In Brief: ABC building new ‘Extreme Makeover’ show, and more

ABC has greenlit a new iteration of the reality show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, the network announced on Tuesday. The Home Edit‘s Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin will host the show, which, like the original series, will feature, “heartwarming stories inspired volunteers, and mind-blowing builds for deserving families who give back to their communities,” per ABC …

Billy Porter will receive the 2024 Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award in recognition of his outstanding dedication and contributions as an activist and spokesperson for the LGBTQ+ communities, the Tony Awards Administration Committee announced on May 7. The award is presented annually to a member of the theater community who has made a substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian, social service or charitable organizations, per the Tony Awards. Porter’s work includes The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and the Entertainment Community Fund. The 77th annual Tony Awards, hosted by Ariana DeBose, will air live June 16 on CBS and stream on Paramount+ …

NBC has shored up its comedy roster for the 2024-2025 season, renewing Lopez vs. Lopez for a third season and ordering the new series Happy’s Place, starring Reba McEntire. Lopez vs. Lopez, starring George Lopez and his daughter Mayan, along with Selenis Leyva, Matt Shively, Brice Gonzalez and Al Madrigal, reached nearly 10 million total viewers across all platforms and he highest-indexing broadcast program among English-dominant Hispanic households, per the network. Happy’s Place stars McEntire as Bobbie, who “inherits her father’s restaurant and is less than thrilled to discover that she has a new business partner in the half-sister she never knew she had. The series reunites McEntire with her Reba costar, Melissa Peterman. Meanwhile, Deadline reports the Jon Cryer series Extended Family has been canceled after one season …

Susan Buckner, best known for playing cheerleader Patty Simcox alongside Olivia Newton-John in the movie Grease, “died peacefully” and “surrounded by loved ones” on May 2, family publicist Melissa Berthier tells Entertainment Weekly. She was 72. A cause of death was not revealed. Buckner was a member of the female song and dance troupe The Golddiggers, who appeared on The Dean Martin Show. She also made appearances on a number of 1980s TV shows, including The Love Boat, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries and B.J. and the Bear. Her film roles included Wes Craven‘s Deadly Blessing with Sharon Stone and Police Academy 6: City Under Siege …

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