The poster for ‘The Roast of Kevin Hart.’ (Netflix)
Kevin Hart is getting his own roast.
The comedian is going to be roasted live on Netflix during the final night of Netflix is a Joke Fest in Los Angeles. Fellow comedian Shane Gillis is set to host the event, which will air live to the streaming platform on May 10.
Hart took to Instagram to announce the roast and share his excitement over it.
“It’s going down MOTHER F******!!!!!!! This is what you want????? Ok FINE!!!!! Let’s get active then…. Just remember that I get the f****** MICROPHONE LAST!!!!!!” Hart captioned his post.
He continued, “There has never been a comedian that has sat in the chair ….. I will be the first …. I can take all of the hard punches…. Bring it B******!!!!!! I’m not even close to scared….. this is what I do m************ ….. let’s f****** gooooooooooooooo…… U better buckle up…. This will be the biggest and the best live event EVER!!!!!!!!!!!”
The Roast of Kevin Hart will be executive produced by Casey Patterson, Jeff Ross, Amy Zvi, Dave Becky and Hart.
A 2024 Netflix live event called The Roast of Tom Brady spent three weeks on the platform’s global top 10 chart, earning 19.2 million views during that time. To date, it has earned 26 million total views.
Selena Gomez and Jennifer Stone on the ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’ set. (Disney/Eric McCandless)
Harper Finkle and Alex Russo are reuniting.
Jennifer Stone is set to reprise her Wizards of Waverly Place role of Harper Finkle in the final season of its spinoff series Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.
Harper is the eccentric human best friend of Selena Gomez’s beloved wizard Alex Russo.
Disney announced earlier in April that Wizards Beyond Waverly Place will return for its final chapter this summer. Production on the new episodes started this month.
Gomez is set to make her directorial debut as she helms the premiere episode of this final chapter in the Russo family’s story. In addition to directing, Gomez will reprise her role of Alex over multiple episodes and continue executive producing.
Stone made a return to acting after she took a hiatus to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She graduated in 2019 with plans to resume acting full-time, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and she stepped into the emergency room and served on the front lines. Now, Stone balances ER shifts with her love of acting, according to a press release.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place stars David Henrie as Justin Russo and Janice LeAnn Brown as the young wizard Billie. Alkaio Thiele, Max Matenko, Taylor Cora and Mimi Gianopulos also make up the main cast.
This final chapter of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is being billed as a special four-part event.
“Billie, still reeling from losing Alex at the end of season 2, discovers that the only way to rescue her mother is to reunite with her long-lost father,” according to an official description from Disney. “As her family bands together to find Alex, Billie realizes that their combined power is the only way the Russos can defeat the evil plaguing them.”
Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas after performing an Argentine tango to ‘Cell Block Tango’ from ‘Chicago’ on season 34 of ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ (Disney/Eric McCandless)
Team Whark It is back together, but this time on the Broadway stage.
Dancing with the Stars professional dancer Mark Ballas is making his return to Broadway by joining his partner from season 34, Whitney Leavitt, in the Tony-winning revival of Chicago.
Ballas will take on the role of Billy Flynn in a four-week limited engagement that runs from April 6 to May 3. Leavitt will extend her time in the production once again and continue to play Roxie Hart throughout Ballas’ run in the show. The pair danced an Argentine tango to “Cell Block Tango,” one of the most popular songs in Chicago, during season 34 of Dancing with the Stars.
“This is a full-circle moment for me. One of the first shows I auditioned for after graduating musical theatre college was for the ensemble of Chicago in the West End in London,” Ballas wrote on Instagram. “I was 19 years old, new to the industry, learning how to pay my dues, accept rejection, and be told no. Twenty years later, I’m making my return to Broadway as Billy Flynn.”
Ballas previously made his Broadway debut in a production of Jersey Boys in 2016, staying with the show until it closed in January 2017. He then went on to star in Kinky Boots on Broadway in 2018.
“Hard work, persistence, dedication to the craft, and relentlessness really do pay off. Thank you to my musical theatre teachers for instilling this in me, and for the years of tough love,” Ballas wrote.
Leavitt also took to Instagram to share her excitement over Ballas’ casting.
“This secret was way too hard to keep! The incredible @markballas & I will be performing TOGETHER in @chicagomusical,” Leavitt wrote. “Can’t wait to perform on stage together again.”
