‘Woke’ Star Lamorne Morris on Keef’s Season 2 Money-Meets-Activism Woes, Effects of Multiple COVID Shutdowns

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOLER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched “The Night Before the Wedding,” the April 26 episode of “This Is Us.”There are four episodes left of “This Is Us” following Tuesday’s installment, which gave Pearson fans the long-awaited answer to the question of who is Kevin (Justin Hartley) going to marry without actually showing us who Kevin marries. The episode ended with the romantic reunion of high-school-sweethearts-turned-divorced-couple Kevin and Sophie (Alexandra Breckenridge) at Kate’s (Chrissy Metz) second wedding, and cheers from the whole family over those two crazy kids finally figuring it out, with the heavy implication (confirmed by Hartley and Breckenridge) it will result in them tying the knot for good.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterLimited series “Anatomy of a Scandal” has ended “Bridgerton” Season 2’s reign as the No. 1 English-language TV series on Netflix, according to the streaming service’s newly release Top 10 rankings.For the week of April 18-April 24, “Anatomy of a Scandal” was viewed for 75.6 million hours in its second week of availability, while “Bridgerton” racked up 46 million and landed in the No.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOLER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched “Farnsby & B,” the Season 2 finale of “Ghosts.”Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) finally opened their bed & breakfast in the “Ghosts” Season 1 finale Thursday — only for their dreams to come literally crashing down moments later thanks to a curse. In the closing seconds of the episode, titled “Farnsby & B,” Sam and Jay are ready to welcome their first guests to the Woodstone B&B after defeating their enemy neighbors the Farnsbys in a game of pickle ball to get them to close their spitefully opened competitor, the Farsnby & B.But just as they open the doors, the floorboards crumble beneath them, suggesting the curse Thor (Devan Chandler Long) put on them before he got to know Sam is actually real.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNetflix’s “Bridgerton” was viewed for more than 2.5 billion minutes during the week of its Season 2 debut, according to Nielsen’s newly released streaming Top 10 rankings.The Chris Van Dusen-created period romance was easily the No. 1 program on streaming for the week of March 21-27 on Nielsen’s charts, even though only its first season was available for the majority of that week, as Season 2 premiered on March 25.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterAfter months of criticism and anticipation, “The Masked Singer” episode featuring the unmasking of Rudy Giuliani finally aired Wednesday on Fox. The show’s installment with the disgraced former mayor of New York City and former personal attorney for President Donald Trump, got a 0.6 demo rating and 3.6 million total viewers, according to fast-affiliate Nielsen data.Viewership for Season 7 has been in flux since its March 9 premiere, with the Fox celebrity singing competition drawing a season high 4.3 million viewers on March 30, only to reach a season low of 3.9 million last Wednesday — which was beat by last night’s new low.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOLER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Matryoshka,” the Season 2 finale episode of “Russian Doll.”In Season 2, “Russian Doll” broke out of its first season’s “Groundhog Day”-style time-loop format with a “Quantum Leap”-like time-travel device that allowed Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) and Alan (Charlie Barnett) to jump into the bodies of their deceased loved ones by taking a trip on the New York City subway. Nadia becomes her mother, Lenora “Nora” (Chloë Sevigny), in the East Village in 1982, and grandmother Vera (Irén Bordán, younger version Ilona McCrea), in World War II-era Budapest, while Alan is inhabiting his grandmother Agnes (Carolyn Michelle Smith) in Germany during the Cold War in 1944.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterAll hail the viscount. The second season of “Bridgerton” has knocked the show’s first season out of the No.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOLER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched “Ariadne,” the Season 1 finale of “Russian Doll.”It’s been more than three years since the first season of “Russian Doll” launched on Netflix, and as such, even the most die-hard fans of the Natasha Lyonne time-loop dramedy need to forgive themselves if they don’t remember exactly how the first-season ending played out. But it is important we get that straight now if you want to enjoy Season 2 right when it launches Wednesday.So here to clear up what she considers a “misnomer” about the conclusion to “Russian Doll” Season 1, which had a lot of threads to follow in its closing moments, for Variety is star and co-creator Lyonne herself.

EXCLUSIVE: Tattoo Artist Katrina “Kat Tat” Jackson, best known for starring in Black Ink Crew; Chicago on VH1, has signed a first look, development and executive producer deal with Paramount. Jackson will develop and EP original content for the studio in collaboration with her production company, Enigma Entertainment Group.

WATCH: Shania Twain makes surprise Coachella appearance"Coachella, are you ready to have some fun tonight?" the 28-year-old asked the packed crowd after singing his hit song Golden, only for the band to play the opening chords and Shania appeared from below the stage."Make some noise for Shania Twain!" he said, adding: "Now, I have to tell you in the car with my mother as a child, this lady taught me to sing. She also told me that men are trash, but the memories you gave me with my mother, I’ll be forever grateful.""I am so honored and thrilled to be here,” Shania added, admitting she was "starstruck" to be on stage with Harry."No, really, I’m a fan of you, of course.

Selome Hailu SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not seen “Zoo Balloon,” Episode 13 of “Abbott Elementary.”Like his “Abbott Elementary” character Gregory Eddie, Tyler James Williams is a bit nerdy.Gregory, as a result of his father’s indoctrination, has an encyclopedic knowledge of gardening tactics. He struggles to express himself, making interior design faux pas in his classroom until fellow teacher Janine (series creator Quinta Brunson) steps in to help.

Some people may experience more unusual Covid symptoms when they come down with the virus.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Bridgerton” Season 2 has landed the title of Netflix’s third-most popular English-language TV series — a list that is calculated based on shows’ first 28 days on the streaming service — in just 17 days.Per Netflix’s newly released Top 10 data for April 4-10, “The series had 115.75M hours viewed on the English TV list, appearing in the Top 10 in 91 countries, making it the most viewed title for the third week in a row. The season also entered the Most Popular list at #3 with 560.50M hours viewed.

The Irish romantic psychological drama “Normal People” from BBC Three, Hulu, author Sally Rooney, and Academy Award-nominated director Lenny Abrahamson (“Frank,” “Room“) was a huge hit in the spring of 2020, distracting many through the pandemic and creating a word of mouth buzz that continued all summer long. The series also made big, breakout stars out of its leads Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal, who have gone on to become very in-demand actors.

Former Manchester United academy defender Reece Brown has admitted that current Newcastle United and former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe wanted to sign him.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOLER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “The We We Are,” the April 8 Season 1 finale episode of “Severance.”The Apple TV Plus drama “Severance” ended its first season with a truly big finale payoff for those who’ve patiently awaited answers to the workplace’s thriller many mysteries.Helly R’s (Britt Lower) Outtie is actually Lumon CEO Jame Eagan’s newly severed daughter, Helena Eagan, and she’s just revealed to a party full of Lumon shareholders the company is torturing its severed employees — despite Ms. Cobel’s (Patricia Arquette) desperate attempt to stop her.Mark Scout’s (Adam Scott) Innie has discovered Outtie Mark has a supposedly deceased wife named Gemma (Dichen Lachman) — who is really the very much alive Miss Casey — and shouted the news to a roomful of people at Devon (Jen Tullock) and Ricken’s (Michael Chernus) book party.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Melrose Place” co-stars Daphne Zuniga and Grant Show will be reunited when Zuniga guest stars on an upcoming episode of the CW network’s “Dynasty,” Variety has learned exclusively.Zuniga is set to play Sonya Jackson, a woman from Blake’s (Show) past who comes in and stirs things up for the Carringtons. The episode of “Dynasty,” titled “A Friendly Kiss Between Friends,” will air Friday, April 29, at 9 p.m.

Lamorne Morris understands his hit Hulu show “Woke” aims to mirror society as we know it, so it was only natural for the sophomore season to be inspired by the aftermath of the George Floyd riots and the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterCrank up the defiant jazz: “Severance” has been renewed for Season 2 at Apple TV Plus.In the Ben Stiller-directed workplace thriller, Mark Scout (Adam Scott) leads a team at Lumon Industries, whose employees have undergone a severance procedure, which surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives. This daring experiment in ‘work-life balance’ is called into question as Mark finds himself at the center of an unraveling mystery that will force him to confront the true nature of his work… and of himself.Along with Scott, “Severance” stars Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, Dichen Lachman, Jen Tullock, Tramell Tillman, Michael Chernus and Christopher Walken.