Entertainment

It’s been 25 years since we were introduced to one of television’s favorite onscreen friendships with Will & Grace. To celebrate — and kick off the Paley Pride celebration — The Paley Center for Media in New York City launched a new exhibit celebrating BFFs Will Truman and Grace Adler and their scene-stealing pals, Jack McFarland and Karen Walker.

Will & Grace is credited with paving the way for LGBTQ+ representation on primetime TV, being one of the first to feature openly gay principal characters in Will and Jack. Premiering on NBC in 1998, the series quickly became a part of the pop culture zeitgeist. Audiences were treated to the quartet’s antics for eight seasons before wrapping in 2006; the show then briefly returned in 2017, before officially ending in 2020.

The exhibit, which opened in June, has been extended until July 30. It’s a fun, immersive experience, recreating Will and Grace’s famous New York apartment’s living room. Plus, fans of Café Jacques can take a seat and some pictures at Jack’s one-table café for a true Instagram moment.

There are a total of 42 items on display that were used during the series’ run, including jewelry, ID cards and other accessories — like Will’s garden gnome, Squatsie. Perhaps the most nostalgic components of the exhibit are Will, Grace, Karen and Jack’s costumes — from Karen’s “I Loves Me Kitty” sweatshirt to Jack’s shower caps.

After taking them all in, kick back in the Bennack Theater to screen classic episodes (only available Wednesdays through Sundays). If you’re ready to prove you’re a die-hard fan, test your knowledge of the sitcom with some trivia on the interactive monitor.

If you happen to be in NYC, grab your BFF, practice your best Cher impersonation and head to the Paley Center for Media.

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Jennifer Lopez is getting waxed…again.

On July 21, a new wax figure of J.Lo will be unveiled at Madame Tussauds New York. This one is dressed in the gold-studded, black leather motorcycle vest, over-the-knee boots, gold gloves and pink skirt she wore as one of her looks during her 2020 Super Bowl halftime show with Shakira.

“J.Lo is a New York icon and her Super Bowl performance is a spectacular moment in time that is worthy of memorializing with a new wax figure in her home city,” says the general manager of Madame Tussauds New York in a statement. 

The unveiling of the figure, which took 20 artists six months to complete, also ties in with J.Lo’s upcoming birthday on July 24 and the impending release of her new album, This Is Me … Now.

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With celebrity panels out thanks to the SAG-AFTRA strike, celebrated comic artist and Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld is bringing back an activity from conventions past to keep fans happy.

Like he did starting at 2015’s San Diego Comic-Con, when Ryan Reynolds was promoting a little movie called Deadpool, Liefeld tells The Hollywood Reporter that this year, he’s again hiding original sketches all over the San Diego Convention Center.

This time, they will be sketches of DP and his frenemy Wolverine to celebrate the fact that the fan-favorite hero, played again by Hugh Jackman, will be joining Reynolds’ Merc with a Mouth in 2024’s Deadpool 3.

To make it more of a challenge, Liefeld isn’t doing the hiding himself, he tells the trade — and neither are members of his family. Keen-eyed fans spotted them in years past and followed them as they stashed the treasures, so instead, he’ll tap some anonymous helpers to do the hiding for the scavenger hunt.

Incidentally, while an original sketch from a comics legend is worth cold hard cash, Liefeld says he has found few people turning the pieces over for resale.

He explains, “People generally keep them, but I don’t care what people do with them. Once they are yours, they are yours.”

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After tackling Agatha Christie‘s classics Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile on the big screen, actor and director Kenneth Branagh is back as legendary investigator Hercule Poirot in the trailer to A Haunting in Venice.

Like the previous hits, Venice has an impressive cast, including Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan, and Yellowstone‘s Kelly Reilly.

Set in post-World War II Venice, the upcoming mystery from 20th Century Studios sees Poirot coming out of retirement to solve a mystery, prompted by Fey’s character who wants him to discredit a psychic, played by Yeoh.

Together, they join a séance, and in the middle of it, someone is murdered, leading the detective to shut everyone inside a creepy mansion. “Somebody is dead. No one shall leave this place until I know who did it,” he maintains.

As Poirot looks for a rational answer, he also begins to doubt his skepticism: Was the murderer among the living or “have the living been killed by the dead?”

The film debuts in theaters September 15.

20th Century Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

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After weathering battles with both brain and pancreatic cancer and struggles with fertility, Maria Menounos is a mom.

The entertainment journalist tells Us Weekly in a new interview that little Athena was born on June 23 via surrogate, saying, “It was the most special moment of my life.”

She recalled, “I sat with her on my chest, and Keven and I kept looking at each other like, ‘Oh, my God.’ It was just pure joy.”

Maria added, “For so long, I’ve felt something’s been missing…And now I feel so grounded, like I finally know where I belong.”

The 45-year-old revealed in February that she and Undergaro, 55, were expecting a baby, having tapped fellow moms through surrogacy Zoe Saldaña and Kim Kardashian about their journeys.

Menounos recalled to Live with Kelly and Ryan that she and Undergaro had been trying everything to start a family.

“We’ve done literally everything. They tried to, you know, get me pregnant, that didn’t work. Had a surgery, that didn’t work,” she said at the time. “We did everything but we got so lucky.”

Menounos called Zoe and Kim “so helpful to me in this journey and they both gave me all their advice and people. And Kim especially gave me this wonderful lawyer named Andy, and he found me this woman, Stephanie, who helped me find my surrogate.”

Maria called her surrogate and her family “literal angels.”

Menounous was diagnosed with a pancreatic tumor in January, calling the news a “nightmare” for the expectant couple. She underwent successful surgery to remove it. “The fibroid was the size of a baby,” she tells Us. “I have a C-section scar, basically, even though I never had a baby — I gave birth in a different way!”

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Dax Shepard has shared a loving message to his wife Kristen Bell for her 43rd birthday, which was Tuesday, July 18.

In the caption of a sweet Instagram post showing the smiling couple on a boat, Shepard wrote, “Happy Birthday to the world’s hottest jujitsu practitioner. And that’s in addition to being the greatest mom, wife, sister and dog owner that this world has ever known.”

The 48-year-old added, “[Every] one of us in her Orbit has hit the jackpot. Happy Birthday Buddy!!!! @kristenanniebell.”

Bell replied to her husband’s message in the comments, writing, “So grateful I get to spend them all with you ♥️.”

Shepard and Bell have been married for nearly 10 years. The couple tied the knot at the Beverly Hills County Clerk’s Office in October 2013.

They have two children together, daughters Lincoln, 10, and Delta, 8.

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Craig Robinson is back and ready to tackle a “creepy swamp family” in the season 2 trailer of Peacock’s comedy series Killing It, which was released on Tuesday. Robinson teased the new season, stating, “It’s the same wild rollercoaster as last year — an ambitious, complex exploration of life and pursuit of the American Dream mixed in with some of the stupidest jokes on television.” All eight episodes of the series will premiere Thursday, August 17…

Disney’s live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid will soon make a splash on digital platforms. The beloved underwater tale will be available for streaming on Prime Video starting July 25 for $19.99. The movie will also be available on other platforms such as Apple TV. Disney is the parent company of ABC News…

MTV is set to launch an exciting new dating series called The Love Experiment, aiming to bring the thrills and choices of dating apps into the real world. Premiering on August 15 at 10 p.m., the show revolves around three best friends from Atlanta, Georgia — Marcia, 30, Paige, 27, and Tamara, 30 — who find themselves in a sea of eligible men who want committed relationships. However, they soon discover that having an abundance of ideal options is not as easy as it appears. Relationship expert Mari Waugh, also known as Spicy Mari, the CEO and founder of the Spicy Life, will guide the ladies through the experiment…

Variety reports the SAG-AFTRA has approved 39 independent productions to continue filming during the strike, as they are not affiliated with Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) companies. Notably, The Whale and Everything Everywhere All at Once Oscar-winning studio A24 has two projects on the list: Mother Mary with Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel, and Death of a Unicorn starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega, set to shoot in Hungary. A24, being independent, is separate from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Other approved projects include Matthew McConaughey‘s The Rivals of Amziah King; Mark Wahlberg‘s Flight Risk directed by Mel Gibson; Mads Mikkelsen and Sigourney Weaver in Dust Bunny, and Rebel Wilson‘s Bride Hard…

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The wait is almost over, dolls.

The Greta Gerwig-directed Barbie hits theaters on Friday, July 21, and stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, who portray the titular doll and her boyfriend, Ken, respectively, told ABC News ahead of the SAG-AFTRA strike what it was like to make the candy-colored film.

“I didn’t want to mess this up,” Gosling said. “What Margot created, what Greta created, was so fun and perfect. I think all of us just felt, like, a lot of pressure to not be the one to mess it up.”

To prepare, Gosling channeled all of his Kenergy to get the role just right. Finding his inner Ken “was a journey,” he said.

“I thought I’d start with Beach, since that’s his job. Very hard to know what that is exactly,” Gosling said.

Robbie, who also serves as one of the film’s producers, says there would be no Barbie without Gerwig.

“I just don’t even know how we’d approach a Barbie movie without a visionary director like Greta,” Robbie said. “Greta, as a filmmaker, has a way of honoring the past, but also bringing it into a modern-day setting.”

This duality of Gerwig, as Robbie describes — the extensive knowledge she has about classic films mixed with her innate ability to “reference a TikTok” in the same breath — is what made her the perfect choice for director.

“There’s a lot of that in this movie where you’re holding two things in the same conversation,” Robbie said. “We can have this silly, absurd comedy at the same time that you can be making a statement about life. And someone like Greta does that deftly and she makes it look not just easy, but delightful.”

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Julie Bowen is hyping up Sofia Vergara after her Modern Family co-star announced she’s splitting from her husband since 2015, Joe Manganiello.

Truth told, Vergara didn’t need much help putting herself back out there, thanks to a set of swimsuit pictures posted on Insta from sunny Ravello, Italy.

That said, to a shot showing Vergara in a sexy blue leopard-pattern one-piece, Bowen trumpeted about her 51-year-old pal, “This is what single and [fire emoji] looks like!!!” followed by a series of hearts.

Bowen’s comment got nearly 4,800 likes and dozens of comments, including one that read, “LOVE a supportive homegirl! You’re a real one.”

Incidentally, Julie, 53, split from her husband of 13 years, Scott Phillips, in 2018. In 2022, she told former Modern Family co-star and guest host Adam Devine in an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show that she’s “retired” from dating — but would consider coming out of retirement for Harry Styles. “Hail Yeyah,” she enthused.

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While the SAG-AFTRA strike is preventing stars from taking part in this year’s San Diego Comic-Con activities, Peacock is still touting two of its upcoming projects: Twisted Metal and the John Wick spinoff The Continental.

ABC Audio has learned the streaming service will be promoting the former project, the video game adaptation that stars Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz and Neve Campbell, with a world premiere screening of the series.

And in a perfect tie-in to the game and series’ maniacal heavy, the ice cream truck-driving Sweet Tooth, producers will also have a real-life Twisted Metal ice cream truck, doling out scoops of Salt & Straw’s Twisted Metal flavor. The truck will open its doors at 1:30 p.m. PT, while the premiere event takes place inside the con at 10 p.m.

As for The Continental, the creative team behind the show will give fans “behind-the-scenes moments and an exclusive first-look” at the series, which shows the early career of the Wick movies’ enigmatic Winston. That event takes place at 3 p.m. PT.

All 10 episodes of Twisted Metal premiere exclusively on Peacock on July 27; The Continental: From the World of John Wick, starring Mel Gibson, Colin Woodell, Mishel Prada and Ben Robson, debuts in September.

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