Jean Smart kicks off ‘SNL”s 50th season with Jelly Roll; Ariana Granda, Michael Keaton coming back, too
Disney/Frank Micelotta
Saturday Night Livehas revealed that Jean Smart will be the first guest host of the show’s 50th season on Sept. 28. It will mark her debut on the stage of Studio 8H.
Smart and her HBO show Hacks were honored Sunday at the 76th Emmy Awards with an upset win for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Smart picking up her sixth trophy.
Incidentally, Jelly Roll, who was featured in the Emmys in memoriam statement, will be Smart’s musical guest.
SNL also announced that stand-up comic Nate Bargatze is returning with Saturday Night Live veteran Coldplay on Oct. 5; Wicked star Ariana Grande will be Oct. 12’s guest host, with Stevie Nicks as her musical act.
The Oct. 19 show will feature Michael Keaton, with Billie Eilish returning as musical guest, while Nov. 2 show will welcome back John Mulaney, with Chappell Roan making her SNL debut.
On Thursday, Paramount+ dropped the trailer to Dear Santa, the Christmas family comedy starring Jack Black and brought to you by Peter and Bobby Farrelly, the siblings behind the smash hits Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary.
As reported, the film centers on a boy named Liam (Robert Timothy Smith) who writes to Santa for proof he exists, but, as the trailer narrates, “Liam is a crappy speller.”
To that end, his letter addressed instead to “Satan” finds its way due south of the North Pole — and the other guy in red shows up, to Liam’s surprise.
“Who did you expect?” Black says as the other guy, complete with horns on his head. “In the movies the reindeer has usually have the antlers, not you,” Liam replies.
Black’s character offers Liam three wishes in exchange for his soul — a bargain he insists genies “stole” from him. “You ain’t never had a friend like me!” Black growls happily, adding, “OK, that I may have stolen from Aladdin: Now we’re even.”
However, Liam proves “incorruptible,” even when Satan grants him riches and a bro hug from Post Malone, playing himself.
Along the way, Liam tries to get the Devil to break good: “What about doing something out of kindness?” he offers. “I don’t know what you just said — I mean I know all the words, but I just never heard them in that order,” Black retorts.
Dear Santa hits Paramount+ for free, and digital platforms for rent or purchase, on Nov. 25.
Alan Ritchson‘s hulking hero Jack Reacher will return for a fourth season, Prime Video announced on Wednesday.
The early renewal comes as the show’s third season is still in production.
The streamer noted in the announcement that the second season of the series based on author and show co-producer Lee Child‘s beloved investigator was the most viewed 2023 release on Prime Video.
“Reacher has become a phenomenon that continues to resonate with our global customers beyond our wildest expectations and we are thrilled to bring the series back for an additional season,” said Vernon Sanders, head of television for Amazon MGM Studios. He added, “We are looking forward to more action and adventure from the immensely talented team behind the series.”
The third season of the action-packed drama series will be based on the seventh book in Child’s bestselling series, Persuader. “Reacher must go undercover to rescue an informant held by a haunting foe from his past,” Prime Video teases.
Maria Sten will return for season 3, joined by Anthony Michael Hall, Sonya Cassidy, Johnny Berchtold, Brian Tee, Roberto Montesinos, Olivier Richters and Daniel David Stewart.
Meanwhile, as reported, the streamer is also developing a spin-off series centering on Sten’s Frances Neagley, one of Reacher’s allies.
Anna Sawai, Hiroyuki Sanada in Shōgun — FX/Katie Yu
ABC is presenting the 76th annual Emmy Awards on Sunday, hosted by Eugene Levy and his son, Dan Levy — Schitt’s Creek Emmy winners both and the first father-son duo to host the show.
FX’s Shōgun leads the pack for drama with 25 nominations, while another FX show, The Bear, leads the comedy category with 23 — despite the fact that pretty much nobody, except apparently the Television Academy, thinks the series is a comedy.
Shōgun is already a big winner: It led the recent Creative Arts Emmys with 14 wins, including Outstanding Guest Actor in a drama for Nestor Carbonell. In fact, its performance broke Game of Thrones‘ record for the most Emmys won by a show in a single year.
In the drama category, the seriesis up for more trophies with awards-night mainstay The Crown; the acclaimed video game adaptation Fallout; Mr. and Mrs. Smith; The Gilded Age; The Morning Show; Slow Horses; and the sci-fi book adaptation 3 Body Problem.
As for comedy, The Bear is in a cook-off against previous winners Abbott Elementary, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Hacks, in addition to Palm Royale, What We Do in the Shadows, Reservation Dogs and Only Murders in the Building.
The Bear also sizzled at the Creative Arts Emmys, taking seven, including one for Outstanding Guest Actress for Jamie Lee Curtis.
The 76th Emmys could see some records set, too. According to factoids compiled by VegasInsider.com, if he takes home a trophy Sunday night, Robert Downey Jr., nominated for playing three roles on HBO’s The Sympathizer, could be the first actor ever to win an Oscar, a Daytime Emmy and a Primetime Emmy in the same year.
Abbott Elementary star and creator Quinta Brunson could become the first Black actress to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category two times. But if Selena Gomez bags her first-ever acting trophy for Only Murders In The Building, she could be just the second Latina performer to win in that category, after America Ferrera.
