Notification Settings

Behind the raw comic shtick, a well-worn recipe

Standup specials have become mighty meta lately, using comedy to deconstruct comedy.

In the anti-comedy comedy Nanette, Hannah Gadsby explained why she could no longer use her own trauma as a punchline. In The Great Depresh, Gary Gulman made clear why he needed to let go of the self-destructive belief that if he medicated his depression, he would stop being funny.

Increasingly, comics are examining the structures of the comedy world, the dynamics of jokes, the myths surrounding comedy and comedians, often in a tangle of analysis, autobiography and laughs.

Take funnyman John Mulaney. In Baby J, his new Netflix standup special, he uses comedy to explode his familiar comic persona.

Camaraderie captivates Levy’s vexed voyager

Here’s the novel premise of a new travel series starring Eugene Levy: Eugene Levy doesn’t really like to travel.

Streaming services offer up seasonal episodes aplenty to get your holiday fix

Most TV shows, especially the ones that defined the heyday of network television, do the Holiday Episode — a chance to get silly or sentimental against the backdrop of the December holidays, which are loaded with opportunities for tragedy and comedy, both.

Noah Centineo moves away from rom-coms with ‘The Recruit’

There's a moment in the new Netflix series “ The Recruit,” starring Noah Centineo, when his character, Owen, finds himself in the middle of a shootout.

As he ducks from a hail of bullets, Owen recognizes one of the people working for the other side as a woman he met in a bar. He momentarily forgets about the life-threatening situation at hand and gives a small wave of acknowledgement to her. The woman responds by shooting at him. How rude!

It's moments like these that make “The Recruit” an atypical CIA drama. Yes, Centineo's Owen is a CIA employee who finds himself in the field à la Jack Ryan, but instead of immediately knowing what to do and how to defend himself, this CIA employee is an attorney who is immediately in over his head.

“That’s a differentiation between our show, ‘The Recruit’ and many other spy genre shows and films,” said Centineo. “Usually, the lead is an accomplished spy, you know, someone that is very experienced and very good at what they do.” Owen, he says, is “fresh out of law school.”

CBC and HBO Max renew TV comedy ‘Sort Of’ for third season

TORONTO - The TV comedy series "Sort Of" has been renewed for a third season by CBC and HBO Max.

Created by the Toronto-raised duo Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo, the Peabody and Canadian Screen Award-winning series follows a genderfluid millennial as they navigate work ambitions and personal relationships.

The second season wrapped up earlier this month.

"Sort Of" received critical acclaim in Canada and U.S. and was named one of Rolling Stone's 20 best TV shows of 2022.

UK royals keep calm, carry on after Harry and Meghan series

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s royal family stuck to routine and remained silent Friday over the second half of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s documentary series, which made hard-hitting claims against Harry’s brother, Prince William.

While the first half of the six-part Netflix series concentrated on the couple’s bruising encounters with the British media, the final three episodes aimed criticism at the royal “firm” – the family and its staff.

In three hour-long episodes released Thursday, Harry claimed William screamed at him during a family meeting and accused palace officials of lying to protect his elder sibling, who is now heir to the throne. Meghan talked about wanting to end her life as she struggled to cope with toxic press coverage.

Harry, a grandson of the late Queen Elizabeth II, married U.S. actress Meghan Markle in a fairy-tale wedding at Windsor Castle in 2018. Less than two years later the couple left Britain, citing what they saw as the media’s racist treatment of Meghan and a lack of support from the palace.

‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ to feature Duran Duran, New Edition

NEW YORK (AP) — Ryan Seacrest will usher in 2023 on “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” from Times Square, with iconic bands from the 1980s and 1990s as well as a member of BTS and a TikTok sensation.

Duran Duran, fresh off an induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, will play from a catalogue that includes hits like “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “The Reflex” and “Rio.” R&B and pop group New Edition will celebrate their 40th anniversary by performing a medley of chart-toppers and solo hits like "Rub You The Right Way,” “My Prerogative,” “Poison,” “If It Isn’t Love,” and “Cool It Now.”

J-hope, South Korean songwriter and member of BTS, will play a medley of his “= (Equal Sign)," “Chicken Noodle Soup” and the band's “Butter.” And Tik-Tok star Jax will sing pop hits “Victoria’s Secret” and “90s Kids.” Singer and rapper Farruko will perform from Puerto Rico.

Actress and producer Liza Koshy will return as co-host alongside Seacrest, actor-singer Roselyn Sanchez will co-host from Puerto Rico and Billy Porter will be back in New Orleans for the Central Time Zone countdown.

AP Breakthrough Entertainer: Daryl McCormack’s grand year

LONDON (AP) — Daryl McCormack is the zen master.

It’s not a new acting role or a level of spiritual enlightenment, it’s a nickname he got on set for being extremely laidback.

The Irish actor is having a busy and rewarding year with ensemble appearances on TV in brutal period drama “Peaky Blinders” and dark comedy thriller “Bad Sisters,” plus a star-making performance as the title character in the film “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.”

McCormack portrays a sex worker hired by Emma Thompson’s frustrated widow character and the movie got them a best joint lead performance nomination at the British Independent Film Awards. This led to his first ceremony experience. He took his mom.

‘Beauty and the Beast’ TV special fetes 30th anniversary

LOS ANGELES (AP) — When it hit theaters in 1991, Walt Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” captured audiences, critics and, later, a best picture Oscar nomination — a first for any animated movie. A TV special celebrating the 30th anniversary of that nomination hopes to bring something new to a tale as old as time.

"Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration," airing Thursday on ABC and streaming on Disney+ the next day, will combine animation and new live-action performances. This fresh take comes with a diverse cast led by Grammy- and Oscar-winning singer H.E.R. as the bookish Belle, opposite Josh Groban's Beast.

The supporting players include Martin Short as candelabra Lumiere, Shania Twain as Mrs. Potts, David Alan Grier as Cogsworth and Rizwan Manji as LeFou.

Executive producer Jon M. Chu, also the director of movies like “Crazy Rich Asians” and the upcoming “Wicked” adaptation, says he wasn’t trying to make a statement by casting H.E.R, who is Black and Filipina, as a character who is white in the cartoon.

France, England World Cup quarterfinal viewed by 13.5M in US

NEW YORK (AP) — World Cup quarterfinal audiences in the United States ranged from 13.5 million to 7.4 million.

Defending champion France's 2-1 win over England on Saturday, which started at 2 p.m. EST, was seen by 13.5 million, including 8.3 million on Fox, 3.1 million on Spanish-language Telemundo, 560,000 on Fox digital platforms and 1.5 million on the Telemundo and Peacock streaming services.

Argentina’s penalty-kicks victory over the Netherlands on Friday, which began at 2 p.m. EST, was viewed by 11.1 million, including 5.78 million on Fox, 3.1 million on Telemundo, 665,000 on Fox digital and 1.53 million on Peacock and Telemundo streaming.

The English-language TV audience for France-England was the 17th-highest for men’s soccer since 1994 and for Argentina-Netherlands was 22nd, Nielsen said Wednesday.

Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss, ‘Ellen’ show’s dancing DJ, dies at 40

Stephen “tWitch” Boss, the longtime and beloved dancing DJ on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and a former contestant on “So You Think You Can Dance,” has died at the age of 40.

“It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to share my husband Stephen has left us,” his wife Allison Holker Boss said in a statement to People magazine. “Stephen lit up every room he stepped into. He valued family, friends and community above all else and leading with love and light was everything to him. He was the backbone of our family, the best husband and father, and an inspiration to his fans.”

The Los Angeles coroner said Boss' cause of death was suicide.

tWitch started his tenure at “The Ellen Show” in 2014 and later was promoted to co-executive producer in 2020.

‘Break Point,’ Netflix’s ‘Drive’ for tennis, debuts Jan. 13

A Netflix docuseries about professional tennis called “Break Point” — think of it as that sport’s answer to the popular “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” — will debut on Jan. 13, three days before the start of the 2023 Grand Slam season at the Australian Open.

Netflix revealed the title and launch date on Wednesday, when it also released a 30-second teaser.

The first five episodes — focusing on Melbourne Park, Indian Wells, Madrid and Roland Garros — will be available next month. The season's other five installments — which look at Wimbledon, Eastbourne, Queens Club, the U.S. Open, WTA Finals and ATP Finals — arrive in June.

Players featured include Grand Slam champions Iga Swiatek and Sloane Stephens, and Grand Slam runners-up Nick Kyrgios, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini and Ons Jabeur. Also appearing: Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Ajla Tomljanovic, Paula Badosa, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Aryna Sabalenka and Maria Sakkari.