BIGNEWS
Supernatural thriller series Stranger Things (2016-current) was shopped to 15 networks before finding a home on Netflix. The streaming service has beefed up security ahead of season 2 later this year… and not just for its young stars. Executive producer Shawn Levy says that “we literally consulted with the producers on [fantasy series] Game Of Thrones (2011-current) to learn security protocols. We protect every story point and every page of the script”. The show and cast have also been given codenames to ensure eavesdroppers can’t catch on to what’s happening in the followup season in October.
Rachel Lindsay, who’s currently trying to woo bachelor Nick Viall on season 21 of reality dating show The Bachelor (2002- current), has been revealed as the next bachelorette in season 13 of The Bachelorette (2003- current). The 31-year- old attorney from Dallas will be the first black lead in either series but her new role reveal has ruined The Bachelor for fans – it’s obvious that things don’t end well for Rachel…
Vin Diesel revealed on Instagram that his alien mercenary character Riddick (from 2004 sci-fi movie The Chronicles Of Riddick) will be heading to TV… sort of. “I got a pilot for the Chronicles-inspired TV show Merc City,” he posted. Nothing else is known yet but it looks like Vin won’t be reprising his role, adding, “[my daughter] Pauline is too young for me to actually return to the dark role of Riddick, but this is a big deal”.
Reality talent show America’s Got Talent (2006- current) needs a new host for season 12. Nick Cannon has quit after it was rumoured that parent network NBC were going to fire him for racially offensive jokes made during a comedy special on Showtime network. While NBC has said they planned “to let it slide”, Nick says that “I’d rather not have a job than work in an environment where my freedom of speech is going to be impaired”.
Prison dramedy Orange Is The New Black (2013-current) was renewed for seasons 5, 6 and 7 over a year ago but there was no premiere date until Feb this year. Piper ( Taylor Schilling) and her fellow inmates will be back in June 2017.
Jason Biggs (Jim in the American Pie movies, 1999-2012) has nabbed the lead role in upcoming comedy show Charlie Foxtrot (2017). He’ll play Captain Charlie Taylor, a well-intending dentist who looks after his crazy future-sister-in-law and her brats while his soldier brother is fighting in Iraq.
Movie star Nicole Kidman is adding to her TV career (she plays Celeste in comedy Big Little Lies, 2017-current) as a producer. She’s turning Janice YK Lee’s 2016 novel The Expatriates (about three US women living in Hong Kong) into a series later this year. Michael C Hall (serial killer cop Dexter Morgan in Dexter, 20062013) has a new gig. He’s joining season 2 of period drama The Crown (2016-current) in November as US President John F Kennedy and the season will focus on The Queen’s life in the ’60s. Reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race (2009-current) is bringing out the big guns for season 9 this month. Pop star and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) champion Lady Gaga will be adding her edgy fashion knowlege as a judge.