Nicole Byer, J.B. Smoove & More Discuss Why Comedy Is Key To Black Survival

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorVeteran sportscaster Mike Tirico will join NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” next fall, pairing up with analyst Cris Collinsworth in the latest shake up among the announcers who call the plays of TV’s most-watched sport.Tirico fills a spot left vacant by the departure of Al Michaels, who is expected to join Amazon to call “Thursday Night Football.”“When Mike joined NBC Sports in 2016, it was our plan for him to become our primetime Olympics host and the play-by-play voice of Sunday Night Football,” said Pete Bevacqua, chairman of NBC Sports, in a statement. “We are excited to have Mike join Cris Collinsworth full-time in the booth this season.”NBC confirms speculation about the future of its “Sunday Night Football” booth with an NFL meeting slated to take place later this week.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorNorth American distributor Greenwich Entertainment has released the new trailer for Vincent Kelner’s documentary “A Taste of Whale,” which will screen at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen on March 29, and opens in North American theaters, and on Amazon and Apple TV on May 27.Every year, hundreds of pilot whales are hunted in the fjords of the Faroe Islands, an ancient tradition known as “The Grind.” International animal rights activists, including Sea Shepherd and Pamela Anderson, fight to eradicate this bloody massacre. while the Faroese denounce the hypocrisy of those who eat meat without criticizing what is happening in slaughterhouses.“I wanted to rely on the specific circumstances of the Faroe Islands to reflect on a significant, global issue of our time,” Kelner said.

All but six of the current 22 Broadway productions filled more than 90% of their available seats last week, and most of the ones that didn’t hit that mark came close, according to the first detailed box office figures released this season by the Broadway League.

Steven Weber will be back on Chicago Med for the upcoming eighth season of the NBC medical drama. Weber, who portrays Dr. Dean Archer, joined as a recurring in the sixth season and was upped to series regular for Season 7 in a one-year deal. He has closed a new deal and will return as a series regular in Season 8.

AT&T chief executive John Stankey’s compensation totaled $24.8 million last year, up from $21 million the year earlier. According to a proxy statement filed with the SEC, retired CEO Randall Stephenson made $16.3 million in 2021 (down from $29 million).

Actress and singer Krysta Rodriguez (Halston) has joined the cast of Out Of Order, a new comedy starring Brandon Routh, Sam Huntington and Brooke Shields.

Exciting and new?

EXCLUSIVE: Proximity Media, the company behind Judas and the Black Messiah, is pushing further into podcasts with the hire of Pushkin Industries’ Paola Mardo.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.Investing in a projector is usually the first step when one sets out to make any significant update to their home theater. But with so many options available online — from pocket-sized projectors to 4k projectors to outdoor projectors — it can be hard find the right piece of equipment without breaking the bank.Some of the most important features to look out for are high brightness, detailed images and lens shifting — all advanced tech that can be hard to come by without a heft price tag.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterAT&T CEO John Stankey’s pay for 2021 rose 18% over the previous year to $24.8 million, per the company’s SEC filing Tuesday.His base salary for the year was $2.4 million, with a non-equity incentive plan compensation of $6.88 million.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMulti-platinum-selling rapper Trippie Redd, one of the first signings to 10K Projects, has re-upped with the company in a “long-term deal that will keep him at the label for years to come,” according to the announcement.In just five years, Trippie has released four studio albums, six mixtapes, eight EPs and almost three dozen singles — not to mention countless guest appearances — adding up to 15 Platinum and 8 Gold certifications.“We launched 10K Projects as a label where artists have complete creative freedom and the support to realize their vision,” said the label’s founder and CEO, Elliot Grainge. “Trippie Redd has thrived under these conditions, releasing a lifetime’s worth of music in just five short years and becoming a singular voice in contemporary music.” Trippie Redd commented: “Elliot signed me when I was 16.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentTicking multiple boxes, and a competition frontrunner,  “Paradys” walked off on Tuesday night with the Series Mania Forum Best Project Award, the biggest industry plaudit at one of Europe’s largest TV festivals.A novel crime drama “Paradys” is produced by South Africa’s Quizzical Pictures and Keshet International, which also handles international distribution.

Ed Meza @edmezavarIn his new documentary, “The Kaiser of Atlantis,” Argentine director Sebastián Alfie tells the story of composer Viktor Ullmann’s chamber opera, about a tyrant bent on waging endless war – written in 1943 in the Nazi concentration camp of Theresienstadt (Terezín) – and, more than 70 years later, a new production of the work in Madrid.Alfie plans to follow up “The Kaiser of Atlantis” — which premieres at the Malaga Festival — with a biopic about Ullmann and the two years he spent imprisoned in Terezín.The director first saw the opera by chance in 2006 at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. “When I read in the playbill that it had been written in a concentration camp, questions began to arise that are the germ of the documentary.

Jennifer Lopez is savvy about watching her diet and hitting the gym every day to keep her size two figure in check, but like any other America, she has her cheat days where she hits a fast food drive-thru.And over the weekend the 52-year-old Marry Me actress was doing just that: she was seen digging into a cheeseburger and French fries with a soda at the ready while still in line at a McDonald's in Los Angeles.The singer was luckily hands free as her boyfriend Ben Affleck was at the wheel of his black Tesla so she could feed herself. Jenny goes to the drive-thru!Jennifer Lopez is savvy about watching her diet and hitting the gym every day to keep her size two figure in check, but like any other America, she has her cheat days.

Stars and politicians alike gathered together on March 22 for the annual EMILY’s List discussion about women in politics.

Lala Kent had a very special gift for her one-year-old daughter Ocean.On Tuesday, the 31-year-old Vanderpump Rules star shared a photo in which her baby girl was seen posing with the $880 Louis VuittonMini Pochette pouch purse that the first-time mom gave Ocean to celebrate her first birthday.'I know a lot of you are going to think I'm nuts, but hear me out,' Lala wrote on the snap that she posted to her Instagram Story. Extravagant gift: Lala Kent gave her daughter Ocean a $880 Louis Vuitton Mini Pochette pouch purse for her first birthdayShe continued, 'I really have a love for bags.

Sydney Sweeney showed off her statuesque figure in a clinging ensemble while stepping out in Los Angeles this week.The 24-year-old Euphoria starlet buttoned herself into a thin nude bodysuit and left a couple of her top buttons beguilingly undone.Her leggy ensemble featured a cinched-in waistline that emphasized her enviably petite frame as she pounded the pavement. Stepping out: Sydney Sweeney showed off her statuesque figure in a clinging ensemble while stepping out in Los Angeles this weekAt the beginning of the month Peoplemagazine reported that Sydney is engaged to her longtime boyfriend Jonathan Davino.She has been mum about the romance since it reportedly began in 2018 and she has not publicly confirmed the reports of their engagement.

Piers Morgan fans are desperate to discover when he will star in another death row programme, after he was 'replaced' by his former Good Morning Britain co-star Susanna Reid.Susanna appeared on ITV documentary British Grandma on Death Row on Tuesday (March 22), meeting up with Linda Carty, who was found guilty of murdering a young mother 20 years ago. The only British woman on America's death row, Kittitian -American Linda was charged with kidnapping mum Joana Rodriguez and her newborn son, before Joana was found suffocated to death.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on March 21, Oscars co-host Wanda Sykes lamented how little she's getting paid for leading Hollywood's big night this upcoming weekend. "I was real excited about [the gig], but then I realized, out of all the jobs that I have, this one is actually gonna cost me money," said the comedian, who will share the stage with Regina Hall and Amy Schumer on March 27.The paltry pay wasn't exactly news to the late night host, as he's hosted the Oscars solo twice, in 2017 and 2018. After asking Wanda how much she was making, she replied, "I don't even know it's, like, scale probably." "Scale" is a term used by the union, SAG-AFTRA.

Britain is basking in its hottest early spring days for almost 200 years.The country has not seen a scorcher like this since Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist. The 21C heat puts Tenerife in the shade and comes as sudden BBQ weather sparks an out-of-season bangers, burgers and booze sales boom.Supermarkets are scrambling to stock up as burger sales are rocketing by 50% and ice lolly sales are set to treble.

Holby City viewers are predicting the death of Jac Naylor in next week’s finale after her lifesaving operation took a turn for the worse in the penultimate episode of the BBC medical drama.Tonight’s tear-jerker episode saw Jac's loved ones gather round prior to her game-changing surgery, led by her trusty friend Elliot Hope.Jac begins to reflect on her past in a flashback montage as she prepares for the life-changing surgery that will determine whether she lives or dies after a terminal brain cancer diagnosis.Fans also saw Jac ask Sacha to fetch a keepsake necklace, but he makes an alarming discovery when he finds her will and testament while at her flat.As Jac prepares to go into theatre, she makes a difficult request of Elliot, making him promise to let her die if he is unable to remove the tumour as she does not want to live with a debilitating illness.Although Elliot has an innovative way to remove the majority of Jac's brain tumour, a scan reveals the tumour has grown rapidly.After nail-biting scenes showed Elliot and Max attempt to perform the procedure, things took a turn for the worse, with Elliot having to decide whether or not to continue.The final scenes of the dramatic episode showed a relieved Jac awake from her surgery in a hospital bed, only to be told by Elliot that the surgery was unsuccessful.“It’s too big, It was impossible,” he told her, as she burst into tears.“We’ll find something, I’ll find something,” he said.Devastated fans are now convinced Jac will die alongside the series when the finale ends next week after a 23-year run.“I am so emotional over #HolbyCity and still haven’t wrapped my head around the fact it’s been cancelled.