Comedy
Chris Rock Says He Was Asked to Host Next Year’s Oscars But Turned It Down
Chris Rock famously became the talk of the 2022 Oscars after Will Smith slapped him on stage, but the comedian isn’t trying to be the talk of next year’s ceremony. In a recent stand-up set, Rock said the Academy asked him to host the 2023 Oscars, but he turned them down. According to the Arizona Republic, Rock told the crowd at a recent gig in Phoenix that returning to the Oscars would be like returning to the scene of a crime, comparing the offer to asking Nicole Brown Simpson to “go back to the restaurant” she ate at before being murdered. Rock also said he was asked to do a Super Bowl commercial in light of the slap, an offer he also refused. Elsewhere in the set, Rock said being slapped by Smith physically hurt, noting that Smith played Muhammed Ali in a movie. “He’s bigger than me,” R...
Joe Pesci to Star in Pete Davidson’s Comedy Series Bupkis
Joe Pesci has boarded Pete Davidson’s upcoming comedy series Bupkis, which was ordered to Peacock in April. As Variety points out, it will mark just the second regular TV role of Pesci’s storied career after he starred in the short-lived NBC series Half Nelson in 1985. The veteran of movies such as Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and The Irishman will play Davidson’s grandfather in the 30-minute sitcom. The Oscar winner joins previously announced cast member Edie Falco (Sopranos, Nurse Jackie), who is set to play Davidson’s mother. In addition to starring in the show, Davidson will write and executive produce Bupkis with his longtime collaborator and friend Dave Sirus and Judah Miller (Crashing). Advertisement Related Video A “heightened, fictionalized version” of Davidson’s l...
Jon Hamm Brings Fletch Out of Retirement in Trailer for Confess, Fletch: Watch
Jon Hamm as a charming protagonist who’s in deep water at work? Say it ain’t so: The Mad Man lead is starring as the eponymous former reporter in Confess, Fletch, Paramount Movies’ upcoming reboot of the beloved Fletch franchise. See him revive the character — originally played by Chevy Chase in 1985 — in the new trailer out today. In the trailer for Confess, Fletch, Hamm’s iteration of Irwin “Fletch” Fletcher has been pulled out of his retirement to help locate a stolen art collection worth millions. The investigation leads him to the scene of a murder: “I think the victim interrupted an art theft,” Fletch says as he begins investigations. But, just his luck, some compromising fingerprints and a matched description lead to suspicion that Fletch himself committed the murder. Flet...
Noah Baumbach’s White Noise Gets First Teaser: Watch
The first official teaser for Noah Baumbach’s White Noise is finally here. The black comedy-horror sees the mumblecore filmmaker return with his frequent collaborators Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, who star in the film alongside Don Cheadle and André 3000. Adapted from the 1985 novel of the same name by Don DeLillo, White Noise follows Jack Gladney, a professor at a Midwestern liberal arts college who’s known for pioneering the field of “Hitler studies.” The trailer opens with Jack, his wife Babette, and their four children in the car together, in standstill traffic that appears to be prompted by a bad storm. “I wanna know how scared I should be,” says one of Jack’s daughters as she examines the facial expressions of passengers in other cars. If you’re familia...
Curb Your Enthusiasm Renewed for 12th Season
HBO has officially renewed Curb Your Enthusiasm for a 12th season. The news is hardly surprising, as Larry David confirmed his return earlier this year. However, given the state of flux at HBO following the merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery, nothing is a given these days. Fortunately, on Tuesday HBO issued a press release confirming Curb’s impending return. “Larry outdoes himself season after season and always manages to come back when the audience needs him most,” Amy Gravitt, Executive Vice President of HBO Programming, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled for him, Jeff Schaffer, and our phenomenal cast to continue making us laugh and cringe in equal measure.” Related Video David issued his own statement reacting to today’s announcement: “Playing the role of Larry David has been the g...
Keegan-Michael Key and Johnny Knoxville Are TV Has-Beens in Trailer for Hulu’s Reboot: Watch
If at some point over the past year or so, you’ve found yourself overwhelmed by the number of TV reboots, then you’re not alone. Keegan-Michael Key, Johnny Knoxville, and Judy Greer play a trio of bygone sitcom stars in Hulu’s aptly-titled forthcoming series Reboot, which gets its official trailer today. Things have gone downhill for Reed Sterling (Key), Bree Marie Larson (Greer), and Clay Barber (Knoxville) since they starred together on the 2000s family sitcom Step Right Up: Reed’s studies at Yale’s drama school aren’t enough to book him good jobs, Bree can only book bad low-budget projects, and Clay’s mainstream acting career has been cut short by a number of drug-related arrests. Still, a younger sitcom writer (Rachel Bloom) is adamant on rebooting Step Right Up for Hulu...
Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal Renewed for Second Season
HBO is shelving a lot of its original content as of late, but fortunately those cost cutting measures won’t impact Nathan Fielder’s brilliant series, The Rehearsal. Ahead of tonight’s season one finale, HBO has handed down a season two order for The Rehearsal. Not surprisingly, the network didn’t offer any sort of preview of what Fielder might have in story, because even they are in the dark. “We have no idea where season 2 will take us, and that is the delight of this boundary pushing show from a truly singular talent,” said Amy Gravitt, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, in a statement. Advertisement Related Video In our review of the early episodes of The Rehearsal’s first season, Robert Ham said the show cemented Fielder’s status as a comic visionary. “There aren’t many shows, ...
Dan Levy Joins Cast of Sex Education Season 4
Sex Education classes are almost back in session, and this time around, Dan Levy will be teaching a class of his own. Netflix has announced that the Schitt’s Creek star has joined the cast of the series for Season 4. The addition of the breakout comedian is just one of many changes in the Sex Ed world. When the show last ended, Moordale Secondary was shut down, Maeve (Emma Mackey) accepted an offer to study in the United States, and pretty much every star of the show became a breakout actor in their own right. In Season 4, Levy plays Thomas Molloy, a famous author who serves as Maeve’s US course tutor. Thaddea Graham (Doctor Who), Marie Reuther (Kamikaze), Felix Mufti, Anthony Lexa, Alexandra James, and Imani Yahshua are also joining the show’s cast. Advertisement ...
Bo Burnham Announces Inside (Deluxe) Triple-LP Box Set
It’s not time to go back outside just yet: Bo Burnham has today announced a deluxe box set of the music to Inside — his pandemic Netflix special from last year — as well as the recently-released The Inside Outtakes, which you can also watch on Netflix now. Inside (Deluxe) arrives on a triple-LP vinyl format, comprises songs like “Bezos I”, “All Eyes On Me,” “White Woman’s Instagram,” and all the other songs from Inside that made their way over to TikTok. In addition to the tracks you know and love, you’ll hear 13 new songs as well as 13 score tracks from both Inside and The Inside Outtakes. Burnham’s webstore will stock a limited number of autographed RGB-colored pressings, while Target and Urban Outfitters will each carry their own exclusive co...
Beavis and Butt-Head Are Quite the Catch in Preview Clip of Episode 3: Exclusive
Beavis and Butt-Head try to track down some chicks but prove to be quite the catch themselves in an exclusive new clip from Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head. The third episode of the revived series premieres tomorrow, August 11th on Paramount+, but to hold you over, you can check out 80 seconds of pure silliness below. The clip opens with everyone’s favorite butt munchers paddling down the river like Huck Finn (more like, ‘Suck my Finn,’ heh heh heh). Beavis is feeling a little snackish, and luckily he spots a tasty treat: a gummy worm, or so he thinks. What follows is a classic bit of slapstick that wouldn’t have been out of place in golden age silent movie. Check it out after the jump. So far, the revived series has been a mix of old pleasures and new surprises, including Beavis’ e...
Bandai Namco Announces “Live-Action” Pac-Man Film and Oh God We Hope He’s Animated
Pac-Man is a creature, we think: an all-mouth being who can do nothing to quench his infinite appetite no matter how much he eats, even as he is pursued by ghosts and trapped in a maze from which there is no escape. Bandai Namco wants to turn that premise into a family comedy, The Hollywood Reporter notes, announcing a “live-action” adaptation that will either haunt our dreams or ignore the meaning of the words “live-action.” Pac-Man will be based on an idea from Sonic the Hedgehog producer Chuck Williams, though it’s not known if he’s one of the people responsible for that terror beyond mortal comprehension, Sonic with teeth. No plot details are known and no talent is attached — the project doesn’t exist, except in the fevered imaginations of men who see...
Armando Iannucci to Create Superhero Spoof The Franchise for HBO
How does HBO feel about superhero movies? Well, one week after parent company Warner Bros. Discovery canceled the HBO Max-exclusive Batgirl film, the network has ordered The Franchise, a comedy series from Armando Iannucci that satirizes the making of a superhero flick. Written by Iannucci, Jon Brown, and Keith Akushie, The Franchise follows a movie crew hoping to make the next superhero blockbuster. Of course, now more than ever, we know that whether such a film will flop or flourish is not just about the story, but about the desires of a money-hungry industry. Brown serves as executive producer and showrunner of the series, and Marina Hyde is attached as another writer and executive producer. Sam Mendes is set to direct the pilot. Iannucci is no stranger to satir...
