Entertainment

Just when Clayton Echard thought the fallout from his controversial Bachelor season 26 finale was over, Monday’s The Bachelorette premiere thrust them back into the spotlight.

If you recall, Gabby Windey and Rachel Rechia were devastated when Clayton simultaneously broke up with both of them, following his admission that his heart belonged to Susie Evans.

A number of Rachel and Gabby’s suitors brought up the ugly incident during their introductions on Monday, including one contestant who hired a choir to sing, “Clayton Sucks.”

“I think people are coming to see what we’re up to and it feels like now, even more than when the show first aired, I’m getting a lot of heat,”Susie told Kaitlyn Bristowe during the couple’s appearance on Tuesday’s episode of her Off the Vine podcast.

“My fear is, like, ‘Does this open the floodgates back up of all the hate and stuff?’ So that’s where I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, really?'” she added.

Clayton, on the other hand, is confident “It will pass,” but he also thinks the Bachelorette producers took the attacks a little too far.

“I do think it was cyberbullying or an attack or it’s going to lead to cyberbullying,” he said. “So for that, I’m not the biggest fan of how that was shown, but…it’s just the nature of the beast. I’m not gonna lose sleep over this point anymore.”

At the same time, Clayton and Susie were grateful that Gabby and Rachel weren’t encouraging of the criticism.

“They said that on [Monday’s] episode, ‘We don’t really want to be bringing his name up, this is about our journey.’ So yeah, I get it. There’s going to be some crossover, but it won’t last.”

The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Entertainment WeeklyreportsStranger ThingsstarFinn Wolfhardwill write and co-direct the comedy horror filmHell of a Summer, alongsideWynonna EarpactorBilly Bryk. The two will also star alongsideThe White Lotus‘Fred Hechinger. Plot details are being kept under wraps. The film will mark Wolfhard’s directorial debut…

James Francowill make a return to acting in the post-WWII dramaMe You, according toVariety. The coming-of-age drama follows Marco, a 16-year-old on break from his Scottish boarding school when he befriends Nicola, a U.S. soldier turned fisherman, played by Franco. Marco ultimately meets Caia, a 20-year-old concentration camp survivor played byVanity Fair‘sDaisy Jacob, and vows to take revenge. Soon, he plots to set fire to a villa occupied by a group of boorish German tourists in the hopes of winning Caia’s affections.Tom Hollanderplays Marco’s father, Edward…

Jane Lynchon Tuesday confirmed herOnly Murders in the Buildingcharacter Sazz Pataki, will return during the Hulu comedy’s current second season, according toDeadline. “You might see Sazz this season — well, yes, you will,” said Lynch. “She reunites withSteve Martin’s character to help him with a relationship issue. He’s so passive and he needs to me do something for him that he can’t bear to do himself.” Sazz is Martin’s character Charles-Hayden Savage’s body double in Savage’s fictitious TV series, “Brazzos.” New episodes ofOnly Murders in the Buildingare released on Tuesdays…

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Steve Martin and Martin Short expressed their appreciation at receiving Emmy nominations for their performances in the Hulu comedy series Only Murders in the Building on Tuesday, but they were disappointed that their co-star Selena Gomez did not.

“We’re thrilled at the nominations, not only for us, but for the show. We’re dismayed that Selena was not nominated because she’s so crucial to our performances, really,” Martin, 76 told The New York Times following the announcements.

Short, however, was quick to note that the 29-year-old “Lose You to Love Me” singer was “nominated as an executive producer.” She’s the first Latina to be nominated as a producer in the Comedy category.

Only Murders in the Building, currently in its second season, was just picked up for a season 3. New episodes air on Tuesdays.

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Colman Domingo‘s career of stealing every scene he’s in has led to Tuesday morning’s Emmy nomination in the Guest Actor category for his work in Euphoria.

The Fear the Walking Dead star caught up with ABC Audio after he found out about his nomination, and talked about what he thought about his co-star Zendaya‘s noms both as an actress and producer of the HBO show.

“It was just so lovely,” Domingo said about his honor.

“I was online and then, watching the announcements, and then my manager, Corey, calls, and he says, ‘Congratulations, Emmy nominee.’ And I thought, ‘What are you talking about?’ I was so confused because I was literally watching them and didn’t see my name or anything!”

“So then of course, I had to go online … and then I saw, and I was very overcome. I just thought it was really, really wonderful.”

Domingo plays Ali, the straight-talking sponsor to Zendaya‘s Rue, who is battling addiction — and in season 2, she can’t stay clean.

“I love working with her because she’s very open, and we have such, we have a great chemistry together … It’s a good dance when you have a great scene partner. You never know where exactly you’re going to go, but there’s a lot of trust in our scene work, so that’s what I love about her.”

Domingo says he admires the 25-year-old Emmy winner — and now Emmy-nominated producer, the youngest person to be so honored. Domingo calls that “awesome.”

“I’ve watched her just…take on a great leadership position, not only with our set, but in her career,” the actor expresses.

“I just think that she’s just an awesome young woman who’s very concerned about the way it all operates to make sure that, you know, it’s a diverse set, that it’s a very equitable set, that it’s, you know, a very empowering set.”

He adds, “I’m just very proud of her. I’m proud to be a friend and proud to be her colleague. “

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Quinta Brunson‘s year keeps getting better and better. 

In reaction to her history-making accomplishment of becoming the first Black woman to earn three Emmy nominations in the comedy category for Abbott Elementary, she posted an emotional thank you note to fans of the hit show.

“Crying shaking and throwing up has new meaning to me because I real life did all three,” she tweeted Tuesday after the Television Academy announced the nominations for the 74th annual Emmy Awards. 

“Still speechless. Congrats to the entire staff and cast of Abbott Elementary. And I want to share this moment with all of the people who watch and love the show. Emmy nominated, baby!”

Brunson’s nominations include Outstanding Comedy Series, Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and Writing for a Comedy Series — all for Abbott, the ABC series founded by Brunson based on her real-life elementary school teacher in Philadelphia. 

Reacting to the show’s seven nominations, Brunson said in a release how honored she is to receive the high recognition. 

“What an honor to be nominated by the Television Academy. Creating this show has been the greatest gift and to have it recognized in this way is the dream,” she said. “It’s a joy we get to share with the amazing people who watched our first season. None of this would be possible without my incredible, supportive EP’s Justin Halpern, Randall Einhorn & Patrick Schumacker, our incredible writers room, our insanely talented cast, and the hard-working teams at ABC and WBTV for helping to bring Abbott Elementary to life.”

She added, “Lastly, and most importantly, I want to thank teachers. Thanks for being our inspiration.”

The 74th Emmy Awards will be held live Monday, Sept. 12, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

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Among the nominees for the 74th annual Emmy Awards that were announced Tuesday were a trio of posthumous nominations: Chadwick Boseman, Norm Macdonald and Jessica Walter.

Boseman was heralded for his voiceover work in the Marvel Studios animated series What If…? in which he reprised his role as T’Challa from Black Panther. The alternate history series saw Boseman reprising the character four times, though one episode in particular centered on a scenario that had T’Challa as a child swapping places with Peter Quill/Star-Lord and becoming not the King of Wakanda, but a Guardian of the Galaxy.

That episode, the second in the series, was dedicated to the Oscar-nominated — and now Emmy-nominated — star, who died in August 2020 at 43 years old after a years long, private battle with colon cancer.

Norm Macdonald passed away in September 2021, also after battling cancer out of the spotlight. The Canadian-born funnyman left behind a lifetime of laughter.

He was posthumously honored for the stand-up special Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special, which he filmed in 2020. Macdonald performed by himself in his living room, at a time when stand-up clubs were closed for the pandemic. It was released on Netflix after his death — after his closest friends got to watch it together privately.

Jessica Walter was also posthumously nominated; the 80-year-old Arrested Development star, who died in March 2021, was honored for her work as Archer’s boozy mom Malory, in FXX’s hit animated spy series Archer.

Following her death, her character was written off the show in the12th season finale. By reusing archived lines, Malory was shown retired from the spy game, with her partner Ron Cadillac at her side on a beach at sunset. Walter’s real-life husband, Ron Leibman, voiced Ron; he passed away in 2019.

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Those “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” are about to get a lot shorter for contestants on a forthcoming quiz show.

ABC Audio has confirmed the famously-connected actor will headline and co-produce Lucky 13, from the creators of the one-time phenomenon Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?

Billed as a “60-minute high-stakes general knowledge” show with the “simplicity of Millionaire,” the Studio 1-produced show will air all over the world, with the actor hosting in some international English-speaking markets.

Calling it “addictive fun,” in a statement, Bacon noted, “I played the game and I was hooked. It’s not only about how much you know, but it’s also about how much you think you know…”

The show’s creators, Claudia Rosencrantz and Adrian Woolfe, dreamt up Millionaire and brought it to just about every country on the planet; Famously, it was a five-night-a-week ratings juggernaut for ABC in the late ’90s, with the late Regis Philbin hosting.

Woolfe explains, “It’s hard to believe that it’s 24 years since we launched Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? It feels like the right time for quiz to enjoy its time in the spotlight once again…”

He added, “Whilst I would not wish to make a direct comparison between the two formats, there’s an engaging simplicity and magnetic tension to Lucky 13 that I hope will keep viewers hooked and on the edge of their seats.”

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Wendy Williams is open to finding love again, but that doesn’t mean she sees wedding bells in the future.

“I can’t wait to fall in love,” the Wendy Williams Show star told HollywoodLife. “However, there’s no money in getting married, so I will never get married again. But to fall in love, I’ll probably have to go through 40 or 50 men before I find the right one.”

And, when it comes to the right one, Wendy shared, “He’s got to make more money than me…I know what I want.”

Wendy was married to Kevin Hunter for over 20 years before filing for divorce in April 2019. They share one son — 21-year-old Kevin Hunter Jr.

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Bridgerton‘s Jonathan Bailey is set to star in the Showtime limited series Fellow Travelers, opposite Matt Bomer and Allison Williams, according to Deadline. The political thriller follows “the volatile romance of two very different men who meet in the shadow of McCarthy-era Washington.” Bomer will play handsome, charismatic Hawkins Fuller, who avoids emotional entanglements, until he meets Bailey’s Tim Laughlin, a young Fordham University graduate, earnest about his political and religious convictions and filled with optimism about the post-WWII future. Meanwhile, Bailey will return to Bridgerton for season three…

TBS has canceled Nasim Pedrad‘s coming-of-age sitcom Chad ahead of its season-two premiere on Monday, according to Entertainment Weekly. The series follows a 14-year-old pubescent boy — played by Pedrad — navigating his first year of high school on a mission to become popular. The cable network hopes to find another home for the series created and executive-produced by the Saturday Night Live alum…

Midway through its freshman season, Apple TV+ has handed a season-two renewal to Loot, the comedy series starring Saturday Night Live alum Maya Rudolph. Loot centers on Rudolph’s billionaire Molly Novack, whose life spirals downward after her husband of 20 years betrays her. With the help of her devoted assistant Nicholas, played by Kim Booster, and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez‘s Sofia Salinas, who runs Novack’s charity foundation, Molly embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Nat Faxon, Ron Funches and Stephanie Styles also star…

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Tuesday morning, a collection of stars will get the early morning wake-up call for which they might have been dreaming the night before: Finding out they’re nominated for an Emmy.

Stand-up comedian and Curb Your Enthusiasm star JB Smoove will read the nominees live Tuesday morning, along with Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Melissa Fumero, ahead of September’s 74th Annual Emmy Awards telecast.

This year, prognosticators seem to agree Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building is ripe for some trophy love in the Outstanding Comedy category, especially considering other likely nominees like FX’s Atlanta, Hacks on HBO, Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Ted Lasso have already won. ABC’s new school comedy Abbott Elementary could snag its first noms.

Then again, there are always the surprise nominations, particularly in the broadly-defined comedy category — like Amazon Studios’ The Boys was last year.

In the drama category, it would be a lay-up for Netflix’s biggest-ever hit Squid Game to get some attention. The show certainly has its fans in the entertainment industry, with Steven Spielberg among those touting creator Hwang Dong-hyuk‘s twisted Korean survival show.

Alongside that import could be previous winners like HBO’s Euphoria and Succession, NBC’s just-wrapped, Emmy-winning drama This Is Us, and Netflix’s hailed Ozark. Stranger Things could also be in the running outside the usual technical categories.

With Emmy magnet The Crown out of contention this year, it opens up more possibilities, including more focus on previous nominees like Better Call Saul, as well as recognition for quirky upstarts that found an audience, including Showtime’s Yellowjackets, as well as another smash, Paramount Network’s Yellowstone.

As they say in TV, stay tuned.

The 74th Emmy Awards will air on NBC Monday, September 22 and also stream on Peacock.

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