Category: Entertainment

Fox’s Empire is done. Or is it?

The series wrapped up its six seasons on television with an early finale, the proper series-ender was a casualty of the coronavirus. Production was shut down in the middle of filming episode 19 of the 20-episode final season. Instead, producers cobbled together a finale with episode 18 and what was shot for 19. Major storylines were left unresolved, like who blew up Cookie’s (Taraji P. Henson) car and who shot Lucious (Terrence Howard) and whether they survived those attempts on their lives.

While it remains unlikely the show will be able to shoot the proper finale, showrunner Brett Mahoney has made it clear he wants fans to get the ending somehow.

“[W]e will find some creative way, whether it’s just releasing the script or something, we’ll get it out there as to what it was intended,” Mahoney told Deadline about the original series ending. “But I don’t want to give it away now. I will tell you, though, the spirit that you see in this piece is similar to the spirit in which we intended to end the series.”

Henson told EW if Empire doesn’t get a proper series finale, it will be on her mind forever. She told EW she is pushing for it to be made properly.

“These posts and DMs that I’m getting, they are heart-wrenching. As an artist, to not be able to finish something that you started, that hurts me. I feel incomplete. I don’t ever start something and don’t complete it. And so, for me, it’s deep; I have to finish, or this will haunt me for the rest of my life and career. As it would the audience. And I don’t think we should deprive such a loyal fan base of that ending. They deserve to be in their feelings. They deserve more than this abrupt ending. And I get it, where we are right now, we have to be responsible. But I think when the dust settles, at the end of the day, the audience deserves it. Because they pay my bills!” Henson said.

Could the story continue in a rumored Cookie spinoff? Nobody is saying anything for sure just yet.

“I don’t actually know. I don’t have anything to do with any spinoff. But I would imagine [such a series] would be something people would be interested in. And I would imagine the studio and the network would want to explore that. But I don’t know where that is or what they’re doing,” Mahoney told TVLine.

This is an American Idol blast from the past.

After production was shutdown in the wake of social distancing guidelines to curb the spread of the coronavirus, ABC was forced to change things up for American Idol. Now, instead of going live in front of a studio audience, Idol contestants will perform live to tape from their respective homes while Ryan Seacrest hosts from his home and judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and Katy Perry weigh in from their own domiciles.

“How will American Idol continue? I’ll be judging from California, Lionel Richie from LA, Luke Bryan & Bobby Bones in Nashville. Ryan Seacrest will host from Cali! Contestants perform at their house! America will VOTE from HOME and choose a WINNER!” Perry said on Twitter.

Seacrest shared a sneak peek of his remote set-up which includes a blast from the past: the original American Idol desk that Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell used.

“It was in my garage in storage, but I never thought we’d quite use it again, but it’s coming in handy for Sunday,” Seacrest told his Instagram followers.

This is the first time it’s ever happened in American Idol‘s nearly two decades on television. The show will continue remotely until crowning a champion for the third season on ABC.

Seacrest has also been hosting Live With Kelly and Ryan remotely from California while Kelly Ripa hosts from her home in New York.

The American Idol Top 20 will perform from their homes on Sunday, April 26 at 8 p.m. on ABC.

Jimmy Fallon‘s daughter Winnie cutely crashed his interview with Halle Berry not once but twice during Tuesday’s episode of The Tonight Show.

The first time happened while the 53-year-old actress was telling a story about her 12-year-old daughter Nahla.

Like many people, the Oscar winner has been social distancing amid the global coronavirus pandemic. Berry told Fallon she and her kids, Nahla and Maceo (6), have been swimming every day in their pool to get a little exercise. The Monster’s Ball star then explained she’d try to comb Nahla’s hair after they’d get out of the pool but that the young lady wouldn’t let her.

“So, every time I go to comb her hair she’s like, ‘No, don’t touch me. I can handle it. I’m a tween. I don’t need you to brush my hair,'” Berry told Fallon via video chat. “So, I’m like, ‘Cool. I won’t touch your hair.'”

Just as Berry was about to get to the next part of the story, Winnie (6), appeared and told her father she needed to get by him. Of course, the stars didn’t mind and Berry even complimented Fallon’s firstborn on her dress.

“We’ve almost got on the same fashion!” the Gothika celeb said after noting the similarities in their dresses. “How cool is that?”

After Winnie passed through, Berry got back to her story. 

“We’re doing her homework the other night and [Nahla] goes, ‘Mom, I’m scared to tell you this, but, like, touch the back of my head.’ All her hair, which is like past her shoulders, has shrunken up into a tight ball that feels like matted fur. Like, I can’t even get my finger in it,” the A-lister recalled. “I’m pulling and…she’s screaming….I’m trying to stay calm. Like, ‘OK, this is cool. Let’s just go in the shower, put some conditioner on it. This is going to be cool.’ Get in the shower, 30 minutes later, it’s getting tighter. I had to shave it off….She was not cool with that, but it was the only option.”

Berry was then explaining how her daughter learned the important lessons of brushing her hair and listening to her mom when Winnie reappeared.

“Hi again!” Fallon’s eldest said.

The late-night host then shared the story with her. 

“This is why you have to brush your hair, Win,” he said. “Because guess what? Her daughter didn’t brush her hair and she got a big knot in the back of her hair and guess what she did?…. We’d shave it all off. So see? Listen to mommy and daddy, OK?”

This wasn’t the first time fans had seen Fallon’s children appear on the at-home edition of his program. In fact, both Winnie and her sister Franny (5) have made several cute cameos. To look back at a few adorable moments, check out the gallery.

Watch the video to see the rest of Berry’s interview.

(E! and NBC are both part of NBCUniversal).