Paul ryan and mitch mcconnell

The new Broadway production of Parade starring Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond has completed casting, with rehearsals beginning today for the February 21 preview. Platt and Diamond will lead a 33-person cast that features Alex Joseph Grayson as ‘Jim Conley,’ Sean Allan Krill as ‘Governor Slaton,’ Howard McGillin as ‘Old Soldier/Judge Roan,’ and Paul Alexander Nolan as ‘Hugh Dorsey.’ They will be joined by Jay Armstrong Johnson as ‘Britt Craig,’ Kelli Barrett as ‘Mrs. Phagan,’ Courtnee Carter as ‘Angela,’ Eddie Cooper as ‘Newt Lee,’ Erin Rose Doyle as ‘Mary Phagan,’ Manoel Felciano as ‘Tom Watson,’ Danielle Lee Greaves as ‘Minnie McKnight,’ Douglas Lyons as ‘Riley,’ and Jake Pedersen as ‘Frankie Epps.’ The cast is completed by Florrie Bagel as ‘Nurse,’ Stacie Bono as ‘Sally Slaton,’ Max Chernin as ‘Mr. Turner,’ Emily Rose DeMartino as ‘Essie & Others,’ Christopher Gurr as ‘Luther Rosser/Mr. Peavy,’ Beth Kirkpatrick as ‘Nina Formby,’ Ashlyn Maddox as ‘Monteen … [Read more...] about Broadway’s ‘Parade’ With Ben Platt & Micaela Diamond Completes Casting

In the teaser for Reboot — Steve Levitan ’s upcoming show-within-a-show comedy for Hulu — a writer character played by Paul Reiser is surprised to see how many persons of color populate the writers room for a rebooted sitcom. Among other things he questions is whether there are any “Eskimos” on staff. How Hollywood grapples with changing norms and increased inclusivity is just one topic Levitan hopes to address in his new meta comedy premiering Sept. 20. The single-camera laugher, which also stars Keegan-Michael Key , Johnny Knoxville , Judy Greer , Rachel Bloom, Calum Worthy and Krista Marie Yu, follows Hulu (yes, Hulu) as it reboots a family comedy from the 2000s. Actors from the original return to reprise their roles. “I know a lot of people in comedy think the pendulum has swung too far, being politically correct and woke and all that,” Levitan told reporters today at the Television Critics Tour. “We are all so afraid, people are so ready to cancel … [Read more...] about ‘Reboot’ On Hulu To Address Political Correctness In Writers Room; Pendulum May Have Swung Too Far, Says Creator Steve Levitan – TCA

EXCLUSIVE: Aimee Carrero ( The Menu ) is set to lead the buddy action-comedy Code 3 opposite Rainn Wilson and Lil Rel Howery . Production is set to begin in February. She will portray Jessica, a newbie paramedic who is eager to learn is well-trained, and is superb under pressure. In the 24-hour shift where she’s training to replace Randy (Wilson), she’s in for an incredible day of surprises and realizations. The film, by director Christopher Leone, follows a day in the life of two overworked, underpaid, and nearly burnt-out paramedics. One EMT is so burnt-out by the job that he is forcing himself to resign, though he first must embark on one last 24-hour shift to train his replacement. Everything that could happen on the job, from the mundane to the extreme, then happens on this final, exhilarating day. The script for Code 3 hails from Leone and former paramedic Patrick Pianezza. Angela Cardon will oversee the project for Wayfarer Studios and will serve … [Read more...] about Aimee Carrero To Lead Buddy Film ‘Code 3’ Opposite Rainn Wilson & Lil Rel Howery

CNN will start showing the post-show Overtime segments from HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher as part of its Friday edition of CNN Tonight . The segments will start this Friday at 11:30 PM ET. The Overtime segments have up to now been posted online and promoted to viewers of Real Time . They feature Maher and his guests continuing their discussion on a range of topics and answering viewer questions. The scheduling of the segments is the latest move by CNN Worldwide chairman and CEO Chris Licht to bolster the network’s primetime and late-night lineup. He has not yet named a permanent show for the 9 PM ET timeslot, and sources say that one of the ideas considered has been to schedule a non-traditional host, such as a comedian, for that time period. But a range of options have been considered. Licht told the Los Angeles Times, “We are in conversations with culturally relevant individuals from the worlds of entertainment, sports and comedy who can bring fresh and unique … [Read more...] about CNN To Show Bill Maher’s ‘Overtime’ Segments As Part Of Friday Night Programming

Award-winning writer, producer, comedian, and actor Quinta Brunson , creator of ABC and Warner Bros. Television’s TV series Abbott Elementary , will receive the ICG Publicists ( International Cinematographers Guild , IATSE Local 600) 2023 Television Showperson Award. The Television Showperson of the Year Award honors a person, persons, or company whose creative accomplishments in the formulation, development, production or presentation of projects for television best represents that special spirit traditionally defined as showmanship. Previous recipients include Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi, Ava DuVernay, Greg Berlanti, Ryan Murphy, John Landgraf, Ted Sarandos, Shonda Rhimes, and Chuck Lorre, among others. Brunson will be honored at the 60th Annual ICG Publicists Awards luncheon at The Beverly Hilton on Friday, March 10, 2023. The announcement was made today by Tim Menke and Sheryl Main, ICG Publicists Awards Chairs. “As publicists we applaud Quinta … [Read more...] about Quinta Brunson To Be Honored With 2023 Television Showperson Award at the 60th Annual ICG Publicists Luncheon

Getty Abigail Breslin 's dad had died from COVID, and the actress has shared her grief. The "Zombieland" star posted 78-year-old Michael Breslin passed away Friday, adding, "Hard to write this. Harder than I thought. I'm in shock and devastation ... my sweet, perfect, amazing, heroic, wonderful dada passed away after my family and I said goodbye. It was COVID-19 that cut my sweet daddy’s life too short." Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media. Michael had been suffering from COVID this month and his condition deteriorated ... he was eventually placed on a ventilator and several days ago lost consciousness. 24-year-old Abigail's siblings, Ryan and Spencer , also shared thoughts about their dad. Getty Michael worked in telecommunications and worked as a computer programmer and a consultant. He was 78. RIP … [Read more...] about Abigail Breslin’s Dad Dead at 78 From COVID

Kim Kardashian left for Minnesota last night to see Kris Humphries ... and sources connected with Kim tell TMZ she is conflicted over the divorce. We got pictures of Kim as she made her way through the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport at around 5:30 AM local time. We're told Kim flew commercial and was traveling with the guy in the photo ( above, left ) who appeared to be a bodyguard. According to our sources, Kim booked the flight very last minute ( see her below at LAX ) because she felt like she owed it to Kris to talk things through with him face-to-face. We're told no reality show cameras were involved. Our sources tell us ... Kim has been saying even before she filed for divorce that she wasn't sure about ending the marriage. As we first reported, she was crying on and off last weekend before she decided to pull the trigger. Sources say it's definitely not accurate to call this a reconciliation ... or even an attempt at one ... but the door is … [Read more...] about Kim Kardashian — Conflicted Over Divorce, Flies to Minnesota

EXCLUSIVE : Fisk University made history earlier this year by becoming the first HBCU gymnastics team to compete at an NCAA event. The Nashville school and its team will now be the subject of a docuseries from filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper and wiip . Flipped (w/t) will follow college gymnastics’ only all BIPOC team as they navigate the pressures of their first season while challenging the stereotypes and norms in women’s athletics. With no university gym of their own, Coach Corrinne Tarver and her gymnastics team at Fisk University, consisting primarily of first-year college students, aim to take on the best in NCAA gymnastics without mitigating or changing who they are as women of color. The series features access to the coaches, student athletes, parents, and administrators at Fisk University and the trials and triumphs of HBCU sports. The team, which included several Division-I athletes who de-committed from high-profile programs, took the mat at the 2023 … [Read more...] about Fisk University, The First HBCU Gymnastics Team To Compete At NCAA Level, Leaps Into Docuseries From Deborah Riley Draper & Wiip

EXCLUSIVE: Independent studio wiip has preemptively acquired An Honest Man , an upcoming novel by Michael Koryta , to develop as a television drama series, with Koryta attached to pen the adaptation. An Honest Man tells the story of Israel Pike, a man just released from prison for killing his own father, who returns to his ancestral island home in northern Maine and quickly becomes the primary suspect when seven men, including two Senate rivals and the prosecutor who sent Pike to prison, are found dead aboard a yacht drifting offshore. Lt. Jenn Salazar of the Maine State Police takes the lead in the investigation on Salvation Point Island, operating with secrets of her own to protect. The novel will be published by Mulholland Books July 25, 2023. wiip’s Paul Lee, Mark Roybal and Nate Winslow will executive produce alongside Koryta. During his tenure at 20th Century Fox, Roybal acquired Koryta’s Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021) which starred Angelina Jolie and … [Read more...] about Wiip To Develop ‘An Honest Man’, Upcoming Book By Michael Koryta, For Television

EXCLUSIVE : Luke Hemsworth ( Westworld ) has been tapped for the title role in Gunner , a new action pic from director Dimitri Logothetis ( Jiu Jitsu , Kickboxer: Retaliation ). The film written by The Fast and the Furious scribe Gary Scott Thompson follows Special forces veteran Lee Gunner (Hemsworth) as he takes his two boys on a camping trip where the boys stumble upon a fentanyl lab and are kidnapped by drug runners. Unfortunately for the drug runners, Lee will stop at nothing to get his boys back safely, going up against not only the criminal cartel, but the FBI and local police as well, using the full force of his deadly abilities to reunite his family. Joel Shapiro ( Killerman ) will produce alongside Logothetis, magiCity Studios and Acme Rocket Fuel. Hemsworth portrayed Westworld Security Head Ashley Stubbs across all four seasons of HBO’s sci-fi drama Westworld and last summer returned for a cameo in Thor: Love and Thunder , having first … [Read more...] about Luke Hemsworth To Star In Action Pic ‘Gunner’ From ‘Kickboxer’ Franchise’s Dimitri Logothetis