Category: News

High-level talent competition shows have been around for a long time. And from them, we’ve come to expect spectacular performances from trained artists completely dedicated to their craft. While that’s remarkable to watch, sometimes it’s just as inspiring to witness average folks doing something they love.

Take it from Sara Beth, a mother of three recently dubbed the “Accidental American Idol.”

First of all, Sara Beth is filled to the brim with quirky charm and does nothing to try to hide her nervousness. Judge Katy Perry accurately described her as a “comic strip character brought to life.” In a sea of ultra confident divas, it’s refreshing, to say the least.

Second, as a 25-year-old who married and started a family young, Sara Beth admitted that she had been focused on being there for her kids and only recently began pursuing music. Or as she called it, having “a minute for me.”

So when asked if singing was her dream, Sara Beth was hesitant.

“I’m still processing…I can’t even answer. This is so much,” she confessed.

That answer didn’t impress judges Lionel Richie and Katy Perry, but it certainly resonated with people—parents in particular.

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“As a mother of two young boys I can easily relate to this not being her dream yet,” one mom wrote. “She has spent years pouring into others and taking it day by day and she just recently pulled her head out of water and remembered that she is a person with talents and hobbies and interests outside of being a mom…she doesn’t even have the mental capacity for [“American Idol”] to be a dream yet but she took a huge bet on herself.”

Despite Sara Beth not fitting the usual parameters for an American Idol, there was no denying her incredible voice once she started singing.

Watch:

Sara Beth might have moved forward with only two out of three yes votes, but let’s just say her audience approval rate was pretty damn unanimous.

“Sara Beth is wonderfully herself and a breath of fresh air, judges are faced with a woman who is open with no filters of fear. I think she’s amazing.”

“I think she IS the hidden gem in this competition. She could definitely win.”

“I won’t be surprised if she wins this whole thing.”

Just take it from the “Accidental American Idol”: It’s okay to be unsure…and go for the thing anyway.

It’s been nearly six years since we last got a solo album from H. Hawkline, the moniker of UK musician Huw Evans. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been busy in the time since. He’s been touring with Aldous Harding, collaborating with Cate Le Bon (who produced his latest effort) and translating his quiet ruminations into song for his fifth studio album, Milk For Flowers.

Milk For Flowers, out Friday via Heavenly Recordings, stands as Hawkline’s most intimate and touching work to date. Songs like “Empty Room” touch on themes of grief and loneliness underscored a longing slide guitar, while others like the upbeat piano ballad “Milk For Flowers” and “Plastic Man” juxtapose lyrics about loss with a jaunty rhythm. “I’m not so good at showing vulnerability and I think that’s why, in the past, there’s been a tendency to obscure or make abstract any real emotion, either lyrically or musically,” Evans said in a statement. “It was impossible to do any of those things with this album: I had to sing.”

Ahead of his album Milk For Flowers, H. Hawkline talks friendly strangers, Jockstrap (the band), and making the most of life in our latest Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Square peg, round hole.

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

Like a useful man.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

I played in Caracas recently in Devendra Banhart’s band, it was pretty special and I doubt I’ll ever get to play there again. There and Newcastle.

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

Newcastle Travel Lodge, UK.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

It’s all the people all the time, there was an old lady on the bus once who told me her entire life story whilst slowly stealing my coffee. People like that.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

Marcello’s in Cardiff, a molten hot pasta bake called a ‘James Bowman’ (all the dishes were named after classical composers and singers), garlic bread and a can of coke.

What album do you know every word to?

Abbey Road.

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci in Venue Cymru in Llandudno when I was 16.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

A silk dressing gown, it’s comfortable, chic, has a good silhouette and is easy to put on.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

Mestre Ensinador on Instagram, I think he’s Brazilian, he has a puppet, it dances, he ticks all my boxes. I also like the usual stuff, cats knocking things over, children getting hurt, any kind of video that involves the restoration of something that looks beyond repair, all the mindless junk that rots your brain. Twitter is just pure hell, I don’t know why I do it to myself.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

It changes every tour. I remember once a friend in Glasgow made us a compilation for the van and the first song on it was “You Got It’ by Roy Orbison and we listened to it about 15 times, the CD had to be taken away from me in the end, I lost it.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

“10x10cm cream tiles.”

What album makes for the perfect gift?

Melody Nelson by Serge Gainsbourg.

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

At the minute, Jockstrap. I was also listening to the radio in the bath earlier tonight and Jessica Pratt came on and it was a nice moment.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Give birth to me and then love me every day, I was lucky.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

Make the most of it, kiddo.

What’s the last show you went to?

Tim Presley singing karaoke at Giant Rock in Landers, he sang “Big Iron” by Marty Robbins, at one point I looked out the window and saw a coyote with a tear in his eye.

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

Alien, if it’s on, it stays on. I watch it every Christmas. I think I watched it for the first time when I was 9, it was the Christmas holidays, I was allowed to stay up late, maybe my parents had friends over, I can remember switching through all 4 channels, I got to channel 4 and the announcer said “Next on Channel 4, Ridley Scot’s 1979 sci fi classic, Alien.” And I thought “Hmmmm, that sounds cool.” I knew by the end of the titles that it was going to be terrifying but I watched it anyway. The first half hour is so calm and cosy and then… chestbuster. For the rest of the film I would switch channels every time it got too scary. My dream house would look like the kitchen on the Nostromo.

What’s one of your hidden talents?

I’m not a terrible hairdresser.

Milk For Flowers is out 3/10 via Heavenly. Find more information here.

Ja Morant has been away from the Grizzlies since Saturday when he went on Instagram Live in the early hours of the morning from a nightclub in Colorado and flashed a gun to the camera.

That led to investigations into the incident from the NBA (which is still ongoing) and Colorado police, who found no criminal wrongdoing and announced Morant would not face any charges on Wednesday. However, while the league continues to look into the matter to determine if the pistol was Morant’s and whether he had it on the team plane or at an NBA venue, which could lead to a longer suspension, the Grizzlies announced Morant will not remain away from the team for at least four more games.

After dropping both games in L.A. without Morant, Memphis will now face Golden State, Dallas, Dallas (again), and Miami without their star guard, making the task of holding onto the 3-seed in the West over the red-hot Phoenix Suns all the more difficult. While that is the short-term hurdle for the Grizzlies, they are much more concerned long-term with ensuring the face of the franchise is in a good place on and off the floor to be able to lead them. For now, Morant is seeking help and trying to get on the right path off the floor so he can keep himself and the young Grizzlies on an upward trajectory.

You may have heard that Netflix recently livestreamed Chris Rock’s new special, Selective Outrage. You may also be aware that the standup comic used the latter third of the special to absolutely ream Will and Jada Pinkett Smith over the slapping incident at last year’s Academy Awards. During that extended bit, Rock — who loves to name-check rappers in his act — cited the controversial hip-hop podcast Drink Champs as one of the reasons Smith was so angry at him that he resorted to violence over Rock’s jokes about Jada.

“Everybody called him a bitch and who did he hit? Me!” Rock complained, apparently including Drink Champs, which did discuss rumors that Jada had an extended “entanglement” with singer August Alsina (she even coined that phrase on an episode of her own podcast, Red Table Talk). However, the hosts want it made clear that they never called Will anything of the sort. In their latest episode preview on Instagram, NORE, DJ EFN, and guest Joe Budden discussed Selective Outrage and the shout-out their show got.

In the clip, NORE asks EFN, “You called Will Smith a bitch?” to which his co-host emphatically replies, “No, man! That was you! Nah, nah. Nobody here called him a bitch.” After playing the Rock joke, Budden offered his view, “I don’t agree with anything he did, but I’m not calling another man a bitch. I’m not going to do that, but Chris Rock said y’all did that, Drink Champs.” For what it’s worth, he has a point there; he just makes “careless” jokes about Megan Thee Stallion’s shooting, asks inane questions about Isaiah Rashad’s sexuality, and hashes out accusations of abuse and sexual harassment. But he doesn’t call men “bitches.” Round of applause for Joe.

The Drink Champs hosts seemed enthused about the reference, though. “I love the way he named us, because he put us in the rapper category,” said NORE, giving his signature catchphrase: “Let’s make some noise for Chris Rock, God damn it!”

You can stream Selective Outrage now on Netflix and watch the Drink Champs preview clip above.

Jenna Ortega has a lot going on these days: a new Scream sequel, a new Hot Ones episode, a new BFF in Aubrey Plaza. But people still want to talk about Wednesday. The Addams Family spinoff is still all the rage, despite what a bear it was to make it. Indeed, that dance she made up while beyond frazzled is still all the rage. So it was inevitable that in the promo for Ortega’s upcoming SNL episode, they’d address that particular dancing elephant.

The ad finds her reluctant to do the dance yet again, arguing that “we’ve seen so much of it already and I think it’s time to do something new.” Alas, Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy — aka Please Don’t Destroy, who’ve been doing pre-recorded digital segments for the show since 2021 — have other plans. That is, all three are dressed like Wednesday Addams in the instantly iconic dance scene. They feign ignorance, saying they just happen to all be decked out in black dresses and claiming their knowledge of the show and its long-running character is scant at best.

Some reverse psychology later and sure enough Ortega is strutting beside them, doing the Wednesday dance one last final time, or at least until the next time someone goads her to bust those specific moves.

Ortega’s SNL will air, as it always does, this Saturday at 11:30pm on NBC. The musical guest is The 1975. You can watch the promo in the video above.

Jim Boeheim’s tenure as the head basketball coach at Syracuse University has come to an end. In a statement released by the program on Wednesday afternoon on the heels of an ACC Tournament loss to Wake Forest that almost assuredly ended the team’s season, Syracuse announced that Boeheim will no longer lead the team, which he has done for each of the last 47 seasons.

Boeheim will be replaced by Adrian Autry, a Syracuse alumnus who has been an assistant since 2011 and became Boeheim’s associate head coach in 2016. In the statement, Autry was quoted as saying, “There have been very few stronger influential forces in my life than Syracuse University and Jim Boeheim. They have both played such important roles and without either of them, I am certain I would not have this incredible opportunity before me. I have spent much of my time in the game of basketball learning from Jim and am so grateful to him for preparing me to carry on the winning tradition that is Orange Basketball. It’s hard to imagine a world without him on the bench, but together with our coaches, student-athletes and fans, we will build on decades of success as a winning program.”

The Orange lost on a buzzer beater to Wake Forest in the opening round of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday, and in the aftermath, the 78-year-old Boeheim danced around questions regarding his future, saying the decision would be up to the school.

Boeheim was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005, two years after he won the only national championship of his decorated career. After spending his undergraduate career with the Orange, Boeheim was hired as an assistant in 1969 and got promoted to head coach in 1976. For his career, Boeheim accrued a 1,015-440 record with a 432-275 mark in conference play.

Pour one out for Tom Cruise. The Russians warned everyone a few years ago that they planned to win the race of making a movie that’s literally filmed in space, and now, they’ve officially done so. That is to say, Vladimir Putin is failing hard in his Ukraine war, and he’s fretting over cabbage, but at least Russia has got something to brag about. Beating Tom Cruise is no joke.

CNN has official clips of the movie, called The Challenge, and a synopsis that sounds stressful and claustrophobic:

A surgeon, Zhenya, played by Russian actress Yulia Peresild, has to perform heart surgery on a sick cosmonaut in space because he is unable to return to Earth for treatment. The patient is portrayed by real-life cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy.

Sorry Tom, you snooze, and you lose. Happens to the best of us.

In all seriousness, though, Tom has been pretty darn busy doing other things, which were more important. He’s been saving Hollywood and gifting world-renowned cakes and riding a motorcycle off a cliff for the seventh Mission: Impossible movie and starting the eighth one, too. Never a dull second occurs when it comes to Tom, who probably does not know the definition of rest. However, he hasn’t made it to space yet, and the Russians got him. Still, he’s got a director and a plan, so he’ll likely eventually make this happen.

(Via CNN)

If you have access to an offshore book, you can currently wager on WWE. That’s not the case, however, at the various “legal” books that are open and operating throughout the United States under the watchful eyes of state gambling regulators, which isn’t a huge shock, as professional wrestling is scripted and it’s very easy for someone with knowledge of what’s going to happen to relay that information to someone who wants to make a bet.

But apparently, WWE is trying to get into the sports betting game. According to Alex Sherman of CNBC, the promotion is holding discussions with gambling regulators in both Colorado and Michigan in an effort to let people bet on matches, and is using the example set by awards shows as evidence that wagers can be placed on things with predetermined outcomes.

WWE is working with the accounting firm EY to secure scripted match results in hopes it will convince regulators there’s no chance of results leaking to the public, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Accounting firms PwC and EY, also known as Ernst & Young, have historically worked with award shows, including the Academy Awards and the Emmys, to keep results a secret.

There is, of course, a bit of a difference between the results of award show voting and a team of writers putting together a storyline that ends with Cody Rhodes beating Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, especially because dirt sheets have published this stuff for years. At the same time, it’s not like it’s always difficult to figure out what is going to happen in a high-profile wrestling match just by using common sense and having an understanding of how stuff gets mapped out.

As for the awards example, it’s one thing to seal the winners envelopes at an awards show where there are far fewer folks who get to see the final result, as opposed to a WWE writing room (and locker room) that already leaks information to people regularly. Given the focus on betting integrity that state regulators have been pushing, it’d be fairly shocking to see any of the larger states adopt WWE betting as a regulated entity, but it’s possible smaller states may be willing to risk it (likely allowing very small limits on bets as offshore books do) to try and rake in more of a handle.

It’s a bittersweet truth that nothing good can last forever and the upcoming 2023 TV slate is proof of that.

Some of the most beloved series on streaming, cable, and network TV are singing their swan songs this year, bidding farewell to fans with final seasons that, while not entirely welcome, should hopefully bring with them satisfying conclusions to long-running storylines. There’s something to be said for going out on your own terms and many of the shows on this list — which we’ll likely be adding to as more streamers and studios revamp their TV lineups — are doing just that, saying goodbye on their watch and leaving the game on top.

Here’s a running list of all the series with planned endings in 2023 … so far.

Succession (HBO)

For the slime puppies and the tomlettes out there, the news that Succession plans for its fourth season to be its last is a particularly hard pill to swallow. The Roy siblings — Kendall, Roman, Shiv, and Connor — were just starting to band together to take down their tyrannical patriarch. We’ll have to wait until the show returns on March 26th to see if they can stop the sale of Waystar-Royco and finally put Logan in a nursing home where he belongs but no matter the outcome, a spin-off following Cousin Greg and Tom Wambsgams corporate adventures, tentatively titled “Executive Level Business Bros” has our full backing.

Barry (HBO)

A hitman pursuing a late-in-life career as an actor was always going to have an expiration date, especially when the bodies started dropping and the authorities closed in on Bill Hader’s mentally-unstable on-screen alter ego. Hader and his team recently announced that season four of the critically acclaimed series — which drops April 16th — will be its last and to be honest, we kind of saw it coming.

Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

Ted Lasso creator Jason Sudeikis warned us when he launched this comedy experiment — a show can be both funny and nice, what? — that our membership with the Diamond Dogs might be revoked after three seasons and the creative team behind the series has stuck to that so far. Before AFC Richmond and its mustachioed goofball say “Cheerio” fans will find out if the team can survive the Premier League and the now-villainous Nate Shelley.

The Crown (Netflix)

“We gave you Prince Charles breakdancing, what more do you want?” — The Crown creators, probably. In all seriousness, this show has delivered season after season of low-stakes, parasocial drama that titillated and tantalized the peasant masses, casting too-handsome actors to play Prince Harry’s dad and too-talented actress to serve as Princess Diana doppelgangers. The final season’s run date is yet to be announced but it’s likely to be its last, especially if Prince Harry and Meghan Markle keep churning out documentary tell-alls.

The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)

A dystopic future where women were enslaved and their wombs hijacked to birth the next generation of religious fanatics is a premise that’s only become more relevant as Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale has extended its run. Based on the Margaret Atwood novel of the same name, this show expanded on the author’s idea, building a world where the suffering handmaidens — led by Elisabeth Moss’ June — rose up to challenge the patriarchy in increasingly violent ways. A happy-ever-after might not exist in Gilead, but a finale that satisfyingly wraps up this heavy drama has been promised when the show return for its final season this June.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime Video)

Judging by the cast’s Instagram posts celebrating the wrap of filming, season five of this Amazon Prime Video comedy is set to be the last time we see star Rachel Brosnahan on stage … doing stand-up … as her character Midge Maisel. But before the curtain call, Midge needs to grapple with her newfound fame, sort out her love life, and manage her expanding extended family. She’ll try to accomplish all that — and likely do so in hilarious ways — when the series returns, on April 15th.

The Umbrella Academy (Netflix)

The Hargreeves siblings have saved the world from no less than three potential doomsday events — some, admittedly, of their own making — so one could make the argument that they deserve a break. But, not before the superpowered family of misfits takes on one last adventure — with Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally’s help — that should land later this year with the show’s fourth and final season.

Cobra Kai (Netflix)

Wax on, wax off — or do whatever you need to do to cope with the news that this reboot is taking its final bow later this year. Old rivalries have fueled new wars, but the show has always held onto the spirit of the original film saga, so we have all the faith that the series finale will finish things the right way.

The Flash (CW)

When one Flash rises, another must fall. Somehow, the controversy magnet that is Ezra Miller is hanging onto his spandex to deliver DC’s Flash movie this year which we guess means that Grant Gustin’s time as the crime-solving speedster was always fated to end like this. Blockbuster plans be damned, we’re invested in seeing how the small-screen version of Barry Allen defends Central City from foes old and new in the show’s ninth and final season, which is airing now.

Manifest (Netflix)

When fans launched an international campaign to save this mystery drama, Netflix answered the call but, like the passengers on Flight 828, the show now has a death date. The second chapter of its final season is expected to be released sometime this year.

Mayans MC (FX)

This Sons of Anarchy spin-off has been steadily ramping up the drama in the biker clubhouse for a few seasons now, and the rising tensions within the Santo Padre charter should provide fans one last wild ride when season five drops in late 2023.

Never Have I Ever (Netflix)

This coming-of-age comedy from Netflix is set to grow up in its fourth and final season, streaming later this year.

Nancy Drew (CW)

The mystery of when this young-adult drama on the CW will end has been solved — it’s saying goodbye when its fourth season drops on May 31st.

Riverdale (CW)

Another teen drama graduating to (possible) rerun status is this genre-bending take on characters from the famous Archie comics. Archie, Veronica, Betty, and Jughead Jones have survived serial killers, the Black Hood, parallel universes, organ-harvesting cults, and an explosion that gave everyone mutant abilities, but it’s the time jump back to the 1950s that might finally do them in. The show’s seventh and final season premieres on March 29th.

Servant (Apple TV+)

This psychological thriller from the messed-up mind of M. Night Shyamalan is currently in its fourth and final season on Apple TV+.

Snowfall (FX)

An underappreciated crime drama from FX, Snowfall has thrillingly recounted the 1980s crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles for five seasons but its current run — season six — marks its last.

Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+)

Live long and prosper Patrick Stewart. We only got three seasons of the original Jean-Luc Picard piloting a spacecraft on Paramount + but it was worth it. The show’s final season is airing now.

Titans (HBO Max)

You can blame the loss of this DC comics series on the Warner Bros Discovery merger, but you can pay your respects when its fourth season airs later this year.

Sanditon (PBS)

Jane Austen never got to write a happy ending for Charlotte Heyworth and company but hopefully, the PBS period drama adapting her unfinished work can with its third and final season premiering on March 19th.

NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)

The final season of this long-running police procedural ends with its 14th season, which wraps on May 21st.

A Million Little Things (ABC)

This tear-jerking drama will make us reach for the tissues one last time when it says goodbye in its fifth season, which is airing now.

Mo (Netflix)

Hulu’s Ramy gave us Netflix’s Mo and Netflix’s Mo gave us plenty of laughs in its first season. Expect even more when the show returns for its final run sometime this year.

Fear The Walking Dead (AMC)

This zombie apocalypse spin-off is getting the kill shot with a two-part final season run that kicks off this May.

Doom Patrol (HBO Max)

See the Titans entry above for why this fantastic DC comics adaptation is getting the boot but enjoy the pure chaos these superpowered misfits create when the rest of the show’s fourth and final season drops later this year.

Carnival Row (Amazon Prime Video)

The fever dream of magical creatures existing alongside the human gentry in Victorian England is slowly fading, but you can still enjoy this fantasy drama as it’s currently airing its second and final season.

Ja Morant is currently not with the Grizzlies as he looks to get his off court life situated and in order after a string on alleged incidents, culminating in the young star guard going on Instagram Live from a Denver-area nightclub and flashing a gun.

In the aftermath, Morant was suspended (without using the word suspended) by the Grizzlies for at least their two games in L.A., but likely more. The indefinite part of the absence was in part due to a pair of investigations into Morant. One that is still ongoing is the league’s investigation, as they look to determine whose gun it was and whether Morant had it on the team plane or at an NBA venue, which would violate the CBA and could lead to a lengthy suspension.

The other was by Glendale, Colorado police, who were looking into whether Morant violated any laws by possessing the gun in the nightclub, as there is a law against possession of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol. Ultimately, the investigation didn’t turn up any evidence of legal wrongdoing by Morant, as police announced Wednesday there would be no charges filed against the star.

That is obviously good news for Morant, and clears one hurdle towards his eventual return. The NBA’s investigation will be more thorough in that they will want to look into far more than just what happened at the nightclub. In the meantime, Morant remains away from the team and is trying to get himself back on track off the court for his rapid trajectory as one of the faces of the league, which would be in jeopardy if he were not to straighten out some of the things that could derail him off of the court.