Four October 17 Entertainment Stories: ‘DWTS,’ ‘Mom’ and a Box-Office Surprise

1 ‘DWTS’ benching Val Chmerkovskiy for a week

One of the biggest October 17 entertainment stories came from Dancing With the Stars: pro dancer Val Chmerkovskiy will miss one week of the show after a TikTok comment about judge Carrie Ann Inaba. BBC Studios said the post was inappropriate and did not reflect the show’s standards.

Chmerkovskiy said he meant to defend his wife, fellow pro Jenna Johnson, but regretted referring to a meme without considering its implications. The suspension turns an online exchange into a change viewers will notice on the dance floor.^[1]

2 Jaime Pressly praises her ‘Mom’ co-stars

Jaime Pressly has spoken up for the women she worked with on Mom, calling the cast “incredible” after creator Chuck Lorre discussed his earlier reservations about casting Anna Faris. Pressly said she enjoyed going to work with her co-stars.

Her comments offer a cast member’s perspective on the sitcom, which she joined in its second season as Jill Kendall before becoming a series regular. It’s a warm response to a conversation sparked by Lorre’s recently released memoir.^[2]

3 ‘You Can See Everything’ makes a major box-office splash

The documentary You Can See Everything, directed by Lance Oppenheim and Nathan Fielder, was on track for the best opening for a documentary in at least a decade, TheWrap reported. The film’s strong start stood out alongside Street Fighter, which led the weekend box office with $31 million.

That contrast makes this box-office update worth watching: an unconventional documentary is drawing attention in a market where a major studio title also arrived at the top.^[3]

4 An unreleased ‘Musk’ documentary hits a promotion roadblock

As Alex Gibney’s four-hour documentary Musk expanded nationwide, its distributor said the film’s TikTok account had been “permanently suspended.” TheWrap reported that Bleecker Street said it could not use the account to promote the theatrical rollout.

The timing gives the story a practical wrinkle beyond the film itself: a social platform’s decision can affect how a documentary reaches audiences while it is opening in theaters.^[4]