Small Screen: ‘Generations’ Lynn Hamilton passes at 95, Dustin Nguyen Returns To Hollywood
Broadcast: Lynn Hamilton, best known for her role as Donna Harris on Sanford and Son (1972), sadly passed away in her home in Chicago on Thursday, June 19, 2025. She died of natural causes at the age of 95. With a career spanning over five decades, Hamilton appeared in notable television shows, including The Waltons (1972), Roots: The Next Generations (1979), The Golden Girls (1985), 227 (1985) alongside Jackee Harry, and Generations (1994).
Born in Mississippi, Hamilton moved to Chicago Heights at the age of 12, where she began her acting career in community theater. Her first film appearance was in the 1958 drama, Shadows. She joined Sanford and Son in 1972, portraying Fred Sanford’s girlfriend until the show concluded in 1977.
In last week's column, we touched on the new children's edition of the Doctor Who franchise. This week, we're addressing the concerns surrounding the series as a whole.
During last month’s finale of the series' second season, we saw the departure of Ncuti Gatwa as the “Doctor” and the reintroduction of Billie Piper, who played Rose Tyler during David Tennant’s era in the early 2000s. However, Doctor Who has yet to be renewed for a third season by the BBC and Disney+.
Russell T. Davies, the showrunner of the series, revealed that even he is unsure about the future of the series. “We don’t know what’s happening yet,” Davies wrote, announcing that he would be taking “a pause” in writing for the publication while everyone works that out. He added, “Hopefully, we’ll have news soon.” Rumors about Gatwa’s potential departure began circulating even before the Season 2 premiere in April, intensifying as the ratings declined from the previous season. Gatwa, who made history as the first openly queer Black actor to take on the role, starred in Doctor Who alongside companions played by Millie Gibson and Varada Sethu.
Shinichirō Watanabe - imdb
Cable: In Adult Swim's Lazarus (2025), created by Shinichirō Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop), the story is set in the year 2052. It follows a man who seeks to eliminate pain from the world at a terrible cost. Society has fallen victim to a drug called Hapuna, which numbs sickness and pain. However, after three years of dependency on Hapuna, users face a grim fate: they will die within thirty days.
Watanabe has stated that his inspiration for Lazarus came from the opioid crisis and a desire to create an action anime similar to Mission: Impossible (1996). He collaborated with Chad Stahelski, director of John Wick (2014), to modernize the action sequences. Watanabe also notes that while budgets in the industry have increased over the past two decades, there is a significant shortage of skilled animators.
Dustin Nguyen - Michael Buckner
Streaming: Dustin Nguyen, known for his role as Harry Truman Loki on 21 Jump Street (1987), has made a major return to Hollywood after establishing himself as a director and producer, most notably for the Vietnamese version of The Amazing Race in 2012.
Former colleague Steve Beers invited Nguyen to work on an episode of NBC’s This Is Us (2016) in Vietnam. Nguyen recalls, “I had been in Vietnam for so long that I had never even heard of the show. I said to Steve, ‘Come over; I’ll show you around. We can handle the production services for you.’ He offered me a couple of guest spots on those episodes, and I ended up taking one because that particular episode was filming in Vietnam. It was a very small part, but soon after, I started receiving emails from friends…”
The exposure from his role reignited interest in Nguyen, leading him to direct a couple of episodes of Warrior in 2019 and ultimately prompting his full-time move back to the United States. Since then, Nguyen has starred in Netflix’s Blade of the 47 Ronin (2022) and the Sundance film The Accidental Getaway Driver (2023). He currently plays the role of Son Pham in Apple TV’s Dope Thief (2025).
David Oyelowo stars as Hampton Chambers in Apple TV+'s, Government Cheese. Chambers is the patriarch of the family whose return from prison disrupts his unconventional unit, leading to chaos within the household.
The story follows Oyelowo’s character, who, while on a spiritual journey, experiences surreal events such as being trapped in a catfish’s stomach and undergoing a death-and-resurrection experience. Though these moments reference biblical themes, they are shown to be literal events, prompting us to question the distinction between what is real and what is imagined.
Oyelowo's upcoming projects include the film Solitary, directed by Nate Parker. He is also involved in the upcoming psychological thriller and is developing a limited series based on Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart alongside Idris Elba. Additionally, he is working on Biafra, which focuses on the civil war in Nigeria, in collaboration with the BBC.
Atlanta-based comedian Desi Banks is creating a sitcom with BET Studios. Loosely based on his earlier acts, the series will be a multi-camera comedy that revolves around “a lovable yet stubborn comedian on the rise as he tries to balance fatherhood, relationships, and the pursuit of his lifelong dream.” Banks is teaming up with rising screenwriter Malcolm Heaggans to write the sitcom. Heaggans will also serve as executive producers along with Terrence Battle. Producers for the series are Jermaine Johnson, Kevin “Coach K” Lee, Pierre “P” Thomas, and Christopher Hicks.
Banks is the CEO of Desi Banks Productions and was featured in Netflix's One of Them Days, starring Keke Palmer and SZA.
Shamier Anderson (John Wick: Chapter 4) has recently been cast as the contentious Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson in the upcoming series Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story. The series, which will be available for streaming on Paramount+ Canada and GameTV early next year, will show Johnson's journey as the world’s fastest man at the 1988 Olympics, a title he lost when he was stripped of his medals due to the use of stanozolol, commonly known as Winstrol. The series will explore the events surrounding the legendary race and the complications tied to the scandal.
In addition to this role, Anderson has appeared in Simon Kinberg’s Invasion (2021) on Apple TV+, which is set to release its third season later this year. He also starred alongside Paul Walter Hauser in The Luckiest Man in America (2024), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Hate the Player is developed by Anthony Q. Farrell and is produced in with Ben Johnson.
Paramount+ UK & Ireland has officially approved the production of the new UK thriller series The Revenge Club. The cast will feature Meera Syal (Goodness Gracious Me) as Rita, and Chaneil Kular (Sex Education) as Tej. The series will be executive produced by Alison Jackson, J.D. Pennington, Gabbie Asher (The Tattooist of Auschwitz), and Jess Connell. Tim Kirkby (Fleabag) will serve as the lead director, joined by Daniel O’Hara (Stay Close), while Margot Gavan Duffy will take on the role of producer.
Cardwell stated: The Revenge Club is a sharp, stylish, and darkly funny thriller, brought to life by a brilliant cast and an exceptional creative team. We’re thrilled to be part of this gripping project and to showcase it as a standout addition to our growing slate of bold, original UK content.”
Drama series It’s Not Like That has added Caleb Baumann (Parish) to its cast as a series regular. Created by Ian Deitchman and Kristin Robinson, the series follows a recently widowed father of three, who is also the local minister, and a divorced mother of two as they navigate their romantic relationships and the complexities of their teenagers dating each other.
Baumann will portray Merritt, the son of Lori, played by Erin Hayes. Ian Deitchman and Kristin Robinson serve as executive producers and showrunners, alongside Garrett Lerner, who is also an executive producer and co-showrunner. Other executive producers include Jon Erwin, Justin Rosenblatt, Kelly Merryman Hoogstraten, and Alex Goldstone (Dickinson). Casting directors for the series are Seth Yanklewitz and Ben Pollack. The series is produced by Amazon MGM Studios.
Baumann has recently been featured in Grey’s Anatomy (2025), Disney Channel’s Raven’s Home (2022), and Clint Eastwood’s The 15:17 to Paris (2018). He will also appear in the upcoming feature California Skate. He is represented by Momentum Talent and Literary Agency and Myrna Lieberman Management.
Curtis Jackson, also known as “50 Cent,” is expanding his action channel to the United Kingdom. The 50 Cent Action Channel has released its subscription service in the UK via Prime Video Channels for £3.99 ($5.43) a month, following a seven-day free trial. Jackson stated that the UK was a natural choice for international expansion, considering that he has a large following in that region.
Having previously partnered with Lionsgate, the channel features around 1,000 hours of its action films and has become the top action channel in the U.S. on platforms like The Roku Channel. Jackson aims to create a unique brand for 50 Cent Action, leveraging his significant social media following to enhance fan engagement. As he continues to grow his brand, 50 Cent’s Power (2014) universe at Starz is also expanding with new spin-offs in development.
Further along, Netflix has recently partnered with Yahoo’s demand-side platform (DSP). Amy Reinhard, Netflix’s president of advertising, described this decision as a “milestone,” stating that it will allow clients to buy Netflix advertising programmatically through Yahoo.
In addition to Netflix's announcement, Amazon and Roku have also unveiled a groundbreaking partnership. This collaboration will integrate Amazon’s DSP with Roku’s streaming platform, enabling advertisers to reach over 80% of connected TV households.
Although usually competitors, Amazon Ads and Roku are partnering on a new advertising initiative set to launch by 2025. This collaboration will allow media buyers to reach over 80% of U.S. connected TV households through Amazon's demand-side platform (DSP), which will place ads on popular services like the Roku Channel and Prime Video. The partnership was announced during the Cannes Lions festival in France, and early results show that ads placed through this integration have reached 40% more viewers without extra cost and have reduced the frequency of ads shown to individuals by nearly 30%. This means advertisers are getting three times more value for their ad spend compared to previous options.
Roku’s Jay Askinasi and Amazon's Kelly MacLean emphasized that while they compete in some areas, they also collaborate, as Roku's devices are sold on Amazon, and Prime Video is available on Roku. Paul Kotas from Amazon Ads called this collaboration a significant advancement for advertisers, promising new capabilities for better performance.
“For years, Roku has been committed to delivering performance-driven, open, and interoperable solutions that provide visibility and accountability for advertisers. Our partnership with Amazon strengthens this mission, as Amazon DSP exemplifies these principles,” said Charlie Collier, President, Roku Media
Just one year after its launch, Tubi UK has seen significant growth with the addition of a substantial amount of new content, including Baby Driver (2017), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), and AMC’s Moonhaven (2022). As part of Tubi UK’s progress, the platform has also secured deals with AMC Networks, Sony, and NBCUniversal (NBCU), resulting in the addition of 1,000 films and TV episodes to its library. A couple of films coming to Tubi as part of the deal are The Da Vinci Code (2003) and The Last House on the Left (2009). Additionally, TV shows from AMC, such as Supa Girlz (2024) and The Son (2022).
"Since launching nearly a year ago in the UK, Tubi has doubled its library size, solidifying its position as the provider of the largest collection of free movies and TV series in the UK," said Ross Appleton, General Manager for Tubi UK. “With rising costs and fragmentation in streaming, Tubi will continue to offer viewers extensive content choices and a highly personalized viewing experience.”
In Netflix’s The Residence (2025), the murder mystery series from Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland, Uzo Aduba plays Cordelia Cupp, a quirky detective who loves birdwatching. She investigates the murder of White House Chief Usher A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito) during an Australian state dinner, leading to many suspects, including, for a moment, the president himself! Randall Park plays FBI Special Agent Edwin Park, who, despite being an official part of the investigation, becomes Cupp’s assistant.
Park was initially unsure about joining the project, but was drawn in by the writing and Aduba's involvement. Park felt an instant connection with Aduba, which reflected in their performances. As for Season 2, Aduba hinted that she looks forward to more adventures for Cordelia Cupp.
dean garfield - tko group
Industry: Tyler Perry is currently facing a lawsuit from actor Derek Dixon, who plays Dale on BET's drama series, The Oval (2019). Dixon's lawsuit alleges that Perry has made multiple sexual advances towards him, including an incident where they reportedly shared a bed after Perry was too intoxicated to drive home from a party. During that night, Perry reportedly attempted to make unwanted physical contact. The lawsuit states, "Dixon kept informing Perry that he was not interested in sexual relations in order to keep Perry at bay, all while trying not to insult someone who was influencing his career."
According to the complaint, Dixon wrote a script for a series titled Losing It; Perry had promised to produce the pilot. The suit claims that in June 2021, Dixon visited Perry’s house to discuss the show, but during this meeting, Perry allegedly took advantage of the situation and tried to sexually assault him in the guest house. The lawsuit describes Perry's actions as using the show's production as a means of coercion, stating that Perry held it over Dixon’s head like the "sword of Damocles."
TKO Group, the parent company of WWE and UFC, has appointed Dean Garfield as Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, a position he officially began on Monday, June 16, 2025. Garfield, who previously served as Vice President of Public Policy at Netflix, will lead TKO's global government affairs. With over 20 years of experience in public policy, Seth Kraus, TKO's Chief Administrative Officer, believes Garfield will enhance the company's government relations strategy.
Garfield has an extensive background, having previously served as President and CEO of the IT Industry Council and held positions at the Motion Picture Association and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). He has also been appointed to advisory committees under Presidents Obama and Trump. Garfield holds a law degree from NYU, a master's degree from Princeton, and a bachelor's degree from Middlebury College.
