SMALL SCREEN, BIG NEWS
All the TV news that you need to know… in just 10 minutes.
Days Of Our Lives (1965-current) fans can rejoice – Martha Madison will reprise her role as Belle Black on the soapie in 2017. The actress took to Twitter to share the news with her fans, saying “Guess who’s back?” with a photo of her character Belle as well as snaps of her co-stars Austin Peck (as Austin Reed), Christie Clark (Carrie Brady) and Leann Hunley (Anna DiMera). However, there’s been no confirmation from parent network NBC as yet if the reappearance of Belle and her friends is permanent.
What is permanent is Freddie Stroma and Johanna Brady’s onscreen-turned-offscreen love. They met on the set of drama series UnReal (2015-current) in season 1 – Freddie played wealthy bachelor Adam on Everlasting, a fake reality show within UnReal, and Johanna was his favourite contestant Anna. They married on 30 December 2016 at a sport club in Atlanta, Georgia after a year-long engagement.
The revival and rebooting of TV shows was all the rage in 2016 but despite reports, comedy show Will & Grace (1998-2006) won’t be joining the likes of The X-Files and MacGyver (both 2016-current). While the original show’s recurring guest star Leslie Jordan (she played Beverley Leslie) mentioned in an interview that there would be a 10-episode reboot in July 2017, former lead actress Debra Messing (who played Grace) tweeted “Sadly Leslie was wrong – Nothing beyond talks”.
Political-themed drama series Homeland (2011current, see more on p67) got viewers talking when the season 6 premiere popped up online on 30 December. Network Showtime streamed it for their subscribers in the United States weeks before its scheduled air date of 15 January. South African viewers will see the express episodes from 16 January on M-Net Edge (*102) at 02:00 and the premiere of the series from 17 January at 20:00. PS: it was renewed for seasons 7 and 8 based on the success of season 5, which was filmed in South Africa.
Bad news for fans of drama series Bates Motel (2013-2017), the prequel series to the infamous 1960 stabber movie Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock. The show, which has Freddie Highmore playing the lead role of unstable motel owner Norman Bates, is ending as planned after five seasons despite its huge success. According to executive producer Carlton Cuse, “We said for a long time that we wanted the show to be five seasons and done. I think that is the plan. It’s always painful because the show is successful… but it really should end while it’s still good.” Season 5 will also see the arrival of motel guest and horror icon Marion Crane, played by singer Rihanna.
On the renewal and cancellation front, musical drama Roadies (2016) has had the plug pulled after just one season. There is good news for sitcoms Better Things (2016-current) and Odd Mom Out (2015-current), which have been renewed for a second and third season, while You’re The Worst (2014-current) will return in 2017 with its fourth season. Meanwhile, drama series Chicago shows (2012-current) and Chicago PD (2014-current) have a new baby sister in the form of Chicago Justice (2017). Showrunner Matt Olmstead says that “we’re very excited about Justice joining the fold. No spoilers yet, but I think you’re going to see some Justice characters on the other shows… and I think you’re going to see some of our characters on Justice. These crossovers aren’t going away any time soon”.
Movie star Meg Ryan, best known for her role as Sally in 1989 romcom flick When Harry Met Sally, will be returning to the small screen in September 2017 after a 30-year hiatus. The 55-year-old will executive produce and star in comedy series Picture Paris (2017), loosely based on the 2011 short film of the same name. The series revolves around a suburban mother who takes her family on her dream trip to Paris but their holiday turns out to be a lot more surprising than they’d expected.