‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Cast on Why They Forced Larry David to Let Them Read the Show’s Outlines

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 11, Episode 12 of “The Masked Singer,” “Semi-Finals: Then There Were Three,” which aired May 15 on Fox. “The Masked Singer” revealed the latest celebrity to be revealed on Wednesday night’s quarter finals, and it was Thelma Houston as Clock. Houston, of course, is best known for her classic hit “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” For Clock, Rita Ora got it right with Thelma Houston.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host Jimmy Kimmel once again shared the Disney upfronts stage on Tuesday, providing his zingers in person for advertisers and media buyers at the programming presentation for the first time in five years. That’s because last year Kimmel didn’t attend due to the Hollywood WGA strikes. And in 2022, he was in New York — but had to be beamed in to do his routine after testing positive for COVID.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Prime Video continues to expand its game show output, announcing two more new shows on Tuesday at Amazon’s upfronts presentation: “Buy It Now,” hosted by JB Smoove (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and the holiday-themed event “Wish List Games” hosted by Nick Cannon (“The Masked Singer”). Both feature tie ins to Amazon’s shopping portals.

Eurovision entry Joost Klein.Earlier today, the news of Klein’s disqualification was shared by Eurovision organisers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). He was accused of making verbal threats towards a female member of production crew, according to police.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Hulu comedy head Billy Rosenberg is exiting the streamer after more than seven years. Rosenberg, who most recently served as senior VP of comedy for Hulu Originals, has not yet been replaced.

Selena Kuznikov How do Hollywood creators forge massive universes for their characters? For Ronald D. Moore, executive producer of “For All Mankind” and “Outlander,” it all began with the question: What if the Russians landed on the moon first? From this starting point, “For All Mankind” was born. Moore and his team explored their alternate timeline, weaving cultural, societal, and political shifts with historical events, crafting a rich universe for the Apple+ TV series.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large On this season of Apple TV+’s “Loot,” it’s revealed that one of the show’s characters, played by Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, is a secret Taylor Swift fan — and even hides her Swift albums inside record jackets for jazz music. Don’t worry, star Maya Rudolph isn’t as clandestine. “I’ve always admired her,” Rudolph tells Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “The Bear,” “Bluey,” “Reservation Dogs,” “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” “The Last of Us” and “Jury Duty” are among the series set to receive this year’s Peabody Award, the org was set to announce on Thursday morning. The Peabody Awards’ board of 32 jurors have selected 34 winners, all of which received unanimous vote from TV, podcast/radio and web/digital nominees in entertainment, news, documentary, arts, children’s/youth, public service, and interactive programming.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 11, Episode 10 of “The Masked Singer,” “Quarter Finals: Final Four,” which aired May 8 on Fox. “This Is Us” star Chrissy Metz knew “The Masked Singer” would be a challenge. But that’s why Metz, who was revealed as latest celebrity to be unmasked on Wednesday night’s quarter finals, figured she had to do it. “When I watched the show, and I would see either my friends or peers on the show, I’m like, how do they do it?” said Metz, who was revealed as the Poodle Moth.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Sigh. Get ready to hear that a lot from civilian friends and family — if you haven’t already — as we get deeper into this Emmy season. And of course, they’re not wrong.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “Girls5eva” deserves to be heard. Yes, the laugh-out-loud comedy, from the minds of Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, creator Meredith Scardino and others, is funny. The music industry (in particular, the teen pop machine) is wickedly skewered.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Classic TV network MeTV is turning its cartoon block into a new network. Owner Weigel Broadcasting Co. announced Wednesday that it will launch MeTV Toons as a new national TV network focused on classic animation, “from Hollywood-era shorts to made-for-television favorites.” MeTV Toons, which launches June 25, is a collab between Weigel and Warner Bros.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 11, Episode 9 of “The Masked Singer,” “Group B Finals: Soundtrack of My Life Night,” which aired May 1 on Fox. For years, the panelists on “The Masked Singer” have thrown out names like Corey Feldman, Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken while trying to figure out what celebrities were disguised on stage. This week, those names finally became true. “The Masked Singer” revealed the latest celebrities to be revealed on Wednesday night’s Group B finale, and it was Feldman as the Seal and Studdard/Aiken together as the Beets.

Larry David’s HBO show “Curb Your Enthusiasm” recently paid homage to in its own series finale). “Friends” aired for 10 seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2004, and although it also followed friends’ daily lives, it had more plot threads and a more upbeat rom-com style ending that gave Chandler (the late Matthew Perry) the last word.

Michael Richards made his return to the red carpet for the first time in eight years in LA on Tuesday night.The actor, 74, reunited with his “Seinfeld” co-star Jerry Seinfeld at the “Unfrosted” premiere. The pair were photographed hugging, posing for photographs and waving to fans in the crowd.Richards and Seinfeld, 70, last reunited — alongside Jason Alexander — at the inaugural Los Angeles Fatherhood Initiative Lunch for Baby Buggy in 2015.The trio and Julia Louis-Dreyfus starred in the Larry David-created sitcom for nine seasons, from 1989 to 1998.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Austin Butler, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig, Carol Burnett, Brie Larson, Ricky Martin, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Callum Turner, Kaia Gerber and Cristo Fernández are among the stars set to appear at Apple TV+‘s upcoming Emmy FYC activation in Los Angeles. Events will take place between Friday, May 3, and Saturday, May 11.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” which welcomed back Jon Stewart as one of its hosts this year, will continue its election year tradition of taking the show on the road to the national political conventions this summer, Variety can confirm. The extent of Stewart’s involvement at the two conventions has not yet been determined, but Comedy Central has made it official that “The Daily Show” will take its “Indecision 2024” coverage to Milwaukee, Wisc., from July 15 to July 18 for a full week of shows during the Republican National Convention. The following month, “The Daily Show” will set up shop in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention from August 19 to August 22.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “The Simpsons” fans are still reacting to the surprise death of Moe’s Tavern regular Larry Dalrymple — aka Larry the Barfly — on Sunday’s episode, “Cremains of the Day.” And “The Simpsons” co-executive producer Tim Long has the explanation for why the show did it. “I’m sorry if some fans are upset, but we really wanted to use Larry’s death as a way to show that even the most peripheral people in our lives have dignity and worth, and that we really shouldn’t take anyone for granted,” Long wrote in an email shared with Variety. “To paraphrase Shakespeare, nothing became Larry’s life like the way he left it: drunk, lonely, and with a butt full of sapphires.” In the episode, Moe discovers Larry dead in the bar.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “The Last of Us,” “Poker Face,” “Bluey,” “The Bear” and “Jury Duty” are among this year’s additional nominees as the Peabody Awards’ board of jurors revealed 27 nods for its arts, children’s/youth, entertainment, and interactive & immersive categories. They join the 41 nominees across its documentary, news, public service and radio/podcast categories announced by Peabody earlier this week.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The Miss USA pageant is expanding its relationship with The CW, sealing a three-year deal that adds Miss Teen USA to the mix. The network announced Thursday that the 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air live on Sunday, Aug. 4., at 8 p.m.