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THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 12/11/20

Here's a look at this week's Top 5 TV news stories!

#1 - TONS OF DISNEY+ NEWS
All five news items this week could probably come from the Disney investors meeting but I'll jam it into this first post. Most of the highlights at the event were for Disney+ where original content will be ramping up in a major way over the next couple years. Among the highlights: Hayden Christensen will reprise his film role of Anakin Skywalker for a new Star Wars series, Obi-Wan Kenobi. There was a series order for Lando, a Star Wars prequel that is rumored to be starring film portrayer Donald Glover. Samuel L. Jackson will reprise his MCU role as Nick Fury and star in Secret Invasion. Tatiana Maslany will star in a TV version of She-Hulk and Mark Ruffalo will also appear. The Falcon and Winter Soldier will premiere on March 19, 2021 while Loki will follow in May. Finally, there will be series based on the films Moana, Big Hero 6, The Princess and the Frog, Up and Cars. Whew. And those were just the highlights.

#2 - "IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY" RENEWED THROUGH SEASON 18
FXX has renewed It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia for three (!) more seasons. It was already renewed for Season 15 and will now air through at least Season 18, easily shattering the record for longest running live action comedy series (it is currently tied with Ozzie & Harriet). The series, which premiered way back in 2005, aired on FX for eight seasons before moving to FXX. Also renewed this week was Industry for season two on HBO, For All Mankind for season three on Apple TV+ (season two premieres in February) and The Handmaid's Tale for season five on Hulu (season four premieres in 2021).

#3 - "iCARLY" GETTING REVIVED AT PARAMOUNT+
The popular 2000s Nickelodeon series iCarly is the latest show to get revived. The Miranda Cosgrover series, which originally aired from 2007-2012 will return, this time on Paramount+ (currently known as CBS All Access). The series is well liked from a certain age demographic but I'm not sure that's the demographic that would be interested in Paramount+. Still, it's a decent buzzy get for a service that is trying to cut through the noise with a relaunch (though it will not be available at that time). 

#4 - "ALIEN" SERIES COMING TO FX
A longtime rumor was confirmed today by FX's John Landgraf - the network is developing a series based on the popular Alien film franchise and it will be helmed by Fargo creator Noah Hawley with original film director Ridley Scott likely to join as an executive producer. It is billed as the first Alien installment set on Earth. I have no connection to the movie but a lot seem excited by this news.

#5 - JULIA ROBERTS AND EMMA STONE JOIN NEW TV PROJECTS
Movie stars Julia Roberts and Emma Stone are once again turning to TV as both have dabbled in the medium before. Julia Roberts, who starred in the first season of Amazon's Homecoming, will star in a limited series for Apple TV+ based on an upcoming Laura Dave novel The Last Thing He Told Me. Roberts is also working on three other TV projects but none of them have concrete dates or details. Emma Stone, who starred with Jonah Hill on Netflix's one season show Maniac, will star in a Showtime series called The Curse, a comedy about a curse messing with an HGTV couple.

Check back next week for a new week of blog posts!

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