In this Aug. 6, 2015 file photo, Lee Daniels attends the 2015 Summer TCA - Fox All-Star Party at Soho House in Los Angeles. (Photo by Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) --
Production will begin in December on "Star," a drama pilot from "Empire" creator Lee Daniels.
Fox, which airs "Empire" and ordered the "Star" pilot, also said that an online casting search is under way for the drama.
Among the roles to be filled are those of three female artists trying to make it big in the music industry.
"Star" will focus on the choices they face as they navigate what the network called the "cutthroat music scene."
The "Star" pilot will be taped in Atlanta, Georgia, Fox said Tuesday.
"Empire," also set in the recording business, proved an immediate hit when it debuted last season.
Morgan Freeman speaks about Gene Hackman with an image of Gene Hackman on the screen during the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Authorities misidentified a deceased dog while investigating the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa, according to a pet care specialist.
The couple's German shepherd, named Bear, survived along with a second dog named Nikita, but their kelpie mix, Zinna, died, according to Joey Padilla, owner of the Santa Fe Tails pet care facility that is involved in the surviving dogs' care.
The dog that died "was always attached to Betsy at the hip and it was a beautiful relationship," Padilla said in an email statement Tuesday. "Zinna went from being a returned shelter dog to this incredible companion under Betsy's hand."
Authorities have been searching for answers after the deaths of Hackman and Arakawa, whose partially mummified bodies were discovered on Feb. 26 at their Santa Fe home. Hackman and Arakawa may have died up to two weeks earlier, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said.
Authorities did not perform a necropsy on Zinna, who was found in a kennel in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, a sheriff's office spokesperson said. Investigators initially noted the discovery of a "deceased brown in color German-Shepard canine."
Spokesperson Denise Avila acknowledged that sheriff's deputies initially misidentified the breed of the deceased dog.
"Our deputies, they don't work with canines on a daily basis," she said.
USA Today first reported on the mistaken identification of the dead dog.
Arakawa's body was found with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the bathroom countertop, while Hackman's remains were found in the home's entryway.
The two bodies both have tested negative for carbon monoxide, a colorless and odorless gas that is a byproduct of fuel burned in some home... Read More
