“I am proud to say the FEEDING AMERICA COMEDY FESTIVAL more than achieved our goals, making America laugh and delivering over 16 million meals to families in need across the country,” said Byron Allen, Founder/Chair/CEO of Allen Media Group. “I wish to thank everyone for their donations, the extremely talented comedians who gave so much of their valuable time, and to NBC for being such a tremendous partner in this much-needed effort. We will continue this fundraising campaign with encore presentations of the special on The Weather Channel, Comedy.TV, the free streaming app Local Now, and on NBC digital platforms.”
In addition to the four co-hosts–Byron Allen, Billy Crystal, Tiffany Haddish, and Kenan Thompson— comedians who contributed pre-recorded comedy segments included: Louie Anderson, Judd Apatow, Jack Black, Wayne Brady, Adam Carolla, Cedric the Entertainer, Andrew Dice Clay, Deon Cole, Dane Cook, Whitney Cummings, Tommy Davidson, Bill Engvall, Mike Epps, Tina Fey, Billy Gardell, Brad Garrett, Whoopi Goldberg, Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Kevin James, Jamie Kennedy, Keegan-Michael Key, George Lopez, Jon Lovitz, Howie Mandel, Sebastian Maniscalco, Tim Meadows, Eddie Murphy, Caroline Rhea, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Sarah Silverman, JB Smoove and Sheryl Underwood.
All viewers tuning in to this comedy event are still encouraged to contribute/volunteer/donate here: www.feedingamerica.org/comedyfest
Deadline is reporting that STXfilms is in final talks for Tim Story to direct and produce Night Wolf, a high concept comic twist on the superhero genre, to star Kevin Hart. Hart will also produce through his HartBeat Productions. The announcement was made today by Adam Fogelson, Chairman of STX films Motion Picture Group.
Night Wolf, written by Detective Pikachu screenwriters Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit, follows a man (Hart) meeting his future father-in-law for the first time only to discover he is secretly the superhero known as the Night Wolf.
Story will also produce through his production company, The Story Company. Sharla Sumpter Bridgett will executive produce.
“Tim was our first choice for this project,” said Fogelson. “His skill with both comedy and action, along with his long history of working with Kevin on both ‘Ride Along’ films, both ‘Think Like a Man’ films, and many of Kevin’s comedy standup event films made him uniquely suited for this material. He came in with a great take and STX and HartBeat couldn’t be more excited to get started.”
Story has directed nine major studio feature films. Seven of them have debuted number one at the box office during opening weekend: Ride Along 2, Think Like A Man Too, Ride Along, Think Like A Man, Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four and Barbershop.
He and Hart have been regular collaborators in the Ride Along and Think Like A Man franchises and the concert films What Now?, Let Me Explain and Laugh At My Pain.
He is currently in post-production on Tom & Jerry for Warner Bros. Pictures that will debut in 2021.
Hart starred in The Upside, the $100 million-grossing hit that STX distributed last year. STXfilms has also teamed with HartBeat Productions to produce numerous new comedy projects, with an eye for Hart to star in or produce. Bryan Smiley is overseeing production for the HartBeat team and will produce along with STX’s EVP of Production Drew Simon.
The Feeding America Comedy festival gets a standing ovation for bringing together some of our best comics for a great cause. But good intentions do not guarantee laughter.
To be fair, the benefit for hunger relief, which aired Sunday on NBC, faced an uphill battle. Skiing from home without anyone being able to play in it or feedback from the audience is something that even veteran performers are struggling to master.
“Saturday Night Live” finally figured out the formula on its third attempt, the finale of last weekend’s season that hit a hilarious anthem that encouraged parents to fatten their kids with drinks.
“Feeding America” didn’t offer anything as clever as “Let the Kids Drink,” but there were a few moments in the two-hour broadcast that went beyond just stepping on superstars. The five highlights:
Eddie Murphy scores again. The former box office king continued his recent heat series with a new character, Murray Murray, a soulful sensation with six-lifetime achievement awards.
The fictional musician, who could be Dennis Rodman’s first cousin, was praised for influencing everyone, from Ray Charles to Martin Luther King, Jr., while admitting that he organized the murder of Berry Gordy’s cat.
Murphy’s promised return to his roots of interest will not be fast enough.
Life with Louie. Minnesota was well represented by favorite son Louie Anderson, unpleasantly learning how to use Cameo, the service in which the stars offer video screams to fans. Anderson’s coach at his Las Vegas home was nephew Josh Florhaug, who moved from the Twin Cities all last year to pursue his own promising street career in the West. The family affair was nice enough to make up for Donald Trump’s horrible impression of Anderson.
Let’s talk about sex. Again. Relationship expert Leon Phelps had the success of the “SNL” character to deserve his own film, which crashed on arrival. Still, it was a delight to see Tim Meadows revive his good father Casanova and even more so a kick that would answer the questions of Tina Fey, Colin Quinn, Seth Meyers and Michael Che, all of whom have spent time behind the “weekend. Update ”.
Cast a spell. It’s safe to assume that the meeting demand for the “Sabrina the Teenage witch” wasn’t particularly high, but perhaps that made the 1996-2003 police tribute so charming. Some viewers may have been confused when an unidentified person joined the zoom call that passed between Melissa Joan Hart, Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick. But true television fans recognized the intruder as Lucy Davis, who currently plays Aunt Hilda in the Netflix relief “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.”
Shooting the ox. If only we could all live next door to Sarah Silverman. Her sketch captured images of her from a balcony, joking through a pedestrian shark below. David Letterman used to do something similar during the night days, but never with so much charm.
By Neal Justin @nealjustin
Fox became the first broadcast network to announce its fall schedule for the 2020-2021 season on Monday amid the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the more interesting additions to Fox’s fall lineup is “LA’s Finest.” The police drama, a spinoff of the “Bad Boys” film franchise, stars Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba and aired its first season as a Spectrum original last year, with Season 2 set to debut on Spectrum’s VOD service in June.
Fox will run the 13-episode Season 1 of “LA’s Finest” this fall on Mondays at 8 p.m., and the network has also acquired the broadcast rights to the Sony Pictures TV series’ second season. This means Fox will have an acquired show leading off its primetime schedule this fall, an indication of how the network is grappling with the ongoing pandemic-related television production shutdown. Fox previously aired acquired shows like “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” from Showtime and “Dream On” from HBO in primetime early in the network’s history.
The acquisition also marks a return to broadcast television of sorts for “LA’s Finest,” which started out as a pilot at NBC during the 2018-2019 pilot season. NBC ultimately passed on ordering it to series, which is when it was successfully sold to Spectrum to become the cable provider’s flagship original series.
Fox also announced that it will air “Cosmos: Possible Worlds” on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. The third installment overall of the “Cosmos” franchise and the second hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson was originally meant to air on Fox in March 2019, but that premiere date was pushed as Tyson was under investigation for sexual misconduct at the time. “Cosmos: Possible Worlds” already ran this spring on National Geographic.
In terms of pick ups from its pilot crop, Fox announced that the multi-cam comedy “Call Me Kat” has been ordered to series and will bow at midseason. The show is based on the BBC original “Miranda” created by Miranda Hart and received a series commitment at Fox back in September. Mayim Bialik stars and also executive produces along with fellow “Big Bang Theory” alum Jim Parsons.
Fox previously gave series orders to the animated comedies “The Great North” and “Housebroken,” both of which are also slated to debut at midseason. “The Great North” was ordered to series last May while “Housebroken” was ordered to series in December. At this time, they are the only new shows Fox has ordered from its own development slate for next season, though the network says more pick ups could be coming in the near future.
The low number of pick ups mirrors an earlier move by CBS, which last week announced three series orders for next season. Fox had originally ordered seven pilots this development season, but virtually no pilot at any of the broadcasters was able to finish filming before production was shut down, forcing the networks to make decisions without completed episodes to judge.
“The Great North” is one of three Fox shows that was originally meant to debut during the 2019-2020 season now being moved to 2020-2021. The network is also moving the dramas “Filthy Rich” and “neXt,” both of which were to debut at midseason this year, to the fall.
“Filthy Rich” hails from Tate Taylor. In the series, the patriarch (Gerald McRaney) of a mega-rich Southern family, famed for creating a wildly successful Christian television network, dies in a plane crash, his wife (Kim Cattrall) and family are stunned to learn that he fathered three illegitimate children, all of whom are written into his will, threatening their family name and fortune. It will air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. after “Cosmos.”
In “neXt,” John Slattery stars as a Silicon Valley pioneer who discovers that one of his own creations – a powerful A.I. – might cause a global catastrophe. It will air Mondays at 9 p.m. after “LA’s Finest.”
“The effects of this global health crisis leave no business unaffected,” said Charlie Collier, CEO of Fox Entertainment. “As a media company that prides itself on an entrepreneurial spirit and the focus that comes with doing fewer things better, we mobilized, swiftly creating an entirely new, original-programming lineup for the fall to share with our partners this upfront. In remote meetings with advertising and marketing partners over recent weeks, we sought to listen first and understand each partner’s unique concerns. Our primary goal is to help them back to business, so in turn, the message we’ve shared is one of relative stability on Fox, combining the best of primetime sports and entertainment with which to help our partners and their customers back to market.”
Also for the fall, Fox will be bringing back the unscripted hit “The Masked Singer” as well as “MasterChef Junior” on Wednesdays. On the scripted side, Fox will air the animated comedies “The Simpsons,” “Bless the Harts,” and “Family Guy” as part of its “Animation Domination” block on Sundays. Friday nights remain the home of WWE’s “SmackDown Live,” while Fox’s fall Thursdays are reserved for NFL football.
“9-1-1” and “9-1-1: Lone Star” will both air at midseason, as will “Duncanville” Season 2 and “Hell’s Kitchen.”
“Now, more than ever, consistency, results and stability take on an all new emphasis,” said Marianne Gambelli, president of Fox Ad Sales. “Fox is primed and ready for the fall with a great deal of stability across our entire programming lineup, featuring premium content that continually resonates with viewers, and the necessary scale that builds demand and produces results. During these uncertain times, we remain focused on the individual business needs of our partners and will continue to work with them to develop custom solutions with our unmatched offerings of assets to help drive their businesses forward.”
In terms of renewals and cancellations, there are several Fox shows still awaiting word on their fates. Those are: “Last Man Standing,” “Prodigal Son,” “Outmatched,” and “The Resident.” Dramas “Almost Family” and “Deputy” were both previously canceled, while “Empire” came to an end this season.
Read the full fall 2020-2021 schedule below.
FOX FALL 2020 SCHEDULE
(All Times ET/PT)
MONDAY
8:00-9:00 PM L.A.’S FINEST (network television debut)
9:00-10:00 PM NEXT (new series)
TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS (network television debut)
9:00-10:00 PM FILTHY RICH (new series)
WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM THE MASKED SINGER (new season)
9:00-10:00 PM MASTERCHEF JUNIOR (new season)
THURSDAY
7:30-8:00 PM ET/ FOX NFL THURSDAY
4:30-5:00 PM PT
8:00-8:19 PM ET/ GMC KICKOFF SHOW
5:00-5:19 PM PT
8:20 PM-CC ET/ THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
5:20 PM-CC PT
FRIDAY
8:00-10:00 PM WWE’S FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN
SATURDAY
7:00-10:30 PM FOX SPORTS SATURDAY
SUNDAY
7:00-7:30 PM NFL ON FOX
7:30-8:00 PM THE OT / FOX ENCORES
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS (new season)
8:30-9:00 PM BLESS THE HARTS (new season)
9:00-9:30 PM BOB’S BURGERS (new season)
9:30-10:00 PM FAMILY GUY (new season)
Source: Variety
HBO has released the trailer and premiere date for comedian and actress Yvonne Orji’s (HBO’s “Insecure,” “Night School”) first hour-long HBO comedy special, YVONNE ORJI: MOMMA, I MADE IT!, premiering SATURDAY, JUNE 6 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.
The special will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and partners’ streaming platforms.
Interspersed with vibrant, personal footage shot in Nigeria, Yvonne’s native home, during a milestone trip in early January, YVONNE ORJI: MOMMA, I MADE IT! takes an intimate, hilarious look at what being Nigerian-American means to Yvonne – from her international haggling addiction and having her phone tapped by her parents as a kid, to the fine line between cursing people out and putting curses on them. The special was filmed before a live audience at the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Yvonne Orji is best known for her role as Molly on HBO’s “Insecure.” Her film credits include “Night School” and the upcoming “Vacation Friends.” She co-hosts her critically acclaimed podcast Jesus and Jollof, alongside New York Times bestseller Luvvie Ajayi, and her upcoming book Bamboozled by Jesus: How God Tricked Me Into the Life of My Dreams will hit shelves next year.
YVONNE ORJI: MOMMA, I MADE IT! is written, performed, and executive produced by Yvonne Orji; directed by Chris Robinson; executive produced by Michelle Caputo, Shannon Hartman, and DC Wade.
Source: Blackfilm.com
A miniseries about the rise of the late Andre Harrell’s Uptown Records is still in the works and moving ahead at BET following the veteran music executive’s death. But with production throughout the television business shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, no premiere date or timetable for the start of shooting has been set.
“We are mourning the loss of a cultural icon, Andre Harrell, a chief architect of the modern hip-hop and R&B sound,” BET president Scott Mills said in a statement. “Andre was tremendously excited about sharing the origin story of Uptown Records, and its pivotal role in the urban music landscape. With his tragic passing, BET is committed to ensuring that the Uptown limited series event tells both the Uptown story and Andre’s story — that of the incredible music innovator, man and friend to so many.”
In December, BET ordered “Uptown,” a three-part miniseries about record label Harrell founded in 1986 and which helped launch the careers hip-hop artists such as Heavy D & The Boyz, Russell Simmons, Lyor Cohen, Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Father MC, Al B. Sure, Christopher Williams, Teddy Riley, Notorious B.I.G., and Sean “Diddy” Combs. Harrell was set to serve as an executive producer on the miniseries alongside Jesse Collins of Jesse Collins Entertainment, with Charles Murray, Carlito Rodriguez and Barry Michael Cooper writing the scripts. Production on the miniseries, which was initially slated to premiere sometime in 2020, had not started prior to the industry-wide shutdown that began in March.
Harrell was reported to have died Thursday night at his home in West Hollywood, Calif. His ex-wife, Wendy Credle, told the New York Times that Harrell died of heart failure.
Source: Variety
Jerry Stiller, the shorter half of the famed husband-and-wife comedy team Stiller & Meara who was the father of the famous (Ben Stiller) and the fictitious (Seinfeld nebbish George Costanza), has died. He was 92.
“I’m sad to say that my father, Jerry Stiller, passed away from natural causes,” Ben Stiller tweeted. “He was a great dad and grandfather, and the most dedicated husband to Anne for about 62 years. He will be greatly missed. Love you Dad.”
Stiller played another dad, the basement-dwelling Arthur Spooner, on the long-running CBS sitcom The King of Queens.
Anne Meara, his wife of 61 years and frequent comedy partner, died in May 2015. In addition to actor-director Ben, survivors include their daughter Amy Stiller, an actress.
While Stiller was 5-foot-4 and Jewish, Meara was lanky, two inches taller and an Irish-American who was raised Catholic. Needing a comedy bit as a stint on The Ed Sullivan Show loomed, Stiller decided to use their dissimilarities for what would become their signature routine, playing the characters Hershey Horowitz and Mary Elizabeth Doyle.
“That was Jerry’s idea, to use and plumb the depths of our backgrounds, exaggerate them and have the two differences of the Jewish and the gentile,” Meara said during a 2005 Archive of American Television sit-down with her husband.
The New Yorkers, who had met in a theatrical agent’s office in 1953 after both failed to land a job in summer stock, made 36 appearances on the Sullivan show alone. By the end of the decade, they were the No. 1 couple of comedy, inheriting the title vacated by Elaine May and Mike Nichols and following in the footsteps of another famous husband-and-wife team, George Burns & Gracie Allen.
Stiller portrayed the cranky and combustible Frank Costanza, a former salesman who speaks fluent Korean, on more than two dozen episodes of NBC’s Seinfeld, and in 1997 he received his lone Emmy nomination for his work on the show. (The character was introduced during the fourth-season episode “The Handicap Spot” but was played by John Randolph. Series co-creator Larry David, though, thought Randolph “looked too Protestant,” said Stiller, who flew out to L.A. to audition for the job.)
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
World-renowned actor, comedian and host Cedric The Entertainer, is pleased to announce the highly-anticipated launch of his YouTube channel. With his brand new YouTube channel – built in partnership with GC Studios – the icon and Hollywood Walk of Famer will be beginning a new digital journey, uploading exclusive new content and will also be giving viewers a peek behind the curtain as he shares about his daily life.
Since the 90’s, Cedric has dominated the comedy space, from his iconic stints as a host on BET’s ComicView and on Def Comedy Jam, to recognizable roles on The Steve Harvey Show and Barbershop. Cedric is also the star and executive producer of CBS’ strongest comedy series The Neighborhood, now in its second season. The launch of his YouTube channel marks a brand new era of content, one that allows Cedric to engage directly with his audience.
This is not his first rodeo at exploring new digital formats. Earlier in April, he hosted a star-studded, marathon fundraiser called Def Comedy Jam: Healing Through Laughter, alongside big names like Usher, Tiffany Hadish and Marlon Wayans. The live-stream drew more than one million viewers across Facebook and Twitch, and raised over US$92,000 and counting.
“The entertainment world has completely changed from when I first started out. With my new channel, I will now be able to create content more regularly, and also communicate directly with my fans – something I’m incredibly excited about,” said Cedric.
Fans can expect weekly uploads on his channel, where Cedric will provide exclusive, behind the scenes coverage of his shows and projects, travel, family time, and other fun activities. Viewers will also be treated to Cedric’s take on current events and pop-culture news which will be delivered with his signature style and humor. Finally, this will also be the platform where Cedric will update his fans about the projects he’s working on and passionate about as well as exciting collaborations with other YouTube personalities or celebrities doing challenges, skits, and games.
Tune in to watch Cedric The Entertainer’s first Youtube video that will premiere on the 6th of May, 2020 at 18:00 PST
Everybody get up, it’s time to slam now because “Space Jam 2” has an official title, thanks to NBA superstar LeBron James.
On Thursday, the Lakers player posted a video of himself wearing a hat on his Instagram with the logo of “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” the apparent title of the Looney Tunes sequel. It was reposted by the film’s official Twitter page later that day.
James captioned the video with the year 2021, but no specific date. Back in February of 2019, Warner Bros. had announced the release date for the film to be July 16, 2021.
“Girls Trip” director Malcolm D. Lee is on board to direct the sequel to the 1996 animated film. His other credits include “Night School” and “Barbershop: The Final Cut.” Lee replaced “Random Acts of Flyness” creator Terence Nance as director last July. Nance exited the film over disagreements with producers over the vision for it.
“Space Jam: A New Legacy” marks James’ first major acting role. Previously, he played himself in the 2015 comedy “Trainwreck” along with Amy Schumer and Bill Hader. Since then, he’s hosted a talk show called “The Shop” on HBO where he interviews other celebrities and athletes in a barbershop.
The original “Space Jam” saw Michael Jordan team up with Bugs Bunny and his Looney Tunes gang to defeat evil alien basketball players, and it grossed $230 million worldwide. Fellow NBA stars Larry Bird, Charles Barkely, Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, Shawn Bradley and Muggsy Bogues also appeared in the film. It’s presumed that current NBA players will appear in the sequel, but none have been announced.
Source: Variety