Entertainment

76th Emmys: Emmy hosts Eugene and Dan Levy poke fun at the nominees during show opening

Disney/Mark Seliger

The 76th Emmy Awards took place in Los Angeles Sunday night, with Schitt’s Creek father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy hosting the festivities.  

The pair opened the show with jokes about how many movie stars were nominated for roles on streaming services, how they aren’t really hosts but “actors acting like hosts,” and how to pronounce their names, with Eugene noting that if things go badly, his name is pronounced “Martin Short.”

Saying it was a special night for him, Eugene talked about playing dads on TV and in movies, telling his son the “most rewarding dad role ever has been being your dad,” and then after a pause, adding, “…in Schitt’s Creek,” noting it earned him his first acting Emmy. 

There were also plenty of jokes about this year’s nominees. One of the biggest laughs came at the expense of The Bear, the most nominated comedy in history. Eugene said that while people would expect them to make a joke about whether The Bear was really a comedy, “In the true spirit of The Bear we will not be making any jokes.” 

They ended their monologue with warnings to winners about their speeches being too long, sharing that as a “cruel joke,” both of them, “two Canadians,” were responsible for playing the winners off.

“Canadians don’t like interrupting anybody, it goes against our nature,” Eugene said, with Dan adding, “Confrontation in general is anxiety inducing especially for my 77-year-old father. I don’t want to be an alarmist here but having to cut you off may kill this man.”

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Entertainment

Netflix reportedly wants a bite of ‘Hot Ones’

Sean Evans – Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Netflix is reportedly looking for a little spice: Variety says the streamer is looking to join forces with BuzzFeed to air live installments of First We Feast’s smash chicken wing eating show Hot Ones. 

The pop culture website owns the meme-generating hit series, which can be seen on YouTube.

According to the trade, the deal is in the early stages, but it would bring to the streamer a live version of the series that has host Sean Evans taking the Gauntlet of Death hot sauce challenge with various celebrities.

Evans and company have chowed down — and created viral interview moments — with celebrities ranging from Conan O’Brien to Gordon Ramsay to Sydney Sweeney, and made meme stars out of Jennifer Lawrence, Idris Elba and more thanks to their reactions to the spicy stuff. 

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Entertainment

Hulu reportedly plunks down huge check for Ben Stiller family comedy ‘Nutcrackers’

Stiller and Green (standing) with ‘Nutcrackers’ cast — Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for IMDb

Hulu has reportedly shelled out major cash to bring the Ben Stiller family comedy Nutcrackers to the streaming service. 

According to Deadline, the movie, which just debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, was worth eight figures for Hulu to stream exclusively. 

The Righteous Gemstones veteran David Gordon Green directed the comedy, which also stars Dead to Me‘s Linda Cardellini and the Fatal Attraction remake’s Toby Huss

The film has Stiller’s “city slicker” character having to relocate to rural Ohio to tend to his late sister’s four kids. According to the festival’s website, it is a “fish-out-of-water comedy that speaks to the hidden talents in each of us just waiting for a chance to shine.”

Nutcrackers will debut on Hulu around Christmas, according to the trade.

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Entertainment

Spooky season returns: Shudder releases new Season of Screams lineup

Shudder

Shudder, the streaming service for fans of horror movies, has released its lineup for this year’s Season of Screams, a “three-month celebration of the best in horror.”

This year will bring back its popular Yule log take — the hourlong lit pumpkin known as the Ghoul Log — as well as the Halloween Hotline, for those in need of horror movie recommendations, manned by the network’s head of programming, Samuel Zimmerman.

Each weekend also boasts exclusive horror movie premieres. The action kicks off Friday the 13th — naturally — with the flicks In A Violent Nature and Lake Bodom.

Sept. 20 starts “zombie weekend,” with the movies The Sadness and Undead. Director Damian McCarthy is celebrated as a “modern master” with his offerings Oddity and Caveat on the weekend of Sept. 27.

Oct. 4 celebrates the “found footage” subgenre with V/H/S/Beyond and Hell House LLC; Oct. 11 is dedicated to “horrifying households” with Daddy’s Head and Metamorphisis; the weekend of Oct. 18 is dubbed “shocking scourges” with the movies MadS and Virus: 32; Oct. 30 — or Devil’s Night, as it’s known, will screen Late Night with the Devil. 

Of course, Halloween will screen on Halloween night, and the Day of the Dead — Nov. 1 — will see Shudder celebrate with the Day of the Dead collection.

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Entertainment

AMC releases new teaser and poster for ‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol’

AMC

AMC released an all-new teaser to the spin-off The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol on Friday, plus a pair of posters teasing the onscreen reunion of Norman Reedus‘ and Melissa McBride‘s respective title characters.

The posters sport complimentary images: one shows Reedus’ character looming large in the frame, with McBride’s image smaller, in his center. McBride’s poster shows the opposite perspective.

Meanwhile, the new teaser shows Reedus’ Daryl fighting in France and his long-lost friend in country searching for him, amid the Franco zombie apocalypse. “I have come a very long way,” she’s heard saying in voice-over.

A tagline for the series teases “Fight to reunite,” because the pair won’t likely share the screen until this season winds up. But fear not, fans: The forthcoming third season of The Book of Daryl will have the pair fighting side-by-side in Spain. 

As reported, the third season is underway in Madrid with extensive location shooting planned in the Galicia, Aragón, Catalonia and Valencia regions.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol debuts Sept. 29 on AMC and AMC+.

 

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Entertainment

Reality Roundup: Devin Strader tries to tell his side, Julie Chen Moonves has COVID and more

Have no fear, your reality roundup is here! Here’s a look at what happened in the world of reality television this week:

The Bachelorette (ABC)
In a since-deleted video, Devin Strader sought to defend himself after it was revealed he abruptly called off his engagement to Jenn Tran once the cameras stopped rolling. He refuted claims that he broke up with Jenn over a “two-minute phone call” and that he refused to see a counselor, showing screenshots of private text messages and call logs from that time. On an episode of The Viall Files Thursday, Jenn said she felt “betrayed” and “disrespected” that Devin released the texts.

Big Brother (CBS)
Host Julie Chen Moonves was absent from the show’s live eviction episode Thursday night after she tested positive for COVID. The Talk co-host Jerry O’Connell stepped in for her. Chen Moonves, who used to co-host The Talk, called into to the show Thursday and gave O’Connell some tips. “When you go into my dressing room, go into the bathroom, on the second drawer to the left, there is a corset. I’m telling you Jerry, there is no way you’re going to fit into my dress tonight,” she joked. It’s the first time she hasn’t hosted since the show started in 2000.

Selling Sunset (Netflix)
The sun has set on a Selling Sunset season 8 reunion. Variety reports there will not be a reunion episode this season amid cast drama. There are numerous feuds between cast members — including one involving Chrishell Stause hitting back at castmate Nicole Young for spreading cheating rumors about Stause’s close friend Emma Hernan. Stause even criticized the show’s producers for airing the rumors without giving Hernan a chance to defend herself.

 

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Entertainment

‘Shōgun’ and ‘The Crown,’ ‘The Bear’ and ‘Only Murders’: A look ahead to Sunday night’s 76th Emmy Awards

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 series is 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.

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Entertainment

Weekend Watchlist: What’s new on streaming

Ready, set, binge! Here’s a look at some of the new movies and TV shows streaming this weekend:

Max
My Brilliant Friend: The fourth and final season of the coming-of-age drama series is available to watch.

Netflix
Emily in Paris: Emily is catching feelings and flights – all the way to Rome! Part two of season 4 is now streaming.

Uglies: Based on the popular young adult book series, Joey King stars in this new movie.

Hulu
The Old Man: Jeff Bridges is back and better than ever in season 2 of the drama series.

How to Die Alone: An airport employee survives an accidental brush with death in the feel-good comedy series.

Starz
Three Women: The New York Times bestselling book is now a limited series, and you can watch the premiere episode now.

That’s all for this week’s Weekend Watchlist – happy streaming!

 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Entertainment

Comedy legend Carol Burnett reflects on her illustrious career before the 76th Emmys

ABC News

Emmy nominee Carol Burnett is in contention to bring home the award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series on Sunday night at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards.

The Emmy vet sat down with ABC News as part of a 20/20 special The 76th Emmys: A Night of Firsts with Robin Roberts, which airs on ABC Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

At 91, the nomination for her role as Norma Dellacorte on the Apple TV+ series Palm Royale is nothing new for the comedy legend. It is her 25th nod and would be her eighth win if she were to bring home the award — she would also make history as the oldest woman to take home an acting Emmy. The late Betty White currently holds the title for her win at age 88.

Burnett shared that despite her 25 nominations, she still enjoys seeing the biggest names in television at the show. When asked who she’s looking forward to seeing, she responded, “Everybody. Yeah, I’m a stargazer.”

The Palm Royale star also shared advice for first-time nominees — a list on which names like Ryan Gosling are included this year — when the big moment comes and their category is called.

“Well, of course, you’re happy. And when your name’s called, I’ve always been surprised,” she said with a laugh. “Rather than saying, ‘Oh, I think I’m gonna get it,’ and then be disappointed. It’s always a happy surprise.”

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Entertainment

At Ewan McGregor’s Walk of Fame induction, Hayden Christensen salutes “best Jedi Master ever”

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

Ewan McGregor was honored Thursday with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and his Star Wars prequels and Obi-Wan Kenobi co-star Hayden Christensen didn’t let a little dismembering stop him from praising his “dear friend.” 

Christensen, who played Anakin Skywalker, the student of McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, recalled first meeting the Scottish actor and “coolest person on the planet” on the set of 2002’s Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.

“[H]e exclaims my name with more enthusiasm than I think I’d ever heard it spoken with before,” Christensen reminisced. “He just gives me the biggest hug. Like, just the most disarmingly warm embrace.”

He “immediately” knew he was “meeting someone truly special … and that I was meeting a friend.” 

He deadpanned, “A friend who would later go on to chop off both my legs and leave me for dead on the side of a volcano, but I guess I kind of had that coming,” drawing a huge laugh from McGregor and the assembled crowd.

At the climax of 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Kenobi dismembered Anakin in a lightsaber duel after his student turned to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader.

Christensen closed by calling McGregor the “best Jedi Master ever,” saying, “It’s been an honor and a thrill to get to work with you, and swing a lightsaber with you, and … call you my friend. I love you, brother.”

The pair embraced after the tribute.

McGregor said he was touched that his star — the 2,789th such plaque — was mere feet from that of another Star Wars legend. “I’m so moved that I’m close to my old friend Carrie Fisher,” he said. “That means a great deal to me too.”

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