Meg Foster Returns to ‘Masters of the Universe’ (TV News Roundup)

Meg Foster will appear on the Netflix animated series “Masters of the Universe: Revolution” in an all-new role, as the ancient sorceress of technology, Motherboard, Mattel announced Monday. Foster returns to the “He-Man” franchise after starring in the 1987 live-action film “Masters of the Universe” as Evil-Lyn.

“Revolution” picks up after the 2021 animated series “Masters of the Universe: Revelation,” chronicling the epic battle between He-Man and Skeletor’s ongoing rivalry for Eternia. Foster’s Motherboard is a nefarious A.I. sent to conquer Eternia by Hordak, the classic villain from the 1980s “She-Ra” animated series.

Foster joins Mark Hamill as Skeletor, Chris Wood as He-Man, Melissa Benoist as Teela and William Shatner in a still-to-be-announced role. Fred Soulie, Rob David, Christopher Keenan, Ted Biaselli and Kevin Smith serve as executive producers on the animated series.

“Masters of the Universe: Revolution” is set to launch on Netflix in 2024.

FIRST LOOKS

Max’s upcoming limited series “Full Circle” announced the series will premiere on July 13 and dropped its first teaser trailer. The six-episode series will continue with two episodes each Thursday leading up to the July 27 finale.

Director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ed Solomon are at the helm of the production. A star-studded cast joins Soderbergh’s production, including Claire Danes, Zazie Beetz, Dennis Quaid, Jharrel Jerome, Jim Gaffigan, Timothy Olyphant, CCH Pounder, Phaldut Sharma, Adia, Sheyi Cole, Gerald Jones, Suzanne Savoy, Ethan Stoddard and Lucian Zanes.

“An investigation into a botched kidnapping uncovers long-held secrets connecting multiple characters and cultures in present day New York City,” reads the official logline.

Soderbergh, Solomon and Casey Silver serve as the series’ executive producers.

Check out the official “Full Circle” teaser below.

STREAMING

Roku launched Women’s Sports Zone just in time for the WNBA season tip-off on May 19. The Women’s Sports Zone is Roku’s new destination to stream women’s sports programming and will now round out Roku’s established Sports experience.

In addition to featuring women’s sporting events, the Women’s Sports Zone will also feature female-focused documentaries, movies and more from the platform’s supporting channels. Additionally, the Zone’s content will be curated based on Roku users’ viewing habits and favorite teams.

At launch, the new Zone will feature soccer, golf, professional and collegiate basketball, the programming will rotate on the seasonality of the sports.

“At a time when it is harder than ever to find what you want to watch, our new Women’s Sports Zone makes it easier for fans to get to the content they love,” Kelli Raftery, Roku VP, global communications.

DATES

HBO’s latest original stand-up comedy special “Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love” will premiere on Saturday, May 27 on Max and HBO, the network announced Tuesday.

“Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love” is Sarah Silverman’s first HBO comedy special since her 2013 “Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles.” The new program was filmed at the Wilbur Theater in Boston and will “feature the New England native showcasing her fearless chutzpah.”

Silverman is a two-time Emmy-winning comedian, actress, writer and producer who currently hosts “The Sarah Silverman Podcast” and can be seen in the upcoming Netflix film “Maestro.” Throughout her career, she has developed a number of acclaimed comedy specials, including the Netflix standup “A Speck of Dust.” 

“Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love” is directed by Jonathan Krisel who also serves as an executive producer alongside Silverman, Amy Zvi, John Skidmore and Brooke Posch. 

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Apple TV+ has unveiled their new slate of kid and family-friendly programming, including brand-new Peanuts specials, “Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie” and “Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin.” In addition, renewals of fan favorite programs are slated to debut on the platform this summer.

See the full schedule below.

“The Snoopy Show” Season 3: June 9, 2023

“Duck & Goose”: June 9, 2023

“Lovely Little Farm” Season 2: June 16, 2023

“Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie”: Aug. 18, 2023

“Camp Snoopy”: 2024 premiere to be announced

“Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin”: 2024 date to be announced

RENEWALS

“Pacific Heartbeat” has been renewed for a twelfth season and will debut four brand new episodes highlighting the diversity and complexity of Pacific Islander culture, Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC) has announced.

“Pacific Heartbeat” is as “documentary anthology series showcases the contemporary Pacific Islander experience through rich and impactful stories about the people, ecology and advancements from Hawai‘i and Tahiti.” 

Season 12 will be available to stream in August on WORLD Channel, carried by PBS stations nationwide.

“As we launch our 12th season of ‘Pacific Heartbeat,’ we look forward to sharing the beauty, intricacy and diversity of Pacific Islander people to the American public,” said Cheryl Hirasa, executive director of PIC. “We are honored to be able to connect this cultural diaspora to our community and neighbors across the country and slowly shift the narrative away from stereotypical tropes for Pacific Islanders in mainstream media.”

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Netflix has renewed its competition series “Outlast” for its second season. The first season of the survival series reached the streamer’s top 10 in 27 countries.

“[‘Outlast’ Season 1] is a raw survival competition series where 16 lone wolves must outlast each other in the Alaskan wilderness in an attempt to win one million dollars. There is only one rule in this cutthroat game: they must be a part of a team to win,” according to the press release.

Showrunner Mike Odair, Nomad Entertainment’s Grant Kahler and Aggregate Film’s Jason Bateman, Michael Costigan and Emma Ho serve as the series’ executive producers.

TRAILERS

Michael Dorman returns as the title Wyoming game warden in the trailer for “Joe Pickett” Season 2. The Paramount+ series will premiere on June 4 with two episodes, followed by a new episode released each week.

Set against the hauntingly beautiful mountains of Wyoming , Season 2 follows Joe Pickett (Dorman) as he stumbles upon a dead hunter, only to find out that it is just one of many murders. Pickett is forced to work against anti-hunting activists, a strange pair of twins and his own past as he tries to understand these gruesome killings. He and is wife, Marybeth (Julianna Guill), soon realize they have gone too far in their investigation, and are forced to go on the run to save their lives.

The series is executive produced by Doug Wick, Lucy Fisher and C.J. Box, author of the same-name book series. Watch the “Joe Pickett” Season 2 trailer below.

PROGRAMMING

The Oprah Winfrey Network’s “Love & Marriage” franchise is headed to Detroit this summer, making Motor City the third to join the show following Huntsville, Ala. and Washington, D.C. “Love & Marriage: Detroit” is set to premiere June 24 at 9 p.m. on OWN.

Starring in the series is Russell and Kolby Harris; Brandon and Kristina Smith; and Anthony and Dr. LaToya Thompson. The Harrises are a married couple of three years with a two-year-old daughter, the Smiths have been married for 11 years and have two daughters and the Thompsons have been married for 14 years and share two sons.

Throughout the show, these Detroit couples will deal with power dynamics and tensions in their relationships. As business owners, caretakers, non-profit runners, spouses and parents, these couples will be forced to communicate and address the issues that lie in their marriages.

The series was created by Carlos King and is produced by Kingdom Reign Entertainment. It’s executive produced by King, Angela Dugan, Brent Nisbett and Tarin Laughlin. 

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Alison Sweeney has confirmed yet another installment of the “Hannah Swensen Mystery” TV movie series. The excutive producer and star of the films made the announcement two days before the premiere of “Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery” which airs May 19 on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.

The Hannah Swensen movies are based on the novels by Joanne Fluke. The newly revealed installment will be based on Fluke’s novel “A Zest for Death: A Hannah Swensen Mystery.”

“I love this book from Joanne Fluke and its adaptation for TV because the mystery really leans into Hannah’s family dynamics, her sleuthing skills and her romantic relationships,” said Sweeney.

EVENTS

Judith Light received a Doctor of Fine Arts degree from her alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University. At the 125th Commencement ceremony on May 14, the Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress received the honorary degree. Light graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama in 1970.

Throughout 2022 and ahead of the 2023 commencement ceremony, Light starred in “The Menu,” “American Horror Stories,” “Julia” and “Shining Vale.”

EXECUTIVE NEWS

Dan Bragg has joined EarthxTV as its new executive vice president of marketing, creative and communications, CEO Dan Russell announced Tuesday.

Bragg joins EarthxTV where he will oversee the organizations marketing and brand awareness in addition to the global expansion of the company’s linear TV network. 

For nearly three decades, Bragg has worked apart of the creative and strategic teams of brands including Discovery. Bragg administered creative for “Deadliest Catch,” “Planet Earth” and Shark Week all while working with Discovery. 

“As we continue to expand distribution of EarthxTV, Dan’s proven track record building brand identity and creating award-winning campaigns that ignite audiences is crucial to our long-term success,” said Russell. “We’re thrilled to welcome Dan to EarthxTV.”

“Storytelling has the power to change the world, and I’m honored to be part of an organization dedicated to using entertainment to support environmental stewardship,” said Bragg. “Audiences are hungry to be part of improving our planet, whether within their communities or on a global scale. EarthxTV’s programming has compelling storytelling, unique characters, and awe-inspiring animals, making my job exciting and fun.” 

EarthxTV is an entertainment network known for highlighting individuals and entities that are working to make the planet more sustainable. 

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BBC Studios has appointed Lawrence Szabo as their new executive vice president of U.S. content distribution. Szabo will be based in Los Angeles leading a team of licensing specialists, working to grow BBC’s streaming and network content through co-production and content acquisition deals.

Szabo made the move to BBC from Paramount Global, where he was the senior executive of program acquisitions across Paramount+, Pluto TV, MTV Networks, Nickelodeon, BET and Showtime Networks. At Paramount, he helped secure streaming rights to sitcom “Ghosts” and cable rights to films from the Indiana Jones and John Wick franchises.

In his new role, Szabo will report to Janet Brown, BBC Studios president of content distribution in North and Latin America.

“Lawrence comes to us with a proven track record on both sides of the table, and across a range of genres,” said Brown in a statement. “His passion for great content, thoughtful sales strategies and deep respect for buyers has earned him an incredible network of relationships across the industry.”

AWARD SHOWS

IMDb has awarded Ashley Park with the “Breakout Star” STARmeter award for her strong presenece of the IMDbPro STARmeter rankings, the company announced Tuesday.

“Park’s STARmeter award also celebrates Asian Heritage Month, for which IMDb features exclusive videos, editorial lists, and photo galleries recognizing Asian talent, storytellers and titles,” per IMDbPro’s official statement. 

Park has amassed a consistent trend on the IMDbPro STARmeter chart for her role in “Emily in Paris.” Ahead of its release, Park is set to star in the Lionsgate film “Joy Ride,” projecting to highlight her presence on the chart further.

“I’m genuinely stunned and humbled to receive this STARmeter Award, which is especially meaningful to me because it comes from IMDb and fans around the world,” said Park. “IMDb and IMDbPro are my go-to sources for information about the entertainment industry, which has been essential to establishing and growing my career. Receiving this award during Asian Heritage Month is a beautiful reminder that I am part of an incredible community of storytellers, and to never underestimate my voice.”

PICKUPS

MGM+ has picked up a 10-episode order of “The Winter King,” an original series based on Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles series, the streamer announced on Wednesday.

“The Winter King” follows the story of Arthur Pendragon, an outcast turned warrior in the fifth century. Before Britain was united, “The Winter King” highlights the conflict of the “brutal land of warring factions and tribes, where lives were often fleeting.”

The series stars Iain De Caestecker as Arthur Pendragon, alongside Eddie Marsan as High King Uther, Ellie James as Nimue, Nathaniel Martello-White as Merlin, Stuart Campbell as Derfel, Daniel Ings as Owain, Valene Kane as Morgan, Jordan Alexandra as Guinevere and Simon Merrells as Gundleus. 

“‘The Winter King’ is a cinematic and imaginative reinterpretation of the Arthurian legend,” said Michael Wright, head of MGM+. “Kate Brooke, Ed Whitmore and the magnificent cast take viewers on a fascinating and entertaining journey through this timeless tale told through a new lens.”

The series will premiere on August 20 via MGM+. Otto Bathurst serves as lead director and executive producer alongside Toby Leslie, Julie Gardner, Lachlan MacKinnon, Jane Tranter, Sherry Marsh, Shelley Browning and Kenneth L. Browning. Kate Brooke and Ed Whitmore adapted Cornwell’s Warlord trilogy series for “The Winter King” and also serve as executive producers.