January 11, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC/Randy Holmes(LOS ANGELES) — Oscar winning Argo director and Good Will Hunting screenwriter Ben Affleck will soon be tackling the adaptation of a best-selling young adult fantasy series, Keeper of the Lost Cities. 

Shannon Messenger’s series, which has eight installments and a ninth to come, centers on Sophie, a 12-year-old girl who learns her telepathic abilities are tied to a secret world parallel to the one she knows.

Affleck will co-write the script with Disney staff writer Kate Gritmon, reports Deadline, which broke the news.

In the meantime, Affleck’s work in front of the camera in last year’s The Way Back is leading Warner Bros. to push him to the center of an awards consideration campaign, according to the trade.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

January 11, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC/Heidi Gutman(NEW YORK) — With news that the Sex and the City girls would be getting back together with the limited HBO Max series And Just Like That, came the same question from many fans: “Where’s Samantha?”

Kim Cattrall’s Samantha Jones won’t be a part of the new series, for which Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis will reportedly make a million bucks per episode as co-stars and producers, according to Variety.

Cattrall made good on a vow years ago not to return to the series, which caused a third Sex and the City film project to fall apart before cameras rolled, and Cattrall and Parker’s apparently rocky relationship has been well-documented. 

However, on Instagram, SJP answered the “Where’s Samantha?” questions with a diplomatic “She will always be there…”

One fan commented on Parker’s SATC spin-off announcement with “Happy to see you back, but will miss Kim/Samantha,” to which SJP said, “We will too. We loved her so.”

“They dislike each other,” another fan weighed in, to which Parker commented, “No. I don’t dislike her. I’ve never said that. Never would. Samantha isn’t part of this story,” she wrote. “But she will always be part of us. No matter where we are or what we do.”

The ten-episode, half-hour series And Just Like That is scheduled to begin production in New York in late spring, HBO Max says.

By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

January 11, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix © 2020(LOS ANGELES) — New cast members for the third season The Umbrella Academy have been announced.

A post on the Netflix series’ Instagram page reveals who’s playing who in the Sparrow Academy, including Justin H. Min, who’s played the ghost version of the character Ben in the first two seasons, as well as Justin Cornwell, Britne Oldford, Jake Epstein, Genesis Rodiguez and Cazzie David, the daughter of Curb Your Enthusiasm‘s Larry David.

The Sparrow Academy — spoiler alert — was teased at the end of season 2, which finds our heroes in the Umbrella Academy face-to-face with alternate timeline versions of themselves, thanks to some time-travel shenanigans.

The Umbrella Academy is based on the comic book series created by My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way. Season 2 premiered on Netflix over the summer; the series was renewed for season 3 last November.

By Josh Johnson
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

January 11, 2021 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC/Randy Holmes(LOS ANGELES) — (NOTE LANGUAGE) Funnyman Kevin Hart is bringing in 2021 with a bang. The actor-comedian shared on Instagram that he and his HartBeat Productions have signed a massive, multi-film deal with Netflix.

“Excited about this new chapter for myself & my company,” Hart wrote, captioning the announcement published by Deadline. “I am beyond blessed and thankful for my team at HartBeat Productions….I truly believe in our ability to make global films that will make a lasting impact in cinema history for years to come.”

“We are just getting started people #HartBeatProductions …..It’s all about the “We” not the “Me,” he added.

According to Deadline, Hart’s new deal with Netflix will be a major commitment for the actor. It includes Hart starring in at least four films he’ll produce, in addition to a first-look film producing deal as part of the agreement.

Hart’s partnership with the streamer comes after his latest stand-up special, Zero F*cks Given, became Netflix’s number-one comedy special of 2020.

Up next, Hart will star in and executive-produce the recently announced Netflix scripted limited series True Story, marking his dramatic series debut.

By Rachel George
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.