The Mercury News

celebrity extra

- BY DANA JACKSON

Q: Whatever happened to Patricia Heaton? She had two very successful sitcoms, but I haven’t seen her in anything since. Is she retiring from acting? -- L.A.

A:The talented Patrica Heaton has been blessed to star in not only one but two hit sitcoms in her life. She played exhausted wives on both “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “The Middle” for nine seasons each and then starred in “Carol’s Second Act,” but it was canceled after just one season.

Now she’s bouncing back with another sitcom, which is yet to be named, with veteran comedy writers Carol Leifer (“Seinfeld”) and Andy Gordon (“Modern Family”). According to Deadline.com, Heaton will play “the host of an upscale lifestyle show sent to prison for embezzleme­nt and tax evasion. She gets out after two years, forgotten and broke, and moves to Tennessee to live with her estranged sister.” The show will be filmed in Nashville, where Heaton has a residence, and will air on Fox. The only thing stopping it is the potential of a writers strike if negotiatio­ns with the Writers Guild of America come to a halt when their contract is up for renewal in May.

While there aren’t as many network sitcoms as there used to be, the few that have premiered in recent years have generated quite a loyal audience. “Abbott Elementary,” “Ghosts” and “Night Court” all have already been renewed for another season before their current one has been completed.

Q: Is it true that “Titanic” is returning to theaters? Is it a remake? Who will play the leads? -- S.M.

A: No remake is on the horizon, but the original “Titanic” has been remastered and made its way to theaters this February. James Cameron, director of the Oscar-nominated blockbuste­r “Avatar: The Way of Water,” has redelivere­d “Titanic” to the big screen for its 25th anniversar­y with stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The running time is 3 hours and 15 minutes, which was an anomaly back in 1997.

Send me your questions at NewCelebri­tyExtra@gmail.com, or write me at KFWS, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803. (c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

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 ?? Depositpho­tos ?? Patricia Heaton (“The Middle” and “Everybody Loves Raymond”)
Depositpho­tos Patricia Heaton (“The Middle” and “Everybody Loves Raymond”)

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