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Trevor Noah To Be Jon Stewart’s ‘The Daily Show’ Replacement

Trevor Noah To Be Jon Stewart’s ‘The Daily Show’ Replacement

By Meredith Blake and Julie Westfall, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Trevor Noah, a 31-year-old comedian who has been a contributor to Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, will be the program’s new host when current host Jon Stewart leaves later this year, the network announced Monday.

“Trevor Noah is an enormous talent. He has an insightful and unique point of view, and most importantly, is wickedly funny,” said Comedy Central president Michele Ganeless in a statement, noting that he would bring “a fresh voice” to the satirical news show.

Noah, a biracial South African who grew up in Johannesburg’s Soweto township, was a surprise pick. Though he has hosted his own program, Tonight with Trevor Noah, in his native country, the comedian joined The Daily Show as a contributor only in December and his name had not been among those floated in the press as a possible successor to Stewart until recently. One of the show’s behind-the-scene podcasts features an interview with Noah.

“It’s an honor to follow Jon Stewart. He and the team at The Daily Show have created an incredible show whose impact is felt all over the world,” said Noah in a statement from Comedy Central. “In my brief time with the show they’ve made me feel so welcome. I’m excited to get started and work with such a fantastic group of people.”

Noah will also bring further diversity to late-night TV — and to Comedy Central. The Nightly Show, hosted by African American comedian Larry Wilmore, premiered in January in the 11:30 slot vacated by The Colbert Report.

In a tweet Monday, comedian Chris Rock — who some had hoped might step in as Stewart’s replacement — thanked President Obama for Noah’s hiring, presumably because both men are biracial and share powerful personal biographies.

As reported by the New York Times, which first broke the news of Stewart’s replacement on Monday, Noah was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother, a relationship that was illegal under apartheid.

Noah is the subject of a documentary, You Laugh But It’s True, currently available on Netflix, and rose to international attention in 2012 following a sold-out show, The Racist, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a famed launching pad for comedy talent.

Noah also joins a growing list of internationally born late-night hosts that includes The Daily Show alum John Oliver, who now hosts Last Week Tonight for HBO, and James Corden, who made his debut as host of The Late Late Show on CBS last week. Both are British.

Stewart, 52, announced in February that he would be leaving the show after 16 years at its host. The show premiered in 1996 under then-host Craig Kilborn.

(c)2015 Los Angeles Times, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

Photo courtesy of Comedy Central

‘Pawn Stars’ Gets A Spinoff On History

‘Pawn Stars’ Gets A Spinoff On History

By Diane Werts, Newsday

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: America can’t get enough of those Pawn Stars guys — owner Rick Harrison, son Corey and dimwit pal Chumlee — so here they are for another weekly hour, doing what they do. Rick knows all, Chumlee’s dumber, Corey tries to keep up.

Out from behind the counter and into a TV studio with host comic Christopher Titus, the guys match trivia wits with two challengers eager to win some of Rick’s shop stash — vintage pinball machine, NBA championship ring, Soviet high-altitude suit. Fastest ringer-in answers multiple-choice queries about swords, landmarks, Scout badges, Caesar salads or magazine swimsuit models. There’s also an isolation booth for a 60-second final round of top challenger vs. Rick. Then there’s negotiating — gotta have that “final offer” — over who goes home with what.

MY SAY: Brand extension. That’s “Pawnography.” I had to write down the rules to get them.

But the low-budget gameplay is hardly the point. Rick drops historical facts. The guys goof. The host reacts and riffs. (Nice to see fleet-tongued Titus back on TV.) And the contestants exploit their own 15 minutes of (minor) fame. This week, meet “a mean Asian Elvis.”

BOTTOM LINE: Build the brand, boys.

Photo: Gsloan via Flickr

Ryan Seacrest Talks ‘American Idol,’ Kardashians And More

Ryan Seacrest Talks ‘American Idol,’ Kardashians And More

By Neal Justin, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

MINNEAPOLIS — The forklift carrying one of entertainment’s valuable properties began to rise above the masses when a producer brought it to a halt.

“Perfect height!” he barked through a megaphone.

The cargo, also known as Ryan Seacrest, waited a beat before responding: “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that.”

What Seacrest lacks in stature (he’s 5 feet 8, if you must know), he makes up for in power. He is paid roughly $15 million a year to host “American Idol,” the ground-breaking reality show that drew 2,000 people to the University of Minnesota’s Mariucci Arena last week for auditions. He hosts two radio shows, including a morning program on more than 150 stations in North America. As an executive producer, he’s quickly bulking up his portfolio, which will include an NBC drama in 2015 starring Jennifer Lopez.

What’s annoying is that, despite the challenging schedule, Seacrest, 39, looks like he just got back from a two-week vacation in the Bahamas.

“Look what I get to do,” he said, gesturing to the hyped-up crowd after taping some promotional sports and flirting with fans. “I like a Saturday off every once a while, but I get out here and my adrenaline starts to rush. I really enjoy the pace.”

Not that everything he touches is destined for greatness.

It was Seacrest who masterminded the Rise of the Kardashians, a family he vehemently defends. Last this week, Fox announced it was canceling his spoof dating series, I Want to Marry Harry, after only four episodes.

“I think like with anything, especially the TV business, you’ve got to take a lot of swings to get a hit,” said Seacrest, dressed entirely in black and wearing a jacket despite the rising humidity. “Selecting what we want to do is always an interesting process. You have to pick something you believe in, that your gut tells you might have a chance. I’ve also learned to listen to a lot of people around you. I have a great team that’s smarter than I am.”

One wise thing Seacrest did was remain with Idol, even if it’s no longer a juggernaut. Last season drew an all-time low of 12.3 million. Fox president Kevin Reilly has said that the show will be more “streamlined” in 2015 with roughly 37 hours of programming compared to 50-plus in the past. The network has also canceled The X Factor, a move that gives Idol some breathing room.

“We were on the air for so many years without any other singing shows. That was a unique time,” Seacrest said. “Then other shows came along and there was a bit of saturation, but what we try to do is focus on making the kind of great show we’ve always made. That’s what we can do and can control.”

Photo: Jorge Quinteros via Flickr

‘True Blood’ Plot Has Become A Bloody Mess

‘True Blood’ Plot Has Become A Bloody Mess

By Verne Gay, Newsday

What it’s about: Remember that vampire-human “mixer” at Bellefleur’s at the end of last season? That’s where we pick up Sunday in the seventh — and final — season opener, “Jesus Gonna Be Here.” A band of “H-vamps” (vamps who consumed Hepatitis-infected blood) — the ones that congregated around the borders of this party in last season’s finale — have decided to crash the party, to spectacular and awful consequences. (A major death — we’ve had those on Blood — does, indeed, occur.)

Hostages are taken to the basement of Fangtasia, where they are essentially stored, and (next week) we get to visit that dungeon. In addition, all humans must be accompanied by vamps to protect them from H-Vamps. (But who’s gonna protect the vamps?) Sookie (Anna Paquin) is being blamed for the chaos. Bill (Stephen Moyer) has other problems: His powers have abandoned him.

My say: Few series over the course of their run have drifted further from their roots — or just to keep our metaphors in the proper context here — from their fangs than True Blood. Originally adapted from Charlaine Harris’ The Southern Vampire Mysteries, True Blood in its dotage now feels more like it’s been adapted from thin air.

Best of luck finding even a hint of the original inspiration in this final lap — that sense that this was all just an allegory for gay or civil rights. (In fact, Blood was really mostly about sex, but that’s another story.) And that black, morbid, depraved Blood-y sense of humor, another wellspring of the original, is largely absent, too. With the H-vamp story line and the post-apocalyptic chaos that has descended upon Bon Temps and surrounding environs, Blood now seems to draw most inspiration from The Walking Dead.

Sookie’s twisted tale, along with the twisted ones of Bill, Sam (Sam Trammell), Tara (Rutina Wesley), Alcide (Joe Manganiello) and many others have traveled far, far away from the early days, so it’s impossible to tell from the first two episodes how Blood will resolve them — forget emotionally, but narratively. But “emotion” is the right word here, and loyal fans, who still number in the millions, aren’t going anywhere. They’ll decide when they’ve had enough of this Gothic shaggy dog. True Blood, however, seems like it’s had enough.

Bottom line: Headaches will be induced just in trying to unravel the plot mess Bon Temps finds itself in. At least this will be the last headache.

Photo: ~BostonBill~ via Flickr