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Now, this is a story all about how the future of Bel-Air got flipped, turned upside-down. The series, which served as a more dramatic reimagining of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, is not going to have as long of a run as the show it's based on, which lasted six seasons.

Per Deadline, it has been revealed that Bel-Air has been renewed for Season 4. The update on the show's future comes three months after the third season concluded its run on Peacock, and as there were concerns about a cancelation, it should come as good news for fans to know the series will continue. However, the reveal comes with some bad news, as it's also being reported that Season 4 will serve as the final season of the show. Additionally, Season 4 will reportedly have a smaller episode count, expected to consist of eight episodes, two lower than the 10 featured in the three prior seasons.

Donald Trump is currently reigning supreme in the headlines, all thanks to his win in the 2024 Presidential elections. But apart from the political landscape, he has also tried his hand in several other areas as well, such as business and, less talked about, acting. Given his popularity, Trump has also made some special appearances on television, one show in particular also featuring actor Will Smith.

Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Credits: NBC

The series in question was Smith’s acting debut, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and it created a record that Trump himself might not like very much.

Disturbing Record That Overshadowed Donald Trump’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Appearance

Created by the genius of Susan and Andy Borowitz, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was also the debut project of actor Will Smith. In this, he played the fictionalized version of himself and had his acting chops on full display.

Bel-Air lead actor Jabari Banks portrays the modern-era version of Will Smith in Peacock's fresh take on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Should his show get a Season 4, Banks hopes to see the man who played Will's cousin from the '90s series appear.

Speaking with Collider, Banks was asked which original The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor he'd like to see feature in Bel-Air at some point. According to Banks, he wants to see star Alfonso Ribeiro join the series. "Were going down the list. I think weve gotta hit Alfonso [Ribeiro] next. Come on, Season 4, lets do it," he said.

Related Will Smith and Johnny Depp Unite in New Photo

Will Smith and Johnny Depp are united in a new photo together ahead of a shared concert performance from the two actors.

Ribeiro is fondly remembered by The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air fans for playing Carlton Banks throughout the iconic show's six-season run.

Bel-Air Season 3 serves up some nostalgia ahead of its premiere. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air sequel series brings back a fan-favorite from the original sitcom to ramp up anticipation.

Peacock released a new trailer for Bel-Air Season 3, previewing the tense and explosive action fans can expect from the upcoming episodes. Near the end of the sneak peek, Bel-Air introduces an Og from its parent series as original Geoffrey Butler actor, Joseph Marcell, appears in a suit, saying to someone, "There's always gonna be a price, that's on you."

Related Alfonso Ribeiro Says Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Role Ruined Acting Career

Carlton Banks actor Alfonso Ribeiro explains the negative impact the role had on his career.

Marcell is the latest original cast member from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to appear in Bel-Air, with Tatyana Ali, Daphne Maxwell Reid and Vernee Watson-Johnson having previously featured in the series. Marcell won't portray his original character in Bel-Air,...

Jabari Banks is still a fish out of water in ritzy Los Angeles in the third season trailer for Bel-Air, Peacock’s dramatic take on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 1990s sitcom that starred Will Smith.

“You always told me I was in control of my own destiny,” Banks, who plays Smith’s iconic role in the dramatic reboot, says at one point in the trailer as the street-smart Philadelphia teen continues to grapple with life in steamy, summertime Los Angeles as he bumps into his estranged father, Lou, played by Marlon Wayans.

“I left behind basketball. That was my way out the hood. That was the only good thing in my life and see my son making the same damn mistakes as me and there’s nothing I could do about it,” Will’s frustrated father tells his son as he sits next to Uncle Phil, played by Adrian Holmes.

Doug Sheehan, known for his breakout role as Joe Kelly on General Hospital and as Ben Gibson on Knots Landing, among many other credits, has died. Sheehan “passed away peacefully” June 29 at his home in Big Horn, Wyoming, with his wife his side, according to a Kane Funeral Home announcement. He was 75. A cause of death was not revealed.

Born on April 27, 1949, in Santa Monica, Sheehan’s first screen role came in a 1978 episode of Charlie’s Angels. He went on to join the cast of daytime soap General Hospital as a series regular in his first major role, appearing in 205 episodes as lawyer Joe Kelly from 1979-82. He earned a supporting actor Daytime Emmy nomination for his work.

He segued from General Hospital to the role of reporter Ben Gibson on Knots Landing, appearing in 115 episodes from 1983 to 1988.

He also starred as Brian Harper on comedy series Day by Day,...

Andy Borowitz’s satirical column in The New Yorker is coming to an end, as the publication has dropped the feature as part of cost cutting.

Borowitz wrote on Facebook that “because of financial difficulties, The New Yorker has been forced to cut costs. As a result, it has decided to stop publishing The Borowitz Report. I want to thank my colleagues at The New Yorker who have made writing for it such an honor for the past 25 years. And I want to thank you, my readers, for your incredible enthusiasm and support. You’re the reason I do what I do, and when I figure out what I want to do next, you’ll be the first to know.”

The end of The Borowitz Report feature in The New Yorker comes amid company-wide layoffs at parent Condé Nast. Last month, the company announced that it was cutting 5% of its staff as advertising has slowed.

In a sign of how serious the cost-cutting efforts are at Condé Nast, The New Yorker has parted ways with longtime contributor and satirist Andy Borowitz.

The humorist acknowledged the cuts on his Facebook page. “Dear readers, If I May Be Serious: Because of its financial difficulties, The New Yorker has been forced to cut costs. As a result, it has decided to stop publishing The Borowitz Report,” he wrote. “I want to thank my colleagues at The New Yorker who have made writing for it such an honor for the past 25 years. And I want to thank you, my readers, for your incredible enthusiasm and support. You’re the reason I do what I do, and when I figure out what I want to do next, you’ll be the first to know.”

Borowitz, who has written for the magazine since 1998, has penned his satirical column the Borowitz Report...

Chicago – Use the word “surely” in any conversation, such as “Surely …” and inevitably you’ll get the answer, “Blah Blah, and don’t call me Shirley.” One of a trio that came up with that famous riposte, David Zucker, was at the Chicago Humanities Festival as co-author of “Surely you Can’t be Serious: The True Story of Airplane!”

The book was written with the other two members of the legendary movie comedy creators nicknamed Zaz … for (David) Zucker, (Jim) Abrahams and (Jerry) Zucker. In 1980, the trio wrote and directed one of the most influential comedy movies of their generation, the deliciously funny farce “Airplane!,” forever changing comic sensibilities and satire. The book is a look back to a different time and place in American entertainment, and David Zucker appeared on its behalf as part of the ongoing Fall Chicago Humanities Festival on October 21st, 2023.

David Zucker and His Book...

For 24 years, The New Yorker has leaned on the talents of actors, writers, and others from the world of Hollywood to be a part of its annual New Yorker Festival, which will be held this year Oct. 6-8.

The ongoing Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes have thrown a wrench in many plans that have traditionally relied on Hollywood talent, but the festival will go on, New Yorker editor David Remnick tells The Hollywood Reporter. And there will still be plenty of star power.

The New Yorker, of course, is not owned by a struck company, but SAG has advised its members not to promote projects from studios that have not signed interim agreements, and the Condé Nast-owned publication has had to adapt accordingly: “We faced a challenge or two,” Remnick says.

“I think a lot of the navigation is on the side of the talent, and what they...

The 2023 New Yorker Festival is going down October 6th-8th across New York City, and the wide-ranging event — which celebrates music, film, books, food, theater, and more — has just revealed its initial lineup, featuring Paramore, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast, and comedian Ziwe.

The evening of October 6th will see Paramore in conversation with The New Yorker’s Amanda Petrusich ahead of a performance at Webster Hall.

On the 7th, Yankovic will talk with Andy Borowitz along with his own show at Webster Hall, while Zauner will take the same stage the same evening, performing as Japanese Breakfast and speaking in conversation with Hua Hsu. Z

Ziwe, of the eponymous Showtime satire talk show, will chat with Aparna Nancherla at the Sva Theatre on October 7th.

A pre-sale for New Yorker subscribers is now ongoing, with a public on-sale following on Wednesday, August 2nd. You can find more details here.

In April, author E. Jean Carroll sparred with Donald Trump’s lawyers during her civil rape and defamation trial against the former president. After the jury found Trump liable to Carroll, the former president appealed the verdict, and leveled his own defamation suit against the author. Once again, Carroll’s not taking his shit.

In a scathing response to Trump’s claim, Carroll’s attorneys eviscerated the former president and requested a motion to dismiss.

“Trump’s ‘tit for tat’ counterclaim is nothing more than his latest effort to spin his loss at trial,...

When “Bel-Air” returns to Peacock for Season 2, it’s getting a huge dose of freshness courtesy of Tatyana Ali, the original Ashley Banks on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” who has joined the dramatic reimagining in a recurring role.

And in the official trailer for the series’ second season, you can catch a glimpse of Ali as new character Mrs. Hughes, an English Literature teacher at Bel-Air middle school who sees something unique in Ashley (Akira Akbar), and begins giving her books to read from her personal collection. Watch the clip now.

Of course the trailer for Peacock’s most-streamed original series also tells us what to expect from the Banks family and the Bel-Air High School students, including some tension between Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv, Will stepping back onto the basketball court and also into some trouble, as well as Carlton’s struggle with anxiety.

But you’re here for Ali,...

“Bel-Air,” Peacock’s dramatic reimagining of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” began production on its upcoming Season 2 last month. But the show is already being forced to take a hiatus, as showrunners Tj Brady and Rasheed Newson have exited the series due to creative differences, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. Carla Banks Waddles, who previously served as a co-executive producer on the show and an executive producer of “Good Girls” on NBC, has been promoted to showrunner and will also serve as an executive producer for Season 2. Banks Waddles has an overall deal with Universal Television, which produces “Bel-Air.”

“Bel-Air” is the brainchild of Morgan Cooper, whose viral fan film imagined the multi-camera comedy as a contemporary drama that digs into the racial and class-based issues that would inevitably arise from a character moving from West Philadelphia to the ultra-wealthy Los Angeles suburb. The three-minute film...

Update, with reactions Anne Beatts, an original Saturday Night Live writer who created some of the show’s earliest breakthrough characters, among them the nerdy high schoolers Todd DILAMuca and Lisa Loopner, died yesterday. She was 74.

Her death was announced in a tweet by SNL original cast member Laraine Newman. A cause of death has not been disclosed.

“Struggling to find adequate and appropriate descriptive words to describe her singular self,” tweeted Sarah Jessica Parker, who starred in the Beatts-created 1982 CBS sitcom Square Pegs. “I need time. Cause I’m coming up short. Gosh, she was really something. Rip Anne. Thank you. For memories very few 17/18 yr olds get to make. X, Sj”

Beatts began her career in comedy writing with a stint at National Lampoon magazine, becoming the Harvard Lampoon spin-off’s first female editor. She wrote one of the magazine’s most notorious spoofs – an ad for the...

I really want to like The Hunt. As an object of scorn and right wing media smears, not to mention a one-time shiny distraction for our ever distracted president, the horror-comedy in which liberal elites hunt red state “deplorables” was maligned and distorted by Fox News’ funhouse mirror. But despite all that, The Hunt just really wants to be liked by everyone on both sides of the aisle with its straight down the middle “you’re all nuts” commentary.

Granted the movie is certainly the product of liberal filmmakers turning election cycle politics into blood sport, but only in the most self-deprecating and self-satisfied way. The cinematic equivalent of Andy Borowitz’s standup routine at The New Yorker Festival, one can almost see the words crafted by Damon Lindelof and Nick Cuse’s screenplay strain as they reach out of the screen to pat their own back. The only thing missing is an applause sign.

WarnerMedia has spent the last year or so building a library of licensed and original content for its forthcoming streaming platform HBO Max, launching in May 2020 at the price point of $14.99 per month.

Plenty of new additions to HBO Max’s shelves were announced at the media conglomerate’s presentation on Tuesday, including a “Game of Thrones” prequel series on HBO and the entire “South Park” library as part of a deal worth an estimated $500 million.

So in case everyone at home wasn’t keeping up, here is a list of everything (that we know of) coming to HBO Max.

Licensed Content

“Friends”: All 236 episodes of the show, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired for 10 seasons on NBC from 1994-2004, are coming to HBO Max. It previously has been on Netflix, where it’s one of the most-streamed series on the service. The show made stars...

Before he was starring in blockbuster franchise's the likes of Bad Boys and Men In Black, rapper-turned-actor Will Smith could be found chillin' out, maxin' and relaxin' all cool while shootin' some B-ball outside of school for the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince Of Bel-air. Co-created by Quincy Jones, Andy Borowitz and Susan Borowitz, the hilarious and ofttimes touching…...

Since Perry Simon joined PBS a year ago, he has instituted a programming strategy that is tailored to the unique set of challenges that the public broadcaster faces in the evolving media world. He has also employed a fair number of silly references and acronyms. When PBS’ new programming chief says “Lol,” for instance, he’s talking about “leveraging our localism.” From the mouth of a PBS exec, it plays a bit like a hacky dad joke. But that’s the idea.

“When I got here, I felt that this place was frankly just too damn earnest,” Simon says with a laugh. “You know, like we’ve just got to lighten up here a bit, folks. PBS takes itself really seriously. So I’ve been trying to instill in the team here that it’s Ok to have some fun with our programming and introduce some lightness.” To that end,...

PBS has unveiled its fall programming slate, which includes premiere dates for Ken Burns’ 16-hour Country Music along with several other docunmentaries and the new contemporary-history series Retro Report on PBS.

Also on tap are new editions of Frontline, Pov, Great Performances, American Masters and Independent Lens; four-part documentary series College Behind Bars; and the fifth and final season of British drama Poldark. Check out the full slate below.

“PBS is the most prolific platform for documentaries, with more than 200 hours per year,” said Perry Simon, the pubcaster’s Chief Programming Executive and General Manager of General Audience Programming. “This fall, we are showcasing first-rate programs featuring award-winning directors, diverse storytellers, hard-hitting investigations and untold stories, solidifying our status as America’s premier destination for documentary film. We are also excited about our programs representing the best in news, arts, drama, history and science.”

The new four-part docuseries College Behind Bars runs Monday-Tuesday,...

WarnerMedia is diving full-bore into the streaming wars with HBO Max — a subscription service slated to bow next spring, stocked with HBO programming, original series, Warner Bros. movies and library content including the full 10-season run of “Friends.”

There’s no pricing info yet for HBO Max, nor is it fully clear how much content from HBO will be included in the subscription VOD package. The standalone HBO Now service currently costs $15 per month, so presumably HBO Max will cost more if it includes big chunks of what’s on HBO plus a slew of other content.

WarnerMedia says it expects HBO Max to have 10,000 hours of premium video content at launch. On Tuesday, it outlined some of the key shows that will be available.

Exclusive Licensed Content

“Friends”: All 236 episodes of the show, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired for 10 seasons on NBC from 1994-...

PBS has previewed some of its 2019 launches at the Television Critics Association Press Tour.

Here’s the rundown:

*** Ken Burns’s Country Music will premiere Sept. 15. The 16-Hour documentary chronicles the history of the genre, from the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers and Bob Wills to Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Garth Brooks and more. The eight-part series is directed by Burns and is produced by Burns and long-time collaborators Dayton Duncan and Julie Dunfey. It runs Sunday, September 15 through Wednesday, September 18, and Sunday, September 22 through Wednesday, September 25 at 8:00-10:00 p.m. Et.

*** PBS and Ryman Auditorium present Country Music: Live at the Ryman, a concert celebrating the Burns series. The show is set for March 27. Burns will host the evening, which will feature performances by Dierks Bentley, Rosanne Cash, Rodney Crowell, Rhiannon Giddens, Vince Gill, Brenda Lee,...

Even Murphy Brown has Trump fatigue. In last week’s episode, she threw down her remote and said, “I’m not watching anymore!” Ironic, of course, since millions of viewers stopped, or didn’t start, watching the new edition of CBS’ “Murphy Brown.” Conservatives figured, correctly, that she’d be trashing their leader weekly, and it seems liberals would rather watch Rachel Maddow.

Creative folks are learning they need to tread carefully doing anything dealing with politics these days, even if only tangentially winking at the chaos in the current White House. Despite possible resonance with the Stormy Daniels brouhaha, “The Front Runner,” a movie about the sex scandal that brought down Sen. Gary Hart, was a quick bust at the box office. Despite constant Nixon-Trump comparisons, Charles Ferguson’s documentary “Watergate” made little noise. “The Parisian Woman,” a Broadway show from the man who gave us Netflix’s “House of Cards,...

If last week you didn’t know there was such a thing as a “New Yorker Festival,” you probably do now, after former Trump Svengali and alt-right Lenin Steve Bannon was booted from the lineup. New Yorker editor David Remnick announced the un-vitation to staff Monday, after a slew of celebrities pulled out of the event in protest of Bannon’s presence, including comedians Judd Apatow and Jim Carrey.

“I don’t want well-meaning readers and staff members to think that I’ve ignored their concerns,” Remnick wrote.

My first thought was,...

After Hillary Clinton's pneumonia diagnosis was belatedly disclosed on Sunday, supporters are rallying around the Democratic nominee and saying her commitment to campaigning through the illness proves she's "tough as hell." Clinton's critics, on the other hand, remain skeptical as ever, with Gop nominee Donald Trump seemingly suggesting his opponent's health issues go beyond pneumonia. Peter Daou, who worked for Clinton, 68, in the past, told the Associated Press that her jam-packed weekend after being diagnosed with pneumonia was "an impressive feat of physical strength that undermined weeks of health conspiracies." "After being diagnosed with pneumonia, Hillary Clinton ran a two-hour national security meeting,...

After Hillary Clinton's pneumonia diagnosis was belatedly disclosed on Sunday, supporters are rallying around the Democratic nominee and saying her commitment to campaigning through the illness proves she's "tough as hell." Clinton's critics, on the other hand, remain skeptical as ever, with Gop nominee Donald Trump seemingly suggesting his opponent's health issues go beyond pneumonia. Peter Daou, who worked for Clinton, 68, in the past, told the Associated Press that her jam-packed weekend after being diagnosed with pneumonia was "an impressive feat of physical strength that undermined weeks of health conspiracies." "After being diagnosed with pneumonia, Hillary Clinton ran a two-hour national security meeting,...

Over the past month, we canvassed 118 culture creators about the year in movies, TV, music, books, and various other entertaining miscellany that flitted across their screens. As it turns out, a survey of the last 12 months in culture doubles as a pretty handy survey of what mattered in 2015.Respondents: Paula Abdul, Desiree Akhavan, Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Laurie Anderson, Darren Aronofsky, Sean Baker, Jason Biggs, Andy Borowitz, Leon Bridges, Billy Brown, Ellen Burstyn, Steve Carell, Jonas Carpignano, Josh Charles, Tracee Chimo, Ciara, Bill Clegg, Glenn Close, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Mike Colter, Gerry Conway, Terry Crews, Sloane Crosley, Michael Cudlitz, Rory Culkin, Chris Cuomo, Lea DeLaria, Matt Dillon, Edie Falco, Julian Fellowes, Jack Ferver, Angela Flournoy, Inara George, Kathie Lee Gifford, Kat Graham, Frankie Grande, Ari Graynor, Gael Greene, James Grissom, Lauren Groff, Mariska Hargitay, Todd Haynes, Marielle Heller, Caroline Hirsch, Hozier, Colin Jost, Victoria Justice, Thomas Kail, Elizabeth Karlsen, Ellie Kemper,...

Fox reimagining “Frankenstein” Fox’s version of the Mary Shelley mythology revolves around a corrupt FBI agent who is brought back from the dead as a younger and stronger man by an antisocial billionaire and his bio-engineer twin sister. It’s from “Homeland’s” Howard Gordon” and “Crisis” and “Life” creator Rand Ravich. Fox and Will Smith are remaking “Hitch” as a sitcom Smith will serve as a producer on a comedy based on the 2005 rom-com he made with Kevin James. HBO bringing back Michael Kenneth Williams with “Crime” The “Boardwalk Empire” and “The Wire” vet will play a NYC gangster in the eight-hour miniseries that James Gandolfini was originally set to star in. Click Read Full Post For More Carlton from “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” is named after “Lost’s” Carlton Cuse “The Strain” and “Bates Motel" exec producer mentioned that tidbit in an on-stage conversation with “Fresh Prince” creator Andy Borowitz,...

Google joins the drones game, critics give their Tribeca Film Festival recommendations, Wes Anderson's "The Grand Budapest Hotel" breaks records, Hulu renews Criterion Collection contract, and Indiewire and Apple announce "Meet the Filmmakers Tribeca Talks Series." Read on for details and links to source articles. 1. Google Joins the Drones Game: Google has purchased the solar-power drone manufacturer Titan Aerospace for an undisclosed sum. The ubiquitous media conglomerate is following in the footsteps of Amazon, which inspired endless thought pieces last year with its delivery drone ambitions. Facebook, too, which had been in talks for purchasing Titan, just recently bought Ascenta, a similar drone producer, for $20 million. For Google, this potentially means faster mapping updates and extending its reach even further throughout the world. The Wall Street Journal broke the news last night. To make light of the situation, The New Yorker's Andy Borowitz today...

Season 1, Episode 1: “The Fresh Prince Project“

Written by Andy Borowitz & Susan Borowitz

Directed by Debbie Allen

Aired September 10, 1990

When The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air burst onto television screens in 1990, its Grammy-winning star Will Smith was bankrupt. A sitcom based around him, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air would become his saviour; a show that would catapult him back to super-stardom and his bank balance back into the black.

The Will Smith of Fresh Prince is young and has just arrived from Philadelphia, who has been sent to live with his rich relatives – the Banks Family – in Bel-Air, as his mother hopes that sending him away will provide him with a far better start in life. His background is tragically the same as that of many African-Americans; a single-parent family from a deprived area. The Banks family, on the other hand, come from the other end of the spectrum: affluent and successful.

Satirist Andy Borowitz joked in a recent New Yorker column that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s recent purchase of the Washington Post was a “gigantic mix-up.” In his mock news story, Borowitz wrote, “Mr. Bezos said he had been oblivious to his online shopping error until earlier today, when he saw an unusual charge for two hundred and fifty million dollars on his American Express statement. … According to Mr. Bezos, ‘I keep telling them, I don’t know how it got in my cart. I don’t want it. It’s like they’re making it impossible to return it.

China's state-run media apparatus has been duped again. They have fallen for satirical Onion reports in the past, but this time the culprit was The New Yorker's comedy writer Andy Borowitz. This week, China's Xinhua news agency reported that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos "said the acquisition of the Washington Post" was due to "an unintentional mouse click," citing this article from the Borowitz Report online.

It’s shaping up to be a rough week for the foreign news desk at Xinhua news agency, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese government. On Sunday, the news organization mistakenly published a photo slideshow of images pulled from a fetish porn film, believing they were behind the scenes shots of an execution carried out in the United States. And yesterday, Xinhua ran a story citing as fact the New Yorker magazine’s satirical "Borowitz Report" column, which claimed Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post by accident while web browsing. Created by comedian and author Andy Borowitz, "The

read more...

New York — You can simply tune into the Oscars. Or you can watch them with the peanut gallery on Twitter.

While Hollywood parades in tuxedos and gowns, grandly celebrating itself, a freewheeling cacophony of quips and sarcasm – something like a digital, million-times multiplied version of those balcony Muppet onlookers, Statler and Waldorf – will provide a welcome and riotous counter-narrative to the pomp.

The second-screen experience is never better than on Oscar night, when a separate (and some might say superior) entertainment experience plays out on social media. The running commentary, in which comedians and others parody the glamorous stars and their sometimes laughable speeches, has become as central to the Academy Awards as the red carpet.

"Following the Oscars on Twitter is like watching the show with one hundred million of your drunkest friends," says Andy Borowitz, the humorist and author who's often been a standout tweeter on Oscar night.

Current TV will premiere the special .Joy Behar.s Comics with Benefits,. on Friday, December 14th at 9:00 Pm Et. Taped earlier in New York City, the program features Behar and Larry David, Andy Borowitz, Wendy Williams, Colin Quinn, Sherri Shepherd, Dee Snider, Darrell Hammond, Susie Essman, Judy Gold, Mario Cantone, John Fugelsang and many more notable names on. The televised special, initially planned to be 90-minutes, has been extended to two-hours to accommodate expanded content from the live show. Here is a clip from the special, featuring Joy Behar and Larry David: The live fundraiser was presented in conjunction with 92nd Street Y in New York City. Current TV and 92Y are donating proceeds from the...

On Sunday, hours after the Summer Olympics officially came to a close in London, NBC aired their pre-ceremony montage of the Games’ medal-winning moments. Michael Phelps’ final race. The Fierce Five. Misty and Kerri’s volleyball three-peat. The women’s soccer team. Triumphs that brought Americans together, albeit briefly, to cheer and chant “U.S.A! USA! USA!” as champions proudly draped themselves in the stars and stripes. It was a moving sight to see athletes achieving their dream and basking in the patriotic power of the national anthem.

Then the Games were over and the Olympic torch was extinguished. On Twitter, where NBC has taken its lumps these past two weeks, New Yorker writer Andy Borowitz quipped, “The goal of the Olympics is to inspire us about what humans can achieve, and the goal of the closing ceremony is to return us to reality.” The past 16 days may have...

The Borowitz Report has come to The New Yorker. The Condé Nast-owned magazine announced Wednesday that it acquired the Borowitz Report, a satirical news blog by comedian Andy Borowitz. The blog is featured on the humor page of NewYorker.com, alongside "Shouts & Murmurs" essays and a new "Daily Shouts" humorist section. "Longtime Borowitz Report readers might ask: how will moving to The New Yorker, known for its excruciating fact-checking, change the Borowitz Report, which is composed entirely of lies?" Borowitz wrote in his introductory post Wednesday morning.  "The answer: not at all. The Borowitz...

The Oscars can be absurdly glamorous, abundantly self-aggrandizing and achingly stodgy. Thankfully, there's Twitter.

During the Academy Awards broadcast, an entirely unsanctioned commentary streams across the social media site, offering parody to the pomp.

Here follows an entirely subjective collection of the best tweets of Oscar night, which has become as much an annual event for Twitter as it has for the movies.

_ "Last year's Best Picture: An English dude who couldn't speak. This year's: A French dude no one could hear." – Author and comedian Andy Borowitz,

_ "I think it would be cool if an actor changed his name to Oscar Buzzworthy." – Comedian Norm Macdonald.

_ "The only people who look in the mirror and think, `Perfect!' are murderers and Bradley Cooper." – Kelly Oxford, writer and famed tweeter.

_ "When people go over, one of the Cirque people should swoop them up into the rafters." – Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt.

_ "Cirque...

And his boyfriend bakes for a living!

Welcome to Celebrity Twitterwatch, where we let you see what's on the mind of you favorite celebrities other than the lines that someone else has written for them. The holidays seem to be on everyone's mind this week, which means that people who make their living at least partially on their looks are concerned about food.

I've never understood how The Setup Squad's Jonathan D. Lovitz does it anyhow - his boyfriend bakes cookies professionally. I'd be as big as a house, and I mean my house, not those tiny apartments people in New York City live in. But maybe it's those close quarters in New York City that keep everyone sick, so they can be thin?

Well I have the flu. I hurt.Everywhere. Silver lining; I'll be so skinny when it's over

— Jonathan D. Lovitz (@jdlovitz) December 22, 2011

Meanwhile, Broadway's Michael Arden...

Zach Galifianakis has said that he hates actors. On Saturday, the Hangover Part II star spoke to writer Andy Borowitz at the New Yorker Festival, opening up about his decision to create his web series Between Two Ferns, in which he conducts interviews with celebrities seated between two potted ferns. "I just find actors so s**tty, I just hate them," Galifianakis said. "Ego is funny to me... I just wanted to mock celebrities." The 42-year-old went on to say that despite starring in box-office hits The Hangover and its follow-up The Hangover Part II, he would love to only make independent films from now on. (more)...

Filed under: Movie News, Festivals

Hollywood has spent nearly 30 years sniffing around 'A Confederacy of Dunces,' the posthumously published novel by John Kennedy Toole about an obese, boasting, blustering crank named Ignatius Reilly his unlikely adventures in the French District of New Orleans. John Belushi, John Candy, Divine, Chris Farley, and Philip Seymour Hoffman have all taken aim at the project, and Will Ferrell's version -- with Steven Soderbergh behind the camera -- got as far as a staged reading before running aground for mysterious reasons. Now, Zach Galifianakis has tossed his proverbial hunting cap into the ring, telling writer Andy Borowitz at a New Yorker Festival event last night in New York, "I've read two books in my life, and I'd like to do 'Confederacy of Dunces' -- which will never happen."

Continue Reading...

I've been on Twitter for about two years. It's a part of my life. A small part, but a nice diversion for someone who publicly claimed, "I will never be a twit!"

My purpose today is not to issue generalizations about Twitter, or to persuade you to take part. You may well have better ways to spend your time. What I want to do is make some observations about successful tweeting.

I feel I'm qualified, since I currently have 532,782 followers, and that's not bad for an ordinary mortal not named Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber. I don't claim you will have my success. Let's face it; I have the advantage of being, for my sins, a celebrity. But if you offer good value for time, people will retweet you, and gradually you will build up a readership.

I give you as an example my friend of many years, Margo Howard.

Getty

While the second official Republican Presidential debate didn’t use social media as heavily as the last one in New Hampshire, Twitter exploded with a running commentary during the two-hour debate. The Fox News/Washington Examiner sponsored event took place in Ames, Iowa, where Saturday’s Gop Straw Poll is set to possibly whittle down the number of candidates in the field.

Aside from the hyperactive Twitter accounts of the candidates themselves, celebrities and news makers offered their thoughts...

The Tonight Show host visited Conan O'Brien's alma mater Friday night, donning a bra and heels to accept the Hasty Pudding's Man of the Year award. How mean were the Harvard kids to the comedian? Samuel P. Jacobs reports.

Jay Leno showed up at Harvard Friday night, the old stumping grounds of a certain red-headed rival, to receive the Man of the Year award from the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, a long-running undergraduate tradition

Related story on The Daily Beast: Harvard vs. Steve Jobs

Before receiving the ceremonial golden pudding pot-and legions of kisses on his Jay Leno-size chin-the comedian endured a 20-minute ribbing from the young actors about what exactly transpired between him and Conan O'Brien last year.

"He's inspired millions," the audience was told. "Millions of viewers to switch to TBS."

When the laughs started to flag ( "Like Genghis Khan, he's conquered NBC... and his jokes are...

Did you watch the State of the Union on television, old-school style? The real party was online. Photos! Infographics! Salmon! Here’s a deeper look.

If you have a television and you’re a civic-minded sort, you probably plonked down in front of CNN (or the networks, or Fox, or the like) last night and watched President Obama’s State of the Union address (and the Republican response, or maybe even the Tea Party response) old-school style--on the boob tube with a remote in one hand and a beer in the other.

But if TV was your only game last night, you missed out. The real party was online. It was a massive demonstration of how the conversation in politics is shifting, from a one-way affair controlled jointly by politicans and the media, to both a two-way dialogue between pols and constituents and a many-to-many free-for-all between any and all who care to dive in.

Who'd have guessed. Apparently some PBS watchers are also Sarah Palin supporters. Or at least Sarah Palin sympathizers. Comedian Andy Borowitz, in his short, funny segment that appears at the end of Jon Meacham's 'Need to Know' PBS news show, this week made fun of Sarah Palin. Specifically he mocked her 'Palinese' and speculated what the country would look like when she became president in 2012, per the 'Mayan Prophecy Weekly'.

See the hilarious second trailer for Paramount Pictures' "Dinner for Schmucks" starring Carell once again looks to roll in the laughs with his versatile comedic style. Jay Roach-directed film opens on. Andy Borowitz, David Guion, Ken Daurio Michael Handelman, Cinco Paul and John Vitti wrote the screenplay based on the Francis Veber play "Le Diner de Cons." They gather in a secret location. They are extraoridary, yet, their identities are unknown. But in 2010, we will witness their power! Now witness the trailer below! Tim (Rudd) is a rising executive who "succeeds" in finding the perfect guest, IRS employee Barry (Carell), for his boss's monthly event, a so-called "dinner for idiots," which offers certain advantages to the exec who shows up with the biggest buffoon...

Aww! Someone noticed us!

Last week, we mentioned that Brett Claywell had done some name dropping in his tweet about his birthday party. Shortly after it went up, this appeared in my feed:

So, based on how you party in that picture at the top, the answer is yes! Yes we would like to know who "the homies" are. And if possible, please provide photos.

It seems like so much of Tinseltown has an unrequited crush these days. Probably a sign that spring is in the air. But crushes take many forms.

The adorkable Tom Lenk seems to be crushing on Chelsea Handler, which is confusing, because he plays for our team. It turns out he's just crushing on her book, which he's been sleeping with each night. He should try a man instead. I'm available.

Nate Berkus seems upset that he can't fly Jet Blue on his next trip.

Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Stephanie Szostak, Zach Galifianakis and Jermaine Clement star in "Dinner for Schmucks" from Paramount Pictures. The hilarious first trailer is in, the question remains, who do you know is a schmuck? Tim (Rudd) is a rising executive who "succeeds" in finding the perfect guest, IRS employee Barry (Carell), for his boss's monthly event, a so-called "dinner for idiots," which offers certain advantages to the exec who shows up with the biggest buffoon. The film opens July 23rd and is guaranteed to spawn many-a-laugh. Andy Borowitz, David Guion, Ken Daurio Michael Handelman, Cinco Paul and John Vitti wrote the screenplay based on the Francis Veber play "Le Diner de Cons."...

While Steve Carell is doing his tour of major talk shows and appearances in preparation for this weekend’s release of Date Night, the first trailer for his next big comedy has just hit the web: Dinner For Schmucks.

The film also stars Paul Rudd, who’s been on a hot streak with comedies as well such as I Love You, Man, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Role Models. The screenplay comes from about a dozen different writers, including the creator of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Andy Borowitz. Here’s the official synopsis.

Tim (Rudd) is a guy on the verge of having it all. The only thing standing between him and total career success is finding the perfect guest to bring to his boss’ annual Dinner for Extraordinary People, an event where the winner of the evening brings the most eccentric character as his guest. Enter Barry (Carell), a guy...