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THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 4/21/23

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

#1 - FOX NEWS & DOMINION REACH SETTLEMENT
This was one of those weeks where one of the biggest TV stories was also one of the biggest politics stories. Just before a trial got underway, FOX News reached a settlement with Dominion Voting Systems that saw them paying the company $787.5 million after Dominion sued FOX News for defamation after fraudulent claims regarding the 2020 election. While this was a huge amount of money, many were left feeling that FOX sort of got away without having to truly admit to their lies and help in spreading former President Trump's false claims about the 2020 election. The findings showed that many of FOX's top talent including Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham didn't really believe what they were spreading. Whether or not this has any impact on the hugely popular conservative news network going forward remains to be seen but I wouldn't hold my breath. 

#2 - CHARLIE SHEEN & CHUCK LORRE TEAMING UP AGAIN
Despite a very public and acrimonious split in 2011, Chuck Lorre will be teaming up again with Charlie Sheen. Sheen was the star of Lorre's Two and a Half Men from 2003-2011 before Sheen's highly publicized "winning" meltdown that led to his departure from the show and lots of hurt feelings all around. Now the two will work together on Lorre's upcoming Max comedy How to Be a Bookie with Sheen in a recurring role. It's been a long time since Sheen has had any major tabloid disasters so this will all probably go fine but it's shocking to see for those of us who closely followed the epic disaster of 2011 between the two.

#3 - NATASHA ROTHWELL RETURNING TO "THE WHITE LOTUS"
It was revealed this week that Natasha Rothwell will return to the third season of The White Lotus, reprising her role of Belinda from the first season. This tracks with creator Mike White's plan to have one or two returning characters in each season that will have a new location and mostly new characters. The third season will take place in Thailand according to reports. As someone who loves The White Lotus and loved Rothwell's character in Season One, I am excited for this news!

#4 - RENEWALS AND CANCELLATION
There were several renewals this week, mostly from ABC. The Alphabet Network renewed The Rookie for a sixth season, The Good Doctor and Station 19 for a seventh season and Will Trent for a second season. This wave of news leaves a few scripted bubble shows for ABC: Alaska Daily, Big Sky, The Company You Keep, Home Economics, Not Dead Yet and The Rookie: Feds. All could go either way but right now things seem to be trending in the right direction for The Rookie: Feds and Big Sky with Alaska Daily not looking good and the rest truly on the bubble. Also renewed was Hulu's Reasonable Doubt while Apple TV+ cancelled Jason Katims drama Dear Edward after one season.

#5 - SCRIPTED PREMIERES THIS WEEK
Here's a look at this week's scripted premieres!

Today: Amazon premieres the limited series Dead Ringers based on the cult favorite movie from the 1980s and starring Rachel Weisz. Although buzz has been minimal, this could be a sneaky late entry into the Limited Series Emmys race. Roku premieres Slip, a new comedy starring Zoe Lister-Jones.

Sunday: HBO has the second season premiere of Somebody Somewhere, a little show that has its ardent supporters but one that didn't cut through much in its first season. MGM+ has the second season premiere of its horror show From.

Wednesday: Hulu has the premiere of psychological drama Saint X based on the novel of the same name. This doesn't seem to be on the radar of many in the glut of new shows this month. Comedy Central has the third season premiere of Awkwafina is Nora From Queens, one of its few original scripted shows remaining.

Thursday: HBO Max, in its final weeks before it becomes Max, has the premiere of Love & Death. While the Elizabeth Olsen limited series is the same premise as Hulu's Candy from last year, this one is getting some buzz primarily for Olsen's performance. Netflix has the second season premiere of Sweet Tooth, which didn't make much of an impression when its first season aired.

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