‘Loot’: Maya Rudolph Dives Into The Season Two Finale [Interview]

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer This is not a joke: CollegeHumor wants your Emmy vote. Actually, just over two months after the internet comedy company, which rebranded as Dropout last year, sold out a 17,000-seat live performance set for January 2025 at Madison Square Garden, that proposition might not seem as funny anymore.

Selena Kuznikov “Palm Royale” showrunner Abe Sylvia relied on his “guru” Joni Mitchell (via her song “People’s Parties”) when figuring out the tone for his Apple TV+ comedy: “Laughing and crying are the same release.” “Our show took itself really seriously even as it went absurd,” Sylvia said. “It’s a gay ‘Fantasia,’ right? It’s tone is maximalist gay.

EXCLUSIVE: On the heels of the season two finale of Apple’s critically acclaimed comedy series Loot, starring Maya Rudolph (who also exec produces), Apple TV+ has signed a multi-year, first-look deal with Banana Split Projects, the newly formed production company run by Maya Rudolph and Danielle Renfrew Behrens.  Under the deal, Apple TV+ will have a first-look on series and digital features developed and produced by Banana Split.

EXCLUSIVE: After a long run at NBCUniversal, writer, producer and director Alan Yang has signed a big overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group. Under the multi-year pact, he will develop and produce new TV projects exclusively for the studio.

Alison Herman TV Critic As a writer for “Saturday Night Live” from 2016 to 2019, Julio Torres was able to create immersive worlds — the existential melancholy of a sink; the font obsession of an “Avatar” super fan — in just a few minutes’ worth of sketch. Over time, the comedian has only acquired more space and resources to realize his singular vision.

In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast host Mike DeAngelo gets all of the answers while investigating “Under the Bridge.” The true crime Hulu series follows two women, a cop, and a reporter, who attempt to uncover the truth at the center of a young girl’s murder. The show stars Lily Gladstone, Riley Keough, Vritika Gupta, Chloe Guidry, Izzy G., Javon Walton, and more.

Kenan Thompson and Bowen Yang have had very different “Saturday Night Live” trajectories. And yet, they both have made history. Thompson, who joined the show in 2003, is the longest-tenured cast member in the show’s history.

Love Island is back for its 11th series with 12 new singletons ready and waiting to enter the famous Mallorcan villa. In the ultimate search for love, the contestants will spend around eight weeks together in hopes of finding a lasting connection and winning a £50,000 cash prize.

In Loot, Molly Wells has what Maya Rudolph describes as an “unrelatable amount” of wealth. While that may seem enough of a draw for an actor looking for a role with the promise of incredible outfits, the real interest for Rudolph was the character’s drive to use the money for good — while still wearing amazing costumes. Creators Matt Hubbard and Alan Yang brought a story of a woman wanting to give back to the world, but it’s Rudolph’s comedic style that brings the Apple TV+ series to life as Wells tries to get her life back on track after a divorce.

It often seemed like the production of “Hacks” season three was cursed. After 32 Emmy nominations and six wins over its first two seasons, the one surviving hit HBO Max, er, Max program took two years to return to the streamer.

Alissa Simon Film Critic “Being Maria” is a flawed but fascinating look at the turbulent life of actor Maria Schneider, played by a game Anamaria Vartolomei (“Happening”). It limns her rebellious teen years, her big breakthrough at 19 in Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Last Tango in Paris,” and how her trauma on set and the film’s notoriety impacted her subsequent career and mental health. Helmer Jessica Palud (“Back Home”) and co-scripter Laurette Polmanss loosely adapt a memoir by Schneider’s younger cousin to show events through the star’s eyes.

Emily Longeretta SPOILER ALERT: This story contains storylines from “Never Say Goodbye,” the May 22 Season 12 finale of “Chicago Fire.” It was a night for goodbyes on “Chicago Fire.” The Season 12 finale was the final episode for Eamonn Walker as Battalion Chief Wallace Boden. The actor, who has served as the chief of Firehouse 51 since the series debuted in 2012, will no longer appear as a series regular beginning next season. After a hard call, Boden decided to throw his hat into the ring for the job of Deputy Commissioner, mostly because those in the running (specifically Chief Robinson) wouldn’t be able to lead in a way that the department deserves.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor As the Television Academy continues to review submissions, NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” will see at least 17 of its 20 guest hosts of Season 49 listed on the Emmy ballot in the guest acting race, the highest number of the past five seasons. The most recent season of the iconic sketch comedy show, which heads into its 50th year, featured an impressive lineup of emcees. Those confirmed to be submitted include comedians Nate Bargatze, Shane Gillis and Ramy Youssef; former “SNL” cast members Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph; and Hollywood A-listers Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, Adam Driver, Jacob Elordi, Ayo Edebiri, Sydney Sweeney, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and Jason Momoa.

Friends star Matthew Perry last year.Perry, who was best known for playing Chandler Bing in the hit sitcom, died on October 28 in his home in California, aged 54. Perry’s cause of death was listed as being the result of the acute effects of the anaesthetic ketamine.“At the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression,” his autopsy read.Now, Los Angeles Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration have told The Hollywood Reporter that they have launched a joint criminal investigation into his death, and how Perry came to have such high levels of the drug in his system, and in his possession.Perry’s autopsy also listed drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid addiction, as contributing factors to his death.

imaginary friends movie “IF” claimed the top spot at the box office this weekend according to studio estimates Sunday. Its $35 million North American debut was also a bit lower than some projections.Is that a disappointment? An ominous sign of the box office times? Or is the final story on “ IF ” yet to be written? It’s not just your imagination: In these bumpy early weeks of the 2024 summer box office season, in which nothing has been a runaway hit and every new movie has more and more pressure to succeed, “IF” hit a nerve.Starring Ryan Reynolds, Cailey Fleming, and an army of A-list voices including Steve Carell, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Louis Gossett Jr., Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Maya Rudolph, “IF” was an original idea from Krasinski, who wrote, directed and co-stars.Paramount debuted the film, which cost a reported $110 million to produce, in 4,041 locations in North America.

It feels like it’s been months or even years that we’ve all known that Timothée Chalamet would star in a Blue De Chanel advertisement directed by Martin Scorsese (“Killers Of The Flower Moon”). The pair, who conducted some interviews last year, particularly one for GQ, are clearly mutual admirers of one another.

The star-studded film IF hits theaters at midnight, and many theater-goers might be wondering if there’s an end credits scene for this one.

Bridgerton” has become so much more than a TV show. Heading into Season 3 of Shonda Rhimes’ massively popular period romance series, Netflix has found that viewers aren’t just invested in the love story of new leading couple Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) — they want to invest in the brand itself. That means a fandom spending its dollars on a growing merch and events business that helps them celebrate each new season of the show, which is based on Julia Quinn’s romance novels.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter “IF,” a fantasy-comedy from director John Krasinski and star Ryan Reynolds, looks to collect a promising $40 million in its box office debut. Based on projections, “IF” — short for imaginary friends — is tracking to land at least $35 million and as much as $45 million from 4,000 North American theaters. At the higher end of estimates, those ticket sales would mark a solid start for a live-action PG family film that’s not based on an existing property.

The cast of John Krasinski‘s upcoming family movie IF stepped out for the big red carpet premiere in the Big Apple!