‘The Boys’ Season 4 Adds Jeffrey Dean Morgan in Mystery Role, Marking Another ‘Supernatural’ Reunion

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer The death of Queen Elizabeth II prompted the Claire Foy-led first season of “The Crown” to crack the Netflix Top 10 last week. Per Netflix, “HRH Queen Elizabeth II was in the hearts and minds of viewers” as Season 1 of the streamer’s Royal Family drama was watched for 17.6 million hours between Sept. 5-11. That put it in the No. 7 spot for English-language TV series. Meanwhile, the fifth season of “Cobra Kai” easily took the No. 1 slot on that list with 106 million hours viewed in the first three days post-Friday launch. In second place was limited series “Devil in Ohio,” which had 70.8 million hours viewed, followed by the first season of “The Imperfects” with 24.1 million.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Fox’s Susan Sarandon and Trace Adkins-led country music drama “Monarch” didn’t the highest of Nielsen notes Sunday night, but it did manage to keep enough of its NFL lead-in audience to land the network’s most-watched fall scripted premiere in three years. Immediately following an NFL doubleheader, “Monarch” debuted at 7:45 p.m. ET/4:45 p.m. PT to a 0.8 rating among adults in the 18-49 age demographic and 3.8 million total viewers, according to initial Nielsen data. Due to the nature of live sports, these results will likely adjust (likely down) when finalized numbers come in later Monday.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Magnolia Network’s top PR exec John Marsicano has been tapped as Endeavor’s new vice president of internal communications, Variety has learned exclusively. Beginning in the New York-based position Monday, Marsicano will be leading internal communications efforts across Endeavor’s network of more than 7,000 employees and supporting engagement with the company’s subsidiaries. He will report directly to Kim Ulrich, senior vice president of corporate communications at the Ari Emanuel-run company. Marsicano has worked with the Gaineses since 2017, when he began at the “Fixer Upper” couple’s national home and lifestyle brand by overseeing all communications efforts, both internal and external, for the company and its portfolio of businesses. He exited that role to join Magnolia Network, the Gaineses’ joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery (previously Discovery, Inc., ahead of the April merger with WarnerMedia), in the comms chief role under network president Allison Page.

The Boys creator Eric Kripke has addressed the misogynistic hate that’s been levelled against one of the show’s cast members, Erin Moriarty.Posting to Twitter today (September 8), Kripke called Moriarty’s critics “trolls”, and wrote that the treatment of the actor — who plays the role of Annie January across the show’s three seasons — is “causing pain to real people with real feelings.”“This is literally the opposite of the show’s fucking message,” Kripke said, “Be kind. If you can’t be kind, then eat a bag of dicks, fuck off to the sun & don’t watch [The Boys], we don’t want you.”Hi trolls! One, this is literally the opposite of the show's fucking message.

Eric Kripke, the creator of The Boys, is calling out the trolls that are harassing Erin Moriarty with “misogynistic” messages. The strong message came after Moriarty took to social media with an emotional plea to reflect on the comments people put out there.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “Desperate Housewives” and “Devious Maids” creator Marc Cherry is developing a new female-fronted drama at Fox. Titled “Jenny Is a Weapon,” the one-hour series follows the story of a sheltered Maryland housewife who, at the moment her marriage falls apart, discovers she has special psychic powers and is recruited by a secret government agency where she will have to juggle her broken family and save the world, per its official logline. The drama has received a script commitment from Fox Entertainment and is being eyed for a potential straight-to-series order at the broadcaster under a direct deal with Cherry.

Zack Sharf “The Boys” creator Eric Kripke slammed the show’s toxic fans after cast member Erin Moriarty’s came forward and revealed she has been the subject of misogynistic harassment online. Moriarty has been a series regular on “The Boys” for three seasons and plays the superhero Starlight. The actor wrote on Instagram that backlash to her character from toxic fans have left her feeling “silenced” and “dehumanized.” “Hi trolls!” Kripke wrote on his own Twitter page in reaction to Moriarty’s statement. “One, this is literally the opposite of the show’s fucking message. Two, you’re causing pain to real people with real feelings. Be kind. If you can’t be kind, then eat a bag of dicks, fuck off to the sun & don’t watch ‘The Boys,’ we don’t want you.”

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer CBS’ 24th season of “Big Brother” has been watched for more than 8 billion minutes just over two months into its run, with still one-third of the season to go. Since the July 6 Season 24 premiere on CBS, “viewers have already watched nearly 8.3 billion minutes of ‘Big Brother’ so far this summer on the CBS Television Network, Paramount+ and CBS.com/the CBS app,” per Nielsen linear ratings and Paramount+ internal data provided by Paramount Global Wednesday. That tally encompasses both full episodes of “Big Brother” Season 24 watched via broadcast and streaming, as well as the live feeds from the “Big Brother” house that are only available on Paramount+. This data marks the first time that Paramount Global has released specific viewership figures surrounding broadcast content available on Paramount+. (For reference, Paramount+ now has 43.3. million paid subscribers, as of August.)

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer (SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Solaricks,” the Season 6 premiere of “Rick and Morty.”) “Rick and Morty” kicked off its sixth season with an even bigger reveal than it dropped in its fifth season finale: Rick Sanchez is not Morty’s grandfather — at least this Rick (C-137) is not this Morty’s grandfather. Due to an accidental “reset” in portal travelers on the Season 6 opener, “Solaricks,” rather than Rick’s intended reset of port travel after the collapse of the Citadel and Evil Morty’s escape through the Central Finite Curve blew it all to hell in the Season 5 finale, Rick, Morty and Jerry were each pulled back into their original worlds/realities.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the two-episode premiere of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” At the end of the first episode of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” one of two installments dropped by Amazon Prime Video on the show’s launch day, young Harfoot Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) follows a fiery object that’s come shooting down from the skies of Middle-earth to find a mysterious, barely clothed man unconscious at the center of a flaming crater that’s been hollowed out in the earth. By the end of the second episode, Nori and her best friend Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards) are watching the large man, played by Daniel Weyman and credited only as “The Stranger,” throw fireflies into the sky to create what Nori thinks is a map of specific stars he’s trying to find — before those fireflies burn out and fall to the ground.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment president Craig Erwich and president of content marketing for Hulu and Disney General Entertainment Shannon Ryan have both been promoted to expanded roles. Erwich has been upped to president of ABC Entertainment, Hulu & Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals. With this new title, Erwich will continue to oversee ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals, while adding unscripted and alternative entertainment to his purview, as well as Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals. Erwich, who has overseen the Hulu Originals brand since 2014, is expected to “help bolster DBT’s content strategy for fueling Disney+ with broad, family-appealing original programming.”

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer UTA’s influencer management firm Digital Brand Architects has acquired golf marketing and digital talent management company Digital Golf Collective, Variety has learned exclusively. Founded by Jess McAlister and Sean Guerrero, DGC focuses on managing strategy and branding for leading creators, brands, events and tournaments in the golf industry. Under the acquisition, DGC’s individual digital talent and branding clients, including Tisha Alyn, Ryan Rustand and Cassandra Meyer, will join DBA’s client list. DGC’s day-to-day operations will continue to be run by McAlister and Guerrero, who will dually report to DBA’s CEO Raina Penchansky and senior vice president of finance AD Rastogi. 

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Netflix has set a third installment of Joe Berlinger’s “Conversations With a Killer” docuseries, this one focused on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, Variety has learned exclusively. Titled “Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes,” the three-part series will launch Oct. 7 on the streamer. Here is the official description for “Conversations With a Killer” season 3, per Netflix: When Milwaukee police entered the apartment of 31-year-old Jeffrey Dahmer in July of 1991, they uncovered the grisly personal museum of a serial killer: a freezer full of human heads, skulls, bones and other remains in various states of decomposition and display. Dahmer quickly confessed to 16 murders in Wisconsin over the previous four years, plus one more in Ohio in 1978, as well as unimaginable acts of necrophilia and cannibalism. The discovery shocked the nation and stunned the local community, who were incensed that such a depraved killer had been allowed to operate within their city for so long. Why was Dahmer, who had been convicted of sexual assault of a minor in 1988, able to avoid suspicion and detection from police as he stalked Milwaukee’s gay scene for victims, many of whom were people of color?

, which is already back in production on season 4, is adding Jeffrey Dean Morgan to the cast. The hit Prime Video series about corrupt superheroes will reunite the actor with executive producer and showrunner Eric Kripke, after he first worked with the creator on.  While details about his role haven’t been revealed, Morgan took to Twitter to share his excitement.

The Boys for Season 4 in a mystery role.Probably best known for his role as Negan in The Walking Dead, Morgan becomes the latest in an increasingly long line of former Supernatural stars to join the Amazon superhero series (per Variety), following Jensen Ackles (Dean) and Jim Beaver (Robert Singer).Morgan is currently starring on the 11th and final season of The Walking Dead, and is set to appear alongside Lauren Cohan, reprising her Walking Dead role as Maggie, on the upcoming spinoff series Isle Of The Dead.The actor has previously shown public enthusiasm for joining the show, going as far back as 2020 when The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke seemingly offered him a part in the third season.In a heartbeat!— Jeffrey Dean Morgan (@JDMorgan) January 16, 2020Last month (July 12), Kripke revealed that the final scene in The Boys season three was inspired by a quote from Donald Trump – season three spoilers ahead, of course.In the closing scene, Homelander (Anthony Starr) introduces his superpowered son Ryan to his supporters. When a protester yells and throws something at Ryan, Homelander kills him by splitting his head in half using his laser eyes.Speaking to Deadline, Kripke said: “It’s interesting that you bring up the quote about shooting a guy on Fifth Avenue because that was the original inspiration for that scene.

Ever since The Boys premiered on Amazon Prime Video showrunner Eric Kripke has been very open about wanting his close friend Jeffrey Dean Morgan to join the show. Kripke wants Morgan to join the show as it would reunite the old friends and some Supernatural veterans in Jenson Ackles who Played Dean Winchester and Jeffrey Dean Morgan who played John Winchester. Luckily for Eric Kripke, the feeling was mutual but Morgan’s other shows like The Walking Dead and the pandemic also got in the way.

The Boys is expanding in a big way!

As “The Walking Dead” approaches the end of its eleventh and final season, questions abound as to what long-time cast members will do now that the show is over. In the case of Jeffrey Dean Morgan, he’s already settled the matter.