Entertainment

Welcome [back] to the Pynk! The long-awaited return of the hit Starz show P-Valley, is finally here.

Brandee Evans, Nicco Annan and J. Alphonse Nicholson, who play Mercedes, Uncle Clifford and Lil Murda, respectively, joined other cast members in announcing the series return in a video posted on the show’s official Instagram page.

P-Valley’s first season, which gained positive critical acclaim from many outlets, including Rotten Tomato’s 100% “fresh” rating, aired on Starz in July 2020. While there is no specific date for season two June’s release, the show’s “Pynk Posse” is beyond ready for its return.

P-Valley is a television adaptation of creator Katori Hall’s stage play of the same name. Centered around “The Pynk,” a popular Mississippi strip club, the show highlights and embraces dance culture and is based on Hall’s personal experiences, according to The Playlist.

“I actually grew up going to strip clubs, so it was just a part of Southern culture, Southern Black culture,” says Hall. “It was something that we didn’t necessarily look at in a shameful way. And I think it had a lot to do with the fact that the dancers were seen through a lens of athleticism. It wasn’t that they were just taking off their clothes, they were actually performing the Cirque du Soleil-esque skills….”

Hall told Deadline she predicted P-Valley’s success, and while it surprised executives at the network, she knew there was an audience for it.

“I would kid to the executives, ‘Yeah, the number’s going to be, like, 10 million, 20 million.’ And they were like, ‘Girl, those are Super Bowl numbers, be quiet.’ But then, boom, I was, like, ‘Nine million, good, for the first season’” the Pulitzer Prize winner said.

You can catch up on season one of P-Valley on Starz.

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) Taron Egerton, star of Rocketman and the Kingsman movies, took a bow on a West End stage Monday night, days after collapsing during a performance of the Mike Bartlett‘s play C**k.

The actor was nearing the end of the preview performance Saturday night, according to patrons, when he apparently fainted. A doctor in the audience tended to Egerton, and an understudy took over for the duration of the performance after a 40-minute delay.

The next day, Egerton told fans on social media, “…I am completely fine. Slightly sore neck and a bruised ego but I’m fine.” According to People, he also added, he “would appreciate it if anyone who was in the theatre last night just said that I gave such a committed, electrifying performance that my body couldn’t handle it and I checked out.”

After Monday night’s performance, Taron cheekily said in another Instagram story, “Did the second preview, didn’t pass out, so…” flashing a thumbs-up. 

The play has Edgerton playing the boyfriend of Bridgerton‘s Jonathan Bailey, who finds his relationship complicated when he falls for a woman.

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Emmy-nominated Ted Lasso star Juno Temple is putting her Twitter followers to work, helping her choose outfits for her sassy character Keeley Jones to wear in the Apple TV+ series’ third season.

The British actress joined the platform in January, and shortly thereafter put out the following pitch: “Stoked to see what amazing, twinkly beautiful clothing Keeley wears in the next series. Any suggestions?”

Her followers got back to her almost immediately, with more than a few posting ideas as to what would look great on Keeley, and a few budding designers — or spouses of designers — shooting their shot. “I’d love to send you some pieces,” one guy pitched of his wife’s handmade wares. 

Last month, Temple had her followers point her toward “new female-owned, emerging brands,” noting that a goal was to “highlight as many emerging young artists as possible” with her character’s wardrobe.

The actress posted the same day, “So stoked looking through all these designers, thank you darlings!!” adding, “If you have any suggestions for fun, glittery makeup and hair brands for Keeley, would love to hear those as well!”

Fashion has apparently been top of mind for Temple, who recently Instagrammed glam photos of the shimmery gold Versace ensemble she wore last month at the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards, as well as various accessories.

On the red carpet, she told E! that she’d wanted to go to design school before acting came calling. “Versace chainmail has been something I’ve been fantasized since I was 14 years old,” she said, exclaiming that she felt “like Cinderella” in the gown. 

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Lots of people said “I do” to the Jennifer Lopez/Owen Wilson romantic comedy Marry Me on Peacock. Comcast CEO and chairman Brian Roberts told investors that the feature, in which the global pop star plays, well, a global pop star, who ties the knot on stage on a whim with a teacher and mathletics coach — played by Wilson — is the most-streamed streaming movie in Peacock’s history. Furthermore, its recently launched Fresh Prince reboot, Bel-Air, has become the most-streamed new series on the young NBC-owned service…

Hulu on Thursday released the official trailer for the psychological thriller Deep Dive, from Fatal Attraction and Indecent Proposal director Adrian Lyne and starring Ben Affleck and Knives Out‘s Ana de Armas. Based on Patricia Highsmith‘s novel, Deep Water explores “the marriage of picture-perfect Vic and Melinda Van Allen — played respectively by Affleck and de Armas — to discover the dangerous mind games they play and what happens to the people that get caught up in them.” Deep Water, which also stars Tracy Letts, Lil Rel Howery and Jacob Elordi, debuts March 18 on Hulu…

Netflix released a teaser video announcing April 20 as the premiere date the long-awaited second season of  Natasha Lyonne’s Emmy-winning comedy Russian Doll, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Season two, per the streaming service, will “continue to explore existential thematics through an often humorous and sci-fi lens. Discovering a fate even worse than endless death, this season finds Nadia and Alan delving deeper into their pasts through an unexpected time portal located in one of Manhattan’s most notorious locations. At first they experience this as an ever-expanding, era-spanning, intergenerational adventure, but they soon discover this extraordinary event might be more than they bargained for and, together, must search for a way out”…

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After her first Netflix special Quarter-Life Crisis was a huge success on Netflix, Taylor Tomlinson is back today with special number two titled Look At You. 

Tomlinson tells ABC Audio that this time around she had a lot more control, though it’s control she probably also had on the first special, but just didn’t realize it.

“I didn’t know I got approval on everything,” she says, explaining how her suggestions would be met with a simple, “great, done.”

In Look At You, Tomlinson uses dark humor to tackle some heavy subjects, including losing her mom to cancer at just eight-years-old. She admits that she and her siblings “all had a dark sense of humor about losing our mom because it’s kind of the only way we could deal with it,” however she did insert a few other jokes to make that part of her special “feel lighter.”

“I do like a Taylor Swift joke in there…I do a joke about having a speech impediment growing up,” she shares. “Those are things that I put into that chunk to make it feel lighter.”

Tomlinson also opens up about her recent bipolar diagnosis, even though initially she didn’t want to. 

“Initially…I felt ashamed of it, and then I felt ashamed that I was ashamed. Because I have friends who have bipolar or other mental illnesses and you never judge anybody else for it. But then when it’s you, it’s somehow different,” she expresses.

Tough topics aside, Tomlinson’s goal for Look At You is to make people laugh, but if she can help others struggling with mental health issues along the way, that’s a bonus.

“You don’t have to feel like you’re drowning forever because you’re embarrassed that you need a little help in this way,” she says.

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AMC has announced a fifth (!) spin-off of The Walking Dead, this one featuring this final season’s combustible combination of Jeffrey Dean Morgan‘s Negan and Lauren Cohan‘s Maggie. Both will executive-produce.

According to AMC, Isle of the Dead will be set in a post-apocalyptic Manhattan. The network teases, “The crumbling city is filled with the dead and denizens who have made New York City their own world full of anarchy, danger, beauty, and terror.”

In a statement, Cohan said in part, “Maggie is very close to my heart and I’m excited to continue her journey against the iconic backdrop of New York City…”

Morgan added, “Walkers in an urban setting has always been such a cool image, but 5th Avenue, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty?  The greatest city in the world?? …Buckle up folks, Isle of the Dead is going to reinvent the TWD Universe.”

The Walking Dead mothership will wrap up late this year with its current 11th season. The series has also spawned Fear The Walking Dead, which has been renewed for a seventh season, in addition to the limited series The Walking Dead: World Beyond, the upcoming Tales of the Walking Dead, and an as-yet-untitled spin-off centering on fan favorites Daryl and Maggie, played respectively by Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride. 

Also in play is a feature film centering on the series’ original hero Rick Grimes, for which Andrew Lincoln will reprise his role. 

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Just days after teasing fans that she’s still got some surprises up her sleeve, Pamela Anderson will be making her Broadway debut.

The former Baywatch icon will play Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago for an eight-week run starting April 12 at New York City’s Ambassador Theatre.

In a statement, Anderson said, “I have always been a huge fan of [choreographer and writer] Bob Fosse‘s & Gwen Verdon‘s work.  Ann Reinking, too.”  Fosse choreographed the original Broadway performance, in which Verdon starred a Roxie Hart. Frequent Fosse collaborator Reinking later starred as Hart in the 1996 Broadway revival. 

“Playing Roxie Hart is a dream fulfilled,’ Anderson went on. “Performing Fosse, you don’t have time to get in your head. You can’t dance, sing and think at the same time. There is a freedom, a unique joy in knowing it’s all about the work. Playing Roxie Hart is a sweet escape for me.”

Chicago debuted on Broadway in in 1975 and closed in 1997.  The current revival production last year celebrated its 25th anniversary on the Great White Way. 

In other news, Anderson recently announced she’s given Netflix unprecedented access to her and her archives for a documentary about her life, as the Hulu series Pam & Tommy, based on her relationship with former husband Tommy Lee and their infamous sex tape airs its final episode Wednesday.

The latter project was undertaken without input from Pamela. 

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Recently, we reported that both Kevin Hart and Chris Rock were launching respective stand-up tours, but now it’s been announced that the longtime friends are teaming up for a trek. 

Live Nation reports that Hart and Rock will take the stage together in July with their joint Rock Hart: Only Headliners Allowed tour. 

The exclusive arena run kicks off on July 21 at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater on Long Island, New York, and also will stop at the Prudential Center and PNC Bank Arts Center in New Jersey and at New York City’s historic Madison Square Garden, before wrapping up at Brooklyn, New York’s Barclays Center on July 25.

Tickets go on sale Friday, March 11, at 10 a.m. ET at Ticketmaster.com.

In a statement, Hart said, “When Chris and I realized we were both going to be on tour this year we immediately knew we needed to do something special. We have been friends and mentors to each other for 20 years, but we have never shared a headlining stage together — until now!!!”

He added, “I cannot think of a better way to celebrate the return of live comedy than to co-headline a show with my brother Chris Rock. This is a major moment in comedy and one for the history books.”

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While Kanye West‘s song “Eazy” takes more than a veiled dig at Pete Davidson — “dig” being the operative word, as Ye buries an animated avatar of the SNL star alive — the flap has gone viral in another way. 

In a TikTok video that has been liked more than 771,000 times and counting, it seems workers at one Starbucks are doing their own market research as to whom customers are backing in the beef, by using tip jars. 

The video from user @dejapoo00 shows a pair of boxes meant for workers’ tips, with one marked with the name of Kim Kardashian‘s estranged husband, and the other her rebound boyfriend. 

Just by the cash and the comments alone, Davidson is on top: It shows more bills in his box compared to Ye’s, the latter of which has collected a smattering of spare change. 

“The kanye one full of coins bc only 16 yr old boys side with him,” snarked one TikTok user.

Another commented, “I’d empty my wallet for pete.”

Others saw the darker side of ‘Ye’s video, which he defended Sunday as, “…not a proxy for any ill or harm.”

One TikToker noted, “Kanye has been unhinged & making Kim feel threatened. That’s 100% not okay & that’s why Pete’s winning.”

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As reported, The Batman was this weekend’s box office champ, but a recalculation of the numbers shows that the film made even more money than previously thought. 

Variety reports that Robert Pattinson‘s first turn as the Dark Knight actually made $134 million in the U.S.; estimated numbers on Sunday had said that the Matt Reeves-directed movie had made $128.5 million.

The discrepancy was chalked up to a stronger-than-thought Sunday performance stateside. The movie made $34.1 million on the last day of the weekend, when ticket sales generally slow down. The Warner Bros. film has earned $258 million worldwide.

The Batman notched the best weekend performance of 2022, and it’s only the second film in the pandemic era to open to over $100 million in a weekend — the other being the more than $1.8 billion-grossing Spider-Man: No Way Home, which opened late last year. 

Meanwhile, one of those fans who apparently checked out The Batman this weekend was none other than Taylor Swift. 

Taylor took to her Instagram Stories over the weekend to praise the new film, and, in particular, Zoë Kravitz‘s portrayal of the iconic character, Catwoman.  Certified cat-fan Taylor posted a photo of Kravitz onscreen, adding, “@zoeisabellakravitz IS THE CATWOMAN OF DREAMS,” Taylor captioned the post. “The Batman was PHENOMENAL!!”

Taylor and Zoë have apparently been friends for quite a while: There are photos of them out together in New York City in 2016.

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