Entertainment

By Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN (CNN) — Jimmy Kimmel’s staff will continue to be paid for the time being, as discussions continue between the late-night host and Disney executives over the future of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The program was abruptly “pre-empted indefinitely” on Wednesday amid controversy over comments Kimmel made in a monologue about Charlie Kirk’s

By Megan Thomas, CNN (CNN) — Sometimes life imitates art, in that order, and Jean Smart’s character on “Hacks” this past season is providing a strange, retroactive parallel to what’s been going on in the real-life world of late-night television of late. Not long after ABC announced the indefinite suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” over

By Megan Thomas, CNN (CNN) — Carrie Underwood is mourning the loss of her friend Brett James, who wrote one of her biggest songs. Grammy-winning songwriter James died in a plane crash on Thursday, according to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was 57. Underwood and James collaborated on the 2005 hit “Jesus, Take

By Dan Heching, CNN (CNN) — As part of the Television Academy’s first-ever Televerse festival last weekend, a truly meta thing happened: Henry Winkler, perennial star of “Happy Days” and an Emmy-winner for his work on “Barry,” taught an acting class. The performer known for playing the Fonz who has also dipped into impressively distinct

By Lisa Respers France, CNN (CNN) — Swifties rejoice: your girl is coming back to the big screen. “Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” will launch in theaters on October 3, the same day her new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” drops. The news was announced Friday, and for OG fans

By Jack Guy and Riku Inoue, CNN (CNN) — Top Japanese girl band AKB48 have released a single created using AI, after it proved more popular with fans than a rival song written by famed J-pop producer Yasushi Akimoto. As part of a songwriting competition on a Nippon TV program called “Akimoto Yasushi vs AI

By Karina Tsui, Aaron Cooper, Andy Rose, CNN (CNN) — Grammy-winning songwriter Brett James, known for penning hits including Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” died in a plane crash on Thursday, according to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was 57. A plane registered under James’ legal name, Brett Cornelius, crashed into a

By John Liu, Megan Thomas, CNN (CNN) — Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart defended Jimmy Kimmel and free speech during their Thursday night shows, after ABC indefinitely suspended his popular late-night show on Wednesday amid a controversy over recent comments made by the longtime host about the investigation into Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer. “Jimmy, I

By Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN (CNN) — The decision to yank Jimmy Kimmel’s show off the air wasn’t quite as rash as one might think. The issue had been brewing all week throughout the executive ranks at Disney and ABC — ever since Kimmel made comments during his Monday night monologue about Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer

By Dan Heching, CNN (CNN) — The first three hosts and musical guests of the upcoming 51st season of “Saturday Night Live” have been revealed. The long-running sketch comedy’s season will kick off with Bad Bunny acting as host on October 4, with Doja Cat as musical guest. Bad Bunny previously pulled double duty as

By Lisa Respers France, CNN (CNN) — One of the most significant moments for Jimmy Kimmel on his late-night comedy show wasn’t funny at all. In a 2017 monologue, Kimmel tearfully shared a private battle. His then newborn son, William John Kimmel or “Billy,” was born with a congenital heart issue that was discovered after

Essay by Thomas Page, CNN (CNN) — There’s a moment, deep into the finale of “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” when Belly is asked to dance by Conrad. Somewhere in Paris on the banks of the Seine, under the light of the full moon, she grasps his hand and the two come together. Look closely