TV

Another huge move for LeBron James ... not the basketball player, the Hollywood mogul.

James -- through his media brand, Uninterrupted -- is launching a new show for DAZN called "40 Days" ... a docuseries which will follow top boxers as they prepare for major prize fights.

In fact, the first episode will follow Canelo Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs as they gear up for their May 4 fight in Las Vegas. Part 1 of the series is scheduled to premiere on April 23.

Canelo's participation is really no surprise considering he recently signed a $365 MILLION contract with DAZN.

We're told LeBron and his business partner, Maverick Carter, are executive producing the Canelo episodes -- in association with DAZN and Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions.

"These documentaries will shine a light on the 3-dimensional aspect of who these athletes are outside of the ring and empower them to tell their own stories as they prepare for some of the biggest moments in their boxing careers," Maverick Carter said in a statement.

De La Hoya has also weighed in ... saying, "This is excellent for the sport as it will provide the kind of unique lens that only LeBron James and Maverick Carter can bring. At the same time, there’s no better way for them to start this partnership than by featuring the most important boxing event of the year, so Golden Boy is proud to be a part of it."

Park Overall is best-known for playing wise-cracking country nurse Laverne Todd -- opposite Richard Mulligan as Dr. Harry Weston -- on the NBC "Golden Girls" spinoff "Empty Nest" that spanned the television airways from 1988-1995.

Park Overall went on to play Lori Ann in the southern TV show "Reba."

Overall also made headlines back in 2012 after she entered the Democratic primary against Bob Corker with a focus on women's issues and the environment but was ultimately defeated in August of 2012.

Sophie Turner says fame caused serious problems for her mental health ... and mounting criticism over her role in "Game of Thrones" led her to consider suicide.

In a revealing interview Tuesday on Dr. Phil's podcast, the 23-year-old actress admits she's battled depression for several years ... saying she, "used to think about suicide a lot when I was younger."

While Sophie says she doesn't believe she was actually capable of hurting herself ... she says suicide was "just a weird fascination I used to have."

Sophie, whose rise to fame began at age 14 when she was cast to play Sansa Stark on 'GoT,' says her popularity came at a price ... because negative comments about her character started wreaking havoc on her mental health.

Sophie says she started giving in to her social media bullies, and she started doubting her acting chops and physical appearance. She says her insecurity led to symptoms of depression -- and simple tasks like getting dressed would make her burst into tears.

As a result, she started therapy and treatment ... adding she's on medication and loves herself more than ever now. She credits fiancee Joe Jonas with helping her find happiness.

"Full House" creator Jeff Franklin says he was double-crossed by one of his co-workers ... leading to Jeff getting fired from the show ... according to a lawsuit.

Franklin says he hired Bryan Behar to be a writer and co-executive producer on "Fuller House" ... but he allegedly spread lies about him to create a "false narrative" that Franklin was a sexist pig around women with whom they both worked.

In the suit, Franklin accuses Behar of taking advantage of the "Me Too" movement and telling Warner Bros. execs that Franklin told female writers to "dress provocatively," commented on their looks and discussed his sex life with them.

One of the most damaging falsehoods -- according to docs obtained by TMZ -- involved a pool party for show writers at Franklin's home. Behar allegedly told execs Franklin demanded female writers all wear bikinis at the event. Franklin insists he merely made suits available for anyone who forgot to bring one.

As for Behar's motive? In the suit, Franklin says Behar was out for his job, and "began plotting a scheme ... by secretly keeping a self-described "little black book'" filled with events he could twist or distort to make Franklin look bad.

Franklin was fired earlier this year, and he points out in the suit ... Behar got promoted to executive producer and showrunner for "Fuller House." Franklin gloats in his lawsuit, highlighting the fact the show's going off the air after its upcoming 5th season.

Here's a little something to make your day a bit brighter -- or a lot -- Jeff Goldblum and his wife, Emilie Livingston, acting like high school sweethearts who are deeply in love.

Jeff and Emilie were strolling down Melrose Ave. Tuesday in L.A., hand-in-hand and smiling gleefully while doing it. He's rocking the perfect shirt, too -- a rose-patterned button-down on Melrose. Works for him!!!

Em looked great too, but Jeff's in a baller class of his own.

As for why the couple was so damn happy -- well, they have lots of reasons. Jeff's about to get his own docuseries on Disney's new streaming service, aptly called the "The World According to Jeff Goldblum." He dives into the history and science of everyday objects.

Blac Chyna's landlord has major beef with her for allegedly bailing on her lease 5 months early, and even worse ... NOT paying a dime since she bolted.

Chyna just got sued by the landlord for a home in Studio City, CA that she'd been renting since April 2017. In the suit, the landlord says Chyna's lease called her to be there through March 2019 ... but for some reason, she upped and moved back in November 2018.

We're guessing he wouldn't care about her leaving IF she paid the remaining rent. Well, guess what? According to the suit, Chyna owes $55,546 for about 5 months of rent. The landlord subtracted her $25k deposit, but tacked on $18k in damages -- he claims she removed "fixtures and equipment" from the pad.

All told, Blac Chyna is $48,546 in the red ... according to the docs, obtained by TMZ.

1:20 PM PT -- Reports that Kevin Hunter has been fired are not accurate. He has not been fired, but as we reported, it's just a matter of time. He WILL be gone from the show ... but it hasn't happened yet.

Wendy Williams' estranged husband will not be an executive producer on the show for long ... production sources tell TMZ.

Our sources say the deal-breaker for Kevin Hunter is not about his duties on the show ... it's about Wendy's mental and physical health. We're told she's doing great now, but our sources say it's apparent Kevin's presence on the set causes her stress.

Case in point ... a week ago there was a major blowup on the set between Wendy and Kevin. We're told security had to step in between them and Kevin was temporarily removed from the area. And, our sources say there have been several other blowups as well.

We're told Wendy and Kevin are close to reaching "an accord" whereby he'd step down as executive producer.

As for Kevin -- who allegedly just fathered a baby with his mistress -- he released a statement Tuesday, saying, "I am not proud of my recent actions and take full accountability and apologize to my wife, my family and her amazing fans."

Kevin goes on to say ... "I am going through a time of self-reflection and am trying to right some wrongs."

Wendy filed for divorce last week and on her show Monday said she was focused on the future, saying, "I have a whole new life that I planned for myself and my son."

"Happy Gilmore" star Christopher McDonald just got the equivalent of a penalty stroke in his DUI case ... TMZ has learned.

According to court records ... the actor pled guilty to driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher stemming from his October 2017 arrest near Lake Arrowhead, CA. He was sentenced to 35 hours of community service, 3-year summary probation, and an alcohol education program which he already completed ... and a day in jail.

The good news -- he got credit for time served in a jail cell following his arrest ... so he doesn't have to spend any additional time behind bars. His other misdemeanor DUI charge was dropped.

We broke the story ... Christopher, best known as Shooter McGavin, got busted after driving his Porsche off the highway, taking out a gas meter and crashing into an embankment.

He then posed for this disheveled mug shot, which could be explained by the fact he was seen chugging beer at an Oktoberfest earlier in the day.

McDonald was also arrested for DWI in 2013 in North Carolina.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg is capturing the imagination of the country in a way we haven't seen in decades ... and aside from politics, one of the ways he's connecting with voters is through pop culture.

The openly gay South Bend Mayor, who is soaring in popularity during the early stages of his 2020 Presidential campaign, came on "TMZ Live" for a lengthy interview, and you really get a sense of what he's all about during our 25-minute conversation.

Buttigieg tackles a variety of issues, from how he plans to respond when Donald Trump targets him with homophobic remarks, to the consequences parents like Lori Loughlin should face if they cheat the system to get their kids into college.

During his visit, Pete also chats with us about religion, coming out, and Kim Kardashian's role in prison reform.

And, that's not all ... Mayor Pete dishes on his fitness routine, downloads us on his favorite music and plays a solid Jimi Hendrix riff when we hand him a guitar!!!

Forget The Big Shaqtus ... just call him Shaqiana now -- 'cause Shaquille O'Neal hit the Bust Down dance -- and kinda crushed it!!

Okay, it wasn't all that great ... but dude is 7'1", 324 pounds -- so give it up for him!!!

It appears the impromptu Blueface nod went down just off the set of Shaq's ultra-popular "NBA on TNT" show Monday night ... where O'Neal broke it down for a few people in the office (one of whom had a cell phone, thank god).

There was a dramatic buildup ... some hip thrusting ... and even a little butterfly dance. It was great.

There were some tense moments -- Shaq did try to drop things a little too low and seemed to tweak his groin. But don't worry, he's gonna be okay!!!

It's just the latest awesome feat that O'Neal's provided us on set ... 'memba when the 46-year-old threw down a monster dunk a couple of weeks ago?!?

Marlon Wayans says all the buzz about "Game of Thrones" and its final season is missing one thing -- some brothas in the Brotherhood Without Banners ... or anywhere else in Westeros, for that matter!

We got the comedian at LAX Monday and he admitted he's not down with the 'GoT' craze, partly because he's noticed there's a major lack of black actors. He points out the biggest characters of color on the show aren't even human -- the dragons -- and don't get nearly enough respect.

That's not his only beef with HBO's hit show ... his other issue is all about making the most of his time -- and he's decided to throw it into a different cable sensation.

The 'Thrones' Season 8 premiere Sunday night became the most-watched scripted show of the year so far and shattered HBO's ratings record with 17.4 million viewers across all platforms ... though Marlon wasn't among them.

And, for the record, there have been a handful of black characters on the show ... like Daenerys' right-hand gal Missandei, along with Grey Worm, Xaro Xhoan Daxos and Salladhor Saan.

Georgia Engel, who rose to fame playing Georgette Franklin on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," has died.

The actress died Friday in Princeton, NJ, according to the New York Times, and a cause of death has not been determined. Georgia was a Christian Scientist and reportedly did not see a doctor.

Georgia joined 'Mary Tyler Moore' in 1972 during the show's third season, and she was nominated for 2 Emmy Awards for supporting actress in a comedy. As the innocent girlfriend of Ted Knight's news anchor character, Ted Baxter, Georgia's breakout character Georgette was soft-spoken and ditzy on the outside, but tough as nails inside.

Georgia also earned 3 Emmy nominations for her work on "Everybody Loves Raymond," guest starring as Pat MacDougall in 13 episodes. She also had a handful of stints on "The Betty White Show," "Goodtime Girls" and "Jennifer Slept Here."

Georgia is best known for her roles on TV ... but her career began onstage when she reached Broadway in 1969 as a replacement in the original production of "Hello, Dolly!" Afterwards, Georgia appeared in an off-Broadway production, John Guare's "The House of Blue Leaves," before eventually finding her way to 'Mary Tyler Moore.'

Georgia was 70.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg is already getting tons of support from Hollywood in his bid for the White House ... celebs are donating to his Presidential campaign right out of the gate.

We sifted through 2019 Federal Election Commission filings to see which celebs are opening their wallets for Mayor Pete and found contributions are pouring in since he officially announced his candidacy over the weekend.

Jane Lynch is leading the way after throwing down $2,700 ... while Mandy Moore and Bradley Whitford each plunked down $2,000 and Pedro Pascal tossed in $1,500.

Ryan Reynolds is also backing Mayor Pete from the jump ... the A-list actor chipped in $250. We haven't seen Ryan publicly support the South Bend Mayor, but his donation proves he's at least curious about what he's selling.

Ditto for one of the famous Kennedy clan. We found three separate $250 donations from Caroline Kennedy ... daughter of President John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy Onassis.

The openly gay mayor is also getting some financial support from the LGBT community ... openly gay comedian Guy Branum cut a $500 check and Chaz Bono made 3 donations totaling $650.

If you loved the "Game of Thrones" premiere, you're definitely not the bookie who got crushed on 'GoT' prop bets -- and all signs point to bettors taking advantage of the episode accidentally leaking early.

After DirecTV leaked the premiere about 4 hours too soon, gamblers apparently caught on to the fact Tyrion Lannister was the first character to speak in season 8 ... and cashed in big time!!!

The cyber-gambling site, SportsBetting.ag, says it lost in the "low five figures" on the prop bet. The book says Tyrion's odds to speak first dropped from 4/1 to 1/1 in the 48 hours leading up to the premiere.

The bookie tells TMZ ... "We assume that someone with inside knowledge was either betting heavily or telling all of their friends to do so. This type of stuff does occur in our industry, and we obviously can't verify if there was a leak, but the betting action pointed to one."

AT&T, which owns DirecTV and HBO, admits a system error gave some DirecTV Now customers early access to the episode by mistake.

Some betting odds for the final season have already changed after the season's first episode.

Jaime Lannister's odds to die first moved from 50/1 to 6/1 ... and the site's no longer taking bets on him killing his sister, Cersei Lannister. Entering the season, Jaime was the favorite to kill the Queen with 3/2 odds.

Jon Snow is now favored to sit on the Iron Throne at season's end with 5/2 odds, while the previously-favored Bran Stark saw his odds double from 2/1 to 4/1.

For the first time, Wendy Williams talked about her divorce on her show, revealing what she's got cooking for post-breakup life ... and it's gonna be tons of QT time with her son.

On Monday's episode Wendy made her a clear reference to the fact she's filed to divorce Kevin Hunter. She talked about a new life that'll heavily revolve around her son, Kevin Jr. The crowd also went wild when she announced she's just a few days away from moving out of a sober house.

Check out the clip ... Wendy stopped short of using her estranged husband's name -- remember, he's an executive producer on the show -- but made it clear she's in moving on mode.

Kim Kardashian's says she's doing her homework to become a lawyer, and it's a daily grind that's turned her family life upside down -- but she insists haters won't discourage her from achieving her dream.

Kim shared a photo of herself hitting the books with attorneys Jessica Jackson and Erin Haney, studying for what she calls California's baby bar exam -- a requirement for anyone studying law the way she is ... as an apprentice with Jackson and Haney's firm.

She says, "For the next 4 years, a minimum of 18 hours a week is required, I will take written and multiple choice tests monthly." Kim's approaching the end of her first year, and says she's hitting the books hard right now to prep for a Torts essay on negligence due this week.

As we reported, Kim plans to take the bar exam by 2022. She's clearly heard the critics who claim she can only do this because of her privilege and money. She fired back, "I want people to understand that there is nothing that should limit your pursuit of your dreams, and the accomplishment of new goals. You can create your own lanes, just as I am."

She adds, however, it ain't easy -- saying she studies all weekend and at nights after working all day and putting her kids to bed. She says she's so committed to achieving her dream, she changed her number last year to disconnect and focus.