TV Bits: 'Gremlins: Secrets Of The Mogwai', 'Tiny Toons Looniversity', 'First Lady', 'Mom', 'Neglected Murderesses' & More
In this edition of TV Bits, here's what we've got:
First up, HBO Max must be keen on what the upcoming animated shows Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai and Tiny Toons Looniversity will be bringing to the table. The streaming service has renewed both shows for a second season before they've even premiered.
Along with the renewal of those two shows, HBO Max and Cartoon Network have also given the greenlight to three Ben 10 specials, fourth seasons for both Craig of the Creek and Infinity Train, two more seasons of Total Drama Island, and a third season of Victor and Valentino.
On the new series front, there's Jade Armor, which which centers around the martial arts-loving Lan Jun, an unlikely teenage heroine who must learn the ancient secrets of her family and uncover the unexpected, all while navigating life as a team. Plus, there are movies such as The Amazing World of Gumball Movie, Teen Titans Go! The Night Begins to Shine, Tweety Mysteries, and some kind of animated comedy from Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation) and Naomi Scott (Aladdin), who are not related.
HBO Max is also expanding their kid and family friendly programming with Cartoonito, a new preschool programming block set to debut on Cartoon Network and HBO Max this fall with 20 new series at launch.
You can find out even more details about HBO Max and Cartoon Network's upcoming collaborations at Variety.
Showtime is currently getting together the cast for their upcoming anthology series The First Lady. Each season will tell stories based on the lives and careers of the various wives of the President of the United States over the years. The first season will focus on Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Michelle Obama, with Michelle Pfeiffer and Viola Davis already on board to play the latter two women. Now the series has landed a star to play one of the presidents.
Deadline has word that Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) has been cast as President Gerald R. Ford Jr., the former linebacker from the University of Michigan who went on to work in the House of Representatives for 25 years as a congressman for Michigan's 5th Congressional District until 1973. He's the only man to serve as both vice president and president of the United States without being elected to either office by the electoral college.
The First Lady was created by Aaron Cooley and will be directed and executive produced by Susanne Bier with Showtime and Lionsgate TV co-producing. Viola Davis will also act as an executive producer along with Julius Tennon and Andrew Wang via JuVee Productions, Cathy Schulman through Welle Entertainment, Jeff Gaspin at Gaspin Media, and Brad Kaplan for Link Entertainment.
After eight seasons, CBS will be saying goodbye to their sitcom Mom starring Allison Janney. The network confirmed that the eighth season would mark the end of the series with the finale slated to air on Thursday, May 6 at 9:00 P.M. ET/8:00 P.M. CT.
This was the first season of Mom that didn't have former series co-star Anna Faris involved, so there's a chance her exit had something to do with wrapping up the show with this season.
Series executive producers Chuck Lorre, Gemma Baker and Nick Bakay released a joint statement about the show ending (via TV Line):
"For the past eight years, we've had the great honor to bring these wonderful characters to life, sharing their struggles and triumphs with millions of viewers every week. From the beginning, we set out to tell stories about recovery from alcoholism and addiction that are rarely portrayed in a network comedy series. Whether it was the emotional reactions of the live audience on tape night inside Stage 20, or discussions at The White House regarding the opioid crisis, or the personal stories we continue to receive on social media, we take great pride in knowing Mom has positively impacted so many lives. We are forever grateful to our brilliant cast and guest stars, wonderful writers, and amazing crew for going on this journey with us."
For her part, Allison Janney had this to say about the show coming to an end, "Getting to be part of Mom these past eight years — showing the laughter, love and hope that can come with recovery — has been one of the great honors of my life." You can read the rest of her statement right here.
FOX is looking to keep their animation programming going strong by picking up a new comedy series executive produced by Cobra Kai creators Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg.
Created by comedians Tim Baltz (The Righteous Gemstones) and Lily Sullivan (I Think You Should Leave), the new series is called Prince Wawa, and it follows a naive merman prince (voice by Baltz) as he juggles life between the ocean, the only home he's ever known, and his new life on land with his human mother in the breathtaking metropolis of Tampa, Florida.
Deadline says Baltz and Sullivan will executive produce and write Prince Wawa for Sony Pictures Television, and they've already received a script commitment from FOX. Heald, Hurwitz, and Schlossberg are executive producing through their Counterbalance Entertainment banner along with Dina Hillier, their head of development.
Norman Reedus may still be busy dealing with the zombie apocalypse on AMC's The Walking Dead. Even after the show ends with the 11th season, he's starring in a spin-off featuring his character alongside Melissa McBride. But that's not stopping him from developing a new show at AMC.Neglected Murderesses, based on Edward Gorey's book of the same name, is in development at AMC by way of Norman Reedus and his bigbaldhead production banner. Variety says the series is described as a black comedy that tells the story of twelve enterprising, fictitious female killers, who use particularly unique methods to off their victims. Some of the killers include a nurse who tilted her employer out of a wheelchair over a cliff, a wife who laced her husband's tea with atropine, and a woman who killed her fiancé after he missed an easy spare at the bowling alley.
Apparently Norman Reedus has been trying to get the rights to Neglected Murderesses for several years, and this is the first time the estate of the late Edward Gorey has allowed an adaptation of one of his works. In a lovely turn of events, the Edward Gorey Charitable Trust has pledged that all profits earned from the series will be donated to a number of animal welfare organizations, due to the author's love of animals, so that's a nice touch.
Reedus will serve as executive producer on the project along with bigbaldhead's JoAnne Colona and Amanda Verdon under the company's new first-look deal with AMC Studios.
Finally, the Apple TV+ space drama For All Mankind is returning for a second season starting today, and with it will be a companion podcast.
For All Mankind: The Official Podcast will be hosted by Krys Marshall, who plays Commander Danielle Poole in the series from Ronald D. Moore. This is the first time Apple TV+ has created a companion podcast for one of their original programs, but if it ends up working out, I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing more of them.
The For All Mankind podcast will be comprised of 10 episodes produced by At Will Media. Each episode will bring in guests from the series, space experts and former astronauts to talk about the series as well as details on real-life space travel. After premiering today with the second season premiere, each episode will be available every other week when a new episode of the series debuts.