Saturday night live cold open

EXCLUSIVE: Saturday Night Live ’s editorial crew has said yes in a big way to its first-ever union contract at the Lorne Michaels -led NBC late-night show. Five days after the Editors Guild and NBCUniversal reached a tentative deal to advert an April 1 strike, the 20-plus SNL editorial crew unanimously voted last night to ratify the agreement. The post-production team and guild reps met virtually Wednesday for the vote, I hear. “The solidarity and bravery of this crew are just so impressive,” Cathy Repola , National Executive Director of the Editors Guild, said of the vote and the team upon ratification of the inaugural deal. “They fought not just to improve their own working lives; they have also set a standard that will benefit all those who follow in their footsteps at this TV comedy institution.” “It was an honor to work with them on reaching this significant agreement.” Unveiled on March 17 after about a week of last-ditch and sometimes tense … [Read more...] about ‘SNL’ Editorial Crew Ratify Deal To Avert Strike; Late-Night Show Will Go On With Inaugural  Contract

Your first thought after seeing Bad Cinderella , the latest musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber , is, well, she isn’t that bad. For better and worse. The musical, energetically directed by Laurence Connor, opens on Broadway tonight with quite a reputation: We’ve heard it was lambasted by critics in London (it wasn’t). That Andrew Lloyd Webber himself trashed it (he didn’t). The truth: Bad Cinderella , known as plain old Cinderella during an abbreviated London run that had the dreadful timing to coincide with the Covid pandemic (that was Lloyd Webber’s point when he lamented opening the show then), is a musical that upends and modernizes the age-old tale with an irreverent, knowing tone meant to smirk away the old lessons and replace them with new ones – with morals, as in the moral of the story, that more closely aligned with today’s thinking. What, you’ve seen this before, maybe when it was called Wicked ? Into the Woods ? Six ? There is no shortage of … [Read more...] about ‘Bad Cinderella’ Broadway Review: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Latest Could Use Some Badness

EXCLUSIVE: Mary J. Blige is back at Lifetime to executive produce two new original movies inspired by her biggest hits — Mary J. Blige’s Real Love and Mary J. Blige’s Strength of a Woman . The flicks will premiere on back-to-back Saturdays, beginning June 10 at 8 p.m. The movies are headlined by Ajiona Alexus ( Empire , 13 Reasons Why ) and Da’Vinchi ( BMF, All American ) with Princess Davis, Austin Anozie, Shiraine Haas and Garfield Wilson rounding out the casts. Blige serves as an executive producer on both original films through her own production banner, Blue Butterfly with Ashaunna K. Ayars and Q. Nicole Jackson as co-producers. Mary J. Blige’s Real Love follows 18-year-old Kendra (Alexus) as she sets off on her own for the first time at an HBCU in North Carolina. Attending on a scholarship, Kendra is determined to focus on school while balancing work study and keeping things professional with Ben (Da’Vinchi), her photo class partner. Despite … [Read more...] about Mary J. Blige Books Two More Lifetime Original Movies Inspired By Her Music

EXCLUSIVE : Hot on the heels of their historic Oscars sweep with Everything Everywhere All at Once and The Whale , A24 has set the cast for Y2K , a dial-up disaster comedy to be directed for the studio by SNL alum Kyle Mooney . Jaeden Martell ( It ), West Side Story breakout Rachel Zegler and Julian Dennison ( Deadpool 2 ) lead a stacked ensemble that also includes Lachlan Watson ( Chilling Adventures of Sabrina ), Mason Gooding ( Scream VI ), 5x Billboard Music Award-winner The Kid Laroi, Tim Heidecker ( Us ), Eduardo Franco ( Stranger Things ), Miles Robbins ( Blockers ), Alicia Silverstone ( The Killing of a Sacred Deer ), Fred Hechinger ( Fear Street Trilogy ) and Daniel Zolghadri ( Funny Pages ). In the film penned by Evan Winter , which is set on New Year’s Eve 1999, two high school nobodies (Martell, Dennison) decide to crash the last big party before the new millennium. When the clock strikes midnight, the night … [Read more...] about A24 Sets Disaster Comedy ‘Y2K’, To Be Directed By ‘SNL’ Alum Kyle Mooney; Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, Julian Dennison & More To Star

Andrew Lloyd Webber is thanking fans for their outpouring of support in the wake of his eldest son’s diagnosis with gastric cancer. The composer issued an Instagram video and revealed that his son, Nicholas, 43, has entered hospice care. “I want to thank you for the outpouring of messages of support for my son, Nick. He’s now been moved into a hospice and he’s battling away,” he said in the video. “I think he’s over the worst of this first bout of pneumonia that he’s got as a result of his cancer, which is just ghastly. We’re all here and the family here has gathered around, and it was the right place for us all to be I think. “I’m going to go see Nick in a minute and I’m going to pass on all of the fantastic wishes that I’ve had for him from everywhere all around the world,” he added. Webber, age 74, talked about his 43-year-old son’s illness earlier this month . “As my friends and family know, he has been fighting gastric cancer for the last 18 months and Nick is … [Read more...] about Andrew Lloyd Webber Updates Son’s Grave Condition, Says He’s ‘Bravely Fighting’

Getty UPDATE 10:44 AM PT -- The Blackhawks said the NHL made the decision to prevent the org. from wearing Pride-themed warm-up jerseys ... after discussions with security officials. UPDATE Chicago coach Luke Richardson called the move "an unfortunate situation" -- adding, "that’s just what we have to deal with." UPDATE "I don’t think we can control the world issues, so that takes it out of our hands," Richardson said. "We’re just making decisions as best we can as an organization and for everybody.” The Chicago Blackhawks will not wear Pride-themed warm-up jerseys for Pride Night on Sunday, according to a report ... citing security concerns for their Russian players after the country passed an anti-LGBTQ law making it illegal to promote "gay propaganda" in Russia. According to the Associated Press , the Blackhawks -- who've worn Pride warmup jerseys before -- ultimately decided against wearing the jerseys this season for the April 12 … [Read more...] about Blackhawks Reportedly Won’t Wear Pride Warm-Ups Over Security Concerns For Players

Fox is doubling down on a pair of freshman crime dramas. The network has renewed both Accused and Alert : Missing Persons Unit for second seasons. Both shows come from Sony Pictures Television. The renewal of Howard Gordon’s crime anthology series Accused was expected, given that it opened strong with a 2.0 rating in the 18-49 demo and 8.4M viewers on live+same day data and grew to more than 11.3M multi-platform viewers and a 2.3 rating in the demo in the three days after its premiere, making it broadcast’s highest-rated debut in nearly two years, since the premiere of NBC’s Law & Order: Organized Crime in April 2021. RELATED: We’ll Be Back: Photo Gallery Of TV Series Renewed In 2023 Alert was less of a guarantee but Michael Thorn, President, Scripted Programming at Fox, recently told Deadline that it was a  “solid performer” and was “encouraged” by its delayed viewing. The show, however, will have a new showrunner for season two with Carla … [Read more...] about ‘Accused’ & ‘Alert: Missing Persons Unit’ Renewed For Season 2 At Fox

“Hey Hollywood: Hire Disabled Writers, Not Just A Disability Consultant,” is the title of the Inevitable Foundation ’s latest initiative announced in an open letter to the entertainment industry on Thursday signed by notable writers, actors, and showrunners like Lauren Ridloff, Marlee Matlin, and Ramy Youssef, among many others. The initiative offers disabled creatives and the industry at large equitable and innovative solutions to work together toward building creative power for disabled artists. This includes free access to its Concierge service, a resource for creative executives, showrunners, and producers, which connects them with wonderful mid- and upper-level disabled writers for development and staffing. “The growing number of disability-inclusive film and television projects in the past few years might lead one to think that the largest minority group in America is finally seeing itself represented on-screen. But these on-screen gains have unfortunately not … [Read more...] about Lauren Ridloff, Marlee Matlin & Ramy Youssef Join Inevitable Foundation’s Call To Prioritize Hiring Of Disabled Writers