Television

Variety reports: Showtime has announced “The Lincoln Project,” a forthcoming documentary following the members of the super PAC amid the 2020 election and after. Directed by Fisher Stevens (“Dirty Money”) and Karim Amer (“The Vow”), the five-part docuseries explores how the Lincoln Project, the fastest-growing super PAC in America made up of a veteran group of former GOP operatives and …

The BBC reports: Loved by pre-school audiences in the UK, US, Australia and Latin America, Peppa Pig is arguably one of the most recognisable – and popular – cartoon animals in the world. It is perhaps no wonder, then, that the programme’s decision to introduce its first same-sex couple has made waves. During an episode titled Families, which first aired …

The Verge reports: The ashes of Nichelle Nichols, the actress who played Lieutenant Nyota Uhura in the original Star Trek, will get sent into deep space on a rocket that memorializes her and several other Star Trek veterans. Nichols’ son, Kyle Johnson, donated her ashes after she died in July at age 89. Nichols’ ashes will head to space on …

Ars Technica reports: A new report from market measurement firm Nielsen says that for the first time, TV viewers watched more on streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ than they did on cable TV, making streaming the most popular way to consume content. The shift has been predicted by analysts and commentators for years, but it has only now come …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Walt Disney’s total DTC subscribers all in totaled 221.1 million for the company’s fiscal third quarter ended in June. That was a big beat for Disney+ and its parent, and also marked the first time anyone has passed Netflix in total streaming subs. Netflix reported 220.67 million total global subs, after losing almost 1 million for the …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Pat Carroll, the gregarious Emmy-winning comedienne who was a television mainstay for decades before segueing to a voiceover career that included portraying the villainous sea witch Ursula in The Little Mermaid, has died. She was 95. Carroll died Saturday of pneumonia at her home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, her daughter Kerry Karsian told The Hollywood Reporter. …

Via press release from the White House: In Nichelle Nichols, our nation has lost a trailblazer of stage and screen who redefined what is possible for Black Americans and women. A daughter of a working-class family from Illinois, she first honed her craft as an actor and singer in Chicago before touring the country and the world performing with the …

Variety reports: Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed chief communications officer Lt. Uhura on the original “Star Trek” series, died in Silver City, N.M. She was 89 years old.  Nichols shared one of the first interracial kisses in television history on “Star Trek.” That moment, shared with her co-star William Shatner, was a courageous move on the part of Nichols, “Star Trek” …

The New York Daily News reports: Tony Dow, who starred as Wally Cleaver on the classic sitcom “Leave It to Beaver,” died Tuesday at age 77. His death was announced in a Facebook post shared by his management team. The actor appeared in several TV shows spanning decades and genres, including “Adam-12,” “Mod Squad,” “Emergency,” “The Love Boat,” “Murder, She …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Paul Sorvino, the burly character actor who made a career out of playing forceful types, most notably the cold-hearted mobster Paulie Cicero in Martin Scorsese’s GoodFellas, has died. He was 83. Sorvino, the father of Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite), died Monday of natural causes, his wife, Dee Dee, announced. During a solid career that …

NBC News reports: Government lawyers said Monday they will not prosecute a production crew associated with “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” that was arrested on unlawful entry charges inside a congressional building last month. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said prosecutors determined it was untenable to move forward with the misdemeanor charges against the nine …

NBC News reports: Jen Shah, the “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star charged with running a nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme, pleaded guilty in federal court Monday morning, reversing her previous plea. In front of Judge Sidney Stein shortly after 10:30 a.m., Shah entered into an agreement with federal prosecutors, changing her plea to guilty to a count of conspiracy …

Variety reports: Larry Storch, the comedic character actor who also did voiceover work and impressions and was best known for his role as Corporal Randolph Agarn on “F Troop,” has died. He was 99. Storch was a familiar face on TV shows throughout the 1960s and ’70s — he starred in the 1970s children’s show “The Ghost Busters” and appeared …

The Guardian reports: James Caan, the American actor renowned for his role as Sonny Corleone in the mafia epic The Godfather, as well as a string of key films in the 1970s, has died aged 82. The news was released by his Twitter account on Thursday. Notorious for a hell-raising party lifestyle, Caan cut a swathe through Hollywood in the …

The New York Daily News reports: “Andi Mack” alum Stoney Westmoreland, accused of trying to lure a minor into sex, has been sentenced to two years in prison after pleading down to a lesser charge. Westmoreland, who played the grandfather on the Disney Channel sitcom, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of using interstate facilities to transmit information about a …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: In her final hour on NBC as daytime host, Ellen DeGeneres used her platform to reflect on the journey of bringing The Ellen DeGeneres Show to daytime and the noticeable changes in visibility and acceptance of gays in Hollywood across two decades. Guests Jennifer Aniston, the very first person to guest on the Ellen Show when …

And absolutely nobody was remotely surprised: Todd Chrisley’s former business partner testified in his federal fraud trial Tuesday that they paid a blackmailer $38,000 in cash after the anonymous person threatened to expose their intimate relationship. Mark Braddock, who turned Chrisley and his wife Julie into the FBI, told an Atlanta jury that he had an affair with Chrisley for …

David Marcus writes for Fox News: The first blatant example of electioneering, on Star Trek Discovery, was a cameo by current and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams as none other than the President of Federation of Planets. The second was a weird plot twist in the pilot of new show, Strange New Worlds in which the 2020 capitol riot …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Another syndicated daytime talk show is coming to an end: NBCUniversal’s veteran tabloid talker Maury, hosted and executive produced by Maury Povich. The show will end original productions at the end of this season, when Povich plans to retire. Original episodes will air through September, after which repeats of Maury will continue to air in syndication. The …

The Associated Press reports: Pete Davidson has bowed out of a short ride to space on a Jeff Bezos rocket. The “Saturday Night Live” star is no longer able to make the flight, which has been delayed for nearly a week, Bezos’ space travel company said Thursday night. The company announced earlier this week that Davidson would be one of …