Industry News: Miley Cyrus, Judge Judy, Wendy Williams + More!

MILEY CYRUS TO HOST NBC'S NEW YEARS EVE: NBC will be ringing in the New Year with Miley Cyrus this year. The singer will replace Carson Daly as the host of the network’s New Year's Eve coverage. According to Vulture, the Lorne Michaels-produced special has been envisioned as a multi-hour, multi-city event with musical performances but sources told the outlet nothing is official yet.

JUDGE JUDY HAS A NEW BAILIFF: Judge Judith Sheindlin has a new bailiff. When Judge Judy launches her new show, Judy Justice, on IMDb TV November 1st, she’ll be accompanied by a new bailiff named Kevin Rasco instead of Petri Hawkins Byrd, who appeared on Judge Judy for 25 years. She said in a trailer, that Rasco is “one of the warmest people.” The cast also includes cast stenographer Whitney Kumar and her granddaughter, Sarah Rose, who will be working as a law clerk.

WENDY WILLIAMS DELAYS TALK SHOW PREMIERE AGAIN: The Season 13 premiere of Wendy Williams’ daytime talk show has been postponed again. A source told Page Six Thursday (Sept. 13th) that it was a last minute decision designed to give Williams more time to focus on her health. The Wendy Williams Show is now set to premiere on October 18th.

'SOPRANOS' DIRECTOR SAYS TONY'S DEAD: Alan Taylor, the director of The Many Saints of Newark and several episodes of The Sopranos revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that he believes Tony Soprano is dead. The show’s finale, “Made In America” famously ended with the screen fading to black while the Soprano family was mid-conversation at a New Jersey diner.

SEAN PENN RETURNS TO WORK ON 'GASLIT': Sean Penn returned to work on Gaslit Thursday (Sept. 30th), the limited series he stars in with Julia Roberts. Back in July, Penn left the production and refused to return to work until everyone on the production had been vaccinated against Covid-19. Deadline reports that while the production continued to shoot without Penn, he and the studio finally reached a compromise. The entire crew he worked with upon his return was vaccinated.