“We’ve never had a show like ‘Love, Death & Robots’ before so we’re trying something completely new: presenting four different episode orders,” Netflix said via Twitter on Tuesday. “The version you’re shown has nothing to do with gender, ethnicity, or sexual identity — info we don’t even have in the first place.”

That tweet was in direct response to a thread started by Out in Tech co-founder Lukas Thoms on Monday, in which he wrote: “Just discovered the most INSANE thing. The ORDER OF THE EPISODES for Netflix’s new series ‘Love Death & Robots’ changes based on whether Netflix thinks you’re gay or straight.”

We've never had a show like Love, Death & Robots before so we're trying something completely new: presenting four different episode orders. The version you're shown has nothing to do with gender, ethnicity, or sexual identity — info we don't even have in the first place.

— Netflix US (@netflix) March 19, 2019

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Thoms included screengrabs of the order that his episodes came in versus that of a heterosexual friend, noting: “On the left is my account, starting with the one with a lesbian storyline, and the right is my straight friend Andrew’s account, starting with the one that has the most realistic and explicit hetero sex.”

See below:

On the left is my account, starting with the one with a lesbian storyline, and the right is my straight friend Andrew's account, starting with the one that has the most realistic and explicit hetero sex. pic.twitter.com/kSMuaFhSbU

— Lukas Thoms (@LukasThoms) March 19, 2019

“We’ve known for a while that Netflix personalized the marketing of their shows based on sexual orientation (trailers, cover images etc) but it’s next level weird to change the actual experience of watching it,” Thoms added. “Thought I was losing my mind trying to talk to Andrew about the show.”

When asked if the four different episode-order versions are assigned at random or by using some other kind of user data, a representative for Netflix declined TheWrap’s request for comment beyond the statement given by the streaming service on Twitter.

Thoms updated his own thread Tuesday with a tweet that said, “a friend I trust at Netflix looked into this, and apparently the episode ordering is just a 100% random A/B test that doesn’t involve any ML. Identity-based recommendations are still a good discussion to have, in this case it was just random!”

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“This makes sense to me as episode ordering is completely new, and there’s nothing keeping them from using the data gathered here for future identity targeting,” he continued. “I hear Netflix thinks and cares a lot about ethical algorithms, but every company needs to be more transparent here.”

A final update: a friend I trust at Netflix looked into this, and apparently the episode ordering is just a 100% random A/B test that doesn't involve any ML. Identity-based recommendations are still a good discussion to have, in this case it was just random!

— Lukas Thoms (@LukasThoms) March 19, 2019

Netflix has previously been accused of using user demographic data when personalizing customers’ experiences.

In October, the streaming service denied that race played a part in which thumbnails users see for different shows and movies, after the issue was raised by a podcaster on Twitter.

“Reports that we look at demographics when personalizing artwork are untrue. We don’t ask members for their race, gender or ethnicity so we cannot use this information to personalize their individual Netflix experience,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement obtained by TheWrap at the time. “The only information we use is a member’s viewing history.”

“In terms of thumbnails, these do differ and regularly change. This is to ensure that the images we show people are useful in deciding which shows to watch,” the statement said.

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TheWrap has ranked all of broadcast’s midseason debuts (so far) by their “live” total-viewer tallies. A pair of new singing competitions were impressive, a kinda-sorta reboot on The CW was not.

Find them all below, in ascending order. Find our Fall TV version of these rankings here.

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Rank: 14
Show: “Roswell, New Mexico”
Net: The CW
Total Viewers: 1.5 million

Rank: 13
Show: “Mental Samurai”
Net: Fox
Total Viewers: 2.3 million

Rank: 12
Show: “Proven Innocent”
Net: Fox
Total Viewers: 3.1 million

Rank: 11
Show: “Whiskey Cavalier”
Net: ABC
Total Viewers: 4.1 million * (*Time period premiere. Special post-Oscars sneak peek earned 4.2 million viewers)

Rank: 10
Show: “The Fix”
Net: ABC
Total Viewers: 4.4 million

Rank: 9
Show: “Schooled”
Net: ABC
Total Viewers: 4.8 million

Rank: 8
Show: “The Village”
Net: NBC
Total Viewers: 4.9 million

Rank: 7
Show: “The Passage”
Net: Fox
Total Viewers: 5.2 million

Rank: 6
Show: “The Word’s Best”
Net: CBS
Total Viewers: 5.6 million* (*Time period premiere. Special post-Super Bowl LIII series debut earned 22.2 million viewers)

Rank: 5
Show: “The Enemy Within”
Net: NBC
Total Viewers: 5.8 million

Rank: 4
Show: “The Titan Games”
Net: NBC
Total Viewers: 6.5 million

Rank: 3
Show: “Fam”
Net: CBS
Total Viewers: 7.3 million

Rank: 2
Show: “The Masked Singer”
Net: Fox
Total Viewers: 9.4 million

Rank: 1
Show: “America’s Got Talent: The Champions”
Net: NBC
Total Viewers: 10 million

Though Fox’s debut of “Mental Samurai” at 9 o’clock wasn’t great, a “MasterChef Junior” lead-in and the network’s abbreviated primetime hours allowed it to tie for second in the key 18-49 demographic, running closely with ABC.

CBS finished first in total viewers despite coming in last among the so-called Big 4 broadcasters in terms of demo ratings.

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NBC was first in ratings with a 1.3 rating/6 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and second in total viewers with an average of 6 million, according to preliminary numbers. At 8 p.m., “Ellen’s Game of Games” scored a 1.2/6 and 5.7 million total viewers. At 9, “This Is Us” landed a 1.7/7 and 7.5 million viewers. “The Village” series premiere at 10 put up a 0.9/4 and 4.9 million viewers.

ABC and Fox were tied for second in ratings, both with a 0.7/3. ABC was third in total viewers with 3.4 million, Fox was fourth with 2.5 million.

For ABC, “American Housewife” at 8 had a 0.8/4 and 3.9 million viewers. At 8:30, “The Kids Are Alright” managed a 0.6/3 and 3 million viewers. “black-ish” at 9 got a 0.6/3 and 2.7 million viewers. At 9:30, “Splitting Up Together” settled for a 0.6/2 and 2.4 million viewers. “The Rookie” closed primetime at 10 with a 0.7/3 and 4.2 million viewers.

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For Fox, “MasterChef Junior” at 8 received a 0.8/4 and 2.8 million viewers. The series debut of “Mental Samurai” at 9 took a 0.7/3 and 2.3 million viewers.

CBS was fourth in ratings with a 0.6/3, but first in viewers with 6.4 million, airing all repeats.

The CW, Univision and Telemundo tied for fifth in ratings, each with a 0.4/2. CW was fifth in total viewers with 1.33 million, Univision was sixth with 1.27 million and Telemundo was seventh with 1.1 million.

For The CW, “The Flash” at 8 got a 0.5/2 and 1.6 million viewers. At 9, “Roswell, New Mexico” settled for a 0.3/1 and 1 million viewers.

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“I wish I could tell you that the hardest part is behind us, that closing the deal was the finish line rather than just the next milestone,” Disney’s chairman and CEO wrote. “What lies ahead is the challenging work of uniting our businesses to create a dynamic global entertainment company with the content, the platforms and the reach to deliver industry-defining experiences that will engage consumers around the world for generations to come.”

“We’ve spent the past year exploring the new opportunities and synergies generated by bringing our two legendary companies together. Leaders across both organizations have worked closely together to understand how to best unlock this potential and unleash innovation and creativity to generate long-term growth. We’re confident in our integration strategy and in our ability to execute it effectively; and we’re inspired and energized by the new possibilities.”

Also Read: Disney Finally Closes Its $71.3 Billion Acquisition of 21st Century Fox

“Our integration process will be an evolution, with some businesses impacted more than others. We’ve made many critical decisions already, but some areas still require further evaluation. We may not have answers to all of your questions at this moment but we understand how vital information is, and we’re committed to moving as quickly as possible to provide clarity regarding how your role may be impacted.”

Read his memo in full below.

I’m proud to announce the acquisition is complete and 21st Century Fox is now part of The Walt Disney Company. I’d like to welcome our new colleagues, and thank employees on both sides of the deal for your patience and perseverance as we worked through the lengthy acquisition and regulatory process.

As you know, Disney has never been short on ambition. We’ve never been satisfied with the status quo, and our vision for this transformative era is our boldest yet. We are rapidly transforming our company to take full advantage of evolving consumer trends and emerging technology in order to thrive in this new and exciting time.

Our acquisition of 21st Century Fox was driven by our strong belief that the addition of these great businesses, brands, franchises and talent will allow us to move faster, reach farther and aim higher – especially when it comes to building direct connections with consumers.

I wish I could tell you that the hardest part is behind us; that closing the deal was the finish line, rather than just the next milestone. What lies ahead is the challenging work of uniting our businesses to create a dynamic, global entertainment company with the content, the platforms, and the reach to deliver industry-defining experiences that will engage consumers around the world for generations to come.

We’ve spent the last year exploring the new opportunities and synergies generated by bringing our two legendary companies together. Leaders across both organizations have worked closely together to understand how to best unlock this potential and unleash innovation and creativity to generate long-term growth. We’re confident in our integration strategy and in our ability to execute it effectively; and we’re inspired and energized by the new possibilities.

Our integration process will be an evolution, with some businesses impacted more than others. We’ve made many critical decisions already, but some areas still require further evaluation. We may not have answers to all of your questions at this moment, but we understand how vital information is, and we’re committed to moving as quickly as possible to provide clarity regarding how your role may be impacted.

Having been on both sides of numerous acquisitions during my career, I have a deep appreciation for how this one impacts everyone involved, on both a personal and professional level. I understand the challenges, and I ask for your continued patience in the days to come as we combine this collection of great assets to create the world’s premier entertainment company.

Bob

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The long-awaited trailer for Season 3 of “Stranger Things” has finally arrived. And it looks like this year we’ll be trading in the Upside Down for teenage wasteland. Or at least living between the two different horror settings when the Duffer Brothers-created sci-fi series returns to Netflix on the Fourth of July.

The 2-minute, 47-second trailer opens with Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) returning home from some trip to a surprise party hosted by Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Will (Noah Schnapp), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and Max (Sadie Sink). And for a kid who has seen some the freakiest supernatural creatures we could imagine, he is unreasonably spooked by the sweet gesture.

The rest of the video is set to The Who’s “Baba O’Riley,” a perfect backdrop to the summer lovin’ and teenage angst the Hawkins crew is going through as they fight puberty and other horrors during their school break.

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Additional highlights from the trailer include a hint of romance between David Harbour’s Hopper (with a mustache!) and Joyce (Winona Ryder), a very concerned Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), the introductions of the charming Mayor Kline (Cary Elwes) and Robin (Maya Hawke), Steve’s (Joe Keery) co-worker at Scoops Ahoy who is concerned he doesn’t have any friends his own age.

Oh, and let’s not forget the terrifying new monster that pops up in the Starcourt Mall in front of the gang at the very end there. Gah, rats!

Yeah, the Demogorgon’s got nothing on whatever the heck that thing is.

“Stranger Things” Season 3 launches July 4 on Netflix.

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“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2017 and its spinoff series, “Angel,” is hitting the big 2-0 itself this fall. And in honor of that momentous occasion, David Boreanaz says there is a possibility a reunion might be in the works.

“Well, you know, we’re coming up on our 20 years,” Boreanaz — who played the titular vampire detective on The WB series, after originating the role on “Buffy” — said on “The Talk” Tuesday, when asked if he’d be down for an “Angel” reunion.

“I mean that’s amazing to have been blessed with a show like that,” he continued. “And that’s really where I started my gig in this acting world. And I love that character. So I will say there may be something coming up. I don’t want to give away a lot. But I can say it’s 20 years coming up this fall, and we may have something in the works.”

Boreanaz starred as Angel, Buffy Summers’ (Sarah Michelle Gellar) much-older (by a couple of centuries), bloodsucking love interest, on the first three seasons of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” before spinning off onto “Angel” — also the work of “Buffy” creator Joss Whedon — in October 1999.

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The series ran for five seasons on The WB and, along with Boreanaz, starred Charisma Carpenter, Alexis Denisof, J. August Richards, James Marsters, Amy Acker, Mercedes McNab and the late actors Glenn Quinn and Andy Hallett.

Watch the interview above.

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(Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Season 1 finale of “The Umbrella Academy”)

If you have questions after watching the first season of Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy,” we can tell you that we don’t have any answers. And neither does David Castañeda, who starred as Diego on the streamer’s adaptation of Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá’s graphic novels about a dysfunctional family of superheroes.

The ending to the Season 1 finale sees the Umbrella Academy, after failing to stop Vanya (Ellen Page) and avert the apocalypse, decide to let Five (Aidan Gallagher) take them all back in time to try and prevent it entirely. And in doing so, we still Vanya, Five, Diego, Luther (Tom Hopper), Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Klaus (Robert Sheehan) and even Ben (Justin H. Min) all de-age down to their pre-teen selves. Huh?

Yeah, Castañeda doesn’t know what’s going on there either.

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“You know what, I’m as lost as you guys are at that moment,” the Netflix series’ star told TheWrap in the interview above. “Because, obviously, when we were shooting the last episode [showrunner] Steve Blackman didn’t even give us the last page of what was gonna happen until pretty much the day we shot it. So even till now, he doesn’t reply to any of my messages that I’ve been trying to ask him what’s going on. He doesn’t want to talk to me right now (laughs). So who knows.”

Castañeda also told us he did his own stunts when taking on Diego’s knife throwing skills and wore real knives on set, practicing with rubber knives in a warehouse alongside a stunt coordinator before the show started.

“And when I was home I would practice with a dull knife and just be practicing with it, because eventually I wanted to feel — obviously I wanted to wear the real knives on set and when I would take one out I wanted to feel that I would make everyone feel safe, because they were real and they could puncture lungs,” he said.

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Good thing he was trained because there was one scene in Episode 5 where Luther grabs Diego and Hopper actually “punctured” himself when he had to grab his co-star around his chest and grazed the knives. Don’t worry, Castenada says he’s OK!

The Netflix star also gave us his true ranking for Diego a.k.a. the Umbrella Academy’s No. 2 (spoiler alert: it isn’t great, but he has his reasons) among the team and breaks down his role in the siblings’ simultaneous dance sequence to Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now.”

Watch the full interview above.

“The Umbrella Academy” Season 1 is streaming now on Netflix.

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Well [bleep] Cheryl gently with a chainsaw, because she is not messing around in this sneak peek at Wednesday’s “Riverdale,” which features The CW series’ cast performing “Heathers: The Musical.”

In the preview below, we find out Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) has rightfully been given the part of Heather Chandler, the HBIC from the ’90s cult classic, while Veronica (Camila Mendes) is taking on Heather McNamara and Betty (Lili Reinhart) is Heather Duke. But, as Kevin — once again the Riverdale High musical’s director — puts it, “Cheryl is the mythic bitch.”

And in the musical episode’s second teaser — which you can view above — Cheryl takes that title up to 11 when she finds out Toni has been set as the choreographer for the production, and she’s, uh, not too happy about her ex girlfriend being in charge of her dance steps.

“Um, does anyone have a chainsaw because what the-,” Miss Blossom says before the preview cuts out.

And Betty knows the cast has even bigger problems to worry about, as Evelyn has been appointed Kevin’s co-director and will surely be bringing her farm-girl attitude into all of this.

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Yes, “Riverdale’s” next musical episode — which follow Season 2’s take on “Carrie” — is sure to be “big fun” for everyone.

Watch the teasers above and below.

“Riverdale” airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.

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Here’s the official logline for the six-episode show, which is based on the Walter Tevis novel of the same name: “Chronicling the life of an orphan chess prodigy, the story – set during the Cold War era – follows Beth Harmon from the age of eight to twenty-two, as she struggles with addiction in a quest to become the greatest chess player in the world.”

Academy Award-nominee Frank will serve as writer, director and executive producer on “The Queen’s Gambit,” with William Horberg (“The Talented Mr. Ripley”) also executive producing and Allan Scott (“Don’t Look Now,” “The Preacher’s Wife”) acting as co-writer and executive producer.

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Along with her role in M. Night Shyamalan’s “Split,” Taylor-Joy’s other film credits include the 2018 “Split” sequel, “Glass,” and 2015 horror flick “The Witch” along with the upcoming films “Playmobil: The Movie,” “Emma,” and “Last Night in Soho.” Her small-screen credits include Season 5 of “Peaky Blinders” and “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,” another upcoming series at Netflix.

She is repped by CAA, Troika, and Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson.

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Yes, apparently the pacing of the HBO series’ upcoming eighth and final season is more in line with your expectations for inter-kingdom travel and whatnot. However, they still have their reasons for speeding things up a bit last season.

“You obviously don’t want any criticism of any kind,” writer Dave Hill — who penned the upcoming Season 8 premiere, which airs April 14 — told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published Tuesday. “But with all the things we were balancing to set things up for Season 8, sometimes we had to speed things up within episodes. We had a lot of time cuts the vast majority of viewers didn’t catch. We could have a [title card] on there saying ‘Three Weeks Later,’ but we did not. Sometimes when moving pieces around you’re going to cheat a little bit. [For Season 8], we tried to keep more of the time logic rather than jet packs.”

But not all of them even paid attention to your pacing complaints, including co-showrunner Dan Weiss.

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“We don’t read a lot of that stuff,” Weiss told EW. “If somebody says, ‘I don’t like the way you do this,’ I have no idea what percentage of the people watching that opinion actually represents. If that opinion happens to surface louder on the internet, I still have no idea — it could be 1 percent of people that becomes an internet thing for 10 minutes and then it just seems like it’s more than 1 percent. But there’s no way of telling — nor am I interested in finding a way of finding out — how accurate those thoughts represent the broad spectrum of people watching. If you start thinking about that you’ll drive yourself crazy.”

“Game of Thrones” Season 8 premieres April 14 at 9/8c on HBO.

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NBC was first in ratings with a 1.4 rating/6 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 8 million, according to preliminary numbers. “The Voice” from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m posted a 1.7/7 and 9.7 million viewers. “The Enemy Within” at 10 had a 0.8/4 and 4.5 million viewers.

Fox was second in ratings with a 1.1/5 and in viewers with 5.51 million. “The Resident” at 8 received a 0.9/4 and 5.1 million viewers. At 9, “9-1-1” put up a 1.2/8 and 5.9 million viewers.

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ABC was third in ratings with a 1.0/4 and in viewers with 5.49 million. The “American Idol” time slot premiere landed a 1.1/5 and 6 million viewers from 8 to 10. At 10, “The Fix” debut managed a 0.7/3 and 4.4 million viewers.

CBS was fourth in ratings with a 0.8/3 and in viewers with 5.3 million. Between repeats, “Man With a Plan” at 8:30 got a 0.9/4 and 5.1 million viewers. “Bull” at 10 had a 0.7/3 and 6.3 million viewers.

Univision and Telemundo tied for fifth in ratings, both with a 0.4/2. Univision was fifth in total viewers with 1.3 million and Telemundo sixth with 1.2 million.

The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.3/1 and in viewers with 937,000 viewers. At 8, “Arrow” got a 0.3/1 and 1 million viewers. The “Black Lightning” season finale at 9 received a 0.2/1 and 849,000 viewers.

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It marks Corden’s second time running the show, as the “Late Late Show” host previously presided over Broadway’s biggest night back in 2016 for the Tonys’ 70th annual ceremony, which won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Program.

“I’m thrilled to be returning to host the Tony Awards. The Broadway community is very dear to my heart and I’m beyond proud to be part of this incredibly special night,” Corden said in a statement Tuesday.

Corden is a Tony winner in his own right, having brought home the statue for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for his 2012 performance in “One Man, Two Guvnors.”

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The 2019 awards ceremony will air live on Sunday, June 9 at 8 p.m. ET from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on CBS. The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

“James is not only a beloved talent, he is also a veteran of the stage and has a true passion for Broadway,” Charlotte St. Martin, president of The Broadway League, and Heather Hitchens, president of the American Theatre Wing, said. “We cannot wait to see what he has in store for us this year at the Tony Awards!”

Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment will return as executive producers for the 2019 Tony Awards. Weiss will also serve as director for the 20th consecutive year. Ben Winston is a producer.

Nominations for the 2019 Tony Awards will be announced live from The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center on April 30.

Variety first reported the news.

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Ouch! That’s gotta hurt.

“9-1-1” returned after a long hiatus Monday night with an episode that stabbed fans right in the gut in its final moments — when Chimney (Kenneth Choi) got stabbed right in the gut.

Just when it seemed he and Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) were going to finally make things official with their first real date, her estranged, abusive husband, Doug (Brian Hallisay) — who has been secretly trying to locate her and buddying up to Chimney by hiding his true identity — attacked Chimney in front of her apartment and left him for dead. Right after Maddie had finally summoned up the courage to send Doug the divorce papers, too!

And while we know you are probably dying to make sure that he’s OK — and not, you know, dying — “9-1-1” showrunner Tim Minear tells TheWrap there will be a pause before you find out Chimney’s fate and what happens to Maddie after Doug busts through her door and knocks her out.

“We want you to be worried for a little bit,” the Fox first-responder drama’s chief said.

“As we go out on [Episode 211], Chimney is not OK. (laughs),” Minear said. “And then in the next episode we’re going to be doing a Chimney origin story and it does not forget where we are in the timeline, but we’re going to learn more about Chimney and then we’ll come back and resolve his storyline in the present. And Chimney does everything in this origin story and we learn so much. It’s amazing.”

OK, so we can’t promise you Chimney survives, but the guy has survived having a piece of rebar through his head — so we’re hoping he can make it through several stabs to the stomach too.

Meanwhile, Minear told us what else to expected in the backhalf of Season 2, including a “heist” episode called, “Ocean’s 9-1-1” and one installment where they are sent back to the Stone Age — technologically speaking.

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“Episode 214 is called ‘Broken’ where things just start to break, literally, not just Southern California infrastructure but the call center breaks down,” Minear said. “And so we get to see what happens in a situation where they have to go analog and they have to go back to the white boards, and the clipboards, and the 3 x 5 cards, and the Thomas Guides, and the handset radios. Like what do you do when that incredibly complex computer dispatch system goes down? It causes chaos out on the streets and we get to see that chaos in the call center and outside in the world.”

And then yet another origin story, but this one gets to the heart of Peter Krause’s Bobby.

“And then we’ll be doing a hybrid of one of our origin stories and a regular episode, it’s called ‘Bobby Begins Again’ and we get to explore what happens when he first came to the 118,” Minear said. “And then the next two episodes build to a big finale I don’t want to give away yet.”

Fine, as long as Chimney is OK.

“9-1-1” airs Mondays at 9/8c on Fox.

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1. “Seinfeld” — Premiered July 5, 1989 on NBC

One of the most famous sitcoms of all time debuted in the dead of summer, but that didn’t stop the self-proclaimed “show about nothing” from becoming something.

2. “Happy Days” — Premiered Jan. 15, 1974 on ABC

Maybe a winter launch was what made the Fonz so cool in the first place.

3. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” — Premiered March 10, 1997 on The WB

Viewers were introduced to Sunnydale High School’s new vampire slayer well after the school year was already underway, but the shortened first season was enough of a hit that it came back for a second in time for the fall semester.

4. “Grey’s Anatomy” — Premiered March 27, 2005 on ABC

Shonda Rhimes began teaching us about medicine and love with the interns at Grey Sloan Memorial in the early spring of 2005, and hasn’t stopped for 14 seasons and counting.

6. “Married… With Children” — Premiered April 5, 1987 on Fox

The Bundys began delighting viewers with their trademark brand of crass humor with a truncated first season in the late ’80s and kept going for 10 more.

7. “Malcolm in the Middle” — Premiered Jan. 9, 2000 on Fox

Life may be unfair, but the viewership this Frankie Muniz-led comedy saw for its winter debut on Fox was more than generous.

8. “The Simpsons” — Dec. 17, 1989 on Fox

The Matt Groening-created cartoon premiered just before Christmas and has since become the longest-running scripted primetime TV series in the U.S.

9. “The Office” — Premiered March 24, 2005 on NBC

Though the first six episodes of “The Office” may not be as universally-beloved as the rest of its nine-season run, we’ll take a slow spring start over no Dunder Mifflin any day.

10. “Dawson’s Creek” — Premiered Jan. 20, 1998 on The WB

The now-defunct network didn’t wait for the end of winter before airing what would become one of the most famous primetime teen soap of all time.

11. “Three’s Company” — Premiered March 15, 1977

ABC came knocking on these neighbors’ door for a program to fill a spring hole in the ’70s and found a hit.

12. “3rd Rock From the Sun” — Premiered Jan. 9, 1996 on NBC

This cult classic about a group of aliens masquerading as a family of humans began airing in the winter and found a loyal following of earthlings.

13. “All in the Family” — Premiered Jan. 12, 1971 on CBS

Archie and Edith Bunker’s bickering began just after the New Year in 1971 and was so popular with viewers that it spawned three successful spinoffs: “Maude,” “The Jeffersons” and “Good Times.”

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No character details are currently available for any of these parts on the prequel pilot, which is currently untitled (unless you are going by Martin’s recent blog post) and set to go into production this summer. But we do know lead Naomi Watts has been cast as a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret.

Along with Watts and Richardson, the cast includes Josh Whitehouse, Naomi Ackie (who will next appear in J.J. Abrams’ “Star Wars” franchise), Denise Gough (“Guerrilla,” “Angels in America”), Jamie Campbell Bower (“Twilight,” “Mortal Instruments”), Sheila Atim (“Harlots”), Ivanno Jeremiah (“Black Mirror”), Georgie Henley (“The Chronicles of Narnia”), Alex Sharp (“To the Bone”) and Toby Regbo (“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”).

Also Read: 'Game of Thrones' Season 8: Here's the Length of the First 2 Episodes

Ordered to pilot last year, the project from Martin and “Kingsman” screenwriter Jane Goldman is set thousands of years before the events of the current “Game of Thrones” series in the era known as the “Age of Heroes.”

According to HBO, the drama “chronicles the world’s descent from the Golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. And only one thing is for sure: from the horrifying secrets of Westeros’ history to the true origin of the white walkers, the mysteries of the East to the Starks of legend … it’s not the story we think we know.”

Goldman wrote the pilot from a story she developed alongside Martin. She will serve as showrunner and will executive produce alongside Martin, James Farrel, Jim Danger Gray, Vince Gerardis, Sara Lee Hess, and Daniel Zelman. SJ Clarkson will direct the pilot and also executive produce. Chris Symes is co-executive producer.

Also Read: Here's How 'Game of Thrones' Burns Everyone Up - Safely (Video)

Along with the part of Rita Skeeter in the “Harry Potter” film franchise, Richardson is best known for her role as Queen Elizabeth I, aka Queenie, in the British television comedy, “Blackadder.” Other credits include Lady Mary Van Tassel in “Sleepy Hollow,” the voice of Mrs. Tweedy in “Chicken Run,” and Vanessa Bell in “The Hours.”

She can currently be seen in Sky’s 10-part series “Curfew,” starring Sean Bean and Robert Glenister and will next appear in Amazon’s TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s “Good Omens”

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The reality series confirmed the news via Twitter on Sunday writing: “Everyone at ITV2 and Love Island are shocked and saddened by the terrible news about Mike. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends.”

According to USA Today, Thalassitis — who earned the nickname “Muggy Mike” while competing on the British reality dating series back in 2017 — was found dead in North London on Saturday.

Metropolitan Police spokeswoman Chioma Dijeh told USA Today in a statement that authorities responded to reports of a “man found hanged” in a park near Latymer Way that morning, and Thalassitis was pronounced dead at the scene.

“At this early stage, the death is not being treated as suspicious,” Dijeh told the outlet.

Representatives for the Metropolitan Police did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

Also Read: 'Love Island': Hit British Reality Show Picked Up by CBS for American Version

Montana Brown, Thalassitis’ former co-star on on Season 3 of the ITV2 series, also confirmed the news via a lengthy Instagram post Sunday: “I can’t imagine how much pain you must have been in to do this, and the fact that you went through this on your own breaks my heart. I’m so so sorry I couldn’t do more to help you. I have so much love for you Mike and I will never forget you. Sleep tight darling and I miss you so much already ??’?”

Along with his stint on “Love Island” in 2017, Thalassitis — a professional soccer player — also appeared on Season 4 of the British series “Celebs Go Dating” in 2018.

Everyone at ITV2 and Love Island are shocked and saddened by the terrible news about Mike. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/QYkSTlTRvI

— Love Island (@LoveIsland) March 17, 2019

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Between Dany and her dragons and Melisandre and her love of setting people aflame in the name of the Lord of Light, “Game of Thrones” burns up quite a few people on a regular basis. And though on the HBO series what is dead may never die, the real-life actors being set on fire do need to go home unscathed at night.

In a new behind-the-scenes video posted by HBO on Monday, the “Game of Thrones” stunt team reveals its secrets for keeping everyone in Westeros safe as they douse them in fire.

“We burn more people than anybody else, basically,” stunt coordinator Rowley Irlam says in the clip — seriously, they broke a TV record with 20 full-fire burns in one shot — as he explains how they manage to do this without killing anyone.

Also Read: 'Game of Thrones': Night King Has a Specific 'Target He Wants to Kill' in Final Season

“We’re trying to create this really dynamic frame of action,” he says. “We’d love to go home at the end of the day and no one’s paid any kind of price for it.”

We then see the stunt performers doing a “fire dance,” which is what they call the route they take in the scene from when they are set on fire until they are extinguished by the safety guys.

Also Read: 'Game of Thrones': HBO Reveals Length of Series Finale Episode

Irlam explains they wear three layers of Nomex underwear, which is soaked in fireproof gel and are only burned for 15 seconds at a time.

Watch the video above.

“Game of Thrones” returns with its eighth and final season April 14 at 9/8c on HBO.

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According to the show’s producers, the Western drama has not been canceled but is undergoing “retooling” after Loughlin — a series regular — was fired by Hallmark Channel last week following her arrest in the ongoing college admissions bribery scandal.

“#Hearties, thank you for your love, support and patience these last several days as we have been preoccupied with the news about Lori Loughlin and her family, and the decisions our colleagues at the Hallmark Channel USA needed to make,” read a “producers’ statement” from Brian Bird and the show’s other executive producers that was posted to the show’s official Instagram page on Sunday. “As you can imagine, everyone involved with ‘When Calls the Heart’ was surprised by these developments, so we hope you can forgive us for initially staying silent while we sorted through how to respond.”

Also Read: Hallmark Channel Cuts Ties With Lori Loughlin Over College Admissions Scandal

“As for the show itself, we know millions of fans are on pins and needles wondering what will happen now. Let us reassure you, ‘When Calls the Heart’ has always been bigger than the sum of its parts, and it has not been canceled. With the full support of the network, we have gone on a creative hiatus to do some retooling on the remaining Season 6 episodes. That process has already begun. Hope Valley will return to your TV screens as soon as we can bring the episodes to you.”

“On behalf of our entire producing team, including Michael Landon Jr., Brad Krevoy and Alfonso Moreno, I want to thank you for continuing to show your support. Your private messages of support and your #Hearties4S6 worldwide trending on Thursday brought a lot of tears to the eyes of our cast and crew and to the good folks at Hallmark Channel. Your love for ‘When Calls the Heart’ is the courage we count on as we work through this challenging transition and your Hearties community will always be the most important legacy of this TV series. We love you!”

Hallmark Channel announced it had decided to part ways with Loughlin last Thursday, one day after her arrest in connection with the college admissions scam.

Also Read: Lori Loughlin's YouTuber Daughter Olivia Jade Is Dropped by Sephora as College Admissions Bribe Case Unfolds

“We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations,” Hallmark parent company Crown Media said in a statement. “We are no longer working with Lori Loughlin and have stopped development of all productions that air on the Crown Media Family Network channels involving Lori Loughlin including ‘Garage Sale Mysteries,’ an independent third party production.”

Additionally, Sunday’s episode of “When Calls the Heart,” on which Loughlin is a series regular, was pulled from the schedule.

Loughlin has been a fixture on Hallmark in recent years, toplining a number of its original films, including the “Garage Sale Mysteries” film series.

Also Read: Lori Loughlin to Be Released on $1 Million Bail in College Admissions Bribe Case

The network previously said it would take a wait-and-see approach with regards to Loughlin when the actress, and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were first identified by the FBI last Tuesday as two of the parents who are accused of buying into a bribery scheme in order to help place their kids into top-tier universities.

The “Fuller House” star surrendered herself to authorities on Wednesday and appeared before a federal judge in Los Angeles. She was released on $1 million bail. Her next court date is March 29 in Boston.

Loughlin had been ordered to surrender her passport but was given leeway to travel within the continental U.S. and British Columbia for work due to her obligations on “When Calls the Heart,” which films in Canada, and other projects.

Loughlin, along with 46 others including actress Felicity Huffman, were charged with paying bribes of up to $6 million to get their children into top universities like Yale, Stanford, Georgetown and USC, according to charging documents. During a press conference in Boston on Tuesday, Andrew Lelling, U.S. District Attorney for Massachusetts, said this was the “largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice,” totaling $25 million in bribes.

See the producers’ message to fans below.

View this post on Instagram

#Hearties! A very special message from @brbird & the @wcth_tv production team. Swipe right! (????: @janettemsu)

A post shared by When Calls The Heart (@wcth_tv) on Mar 16, 2019 at 1:06pm PDT

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Welcome back, witches.

Netflix dropped the trailer for “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” Season 2 on Monday morning to give fans their first real taste of the delicious dark side Sabrina (Kiernan Shipka) will be dealing in when the series returns with a new batch of episodes next month.

Here is the official description for the upcoming season: Part 2 finds Sabrina exploring her darker side, curious to learn more about her heritage, while struggling to maintain her friendships in the mortal world. Romantically, Sabrina is caught in an unholy love triangle with between sexy warlock Nicholas Scratch and salt-of-the-Earth mortal Harvey Kinkle. Meanwhile, the Dark Lord, Madame Satan, and Father Blackwood continue to conjure chaos in the Spellman household and the town of Greendale. And they aren’t the only ones trying to raise hell. Everything is in question … relationships, identity, true intentions … when the devil’s work is at hand.

Also Read: 'Chilling Adventures of Sabrina' Renewed for Seasons 3 and 4 at Netflix (Video)

“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” imagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as “a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult and, of course, witchcraft.” Described as “tonally in the vein of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist,” the series follows Sabrina as she wrestles “to reconcile her dual nature — half-witch, half-mortal — while standing against the evil forces that threaten her, her family and the daylight world humans inhabit.”

Shipka stars alongside Miranda Otto, Lucy Davis, Ross Lynch, Michelle Gomez, Chance Perdomo, Jaz Sinclair, Richard Coyle, Tati Gabrielle, Adeline Rudolph, Abigail Cowen, Lachlan Watson and Gavin Leatherwood.

“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” Season 2 launches April 5 on Netflix.

Watch the trailer above.

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Raman — who competed with his wife, Misti, on the reality show in 2014 — died in South Carolina on Monday, according to an obituary posted on the Caughman-Harman Funeral Home website.

Lexington County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Adam Myrick gave TheWrap this statement regarding Raman’s death on Friday: “Deputies started a death investigation after responding to a Lakefront Court home about 4:30 Tuesday morning. No one has been arrested or detained in connection with this investigation. We aren’t seeking any suspects or persons of interest as our work on the case continues.”

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No cause of death is currently available.

“We are shocked and deeply saddened to hear of Jim’s passing,” Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri, co-creators and executive producers of “The Amazing Race,” said in a statement Friday. “He was a wonderful and very kind person. ‘The Amazing Race’ family has suffered a huge loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Misti, and his entire family.”

Per Raman’s obit, the couple’s time competing on “The Amazing Race” was what spurred Jim and Misti to open a free dental clinic in the Philippines: “It was that life changing experience, witnessing deprivation and abject poverty in the Philippines, where God called their hearts to return and initiate a free dental clinic to the most impoverished areas in Manila.”

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Along with his wife, Raman leaves behind two children: his daughter, Alexis, and his son, James.

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And though the first two episodes of the show’s eighth and final season are just shy of an hour — as TheWrap previously reported they would be — the final four are all super-sized installments. And yes that includes the long-awaited series finale, which clocks in at an hour and 20 minutes, and Episode 803, the big Battle of Winterfell one that took 55 nights’ worth of shooting to complete.

An individual with knowledge tells TheWrap there is a possibility the runtimes are subject to slight adjustment.

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Now we still don’t have any episode titles, but winter — er, the “Game of Thrones” Season 8 premiere, is coming in less than a month, so the title is coming then too, if not sooner.

Last Tuesday, the long-awaited final season trailer finally dropped, and was viewed 81 million times across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube combined in its first 24 hours — setting a record for HBO.

Also Read: 'Game of Thrones' Season 8: Here's the Length of the First 2 Episodes

Read our main takeaways from the trailer here.

See the official listings below.

Season 8, episode 1
Debut date: SUNDAY, APRIL 14 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT)
Estimated running time: 0:54

Season 8, episode 2
Debut date: SUNDAY, APRIL 21 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT)
Estimated running time: 0:58

Season 8, episode 3
Debut date: SUNDAY, APRIL 28 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT)
Estimated running time: 1:22

Season 8, episode 4
Debut date: SUNDAY, MAY 5 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT)
Estimated running time: 1:18

Season 8, episode 5
Debut date: SUNDAY, MAY 12 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT)
Estimated running time: 1:20

Season 8, episode 6
Debut date: SUNDAY, MAY 19 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT)
Estimated running time: 1:20

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While the list of premiere dates for new and returning shows that will hit Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC and The CW during the warmer months is still pretty short, we wanted to prep you for what’s to come once staples like “This Is Us,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Empire” and all the “Arrow”-verse series wrap for the season — and shows like “The Big Bang Theory” wrap forever.

ABC will debut new soapy drama “Grand Hotel,” from executive producer Eva Longoria, The CW will bring back “iZombie” for its fifth and final season, and your competitive side will be taken care of with fresh seasons of CBS’ “The Amazing Race” and NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” and “American Ninja Warrior.”

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See the full list of broadcast’s summer premiere dates below, which TheWrap will continue to update as more become available in the coming months.

And for a look at where we are at in the midseason premiere date schedule head over here.

Thursday, May 2
8 p.m. “iZombie” (The CW, season premiere)

Wednesday, May 22
8 p.m. “The Amazing Race” (CBS, season premiere)

Tuesday, May 28
8 p.m. “America’s Got Talent” (NBC, season premiere)
10 p.m. “Songland” (NBC, series premiere)

Wednesday, May 29
8 p.m. “American Ninja Warrior” (NBC, season premiere)

Monday, June 17
10 p.m. “Grand Hotel” (ABC, series premiere)

Tuesday, July 9
10 p.m. “Bring the Funny” (NBC, series premiere)

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Wendy Williams dissed Howard Stern for his “Hollywood insider” status on Wednesday, a label the SiriusXM radio host didn’t take too kindly to and called her a “f–king bug-eyed c–t” in return.

The back-and-forth started when Williams brought up Stern’s upcoming book, “Howard Stern Comes Again” — his first new title in over 20 years — on “The Wendy Williams Show.”

“Howard is so Hollywood right now,” Williams said on her show yesterday. “And Howard, I love you. but since you’ve gone Hollywood, everything you say is so predictable. Every story is gonna be about, you know ‘Oh, I love this one and then we went on their yacht.'”

“He’s a Hollywood insider now, which sucks because you started like me, being of the people,” she continued. “But at some point, you sat behind that microphone for too long.”

“It hurts,” Williams said while also telling viewers they should buy Stern’s book.

Watch Williams’ segment with those comments via the video above.

Later that day, a caller notified Stern of the remarks during “The Howard Stern Show,” with the host saying, “Lemme hear this and I’m gonna say some s–t I’m gonna regret. I know it,” adding he’s got a “very thin skin.”

He then played the audio of Williams’ remarks, replying with this when he got to the “Hollywood insider” part: “What a c–t. What a f–king bug-eyed c–t. F–k you. You heard me. F–k off, c–t.”

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Representatives for SiriusXM did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment on Stern’s remarks, which you can listen to hear.

“The last time I had her in here she was giving me some god damn attitude with this Hollywood crap,” he continued. “Yeah, I’m a real Hollywood insider you should see the wild life I’m living. You got those big fake tits and I’m Hollywood, huh? Shut the fuck up.”

“‘Ah, he kisses everyone’s-‘ I’m not kissing your ass now, c–t face. What the f–k’s wrong with her? Broad doesn’t have an original thought in her god damn head. Busy being Howard Stern?… You mean because I’ve had success I’m Hollywood? What cause’ I know Jimmy Kimmel? That’s real Hollywood. Who am I hanging out with? She doesn’t know even who I’m hanging out with. She doesn’t know what I do with my life. She doesn’t know who I hang with.”

“Worry about your husband, not me. F–k off! I’m sick of her and her bulls–t show.”

He also calls her a “cow” and a “broad-faced bitch” and asks if she has a “d–k” and whether or not she was “born a woman or a man.”

“You know what, I’ve been very gracious to her, you know?” Stern said. “When she was going around calling herself ‘queen of all media.’ That was very original. I can’t tell you how original that was, ‘the queen of all media.'”

“She just ruined my day,” he added. “That’s why I put out a book, so she could knock me. Jealous bitch. You’ll never be me, Wendy. You’ll never be me. You can pretend to be me, you can pretend to be like me — but you’re not. You’re never gonna be me. You don’t have my wit and you don’t have my talent. That’s it, that’s the end of the story.”

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Stern also said he’d “f–k RuPaul before [he’d] f–k her.”

Later Wednesday, Williams wrote the following on Twitter: “Showed love to Howard Stern this morning about his new book. Gonna buy it. Had his wife on my show several times. Being told that he’s being nasty to me on his show. It’s all good, Howie. I still admire you old man! The truth is the truth.”

Showed love to Howard Stern this morning about his new book. Gonna buy it. Had his wife on my show several times. Being told that he’s being nasty to me on his show. It’s all good, Howie. I still admire you old man! The truth is the truth.

— Wendy Williams (@WendyWilliams) March 13, 2019

Williams did not further address Stern’s remarks on her Thursday. Representatives for the talk show host did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for additional comment.

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Smollett was indicted by a Cook County grand jury on those 16 felony counts last week after being accused of lying to police regarding a Jan. 29 incident, in which he said he was randomly attacked by two men shouting racial and homophobic slurs in his Chicago neighborhood.

The “Empire” star was originally charged with one felony count for filing a false police report by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office last month.

Judge Steven Watkins has been assigned to preside over Smollett’s case, with the actor set to return to court on April 17, according to CBS Chicago.

Representatives for Smollett and a spokesperson for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for confirmation.

Smollett surrendered himself to Chicago police on Feb. 21, hours after he was formally charged. He was released from police custody later that afternoon, after posting bail and surrendering his passport following a bond hearing.

“Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system,” Smollett’s team said in a statement that day. “The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election. Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.”

Within hours of his release from police custody, Smollett returned to work on the set of “Empire.” However, the following day, executive producers announced that they had decided to remove the actor — who plays the openly gay Jamal Lyon — from the final two episodes of the show’s current season.

Also Read: Ratings Tank for First 'Empire' Since Jussie Smollett Arrest

During a press conference last month, hours after Smollett’s surrender on Feb. 21, Chicago PD Superintendent Eddie Johnson said that the actor staged an attack on himself because he was “dissatisfied with his salary.” He also told reporters the police were in possession of a $3,500 check, which he said Smollett used to pay brothers Olabinjo (“Ola”) and Abimbola (“Abel”) Osundairo for the incident.

The Osundairos were released without charges Feb. 15, following an arrest and 48-hour hold, after the police said “new evidence” had emerged and that the investigation’s “trajectory” had changed course. Smollett was arrested a few days later.

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Episode 510, titled “My Fault is Past,” was the first new installment to air since the midseason finale on Dec. 5.

That also makes it the first new episode since Smollett reported being attack by two men in Chicago on Jan. 29, was charged with filing a false police report for that same incident on Feb. 21, and then indicted on 16 felony counts by a grand jury last week. He is set to appear in court tomorrow.

But setting aside all of that stuff going on with Smollett, for those of you wondering, here’s what his on-screen alter ego, Jamal — the openly gay son of Lucious (Terrence Howard) and Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) — was doing on “Empire” tonight.

Before we begin, allow us to remind you that the show ended its winter finale with a big cliffhanger in which Jeff Kingsley (A.Z. Kelsey) told Cookie, Andre (Trai Byers), Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) and Jamal that he is Lucious’ son and a flash-forward showing Andre flatlining in front of his parents, giving fans more fuel for their theories about who is in that casket in all those other flash-forward scenes we’ve seen this season.

OK, now tonight’s episode picked up right where that one left off, with Cookie and Lucious discussing how they still need to take down Kingsley and take back Empire.

Then they have a “grownup talk” with their boys, telling them Kelly Patel is looking to sell his stake in Empire, as the stock is currently tanking due to the bad press from the data mining story Jamal’s fiance, Kai (Toby Onwumere), recently published. They need to prove Lucious is innocent and throw it all on Kingsley and he wants Jamal to get Kai’s help in this.

“Here we go, just going back to something that brings out the worst in us,” Jamal says and tells his parents they need to do this on their own if they want to go back to Empire, a place that “destroyed” them.

When Cookie and Lucious leave, Jamal turns to his brothers to discuss the elephant in the room: Kingsley.

Hakeem wants to go “beat his ass” but Jamal says “we ain’t gonna beat nobody’s ass.”

Then, Jamal goes to meet with Kai to see if they can work things out after their fight on the last episode, with Jamal worried about how Kai’s story is affecting the Lyons. He asks for Kai’s help after all, which doesn’t seem like an option as he’s off to London and wants Jamal to pick between him and his parents. But Jamal reminds Kai he is also hurting Becky (Gabourey Sidibe) in all this, who is accused of being part of the data mining in the lawsuit that has been filed against Empire.

Later, Becky and Jamal are drowning their sorrows over all the drama and he tries to make her feel better with a new song he’s just made. He is going to give it to Devon to perform, but Becky says he needs to make it a Jamal single. Then she decides to take him some place that’s going to cheer him up: Urban Arts High School.

Also Read: 'Empire' Returns for First Episode Since Jussie Smollett Arrest: How Will It Do in Ratings?

Jamal performs his new song at his alma mater, singing these lyrics: “I’m probably, I’m probably gonna do some bad/I’m probably, probably gone have to fight/But know there ain’t nothin’ that I can’t have/Eventually I will be alright.”

He tells the kids he doesn’t know “if you guys have been reading the blogs” and “all that foolishness” that’s out there about his family right now and asks them to “stick together.” Then he and Becky go off much happier than before.

Jamal then joins Andre and his parents at Empire headquarters, where Lucious and Cookie announce they are joining forces with Kelly Patel and returning to Empire after clearing Lucious’ name in the data-mining scandal. Everyone starts shouting “to the Empire!” and Cookie pauses to say they are in service to the fans now, but Lucious cuts in to bring back the party vibe.

Then Jamal is shocked to learn from Lucious that the they were able to clear his name thanks to Kai. Jamal finds Kai and thanks him, but Kai reveals the way they got the evidence to clear Lucious’ name was by dangling one of Kai’s sources out a window until he handed it over.

Kai tells Jamal violence doesn’t scare him, but the Lyons do. He reminds him they were so happy in London away from Jamal’s family and asks him to “just go home” with him.

And Jamal tells Kai if he’s going to be with him, then he has to understand all of him and that he’s a Lyon and he’s done apologizing for that. Then Jamal gives Kai back his engagement ring and Kai leaves and Jamal breaks down crying and kicks over his keyboard.

The episode ends with Jamal playing a piano and singing over his parents fighting about what Empire has done to their family. And this is before anyone has even found out that Andre had some unexplained nosebleed and passed out on his drive home.

“Empire” airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Fox.

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A spokesperson for the Department of Justice confirmed to TheWrap that mug shots are only released by the U.S. Marshals “under very specific circumstances that do not apply here,” and that the ones for Huffman and Loughlin will not be released.

“In the Central District of California, it would be very uncommon for the federal Marshals to distribute a mug shot to the public,” one criminal defense attorney told us, backing the DOJ’s answer.

Also Read: Lori Loughlin Surrenders to FBI in College Admissions Cheating Case

That is consistent with the U.S. Marshals’ stated policy, which can be found in full here.

“It is USMS policy to release photographs of fugitives or other prisoners only for law enforcement purposes,” it reads.

“When a fugitive has not yet been captured, the Task Forces and district offices may determine whether a law enforcement purpose would be served by release of photographs to the media or public,” the policy continues. “Once a prisoner has been arrested, the general rule is that no release should be made because release of photographs of that prisoner to the media or public would not serve law enforcement purposes.”

Also Read: Felicity Huffman's Bond Set at $250,000 in College Admissions Bribe Case

There is a means for media to possibly get the mug shot using the Freedom of Information Act, or an FOIA request.

In that case, the USMS will still not disclose booking photographs unless its Office of General Counsel “determines either that the requester has made the requisite showing that the public interest in the requested booking photograph outweighs the privacy interest at stake or that other factors specific to the particular FOIA request warrant processing that request consistent with existing Sixth Circuit precedent.”

But there is a chance the mug shots can get out another way.

Also Read: William H Macy Called Daughter's College Application Process 'Stressful' Months Before Admissions Fraud Scandal

Most of the time, a mug shot is taken when someone is processed, whether at the state of federal — including the Marshals — level.

A U.S. Marshals public information officer told TheWrap the Marshals don’t have a place to hold prisoners, so if they need to be detained, usually at a local jail, the local jails sometimes take their mug shots and they sometimes release those.

However, Marshals can’t disclose where someone is being held, and without that information, obtaining the mug shots through this route becomes unlikely in Huffman and Loughlin’s cases.

Also Read: Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin Arrested in College Admissions Cheating Scam Case

On Tuesday, Loughlin and Huffman, along with 46 others, were charged with paying bribes of up to $6 million to get their children into top universities like Yale, Stanford, Georgetown and USC, according to charging documents.

During a press conference in Boston on Tuesday, Andrew Lelling, U.S. District Attorney for Massachusetts, said this was the “largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice,” totaling $25 million in bribes.

The official charges for both actresses were “conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.” If convicted, they could each face up to five years in prison.

Huffman made her initial court appearance on Tuesday and was released on $250,000 bond. Her next court date is March 29 in Boston. Loughlin surrendered to the FBI on Wednesday morning. She will appear in a federal Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday at 2 p.m. PT.

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The “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum and “Riverdale” star died from an “ischemic cerebrovascular accident” — the most common type of stroke, which occurs when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel and prevents blood and oxygen from getting to a part of the brain — according to his death certificate, which was obtained by TheWrap.

Perry died at 12:44 p.m. on March 4 at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California, after being hospitalized the prior Wednesday following a massive stroke.

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“Actor Luke Perry, 52, passed away today after suffering a massive stroke,” a spokesperson for Perry said in a statement last Monday. “He was surrounded by his children Jack and Sophie, fiancé Wendy Madison Bauer, ex-wife Minnie Sharp, mother Ann Bennett, step-father Steve Bennett, brother Tom Perry, sister Amy Coder, and other close family and friends. The family appreciates the outpouring of support and prayers that have been extended to Luke from around the world, and respectfully request privacy in this time of great mourning. No further details will be released at this time.”

Perry is best known for playing the brooding Dylan McKay on Fox’s ’90s teen drama “Beverly Hills, 90210” from 1990 to 1995 and again from 1998 to 2000. At the time of his death, he was starring on The CW teen drama “Riverdale” as Fred, the father of lead character Archie Andrews (K.J. Apa).

Also Read: First 'Riverdale' Since Luke Perry's Death Soars in Ratings Among Older Adults

Pamela Chelin contributed to this story.

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Based on the best-selling books of the same name by Max Brallier and developed by Atomic Cartoons, the series’ voice actor lineup also includes Keith David, Bruce Campbell, Garland Whitt, Montse Hernandez and Charles Demers, with Nick Wolfhard leading the cast as character Jack Sullivan.

Per its official logline, “The Last Kids on Earth” follows 13-year-old Jack Sullivan and a band of suburban middle schoolers who live in a decked-out tree house, play video games, gorge themselves on candy, and battle zombies in the aftermath of the monster apocalypse.

The animated series, which launches on the streamer later this year, is filled with “wisecracking kids, crazy gadgets, a lifetime supply of zombies and giant-sized monsters.”

Also Read: Mark Hamill, Catherine O'Hara, Rosario Dawson Join Netflix Animated Series 'The Last Kids on Earth'

Brallier is creator and will executive produce “The Last Kids on Earth” along with Scott Peterson, who will act as showrunner. Matthew Berkowitz and Jennifer Twiner McCarron are executive producers on the show on behalf of Atomic.

Netflix ordered the animated series last February after Atomic Cartoons acquired the rights to the books in 2017.

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The “GoT” star will host the late-night sketch show on April 6, with Sara Bareilles making her first appearance as a musical guest at Studio 8H that same night. That’s just over a week before “Game of Thrones” eighth and final season premieres on April 14 on HBO, so be ready for plenty of Jon Snow jokes.

The following Saturday, April 13, Korean boy band BTS will thrill K-pop fans everywhere when they take the “SNL” stage for the first time, performing as musical guest on the night Emma Stone marks her fourth time hosting the show.

Also Read: 'SNL': Pete Davidson Booed for Comparing R Kelly, Catholic Church (Video)

BTS’ newest album, “Map of the Soul: Persona,” will be released the Friday before their appearance, ahead of the group’s upcoming “Love Yourself: Speak Yourself” world tour.

As previously announced, Emmy-winning “Killing Eve” star Sandra Oh will make her hosting debut on March 30, ahead of the BBC America drama’s second season premiere on April 7. Tame Impala will be the musical guest for the evening.

Last Saturday, Idris Elba hosted “SNL” for the first time, with Khalid as musical guest.

Also Read: New 'Game of Thrones' Collection From John Varvatos Designs Clothes Fit for the Iron Throne

“Saturday Night Live” is produced in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels.

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The line, which launches Thursday, is “an ode to the iconic styling of the show’s costumes infused with the John Varvatos rebel spirit” and includes everything from $98 graphic t-shirts to a $2,698 hand-dyed leather jacket fit for a king (pictured below).

Read the official description for the collection here, per HBO:

John Varvatos x Game of Thrones capsule marks the first time John Varvatos has partnered with a television series for a clothing collection. The brand is the only luxury fashion collaboration in official partnership with HBO for the final season of Game of Thrones. The 11-piece collection delves deep into the world of Game of Thrones with artisanal hand-dyed leather outerwear, cross-over Henley, pants, a textured messenger bag and graphic prints depicted on spray dyed tees. Iconic details from the series are woven throughout the collection, included in outerwear pieces that boast the Iron Throne motif printed on the inside of the jacket.

Combining the core aesthetics of the two entities; the collection maintains the authentic attitude of the John Varvatos brand flourished with updated details inherent to moments seen throughout the series. Taking note from weathered leathers, rich textured materials and worn-in fabrics seen on the show, John Varvatos translated these elements into wearable staples that retain the signature quality details the brand is known for.

“From the very first episode, I have been inspired by the incredible costumes in ‘Game of Thrones,'” Varvatos said. “To have this opportunity to collaborate, is a dream come true.”

“As we prepare for the final season of ‘Game of Thrones,’ we wanted to celebrate with an incredible collaboration for a clothing line inspired by the show,” Jeff Peters, vice president of Licensing and Retail at HBO, said. “John Varvatos has delivered a stunning collection of high-quality pieces that are fashionable and wearable, while also capturing the show’s essence through its details and ornate design. We couldn’t be happier with the final product and are excited to see how fans react.”

Also Read: 'Game of Thrones' Season 8: Here's the Length of the First 2 Episodes

The John Varvatos x Game of Thrones line will be available at select John Varvatos boutiques, at johnvarvatos.com/got, at Bloomingdale’s in the USA, Harry Rosen in Canada, and El Palacio in Mexico.

See images of some of the new designs below and check out the full collection when it launches tomorrow here.

The eighth and final season of “Game of Thrones” premieres April 14 at 9/8c on HBO.

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As a matter of fact, Wednesday will mark the first new episode of the hip-hop soap since well before Smollett — who plays the openly-gay Jamal Lyon — told Chicago cops he was assaulted on Jan. 29.

The last original “Empire” aired on Dec. 5, which ended with Jeff Kingsley (A.Z. Kelsey) telling Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), Andre (Trai Byers), Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) and Jamal that he is Lucious’ (Terrence Howard) son and a flash-forward showing Andre flatlining in front of his parents, giving fans more fuel for their theories about who is in that casket in all those other flash-forward scenes we’ve seen this season.

With Jamal’s real-life counterpart indicted on 16 felony counts by a Chicago grand jury last week and set to appear in court this Thursday, will the Lyon family’s Nielsen-ratings roar be quieter due to Smollett’s current standing in the court of public opinion? Or could viewers’ curiosity about what happens to Jamal — who has been written out of the season’s final two episodes — cause a bump?

Also Read: Jussie Smollett Appears in Zero of 38 'Empire' Promotional Photos for Fox Return

In Live + 7 day data, this season of “Empire” is down 15 percent among adults 18-49 — a 2.3 vs. a 2.7 — which is the demographic most sought-after by companies that advertise on primetime entertainment programming. The Fox drama is down 7 percent in total viewers, with an average of 7.2 million per episode vs. last season’s 7.7 million.

Last year’s mid-season return came on March 28, when it posted a 2.0 “live” rating in the demo and 6.217 million viewers overall. The show’s night-of viewing has taking a disproportionate hit compared with those week-of declines. That’s not unusual.

All told, Season 4 averaged a 1.9 Live + Same Day rating and 5.850 million total viewers. To-date, Season 5 is down 21 percent in the demo and 13 percent overall from last year’s benchmarks.

What that means is should seasonal trends stay true, expect Wednesday’s episode, titled “My Fault Is Past,” to draw a 1.6 “live” rating and 5.409 million total viewers. We expect a curiosity-based boost, however. While we’re not going to wager a specific guess on this one, one TV ratings expert at a competing network told TheWrap they expect about a 5 to 10 percent gain from what the Season 5B premiere might have otherwise received.

Fox declined to participate in this story.

Also Read: Jussie Smollett Betrayed Osundairo Brothers, Lawyer Says: 'They Put Their Trust in the Wrong Person' (Video)

Smollett surrendered himself to Chicago police on Feb. 21, hours after he was formally charged. He was released from police custody later that afternoon, after posting bail and surrendering his passport following a bond hearing.

“Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system,” Smollett’s team said in a statement that day. “The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election. Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.”

Within hours of his release from police custody, Smollett returned to work on the set of “Empire.” However, the following day, executive producers announced that they had decided to remove the actor from the final two episodes of Season 5.

“The events of the past few weeks have been incredibly emotional for all of us,” read the statement from “Empire” co-creators Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, showrunner Brett Mahoney, and executive producers Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer.

“Jussie has been an important member of our ‘Empire’ family for the past five years and we care about him deeply,” the statement continued. “While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out. We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of ‘Jamal’ from the final two episodes of the season.”

The decision to cut Smollett came after “Empire” studio 20th Century Fox stated last month it was “considering [its] options” following the news of his arrest. A day earlier, the studio had renewed its support for the actor, saying, “Jussie Smollett continues to be a consummate professional on set and as we have previously stated, he is not being written out of the show.”

“Empire” Season 5 returns Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

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A source close to the situation tells TheWrap that TNT Brasil — which airs the Universal Television-produced NBC sitcom in the South American country — broadcast a version of Episode 504 featuring Charles Boyle (played by Joe Lo Truglio) making positive references toward Bolsonaro in the Portuguese voiceover.

TheWrap has learned exclusively that after this was brought to the attention of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” co-creator/showrunner Dan Goor on Twitter over the weekend, the episode’s dialogue is being corrected by the dubbing company responsible for the mistranslation and will be reflected in all future airings on TNT Brasil.

TheWrap was told it is currently unclear exactly how the script was mistranslated by the dubbing company to include the references to Bolsonaro, who is not mentioned at all in the version that aired in the U.S.

Representatives for Universal Television and TNT Brasil did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

On Saturday, a “Brooklyn Nine Nine” fan account called Brooklyn 99 Updates shared a video tweeted by fellow fan account Brooklyn 99 Brasil, which included portions of the episode in question.

“We’re so thankful @TNTBr is transmitting B99 for us Brazilian fans, but it’s so wrong that the translations are implying Boyle is a Bolsonaro supporter (he’s Brazil’s president – a more extreme version of Trump) since that’s totally against everything B99 and Boyle stand for,” read the tweet from Brooklyn 99 Updates.

Also Read: 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' Renewed for Season 7 at NBC

See the tweet here:

We're so thankful @TNTBr is transmitting B99 for us Brazilian fans, but it's so wrong that the translations are implying Boyle is a Bolsonaro supporter (he’s Brazil's president – a more extreme version of Trump) since that's totally against everything B99 and Boyle stand for. https://t.co/D9lp1rs4AG

— Brooklyn 99 Updates (@UPDATESB99) March 9, 2019

And the original video here:

No episódio 5×04 de Brooklyn 99 que foi ao ar na @TNTbr foram utilizadas adaptações na dublagem com cunho político atual brasileiro, o episódio e as cenas em si não tem relação nenhuma com política! No vídeo comparamos a versão original com a dublada pic.twitter.com/AGrVZoppFr

— Brooklyn 99 Brasil (@b99bra) March 9, 2019

Later that day, Goor responded to the tweet, “What?!?! Is this real????” and following up a few minutes later with, “We are trying to get to the bottom of this.”

What?!?! Is this real????

— Dan Goor (@djgoor) March 10, 2019

We are trying to get to the bottom of this.

— Dan Goor (@djgoor) March 10, 2019

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At 9 p.m., “Shameless’s” Season 9 finale hit a season high with 1.34 million total linear viewers, which is a 19 percent increase from the previous week’s episode and up 3 percent from the current season’s premiere, according to Live + Same Day data from Nielsen.

It was also the eight-highest-rated program across cable for the evening in the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic, with 585,000 total viewers in that metric.

Including replays, on-demand viewing and streaming, the finale rose to a total of 2.24 million viewers, which is up 10 percent from last week’s overall-eyeballs tally when adding in those platforms, and slightly above the Season 9 premiere, which scored 2.23 million total viewers with those numbers counted.

Also Read: Cameron Monaghan Says He Is Also Leaving 'Shameless'

Rossum announced she was leaving “Shameless” last August, giving fans plenty of time to get used to the Fiona-less cast before the ninth season premiered the next month.

“I know you will continue on without me, for now,” the star wrote in a long open letter on Facebook at the time. “There is much more Gallagher story to be told. I will always be rooting for my family. Try not to think of me as gone, just think of me as moving down the block.”

“Shameless” was renewed for Season 10 by Showtime in January, with all of the Gallagher family set to return for the next installment — with the exception of Rossum, of course.

Also Read: 'Shameless' Renewed for Season 10 at Showtime

Macy, Kenney, Jeremy Allen White, Ethan Cutkosky, Christian Isaiah and even Cameron Monaghan are coming back for the next season of what will now be Showtime’s longest-running series ever. Production on Season 10 will begin this year.

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But you might not know that if you were to look at the promo photos from the midseason premiere episode, which Fox recently posted to its press site, ’cause Jamal (Smollett) isn’t in a single one of them. And the hip-hop soap opera’s third lead is not in the shots for the following two episodes either.

Smollett — who plays the openly gay middle son of Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) and Lucious (Terrence Howard) — is absent from all 38 production stills that are currently available to media from Episode 510, 511, and 512.

However, the other regular cast members, including Howard, Henson, Bryshere Y. Gray, Trai Byers, Nicole Ari Parker, Gabourey Sidibe and even Season 5 newcomer A.Z. Kelsey, are all present and accounted for to some degree in the photos.

For the sake of comparison, Lucious/Howard is in 11 of the 38 promotional pics, Cookie/Henson is in 10, Hakeem/Gray is in four and Andre/Byers is in six. Hell, Andre Royo’s character Thirsty Rawlings is in five of them.

“Empire” executive producers announced last month that they had decided to cut Smollett from the final two episodes of the Fox hip hop drama’s current season, following his arrest on the charge of filing a false police report.

But since he hasn’t been cut from the ones that were already in the can prior to that decision, his absence from the promo photos for the first three episodes of “Empire’s” midseason return is quite noticeable.

TheWrap has already seen an advanced press screener of the premiere and can say — without giving away any spoilers — that Jamal is featured prominently in the episode.

Fox declined TheWrap’s request for comment for this story.

Smollett was indicted on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for making a false report by a Chicago grand jury last Friday.

Also Read: Jussie Smollett Betrayed Osundairo Brothers, Lawyer Says: 'They Put Their Trust in the Wrong Person' (Video)

The actor was originally charged with one felony count for filing a false police report by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office last month, in connection to an incident he reported on Jan. 29, in which he said he was attacked by two men who shouted racial and homophobic slurs and referenced “MAGA.”

Smollett surrendered himself to Chicago police on Feb. 21, hours after he was formally charged. He was released from police custody later that afternoon, after posting bail and surrendering his passport following a bond hearing.

He is set to appear in court this Thursday.

See the promo photos from 510, 511 and 512 below.

“Empire” Season 5 returns Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

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An individual with knowledge of the project tells TheWrap that the show is in the very, very early stages of development at the network with Temple Street Productions, the producer behind the original Tatiana Maslany-led series, attached to produce the new show.

The source added that the followup series would not be considered a spinoff of the original — which was broadcast in the U.S. on AMC’s sister network BBC America — but rather an entirely new show set in the same world as “Orphan Black.”

Representatives for AMC and Temple Street Productions did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment on the development news.

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Co-created by John Fawcett and Graeme Manson, “Orphan Black” launched in 2013 and ran for five seasons. The critically-acclaimed series starred Maslany as a woman who discovers that she is a clone and that someone is plotting to kill her and her clone “sisters.”

Maslany was nominated for three Emmys — winning best actress in a drama series in 2016 — and a Golden Globe for her performance on “Orphan Black.”

Variety was first to report the news.

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The suspects — who also include William McGlashan Jr., co-founder of STX and a director of the Hollywood agency CAA — have been charged with paying bribes of up to $6 million to get their children into top universities like Yale, Stanford, Georgetown and USC, according to charging documents.

During a press conference in Boston on Tuesday, Andrew Lelling, U.S. District Attorney for Massachusetts, said this was the “largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice,” totaling $25 million in bribes.

The official charges for both actresses were “conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.” If convicted, they could each face up to five years in prison. According to Elizabeth McCarthy, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Huffman was taken into custody early Tuesday and Loughlin has agreed to surrender.

Also Read: Jussie Smollett Indicted on 16 Felony Counts by Grand Jury

According to a separate affidavit, Huffman and her spouse — “Shameless” star William H. Macy, who was not identified by his name or charged in the affidavit — made a charitable donation of $15,000 “to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on behalf of her oldest daughter.” The document added that Huffman “later made arrangements to pursue the scheme a second time, for her youngest daughter, before deciding not to do so.”

The documents also say that Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, “agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC crew team — despite the fact that they did not participate in crew — thereby facilitating their admission to USC.”

“McGlashan participated in both the college entrance exam cheating scheme and the college recruitment scheme, including by conspiring to bribe Donna Heinel, the senior athletic director at … USC, to facilitate his son’s admission to USC as a recruited athlete,” according to the affidavit.

Following his arrest, TPG, the private equity firm where McGlashan is a managing partner, placed him on indefinite administrative leave and named co-CEO Jim Coulter as interim managing partner.

Representatives for both Huffman and Loughlin did not respond to requests for comment. McGlashan could not be reached for comment.

Also Read: CAA Owner TPG Puts Co-Founder Bill McGlashan on Leave After Arrest in College Admissions Scandal

The scam centered around a California man, William Singer, who ran a business to help students gain admission into the college of their choice. This would involve being paid a pre-set amount by parents, who then funneled the money to either an SAT or ACT administrator or a college athletic coach. The scheme would work in one of two ways, according to prosecutors: The coaches would arrange a fake profile that listed the prospective student as an athlete or exam administrators would either hire proctors to take the test or correct the answers of a student after the fact.

According to the Associated Press, Singer pleaded guilty in a Boston federal courtroom on Tuesday to charges ranging from racketeering conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

The FBI has taken 33 individuals into custody, with another seven that are “working towards their surrender,” FBI special agent Joseph Bonavolonta said during a press conference. He added that there is one individual being “actively pursued” and that four, including Singer, will plead guilty. Lelling the person being “actively pursued” is in Hawaii, and there are rules regarding how early someone can be taken into custody.

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Lelling said the investigation, which was code-named “Operation Varsity Blues,” is still active. More parents could be charged, along with college coaches and school officials.

Among the coaches already arrested are Stanford sailing coach John Vandemoer, former Yale women’s soccer coach Rudy Meredith, Georgetown tennis coach Gordon Ernst, UCLA men’s soccer coach Jorge Salcedo, Texas men’s tennis coach Michael Center, and multiple USC coaches. Vandemoer is among the four who will plead guilty, Lelling said.

“It remains to be seen whether any students will be charged,” Lelling said. 

Pamela Chelin contributed to this story.

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Fox’s vampire — er, viral drama “The Passage” wrapped its first season Monday night with an action-packed two-hour finale that, in its final moments, took us over a hundred years into the future via a time jump. And then maybe even further via a flash-forward earlier in the episode.

TheWrap spoke with series creator Liz Heldens about the many twists and turns in tonight’s pair of episodes, including that cryptic vision Amy (Saniyya Sidney) had of herself feeding blood to Fanning (Jamie McShane) in a sunny future. So, why was she helping him in that scene — which she saw in her mind’s eye as she came face-to-face with her viral father when everyone escaped Project NOAH?

“Part of it is, she’s tied to Fanning,” Heldens told us. “I really like in the show the struggle, the push and pull between good daddy and bad daddy, between good father and bad father. Her good father is Brad Wolgast (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), obviously, and then Fanning — I mean, Fanning’s blood does run through Amy. They are tied in a way that can’t be denied, and she’s constantly going to be fighting that darker side of her. We like the idea of kind of throwing ourselves a complication down the road that we have to fulfill, you know, like we made a promise that that scene is going to happen at some point. But it seemed like an OK box to put ourselves in…like at some point she’s gonna help him, at some point their relationship is going to change.”

Now, going back to that time jump to the Palm Desert in the year 2116, which took place in the closing moments of the episode after those bombs dropped. The scene shows Amy on her own, battling virals in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, as she approaches a fortress in hopes of finding Brad, who she has been separated from for a century.

Heldens said the decision to cut the season off here was for the “gut punch.”

“You see that girl who you met with those kids and she’s doing the arm wrestling — and you see that little girl come up standing on that desert plan with her bow and arrow, looking so fierce with those braids. And you just look at her face and go, ‘Oh my God, she’s been through so much, I wonder what happened to her,'” she said. “There was just something super emotional about that gut punch.”

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And it certainly was a shock to find out Amy has been looking for Brad for decades, after running away out of fear he would not forgive her for murdering two people who were trying to kill him once he became infected with the virus and giving him the only sample of the antidote in existence.

But not to worry, because the agent and some other Season 1 characters will join Amy if the show is renewed for a second season, even though not all of them made it into the future in the Justin Cronin novels on which the series is based.

“Yeah, that’s the point of spending a whole season at Project NOAH — that we’re investing in these characters and seeing what makes them tick and we’re seeing who is responsible for what. And we’re gonna let more people live than lived in the books,” Heldens said. “Like, what has not entirely been decided — I mean, there was certainly some hints, like you said, about some people got the virus, you know, Richards is tied to Babcock and he’s kind of her Renfield. But yeah, I mean, I think television is about characters. You watch TV ’cause you are invested in the characters and you are gonna be able to follow some of those people into the future — but not everybody!”

OK, so who are the new characters we’ll be meeting, then?

“Well, [Amy] is on her way to the Colony, so we’re going to introduce some fan favorites from the Colony,” Heldens said, referring to a location from the Cronin books. “There are the characters Peter, and Alicia, and Sarah, and Michael. And you’re gonna meet those people for sure. And we’re just gonna let her narrative converge. But I guess the difference is we are letting a few people from the present tense timeline survive. And I think the reason we came… you know, you only see Amy at the end is ’cause it just seemed right to start with her and finish with her.”

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It’s that time of year again! As the broadcast networks order pilots and consider new series for their fall slates, they’ve also begun to winnow down which current shows will return next season and which will come to an end.

Below is every scripted (and a few unscripted) show that ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and The CW have renewed or canceled so far, along with those still awaiting their fates. We’ve also included descriptions of the new shows that have been picked up so far.

Check back throughout the coming months for updates. You can read our pilot guide to see what projects may soon be ordered to series here.

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NBC
Renewed Series: “The Blacklist,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Med,” “Chicago P.D.,” “Ellen’s Game of Games,” “The Good Place,” “New Amsterdam,” “Superstore,” “Will & Grace”

Canceled/Ending Series: “Marlon,” “Midnight, Texas,” “Reverie,” “Trial & Error”

Series Awaiting Decisions: “Abby’s,” “A.P. Bio,” “Blindspot,” “The Enemy Within,” “Good Girls,” “I Feel Bad,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Manifest,” “The InBetween,” “This Is Us,” “The Village”

Newly Ordered Series: “Law & Order: Hate Crimes”

Here are the official descriptions for the new 2019-20 NBC shows:

LAW & ORDER: HATE CRIMES
Based on the real-life Hate Crimes Task Force within the New York Police Department. The unit works under the Special Victims Unit (the basis for SVU) within the department and often borrows SVU detectives for help with investigations.
Producer(s): Dick Wolf, Warren Leight, Peter Jankowski, Arthur Forney, Michael Chernuchin, Julie Martin, Mariska Hargitay, Alex Chapple
Studio: Universal Television

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CBS
Renewed Series: “Criminal Minds” (final season), “FBI,” “God Friended Me,” “Magnum P.I.,” “Mom” (for two seasons), “The Neighborhood,” “Young Sheldon” (for two seasons)

Canceled/Ending Series: “The Big Bang Theory,” “Elementary,” “Salvation”

Series Awaiting Decisions: “Blue Bloods,” “Bull,” “The Code,” “Fam,” “Happy Together,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “Instinct,” “Life in Pieces,” “MacGyver,” “Madam Secretary,” “Man With a Plan,” “Murphy Brown,” “NCIS,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “NCIS: New Orleans,” “Ransom,” “SEAL Team,” “S.W.A.T.”

Newly Ordered Series: N/A

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ABC
Renewed Series: “A Million Little Things,” “The Good Doctor,” “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Modern Family” (final season)

Canceled/Ending Series: “Take Two”

Series Awaiting Decisions: “American Housewife,” “black-ish,” “Bless This Mess,” “The Conners,” “The Fix,” “For the People,” “Fresh Off the Boat,” “The Goldbergs,” “Grand Hotel,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” “The Kids Are Alright,” “The Rookie,” “Schooled,” “Single Parents,” “Speechless,” “Splitting Up Together,” “Station 19,” “Whiskey Cavalier”

Newly Ordered Series: N/A

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Fox
Renewed Series: “Bob’s Burgers,” “Family Guy,” “The Masked Singer,” “The Simpsons” (for Seasons 31 and 32)

Canceled/Ending Series: “Gotham”

Series Awaiting Decisions: “9-1-1,” “The Cool Kids,” “Empire,” “The Gifted,” “Last Man Standing,” “Lethal Weapon,” “The Orville,” “The Passage,” “Proven Innocent,” “Rel,” “The Resident,” “Star”

Newly Ordered Series: “Bless the Harts,” “Duncanville”

Here are the official descriptions for the new 2019-20 Fox shows:

BLESS THE HARTS
Follows a group of Southerners who are always broke as a joke, and struggling for the American dream of status and wealth. What they don’t realize is that they’re already rich, in friends, family and laughter. (Animated)
Cast: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, Ike Barinholtz
Writer(s): Emily Spivey
Producer(s): Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Seth Cohen, Kristen Wiig
Studio: 20th Century Fox Television

DUNCANVILLE
Follows Duncan, a spectacularly average 15-year-old boy, along with his friends and family. His high-strung mom, Annie, constantly is trying to prevent her son from ruining his life. (Animated)
Cast: Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Wiz Khalifa
Writer(s): Mike Scully & Julie Scully
Producer(s): Amy Poehler, Dave Becky
Studio: 20th Century Fox Television/Universal Television

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The CW
Renewed Series: “Arrow” (final season), “Black Lightning,” “Burden of Truth,” “Charmed,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” “Dynasty,” “The Flash,” “Legacies,” “The Outpost,” “Riverdale,” “Supergirl,” “Supernatural”

Canceled/Ending Series: “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “Jane the Virgin,” “iZombie”

Series Awaiting Decisions: “The 100,” “All American,” “In the Dark,” “Roswell, New Mexico”

Newly Ordered Series: N/A

'God Friended Me' Renewed for Season 2 at CBS

'Criminal Minds' Renewed for 15th and Final Season on CBS

'Tell Me a Story' Renewed by CBS All Access for Season 2

'Trial and Error' Canceled by NBC After 2 Seasons

'Marlon,' 'Midnight, Texas' Canceled by NBC

In this position, she will lead the comedy series development team and oversee the department’s day-to-day operations, including creatively supervising production of new comedy series for ABC and will report to ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke. She will arrive at ABC on March 25.

She replaces former head of comedy Jamila Hunter, who left in October to join Kenya Barris’ now-Netflix-based production company.

Wehrenberg was most recently senior vice president and head of comedy development at Warner Bros Television. In this role, which she held since 2009, the exec oversaw the development of ABC’s “Splitting Up Together” and “Suburgatory”; plus “Trial & Error,” “Two Broke Girls,” the reboot of “Murphy Brown”; the upcoming “Shrill,” starring Aidy Bryant; as well as the upcoming “AJ and the Queen,” starring RuPaul Charles.

Prior to that, she was head of comedy development and current programming at Universal Media Studios.

Per ABC: Wehrenberg began her career at NBC, where she spent more than a decade rising through the executive ranks, from manager to executive vice president, Current Series, for nearly four years. During her tenure there, she supervised creative aspects of several celebrated series, including “Friends,” “Freaks and Geeks,” “Friday Night Lights,” “The Office” and “30 Rock.”

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“We are so incredibly fortunate to have Erin join us as the creative force leading our comedy development team,” Burke said. “Erin’s relationships, depth of experience, and taste will no doubt guide us to the next generation of hit ABC comedies, as she has a strategic eye for what connects us through laughter. I have wanted to work with her again since our NBC days, and I’m so happy she chose to join the talented team here at ABC.”

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Based on McBride’s 2013 National Book Award-winning novel of the same name, “The Good Lord Bird” is told from the point of view of Onion, an enslaved teenager who becomes a member in Brown’s motley family during the time of Bleeding Kansas, eventually participating in the famous 1859 raid on the Army depot at Harpers Ferry. Brown’s raid failed to initiate the slave revolt he intended, but was the instigating event that started the Civil War.

Hawke will star as 19th-century abolitionist John Brown and is co-writing and executive producing the series with author and producer Mark Richard (“The Ice at the Bottom of the World,” “Hell on Wheels”). Anthony Hemingway (“Underground”) will direct.

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“Good Lord Bird” is executive produced by Hawke, McBride, Richard, Hemingway, Jason Blum, Brian Taylor, Ryan Hawke, David Schiff, Jeremy Gold and Marci Wiseman.

“‘Good Lord Bird’ is one of my favorite books, told with wit, grace and wisdom by the great James McBride,” Hawke said. “Bringing this story to the screen has been a passion project of mine, and I am incredibly fortunate to have partners who are equally enthusiastic and are making it a reality – my wife and producing partner Ryan Hawke, and my longtime friends at Blumhouse. I’m looking forward to working for the first time with the talented folks at Showtime and Anthony Hemingway – both of whom have made some of the best television in the last couple years.”

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“This is just the right time for ‘The Good Lord Bird,'” McBride said. “I wrote it to show we Americans are Family – dysfunctional, screwy, funny, even dangerous to one another at times, but still family nonetheless. Old John Brown always had a knack for landing into the right place at the right time. I’m delighted he’s landed in the lap of one of America’s most gifted and literate actors. Ethan Hawke is special, and I’m thankful that Showtime and Blumhouse have shown faith and trust in one of America’s oddest, most profound, and greatest heroes.”

“I’ve been blessed to tell great stories that make deliberate social impact by tackling topical issues facing the world, especially communities of color,” said Hemingway. “With all that is going on culturally, socially and politically, the climate is ripe for material that is culturally relevant and provocative. Literature is truly transcendent and McBride blew our minds with ‘The Good Lord Bird.’ Saying yes was apparent for me and my producing partner, Lyah LeFlore-Ituen. We’re both excited to continue building relationships with Showtime, Blumhouse, and our creative partners, including the masterful James McBride. Directorially, this will be filmmaking at its most artistic and I get to fulfill a bucket list experience – working with the incredible Ethan Hawke.”

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