TV
Will Forte Returns to SNL: The Five Best Sketches
Will Forte isn’t one of those Saturday Night Live stars who went on to superstardom, like Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, or Eddie Murphy, nor was he ever really a spotlight player who remained a fixture even after he left the show, like Kristen Wiig or Bill Hader. As he alluded to in the opening monologue of his first SNL hosting gig this weekend, most of the people he used to work with on the show have already returned to host: Wiig, Hader, Andy Samberg, Seth Meyers, frequent co-conspirator Jason Sudeikis, and even fellow weirdo Fred Armisen. Saving the best for “way last,” as he put it in his monologue, is typical of Forte’s actual tenure on the show, which was long (eight seasons), distinguished (the vast majority of Forte-focused sketches are very funny), and at his own pace. As such, his...
Sundance Review: We Need to Talk About Cosby Unravels the Man and the Monster
This review is part of our coverage of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. The Pitch: For fifty years, Bill Cosby was America’s Dad, a trailblazer for Black culture on film and television, and comedy. I Spy, The Electric Company, The Cosby Show: All pioneering examples of Black excellence and a guiding light to generations of Black people who yearned to see themselves depicted on screen with grace and intelligence. And then, we learned about the man under those comfy sweaters: someone with credible accusations of sexual assault and rape of dozens of women. For standup comedian W. Kamau Bell, and many Black people across America who’d grown up revering Cosby, those accusations were a tough pill to swallow. What do you do when a man whom you’d idolized, someone who carries seismic importan...
Foo Fighters Head to Fraggle Rock on New Song “Fraggle Rock Rock”: Stream
Dance your cares away because Foo Fighters have released their new Fraggle Rock-inspired single, the appropriately titled “Fraggle Rock Rock.” It appears on the soundtrack to Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, which premiered on Apple TV+ today. Dave Grohl and co. are clearly having the time of their lives on the irresistibly catchy tune, wailing, “‘Cause everybody here gotta shout till we all break out/ Rock, rock, Fraggle Rock/ We’re gonna rock our way to freedom/ Gonna run right back and see ’em/ Gonna flip, flop, skippity hop/ Back to Fraggle Rock,” over scorching guitars on the deliriously fun chorus. Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock features the classic characters Red Fraggle, Gogo Fraggle, Mokey Fraggle, Wembley Fraggle, Boober Fraggle, and Uncle Traveling Matt. All 13 episodes of t...
Pete Davidson and Colin Jost Are Turning a Staten Island Ferry into a Performance Venue
The kings of Staten Island are bringing a piece of their kingdom to the masses. Earlier this week, Saturday Night Live stars Pete Davidson and Colin Jost teamed up to buy an abandoned Staten Island Ferry, with the hope of turning it into a performance venue. According to a report by Vulture, the pair joined forces with comedy club owner Paul Italia to bid anonymously on the vessel in an online auction organized by the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services. While the bidding began at $125,000, the funny buddies ultimately topped all other offers by paying $280,100 for the ferry, which is named after President John F. Kennedy. Davidson, Jost, and their partner aim to eventually turn the ferry into a 5,200-person venue ideal for music, comedy, and more — but only a...
Louie Anderson: 8 Great Moments to Remember the Iconic Comedian By
All the great comedians derive most of their comedy from a strong sense of self-knowledge, and the late Louie Anderson is a great example of this. The veteran comedian, host, and actor’s career experienced some eclectic twists and turns over the years, including a later-in-life foray into prestige TV. But his humble, sly, and sharp comedy about everything, but more often than not about his weight, was a constant throughout the years. Below are a collection of clips that hopefully highlight just what made him so memorable as a comedian and as a human being — one with a keen eye for a punchline, but who rarely punched down. Tonight Show Debut (1984) [embedded content] Related Video Johnny Carson gave so many iconic comedians their start, and Anderson was no exception. This set features a num...
South Park Drops Majestic Orchestral Performance of “Gay Fish”: Watch
Cue the violins and jam a juicy fishstick in your mouth: Ahead of the February 2nd premiere of South Park’s 25th season, the rudest boys in Colorado have created something majestic — a sweeping orchestral performance of the SP original, “Gay Fish.” This iconic tune from Season 13, Episode 5 was sung by a character named Kanye West, who, after a full episode of not understanding a joke about fishsticks, had just discovered, to his great relief, that not only was he an aquatic vertebrate, but he was a homosexual one at that. The episode ended with him happily humping his way through the ocean. This new rendition features a 30-piece orchestra — 29 real humans and Cartman, judging from the video. With classically crisp diction, the choir soars through the phrases, “Gay fish/ Mot...
“Once You Rock, You Just Rock”: Composer Kevin Kiner on Capturing the Hair Metal Vibes of Peacemaker
If you’re watching a James Gunn project, you can expect a few things going in: An arch, darkly comic tone, characters as acerbic as they are morally questionable, and lots and lots (and lots and lots) of needle-drops. For Peacemaker, Gunn’s spinoff of last year’s endearing revamp of The Suicide Squad, his musically-literate mind zeroed in on one very specific genre: ’80s Scandinavian hair metal. After all, it’s pretty much the only type of music Christopher Smith, aka Peacemaker (John Cena) will listen to, the kind of thrashing, ballad-heavy stuff that fuels his flag-waving antihero. It’s suffused into every aspect of the show’s fabric, from Cena (in his thighty-whities) singing along to the Quireboys’ “I Don’t Love You Anymore” in Episode 1 to the stone-faced opening sequen...
Iron Chef Reboot Headed to Netflix
A new generation of Iron Chef is in the works at Netflix. According to a report by Variety, the new iteration of the classic culinary competition will be titled Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend, and will seek to crown a new Iron Chef using a “supersized approach” to the original’s pioneering format. “It’s been called the toughest culinary challenge a chef will ever experience. This is where world-class cuisine meets high-octane sports,” promises a release. Each episode will feature Challenger Chefs facing off against a roster of all-new Iron Chefs in a revamped Kitchen Stadium. At the end of each week, the most successful Challenger Chef will head to the grand finale showdown for a chance to be named the series first Iron Legend. Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend will be produced by K...
Godzilla TV Series Coming to Apple TV+
The MonsterVerse is expanding to the small screen. Fresh off the franchise’s 2021 film Godzilla vs. Kong, Apple TV+ has ordered a live-action series centered on Godzilla and the Titans. Per Deadline, the as-yet-untitled series will be produced by Legendary Television and executive produced by Matt Fraction and showrunner Chris Black. As for its plot, the show offers a human twist on the monster saga, following the journey of a family living among the Titans. Throughout the series, they’ll uncover a buried family history linking them to the government agency Monarch. Legendary Studios’ Monsterverse saga kicked off in 2014 with Godzilla and went on to produce 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Godzilla vs. Kong. Advertisement Related Video T...
Joshua Jackson to Star in Fatal Attraction TV Remake
Back in November, Paramount+ announced a remake of Fatal Attraction that’ll build the 1987 psychosexual thriller into an episodic series. Today, the studio announced that they’ve found their Dan Gallagher in Joshua Jackson. Jackson will star opposite Lizzy Caplan as Alex, a woman who becomes obsessed with Dan, a successful and married lawyer, after the two have a brief affair. With the added airtime that a limited series allows, the Fatal Attraction remake has been described as “a deep-dive reimagining of the classic psychosexual thriller and ’80s cultural touchstone [that] will explore fatal attraction and the timeless themes of marriage and infidelity, through the lens of modern attitudes towards strong women, personality disorders, and coercive control.” Alexandra Cunning...
Of Course Jason Mantzoukas Voices Tommy Lee’s Penis in Hulu’s Pam & Tommy
In perhaps one of the most impeccable voice casting moves in recent memory, Jason Mantzoukas will be providing the voice of a penis. More specifically, he’ll be voicing the genitalia of Tommy Lee in Pam & Tommy, Hulu’s forthcoming limited series about the whirlwind romantic relationship between the Mötley Crüe drummer and his ex-wife, Pamela Anderson. A talking penis might be a first for Hulu, but considering Mantzoukas’ unforgettable appearances in shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Place, and Parks and Recreation — and we mean this with the utmost respect — he’ll do a really great job voicing a penis. Apparently, the second episode of Pam & Tommy includes a scene during which Lee consults his schlong for advice about love, because that approach has never failed anybody ...
A Sexual Predator Barely Bothered to Hide in Official Trailer for We Need to Talk About Cosby: Watch
At the time of his 2018 trial, many people were surprised to learn that Bill Cosby was an alleged sexual predator who had been accused of drugging, raping, or sexually assaulting more than 60 women. But as director W. Kamau Bell points out in the new official trailer for We Need to Talk About Cosby, the disgraced comedian barely bothered to hide what he was doing. The four-part documentary series premieres January 30th on Showtime. Bell dredges up footage of Cosby being interviewed on national television, joking about slipping someone a “Spanish Fly. The girl would drink it and — hello, America!” He also shows a now-infamous clip from the The Cosby Show, in which Cosby’s character Dr. Huxtable adds a drug into his barbecue sauce that makes people “get all huggy-buggy.” One i...
