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Director Jared Hess was behind the camera for the 2025 hit A Minecraft Movie. He didn't have the same success with Masterminds in 2016 -- but nine years later, the crime comedy is now a big hit on Paramount+.

Per FlixPatrol, Masterminds is No. 3 on the Paramount+ movie charts. The crime comedy stars Jason Sudeikis and Owen Wilson, both of whom are now leading their own sports shows on Apple TV+ with Ted Lasso and Stick respectively, opposite Zach Galifinakis as folks who plot an $18.8 million robbery.

The movie is ranked just behind the Jack Quaid action comedy Novocaineand the 2009 Jason Bateman comedy Extract. Masterminds is more popular than two Tom Cruise blockbusters: Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning.It’s also ahead of the comedy classics Mean Girls and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

Masterminds was directed by Hess, who has also helmed other cult...

Amy Poehler finished her Saturday Night Live tenure as one of the show's all-time greats. During that final year in Studio 8H, Poehler delivered her favorite SNL sketch of all time.

Poehler joined SNL in 2001 after making a name for herself through Upright Citizens Brigade and appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. She quickly established herself as a versatile performer, capable of impressions, absurd characters, and physical comedy.

That appreciation for physical comedy was behind "I'm No Angel," the sketch Poehler told The Ringer is her all-time favorite sketch. It came during the 2008-2009 season, Poehler's last.

Poehler conceived of the sketch with longtime collaborator and SNL writer Emily Spivey. Both Poehler and Spivey were pregnant at the time and were already looking for an excuse to work the song "I'm No Angel" into a sketch.

"There’s something about that sketch that I love so much because it was our senior year,...

A star-studded crowd gathered to celebrate the legacy of the iconic comedy and musical series Saturday Night Live. As part of the 50th anniversary of the show, SNL50: The Homecoming Concert saw many familiar faces from the last 50 years of the series' history both watching and performing at the event, which was hosted by Jimmy Fallon. As the night kicked off, however, no one expected to see Oscar-winner Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson storm out of the auditorium after Fallon explained that the night would not include any awards presentations. Fallon said:

“Apparently, there’s been some confusion. This is just a concert. We’re not giving out any awards tonight. So, I just want to make sure that everyone knows that.”

At that point, Hanks and his wife stood up out of their seats and stomped up the central aisle and out of the venue. Of course,...

Tina Fey, the former head writer and cast member of NBC's Saturday Night Live, has revealed that she's part of the writing team behind SNL50, the 50th anniversary special that will air this Sunday on NBC. Even though Fey's experience on the show speaks for itself, returning as a staff writer meant that she had to clean the rust off of her comedy writing skills. However, a visit from a very special SNL icon made everything better.

Fey was a guest on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon alongside her former SNL co-star, dear friend and collaborator, Amy Poehler (via Entertainment Weekly). The conversation turned to what's brewing for SNL50, and Fey revealed that she's part of a team of staff writers for the special: "I know a little bit about what's taking shape because I am working on it as a staff writer, which I'm pretty excited about,...

The Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special is in good hands. An all-star team of SNL writers has been assembled to deliver for the historic event.

SNL has already announced some of the A-list celebrities and iconic cast alumni expected to attend the three-hour live event. The guest list includes Will Ferrell, Andy Samberg, Eddie Murphy, Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Quinta Brunson, and Tom Hanks.

Now, we're getting an idea of who will be working behind the scenes at the SNL 50th. During her appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey revealed the writers room that has taken shape ahead of the special. Here's a look at who's helping write one of the biggest nights in comedy history.

Tina Fey

Of course, Tina Fey is involved. She shared the news with Jimmy Fallon during a Tonight Show visit alongside Amy Poehler.

"I can see what's coming together,...

Days ahead of the 50th anniversary special of “Saturday Night Live,” and it’s really starting to feel like the “Avengers” for comedy nerds. While on “The Tonight Show,” Tina Fey told Jimmy Fallon about the “amazing” pep talk Bill Murray gave her while she was preparing for the event. Also, Amy Poehler was there, in case you want another cast member name drop.

Fey revealed she returned to “Saturday Night Live” to be a staff writer on the 50th anniversary special alongside Seth Meyers, Paula Pell, Emily Spivey and John Mulaney.

“Going back to being on the writing staff, I immediately regressed,” Fey said on Wednesday night. “I was eating garbage. I was really grouchy. But then something amazing happened.”

That amazing event was a certain beloved “Groundhog Day” star also returning to the halls of 30 Rock.

“An angel appeared in the form of Bill Murray. He was in this incredibly wonderful mood.

Late Night with Seth Meyers is the undisputed late-night TV home for Saturday Night Live nostalgia. The SNL 50th anniversary special coming up makes it the perfect time to spotlight some of the show's best writers.

Seth Meyers didn't go far when he left Saturday Night Live and took over Late Night. He also made good use of his SNL connections by showcasing countless former cast members and writers to help with interviews and sketches on Late Night.

Now, Saturday Night Live's former head writer is handing over his stage to some famous Saturday Night Live writers. Here's who's coming on Late Night with Seth Meyers this week.

Paula Pell

Paula Pell kicks things off when she joins the show on Monday, February 10. She'll be on Late Night with Seth Meyers along with Sing Sing star Colman Domingo.

Pell had a ridiculously productive tenure as an SNL writer from 1995 to 2013. Thanks to her,...

The 50th anniversary of “SNL” is about to kick off.

Acclaimed Academy and Emmy award-winning documentarian Morgan Neville is honoring the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live” with docuseries “SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night,” which he executive produces. The four-part series offers a behind-the-scenes look at the history of the beloved sketch series, with each episode taking a different perspective on how the show began.

More than 60 SNL alums are interviewed onscreen, including Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Molly Shannon, Pete Davidson, Stephen Colbert, Tracy Morgan, Bob Odenkirk, Tina Fey, Seth Meyers, John Mulaney, Larry David, Will Ferrell, Rachel Dratch, and Fred Armisen.

The first installment, “Five Minutes,” is about the audition process. Emmy Award winner Robert Alexander directs the first episode, which includes never-before-seen audition footage and firsthand accounts from alums as they reflect on their preparation and journey to the “SNL” stage.

The second episode,...

Wild and crazy guys, the van down by the river, and, of course, more cowbell – just some of the classic sketches shown in the new trailer released today for Peacock‘s four-part docuseries SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night.

“Anybody can do comedy,” former cast member Tracy Morgan says at the start of the trailer before delivering the punchline – “But are you funny?”

The upcoming docuseries promises lots of funny moments from the history of Saturday Night Live. In the trailer, Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, Dana Carvey and Amy Poehler are among the famous faces speaking about the venerable NBC late-night series. Andy Samberg reveals he threw up after auditioning.

The docuseries, Peacock says, will offer a behind-the-scenes look “at some of the American late-night comedy institution’s most iconic elements and rich history.”

The docuseries, executive produced by Morgan Neville, includes four episodes, each taking “a different creative approach...

Peacock has released a first look at SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, a new documentary series that offers a behind-the-scenes look at some of the American late-night comedy institution’s most iconic elements and rich history.

Executive produced by Academy and Emmy Award winner Morgan Neville, SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night streams exclusively on Peacock beginning January 16.

SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night is a four-part docuseries honoring the legacy of SNL, with over 60 contributors, including SNL alumni, and covering decades of SNL history. Spotlighting some of the show’s most iconic elements, each episode delves into the rich history of SNL and pulls back the curtain on the audition process, the writers’ room, the fan favorite “More Cowbell” sketch and the pivotal Season 11.

Each episode of the docuseries takes a different creative approach to the tapestry of Saturday Night Live and embraces the unique vision of their award-winning directors: Emmy Award winner Robert Alexander...

It must be a blessing and a curse to have your name forever immortalized as a Saturday Night Live character. On the one hand, you’re famous! On the other hand, well, you’re famous, and maybe for character traits that are funny in a comedy sketch but not in real life.

Here are five real people who — often without their prior knowledge — became household names thanks to SNL…

[subtitle]1Matt Foley [/subtitle]

The real Matt Foley is a priest and long-time friend of Chris Farley. He had no idea he was about to become an iconic comedy character when he showed up for a Second City show in the early 1990s. “I was in the audience that night,” Foley remembered in The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts. “When he said, ‘My name is Matt Foley, and I am a motivational speaker!’ I was probably as red as a beet.

Will Ferrell and Harper Steele are making the rounds promoting their new documentary Will & Harper, stopping by to catch up with old SNL co-worker Seth Meyers. The former Saturday Night Live compatriots took the opportunity to talk about some of their most spectacular misses on the show.

“Harper, you wrote some of my favorite things at SNL,” said Meyers, “but you probably had some wonderful failures.”

“Oh my God,” Steele replied. “More failures than successes, yes.”

When Meyers asked the friends if they had an old sketch they wished could be revived, Ferrell and Steele arrived at a consensus: Unicorn Mountain.

It’s a sketch that got rejected multiple times in multiple iterations over the years. “The way we wrote it — because we did this a few times, by the way, it never worked — I would write a half and then hand it to Will, and then he would write the second half,...

“I have to tell you, it has been an experience,” says Maya Rudolph upon being asked about the mounting calls from the public, since Joe Biden’s July 21 announcement that he will not be seeking reelection, for her to reprise her Saturday Night Live impersonation of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who she previously portrayed on the show in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Speaking exclusively to The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast in front of an audience at the San Vicente Bungalows in West Hollywood, Rudolph, who is currently nominated for four Emmys — best comedy guest actress and best original music/lyrics for NBC’s SNL, best comedy actress for Apple TV+’s Loot and best character voiceover for Netflix’s Big Mouth — continued: “My phone has not stopped. It’s like if I had 50 grandmas and they were sending me articles like, ‘This is the thing I saw you were in!

Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including events for The Instigators, Bel-Air and Coup!

Avaline’s anniversary dinner

Avaline wine co-founders Cameron Diaz and Katherine Power hosted an East Hampton dinner on July 26 to celebrate the brand’s four-year anniversary, with support from Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rachel Zoe and Molly Sims.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz and Reese Witherspoon The Instigators premiere

Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Hong Chau and Jack Harlow joined director Doug Liman at the New York premiere of their Apple TV+ movie on Wednesday.

Celia D. Costas, Kevin J. Walsh, Chuck MacLean, Casey Affleck, Doug Liman, Luciana Damon, Alison Winter and Matt Damon Alexia Barroso, Isabella Damon, Gia Damon, Matt Damon, Luciana Barroso and Stella Damon Bel-Air Summer BBQ

Peacock hosted a Summer BBQ at the Universal Studios Backlot on Thursday to celebrate...

When Up All Night first debuted in 2011, it seemed like it would be a surefire hit. With leads Christina Applegate, Will Arnett, and Maya Rudolph, NBC executives were convinced they had the makings of a successful comedy. Showrunner Emily Spivey had several high-profile writing credits to her name, including MadTV, King of the Hill, and Saturday Night Live, and had come up with a fun premise of a hardworking professional struggling to juggle the demands of her job with the needs of her baby. However, from the very beginning, there were signs that the sitcom was doomed. The show would end up being plagued by indecision and higher-ups chasing ratings versus focusing on showcasing the talents of the entire cast.

Audacy today announced that it is expanding its relationship with Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions with the launch of “Million Dollar Advice,” a weekly work and career advice podcast under the Audacy Podcasts and Paper Kite Podcasts banners hosted by Kim Lessing and Kate Arend, friends, colleagues, and the Co-Heads of Film and Television at Paper Kite.

Million Dollar Advice will launch on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, on the Audacy app and everywhere podcasts are available. The second episode will be released on Thursday, March 28, with new episodes available weekly on Thursdays, beginning April 4. Listen to the trailer and follow the show here. Visual trailer here.

Each week on “Million Dollar Advice,” Lessing and Arend will help listeners address their work-related dilemmas. From landing your dream job to setting boundaries with co-workers to solving cross-generational communication issues, no topic is off limits. Poehler will appear in the second episode, publishing on...

Exclusive: Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions is behind podcasts including Say More with Dr? Sheila and The Chris Chatman Do-Over.

The company, via its Paper Kite Podcasts banner, is now growing this as it expands its relationship with Audacy Podcasts.

This includes Million Dollar Advice, hosted by Kim Lessing and Kate Arend, Paper Kite’s co-heads of film and television, and improvised comedy Women Talkin’ ‘Bout Murder.

Million Dollar Advice will launch on March 27 and will see Lessing and Arend help listeners address their work-related dilemmas including landing your dream job to setting boundaries with co-workers and solving cross-generational communication issues. Poehler will appear in the second episode, which comes out on March 28.

Million Dollar Advice is executive produced by Poehler, Lessing, Arend, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and Leah Reis-Dennis. It will be produced by the team at Audacy’s Pineapple Street Studios.

Women Talkin’ ‘Bout Murder is the third show...

Ike Barinholtz is going full dumbass.

That’s how The Mindy Project writer-star describes his latest character, Chris Chatman, who he’ll play for his newest project, The Chris Chatman Do-Over podcast, beginning Jan. 11.

The weekly show, which is being billed as an original improvised comedy, is the second of three installments in a series of podcasts from Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions and Audacy. The first, which launched in September, is Say More with Dr? Sheila, which stars Poehler as a fictional, world-class therapist/life coach, who has questionable methods and credentials and sees new couples each week. Barinholtz is among the many recognizable voices who have appeared as fictional guests on the popular podcast; though in his case, he was setting up a standalone series as Chatman, a controversial shock jock host.

The premise of The Chris Chatman Do-Over is that Chatman’s hit podcast was canceled but he’s listened,...

How I Met Your Father's cancellation confirms that the spinoff was not able to sustain enough audience interest, just like the failed pilot, How I Met Your Dad. Despite receiving mixed reviews, the finale of How I Met Your Father season 1 captured the feel of its parent show, but not enough to save it from cancellation after two seasons. The failure of Hulu's series indicates that any spinoff based on How I Met Your Mother would likely have met a similar end, putting to rest the question of "what could have been" for Gerwig's pilot.

How I Met Your Father has officially been canceled, proving that a past How I Met Your Mother spinoff was better off dead in the water. The Hulu series gave it its best shot and made it through two seasons. The fact that it didn't immediately flop proves that the concept wasn't too...

Spoiler Alert: This interview contains spoilers for “Tricky Legacies,” the fifth episode of “Barry” Season 4.

At the end of last week’s “Barry,” we meet John (Zachary Golinger). He’s an innocent young boy, but his existence is completely terrifying: It means that Barry (Bill Hader) and Sally (Sarah Goldberg) have brought a child into their violent, conspiratorial world. But John is being raised against a rural Midwestern landscape that matches Barry’s hallucinations from prison at the beginning of Season 4 — as though there’s a chance he’s a figment of Barry’s imagination, too.

In Episode 5, we re-meet Barry and Sally, who have aged considerably, and bear new accents and names. They’re raising John as a devout Christian, with Barry actually seeming to believe what he’s preaching. Sally, on the other hand, doesn’t have the same delusions. She puts on a messy brunette wig every...

Well, everyone, it's been 8 years. Not for all of us, as we watch week to week the latest horrifying exploits of hitman/actor Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) in the HBO show "Barry." But for Barry and Sally Reed (Sarah Goldberg), it's been 8 years since the events of last week's episode, in which Barry had escaped from prison and hid in Sally's apartment, to find that she was surprisingly willing to join him in Witness Protection for having named names to the FBI. Last week's installment ended with the shock that a long enough period of time had elapsed so that Barry and Sally not only had new identities in the middle of the country, but also had a son named John (Zachary Golinger). "tricky legacies", marking the start of the back half of the show's final season, is not remotely as eventful as last week's episode, which not only featured...

It's taken a while but the How I Met Your Father TV series is finally being produced. Hulu has given the project a straight-to-series order and it will star Hilary Duff. The show comes from Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger.

How I Met Your Mother creators Craig Thomas & Carter Bays and Emily Spivey wrote a pilot for CBS back in 2014 but the project wasn't picked up. More than two years later, Aptaker and Berger took a try at it but the pair became unavailable when they were hired as This Is Us' showrunners. Alison Bennett wrote another version but it didn't make the cut either. Now, Hulu has revived the project with Aptaker and Berger as creators, writers, and executive producers. Bays and Thomas will also executive produce and Adam Londy will see as co-executive producer.

How I Met Your Father, a spinoff to long-running CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother, is finally set to make it to air.

Hulu has given the project, which will star Hilary Duff, a straight-to-series order from creators Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger.

It is a long road to air for the project. Back in 2014, Himym creators Craig Thomas & Carter Bays and Emily Spivey wrote a pilot for CBS that starred Greta Gerwig and Drew Tarver, but it wasn’t picked up.

Two and a half years later, Aptaker and Berger created a new take, but after the pair were elevated to co-showrunners of NBC’s This Is Us they were no longer available. Studio 20th Television tried again in the 2017-18 development season with You’re the Worst writer Alison Bennett, but again it did not move forward.

Enter Hulu.

The streamer has given the sequel series a 10-episode...

Network: Fox

Episodes: Ongoing (half-hour)

Seasons: Two

TV show dates: September 29, 2019 -- Tbd

Series status: Cancelled

Performers include: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, Ike Barinholtz, and Kumail Nanjiani (voices only).

TV show description:      

An animated family sitcom, Bless the Harts is based on the early life of series creator Emily Spivey.

The Harts are a Southern family that is always broke and struggling to make ends meet. Though they haven't achieved the American dream, the family feels rich in friends, family, and laughter. If only those could pay the bills.

Jenny Hart (Wiig) is a single mother who supports her family working as a waitress in the small town...

Fox has canceled “Bless the Harts,” the animated comedy series from creator Emily Spivey starring Kristin Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, Ike Barinholtz, and Kumail Nanjiani. The show premiered in the fall 2019-2020 television lineup.

The half-hour series, which is currently in its second season, revolves around a perpetually broke North Carolina family described as forever struggling to make ends meet and hoping to achieve the American dream.

Wiig stars as Jenny Hart, a single mother working as a waitress to support her family, which includes her mother Betty, played by Rudolph, and daughter Violet, played by Bell. Barinholtz plays Wayne Edwards, Jenny’s longtime boyfriend and surrogate father to Violet. Jesus, played by Nanjiani, regularly appears to Jenny while she waits tables at local restaurant The Last Supper.

The show, a co-production from Fox Entertainment and 20th Television, is animated by Titmouse and executive produced by Spivey, Phil Lord,...

Fox has canceled the animated comedy “Bless the Harts” after two seasons. Its final episode will air sometime in May.

Created by Emily Spivey, the animated comedy centered on a Southern family “that is always broke, and forever struggling to make ends meet.”

It features a voice cast that includes Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, Ike Barinholtz and Kumail Nanjiani.

Spivey executive produces alongside Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Wiig, Seth Cohen and Andy Bobrow. Spivey and Bobrow serve together as showrunners.

The comedy is a co-production of Fox Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Television. Animation is produced by Titmouse.

Going forward on the animated side, Fox will premiere “Housebroken” from Clea Duvall and Jennifer Crittenden, which stars Lisa Kudrow as an anthropomorphic therapy dog, Honey. It also stars Nat Faxon, Will Forte, Sharon Horgan, Jason Mantzoukas, Tony Hale, Duvall and Sam Richardson. “Housebroken” debuts May 31.

“Duncanville” also returns for...

The current second season of Fox’s Bless the Harts will be its last.

Fox has confirmed that the comedy will finish out its current season in May and will not return to the schedule.

Bless the Harts was the first of the new wave of animated series on Fox as the network, fresh from its break from Disney, doubled down on the genre. It also marks the first of this new crop of show, which also includes The Great North and Duncanville, as well as upcoming series Housebroken, to come to an end.

While the network was happy with the show creatively, it never gained traction in the ratings, which averaged at a 0.5 live-plus-seven in adults 18-49 with 1.4M total viewers and 2M multi-platform viewers.

It will be replaced like-for-like with another animated series in Fox’s Animation Domination Sunday night block next season. Fox has Housebroken, featuring the voices of Lisa Kudrow,...

Sorry, Bless the Harts fans, but this is no April Fool’s joke — the animated comedy will not return to Fox for a third season, TVLine has learned.

That said, Fox will continue to air the show’s second season in its entirety; the series finale is expected to air in May.

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Season to date, Bless the Harts is...

Bless the Harts will not be back for a third season.

Fox has canceled the animated comedy from creator Emily Spivey. The series, a co-production between Disney’s 20th Television and Fox Entertainment, will wrap its second and final season in May on the independent broadcast network.

The adult animated comedy, featuring a voice cast that includes Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, Ike Barinholtz and Kumail Nanjiani, has been a lackluster performer in its second season as part of Fox’s Sunday night block. Its most recent original episode drew 56,000 total same-day viewers, a series low.

The ...

Bless the Harts will not be back for a third season.

Fox has canceled the animated comedy from creator Emily Spivey. The series, a co-production between Disney’s 20th Television and Fox Entertainment, will wrap its second and final season in May on the independent broadcast network.

The adult animated comedy, featuring a voice cast that includes Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, Ike Barinholtz and Kumail Nanjiani, has been a lackluster performer in its second season as part of Fox’s Sunday night block. Its most recent original episode drew 56,000 total same-day viewers, a series low.

The ...

“Saturday Night Live” veteran Paula Pell is the latest to join the cast of Tina Fey’s Peacock comedy “Girls5eva,” the fledgling streamer announced Tuesday.

Pell will star alongside Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Busy Philipps in the series about a one-hit wonder girl group from the ’90s who attempts to stage a comeback.

The “A.P. Bio” star will play Gloria, who has moved on from the group by becoming a dentist and coming out of the closet. Per Peacock, “Now living with her elderly father, she yearns for more in life than looking in people’s mouths and giving her dad heart pills.”

Meredith Scardino created the series and executive produces alongside Fey and Robert Carlock; Jeff Richmond and David Miner of 3 Arts Entertainment; and Eric Gurian of Fey’s Little Stranger banner. Kat Coiro is set to direct the pilot.

The series hails from Universal Television,...

“Bless the Harts” is adding “Saturday Night Live” alum Ana Gasteyer to its impressive lineup of voice guest stars for Season 2, TheWrap has learned.

Gasteyer will be playing a woman from Manhattan who moves in across from Jenny (Kristen Wiig) and Betty (Maya Rudolph) in Greenpoint, North Carolina, on upcoming episode of the second season of the Fox animated series, which premieres this Sunday.

Series creator Emily Spivey told TheWrap what we can expect the Harts to be up to when the show returns with its first new episode, titled “Violet’s Secret.”

“We open up the season with Violet (Jillian Bell) sort of being shady about where she’s going during the day,” Spivey said. “It’s summertime and she keeps disappearing all day. And of course Betty and Jenny, because they have devious little minds, assume that she’s up to something. So they get very paranoid about what Violet is doing.

Death is coming to “Bless the Harts” this fall — at least Betty really, really thinks it is. In TheWrap’s exclusive sneak peek from the Fox animated series’ virtual table read of the Season 2 episode “Crappy Death Day,” Betty (Maya Rudolph) is absolutely convinced that she’s going to die on Jan. 12, which just so happens to be the day this episode takes place, because a psychic told her it is when she would croak.

Of course, Betty takes this as the opportunity to be even more melodramatic than she already is around her daughter Jenny (Kristen Wiig), her granddaughter Violet (Jillian Bell), and Jenny’s boyfriend Wayne (Ike Barinholtz), because now she’s about to go “be with Jesus.”

“Bless the Harts” cast members Wiig, Rudolph, Barinholtz and Bell were joined in the table read, the first five minutes of which you can view via the video above, by guest stars Ken Jeong,...

Fox’s animated comedy Bless The Harts is adding a number of guest stars to its second season. Ken Jeong, Kristen Schaal and Natasha Lyonne are joining the series ahead of its September 27 return.

Schaal, who voices Louise in Bob’s Burgers, joins alongside her husband Rich Blomquist, who voices Daniel in Bless The Harts. Lyonne is close friends with Bless The Harts star Maya Rudolph and the pair have their own production company Animal Pictures. Jeong, meanwhile, recently joined a virtual table read of a new episode of Bless The Harts to raise money for Feeding America and pandemic victims. He also worked with co-showrunner Andy Bobrow on Community.

The news was revealed as part of the show’s Comic-Con@Home panel, which featured Bobrow, exec producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller and stars Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell and Ike Barinholtz.

Emily Spivey, who was absent for the panel,...

MTV Studios is reviving another beloved animated series.

The company announced today that Academy Award and Golden Globe®-winning creators Phil Lord and Chris Miller will reimagine the iconic Clone High TV series with Emmy®-nominated co-creator Bill Lawrence.

Together with MTV and Erica Rivinoja, the trio will reunite to develop and produce new episodes of the animated series.

Rivinoja, who was a writer on the original series will serve as showrunner and will co-write the pilot with Lord and Miller.

Clone High will follow prominent historical figures who have been cloned and placed back in high school, including Abraham Lincoln, Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, John F. Kennedy and more, as they face the trials and tribulations of normal teenage life.

“We thrilled to reunite with Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Bill Lawrence to re-imagine this cult classic as we rapidly grow our portfolio of beloved and iconic adult animation series,...

MTV Studios is reviving another cult MTV animated series, Clone High. Original series’ creators Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Bill Lawrence are re-teaming on a reimagined version of the 2002 TV series.

There is no network yet for the new Clone High. It could follow two other MTV Studios animated series based on classic MTV titles, Beavis and Butt-Head and Daria spinoff Jodie, which both recently landed at Comedy Central as part of the net’s big push in adult animation.

Lord, Miller and Lawrence are joined on the Clone High reboot by Erica Rivinoja, who was a writer on the original series, widely regarded as a time capsule of the early 2000s with its loving satire and wry parody of emo culture. Rivinoja will serve as showrunner and will co-write the pilot alongside Lord and Miller.

Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Ike Barinholtz, Jillian Bell and the rest of the Bless The Harts castmates are doing a virtual table read of a new episode to raise money for Feeding America and pandemic victims.

The live event takes place on the Fox YouTube Animation Domination channel at 3 Pm Pacific on Monday, June 1. Bless The Harts is an animated sitcom series entering its second season on Fox.

The cast will be joined by co-creators and executive producers Emily Spivey, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Guest stars include Ken Jeong, David Herman and Jeremy Rowley.

The Harts are a Southern family that is forever struggling to make ends meet.in the small town of Greenpoint, N.C.

In today’s TV News Roundup, Netflix released a trailer for Jo Koy’s new comedy special, and ABC announced impressive ratings for the 16th season finale of “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Dates

Disney Plus has announced that its original movie “Secret Society of Second-Born Royals” will debut on the streamer on July 17. The film follows stars Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Sam, a teenage royal learning how to control her developing superpowers at a boarding school for other misfits. Zanne Devine, Mike Karz and Austin Winsberg serve as executive producers with Juliana Janes as a co-producer. Watch a trailer for the film below.

First Looks

Netflix has released a trailer for Jo Koy’s new comedy special. The special, titled “Jo Koy: In His Elements,“ features Koy performing in the Philippines alongside other Filipino American performers. It premieres on the streamer on June 12. Watch the trailer below.

Netflix has also released a...

Maya Rudolph revealed details of a talent show put on by the children of Saturday Night Live alumni when she visited NBC's Late Night With Seth Meyers on Monday.

Calling the event "delightful," Rudolph explained that the Zoom talent show was Tina Fey's "brainchild." She added, "We got our older kids to get together and plan it. And as you can imagine, it was pretty great."

In addition to Rudolph and Fey, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, Paula Pell and Emily Spivey also participated in the event.

While Rudolph shares four children ...

Live from Zoom, it's the Saturday Night Live children's talent show! While catching up with Seth Meyers on Monday's at-home episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers, Maya Rudolph revealed that she and her fellow SNL alums Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, Paula Pell and Emily Spivey hosted a virtual talent show for their kids during the pandemic "It was pretty delightful, I gotta say," the Wine Country star gushed. "I think it was Tina's brainchild and then we got our older kids to get together and plan it. As you can imagine, it was pretty great." As for Maya's children's talent, the mom of four joked that their set didn't...

For the last three decades, Fox animated comedies have been modeled after the network’s biggest hit. So by now, we’ve seen dozens of “Simpsons” variations — where a working-class family faces fresh problems every week, and satirize certain trends or parody select pieces of pop culture while solving them. The classic sitcom structure (emphasis on classic) also means most of these shows follow the family patriarch, (while prominently featuring the other three-to-six family members), most are geared toward adults (but carry morally sound messaging), and all of them focus on straight, white couples at their center.

Well, almost all of them. Fox’s latest batch of adult animated adventures evolve a few of the brand’s long-held staples. Last year’s newcomer “Bless the Harts,” for instance, focuses more on the Hart family matriarchs, Jenny (voiced by Kristen Wiig) and her mother Betty (Maya Rudolph), than their respective husband and son-in-law,...

Fox has tried to introduce new animated series off and on for years but they've all been cancelled. The last one to succeed was Bob's Burgers -- and that was launched in 2011. Will the network get lucky with the Bless the Harts series? Does it have a chance at becoming a hit? Will Bless the Harts be cancelled or renewed for season two? Stay tuned. *Status update below.

An animated family sitcom, the Bless the Harts TV show stars the voices of Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, Ike Barinholtz, and Kumail Nanjiani. Guests in the first season include Fortune Feimster, Holly Hunter, Mary Steenburgen, Drew Tarver, Gary Anthony Williams, Emily Spivey, Oscar Montoya, Jeremy Roel, Rich Blomquist, Andy Bobrow, John Solomon, Christy Stratton, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Jeremy Rowley. The series is based on the early life of series creator Emily Spivey. The Harts are a...

We have the first network renewal for the 2019-20 broadcast season. Fox has renewed its new animated series, Bless the Harts, for a second season. Three episodes have aired thus far and have averaged a 0.82 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 2.09 million viewers. Of the nine scripted series on Fox this season, Bless the Harts ranks fifth in the demo and seventh in viewers.

Here's the season two renewal announcement:

Fox Entertainment Renews Animation Domination’S Newest Entry, “Bless The Harts,” For A Second Season

From Creator and Executive Producer Emily Spivey, and Executive Producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, New Animated Series Features Voices of Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, Ike Barinholtz and Kumail Nanjiani

All-New Halloween-Themed Episode Airs Sunday on Fox

Read More…...

Well, this is an early renewal!

Fox has pulled the trigger on a renewal for Bless the Harts, ordering a second season of the comedy series for the 2020-21 season.

Bless the Harts is the first new fall show to garner a renewal for next season.

For now, the freshman season is set to run 13 episodes, so it's doesn't appear that it will get any more episodes this season.

Still, this is a great vote of confidence from Fox for the show's future.

"Bless the Harts is an incredibly sharp, yet sweet, series that complements the Fox Animation Domination block perfectly,” said Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn.

"It simply doesn’t get much better than having a comedy anchored by talent like Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Ike Barinholtz, Jillian Bell and Kumail Nanjiani."

Related: Prodigal Son Scores Full-Season Order

"We want to thank creator and executive producer Emily Spivey, whose...

Fox has ordered a second season of its new half-hour animated comedy series Bless the Harts for premiere during the 2020-21 season. It marks the second freshman Fox series to get a pickup, following breakout new drama Prodigal Son, which got a full-season order with nine additional episodes.

Because of the nature of animated series, which need a long lead time, a back order for Bless the Harts was not an option, leaving renewal as the only pickup scenario.

Bless the Harts has not been a breakout and has done so-so retaining its The Simpsons lead-in. That is not unusual for animated comedy series; Fox’s Bob’s Burgers got off to an inauspicious start before becoming an Emmy-winning anchor of the network’s Sunday lineup. Fox brass are said to believe creatively in Bless the Harts, the first of a wave of new animated series ordered under Entertainment President...

“Bless the Harts” has scored an early second season renewal at Fox. This marks the first Season 2 renewal for a freshman show this season. The series has aired three episodes to date, with the fourth set to air this Sunday.

The animated comedy hails from creator Emily Spivey and is loosely based on her life growing up in North Carolina. It features an all-star voice cast that includes Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, Ike Barinholtz, and Kumail Nanjiani.

In the series, Jenny Hart (Wiig) is a single mother supporting her family working as a waitress in the small town of Greenpoint, Nc. Other members of the family include Jenny’s lottery scratcher-obsessed mother Betty (Rudolph), her witty, creative daughter Violet (Bell), and her eternal optimist boyfriend of 10 years, Wayne (Barinholtz.) Nanjiani voices Jesus, who regularly appears to Jenny while she waits tables at neighborhood restaurant, The Last Supper.

Spivey...

“Bless the Harts” has been renewed for Season 2 at Fox, the network said on Friday.

Created by Emily Spivey, the animated comedy centered on a Southern family “that is always broke, and forever struggling to make ends meet” features a voice cast that includes Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, Ike Barinholtz and Kumail Nanjiani.

Here’s the official description for the show, which joined “The Simpsons,” “Bob’s Burgers” and “Family Guy” in Fox’s Sunday night “Animation Domination” lineup last month.

Also Read: Ratings: Fox's 'Bless the Harts' Series Premiere Isn't Blessed With Viewers

In the series, Jenny Hart is a single mother supporting her family working as a waitress in the small town of Greenpoint, Nc. While Jenny’s the head of her family, she’s often at odds with, or scheming with, her lottery scratcher-obsessed mother, Betty, and her witty, creative daughter, Violet. Jenny’s doting,...

Fox is blessing Bless the Harts with an early renewal.

Just three episodes into the animated comedy’s rookie season, the network has picked up the Emily Spivey-created show for a second season.

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“Bless the Harts is an incredibly sharp, yet sweet, series that complements the Fox Animation Domination block perfectly,” said Michael Thorn, President, Entertainment, Fox Entertainment,...

Fox is giving a vote of confidence to its animated series Bless the Harts.

The network has picked up a second season of the 20th Century Fox TV comedy, created by Emily Spivey. It is the first rookie show of the fall to earn a spot in the 2020-21 season. The current season is set to run for 13 episodes.

"Bless the Harts is an incredibly sharp, yet sweet, series that complements the Fox Animation Domination block perfectly,” Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn said Friday in a statement. "It simply doesn’t get much better than having a comedy ...

“Utopia” and “Little Women” actress Hadley Robinson has been tapped to star in Amy Poehler’s next directorial effort “Moxie.”

Lauren Tsai is also on board to co-star in the Netflix movie.

“Moxie” follows a teenage girl (Robinson) from a small town who is inspired by her mother’s Riot Girl past and starts a feminist revolution at her high school.

Tamara Chestna adapted the screenplay, which is based on the book by Jennifer Mathieu. Poehler will produce through her Paper Kite banner along with Morgan Sackett and Kim Lessing.

The pic marks Poehler’s second time behind the camera, following her feature directorial debut with the Netflix comedy “Wine Country.” Poehler also starred in the movie alongside Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, Paula Pell, Emily Spivey, Tina Fey, Maya Erskine, Jason Schwartzman, and Cherry Jones.

Robinson recently wrapped shooting the pilot for the upcoming HBO Lakers series “Showtime...