Hulu Sets Premiere Dates for ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ and ‘Only Murders in the Building’ (TV News Roundup)
Hulu announced “Nine Perfect Strangers” will premiere on August 18 and be released weekly, while “Only Murders in the Building” will premiere on August 31 and be released weekly.
Based on the bestselling book by Liane Moriarty, “Nine Perfect Strangers” takes place at a boutique health-and-wellness resort that promises healing and transformation. Nine “stressed city dwellers” try to get on a path to a better way of living there over the course of 10 days (taking place over eight episodes).
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“Nine Perfect Strangers” stars Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Michael Shannon, Luke Evans, Bobby Cannavale, Regina Hall, Samara Weaving, Melvin Gregg, Asher Keddie, Grace Van Patten, Tiffany Boone and Manny Jacinto.
Director Jonathan Levine serves as an executive producer alongside Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Jodi Matterson for Made Up Stories; Kidman and Per Saari for Blossom Films; Moriarty, David E. Kelley, John Henry Butterworth, Molly Allen, Samantha Strauss and McCarthy. Co-showrunners Kelley and Butterworth wrote the series with Samantha Strauss.
“Only Murders in the Building” is a comedic murder-mystery that follows three strangers with a shared true crime obsession who suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. When a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building, the trio suspects murder and employs their precise knowledge of true crime to investigate the truth, recording their own podcast to document the case and unraveling the complex secret history of the building. Soon, they realize a killer might be living amongst them.
The series stars Steve Martin, Selena Gomez, Martin Short, Aaron Dominguez and Amy Ryan. It was co-created and written by Martin and John Hoffman. Short, Gomez, Dan Fogelman, Jamie Babbitt and Jess Rosenthal serve as executive producers.
Also in today’s TV news roundup:
DATES
HBO announced that the second season of “Betty” will premiere on June 11. Based on creator Crystal Moselle’s 2018 Sundance hit “Skate Kitchen,” the series follows five young women on their own journeys of self-discovery against the backdrop of New York City’s male-dominated skateboarding scene. In the second season, the five female protagonists are navigating the pressures of adulthood, and their male counterparts start to step up, step in and become true allies. Set at the end of 2020, the season also captures the pandemic in New York City, where masks and outside activities are the new normal. The six-episode season stars Nina Moran, Dede Lovelace, Moonbear, Rachelle Vinberg, Ajani Russell, Katerina Tannenbaum, Andrew Darnell, Lil’ Dre, Chef Roblé Ali, Rad Pereira, Isabel Palma, Danielle Melendez, Aya Aldamin, Florence Pedrosa Blake Mourad, Alexander Cooper, Raekwon Haynes, Moisés Acevedo, Judah Lang, Joe Apollonio and Sage Ceasar. Moselle serves as an executive producer and director; Alliah Sophia Mourad, Igor Srubshchik, Jason Weinberg and Annie Schmidt also executive produce.
Netflix announced that the second and final season of “Feel Good” will premiere on June 4. The season will continue to follow Mae (Mae Martin) and George’s (Charlotte Ritchie) complicated love story when, following her relapse, Mae begins to realize she’ll have to face her past in order to move forward. Lisa Kudrow, Philip Burgers and Adrian Lukis will also return for the second season. New cast members include Anthony Head, Jordan Stephens, John Ross Bowie, Eleanor Matsuura and Eve. Co-writers and creators Martin and Joe Hampson produced the season alongside Charlotte Lewis, Kelly McGolpin and Ben Farrell.
GREENLIGHTS
Discovery ordered an eight-part competition series called “Who Wants To Be An Astronaut?” which is set to debut in 2022. The series will offer ordinary people the chance to travel into space, where they’ll live aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for eight days. Contestants will have the opportunity to compete for an official spot aboard an upcoming Axiom mission, expected to be Ax-2 managed by Houston-based Axiom Space, which is building the world’s first commercial space station and is at the forefront of the new model of private space travel. In the end, one lucky candidate will be chosen. “Who Wants To Be An Astronaut?” will be produced for Discovery Channel by Boat Rocker Studios through Matador Content, and BoomTown Content. For Matador Content, Jay Peterson and Todd Lubin are executive producers; for Boomtown Content, Paul Ricci and Mark Efman are executive producers; for Discovery, Wyatt Channell, Caroline Perez and Scott Lewers are executive producers.
FX placed a two-season order for “Welcome to Wrexham,” a docuseries from Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds that explores the duo’s purchase and stewardship of the Welsh football team Wrexham AFC. In hopes of turning the club into an underdog story the whole world could root for, the series will track their crash course in football club ownership as well as the inextricably connected fates of a team and a town counting on two actors to bring some serious change to a community that could use it. “Welcome to Wrexham” is executive produced by McElhenney, Reynolds, Nick Frenkel, John Henion and Boardwalk Pictures’ Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard, Jordan Wynn and Sarina Roma. The series is produced by Boardwalk Pictures.
INITIATIVES
ViacomCBS announced that “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” will launch a new charitable line of merchandise called “The Daily Show Dogs Collection” that will benefit the Best Friends Animal Society. Items available for sale include bandanas, collars, hand towels and bowls. All ViacomCBS proceeds will be donated to Best Friends.
PODCASTS
Marvel Entertainment and SiriusXM announced the launch of their first original scripted podcast series, “Marvel’s Wastelanders: Old Man Star-Lord.” The first two episodes of the 10-episode series will debut June 1 on all major podcast platforms and be released weekly. This will be the first installment of the “Marvel’s Wastelanders” multi-part podcast epic, which will feature other heroes such as Old Man Wolverine, Old Man Hawkeye and Grey Widow. Each series will take place in a shadowy alternate future of the Marvel Universe where the villains have finally won and heroes are nothing but a bad memory. “Marvel’s Wastelanders: Old Man Star-Lord” finds Peter Quill and Rocket a little paunchier, a little slower and a lot saltier than they were during the glory days of the Guardians of the Galaxy. After crash landing on Earth, they quickly discover that the planet isn’t what it used to be. Doctor Doom has ruled over a barren, desolate wasteland for 30 years where all the world’s super-villains seized control, including the outlaw Ghost Riders and the bloodthirsty Kraven the Hunter. “Marvel’s Wastelanders: Old Man Star-Lord” stars as Star-Lord, Chris Elliott as Rocket Raccoon, Nadine Malouf as Cora, Patrick Page as Kraven the Hunter, Vanessa Williams as Emma Frost, and Danny Glover as Red. Other voice actors include Eric T. Miller, Elizabeth Francis, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Marylouise Burke, Blake Stadnik, Dylan Baker and Aasif Mandvi. The series is directed by Kimberly Senior and sound designed with original scoring by Mark Henry Phillips. Dan Buckley, Joe Quesada, Daniel Fink, Sarah Amos, Stephen Wacker, Ellie Pyle and Jill DuBoff from Marvel serve as executive producers. Jenny Radelet Mast from Wave Runner Studios serve as a producer.
EXECUTIVE NEWS
Nickelodeon announced that it will consolidate its animation and live-action casting and talent under one team led by Liz Paulson, senior vice president of talent and casting for Nickelodeon Kids & Family. Paulson will expand her current role of overseeing animation casting and talent development into the live-action sphere. Based in Nickelodeon’s Burbank animation studio, Paulson will report to Ramsey Naito and Brian Robbins.
LATE NIGHT
Chris Rock and Willow will appear on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” while Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade, Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Royal Blood will be on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “Conan” will feature Deon Cole, while Morgan Freeman and Tig Notaro will appear on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” Nick Jonas, Sam Jay, Deb Haaland and Brian Frasier-Moore will be on “Late Night With Seth Meyers”; “The Late Late Show With James Corden” will feature Regina Hall and Moby, and A.R. Rahman will be on “A Little Late With Lilly Singh.”
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