Whoopi Goldberg Slams Clarence Thomas 

►"You better hope they don’t come for you." In a discussion about the Roe decision, The View's Whoopi Goldberg called out Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for saying the court “should reconsider” past rulings that secured access to contraceptives and marriage equality. Goldberg became the latest prominent Black celebrity to question why Thomas did not include Loving v. Virginia, which allowed for interracial marriages, in his list of past rulings given that his wife, the scandal-plagued Ginni Thomas, is white. The story. 

—"Heart wrenching and frightening news." At the top of each of their respected late-night shows, late-night hosts James Corden, Seth Meyers and Trevor Noah addressed the Supreme Court’s decision Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade. "It’s incomprehensible that in 2022, we should even have to say out loud that women should be entitled to control their own lives and bodies, let alone live in a country that won’t allow it," Corden said. The recap. 

—Wasting no time. FX has picked up a second season of The Old Man, the drama starring Jeff Bridges as a former CIA operative who is pulled back into the world of espionage. The renewal comes three episodes into the show’s seven-episode first season, which has scored solid viewing so far. The story.

—Horrific allegations. Former Hollywood powerbroker Adam Venit has been sued by his ex-wife, who accuses him of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking and says she was “trapped in a dangerously violent and abusive marriage.” In the suit, Trina Venit claims that her ex-husband, a former WME agent, “strangled, punched, kicked, drugged and sexually assaulted her, leaving her bloodied, bruised and scarred on too many occasions to count.” The story.

Alex Wagner to Replace Rachel Maddow

►"I’m thrilled to be coming home." MSNBC has found its new 9 p.m. host: former MSNBC dayside host and CBS News anchor Alex Wagner. Wagner effectively succeeds Rachel Maddow, who shifted to a weekly format earlier this year. Maddow continues to host the hour on Monday nights, and when there is breaking news coverage (for example, she led coverage after the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade reversal last week). Wagner will lead the hour Tuesday-Friday nights, beginning Aug. 16. The story. 

—Oh you tease. HBO has confirmed that production on season four of Succession has begun! The premium cabler also teased a logline for the 10-episode season, outlining the direction of the show after the sale of Waystar Royco to tech entrepreneur Lukas Matsson. The story. 

—First-look deal news. Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne’s Animal Pictures has signed a first-look deal with Apple TV+. Under the multiyear deal, Apple will get the opening shot at series and digital feature projects developed at the company. The deal comes just a few days after the debut of Loot, a comedy series starring Rudolph and produced by Animal. The story. 

—Casting the web wide. Emma Roberts has jumped on board Madame Web, the Sony spinoff centered on the Spider-Man character. The film stars Dakota Johnson in the lead role. S.J. Clarkson is set to direct the feature, which is part of Sony’s growing stable of films based on Marvel characters. The story.

—Sic transit gloria. Jason Schwartzman is the latest star to join The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. In the prequel, Schwartzman will play Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman, the host of the 10th Hunger Games and ancestor to Caesar Flickerman, who would become the voice of Panem and is played by Stanley Tucci in the original Hunger Games films. The story. 

Even Top Creators Find That Star Power Is Fleeting

►"It’s not worth it to always be forced to do one thing." THR's J. Clara Chan reports from VidCon, the marquee gathering for social media creators and influencers including big names such as Marques Brownlee, Hank Green and Brittany Broski. Clara finds that in amongst the headline news (Khaby Lame succeeded Charli D'Amelio as the most-followed TikTok creator), creators are grappling with "burnout" and the shifting whims of social media platforms. The story. 

—OK, this sounds amazing. THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on Russell Crowe starring in The Pope’s Exorcist, a supernatural thriller that Julius Avery (Overlord), will direct for Screen Gems. Crowe will portray real-life figure Father Gabriele Amorth, a priest who acted as chief exorcist of the Vatican and who performed more than 100,000 exorcisms in his lifetime. The story. 

—Debut plans. Borys also has the scoop on Warner Bros. Discovery firming up its first ever San Diego Comic-Con next month. House of the Dragon, The Sandman and Harley Quinn will be showcased in a big way but there'll be no panels for The CW-DC shows as the network is facing a possible sale and had canceled many of its shows. The story. 

—Race to the screen. THR's Lesley Goldberg has the scoop on Hulu teaming with racecar driver Daniel Ricciardo to develop a half-hour scripted series that is set in the world of Formula 1 racing. Details about the project’s logline are being kept under wraps. A search for a writer is under way. The news comes as racing projects have been heating up the TV and film landscape. The story. 

—Felony stalking. A California judge found Monday that there is enough evidence against Jason Allen Alexander, once briefly married to Britney Spears, who showed up uninvited at the pop star’s wedding to go to trial on a felony stalking charge. The judge ruled that Alexander should be held to answer on the charge, along with misdemeanor counts of trespassing, vandalism and battery, court records showed. The story. 

TV Review: 'Only Murders in the Building' S2 

►"An even deeper, warmer delight." THR TV critic Angie Han reviews Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. Oliver (Martin Short), Charles (Steve Martin) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) set out to solve the mystery of who killed Arconia board president Bunny Folger (Jayne Houdyshell) in the second season of their podcast. The review.  

—"It might be the right time to stop." THR's man in London Alex Ritman spoke to Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville who thinks the latest feature film A New Era was a “good note” to conclude the Crawleys’ lengthy and illustrious reign. Bonneville also talked about Paddington, revealing why he thought that Dougal Wilson, the newly-announced director of the third film, possessed all the “right flavors” to “look after the bear from darkest Peru." The interview.

—"Braver than she’s ever been." THR's Christy Piña spoke to Stranger Things star Sadie Sink on how she prepared for Max's darker scenes, why she was genuinely terrified by Jamie Campbell Bower on set and who she thinks is Vecna's next victim heading into the final two episodes. Warning spoilers. The interview. 

In other news...

—Top Gun: Maverick, Stranger Things among Location Managers Guild Awards nominees

—Abbott Elementary trio to host TV Critics Awards

—Hollywood flashback: 30 years ago, Eddie Murphy soared with Boomerang

—University of Texas at Austin’s Harry Ransom Center sets endowment to honor Robert De Niro

—Director Daresha Kyi signs with WME

—Shanghai Disneyland set to reopen as local COVID wave subsides

—Ludacris’ manager Chaka Zulu injured in Atlanta shooting

—Frankenstein reimagining, series from R.E.D. director, Babylon Berlin and Valley of Tears creators among Sky Deutschland slate 

What else we're reading...

—Lucas Shaw on the success of Draymond Green's podcast (it's a good listen!) [Bloomberg]

—Ben Goggin on how Instagram is restricting some abortion resource posts and hashtags [NBC News]

—Erik Piepenburg writes that despite the best intentions, the latest Queer as Folk remake doesn't expand its L.G.B.T.Q. world, unlike Heartstopper [NYT]

—Chris Murphy on Netflix’s new survival competition Snowflake Mountain which isn't the "anti-woke" celebration that it may appear [VF]

—With the breakout success of “chart-throb” and “map daddy” Steve Kornacki, Ben Lee goes deep into the erotics of infographics [Gawker]

Today...  

...in 1989, Universal brought Spike Lee’s drama Do The Right Thing to theaters. The film went on to be nominated for two Oscars at the 62nd Academy Awards, for Danny Aiello’s supporting character, Sal, and the screenplay by Lee. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Mel Brooks (96), John Cusack (56), Kathy Bates (74), Jon Watts (41), Mike White (52), Niamh Algar (30), Jessica Hecht (57), Florian Zeller (43), Ayelet Zurer (53), Alessandro Nivola (50), Felicia Day (43), Mary Stuart Masterson (56), Alice Krige (68), Bruce Davison (76), Aileen Quinn (51), Scott Haze (39), Camille Guaty (46), Tichina Arnold (53), Maya Stojan (36)