Nicole Kidman to star in Liane Moriarty's Nine Perfect Strangers

Big little gig

Nicole Kidman is to star in an adaptation of the Liane Moriarty novel Nine Perfect Strangers for the streaming platform Hulu. The series is set in a health resort and follows the interpersonal relationships between nine strangers attending a retreat. Kidman will play the resort's director, described as a woman "on a mission to reinvigorate their tired minds and bodies." In addition to Kidman, the project has her Big Little Lies collaborators, executive producers Bruna Papandrea and David E. Kelley, attached as well. The series will be produced for Hulu by Kidman's production company, Blossom Films. The series is expected to air on Hulu in second half of 2020; no international broadcasters are yet attached.

Big little gig: Nicole Kidman to star in the TV adaptation of another Liane Moriarty novel.Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Eurovision jury named

Singer-songwriter Christine Anu and comedian Mark Humphries have been named to Australia's national jury for the 64th annual Eurovision Song Contest. The jury is tasked with scoring the performers from the 40 other competing countries. The other Australian Eurovision jurors are Triple J presenter Lewis Hobba, composer Alice Chance and broadcaster Mark Cummins. Cummins will serve as the jury's chairman. Final scores in the Eurovision Song Contest are compiled by mixing the jury's vote with the audience "televote"; viewers in all 41 participating countries, including Australia, are eligible to vote. The 64th annual Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Tel Aviv between May 14-18 and broadcast on SBS.

Wolf Creek, Wentworth stars join Doctor Doctor

Wolf Creek and Glitch star Dustin Clare is joining the cast of the Nine Network's medical drama Doctor Doctor. Clare joins the series in its fourth season, along with two more newcomers, Wentworth star Kate Jenkinson and Upper Middle Bogan star, theatre legend and Mrs Spiderman, Robyn Nevin. The series, which is produced by Ian Collie, Claudia Karvan and Tony McNamara, follows the downward spiral of heart surgeon Dr Hugh Knight (Rodger Corser) when he is banished to a country outpost and is forced to reset his life. The fourth season of the show will likely air this year but no airdate has been announced.

Modern day master of horror Jordan Peele takes on The Twilight Zone.Credit: CBS All Access

Twilight Zone gets second season

From the least surprising headlines department comes confirmation that the US streaming service has renewed its reboot of The Twilight Zone. With Hollywood's most feted horror film producer-director combo Jordan Peele making it, it's a no brainer than CBS was going to ask for more. The platform's head of original content Julie McNamara confirmed the second season, applauding the series for delivering to CBS All Access its highest premiere day audience since launch. (Not Star Trek: Discovery? Yikes.) "They are master storytellers," McNamara said of Peele and his producing partner Simon Kinberg. "We look forward to bringing fans further into The Twilight Zone." The series airs in Australia on Ten All Access.

ABC Breakfast gig up for grabs

The ABC's News Breakfast program is to lose its co-host, with broadcaster Virginia Trioli confirmed as the replacement for one of Melbourne's radio legends, the ABCs Jon Faine, who is stepping away from his two-decade-plus run on the national broadcaster's airwaves later this year. "I'm absolutely thrilled to be taking on one of the most precious radio jobs in the country," Trioli said in a statement. "Radio is in my soul and I'm pinching myself that this once-in-a-career opportunity has come my way." The ABC has not yet named a replacement.

Bring out your dead: the allied armies of Westeros prepare to meet the enemy.Credit: HBO

GOT's long - and dark - night

It may have broken ratings records, and delivered Game of Thrones fans the most climactic moments in the show's decade-long history, but the epic Battle of Winterfell - or, more specifically, season eight, episode three - was not named The Long Night for nothing. The episode came in for fierce criticim online because it was, at times, too dark to make out much detail as the armies of Westeros went into battle with an army of undead led by the Night King. Fear not: it's not them, it's you, apparently. "A lot of people don't know how to tune their TVs properly," the show's cinematographer Fabian Wagner said in the wake of the criticism. "A lot of people also unfortunately watch it on small iPads, which in no way can do justice to a show like that." In more technical terms, the show is filmed rather magnificently but then compressed for broadcast, the upshot of which is, don't blame Foxtel, blame HBO.