Behind the Scenes Buzz

MICHAEL CHE AND COLIN JOST TACKLING EMMYS VIEWERSHIP CHALLENGES: Saturday Night Live stars Michael Che and Colin Jost are co-hosting the Emmy Awards for the first time Monday, September 17^th, and the pair know they have their work cut out for them. To draw much-needed eyeballs to show as viewership of awards ceremonies continues to plummet, the pair are recruiting co-stars from SNL (which is up for 21 nominations); a sketch with Maya Rudolph and Fred Armison is in the works, and they tapped the likes of Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, John Mulaney, Andy Samberg, Neal Brennan and Mitch Glazer for advice on how to make the show memorable. Still, they’re making no promises. “To try to engineer, to get to a number is impossible, or just not that interesting,” says Jost. The 70^thannual Primetime Emmy Awards will air Monday, September 17^that 8 p.m. EST on NBC. Will you tune in?

BRIDESMAIDS SEQUEL SHELVED: Director Paul Feig has shared some sad news with Bridemaids fans: a long-rumored sequel is probably not going to happen. Feig was attending the A Simple Favor premiere in New York with stars Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding and Jean Smart, when he addressed the issue with Variety. “I don’t know if there will be one honestly,” he said. “That movie worked so well because it was about a woman having a crisis in her life and fixing it. So you don’t want her to have another crisis.” The original box office hit starred Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph and Rose McGowan.

NETFLIX SHARES CAST FOR NEXT SEASON’S CHEF TABLE: David Gelb‘s popular Netflix hit Chef Table will return for its fifth season on September 28^th. While past seasons have featured familiar names and male, Euro-centric lineups, the next season will be different. Among those featured will be Cristina Martinez of South Philly Barbacoa, Bo Songvisava of Bangkok’s Bo.Lan, Musa Dagdeverin of Istanbul’s Ciya Sofrasi and Albert Adria of Barcelona.

DOCTOR WHO STAR BILLIE PIPER BEGINS PRODUCTION ON RARE BEASTS: Billie Piper is making her directorial debut with Rare Beasts, and theDoctor Who star has begun production on the film. Piper is starring, along with Leo Bill (Peterloo), David Thewlis (Harry Potter), Kerry Fox (Bright Star) and newcomer Toby Woolf (Summer Of Rockets) in a film described as an “anti rom-com” about a career-driven single mom who falls for a traditional man. Piper notes: “Rare Beasts is a cautionary tale. Where do we all go after the fallout between men and women? And who do we really need at the end of it all? I’ve been longing to talk ‘dramatically’ about the world I see around me and ultimately, I’ve always wanted to make my own films. This is a wonderful moment.”