Hulu Announces Premiere Dates For ‘Love, Victor’ and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ (TV News Roundup)
In today’s TV news roundup, Hulu announced release dates for “Love, Victor” and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and Comedy Central released a promo for the “South ParQ Vaccination Special.”
DATES
Hulu announced that the fourth season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” will premiere with three episodes on April 28 and then release the rest of the season weekly. Consisting of 10 episodes, the new season will follow fierce rebel leader June (Elisabeth Moss) as she strikes back against Gilead. As her quest for justice and revenge begins to destroy her most cherished relationships, June risks having to face unexpected and dangerous new challenges. The series also stars Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Samira Wiley, Alexis Bledel, Ann Dowd, Max Minghella, Madeline Brewer, O-T Fagbenle, Amanda Brugel, Bradley Whitford and Sam Jaeger. The season is executive produced by Moss, Bruce Miller, Warren Littlefield, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, Eric Tuchman, John Weber, Frank Siracusa, Sheila Hockin, Kira Snyder and Yahlin Chang. Watch a trailer below.
More from Variety'The Handmaid's Tale' Team on Social Relevance in a Post-Trump World
Director Barry Jenkins Reveals 'The Underground Railroad' Teaser (TV News Roundup)
Amy Coney Barrett Confirmation Draws 'Handmaid's Tale' Protesters
Hulu also announced that “Love, Victor” will premiere its 10-episode second season on June 11. The season will pick up with a newly out-of-the-closet Victor (Michael Cimino) entering his junior year at Creekwood High. While enjoying his new relationship with Benji (George Sear), Victor comes to face many hurdles such as a family struggling with his revelation, a heartbroken ex-girlfriend in Mia (Rachel Naomi Hilson) and the difficulties of being an openly gay star athlete. The series also stars Ana Ortiz, James Martinez, Isabella Ferreira, Mateo Fernandez, Bebe Wood, Anthony Turpel and Mason Gooding. Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger serve as executive producers alongside Brian Tanen, Jason Ensler, Isaac Klausner, Marty Bowen, Adam Fishbach, Wyck Godfrey, Pouya Shahbazian and Adam Londy.
Amazon Prime Video announced that Barry Jenkins‘ limited series “The Underground Railroad” will premiere on May 14. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, the 10-episode series follows a young woman who escapes a plantation in Georgia in hopes of finding the rumored Underground Railroad. She’s unprepared to discover that there is an actual railroad network with tracks and tunnels underground. The series is executive produced by Jenkins, Whitehead, Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Brad Pitt, Richard Heus, Jacqueline Hoyt and Colson Whitehead.
CNN Films announced that the short film “APOLLO 11: Quarantine” will premiere on March 6 at 9 p.m. on CNN and stream live on CNNgo. Primarily created from previously unseen 70mm archival footage from the National Archives and NASA, the film will illustrate the extraordinary measures astronauts Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins had to take to protect the world from any contamination with microorganisms or other material the astronauts may have inadvertently transported from the Moon. Their three-week medical quarantine offers viewers a reminder of the human capacity for resilience at the current moment of national crisis. Director Todd Douglas Miller serves as producer alongside Laura Kirby-Miller, Thomas Baxley Petersen and Evan Krauss. Amy Entelis and Courtney Sexton serve as executive producers for CNN Films; Josh Braun for Submarine and Tom Quinn for NEON are also executive producers on the project.
FIRST LOOKS
Hulu released a teaser for the third and final season of “Shrill,” which streams May 7. The concluding season finds Annie (Aidy Bryant) energized by her breakup with dud boyfriend Ryan (Luka Jones) and her newfound momentum at work — but, just as things seem like they’re finally falling into place for her, she begins to contemplate if she knows how to get what she wants. The series also stars Lolly Adefope, Ian Owens and John Cameron Mitchell. Showrunner Ali Rushfield serves an executive producer alongside Bryant, Lindy West, Rob Klein, Elizabeth Banks, Max Handelman, Lorne Michaels and Andrew Singer. Watch the teaser below.
South Park Studios released a promo for the hour-long “South ParQ Vaccination Special,” which premieres on March 10 at 8 p.m. on Comedy Central. The episode finds the citizens of the titular town clamoring for the highly coveted COVID-19 vaccine, with the boys put to the test when a hilarious new militant group tries to stop them from getting their teacher vaccinated. The new episode will follow the animated series’ “The Pandemic Special,” which will be rebroadcasted at 7 p.m. Watch the promo below.
ABC revealed a trailer for “Pooch Perfect,” a dog grooming competition series hosted by Rebel Wilson that premieres March 30. The eight-episode series will showcase 10 of the best dog groomers in the country competing in a series of puppy-themed challenges. Each week teams will compete in the Immunity Puppertunity challenge, where one team will earn immunity from elimination. In the Ultimutt Challenge showdown, the remaining teams will face off in an epic grooming transformation and show off on the illustrious dog walk. The three celebrity judges — Lisa Vanderpump, Jorge Bendersky and Dr. Callie Harris — will be tasked with voting on the incredible creations and ultimately forcing one team back to the doghouse every week. Wilson, Elan Gale and Sonya Wilkes serve as executive producers. Nicole Anthony, Mike Rosen, Carley Simpson and Matthew Silverberg serve as co-executive producers. Watch the trailer below.
ABC also released a trailer for its new drama “Rebel,” which premieres on April 8. The series follows Annie “Rebel” Bello (Katey Sagal), who is a funny, messy and fearless blue-collar legal advocate without a law degree that desperately fights for the people she loves. The series also stars John Corbett, James Lesure, Lex Scott Davis, Tamala Jones, Ariela Barer, Kevin Zegers, Sam Palladio and Andy Garcia. “Rebel” is executive produced by Krista Vernoff and Alexandre Schmitt of Trip the Light, Erin Brockovich, John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment, Andrew Stearn, Marc Webb and Adam Arkin. Watch the trailer below.
GREENLIGHTS
Nickelodeon and Hasbro’s Entertainment One (eOne) have partnered to co-produce an original animated “Transformers” series based on the iconic global property. Consisting of 26 half-hour episodes, the action-comedy series will follow a new species of Transformers that must find their place and purpose among Autobots, Decepticons and the human families that adopts them. The series is executive produced by Ant Ward and Nicole Dubuc, and developed and co-executive produced by Dale Malinowski. Produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio, the series is developed for television by Spinelli and Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt. Production will be overseen by Conrad Montgomery for Nickelodeon and Mikiel Houser for eOne.
CASTING
ABC announced that Abigail Spencer is set for a recurring role in “Rebel,” a series that examines the conflicts police officers of color face while their departments deal with charges related to brutality and misconduct. Spencer will play a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon named Misha who has a painful romantic history with Nate (Keven Zegers) but can’t resist getting involved with studying the Stonemore heart valve for fear that she may have inadvertently harmed hundreds of patients. As aforementioned, “Rebel” comes from showrunner Krista Vernoff and centers on the titular legal advocate (played by Katey Sagal), who doesn’t actually have a law degree.
PROGRAMMING
NewsNation announced “The Trial of Chicago 7” director Aaron Sorkin and actors Bryan Cranston and Robin Wright will be guests on the first week of its flagship news and talk show, “Banfield.” Hosted by veteran journalist Ashleigh Banfield, the talk show, formerly known as “WGN America,” will air on weeknights at 10 p.m. starting on March 1. Other upcoming guests include television commentator Keith Olbermann, TV host Mike Rowe, comedy director David Zucker and Instagram sensation Katie Cole.
EXECUTIVE NEWS
Cartoon Network Studios announced that Lauren Martinez will join the studio as the vice president of series, and Kelly Crews has been promoted to vice president of production. Martinez will be tasked with the creative development of programming specifically focused on kids aged six to 11, especially young girls. She joins the studio after a nearly 13-year run developing a wide variety of series as a member of the Disney Junior development team. Crews, a veteran at Cartoon Network Studios for almost 20 years, will take oversight of all the elements of production across the studio after serving in the role on an interim basis since the fall. She produced some of the studio’s biggest hits such as “Ben 10,” “Adventure Time,” “Samurai Jack” and “Craig of the Creek.”
LATE NIGHT
Tonight, Steve Harvey, Michael Pe?a and Ava Max will appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” while “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” will feature Eddie Murphy, Eve Hewson and The Kid Laroi. “Conan” will welcome Kevin James, while Regina King and Vic Mensa featuring Wyclef Jean will guest star on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.“ “Late Night With Seth Meyers” will feature David Spade, Jason Mantzoukas and Raghav Mehrotra, and “The Late Late Show With James Corden” will welcome Jodie Foster and Holly Humberstone.
Best of VarietyFinal Golden Globes Predictions: Best Motion Picture (Drama) – 'Nomadland' Gets the Slight Edge Over 'Chicago 7'
Sidney Poitier: A Living Legend Who Changed Hollywood
Oscars Predictions: Best Picture - Is 'Nomadland' Still the Academy Frontrunner or Is Netflix Closing In?
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.