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    in Television

    A Katt Williams Interview Made Shannon Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” a Hit

    “Club Shay Shay” became a must-stop destination for Hollywood after Katt Williams aired his grievances. “This was our ‘Thriller’ album,” said the host Shannon Sharpe.Shannon Sharpe won three Super Bowls in a Hall of Fame career and once recorded 214 receiving yards in a game, the most ever by a National Football League tight end. Another crowning achievement came long after he was outmuscling bulky defenders, when he convinced a 5-foot-5 comedian to open up while sipping cognac on a brown leather sofa.When that comedian and actor, Katt Williams, aired his grievances against prominent Black celebrities, including Sean Combs and Kevin Hart, it instantly turned Sharpe’s podcast “Club Shay Shay” into a must-stop destination in Hollywood and beyond. In the months after the episode aired in January 2024, Sharpe secured interviews with the rapper Megan Thee Stallion and the Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.“‘Club Shay Shay’ has become the modern-day talk show,” said Lillian Xu, a top podcast executive for Vox Media, which produces a handful of rival series.Sharpe has cut through in a saturated podcast ecosystem where Alex Cooper and the Kelce brothers command nine-figure contracts. In addition to “Club Shay Shay,” Sharpe makes twice-weekly appearances on “First Take,” ESPN’s popular morning debate show, and hosts a secondary podcast, “Nightcap,” with the former N.F.L. receiver Chad Johnson.Before a live taping of a “Nightcap” episode in New Orleans this week ahead of the Super Bowl, Sharpe exercised his vocal cords in a backstage greenroom as a makeup artist prepared to pat his face. Moments later, his voice, laced with a country-twang accent, soared throughout an auditorium. The friends debated N.F.L. award winners, Johnson’s relationship issues and other topics.In the past year, Sharpe has interviewed Megan Thee Stallion, Kamala Harris, Mo’Nique and Kai Cenat on his podcast “Club Shay Shay.”Emily Kask for The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    in Theater

    Troubled Volksbühne Theater Announces Another New Director

    Matthias Lilienthal will take over running the Berlin playhouse, which has been lurching from crisis to crisis for years.Berlin city officials announced Friday that the theater maker Matthias Lilienthal would take over leadership of the Volksbühne, one of Europe’s most influential playhouses.Lilienthal is an established figure in German theater, having previously led major institutions in Berlin and Munich. He is set to take up the role in 2026, with a contract until 2031.At a news conference, Lilienthal announced plans to expand the theater’s dance offering. He also said he planned to feature a slate of works by international directors — a decision he described as “a conscious resistance” to rising nationalism in Germany.“Hopefully it is a joyful resistance,” he added.Many theater lovers are hoping that Lilienthal’s appointment marks the end of a prolonged period of turmoil at the Volksbühne, which has long been known for its formally daring and politically provocative works. But in recent years, the theater has been plagued by scandal and tragedy, as well as vicious conflicts about its creative direction that have mirrored broader debates about Berlin’s identity.Lilienthal is no stranger to the Volksbühne. He served as its chief dramaturg in the 1990s, when it was led by Frank Castorf, a towering figure in German theater. It was Castorf, the Volksbühne’s director from 1992 to 2017, who put the playhouse on the international map and established its reputation for high-minded, no-holds-barred performance.Matthias Lilienthal at a news conference at the Volksbühne on Friday.Soeren Stache/picture alliance via Getty ImagesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    A Fungus That Turns Spiders Into Zombies Is a Discovery to Haunt Your Nightmares

    A BBC documentary crew in Northern Ireland stumbled upon a fungus that hijacks spiders in an arachnid version of “The Last of Us.”An abandoned gunpowder storage shed pokes out from a small mound of earth in what’s now a nature preserve in Northern Ireland. It is the perfect place for a spider: semi-subterranean, cool and dark. But in 2021, a crew working on a BBC nature program found more than an average arachnid lurking there. They spotted a dead spider with a lacy white fungus erupting from its body.The fungus, scientists announced in a paper published last month in the journal Fungal Systematics and Evolution, is a newly discovered species that spreads its spore by hijacking a spider and turning the unlucky arachnid into a zombie. This evolutionary strategy has been made famous by the zombie ant fungus Ophiocordyceps, which inspired the video game and HBO show “The Last of Us.” This spider version is only distantly related to that fungus.Volunteers at the Castle Espie Wetland Centre near Belfast were assisting the BBC filmmakers when they noticed the infected spider. Pictures of the specimen made their way to Harry Evans, an emeritus fellow at CAB International, a nonprofit organization focusing on agricultural and environmental research. “I posited that it was an unknown or unusual species and requested the specimen once the filming had finished,” Dr. Evans, an author of the paper, said.When the BBC program aired, Tim Fogg, a cave explorer, reached out to Dr. Evans to say that he had observed a similar fungus in Irish caves. Each of the five infected spiders Mr. Fogg collected was engulfed by a tiny, tangled thicket of fungi.João Araújo, an author of the paper and a curator of mycology at the Denmark Natural History Museum, said he and his colleagues believe that when a spore lands on a spider, the fungus sprouts a root-like structure called a germ tube that drills into the arachnid’s exoskeleton. Once inside, the fungus buds and multiplies, Dr. Araújo said, “taking over basically almost the entire body of the spider.”Gibellula attenboroughii on orb-weaving spiders found in Irish caves, and a microscope view of the fungus. Tim Fogg; Evans et al., FUSE, 2025; Harry EvansWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Rami Malek and Brie Larson Try Sophocles in London

    Sophocles is suddenly everywhere on the city’s stages. In concurrent shows, Rami Malek is playing Oedipus and Brie Larson is taking on Elektra.At the Old Vic theater in London, a tenebrous stage is lit now and again with deep, yellowy-orange hues; at its center is a stark solar orb. The effect is soothing, like being gently woken by an enormous sunrise alarm. The setting is a drought-stricken Thebes and the play is a reimagining of Sophocles’ tragedy, “Oedipus Rex,” first performed around 429 B.C. and relevant as ever in our era of vainglorious leaders.King Oedipus, played by the movie star Rami Malek — best known for his Oscar-winning performance in “Bohemian Rhapsody” — wants to figure out who killed his predecessor, Laius, in hopes that solving the mystery will bring an end to the drought. In the process, he stumbles upon a series of revelations that bear out the truth of the Oracle’s infamous prediction: that he is destined to kill his father and sleep with his mother.In this production, running through March 29, the story is set in a featureless, vaguely postapocalyptic landscape and told through a blend of drama and dance. (The Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter shares the directorial credit with the Old Vic’s artistic director, Matthew Warchus.) Between scenes, a chorus throws beautifully unsettling shapes to a soundtrack of moody electronic beats and pounding drums.Remi Malek, left, as Oedipus and Indira Varma as Jocasta in “Oedipus” at the Young Vic.Manuel HarlanThe dancers’ twitchy, convulsive movements and supplicatory body language evoke the plight of a suffering populace, but once the truth is out and the gods appeased, the rain comes and the chorus moves with unburdened grace under a glorious drizzle. (Set design is by Rae Smith, lighting by Tom Visser.)Malek’s assertive drawl and blithe, can-do rhetoric carry hints of President Trump. (“Whatever the Oracle gives us. … I can work with that!”) And Indira Varma brings a suitably regal poise to the role of Jocasta, who was long ago forced by Laius to abandon her baby. That child was Oedipus himself; he was rescued, adopted and went on to marry Jocasta.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Jimmy Kimmel Has Doubts About Trump’s Religious Convictions

    According to Kimmel, “MAGA Teresa” only attended the National Prayer Breakfast “because he doesn’t like it when people worship anyone other than him.”Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.‘Put a Shirt On’President Trump attended the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Thursday. Jimmy Kimmel, who called him “MAGA Teresa,” said he only showed up “because he doesn’t like it when people worship anyone other than him.”“He covered a lot of subjects. He bragged about deporting immigrants, his war on diversity, fighting ‘transgenders’ — all the sacred teachings of Jesus.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“President Trump spoke today at the National Prayer Breakfast, in case you needed more proof that those don’t work.” — SETH MEYERS“While speaking today at the National Prayer Breakfast, President Trump said, ‘None of us knows exactly when our time on Earth will be over.’ I don’t know, I’m thinking whenever R.F.K. Jr. gets confirmed.” — SETH MEYERS“Trump also told the audience we need to bring religion back, and who better to bring it back than the guy who sells ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’ bibles for $59.99.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Of all the unbelievable things about Donald Trump, religious people believing he is also a religious person might be the toughest one to understand.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Honestly, if Trump met Jesus, he’d call him a loser, he’d tell him to get a haircut and put a shirt on.” — JIMMY KIMMELThe Punchiest Punchlines (Super Bowl LIX Edition)“Super Bowl Sunday, also known as ‘Get Drunk in a Friend of a Friend’s Weird Living Room Day,’ is imminent. Hope everyone has their friendship bracelets picked out.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Yeah, between the game and the commercials, it’s going to be four straight hours of Patrick Mahomes on TV.” — JIMMY FALLON“Donald Trump will be there at the game. He said — this is fun — he said he’s going to let Elon pick the winner this year.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“He will make history as the first sitting president to go to the Super Bowl. I think the reason Trump’s going to the Super Bowl, he can’t stand to have even one day where he’s on TV less than Taylor Swift.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Taylor Swift will also be in attendance to support her boyfriend, the Chiefs’ superstar tight end, Taylor Swift’s boyfriend.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“I saw that this year’s Super Bowl will be watched in 180 countries. Yeah, well, 179 if we take over Canada by Saturday.” — JIMMY FALLONThe Bits Worth WatchingThe Oscar-winning actor Ke Huy Quan discussed his new role in the film “Love Hurts” on Thursday’s “Daily Show.”Also, Check This OutIn a new installment of the franchise, Smurfette and the other Smurfs leave their village for an adventure in the live-action world.Paramount PicturesA trailer for the upcoming “Smurfs” movie features Rihanna, who’ll be the voice of Smurfette. More

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    What to Know About Wendy Williams’s Guardianship

    Ms. Williams, whose health has been scrutinized since she left her daytime talk show in 2021, has been under the control of a court-appointed guardian for the past three years.Wendy Williams, the former talk show host known for her catch phrase “How you doin’?” and being a staple on New York radio, has been under a court-ordered guardianship since 2022. Since then, details of her personal life have become internet fodder and raised discussions about her health and family.This week, Ms. Williams’s court-appointed legal guardian suggested she should undergo a new medical evaluation because Ms. Williams had publicly questioned a diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia and aphasia. Ms. Williams, who is living in a New York care facility, said in a recent telephone interview on “The Breakfast Club” that she was “not cognitively impaired.”Ms. Williams’s inner circle participated in a four-part documentary about her life last year and have mounted a campaign to get her out of the state’s care.While some details around the guardianship, which oversees Ms. Williams’s personal and financial affairs, are sealed by court order, others have been shared with the public.Here is what we know.When did Wendy Williams enter a guardianship?In 2022, a year after Ms. Williams last filmed her talk show, a court appointed a legal guardian to oversee her personal and financial affairs. The appointment came after Wells Fargo, which was involved in her finances, had “documented a pattern of unusual and disturbing events” related to her welfare and finances, according to court documents.Who is Ms. Williams’s guardian?Sabrina E. Morrissey is Ms. Williams’s court-appointed legal guardian, although her specific powers are not clear because a court sealed many of the related filings.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    What’s Next for MrBeast? Class Consciousness.

    On YouTube, he’s long prompted people to do extreme tasks for money. But on his new reality show and in social media posts, MrBeast is showing a new motivation.In the eighth episode of the reality competition show “Beast Games,” released last week, the YouTube superstar MrBeast — the show’s host, co-executive producer and mischief-maker-in-chief — asked the 10 remaining contestants to choose their share of a $1 million split.By this stage of “Beast Games,” which streams on Amazon Prime Video, there was a surprising amount of good will and trust among the players, who are all competing to be the lone winner of a $5 million prize in next week’s finale, the largest amount ever given away on television.The money was presented in a preposterous stack of bills, an almost cartoonlike array. The first contestant took one-tenth. The second took a little more. The third contestant to stake a claim was J.C., a man with a sob-story background who had previously appeared to be beyond ethical reproach. But the combination of quite reasonable greed and quite tragic desperation led him to take $650,000 for himself, leaving barely anything for the remaining players, to their collective repugnance.The subsequent shots of J.C., alone in his bunk, weeping and surrounded by duffel bags of cash, was the first truly affecting note of this season. He was a villain, but a completely reasonable one. Resources are scarce, competition is everywhere — all you can do is grab what’s in front of you.J.C. anguished after taking the bulk of a $1 million pot split among nine other contestants.Amazon Prime StudiosTypically, the YouTube videos for which MrBeast, born Jimmy Donaldson, is known steer clear of such psychic weight. He is 26, and has been the dominant star on YouTube for several years now, with 357 million subscribers. His stunt videos, in which people are prompted to do extreme tasks for money, are often viewed hundreds of millions of times.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    ‘Urinetown’ Review: More Than Toilet Humor

    The Encores! revival of the musical from Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis seems even more relevant today.About halfway through the first act of “Urinetown,” the characters Hope Cladwell and Bobby Strong reveal their emotions and desires in “Follow Your Heart.” Their names could have been lifted from a Depression-era musical, and the song itself evokes such romantic classics of that time as “I Only Have Eyes for You.”“We all want a world / Filled with peace and with joy,” Hope (the comic revelation Stephanie Styles) and Bobby (an effortlessly charismatic Jordan Fisher, fresh from a stint as Orpheus in “Hadestown”) sing in the Encores! revival that opened Wednesday night at New York City Center. “With plenty of water for each girl and boy,” they continue.You see, our lovebirds, whom Fisher and Styles portray with a precisely calibrated mix of earnestness and goofiness, live in a dystopian world where water is scarce. Exacting payment for the privilege of peeing has become a profitable business for Hope’s tycoon father, Caldwell B. Cladwell (Rainn Wilson, not quite villainous enough), the head of the Urine Good Company corporation.Bobby, on the other hand, is very much from the downtrodden side of the tracks. More specifically he’s the assistant custodian at the public toilet known as Amenity No. 9, run by the imperious Penelope Pennywise (Keala Settle, amped up to 11 as if rehearsing for Norma Desmond).The jarring reference to a commodity perhaps more essential than peace and joy in such a lovely number confirms that the “Urinetown” team of Mark Hollmann (music and lyrics) and Greg Kotis (book and lyrics) was not just a new version of Harry Warren and Al Dubin, the bards of 1930s Warner Bros. musicals. A bespoke pastiche of a specific vintage style, “Follow Your Heart” also contains a streak of modern sarcasm and political commentary that helps explain why “Urinetown” has aged so remarkably well since its premiere a little more than a quarter of a century ago.The show, which started life at the International New York Fringe Festival in 1999, had an Off Broadway run in the spring of 2001 and reopened on Broadway on Sept. 20 that same year. It won the Tony Awards for best book, original score and direction of a musical, and ran for two and a half years. The inclusion of “Urinetown” — an unlikely hit but nevertheless a hit — in Encores! underlines the mission drift of a series that used to be dedicated to flops and obscurities but nowadays simply “revisits the archives of American musical theater.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More