TV Bits: ‘Luther’ Movie, Bill Nye Series on Peacock, ‘Rick and Morty’ Season 7, Samara Weaving-Led Playboy Bunny Series, & More

In this edition of TV Bits:

• Idris Elba confirms a Luther movie will start shooting this year.
• Samara Weaving to star as a Playboy Bunny in Sony Picture TV’s Down the Rabbit Hole.
• Bill Nye to host The End is Nye on Peacock.
• Writing on Rick and Morty season 7 has begun.
• And more.

It’s been 10 years since the hit BBC crime drama Luther debuted, with star Idris Elba returning to the part of the emotionally impulsive detective every few years for a new season, most recently donning the coat for the show’s fifth and final series in 2019. But fans held out hope for a film version of the crime drama to wrap up loose ends, which Elba has frequently said that he was open to. Now a Luther movie is finally happening, the star confirmed, telling radio show The All-New Capital Weekender (via Digital Spy) that he is set to shoot a feature-length spin-off of the series this year.

“Apart from making more music, people that love my film and stuff, listen, I’m going to be making Luther: The Movie. I’m super excited and I hope the fans are sort of excited for that. It’s been a long time coming for a movie, so I’m excited about that,” Elba said.

No details have been yet confirmed about the director, writer, supporting cast or release date of the Luther movie, but we can probably expect it sometime in 2022.

Samara Weaving has signed on to play Playboy Bunny Holly Madison in Sony Pictures Television’s limited series Down the Rabbit Hole ,TV Line reports. Based on Madison’s 2015 memoir of the same name, Down the Rabbit Hole “looks beyond the polished facade of the Playboy brand to depict the visceral, often deeply damaging stories of the women who entered following a dream and found themselves manipulated, controlled, and abused by the machine.”

Australian writer Marieke Hardy will adapt the memoir for TV, while Madison, Will Gluck and Richard Schwartz of Olive Bridge Entertainment, and Judith Verno of Peace Out Productions are set to executive produce.

Bill Nye is not done teaching us about how science rules. The science educator, engineer, author, and inventor is set to host The End is Nye, a new series that “sends Bill Nye into the most epic global disasters imaginable – both natural and unnatural – and then demystifies them using science to show how we can survive, mitigate, and even prevent them” for Peacock. The NBCUniversal streaming platform has given a series order to The End is Nye, which is executive produced and showrun by Brannon Braga (Cosmos: Possible Worlds), who will direct all episodes. The End is Nye is produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio and UCP, divisions of Universal Studio Group, and Seth MacFarlane’s Fuzzy Door.

Rick and Morty writer Alex Rubens revealed that writing for season 7 of the Dan Harmon-created Adult Swim series has already begun — and season 5 hasn’t even premiered yet. Rubens jokingly shared the news on Twitter, writing, “Am I allowed to say we started writing Rick and Morty Season 7? (If not we didn’t and I’m not).” Rubens’ update further confirms Harmon’s tease during a Rick and Morty panel at the Adult Swim Festival back in November 2020, that work on season 7 had already started. “I think we’re working on Season 7 right now, I can’t even keep track. I wouldn’t know if I were spoiling Season 5 or Season 6,” Harmon said at the time. Despite Harmon’s busy schedule, having recently set a new animated comedy over at Fox, Rick and Morty appears to be doing well by its 70-episode renewal made back in 2018.

Disney+ has debuted the first look image for its reboot of Turner & Hooch, which stars Josh Peck as Scott Turner, the son of Tom Hanks’ character from the original film. In the image, Peck’s “ambitious, buttoned-up US Marshal” can be seen with the “big unruly dog” whom “may be the partner he needs.” Five French Mastiffs stars as Hooch, Scott’s adorable French Mastiff. Created, executive produced, and written by Matt Nix (Burn Notice), Turner & Hooch premieres on Disney+ on July 16, 2021.

Nothing can kill The Walking Dead — not even a pandemic. A new behind-the-scenes featurette for the upcoming extended 10th season of The Walking Dead has been released by AMC, and features executive producers Angela Kang and Scott M. Gimple along with the main cast as they talk about how the pandemic impacted the way they created the long-running zombie series. The Walking Dead returns with six new episodes starting on Sunday, February 28, 2021.

Hulu has ordered a docuseries titled The Rise and Fall of Victoria’s Secret, chronicling the history of public criticism and internal complaints surrounding the fashion brand in three hourlong episodes. The series comes from Valentino and The Reagans director and former Vanity Fair journalist Matt Tyrnauer, The Wrap reports. Here is the official description: “The Rise and Fall of Victoria’s Secret takes us behind the scenes through first-hand accounts and deep investigative research to reveal the inner workings of one of the country’s largest brands and cultural institutions.”

Showtime announced that its docuseries Couples Therapy is coming back on April 18 with the first two episodes airing back-to-back at 10 P.M. and 10:30PM ET/PT. Couples Therapy “follows eight months of therapy sessions with Dr. Guralnik as she deftly guides couples through honest confrontation with each other, revealing real-life struggles and extraordinary breakthroughs. The second season features three entirely new couples working through intense conflicts.”

New episodes will air back-to-back on Sunday nights for four weeks with the finale airing on May 16 at 10 P.M. ET/PT. The entire season will also release for on-demand streaming on Showtime and across all Showtime partner platforms on April 18, 2021.

Jon Stewart has hired his key creative team for his new Apple TV+ current events series, Variety reports. Stewart has tapped Brinda Adhikari (winner of a 2020 Edward R. Murrow Award for her newscast on migrant detention facilities) to serve as executive producer and showrunner, Chelsea Devantez as head writer, and Lorrie Baranek as the executive in charge of production for his untitled show, which “will explore topics that are currently part of the national conversation and his advocacy work,” and a companion podcast is being developed “to continue the discussion.”

Meanwhile, still plugging away at late night is Late Night host Seth Meyers, who just renewed his contract with NBC, Deadline reports. Meyers has agreed to host Late Night with Seth Meyers through 2025, and has signed an overall deal for Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions, the production company he runs with Late Night with Seth Meyers showrunner Mike Shoemaker, with Universal Studio Group through 2025.

Finally, watch the teaser for HBO‘s coming releases in 2021, including new footage from critically acclaimed hits like Succession and Insecure, and buzzy new titles like The Nevers, Mare of Easttown, and the Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac-led limited series Scenes From a Marriage.

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