The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend.

The WNBA semifinal playoff round tips off Sunday with ABC’s coverage of the defending champion Las Vegas Aces playing the New York Liberty in a rematch of last year’s finals. On ESPN, the Connecticut Sun face the Minnesota Lynx.

The NFL’s Week 4 kicks off with regional live game coverage on Fox and CBS, followed by NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast featuring the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens. 

In college football, No. 1 Texas hosts Mississippi State on SEC Network, second-ranked Georgia faces fourth-ranked Alabama on ABC, and No. 3 Ohio State battles Michigan State on Peacock. Other top 10-ranked teams in action include No. 6 Ole Miss-Kentucky (ABC), No. 8 Oregon-UCLA (Fox), No. 9 Penn State-Illinois (NBC), and No. 10 Utah-Arizona (Fox).

On the links, NBC and Golf Channel will air final-round coverage of the Presidents Cup tournament, while on the racetrack, USA will air Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Kansas Lottery 300 and Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Hollywood Casino 400 races.

On the soccer field, USA and Peacock will offer live Premier League games throughout the weekend. In NWSL action, CBS on Saturday will televise the NJ/NY Gotham FC-Kansas City matchup, while Ion will air the Houston-Orlando match. 

The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial arts as it gears up for a major October 19 pay-per-view event from Saudi Arabia. 

The event, featuring former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou against PFL heavyweight titleholder Renan Ferreira, is one of the biggest events for the six-year-old franchise, which pits MMA fighters in a league elimination format — including a regular-season and post-season — to determine its champion, according to PFL founder Donn Davis. 

With fighters from around the world participating in the league, and with distribution deals with ESPN domestically and DAZN globally, Davis said the PFL is growing and within punching range of its nearest and larger competitor, the UFC. 

Davis spoke to Multichannel News senior content producer, programming R. Thomas Umstead about the upcoming PPV event and the PFL’s television future. An edited version of the interview follows. 

MCN: Have fans fully adapted to a league-based MMA format compared to the traditional single-fight matchups? 

Donn Davis: Our metrics show that in our sixth year, we’re generating 40% of UFC viewership despite their brand being much bigger. It shows that PFL has grown very, very quickly among viewers. We also know that half of our fans are new to MMA — they watch soccer, basketball and American football — and they are used to the league format. Every fight matters in the PFL because every fight is an elimination fight, and our viewers are used to that kind of excitement in their sport. 

MCN: How has your distribution deal with ESPN broadened the franchise’s reach beyond traditional MMA fans? 

DD: We’re on ESPN Friday nights in the United States, so 90% percent of our fights are on linear and streaming free distribution, whereas half of the big fights from the UFC are on pay-per-view, so you have to pay more for them. For fans, we want to be easy to see. 

MCN: The PFL also counts pay-per-view as a distribution platform. Is PPV still a viable option for companies like PFL to try to reach viewers and generate revenue?

DD: PFL has two pay-per-view events a year — we call them super-fights. Fights like our October event featuring the return of Francis Ngannou against the PFL champion [Ferreira], the No. 5-ranked heavyweight in the ESPN rankings. That card also has the greatest woman of all time in MMA, Cris Cyborg. These events are a testament to the fighters who want to be here and the innovation and the different approach to the market that we’re taking for our fans. 

MCN: From your perspective, how do you see the television sports marketplace shaping over the next year, and how does the PFL fit into it? 

DD: Most media companies, whether it’s linear, streaming or emerging technologies like mobile, want two things: global reach and growth. MMA is the fastest-growing sport, and, along with soccer, the most global. That’s what distributors are looking for, so I believe the UFC will do extremely well in their media rights negotiations in 2025, and I think  the PFL will do extremely well in our media rights renewal in 2026. We have the best distribution that we can have today, but would we like to get paid more money for that? We’re currently over-delivering to those partners, and we want to stick with our partners after 2026 and get paid a little bit more. 

Richard Goodall has been named the winner of season 19 of America’s Got Talent. Known as the singing janitor, he took home the $1 million grand prize. 

Goodall sang Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” for his audition and won a Golden Buzzer from judge Heidi Klum. He performed Michael Bolton’s“How Am I Supposed To Live Without You” in the qualifiers round and Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” in the semifinals. 

Goodall, who is from Terre Haute, Indiana, went back to the Journey oeuvre for his final performance, singing “Faithfully.”

Members of Journey performed with him in the finale results show at Pasadena Civic Auditorium September 24.

Goodall is a janitor at a middle school, and performs at times for the students. He also sings in church and with a band. 

“Winning AGT is important and means so much to me,” Goodall said. “Simon [Cowell] said two minutes can change your life. It has transformed mine, and I’d like to help others, one song at a time.” 

Cowell, Klum, Howie Mandel and Sofia Vergara are the AGT judges, and Terry Crews hosts. 

Klum said to Goodall on the show, “I have faithfully been your biggest fan since the very first moment we met." Mandel commented, “I think you just sang yourself $1 million.” Said Cowell, “We all need a hero right now, and you are our hero.” 

The season finale featured the top 10 finalists performing alongside Simone Biles & the Gold Over America Tour, entertainer Michael Bublé, guitarist Neal Schon and members of Journey, DJ and producer Steve Aoki, comedian Gabriel ‘Fluffy’ Iglesias, the cast of “Magic Mike Live,” singer-songwriter Andra Day and AGT fan favorite Detroit Youth Choir. 

America’s Got Talent was created by Cowell and is co-produced by Fremantle and Syco Entertainment. Cowell, Sam Donnelly and Jason Raff are the executive producers.  

It airs on NBC. 

Adrian Stoica and his dog Hurricane won season 18. 

ESPN’s Monday Night Football telecast helped the sports network barely beat out Fox News Channel for top honors in primetime last week.

ESPN averaged 2.56 million viewers for the week of September 16-22 to top Fox News Channel’s 2.51 million viewers, ending the news network’s three-week winning streak, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News.

The sports network was bolstered by its September 16 Philadelphia Eagles-Atlanta Falcons Monday Night Football telecast, which drew 13.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen.  

MSNBC finished third with 1.4 million viewers, followed by USA Network’s 780,000 viewers and CNN’s 681,000 watchers.

Hallmark Channel was sixth with 635,000 viewers, followed by HGTV (540,000 viewers), Food Network (496,000), TBS (493,000) and INSP (486,000). 

Fox News pushed its total day win streak to 37 weeks, averaging 1.5 million viewers. MSNBC finished second with 952,000 viewers, followed by ESPN (848,000 viewers), CNN (517,000) and Hallmark Channel (349,000), according to Nielsen. 

The second season of Ryan Murphy’s Monster anthology series made an impressive debut last week, generating 97.5 million viewing hours and 12.3 million views during the week of September 16-22.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story launched on September 19, and was the most viewed title among Netflix’s English-language series.

Still, it doesn’t quite hold a candle to its predecessor Dahmer, which put up 196.2 million streaming hours in its first weekend on the rankings two years ago.

Also Read: 'Rebel Ridge' Brings Netflix Its Third-Biggest Film Debut This Year -- Netflix Weekly Rankings for September 9-15

Currently, Dahmer is Netflix’s third most popular Netflix title of all time, with 115.6 million views.

Netflix is set to release a documentary featuring new interviews with the Menendez brothers, which could spark additional viewing for the series. 

Critics have been cool to Murphy's latest installment, rating it an aggregated 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

While The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story had a successful opening, it wasn’t Netflix’s most watched title.

That was Uglies, the dystopian film thriller starring Joey King, which earned the top spot among Netflix’s titles with 45.6 million viewing hours and 26.8 million views.

Uglies dethroned the top film from the week prior, Rebel Ridge, which landed at the No. 2 spot with 36.7 million viewing hours and 16.7 million views.

Also significant was the Korean action comedy film Officer Black Belt, which garnered an impressive 28.5 million views and 15.7 million viewing hours.

The film took the top spot among Netflix’s international titles in its second week of distribution, after it saw a 90% increase in viewership.

Netflix will continue its partnership with prolific producer/writer Tyler Perry with the October 24 premiere of original drama series Beauty in Black.

The 16-part series, part of the multi-year, first-look production deal reached last year between Netflix and Perry, follows two women on very different life trajectories on a course toward each other, according to the streaming service. Taylor Polidore Williams and Crystle Stewart star as strangers entangled in each other’s lives.

Beauty and Black also stars Amber Reign Smith, Ricco Ross, Debbi Morgan, Richard Lawson, and Steven Norfleet.

The first-half of the 16-episode series will debut October 24, with the second half premiering at a later date. The series follows Perry’s original movie, Mea Culpa, which streamed on Netflix this past February.

Family Entertainment Television (FETV) said it has made a deal with DirecTV Stream has and has been launched on the service.

DirecTV Stream serves more than 2 million subscribers, explaining carriage of FETV, which is carried on cable, satellite and other virtual platforms.

“DirecTV has been a tremendous partner for us throughout the years, and we are thrilled to bring FETV to DirecTV Stream customers,” Cara Conte, executive VP, affiliate sales of FETV and FMC, said. “This launch furthers our commitment to deliver family-friendly entertainment to millions of viewers across America.”

FETV has been available to DirecTV’s satellite customers since 2017.

The network’s programming lineup currently features shows such as Emergency!, Leave It to Beaver, Perry Mason and Adam-12.  

The 78th Annual Tony Awards returns to Radio City Music Hall in New York, and airs live Sunday, June 8, 2025, on CBS and Paramount Plus. 

The 2024 Tony Awards took place for the first time at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York. The 2023 event happened at the United Palace in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood. 

Radio City Music Hall hosted the Tonys 2017-2019 and again in 2022, among other years prior to 2017. 

Ariana DeBose has been the host for the last three Tonys. 

The Tony Awards have aired on CBS since 1978. They are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing and are produced in collaboration with Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, and White Cherry Entertainment. 

Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss are executive producers and showrunners for White Cherry Entertainment. Weiss will direct. Jack Sussman is also an executive producer.

AMC and FX will get an early start on the Halloween season with the premiere of horror-themed original series during the last week of September.

AMC will bring back its The Walking Dead spinoff series The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon — The Book of Carol for its sophomore season on September 29. Norman Reedus stars as zombie killer Daryl Dixon, along with Melissa McBride, who portrays Carol Peletier.  The two characters from the original The Walking Dead series rekindle their friendship in France amid the continuing zombie threat, according to AMC.

FX’s Grotesquerie debuts September 25 on FX and stars Niecy Nash as a detective exploring a series of heinous crimes in a small community that she believes is eerily connected to her. Courtney B. Vance, Lesley Manville, Micaela Diamond and Travis Kelce also star in the 10-part Ryan Murphy-produced series.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of September 23-29. For some, viewer discretion is advised.

September 24: Evolution of the Black Quarterback (documentary series), Prime Video

September 24: Penelope (drama series), Netflix

September 25: Everybody Still Hates Chris (animation series), Comedy Central

September 25: Mr. McMahon (documentary series), Netflix

September 25: Midnight Family (drama series), Apple TV Plus

September 26: Colin From Accounts (returning series), Paramount Plus

September 26: Killer Heat (movie), Prime Video

September 26: Nobody Wants This (comedy), Netflix

September 27: Apartment 7A (drama movie), Paramount Plus

September 27: Social Studies (documentary series), FX

September 27: Wolfs (movie), Apple TV Plus

The start of the WNBA playoffs and the NFL’s third week of regular-season action lead the list of live TV sports events airing during the first weekend of fall.  

The first round of the WNBA postseason launches Sunday with four games, including Atlanta-New York (ESPN), Indiana-Connecticut (ABC), Phoenix-Minnesota (ESPN) and Seattle-Las Vegas (ESPN). 

The third week of the NFL season will feature live regional games on Fox and CBS on Sunday afternoon, followed by NBC’s Sunday Night Football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Atlanta Falcons. 

In Saturday college football action, top-ranked Texas plays Louisana-Monroe on ESPN Plus, No. 3 Ohio State meets Marshall on Fox, and No. 5 Ole Miss hosts Georgia Southern on SEC Network. The rest of the top 10 ranked teams in play include No. 6 Tennessee-Oklahoma (ABC), No. 7 Missouri-Vanderbilt (SEC Network), No. 8 Miami-South Florida (ESPN) and No. 10 Penn State-Kent State (BTN).

On the soccer field, USA, Peacock and NBC will offer weekend coverage of live English Premier League games. Ion on Saturday will air the NWSL game between North Carolina and Louisville. 

On the baseball diamond, ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will feature the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets. 

In the boxing ring, DAZN on Saturday will distribute the Daniel Dubois-Anthony Joshua heavyweight title fight.  

Starz will debut its first weekly talk show series, Fat Joe Talks, on October 4, featuring music artist/actor Method Man.

The weekly interview series will star the Grammy Award-nominated hip-hop artist Fat Joe as he interviews celebrities and newsmakers who drive the cultural zeitgeist, Starz said. Other stars expected to appear in the series include Mary J. Blige, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), T.I. and Babyface.

Embassy Row and SpringHill will produce the series for Starz. Fat Joe will serve as executive producer for the series along with LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Philip Byron, Jamal Henderson and Michael Davies. 

HBO has greenlit Season 4 of its original drama series Industry prior to wrapping up the show's third season on September 29.

Industry follows the lives of a group of young bankers working within the pressure cooker environment of a major finance company, according to the network. Season three of the series is pacing nearly 40% ahead of season two with an average of 1.6 million viewers per episode, said HBO.

Industry stars Myha’la, Marisa Abela, Harry Lawtey, Ken Leung, Conor MacNeill and Sagar Radia. The series is executive produced by Mickey Down, Konrad Kay, Jane Tranter, Kate Crowther, Ryan Rasmussen, Rebecca Ferguson, and Kathleen McCaffrey. 

“For three seasons, Industry has been unflinching in its examination of ambition and class, solidifying itself as a marquee HBO drama,” Francesca Orsi, executive VP, HBO programming and head of HBO drama series and films, said in a statement. “Under Mickey and Konrad’s singular vision, this twisted, thrilling look at London finance has redefined the contemporary workplace show. We’re so excited that viewers and critics have recognized season three as bigger and better than ever, buoyed by sublime performances from our unparalleled cast.”

Erin Moriarty, correspondent on 48 Hours, is on the case when the program investigates the murder of a child in the season 37 premiere on CBS and Paramount Plus Saturday, September 21. “The Unending Search for Sara Anne Wood” looks at the case of 12-year-old Wood, who disappeared on her way home from church in Sauquoit, New York in 1993. Lewis Lent is in prison for the murder, but won’t say where he buried the girl’s body. 

Moriarty first investigated the Sara Anne Wood case back in 1994. It was, at the time, unsolved, and Moriarty interviewed another 12-year-old girl, Becky Savarese. She had been walking in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, some 130 miles east of where Wood was taken, when a man drove up, pulled a gun, and told her to get into his truck. Moriarty said Savarese faked an asthma attack, and got away. She shared license plate numbers from the man’s truck, and Lent was arrested within 24 hours. 

“The child was so calm,” Moriarty told B+C. “I said, weren’t you scared? and she said, No.”

Moriarty described the Wood case as a “cautionary tale,” and one that affected her, the mother of a young child when she first encountered the case, on a personal level. “I realized how easily and quickly a child can be taken,” Moriarty said. “That’s what this show is a reminder of. I think it’s an important story to tell.”

After Lent confessed to killing Wood, he drew a map to where he said he buried her in a remote location in the Adirondack Mountains. Police investigated, but she was never found. 

Asked why Lent isn’t more forthcoming regarding the burial place, Moriarty said, “That’s the only power they have. They have information.”

Law enforcement continues to work with Lent and try to get him to share where the body is buried. “At a time when there are so many questions about police work, it reminds viewers about the really dedicated investigators who took the case so personally,” said Moriarty, “and are determined to bring some kind of resolution to the family.”

That includes Sara Anne’s brother Dusty, who was nearly 17 when his sister was taken. Moriarty noted how a child in that situation not only loses a sibling, but also deals with parents who are fully consumed in the search, and then the loss, of their other child. 

She added that Dusty runs a yearly summer bike ride these days, stopping at schools to pass along tips on children staying safe. He also ended up as a camera operator for his occupation, inspired by Darrell Barton, who filmed the Wood family for 48 Hours over the years. 

“He even adopted his style, the way he would shoot,” said Moriarty.

Moriarty is also behind the podcast "Murder in the Orange Grove: The Troubled Case Against Crosley Green," which CBS Audio launched September 18. She said she’s never seen such interest in true crime before. 

“We are so divided on political issues,” said Moriarty. “[True crime] is one thing we can still discuss, even if we have a disagreement. These are huge cases, but we can talk civilly about them.”

Three decades after first encountering the Sara Anne Wood case, Moriarty hopes the new episode of 48 Hours brings it a little further along. “I’m hoping someone who knows Lewis Lent’s family, or someone watching the hour, knows more information and could advance the story,” she said. “I’m also hoping people take a look at this case and take it as a cautionary tale, and protect their own children. That really matters to Sara Anne Wood’s parents and family–that no other family goes through what they’ve gone through.”

Season 50 of Saturday Night Live starts September 28 on NBC and Peacock, with Jean Smart hosting and Jelly Roll the musical guest. Smart stars in Max series Hacks, which won the Emmy for top comedy September 15. Smart owns six Emmys, including three for outstanding lead actress in a comedy for her work on Hacks. 

It will be Jelly Roll’s first time on SNL. 

Nate Bargatze hosts October 5, his second appearance, with Coldplay as musical guest for the eighth time. Ariana Grande hosts SNL for the second time October 12, and Stevie Nicks is musical guest for the second time. 

Michael Keaton hosts for the fourth time on October 19, with Billie Eilish the musical guest that day, also for the fourth time. 

John Mulaney hosts for the sixth time November 2, and Chappell Roan is the musical guest in her SNL debut. 

SNL has a 50th anniversary live primetime special set for February 16. 

The show is produced in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels.

Time Bandits, an Apple TV Plus series inspired by the 1981 movie, will not see a second season on the network. Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris and Taika Waititi created the show, which has Lisa Kudrow in the cast. 

There are 10 episodes. 

Time Bandits premiered July 24. Apple TV Plus called it “an unpredictable journey through time and space with a ragtag group of thieves and their newest recruit: an 11-year-old history buff named Kevin. Together, they set out on a thrilling quest to save the boy’s parents — and the world.”

Terry Gilliam directed the 1981 Time Bandits movie. 

The series is produced by Paramount Television Studios, Anonymous Content’s AC Studios and MRC. Clement, Morris and Waititi executive produce, write and direct select episodes, with Clement and Morris co-showrunners. Garrett Basch and Tim Coddington also executive produce along with Jane Stanton, who exec produces for Handmade Films. 

Investigation Discovery will chronicle the rise and fall of entertainment icon and hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs in a new documentary series.

According to the network, the untitled series — to premiere in 2025 — will explore Combs’ rise and influence within the entertainment world, as well as the allegations of violent behavior and illegal activity that led to his arrest and indictment this weel on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. 

The multipart series, through access to archival footage and in-depth reporting from Rolling Stone, will offer insight into the unfolding allegations against the once-untouchable superstar and highlight the toxic power dynamic that played out within the industry that until recently kept many survivors silenced, ID said.

Maxine Productions (Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV) and Rolling Stone Films will produce the docuseries for ID. 

Fox News Channel’s coverage of the September 10 presidential debate helped push the network to the top of the primetime ratings chart for the third consecutive week. 

Fox News averaged 3.1 million viewers in primetime for the week of September 9-15, besting second-place MSNBC’s 2 million viewers, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. 

The network’s simulcast of ABC News’s Kamala Harris-Donald Trump debate drew 9.1 million viewers, topping all cable news outlets as well as broadcast network CBS, said Fox News officials. Overall, the debate was watched by more than 67 million viewers across 15 television networks. 

ESPN finished third with 1.8 million viewers, followed by CNN’s 1.1 million viewers and Hallmark Channel’s 645,000 watchers.

HGTV pulled into sixth place with 593,000 viewers, followed by USA Network (567,000 viewers), Discovery Channel (482,000), INSP (464,000) and TBS (424,000). 

Fox News was the most-watched cable network on a total-day basis for the 36th consecutive week, averaging 1.5 million viewers. MSNBC was second with 2 million viewers, followed by CNN (651.000), ESPN (648,000), and Hallmark Channel (349,000), Nielsen said. 

Jeremy Saulnier’s fast-paced thriller Rebel Ridge continued to put up big numbers for Netflix, ending the week of September 9-15 with 38.6 million views and 84.9 million viewing hours.

The film placed No. 1 among Netflix’s English-language film rankings for the second consecutive week, building its audience nearly 25% from its first week of distribution.

It’s the third strongest film debut for Netflix this year, behind only Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F in July and Damsel in March.

Rebel Ridge also earned the praise of RottenTomatoes critics, who bestowed the film a 96%, “certified fresh” ranking.

Also Read: Nicole Kidman's 'The Perfect Couple' Is Good Enough -- Netflix Weekly Rankings for September 2-8

The film even drew praise from celebrated American author Stephen King, who called the film “a thinking man’s Rambo.” 

Also performing well was Joey King’s Uglies, which debuted as Netflix’s second most watched English-language film, with 20.8 million views and 35.4 million viewing hours.

Based on the eponymous book series, Uglies was also the most-watched new arrival on Netflix’s platform last week.

Only one title outpaced Uglies in terms of engagement.

White Lotus-esque limited series, The Perfect Couple, starring Nicole Kidman, ended the week with 21.9 million views and 111.6 million viewing hours.

The series saw a slight increase of about 8% in engagement between weeks.

Also notable was the arrival of the second half of Emily In Paris: Season 4, which bumped the series back up to No. 2 among Netflix’s English-language series.

The fan-favorite drama ended last week with 11.5 million views and 68.7 million viewing hours.

That’s noticeably less impressive than the debut of its first half of season 4, which landed at No. 1 with 19.9 million views and 56.5 million viewing hours during the week of August 12-18.

Netflix has revealed details about the third season of its Ryan Murphy-created true-crime anthology series, Monster.

The streaming company said Tuesday that the next installment will focus on Ed Gein, with Sons of Anarchy actor Charlie Hunnam starring as the notorious 1950s murderer.

It was Murphy who actually first leaked the details, making the announcement onstage during a promotional event for Monster: Season 2, which focuses on Erik and Lyle Menendez and drops Thursday.

It’s the successor to Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which premiered in 2022 and reached 1 billion viewing hours in its first 60 days of distribution.

By the end of its first 90 days on Netflix, more than 115.6 million people had watched the series.

Currently, Dahmer is Netflix’s third most popular English-language series of all time, behind only Wednesday and Stranger Things: Season 4.

Production on the unnamed third season will begin in October, according to a subsequent announcement sent by Netflix.

At present, no other cast has been revealed, nor have any writers.

Born in 1906, Gein earned the nickname of the “Plainfield Ghoul” when authorities discovered he had not only killed multiple people, but had dug up graves and used human remains to fashion clothing, furniture and jewelry.

Gein’s case served as an inspiration for several popular horror characters, including Leatherface in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Norman Bates in Psycho and Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs.

CBS airs An Oprah Special: The Presleys — Elvis, Lisa Marie and Riley on Tuesday, October 8. The hourlong special sees Oprah Winfrey interview Riley Keough, granddaughter of Elvis. 

Winfrey visits Graceland in Memphis to sit with Keough. 

Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis and Priscilla, died in 2023. She had recorded hours of stories for a memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, which Keough, her daughter, finished co-writing. The book goes on sale October 8.

“In this first exclusive interview about the book, Riley shares what the writing process was like and stories and remembrances of her mother,” according to CBS. “Also featured are never-before-seen family photos and home videos, as well as selections of Lisa Marie’s personal audio recordings, including memories of her father, about whom Lisa Marie begins the book by writing: ‘I felt my father could change the weather. He was a god to me. A chosen human being.’ Riley, herself an Emmy-nominated actress and director, opens up to Oprah about the extreme highs, lows and pressures of being a Presley, and the deep, profound relationship she had with her mother.”

Keough’s films include Zola and Logan Lucky, and she played the title character in Prime Video’s Daisy Jones & The Six. 

The special is produced by Harpo Productions. Executive producers are Oprah Winfrey and Tara Montgomery. 

Winfrey's interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, in 2021, did terrific ratings for CBS. 

Paramount Plus streams the Presley program. 

Hip-hop mogul and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested Monday night and indicted on federal charges of sex trafficking and racketeering over a period of nearly two decades, according to federal documents unsealed on Tuesday.

The 14-page indictment alleges that Combs “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct,“ the indictment read.

The indictment states the Grammy Award-winning Combs had, since at least 2008, “relied on the employees, resources, and influence of the multi-faced business empire that he led and controlled” to hide his actions, creating a “criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.” 

Combs lawyer Marc Agnifilo said the entertainer will plead not guilty, according to published reports. 

The indictment comes six months after federal agents raided Combs’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a federal investigation, and three months after Combs was seen in a 2016 surveillance video assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel, for which Combs apologized. 

In June, Combs sold his majority stake in the Revolt television network, which he founded in 2013 as one of four minority owned-and-operated channels launched in 2012 by Comcast as part of its acquisition of NBCUniversal. 

Wrestling special Saturday Night’s Main Event airs live on NBC and Peacock Saturday, December 14. The WWE special will be held at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island, N.Y., the site of the first-ever Saturday Night’s Main Event.
The prime event will air quarterly on NBC and Peacock, as part of WWE’s new, five-year domestic media rights partnership with NBCUniversal, which kicked off this month with SmackDown on USA Network. SmackDown previously aired on Fox.
Saturday Night’s Main Event originally premiered on NBC in May of 1985.

NBC Entertainment called Peacock “the live streaming home of WWE in the U.S.,” with upcoming events such as Bad Blood, NXT Halloween Havoc and Crown Jewel, in addition to WWE shows like Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal, American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes and WWE Evil.

Tickets for Main Event go on sale Friday, September 20, at 10 a.m. ET, via Ticketmaster. 

Kenny Smith, former NBA star and current TNT Sports analyst, will be the host of Harlem Globetrotters: Play It Forward for Season 3, which premieres Saturday, October 5 in NBC’s “The More You Know” educational/informational (E/I) programming block. Hearst Media Production Group (HMPG) produces the 30-minute show with Herschend Entertainment Studios. 

Smith succeeds Craig Robinson as host. He is a panelist on TNT Sports’ popular studio show Inside the NBA as well as an analyst for TNT Sports and CBS Sports’ combined coverage of the NCAA men’s March Madness Division I men’s basketball championship. Smith won NBA titles with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995, and played 10 seasons for the Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks. 

“Kenny and the Harlem Globetrotters are an epic matchup of two iconic basketball brands that will resonate with viewers and attract a new generation of fans,” said Bryan Curb, HMPG executive VP and general manager, education/information.  

Harlem Globetrotters: Play It Forward highlights people and organizations doing good for education, health and wellness, and community empowerment.  

“The Harlem Globetrotters have been a part of my lifelong basketball journey,” Smith said.  “At 11 years old, I won the Globetrotters shooting competition at halftime of the Knicks game. Twenty years later, I participated as the GM for the Washington Generals. Shortly after retirement, I hosted Globetrotters tryouts in Houston for the team.  Now I have the pleasure of narrating this compelling and dynamic series. The Globetrotters remind us that basketball is more than just a game; it’s about bringing people together and having fun.”

Harlem Globetrotters: Play It Forward averages more than 900,000 total weekly viewers across all platforms, according to HMPG.  

“The Harlem Globetrotters, HMPG, NBC, and now Kenny Smith make for a powerful starting lineup. It’s one that we think will resonate with fans, our partners and the larger sports community,” Keith Dawkins, president of Harlem Globetrotters & Herschend Entertainment Studios, said.

Gray Media is forming a new venture called Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network that will carry all of the locally televised games of the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans.

Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment will be anchored by Gray’s WVUE in New Orleans.

Also carrying Pelicans games over the air are Gray’s Louisiana stations in Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lake Charles, Monroe and Alexandria. 

The games will also be on Gray’s stations in Biloxi, Jackson, Hattiesburg and Meridian, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama.

Gray and the Pelicans said the new network will reach 4.1 million households, 16 times its reach on the Bally Sports New Orleans regional network owned by bankrupt Diamond Sports Group.

Several teams have been abandoning cable-based regional sports networks in favor of local broadcasters.

“Gray Media is thrilled to be able to leverage our resources to connect our loyal viewers with the growing number of Pelicans fans across the Gulf South,” Gray Media chief operating officer Sandy Breland said. “The Pelicans are putting their fans first as now all fans will have the ability to watch the games free over-the-air or through any basic cable, satellite service, or streaming provider that carries the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network.”

“This partnership with Gray Media represents our commitment to our fans, community, and partners across Louisiana and the Gulf South,” added Pelicans Governor Gayle Benson. “Our focus has been to make Pelicans games accessible to as many fans as possible, and this deal means that Pelicans games will now be available to millions of more fans with this free, over-the-air broadcast product.”    

In New Orleans, WVUE will air at least eight Pelicans regular season games and all available post-season games, with the remaining regular season games airing on the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network. 

The first New Orleans Pelicans game will air live on WVUE and simulcast on GCSEN October 23 when the Pelicans take on the Chicago Bulls.

The Paris Summer Olympics gave a boost to broadcast and popped on Peacock in August, according to Nielsen.

Total TV use in August changed little from July, but compared to a year ago, TV viewing was up 3.5% — thanks to the Summer Games.

NBC, which broadcast the Olympics coverage, had the top 19 broadcast telecasts in August, helping to boost broadcast viewing by 8% compared to July and 11.7% compared to August 2023.

Broadcast had a 22% share for the month, up from 20.3% in July.

Among streamers, Comcast NBCUniversal’s Peacock saw its viewership increase 39%. In the 35-49 year old demo, viewership nearly doubled. 

Peacock’s share of TV viewing jumped to 2.1% from 1.4% in July. 

Overall, streaming’s share of TV usage dipped to 1% from 41.4%.

YouTube had the biggest share among streamers, with 10.6%, up from 10.4% in July, while Netflix’s share dropped to 7.9% from 8.4%

Amazon Prime Video had a 3.1% share, down from 3.4%; Hulu’s share fell to 2.4% from 2.7%; Disney Plus had a 2.3% share, up from 2.1%; Tubi had a 1.8% share, down from 2.1%; The Roku Channel had a 1.7% share, up slightly from 1.6%; Max’s share slid to 1.3% from 1.5%; Paramount Plus had a 1.1% share, unchanged; and Pluto TV was steady with a 0.7% share.

Cable’s share was 26.3%, down from 26.7% in July. Total cable viewing was down 2% for the month.

The Democratic National Convention drove viewership in the final week of August, as MSNBC had the 11 top cable telecasts of the month and 14 of the top 15. ESPN’s Florida State-Georgia Tech college football game had the 12th largest audience.

Disney Plus’s latest Marvel Studios-produced series and FX’s newest Ryan Murphy-produced drama top the list of original TV shows debuting this week. 

Agatha All Along, a sequel to Disney Plus’s Emmy Award-nominated series WandaVision, debuts September 18 on the streaming service. The nine-episode series stars Kathryn Hahn as witch Agatha Harkness, who looks to regain her powers that were lost after being trapped in a New Jersey town at the end of WandaVision, according to Disney Plus. Joe Locke, Aubrey Plaza, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, and Patti LuPone also star in the series. 

FX’s American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez debuts on September 17 and shines a spotlight on the rise and fall of the football star. The 10-part, Murphy-produced series stars Josh Rivera as Hernandez, as well as Patrick Schwarzenegger, Lindsay Mendez, Ean Castellanos, Tammy Blanchard and Tony Yazbeck. 

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of September 16-22. For some, viewer discretion is advised.

September 17: Child Star (documentary), Hulu

September 18: What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates (documentary series), Netflix 

September 19: Frasier (returning series), Paramount Plus

September 19: Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (drama), Netflix

September 19: The Penguin (drama), HBO

September 19: A Very Royal Scandal (drama), Prime Video

September 20: His Three Daughters (drama movie), Netflix

September 22: From (returning series), MGM Plus

After the FAST app first launched on Google TV last year, The Roku Channel is now directly integrated into Google TV’s search and recommendation system.

That means Google TV can promote more free content directly through its search tools, making it easier for consumers to discover new titles.

It’s not entirely clear when the change was made, but it was first spotted Monday by Cord Cutters News.

Also Read: The Roku Channel Arrives on Google TV and Android TV CTV Platforms

The move follows a recent rebranding of Google's free-streaming hub to “Google TV Freeplay,” which seems to be a sign that it intends to continue growing its FAST presence.

That, combined with Google’s new Roku integration, suggests that the company hopes to become more competitive by providing users access to a greater variety of cost-effective entertainment options.

That’s a notable goal, especially in a streaming economy where as many as one third of American adults watch FAST services during primetime viewing hours.

TMZ takes a close look at actor Matthew Perry and the drug network that led to his death when TMZ Investigates: Matthew Perry & the Secret Celebrity Drug Ring airs on Fox Monday, September 16. “Throughout the episode, the roles of drug dealers, willing enablers, unscrupulous doctors and unethical rehab centers will be examined,” TMZ said. 

Perry, who played Chandler Bing on Friends, died in October from the effects of ketamine at age 54. His personal assistant, two doctors and two others were criminally charged with providing the actor with the ketamine. 

The hour-long special streams on Hulu September 17. 

It also features Kelly Osbourne and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino sharing their own struggles with addiction, and creepy medical professionals who are hungry to land a celeb client and their money. 

TMZ Investigates tells stories of celebrities, crime and pop culture. The series is executive produced by Harvey Levin, Ryan Regan, Don Nash, Charles Latibeaudiere and Jess Fusco.

Other episodes in the TMZ Investigates series include an examination of Richard Simmons, Kanye West and the marriage of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. 

As Halloween approaches, MeTV Toons will feature frightful Sunday programming. On October 13, it’s a scary Flintstones block 1-3 p.m., then Scooby-Doo! 3-5 p.m., and an Addams Family mini-marathon at 5-8. On October 20, it’s Flintstones 1-3 p.m. and Scooby-Doo! 3-5, before Funky Phantom Marathon is on 5-8 p.m. 

October 27 has The Flintstones and Scooby, before House of Svengoolie’s Cartoon BOO-Nanza happens at 5 p.m., with The Sven Squad from House of Svengoolie turning up, including Gwengoolie, IMP (Ignatius Malvolio Prankerstein) and Nostalgiaferatoo.

Played by Rich Koz, Svengoolie is a top hat-wearing host who sleeps in a coffin and reviews horror movies that can be classic, but are more typically campy. 

Bunnicula Vampire Rabbit is on at 6 p.m. October 27, Casper’s Halloween Special at 6:30 and Casper & Friends 7-8 p.m., rounding out the scary Sunday block. 

Scooby-Doo! is on MeTV Toons weekdays at 6 p.m. ET/PT, and Sundays at 3 p.m., 

Part of Weigel Broadcasting, MeTV Toons, as the network name indicates, features animated programming such as The Woody Woodpecker Show, Tom and Jerry and The Jetsons. It launched in June. 

MeTV Toons has landed Super Friends, which includes DC superheroes Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Batman and Robin, and will kick it off with a sneak peek Sunday, October 6, across primetime. 

FX had a big night at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday as two of its shows — Shōgun and The Bear — tallied multiple wins in major categories. 

Freshman historical drama series Shōgun won four Primetime Emmys and a record 18 combined Emmy Creative Arts and Primetime awards, including best drama series, the Television Academy said. Hiroyuki Sanada won Best Actor in a Drama Series for Shōgun and Anna Sawai took home Best Actress in a Drama Series. 

The Bear won the second-most combined Emmys this year with 11, besting its own record of 10 Emmy wins for a comedy series set last year. The show’s four Primetime Emmy Awards included Jeremy Allen White's repeat win for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, and Liza Colón-Zayas’ win as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

HBO’s Hacks upset The Bear in the best comedy series category, one of three Emmy Award wins for the series. Hacks star Jean Smart also won the Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, marking her third win in the category over the last four years. 

Other big award winners include Netflix’s Baby Reindeer, which drew four Primetime Emmy wins, including best limited or anthology series.

HBO’s Last Week Tonight With John Oliver won its second straight Emmy for outstanding scripted variety series, while Peacock’s The Traitors took home top honors in the best reality competition show category.

Eugene and Dan Levy hosted ABC’s Primetime Emmys telecast, the second Emmy Awards ceremony to be held in 2024. The 75th annual Emmy Awards aired this past January due to delays brought on by the writers’ and actors’ strikes.   

76th Annual Emmy Awards: All the Winners

• Outstanding Drama Series: Shōgun (FX)
• Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series: Anna Sawai, Shōgun (FX)
• Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series: Hiroyuki Sanada, Shōgun (FX)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown (Netflix)
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Billy Crudup, The Morning Show (Apple TV Plus)
• Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series: Frederick E.O. Toye, Shōgun (FX)
• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series: Will Smith, Slow Horses (Apple TV Plus)
• Outstanding Comedy Series: Hacks (HBO and Max)
• Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series: Jean Smart, Hacks (HBO and Max)
• Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeremy Allen White, The Bear (FX)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Liza Colón-Zayas, The Bear (FX)
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear (FX)
• Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series: Christopher Storer, The Bear (FX)
• Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series: Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky, Hacks (HBO and Max)
• Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series: Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
• Outstanding Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Jodie Foster, True Detective: Night Country (HBO)
• Outstanding Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Jessica Gunning, Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Lamorne Morris, Fargo (FX)
• Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or Anthology Series or Movie: Steven Zaillian, Ripley (Netflix)
• Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
• Outstanding Talk Series: The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
• Outstanding Reality Competition Program: The Traitors (Peacock)
• Outstanding Scripted Variety Series: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO/Max)
• Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special: Alex Edelman: Just for Us (HBO/Max)

Eugene and Dan Levy took the stage to host the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards on ABC on Sunday, and started with some jokes about The Bear. Eugene said, "I know some of you will be expecting us to make a joke about whether The Bear is really a comedy, but in the true spirit of The Bear, we will not be making any jokes.”

Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short, cast members from Only Murders in the Building, were out as the first awards presenters, the latter two introduced by the Levys as part of The Golden Bachelor. Best supporting actor in a comedy went to Ebon Moss-Bachrach of The Bear on Hulu.

“I’m so grateful for this show,” he said, adding how pleased he is to “work with this incredible family.”

Colin Farrell was out next to give out best supporting actor in a drama. Billy Crudup of The Morning Show on Apple TV Plus won. “This is an incredible honor,” he said. 

“This is for the writers and educators and allowed me to do the writing that was beyond my level,” Crudup added. 

Damon Wayans, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and George Lopez came out to make some TV dad jokes before giving out the best lead actor in a comedy prize, to Jeremy Allen White of The Bear. 

“My fellow nominees, I’m so honored to be in your company,” White said. 

White noted how he is “so so so lucky” to be on the hit show. He said of his fellow cast members, “I want us to be in each others’ lives forever.”

Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenny were out next to award best supporting actress in a comedy. It went to Liza Colon-Zayas, who plays Tina on The Bear. Colon-Zayas said she could not comprehend writing a speech knowing she was up against the likes of Meryl Streep and Carol Burnett. “I revere you from the bottom of my heart,” she said. 

She added, for Latinas who look up to her, “keep believing, and vote.”

Da’Vine Joy Randolph singled out best supporting actress in a drama, which went to Elizabeth Debicki of The Crown on Netflix. 

“Peter [Morgan], thank you for making the show, and thank you for trusting me with this,” she said, calling her role in the series “my privilege.”

Candice Bergen awarded the top lead actress in a comedy. Jean Smart of Max series Hacks won. “It’s very humbling, it really is,” she said. 

Smart thanked the Hacks showrunners, Jen Statsky, Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello, “for thinking of me.”

Padma Lakshmi and Sam Richardson awarded the outstanding reality competition, which went to The Traitors on Peacock. Host Alan Cummings thanked Peacock for its “kindness and support,” and the show’s cast and crew “who work so hard and get so wet in the Scottish weather.”

Anthony Starr, Giancarlo Esposito and Kathy Bates were out next to make jokes about TV villains, and award best supporting actress in a limited series. The Emmy went to Jessica Gunning of Baby Reindeer on Netflix. 

“I’m so incredibly proud to be part of Baby Reindeer,” she said. 

“My biggest thanks has to go to Mr. Richard Gadd,” Gunning added, saluting the show’s star. 

Reba MecEntire and Melissa Peterman strolled onstage to award best scripted variety series. The Emmy went to Last Week Tonight With John Oliver on HBO. 

Oliver thanked HBO for not cancelling the show, and singled out his dog. “We had to say good bye to her,” Oliver said. “She was an amazing dog.”

He then saluted all dogs. “You’re very good girls, you’re very good boys, you all deserve a treat,” he said. 

SNL members past and present Maya Rudolph, Seth Myers, Kristin Wiig and Bowen Yang saluted Lorne Michaels with some quips, and awarded the Emmy for writing for a comedy special. Alex Edelman won for his HBO special. Edelman mentioned “my great collaborator,” Adam Brace, who passed away in 2023. 

“I really miss Adam,” he said. 

Edelman continued, “my crew and my producers, you are my family.” 

Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna gave out outstanding director for a limited series, which went to Steven Zaillian for Ripley on Netflix. 

“Making Ripley in Italy was its own reward,” he said. 

The Emmy for writing for a comedy series was given out by Connie Britton, Meredith Baxter and Susan Kelechi Watson, representing TV moms. It went to the Hacks team of Jen Statsky, Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello. 

“We make a show about comedy because, as three weird, lonely kids, it’s what made us feel connected to other people,” said Downs. 

Billy Crystal then came out to award outstanding talk series. The Daily Show on Comedy Central won. “You made an old man very happy,” said Jon Stewart.

He then thanked “the heart and soul of the team, the keeper of flame, [showrunner] Miss Jenn Flanz,” who has been with the show since 1998. 

Nicola Coughlan and Nava Mau presented best supporting actor in a limited series to Lamorne Morris of Fargo on FX. “Thank god for my beautiful mother,” Morris said. “My biggest champion ever since I dropped out of, uh…”

He saluted “my fellow nominees--Robert Downey, Jr., I got a poster of you in my house.”

Mekhi Phifer, Mindy Kaling and Zach Braff came out to talk about playing doctors on TV, and give out the prize for writing for a drama series. Will Smith of Slow Horses on Apple TV Plus won. 

“Relax. Despite my name, I come in peace,” Smith said. 

Ebon Moss-Bachrach awarded best writing for a limited series to Richard Gadd of Baby Reindeer. “Thank you to Netflix for letting me tell this story to the world,” Gadd said. 

Gadd shared about the dark place he was in a decade ago, and how he’s onstage today, getting an Emmy. “No matter how bad it gets, it always gets better,” he said. 

Ron Howard and Henry Winkler were out next for directing in a comedy. Christopher Storer of The Bear won. 

“We all know how lucky we are to get to do this,” he said. 

John Leguizamo shared about growing up and seeing white people play Latino characters in TV and film. “Everybody played us, except us,” he said. 

He introduced Television Academy Chair Cris Abrego. “We all want to see content that is in dialogue with the real world,” said Abrego. 

Joshua Jackson and Matt Bomer gave out the Governors Award to Greg Berlanti. He called the award a “deeply humbling honor of a lifetime, and opportunity of a lifetime.”

Berlanti praised his late mother. For the individuals who do not fit in, he said, she would tell them, “You are loved, you are worthy and you have a story to tell," same as she told Berlanti as a boy.

Jane Lynch and Brendan Hunt awarded directing for a drama, with some help from recent Olympians. Frederick E.O. Toye of FX’s Shogun won. He thanked the “heroes” who taught him to direct, including David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock, Akiri Kurosawa and Robert Wise. 

Jelly Roll sang for the deceased, including Piper Laurie, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Susan Wojcicki, Don Buchwald, Phil Donahue, Louis Gossett Jr, Ryan O’Neal, Shannen Doherty and Gena Rowlands. 

Jimmy Kimmel came out to salute the late Bob Newhart. He said Newhart had what few other comedians did: A degree in accounting. 

He described Newhart as “one of our most loved and funniest people.”  

Jimmy Smits, Don Johnson and Niecy Nash Betts saluted TV cops, and gave out the prize for lead actor in a limited series. Richard Gadd of Baby Reindeer got the Emmy. 

“Thank you to the directors for bringing out the best in me,” he said, then apologized for forgetting to mention his parents in his previous trip onstage. 

“They never ever told me what I needed to do with my life,” Gadd said. Instead, they told him, “Follow your heart and the rest will fall in place.”

LiIy Gladstone and Greta Lee awarded best lead actress in a limited series. It went to Jodie Foster of True Detective: Night Country on HBO. 

She called it “an incredibly emotional moment,” and acknowledged "the Indigenous people of Northern Alaska.”

“It was love, love, love, and when you feel that, something amazing happens,” she said. 

Jean Smart awarded outstanding limited series to Baby Reindeer. Gadd said TV may be in a slump, but “no slump is ever broken without a willingness to take risks.”
“Dare to fail in order to achieve,” he added. 

Steven Yeun awarded lead actor in a drama to Hiroyuki Sanada of FX’s Shogun. “I’m beyond honored to be here with these amazing nominees,” he said. 

He called the series “an east-meets-west dream project,” and added, “when people work together, we can make miracles.”

Gina Torres, Christine Baranski and Viola Davis, who’ve played lawyers on TV, gave out the lead actress in a drama prize to Anna Sawai of Shogun. 

“Thank you to John Landgraf and the whole FX team for believing in our story,” Sawai said. 

Cast members from The West Wing, including Martin Sheen and Allison Janney, gave out the top drama Emmy to Shogun. Showrunner Justin Marks said he had “no idea” how such a project got a green light. “Thank you for your faith in this incredible team,” he said. 

Also in the running for that prize were The Crown, Fallout, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Slow Horses, The Gilded Age and The Morning Show. 

Catherine O’Hara gave out the prize for top comedy to Hacks. 

Jen Statsky, Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello came up to claim the trophy. “We are so lucky to live our dream and make television,” said Downs. 

Curb Your Enthusiasm, Only Murders in the Building, Palm Royale, Reservation Dogs, The Bear and What We Do in the Shadows were also in the running for top comedy. 

Added Aniello, “Please support comedy, it speaks truth to power!”

Veteran actor Blair Underwood has played many complex characters over his entertainment career of nearly 40 years, but the L.A. Law and Sex and the City star said his latest role in Starz’s provocative drama Three Women as a husband in an open marriage was among his most challenging.

Based on Lisa Taddeo’s best-selling nonfiction book of the same name, the series, which premieres September 13, follows a reporter who documents the stories of three women from different walks of life seeking to explore their true desires. Underwood’s role as a husband in a polyamorous relationship with his wife, played by DeWanda Wise, was a departure for the 60-year-old actor. 

“I had reluctance signing on to this project only because of the intimacy involved,”  said Underwood, who most recently appeared in the theatrical horror film Longlegs.

Shailene Woodley, Betty Gilpin, Gabrielle Creevy and Fred Savage also star in the 10-episode Starz series. 

Underwood spoke to Multichannel News senior content producer, programming R. Thomas Umstead about his initial concerns about joining the project and what ultimately moved him to take the role. A slightly edited version of the interview appears below. 

MCN: What drew you to the Three Women project?

Blair Underwood: First, I heard it was a No. 1 best-selling book, so I knew its history and its pedigree. What drew me specifically was the storyline. I loved the fact that mine was a character who was in a relationship that was polyamorous and open to different partners. Just to explore that on screen was intriguing.

MCN: How difficult was it for you to get into your character? 

BU: I had some reluctance signing on to this project only because of the intimacy involved. There’s such an internal, interior dynamic that’s going on in all of the [sex] scenes — it’s not just people having sex. You see that and it’s very explicit, and my reservation was to understand the confines of that from a mechanical standpoint. But from an emotional standpoint, I thought it was an interesting exploration to do as long as you’re seeing the emotional and intellectual calisthenics that are going on in the midst of these sexual escapades. 

MCN: Has the proliferation of TV distributors like Starz, along with the streaming services, provided opportunities to tell stories like Three Women that didn’t exist before? 

BU: I think that’s part of it — all of these platforms, especially streaming services, need content. But I also think it’s just where we are culturally in society. It’s more a part of the conversation. That’s also one of the things that drew me to the project: actors love when you can play characters that provoke conversation. 

MCN: Going forward after this role, will you be more open to playing unique and complex characters that you may not have played 10 to 15 years ago?

BU: It’s funny you say that — when I said that there was resistance to come on this, it's because I never played a character that had that explicit sexual dynamic, and it's something I said I would never do. Longlegs, which is out now, is a horror film that I didn’t think I’d ever do. So I’m more open now. 

Dueling boxing and mixed-martial-arts pay-per-view events highlight the list of live sports events airing on TV this weekend.

Prime Video on Saturday will distribute the Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga super middleweight PPV event from Las Vegas. The event's undercard will feature a bout between middleweight champion Erislandy Lara and Danny Garcia. 

Also Saturday from Las Vegas, ESPN PPV will offer the UFC 306 event featuring the main event bout between bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili. The lead undercard fight pits women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso against Valentina Shevchenko. 

Also Read: Women Fighters are Packing a Punch on TV

In college football, Saturday’s action includes top–ranked Georgia traveling to play Kentucky on ABC, second-ranked Texas hosting UTSA on ESPN, fourth-ranked Alabama battling Wisconsin on Fox, and fifth-ranked Ole Miss meeting Wake Forest on the CW Network.  

Other games featuring top 10-ranked teams include No. 6 Missouri-Boston College (SEC Network), No. 7 Tennessee-Kent State (SEC Network), No. 9 Oregon-Oregon State (Fox), No. 10 Miami-Ball State (ACC Network). 

Week 2 of the NFL season kicks off Sunday afternoon with regional game coverage on CBS and Fox, followed by NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast between the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans. 

On the soccer field, NBC, USA Network and Peacock will air weekend coverage of Premier League games, while Ion will televise a Saturday NWSL match between Angel City and Louisville. 

On the links, NBC and Golf Channel will offer weekend coverage of the Solheim Cup women's golf tournament. The CW network will televise coverage of the LIV Golf Championship at Bolingbrook Golf Club in Chicago. 

On the racetrack, NBC on Sunday will broadcast the IndyCar Music City Grand Prix, while USA airs the Watkins Glen NASCAR Cup race and ESPN televises the Azerbaijan Grand Prix Formula One race. 

Mission Unstoppable, a show hosted by Miranda Cosgrove and executive produced by Cosgrove and Geena Davis, has been renewed for two more seasons by Hearst Media Production Group for CBS. 

The show, which airs during the CBS WKND educational/informational programming block, is currently in Season 6. The renewal will see it air through the 2025-2026 season. 

Mission Unstoppable celebrates women who have achieved success in STEM fields. Those who get a close-up this season include Cecilia Aragon, a two-time bronze medalist in the US National and World Aerobatics Championships, who also happens to be an accomplished data scientist; Morgan Yost, who has juggled duties as a Denver Broncos cheerleader with her job as an aerospace engineer at Lockheed Martin; and Heather Peters, who has helped the Puckerbutt Pepper Company produce two of the hottest peppers known to humankind. 

Lydia Hill Philanthropies produces Mission Unstoppable through its If/Then initiative. 

“Our partners at Lyda Hill Philanthropies are true advocates who inspire young women to pursue careers in STEM professions,” said Bryan Curb, HMPG executive VP and general manager, education/information. “Together with CBS, we will continue to amplify this mission by bringing more inspirational stories of women in STEM to Mission Unstoppable.”

Cosgrove’s credits include iCarly and Despicable Me. Paramount Plus rebooted iCarly in 2021.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke at the Paley Center for Media in Manhattan September 12 and shared plans to increase the state’s role in TV and film production, and artificial intelligence. She touched on expanding the state’s “very generous” production tax credits “so we don’t lose business to New Jersey, to Georgia, to Toronto, to London.”

Hochul stressed how New York has a share of creative talent that the other locales may envy. “All the talent wants to be here … but they will go where the show goes,” she said. 

She spoke of increasing tax credits in 2023 from $420 million to $750 million, and noted how “we’re gonna make that even better.”

Hochul added, “We have the talent, and we have the diversity of talent, which is so important.”

The governor was interviewed by Sade Baderinwa, WABC New York anchor. It was a Paley Media Council address. Baderinwa asked what a half dozen new studio projects in the works means for TV and film production in the New York area. 

“Success breeds success,” Hochul responded . “We have more productions here. [Producers] see it and they want to be where the action is.”

Hochul, a Democrat, said the New York metro represents the best of the best in a range of departments, such as finance. But “what sets us apart is really our creative talent,” she said. 

She added, “It’s a cool place to live, and I’m always trying to up the cool factor.”

Baderinwa also asked about Hochul’s plans to promote artificial intelligence in New York. “It’s real simple. New York must be the best at everything. We must be the best, we must be the greatest, we must be the envy of the world,” Hochul said. “When it comes to a new technology, who owns the future? Whoever owns AI owns the future.”

The governor spoke of a “big ask” of the state legislature, to the tune of $275 million, to build a massive supercomputer dedicated to artificial intelligence that she stressed would not be owned by private companies. 

“How do I democratize AI for good?” she asked. 

Hochul touched on her career in public service in the interview, and her rise to governor, and learning about government as a high school student, which saw her take the bus into Buffalo to volunteer at Democratic headquarters. She was the youngest student to take part, she said, and the only girl — the latter a common theme in her career, she added. 

“I got out of gym class, I got out of lunch, I got out of study hall,” she said, thanks to the volunteer missions. 

On one excursion, she met Tim Russert, the former NBC News Washington bureau chief, and Meet the Press moderator, who died in 2008. “He helped me write my first press release,” Hochul said. “He took a red pen and killed it. I thought, why are you so rough on me? But he made me better.”

But it was while discussing the state’s AI plans that Hochul summed up her mindset. “It is N.Y. State,” she said. “Get out of our way.”

The History Channel’s History This Week podcast returns for a fifth season on September 16.

Released weekly, each episode deals with people whose decision shaped the world we live in.

The podcast is hosted by radio producer Sally Helm and is a production of Back Pocket Studios with History Channel.

“We are honored to be bringing back the History This Week podcast for a remarkable 5th season. It’s been incredibly heartening to see the very first podcast we produced as a brand finding an audience of engaged and curious fans. With weekly episode drops, we aim to provide our listeners with real stories that connect our shared past history with our current world,” said Eli Lehrer, executive VP and Head of Programming for The History Channel.

History This Week is available on the Apple, Audacy and Spotify podcast platforms.

John Leguizamo took the stage at the Hispanic Television Summit, as the session “Reflections on The Making of American Historia” went down. The three-part series premieres on PBS September 27 and airs on consecutive Fridays. 

Leguizamo said the project began because his son was being bullied at school for being Latino, and Leguizamo recalled the same thing happening when he grew up in Queens. “To me, violence is the lowest form of communication,” he said, so he decided to share with his son the contributions Latinos have made to the world. 

“In my research, I found a plethora of contributions to the world, and to America, that was mind-blowing,” said the actor and producer. “I couldn’t believe how much we’d contributed to the world.”

Cynthia Lopez, CEO, New York Women in Film & Television, moderated the panel. She called American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos “cinematically beautiful to watch and historically accurate.” The series sees Leguizamo in the U.S. and Mexico, unearthing Latino history. 

Ben DeJesus, co-founder of NGL Studios with Leguizamo, was also on the panel, along with Luis Ortiz, managing director, Latino Public Broadcasting.

DeJesus shared how he and Leguizamo were at work on the Broadway show Latin History for Morons and ended up with a lot of good material they could not use in the live production. DeJesus said, “There’s something here — what if we took all these stories that did not make the Broadway stage?”

Their projects often begin with a call to Latino Public Broadcasting. Ortiz said he likes to be “the starting point” for such projects. 

“Latino voices are not being told enough, and we want to [share] those stories,” he said. 

Asked what he learned in putting the project together, Leguizamo said “a lot of beautiful surprises” rose to the surface of his research. “We wanted the top-most experts in Latino history in our show to validate our contributions,” he said, adding, “People think we just got here. But we’ve always been here.”

DeJesus said the production aimed for a “more premiere” production than one might expect from a docuseries on broadcast TV. 

The Hispanic TV Summit is part of NYC TV Week, hosted by Broadcasting+Cable, Multichannel News and Next TV.

Leguizamo said he hopes all children, not just those from the Hispanic community, learn from American Historia. “They matter, they’re important, they can do anything they choose to do with their lives,” he said. “That’s what I want to [pass on].”

DeJesus spoke of promoting “a better sense of understanding for our community. I would love for audiences to come out and be like, wow, I didn’t know that!”

Ortiz credited Leguizamo and DeJesus for touching upon a wide variety of Latino cultures in the project, and for focusing on women. 

“Latina women are the powerhouse of Latino culture,” Leguizamo said. “It wasn’t hard to put them in there because they put themselves there.”

As the regional sports network business continues to evolve, pro teams are looking to maximize local TV revenue by making a play to offer fans live game content across multiple platforms, according to executives speaking at the “TV Sports: Checking In on the Post-RSN Revolution” panel at the Next TV Summit on Tuesday.

As viewers continue to migrate from cable TV bundles to digital platforms, panelists said more teams are extending their reach beyond the traditional regional sports networks by moving to a hybrid of broadcast TV and direct-to-consumer services.

“We don’t think the RSN part of the ecosystem is dead; it is simply going through enormous changes,” ViewLift co-founder and CEO Rick Allen said at the summit, part of NYC TV Week. He pointed to successful RSNs like YES Network that are bucking the trend of the otherwise-struggling business, led by the bankrupt Diamond Sports Group, operator of the troubled Bally Sports RSNs.

ViewLift, which provides a direct-to-consumer offering for live, local games from such NHL teams as the Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals,  has been able to create partnerships with the teams that includes distribution on local-market broadcast stations and the digital platform, he added.

“It’s a very powerful model which brings in an enormous amount of data that allows teams to know who their specific individual viewers are and how best to move them through a 360-degree relationship with the team and monetize in a whole range of ways,” he said.

The latest DTC service to market is  A Parent Media Co. Inc.-owned Victory Plus, which launches this week with digital distribution of Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks NHL games alongside local broadcast channels, as well as ancillary content from the teams on a national digital platform, according to Victory Sports chief strategy officer Narendra Nag. 

Distributors and teams must work together to generate revenue across various platforms, Kiswe co-founder and chief marketing officer Wim Sweldens said. “What sets us apart is that we think of ourselves as the partner of the sports team,” said Sweldens, whose company has built DTC streaming platforms for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz, among other pro-sports franchises.

“To win you have to maximize the revenue from your content by reaching as many people as possible, “ he said. “You want to create a destination.”

As for the future, LHB Sports, Entertainment & Media president and CEO Lee Berke said teams will have to work with distributors across multiple platforms to effectively reach both hard-core fans as well as young, potential fans coming up. 

“The opportunity is not necessarily to abandon pay TV, but ultimately working to reach your next generation of fans across platforms,” he said. “If your signage can only be seen by only three out of 10 homes and fans are not exposed to your brand at an early age, then ultimately the value of your franchise suffers.”

Fox News Channel took top honors on the primetime chart for the second straight week while maintaining its stranglehold on the total-day ratings chart. 

Fox News averaged 2.2 million viewers for the week of September 2-8 to lead all cable networks, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. ESPN finished second for the week with 1.9 million viewers, followed by MSNBC with 1.1 million watchers.

Hallmark Channel was fourth with 677,000 viewers followed by CNN’s 662,000 viewers and HGTV’s 651,000 watchers. USA Network finished seventh with 531,000 viewers, followed by Discovery Channel (504,000 viewers), INSP (498,000), and TBS (459,000).

On the total-day charts, Fox News was number one for the 35th-consecutive week, averaging 1.3 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (839,000 viewers), ESPN (725,000), CNN (495,000) and Hallmark Channel (388,000), according to Nielsen. 

The Jennifer Hudson Show returns for its third season on Monday, September 16 with a renewed focus on joy, positivity and inspiration, the show said Tuesday. 

Premiere week guests include Angela Bassett, Sofía Vergara, Dave Bautista and Marlon Waywans. Already booked to appear are such celebrities as Andrea Bocelli, Saweetie, Kristen Bell, Ariana DeBose, Rob Lowe, Jimmy Kimmel, Terence Howard, Sterling K. Brown and more. The show, with a theme this season of “choose joy,” also will continue to feature “uplifting content that resonates deeply with viewers” with a focus on “community heroes.”

The show is premiering one week after CBS’ Drew Barrymore, which returned for Season 5 on Monday, September 9 and two weeks after Disney’s Live with Kelly and Mark and Tamron Hall. NBCUniversal’s The Kelly Clarkson Show returns a week later on Monday, September 23, as does Debmar Mercury’s Sherri, starring Sherri Shepherd.

The Jennifer Hudson Show airs for one hour each weekday on such station groups as Fox Television Stations, Hearst Television, Sinclair, Tegna, Nexstar Media Group, the E.W. Scripps Co. and Gray Media Group, among others. 

The Jennifer Hudson Show is produced by JHUD Productions and Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Telepictures. It’s distributed in national syndication by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony (EGOT) winner Jennifer Hudson executive produces along with Andy Lassner, Corey Palent, Graehme Morphy and Walter Williams III. 

Netflix’s new murder-mystery thriller The Perfect Couple, starring Nicole Kidman, debuted as the most popular series on the platform, reaching 20.3 million views and 103.5 million viewing hours for the week of September 2-8.

The series, which is based on Erin Hilderbrand’ eponymous novel, generated that impressive total in just four days since release.

That’s a strong debut. Considering the star-studded cast and relative virality of the show’s introductory dance sequence, it’s likely that The Perfect Couple will see some longevity on the charts.

Also Read: Spanish-Language Thriller 'The Accident' Builds in Week 2 -- Netflix Weekly Rankings for August 26 - September 1

The Perfect Couple narrowly beat out another popular Netflix title, Emily in Paris, in terms of viewership.

Emily in Paris first debuted at No. 1 the week of August 12-18, with 19.9 million views, and now currently sits at the No 4 spot with just 3.8 million views.

Overall, The Perfect Couple was Netflix’s most successful English-language TV release since June, when fan-favorite drama Bridgerton: Season 3 garnered 28 million viewing hours for the streaming service.

But the top title of the week goes to Rebel Ridge, Netflix’s new crime-thriller film that earned 68.6 million viewing hours and 31.2 million views. (Netflix prioritizes total views over engagement hours in its rankings.)

The thriller dropped on Netflix’s platform on Sept. 6, making this a strong three-day showing.

Also on the rise was the supernatural horror feature The Deliverance, which took several weeks to warm up audiences since its release.

The film climbed to the No. 3 spot during the final week of August, and continued to rise last week to the No. 2 slot with 41.1 million viewing hours and 21.8 million views. 

Unfortunately for Netflix, the same can’t be said about Spanish-language thrille3r The Accident, which fell down the non-English TV rankings to No. 2, with 43.6 million viewing hours and 5.9 million views.

The Accident retained less than half of its audience from the week prior.

The first four second-season episodes of Lord of the Rings spinoff The Rings of Power reached 40 million viewers globally in 11 days, according to Amazon.

The series has been No. 1 on Amazon Prime Video since its release, and is now one of the streaming service’s top five releases of all-time in terms of viewership, Amazon’s head of MGM Studios, Jennifer Salke, revealed in a memo on Tuesday.

According to the memo, “tens of millions” have also tuned in to Season 1 since the beginning of August.

Also Read: Amazon Rebrands Its Freevee Titles on Fire TVs -- Could This Spell the End For the Freevee Brand?

It’s tough to put in context — as Amazon’s numbers are far from specific— but compared to the first season of the series (which the company touted as breaking 25 million viewers in the first day of distribution), Rings of Power season 2 appears to be trailing significantly.

According to data collected by audience analytics firm Samba TV, the second season was down around 50% in its first weekend.

“We’ve seen an impressive amount of our Rings of Power customers coming from outside of the U.S.,” wrote Salke in a memo, “which is a testament to the show’s resonance with global audiences and the remarkable growth of Prime Video customers worldwide.”

The opening keynote at the Next TV Summit featured Michael Pachter, managing director of equity research, Wedbush Securities, interviewed by Jeffrey Cole, founder and director, Center for the Digital Future, discussing “Streaming Subscriptions: Winners and Losers.” 

The conversation began with Netflix, and Pachter touched on how broadcast and cable networks used to be a little quicker to license their hit shows to the streaming giant. 

“Netflix pulled the wool over the eyes of the media companies,” Pachter said. “They’re so far ahead now.”

Leslie Moonves, former CBS chief, offered that network’s programs to Netflix soon as their season ended, Pachter said, while Richard Plepler, former HBO chief, did not. HBO has proven adept at making a hit show last for months, keeping audience churn down. 

“You never quit,” said Pachter. “That’s the right model.” 

Pachter believes Netflix does not charge consumers enough. “Netflix broke the model,” he said. “They gave us too much content for too little money.”

Among that content, Netflix movies are not working, he added, because top Hollywood talent is reluctant to partner with the streamer as those films do not get full-blown awards consideration. “That’s a persistent problem for Netflix,” Pachter said. 

The conversation moved on to the more traditional networks launching their own costly streaming products. “Media companies stupidly followed Netflix into the crevasse,” said Pachter, who singled out Paramount Plus, which he said “doesn’t have enough content–they can’t compete.”

On the cable front, Pachter sees that side of the industry coming back, at least to a degree. “Old people aren't cutting the cord — they’re just dying,” he said, and young consumers just have too many viewing options to consider signing up for cable. 

But the cable bundle does continue to be a draw for part of the population. “You do need the bundle, you just don’t know you need the bundle,” Pachter said. 

Smart cable operators will make Netflix, Prime Video and other streaming players part of the bundle they offer subscribers, Pachter believes. 

The convo moved on to broadcast, and how much longer those networks can afford major sports rights. “The sports leagues are going for the dollars and not thinking about the long-term consequences,” Pachter shared. “The leagues hurt themselves if they make it hard for the fan to find content.”

The Next TV Summit is part of NYC TV Week, hosted by Broadcasting+Cable, Multichannel News and Next TV. The Advanced Advertising Summit happened September 9, Next TV Summit takes place September 10, Hispanic TV Summit is September 11 and 40 Under 40 happens September 12. The first three events are at etc.venues in midtown Manhattan, and 40 Under 40 is at 230 Fifth. 

The vast majority of Comcast’s Xfinity X1 customers tuned in to the 2024 Paris Olympics, according to a company blog post published Monday.

Comcast said 87% of active households that subscribe to its live cloud-based pay TV service, X1, watched Olympics programming.

A significant portion of that viewership came from NBC’s primetime marquee programs, Paris Prime and Primetime in Paris.

Also Read: NBCU Claims Ad Revenue Gold Medal for Paris Olympics

The news comes just a month after Comcast's NBCUniversal division announced that its primetime Olympics coverage averaged a total audience delivery of 30.6 million viewers across all platforms, for a total streaming time of 23.5 billion minutes.

During the Paris Olympics, coverage on NBCUniversal’s networks represented approximately 20% of total viewing across X1 and Xfinity Stream.

All told, viewership led by NBC was up 82% from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

That’s in part due to Peacock, which saw a 25% increase in its total share of U.S. TV viewing, according to Nielsen’s monthly Gauge report.

The streaming service also saw a 33% increase in total usage, driven by viewership for Olympic coverage.

According to Nielsen’s live and same day (L+SD) tracking, ratings for NBC’s daytime and primetime coverage on X1 were up 78% from the national average.

Notably for Comcast (and any invested advertisers), 65% of X1 customers also interacted with the service’s Olympics product features, designed to engage viewers with personalized playlists and other customized features.

View the figures below.

Veteran actor James Earl Jones, whose booming baritone voice is known for voicing such iconic characters as Star Wars villain Darth Vader as well as CNN’s signature “This is CNN” promotional line, has died at the age of 93. 

Jones passed away at his home in Dutchess County. A cause of death was not disclosed, according to published reports. Jones’ more than 60-year screen and stage career earned him the rare EGOT recognition — Emmy, Grammy, Oscar (an Academy Honorary Award) and Tony Award  — for his many iconic performances. He’s arguably best known for lending his bass voice to the villainous Dark Vader in several Star Wars movies. 

He also voiced the character of Mufasa in the 1994 animated film The Lion King, as well as the film's 2019 live-action remake. His film acting credits include Field of Dreams, Claudine, Coming to America, The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings and Clear and Present Danger. 

On TV, Jones appeared in numerous television shows including Roots, The Simpsons, Touched by An Angel, Frasier, L.A. Law, and Highway to Heaven. Jones is also the voice  of CNN’s iconic promotional line “This Is CNN.”

Jones' entertainment career began on Broadway in 1957. He would go on to star in such acclaimed productions as Othello, The Great White Hope, King Lear, Fences, and Driving Miss Daisy.

Celebrities took to social media to pay tribute to Jones. "We are all the lesser for his loss, and we collectively morn his passing and honor his great body of work," said actor George Takei.

Actor LeVar Burton said of Jones, “There will never be another of his particular combination of graces.”

Paramount Plus's Tulsa King and FX's The Old Man are among several shows returning to the small screen during a busy week of show premieres. 

Tulsa King debuts its second season on September 15 and stars Sylvester Stallone as  New York mafia kingpin Dwight Manfredi, who is exiled to Tulsa by his boss after being released from prison. Season 2 finds Manfredi and his crew continuing to build up and defend their growing criminal empire in Tulsa. The series also stars Martin Starr, Jay Will, Max Casella, Vincent Piazza and Tatiana Zappardino. 

FX's Emmy-nominated drama series The Old Man returns September 12 for its sophomore season. The series stars Jeff Bridges as former CIA agent Dan Chase and John Lithgow as ex-FBI assistant director Harold Harper, who join forces to rescue a woman (Alia Shawkat) after she is kidnapped by a powerful Afghan tribal leader (Navid Negahban). Bridges drew a 2024 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of September 9-15. For some, viewer discretion is advised.

September 10, The Money Game (sports documentary), Prime Video

September 11: The Circle (returning series), Netflix

September 13: Dora (returning series), Paramount Plus

September 13: How To Die Alone (comedy), Hulu

September 13: In Vogue: The 90s (documentary), Hulu

September 13: Three Women (drama), Starz

September 13: UFO Cowboys (returning series), The Roku Channel

September 13: Uglies (drama), Netflix

The Paley Center for Media has shared the lineup for PaleyFest NY 2024, which offers screenings and conversations with TV series casts and producers, and happens October 16–22 at The Paley Museum in Manhattan. Featured shows include What We Do in the Shadows, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon and CBS Mornings. 

Starz drama Outlander kicks things off October 16, as cast members Caitríona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Sophie Skelton, Richard Rankin and John Bell take the stage with executive producer Maril Davis. 

October 17, it is CBS drama Blue Bloods. Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes, Vanessa Ray, Len Cariou and Marisa Ramirez will be there with showrunner and executive producer Kevin. 

HBO’s Somebody Somewhere is on for Friday, October 18. Series star, writer and executive producer Bridget Everett will be onstage with cast members Jeff Hiller, Mary Catherine Garrison, Murray Hill and Tim Bagley, along with co-creators/writers/executive producers Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen.

AMC’s The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon—The Book of Carol is set for October 19. Scheduled to appear are Scott M. Gimple, chief content officer of The Walking Dead Universe and executive producer; David Zabel, showrunner and executive producer; Dan Percival, executive producer and director; executive producers and stars Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride, and cast member Louis Puech Scigliuzzi. 

FX’s What We Do in the Shadows happens October 19 as well. Lined up are showrunner, writer and executive producer Paul Simms and cast members Kayvan Novak, Natasia Demetriou and Mark Proksch. 

October 20 offers Netflix’s The Diplomat. Creator/showrunner/executive producer Debora Cahn will be there with cast members Keri Russell, Rufus Sewell, Ali Ahn and Ato Essandoh. 

October 21 features “A Conversation with Chip & Joanna Gaines” and a look at their show Fixer Upper, and what’s next for Magnolia Network on Max. Magnolia President Allison Page will take the stage with the couple. 

October 22 is set for CBS Mornings, with cohosts Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil and Nate Burleson in attendance with featured host Vladimir Duthiers and executive producer Shawna Thomas. 

“From vampires and zombies to the high-stakes world of international diplomacy and more, there is something for every television fan to enjoy at this year’s PaleyFest NY,” said Maureen J. Reidy, president & CEO of The Paley Center for Media. “We look forward to hosting what promises to be can’t-miss behind-the-scenes looks at today’s most buzzworthy and acclaimed shows, and we extend our tremendous thanks to Citi for their continued support of PaleyFest NY.” 

Citi cardmembers and Paley Members receive presale access to tickets September 10, while the general public can score tickets September 13. 

Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien returns September 14, and the program will visit seven states considered key battlegrounds in the November election. Host O’Brien will set foot in Nevada and Pennsylvania, and correspondents will have boots on the ground in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin – “all seeking to discover the issues that could impact votes,” according to producer Hearst Media Production Group.

It is season 10 of Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien.

“Our presidential battleground state tour epitomizes the show’s mission to go beyond the campaign rhetoric and find out what concerns and perspectives voters say are likely to sway their votes,” said Rita Hagen Aleman, HMPG executive producer, news and documentary development. 

O’Brien, the CEO of Soledad O’Brien Productions, was inducted into the B+C Hall of Fame in 2023. She has anchored shows on CNN, MSNBC and NBC, and hosted programs on Fox and A&E.

Season three of Bosch: Legacy starts on Amazon Freevee in March, and it will be the final season. Michael Connelly, author of the Bosch novels and an executive producer on the series, shared the final-season news on social media. He also singled out Titus Welliver, who plays the title character. 

“None of this would have happened without the first name on the call sheet: Titus Welliver. He became the full embodiment of Harry Bosch and that was the magic that fueled 10 seasons. As the guy who writes the books, I can’t tell you how lucky I got when he signed on,” @Connellybooks said on X. 

Bosch had seven seasons on Prime Video, before Bosch: Legacy debuted on Freevee. The show’s description goes, “After leaving the LAPD, Harry Bosch becomes a private investigator and finds himself working with one time enemy and top-notch attorney Money Chandler. Their deep and colored history informs the show while they work together to do what they can agree on, finding justice. Meanwhile, Bosch's daughter Maddie is venturing into the world of the LAPD as a new recruit dealing with the politics of being a legacy cop in a time when policing is under scrutiny now more than ever.”

Mimi Rogers, Madison Lintz, Stephen A. Chang and Denise G. Sanchez are in the cast with Welliver. 

Connelly executive produces with Eric Overmyer, Tom Bernardo, Henrik Bastin, Pieter Jan Brugge, Titus Welliver and Zetna Fuentes.

Brazil hosts its first-ever NFL game, as the Green Bay Packers play the Philadelphia Eagles in São Paulo Friday, September 6. Peacock streams the game, which happens at Arena Corinthians, and notes how it is the NFL’s first opening weekend Friday game since 1970.

Kickoff takes place at 8:15 ET. 

Peacock will stream all Sunday Night Football games on NBC. On Sunday, September 8, it’s the Los Angeles Rams versus the Detroit Lions. On Sunday, September 15, it’s the Chicago Bears versus the Houston Texans, and September 22 features the Kansas City Chiefs against the Atlanta Falcons. 

Peacock Premium costs $7.99 a month. 

Peacock had the January 13 wild card playoff game, with the Chiefs taking down the Miami Dolphins, and 23 million viewers tuning in. 

The 2024-2025 season kicked off with the Chiefs against the Baltimore Ravens on NBC September 5. The Super Bowl champs, the Chiefs, got the 27-20 win.