Natasha Rothwell's How to Die Alone canceled at Hulu / Jelly Roll joins American Idol / Amber Ruffin to headline the WHCD
PLUS: NFL shelves "End Racism" Super Bowl message: Is it because President Trump is attending?
Hulu's How to Die Alone canceled after one season, leaving Natasha Rothwell "baffled"
The Hulu comedy series from Onyx Collective created by and starring Rothwell won't return for a second season after premiering last September. In How to Die Alone, Rothwell played “a broke, fat, Black JFK Airport employee who’s never been in love and forgotten how to dream" who, after a near-death experience, decides to take control of her life and begins a journey of self-empowerment and personal transformation. In a statement to Variety, Rothwell said she is “shocked, heartbroken and frankly, baffled” at Onyx’s decision. Though a source close to the studio indicated to Variety that viewership wasn’t strong enough for renewal, Rothwell argues that it was “an undeniable critical, creative and award-winning success.” How to Die Alone won the Independent Spirit Award for best ensemble cast and is up for three nominations at the upcoming NAACP Image Awards. Rothwell added that she plans to shop How to Die Alone to other platforms: “Representation isn’t just about visibility — it’s about ensuring that our stories, our existence and our cultural contributions are not erased.”
Jelly Roll joins American Idol as its first-ever “artist in residence"
After appearing as a mentor and performer last season, the Nashville artist will join the ABC reality competition during Season 23's “Hollywood Week” episodes, and then continue to appear throughout the season. American Idol Season 23 premieres March 9.
Amber Ruffin to headline the 2025 White House Correspondents' Dinner
The Late Night with Seth Meyers writer-performer and former host of The Amber Ruffin Show will be this year's entertainment at the annual WHCD on April 26. No word on if President Trump will attend, but he didn't attend any of the WHCDs during his first term. “When I began to think about what entertainer would be a perfect fit for the dinner this year, Amber was immediately at the top of my list,” Eugene Daniels of Politico, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, said in a statement. “She has the ability to walk the line between blistering commentary and humor all while provoking her audience to think about the important issues of the day. I’m thrilled and honored she said yes."
Grammys viewership draws 15.4 million viewers, down 9% from last year
About 15.4 million tuned in for Music's Biggest Night on CBS. The ratings decline snaps a three-year streak of increasing viewership for the Grammys. ALSO: The Grammys and affiliated events raised a combined $24 million toward wildfire relief.
Constance Zimmer boards The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4
The Entourage and UnReal vet will play a former L.A. District Attorney's office colleague of Neve Campbell's Maggie who "is a relentless prosecutor who will let nothing stand in the way of a guilty verdict, a single-mindedness which has earned her the nickname 'Death Row Dana,'" according to Deadline. "A fierce and ruthless adversary who bends the rules to her advantage, she is the last person Mickey wants to find himself going up against in what will be the trial of his life."
Tom Brady will be allowed to attend Super Bowl LIX production meetings with the teams as the "Brady Rules" are temporarily suspended
Brady had been barred from attending production meetings with the NFL teams he covers because of his minority ownership in the Las Vegas Raiders. That will change for the Super Bowl. Brady is still barred from attending practices.
Fox Corp. plans to launch a streaming platform for Fox, Fox Sports and Fox News
Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch says the streaming platform could reach a new audience separate from the one that watches Fox properties via cable and broadcast. “We see the traditional cable bundle as still the most value for our consumers and for the company,” Murdoch said, but the company feels an increasing need to reach “a large population outside the cable bundle.” The Fox streaming service is expected to be expensive in order to protect Fox News' cable carriage fees.
NFL shelves "End Racism" Super Bowl message: Is it because President Trump is attending?
The Athletic reported today that for the first time since February 2021, the Super Bowl will not feature an “End Racism” message in the back of the end zones. Instead, “Choose Love” and “It Takes All of Us” will be stenciled onto the back of the end zones at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The news comes at roughly the same time as the announcement that Trump is attending the Super Bowl in what Awful Announcing is calling "conspicuous timing." "The switch, conveyed internally to high-level employees earlier this week, could be perceived as a nod to the current political climate," reports The Athletic's Michael Silver. "Following the lead of recently inaugurated President Donald Trump and his administration, many corporations and institutions are abandoning their diversity, equity and inclusion programs. While (NFL commissioner Roger) Goodell said Monday he was ‘proud’ of the league’s diversity efforts, the decision to do away with ‘End Racism’ as a slogan led at least one high-ranking league official to express concern in light of Trump’s divisive words on the subject. However, NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy indicated that the decision was based on sensitivity to recent tragedies, including the terrorist attack in New Orleans’ French Quarter in January, the deadly wildfires in the Los Angeles area and the fatal air collision near Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C." As McCarthy explained: "We felt it was an appropriate statement for what the country has collectively endured, given recent tragedies, and can serve as an inspiration."
Apple TV+'s Neuromancer adds Mark Strong
The Dune: Prophecy and The Penguin alum will star opposite Callum Turner and Briana Middleton in the drama series based on the award-winning novel of the same name by William Gibson.
Hulu is not proceeding with comedy pilot Downforce starring Eve Hewson and Murray Bartlett
The streamer has opted not to pick up the pilot from the Silicon Valley team of Alec Berg and Adam Countee. Downforce would’ve followed Victoria (Hewson), the estranged daughter of a storied racing team’s owner, Sir Trevor (Bartlett), who is thrust back into the family business, leaving the pair to find common ground or risk destroying the team’s legacy.
ESPN's Hubie Brown to end his 50-year NBA broadcasting career on Sunday
The 91-year-old NBA broadcaster will be celebrated with his final game: the Philadelphia Sixers vs. Milwaukee Bucks on ABC. “When I look back, it’s been the fastest 50 years of being in the NBA as a coach and as a television person," Brown tells The Athletic. "On Sunday I want to be at the top of my game. You want to be able to do justice to the game itself, and then also for the players and coaches that are going to be in the game.”
Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao joins Netflix's Physical: Asia
The Filipino boxer will be among the many competing under their national flags for "the toughest, most pulse-pounding missions yet" in the Physical: 100 spinoff.
Matthew McConaughey drives for Uber Eats in his star-studded Super Bowl ad
The Oscar-winning actor will take on many different roles across multiple eras to demonstrate that “football is a conspiracy to make us hungry.” Kevin Bacon, Peyton Manning, Martha Stewart, Greta Gerwig and Charli XCX are among the celebrities who will appear in the commercial.
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Barry Keoghan acts opposite a donkey in Squarespace’s Super Bowl ad
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Shania Twain's Cold Foam Creamer Super Bowl ad made her want to record new music
WWE Raw marred by glitches with its 5th Netflix show
"Raw‘s glitches included the Netflix feed repeatedly buffering and briefly cutting to a black screen — similar to the issues that affected the streamer’s presentation of November’s Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing event," says Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod. "They were most prevalent during the show’s closing segment, which saw CM Punk defeat Sami Zayn, who was then attacked in shocking fashion by his longtime friend/sometimes rival Kevin Owens." Until Monday night, WWE Raw had been relatively smooth since launching on Netflix on Jan. 6.
National Women’s Soccer League is getting the Amazon docuseries treatment
Prime Video's four-part For the Win: NWSL will feature female soccer stars including the recently retired Alex Morgan, Trinity Rodman, Croix Bethune and legendary women’s soccer player Marta.
Jimmy Fallon's weeklong All In: Comedy About Love Broadway stint set a house record
"Fallon’s brief stint in the production – his one-week performance ended February 2 – saw the weekly grosses jump by a huge 46% over the previous week, landing at $2,080,707, easily topping the Hudson’s previous house record of $170,865 set by the 2022 Sarah Jessica Parker-Matthew Broderick production of Plaza Suite," according to Deadline's Greg Evans. "The late-night talk host’s appearance also seems to have driven up ticket prices for the show: The average ticket price was $268.69, twice the price of nearly every other show on Broadway, including big musicals like Gypsy starring Audra McDonald and Disney’s The Lion King."
One Piece shares the first look at Season 2
The Netflix Straw Hat Pirates have wrapped their live-action second season.
TBS will still air Foul Play with Anthony Davis after the former Los Angeles Lakers star was traded to the Dallas Mavericks
Davis filmed the half-hour “outrageous prank special," scheduled to air Feb. 16 after the NBA All-Star Game, with the Impractical Jokers team before last week's blockbuster trade with Luka Doncic.
Marcus Jordan, The Traitors alum and son of Michael Jordan, arrested for DUI, cocaine possession and resisting arrest
Jordan, who is also a veteran of Real Housewives of Miami, was booked by the Maitland Police Department in Orange County, Florida this morning, according to county records. It's unclear if he remains behind bars and what events led up to his arrest.
Brian Murphy, the British actor who originated Three's Company’s Mr. Roper character, dies at 92
Murphy, who died Sunday at age 92, played the henpecked landlord George Roper on the 1970s British sitcoms Man About the House and George and Mildred, which were adapted as Three's Company and The Ropers for American TV. Man About the House ran for six seasons, from 1973 to 1976. The Ropers aired for five seasons, from 1976 to 1979.