After eight long seasons, The Vampire Diaries’ Kat Graham is calling it quits.

The 26-year-old series veteran announced plans to end her role as Bonnie Bennett after season eight finishes its run, which has yet to air on The CW.

“Season eight will be my last season,” Graham revealed to Us Weekly. “But you know what, another season is a whole other year, and we’re going to blow it out.”

The hit supernatural drama was recently moved to Friday nights, sometimes dubbed as a day where shows go to die due to fewer audiences tuning in. Its spin-off hit, The Originals, however, was also moved to the same night and formed a solid block that has improved the network’s year-over-year viewership as a result.

The Vampire Diaries has seen several prominent characters leave over the past several years, including lead star Nina Dobrev and Michael Trevino back in season six. Season seven heavily depended on Ian Somerhalder and the remaining stars, leading many to speculate over the show’s uncertain future.

Graham started her Hollywood career as a back-up dancer in various music videos for performers such as Missy Elliott, Pharrell, John Legend, Nelly, Usher, and many more.

She recently sold a dance drama to The CW, thus adding the title of executive producer to her portfolio and resume.

Season seven of The Vampire Diaries is still ongoing with a finale date of May 13. Network representatives and Warner Bros. Television producers have declined to comment on Graham’s leave. The network has not officially announced an end to the long-running series.

Janet Jackson has put her Unbreakable world tour on hold in favor of more personal matters.

“We’re in the second leg of the tour and there actually has been a sudden change. I thought it was important that you be the first to know,” the pop star revealed in a video posted on Twitter.

After seemingly hesitating on camera, the 49-year-old smiled and proceeded. “My husband and I are planning our family. I’m gonna have to delay the tour. Please if you can try and understand that it’s important that I do this now. I have to rest up, doctor’s orders.” Note, however, that Jackson did not mention whether she was pregnant at this time.

Jackson was scheduled to resume the world tour in Birmingham, England, at the end of March after having postponed 29 previous U.S. tour dates to undergo surgery for an undisclosed condition. This led some to believe the singer was suffering from cancer, although the rumors had no basis and she adamantly denied them.

Her remaining European dates were promptly removed from Ticketmaster’s website and all scheduled dates canceled.

Acknowledging the effects of her decision, Jackson proceeded to thank many individuals who had made everything possible, including her dancers, her band, crew members and promoter Live Nation. “I can’t wait for us to get started again.”

The pop sensation released Unbreakable in 2015, the first since Michael Jackson’s passing in 2009. She is currently married to businessman Wissam Al Mana, 41.

After decades of casually flirting with his millionaire boss, Waylon Smithers has finally acknowledged his sexual preference toward other men.

Mr. Burns’ long-time assistant, voiced by Harry Shearer, came out on the latest Simpsons episode which aired this past Sunday. The ambiguous character had hinted at viewers for over 25 years, but ultimately realized that Mr. Burns does not share mutual feelings after a sentimental skydiving trip together. Feeling sympathetic about Smithers’ unsatisfactory love live, Homer secretly tries to find him a boyfriend.

Simpson and company then use a phone app to gather potential men and attend a party at his home, prompting Smithers to grow suspicious about Homer’s intentions. Interestingly, openly-gay actor George Takei was a guest voice on this rather touching episode, with Hank Azaria voicing Smithers’ eventual admirer.

Writer Rob LaZebnik partly dedicated this episode to support his homosexual son, as he explained to the New York Post. “I am a Midwestern guy, so I don’t tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve,” he stated, “but I thought, ‘What better way to tell my son I love him than to write a cartoon about it?’”

His son, Johnny, revealed that his father first asked him for advice on portraying a prominent gay dating app appropriately.

“He once sent me an email, and the header was just ‘How does Grindr work?’ ” Johnny explained. “I screenshotted and Instagrammed it and sent it to all my gay friends because it made me laugh so much.”

LaZebnik believes that gay storylines are always important, especially in cartoons. “Sometimes TV can have a real impact on people’s thinking,” he expressed, “and I certainly hope it will have an impact on my son’s dating life — not that he needs help.”

It appears that USA Network’s upcoming comedy competition series First Impressions is moving along steadily.

Freddie Prinze Jr. has officially signed up to host the new show, which was conceived by comedy veteran Dana Carvey.

First Impressions, as the title implies, gathers new impressionists from all over the country to compete in weekly battles. Carvey’s role is to be their in-house expert, providing feedback to all participants and occasionally participating on more active roles. Viewers will subsequently have the chance to vote for their favorite impressionist each week.

The series will also invite other Hollywood comics and personalities to serve as coaches. Some names include Steve Carell, Yvette Nicole Brown, Tom Arnold, Jon Lovitz, Kevin Nealon, Kate Flannery, and Jay Leno.

Executive production is handled by Carvey along with Jeff Gaspin, Jay Renfroe and David Garfinkle, with companies Renegade 83 and Gaspin Media set to produce.

“First Impressions gives up-and-coming impressionists a unique opportunity to share their skills with the master,” Prinze Jr. stated. “I’ve always been a huge fan of Dana, and watching him in action, working with our talented competitors, is incredible.”

Prinze Jr. has been busy in recent years providing voice-overs to series such as Star Wars Rebels and Robot Chicken. This will be his first small-screen appearance since a guest role on the FOX hit show Bones in 2014.

The 40-year-old actor is perhaps best known for his iconic roles on older movies I Know What You Did Last Summer and She’s All That. Carvey, meanwhile, is best remembered for his years on Saturday Night Live.

First Impressions was green-lit in November 2015 and is set to debut on Tuesday, May 10, 2016.

Julia Roberts has just taken on the task of starring in and producing a big-screen adaptation of Fool Me Once, based on the new novel by Harlan Coben.

The star was quick to jump on the opportunity, as the book was just published earlier this month by Penguin’s Dutton imprint. As it’s still in early stages, there is no studio officially attached to the project to date.

Fool Me Once revolves around former special ops pilot Maya, who spots an alarming image captured by her nanny camera while at work. It depicts her 2-year-old daughter playing with her late husband, Joe, whom had just been murdered two weeks earlier. Maya then begins to uncover a series of events while also questioning what she saw.

Author Harlan Coben has not yet found much success on the big screen, despite being widely recognized on the New York Times best-seller list. Only one book has been adapted  to date, Tell No One, a 2006 French film  by Guillaume Canet. Paramount had shown interest in another Coben book, Six Years (with Hugh Jackman set to star) but the film has not moved past early planning stages in three years.

Roberts will work on the film alongside partners Lisa Gillan and Marisa Yeres Gill. Meanwhile, the actress will be seen at the premiere of Jodie Foster’s Money Monster, opposite George Clooney. Other projects include Mother’s Day, which debuts in April 2016, where she works alongside Jennifer Aniston and Kate Hudson.

Roberts and Coben are both represented by CAA, with the actress also backed by Engelman & Company and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof + Fishman.

The popular Facebook-owned social app, Instagram, is set to expand its default video length limitation from 15 seconds to one full minute. The decision came two and a half years after the app introduced the video upload feature.

According to product manager Jeff Kanter, over 400 million active users had requested said feature as a means to better express themselves and their projects.

“We think this will provide a lot of flexibility,” Kanter stated. “One of the things we’ve heard from creators is just how much going longer than 15 seconds would help them tell their stories.”

Kanter revealed that video retention has grown by 40 percent within the last six months among users, although the company has not disclosed how many total users are consuming videos from the platform.

The company is recognizing the importance of longer videos as ordinary users and celebrities continue to embrace them. Taylor Swift, who has over 70 million followers, can be seen playing with her brother on Easter and hanging out with boyfriend Calvin Harris, for example.

These updates, according to Kanter, are only some of several new features being integrated over the next year. The company has been proactive in the facilitation and flexibility department, having just added a video view counter as well as a “Like” counter for all uploaded material, including photos.

Instagram has also started showcasing videos in its popular Explore section, where it normally curates and shows posts around prominent events. The app is also resuming multi-clip video uploading capabilities for iPhone users.

“It’s clear that more of the world is headed toward watching video,” Kanter stated. “A lot of that is happening on mobile, and they want to come to Instagram to do that.”

Skydance Media has successfully raised $700 million of financing to assist in several upcoming film and television projects. $500 million were obtained through a line of credit, while the remainder came in equity from company shareholders.

The credit facility came to fruition with the help of J.P. Morgan Chase.

“We appreciate the incredible support that Skydance continues to receive from J.P. Morgan Chase, our bank group and our investors. It is a testament to the immense amount of work and focus that our entire team has contributed to the business over the last few years,” a statement from David Ellison revealed, the CEO of Skydance Media.

“As we move into this next phase of expansion, we look forward to working with our highly valued stable of artists and strategic partners to grow the Skydance brand on a global basis,” he continued.

Ellison is the son of Larry Ellison, known as Oracle’s executive chairman. He founded Skydance in 2010 and the company has since produced ten feature films to date. Many have been met with favorable success and were backed by a moderate budget, including Terminator Genisys and World War Z.

Some of the company’s upcoming projects are tied to largely recognizable franchises, including Star Trek Beyond (in partnership with Paramount) with a slated release date of July 2016. Others include Geostorm and Life, set to debut in January and March 2017, respectively. The company is also working closely with giants Warner Brothers and Sony.

In addition, Skydance Television launched in 2014 and is currently working on four original series. These include Grace and Frankie and Altered Carbon, both set to premiere on Netflix, as well as Red Mars for Spike TV, while Jack Ryan will debut on Amazon.

In an effort to revamp its existing comedy lineup, Netflix has cast Hollywood heavyweights Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant to star in a new original series, Santa Clarita Diet.

The new show is set to debut in 2017 with the help of writer Victor Fresco (Better off Ted) and executive producers Aaron Kaplan, Tracy Katsky, Chris Miller, and Ember Truesdell. Santa Clarita Diet focuses on Joel and Sheila, a married couple and realtors looking to spice up their mundane lives in Santa Clarita, Calif. Soon Sheila experiences a drastic change that positively spins their lives out of control, although with unforeseen consequences.

“The genius casting of Timothy and Drew combined with Victor’s unique comedic sensibility will delight, and definitely surprise, our members around the world,” Netflix VP Cindy Holland commented.

This marks Olyphant’s return as a series regular after the hit FX show Justified ended its run in April 2015. The actor’s resume expands to other notable series including Deadwood, The Grinder, among various half-hour sitcom appearances.

Barrymore, on the other hand, will debut as a series regular in Santa Clarita Diet after decades of starring and working on big-budget films. Her credits partially include E.T., Charlie’s Angels, 50 First Dates, and Fever Pitch.

While Netflix has found success in the action and drama realm with the likes of Daredevil and Jessica Jones, it is actively looking to explore and expand its comedic side as well. The new comedy will be part of a growing list of family-friendly originals, as the streaming service is reportedly investing $5 billion on original programming throughout the year. Similar series already on-air include Master of None, Fuller House, and Judd Apatow’s Love.

We recently covered Jennifer Garner’s controversial Vanity Fair interview in which the actress talked about her divorce from actor Ben Affleck. She took the opportunity to share her emotions and the struggles experienced while the two lived together.

Now the Batman v. Superman star opened up to The New York Times about said interview, acknowledging everything Garner said and effectively supporting her decision to speak up. He also commented that being scrutinized by the media is especially tough now during these hard, turbulent times.

“It never seems like a great time to have your privacy invaded,” Affleck stated. “Obviously this is a particularly hard time.” He further stressed that him and Garner are “on great terms. I just saw her this morning, so that’s the reality that I live in.”

Following further questions, including allegations about his supposed affair with their nanny, the actor dismissed it but respected her decision to express her beliefs publicly.

“She felt like she wanted to discuss it and get it out there and get it over with…” This followed by, “Look, I already talked about it — I don’t want to do it again,” the actor commented.

According to the 43-year-old actor, Garner and their children will pay him a visit on the set of the upcoming Justice League film, followed by a vacation to Europe together. He later added that regardless what takes place in his personal life, his work is most important.

“Even in the tough spots, if your movies are good, people will see them, and if you’re not good, you can’t get away with it.” He explained this while acknowledging that constantly having to prove himself (professionally) is a requirement that never goes away.

“You’ve got to realize, this line of work, it’s rooted in a feeling of needing to audition all the time.”