Behind the Scenes Buzz

WILL THE SIMPSONS CHANGE AFTER DISNEY BUYS FOX? The Simpsons will have aired 663 original episodes when it ends its 30^th season this Spring, an all-time record it snagged last year from Gunsmoke (which aired 635). But many wonder if The Simpsons will change with Walt Disney Co‘s acquisition of 21^st Century Fox goes through (as is expected, though approval is pending). Sources tell Variety that The Simpsons will be renewed for a 31^st and 32^nd season, but many observers wonder if it will survive the merger. Still, media consultant Brad Adgate believes the show won’t end or change too dramatically. “When the show ends, I would think that it will be because the creators of the show and the producers don’t want to do it anymore, not because twomedia conglomerates got together,” Adgate says. Do you think The Simpsons will be Disney-fied?

KERRY WASHINGTON SET FOR NETFLIX‘S AMERICAN SON: Kerry Washington will star in Netflix‘s screen adaptation of American Son. Washington currently stars in Kenny Leon‘s Broadway adaptation of the play, opposite Steven Pasquale. Leon and Pasquale are on board the streamer’s version as well. The story follows a separated interracial couple who reunite at a Florida police station after the disappearance of their son. Production of the film beings in February.

AMAZON SETS LAUNCH DATE FOR THE EXPANSE: After getting nixed by Syfy and scooped up by Amazon Prime, The Expanse is set to debut its third season on the streaming service as of February 8^th, with the fourth season to follow later this year. Based on novels by James S. A. Corey, the political science fiction thriller is set hundreds of years in the future, when humans have colonized the solar system. The series stars three-time Golden Globe nominee Thomas Jane (Deep Blue Sea), Oscar-nominee Shohreh Asgdashloo (Star Trek: Beyond), Steve Strait (The Covenant) and many others.

THE MAGICIANS RENEWED FOR SEASON 5: Syfy has picked up a fifth season of the critically acclaimed The Magicians. The news comes ahead of the show’s season 4 premiere (January 23^rd, 9 p.m. on Syfy). Based on novels by Lev Grossman, the show follows friends from Brakebills University who discover they have magical abilities.