TV News Wrap-Up: Catherine Zeta-Jones is Morticia, ‘Jeopardy!’ Gets Two New Hosts, ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Renewed

A UK favorite returns to the states, a TV doctor goes Broadway, and a superhero trio is down a member.

Pack your bags and check out this week’s news!

Mike Richards, Mayim Bialik Tapped as New ‘Jeopardy!’ Hosts

• After months of rotating guest hosts, Jeopardy! has found its new permanent host in executive producer Mike Richards, per Variety.
• Richards was among the first guest hosts after the final episodes of the late Alex Trebek aired. In addition to executive producing Jeopardy!, Richards is also an EP on Wheel of Fortune.
• Call Me Kat star and real life Ph.D neuroscientist Mayim Bialik will host primetime specials and a possible spinoff. She begins hosting duties with the National College Championship in 2022.
• “I couldn’t be more thrilled to join the Jeopardy! family,” Bialik said. “What started out with my 15-year-old repeating a rumor from Instagram that I should guest host the show has turned into one of the most exciting and surreal opportunities of my life! I’m so grateful and excited to continue to work with Mike Richards, and I’m just over the moon to join forces with him and Sony. After all the conversations we’ve had about this partnership, I am just so ready to get started!”
• Jeopardy! airs in syndication, check local listings.

‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Gets Season 4 at FX

• Everyone’s favorite vampire roommates are set for more shenanigans. Deadline reports, FX has renewed What We Do in the Shadows for Season 4.
• The network revealed the news during its TCA presentation, where it also released a trailer for the upcoming Season 3, which premieres Thursday, Sept. 2 at 10 pm.
• What We Do in the Shadows Season 3 picks up with Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch), discovering that their human familiar Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) is a vampire slayer.
• “Fans can’t seem to get enough of What We Do in the Shadows and FX is ready to feed that appetite by setting up the series for a fourth season,” said Nick Grad, President of Original Programming at FX Entertainment. “Our thanks to the extraordinary job by the creative team, cast, and crew who keep making a great show better each season.”
• What We Do in the Shadows Season 3 premieres Thursday, Sept. 2 at 10 pm on FX, with episodes available the following day on FX on Hulu.

HBO Renews ‘The White Lotus’ for Season 2

• Looks like there will be more crazy vacations at HBO, as The White Lotus has been renewed for Season 2, per TVLine.
• The series, which follows the staff and guests at a Hawaiian resort, will return as an anthology with new cast, characters, and location for Season 2.
• In an interview with TVLine, writer/director Mike White described the challenges of continuing such a unique show.
• “I don’t think you can credibly have [all the Season 1 guests] on the same vacation again,” he said. “But maybe it could be a Marvel Universe type thing, where some of them would come back. We only made one-year deals with the actors, so we’d have to find out who is even available.”
• The network has praised The White Lotus as one of the most popular series on HBO Max.
• “Mike has once again delivered a quintessential HBO show, and it’s the talk of the town,” said Francesca Orsi, EVP of HBO Programming. “We were thrilled to hear where he wanted to go next, after closing this epic chapter in Hawaii, and can’t wait to keep following him wherever he takes us.”
• The White Lotus is now streaming on HBO Max.

Chloe Bennet Exits ‘Powerpuff’

• The uphill battle for The CW’s Powerpuff pilot continues, as the show has lost one of its leads. Variety reports, Chloe Bennet, who played Blossom, has exited the project.
• The series, which follows the adult Powerpuff Girls as they return to crimefighting, was sent back to be reworked by The CW. This reportedly led to scheduling conflicts for Bennet, forcing her to leave the series.
• As of now, Dove Cameron, Yana Perrault, Nicholas Podany, Robyn Lively, and Donald Faison remain in talks for the live-action remake of the animated favorite.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is Morticia in Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’

• Netflix continues to build its new Addams Family. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Academy Award winner Catherine Zeta-Jones will play Morticia in Wednesday.
• Zeta-Jones joins previously announced cast members Jenna Ortega as Wednesday and Luis Guzman as Gomez.
• Tim Burton directs and executive produces the eight-episode series “charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy. Wednesday attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore.”

‘Call the Midwife’ Season 10 Makes its U.S. Debut in October

• Popular period drama Call the Midwife Season 10 finally makes its way across the pond, when it premieres on PBS Sunday, Oct. 3, per TVLine.
• Taking place in 1966, the season features change for the midwives, “as the women’s rights movement intensifies. With Trixie’s help, Sister Julienne is determined to steer Nonnatus House out of its financial quandary. Dr. Turner deals with an array of difficult cases, including a former soldier involved in nuclear test explosions.”
• “Meanwhile, Sister Monica Joan experiences a crisis of faith, and Sister Frances realizes she needs to be a little less spiritual to really connect with the local women.”
• The Season 10 finale airs Sunday, Nov. 14, followed by “Special Delivery,” a clip show celebrating the series.
• Call the Midwife Season 10 premieres Sunday, Oct. 3 on PBS, however, impatient enterprising fans can probably find the episodes online, as it has already aired in the UK.

Jesse Williams to Star In ‘Take Me Out’ Limited Series

• Former Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams has wasted no time booking his next gig. Deadline reports, he will star in a limited series adaptation of the Tony-winning play Take Me Out.
• Richard Greenberg will write the TV version of his play, which focuses on “Darren Lemming, a mixed-race star center fielder for the fictional Empires. Darren’s decision to come out of the closet sparks controversy and soul searching for American’s favorite pastime, revealing long-held, unspoken prejudices both on and off the field. Facing some hostile teammates and fraught friendships, Darren is forced to confront the reality of being a gay person of color within the framework of a classic American institution. As the Empires rally toward a championship season, the players and their fans begin to question tradition, their loyalties and the price of victory.”
• “I’m incredibly honored by the opportunity to expand on such a profound narrative,” said Williams. “The questions and challenges presented by Richard’s material are critical and seemingly boundless; cutting to the core of ‘masculinity marketing.’ What are we really, if our peace is so easily threatened by the peace of others?”
• Williams plays Lemming, a role he will also portray in the Broadway revival of Take Me Out, which opens in spring 2022.

HBO Max Sets September for ‘Doom Patrol’ Premiere

• After a long break, one of TV’s craziest comic book shows is returning, as Doom Patrol Season 3 will premiere on HBO Max Thursday, Sept. 23.
• TVLine reports, the DC Comics series will begin Season 3 with its first three episodes, then feature new outings each week.
• Season 3 introduces the Sisterhood of Dada, which includes Micah Joe Parker as Malcolm, Wynn Everett as Shelley Byron/The Fog, Miles Mussenden as Lloyd Jefferson/Frenzy, Anita Kalathara as Holly McKenzie/Sleepwalk, and Gina Hiraizumi as Sachiko/The Quiz.
• Fans will also get to see the Dead Boy Detective Agency, which has Ty Tennant as Edwin Payne, “who since dying 80 years ago due to a ‘clerical error’ has seen horrors no one could imagine;” Sebastian Croft as Charles Rowlan, “another long-dead lad who does his best to be chipper, though his death by hypothermia and neglect haunts him,” and Madalyn Horcher as Crystal Palace, “a sarcastic teenage medium whose only friends are Charles and Edwin.”
• Michelle Gomez was previously announced for Season 3 as Madame Rouge, who “arrives at Doom Manor with a very specific mission… if only she could remember it.”
• The teaser trailer is a bananapants crazy clip that includes glimpses of Doom Patrol Season 3, but we couldn’t possibly tell you what any of it means.
• Seasons 1 and 2 of Doom Patrol are now streaming on HBO Max, with Season 3 premiering Thursday, Sept. 23.

What news item are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments below!

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