Entertainment

Need Earth Day plans? Netflix has you covered with their new docuseries Our Great National Parks. Narrated and executive produced by President Barack Obama, the new series brings you up close to nature’s greatest creatures in its most iconic landscapes.

“I’d like to think that this the series speaks of the importance of wilderness everywhere and because we need it now more than ever, and it needs us,” James Honeyborne, a producer of the series, tells ABC Audio. “It’s a two way thing. It’s about our relationship with wilderness as well.”

While exploring that relationship with wilderness, they were able to capture rare footage of hippos body surfing the waves, something Honeyborne says was “so hard to get,” sharing that the crew spent a lot of time in Gabon in Africa before managing “to get the material of these big hippos going into the ocean, catching waves to actually move up and down the coast.” 

After watching the docuseries you can choose which National Park is your favorite, but if you ask Honeyborne, the answer is Monterey. 

For producer Sophie Todd, “Leuser National Park in Indonesia, just because it’s an incredibly beautiful rainforest where you can still see forest elephants, orangutans, tigers and rhinos in the same place.” 

In addition to exploring the world’s National Parks, the producers got to work with Obama, something they agree just made sense. 

“As president, he protected more natural space than any president in U.S. history in terms of area. So I mean, it’s just a natural fit, really, wasn’t it?” Todd says.

“Yeah,” Honeyborne agrees. “It felt very authentic to have him there. And it was wonderful that we were able to to have him introduce each episode because he has a connection to each location that we have filmed.” 

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Better Call Saul lead and Nobody star Bob Odenkirk will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday.

The comic, writer and star of AMC’s Breaking Bad and its spin-off will receive the 2,720th star on the same day Better Call Saul‘s sixth and final season begins on AMC.

For fans of both shows, some more good news if you ever want to visit: Odenkirk’s star, located at 1725 Vine Street, in front of the Aster Hotel, will be next to that of his friend and former Breaking Bad co-star Bryan Cranston.

It was recently revealed that Cranston’s Walter White, as well as fellow Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul, who played Jesse Pinkman, would make an appearance on the final season of Odenkirk’s prequel spin-off.

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Gilbert Gottfried, actor and stand-up comedian, has died after a “long illness,” his family confirmed on his social media accounts. He was 67.

“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our beloved Gilbert Gottfried after a long illness,” the statement began. “In addition to being the most iconic voice in comedy, Gilbert was a wonderful husband, brother, friend and father to his two young children. Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert’s honor.”

A statement provided to ABC News by his longtime friend and publicist, Glenn Schwartz, says Gottfried “passed away at 2:35pm ET on April 12, 2022 from Recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia due to Myotonic Dystrophy type II.“

Known for his gravelly-voiced, near shouting on-stage delivery — as well as for his unflinching ability to “go there,” tackling material that few other comedians would — Gottfried began his stand-up career in the late 1970s in New York City.  He also stole scenes in movies like Beverly Hills Cop 2, and later, he found fame with a younger generation as the voice of Iago the parrot in the Disney 1992 animated film Aladdin.

Gottfried was also known for voicing the duck in the long-running Aflac commercials, until he was fired for making a joke at the expense of the victims of the Japanese tsunami in 2011.

In the statement from Schwartz, Gilbert’s friend and podcast co-host Frank Santopadre said of Gottfried, “Gilbert’s brand of humor was brash, shocking and frequently offensive, but the man behind the jokes was anything but. Those who loved and him were fortunate enough to share his orbit knew a person who was sweet, sensitive, surprisingly shy and filled with a childlike sense of playfulness and wonder.”

Santopadre added, “He’ll be dearly missed by family, friends, fans and comedy lovers the world over. To quote Gilbert himself, ‘Too soon!'”

Social media was quick to start tributes to the comedian, with one of the first to comment being Seinfeld‘s Jason Alexander, who tweeted, “Gilbert Gottfried made me laugh at times when laughter did not come easily. What a gift. I did not know him well but I loved what he shared with me. My best wishes and sympathy to his family.

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The ongoing legal battle between exes Johnny Depp and Amber Heard managed to get even uglier in a Virginia courtroom today.

During their defamation trail, Heard made a never-before-revealed accusation of sexual assault, claiming it happened while the star was “black-out drunk” and when the pair was married. 

According to Rolling Stone, one of Depp’s attorneys, Camille Vasquez, told the jury, “Ms. Heard had never made that accusation against Mr. Depp — it was never part of her allegations of abuse in 2016,” with his lawyers calling the accusations “convenient.”

The crux of the case is a Washington Post op-ed written by Heard, in which she claimed that she suffered domestic abuse during her marriage — without naming the Pirates of the Caribbean series star.

Vasquez continued about Aquaman star Heard, “When she realized the seriousness of what she alleged…she panicked and alleged sexual assault. In Mr. Depp’s fifty-eight years, not a single woman has ever accused him of violence, and nobody in Hollywood or the world had any reason to believe he was an abuser — until Ms. Heard publicly accused him.”

Vasquez added, “The only medical report of an injury during their relationship was a severe one sustained by Mr. Depp…She threw a vodka bottle at him that hit his hand and exploded, severing the end of one of his fingers.”

Depp’s attorneys also brought receipts proving Heard apparently reneged on a promise to donate her $7 million divorce settlement to both the ACLU and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Heard’s attorney Ben Rottenborn told the jury, “It’s not about which party can sling more mud…that’s what Mr. Depp wants to turn this case into.”

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Tom Hanks and his Playtone production company partner Gary Goetzman are reuniting with Apple TV+ for a new series called Masters of the Air following their World War II naval film Greyhound. 

While that Emmy-nominated movie is getting a sequel, Masters of the Air will instead look at the heroes of World War II through the eyes of those who took to the skies during the global conflict: American bomber crews.

Austin Butler, who worked opposite two-time Oscar winner Hanks in the biopic Elvis, is part of the cast, as is Barry Keoghan, recently seen as the Joker in The Batman. Fantastic Beasts series cast member Callum Turner will also appear in the series, as will Shadow and Bone‘s Freddy Carter.

The project is based on Donald L. Miller‘s book Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany.

Hanks was also the producer on the Emmy-winning World War II show Band of Brothers and its follow-up The Pacific, along with his Oscar-winning Saving Private Ryan director Steven Spielberg.

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Chance the Rapper stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday to deliver a chilling performance of his new single, “Child of God.”

With sounds similar to his Grammy-winning third mixtape, Coloring Book, the 28-year-old Chicago native says he created the track as an ode to artistry through fine art. He did so after experiencing a “life changing” trip to Ghana, where he connected with song collaborators Moses Sumney and Naïla Opiangah.

Sitting in front of an original 6-by-12-foot painting by Opiangah, one that was recently displayed at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art and that is also featured in the song’s official video, Chance spoke the poetic lyrics: “Just do your thing, child // Do your thing // Truth be told, I got the ball on a string // Carried the weight of the world, but it came with some handles // I drag it to the basket, Moses with the passage // Safely Lord God, please make an example.” 

Speaking about the song’s name change from “Do Your Thing Child,” which was inspired by the Opiangah’s artwork, Chance told Colbert, “The piece itself is an embodiment of Blackness. It’s a lot of Black bodies in the piece, and not only is it a multitude of them, but they’re all women.”

“Having the autonomy… and the agency to name it [the painting & song] how we want is just a powerful thing,” he added.

Chance also shared on Instagram recently that April marks the 10th anniversary of his first-ever mixtape, 10 Day.

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For fans of Netflix’s supernatural hit Stranger Things champing at the bit for the forthcoming fourth season, there’s finally a brand-new trailer.

Stranger Things 4 Vol. 1 premieres May 27th, and the action-packed trailer promises nothing short of an all-out war threatening the residents of Hawkins.

While we see flashbacks of Millie Bobby Brown‘s character Eleven’s early days as a child with enormous powers, she explains that despite the coming storm, she no longer has them. Paul Reiser‘s Dr. Sam Owens implores her: “A war is coming…Without you, we can’t win.”

Relocating her away from Hawkins didn’t keep Eleven and her friends from danger, as it turns out, and while Finn Wolfhard‘s Mike, Gaten Matarazzo‘s Dustin and Caleb McLaughlin‘s Lucas try to move on, a new baddie has emerged — a fearsome zombie-looking menace tied into the Upside Down.

“Your suffering is almost at an end,” it warns.

We also see David Harbour‘s Hopper still imprisoned at a Siberian internment camp, which has been overrun by demogorgons, and glimpses of Nightmare on Elm Street‘s Robert Englund as Victor Creel, who lives in a creepy mansion at the center of the storm.

The second part of Stranger Things‘ fourth season debuts July 1.

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Though Viola Davis hasn’t shared much about the private conversation she had with Michelle Obama ahead of her portrayal as the former first lady in the Showtime series The First Lady, the Emmy, Oscar and Tony Award-winning actress did speak to Deadline about her desire to “honor” her. 

Davis joined a panel for Deadline’s Contender TV — a series of events featuring highly popular shows on TV today — where she revealed details of a small portion of her talk with Mrs. Obama. 

“What’s dramatic about Michelle Obama?” she asked, re-stating the question posed upon her. “I’ll tell you what’s dramatic. She is a Black woman and the first Black woman in the White House built by slaves, someone who literally was perceived to be overly masculine, not feminine, angry, hostile, and I will share one thing that she said to me.”

Davis continued: “She said, ‘I’m not even an angry person.’ Isn’t that something? Listen, I am sort of an angry person, but she’s not. And so what I wanted to do was honor her and not the perception of what Black women are supposed to be.”

The First Lady will tell the story of White House leadership through the lens of former first ladies Mrs. Obama; Eleanor Roosevelt, who will be played by Gillian Anderson; and Betty Ford, who will be portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer.

The 10-episode series premieres April 17 on Showtime.

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Will Ferrell has joined the cast of the upcoming Greta Gerwig-directed live-action Barbie movie, alongside Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as the titular doll, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Ferrell will reportedly play the CEO of a toy company that may or not be Mattel. Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey and America Ferrera also star. Plot details are being kept under wraps. Barbie will mark Ferrell’s first feature film since Netflix’s 2020 musical rom-com Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga…

Back to the Future’s Christopher Lloyd and She’s All That star Rachael Leigh Cook have been tapped to star in Spirit Halloween, based on the titular North American costume and prop store chain, according to Variety. The plot revolves around three middle school friends who brush off trick-or-treating to spend Halloween night locked in the store and discover it’s full of creepy animatronic characters haunted by an evil spirit who wants to possess them, as well. Spirit Halloween is set to open in October…

Peacock has given a straight-to-series order to the comedy-thriller Based on a True Story, from The Boys executive producer Craig Rosenberg and Ozark‘s Jason Bateman, according to Deadline. The series, inspired by real events, follows “a realtor, a plumber and a former tennis star whose lives unexpectedly collide, exposing America’s obsession with true crime, murder and the slow-close toilet seat,” according to the streamer…

Peacock is also developing a new live-action series based on Casper the Friendly Ghost. Per Variety, the “horror/adventure show” is a “coming-of-age story that explores what it means to be alive. When a new family arrives in the small town of Eternal Falls, Casper finds himself entangled in a mystery uncovering dark secrets that have been buried for over 100 years.” The first live-action film, based on the the 1940s cartoon and Harvey Comics character, was released in 1995 with Malachi Pearson voicing Casper and Devon Sawa playing him in human form, alongside Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman, Cathy Moriarty and Eric Idle. It grossed over $287 million worldwide and was followed by the live-action films Casper: A Spirited Beginning and Casper Meets Wendy, and the animated films Casper’s Haunted Christmas and Casper’s Scare School in 2000 and 2006, respectively…

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The journey to find the next American Idol continued Monday night with the remaining half of the Top 24 taking the stage in hopes of winning America’s votes.

Before taking the stage, though, they were mentored by pop star Bebe Rexha, who offered guidance and words of wisdom to talented singers. While no eliminations were scheduled this week, a shocking departure came from Platinum ticket winner Kenedi Anderson who withdrew from the competition for “personal reasons.” Her show-stopping performance of Christina Perri‘s “Human” was still aired, followed by a quick announcement from host Ryan Seacrest. 

“You might have noticed that there was no voting information during Kenedi’s performance just now,” he said from a studio. “Since we taped these shows in Hawaii earlier, Kenedi has decided to withdraw from our show for personal reasons. We send her well wishes.”

On social media, Kenedi issued a lengthier statement explaining, “I’m unable to continue on American Idol. This has been one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make, but I know it’s necessary.”

“I’m so grateful to American Idol, the judges, the producers, the amazing contestants, and all the fans who have supported me,” she continued. “Thank you for giving me such an amazing opportunity to share my voice, chase my dreams, feel so much joy and happiness doing what I love, and make lifelong friends along the way.”

Here are the remaining 11 contestants and their song choices:

Cadence Baker: “Something’s Got A Hold On Me” Etta James
Sir Blayke: “Breakeven” The Script
Allegra Miles: “Adore You” Harry Styles
Lady K: “Before He Cheats” Carrie Underwood 
Ava Maybee: “Tell Me Something Good” Rufus and Chaka Khan
Noah Thompson: “Blue Side Of The Mountain” The Steeldrivers
Leah Marlene: “Call Me” Blondie 
Cameron Whitcomb: “Bad Moon Rising” Creedence Clearwater Revival 
Christian Guardino: “Leave The Door Open” Silk Sonic
Katyrah Love: “Blame It on the Boogie” The Jacksons
Fritz Hager: “Waves” Dean Lewis

The Top 24 will be narrowed down to the Top 20 when American Idol returns Sunday, April 17 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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