Entertainment

Have no fear, your reality roundup is here! Here’s a look at what happened in the world of reality television this week:

Vanderpump Rules (Bravo)
Tom Sandoval is coming under fire for comparing his “Scandoval” cheating scandal to the O.J. Simpson trial and George Floyd‘s murder at the hands of the police. The Vanderpump Rules star made the claim in a New York Times profile released Tuesday. “I’m not a pop-culture historian really but I witnessed the O.J. Simpson thing and George Floyd and all these big things, which is really weird to compare this to that, I think, but do you think in a weird way it’s a little bit the same?” Sandoval said.

The Bachelor (ABC)
Maria Georgas and Sydney Gordon didn’t have the best relationship on The Bachelor, but fan-favorite Maria says there are things she would have handled differently. “If I could go back, honestly, I would do things differently, especially when whatever you’re going to say or do is just not gonna make the other person happy. So, next time, [I’m] just gonna zip it,” Georgas said in a TikTok posted Tuesday.

Love is Blind (Netflix)
Matthew Duliba took to Instagram to clear his name after he was portrayed as a villain in season 6 of Love is Blind. “Key element of my story that was never disclosed is that I live an alcohol free lifestyle and did the experiment sober,” Duliba commented on a series of videos the Love is Blind account posted on Wednesday. “It was a key factor in why I had so much difficulty connecting with women in the beginning. There was also many misrepresentations and falsehoods created in my opinion to smear my character. I look forward to telling my side of the story,” Duliba continued.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

As previously reported, NBC is spinning off the former USA Network show-turned-Netflix phenomenon Suits into a new show, Suits: L.A. 

“It’s cool that there’s a nice hype around the project,” says its star, Stephen Amell, who gave ABC Audio a peek behind the scenes.

According to NBC, Amell will be playing Ted Black, “a former federal prosecutor from New York who moved to Los Angeles to reinvent himself by representing powerful clients in the City of Angels.”

That said, “his firm is at a crisis point,” the network continues.

Speaking of crisis, Amell tells ABC Audio he had one right before auditioning for the role.

Following a long run leading CW’s Arrow-verse, the pandemic and the Hollywood strikes, Amell said he was a little rusty. “Went in, first in-person audition that I had done in, I don’t know, close to a decade,” he recalls.

“Oh my God,” he continues, “I had a total mental breakdown before the audition. I had been alone with my kids all week. My wife was away and I … had gotten … some sort of, like, upsetting personal news. And I swear to God, right before the audition, I had a full meltdown.”

He recalled with a laugh, “And apparently it worked.”

Amell will be joined by The Walking Dead veteran Josh McDermitt for the pilot, the network just revealed.

He’ll be playing the “energetic, powerful, focused and self-absorbed” Stuart Lane. He’s “an old friend of Black’s, [who] fifteen years prior to the events of Suits: L.A. started a Los Angeles-based law firm called Black Lane Law that specializes in criminal and entertainment law.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Make your reservation now: Paramount Network will be serving up the ninth season premiere of its hit Bar Rescue on Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.

The show’s fiery host, bar expert Jon Taffer, famously rehabs bars, and bar owners, getting them back into the black.

It’s never easy, but this season things are different, he says.

“It’s sort of a gloves off season, it’s been fricking intense,” Taffer tells ABC Audio.

“You know, the pandemic is over. The excuses are over,” he continues.

“Some of these people are still stung by the pandemic. They’re, like, in this pause mode, but they’re in a lousy fricking place. And I’m finding they sort of need a kick in the a** to get them moving again and, you know, get them aggressive again,” Jon expresses.

Taffer is grateful to the fans for keeping the show going, explaining that at the center of its success are the stories behind those failing businesses.

“I shot my 250th episode last week, man, which is just — I’ll watch my language — I’ll just say it was unbelievable,” Taffer says of the accomplishment.

He recalls of the landmark episode, “I’m rescuing a bar and it’s an ugly family situation. You know, what I’m realizing [is] this is not about a bar. This is about the impact that a failing business has on a family. And it’s serious stuff.”

Taffer adds, “I looked at this guy and I said, ‘You know, your bar — it can break your wallet or it can break your family. In your case, it broke your fricking family, man.” 

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Greta Gerwig is addressing what was widely perceived as one of the biggest snubs of the 2024 Oscars nominations.

The filmmaker earned a nomination for best adapted screenplay for Barbie along with her writing partner and partner in life, Noah Baumbach, but many fans were upset when she was excluded from the Best Director category.

“A friend’s mom said to me, ‘I can’t believe you didn’t get nominated,'” she tells TIME in its “Women of the Year” issue. “I said, ‘But I did. I got an Oscar nomination.’ She was like, ‘Oh, that’s wonderful for you!’ I was like, ‘I know!'”

As reported, Ryan Gosling, who played Ken in Barbie, was less reserved about Gerwig’s snub — as well as that of Margot Robbie, who failed to snag a Best Actress nomination herself.

In a statement obtained by ABC News, Gosling said he was “extremely honored” to be recognized in the supporting actor category, but that “there is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film.”

“To say that I’m disappointed … would be an understatement,” his statement continued in part.

Barbie earned a total of eight Oscar nominations this year, including Best Picture — for which Robbie is nominated as a producer — and Best Supporting Actress for America Ferrera.

Gerwig expressed to TIME her excitement for both her and Robbie garnering Oscar nominations, despite them not being in the categories people expected.

“Of course I wanted it for Margot,” she said. “But I’m just happy we all get to be there together.”

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On the heels of True Detective: Night Country‘s season finale on February 18, Variety reports HBO has picked up the anthology series for a fifth season, with Night Country creator Issa López to direct as part of her new overall deal with the premium cable network. True Detective: Night Country, starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, was the most watched season of True Detective, with 12.7 million cross platform viewers, according to HBO …

Netflix is developing a yet-to-be-titled spinoff of the drama series Virgin River, according to Deadline. The potential prequel will reportedly follow Sarah, the late mother of Mel — played by Alexandra Breckenridge — who fell in love with Everett, a man from the fictional Northern California town. Virgin River‘s upcoming sixth season will feature flashbacks of Sarah and Everett. Meanwhile, Deadline reports production on season 6, delayed by strikes and weather, kicked off on Thursday, February 22, in anticipation of a 2025 launch …

Hulu has ordered the comedy series Chad Powers, starring Anyone but You‘s Glen Powell, who also co-created and co-wrote the pilot with Loki season 1 and Rick and Morty vet Michael Waldron. The series is based on the Chad Powers character created by Eli Manning for his ESPN+ docuseries Eli’s Places. Eli also serves as an executive producer, along with his brother Peyton Manning. “We’re both diehard college football fans. When we saw Eli as Chad Powers, we knew that was the way into a big, fun story about this world,” Powell and Waldron said in a statement. “We’re excited to be part of this team, and can’t wait to get Chad in the game. Think fast, run fast.” …

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The newest spinoff of The Walking Dead debuts Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on AMC and streams afterward on AMC+.

The show reunites Danai Gurira‘s Michonne with Andrew Lincoln‘s Rick Grimes, years after he was supposedly killed in action.

“This is all an epic love story between Rick and Michonne,” Gurira tells ABC’s Good Morning America.

“She always believed he didn’t die, but she could never prove it and she had to just carry on,” the Black Panther veteran continues.

“So this is like nine years later when she found real clear evidence that he … couldn’t have died. And so, you know, she’s on that journey and we go with her, and we catch up with where he is,” Gurira teases.

Chris Hardwick — who hosted the aftershow Talking Dead for years, when the zombie series was a ratings monster — said attending the new show’s Los Angeles premiere was emotional.

The premiere reunited Hardwick with TWD alum like Steven Yeun; Chandler Riggs, who played Rick’s son Carl; and Norman Reedus.

“It was weirdly emotional,” Hardwick said. “It just felt like, ‘Oh my God … when are we all going to be together like this again?’ I mean this [show] was such a significant, you know, profound piece of my life. And it really was special to … experience it again.”

Hardwick gushes of the new six-episode series, “It was fantastic. Stuff happens right out of the gate on the show where you’re like, ‘Oh my God!’ They just get right into it.”

He was eager to say more, but added, “I don’t want to start rambling and accidentally give anything away!” 

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Normani‘s debut album, DOPAMINE, may put an end to fans’ inquiries about new music, but it has a deeper meaning for the singer.

“It feels like a representation of everything I’ve gone through to get to this moment,” Normani says in a cover feature for Who What Wear. “I know I needed time, experiences, and space coming out of [Fifth Harmony] in order to become the version of myself I needed to be. Without [all of that], I would not be able to exist within the creative space that I am in now. I would not be able to make the type of music I’m making now.”

With certain expectations placed on her, Normani says she sometimes finds herself thinking, “Is what everybody is saying true? Did I miss my moment? Did I wait too long? Do they still care?” She notes the self-doubt stems from the pressure she put on herself growing up “to be the absolute best that I could possibly be to be seen, heard, recognized, and acknowledged.” 

Now, Normani’s “on a quest to be able to recognize that all that I am is actually enough.” Understanding the healing power of her music also helps her silence the noise.

As Normani revealed, her parents started cancer treatments when she set out on her solo career, leading her to say, “F*** all of this. This is bigger than the music … This is life or death.”

Though she “always wanted to be there for them,” “pushing through made the circumstances of the last few years feel a bit lighter for my parents.”

“It was in those moments with my parents that made me realize that I have an opportunity to make an impact in this lifetime,” Normani said.

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On Thursday, Kelsey Grammer and Paramount+ revealed the rebooted Frasier will be back for a sophomore season.

“Frasier is a love story, and I am very happy we will be allowed to continue it,” Grammer said in the announcement.

He added, “I’m delighted that our partners at CBS Studios and Paramount+ are on board for another season, and I can’t wait for the fans to see what we have in store!”

The streamer’s executive vice president of programming, Jeff Grossman, expressed, “Kelsey made a triumphant return as one of the most iconic and beloved characters on television. The new series introduced Frasier to a whole new generation while reminding fans of Kelsey’s truly timeless portrayal of Dr. Crane.”

The first season featured guest appearances from the original hit’s cast, including Bebe Neuwirth and Peri Gilpin.

The original Frasier still holds the record for the most Emmys for a comedy series with 37 wins and 107 nominations.

The second season of the rebooted show, which also stars Jack Cutmore-Scott as Frasier’s son Freddy and Nicholas Lyndhurst as Crane’s old college buddy-turned-university professor Alan, will continue to film in front of a live studio audience at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles.

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In an Instagram Stories entry, former Desperate Housewives star and Flamin’ Hot producer-director Eva Longoria confirmed she’s joining Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building for season 4.

“You guys I’m so excited for this!” Eva captioned a screen cap from a Deadline report about the news.

The streamer has been tight-lipped about the next season, but the trade says Longoria’s recurring role is “integral to the twists and turns” of season 4, which deals with the murder of Jane Lynch‘s Sazz Pataki.

Saturday Night Live alumna Molly Shannon was recently added to the cast for the new season, which will reportedly have Steve Martin‘s Charles, Martin Short‘s Oliver and Selena Gomez‘s Mabel visiting Los Angeles before returning to their murder-prone New York City building.

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On his Instagram, Superman: Legacy writer-director James Gunn revealed on Thursday the main cast of his forthcoming film, which will reboot Warner Bros.’ superhero universe.

“After the table read with the #Superman cast,” Gunn says about the picture, in which he and his DC Films Co-CEO Peter Safran stand with the smiling stars. The filmmaker goes on to name the characters, not the actors playing them, in his caption.

As previously reported, Hollywood‘s David Corenswet will play Clark Kent/Superman. He’s shown grinning with an arm around Nicholas Hoult, who will portray Superman’s archnemesis Lex Luthor.

Unlike Lex’s most recent big-screen turns from actor Jesse Eisenberg, Hoult has apparently shaved his head bald to match the villain’s depictions in the comics.

Also pictured are Emmy winner Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane), Skyler Gisondo (Jimmy Olsen) Sara Sampaio (Eve Teschmacher) and María Gabriela De Faría (The Engineer).

The photo also shows Isabela Merced (Hawkgirl), Edi Gathegi (Mister Terrific), Anthony Carrigan (Metamorpho) and Nathan Fillion (Green Lantern Guy Gardner).

Gunn added, “What a wonderful day.”

Superman: Legacy will fly into theaters July 11, 2025.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.