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The cult classic Poog podcast has rebranded to Berlant and Novak and will operate under the Backyard Ventures network. Kate and Jacqueline are excited to move forward with whatever topics they so choose, be it: the artist's grind, friendship, travel, food escapades, and more. These best friends, sisters really, unpack life's greatest pleasures and struggles in a whole new format that feels just like coming home.

Poog garnered a devoted fanbase before its sudden and untimely demise, which devastated many. New York Magazine even featured the show's seeming cancellation in their Culture Graphs, describing it as "highbrow/despicable." Just a week after its abrupt end, Kate and Jacqueline launched an indie version behind a paywall, rapidly gaining subscribers. Now, they’re back and free for all listeners with Berlant and Novak. Dedicated Poog fans, lovingly called “hags,” will be thrilled to know that when asked in a recent Ama if they’re “still hags,...

Peacock’s new dark comedy Laid stars the ensemble cast of Stephanie Hsu, Zosia Mamet, Tommy Martinez and Michael Angarano.

Hsu portrays Ruby, a somewhat selfish woman in her 30s who works as an event coordinator, and Zosia Mamet portrays her best friend Aj, who has an intense fascination with true crime. Aj is the one to point out the trend of Ruby’s former partners dying, which makes the premise of the show. Isaac (Tommy Martinez) starts out as one of Ruby’s clients, but he soon gets dragged into the chaos of Ruby’s wake. Michael Angarano’s Richie returns to Ruby’s life as a staple in helping her figure out her past.

Several well-known guest stars also play key figures in Ruby’s sex timeline, including Finneas O’Connell,...

“Laid” follows Stephanie Hsu’s Ruby as she comes to the grim realization that a growing number of her ex-partners have become victim to various maladies — all of which have resulted in death.

But instead of sex-shaming, co-showrunners Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna (“Son of Zorn”) used the outlandish premise — which originated from an Australian format — as an opportunity for Ruby to reflect on her behavior during each relationship, serving as a jumping off point for some internal growth.

“From the beginning, we, the writers, Peacock and Stephanie, wanted this to be sex positive, not at all shaming, not at all judgmental,” Bradford McKenna told TheWrap. “In having to go back and look at all these guys and girls, it’s not so much, ‘Who were they and what happened?’ but ‘Who was I when I was with them?'”

As Ruby and her best friend and roommate Aj...

The co-creators of Laid explain why the cameos from familiar faces like Barbie actors and Marvel stars are more than just mere cameos. Developed by Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna, and based on the Australian series of the same name, Laid debuted on Peacock in December. It stars Stephanie Hsu, known for her Oscar-nominated performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, as Ruby. Once all of her former sex partners start dying off, often in strange ways, Ruby and her roommate Aj (Zosia Mamet) try to solve the mystery of what's going on.

In an interview with Screen Rant's Grant Hermanns, Khan and McKenna talk about why some of the guest appearances from the likes of Shang-Chi and Barbie star Simu Liu are more than just cameos. In the quotes below, McKenna talks about how the eight-episode series approached Ruby's sex timeline and was able to bring notable actors through that process.

A couple of weeks ago, it was announced Adam Scott (Severance) and Danielle Deadwyler (The Harder They Fall) have the lead roles in the darkly comedic thriller The Saviors, which is currently filming in Los Angeles. Kevin Hamedani, who previously directed Zmd: Zombies of Mass Destruction and Junk, is directing the film from a script he co-wrote with Travis Betz. This one was was featured on the Blacklist way back in 2018, so it’s good to see it finally going into production… and now we know the names of several of Scott and Deadwyler’s co-stars. Deadline reports that the supporting cast includes Greg Kinnear (You Gotta Believe), Kate Berlant (Would It Kill You to Laugh), Nazanin Boniadi (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), Ron Perlman (The Instigators), and Colleen Camp (Amsterdam).

The story of The Saviors centers on a suburban couple whose life spirals out of...

Peacock’s comedy Laid, starring Stephanie Hsu, Zosia Mamet, Michael Angarano, Tommy Martinez, Andre Hyland, Ryan Pinkston and more, explores what would happen if a mysterious curse fell upon one’s ex romantic partners. Ruby (Hsu), with the help of her best friend Aj (Mamet), realizes that all of past sexual partners are somehow dying in gruesome ways.

This brings her and Aj to try and track down those who are still alive, and played by guest stars such as Finneas, John Early, Simu Liu & Philippe Francesca Reale, Kate Berlant, Brandon Perea, Alexandra Shipp and more, to warn them of what is happening. Aj also hopes to get to the bottom of why this is happening.

Several needle drops accompany both humorous and and more serious moments, starting with some Paul Simon and Chappell Roan in Episode 1 and ending with Billie Eilish and Sade in the finale. Find the full...

Exclusive: Greg Kinnear (You Gotta Believe), Kate Berlant (Would It Kill You to Laugh), Nazanin Boniadi (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), Ron Perlman (The Instigators), and Colleen Camp (Amsterdam) have come aboard to support Adam Scott and Danielle Deadwyler in The Saviors, a darkly comedic indie thriller, which has wrapped production.

Directed by Kevin Hamedani from a script he co-wrote with Travis Betz, which was featured on the 2018 Black List, the film is about a suburban couple whose life spirals into paranoia and danger when they rent their garage to mysterious tenants, leading to a shocking revelation with world-altering stakes.

Kinnear plays Jim Clemente, an eccentric detective who the couple hires to investigate their new tenants. Berlant plays Scott’s character’s conspiracy theorist sister, Cleo. Boniadi plays Jahan, one of the mysterious tenants. Perlman and Camp play the parents of Scott’s character, Mr. and Mrs.

There have been plenty of great sci-fi comedies in the last decade, from underrated gems to award winners and summer blockbusters. Sci-fi comedies are often best when they balance their two genres well. Movies like Back to the Future and Men in Black, for example, have thrilling stories and intriguing sci-fi concepts, as well as great jokes and strong comedic performances.

In the last 10 years, sci-fi comedies have been used to lovingly poke fun at the genre, but sci-fi has also been used as a guise to facilitate plenty of social commentary and satire. Movies like Sorry to Bother You, Palm Springs and The Lobster all use sci-fi concepts to show how unusual everyday life has become for people in the here and now. Other sci-fi comedies have used humor to lighten up some cerebral stories that could otherwise be too dystopian and depressing.

Sorry To Bother You (2018) A Unique...

The home stretch before Christmas has arrived, but there are plenty of new shows arriving on streamers this month to either binge before the end of the year.

Those in the mood for mystery can dive into No Good Deed on Netflix Dec. 12 or Laid on Peacock Dec. 19. The former is from Dead To Me creator Liz Feldman, and the latter stars Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet with a touch more comedy.

Find the five best new shows streaming in December 2024 below:

Related: The Best 10 Movies To Stream This Month

Black Doves – Dec. 5 – Netflix

Keira Knightley in ‘Black Doves’

Keira Knightley stars as Helen Webb in Black Doves, an action filled spy show set in London at Christmas. Knighyley’s Webb is a dedicated wife, mother and spy. She has been secretly passing her politician husband’s secrets to the clandestine organization she works for, The Black Doves, for ten years.

Stream top comedians for less than $25 per month with this combination of streamers.

All the world needs a laugh, and it seems that need gets more acute with each passing week. On-demand streaming services are a fantastic source of standup comedy specials, with comedians of every stripe available on some of the bigger streamers. But which services with a great selection of standup won’t break the bank? I’ve assembled a bundle of top standup comedy streaming services that you can watch for less than $25 per month, and you can check out my choices below!

What’s the best streaming bundle for watching standup comedy for less than $25 per month?

Netflix

Disney+, Hulu, and Max bundle

Netflix

This bundle starts with Netflix, which carries a huge lineup of top comedians and specials. The service offers standup shows from comedians like Nate Bargatze, Bill Burr, Rachel Feinstein, Ricky Gervais, Shane Gillis,...

Laid is coming to Peacock next month, and the streaming service has released a trailer and announced three more additions to show's guest cast. Photos were released for the series last month.

Simu Liu, Kate Berlant, and Alexandra Shipp are joining the previously announced starring cast of Stephanie Hsu, Zosia Mamet, Michael Angarano, and Tommy Martinez. Andre Hyland, David Denman, John Early, Ettore “Big E” Ewen, Chloe Fineman, Olivia Holt, and Finneas O’Connell also appear in the series.

Read More…...

The official trailer for the upcoming comedy series Laid has arrived!

Oscar-nominated Stephanie Hsu leads the cast of the Peacock rom-com television show, and she also serves as an executive producer.

Also starring in the series are Zosia Mamet, Michael Angarano and Tommy Martinez.

Keep reading to find out more…

Here’s a synopsis: A woman finds out her former lovers are dying in unusual ways and must go back through her sex timeline to confront her past in order to move forward – “Laid” is a f*cked up rom-com where the answer to “why can’t I find love, is there something wrong with me?” is a resounding “Yes. There is. The problem is definitely you.”

Previously announced guest stars include Finneas, Andre Hyland, Olivia Holt, David Denman, Chloe Fineman, Ettore “Big E” Ewen and John Early.

New guest stars announced include Simu Liu, Alexandra Shipp and Kate Berlant,...

Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu has to deal with the fact that her exes keep dying in the trailer for Laid. Set to debut on Peacock in just a matter of weeks, the comedy series was first announced in January of this year. It comes on the heels of Hsu's Oscar-nominated performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once and her standout role in the raunchy comedy Joyride. But in her latest project, she plays a young woman that slowly comes to realize that all her exes are dying.

Peacock has released the trailer for Laid, which will release all episodes on December 19.

The trailer previews the premise, focusing mainly on Ruby and her best friend Aj (Girls and The Flight Attendant star Zosia Mamet). Ruby's exes gradually start to die off. The two-minute preview previews how, though she's not worried at first, Ruby eventually realizes that there is a problem and...

Romantic comedies are about to get a delightfully dark twist with Peacock’s upcoming series Laid.

Created by Nahnatchka Khan (Don’t Trust the B– in Apartment 23) and Sally Bradford McKenna (The Mick), this isn’t your average rom-com.

No, this is something much darker.

(Peacock)

The creators call it a “f**cked-up rom-com” where finding love could mean dodging death.

Stephanie Hsu (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) stars as Ruby, a woman with a knack for bad relationships.

But now, she’s facing a bigger problem: her exes are mysteriously dying.

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As the bodies pile up, Ruby and her best friend Aj dive headfirst into her romantic past to warn her former flames.

Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet are superheroes of a different sort, and putting the “ex” back in sexy.

The duo lead Peacock series “Laid,” which is billed as a “fucked up rom-com” about a woman (Hsu) whose exes all seem to be dying in unusual ways.

The official synopsis reads: “Ruby (Hsu) finds out her former lovers are dying in unusual ways and must go back through her sex timeline to confront her past in order to move forward, all with help from her best friend Aj (Zosia Mamet).”

Simu Liu, Kate Berlant, Alexandra Shipp, Finneas O’Connell, Andre Hyland, Olivia Holt, David Denman, Chloe Fineman, Ettore “Big E” Ewen, and John Early guest star. Along with Hsu and Mamet, Michael Angarano and Tommy Martinez are series regulars.

Oscar-nominated “Everything Everywhere All at Once” actress Hsu leads the twisted series about what to do if your exes, ranging from “the guys,...

Updated with full trailer: Peacock’s Laid comedy starring Stephanie Hsu teases the many guest stars involved with the complicated plot of the story.

The premise involves Hsu’s Ruby discovering, with the help of her best friend Aj (Zosia Mamet), that all the people she has had sex with are dying . Aj, whose fascination with true crime makes her a huge help, helps Ruby go back through her sex timeline and confront her past relationships in order to move forward.

It starts with Brandon from college, but when it goes from three ex boyfriends to six, Ruby decides that she has to start warning the ones who are still alive.

The main cast also includes Michael Angarano and Tommy Martinez.

New guest cast joining the series include Simu Liu, Kate Berlant and Alexandra Shippwho join previously announced guest stars including Andre Hyland, David Denman, John Early, Ettore “Big E” Ewen,...

Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey are stepping out for the premiere of their new movie!

The co-stars posed for photos together at the premiere of Queer on Wednesday night (November 13) held at the DGA Theatre in Los Angeles.

Director Luca Guadagnino, costume designer Jonathan Anderson, and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes were also in attendance along with fellow cast members Omar Apollo and Drew Droege.

Keep reading to find out more…Other stars in attendance included Noah Centineo, Taylor Zakhar Perez, Simon Rex, Outer Banks actress Carlacia Grant, Drag Race alum Gottmik, Barbie actress Ariana Greenblatt, comedian Kate Berlant, American Beauty actress Thora Birch, writer Jordan Firstman, filmmaker Sammi Cohen, Slip actress Zoe Lister-Jones, artist Petra Collins, singer Naomi McPherson, artist Jwan Yosef, comedian Benito Skinner, and photographer Carlos Eric Lopez along with influencers Rickey Thompson, Fai Khadra, and Dylan Mulvaney.

Here’s the movie’s synopsis: “Set in 1950s Mexico City,...

Dropout’s “Very Important People” has a very important list of guest stars for Season 2. That starts off with Anna Garcia (“Superstore”), who plays “Zeke Aaron McKinley,” fourth grader who was turned into a rock formation after making a wish. Also set to appear this season: Comedians including Nicole Byer, Chris Redd, Bobby Moynihan, John Early, Kate Berlant, Paul F. Tompkins, Echo Kellum, Lisa Gilroy and Danielle Pinnock.

The premise of the comedic talk show, which comes from the team formerly known as CollegeHumor and host Vic Michaelis, is simple. It starts out as a chat between Michaelis and their guest — who has to come up with the character they’re going to play during the interview in five minutes, following a blind makeover.

Garcia is one of several “VIP” Season 1 guests and fellow Dropout stars who have returned this time, along with the well-known stars like Byer, Moynihan and Tompkins.

Note: This story contains spoilers from “Doctor Odyssey” Episode 4.

“Doctor Odyssey” just got a hot new chef, one that will surely bring testy waters for the nurses aboard.

Episode 4, titled “Wellness Week,” followed as Dr. Max Bankman (Joshua Jackson) and his team dealt with shenanigans from the alternative medicine community, who boarded the ship for the week led by guest stars Amy Sedaris, Margaret Cho and Kate Berlant. The episode also introduced chef Vivian Montgomery (Laura Harrier), a reality TV show winner who was working for Sedaris’ character and quickly sparked a connection with nurse Tristan Silva (Sean Teale).

“Vivian is a wonderful character and she’s joined us for the foreseeable future — I don’t know how long. I’m not allowed to say — but it’s lovely,” Teale told TheWrap of his character’s new love interest. “There’s something for Tristan’s logical and loving mind to pursue.

All is not well during Wellness Week.

In Thursday’s episode of Doctor Odyssey, Avery reveals she’s earned a scholarship to go to medical school. (Yay! She’s far too good for all this love-triangle tomfoolery, so we do hope she jumps ship soon.)

More from TVLineFire Country: 10+ Questions About the Killer Helicopter That Targeted Bode's Loved Ones in Season 3 PremiereHow NBC's Happy's Place Differs From Reba - Grade the Premiere and Get Scoop on What Happens NextDoctor Odyssey: Is a Throuple on the Horizon? Sean Teale Says 'It Is a Ryan Murphy Show'

But...

It’s time for another night of drama and crazy emergencies. Yes, it’s all about Doctor Odyssey season 1, episode 4.

The new episode is “Wellness Week,” and you can bet that everyone on the Odyssey is into that. The problem is that a peaceful cruise would not a good episode make, so we get a lot of emergencies happening. One of them looks to happen to one of our own.

A hurricane, emergency surgery, and more in Doctor Odyssey season 1, episode 4

The synopsis makes it clear that a hurricane will happen. The promo also confirms this, with Captain Massey making it clear that the waters always have the risk of being treacherous. Sometimes, there’s no way to avoid the storm, and this is one of those cases.

The problem is that someone needs emergency surgery at the same time. It looks like Avery is going to need an emergency appendectomy.

Laura Harrier, Margaret Cho, and Kate Berlant guest star on ABC’s Doctor Odyssey season one episode four. “Wellness Week” will air on Thursday, October 17, 2024 at 9pm Et/Pt.

Joshua Jackson (Fatal Attraction) plays Dr. Max Bankman, Phillipa Soo (Shining Girls) is Nurse Avery Morgan, Sean Teale (Little Voice) is Nurse Tristan Silva, and Don Johnson (Rebel Ridge) stars as Captain Robert Massey. Ryan Murphy, Jon Robin Baitz, and Joe Baken write and executive produce the first season.

“Wellness Week” Plot: During a week dedicated to wellness, The Odyssey ironically finds itself overwhelmed by a surge of ailing patients. Meanwhile, Tristan’s new romance sparks jealousy, and Capt. Massey must bring the ship to safety in the midst of a hurricane.

Don Johnson, Marcus Emanuel Mitchell, and Joshua Jackson in ‘Doctor Odyssey’ episode 4 (Disney/Ray Mickshaw) Doctor Odyssey Plot Description, Courtesy of ABC:

From the brilliant mind of Ryan Murphy...

Apple TV+ has released the trailer for “Silo” Season 2. Based on Hugh Howey’s trilogy of dystopian sci-fi novels, the second season premieres Nov. 15 with new episodes airing every Friday until Jan. 17.

According to an official logline, “‘Silo’ is the story of the last ten thousand people on earth, their mile-deep home protecting them from the toxic and deadly world outside. However, no one knows when or why the silo was built and those who try to find out face fatal consequences. Rebecca Ferguson stars as Juliette, an engineer who seeks answers about a loved one’s murder and tumbles onto a mystery that goes far deeper than she could have ever imagined, leading her to discover that if the lies don’t kill you, the truth will.”

Steve Zahn joins the Season 2 cast, starring alongside Ferguson, Tim Robbins, Common, Harriet Walter, Chinaza Uche, Avi Nash, Alexandria Riley, Shane McRae,...

Indie streamer Dropout has set the full guest-star lineup for the second season of its Vic Michaelis-hosted comedic interview series “Very Important People.”

“Very Important People” features Michaelis as the host of a standard talk show series with a twist: all interview subjects receive makeovers before sitting down to chat and then must immediately invent a character to play during the interview.

Following the Aug. 14 announcement of the guest stars for the first eight episodes of “Very Important People” Season 2, which debuts Nov. 7, Dropout has confirmed that Episodes 9-16 will star Bobby Moynihan (“Saturday Night Live”), Nicole Byer (“Nailed It!”), Echo Kellum (“Arrow”), Corin Wells (“A Black Lady Sketch Show”), Alex Song-Xia (“Rick & Morty”) and Paul Robalino (“Smarypants”).

Additionally, “Very Important People” Season 1 guests Brennan Lee Mulligan (“Dimension 20”), Izzy Roland (“Sex Lives of College Girls”) and Lisa Gilroy (“Glamorous”) will return in new roles.

Left to right: Bobby Moynihan,...

It’s a sunny afternoon at the end of August in a crowded Echo Park cafe, and John Early is telling me, unprompted, about his pulled groin.

I have to admire this spontaneous confession from the mischievous blond actor and comedian, given our lack of privacy. This is of a piece with Early’s standup act, which can feel like gossip about information that’s supposed to be confidential, or that we’d rather not acknowledge. Take his warning that if you let your boyfriend go to therapy, “they are...

While Los Angeles suffers from a late summer heat wave, New York is also turning up the temperature thanks to the current star-packed parade happening at fashion shows across the city.

New York Fashion Week — happening now through Sept. 11 — is hosting shows from some of the industry’s top designers, and actors, artists, influencers, sports stars and even a First Lady (Dr. Jill Biden) have been on the scene to catch the debut of designs from the front row.

Below, The Hollywood Reporter takes a look at the stars sitting front row during New York Fashion Week.

Derek Blasberg, Alessandra Ambrosio, Joan Smalls, Ayra Starr, Tinashe and Coco Jones at the Off-White show on Sept. 8, 2024. Sunisa Lee, Eva Chen, Issa Rae, Lena Waithe, Zayn Malik, Camila Cabello, Paris Jackson and Ddg attend at Off-White. Fresh from winning the U.S. Open, tennis star Aryna Sabalenka poses with Zayn Malik at Off-White.

Indie streamer Dropout has set the second season premiere date for its Vic Michaelis-hosted comedic interview series “Very Important People,” and revealed five new guest stars joining the lineup for Season 2.

“Very Important People” features Michaelis as the host of a standard talk show series with a twist: all interview subjects receive makeovers before sitting down to chat and then must immediately invent a character to play during the interview.

New cast members booked for an improvised interview in “Very Important People” Season 2 include John Early (“Search Party”) and Kate Berlant (“Don’t Worry Darling”), Danielle Pinnock (“Ghosts”), Chris Redd (“Saturday Night Live”) and Paul F. Tompkins (“Bojack Horseman”).

Left to right: Kate Berlant (Photo Credit: Sela Shiloni); Danielle Pinnock (Courtesy photo); Paul F. Tompkins (Courtesy photo); Chris Redd (Photo Credit: Chris Haston/NBC); John Early (Photo Credit: Michael Tyrone Delaney).

Dropout will launch the first episode of “Very Important People” Season 2 Nov.

Hannah Gadsby is bringing their stand-up show, Woof!, to New York City this fall following its run in Australia and across the United States.

The Australian comedian, who rose to fame with their 2018 Netflix special Nanette which earned them an Emmy Award, is said to be sharing it all — “their worries, their wisdom, and their whimsy” — in the new show.

“Most people would be trying to level up at this point in their career,” Gadsby wrote in a statement. “But not this contrary Nancy. You see, I get the impression the world is ending, so I have decided to go down the nostalgic route over the ambitious one. So, New York City, you’re part of a tour where I am revisiting many of my old haunts, such as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and my cousins in Sandy Bay.”

The statement continued, “And so it is...

John Early and Olga Merediz have joined the cast of A24’s “Eternity.”

The romantic comedy, in which people must decide who they want to spend eternity with, also stars Miles Teller (“Top Gun: Maverick”), Elizabeth Olsen (“WandaVision”), Callum Turner (“Masters of the Air”) and Da’Vine Joy Randolph (“The Holdovers”).

David Freyne is directing the movie; Pat Cunnane (“Designated Survivor”) wrote the script, which appeared on the 2022 Black List.

A24 is financing and distributing the rom-com, as well as producing with Star Thrower Entertainment and its founders Trevor White and Tim White. The film is currently in production.

Early was last seen in the 2024 pandemic comedy “Stress Positions,” from director Theda Hammel. On Monday, the comedian announced a fall tour and album to accompany his 2023 HBO special “Now More Than Ever.” Early is also known for “Search Party,” “The Afterparty” and his special with Kate Berlant “Would It Kill You to Laugh?...

The experience of watching live sports is thrilling enough but time and time again TV shows have proven that a scripted series about a fictional team giving their all to a game while standing side-by-side is also very entertaining. There have been countless great sports TV shows like Friday Night Lights and Ted Lasso that have brought us joy and the feeling of camaraderie that we all want. That’s why we thought of making a list of the 10 very best sports TV shows that you shouldn’t miss out on.

Friday Night Lights Credit – NBC

Friday Night Lights is a sports drama series created by Peter Berg. Inspired by a 1990 nonfiction book titled Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by author H.G. Bissinger, the NBC, and The 101 Network series is set in the fictional small Texas town of Dillon and it follows the story of...

“Wayne’s World” is looking to party on in 2024.

The iconic buddy comedy lands a live stage reading courtesy of nonprofit arts organization Film Independent, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and Mubi. The new version of “Wayne’s World” will have a cast solely comprised of women, queer, and non-binary actors, with Abbi Jacobson and Zoe Lister-Jones in the two lead roles originally played by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey.

In addition to Jacobson’s Wayne and Lister-Jones’ Garth, Kate Berlant plays agent Benjamin who was originally portrayed by Rob Lowe in the film. Nicole Byer stars as Russel, Poppy Cassandra’s character.

The cast additionally includes Robby Hoffman and Poppy Liu, with more names to be announced. The full “Wayne’s World” reinvention will take place at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts’ Bram Goldsmith Theater on Wednesday, June 11.

Lister-Jones will also direct the stage reading, following...

25 years ago “Strangers with Candy,” currently streaming on Paramount+, premiered on Comedy Central from the brains of Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Mitch Rouse, and Amy Sedaris. Sedaris also starred as Jerri Blank, the 46-year-old bisexual junkie returning to high school as a freshman. The sitcom was structured like an after-school special with Jerri rarely learning from her past mistakes as she navigates the lessons of being a teenager all over again. I began watching the show in college, after recognizing it from flipping through the TV channels because Sedaris’ Jerri in passing freaked me out.

Its psychotic humor coupled with my own favorite genre — the high school comedy — was a perfect cyanide comedy cocktail. Aggressively offensive with an earnest heart of gold, “Strangers with Candy” was unlike anything I’d ever seen before and Amy Sedaris became my comedy hero.

It’s, frankly, a miracle that “Strangers with Candy” was made,...

Update: More than 300 Jewish creatives — including eight-time Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, “SNL” star Sarah Sherman, actor and documentarian Alex Winter and “Seinfeld” writer Larry Charles — have added their names to the list of signatories of an open letter in support of Jonathan Glazer’s Oscars speech.

The number of signees now sits at 492, having more than tripled since Variety first published the April 5 letter, which criticized the attacks on Glazer for being a “dangerous distraction” from the mounting death toll in Gaza while also contributing to the “suppression of free speech and dissent.”

New additions also include Oscar-winning “Anatomy of a Fall” co-writer Arthur Harari, veteran U.K. producer and Oscar winner Jeremy Thomas, “Girls” co-showrunner and co-writer Jenni Konner and “The Hunger Games” writer and director and four-time Oscar nominee Gary Ross. Many members of the Israeli film community have also signed the open letter, including Oren Moverman, Nadav Lapid,...

Joaquin Phoenix, Joel Coen, Debra Winger and Elliot Gould are among the 151 Jewish creatives who have signed an open letter in support of Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar speech.

Further signatories include directors Mike Leigh, Todd Haynes, Lenny Abrahamson, Sarah Gavron, Ira Sachs and Emma Seligman as well as actors David Cross, Chloe Fineman, Kate Berlant and Fred Hechinger.

The letter has been put together by a group of Jewish artists and filmmakers, who shared it directly with their friends and colleagues to gather support. Signatories are continuing to add names by getting in contact with a person they know on...

Everyone is falling apart in “Stress Positions,” the Sundance premiere now opening in U.S. theaters from Neon on April 19.

The anxiety-inducing comedy directed by Theda Hammel, which she co-wrote with Faheem Ali, centers on a cluster of Brooklyn-dwelling New Yorkers spiraling during the first Covid summer of 2020 and also reeling from their own hang-ups, breakdowns, and break-ups. There’s Terry (John Early), a politically numbed basket case in the midst of a divorce, now spinning his wheels in the Brooklyn brownstone owned by the husband who’s left him. There’s his Moroccan nephew Bahlul (Qaher Harhash), a beautiful model badly injured with a broken leg and convalescing at said brownstone, with nowhere else to go and identity questions of his own. Then there’s Terry’s best friend, Karla (also played by director Hammel), a trans massage therapist in a shitty relationship with a writer (Amy Zimmer), reaping...

Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including events for Road House, Shirley, 3 Body Problem and Mary & George.

Immaculate premiere

Sydney Sweeney, who both produced and stars in the Neon horror film, debuted the project alongside director Michael Mohan at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles on March 15.

Michael Mohan and Sydney Sweeney

3 Body Problem special screening

On Sunday, the cast and creators — David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and Alexander Woo — of the new Netflix series attended a special Los Angeles screening of the show, followed by an experiential dinner at Wolvesmouth, which Gold House co-hosted.

David Benioff, Alexander Woo, Jonathan Pryce and D. B. Weiss John Bradley, Benedict Wong and Aaron Paul

Road House premiere

After premiering at SXSW, Jake Gyllenhaal, Conor McGregor, Lukas Gage, Daniela Melchior, Arturo Castro and Darren Barnet brought their film to New York on Tuesday.

How’s this for meta? Chelsea Peretti is a first-time female director with the new movie “First Time Female Director” in which she plays a first-time female director. The “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star wrote and directed the new film which premieres on [The Roku Channel] on Friday, March 8. In the movie, she plays an aspiring writer who is thrust into directing a play for a local theatre but finds that it is much more difficult than she anticipated. You can watch with a free sign-up to Roku Channel.

How to Watch 'First Time Female Director' When: Friday, March 8, 2024 Where: Roku Channel Stream: Watch with a free sign-up to Roku Channel. Watch NowFree roku.com About 'First Time Female Director'

In the film, Peretti’s character Sam is hand-picked by the Regis Theatre’s artistic director (played by Andy Richter) to take over when their resident director is fired. Eager to please,...

The Casting Society (CSA) on Wednesday announced the lineup of presenters for the 39th Annual Artios Awards, with gala celebrations taking place simultaneously on March 7 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, the Edison Ballroom in New York City and – on the same day – at the White City House in London.

Presenters at the Los Angeles ceremony (hosted by Niecy Nash-Betts) will be Wells Adams (“The Bachelor” franchise), Kate Berlant, Tantoo Cardinal (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Auli’i Cravalho, Stephanie Courtney, Ronald Gladden (“Jury Duty”), Sarah Hyland (“Modern Family”), Trace Lysette, James Marsden (“Jury Duty”), Kevin Miles (Jake from the State Farm commercials), Ashleigh Murray (“The Other Black Girl”), Michael Urie, Ming-Na Wen and Sofia Wylie (“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”).

SEECasting Society announces Emmy winner Niecy Nash-Betts, Alex Edelman as dual hosts of the Artios Awards on March 7

Also at the Los Aneles ceremony, David Oweloyo will...

Breakfast at Little Dom’s is doing nothing to assuage Chelsea Peretti’s current frustration with Los Angeles. We’re discussing how inescapable the entertainment industry can be in a booth branded with a dedicatory plaque to Jon Hamm. One table over, Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao is taking a meeting and, on the other side of the window, a man walking his dog is starting to look a little familiar. “To make good art, you need to live your life, but most people here are just working and working out,” says Peretti, turning her attention to the man outside. “I’m pretty sure that’s Max Minghella. What a town, huh?”

Peretti’s geographic misgivings, all of them delivered in a deadpan familiar to any of her viewers, listeners or followers, are not entirely serious. Just one day after her 46th birthday, the Bay Area native is the first to...

With a premiere-heavy March ahead at HBO, there will be plenty to stream this month on Max!

The first Sunday of March brings the premiere of HBO’s new six-episode limited series “The Regime,” starring HBO alum Kate Winslet. Throughout the rest of the month, don’t rest on the streamer’s long list of library additions, like the recent musical origin story “Wonka” or A24’s sleeper hit (so to speak) “Dream Scenario”; and be sure some of the HBO’s biggest premieres, including “The Girls on the Bus” starring Melissa Benoist and Ramy Youssef’s “More Feelings” make it onto your calendar.

Plus, there’s no March without March Madness! For the first time, Max will stream all of the 2024 [NCAA] Division Men’s Basketball Championship live games and studio coverage airing on TBS, TNT, and truTV, including the NCAA Men’s Final Four National Semifinals and Men’s National Championship.

Nicolas Cage's movie Dream Scenario is coming to streaming on March 15, 2024. Fans can finally enjoy the fantasy comedy from the comfort of their own homes. After a 2023 theatrical run, Cage's Dream Scenario is ready for its streaming debut.

Nicolas Cage's critically acclaimed 2023 fantasy comedy movie Dream Scenario finally gets a streaming release date. The ever-busy Cage wrapped up his 2023 with his best film of the year, an offbeat, dark comedy about a mild-mannered college professor who mysteriously begins showing up in people’s dreams, and becomes a worldwide sensation. Released last November, the movie delighted critics to the tune of a 91% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while pulling in a respectable $8.7 million at the specialty box office.

Now home audiences can enjoy Cage’s strange A24 movie Dream Scenario, as Max has set a March 15, 2024 streaming release date for the film (via Collider).

Dream Scenario Is Cage’s...

In her one-woman show, there’s a running joke that Kate Berlant cannot cry on cue. Throughout the performance, she stands in front of a camera that projects footage of her onto a screen above the stage, contorting her face, willing a single tear to fall until, at long last, she triumphs.

Recently, as she closed out the final performances of Kate at the Pasadena Playhouse — after runs in New York and London — the tears were real and more akin to hysterical sobs. “It’s such a surreal experience,” says Berlant, 36, from backstage at the Playhouse. “The crowd can’t tell because they see the tears and think I’m just acting. It made me think about how there’s sort of no difference between a deep emotional experience and just … pretending.”

Kate is an auto-fictional scripted comedy routine meets theatrical experience. Berlant speaks directly to the audience, telling a...

Actress and standup comedian Kate Berlant is always sure to remind people she didn’t get where she is by taking classes. “I was rejected from acting school,” she tells Rolling Stone. “I have no formal training.” But her one-woman show, Kate, which came to Los Angeles last month (well, technically Pasadena) after previous runs in New York and London, is deeply concerned with questions of artistic lies and emotional truth. It’s also brutally funny.

“It’s my favorite place the show has been,” Berlant says of the Pasadena Playhouse,...

What’s more romantic than proving you didn’t kill your lover?

A live reading of Justine Triet’s Oscar-nominated crime drama “Anatomy of a Fall” is taking over Valentine’s Day 2024 courtesy of Neon and Film Independent. Emmy-nominated actress Riley Keough portrays Sandra, the aforementioned “Basic Instinct”-esque supposed murderer whom Sandra Hüller plays in the feature.

Hüller is nominated for Best Actress, with the feature up for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Editing at the 2024 Oscars. The film is additionally in the race for Best International Film at the upcoming Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Writer/director Justine Triet hosts the in-person live reading with the American cast, led by Keough. The live-reading cast is rounded out by Jay Ellis who plays Sandra’s (deceased) husband Samuel, Kate Berlant as their son Daniel (in a gender swap), and Bob Odenkirk as Sandra’s “hot” lawyer Vincent.

Riley Keough, Bob Odenkirk and Danny Ramirez will star in a live reading of the Oscar-nominated drama “Anatomy of a Fall,” as will Jay Ellis, Kate Berlant, Quincy Isaiah and Olivia Wilde.

Keough (“Daisy Jones & the Six”) takes on the lead role of Sandra, which earned Sandra Hüller an Oscar nomination for best actress at the upcoming Academy Awards.

In addition to the human cast, the movie’s dog Messi will reprise his role as Snoop.

The event, taking place Feb. 14 at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, is presented by Neon and Film Independent. The film’s director Justine Triet will co-direct with Franklin Leonard of The Black List.

“My partner Arthur and I wrote this script while in quarantine together,” Triet said in a statement on Saturday. “What better way to spend Valentine’s Day than with this caliber of talent exploring relationships,...

Tim Robinson, the comedian behind sketch series I Think You Should Leave, is starring in Friendship, along with Paul Rudd and Kate Mara. The indie comedy is marking the feature directorial debut of Andrew DeYoung, the helmer known for his work on such series as Our Flag Means Death and PEN15.

J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, the producing duo behind horror hit Barbarian, are producing the comedy, which is now in production, with Fifth Season, the financier-distribution-production outfit behind recent movies Flora and Son and 80 for Brady. Fifth Season, formerly named Endeavor Content, is also financing.

Written by DeYoung, Friendship centers on a mild-mannered man named Craig, whose life is perfectly balanced, with Subway sandwiches and Marvel movies, a job he enjoys and a happy home life with a wife and son. That life is upended with the arrival in the neighborhood by a weatherman, played by Rudd. Mysterious yet friendly,...

Tim Robinson (I Think You Should Leave), Paul Rudd (Only Murders in the Building) and Kate Mara (Class of ’09) have been set to star in Friendship, a new comedy from Fifth Season and BoulderLight Pictures.

Pic centers on Craig Waterman (Robinson), who enjoys his life. He likes New Balance shoes, Subway sandwiches, and Marvel movies. He lives in the suburbs with his wife, Tami, and son, Steven. He’s happy to work at Universal Digital, a company that helps brands make their products more habit-forming. Craig sees no reason to change anything or make new friends… until weatherman Brian moves into the neighborhood. Mysterious yet friendly, macho but vulnerable, Brian (Rudd) transforms everything for Craig, but Craig’s obsessive and childlike nature threatens to ruin the friendship, and possibly everything else in his life.

Friendship is the first feature from director Andrew DeYoung, who also penned the script and is exec producing alongside Tracy Rosenblum.

Nicolas Cage is back in the brand new A24 movie Dream Scenario, a genre-blending “nightmare comedy” that made its way home for digital purchase and rental last month.

From director Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself), A24’s Dream Scenario is next headed to Blu-ray on February 27, and we’ve got the special features roundup for you today.

The Blu-ray release will include the following bonus features…

Audio commentary by writer/director Kristoffer Borgli Dream Like Nobody’s Watching featurette 3 deleted scenes Trailers

In Dream Scenario…

“A hapless family man Paul Matthews (Cage) finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.”

Julianne Nicholson, Dylan Baker, Kate Berlant, Michael Cera, Dylan Gelula and Tim Meadows also star in Dream Scenario.

The film is produced by Ari Aster...

Solo shows can be a blessing and a curse; they can be some of the most amazing theater you’ve ever seen… or an overindulgent trainwreck. Comedian Kate Berlant has somehow managed to capture the ineffable magic of both experiences with her one-woman show “Kate,” directed by Bo Burnham and now playing at the Pasadena Playhouse after heralded runs in New York and London

Even before the show, Berlant sets the mood so that the audience feels like it’s attending an industry showcase of sorts. There are dramatic black-and-white photos of her in various poses lining the theater and her branding has taken over the entire space — just check out the “Tickates” booth.

The show finds Berlant playing “Herself” in a one-woman show — an actor and comic telling the story of how she came to be a performer. In the show within the show, she also appears as various...

The stars came out for Kate.

Kate Berlant’s one-woman show with the one name title opened at the Pasadena Playhouse on Jan. 21, and the night featured a parade of bold-faced names in the 91101. Checking out the 75-minute production — written and performed by Berlant with direction by Bo Burnham — were Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon, Olivia Wilde, Kumail Nanjiani, Vanessa Bayer, Bob Odenkirk, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, Nathan Fielder, Billy Eichner, Lionel Boyce, Abbi Jacobson, Rachel Sennott, Jordan Firstman, Reggie Watts, Paul Downs, Vanessa Bayer and Chelsea Peretti. Also, there was the show’s director Burnham with rumored girlfriend Phoebe Bridgers.

The stars responded to the show, which “explores the events of her life that have brought her to this moment,” with a standing ovation. Before that, however, they lined up for pics on a step-and-repeat that featured oversized images of Berlant in various poses (seen above). Drinks and light...