'Rings of Power' EPs on Pacing of Season 1 and Reinventing Familiar Characters (Exclusive)

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “Alex vs America” has been renewed for a third season at Food Network, Variety has learned exclusively. Production is set to begin this month on Season 3 of the primetime cable series, with new episodes to debut next year.  “Alex vs America” Season 2, which aired July 31-Sept. 11, averaged more than 9.1 million total viewers, up 44% from Season 1, and a 0.6 rating with adults ages 18 and up, an increase of 17%, according to Nielsen’s Live + 3 Day ratings. Per Food Network’s description for “Alex v. America”:

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor David Alan Grier is joining the cast of ABC’s “Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration.” The Tony winner will play Cogsworth in the star-studded production, according to sources. Previously announced cast members include Oscar winner H.E.R. as Belle, Josh Groban as Beast and Joshua Henry as Gaston. Rita Moreno will serve as the show’s narrator in the live-action/animated hybrid production. The special, to be directed by Hamish Hamilton, will be recorded live and feature never-before-seen musical performances. Jamal Sims is serving as executive producer and choreographer. Set design is by Julio Himede with costumes by Marina Toybina (“The Masked Singer”).

Variety, producers confirmed the use of the ring shapes in the opening sequences: ‘We have the nine for men, the seven for the dwarves, the three rings for the elves, and a single ring. All those combinations are through there, and they’re at the beginning and end. We start with those, and they are building other things, and then we end with them.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Toby Kebbell has joined Season 4 of “For All Mankind” at Apple, Variety has learned exclusively. The alternative history series was renewed for its fourth season in July. Production on the new season is currently underway. The series takes place in a world in which the USSR beat the US to the moon, leading to the continuation of the space race. In Season 3, Mars becomes the new frontier for not only NASA and the Soviets, but also private business interests. Kebbell joins the series as Miles, described as “a former offshore oil platform worker who pursues a new job opportunity on Mars.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Rachel Bloom has joined the cast of “Julia” Season 2 at HBO Max, Variety has learned exclusively. The series is inspired by the life of Julia Child and her long-running cooking show “The French Chef.” The first season debuted in March 2022 and the show was renewed in May. Bloom will appear in a recurring role as Elaine Levitch. The character is described as “a dynamo who comes to WGBH by way of CBS to work with Julia on ‘The French Chef.'” Bloom will next be seen in the Steve Levitan Hulu comedy series “Reboot,” which premieres Sept. 20. She is best known for her work on the CW musical dramedy series “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” which she co-created and executive produced in addition to starring. She received five Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations for her work on the series, winning one of each. Her recent credits include the Disney+ film “Chip ‘N’ Dalel: Rescue Rangers” and the upcoming Netflix film “The School for Good and Evil.” She published the book “I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are” in 2020.

Drew Barrymore's opening up about her dating life ahead of the season 3 premiere of , and the Emmy-nominated talk show host revealed to ET's Rachel Smith she's gotten the Casper treatment. As in, she got ghosted.The 47-year-old said she's gone on «some dates here and there» but the one spicy dating nugget she offered to share included the phenomenon known as getting ghosted: when someone cuts off all form of communication without a blip of an explanation. «I got so ghosted that I just literally… by this man who you just wouldn't think that they would behave like that,» Barrymore tells ET. For the record, Barrymore says the person in question is not someone anyone would know. A normie, as some might say.«It's nobody anyone knows,» she explains.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer The cast of the Amazon Prime Video series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” released a pointed statement on Wednesday condemning “the relentless racism, threats, harassment, and abuse some of our castmates of color are being subjected to on a daily basis.” The message comes after months of epithets and smears surrounding the decision by executive producers and showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay to populate J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth — including humans, elves, dwarfs and harfoots (e.g., earlier versions of hobbits) — with actors of color. “Tolkien created a world which, by definition, is multi-cultural,” reads the statement. “A world in which free peoples from, different races and cultures join together, in fellowship, to defeat the forces of evil. ‘Rings of Power’ reflects that. Our world has never been all white, fantasy has never been all white, Middle-earth is not all white.”

JoJo Siwa drops by Disney+'s for a special guest appearance in the latest episode, which dropped on the streaming service Wednesday.«It's crazy to think that I'm a part of this world now. It's wild!» Siwa shared with ET over a recent Zoom interview. «I remember when I first got the ask, I immediately was like, 'Yes. Don't know when, don't know who, don't know how, but yes, make it happen,' to my team.

, Joy Behar has got the formula down. ET spoke to Behar backstage at the show's season 26 premiere Tuesday, where she revealed how she's weathered the sometimes-rocky group dynamic on the show.«Oh, I vent plenty. I vent,» Behar said of how she de-stresses behind the scenes after some of the heated discussions had on the show.

Elon Musk has heavily criticised Amazon‘s Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power following the release of its first two episodes.READ MORE: The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power review: epic fantasy franchise returns to rule them allThe Tesla CEO recently took to Twitter to deliver his damming verdict, writing: “Tolkien is turning in his grave.”In a follow-up tweet, he added: “Almost every male character so far is a coward, a jerk or both. Only Galadriel is brave, smart and nice.”Set thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings, the J.D.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power has become the biggest opening premiere in Amazon Prime Video’s history.Following the release of the first two episodes on Friday (September 2), Amazon shared that the show had earned 25million viewers in the first 24 hours after debuting “in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide”.Speaking about the milestone, Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said: “It is somehow fitting that Tolkien’s stories – among the most popular of all time, and what many consider to be the true origin of the fantasy genre – have led us to this proud moment.“I am so grateful to the Tolkien Estate – and to our showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, executive producer Lindsey Weber, cast and crew – for their tireless collaborative efforts and boundless creative energy.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" has become Amazon Prime Video's most-watched premiere ever. The fantasy television series' debut drew a global audience of more than 25 million viewers, the largest in the streaming platform's 15-year history, according to a report by Deadline on Saturday. "Rings of Power", which is based on J.R.R.Tolkien's classic "The Lord of the Rings" novels, premiered Thursday in 250 countries and territories.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is the biggest thing Amazon Prime Video has ever done, and it looks like the TV series based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s writing has delivered big time.

Variety on Friday that the 72-hour delay was put in place recently, first quietly on “A League of Their Own” that launched this summer, and now on its “Lord of the Rings” show. The move is designed to weed out bots or trolls from the genuine audience reception.

SPOILER ALERT: This podcast contains details of the first two episodes of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which debuted Thursday night. For more on the epic series, watch Deadline’s Inside The Ring: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power after-show that launches Saturday. 

“The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power.” Based on the appendices of the original trilogy, the series expands upon the original text to answer some of the crucial queries proposed by Tolkein. Questions like: what cost does war have on the young lives supplied to fight it? At what point is the individual greater than the community? How does one preserve their legacy? These eternal haunting questions search for answers amongst the resplendent beauty of New Zealand’s vast terrain, charming new characters and frightening paths to a country divided and at war. The series begins with a black screen and the words, “Nothing is evil in the beginning. And there was a time when the world was so young there had not yet been a sunrise.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power descended on London last night (August 30) for the new series’ red carpet world premiere.At London’s historic Leicester Square, nearly 2,000 people – comprising cast, crew, fans and more – attended the Odean Luxe and Cineworld. Among them were all 22 of the series’ cast regulars, including Robert Aramayo (Elrond), Maxim Baldry (Isildur), Morfydd Clark (Galadriel), Sir Lenny Henry (Sadoc Burrows), Ema Horvath (Eärien), Lloyd Owen (Elendil) and Charles Edwards (Celebrimbor).Also in attendance were showrunners J.D.

Jeff Bezos made a surprise appearance at The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power global premiere last night, joking about his notes to showrunners and son’s “Don’t f*ck it up” advice as the battle of the tentpole prequels between Amazon Prime Video and HBO’s House of the Dragon hots up.