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While Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi’s sunglasses-clad musical duo Blues Brothers went on to star in their own movie, perform concerts across the country and inspire at least one truly baffling English beer commercial…

…it all began with a couple of appearances on Saturday Night Live. Aykroyd and Belushi danced and sang their favorite R&b tracks, with the help of a killer band and Scarface-levels of cocaine circulating throughout their bloodstream.

While The Blues Brothers are now an indelible part of the show’s early history, when the two comedians originally pitched the idea to producer Lorne Michaels, he was more than a little skeptical. As shared in the recent documentary Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music, the seeds of the Blues Brothers began with Belushi’s distaste for performing in those recurring bee costume sketches.

According to the book The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the...

NBC continues to celebrate the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live” with the new documentary, “Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music.” Following the recent four-episode docuseries “SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night,” amid the 50th season, which airs Sundays, and ahead of the star-studded, three-hour primetime event “SNL50: The Anniversary Special,” the feature-length music doc promises a deep dive into the musical performances that have become as much of a cultural hallmark as the comedy show’s sketches.

The doc is directed by Grammy and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Emmy Award winner Oz Rodriguez, and features a roster of more than 50 interviews with musicians and “SNL” staffers, including Elvis Costello, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish & Finneas, Dave Grohl, Debbie Harry & Chris Stein, Mick Jagger, Dua Lipa, Lorne Michaels, Fred Armisen, Conan O’Brien, Bill Hader, Eddie Murphy, Maya Rudolph, Bowen Yang and many, many more.

Here is when and where...

NBC is celebrating 50 years of Saturday Night Live by honoring all of the musical guests in a new three-hour special.

Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music is airing on NBC on Monday night (January 27) and will feature untold stories behind the culture-defining, groundbreaking and news-making musical performances, sketches and cameos of the past 50 years.

The special will showcase interviews with musical artists, cast, writers, producers and more who have been part of SNL’s legacy.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Questlove, who leads the band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, directed the special with Emmy Award winner Oz Rodriguez.

“Everyone knows the most famous SNL appearances, whether it’s Elvis Costello, Prince or the Beastie Boys, but they’re the tip of a huge iceberg,” Questlove said. “The process of going back through the incredible archival footage was like being in a time machine, DeLorean or other. I’m so happy...

On Saturday 18 January 2025, BBC One broadcasts Pointless Celebrities!

Season 17 Episode 7 Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “Pointless Celebrities” promises to be an exciting and entertaining experience. This special edition of the popular quiz show will air on BBC One and features a lineup of well-known faces. Hosted by Alexander Armstrong, with Richard Osman as co-host, the show invites four teams to compete in a battle of wits.

In this episode, the celebrity contestants include Curtis Pritchard, Aj Pritchard, Tom Malone, Karim Zeroual, Shanaze Reade, Oli Bell, Fern Brady, and Alison Spittle. Each team will strive to find answers that are not only correct but also unique, aiming to score the lowest points possible by avoiding common responses. The format encourages creativity and knowledge, making it a fun challenge for both the contestants and the audience.

As always, the banter between Alexander and Richard adds a light-hearted touch to the quiz.

Next October, Saturday Night Live will officially reach the 50th anniversary of its very first episode. But celebrations of the milestone started months ago with the premiere of season 50 and the release of Saturday Night in September. They’ll continue into the new year with the four-part docuseries SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night and the newly-announced feature-length documentary Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music.

The musical history of Saturday Night Live is nearly as storied as its sketches. Questlove will direct the three-hour-long feature, scheduled to premiere on Jan. 27. It marks...

A documentary about the music performances on “Saturday Night Live” is coming to NBC, directed by Oscar winner Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Emmy winner Oz Rodriguez.

Titled “Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music,” the three-hour special will premiere on the network on Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. and stream the following day on Peacock.

The latest project celebrating five decades of “SNL,” the film will “feature untold stories behind the culture-defining, groundbreaking and newsmaking musical performances, sketches and cameos of the past 50 years,” per the logline.

The doc will also feature more than 50 interviews, including Bad Bunny, DJ Breakout, Elvis Costello, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish and Finneas, Dave Grohl, Debbie Harry & Chris Stein, Mick Jagger, Dua Lipa, Darryl Dmc McDaniels, Tom Morello, Kacey Musgraves, Olivia Rodrigo, Mc Sha-Rack, Paul Simon, Chris Stapleton, Justin Timberlake, Lee Ving and Jack White.

Also interviewed are “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels and cast and creatives of present and past,...

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live,” NBC is sharing the untold stories behind the late night staple’s culture-defining, groundbreaking and newsmaking musical performances, sketches and cameos over the years in a new documentary.

“Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music,” which is set to premiere Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. Et/Pt on NBC and stream the next day on Peacock, will be directed by Grammy and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Emmy Award winner Oz Rodriguez.

“Everyone knows the most famous ‘SNL’ appearances, whether it’s Elvis Costello, Prince or the Beastie Boys, but they’re the tip of a huge iceberg,” Questlove said in a Thursday statement. “The process of going back through the incredible archival footage was like being in a time machine, DeLorean or other. I’m so happy I went on the trip and now get to share it with everyone.

John Carpenter’s illustrious catalog of horror and non-horror classics has already seen three remakes, with at least one more kinda-sorta confirmed on the way (Escape from New York). If you consider 2011’s The Thing enough of a remake, notch another on the bedpost. It makes sense; Carpenter turned his no-bullshit attitude into a masterful filmmaking style, and those listed titles harbor nostalgic admiration. We’re probably closer than we think to seeing Bryan Fuller’s Christine remake for Blumhouse or a contemporary They Live, while Dwayne Johnson’s Big Trouble in Little China sequel project fades away. Imagine Julia Ducournau’s Christine should Fuller exit, or what about if James Gunn booked a brief horror vacation away from the Dceu for his take on They Live?

Carpenter’s brand of down-and-dirty storytelling mixed with societal commentaries make his works perfect for generational updates, but they can’t all be winners.

Providence #3

Written by Alan Moore

Art by Jacen Burrows

Colors by Juan Rodriguez

Letters by Kurt Hathaway

Published by Avatar Press, Inc.

We rejoin Alan Moore’s and Jacen Burrows’ Providence to find American life, as our protagonist newspaper man/aspiring author Robert Black specifically notes, in a state of upheaval. Prohibition has just passed. Mobs of angry, out-of-work actors crowd the streets of Manhattan, evoking parallels in people’s minds to the all-too-recent revolutions in Russia. These nuggets of history are not thrown into the story haphazardly, and play out along with some important pieces of commentary from members of the cast. But it’s important to note who’s making these comments, and what demographics are included — or not included — when it comes to the pages illustrating the crowds during the 1919 Actors’ Equity Association strike. If you guessed these pages are dominated by the perspective of white people...

In this roundup from the Encore and Mumbrella Annual, we look back at the year in television.

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James Warburton starts at Ten 10 months after he was appointed to the role.

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The summer non-ratings period comes to an end in February kicking things off with the battle of the bulge as Nine and Ten go head-to-head with their weight-loss shows. Ten’s established format, The Biggest Loser, ultimately triumphs as Nine is forced to move their offering, Excess Baggage, to digital channel Go! after abysmal ratings.

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The cast of Revenge

Seven wins the first week of ratings thanks to American drama Revenge, which was heavily promoted during Seven’s Summer of Tennis. It premieres with a whopping 2.06m viewers.

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Brad Lyons and Angus Ross step up at Seven to take on the roles of head of production and head of programming respectively after Tim Worner was appointed CEO of the network...

Sunday Telegraph editor Neil Breen, who announced last month that he planned to leave the newspaper and was hoping for a career in television, is to become executive producer of Nine’s flagship morning show Today, the Telegraph reports.

Breen is due to leave the paper at the end of the month, going out on a high after breaking the Alan Jones speech controversy. With a circulation of over 600,000, the Sunday Telegraph is Australia’s highest circulating newspaper.

According to the report, Today Ep Tom Malone will move to Nine’s 60 Minutes.

Fairfax’s Garry Linnell has been promoted to editorial director of its metro division after less than a year with the company. He spoke to Encore’s Brooke Hemphill in February about his role, taking risks and why this is the best time to be a journalist

You can always gauge the esteem a journalist is held in by the amount of care their colleagues take when preparing a mock leaving cover. If the production values of the fake front page of The Bulletin positioned on the highest shelf of Garry Linnell’s office are anything to go by, the team at Fairfax are going to enjoy working with their new boss. Emblazoned on the cover is Linnell’s face in full Gene Simmonds Kiss makeup with the cover line ‘I was made for leaving you Gaz.’

Linnell has been in this office for just over three months and his...

From the advertising dollars to the ratings rivalry – television’s earliest timeslot is big business. Brooke Hemphill sets her alarm and goes on set to find out the perfect recipe for making breakfast TV.

It’s after midnight on a Thursday evening in Sydney’s Cbd. The streets are largely deserted as the final day of the working week looms. While the nine to five set are safely tucked up in bed, in the heart of the city, Seven’s Martin Place studio is quiet, although never sleeping. Several journalists staff the newsroom on the first level and one flight of stairs above, two producers work the overnight shift for Seven’s market-leading breakfast program, Sunrise. Soon they will be joined by line producer David ‘Dougie’ Walters who is about to begin his day.

At a time when hospitality workers and university students contemplate calling it a night, Walters is at his desk.

Karl Stefanovic has been accused of drunken antics on a recent flight. The Australian television personality, who flew to London over a week ago to cover the royal wedding, reportedly caused outrage among other Qantas travellers when he monopolised the business class bar for the whole flight. A source told The Daily Telegraph: "When a passenger tried to get access and there was no room in the bar, they made a complaint." Onlookers also revealed that Stefanovic stumbled from the plane after discovering his "lost" mobile phone stuck inside his shoe. Today's executive producer Tom Malone said that the show's (more)...

Last year's Copenhagen climate conference failed to produce any sort of useful legislation. Maybe the wisdom of the crowd can do a better job. That's the idea behind MIT Climate CoLab's Collective Intelligence Climate Contest, a project that asks participants to submit proposals that answer one deceptively difficult question: What international climate agreements should the world community make?

There will be two winners of the year-long contest. After a preliminary round where judges ferret out infeasible entries, visitors to the contest site will be able to vote on their favorite proposals. The most popular entry will be one of the winners; a judge's pick will be the other.

The crowdsourcing initiative, which launched at the beginning of October, has just four entries thus far. But while the contest doesn't offer monetary compensation, it offers the opportunity to make a real impact--the top ideas will be presented to the United Nations,...