Month: October 2021

Damian Lewis will exit Showtime’s drama Billions after five seasons. Lewis tweeted  Monday: “Thank you @SHO_Billions thank you @briankoppelman @DavidLevien. A pleasure and a privilege to play Axe for 5 seasons with some of the smartest, funniest most talented cast and crew I’ve worked with. I’ll miss the Billions family. Yep, some jobs are more than just a job…. Love,” 

Showtime said Season 6 of Billions is scheduled to debut in January. The cable television network tweeted:  “Chuck Rhoades and Mike Prince can’t wait to sink their teeth into each other, and we won’t keep you waiting long either.”  The post included a minute-long trailer showing U.S. Attorney General Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) vowing to continue his war against the “criminally rich.”

Lewis’ wife, Peaky Blinders and Harry Potter actress Helen McCory, died of cancer in April at the age of 52. The couple share two children.

Editorial credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com

The producers of the Broadway musical Aladdin have announced performances of the show will be canceled through Oct. 10 because of breakthrough cases of COVID-19 among the show’s vaccinated cast and crew. The next planned performance is Oct. 12.

A post on the Aladdin Twitter feed said: “We will continue to provide support to the affected Aladdin company members as they recover. We apologize for the disappointment and inconvenience this causes ticket holders, but we trust that audiences will agree that safety must be at the forefront of our return to Broadway.”

Aladdin resumed performances just last Tuesday, after Broadway recently reopened after being shut down for more than a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The cast, crew and adult members of the audience have to be fully vaccinated to take part of the show, and audience members also must wear masks in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. Children too young to be vaccinated must show proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test.

Editorial credit: Resul Muslu / Shutterstock.com

The original ‘Law & Order’ series is being revived by NBC, returning to the network for Season 21. Law & Order first launched in 1990 and ran for 20 seasons on NBC before it was canceled in 2010. The franchise, from Dick Wolf, spawned spinoffs including the long-running Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and the newer Law & Order: Organized Crime. “There are very few things in life that are literally dreams come true. This is mine,” Wolf in a statement.  Season 21 will continue where the original series left off as it follows police and district attorneys.

Studio Wolf Entertainment also uploaded to Twitter a video featuring Law & Order’s signature logo and theme song with the caption: “Eleven years later. The stories continue.”  No premiere date or cast has been announced. Law & Order featured different stars throughout its run including Sam Waterson, S. Epatha Merkerson, Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin, Steven Hill, Leslie Hendrix, Fred Thompson, Chris Noth, Angie Harmon and many more.

Editorial credit: Ron Adar / Shutterstock.com

Sony Pictures’ Marvel sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage, starring Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams, was the No. 1 movie in North America; earning $90.1 million it its debut weekend and making it the best film opening since the pandemic. Before Venom: Let There Be Carnage, the top pandemic openings had been the Walt Disney’s “Black Widow” ($80 million), “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” ($75 million) and Universal Pictures’ “Fast and Furious” sequel “F9” ($70 million).

Coming in at No. 2 is The Addams Family 2 with $18 million, followed by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings at No. 3 with $6 million, The Many Saints of Newark at No. 4 with $5 million and Dear Evan Hansen at No. 5 with $2.5 million.

Editorial credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com