Category: BUSINESS

On Wednesday, Netflix announced that it will be soon be distributing the first-ever live-action “Scooby-Doo” television series, with a story set before the Mystery Inc. gang officially got together. In over more than 50 years, the “Scooby-Doo” characters and stories have yet to be seen as a live-action series, brought to life only in animated shows and three live-action movies.

Here’s what we know about Netflix’s newly announced “Scooby Doo” series.

What is the new ‘Scooby-Doo’ series about?

The new series will serve as an origin story for the Mystery Inc. gang, all based on the original Hanna-Barbera characters. Here’s what Netflix has to say about it:

“During their final summer at Camp Ruby-Spears, old friends Shaggy and Daphne get embroiled in a haunting mystery surrounding a lonely lost Great Dane puppy that may have been a witness to a supernatural murder. Together with the pragmatic and scientific townie, Velma, and the strange, but ever-so-handsome new kid, Freddy, they set out to solve the case that is pulling each of them into a creepy nightmare that threatens to expose all of their secrets.”

Who’s acting in the new ‘Scooby-Doo’ series?

Netflix has not announced who will be playing the main lineup of characters in the new live-action series.

The award-winning “CBS Sunday Morning” national correspondent will retire at the end of March, per a memo that Rand Morrison, the program’s executive producer, sent to staff Wednesday.

“It’s time to share some news that most of us already know but are reluctant to accept. Our beloved, longtime Sunday Morning colleague… national correspondent Rita Braver will retire at the end of this month,” Morrison’s memo, which was obtained by USA TODAY, began.

“Those who know Rita and Sunday Morning realize how essential she’s been to our work. … To call it this end of an era barely does justice to the challenges we’ll face now that we can no longer pick up the phone and call on Rita,” the note continued.

“I first need to apologize for my uncertainty these last few weeks,” Anderson, 57, opened her speech before referencing her father Barry’s health. “My father was undergoing cancer surgery and I couldn’t have anticipated being here unless all went smoothly and my parents had all they needed. The good news is he’s OK.”

Anderson, who earned nominations at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards for “The Last Showgirl,” received a Muse Award at the New York Women in Film and Television gala in Manhattan. The original list of honorees, which also included “Wicked” actress Marissa Bode and CNN executive vice president Amy Entelis, was announced on March 6. Anderson’s participation in the ceremony was revealed almost a week later.

Anderson went on to thank the kindness of the doctors and nurses at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, adding that the healthcare workers did so, “in a blessed and generous Canadian healthcare system that make them feel safe.” The actress moved back to her hometown of Vancouver Island in 2020.

The festival’s 2025 edition, which will take place in Nashville’s Lower Broadway district from June 5-8, will hold its nighty closing festivities at Nissan Stadium, where a slew of stars is set to hit the stage.

Some of these top acts include Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Luke Bryan, Jordan Davis, Riley Green, Cody Johnson, Ella Langley, Ashley McBryde, Parker McCollum, Megan Moroney, Rascal Flatts, Red Clay Strays, Darius Rucker, Shaboozey, Blake Shelton, Zach Top, Keith Urban and Bailey Zimmerman.

Additional performers will be announced in the coming weeks.

For the first time, this year’s CMA Fest welcomes SoFi as its presenting sponsor, part of a multi-year partnership as the festival’s official bank and financial services partner.

The award-winning and critically acclaimed comedy, which explores the dark mentorship between a legendary stand-up comedian and young, entitled comedy writer, is created by Emmy-award winners Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsk, who also serve as showrunners.

USA TODAY TV critic Kelly Lawler gave the previous season ★★★½, writing: “After a slightly lackluster second season in 2022, which seemed to tie up the story in a bow too soon, creators Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky found the right way to continue the series about an aging comedienne and her young writer.”

“And while so many other shows go dark and depressing, ‘Hacks’ has delightfully chosen joy, and (of course) some insult comedy from [Jean] Smart’s Deborah Vance,” she added.

A trailer for the Western was released Wednesday, teasing a look at Baldwin in the lead role of outlaw Harland Rust.

“Rust” takes place in the 1880s and follows an orphaned boy, played by Patrick Scott McDermott, who is sentenced to hang after he accidentally kills a rancher.

“In a twist of fate, his estranged grandfather,” Baldwin’s Harland Rust, “breaks him out of jail and takes him on the run toward Mexico,” according to the official plot synopsis. “As they flee across the unforgiving wilderness, the fugitive pair must outrun the determined U.S. Marshal Wood Helm (Josh Hopkins) and a ruthless bounty hunter named ‘Preacher’ (Travis Fimmel).”

Marvel unveiled the star-studded cast of “Avengers: Doomsday” during a livestream event on Wednesday, with each actor being revealed one at a time with a glimpse at the back of their director’s chair.

The announcement lasted more than five hours and concluded with Robert Downey Jr., who will play the villainous Doctor Doom in the highly anticipated film, walking out to sit in his chair and make a shushing motion while looking at the camera.

The cast list indicates “Doomsday,” which is now in production and arrives next year, will be an ambitious crossover between Marvel’s “Avengers” franchise and the “X-Men” series, with numerous original “X-Men” stars returning to reprise their roles for the first time in years. But the stacked cast includes actors from virtually every corner of the Marvel world, from the Fantastic Four to the Thunderbolts and everyone in between.

Marvel films typically keep some surprise cameos under wraps, meaning the epic list of stars may not even be complete. Reports previously indicated Captain America actor Chris Evans would be returning for “Doomsday,” but he was absent from the announcement stream. Other Marvel stars notably missing from the list included Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.

When author Jonathan Stanley set up shop at Barnes & Noble to promote his book, “Purposeful Performance: The Secret Mix of Connecting, Leading, and Succeeding,” only 10 or 15 people stopped to chat with him. But when a mom posted the scene to TikTok, readers across the world showed up – over 70 million of them.

“This sweet man is sitting at B&N with a stack of his books he wrote and my heart is breaking everytime someone passes him,” Pennsylvania-based mom and content creator Taylor Dinelli wrote in her video. 

Now, “Purposeful Performance,” which Stanley self-published in August 2024, has skyrocketed to the No. 1 bestseller on Amazon’s Strategic Management section and No. 4 in business overall. 

After small act of kindness, millions show up for author

The catalyst behind the viral video? A four-year-old.

It was Dinelli’s daughter Ella who inspired her to post the video and go up to Stanley’s table to talk. Ella dreams of becoming an author, which she told Stanley when they bought his book and he signed it for her.