The Masked Singer goes international

Reality talent show juggernaut The Masked Singer has global ambitions. The format is available all across the world and the plan is to bring contestants together from the international versions for a staged event: The Global Masked Singer Champion.

"One World, One Masked Singer"

Executive Producer Craig Plestis:

“This project has been a dream of mine since I realized that ‘The Masked Singer’ was going to be a global phenomenon following the success of the format in the U.S.,” Plestis said in a statement. “It is now in more than 56 countries, and I cannot wait to gather together delegates from each and every one, in brand new costumes, for an epic competition series to air across the planet in each Masked Singer territory.”

While The Masked Singer isn't really my kind of thing, the global nature of this does interest me. Last week we saw the debut of the new global Piers Morgan show and then there's Netflix that are effectively a global TV channel now. It feels like the world is getting smaller and smaller with each year thanks to technology, and now our entertainment is catching up with that shift.

Jeff Daniels to star in A Man in Full

A new limited series from David E Kelley (yes, it has been at least a fortnight since his last show was announced) is in the works at Netflix. Jeff Daniels will star in A Man in Full, based on the Tom Wolfe book of the same name.

Published in 1998, A Man in Full tells the story of a Charlie Croker (Daniels), an Atlanta real estate mogul who’s facing sudden bankruptcy. Political and business interests collide as Charlie defends his empire from those attempting to capitalize on his fall from grace, but the crude, rude and irrepressible Charlie defends it against all takers — at any cost.

It's breathtaking

Want to watch people famous who weren't in Seinfeld reading a Seinfeld script? Boy do I have the YouTube clip for you.

Seth Rogen as Jerry, Aziz Ansari as George, Kathryn Hahn as Elaine, and Jack Black as Cosmo Kramer. They performed three episodes as a fundraiser for Hilarity For Charity. Netflix has made available this 2-minute clip. I'd be happy to pay a few bucks to see it all. Y'know, for charity.

Talent Manager sues "difficult" Lauren Ambrose

Servant star Lauren Ambrose fired her Talent Manager Perri Kipperman. In a hilarious move, Kipperman had phoned Ambrose to discuss concerns she had been "difficult" on the set of the Apple TV+ show. But Kipperman got her voicemail, left a message and then turned to colleagues to discuss Ambrose's behaviour on set. You can guess what happened here: Kipperman failed to hang up and just left the full message on Ambrose's voicemail. Ambrose was not amused.

Kipperman is now suing Ambrose for $325,000

Chris Licht has started in his new role running CNN. Read: New York Post
Mike Birbiglia is filling in for Jimmy Kimmel on his late night talk show with Kimmel announcing he has COVID. With rumors that Kimmel may not renew his contract to continue hosting the show, I reckon network ABC will be looking at fill-in hosts here with that little bit more attention than they otherwise might. Read: Deadline
William Fichtner will star opposite Milo Ventigmilia in a new show The Company You Keep. It does seem like Hollywood has never quite known what to do with Fichtner - a really great screen presence who has just never quite clicked. Read: Variety
This article about the Grey's Anatomy writer who faked having cancer is bonkers. Well worth a read: Vanity Fair
Rumor has it The Wonder Twins, a DC Comics film set for HBO Max has been canned. I do remember asking in this newsletter who this film was for beyond trivia-loving Gen Xers. Nobody cares about these dumb characters. Read: The AV Club
John Woo is remaking The Killer as a series for Peacock. Read: Dark Horizons
Speaking of Peacock, the streamer is rolling out a new (much-needed) interface. See screenshots at The Streamable

The Netflix reboot of (the American version) Iron Chef is debuting June 15. Why does the Chairman eat an apple and not a capcicum? Americans... I'll never understand you. Good news is that chef Kristen Kish is starring on this - she was a real star on TruTV series Fast Foodies.