Andy Samberg hosted the season finale of Saturday Night Live last night, which opened with Jay Z and Solange (Jay Pharoah and Sasheer Zamata) proving that they've made amends and letting us in on what really happened in that elevator. (Something about a spider.)
Because you were focused on other things last week, it's possible you missed some crazy news coming out of NBC, involving a total retooling of Up All Night, a sitcom about Maya Rudolph sharing screen time with other people, including a baby.
As happy as I was with the Big Brother outcome (which I feel like I can't reveal here since this post isn't explicitly labeled as a spoiler reveal and the first rule of the Internet is that you can't say anything about anything anyway) and as much as I enjoyed Honey Boo Boo's bodily functions, Maya Rudolph's appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon took the cake where last night's TV is concerned. She and her friend Gretchen Lieberum are in the Prince cover band Princess, and they brought their take on Tipper Gore's all-time fav Prince song "Darling Nikki" to network TV after Maya spent some time with Jimmy on the couch. Supported by the Roots, Princess' cover is so straightforward that they even do that backwards part that's on the album. Ingenious, but oops, there I go with the spoilers again.
Last night's Saturday Night Live had some pretty funny moments with the standout being this sketch where the Obamas got the Cosby Show treatment. Complete with a hilarious Cosby-like credit sequence and some typical sitcom shenanigans.
The concept for NBC's Up All Night, which premiered last night, is a great one: get a hip pair of thirtysomethings like Christina Applegate and Will Arnett and show what happens when they decide to become parents. The problem is it's a great concept for a movie—not a TV show.
It seems that NBC has realized that Maya Rudolph is funny and would like to see more of her. Also today: John McClane rides again, as does Lucy Liu, and Darren Criss is going to set Broadway aflame.
Matt Damon speaks for Brangelina. Brangelina feed their children crickets. Chris Brown parks in a handicap spot. Leo's mother advises against Blake Lively. Timberlake pulls a diva move. Wednesday gossip fights for its rights.
Today NBC put on its presentation at the annual television upfronts, which is when broadcast networks show off all their new shows to potential advertisers. Here are clips of the six new programs that will be joining NBC's ever-flagging roster this September.
J.Lo's beauty regimen solves unemployment. Renee Zellweger and Bradley Cooper break up. Elin Nordegren moves back to America. Tom Cruise gives Katie Holmes a sewing machine, so she can make aprons. Saturday gossip is high maintenance.
• Brooke Shields can't seem to make up her mind about who's to blame for the Kiefer Sutherland-Jack McCollough incident last week. A few days ago, her reps denied she'd been pushed by Jack. But now she says he did bump into her, and that Kiefer "has always been a gentleman" with her. Go figure. [TMZ, NYDN]
• Madonna took her kids to a Mets game on Mother's Day, which was all part of a plan to make Alex Rodriguez jealous, apparently. Also, the singer/diehard baseball fan sat in Jerry Seinfeld's seats and hung out with the Anderson Cooper the whole time, just so you know. [P6]
• More topless photos of Carrie Prejean have surfaced online. [TMZ]
• Barbara Walters wore the same dress to the Time 100 gala and the White House Correspondents' Dinner. The horror! [TMZ]
• Maya Rudolph and PT Anderson are expecting their second child. [People]
While it is a joyous event that comedians Amy Poehler and Will Arnett delivered their first child, Archibald, over the weekend, we recognize that this development has some downsides, too (though perhaps not the ones implied by the above "circle of child life and death" feature that is currently gracing the front page of Yahoo!). For starters, this marks Poehler's end on Saturday Night Live, as the new mother will be segueing to her still-untitled NBC sitcom after some well-deserved maternity leave. Just as devastating: Poehler's unplanned absence from this week's live taping of SNL forced the audience to sit through a third, hastily scheduled Coldplay performance. Still, at least Poehler ducked out before she had to take part in the painful Barack Obama skit that Lorne Michaels pointlessly lured Maya Rudolph back for. Take a look, after the jump:Click to view
As Maya Rudolph fan clubs weather another couple hours of suspense before her return to Saturday Night Live, TMZ is reporting that Amy Poehler just had a baby boy and will miss tonight's Jon Hamm-hosted spectacular. Hold your breath that she went with the name we suggested: Winston Jammer Poehler. I know, right? In some cultures (don't be insensitive) the birth of a child is best marked by four Amy Poehler sketches to rule them all. And if last week was your swan song at SNL, you earned it, Amy.Who can forget Amy's magnificent satire of her own coming unborn! It's just good to know Steve Holt will have a brother. And think of Will Arnett! When he was on the set of Let's Go To Prison, could he have imagined he'd be able to afford to see this day? It was so real when all the ladies were in the show's open that time. Dratch and Rudolph and Wiig and Poehler! Who could ask for anything more? Lastly, who can forget Amy's poignant run in the legendary sketch troupe Upright Citizens Brigade. This sketch changed the way I view life in general, and Amy 's performance as Charna McMadison is what holds it together. Her acting here in multiple roles is Gilda Radner-worthy. Click to view Then there's Amy's classic Dakota Fanning series. How confusing are these vignettes going to be for young Winston Jammer to absorb? It Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby [TMZ]
In honor of Saturday Night Live alum Molly Shannon, whose poorly-received sitcom Kath & Kim premieres tonight on NBC, we thought it was time to pay tribute to the women who've made the biggest mark on SNL over the years. Whether it's Tina Fey, whose profile has surged since her Sarah Palin guest appearances, or an underrated player like Jan Hooks who shines in late-night SNL reruns, we have a soft spot for the women who've succeeded despite being greatly outnumbered in SNL's heavily male cast and writing room.Sadly, our list cut off at eight, so the valuable, deadpan Jane Curtain and the acidic Nora Dunn were among the SNL casualties. Other alumnae — like Sarah Silverman and Janeane Garofalo — have had career success despite their ignoble stints on the variety show, and were therefore left out. Enjoy the clip above, then make a passionate case for the ignored Julia Sweeney down below. [SNL]
A while ago, not long after after Barack Obama won the Iowa caucus, NPR put forth a story asking, "Is America Post-Racial?" "Probably not," we thought to ourselves, "otherwise America's premiere sketch comedy show would actually have this famously black presidential candidate played by, y'know, a black guy and not Fred Armisen." Now, Saturday Night Live has reminded us of that musing once again, because TV Guide reports that instead of adding a black actress to its troupe to play Michelle Obama, the show would rather entice former cast member Maya Rudolph to return. An excerpt, with new details from Lorne Michaels on whether Tina Fey will play Sarah Palin, is after the jump:
The Paul Thomas Anderson Stage Revue we'd mentioned a while back was finally unveiled last night at Largo, where Fred Armisen and Maya Rudolph reportedly performed a succession of new sketches with Jon Brion's musical accompaniment. And according to one eyewitness who espied Jack Black and Paul Dano among his fellow attendees, the show was a little less There Will Be Blood than Punch-Drunk Love, with liberal, Altmanesque doses of I Really Don't Feel Like Writing Another Feature-Length Screenplay Right Now tossed in for good measure:
Paul Thomas Anderson enthusiasts, take note: Word from the Largo mailing list (via /Film) has a PTA-scripted performance by Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen going off Aug. 5-6 at the club's new space at the Coronet Theater. Organizers are keeping mum about everything but the price — $25 — and that tickets are available now. As the second home of Anderson's frequent composer Jon Brion (who maintains a regular Friday gig) and other collaborators including Michael Penn and Aimee Mann, Largo seems a reasonable stopover for the filmmaker, though it hardly seems right that Fred Fucking Armisen unofficially inherits Daniel Day-Lewis's leading-man mantle in the "mad, beautiful" continuum that is the PTA canon. Rudolph though? OK, sure, we can see it. [Largo via /Film]
