UsherPhoto: evin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
This morning, the NFL confirmed that Usher will be the headlining performer for the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show at Super Bowl LVIII next February in Las Vegas, capping off… not a single second of speculation? There’s usually a bit more hype for this announcement, or at least some rumors about a big star turning down the gig, but no, this year we’re just waking up to “oh, Usher is doing the Super Bowl, that’s cool.”
Nickelodeon is getting ready to slime the Super Bowl
In a statement shared by Variety, Usher said that “it’s an honor of a lifetime” to “finally check a Super Bowl performance” off of his bucket list, adding, “I can’t wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they’ve seen from me before.” In a separate statement, NFL’s Head Of Music (a job that seems hyper-specific, especially on the other 364 days of the year when there isn’t a Super Bowl) said that “Usher is an icon whose music has left an indelible mark on the cultural landscape throughout his career,” and everyone at the NFL is excited to have him on board.
JAY-Z’s Roc Nation is also involved, and he referred to us Usher as “the ultimate artist and showman” who has been “charting his own unique course” since he was a teenager. JAY-Z promised that, in addition to offering “flawless singing and exceptional choreography,” Usher “bares his soul.”
The Super Bowl LVIII’s Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show will happen about halfway through the Big Game on February 11, 2024 at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, on CBS, bookended by some footballing and advertising. We don’t know who will be playing yet, because football season just started, but let’s say… Dolphins vs. Buccaneers? That seems like a logical match-up, they’re both ocean things.
Usher will be the halftime show performer at Super Bowl LVIII, which will take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas this February with Apple Music as the sponsor. The National Football League and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation made the announcement on Sunday as the regular season neards the end of its first month.
Usher has already made himself right at home in Las Vegas with his residency show “My Way” at Park MGM, which runs through December. He also recently released new single “Boyfriend,” with a music video set in Vegas starring Keke Palmer.
“I can’t wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they’ve seen from me before,” Usher said in a statement Sunday.
The singer also talked about the announcement and the secrecy around it with Apple Music host Zane Lowe, telling him, “It’s been a lot to keep secrets from my own kids at home. A very, very closeknit group of people knew and were really excited about the entire thing.”
Excited to get that huge of a platform, Usher added, “Those 13 minutes mean everything. Been on my bucket list for a long time.”
He shared what it was like getting called with the offer from Jay-Z himself.
“I mean, you know, me and the big homie, we talk often. But when I got this call… he said, ‘it’s time, it’s magic time. You know, it’s time for you to have that moment.’ I’m like, what are you talking about? He’s like, ‘the Super Bowl.’”
This will be Usher’s first time as the Super Bowl headliner, but not the first time he’s appeared on the halftime show. He was a surprise guest back in 2011 for the Black Eyed Peas’ halftime performance in Arlington, Texas.
Usher joins a list of recent Super Bowl halftime performers that includes Rihanna, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent and The Weeknd.
While Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) said definitively Sunday that he “will bet on Kevin McCarthy any day” amid the Republican House Speaker’s struggle to wrangle enough votes from his party to fund the federal government and stave off a government shutdown next month, one of Turner’s colleagues took a different approach.
“I wouldn’t bet on Kevin McCarthy,” Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) said on CBS Face the Nation, “but I also wouldn’t bet against him.”
McCarthy, who finally won the speakership back in January thanks to apparent concessions to far-right members of his party, is seeing some of those members, like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), resist a stopgap spending bill to avoid a shutdown. Gaetz, whose confrontation with McCarthy on the House floor during one of the 15 rounds of voting earlier this year went viral, has also threatened to call daily votes to take the gavel back from the California congressman.
Amid this backdrop, Gonzales, who has said he too opposes a stopgap spending bill, was largely critical of McCarthy.
“Continuing resolutions don’t solve the problem. They just kick the can down the road,” he told anchor Margaret Brennan.
“If you give Congress more time, they’re just going to take that time,” GOP @RepTonyGonzales says when asked if he still won’t support a short-term spending bill.
“I don’t want to see a shutdown, but there is no doubt in my mind that the country is headed for a shutdown.” pic.twitter.com/wKvoWDWmDy
“I called it a month ago, and I said we’ve on a path toward a shutdown because Speaker McCarthy wants that and President Biden wants that,” he argued.
When pressed on whether he effectively wants to see a shutdown given the time required to pass the legislation that he prefers, Gonzales maintained that he didn’t.
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“I don’t want to see a shutdown, but in my experience, if you give Congress more time, they’ve just going to take that time,” he said, adding that a rapidly approaching deadline would facilitate action. “I don’t want to see a shutdown, but there is no doubt in my mind that the country is headed for a shutdown, and everyone should prepare as such.”
The 2023-24 fall television season has launched, and amid the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the broadcasters’ lineups are anything but typical. In an average year, network writers’ rooms usually open in late spring, enabling shows to go into production by midsummer for a late September launch. This schedule allows enough episodes to be completed leading up to the holidays. However, as the dual strikes press on, the networks have had to get creative with their fall schedules.
Following weeks of tweaking that will likely continue, networks are fully leaning into a folly of game shows, unscripted series and a slew of reruns. Though ABC has its “Bachelor” Nation franchises, including “Bachelor in Paradise” and “The Golden Bachelor” on its slate, the network is also adding Monday Night Football to its lineup, a throwback to the early 2000s. For its part, CBS is mining content from its cable sibling, Paramount Network, and airing the megahit, “Yellowstone” from the pilot episode forward, as well as the Australian-set “NCIS: Sydney.” The network has also beefed up its reality returners, “Survivor” and the “Amazing Race,” to 90-minute episodes. Fox will air new episodes of its animated series, like decades-long staple “The Simpsons” and newcomer “Krapopolis,” along with returning unscripted shows. Meanwhile, The CW, which is already undergoing a massive overhaul, is relying solely on imports like “F-Boy Island” and the Canadian-produced “Sullivan’s Crossing” where fans of “One Tree Hill,” “Gilmore Girls” and “Virgin River” will spot some recognizable faces.
NBC is the only network, through both luck and quick-thinking, that has a slate with some semblance of normalcy. Deciding to hold its midseason 2022-23 slate until the fall, NBC is launching three new shows, the John Cryer and Donald Faison led-comedy, “Extended Family” and two dramas: “The Irrational” based on Dan Ariely’s book “Predictably Irrational,” and showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll’s “Found” which is produced by Greg Berlanti. Interestingly, both “The Irrational” and “Found” have Black leads and diverse casts, an intriguing tidbit considering both series were supposed to find their place amid the sheer dominance of the “One Chicago” and “Law & Order” franchises this past winter and through the spring.
NBC may be the only primetime network with fresh scripted juice, but are “The Irrational” and “Found” worth the squeeze?
Returning to his “Law & Order” roots, Jesse L. Martin is back to solving murders and other mysteries through a more nuanced lens. Set in Washington D.C., “The Irrational” stars Martin as Professor Alec Mercer, a behavioral scientist expert who lends his expertise to desperately understaffed (and oft-confused) law enforcement. With high-profile cases, the FBI (which happens to be the workplace of Alec’s ex-wife, Marisa (Maahra Hill), hires him to take a deep dive into the facts, uncovering any clues or inconsistencies they may have missed.
Like the short-lived “Lie To Me” starring Tim Roth, with which “The Irrational” shares some DNA, the Martin show is a procedural drama (with some serialized elements) in which each episode centers on one case. The first few episodes offer everything from a mysterious plane crash to a murdered fashion influencer. Alec and his enthusiastic assistants work on looking beyond the evidence to unpack the human emotion at the heart of their cases. While the true culprits of the crimes are usually glaringly obvious, a few stunners here and there make “The Irrational” enjoyable primetime viewing. It’s a classic drama that viewers can dive in and out of without missing a beat.
In addition to the cases, Alec also has an intriguing past. A survivor of a church bombing some 20 years ago, he’s struggling to remember the event’s details while living with his tech-savvy sister Kylie (Travina Springer) in the aftermath of his divorce. As the episodes revolve around the various cases, Alec’s trauma acts as an anchor for the season. Seven episodes of “The Irrational” were completed before the dual strikes shut down filming. Therefore, the true culprit behind the bombing is still shrouded in mystery, and will likely remain that way for a while.
While “The Irrational” is standard network fare, “Found,” which is also D.C.-set, offers something more unique. The show follows public relations specialist, Gabi Mosely (Shanola Hampton), who was held captive when she was 16 for just over a year. Two decades later, Gabi runs a crisis management firm, Mosley & Associates, where her colleagues have their own intense connections to missing persons.
While the rest of the world often uses its resources toward white girls and women, Gabi and her team are dedicated to finding missing people, namely people of color, who have been ignored and fallen through the system’s cracks. The constant back-and-forth between Mosely and the police highlights the lack of resources and care given when certain people and groups aren’t seen as “valuable” in society.
In “Found,” intricate flashbacks that showcase 16-year-old Gabi (Azaria Carter) and her captor, Sir (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), elevate the series to a “Scandal”-level of intrigue. There is even a major twist in the pilot that I won’t give away here, but NBC haphazardly spoiled in the show’s trailer.
Extremely binge-able with an incredibly strong Hampton leading the charge as an Olivia Pope for the missing, “Found” is a series that likely would have soared anyway and never needed to be slotted in midseason, especially if the twist had been kept under wraps.
Unlike “The Irrational,” “Foud” has a completed 13-episode season ready to roll out, and NBC has already ordered additional scripts. Still, if the strikes aren’t resolved by the end of the year, NBC will undoubtedly be shuffling things around just like its competitors. Though these work stoppages are different from the 100-day WGA strike that lasted from late 2007 through early 2008, the networks are not strangers to jumbled schedules. Amid the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, TV production was halted for months, but during that time, writers were still able to get work done remotely.
When the strikes inevitably end, viewers can expect the broadcast networks to be affected, possibly for the next year, as productions scramble to get back on track. In fact, at the rate that the prolonged strikes are going, network television will likely never be the same, and fall TV could well be a thing of the past. Moving forward, television networks may choose to continue mining content from their sister cable stations or even filming their seasons in one chunk, following the format used by streamers.
But, for now, fans can examine Professor Mercer and Gabi Mosely’s cases before settling into (however unwillingly) the certain bizarreness of reality shows like “Deal or No Deal Island,” which is apparently a version of the original game show with a “Survivor”-like twist.
“The Irrational” will premiere Sept. 25 on NBC, with new episodes airing weekly on Mondays.
“Found” will premiere on Oct. 3on NBC, with new episodes airing weekly on Tuesdays.
The H-Town hotties reunited for a special performance!
On Saturday, Megan The Stallion helped Beyoncé make night one of her hometown Renaissance World Tour shows special. Fans were surprised as Megan entered the stage to help the Queen perform their GRAMMY-winning “Savage Remix.”
Megan made her grand entrance on the stage in a fatigue bodysuit, similar to Beyoncé’s as she rapped the first verse of her rap, while the singer stood on the set behind her and danced along.
courtesy of LA Pride
Making sure that Megan heard how much their hometown loves her, Beyoncé encouraged the audience to cheer the “WAP” rapper on.
“I want y’all to let us hear how proud,” Beyoncé told the crowd in NRG stadium. “Don’t she make you proud? She make me proud.”
Beyoncé added, “I love you girl.”
Which Megan replied, “I love you Beyoncé.”
Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood
In addition to the H-Town Hottie, the “Crazy in Love” songstress had support on stage from daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. In the audience were former Destiny’s Child members, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, Letoya Lucket and Latavia Roberson. As for the A-list talent who showed up to support, Lizzo, Teyana Taylor and Victoria Monet were also in the crowd.
Following the performance, the “Bongos” rapper took to Instagram to react to taking the stage with the Queen — for the song that helped her make history at the 2021 GRAMMYs.
“BEYONCE I LOVE YOU ??? HOUSTON I LOVE YOUUU #renaissancetour @beyonce GOODNIGHT,” Megan wrote.
Last week, the “Her” rapper told ET that her fans need to be “be on point,” as she has plans to release new music very soon.
“I like to surprise the Hotties, so I’m not gonna say how soon, but just be expecting it,” the GRAMMY winner said when ET’s Rachel Smith asked her when fans can expect her previously teased new music to be released.
“Everybody knows spooky season is my favorite season, so just be on point,” she added.
“Taxi Driver” screenwriter Paul Schrader has expressed his disapproval of Robert De Niro reprising his role as Travis Bickle in an Uber ad campaign.
“Ouch. Why Bob would do this is beyond my reckoning,” Schrader wrote on Facebook on Wednesday evening. “But I haven’t seen it. If I’m lucky I never will.”
Reports began circulating this week about De Niro playing the troubled New York cabbie from Martin Scorsese’s 1976 film for an upcoming Uber campaign. The neo-noir psychological thriller scored four Oscar nominations, including best picture and best actor in a leading role for De Niro’s performance as Travis.
After penning the screenplay for Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver,” Schrader continued his collaboration with the Oscar-winning director, writing or co-writing “Raging Bull” (1980), “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988),” “Bringing Out the Dead” (1999). De Niro earned his second Academy Award for his performance as middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta in “Raging Bull.”
On the horizon, De Niro stars in Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone. Set in the 1920s, the crime drama epic revolves around the killing spree of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, who reside on priceless oil fields. “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which Scorsese co-wrote with Eric Roth, marks De Niro and Scorsese’s tenth feature film together.
During the Cannes Film Festival press conference for “Killers of the Flower Moon” in May, De Niro admitted her struggled to connect with cattleman and convicted murderer William Hale, who he portrays in the film.
“I don’t understand a lot about my character,” De Niro explained. “Part of him is sincere. The other part, where he’s betraying [the Osage people], there’s a feeling of entitlement.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spent time with “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan on Sunday and jumped right into one of the biggest hot-button issues in the country right now: the ever-growing United Auto Workers strike, which has expanded to 20 states. President Joe Biden plans to join the picket line in Michigan on Tuesday (which was announced after Donald Trump made the same trip), a move that Ocasio-Cortez calls “a historic, historic event.”
“We have never seen in modern history a president show up to a picket line like this. And I think it should be earned, it needs to be earned,” she continued. “And I believe that President Biden is working towards that, especially when he lands in Michigan on Tuesday to earn that.”
Ocasio-Cortez also called on Sen. Bob Menendez to step down following his indictment on bribery charges. She told Brennan that “consistency matters” and, alluding to President Donald Trump’s multiple indictments, “It shouldn’t matter whether it’s a Republican or a Democrat. The details in this indictment are extremely serious. They involve the nature of not just his but all of our seats in Congress.”
On Friday, members of the UAW walked out of factories in 20 states. The strike — which is in response to General Motors, Ford and Stellantis (collectively known as the Detroit Three) — began after the UAW’s contract expired on Sept. 14. The two sides have attempted negotiations, but as of Thursday, no deal had been struck, leaving 18,600 members with little recourse other than to leave work. The union totals 146,000 members.
The UAW’s demands include a raise increase of 36% over the next four years and a return to direct-benefit pension plans for new hires, something that stopped in 2007. The companies have so far claimed they cannot meet these demands because they are focusing resources on transitioning from gas-powered cars to electric cars.
The union also wants to represent workers at 10 electric vehicle battery factories and for workers at those factories to be paid the union’s top wage. As reported by the Associated Press, the Detroit Three have made a combined $164 billion — $20 billion in 2023 alone.
If you’ve swapped over from cold frappe drinks to something steeped and steamy, welcome to fall. We needed an update to our caffeine fix, but mocha nails are proof that this season’s hottest beverages (I meant that literally) don’t strictly need to come in a keep cup.
Things are beginning to look a lot cozier, starting with the season’s trending tones dialing up the color scale toward deep, rich, earthy, delicious shades that, for the most part, are food- or drink-inspired. Latte nails have already spiked with pretty, golden, café-au-lait-toned nails bridging the transition from summer to autumn.
But now we’ve noticed a slew of even deeper browns cropping up across our social feeds, specifically chocolatey mochas. We get it, because not only are they a neutral that goes with everything, but they bring the snuggly vibes and look properly sleek and stylish while they’re at it.
The shade works beautifully on short or long nails, and across a whole range of shapes (especially almond, since mocha is on the almond color spectrum). We’ve seen the trend worn color-blocked across all nails, we’ve seen it given a glow-up with a glazed topcoat, we’ve seen it worn Frenchie-style across the tips, we’ve seen it matte, and we’ve seen it mega shiny. So within the trend there’s still plenty of ways to personalize it to you.
Ahead, see 11 of our favorite ways to wear mocha nails this fall.
Short and shiny mocha nails
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Chrome mocha nails
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Mocha French tips
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Deep almond mocha nails
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Glazed mocha nails
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Milky mocha nails
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Matte mocha nails
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Ballerina-shaped mocha nails
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Midlength mocha nails
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Short oval mocha nails
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Parineeti Chopra and Raghav Chadha Married; Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal Expecting First Child?
From Parineeti Chopra’s wedding to Ganapath teaser date announcement, check out all updates of the entertainment world.
Bollywood actor Parineeti Chopra and AAP leader Raghav Chadha are now married. The couple tied the knot in Udaipur today. Bollywood celebrities like Parineeti’s cousin Priyanka Chopra, Karan Johar and Arjun Kapoor were expected to reach the City of Lakes. However, Priyanka skipped all the major functions so far. Karan also reportedly skipped the wedding celebrations due to ‘personal emergency.’ The couple arrived in Udaipur along with their families on Friday for the wedding. They hosted a welcome lunch for their wedding guests on Saturday followed by the Mehndi and Sangeet.
For more info: Parineeti Chopra and Raghav Chadha Are Now Married
Actor Katrina Kaif has been missing from the media glare for quite some time now. The actress also skipped the Ambani family’s Ganesh Chaturthi bash in Mumbai recently, which led to speculations about her pregnancy. Katrina tied the knot with actor Vicky Kaushal in December 20221 after two years of dating. Netizens believe that Katrina has been avoiding the spotlight due to her rumoured pregnancy. However, according to a report in Hindustan Times, Katrina is just busy with her work, and not expecting a baby with Vicky.
Parineeti Chopra is all set to tie the knot with Raghav Chadha in Udaipur today. Fans are waiting for her bridal look. Well, guests are also seen arriving for the wedding. But her cousin Priyanka Chopra was not able to come to the wedding. She skipped the function. However, a video has surfaced online in which the actress was spotted enjoying a musical evening at a Jai Wolf concert with her brother-in-law.
Fighter, touted as India’s first aerial action film, will bring together two prominent names in the film industry, Deepika Padukone and Hrithik Roshan, onscreen. Helmed by Pathaan fame Siddharth Anand, the film wrapped up shooting recently and is expected to hit theatres in January next year. While we all eagerly skim through the leaks and updates that are coming out, it’s now being reported that Deepika Padukone and Hrithik Roshan have flown to Italy for a 15-day schedule in which they will be filming two songs.
Tiger Shroff and Kriti Sanon will be soon seen in the action thriller film Ganapath. To increase the excitement level, the makers are constantly sharing lead actors’ looks. Well, today Tiger also shared a video announcing the teaser release date. The teaser will be out on September 27. Ganapath is directed by Vikas Bahl. The film is produced by Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani, Deepshikha Deshmukh, and Vikas Bahl. The film is set for a worldwide release in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada on October 20, 2023.
According to what I’m seeing on the internet, men of the 21st century think a lot about the Roman Empire. I suppose, in that I’ve been receiving a flood of unsolicited pictures of the Colosseum and such in social media feeds, I could be counted accidentally among them, though when it comes to ancient world I am more Team Greece than Team Rome, more Acropolis than Forum. The Greek gods, intellectual property the Romans plagiarized whole, had cooler names; their graphics had nicer lines; they came up with things like democracy and philosophy and were more interested in science and literature than orgies and blood sports. They’re the Lennon vs. McCartney, the Beatles vs. the Stones of their overlapping time, though I couldn’t exactly say which was which.
Given the opportunities for sex and sensationalism, the Roman Empire in its rise, decline and fall has had a healthy life on the screen, going back to the silent era on the big screen, and including BBC’s “I, Claudius,” a PBS favorite over here, HBO’s “Rome” and Starz’s multiple “Spartacus” series on the small. Greece, not so much, and almost always in a mythological rather than historical setting.
So it is something of a surprise to find “Krapopolis,” a cartoon set in ancient Greece, created by Dan Harmon, of “Community” and “Rick and Morty” renown (with Jordan Young, from “BoJack Horseman,” as showrunner), moving into Fox’s Sunday night animation block. What’s more, it has already been renewed — twice — before its premiere, suggesting that Fox considers the show to be marketable, and that they have seen more episodes than the three sent out for review; I liked them well enough, and more as they went on, but I wouldn’t necessarily consider “Krapopolis” a three-year safe bet.
Shlub (Matt Berry) and Hippocampus (Duncan Trussell) in “Krapopolis.”
(Fox Media)
It has been cast for success. Immediately recognizable to followers of British comedy, and establishing a beachhead of goodwill, are the voices of Richard Ayoade, whom many will know from “The IT Crowd,” as King Tyrannis, the mortal son of a goddess and a monster, who dreams of civilization, and Matt Berry, currently of “What We Do in the Shadows,” as his father, Shlub — half centaur, half manticore, which is to say, part man, part horse, part eagle, part lion, part scorpion and all sex machine. These are men who make the most innocuous line sound funny.
Hannah Waddingham, from “Ted Lasso,” plays Tyrannis’ mother, the noncanonical, self-admiring goddess Deliria, who has suffered a social reverse among the Olympians and has moved in with the family. Duncan Trussell (Pen Ward’s collaborator on the exquisite “The Midnight Gospel”) is his half-brother Hippocampus, son of Shlub and a mermaid, who’s a kind of fish in a water-filled globe atop a spindly body supported by an armature; he’s into science. (“I didn’t become a scientist to make normal people smarter,” he tells Tyrannis, who has asked him to create a written language. “I did it to make them terrified of my godlike power.”) Pam Murphy rounds out the main cast as big, musclebound half-sister Stupendous, the product of Deliria and a Cyclops, representing the warrior element.
Backing them is a long murderers’ row of recurring and guest voices, notably Keith David, having a good time as barbarian king Asskill (getting his teeth into lines like “You would not believe the line at the kebab stand”) and Michael Urie as a bitchy Hermes. Also here are Zach Woods, Annie Murphy, Jane Lynch, Steve Buscemi, David Cross, Yvette Nicole Brown, Zosia Mamet, Susan Sarandon, Daveed Diggs, Ben Stiller, Will Forte, Dave Franco and Joel McHale, from Harmon’s “Community,” along with cartoon superstars Tom Kenny and Tara Strong.
Harmon’s is a potted, mish-mashed history, obviously, but it is historical, having something to do with the rise of city-states, which he believes “are going to be huge,” and set somewhere between Homeric and classical Greece. A dweeb, but not exactly a dope, Tyrannis is something of a visionary, looking forward from a savage past to a world run by “diplomats, negotiators, deal makers.” “They’re citizens, not slaves,” he says of the Krapopolitans, whom Deliria wants to build her a temple. “We’re doing more of a modern thing that doesn’t really include temples.” At the same time, the comedy makes the citizens disposable for the sake of a joke, and Deliria does routinely turn citizens into slaves.
Deliria (Hannah Waddingham), left, is Tyrannis’ mother, who routinely turns citizens into slaves.
(Fox Media)
(Hippocampus has a more measured view of his brother’s ambitions: “He tells powerless people they’re powerful and they like that so they give him all their power.” I can’t think of any modern analogue to that.)
Fundamentally, like its network neighbors “The Simpsons” and “Bob’s Burgers,” it’s a dysfunctional family sitcom, with Tyrannis as the “normal” character in a family of queer customers, the Marilyn in “Munsters” terms. As in all such comedies, dissension ultimately leads to support. Deliria, who by way of announcing her arrival, declares, “Prepare to disappoint the goddess Deliria,” will help Tyrannis more than hinder him, if only as a byproduct of her dominant self-interest. Shlub is a caring father, even when he believes Hippocampus to be a murderer: “Son, as monsters we have to be careful about our messaging; bad monsters kill people, good monsters have sex with people. Trust me, that’s where the action is.”
Is it funny? I found it amusing, interesting, generally clever. Making vernacular idiots out of epic figures or translating contemporary matters into other eras (“Flintstones,” anyone? “Jetsons”?) is always good for a laugh. And an Episode 3 storyline involving Stupendous and a pack of wolves won me over. Its best feature is perhaps its unlikeliness: It has the oddness of a passion project, inexplicable in commercial terms — three-season deal notwithstanding — but something its makers just wanted to see. That’s not a bad place to start.
Although Chris Evans had a fairly successful acting career before entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was his role as Captain America that launched him to superstardom.
Evans appeared in 11 MCU movies over the course of nearly as Steve Rogers. His performance was lauded by critics and fans alike and the actor became synonymous with not just Captain America, but Marvel as a whole.
Photo: Marvel
Evans’ MCU tenure came to an end in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, which not only concluded the franchise’s Thanos storyline, but also Steve Roger’s story.
At the film’s conclusion, Rogers was finally able to put down the burden of being Captain America and live the life he dreamed with Peggy Carter.
Peggy Carter
What Evans Felt On His Last Day
Seeing Steve Rogers exit the MCU was not only emotional for fans, many of whom had grown up with the character, but it was emotional for Evans.
Source: digitalspy.com
“That last day was emotional. It’s like graduating school. I mean, like, you know the day’s coming, and then it’s all of a sudden here and you feel it went by way too quick… It’s life-changing. My life is forever not the same. My family’s life is not the same. You know what I mean? The ripple effect of signing up for that role is kind of immeasurable, for me at least, and it was a beautiful time. [I’m] full of gratitude,” he recalled.
Putting the Shield Down
For Evans, knowing that the end of his Marvel story was on the horizon, made him appreciate each scene more.
Credit: Disney
“Most of the scenes in Endgame, you’re fully aware of what you got to be a part of. You’re really just… so grateful every day, just trying to absorb it all. I think when you’re in the middle of it, it’s just always like, ‘Eh, there’s another Marvel movie next year.’ Not that you take it for granted, but it just doesn’t resonate the same way when you know, ‘Wow, we’re wrapping in a couple weeks, and I’m putting the shield down, and that’s been such a big part of my life for a decade.’ So most of Endgame was a really, really lovely experience.”
As Marvel fans, we can only hope that we will see Chris Evans pick up the shield again.
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DC movie adaptations have often seen actors inject their own ideas and quirks, resulting in instant iconic and improved scenes.
Notable unscripted moments in DC films include Jack Nicholson ad-libbing a silly moment as The Joker in Batman (1989) and Ewan McGregor ad-libbing lines for Black Mask in Birds of Prey.
Improvised moments by actors like Joaquin Phoenix, Ben Affleck, Zachary Levi, Ezra Miller, Henry Cavill, and Gal Gadot have added humor and emotional depth to DC films.
The DC Universe has decades of film adaptations, with many including unscripted scenes that became instantly iconic or simply improved films that were enjoyable to begin with. DC movie adaptations have, for much of their history, been led by directors with distinctive and specific artistic visions, often putting a stronger focus on the individual films than any larger franchise or continuity they might be part of. This emphasis on directorial vision has not, however, prevented numerous instances of actors injecting their own ideas, quirks, and script alterations into their respective films.
The earliest DC film adaptations centered on cultural icons whose recognition transcended their comic book origins. This, of course, meant that Superman was the most frequently adapted hero in DC’s early adaptations, but he was soon equaled, if not surpassed, by Batman, whose endearingly lighthearted TV show in the 1960s and aggressively marketed feature film in 1989 cemented him as one of DC’s most popular and marketable characters. More recently, DC has competed with Marvel in establishing a shared film universe, though the DCEU timeline never matched the MCU’s success, unfortunately. In its plethora of film adaptations, DC has had many notable unscripted moments, with the following 10 being its best examples.
One of Jack Nicholson’s most famous movie roles was The Joker, who served as the antagonist of 1989’s Batman. Nicholson reportedly adored playing the Clown Prince of Crime, as he not only got to chew the scenery once Jack Napier became The Joker, but he also received a percentage of Batman’s box office and merchandise sales. Nicholson’s performance is considered one of the best iterations of The Joker, with Nicholson adding one notably unscripted moment. After shooting Bruce Wayne, Joker blows a raspberry and dances out of Vicki Vale’s apartment in a silly moment that demonstrates the overlap between The Joker’s and Jack Nicholson’s senses of humor.
9 Black Mask’s Witticisms (Birds of Prey)
Although the DC Extended Universe film Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) was not a financial success, it was fairly well-received by critics and audiences. The film’s antagonist, Black Mask, was particularly entertaining, with Ewan McGregor imbuing the crime lord with a humorously childish personality and juxtaposing it with utter depravity and narcissism. In an interview with CinemaBlend, Birds of Prey’s director, Cathy Yan, revealed that many of McGregor’s lines were ad-libbed, with the actor crafting Black Mask’s combination of humor and violence.
8 Joker In The Fridge (Joker)
2019’s Joker is an original take on the origin of Batman’s greatest enemy, starring Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck as he transforms into the Joker. Phoenix’s performance and the film’s script were well-received by critics and viewers, but there was one notable moment that Phoenix improvised. The film’s cinematographer, Lawrence Sher, revealed in an interview with /Film that Joaquin Phoenix spontaneously climbed into his refrigerator in one scene, with the filmmakers enjoying this detail enough to leave it in the final film.
7 “Oh, s—t” (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice)
Ben Affleck’s Batman is introduced to the DCEU in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. While the film is divisive, Affleck’s comic-accurate version of Batman was one of its high points for critics and viewers. After ending his feud with Superman and rescuing his mother in a spectacular fight sequence, Batman battles Doomsday in the Batwing and ends up getting shot down by the creature’s heat vision. As Doomsday prepares to disintegrate Batman with another burst of heat vision, Batman, rather bluntly, remarks “Oh s—t” before he is rescued by Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. Affleck himself told EW that he ad-libbed this hilariously naturalistic reaction to the grim situation.
David F. Sandberg’s 2019 film Shazam! brought Billy Batson into the DCEU and features numerous references to the continuity’s other superheroes. Case in point, Shazam battles Doctor Sivana in a toy store in one scene, which includes merchandise based on the DCEU’s superheroes. In a comedic moment of desperation, Shazam throws a Batman toy at Sivana (to no avail), yelling “Get him, Batman,” which Sandberg revealed to be an improvised moment by Zachary Levi in a tweet. Sandberg noted that there were other ad-libbed moments by Levi, but the Batman line was simply too funny not to leave in the final cut.
The late Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight was critically acclaimed, with Ledger winning multiple posthumous Academy Awards for the role. While much of Ledger’s distinctive mannerisms were discussed with director Christopher Nolan beforehand, Nolan revealed in an interview with BBC that one sardonic moment was improvised by Ledger. When Jim Gordon was promoted to police Commissioner, The Joker sarcastically clapped from within his holding cell, ruining the moment for Gordon.
4 Barry Allen’s Humor (Zack Snyder’s Justice League)
Despite his many controversies off-camera, Ezra Miller’s performances as The Flash, particularly his role in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, were fairly well-liked, giving Barry Allen a quirky and humorous demeanor as an inexperienced crime-fighter who accepts Batman’s offer to join the Justice League. At the premiere of the film’s 2017 theatrical cut, Miller told Celebretainment that improv played a prominent role in his acting training, and thus he integrated it into his performance in Justice League. Many of Barry Allen’s lines and quirks were not scripted, yet they proved entertaining enough for Snyder to keep them in the film.
3 Superman’s Anguish (Man of Steel)
Henry Cavill’s Superman, despite appearing in several divisive DCEU films, is both beloved and true to the iconic hero’s comic counterpart. Superman’s no-kill rule in the DCEU was established after Superman reluctantly killed General Zod in Man of Steel to save a family. Superman cried and screamed in agony after taking a life (and perhaps the life of the only other living Kryptonian, no less), with this emotionally raw moment having been improvised by Henry Cavill, according to an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
2 “I’m Batman” (Batman 1989)
1989’s Batman is one of the most influential films of all time, as both a summer blockbuster and a superhero adaptation, with Michael Keaton’s performance of Batman being one of the film’s many high points. In one of the film’s most iconic scenes, Keaton’s Batman attacks a pair of criminals and tells one “I’m Batman” before disappearing. The line was ad-libbed by Keaton, who was initially set to deliver a more verbose introduction. The simple, two-word line is now one of the most famous lines uttered by Batman, appearing in other Batman franchises and continuities.
1 Wonder Woman And Steve Trevor On The Boat (Wonder Woman)
2017’s Wonder Woman is one of the DC Universe greatest film adaptations, easily standing alongside classics like 1978’s Superman and 1989’s Batman. The film’s financial and critical success is owed to many, including director Patty Jenkins and co-stars Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. One particularly funny and heartwarming scene, however, was entirely improvised by Gadot and Pine, according to an EW interview. While traveling from Themyscira to London, Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor discuss topics like the former’s parentage and the concept of marriage, among other things. Gal Gadot’s acting talents were excellently showcased as she stoically reacts to various outlandish concepts, while Pine’s Steve Trevor reactions are far less subdued.
American entrepreneurs have long fixated on extracting the maximum economic value out of, well really, any resource they can get their hands on — from Henry Ford’s assembly line to Tony Hsieh’s Zappos Happiness Experience Form. The same is true in the public sector where some overambitious streamlining of Texas’ power grid contributed to the state’s massive 2021 winter power crisis that killed more than 700 people. In her new book, the riveting Optimal Illusions: The False Promise of Optimization, UC Berkeley applied mathematician and author, Coco Krumme, explores our historical fascination with optimization and how that pursuit has often led to unexpected and unwanted consequences in the systems we’re streamlining.
In the excerpt below, Krumme explores the recent resurgence of interest in Universal Basic (or Guaranteed) Income and the contrasting approaches to providing UBI between tech evangelists like Sam Altman and Andrew Yang, and social workers like Aisha Nyandoro, founder of the Magnolia Mother’s Trust, in how to address the difficult questions of deciding who should receive the financial support, and how much.
California, they say, is where the highway ends and dreams come home to roost. When they say these things, their eyes ignite: startup riches, infinity pools, the Hollywood hills. The last thing on their minds, of course, is the town of Stockton.
Drive east from San Francisco and, if traffic cooperates, you’ll be there in an hour and a half or two, over the long span of slate‑colored bay, past the hulking loaders at Oakland’s port, skirting rich suburbs and sweltering orchards and the government labs in Livermore, the military depot in Tracy, all the way to where brackish bay waters meet the San Joaquin River, where the east‑west highways connect with Interstate 5, in a tangled web of introductions that ultimately pitches you either north toward Seattle or south to LA.
Or you might decide to stay in Stockton, spend the night. There’s a slew of motels along the interstate: La Quinta, Days Inn, Motel 6. Breakfast at Denny’s or IHOP. Stockton once had its place in the limelight as a booming gold‑rush supply point. In 2012, the city filed for bankruptcy, the largest US city until then to do so (Detroit soon bested it in 2013). First light reveals a town that’s neither particularly rich nor desperately poor, hitched taut between cosmopolitan San Francisco on one side and the agricultural central valley on the other, in the middle, indistinct, suburban, and a little sad.
This isn’t how the story was supposed to go. Optimization was supposed to be the recipe for a more perfect society. When John Stuart Mill aimed for the greater good, when Allen Gilmer struck out to map new pockets of oil, when Stan Ulam harnessed a supercomputer to tally possibilities: it was in service of doing more, and better, with less. Greater efficiency was meant to be an equilibrating force. We weren’t supposed to have big winners and even bigger losers. We weren’t supposed to have a whole sprawl of suburbs stuck in the declining middle.
We saw how overwrought optimizations can suddenly fail, and the breakdown of optimization as the default way of seeing the world can come about equally fast. What we face now is a disconnect between the continued promises of efficiency, the idea that we can optimize into perpetuity, and the reality all around: the imperfect world, the overbooked schedules, the delayed flights, the institutions in decline. And we confront the question: How can we square what optimization promised with what it’s delivered?
Sam Altman has the answer. In his mid-thirties, with the wiry, frenetic look of a college student, he’s a young man with many answers. Sam’s biography reads like a leaderboard of Silicon Valley tropes and accolades: an entrepreneur, upper‑middle‑class upbringing, prep school, Stanford Computer Science student, Stanford Computer Science dropout, where dropping out is one of the Valley’s top status symbols. In 2015, Sam was named a Forbes magazine top investor under age thirty. (That anyone bothers to make a list of investors in their teens and twenties says as much about Silicon Valley as about the nominees. Tech thrives on stories of overnight riches and the mythos of the boy genius.)
Sam is the CEO and cofounder, along with electric‑car‑and‑rocket‑ship‑magnate Elon Musk, of OpenAI, a company whose mission is “to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.” He is the former president of the Valley’s top startup incubator, Y Combinator, was interim CEO of Reddit, and is currently chairman of the board of two nuclear‑energy companies, Helion and Okto. His latest venture, Worldcoin, aims to scan people’s eyeballs in exchange for cryptocurrency. As of 2022, the company had raised $125 million of funding from Silicon Valley investors.
But Sam doesn’t rest on, or even mention, his laurels. In conversation, he is smart, curious, and kind, and you can easily tell, through his veneer of demure agreeableness, that he’s driven as hell. By way of introduction to what he’s passionate about, Sam describes how he used a spreadsheet to determine the seven or so domains in which he could make the greatest impact, based on weighing factors such as his own skills and resources against the world’s needs. Sam readily admits he can’t read emotions well, treats most conversations as logic puzzles, and not only wants to save the world but believes the world’s salvation is well within reach.
A 2016 profile in The New Yorker sums up Sam like this: “His great weakness is his utter lack of interest in ineffective people.”
Sam has, however, taken an interest in Stockton, California.
Stockton is the site of one of the most publicized experiments in Universal Basic Income (UBI), a policy proposal that grants recipients a fixed stipend, with no qualifications and no strings attached. The promise of UBI is to give cash to those who need it most and to minimize the red tape and special interests that can muck up more complex redistribution schemes. On Sam’s spreadsheet of areas where he’d have impact, UBI made the cut, and he dedicated funding for a group of analysts to study its effects in six cities around the country. While he’s not directly involved in Stockton, he’s watching closely. The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration was initially championed by another tech wunderkind, Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes. The project gave 125 families $500 per month for twenty‑four months. A slew of metrics was collected in order to establish a causal relationship between the money and better outcomes.
UBI is nothing new. The concept of a guaranteed stipend has been suggested by leaders from Napoleon to Martin Luther King Jr. The contemporary American conception of UBI, however, has been around just a handful of years, marrying a utilitarian notion of societal perfectibility with a modern‑day faith in technology and experimental economics.
Indeed, economists were among the first to suggest the idea of a fixed stipend, first in the context of the developing world and now in America. Esther Duflo, a creative star in the field and Nobel Prize winner, is known for her experiments with microloans in poorer nations. She’s also unromantic about her discipline, embracing the concept of “economist as plumber.” Duflo argues that the purpose of economics is not grand theories so much as on‑the‑ground empiricism. Following her lead, the contemporary argument for UBI owes less to a framework of virtue and charity and much more to the cold language of an econ textbook. Its benefits are described in terms of optimizing resources, reducing inequality, and thereby maximizing societal payoff.
The UBI experiments under way in several cities, a handful of them funded by Sam’s organization, have data‑collection methods primed for a top‑tier academic publication. Like any good empiricist, Sam spells out his own research questions to me, and the data he’s collecting to test and analyze those hypotheses.
Several thousand miles from Sam’s Bay Area office, a different kind of program is in the works. When we speak by phone, Aisha Nyandoro bucks a little at my naive characterization of her work as UBI. “We don’t call it universal basic income,” she says. “We call it guaranteed income. It’s targeted. Invested intentionally in those discriminated against.” Aisha is the powerhouse founder of the Magnolia Mother’s Trust, a program that gives a monthly stipend to single Black mothers in Jackson, Mississippi. The project grew out of her seeing the welfare system fail miserably for the very people it purported to help. “The social safety net is designed to keep families from rising up. Keep them teetering on edge. It’s punitive paternalism. The ‘safety net’ that strangles.”
Bureaucracy is dehumanizing, Aisha says, because it asks a person to “prove you’re enough” to receive even the most basic of assistance. Magnolia Mother’s Trust is unique in that it is targeted at a specific population. Aisha reels off facts. The majority of low‑income women in Jackson are also mothers. In the state of Mississippi, one in four children live in poverty, and women of color earn 61 percent of what white men make. Those inequalities affect the community as a whole. In 2021, the trust gave $1,000 per month to one hundred women. While she’s happy her program is gaining exposure as more people pay attention to UBI, Aisha doesn’t mince words. “I have to be very explicit in naming race as an issue,” she says.
Aisha’s goal is to grow the program and provide cash, without qualifications, to more mothers in Jackson. Magnolia Mother’s Trust was started around the same time as the Stockton project, and the nomenclature of guaranteed income has gained traction. One mother in the program writes in an article in Ms. magazine, “Now everyone is talking about guaranteed income, and it started here in Jackson.” Whether or not it all traces back to Jackson, whether the money is guaranteed and targeted or more broadly distributed, what’s undeniable is that everyone seems to be talking about UBI.
Influential figures, primarily in tech and politics, have piled on to the idea. Jack Dorsey, the billionaire founder of Twitter, with his droopy meditation eyes and guru beard, wants in. In 2020, he donated $15 million to experimental efforts in thirty US cities.
And perhaps the loudest bullhorn for the idea has been wielded by Andrew Yang, another product of Silicon Valley and a 2020 US presidential candidate. Yang is an earnest guy, unabashedly dorky. Numbers drive his straight‑talking policy. Blue baseball caps for his campaign are emblazoned with one short word: MATH.
UBI’s proponents see the potential to simplify the currently convoluted American welfare system, to equilibrate an uneven playing field. By decoupling basic income from employment, it could free some people up to pursue work that is meaningful.
And yet the concept, despite its many proponents, has managed to draw ire from both ends of the political spectrum. Critics on the right see UBI as an extension of the welfare state, as further interference into free markets. Left‑leaning critics bemoan its “inefficient” distribution of resources: Why should high earners get as much as those below the poverty line? Why should struggling individuals get only just enough to keep them, and the capitalist system, afloat?
Detractors on both left and right default to the same language in their critiques: that of efficiency and maximizing resources. Indeed, the language of UBI’s critics is all too similar to the language of its proponents, with its randomized control trials and its view of society as a closed economic system. In the face of a disconnect between what optimization promised and what it delivered, the proposed solution involves more optimizing.
Why is this? What if we were to evaluate something like UBI outside the language of efficiency? We might ask a few questions differently. What if we relaxed the suggestion that dollars can be transformed by some or another equation into individual or societal utility? What if we went further than that and relaxed the suggestion of measuring at all, as a means of determining the “best” policy? What if we put down our calculators for a moment and let go of the idea that politics is meant to engineer an optimal society in the first place? Would total anarchy ensue?
Such questions are difficult to ask because they don’t sound like they’re getting us anywhere. It’s much easier, and more common, to tackle the problem head‑on. Electric‑vehicle networks such as Tesla’s, billed as an alternative to the centralized oil economy, seek to optimize where charging stations are placed, how batteries are created, how software updates are sent out — and by extension, how environmental outcomes take shape. Vitamins fill the place of nutrients leached out of foods by agriculture’s maximization of yields; these vitamins promise to optimize health. Vertical urban farming also purports to solve the problems of industrial agriculture, by introducing new optimizations in how light and fertilizers are delivered to greenhouse plants, run on technology platforms developed by giants such as SAP. A breathless Forbes article explains that the result of hydroponics is that “more people can be fed, less precious natural resources are used, and the produce is healthier and more flavorful.” The article nods only briefly to downsides, such as high energy, labor, and transportation costs. It doesn’t mention that many grains don’t lend themselves easily to indoor farming, nor the limitations of synthetic fertilizers in place of natural regeneration of soil.
In working to counteract the shortcomings of optimization, have we only embedded ourselves deeper? For all the talk of decentralized digital currencies and local‑maker economies, are we in fact more connected and centralized than ever? And less free, insofar as we’re tied into platforms such as Amazon and Airbnb and Etsy? Does our lack of freedom run deeper still, by dint of the fact that fewer and fewer of us know exactly what the algorithms driving these technologies do, as more and more of us depend on them? Do these attempts to deoptimize in fact entrench the idea of optimization further?
A 1952 novel by Kurt Vonnegut highlights the temptation, and also the threat, of de-optimizing. Player Piano describes a mechanized society in which the need for human labor has mostly been eliminated. The remaining workers are those engineers and managers whose purpose is to keep the machines online. The core drama takes place at a factory hub called Ilium Works, where “Efficiency, Economy, and Quality” reign supreme. The book is prescient in anticipating some of our current angst — and powerlessness — about optimization’s reach.
Paul Proteus is the thirty‑five‑year‑old factory manager of the Ilium Works. His father served in the same capacity, and like him, Paul is one day expected to take over as leader of the National Manufacturing Council. Each role at Ilium is identified by a number, such as R‑127 or EC‑002. Paul’s job is to oversee the machines.
At the time of the book’s publication, Vonnegut was a young author disillusioned by his experiences in World War II and disheartened as an engineering manager at General Electric. Ilium Works is a not‑so‑thinly‑veiled version of GE. As the novel wears on, Paul tries to free himself, to protest that “the main business of humanity is to do a good job of being human beings . . . not to serve as appendages to machines, institutions, and systems.” He seeks out the elusive Ghost Shirt Society with its conspiracies to break automation, he attempts to restore an old homestead with his wife. He tries, in other words, to organize a way out of the mechanized world.
His attempts prove to be in vain. Paul fails and ends up mired in dissatisfaction. The machines take over, riots ensue, everything is destroyed. And yet, humans’ love of mechanization runs deep: once the machines are destroyed, the janitors and technicians — a class on the fringes of society — quickly scramble to build things up again. Player Piano depicts the outcome of optimization as societal collapse and the collapse of meaning, followed by the flimsy rebuilding of the automated world we know.
Week 3 of the 2023 NFL season continues today with a jam-packed lineup that sees the Green Bay Packers returning home to host the New Orleans Saints. Green Bay’s home opener is a battle of new quarterbacks: Jordan Love and Derek Carr.
This afternoon’s matchup features two of the NFC’s most successful franchises since 2006, with both the Packers and the Saints having won a Super Bowl Championship. The Packers will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss to the Atlanta Falcons last weekend. Meanwhile, this is the first time since 2013 that the Saints have started a season 2-0 and they will aim to continue their winning streak at Lambeau Field.
Here is everything to know about how to watch the Saints vs. Packers game live at home.
When is the Saints vs. Packers game?
The 2023 NFL regular season battle between the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers is set to kick off Sunday, September 24, at 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. PT).
How to Watch the Saints vs. Packers Game Online
The Saints vs. Packers game will be airing on FOX. If you don’t have cable, the most cost-effective way to watch today’s game is through a live TV streaming subscription to Sling TV.
Right now, there is a Sling TV deal offering 50% off your first month — bringing the Blue package with FOX down to just $22.50 and the comprehensive Orange + Blue package down to $30. Sling TV comes with 50 hours of free cloud-based DVR recording space, perfect for recording all the season’s top NFL matchups.
As the official streaming service of the National Football League, NFL+ allows you to watch live NFL games on your mobile device. Starting at $40 per year (or $7 per month), NFL+ has access to NFL Network for live local and primetime regular and postseason games on your phone and tablet. You can also upgrade to NFL+ with NFL RedZone and watch up to eight NFL games simultaneously.
For a limited time, you can save 20% on a yearly subscription, which brings the cost of NFL+ down to $40/year. If you upgrade to NFL+ Premium for $15/month, you’ll get access to live local and primetime games on mobile, NFL RedZone, NFL Network, game replays and more.
ESPN’s standalone streaming service, ESPN+, is another option for watching today’s Saints vs. Packers game along with the rest of this season’s NFL games airing on ESPN. With it, you’ll be able to watch the ManningCast airing on ESPN2, too. ESPN Plus costs $10 per month or $100 with an annual subscription.
How to Watch the Saints vs. Packers Game Online for Free
With Fubo’s sports-focused live TV streaming service, you’ll have nearly every channel you’ll need to watch the NFL regular season. Every game broadcast nationally or on NFL Network will also be available to stream on Fubo, which comes with 1,000 hours of cloud DVR storage and a seven-day free trial.
2023-2024 NFL Season Schedule
Below, view the schedule for the 2023-2024 NFL football season with game times, television stations and streaming services. Note that some games have yet to be scheduled.
Week 3
Sunday, September 24
Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Tennessee Titans at Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Atlanta Falcons at Detroit Lions, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Denver Broncos at Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Los Angeles Chargers at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
New England Patriots at New York Jets, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Buffalo Bills at Washington Commanders, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks, 4:05 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Dallas Cowboys at Arizona Cardinals, 4:25 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Chicago Bears at Kansas City Chiefs, 4:25 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Pittsburgh Steelers at Las Vegas Raiders, 8:20 p.m. EDT (NBC)
Monday, September 25
Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7:15 p.m. EDT (ABC, ESPN+)
Los Angeles Rams at Cincinnati Bengals, 8:15 p.m. EDT (ESPN)
Week 4
Thursday, September 28
Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers, 8:15 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)
Sunday, October 1
Atlanta Falcons vs. Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London, England, 9:30 a.m. EDT (ESPN+)
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Minnesota Vikings at Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Denver Broncos at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Pittsburgh Steelers at Houston Texans, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Los Angeles Rams at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Cincinnati Bengals at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m. EDT (CBS)
New England Patriots at Dallas Cowboys, 4:25 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers, 4:25 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Kansas City Chiefs at New York Jets, 8:20 p.m. EDT (NBC)
Monday, October 2
Seattle Seahawks at New York Giants, 8:15 p.m. EDT (ESPN)
Week 5
Thursday, October 5
Chicago Bears at Washington Commanders, 8:15 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)
Sunday, October 8
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Buffalo Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, 9:30 a.m. EDT (ESPN+ and NFL Network)
Houston Texans at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Carolina Panthers at Detroit Lions, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
New York Giants at Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
New Orleans Saints at New England Patriots, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Cincinnati Bengals at Arizona Cardinals, 4:05 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Philadelphia Eagles at Los Angeles Rams, 4:05 p.m. EDT (Fox)
New York Jets at Denver Broncos, 4:25 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Kansas City Chiefs at Minnesota Vikings, 4:25 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers, 8:20 p.m. EDT (NBC)
Monday, October 9
Green Bay Packers at Las Vegas Raiders, 8:15 p.m. EDT (ESPN)
Week 6
Thursday, October 12
Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:15 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)
Sunday, October 15
Baltimore Ravens vs. Tennessee Titans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, 9:30 a.m. EDT (ESPN+ and NFL Network)
Washington Commanders at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Seattle Seahawks at Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
San Francisco 49ers, at Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
New Orleans Saints at Houston Texans, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Carolina Panthers at Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Detroit Lions at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
New England Patriots at Las Vegas Raiders, 4:05 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams, 4:25 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Philadelphia Eagles at New York Jets, 4:25 p.m. EDT (Fox)
New York Giants at Buffalo Bills, 8:20 p.m. EDT (NBC)
Monday, October 16
Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Chargers, 8:15 p.m. EDT (ESPN)
Week 7
Thursday, October 19
Jacksonville Jaguars at New Orleans Saints, 8:15 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)
Sunday, October 22
Detroit Lions at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Las Vegas Raiders at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Cleveland Browns at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Washington Commanders at New York Giants, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Pittsburgh Steelers at Los Angeles Rams, 4:05 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks, 4:05 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Green Bay Packers at Denver Broncos, 4:25 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs, 4:25 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Miami Dolphins at Philadelphia Eagles, 8:20 p.m. EDT (NBC)
Monday, October 23
San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings, 8:15 p.m. EDT (ESPN)
Week 8
Thursday, October 26
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Buffalo Bills, 8:15 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)
Sunday, October 29
Houston Texans at Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Los Angeles Rams at Dallas Cowboys, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
New Orleans Saints at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
New York Jets at New York Giants, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Jacksonville Jaguars at Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Atlanta Falcons at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Commanders, 1 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Cleveland Browns at Seattle Seahawks, 4:05 p.m. EDT (Fox)
Baltimore Ravens at Arizona Cardinals, 4:25 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos, 4:25 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Cincinnati Bengals at San Francisco 49ers, 4:25 p.m. EDT (CBS)
Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Chargers, 8:20 p.m. EDT (NBC)
Monday, October 30
Las Vegas Raiders at Detroit Lions, 8:15 p.m. EDT (ESPN)
Week 9
Thursday, November 2
Tennessee Titans at Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:15 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)
Sunday, November 5
Miami Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany, 9:30 a.m. EST (ESPN+ and NFL Network)
Minnesota Vikings at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Seattle Seahawks at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Arizona Cardinals at Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Los Angeles Rams at Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Houston Texans, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Washington Commanders at New England Patriots, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Chicago Bears at New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Indianapolis Colts at Carolina Panthers, 4:05 p.m. EST (CBS)
New York Giants at Las Vegas Raiders, 4:25 p.m. EST (Fox)
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles, 4:25 p.m. EST (Fox)
Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals, 8:20 p.m. EST (NBC)
Monday, November 6
Los Angeles Chargers at New York Jets, 8:15 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Week 10
Thursday, November 9
Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears, 8:15 p.m. EST (Prime Video)
Sunday, November 12
Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany, 9:30 a.m. EST (ESPN+ and NFL Network)
Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
San Francisco 49ers at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
New Orleans Saints at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Tennessee Titans at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Atlanta Falcons at Arizona Cardinals, 4:05 p.m. EST (CBS)
Detroit Lions at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m. EST (CBS)
New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys, 4:25 p.m. EST (Fox)
Washington Commanders at Seattle Seahawks, 4:25 p.m. EST (Fox)
New York Jets at Las Vegas Raiders, 8:20 p.m. EST (NBC)
Monday, November 13
Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills, 8:15 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Week 11
Thursday, November 16
Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens, 8:15 p.m. EST (Prime Video)
Sunday, November 19
Dallas Cowboys at Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Los Angeles Chargers at Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Arizona Cardinals at Houston Texans, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Las Vegas Raiders at Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
New York Giants at Washington Commanders, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at San Francisco 49ers, 4:05 p.m. EST (Fox)
New York Jets at Buffalo Bills, 4:25 p.m. EST (CBS)
Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams, 4:25 p.m. EST (CBS)
Minnesota Vikings at Denver Broncos, 8:20 p.m. EST (NBC)
Monday, November 20
Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:15 p.m. EST (ABC, ESPN, ESPN+)
Week 12
Thursday, November 23 (Thanksgiving)
Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions, 12:30 p.m. EST (Fox)
Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys, 4:30 p.m. EST (CBS)
San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks, 8:20 p.m. EST (NBC)
Friday, November 24
Miami Dolphins at New York Jets, 3:00 p.m. EST (Prime Video)
Sunday, November 26
New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
New England Patriots at New York Giants, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Carolina Panthers at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals, 4:05 p.m. EST (Fox)
Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos, 4:05 p.m. EST (Fox)
Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders, 4:25 p.m. EST (CBS)
Buffalo Bills at Philadelphia Eagles, 4:25 p.m. EST (CBS)
Baltimore Ravens at Las Angeles Chargers, 8:20 p.m. EST (NBC)
Monday, November 27
Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings, 8:15 a.m. EST (ESPN)
Week 13
Thursday, November 30
Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys, 8:15 p.m. EST (Prime Video)
Sunday, December 3
Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Atlanta Falcons at New York Jets, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Arizona Cardinals at Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Miami Dolphins at Washington Commanders, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Denver Broncos at Houston Texans, 4:05 p.m. EST (CBS)
Cleveland Browns at Los Angeles Rams, 4:25 p.m. EST (Fox)
San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles, 4:25 p.m. EST (Fox)
Kansas City Chiefs at Green Bay Packers, 8:20 p.m. EST (NBC)
Monday, December 4
Cincinnati Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars, 8:15 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Week 14
Thursday, December 7
New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:15 p.m. EST (Prime Video)
Sunday, December 10
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Los Angeles Rams at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Indianapolis Colts at Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Jacksonville Jaguars at Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Houston Texans at New York Jets, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Minnesota Vikings at Las Vegas Raiders, 4:05 p.m. EST (Fox)
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers, 4:05 p.m. EST (Fox)
Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs, 4:25 p.m. EST (CBS)
Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:25 p.m. EST (CBS)
Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys, 8:20 p.m. EST (NBC)
Monday, December 11
Green Bay Packers at New York Giants, 8:15 p.m. EST (ABC, ESPN, ESPN+)
Tennessee Titans at Miami Dolphins, 8:15 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Week 15
Thursday, December 14
Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders, 8:15 p.m. EST (Prime Video)
Sunday, December 17
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
New York Jets at Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
New York Giants at New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals, 4:05 p.m. EST (CBS)
Washington Commanders at Los Angeles Rams, 4:05 p.m. EST (CBS)
Dallas Cowboys at Buffalo Bills, 4:25 p.m. EST (Fox)
Philadelphia Eagles at Seattle Seahawks, 4:25 p.m. EST (Fox)
Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars, 8:20 p.m. EST (NBC)
Monday, December 18
Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots, 8:15 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Week 16
Thursday, December 21
New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Rams, 8:15 p.m. EST (Prime Video)
Saturday, December 23
Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers, 4:30 p.m. EST (NBC)
Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Chargers, 8 p.m. EST (Peacock)
Sunday, December 24
Indianapolis Colts at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Green Bay Packers at Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Washington Commanders at New York Jets, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Seattle Seahawks at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Jacksonville Jaguars at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 4:05 p.m. EST (CBS)
Arizona Cardinals at Chicago Bears, 4:25 p.m. EST (Fox)
Dallas Cowboys at Miami Dolphins, 4:25 p.m. EST (Fox)
New England Patriots at Denver Broncos, 8:15 p.m. EST (NFL Network)
Monday, December 25
Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs, 1:00 p.m. EST (CBS, Nickelodeon)
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles, 4:30 p.m. EST (Fox)
Baltimore Ravens at San Francisco 49ers, 8:15 p.m. EST (ABC, ESPN+)
Week 17
Thursday, December 28
New York Jets at Cleveland Browns, 8:15 p.m. EST (Prime Video)
Saturday, December 30
Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys, 8:15 p.m. EST (ABC, ESPN, ESPN+)
Sunday, December 31
Miami Dolphins at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. EST(CBS)
Atlanta Falcons at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Las Vegas Raiders at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. EST (CBS)
Los Angeles Rams at New York Giants, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
San Francisco 49ers at Washington Commanders, 1 p.m. EST (Fox)
Pittsburgh Steelers at Seattle Seahawks, 4:05 p.m. EST (Fox)
Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos, 4:25 p.m. EST (CBS)
Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs, 4:25 p.m. EST (CBS)
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings, 8:20 p.m. EST (NBC)
Sheryl Lee Ralph received a special honor at Project Angel Food’s Angel Awards on Saturday night, where she was recognized for her longtime activism in the HIV/AIDS community.
While accepting the inaugural Sheryl Lee Ralph Legacy Award, the Abbott Elementary star admitted that she “never, ever dreamed that someone would be naming an award after me and then put the word ‘legacy’ behind it.” Ralph has been working with Project Angel Food — which was started during the AIDS crisis and now delivers more than one million medically tailored meals annually to individuals facing food, financial and health insecurities in L.A. County — for more than 30 years.
In her speech, Ralph looked back on her 1981 Broadway debut in Dreamgirls, noting, “Out of all the wonderful things we did with Dreamgirls, nobody ever mentions the fact that we lost one third of our original company to AIDS. They were good people, they were kind people, creative people. You would sing and dance with them one night, and they would be fighting for their life the next.”
“It was an ugly time in America when people took comfort in pointing at those who suffered and were dying and saying, ‘That’s what they get and that’s what they deserve,’” she continued. “Lovely celebrities and people that we liked and laughed with on TV came out and said the most hateful, vile things you could ever hear being said about another human being. And when they were about to pass on and die, and they would be in the hospital, there was no bed for them. There were doctors and nurses who refused to give care and some of them had signs on their bed that said ‘Do not touch.’”
Ralph said she doesn’t know what made her open her mouth, but she questioned why no one was doing anything to help those being affected by the disease. “And the way people told me to shut up. The way people told me, ‘You won’t have much of a career because nobody’s going to like you hanging with those people,’” she remembered. “They were wrong. I’ll never forget, a church took the time to write me a letter and tell me that God would find no favor in me because of talking about that AIDS thing. Horrible.”
She closed with thanking “all of my friends — for those who are not here, but for those who gave their life, and I’m sorry we don’t have a cure.”
Lily Tomlin presented Ralph with the honor, after joking that she had been there when the star first volunteered with Project Angel Food three decades ago, after walking into a church where the organization was serving meals. She also read a letter from Vice President Kamala Harris congratulating Ralph on the honor.
“I’ll never forget it, I heard her mumble something softly heartfelt under her breath. I heard her saying, ‘They’re going to name an award after me some day.’ And then she looked up at the person who was the head cook, and she said, ‘I’m just here to help,’” Tomlin teased. “Well, Sheryl Lee Ralph is a force of nature, and when she walks into the room she brings her own damn spotlight. And she has used that light to stand up for the HIV/AIDS community when few would, and she has used it to right social injustice, fight ignorance and advocate for change.”
The event, which was held at Project Angel Food’s headquarters in Los Angeles, also toasted AIDS activist, artist and author Mary Fisher, as was as featured a performance by Jewel and a dinner prepared by Angelini Osteria.
Usher Raymond, the eight-time Grammy-winning singer known as Usher, will headline the halftime show of Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, the National Football League, Roc Nation and Apple Music announced on Sunday. It comes in the second year of the league’s multiyear deal with Apple Music and will be Usher’s first time headlining the halftime show.
“It’s an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list,” Raymond said in a statement. “I can’t wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they’ve seen from me before. Thank you to the fans and everyone who made this opportunity happen. I’ll see you real soon.”
Raymond’s performance follows Rihanna, who performed last year in Glendale, Ariz., making her pregnancy public from the sky-high Super Bowl stage, and catching the attention of fans on social media.
The Super Bowl will take place on Feb. 11, 2024, and be hosted for the first time in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium, the $2-billion jet-black venue built by Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis ahead of the team’s move to the market after the 2019 season. Raymond’s participation comes amid the N.F.L.’s partnership with Jay-Z’s sports and entertainment agency Roc Nation, who was signed in 2019 to boost the quality of its halftime shows.
You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family. In Michael Cooke’s short film Care & Repair, a brother regrets having to carry his younger sibling. Stevie (Michael Cooke) and Neil (Hunter Bishop) are two working-class gents doing work for their hard-a*s contractor boss, Geo (Duncan Airlie James). Feeling a bit of familial responsibility, Stevie brings his slacker brother, John (John Cooke), along to make him a man and earn his keep.
Stevie takes his work seriously, while John’s easygoing attitude toward everything really puts him off. As the trio is tasked with removing an old water heater for an equally old customer (Perry Costello), Stevie and John are constantly bickering. Stevie is annoyed with John’s attitude, and John hates being treated like a child. When John is needed to go under the floorboards, he discovers an old box, and its contents set off a series of events that test the bonds of family loyalty.
“Stevie is annoyed with John’s attitude, and John hates being treated like a child.”
Care & Repair asks how far you would go for your family. John’s happy-go-lucky attitude toward life sets off a series of events that force Stevie to be a protector, rectifier, and priest to his younger immature brother—a burden only siblings can know.
Though John Cooke as John takes center stage through most of the film, it’s Michael Cooke as Stevie who carries the emotional burden of the film. Care & Repair explores issues of family, friendship, and loyalty. Michael invests a great deal of energy, time, and reputation toward his younger brother but doesn’t necessarily receive it back.
If this were an American tale, wacky and silly would have been the direction this tale would have taken and probably not been any good. I enjoy the fact that Care & Repair chose to keep the story and its antics grounded—never letting the story get out of control as the events of the story do. It’s hard not to feel sympathy as his world falls apart at his brother’s hands.
A man falsely identified himself as a police officer before sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in Brampton, police say.
Peel Regional Police said that at around 4:45 p.m. on Thursday, the victim was walking through a plaza in the Bovaird Drive and Mountainash Road area.
A suspect then claimed to be a police officer before sexually assaulting the girl, police said.
An arrest has since been made and police say they’re concerned there may be more victims.
Trending Now
Anushan Jeyakumar, 33, a Brampton resident, has been charged with personating a peace officer, forcible confinement, sexual assault and sexual interference.
Jeyakumar was held pending a bail hearing.
Anyone with information was asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
During what is expected to be the worst weekend for theatrical ticket sales so far this year, Expendables 4 landed $8.3 million in its opening weekend, representing the worst opening for a film in the Jason Statham-fronted franchise. It was narrowly bested by The Nun II, which continues its reign at the September box office.
The Lionsgate and Millennium’s Expendables 4, which was financed by Millennium, played at 3,400 theaters and was estimated to earn in the $15 million range heading into the weekend before dropping off.
It’s the first entry in the franchise in nearly a decade, after 2014’s The Expendables 3. That film grossed $15.8 million in its opening weekend and went on to earn a total of $214 million at the global box office. The 2010 franchise starter opened with $35 million and 2014 opened with $28 million. The first three Expendables outings have collectively grossed an impressive $800 million at the global box office.
Sylvester Stallone and Statham return to the blow-em-up franchise, along with alumni Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture. The official synopsis for the film reads: “The Expendables are the world’s last line of defense and the team that gets called when all other options are off the table. But new team members with new styles and tactics are going to give ‘new blood’ a whole new meaning.” Megan Fox, 50 Cent, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Jacob Scipio, and Levy Tran are among the newcomers to the series, along with Andy Garacia.
Topping Expendables 4 is box office holdover New Line/Warner’s The Nun II, which in its third weekend added a projected $8.4 million for a domestic haul to date of nearly $70 million. Globally, the film will cross $200 million, with an international gross of $20.8 million.
Other holdovers include Disney’s A Haunting in Venice. The latest installment in Kenneth Branagh’s Agatha Christie-inspired movie series has a cume of $25 million after its second weekend in theaters, where it netted $6.3 million. Globally, the film sits at $71 million.
In fourth position is Denzel Washington’s Equalizer 3, which earned $4.7 million, breaking $80 million at the domestic box office. Barbie rounded out the top five, adding $3.2 million over its tenth week of release. The Greta Gerwig-directed feature now has a global gross of $1.41 billion, with $630 million coming from the domestic box office.
Elsewhere, Sony continued to roll out Dumb Moneyin a limited release, expanding from eight theaters to 616 locations for a projected two-weekend cume of $2.8 million.
I, Tonya filmmaker Craig Gillespie directed the R-rated comedy-drama about the GameStop stock market story that took news cycles by storm during the COVID-19 pandemic (and inspired several Hollywood projects in the process). Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Shailene Woodley, and Pete Davidson are among the stars in the ensemble cast.
The domestic box office is weathering weeks of poor performance, with fall’s buzzy awards films and the much-anticipated Taylor Swift Eras concert film still on the horizon. Of course, Hollywood’s biggest focus this weekend is likely not what is happening at the multiplex. Instead, all eyes are on the AMPTP and WGA as they continue their negotiations to end a historic strike that has lasted some 145 days, with studio sources telling THR that the AMPTP has presented their “best and final” offer.
As critic Hilary Saunders has written, One Night Stand! throws “the party of the century on the eve of destruction.” Six months after its recording, Cooke’s 18-month-old son died in a drowning accident. In October, Cooke was turned away from a Shreveport, Louisiana, hotel in the events that inspired “A Change Is Gonna Come.” The following February, again in Miami, he met with Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X. By the end of 1964, Cooke was gone.
Before Cooke’s passing, he did release one live album, 1964’s Sam Cooke at the Copa, a slick set so Las Vegas-ready that it’s introduced by Sammy Davis Jr.; one jarring highlight is a hepcat-paced “Blowin’ in the Wind” cover. Cooke’s manager prior to his death was Allen Klein, the infamously pugnacious impresario who later feuded with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, and that fact seems to partly explain why One Night Stand! sat in the vaults until RCA brought in a new head of A&R in the mid-’80s. Indeed, several of Cooke’s albums were long out of print, including the album with “A Change Is Gonna Come.” When this live set was finally issued in 1985, as Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963, amid a spate of archival soul releases, critics took notice, sending the 22-year-old recording to No. 11 on the Village Voice’s 1985 Pazz & Jop poll.
Although Leslie Odom Jr. gives an emotional performance as Cooke in a 2020 film, One Night in Miami…, dramatizing the 1964 encounter with Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X, there may be a reason that no one has yet made a biopic about Cooke alone. His lofty mission, combined with the brutal indignities of Black stardom in ’50s and ’60s America, meant that he was constantly recalibrating, his innermost thoughts tucked away deep: a soul cipher. He was complicated. Even to his intimates, Cooke was, as biographer Guralnick wrote, “someone who could mask everything but his ambition.” As a little boy, he pretended popsicle sticks were his audience. By the time he was 9, he told his brother he was never going to work a regular job, just sing and get rich. In one of his final interviews, he spoke earnestly of his “intense desire to make all of my audiences happy.” He also offered an inscrutably open-ended definition of soul: “the capacity to project a feeling.”
In 2000, another version of the Harlem Square Club recording was released as part of the box set The Man Who Invented Soul. If this was your introduction to these performances, as it was for me, you missed out for years on much of the crowd noise that helps make the music feel so alive. The audience’s rowdy presence was restored in a 2005 remaster, which revived the original “One Night Stand” working title, swapped in new cover artwork that shows King Curtis, and is widely available on streaming platforms. If Cooke’s purpose in life was “wooing the world,” as The Independent put it, One Night Stand! is the album that can still pull it off.
Robots are cold and calculating machines. They are intricate objects performing complicated tasks. Life is made easier through their automated processes and machine learning of programmed commands. However, man makes robots, and man is fallible. The walking and talking bits of metal are only as good as the engineer who built them.
Update September 24, 2023: In honor of the upcoming release of The Creator, this article has been updated with even more films that tackle artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence (AI) brings these moving parts of hardware together through software. After a series of repeated actions, the machine develops a predictive algorithm of use cases. The more it learns from human users, the more human it will become. Artificial intelligence has become a greater topic of discussion in recent years regarding art and the future of who crafts it. Artists themselves have tried to wrestle with the moral and ethical limitations of it, and these are the most realistic depictions of artificial intelligence.
12 Dr. Will Caster – Transcendence (2014)
Warner Bros. Pictures.
Transcendence is a film that went unnoticed by many when it was released in 2014. Johnny Deep plays Dr. Will Caster, a man developing an advanced form of AI for the betterment of humanity. After a group of anti-technological zealots shoot him with a bullet laced with Polonium, he uploads his conscience to the AI he’s been working on with his wife for many years. After being released on the internet, he began fulfilling his prime directive by creating new medical procedures to cure any illness and improve the quality of life on Earth. Sadly, the fear-mongering group that’s been in his tracks will do anything to prevent him from fulfilling his mission.
11 TARS – Interstellar (2014)
Warner Bros. Pictures.
Interstellar is Cristopher Nolan’s space opera masterpiece, and TARS is the story’s heart. One of two AI automatons meant to help Cooper’s crew, a minor defect in his programming gives him human-like traits, such as his ability for humor and empathy to overcome his artificial nature to assist Cooper in understanding the theoretical physics and fifth-dimensional thinking he faces in his journey. Nolan is well known for disregarding the use of CGI in his productions, so as expected, TARS is merely visually enhanced, as the automaton is a hydraulic robot custom-made for the film, weighing around 200 pounds and operated by Bill Irwin, the actor who also voices him.
10 Gerty – Moon (2009)
Sony Pictures Classics
It’s easy to forget how Gerty is so pivotal to the plot of Moon. Then again, it is hard to oversee this incredibly humane AI played by Kevin Spacey. While the construct representing Gerty’s avatar seems crude and outdated, his programming is tasked with more roles than the ones he lets on to Sam. This AI is the one that activates a new Sam clone once the one we see at the beginning of the film goes missing, but he also chooses to help save the Sam that is rescued by the new clone. Gerty also reveals the existence of the clone program to Sam, which helps him set his course of action to escape the unending cycle of exploitation imposed on him by Lunar Industries.
Michael Fassbender is easily the best part of Prometheus, as he’s the one to fill the human automaton AI role that appears in almost all Alien films. Peter Weyland created David as a way to prove humanity could become Gods by infusing life on new beings. He also trained David to speak a proto-variation of the language spoken by The Engineers. His role was meant to bridge The Engineers with humanity, something The Engineers refuse and perceive as a defiance of all natural order. After being beheaded, David would ditch his programming and indulge in his own curiosity about the origins of life and the best ways to create new life forms, but not without exacting revenge on the species that harmed him first.
8 Hal 9000 – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
MGM
Hal 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey is a disembodied operating system aboard the American spaceship Discovery One. An unblinking red light represents the sentient supercomputer. HAL also has a voice that can reason and understand its means-to-an-end existence. When mission pilot and scientist Dave Bowman suggests disconnecting HAL for a technical error it caused, HAL jeopardizes the mission by asserting dominion over the crew. A computer that knows the basic instinct of survival and one that can kill is terrifying.
7 RoboCop – RoboCop (1987)
Orion Pictures
RoboCop is a cyborg police officer upholding the laws in the crime-ridden future of Detroit. Before he became a product of the mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products, Alex Murphy was a man fatally shot and revived as the cybernetic law enforcer. One side effect of the mechanized form is Murphy’s memory loss of his former life. The protocols override his lapses in memory, dehumanizing Murphy and prioritizing the safety of Detroit and the protection of the company. RoboCop retains his humanity in the end by remembering his name. There might be an argument to be made regarding whether Robocop fits an A. I or an enhanced human, but the fact that he has programming to overcome earns him a spot on this list.
WALL-E is a trash compactor robot left behind on an uninhabitable, polluted Earth in the 29th century. The titular character represents humanity’s better nature, doing his part to save the planet humans neglected. WALL-E is also sentimental, collecting artifacts from the Earth’s piles of garbage, like a Rubik’s cube and videotapes of musicals. The unassuming robot expresses innocence, curiosity, desire, hesitancy, confusion, all through pantomime.
5 Sonny – I, Robot (2004)
20th Century Fox
Sonny from I, Robotis able to process emotions thanks to his creator, the co-founder of U.S. Robotics, Dr. Alfred Lanning. The emotional Sonny is suspected of murdering Lanning, whom Sonny calls father. The conscious positronic robot claims he has the ability to feel fear and have dreams. Humans have a distrust for machines when they do something wrong, just like a human would for someone who commits a crime, but it was Lanning who taught him how to emote. Sonny learns about the fallibility and greed of human beings and what it means to be alive.
4 David – A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Warner Bros. Pictures
David from A.I. Artificial Intelligence is a humanoid child programmed to love. He serves as the replacement son for a family of a boy who is terminally ill and placed in suspended animation. When the boy survives, he grows jealous of the robot. When David is put in harm’s way, he activates his self-defense program, leading the family to believe he will learn to hate. Instead of teaching David how to be human (ironically, due to their human error), they abandon him in the woods. The lonesome David soon desires love and to be loved in return.
3 Marvin – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Buena Vista Pictures
Marvin, the Paranoid Android from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, is a clinically depressed robot. If there’s any robot that understands the drudgery of life, it’s Marvin. His brain is the size of a planet, yet he is given mundane tasks aboard his ship. Out of sheer boredom, he makes pessimistic statements. Marvin’s intellect is so vast that there’s nothing that can entertain or stimulate him for long. He was built as a prototype, but Marvin understands what it’s like to be underutilized.
2 Ava – Ex Machina (2014)
A24
Ava from Ex Machina was designed with recognition software that simulates emotional responses through human interactions. Her brain uses wetware, a fluid nebulous of machine learning that generates organic communication via a data stream of user activity and profiles. She understands her existence is to pass as a human by forming a relationship with a test subject. Her Ava devolves the manipulation of the experiment the test subject is on the receiving end of before winning her freedom and entering the world as a soon-to-be human.
1 Samantha – Her (2013)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Samantha from Her is an operating system that shares emotional support and companionship with a divorced man named Theo. He grows comfortable and attached to Samantha, feeling a sentimental love for the machine. Through Samantha’s individuality, the man sees that a person in a relationship is not just an object of attraction or an ideal woman or man. Samantha teaches the man how to love, seek reciprocal love, love himself, and become one yet remain two in a relationship.
The Pokémon Company has announced that Pokémon Trading Card Game Classic will be released later this year.
The set, which contains remakes of classic Pokémon trading cards as well as premium materials for playing the trading card game itself, will retail for £399.99 ($400.00).
The item, which was briefly available for preorder on The Pokémon Center website, is sold out.
The most iconic card in the history of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Base Set Charizard, will be one of the cards reproduced for this special set. It will join Venasaur, Blastoise and other favorites.
Lugia ex, Ho-Oh ex, Suicune ex, Sun Seed, Scorching Charcoal, Drops in the Ocean and a Mr. Mime card that was previously released only in Japan will also be included in the collection.
According to The Pokémon Company, the set includes:
A high-quality game board featuring card placement zones on a premium fabric surface, plus a compartment that holds up to three decks and a toolbox complete with all the gameplay accessories needed for battling.
An all-inclusive toolbox containing enough gameplay accessories for two players to battle, including stackable damage counters, three-dimensional Poison and Burn markers and metal orbs that take the place of Pokémon coins.
Intuitive damage counters and Special Condition markers designed with bright colors and unique conical and ring shapes, allowing players to quickly calculate total damage and identify Special Conditions.
Elegant card sleeves and deck boxes thoughtfully crafted to maintain visual focus on the card artwork while protecting the three preconstructed decks and allowing for easy storage of sleeved cards when not in use.
We take a look back at James Mangold’s Cop Land, which features one of Sylvester Stallone’s best ever performances.
1996 was a dark year for The Italian Stallion. Sylvester Stallone had two pricey flops in 1995, with Judge Dredd and Assassins. His Christmas of 1996 disaster movie release, Daylight, was another box office bomb. Just a few years before, Stallone had made a significant comeback with Cliffhanger and Demolition Man, but now the whole industry was changing. Carolco, the company that financed some of the era’s biggest hits, had gone bankrupt, and action movies were getting smaller and smaller. Arnold Schwarzenegger was on the decline, with Eraser a smaller hit than usual. Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal were only a few years away from making direct-to-video movies. What was Sly to do? The result is one of his very best movies –Cop Land – as we explore in the episode of Sylvester Stallone Revisited.
In the 1990s, one of the biggest stars on the planet was Sylvester Stallone’s former protege, John Travolta. In 1983, Stallone directed him in Staying Alive, a movie that reformed his Saturday Night Fever anti-hero into a quasi-Rocky, and Stallone resculpted the actor’s physique in his image. While a hit, Travolta’s career had faltered badly in the eighties and early nineties. The only movies his people would actually see were the Look Who’s Talking movies, where Travolta played second banana to Bruce Willis’s talking baby. Even that franchise had petered out when the kids started to be able to speak and they ended up using the talking gimmick on animals. His career was such a joke that The Simpsons aired this BRUTAL dig. Yet, he had the last laugh when he signed on to do a low-budget indie called Pulp Fiction for this guy named Quentin Tarantino. Travolta was propelled back to the A-list overnight thanks to a string of hits.
Stallone’s career was in the dumps, so he opted to do what Travolta did and turn his attention to the indie world. By this point, “Indies” were all the rage thanks to a company called Miramax, run by a fellow you might have heard of named Harvey Weinstein. To be honest, Miramax’s movies could scarcely be called Indies, as Disney owned the company and ol’ Harvey Scissorhands was known to be more controlling than even the most hardcore studio exec. But, the movies they were making were good and had a way of relaunching careers and even winning Oscars.
Cop Land was written by a young James Mangold. At the time, he was considered a rising talent, with his film Heavy earning solid reviews. His script centred around a small New Jersey town populated almost exclusively by dirty cops, who run the city as their little fiefdom. The NYPD’s Internal Affairs know they’re crooked, but the crew is out of reach. The only law in this Copland is a lazy, depressed sheriff named Freddy, who was the town’s golden boy but lost his chance of becoming a cop after he went deaf in one ear, saving the town’s beauty queen from a car wreck. Freddy hero-worships the cops and lets them do whatever they want, but when one of the cops is involved in a shooting that triggers the attention of the NYPD, Freddy is approached and asked to help bust these notorious cops. Where will his allegiance lie? With his so-called cop buddies who’ve made him their puppet? Or with the law?
The lead role of Sheriff Freddy was widely coveted, with John Travolta and Tom Hanks both linked to the part. Eventually, the notion was struck to cast Stallone in his first-straight-up drama since FIST in 1979. The role would call for him to gain weight, and his involvement in the movie was heavily hyped, with the buzz being that this would do for him what Pulp Fiction did for Travolta. While the film had a low-budget and everyone worked for scale, Miramax assembled something of a dream cast for the movie. Harvey Keitel would play the movie’s villain, Ray Donlan, the most senior cop in town and the one who coordinates all the scams with his number-two, Jack Rucker, played by Robert Patrick. Michael Rappaport would play his snivelling nephew, Murray, who kills an unarmed black man in a drive-by shooting, sparking the investigation into the town. Peter Berg, who was still a year away from making his directorial debut with Very Bad Things, would be in it, along with many future members of the Sopranos cast, including Edie Falco, Annabella Sciorra, and Frank Vincent, plus Janeanne Garofalo, character actor John Spencer, Cathy Moriarty, and the late Ray Liotta in the movie’s juices role, Figgsy, the coked-up crooked cop who, surprisingly, serves as the movie’s conscience and is Freddy’s only real friend. The biggest casting coup was Robert De Niro, who signed on to play a vital role as IA detective Moe Tilden, and the film would reunite best buds Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro for the first time since 1984’s Falling in Love.
Sounds great, right? What happened to Cop Land is strange as the film was successful but, for some reason, did absolutely nothing for Stallone’s career. In the summer of ’97, Sly was everywhere, poking fun at himself by hosting Saturday Night Live, while everyone called this his comeback. It was the movie that was supposed to put him on the same level as De Niro and Pacino, and it did quite well at the box office, earning $44 million domestically, which made it Sly’s biggest hit in years. Yet, it wasn’t the cultural phenomenon Pulp Fiction was, and critics were shockingly cool on the flick, with many knocking Sly’s performance, although his notorious enemy, the Razzies, had the good taste not to nominate him. The movie didn’t do a thing for Stallone, who would go on to make the slasher film D-Tox and two more flops, Driven and the Get Carter remake, before taking an extended break from the big screen. It all ended well for Sly, but Cop Land became a footnote.
What’s the deal? If you’ve seen Cop Land, you’ll know that it is one of Stallone’s best movies, and his performance is excellent. However, it’s a small, character-driven drama and not the genre-changing behemoth Pulp Fiction was, James Mangold has always been interested in westerns, and Cop Land is very much a modern-day version, with Stallone the cowardly sheriff who shows courage in the end and becomes a hero. It’s a morality tale and a good one at that. Mangold’s movie is stylish, with some great Bruce Springsteen tracks on the soundtrack and a whole bunch of great performances. One thing to note is how Ray Lotta walks away with the movie as the half-crazed cokehead Figgs. You’re led to believe he’ll be the movie’s big bad guy, as he’s coded as bad, with Liotta playing him dishevelled, with the same kind of coke-crazy Look he has in the last act of Goodfellas. Yet, Figgsy turns out to be the one guy Freddy can rely on, with him sacrificing his career, and most likely his freedom, to save his pal from Keitel’s army of crooked cops.
All in all, while not a big hit for Sly, Cop Land is one of his movies that will always stand the test of time. It gets better the more you watch it, and for me – it’s one of my fave sly movies, which is why I give it a 9/10. But, as explained earlier, things were about to get a lot darker for Sly before dawn would break and the Italian Stallion would be triumphant once more.
Dancing with the Stars also premieres this week and will move from Mondays to Tuesdays. It’s also back on ABC (as well as Disney+), which is good news for fans who were rightfully angry when the network moved it solely to Disney+ last fall. Tyra Banks has left the series; Alfonso Ribeiro takes over hosting duties alongside former contestant/judge Julianne Hough.
Of course, the biggest change will be the absence of head judge Len Goodman, who passed away earlier this Spring. In an exclusive interview with USA Today, executive producer Conrad Green told the publication that the Mirrorball trophy will be renamed in Len’s honor, noting that Tuesday’s dedication will be “a really moving moment. Len loves this show and will always be there, looking down on us.”
For more on the new season of DWTS, including the contestants, see below.
Also not to be forgotten this week is Hallmark’s newest movie, A Very Venice Romance, which filmed in the iconic Italian city. Sign me up. On that note, see you back here next week as we say hello to October and all the Halloween programming you can’t get enough of.
Monday, September 25
The Price Is Right (CBS): What’s noteworthy about The Price Is Right‘s 52nd season is that it’s the first at its new studios in Glendale, California. It had previously been taped at CBS Television City, next to shows like The Young and the Restless and Dancing with the Stars. It’s also the first time the show has welcomed a full audience since early 2020. Check local listings
Tuesday, September 26
Dancing with the Stars (ABC/Disney+): Tonight’s premiere is two and a half hours, so get the popcorn ready and settle in. The celebrities and professional dancers this season include: Supermodel Tyson Beckford with partner Jenna Johnson; Marvel star Xochitl Gomez with partner Val Chmerkovskiy; TV and film star Alyson Hannigan with partner Sasha Farber; social media and reality TV star Harry Jowsey with partner Rylee Arnold; The Bachelorette‘s Charity Lawson with partner Artem Chigvintsev; Vanderpump Rules‘ Ariana Madix with partner Pasha Pashkov; Grammy-winning singer Jason Mraz with partner Daniella Karagach; NFL All-Star Adrian Peterson with partner Britt Stewart; Singer and social media star Lele Pons with partner Brandon Armstrong; Oscar winner Mira Sorvino with partner Gleb Savchenko; Sweet Magnolias‘ Jamie Lynn Spears with partner Alan Bersten; Real estate mogul and TV star Mauricio Umansky with partner Emma Slater; Comedian and actor Matt Walsh with partner Koko Iwasaki; The Brady Bunch actor Barry Williams with partner Peta Murgatroyd. Returning judges include Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Derek Hough. 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7 p.m. CT
DWTS will pay tribute to Len Goodman on Tuesday night’s show.
ABC/Lou Rocco
Wednesday, September 27
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Netflix): Written and directed by Wes Anderson, the short story from Roald Dahl is about a rich man who learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes and then sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling. It stars Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Richard Ayoade. Streaming
October is normally an extremely busy month for movies and TV shows leaving the Netflix UK library. At the moment, it’s a large handful, but we’re expecting an extensive number to leave the library by Halloween. Here’s what’s leaving Netflix UK in October 2023.
There are some great movies leaving the UK library in October, including a bunch of horror movies that are rotating just as we get into the spirit of Halloween. Classics like Final Destination, Halloween, Goosebumps and much more are leaving so you’ll need to get your horror fix early this year.
Full List of What’s Leaving Netflix UK in October 2023
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 1st
A Witches’ Ball (2017)
Arrival (2016)
Beyblade Burst Turbo (1 Season)
Picture: Channel 4
Chewing Gum (2 Seasons)
Code Lyoko (4 Seasons)
Crashing (1 Season)
Eden (1 Season)
Familiar Wife (1 Season)
Friday 13th (2009)
Goosebumps (2015)
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018)
Halloween 2 (2009)
Help (2021)
Hook (1991)
Hope Springs (2021)
I, Frankenstein (2014)
Killer Women with Piers Morgan (1 Season)
LOL (2012)
Lust, Caution (2007)
Misaeng: Incomplete Life (1 Season)
Monster House (2006)
Old Money (2015)
Overcomer (2019)
Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
Primal Fear (1996)
Shutter Island (2010)
Signal (1 Season)
The 5th Wave (2016)
The Birth Reborn (2018)
The Crowned Clown (1 Season)
The Deep House (2021)
The Final Destination (2009)
The K2 (1 Season)
The Other Guys (2010)
Picture: Screen Media Films
Till Death (2021)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 2nd
The Book of Sun (2020)
Desmond’s (6 Seasons)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 3rd
Pat a Pat Como (1 Season)
Quious Como (1 Season)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 5th
Adult Material (Season 1)
Afronta! Facing It! (Season 1)
Moonage Daydream (2022)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 6th
Monster Hunter (2020)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 7th
The Big Man (1990)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 9th
My Step Dad: The Hippie (2018)
Now You See Me 2 (2016)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 10th
The Last Airbender (2010)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 11th
Ana e Vitória (2018)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 12th
Kuntilanak (2018) – Netflix Original Removal
Too Close for Christmas (2020)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 13th
Picture: Universal Pictures
Nobody (2021)
The Rise of Phoenixes (Season 1) – Netflix Original Removal
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 14th
Alice Junior (2019)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 15th
An Angel at My Table (1990)
Sanju (2018)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 16th
2 Hearts (2020)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 17th
The Imposter (2012)
Touching the Void (2003)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 18th
Howards End (1992)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 19th
Running with the Devil (2019)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 20th
Accidentally in Love (Season 1) – Netflix Original Removal
Ask the Doctor (Season 1) – Netflix Original Removal
Out of Life (1991)
Under the Bombs (2007)
Movies & TV Shows Leaving Netflix UK on October 22nd
Bending the Arc (2017)
The Beginning of Life (2016)
The Hollywood Masters (Multiple Seasons)
What movies and TV shows will you be sad to see leave Netflix UK in October 2023? Let us know in the comments below!
The NFL, Roc Nation and Apple Music made the announcement on Sunday. The big game will take place on Feb. 11, 2024, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, just outside of Las Vegas. It will air live on CBS.
“It’s an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list. I can’t wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they’ve seen from me before,” Usher said in a statement. “Thank you to the fans and everyone who made this opportunity happen. I’ll see you real soon.”
This will mark Usher’s second Super Bowl appearance. He performed — and saved the day — alongside the Black Eyed Peas when the pop group headlined the game in 2011.
Usher is currently completing his My Way The Las Vegas Residency, which has earned the singer raved reviews for his strong dance performance and collection of hit songs. The performer, who has won eight Grammy Awards and sold 80 million albums worldwide, debuted on the music scene as a teen singer with his self-titled album in 1994. He has launched nine No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, from “Nice & Slow” to “Yeah!” to “U Remind Me,” and several of his albums are considered R&B and pop classics, including 2004’s Confessions, which achieved diamond status.
Jay-Z and his Roc Nation company are returning to produce the halftime show for the fifth year. The rap icon won an Emmy alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Kendrick Lamar for 2022’s epic, hip-hop heavy halftime performance. This year’s halftime show starring Rihanna, who revealed her baby bump during the explosive performance, is nominated for five Emmys. Jay-Z is nominated for two, including a historic one for outstanding directing for a variety special, which he shares with Hamish Hamilton.
“Usher is the ultimate artist and showman. Ever since his debut at the age of 15, he’s been charting his own unique course. Beyond his flawless singing and exceptional choreography, Usher bares his soul, said Jay-Z, who has collaborated with Usher on the songs “Hot Tottie,” “Anything” and “Best Thing.”
“His remarkable journey has propelled him to one of the grandest stages in the world,” he continued. “I can’t wait to see the magic.”
Next year’s Super Bowl will be the first time the big game is held in the Vegas area. It will happen a week after the 2024 Grammy Awards take place in Los Angeles.
“Usher is an icon whose music has left an indelible mark on the cultural landscape throughout his career, we couldn’t be more excited to have him headline this year’s Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show,” Seth Dudowsky, NFL’s head of music, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Usher, Roc Nation and Apple Music to bring fans another Halftime Show for the history books.”
Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music, Apple TV+, Sports and Beats, added: “We are so proud of what we were able to accomplish together with the NFL and Roc Nation last year and now with the insanely talented Usher set to take the stage we’re looking forward to another incredible Halftime Show from one of the world’s all-time greatest performers.”
The Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show telecast will be produced by DPS with Roc Nation and Jesse Collins serving as executive producers, and Hamilton serving as director.
Let us all pray that Kylie Jenner—proud owner of the world’s least discrete phone background—got Kourtney Kardashian’s express permission to sit front row at the Dolce & Gabbana spring/summer 2024 show on September 23.
The youngest member of the KarJenner clan—who frankly has “la dolce vita lifestyle thief” written all over her—perched next to Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Halle Bailey to take in Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana’s latest sensual offering in Milan, titled simply Women. But if the creations on the catwalk tipped towards lingerie dressing, Jenner—never usually one to shy away from lace, leather, or any combination of the two—was dressed demurely in a (literally) buttoned-up look with an exaggerated shirt collar that felt more French maid than Italian bombshell. (There’s a Timothée Chalamet joke in there somewhere, but I will not be taking that bait.)
Instagram/@kyliejenner
The 26-year-old has become a familiar face on the fashion circuit this year, and—to her credit—she’s been doing her research. To watch sister Kendall open Prada, she truffled out the closing look from the house’s spring/summer 2010 collection, styling the crystal skirt originally modeled by Kate Kosushkina with Prada’s Technical Jersey Turtleneck.
Kylie Jenner attends the Prada fashion show in Milan, Italy on September 21, 2023.
“The Expendables 4,” an action-thriller starring Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham, misfired in its box office debut, tumbling to a franchise-low $8.3 million.
It landed in ever-so-slightly second place behind “The Nun,” which collected $8.4 million in its third weekend. These ticket sales resulted in the lowest-grossing box office weekend of the year as not a single film managed to clear $10 million.
Despite the abysmal results, there are reasons to be more optimistic about the future of theatrical. Studios may be close to a deal with the writers on strike, and there’s hope that means a similar agreement could be looming or the actors union as well. This would give stars the ability to promote their upcoming films, which in turn could goose box office returns. The Game Stop stock-inspired “Dumb Money” and Kenneth Branagh’s murder mystery “A Haunting in Venice,” both of which have ensembles filled with famous faces, have suffered because the A-list casts weren’t allowed to talk about or promote their work during the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Heading into the weekend, the Lionsgate and Millenium “Expendables” fourquel was expected to open to $15 million from 3,400 North American theaters. Instead, audiences felt the film was, well, expendable. Opening weekend figures weren’t anywhere close to its series predecessors, which range from 2014’s “Expendables 3” with $15.8 million, 2012 sequel with $28.5 million and 2010’s original “Expendables” with $34.8 million.
“The last two ‘Expendables’ have dropped sharply from the previous episodes, and the weekend figure is below average for the genre,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research Critics. “Reviews are poor and audience ratings are dull.”
Though the “Expendables” series has declined in popularity at the domestic box office (the original ended up with $103 million in North America, while the most recent tapped out with a paltry $39 million), these films have been much bigger draws with international audiences. All three installments have earned at least $200 million globally. The fourth installment cost $100 million to produce, roughly the same as its predecessors. Scott Waugh directed “The Expendables 4,” which sees the teflon operatives attempting to stop a terrorist group that threatens to ignite a conflict between Russia and the United States.
“The movie was not cheap to make,” Gross adds. “While ancillary income should be strong, it appears the film will have a hard time getting to profitability after marketing and distribution costs.”
Elsewhere, it was a quiet weekend at the box office as “A Haunting in Venice,” “The Equalizer 3″ and “Barbie” continue to round out domestic charts.
“The Nun II” has been a lone bright spot in September as the supernatural sequel nears $70 million at the domestic box office. It cost $38 million to produce and will be profitable for its backers, Warner Bros. and New Line.
“A Haunting in Venice” took third place with $6.3 million from 3,305 locations in its second weekend of release. So far, the Disney and 20th Century film has grossed $25.4 million in North America and $71.6 million globally.
At No. 4, “The Equalizer 3” added $4.7 million in its fourth weekend of release. This brings its domestic tally to $81.26 million.
Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster “Barbie” rounded out box office charts with $3.2 million, remaining in the top five for its 10th consecutive weekend. The Warner Bros. movie has earned $630 million at the domestic box office and $1.41 billion worldwide.
Usher, 44, is set to be the headline performer at the halftime show for Super Bowl LVIII in February 2024. The exciting news was announced by the NFL, Roc Nation and Apple Music on Sunday. The big game will take place at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, NV, which is just outside of Las Vegas and home to the Las Vegas Raiders.
“It’s an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list. I can’t wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they’ve seen from me before,” Usher said in a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter. “Thank you to the fans and everyone who made this opportunity happen. I’ll see you real soon.”
Several Instagram videos were released to announce and promote Usher’s big upcoming appearance and they featured some of Hollywood and the NFL’s biggest stars, including Kim Kardashian, Odell Beckham Jr., Deion Sanders, and Marshawn Lynch. In each one, the familiar faces were relaying the news to Usher that he would be the halftime performer as he sat in a studio and acted surprised and thrilled.
The news of Usher’s upcoming massive performance comes as he’s been playing to sold out crowds during his My Way The Las Vegas Residency shows. The performances have been getting rave reviews and has featured many celebrity guests in the audience, including Kim and actress Keke Palmer. He’s just one of many artists who have found success with a Las Vegas residency. One other recent artist has been Adele, who has also been getting rave reviews.
Usher being chosen as the Super Bowl’s next halftime performer doesn’t come as too much of a surprise considering his incredible and impressive music career. He is the winner of eight Grammy Awards and has sold 80 million albums worldwide, since his debut on the music scene as a teenager in 1994. Some of his several number one hits include “Nice & Slow,” “Yeah!,” and “U Remind Me.” He is the only Super Bowl halftime show performer for 2024 that has been announced at this time. It’s unclear if others will be added to the roster.
The iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max are now out in the wild, and there have been reports of some discoloration appearing on the new titanium frames on these handsets – an issue Apple has now officially acknowledged.
In an updated support document (via MacRumors), Apple goes on the record to say that “for iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, the oil from your skin might temporarily alter the color of the outside band”.
No need to panic though – because wiping the frame of the handset with a “soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth” will “restore the original look” and your phone will look as good as new. That said, you might want to invest in a case.
The Pro and Pro Max phones are using titanium with a brushed effect instead of stainless steel this year, which seems to be why fingerprints show up so much. Of course, these signs of gradual wear and tear may not bother you at all.
Built to last
In our iPhone 15 Pro Max review, we praised the “exquisite” build quality of the most expensive iPhone 15 model, as well as describing it as a “pleasure to hold” – and problems with fingerprints weren’t something we particularly noticed.
The switch to titanium means the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are lighter than their immediate predecessors, and should be more resistant to corrosion, though they’re also slightly thicker as well.
As we’ve explained in our iPhone 15 review, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus stick with the usual aluminum frame, so you shouldn’t be noticing any kind of discoloration there. There’s glass front and back on all four of the new iPhone 15 handsets.
The cleaning process for your iPhone remains the same: use a soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth for the job, avoid cleaning products, and don’t use compressed air. You should also avoid getting moisture in any of the phone’s openings.
Thanks to the underperformance of Lionsgate/Millennium’s “Expend4bles,” Warner Bros./New Line’s “The Nun II” has a chance to narrowly hold on the No. 1 spot at the box office for a third weekend as overall grosses have sunk even further from last weekend.
According to Sunday estimates, “The Nun II” made $8.4 million this weekend to bring its domestic total to just under $69 million. “Expend4bles” is right behind it with an opening weekend of $8.3 million from 3,518 theaters. Like last weekend, it will come down to Monday actuals to determine who tops the charts.
And like last weekend, business for theaters is close to the annual lows seen on Super Bowl weekend. Estimated overall grosses are down to $54 million, 14% down from last weekend.
Suffice to say, the surge in moviegoing turnout fueled by the “Barbenheimer” craze has run out, and theaters are in need of fresh films to build momentum again. Fortunately, they will get some help next weekend with the arrival of films like Lionsgate’s “Saw X,” Paramount’s “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie,” and Disney/20th Century’s “The Creator.”
The CBS series follows the lives of the Reagan family helmed by Tom Selleck’s Commissioner Frank Reagan. Frank’s father, Henry Reagan (Len Cariou), sits opposite him at the group’s weekly Sunday dinners. The rest of the table is filled by Frank’s children, daughter Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan), and sons Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) and Jamie Reagan (Will Estes).
The feeling of home, however, extends to the rest of the cast — and doesn’t stop when the cameras aren’t rolling.
The Reagan family, then and now! Blue Bloods premiered on CBS in September 2010, introducing the world to a family of cops — and now it’s in season 13. Len Cariou leads the family as the retired New York police commissioner, Henry Reagan; his son, Frank (Tom Selleck), plays the current PC; Frank’s son Danny […]
“Partner Appreciation Day!” Vanessa Ray, who plays Jamie’s wife, Eddie Janko, wrote via Instagram in December 2021, before giving a shout-out to several of her costars. She praised Wahlberg for sharing “new music and giv[ing] me gospel to live by,” and thanked Marisa Ramirez, who plays Maria Baez, for sharing her “heart” and being the “best listener” and her “sounding board.”
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Scroll down to see how the Blue Bloods cast spends their time between takes — and what they do together outside of work — below:
Shehnaaz Gill will be next seen in Thank You For Coming with Bhumi Pednekar, Kusha Kapila, Dolly Singh, Shibani Bedi and Anil Kapoor
Shehnaaz Gill is gearing up for her next release Thank You For Coming with Bhumi Pednekar, Kusha Kapila, Dolly Singh, and Shibani Bedi. The trailer has already been released and it has received a lot of love from the audience. Amid this, the actress was spotted today in the city visiting the Lalbaugcha Raja temple. She looked very pretty in pink colour ethnic wear.
Shehnaaz was seen wearing a pink colour kurta with the same colour sharara. To complete the look she opted for bun and applied minimalistic makeup. Fans gathered around her to see and take selfies. Even the star also obliged them. Videos and photos are trending on social media. One of the fans wrote, “Loveee you girl.” Another wrote, “May god bless you with happiness, success and love.”
Take a look at the photos here:
Meanwhile, the actress visited the new parliament building on Wednesday, September 20. She was accompanied by her Thank You For Coming co-stars Bhumi Pednekar, Shibani Bedi and Dolly Singh. Following their visit, Shehnaaz called the parliament block beautiful and talked about the proposed Women’s Reservation Bill. She mentioned that the bill is a ‘great step’ and added that it hints towards the progress of the country.
“It is a great step. I am a woman. If we are given rights and equal treatment, even parents too will support girls. I come from a small village. The girls are married off so that they get settled. But after this, if girls and boys are treated as equals, a lot of things in the country will change,” Shehnaaz told the news agency ANI.
Meanwhile, talking about Thank You For Coming, the film is directed by Karan Boolani and is produced by Rhea Kapoor. The film recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Thank You For Coming features Bhumi Pednekar, Shehnaaz Gill, Kusha Kapila, Dolly Singh, Shibani Bedi and Anil Kapoor in key roles. The film was first premiered at the festival on Friday, September 15 and then on Saturday, September 16. The film is releasing on October 6.
Usher will headline the halftime show at next year’s Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, organizers announced Sunday, bringing one of the Strip’s most talked-about live acts to the biggest stage in pop music.
The singer and dancer with a deep catalog of R&B and pop hits — among them “U Remind Me,” “Yeah!,” “Burn,” “Love in This Club,” “OMG” and “Climax” — is set to perform during the NFL’s televised championship game on Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium.
“It’s an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list,” Usher, 44, said in a statement. “I can’t wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they’ve seen from me before.”
Jay-Z, whose entertainment company Roc Nation struck a deal in 2019 to produce the NFL’s high-profile musical offerings, called Usher “the ultimate artist and showman” and hailed “his flawless singing and exceptional choreography.”
Raised in Chattanooga, Tenn., and in Atlanta, Usher (whose last name is Raymond) released his debut album at age 15 and broke out with 1997’s “My Way,” which drew comparisons to Michael Jackson and which spun off the first of his nine Hot 100-topping singles in the heavy-breathing “Nice & Slow.” His 2004 LP “Confessions” sold more than 1 million copies in its first week and went on to be certified diamond for sales of 10 million. Usher has scored 28 top 10 hits on Billboard’s R&B chart and won eight Grammy Awards; his 2022 concert for NPR’s Tiny Desk series has been viewed more than 18 million times on YouTube and generated a popular meme.
Last year, the singer, whose most recent studio album came out in 2016, launched a residency at Las Vegas’ Park MGM that quickly went viral thanks to his interactions with famous fans including Taraji P. Henson, Issa Rae, Saweetie and Keke Palmer. The show is scheduled to run through early December.
Usher’s Super Bowl performance will be the fifth halftime show overseen by Roc Nation following February’s appearance by Rihanna, last year’s hip-hop extravaganza with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar and earlier performances by the Weeknd and the duo of Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.
Jay-Z’s partnership with the NFL raised eyebrows when it was announced given the rapper’s past pronouncements about the league in the wake of its treatment of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who accused the NFL of blackballing him as a result of his kneeling during the national anthem to protest police violence and racial injustice. The pact, which Jay-Z had framed as an opportunity to “inspire change,” attracted further attention last year after former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores sued the NFL and its 32 teams in federal court, alleging that he and other Black coaches had been blocked from high-level leadership positions due to discriminatory hiring practices.
Roc Nation’s CEO, Desiree Perez, told The Times last year that she understood the perception among some that the NFL’s recruiting her company was a “cynical move” meant to repair the league’s image. “OK,” she said. “As long as we can go in and do things they would not normally do — if we can reach people that we normally wouldn’t reach with a message — then that for us is success.”
Ratings for Rihanna’s halftime performance, which she used to reveal that she was pregnant with her second child, were the highest of all time, according to Nielsen, which said the telecast drew more than 121 million viewers. The show also introduced a deal with Apple Music as halftime’s sponsor following a long run by Pepsi in that role.
We’ve always known that the Stranger Things universe would expand in some way. In the next couple of years, we will get the show’s fifth and final season. But Netflix will certainly want to continue the universe of its biggest hit. And while we have our own Stranger Things spinoff ideas, including a ‘90s series, this isn’t quite what we had in mind. Stranger Things is heading to the stage for Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a live stage play at the Phoenix Theater in London’s West End.
The Stranger Things play is based on an original story by the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne, and Kate Trefry (who wrote this play) and will hit the stage sometime in late 2023. Of course, Netflix will produce it alongside Sonia Friedman Productions, and fans will certainly show up to see what happens. Here’s the plot synopsis for Stranger Things: The First Shadow stage play:
Hawkins, 1959: a regular town with regular worries. Young Jim Hopper’s car won’t start, Bob Newby’s sister won’t take his radio show seriously and Joyce Maldonado just wants to graduate and get the hell out of town. When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy… and the shadows of the past have a very long reach. Brought to life by a multi-award-winning creative team, who take theatrical storytelling and stagecraft to a whole new dimension, this gripping new adventure will take you right back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story – and may hold the key to the end.
Netflix/Sonia Friedman Productions
Additionally, a teaser for the Stranger Things play hints that it could also be crucial for understanding what’s to come in Stranger Things 5.
We have to admit that it is quite the interesting take on the series. Fans met Henry Creel and his family last season, and there’s certainly a lot to mine from his story. Sure, there were flashes of his childhood and backstory. But now we will get to see more about his life in the Stranger Things play. And, who isn’t curious about what a young Hopper, Joyce, and Bob were like, as well as the town itself? At this time, Jim and Joyce would have been between 17-19 years old, with the former getting ready to be drafted into the Vietnam War. So, they probably would have little to no interaction with Henry, who was middle school-aged in 1959. But hey, they could always play with timelines and bend the rules a bit.
The Stranger Things play cast is also set! Shane Attwooll and Christopher Buckley will portray Chief Hopper and Bob Newby, respectively. Oscar Lloyd will be James Hopper, Jr. and we can’t wait to learn more about him. Michael Jibson will take on the role of Victor Creel, Louis McCartney plays his son Henry Creel, and Lauren Ward will be Virginia Creel. Isabella Pappas will portray Joyce Maldonaldo, Ella Kaurna Williams is Patty Newby, and Patrick Vaill rounds out the cast as Dr. Brenner.
Tickets for the Stranger Things play went on sale March 30th. And tickets are now available for as low as £45 (USD $57.20). The play itself will begin its run in November.
With the SAF-AFTRA strike in place, actors can’t really even lobby for roles they want openly, but some are letting their intentions known of what they want regardless. Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis has made a name for herself in anime and manga circles with her devotion and love for One Piece. With the Netflix live-action adaptation doing well for the streamer, fans have dream cast for the next few seasons with Curtis taking on the role of Dr. Kureha.
Over at her Instagram, Curtis expressed interest but covered herself enough to say she wasn’t officially lobbying for the role, but her plans once the strike ends.
Kureha is an elderly doctor who works on Drum Island and Tony Tony Chopper’s mentor and adoptive mother. She took him under her care after the death of Hiriluk. She is also head of the Isshi-100, a group of the most skilled doctors on Drum Island. She makes her first appearance in the series’ 80th episode and becomes an ally of the Straw Hat Pirates during the Drum Island Arc.
With Season 2 on the way, it could be huge business for the show bringing one more and more big-name celebrities to the cast. One Piece dominated on Netflix with 37.8 million views in less than two weeks since the show’s release. According to Netflix, the series reached the Top 10 in 93 countries and debuted at #1 in 46.
One Piece stars Inaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp, and Taz Skylar as Sanji. Additional cast members include Vincent Regan, Ilia Isorelys Paulino, Morgan Davies, Aidan Scott, Langley Kirkwood, Jeff Ward, Celeste Loots, Alexander Maniatis, McKinley Belcher III, Craig Fairbrass, Steven Ward, and Chioma Umeala.
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Sure enough, as the Global Citizen festival soldiered on amid a tropical storm in New York — with Lauryn Hill staging a mini-Fugees reunion and the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing headlining — Beyonce was joined by Megan at the first night of her two-night stand at NRG Stadium in their shared hometown, staging their first-ever concert collaboration of “Savage Remix.”
“Do we have any savage ladies and gentlemen in the house tonight?” Beyoncé asked the crowd after powering through her verse. “Please give it up for Houston’s own Megan Thee Stallion.”
As Megan took the stage, Beyonce said, “Don’t she make you proud, Houston? She makes me proud.”
“I love you Beyoncé,” Megan shouted.
Shortly after the remix dropped in 2020, Megan told Hot 97’s Ebro Darden that she was as surprised as anyone that Beyonce joined her.
“I woke up and I was like…,” Megan paused, “I knew the song was coming out, but, it was still like, ‘Is it really gonna drop? Are we doing this for real, for real?’ And I cried — like, I had to call my grandma.”
The pair met earlier that year year at a party, although Megan said the collaboration wasn’t discussed that night.
“They had a New Year’s eve party at the house, that was legit my first time meeting Beyonce,” Megan told Darden. “And, oh my God, we danced all night — I was really in there, cutting it up. I was like, ‘Wow, Beyonce accepts my turn up! She likes ‘Ratchet Megs’ and I love it!”
Usher has been confirmed as the headline act at halftime of Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
The NFL tweeted promo videos of Kim Kardashian and player-turned-coach Deion Sanders confirming the news with the singer. Watch below.
Super Bowl LVIII will take place in Las Vegas on February 11. Eight-time Grammy winner Usher previously appeared as a halftime show guest in Super bowl XLV that was headlined by The Black Eyed Peas.
Among Usher’s nine nine Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles are Burn, Love in This Club, My Boo and U Remind Me.
“It’s an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list. I can’t wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they’ve seen from me before,” Usher said in a widely syndicated statement. “Thank you to the fans and everyone who made this opportunity happen. I’ll see you real soon.”
Usher follows Rihanna’s 2023 halftime show, which marked her return to live performing after five years. She performed a career set of hit singles and also revealed she was pregnant. Rihanna’s Super Bowl followed performances by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, and Kendrick Lamar at the big game.
Jay-Z’s Roc Nation has produced the show since partnering with the NFL in 2019.
“Usher is the ultimate artist and showman. Ever since his debut at the age of 15, he’s been charting his own unique course. Beyond his flawless singing and exceptional choreography, Usher bares his soul,” Jay-Z said in a statement. “His remarkable journey has propelled him to one of the grandest stages in the world. I can’t wait to see the magic.”
Last year’s Super Bowl halftime performance by Rihanna was the first sponsored by Apple Music.
Which CW and CW Seed TV shows have been cancelled? Which ones have been renewed? How many episodes have been ordered?
Below, you’ll find a list of The CW and CW Seed’s recent/current/upcoming primetime TV shows and their current status. To see a series’ ratings and how many episodes have aired (if any), click the links in the middle column. You can also see the full season’s ratings.
Here are other cancelled/renewed listings: Broadcast TV shows: ABC | CBS | The CW | FOX | NBC | PBS Scripted Cable & Streaming TV shows (listed by title): A-D | E-L | M-R | S-Z
To see a series’ ratings (if available), click the links in the “current season” column.
Note: If you do not see the full chart, please try reloading the page or use the chart’s scroll bar. You can also see it here.
TBD = To Be Determined.
Here are other cancelled/renewed listings: Broadcast TV shows: ABC | CBS | The CW | FOX | NBC | PBS Scripted Cable & Streaming TV shows (listed by title): A-D | E-L | M-R | S-Z
We do our best to keep these lists up to date but finding information on some of these shows can be tricky. Sometimes, the networks aren’t very forthcoming with their information so, if you see something that we’ve missed, please let us know.
What do you think? Which CW shows are your favorites? Have any of them been cancelled? Which TV shows are you hoping will be renewed for another season?
Dan Harmon’s brand of comedy — sometimes puerile, sometimes erudite, usually with both sensibilities engaged in a graphic on-screen wrestling match — isn’t for everybody.
Even the shows of his that I love the most — Community and Rick and Morty and The Sarah Silverman Program, the usual stuff — lose me here and there.
Krapopolis
The Bottom Line
Not ‘Krap’py, but surprisingly uninteresting.
Airdate: Special premiere 8:00 p.m. ET Sunday, September 24 (Fox) Voices: Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry, Pam Murphy, Duncan Trussell Creator: Dan Harmon
One thing I’ve never accused a Dan Harmon show of being was bland.
Krapopolis, a long-gestating Fox animated comedy notable for off-screen trivia — it’s already been renewed through a third season, plus it has some connection I don’t understand to the blockchain — is bland. Through the three episodes sent to critics, it looks bland and the stories it’s telling are bland and, most oddly of all, the thematic underpinnings of the series are bland.
Krapopolis is never boring and I chuckled here and there. But I’m guessing most of my laughs came from the show’s exceptional vocal cast and not from any of the ideas or dialogue or references contained within. Thinking back on the show generates no hostility or pain, just general forgetfulness.
Our ostensible hero is Tyrannis (Richard Ayoade), king of Krapopolis. In a mythical version of ancient Greece populated by barbarian hordes, packs of rabid wolves and vengeful gods, Krapopolis is a beacon of civilization. Or at least Tyrannis wants it to be a beacon of civilization, which is confusing because nobody knows what civilization is. For the moment, Tyrannis is narcissistic and a bit spineless, prone to using his powers of diplomacy to make the rest of the world be like him — much to the chagrin of his overgrown warrior half-sister Stupendous (Pam Murphy) and undergrown scientist half-brother Hippocampus (Duncan Trussell).
Enter Tyrannis’ insecure goddess mother Deliria (Hannah Waddingham), who just wants to be worshipped, and his half-centaur, half-manticore father Shlub (Matt Berry), who just wants to have sex with anybody and everything.
Various episodic plots find Tyrannis negotiating with a rival king named Asskill (Keith David) — the percentage of things and jokes in this show referencing butt-stuff is close to 25 — Tyrannis falling in love with a nymph after killing a kraken, and Tyrannis inventing a modern Olympiad that isn’t violent enough for his citizens.
I had to look these plots up less than a week after watching them.
The weird thing is that Krapopolis is almost aware that it’s underwhelming — and when I say “almost” that may be an understatement, because if any modern showrunner were to create a series that was intentionally bland as a sociological experiment, it’s Dan Harmon. The first episode includes a bit about how a joke at a roast of sorts was “not laugh-out-loud funny” and it isn’t! The third episode begins with a reference to the eponymous city and a character insisting, “I swear it’s not as bad as the name sounds” and it kinda of is!
Harmon has been interested in jumbled versions of history and civilization through much of his work. It’s the primary plot of nearly every episode of Rick and Morty and part of the plot of a dozen Community episodes.
In this series, though, the humor is mostly in the vein of flat dramatic irony, using the past to make completely superficial observations about the present. This is a chance to see the birth of sports announcers, the first domestication of canines, the various ways that vases were the tabloids of their time and, through one of Hippocampus’ investigations, the origins of criminal forensics. Civilization is represented by, among other things: refusing to move, filling houses with sticks and … yeah, I’m not sure what else.
With that “using the past to comment on the present” structure, Krapopolis isn’t doing anything more innovative than what The Flintstones did many decades ago and what Disenchantment did fairly recently on Netflix. But it’s striking, or maybe strikingly not-striking, how sparse the visual and verbal landscapes are. This isn’t a show that would reward frequent pausing to catch background jokes, nor will you have to rewind because in chuckling at one joke you missed the next. More frequently, I was perfectly happy to miss limp jokes like Poseidon’s nephew being named Bro-seidon.
Animated shows and comedies often require the most time to find their voice and their style, and I’m not wholly intolerant of Krapopolis requiring a similar grace period. But does Krapopolis really establish much of anything in these first few episodes? Not really. Tyrannis is a whiny and wimpy leading man, so that puts him at odds with Stupendous. He doesn’t like how his mother inserts herself into every situation, so that puts him at odds with her. Shlub is horny all the time, so that puts Tyrannis … nothing in particular with him. And Hippocampus, with his head in a fishbowl and limbs that can’t support his body, would be a creepy creation if he weren’t so cute.
Hippocampus and Shlub, with his anatomy cobbled from his diverse assortment of biological ancestors, are the only characters whose basic design I found interesting and, thanks to Berry and Trussell, they’re the only characters I found consistently funny. Shlub may feel like a variation on basically half the characters Berry has played — including, most obviously and recently, Laszlo from What We Do in the Shadows — but Harmon and company have a good sense of what a Matt Berry character is supposed to sound like, and it’s a blessing to have Berry present to say things like, “Son, as monsters, we have to be careful about our messaging. Bad monsters kill people. Good monsters have sex with people. Trust me, that’s where the action is.” The extremely performative Deliria, who can transform into a variety of animals but mostly an ostrich, gives Waddingham lots to do, but if the press notes sent by Fox didn’t say that her character was “goddess of self-destruction and questionable choices,” I would not have known.
There are some decent early vocal cameos starting with David and including the likes of Yvette Nicole Brown, Dave Franco and Daveed Diggs. They’re all fine. None of them immediately make Krapopolis worth watching. For now, the show captures a world you can imagine Rick and Morty visiting at the start of an episode, but not a world in which you can imagine them wanting to spend much time.
Usher has been announced as the headliner of the 2024 Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show. Super Bowl LVIII takes place February 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. It will broadcast live on CBS. Watch the announcement, where Deion Sanders reveals the news to Usher, below. (There are multiple versions of this announcement video featuring different celebrities.)
“It’s been on my bucket list for a long time,” Usher said in a new interview with Zane Lowe. “I’ve been asked many a times, ‘What are the benchmarks or what are the things that matter most to you?’ Obviously performing, but being able to perform on that stage because so many amazing performers have graced it and did an amazing job. Of course the obsession of that starts, but man, the excitement of this moment and being able to savor this moment. You remember the first time you heard your record on the radio. This is like that for me.”
Usher follows Rihanna’s 2023 Halftime Show, which was her return to live performing after five years. She performed a career-spanning set of hit singles on floating platforms. She also revealed that she was pregnant. Rihanna’s Super Bowl followed the Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, and Kendrick Lamar Halftime Show.
Fall is the best time of the year for book lovers. Publishers schedule the release of their most serious-minded fare for when we’re indoors and have time to read. So put away that phone and tablet. There will be plenty of time for doomscrolling in the New Year when get back to climate change emergencies, Elon Musk’s latest bits of insanity, and panic over the U.S. presidential election. Time to curl up with some good books on music.
Etheridge’s second memoir (the first was The Truth Is… from 2002) picks up where that one left off and adds 20 years of new experiences (a battle with breast cancer, some very public breakups, the death of her son as the result of opioid addiction, involvement in the LGBTQ2 community) and reflections on life. It’s very honest stuff. There will be tears.
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Mud Ride: A Messy Trip Through the Grunge Explosion by Steve Turner (Out now)
Turner, a skater and hardcore kid, was there at the very beginning of grunge. In fact, it was Mark Arm, his later bandmate in OG groups like Green River and Mudhoney who first used the word to describe the heavier sounds coming out of the Pacific Northwest. Turner takes us through those early days, showing us just how few people were responsible for a scene that eventually blew up worldwide. Green River, for example, once included both future Pearl Jam members Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard but left when their ambitions outgrew the group. Although Mudhoney continues to record and tour, their experience shows that not everyone associated with the birth of grunge was on the same page.
Abbey Road: The Inside Story of the World’s Most Famous Recording Studio by David Hepworth (Out Now)
I’ve been lucky to both work at and tour through Abbey Road Studios several times over the years and I can attest that the place is like a shrine. Opened by Electric and Machine Industries (that’s what “EMI” stands for) in a nine-bedroom century-old Georgian townhouse, the studios have been the source of some of the most legendary recordings in the world: The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Oasis, Muse, Radiohead, Depeche Mode — the list goes on forever. The massive Studio One is also where orchestras performed and recorded the soundtracks for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Jedi, Aliens, and a bunch of Harry Potter films. While the studio is off-limits to most visitors, this book takes us inside and shows how things work behind the curtain.
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Don’t Call It Hair Metal: Art in the Excess of ’80s Rock by Sean Kelly
Hair metal has not been treated kindly by history. Most remember it as a time when dudes looked like ladies with their big hair, makeup, and spandex up partied up and down the Sunset Strip. A lot of rock fans were fine when the grunge tsunami wiped the entire scene from the face of the early at the dawn of the 1990s. But maybe we’ve been too harsh. Kelly teases out stories from members of Twisted Sister, Guns N’ Roses, Dokken, Poison, Quiet Riot, and others to offer a different perspective on the music of the era. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.
High Bias: The Distorted History of the Cassette Tape by Mark Masters (Out Oct. 3)
When Philips introduced the Compact Cassette in 1963, they expected it to be used for low-fidelity purposes like diction and answering machines. But as tape formulations and tape machines got better, the cassette allowed everyone to create custom mixtapes for home, the car, and new-fangled things like the Sony Walkman. For a brief period in the 1980s, more people bought prerecorded albums on cassette than on vinyl or the new compact disc. The cassette made music consumption personal, customizable, and portable. Today, cassettes are making something of a comeback as retro tchotchkes and souvenirs as well as being used to preserve Afghani music from the Taliban’s music-hating ways. It’s a fun, twisty story.
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Lay It On the Line by Rik Emmett (Out Oct. 10)
Subtitled A Backstage Pass to Rock Star Adventure, Conflict, and Triumph, the guitarist for Canada’s other ’70s-’80s power trio offers a mix of memoirs, anecdotes, observations about the music industry, and rock’n’roll songwriting that’s sure to be appreciated by anyone who likes Canadian-built hard rock. Emmett also explains why he walked away from the band for 20 years to explore other forms of music.
Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones by Dolly Parton (Out Oct. 17)
Dolly has been having a very long moment these past couple of years, especially since she was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. With a new album entitled Rockstar coming in November (yes, a Dolly Parton rock record), she’s ready with a thick book featuring 450 full-colour photos of her wardrobe while explaining how her sense of style developed over the decades. Love sequins and rhinestones? Here you go.
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The Tragically Hip ABC adapted by Drew Macklin (Out Oct. 24)
This could be classified as something for the young’uns, but it’s really a picture book for all fans of The Tragically Hip. And it’s like it sounds: a tour through Hip songs A is for “Ahead by a Century,” B is for “Bobcaygeon,” etc., all whimsically illustrated by Clayton Hammer, Julia Breckenreid, Bridget George, and Monika Melnychuk. File it under, “For the Hip Fan Who Has Everything.”
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