ABC’s fall 2021 schedule will be full of long-running hits: “Grey’s Anatomy” is coming back for an 18th season, while “Dancing with the Stars” will return with its 30th season in the fall. Relatively newer shows that have found success on ABC are also coming back, including “The Conners,” “The Goldbergs,” and “The Good Doctor.” Though Disney’s upfront event was primarily centered on the company’s existing shows there were a handful of series announcements, including two shows that will premiere on ABC in the fall....

Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy made the announcements Thursday during a special presentation to investors that was streamed online. The four-hour audiovisual extravaganza more resembled an event at Disney’s annual D23 fan convention than one geared toward analysts and investment bankers. The “Mandalorian” spinoffs are “The Rangers of the New Republic” and an Ahsoka Tano series. They’ll be spearheaded by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. Additionally, a new series about “Rogue One” character Cassian Andor, portrayed by Diego Luna, has just begun production and will debut in 2022....

Taking its title from the play at its heart, “Alien on Stage” follows a group of Dorset bus drivers as they prepare to mount their annual holiday production for charity. They call their company Paranoid Dramatics, and it’s a family affair. Reluctant director Dave casts his wife Lydia as Ripley in the adaptation penned by aspiring screenwriter Luc — their son and a huge “Alien” fan. (Grandpa Ray built the sets....

Initially airing in the U.K. and picked up by AMC, creator Eve Hedderwick Turner’s “Anne Boleyn” bills itself as a “psychological thriller” following the second of Henry VIII’s doomed wives. Anne Boleyn (Jodie Turner-Smith) has been Queen for two-and-a-half years at this point, pregnant with her second child after birthing an unwanted daughter. Her eventual miscarriage causes the King (Mark Stanley) to start casting his eye toward his next wife and Anne fearing that her life is on the line....

“Ava,” released September 25, currently sits at #1 on both AppleTV and Google Play at a standard new-release price of $6.99. It was a troubled production: Matthew Newton wrote the film (originally titled “Eve”) and developed it with Chastain, who stars as an assassin in a secret organization. However, he stepped down as its director about a month before production began in September 2018 after facing public backlash to his past charges of domestic violence and assault....

Most box-office reporting this weekend focuses on the unquestionably stunning results for Tom Cruise’s sequel. Through 10 days of domestic play, it’s grossed $190 million ($357 million worldwide). A second-weekend drop of only 32 percent portends that it will go much, much higher and has the potential to become the highest-grossing 2022 release. Its performance deserves all the accolades — but without the misleading reporting. “Maverick” will likely be Cruise’s biggest hit, and among Paramount’s 10 top performers....

Many prefer to keep business and family separate, but for Earn (Donald Glover) and Alfred (Brian Tyree Henry), they’ve always been linked. Whether it was the shared social currency that kept Earn afloat in grade school (see: “Fubu”) or the partnership they formed as burgeoning rap star and aspiring manager, the personal and professional have always formed a joint juggling act in “Atlanta.” But befitting the series’ final season, perhaps it’s time for their act to end....