Today’s cuteness comes from right here in my hometown — and where I got married, in fact. Many congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Pickles:
Mr. Pickles, a critically endangered species of tortoise at the Houston Zoo, finally became a father at the age of 90. He and his partner, Mrs. Pickles, welcomed three tortoise hatchlings: Dill, Gherkin and Jalapeño.https://t.co/KfYXf7L5E0 pic.twitter.com/TCI45YsTY1
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 22, 2023
Here’s A BUNCH OF TV News
facing down 10 weeks of back to back yellowjackets/succession coverage pic.twitter.com/eGFLXYOMSh
— Julie Kosin (@juliekosin) March 21, 2023
There are two big series returns this weekend: Succession will be back with its final season on HBO on Sunday, and Yellowjackets will return to Showtime with its second season on the same night. I’ve been collecting a bunch of stories about each of them over the past couple of weeks, and today I am going to share the Yellowjackets pieces I’ve gathered.
Let’s start with a brief reminder of how season one of Yellowjackets ended — and who died.
You never know what to expect out there… but Shauna's journal gives a pretty good hint #Yellowjackets pic.twitter.com/lCjlK41gWg
— Yellowjackets (@yellowjackets96) March 23, 2023
According to the cast of Yellowjackets, you are going to need to brace yourselves for what is coming this season. At SXSW, the cast said that we “should be worried” and they “doubled down on being the craziest show on television.” And they sound like they mean it:
“If we do our job right, the eating of a person will not be the most transgressive thing that these young women do in the wilderness,” Lisco said. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg. If season 1 was about our teen characters learning to adapt to their harsh surroundings, season 2 is where it all just really explodes. Each one of them is gonna make choices that they never dreamed possible. And, as we cut forward 25 years, we’re gonna watch those terrible actions surface in ways that I would say irrevocably changed the fate of their lives.”
Jason Segal shared some good advice with showrunners Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson ahead of season one: “Don’t worry! There are three or four shows that everyone talks about and loves. There are three or four shows that everyone talks about and f*cking hates. The other 595 fall right in the middle. Find a little audience and it’s fine.’” But now that the show became one of those three or four shows that everyone talks about and loves, they have a lot to live up to in their sophomore season.
The showrunners also cite an unexpected inspiration for their protagonists: Tony Soprano.
The 90s promo is good …
It’s been months since the #Yellowjackets went missing. Here’s @Kurt_Loder from @MTVNEWS with the latest on search efforts. @yellowjackets96 pic.twitter.com/VtwLWw2NVN
— MTV (@MTV) March 22, 2023
But the 90s website might be better: www.wherearetheyellowjackets.com
And here The A.V. Club goes over a bunch of fan theories, which should both help refresh your memories of some of the weirder details from the show and get those theorizing juices flowing again.
Certified twitter gay icon Melanie Lynskey thinks we’ll love Yellowjackets seasons 2. pic.twitter.com/tEvDx8xipO
— An (@shaunasknife) March 22, 2023
Finally, y’all casting directors need to give Melanie Lynskey some goddamned respect.
Some Scandoval news: 1. Raquel Leviss will attend the Vanderpump Rules reunion so I hope they’ve hired security 2. Raquel and Schaena will film their segments separately because of the restraining order Raquel took out against Schaena and 3. Jax is out here telling Andy Cohen that Tom Sandoval has been cheating on Ariana for years now.
Smash, after all this time, is finally headed to Broadway.
Whoever has been booking guests at the White House, they’ve been having a great week.
Don’t click if you don’t want to know who Rory’s baby daddy is on Gilmore Girls.
Reddit has a list of shows that should have ended after one season and you know what? Fully agree. With all of these.
Jameela Jamil went on two different morning shows yesterday and had two very different reactions from the hosts.
Newsmax is back on DirecTV, boooooo.
Hayden Panettiere wants to join White Lotus, which isn’t news because everyone wants to be on White Lotus. AND WHO WOULDN’T?
This isn’t television news … not exactly, but Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson have left the Star Wars project they wrote one draft of, and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight has been brought on.
But in actual Star Wars TV news, Ahmed Best, the actor who played Jar Jar Binks — and suffered as a result — was cast as a Jedi in The Mandalorian. Which is very sweet.
Zachary Levi — and only Zachary Levi — is hoping for a Chuck movie. No thanks.
Snoop Dogg respects a queen:
Snoop Dogg and Emilia Clarke together last night. This was his reaction to the Game Of Thrones finale back in 2019 😂 pic.twitter.com/YKZMEfl6Na
— westerosies (@westerosies) March 22, 2023
Author Jeff Wilson is suing Netflix for stealing the plot and characters from his book Queen Anne’s Revenge, about how he and four friends went on “a treasure hunt from a famous shipwreck near the outer banks of North Carolina,” to make Outer Banks.
Glad you recovered, Aaron Sorkin, and I’m glad you quit smoking.
OH NO, HEAL QUICKLY, DICK VAN DYKE! THE UNIVERSE MUST PROTECT THIS PRECIOUS MAN.
Renewals
- Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins has been renewed for season two on Oxygen.
- Son of a Critch has been renewed for a third season on CBC.
Cancellations
- Ash vs. Evil Dead is leaving Netflix in April — it’s not a cancellation, but it’s sort of like one, so.
In Development
- Apple is looking into bidding for the broadcast rights of English Premier League soccer.
- HBO Max is making a drama series based on the life of Heidi Fleiss.
- The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion With No Name is being adapted into a TV series.
- The Leftover Woman and Mambo in Chinatown, both written by Jean Kwok, are being adapted into two series.
- James Patterson has signed a first-look deal with Skydance Television.
Casting News
- Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Meghann Fahy, Dakota Fanning, Eve Hewson, and Jack Reynor will (probably) star in The Perfect Couple on Netflix.
- Guillaume Cyr, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Diamantopoulos, and Margo Martindale are joining The Sticky on Prime Video.
- Elizabeth Yu and Hilda Martin have joined the cast of the NBC pilot Murder by the Book.
- Ayden Mayeri, Seann William Scott, Dolly de Leon, and Donald Elise Watkins have joined Grand Death Lotto on Prime Video.
- Ariana Madix and Meagan Good will star in Buying Back My Daughter on Lifetime.
- Paolo Montalban has joined Descendants: Rise of Red on Disney+.
- Jeremy Shamos, Linda Emond, and Wesley Taylor have joined Only Murders in the Building on Hulu.
- Michael Stuhlbarg has joined The Instigators on Apple TV+.
- Ashley Graham will host Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge on HGTV.
- Saffron Hocking is joining The Devil’s Hour on Prime Video.
- Mahershala Ali narrated Chimp Empire on Netflix. See below for the trailer.
- Siena Kelly has joined Domino Day on BBC3.
Mark Your Calendars
- Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story will debut on Netflix on May 4.
- Titans returns on HBO Max on April 13.
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always will premiere on Netflix on April 19.
- XO, Kitty will debut on Netflix on May 18.
- RapCaviar Presents will debut on Hulu on March 30.
- Primo will debut on Prime Video on May 19.
- Jason Isbell: Running with Our Eyes Closed will debut on HBO on April 7.
- Endeavour will return on PBS on June 18.
- Mae Martin: SAP will debut on Netflix on March 28.
- Chimp Empire premieres on Netflix on April 19.
- Thicker Than Water will premiere on Netflix on April 7.
- The Signing (La Firma) will premiere on Netflix on April 4.
- The Croods Family Tree reutrns on Peacock Kids on March 30.
- Outlander returns on Starz on June 16.
- Indian Matchmaking returns on Netflix on April 21.
- The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper will debut on CNN on April 17.
- Platonic will debut on Apple TV+ on May 24.
- Montecristo will premiere on Vix on April 14.
R.I.P.
Peter Werner, Emmy-nominated and Oscar-winning TV director who worked on Ghost Whisperer, Medium, A Different World, The Wonder Years, Moonlighting, Boomtown, Justified, Grimm, UnReal, Blue Bloods, The Blacklist, Elementary, Unforgettable, Six and Law & Order: SVU among others
Norman Steinberg, Screenwriter who wrote Blazing Saddles, My Favorite Year, and Free to Be…You and Me among others
Gordon Dawson, Costume-designer turned screenwriter who wrote for Bonanza, Black Sheep Squadron, Lou Grant, Rockford Files, andWalker, Texas Ranger
Willis Reed, NBA Hall of Famer
Erik Lomis, MGM executive
Gunter Nezhoda, Storage Wars star
WATCH THIS
The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: This will be an interesting season: Brandi Glanville was fired halfway through after allegedly sexually assaulting … ~checks notes~ Caroline Manzo? This is like a Real Housewives MadLibs. Peacock
The Lesson is Murder: Former FBI agent and psychological criminologist, Dr. Bryanna Fox and her students analyze serial killers in an attempt to understand their drive to kill in this new docuseries. Series premiere. Hulu
Night Agent: An FBI agent intercepts a call that reveals a mole in the White House in this new political thriller. Series premiere. Netflix
Late Night:
- Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Kiefer Sutherland, Jimin, Fall Out Boy
- Jimmy Kimmel Live: Jeff Goldblum, Teyana Taylor, Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra
- The Daily Show: Guest host Al Franken
- Watch What Happens Live: Melanie Lynskey, Matthew Rhys
THUR | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
ABC | Station 19 (new) |
Grey’s Anatomy (new) |
Alaska Daily (new) |
CBS | NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (live) |
CW | Walker (new) |
Superman & Lois (repeat) |
News/Local |
FOX | Next Level Chef (new) |
Animal Control (new) |
Call Me Kat (repeat) |
News/Local |
NBC | Law & Order (new) |
Law & Order: SVU (new) |
Law & Order: Organized Crime (new) |
I’m so ready for this show to come back! But I’m going to hope Yellowjackets gives me like a 5 minute “previously on” segment before they start. So much happened and it was so long ago