November 23, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Jeopardy Productions via Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Jeopardy! will resume production again next week, with Ken Jennings stepping in as the first guest host following the passing of longtime host Alex Trebek earlier this month.

“We will resume production on 11/30 with a series of interim guest hosts from the Jeopardy! family — starting with Ken Jennings,” the game show tweeted Monday. “Additional guest hosts to be announced.”

Executive producer Mike Richards said in a statement, “Alex believed in the importance of Jeopardy! and always said that he wanted the show to go on after him.”

“We will honor Alex’s legacy by continuing to produce the game he loved with smart contestants and challenging clues. By bringing in familiar guest hosts for the foreseeable future, our goal is to create a sense of community and continuity for our viewers.”

Jennings is certainly a familiar face to Jeopardy! fans — he holds the record for the longest winning streak on the show with 74 wins.

Trebek, who hosted Jeopardy! for 35 years, died of pancreatic cancer on November 8 at age 80. His final day in the studio was October 29. The show will air 10 of Trebek’s best episodes the weeks of December 21 and December 28, and air his final week of episodes starting January 4.

The first week of guest-hosted shows will air the week of January 11.

By Andrea Tuccillo
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

November 23, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Netflix(LOS ANGELES) — Netflix announced that some 62 million households worldwide have checked out the new series The Queen’s Gambit since its debut in October, making it the streaming giant’s biggest scripted limited-run series ever. 

Set in the ’50s and ’60s, The Queen’s Gambit tells the fictional story of Beth Harmon, an orphaned chess prodigy who struggles with drug and alcohol dependency and emotional issues while trying to become the world’s greatest chess player.

Peter Friedlander, the VP of Original Series for Netflix noted in a statement, “Three years ago when [we were] first approached us about adapting The Queen’s Gambit – Walter Tevis’ 1983 book about a young chess prodigy — we felt it was a compelling tale…However, I don’t think any of us could have predicted that [the series] — and the extraordinary Anya Taylor-Joy — would become the global phenomena they are today.” 

The exec describes Taylor-Joy’s Beth as “an underdog who faces addiction, loss and abandonment.” He notes, “Her success — against the odds — speaks to the importance of perseverance, family, and finding, and staying true to, yourself.”

The network says the show’s success is sparking not only interest in Tevas’ novel, which now sits on the New York Times Bestseller List some 37 years after its release, but also in chess itself. 

Friedlander’s statement noted that Google searches regarding the game have jumped to a nine-year high in the 28 days Gambit has been available on Netflix, and inquiries for “chess sets” have jumped 250% on eBay.

By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

November 23, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Kevork S. Djansezian/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — With the announcement that filming on Black Panther 2 will begin early next year, fans are already anticipating the newest cast member to the popular film…and they believe it’s Rihanna. 

Fans on social media went into a frenzy after the pop singer’s name popped up as part of the cast during a Google search for the sequel, alongside the film’s original stars Michael B. Jordan, Angela Basset, Lupita Nyong’o and Letitia Wright. 

“Rihanna is [going to] be in Black Panther 2 ??? I’m [definitely] looking forward to this,” wrote on fan on Twitter. 

After starring in films such as Ocean’s Eight, Battleship, and Guava Island, it’s not hard to imagine Rihanna in the sequel to the blockbuster superhero film.  And even if she’s not appearing in the film, she could be working on new music for the movie’s soundtrack.

“Imagine Kendrick and Rihanna giving us [the] soundtrack to Black Panther 2?,” tweeted another fan, in reference to the Black Panther soundtrack, which was executive-produced by multi-Grammy-winning artist Kendrick Lamar.

In Marvel Studios’ 2018 blockbuster Black Panther, actor Chadwick Boseman, who passed away earlier this year, made history for his role as King T’Challa, the super-powered ruler of the secret, technologically-advanced African nation of Wakanda. It’s unclear if or how Marvel plans to honor Boseman or the likeness of his character in the sequel.

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

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