Television

Axios reports: “Sesame Street” officially turns 50 this weekend. That’s 50 years of Bert and Ernie, 50 years of Oscar and Big Bird, and 50 years of expanding minds, stretching boundaries, and occasionally stirring up controversy. Why it matters: As was the original intent, “Sesame Street” has played a huge role in teaching generations of kids not only how to …

The Christian Post reports: Mark Burnett and Roma Downey are planning to launch a subscription-based streaming service for faith-based viewers as part of MGM’s LightWorkers entertainment. “They are looking to expand and provide direct to consumer content for a very large and underserved segment of the population,” a representative for Downey told The Christian Post. Since its inception in 2016, …

Yahoo News reports: Sean Spicer’s continued success on Dancing With the Stars is beginning to frustrate viewers. Despite consistently low scores for his dancing from the judges, Spicer has remained on the show because of his relationship with President Trump. Since the beginning of the season, Spicer has run his appearance on the show like a political campaign. In fact, …

TV Line reports: Move over, Alec Baldwin. There’s a new Donald Trump in town. Harry Potter vet Brendan Gleeson has been cast as President Trump in CBS Studios’ four-hour limited series based on former FBI Director James Comey’s bestselling book, A Higher Loyalty. Jeff Daniels will star as Comey in the as-yet-untitled project, which is being written and directed by …

From the Hollywood Reporter: Rachel Maddow is heading to The CW’s Batwoman. The MSNBC host — currently enjoying a big ratings bump amid talk of a presidential impeachment — will have a key role in the Ruby Rose-led drama. Maddow takes on the role of Vesper Fairchild, a character from the Batman comics. Fairchild is a television and radio personality …

From the Hollywood Reporter: Diahann Carroll, the captivating singer and actress who came from the Bronx to win a Tony Award, receive an Oscar nomination and make television history with her turns on Julia and Dynasty, died Friday. She was 84. Carroll died at her home in Los Angeles after a long bout with cancer, her daughter, producer-journalist Suzanne Kay, …

Market Watch reports: Disney is banning Netflix ads across its TV networks, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, ahead of the launch of the entertainment and media giant’s Disney+ streaming-video service next month. Citing people familiar with the matter, the WSJ report said Disney told staffers not to accept ads from any rival streaming services, but later …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Sean Spicer flashed across the screen in a neon green puffy shirt for his debut on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars — at least he chose a blinding lime over Trump orange. He danced a salsa with professional Lindsay Arnold to the Spice Girls “Spice Up Your Life,” and while he earned some respect for the judges …

From the Hollywood Reporter: RuPaul of RuPaul’s Drag Race continues to build his Emmy collection, winning best host of a reality or competition program for the fourth consecutive year on Sunday at the Creative Arts Emmys. As a result, RuPaul is now tied with Survivor host Jeff Probst’s record for most wins in the category. Backstage, RuPaul explained he was …

Heavy.com reports: Former Project Runway star and fashion designer Chris March died of a heart attack Friday. He was 56. March was a fan favorite contestant for his larger-than-life personality and wildly outstanding wig creations. He appeared on Project Runway All Stars, before getting his on series on Bravo, Mad Fashion. He’s designed outfits for Madonna, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and …

E Online reports: Mary was always going to make it after all—but she did usually have Rhoda by her side. Valerie Harper died Friday morning, her family confirmed to ABC 7 Los Angeles. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed. The actress, best known for her iconic role as fierce best friend and neighbor Rhoda Morganstern on The Mary …

The Verge reports: Ewan McGregor’s long-rumored Obi-Wan series is officially coming to Disney+, the company confirmed today. McGregor was onstage at D23, the company’s biennial convention, to make the announcement. “It feels so nice to say,” McGregor said. Disney and Lucasfilm originally planned a feature-length theatrical Star Wars spinoff, according to a Hollywood Reporter story from 2017. But after two …

USA Today reports: “Dancing with the Stars” cast a wide net in its search for Season 28 celebrities revealing a field that ranges from former Trump aide (Sean Spicer) to supermodel (Christie Brinkley) to the latest “Bachelorette” (Hannah Brown). Spicer, 47, who reportedly turned down a “DWTS” offer shortly after leaving the White House in 2017, is a lightning rod …

People Magazine reports: Mario Lopez is facing backlash over comments he made in a recent interview that suggested it was “dangerous” for parents to label their kids transgender. In a statement to PEOPLE on Wednesday, Lopez apologized for his remarks. “The comments I made were ignorant and insensitive, and I now have a deeper understanding of how hurtful they were,” …

Newsweek reports: Mario Lopez is being criticized for claiming it’s “dangerous” for parents to support children who identify as transgender. The 45-year-old television personality made his comments in June during an appearance on The Candace Owens Show, a video series on the PragerU YouTube channel, but they sparked blowback on social media this week. Owens compared a child expressing a …

The New Yorker reports: In the wake of its successful, Emmy-nominated Surviving R. Kelly documentary series, Lifetime is planning both a follow-up to the Kelly series and a new project on Jeffrey Epstein. In a release this afternoon, Lifetime announced that Surviving R. Kelly: The Aftermath will include four additional hours of interviews with new survivors and experts on the …

Ars Technica reports: All eyes were on San Diego Comic Con’s Star Trek panel this year, as anticipation continues to build for Star Trek: Picard, the first Trek entry to feature Sir Patrick Stewart since the 2002 film Star Trek: Nemesis. And on Saturday, the series’ handlers at CBS didn’t disappoint. A whopping two-minute trailer went well past “teaser” status …

Deadline Hollywood reports: CBS stations in more than a dozen markets, including New York and Los Angeles, have gone dark on AT&T’s DirecTV satellite systems, DirecTV Now internet-delivered bundles and U-verse cable systems. The dispute went public earlier this week, with the usual exchange of harshly worded statements. The carriage contract between the CBS stations and AT&T-owned satellite giant DirecTV, …

IndieWire reports: After months – literal, honest-to-God months – of campaigning, the nominations for the 71st Emmy Awards are here. HBO leads the way with 137 total nominations; Netflix is second with 117; the final season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” received a record-setting 32 nominations. Lead Actor Limited Series or Movie Mahershala Ali, “True Detective” Benicio del Toro, “Escape …

The Verge reports: Netflix has released a trailer for its upcoming science fiction series Another Life, starring Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackhoff. The 10-episode series premieres on July 25th, and it looks like a fun cross between the first-contact film Arrival and the Syfy Channel’s Dark Matter. The series seems to have the feel of some of the big, goofy science …