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Discovery Plus Greenlights Ghislaine Maxwell Docuseries ‘Chasing Ghislaine’ (TV News Roundup)

Discovery Plus greenlit “Chasing Ghislaine,” a docuseries that investigates the alleged sex trafficker, abuser and Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

The series, from James Patterson and Blackfin, will uncover the full breadth of Maxwell’s alleged crimes and secrets, and feature more than 30 filmed interviews conducted by Vicky Ward, who executive produces alongside Patterson, Bill Robinson, Geno McDermott, Tara Long, Martha Little, Pamela Deutsch and showrunner Emily Bernstein.

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“Chasing Ghislaine” will be accompanied by an Audible Original Podcast hosted by Ward that will launch before the series’ release.

Also in today’s TV news roundup:

DATES

Paramount Plus announced that the fifth season of “The Good Fight” will premiere on June 24. Following the premiere, new episodes of the 10-episode season will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays. In the fifth season, Diane (Christine Baranski) is forced to question whether it’s appropriate for her to help run an African American law firm with Liz (Audra McDonald) after the firm loses two top lawyers. Meanwhile, Marissa (Sarah Steele) and the firm become entangled with Hal Wackner (Mandy Patinkin), a regular Chicagoan who decides to open his own courtroom in the back of a copy shop. The cast also includes Michael Boatman, Nyambi Nyambi, Zach Grenier and Charmaine Bingwa. Robert and Michelle King serve as showrunners on “The Good Fight,” which they co-created with Phil Alden Robinson. Ridley Scott, David W. Zucker, Brooke Kennedy, Liz Glotzer, William Finkelstein, Jonathan Tolins and Jacquelyn Reingold also serve as executive producers.

FIRST LOOKS

Netflix released a trailer for the eight-episode series “Sweet Tooth,” which premieres on June 4. Based on the beloved DC Comic by Jeff Lemire, “Sweet Tooth” is a post-apocalyptic fairytale about a hybrid deer-boy and a wandering loner who embark on an extraordinary adventure. The series stars Christian Convery, Nonso Anozie, Adeel Akhtar, Aliza Vellani, Stefania LaVie Owen, Dania Ramirez, Neil Sandilands, Will Forte and James Brolin as the narrator. Beth Schwartz and Jim Mickle, who also directs, serve as showrunners on the series. Robert Downey, Jr., Susan Downey, Amanda Burrell and Linda Moran also executive produce.

Apple TV Plus released a trailer for “The Me You Can’t See,” which premieres May 21. Executive produced by Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry, the upcoming docuseries will see the duo guiding honest discussions about mental health and emotional well-being with various celebrities and everyday people from around the world. The high-profile guests include Lady Gaga, Glenn Close, chef Rashad Armstead, NBA players DeMar DeRozan and Langston Galloway, 2021 Olympic Boxer Virginia “Ginny” Fuchs and mental health advocate Zak Williams. “The Me You Can’t See” is also executive produced by Harpo Productions’ Terry Wood and Catherine Cyr, along with RadicalMedia’s Jon Kamen, Dave Sirulnick and showrunner Alex Browne. The series is directed and executive produced by Dawn Porter and Asif Kapadia. Jen Isaacson and Nell Constantinople serve as producers.

Variety obtained an exclusive clip from “Broken Harts,” which premieres May 18 on Discovery Plus. Produced by Jupiter Entertainment and Conde Nast Entertainment, the documentary features an incident from 2018 where two women drove themselves and their adopted children off a California cliff. With no survivors to tell the story, investigators expose the dark truth behind the Hart family’s picture-perfect online life while challenging the system that failed six innocent children.

“Broken Harts is so much more than a true-crime mystery,” Patrick Reardon, president of Jupiter Entertainment, told Variety. “It peels back the layers of a broken institution, Child Protective Services, which regularly fails to protect our most vulnerable citizens and which disproportionally affects children of color in the U.S. The film also dives deep into the insidious role social media can play in the cover-up of this abuse and neglect.”

Peacock released a trailer for its upcoming limited series “Dr. Death,” which releases this summer. Based on Wondery’s hit podcast, the series is inspired by the terrifying true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch (Joshua Jackson), a rising star in the Dallas medical community whose routine spinal surgeries left patients permanently maimed or dead. As victims piled up, two fellow physicians, neurosurgeon Robert Henderson (Alec Baldwin) and vascular surgeon Randall Kirby (Christian Slater), as well as Dallas prosecutor Michelle Shughart (AnnaSophia Robb), set out to stop him. Grace Gummer also stars. “Dr. Death” features an all-female directing team including Maggie Kiley, Jennifer Morrison and So Yong Kim. The series is executive produced by showrunner Patrick Macmanus via his Littleton Road Productions banner, Escape Artits’ Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch and Taylor Latham, and Hernan Lopez and Marshall Lewy of Wondery.

CASTING

E! announced that Meghan Trainor, Adam Lambert and Ester Dean will serve as celebrity judges on “Clash of the Cover Bands” (working title) alongside host Stephen “Twitch” Boss. The series, executive produced by Jimmy Fallon, will feature two bands of the same music genre battling to perform the most entertaining cover performance, with the winning band receiving a cash prize. “Clash of the Cover Bands,” premiering later this year, is produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio and Electric Hot Dog. Jim Juvonen executive produces with Fallon.

LATE NIGHT

Pink, Eric Bana, Natti Natasha and Becky G will appear on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” while Shaquille O’Neal, Patton Oswalt and Chase Rice will be on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “Conan” will feature Timothy Olyphant, while Cindy McCain and Mj Rodriguez will appear on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” Julianna Margulies, Josh Duhamel, Alaina Castillo and Brian Frasier-Moore will be on “Late Night With Seth Meyers”; “The Late Late Show With James Corden” will feature Barack Obama and Kelly Rowland, and Matty Matheson will be on “A Little Late With Lilly Singh.”

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