The Max Original stand-up comedy special, MARLON WAYANS PRESENTS: THE HEADLINERS, debuts THURSDAY, APRIL 21 on HBO Max. Five up-and-coming comics join comedy legend Marlon Wayans for an hour of no-holds-barred stand-up.
Taped live at the Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles, this hour-long special feature the comedic stylings of multi-hyphenate legend Marlon Wayans and five up-and-coming stand-ups. Serving as emcee, Wayans shines the spotlight on actor D.C. Ervin, social media star Tony Baker, niece and stand-up comic Chaunté Wayans, writer Sydney Castillo, and noted “closer” Esau McGraw. With everyone decked out in their Sunday best, MARLON WAYANS PRESENTS: THE HEADLINERS centers on the comedians’ frank takes on fatherhood, fear, dating, disappointment, adult orthodonture, and so much more.
Directed by Troy Miller, MARLON WAYANS PRESENTS: THE HEADLINERS is executive produced by Marlon Wayans, Rick Alvarez, Troy Miller, Steve Harris and Michael Rotenberg. MARLON WAYANS PRESENTS: THE HEADLINERS is Wayans second comedy special for HBO Max following the 2021 release of “Marlon Wayans: You Know What It Is.”
Glamorous, starring Fuller House’s Miss Benny, was previously in the works as a pilot for The CW. It has now been handed a series order at Netflix.
The drama series comes from Star Trek: Discovery and Quantico co-exec producer Jordon Nardino and Damon Wayans Jr.
It tells the story of Marco Mejia, a gender-nonconforming queer young man whose life seems to be stuck in place until he lands a job working for legendary makeup mogul Madolyn Addison. It’s Marco’s first chance to figure out what he wants out of life, who he actually is and what it really means for him to be queer.
Benny, who was the first openly gay character in Netflix’s Fuller House and also has starred in Love, Victor and American Horror Stories, stars as Mejia, while casting is underway for Addison.
Brooke Shields starred in The CW pilot, which was directed by Eva Longoria.
Nardino writes and exec produces the 10-part drama series, which is also exec produced by Wayans Jr. and Kameron Tarlow of Two Shakes Entertainment.
Produced by CBS Studios, the project first was ordered to pilot by The CW in February 2019 but was not picked up that May and was passed on in June 2019.
It is the latest project that was originally from The CW to land a series order at Netflix. Insatiable, which starred Debby Ryan and Dallas Roberts, as previously in contention as a pilot for the youth-skewing network and went on to run for two seasons on Netflix.
Source: Deadline
Chris Rock is ready to speak about the slap heard ’round the world. Appearing Friday at the Fantasy Springs Resort-Casino in Indio, Calif., Rock broached Topic A right from the start of his show.
Sadly, it was not the information most in the crowd wanted to hear, although it did go a little bit further than what he has previously said publicly, laying out his ground rules for the take the world is waiting to hear.
“I’m OK, I have a whole show and I’m not talking about that until I get paid. Life is good. I got my hearing back,” Rock said.
From there, Rock launched into takes on Hillary Clinton, the Kardashians, and Meghan Markle. Also targeted were corporate diversity attempts, his daughters, being single again, and people who are afraid of offending anyone.
There was no video of the show, as cell phones were not allowed in the building.
Source: Deadline
By now we are sure you heard about Tip “TI” Harris getting booed while on stage at the Rip Michael’s April Fool’s Comedy Show in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center, but what you didn’t know was his reaction right when he got off stage, and we sat down with him to find out!
Check out the interview below:
Last night at the April Fool’s Comedy Show in Brooklyn at the infamous Barclays Center, we got a chance to chat with comedian Ronnie Jordan, who is easily one of the best comedians to come out of Atlanta!
Jordan talks about his past projects and why he feels no need to try to make it from Los Angeles!
Watch the interview below;
ABC is gearing up for The Rookie‘s backdoor pilot. The 2-episode event is the first taste of a spinoff starring Niecy Nash.
As the network states: In part one of the two-part event, titled “Simone,” Officer John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and the LA division of the FBI enlist the help of FBI trainee Simone Clark (Niecy Nash) when one of her former students is suspected of terrorism following an explosion at a local power station.
Nash’s Simone Clark is described as “a force of nature, the living embodiment of a dream deferred – and the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy.” The spinoff would have the franchise expand beyond the LAPD.
The episodes also feature Frankie Faison as Christopher “Cutty” Clark, Kat Foster as Special Agent Casey Fox and Felix Solis as Special Agent Matthew Garza.
The Rookie stars Nathan Fillion as John Nolan, Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper, Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez, Richard T. Jones as Sergeant Wade Grey, Melissa O’Neil as Lucy Chen, Eric Winter as Tim Bradford, Jenna Dewan as Bailey Nune and Shawn Ashmore as Wesley Evers.
Alexi Hawley is the creator and executive producer. Terence Paul Winter, Mark Gordon, Nathan Fillion, Michelle Chapman and Bill Norcross are executive producers.
Entertainment One (eOne) is the lead studio and the show is a co-production with ABC Signature.
The two-part event begins April 24th.
Source: Shadow & Act
Deon Cole (Black-ish) has been cast in the lead role of BET+’s upcoming dark comedy Average Joe. The series, which received a cast contingent script-to-series order in February, hails from Robb Cullen and McG.
Set in The Hill district of Pittsburgh and inspired by Cullen’s life, Average Joe follows blue-collar plumber, Joe Washington (Cole) who discovers his recently deceased father lived a secret, second life and stole millions of dollars from dangerous people just before he died. Now those people think Joe knows where it is. A bloody and violent confrontation triggers a chain of events that force Joe and his close-knit circle of family and friends out of their very average and mundane lives into a life or death race against time to find the truth and the millions.
The dark comedy is written by Cullen, who will executive produce alongside McG, Mary Viola, and Corey Marsh for Wonderland Sound and Vision.
Cole is a comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He can most recently be seen in Netflix’s The Harder They Fall and Kelley Kali’s I’m Fine (Thanks For Asking). Cole will next appear in Blitz Bazuwale’s The Color Purple and Kenya Barris’ You People. Known for his work as Charlie on Black-ish and Grown-ish, Cole is a three-time NAACP Image Award winner for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He also appeared in Angie Tribeca.
He also earned two Emmy nominations for his work as a writer on Conan. Cole touts two specials, Netflix’s Cole Hearted and Comedy Central’s Deon Cole’s: Cole Blooded Seminar. In 2020 he debuted his Work’ It Out stand-up documentary on Netflix is a Joke’s YouTube channel.
Cole is represented by WME and Kirsten Ames Management.
Source: Deadline
The long-gestating sequel to the hit comedy franchise Beverly Hills Cop looks to be gaining momentum as sources tell Deadline that up-and-coming director Mark Molloy has been set to direct Beverly Hills Cop 4. Eddie Murphy is expected to reprise his role of Axel Foley, with Netflix on board to distribute. Jerry Bruckheimer is back to produce.
Molloy replaces directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who parted ways with project to focus on the Warner Bros pic Batgirl, which recently wrapped production and is set to bow on HBO Max. Insiders add Beverly Hills Cop 4 is still in development and no production start date has been set.
Netflix had no comment on the hire.
The franchise moved from Paramount to Netflix in the winter of 2019 and follows the adventures of Detroit cop Foley, who first appeared in the 1984 smash hit that followed him to Beverly Hills to solve the murder of friend. The film became one of the year’s biggest hits and solidified Murphy’s movie star status. It was followed by two sequels.
As for Molloy, the project would mark his first feature film for a major studio. The rising star has gained acclaim on the commercial circuit specifically with Apple spots. He is repped by UTA.
Source: Deadline
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Hollywood’s film academy on Friday said its board of governors banned Will Smith from any of its events, including the Oscars, for 10 years after the best actor winner slapped presenter Chris Rock on stage at the Academy Awards ceremony.
“The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year,” Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President David Rubin and Chief Executive Dawn Hudson said in a statement.
“However, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage.”
In a statement, Smith said, “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.” The actor had resigned from the academy on April 1 and has issued statements apologizing to Rock, the Oscars producers, nominees and viewers.
At the March 27 televised ceremony, Smith strode up to the stage after comedian Rock made a joke about the appearance of the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, then smacked Rock across the face.
Less than an hour later, Smith gave a tearful speech on stage as he accepted the best actor award for his role in “King Richard.” After the ceremony, he was seen dancing at Vanity Fair’s annual post-Oscars party.
Rock’s joke about Pinkett Smith made a reference to the 1997 film “G.I. Jane” in which actress Demi Moore shaved her head. It was unclear whether Rock was aware that she has a condition that causes hair loss.
Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Chris Reese and Jonathan Oatis
Amazon Studios’ series adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys has added Oscar-winner Whoopi Goldberg to its cast.
Goldberg is one of six actors joining the series, which is filming in Scotland and will debut on Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service. Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Emmanuel Ighodaro, Cecilia Noble, Ayanna Witter-Johnson and Don Gilet have also been cast.
Goldberg will pay Bird Woman, the god of birds and one of the story’s primary antagonists. She and the other new cast actors will play gods who make up the World Before Time — a place where the animals are gods who still walk and that’s full of beauty, magic, and danger.
Kae-Kazim will play Tiger, a dangerous enemy to Anansi and his bloodline. Ighodaro plays Lion, who’s proud and noble and has no time for Anansi. Noble plays Elephant, who is old and wise and hates Anansi. Witter-Johnson plays Snake, who also hates Anansi. Gilet will play Monkey, who’s terrified of Anansi and has a very short attention span.
“I have been a fan of this book for a very long time and when Neil Gaiman told me it was being brought to the screen, I did everything I could to be part of it to help make people aware of Anansi and all his magic,” said Goldberg.
Added Gaiman, who is writing and serves as series co-showrunner, “When I first conceived Anansi Boys, decades ago, I imagined Whoopi Goldberg as Bird Woman. I wasn’t able to meet her until 2018 when she interviewed me with some of the Good Omens team at New York Comic-Con. At which point she mentioned that she had just finished listening to Sir Lenny Henry’s reading of Anansi Boys, and that it was one of her favorite books. Sometimes things feel planned and inevitable, and we are incredibly lucky. She’s going to be scary.”
Anansi Boys stars Malachi Kirby (Small Axe) as Charlie Nancy, a young man who is used to being embarrassed by his estranged father (Delroy Lindo). But when his father dies, Charlie discovers that his father was Anansi: trickster god of stories. And he learns that he has a brother, Spider (also played by Kirby), who is determined to make Charlie’s life much more interesting but also a lot more dangerous.
The cast also features Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, Grace Saif, Jason Watkins, Fiona Shaw, CCH Pounder, L. Scott Caldwell, Joy Richardson and Lachele Carl.
Gaiman, Sir Lenny Henry, co-showrunner Douglas Mackinnon, Hanelle M. Culpepper, Endor Productions’ Hilary Bevan Jones, and RED Production Company’s Richard Fee are executive producing the series. Culpepper is also directing the first episode.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter