Entertainment

Weekend Watchlist: What's new on streaming

Ready, set, binge! Here's a look at some of the new movies and TV shows streaming this weekend:

Hulu
We Were the Lucky Ones: Did you read The New York Times bestseller this show is based on? A Jewish family is separated at the beginning of World War II in the new limited series.

Netflix
The Beautiful Game: Learn the true story of the Homeless World Cup in the new film.

Is It Cake?: Bakers will continue to push boundaries in season 3 of the reality competition show.

Paramount+ with Showtime
A Gentleman in Moscow: Another popular book has been made into a miniseries. You can watch the new show, which stars Ewan McGregor, now.

Disney+
Renegade Nell: A young woman framed for murder becomes an adventurous outlaw. Follow her story in the new series.

Apple TV+
STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces: Watch the revealing double feature about the private life of the famous comic.

That’s all for this week’s Weekend Watchlist – happy streaming!

 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Melissa Joan Hart says she "100 percent" believes the 'Quiet on the Set' accusers

Gerardo Mora/Getty Images

Former Nickelodeon star Melissa Joan Hart has reacted to Investigation Discovery's hit docuseries Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, and while she "100 percent" believes the accusers, she says she didn't share what they endured.

The former Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina the Teenage Witch star explained on Meghan McCain's Citizen McCain podcast that she hadn't yet seen the series, which detailed sexual and emotional abuse that former Nick stars endured, but said, "I absolutely trust them, believe them, one hundred percent."

Hart expressed, "I don't know other people's experiences and I'm not negating anything anybody else says."

She continued, "I've never been told these people's stories that are in the documentary. And I have to say, I've never heard a story from a Nickelodeon star personally, no one's come to me and talked to me about any of these situations."

Hart also expressed she never faced similar abuse when she was a kid star working for Nickelodeon in Orlando from 1989 to 1994.

"In Orlando I had nothing but a wonderful experience," she said, though she did admit, "they did work the kids a lot harder than they probably legally should."

"We had a ton of fun, it was just long hours, that's all -- because I had to do school and the show," Hart maintained.

She explained she felt "safe" and her "amazing crew" was "so protective," insisting, "not every egg in the Nickelodeon basket is rotten."

Her take was similar to another former young Nick star, Saturday Night Live's Kenan Thompson, who told Tamron Hall this week that he "wasn't really aware" of the alleged abuse. However, he added, "My heart goes out to anybody that's been victimized, or their families."

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


'Roots' actor Louis Gossett Jr. dies at 87

Leon Bennett/WireImage

Louis Gossett Jr., who made history as the first Black man to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, has died. He was 87.

A family member confirmed to The Associated Press that the groundbreaking actor passed away in Santa Monica, California. A cause of death was not yet given.

Gossett, a Brooklyn native, unintentionally got his acting start while a student at Abraham Lincoln High School. Following a sports injury, he was forced to take a break from basketball and enrolled in an acting class that successfully led to his stage debut in the school’s production of You Can’t Take It With You. His performance impressed scouts, as well as a teacher who encouraged him to try out for Broadway's Take a Giant Step.

He later landed the role and earned the Donaldson Award for best newcomer to theater.

Gossett continued acting, using his earnings to support his family, and eventually attended NYU on a drama and basketball scholarship. He turned down an offer to play on the varsity team, as well as an opportunity to play with the New York Knicks’ rookie camp. Instead he accepted the role of George Murchison in the 1959 Broadway premiere of A Raisin in the Sun, which also featured late acting legend Sidney Poitier. He later appeared in the film adaptation, marking his movie debut.

Gossett’s career went on with a slew of off-Broadway and Broadway plays, films and televisions shows, including The Landlord (1970), The Young Rebels and George Cukor’s Travels with My Aunt (1972). In 1977 he secured one of his most well-known roles to date: Fiddler in the 1977 ABC miniseries Roots, a role he reprised in the 1998 movie Roots: The Gift.

His performance on the television show was rewarded with the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series — one of many awards the actor snagged throughout the years.

Gossett also won an Oscar for his role in An Officer and a Gentleman, making history as the first African American man to take home the award for Best Supporting Actor. His portrayal of Gunnery Sgt. Emil Foley in the film also earned him a Golden Globe.

In the following years, Gossett made appearances in The Josephine Baker Story, for which he won a Golden Globe; the miniseries Return to Lonesome Dove; the movie Lackawanna Blues; the Regina King-led series Watchmen; Boardwalk Empire; and The Batman. Most recently he appeared in the 2023 remake of The Color Purple.

His contributions to Hollywood were honored in 1992 with a star on the Walk of Fame.

While Gossett made a name for himself in the acting world, he spent much of his time fighting against racism, violence and social apathy via his Eracism Foundation, which he founded in 2006. Programs within the nonprofit provided young adults with lessons on cultural diversity, historical enrichment and more.

He also briefly dabbled in the literary world, releasing his autobiography, An Actor and a Gentleman, in 2010.

Gossett survived prostate cancer following his 2010 diagnosis and a bout of COVID-19 in December 2020. He leaves behind sons Satie Gossett and Sharron Gossett, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


In Brief: Claire Danes back with 'Homeland' producer for Netflix thriller series, and more

FX has announced it has bumped the kickoff of the Emmy-winning Ryan Reynolds/Rob McElhenney docuseries Welcome to Wrexham from April 18 to May 2 at 10 p.m. ET. The series, which streams the next day on Hulu, will start its third season with the first two episodes of the eight-installment season. Subsequent episodes will roll out each following Thursday. The show, about the stars' purchase of the beloved underdog Welsh football club, recently won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program ...

Claire Danes is reuniting with her Homeland producer Howard Gordon for a Netflix series called The Beast in Me, Variety reports. According to the trade, Danes will play acclaimed author Aggie Wiggs, who "has receded from public life, unable to write, a ghost of her former self" after the death of her son. "But she finds an unlikely subject for a new book when the house next door is bought by Nile Sheldon, a famed and formidable real estate mogul who was once the prime suspect in his wife's disappearance." The tease continues, "Aggie finds herself compulsively hunting for the truth – chasing his demons while fleeing her own – in a game of cat and mouse that might turn deadly" ...

Heartstopper's Kit Connor, Shōgun's Cosmo Jarvis, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's Will Poulter and True Detective: Night Country's Finn Bennett have been added to the cast of Warfare, the second project from Alex Garland and his Civil War collaborator Ray Mendoza, according to Deadline. They join previously announced D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Charles Melton and Joseph Quinn. Plot details have not been revealed ...

Olivia Colman will not return for the third season of Netflix's Heartstopper. "I couldn't do number three. I couldn't fit it in. I feel awful about that," said Colman, who played Sarah Nelson, the mother of Kit Connor's Nick Nelson, to Forbes. "I feel like I was part of one of the most beautiful things I've ever been part of," she added. Series creator Alice Oseman explained on her Instagram Story that the show "tried absolutely everything we could" to get the Oscar and Emmy winner back for the role, and wished her "the absolute best" ...

 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


'Carol Doda Topless at the Condor' directors on the famous dancer's impact

Getty, © Picturehouse 2024

As March comes to a close, continue celebrating Women’s History Month by learning about someone who helped shape the sexual revolution of the 1960s: Carol Doda.

A new documentary about her life, Carol Doda Topless at the Condor, is playing in theaters now. Directors Jonathan Parker and Marlo McKenzie spoke to ABC Audio about Doda’s impact.

In 1964, Doda became the first dancer in the nation to perform topless. She wore fashion designer Rudi Gernreich's monokini swimsuit and danced on top of a white baby grand piano that descended from the ceiling of the Condor Club in San Fransisco’s North Beach.

Her act launched a heated debate around what constituted indecent exposure in a public setting. The ensuing arrests and trials paved the way for a sexual revolution.

"A lot of discussions can be started with her story," Parker said. "I always just zero in on this moment in the movie where she's asked if she thought of herself as a feminist pioneer. And she said, 'No, I don't think of myself as a feminist pioneer, but I was the first bra burner.' ... Right there you have this weird, ironic coming together of an action that can mean multiple things to different people.”

McKenzie agreed, saying she was drawn to telling the story of a woman in charge of her career when many were not afforded that opportunity.

“It was a time when women were very restricted, and we were just starting to think about what it might mean to be in the world,” McKenzie said. “Carol having this career ... where she takes off her top, in that time was a really big deal. And so, I was drawn to her courage where she was totally being her authentic self in a time when that was not really accepted.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Get a peek into Steve Martin's wild and crazy life in 'Steve! (martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces'

Apple TV+

The life story of celebrated comedian, actor, author, musician and playwright Steve Martin gets the documentary treatment in the new Apple TV+ doc Steve! (martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces, out Friday, March 29. It's from Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville, who talked to ABC Audio about why he wanted to profile the living legend.

"He's somebody who does things that can be really silly and stupid or really smart," Neville explains. "And I kind of love the fact that he does high culture and low culture and kind of can do it all."

One thing Neville didn't ever figure on Martin doing was agreeing to make a documentary about himself, since "Steve had turned down the idea of doing a documentary for years and years and years."

But, says Neville, "I think maybe because of COVID and maybe because he's happier now, word got out that he maybe would be willing to talk to a documentary filmmaker. And so I went to his house and we had lunch, and we talked about kids and art and New York and, and at the end of it, he was like, OK."

Whether you know Martin from his standup or movies like The Jerk or Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Neville believes you'll find the doc relatable, noting, "I feel like a lot of the film isn't about the celebrity stuff, it's just about the human stuff."

"How to figure out your creative voice and how does it connect with the culture and what you're trying to do, and how to stick to your guns about your originality. And then the emotional questions of like, you know, does success bring happiness? And how do you actually work through your issues with your parents?" he explains.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Keanu Reeves, Fisher Stevens prepping documentary on MMA legend Benny Urquidez

RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Keanu Reeves knows his way around a martial arts mat, what with his extensive training for The Matrix and John Wick franchises, and now he's about to pay tribute to a groundbreaker within the combat sports.

Deadline reports Reeves and Oscar-winning director Fisher Stevens will co-produce a documentary on Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, who is credited with introducing mixed martial arts to the world. 

Now 71, Urquidez was a world champion karate and kickboxing legend who transitioned to training actors and coordinating fight scenes for movies. 

Incidentally, John Cusack was one of his students, and Urquidez takes him on in a famous scene in the actor's 1997's hit Grosse Pointe Blank. But Urquidez's client list reads like a Hollywood's who's who: Everyone from Jackie Chan to the late Patrick Swayze to Michelle Pfeiffer trained with him over his long career. 

Emmy-nominated sports documentary editor and filmmaker Jennifer Tiexiera is directing the documentary. She tells the trade, "Benny’s fighting career was born out of his struggles with identity, poverty, and race, but he didn't let those things define him. The result is a story about how struggle and sacrifice evolved into one about love, spirituality and deeper meaning."

Keanu recently appeared in and produced another documentary, Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story, which is streaming on Hulu.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


'Twilight' vet Kristen Stewart says she would have broken up with Edward "immediately"

Dominique Charriau/WireImage

Kristen Stewart obviously still has some feelings for her Twilight character, Bella — just not her taste in men.

That's what fans learned on a new installment of the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, when host Amanda Hirsch asked the actress and activist of Bella, "Do we not like her in retrospect?"

Stewart replied, "'Do we not like her?' Whoa. Hey, you better be careful. I don’t know if you can tell who you’re talking to right now," she joked.

The Love Lies Bleeding star disagreed with Hirsch's assessment that Bella was "a little desperate" to be with Robert Pattinson's vampire, Edward, noting, "Yeah, but he was trying to sort of control whether or not she made choices for herself."

That said, Stewart offered, "I would have broken up with him immediately."

In the bestselling books, and the movies starring Stewart, Bella wanted Edward to turn her into a vampire, but he refused. 

Stewart says in real life that would have been a deal-breaker for her. "I mean, if I was like, 'Hey, I want to try that,' and he was like, 'No, this is just for me,' I would be like, 'Well, this is also just for me: My whole life. Without you.'"

She added of his motivations, "I get the sort of protection thing, but you gotta let a girl make her own choices."

 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Tom Holland's Romeo gets his Juliet for West End theater production

Good Morning America

On Thursday, The Jamie Lloyd Company announced the full cast for Tom Holland's West End return with William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, including his star-crossed titular other half: Francesca Amewudah-Rivers.

The actress has a handful of theater credits under her belt, but only appeared on the fourth and fifth seasons of the BBC's Bad Education on TV.

Also starring in the play are theater vets Tomiwa Edun, recently seen in Argylle, playing Capulet; Freema Agyeman, who appeared in The Matrix Revolutions, as Nurse; and as Friar, Michael Balogun from 2019's TV adaptation of War of the Worlds.

As reported, the production about the tragic lovers will be staged at The Duke of York's Theatre in London. According to the theater's website, it promises to be "a pulsating new vision of Shakespeare’s immortal tale of wordsmiths, rhymers, lovers and fighters."

Holland will start his run on Saturday, May 11, and the play is slated to run through August 3.

Tickets are already sold out.

 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


TV magic: Data shows some 'Sex and the City' characters would have trouble affording NYC IRL

HBO/Newsmakers via Getty Images

With Sex and the City episodes now on Netflix, new fans are enjoying seeing what Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte were up to in New York City back in the day. 

However, their glam life as seen on TV would have run into some harsh financial realities in real life, according to data crunched by online casino company Nieuwe-Casinos.

Using various sources like the job site Glassdoor, the company put the salary of Sarah Jessica Parker's columnist Carrie Bradshaw at around $49,300 per year back when the show premiered 1998.

However, her "lifestyle costs" — which include everything from those Cosmos with the gals to smoking and of course her outfits — were more than $38,500 per year. 

At one point, the company points out Carrie says she spent 40 grand on shoes alone, meaning for all the glamour of the show, her character in reality could never afford it.

As an attorney, Cynthia Nixon's Miranda Hobbes' salary in 1998 would be nearly $90,000, so while her lifestyle expenses would be steep at more than $38,000, she'd have her head above water. 

Kim Cattrall's sassy Samantha Jones would be pulling in around $55,000 as a publicist in 1998, though all those drinks, hair appointments and we assume birth control would run her more than $38,400. This doesn't account for her extensive clothing collection. 

Finally, Kristin Davis' Charlotte York was an art gallery owner in 1998, pulling in around $53.5 a year, but minus brunches, taxis and drinks, she'd be left with just nearly $16,000. 

Methodology and results have not been verified or endorsed by ABC News or The Walt Disney Company.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Hugh Grant as Tony the Tiger, Amy Schumer and more in trailer to Jerry Seinfeld's 'Unfrosted'

Netflix

Jerry Seinfeld's near-obsession with breakfast cereals on Seinfeld was channeled into his directorial debut, Unfrosted, the Netflix film about the birth of the Pop Tart.

The trailer for Unfrosted: The Pop Tart Story, also starring Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer, Christian Slater, Hugh Grant as Tony the Tiger and Bill Burr, among many others, has just popped up online.

Set to David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel," the snippet starts with a dramatic rocket launch countdown from the point of view of a Pop Tart heating up inside a toaster.

The visual syncs with what Jerry previously revealed about the 1963-set project: The story of the pastry's invention "is told like The Right Stuff."

"I believe we have split the atom of breakfast," Jerry's Kellogg executive Bob Cabana exclaims of the discovery.

There's a space race of sorts going on between "sworn cereal rivals" Kellogg's and Post "to create a pastry that will change the face of breakfast forever."

To help their chances of beating Amy Schumer's Post president, Cabana "stacks the deck with ringers," including Chef Boyardee (Bobby Moynihan) and fitness icon Jack LaLanne (James Marsden).

The race "to reinvent breakfast" goes all the way up to the White House, with Burr playing JFK. "You have to win," he says, asking for a progress update. McCarthy's character unveils a "not to scale" sketch of the Pop Tart.

"What are you guys, five years old?" JFK blasts back. "Little John-John draws better than that, and I think there's something wrong with him."

Netflix calls the film "a wildly imaginative tale of ambition, betrayal and menacing milkmen — sweetened with artificial ingredients."

The movie, which also stars Sebastian Maniscalco, Peter Dinklage and Cedric the Entertainer, pops up May 3.

 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Florence Pugh gives fans a sneak peek of Marvel Studios' 'Thunderbolts' movie

Disney/Scott Kirkland

Dune: Part Two star Florence Pugh gave Marvel fans a behind-the-scenes peek of her next MCU movie, the star-studded Thunderbolts, on Instagram.

Dressed as her character, former assassin Yelena Belova, Pugh begins by exiting her studio trailer with a friendly "Hey guys!"

As she walks, she explains she's been off Insta partly because she was "whisked off to Atlanta to go shoot a movie that I'm really not allowed to talk too much about."

"But I can show you some things, sneakily, as long as you don't tell anyone," she says coyly.

As Pugh walks on the studio lot, she points out random crew members before entering a studio and whispering because shooting is underway. "I can show you a sneak peek of some of the sets," she says, spinning her camera around to reveal what appears to be an elevator shaft.

As she continues, she says, "Oh, I can show you Jake," meaning Jake Schreier, the movie's director.

"What are we allowed to show?" Pugh asks, only for him to reply, "I don't even think you're even allowed to be doing this!"

With that, she reveals "Thunderbolts" on the back of a director's chair.

The movie will see Pugh's character team up with other MCU vets, including David Harbour as Red Guardian, Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier, Wyatt Russell's John Walker/U.S. Agent and Julia Louis-Dreyfus' shadowy Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.

"We're having an amazing time, and I can't wait for you to see what we've made!" she says before signing off with a kiss to camera.

The movie comes out May 2, 2025.

Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Shonda Rhimes reveals daughter started watching 'Grey's Anatomy'

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Shonda Rhimes' daughter is in for the ride of a lifetime.

The famed TV producer shared in an Instagram post that one of her three daughters recently started watching Grey's Anatomy for the first time.

"My not so tiny human started watching @greysabc for the first time yesterday," she wrote. "My brain is breaking."

"I am dead. DEAD," Rhimes continued. "But so glad she's getting to see the women her mom created. #GreysAnatomy."

Grey's Anatomy, created by Rhimes, premiered on March 27, 2005, and is currently airing its milestone 20th season on ABC.

The series, the longest-running primetime medical drama, has given TV fans beloved female characters like Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzy Stevens (Katherine Heigl), and Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) -- and those are just the series regulars from season 1.

Someone tell Rhimes' daughter to buckle up and prepare to have her heart broken -- and put back together -- over and over again: Remember that season 5 finale? Blue Post-It note, anyone?

Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC, with episodes streaming on Hulu the following day.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Kenan Thompson discusses 'Quiet on Set' and working with Dan Schneider

Disney Entertainment Television/Jeff Neira

Kenan Thompson, who starred in the Nickelodeon shows All That and Kenan and Kel as a teen, is speaking out about allegations made about his former producer Dan Schneider in the documentary series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.

"I think it's a good thing that the doc is out and is putting things on display that need to be told for accountability sake, but it's definitely tough to watch because I have fond memories of that place," Thompson said of Nickelodeon during an appearance on Tamron Hall's chat show on Wednesday, March 27.

Addressing the accusations that Schneider created a toxic work environment, the Saturday Night Live star recalled that many of them happened after his tenure on the network.

"Dan wasn't really on Kenan and Kel like that," he explains. "He got a 'created by' credit, but it was a different showrunner, so our worlds weren't overly overlapping like that outside of All That necessarily."

“My heart goes out to anybody that's been victimized, or their families," he said.

After noting that the production company said it was investigating all the allegations, Thompson said, "Well, investigate more."

"It's supposed to be a safe place, you know?" he added. "It's supposed to be a safe place for kids and to hear all about that it's just like, 'How dare you,' you know?'"

 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


In Brief: Austin Butler 'Caught Stealing' for 'The Whale' director Aronofsky, and more

Deadline reports Dune: Part Two's Austin Butler has been tapped to star in The Whale filmmaker Darren Aronofsky's crime thriller Caught Stealing, for Sony Pictures. The film, adapted from Charlie Huston's book of the same name, centers on, "a burned-out former baseball player, as he's unwittingly plunged into a wild fight for survival in the downtown criminal underworld of '90s NYC" ...

Poor Things star Ramy Youssef will host Saturday Night Live for the first time on Saturday and promoted the appearance in a hilarious promo with SNL cast member Kenan Thompson. The clip shows Youssef falsely claiming to be the show's "first Arab host," only to be corrected by Thompson, who also shoots down the actor/comedian's claim that he's the first-ever Egyptian host and even the first-ever Egyptian host named Ramy, pointing out that Rami Malek once hosted the show. "Being first is dumb anyway," Youssef fires back, eventually settling for being the first-ever Egyptian host named Ramy from New Jersey. Travis Scott is the musical guest on Saturday, March 30 ...

West Side Story actress Ariana DeBose will mark her third time hosting the Tony Awards when the 2024 ceremony airs June 16 on CBS. "I couldn't pass up the chance to host the Tonys one more time at Lincoln Center. I'm excited to collaborate with the team to create an incredible celebration of this season's achievements on Broadway for our community and for everyone at home," DeBose said in a statement. CBS and Pluto TV will once again team up to present The Tony Awards: Act One, a preshow of live, exclusive content leading into the 77th annual Tony Awards ...

 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


On Air Now

SCOTTY MAC
SCOTTY MAC
10:00am - 2:00pm
TODAY’S HITS

Poll

What is your favorite decade to hear music from on Flashback Friday?
Add a Comment
(Fields are Optional)

Your email address is never published.

Local Events

Member of the LAB

A Cenla Broadcasting Station