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THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 1/15/21

Here's a look at my Top 5 TV news stories of the week!

#1 - "SEX AND THE CITY" REVIVAL COMING TO HBO MAX
It was announced this week that the latest TV show to get a revival is Sex and the City. The acclaimed series, which ran on HBO from 1998-2004 and spawned two movies, will return for a 10 episode season on HBO Max. Three of the four members of the original cast are returning (Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis) while the fourth, Kim Cattrall, will not return. Cattrall has made it clear since the second movie that she wishes to move on and there are reports of friction between her and Parker. The revival series will focus on the women, now in their 50s. While Sex and the City was a huge hit in its original run, the movies (especially the second) seemed to have dulled enthusiasm about more stories from this team so I'm a little skeptical this revival series will be able to recapture the magic.

#2 - NBC PICKS UP THREE SERIES FOR 2021-22
NBC was the first out of the gate for picking up new shows for 2021-22 and they are three shows that were originally developed for the pilot season that never happened last season. The network picked up comedies American Auto and Grand Crew and drama La Brea. American Auto comes from Superstore's Justin Spitzer and centers on employees at a major American automotive company in Detroit. Grand Crew is about a group of black friends who hang out at a wine bar. And La Brea is a high concept drama centered around a massive sinkhole opening up in Los Angeles. These three pilots were all on the road to series pickups even after their pilot filming was halted or not even started. Other pilots that NBC committed to film including dramas Ordinary Joe and Langdon are still in contention while comedy Night School was passed on.

#3 - MORE "JEOPARDY" GUEST HOSTS
We already knew about Katie Couric and the current Ken Jennings as fill-ins on Jeopardy but many more guest hosts were announced this week. Other co-hosts will include Green Bay Packers QB and NFL MVP frontrunner Aaron Rodgers (a former Celebrity Jeopardy champ), Call Me Kat star Mayim Bialik and 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker with others still to be announced. Whitaker could be a contender for the permanent spot but Rodgers and Bialik seem more like stunt moves. I think Ken Jennings has done an admirable job this week on the show and I'm not always a Jennings fan.

#4 - "INSECURE" ENDING WITH SEASON FIVE
HBO's acclaimed comedy Insecure will end with its upcoming fifth season. The series, which explores the lives of two black women in Los Angeles, has earned a lot of critical acclaim including an Outstanding Comedy Series nomination at the Emmy Awards this past season. The fifth season is just starting production and probably won't arrive until after the current Emmy cycle. HBO also announced that High Maintenance has been cancelled after four seasons.

#5 - "THE LINCOLN LAWYER" MOVES TO NETFLIX
The Lincoln Lawyer is making the jump from CBS to Netflix. The series, which is based on the book series and Matthew McConaughey movie of the same name, had been given a pilot order at CBS last season before everything shut down. From David E. Kelley, it will now have a new home on the streaming service and will star Manuel Garcia-Rulfo.

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