Surprise series
Niecy Nash-Betts stars in new Ryan Murphy drama
Surprise series: From “American Horror Story” to “Feud,” Ryan Murphy’s sprawling television empire keeps on growing and, until recently, the next addition had been a carefully guarded secret.
It was just a few weeks ago that Murphy’s production company, Ryan Murphy Productions, surprised (nearly) everyone by dropping a teaser on Instagram for a previously unannounced series titled “Grotesquerie.”
Described as a “new horror drama series,” “Grotesquerie” will reportedly center around Emmy winner and frequent Murphy collaborator Niecy Nash-Betts (“Reno 911!”).
The teaser didn’t reveal a whole lot about the story, but it did include an audio clip of Nash-Betts’ character saying, “I don’t know what’s started. I can’t put my finger on it. But it’s different now. There’s been a shift. It’s like something’s opening up in the world.A kind of hole to the center of nothingness.”
The voiceover continued: “What I saw today — they sent shrinks for everyone who worked this crime scene.You say, ‘well, hon, evil has always existed.’And cite some statistic about how the world’s getting better, less murder, more help, less global horror, never been a better time to be alive. Come back. It’s not getting better.And I keep needing to hear your answers because something’s happening around us, and nobody sees but me.”
The teaser also flashed the names of cast members Courtney B.Vance, who previously won an Emmy for his portrayal of Johnny Cochran in Murphy’s “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” and “The Crown’s” Lesley Manville.
Reportedly, “Grotesquerie” will begin filming soon for an anticipated fall premiere on FX. It is Murphy’s second project since striking a new Disney deal last summer, though he’s also developing new seasons of his alreadylaunched Netflix shows such as “Monster,” the second season of which is titled “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” with stars Javier Bardem (“Dune: Part 2,” 2024) and Chloe Sevigny (“Feud: Capote vs. The Swans”) as the slain parents in the shocking 1990s murder case.
Foxx on Fox: After taking last season off due to a medical emergency, Jamie Foxx (“Ray,” 2004) is ready to take back the reins and the hosting responsibilities on his Fox game show, “Beat Shazam.”
The network announced that Foxx and his daughter Corinne (“47 Meters Down: Uncaged,” 2019) will be front and center when the game show returns to kick off Season 7 on May 28.
“Jamie and Corinne are the heart and soul of ‘Beat Shazam,’” said Allison Wallach, president of unscripted entertainment at Fox Entertainment, in a statement. “As our undeniably dynamic father-daughter hosting team, they bring a relationship like no other to a show like no other, and it’s wonderful having them back on set this season.”
Foxx’s health has been the subject of much speculation since April 2023, when he suffered a medical issue during the filming of his Netflix movie, “Back in Action.” While Foxx was hospitalized for a “medical complication” and seemingly underwent a long recovery process, Nick Cannon (“The Masked Singer”) stepped in to host Season 6 of “Beat Shazam” while Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”) hosted “We Are Family.”
Aside from a few brief updates on social media — including an Instagram post captioned with “you’re lookin at a man who is thankful … finally startin to feel like myself” — Foxx hasn’t publicly disclosed the nature of the medical scare.Appearing at a Critics Choice Association event in December, Foxx did hint at some serious effects when he said, “it’s crazy, I couldn’t do that six months ago, I couldn’t actually walk [to the stage],” and went on to talk about how the health scare changed his view on life: “it feels good to be here. I cherish every single minute now, it’s different … I wouldn’t wish what I went through on my worst enemy, because it’s tough when it’s almost over.”
'Baywatch' is back: Cue the slow-motion surf-andsand shots. “Baywatch” is the latest series to be rebooted, and it’s officially bound for Fox.
Fox has greenlit the new series from Fremantle, and Lara Olsen (“Spinning Out”) has been tapped to serve as showrunner. It is touted as a new version of the hit 19891999 series that focused on a team of L.A. lifeguards. A syndication hit, the original series remains synonymous with cast members such as Pamela Anderson (“Pamela: A Love Story,” 2023) and David Hasselhoff (“Knight Rider”), who also starred in the spinoff “Baywatch Nights,” though most of the cast was replaced when the show was retooled as “Baywatch Hawaii,” which aired from 1999 to 2001.
Fox’s interest in this “Baywatch” reboot isn’t surprising, given that the network aired the TV reunion movie, “Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding,” back in 2003.
Here’s the official logline for the new “Baywatch”: “Daring ocean rescues, pristine beaches, and iconic red bathing suits are back, along with a whole new generation of Baywatch lifeguards, who navigate complicated, messy personal lives in this action-packed reboot that demonstrates there’s the family you’re born into and the family you find.”*