Category: News

Lil Nas X is back. After laying low (more or less) for the past year or so, the provocateur returned to social media in earnest to promote his new music, chat about his upcoming tour documentary, and of course, deliver devastating troll responses to his haters (and Dave Chappelle).

So, if all this means that Lil Nas is preparing to drop new music, when exactly can we expect it to come out? Well, if his new post on Twitter is anything to go by, it should be very soon — like, “next week” soon.

In typical Lil Nas fashion, he took a comedic approach to announcing his forthcoming single, reposting a photo of Kesha holding a makeshift sign reading “new music coming soon” alongside a photo of himself holding his own sign, which says, “What she said.” In the caption, though, he went one step further, giving fans a date: 1-12-24. Does this mean it’s a joint single? When Lil Nas X is involved, anything is possible.

Meanwhile, he did offer some tidbits about the accompanying music video, revealing that he shot it in Brazil and got inspiration from the local fauna (capybara, which he calls “giant hamsters”). He also offered a pic of the chillest creatures on planet Earth.

It’s been one month since Art Basel and we honestly can’t stop imagining ourselves back on the shores of Miami to celebrate the cultural extravaganza. Every year, Art Basel gathers art enthusiasts, elite DJs and producers, and eager partygoers to celebrate all things art, music, and global culture for three blissful days on the beach.

Out of all the notable parties amid Art Basel, Art With Me truly transformed Miami’s Historic Virginia Key Beach Park for three days on December 8th-10th. This year’s edition offered jaw-dropping art installations, comprehensive wellness programming, and world-renowned talent, including household names Underworld, Polo & Pan, Channel Tres, Lee Burridge, LP Giobbi, Jan Blomqvist, Apache, and more.

Centered around six core pillars of art, dance, breath, eat, play, and care, Art With Me gathered thousands of like-minded individuals to connect with tropical nature through intentional movement and wellness. Along with music, attendees were able to explore free thought arts and creative workshops, premium culinary experiences, and the 863-acre Virginia Key island full of sweeping beaches and sunsets.

While we’re looking forward to the year ahead, allow these photos of Art With Me Miami to take you back to its impeccable art celebration last month.

Cobra Kai will give Netflix viewers one final season before the next The Karate Kid movie arrives. That film will not include the younger Cobra Kai cast but will star Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan together to unite the souls of the previous two branches of films. And back to that younger cast, there might actually be some Season 6 appearances that could surprise viewers. How so?

The promise of “the biggest and baddest” season on the books will reportedly film for a full six months, if the recent suggestion of Xolo Maridueña (who will have to shave his face every day for that long as Miguel) is to be taken at face value. That could potentially add up to a super-sized season, possibly split into two halves, although that hasn’t been confirmed.

That’s not the potentially surprising part, so let’s get to that: the massive filming gap between seasons (we’ll get to that in a moment) means what we might see younger cast members returning after growth spurts.

This has already happened to some degree on the series in previous seasons. Remember how the much maligned Anthony LaRusso appeared during his “lecturing while eating a popsicle” phase in Season 3?

In Season 5, he (finally) put his tech obsession to good use and became less insufferable in the season finale. Likewise, actor Griffin Santopietro had experienced a growth spurt and looked like a brand-new dude:

This phenomenon might be even more apparent for Season 6. Back in January 2022, Jacob Bertrand (who portrays Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz) revealed to us that the show had already finished filming Season 5 (right as Season 4 was due to be released). Fast forward to January 2024, and Season 6 paused production right after completing the season premiere. So that means more than two years have passed before most of the final season will have filmed, and a lot can happen in two years, all while these characters still supposedly remain in high school. Maybe Anthony will even pick up a popsicle again. You never know.

Cobra Kai should hopefully return in late 2024.

A restaurant can have a charming exterior and a cozy dining area, but you never really know what’s happening behind the scenes. From the customer’s vantage point, things may look OK, but that alone won’t tell you about the restaurant’s dedication to cleanliness, ingredient quality and culinary best practices.

Many things can go wrong in the kitchen that could turn your nice dinner into a night laying in bed holding your stomach.

Even though culinary standards have been improving in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 48 million people get sick from a foodborne illness each year. Of that number, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die.

Celebrity Chef Robert Irvine has a shorthand that helps him determine if a restaurant will provide a healthy, botulism-free meal: He checks the bathrooms. Irvine is an English celebrity chef and talk show host who has appeared on and hosted a variety of Food Network programs, including “Restaurant: Impossible,” “Worst Cooks in America,” and “Chopped: Impossible.”

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“Well, the first thing I look for is, are the bathrooms clean?” he told Business Insider, adding, “Because if the bathrooms are clean, the kitchen’s clean, everything else is clean.”

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Irvine believes the bathroom is an excellent indicator of what the standards are like in the establishment. Irvine says that he keeps his home immaculate, starting with the restrooms, “So that’s what I look for when I go to a restaurant.”

The Food Network star also added that he also looks to see if the staff are happy while on the job.

Irvine isn’t the only restaurant expert checking the bathroom before ordering a meal. Liz Weiss, host of Liz’s Healthy Table podcast and blog, does the same. “My biggest red flag when dining out at a restaurant is a dirty bathroom,” Weiss told Food Network. “If the bathroom is a mess, it makes me think twice about the cleanliness and overall condition of the kitchen.”

To further drive home the point, a food inspector went viral last year on TikTok for a video where they share the four places they won’t eat. “I’ve seen a lot,” TikTok user @toofar_north captioned their video, saying they won’t eat at buffets or places with extensive menus, unhappy employees and dirty bathrooms.

I’ve seen a lot. 

@toofar_north

I’ve seen a lot. #greenscreen #inspector #healthinspector #tips #restaurant #restauranttips #healthtok #inspectortok #fypp

Why is a large menu a red flag? If a restaurant has a large menu, it could mean that some dishes don’t have a lot of turnover, so they are made with older ingredients that may be unsafe. If there are 100 dishes on the menu, what are the chances that your order hasn’t been cooked in quite some time?

Further, restaurants with large menus may not have the tastiest food because it’s hard to perfect many different types of food. So, it’s probably better to go to a place that does a few things well than 100 things that are just okay. Just makes sure that it has a clean bathroom and that the employees appear to be happy.

The marketing and release strategy for the latest entry in the MCU – Echo, which will premiere in full on both Disney+ and Hulu on December 9th – has been interesting for a few reasons. Well, first, let’s start with two reasons already stated: instead of one episode released week by week as the other MCU shows have gone so far, Echo is releasing its full season all at once. And, instead of just on Disney+, Echo will simultaneously released on Hulu. Echo is also the first MCU property to get designated as “Marvel Spotlight” (we’ll get to that) and the first MCU show to be rated for “mature audiences.” So, yes, there’s a lot going on here.

As for the “Marvel Spotlight” aspect, this is supposed to signify this is a self-contained show, not dependent on any of the other MCU titles, which has been a criticism of recent offerings that it’s been difficult to keep up. And, yes, this is somewhat true that not much else needs to be known, for MCU fans who do like keeping up, within the first half of the debut episode, three major MCU characters show up from other MCU entries. Plus, Echo is a direct sequel to the cliffhanger Hawkeye left us with. And yes, it’s certainly unusual Echo is labeled for mature audiences, the violence isn’t on the level of, say, Deadpool or Logan. But it’s certainly more violent than what we’ve seen from the MCU to this point, which Marvel seems to be leaning into.

As mentioned, Echo picks up where Hawkeye leaves off, with our title character, Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), shooting Wilson Fisk (aka Kingpin, played by Vincent D’Onofrio) in the face, seemingly killing him. Now Maya is on the run, returning to her Oklahoma hometown where trouble also lurks there (again, a good amount of violence in this) as she makes a grand plan to destroy Kingpin’s criminal network for good, while also grappling with her family and her Native American heritage.

Ahead, we talk to director Sydney Freeland (who has directed episodes of Reservation Dogs and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds), who helmed the four episodes of Echo, including the first. She shares her thoughts on the way the series is being presented, and why this series, focusing on an anti-hero, the goal was just to tell Maya’s story correctly. Also, she has a wonderful story about Graham Greene.

This does have a different tone as far as the violence. People get shot in the head. when were you told that this would be different than what came before?

Oh, no. I think that just came about organically in collaborating with Marvel. I think just for myself, and watching Hawkeye, one of the most interesting aspects about the character of Maya Lopez was the fact that she was a villain. And then in having the conversations with Marvel, the response was like, “Oh, well, let’s go down that rabbit hole. Let’s see where that goes and let’s see if we can push the envelope a little bit.” So we didn’t set out to make TV-MA show. But we did set out in the process of trying to tell the best possible story – that meant that we didn’t want to shy away from the circumstances of Maya Lopez’s situation. Which meant that she’s a villain and she’s a top-ranking lieutenant in Kingpin’s army. So again, all things sort of stem from the story and the situation.

So when in the process did the idea to label this “Marvel Spotlight” come about?

I think the Spotlight logo really came about from this idea of audiences not making a requirement to have seen 16 other MCU films or television series. And we wanted audiences to be able to come in fresh, come in clean. You don’t have to have done any homework coming into it. But at the same time, audiences who are familiar with the MCU people who are fans much like myself, they’re going to see faces and characters that they will find familiar.

Right, but it’s a spinoff of Hawkeye. So we pick where the big cliffhanger from that leaves off. And within the first 20 minutes of the first episode we see three major Marvel characters. So for people who like things to be connected, saying it’s completely not is not true?.

[Laughs] That is correct.

Okay. But that’s becoming a thing. People are worried they are behind and won’t understand the new thing. So I feel like that’s what they’re addressing? But for the people who like the connection, this is still connected.

That is also correct.

Okay.

What I can say to that is we didn’t set out to create the Spotlight TV show or the TV series. We set out to tell the best story that we could. And again, this is our sort of intention with the show. And we’re doing the best we can with the circumstances that we have. And it will be ultimately up to the audiences to decide whether that works or not. But that’s also a very exciting place to be.

Did you hear about this and go, “Hey, I’d be perfect for this.” Or do they come to you? How does this work?

I think I sort of learned about the project the way everyone else probably did — I saw there was a press release and I saw that Marvel was creating a TV series based on the Echo character. And I had not seen a frame of Hawkeye prior to this, but I just remember thinking like, “Oh, wow, that’s amazing. This is going to be Marvel’s first Native American indigenous character to join the MCU. It would be absolutely amazing to be a part of that, but there’s no way I’m going to get a call.” Fortunately, I was able to pitch on the project and met with Kevin Feige. I got to share my ideas and I was very fortunate to be able to come on board.

So the character of Maya, it seems tricky. Like you said, she’s a villain, but I’ve seen three episodes and I’m certainly rooting for this character, so we can’t dislike her either. So that seems tough.

I think one of the great things about the character is the fact that she’s a villain and, what’s the expression? Any good villain thinks they’re doing the right thing. And so, really, in terms of using that as our touchstone, we really try to tell that story. And then you bring Kingpin into the story as well, too. You get to tell a story that is hopefully a little more grounded and has a slightly different perspective but is no less human in scope and scale.

Speaking of Kingpin. How fun is that character to have around?

Yeah, I think one of the great things about the Kingpin character that we talked about in the writer’s room is that his superpower isn’t his strength, it’s his intellect. And using that as jumping-off point. And then having someone like Vincent D’Onofrio – who we had the good fortune of having him; having had played this character in three seasons of the Netflix show – it just elevated all of our storytelling to a great new, wonderful, complex level.

The Netflix shows, it’s kind of this gray area where they fit with everything, but I’m glad he continued as Kingpin.

Yeah. He is Kingpin, that’s for sure.

Graham Greene has a major role in this show. I’m delighted anytime he shows up in anything. I know it’s not a question, I’m just really happy he’s in this.

As am I. As am I. I was so happy to have him. I’ll share one quick story about Graham.

Alright.

So all of the actors that came on board, when they came on board, there was a sort of process. You had to have your scripts translated into sign language, meet with our sign language master to learn, to do both what’s called SimComming, which is speaking and signing at the same time. And that was a sort of lengthy process. It took a couple of weeks to go through. So Graham, through the circumstances, he had to fly directly from one set to ours into our first rehearsal. So he got picked up at the airport, came straight to set, and I explained to him beforehand it was him and Alaqua. I said, “Listen Graham. Don’t worry about anything in the ASL standpoint. We’ll get you up his speed in the next couple of weeks.” And he said, “Well, let’s just give it a shot.” We went in our first rehearsal of the scene, he had self-taught himself ASL. He was able to have a one-on-one conversation with Alaqua in the scene.

Wow.

But that’s Graham Green for you.

Hey, he’s not an Oscar nominee for nothing. He knows what he’s doing.

They don’t just give those things out.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

In the leadup to the release of Drake and Nicki Minaj’s respective albums, fans couldn’t help speculating whether the two Young Money artists would reunite after years of not quite collaborating with each other. In September, Nicki herself wondered aloud whether she would appear on For All The Dogs while confirming that he would show up on Pink Friday 2. While he did join her on the PF2 track “Needle,” Nicki didn’t land a spot on For All The Dogs.

In her new interview with Ebro Darden, Nicki added a new wrinkle to the tale, revealing that “Needle” was initially intended for Drake’s album. Addressing the disappointment from fans surrounding the duo only putting out one new collab, Nicki said, “He told the fans on his tour that I was gonna be on his album, and actually the song he was talking about was ‘Needle.’ But, he ended up feeling like sonically, it didn’t match for For All The Dogs and I from day one felt like it matched Pink Friday 2.”

She says she joked around with some of her friends that something would end up happening that would allow her to keep the song for herself — and it turned out she was right. “It was just God’s timing,” she said, nodding to fans’ disappointment and crediting it to neither artist announcing the change. On the bright side, though, as she points out, “It’s the perfect Drake and Nicki song!” You can check out Nicki’s full interview with Ebro below:

Coachella is a big deal, which means that since the 2024 lineup hasn’t been announced yet, there’s going to be speculation about who’s on it. Indeed, the rumor mill is churning, which begs the question:

Is Lana Del Rey headlining Coachella 2024?

A new report from HITS Daily Double says, “Rumor has it that Lana Del Rey and Tyler, The Creator are confirmed to headline Coachella 2024, which is slated for 4/12-14 and 4/19-21 at the Empire Polo Club grounds in Indio, Calif.” It also notes, “Doja Cat is believed to be the third headliner, though we’re told she is not yet confirmed.”

It’s important to note that this post doesn’t cite any sources beyond rumors, so nothing here is official, and neither Del Rey nor anybody associated with her have said anything about her headlining Coachella this year. Furthermore, widely shared Coachella rumors have been wrong before, of course: Around this time last year, it was rumored that Justin Bieber would be headlining the fest, and of course, he didn’t.

In the absence of an official lineup reveal, though, rumors are bound to fill the void.

As far as festivals that Del Rey is actually confirmed to be a part of, she’s set to headline the Reading and Leeds Festivals this year.

The Morning Show is a great drama about the high-stakes world of breaking news, but more importantly, it brought us an awkward sex scene between Jennifer Aniston and Jon Hamm, and that’s something The Newsroom never achieved.

The series follows Aniston and Reese Witherspoon as anchors on The Morning Show as the duo struggles to maintain viewership in the streaming age while also reporting about fun stuff like COVID-19 and political protests.

Season four of The Morning Show was ordered before season three even aired, and it’s looking like the whole squad will be back for some more news-worthy shenanigans. Here’s what we know so far about the upcoming fourth season of The Morning Show.

Plot

Season four will likely show the aftermath of Witherspoon’s character Bradley resigning after her brother’s involvement in the January 6th Capitol attack. While plot details are slim, Witherspoon has frequently joked that she will be in jail next season. “Everybody keeps asking me if Bradley’s in jail, but I don’t know if I’m in trouble,” Witherspoon said of the season three finale. The third season also showed a merger between UBA and NBN, which will probably cause even more tension in season four.

The duo told Variety that they are anticipating another time jump, and will continue to add in real-time headlines.

There were nearly two full years between Seasons 2 and 3. Will there be a big time jump in Season 4?

Witherspoon: I think so, just because it takes us so long. They write for so long, and have brand new storylines that are happening. I think we’re a little behind in time, too.
Aniston: And our show tends to mirror what is actually happening in the world.
Witherspoon: Yeah, so as things come up while they’re writing, they’ll put them into the story.

Cast

Witherspoon and Anniston, who previously were only contracted for three seasons, are on board for a fourth. We can also assume Billy Crudup and Julianna Margulies will also return. While no official announcements have been made, season three added Jon Hamm, Stephen Fry, Tig Notaro and Nicole Beharie to the cast, so there will probably be some more guest stars in the coming seasons.

Release Date

Season three concluded in November 2023, so there’s still a long time until we find out if Reese is actually in jail or not. Hopefully, season four will hit screens by early 2025.

Trailer

There is no trailer at this time, but you can watch the first three seasons now on Apple TV+.

Way back in June 2023, Coachella confirmed its 2024 dates as April 12 to 14 and April 19 to 21, and ticket sales began despite fans not yet knowing the performers they were purchasing tickets to see. The Coachella 2023 lineup was revealed on January 10, 2023, so logic says we’re nearing the highly anticipated announcement of the Coachella 2024 lineup. As such, the rumor mill is churning.

On Friday morning, January 5, HITS Daily Double caused heart palpitations nationwide by reporting that Lana Del Rey and Tyler The Creator “are confirmed to headline Coachella 2024,” while “Doja Cat is believed to be the third headliner, though we’re told she is not yet confirmed.”

There are other big names “in the mix,” as excerpted below:

“We understand Peso Pluma is also in the mix as the desert lineup shakes out, and that this year will see the festival’s most diverse undercard yet in terms of both genre and global representation. Meanwhile, word is there was a push by Coachella to secure Dua Lipa for the fest but that she demurred due to timing. Shakira’s team, for their part, apparently went to the mat trying to get her a headline slot but Coachella ultimately passed on her — the reasons for which have engendered much speculation. There was also talk of possible top slots for The Rolling Stones, Olivia Rodrigo and Travis Scott.”

Again, at this point, nothing is confirmed, but we should know as early as next week whether HITS Daily Double is correct.

The last new episode of The Orville aired in mid-2022. Will the Star Trek homage return for a fourth season? At the moment, it’s unclear, although creator Seth MacFarlane is hopeful. “All I can say is the same thing that Hulu said, which is the show is not dead,” he told TVLine. “Nobody has told me that it’s dead from the network, so we’re proceeding under those auspices.”

The official statement from Disney Television Group president Craig Erwich last year was: “It’s a great show and I know that the fans loved having it back in their lives. And Seth did a great job, uniquely as he can, in front of and behind the camera. But we don’t have anything to share.”

Make of that vagueness what you will.

The Orville star (and American Dad singing legend) Scott Grimes was optimistic that right before the strike, “it [felt] like we were going to announce a season four… I think it’s a better than good possibility that we get to do this again.” He added, “This is [Seth’s] little child, he loves to do The Orville, and it’d be a shame if we didn’t get to do one more season. So I would say that I’m optimistic. That’s what I would say.”

For now, you can catch up with The Orville on Hulu.

(Via TVLine)