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Jeff Hahne / 50 Cent
Despite having a very rocky relationship with Starz, 50 Cent continues to land original programming with the network.
Starz announced it has greenlit a new original show called Fightland, which the cable network describes as a “high-octane scripted drama set in the cutthroat, high-stakes, cash-rich world of British boxing.”
Fightland also marks another collaboration between Starz and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson through his G-Unit Film & Television, who serves as an executive producer on the show.
Starz has ordered eight episodes of the show with production set to begin in London this fall.
“Fightland” follows a disgraced, formerly incarcerated boxing champion who returns to London to seek vengeance against the crime family he thinks betrayed him. With edge-of-seat action and populated by dangerous characters, this is a world of money and power never seen before.
50 Cent Anticipates Fightland Being More Popular Than Anything He’s Done Before
“Fightland marks my first internationally produced show through my G-Unit Film & Television. I am excited to bring that global energy to the screen,” said Executive Producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. “I anticipate this to be more successful than anything I’ve done before—boxing’s raw stakes are gonna take it to another level.” “Set against the backdrop of the British boxing underground, this series promises to be the perfect combination of character and adrenaline,” said Kathryn Busby, President of Original Programming for STARZ. “‘ Fightland’ is the kind of unapologetically visceral, premium storytelling that STARZ is known for, and we believe that each dramatic round of this compelling drama will leave fans wanting more.”
50 Cent saying he expects Fightland to be more successful than anything he’s done before demonstrates the confidence he has in this show.
Power, the first Starz series he was a part of, created by Courtney A. Kemp, is currently one of Starz’s most popular original series ever.
He also has BMF, which is currently in its 4th season, and is also popular among television viewers.
However, there is also tension between the Queens rapper and the network, which often seems to reach a boiling point, with the “In Da Club” rapper threatening to pull his shows off the channel.
We shall see if that remains the case when Fightland arrives.
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To honor the life of Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson, who died Wednesday (June 11) at age 82, CBS will re-air A Grammy Salute to the Beach Boys on Sunday from 9-11 p.m. ET/PT.
The live concert special was taped at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Feb. 8, 2023, three days after the 65th annual Grammy Awards were held in Los Angeles. The special originally aired on April 9, 2023. It was No. 1 in its time period with 5.18 million viewers and was the night’s No. 2 primetime broadcast in viewers. (The night’s champ was its lead-in, the venerable 60 Minutes, with 6.43 million viewers.) The two-hour program had the largest audience for a Grammy Salute special since A Grammy Salute to Prince, which aired on April 21, 2020.
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A Grammy Salute to the Beach Boys featured performances by Andy Grammer, Beck, Jim James, Brandi Carlile, John Legend, Charlie Puth, Fall Out Boy, Foster the People, Hanson, Norah Jones, Lady A, John Legend, Little Big Town, Luke Spiller, Taylor Momsen, Michael McDonald, Take 6, Mumford & Sons, My Morning Jacket, Pentatonix, LeAnn Rimes, St. Vincent and Weezer.
It also featured appearances by fellow music icons Elton John and Bruce Springsteen; actors Tom Hanks, Drew Carey and John Stamos; Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr.; and former chair of the academy’s board of trustees Jimmy Jam.
The special was produced by Tenth Planet Productions. Joel Gallen, Rick Krim and Irving Azoff served as executive producers and Rick Austin as co-executive producer. Gallen also directed the special.
The Beach Boys entered into a partnership with Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group (Iconic) in 2021 to preserve and grow their legacy in a digital era. “This celebration highlights, once again, the power of the Beach Boys music to influence today’s biggest artists and reach new generations of fans,” said Jimmy Edwards, president of Iconic.
The Beach Boys special followed such previous Grammy-branded specials as The Beatles: The Night That Changed America (2014), Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life – An All Star Grammy Salute (2015), Stayin’ Alive: A Grammy Salute to the Music of The Bee Gees (2017), Elton John: I’m Still Standing – a Grammy Salute (2018), Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul (2019), Let’s Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince (2020) and Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the songs of Paul Simon (2022).
06/10/2025
Don Mischer, whose credits include the legendary program where Michael Jackson first unveiled the moonwalk, is being honored posthumously.
06/10/2025
Arthur Fonzarelli could have had a way different vibe if the team behind beloved 1970s/early ’80s sitcom Happy Days had gone with their second choice. At least according to The Monkees drummer Micky Dolenz, who told People magazine that back in the day he auditioned for the role of the jukebox-smacking, shark-jumping bad boy with a heart of gold.
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After his run on The Monkees (1966-1968), the last surviving member of that American fab four said he was on the hunt for a role that would break him out of the mop top drummer cage, so in 1973 he auditioned for the role of Arthur “The Fonzie” Fonzarelli, the leather jacket-wearing greaser next door who became the break-out star of the show.
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“I almost got it,” Dolenz, 80, said. “Supposedly it was between me and Henry [Winkler]. He remembers it too. The story I heard is that he was in the waiting room, saw me come in, and thought, ‘Oh s–t, I’ll never get this — Micky Dolenz is here!’ So we laugh about it now. He’s a good friend and a brilliant talent.”
While Yale School of Drama grad Winkler came into his audition with plenty of stage experience and roles in the indie movies The Lords of Flatbush and Crazy Joe, Dolenz was already a seasoned TV pro by the time he auditioned for Happy Days. At 11, he got the lead role of Corky in the adventure series Circus Boy, which ran on NBC for one season before jumping to ABC for another short run in 1957. A young Dolenz then scored a few TV roles in the late 1950s and early 1960s — credited as Micky Braddock — before being cast as Micky on The Monkees alongside Michael Nesmith, Davy Jones and Peter Tork.
When that show ended, Dolenz decided to focus on directing and producing, realizing that his gig as the spacey, floppy-haired drummer would likely get him typecast like his father, George Dolenz, an actor he said got pegged as a “swashbuckling romantic lead in sword-fighting movies” such as The Purple Mask and Sign of the Pagan.
“After Circus Boy, I went to a few auditions as a 12-year-old, and the minute I walked in, they’d say, ‘Circus Boy’! That’s just typical in this business. I knew it was par for the course,” said Dolenz, who added that after the Monkees it was more of the same. “‘What are you doing here? We don’t need any drummers!’” he said casting directors would tell him.
Following his pivot to a number of small movie roles and voice work on dozens of cartoons in the 1970s, “I’m a Believer” singer Dolenz said he has no regrets about the one that got away. “Oh my God, he’s just so good,” he said of Winkler, who parlayed his iconic role into a fifty-plus year career on TV (Mork & Mindy, Arrested Development) and movies (Night Shift, The French Dispatch). “I was definitely not as good as he was. Come on — he was The Fonz! He had that New York, New Jersey thing down. I’m from Southern California. It wasn’t gonna happen!,” Dolenz said.
Dolenz is going on tour this summer with his Songs & Stories tour, which mixes his iconic hits with stories about fellow L.A. legends such as Joni Mitchell, David Crosby and Jim Morrison. The tour is slated to kick off on August 11 at the Ocean City Music Pier in Ocean City, NJ.
Source: Netflix / Netflix
It’s been three years since the fourth season of Stranger Things left fans wondering what we could expect from the supernatural saga, and now we’ve gotten an idea of what’s to come as Netflix has finally released their first teaser trailer for the fifth and final season of their franchise series.
Though details about the fifth and final season remain scarce, it looks like the monsters of the Upside Down will be making their way to our reality as our heroes attempt to keep them at bay with what we expect to be many casualties. Our only question is whether or not Eleven’s other super-enhanced friends like Kali (Eight) and the others will finally return to the series or if they’ll just be completely ignored following their appearance in Season 2. We sure hope to see them come back and help Eleven and them save the day.
Releasing in three volumes, the final season of Stranger Things we be premiering Nov. 26, followed by a second installment Dec. 1 and the finale on New Year’s Eve. Netflix is really stretching this one out. It better be worth it.
Check out the teaser trailer to the fifth season of Stranger Things, and let us know what you want to see in the final season in the comments section below.
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Source: Prime Video / Amazon Studios
With all the hype and anticipation amongst Marvel fans for the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Beginning, many people forget that another Spider-Man film is on the way starring Nicolas Cage (no, seriously), and though details are scarce, we’ve finally gotten our first look at Cage in his Spidey suit. He looks pretty damn dope too.
According to Variety, Amazon’s Prime Video released their first pic of Nicolas Cage dressed as Spider-Man for their upcoming series, Spider-Noir. And truth be told, it looks very well done. After voicing the same Spider-Man variant in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Cage will once again be playing the character in a live-action adaptation of the Spider-Man Noir comic books. Set in 1930s New York, this alternate version of Spider-Man does have a faithful following. Judging from the first pics of the upcoming series, it’ll be going down the black-and-white cinematic setting similar to the cult classic film, Sin City, but won’t be confined to just black-and-white.
Per Variety:
Releasing in 2026, “‘Spider-Noir’ tells the story of an aging and down on his luck private investigator (Cage) in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life as the city’s one and only superhero.” The show will be available in both black-and-white and color.
In addition to Cage, the cast includes Lamorne Morris, Brendan Gleeson, Abraham Popoola, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, and Jack Huston. Guest star cast includes Lukas Haas, Cameron Britton, Cary Christopher, Michael Kostroff, Scott MacArthur, Joe Massingill, Whitney Rice, Amanda Schull, Andrew Caldwell, Amy Aquino, Andrew Robinson and Kai Caster.
“Spider-Noir” will debut domestically on MGM+’s linear channel, then arrive globally on Prime video the next day.
Spider-Noir is set to debut sometime in 2026 and come in eight episodes deep. Will you be checking for Nicolas Cage’s iteration of Spider-Man? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: Amazon Studios / Fallout
It looks like Prime Video must have a lot of faith in the upcoming second season of Fallout as it’s being reported that the video game turned live-action series has gotten the green light for a third season before the premiere of its second.
According to Deadline, it was announced that Fallout was renewed for a third season way before the premiere of its second season in December 2025 during Prime Video’s upfronts presentation Monday (May 12). A production of Amazon MGM Studios and Kilter Films, Fallout is based on the role-playing video game series from the 1990s, which centers around survivors in a post-apocalyptic world who battle mutants as they do what they can to survive. Naturally, the show developed a healthy fanbase with over 100 million viewers during its first season, and now it seems like Prime is all in on keeping the series going at least for a third season.
Deadline reports:
“We are absolutely thrilled that our global Prime Video customers will be able to delve deeper into the wonderfully surreal and captivating world of Fallout,” said Vernon Sanders, global head of television, Amazon MGM Studios. “Jonah [Nolan], Lisa [Joy], Geneva [Robertson-Dworet], and Graham [Wagner] have done an exceptional job bringing this beloved video game franchise to vivid life on Prime Video. Together with our amazing partners at Bethesda Games and Bethesda Softworks, we are delighted to announce a third season of Fallout, well ahead of the much-anticipated debut of Season Two.”
“The holidays came a little early this year – we are thrilled to be ending the world all over again for a third season of Fallout,” said executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. “On behalf of our brilliant cast and crew, our showrunners Geneva and Graham, and our partners at Bethesda, we’re grateful to our incredible collaborators at Amazon MGM Studios and to the amazing fans as we continue our adventures in the wasteland together.”
“We’re so grateful to have survived the apocalypse for another season! Thanks to the incredible team — our whole cast and crew, Kilter, and Amazon,” said Robertson-Dworet and Wagner.
We’re sure the 100 million viewers will be grateful to hear that Fallout will be around for a third season as well.
Are you excited to hear that Fallout will be around for Season 3? Let us know in the comments section below.
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After shaping some of the biggest acts in global pop, HYBE is setting its sights on Latin music with an ambitious new reality series from its subsidiary, HYBE Latin America. Billboard has exclusively learned that production kicks off this week in Mexico City on the yet-to-be-titled project, which aims to form a new all-male pop group.
The series will train and develop 16 contestants from countries including Mexico, Brazil, the U.S., Peru and Spain, narrowing the field to a final five by the end of the season this fall.
The series’ format and execution differs from other reality talent competition in multiple key ways. First and foremost, it’s HYBE’s first artist development venture of this scale focused entirely on Latin talent, combining the development discipline the company has applied in K-pop with Latin American cultural and artistic sensibility.
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Further, instead of airing as a carefully formatted weekly television show, the reality show is a multi-platform production that integrates long-form storytelling, performance content and behind-the-scenes narratives distributed across streaming, social and music platforms.
The project also features a roster of mentors that may be unprecedented in a Latin reality show. It includes director and choreographer Kenny Ortega (High School Musical, The Descendants) as executive producer; Charm La’Donna (Kendrick Lamar’s 2024 Super Bowl, Bruno Mars) as head choreographer; and Robert J “RAab” Stevenson (SZQ, Rihanna) as head vocal coach.
“This project is about much more than music. It’s about reimagining how Latin talent can be discovered, developed and presented to the world. We are building the foundation for the next generation of global Latin artists with the highest creative and production standards,” said J.H. Kah, CEO of HYBE Latin America, who is leading efforts on the venture, in a statement.
The new project joins a roster of properties that includes newly-announced talent competition Pase a la Fama, which HYBE Latin America developed with Telemundo. The competition show seeks to find the next regional Mexican band and premieres on Telemundo June 8 with Ana Bárbara, Horacio Palencia and Adriel Favela as judges.
This show, however, doesn’t have a partner network.
While contestants officially arrive in Mexico this week (beginning May 12), preproduction for the show has been underway for months. Hundreds of applications poured in from across Latin America and the U.S., leading to an initial shortlist of 300 candidates. From there, 16 finalists were selected to begin intensive training at a custom-built “bootcamp” located in Mexico City’s Parque Bicentenario.
The bootcamp will include some 30 instructors, including vocal coaches, producers, fitness trainers and choreographers and is supported by Weverse, HYBE’s extremely successful social media/fandom platform.
HYBE Latin America
courtesy of HYBE Latin America. ©️ 2025 HYBE Corporation.
Make no mistake — this is a distinctly Latin production. The show is being helmed by two seasoned Colombian producers: showrunner Jaime Escallón (X Factor, Survivor) and production designer Lucas Jaramillo. Both serve as executive producers and co-creators of the format, with a clear mission to build a production environment that authentically reflects Latin culture.
“This is different from other talent reality shows in that it takes place in a space designed for the city to participate in,” says Jaramillo, noting that production is working closely with Mexico City government and fans will be allowed to actually visit the space and be part of performances and media experiences. “That’s why we’ve developed a cultural program that’s both artistic and media driven, and includes things like podcasts. This is a show that’s alive.”
The project is HYBE Latin America’s latest venture after launching in 2023 with the acquisition of Exile Music, the music division of Spanish-language studio Exile Content, led by Isaac Lee, who is now chairman of HYBE Latin America. The company has moved quickly since then. With offices in Mexico City, Miami, and Los Angeles, the division houses labels such as DOCEMIL Music and Zarpazo Entertainment.
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Source: Starz / BMF
Season 4 of BMF teases more shenanigans for the Flenory brothers and the return of two characters.
The first trailer for season 4 of BMF has finally arrived, and it is full of big reveals that set up what could be the most explosive season yet for the hit crime drama loosely based on Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry Lee Flenory’s lives.
One of the big reveals is that Emmy Award-winning actor Michael Chiklis (The Shield, Fantastic Four) has joined the cast and will appear this season as DEA Agent Taylor, who will assist in trying to take down BMF.
Source: Starz / BMF
Returning this season will be Lamar (Eric Kofi-Abrefa), the Flenory brothers’ arch-nemesis, who became a drug addict at the end of season 2, alongside Donnell Rawlings, who played his hilarious comedic cousin, Alvin.
B-Mickie (Myles Truitt) is also back this season and wants back in on the action.
As for what’s going on this season, the Flenory brothers’ next hustle is starting their music label in Atlanta, expanding their drug empire into national territories during the 1990s, following whatever happened to them in Mexico. Of course, things go wrong thanks to the return of an old foe, the police breathing down their necks, leading to them being unable to trust anyone, including each other, setting up a sibling rivalry that could drive them apart.
Russell Hornsby as Charles Flenory, Michole Briana White as Lucille Flenory, La La Anthony as Markisha, and Steve Harris as Detective Bryant are also returning in season 4.
Real Life Drama Around BMF
The show’s return has been fueled by real-life drama involving star Lil Meech, his father Big Meech, and the show’s executive producer, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
The G-Unit general has been trolling the star and his dad for dealing with his longtime nemesis, Rick Ross.
BMF returns on June 6. Hit the gallery below for more photos.
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3. BMF Season 4
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Lionsgate / 50 Cent Action Channel
50 Cent has another accomplishment to add to his ever-growing list. His action channel nabbed the number one spot on Roku and LG Channels.
Lionsgate announced that 50 Cent Action, the FAST channel curated by the Hip-Hop mogul, is the #1 action channel on both The Roku Channel and LG Channels and could find the same success on Sling TV’s Sling Freestream, which was just launched.
The channel features 50 Cent’s favorite premium films and television series, especially those in which he starred, such as Den of Thieves, The Expendables, and, of course, his hit crime drama Power, which has gone on to spawn a whole drug-dealing television universe, known as the Power Universe.
The Queens rapper, born Curtis Jackson, will be on hand at LG Ad Solution’s NewFronts presentation on Monday, May 5th, where he will participate in a live Q&A with the company’s CEO, Michael Hudes. During the session, he will discuss the success of his FAST channel and its future.
“This is the future of entertainment,” said Jackson. “It’s about making real connections. I’m hands on with everything and collaborating closely with Lionsgate – which has been a great partner – to give fans free, direct access to the best action movies and shows out there, all in one place. Fans can step into my world every time they turn on the channel.”
“50 Cent is a cultural icon with an unmatched connection to his audience,” said Jim Packer, Lionsgate’s President of Worldwide Television Distribution. “We’ve seen incredible momentum on the channel since launch, and our goal is to make 50 Cent Action one of the leading action destinations for fans and advertisers in the FAST Space.”
50 Cent continues to rack up the wins.