TV
Hallmark Channel's Christmas in July Is Back! Which Classic Holiday TV Movie Will You Be Watching? Santa is coming to town! OK, it's not December, so Santa still has a little bit of time to make toys and check the naughty and nice list, but thanks to Hallmark Channel we can celebrate Christmas a little bit early this year. Over the past few years Hallmark has become the No.1 destination for all of your holiday movie needs and now we're getting Christmas in July from the network and it's so exciting. Beginning on July 13th (through July 26th) the network will be having its annual Christmas Keepsake Week AKA Christmas in July, which means you can get into the holiday spirit way earlier. In fact, there are 14 days of movies coming your way and way too many films to count (like more than 20), so get your stockings and Christmas lights out and ready to go. With so many movies in their lineup for this festive occasion we can't help but start singing Christmas carols at our desks right now. It might be 80 degrees outside but inside it's time for hot cocoa, warm blankets, Hallmark Christmas movies and maybe a leftover candy cane or two. Some of the movies you can watch include 2017 new releases, The Sweet Christmas (starring Lacey Chabert), which is about a pastry chef trying to win the American Gingerbread Competition and Chabert's A Royal Christmas. Another 2017 favorite called Finding Santa (starring Jodie Sweetin), which is about finding a replacement Santa for a Christmas parade, will be on the schedule early in the first week. Of course you can always tune in for a holiday movie all about cookies, like the 2016 film Christmas Cookies. It's about a Christmas cookie company getting sold, well, potentially sold to a big company and ruining the town's livelihood unless love can intervene and stop it all from happening. 2016 also gave us The Mistletoe Promise, which is about two strangers who help each other through Christmas (and fall in love) because of their mutual dislike of the holiday and December Bride starring Jessica Lowndes. Classic holiday movies from the network including Christmas Under Wraps (starring Candace Cameron Bure) and The Christmas Cottage -- which is about a romantic cottage that has a magical legend attached to it -- are also coming back because, Hallmark's Christmas Keepsake Week is the gift that keeps on giving. Plus, Bure's Switched for Christmas in which she played twins who switch lives during the holidays will also be airing, so you can get your Bure fix early this year. Doesn't that sound wonderful? Since there are 14 days jam-packed with holiday films for you to enjoy we've narrowed it down to our top 14 movies that made the cut this year for you to weigh in on. Vote for the Christmas movie you can't wait to watch this July and let the Christmas countdown begin! It's less than six months until Santa actually comes to town, so get ready to spread the cheer from now until December 25th! PS: For the full schedule of movies (there are a ton each day) from Hallmark Channel, click here. (Eonline)
The Ladies of Model Squad Share Their Hopes and Dreams in This Season One Teaser! Life as a supermodel isn't necessarily an easy one. The runway mavens from E!'s new docu-series Model Squad highlight this very point in a brand-new teaser. Yes, these ladies are famously stunning, but even they need friends to lean on! "You need to find a good support system," budding actress and model Caroline Lowe advises in a confessional. "People that like you for being you." And just because they're naturally gorgeous, it doesn't mean they're not hardworking. Case in point: veteran model Ping Hue expresses that her goal is to "keep dreaming," despite her parents' insistence she change her career path and settle down. "If this isn't it, what is?" Missouri native turned it-girl Devon Windsor knowingly adds. Since a certain grind is expected in the day-to-day of a supermodel, the squad is also eager to achieve a work-life balance. It can't be easy juggling relationships and friendships while navigating the cut-throat fashion world! "Don't forget to make a life while you're making a living," another Model Squad star notes in a voice over. Will the catwalk experts remember to heed this advice? Tune into the premiere of Model Squad Tuesday, Sept. 4 to find out! (Eonline)
Roseanne Barr Says She's Received a "Really Good Offer to Go Back on TV." You haven't seen the last of Roseanne Barr. Barr, whose iconic sitcom Roseanne returned for one season on ABC before being canceled following the comic's racist tweet aimed at former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, told Rabbi Shmuley Boteach that she's been offered quite a few new gigs since Roseanne was canceled. "I've already been offered so many things and I almost already accepted one really good offer to go back on TV and I might do it. But we'll see," she said on the podcast. ABC ordered a spinoff of Roseanne currently titled The Conners. The series will follow the TV family Barr helped create -- Laurie Metcalf, John Goodman, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson and Michael Fishman are all returning, reprising their Roseanne roles -- but Barr will have no financial or creative ties to the series. That was part of the deal to save the jobs of the cast and crew on the series. In the podcast, Barr said she didn't want to hurt the cast, specifically Jayden Rey, the young black actress who played her granddaughter. "I was very upset about hurting things I care about and hurting people that I care about... she loved me and I loved her and I did not want her... to not have a job because she's great and I did not want her to think badly of Jewish people, me specifically. I didn't ask to be paid off. I asked for nothing. I just stepped away from that, that is penance. I put a lot of thought into it." In a statement when The Conners was announced, Barr said, "I regret the circumstances that have caused me to be removed from Roseanne. I agreed to the settlement in order that 200 jobs of beloved cast and crew could be saved, and I wish the best for everyone involved." There's been no word on how the new TV series will explain Roseanne Conner's absence. The character was set to have surgery in the season finale leading many to believe Roseanne Conner will be killed off. In a release, ABC said the series will find the family "forced to face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they never have before." According to The Hollywood Reporter, Barr holds the rights to any future spinoff or revival of Roseanne and her Roseanne Conner character. (Eonline)
Hugh Grant, Stephen Frears Added to Edinburgh TV Lineup. The two will take part in a master class on the recent BBC/Amazon hit 'A Very British Scandal.' Hugh Grant's first significant small-screen role in over 20 years has earned him a starring appearance at the upcoming Edinburgh TV Festival. The actor will be part of the award-winning team -- including writer Russell T. Davies and director Stephen Frears -- behind the acclaimed drama A Very British Scandal to give a master class at the event. The miniseries, which saw Grant play real-life U.K. politician Jeremy Thorpe who stood trial for conspiracy to murder his secret ex-lover, received critical acclaim when it aired on BBC One last month, and recently headed to the U.S. on Amazon Prime. Others set to appear in Edinburgh include Discovery's chief brand officer Nancy Daniels, YouTube's head of originals for EMEA Luke Hyams, and Netflix's director of unscripted programming Brandon Riegg, alongside the usual heads of U.K. broadcasters. Steve Coogan and Joanna Lumley will be taking part in talks, while rising British star Michaela Coel will give the prestigious MacTaggart keynote speech. The Edinburgh TV Festival will take place Aug. 22-24. (Hollywood Reporter)
Catherine Mackin Named Head of Streaming Service Acorn TV's Development Arm. As managing director of the U.K.-based Acorn Media Enterprises, she will oversee the commissioning and co-production slate of the SVOD service focused on British and international programming. Robert Johnson's RLJ Entertainment, in which AMC Networks owns a stake, has hired Catherine Mackin as the managing director of Acorn Media Enterprises, the U.K.-based development arm of its streaming video service Acorn TV. The service specializes in British and international TV, with series from Britain, Canada, Australia and Europe, including such hits as Doc Martin, Poldark and Jack Taylor. Most recently director of program acquisitions at British networks group UKTV, Mackin will oversee Acorn TV's "rapidly growing commissioning and co-production slate," the company said. She starts in early July and will be based in RLJ's office in London. Mackin replaces Shane Murphy, who is returning home to Dublin as group head of drama and comedy at Irish public service broadcaster RTE. Said Mark Stevens, chief content officer for Acorn brands at RLJ: "In the past three years, Shane and his team have established Acorn Media Enterprises as a preferred partner within the production community for high-quality international productions, including co-producing deals for ITV's Girlfriends, BBC's Keeping Faith and Detectorists, as well as our first commissions of London Kills and Agatha Raisin (season 2)." He lauded Mackin for "her strong experience sourcing and delivering successful content across many genres, developing long-term external relationships and delivering content strategies for terrestrial, cable, satellite and non-linear networks." Acorn TV, which costs $4.99 a month, recently unveiled an expansion into 12 Latin American countries. AMC Networks in late February proposed taking full ownership of RLJ to take the company private. AMC had an option to purchase the outstanding shares of RLJ that it does not already own after, in November 2016, making a $65 million investment in the firm in the form of loans for a 26 percent minority stake. (Hollywood Reporter)
The Ladies of Model Squad Share Their Hopes and Dreams in This Season One Teaser! Life as a supermodel isn't necessarily an easy one. The runway mavens from E!'s new docu-series Model Squad highlight this very point in a brand-new teaser. Yes, these ladies are famously stunning, but even they need friends to lean on! "You need to find a good support system," budding actress and model Caroline Lowe advises in a confessional. "People that like you for being you." And just because they're naturally gorgeous, it doesn't mean they're not hardworking. Case in point: veteran model Ping Hue expresses that her goal is to "keep dreaming," despite her parents' insistence she change her career path and settle down. "If this isn't it, what is?" Missouri native turned it-girl Devon Windsor knowingly adds. Since a certain grind is expected in the day-to-day of a supermodel, the squad is also eager to achieve a work-life balance. It can't be easy juggling relationships and friendships while navigating the cut-throat fashion world! "Don't forget to make a life while you're making a living," another Model Squad star notes in a voice over. Will the catwalk experts remember to heed this advice? Tune into the premiere of Model Squad Tuesday, Sept. 4 to find out! (Eonline)
Roseanne Barr Says She's Received a "Really Good Offer to Go Back on TV." You haven't seen the last of Roseanne Barr. Barr, whose iconic sitcom Roseanne returned for one season on ABC before being canceled following the comic's racist tweet aimed at former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, told Rabbi Shmuley Boteach that she's been offered quite a few new gigs since Roseanne was canceled. "I've already been offered so many things and I almost already accepted one really good offer to go back on TV and I might do it. But we'll see," she said on the podcast. ABC ordered a spinoff of Roseanne currently titled The Conners. The series will follow the TV family Barr helped create -- Laurie Metcalf, John Goodman, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson and Michael Fishman are all returning, reprising their Roseanne roles -- but Barr will have no financial or creative ties to the series. That was part of the deal to save the jobs of the cast and crew on the series. In the podcast, Barr said she didn't want to hurt the cast, specifically Jayden Rey, the young black actress who played her granddaughter. "I was very upset about hurting things I care about and hurting people that I care about... she loved me and I loved her and I did not want her... to not have a job because she's great and I did not want her to think badly of Jewish people, me specifically. I didn't ask to be paid off. I asked for nothing. I just stepped away from that, that is penance. I put a lot of thought into it." In a statement when The Conners was announced, Barr said, "I regret the circumstances that have caused me to be removed from Roseanne. I agreed to the settlement in order that 200 jobs of beloved cast and crew could be saved, and I wish the best for everyone involved." There's been no word on how the new TV series will explain Roseanne Conner's absence. The character was set to have surgery in the season finale leading many to believe Roseanne Conner will be killed off. In a release, ABC said the series will find the family "forced to face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they never have before." According to The Hollywood Reporter, Barr holds the rights to any future spinoff or revival of Roseanne and her Roseanne Conner character. (Eonline)
Hugh Grant, Stephen Frears Added to Edinburgh TV Lineup. The two will take part in a master class on the recent BBC/Amazon hit 'A Very British Scandal.' Hugh Grant's first significant small-screen role in over 20 years has earned him a starring appearance at the upcoming Edinburgh TV Festival. The actor will be part of the award-winning team -- including writer Russell T. Davies and director Stephen Frears -- behind the acclaimed drama A Very British Scandal to give a master class at the event. The miniseries, which saw Grant play real-life U.K. politician Jeremy Thorpe who stood trial for conspiracy to murder his secret ex-lover, received critical acclaim when it aired on BBC One last month, and recently headed to the U.S. on Amazon Prime. Others set to appear in Edinburgh include Discovery's chief brand officer Nancy Daniels, YouTube's head of originals for EMEA Luke Hyams, and Netflix's director of unscripted programming Brandon Riegg, alongside the usual heads of U.K. broadcasters. Steve Coogan and Joanna Lumley will be taking part in talks, while rising British star Michaela Coel will give the prestigious MacTaggart keynote speech. The Edinburgh TV Festival will take place Aug. 22-24. (Hollywood Reporter)
Catherine Mackin Named Head of Streaming Service Acorn TV's Development Arm. As managing director of the U.K.-based Acorn Media Enterprises, she will oversee the commissioning and co-production slate of the SVOD service focused on British and international programming. Robert Johnson's RLJ Entertainment, in which AMC Networks owns a stake, has hired Catherine Mackin as the managing director of Acorn Media Enterprises, the U.K.-based development arm of its streaming video service Acorn TV. The service specializes in British and international TV, with series from Britain, Canada, Australia and Europe, including such hits as Doc Martin, Poldark and Jack Taylor. Most recently director of program acquisitions at British networks group UKTV, Mackin will oversee Acorn TV's "rapidly growing commissioning and co-production slate," the company said. She starts in early July and will be based in RLJ's office in London. Mackin replaces Shane Murphy, who is returning home to Dublin as group head of drama and comedy at Irish public service broadcaster RTE. Said Mark Stevens, chief content officer for Acorn brands at RLJ: "In the past three years, Shane and his team have established Acorn Media Enterprises as a preferred partner within the production community for high-quality international productions, including co-producing deals for ITV's Girlfriends, BBC's Keeping Faith and Detectorists, as well as our first commissions of London Kills and Agatha Raisin (season 2)." He lauded Mackin for "her strong experience sourcing and delivering successful content across many genres, developing long-term external relationships and delivering content strategies for terrestrial, cable, satellite and non-linear networks." Acorn TV, which costs $4.99 a month, recently unveiled an expansion into 12 Latin American countries. AMC Networks in late February proposed taking full ownership of RLJ to take the company private. AMC had an option to purchase the outstanding shares of RLJ that it does not already own after, in November 2016, making a $65 million investment in the firm in the form of loans for a 26 percent minority stake. (Hollywood Reporter)
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