Fox Entertainment Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Deadline has launched the streaming site for its 2023 Contenders Television award-season event, which wrapped over the weekend after a total of 40 scripted series showed off their wares in front of voters at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles.

Deadline’s Contenders Television, where the top networks and streamers will show off their wares and Emmy hopefuls, kicks off Saturday morning to open a full weekend of one-stop shopping for anyone interested in the best and brightest series this awards season. 

Fox is sending celebrities to “Mars” for its latest competition series.

Ken Jeong (The Masked Singer, Community) is set to star and executive produce the new Fox comedy series 10% Happier, based on Dan Harris’ bestselling book and podcast of the same name, Deadline has confirmed. The script-to-series project hails from Lionsgate Television and Fox Entertainment.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “The Masked Singer” staple Ken Jeong is set to lead a new Fox single-cam sitcom based on Dan Harris’ popular book and podcast “10% Happier,” Variety has learned. Hailing from Lionsgate Television and Fox Entertainment, the comedy, which has a script-to-series commitment at the broadcaster, the centers on a family man and mid-level juice company executive who finds himself in a major life rut. After a panic attack at work, he has an epiphany where he realizes he needs to change everything about the way he lives in order to become…”10% Happier.” Apple’s “Acapulco” and Fox’s “The Cool Kids” writers and producers Michael Lisbe and Nate Reger are penning the script and executive producing alongside Jeong, author Harris, Brett Carducci and The Tannenbaum Company’s Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum and Jason Wang.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Fox has partnered with McDonald’s to launch a “The Masked Singer”-themed Happy Meal at stores starting April 4. Dubbed the ‘Masknificent’ Happy Meal, the item will feature one of 12 plush toys inspired by one of the “Masked Singer” costumes that have been showcased over the series’ nine season. Kids (or adults who — shhh — can order a Happy Meal too) will also finding a guessing game to play before discovering which character is in the box. Each toy will be in opaque wrapping with a special clue as to which character is hiding within. The game, of course, mimics the unmasking seen on “The Masked Singer.” Characters from seasons past that will be included are T-Rex, Peacock, Thingamajig, Miss Teddy, White Tiger, Space Bunny and others. (One toy per box.) The Happy Meal boxes will also include a scannable code that directs customers to a ‘Masknificent’ AR experience in which they can use their phones or tablets to design their own “Masked Singer” stage featuring filters and music. Through the experience, their plush toy will take part in a virtual concert.

BreAnna Bell Fox has given a straight-to-series order for the medical procedural drama “Doc.” The series is slated to debut on the network in 2023-2024. Hailing from executive producers Barbie Kligman (“Magnum P.I.,” “Secrets and Lies,” “Private Practice”), Hank Steinberg (“For Life,” “Without a Trace”) and Erwin Stoff (“I Am Legend,” “The Matrix”), “Doc” is based on the Italian series “Nelle tue mani,” which was created and is produced by Lux Vide, a division of Fremantle. According to Fox’s official description, “Doc” focuses on Dr. Amy Elias, chief of internal and family medicine at Westside Hospital in Minneapolis. “After a brain injury erases the last eight years of her life, Amy must navigate an unfamiliar world where she has no recollection of patients she’s treated, colleagues she’s crossed, the soulmate she divorced, the man she now loves and the tragedy that caused her to push everyone away. She can rely only on her estranged 17-year-old daughter, whom she remembers as a 9-year-old, and a handful of devoted friends, as she struggles to continue practicing medicine, despite having lost nearly a decade of knowledge and experience,” the description reads.

Global brand events veteran Diana Ruiz has been named Executive Vice President, Experiences and Design at Fox Entertainment, the media company announced on Wednesday. She will report to Fox Entertainment and Fox Sports Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Acosta. “With more than 20 years in the global events arena, Diana possesses considerable, proven creativity, discipline and operational excellence,” said Acosta.

Fox’s crime anthology “Accused” and Philadelphia-set procedural “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” will get second seasons, the network said Thursday. The dramas, which are co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Fox Entertainment, will air the second seasons in the 2023-24 season.Both series have premiered with impressive first seasons as the Jan.

Fox is doubling down on a pair of freshman crime dramas.

Fox just announced a Season 2 renewals for two freshman drama series, anthology Accused and missing person drama Alert, both from Sony Pictures TV and Fox Entertainment. They join previously renewed sophomore drama The Cleaning Lady as well as animated stalwarts The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox is hungry for a different kind of advertising dollar. The Fox Corp.-owned broadcast network has thrived for years on outlays from movie studios and fast-food chains, but in 2023, it’s looking to expand its relationship with something that might be more hearty. Armed with its recent launch of the Studio Ramsay Global with celebrity chef and entrepreneur Gordon Ramsay, Fox is eager to court more food advertisers and marketers who are eager to woo consumers who like food experiences. “We are really the only broadcast network with any food-related programming, over 80 hours a year,” says Suzanne Sullivan, eecutive vice president of ad sales for Fox Entertainment, in an interview. Fox hopes the combination of Ramsay’s shows on its broadcast network and a new spate of short-form content that will be available on Tubi with the launch of a FAST channel that make use of Ramsay’s tens of hours of Fox content will whet Madison Avenue’s appetite for the concept. In the recent past, Fox has sought between $75,000 and $100,000 for a 30-second spot in such programming on linear TV, according to a person familiar with the matter.

EXCLUSIVE: Fox Entertainment has announced the names of the five Fellows for the 2023 Fox Writers Incubator (FWI), an initiative designed to nurture diverse and creative voices, as well as provide training to five writers of all genres, including comedy, drama and animation.

Ellise Shafer In an unprecedented move, Fox has renewed Dan Harmon’s upcoming animated comedy “Krapopolis” for a third season ahead of its series premiere. Additionally, the premiere of the show — which was most recently set for May — has now been pushed to the 2023-2024 season. The news was announced by Michael Thorn, president of scripted programming at Fox Entertainment, at the London TV Screenings on Wednesday. “The 2023-24 season is the perfect launching pad for this highly-anticipated and very funny animated comedy, complete with multiple seasons of epic laughs for fans,” Thorn said. “The more we see from production, the more excited we are about their creativity, story arcs, flawless execution, brilliant voice cast and ability to pump out episode after episode of astonishing events and outrageous, unexpected hilarity.”

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Fox has named John Hesling its new head of Alternative Entertainment, the broadcast network’s in-house unscripted studio. Responsible for overseeing the development and production of all unscripted series owned by Fox Entertainment (FAE), as well as programs FAE produces for third-party buyers in the U.S. and abroad, Hesling will be based in Los Angeles and report to Allison Wallach, president of unscripted programming at Fox Entertainment. “I am so excited for John to join FAE and lead the incredible team we have assembled,” Wallach said. “His creative vision and vast experience as both a producer and an executive working on a global scale will be key to our strategy of building FAE as a leading provider of innovative series and formats for Fox and third-party platforms throughout the world.”

A new version of the 1970s buddy cop series Starsky & Hutch is in the works at Fox, with a female twist.

The Resident creator Amy Holden Jones is turning to crime.

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has closed a non-exclusive broadcast direct deal with Fox Entertainment, the network announced Tuesday.Under the deal, the Emmy and Grammy Award-winning producer, director, actor and rapper will develop scripted dramas, live-action comedies and animated series through his production company G-Unit Film & Television, Fox Entertainment president of Scripted Programming Michael Thorn said. After rising to hip-hop royalty status, Jackson delved into filmed entertainment by launching G-Unit Film & Television in 2005, which produced Starz’s “Power,” in which Jackson served as a co-star, executive producer and director.

Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson has signed a non-exclusive multi-project broadcast direct deal with Fox.

The Cleaning Lady will be back for another go-round. Fox has renewed the popular series for a third season, the network’s first live-action scripted renewal for the 2023-24 season. Additionally, Jeannine Renshaw (Good Girls) also has joined the show as an executive producer and will serve as showrunner with Miranda Kwok.

Fox has handed early two-season renewals to three of its animation mainstays — The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers — taking them through the 2024-25 broadcast cycle.

ABC is starting to make comedy pilot orders.

EXCLUSIVE: Fox is developing El Patio, a multi-camera comedy from writer Danny Fernandez (iCarly), Roselyn Sanchez and Eric Winter’s Two For The Road Entertainment, Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment and Fox Entertainment.

Fox is bringing back its competition format Lego Masters for a fourth season.

Reality dating series Farmer Wants A Wife is set to premiere on Wednesday, March 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.

There will be two new additions to HBO Max’s December lineup. The platform has landed streaming rights to past seasons of CBS comedy Bob Hearts Abishola, and Fox’s Call Me Kat.

Fox’s new distribution outfit Fox Entertainment Global (FEG) is pushing into international scripted co-productions, has optioned a “best-selling selling British thriller” and is “looking into” an international detective franchise.

Fox is drawing up its latest animated order.

EXCLUSIVE: Petey Gibson (Broad City), Fivel Stewart (Atypical) and Bre Blair (Game of Silence) are set for major recurring roles opposite Scott Caan and Dania Ramirez in Alert, Fox’s character-driven police procedural from The Blacklist showrunner John Eisendrath and Jamie Foxx. 

We’re getting a sneak peek at the first footage of new Fox series Alert. The network just released the first on-air promo for the upcoming character-driven police procedural from The Blacklist showrunner John Eisendrath and Jamie Foxx, which will air tonight on Fox during Game 3 of the World Series.

Fox has unveiled the first on-air promo for its upcoming anthology drama Accused, based on the International Emmy-winning British series. The project comesfrom 24 executive producers Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa and House creator/executive producer David Shore.

Production on Fox’shas been halted following the death of Leslie Jordan. Jordan, who portrayed Phil in the series since Season 1, completed work on a total of 9 episodes.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Carol Mendelsohn and Julie Weitz’s Carol Mendelsohn Productions (CMP) has signed a multi-year first-look broadcast direct deal with Fox Entertainment. The announcement was made by Michael Thorn, Fox Entertainment’s president of entertainment, during MIPCOM Cannes. Under the deal, CMP will develop scripted drams for Fox. Should any shows be greenlit, they would be wholly owned by Fox with Mendelsohn and Weitz executive producing. CMP has already set up one project for development under the deal — a series adaptation of the Thomas Perry novel “The Bomb Maker.” Per the official logline, the series “follows former commander Dick Stahl, who is called in after the majority of the LAPD Bomb Squad is killed by a house bomb. On his first day back, the now three-person team is dispatched to a suspected car bomb, and it quickly becomes clear to him that they are dealing with an unusual criminal mastermind―one whose intended target appears to be the Bomb Squad itself.”

Carol Mendelsohn, the former showrunner of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, has signed a deal with Fox and is once again attempting a series adaptation of Thomas Perry’s The Bomb Maker.

“CSI” showrunner and executive producer Carol Mendelsohn and producing partner Julie Weitz have struck a multi-year first-look broadcast direct deal with Fox Entertainment, president of entertainment Michael Thorn announced at MIPCOM Cannes. The duo’s previous deal with Universal Television is now over.Under the terms, Mendelsohn and Weitz will develop scripted dramas for the Fox.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Fox has given out an early Season 2 renewal to the Jon Hamm-led animated comedy “Grimsburg” before the show has even premiered. The announcement was made by Michael Thorn, president of entertainment for Fox Entertainment, during a MIPCOM panel moderated by Variety‘s co-editor-in-chief, Cynthia Littleton. “’Grimsburg’ is yet another clear example of our strong commitment to, and intense focus on, upholding the high bar of standards any show must exceed in order to reside under the Animation Domination banner,” Thorn said. “Of course, having Jon Hamm’s talent and star power front and center is a great place to start. Equally important, everything we’re seeing with ‘Grimsburg’ – from the very first scripts and show bible to animatics and preliminary cuts – makes us believe we have a winner on our hands that beautifully complements our animation brand.”