This week in TV news, Hannibal sets members of its cast free, while Lifetime takes the Melrose Place cast to task with its tell-all TV movie. Also, Stephen Colbert interviews Eminem, and Boomerang revives Bugs Bunny!
As Gaumont International Television and creator Bryan Fuller attempt to find a new home for recently cancelled cult TV show Hannibal, Deadline reports that the show’s stars Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy have been let out of their contracts. The biggest challenge it seems in finding a new home is showrunner Fuller’s commitments to Starz’s upcoming American Gods adaptation. Fuller told Deadline, “The question would be for the potential new distribution partner is how comfortable they are in waiting. Because I do have an obligation to American Gods and a passion for American Gods, so I absolutely want to service that in the way that it needs to be serviced.”
The internet is truly the gift that keeps on giving. As Stephen Colbert prepares to leave The Colbert Report (he starts his new gig hosting the Late Show on Sept. 8), a video has appeared on the show’s YouTube channel of Colbert hosting a public access show in Michigan entitled Only In Monroe. In the 41-minute video, Colbert reads the local news, interviews a former Miss America, and spends twenty minutes with Eminem aka Marshall Mathers, giving the rapper financial advice and quizzing him on Bob Seger, among other delightfully bizarre bits.
Because nothing is sacred when it comes to 90s nostalgia, Lifetime has announced it has plans to make a Melrose Place tell-all. The TV movie will be written by Dana Schamlenberg (The Famous Jett Jackson, Single Ladies) and will be directed by Mark Griffiths (A Novel Romance, June in January). Melrose Place originally ran for seven seasons from 1992 to 1999, and the ensemble cast included TV staples Heather Locklear, Marcia Cross, Daphne Zuniga, and Kelly Rutherford. Someday all these unauthorized 90s tell-all movies (Saved By The Bell, and the also forthcoming Full House and Beverly Hills 90210), will make the best sleepover film fest material ever.
Warner Bros. Animation will be developing 450 hours of original programming for Boomerang, which — launched as a standalone network in 2000 — has only ever aired reruns. Variety reports that not only will Bugs Bunny and Scooby-Doo be returning, but also the beloved classic children’s book series Bunnicula will debut this fall, as well as old favorites like Tom and Jerry. Each episode of the new Be Cool, Scooby-Doo will be 22 minutes long, while Bugs Bunny and friends will return in a series of shorts called Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Production.
