Breaking News
EMPIRE Renewed For Sixth Season; Jussie Smollett Future With Show Uncertain, But ‘No Plans” For Jamal To Return
Some major questions concerning the future of Fox’s sudsy, Empire have been answered, while the future of one of its main stars Jussie Smollett (Jamal) remains in question.
While the series got its season six pick-up, but there was another interesting development which was offered up in a statement by Fox Entertainment and 20th Century Fox that read: “By mutual agreement, the studio has negotiated an extension to Jussie Smollett’s option for Season 6, but at this time there are no plans for the character of Jamal to return to Empire.”
According to reps for Smollett, they have been told: “Jussie will not be on Empire in the beginning of the season but he appreciates they have extended his contract to keep Jamal’s future open. Most importantly he is grateful to Fox and Empire leadership, cast, crew and fans for their unwavering support.”
In Empire‘s official renewal statement from Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn today it said. “Empire continues to break barriers with its emotionally powerful storytelling, and it remains a core part of the Fox legacy. “We want to thank everyone on the show – Taraji, Terrence and the entire cast, as well as Lee, Danny, Brett, Sanaa, Brian, Francie, Dennis and their teams – all of whom have done a tremendous job this season. We know there are so many more stories to tell, and we can’t wait to see what they have in store for Season 6.”
When Jamal was last seen on Empire, he had tied-the-know. Whether his departure will be for a number of episodes or permanent looks up in the air.
Smollett made national news when he told the police that two men jumped him around 2 a.m. on January. 29yh on a Chicago street, yelling racist and homophobic slurs, and put a rope around his next and threw a substance in his face. After an investigation, Smollett was charged with filing a fake police report with the Chicago PD and later had all charges dropped against him, even though the evidence indicated he was guilty of setting the whole thing up.
So, what do you think of Empire getting renewed for a sixth season? What should they do in regards to the character of Jamal and if Jussie Smollett should ever return?
Jussie Smollett (Jamal) Will not return.
And that is not right, all charges were dismissed.
Anyways-
Lucious has a new son, Jeff Kingsley..
So Jamal is not needed.
Looks like Andre will die..
If not its a medical not on the market/impossible.
Empire will be quite different without Andre and Jamal
(Hakeem and Kingsley won’t cut it..
The Lyons Family won’t recover …
Jamal is the singer the talent star..
Can Lucious & Cookie handle losing two sons at once? Hakeem can’t carry the show. And I don’t see Kingsley as much of a replacement. Don’t know when they start filming the fall season, but I would imagine Team Empire is going crazy right now trying to dream up some new characters to keep the storylines going. And they can’t all be Lucious’s lost kids, for Hell’s sake! (although if Cookie was in prison for 17 years, Hell only knows how many baby mamas he might have hooked up with)
I want Jussie back!
Wendy Williams said it best on her talk show… “Just go away” !
Breaking News
George Cheeks, CBS President & CEO, on Timeline to Launch New Daytime Drama, ‘The Gates’: “We’re So Focused on Getting it Right”
March 2024 will be remembered in the TV and soap world when the news broke that CBS is prepping a brand new daytime drama. Many had thought a major network would never bring a new daytime soap into the world, given that the last time it was attempted was 25 years ago when the now defunct Passions bowed on NBC.
However, The Gates is definitely in development and moving forward with some major players associated with it including: Michele Val Jean as The Gates writer, showrunner and one of its executive producers, and Sheila Ducksworth from NAACP Venture
Now, for the first time since its announcement, George Cheeks, the president and CEO of CBS and chief content officer for news and sports at Paramount+, spoke on the project that will feature a Black family as its central focus who live in a wealthy gated community.
Speaking with Vulture, and when asked if The Gates is really something that truly has a chance of getting on the air, Cheeks clarified, “It’s super real. And just to give you a little bit of the backstory, when we hired Sheila Ducksworth to run the NAACP Venture, she and I had multiple meetings talking about what different genres she was going to lean into, and we talked a lot about daytime.”
Cheeks added, “One of the things that the data made very clear to both of us is that daytime soap operas over index with Black women, and yet when you look at soap operas, it’s usually sort of a white-led family with supporting characters that reflect more of our society. So we just thought, wouldn’t it be interesting to flip that and make the core anchor family a Black family, and then make the other characters reflect more the broader scope of society?”
The CEO gave props to Michele Val Jean, and how Ducksworth came to the table with the former B&B and GH writer. “She found this great writer, Michele Val Jean, who’s been in the soap opera space for 30 years. She came up with a pitch, and we loved it,” shares Cheeks. “We brought Procter & Gamble into it as well, because if there were going to be (product) integrations, we could do it more holistically and organically. All of that is to say, we did a lot of work on the front end to put this together. So while yes, it’s development, it’s accelerated development.”
When prodded on the timeline of when The Gates could come to full fruition, Gates related, “The actual timeline and when we’re going to do it is still uncertain, because we want to get this right. I mean, there hasn’t been a new soap opera launch since I can’t even begin to tell you when. But we have great success with Bold and the Beautiful and Young and the Restless, and so we think we’re the right folks to be launching a new soap. I wish I could tell you more about exact timing, but we’re so focused on getting it right, and that will dictate when we’re ready to launch it.”
The CBS exec also shared that whether The Gates will wind up an hour soap or half-hour is not yet determined, but that it is being developed as an hour show.
So, after reading what George Cheeks, the CBS President & CEO had to say about ‘The Gates’, are you even more excited for what looks to the first new network soap in 25 years? Comment below.
Breaking News
Robyn Bernard, ‘General Hospital’s’ Terry Brock, Dead at 64
Breaking News
51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Announce Broadcast Date on CBS
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) revealed on Tuesday, that the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be broadcast live on Friday night, June 7th (8 – 10 PM, ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+*.
This year will mark the 18th time CBS has broadcast the Daytime Emmy Awards, which is more than any other network.
The 2024 Daytime Emmys will take place at the Westin Bonaventure in downtown Los Angeles. Back in December of 2023, the delayed 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were also held at that venue. The June 7th date for the upcoming ceremony will be the first time in several years that the event is scheduled a few weeks earlier than normal; excluding last year’s revised date to the actors and writers strikes.
Lifetime Achievement honoree, nominations, host, and additional information will be announced in the coming weeks.
In a statement, Adam Sharp, President and CEO of NATAS noted, “We eagerly anticipate our return in June as we once again partner with CBS to recognize the exceptional and talented individuals who make daytime television great. We’re thrilled to kick off our second half-century of the Daytime Emmys.”
The Daytime Emmy Awards have recognized outstanding achievement in television programming and crafts since 1974, honoring work in a variety of categories, including daytime dramas, talk shows, instructional programming, hosting, culinary, and legal/courtroom programs. In 2021, NATAS and the Television Academy jointly announced plans to realign the Daytime and Primetime Emmy Awards to be organized by content genre, as opposed to program airtime.
The 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will once again be produced by NATAS and Associated Television International (ATI), which produced Daytime Emmy Award ceremonies on The CW in 2009 and on CBS in 2010, 2011, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Adam Sharp and Lisa Armstrong are executive producers from NATAS, while David McKenzie is executive producer from ATI.
So, glad to know that the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards honoring performance and shows in the 2023 calendar year, will be held in early June this year, and once again broadcast on CBS? Comment below.
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General HospitalMarch 23, 2024
Mansion Where The Menéndez Brothers Murdered Their Parents Sold, While Netflix Series Featuring GH’s Nicholas Chavez In Production
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The Young and the Restless Recasts the Role of Harrison Abbott
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General HospitalMarch 23, 2024
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