Reboots, returns and RIPs were in full effect over the past seven days.
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1) ‘SEX AND THE CITY 3’ A NO-GO, THANKS TO SAMMY JO: As I posted earlier today when the news broke, plans for a third Sex and the City movie are officially, well, broken. Carrie Bradshaw herself, Sarah Jessica Parker, confirmed the news on the red carpet Thursday night, followed by a report this morning that Kim Cattrall was the sole holdout that shifted the project’s status to DOA. The only silver lining I can think of is that at least we won’t have to live through another ‘Abu Dhabi-doo’ desert adventure.
2) ‘HOCUS POCUS’ REMAKE BLASHPHEMY: SJP’s bad week started with the long-rumored sequel to Hocus Pocus—which she and fellow witchy leads, Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy, were down for—being grounded in the wake of news that The Disney Channel was going ahead with a TV movie remake of the original big screen Halloween classic. While I don’t hope for a spell to be cast on this new take, the fact that it’s happening at all is a bit of black magic.
3) GET WELL, JLD: Veep star and all-around badass, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, revealed on Thursday that she’s battling breast cancer. The record-breaking actress found out the news nearly two weeks ago, the day after winning her eighth acting Emmy. Sending her best wishes and hopes for a speedy recovery!
4) ‘WILL & GRACE’ RETURNS: It was like 1999 Must-See TV déjà vu last night in every fabulously sass-tastic way, as the Fab Four returned to NBC in the reboot of the beloved, Will & Grace. Despite a few awkward moments (the Oval Office pillow fight, long close-up on the Make America Gay Again hat as an ender), the show was back in top form like not one day had passed. Already can’t wait for next week.
5) RIP, HUGH: Whether you think he’s the grandfather of modern day misogyny or the crowned prince of pubescents everywhere, it’s undeniable that Playboy founder, Hugh Hefner, had a huge impact on our culture today (for better or worse). He passed away this week at the age of 91.
6) BIG NAMES SET THEIR SIGHTS ON BROADWAY: The big news coming out of Broadway this week was the announcement of two big new shows hitting the boards later this season, each of which will start in Chicago for out-of-town tryouts. The first is a musical version of the modern movie classic, Pretty Woman, with new tunes from Bryan Adams and starlet Samantha Barks—who played Eponine in the Les Miserables musical movie—stepping into Julia Roberts’ pleather thigh-high boots as Vivian.
The second spectacle in development is The Cher Show, which tracks the life story of the superstar diva to the beat of her own (epic) catalogue of tunes. Three actresses will share the title role, playing Cher at different points in her life. The lady herself will not appear in the production.
7) DAVID S. PUMPKINS GETS ANIMATED: Saturday Night Live returns this weekend, and while Tom Hanks isn’t scheduled to make a cameo, his most memorable character from last season is getting a second life: NBC is creating an animated Halloween special featuring Hanks’s went-viral-instantly character, David S. Pumpkins. Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage and SNL alum, Bobby Moynihan, will also lend their vocal talents to the show that airs on October 28th.
8) ‘BIG BROTHER’ MAKES THE LEAP TO ‘THE AMAZING RACE’ (AGAIN): This season’s love ‘em-or-hate ‘em Big Brother showmance duo, ‘Jody’—comprised of Jessica and Cody, natch—are expanding their CBS reality show horizons by appearing on the upcoming 30th(!) season of The Amazing Race. They follow in the footsteps of Big Brother 13 winner, Rachel, and now-husband, Brendon, who competed on two seasons of the show following their in-house antics.
9) ‘THIS IS US’ IS BACK WITH A RATINGS HIGH: I’m still slightly shook by this week’s season premiere of This Is Us, and based sheerly on the numbers, I don’t think I’m alone: NBC’s sophomore season hit returned to the tune of 12.6 million viewers, winning the night, tying with previous series highs, and surpassing last spring’s first season finale viewership by 12%.
10) ‘PARTY OF FIVE’ REDUX: I loved—LOVED!—me some Party of Five, the late 90s drama centering around a family of newly orphaned kids who try to make it work themselves after their parents pass away in an accident. The reboot, headed up by the creators of the original series, gives the origin story a modern twist: the show will now focus on a first-generation Latino family that immigrates to the US, following their journey as they adjust to their new lives in a new land. The series is still in development, and has yet to be picked up by a network.