Peacock has announced that the fifth season of Love Island USA will premiere on July 18 exclusively on its streaming platform. The new season will feature a fresh group of singles competing in challenges and forging new relationships on the picturesque island of Fiji. The series has become Peacock’s most-streamed original reality competition show, and fans are eagerly anticipating its return. Executive producers on the show include David George, Adam Sher, Simon Thomas, and many more. The series is produced by ITV Entertainment.
Meanwhile, Amazon Freevee will see a second season of Hollywood Houselift with Jeff Lewis, a home renovation show featuring popular Hollywood celebrities. Lewis’ team of expert designers, including Megan Weaver and Tyler Meyerkorth, will revamp the homes of famous faces such as Kate Bosworth, Gina Rodriguez, and Anthony Anderson, among others. The program boasts a bevy of executive producers, including Allison Grodner, Rich Meehan, Janelle Couture-Rattet, and others.
Elsewhere, Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will host his first national news network town hall on NewsNation on June 28th. The event will be moderated by news anchor Elizabeth Vargas and will discuss his 2024 presidential bid with voters from New Hampshire and South Carolina. Chris Cuomo’s Cuomo will follow the NewsNation cast, which will also re-air the town hall at 11 p.m. ET.
TikTok and Candle Media recently formed a joint partnership to create premium content and branded entertainment. The two will work together to create opportunities for underrepresented TikTok creators that will use Candle’s storytelling capabilities to uplift Hello Sunshine’s LitUp Writer Fellowship Program, which provides funding, mentorship, and marketing to underrepresented women storytellers. The project will shed light on the thriving #BookTok community and the new generation of storytellers within it.
In another development, Crunchyroll Anime Awards will return to Tokyo on March 2, 2024, to honor creators, performers, and other important roles in global anime production. Hosted by voice actress Sally Amaki and entertainer Jon Kabira at the Hotel Shin Takanawa, the awards will open nominations and voting in early 2024 and will feature 30 anime studios, eight streamers, and more than 50 series and films.
Finally, Caroline Hirsch’s comedy club, Carolines on Broadway, is being celebrated with a new exhibition at the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, N.Y. The exhibition commemorates 40 years of Carolines as a Manhattan staple for stand-up comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld, Robin Williams, and Wanda Sykes, among others. The exhibit allows visitors to take photos in front of Carolines’ iconic stage backdrop.
In additional news, Disney+ series American Born Chinese will broadcast its premiere on ABC and be available to stream on Hulu, YouTube, and Roku. Based on Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel, the series follows American teenager Jin Wang as he journeys through his identity while grappling with supernatural elements of Chinese mythology. The series stars Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and other notable actors, with Kelvin Yu serving as showrunner and executive producer.
