Will Forte Brings Back Anti-Mask, Anti-Vax MacGruber for ‘SNL’

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming FX limited mystery series “The Retreat” has added 10 new cast members, Variety has learned.Clive Owen, Harris Dickinson, Alice Braga, Jermaine Fowler, Joan Chen, Edoardo Ballerini, Raul Esparza, Pegah Ferydoni, Ryan J. Haddad and Javed Khan have all joined the series.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The White Lotus” Season 2 at HBO is rounding out its main cast with the addition of Theo James, Meghann Fahy, Will Sharpe, and Leo Woodall.The four actors join previously announced cast members F. Murray Abraham, Adam DiMarco, Tom Hollander, Michael Imperioli, Aubrey Plaza, and Haley Lu Richardson. It was also previously reported that Season 1 star Jennifer Coolidge will return for Season 2, but HBO has yet to officially confirm that.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“The L Word: Generation Q” has been renewed for Season 3 at Showtime, Variety has learned.The second season of the followup to “The L Word” aired between August and October 2021. Like the second season, the third will consist of 10 episodes.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterDisney Branded Television has brought on Charlie Andrews to serve as executive vice president of live-action and alternative series, Variety has learned.Andrews joins Disney Branded TV from Fox Entertainment, where he most recently worked as head of drama development for the broadcaster before exiting in December. Andrews will begin in his new role on Feb.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “LA Law” sequel series pilot at ABC has added John Harlan Kim to its cast, Variety has learned exclusively.The new iteration of the Emmy-winning series features familiar characters working alongside new ones on the most hot button issues of the day.Kim joins previously announced returning original series cast members Blair Underwood and Corbin Bernsen. Kim will star as Chad Park, an up-and-coming attorney at the firm described as a “shark-in-training” whose ambition sometimes gets ahead of his ethical standards.

Fox Entertainment and Hulu have set a comprehensive output deal enabling the Disney-owned service to stream all out-of-season episodes of many Fox series, including all of the network’s unscripted fare.

Selome Hailu Fox Entertainment and Hulu announced a new program output deal allowing Hulu to stream all out-of-season episodes of several Fox unscripted and animated series.Unscripted series that will stream on Hulu under the deal include “The Masked Singer,” “Lego Masters,” “I Can See Your Voice,” “Name That Tune,” “The Masked Dancer,” “Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back,” “MasterChef” and “MasterChef Junior.”“The Masked Singer,” “I Can See Your Voice,” “The Masked Dancer” and “Name That Tune” are produced by Fox Alternative Entertainment. “Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back” is produced by Studio Ramsay Global, the recently formed production entity from Ramsay and Fox Entertainment.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterPeacock has set seven cast members for the upcoming comedy thriller series “The Resort,” Variety has learned.Luis Gerardo Méndez, Nina Bloomgarden, and Gabriela Cartol will all appear in series regular roles, while Debby Ryan, Dylan Baker, Michael Hitchcock and Becky Ann Baker will recur. The show is described as a multi-generational, coming-of-age love story disguised as a fast-paced mystery about the disappointment of time. An anniversary trip puts a marriage to the test when the couple finds themselves embroiled in one of the Mayan Riviera’s most bizarre unsolved mysteries that took place fifteen years prior.Méndez (“Narcos: Mexico,” “Murder Mystery”) will play Baltasar Frías, the head of security at the Oceana Vista Resort in 2007.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLindsay Aubin, Andrew Mathes, Dani Potter, and Andrew Wang have been promoted to partner in WME’s TV Scripted department, Variety has learned exclusively.Mathes started at WME in 2009, rising to the rank of coordinator in 2012 and then agent in 2013. His clients include Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, Carlton Cuse, John Legend, John Krasinski, Idris Elba, David Ayer, and Adam McKay’s HyperObject. He also led efforts to adapt podcasts into TV series, selling projects like “Limetown” to Facebook Watch, “Dirty John” at Bravo, and the upcoming “Gaslit” at Starz.Aubin started at WME in 2010, at first working as an assistant for people like Ari Emanuel, Ari Greenburg and Marc Korman.

MacGruber is back!

Måneskin made their debut on Saturday Night Live last night (January 22) by performing their cover of ‘Beggin’’ alongside ‘I Wanna Be Your Slave’ – watch footage below.Introduced by special guest Will Forte, the Italian rock group delivered a riotous performance of The Four Seasons’ 1967 song as well as an energetic, groove-led version of their own 2021 single that saw frontman Damiano David paying homage to Blur‘s ‘Song 2’.It’s the latest studio performance from the Eurovision winners who in recent months have performed at the American Music Awards, MTV EMAs and The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. They’ve also supported The Rolling Stones in Las Vegas (with Mick Jagger calling it “a great night”) and shared the stage with Ed Sheeran and Elton John at the Paris leg of Global Citizen Live.Check out their performance on Saturday Night Live below:Next month, Måneskin kick off their 16-date Loud Kids tour with a show at London’s Brixton Academy.

As former Saturday Night Live cast member Will Forte said in his Saturday Night Live opening monologue, it took getting his MacGruber the series to launch on Peacock for him to finally be invited to host the late-night sketch program 12 years after he’d left.

As tonight’s episode of Saturday Night Live wound down, the show paid tribute to its former writer John Bowman, who died suddenly at home in California on New Year’s Eve, aged 64.

Will Forte returned to over the weekend for his first time as host and, as expected, he brought MacGruber with him.The character — who first was created on as a parody of MacGyver, then went on to have his own movie, and just dropped the first season of a TV show on Peacock last month — is famously bad at everything he does, and ends up getting everybody blown up.However, Forte managed to breathe fresh life into the still-funny sketch, with a little help from his co-stars Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillippe.The first sketch of the night (because they almost always comes in threes), sees the trio trying to defuse a bomb in a bank, inside a sealed vault. All three are wearing protective face masks, before MacGruber asks them to take them off, so he can use them to create some elaborate contraption to defuse the explosive.«Now both of you, hand me your masks!» MacGruber declares. «No time to explain, masks now!»As MacGruber lights the masks on fire in a tin can, Wiig's Vicki St.

Will Forte is back on the Saturday Night Live stage!

Tonight on SNL, longtime cast member Will Forte got his first opportunity to host, speaking in his opening monologue to his excitement about finally getting his moment in the spotlight.

Will Forte made his hosting debut over the weekend and got a little help from some famous faces. Help he strongly said he didn't want.The former castmember came out onto the iconic stage and kicked things off with a long rant about how, out of all the actors he used to work with during his time on the show, he's one of the last ones to get the chance to host.«I was in the cast 12 years ago with Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis and Fred Armisen. So it was really fun to see Kristen host. Yep.