If you did a search for "happy ending" on Twitter as news broke Tuesday night that eight people were killed, including six women of Asian descent, at massage parlors in the Atlanta area, you would've encountered many of the same lame jokes. "Over and over and over again, people responded to the news of Asian women dying with a joke about their pain," says Caroline Framke. "This response is horrendous, but it shouldn’t be surprising. Reducing Asians to flat, heavily accented caricatures is a favorite pastime in this country, and has been for decades. Mocking Asian men as weak and effeminate is so common that it’s become white noise for too many who hear it; Asian women have long been reduced to dehumanizing stereotypes, whether meek and speechless or aggressively sexual robots whose only purpose seems to be servicing white American men." As Framke points out, "comedy in particular leans into letting 'Asian' be a punchline in and of itself, and if you don’t like it, then you’re the problem for not getting the joke." Framke points to "a Family Guy episode I was unlucky enough to pass by on cable recently, in which a dozen Asian women spill frantically out of Quagmire’s trunk and garage, running away in their underwear; Quagmire only calms down once he reminds himself that 'they’re tagged.'... Every single genre — whether comedy, drama, or police procedural — leans on the shock value of dead or endangered sex workers, many of them anonymous Asian women who are rarely afforded more nuance or humanity than that basic description." Framke also points to Dave Chappelle jokingly expressing admiration in his SNL monologue last fall for then-President Trump using the wordplay "kung flu" amid the pandemic. “I’m supposed to say that, not you,” Chappelle, whose wife and kids are of Asian descent, said directly to Trump. Framke adds that Chappelle "went on to insist that 'it’s wrong when you say it,' therefore staking his claim as the comedian who can say the racist thing as long as it’s got the cadence of a joke. He did not, it seems, pause to consider that it might just be wrong no matter who says it. The end result is the same, giving racism an out just because they found a way to make it catchy. So no: It isn’t especially shocking to glance beneath a news story about murdered Asian women and see a slew of responses snickering about whether or not their lives had a happy ending. It’s appalling, but an undeniably typical display of the kind of casual disdain that leads to such senseless violence every day. Just because a punchline is expected doesn’t mean that it isn’t vile, and it shouldn’t just be on Asian Americans to say as much, whether to friends, co-workers, or Hollywood as a whole. And no: Refusing to indulge racist jokes isn’t suppressing free speech, but pointing out hate for what it is."

ALSO:

• Trevor Noah says it's even more painful is that we saw the Atlanta mass shooting coming: “Six Asian women were killed!” Noah said on Wednesday's Daily Show, according to The Daily Beast. “And you know, in a way, what makes it even more painful is that we saw it coming. We see these things happening. People have been warning. People in the Asian community have been tweeting, saying, ‘Please, help us. We’re getting punched in the streets, we’re getting slurs written on our doors, we’re getting people coming up to us saying thanks for COVID, thanks for spoiling the world.’ We’ve seen this happening. And while we’re fighting for it, there are many people who have been like, ‘Oh, stop being so woke and so dramatic. Kung-Flu, hahaha. It’s just a joke.’ Yeah, it’s a joke that has come at one of the most tense times in human history. You knew that something like this could happen. This guy didn’t go and kill these women by mistake. He knew what he was doing. And it’s so frustrating to see this keep happening in America over and over again. America sees things coming, it knows something is gonna happen, but it does nothing to stop it. But then it’s all-in on saying, ‘Oh, it’s so tragic, who could have predicted this tragedy?’ Anyone who was looking at it could. Why are people so invested in solving the symptoms instead of the cause? America does this time and time again—a country that wants to fight the symptoms and not the underlying conditions that cause those symptoms to take effect. Racism, misogyny, gun violence, and mental illness—and honestly, this incident might have been all of those things combined.”
• Emily in Paris star Ashley Park posts a lengthy emotional video on stopping violence against Asians: "I couldn't sleep. Some of these 5am ramblings are very personal, but I decided to share because ENOUGH IS ENOUGH," she said. "I hope this helps someone feel not so alone in all this muck. Allies, thank you and please watch til end, this is societal programming that we can change. I'm so tired of people not knowing what's going on and also tired of people not understanding where these acts of hate and violence towards Asians is coming from."

NBC Universal went from paying $21 million a year for Golden Globe Awards rights in 2018 to paying a staggering $60 million a year through 2026. The Los Angeles Times reports that Globes are no longer profitable for NBC Universal, but it does provide benefits in helping promote NBC shows and NBC Universal cable channels, especially the E! network and its red carpet coverage. As The Times' Meg James reports, NBC's silence has only added to the HFPA's diversity controversy. “In this day and time, you can’t air a program on your network and then step back and say ‘We have nothing to do with it’,” Todd Boyd, a professor of cinema and media studies at USC School of Cinematic Arts, told The Times. “NBC has a great deal of influence because they finance the organization and air the Golden Globes on their network. They need to be involved in changing these unfortunate circumstances.” In an interview with The Times, NBCUniversal Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Craig Robinson responded to the criticism and said the network has spent the last three weeks working behind the scenes in collaboration with its two partners — the HFPA and Dick Clark Productions, which produces the ceremony. “Our perceived silence on this should not be equated with apathy or a lack of concern,” Robinson said. “We are taking these issues very seriously, and we also understand our role and the importance of our role in encouraging HFPA to make what we deem to be necessary changes — and we are using that influence.” During multiple meetings with the HFPA, Robinson said NBC Universal has stressed that the HFPA needs reforms for its continued viability. He said NBC Universal has urged HFPA to recruit more Black members and to address its questionable business practices.

Fox News has been the epicenter of coronavirus denialism over the past year. "Now, with the virus slowly being brought under control, the network’s opinion side has begun raising bogus concerns about the vaccine. And no one has done more to advance vaccine skepticism on the network than Tucker Carlson," says Alex Shephard. "Carlson led his Monday night program, the most popular on cable news, with a sinister segment that falsely suggested there were a vast number of unknown risks involved in vaccinations. 'Don’t dismiss those questions from anti-vaxxers,' he said. 'Don’t kick people off social media for asking them. Answer the questions. It turns out there are things we don’t know about the effects of this vaccine—and all vaccines, by the way. It’s always a trade-off,' he continued, slipping into full-on anti-vax mode...This is the same narrative Carlson pushes on cancel culture. Here, too, the insidious power of the left, Big Tech, and the media combine. Many honest people like Carlson have questions that aren’t being answered; all they want is a debate. But instead, they are mercilessly canceled. The evil forces won’t rest until all of their critics are silenced. After all, if they’ll come for Dr. Seuss, they’ll come for you, too. In this version of reality, nothing you read or see can be trusted—except, that is, for Tucker Carlson, a champion of all the people fed up with being told what to do and say and think. Thankfully, they have a frozen-food heir with a perennially pursed lip to turn to. Carlson is making vaccines a part of his larger cultural narrative. This is profoundly cynical and could have life and death consequences for his viewers. It’s also cowardly—Carlson is hiding behind the pretext of 'just asking questions,' allowing him to deny that he has any insidious intent at all."

ALSO:

• Fox News can't get its COVID vaccine story straight, showing former President Donald Trump endorsing vaccines as Tucker Carlson questions them
• Watch Seth Meyers' takedown of Tucker Carlson's "anti-vaxxer" rant
• The Daily Show creates a Tucker Carlson streaming service: Tucker+

"It was never meant to be revolutionary; instead, it’s a well-produced, better-vetted take on the modern-day reality show. And it works," says Rachel Charlene Lewis. "White people like to watch other white people fall in love, especially in a universe that doesn’t make them face anything messier, like sexism or racism or the discrimination inherent in a world where everyone is happy, rich, skinny, and white. For better or worse, The Bachelor has perfected this utopia for the sort of white person who might ask why we can’t all just get along. This messaging, which was once unspoken, has only become louder in recent years as the franchise attempts to face its race problem. In venturing to remedy critiques that the show is racist — which have exploded during the latest season, starring Black, biracial lead Matt James — The Bachelor has instead only made its own stumblings more audible." The Rachael Kirkconnell controversy, says Lewis, "resulted in an explosion of years’ worth of racial tension that brought to life one simple fact: Maybe The Bachelor wasn’t a show that just accidentally didn’t think about Black people for 20 years. Maybe it was one that really and truly never wanted anything to do with Black people in the first place....No matter what the spinoff, The Bachelor has a specific narrative: Give audiences someone relatively easy to root for and give them a little bit of drama (but nothing too real), and keep those views on the up and up. It’s a show where life, and love, are easy. Meet a bunch of strangers, find your one and only, and live your happiest life. Anything too 'complicated' doesn’t fit into the Bachelor universe, and the inherent racism of our largest pop-culture franchises is nothing if not complicated. But, ultimately, love isn’t easy, interracial love even less so; nor is race, or racism, or the profound history of anti-Blackness in this country. Pop-culture franchises like The Bachelor may want to be able to skim the surface on race, but it’s impossible to merely skim something that warps everything it touches. As such, the series has become a prime example of what happens when a product shaped by the white gaze tries to give itself an 'update' without truly reckoning with its roots."

ALSO:

• The Bachelor less Christian, and thus less moralistic, is one of several ways to fix the franchise: "This show is basically Sunday school softcore porn," says Alex Zaragoza. "For years The Bachelor has leaned heavier and heavier into Christian values, some more evangelical than others. Many past leads and contestants are devout in the faith, including Sean Lowe, Madison Prewitt, Hannah Brown, Colton Underwood, Tayshia Adams, and Jake Pavelka, which created a season where their virginity and conservatism took center stage, often to cringe effect. James led the women in prayer on the first night without considering that maybe some people wouldn’t be comfortable with that, but no one batted an eyelash. Likely because Christianity is the tacit standard of the show. While people of all faiths can and should be welcome on The Bachelor, the show has become increasingly moralistic, focused on purity culture, and reflective of the values of Christianity, setting a tone that can be exclusionary and right-leaning. As a result, anyone, but in particular women contestants, who don’t uphold those values are regularly slut shamed within an inch of their life. While Hannah Brown and Rachel Lindsay shared the importance of their faith with their suitors while still discussing (or engaging in) sex, politics, and their other beliefs in a non-judgemental way, some contestants and leads have been more rigid. That doesn’t leave much room for others, and it idealizes a specific set of ideals as the standard of love and romance, and it doesn’t always end well. It’s okay to be Christian, and for that to be the basis of your romantic interactions if that’s what you choose, but contestants and leads have sometimes crumbled under the pressure to fulfill those expectations. That Christian baseline also becomes a problem with regards to the racist overtones of the series, and how contestants who aren’t Christian or base their morality or choices in Christian values are treated."
• Unreal co-creator and former Bachelor producer Sarah Gertrude Shapiro says The Bachelor franchise has a bigger problem than Chris Harrison: “I don’t think it was just about this one season or this one girl at all,” she says. “I think it feels like a top-down problem in the franchise, and I’m glad people are starting to talk about it.”

The 2021 NFL season is the last season on the 76-year-old Michaels' contract, culminating in next year's Super Bowl in his hometown of Los Angeles. The problem is Michaels has shown no indication that he's ready to step down from announcing Sunday Night Football. The New York Post's Andrew Marchand reports that the announcement Monday that QB Drew Brees is joining NBC Sports sets up a new booth featuring Tirico and Brees -- a booth that is expected to replace Michaels and Cris Collinsworth. "The whole situation has a Leno-Conan late night vibe," says Marchand, adding: "NBC’s plan is understandable from a strategic standpoint. With new 11-year NFL TV deals on the horizon, they don’t want to be caught on the announcer carousel, like ESPN’s Monday Night Football. Tirico is more than ready to go, but Michaels is still in his way. Meanwhile, the 62-year-old Collinsworth now has Brees lurking over his shoulder."

"I shed a tear watching how they put the story together," says Mosley in a joint interview with creator Greg Whiteley. "I shed a tear throughout the show but had a lot of moments off-camera that were very impactful." Whiteley recalls having to woo Mosley. Whiteley says his team wanted to do a basketball season since Season 1, but it was a matter of finding the right school. "We have a set of criteria," says Whiteley. "Everything from: 'How good is the marching band? How interesting is the town?' One of those barometers is: 'How good of a football team, or how good of a basketball team, are they?' It helps if they’re really good, but that’s not necessary. They could be bad or even mediocre, and if you’ve got a really interesting coach, or a really interesting town, or there’s some other compelling story — there’s a player there that’s up against something unique — we take all things into consideration. I don’t know, Coach, if you remember this, but we just went to lunch with him in East L.A., and just five minutes after sitting down with him, I just knew this is who we want to be with. He’s one of those guys that wears his heart on his sleeve, and we could tell he cared about a lot of the same things we cared about. It just made it easy to choose. We were pursuing him. We were wooing him." As for the abrupt pandemic end to the season, Whitely says, "from a human standpoint, it broke all of our hearts...From a storytelling standpoint, it was incredible. I couldn’t believe what just happened. But going through that footage that was so carefully shot, I’m so grateful for the format that we’ve stumbled across. We got to spend time and go, Where is the drama and the poetry in the way that season was ended?"

The French actor is familiar with his Netflix series' global success because he's called Los Angeles home for the past eight years. “Clearly we do things hoping they’ll work, but this level of response is totally beyond me," he says. "We said we didn’t want to be red in the face in front of American or English series. It was us little French guys trying to be in the same court, but to have a result that is so enormous was totally unexpected...In cinema, in series, when we tell stories the idea is to touch everyone at the same spot and when I see the experience of things that I’ve done that speak to the world, it always meets in the same place; everyone is touched or amazed by the same things. It’s great to see in Brazil or in France they loved Lupin for the same reason. There’s something universal and that’s something I always try to achieve.” ALSO: Sy recalls filming Lupin before and during the pandemic.

“First, I just want to say…. I AM THE PROUDEST DAD IN THE WORLD. This is better than my wildest dreams can imagine— to be guest starring ON MY SON’S @nickelodeon SHOW," Crews wrote on Instagram. "My life has been blessed with so much favor, blessings and opportunities, but this is more than I ever could ask for- and we did it. My son and I did an epic episode of comedic television TOGETHER."

"I’m not really here to relitigate the finale, which has been endlessly argued about," says Emily VanDerWerff. "I think WandaVision was deeply irresponsible in how it handled this plot point, creating a scenario where it all but sidled up to telling an abuser that she’s okay because her motives were okay. It didn’t cross that line, but that it came close is unsettling. But many of the arguments about the finale have centered on what should have happened to Wanda, as though she were a real person who must be brought to justice. And because Marvel is telling one giant interconnected story with every movie and TV show it releases, it can, in theory, have Wanda face judgment for these actions years from now and retroactively seem to justify the storytelling choices made here. I think these arguments are missing an important point. Wanda is a fictional character. By definition, she cannot face actual justice. But increasingly, we struggle to talk about fictional characters within the fictional contexts they exist in. We debate the military strategies of Game of Thrones characters and argue about the morality and political positions of all sorts of superheroes. Yet these characters are all created, and they exist in universes that are constructed. Within those universes, the storytellers who create these stories are, functionally, gods. When we say we want Wanda Maximoff to face justice, I think what we’re really saying is that we want the storytellers to show us they know what justice would be, even if she doesn’t face it. We want, in other words, story karma."

Every scene involving AFC Richmond practicing or competing had to be done on a CGI field because the Apple TV+ show couldn't use an actual Premier League field. ALSO: Ted Lasso fans may not know that Hannah Waddingham is the "shame" nun from Game of Thrones.

"It was the end of October. And everybody had to get tested," he says of his The Greatest Average American special, which dropped on Netflix this week. "The audience had to get tested. It was only a hundred people. They all had to wear masks the whole show, social distance. It was at Universal Studios, outside there. Troy Miller, the director, did a really good job making it look like a lot of people were there." Bargatze adds: "Because they had masks on and I can’t hear their laughs—and I got kind of used to not hearing their laughs, but when I can’t see their faces, I can’t even see them smile." So the crew had to put mics on all the tables and a monitor near Bargatze so he could hear the laughs for his second show taping. "And then I had to slow down," he says. "It’s just so funny, because if you’re in a theater sometimes something that could take 40 minutes can take an hour. And then sometimes, something that could take an hour, if you're in a weird situation, you can tell it all in 40 minutes. It just really depends on just the energy of the crowd. And the crowd was amazing, but the scenario that we’re in, you can't do it. So the second show I was very aware that I needed to do more time and we put that in. I just kind of tried to keep my pace a little bit slower. So that’s what we did."

"Nearly a year and a half after its launch, the service feels like an outlier in a field that’s rapidly expanded even in its short lifetime," says Alison Herman. "Owned by a tech company rather than an entertainment giant, Apple TV+ doesn’t have the massive vault of IP driving Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, or Paramount+. Nor does it enjoy the head start that allowed Netflix to build a subscriber base with leased catalogs before going all in on originals, or that allowed Amazon to experiment with gimmicks like a virtual pilot season until it found an equilibrium. And at just $5 a month—not including free trials, many of which are still ongoing—Apple TV+ is priced like an add-on rather than a full-fledged cable alternative."

Not only is the longtime Whose Line Is it Anyway? star planning to train business leaders in improvisational acting, he's also hoping to use improv training to help youths develop self-confidence and critical-thinking skills through schools and theater companies in the spirit of the Second City and iO troupes.

Lopez is opening Mario’s Tortas Lopez available exclusively to Houstonians via Grubhub. But Astros fans have long memories because it was only in January 2020 that he called the 2017 World Series champions "cheating rat bastards." “Bless your heart if you think you’ll sell your crappy tortas here in H-town,” tweeted one user.

Justified creator Graham Yost is adapting Leonard's 1980 crime novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit with several former writers from his 2010-2015 series, reports Variety. The potential series could see Timothy Olyphant return as Raylen Givens. "According to sources, as the project is in the very early stages, nothing is set in stone as of yet, meaning Olyphant could star in the series or appear in a smaller role, but no deal has yet been made," reports Variety's Joe Otterson. “Justified was based on Leonard’s character, Raylan Givens, who appeared in multiple novels and the short story Fire in the Hole. Givens was a Deputy U.S. Marshal who is reassigned to his native Kentucky after a controversial shooting. City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit follows a killer named Clement Mansell, known as the 'Oklahoma Wildman,' and dedicated Detroit homicide detective Raymond Cruz who vows to take him down." If Olyphant does sign on for the City Primeval series, it would be the second time in recent years that he's reprised one of his iconic roles, after playing Seth Bullock in the 2019 Deadwood movie.

“Well, just so you know, they had done that interview before Prince Philip went into the hospital," King said of Oprah Winfrey's CBS special on her SiriusXM show, according to Vanity Fair. "If something, God forbid, had happened to him, the interview would not have run at this particular time. But the interview was done and was scheduled before he went into the hospital. But a lot of people have raised that point.” CBS announced Oprah with Meghan and Harry on Feb. 15. The 99-year-old Prince Philip was hospitalized two days later.

The first four episodes of the seventh and final season will premiere on the ViacomCBS streaming service on April 15. Younger Season 7 will air on TV Land later this year. For the final season, Miriam Shor and Charles Michael Davis will be downgraded from starring to recurring roles. “Due to scheduling and Covid related matters, Miriam Shor and Charles Michael Davis were unable to be season seven cast regulars,” explains creator Darren Star. Watch Younger's final season trailer.

The CW series' cast and crew held a virtual panel this morning, one day after a man killed eight people, including six Asians, at three massage parlors. "What happened last night in Atlanta with eight people killed breaks my heart," said Kung Fu star Tzi Ma. "I’m not quite sure what the short-term fix is. I believe we are the long-term solution: to do our show, to show the world who we are, and hopefully those messages will come out loud and clear about representation, about inclusion. Those are part of our long-term goals." Olivia Liang added: "So much about representation and inclusion is not so much that we as Asians need to see ourselves represented on the screens, but we need to be invited into people’s homes who don’t see us in everyday lives, just to humanize us, normalize seeing us, remind them that we are just like they are and have a place in this world. And hopefully having our show in their homes will expand that worldview for them."

Syfy says the Alan Tudyk-led sci-fi series has been the most-watched new cable drama in total viewers in the last year, with 9.3 million watching its premiere across all platforms.

"I wish I could be better to live up to the character that Viola has to play, but it's exciting," the former first lady tells ET. "Anything Viola does, she does it with passion and vigor, and I know she will do no less for this role." ALSO: Michelle Obama shuts down Jimmy Kimmel's questioning about her and Barack Obama's sex life.

Joi is returning to the Grey's Anatomy universe two years after memorably guest-starring as rape victim Abby. On Station 19, she'll appear as Condola Vargas, "an accomplished litigator who went to law school with Dean’s (Okieriete Onaodowan) sister, and with whom Dean has a romantic past. She’s whip-smart and effortlessly chic – owning every room she is in," according to Deadline. "Condola will be helping Dean with his lawsuit against the police. At the end of last week’s episode, Dean revealed that he planned to sue the cops after he was tackled to the ground and arrested while he and his teammates were assisting a distraught mom looking for her kidnapped teenage daughter."

"Everyone's got an opinion or a story like the wonton story. It's like f*ck off with your f*cking wonton story. F*ck off!" Osbourne tells The Daily Mail of new allegations that she referred to Julie Chen as "slanty eyes" and "wonton." Osbourne added: "Everybody's got an opinion and everybody's got a voice – it's fine. It's about knowing somebody's been called out for something and then somebody else is like, 'yes!! I'm going to add something too. Of course, it's a pile on. People want to add fuel to the fire and it comes with the territory and that's fine." Osbourne didn't address the accusation she called Sara Gilbert homophobic slurs.

The Firefly Lane star recently underwent the surgery after herniating a disc in her neck. "Well…I am now bionic!!" she wrote on Instagram. "Two titanium discs now inhabit my neck and I can probably stand on my head for like hours...I'm not gonna try it just yet but give me a few months and I'll blow your mind!!"

Former King of the Hill writer/producer Brent Forrester revealed the potential news Tuesday in a Reddit AMA. Asked if King of the Hill could be coming back, the sitcom vet responded: "I am sure Greg Daniels and Mike Judge will murder me for sharing this but... HELL YES. They are in hot negotiations to bring back King of the Hill. The Trump administration made it suddenly very relevant again. The characters have all aged 15 years. The project is sooooo good. Okay I've said too much :)" King of the Hill premiered in 1997 and aired for 13 seasons through 2010.

The Schitt's Creek alum, who last month joined the reboot of Norman Lear's Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, will star on the six-episode thriller set aboard an oil rig as "the scientist and oil company rep, a fresh face on-board the rig." Hampshire will co-star with Game of Thrones alum Glen.

Kaling will voice the role of Val Little, an enthusiastic member of the Monsters, Inc. Facilities Team on the Disney+ animated series. Hunt will reprise her role as Ms. Flint, "who was formerly in charge of training new Scarers at Monsters, Inc., but will now manage the department responsible for recruiting and training the funniest monsters to become Jokesters."

One week after signing on to co-star with Lupita Nyong'o in Apple TV+'s limited series Lady in the Lake, Portman has signed an overall deal with Apple to develop TV shows.

Titled Britney, the documentary will follow up on FX on Hulu's Framing Britney Spears, focusing on the #FreeBritney movement and the singer’s recent court appearances.

Discovery+ has ordered two spinoffs of the Food Network staple: Chopped Next Gen, focusing on younger chefs, and Chopped 420, featuring cannabis-themed ingredients.

Season 3, premiering May 2 on Starz, will take a new approach to transactional relationships that "gets very insidious and complex," says writer-director Anja Marquardt. "What's unique about this season is it's looking at (transactional relationships) through the lens of human behavior in tech," she tells EW. "There's a simulation that's happening for every girlfriend... There's a protagonist who comes in and interacts with clients, and I was interested in exploring the angle where she enters that equation from a very unique vantage point." Watch the Season 3 trailer.

For DeGeneres' first project, she'll narrate and executive produce Endangered from Discovery and the BBC Natural History Unit, which will begin streaming on Earth Day, April 22, on Discovery+. Endangered "follows the effort of dedicated wildlife conservationists across the globe as they work to compile the latest version of The Red List – the most comprehensive record of the state of the world’s wildlife that has ever been created."

All three will recur in Season 2, which will also feature guest-stars Method Man, Michael Rispoli, Neal Matarazzo and Grace Porter.

CNET reports that Long is now starring in a series of ads for Intel that make PCs look like the hipper computers. In the new ads, Long says, "I'm a... Justin, just a real person doing a comparison between Mac and PC." He even cracks an Apple dongle joke.

Laura Molen, president of advertising sales and partnerships for NBC Universal, is expecting top rates because Peacock will feature special commercial formats. “We are committed to building this space for marketers and keeping consumer engagement around their ads,” she says. “Our pricing is going to reflect this.”

About 57,000 complained to Ofcom, the British version of the FCC, in the aftermath of Morgan's controversial Meghan Markle comments on Good Morning Britain. “Only 57,000? I’ve had more people than that come up & congratulate me in the street for what I said. The vast majority of Britons are right behind me.” Morgan tweeted Wednesday.

The famed race car driver is best known for being the only woman to win Germany’s Nurburgring Nordschleife, one of the toughest racing circuits in the world, in 1996 and 1997. She first appeared on Top Gear in 2004 and became a presenter in 2016. Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson tweeted: “Terrible news about Sabine Schmitz. Such a sunny person and so full of beans.”

WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn premieres on April 2.

Watch the trailer for the documentary on the cruise ship that was prevented from docking during the early days of the COVID crisis. The Last Cruise premieres March 30 on HBO Max.

In each episode of The Jim Brockmire Podcast, Azaria as Brockmire will interview a celebrity guest, including  Charles Barkley, Joe Buck, Don Cheadle, Steve Cohen, Colin Cowherd, Rich Eisen, Jemele Hill, Dan Patrick, Ben Stiller and Joy Taylor. The Jim Brockmire Podcast is the first new project from Meadowlark Media, the content company created by former ESPN president and DAZN chairman John Skipper, and former ESPN TV and radio host Dan Le Batard. Azaria played Jim Brockmire, a character he originated in a web series, for four seasons on IFC from 2017 to 2020. "I honestly can't believe we get to add someone with Hank Azaria's credentials to our stable of stupidity,” said Le Batard in a statement. “He's the voice actor for our generation on The Simpsons, an impossibly funny actor and, best of all, our friend. I can't wait for Brockmire, soaked in booze and drugs, to urinate on every single sacred thing in sports. Hank, Sheena and Dave are going to cook up something special… I just hope it's not meth."

Showtime hasn't yet decided what will happen to Sunday's episode. “I’m doing OK and following all the protocols. But dead ass stay home, wear your mask, social distance and get your vaccine if you’re eligible. Stay safe fam,” he The Kid Mero tweeted on Tuesday.

“Launching a daily syndicated show during a pandemic was a challenge no daytime show has ever had to face, but Drew and everyone on this team turned every obstacle into an opportunity and delivered a big, bright, fun hour of much needed optimism to viewers every day,” Steve LoCascio, president of CBS Media Ventures said in a statement. “The show truly embodies Drew’s spirit, and we’re thrilled to be able to continue to provide our stations and viewers with another high-quality season this fall.”

The Game of Thrones alum is teaming with Zak Penn on the sci-fi series based on Hugh Howey's book of the same name that will premiere as a Spectrum Originals exclusive and air nine months later on AMC Networks platforms. Beacon 23 "follows two people whose fates become entangled after they find themselves trapped together at the end of the known universe," per Variety. "A tense battle of wills unfolds at the edge of space, Halan, the beacon keeper, begins to question whether Aster (Headey) is friend or foe as her ability to disguise her agenda and motives could make her a formidable opponent."

The former Mork & Mindy star, who's been married to Harmon since 1987, will recur opposite him in a four-episode arc. Starting April 6, she'll play Marcie Warren, described as "a seasoned investigative journalist who uses her savvy wit and down-to-earth people skills to aid in her tireless pursuit of truth."

Author and spiritual life coach Iyanla Vanzant's series will end its run on May 22 after 150 episodes and as OWN's highest-rated unscripted series. “The minute Iyanla stepped onto the stage of The Oprah Show, I knew she had a talent that was meant to be shared and I am glad that she created the perfect vehicle to provide OWN viewers with her healing magic,” said Oprah Winfrey, OWN's CEO. “Sunsetting the series is bittersweet. I’m very thankful for her and the work she does and look forward to what unfolds next from her gift of teaching people to be better versions of themselves.”

The drama series starring Ejiofor was originally developed for CBS All Access. The move comes after the video game-based series Halo moved from Showtime to Paramount+.

In the aftermath of the After the Final Rose special, "it was hard not to notice how invested the special seemed in protecting (Rachael) Kirkconnell—and how uninterested it seemed in protecting the Bachelor himself," says Laura Bradley of the first Black Bachelor. James’ selection as Bachelor, she adds, "was meant to indicate a step forward for a franchise that has historically (and repeatedly) fumbled on race. But as his season unfolded, viewers quickly noticed how little time we spent learning about James and many of his contestants; an outsized amount of time went, instead, to infighting largely between and instigated by white contestants. The show exploited James’ strained relationship with his father for drama without considering the effect that such a stereotypical portrayal of a Black man with an absentee father could have, absent any context about their specific history. And rather than address Kirkconnell’s disturbing social media history in real time, The Bachelor’s network and producers opted instead to do what they always do, when they can: Avoid commenting in the hopes of currying more interest (and better ratings) in the finale." Like James, Lindsay had to contend with a suitor who also had a racist social media history. If the Bachelor franchise has shown us anything, it’s that they don’t know how to protect people of color. They only know how to exploit them," Lindsay said of James' season The Ringer's Bachelor Party podcast. Bradley adds: "Rather than illuminate to Lindsay what was going on, producers did what they normally do about contestant in-fighting—which is to say, nothing. In forcing Lindsay to navigate the conflict without all of the information about (Lee) Garrett’s behavior, however, the show was putting its Black lead in a uniquely compromising position. Beyond the unfairness, it was dangerous." Bradley adds that The Bachelor franchise needs a reckoning when it comes to race. "Alongside these vital diversity efforts, perhaps, should also come a broader discussion about what this franchise is and how it operates—how it builds its narrative out of people’s lives and frames them for public consumption, and how it determines what is 'on' and 'off' limits," says Bradley. "How its audience follows white contestants at higher rates than contestants of color on social media. How sexist and racist bullying have become rampant within Bachelor Nation’s online circles. In other words: Perhaps it’s time for all of us to reconsider where the show’s ethical boundaries, and our own as viewers, should fall."

ALSO:

• The Bachelor screwed over Black women most of all: "Seeing Matt James as The Bachelor was like an awakening," says Brooke Leigh Howard. "It was as if the franchise was finally opening itself up to new possibilities—the prospect of being more cultured and diverse. Having a Black man at the center of its flagship series signaled mainstream acceptance that Black love is powerful, and would chip away at the ugly stereotypes about Black family and relationships in the media. Rather than proving Bachelor Nation’s inclusivity, the season ultimately demonstrated how, in the words of Malcolm X, the most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. A season that should have been historic in a positive sense ended up revealing how ass-backwards the franchise truly is." She adds: "No matter what the Black women did, how amazing they were, how great and deep the conversations were they had with Matt, it didn’t matter. He still ended up choosing the racist white lady. Yes, the show is trash for not putting in the work and vetting its contestants the way it should have. There’s no way that Rachael should have participated in Season 25. However, I’m truly appalled with Matt James. This man was supposedly searching for the love of his life. For the duration of the show, he was doing nothing else but dating these women. And during that time, he never had a deep conversation about race and social politics with Rachael? It seems so lazy and hypocritical considering that he’d had those sorts of talks with the women of color on the show, as they bonded over stories of trauma. While those women revealed their scars to Matt, and relived the emotional pain of what it means to be a minority in this country, he never once thought about bringing up his experiences to Rachael—a woman who he chose over dozens of other women. A woman who he contemplated proposing to. A woman with whom he thought about creating a family. If Rachael’s business did not make the rounds on the internet and become mainstream news, I’m not sure if Matt would have ever found out. Their relationship was not emotionally deep enough for him to ask this woman why she may have been dressed up for an Old South party in a photo. And if he did find out, he may have even stayed if it weren’t for the ensuing public backlash and damage to his ego. After watching this season of The Bachelor, I was reminded why I tuned out in the first place: there is no space for Black women to be seen as winners in the franchise."
• Matt James jokes about Googling a therapist
• Emmanuel Acho: Michelle Young and Rachael Kirkconnell making up was left on the cutting-room floor

In her YouTube docuseries Dancing With the Devil, Lovato said she hooked up with someone she worked with on Disney's Camp Rock and he didn't listen to her when she said "no." Lovato says that's how, without naming the person, she says she lost her virginity. “You know what? F*ck it,” she says. “I’m just going to say it. My #MeToo story is me telling somebody that someone did this to me and they never got in trouble for it. They never got taken out of the movie they were in. But I’ve just kept it quiet because I’ve always had something to say. I don’t know. I’m tired of opening my mouth. So here’s the tea.”

Osbourne spoke to Entertainment Tonight's Kevin Frazier on Tuesday shortly before journalist Yashar Ali reported that she had called Julie Chen "slanty eyes" and "wonton" and Sarah Gilbert and "p*ssy licker' and 'fish eater.'" The interview was also conducted before CBS announced it was extending its hiatus for The Talk by one week in wake of the new allegations. In her ET interview, Osbourne elaborated on her allegation that The Talk producers "blindsided" her by telling her that she would questioned about her defense of Piers Morgan shortly before last Wednesday's taping. Osbourne said she's unsure what will happen to the show and whether or not she'll return. "I wish we could go on and have a adult conversation calmly and work it out but I don't know whether we can," she said. "I don't know whether it's gone past that. I would love to but I don't know whether I even want to go back. ... I don't know whether I'm wanted there." But Osbourne said she's willing to have an on-air discussion about race. "I very much want to listen to the youth," Osbourne said. "Do I have my finger on the pulse of what's going on, with the Black situation in this country? No. ... The ins and the outs of the way the younger generation feel right now, I don't have my finger on the pulse...I own up to what I did," she adds. "I can't not own up. I said what I said. I got too personal with Sheryl (Underwood). I should've never said stop her tears. She was hurting as I was hurting."

A gunman's alleged killing of eight people, including six Asian women, at three different massage parlors in the Atlanta area appears to be the latest hate crime targeting the Asian community since the start of the pandemic. “The race of the person committing the crime matters less than the simple fact that if you act with hate in your heart, you are part of the problem. And to those with the power to help and yet sit idly by, your silence is complicity,” tweeted Daniel Dae Kim, who added the hashtag #StopAsianHate. Mindy Kaling added: “The targeting of our Asian brothers and sisters is sickening, but not surprising given the normalizing of anti-Asian hate speech in the past year. We have to #StopAsianHate, enough is enough!”

The pay cable network has given a straight-to-series order on the historical series from creators Olu Odebunmi and Tolu Awosik and executive producer Fuqua based on real events. According to Showtime, Shaka: King of Zulu Nation "tells the story of the Zulu Empire chief Shaka and his unlikely rise to power, uniting multiple tribes across vast stretches of Africa in the early 19th century to transform his power into legend, on par with history’s most seminal figures. In ferocious battles that test the body and soul, in alliances that test the bonds of love and friendship, a complex sociological system plays out that renders the human cost front and center, for the victors as well as the vanquished, all in an effort to carve out a semblance of identity, fulfillment and ultimately, survival."

“We can confirm that the FCC did receive consumer complaints regarding the Grammys performance,” an FCC spokesperson told TheWrap. The spokesperson wouldn't divulge a number, but said that it was “an average amount for this type of event.”

Theroux first interviewed Exotic for his 2011 documentary America’s Most Dangerous Pets. In Louis Theroux: The Cult of Joe Exotic, Theroux will revisit the Joe Exotic story in wake of the Netflix docuseries' popularity, using unseen footage. "I spent eight or nine days filming at the park back in 2011, over the course of three separate visits," says Theroux. "I’d forgotten how much we shot until I went back into the footage during lockdown. It’s extraordinary how much was there. Since then the story just got stranger and bigger, and in going back at the end of last year I uncovered a real-life drama that took me in directions I never could have expected.”

"I hurt people," he said on ABC's Soul of a Nation. "I'm going to lean into it. I want to understand why I hurt you, what did I say? What are these tropes? Educate me. My journey's not going to stop whether the person watching this forgives me or not. I'm still going to hopefully, through this process, be on the right side of history and bring people closer together." ALSO: Cannon advocates for "counsel culture" instead of "cancel culture."

In her Hulu documentary, Frye remembered losing her virginity to Sheen when she was 18 and he was in his late 20s. "He's somebody I've had a crush on for years. He's a person that intrigues me and excites me," she said in the documentary, reading diary entry from when she was 18. Sheen admitted in a statement to Us Weekly that he hadn't seen the documentary. “It’s on my list to watch and very near the top,” he said, adding that Frye was a "good egg" and “I wish Soleil well in this resurgence of hers.”

The 1984 TV movie Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, 1985's Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, the animated Ewoks TV series that aired from 1985 to 1986 are also joining the Disney streaming service.

The actor best known for playing Don Cornelius in American Soul will co-star in the drama pilot exploring an African-American family’s legacy.

Currently, only Android devices can use the shuffle feature that is only available for certain shows on Amazon.

Boyle is the latest addition to the Apple TV+ follow-up to HBO's Band of Brothers and The Pacific.