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Tag: television

  • Lisa Hochstein Launches Divorce Company Amid Split | Entrepreneur

    Lisa Hochstein Launches Divorce Company Amid Split | Entrepreneur

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    Real Housewives of Miami star Lisa Hochstein is turning lemons into lemonade by launching her own divorce company, Splitwell.

    Hochstein, whose prolonged and public divorce from plastic surgeon Lenny Hochstein has played out on the hit Bravo show, posted a photo of the new company to her Instagram stories accompanied by the caption, “Turning my pain into purpose.”

    The star also added “founder of Splitwell.com” to her bio on the social media platform.

    Related: How Bethenny Frankel’s RHONY Deal Changed TV Contracts

    The company’s website doesn’t make it clear what it will do, but it has the tagline “breaking up without breaking the bank,” and notes it will be “powered by AI” and offers the opportunity to sign up for a waitlist. Entrepreneur signed up for the waitlist but did not receive any further information.

    Lenny Hochstein and Lisa Hochstein attend as Universal Pictures Presents The Miami Special Screening Of Ambulance on April 05, 2022 (Getty Images)

    Hochstein’s launch comes amid a public split from her estranged husband, Lenny, who initially filed for divorce in May 2022. Most recently, a Miami judge told Lenny that he could not rescind his original settlement proposal and that it was a “binding contract.”

    Related: 5 Business Confessions of a ‘Real Housewife’

    According to Celebrity Net Worth, Hochstein’s current net worth is an estimated $90 million.

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    Emily Rella

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  • The Crown Season 6: Princess Diana’s Death

    The Crown Season 6: Princess Diana’s Death

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    When Princess Diana died more than 25 years ago in a car crash in Paris at the age of 36, thousands poured into the streets of London to pay their respects and leave messages and flowers outside of Kensington Palace. Mourners were seen openly sobbing.

    But members of the British royal family were reportedly not as emotive. In the fourth episode in the sixth season of The Crown, Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) and her husband Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce) are hesitant to issue a statement offering comfort to the nation. Dominic West as Prince Charles (now King Charles) chides the Queen for not showing enough grief and compassion in public. “We can’t be a private family when we want to be and a public one when it suits us,” he says.

    Press coverage of the royal family in the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death noted a certain aloofness among the members. The Sep. 8, 1997, issue of TIME magazine described the tension:

    Diana’s family was outraged at the circumstances surrounding her death. Her only brother Charles, the current Earl Spencer, bitterly declared, “I always believed the press would kill her in the end. Not even I could imagine that they would take such a direct hand in her death, as seems to be the case.” He added, “It would appear that every proprietor and editor of every publication that has paid for intrusive and exploitative photographs of her, encouraging greedy and ruthless individuals to risk everything in pursuit of Diana’s image, has blood on his hands today.”

    As for Diana’s former in-laws, they kept a regal silence. Members of the royal family, including Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, vacationing with his sons—her sons—William and Harry at Balmoral Castle, were notified by phone.

    None made any public statement.
    Actually, for several weeks, Britain’s first family had been maintaining a studied silence on the topic of Diana. Almost a year to the day after a final divorce decree ended her arid marriage to Prince Charles, the princess had exploded back onto the pages of the tabloids, on the arm—and in the arms—of the wealthy [Dodi] Al Fayed [who was also killed in the crash]. The photographs were the purest paparazzi stuff—grainy images furtively snapped through telephoto lenses the size of bazookas. The story they told, however, was unmistakable. After years of smiling bravely and brittlely by the side of a man she was no longer in love with, the princess just may have found one she did love.

    Robert Lacey, who has consulted for The Crown and is the author of the 2020 book Battle of Brothers: William, Harry and the Inside Story of a Family in Tumult, told TIME around the 25th anniversary of Diana’s death in 2022 that there is “no doubt” there was a coolness in the royal family’s reaction to the Princess’s premature death.

    “If you’re looking for the moment when the British monarchy was most severely challenged and found itself most at odds with public opinion, it has to be following the death of Diana and the perception that the Queen and the royal family didn’t care,” he said. 

    But as noted by Lacey and the 1997 TIME magazine issue, the coolness from the royal family preceded Diana’s death, and even her divorce from Charles. The royal family disapproved in general of the attention Diana attracted, from the explosive 1995 BBC Panorama interview to the sustained tabloid coverage. This comes through in The Crown Season 6, which picks up well after Charles and Diana’s divorce and in the midst of her romantic relationship with Dodi al-Fayed (Khalid Abdalla). When Diana and Dodi vacation on his father’s yacht, they are chased by paparazzi the entire time. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are shown as disappointed that photos of two hanging out are splashed across the front pages of tabloids.

    Elizabeth Debicki and Khalid Abdalla in season 6 of The CrownDaniel Escale—Netflix

    In the third episode of Season 6, the cameras follow Dodi and Diana to Paris, where Dodi proposes to Diana, and shortly thereafter, they get into the car that crashes and kills them. However, according to the 1998 book Death of a Princess: The Investigation written by TIME’s Tommy Sancton and Scott McLeod, it’s believed that Dodi did not get a chance to fully carry out a formal proposal. The ring was found in an unopened box in his Paris apartment.

    In the fourth episode, Charles is shown waking up William (Rufus Kampa and Ed McVey) and Harry (Fflyn Edwards and Luther Ford), at Balmoral castle in Scotland. He gently breaks the news of their mother’s death and encourages the boys to be brave. While Charles is depicted as showing tenderness toward the boys, in real life, Prince Harry has said his father displayed a certain stiffness when he told them of Diana’s death.

    “Pa didn’t hug me,” he wrote in his 2023 memoir Spare, noting that a pat on the knee was the extent of the comfort he received. Prince Harry says he himself didn’t cry at that moment or during her funeral procession. He claims he only cried when he saw his mother’s coffin being lowered into the ground and alluded to the family’s stoicism in front of the press. “My body convulsed and my chin fell and I began to sob uncontrollably into my hands,” he wrote. “I felt ashamed of violating the family ethos, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer. It’s OK, I reassured myself, it’s OK. There aren’t any cameras around.”

    Similar to Peter Morgan’s other royal family drama The Queen, the fourth episode of Season 6 follows Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in their hesitation over making a public statement about Diana’s death. Philip argues Diana is not part of the royal family anymore. But the episode ends with a dramatic reinterpretation of the queen’s actual first public statement after Diana’s death. Notably, she said, “​​No-one who knew Diana will ever forget her. Millions of others who never met her, but felt they knew her, will remember her. I for one believe there are lessons to be drawn from her life and from the extraordinary and moving reaction to her death.” 

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    Olivia B. Waxman

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  • Jimmy Kimmel to host the Oscars for the fourth time

    Jimmy Kimmel to host the Oscars for the fourth time

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    Jimmy Kimmel is returning as host of the Academy Awards for the second straight year and fourth time overall

    ByJAKE COYLE AP film writer

    November 15, 2023, 4:32 PM

    FILE – Host Jimmy Kimmel speaks at the Oscars in Los Angeles on March 4, 2018. Kimmel is returning as host of the Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

    The Associated Press

    NEW YORK — Jimmy Kimmel is returning as host of the Academy Awards for the second straight year and fourth time overall, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday.

    ABC is turning again to its late-night host a year after bringing Kimmel back for a 2023 ceremony that drew 18.7 million viewers, the most since 2020’s pre-pandemic broadcast. In the wake of Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, Kimmel led a cautious ceremony that helped stabilize the Academy Awards after years of turmoil.

    Kimmel also hosted the Oscars in 2017 and 2018.

    “I always dreamed of hosting the Oscars exactly four times,” Kimmel said in a statement.

    Though the comic is inching up in the record books, he’s still a long ways from the most frequent Oscar emcee. That title belongs to Bob Hope, who hosted a record 19 times either solo or as a co-host. Billy Crystal hosted nine times all between 1990 and 2012.

    The film academy earlier announced that Raj Kapoor will serve as executive producer and showrunner, Katy Mullan will executive produce and Hamish Hamilton will direct. They’ll be joined by Molly McNearney, executive producer of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and Kimmel’s wife, who will return for a second consecutive year to serve as an executive producer for the show.

    “Jimmy has cemented himself as one of the all-time great Oscars hosts with his perfect blend of humanity and humor, and Molly is one of the best live TV producers around,” Kapoor and Mullan said in a statement.

    The 96th Academy Awards will air live on ABC on March 10 from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

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  • Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow honor Matthew Perry by sharing iconic Chandler Bing moments

    Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow honor Matthew Perry by sharing iconic Chandler Bing moments

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    The stars of “Friends” have been sharing personal tributes for their co-star and real-life friend Matthew Perry following his death last month at the age of 54. 

    Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow are the latest castmates to post messages about Perry on Instagram on Wednesday, sharing iconic moments they had with his character, Chandler Bing, on the beloved series. 

    Aniston, who played Rachel Green on the hit show, posted a photo carousel on Instagram including a clip showing a heartfelt moment between the two characters in the show when she told Perry she was leaving for Paris. 

    What started as a sad good-bye ended in laughter between the two castmates after Perry made her erupt in laughter — a trait that carried over into their real lives, said Aniston. 

    She said Perry loved to make people laugh and his “life literally depended” on hearing people laugh at his jokes.

    “And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard,” Aniston wrote in the caption. “In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been pouring over our texts to one another. Laughing and crying then laughing again. I’ll keep them forever and ever. I found one text that he sent me out of nowhere one day. It says it all.”

    In her carousel of photos, Aniston included a screenshot of that text from Perry. “Making you laugh just made my day,” Perry texted her. “It made my day.”

    “Oh boy this one has cut deep… Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before,” Aniston wrote in the caption.

    Aniston ended her post with a well-known Chandler bit from “Friends”: “I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying ‘could you BE any crazier?’”

    Schwimmer, who played Ross Geller — Chandler Bing’s high school friend turned brother-in-law — also shared an Instagram post about Perry on Wednesday.

    “Thank you for ten incredible years of laughter and creativity,” Schwimmer wrote. He said he would never forget Perry’s “impeccable comic timing and delivery.” Perry’s character was the sarcastic one on the hit sitcom. 

    “You could take a straight line of dialogue and bend it to your will, resulting in something so entirely original and unexpectedly funny it still astonishes,” he continued. “And you had heart.” 

    Schwimmer shared a still from the show showing himself and Perry dressed as the 1980s versions of their characters.  Several flashback episodes chronicled their time in high school and college including Ross’ sister Monica, played by Courteney Cox, and her friend, Aniston’s Rachel. 

    “This photo is from one of my favorite moments with you. Now it makes me smile and grieve at the same time,” Schwimmer wrote. 

    “I imagine you up there, somewhere, in the same white suit, hands in your pockets, looking around— ‘Could there BE any more clouds?’” he wrote, referencing Bing’s infamous bit, just like Aniston did. 

    Kudrow, who played the lovable oddball Phoebe Buffay, was the last main castmate to post an individual tribute to Perry.  

    “Shot the pilot, Friends Like Us,” Kudrow wrote, referring to the show’s original title. “Got picked up then immediately, we were at the NBC Upfronts. Then…”

    “You suggested we play poker AND made it so much fun while we initially bonded. Thank you for that,” Kudrow wrote alongside an old photo of her with Perry. “Thank you for making me laugh so hard at something you said, that my muscles ached, and tears poured down my face EVERY DAY.”

    Like Aniston and Schwimmer, Kudrow thanked Perry for his years of real-life friendship. 

    “Thank you for your open heart in a six way relationship that required compromise. And a lot of ‘talking.’ Thank you for showing up at work when you weren’t well and then, being completely brilliant. Thank you for the best 10 years a person gets to have,” she wrote, ending the tribute with, “Thank you for the time I got to have with you, Matthew.”

    Perry’s co-stars released a joint statement two days after he was found unresponsive in his hot tub at his Los Angeles area home. The group said they were “so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew.”

    “We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” the statement said. “There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”

    On Tuesday, Matt LeBlanc and Courteney Cox posted statements about Perry on Instagram. “I am so grateful for every moment I had with you Matty and I miss you every day. When you work with someone as closely as I did with Matthew, there are thousands of moments I wish I could share. For now, here’s one of my favorites,” wrote Cox, whose character married Perry in the show. 

    She shared a video of a scene from Season 4 in which Monica and Chandler wake up in bed together while in a London hotel, shocking fans. From that moment, a romance budded between their characters until the series finale, when they are a married couple having twins together via surrogate. 

    But that wasn’t always the plan for the characters, Cox explained in her post. She said Chandler and Monica were supposed to have
    “a one night fling in London,” but the audience’s reaction led writers to turn it into the beginning of their love story.”

    LeBlanc, who played Joey Tribbiani on the show, shared several photos of himself and Perry, writing; “It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye.”

    “The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life,” he writes in the caption. “It was an honor to share the stage with you and to call you my friend. I will always smile when I think of you and I’ll never forget you. Never.”

    “Spread your wings and fly brother you’re finally free. Much love,” he wrote. “And I guess you’re keeping the 20 bucks you owe me.”

    Caitlin O’Kane


    caitlin-okane.jpg

    Caitlin O’Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.

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  • What to stream this week: Dolly Parton rocks out, ‘The Crown’ returns, ‘Rustin’ creates a march

    What to stream this week: Dolly Parton rocks out, ‘The Crown’ returns, ‘Rustin’ creates a march

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    Colman Domingo’s incredible performance in the civil rights biopic “Rustin” and Dolly Parton’s rock music album are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.

    Also among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are a series where Godzilla, King Kong and other monsters are real, the fifth Persona video game and return of “The Crown.”

    — A powerhouse performance by Colman Domingo fuels the Netflix drama “Rustin,” streaming Friday Nov. 17, about the civil rights pioneer and March on Washington architect Bayard Rustin. The film, directed by George C. Wolfe, chronicles the run-up to the indelible 1963 march where Rev. Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. “Rustin,” the first narrative feature from Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground, is a portrait of grassroots activism and of the often under-sung Rustin, an openly gay man combating injustice on numerous fronts. In his review, the AP’s Mark Kennedy praised Domingo’s “debonair, frisky, droll, passionate and utterly captivating” performance.

    — The shorts by the “Saturday Night Live” trio Please Don’t Destroy – Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy – have for several years been a highlight on the NBC sketch show. In “Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain,” they, like “SNL” standouts before them, get their first feature-film shot. In the film, directed by Paul Briganti and produced by Judd Apatow, the trio embark on a ludicrous adventure that nevertheless preserves their relaxed surrealism. “SNL” castmate Bowen Yang drops in, too, though it’s Conan O’Brien who nearly steals the show as Marshall’s disapproving father. Streaming Friday, Nov. 17, on Peacock.

    — November is the month for noir on the Criterion Channel (which is hosting a series of favorites) and on TCM, which will marathon classics like “Detour” (1945) and “The Narrow Margin” (1952) on Friday, Nov. 17. But also seek out the Criterion Channel’s “Women of the West” series, streaming this month. The western may be a predominantly male genre, but some of the best ever made are centered on strong frontier women who back down from no one. Among them here are Marlene Dietrich (“Rancho Notorious”) and Barbara Stanwyck (“Forty Guns,” “The Fluries”), but nothing beats Nicholas Ray’s 1954 Technicolor masterpiece “Johnny Guitar.” Joan Crawford as saloon owner Vivienne remains one of the most raging, smoldering performances you’ll ever seen.

    — AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

    — Last year, Dolly Parton politely asked to be removed from consideration for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. She thought that as a country musician, not a rock ‘n’ roll one, she didn’t deserve the honor. Of course, her musical legacy is undeniable, and they brought her in anyway. The move inspired “Rockstar,” her first release in the rock genre. Out Friday, Nov. 17, it is 30-tracks of star-studded covers, from “Let It Be” with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to “What’s Up?” with Linda Perry and Lizzo lending her flute-chops to “Stairway to Heaven.” There are also nine originals, written across the last few decades. Now, surely only Parton herself would doubt that she’s earned a spot in the Hall and then some — but the fact that it produced a leather-clad, anthemic, barn-burnin’ record? That’s gold.

    — Danny Brown is one of the most inventive, at times, absurdist contemporary rappers in the game – so when he releases a new full-length record, there’s no telling which direction he’s moving in. “Quaranta,” named after the Italian word for “40” — though it certainly sounds similar to a less attractive “qu-“ word in “quarantine” — is Brown’s sixth solo studio album, a highly-anticipated follow-up to 2019’s “Uknowhatimsayin¿” via Warp Records. He considers it a “spiritual sequel” to “XXX,” his 2011 break out album. On “Quaranta,” the lead single “Tantor” teeters is skonk-y avant-rap, a track that plays like an unearthed recording captured decades in some techno-future. He’s called the album his more personal to date, written and recorded before long stint in rehab. “It was almost like, if I died, this is what I have to say,” he told Rolling Stone.

    — Twenty years ago, a mall goth battle cry rung out across the world: “Bring Me to Life,” the lead single from nu-metal alt-rock band Evanescence’s debut album “Fallen” connected with an apathetic audience searching for dooming catharsis – frontwoman Amy Lee’s airy soprano challenged traditional images of the genre. Then, of course, were the other Myspace-ready records on “Fallen”: “My Immortal,” “Everybody’s Fool,” and “Going Under.” Now, two decades removed, “Fallen” is getting a remastered release — and it sounds as immediate as ever.

    — AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

    — Season 21 of “NCIS” is delayed due to the actors’ strike but fans can get their fix with the franchise’s first international spin-off, “NCIS: Sydney.” Debuting Tuesday on CBS, the series follows a task force of U.S. and Australian law enforcement investigating naval crimes in waters connecting the Indian and Pacific oceans known as Indo Pacific. Episodes will also stream on Paramount+.

    — The new limited series “A Murder at the End of the World” has a “Knives Out” vibe but with Emma Corrin as the detective. When a reclusive billionaire (Clive Owen) hosts a retreat in a remote location and one of the guests ends up dead, Corrin’s character Darby launches an investigation. The show also stars Brit Marling, who co-created, wrote and directed the series with Zal Batmanglij. The first two episodes drop Tuesday on FX on Hulu.

    — The first half of the sixth and final season of “The Crown” returns to Netflix on Thursday. The episodes begin with Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) connecting with Dodi Fayad as Dominic West’s Prince Charles seeks the Queen’s (Imelda Staunton) blessing of his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles.

    — Swizz Beatz isn’t just a music producer, he’s also an avid car enthusiast and collector. In his new Hulu docuseries “Drive with Swizz Beatz”, Beatz and his son, Nasir Dean, travel to destinations near and far (such as Atlanta, Houston, Japan and Saudi Arabia) to experience their car culture and learn about what inspires, or drives, their communities. “Drive with Swizz Beatz” debuts Thursday on Hulu.

    — Sarah Lancashire returns as Julia Child for season two of the Max series “Julia.” In the new episodes, Julia and Paul (David Hyde Pierce) return to Boston from a sojourn in France and she’s ready to resume her popular cooking show, “The French Chef.” As Julia’s profile rises, the personal and professional demands on her increase too. “We need new content yesterday,” declares the station manager in a scene that seems very timely. Can this chef maintain her joie de vivre? The first three episodes drop Thursday.

    — Kurt and Wyatt Russell star in the new MonsterVerse series “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” but the real-life father and son don’t have scenes together. That’s because they play the same character at different ages. Wyatt plays army officer Lee Shaw in the 1950s and Kurt steps in as the character in present day. The live-action series takes place in world where Godzilla, King Kong and other monsters are real, and a secret multi-government agency known as Monarch tracks and studies them. In the series, Monarch becomes threatened by Shaw’s monster knowledge. “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” premieres Friday, Nov. 17 on Apple TV+

    — An eight-episode anime series inspired by the 2010 movie “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” is coming to Netflix on Friday, Nov. 17. “ Scott Pilgrim Takes Off ” features the voices of the film cast including Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Brie Larson and Anna Kendrick.

    — Alicia Rancilio

    — Atlus’ Persona 5 dazzled role-playing game fans back in 2016, and its characters are so beloved that they’ve branched out into three spinoffs. In the latest, Persona 5 Tactica, Joker, Morgana and the rest of the Phantom Thieves are summoned to an oppressive dystopia and tasked with leading an “emotional revolution.” As usual, our teenage heroes can fight with standard weaponry like swords and firearms — or they can conjure up mythical beasts to get the job done more quickly. Tactica takes P5’s flashy animation and puts it in colorful, 3D battle arenas, and it looks quite a bit more challenging than the flagship’s dancing spinoff. While we’re all waiting for Persona 6, it’s still nice to see the gang reunite, starting Friday, Nov. 17, on Xbox X/S/One, PlayStation 5/4, Nintendo Switch and PC.

    — Lou Kesten

    ___

    Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/entertainment.

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  • For news organizations, the flood of Gaza war video is proving both illuminating and troubling

    For news organizations, the flood of Gaza war video is proving both illuminating and troubling

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    NEW YORK — A camera livestreaming the skyline of Gaza City captures streaks of light. Dash-cam video from a car in Israel spots a killer coming into view. A satellite identifies tank tracks in the dirt, and a mall security camera catches the moment a bomb in Gaza detonates.

    While journalists’ access to the war in Gaza is limited, a flood of video from all sorts of sources documents what is — and isn’t — going on.

    At news organizations, sifting through material found online to determine what is real, and to unearth the sometimes unexpected clues that can be used to tie stories together, are increasingly important — and often emotionally overwhelming — jobs.

    “It has become a key part of doing journalism in the modern age,” said Katie Polglase, a London-based investigative producer for CNN.

    CBS News last week announced the launch of “CBS News Confirmed,” the formation of a team to use data and technology to study online evidence. Earlier this year, the similar “BBC Verify” unit was formed to bring more open source reporting methods to the worldwide news outlet.

    The buildup of this capability was seen most prominently when The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, CNN and The Associated Press did in-depth analyses of video evidence — including those streaks in the sky — to try and determine the disputed cause of a deadly Oct. 17 explosion at Gaza’s al-Ahli Arab Hospital.

    There was no unanimity — and some caution about drawing conclusions absent an ability to examine evidence on the ground.

    In an earlier era, viewers generally saw the aftermath of a news event unless television cameras happened to be on the scene. Now, with millions of people carrying phones that have video cameras, the aftermath isn’t good enough. The buzzword is “now.”

    “The reality is that audiences expect to participate in a shared viewing experience, to learn what is going on along with anchors and reporters,” said Wendy McMahon, president of CBS News and Stations.

    That means combing through an endless supply of video posted on sources like X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Instagram, Telegram and Facebook. Much is harrowing: images of mangled bodies, bloodied children carried out of rubble, people distraught at the loss of loved ones. The effect of seeing such images is known by those who must watch them frequently as “vicarious trauma.”

    Combatants know well the power of such images, which explains why some Hamas members wore cameras to document their Oct. 7 killing spree in Israel. Meanwhile, Israel compiled and has been showing grisly images of that day to journalists.

    “The degree to which social media has been used is very sophisticated,” said Rhona Tarrant, senior editor at the investigative site Storyful. “There’s so much information. There’s so much content.”

    News organizations are constantly weighing their job to convey reality against the concern that violent images are too traumatizing for consumers to see. Too much can desensitize viewers. Yet sometimes the repetition — the ongoing grind of war — is a story in itself.

    Through images that have appeared online in recent weeks, people “learned” about Bella Hadid, a model of Palestinian descent, denouncing Hamas’ attack in Israel; a row of supposed bodies of dead Palestinians covered in white shrouds where one mysteriously moved; and a Palestinian “actor” seriously wounded in a hospital bed one day and walking unharmed the next.

    None of it happened. All of the images were fake.

    Video of Hadid accepting an award for activism in Lyme Disease was manipulated to make it seem like different words were coming from her mouth. The “moving body” video came from a 2013 protest rally in Egypt. The supposed “actor” was two separate people, and the image of one in a hospital bed preceded the start of the war.

    That’s where the sleuthing skills of journalists studying video comes into play. Much of what is online now comes from past conflicts, including in Gaza itself, being passed off as new; search engines exist to help determine the truth. Sometimes images from video games are passed off as real, but experts can usually spot them.

    “This war in many respects has confirmed our working assumption, that news organizations would see an influx of deep fakes and misinformation at a scale that was never seen before,” McMahon said.

    Although the advance of artificial intelligence is a great fear, some experts says its use so far in this war has been limited in comparison to, say, old video being passed off as new. “People believe that AI is more powerful than it is at the moment,” said James Law, editor-in-chief at Storyful.

    While debunking falsehoods is a big part of what journalists are doing, the use of video and other publicly available material — the definition of open-source reporting — has also come into its own in recent weeks.

    Storyful, which formed in 2009 to help news organizations make sense of all that is out there, is particularly adept at this new form of detective work. Its investigators use many tools, including mapping software, flight-tracking, security cameras, news agency videos.

    Often people are shooting footage, and something else that happens to be there — like leftover fragments from a bomb — can be clues for another story entirely, Polglase said.

    Maps, video and audio from different sources can be pulled together for stories on how particular events unfolded, such as the Hamas attack on an outdoor concert the morning of Oct. 7. CNN’s investigation of this event, for example, illustrated how concertgoers were directed toward shelters they thought would be safe but turned out to be killing grounds.

    The New York Times used video and Telegram postings to show how false claims that Israelis were going to settle in a Muslim area of Russia led to a mob attacking a plane.

    Satellite images, video and photos helped The Washington Post track where Israeli forces went during their initial incursion into Gaza. Through videos and reporting, the BBC told about four sites in southern Gaza that were bombed and checked to see what kind of warning Israel offered to civilians that it was coming.

    Part of the “CBS News Confirmed” initiative involves the hiring of journalists who are skilled in this type of reporting. Beyond concentrating on specific teams, organizations like the AP and BBC are training journalists throughout the world in some of these techniques.

    Yet some of this work comes with a price. News outlets have long worried about the physical safety of journalists stationed in war zones, and are now becoming cognizant that spending hours watching disturbing video can be an emotional drain.

    The investigative site Bellingcat tells employees to protect their mental health. “Always ask yourself if there is a genuine reason you need to view this footage,” advises Charlotte Maher, its social media critic. And one expert offers this advice: Turn off the sound after hearing something once because the audio can be as disturbing as what can be seen.

    At Storyful, employees area encouraged to talk about what they’re going through and take advantage of counseling services if needed, all under a common message: You don’t need to just suck it up. Says Tarrant: “It certainly does take a toll on the team.”

    ___

    David Bauder writes about media for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://twitter.com/dbauder

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  • What to stream this week: Dolly Parton rocks out, ‘The Crown’ returns, ‘Rustin’ creates a march

    What to stream this week: Dolly Parton rocks out, ‘The Crown’ returns, ‘Rustin’ creates a march

    [ad_1]

    Colman Domingo’s incredible performance in the civil rights biopic “Rustin” and Dolly Parton’s rock music album are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.

    Also among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are a series where Godzilla, King Kong and other monsters are real, the fifth Persona video game and return of “The Crown.”

    — A powerhouse performance by Colman Domingo fuels the Netflix drama “Rustin,” streaming Friday Nov. 17, about the civil rights pioneer and March on Washington architect Bayard Rustin. The film, directed by George C. Wolfe, chronicles the run-up to the indelible 1963 march where Rev. Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. “Rustin,” the first narrative feature from Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground, is a portrait of grassroots activism and of the often under-sung Rustin, an openly gay man combating injustice on numerous fronts. In his review, the AP’s Mark Kennedy praised Domingo’s “debonair, frisky, droll, passionate and utterly captivating” performance.

    — The shorts by the “Saturday Night Live” trio Please Don’t Destroy – Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy – have for several years been a highlight on the NBC sketch show. In “Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain,” they, like “SNL” standouts before them, get their first feature-film shot. In the film, directed by Paul Briganti and produced by Judd Apatow, the trio embark on a ludicrous adventure that nevertheless preserves their relaxed surrealism. “SNL” castmate Bowen Yang drops in, too, though it’s Conan O’Brien who nearly steals the show as Marshall’s disapproving father. Streaming Friday, Nov. 17, on Peacock.

    — November is the month for noir on the Criterion Channel (which is hosting a series of favorites) and on TCM, which will marathon classics like “Detour” (1945) and “The Narrow Margin” (1952) on Friday, Nov. 17. But also seek out the Criterion Channel’s “Women of the West” series, streaming this month. The western may be a predominantly male genre, but some of the best ever made are centered on strong frontier women who back down from no one. Among them here are Marlene Dietrich (“Rancho Notorious”) and Barbara Stanwyck (“Forty Guns,” “The Fluries”), but nothing beats Nicholas Ray’s 1954 Technicolor masterpiece “Johnny Guitar.” Joan Crawford as saloon owner Vivienne remains one of the most raging, smoldering performances you’ll ever seen.

    — AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

    — Last year, Dolly Parton politely asked to be removed from consideration for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. She thought that as a country musician, not a rock ‘n’ roll one, she didn’t deserve the honor. Of course, her musical legacy is undeniable, and they brought her in anyway. The move inspired “Rockstar,” her first release in the rock genre. Out Friday, Nov. 17, it is 30-tracks of star-studded covers, from “Let It Be” with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to “What’s Up?” with Linda Perry and Lizzo lending her flute-chops to “Stairway to Heaven.” There are also nine originals, written across the last few decades. Now, surely only Parton herself would doubt that she’s earned a spot in the Hall and then some — but the fact that it produced a leather-clad, anthemic, barn-burnin’ record? That’s gold.

    — Danny Brown is one of the most inventive, at times, absurdist contemporary rappers in the game – so when he releases a new full-length record, there’s no telling which direction he’s moving in. “Quaranta,” named after the Italian word for “40” — though it certainly sounds similar to a less attractive “qu-“ word in “quarantine” — is Brown’s sixth solo studio album, a highly-anticipated follow-up to 2019’s “Uknowhatimsayin¿” via Warp Records. He considers it a “spiritual sequel” to “XXX,” his 2011 break out album. On “Quaranta,” the lead single “Tantor” teeters is skonk-y avant-rap, a track that plays like an unearthed recording captured decades in some techno-future. He’s called the album his more personal to date, written and recorded before long stint in rehab. “It was almost like, if I died, this is what I have to say,” he told Rolling Stone.

    — Twenty years ago, a mall goth battle cry rung out across the world: “Bring Me to Life,” the lead single from nu-metal alt-rock band Evanescence’s debut album “Fallen” connected with an apathetic audience searching for dooming catharsis – frontwoman Amy Lee’s airy soprano challenged traditional images of the genre. Then, of course, were the other Myspace-ready records on “Fallen”: “My Immortal,” “Everybody’s Fool,” and “Going Under.” Now, two decades removed, “Fallen” is getting a remastered release — and it sounds as immediate as ever.

    — AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

    — Season 21 of “NCIS” is delayed due to the actors’ strike but fans can get their fix with the franchise’s first international spin-off, “NCIS: Sydney.” Debuting Tuesday on CBS, the series follows a task force of U.S. and Australian law enforcement investigating naval crimes in waters connecting the Indian and Pacific oceans known as Indo Pacific. Episodes will also stream on Paramount+.

    — The new limited series “A Murder at the End of the World” has a “Knives Out” vibe but with Emma Corrin as the detective. When a reclusive billionaire (Clive Owen) hosts a retreat in a remote location and one of the guests ends up dead, Corrin’s character Darby launches an investigation. The show also stars Brit Marling, who co-created, wrote and directed the series with Zal Batmanglij. The first two episodes drop Tuesday on FX on Hulu.

    — The first half of the sixth and final season of “The Crown” returns to Netflix on Thursday. The episodes begin with Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) connecting with Dodi Fayad as Dominic West’s Prince Charles seeks the Queen’s (Imelda Staunton) blessing of his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles.

    — Swizz Beatz isn’t just a music producer, he’s also an avid car enthusiast and collector. In his new Hulu docuseries “Drive with Swizz Beatz”, Beatz and his son, Nasir Dean, travel to destinations near and far (such as Atlanta, Houston, Japan and Saudi Arabia) to experience their car culture and learn about what inspires, or drives, their communities. “Drive with Swizz Beatz” debuts Thursday on Hulu.

    — Sarah Lancashire returns as Julia Child for season two of the Max series “Julia.” In the new episodes, Julia and Paul (David Hyde Pierce) return to Boston from a sojourn in France and she’s ready to resume her popular cooking show, “The French Chef.” As Julia’s profile rises, the personal and professional demands on her increase too. “We need new content yesterday,” declares the station manager in a scene that seems very timely. Can this chef maintain her joie de vivre? The first three episodes drop Thursday.

    — Kurt and Wyatt Russell star in the new MonsterVerse series “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” but the real-life father and son don’t have scenes together. That’s because they play the same character at different ages. Wyatt plays army officer Lee Shaw in the 1950s and Kurt steps in as the character in present day. The live-action series takes place in world where Godzilla, King Kong and other monsters are real, and a secret multi-government agency known as Monarch tracks and studies them. In the series, Monarch becomes threatened by Shaw’s monster knowledge. “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” premieres Friday, Nov. 17 on Apple TV+

    — An eight-episode anime series inspired by the 2010 movie “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” is coming to Netflix on Friday, Nov. 17. “ Scott Pilgrim Takes Off ” features the voices of the film cast including Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Brie Larson and Anna Kendrick.

    — Alicia Rancilio

    — Atlus’ Persona 5 dazzled role-playing game fans back in 2016, and its characters are so beloved that they’ve branched out into three spinoffs. In the latest, Persona 5 Tactica, Joker, Morgana and the rest of the Phantom Thieves are summoned to an oppressive dystopia and tasked with leading an “emotional revolution.” As usual, our teenage heroes can fight with standard weaponry like swords and firearms — or they can conjure up mythical beasts to get the job done more quickly. Tactica takes P5’s flashy animation and puts it in colorful, 3D battle arenas, and it looks quite a bit more challenging than the flagship’s dancing spinoff. While we’re all waiting for Persona 6, it’s still nice to see the gang reunite, starting Friday, Nov. 17, on Xbox X/S/One, PlayStation 5/4, Nintendo Switch and PC.

    — Lou Kesten

    ___

    Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/entertainment.

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  • Hollywood actors union board approves strike-ending deal as leaders tout money gains and AI rights

    Hollywood actors union board approves strike-ending deal as leaders tout money gains and AI rights

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    Board members from Hollywood’s actors union voted Friday to approve the deal with studios that ended their strike after nearly four months, with the union’s leadership touting the gains made in weeks of methodical negotiations.

    Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’ executive director and chief negotiator, announced at an afternoon news conference that the tentative agreement was approved with 86% of the vote.

    The three-year contract agreement next goes to a vote from the union’s members, who are now learning what they earned through spending the summer and early fall on picket lines instead of film and television sets. That vote begins Tuesday and continues into December.

    Crabtree-Ireland said the deal “will keep the motion picture industry sustainable as a profession for working class performers.”

    SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said the studios believed they could outlast actors by waiting more than two months before initiating talks.

    “What were they doing? Were they trying to smoke us out?” she said. “Well honey, I quit smoking a long time ago.”

    Crabtree-Ireland and Drescher would not give specifics on who disapproved of the deal, and why. The board vote was weighted, so it’s not immediately clear how many people voted against approval.

    Overall, the happy scene at SAG-AFTRA’s Los Angeles headquarters was as different as can be from the defiant, angry tone of a news conference in the same room in July, when guild leaders announced that actors would join writers in a historic strike that shook the industry.

    The successful vote from the board, whose members include actors Billy Porter, Jennifer Beals, Sean Astin and Sharon Stone, was expected, as many of the same people were on the committee that negotiated the deal. And it was in some ways drained of its drama by union leaders declaring the strike over as soon as the tentative deal was reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on Wednesday, rather than waiting for the approval.

    But it was still an essential step in returning to business as usual in Hollywood, if there is any such thing.

    Actors need not wait for the ratification to start acting again — “in fact some of them already have,” Crabtree-Ireland said.

    Contract provisions surrounding the control of artificial intelligence were among the last sticking points in the agreement.

    “AI was a dealbreaker,” Drescher said. “If we didn’t get that package, then what are we doing to protect our members?”

    Here’s a look at those and some of the other contract gains that union leaders outlined Friday. A more detailed look the terms will come next week, they said.

    Productions must get the informed consent of actors whose digital replicas are used. That means there will be a reasonably specific description of how an actor’s image will just be used — a vague, boilerplate sentence will not suffice. This includes the consent of background actors used for crowd scenes and similar simulations.

    When artificial intelligence is used for a movie or show an actor is already working on, they will be compensated the same as if they’d actually performed what their digital likeness does, the guild said. Companies will need to negotiate new permission to use a likeness in a new project.

    “The caveat to the consent is that it’s only for the one job,” Drescher told The Associated Press in an interview. “They have to come back if they want to use it for something else. That’s kind of huge.”

    When it’s a licensed image on a show where an actor, living or dead, is not otherwise performing, the license holders have a right to negotiate a rate.

    In a hard-won provision that SAG-AFTRA said came on the final day of negotiations, when generative AI is used to create a synthetic character from the images of several different performers — be it Denzel Washington’s eyes or Margot Robbie’s hair — consent must be obtained from every person used, and the union must be able to negotiate pay for each.

    The contract includes a creation of a new fund to pay performers for future viewings of their work on streaming services, in addition to traditional residuals paid for the showing of movies or series. The issue derailed talks for more than a week last month before studios returned to the table.

    “They leaned pretty far because they were willing to accept that a new stream of revenue had to be established,” Drescher told the AP.

    A 7% general wage increase is effective immediately, with another 4% hike in July, and another 3.5% a year after that.

    An 11% increase for background actors is effective immediately, with the same 4% and 3.5% increases in the coming years.

    There will also be more money for the relocation of actors who have to move to appear in TV series.

    Productions will be required to hire intimacy coordinators for any scenes involving nudity or simulated sex. While this has become an increasingly common practice in recent years, it had not been mandatory.

    Dancers asked to sing or singers asked to dance will be fully compensated for both skills, rather than productions getting a two-for-one when performers do double duty.

    Sets must have proper hair and makeup artists for all performers who need them, and those artists must be able to properly serve the particular ethnicities and appearances of the performers.

    The agreement also includes more protections and funding for the self-taping of auditions.

    ___

    Associated Press journalist Krysta Fauria contributed reporting.

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  • Daytime Emmys set for Dec. 15 in the first major awards show since Hollywood strikes ended

    Daytime Emmys set for Dec. 15 in the first major awards show since Hollywood strikes ended

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    The Daytime Emmys are back on after being postponed by the Hollywood writers’ strike

    ByThe Associated Press

    November 10, 2023, 5:10 PM

    LOS ANGELES — The Daytime Emmys are back on after being postponed by the Hollywood writers’ strike.

    The 50th annual ceremony honoring talk shows and soap operas will air Dec. 15 live on CBS and be livestreamed on Paramount + and will be hosted by Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner of “Entertainment Tonight.”

    It will be the first major awards show since the writers and actors went on strike. The Daytime Emmys, originally set for June 16, were postponed in May because of the strike by the Writers Guild of America. That walkout ended Sept. 26. The actors union joined the writers’ strike on July 14 and ended their labor action late Wednesday.

    Soap actor Susan Lucci will receive her lifetime achievement award at the ceremony at the Westin Bonaventure hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

    “We know the loyal fans of daytime television have waited patiently to properly honor and recognize all of the deserving nominees and we look forward to the celebration we have all been waiting for,” said Adam Sharp, president and CEO of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

    ___

    For more coverage of the actors and writers strike, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/hollywood-strikes/

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  • How ‘The Simpsons’ strangled itself into irrelevance

    How ‘The Simpsons’ strangled itself into irrelevance

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    To paraphrase Marx, sitcoms repeat themselves, first as satire and then as farce. Or maybe just as self-parody.

    That’s the case with The Simpsons, America’s longest-running scripted TV series, longest-running animated show, and longest-running sitcom. Once an engagingly genial yet subversive part of American popular culture whose creator, Matt Groening, sharpened his talents in alternative comix, The Simpsons soldiers on in its 35th season as a pale, tired imitation of its earlier self, one that no longer delights as much as it disappoints. It is almost certainly asking too much for The Simpsons or any other creative offering to keep a sharp edge for this long, but the show’s latest controversy provides an object lesson in how pedantic and tedious American culture can become.

    In a recent episode, goofball patriarch Homer announces that he will no longer enact one of the show’s longest-running gags, which involved strangling his son Bart whenever the kid pisses him off (which is often). When meeting a new neighbor who remarks on his strong handshake, Homer says to his wife, “See, Marge, strangling the boy has paid off….Just kidding. I don’t do that anymore….Times have changed!” As the pop-culture site IGN notes, Homer hasn’t in fact strangled Bart onscreen since the 2019–2020 season. (Go here for a supercut video that promises “Homer STRANGLING Bart For 10 Minutes Straight!”)

    Marge Simpson protesting cartoon violence. (Screen capture, fair use)

    Yes, times have changed. The minute I read about the new episode, I thought back to a particularly memorable installment from the show’s second season. In “Itchy & Scratchy & Marge,” Marge leads a successful campaign to clean up TV after realizing how ultra-violent her kids’ favorite cartoon, Itchy & Scratchy, really is. (In a typical episode, “Field of Screams,” Itchy the mouse runs over Scratchy the cat with a thresher and then uses the decapitated head to play catch with his son, parodying a scene in the syrupy baseball movie Field of Dreams.)

    The inciting incident for Marge comes when baby Maggie imitates what she sees on the small screen and whacks Homer on the head with a mallet. Marge’s protest succeeds spectacularly, and she gets the makers of Itchy & Scratchy, whose theme song promises “They fight! And bite! They fight and bite and fight! Fight, fight, fight! Bite, bite, bite!” to create wholesome episodes like the one below, titled “Porch Pals”:

    The new and improved Itchy & Scratchy is so nauseatingly sweet and good-for-you that Springfield’s kids turn off their TVs and go outside to play and start to thrive like never before, a wry commentary on persistent fears that fantasy violence—and fantasy sex—on the boob tube deformed children’s moral lives.

    In its earlier days, The Simpsons wasn’t simply funny. Along with a number of other shows, such as Beavis and Butt-head and Mystery Science Theater 3000, it helped to teach us all how to consume pop culture critically by commenting directly and indirectly on the recurring conceits and tropes of TV and the critical discussion about the medium.

    This was no small matter. The country was in the midst of an explosion of cultural offerings that freaked out tastemakers and gatekeepers. As the double whammy of cable TV and the internet rolled out across the nation, powerful people were convinced that most of us, but especially children, were incapable of distinguishing between basic cable and basic reality. What we needed more than ever was a guardian class that would regulate and restrict the music we listened to, the TV and movies watched, and the websites we searched. As the University of Tulsa’s Joli Jensen told Reason, the guardian-class attitude proceeds from “an assumption that art is an instrument like medicine or a toxin that can be injected into us and transform us.” If you believe that, you are going to do whatever you can to make sure only the “right” sort of messages are being sent. “Just like TV sets or radios,” I summarized the view in 1996, “we are dumb receivers that simply transmit whatever is broadcast to us. We do not look at movie screens; we are movie screens, and Hollywood merely projects morality—good, bad, or indifferent—onto us.”

    That sort of thinking has a long and storied lineage, and it has been applied in various ways to novels, movies, comic books, rock and roll, and other forms of mass entertainment. The idea regularly migrates to new forms of popular culture (video games, social media, smart phones) and usually gets dressed up in scientific-sounding language.

    It’s hard to recapture the moral and social panic caused by the appearance of The Simpsons and the Fox network on which it appeared. Fox became the fourth over-the-air broadcast network in late 1986 and was known for its edgy content and gross-out humor. Conservatives and liberals alike attacked The Simpsons and the network’s other shows, such as Married…with Children, as portents of the end of all that was good and decent in American society. Bluenoses raged at the sight of Bart wearing a t-shirt with “Underachiever” emblazoned on it, with some school districts actually banning the gear. Republican Bill Bennett and Democrat Joe Lieberman, two thankfully mostly forgotten but once powerful political figures, joined forces to denounce such anti-social offerings by handing out “Silver Sewer Awards” that trashed Fox TV and Rupert Murdoch for vulgarizing the airwaves. They were joined by such figures as Sen. Bob Dole (R–Kansas), Attorney General Janet Reno, and first lady Hillary Clinton, who were convinced that “fantasy violence” and promiscuous sex scenes on TV caused those same problems in the real world. Reno explicitly threatened TV networks with censorship, averring that “the regulation of violence is constitutionally permissible” while senators pushed legislation that would have made cable networks subject to FCC content regulations. Pundits predicted an endless rise in mayhem if shows like The Simpsons—which had a famous gag where a character kept shouting “Will someone please think of the children?“—weren’t reined in.

    Such fears mostly dispersed in the absence of plausible research showing much of a correlation, much less anything hinting at causation, between watching sex and violence on TV and then perpetrating it in the real world. The long and virtually uninterrupted decline in crime that began in the mid-1990s—right as increasingly violent and sexually explicit TV, internet content, and video games were becoming ubiquitous—also helped to minimize calls for more G-rated content and tighter restrictions on who could consume what. Which of course isn’t to say they went away: In 2005, for instance, Hillary Clinton, by then a senator from New York, declared that the video game Grand Theft Auto “encourages [children] to have sex with prostitutes and then murder them” while calling for an federal investigation of how games were rated and sold.

    Over the past decade or so, calls for kinder, gentler content seem driven less by worries that, say, depictions of violence will cause problems in the real world and more about the pain and suffering that bad representations of particular types of characters might cause among some viewers. Indeed, the last time The Simpsons was widely discussed was in 2017, when comedian Akaash Singh called out the show for its supposedly one-dimensional representation of South Asians in the documentary The Problem with Apu. As a result, the actor who voiced Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu, Hank Azaria, stopped doing the character. A few years later, during riots and protests in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, the producers of The Simpsons announced that it would “no longer have white actors voice non-white characters.”

    However well-intentioned such gestures might be, it’s clear that they have done nothing to bring viewers back to The Simpsons. In its first few seasons, it averaged well over 20 million viewers per episode. Its most recent complete season drew less than a tenth of that.

    “Itchy & Scratchy & Marge” ends with Marge renouncing paternalistic censorship after a movement inspired by her own activism launches a campaign to put pants on Michelangelo’s David. Thirty-three years later, the show that once challenged the censorial zeitgeist now seems all too much a part of it.

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    Nick Gillespie

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  • Hollywood actors to end strike after agreeing tentative deal with studios

    Hollywood actors to end strike after agreeing tentative deal with studios

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    The months-long strike has crippled the entertainment industry, halting hundreds of films and television productions.

    Hollywood actors have reached a tentative agreement with major studios to end a months-long strike that has halted the production of hundreds of films and television shows.

    The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) said on Wednesday that its strike would end at midnight (08:00 GMT on Thursday) after negotiators reached a preliminary deal on a new contract.

    The group’s national board will consider the agreement on Friday, and the union said it would release further details after the meeting.

    Members of SAG-AFTRA walked off the job in mid-July asking for an increase in minimum salaries, a share of streaming service revenue and protection from being replaced by “digital replicas” generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

    The union’s negotiators reached the preliminary deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents companies including Netflix, Paramount and Walt Disney. There was no immediate comment from the alliance.

    Union team captains Romel De Silva and Brendan A Bradley pose with a symbolic cone as they celebrate the tentative agreement [Mario Anzuoni/Reuters]

    The breakthrough means Hollywood can ramp up to full production for the first time since May, once union members vote to ratify the deal in the coming weeks.

    The news spread rapidly across Hollywood, with celebrities expressing joy and relief.

    “Incredible! I’m so happy we were all able to come to an agreement. Let’s get back to work! Let’s go! I’m so stoked,” Zac Efron told reporters at a premiere of The Iron Claw.

    “PERSEVERANCE PAYS OFF!” wrote Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis on Instagram.

    SAG-AFTRA represents some 160,000 performers.

    While Hollywood’s top stars earn millions, many less well-known actors said it had become almost impossible to earn a decent living in recent years, as longstanding pay structures failed to keep pace with inflation and the rise of streaming services.

    When SAG-AFTRA walked out in mid-July, Hollywood writers were also on strike.

    It was the first time that the two unions had headed to the picket lines simultaneously since 1960 when actor (and future US president) Ronald Reagan led the protests.

    The writers’ union resolved their dispute in late September, saying they had secured “meaningful gains and protections for writers”.

    The industrial action forced studios to delay the release of big-budget films, including Dune: Part Two and the next instalment in the Mission: Impossible franchise, while broadcasters were forced to fill their schedules with re-runs, game shows and reality programming.

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  • Bob Woodruff returns to Iraq roadside where bomb nearly killed him 17 years ago

    Bob Woodruff returns to Iraq roadside where bomb nearly killed him 17 years ago

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    NEW YORK — The physical pain of nearly dying when shrapnel from a roadside bomb in Iraq tore through his head 17 years ago was hard enough for ABC newsman Bob Woodruff.

    Mentally, it was even worse.

    That’s evident in talking to Woodruff and watching as he takes television viewers on a journey to where his life changed in an instant on Jan. 29, 2006. His first time back to Taji, Iraq, is chronicled in “After the Blast: The Will to Survive,” which airs on ABC Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern and begins streaming on Hulu a day later.

    At age 44, Woodruff had reached the top of a competitive TV business. He had just been named co-anchor of ABC’s “World News Tonight” and was sent to Iraq at the height of the war there to report on its progress.

    Riding in a patrolling Iraqi tank, he poked his upper body out to narrate a report when the improvised explosive device exploded. A couple of inches either way, Woodruff was told, and he would have been killed instantly.

    As it was, he was in a medically-induced coma for 36 days. When he awoke, he couldn’t remember the names of two of his four children, only a small part of what he had to relearn. Much of it came back and he recovered quickly during the first two years after his traumatic brain injury.

    But as is common for those with aphasia, a disorder that affects the ability to communicate, he plateaued. Recovery was not complete. He still has trouble recalling words and particularly names, although, truthfully, that was barely noticeable in an interview with The Associated Press.

    “I have lost, without question, my abilities compared to what it was before,” he said. “It’s never going to be perfect. I say sometimes that it’s not my disability but a different ability.”

    He is upfront about the mental challenges of recovery.

    “The challenge is to finally admit, to confess almost, that you’re not able to do what you’re used to do,” he said. “Most people want to hold a grip on it and never give it up — I WILL be back to normal. Really, the goal and hope is that you will just realize that you are on a different path and to figure out the way to go down that path.

    “I think that’s finally happened,” he said. “It took me a couple of years.”

    He still works as a journalist for ABC and other Disney properties, but his days of live TV reporting are over. That’s too tough. He concentrates on long-form stories, like a special on fentanyl last year, an upcoming trip to the Arctic he took with military veterans and “Rogue Trip,” an adventure travel series he does with his son Mack.

    He has constant contact with veterans through the Bob Woodruff Foundation, which raises money for military families. Bruce Springsteen performs regularly at their annual benefits, including on Monday despite an illness that has kept him off the road.

    Woodruff is “a walking miracle of determination, of resilience, and of absolute dedication to reporting the story, whatever and wherever it is,” said David Westin, who was ABC News president when in 2006.

    “He’s an inspiration to us all,” Westin said. “And, in the end, it’s made him into a different — and in many ways better — reporter than he was before, reaching millions with stories we otherwise may never have known.”

    This time, when he drove into Taji, it was in the back of a white SUV.

    He had several motivations to return, including guilt. Like some injured veterans, he shared the feeling of having to leave before completing the job he was sent to do — despite a reasonable excuse. So he spent part of his journey reporting on how Iraq had changed, even visiting an ice cream shop that he had been to 17 years earlier.

    “I wanted to finish the work,” he said. “I wanted to see this country that had been a huge part of my life and I wanted to really say goodbye to it. To some degree, I wanted to prove to those who detonated that IED that they really couldn’t stop us from coming back. We were not defeated.”

    As he rides in the SUV, Woodruff tries to describe his emotions. “I go both ways on this one,” he said. “It’s been my dream to come back and at least finally see the place and tell those who were there and witnessed it that we’re OK.”

    Then he stops. The tears flow, and he covers his face in his hands.

    Part of the emotion, he explained later, was that the man filming him was Mack. His son was only 14 in 2006 when he waited with his mother, Lee, and three sisters to learn whether their father would live or die.

    “In some ways my son had been my therapist for so many years, and there he was going to the same spot,” Woodruff said. “What kind of irresponsible father would I be if something happened again while we were there?”

    A dirt road when Woodruff had been in the tank, the Mosul highway is now a busy paved thoroughfare. That allowed for some gallows humor when Woodruff and Magnus Macedo, the sound technician on Woodruff’s 2006 trip, tried to cross it.

    “Don’t get hit this time,” Woodruff told him.

    Woodruff reunited with Saad Al-Dulaimi and Ghassan Al-Mohammadawi, Iraqi military men who had accompanied him in 2006. “We told you to duck down,” Al-Mohammadawi, who lost two fingers in the blast, reminded Woodruff.

    Not everyone shared the desire to go back. Cameraman Doug Vogt, who was injured filming the 2006 report, declined an invitation to accompany Woodruff again. And while Lee gave the go-ahead, you get the sense that his family wasn’t unanimous that this was a good idea. Some rough memories resurface.

    “I live in a world that I didn’t even know about before,” Woodruff said. “I didn’t even know what a traumatic brain injury was. I didn’t know what TBI stood for. I certainly didn’t, like most Americans, have a relationship with military units, people who served over there.

    “Now I do,” he said, “and that has been an incredible trip for me.”

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  • What to stream this week: Chris Stapleton, Call of Duty, ‘The Killer,’ Tim Allen’s Santa return

    What to stream this week: Chris Stapleton, Call of Duty, ‘The Killer,’ Tim Allen’s Santa return

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    Country superstar Chris Stapleton’s fifth studio album and a documentary about Albert Brooks that includes Steven Spielberg, David Letterman, Ben Stiller, Larry David, Chris Rock and Wanda Sykes are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.

    Also among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are Michael Fassbender playing a hitman in David Fincher’s “The Killer,” Tim Allen putting on his Santa suit for season two of “The Santa Clauses” and “The Buccaneers,” Apple TV+’s eight-episode series answer to “Bridgerton.”

    — Michael Fassbender plays an unnamed hitman in David Fincher’s “The Killer,” debuting on Netflix on Friday, Nov. 10. It’s based on a French graphic novel and adapted by Andrew Kevin Walker, who also wrote the screenplay for “Seven” (or “Se7en” for the purists), this nameless assassin has some very specific rules for his chosen profession which he monologues to the audience. But of course, things go very wrong on this particular job in Paris, and he’s left to deal with the consequences in a globetrotting race. While it might not rank among Fincher’s stone-cold classics, reviews have been largely positive. Critic Bob Strauss wrote that, “The Killer” may look like a fight for one’s life with a satisfying side of vengeance. But it’s a study of an existential death served in delectably cold and precise portions.

    — Rob Reiner enlists the likes of Steven Spielberg, David Letterman, Ben Stiller, Larry David, Chris Rock and Wanda Sykes to take stock the impact of Albert Brooks in the new documentary “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life,” streaming on Max on Saturday, Nov. 11. Reiner and Brooks, who have been friends for “almost 60 years,” also have a one-on-one chat about his career, from stand-up to generation-defining writer and filmmaker with classics like “Lost in America” and “Modern Romance,” in a cozy restaurant with plush red leather booths. “It took this to finally hear a compliment,” Brooks laughs. “Can’t wait till I’m dead.”

    — “Dumb Money,” the enjoyable film about the GameStop stock frenzy got a little unfairly buried in its theatrical release — perhaps lost in the post-Barbenheimer, early strike haze. Paul Dano plays Keith Gill, otherwise known as Roaring Kitty, an amateur investor whose endorsement of GameStock on Reddit in 2021 created a viral frenzy that shook Wall Street power players. Two former Wall Street Journal Reporters, Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, wrote the script and Craig Gillespie (“I, Tonya”) directed a starry cast that includes America Ferrera, Seth Rogen, Anthony Ramos, Pete Davidson, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley and Nick Offerman. In his AP review, Mark Kennedy wrote that “Dumb Money,” whose title comes from “the derisory term institutional investors call regular folk, wears its love of the little guy on its sleeve” and that it’s a sort of corrective to “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “The Big Short.” It’ll be available on video-on-demand starting Tuesday.

    — AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

    — Country superstar Chris Stapleton ’s enigmatic voice – known for its raw versatility, so anchored in his chosen musical genre with an unusual ability to transcend it – is as present as ever on his fifth studio album, “Higher,” out Friday, Nov. 10. Recorded at Nashville’s famed RCA Studio A with an a-list crew of producer Dave Cobb, bassist J.T. Cure, pedal steel player Paul Franklin, drummer Derek Mixon, and multi-instrumentalists Morgane Stapleton (Stapleton’s wife) and Lee Pardini, the release is a rich collection of up-tempo rock-stompers like “White Horse” and stripped-down soulful harmonies of “It Takes a Woman” — sung with Morgane, of course. No one is immune when Stapleton’s textured, bellowing ballads play.

    — Once, aespa were best known as the K-pop group that had their own AI avatars – a quartet that was actually an octet with digital twins who performed alongside them, in an effort to develop innovative transmedia storytelling to match a futuristic pop sound. Of course, sometimes that meant the conversation surrounding aespa distracted from the music itself. That shouldn’t have ever been the case, and they continue to prove their distinction on the high-octane “Drama,” the group’s fourth mini album. That’s evident from the English-language lead single, “Better Things,” which its cheery, hand-clap production and kiss-off chorus. “I’ve got better things to do with my time / Than you,” they sing.

    — AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

    — “The Buccaneers” is Apple TV+’s answer to “Bridgerton,” featuring attractive young people in London in the late 1800’s with contemporary dialogue and corsets. The eight-episode series is inspired by an unfinished novel by Edith Wharton with the same name. It’s about a group of American girls who travel to London for the social season, to hopefully find husbands. They’re regarded as loud, brash, and far too independent-minded. The series stars Kristine Froseth who ends up in a love triangle, along with Alisha Boe (“13 Reasons Why”), Mia Threapleton (daughter of Kate Winslet), Imogen Waterhouse and Christina Hendricks. “The Buccaneers” debuts Wednesday.

    — Octavia Spencer executive produces the new series “FEDS” for ID which goes inside the FBI to reveal details of some of their most unusual and high-profile cases. “We had unparalleled access to the FBI,” Spencer told The Associated Press. “These agents are still active and tell their stories in their own voice. They are also unsung heroes. it was a way for us to demonstrate exactly what they go through on a on a daily basis.” “FEDS” premieres Wednesday on ID and will also stream on Max.

    — Tim Allen puts on his Santa suit for season two of “The Santa Clauses,” beginning Wednesday on Disney+. The series is a continuation of the films starring Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, an everyman who also happens to be Santa Clause. Calvin is ready to retire but hasn’t found the right replacement. Elizabeth Mitchell also reprises her film role as Mrs. Clause for the series. Eric Stonestreet of “Modern Family” and Gabriel Iglesias also join the second season with Tracy Morgan making a special guest appearance.

    — In a new Showtime series called “The Curse,” Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder play Whitney and Asher, a married couple with their own home improvement show whose shiny, happy lives on camera aren’t so perfect behind-the-scenes. Their lives unravel even more after a young girl curses them with bad fortune. The series is created by Fielder and Benny Safdie, who plays their producer. “The Curse” premieres Friday, Nov. 10 on Paramount+ and Sunday, Nov. 12 on Showtime.

    — After playing shrewd billionaire Logan Roy in HBO’s “Succession,” Brian Cox will next serve as a mastermind in the new game show “007: Road to a Million” for Prime Video. The competition features nine pairs who take part in James Bond-inspired challenges across the globe, testing them physically and mentally, to answer questions hidden by Cox. Cox is “The Controller” who instructs the contestants where to go, what the exercise is, and monitors their progress. The winning team gets $1 million pounds. All eight episodes drop Friday, Nov. 10 on Prime Video.

    — Alicia Rancilio

    — When Call of Duty premiered in 2003, reviewers raved about it but few predicted what a monster it would become. But here it is 20 years and 20 games later, racking up blockbuster sales figures even if most of us critics have long since moved on. The latest chapter, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, welcomes back iconic villain Vladimir Makarov, architect of the most heinous terrorist attack in the franchise’s history. Can the good ol’ boys of Task Force 141 once again stop him from starting World War III? Hope so. Will most CoD diehards zip through the campaign so they can dive back into multiplayer combat? Yes. Will publisher Activision keep raking in billions of dollars? Don’t bet against it. The bullets start flying Friday, Nov. 10, on PlayStation 5/4, Xbox X/S/One and PC.

    — Sega’s Yakuza/Like a Dragon series has been around almost as long as CoD, but while it’s huge in Japan, it’s more of a cult favorite in the West. The latest chapter, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, picks up the story of Kazuma Kiryu, who faked his own death and went into hiding before being dragged back into the gangster life. Kiryu has two ways to fight back: He can be an aggressive brawler or use high-tech gadgets for precision takedowns. Or he can just relax and sing karaoke or race slot cars. The Yakuza mythology can be overwhelming to newcomers, but if you’re in the mood for unpredictable, sometimes loopy storytelling, you should give it a shot. The drama resumes Thursday on PlayStation 5/4, Xbox X/S/One and PC.

    — Lou Kesten

    ___

    Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/entertainment.

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  • John Oliver’s ‘Last Week Tonight’ censored by UAE broadcaster over reference to Khashoggi killing

    John Oliver’s ‘Last Week Tonight’ censored by UAE broadcaster over reference to Khashoggi killing

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    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A Dubai-based television network broadcasting across the Mideast cut substantial portions of an episode of the satiric news program “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” over references to Saudi Arabia’s crown prince being implicated in the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

    The decision by OSN highlights the continued limits of speech in both the United Arab Emirates, which has vowed it will allow protests at the upcoming United Nations COP28 climate talks it will host later this month, as well as neighboring Saudi Arabia.

    It also highlights just how sensitive Khashoggi’s dismemberment and killing in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul remains over five years later, as Prince Mohammed has sought to rehabilitate his image through diplomatic efforts.

    “Criticizing the royal family, criticizing the crown prince in Saudi Arabia is a terrorist offense and you can be prosecuted for terrorism,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, the executive director of Khashoggi-founded group Democracy for the Arab World Now. “I’m more concerned with the content providers like HBO that are allowing their content to be censored.”

    Khashoggi, long a journalist, a royal court insider and defender of the kingdom, fled Saudi Arabia after Prince Mohammed’s rise. His columns in the Post directly criticized Mohammed’s rule. U.S. intelligence agencies and others assess a Saudi hit team killed and dismembered Khashoggi on the crown prince’s orders, something denied by the kingdom.

    The “Last Week Tonight” episode, which aired Oct. 22, focused primarily on the New York-based management consulting firm McKinsey and Co. McKinsey has worked with Saudi Arabia in recent years, particularly under Prince Mohammed as he pushes a rapid economic transition plan that includes tens of billions of dollars in spending on massive projects like Neom on the Red Sea.

    “McKinsey now has offices all over the world, and from them they’ve cozied up to some truly terrible clients,” Oliver said. They “are so deeply entrenched in the government of Saudi Arabia that Saudi Arabia’s planning ministry has been dubbed the Ministry of McKinsey.”

    Oliver goes on in the segment to refer to a Saudi finance summit McKinsey attended after Khashoggi’s killing as a “journalist-chopping business jamboree” and the kingdom as one of the “rootin’-itus, tootin’-itus journalist-shooting’iest regimes in the Middle East.”

    Oliver also mentions McKinsey compiling information on critics of a 2015 austerity push by the kingdom on Twitter, now known as X, something first reported by The New York Times in 2018. After the report, Saudi officials made arrests apparently connected their criticism while one user found himself the target of a phone hacking. McKinsey insisted its report was an internal document and said it was “horrified by the possibility, however remote, that it could have been misused in any way.”

    OSN cut that material, as well as other portions mentioning Saudi Arabia in a satirical, fake McKinsey promotional created by the show. OSN did, however, include one bit after the show’s credits in which an actor, referring to the kingdom, says: “Wait, wait, I’m sorry — he did another one? Oh my God. Which newspaper?”

    OSN, a company founded in 2009 that rebroadcasts programs by both satellite and streaming across the Middle East, declined to discuss questions posed by The Associated Press in specifics about the cuts. The company describes itself as having only two shareholders — a Kuwaiti investment firm called KIPCO with ties to its ruling family and the Mawarid Group Ltd., a private Saudi investment firm.

    “As with all aspects of our business, OSN complies with the laws of the markets in which we operate, including all content-related compliance across the region,” a company statement to the AP said. “As such, from time to time we make minor content edits.”

    Saudi Arabia’s government did not respond to a request for comment, nor did representatives for Oliver. HBO declined to comment.

    Content censorship remains common across the media of the Middle East, whether draping digital robes over actors in sex scenes or outright banning films over mentions of LGBTQ people and their rights. Netflix also faced criticism for pulling an episode on Saudi Arabia in comedian Hasan Minhaj’s short-lived series “Patriot Act” over it discussing the crown prince and Khashoggi’s killing.

    Meanwhile, even the website for Whitson’s group, Democracy for the Arab World Now, remains blocked by authorities in both Saudi Arabia and the Emirates. Whitson described it as not being a surprise, particularly the Emiratis have kept human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor imprisoned even as COP28 approaches.

    “I think the Emiratis and the Saudis would much prefer to hide and bury facts and information about their records,” she said. “It’s a small indication of how afraid they are of their own population … (being) armed with truth and facts about their own role in gross human rights abuses.”

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  • In the wake of Matthew Perry’s death, Chinese fans mourn an old friend

    In the wake of Matthew Perry’s death, Chinese fans mourn an old friend

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    Long before “Friends” made its official debut in China, the show was a word-of-mouth phenomenon in the country. In the wake of Matthew Perry’s death at 54, fans in China are mourning the loss of the star who felt less like a distant celebrity and more like an old friend.

    A Wednesday evening memorial at a cafe in Shenzhen, a busy city across the border of Hong Kong, was one of several held throughout the country for the actor who played Chandler Bing and died Saturday in Los Angeles. The coffee shop — an homage to the 10-season sitcom, from its name (Smelly Cat) to the Central Perk sign on its glass wall — was packed with people and floral arrangements as the TV mounted in the corner played an episode of “Friends.”

    “There are more people who showed up than we expected,” said cafe manager Nie Yanxia. “People shared their own memories about Chandler and ‘Friends’ and many teared up.”

    A large poster displayed on the bar featured pictures of Perry over the years. “We love you, friend,” read the message at the bottom.

    While “Friends” didn’t debut in China until 2012 — through Sohu, a streaming platform — the show had become popular more than a decade earlier thanks to bootleg DVD and hard drive copies. Once Chinese fans added Mandarin subtitles to the show, which ran in the U.S. from 1994 to 2004, it quickly gained a following.

    “China was experiencing this drastic historical change marked by the rise of consumerism and also individualism and urbanization back then,” said Xian Wang, a professor on modern Chinese literature and popular culture at the University of Notre Dame. “This TV show actually offered a way to imagine this kind of so-called metropolitan utopian imagination.”

    Many Chinese fans learned English through watching the show and got a peek into American life and culture. The uncensored underground version of “Friends” also opened a window into topics that weren’t commonly broached on Chinese television, like LGBTQ+ themes and sexual content. (While “Friends” wasn’t initially censored on Sohu, the platform — and others that later began officially distributing the show in China — would increasingly cut out scenes.)

    Wang said many young people in China identified with Perry’s character and his fictional friends as they navigated living independently and developing their own identity in a big city.

    “It’s kind of like the loss of one of their own friends,” Wang said. “So that’s emotional because there was a sense of the childhood or youth memory, a sense of nostalgia.”

    In the bustling neon city of Shanghai on Wednesday night, more than 30 people packed a petite rendition of the Central Perk cafe. There was barely room to stand, and just space for three to sit on a replica of the iconic orange sofa. Those who couldn’t fit inside the cafe spilled out the door, peering in, while others sat on chairs outside. Inside, fans took turns reading articles about Perry. Some choked up.

    Nilufar Arkin, who lives in Tianjin, says she and her boyfriend have been described by their friends as the real-life Monica and Chandler. The couple even got matching tattoos two years ago with the lyrics from the theme song “I’ll Be There For You,” performed by The Rembrandts. The artwork on their arms also depict the classic Thanksgiving scene where Monica dances in front of Chandler wearing a turkey on her head. It was the first time Chandler told Monica that he loved her.

    “I think Chandler and Monica is the model as a couple,” Arkin, 27, said. “This is what I admire for a couple, I love both of them. He’s my type as a husband.”

    Arkin heard about Perry’s death when she woke up at her friend’s home in Xinjiang and broke down in tears.

    “I couldn’t believe it and had to verify it again and again until I found it was true, then I just cried,” Arkin said. “He’s my top one character in the show.”

    Fu Xueying has watched the series repeatedly; each time, it grows on her more. The 20-year-old student has visited three Central Perk-themed cafes, in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, where she felt like she was part of the show.

    “’Friends’ has been a haven for my life,” Fu said. “Every time I have too much pressure from school or being unhappy, I watch it and forget the things that happened to me.”

    For mechanical engineer Zhang Fengguang and his fiancee Sun Tiantian, both 30, Perry and the show will always be a part of their lives. In September, Zhang recreated Chandler and Monica’s proposal scene; Sun said yes.

    “I used his scene and his line,” Zhang said. “It feels like I just got to know this long-lost friend, but he’s just gone.”

    ___

    Fu Ting reported from Washington. Associated Press journalist Han Guan Ng in Shanghai contributed to this report.

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  • The final ‘Yellowstone’ episodes delayed until late 2024 due to Hollywood strikes

    The final ‘Yellowstone’ episodes delayed until late 2024 due to Hollywood strikes

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    The final episodes of “Yellowstone” starring Kevin Costner will air in November 2024, a delay of a year

    ByThe Associated Press

    November 2, 2023, 1:41 PM

    This image released by Paramount Network shows Kelly Reilly, left, and Kevin Costner in a scene from “Yellowstone.” (Paramount Network via AP)

    The Associated Press

    The long-awaited final installment of “Yellowstone” — featuring Kevin Costner ’s final episodes — has been delayed until November 2024, the Paramount Network announced Thursday.

    Originally scheduled to return this month, Paramount says production was delayed by this year’s strikes by actors and screenwriters. The first half of the fifth season debuted in November 2022.

    Paramount also announced two spin-offs, a prequel tentatively called “1944” and a sequel to the current series, called “2024.” There’s no word yet on any casting for either series.

    “Yellowstone” has been a phenomenon for Paramount Network. The premiere episode of season five was watched by 12.1 million people, more than for any other scripted series airing at the time.

    CBS also began airing “Yellowstone” from the beginning this fall to help fill out its primetime schedule due to the strikes, and 21.6 million people tuned in to season one. It’s now begun airing season two.

    “Yellowstone” is a contemporary Western drama that follows the Duttons, a wealthy family in Montana that owns the largest ranch in the United States. Its patriarch is John Dutton III, played by Costner. It’s created by Taylor Sheridan.

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  • Comedian Taylor Tomlinson to host new CBS late-night show “After Midnight.” Here’s what to know about her.

    Comedian Taylor Tomlinson to host new CBS late-night show “After Midnight.” Here’s what to know about her.

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    Taylor Tomlinson will host a new late-night show airing on CBS called “After Midnight,” a new incarnation of Comedy Central’s “@midnight,” Stephen Colbert, host of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” announced during his show on Wednesday.

    Colbert first told his audience that there would be a new late-night show and described the ideal host as someone “fun, likable, young, in touch with online trends and available every night of the week.” When he called for suggestions from the audience, Tomlinson raised her hand and joked that she could host. After a few jokes back and forth and an enthusiastic response from the audience, Colbert called Tomlinson up to the stage and introduced her as the official host of the new show. 

    “Please welcome the newest late-night host, Taylor Tomlinson!” Colbert cheered. 


    Stephen Colbert Announces Taylor Tomlinson As Host of “After Midnight” – Coming Soon to CBS by
    The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on
    YouTube

    “After Midnight” will air on CBS at 12:37 a.m. ET and stream on Paramount+ beginning in early 2024. 

    It will fill the timeslot that previously featured “The Late Late Show” with James Corden. Corden taped his last episode in April after eight years as host.

    Colbert will be one of the show’s executive producers, according to a news release, along with other representatives of CBS Studios, Funny or Die and Spartina Industries. Jo Firestone will be the show’s head writer, and former “@midnight” showrunner Jack Martin will serve as a co-showrunner alongside Eric Pierce. 

    “@midnight” was an improvised panel game show that aired on Comedy Central from 2013 to 2017 and was hosted by Chris Hardwick. 

    “We are thrilled to be reunited with our friends at Funny Or Die,” said Colbert in the news release announcing the new show. “My hope is that, every night, AFTER MIDNIGHT will be just as ridiculous as the internet is every day. Plus, the original ‘@midnight’ aired after ‘The Colbert Report,’ so welcoming this new show to 12:30 feels like coming home.”

    What else has Taylor Tomlinson been in? 

    Tomlinson, 29, has previously made waves with her Netflix standup specials “Quarter-Life Crisis” and “Look at You.” Before her specials, she appeared on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” competition series and Netflix’s “The Comedy Lineup.” 

    Tomlinson also hosted a podcast called “Sad in the City,” which ended in 2022, and is in the middle of a national tour. 

    Taylor Tomlinson In Concert
    Comedian Taylor Tomlinson performs at The Brown Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 25, 2022.

    / Getty Images


    When she was announced as the host of “After Midnight,” Tomlinson joked that it was the first “real job” she had ever been hired for. 

    “I’ve been doing stand-up since I was 16, which is not a job,” she told Colbert. “No job! … So like this has been a really fun couple of months, like, I was on TikTok searching like how to nail a job interview — TikTok is Google for children — and, like, ‘How do you impress your maybe boss?’”

    Colbert said that he and Tomlinson had spoken over Zoom the night before, when he had told her that she would be hosting the show. A screenshot of their conversation captured Tomlinson’s shocked face. 

    screen-shot-2023-11-02-at-12-25-23-pm.png
    A printed screenshot showing Taylor Tomlinson and Stephen Colbert.

    The Late Show with Stephen Colbert


    “When you log onto the Zoom and realize you should have dried your hair and put on more makeup,” Tomlinson joked. “I didn’t know if I got the job. I thought they were calling to let me down easy. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. To me, this is the face of like — you know when you think you’re going to get dumped, but they propose instead?” 

    One of Tomlinson’s final jokes was to reassure audience members who might not be familiar with her work. 

    “I’m 29. So if you don’t know who I am, don’t worry,” she said. “I barely know myself!”

    Kerry Breen


    Kerry Breen

    Kerry Breen is a news editor and reporter for CBS News. Her reporting focuses on current events, breaking news and substance use.

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  • There’s a ton worth streaming in November 2023. So as prices rise, here’s how to avoid breaking the bank.

    There’s a ton worth streaming in November 2023. So as prices rise, here’s how to avoid breaking the bank.

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    November offers a false spring for streaming viewers.

    After a slow couple of months, there’s suddenly an abundance of top-tier shows on the way, but don’t be fooled — the streaming scene is going to be largely bleak in the coming months, until productions fully ramp up sometime next year following the strikes that have crippled Hollywood.

    Meanwhile, streaming costs keep rising (Netflix’s top tier is the first to cross the $20 barrier) and consumers are getting less for their money, with fewer new shows and smaller libraries, while streamers push subscribers toward ad-supported tiers that generate more revenue per user while providing a worse viewing experience. Still, all the ad-supported tiers cost less than $10 a month, meaning it may be time for budget-conscious consumers to suck it up and deal with commercials if they don’t want to break the bank.

    Read more: Netflix is raising prices to get you to watch ads, and it will probably work

    That’s why it’s even more important to examine which services you’re really willing to pay for. The days of subscribing to six streaming services — even though you might only regularly watch three — are over. But by adding and canceling services month to month, you can save money while still being able to watch your favorite shows (for example, instead of watching a 12-episode show that drops every week and paying for three months, subscribe for just one month once the show nears its end and binge it all at once).

    Such a churn strategy takes some planning, but it pays off. Keep in mind that a billing cycle starts when you sign up, not necessarily at the beginning of the month.

    Each month, this column offers tips on how to maximize your streaming and your budget, rating the major services as a “play,” “pause” or “stop” — similar to investment analysts’ traditional ratings of buy, hold or sell, and picks the best shows to help you make your monthly decisions.

    Here’s a look at what’s coming to the various streaming services in November 2023, and what’s really worth the monthly subscription fee:

    Apple TV+ ($9.99 a month)

    The price of Apple TV+ has doubled in a little over a year, and in any other month, it’d be easy to argue it has priced itself out of the range of casual viewers. But Apple’s November lineup is so impressive that it’s actually somehow still a good deal.

    The alt-history space drama “For All Mankind” (Nov. 10) returns for its fourth season, with an eight-year time jump after Season 3’s shocking finale. The Mars colony is now thriving, but tensions are rising over the mining of mineral-rich asteroids. Toby Kebbell (“Servant”) joins the cast, along with Daniel Stern and Tyner Rushing, who join holdovers Joel Kinnaman, Krys Marshall, Wrenn Schmidt and Coral Pena. It’s a fantastic and frequently thrilling series, and arguably Apple’s best drama.

    And a challenger to that title is also coming back. “Slow Horses” (Nov. 29), the darkly funny thriller about a group of washed-up spies, returns for its third season. Gary Oldman stars as perpetually disgruntled spymaster Jackson Lamb, leading his team of misfits as they get dragged into an international conspiracy after one of their own is kidnapped. Based on the novels by Mick Herron, “Slow Horses” is smart and cynical, a terrific twist on traditional spy stories.

    Then there’s “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” (Nov. 17), an action-conspiracy series about a ragtag group trying to expose a secretive organization that knows the truth about Godzilla and other kaiju creatures terrorizing the planet. Kurt Russell stars with his son, Wyatt (who plays his dad in flashbacks), along with Anna Sawai, Ren Watabe and Kiersey Clemons. The series is intended to slide right into the MonsterVerse that includes “Godzilla vs. Kong,” “Kong: Skull Island” and “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” and for anyone who grew up watching monster movies, this could be a lot of fun.

    Apple
    AAPL,
    +1.87%
    also has “Fingernails” (Nov. 3), a sci-fi romance movie starring Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, Jeremy Allen White and Luke Wilson; “The Buccaneers” (Nov. 8), a “Bridgerton”-esque period drama based on the Edith Wharton novel about a group of rich American girls who hit London in the 1870s looking for suitable husbands; the holiday musical special “Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas” (Nov. 22); and a new version of the tear-jerking children’s classic “The Velveteen Rabbit” (Nov. 22).

    Meanwhile, Martin Scorsese’s critically acclaimed “Killers of the Flower Moon” should hit Apple TV+ within the next month or two, after it completes its theatrical run, and Ridley Scott’s historical epic “Napoleon,” starring Joaquin Phoenix, his theaters Nov. 22. It, too, will stream on Apple at an as-yet-undisclosed date in the coming months.

    There are also new episodes every week of “Lessons in Chemistry” (finale Nov. 24), and “The Morning Show” (season finale Nov. 8). If that’s not enough, you could always catch up on “Foundation,” “Swagger,” “Platonic” or discover “Bad Sisters.”

    Who’s Apple TV+ for? It offers a little something for everyone, but not necessarily enough for anyone — although it’s getting there.

    Play, pause or stop? Play. Even though its price has soared, Apple is still cheaper than most, and it delivers value this month. (Remember, you can get three free months of Apple TV+ if you buy a new Apple device.)

    Hulu ($7.99 a month with ads, or $17.99 with no ads)

    After a fallow October, Hulu has a lot more to offer in November, continuing its strong year.

    FX’s “A Murder at the End of the World” (Nov. 14) was pushed back from an August release date due to the Hollywood strikes, but it should fit better in a colder season anyway. From Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, the producers of Netflix’s cult favorite sci-fi series “The OA,” the limited series is an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery set at a billionaire’s secluded, snowbound retreat in Iceland. Emma Corrin (“The Crown”) stars as an amateur detective while Clive Owen (“Children of Men”) plays the mysterious tycoon.

    A wintry setting also plays a key role in the fifth season of FX’s “Fargo” (Nov. 22), the latest installment in Noah Hawley’s noirish crime anthology. Juno Temple (“Ted Lasso”) plays a seemingly ordinary Midwestern housewife who’s not at all what she appears to be. She’s joined by an all-star cast that includes Jon Hamm, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Lamorne Morris and Dave Foley. Each season of “Fargo” is a quirky, violent delight, and this one looks no different.

    Also: Disney officially plans to buy remaining Hulu stake from Comcast

    Just to make things confusing, while both “A Murder at the End of the World” and “Fargo” are FX series, “Murder” will stream exclusively on Hulu, while “Fargo” episodes will first air on FX then stream a day later.

    In an interesting experiment, director Baz Luhrmann has recut his 2008 romantic drama “Australia,” starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, and turned it into a six-episode miniseries — renamed “Faraway Downs” (Nov. 26) — using extra footage shot during the original filming. The movie flopped in theaters, but Luhrmann says it should work better as a miniseries, saying “episodic storytelling has been reinvigorated by the streaming world.”

    For more: Here’s what’s new on Hulu in November 2023 — and what’s leaving

    Hulu also has “Black Cake” (Nov. 1), a generations-spanning family drama based on the bestselling novel by Charmaine Wilkerson; “Quiz Lady” (Nov. 3), a comedy movie about estranged sisters, starring Awkwafina and Sandra Oh; and a handful of sports documentaries, including “The League” (Nov. 9), about Negro League baseball, and “Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story” (Nov. 15), hosted by Keanu Reeves.

    Fresh off October’s addition of “Moonlighting,” Hulu is adding all eight seasons of another 1980s classic, “L.A. Law” (Nov. 3), along with a ton of holiday fare, including “Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights” and “Miracle on 34th Street” (both Nov. 1), and “Elf” and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (both Nov. 23).

    And don’t forget the season finales of “Welcome to Wrexham” (Nov. 15) and “Goosebumps” (Nov. 17), as well as next-day streams of network shows such as “The Golden Bachelor” and “Bob’s Burgers.”

    Who’s Hulu for? TV lovers. There’s a deep library for those who want older TV series and next-day streaming of many current network and cable shows.

    Play, pause or stop? Pause and think it over. If you’re on the ad-supported plan, it’s well worth it. But for the pricey, $18 ad-free plan, you may want to wait until December and see how some of these new series pan out.

    Netflix ($6.99 a month for basic with ads, $15.49 standard with no ads, $22.99 premium with no ads)

    Netflix just raised some prices again, but for most customers, it’s still a good value.

    The critically acclaimed royal-family drama “The Crown” (Nov. 16) is back for the first half of its sixth and final season (four episodes drop this month, with the final six coming in December). Events pick up in 1997 after the marriage of Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) ends, as Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) reflects on her legacy. There’s already controversy over how it’ll handle Diana’s tragic death.

    Read more: Here’s what’s new on Netflix in November 2023 — and what’s leaving

    Netflix
    NFLX,
    +2.06%
     also has “The Killer” (Nov. 10) a “slick but conventional” thriller movie from director David Fincher, starring Michael Fassbender as a hit man on the run; “Squid Game: The Challenge” (Nov. 22), a reality competition show putting 456 players through challenges inspired by the hit Korean drama (minus the murders, presumably); “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off” (Nov. 17), an anime version of the graphic novels and cult-favorite movie “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (which is also coming Nov. 1); “All the Light We Cannot See” (Nov. 2), a critically panned miniseries about a blind French girl and a German soldier in the final days of WWII, starring Aria Mia Loberti, Louis Hofmann and Mark Ruffalo; Season 5, Part 2 of the popular small-town romantic drama “Virgin River” (Nov. 30); and “The Netflix Cup: Swing to Survive” (Nov. 14), Netflix’s first livestreamed sporting event, with teams of Formula 1 drivers and PGA stars in a match-play golf tournament from Las Vegas.

    There are also fresh episodes of “The Great British Baking Show” every Friday until its season finale Dec. 1.

    Who’s Netflix for? Fans of buzz-worthy original shows and movies.

    Play, pause or stop? Pause. “The Crown” and “The Great British Baking Show” are the top draws, but aside from those, there’s not a lot else to move the needle this month. However, if you can live with commercials, you can find value at $7.

    Paramount+ ($5.99 a month with ads, $11.99 a month with Showtime and no ads)

    Paramount+ has some interesting stuff in November. But is it enough to justify a subscription?

    “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” (Nov. 5), joins the streaming service’s extensive slate of shows produced by Taylor Sheridan, telling the story of one of the Wild West’s most overlooked real-life heroes: Bass Reeves (played by David Oyelowo), who was the first Black U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi and overcame countless hurdles in enforcing the law in the era of Reconstruction. A marksman with something like 3,000 arrests to his name, Reeves was purportedly the inspiration for the story of the Lone Ranger. Say what you will about Sheridan’s formulaic shows, but he knows how to make a good Western. This should be worth a watch.

    There’s also “The Curse“ (Nov. 10), an intriguing new Showtime series starring Nathan Fielder (“Nathan for You”) and Oscar-winner Emma Stone that puts a dark twist to an HGTV-like home-improvement show; and “Good Burger 2” (Nov. 22), a sequel to the 1997 cult-classic fast-food comedy starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell.

    On the sports side, Paramount has NFL football every Sunday, Big Ten and SEC college football every Saturday, and a full slate of UEFA Champions League soccer.

    Who’s Paramount+ for? Gen X cord-cutters who miss live sports and familiar Paramount Global 
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      broadcast and cable shows.

    Play, pause or stop? Pause. There’s decent value with a couple of promising new shows, especially when factoring in Paramount’s live sports and vast library of movies and network shows.

    Max ($9.99 a month with ads, $15.99 with no ads, or $19.99 ‘Ultimate’ with no ads)

    It’s a very skippable month for Max.

    The Warner Bros. Discovery 
    WBD,
    +1.41%
     streaming service only has a handful of new originals to offer, including Season 2 of Issa Rae’s hip-hop comedy “Rap Sh!t” (Nov. 19), as Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion) come to a crossroads on their road to fame; Season 2 of the biographical drama “Julia” (Nov. 16), starring Sarah Lancashire as iconic chef Julia Child as she and her husband return from France and face new challenges; “Bookie” (Nov. 30), a new comedy from Chuck Lorre (“Big Bang Theory”) and Nick Bakay about an L.A. bookie looking for new angles as the potential legalization of sports gambling threatens to upend his shady business; and Rob Reiner’s documentary “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life” (Nov. 11), delving into the life of the comedy legend.

    Also: Here’s everything coming to Max in November 2023 — and what’s leaving

    There are also a ton of holiday-themed shows from Food Network, HGTV and OWN; live sports on its free (for now) Bleacher Report tier that includes NBA and NHL games, college basketball and U.S. men’s soccer (Nov. 16 and 20); and new episodes of “The Gilded Age” and “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.”

    Who’s Max for? HBO fans and movie lovers. And now, unscripted TV fans too, with a slew of Discovery shows.

    Play, pause or stop? Stop. Max still has a great library, but the new offerings fall short. Even the ad tier isn’t worth it — try again another month.

    Amazon’s Prime Video ($14.99 a month, or $8.99 without Prime membership)

    “The Boys” spinoff “Gen V” ends its first season on Nov. 3, but fans of ultra-violent superheroes will be able to slide right into Season 2 of the hit animated series “Invincible” (Nov. 3), which returns to Prime Video after a two-and-a-half-year layoff. Based on the graphic novels by Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley, the very adult series picks up with Mark (Steven Yeun) still reeling from the revelations about his superhero father (J.K. Simmons) at the end of Season 1, while a new villain (voiced by Sterling K. Brown) appears on the scene. Annoyingly, Season 2 will be split in two, with four episodes in November and another four coming in early 2024.

    More: What’s new on Amazon’s Prime Video and Freevee in November 2023

    Amazon’s
    AMZN,
    +2.94%
     streaming service also has “007: Road to a Million” (Nov. 10), an “Amazing Race”-like competition series hosted by Brian Cox where nine teams of two endure James Bond-inspired challenges around the globe to try to win a big cash prize, and “Twin Love” (Nov. 17), a reality dating show involving 10 sets of identical twins split into two houses.

    Who’s Prime Video for? Movie lovers, TV-series fans who value quality over quantity.

    Play, pause or stop? Stop. There’s no a compelling reason to start a relatively pricey subscription now. That even goes for “Invincible” fans, who would be better off waiting until the second half drops and bingeing when all episodes are available. Splitting up eight episodes is ridiculous.

    Disney+ ($7.99 a month with ads, $13.99 with no ads)

    Tim Allen returns for Season 2 of “The Santa Clauses” (Nov. 8), as the jolly one continues his search for a successor. Eric Stonestreet joins the cast as the exiled “Mad Santa,” along with Gabriel Iglesias as Kris Kringle and Tracey Morgan as the Easter Bunny (because, of course!).

    Meanwhile, Lil Rel Howry, Ludacris and Oscar Nunez star in the new family comedy movie “Dashing Through the Snow” (Nov. 17), and Danny Glover will play Santa in the Disney Channel original film “The Naughty Nine” (Nov. 23).

    In non-holiday fare, Disney has three upcoming Doctor Who specials celebrating the iconic sci-fi series’ 60th anniversary. The first, “Doctor Who: The Star Beast” (Nov. 25), reunites David Tennant and Catherine Tate, as the Doctor and Donna Noble battle the villainous Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris), with the other two specials coming in December, when the 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa of “Sex Education”) will be introduced.

    There’s also 2019’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (Nov. 3), and new episodes of “Loki” (finale Nov. 9), “Goosebumps” (finale Nov. 17) and “Dancing With the Stars.”

    Who’s Disney+ for? Families with kids, hardcore “Star Wars” and Marvel fans. For people not in those groups, Disney’s
    DIS,
    -0.64%
     library can be lacking.

    Play, pause or stop? Stop. After a recent price hike, there’s just not enough to justify a subscription (unless your kids will absolutely melt down without it).

    Peacock ($5.99 a month with ads, or $11.99 with no ads)

    It’s a pretty bleak month for Peacock originals, with only the reality dating spinoff “Love Island Games” (Nov. 1); “Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain” (Nov. 17), the first movie from the “SNL” comedy trio; and Season 2 of the Paris Hilton reality series “Paris in Love” (Nov. 30).

    It’s a bit brighter on the sports side, with Big Ten college basketball starting Nov. 6, Big Ten college football every Saturday, NFL Sunday Night Football and a full slate of English Premier League soccer, golf, motorsports and winter sports.

    And on Thanksgiving (Nov. 23), Peacock will stream the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the National Dog Show and an NFL game, as the 49ers play the Seahawks.

    Who’s Peacock for? Live sports and next-day shows from Comcast’s 
    CMCSA,
    +1.28%
     NBCUniversal are the main draw, but there’s a good library of shows and movies.

    Play, pause or stop? Stop. The live-sports offerings are the only lure.

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  • Hulu’s ‘Black Cake’ Is a Remarkably Rich Family Melodrama

    Hulu’s ‘Black Cake’ Is a Remarkably Rich Family Melodrama

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    Caribbean black cake may look humble, but its craggy, unfrosted surface conceals a sumptuous confection that earns its place of honor on the Christmas dinner table. It takes time to make; dried fruit soaked for days, weeks, or more in rum and brandy anchor its flavor profile. Almonds give it substance. Burnt sugar lends the dark color. There are surprising ingredients, like Manischewitz, which is often substituted for brandy. While the recipe probably began life as a variation on the plum pudding imported by British colonizers, black cake is emphatically its own sweet, dense, intoxicating, island-spiced, painstakingly assembled, culturally hybrid thing.

    All of which makes it a fitting avatar for the character at the center of Black Cake, Hulu’s epic adaptation of Charmaine Wilkerson’s best-selling novel, which premieres Nov. 1. Although she dies just a few scenes into the eight-episode series, it is Eleanor Bennett—a loving mother who kept a lifetime’s worth of secrets from her children—who grounds this globe-spanning family drama. Cast as the young Eleanor in flashbacks, Not Okay star Mia Isaac skillfully plays against her own Disney-fresh effervescence, endowing the teenage girl with grit and maturity beyond her years. On the fairly frequent occasions when the script errs toward blandness or treacle, Eleanor sets it ablaze, burning off the excess sugar to uncover another layer of richness.

    Adrienne Warren in Black CakeJames Van Evers—Hulu

    We meet the older Eleanor (Chipo Chung) a year before her death, in present-day Southern California, where a surfing accident leads to a diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. Her loyal son, Byron (Ashley Thomas), a high-achieving oceanographer, rushes to her side. But his younger sister Benny (Adrienne Warren), an artist who has been estranged from the family for eight years—years that included the death of their father—doesn’t show up until it’s time to read the will. Eleanor’s lawyer, Charles Mitch (Glynn Turman), has a surprise for the children she called “B and B.” Their mother left behind hours of recordings that she wants them to listen to together, along with Mr. Mitch. When the time is right, she instructs them, the siblings should take out of the freezer a small black cake that she’s baked for them and share a slice in her honor.

    The series weaves together B and B’s now-parentless present with the saga that unfolds in their late mother’s oral history, a tale that stretches back to her 1960s childhood in the West Indies and contradicts everything they thought they thought they knew about her. Eleanor told her children she grew up in an orphanage. In fact, she was raised by a Chinese father and a Black mother who left the island when she was still a little girl. And her real name wasn’t Eleanor Bennett; it was Covey Lin Cook. A talented swimmer with a devoted best friend, Bunny (Lashay Anderson); a gentle boyfriend, Gibbs (Ahmed Elhaj); and dreams of competing on an international level, teenage Covey is thrust into adulthood when her desperate, alcoholic dad Lin (Simon Wan) negotiates her marriage to a local gangster, Little Man (Anthony Mark Barrow). Backed into a corner, she reluctantly goes through with it. But when Little Man is poisoned at the wedding reception, Covey fakes her own death and flees to England, where Gibbs is studying.

    Eleanor
    Mia Isaac and Ahmed Elhaj in Black CakeJames Van Evers—Hulu

    The mystery of who really killed Little Man persists as the girl born Covey travels across the Atlantic and back, over the course of several years, adopting and discarding new identities to hide from those who might want to avenge him. As Byron starts to unravel at the news that his mom was not the person she’d led him to believe she was, Benny finds some comfort in Eleanor’s shocking revelations. Her seemingly perfect mother had, she now realizes, struggled and suffered and made choices that haunted her for the rest of her time on Earth.

    Black Cake has a few too many familiar plot beats. Byron’s story, which takes a particularly far-fetched turn in the second half of the series, never quite adds up to more than a collection of common observations about the prejudices Black men face in contemporary America. “The world can be a scary place for Black boys,” Eleanor counsels a young Byron in one flashback—and that’s hardly the only bit of boilerplate dialogue that undermines the show’s originality. More resonant and distinctive is Benny’s gradual discovery that her messiness, and the abuse she’s endured at the hands of a famous-artist lover, doesn’t make her an outlier in her family. On the contrary, it makes her more her mother’s daughter than she has ever known.

    There’s no denying that Black Cake is a melodrama, teeming with passion, adversity, and tears. But this is a rare case in which the floridly emotional tone serves the story. A multifaceted heroine, authentic relationships, and strong performances (Isaac and Warren are especially great) override mediocre scripts, fostering more empathy than other heartstring-yanking adaptations of recent months, like Apple’s Lessons in Chemistry and Amazon’s The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, could inspire. Family secrets are hardly a novel topic, but Wilkerson and creator Marissa Jo Cerar (Women of the Movement) explore the theme with uncommon elegance. Eleanor’s lies as well as her posthumous truth influence her kids to embrace honesty in their own lives. Instead of dwelling on how a difficult past bleeds into the family’s relatively comfortable present, Black Cake asks how everything B and B learn might reshape their future.

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    Judy Berman

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  • ‘General Hospital’ Star Tyler Christopher Dead At 50

    ‘General Hospital’ Star Tyler Christopher Dead At 50

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    “General Hospital” actor Tyler Christopher, who appeared in over a thousand episodes of the hit daytime soap, has died at age 50, his colleagues from the show confirmed Tuesday.

    Christopher died of a cardiac event in his San Diego apartment, his former “General Hospital” co-star Maurice Benard announced on Instagram.

    “Tyler was an advocate for better mental health and substance use treatment who openly spoke about his struggles with bipolar depression and alcohol,” Benard wrote in a tribute. “We are beyond devastated by the loss of our dear friend and pray for his children and his father.”

    “General Hospital” executive producer Frank Valentini also confirmed Christopher’s death in a statement to People, saying: “I am heartbroken over the news of Tyler Christopher’s passing. He was kind, an incredible actor, and [a] dear friend, who was beloved by our GH family and fans of Nikolas Cassadine” ― one of the two characters Christopher played during his three stints on the show spanning 10 years.

    The 50-year-old won a Daytime Emmy for his work on “General Hospital” in 2016.

    “Tyler was a truly talented individual that lit up the screen in every scene he performed and relished bringing joy to his loyal fans through his acting,” Benard continued in his tribute. “Tyler was a sweet soul and wonderful friend to all of those who knew him.”

    Christopher also acted in “Days of Our Lives,” another long-running daytime soap, from 2017 to 2019.

    He is survived by two children, a son born in 2009 and a daughter born in 2015.

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