Jean Smart calls on networks to donate to fire relief instead of airing awards shows
Jake Giles Netter/Max
Hacks star Jean Smart is calling on TV networks to reconsider airing any upcoming awards shows in light of the Los Angeles wildfires.
“ATTENTION!” Smart wrote in an Instagram post. “With ALL due respect, during Hollywood’s season of celebration, I hope any of the networks televising the upcoming awards will seriously consider NOT televising them and donating the revenue they would have garnered to the victims of the fires and the firefighters.”
The Critics Choice Awards have already been postponed from Jan. 12 to Jan. 26 due to the fires, while Oscar nominations have been delayed from Jan. 17 to Jan. 19.
Numerous Hollywood productions have been halted – including Smart’s TV show Hacks – as multiple fires continue to burn in the Los Angeles area. Thousands have been forced to evacuate and at least five people have died.
This is heavy: Back to the Future: The Musical will officially close on Broadway on Jan. 5, 2025.
The musical won an Olivier Award in the U.K. — where it has been playing for four years — and sold $80 million in tickets over its 18 months and over 500 performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City. After it pulls up stakes on the Great White Way, it will be headed to Germany in the 2025-26 season.
Back to the Future: The Musical currently stars Tony Award winner Roger Bart as Doc Brown, Casey Likes playing Marty McFly, Evan Alexander Smith as George McFly, Liana Hunt as Lorraine Baines, Nathaniel Hackmann as Biff Tannen and Jelani Remy as Goldie Wilson/Marvin Berry.
Comedian and actor Jimmy O. Yang takes the lead in Hulu’s new adaptation of Charles Yu‘s bestselling book Interior Chinatown, which is now streaming.
Yang plays Willis Wu, a waiter in a Chinese restaurant whose everyday life is as a background character trapped in a police procedural called Impossible Crimes Unit, who longs to find his way into the larger story.
“Taking the lead for the first time in a TV show, that’s metaphorically and ironically almost part of the journey that Willis is trying to go through,” Yang tells ABC Audio. “I’ve been in bit parts. I’ve been in guest star supporting parts. And this is finally the first time that I … get to take the lead.”
Helping him along is mysterious Detective Lana Lee, played by Chloe Bennet. “One of my first parts ever, I played Chinese teenager number one on Marvel’s Agents of Shield, where Chloe was the star,” Yang says with a laugh. “And I didn’t get to meet Chloe because she … wasn’t even on set that day.”
Bennet’s Lee walks into Willis’ restaurant — and life — in a glamorous, slow-motion shot set to “What a Difference a Day Made” by Dinah Washington.
She saw the shot differently. “Having that dramatic entrance, are you kidding? We also played the music and the wind. Actually, I actually hate shooting those things,” Bennet revealed, as her co-star Ronny Chieng protested.
She insists, “It was embarrassing. I trip on things. I’m awkward … I don’t like having that moment, because there’s so much pressure,” Bennet insisted.
“And I had to do that a lot on Shield with like big superhero stuff, and those were the days I [was] the most nervous … because it’s embarrassing because you’re supposed to look cool.”
A trailer for Meghan Markle‘s new lifestyle series has been released.
On Thursday, Netflix released the official trailer for the Duchess of Sussex’s new series, With love, Meghan.
The trailer shows Meghan baking in the kitchen, designing flower arrangements at home and sharing moments with famous friends including Mindy Kaling and Roy Choi.
“I’ve always loved taking something pretty ordinary and elevating it,” Meghan says in the trailer. “Surprising people with moments that let them know I was really thinking of them.”
“I’m going to share some little tips and tricks … and how you can incorporate these practices every day,” she adds in another clip.
According to a press release, the series, which is produced by the Duchess of Sussex, “reimagines the genre of lifestyle programming, blending practical how-to’s and candid conversation with friends, new and old.”
“Meghan shares personal tips and tricks, embracing playfulness over perfection and highlights how easy it can be to create beauty, even in the unexpected,” the press release states. “She and her guests roll up their sleeves in the kitchen, the garden, and beyond, and invite you to do the same.”
Meghan also shared the short trailer in an Instagram post about the series — her second Instagram post on her new @Meghan account — writing in the caption, “I have been so excited to share this with you!”
“I hope you love the show as much as I loved making it,” she added. “Wishing you all a fantastic new year! Thanks to our amazing crew and the team @netflix. Beyond grateful for the support – and fun! As ever, Meghan.”
The new series is the latest produced by Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, and their production company, Archewell Productions. Michael Steed will serve as the show’s director.
With love, Meghan will be available to stream on Netflix on Jan. 15.
