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(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Curb Your Enthusiasm episode will be found below.)

Yesterday was a great day for television. Aside from it being the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, it also marked the season 12 premiere of Larry David’s beloved Curb Your Enthusiasm. It’s the shows first new season since 2021, and as revealed last month, it will also be the show’s last season. Curb Your Enthusiasm kicked off with the return “social assassin” Larry David, as The Ringer noted David’s manager Jeff once called him. Be it David’s refusal to call a woman by her birth name or his beef with a hotel’s cleaning lady, Curb Your Enthusiasm season opener leaves us asking why Larry David can’t help butwage war on the most minor issues. It also left us asking what’s a “farbissiner?”

What Does ‘Farbissiner’ Mean In Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 12?

The word “farbissiner” is first heard during Larry’s first encounter with the hotel cleaning lady. Larry mistakenly dropped his glasses in the toilet in his room, and for some reason, he believed that it was the woman’s job to retrieve that glasses due to the her title and familiarity with cleaning toilets. She eventually tells Larry to “get ’em yourself,” and in frustration, Larry replies, “I never said they were my glasses. That was a hypothetical. A hypothetical means it’s possible and maybe not possible. It’s just a question. You know, you’re quite a farbissiner.”

“Farbissiner” is derived from the Yiddish word farbissen and it’s used to describe an angry and bitter person. The irony here is that Larry was angrier than the hotel lady, and to make matters worse for him, he was on the receiving end of her revenge to close the episode.

New episodes of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ are available on Max on Sundays at 10 pm ET/PT.

It’s fair to say that Stephen King‘s The Dark Tower, which includes an eight-novel box series along with a few offshoots including a novella, has been a challenge to successfully adapt. Previous efforts include a 2017 movie starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, which didn’t do so hot at the box office (or with critics). As well, a 2020 TV pilot was jettisoned by Amazon when the streamer didn’t pick the adaptation up for series.

That last detail could be of interest, considering that TV horror maestro Mike Flanagan recently concluded his fantastic run on Netflix for a TV deal with Amazon. At his former stomping grounds, his successes included the Fall of the House of Usher, Midnight Mass, and The Haunting of Hill House along with a film adaptation of Gerald’s Game (starring Carla Gugino). The latter project was, of course, based upon the Stephen King novel of the same name, and Flanagan took another swing at adapting King material with Doctor Sleep, the direct sequel to The Shining that brought back Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) as an adult.

So, if anyone could give The Dark Tower the TV series adaptation that it deserves, it would be Flanagan, and there’s good news on that front. He’s been developing the project for years, and his efforts appear to be moving along after Flanagan finished with Netflix. Would the series eventually land at Amazon? Let’s talk it over, along with more about Flanagan’s plans.

Plot

Prior to Flanagan inking a deal with Amazon, he and Trevor Macy’s Intrepid Pictures acquired rights for the whole The Dark Tower series of books. Since then, they have been hammering out a strategy on how to adapt the fantasy/Western/sci-fi/horror epic saga about a post-apocalyptic gunslinger who is attempting to protect a tower (that is tied to multiple realities) from the Man in Black (Walter Padick/Randall Flagg, who is the chief antagonist of King’s The Stand). As Deadline noted in December 2022, Flanagan has been known to present his vision (complete with his idea for an opening shot, which is a black screen emblazoned with “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed”) for the project while discussing his other shows.

Flanagan also told Deadline that he envisions five TV seasons and two movies to complete The Dark Tower story, and he has already written “a pilot script I’m thrilled with and a very detailed outline for the first season and a broader outline for the subsequent seasons.” He continued to unfurl his excitement:

I’ll tell you, more than half of my life, I’ve closed my eyes and been able to watch a lot of this play out, I’ve dreamed about this. That first shot which comes right off at the first incredible sentence of the first book, The Gunslinger, I’ve had that image just rattling around in my head since I was an undergrad. It’s going to have to get out of there eventually, I really need to get it out of my head.

The pilot script is one of my favorite things I’ve ever gotten to work on. It’s been surreal working on that. So we’ve been floored and grateful that Stephen King trusts us with such an undertaking, something so precious to him, and we hope to find the right partners to realize it.

Flanagan added to Deadline that Amazon is “very aware” of his ongoing The Dark Tower efforts, and “we would be fairly understanding of any institutional PTSD off of the other attempts they made at adapting it over there.” However, “if that’s something that they would be interested in, we’ll be thrilled.” So, this project could totally, maybe, happen at Amazon. Stay tuned there.

In June 2023, EW reported that Flanagan followed up on how, out of his entire collection of ongoing projects, The Dark Tower is what “I want to do the most.” Development slowed down during the strikes, “but I think it’s going to happen. I can’t say for certain, but we look good.”

To sum up: if this project fully works out, we could see five TV seasons and some feature films. Fingers crossed.

Cast

As mentioned already, Idris Elba portrayed gunslinger Roland Deschain, and Matthew McConaughey picked up the antagonistic Man in Black role for the 2017 movie. Whereas the failed 2020 series (from showrunner Glen Mazzara) cast Sam Strike as Roland and Jasper Pääkkönen as the Man in Black.

Surely, both of those casting slates shall be wiped clean by Flanagan. He hasn’t articulated that any particular actors are set in stone for the project, but Comic Book reported that frequent Flanagan collaborator Henry Thomas (Fall of the House of Usher, Midnight Mass, The Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep and more) would “love to have a part in that.”

Additionally, Flanagan freaking loves to cast his usual suspects in TV roles, so we can perhaps expect to see Carla Gugino or Kate Siegel, Annabeth Gish, Rahul Kohli, Katie Parker, Samantha Sloyan, and other favorites. Hey, can we see Hamish Linklater as the Man in Black?

Release Date

No planned release date has been pinpointed as far as the public is aware. However, Flanagan seems to (from the above interview snippets) indicate that it’s hopefully only a matter of time before it happens. We also know from his back-to-back Netflix series that the dude works fast, so we’re staying positive on an update soon.

Trailer

Silly rabbit. There’s no way on earth that we could see a Dark Tower trailer when filming hasn’t begun. However, if you haven’t yet watched Doctor Sleep, here’s some encouragement.

School is back in session for the staff and students of Abbott Elementary.

Quinta Brunson’s Emmy-winning comedy series suffered a longer-than-expected hiatus thanks to the SAG AFTRA and Writer’s strikes last year. Still, its third season is prepping to premiere later this month, and with it comes plenty of changes for Brunson’s sunny overachiever Janine Teagues and her fellow teachers. With a shortened episode count and plenty of story to tell, the show is adding a handful of new characters and taking some big swings with a certain will-they-won’t-they romance.

Here’s everything we know about Abbott Elementary season three.

When Does Abbott Elementary Season 3 Premiere?

The show’s first episode drops on Wednesday, February 7th at 9.m. ET on ABC. Fans can stream it on Hulu the following day, or watch it live with an in-app upgrade. Season three is slated to have 13 episodes airing each Wednesday though the premiere is a two-parter so it will be an hour-long instead of the normal 30-minute runtime.

Who’s In Abbott Elementary Season 3?

All of the main cast are returning for the show’s third season including Tyler James Williams (Gregory Eddie), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Mrs. Howard), Janelle James (Principle Ava Coleman), Lisa Ann Walter (Melissa Schemmenti), and Chris Perfetti (Jacob Hill). Some newcomers to the school include Kimia Behpoornia (Hacks), Benjamin Norris (Never Have I Ever), and The Other Two’s Josh Segarra who plays a district administrator (and potential love interest for Janine) named Manny.

What Is Abbot Elementary Season 3 About?

The show’s season two finale ended on a bit of a cliffhanger with Janine and Gregory admitting their feelings for one another after sharing a kiss during a school assembly. Despite their obvious attraction, Janine decided to press pause on the relationship to focus on herself and her career goals. The consequences of that choice will play out in season three which kicks off with a five-month time jump that sees Janine inhabiting a new role at school and Gregory struggling to move on. The introduction of Segarra’s Manny only complicates things for the two, as does Ava’s renewed interest in actually doing her job as principal at Abbott’s.

Is There A Trailer For Season 3?

In January, ABC dropped a sneak peek of season three that teased some of the chaos to come. Ava’s fresh off a stint at Harvard and implementing some strict changes that her employees are ready to rebel against while Janine tries her hand at cursing. Watch it below:

Drake and J. Cole kicked off their co-headlining It’s All A Blur — Big As The What? run with two shows at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida over the weekend. According to Billboard, the setlist spans over 50 songs — and the opening show featured ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and a floating Travis Scott head — so it goes without saying that attendees will get her their money’s worth.

How Long Is Drake & J. Cole’s It’s All A Blur — Big As The What? Concert?

As of this writing, there have only been two shows, so we have to trust Tampa-based fans for this (for now), so allow for some human error. According to setlist.fm, Drake hit the stage around 9:35 p.m. local time. A Reddit thread claims that Drake and J. Cole’s sets (solo and combined) wrap by midnight local time. This checks out with how Drake conducted his preceding It’s All A Blur Tour with 21 Savage, as this schedule from opening night last July shows Drake beginning his set around 9 p.m. local time, and curfew hitting around 11 p.m. local time.

It’s All A Blur — Big As The What? will next roll through Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday, February 7, and Thursday, February 8. See all of the remaining dates here.

A fuss over what went down behind-the-scenes of Charmed broke out at MegaCon Orlando over the weekend. In an apparent sign of tension between her former co-stars, Alyssa Milano appeared on a separate panel on Friday night and addressed recent claims made by Holly Marie Combs and Shannen Doherty, who claimed that Milano had Doherty fired from the show.

While appearing on Doherty’s podcast in December 2023, Combs revealed that the producers were “backed into a corner” by Milano and forced to fire Doherty. A fan asked Milano about those claims during her MegaCon panel, and while she didn’t deny playing a role in Doherty’s ouster, she did have a whole lot to say about her former co-stars still bringing it up.

Via Collider:

“I will just say that I’m sad. And I don’t think it’s really that I’m sad for me or for my life or how it does or does not affect my life. I’m the most sad for the fans. I’m the most sad that a show that has meant so much to so many people has been tarnished by a toxicity that is still to this day, almost a quarter of a century later, still happening. And I’m sad that people can’t move past it. And I’m sad that we all can’t just celebrate the success of a show that meant so much to all of us.

“Do I wish that we could all sit on a stage? Yeah, because again, this was like almost a quarter of a century ago,” Milano added. “How is it possible to continue to hold on to that?”

However, Milano took things further by writing an Instagram post after the panel where she denied getting Doherty fired. According to Milano, Doherty and Combs refused to participate in “professional mediation” and that’s what led to Doherty’s removal.

“I did not have the power to get anyone fired,” Milano stated. “Once Shannen left we had 5 more successful seasons and I am forever grateful.”

That happened on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, Combs and Doherty took the MegaCon stage with Rose McGowan for a Charmed panel. (McGowan famously replaced Doherty on the show in the fourth season.) At the end of the event, Doherty read a prepared statement in response to Milano’s claims.

Via TVLine:

“We simply told the truth [on my podcast], because the truth actually does matter. At this point in my life, with my health diagnosis, with fighting a horrific disease every day of my life, it is also incredibly important to me that the truth actually be told as opposed to the narrative that others have put out there for me. We told it together. We told our truth, and we’re standing by our truths.”

“There is no revisionist history happening in the truth that I know we told,” she continued. “There is no brush-flinging or shoe-flinging. There is no lateness to set. There is no mediator for months on end. I recall the facts as if I were still living in them, and what I will say is what somebody else may call drama is an actual trauma for me that I’ve lived with for an extremely long time. It is only through my battle with cancer that I decided to address this trauma and be open and honest about it, so that I can actually heal from a livelihood that was taken away from me [and my family] because someone else wanted to be number one on the call sheet. That is the truth.”

After Doherty’s statement, McGowan chimed in with a jab at Milano.

“I will say one last thing: We’ve protected you for a long time,” McGowan said while reportedly addressing Milano. “We’ve protected you for as long as we could. Both of us, all of us. And there’s a great, great comedian named Katt Williams who has a wonderful, wonderful saying: ‘Winners do not let losers rewrite history.’”

(Via Alysa Milano on Instagram, Collider, TVLine)

The Best New Artist category at the Grammys each year is one of the most coveted trophy. It’s an artist’s first time being nominated for a Grammy. For many of them, it’s their first foray into the awards circuit, kicking off a whirlwind of press, events, and other industry recognition. For others, it’s an acknowledgment that their years of hard work have paid off. Many past winners were budding artists who quickly made their way into superstardom, like Adele, Megan Thee Stallion, Dua Lipa, and Billie Eilish.

The 2024 Best New Artist nominees represent a wide assortment of genres, styles, and levels of fame. From a rapper being introduced as “the biggest artist in the world” (Ice Spice, of course), to an artist who beat the odds and has climbed the Country music charts (Jelly Roll), Spotify’s Best New Artist Party spotlighted the range of talent in this years’ Best New Artist category at the Grammys.

The event kicked off Grammy weekend by bringing each Best New Artist nominee to the stage (with the notable absence of Fred Again..) to give a taste of their catalog with a handful of songs. The husband and wife folk duo The War And Treaty were the first to take the stage, setting the tone for the remainder of the evening with stunning, soulful songs and messages of love and unity. The duo wasn’t the only Nashville-based artist represented on the stage. Rising country star Jelly Roll made it clear he’s come a long way since selling mixtapes from the trunk of his car. With his earnest charisma and confessional ballads that speak to addiction and finding faith, the musician had the crowd singing along to songs like “Need A Favor” and “Son Of A Sinner.” He even brought out fellow country singer Lainey Wilson, who, adorned in a cowboy hat and classic Western get-up, delivered their joint track” “Save Me.”

Confessional music seemed to be the unofficial theme of the night as folk favorite Noah Kahan took the stage to the delight of many screaming fans in the audience. The Vermont-based singer whose 2022 album Stick Season catapulted him into fame showcased a few of his cutting ballads like “Dial Drunk,” which he clearly had a blast performing despite the somber subject matter. Kahan also brought out fellow Best New Artist nominee Gracie Abrams, who had taken the stage just before him, for a rendition of their recent collab “Everywhere, Everything.”

Other musicians like Victoria Monét and Coco Jones proved they were made to live in the limelight with their expertly choreographed sets. Jones, who has found success on the Disney-Channel-star-to-Grammy-nominee-pipeline showed off her impressive vocals with a swooning performance of “ICU” and “Double Back.” Monét gave perhaps the most energetic set of the night, managing to land challenging dance moves while putting her entire heart into a sultry rendition of “Jaguar” and the Grammy-nominated “On My Mama.” (She would go on to win the award for Best New Artist at the Grammy’s ceremony.)

Ice Spice was perhaps the most-anticipated (and as it turned out, the shortest) set of the night, according to the snippets of conversations I picked up on in the crowd. The rapper, who has received cosigns from everyone from Taylor Swift to Nicki Minaj, took the stage with her usual swagger. Nearly everyone’s phone was up as she delivered her most recent track “Think U The Sh*t (Fart)” and TikTok hit “Deli” before thanking everyone for their support and sauntering off the stage.

Whether they were nominated for just one category or, like Monét, one of the most-nominated artists at the 2024 Grammys, each artist was beyond grateful to be a part of the lineup. Kahan thanked the audience and the Recording Academy for his recognition, while also joking he’s still waiting to hear back from the Kids’ Choice Awards: “I’m still waiting to get slimed.” Similarly, Abrams noted how much she idolizes everyone she shared the stage with. Jelly Roll was also honored to be a part of the lineup, but for different reasons. Straight from Nashville, Jelly Roll noted the difference between his humble Nashville beginnings and the ritzy Los Angeles industry event. “I’m surprised y’all are rocking with me,” he said to the crowd, many of whom knew every word to his songs.

Win or lose, being nominated for Best New Artist is an honor in of itself. But whoever wins, Spotify’s Best New Artist Party showed that any of the ten deserve the trophy.

See the full list of Grammy nominees here.

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Lil Yachty continue expanding his stylistic boundaries and Usher build more hype for his upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Show. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.

Lil Yachty — “A Cold Sunday”

Yachty is serious about branching out like with the psychedelic aesthetic he established on Let’s Start Here. His musical adventure continued on last week’s “A Cold Sunday,” which is built on a sample of “Inspiration Of My Life” by Citation and is a brief showcase of Yachty’s flow.

JT — “Sideways”

City Girls is still going strong, all while JT continues to establish herself as a solo presence. She did so some more last week with “Sideways,” which JT said is part of her mission of self-improvement: “‘Sideways’ is a song not a verse, and in 2024 I want to go from ‘JT has good verses!’ to ‘JT make good songs!’”

Usher and Pheelz — “Ruin”

Usher is days away from cementing himself in sports and pop culture history with his Super Bowl Halftime Show performance. He’s making the most of the moment by dropping a new album, Coming Home, which he teased last week with the Afrobeats-influenced Pheelz collaboration “Ruin.”

Daniel Caesar — “Waiting In Vain”

We’ve had a ton of music biopics lately, huh? The Kingsley Ben-Adir-starring Bob Marley: One Love is out soon, and they got Daniel Caesar to put his spin on “Waiting In Vain,” giving the track a modernized, synth-driven sound, showing that Marley’s iconic songwriting is timeless and still works in 2024.

Paramore — “Burning Down The House”

Speaking of covers: Talking Heads recruited a bunch of contemporary artists to cover their songs for a new tribute album, and Paramore brought the heat. The band sounds awesome on their rendition of “Burning Down The House,” which is honestly a good fit with the expanded sounds Hayley Williams and company have been pushing on recent albums.

TWICE — “I Got You”

A handful of K-pop groups have established themselves as the genre’s ambassadors to the English-speaking world, and TWICE is absolutely among them. They previewed their upcoming mini-album With YOU-th a few days ago with “I Got You,” an anthemic, giant-sounding new single that makes use of a New Wave influence to great effect.

Hovvdy — “Forever”

Hovvdy is in the midst of the longest between-albums break of their career, but the duo is coming back soon with a self-titled album, their fifth LP. Last week, they delivered “Forever,” a laid-back single that tackles unconditional love through thick and thin.

Sega Bodega — “Deer Teeth”

Sega Bodega is a producer extraordinaire who has worked with the likes of Björk, Caroline Polachek, and Shygirl. He’s helped his collaborators thrive and he can make magic on his own, too, like on last week’s “Deer Teeth,” a dreamy, glitchy number that sounds like it lives in some alternate state of consciousness.

Don Toliver — “Bandit”

Toliver dropped Love Sick in 2023, but he may already be on his way back with another new one. He recently unveiled “Bandit,” a dynamic, in-your-face tune. It arrived alongside a video, too, which may indicate Toliver’s next album is called Hardstone.

TiaCorine — “Bonnet”

Almost There, the new EP from North Carolina rapper TiaCorine, is here, and it is led by the rapid-fire single “Bonnet.” Uproxx’s Aaron Williams noted of the song and its delightful video, “In the video for the boisterous, boastful track, […] Corine shows off some of her interests, including fighting games (the one in the video cleverly repurposes sprites from the Scott Pilgrim game), anime, […] and cruising around with her friends.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Boygenius had a big night at the 2024 Grammys yesterday (February 4), earning three wins from seven nominations. It was also a big night for Phoebe Bridgers speaking her mind.

In a backstage interview, the band was asked about their thoughts about the future of rock music, with the person who posed the question pointing out how women have had success in the genre in recent years. Bridgers responded:

“I have something to say about women. The ex-president of the Recording Academy, Neil Portnow, said that if women want to be nominated and win Grammys, that they should ‘step up.’ He’s also being accused of sexual violence. So… and to him, I’d like to say, ‘I know you’re not dead yet, but when you are, rot in piss.’”

Bridgers was referring to Portnow’s infamous response to being asked about the male-dominated Grammys in 2018, when he said, “It has to begin with… women who have the creativity in their hearts and souls, who want to be musicians, who want to be engineers, producers, and want to be part of the industry on the executive level… [They need] to step up because I think they would be welcome. I don’t have personal experience of those kinds of brick walls that you face but I think it’s upon us — us as an industry — to make the welcome mat very obvious, breeding opportunities for all people who want to be creative and paying it forward and creating that next generation of artists.”

She also made note of the rape allegations Portnow faced in 2020.

Find the full list of 2024 Grammys nominees and winners here.

While the eyes of the world were on Taylor Swift during Sunday night’s Grammy awards, they may have witnessed the birth of a new pop star for the ages: Ben Affleck.

In a bizarre new ad for Dunkin, the writer/director/actor is seen pursuing his dream of making it big in the music business while leaning hard into his Boston accent. In the spot, an obsessed Affleck knows he’s a “middle-aged white guy with no rhythm” but that doesn’t mean he can’t take the world by storm with a giant donut around his neck. Although, he thinks TikTok is a person, so there may be some bumps on the road.

With Charli D’Amelio along for the ride, and not exactly thrilled with Affleck’s outfit designs, the commercial debuted during the Grammys, but it appears to be just the beginning of his donut-themed music career. The spot ends with an ominous “To be continued…” as a Dunkin-swilling Affleck threatens to show everyone that he’s got what it takes even if his wife won’t put him on her albums. Will that involve a rapping Affleck during the Super Bowl? That definitely seems like where this is heading.

That said, we’re willing to get onboard if Affleck makes his stage name “Wickid Pissah the Donut Kissah.” You will have our sword.

Jay-Z may spent his time onstage at last night’s Grammy Awards ceremony roasting the show’s patrons but he wasn’t above putting the trophy to use as a drinking vessel. Shortly after bringing the gramophone statue back to his family’s table, a video captured Jay pouring himself a drink into it from a bottle of D’usse. He then held it up and took sip, grinning all the while.

Jay had been given the award — the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award — for his influential work in the recording industry. During his speech, though, he put the focus on his wife, Beyoncé, calling out the Academy for snubbing Beyoncé for Album Of The Year multiple years, including last year for Renaissance. “She has more Grammys than everyone and never won Album Of The Year,” he noted. “So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work.”

Incidentally, he was joined onstage by his and Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy, who Jay said used Grammys as sippy cups when she was little before noting that she has Grammys of her own and is too old to need a sippy cup anymore. You could see the mortal look of teenage embarrassment on her face, which just goes to show, even famous dads are dads like the rest.

Check out more of Uproxx’s Grammys coverage here.