Month: July 2021

Frogger is coming to Peacock as a game show, and the show has reportedly found its host. The TV version of the video game, played by humans taking the role of an animal trying desperately not to get hit by a truck or eaten by an alligator, will make humans the frogs on the streaming service.

The Hollywood Reporter wrote Thursday about the Peacock series hosted by Happy Endings star Damon Wayans, Jr., which revives the arcade classic with a new twist that will make it similar to some already-popular game shows that don’t feature video game intellectual property.

Damon Wayans Jr. will serve as host of the series, which will feature contestants playing the role of the frog in the video game and attempting a series of obstacle-filled crossings. NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt will serve as Wayans’ co-host.

Peacock’s first original competition series, Frogger will have its players dodging cars and jumping over the open maws of (presumably not real) alligators and hippos as they vie for a $100,000 prize. The series is based on the long-lived Konami video game, which has spawned more than 30 titles since its introduction in 1981 as an arcade console.

Frogger, the 1981 game developed by Komani and distributed by Sega, put players in the control of a frog navigating busy roadways and raging rivers to get to the other side. But this game show version will be a bit more like Wipeout and Holey Moley, with humans actually taking on the role of a Frogger frog on an oversized course. There are some pretty obvious similarities to shows like The Floor Is Lava here, too.

Given the inclusion of Brandt and the fact that they will presumably cover it like a real sporting event, the homages to the aforementioned game shows seem pretty clear. But we’ll have to wait and see just how much influence the actual video game has on its game show brethren, and just how many humans will get hit by trucks during filming.

Chloe and Halle Bailey of R&B duo Chloe X Halle have proven to be a multitalented pair. Not only are they one of music’s most sought-after new acts, performing on awards shows, sporting events, and corporate livestreams throughout the pandemic in lieu of touring, but they are also both accomplished actresses. While they both appear on Black-ish spinoff Grown-ish as the athletic Forster twins (in reality, Chloe is two years older), Halle is headed to the big screen in Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid in the title role.

While Chloe has seemingly been content to work on solo music while the sisters are separated by Halle’s shooting schedule, it appears the elder sister is ready to pursue her own movie career. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chloe has been cast in Jane, the debut feature film from Creator+, an upstart movie studio/streaming platform aimed toward Zoomers and digital creators — two categories Chloe X Halle clearly fall under and appeal to greatly. Produced by and starring Riverdale‘s Madelaine Petsch, Jane is described as a psychological thriller exploring “social media anxiety and mental health from the perspective of a high school student.”

The film will also feature model Chloe Yu, Shrill actor Ian Owens, and Oscar-winner Melissa Leo, most recently of Netflix’s Thunder Force. Creator+, founded by former YouTube executive Benjamin Grubbs, is set to launch in the first quarter of 2022.

Damian Lillard’s future with the Portland Trail Blazers may be the single biggest question in the NBA this summer. Last week, a report indicated that Lillard plans on requesting a trade sometime soon, although shortly after that hit the internet, Lillard sat in front of the media and said that is not the case.

A new report from Jason Quick of The Athletic indicates that Lillard does seem to want to give Portland the chance to make things better, although that might be a mighty tall task. While the threat of him leaving “has never been more real,” Lillard reportedly wants “meaningful improvement” on the Blazers roster, something he has relayed to general manager Neil Olshey.

In no uncertain terms, during the long meetings and back-and-forth text messages, Lillard has informed Olshey he wants upgrades to the Blazers’ roster. Lillard literally lost sleep over the Blazers’ first-round loss to Denver this season, and he wasn’t sure everyone else in the organization was as pained as he is. So he wants Olshey to surround him with better players — and more of them.

Since Lillard became the franchise player in 2015, he has periodically delivered similar messages to Olshey. But this time, it is clear Lillard is more urgent, illustrated in part by his decision to do so publicly. And as Lillard has noted, he is now 31 and racing against time, which has intensified his thirst for a title.

The inherent the issue the Blazers have is that it’s hard to imagine how they can make a particularly big swing. It’s almost certainly not going to be in free agency due to their cap situation and they don’t have a pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, so they’d have to hope teams are interested in trade packages. The question then becomes whether packages headlined by veteran players (C.J. McCollum, Robert Covington, etc.) and younger guys (Nassir Little and Anfernee Simons) are appealing enough to bring in the level of talent Lillard wants.

Never one to stay away from controversy (or conspiracy theories), Joe Rogan accused Saturday Night Live of stealing jokes during an interview on his podcast with fired cast member Shane Gillis. While repeatedly referencing comedian Jim Breuer, who had a brief stint on SNL during the ’90s, Rogan claimed that the show routinely steals any jokes it can get its hands on from writers, performers, and even applicants. Via Mediaite:

“By all accounts, that place is a den of thieves,” Rogan said on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, during an interview with comedian Shane Gillis. “You hear Jim Breuer’s account of the climate in that place and it’s horrific. They’re all stealing from writers, they’re stealing from performers. If you’re a writer and you submit your packages, the higher-up writers will steal your sh*t, according to Breuer.”

“If you submit a package, they own that package, even if they don’t hire you,” Rogen said to Gillis, a stand-up comedian who had his offer to join the show rescinded after a series of racist and homophobic remarks were discovered.

However, it should be noted that Rogen is operating off his March interview with Breuer, who was recounting his personal experience on the show from over 20 years ago. The comedian also admitted that watching his material get cut turned him into a “bitter, angry man,” and despite rumors that he quit, he was ultimately fired by Lorne Michaels.

So, basically, take the whole joke stealing thing with a grain of salt, which is par for the course when Joe Rogan is involved. As the podcast host famously said earlier in the year when called out for his anti-vaccine remarks, “I’m not a doctor, I’m a f*cking moron.”

(Via The Joe Rogan Experience)

Ultra City Smiths: Season 1 (AMC+ series) — Fans of Robot Chicken will undoubtedly want to check out this stop-motion animated selection from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios and showrunner Steve Conrad. Expect very adult-oriented humor and the voices of Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard, Alia Shawkat, Tim Meadows, John C. Reilly, Bebe Neuwirth, Jason Mantzoukas, and Damon Herriman. The show revolves around a corrupt city and a group of characters who only want a kinder, gentler atmosphere in which to, uh, live. It’s a sort-of whodunit with the most unorthodox detectives (literally baby dolls) who are attempting to save the world. Hey, this show has Dewey Crowe, so why ask for logic?

Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years: Season 1 (Paramount+ series) — Young SpongeBob, age 10, goes to sleepaway camp, where Mr. Krabs rules the roost. Our protagonist seeks to nab his first jellyfish, and of course, his friends step up to assist while antics rage elsewhere.

Through Our Eyes: Season 1 (HBO Max series) — Sesame Workshop gets dark with this quartet of 30-minute films that intend for adults to watch with their kids, who should be at least 9 years old, according to HBO Max’s press information. Each installment will follow children as they experience enormously challenging family issues, including parental incarceration, housing insecurity, weather-related disasters, and the hurdle of a military parent who’s been injured. These very real issues mean to teach lessons in empathy and will hopefully educate all ages.

The Walking Dead: Origins (AMC+ limited series) — This batch of episodes will bridge the gap between zombie-apocalypse-laden seasons with the origin stories of Daryl, Carol, Maggie, and Negan. Expect a lot of interwoven clips (along with cast interviews and narration) to remind everyone of these characters’ most pivotal moments as their stories head into the final season.

The North Water (AMC+ limited series) — This adrenaline-filled series stars Jack O’Connell, Colin Farrell, and Stephen Graham with a story about a beleaguered and disgraced military surgeon who must contend with a terrifying Arctic mission. The elements are the worst enemy here, followed closely by the crew-mate violence at hand. Civilization is a long way away from this story.

In case you missed these streaming picks from last Thursday:

American Horror Stories: Season 1 (FX on Hulu series) — This spinoff series of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s long-lived anthology-based franchise will present a new iteration of horror. Viewers will receive a fresh set of terrors within every episode, after the flagship series already dove through an unsettling asylum, a freak shows, a haunted hotels, a witch coven, and the apocalypse.

Dr. Death (Peacock limited series) — This true-crime series tells the story of Dr. Christopher Duntch, whose homicidal ways left dozens of victims in his career’s wake. Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater play the medical colleagues who attempt to stop the mayhem and help bring him to justice. The story’s based upon the Dr. Death podcast, and the prosecutor on the case (portrayed by AnnaSophia Robb) will stop at nothing to indict the healthcare system that helped Duntch bury his misdeeds for years. The doc is so chillingly portrayed by Joshua Jackson that this show might freak Dawson’s Creek fans the hell out.

The UK is experiencing record-breaking weather this week. England reached its hottest temperature of the year on Tuesday when it hit 32.2°C at Heathrow Airport in west London. Temperatures in Northern Ireland reached an all-time high when 31.3°C was recorded at Castlederg the next day.

However, when you translate Celsius to Fahrenheit, the temperatures don’t seem to be that extreme, at least to an American. Thirty-two degrees celsius is only 89.6° F. When you compare the temperatures in the UK to an average July day in Las Vegas, Nevada where it’ll hit 107°F, the British seem a little weak.

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An American TikTokker named Rae pointed out that the temperatures weren’t that hot in a viral video.

The clip shows her reading the headline, which says: “UK sees hottest day of 2021 as temperatures soar to 31.6°C.” In a voiceover, she says, “I wonder how much that is in Fahrenheit.”

She converts the temperature on a website and found that it only equates to 88.88°F. “The British are p******,” she says.

The video has since been deleted.

However, a British TikTokker named @imeyrick pushed back against claims that the British can’t handle hot weather by pointing out how the country’s infrastructure isn’t set up to handle the heat.

“Point number one, we don’t have air conditioning, anywhere,” the 27-year-old explains. “Apart from, like, retail outlets. Some places will have it. But most homes do not have air conditioning. They’re not built with air conditioning, the best we can have is portable stuff.”

Just imagine what it would be like to be stuck in 89°F weather all day without being able to cool off by turning on the A/C?

“Point number two is that our buildings are insulated to hell because we typically have mild summers and cold winters. So our buildings are designed to hold the heat to save energy costs,” he continued.

He also makes the point that British people’s bodies aren’t used to heat. Much like if someone from California were to go to England during the winter, they’d be extremely uncomfortable.

“And point number three, your body will adjust to the climate that you live in,” he said.

“We don’t get that much hot weather, it lasts for about two to three weeks. Our bodies don’t have time to adjust, therefore our bodies literally cannot handle the heat,” he said.

The video received a lot of positive comments from Americans who live in the UK.

One commented: “I’m from California, 103°F summers no problem. I’m in Kent, it’s 80°F and I’m dying. There is no relief. Not having ac is a huge difference.”

Another wrote: “I’m from Florida, living in London now, and yeah. it hits differently here.”

The good news for people in the UK is that the heatwave looks like it’ll subside soon. Thunderstorms are predicted to hit most of England and Wales over the weekend, bringing temps back down to a reasonable level.

The key to a good reboot? Just enough nostalgia alongside plenty of changes that not only update the franchise for former fans, but welcome new fans as well. While the upcoming CW reboot of Legends of the Hidden Temple already seemed to have that formula down pat, their newest addition to the cast is a former fan favorite that’s sure to delight those who grew up watching the former Nickelodeon show. Dee Bradley Baker, voice actor for the legendary talking Mayan head Olmec, has announced he’s returning to the series. According to executive producer Scott Stone in an interview with Variety, Baker was more than happy to return:

“When we asked Dee Bradley Baker to return as the one and only Olmec – our giant talking stone head, and he said, ‘Let’s Rock,’ that was all I had to hear…Olmec lives!”

In addition to Baker, writer, producer, actor and comedian Cristela Alonzo (Cristela) is set to host the upcoming reboot. Much like the original, the new Legends of the Hidden Temple is set in the jungle albeit with much tougher challenges — and grander prizes — than ever before. However, several of the Nickelodeon’s most popular elements, such as “Moat Crossings,” “The Steps of Knowledge,” “The Temple Run,” will all be featured in the reboot.

The Legends of the Hidden Temple reboot premieres Sunday, Oct. 10 on The CW, and marks the first new episode since 1995.

During a lively appearance on The Tonight Show filled with singing and sky-diving adventures, Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke confirmed to Jimmy Fallon that, yes, she has been cast in Marvel’s Secret Invasion series for Disney+. While news of Clarke’s casting was reported back in April, that information is never concrete unless Marvel or the actor confirms it, which happened just last week in the case of Jameela Jamil and her upcoming role in She-Hulk.

However, Clarke was reluctant to reveal any more details, mostly because her first meeting for Secret Invasion involved sitting down with Marvel’s notoriously tight security.

“I’m already scared,” Clarke told Fallon. “The first people I spoke to from Marvel were their security team, and I am convinced there’s a man outside my house. There’s been a car parked there for a long time, and I swear to God, he’s undercover.”

When Fallon asked if Marvel cast her because she obviously has experience keeping spoilers under wrap for Game of Thrones, Clarke said that was her first thought, too, but nope. “They schooled me,” she said. Turns out protecting the secrets of Westeros doesn’t mean squat to Marvel.

Speaking of superheroes, Clarke also got some time to promote her wild, new comic book, M.O.M.: Mother of Madness, which features a heroine whose powers fluctuate during her, uh, time of the month. While Clarke is proud of the artistic achievement, she made it very clear that she didn’t make the comic book to turn it into a movie or a TV series.

“I made a comic because I’m crazy,” she told Fallon with a laugh.

(Via The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon)

When you’re rich enough to commission a $28 million Rolls Royce like Jay-Z and Beyonce, you’re most definitely rich enough to own multiple properties. The music industry’s favorite power have opulent homes across the country, owning houses in areas like Los Angeles, New York City, and the Hamptons. But one of their reported homes seems to have quite a big emergency this week as fire fighters responded to the scene of a New Orleans mansion on fire.

According to a report from TMZ, Beyonce and Jay-Z’s reported home in New Orleans caught ablaze in the early evening on Wednesday. The fire was reported in the 1500 block of Harmony Street at around 6:15 pm.

The fire was apparently classified as a one-alarm fire, meaning it was relatively low in severity. Even still, twenty-two firefighters reportedly responded to the fire, and they were able to contain in just before 7 p.m. Thankfully, no one was injured during the fire. Per TMZ’s report, the owners as of 2015 were Sugarcane Park LLC, which had their primary address listed as Beyonce’s Parkwood Entertainment management company.

“If they hadn’t gotten it under control, it could have been worse,” a spokesperson said, according to New Orleans news outlet Nola. Nola’s report notes the building was nearly 100 years old. It was built in 1926 by the Westminster Presbyterian Church and was later converted into a ballet studio.

LeBron James has shown this summer that he can dominate both a basketball court and the virtual world. The Lakers star is not only starring in Space Jam: A New Legacy, but he’s had his own video game, and he’s even in Fortnite.

With all that under his belt it would be safe to assume that James is just going to spend the rest of this summer taking it easy right? Turns out that he has other plans, because he’s teaming up with Fortnite developer Epic Games to create taco pop-up restaurants called “El Rey’s Taco Tuesday” which is a reference to his nickname “The King” and his love of taco Tuesday.

Epic Games’ global online video game, Fortnite partnered with the basketball King, to produce an immersive experience for the ultimate LeBron James fans. Los Angeles’s new taco pop-up, “El Rey’s Taco Tuesday” is an industrial space that was converted into a gaming-restaurant where attendees can enjoy complimentary tacos.

The menu features 3 types of gluten-free tacos: Chicken Tinga, Grilled Carne Asada, and Roasted Barbacoa Mushroom. Beverages that can pair nicely with your taco plate include the famous “Slurp Juice” from the Epic Game’s Battle Royale.

This is a pretty fun partnership that matches up perfectly with James’ appearance in Fortnite. The three Fortnite skins available to players are a Space Jam skin, a king skin, and a taco t-shirt skin. While there’s no Space Jam reference in these pop-up taco restaurants, they do reference the two other skins and the tacos admittedly sound pretty good. Personally, I’d love to try a “Slurp Juice” to see what that tastes like.

These restaurants aren’t the first time James has used his love of taco Tuesday to sponsor an event of some kind. Back in early 2020, James gave the families of his “I Promise” school a taco Tuesday of their own. It’s really cool to see something that James was originally just having fun with on social media turn into a big part of what he’s about.