Entertainment

The Office veteran Rainn Wilson travels the world looking for happiness in Peacock’s new series Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss. 

Based on Eric Weiner’s New York Times bestselling book, The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World, the show sees Wilson visiting “some of the happiest and least happy places on earth from Iceland to Bulgaria to Ghana” to unlock the science of happiness.  

Wilson tells ABC Audio the show “is just perfect for people coming out of COVID, wanting to travel, wanting to connect again, and find inspiration and uplift … through other cultures.” 

In the series, Wilson doesn’t shy away from talking about his own mental health issues. “One of the things I’ve learned in kind of working in mental health a little bit is that it’s important to share your struggle,” Rainn expresses. 

He continues, “You know, because a lot of young people are suffering, and they feel like they’re the only one, and they look on people’s Instagram and everyone’s smiling and tan and happy and having these wonderful experiences. So it’s important to just communicate, ‘Hey, here’s where I suffer.’ And for me, it’s anxiety. It’s something that I’ve always dealt with, and at times it’s been crippling and overwhelming.”

Coincidentally, the show dovetails well with the publishing of Wilson’s own bestseller, Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution, which also deals with mental health and happiness.

But could the star of a global hit like The Office travel like any other tourist? “I mean, they certainly knew who I was in Iceland,” Wilson said, but only a “a couple of people in Ghana” did, and “a couple of tourists” in Thailand. 

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Gabrielle Union is unfazed by online criticism following the revelation about her financial arrangement with husband Dwyane Wade, in which the two split everything evenly.

In an Instagram video posted on Tuesday, Union can be seen happily dancing and sharing a kiss with Wade, captioning the post, “I love when he matches my energy, 50/50 over here,” accompanied by a winking-face emoji.

This lighthearted response appears to address the recent backlash she received after discussing their finances in a Bloomberg interview.

During the interview, Union revealed that she and Wade split their expenses equally, prompting a wave of social media reactions. Some suggested that as an actor/producer/entrepreneur, Union should let Wade handle all the financial responsibilities. However, Union made it clear that their household operates on an equitable 50/50 arrangement, even extending financial support to other households.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Deadline reports Eddie Murphy is in talks to star in a new Pink Panther movie. Murphy is expected to play bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau, the role originated in the 1960s by Peter Sellers, followed by Steve Martin in the early 2000s. The Pink Panther franchise is comprised of 11 films, as well as numerous series and specials. Murphy will next be seen in the Prime Video holiday comedy Candy Cane Lane, alongside Traces Ellis Ross…

TBS is bringing back the groundbreaking 2000s series The Joe Schmo Show. The revival, hosted by So You Think You Can Dance‘s Kat Daley, will once again take a regular person and surround him with a group of actors, all of whom are pretending to also be regular people on a game show trying to win a prize. A premiere date has yet to be announced…

The Apple TV+ series Physical, will end with its upcoming third season, the streamer announced on Wednesday. The dark comedy, set in the 1980s, follows Sheila Rubin — played by Rose Byrne — through her journey of self-discovery via teaching aerobics. Physical also stars Dierdre Friel, Della Saba, Lou Taylor Pucci, Paul Sparks, Ashley Liao and Geoffrey Arend. Zooey Deschanel joins the cast for season 3, which premieres August 2…

Netflix has renewed Ginny & Georgia through its fourth season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Season 2 of the coming-of-age drama, about a mixed-race teen and her 30-year-old mother, played respectively by Antonia Gentry and Brianne Howey, drew almost 10.5 billion minutes of viewing over the eight weeks in which it ranked among the top 10 original streaming shows, according to Nielsen’s U.S. streaming rankings…

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

In theaters this week, there are two very different movies that will show you different sides of Italy. Fast X has a huge action sequence that takes place in Rome, and Book Club: The Next Chapter takes you to Rome and Venice and Florence.

Book Club writer Erin Simms tells ABC Audio the idea to shoot in Italy wasn’t hers. It came from the film’s stars — Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen and Jane Fonda.

“They had the best time, they’re back together to do press, and they were like, we’ve got to do a sequel and let’s do it in Italy,” Simms recalls.

You might think Venice would be a tough place to shoot, because of the crowds and narrow streets, but it actually wasn’t, according to Book Club directer Bill Holderman, who explains “everything obviously comes in and out on boat… It’s so efficient… And at the end of the day, you’re there shooting in one of the most magical places in the world. And same thing for Rome.”

Shooting in Rome was a different story, says Simms, who found out that Fast X was shooting in the same area at the exact same time.

“They were doing this crazy thing down the Spanish steps and we were sort of around the corner of the park and this chopper kept going over head,” notes Simms. “Our line producer called the other guy on Fast X and said, ‘Hey, could you hold the helicopter for 15 minutes?’ And literally the helicopter flew away and we shot the scene with Jane Fonda in the park, so that she could do the phone call.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Get your cosmos ready, because Max has revealed its Sex and the City spinoff And Just Like That… will be launching its second season with two episodes on June 22.

The streaming service announced that the sophomore frame of the continuing adventures of Sarah Jessica Parker‘s Carrie Bradshaw and her friends will contain 11 episodes.

After the double-shot on debut day, the remaining nine episodes will drop one at a time on Max each subsequent Thursday.

Joining SJP will be her co-stars and co-executive producers Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis; SATC vets Evan Handler, Mario Cantone, David Eigenberg and John Corbett; and returning AJLT leads Sara Ramírez, Sarita Choudhury, Nicole Ari Parker, Karen Pittman, Christopher Jackson, Niall Cunningham, Cathy Ang and Alexa Swinton.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Discovery picked a most appropriate master of ceremonies for this year’s Shark Week: Aquaman himself, Jason Momoa.

The 35th annual installment of the selachimorphia celebration will kick off this summer.

In the announcement, made during Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront presentation in New York City, a “beyond excited” Momoa noted, “This project means more to me than a week of talking about sharks. It’s a chance for me to learn and share my connection to these amazing creatures. My love of sharks came long before my time as Aquaman – it began several generations before me.”

The network promises, “Momoa will set up the jaw dropping events, epic journeys, first-time revelations, and groundbreaking scientific findings that make up the summer spectacle.”

Discovery adds, “Fans can expect adrenaline-inducing original hours of sharks from new and continuously explored destinations, all captured on-camera by Discovery’s dedicated science and research field teams.”

The choice was also a logical bit of corporate synergy, as Momoa will star this December in Warner Bros. Pictures’ sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

As Tony Stark in The Avengers, Robert Downey Jr. referred to himself as “kind of the only name in clean energy right now,” and life is imitating art in the actor and conservationist’s new Max series.

He just dropped the trailer for a new show called Downey’s Dream Cars, in which the former “red-blooded American boy” who idolized the cars of the ’60s and ’70s — and who later “amassed a collection of them” — says he’s making his classic cars more green.

“I’m an idea man,” he boasts, explaining, “I enlisted a team of folks to restore my cars in ways that are less harmful to the planet.”

The show will have him converting the former gas guzzling muscle cars to electric, biodiesel and other cleaner options.

It also has him unsuccessfully trying to go undercover as a mechanic during a negotiation for a particular car, only for the seller to spot him immediately as Iron Man.

The show debuts June 22.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, along with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, were reportedly involved in a “near catastrophic” car chase while pursued by paparazzi in Manhattan on Tuesday night, according to a spokesperson for Harry.

The couple accused paparazzi of being “highly aggressive,” and driving on the sidewalk and running red lights as they pursued the famous pair for two hours.

“While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety,” the spokesperson said.

Harry and Meghan appeared at the Ziegfeld Ballroom Tuesday night as Meghan received the Ms. Foundation’s Women of Vision Award at the foundation’s annual gala.

The New York Police Department is investigating the reports, including that members of the paparazzi had license plates covered on their motorcycles, scooters and cars, and that they were driving on sidewalks and backward on streets.

The NYPD said in a statement, “On (Tuesday) evening, May 16, the NYPD assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams called it “a bit reckless and irresponsible” for paparazzi to chase Harry and Meghan, adding, “I don’t think there are many of us who don’t recall how his mom died,” referring to Princess Diana.

That said, Adams expressed skepticism about elements of the spokesperson’s account, noting, “I would find it hard to believe there was a two-hour high speed chase. But if it’s 10 minutes, a 10-minute chase is extremely dangerous.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Former Late Night host Conan O’Brien has packed his bags for a new Max travel series, the newly rebranded streaming service announced Wednesday. 

Conan O’Brien Must Go is a four-episode series that’s currently in production. It “will feature O’Brien visiting new friends he’s met through his podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Fan, where he dives deep with listeners from across the country and the world.”

Or as the flame-haired funnyman put it, “My fans around the globe never asked me to visit them, so I did.”

A tease of the series opens with the Emmy winner, with a long beard and wearing full Viking armor, striding out before an assembly of similarly clad warriors and declaring himself Conan the Red. A few moments later, he admits, “Eh, I have to say, I’m really not feeling it,” and drops the act. 

The tease then shows Conan surprising a fan at his home in Norway. The trip also sees him swinging in on a new pal from Thailand, sampling the country’s notoriously spicy street food, getting into the ring at a Muay Thai gym and goofing around with locals at his other destinations.

A release date for Conan O’Brien Must Go has yet to be announced.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

At Disney’s Upfront presentation in New York City on Tuesday, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy announced that all the adventures of the man in the hat are coming to Disney+ on May 31.

The 1981 original, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, as well as 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and the spin-off television series The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones — formerly known as The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles — will all be available for streaming. 

The debuts come ahead of the theatrical release of the final installment of the beloved franchise, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on June 30.

Lucasfilm is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News. 

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.