Open Thread

The Daily Beast reports: Fans of Saturday Night Live are outraged that controversial comedian Dave Chappelle has been named as the first host of its latest season. The episode is set to air Jan. 18, with Chappelle at the helm, and rapper Glorilla as the musical guest. But many have questioned why the embattled comedian has continued to be invited …

Variety reports: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are calling on others to lend their support to the victims of the wildfires raging across Southern California. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who live with their two children in Montecito, Calif., posted a statement Thursday on their official website that reads: “In the last few days, wildfires in Southern California have …

Deadline Hollywood reports: As the conflagration in the Palisades continues to spread, Hollywood has already felt the effects of the event with several premieres set for Wednesday night canceled and production on television shows paused for the time being. The Producers Guild pushed nominations announcements for its annual awards show to Sunday, Jan. 12. The Writers Guild said it is …

Variety reports: Production came to a halt in Los Angeles on Wednesday as fires continue to sweep across the neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Sylmar. NBCUniversal said production has been suspended on “Hacks,” “Loot,” “Ted,” “Suits: L.A.” and “Happy’s Place” with Reba McEntire. CBS Studios shut down “NCIS,” “NCIS: Origins,” “After Midnight,” “Poppa’s House” “The Neighborhood” and tapings for …

Variety reports: Hulk Hogan is one of the most iconic wrestlers in the 72-year history of the WWE, but upon his debut at Netflix‘s “Monday Night Raw” on Jan. 6, his reception was less than welcoming.   Joined by Jimmy Heart, Hogan was welcomed by a sea of boos from the crowd as he plugged his Real American Beer brand …

Variety reports: “The Brutalist,” a historical epic that examines the post-war immigrant experience, and “Emilia Pérez,” a musical about a drug lord who undergoes gender-affirming surgery, won top honors at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday. “Emilia Pérez,” named best musical or comedy, led all films with four wins, while “The Brutalist,” which received the prize for best drama, was …

President Biden writes for the Washington Post: Violent insurrectionists attacked the Capitol, threatened the lives of elected officials and assaulted brave law enforcement officers. We should be proud that our democracy withstood this assault. And we should be glad we will not see such a shameful attack again this year. But we should not forget. We must remember the wisdom …

The BBC reports: James Lee Williams, better known as drag queen The Vivienne, has died aged 32. Publicist Simon Jones said the performer, who died over the weekend, was “an incredibly loved, warm-hearted and amazing person”. The Vivienne starred in musical theatre and TV productions, and won the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019. The show paid …

Variety reports: Up until taking on Gov. Tim Walz on Saturday Night Live, Jim Gaffigan tended to stay away from politics in his comedy. But the Emmy-winning comedian doesn’t regret the times he spoke his mind, including a 2020 tweet in which he called Donald Trump “a liar and a criminal,” despite losing some Trump supporters as fans. “I regret …

Billboard Magazine reports: Heidi Klum is ready to make it work — again. As exclusively confirmed by People Friday (Jan. 3), the German supermodel is returning to Project Runway as host, a role she served for 16 seasons before stepping away in 2017. The news comes more than two decades after Klum helmed the debut season of Project Runway alongside …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Yolanda Saldivar, the woman who was found guilty of murdering singer Selena Quintanilla, has filed for parole in Texas. Saldivar was found guilty in 1995 of killing Quintanilla and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years, which will be in 2025. The parole review process begins six months before becoming eligible, …

Variety reports: Diplo rang in 2025 in an altered state. The DJ and music producer shocked and delighted Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen on CNN’s New Year’s Eve special by revealing that he was tripping while he appeared virtually on the cable news network. “I’m so curious, what’s the most conventional place that you’ve done LSD?” Cohen asked the music …

Variety reports: Michelle Buteau slammed Dave Chappelle and his controversial jokes about the transgender community in her new comedy special “Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall,” which debuted Tuesday on Netflix. Buteau began criticizing Chappelle after telling a story about her “Black lesbian friend.” She noted the subject matter elicited a spectrum of reactions from the …

Billboard Magazine reports: Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” crowns the Billboard Hot 100 for an 18th total week. The carol, which leads for a fourth consecutive week this holiday season, moves to within one week of the longest domination in the chart’s 66-year history, after only the 19-week rules of Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” this …

Variety reports: Universal’s “Wicked” is officially the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation in global box office history, overtaking 2008’s “Mamma Mia” to notch the harmonious milestone. “Wicked” has generated $634 million worldwide after six weeks of release while “Mamma Mia” amassed $611 million (not adjusted for inflation) by the end of its box office run. “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, …

Variety reports: The list of the year’s top 25 most-watched entertainment specials is topped by NBC’s Turkey Day telecast of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which hauled in 23.4 million viewers. Two Oprah Winfrey-hosted specials made the list, one for ABC (coming in at No. 19) and one for CBS (No. 24). Billy Joel’s milestone 100th consecutive performance in his …

Variety reports: There’s a reason why even streamers like Netflix now want a piece of the live sports action. It’s what rules our viewing habits, as witnessed by Variety‘s annual list of the year’s 100 most-watched primetime telecasts. A full 75 out of those 100 slots went to sports (up from 56 last year), thanks to 45 NFL games (the …

Deadline Hollywood reports: It was a white Christmas on Wednesday as Beyoncé made a Houston homecoming in classic Texas style. Clad in all white, the 32x Grammy winner rode into NRG Stadium on a white horse, performing ’16 Carriages’ and her Beatles ‘Blackbiird’ cover to kick off her A Cowboy Carter Christmas NFL halftime show at the Houston Texans-Baltimore Ravens …

Variety reports: There’s officially a new companion in the Whoniverse. The first teaser for the second season of Disney+ and the BBC’s “Doctor Who” introduces Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra, who assertively tells Ncuti Gatwa‘s Doctor: “You need to get me home!” The clip seems to tease an apocalyptic invasion of some sort, with spaceships and robots roaming about as …

Deadline Hollywood reports:  More than three years after Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed by a bullet from Alec Baldwin‘s gun on the New Mexico set of the indie Western, the involuntary manslaughter criminal case against the actor has been put to rest. A month after Special Prosecutor Karri Morrissey tried to revive the matter, which had been dismissed just …