Entertainment

With a hard-hitting teaser that plays like a commercial for the All Valley Karate Tournament, Netflix has announced that its Emmy-nominated Cobra Kai series will return for its fourth season in December. 

“Grab your gi. Tie your belt,” a narrator intones. “The soul of The Valley is on the line.”

The trailer features quick cuts of Karate Kid-turned-Cobra Kai stars Ralph Macchio, William Zabka and Martin Kove, who plays merciless sensei John Kreese, as well as the show’s younger cast members, including Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser and Tanner Buchanan.

According to Netflix, “Season 4 finds the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang dojos joining forces to take down Cobra Kai at the All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament…What tricks does Kreese have up his sleeve? Can Daniel and Johnny bury their decades-long hatchet to defeat Kreese? Or will Cobra Kai become the face of karate in the valley?”

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The animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars spin-off Star Wars: The Bad Batch hasn’t yet finished its 16-episode freshman season, but Disney+ has signed up for a second. 

The series that centers on a squad of enhanced soldiers and a young female clone on the run from the growing Empire was created by Clone Wars Emmy winner and The Mandalorian executive producer Dave Filoni. 

For the uninitiated, the Galactic Republic fielded millions of clone soldiers — hence the name the Clone Wars — to battle the various enemies of the Republic. Most are genetically identical, but Clone Force 99, the so-called Bad Batch, suffered mutations that gave them modified and enhanced abilities for impossible missions. Now, due to a series of events and betrayals, they find themselves being hunted by their former allies.

Part 1 of the two-part finale of Season 1 of Star Wars: The Bad Batch will be available to stream Friday.

The show is produced by Lucasfilm, which is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC Audio. 

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Chris Meloni, star of Law & Order: Organized Crime, got a little cheeky when bringing up the internet’s obsession with his backside.

Meloni, 60, became an online spectacle after on-set photos of his shapely bottom went viral in the spring.  Speaking Wednesday with Men’s Health, the actor admitted he’s likes his newfound sex symbol status and laughed, “How much am I allowed to taste of this fruit? How much am I allowed to enjoy this?”

He also reveled in the fact that he’s on the magazine’s cover, and confessed, “The aspect of age comes into play… and how I feel about it.  A friend of mine said, ‘Did you ever think in a million years you’d be on the cover of Men’s Health?’ I said, ‘Certainly not at age 60.'”

Meloni also addressed why he walked away from Law & Order: SVU a decade ago, bluntly revealing it was over a salary dispute.

“[NBC] literally came to me on a Thursday night and said, ‘This is the deal. We want the answer by tomorrow. It’s our way or no way,” the Emmy nominee explained, adding that he refused to compromise and responded, “This is what I want. If you can’t do it, that’s fine. Let’s figure out my exit.”

Meloni then explained why he returned to the franchise, saying showrunner Dick Wolf wanted him to come back “since the day he left.”  The actor said he heard Wolf’s pitch for Law & Order: Organized Crime — a series about his character, Elliot Stabler — and agreed to return to NBC.

He added that he is “not stressed” about the success of the series, which was renewed for a second season, saying his mentality this time around is “just ride. Just do, just be.”

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Courteney Cox may be besties with Ed Sheeran, but her Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston now has a special bond with another chart-topping British singer: Harry Styles.

Aniston was recently photographed for the new issue of InStyle wearing the exact same color-block brown-toned Gucci suit that Harry wore to the Brit Awards in February of this year.  Harry accessorized the suit with Gucci sneakers and the brand’s bamboo-handle brown leather handbag, while Aniston paired it white, high-heeled Gucci loafers and a Carolina Bucci scarf.

Fans went crazy over the two stars’ twinning moment, especially because, as some pointed out, Harry said that Aniston was his first celebrity crush.  Jennifer has now reacted by posting a side-by-side photo of herself and the “Watermelon Sugar” singer on her Instagram Story, with the caption, “Just call me Harriet Styles.”

And this isn’t the only time the two stars have twinned: Writer Evan Ross Katz posted a side-by-side shot of Harry wearing a white t-shirt that reads “Save the drama for your mama,” which is identical to a t-shirt that Jennifer’s character Rachel Green wore in season 10 of Friends.

“Harry Styles and Jennifer Aniston wore the same outfit not once but TWICE,” Katz wrote. “So don’t you DARE tell me they’re not the same person with the ability to morph between time and space.”  A fan responded, “The multiverse we didn’t know we needed.”

Aniston reposted the t-shirt shot as well, with the side-eye emoji.

 

 

 

 

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In “bound to make you feel old” news, South Park has aired for some 25 years. And in related “bound to make you feel poor” news, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone just signed a reported $900 million deal to continue the show.

The massive agreement the pair just inked with Viacom’s MTV Entertainment Studios will bring 14 South Park movies exclusively to Paramount+, while also keeping the show on the air on Comedy Central through 2027. 

“Comedy Central has been our home for 25 years and we’re really happy that they’ve made a commitment to us for the next 75 years,” joked Parker and Stone in a statement.

The animated series had been on hiatus for most of the pandemic, though the pair managed to produce two specials during the lockdown. “When we came to ViacomCBS with a different way to produce the show during the pandemic [key executives] were immediately supportive and enabled us to try something new that turned out to be really well received,” Parker and Stone said.

March’s The South ParQ Vaccination Special scored 3.5 million total viewers, and last September’s Pandemic Special also scored massive numbers, as well as the show’s 19th Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Animated Program category. 

Parker and Stone commented, “We can’t wait to get back to doing traditional South Park episodes, but now we can also try out new formats. It’s great to have partners who will always take a chance with us.”

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New Jeopardy! host for $1,000, please.

Mike Richards is in “advanced negotiations” to become the new host of Jeopardy!, Variety reports. The classic game show was previously helmed for 36 years by Alex Trebek, who died of pancreatic cancer in November 2020 at age 80. 

Following Trebek’s final episode, Jeopardy! enlisted a rotation of celebrity guest hosts, including Ken Jennings, Aaron Rodgers, Robin Roberts, Anderson Cooper, LeVar Burton and more, to hold down the fort as they embarked on their search for a permanent replacement. 

A spokesperson for Sony Pictures would not comment on Richards but did tell the outlet that they were having conversations with several potential candidates. However, an insider dished that Richards is leading the pack. 

For his part, Richards has previous experience as a host on the game shows Divided and The Pyramid. He also hosted the reality shows High School Reunion and Beauty and the Geek. Aside from his hosting gigs, Richards has also served as an executive producer on shows like Let’s Make a Deal and the celebrity version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. 

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Kathy Griffin penned an empowering message Wednesday to let her fans know she’s on the road to recovery following surgery to address Stage 1 lung cancer, during which half of her left lung was removed.

“To be honest, this cancer surgery was a little more than I had anticipated,” the 60-year-old comic wrote on Twitter. “Tonight will be my first night without any narcotic pain killers. Hello Tylenol, my new best friend!”

The comedian recently opened up in an interview with ABC News about recovering from a painkiller addiction, and a suicide attempt — both of which she addressed in her Twitter update.

“The last time I was in a hospital it was June 2020 when I tried to take my life and overdosed on prescription pills,” she wrote. “With over a year clean and drug free, I now know I can do this and anything I want without those devil pills. Y’know what?  I fear drugs and addiction more than I fear cancer.  So, I think I’ll be okay.”

“Surgery went well and as planned,” Griffin’s rep said in a statement to Good Morning America following the procedure. “Kathy is now in recovery now and resting. Doctors say the procedure was normal without any surprises.”

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also reach the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or the Crisis Text Line by texting “START” to 741741.

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When Free Guy finally arrives in theaters August 13, Jeopardy! fans will be in for a real treat — late longtime host Alex Trebek will appear in the action movie.

Star Ryan Reynolds spoke fondly of his fellow Canadian when speaking to E!’s Daily Pop and revealed how Trebek managed to sneak in for a last minute cameo.

“We shot that separately, actually after the film had been completely done and dusted and completed,” he dished. “Alex was kind enough to jump in and do this little cameo for us. I was just so blown away by how sweet he was to do that.”

Reynolds spoke highly of the late game show host, saying the two became fast friends and remained in contact until his passing in November 2020.

“Even right up before shortly before he passed away, I talked to him on the phone about a charity initiative he was trying to launch,” the Deadpool star recalled. “This guy was really made of good stuff right until the end. Having him in the movie is certainly bittersweet, that’s for sure.”

Trebek died last November after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Reynolds added Free Guy is a labor of love and admitted, “I would say it’s probably my favorite movie I’ve ever done, mostly because I grew up watching Amblin movies about wish fulfillment.”

Amblin is the production company behind films such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Back to the Future.

The Golden Globe nominee also expressed that Free Guy is coming out at the opportune time because “the last few years have been so hard on so many people… all over the world. It’s great working on and being a part of a movie that is just this unabashed ball of joy.”

Free Guy premieres as a theater exclusive next Friday, August 13.

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Disgraced comedian and former Louie star Louis C.K. is going back on a nationwide tour.

His official website just revealed information on the new dates. The tour will visit 30 cities, kicking off with an August 13-14 stand at the Hulu Theatre at New York City’s Madison Square Garden and wrapping up with a pair of shows, December 10 and 11, at Boston’s Orpheum Theatre. The trek also will stop at venues in states including Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Washington and California.

Some of the dates, the site notes, are rescheduled from last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the tour to a stop. 

C.K. has returned to the stand-up stage periodically after his Emmy-winning career was sidelined in 2017, when a group of women accused him of exposing himself and engaging in other inappropriate behavior.

He also turned to releasing pay-per-view stand-up specials on his site.

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Have you ever wondered if you can really reverse an odometer by driving your dad’s vintage Ferrari in reverse, a la Ferris Bueller? Or how Fred Flinstone was able to get his foot-powered family car rolling? 

If so, you’re in luck, as Motor MythBusters, a spin-off of the hit original MythBusters series, is revving up today on the MotorTrend app. 

Tory Belleci, special effects whiz and MythBusters veteran, joins All Girls Garage star and ace mechanic Faye Hadley, as well as engineer and professional race car driver Bisi Ezerioha, to take on the myths about vehicles of all kinds from movies and TV shows. 

“When they first called, I didn’t actually believe it was going to happen just because there had been so many kind of reboots…of MythBusters,” Tory admitted to ABC Audio. 

Calling it the “gearhead’s MythBusters,” Tory explains of his co-stars, “the skills that these guys bring to the show, it’s allowing us to do things that we would never have been able to do in the original series.”

Speaking of which, Faye admitted with a laugh, “I grew up under a rock, I never had television. I never heard of MythBusters!” She said she couldn’t believe they’d want her for the job. “I’m like…’I’m not a host, I’m a mechanic!'” 

As for Bisi, he was a huge fan of the original, so getting a chance to work on the spin-off was a full-circle moment. “I wasn’t made privy to what show it was [during auditions].” he says. “And then when it was said what show it was…I fell out of my chair, literally.”  

The first two Motor MythBusters episodes are now live on the MotorTrend app.

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