Mel Brooks Talks Working on ‘History of the World, Part II’ at 96: ‘I’m the Jewish Advisor’

Christine And The Queens has spoken about recruiting Madonna to feature on the follow-up to his 2022 album ‘Redcar les adorables étoiles’.‘PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE’ was confirmed earlier this month. Due for release June 9, the album is the “second part of an operatic gesture” that takes inspiration from the “glorious dramaturgy of Tony Kushner’s iconic play, Angels In America.”According to the tracklisting for the album, Madonna features on several tracks.

BreAnna Bell “It was a lot of highs and Lowes,” John Owen Lowe said of working with his famous father, Rob Lowe, on Netflix’s latest comedy “Unstable.” At the show’s premiere on Thursday night in Hollywood, the father-son duo spoke with Variety about their unique dynamic — and how its portrayal on the show isn’t so different from real life. John Owen plays Jackson, the son of Ellis Dragon (Rob Lowe) in the workplace comedy. Ellis is a quirky biotech genius who finds out he may lose his job when he spirals following the death of his wife. With the company at risk of imploding, his employees seek out the one source they feel can help him at this time: his son.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Grey’s Anatomy” has been renewed for Season 20 at ABC. With the renewal, the series continues its run as the longest running primetime medical drama in TV history. In addition, series executive producer Meg Marinis will serve as showrunner on Season 20. Marinis takes over from Krista Vernoff, who was reported to be stepping down from “Grey’s Anatomy” and its spinoff “Station 19” back in January. The Season 19 finale of “Grey’s Anatomy” will air on May 18. The show has seen a number of exits this season, most notably Vernoff and Kelly McCreary (who’s played Dr. Maggie Pierce for nine seasons) — and series lead Ellen Pompeo, kind of. Pompeo has been with the show since it debuted, but in the Feb. 23 episode, her character Meredith Grey moved from Seattle to Boston. She will continue to provide the voiceover at the beginning and end of each episodes, and she’ll also appear on the finale. Pompeo’s status for Season 20 is still up in the air.

Deadline reported Wednesday that Steinberg’s family said he died March 15, but did not provide further details.The Post has contacted a rep for Steinberg for comment. “It’s a sad day when Norman Steinberg leaves us.

Norman Steinberg, who co-scripted Mel Brooks’ comedy classic Blazing Saddles with and won an Emmy for Flip Wilson’s 1970s variety show, has died. He was 83. The WGA East said Steinberg died March 15 but did not provide other details.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter 40 years later and Mel Brooks is still raring to go in “History of the World Part 2.” In an exclusive featurette (see below) from the sketch comedy series shared with Variety, the comedy legend says, “I just love getting into the saddle again, and ‘History of the World’ was a great opportunity to explore so many aspects of history that have happened since I did the first one. Enjoy it. Or don’t. I already got paid for this.” The eight-episode Hulu series was released beginning on March 6. Series co-creator Ike Barinholtz said that Brooks “gave us such a great template in the first movie,” with the show featuring a wide range of sketches skewering some of the biggest moments and people in history. Among those featured in the show are the end of the Civil War, the life of Jesus Christ, the story of Shirley Chisholm, and the Russian revolution among many others.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Ronny Chieng’s Hulu comedy pilot is not being picked up to series at the streaming service, Variety has learned. The untitled pilot saw Chieng star as an analyst who is unexpectedly given the chance to be the general manager of the Brooklyn Nets when the entire front office staff quits. It was inspired by real-life Nets owner Joe Tsai. Variety exclusively reported the pilot was in the works in May 2022. Little was announced about the pilot beyond the initial report, but sources say Chieng co-wrote the pilot with Jon Pollack. Both also served as executive producers along with Melvin Mar, Jake Kasdan, and Hannah Pham. Greg Mottola directed the pilot. 20th Television was the studio, with Mar and Kasdan under an overall deal at 20th TV via The Detective Agency. According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, 20th TV and the producers plan to shop the project to other outlets.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Halcyon Studios has brought on Phil Abraham to direct and executive produce the series “Beverly Hills Noir,” Variety has learned exclusively. Halcyon, a division of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, is producing the show, which is based on “Gemstone” by James Ellroy. Per the official logline, the show “follows two female detectives as they are sucked into the vortex of power, greed, and cold-blooded conspiracy in one of the most aspirational cities in the world, Beverly Hills.” Ed Decter is writing the series and will also serve as executive producer and showrunner. Along with Decter and Abraham, Ellroy, Stewart Till, and Richard Potter also executive produce. No network or streaming service is currently attached to the project.

The Other Two is back!

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The “Willow” TV series is done after just one season at Disney+, Variety has confirmed. The news comes around two months after the high fantasy series aired its eighth and final episode, with the show having debuted in November 2022 and airing until January 2023. “Willow” continued the story of the film of the same name, with Warwick Davis returning for the series in the title role of Willow Ufgood. The show was originally reported as being in the works at Disney+ back in 2019 and ordered to series in late 2020. Along with Davis, the cast of the show included Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman, Ellie Bamber, Tony Revolori, Amar Chadha-Patel, Dempsey Bryk, and Joanne Whalley. The official logline for the series states “In a magical world where brownies, sorcerers, trolls, and other mystical creatures flourish, the adventure continues, as an unlikely group of heroes set off on a dangerous quest to places far beyond their home, where they must face their inner demons and come together to save their world.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Sarah Shahi has been cast in the lead role of the ABC drama pilot “Judgement,” Variety has learned. The project was originally ordered to pilot at the broadcaster in December. Shahi will star in the role of Mia Bahari in the show, which is described as a high-stakes legal soap. Per the official character description, “We’ll meet Mia Bahari in two distinct periods of her life. In one, she’s a brilliant, successful Appeals Court judge being vetted for the U.S. Supreme Court…so long as her dark and painful secrets don’t derail the nomination. In another, she’s a young spitfire of an attorney, painfully awkward at times but ingenious when it comes to navigating the many nuances of the law. She’s also caught romantically between two feuding brothers who are at the root of the very things she’s trying to hide from her Supreme Court investigators.”

BreAnna Bell Joe Goldberg has climbed back to No. 1 on the Netflix Top 10 English TV chart with big twists, Easter eggs, and a climactic “Anti-Hero” moment as “You” Season 4, Part 2 opened on the list following its March 9 release date. The murder mystery had 75.8 million hours viewed during the March 6-12 viewing window and was in the Top 10 in 86 countries. On the English Films side, Idris Elba returned as detective John Luther in “Luther: The Fallen Sun.” The thriller, featuring Cynthia Erivo, Andy Serkis and Dermot Crowley debuted at No. 1 with 65.9 million hours viewed. Chris Rock’s live standup special “Selective Outrage” made its first appearance on Netflix’s Global Top 10 chart at No. 8 on the English titles list with 17.79 million hours viewed. Live from Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre, Rock’s first standup show following the infamous 2022 Oscar’s slap was one of several live offerings on Saturday as Netflix accompanied it with pre- and post-show coverage featuring appearances from Ronnie Chieng, Leslie Jones, Deon Cole and Arsenio Hall, among others, as well as appearances and commentary from Amy Schumer, Cedric the Entertainer, Ice-T, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, Paul McCartney, Sarah Silverman and Wanda Sykes. The special first debuted in the US on March 4 and was previously not counted in the previous week’s global count as it wasn’t available in other countries.

The verdict seems clear: Mel Brooks continues to thrive as the auteur of disorder. Further, his blasphemies on Hulu this week serve as a welcome distraction from the numbing debates that usually dominate Oscar Week.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The History Channel has greenlit a range of new docuseries and documentaries that are produced by Hollywood stars like Morgan Freeman, Bradley Cooper, and Kevin Costner. The announcements were made as part of a larger A+E Networks slate reveal ahead of its 2023-2024 upfronts presentation. Additional projects hail from producers Michael Imperioli and Dan Aykroyd. Costner will host and executive produce an eight episode docuseries currently titled “Kevin Costner’s The West.” The series is said to detail how the Wild West period of American history continues to impact the country today.

Jenna Ortega is excited about working with The Weeknd.

Amber Dowling It took 42 years, but Mel Brooks is finally making good on a parody of a promise he never seemed likely to keep: Bringing “History of the World, Part II” to audiences far and wide. The filmmaker addresses that elephant in the room within the opening minutes of the new, eight-part Hulu series, admitting that he agreed to the project under two conditions — that there could be no repeat gags, and that he be made to look exactly like he did in the 1981 original film. The show winks at both of those conditions by the end of the first episode, setting the tone for any unaware viewers that were expecting historical insight or veracity on world events.

Wednesday debuted on Netflix and of the streaming charts, along with it. From her to her , we can't get enough. But we won't have to wait until to see more of Ortega; she next stars in Paramount Picture's sixth installment of the Scream franchise, out this Friday, and then on Saturday, will take the SNL stage at 30 Rock as she makes her hosting debut.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Demi Singleton is the latest addition to the cast of the “Bass Reeves” series at Paramount+, Variety has learned exclusively. Singleton will appear in the period drama as a series regular opposite series lead David Oyelowo, who will star as the titular legendary lawman. Additional cast members include Barry Pepper, Dennis Quaid, Forrest Goodluck, Lauren E. Banks, and Grantham Coleman. Per the official logline, the show “will bring the legendary lawman of the wild west to life. Reeves, known as the greatest frontier hero in American history, worked in the post-Reconstruction era as a federal peace officer in the Indian Territory, capturing over 3,000 of the most dangerous criminals without ever being wounded.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Nic Pizzolatto has set up a western drama series at Amazon with a series commitment, Variety has confirmed with sources. The untitled series is said to “revolve around a former outlaw who must reckon with a threat from his past in order to keep the life and family he has worked so hard to build,” according to sources. Amazon declined to comment. Pizzolatto is best known for creating the HBO anthology drama series “True Detective,” which exploded onto the scene in 2014 with a first season starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson that received substantial critical and popular acclaim. Two more seasons have aired to date, with a fourth season starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis on the way. Issa López is writing Season 4 with Pizzolatto attached as an executive producer.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Netflix has picked up a new comedy series starring Kristen Bell from writer Erin Foster and executive producer Steven Levitan, Variety has learned. The untitled series is said to center on “the unlikely relationship between an irreverent, outspoken, agnostic woman and an unconventional rabbi.” Bell is set to play one of the lead roles, though exactly which is being kept under wraps. Foster created the series and serves as an executive producer. Bell also executive produces in addition to starring. Levitan executive produces via Steven Levitan Productions (SLP). Craig DiGregorio, Sara Foster, and Danielle Stokdyk also executive produce. Oly Obst and Josh Lieberman are executive producers for 3 Arts. 20th Television will produce in association with SLP, with the company currently under an overall deal at the studio.