The daily gossip: Showtime wants to take another stab at ending Dexter, Timothée Chalamet is 'embarrassed' by that picture of him kissing Lily-Rose Depp, and more

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1. Dexter is getting a revival
2. Timothée Chalamet recalls being 'embarrassed' about the photos of him making out with Lily-Rose Depp
3. NBC cut out Demi Lovato's 'VOTE' message at the Billboard Music Awards
4. Tony nominations include a category with only a single nominee
5. Looking at the cast list for Netflix's forthcoming Don't Look Up is like staring directly into the sun

published 15 October 2020

1. Dexter is getting a revival

Showtime wants to take another stab at ending Dexter. The network on Wednesday announced it has ordered a limited series revival of the show, which will consist of 10 episodes scheduled to air in fall 2021. Clyde Phillips, the showrunner for Dexter's first four seasons, is on board, as is star Michael C. Hall. The show, about a vigilante serial killer, aired on Showtime for eight seasons, ending in 2013. The finale saw Dexter taking up a new life as a lumberjack and was infamously disliked among fans; it's regularly brought up as among the most reviled TV endings of all time. Then again, the limited series means it will no longer be the ending at all. If at first you don't succeed, Showtime has apparently decided, try, try again.

Remember those super awkward photos of Timothée Chalamet making out with then-girlfriend Lily-Rose Depp on a boat back in September 2019? Yeah, well, so does Chalamet. Speaking with GQ, the 24-year-old actor recalled how he "went to bed that night thinking that was one of the best days of my life. I was on this boat all day with someone I really loved, and closing my eyes, I was like, indisputably, 'That was great.' And then waking up to all these pictures, and feeling embarrassed, and looking like a real nob? All pale?" Chalamet recalled how people had accused the couple of a P.R. stunt. "A P.R. stunt?!" Chalamet said. "Do you think I'd want to look like that in front of all of you?!"

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There is a whole scandal brewing over Demi Lovato's performance on Wednesday night at the Billboard Music Awards, where she was allegedly "muzzled by NBC," according to the breathless reporting of TMZ. Lovato had taken the stage to perform her new anti-Trump song, "Commander in Chief," which included the visual message "VOTE" flashing above the stage during her performance. But "sources say the network pulled the plug on the 'VOTE' message because the song itself was a slam on Trump," TMZ claims; the network instead cropped to a close-up of Lovato at the piano. It's unclear if Lovato knows about the censorship, or how she feels about it, but on Wednesday she said "I literally don't care" if the anti-Trump song "ruins my career."

The nominees for the 74th Tony Awards were released on Thursday, but fans won't have too much trouble guessing the winner in one of the categories. Only 18 shows were eligible because the season was cut short, compared to 34 last year. And when it came to the category of Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, the nominees were Aaron Tveit from Moulin Rouge! The Musical and ... that's all, folks. Yes, Tveit is the sole nominee. Apparently, there's actually technically a chance he could still lose: "Tony officials said it is still a competition because voters will be asked to give Mr. Tveit a 'yes' or 'no' determination, with a 60 percent affirmative vote required for the win," The Wall Street Journal writes.

In what is being described as "the biggest line-up of A-list talent since Steven Soderbergh assembled his Ocean's Eleven team," Netflix has announced the cast of its forthcoming Adam McKay film, Don't Look Up. In addition to Jennifer Lawrence, the film will star Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill, Timothée Chalamet, Ariana Grande, Kid Cudi, and Matthew Perry, Deadline reports. Fans were excited, to say the least: "This is some 2016 Golden State Warriors s--t," tweeted one, while another asked, "is this a film or an award show?!?" And what story, you may wonder, are these great thespians assembled to tell? "The film follows two low-level astronomers who embark on a media tour to warn mankind of an approaching asteroid that will destroy Earth," Deadline writes.

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.