‘Animal Control’ Renewed for Season 2 at Fox

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Fox is serving up a new season of Joel McHale’s mystery baking competition “Crime Scene Kitchen” next week and bringing several celebrity new guest judges along for the ride. Variety can exclusively reveal that the lineup of Season 2’s famous faces includes “Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum NeNe Leakes, country music star Martina McBride, “Next Level Chef” (a Gordon Ramsay-led Fox food competition) and “Top Chef” star Richard Blais and NBA champ and “Special Forces” (yet another Fox competition) contestant Dwight Howard. Those guest judges will pop in during different episodes this season to join host McHale and full-time judges Curtis Stone and Yolanda Gampp in their evaluations.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Virgin River” has been renewed for Season 6 at Netflix. The announcement was made as part of Netflix’s first ever upfront presentation to advertisers. It comes before Season 5 of the popular drama series has even set a premiere date, though it is expected to air in the fall. “Virgin River” was renewed for both Seasons 4 and 5 back in 2021, with Season 4 debuting in July 2022. The series is based on the Robyn Carr book series of the same name. The cast of the series includes Alexandra Breckenridge, Martin Henderson, Tim Matheson, Annette O’Toole, Colin Lawrence, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Lauren Hammersley, Grayson Gurnsey, Sarah Dugdale, Zibby Allen, and Marco Grazzini.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Killing It” Season 2 has added eight new guest stars, Variety has learned exclusively. The second season of the Craig Robinson-led Peacock comedy series has added the following actors in guest roles: Dot-Marie Jones (“Bros,” “Glee”) as Jackie Boone, Katie Kershaw (“Mrs. Fletcher,” “Fargo”) as Natalie-Ray Boone, Joe Massingill (“Barry,” “Fear the Walking Dead”) as Ray-Nathan Boone, Melanie Field (“Shrill,” “You”) as Shayla, Fatimah Taliah (“Goliath,” “Life in Pieces”) as Maya, Beck Bennett (“Saturday Night Live,” “Bill & Ted Face the Music”) as Johnny, Kyle Mooney (“Saturday Night Live,” “Zoolander 2”) as Bugs, and Tim Simons (“Don’t Worry Darling,” “Candy”) as Agent Burton.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “And Just Like That” Season 2 has set its official premiere date at HBO Max (soon to be renamed Max). The second season of the “Sex and the City” followup will bow on June 22. The announcement was made at the Warner Bros. Discovery upfront presentation at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. It had previously been reported that the show would return in June but no solid date had been set. In the show’s first season, overseen by executive producer Michael Patrick King, the worlds of Carrie, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) expanded when new characters played by Nicole Ari Parker, Sarita Choudhury, Karen Pittman and Sara Ramírez were added to the ensemble. John Corbett will also appear in Season 2, reprising the role of Aidan.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer SPOILER ALERT: This interview reveals major plot points from the “9-1-1” Season 6 finale, which aired Monday on Fox. Buck (Oliver Stark) helped bring a very special baby boy into the world on the sixth season finale of “9-1-1.” The little guy, whom Buck donated sperm to help his friends conceive, was born on Buck’s new couch (if you know, you know) — with Buck delivering the infant during one of the most large-scale disasters “9-1-1” fans have ever seen. “9-1-1” is moving to ABC for its seventh season, meaning, unfortunately, that any future crossovers in the franchise are “extremely unlikely,” according to Fox boss Michael Thorn. For the final episode of “9-1-1” that will ever air on Fox, Stark spoke with Variety about his experience filming it, and what he hopes for Buck’s future.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Fox made its annual upfront pitch to advertisers at the Manhattan Center on Monday afternoon, pushing the messages of Fox Entertainment, Tubi, Fox News, and Fox Sports, all while promising the audience that don’t worry, we’ll get you hammered soon. Coming off of presentations hampered by the pandemic in recent years, Fox was back in nearly full force, with the writers’ strike limiting the number of network stars in attendance. The event also featured some football antics courtesy of Rob Gronkowski and some well-placed cursing by Gordon Ramsay. Read on below for Variety’s five biggest takeaways from the Fox upfront.

It was standing-room only crowd at the Fox upfront — mostly because there was no place to sit. But there were cocktails and lots of f-bombs from Gordon Ramsay, who helped to keep the 55-minute presentation moving at NYC’s Manhattan Center Monday.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Archer” will end with its upcoming 14th season at FXX. The announcement comes despite the fact that FX never formally announced a Season 14 renewal for the series, though series star Chris Parnell had previously stated that the new season was in production back in January. The series aired its 13th season between August and October 2022. Season 14 of “Archer” will debut on FXX with two new episodes beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT and stream the next day on Hulu. The show has long been a cornerstone of FX’s comedy lineup. It originally debuted on the network in 2009 and moved over to FXX in 2017. It has received 10 Emmy nominations throughout its run with four wins, including one for best animated series in 2016.

Things aren’t looking great for Fox comedy Welcome To Flatch.

Jamie and Corinne Foxx, and teased the premieres of long-gestating animated series “Krapopolis” — which features Waddingham among its voice cast and has already been renewed through Season 3 — and “Grimsburg,” headlined by Jon Hamm and already renewed for Season 2.While the orders for previously announced new dramas “Doc,” an adaptation of an Italian TV series, and “Rescue: HI-Surf” from “Shameless” producer Wells are still in place, the network did not reveal the cast for either project.The decision to not unveil Fox’s fall schedule — or the cast of its two new drama series — during the upfronts presentation is unusual. The event traditionally serves as the broadcast networks’ opportunity to boast on their programming slate, as well as showcasing their scheduling strategy to potential ad buyers.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Fox Entertainment’s CEO addressed the decision to cancel “9-1-1” and the show’s subsequent move to ABC during a conference call with the press ahead of the network’s upfront presentation to advertisers in New York. “We look at shows in two different ways,” said Rob Wade, CEO of Fox Entertainment. “First and foremost from a creative lens and how much we like the creative. And the second thing is really the economics of that. I think we felt moving forward into what is really a new era of television, the economics weren’t going to pan out on this show for us. The decision was made there that the business model wasn’t right for us and that 20th TV would take the show back.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter For the second year in a row, Fox is not releasing a fall schedule ahead of its upfront presentation. Fox did the same thing in 2022, opting instead to announce their content slate for the upcoming broadcast season but holding off on announcing a formal schedule until a later date. Last year, the move came as the network was still waiting on decisions on the dramas “9-1-1” and “The Resident.” But with the latter show canceled and the former moving to ABC, this year’s move comes as the writers’ strike enters its third week. Networks like CBS and NBC have already announced their fall lineups, but whether or not any primetime scripted shows across all the networks debut as scheduled remains to be seen as the strike drags on.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Jamie Foxx and his daughter Corinne Foxx are expanding their relationship with Fox, with the duo set to co-host the music game show “We Are Family,” which has been ordered to series at the broadcaster. The series was announced just ahead of Fox’s upfront presentation to advertisers in New York. It comes as Jamie is still believed to be recovering from a “medical complication” that left him hospitalized on April 12. Most recently, Corinne stated that her father had been out of the hospital “for weeks,” as of May 12. Jamie is also the host of the Fox music game show “Beat Shazam,” with Corinne serving as the show’s DJ. Nick Cannon is currently serving as guest host with Kelly Osborne filling in as the DJ for the new season expected to air this summer while Jamie recovers. The new season of that show launched May 23. Jamie executive produces that show as well as the Fox scripted drama series “Alert: Missing Persons Unit.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “The Last of Us” Season 2 is feeling the effects of the writers’ strike. Casting for the second season of the smash hit HBO series had been underway until earlier this week when it was put on hold, according to an individual with knowledge of the production. Prior to that, however, multiple sources say that the casting team was asking actors to read sides taken directly from “The Last of Us Part II,” the video game on which the second season will be based, due to the fact that there are no scripts for Season 2 at this time. The hope is for the season to begin shooting in early 2024 in Vancouver.

“Animal Control,” the workplace comedy led by Joel McHale, has locked down a Season 2 renewal at Fox, the studio announced Wednesday.“We are thrilled our viewers have responded to ‘Animal Control’ as much as we did,” Fox Entertainment president of scripted programming Michael Thorn said in a statement. “The incredibly talented ensemble cast, led by Joel McHale, along with our creative team, Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg, Dan Sterling and Tad Quill – not to mention a menagerie of wild animal method actors — have delivered a hilarious series that is sharp, witty, and warm, week after week.”The series premiere, which launched Feb.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Fantasy Island” will not be returning for Season 3 at Fox, Variety has learned. The reimagining of the classic series originally aired during the summer on Fox, while the second season has been airing as part of the network’s midseason schedule. “We were very pleased with Fantasy Island’s fun and escapist creative, which we had hoped would gain strong traction among viewers. Sony Pictures Television is an important partner of ours, and we look forward to continuing to work with them on ‘Accused,’ ‘Alert: Missing Persons Unit,’ ‘Doc’ and the upcoming animated series Universal Basic Guys/Hoagie Bros. We’d also like to thank Fantasy Island’s cast, led by Roselyn Sánchez, Kiara Barnes and John Gabriel Rodriquez, crew and executive producers Liz Craft, Sarah Fain and Anne Clements for their partnership on the series,” said Fox in a statement.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Walker: Independence” has been canceled at The CW after just one season, Variety has learned. The series served as a prequel to fellow CW show “Walker,” which was just renewed for Season 4 at the network. The show was set in the late 1800s. Per the official description, it followed “Abby Walker (Katherine McNamara), an affluent and tough-minded Bostonian whose husband is murdered before her eyes while on their journey out West. After crossing paths with Calian (Justin Johnson Cortez), a curious Apache tracker, Abby arrives in the town of Independence, Texas, where she encounters diverse and eclectic residents running from their pasts, chasing their dreams, and keeping their own secrets.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “S.W.A.T” has been renewed for Season 7 at CBS, which will also be the show’s last. The move marks a stunning reversal of the network’s decision to cancel the show just three days ago. According to sources, talks continued between CBS and series co-producer Sony Pictures Television over the weekend following the cancellation announcement. The show has been a solid performer for CBS in its Friday night timeslot, with the decision ultimately coming down to the show’s financials. In addition to the renewal, series star Shemar Moore will serve as an executive producer on the final season. “We have listened to our viewers and their outpouring of passion for ‘S.W.A.T.’ and we have reached an agreement to renew it for a final season of 13 episodes to air during the 2023-2024 broadcast year,” said CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach and Sony Pictures Television Studios president Katherine Pope in a joint statement. “‘S.W.A.T.’ has aired for six seasons on CBS and garnered a devoted following. We are pleased that we found a way to bring it back and give closure to the show’s storylines and characters, which audiences deserve. Once again, we appreciate the talents and efforts of the cast, writers, producers and crew and everyone who has contributed to the success of ‘S.W.A.T.’ We look forward to its return next season.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Call Me Kat” has been canceled after three seasons at Fox, Variety has learned. “We are very proud of ‘Call Me Kat.’ But, unfortunately, the audience response to it was not as strong as we had hoped,” a Fox spokesperson said in a statement. “We are thankful for our partnership with Warner Bros. Television, That’s Wonderful Productions, Sad Clown Productions, BBC Studios, Mayim Bialik, Jim Parsons and the entire cast and crew for their work and dedication to ‘Call Me Kat.'” The multi-cam comedy was a high-profile get for Fox back in 2019, with the network giving the show a series commitment in a highly-competitive situation before formally ordering it to series in May 2020. Both series star Mayim Bialik and executive producer Jim Parsons were coming fresh off of the 12th and final season of the hit CBS multi-cam “The Big Bang Theory,” with “Call Me Kat” representing their first broadcast project after that show.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter A “Babylon 5” animated movie is in the works from original series creator J. Michael Straczynski. “BABYLON 5 ANIMATED MOVIE [sic] coming from Warner Bros. Animation & WB Home Entertainment!” Straczynski announced via Twitter. “Classic B5: raucous, heartfelt, nonstop, a ton of fun through time and space & a love letter to the fans. Movie title, release date and other details coming one week from today.” The original “Babylon 5” was produced by Warner Bros. Television. The series ran in syndication and on TNT for five seasons, 110 episodes, and seven TV movies, including the 1993 pilot film. The show is considered one of the best sci-fi series ever made by many critics and won numerous awards throughout its run, including two Hugo Awards and a Saturn Award.