English Teacher is a show I immensely enjoyed and it was renewed for a second season even after Brian Jordan Alvarez was accused of sexual assault by Jon Ebeling, who dated Alvarez’s co-star Stephanie Koenig. It has since been cancelled. 

 

They all worked together on indie projects, and Alvarez and Koening seem very close. Vulture broke the story and is a source for most of the subsequent reporting, you can read it here. Alvarez issued a denial (saying it was consensual), which can be read in USA Today. Ebeling filed a report with the LAPD but I haven’t been able to find any follow-up on the story. From a business perspective, the show was not big enough to garner a lot of entertainment headlines and I think FX was taking a wait-and-see approach in terms of ratings. But without being able to promo the second season, this outcome seems inevitable. 

 

In news a little more shocking and upsetting, Poker Face is not being renewed for season three at Peacock. Noooooo. I really enjoyed the weekly whodunnit format, it was such a bingeable show. (According to the report, it is Peacock’s highest-rated, and most expensive, production.) But there’s a Rian Johnson twist! Natasha Lyonne is being replaced in the lead role and taking over for her is…. Peter Dinklage. WHAT. Apparently, Lyonne (who is a producer) and Johnson are shopping it to other networks with the idea that Charlie would be played by a different person every couple of years. So into this, Apple TV get the chequebook. 

 

Edie Falco spoke a lot about her process for Carmela Soprano and it’s quite interesting to listen to her discuss her process with James Gandolfini. She clearly states they were not friends outside of work, never hung out together, and didn’t know anything about each other’s lives. This is why they had so much chemistry!!! I think there’s an idea that actors in really strong casts (like The Sopranos or Succession) need to actually be friends to create good work but the distance worked for Edie and James. Even on rewatch I completely believe every second between them. 

 

Alicia Silverstone is probably the only actress who will be in a Netflix Christmas movie and an Oscar-nominated film (Bugonia) this year, right? Maybe ever. 

 

There are some low vibrations around Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton. She hasn’t specifically posted about him since summer and he posted about her last month and he still has her as his profile photo. Break, breakup or nothing at all? 

Photo credits: Hulu

Share this post