Stand Up to Cancer Telethon Special Returns Aug. 19 With 8th Edition (TV News Roundup)

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) will produce its eighth fundraising telecast on Aug. 19 at 8 p.m. ET to raise money for cancer research and treatments. The one hour special, titled “How It Started, How It’s Going,” will acknowledge how SU2C has impacted cancer research over the past 15 years. Founded in 2008, the program was initiated by a group of women aiming to motivate the entertainment community to raise awareness and funding for cancer research.

Celebrities set to be featured throughout the special include Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Biel, Don Cheadle, Katie Couric, Danai Gurira, Tony Hale, Ken Jeong, Maria Menounos, Julianne Moore, Tig Notaro, Jimmy Smits, Eric Stonestreet and Justin Timberlake. A montage of comedy skits from past editions will also be shown, featuring Jack Black, Ben Falcone, Zach Galifianakis, Brad Garrett, Bill Hader, Jon Hamm, Kevin Hart, Ed Helms, Melissa McCarthy and Matthew McConaughey. Previous music performances by Brittany Howard, Simone Ledward Boseman and The Who will be shown as well.

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Moreover, the show will feature cancer scientists who have received funding from SU2C and cancer survivors who received treatments supported by SU2C.

“We started this movement in 2008 to save lives and it is remarkable to see that in 15 years our scientists have accomplished this goal through breakthrough research that intercepts and treats cancer in ways we never thought possible,” SU2C co-founder Katie Couric said. “There is more work to do to cure cancer and every dollar counts; we will not stop until we make every cancer patient a long-term survivor.”

The telecast will air on 50+ media platforms in the U.S. and Canada, including all four major U.S. broadcasting networks. Additionally, the telecast can be streamed on Disney+, Peacock, Max, Hulu, and other streaming services.

FIRST LOOKS

Joseph Sikor returns as Tommy Egan in the trailer for the second season of Starz’s “Power Book IV: Force.” Season 2 of the crime drama is set to premiere September 1 at midnight on the Starz app.

As the third spin-off series to Starz’s “Power,” “Power Book IV: Force” follows Tommy on his quest to be kingpin of Chicago’s drug scene. Per the season’s official synopsis, “Alliances form and competitors become targets as a turf war heats up and Tommy must race to stay one step ahead of everyone. Meanwhile, a federal task force is zeroed in on him and he has an eye on a special someone, forcing him to decide what he is willing to sacrifice to claim Chicago as his.”

Starring beside Sikor in this violent, enthralling season is Issac Keys as Diamond Sampson along with Lili Simmons, Shane Harper, Kris D. Lofton, Carmela Zumbado, Manuel Eduardo Ramirez. “Power Book IV: Force” was executive produced by Gary Lennon, Courtney A. Kemp, 50 Cent, Mark Canton, Terri Kopp and Chris Selak. Lennon served as showrunner for this season.

Watch the trailer below.

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Prime Video has released the trailer and key art for their upcoming documentary “Destination NBA: A G League Odyssey.” The docuseries follows players in the NBA G League, formerly the NBA D League, a minor league organization that serves as a space of development for promising basketball players who could potentially be drafted into the major league.

The documentary features a group of athletes from a variety of backgrounds who “navigate the highs and lows of chasing their shared dream of reaching the pinnacle of professional basketball.” These players include Scoot Henderson, Denzel Valentine and Ryan Turell; additionally, former G League stars who are now in the NBA will be featured, including Seth Curry, Spencer Dinwiddie, Gary Payton II, and Jalen Green.

The trailer reveals how much determination and hard work is involved when aiming for a coveted spot in the NBA. “In any section of life when you’re on the margins, you have to make sure that you do every little thing necessary to gain the edge and to get to where you want to go,” one player says in the trailer.

“Destination NBA: A G League Odyssey” is produced by Religion of Sports and Spotify’s The Ringer.

Watch the trailer below.

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Netflix has unveiled the first official trailer for the first part of Season 5 of “Virgin River.”

This season, “new relationships, a shocking break-up, a difficult court trial, a heartbreaking goodbye, and a wildfire that threatens the town, bringing some people of Virgin River together while tearing others apart.”

“Virgin River” is developed by Sue Tenney based on the books by Robyn Carr.

Alexandra Breckenridge, Martin Henderson, Tim Matheson, Annette O’Toole, Colin Lawrence, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Zibby Allen, Sarah Dugdale, Marco Grazzini, Mark Ghanimé, Kai Bradbury and Kandyse McClure all star in “Virgin River.”

Monika Mitchell, Felipe Rodriguez, Martin Wood, Jem Garrard, Andy Mikita and Gail Harvey all hail as directors with Patrick Sean Smith, Jackson Sinder, Talia Gonzalez, Tesia Joy Walker, Erin Cardillo, Richard Keith, Mary Page Keller, Thomas Ian Griffith, John Lowe and Ildiko Susany joining as writers. Smith, Tenney, Carr, Amy Palmer Robertson, Roma Roth and Christopher E. Perry executive produced.

Watch the official trailer below.

David Oyelowo is front and center in the first official teaser for Paramount+’s original series “Lawmen: Bass Reeves.”

The series will follow the story of the greatest frontier hero in American history, Reeves (Oyelowo), who worked as a federal peace officer in the Reconstruction era. During his run, he captured a surplus of 3,000 criminals, and his journey alongside other iconic lawmen and outlaws who have altered history will be spotlight in “Lawmen: Bass REeves.”

Alongside Oyelowo, Lauren E. Banks, Demi Singleton, Forrest Goodluck, Barry Pepper, Donald Sutherland and Dennis Quaid star. The cast also includes Shea Whigham and Garrett Hedlund as guest stars, and, in recurring roles, Joaquina Kalukango, Lonnie Chavis, Grantham Coleman, Tosin Morohunfola, Dale Dickey, Rob Morgan, Ryan O’Nan, Margot Bingham Mo Brings Plenty, Justin Hurtt-Dunkley and Bill Dawes.

Taylor Sheridan executive produced alongside showrunner Chad Feehan. Additional executive producers include Oyelowo, David C. Glasser, Jessica Oyelowo, David Permut, Christina Alexandra Voros, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari and David Hutkin.

Watch the teaser below.

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Prime Video has released a behind-the-scenes featurette, “Terror of the Trollocs,” for their fantasy series “The Wheel of Time.” Alongside this, they have announced that the first three episodes of the second season will premiere on Sept. 1. The featurette offers viewers a glimpse at the genetically engineered human-animal monster hybrids called Trollocs, foot soldiers that were created to serve the antagonist the Dark One on the series.

Lead actor and executive producer Rosamund Pike, executive producer and showrunner Rafe Judkins, executive producer Mike Weber, executive producer and writer Justine Juel Gillmer, and makeup effects designer Nick Dudman were featured in previously recorded interviews in which they explained the backstory of the Trollocs and how they are brought to life on screen using a blend of prosthetics and VFX.

In brief clips of the show, the Trollocs are shown ominously descending upon a town. Behind-the-scenes footage reveals how their removable horns are easily affixed to their heads and Dudman discussed how some Trollocs are on stilts in order to appear extremely tall.

“As we reach season two, the dark is not an obvious evil. It has many potent charms to offer people,” Pike, who plays protagonist Morraine, said at the end of the featurette.

“The Wheel of Time,” based on Robert Jordan’s high fantasy novels, follows Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski) who discovers he is The Dragon Reborn, a dangerous historical figure that could save or destroy the world; a powerful group of women must grapple with his growing power.

Watch the featurette below.

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The trailer for the upcoming Apple TV+ series “The Changeling,” starring and executive produced by Lakeith Stanfield, has been released. Based on Victor LaValle’s book of the same name, the show is described as “a horror story, a parenthood fable and a perilous odyssey through a New York City you didn’t know existed.” The eight-part drama — also labeled as “a fairy tale for grownups” — stars Stanfield as a husband and father who begins experiencing fantastical occurrences after his son is born.

“Would you even know if you crossed into a fairy tale?” the narration asks audiences. “There are portals in this world that we may never know we’ve trespassed through.”

The trailer shows Stanfield’s character and his wife Emma (Clark Backo) during their courting phase, when she explains to him that she met a mysterious woman at a forbidden lagoon in Brazil who told her she had three wishes. This mysterious story aside, all seems to proceed normally for the couple, at least for a little while: the trailer shows a beautiful wedding and then the birth of their son. At this point, the trailer teases some ominous and inexplicable happenings, from blue smoke seeping under a doorway to a person sitting upright in a room ablaze with flames. Stanfield searches desperately for his wife, and realizes witches might be at the root of his problems.

Adina Porter, Samuel T. Herring, Alexis Louder and Jared Abrahamson also star, in addition to special guest star Malcolm Barrett. Kelly Marcel is showrunner and writer of “The Changeling,” and the pilot episode was directed by Melina Matsoukas. The first three episodes will be released on Sept. 8 followed by one episode every Friday until Oct. 13.

STREAMING

The National Football League’s exclusive streaming subscription service, NFL+, is leveling up with the addition of NFL Network and NFL RedZone.

NTL+ will live stream both NFL Network and NFL RedZone alongside a portfolio of preseason games, live local and primetime regular season and postseason games, live local and national audio for every game, and NFL Films’.

“We launched NFL+ last season to further grow our direct relationship with millions of fans,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “The response was excellent. And as we embark on the second season of NFL+, we are excited to add NFL Network and NFL RedZone and provide greater access to football content for NFL fans everywhere.”

NFL+ is available via the NFL App and NFL.com for $6.99 per month or $49.99 per year. Additionally, NFL+ Premium is available for $14.99 per month or $99.99 per year with additional exclusive NFL-related content.

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JetBlue has teamed up with Peacock to provide in-flight access to the streamer’s library of original content, the brands announced Monday.

Peacock titles including “Poker Face,” “Based on a True Story,” “Love Island,” “Below Deck Down Under,” “The Traitors,” “Hart to Hart” and more are now available to stream via JetBlue’s entertainment touchscreens.

JetBlue passengers will have access to more than 100 Peacock titles, with those subscribed to the streamer able to access Peacock’s full offerings including original series, live sports, movies, shows and news, using JetBlue’s free high-speed Fly-Fi on their own devices.

JetBlue’s TrueBlue loyalty program members will receive 1,000 TrueBlue points for subscribing to Peacock. Additionally, Mosaic members will receive 12 months of Peacock as part of their package deal at no additional cost.

The brands also announced a sweepstake to Fooji adorned with free prize packs, including co-branded travel items, Peacock subscriptions and a variety of potential JetBlue prizes such as free roundtrip flights, a JetBlue Vacations package, TrueBlue Mosaic membership and more.

AWARDS

New York home-chef Brad Mahlof has won Season 2 of PBS’s “The Great American Recipe.” The finale premiered August 7, where judges Leah Cohen, Tiffany Derry and Graham Elliot named Mahlof winner for his array of Libyan, Israeli and Ashkenazi-inspired recipes throughout the season. “The Great American Recipe” has also just been renewed for a third season set to premiere next summer.

“Last year audiences fell in love with this friendly competition series that celebrated diversity through the lens of food and story, and this year they came back for seconds, in increasing numbers,” said Zara Frankel, a senior director of programming and development at PBS. “To date, over three million people have viewed each episode of ‘The Great American Recipe’ and Season 2 has garnered more than 600 thousand full episode streams on PBS’s owned platforms and YouTube. A big congratulations to Brad Mahlof for winning the second season of the series. We are thrilled that this show has resonated with so many and can’t wait for Season 3.”

“The Great American Recipe” is co-produced by VPM and Objective Media Group America for PBS. Executive producers are Layla Smith and Jilly Pearce, with Alyssa Hastrich as showrunner.

DATES

Apple TV+ has announced that their upcoming comedy series “Still Up” will premiere on Sept. 22. The first three episodes will be available to watch on the premiere date followed by one episode streaming every Friday until Oct. 27. The show stars Antonia Thomas as Lisa and Craig Roberts as Danny, fellow insomniacs and friends who bond late at night. “Still Up” is described as “an almost romantic comedy” in which the protagonists “have no secrets except their feelings for each other.”

Antonia Thomas previously starred in “The Good Doctor,” “Small Axe” and “Lovesick.” Roberts has starred in “Red Oaks” and “Submarine.” Blake Harrison, Lois Chimimba, Luke Fetherston and Rich Fulcher also star.

Steve Burge and Natalie Walter co-created and wrote “Still Up,” and Bryce Hart also served as a writer on the show. BAFTA nominee John Addis directed the series. Various Artists Limited produced “Still Up,” and Paul Schlesinger and Phil Clarke executive produced. Arabella McGuigan also served as producer on the show.

In addition to announcing the premiere date, Apple TV+ released two first look images, one featuring Antonia Thomas as Lisa and the other featuring Craig Roberts as Danny. The first look images are below.

EXECUTIVE NEWS

Apploff Entertainment has tapped Joni Day to serve as its new executive vice president of entertainment, the production company announced Thursday.

Day will work closely with president and CEO Jeff Apploff to conceptualize, design and produce a slate of entertainment formats in all forms of media.

“Joni is adored and respected by everyone in the entire industry, and in this pivotal time of explosive growth within the company, there were no other candidates for this crucial position,” said Apploff.“Having had the good fortune to work with her on ‘Game of Talents,’ I have witnessed firsthand her unmatched drive and innovative approach to developing fresh content. She is a creative force with a stellar reputation, and we’re so thrilled to have her on board.”

Day previously served as senior VP of alternative programming at Fremantle where she expanded the development and production of global unscripted content. She contributed to titles including “Game of Talents,” “Match Game,” “To Tell the Truth” and “The Great American Christmas Light Fight.”

She, too, served as supervising producer at Mark Burnett Productions, working across ABC’s “Shark Tank” and NBC’s “The Voice.” Her freelance credits include “Jeopardy!,” “Wheel of Fortune,” “Paris Hilton’s My New BFF” and “Top Chef Just Desserts.”

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