HBO’s hit drama is out in front with The White Lotus, Ted Lasso, Hacks and Only Murders in the Building running close behind
Succession is leading the way in this year’s Emmys race after today’s announcement that the acclaimed HBO drama picked up 25 nominations.
The hit show, which has previously won nine Emmys, was nominated for best drama series, with stars including Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin all receiving noms.
Continue reading...Contestants will enter a writers’ retreat and be given 30 days to write a novel while completing ‘live-wire’ challenges
Reality TV producers have exhausted singers, dancers, drag artists, potters, tailors, and beautiful young people hoping to find love. Now, it seems, the spotlight has fallen on writers. This week, a call has appeared on social media for contestants to apply to be on the pilot of a new show called America’s Next Great Author (ANGA).
Billed as “the groundbreaking reality TV show for writers”, ANGA will give its contestants one minute to pitch their novels to a panel of judges that includes New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds, Fox5 TV presenter Angie Goff, and stage writer and comedian Marga Gomez.
Continue reading...22-year-old breakout star on Netflix’s cheerleading show had pleaded guilty to crimes relating to child abuse images and soliciting sex from minors
Jerry Harris, the star of hit Netflix series Cheer, has been sentenced to 12 years behind bars in the US for crimes relating to child sexual abuse images and soliciting sex from minors.
Prosecutors had urged the lengthy sentence, saying that Harris’s status as a celebrity had enabled him to “persuade and entice” his young victims to engage in sexual conduct.
In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
Continue reading...Marta Kauffman will fund professorship in African and African American studies at her alma mater
The co-creator of the TV sitcom Friends is planning to donate $4m to an African and African American studies project because she’s so “embarrassed” by – and feels such “guilt” at – the white homogeneity of the characters on the classic coming of age series.
Marta Kauffman told the Los Angeles Times that she intends for her planned gift to fund the Marta F Kauffman ’78 Professorship in African and African American Studies at her alma mater, Brandeis University, a liberal arts college in Massachusetts.
Continue reading...Raymundo Garduno and Juan Francisco Aguilar, as well as six other people who were injured, were in van that flipped in desert
A traffic crash in Mexico last week killed two actors from an upcoming original series by Netflix and injured six other people, according to officials and media reports.
The killed actors, Raymundo Garduno and Juan Francisco Aguilar, were in a van that accidentally flipped Thursday in a patch of desert near the community of Mulege on the Baja California Sur peninsula. Other cast and crew members were hurt during the wreck, which reportedly occurred offset but during filming of the show The Chosen One.
Continue reading...Devey was made a CBE in 2009 for services to the transport industry and her charitable work
The former Dragons’ Den panelist and freight entrepreneur, Hilary Devey, has died aged 65.
She died on Saturday after a long illness in Morocco, where she had a property, said her publicist, Benjamin Webb.
Continue reading...Show shared final photo of cast and crew on final day of filming when ‘tears were shed’
Neighbours has shared a final photo of its cast and crew after filming wrapped on the last scene of the long-running Australian soap opera.
The show’s executive producer revealed tears were shed on the final day of filming but feels its 37-year run is an “incredible achievement” that should be celebrated.
Continue reading...Loose Women panellist Brenda Edwards says she was in ‘state of shock’ after finding out how son died
The music entrepreneur and YouTube star Jamal Edwards died from arrhythmia as a result of taking recreational drugs, his mother has said.
Edwards, who helped launch the careers of Dave and Ed Sheeran, died in February aged 31. Brenda Edwards, a singer and Loose Women panellist, said in a statement on Tuesday she was in a “state of shock” after finding out how he died.
Continue reading...Actor speaks at length for first time about supposed falling out with her ex-Sex and the City colleague
Sarah Jessica Parker has spoken at length for the first time about her supposed feud with former Sex and the City co-star Kim Cattrall. For six seasons, the pair starred together in the show, which focused on the lives of four New York women.
They went on to appear alongside each other in the two follow-up movie adaptations, but in recent years there has long been talk of a falling out between the two actors, largely fuelled by barbed statements Cattrall has made.
Continue reading...Open letter signed by more than 100 actors and public figures urges end to entertainment industry’s ‘entrenched’ ageism
Actors including Juliet Stevenson, Meera Syal, David Tennant and Zawe Ashton have called for better onscreen representation of women older than 45 to fight against the “entrenched” ageism of the entertainment industry.
In an open letter signed by more than 100 actors and public figures, the Acting Your Age Campaign (AYAC) called for equal representation in the UK between men and women over 45 and urged immediate action on a “parity pledge”.
Continue reading...Netflix spokesperson says season four’s ‘opening scene is very graphic’, which will include warning of violence towards children when it launches on Friday
Netflix has added a last-minute content warning to the opening episode of the latest season of Stranger Things, in wake of the school shooting in Texas that left 21 people dead, including 19 children.
The first episode of the show’s fourth season will premiere worldwide on Friday, just days after the mass shooting at Robb elementary school in Uvalde. The season reportedly opens with a telekinetic massacre that includes the depiction of several dead children covered in blood.
Continue reading...BBC Comedy development drive to fuel search for ‘relatable British characters’
The BBC will double the number of half-hour comedy pilots it makes and invest an extra £10m in the genre in a bid to find the next Fleabag or Motherland.
Sharing plans for the future of comedy at the corporation, the director of BBC Comedy, Jon Petrie, said his department was investing in its “development process”.
Continue reading...Actor starred as bodyguard Terry McCann in Minder and tough cop George Carter in The Sweeney
The actor Dennis Waterman – who starred in the TV shows Minder, The Sweeney and New Tricks – has died at the age of 74.
Waterman, best known for his role as the bodyguard Terry McCann in ITV’s Minder, had a showbiz career that spanned 60 years.
Continue reading...Los Angeles jury finds Kardashian family did not convince the E! network to cancel Chyna’s reality show Rob & Chyna
A Los Angeles jury has given a sweeping win to the Kardashian family in former reality TV star Blac Chyna’s lawsuit against them, finding that none of the Kardashians had defamed Chyna, nor did they interfere with her contract by convincing the E! network to cancel her show Rob & Chyna.
The four Kardashian defendants Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Khloé Kardashian and Kylie Jenner attended nearly the entire trial, but when the verdict was read all were in New York at the Met Gala.
Continue reading...Comedian says he does not let Parkinson’s disease dictate who he is, as he speaks of delight at accolade
Sir Billy Connolly said he does not let his Parkinson’s disease dictate who he is as he spoke of his honour at receiving this year’s Bafta fellowship.
The 79-year-old comedian, known as the Big Yin, will be celebrated for a career spanning more than five decades at the awards ceremony on 8 May. The fellowship is the highest Bafta accolade given to recognise outstanding and exceptional contribution in film, games or television.
Continue reading...Construction company confirms work has begun to knock down the two-storey house in south-east Melbourne
The residence of one of Australia’s most iconic TV duos, Kath & Kim, is being demolished.
Construction company Dig Dig Demolition confirmed to Guardian Australia that workers began knocking down the two-storey house in south-east Melbourne on Monday. Images and videos shot from inside the house show wood and debris strewn across the living room and roof tiles and bricks piled up in the back yard.
Continue reading...Louisiana college student found hidden audio recording device and told police she feared musician planted it there
Three years ago, Laine Hardy tasted superstardom by winning American Idol. Last week, the 21-year-old landed in the headlines for a different reason.
A college student in Hardy’s home state, Louisiana, looked under her dormitory bed, found a hidden audio recording device and told police she feared the musician planted it there.
Continue reading...Former player Johan Derksen appeared to make comments about historic drunken incident to amusement of presenter
The Netherlands has been forced again to face questions about attitudes to sexual violence towards women after one of the country’s most famous football pundits appeared to admit live on air to assaulting an unconscious woman with a candle 50 years ago.
Dutch prosecutors opened an investigation after Johan Derksen, 73, made the comments on Tuesday on the talkshow Today Inside, to the amusement of presenter Wilfred Genee and fellow pundit René van der Gijp.
In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support for rape and sexual abuse on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
Continue reading...Oscar-winning actor hits back at critics over negative reviews of her performance as Michelle Obama in drama series The First Lady
Viola Davis has responded to widespread criticism of her latest performance by stating that critics “serve no purpose”.
The Oscar-winning actor has received negative feedback from both critics and on social media for playing Michelle Obama in the Showtime series The First Lady. In an interview with the BBC, Davis called the response “incredibly hurtful”.
Continue reading...The standup comic, also known for voicing Iago in Disney’s animated Aladdin, has died after a long illness
Comedian and actor Gilbert Gottfried has died at the age of 67.
His family announced his death after a long illness via his Twitter page. Gottfried was known for his standup comedy and for roles in films including Aladdin and Problem Child.
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