Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
STARS ON SCREEN
How to slay: TLC’s newest series doesn’t want you to just step into the spotlight, it hopes you’ll feel confident enough to
sashay into it.
Building on last year’s “Drag Me to the Aisle” special, “Dragnificent!” debuts this Sunday, April 19, on TLC before settling into its regular Monday timeslot. And get ready to happy-cry because these life-affirming, yas-worthy transformations go deep.
Each episode focuses on “a Plain Jane” (per TLC) who needs help revealing her best self on her special day, whether it’s a wedding or a weight-loss celebration. But this makeover isn’t just about looking fierce, it’s about feeling fabulous on the inside, too. And for that to happen, each participant will have to open up about their life journey and the obstacles that paved the way to their big milestone moment.
Help comes from the stylesavvy drag queens featured in “Drag Me to the Aisle,” and they’re practically American drag royalty. If you’ve watched “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” you’re already acquainted with them: there’s hair and makeup specialist Alexis Michelle from Season 9; Season 1 winner and event planner extraordinaire, Bebe Zahara Benet; fashion expert Jujubee from Season 2 and “AllStars” 1; and musician Thorgy Thor from Season 8 and “All Stars” 3. Each queen brings their own expertise to the makeover. And together, they aim to equip participants with the necessary courage and confidence to affirm their story and be their best selves every day.
It’s interesting to note that they’re not the only “Drag Race” alums popping up on screens this week. Over on HBO, Bob the Drag Queen (Season 8), Eureka O’Hara (Season 10) and Shangela Laquifa Wadley (Seasons 2 and 3) are front and center in “We’re Here,” a six-part unscripted series premiering Thursday, April 23. Cameras will follow the queens as they recruit smalltown residents for an unforgettable, one-night-only performance in full drag.
More Meloni: Welcome back, Elliot Stabler.
Deadline was the first to break the news that a new Dick Wolf series had been picked up by NBC and given a straight-toseries order. That’s exciting news for Christopher Meloni fans, because the actor is set to reprise his “Law & Order: SVU” role in this spinoff — in fact, he’ll be the series lead.
Like “SVU,” the still-untitled series will be set in New York and will revolve around an NYPD organized crime unit led by Stabler (Meloni). Those are the few details we know, but it already has people wondering about a possible crossover and reunion with Stabler’s former partner, “SVU’s” Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay).
The popular Benson-Stabler on-screen partnership lasted 12 seasons before Meloni left “SVU” in 2011 after contract negotiations broke down. Off screen, it’s clear that Hargitay and Meloni have remained good friends. And despite a December 2018 tweet that shot down any talk of returning to “SVU,” Meloni did appear alongside Hargitay and Wolf on “The Paley Center Salutes Law & Order: SVU,” which aired earlier this year. So there’s no hint of bad blood.
The “SVU” spinoff will launch with 13 episodes, and it’s the first project to fall under Wolf’s five-year, nine-figure overall deal with NBCUniversal. It is the latest addition to his Law & Order empire, which includes the original series,
“SVU,” “Criminal Intent,” “Trial By Jury, “LA” and “True Crime.”
No ‘Games’: Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games have been postponed until July 23, 2021. But the future looks a little less certain for ABC’s “The Bachelor: Summer Games.”
According to Variety, the Alphabet Network had planned to air a special-themed “Bachelor” spinoff during the Olympics, as it had in 2018 when the Winter Games were held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
If you missed it, the four-episode “The Bachelor: Winter Games” is pretty much what you’d expect when you combine “The Bachelor” or “Bachelorette” and the Olympics. Contestants from around the world gathered at a winter resort, where they competed for love and against each other in athletic challenges.
It’s safe to assume the summer edition would have a similar format, and it could still make it to air next year. But for now, it’s one of many, many film and TV productions that have been impacted by the coronavirus, and that list includes “The Bachelorette.”
Season 16 of “The Bachelorette” was set to begin filming last month with Clare Crawley, the former contestant who tried to find love on “The Bachelor,” “Bachelor in Paradise” and the aforementioned “Winter Games” (she did get engaged to Canadian Benoit Beausé-jourSavard off screen, but they broke up in 2018).