Entertainment

With the Writers Guild of America agreement in place, ABC is moving ahead with season 32 of Dancing with the Stars as scheduled for Tuesday, September 26.

The producers behind the reality competition had been making postponement plans, as picketers had been gathering at rehearsal facilities. Last week competitor Matt Walsh announced a pause in his participation in light of the ongoing strikes.

SAG-AFTRA subsequently issued a statement clearing the performers for the show, but it was the tentative deal struck between negotiators for the WGA and the AMPTP, the group that represents the studios, that apparently cleared the way for the show to proceed.

What’s more, reps for The Hangover vet Walsh say he will also be strapping on his dancing shoes for the premiere, which kicks off at 8 p.m. ET, and will be simulcast live on Disney+.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A 35-year-old man who was charged in the deadly crash that killed actor Treat Williams in June pleaded not guilty in a Vermont court on Monday.

Ryan Koss, of Dorset, Vermont, was charged with grossly negligent operation with death in the June 12 wreck that left the Everwood actor mortally wounded. As reported, the Vermont State Police said Koss’ Honda SUV turned into the path of the 71-year-old actor on his motorcycle.

Williams was airlifted to a hospital, where he died that day.

Koss faces up to 15 years in prison if he’s found guilty, The Associated Press reports.

Back in August, Koss issued a statement offering his condolences for the actor, whom he incidentally considered a friend, thanks to their affiliation with the theater circuit in Vermont. But in the same statement, Koss denied any wrongdoing.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Emma Heming Willis has been a touchstone for fans of her husband, Bruce Willis, during his battle with frontotemporal dementia, and she appeared on the Today show Monday to give an update. 

This week has been designated FTD Awareness Week, which prompted the appearance alongside Susan Dickinson, the CEO of The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration.

There is no cure for Willis’ FTD, which Heming Willis revealed in February. To co-host Hoda Kotb, Heming Willis said “it’s hard to know” if the Die Hard star is aware of the condition, which forced him to retire from acting. 

“What I’m learning is that dementia is hard. It’s hard on the person diagnosed. It’s also hard on the family,” Emma expressed. “And that is no different for Bruce, or myself, or our girls. When they say that this is a family disease, it really is.”

On how she explained the situation to her and Bruce’s two daughters, Mabel Ray, 11, and Evelyn Penn, 8, Emma said, “We’re a very honest and open household, and the most important thing is to say what the disease was, explain what the disease is … from a medical standpoint.”

She added, “I don’t want there to be any shame or stigma attached to their dad’s diagnosis.”

In February, the family revealed Willis had been diagnosed with the “cruel” disease, which can affect speech and behavior, as well as cause movement problems and even issues with swallowing.

“Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis,” they said at the time.

To Today, Emma reiterated that, calling the diagnosis “a blessing and a curse.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On Monday, September 25, Adult Swim dropped the full trailer to season 7 of its Emmy-winning animated series Rick and Morty, the first season without Justin Roiland, the co-creator and voice of the two title characters.

Adult Swim is still mum about who subbed for Roiland. Last year, the Comedy Central-owned outlet severed ties with him after domestic charges were filed against him; the charges were later dropped for lack of evidence.

The replacement voice for Rick Sanchez is slightly different from Roiland’s original, but most would be hard-pressed to tell the difference. That said, the new voice of his ever-awkward grandson Morty Smith is spot-on.

As reported, the network even joked about the switch in a press release for the latest season, noting, “Rick and Morty are back and sounding more like themselves than ever!”

Meanwhile, the trailer for season 7 shows the gang up to their usual dimension-hopping high jinks, this time set to Motörhead‘s “Ace of Spades.”

In the coming attraction, Rick changes himself into just a leg; Susan Sarandon is back as family therapist Dr. Wong, only to discover Rick projected himself as a hologram to avoid her; the family goes crazy for “Rick’s famous spaghetti,” and Jerry seeks counsel for “a rake situation.”

Oh, and Ice-T is back. Not the rapper-actor, but the alien character made of ice and shaped like a T.

You’d get it, if you watched.

The fun begins Sunday, October 15, at 11 p.m. ET on Adult Swim.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner’s two children will stay in New York for the time being, according to court documents obtained by People Monday.

After Sophie petitioned the court asking for the “immediate return” of their daughters to England last week, Sophie and Joe have temporarily agreed to keep their kids in the Southern and Eastern districts of New York, which includes New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley.

In Sophie’s court filing Thursday, she accused Joe of “wrongful retention” of the children — 3-year-old Willa and their 14-month-old identified only as D. — starting on or about September 20. The British actress claimed in the filing that Joe refused to allow their children to travel to England with her and would not hand over their passports.

Joe refuted the claims in a statement from his spokesperson, saying a Florida court order issued after the divorce proceedings were filed restricts both parents from relocating the children.

Joe filed for divorce earlier this month after four years of marriage.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Just a few days before the release of Kerry Washington‘s upcoming memoir, Thicker Than Water, she sat down with ABC’s Robin Roberts for a candid and raw interview on an array of personal topics. 

Kerry opened up about her journey finding her authentic self and her quest to track down her biological father after she was shocked to find out she was born from a sperm donor.

“I just was like, ‘I’m so curious,’ ’cause I think I knew in that moment that in some way, this was my call to adventure,” she said. She added that her father — the man who raised her — is “open, and curious, and you know, maybe not thrilled, but accepting and supportive.” 

On his daughter opening up on their family’s private life in the memoir, Earl Washington shared, “It doesn’t matter how it affects me. It’s really important how she feels about how she writes. And I thought it was so well-written.”

Her mother, Valerie Washington, shared, “It’s been a journey. It’s been a few years of a lot of emotion and a lotta sharing, but a lot of growing.”

The actor said she hopes that by opening up on additional battles she’s faced, including her mental health issues, an eating disorder and more, she’ll be able to will help others.

“I’ve never wanted to share my private life for the sake of fame or for the sake of attention — but I feel like this sharing is with purpose,” Kerry said.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Just as they were among the first shows to be bitten by the Writers Guild of America strikes, late-night talk programs could be the first productions to turn the lights on following the tentative deal that brought the strike to an apparent end.

Variety checked in with crew members from various programs, and the consensus seems to be the shows could be back as early as October.

“[I]t’s not exactly a light switch, but as long as you can get everybody back in, the network just has to pull repeats and start putting new broadcast shows back on,” one staffer commented. “It’s just about what goes into those shows. And that’s the part that you need a little lead time for, is to figure exactly what you’re coming back and doing.”

That said, one staffer joked, “I don’t think anyone’s interested in rushing to put a crappy first show together.”

The trade notes that the hosts of the major network shows, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and John Oliver, will likely coordinate a return to air once the deal is ratified.

The hosts have been close during the impasse, what with their Strike Force Five podcast benefiting their out-of-work employees.

One sticky wicket remains, however: With the SAG-AFTRA strike still on, actors won’t be able to appear to plug their projects.

That said, the strike doesn’t apply to a host of potential guests, including politicians, authors and music acts.

Actors could also appear, provided they’re not promoting a studio show. They can chat about a book, a charity initiative or an independent film that has received a waiver from the union.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

After 146 days, the Writers Guild of America announced a tentative deal with representatives for the major studios and streamers, and Hollywood is celebrating on social media.

While details of the deal won’t be shared “until the last ‘i’ is dotted,” the writers union told its members Sunday evening, September 24, “We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional – with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.”

The guild had been fighting over residual payments from streaming shows, pushing back against AI in the writing process, and other issues.

While the WGA urged “patience” while the deal is being codified, strikers took to social media to celebrate.

Mindy Kaling posted, “TENTATIVE AGREEMENT B******! CAN’T WAIT TO GO BACK TO WORK AND SEE MY PEOPLE!!!” along with “prayer hands” and a thank you to the Writers Guild of America West. She celebrated by posting a meme from her old show, The Office, in which Steve Carell‘s Michael Scott noted, “I love my employees even though I hit one of you with my car.”

Justine Bateman, who has been an outspoken presence during the strike, expressed, “Netflix Strike Captains, YOU ARE THE ABSOLUTE BEST. We need a closing moment.”

Heroes‘ Greg Grunberg said, “MAZEL TOV! Writers Strike Deal!!!” while former Mrs. Maisel writer Josh Gondelman kept with that theme, noting, “This is probably the happiest I’ve ever felt on Yom Kippur.”

Abbott Elementary Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph expressed her congratulations, noting the SAG-AFTRA strike is still on, and its members remain, “committed in solidarity to achieving the necessary terms for our members when its [sic] our time back at the table.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The BBC has released a new trailer for the three 60th-anniversary special episodes of Doctor Who, featuring guest star Neil Patrick Harris playing the Toymaker, an all-powerful enemy last seen on the series back in 1966. The clip also teases Jemma Redgrave returning to her role as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, the leader of UNIT, an organization committed to protecting Earth from unusual threats. The new trailer also features Catherine Tate, who played the Doctor’s time-traveling companion Donna Noble in the late 2000s, along with Yasmin Finney as Donna’s daughter Rose. Ncuti Gatwa is set to take over the role of the Doctor from David Tennant…

You talkin’ to me? It turns out Robert De Niro isn’t. The actor’s rep tells The Hollywood Reporter that despite recent reports in The Sun, he won’t be reprising his character Travis Bickle‘s classic line from the 1976 film Taxi Driver in his upcoming Uber commercial. The campaign is currently filming in London and is slated to launch sometime later this year. Uber has seen a number of celebrities help advertise for both its Uber Eats delivery service and Uber One, its separate membership service, in recent years, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Coolidge, Trevor Noah, Sarah Silverman and Nicholas Braun…

Viewers who watched repeats of Yellowstone on CBS Sunday caught an unusual pair of commercials sending them to network rival NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock to catch “all episodes” of the Kevin Costner drama.” The reason is that Peacock has streaming rights to the program, even though it’s produced by CBS’ parent company Paramount Global, which first airs the series on its TV networks. “This is a declaration of war,” quipped one Yellowstone character at the end of the spot. CBS hadn’t planned on airing Yellowstone episodes, but ran them as a stopgap measure amid the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild strikes. A two-hour block of Yellowstone drew more than six million viewers to the network in their debut last week, according to Variety…

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Nun II topped the North American box office for the third straight week with an estimated $8.4 million, barely edging out Expendables 4, which opened with a franchise low $8.3 million — far below its projected $15 million. Domestically, the ninth film in the Conjuring franchise has collected $69.2 million, and $204.2 million globally.

Expendables 4 — which saw franchise vets Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture joined by newcomers 50 Cent, Megan Fox, and Andy Garcia — had to settle for second place finish. Since launching in 2010, the Expendables franchise has grossed over $800 million worldwide, with 2012’s Expendables 2 ranking as the most successful of the series.

A Haunting in Venice took third place with an estimated $6.3 million, for a two-week total of $25.4 million domestically and $71.6 million worldwide.

Fourth place went to The Equalizer 3, which picked up an estimated $4.7 million in its fourth week of release. This brings its domestic tally to $81.26 million — just behind the first Equalizer‘s $101 million and The Equalizer 2’s $102 million. Overseas the third Equalizer has grabbed an estimated $67.4 million, bringing its worldwide total to $148.66 million.

Rounding out the top five was Barbie, which scooped up an estimated $3.2 million in its 10th week of release. That brings is North American tally to $632.7 and $1.4 billion globally. 

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.