News

Without hyperbole, Michael Patrick Jann ("The State") and Lona Williams' ("Sugar & Spice") mockumentary comedy film about a small-town Minnesota beauty pageant is my favorite comedy film, ever. As a former teenage Midwest beauty queen myself, "Drop Dead Gorgeous" speaks to me on a religious level. My blood is not red, it is Mount Rose, and I am an American Teen Princess Pageant girl for life. "Drop Dead Gorgeous" turns 25 this year — one of the many teen girl masterpieces released in 1999 — but is still criminally underseen due to the film's poor box office performance at the time of release and subsequent years of physical releases being out of print. It's a shame because the cast includes Kirsten Dunst, Ellen Barkin, Allison Janney, Kirstie Alley, Denise Richards, Brittany Murphy, Amy Adams (her debut role!), Alexandra Holden, Nora Dunn, Mo Gaffney, Will Sasso, Matt Malloy, Mike McShane, Mindy Sterling, Sam McMurray, and...

The rain stayed away from Santa Monica Beach on Sunday (February 25) as Past Lives was named best film and Celine Song best director at the 39th annual Spirit Awards.

While the legacy studio and streamer contenders have dominated much of the big-ticket awards shows this season like Saturday night’s SAG Awards, last weekend’s Baftas, the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, this was a good opportunity for the Oscar-nominated A24 romance and Song to earn gongs for a film which has done well among critics groups since its world premiere at Sundance just over one year ago.

Jeffrey Wright...

Another big award show took place this weekend (in addition to the SAG Awards), the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which celebrates indie film and TV. One thing about this awards show is that their idea of independent sometimes makes me scratch my head a bit, with HBO’s big-budget The Last of Us nominated a whole bunch in the TV category, along with Netflix’s Beef and several other streaming shows, which I’m not sure one could call independent. For films, there’s a $30 million budget cap. For TV, I’m honestly not sure what the benchmark is because Last of Us was notoriously an expensive show to shoot, costing at least $100 million.

Indeed, The Last of Us won some key awards on the TV side, winning Best Supporting Performance (for Nick Offerman) and Best Breakthrough Performance (for Keivonn Montreal Woodard). Over on the film side, American Fiction and...

Past Lives was named best feature at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, which were handed out Sunday afternoon in Santa Monica.

In addition, Celine Song was named best director for her work on the film.

Elsewhere, Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the Spirit Award for best supporting performance, for her role in The Holdovers, repeating her win from Saturday night’s SAG Awards and other shows this awards season. Her co-star, Dominic Sessa, won the Spirit Award for best breakthrough performance.

American Fiction also collected two trophies: Cord Jefferson won the award for best screenplay, while Jeffrey Wright won for best lead performance.

May December won the award for best first screenplay for Samy Burch (story by Burch and Alex Mechanik). Four Daughters was named best documentary.

On the TV side, Beef was named best new scripted series, while Ali Wong won best lead performance for her role in the show,...

The 2024 Independent Spirit Awards took place on Sunday at the traditional Santa Monica beach tent location, with Aidy Bryant hosting. “Past Lives” took home the coveted Best Feature award, with “Beef” being honored as Best New Scripted Series. Check out the full list of winners and nominees below.

Best Feature

“Past Lives”

Producers: David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon

“All of Us Strangers”

Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey

“American Fiction”

Producers: Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Nikos Karamigios, Ben LeClair

“May December”

Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Grant S. Johnson, Pamela Koffler, Tyler W. Konney, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman, Christine Vachon

“Passages”

Producers: Michel Merkt, Saïd Ben Saïd

“We Grown Now”

Producers: Minhal Baig, Joe Pirro

Best Lead Performance

Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”

Jessica Chastain, “Memory”

Greta Lee, “Past Lives”

Trace Lysette, “Monica”

Natalie Portman, “May December”

Judy Reyes, “Birth/Rebirth”

Franz Rogowski, “Passages”

Andrew Scott, “All of Us Strangers”

Teyana Taylor,...

The Film Independent Spirit Awards have been dutifully assigned to their worthy recipients, thus putting a button on yet another great year of indie film and innovative visual storytelling. And as awards prognosticators now ponder their Oscar futures with this new data set and the tent falls around our knees, we want to shout out one more time all of the producers, writers, directors, performers and more who made this such a special experience.

This year’s ceremony streamed live on IMDb’s YouTube and across other social platforms, including Film Independent’s own YouTube channel and Twitter (or “X” if you’re being pedantic). The full livestream (see below) will remain available to watch On Demand for the next eight weeks, which highlights, behind-the-scenes moments, arrival carpet interviews and more will are available at filmindependent.org and wherever fine entertainment journalism prevails.

Best Supporting Performance

Da’Vine Joy Randolph

The Holdovers...

In January of 1999, two teen movies opened back to back and kicked off what would be one of the most extraordinary years for youth-oriented movies in the history of Hollywood. Both were No. 1 at the box office their first weekend. Both boasted remarkable casts of rising stars — they even shared a star in Paul Walker. And both whipped ancient genre conventions into new combinations that made them fresh and new. Yet for all their similarities, “Varsity Blues” and “She’s All That” couldn’t have been more different: one an R-rated sports drama that tempered its inspirational coming-of-age drama with surprisingly harsh depictions of misogyny and physical and mental abuse, the other a sweet, good-natured romantic comedy nearly as innocent as a Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland vehicle from the 1940s. In their similarities and differences lies the key to why 1999 was such a great year for movies of their type — the 1939 of teen movies.

"Alaska Daily" was a crime drama that tackled the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Alaska, but it was unfortunately canceled before gaining momentum. The show struggled to balance the sensibilities of a network procedural and a more mature streaming show, but it provided valuable insights into the work of journalists reporting on marginalized communities. The talent of the cast, including Hilary Swank, Jeff Perry, and other notable actors, was undeniable, adding to the potential of the series despite its tonal issues.

The cast of Alaska Daily includes popular television and film actors as well as a notable Oscar winner in its ensemble cast. Alaska Daily is an ABC crime drama that follows Eileen Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), a New York journalist who comes to a small newsroom in Anchorage, Alaska to have a fresh start after personal and professional problems in NYC force her to leave. In Alaska,...

Ceremony to take place on Santa Monica Beach on February 25, 2024.

The Film Independent 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced and May December, American Fiction, and Past Lives lead the field with five nods apiece.

The Holdovers earned four and All Of Us Strangers three as the nominations were announced on Tuesday. A24 leads the studio field with 11 nominations, followed by Netflix on 10.

Andrew Scott for All of Us Strangers, Jessica Chastain for Memory, Greta Lee for Past Lives, Franz Rogowski for Passages, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction are in the running fort the gender-neutral lead acting category.

Film Independent announced the 2024 Spirit Award nominees in all the film and TV categories on Tuesday, Dec 5. Only American productions with budgets of less than $30 million were eligible for consideration in the film races. Winners will be revealed on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024, at a ceremony hosted by Aidy Bryant.

Last year, these kudos eliminated the four gendered acting awards and replaced them with just two prizes: lead and supporting performances (each has 10 nominees). It also added a new category, Best Breakthrough Performance, which has five contenders.

See the full list of 2024 Spirit Awards nominations for film and TV below.

Film

Best Picture

“All of Us Strangers”

“American Fiction”

“May December”

“Passages”

“Past Lives”

“We Grown Now”

Best Director

Andrew Haigh, “All of Us Strangers”

Todd Haynes, “May December”

William Oldroyd, “Eileen”

Ira Sachs, “Passages”

Celine Song, “Past Lives”

Best Lead Performance

Jessica Chastain, “Memory”

Greta Lee, “Past Lives”

Trace Lysette, “Monica”

Natalie Portman,...

American Fiction, May December and Past Lives lead the nominations for the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, which were were announced Tuesday morning.

Each film garnered five noms, including best feature. Also nominated in that category are All of Us Strangers, Passages and We Grown Now.

The Robert Altman Award, which is given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast, will be presented to Showing Up, directed by Kelly Reichardt. The casting director is Gayle Keller, and the ensemble cast includes André Benjamin, Hong Chau, Judd Hirsch, Heather Lawless, James Le Gros, John Magaro, Matt Malloy, Amanda Plummer, Maryann Plunkett, Denzel Rodriguez and Michelle Williams.

On the TV side, Jury Duty was tapped for the award of best ensemble in a new scripted series, an honor bestowed on one show (there are no nominees). The cast includes Alan Barinholtz, Susan Berger, Cassandra Blair, David Brown, Kirk Fox, Ross Kimball,...

It's going to be one season and done for the ABC series Alaska Daily. Per Deadline, it's been revealed that the network has canceled the show with no plans to develop a second season. The news comes after the first season struggled to pick up in the ratings from its October 2022 debut to when the finale aired in March. For those watching, the show was pretty well received, pulling in an 86% audience score at Rotten Tomatoes with a 74% approval rating. Series star Hilary Swank would also be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role in the series. But despite the positive reception, there just weren't enough people watching for ABC to commit to season 2.

The series, developed for ABC by Tom McCarthy, was inspired by the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica article series called Lawless: Sexual Violence in Alaska, which was first published in 2019. The coverage was spearheaded by reporter Kyle Hopkins,...

Network: ABC

Episodes: 11 (hour)

Seasons: One

TV show dates: October 6, 2022 -- March 30, 2023

Series status: Cancelled

Performers include: Hilary Swank, Jeff Perry, Matt Malloy, Meredith Holzman, Grace Dove, Pablo Castelblanco, Ami Park, and Craig Frank.

TV show description:

A drama series, the Alaska Daily TV show was created by Tom McCarthy and is based on a real case.

In the story, Eileen Fitzgerald (Swank) is an award-winning investigative journalist and high-powered newspaper reporter in New York. Her reporting methods and abrasive personality are questioned after a high-profile story blows up in her face, and Eileen loses her job.

Read More…...

ABC likely has some high expectations for the new Alaska Daily TV series. The drama stars an Academy Award-winning actress and has been given a plum timeslot, following one of the network's highest-rated shows, Grey's Anatomy. Can Alaska Daily live up to expectations?  Will this new show be cancelled or renewed for season two? Stay tuned. *Status Update Below.

A drama series, the Alaska Daily TV show stars Hilary Swank, Jeff Perry, Matt Malloy, Meredith Holzman, Grace Dove, Pablo Castelblanco, Ami Park, and Craig Frank. Eileen Fitzgerald (Swank) is an award-winning investigative journalist and high-powered newspaper reporter in New York. Her reporting methods and abrasive personality are called into question after a high-profile story blows up in her face, and Eileen loses her job. Her former mentor, Stanley Cornik (Perry), approaches her about making a big move, and she goes to work for a struggling...

Eileen is looking for more than just redemption in the first season of the Alaska Daily TV show on ABC. As we all know, Nielsen ratings typically play a big role in determining whether a TV show like Alaska Daily is cancelled or renewed for season two. Unfortunately, most of us do not live in Nielsen households. Because many viewers feel frustrated when their viewing habits and opinions aren't considered, we invite you to rate all of the first season episodes of Alaska Daily here. *Status Update Below.

An ABC drama series, the Alaska Daily TV show stars Hilary Swank, Jeff Perry, Matt Malloy, Meredith Holzman, Grace Dove, Pablo Castelblanco, Ami Park, and Craig Frank. Eileen Fitzgerald (Swank) is an award-winning investigative journalist and high-powered newspaper reporter in New York. Her reporting methods and abrasive personality are called into question after...

Eileen's pursuit of the truth won't continue into the 2023-24 network season. ABC has cancelled Alaska Daily, so there won't be a second season.

A drama series, the Alaska Daily TV show stars Hilary Swank, Jeff Perry, Matt Malloy, Meredith Holzman, Grace Dove, Pablo Castelblanco, Ami Park, and Craig Frank. Eileen Fitzgerald (Swank) is an award-winning investigative journalist and high-powered newspaper reporter in New York. Her reporting methods and abrasive personality are called into question after a high-profile story blows up in her face, and Eileen loses her job. Her former mentor, Stanley Cornik (Perry), approaches her about making a big move, and she goes to work for a struggling downsized Anchorage newspaper, the Daily Alaskan. Grudgingly, Eileen teams up with a young local reporter named Roz Friendly (Dove). Together, they begin investigating the murders of a...

ABC has canceled the drama series “Alaska Daily,” “Big Sky,” and “The Company You Keep,” Variety has learned.

Hilary Swank starred in “Alaska Daily” series as Eileen Fitzgerald, described as “a fiercely talented and award-winning investigative journalist who leaves her high-profile New York life behind after a fall from grace to join a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage on a journey to find both personal and professional redemption.”

In addition to Swank, the series starred Jeff Perry as Stanley Cornik, Matt Malloy as Bob Young, Meredith Holzman as Claire Muncy, Grace Dove as Rosalind “Roz” Friendly, Pablo Castelblanco as Gabriel Tovar, Ami Park as Yuna Park, and Craig Frank as Austin Teague.

McCarthy served as creator and executive producer on the show, and also directed the pilot. Swank, Melissa Wells, and Bert Salke executive produced along with Kyle Hopkins and Ryan Binkley of the Anchorage Daily News. Peter Elkoff served as showrunner and executive producers.

ABC has canceled Hilary Swank-led drama series Alaska Daily after one season. The news is not surprising as the freshman series was not able to establish itself and find a sizable following.

From Tom McCarthy, the series follows fiercely talented and award-winning investigative journalist Eileen Fitzgerald (Swank) who leaves her high-profile New York life behind after a fall from grace to join a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage on a journey to find both personal and professional redemption.

As a reporter for a local metro newspaper, Eileen is investigating a cold case stacked with missing indigenous women with scarce details in desperate need of fresh eyes. The dark spaces where she has to investigate reveal the city’s seedy underbelly that could prove to be dangerous for Eileen as she begins to uncover secrets many would rather stay buried.

Related: 2023 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming

Alongside Swank,...

Aside from the warmer temps and the arrival of the big Summer blockbuster flix, the waning days of Spring also bring the conclusion of the school year for many students from public schools and colleges. So, how about a fairly somber film set in the world of academia? And to get more specific, perhaps a slice of life set in an art school, a place filled with folks working on projects for display from paint on canvas to hanging bits of string and fabric would “fit the bill”. Yes, that’s the setting for this character study about an artist that learns that much of the hard work of her creative life is focus, determination, and simply Showing Up.

The artist in question is Lizzy (Michelle Williams), who spends most of her time in the workshop space she’s set up in the garage of the house she’s renting.

Art can be taken in (or, from a more mercenary point of view, consumed) as something abstract, enlightening, subtextual, subversive, thought-provoking, transcendental. The actual making of it, however, depends on a very specific inspiration-to-perspiration ratio. Showing Up is all about putting the work into artwork, what it takes to marshal the blood, sweat, and tears to produce something personally expressive and profoundly moving. Or even something pretentious and self-involved and elitist to a fault — those sculptures and paintings and, yes, motion pictures can’t all be masterpieces. Anything creative requires labor,...

Alaska Daily Season 1 Episode 10 Episode Description And Spoilers Alaska Daily Season 1 Episode 10 Photos Truth Is A Slow Bullet Thursday, March 23 10:01-11:00 p.m. Edt – Alaska Daily “Truth is a Slow Bullet” (110) Logline: While making progress on Gloria’s case, both Eileen and Roz are offered new career opportunities, leaving them to consider what may lie beyond Alaska. Meanwhile, Bob steps out of his comfort zone, and Austin’s custody agreement turns sour. (TV-14) Watch episodes on demand and on Hulu the day following their premieres. s01e10 1×10 1.10 s1e10 alaska daily episode From the mind of Tom McCarthy (“Spotlight”), Alaska Daily stars Hilary Swank as Eileen Fitzgerald, a fiercely talented and award-winning investigative journalist who leaves her high-profile New York life behind after a fall from grace to join a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage on a journey to find both personal and professional redemption. In addition to Swank,...

Alaska Daily Season 1 Episode 9 Episode Description And Spoilers Alaska Daily Season 1 Episode 9 Photos Rush To Judgement – Thursday, March 16 10:01-11:00 p.m. Edt – Alaska Daily: “Rush To Judgement” (109) Logline: When a new finding makes a familiar face the top suspect in Gloria Nanmac’s case, Eileen and Roz hustle to report first. Meanwhile, Austin and Claire follow Conrad Pritchard’s trail to figure out what he is really up to in Alaska. s01e09 1×09 1.09 s1e9 alaska daily episode Watch episodes on demand and on Hulu the day following their premieres. From the mind of Tom McCarthy (“Spotlight”), “Alaska Daily” stars Hilary Swank as Eileen Fitzgerald, a fiercely talented and award-winning investigative journalist who leaves her high-profile New York life behind after a fall from grace to join a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage on a journey to find both personal and professional redemption. In addition to Swank,...

HBO has released a first look at its upcoming limited series “The Palace,” starring Kate Winslet. The new series “tells the story of one year within the walls of the palace of a modern European regime as it begins to unravel,” according to its official logline.

Directed by Stephen Frears and Jessica Hobbs, the new series also stars Matthias Schoenaerts, Guillaume Gallienne, Andrea Riseborough, Martha Plimpton and Hugh Grant. Will Tracy will serve as writer, executive producer and showrunner. Seth Reiss, Juli Weiner, Jen Spyra, Gary Shteyngart and Sarah DeLappe are writing alongside Tracy. Winslet, Frears, Hobbs, Frank Rich and Tracey Seaward also executive produce.

See the first-look image above.

Dates

ABC announced “Alaska Daily” will return for its winter premiere on March 2 at 10 p.m. Et /9 p.m. Ct. The return episode, entitled “Enemy of the People,” will be followed by four consecutive episodes, with the season finale set...

We have some bad news for fans of ABC's Alaska Daily.

The Hilary Swank drama has been bumped from its planned February 23 return.

Instead, the back half of the season will resume Thursday, March 2, at 10 p.m.

The reason for the switcheroo?

ABC wants to air the remaining episodes across consecutive weeks, which is probably for the best.

With the network's revamped schedule, the series will return on March 2 and wrap up its freshman season on March 30.

Given the heavily serialized nature of Alaska Daily, having random breaks will not help the series build momentum.

Procedurals like NCIS and Law & Order can thrive with more than a few hiatuses because there's very little connective tissue between episodes.

Alaska Daily stars Hilary Swank as Eileen Fitzgerald, a fiercely talented and award-winning investigative journalist who leaves her high-profile New York life behind after a fall from grace to join a daily...

"I'd like to take you back 17 years when a peanut farmer was in the White House, a group-a boys callin' themselves Queen topped the record charts and Gladys Leeman was Gladys Wood and she was Mount Rose American Teen Princess!"

I wasn't even old enough to tie my own shoes the first time I competed in a beauty pageant. Now, it's crucial in a post-"Toddlers and Tiaras" world to emphasize that the pageant circuit I grew up in was far less "spray tans and Go-Go juice," and a lot more like the film "Drop Dead Gorgeous." Directed by Michael Park Jann from a brilliant script by Lona Williams, the mockumentary "Drop Dead Gorgeous" was a financial and critical flop, but has developed a die-hard cult following over the years. The film follows underdog Amber Atkins (Kirsten Dunst), small-town socialite Becky Leeman (Denise Richards), as well as the contestants and...

Exclusive: In a matter of days, one first-year ABC drama series has surpassed the other for the title of strongest series debut in two years among both the 18-49 demographic and total viewers.

Alaska Daily now holds the title, which was previously claimed by The Rookie: Feds. After 35 days of multi-platform viewing, the premiere episode of Alaska Daily has managed a 3.02 rating among the 18-49 demographic, which is a show-stopping 844% increase from its 0.32 live+same day rating.

The October episode also tallied 12.3M multi-platform viewers in the 35 days since its release. That’s another 8.7M people who have tuned in since the live broadcast.

Those numbers easily beat The Rookie: Feds, which had posted a 755% increase from its live+same day rating and an additional 7M total viewers.

Alaska Daily and The Rookie: Feds are now ABC’s two strongest MP35 gainers among all series debuts since November 2020’s premiere of Big Sky.

ABC’s “Alaska Daily” has cast “La Brea” actor Martin Sensmeier in a recurring guest role as Jindahaa, an Alaska Native PhD student and supportive boyfriend to Roz (Grace Dove), TheWrap has exclusively learned. He will first appear in Episode 6 of the Hilary Swank-starring journalist drama.

His character description is as follows: “Always willing to lend a sympathetic ear to Roz, he is happy to ditch his dissertation to help her with a story and attend a volunteer search for a missing local Indigenous woman.”

Also Read:

‘Bachelor in Paradise': Watch Wells Crash Michael and Danielle’s Romantic Day Trip (Exclusive Video)

From creator Tom McCarthy (“Spotlight”), “Alaska Daily” follows Eileen Fitzgerald (Swank), a fiercely talented and award-winning investigative journalist who leaves her high-profile New York life behind after a fall from grace to join a daily newspaper in Anchorage. The story follows her journey en route to personal and professional redemption.

Vulture Watch

Eileen is in a whole new world. Has the Alaska Daily TV show been cancelled or renewed for a second season on ABC? The television vulture is watching all the latest cancellation and renewal news, so this page is the place to track the status of Alaska Daily, season two. Bookmark it, or subscribe for the latest updates. Remember, the television vulture is watching your shows. Are you?  

What's This TV Show About?

A drama series airing on the ABC television network, the Alaska Daily TV show stars Hilary Swank, Jeff Perry, Matt Malloy, Meredith Holzman, Grace Dove, Pablo Castelblanco, Ami Park, and Craig Frank. Eileen Fitzgerald (Swank) is an award-winning investigative journalist and high-powered newspaper reporter in New York. Her reporting methods and abrasive personality are called into question after a high-profile story blows up in her face,...

Will Alaska Daily be cancelled or renewed for season two? Stay tuned.

A drama series, the Alaska Daily TV show stars Hilary Swank, Jeff Perry, Matt Malloy, Meredith Holzman, Grace Dove, Pablo Castelblanco, Ami Park, and Craig Frank. Eileen Fitzgerald (Swank) is an award-winning investigative journalist and high-powered newspaper reporter in New York. Her reporting methods and abrasive personality are called into question after a high-profile story blows up in her face, and Eileen loses her job. Her former mentor, Stanley Cornik (Perry), approaches her about making a big move, and she goes to work for a struggling downsized Anchorage newspaper, the Daily Alaskan. Grudgingly, Eileen teams up with a young local reporter named Roz Friendly (Dove). Together, they begin investigating the murders of a group of indigenous women. In a new locale, across the country, and in a very different world, Eileen...

Click here to read the full article.

The TV creator’s equivalent of the trolley problem: A TV show is like a runaway trolley. Broadcast is still the best way to run over (or reach) the most people, and if you stay the course, you might reach (or run over) five people, but there aren’t any TV critics or Emmy voters in that direction. But if you pull the lever, you shift tracks and go down a cable or streaming direction and you may reach (or run over) only one person, but that person is really influential and might tell everybody that you’re making great art, which is bound to be gratifying (and means you didn’t kill five people, if you’re really stuck on the original analogy). As much as you might think you want to go down both tracks at once, you can’t.

Fine.

ABC’s new drama Alaska Daily is basically three different shows lurking under the same title. One is good, one is fine, and one is terrible.

Guess which one Alaska Daily spends the least amount of time on?

Created by Spotlight director Tom McCarthy, the show begins with Eileen Fitzgerald, a celebrated reporter played by two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank. A big scoop, about the country’s proposed new secretary of defense, blows up in her face when her sourcing is challenged, and soon her only employment option is to...

ABC announced a slew of news regarding their fall programming at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour on September 14, headlined by guest star announcements for the second season of recently-anointed Emmy-winner “Abbott Elementary.” Read below for a summary of ABC’s announcements from the TCA press conferences.

Guest Stars

Debuting on Wednesday, September 21, the second season of Quinta Brunson‘s hit show will feature recurring guest roles from actor Leslie Odom Jr., Lauren Weedman and Keyla Monterroso Mejia. Odom Jr. will play Draemond, the owner of a batch of charter schools in the area who visits Abbott. Weedman will play Kristin Marie, a hard-shelled teacher from a neighboring school that strikingly resembles one of Abbott’s own teachers. Monterroso Mejia plays a teacher’s aide whose lax personality contributes to classroom chaos at Abbott.

The show notched an Emmy award during Monday’s primetime ceremony, credited to Brunson for...

Cobra Kai fans have been asking for the past two seasons whether or not an appearance from Hilary Swank, reprising the role of Julie Pierce from The Next Karate Kid, could be in the cards. Following the release of the hit Netflix series’ fifth season with no Swank in sight, the speculation continues.

Swank addressed whether or not she’s keen to return to the Miyagi-verse while promoting her upcoming ABC series, Alaska Daily during the show’s TCA presentation on Wednesday.

“I was told that I’m supposed to only keep it to Alaska Daily, so I guess that question is for another time,” she told Deadline with a laugh.

The Academy Award-winner is stepping back into TV in a very big way as series star and executive producer of the ABC drama series, Alaska Daily. In it, she portrays Eileen Fitzgerald, an investigative journalist who is looking for...

Are the Oscars not televised in Anchorage?

Two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank gets the cold shoulder up North in the first full-length trailer for Alaska Daily, ABC’s new one-hour drama (premiering Thursday, Oct. 6, at 10/9c).

More from TVLineQuinta Brunson Graciously Accepts Jimmy Kimmel's Apology for His 'Dumb' Emmys Bit -- WatchThe Rookie: Feds: Niecy Nash-Betts Makes Herself Part of an FBI 'Upgrade' in ABC Spinoff's Full TrailerThe Bachelorette Recap: Happily Ever After? Or Maybe Just Never?

The series, from Spotlight auteur Tom McCarthy, finds Swank (who is also an exec producer) playing Eileen Fitzgerald, an award-winning investigative...

ABC has set fall premiere dates for its new and returning series for the 2022-2023 season, including the new Hilary Swank drama “Alaska Daily” and a new primetime version “Celebrity Jeopardy!” Return dates have also been set for fan favorites “Abbott Elementary,” “Bachelor in Paradise” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”

The Quinta Brunson-led “Abbott Elementary,” ABC’s most popular comedy last season among adults 18-49, returns for its sophomore season on its new night, Wednesday, September 21 from 9:00-9:31 p.m. Et. The hit show joins Wednesday’s lineup of network comedy staples including “The Conners” (8:00-8:30 p.m. Et), “The Goldbergs” (8:30-9:00 p.m. Et) and “Home Economics” (9:31-10:00 p.m. Et). Also finding a new home on Wednesday nights is the thriller-mystery series “Big Sky,” which will run from 10:00-10:30 p.m. Et. The new season will also see the additions...

ABC has set fall premiere dates for its new and returning series, including a plum post-Grey’s Anatomy spot for the Hilary Swank starrer Alaska Daily from Oscar winner Tom McCarthy (Spotlight) and the debut of the newest primetime game show Celebrity Jeopardy!

New nights have also been set for Abbott Elementary and Big Sky while another season of Bachelor in Paradise — which is expected to fill the big Monday void left by Dancing with the Stars — will help launch The Rookie: Feds starring Niecy Nash-Betts.

A first-ever live episode of Shark Tank featuring all six original Sharks is also planned for Friday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. Et.

Here is ABC’S fall primetime schedule:

Wednesday, Sept. 21

8:00 p.m. The Conners

8:30 p.m. The Goldbergs

9:00 p.m. Abbott Elementary (new night)

9:31 p.m. Home Economics

10:00 p.m. Big Sky (new night)

Friday, Sept. 23

8:00 p.

Exclusive: Peter Elkoff has joined newly ordered ABC/20th Television drama series Alaska, headlined by Hilary Swank, as executive producer and showrunner. For the past two seasons, the seasoned TV writer-producer served as executive producer and co-showrunner on another 20th TV drama series, Fox’s The Resident. Fellow exec producer/co-showrunner Andrew Chapman will be the sole showrunner for the medical drama’s upcoming sixth season.

Alaska, created by Spotlight filmmaker Tom McCarthy, who wrote and directed the pilot, emerged as an early front-runner at ABC this pilot season, making the search for a showrunner a big priority for the studio. With The Resident on the bubble as renewal negotiations between Fox and 20th TV went down to the wire, Elkoff was approached about Alaska and took the job with the 20th TV’s blessing.

Fall 2022 Primetime TV Grid: No Fox (Yet) As Nets Play It Safe With Much More...

ABC announced its plans for the 2022-23 TV season on Tuesday.

Among those plans were new fall dramas Alaska and The Rookie: Feds, as well as midseason entry Not Dead Yet.

Alongside the announcements were teaser trailers for the above series.

Check out the teasers and loglines below.

The Rookie: Feds - Tuesdays at 10 p.m.

From the executive producers of flagship series “The Rookie” comes “The Rookie: Feds” starring Niecy Nash-Betts as Simone Clark, the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy.

The spinoff was introduced as a two-part event during the current fourth season of The Rookie, where Officer John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and the L.A. division of the FBI enlist the help of Simone Clark when one of her former students is a suspect in a terror attack.

The series stars Niecy Nash-Betts as Simone Clark, Frankie Faison as Christopher “Cutty” Clark and Felix Solis as Special Agent Matthew Garza.

In addition to setting its lineup for fall and midseason of the 2022-2023 season, ABC has released the first videos previewing its new series, Alaska, The Rookie: Feds, and Not Dead Yet. Joining Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy on Thursdays in the fall (at 10/9c) is Alaska, which stars Hilary Swank as disgraced reporter Eileen Fitzgerald. She leaves her high-profile New York life behind to join a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage on a journey to find both personal and professional redemption. Watch the teaser below for a peek at one of the stories she’ll be digging into.  Alaska also stars Jeff Perry as Stanley Cornik, Matt Malloy as Bob Young, Meredith Holzman as Claire Muncy, Grace Dove as Rosalind “Roz” Friendly, Pablo Castelblanco as Gabriel Martin, Ami Park as Jieun Park, and Craig Frank as Austin Greene. Tom McCarthy is creator and executive producer. He also wrote and directed the pilot.

ABC set its fall 2022 schedule Tuesday, revealing summer staple “Bachelor in Paradise” will be taking over the longtime Monday home of “Dancing With the Stars” as that series moves to Disney+. The “Bachelor” spinoff will also be airing on Tuesdays, marking four full hours of the dating show per week on ABC’s fall primetime slate.

Additionally, ABC has ordered “Celebrity Jeopardy!” to pair with “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” on Sunday nights; given Niecy Nash-Betts’ “Rookie” spinoff the “BiP” lead-out on Tuesdays; swapped in “Abbott Elementary” on the Wednesday fall comedy block; and set Hilary Swank’s new drama “Alaska” as the 10 p.m. show behind “Station 19” and “Grey’s Anatomy” on Thursdays.

Click Here to follow Variety’s coverage of Upfronts 2022

The new season of “Bachelor in Paradise” will be hosted by Jesse Palmer, with Wells Adams returning to tend bar.

“‘The Bachelor’ franchise has long had a presence on Monday and Tuesday nights,...

The alphabet network has cancelled and renewed several shows in recent days and has now announced some of the programs that will be helping to fill the 2022-23 schedule. Thus far, ABC has ordered to series four new shows -- Alaska, Avalon, Not Dead Yet, and The Rookie: Feds (above).

The Alaska drama series stars Hilary Swank, Jeff Perry, Matt Malloy, Meredith Holzman, Grace Dove, Pablo Castelblanco, Ami Park, and Craig Frank. In the story, Eileen Fitzgerald (Swank) is a recently disgraced reporter. She leaves her high-profile New York life behind to join a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage, undertaking a journey to find redemption in both her personal and professional lives. Read More…...

The network upfronts are once again front-and-center for the television industry as major players gather in New York May 16-19 for the springtime ritual of presenting programming plans for the upcoming TV season.

The business has changed markedly in the three years since industry insiders last gathered in person at Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall and the like. The pandemic accelerated television’s embrace of on-demand streaming platforms and direct-to-consumer distribution models.

But broadcast TV still has its sway — just look at the list of top performing series on the largest SVOD platforms.

As content chiefs outline their plans for the 2022-2023 television season, here is a running list of new drama and comedy series orders handed out by ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and the CW. This post will be updated throughout upfront week.

ABC Drama

Alaska (20th Television)

Logline: After a reporter is “cancelled” she reinvents herself and...

The broadcast networks are looking ahead to the 2022-23 TV season.

After some shocking cancellations.

We'll start with the latest round of ABC pickups.

Niecy Nash will remain in The Rookie universe after a successful two-episode backdoor pilot for a spinoff since The Rookie: Feds has landed a formal series order.

Nash plays Simone Clark, the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy in the new series.

Also starring are Frankie Faison as Christopher "Cutty" Clark and Felix Solis as Matthew Garza.

Nash-Betts, Mark Gordon, Nathan Fillion, Michelle Chapman, Bill Norcross, and Corey Miller executive produce alongside creators Alexi Hawley and Terence Paul Winter for Entertainment One and ABC Signature.

The Rookie has been a moderate hit for ABC, drawing decent ratings when all metrics are factored in.

ABC wants a new franchise, and all signs are pointing to The Rookie being that franchise.

Meanwhile, Hilary Swank has an exciting new drama coming to the air.

ABC has made its new series orders.

The Disney-owned network has picked up Hilary Swank-fronted drama Alaska (fka Alaska Daily News), The Rookie spinoff The Rookie: Feds and comedy Not Dead Yet to series.

It comes on a busy day for the network ahead of its Upfront presentation next week; it renewed Big Sky for a third season, A Million Little Things, for a fifth season, and comedies The Conners, for season five, Home Economics, for season three and The Wonder Years, a second season as well as a slew of unscripted renewals.

New Series On Broadcast Networks In 2022-23: Photo Gallery

Alaska, which scored a pilot order in September, stars Swank as Eileen Fitzgerald, a recently disgraced reporter who leaves her high-profile New York life behind to join a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage on a journey to find both personal and professional redemption.

It comes from...

ABC has picked up “The Rookie” spinoff starring Niecy Nash-Betts as well as the drama “Alaska” starring Hilary Swank and the comedy “Not Dead Yet” starring Gina Rodriguez for the 2022-2023 broadcast season.

“The Rookie” spinoff aired as a two-part backdoor pilot during “The Rookie’s” fourth season. The spinoff is titled “The Rookie: Feds.” Nash-Betts stars as Simone Clark, the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy. The cast also includes Frankie Faison as Christopher “Cutty” Clark and Felix Solis as Special Agent Matthew Garza.

“The Rookie” creator Alexi Hawley co-created the spinoff with Terence Paul Winter, with both executive producing. Mark Gordon, Nash-Betts, “The Rookie” star Nathan Fillion, Michelle Chapman, Bill Norcross and Corey Miller are also executive producers. The show is a co-production between Entertainment One and ABC Signature.

Click Here to follow Variety‘s coverage of Upfronts 2022

“Alaska” stars Swank as as Eileen Fitzgerald, a recently disgraced...

ABC is enlisting a spinoff of The Rookie, as well as bringing back a couple of familiar faces on new shows.

The network has handed series orders to three shows for next season, led by The Rookie: Feds, an offshoot of the Nathan Fillion-led ABC procedural, TVLine has learned. Niecy Nash-Betts will star as Simone Clark, the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy; the character made her debut in a two-part backdoor pilot that aired on The Rookie earlier this season. (TVLine readers gave Part 1 an average grade of “B,” while the conclusion earned a “B-‘: 76 percent said...

ABC has picked up “Not Dead Yet,” a new comedy starring “Jane the Virgin” alum Gina Rodriguez.

The network also picked up the drama “Alaska,” starring Hilary Swank, and “The Rookie” spinoff “The Rookie: Feds,” starring Niecy Nash-Betts, for the 2022-23 television season.

In “Not Dead Yet,” Rodriguez plays Nell Stevens, a broke and newly single self-described disaster, working to restart the life and career she left behind 10 years ago. When she lands the only job she can find – writing obituaries – Nell starts getting life advice from an unlikely source.

The series, from creators and executive producers David Windsor and Casey Johnson, is adapted from the book “Confessions of a 40-something F**k Up” by Alexandra Potter. Dean Holland directed the pilot.

Alongside Rodriguez, the show stars Joshua Banday as Dennis and Angela Gibbs as Cricket.

Rodriguez and Wonderland Sound and Vision’s McG, Mary Viola and Corey Marsh are also EPs.

Amy Sedaris is shutting the doors to her home. At Home with Amy Sedaris has been cancelled, per Deadline, which means viewers will not see a fourth season on truTV. The series aired its third season last year, and it will now be available for viewing on HBO Max.

Sedaris and Paul Dinello co-created the surreal comedy-variety series. Premiering in 2017, the series covers a variety of topics in comedic fashion with guest stars, character appearances, and more.

Some of the guests seen during the run of At Home with Amy Sedaris include John Early, David Pasquesi, Matt Malloy, Heather Lawless, Ana Fabrega, Laura Benanti, Arturo Castro, Michael Cera, Ann Dowd, Rachel Dratch, Jane Krakowski, Debi Mazar, Michael McKean, Paul Rudd, and Jason Sudeikis.

What do you think? Are you surprised that truTV has canceled the At...

Amy Sedaris will not be getting in the kitchen for a fourth season of her variety series At Home With Amy Sedaris.

The series has been canceled after three seasons on WarnerMedia’s TruTV. The news comes as the third season of the show, which ran between May and July 2020, is set to launch on the HBO Max streaming service.

The series, which was co-created by Sedaris and Strangers with Candy’s Paul Dinello, was produced by A24.

Debuting in 2017, each episode touches on a specific theme and features characters, how-to demonstrations and special guests. Topics included preparing for a baby, the do’s and don’ts of travel, how to celebrate Easter, and what to expect on a first date.

It featured Cole Escola as well as recurring guest stars including John Early, David Pasquesi, Matt Malloy, Heather Lawless and Ana Fabrega as well as stars such as Laura Benanti,...

The first half of HBO’s Perry Mason was a bit of a tease.

Though everyone with even a passing familiarity with American television knows that Perry Mason is a devoted, capable lawyer, HBO’s version of the show introduced him as something else entirely. Through four full episodes of TV, Matthew Rhys’s legal hero was more of a grimy private investigator.

To be fair, this depiction of Perry Mason worked quite well within the HBO series’ gritty ‘20s aesthetic. But any show featuring Perry Mason was going to have to head to a courtroom eventually. And eventually Perry Mason did. The back half of Perry Mason’s eight episode first season put the titular star in the legal world where he belongs. And that’s presumably where he’ll stay for season 2.

Below is an episode guide to better track Perry’s evolution.

Perry Mason Episode 1: Chapter...