What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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August 30 - September 5, 2020 WHATS UP! T5 BY MICHELLE ROSE TV Media Expanding 'Empire': Fox's "Empire" may rise again after ending its six-season run earlier this year. But if it does, it will likely be in the form of a spinoff centered on Cookie Lyon, the la- bel-founding matriarch played by actress Taraji P. Henson ("Hidden Figures," 2016). Henson, who won a Golden Globe and earned three Emmy nominations for the role, recent- ly signed a two-year, first-look deal with 20th Century Fox TV. This possible spinoff — it's still in the early stages of develop- ment — could be the first proj- ect under that deal and the first from Henson's newly formed production company, TPH En- tertainment, meaning Henson will both star in and produce the series. There are few details about possible storylines beyond the official description that the se- ries "follows what's next for Cookie." But we do know that "Empire" co-creator Danny Strong, who extended his own deal with the studio last year, will be involved as showrunner and writer alongside Stacy Lit- tlejohn and Yolonda Lawrence. Veteran "Empire" director Sanaa Hamri has also been tapped to direct the spinoff, while "Em- pire" co-creator Lee Daniels, who is behind ABC's planned Black "The Wonder Years" re- boot, will serve as a non-writing executive producer. Both Daniels and Henson have been teasing a possible Cookie- centered spinoff for a while now, but Henson's deal with 20th Century will also allow the men- tal health advocate to bring other stories to life (and to our screens). "I believe that normal- izing stories around stigmatizing matters will make them more palatable for audiences to em- brace," Henson said in a state- ment about her deal. "Art can change perception and I plan to develop projects that can help further the conversation. I also aim to help cultivate and estab- lish new young talent and their stories because they are our fu- ture and deserve a voice and a platform to be heard. I'm so ex- cited to have 20th, led by the tal- ented Carolyn Cassidy, support me in this new endeavor." More 'Moodys': Get ready to spend more time with the Moody family, because Fox has renewed the Denis Leary-led se- ries for a second season. Viewers got to know the fami- ly last December when "The Moodys," aired over three nights. Set in Chicago, the series focused on the holiday antics of a dysfunctional family. There was cantankerous patriarch, Sean Sr., played by Leary ("Res- cue Me"); mom Ann, played by Elizabeth Perkins ("Weeds"); the still-living-at-home eldest son, Sean Jr., played by Jay Ba- ruchel ("How to Train Your Dragon," 2000); overachieving Bridget, played by Chelsea Frei ("Sideswiped"); and "the cre- ative one," son Dan, played by Francois Arnaud ("The Bor- gias"). From the start, the network envisioned the "holiday event" as a possible launch for a series, just like the 2012 Australian spe- cial that inspired it. The event had so-so ratings, but Michael Thorn, president of entertain- ment for Fox Entertainment, was still open to a possible series re- newal when he spoke with Deadline in January. "Internally, it's been one of the company's favorite shows," Thorn said. "The ratings were OK. We also went into it know- ing that we'd never had original holiday programming during that time period, we tried some- thing new and we were really pleased to get that cast. We're having conversations right now about what another installment or season would look like. I don't think we'll know for a couple of weeks. It's something that we're really passionate about." A couple of weeks turned out to be a couple of months, but Season 2 of "The Moodys" is now officially on the way. No word yet on the number of epi- sodes that will air, but instead of the holidays, this installment will shift the focus to the family's everyday lives. A possible premiere date hinges on how TV and film pro- ductions resume after the pro- duction shutdown. But for now, you can tentatively expect Sea- son 2 of "The Moodys" to debut sometime in the 2020-21 season. Coming to PBS: ITVS, the non-profit organization funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, has unveiled the fall schedule for PBS's award- winning documentary antholo- gy series, "Independent Lens." And fans of HGTV's "Property Brothers" may be interested to know that the lineup includes Jonathan Scott's first directing effort. Keep in mind that the dates listed here might not apply to your viewing area. Each PBS sta- tion handles its own program- ming schedule, so you'll want to check your local listings closer to the airdate. The first documentary on the fall-winter 2020 slate is "Feels Good Man," from director Ar- thur Jones. Winner of the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker at the 2020 Sundance Film Festi- val, "Feels Good Man" is a cau- tionary tale for any artists in this digital age. It's the story of how cartoonist Matt Furie fought hard to reclaim his once-benign comic character, Pepe the Frog, from those who turned it into a symbol of hate online. Filmmaker Hillary Bachel- der's "Represent" is next, and it is scheduled to air the week be- fore the U.S. election. By chroni- cling the experiences of three women running for office, "Rep- resent" examines the challenges and obstacles women face when entering U.S. politics for the first time. "Jonathan Scott's Power Trip" marks Scott's directorial debut, and the documentary is sched- uled to air on Nov. 16. The docu- mentary follows Scott as he talks to senators, miners and energy experts and exposes how fossil fuel monopolies are preventing the growth of renewable energy. BANSHEES BARDS CREATURES CURSE ELVES EVIL FANTASY FOLKLORE GENRE GIANTS GNOMES GOBLINS GOLEM GOOD HERO JINN KING LADIES LEPRECHAUN LESHY LORDS MAGE MAGIC MERMAIDS MYTH NYMPHS ORCS POWER PRINCE SATYR SIRENS SPELLS SPHINX TROLLS UNICORNS VAMPIRES WRAITHS WYVERNS Flights of Fantasy Taraji P. Henson as seen in "Empire" WORD SEARCH STARS ON SCREEN Solution on page T23