WWE is ending an eventful week by revealing that after a brief return to live shows, it plans to pre-tape all of its TV shows from the end of April through the beginning of July. The company also claims that it will be doing this in the safest possible way for its workers.

The timeline of WWE’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is a packed on. When restrictions on gatherings were put in place around the U.S. and most sports and entertainment went on hiatus, WWE continued to film episodes of television, just pre-taping them at the Performance Center with no fans in attendance instead of broadcasting them live from arenas. Even after some talent had to pull out because of health and travel issues and there was a positive coronavirus test within the company, WWE decided to start airing live shows again.

It seemed like those might get shut down as Florida took more anti-coronavirus measures, but after a suspiciously timed Super PAC donation, WWE, along with other sports and media, was deemed an essential business by the state. In the following days, WWE started collaborating with the Ad Council on coronavirus safety PSAs, released a Community Impact Report about all the great things they say the company does, and Vince McMahon was added to President Donald Trump’s task force to reopen the economy. The wrestling promotion also announced mass layoffs that included wrestlers, producers, coaches, and writers.

As more media outlets (including The Independent and The Nation) have taken notice of WWE’s financial and political dealings, Pro Wrestling Sheet‘s Ryan Satin, who appears on FS1’s WWE Backstage, received an “exclusive” report that WWE is returning to pre-taped shows. Satin reports that, “in an effort to have performers traveling as little as possible,” WWE will, on April 25, start taping one to two episodes of their programs at a time. The whole taping schedule is in the article, with July 1 the last filming date (for the July 8 edition of NXT.) Tonight’s episode of Smackdown and all of next week’s WWE TV will be live.

The piece also includes details about new health and safety measures WWE is taking, which it says have, “continued to evolve as we learn more about coronavirus as a society.” The protocols described are all things that other companies were doing already, some of which WWE was already doing: “wearing face masks, good hygiene/handwashing for the appropriate amount of time, medical screenings prior to entering any closed set, matches done in waves, only essential personnel on-site, adhering to social distancing outside of performances, ‘pandemic-level cleaning’ and more.”

Anonymous WWE sources have more positive things to say about the company in the article, including that, “despite some outside criticism, WWE is putting a lot of effort into mitigating risks and doing the best they can to protect people’s health and safety while still keeping the business afloat amidst the current pandemic.” (In a statement to investors the day of the layoffs, WWE stated that it has “substantial financial resources, both available cash and debt capacity, which currently total approximately $0.5 billion, to manage the challenges ahead.” An in-depth outside analysis of the company’s finances by Wrestlenomices can be found here.)

A WWE rep also gave Pro Wrestling Sheet a statement making the case for why the company should continue to produce new shows, not just financially, but for the good of society. “We believe it is now more important than ever to provide people with a diversion from these hard times,” the source said. According to this person, because WWE is, “a brand that has been woven into the fabric of society, WWE and its Superstars bring families together and deliver a sense of hope, determination and perseverance.”

With basketball fans jonesing for any hoops content amid the NBA’s suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ESPN decided to push up the release date of its highly-anticipated documentary The Last Dance. It gives fans a look into the final year of Michael Jordan’s tenure with the Chicago Bulls, and while it was originally slated to air this June, the 10-part series will make its debut this Sunday.

Prior to its release, ESPN decided to release a clip on its Twitter account. In it, context is given regarding the tensions that existed in Chicago following the team’s championship in 1996-97. There was some uncertainty about the team keeping the band together following that win, to the point that Jordan, in his postgame presser after knocking off the Utah Jazz, said “we’re entitled to defend what we have until we lose it.”

The clip ends with a quick look at the team’s general manager, Jerry Krause, who wasn’t happy with the lack of credit he received for his role in the team’s success.

It’s unclear when this airs in the context of the first episode, but this does set the table nicely for what we can assume happens early on. The series kicks off on Sunday night, with the first episode airing at 9 p.m. EST on ESPN and the second episode airing immediately after.

There is a passage in Benjamin Hoff’s 1982 classic, “The Tao of Pooh” where he perfectly outlines the major source of unhappiness in the western world, the search for the ever-elusive “Great Reward.”

“Religions, sciences, and business ethics have tried their hardest to convince us that there is a Great Reward waiting for us somewhere and that what we have to do is spend our lives working like lunatics to catch up with it,” he writes.

“A way of life that keeps saying, ‘Around the next corner, above the next step,’ works against the natural order of things and makes it so difficult to be happy,” Hoff continues.

It’s true, most of us are conditioned to believe that a state of eternal bliss is waiting for us once we get the right job, the right spouse, the right house, reach our ideal weight or finally get around to painting a masterpiece.

Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos says that true happiness comes from an entirely different place.

“Our minds lie to us all the time. We miswant things. We think we need to change our life circumstances to become happier,” Dr. Santos said according to CNN.

Dr. Santos’ research reveals is that happiness comes from “simple practices, simple acts like making a social connection, or taking time for gratitude, or taking time to be in the present moment,” she told CNN.

Dr. Santos teaches the most popular course in Yale’s 300-year history, The Science of Well Being, which teaches students how to be happy. The great thing is that you don’t have to go to Yale to take it, it’s being offered for free online by Coursera.

Throughout the course, you will be repeatedly asked by Coursera to purchase a $49 certificate of completion, but you can avoid it by hitting the back button on your browser.

Here’s the description from the online syllabus:

In this course, you will engage in a series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habits. As preparation for these tasks, Professor Laurie Santos reveals misconceptions about happiness, annoying features of the mind that lead us to think the way we do, and the research that can help us change. You will ultimately be prepared to successfully incorporate a specific wellness activity into your life.

It’s a ten-week course that is a series of videos, quizzes, and readings. The homework centers around learning more about yourself and creating habits that will enhance your overall happiness.

One of the first lessons is a character strengths assessment where you learn about your best qualities and how to implement them into your life.

Dr. Santos created the class after spending time with students and being “shocked at the kind of mental health issues” they had. She believes it’s a “national trend that’s getting worse.”

The COVID-19 quarantine has given a lot of people extra time to pause and reevaluate their lives. This course is a great way for people to focus on creating a better, happier life when things return to normal.

In the final scene of Killing Eve season two, Villanelle shoots and, presumably, kills Eve, leaving her body behind in those Roman ruins. But in the season three premiere, which aired last Sunday, Eve is alive and well(-ish), working at a Korean restaurant in London. What happened in the six months between the episodes? Sandra Oh has an idea.

When asked why Villanelle would leave Eve without checking to see if she’s actually dead, the two-time Golden Globe winner told Variety, “I have my own theory, which might not be in line with the writers or even Jodie [Comer], because I don’t really know what Jodie felt like. What I thought is that [Villanelle] knows. She’s too good at her job. She knows.” In other words, Villanelle didn’t want Eve dead. Otherwise, she’d be, well, dead.

Oh also answered whether Eve and Villanelle could live happily ever after.

“No, and I think that’s what makes great drama. I think that’s what makes great romance. It’s the yearning that brings people in. It’s that dramatic storytelling. It’s based on desire and yearning.”

I get that. It’s like how I desire and yearn to discover why Villanelle is dressed as a clown in an upcoming episode. It’s the same thing, really.

(Via Variety)

DaBaby unveiled his album Blame It On Baby this week following its surprise announcement. The record has seemingly been received with mixed reviews from fans, but that hasn’t stopped DaBaby from pushing forward. Teaming up with his collaborator YoungBoy Never Broke Again, DaBaby unveiled a video accompanying his track “Jump.”

While NBA YoungBoy pled guilty to battery charges just a few months ago after being accused of kidnapping and aggravated assault, the rapper has continued to release music. Directed by Reel Goats, the “Jump” visual is a humorous take on life during the coronavirus pandemic. The video opens with a fake news reporter outside of DaBaby’s house. DaBaby hops in the frame and begins spraying the reporter with Windex. The remainder of the video sees DaBaby and NBA YoungBoy rapping amid a cleaning team in hazmat suits.

Ahead of the video’s release, DaBaby detailed his album’s writing process in a statement. “This album shows that no one is as versatile as me in the game right now; especially this early in their mainstream career,” DaBaby said. “During the creative process of Blame It On Baby, I made sure that every single song had the potential to be a hit.”

Watch DaBaby and NBA Youngboy’s “Jump” video above.

Blame It On Baby is out now on Interscope Records. Get it here.

NBA YoungBoy is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Social distancing continues this weekend amid the global pandemic, and several new TV seasons are here for the binging. If nothing here suits your sensibilities, check out our guide to What You Should Watch On Streaming Right Now.

Bosch (Amazon series) — Bosch’s newly cleared reputation precedes him as the sixth season begins, so can Titus Welliver’s title character just take a beach holiday? Not a chance. Amazon’s addictive cop drama is back for its penultimate turn.

#BlackAF (Netflix series) – Rashida Jones and Black-ish creator Kenya Barris joined forces for this comedy series that’s in mockumentary format and incredibly meta. However, the show’s at least promising to be more edgy than its ABC counterpart.

Too Hot to Handle (Netflix series) — Another dating show on Netflix has arrived, but this time, it’s kind-of an anti-dating show. Ten singles will show up in tropical paradise, only to be told that they can’t hook up or even pleasure themselves (not sure how they’ll monitor that one) if they want to stay in competition for a $100,000 prize. Good luck?

Outer Banks (Netflix series) — This coming-of-age story takes place — you guessed it — on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Unfortunately, a hurricane takes out power for an entire summer season, which leads a group of friends to consider life-altering decisions amid mystery and adventure.

Sergio (Netflix film) — This biographical drama, starring Wagner Moura and Ana de Armas, follows the storied career of Sergio Vieira de Mello, a top UN diplomat on one last job in Baghdad that leads to a life-or-death struggle.

Rising High (Netflix film) — Two real-estate fraudsters rise and fall while attempting a get-rich scheme that goes incredibly wrong.

Here’s the rest of this weekend’s notable programming:

Charmed (Friday, CW 8:00 p.m.) — Mel and Maggie are surprisingly seeking help from dad while Macy gets a surprise reveal from the past.

Dynasty (Friday, CW 9:00 p.m.) — Fallon’s on the hunt for the perfect wedding gift while Blake wants to close his deal, and Sam’s learning about friendship.

Real Time With Bill Maher (Friday, HBO 10:00 p.m.) — Virtual interview guests include Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Fareed Zakari, and Andrew Sullivan.

Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children (Sunday, HBO 8:00 p.m.) — Part III of HBO’s unraveling of a shameful legacy airs. Read our interview with two of the filmmakers, and then tune in to watch Wayne Williams’ odd behavior (and that of the police) make no sense.

Westworld (Sunday, HBO 9:00 p.m.) — The confusion continues as this episode’s description alludes to some form of therapy. Get caught up on fan theories before air time.

Killing Eve (Sunday, AMC 9:00 p.m.) — Kenny’s death leaves Eve and Caroline reeling, and Villanelle finds that being part of management “sucks.”

Homeland (Sunday, Showtime 9:00 p.m.) — Carrie’s scrambling to receive a favor (just one more!) while Saul is backchannelling.

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (Sunday, NBC 9:00 p.m.) — Zoe finds herself in a major and uncomfortable conflict with several people while Mitch and Maggie attempt to celebrate but fail.

Insecure (Sunday, HBO 10:00 p.m.) — Lawrence grows uncomfortable when confronted by Issa and Condola, and Molly and Andrew aren’t doing so well.

Run (Sunday, HBO 10:30 p.m.) — The new show from Fleabag and Killing Eve dynamic duo Vicky Jones and Phoebe Waller-Bridge barrels further down the train track as Ruby and Billy try to figure out what the hell they’re doing together.

Cathy Engelbert was pretty blunt on Friday afternoon ahead of her first draft as WNBA commissioner about the fact that she did not expect to be in her current situation. In fact, she even went so far as to admit she expected the commissioner job to be easier when compared with her time as the CEO of Deloitte, where she oversaw more than 100,000 employees.

Rather than simply celebrating the moment when young players achieve their dream of becoming professionals, the WNBA Draft (Friday at 7 p.m. EST) brings more anxiety this time around. The league was determined to press on with the draft virtually — even getting the later rounds aired on ESPN for the first time — but that, of course, presents risk.

Engelbert called planning at a time when the country is shut down to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus “a bit of a Rubik’s Cube” during a media conference call on Friday. She will enlist the help of her children to make sure her in-home broadcast setup goes smoothly, and has propped up a makeshift podium to place jerseys on when she announces each pick.

“In every crisis, you find opportunities,” Engelbert said in hashing out all the ways that, despite the financial questions that loom, the WNBA might come out of the crisis better-prepared for the future.

That includes innovating with broadcasting and connecting with what Engelbert calls “digital natives,” or the youngest generation of fans who find news, highlights and even games online. Engelbert mentioned trying virtual reality, unique sponsorships, and new merchandise as a way to bridge the gap if fans cannot come to games.

The league has not taken any options off the table from a scheduling standpoint when it comes to having a 2020 season, Engelbert said. That includes playing games in places where there is less community spread of the virus or hosting double-headers in arenas that are shared between NBA and WNBA teams, such as Brooklyn or Phoenix.

“The decisions you make during a crisis are ones that can help you when you come out if it,” Engelbert said. Many of these initiatives were priorities when she took the job last June, and the importance of succeeding in each capacity has only grown.

If the WNBA is to have a season, Engelbert said quick and widespread testing, treatments, and eventually, a vaccine, will be the most important components in her feeling like it is safe enough to move forward. This is the same message coming from nearly every sports commissioner right now, which Engelbert said provides a sense of community among decision-makers.

“We’re all in the same boat,” she said. “There’s no doubt that everybody’s focus is the health and safety of everybody who would be involved.”

Engelbert was among those on a call with the White House earlier this month in which the president and vice president gave insight into how they believe sports might come back. The WNBA will be the first to hold a live event since the shutdown, a week before the NFL tries the same thing.

The hope is that the WNBA can grab ahold of the spotlight in a way it rarely has, while also working out some of the kinks in plans to broadcast content that may prove valuable when and if games return.

We all need a little levity in these trying times, and since we’re largely sequestered to our homes, viral videos have become temporary saviors of our sanity. Since the pandemic started, we’ve seen talking dogs and dancing dads and time traveling comedians lift our spirits and make us laugh.

But these Dadosaur videos we’re about to show you? Oh my goodness. They’re so outrageously silly. So over-the-top ridiculous. And yet they are just so endearing and hilarious at the same time.

TikTok user @olivemannella is the daughter of Frank, who instantaneously transforms into a screeching, destructive dinosaur any time one of his kids says the word “Dadosaur.” And he GOES for it, much to the delight of his children—and the dismay of his wife.

Joey C. Miller shared a few of the videos on Facebook, and they’ve been shared 500,000 times in two days. Just watch:

Despite Mom’s earnest protests, you know this is one of the reasons she married the guy in the first place. Any man who can have this much fun and make this much of a mess of himself just to make his kids laugh is a keeper.

Keep bringing the silliness, Dadosaur. And if you want to follow for more dad fun, head over to @olivemannella’s page on TikTok.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the world seemed to be falling apart – cultural, social, economic and political upheavals imparted a general sense of gloom that pervaded everything, and the movies reflected that. In part, that was through gritty, independent films that presented a bleak view of the American landscape.

There was another side of Hollywood, though, which found a way to capture the discomfort and fear of the time and turn it into something spectacular: the disaster film. Starting with the huge success of the all-star Airport in 1970, movie producers discovered that putting movie stars in peril was big business.

Airport Trailer

www.youtube.com

Audiences couldn’t get enough, which in part might be because by portraying the most terrifying and seemingly impossible concepts, then thrusting big movie stars into the roles of victims and survivors, the disaster films showed moviegoers that anything, even the end of the world, was theoretically survivable.

It’s one of the reasons that in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, disaster movies seem oddly, unexpectedly comforting. “We like to find hope, and these movies do find hope,” says Los Angeles-based psychotherapist Louise Bale, who specializes in helping clients work through trauma. “The hope is always in human resilience and in humanity coming together.” Adding in big-name stars and big-budget productions actually helps audiences connect. “They start out glamorous, but the glamour gets stripped down and they become more like us. We can relate to that person, who looks a little more haggard than they did at the beginning of the movie.”

Whether finding an impossible path through an overturned luxury liner or looking for the way out of a 138-story building, “On a psychological level, the stories help us know that that’s what surviving looks like, and we root for these people because we know they are not helpless or hopeless.”

Of course, coping with crisis isn’t as simple as watching a disaster movie. But for many people, seeing movie stars beat impossible odds can be wonderfully cathartic. Whether you’re unfamiliar with the disaster-movie genre, or you’ve always longed to board the S.S. Poseidon, here are four can’t-miss disaster movies that will make you think, “Hey, if they can get through that horrible thing, so can I” – and that’s a message we all could hear these days. Plus, as Bale notes, what we’re experiencing is hard, unprecedented and downright scary at times, but not everyone wants to express those fears. “Maybe we’re trying really hard right now not to look as scared as we feel, but if we watch something that’s scary or very thrilling, we can say, ‘Ah, I’m only feeling this way because the movie is so intense.’ And that helps us work through our own emotions.”

Whatever the reason for watching them, you cannot go wrong with these four disaster films!

The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

The Poseidon Adventure (1972) Trailer

www.youtube.com

Get past the dated, hokey (but often funny) first 20 minutes and as soon as a giant tidal wave smacks into the grand luxury ship S.S. Poseidon this super-blockbuster, which grossed the adjusted-dollar equivalent of $515 million, holds up as one of the most riveting adventures ever put on film. Led by Gene Hackman as a disillusioned preacher and Ernest Borgnine as a gruff cop, a group of survivors have to find a way out of the ship, which has completely turned over. They’ve got just hours to do it, and The Poseidon Adventure consistently finds ways to capture the humanity of these scared, shell-shocked people even while the sets explode and fill with water all around them. Between they explosions, they create compelling, affecting characters, plus an undercurrent of real moral consequence; as they move deeper into the fiery ship that resembles hell, even the preacher isn’t sure God is on their side. (Available on all streaming services for $4 to $5 rental.)

The Towering Inferno (1974)

The Towering Inferno Trailer

www.youtube.com

Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway and William Holden were all huge stars, but the movie’s real star is the 138-story glass tower that’s getting ready for its grand opening. If The Poseidon Adventure found some humanity in its giant cast of characters, The Towering Inferno seems more focused on the thrills themselves. It takes all those pretty people, locks them in a room 138 stories over San Francisco, and then lights the whole thing on fire. How they get down is the film’s primary story, but why you’ll watch is to see what happens when rich and powerful people find out they’re in the same boat as everyone else. (Available on streaming services from $3.99 to $14 to own)

Earthquake (1974)

Earthquake (1974) Official Trailer #1 – Charlton Heston Movie HD

www.youtube.com

Also released in 1974, leading some to suggest a double-feature of this and Towering Inferno could be called “Shake and Bake,” Earthquake plays a surprising amount of its story for laughs. It knows its campy and over-the-top, that it’s an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach that’s just a half-step above parody. It also looks at times like a made-for-TV movie. But none of that can diminish its success. Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, Genevieve Bujold, George Kennedy, Lorne Greene and Victoria Principal are the human stars, but you’re here to see them crawl their way through a shattered Los Angeles, and on that the movie delivers. (Available on major streaming services for $3.99 to $4.99)

Deep Impact (1998)

Deep Impact – Trailer

www.youtube.com

Disaster movies lost their appeal for a while, but in 1998 came two end-of-the-world movies just around the time that some were predicting the new millennium would be the end of the world for everyone. Between Armageddon and Deep Impact, only one cares about the human element of its story, and director Mimi Leder’s more gentle (yet still plenty crash-and-burn) approach to Deep Impact makes it the most lasting and affecting of the two films. It’s about a comet that’s hurtling toward Earth, and what happens when science discovers that the world really might end. The epic story never forgets the human scale – it’s fascinating to watch these characters try to grasp the magnitude of what is happening. There’s also Morgan Freeman as history’s most pragmatic, kind-hearted and well-spoken president. (Available on all major streaming services for $4 to $5)

John Singh is a writer and entertainment-industry veteran who began his career as a newspaper journalist and has also worked at Disney, Lucasfilm Ltd., DreamWorks Animation and on a variety of films and TV series.

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