Entertainment

Good news and bad news for Stranger Things fans today. On the positive, the show has been renewed for a fifth season. However, that will be the Emmy-nominated show’s last.

That’s the word from the show’s creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, who addressed fans in a press release Thursday, noting the penultimate season will be split into two parts: The first launching on May 27, and the second on July 1. 

Netflix teased the announcement on Twitter, which comes nearly three years after Season 3 ended, with the streaming giant’s Los Angeles movie marquee noting, in upside-down letters, “Every end has a beginning.” 

The Duffer Brothers noted, “Seven years ago, we planned out the complete story arc for Stranger Things. At the time, we predicted the story would last four to five seasons. It proved too large to tell in four, but — as you’ll soon see for yourselves — we are now hurtling toward our finale.”

They continued, “There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things; new mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes. But first we hope that you stay with us as we finish this tale of a powerful girl named Eleven and her brave friends, of a broken police chief and a ferocious mom, of a small town called Hawkins and an alternate dimension known only as the Upside Down. As always, we are grateful for your patience and support.”

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Strange creatures stalking strangers trapped in a place that may or may not be on this earthly plane.  Sound familiar? Cue the Smoke Monster!

Not quite, says former Lost star Harold Perrineau. “We have actual monsters! Not smoke monsters!” he says of his new thriller/drama From, hitting EPIX this weekend.

Perrineau plays Sheriff Boyd Stevens, overseeing a run-down town where very bad things can happen to its residents after sundown. And it’s his job to keep folks alive, he tells ABC Audio.

“He’s got a kind of sadness but also a real commitment. Like he’s going to get these people out of here as safely as he humanly can, and he really does not care what you think or feel or if you are in his way,” says Perrineau.

It’s familiar turf for the actor, who played Michael Dawson on ABC’s Lost. From shares some of the DNA that made Lost such a polarizing hit — right down to members of the creative team that worked on it. But Perrineau says they’re on a separate path here.

“We all learned so much from Lost,” says Perrineau. “Things to do, and things not to do…we realize this is a very, very different job and we have different tools at hand and we have different agendas.”

And while both shows are edge-of-your-seat fantasy thrillers, Perrineau thinks From has real-world parallels.

“We’ve all been like, ‘Hey man! If you were in a plane crash, what would you do? Who would you eat first?’ Here, it’s like, ‘Hey man! If you were trapped in your house, and you couldn’t go out? Because there are monsters out the door?’ Wait a minute. Aren’t we living like that right now?” (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)

From premieres this Sunday at 9:00 p.m. on EPIX.

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Judge and executive producer Rosario Dawson returns with Jennifer Nettles, Cody Rhodes, and new celebrity judge T-Pain for a new episode of TBS’ Go-Big Show tonight at 9:00 ET.

Each week, the judges and host Bert Kreischer witness contestants performing skillful and/or death-defying stunts, with a $100,000 prize on the line. As Dawson tells ABC Audio, those stunts often employ the stars risking their own necks.

“You know, I’ve had a couple of moments where I’ve definitely been curious as to when I signed whatever contract, but just like forgot all insurance or something,” Dawson says with a laugh. “I’m on a shoulder being spun around in the air with Jennifer Nettles on the other side on a human swing. You know, it was just unbelievable. If he had tripped, if he had coughed, we’d be lost in the rafters. And yet here we are the next season signing up again!”

“You know, we volunteer a lot and we get asked to participate a lot. And we’re down because we’re all fun like that,” she adds. 

“I’m constantly just blown away not …by just what people are capable of and their incredible talents, but also our crew,” Dawson enthuses. “I mean, every single thing happens in that same room. So a monster truck to bulls, so shooting flying arrows with flames — I mean, it’s just all those things in one room. It’s like magical. Every time you walk in, it’s just transformed.”

The Mandalorian and Daredevil veteran says even though she was there on the day, she can’t help but watch when the show airs, “…just so I could kind of get that dose of that adrenaline again because you feel it watching it!” 

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On Valentine’s Day, Mariah Carey‘s ex-husband Nick Cannon dropped a song called “Alone,” which sampled her hit “Love Takes Time” and contained the lyrics “As much as I want you back/ It’s probably better where you at.”  But Nick has now denied that the song was an actual attempt to win back the mother of his two eldest children.

On his talk show on Wednesday, Nick told the crowd that he’s got two words for anyone who thinks he’s hoping to get back together with Mariah: “That’s impossible!”

“Music is therapeutic for me,” he explained, adding, “The song is really about reflection…you know you realize, ‘Man, I really messed up!  I had probably the greatest situation…I had my dream girl, and I messed it up!'”

“The song wasn’t really about trying to get her back,” he continued. “It was taking ownership of what I did as a man and owning my flaws and expressing it through song.”

Mariah, of course, seemed unbothered by all of this, and posted a photo of herself enjoying Valentine’s Day with her boyfriend Bryan Tanaka.

Nick and Mariah were married from 2008 to 2014 and share 10-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan. In total, he’s had seven children with four women, and is expecting his eighth child, with a fifth, model Bre Tiesi.

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Shailene Woodley and Aaron Rodgers have reportedly called it quits, just over a year after announcing their engagement.

“While Shailene is supportive of Aaron’s career, he put football first and they were barely spending any time together,” a supposed source tells In Touch. “She felt he neglected their relationship. Neither of them was happy.”

The 38-year-old NFL star is “an independent guy,” says the insider, adding that Aaron “got cold feet” about his impending nuptials to the 30-year-old Big Little Lies actress.

Ultimately, Shailene and Aaron “couldn’t make it work,” a second insider tells the outlet. “There were too many obstacles. They’re both adults and decided to part amicably.”

Woodley and Rodgers kept their relationship private until February 2021. While accepting the award for Most Valuable Player the 10th Annual NFL Honors, Rodgers revealed, “I got engaged and I played some of the best football in my career.”

Woodley confirmed their engagement during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, joking that she never thought she’d grow up to marry someone who “throws balls for a living.”

However, Woodley told Entertainment Tonight back in July that she was in “no rush” to be married.

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Peacemaker‘s John Cena has been tapped to star in the new Looney Tunes live-action/animated feature Coyote vs Acme, centered on the classic cartoon character Wile E. Coyote, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The story follows “a down-on-his-luck [human] attorney who takes on Wile E. as a client in his suit against Acme over its defective products, only to discover that his boss at his former law firm is representing Acme,” according to the industry trade. Cena will play the former boss in the feature, which is set to start filming in late March in New Mexico…

Deadline reports Paul Reiser, who recently starred in a reboot of his 1990s sitcom Mad About You, will headline the Hulu series Reboot — a comedy series about a reboot of a 1990s sitcom. He’ll play Gordon, “the creator of the late-90’s sitcom Step Right Up, who never understood why everybody loved Seinfeld and Frasier,” according to the outlet. Reiser replaces Michael McKean, who played the role in the pilot, and joins series regulars Judy Greer, Keegan-Michael Key and Johnny Knoxville…

Brooklyn Nine-Nine alum Melissa Fumero has joined the cast of the upcoming Netflix workplace comedy Blockbuster, opposite Fresh Off the Boat‘s Randall Park, according to Variety. The series, set in the last Blockbuster Video in America, follows Fumero as Eliza, a dedicated mother who left Harvard after a semester to start a family and works at Blockbuster alongside Timmy, played by Park, per THR. Netflix has given the show a 10-episode order…

Stranger Things actor Matthew Modine has joined the cast of Christopher Nolan‘s next film, Oppenheimer, according to Deadline. He joins Emily Blunt, who will play the wife of J. Robert Oppenheimer — to be portrayed by Irish actor Cillian Murphy — the scientist who ran the Manhattan Project, which led to the invention of the atomic bomb. Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Benny Safdie, Josh Hartnett, Dane DeHaan and Jack Quaid also star. The film is set to open on July 21, 2023…

Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon is in talks to join Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera and Simu Liu in the upcoming Greta Gerwig-directed live-action Barbie movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Robbie and Gosling will play Barbie and Ken but thus far, plot details are being kept under wraps. McKinnon will next star in Peacock series Joe vs. Carole, playing Tiger King personality Carole Baskin…

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A Magic Mike reunion could be in the cards for Channing Tatum and Mathew McConaughey. 

It’s been 10 years since the two first collaborated on the franchise which explores Tatum’s past as a male stripper in Magic Mike. McConaughey portrayed the strip club owner in the first film, but opted not to partake in the sequel, Magic Mike XXL. When it comes to the third installment, though, McConaughey seems open to returning. 

“Channing Tatum, call me, bro! I haven’t heard from ya!” the Oscar winner told Variety when asked if he’d be reprising his role. 

“I don’t know.” he added. “I’d have to read [the script] first. It was a helluva lot of fun doing the first one.”

In November, Tatum announced that Magic Mike’s Last Dance was in the works with director Steven Soderbergh at the helm. The film, which will be released on HBO Max, is set to begin shooting next month. 

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Venus and Serena Williams are on the cover of the March Legacy issue of Harper’s Bazaar. The tennis superstars are celebrating the story of their father, King Richard, being nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture.

The sisters tell the publication they are proud of how the film depicts their lives before they became famous. “I don’t think people even thought about what happened before we turned pro,” Venus says.

“This isn’t a movie about tennis,” Serena adds, “This is a movie about family.”

Serena hopes more films about her family follow King Richard.

“I love Marvel. I think King Richard is Iron Man and that there still are other stories around it,” the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion says. “The next, obviously, would be the Venus story, and then there’s always the story about our other three sisters, and then there’s like a mom, and then there’s the Serena story. I see it just encompassing this whole superhero kind of thing.”

In other news, Jamie Foxx and Will Ferrell become dogs in their film. Strays, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Ferrell is a stray determined to get revenge on his former owner, while Foxx is one of the pooches who befriends him. Strays, a live-action/CGI hybrid, will debut in theaters on June 9, 2023.

Finally, Variety reports that Jay Ellis will host the first Anthem Awards on February 28 honoring individuals and organization for their social impact work.

“We enter the third year of a global pandemic that heightened serious disparities around the world,” the Insecure star said in a statement. “This important award presents an opportunity to celebrate work that has had real impact from industry leaders making a difference in their communities and globally.

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“I never thought of myself as funny,” says Larry David in the new trailer to a two-part documentary about his life, called The Larry David Story.

HBO announced with the new coming attraction that the look into the life and the creative comedy mind behind the Emmy-winning series Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm will debut Tuesday, March 1 at 9 p.m.

Along with a slideshow of both childhood pictures of young Larry, and behind-the-scenes shots from both shows, David explains with a laugh what his mother thought of his Seinfeld success. 

“‘Did they tell you you’re doing a good job?'” David says, imitating his mom. “Yeah, ma, they like me, the show’s the number-one show in the country.”

“‘Yes, but did they tell you they think you’re doing well?'” she reportedly replied.  

Regarding how he relates to what fans call “TV Larry,” his Curb alter-ego, David admitted, “I’m a total fraud. And the Curb outlet for me is this guy I wanna be. He’s completely honest, just the opposite of me. It’s a thrill.”

David noted, “I got lucky, and I’ll leave it at that.”

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A Florida judge has granted the family of Bob Saget a temporary injunction to block the release of records from the investigation of his sudden death, court documents show.

The 65-year-old comedian and Full House actor was found dead in his Florida hotel room on January 9 of what the chief medical examiner for Orange and Osceola counties ruled was blunt force head trauma “likely incurred from an unwitnessed fall.” The medical examiner further said that the manner of death was accidental, with no sign that drugs, alcohol or foul play were involved.

On Tuesday, Saget’s wife, Kelly Rizzo, and three daughters asked a judge to block  the release of any records — including photographs, video and audio recordings, and “…autopsy information” — related to Saget’s death.  The request declared “Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable harm in the form of extreme mental pain, anguish, and emotional distress if Defendants release the Records…”

On Wednesday, Circuit Court Judge Vincent Chiu granted the temporary injunction that bars the sheriff and medical examiner’s office from releasing any of Saget’s death records. The injunction will remain in effect until a future court decision on the family’s request.

The court found that the family has a “clear legal right or interest” in the records, Chiu wrote in his order, “and that the public interest is served by the entry of a temporary injunction to allow the Court adequate opportunity to weigh Plaintiffs’ legitimate privacy interest against the public’s claim for disclosure.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Wednesday that while it is “sensitive” to the privacy concerns, “that must be balanced with our commitment to transparency, compliance with the law, and the public’s right to know.”

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