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Tiger King star found dead at 53

<p>Erik Cowie, star of Tiger King has died aged 53.</p> <p>The zookeeper’s body was found “face down in a bedroom of a residence” in New York on Friday. Sources say there is nothing suspicious about the death at this point and no drugs were found on the scene, though a toxicology test will likely still be performed” according to TMZ reports.</p> <p>Erik appeared on the Netflix reality series as one of Joe Exotic’s eccentric animal caretakers. After Joe was imprisoned, Cowie stayed and took care of the big at the GW zoo.</p> <p>He later went on to testify against former boss Joe Exotic who is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence after allegedly trying to hire two hitmen to kill business rival, Carole Baskin.</p> <p>Erik Cowie’s death comes four months after he was arrested driving under the influence following a car accident in the US. Allegedly the Netflix star had been drink-driving when he crashed into another vehicle.</p> <p>In 2020 Carole Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue was awarded complete control over GW Zoo as part of the settlement in her long-standing lawsuit against Exotic. Carole went on to sell the Oklahoma property with one of the provisions being the land cannot be used as a zoo for 100 years.</p> <p>In a statement released from prison, Exotic suggested Erik Cowie succumbed to a drug and alcohol addiction. “I did everything I could to help him and save him from himself and he turned on me for fame. And Money” he wrote.</p> <p>“RIP Erik. I will be making a donation in his name to a drug and alcohol treatment centre”.</p>

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The Packed To The Rafters reboot has arrived

<p>That’s right - Australia's favourite family are back and you can catch up with all of them by watching the new season of <em>Back To The Rafters</em> on Amazon Prime Video.</p> <p>You can take a look at the trailer here which gives you a taste for what's in store for our beloved Rafters with the return of the series.</p> <p>The new series will show us what’s happening with Julie (Rebecca Gibney) and Dave Rafter (Erik Thomson) and their loveable, if sometimes complicated, children.</p> <p>When last we left off, Dave and Julie had sold the family home to pay off Grandpa Ted's (Michael Caton) gambling debt. They decided to turn lemons into lemonade, so they hit the road in their green kombi van to travel around Australia with their late-in-life baby, Ruby.</p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/moQ4N4Ogm7E" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p><strong>So, where are they now, six years later?</strong></p> <p>In a new trailer, we catch our first glimpse of what the family are up to. But it's not looking completely rosy, Julie and Dave have settled outside of Sydney in the quaint country town of Buradeena.</p> <p>A brief return to the city unveils a whole host of problems in their family and Julie realises she wants to return to Sydney to help her children with their troubles.</p> <p>In one tense scene, Julie is seen telling her husband she wants to "move back" while he asks her to stay.</p> <p>In another, the pair are seen arguing in front of Ben's house, with Julie tearfully telling him: "We're drifting, Dave."</p> <p>Could there be trouble brewing just when the couple are about to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary?</p> <p>In the meantime, Nathan (Angus McLaren) still seems to be struggling to have the life he's always wanted. He's living in Sydney with his son Edward (Kaspar Frost), from his previous marriage to Saskia (Lauren Clair).</p> <p>"My life has just fallen apart mum," the single dad tearfully tells Julie in one scene.</p> <p>Ben (Hugh Sheridan) is happily married to a new character, Cassie (Haiha Le), and hoping to start his own family. However, the trailer hints at baby dramas, with the couple seen fighting over children and their future together.</p> <p>Rachel, formerly played by Jessica Marais and now played by Georgina Haig, briefly appears in the trailer. However, we're yet to see what's in store for her as she’s now living in New York and leads what seems like a secretive life.</p> <p>As the years have gone by, Ruby is now played by Willow Speers and we see her maturing into a young girl.</p> <p>"One stage of growing up, is realising your parents are just as vulnerable as you," her mother tells her in the trailer.</p> <p>While some things have changed, others remain same. Carbo (George Houvardas) is back and living the dream as a social media influencer. Donna (Merridy Eastman) is working with Ben and she's as flustered as she ever was by all of his shenanigans.</p> <p>Thankfully, the family is still celebrating all of their milestone moments at the Shanghai Express.</p> <p><strong>The new six-part series for <em>Packed To The Rafters</em> premieres on September 17th, with all six seasons of the original shows available to stream now on Amazon Prime Video.</strong></p> <p><em>Photos: Amazon Prime Video</em></p>

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Erik Thomson speaks out after 800 Words cancelled: "It didn't have to end"

<p>Soon to be reaching his 30th year of acting, Erik Thomson’s hugely successful show <em>800 Words</em> has not been approved for a fifth season.</p> <p>The show, which earned Thomson a win in the Best Actor category at the <em>Logies</em>, will end after the fourth season, set to air soon on TVNZ. </p> <p>Thomson’s character George Turner is a newspaper columnist, in the fictional New Zealand seaside town of Weld. And now, due to the show being shelved, season four will be the last time we see George Turner on our television screens.</p> <p>The 51-year-old actor finds the situation “disappointing” as he believes the show still had potential and a great viewership.</p> <p>“<em>800 Words</em> could have run for more seasons,” Thomson told <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nowtolove.com.au/celebrity/tv/erik-thomson-800-words-cancelled-50696" target="_blank">TV WEEK</a></em>.</p> <p>“The plan was to jump ahead a year to see how things panned out, but that’s not going to happen, unfortunately.</p> <p>“Networks these days are interested in the shiny new ball, but not always in ways to keep that ball shiny.”</p> <p>Thomson believes reality television is partly to blame, with television networks strongly relying on reality shows. The actor says that scripted drama is not given the priority it deserves.</p> <p>“In many ways, reality shows have become like drama series,” he says. “They cast all these archetypes. There’s the villain, the smart arse and the underdog. I get it, but hopefully with a bit of luck the pendulum will swing back to more scripted drama that runs for longer than six-to-eight episodes.”</p> <p>But Thomson is still grateful for the opportunities he has been given.</p> <p>“I’ve been fortunate to be in shows people just have to be home for on a Tuesday night, whether it be <em>All Saints</em> or <em>Packed to the Rafters</em>,” he says. “I’ve been lucky.”</p> <p>He added, “This is my 28th year as a professional actor. I’m heading towards that three-zero years in the business. I keep pinching myself!”</p> <p>As for what the future holds, Thomson is looking into darker roles after shooting horror film <em>Awoken</em> in Adelaide, Australia with his fellow<em> 800 Words</em> co-star Benson Jack Anthony, and will soon be starring in Australian film<em> Storm Boy</em>.</p> <p>“The journeys I want to go on now aren’t as family-orientated,” he says when talking about his shift from the “nice guy” roles that he is known for playing. </p> <p>“I’m thinking darker drama or even some edgy, dark comedy projects. I’m working with some writers and there are possibilities floating around.”</p> <p>And one of those ideas may involve a reunion with Thomson’s <em>Packed to the Rafters</em> co-star Rebecca Gibney.</p> <p>“We’ve talked about it,” he says. “But Rebecca has just finished <em>Wanted</em> [the TV3 drama series] and everyone is in different parts of the world. I dare say it could happen.”</p> <p>Are you disappointed that <em>800 Words </em>won’t be returning after its fourth season? Let us know in the comments below.</p>

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