BERYL VERTUE DIES AT 90: According to Variety, Hartswood Films founder Beryl Vertue has passed away at the age of 90. Vertue’s daughters, Hartswood Films co-producers Sue and Debbie Vertue, said in a statement, “It’s with the heaviest of hearts that we have to share the sad news that mum/Beryl passed away peacefully last night. It wasn’t Covid, it was just her nearly 91-year-old body saying enough is enough.” Beryl produced titles such as Sherlock, Men Behaving Badly, The Guilty, and Lady Chatterly’s Lover.
LAW & ORDER RETURNS FOR ITS 21ST SEASON: 12 years after Law & Order was cancelled by NBC, the Emmy-winning drama will return for another season on February 24th. Deadline reports that Sam Waterston and Anthony Anderson will reprise their roles, while new faces such as Jeffrey Donovan, Camryn Manheim, Hugh Dancy, and Odelya Halevi will join the series as well. Writer-showrunner Rick Eid said, “You’ll definitely see some familiar faces along the way. We’re going to keep that, those names quiet right now. But, yeah, there’s so many great actors who have been involved in the show, and the opportunity for them to come back in some capacity is really exciting. So I think we definitely want to find ways to bring back several of our alumni.”
RUPAUL TO HOST LINGO REBOOT: RuPaul will host the CBS reboot of Lingo, a Wordle-esque game show that will premiere later this year. According to Deadline, the show features “teams of two contestants facing off in fast-paced puzzle rounds to guess letters that reveal seemingly simple words. At the end of each one-hour episode, the two winning teams will make it through to a final showdown where one will walk away with an additional big cash prize.”
ALICE TRAILER IS RELEASED: The Hollywood Reporter reports that the trailer for Alice, a film about “an enslaved woman in 1800s Georgia who, after escaping her plantation, learns that it’s actually 1973,” has been released. Alice, starring Keke Palmer and Common, marks Krystin Ver Linden‘s directorial debut.
