Amy Poehler and host Seth Meyers during ‘Really, with Seth & Amy’ segment (Photo by Lloyd Bishop / NBC)
SNL‘s old Weekend Update team of Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers reunited to take on the poor coverage of Women’s World Cup Soccer and to take down Sports Illustrated writer Andy Benoit for his dumb tweet about women’s sports in general. Benoit has since deleted the tweet and has apologized for his stupidity, but in the new “Really!?!” video Poehler and Meyers let him have it for posting something so ridiculous in the first place. Poehler also commented on SI‘s annual swimsuit edition saying she’s not surprised by Benoit’s position given the fact the magazine he writes for still puts out an annual swimsuit edition that showcases women who aren’t actually in sports – unless you count covering your breasts with one arm a sport.
Meyers and Poehler finished up the bit by reminding everyone to tune in and watch the U.S. women take on China on Fox on Friday, June 26th. Poehler added, “No more tweeting, Benoit — you’re too dumb. In fact everyone just get off Twitter.”
Watch the video:
Screenshot of Andy Benoit’s tweet
My sincere apologies for last night’s senseless tweets. I got carried away responding to playful ribbing ….
The Walking Dead‘s Michael Cudlitz (‘Abraham’) promises season six of the zombie apocalypse series is going to be phenomenal and will blow our minds. Cudlitz spent part of his day on the set of season six’s first episode interviewing his fellow cast members about how it feels to be back shooting the AMC series and while the nearly three minute video doesn’t give away too much about the upcoming season, it does show Morgan (Lennie James) is definitely part of our favorite group of survivors.
Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis in ‘Sleeping With Other People’
IFC Films picked up Sleeping With Other People following its successful premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and today they’ve unveiled the first official trailer for the romantic comedy. Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie star, with Adam Scott, Jason Mantzoukas, Katherine Waterson, Adam Brody, Amanda Peet, Marc Blucas, and Andrea Savage co-starring. Sleeping With Other People was directed by Leslye Headland (Bachelorette) and will open in theaters on September 11, 2015.
The Plot:
Can two serial cheaters get a second chance at love? After a one-night stand in college, New Yorkers Lainey (Brie) and Jake (Sudeikis) meet by chance twelve years later and discover they each have the same problem: because of their monogamy-challenged ways, neither can maintain a relationship. Determined to stay friends despite their mutual attraction, they make a pact to keep it platonic, a deal that proves easier said than done. Amanda Peet, Adam Scott, Natasha Lyonne, and Jason Mantzoukas co-star.
Pedro Pascal as Javier Peña and Boyd Holbrook as Steve Murphy in the Netflix Original Series ‘Narcos’ (Photo credit: Daniel Daza / Netflix)
Netflix’s new dramatic series Narcos will debut on August 28, 2015 at 12:01am PT with all 10 episodes available at that time for binge-watching. The streaming service revealed the release date with a 15 second teaser featuring the show’s tagline: “There’s No Business Like Blow Business.”
Narcos was created by José Padilha (Elite Squad, RoboCop) who also executive produces along with Chris Brancato (Hannibal), Eric Newman (Children of Men), Doug Miro, and Carlos Bernard.
The Plot: Narcos chronicles the gripping real-life stories of the drug kingpins of the late 1980s and the corroborative efforts of law enforcement to meet them head on in brutal, bloody conflict. It details the conflicting forces – legal, political, police, military and civilian – that clash in an effort to control the world’s most powerful commodity: cocaine.
Brazilian actor Wagner Moura (Elite Squad, Elysium) is Pablo Escobar alongside Boyd Holbrook (Gone Girl) and Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones) as real-life DEA agents Steve Murphy and Javier Peña. The series also features Juan Pablo Raba, Joanna Christie, Stephanie Sigman, Manolo Cardona, André Mattos, Luis Guzman, and Ana de la Reguera.
Keith Plaskett examining anchor drawing underwater (Photo Credit: Discovery Channel)
Treasure hunters seek out millions of dollars in Incan gold in the Discovery Channel’s new six-part series Treasure Quest: Snake Island. Treasure Quest will premiere on July 17, 2015 at 10pm ET/PT and follows an elite team as they attempt to find the location of gold lost 400 years ago. “Every kid hears these stories about treasures and pirates and going off on adventures around the world with dreams of finding lost gold. And that’s what I do. That’s what I’m doing right now,” explained Cork Graham, the team’s expedition leader.
The treasure-hunting team also includes Mehgan Heaney-Grier, Jeremy Whalen, Bryan Fry, and Keith “Cappy” Plaskett. The series is executive produced by Mark Kadin, Will Ehbrecht, and Joseph Boyle.
The Plot:
Hidden somewhere off the south eastern coast of Brazil, could lie hundreds of millions of dollars-worth of lost Incan gold. For 400 years, many have searched, fought and died looking for this elusive bounty. But all have failed to hold onto it. Treasure Quest: Snake Island will take viewers along an epic journey with an elite team of treasure hunters who have a new theory on where the treasure lies – a remote spot home to 1,000s of deadly vipers.
In 1524, a horde of Incan gold – known as the “Treasure of the Trinity” – was stolen. For 500 years, Jesuits priests, privateers such as Thomas Cavendish and mathematician Paul Thiry have all searched the coast of Brazil for this legendary bounty, but in all that time, no one has cracked the code as to where the treasure might have been hidden… until now.
The team will stop at nothing – scaling peaks through the jungle, exploring treacherous caves and diving among the galleons that sunk to the ocean floor centuries ago. Treasure hunting is nearly impossible and the team will face dangers both on land and at sea. It’s a place where modern-day pirates still exist and word has gotten around that they are looking for treasure.
But they’re going to need more than pure brawn on this quest. The team will need to solve complex mathematical clues and puzzles protecting the treasure – the same ones that have thwarted countless others before them. But most of all, they’ll need nerves of steel as they brave one of the most deadly places in the world – where one careless step could not just cost everyone incredible riches, but ultimately their lives.
The Treasure Hunters:
– Cork Graham, Expedition Leader: Cork has dedicated his life to searching for lost treasure. At the age of 18, he participated in a covert search for Captain Kidd’s treasure off the coast of Vietnam but was captured and accused of being a spy. He is now focused on the Treasure of the Trinity and determined that it will not escape his grasp.
– Mehgan Heaney-Grier, Expedition Dive Master: Whether it’s free diving, swimming with sharks, or documenting alligators in their natural environment, Mehgan is no stranger to high-pressure situations-natural or man-made, especially among a crew of testosterone-fuelled alpha males. The true value of the Treasure of the Trinity for her lies in its historical and archaeological significance, not its monetary worth.
– Jeremy Whalen, Ship’s Mechanic: Give him a few tools and he can build it, fix it or replace it. While he respects the historical significance of lost treasure, his real reasons for participating in the expedition are twofold – the adrenaline rush and the promise of a huge payday.
– Bryan Fry, Herpetologist: An Aussie, Bryan has 25 years of experience dealing with deadly reptiles and the battle scars to prove it. He’s been bitten by snakes 26 times, yet eagerly keeps coming back for more. For him, the real treasure is the chance to study the deadly golden lancehead viper up close.
– Keith “Cappy” Plaskett, Boat Captain: Cappy has always dreamed of searching for sunken Spanish galleons off of Brazil’s coast, but navigating these treacherous waters and the brutal storms that unexpectedly form without warning will test the limits of his sailing skills.
Emma Watson at the ‘Noah’ premiere (Photo by Carlos Alvarez / Getty Images for Paramount Pictures International)
Emma Watson (the Harry Potter films, Noah) has signed on to star in the dramatic film The Circle based on the book by Dave Eggers. Watson joins the cast, which is led by Tom Hanks, with The Spectacular Now‘s James Ponsoldt adapting Eggers’ book and directing.
The film’s set up with Image Nation and Parkes MacDonald Productions, and Hanks and Gary Goetzman from Playtone and Likely Story’s Anthony Bregman are producing.
Commenting on Watson’s casting, writer/director Ponsoldt said, “Emma Watson is one of my favorite actors, and her incredible talent, sensitivity, and deep intelligence will bring an electric energy to The Circle.”
Filming’s expected to begin in September in California.
The Plot:
Eggers’ novel focuses on a young woman (Watson) who is hired for a big job in an Internet monopoly called the Circle, which links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency.
The novel turns into a contemporary thriller about the perils of life in a digital age where personal data is collected, sifted and monetized and used for surveillance, rendering privacy obsolete.
Rami Malek as Elliot in ‘Mr. Robot’ (Photo by: Peter Kramer / USA Network)
Season one of Mr. Robot hasn’t even debuted yet in its 10pm timeslot but apparently USA Network is so pleased with the series that it’s renewed the show for a second season. The dramatic thriller will premiere on June 24th at 10pm, but it did launch a bit early in various digital platforms. The reception was positive and the network decided to go ahead and order at least a 10 episode second season.
“We knew from the moment we read Sam Esmail’s provocative script, and witnessed the brilliant performances of Rami Malek and Christian Slater, that Mr. Robot is a stand-out series that is unlike anything currently on television,” said USA Network President Chris McCumber. “The overwhelmingly positive fan reactions to the pilot and the broad sampling of it, reaffirms our confidence in the series, and we’re excited to see where this timely drama will take us for season two.”
“Sam Esmail has captured and distilled our ongoing cultural conversation about identity, privacy, value and self-worth,” added Jeff Wachtel, President and Chief Content Officer, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. “We are all talking about the central themes of Mr. Robot – Sam has just done it in a completely original and uniquely compelling way.”
In addition to Rami Malek, the Mr. Robot cast includes Christian Slater, Portia Doubleday, Carly Chaikin, and Martin Wallström.
The Plot:
Mr. Robot follows Elliot (Malek), a young programmer who works as a cyber-security engineer by day and as a vigilante hacker by night. Elliot finds himself at a crossroads when the mysterious leader (Slater) of an underground hacker group recruits him to destroy the firm he is paid to protect. Compelled by his personal beliefs, Elliot struggles to resist the chance to take down the multinational CEOs he believes are running (and ruining) the world.
Sarah Silverman as Helen in ‘Masters of Sex’ season 2, episode 6 (Photo: Michael Desmond / SHOWTIME)
Showtime announced Sarah Silverman will be back as a guest star on the third season of Masters of Sex starring Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan. Silverman will be reprising her role as Helen in a multi-episode arc in season three set to premiere on July 12, 2015 at 10pm ET/PT.
According to the official announcement, the upcoming season will find Helen and Betty (Annaleigh Ashford) trying to have a baby in 1966, which is a huge undertaking for the lesbian couple.
Michelle Ashford developed the series for Showtime and is an executive producer. Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, Amy Lippman, Dave Flebotte, and Judith Verno are also executive producers on the series based on Thomas Maier’s book Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, The Couple Who Taught America How To Love.
The Plot of Masters of Sex Season 3: “Season three of the series is set when the famed duo Masters and Johnson are dealing with the glare of the national spotlight as their sex study is finally unveiled. Masters and Johnson’s work will have a profound impact on contemporary relationships, especially their own evolving three-way “marriage” with Masters’ wife Libby (Caitlin FitzGerald).”
The CW viewers will have to wait until October 2015 for the return of their favorite shows. The network’s just announced the fall premiere dates, with The Flash getting the honor of being the first returning series to make its new season debut. And prior to actually kicking off its fall lineup, The CW will air the IHEARTRADIO Music Festival on Tuesday, September 29 at 8pm ET/PT and Wednesday, September 30 at 8pm ET/PT.
The CW’s fall primetime lineup sees returning shows The Originals and Reign airing on new nights. The Originals will now follow The Vampire Diaries on Thursday nights, and Reign is hoping to be crowned ratings king on Friday nights. Meanwhile, the only new show to get a premiere date is the comedy series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend starring Rachel Bloom.
Fox’s upcoming series Houdini & Doyle has found its leads in Michael Weston (House) and Stephen Mangan (Episodes). Weston will play the legendary magician Harry Houdini and Mangan has been cast as Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in what’s described as a mystery adventure drama. 24‘s Stephen Hopkins is on board to direct and Fox is aiming for a spring 2016 premiere on both Fox and ITV Encore of the 10-episode series.
The drama series is a collaboration between Big Talk Productions (U.K.), Shaftesbury (Canada), and Shore Z Productions. House creator David Shore is executive producing along with David Titcher, David Hoselton, Kenton Allen, Matthew Justice, Luke Alkin, Christina Jennings, Maggie Murphy, and Scott Garvie. Hoselton and Titcher are Houdini & Doyle‘s co-creators and writers.
“I’ve long been intrigued by both Houdini and Doyle; men who were ahead of their time, each fascinating in their own right. But the idea that these two, seemingly so different, could have been friends is almost too perfect,” stated Shore. “In Michael and Stephen, we have found two incredible actors that embody the intelligence, humor, and mystique of these men who, even when viewed through the lens of history, are larger than life.”
The Plot: Inspired by true events, Houdini & Doyle will draw heavily on the rich history of the period. Two great men of the 20th Century – Harry Houdini (Weston), master magician, escape artist and paranormal debunker; and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Mangan), prolific writer, creator of Sherlock Holmes, and paranormal aficionado – grudgingly join forces with New Scotland Yard to investigate unsolved and inexplicable crimes with a supernatural slant.
The cast also includes Rebecca Liddiard (Man Seeking Woman) as the first female London Metropolitan Police Force constable, Adelaide Stratton.
The CW viewers will have to wait until October 2015 for the return of their favorite shows. The network’s just announced the fall premiere dates, with 
