TV

American actress Calista Flockhart was just 26 years old when she first played the role of Ally McBeal -- the Boston lawyer who is looking for love, wanting to have a baby and feeling the pressure of her biological clock -- in the legal comedic drama "Ally McBeal" back in 1997.

Joining Flockhart in the TV series included Greg Germann as the smooth-talking lawyer who puts winning over morality, Richard Fish, Lisa Nicole Carson as Ally's best friend and roommate, Renee Raddick and Peter MacNicol as the shy attorney who thrives in the courtroom, John Cage.

Jeremy Piven says Mark Wahlberg is the key to "Entourage" making a comeback.

We got the OG star of the hit HBO series Monday at The Butcher, The Baker, The Cappuccino Maker and asked him what Mark could do for a potential reboot.

Mark recently went on the record in support of an "Entourage" comeback, but he hasn't committed to starring in a potential series ... and Jeremy tells us Mark is the key to getting the idea off the ground.

The way Jeremy sees it ... all Mark needs to do for "Entourage" to return is to carve out time from his notoriously busy schedule and get on the phone with HBO.

Mark was a co-executive producer on the OG show and Jeremy says it's just a matter of Mark stepping up to the plate and giving fans what they're clamoring for.

While Jeremy doesn't know if Mark will ever sign on to get in front of the camera for a recurring role on "Entourage" ... he tells us what he thinks might bring Mark into the fold this time around.

Francia Raisa says she's been on the receiving end of some serious bullying since speaking out on her broken relationship with Selena Gomez after donating her kidney to the singer.

We got the "How I Met Your Father" star out in Studio City Saturday who shared some of the vile comments she's gotten in the wake of her interview where she dodged questions about Selena ... yet sort of threw shade at the same time.

Francia says things have gotten so bad, she's now suffering mentally. She tells us one of the most hurtful comments she's gotten was, "I hope someone goes up your p***y and rips out your other kidney you f***ing whore." So yeah, things have gotten pretty intense.

The two former childhood actors go way back, getting super close through the years ... Francia donated her kidney to Selena in 2017 after hers failed due to her battle with lupus.

Things went south when SG later told an interviewer the only person she was close to in Hollywood was Taylor Swift. Of course, this didn't sit right with FR who unfollowed Selena and the two haven't gotten on the same page since.

Francia says getting bullied by Selena's fan base doesn't make any sense ... especially since Selena's been a huge advocate against this kind of behavior.

Kenny "The Jet" Smith was the center of attention during Sunday night's edition of "NBA on TNT" ... with Charles Barkley cracking jokes over his recent beach trip with a beautiful woman -- and the whole thing was hilarious!!

The crew was back on the desk after having several days off from playoff coverage ... and just a few minutes into their pregame show, Ernie Johnson asked if anyone had some photos to share from their mini vacations.

"I got one of Kenny," Barkley said ... hinting at the pics TMZ Sports posted of Kenny at the beach with model Aline Bernardes last week.

Kenny tried to downplay the jab ... claiming all he did was go to the Miami Grand Prix and hang out with Shaquille O'Neal.

Barkley wasn't about to let him off that easily ... saying, "TMZ ain't ever wrong!!"

Luckily for Kenny, Ernie switched topics ... but he wasn't off the hook just yet -- the show's producers shared a few memes that poked fun at the NBA champ a bit more.

You gotta hand it to Smith -- he was a good sport about it all ... and let his cohosts have their fun.

As we previously reported, Smith and Bernardes had some fun in the sun on Thursday ... although it's unclear if they're an item.

Kevin Costner is shooting his shot in the middle of his divorce drama ... he was spotted taking some solid swings at a driving range in Utah while he shoots his latest movie project.

The actor was at BigShots Golf in St. George Tuesday night, just hours after TMZ broke the story his wife Christine's calling it quits after 18 years of marriage ... and those at the range tell us he was having a great time.

He's in the Beehive State for his new western epic, "Horizon: An American Saga," so the group he was with was likely part of the cast and crew. Kev had a pretty great swing and even appeared to be doing some coaching.

As we reported, sources familiar told us Kevin was completely blindsided by Christine's filing ... and it was devastating for him. There were internet rumors Kevin got a woman pregnant on the set of "Yellowstone," but sources close to the actor called it "total BS."

Jerry Springer's sudden and surprising death resulted in a renewed interest in his iconic daytime talk show ... and a tribute marathon did huge numbers.

Honchos at Pluto TV tell TMZ ... Nosey, a Pluto TV channel where folks can watch Jerry's show, ran a bunch of episodes after his death and there was so much interest, viewership across the streaming platform doubled.

Pluto TV says tens of thousands of folks tuned in to watch the drama unfold on reruns of "The Jerry Springer Show" ... with folks spending 33% percent more time on the app than usual.

As you know ... Jerry's syndicated talk show aired for 27 seasons, racking up nearly 5,000 episodes from 1991 to 2018 and making him one of daytime TV's most recognizable figures.

Jerry died April 27 as a result of pancreatic cancer ... a diagnosis many of his closest friends in Hollywood didn't even know he was struggling with.

In the wake of his death, the internet came alive with posts from fans sharing their favorite Jerry Springer moments, many of whom said they were planning to rewatch their favorite episodes ... and it seems lots of folks found their fix on Pluto TV.

Woven into this wavy woman is a comical actress who has been performing in front of audiences since the early 2000s. She interned for 'SNL' back in 2004, which would become a full circle moment after hosting the prestigious show earlier this year!

She spent a good amount of time filming in Sicily, Italy and it wouldn't have been a home run without catching a full-frontal glimpse of her costar Theo James! And, perhaps she made you chuckle during her days as the snarky April Ludgate, starring alongside none other than Amy Poehler.

As Jonathan Majors continues to fight his DV case, it appears the internet has already settled on a possible replacement in the MCU ... another bad guy in a new superhero movie.

We're talking about Chukwudi Iwuji -- who made a splash this weekend in the third 'Guardians of the Galaxy' flick as the big bad, the High Evolutionary ... and who left audiences and comic book fans more than impressed with his epic performance.

While HE meets his grisly demise in the end (spoiler) ... a lot of folks on the bird app are nominating Iwuji as the next would-be Kang the Conqueror if things go south for JM.

There's chatter about how Iwuji's take on his supervillain is how Kang should've been portrayed in the 'Ant-Man' film that recently featured him ... namely, over the top and downright ruthless -- which is certainly how Iwuji's High Evolutionary comes across.

As the comparisons continue to fly ... a good handful of Twitter users are also straight-up saying Iwuji should be considered to step in as Kang if Disney decides to ultimately drop Majors -- which they have not done yet, and which may be premature at this point.

This "what if" speculation seems to be a mix of praise for Iwuji and jumping the gun on Majors' MCU future. Frankly, ever since he was arrested -- a lot of names have been floated as possible stand-ins ... but now, it would seem Iwuji's at the front of the line in fans' eyes.

Again ... there's been no indication from Disney that they're considering cutting Majors loose just yet -- despite the fact that he's been dropped from other projects and organizations.

As we've reported ... his team has repeatedly denied he did anything wrong from the beginning and has even suggested he was the victim here -- while also claiming to have evidence that they say will exonerate him. We've seen surveillance footage of the woman in question out partying after the alleged incident ... and she appears to be fine/uninjured.

Of course, he'll have his day in court soon enough. The guy's scheduled to appear before a judge on Tuesday -- where his team will undoubtedly push for the charges to be dropped.

Like everyone else, we're sure Disney will be monitoring ... as Majors is a key figure in their Marvel plans, with scheduled appearances in several more films and TV shows as Kang.

History has just been made, as King Charles has been given his crown at his monumental coronation -- taking the reins in a centuries-long tradition following last year's death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.

Charles made things official Saturday morning at Westminster Abbey in London ... where people came in droves to watch the ceremony unfold, including Prince Harry, Prince William, Kate Middleton and other members of the royal family -- not to mention the millions/billions of others watching across the globe.

Charles gave the traditional coronation oath before signing a pledge to serve his people. He was later given St. Edward's Crown -- something that's been a part of the lineage for over 400 years!

William pledged allegiance following his father's crowning, while little Prince George served as one of the service's 4 Pages. The procession is now underway, taking Charles and Queen Camilla back to Buckingham Palace through the streets of London.

The coronation was conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby -- leading these coronations has been a task for Archbishops since the first one went down way back in 1066 for William I the Conqueror.

Don't forget, today's festivities took a lot of preparation -- as we reported, Buckingham Palace was recently transformed in order for those involved to go over the layout on a more private scale.

This week, we've seen the likes of Prince William, Kate, and their kids heading to Westminster for some rehearsals ahead of the real deal.

And just days before the coronation, swarms of fans camped outside to show their support -- donning some pretty spectacular outfits, too.

You'll recall, Charles was thrust into power following the death of QE 2 in September ... news that rocked the entire world for weeks on end. Her funeral procession had all eyes on it, too.

Remember, her coffin was even rushed by someone as people waited up to 28 hours to pay respects -- but he was rapidly tackled by cops and arrested.

There was a ton of drama following her death, specifically between the royal fam and Prince Harry & Meghan Markle ... after the couple's Netflix series blasted what they saw as toxicity within the palace walls. Harry was even reportedly written out of Saturday's big event as a result of his book, "Spare."

PH and MM did eventually get an invite to the coronation, but only Harry attended, with Meghan and the kiddos staying across the pond.

Screenwriter Jim Herzfeld, famous for his work on "Meet the Fockers" and "Meet the Parents," doesn't think a computer can replace him in Hollywood ... he says AI jokes suck.

We got Jim in the picket line outside Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, CA asked him how artificial intelligence is affecting the writers' strike.

Jim, one of the most prolific writers on strike, sounds pretty confident he's not about to be replaced by ChatGPT ... but he still wants to see guardrails in place so none of the more than 11,000 film and TV writers on strike have their livelihoods negatively impacted by the emerging technology.

As a veteran writer, Jim remembers the last strike in 2007-08, when the internet was a huge issue, and he sees parallels between the way studios approached yesterday's tech and today's AI.

Jim says AI doesn't have the heart or soul of a human, therefore computers can't tell stories the way Hollywood writers can ... so listen for his "Meet The Fockers" joke, because it's a prime example of the limits he sees with AI.

Turns out, the picket lines full of WGA members aren't exactly such a bad place to be, as protesters are getting treated to live music and tons of free grub ... thanks to some pretty big names.

Friday marks the 4th day since the union voted to suspend all work, with members -- and even pre-WGA folks -- striking outside Disney, Paramount, Warner Brothers, Netflix, and other major studios.

One of the many celebs showing their support was 'SNL' alum Pete Davidson ... who pulled up to a strike in New York with boxes of pizza -- a sweet essential for those marching for hours on end.

On the West Coast, peeps striking outside Paramount and Netflix were greeted by a waffle food truck -- courtesy of the 'Late-Night' gang ... AKA Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver. Best part? The food was free!

Turns out, Kimmel's assistant put in the call on behalf of his talk show brothers, ordering food for 600 people ... the truck owner says he even gave them a discount to rent it out!

Netflix even had a live mariachi band out front, too ... pretty rad!

Writer, actress, and producer Mindy Kaling was also at the Paramount lot, joining those asking execs to give a fair, living wage to the thousands that believe they've been cheated in the era of streaming and AI.

Kenny "The Jet" Smith might be in the middle of covering the NBA playoffs, but he's still finding time for R&R -- the "Inside the NBA" analyst hit Miami Beach with a stunning woman on Thursday ... and TMZ Sports has the pics!!

Smith -- who's been a regular on TNT for decades -- ditched his shirt and threw on some red trunks to catch some rays in Florida ... and had model Aline Bernardes right by his side for the occasion.

It's unclear if the two are dating -- they didn't show any PDA throughout their beach visit, but Bernades DID put him on Instagram for her 207,000 followers to see ... posting a video rocking out to music.

"Teaching gringo friends to enjoy Péricles," Bernardes captioned the clip ... which showed the ex-NBAer dancing along to the Brazilian singer.

Of course, Smith has flown under the radar romantically ever since his divorce from Gwendolyn Osborne, which was finalized in 2021.

As for Bernardes, her social media feed is free of any significant others.

Smith doesn't have to rejoin Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley again until Sunday ... so it makes sense to get out of Atlanta for a while and rest up.

Speaking of Shaq -- Bernardes also shared a snap with the Big Aristotle at Prime 112 in Miami later Thursday night ... saying, "with my BFF."

Add 50 Cent, Shaq and Kenya Barris to the growing list of high-powered celebs interested in buying BET, we've learned the group is making a massive push to strike a deal.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us 50 and Kenya were spotted at the Paramount offices in NYC earlier this week to talk business, and the possibility of buying the network.

As for the cash ... we're told 50, Shaq and Kenya are fully loaded and ready to make an offer with some help from CVC -- an investment company.

Of course, there's still a lot to be worked out before anything is finalized, as one source told us, "It's not a done deal, but they're deep in it."

The trio makes a lot of sense, 50 had a ton of success on Starz, and recently signed a multi-year deal with FOX that's sure to net him a boatload of cash. Not to mention, he also just announced his global "The Final Lap" tour to celebrate 20 years of "Get Rich or Die Trying" ... so he's clearly still super connected in the music biz.

Then there's Shaq and Kenya who have massive TV deals -- and Kenya with an impressive resume of producing, directing and writing credits.

As we reported ... Diddy is also among the names that have thrown their hat in the ring as an interested party. TV moguls Tyler Perry and Byron Allen are also reportedly in serious talks to buy the network.

"Moonshiners" star Craig Landry is laid up with a slew of serious injuries after he crashed on a unicycle and busted a bunch o' bones ... especially in his face.

Craig’s brother Richard tells TMZ ... Craig got into the wreck last week near his home in New Iberia, Louisiana while he was doing something he does a lot ... cruising around on his electric unicycle. Yep, that's a thing.

As for what went wrong on the unicycle -- well, Richard says all Craig remembers is waking up in the ambulance.

Apparently, a few women found him knocked out unconscious and called paramedics. He was eventually airlifted to University Medical Center in New Orleans, where he had surgery to repair his shattered jaw.

We know what you're thinking when a guy from "Moonshiners" has an accident, but Richard says he does not believe his brother was under the influence ... adding, Craig does suffer from high blood pressure and might have blacked out while riding.

As you know, it's been a rough year for the 'Moonshiners' cast. You'll recall, Craig's costar Josh Owens was involved in a violent motorcycle crash ... breaking his neck, back, arm and legs.

Despite the string of awful luck, Richard seems to be staying positive.

Not too long ago, he posted an update about his little brother saying he was now home, but still in a lot of pain, and will need a few more surgeries on his face. He's asking fans to keep the prayers coming ... just as they did for Josh.

Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde are firing back at their former nanny -- the same woman who has allegedly been going after them for a while -- ripping her for airing dirty laundry in the media and seeking to have her lawsuit against them moved to a private arbitrator.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Jason and Olivia say Ericka Genaro's civil suit never should have been filed in a California court. If she wanted to sue them, they say she should have taken up her beef in a private arbitration in New York.

Jason and Olivia tell TMZ ... "It is unfortunate that this private matter continues to play out in the press. Our focus has been and will continue to be to steadfastly protect our family in the face of harassment of any kind. We are confident that the evidence brought forward will affirm our position to summarily dismiss this case and bring our family peace."

TMZ broke the story ... the nanny took the ex-couple to court back in February, claiming they drove her to her wit's end and then some.

Genaro says she worked for Jason and Olivia from 2018 to 2021, claiming she had a ton of extra duties dumped on her plate when Olivia started dating Harry Styles.

Jason and Olivia say the issues only started after Genaro wanted her salary doubled again and to be paid tax-free.

In her suit, the nanny also claimed Jason would vent to her about Olivia and Harry, adding to an already stressful job. Genaro says medical professionals told her to take a break from working because of stress and anxiety, and she claims when she told Jason she was going to step away, he fired her on the spot. She claims she was wrongfully terminated and says Jason and Olivia violated other California labor laws.

But, Jason and Olivia say not so fast.

In their filing, JS and OW claim Genaro was generously paid, even had her salary doubled at the end of 2020, was regularly given raises and was well taken care of by the family.

What's more, Jason and Olivia say Genaro broke her contract by blabbing to the media, claiming she threatened their family by saying she "can be ruthless" and advertising her willingness to "dish" about her time as their nanny.

Jason and Olivia say Genaro resigned and wasn't fired ... and they say they paid for her and her dog to stay for weeks at the Rosewood Hotel in London even after she resigned, footing the bill for over $22,000 worth of in-room food and alcohol charges.

They say she was also reimbursed for $17,000 worth of charges for travel arrangements from London to the U.S.

Drew Barrymore is going on strike ... she's backing out from hosting duties for the upcoming MTV Movie & TV Awards to show solidarity with the writers fighting for better pay.

The actress was supposed to host this weekend's award show, but announced Thursday she was pulling out.

Drew explained her decision in a statement to Deadline, saying ... "I have listened to the writers, and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike.

She continues ... "Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television is born out of their creation. And until a solution is reached, I am choosing to wait but I’ll be watching from home and hope you will join me."

As you know ... the Writers Guild of America started striking earlier this week, with writers going up against major studios for a bigger slice of the pie.

Drew's set to host next year's award show, and Deadline reports MTV is not going to replace her this weekend, instead opting to go without a host this year due to the strike.

The producers who put on the MTV Movie & TV Awards also sent a statement to Deadline, saying ... "We understand and deeply respect her decision. She's a legend – as a host and a fan – and we are excited to welcome her back in 2024."