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Hellish wheels: Gordon Ramsay puts the pedal to the metal in new series

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Author: 
Andrew Warren / TV Media
Gordon Ramsay in "Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back"

Gordon Ramsay in "Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back"

Ramsay hits the road: Even with entire networks devoted to the culinary craft, there's one man who stands apart from them and still manages to dominate food-focused television. That man is, of course, chef Gordon Ramsay, whose shows "MasterChef," "MasterChef Junior" and "Hell's Kitchen" have been ratings bonanzas for years now. The year 2014, however, saw the end of the hit "Kitchen Nightmares" after seven memorable seasons. If you've missed Ramsay's nightmarish encounters, fear not, for the chef with a notorious temper launches yet another new show this week, taking a page straight out of "Kitchen Nightmares'" book. "Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell & Back" premieres Wednesday, June 13, on Fox with an exciting new take on the restaurant improvement genre.

Reminiscent of "Kitchen Nightmares" and similar series such as "Restaurant: Impossible," each episode of the new show finds Ramsay visiting a struggling restaurant that's close to shutting down for good. In fact, just one more bad online review could signal the business's demise. After his team poses as customers and gets a feel for the failing business, Ramsay pulls into the parking lot with "Hell On Wheels," a 70-foot-long semi truck that transforms into a massive, mobile kitchen with all of the latest cooking gadgets.

With his own kitchen at his disposal, revamping the restaurant's menu and retraining its staff should be easy for the renowned restauranteur and likely would be -- but he only has 24 hours to make it work.

That isn't a lot of time -- actually, it seems downright ludicrous to think that a struggling restaurant can be saved with such a quick turnaround. If there's one chef who can do it, though, it's Ramsay, a culinary legend with restaurants around the globe and over a dozen Michelin stars to his name.

The task seems incredibly daunting, but when one of the world's best chefs brings his own mobile kitchen into the equation, the odds do seem a bit more favorable. "Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell & Back" premieres Wednesday, June 13, on Fox.

 

A 'Lethal' shakeup: Riggs is out. Long live ... Riggs? Fox's "Lethal Weapon" has hit the right spot for audiences, with its mix of action and humor, but allegedly one of its stars wasn't hitting the right spot behind the scenes.

After two seasons, Clayne Crawford ("A Walk to Remember," 2002) has been let go from the Fox buddy cop series, following allegations of bad behavior on set. As one of the show's two main leads alongside Damon Wayans ("My Wife and Kids"), his departure raised the question of just what would happen to the series, given that it's hard to have a buddy cop show with just one buddy.

Luckily, Wayans' Det. Murtaugh won't be fighting crime alone when the series returns next season. Actor Seann William Scott, best known for the 1999 teen comedy "American Pie" and its many sequels, has been cast in a new role that's rumored to be the brother of Crawford's character, keeping the famous Murtaugh and Riggs duo alive. Of course, the firing of Crawford and hiring of Scott all happened very quickly, so details about the new characters are still being ironed out, but for "Lethal Weapon" fans, the show must go on.

The series is based on the film "Lethal Weapon" (1987) and its sequels, which starred Danny Glover ("2012," 2009) and Mel Gibson ("Braveheart," 1995) in the Murtaugh and Riggs roles. Over the span of two seasons, the series has built up a sizable -- and loyal -- following. Whether that fan loyalty will transfer over to a new character remains to be seen. Production is underway on the third season of "Lethal Weapon," complete with its new lead.

 

A new home: It's only been a few weeks since Fox's "New Girl" wrapped up for good, but one of its stars has already signed up for a new series. 

Max Greenfield ("The Big Short," 2015), who played the confident and suave Schmidt in "New Girl," has been cast in a lead role in the new CBS comedy "The Neighborhood," taking the place of Josh Lawson ("House of Lies"), who played the role of Dave Johnson in the series pilot.

In "The Neighborhood," which comes from "The Big Bang Theory" writer Jim Reynolds, Greenfield will play Dave, the nicest guy in the Midwest, who picks up his family and moves to a tough Los Angeles neighborhood where his particular brand of intense neighborliness isn't exactly appreciated. Initial trailers provide more insight into the direction of the new comedy and its tone, which appears to be a call back to iconic family comedies such as "The Jeffersons" and "All in the Family."

Other faces set to star in the new comedy include Cedric the Entertainer ("Barbershop," 2002), Dreama Walker ("Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23") and Tichina Arnold ("Everybody Hates Chris").

After seven seasons, "New Girl" wrapped up for good last month, but if the speed with which Greenfield landed his new role is any indicator, its stars won't be out of work for long. Watch for "The Neighborhood," coming to television this fall.