“When we switched into an anthology, it really fit what Goosebumps is. So if you’re fan of the books, you know that R.L. Stine doesn’t write happily ever after at the end of the books,” executive producer Rob Letterman exclusively told Us Weekly. “In fact, he goes out of his way not to do that. He leaves it with a cliffhanger or a twist.”
The Disney+ series adapted the same approach on screen. “When we looked at the ending of season 1, it just kind of felt like the perfect Goosebumps ending for what that story line was,” Letterman said about switching the story up for season 2.
Goosebumps, which premiered in October 2023, was introduced as a show that followed five teenagers who had to work together after accidentally releasing supernatural forces into their small town. The first season featured Isa Briones, Ana Yi Puig, Zack Morris, Miles McKenna and Will Price as the show’s protagonists.
The show was in for a shakeup though when it turned into an anthology. Season 2 centered around twins (Sam McCarthy and Jayden Bartels) who are sent to spend a summer in Brooklyn with their divorced dad (David Schwimmer) whose plant-testing takes a sinister turn.
“Season 2 we wanted to swing the pendulum and do something different. But we also wanted fans of the first season to feel comfortable in the model of what the storytelling was. So that’s how we kept that structure of a mystery we have to unpack,” Letterman told Us. “We liked that framing device but we wanted to tell something totally new and fresh. It’s a nice balancing act for keeping the familiarity of the Goosebumps TV series going while doing it as an anthology.”
Disney/Francisco Roman
The second installment was released on Friday, January 11, and it took inspiration from several books including Stay Out of the Basement, The Ghost Next Door, The Boy Who Cried Monster, Monster Blood and The Haunted Car. While the main friend group — which was made up of Elijah M. Cooper, Galilea La Salvia, Francesca Noel, Stony Blyden, McCarthy and Bartels — were able to defeat the evil, the season still hinted that the sinister parts at play were still a threat.
So will season 3 be able to answer any questions audiences were left with after the finale? “We don’t think that far into the future. We’re one day at a time process,” Letterman noted to Us. “But yes, of course, and you can do anything you want with Goosebumps. That is what is cool about it.”
According to Letterman and fellow executive producer Hilary Winston, there could even be a Goosebumps “multiverse.” The cast, meanwhile, also weighed in on whether they would return for future episodes despite signing onto an anthology show.
“There are so many stories and it really depends on what the fans want and how they respond,” Noel hinted to Us. “We are here for it. We love these characters and obviously I think the last season also loved their characters. The world is big and we’re here to play.”
Goosebumps is currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
Happy’s Place has enjoyed keeping it in the TV family by casting numerous stars from Reba McEntire‘s past sitcom Reba.
Reba, which aired from 2001 to 2007, starred McEntire, Melissa Peterman, Christopher Rich, JoAnna Garcia Swisher and Steve Howey. Nearly two decades later, McEntire and Peterman reunited with former Reba executive producer Kevin Abbott on Happy’s Place.
“We are new characters. It’s a new time and it’s different. But those core things that you loved about it are there. It does feel really different [though],” Peterman exclusively told Us Weekly in October 2024. “As far as trying to harness the things that [Reba fans] love — like the chemistry that we have — that is there no matter what. We’re just new characters. And Barbra Jean [from Reba] was forced on Reba because she married her ex-husband. Gabby is there because she’s her friend.”
Peterman applauded Happy’s Place for finding a way to “keep the magic” without copying the same sitcom structure.
“The other big difference is real life family and the reality of blended families,” she noted. “Happy’s Place is all about finding family at work, and Belissa [Escobedo’s] character is also finding a family that she didn’t know existed and figuring that out. You’ll feel that same warm feeling but you’re gonna it’s new.”
Her costar Howey felt the same way when he joined for a potential multi-episode arc. “Kevin had this idea for this character ahead of time. And then he was like, ‘What if Howey would do it? That would be really great to get a reunion going.’ I fit the character description, so he gave me a call,” Howey recalled to Us two months later. “The planets just aligned on this one.”
He continued: “Now after 20 some years, I can bring different experiences to the characters that I play. Also the character relationships — because Happy’s Place is a new thing — are different. Yes, it’s Reba and Melissa, but the characters are different. Bobbie is a lot different than Reba. Gabby is a lot different than Barbara Jean, and Danny’s obviously different.”
Keep scrolling to see which Reba alums have reunited on Happy’s Place so far:
McEntire played “a single mom who works two jobs, who loves her kids and never stops," a.k.a. the lead of Reba. Now she is still the star but on a new NBC sitcom as Bobbie, who inherits her father’s restaurant and discovers a new business partner in the half-sister (Escobedo) she didn't know she had.
Peterman captured our attention on Reba as Barbra Jean, who married Reba's ex-husband, Brock, after working as his dental hygienist. She gets off to a better start with McEntire's character on Happy's Place. Peterman plays Gabby, a bartender at the tavern who loves Bobbie and wants to be her best friend. (Sound familiar?)
When Reba premiered, Howey won Us over as Reba's son-in-law who got her daughter Cheyenne (Garcia Swisher) pregnant. On Happy's Place, Howey stopped by as a rich businessman named Danny who is friends with Gabby and ultimately helps the tavern.
Abbott didn't appear on screen on either show, but he was executive producer on Reba when it aired on The WB between 2001 and 2007. He remained with McEntire and Peterman as the creator (alongside wife Julie Abbott) of Happy's Place.
“Everything is a possibility,” Allen, 71, exclusively shared in the newest issue of Us Weekly. “He just came back [to the last episode we filmed]. He showed up on the set.”
Allen said he would love nothing more than to share the screen with Thomas, 43, again, adding, “He’s literally my kid. I raised that kid for eight years on Home Improvement. All of these are my kids and I’m kind of sick about this.”
Before leading the cast of ABC’s Shifting Gears, Allen starred on Home Improvement from 1991 to 1999 alongside Thomas, Patricia Richardson, Taran Noah Smith, Zachery Ty Bryan, Richard Karn and Debbe Dunning. Thomas exited the series early to focus on school and ultimately made the decision to step back from acting entirely.
Allen and Thomas ended up reuniting on screen for four episodes of Last Man Standing. Thomas also directed three episodes of the sitcom. While Thomas has remained out of the public eye, Allen continued to find success as America’s favorite sitcom dad with his roles as Mike Baxter in Last Man Standing, which ran from 2011 to 2021, and now Matt Parker in Shifting Gears.
ABC
“[My former onscreen wife] Nancy Travis once told me [something] after I called her during Last Man Standing. I said, ‘Have you talked to the girls [who play our daughters] over the summer?’ Then there’s this long pause and she goes, ‘Tim, these aren’t our daughters and I’m not actually your wife,'” he quipped. “She was so wonderful about it because sometimes when they were having trouble on the show, I’d go, ‘How do you think they feel?’ And she would respond, ‘Tim, they’re actors. We just read [what is on the page but] she’s not really that sad.'”
On Shifting Gears, Allen plays a widowed father opposite an estranged daughter played by Kat Dennings. The duo gushed about how they “immediately” formed a connection once being cast on the show.
“The director wanted to see how we got along. It never stopped. The kismet was crazy. We’re both born on the same day — many years apart,” he told Us. “We’re different in so many ways. But our attitude about comedy is very similar. She cracks me up and I’m not easy that way. Kat can [deliver these lines] with a straight face. Her anger — that she played on 2 Broke Girls — is very similar to the sharpness that Mike Baxter could get into now.”
Allen continued: “When we argue on screen, it’s funny that we interrupt each other and it comes quite naturally. I don’t know where it’s coming from. I adore this person already. She and her husband [Andrew W.K.] are great people. It is like I’ve known her for freaking years, same as most of this cast.”
“It clicked pretty fast. We had lunch after I accepted the role and I felt immediately like I could trust him for some reason,” she shared in an exclusive interview with Us. “And he opened up really fast to me. So I [was] like, ‘OK, this guy is like letting me in.'”
The trust on set allowed Dennings and Allen to elevate their comedy skills. “It felt very organic,” Dennings recalled. “And as [filming has] progressed, our scenes are so funny, if I do say so myself. The arguments are my favorite scenes to play because I have no fear. There’s no fear for either of us. We just absolutely go for it and it’s so much fun.”
While Allen has enjoyed working on Shifting Gears, he wasn’t initially sure he would come back to sitcoms, telling Us, “It was a complicated decision. I was doing Disney+’s Santa Claus series at the time and I said, ‘I really can’t think about this now.’ Do I want to do linear TV? I was so depressed at how streaming has hurt television. So if I did it, I want to elevate it.”
Shifting Gears airs on ABC Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.
The first season of On Call had Us on the edge of our seats — but where does the Wolf Entertainment police procedural go from here?
On Call, which premiered on Thursday, January 9, centered around veteran training officer Traci Harmon (Troian Bellisario) and her rookie partner Alex Diaz (Brandon Larracuente) as they responded to emergency calls on the streets of Long Beach, California. Their partnership came on the heels of a major loss for Harmon and it took an entire season for her and Diaz to start to trust each other.
The Prime Video series found a way to click restart on the dynamic when Harmon ultimately didn’t recommend that Diaz progress. Instead, she caused him to restart rookie training — with her. Viewers also learned more about Sergeant Lasman (Eriq LaSalle) and Lieutenant Bishop (Lori Loughlin) after initially questioning whether they were friends or foes.
“We want so many different kinds of people — who have many different views about the police — to come to this show. And we want them to take away what they take away,” Bellisario exclusively told Us Weekly. [“Executive producer] Elliot [Wolf] put it really well. He’s like, ‘We want to create a buffet and we want everybody to come to the table and eat together.’ That’s the thing. We’re not going to say, ‘Oh, you have that idea, so you’re not welcome here.’ You have that idea so you won’t like this show.’ You will see people make incredible decisions [on screen]. You’ll see us make mistakes. Nobody is a hero. And these are human beings — they just so happen to be doing this job.”
“At least from my own experience, the show left me with more questions than real answers. I hope that that’s what audiences experience as well,” he noted. “By the end of it, we’re not really trying to paint any narrative. … Hopefully audience members can relate to one of the characters [on the show] in some way, shape or form.”
The cast and creator Tim Walsh answered some burning questions about season 1 — and where the story would go from here:
Where Do Harmon and Diaz Go From Here?
Elizabeth Morris/Amazon MGM Studios
During the season 1 finale, Harmon recommended that Diaz be put on probation, which reunited them as partners. The decision shook up their dynamic — but it is a step in the right direction in the long term.
“Harmon made that choice because first and foremost, she doesn’t want to lose him. She’s starting to feel — there’s nothing romantic between them — but she is like a mama bear and this is her cub. So over the course of season 1, they’ve just grown closer,” Walsh explained to Us. “She did that because in her heart of hearts, she does believe Diaz is not ready to move on because he has a hero complex. She does not want to see him get hurt like Officer Delgado. Her feelings are genuine but it also feels like a mother that does not want to be separated from her child just yet.”
“She cares about him and that’s what makes her different than maybe somebody else that he would’ve been paired with. The fact that after just losing somebody in the very first episode, she chooses to work with Diaz who is a rookie is a testament to her character,” he noted. “Before Diaz steps back into that vehicle at the very end of the episode, I think he has a real question.”
Larracuente continued: “The question that runs through his mind is, ‘Can I trust this person?’ He finally realizes, ‘Holy s—, this entire time she’s cared about me. Everything she’s done has just been to protect me and I see it now.'”
Meanwhile for Bellisario, the point of the twist was showing how much Harmon still has left to teach.
“Any good teacher knows when they haven’t done their job — and that’s actually not a failing on Diaz’s part. He takes it as his own failing. But actually Harmon sees it as a shortcoming on her part. She didn’t do enough or she didn’t set him up and she still has more work to do,” she told Us. “She obviously believes in him. She cares deeply and she wants to see him through into his career.”
Could Things Turn Romantic Between Harmon and Diaz?
Amazon MGM Studios
There were no hints that Harmon and Diaz could become a couple in the future — but what is the plan behind the scenes?
“The romantic thing complicates it and lends itself to maybe a little bit more predictability. Whereas here we don’t have to fall into any of those traps or tropes,” Walsh teased to Us. “They can just be literally two coworkers. They are two coworkers who are bound by the idea that they have to look out for each other and have to survive this next shift. I think adding a romance would just complicate it more. The other way allows us to be more free and deepen the two characters.”
Who Is a Dream Guest Star?
Notable guest stars in season 1 included Chicago Fire‘sMonica Raymund, Ryan Dorsey and Bart Johnson. Walsh named Kurt Russell as his dream cameo in the future, joking, “If I could get Kurt Russell in this, I could die very, very happy.”
Will Other Characters Take the Lead in Season 2?
Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Morris
Despite On Call largely staying focused on Diaz and Harmon, there is room to expand — starting with LaSalle and Loughlin’s characters.
“They are firmly a big part of it,” Walsh confirmed. “The short of it is 100 percent. We’ve [already] been cooking on season 2 and ideas and what it’s going to be about [while we wait for an official renewal].”
“We certainly have some runway to see more of the two of us. The interesting thing is all of us fitting in together. How do all these characters come together?” she noted. “They focus a lot on Harmon and Diaz on screen but I think our approach is like, ‘What’s the total picture look like for all of us as characters?’ … There’s so much to explore. But we’re in good hands with good writers so hopefully we’ll move forward.”
La Salle praised On Call for not making Lasman and Bishop “one dimensional,” adding, “By the time you get to the end of this season, there’s some dynamics that have truly changed. That is a great way to set up some great storytelling — should we be so fortunate to get additional seasons.”
He continued: “Lori and I have been just talking and we are interested as actors to see if there’s more interaction between the two of us. We are in sync on a lot of things but we also want to see what we are not in sync on? How do they really feel about each other?”
Could There Be One Chicago Crossovers — Or a Spinoff of ‘On Call’?
Amazon MGM Studios
Before cocreating On Call with Elliot Wolf, Walsh worked on Chicago P.D. but that doesn’t mean the universes will intersect.
“I do not want to do a crossover with any of the existing shows. I do believe we are in our own universe and they’re in their own universe,” he told Us. “However, expanding our universe into other first responders, we’re all very game to doing that. There are paramedics in Long Beach. It depends on how well we can get the message out for people to watch the show.”
Peacock’s The Traitors has way more rules — and production secrets — than some fans may realize.
Inspired by Dutch series De Verraders, The Traitors brings together reality TV stars from different franchises — including Survivor, Big Brother, Real Housewives and more — as they compete in a mafia-style game for up to $250,000. The series premiered in 2023 but has already gone through multiple changes.
“My first idea was to do it on a ship in Australia,” creator Marc Pos recalled to Variety in January 2023. “And if somebody had to be out of the game, he or she had to jump into the water and swim to an island, but then I thought it would be too difficult to produce.”
“The host is not there very much, and has to be careful not to manipulate the game, influence viewers, or spark doubts within the minds of contestants who are in their bubble,” Pos continued. “But when they’re there, they have to be kind of a friendly yet intimidating figure.”
Despite The Traitorsrelying on a shroud of mystery, cast and crew have spoken out about the rules and behind-the-scenes secrets fans aren’t privy to. Keep scrolling for a guide to all the surprising revelations — and perhaps helpful answers to some burning The Traitors questions:
What the Cast Members Know About Each Other
Euan Cherry/Peacock
Casting director Deena Katz confirmed that contestants don’t know who else is on the show until they arrive in Scotland, telling Time in January 2024, “You don’t want them to be able to research each other or talk to each other or form alliances before.”
Season 2 star Sandra Diaz-Twine, meanwhile, explained on the “Reality After Show” podcast at the time that every player was later provided with photos and information on their fellow contestants to help them narrow down who could be a Traitor.
Taking a Personality Test
Euan Cherry/Peacock
During a podcast appearance in January 2024, Mercedes “MJ” Javid recalled taking a 600-question psych evaluation. Executive producer Mike Cotton elaborated to Variety that same month how the tests allow the crew to “see attributes that might make someone a good liar or particularly deceptive.”
“It’s an interesting process. It’s a big group thing,” he explained. “We actually don’t know who the Traitors are until that pick, where Alan walks around and taps them on the shoulder. We watch how they interact when they arrive at the castle. Alan does these chats with them, sitting down and asking them if they’d like to be a Traitor and why. That has a really big bearing on it, as does Alan’s opinion.”
Cotton continued: “It’s almost like a job interview to be a Traitor, and we take all of that into account and decide just before the pick who that should be. We want to make sure we’ve got an interesting mix of characters that will bring their own unique skill set to it.”
Arie Luyendyk, who appeared on the first season, exclusively told Us Weekly in January 2023 about doing “a swim test,” adding, “[It was] to see if we were capable of completing the mission.”
It wasn’t until season 2 that players were able to present their case to Alan about whether they wanted to be a Traitor or Faithful. While viewers at home know who the Traitors are (and how many have been tapped), season 1 star Cirie Fields revealed that other contestants are kept in the dark about crucial details.
“We knew that there could potentially be three to five Traitors in the game,” Cirie told E! News in January 2023 . “That was explained to us from the very beginning.”
The Drink Limit
Euan Cherry/Peacock
According to season 2 star Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, the endless drinks seen on screen actually come with strict guidelines.
“You can only drink one drink a night anyway, it was quite restricted,” she told Entertainment Weekly in January 2024. “I remember everyone needed a drink from that round table, it was really intense.”
The Filming Schedule
Euan Cherry/Peacock
Arie recalled not getting more than six hours of sleep a night. “It takes probably an hour for your brain to kind of shut off,” he told Us in February 2023. “You’re there for so long and it’s one of those things where we probably started at 8 or earlier and we probably were up till about 12 to 2 in the morning, depending on if you’re the Traitor or not, because the Traitors had to do their thing after the whole day was finished.”
In addition to filming long hours, the costars also give away their phones and any other forms of communication.
Taking Up Residence in the Castle
Euan Cherry/Peacock
The hit competition series takes place at the stunning and regal Ardross Castle — but do they actually live there while filming? In short, no.
“How glamorous — you come to Scotland, and you stay in the Inverness Airport hotel,” Alan quipped to The Daily Beast in January 2023 about the actual accommodations offered to the contestants.
Alan, meanwhile, has a large changing room which he sometimes used as a place to take naps during production. But ultimately, even he isn’t able to stay at the castle overnight.
“You’re not supposed to talk about the game when the mics aren’t ready or the cameras aren’t on,” Dan Gheesling from season 2 told Business Insider in February 2024. “Because if we say something that’s important and it’s not on camera, they can’t use it on the show.”
After seeing the response to season 1, producers decided to offer players more room in the castle, including the kitchen and an outdoor terrace, in addition to the library, the billiards room, the bar and the roundtable room.
“We’ve got two new spaces this year,” a producer told Parade in December 2023. “We’re calling one the scullery [basically a kitchen], and then outside there’s a tiny little area that’s called the folley which is a little stone-covered area. It’s brilliant. You can get two or three people sneaking out there, and you get these brilliant conversations.”
Catching a Chill in the Castle
Euan Cherry/Peacock
Several players — including season 1 star Cody Calafiore — have mentioned how cold the castle is. “If they did get the heat working, it would probably be a little bit better,” Cody joked to Reality Blurred in January 2023.
Restrictions on Self-Promotion
Euan Cherry/Peacock
Just because everyone on The Traitors is a star on a reality show doesn’t mean they can promote their brands. Shereé Whitfield from season 2 told People in February 2024 that she was not allowed to wear clothes from her own brand — SHE by Shereé — while on camera.
“They said I could not!” she said about the contract guideline. “You can’t wear your brand.”
“They’re checking on you at all times,” MJ said on the “Just Sayin'” podcast in December 2023. “They’re so cheerful and professional. I felt taken care of at all times.” Meanwhile in a separate interview, Ekin-Su said she once cried “overwhelming tears” to a welfare team member.
Security Guards Keep Players in Line
THE TRAITORS — "Let Battle Commence" Episode 301 — Pictured: Alan Cumming — (Photo by: Euan Cherry/Peacock)
“It’s a massive military operation each night to get the Faithful to bed in individual rooms and get the Traitors back out to have their meeting,” creator Cotton told Variety in January 2024 about attempting to preserve the “secrecy of the Traitors.”
Kate Chastain, who appeared on three seasons of The Traitors in various capacities, told Vanity Fair in January 2023 about how security guards were alway around to prevent players from leaving their hotel rooms.
“Once it was clear that I was not getting the big bucks at the end, I was ready to go home because they ran a very tight ship. There were security guards making sure you never left your room. And we had long days, from breakfast to challenge to banishment,” she details. “By the time you got to your bed, you just wanted to go to sleep and sleep for eight hours because I knew it would be the big day the next day. The food in the highlands of Scotland is nothing to write home about, but it was good enough. I really missed martinis. I really missed a little bit of freedom after a while.”
“It got really intense, you know, a lot of crying, a lot of pointing fingers, a lot of below-the-belt stuff that they didn’t show on TV,” Arie told Us in 2023. “I feel like they kind of kept it pretty chill on TV, but I felt like it was in real life a lot more intense. … I think if it got a little too raw or a little too mean, they just omitted it, you know? They kept it more about the game.”
Allowing Couples Into the Competition
Chris Haston/PEACOCK
Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan were the first couple to compete on the show when they joined season 2. (They’ve since split.) But just because they were dating doesn’t mean they were treated like a package deal by production, which meant they had to sleep in separate rooms and were not allowed to communicate with each other.
“Marcus asked me for a nail file, and I put it in a paper bag — and they go through everything, you’re not supposed to send anything back and forth — but he wanted a nail file and I was like, ‘I’m just going to send him a nail file,” she recalled to People. “And then I was like, ‘Oh, there’s a banana. He said he wanted a banana.’ So I [write] ‘I love you’ on the banana and send it to him with the nail file.”
Emma Kenney as Gracie, Steve Howey as DannyCasey Durkin/NBC (2)
After booking the role of Reba McEntire‘s daughter on Happy’s Place, Emma Kenney received support — and meaningful advice — from none other than her Shameless costar Steve Howey.
“I was very excited to be a part of Happy’s Place and work with Reba. I worked with Steve Howey for a long time, who also worked with Reba for a long time. So going into it, I gave him a call,” Kenney, 25, exclusively told Us Weekly. “He had nothing but amazing things to say about her and he was not wrong.”
Kenney had “such a great time” working with McEntire, 69, who previously shared the screen with Howey, 47, on the Reba sitcom. “She has such a kind and generous and welcoming energy, which is very special when you’re joining an already established cast to feel like that,” Kenney noted. “So I was very fortunate to have that.”
After sharing the screen with McEntire, Howey went on to star alongside Kenney in Showtime’s hit series Shameless. Howey returned to his roots with a guest role on Happy’s Place earlier this season, which set the scene for a potential onscreen reunion between him and Kenney.
“I would love to get back onto a set with Steve. He is one of my favorite people and the funniest person,” the actress gushed to Us. “He’s definitely kind of an uncle figure to me. And I would love to do scenes with him and Reba. That would honestly be so much fun.”
Steve Howey, Emma Kenney, Ethan Cutkosky, Shanola Hampton and Joan Cusack in ‘Shameless’Showtime
For now, Kenney is celebrating the chance to act with McEntire after bringing the role of Gracie to life in the Friday, January 10, episode of NBC’s newest sitcom.
“I definitely felt a lot of responsibility going into this project and playing Reba’s daughter. She’s such an icon and such an established performer,” Kenney continued. “The show had already aired a few episodes when I started shooting. So obviously I watched what I could that was out and tried to prepare in that sense. I definitely wanted to come and try to bring some honor to her daughter’s character.”
“She’s very tough and very no-nonsense. Gracie definitely has a lot of resilience and I’d say determination,” she shared. “But I definitely wanted to bring some heart to her and I wanted the audience to be able to see why she’s got this tough exterior.”
Kenney continued: “I always do a character analysis that I write down. Sometimes I’ll choose a zodiac sign for the character, as kind of strange as that might sound. It gives me a little bit of a point of view for this character. I chose [Gracie] to be a Capricorn. I felt it made sense for her.”
While Kenney would love to reprise her role as Gracie, she would also love the chance to reunite with former costars — including her Shameless family.
“I miss working with them all. It is always a sad and maybe nostalgic feeling when you wrap a show that you’ve done for years because it’s most likely never going to be the exact same casting crew. Although doing The Conners [on ABC] did give me hope,” she admitted. “In the sense that they literally brought back the entire crew from their original show from the ’80s and ’90s. But I’ve been really fortunate to work with such wonderful people that I’ve really formed strong bonds with. I’d love to get on the set with any of them again.”
Prime Video’s On Call is connected to Dick Wolf‘s TV universe — but there likely won’t be any onscreen crossovers.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Creator Tim Walsh explained how his show with fellow creator Elliot Wolf is separate from the One Chicago and Law & Ordershows, which have all been produced by Dick Wolf.
“I do not want to do a crossover with any of the existing shows. I do believe we are in our own universe and they’re in their own universe,” Walsh noted. “However, expanding our universe into other first responders, we’re all very game to doing that. There are paramedics in Long Beach.”
On Call found a way to lean into Walsh’s roots as a producer on Chicago P.D. with a guest appearance from Monica Raymund, who played Gabriela Dawson in NBC’s Chicago Fire. But the intention is for On Call to create its own fictional world instead of connecting itself to an existing one.
“I came up on Chicago P.D. and I have an enormous amount of respect for network TV. It is deceptively difficult to write. However, with that being said, I wanted to take everything I did in that show and do the exact opposite [with On Call],” he explained to Us. “We want to let things breathe. It’s an R-rated show, which obviously network TV is not.”
David Higgs Photography
Walsh continued: “I wanted this to be its own unique kind of animal and probably the lessons I took from other shows I’ve been on were things not to do quite honestly.”
On Call, which premiered on Thursday, January 9, is Wolf Entertainment’s first scripted streaming series. The gritty drama utilizes bodycam, dash-camera and cellphone footage to follow cops in the field and it marks Elliot’s first executive producer credit on a scripted show after he served for years as the head of digital at Wolf Entertainment.
“I have to give a shoutout to my partner, Elliot Wolf. I would not be here without him. He sold the show prior to me coming on and he sold it with the vision of we were going to use the lenses of cell phones and bodycam and dash-cam, so all credit goes to him,” Walsh told Us. “He had the genius of seeing visually how much that could set us apart from other shows.”
Elizabeth Morris/Prime Video
The series also sets itself apart by introducing important conversations without picking sides.
“That was the goal of going into it was it’s not an anti-police or pro-police show. It’s pro-character — and the characters happen to be cops,” Walsh explained. “We started doing a lot of research from the jump including multiple ride-alongs with the Los Angeles Police Department, Sheriff’s Department and Long Beach police. You realize when you get in a car that it’s just another human being next to you.”
On Call’s mission is to “entertain” their audience, Walsh explained. “People are at a point in their lives where they don’t want to be preached at anymore. So we were very aware of that,” he continued. “It’s a complicated subject matter. We’re not ignoring that part of it. But we’re also saying that outside of the complicated subject matter, there’s also an incredibly important job that these people have to do. We wanted to focus on that part.”
Noah Wyle is “not sorry” about playing a new doctor on The Pitt instead of reprising his role as John Carter in a now-scrapped ER revival.
After The Pitt premiered on Thursday, January 9, Wyle, 53, was asked about how plans to bring back ER ultimately turned into an entirely new show instead.
“That calls into question all the various chronologies of this and all the different sorts of iterations. You’re absolutely right, the intentionality was born in 2020 during the pandemic,” Wyle told TVLine on Thursday. “The idea was to take a look at what was happening to the people that were on the front lines, and also take a look at the population that was getting sick and dying, and seeing how there appeared to be two different health care systems in our country — those for people who have money and insurance, and those who don’t.”
“Those were all issues we tried to talk about back in the ’90s, when 22 million Americans were going without health insurance and using emergency rooms as their primary source of health care. All of these themes were really significant to us then, and they have remained significant to us,” Wyle, who played John Carter on the long-running series, noted. “Then it just became, ‘Is the old IP [intellectual property] the easiest and most advantageous delivery system?’ It seemed to be the one that people were most excited about trying, but it wasn’t really the point of the exercise.”
arrick Page/MAX
Despite there being an interest in ER being revived, Wyle was more excited about doing a new take on the subject, adding, “The more we went down that road, the more the point got obscured in the reunion aspect, the retread aspect and the reboot aspect. So I was not sorry when we were sort of forced to pivot and figure out how to tell the story in a new way.”
Wyle continued: “In a lot of ways, [not reviving ER] unburdened us from narrative limitations that we would have had to adhere to, and pay homage to.”
ER, which aired from 1994 to 2009, followed the inner life of an emergency room in a fictionalized version of Chicago’s real Cook County Hospital. Wyle starred alongside George Clooney, Julianna Marguiles, Anthony Edwards, Eriq La Salle and Sherry Stringfield (and later John Stamos, Mekhi Pfifer and Linda Cardellini, among others).
More than a decade after ER ended, Wyle has returned as the star and executive producer of a new medical series on Max. The Pitt is described by the streaming service as “a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today’s America as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh.”
The Pitt highlights the highs — and lows — of the job while making the 15 episodes showcase 15 hours of one shift.
“[Fellow EP] John [Wells], Max and Warner Brothers were on board to try to make use of this new platform of streaming, to see whether or not we could tell the story in a visually more arresting way than we did back in the ’90s,” Wyle explained. “It is a more photorealistic way than we were ever able to do, and in a more organic, performance-based way. Because you’re no longer to standards and practices and language [barriers], you really can paint with all the colors on the palette. The question isn’t ‘What can you show?’ Instead it is, ‘What should you show, in discretion and taste?'”
“I wanted it to feel like what it used to feel like — and what it hadn’t felt like for a long time. Could we make it feel that way again? John and [creator] R. Scott [Gemmill] were on board for that because they, too, have been looking for that feeling that we all [last] had 15 years ago, when we did this the first time,” he continued. “The work felt good, and we had a good time, and we liked each other while we did it, and everybody was respectful. It was inclusive, and it was groundbreaking. And we wanted to see if lightning could strike twice — and, in some ways, it already has.”
In addition to The Pitt, Thursday also marked the premiere of Wyle’s former costar La Salle’s Prime Video seriesOn Call. Wyle was asked about the coincidence by TVLine, to which he replied, “No [I didn’t know], but what can I say? The ’90s are back.”
During the Thursday, January 9, episode of Jenna Bush Hager‘s “Open Book” podcast, TSITP creator and showrunner Jenny Han recalled her attempts to get a Swift song for the season 1 finale of the hit Prime Video show.
“I was kind of trying to Inception it into everyone’s heads that we need this,” Han, 44, recalled about how she was willing to do “whatever it took” to get “The Way I Loved You” from Swift’s Fearless album for the season 1 finale. “I don’t think anyone thought we were gonna get it, honestly.”
A rep at Amazon Music suggested to Han that she write a letter to Swift, 35, about why it was “really important” to feature the song on screen.
“I wrote a handwritten note about how much it would mean — not just to me — but to the fans. That was the gift I really wanted to give because I’m like, ‘They’re gonna go crazy for this,'” she recalled. “We were so lucky to get more than one [song].”
Taylor SwiftGareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Prime Video’s The Summer I Turned Pretty centers on Belly (Lola Tung) and her brother, Steven (Sean Kaufman), who spend the summer visiting a beach house belonging to their childhood friends Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno). After initially having a crush on Conrad, Belly’s life gets more complicated when she finds herself developing feelings for Jeremiah.
Han, who is a self-proclaimed Swiftie, has previously discussed how the show’s viewers influenced its soundtrack.
“I think for me just as a fan, to be able to give the book fans that moment is what is really meaningful to me, because if you’re a fan of The Summer I Turned Pretty, I’m pretty sure you’re a fan of Taylor Swift,” she told The Wrap in June 2022. “And I know this because so many fans have asked me to put her music on the show and I just never knew if we were going to be able to or not. So when we were, I just, I couldn’t believe it. That’s probably the most excited I’ve been in the whole process and the fact that we got like five total, which I’m really excited for the fans to see, because it will be like, I think maybe unexpected at times at certain big moments.”
Season 1 used Swift’s discography for romantic cues revolving around Belly’s crush on Conrad, with “Cruel Summer,” “Lover,” “The Way I Loved You (Taylor’s Version)” and “This Love (Taylor’s Version)” setting the scene as the characters fell in love.
The second season raised the stakes with nearly twice as many Swift songs including “August,” “Sweet Nothing,” “Delicate (Taylor’s Version),” “Bigger Than the Whole Sky” and “Exile.”
“I felt like Taylor is someone who bets on women. And I felt like she bet on me,” Han added on Thursday. “And I can’t say enough how thankful I am that she let us use her music. And I think she knows, too, her fans would like the show.”
The Summer I Turned Pretty is currently streaming on Prime Video.
There is still a bit of a wait until the return of Justin Hartley‘s hit CBS show Tracker but the first photos from the midseason premiere tease a familiar face — and a spooky new one.
Tracker returns to CBS on Sunday, February 16, with an episode focused around Colter’s (Hartley) case about Gina Picket’s disappearance. After getting a tip from retired cop Keaton (guest star Brent Sexton), the duo work together to track down a serial killer known as The Teacher. The stills from the upcoming episode also reveal that Ryan Dorsey’s character Frank Whales is back after being introduced earlier this season.
Meanwhile, in another moment from the episode, Nicholas Lea is credited as a character named Noah Darview who dons a creepy mask. The midseason premiere is expected to pick up immediately after Colter received a break in his white whale case.
“We got into something. Wasn’t our fault, heavy stuff — we didn’t have a choice,” a former associate of Frank’s told Colter about working for someone called Teacher. “[He] knew things about us. Bad stuff. Held it over our heads. Even the others. He kept a long line of pretty boys to do his bidding.”
Teacher made Frank lure Gina to a place called The Farm. “He said he planted things there,” the unnamed man added before Colter asked if Gina was still alive. The episode cut to black before a “To be continued” message appeared on screen.
“When [Gina disappears], Colter makes a promise to [her sister] Camille — and I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he never promises [his clients] anymore. He says, ‘I will bring her home … I will bring him home,’” he told TVLine in October 2024. “He says, ‘I am going to do my best … to try.’ This is why.”
Hartley teased how digging into Colter’s past with Camille (Floriana Lima) will unlock more details, adding, “[This story line] has been built in a way that, when you look at it, you go, ‘Oh man, that was a pivotal moment in Colter’s life that changed the way he approaches his work and his relationships with other people.'”
Darko Sikman/CBS
Despite the 11-week wait for more answers, Trackeris having a successful sophomore return on CBS. The season 2 premiere in October 2024 brought in 8.3 million total viewers, which was nearly 10 percent up in viewership from the season 1 finale. The season 2 premiere also marked the show’s highest audience since the series debuted in February 2024 after the Super Bowl.
Tracker has since been coined the most-watched broadcast premiere since NCIS’ final episode with Mark Harmon in September 2021. Its average viewership is 18.2 million per episode according to their Paramount+ and broadcast measurements. Variety’s annual list of the year’s 100 most-watched primetime telecasts revealed that Tracker episodes earned 15 spots.
Tracker returns to CBS Sunday, February 16, at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Paramount+.
The cast of Goosebumps: The Vanishing revealed whether they watched the first season — or spoke to the original stars of the show — after the anthology shakeup.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Ana Ortiz, Elijah M. Cooper, Galilea La Salvia, Francesca Noel, Stony Blyden, Sam McCarthy and Jayden Bartels discussed how they prepared to join a show that previously had a different cast and story.
“I think because of the anthology nature of it, it’s natural to keep it as new as possible,” Blyden, 28, who plays Trey, said about not spending too much dwelling on what came before. “But it was a fantastic season.”
Cooper, meanwhile, was a big fan ofGoosebumps, adding, “It really was a great watch. I watched the first season multiple times too. It was legitimately iconic.”
La Salvia, 21, who brings Frankie to life, couldn’t help but agree. “I definitely watched season 1 and I remember we would talk about it when we first got on set,” she recalled. “Like we would say, ‘Did you see the cliffhanger? Did you see this? Did you see that?’ It was really fun.”
The horror series originally premiered in October 2023 and took inspiration from R.L. Stine‘s popular horror novels. Goosebumps was introduced as a show that followed five teenagers who had to work together after accidentally releasing supernatural forces into their small town. While trying to recapture the evil spirits, the group unlocked secrets of their parents’ pasts.
Goosebumps initially starred Isa Briones, Ana Yi Puig, Zack Morris, Miles McKenna and Will Price as the show’s protagonists. However, when the series was renewed four months later, Disney confirmed there would be a cast and story shakeup. Season 2 is centered around twins who are sent to spend a summer in Brooklyn with their divorced dad (David Schwimmer) whose plant-testing takes a sinister turn.
“I’m someone who usually does approach things with a fresh perspective,” Noel, who portrays Alex, noted. “I saw the pilot of this. But I wanted to come into it differently because it’s a totally different world, and New York is very particular. And one of the great things about Goosebumps is that there are so many books. So there are so many stories that we could keep telling for 20 seasons.”
Ortiz had a similar experience where she “watched the first season” but “didn’t talk to any of the cast” from those episodes. Then there is Bartels, who researched season 1 before diving into playing Cece.
“I definitely would say I wanted to know the vibe and get that knowledge. But I think that it definitely was a fresh slate in another way too. It’s the same series, but I definitely wanted for my character and my performance to do what I felt was authentic and genuine,” she explained to Us. “We definitely pulled from the vibe of the first season, but this is a new story line and a lot of things are different. It’s all the same Goosebumps scares though.”
McCarthy agreed with Bartels’ take, adding, “[Season 1] was almost separate from the work I did.”
The shift wasn’t just felt in front of the camera but behind it as well. Executive producers Rob Letterman and Hilary Winston told Us about the challenges that came with starting from scratch in the same universe.
“When we switched into an anthology, it really fit what Goosebumps is. So if you’re fan of the books, you know that R.L. Stine doesn’t write happily ever after at the end of the books. In fact, he goes out of his way not to do that,” Letterman noted. “He leaves it with a cliffhanger or a twist. So when we looked at the ending of season 1, it just kind of felt like the perfect Goosebumps ending for what that story line was.”
They aren’t, however, ruling out a Goosebumps “multiverse.” There was also an effort to keep some aspects similar for returning viewers.
“Season 2 we wanted to swing the pendulum and do something different. But we also wanted fans of the first season to feel comfortable in the model of what the storytelling was. So that’s how we kept that structure of a mystery we have to unpack,” Letterman continued. “Something happened 30 years ago, and each character that you meet gets their own monster story line and they cross paths, and then by the middle of the season they’re figuring out it’s all related to what happened in the past.”
He concluded: “We liked that framing device but we wanted to tell something totally new and fresh. It’s a nice balancing act for keeping the familiarity of the Goosebumps TV series going while doing it as an anthology.”
Goosebumps is currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
David M. Benett/Getty Images; Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Lord Ivar Mountbatten lived up to his name by finding a way to bring up Meghan Markle and Prince Harry during his first scene on season 3 of The Traitors.
During the premiere, which was released on Thursday, January 9, Ivar, 61, was asked what made him a public figure. “I was born with a very nice last name. Mountbatten,” he noted. “It is one of the royal family’s surnames.”
Ivar noted the connection to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, adding, “Harry and Meghan’s children are called Mountbatten-Windsor. [King Charles III] is my second cousin.”
The British aristocrat recalled making headlines that put him into the spotlight.
“I was married for 17 years to a woman and I had three kids,” he said about his ex-wife, Penny Mountbatten. “Then we parted company and I married a bloke [James Coyle]. Because I have a famous last name, it was all over the newspapers.”
Despite not being a working member of the royal family, Ivar was considered as such by his fellow contestants. Chrishell Stause said the royals need “a little queerness” in response to Ivar’s revelation about his personal life while Bob the Drag Queen called Ivar “the first gay royal.”
Lord Ivar Mountbatten on The TraitorsPeacock
Ivar wasn’t always on friendly terms with the rest of the cast though. By the end of the second episode, the first group elimination almost led to Ivar being voted off. The tense conversation caused Bob the Drag Queen to explain his reason for choosing Ivar as a possible Traitor.
“If there is anyone who can keep a secret, it is a royal,” he quipped to Ivar.
Ivar’s connection to the royals is through his dad, David Mountbatten, who is the 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven. Ivar is the grandson of Prince George of Battenberg and the great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria. His father was the cousin of Prince Philip who married Queen Elizabeth II in 1947, making Ivar the first cousin once removed of Philip, a third cousin once removed of Elizabeth and Charles’ second cousin.
“In later years, I would sit with him and ask endless questions about my father. It was wonderful to have someone who could tell me everything about him,” Ivar, whose dad died in 1970, said to The Telegraph in April 2021. “Prince Philip was a wonderful listener; you could tell him anything as long as you were being honest and forthright. He was happy to listen to your thoughts. But if he had some advice he thought you ought to hear, he’d give it to you.”
New episodes of The Traitors are released on Peacock Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
The winter TV schedule is overflowing with highly anticipated premieres and returns including The Pitt, Severance, The White Lotus and more.
HBO’s The Pitt, which premieres in January, marks Noah Wyle‘s return to medical dramas 15 years after his role as John Carter on ER. The series is described as “a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today’s America as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh.”
The first season offers a unique glimpse into working as a medical professional with 15 episodes showcasing 15 hours of one shift. In addition to Wyle, The Pitt stars Tracy Ifeachor, Patrick Marron Ball, Supriya Ganesh, Fiona Dourif, Taylor Dearden, Isa Briones, Gerran Howell, Shabana Azeez and Katherine LaNasa.
Hulu is also expanding its media library with Paradise. The upcoming drama reunites This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman with Sterling K. Brown on a show shrouded with mystery. Paradise features a star-studded cast including Julianne Nicholson, James Marsden and Sarah Shahi.
Scroll on for more new and returning shows this winter:
Selling the City introduced Us to the latest reality show from Selling Sunset creator Adam DiVello. The series follows Eleonora Srugo's real estate group at Douglas Elliman, which consists of Taylor Middleton, Jade Chan, Abigail Godfrey, Jordyn Taylor Braff, Gisselle Meneses Nunez and Justin Tuinstra. Former Million Dollar Listing New York's Steve Gold, who currently works for The Corcoran Group, also makes various appearances throughout the season. (January 3)
The Fox medical drama is based on Italian TV series Nelle tue mani about a doctor who loses her memory in a car accident and wakes up to find her entire life has changed. Molly Parker leads the cast of Doc alongside Omar Metwally, Amirah Vann, Jon Ecker, Anya Banerjee, Scott Wolf and Patrick Walker. (January 7)
Tim Allen returns to sitcoms after success with Home Improvement and Last Man Standing. This time around, Allen plays a widowed father named Matt while fellow comedy star Kat Dennings is his estranged daughter, Riley. (January 8)
The hit reality series brings together stars from different franchises as they compete in a mafia-style game for up to $250,000. Season 3 of The Traitors features Robyn Dixon, Dolores Catania, Dorinda Medley, Chanel Ayan, Wells Adams, Gabby Windey and Ciara Miller. The competition series also stars Chrishell Stause, Rob Mariano (Boston Rob), Jeremy Collins, Carolyn Wiger, Tony Vlachos, Bob the Drag Queen, Britney Haynes and Danielle Reyes. Bob Harper, Dylan Efron, Lord Ivar Mountbatten, Sam Asghari and Nikki Bella make up the rest of the cast. (January 9)
HBO's The Pitt follows the daily lives of healthcare professionals in a Pittsburgh hospital as they juggle personal crises, workplace politics and the emotional toll of treating critically ill patients. (January 9)
In Wolf Entertainment’s first scripted streaming series, On Call is a gritty drama that utilizes bodycam, dash-camera and cellphone footage to follow cops in the field with Troian Bellisario, Brandon Larracuente, Lori Loughlin and Eriq La Salle in leading roles. (January 9)
R.L. Stine's literary work continues to grow with season 2 of the anthology series introducing a new cast and story centered around twins Cece (Jayden Bartels) and Devin (Sam McCarthy) who are sent to spend a summer in Brooklyn with their divorced dad (David Schwimmer). They quickly realize that dark secrets are among them, with Schwimmer’s character specifically taking inspiration from the book Stay Out of the Basement about a dad who does plant-testing until things take a turn. (January 10)
Kitty's (Anna Cathcart) adventures in South Korea continue as she navigates her feelings for Min-Ho (Sang Heon Lee) and Yuri (Gia Kim) on season 2 of the hit Netflix series. (January 16)
Fans have been waiting since 2022; at last, the sinister Lumon Industries is back in business! After employees agreed the company could literally separate their work and home selves, some memories were revealed to the "innies" played by Adam Scott etc — and there will be consequences for the higher-ups. Watch for Gwendoline Christie and Alia Shawkat. (January 17)
The first 9-1-1 spinoff is wrapping up its fifth and final season after remaining but the franchise will expand elsewhere with cocreators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear hinting at another location setting the scene for a new spinoff. (January 20)
On The Night Agent, the FBI’s Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) has ditched phone duty and works for Night Action (alongside Brittany Snow’s Alice). But wait, could there be a mole? (January 23)
Pencil this in after Elsbeth and Matlock as the latest in CBS’ run of intriguing, slightly quirky crime dramas. Morris Chestnut plays the title character, who, after the death of Sherlock Holmes at the hand of the detective’s iconic foe, Moriarty, is in Pittsburgh puzzling out medical mysteries à la Hugh Laurie’s House. We’re just gonna ask: Is Holmes really dead? (January 26)
According to the official synopsis, Paradise is set in a "serene community inhabited by some of the world's most prominent individuals." But their tranquility explodes "when a shocking murder occurs and a high-stakes investigation unfolds." (January 28)
The stakes have never been higher as Matty (Kathy Bates) runs the risk of getting exposed amid her secret investigation into Jacobson Moore. Elsewhere, Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) and Julian (Jason Ritter) try to figure out the next chapter in their relationship. (January 30)
Netflix has hit it big with spy guys in the past year, so new cases can’t come urgently enough! On The Recruit, CIA lawyer Owen Hendricks (Noah Centineo) was more sloppy than James Bond– savvy in protecting a former asset, so he has to prove himself on a South Korean mission with a badass intelligence agent (Teo Yoo). (January 30)
Melissa Roxburgh is back on our TV screens after Manifest with a crime procedural that follows a team of investigators assembled to track down and capture the most dangerous killers ever seen after they escape from a top-secret prison that's not supposed to exist. (February 3)
After waiting for more than a year, Sweet Magnolias is finally back for season 4 as we check in with Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher), Dana Sue (Brooke Elliott) and Helen (Heather Headley) in the fictional South Carolina town of Serenity. (February 6)
Hilary Swank and Joel McHale step into the fray for the wild drama's third season, which arrives with the tagline "The Past Will Come Back to Haunt You." Yes, lives are threatened in the present day, while the 1990s flashbacks to teen girls stranded in the wilderness could see a meltdown — and not just in terms of the snow. (February 14)
Hopefully the rest of season 2 will answer every burning question we have about Gina's disappearance so Colter (Justin Hartley) can solve his only cold case. (February 16)
Season 3 is set in Thailand, featuring another star-studded cast that includes Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, Jason Isaacs, Lalisa Manobal, Michelle Monaghan, Sam Nivola, Lek Patravadi, Parker Posey, Natasha Rothwell, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Tayme Thapthimthong and Aimee Lou Wood. (February 16)
The procedural follows a sister (Leighton Meester) and brother (Luke Cook) detective team as they deal with colorful residents, a serious lack of resources and their very complicated dynamic with each other and their police chief father, played by Clancy Brown. (February 19)
The limited series is described as a political conspiracy thriller centering on a devastating global cyberattack with Robert De Niro, Lizzy Caplan, Jesse Plemons, Connie Britton, Bill Camp, Dan Stevens, Angela Bassett and more. (February 20)
A spinoff was inevitable after the OG Suits — with Gabriel Macht, Patrick J. Adams and Meghan Markle at an NYC law firm — monopolized Netflix in 2023. In Suits: LA, Stephen Amell’s Ted Black is a former East Coast prosecutor (his exit is a bit of a mystery) whose West Coast firm is in crisis. Josh McDermitt and Bryan Greenberg costar — and Macht has hinted at a return for suave Harvey Specter. (February 22)
Season 2 centers on Spencer's (Brandon Sklena) arduous journey home as he races against time to save his family — and the Dutton legacy — in Montana. (February 23)
The upcoming series stars Melissa Fumero, Aja Naomi King, AnnaSophia Robb and Ben Rappaport in a show about four members of a suburban gardening club who share a murderous secret. (February 23)
According to the synopsis, Beyond the Gates takes place in a "posh gated community" in "one of the most affluent African American counties" just outside of Washington, D.C. The Duprees are at the center of the show as "the very definition of Black royalty" in the luxurious Fairmont Crest community. (February 24)
Will the second half of Doctor Odyssey's debut season reveal whether Max (Joshua Jackson) or Tristan (Sean Teale) are the father of Avery's (Phillipa Soo) unborn baby? One can only hope. (March 6)
Inspired by The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower, the series revolves around a fictional murder scandal involving the staff of the White House. Uzo Aduba leads the cast, which also features Randall Park, Giancarlo Esposito, Susan Kelechi Watson, Jane Curtin, Jason Lee, Ken Marino and more. (March 20)
The Studio follows a legacy Hollywood movie studio striving to survive in a world where it is increasingly difficult for art and business to live together. Seth Rogen, Catherine O'Hara, Kathryn Hahn, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders and more make up the cast. (March 26)
From the always funny Mindy Kaling: Kate Hudson shoots and scores as Isla Gordon, the unlikely new boss of the family-owned L.A. Waves basketball team. She knows the game, but her brothers (Justin Theroux, Scott MacArthur and Drew Tarver) don't exactly have her back. But as she orchestrates her first big deal and checks players' egos, you will cheer just like you did for Ted Lasso. (winter 2025)
Zac Efron‘s brother Dylan Efron has already made a lasting impression onThe Traitors — but what else is there to know about the season 3 contestant?
The Traitors, which premiered in January 2025, brought together reality TV stars from various franchises as they competed in a mafia-style game for up to $250,000. Despite appearing to be a natural on camera, Dylan previously admitted that he wasn’t sure he wanted to follow in his brother’s acting footsteps.
“I’ve been behind the camera. But being able to not stay behind the scenes has been a really nice change,” Dylan exclusively told Us Weekly in September 2023 about his plans to try something new. “So I think as long as I can kind of wear all those hats and still kind of craft the stories I want to tell [that would be great]. To be able to experience it firsthand, it’s really nice. It’s a good mix of both worlds.”
While Zac rose to stardom after landing a multitude of TV and movie roles, Dylan enjoyed playing a smaller role behind the scenes. His transition to taking part in a competition show came after Dylan previously admitted he wasn’t trying to pretend to be someone he wasn’t.
“What Zac does, I could never do. I play myself in front of a camera while Zac’s playing characters. It is two different skill sets,” he added at the time. “He can play different characters and I can only play myself.”
Dylan’s commitment to staying true to himself should serve him well on The Traitors. Keep scrolling for everything to know about Dylan Efron amid his stint on the Peacock series:
What Does Dylan Actually Do?
When asked by Wells Adams during the Traitors season 3 premiere, Dylan said he is best known for his work on “social media.” But Dylan has left a lasting impression online courtesy of his sweet bond with brother Zac and his work in the entertainment industry.
Dylan got his start as a physical production coordinator on movies like Jersey Boys, American Sniper, Get Hard and The Accountant. From there, Dylan went on to become an assistant on Unforgettable, Ready Player One and A Star Is Born. His most recent work consisted of performing stunts on Disney+’s shows The Mandalorian and Ahsoka.
To follow the Efrons on social media is to bless your timeline with adorable family photos featuring Dylan and Zac’s younger siblings. The brother’s parents were married for nearly two decades before calling it quits in 2016. Dylan and Zac’s father, David Efron, ultimately moved on with second wife Jenny and they welcomed kids Olivia and Henry.
“My motto [for building a strong bond with brother Henry and sister Olivia] has just been FaceTime. I try to see them as much as I can,” Dylan told Us. “But really, I just think back and my brother was such a good brother to me and I want to be that for them. So it’s really just — I like thinking what they think of me and I want to be that presence for them.”
“Honestly, my little sister’s the sweetest. She doesn’t have favorites, so it’s more we’re playing with each other. But every time we see her — I can’t say enough about her. And then Henry too,” Dylan continued at the time. “He’s just getting to that age where he is [developing his] personality. So it is hard to even pick between the two of them really. I see myself so much in Henry and then [in] Olivia, I see Zac. She’s going to be an actress probably [because] she’s got such a big personality. Henry’s a little sports player.”
Does Dylan Have Reality TV Experience?
While Dylan has worked mainly on scripted projects, he was a producer on Netflix’s Down to Earth, which followed Zac as he traveled around the world and highlighted various life experiences, cultures, culinary ventures as well as green energy and sustainable living practices.
“I love doing stuff with my brother. There’s a really comforting thing being with family [and] doing this stuff. That’s always going to be high up there on what I love to do. But I think it’s good that we do things separately too,” Dylan exclusively told Us in September 2023. “Because I remember back in the day, we wanted to do a show together and I really wouldn’t have been prepared for that. He’s been in front of the camera his whole life and it’s been second nature for him. I was a shy little kid, so I’ve had to grow into that.”
Dylan said he would be thrilled to work with Zac on a project again in the future. “It’ll be the right time now,” he shared. “We’re still thinking [about what to do]. We’re in the thinking process. We really want to just take a step back and see what stories we want to tell, how we can do it and enjoy ourselves. We want to keep leveling it up.”
Dylan also worked on telling his own stories with a three-part 2023 YouTube series about surf culture in California.
Over the years, Dylan has documented his interest in surfing, skateboarding, kayaking and running.
“Something I quickly retired from was speed flying, where you are running off a cliff with a parachute and then you go really fast. I wanted to do it and I quickly retired from it once I did one. It’s really scary,” he revealed to Us in 2023. “If I went back to that, I would go back to just normal skydiving and stay away from that.”
He continued: “Especially when I’m on the road a lot, I don’t try to lift heavy weights. I just want to use my muscles and stretch and try to just keep my body limber. I don’t want to kill myself trying to use heavy weights so I just make sure to keep everything used. When you get in trouble is if you get used to sitting all day and then you don’t use your body at all.”
What Does Zac Think About Dylan’s Chances on ‘The Traitors’?
Before his time in Scotland aired on Peacock, Zac showed support for Dylan’s newest endeavor. “I think Dylan’s going to win,” Zac told E! News in June 2024. “I hope he does, because he’s so good at games. He always has been, since we were kids. He’s like the game master. … If anyone can do this, it’s him. I’m rooting for him.”
Bravo fans received a surprise during season 3 of The Traitors when they spotted an oil painting of Andy Cohen hanging in the Scotland castle.
During the three-part premiere, which was released on Thursday, January 9, Chanel Ayan spotted the new addition to the wall, saying, “Is that Andy Cohen? Daddy! Oh my daddy.” The painting showed Cohen, 56, who is an executive producer on multiple Bravo shows, all smiles while decked out in regal attire.
The season got off to a memorable start when the contestants were offered the chance to bring Rob “Boston Rob” Mariano into the fold — but everyone passed. Despite Boston Rob, 49, being led off into the woods, he later returned with The Challenge‘s Wes Bergmann and Big Brother‘s Derrick Levasseur. The trio serves as a surprise, last-minute addition to season 3.
Peacock’s hit reality series brings together reality TV stars from various franchises as they compete in a mafia-style game for up to $250,000. In addition to Boston Rob, Wes and Derrick, the third season featured Wells Adams, Gabby Windey, Ciara Miller, Chrishell Stause, Jeremy Collins, Carolyn Wiger, Tony Vlachos, Bob the Drag Queen, Britney Haynes and Danielle Reyes.
Bob Harper, Dylan Efron, Lord Ivar Mountbatten, Sam Asghari and Nikki Bella made up the rest of the group.
Euan Cherry/Peacock
Before season 3 premiered, Chrishell, 43, sparked rumors of an onscreen feud when she shared a series of promotional photos in November 2024 of all her fellow contestants — except Sandoval, 42. The Selling Sunset star didn’t address the omission at the time, but she previously showed support for Sandoval’s ex-girlfriend Ariana Madix.
“Oh my gosh, do you see who it is?” Nikki, 41, asked Gabby, 34, who replied, “Is that Sandoval? I am not saying hi to him.” Nikki laughed at Gabby’s reaction, adding, “I know, right?”
According to Cumming, 59, viewers should expect plenty of surprises throughout the season. “It’s very twisty and very kind of pulling the rug from under everybody all the time,” he told TV Insider in July 2024. “It’s also got some lovely moments in it as well, in a way that we haven’t had before. It’s very different from the other two seasons — in a really good way.”
“It’s sort of part of the whole DNA of the show now,” Cumming told WWD of his show style earlier this month. “I feel like we’ve sort of subverted the form of reality TV a little bit. And so what I’m wearing is an element of each episode. We’ve kind of added another layer to the thing.”
He continued: “It was something so new and different to what I’d done before. It sort of reminded me of Clue or something. I love a board game, and I love the campiness and theatricality of those games. I could tell from the start they [the production company] wanted to kind of up the ante. It wasn’t just, ‘Hello, I’m Alan Cumming, and here I am with these people.’ They purposely wanted to match the tone of the show.”
New episodes of The Traitors are released Thursdays on Peacock at 9 p.m. ET with a three-episode premiere event.
Efron — who is an older brother to Dylan, Olivia and Henry — has recalled how his siblings and parents supported him throughout his career.
“My family’s my rock. I know that they’re not going anywhere. More and more I rely on my little brother to keep me grounded,” he shared during a 2013 interview. “I know my family’s always going to be there, and then there’s also some times when life changes, they can’t always be there for you in the way that you need, so I rely on my friends.”
Years later, Efron revealed the important life lessons that he learned from his family.
“My parents love me in very different ways. But they checked every box. My dad always taught me to be driven,” he told Elle in 2016. “I was always the shortest kid at school. Always the worst kid on the team. I’d come home after practice and my dad would build a basketball hoop. Then we’d go out and shoot 100 free throws. Pretty soon every time I got fouled I would make my free throws.”
While he loves his own family — and is a great older brother — Efron admitted he’s not quite ready to have children of his own.
“I have a healthy respect for parents, very grateful for them all,” he said during a May 2022 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “I love you so much, Mom.”
Scroll down for the sweetest photos of Efron and his family over the years:
The actor's loved ones — including his mother, father and older brother — showed their support for Efron when he received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. During the event, Efron also reflected on how his bond with Dylan influenced his role as wrestling legend Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw.
"I can't say it didn't come into play," he told Entertainment Tonight. "This movie's about brothers, at the core of it, and you know, I'm a big brother myself. I love him to death. But there's a certain kind of relationship — it's just the brother bond."
Efron continued: "So, of course I thought about him a lot over the course of this movie. And I know that that connection, in the movie, is something that Kevin Von Erich really appreciated about it, so it makes me proud."
“Yes, I mean most of the time [he is a good roommate]. He’s my little brother. He looks after the house while I’m gone,” the actor said during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in May 2017. “We’re cool like that. I trust him, he’s a good dude. I trust him with the house. I came home [recently] and it was very clear that the cleaning lady had been there just minutes before I arrived.”
Later that year, Dylan took to social media to praise Zac for being a role model for him. “More than ever I’ve realized how much you’ve always been there for me,” he wrote via Instagram in October 2022. “Thanks for growin’ up with me and being my role model. Happy Bday brother.”
Zac revealed that his father encouraged him to do musicals in high school. "I lived a normal childhood in a middle-class family," the Baywatch actor told The Star in 2007. "When I was younger, I didn't even know this business existed."
Zac's parents met at a power plant in the '80s where his father was an engineer and his mother was a secretary. They called it quits in 2016 after welcoming two kids together.
"It was interesting because I was always really big for my age, and Zac was pretty small for his age. We were always fighting with each other," Dylan told BroBible in January 2021 about his dynamic with his older brother. "But I would say that we grew up super combative, just because we’re so different and he was so much older. We were just into different things."
Dylan added: "And then once I graduated college, Zac really took me under his wing and let me live with him when I got my first job in Los Angeles. He really became that older brother, and that’s when I would say we grew closer than ever. Our relationship was something that developed more as we both became adults and stopped fighting so much."
Our favorite CBS shows are making their midseason comebacks — and the network has released spoiler-filled story lines for each one, including Tracker, Matlock, FBI and more.
Matlock became an overnight hit after the first season premiered in September 2024. The series follows a wealthy retired lawyer named Madeline Kingston (Kathy Bates) who pretends to be a poor widower named Matty Matlock to get a job at a firm. As it turns out, Matty thinks someone at the company is complicit in the opioid epidemic that resulted in her daughter’s death.
According to executive producer and director Kat Coirothe biggest twists are still coming up.
“What’s so brilliant about the show and Jennie [Snyder Urman’s] writing is that it’s very incremental and character-based. The twists have a lot to do with psychology rather than relying on big external factors or plot shifts,” Coiro exclusively told Us Weekly in November 2024. “You get so invested in these characters that small revelations become really exciting.”
NCIS: Origins, meanwhile, previously ended on a high note after it was revealed that Gibbs (Austin Stowell) killed Pedro Hernandez (George Paez) off screen after the cartel leader murdered Gibbs’ family.
“At the beginning, the writers’ room let us know certain overarching story lines that might play out. But what [creators] Gina [Lucita Monreal] and David [J. North] have said from the very beginning is that they wanted to write for us and get to know us and see what works as we’re shooting. So I think we are informing them about their own characters as we go episode to episode,” Stowell shared with Us in November 2024 about the prequel series. “I’m not many episodes ahead. And we still have crimes to solve and memories to go back to. There are certain events coming in the next few episodes that are incredibly important to the story of NCIS and to the story of Gibbs that I’m really excited to share with the fans of the show.”
Keep scrolling for glimpses into your favorite CBS shows returning midseason:
‘The Neighborhood’
Monty Brinton/CBS
Premiere Date: Monday, January 27 at 8 p.m.. EST Logline: The new neighbors who moved into Miss Kim’s old house are keeping the Butlers and Johnsons up all night. Meanwhile, Courtney tells Marty she is going on a date.
‘Poppa’s House’
Bill Inoshita/CBS
Premiere Date: Monday, January 27 at 8:30 p.m. EST Logline: Junior accuses Poppa of lying about his dog allergy during his childhood. Meanwhile, Nina and Junior take a vow of celibacy to explore a deeper connection.
‘NCIS’
Sonja Flemming/CBS
Premiere Date: Monday, January 27 at 9 p.m. EST Logline: After NCIS learns that the owner of Parker’s favorite bakery (guest star Melina Kanakaredes) is being blackmailed, they hatch a plan to save her from the perpetrators. Also, tensions heighten when Torres’ secret romance is discovered.
‘NCIS: Origins’
Erik Voake/CBS
Premiere Date: Monday, January 27 at 10 p.m. EST Logline: The team investigates the death of a famed Marine commander’s son, while a pivotal part of Franks’ past involving his family is revealed.
Premiere Date: Tuesday, January 28 at 8 p.m. EST Logline: The investigation into an assistant U.S. attorney’s death leads the team to a related airline whistleblower scandal and the chilling discovery that they don’t have much time to thwart terrorists from crashing numerous in-flight commercial airplanes. Dealing with the memory of his brother, who was a 9/11 victim, the case pushes Scola hard to prevent another catastrophe.
‘FBI: International’
CBS
Premiere Date: Tuesday, January 28 at 9 p.m. EST Logline: A member of the Fly Team goes missing as the hunt for Greg Csonka continues in Paris. Meanwhile, Vo’s life hangs in the balance after being shot.
‘FBI: Most Wanted’
Mark Schäfer/CBS
Premiere Date: Tuesday, January 28 at 10 p.m. EST Logline: The Fugitive Task Force investigates a series of deadly fires involving the descendants of those who caused the infamous 1985 MOVE bombing in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Nina’s sister turns to her in a time of need.
‘Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage’
Sonja Flemming/CBS
Premiere Date: Thursday, January 30 at 8 p.m. EST Logline: Tensions rise when Georgie intrudes on Mandy’s new sales gig. Meanwhile, Audrey’s conflicted when Jim makes it a point not to coddle Connor. Young Sheldon‘s Sarah Baker reprises her recurring role as Medford High librarian Ms. Hutchins.
‘Ghosts’
Bertrand Calmeau/CBS
Premiere Date: Thursday, January 30 at 8:30 p.m. EST Logline: Sam and Jay are forced to cover when Mark demands to meet the silent investor in Jay’s restaurant who has been holding up construction.
‘Matlock’
Erik Voake/CBS
Premiere Date: Thursday, January 30 at 9 p.m. EST Logline: Matty helps Olympia take on Elijah’s cousin’s wrongful termination case. Also, Edwin worries that the longer Matty remains at Jacobson Moore, the more she puts herself in danger of being caught.
Premiere Date: Thursday, January 30 at 10 p.m. EST Logline: When a young man is found dead in his car, Elsbeth visits the holistic wellness center he’d just left and begins to suspect its charismatic founder (Eric McCormack).
‘NCIS: Sydney’
Daniel Asher Smith/Paramount+
Premiere Date: Friday, January 31 at 8 p.m. EST Logline: The team will do whatever it takes to crack the case of a rogue assassin on the run during NCIS Special Agent DeShawn Jackson’s chaotic first day as boss.
‘Fire Country’
Eric Milner/CBS
Premiere Date: Friday, January 31 at 9 p.m. EST Logline: With the Chezem Valley fire blazing out of control, Bode and Audrey must find a way to save themselves; Manny risks his freedom for his missing daughter; and Eve tries to protect her father (Phil Morris) and their family’s ranch.
‘S.W.A.T.’
Sonja Flemming/CBS
Premiere Date: Friday, January 31 at 10 p.m. EST Logline: When Hondo learns there’s a $1 million bounty on his head, 20-Squad must race to uncover the mysterious enemy from Hondo’s past who’s intent on revenge. Also, Deacon and Tan butt heads over Tan’s changes to SWAT academy.
Premiere Date: Sunday, February 16 at 8 p.m. EST Logline: A new lead in Colter’s white whale case, the disappearance of Gina Picket, brings him and retired cop Keaton (Brent Sexton) back together to track down a serial killer.
‘The Equalizer’
Michael Greenberg/CBS
Premiere Date: Sunday, February 16 at 10 p.m. EST Longline: After a young girl is the victim of a shootout in her neighborhood, the team races to find out if a gang war is afoot and whether the crime is connected to a shipment of stolen guns McCall is chasing down. Meanwhile, love is in the air when Aunt Vi and Delilah prepare for their respective date.
Jake Johnson shared his conflicting feelings after filmmaker and friend Jeff Baena‘s death.
“I love you Jeff,” Johnson, 46, wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, January 8. “Hate your last move. But I still love you.”
The social media post included a photo of Johnson and Baena, who Us Weekly confirmed died by suicide on Friday, January 3, at age 47. Baena, who was married to actress Aubrey Plaza, was known for projects such as I Heart Huckabees, Life After Beth, The Little Hours, Horse Girl and Spin Me Round.
Plaza, 40, broke her silence on Baena’s death days later in a statement.
“This is an unimaginable tragedy,” her rep said in a Monday, January 6, statement to Us on behalf of Plaza and family members. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”
Monica Schipper/Getty Images; Mat Hayward/Getty Images
“My first movie was a big learning experience on all fronts, and so working with her was a benefit because we have a shorthand and a close relationship,” Baena said of Plaza in an August 2022 interview with Newsweek. “As I’ve made more and more stuff, I’ve come to appreciate everything that she brings.”
Baena praised his wife’s commitment to her work, adding, “She’s insanely talented and so smart and obviously really good at producing. And she’s writing. There are very few people who can wear as many hats as her, as elegantly as she does.”
Plaza received an outpour of support after Baena’s death. His friend and longtime collaborator Adam Pally shared an emotional Instagram statement on Sunday, January 5, which read, “He was a talented director with impeccable taste and vision, he was a connector of people, a fosterer of possibility, the guy who knows where the best restaurant was no matter where you were. An overly gracious host with an almost disturbing open door policy, a film encyclopedia, and most importantly to me a friend.”
Pally, 42, who worked with Baena on Life After Beth, Joshy and The Little Hours, recalled how the late filmmaker “strove for truth” and that “nothing could sound, look or feel inauthentic” because it was a “direct representation” of how authentic Baena was.
“You never worried that Jeff wasn’t telling you the way it is. ‘Cause Jeff’s virtue was telling you the way it was,” Pally continued. “My heart breaks for my friend Aubrey and the Baena family and for all of us who spent time on his sets or at his house or in his orbit. Thanks for believing in me Jeff, may your memory be a blessing.”
In the comments section, Jeff’s brother, Brad Baena, replied, “I am broken.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
(L-R) Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, and Brian Cox.Rich Fury/Getty Images
Jeremy Strong is subtly weighing in on his former Succession costars poking fun at his method acting.
The actor, 46, elaborated on his process while discussing his role as Roy Cohn in The Apprentice film, telling Deadline on Tuesday, January 7, “When I look at the kind of transformational work based on historical characters that I feel inspired by, from Ben Kingsley in Gandhi, or Phil Hoffman in Capote or what I witnessed Daniel Day-Lewis do in Lincoln, it’s about transcending impersonation and finding the essence in a deep, serious way.”
Strong said his approach to depicting real people is by trying to “absorb and learn everything and study them endlessly.”
“Lately, people have felt a need to take shots at me or say disparaging things, which I don’t really think there’s any need for,” he continued. “The way I approach things, my process. I feel we’re storytellers. I think about those performances I just mentioned. Those are actors telling a story through character, which to me is the highest bar.”
Strong had no regrets about his decision to immerse himself in his work, adding, “That’s the holy grail for me, creating a character, which is sort of creating an instrument that’s never existed before. That’s the kind of acting that I love. It does require a devil-may-care attitude towards what anybody might think of what you’re doing.”
Jeremy Strong in “Succession.”Macall B. Polay/HBO
He continued: “It’s anti-art and not worthy of the dignity of what we’re all trying to do. I think about Roy, how delighted he would be with the muckraking and the stone throwing going on in our country right now.”
Strong, who played Kendall on Succession, previously made headlines when he revealed he sustained injuries including hurting his tibia, femur and fracturing his foot.
“If I have any method at all, it is simply this: to clear away anything — anything — that is not the character and the circumstances of the scene,” Strong explained to The New Yorker in December 2021. “And usually that means clearing away almost everything around and inside you, so that you can be a more complete vessel for the work at hand.”
Strong’s costars Kieran Culkin and Brian Cox have since shared how they weren’t as thrilled by his behavior. Strong acknowledged that his method may come off as “difficult” to others, adding, “Sometimes there must even be room for necessary roughness.”
Culkin, 42, was quoted in the article when discussing how Strong’s work ethic is “something that helps” him. “I can tell you that it doesn’t help me,” he noted.
“The thing about Jeremy’s approach is it works in terms of what comes out the other end,” he detailed during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers in 2021. “I don’t have a problem with Jeremy because he’s delightful. … He’s an extraordinary dad. He’s a pretty unique individual. But he does get obsessed with the work. And I worry about what it does to him, because if you can’t separate yourself — because you’re dealing with all of this material every day. You can’t live in it. Eventually, you get worn out.”
Cox continued: “Like, to me, Daniel Day Lewis got worn out at 55 and decided to retire because [he] couldn’t go on doing that every day. It’s too consuming. And I do worry about it. But the result — what everyone says about Jeremy — the result is always extraordinary and excellent.”
“It was painful. I felt foolish. As an actor, one of the most vital secret weapons that you can have is the ability to tolerate feeling foolish,” he told Vanity Fair in September 2022 before elaborating in a separate interview, “A lot of that is just things that are presented out of context or with a certain agenda. I know what everybody said, and there was an angle and a narrative that was being presented. Which is not to say that there was never friction between my costars. We’re a family in every sense of the word. But foundationally, there’s deep respect and even love.”
