NEW YORK – September 14, 2017 – SHOWTIME has released the poster art and a behind-the-scenes look at its new half-hour comedy series WHITE FAMOUS. Starring Jay Pharoah (Saturday Night Live) and based on the personal experiences of Academy Award® winner Jamie Foxx, WHITE FAMOUS will premiere its first two episodes back-to-back onSunday, October 15 at 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. ET/PT, following the hit drama series RAY DONOVAN. The project is acollaboration between writer and showrunner Tom Kapinos (CALIFORNICATION), who will executive produce, and Foxx, who will executive produce and guest star in the pilot. Tim Story serves as executive producer and directed multiple episodes. Starting on Sunday, November 5, WHITE FAMOUS will move to a new timeslot of 10:30 p.m. ET/PT.
To watch and share a behind-the-scenes look at WHITE FAMOUS, watch below;
In WHITE FAMOUS, Jay Pharoah plays talented young comedian Floyd Mooney, whose star is rising, forcing him to navigate the treacherous waters of maintaining his credibility as he begins to cross over into the world of becoming “white famous.” A co-production of Lionsgate Television and SHOWTIME, WHITE FAMOUS also stars Utkarsh Ambudkar (The Mindy Project) as Malcolm, Floyd’s frustrated agent who wants his client to do whatever it takes to make it big. Cleopatra Coleman (The Last Man on Earth) plays Floyd’s ex-girlfriend Sadie, the love of his life and the mother of his son, played by Lonnie Chavis (This is Us). Jacob Ming-Trent (Feed the Beast) stars as Ron Balls, Floyd’s roommate – in the middle of the chaos, he remains the voice of reason. Stephen Tobolowsky (The Goldbergs) guest stars in the series’ pilot. Additional guest stars this season will include Meagan Good, Jack Davenport, Michael Rapaport, Kendrick Sampson, Lyndon Smith and Natalie Zea.
NEW YORK, September 14, 2017 – Comedy Central and Trevor Noah have agreed to a contract extension which will keep Noah behind the desk of the Emmy® Award-winning The Daily Show with Trevor Noah through 2022, it was announced today by Kent Alterman, President, Comedy Central. As part of the new deal, Noah will also produce and host annual, year-end, Daily Show specials, beginning this year.
Said Alterman, “Trevor makes us look smart on a daily basis, and for that we’re grateful.”
Said Noah, “I’m thrilled to be continuing this amazing journey with both fans of The Daily Show and Comedy Central. It’s really exciting to renew this contract for either five more years or until Kim Jong Un annihilates us all–whichever one comes first.”
In addition to remaining host/writer/executive producer of The Daily Show through 2022, under the new agreement Noah will also produce and host annual, year-end specials, beginning this year. The Daily Show will no longer take for granted that humankind has made it to another December 31st and from here on out will celebrate in annual year-end specials.
Fresh off receiving his first Emmy® Award (for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series for the series’ “Between the Scenes” digital exclusives), and approaching the two-year anniversary of his September 28 debut, Noah finds himself at the helm of one of the hottest and fastest-growing series in the late night landscape. After setting new viewership highs during the month of August, The Daily Show is pacing to finish the 2016-2017 season as the only daily, late night talk show to post year-over-year growth in delivery among both total viewers (+14%) and Adults 18-49 (+6%), and is poised to finish the season a solid #3 in this key demographic, ahead of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Late Late Show with James Corden.
Across the current quarter (3Q17), The Daily Show is up +28% among total viewers vs. 3Q16, and +17% among Adults 18-49, far outpacing the only other series to show positive growth in the demo: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (+7%), Watch What Happens Live(+6%) and Jimmy Kimmel Live (+5%). In addition, The Daily Show is on pace to overtake The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to finish the quarter as the most-watched daily, late night talk show among millennials (Adults 18-34). Throughout the entirety of Noah’s second season, The Daily Show has posted monthly and quarterly gains vs. prior year.
For the 2017 calendar year, ratings for The Daily Show, which is carried in 133 international markets, are up +30% among all individuals, and up +10% for adults 18-34 across nine measured markets year-over-year.
The millennial host has enjoyed commensurate growth on digital platforms as well, with consumption of Daily Show content up +50% year-over-year and over 2.2 billion video views since Noah premiered as host (source: Adobe Omniture, YouTube Analytics, Snapchat, Hulu, Facebook Insights). Noah’s growing popularity across his second season is highlighted by: a massive +185% increase in video views on the show’s dedicated YouTube channel, which now has 2.5 million subscribers and nearly 600 million views since its launch last June (source: YouTube Analytic); full-episode streams, available exclusively on thedailyshow.com and the Comedy Central app, up +40% year-over-year (source: Adobe Omniture); and video views on the series’ Facebook page, up +22% (source: Facebook Insights). In addition, across the 2016-2017 season The Daily Show was the most-engaging late night talk show among its competitive set on social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), generating the highest average engagement per post with over 57.8 million total actions (likes, shares, comments, reactions, retweets). (source: Shareablee)
The Daily Show’s Adults 18-49 audience composition remains the most-upscale and educated of all ad-supported late night talk shows, posting a median household income of $90.5K, an upscale composition (HHI $100k+) of 55%, and college 4+ years composition of 59%. (source: Nielsen Market Breaks. 6/26/17-9/3/17. Premieres Only. Based on A18-49. L+7)
Trevor Noah, Steve Bodow, Jen Flanz and Jill Katz are the Executive Producers of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, with Justin Melkmann as Co-Executive Producer. Max Browning, Eric Davies, Pam DePace, Ramin Hedayati and Elise Terrell are Supervising Producers. Zhubin Parang is the Head Writer, with Daniel Radosh as Senior Writer. The series is directed by Paul Pennolino. Sarah Babineau is the Executive in Charge of Production for Comedy Central. Noah is represented by CAA, Mainstay Entertainment and the law firm of Hansen, Jacobson.
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah airs Mondays-Thursdays at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central and is available to stream the following day exclusively on thedailyshow.com and the Comedy Central App. Viewers can follow The Daily Show on Twitter (6.9M followers) and Instagram (940K followers), subscribe to its YouTube channel (2.5M subscribers) and become a fan of The Daily Show on Facebook (7.4M fans). Fans can follow Trevor Noah on Twitter(7.4M followers), Facebook (4.5M fans) and Instagram (1.7M followers). Fans can also receive The Daily Show “Flash Briefing” on Amazon Alexa devices and subscribe to The Daily Show’sEmmy® Award-nominated “Between the Scenes” via Facebook’s new Watch tab.
NEW YORK, NY – .BET Digital is set to enter the horror arena with the launch of its first-ever original scripted horror series, THE LAST ONE. Four friends Gabby, Rashan, Aisha and Cameron get stranded on the side of the road. While waiting for help they talk about the ghost stories and urban legends that terrified them as children. For Rashan it was Bloody Mary; for Cameron the Boogeyman; for Aisha the scary story of the Hitchhiker who wanted more than just a ride. Finally a good samaritan offers to help them with their car and they follow him back to his house but he is not who he appears to be. Find out who will be the last one to survive this horror-filled experience when THE LAST ONE premieres Friday the 13th in October exclusively on BET.com. Be the first to watch the trailer here: http://www.bet.com/video/the-last-one/season-1/exclusives/the-last-one-promo-trailer.html
Ray J and Casey Veggies will make cameos in the series along newcomers Stephen Barrington as Cameron, Trevon Davis as Rashan, Morgan Alexandria as Aisha, Perri Camper as Gabbyand Kirk Brown as The Hitchhiker.
THE LAST ONE joins BET.com’s growing roster of new original short form content of must-see & share web series that includes Rate the Bars, Down in the DMs, PLATES & POLES and more. Additionally, BET Digital prowess in engaging editorial content is bolstered even further by the recent launch of dedicated Style Vertical BET.com/style. The Style Vertical caters to both women and men, and will focus on content that helps BET’s audience live their best lives through the Fashion, Beauty, and Living sub-verticals.
THE LAST ONE is directed by Kenny Gage and Devon Downs (Anarchy Parlor) with Gabriel Hart as Director of Photography.
For more information on THE LAST ONE including video extras, behind the scene content and more go to BET.com/TheLastOne and join the conversation on all social platforms using the hashtag #TheLastOneBET.
Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig make a bold decision in the official trailer for “Downsizing.”
The footage introduces a world where humans are given the option to shrink in size. The reasons for getting the procedure are both environmental and economic. For one, it proposes a solution to over-population.
“Downsizing is about saving yourself,” a tiny Jason Sudeikis explains to a regular-sized Matt Damon. “We live like kings. We’ve got the best houses, the best restaurants. Cheesecake Factory? We’ve got three of them.”
In the trailer, Paul (Damon) and his wife Audrey (Wiig) decide to abandon their stressed lives and move to a new downsized community.
Along with Damon and Wiig, the cast includes Christoph Waltz, Alec Baldwin, Neil Patrick Harris, Sudeikis, Laura Dern, and Bruce Willis.
In his review for Variety when the movie kicked off the Venice Film Festival to high praise, critic Owen Gleiberman called the movie “a ticklish and resonant crowd-pleaser for grown-ups.” Days later, when it screened at the Telluride Film Festival, “Downsizing” received a more divided response.
The sci-fi comedy drama comes from director Alexander Payne, who has been nominated for six Academy Awards, and scored two wins for adapted screenplay.
Paramount Pictures set a North American release on Dec. 22nd.
Source: Variety
*(NEW YORK, NY) – VH1 today announced that legendary songstress Mariah Carey will be an honoree at HIP HOP HONORS: THE 90’S GAME CHANGERS.
Carey will be honored for her groundbreaking hip-hop collaborations. As previously announced, the special event will be hosted by Regina Hall with Missy Elliott performing and Martin Lawrence also being honored.
This 90’s style block party, premiering Monday, September 18th at 9PM ET/PT, will celebrate the golden era of hip-hop and the moment when hip-hop became mainstream across pop culture. The special event will feature moments from TV & Film, chart topping albums and the creative elevation of music videos.
The special will also recognize the victims of the hurricanes and provide viewers with ways to take action to help.
A true trailblazer, Carey has earned acclaim in all facets of her career as an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. As the best-selling female artist of all time, with more than 220 million records sold and eighteen #1 singles – the most for any solo artist in history – Carey is a luminous and enduring talent who has continues to enthrall audiences.
Carey has been recognized with Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards and BMI’s coveted Icon Award, among myriad others, and was named Billboard’s Artist of the Decade and the World Music Awards’ World’s Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium. Referred to as the “songbird supreme” by the Guinness World Records, she is famed for her five-octave vocal range, power, melismatic style and signature use of the whistle register.
She is equally distinguished as a songwriter, penning all but one of her #1 singles, including “Fantasy,” “Always Be My Baby,” “Hero,” “Touch My Body,” “One Sweet Day” and “We Belong Together,” more than any other solo artist.
Carey has also gained acclaim as an actress and was awarded the “Breakthrough Performance Award” at the Palm Springs International Film Festival for her performance in Precious (2009). Beyond industry honors, her popularity is evident across social media, with 21 million Facebook fans and 16 million Twitter followers. Mariah Carey is on Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.
More honorees and performers to be announced soon.
Official sponsors of VH1 HIP HOP HONORS: THE 90’S GAME CHANGERS include Head & Shoulders, Taco Bell®, Toyota and TWIX®.
For more updates go to HipHopHonors.VH1.com and follow @VH1 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #HipHopHonors to join the conversation.
VH1 HIP HOP HONORS is being produced by Flavor Unit with Shakim Compere and Queen Latifah as Executive Producers along with Monami Productions with Mona Scott-Young as Executive Producer, and Fatima Robinson as Executive Producer. For VH1, Amy Doyle, Ryan Kroft, Elena Diaz and Andria Parides are Executive Producers with Paige Miller as Supervising Producer. Fonda Anita and Joe Buoye are Executives in Charge of Production.
Anthony Mackie is the latest name to join the film adaptation of Angie Thomas’ Black Lives Matter-inspired novel, The Hate You Give.
Mackie joins a full cast with Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, Lamar Johnson, Algee Smith, Issa Rae, Sabrina Carpenter and Common. He will portray local drug dealer, King.
First announced last year (March 2016), 20th Century Fox subsidiary, Fox 2000, won a bidding war for Thomas’ debut novel and tapped George Tillman Jr. to direct, with Stenberg attached to star. The novel, which Publisher’s Weekly says was at the center of a heated auction among 13 publishing houses, including all of the Big Five, earlier last year. It eventually went to Donna Bray of HarperCollins’ Balzer + Bray in what PW says was a six-figure deal for the young author.
The Hate U Give tells the story of 16-year-old Starr (who Stenberg will portray), who navigates between the poverty-stricken slum she has grown up in and the upper-crust suburban prep school she attends. Her life is up-ended when she is an eyewitness to a police officer shooting her best friend, Khalil (Smith), who turns out to have been unarmed during the confrontation – but may or may not have been a drug dealer. As Starr finds herself even more torn between the two vastly different worlds she inhabits, she also has to contend with speaking her truth and, in the process, trying to stay alive herself.
Along with Mackie’s casting, it has been announced Kian Lawley will portray the boyfriend of Amandla Stenberg’s Starr.
Thomas, a student in Belhaven University’s creative writing program at the time she came up with the idea for The Hate U Give in 2011, originally wrote it as a short story for her senior-year project, but it quickly expanded into a novel-length work. The title comes from a tattoo worn by Tupac Shakur (the acronym T.H.U.G.).
Tillman is directing a script written by Tina Mabry and Aubrey Wells.
Source: Shadow & Act
Def Comedy Jam is turning 25, and to commemorate the anniversary, Netflix will be airing a special!
Photo: Dan Steinberg/Netflix
Called Def Comedy Jam 25, it “celebrates the impact and legacy of the long-running comedy series with surprise guests, tributes and performances in a can’t-miss evening of unbelievably funny and raw moments.”
Comedians taking part in the special include: Bill Bellamy, Cedric the Entertainer, Dave Chappelle, Mike Epps, Adele Givens, Eddie Griffin, Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart, Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Kid Capri, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Craig Robinson, JB Smoove, Sommore, Joe Torry, Sheryl Underwood and Katt Williams.
Stan Lathan, Russell Simmons, Sandy Wernick and Jesse Collins serve as executive producers.
This special comes ahead of a Def Comedy Jam reboot, called All Def Comedy, coming to HBO as a series.
On Sunday, September 10, Netflix celebrated Def Comedy Jam 25 with a special event at the Beverly Hilton. View captures from the event below.
Photo: Dan Steinberg/Netflix
The special hits Netflix on September 26.
On this day in comedy on June 13, 1962, Comedian, Actor, Voice-Over Artist, Alonzo Bodden was born in Queens, New York
Prior to achieving any type of comedy notoriety, Bodden worked on the assembly line at Lockheed and McDonnell Douglas moving heavy equipment. This was big man work; which is probably why little has ever been said about Alonzo Bodden and hecklers. He was just another working comedian with day job experience and a few films under his belt (8 Guys, Bringing Down the House, The Girl Next Door) when he got his national break.
Last Comic Standing, the NBC ratings darling was entering its third season. Bodden had been a runner up on Season 2 and 3 was billed as the “Battle of the Best” with top contestants from seasons 1 & 2 competing. When the 2004 competition was done Alonzo Bodden had won out over Geoff Brown, Corey Holcomb, Rich Vos, Tammy Pescatelli, Gary Gulman, Ralphie May, Tess, Jay London, Todd Glass, Tere Joyce, Rob Cantrell, ANT, Jessica Kirson, Sean Kent, Dat Phan, Cory Kahaney, Dave Mordal, John Heffron and Kathleen Madigan. The prize was $250,000 (not the talent contract and televised special awarded to the previous two season’s winners). The winning episode also wasn’t broadcast with the hoopla of the previous two seasons.
Regardless, Bodden made the most of it. He released his comedy DVD Tall, Dark and Funny in 2005. That same year he returned to Last Comic Standing as a celebrity host along with Kathleen Madigan and ANT. He made more films (Scary Movie 4, National Lampoon’s Totally Baked A Potumentary and Why We Ride); appeared on all available late night shows (The Tonight Show with jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, Late Night with Conan O’Brien) stand up showcases (It’s Showtime at the Apollo, Make Me Laugh, Comedy Central Presents) and guest starring ops (Angel, Californication). As a car and motorcycle enthusiast, Bodden was a natural to host several automotive driven shows: Speed TV’s 101 Cars You Must Drive and America’s Worst Driver. Alonzo Bodden has been a panelist on BBC America and Game Show Network, a co-host on WGN America, a recurring guest on NPR and The Adam Carolla Show and done voice-overs on Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue, Masked Rider and O’Grady.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
Check out this clip: