; the series is hosted by Anthony Anderson and features a judging panel of Sarah Michelle Gellar, Chrissy Teigen and Jelly Roll. The show, which runs over five weeks, launched on Tuesday, January 20, with its second episode on Wednesday. |
posted 1/21/2026 |
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Singer Guy Hovis, known for his appearances on "The Lawrence Welk Show," died Thursday at the age of 84. Ralna English, Hovis' ex-wife, announced his death on social media, saying he died after spending the last few weeks in the hospital. "As it has for me, this will come as a shock to many of you," she posted. "Guy has been in the hospital for several weeks. I spoke briefly with him on Monday and was deeply concerned. He took a turn for the worse and it hurts me to tell you, but he died peacefully last night. "Needless to say, this time we are all devastated and simply trying to cope with this tragic loss. Thank you for your prayers for Julie and Sis and Guys entire family." Hovis, a native of Tupelo, Mississippi, recorded 15 albums over his career, which he started by singing in church at age 5. According to his biography, he graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in accounting and spent two years with the Army. Entertainment Weekly reported that Hovis met English, who was already with "The Lawrence Welk Show," and the two began performing together on the show in 1969. They also married that year and ended up performing on the show "dozens of times over the following decade." Hovis and English also performed on episodes of Tattletales and Beat the Clock. Hovis and English continued to perform together even after their divorce in 1984.
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posted 1/27/2026 |
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Tuesday Lightning Round |
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Scott Rogowsky still remembers getting the call to audition for a game show hosting gig. It was 2017 and Rogowsky was working as a comic, auditioning for commercials and television shows, and hosting Running Late with Scott Rogowsky, a live talk show he held at various venues in New York and Los Angeles. "On the phone, I thought nothing of it," Rogowsky, now 41, tells PEOPLE of that fateful call to audition. "I went in for the audition and booked it. I probably went on 20-ish auditions in 15 years ... and the one thing I got was the thing that changed my life and changed the world." That "thing" was HQ Trivia, an app and trivia game that launched in August 2017 and quickly developed a cult following. Via the HQ app, users could participate in daily, live, trivia games in which they could win or split prize money — with prize pots that sometimes went over $100,000 thanks to corporate sponsorships. As Rogowsky recalls, the popularity of the app and the game he hosted seemingly came overnight. "It was so fast," he says. "We officially launched August 26th, 2017. We went from 50 people on that first show to a million people by New Year's Day 2018." The app grew viral thanks to media coverage ad social media. Once the "whole internet found out about it," Rogowsky says, his life changed. "It was wild," he says. "Even that first Halloween, there were people sending photos in on Twitter, people dressing as me. I thought, 'Oh my gosh, are you kidding me?'" he says. "And then I would get recognized. It was so fast and so sudden that I kind of wasn't really prepared for it. People were stopping on the street for photos all the time. I couldn't really go out of my apartment without getting stopped, and it got a little weird sometimes .... nothing violent or anything, but just, you know, a lot of persistent fans." Rogowsky left HQ in 2019 and began hosting a sports program on streaming platform DAZN. The company behind the HQ app has since been mired in controversy due to allegations of a toxic workplace environment and reported financial issues and the app has not hosted an official game since November 17, 2022. But the live game show formula of HQ Trivia — which saw thousands of people coming together to participate — was always in the back of his mind. Now, Rogowsky has brought it back but in a different way, with Savvy, his new live, interactive mobile game show app (currently in beta, with a wide rollout planned for February 1). "It is very familiar to those who played HQ — the idea of seeing me on their phone, hosting a game show, giving away money — the twist is that it's not trivia, because in the age of AI, trivia is unfortunately killed," he says. Savvy's first offering and flagship show, TextSavvy, challenges players to solve increasingly difficult word puzzles before time runs out. "It's essentially a version of Wordle," Rogowsky says of the Savvy game he's hosting. "We put our own spin on a word puzzle game similar to Wordle and Connections." The twist, however, is that Rogowsky will be playing, too. "That's another wrinkle — that the host plays the game," he says. "So I'm playing the same word puzzle that you are. And if you beat me, then you win. "But it's still live like HQ was — no AI, live hosts, real people." Those savvy enough to beat the host are eligible to earn in-game rewards and cash prizes. The app is launching with the one game, though Rogowsky says the plan is to expand much larger. "Essentially, the goal is to do what HQ never did, which is actually make good on the promise of being the future of television," he says. "A network of interactive content. Ideally, down the road, years from now, we'll have shows going almost around the clock with different hosts, different formats, and they'll all be interactive, with the host playing against you." |
posted 1/26/2026 |
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Yvonne Lime, who starred alongside Michael Landon in I Was A Teenage Werewolf, recurred on Father Knows Best, had dozens of other screen credits and later devoted her life to philanthropy, died Friday. She was 90. Childhelp, the nonprofit she co-founded in 1959 that is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child abuse, announced her death but offered no details other that she "passed away peacefully." "We are blessed to share her legacy, and we're grateful to have been part of her life," a post on the group's Facebook page reads in part. "As our hands and hearts find strength in our memories of Yvonne and her generous spirit, may all our hearts find comfort in the faith she treasured and the brilliant legacy of love she leaves behind." Born on April 7, 1935, in Glendale, CA, Lime's screen career took off in 1956, when she guested on several TV series and landed a role opposite Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn in the Depression-set 1956 drama The Rainmaker. That year she also started a multi-season recurring role as Dotty on Father Knows Best, the long-running sitcom starring Robert Young and Jane Wyatt. Lime appeared on more than a dozen episodes from Season 2-6 in 1956-59. She appeared on more television shows the following year and also had probably her best known role, second-billed as the girlfriend of Landon's title character in the popular sci-fi horror pic I Was a Teenage Werewolf. Around that time, Lime also had an unbilled role in Loving You, which was Elvis Presley's first major starring role. Lime would get top billing in the 1958 bikers-vs.-car club pic Dragstrip Riot, which also starred Gary Clark, Fay Wray, Connie Francis and others, and also as the new girl in school in the movie High School Hellcats that same year. Her final big-screen role was a co-lead opposite her Hellcats co-star Brett Halsey in the 1958 car-racing drama Speed Crazy. After that, Lime focused solely on TV work. Her lone series-regular role was on the NBC sitcom Happy, starring with Ronnie Burns as a young married couple who run a posh motel. Their infant son Happy who reacted to the goings-on with facial expressions and an off-camera voice. It ran for one season in 1960-61. In game shows, Lime appeared on episodes of Tattletales with her husband, My Three Sons & Family Affair producer Don Fedderson, who died in 1994. In 1959, Lime co-founded International Orphans Inc, later renamed Childhelp, with Sara Buckner, whom she'd met while working on Ozzie & Harriet. The nonprofit grew into one of the world's largest child abuse prevention and treatment organizations, and in 2004, the co-founders published Silence Broken: Moving From a Loss of Innocence to a World of Healing and Love, which told the story of one little boy helped by their group. The book was developed into the 2005 Lifetime TV movie For the Love of a Child. Information of survivors or a memorial service was not immediately available. |
posted 1/26/2026 |
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Survivor and The Price Is Right are to link up for a new collab. Survivor host Jeff Probst is set to cohost an upcoming episode of The Price Is Right At Night alongside long-time host Drew Carey to celebrate 50 seasons of the reality show. There are also time changes on the way for the show. On February 4, the season finale, Probst and Carey team up to give away exotic trips inspired by Survivor locations. The entire audience will be filled with Survivor fans, who all have the chance to win trips to French Polynesia, Australia, Samoa, the Cook Islands, and Thailand. The showcases will be filled with "adventure-packed destinations," according to a press release. Contestants can win all of this and more and they don't even have to survive outside and seek shelter. Before Survivor fans tune in to the finale, the January 28 episode is set to have an $80,000 jackpot in the game, It's In The Bag. Players also compete for luxury trips to Spain, Japan, and Bali. Plus, the fan-favorite game, Spelling Bee, gets an unexpected twist that surprises a lucky player. The last two episodes, beginning January 28, are moving from 9/8c to 8/7c on CBS. Hollywood Squares is taking its old time slot at 9/8c. |
posted 1/26/2026 |
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Monday Lightning Round |
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The temperature is rising in the Warner Bros Discovery chase, with key figures at Netflix and Paramount ridiculing the other companies' merger proposals. Netflix, running what might be termed Operation Reassure Wall Street, has recently made Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters available to consumer media outlets with sizable finance and entertainment audiences. The pair also spent much of last Tuesday's fourth-quarter earnings interview stumping for their company's pending $82.7 billion offer to acquire WBD's studios-and-streaming division. In the latest messaging, via Financial Times (which came a week after Sarandos spoke to The New York Times), Peters amped up the rhetoric a bit. He said Paramount's hostile bid for WBD "doesn't pass the sniff test" because of the "crazy" amount of debt it would entail. Gerry Cardinale, head of major Paramount backer RedBird Capital, hit back, dismissing the streaming giant's proposal as "smoke and mirrors." David Ellison is still angling to win support from Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders for Paramount Skydance's rival acquisition bid for the entire company, continuing his unlikely quest to derail Netflix's deal for WB. But the Ellisons — for now — are not signaling that they're willing to pony up more cash in the M&A fight. On Thursday, Paramount Skydance said it was extending the deadline for its $30/share all-cash offer for WBD until Feb. 20. Paramount's previous tender offer expired Jan. 21. Paramount filed preliminary proxy materials with the SEC to solicit shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery to vote against WBD's amended transaction with Netflix at a special meeting of stockholders expected to be held in April. Warner Bros. Discovery fired back at the latest salvo from David Ellison's Paramount Skydance, saying that more than 93% of its shareholders have rejected Paramount's "inferior scheme" in favor of the $83 billion sale of WB to Netflix. |
posted 1/23/2026 |
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"Idol" to Test Live Voting Waters |
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ABC is ruining the narrative that long-running reality competition series are declining, highlighted by the recent success of Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars. American Idol also received a huge boost with its last season; Season 23 of the show (the eighth season to air on ABC after it moved from Fox) received 26 million votes in its finale, breaking its own record and more than doubling the previous season's finale. The talent competition is now exploring new ways to exploit this and has come up with a new way for fans to vote: using social media. This comes on top of a number of other changes planned for the upcoming season, which moves to a new night on ABC, eschewing Hollywood for Nashville and introducing a new round set in Hawai'i. During the middle of Season 23, as the show is opening up auditions for next season, showrunner Megan Michaels Wolflick sat down with her team to figure out what's next. "There's always an immense amount of pressure regarding how we level up. What do we do that's different? We don't know who is going to come across our door, but we want to use the momentum of last season to bring in new people and fire them up," she told Deadline. Michaels Wolflick said that she has wanted to do social media voting for the last five years, something that no other major entertainment show has done. "We have to meet the audience where they are. Back in 2002 when the show began, texting was the new hot thing. We also have to meet the technology where it is, as well. We want to make it as easy as possible for people to vote for their favorites, weigh in from their couch with their second screen, in real time," she said. Part of it is reaching a younger crowd. "If we can get Gen Alpha and Gen Z to weigh in a little bit more in the easiest way possible, that's very exciting. It could tip the scale. Trends are always different," she added. ABC and Fremantle, which produces the show in association with Sony Pictures Television's 19 Entertainment, are still finalizing some of the specific details around the logistics of social voting. For now, there'll still be text and phone voting. "Maybe in three years' time, we'll have a conversation where we're just doing social voting. But right now, you want to ease the audience into something new," she said. |
posted 1/23/2026 |
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Making the Trip to Netflix |
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Colin Jost is moving to Netflix. The Saturday Night Live star has officially confirmed that he will host the second season of Pop Culture Jeopardy! after it made a shock move from Amazon to Netflix. Netflix picked up the second season in October and Jost was in talks to return but those talks have now ended in a signed deal. The spinoff of the iconic game show comes from Sony Pictures Television's Game Show Division. Michael Davies, who serves as showrunner of Jeopardy!, exec produces Pop Culture Jeopardy!. Bari Jean Dorman will co-exec produce. It launched on Amazon in December 2024 as part of a game show block – Winning Wednesdays – that also featured the Travis Kelce-hosted Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity?, JB Smoove-fronted Buy It Now and Wish List Games. It will air its second season on Netflix later this year. |
posted 1/23/2026 |
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Happy Friday Lightning Round |
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CBS announced today that it has renewed 10 additional series for the 2026-2027 broadcast season. The renewed CBS Original series include: Previous series orders for the 2026-2027 season include: This brings the total number of series ordered for the 2026-2027 season to 16. Additional series orders and renewals will be made at future dates. SOURCE: Nielsen Season-to-Date Most Current (9/22/25-1/11/26). CBS shows are available on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs)*. The Survivor renewal comes ahead of Season 50 of the Jeff Probst-hosted show, which will debut on February 25. It will now also come back for Season 51. The Amazing Race, which is hosted by Phil Keoghan, will return for Season 39 after it recently wrapped up the European adventures of Season 38.. |
posted 1/22/2026 |
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More on "Physical 100 Mexico" |
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Netflix has half a dozen new projects coming out of Mexico including a doc on boxing star Saúl 'Canelo' Álvarez, a local version of the Physical 100 reality competition format, and coverage of Supernova: Genesis, a live event where influencers, celebrities, YouTube stars and comedians compete in boxing matches. There is also a new movie and a CBS Studios-produced series on the slate, as well as fresh casting news on other projects. Netflix boss Ted Sarandos said last year that the streamer will splash $1B on Mexican originals over four years. We can now see where some of that cash is going. The Canelo Álvarez feature-doc follows the fighter preparing for a defining fight against Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin, and as he faces doubts, criticism and pressure to reaffirm his place in Mexican boxing history. Supernova: Genesis, meanwhile, comes after the Supernova Strikers amateur boxing event, which saw celebs and streamers squaring up. Coverage of Supernova: Genesis will mark the first time Netflix has shown a live event out of Latin America. It will take place in front of 22,000 spectators. Per the above, pugilism is to the fore, but is not the only sports-flavored news on the streamer's Mexican slate. Netflix fleshed out the cast for México 86, the Diego Luna starrer about how the country landed the soccer World Cup. Karla Souza, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Álvaro Guerrero will join Luna in the Gaumont USA-produced movie. Not sports as such, but certainly getting physical, Endemol Shine Boomdog will make Physical 100: Mexico, a local version of that hit show. |
posted 1/22/2026 |
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Crime Scene Zero to Return |
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Hit crime-solving show "Crime Scene Zero" will return on Netflix for a new season, the global streaming service announced Tuesday. "Crime Scene Zero," a reboot of "Crime Scene" (2014-2017), is a role-playing mystery game show in which players take on the roles of suspects and detectives to uncover the culprit among them. The original cast and signature sequence were brought back to "Crime Scene Zero" when the show was rebooted and launched globally on Netflix in September last year. "It took some time to gather the courage to do it again, but with Netflix's unwavering support, we will continue to create a great season with the keywords 'original intention' and 'evolution,'" said producer Yoon Hyun-joon. "I thank the fans who have supported us and provided active feedback every season, and I ask for your continued interest and support." The first season of "Crime Scene Zero" received widespread acclaim, earning high reviews and entering the Netflix Global Top 10 rankings upon its September 2025 release. |
posted 1/22/2026 |
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Tournament of Champions VII: And Then There Were Four |
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Guy Fieri's Tournament of Champions will return with its seventh season premiere on Sunday, March 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and stream the following day on HBO Max(R) and discovery+. Thirty-two of the nation's best chefs including proven warriors and fierce new challengers are ready to battle, but nothing will prepare the chefs for the competition's biggest surprise ever. This season, top-seeded chefs in every division will be food world icons, four of the most powerful opponents to ever compete on the series, but their identities will remain a secret until the moment they enter the arena. Every battle will be head-to-head; every spin of the randomizer will keep competitors on their toes and viewers on the edge of their seats, and every dish is make-or-break. After eight weeks and 31 grueling head-to-head battles, one talented chef will win it all and be crowned champion, taking home the coveted Tournament of Champions belt and a $150,000 cash prize. Because there are more incredible chefs than spots left in the bracket, Tournament of Champions: The Qualifiers, will return on Sunday, February 15 at 8 p.m. ET/PT where 16 chefs will fight for the final eight positions in the main Tournament of Champions bracket across a series of head-to-head battles. Before they enter the main arena and the culinary clashes begin, Fieri, Justin Warner and season III winner Tiffani Faison will preview all the twists and spins of the Randomizer, and reveal the details of this year's bracket in Tournament of Champions VII: The Bracket Reveal on Sunday, February 22 at 10pm ET/PT. "Year after year, chefs up their gameplay and strategy, so we need to constantly raise the stakes to keep the competition next level," said Fieri. "This year, we put four industry icons in the top seed, immediately putting targets on their backs for the win-hungry competitors. And that alone is the secret ingredient for the most epic season yet." This season's competing chefs include Adam Greenberg, Adam Sobel, Britt Rescigno, Bryan Voltaggio, Carlos Anthony, Claudette Zepeda, Dale Talde, David Viana, Jet Tila, Joe Sasto, Jonathon Sawyer, Kaleena Bliss, Karen Akunowicz, Kevin Lee, Lee Anne Wong, Marcel Vigneron, Nini Nguyen, Sara Bradley, Shirley Chung, and Tobias Dorzon. Plus, four surprise culinary icons and eight additional winners from the qualifier tournament. "Tournament of Champions has been Food Network's top-rated series for five years running and each season we up the ante making the competition more intense than the last," said Betsy Ayala, Head of Content, Food, Warner Bros. Discovery. "With the surprises we have in store this season and the extraordinary level of talent competing, we can't wait to share this next-level, high-adrenaline competition with viewers." Tiffani Faison joins Justin Warner as TOC sideline reporter to deliver real-time play-by-play as the action unfolds in front of a live audience. Hunter Fieri follows the action backstage, interviewing the winning chefs for their reactions to the competition, while Simon Majumdar continues his role as Judges' Correspondent, getting the judges' takes on why a dish won or lost. Season VI winner Antonia Lofaso, double winner of Season II and V Maneet Chauhan, Season IV champion Mei Lin, and inaugural TOC champion Brooke Williamson will join celebrated judges Alex Guarnaschelli, Cat Cora, Curtis Stone, David Chang, Dominique Crenn, Geoffrey Zakarian, Hubert Keller, Judy Joo, Ken Oringer, Marcus Samuelsson, Michelle Bernstein, Nancy Silverton, Rocco DiSpirito, Scott Conant, and Susan Feniger. The final battle on Sunday, April 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT will determine the brand-new winner who will join the elite group of TOC champions. |
posted 1/22/2026 |
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Thursday Lightning Round |
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Japanese freelance television announcer Hiroshi Kume, known for hosting the popular music show "The Best Ten" and news show "News Station," died of lung cancer on Jan. 1, it was learned Tuesday. Kume joined Tokyo Broadcasting System Television in 1967 and gained attention hosting the quiz show "Pittashi Kan Kan." From 1978, he hosted "The Best Ten" with actor Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. The two's quick repartee became popular. Kume left TBS the following year, but he hosted the show until 1985. After turning freelance, he hosted several shows such as Nippon Television Network's show "Hiroshi Kume's TV Scramble" with comedian Yasushi Yokoyama and talk show "Oshare." At TV Asahi's "News Station" from 1985, he broke the newscaster stereotype with his witty delivery, which brought the show high ratings. As a huge fan of professional baseball team Hiroshima Toyo Carp, based in Hiroshima, Kume once declared on the show that he would shave his head if the Tokyo-based Yomiuri Giants beat Carp, and to his audience's surprise, he kept his word. Sometimes Kume's outspoken comments raised controversy, but he said on the show's final edition in 2004 that "it was only because of the harsh criticism that I was able to continue." On that note, he poured himself a beer and bid his viewers, "Sayonara." Aside from TV, Kume also had a radio program from 2006 to 2020, on which he spoke freely about current affairs and the media. In recent years he had been focusing on video streaming. |
posted 1/21/2026 |
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Wednesday Lightning Round |
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Villains on the Move |
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"House of Villains" season three premieres Thursday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. PT/ 9 p.m. ET with the first three episodes available to stream on Peacock. Beginning Thursday, March 5, episodes will drop weekly on Thursdays at 6 p.m. PT/ 9 p.m. ET. Hosted by Joel McHale, the hit comedy competition series brings together 11 reality all-stars who must scheme, strategize and shade each other in different challenges for a chance to win $200,000 and the title of "America's Ultimate Supervillain." As previously announced, the villains include: Former villains Johnny Bananas, Victoria Larson, and Kandy Muse crash the iconic lair and host epic challenges. Seasons one and two of "House of Villains" are available to stream on Peacock. "House of Villains" is produced by Irwin Entertainment. John Irwin, Dave Kuba, Justin Rae Barnes, Joel McHale, David Mills and Jessica O'Byrne executive produce. |
posted 1/19/2026 |
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JIT2026: And the Players Are... |
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The Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament (JIT) is one of the last tournaments held in the postseason. It is played immediately after the Tournament of Champions ends. Ken Jennings will host the tournament, as he does all of the other ones, but this competition is solely based on invitations by the game show's executive producers, Sarah Whitcomb-Foss and Michael Davies. Whitcomb-Foss and Davies announced the contestants on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast on January 19 and shared who declined. Some of those contestants include three participants from the previous Masters series, the two runners-up from the TOC, and other champions, but even they can decline if they simply can't participate. The pool is smaller this year. That year's TOC winner and JIT winner advance to Jeopardy! Masters, along with three contestants who were seeded in the last Masters. The winner of the JIT takes home $150,000. Who is competing in the 2026 JIT? Only 18 players will compete this season instead of the usual 27. Jeopardy! Masters contestants Season 41 post-season players Post-Season Players The JIT starts immediately after the Tournament of Champions ends. But the exact date is unknown because for the TOC, the first player to win three games wins the whole tournament, but that could happen in three games or seven games. The EPs warned that depending on how late the TOC goes, the JIT could start airing when the Olympics air (February 6 to 22). |
posted 1/20/2026 |
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Game Shows Get the iLottery Treatment |
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Scientific Games has launched Game Show Experience, a new omnichannel Linked Game that gives lottery players a chance to win prizes of up to $10 million. Released Jan. 6, the offering features three iconic television game shows: The Price Is Right, Family Feud and Press Your Luck. The promotion is designed to bring the excitement of these award-winning programs to lottery players across retail and digital channels, including iLottery platforms. By blending familiar TV brands with modern lottery formats, Scientific Games aims to drive player engagement and participation. Bringing classic TV game shows to modern lottery play Tina Hoover, vice president of licensing for Scientific Games, said the enduring popularity of these franchises makes them a natural fit for lottery players. "The lasting popularity of these classic television game shows makes Game Show Experience a natural fit for lottery players," Hoover said. "It captures the fun, excitement and big moments people associate with game shows, turning that feeling into a fresh kind of lottery promotion." |
posted 1/20/2026 |
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Tuesday Lightning Round |
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posted 2/10/2026
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