Here's everything that's been happening in the world of Pop Culture this past week... in case you missed it! Feel free to comment on any of the stories and info shared here, add any news bits that you caught going on that may have been missed, or at least show us some love if you read the post but have nothing to comment on by clicking on that little heart icon at the bottom of the post...

GENERAL POP CULTURE NEWS:

- Missouri country/bluegrass/Christian singer/songwriter HANNAH HARPER was named the winner of season 24 of ABC reality competition series “American Idol”, besting Christian crooner JORDAN MCCULLOUGH, who came in second, and gospel singer KEYLA RICHARDSON, who came in third. Harper is just the second female country singer to win the competition in the show’s history, following current judge CARRIE UNDERWOOD, who won season 4 (when the show aired on Fox). Harper’s audition for the series went viral in January thanks to Harper singing “String Cheese”, an original song she wrote about struggles she has gone through as a young mother of three boys, propelling her to early front-runner status which she never appeared to relinquish throughout the season. 

- NAMES, HASHTAGS, MEMES, AND TRENDS FROM THIS PAST WEEK –

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH at 100; Hanta Virus outbreaks; DONALD TRUMP in China; Eurovision Song Contest

 AWARDS UPDATE -

- The Academy Awards: TV host/comedian CONAN O’BRIEN has been tapped to host the 2027 Oscars airing on ABC and Hulu on March 14, 2027 at 7pm ET/4pm PT. It will be O’Brien’s third year in a row as host.

GOVERNMENT 101 -

- US: Broadcast network ABC has pushed back on regulatory threats from FCC chairman BRENDAN CARR, arguing the agency’s effort to impose restrictions on political candidates appearing on ABC talk shows like “The View” goes against the network’s First Amendment rights. In a filing with the agency, the network stated, “Some may dislike certain – or even most – of the viewpoints expressed on “The View” or similar shows. Such dislike, however, cannot justify using regulatory processes to restrict those views.” The filing is in response to Carr’s decision to investigate “The View” after the series aired a live interview with Texas State Representative JAMES TALARICO, the Democratic US Senate candidate from Texas (the interview took place prior to Texas’ primary and his Democratic opponent in that primary, Representative JASMINE CROCKETT, had also been interviewed on the show). ABC’s filing added, “The danger is that the government will simply decide which perspectives to regulate and which to leave undisturbed. In fact, while the Commission now questions “The View”’s decades-long exemption, it has not expressed any inclination to apply a similar interpretation of the equal opportunities rule to other broadcasters, including the many voices—conservative and liberal—on broadcast radio.” Carr has not fully explained why he has gone after TV talk shows and not radio, even though he has said that the rule would apply “across the board.” He also didn’t rule out consideration of a talk host’s political donations or other partisan activity in considering whether the exemption applies. ABC has argued that while broadcasters only have to provide equal time if requested by rival campaigns and don’t have to offer it on the exact same show, even providing comparable exposure can be “infeasible”, noting as an example how California’s current gubernatorial primary has 60 candidates in the running.

ON BROADWAY/ THE WEST END -

- Producers of Broadway musical “The Book of Mormon” expect performances to resume at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on May 21^st. The long-running, popular production has been shuttered for a couple of weeks following a fire at the renowned venue.

TECH TALK -

- Media mogul BYRON ALLEN is set to purchase a 52% stake in BuzzFeed and take over as CEO from the platform’s founder.

- MOVIE CASTING UPDATE -
- Actress PAMELA ANDERSON is teaming up with rock icon/actress DEBBIE HARRY on the comedy “Maitreya”, about a rising star in the New Age healing community who puts her healing theories to the test when she brings her entire family with her to a conference in India. Anderson will play the titular character while Harry will play Anderson’s mother, Barbara, in the film.

- Actors JONATHAN BAILEY and NATALIE PORTMAN will team up for “Pumping Black”, a psychological thriller set in the competitive and cutthroat world of professional cycling.

- Singer/actress FKA TWIGS is set to star in an as-yet-untitled biopic about JOSEPHINE BAKER, the late French-American singer/dancer who became the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture, to be directed by MAIMOUNA DOUCOURE for Studiocanal.

- Actress FELICITY JONES will portray late author AGATHA CHRISTIE in the noir mystery/thriller “Eleven Missing Days” about the author’s infamous mysterious 11-day disappearance. Actor VINCENT CASSEL will costar.

- Director MATT REEVES confirmed actors SCARLETT JOHANSSON, SEBASTIAN STAN, BRIAN TYREE HENRY, and CHARLES DANCE have been added to the cast of DC Studios sequel “The Batman: Part 2”. ROBERT PATTINSON is set to reprise the role of Bruce Wayne aka Batman; not further information was given regarding the roles the other four actors will play.

TV NEWS:

- ABC announced its 2026 summer tv schedule, which will kick off July 13^th with the debut of “Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro”, a competition series (hosted by recent “Dancing with the Stars” winner ROBERT IRWIN) searching for the next “DWTS” pro dancer for season 35. New seasons of game shows “Celebrity Family Feud” and “Press Your Luck” will debut July 9^th, while a new season of “Who Wants to be A Millionaire?” will premiere on July 22^nd. For a look at ABC’s summer schedule, including an all new “CMA Fest” and “The ESPYs”, check out the following link: https://deadline.com/2026/05/abc-summer-premiere-dates-2026-1236887230/

- Fox announced that actor/former “Late Late Show” host JAMES CORDEN will temporarily return to late night during the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament which runs from June 11th though July 19th. “FIFA World Cup 2026 After Hours on Fox with James Corden” will see Corden reunite with “Late Late Show” writer/comedian IAN KARMEL for a light-hearted look at the World Cup; also joining Corden and Karmel in discussing the games and anything else that may have happened that day will be former England soccer captain RIO FERDINAND. “FIFA World Cup 2026 After Hours on Fox with James Corden” will air every night after the World Cup games.

- ABC late night host JIMMY KIMMEL announced that his series, “Jimmy Kimmel Live”, will air a repeat on May 21^st during the last airing of “The Late Show” on CBS in deference to his longtime friend, “Late Show” host STEPHEN COLBERT. “Jimmy Kimmel Live” will still air new episodes Monday through Wednesday of next week.

- NBC revealed its 2026-2027 tv schedule, which includes four new series – single-camera comedy “Sunset P.I.”, starring JAKE JOHNSON, multi-camera comedy “Newlyweds”, starring real-life couple TEA LEONI and TIM DALY, drama “Line of Fire”, starring PETER KRAUSE, and a reboot of drama “The Rockford Files”, starring DAVID BOREANAZ (“Line of Fire” will air on Mondays after “The Voice” and “Newlyweds” will follow “Happy’s Place” on Fridays; “Sunset P.I.” and “The Rockford Files” will not debut until midseason). The network will kick off its fall season with the 78^th Emmy Awards on Monday, September 14^th and highlights for the season include an all-civilian version of the Peacock reality competition series “The Traitors”, the milestone 30^th season of reality competition series “The Voice”, and a three-hour variety special celebrating the network’s 100^th anniversary “of must-see television, groundbreaking moments, and iconic stars” on December 10^th. For a look at NBC’s 2026-2027 tv schedule, check out the following link: https://www.tvline.com/2168605/nbc-2026-fall-tv-schedule-peter-krause-line-of-fire-the-traitors-one-chicago-svu/

- Fox revealed its 2026-2027 tv schedule, which once again consists of just four hours of scripted shows and just three live-action titles – “Animal Control” (which will move to Sundays after “The Simpsons”), and Tuesday dramas “Best Medicine” and “Doc” (the other scripted returns are animated comedies “Universal Basic Guys” and “Grimsburg”). The network’s reboot of drama series “Baywatch” (with actor STEPHEN AMELL as a grown-up Hobie Buchanan) and the Stephen Fry-led espionage thriller “The Interrogator” as well as new seasons of dramas “Memory of a Killer” and “Murder in a Small Town” as the network’s other animated comedies will all be held till midseason. The fall season will see returns of game shows “Celebrity Name that Tune”, “Celebrity Weakest Link”, “The Floor”, and “99 To Beat” and reality competition shows “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test”; shows such as “The Masked Singer” and “Crime Scene Kitchen” have yet to be scheduled. For a look at the Fox 2026-2027 tv schedule, check out the following link: https://www.tvline.com/2168802/fox-2026-fall-tv-schedule-animal-control-best-medicine-doc-the-simpsons/

- ABC announced its 2026-2027 tv schedule, which includes spinoff drama series “The Rookie: North”, starring JAY ELLIS, which will debut midseason alongside mothership “The Rookie”; The network has also held back “High Potential”, “Will Trent” and “Shifting Gears” for midseason as well. Additionally, new seasons of reality shows “The Bachelor” and “Bachelor in Paradise” are also being held for some time next year. For a look at the ABC 2026-2027 tv schedule, check out the following link: https://www.tvline.com/2170673/abc-2026-fall-tv-schedule-dwts-scrubs-high-potential-season-3-2027-return/

- NBC Sports has acquired an additional regular-season NFL game outside of its Sunday Night Football package which will stream exclusively on Peacock.  The week 17 game will be played at 4:30pm on January 2^nd.

- AMC+ announced it has partnered with the BBC to become the new, exclusive US streaming home for long-running sci-fi drama series “Doctor Who”. Thirteen seasons (which aired from 2005-2022) and 176 episodes, including specials, will be available on the streamer beginning June 11^th. AMC+ will not have access to the seasons and specials that aired on Disney+, which most recently had the rights to the series; it is unclear if future episodes of the series will also air in the US exclusively on AMC+ or not.

- TV CASTING UPDATE –

- Country singer RILEY GREEN and rapper/actress QUEEN LATIFAH will join KELLY CLARKSON and ADAM LEVINE as coaches for season 30 of NBC reality competition series “The Voice”.

- Actors BEN KINGSLEY, MAX MINGHELLA, and PEKKA STRANG have been added to the season 4 cast of HBO drama series “The White Lotus”.

- Savannah Bananas second baseman JACKSON OLSON has been added to the season 35 cast of ABC reality competition series “Dancing with the Stars”.

- Actor PAUL ANTHONY KELLY has been added to the season 13 cast of FX anthology drama series “American Horror Story”. Kelly previously worked with “AHS” creator/showrunner RYAN MURPHY on the series “Love Story” where Kelly portrayed the late JOHN F. KENNEDY JR.

- TV RENEWALS* AND PICKUPS/EXTENSIONS** -

* “RJ Decker”, ABC, renewed for season 2

* “Jury Duty”, Amazon Prime Video, renewed for season 3

* “Reacher”, Amazon Prime Video, renewed for season 5

* “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”, Apple TV, renewed for season 2

* “99 To Beat”, Fox, renewed for season 2

* “Celebrity Name That Tune”, Fox, renewed

* “Celebrity Weakest Link”, Fox, renewed for season 2

* “Hell’s Kitchen”, Fox, renewed

* “Next Level Baker”, Fox, renewed

* “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test”, Fox, renewed for season 5

* “The Floor”, Fox, renewed

* “The Masked Singer”, Fox, renewed for season 15

* “Big Mistakes”, Netflix, renewed for season 2

* “Love Is Blind”, Netflix, renewed for season 11

* “My Life With The Walter Boys”, Netflix, renewed for season 4

* “Quarterback”, Netflix, renewed for season 3

* “Running Point”, Netflix, renewed for season 3

* “Love Island Games”, Peacock, renewed for season 3

- TV CANCELLATIONS* AND TRIMMED/NOT-EXTENDED SEASONS** -

* “The Lincoln Lawyer”, Netflix, to end with season 5

MUSIC NEWS:

-  Pop stars KATY PERRY, ALANIS MORISSETTE, MICHAEL BUBLE, and BLACKPINK singer LISA are among the artists set to perform at the 2026 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony. The tournament’s host countries – Mexico, US, and Canada - will each stage its own star-studded opening ceremony when the tournament begins in June. Mexico’s pre-match show on June 11^th will feature J BALVIN, MANA, TYLA and more; Canada’s pre-match ceremony on June 12^th will include ALESSIA CARA, and the aforementioned Morissette and Buble, among others; and the US pre-match performances, also on June 12^th, will include ANITTA, FUTURE, REMA, and the aforementioned Perry, Lisa, and Tyla. It was also announced that the World Cup Final will feature its first-ever halftime show with pop stars MADONNA, SHAKIRA, and BTS set to co-headline the event. Shakira has also recorded a new song for the World Cup. 

- LAST WEEK’S NEW #1 SINGLES AROUND THE WORLD –

Australia/ New Zealand: “Man I Need” by OLIVIA DEAN

Ireland: “Choosin’ Texas” by ELLA LANGLEY

Japan: “3XL” by NUMBER_i

Mexico: “Nalguita & Teta” by NETON VEGA

- LAST WEEK’S NEW #1 ALBUMS AROUND THE WORLD –

Greece: “Arirang” by BTS

Ireland: “Fenian” by KNEECAP

UK: “The Essential” by MICHAEL JACKSON