Entertainment

Ted Lasso lead Hannah Waddingham has traded Emmy gold for the gold standard of visible TV spots: A Super Bowl ad. 

In a new teaser of the first-ever Big Game spot from online discount platform Rakuten, Waddingham is shown wearing an elegant black gown, and a dazzling necklace, as she practices a Cruella Deville-level evil laugh. 

However, holding a mirror to her face, it’s clear she’s not getting it just right. 

“See who gets the last laugh,” the teaser notes, along with the date of Super Bowl LVI, February 13, 2022.

Waddingham’s menace in the spot is much closer to her role of evil Septa Unella in Game of Thrones — of course, she doesn’t even need her “shame” bell here. 

In a statement, an “excited” Waddingham hinted about the commercial, “Can’t wait for everyone to meet my boss Leonardo…he’s to die for.”

For the record, a 30-second spot for this year’s Super Bowl costs $6.5 million, according to Ad Age.

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Alina Kozhevnikova, the little person looking for love on this season of TLC’s Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days has been fired by the network, over Facebook posts in which the 27-year-old apparently made numerous racist and anti-Muslim comments. 

“TLC discontinued filming with Alina Kozhevnikova following the recent discovery of her past social media statements,” begins a statement from the network sent to ABC Audio.  

“She will not appear on the upcoming Tell All, any future seasons of the franchise and starting next month, she will no longer appear on Before the 90 Days. TLC does not tolerate racism or discrimination of any kind.”

Fans began screenshotting the now-deleted posts, in which Kozhevnikova used the “n word” repeatedly, and made disparaging comments about Muslims in her native Russia.

One of the threads on this season’s installment of 90 Days centered on Kozhevnikova’s relationship with Caleb Greenwood, who she’d been friends with for 13 years before they decided to give romance a try.

On Instagram Monday, she attempted to defend herself, saying, “Despite what’s being said about me, my friends, family and those who met me in person know who I really am & who I am not. And I know it too,” she wrote with a heart and an hourglass emoji. “[T]he answers are coming,” the message concluded.

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(SPOILERS FOR SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME) In a video conversation posted to Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s official YouTube channel, Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield came together virtually to discuss uniting in the blockbuster movie.

It was the first time all three actors got to publicly unpack how their onscreen reunion as three versions of Spider-Man/Peter Parker came to be — and for once, they didn’t have to lie about it.

The film is now the sixth highest-grossing movie of all time — and it continues to climb the charts, after regaining the Number One slot at the domestic box office.

Holland opened, admitting, “I always knew that this film would be loved around the world, but I didn’t think it would be quite as massive as it has been.” 

He added to his co-stars, “One of my favorite things to do at the minute is to go online and watch fans’ reactions to you guys coming in that one scene in particular,” adding, “I don’t think I could ever have imagined it as being so well received by everyone.”

While Holland has been the new face of the web-slinging hero, getting former Spidey series stars Maguire and Garfield back, actually seemed easier than one might have thought. 

Producers Amy Pascal and Kevin Feige called each original series star to pitch their Multiverse-spanning idea. Maguire couldn’t resist the pair’s, “authentic, genuine intent of celebration and love,” for the franchise.   “[I]t just was so apparent in both of them, that…I just wanted to join that.”

Garfield agreed, and commented with a laugh, “[I]f Tobey was going to do it, then I was like, ‘Well, I have no choice,’ you know? I follow Tobey to the ends of the Earth.”

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One of the characters from The Book of Boba Fett that has had fans buzzing just got the blessing of Angie Mayhew, the widow of Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in the original Star Wars trilogy and its prequels. 

Black Krrsantan, a dark-furred Wookiee who first appeared in the pages of Star Wars comics, made his live-action debut in the show, and in a message from the Peter Mayhew Foundation charity, the actor  portraying him got some love.

“Warmest Wookiee welcome to Carey Jones who is playing fierce Black Krrsantan in the Book of Boba Fett,” the message passed on from Mayhew’s widow began. “You have some giant shoes to fill, welcome to the Wookiee family! Peter would have loved seeing a Wookiee truly unleashed!”

Jones is the first person of color to play a Wookiee in a Star Wars property.

Mayhew died in 2019 from a heart attack, just shy of his 75th birthday, but his charity lives on, “devoted to the alleviation of disease, pain, suffering, and the financial toll brought on by life’s traumatic events.”

In his later years, when Mayhew’s health prevented him from reprising the role of Chewbacca onscreen, he mentored 7’3″ Joonas Suotamo in filling his shoes in the Star Wars sequels, and in 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story.

The fifth chapter of The Book of Boba Fett is now streaming on Disney+. 

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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After four years of love, heartbreak, and life lessons, it’s officially senior year on grown-ish.

Season 4B of the Freeform series airs Thursday and will lead fans on a drama-filled journey all the way to graduation from Cal U. So what can fans look forward to? Well, for Yara Shahidi‘s character Zoey — a lot of nerves. 

“Nerves about going into the real world because she’s had suspended consequences for a lot of her actions,” she tells ABC Audio. “It really heightens the stakes for everyone at the latter half of the season.”

Emily Arlook, who plays Nomi in sitcom agrees, adding, “I feel like the stakes are high because they’re racing down towards this finish line.”

Meanwhile, Chloe Bailey‘s Jazz, is “kinda all over the place” and Francia Raisa‘s character Ana is just ready to enter the real world.

“Ana has been waiting for this moment her entire life,” Raisa says with a laugh. “I’m gonna pass with all A’s, I’m gonna go work real quick and start my career yesterday.”

Although the cast didn’t spill any major spoilers — like where on Earth is Zoey when her name is being called at graduation in the trailer — Raisa’s advice for her character this season may provide a little bit of insight. 

“I would tell Ana not to sleep with Vivek,” she dishes.

Given that season 4B of grown-ish will see the characters graduate, it begs the question — What’s next? Perhaps Adulting-ish?

“I think that would be interesting to see. Once you graduate does not mean now you’re an adult and now you’ve got it all figured out,” Emily shares. “So it’s definitely going to be a lifelong process for all of them.”

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Family of four coming through — Julia Stiles and husband Preston Cook have welcomed baby number two!

Sharing a photo of their newborn’s feet, the 40-year-old actress shared that she’d given birth in an Instagram post on Wednesday.

“Welcome to the world, Baby Arlo! The newest addition to our family, reminding me how infinite love can be,” the Save the Last Dance alum captioned the pic. “Scroll Forward to see how my 4 year old is taking it.”

Those who scrolled were treated to a snapshot of a toilet, which her four-year-old son, Strummer, had drawn on with red marker. 

Stiles and Cook, who met on set in 2015, tied the knot in 2017 while pregnant with their first child. 

“Who doesn’t love a shotgun wedding?” she joked at the time.

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The Directors Guild revealed its TV nominations Wednesday, and Succession is sure to pick up one of those awards — all five nominees for Dramatic Series are episodes of the HBO drama. In the Comedy Series category, Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso is a triple nominee, alongside HBO Max’s Hacks and HBO’s The White Lotus. The Movies for Television and Limited Series category includes Barry Jenkins for Amazon’s The Underground Railroad, Barry Levinson and Danny Strong for separate episodes of Hulu’s Dopesick, Hiro Murai for HBO Max’s Station Eleven and Craig Zobel for HBO’s Mare of Easttown. The full list of nominees can be found here. The guild will reveal its film nominations on Thursday. 2022 DGA Awards will be handed out March 12…

The U.S. premiere date for the anticipated Downton Abbey film sequel, Downton Abbey: A New Era, has been moved from March 18 to May 20, according to Variety. The sequel, from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, reunites the original principal cast — including Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Joanne Froggatt and Penelope Wilton, who return alongside newcomers Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye and Dominic West — as they journey to the South of France to uncover the mystery of the Dowager Countess’ newly inherited villa…

Kathryn Kates, the veteran character actress whose credits include Orange Is the New Black, Seinfeld and Law & Order: SVU, died Saturday “after a hard fought battle with lung cancer,” her reps tell People. She was 73. Kates’ other TV credits include Matlock, Seinfeld, Judging Amy, Lizzie McGuire and Caroline in the City and Shades of Blue. Most recently, Kates appeared in last year’s short film Welcome to Sarajevo, and portrayed Angie DeCarlo in The Sopranos prequel movie The Many Saints of Newark…

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Amy Schneider‘s 40-game Jeopardy! winning streak, which began November 17, came to an end Wednesday when she lost to Rhone Talsma, a librarian from Chicago, in a competitive game. Schneider remains in second for all-time consecutive wins, only behind Ken Jennings, whose 74-game record has held since 2004.

During her run, Schneider amassed $1,382,800 in prize winnings, making her the winningest woman in Jeopardy! history and fourth in all-time winnings during regular-season play behind Matt Amodio, James Holzhauer and Jennings, who amassed $1,518,601, $2,462,216 and $2,520,700, respectively.

The “Final Jeopardy!” which proved to be Schneider’s downfall was from the “Countries of the World” category. The clue read: “The only nation in the world whose name in English ends in an ‘H,’ it’s also one of the 10 most populous.” The answer: “What is Bangladesh?”

“It’s really been an honor,” Schneider said in a press release. “To know that I’m one of the most successful people at a game I’ve loved since I was a kid and to know that I’m a part of its history now, I just don’t know how to process it.”

Schneider, an engineering manager from Oakland, California, is also the show’s most successful trans champion thus far.

Schneider recently told Good Morning America that her favorite part of her Jeopardy! experience was “being on TV, you know, as my true self, expressing myself and representing the entire community of trans people.”

She’ll return to compete in the next Tournament of Champions, set to take place this fall. “It’s going to be really challenging; a lot of strong players there, but it should be a lot of fun,” Schneider told GMA on returning to face fellow Jeopardy! champions.

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It may be the longest Netflix title ever — the show The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, debuting on Friday, tells the story of a woman who witnesses a gruesome murder, or did she?

Don’t think this is just another psychological thriller, though. Michael Ealy, who stars in the film along with Kristen Bell, tells ABC Audio that the title should be a hint that the show doesn’t take itself too seriously.

“The shortest way to describe it is a satire on the psychological thriller genre itself,” he explains. “I think the title, The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, I mean you can’t say that without kind of smiling, right? You can’t say that without kind of questioning what am I getting myself into?”

Even though Ealy describes the show as a satire, he admits that after filming one rather gruesome scene early on, he wasn’t exactly sure how it would play out. 

“I remember shooting it and being like…is this going to be funny?” he recalls. “It’s so tragic and you’re like, is it OK to kind of laugh at this? I mean, really?”

The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, which consists of eight 30-minute episodes is perfect for bingeing, according to Ealy, because even though it’s a satire on the genre, it’s very subtle.

“I got through the first one and was like, wow, this is intense. Got through the second one, it was like, wow, this is intense,” he says. “The third one is when you start to feel like you’re being taken, you know, a little bit to the left here. And then from there you’re just on a rollercoaster.”

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People is reporting that Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song are now engaged. Reps for the pair have yet to confirm the news.

The 41-year-old Culkin and 33-year-old Dollface star Song were spotted out together in Beverly Hills on Monday, where the actress was reportedly photographed wearing a sparkler on her left ring finger.

The pair first met back in 2017, on the Thailand set of the 2019 movie Changeland, and last April welcomed their first child, a son named Dakota.

As previously reported at the time, the child was named in honor of Culkin’s late 29-year-old sister, who was fatally struck by a car in Los Angeles back in 2008.

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