Month: November 2021

Dan Levy will be the host of a new cooking competition series on HBO Max called The Big Brunch. Along with hosting and creating the new series, Levy will serve as executive producer alongside Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard, Sarina Roma, and Faye Stapleton.

Scheduled to debut next year, the show will follow undiscovered chefs from across the country as they compete to present fresh and exciting ideas for brunch.  The competitors will bring their backgrounds and stories to life all while they go head-to-head with one another to win a life-altering prize.

Levy, known for his award-winning performance in Schitt’s Creek, said: “”Everybody has a friend, a family member, or a co-worker that is extraordinary at what they do, they just need a leg up so that their talents can be appreciated on a larger scale. Thanks to an almost obsessive love of food, I’ve been lucky enough to come across many of those people in the culinary world — friends working out of cafes or food trucks, revolutionizing the menus at local diners — those special humans who create communities around their cooking, hoping to take their skills to the next level. I created this show for them, the local culinary heroes of America who deserve a spotlight. That, and who doesn’t want to watch maple syrup being poured slowly over a golden stack of perfectly cooked, creme brûlée inspired French toast?”

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Disney+ has shared a trailer for the Star Wars series The Book of Boba Fett featuring Temuera Morrison as the titular Boba Fett, a bounty hunter. The preview shows Fett (Morrison) take over Jabba the Hutt’s criminal empire on the desert planet of Tatooine. Fett is aided by elite mercenary and assassin Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen). “I intend to rule with respect,” Fett says. “Why speak of conflict when cooperation can make us all rich?”

Disney+ also shared a poster for the series featuring Fett and Shand with the caption: The Book of @BobaFett, an Original Series, starts streaming December 29 on #DisneyPlus. #TheBookOfBobaFett

The Book of Boba Fett is executive produced by Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Robert Rodriguez, Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson. The series premieres Dec. 29 on Disney+.

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Disney+ said in a press release that the Hocus Pocus sequel has started filming in Rhode Island, with original Hocus Pocus stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy returning as witches and sisters Winifred, Sarah and Mary Sanderson. Doug Jones will also reprise Billy Butcherson. New cast members include Whitney Peak, Lilia Buckingham and Belissa Escobedo as Becca, Cassie and Izzy, three young women in present-day Salem who incite the wrath of the witches.

The new film will also feature Hannah Waddingham, Tony Hale, Sam Richardson, Juju Brener, Froy Gutierrez, Taylor Paige Henderson and Nina Kitchen.

The original Hocus Pocus was released in July 1993. An official synopsis of Hocus Pocus 2 reads: “It’s been 29 years since someone lit the Black Flame Candle and resurrected the 17th-century sisters who were executed for practicing witchcraft, and they are looking for revenge. Now it is up to three high-school students to figure out how to stop the ravenous witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem before midnight on All Hallow’s Eve.”

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Bravo continues to expand its successful “Real Housewives” franchise and has officially green-lighted “The Real Housewives of Dubai” with Andy Cohen as executive producer. The network announced Monday that its latest iteration will premiere in 2022 as the 11th city in the “Real Housewives” world.

Executive producer Andy Cohen said in a press release: “Everything’s bigger in Dubai, and I couldn’t be more excited to launch Bravo’s first international ‘Housewives’ series in a city I’ve been fascinated by for years, with an outstanding group of friends as our guides.”

Real Housewives of Dubai will be the first international series in the ‘Real Housewives’ franchise to air on Bravo. Bravo shared a teaser  for the series that shows a woman walking through the desert, with a voiceover that says: “It’s the land of opportunity. It’s the new American dream.”  With the lavish United Arab Emirates as their backdrop, the new “Housewives” will also give fans a glimpse of Dubai’s “over-the-top opulence, jaw-dropping modern architecture and wild nightlife scene,” says the press release.  Bravo has not yet revealed the cast members for Real Housewives of Dubai.

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Singer Zayn Malik pleaded no contest to charges of harassment against his ex-girlfriend, model Gigi Hadid, and her mother, Yolanda Hadid.  Earlier this week it was reported that Gigi Hadid, 26, and Malik, 28, had ended their on-again-off-again relationship.

Citing legal documents, the charges stem from a Sept. 29 incident at the couple’s Pennsylvania home where he allegedly shoved Yolanda Hadid into a dresser and screamed profanity at her before trying to fight a security guard.  Malik, a former member of One Direction, took to Twitter to deny allegations he struck Yolanda Hadid. He said he was working toward “a safe and private space” for Khai, the 13-month-old daughter he shares with Gigi. Malik said in the statement: “I am hopeful though for healing for all involved with the harsh words shared and more importantly I remain vigilant to protect Khai and give her the privacy she deserves.” 

Malik entered the no contest plea on Wednesday, meaning Malik does not admit guilt but will allow the charges to stick. He’s agreed to serve 360 days of probation in addition to completing anger management and domestic violence programs. A representative for Gigi Hadid said in a statement “Gigi is solely focused on the best for Khai. She asks for privacy during this time.”

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