Fox Entertainment Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Fox is making its renewal and pick up decisions.

EXCLUSIVE: Fox has given a straight-to-series order to Rescue: HI-Surf, a Hawaii lifeguard drama from John Wells Productions in Wells’ broadcast return. The series, slated to premiere during the 2023-24 season, will be co-produced by Warner Bros. Television, where JWP is based, and Fox Entertainment.

Koala Man and the upcoming series “Hazbin Hotel” (platform TBD and co-produced with A24). December 2022 saw Bent Box enter a multi-year production service agreement with leading Irish animation studio Boulder Media, which includes “Krapopolis” and “Grimsburg.”In 2021, Bento Box and Fox formed BCL, which launched Web3 platforms for unscripted series like “The Masked Singer,” “Krapopolis,” the United States Football League (USFL), Fox Deportes, SXSW, Dolly Parton and WWE.Daniel Weidenfeld, senior vice president of Animation at Fox Entertainment, will transition over to Bento Box, where he will be involved in development, working closely with creative Director Ben Jones.  They will jointly report to Coker.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Scott Greenberg, the co-founder and CEO of Fox-owned animation studio Bento Box Entertainment, is exiting the company, Variety has confirmed. Greenberg is also the CEO of Fox’s Web3 media and creative technology company Blockchain Creative Labs (BCL). He will officially depart both roles on May 19. “It’s been an incredible honor and privilege to work alongside the many people who have helped build Bento Box and Blockchain Creative Labs into two great companies,” Greenberg said. “The many series and projects we launched together are a great source of lasting pride to me. Deep down, I’m an entrepreneur at heart who enjoys building organizations and nurturing their teams to bring out the best in themselves. With Bento Box and BCL running full steam ahead on the path for continued growth and success, now is the time to explore new opportunities.”

EXCLUSIVE: Scott Greenberg, co-founder and CEO of Fox’s animation studio Bento Box Entertainment, the company behind Dan Harmon’s Krapopolis and Apple TV+’s Central Park, is leaving.

Deadline has launched the streaming site for its 2023 Contenders Television award-season event, which wrapped over the weekend after a total of 40 scripted series showed off their wares in front of voters at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles.

Deadline’s Contenders Television, where the top networks and streamers will show off their wares and Emmy hopefuls, kicks off Saturday morning to open a full weekend of one-stop shopping for anyone interested in the best and brightest series this awards season. 

Fox is sending celebrities to “Mars” for its latest competition series.

Ken Jeong (The Masked Singer, Community) is set to star and executive produce the new Fox comedy series 10% Happier, based on Dan Harris’ bestselling book and podcast of the same name, Deadline has confirmed. The script-to-series project hails from Lionsgate Television and Fox Entertainment.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “The Masked Singer” staple Ken Jeong is set to lead a new Fox single-cam sitcom based on Dan Harris’ popular book and podcast “10% Happier,” Variety has learned. Hailing from Lionsgate Television and Fox Entertainment, the comedy, which has a script-to-series commitment at the broadcaster, the centers on a family man and mid-level juice company executive who finds himself in a major life rut. After a panic attack at work, he has an epiphany where he realizes he needs to change everything about the way he lives in order to become…”10% Happier.” Apple’s “Acapulco” and Fox’s “The Cool Kids” writers and producers Michael Lisbe and Nate Reger are penning the script and executive producing alongside Jeong, author Harris, Brett Carducci and The Tannenbaum Company’s Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum and Jason Wang.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Fox has partnered with McDonald’s to launch a “The Masked Singer”-themed Happy Meal at stores starting April 4. Dubbed the ‘Masknificent’ Happy Meal, the item will feature one of 12 plush toys inspired by one of the “Masked Singer” costumes that have been showcased over the series’ nine season. Kids (or adults who — shhh — can order a Happy Meal too) will also finding a guessing game to play before discovering which character is in the box. Each toy will be in opaque wrapping with a special clue as to which character is hiding within. The game, of course, mimics the unmasking seen on “The Masked Singer.” Characters from seasons past that will be included are T-Rex, Peacock, Thingamajig, Miss Teddy, White Tiger, Space Bunny and others. (One toy per box.) The Happy Meal boxes will also include a scannable code that directs customers to a ‘Masknificent’ AR experience in which they can use their phones or tablets to design their own “Masked Singer” stage featuring filters and music. Through the experience, their plush toy will take part in a virtual concert.

BreAnna Bell Fox has given a straight-to-series order for the medical procedural drama “Doc.” The series is slated to debut on the network in 2023-2024. Hailing from executive producers Barbie Kligman (“Magnum P.I.,” “Secrets and Lies,” “Private Practice”), Hank Steinberg (“For Life,” “Without a Trace”) and Erwin Stoff (“I Am Legend,” “The Matrix”), “Doc” is based on the Italian series “Nelle tue mani,” which was created and is produced by Lux Vide, a division of Fremantle. According to Fox’s official description, “Doc” focuses on Dr. Amy Elias, chief of internal and family medicine at Westside Hospital in Minneapolis. “After a brain injury erases the last eight years of her life, Amy must navigate an unfamiliar world where she has no recollection of patients she’s treated, colleagues she’s crossed, the soulmate she divorced, the man she now loves and the tragedy that caused her to push everyone away. She can rely only on her estranged 17-year-old daughter, whom she remembers as a 9-year-old, and a handful of devoted friends, as she struggles to continue practicing medicine, despite having lost nearly a decade of knowledge and experience,” the description reads.

Global brand events veteran Diana Ruiz has been named Executive Vice President, Experiences and Design at Fox Entertainment, the media company announced on Wednesday. She will report to Fox Entertainment and Fox Sports Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Acosta. “With more than 20 years in the global events arena, Diana possesses considerable, proven creativity, discipline and operational excellence,” said Acosta.

Fox’s crime anthology “Accused” and Philadelphia-set procedural “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” will get second seasons, the network said Thursday. The dramas, which are co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Fox Entertainment, will air the second seasons in the 2023-24 season.Both series have premiered with impressive first seasons as the Jan.

Fox is doubling down on a pair of freshman crime dramas.

Fox just announced a Season 2 renewals for two freshman drama series, anthology Accused and missing person drama Alert, both from Sony Pictures TV and Fox Entertainment. They join previously renewed sophomore drama The Cleaning Lady as well as animated stalwarts The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox is hungry for a different kind of advertising dollar. The Fox Corp.-owned broadcast network has thrived for years on outlays from movie studios and fast-food chains, but in 2023, it’s looking to expand its relationship with something that might be more hearty. Armed with its recent launch of the Studio Ramsay Global with celebrity chef and entrepreneur Gordon Ramsay, Fox is eager to court more food advertisers and marketers who are eager to woo consumers who like food experiences. “We are really the only broadcast network with any food-related programming, over 80 hours a year,” says Suzanne Sullivan, eecutive vice president of ad sales for Fox Entertainment, in an interview. Fox hopes the combination of Ramsay’s shows on its broadcast network and a new spate of short-form content that will be available on Tubi with the launch of a FAST channel that make use of Ramsay’s tens of hours of Fox content will whet Madison Avenue’s appetite for the concept. In the recent past, Fox has sought between $75,000 and $100,000 for a 30-second spot in such programming on linear TV, according to a person familiar with the matter.

EXCLUSIVE: Fox Entertainment has announced the names of the five Fellows for the 2023 Fox Writers Incubator (FWI), an initiative designed to nurture diverse and creative voices, as well as provide training to five writers of all genres, including comedy, drama and animation.

Ellise Shafer In an unprecedented move, Fox has renewed Dan Harmon’s upcoming animated comedy “Krapopolis” for a third season ahead of its series premiere. Additionally, the premiere of the show — which was most recently set for May — has now been pushed to the 2023-2024 season. The news was announced by Michael Thorn, president of scripted programming at Fox Entertainment, at the London TV Screenings on Wednesday. “The 2023-24 season is the perfect launching pad for this highly-anticipated and very funny animated comedy, complete with multiple seasons of epic laughs for fans,” Thorn said. “The more we see from production, the more excited we are about their creativity, story arcs, flawless execution, brilliant voice cast and ability to pump out episode after episode of astonishing events and outrageous, unexpected hilarity.”

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Fox has named John Hesling its new head of Alternative Entertainment, the broadcast network’s in-house unscripted studio. Responsible for overseeing the development and production of all unscripted series owned by Fox Entertainment (FAE), as well as programs FAE produces for third-party buyers in the U.S. and abroad, Hesling will be based in Los Angeles and report to Allison Wallach, president of unscripted programming at Fox Entertainment. “I am so excited for John to join FAE and lead the incredible team we have assembled,” Wallach said. “His creative vision and vast experience as both a producer and an executive working on a global scale will be key to our strategy of building FAE as a leading provider of innovative series and formats for Fox and third-party platforms throughout the world.”

A new version of the 1970s buddy cop series Starsky & Hutch is in the works at Fox, with a female twist.

The Resident creator Amy Holden Jones is turning to crime.

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has closed a non-exclusive broadcast direct deal with Fox Entertainment, the network announced Tuesday.Under the deal, the Emmy and Grammy Award-winning producer, director, actor and rapper will develop scripted dramas, live-action comedies and animated series through his production company G-Unit Film & Television, Fox Entertainment president of Scripted Programming Michael Thorn said. After rising to hip-hop royalty status, Jackson delved into filmed entertainment by launching G-Unit Film & Television in 2005, which produced Starz’s “Power,” in which Jackson served as a co-star, executive producer and director.

Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson has signed a non-exclusive multi-project broadcast direct deal with Fox.

The Cleaning Lady will be back for another go-round. Fox has renewed the popular series for a third season, the network’s first live-action scripted renewal for the 2023-24 season. Additionally, Jeannine Renshaw (Good Girls) also has joined the show as an executive producer and will serve as showrunner with Miranda Kwok.

Fox has handed early two-season renewals to three of its animation mainstays — The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers — taking them through the 2024-25 broadcast cycle.

ABC is starting to make comedy pilot orders.

EXCLUSIVE: Fox is developing El Patio, a multi-camera comedy from writer Danny Fernandez (iCarly), Roselyn Sanchez and Eric Winter’s Two For The Road Entertainment, Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment and Fox Entertainment.

Fox is bringing back its competition format Lego Masters for a fourth season.