Now that the DGA, WGA, and SAG-AFTRA have struck new deals, networks can get back to work on their upcoming 2024 midseason lineups. ABC‘s just announced premiere dates for their primetime schedule, which kicks off on January 22, 2024 with a two-hour episode of The Bachelor.
Abbott Elementary will begin its third season with a special one-hour premiere on February 7th. The network’s lineup also includes the debut of 9-1-1, which makes the move from Fox starting with its seventh season.
Tuesdays will feature three returning dramas – Will Trent, The Rookie, and The Good Doctor. And Wednesdays will be all about comedy, with new seasons of The Connors, Not Dead Yet, Abbott Elementary, and Judge Steve Harvey.
ABC’s Thursday lineup consists of first-responder dramas 9-1-1, Grey’s Anatomy, and Station 19. The network is holding High Potential with Kaitlin Olson for the 2024-2025 season.
ABC confirms 2024 midseason premiere dates (Credits: Nino Muñoz, Matt Sayles, Art Streiber, Eric McCandless for ABC)
ABC 2024 MIDSEASON PRIMETIME PREMIERE DATES
MONDAY, JAN. 22
8:00 p.m. The Bachelor (two hours)
10:01 p.m. 20/20 (all-new limited edition true-crime series, title to be announced)
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 7
8:00 p.m. The Conners
8:30 p.m. Not Dead Yet
9:00 p.m. Abbott Elementary (one-hour premiere)
10:00 p.m. Judge Steve Harvey
SUNDAY, FEB. 18
8:00 p.m. American Idol (two hours)
10:00 p.m. What Would You Do?
TUESDAY, FEB. 20
8:00 p.m. Will Trent
9:00 p.m. The Rookie
10:00 p.m. The Good Doctor
THURSDAY, MARCH 14
8:00 p.m. 9-1-1
9:00 p.m. Grey’s Anatomy
10:00 p.m. Station 19
Disney+ has dropped the official trailer for the upcoming fantasy adventures series Percy Jackson and the Olympians a month out from the show’s premiere. In the two-minute trailer, Percy (Walker Scobell) admits the world has always felt weird to him, like a puzzle with half of its pieces missing. Those missing pieces fall into place once he learns the stories of Greek gods and monsters are real.
Joining Walker Scobell in the eight-episode series are Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood and Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase. Lin-Manuel Miranda is Hermes, Megan Mullally is Alecto aka Mrs. Dodds, Toby Stephens is Poseidon, and Virginia Kull is Sally Jackson.
Additional guest stars include Jason Mantzoukas as Dionysus aka Mr. D, Jay Duplass as Hades, Glynn Turman as Chiron aka Mr. Brunner, and Lance Reddick as Zeus. Adam Copeland is Ares, Charlie Bushnell is Luke Castellan, Dior Goodjohn is Clarisse La Rue, Jessica Parker Kennedy is Medusa, Olivea Morton is Nancy Bobofit, Suzanne Cryer is Echidna, Timm Sharp is Gabe Ugliano, and Timothy Omundson is Hephaestus.
Rick Riordan created the world of Percy Jackson in his bestselling book series and co-created the television series with Jon Steinberg. Riordan and Steinberg serve as writers and executive producers. Dan Shotz, Rebecca Riordan, director James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Monica Owusu-Breen, Anders Engström, Bert Salke, and Jet Wilkinson also executive produce. Additional executive producers include The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, and D.J. Goldberg.
The series debuts with the release of the first two episodes on December 20, 2023.
Walker Scobell in ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ episode 3 (Disney/David Bukach)
The Plot, Courtesy of Disney+
Percy Jackson is on a dangerous quest. Outrunning monsters and outwitting gods, he must journey across America to return Zeus’ master bolt and stop an all-out war. After losing his mother, Percy is sheltered at Camp Half-Blood, a sanctuary for demigod children. He must prove himself and confront his origins once he discovers he too is a demigod, and will take off into the perils of pursuing enemies in search of the Underworld.
With the help of his quest mates Annabeth and Grover, Percy’s journey will lead him closer to the answers he seeks: how to fit into a world where he feels out of place, if he’ll ever see his mother again, and if he can ever find out who he’s destined to be.
John Cena Hosts ‘What Drives You’ (Photo Courtesy of Roku)
John Cena is teaming up with celebrity friends and hitting the road for his first-ever talk show, What Drives You. Cena’s new series, which expands his relationship with Roku, focuses on our relationship with our cars.
“The car you drive and where you drive it can say a lot about who you are, from your personality type to what you value and prioritize the most,” stated Cena. “What Drives You is all about tapping into this and each guest’s unique connection to their car, and a destination close to their heart, as the crux of a candid and wide-ranging conversation. It’s a great opportunity for me to ride shotgun and learn from some of the world’s most entertaining and inspiring individuals.”
ITV America’s Leftfield Pictures is producing the eight-episode series, with Cena, David George, Shawn Witt, Sean Moran, Jay Bienstock, and Dan Baime executive producing.
“We’re thrilled to partner with John Cena and Leftfield Pictures to bring our audience What Drives You, a talk series that converges John’s passions of cars, conversation, and entertainment,” said Brian Tannenbaum, Head of Originals, Roku Media. “John infuses extraordinary energy into every conversation he has, giving viewers an under-the-hood look into the lives of each guest.”
Roku offers this description of the new series:
“Cena is revving up the engine in What Drives You, a breakthrough talk show format, where he’ll hit the road with his celebrity friends in their favorite vehicles that hold a special meaning to them. In each episode, he’ll hitch a ride with a new guest for an in-depth interview and curiosity-fueled excursion as they discuss a wide variety of both laugh-out-loud and deeply personal topics, all the while reminiscing about some of the guest’s favorite memories associated with their prized ride.”
Starz is adding the period drama Mary & George to its roster, with an expectation of a 2024 premiere. Described by the network as an audacious historical psychodrama, Mary & George stars Oscar winner Julianne Moore (Still Alice) and Nicholas Galitzine (Red, White & Royal Blue).
In addition to Moore and Galitzine, the series features Nicola Walker (The Split), Niamh Algar (The Wonder), Trine Dyrholm (The Legacy), Sean Gilder (Sherwood), and Adrian Rawlins (Living). Mark O’Halloran (The Miracle Club), Laurie Davidson (Masters of the Air), Samuel Blenkin (Atlanta), Tony Curran (Mayflies), and Jacob McCarthy (SAS: Rogue Heroes) also star.
Rounding out the ensemble are Tom Victor (Consent), Alice Grant (Anthem at Almeida Theatre), Amelia Gething (Emily), Mirren Mack (The Witcher: Blood Origin), Rina Mahoney (Happy Valley), and Simon Russell Beale (The Death of Stalin).
“Mary & George is the perfect complement to Starz’s provocative slate and we’re thrilled to partner with Sky Studios to bring this extraordinary series to U.S. audiences,” said Alison Hoffman, President of Domestic Networks for STARZ. “We can’t wait for the world to discover the untold story of Mary Villiers, who mastered the art of sexual and political conquests in a male-dominated society. And to have Julianne leading this remarkable cast is a dream.”
A Hera Pictures production in association with Sky Studios, Mary & George was acquired by Starz for distribution in the US and Canada. D.C. Moore (Killing Eve) created and wrote the seven-part series, which is inspired by Benjamin Woolley’s nonfiction book The King’s Assassin. Sky Studios’ Sam Hoyle, Here Pictures’ Liza Marshall, and D.C. Moore, Oliver Hermanus, and Julianne Moore executive produce.
Oliver Hermanus (Living) is the lead director.
Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine star in ‘Mary & George’ (Photo Courtesy of Starz)
Starz released this description of Mary & George:
The series is about a treacherous mother and son who schemed, seduced, and killed to conquer the Court of England and the bed of King James I.
Julianne Moore plays Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham, who in 17th century England molded her beautiful son, George, to seduce King James I and become his all-powerful lover. Through outrageous scheming, the pair rose from humble beginnings to become one of the richest, most titled, and influential players the English court had ever seen, and the King’s most trusted advisors.
Nicholas Galitzine plays her son, George Villiers, a naïve romantic who alongside his ruthless mother was prepared to stop at nothing to get to the top. Tony Curran stars as King James I, the target of Mary & George’s seductive scheming.
Nell Verlaque stars in TriStar Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s ‘Thanksgiving’
Way back in 2007, when Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez teamed up for the epic shlockfest Grindhouse, they got some of their pals to produce fake, genre-perfect trailers to go along with their two features. A couple of these, Machete and Hobo with a Shotgun, have actually been made into real movies since, but the one that fans have been clamoring to be produced is Eli Roth’sThanksgiving. Finally, more than 15 years later, Roth has given the people what they want. Thanksgiving is here.
Set in the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Thanksgiving opens up with a riot at a Right-Mart Black Friday sale that, as all good Black Friday sales do, begins at 6:00pm on Thanksgiving Day. Lives are lost and lawsuits are settled, and one year later, everything is back to normal.
Well, not really. Much of the town is still up in arms about the callous way that Right-Mart dealt with the carnage. One person in particular is upset enough to dress up as the town’s founder, a Pilgrim named John Carver (get it?), to stalk and kill those who were somehow connected to the riot.
As one might expect, Thanksgiving is a sendup of holiday-themed slashers like Halloween, Black Christmas, and My Bloody Valentine. Also as one might expect, it’s a formula slasher, with the masked killer slicing and dicing his way through his victims.
However, Roth does not stick to the grindhouse aesthetic of his trailer, instead deciding to modernize the look and feel of the story. This makes the movie more of a tribute of sorts to second-generation slashers like Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer. Which makes it self-referential enough for the typical slasher tropes to be hysterical without the whole thing feeling too much like a comedy. Of course, it’s hilarious, but there’s no mistaking that Thanksgiving is a horror movie.
There’s also no mistaking that it’s made by Eli Roth, the director who brought us Hostel and The Green Inferno. It’s a brutally violent movie, full of blood, guts, and gore. And, like all of the best slashers, the kills are as creative as they are graphic. One can almost taste the entrails and smell the burnt flesh as John Carver vengefully works his way through his carefully curated list of targets. In typical slasher fashion, the viewer cheers for the villain just as much as they cheer for the heroes.
There’s a mystery at the heart of Thanksgiving, the solving of which becomes more and more crucial as the body count grows higher and higher. But the answer to the question of who is doing the killing isn’t nearly as important to the audience as it is to the characters. The identity of John Carver doesn’t matter. It’s all about the carving itself.
Horror has always been somewhat political, and Thanksgiving does make a few valid social observations about greed and capitalism. None of this gets in the way of the movie’s true calling, though. It just serves to broaden the eventual suspect (and victim) pool. The point of Thanksgiving is to watch people die in horrible ways. And it gets to that point early and often.
Audiences know exactly what movie they’re getting before they go into Thanksgiving. But Thanksgiving also knows exactly what kind of movie its audience wants, and it delivers that movie. There’s nothing new there, but it’s wildly entertaining and insanely fun. And that makes it well worth the wait.
Grade: B+
MPAA Rating: R for some sexual material, pervasive language, gore, and strong bloody horror violence
Max’s comic book-inspired Harley Quinn will return for season five. The streaming service announced they’ve renewed the adult animated comedy but haven’t set an expected premiere date.
Harley Quinn season one premiered in November 2019 followed by season two on April 3, 2020 and season three on July 28, 2022. The 10-episode fourth season debuted on July 27, 2023 and wrapped up on September 14th.
Commenting on the renewal, executive producers and creators Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker, and showrunner Dean Lorey said, “We’re thrilled that the news of Harley and Ivy’s continuing misadventures is finally out and we can stop telling people in secret. We must have handed out at least three thousand NDAs by now. It was a big waste of paper.”
The animated series is produced by Delicious Non-Sequitur Productions, Lorey Stories, and Yes, Norman Productions in association with Warner Bros. Animation. Additional executive producers include Kaley Cuoco, Sam Register, and Katie Rich.
“The talented Harley Quinn team has once again succeeded in delivering a season that builds on everything that has come before while still feeling fresh and inventive. They continue to provide hilarious, heartwarming, and deranged stories with our lovable group of DC misfits, and we couldn’t be more excited for the fans to see what they’ve accomplished in season 5,” said Suzanna Makkos, Executive Vice President, Original Comedy and Adult Animation, Max and Adult Swim.
Kaley Cuoco voices the titular character and will return for season five. Season four voice cast members included Lake Bell, Alan Tudyk, Christopher Meloni, Ron Funches, JB Smoove, and Tony Hale.
“Harley Quinn has raised the comedic crowbar with every new season. We’re excited to continue this partnership with Max and take our biggest swing yet for season 5,” stated Peter Girardi, Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming, Warner Bros. Animation.
Prior to announcing season five of Harley Quinn, Max announced the new spinoff Kite Man: Hell Yeah! which is targeting a 2024 premiere. The spinoff focuses on Kite Man and Golden Glider as they “take their relationship to the next level by opening a bar in the shadow of Lex Luthor’s Legion of Doom.”
A Look Back at Season 4, Courtesy of Max:
This biting and uproarious adult animated comedy follows Harley Quinn as she strikes out on her own following her breakup with The Joker. With help from Poison Ivy and a ragtag crew of DC castoffs, Harley attempts to work her way into the Legion of Doom, before an identity crisis sends her on a larger quest to find her true place in Gotham City.
With appearances by DC’s most notorious characters and featuring a notable voice cast, Harley Quinn showcases the titular antiheroine’s killer journey from girlfriend to leading lady.
Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ (Photo Credit: Murray Close)
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes substitutes a songstress for a huntress and the morally compromised, bankrupt scion of a once powerful Capital family for the heroic endeavors of The Hunger Games’ Peeta and Gale. A prequel set decades before Katniss entered the arena, Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is, at its core, an examination of why the Hunger Games exists.
What is the purpose of this gruesome spectacle? Can this annual butchering of children be justified as an effective method of keeping District rebels in check? Is there any moral justification for something as barbaric as pitting innocent children against each other in a fight to the death?
Those questions are woven into the film (just as they are in Suzanne Collins’ novel), as is the central issue of how a despicable, fascist society keeps its iron grip on power.
The action in Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes takes place 64 years before Katniss competed in the 64th Hunger Games. Future President Coriolanus Snow is just 18 years old and not yet the coldly calculating, menacing figure portrayed by Donald Sutherland. This Corio (Tom Blyth), as he’s known to his classmates and friends, is lanky…but not by choice. With his parents deceased, Corio, his cousin Tigris (Hunter Schafer), and Grandma’am (Fionnula Flanagan) eke by on scraps. Their once-grand apartment has fallen into disrepair, and there’s no money for any of the extras his classmates can afford, including clothing.
It’s only because Tigris is a talented seamstress – and Corio can stifle his stomach rumbling – that none of his peers are aware of the Snows’ dire circumstances. How the mighty have fallen, but Corio and Tigris hold firm to the belief that “Snow lands on top” and that, ultimately, the family will be restored to its pre-war stature.
Corio’s relentless in his pursuit of a prize that will not only help his family financially but allow him to attend university. The prize is nearly within his grasp when the rug’s yanked out from under him. Rather than award the prize based on grades, 24 of the academy’s students will be assigned to mentor a tribute in the upcoming Hunger Games.
This shift in format is implemented by Head Gamemaker Dr. Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis) in reaction to the Games’ declining viewership, not just in the districts but among Capital citizens. To her dismay, no one seems interested in watching starving children stabbed and beaten to death anymore. Assigning mentors who’ll be charged with making the tributes – currently seen as subhuman and disposable – just a tad more engaging and television-friendly should help the ratings.
Dean Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage) is charged with matching mentors to the tributes, and he loathes the Snows, channeling his hatred of Corio’s father against the family’s last surviving male heir. Corio’s given Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the girl from District 12 – the poorest of the 13 Panem districts – to mentor. Lucy immediately piques Corio’s interest when she torments an enemy with a snake and sings when brought up on stage in her district to be introduced to all of Panem.
Does Corio find her interesting as a young woman, or is his look of fascination due to a quick calculation of the possibility of winning over viewers (and thus winning the grand prize) because she’s already standing out from the other tributes? Quite possibly, it’s the former at this point. But given our knowledge of his ascension to Panem’s presidency, the latter is lingering in his psyche, waiting to become the predominant motivating factor.
Corio needs Lucy to succeed and survive (and vice versa), but even he’s confused about his feelings toward this brave young woman with the voice of an angel and an old soul. Together, they work on humanizing her to the Capital audience while behind the scenes, Corio ingratiates himself with Dr. Gaul with suggestions that may improve the ratings but will no doubt also further dehumanize the tributes.
Donald Sutherland’s performance in the first four The Hunger Games films set the bar high for anyone who steps into Coriolanus Snow’s shoes. Tom Blyth, best known for playing the titular character in MGM+’s Billy the Kid, accepted the challenge and succeeds in capturing Corio’s transformation from a charming albeit ambitious young man to someone willing to sacrifice others in his pursuit of power.
Blyth plays Corio as a sympathetic figure up until the point where it’s impossible to deny the malevolent leader he’ll become is lying in wait, just beneath his carefully created exterior. Snow is the villain of The Hunger Games and even at his most compelling in the prequel’s first two acts, it’s impossible to ignore our knowledge of his destiny. However, Blyth’s performance is so multi-layered that he almost – at least briefly – allows The Hunger Games fans to forget Snow’s destined to be a monster.
Rachel Zegler is much more engaging in Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes than she was in West Side Story. Lucy charms viewers, playing to the camera while cleverly reminding the audience she’s not really from District 12; she’s part of the nomadic group of singers known as the Covey, and she isn’t really political. Zegler’s performance conveys that Lucy’s playing multidimensional chess with the audience’s emotions.
Oscar-winner Viola Davis snacks on all the scenery, stealing every scene with her delightfully demented take on Dr. Gaul. Jason Schwartzman provides comic relief as Lucky Flickerman, a circus barker-ish weatherman who’s taking on his first gig as Hunger Games host. Lucky is a distant relative of Stanley Tucci’s Caesar Flickerman, and Schwartzman appears to have doubled-down on Tucci’s over-the-top take on a Flickerman.
The arena the tributes compete in is just a boring building and nothing compared to what Panem builds in the decades between the prequel and the first The Hunger Games. During the first years of the Games, the focus was on quickly dispatching the tributes by forcing them into a much more confined space than in the decades to come. As such, the action scenes in Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes are quick and brutal, and play second fiddle to all the human drama outside the arena.
Suzanne Collins’ novel spent a significant amount of time on supporting characters who are barely mentioned in the film, including Corio’s classmates. Yet even with the deletion of major portions of the book, the meat of Collins’ story remains intact. The screenplay hits all the key beats from the novel, only trimming the fat to focus more on Corio and Lucy’s relationship.
Those who’ve read The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes will, obviously, have a better understanding of Collins’ intentions. However, this adaptation does justice to Collins’ work and is accessible to audiences who were introduced to The Hunger Games via the films rather than the books.
The final act doesn’t hit quite as well as the first two acts, but that’s really a minor issue. This return to the brutal, dystopian world of Panem lives up to its predecessors, which is impressive for a prequel arriving in theaters eight years after the fourth film of the franchise.
Songbirds & Snakes sings and slithers its way into being a terrific villain origin story that keeps you hooked until the very end.
GRADE: B
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for strong violent content and disturbing material
A rude customer (aka a Karen) gives a barista a hard time about the temperature of her drink, which leads to an accident that prompts Dr. June Carter (Ayisha Issa) to take action in this exclusive clip from NBC’s Transplant season three episode six. “Audition” is set to air on Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 9pm ET/PT.
Hamza Haq stars as Dr. Bashir “Bash” Hamed, Sirena Gulamgaus plays Amira, Rekha Sharma is Dr. Neeta Devi, and Laurence Leboeuf stars as Dr. Magalie “Mags” Leblanc. Jim Watson plays Dr. Theo Hunter, Torri Higginson is Claire Malone, and Gord Rand is Dr. Mark Novak.
NBC offers this description of the popular medical drama’s season three episode six:
“Bash treats a diabetic woman overly dependent on her 18-year-old son and whose shocking health crisis calls on all of his expertise. June is put to the test emotionally and physically with a difficult patient. Claire presents an ultimatum to Dr. Devi.”
Mariah Carey to perform on the 2023 Billboard Music Awards (Photo Credit: Billboard Music Awards)
Grammy winner Mariah Carey will take the 2023 Billboard Music Awards stage and perform “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Billboard and Dick Clark Productions describe Carey’s performance of the song as “Aspen-inspired” and note that the upcoming BBMAs will mark the first time the song’s been performed on an awards show.
David Guetta, Bebe Rexha, Karol G, NewJeans, Peso Pluma, and Stray Kids were previously announced to perform on the BBMAs. The final performer is scheduled to be revealed on November 16, 2023.
Billboard will recognize Carey with the Billboard Chart Achievement Award for holiday-themed fan favorite song during this year’s show. “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has hit the top spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 every year, beginning in 2019. The only other holiday song to hit the #1 spot is “The Chipmunk Song” released back in 1958.
Mariah Carey is currently the record-holder for the most weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 as well as the most weeks in the top spot on the Radio Songs chart. Carey also holds the record as the female songwriter with the most Hot 100 hits.
Carey is scheduled to wrap up her “Merry Christmas One and All!” tour on December 17 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
This year’s awards show will be available to view via BBMAs.watch on Sunday, November 19th at 8pm ET/5pm PT. Taylor Swift tops the list of nominees with 20 nominations, followed by Morgan Wallen and SZA with 17 each. The Weeknd earned 16 nominations, and Drake and Zach Bryan each picked up 14 nominations.
SEAL Team survived cancellation after its fourth season by shifting over to Paramount+ for seasons five, six, and seven. But with production just about to get underway on the seventh season, Paramount+ has announced the upcoming season will be the drama’s finale season.
Season seven is expected to air in 2024.
Paramount+ will send off the series with a special celebration that will take SEAL TEAM, starring David Boreanaz, Neil Brown Jr., AJ Buckley, Toni Trucks, and Raffi Barsoumian, on the road to honor and support the armed forces and partner with programs that benefit the nation’s veterans.
“From its four seasons on the CBS Network to its three-season run here at Paramount+, SEAL Team has built an incredible legacy that celebrates and honors the brave men and women who serve in the armed forces,” stated Jeff Grossman, Executive Vice President, Content & Business Operations, Paramount Streaming. “Our thanks to David Boreanaz and the entire cast and crew for bringing this phenomenal and thought-provoking series to life. We look forward to celebrating their work and giving Team Bravo fans a fantastic final season.”
Boreanaz stars as Jason Hayes and serves as an executive producer. Additional executive producers include Spencer Hudnut, Christopher Chulack, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, and Mark Owen.
“For six seasons I have been fortunate and blessed to be a part of an outstanding cast and crew,” said Boreanaz. “Every day spent was a note of thanks to our men and women in the military and Special OPS. I thank our fans, and I’m proud we were able to make this show to shine light in the darkness toward so many suffering today. I look forward to season seven and the opportunity to end this series with love and gratitude.”
