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Few things on television have the potential to get more silly than the last, like, 10 minutes of Inside the NBA. By that point, everyone on set is just kind of done for the day because it’s nearly 1:30 in the morning, so the producers can schedule something pretty funny and get an extremely good segment out of it.

Thursday night’s national TV slate stunk — the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Boston Celtics so badly that TNT just put another game on (which was also, at the time, a blowout) and the Phoenix Suns rode a hot Bradley Beal shooting night to a blowout win over the Los Angeles Lakers — so the guys really could have used something fun to close out the evening. It turns out they got that, as they got to celebrate it being National Milk Day by learning how to milk a cow. As such, some hay got dropped on set, a cow got walked out there, and Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson both sat down on a stool and got to work.

Here’s the really great thing about this segment, aside from Kenny Smith’s general hesitancy to milk a cow: The guys were clearly fascinated by the whole thing! They asked a ton of question in an effort to learn more and more about the process of milking a cow, because clearly, none of them had any idea what goes into it and they thought it was interesting. It was a funny and entertaining segment, but it also taught people about how milking cows works, and really, you can’t ask for anything more than that.

The Last of Us proved to be a massive hit for HBO, and fans of the series starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are champing at the bit for Season 2 that will continue the story of the critically-acclaimed video game. Fortunately for Last of Us fans, the month of January 2024 saw a flurry of activity as the creative team got to work locking down the Season 2 cast so it can start production next month.

Here’s everything to know about the new season:

Plot

Just like The Last of Us Season 1 tackled the events of the first video game, Season 2 will begin adapting the hit sequel The Last of Us Part II. That game catches up our main characters after Joel gunned down a group of Firefly resistance fighters after learning that that harvesting the cure for the cordyceps virus would kill Ellie. After escaping with an unconscious Ellie, Joel lied to her and said the Fireflies had no way of creating a cure with a blood.

That lie will come back to haunt both of them as the story continues. Here’s the official synopsis for the sprawling The Last of Us Part II video game, which will be adapted in Season 2, Season 3, and possibly even Season 4:

After slaughtering members of the Fireflies rebel group to save Ellie, Joel is now living in Jackson with his surrogate daughter, as well as Maria and his brother Tommy. When a violent event disrupts their peace, Ellie becomes obsessed with hunting down those responsible, even as she’s forced to deal with the physical and emotional repercussions of her actions.

Cast

In January 2024, casting for The Last of Us Season 2 kicked into overdrive. Kaitlyn Dever joined the series in the pivotal role of Abby, confirming months of rumors that the actress was being considered for the character who plays a central part in the The Last of Us Part II video game.

On the heels of Dever joining the series, Variety reported that Beef star Young Mazino has been cast as Jesse, “a pillar of his community who puts everyone else’s needs before his own, sometimes at terrible cost.” That news was followed shortly by reports that Isabel Merced has been cast as Dina, a character who showrunner Craig Mazin described as “warm, brilliant, wild, funny, moral, dangerous and instantly lovable.”

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey will obviously be back to reprise their roles as Joel and Ellie, respectively. Gabriel Luna is also expected to return as Joel’s brother Tommy.

Release Date

The Last of Us Season 2 is set to start production in February 2024, which most likely puts it premiere some time in 2025. HBO has yet to announce a release date as of this writing.

Trailer

Considering Season 2 hasn’t even started filming, there is no footage for a trailer. However, with production starting soon, promotional photos should arrive within the coming months. We will keep you posted when they do.

The Last of Us Season 1 is available for streaming on Max.

When the film’s director and soundtrack executive producer, Jeymes Samuel, teased that the world wasn’t ready for what was up his sleeve, it wasn’t an exaggeration. Following months of fighting off claims that she’s a Satanist, The Book Of Clarence’s official soundtrack gave Doja Cat the divine platform to part her sea of haters for good. If there was ever any lingering doubt that Doja Cat isn’t a “real rapper,” it should be put to bed thanks to her verse on “Jeezu.”

Doja Cat lyrically rains holy hell down on her naysayers. “Pass the Kirkland, I see she thirstin’, see me, and they nerd out / I been doin’ God’s work, haters got the word out / Y’all got an agenda, but we’ll see how that gon’ turn out / Many false prophets leavin’ brothers with a firm doubt / Father, please forgive me, for today, they finna learn now / Put me in the dirt, and you gon’ see, I make it worthwhile,” raps Doja.

Yes, she’s a force in the pop space, but she made it clear that she’s no rap slouch. In his verse, Kodak Black used it as a confessional to address his troubled past with Adekunle Gold there to finish out the holy trinity.

Listen to Jeymes Samuel, Doja Cat, &Kodak Black’s new track “Jeezu” featuring Adekunle Gold above.

The Book Of Clarence is in theaters now. Find more information here.

Sofía Vergara had a great response to an interviewer who seemingly made fun of her accent. During a recent episode of the Spanish-language talk show El Hormiguero, host Pablo Motos asked the Griselda actress about her experience on the mega-hit sitcom Modern Family. At one point, he asked, “How do you say modern family?” with what InStyle described as a “heavy exaggeration of Vergara’s distinct Colombian delivery.”

Vergara replied, “I say it wrong? Oh, because you speak better English than me? Ah.” She then added, “How many Emmy nominations do you have in the United States? How many times did they nominate you at the Golden Globes?”

I’ll answer that! Vergara has eight combined Emmy and Golden Globe nominations; Motos has zero, but he does have a controversies section on his Wikipedia page with entires for “Worst comedian award” and “Sexism on El Hormiguero.”

Previously, Vergara spoke about trying to change her accent and has even been accused of faking it… Eventually, she accepted that she sounded a certain way and embraced it. She told WWD, “When I would go to auditions I would get super self-conscious of what I was saying, and I couldn’t concentrate on the acting. I was just concentrating on the pronunciation. One day I said, ‘This accent is never going to change … I’m going to keep trying the way I am and, if it doesn’t work, I’ll go back to the Latin market.’”

You can watch the clip below.

(Via InStyle)

American Dream, 21 Savage’s new album and first solo release since 2018, boasts a stacked roster of featured artists, including (but not limited to) Burna Boy, Doja Cat, Lil Durk, Metro Boomin, Travis Scott, and Young Thug.

The fourth track on the album is “N.H.I.E.,” which presumably is being used as the acronym for the game Never Have I Ever, featuring Doja Cat. I would do almost anything to witness Doja participate in Never Have I Ever, but, luckily, all we have to do is click play on YouTube.

The smooth trap beat complements 21 and Doja’s flows. 21 Savage goes first, rapping about his now-resolved immigration status (“Green card, green tips in the strap / Keep talkin’ ’bout where I was born / Like a n***a won’t still get clapped”), his never-ending romantic options, and general wealth.

“That ain’t something I would do,” 21 Savage asserts in the chorus. “Hell nah, let you slide like it’s cool / N***a, hell nah, fake the truth / Play by rules / Play with you / That ain’t something I would do.”

And then, it’s Doja’s turn. Her list of non-negotiables is quite lengthy yet unsurprising, given her track record of doing exactly what she wants and giving approximately zero you-know-whats. Her verse is so perfectly Doja that it deserves a blockquote:

“Yeah, I would never lie / I would never try / I would never holler at you, I would never cry / I would never start no petty beef, that do not fly / I would never put myself beneath one of my idols / I wouldn’t submit (Money), I’d make you submissive / I can’t f*ck nobody man, but old girl need that assistance / I don’t beeline to no D, like, I don’t be like none these b*tches / If I feel like havin’ free time, hit the seaside with them fishes.”

Listen to “N.H.I.E.” above.

American Dream is out now via Epic Records. Find more information here.

It looks like Jay-Z’s new thing is packing a year’s worth of rhymes into his sporadic appearances via really long songs. In 2022, he dominated the eight-minute DJ Khaled track “God Did,” taking over half its runtime for an epic verse that got a spirited breakdown on MSNBC.

Today, he appears on a nine-minute track from the Book Of Clarence soundtrack, contributing a vibey, almost spoken word-ish verse to a spacey, funk-soul voyage also featuring the elusive neo-soul icon D’Angelo. It’s very groovy, black-lights-and-incense style P-Funk, complete with epic guitar solos and overlapping harmonies; Jay’s verse, while it might not be what people would expect from him, fits right in and has all the hallmarks of Aquemini-era Outkast.

The soundtrack, which is out today via Universal, also features appearances from dancehall staples Buju Banton and Shabba Ranks, who appear with Lil Wayne on “Hallelujah Heaven,” Kodak Black and Doja Cat on “Jeezu” with Adekunle Gold, Jorja Smith, Alice Smith (no relation), and Kid Cudi.

The film itself is also out in the theaters. It follows a poor citizen of Jerusalem, Clarence, who is inspired by a contemporary Jesus Christ to start his own religion in the hopes of rising out of poverty. He inadvertently starts a revolution.

The New England Patriots are hiring a former linebacker to take over for Bill Belichick, and in a twist, it won’t be Mike Vrabel. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, New England will hire from within, as inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo is in line to become the franchise’s next head coach.

Rapoport brought word that the Patriots actually have a contractual obligation to give Mayo the job, as it explicitly says in his contract that he would be the one to take over for the six-time Super Bowl winner.

Mayo is a Patriots lifer, as the team selected him 10th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. He was part of the team that won Super Bowl XLIX over the Seattle Seahawks and earned a first-team All-Pro nod back in 2010. In 2019, three years after announcing his retirement from his playing days, Mayo joined the Patriots’ as their inside linebackers coach, a role that he’s held ever since.

While he’ll walk into a franchise that has sky high expectations, Mayo will inherit a roster that has fallen on hard times in recent years. New England went 4-13 last season, the worst mark in the AFC, and will have a major decision to make this April, as the team holds the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Even Lil Nas X’s commitment to his “Christian era” couldn’t wash him of his former troll ways. But his recent online post might’ve been justified. As the rapper claims to be studying theology (but probably isn’t), he’s already begun to implement one Christ-like principle, and streaming giant Spotify learned this the hard way.

On January 12, the platform took to its official X (formerly Twitter) page to shade Lil Nas X’s new single, “J Christ.” “LNX is back with more mid-music [shrugging emoji],” read the note about the track. Well, Lil Nas X got wind of the diss and decided to embody the Biblical lesson, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Lil Nas X leapt into troll mode without missing a beat, replying to their message with one of his own. Using the viral clip from when an inmate attacked a Nevada judge, Lil Nas X wrote: “Me at the Spotify headquarters tomorrow.”

Some of his followers pointed out that the online exchange was probably something both Spotify and Nas were in on (the streaming platform typically doesn’t launch unsolicited social media attacks on popular artists), and it was likely just part of the single rollout. “Lol, people thinking this Spotify tweet wasn’t planned [crying laughing emoji],” wrote one user.

Others (like most people on the internet) just sat back and enjoyed the messy interaction. Given Lil Nas X’s history of outrage marketing, whether it was staged or not, this is all a win in his eyes.

You can watch Lil Nas X’s official video for “J Christ” here.

Perhaps Jared Leto’s mind was still at that infamous 2020 silent meditation retreat, or perhaps he was simply going full Leto (i.e. enormously method while preparing for a role), but at least he wasn’t holding up a production while refusing to pee like an able-bodied person because “It’s Morbin’ Time.” Who knows? Maybe Leto was pretending to play an unsatisfied customer in the third season of The Bear, but Chef Carmy will probably not play that game.

Comedian Mae Martin, while co-hosting their Handsome podcast (alongside Tig Notaro and Fortune Feamster), put Leto on blast for another alleged stunt. This apparently took place at an event where Leto was emitting “the vibe of a sort of cult leader” at the same table as Mae, “[a]nd he was in his shades and his long hair. And it was like, there was this amazing chef, like a Michelin star chef. And the food was amazing.” Then, as relayed by Entertainment Weekly, Martin described how Leto was sorta like, “Nah” to the chef:

“So the chef comes out at one point and is like, ‘I hope you’re enjoying the meal’ and Jared Leto goes ‘Uh, I’m not going to eat it,’ and we’re all like ‘Oh, okay, yeah.’” Leto explained his rationale: “he goes, ‘Yeah, cuz I got food poisoning at one of these things once,’” Martin recalled, “and the chef is like, ‘Oh sir, I assure you you would not get food poisoning from my food.’”

At that point, Leto decided to whip out an energy bar with no subtlety to be seen. “And [Leto] reaches in his jacket and he pulls out a power bar, like an energy bar, and he’s like ‘That’s why I always bring these,’” Martin revealed. “And he opens it and starts eating it in front of the chef.”

Is the guy who (according to Aubrey Plaza) “took that head off way too soon” at it again? Perhaps so, but the lesson here is this: don’t ever invite Jared Leto to your dinner party. Maybe let him know about another silent retreat instead.

(Via EW)

2024 has truly arrived. New music is finally starting to flow, and one of the artists leading the charge this week is Ariana Grande, who just dropped her new single, “Yes, And?.” She quickly followed that up with a video for the song, which is out now.

The video starts with a bunch of Grande’s haters congregating in one place, chatting about her perceived shortcomings. The group then turns up to a mysterious presentation, which turns out to be Grande and a bunch of dancers putting on a performance of the song, a performance that ends up changing some minds.

The song, which was inspired by the Madonna classic “Vogue,” sees Grande exuding confidence and self-reliance, as she sings in the chorus, “‘Yes, and?’ / Say that sh*t with your chest, and / Be your own f*ckin’ best friend / Say that sh*t with your chest / Keep moving like, ‘What’s next?’ / ‘Yes, and?’”

When the track was released, fans also took notice of this lyric: “My face is sitting, I don’t need no disguise / Don’t comment on my body, do not reply / Your business is yours and mine is mine / Why do you care so much whose **** I ride? / Why?”

At the end of 2023, Grande reflected on the year, which she called “one of the most transformative, most challenging, and yet happiest and most special years” of her life. She also got fans excited by noting, “i cannot wait for next year.”

Watch the “Yes, And?” video above.