‘Project Runway’ announces judges and mentor, ‘Doctor Who’ trailer premieres, and more of today’s top stories
Gold Derby's top news stories for March 24, 2025.
Project Runway welcomes back Christian Siriano and Nina Garcia, introduces new judge Law Roach
The long-running reality competition series has announced that Season 4 champ and renowned fashion designer Siriano will return to the show as mentor, while Elle editor-in-chief Garcia continues on the judges' panel, where she has served since the very beginning of the series in 2004. In addition, the show is introducing celebrity stylist extraordinaire Roach to the show. He previously appeared as a guest judge in Season 20 and will now be on the panel full-time. Watch Siriano, Garcia, and Roach's social media announcement below.
It was previously announced that after years away from the series Heidi Klum is returning to her Emmy-winning role as Project Runway host. She left the series after Season 16 and worked with former Runway colleague Tim Gunn on the Amazon design competition Making the Cut. The show will also have yet another new home: Freeform, Disney+, and Hulu. It previously aired on Bravo from 2004 to 2008, then on Lifetime from 2009 to 2017, and back to Bravo from 2019 to 2023. Production is now underway on the new episodes, which will premiere this summer.
Doctor Who premieres trailer for its second season since moving to Disney+
Ncuti Gatwa returns for his second season as the titular Time Lord who first appeared on TV screens way back in 1963. He's the 15th iteration of the character, and he'll be joined by a new human companion upon his return. The logline is as follows: "The Doctor meets Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) and begins an epic quest to get her back to Earth. But a mysterious force is stopping their return and the time-traveling TARDIS team must face great dangers, bigger enemies and wilder terrors than ever before."
Russell T Davies continues on as showrunner. Davies was the man originally responsible for returning Doctor Who to the airwaves in 2005 before handing the reins to Steven Moffat in 2010. Davies returned to oversee the show in 2023. His latest episodes premiere April 12.
Andor Season 2 trailer and key art revealed
Disney+ describes Season 2 of its sci-fi political thriller Andor as follows: "The second season of Andor takes place as the horizon of war draws near and Cassian becomes a key player in the Rebel Alliance. Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices, and conflicting agendas will become profound. Rife with political intrigue and danger, the series is a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which portrayed a heroic band of rebels who steal the plans to the Empire’s weapon of mass destruction — the Death Star — setting the stage for the events of the original 1977 film. Andor sets the clock back five years from the events of Rogue One to tell the story of the film’s hero, Cassian Andor, and his transformation from disinterested, cynical nobody into a rebel hero on his way to an epic destiny."
Season 2 premieres on April 22. The 12 episodes of the season will premiere in batches of three, to be released every week until the series conclusion.
2025 Academy of Country Music Awards announce first performers
The nominations won't be announced until March 27, but the landmark 60th Annual ACM Awards have already revealed the first set of performers who will take the stage on May 8, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, live on Prime Video from Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas. Six-time ACM recipient Blake Shelton, seven-time ACM winner Eric Church, and 12-time ACM champ Lainey Wilson start off what's sure to be a star-studded lineup. Wilson is the reigning champion for Entertainer of the Year at the ACMs. Shelton and Church are past nominees for the top award.
Shelton is soon to release his first studio album in four years, For Recreational Use Only, on May 9. Church also has an album on the way: Evangeline vs. The Machine the week before on May 2. Wilson released her last studio album, Whirlwind, last August and received a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album. In addition to her ACM for Entertainer of the Year last year, Wilson won Female Artist of the Year for the second year in a row, plus Music Event of the Year for "Save Me" with Jelly Roll. Chris Stapleton also won three times: Album of the Year for Higher, Male Artist of the Year, and Artist-Songwriter of the Year.
African American Film Critics Association announces date for TV Honors
The AAFCA will present its seventh annual TV Honors on August 23, 2025, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The awards celebrate the best achievements in TV, focused on diverse storytelling. Last year top honors went to The Chi (Best Drama), Unprisoned (Best Comedy), Genius: MLK/X (Best Limited Series), Wendell Pierce (Best Actor for Elsbeth) and Ayo Edebiri (Best Actress for The Bear).
AAFCA president and co-founder Gil Robertson said in a statement, "We are excited to once again celebrate the incredible talent and creativity that defines television today. The AAFCA TV Honors provides a platform to recognize the impactful narratives and performances that reflect the richness of the Black experience. We look forward to another year of honoring the best in television."
Playboi Carti brings rap back to the top of the Billboard 200
Bolstered by a massive 30 tracks, Playboi Carti's new release Music has debuted atop the albums chart in a big way. It racked up 298,000 equivalent album units based on its combined record sales (only available this week as a digital download), its individual track sales, and online streaming performance. That's almost three times better than his last album, 2020's Whole Lotta Red, who launched at No. 1 with 100,000 units. It's also the most total units achieved by a rap album this year, and the most streaming units for a rap album (283,000) since Drake's For All the Dogs in 2023.
The hip-hop star's debut pushes Lady Gaga down a spot to No. 2. After the chart-topping debut of her album Mayhem, it dropped by two-thirds from week to week, now with 74,000 units. That was enough, though, to stay above Kendrick Lamar's GNX at No. 3, Drake and PartyNextDoor's $ome $exy $ongs 4 U at No. 4, and SZA's blockbuster SOS at No. 5. A little further down there was one other album debut in the top 10: K-pop group Le Sserafim's 5th Mini Album: Hot at No. 9.