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    'Bridgerton' Casts New Stars for Season 2 Following Rege-Jean Page Exit

    WENN/Instagram/Nikki Nelson

    Shelley Conn and Calam Lynch will join the ensemble for the sophomore season of the hit Netflix series with Conn playing Mary Sharma, the step-mother of Lord Anthony Bridgerton’s new love interest Kate Sharma.

    Apr 6, 2021

    AceShowbiz –
    “Bridgerton” has added 2 new cast members for its upcoming season 2. It was announced on Monday, April 5 that Shelley Conn and Calam Lynch will join the ensemble for the sophomore season of the hit Netflix series.

    Conn is set to play Mary Sharma, an Earl’s daughter whose marriage once embroiled her family in scandal. She is described as someone who returns to London with her daughters and is forced to endure the scrutiny of the ton. Mary is also the step-mother of Lord Anthony Bridgerton’s (Jonathan Bailey) new love interest Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley).

    Meanwhile, Lynch is cast as Theo Sharpe. He is a hardworking printer’s assistant who fights for the rights for all.

    Conn and Lynch will also join Charithra Chandran and Rupert Young. Chandran was tapped to play Kate’s sister Edwina, while Young will portray a brand new character which isn’t featured in Julia Quinn’s books.

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    The casting news arrives just days after “Bridgerton” confirmed that Rege-Jean Page would not return for season 2 of the series. “While all eyes turn to Lord Anthony Bridgerton’s quest to find a Viscountess, we bid adieu to Rege-Jean Page, who so triumphantly played the Duke of Hastings,” Lady Whistledown wrote on Friday, April 2.

    “We’ll miss Simon’s presence onscreen, but he will always be a part of the Bridgerton family. (Phoebe Dyvenor’s character) Daphne will remain a devoted wife and sister, helping her brother navigate the upcoming social season and what it has to offer – more intrigue and romance than my readers may be able to bear,” the statement continued.

    In response to his departure, Page said, “It’s a one-season arc. It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end — give us a year.” He went on explaining, “I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit and then the Bridgerton family rolls on. The audience knows the arc completes. They come in knowing that, so you can tie people in emotional knots because they have that reassurance that we’re going to come out and we’re going to have the marriage and the baby.”

    Season 2 of “Bridgerton” will focus on Anthony’s love life.

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    Sister Wives' Star Kody Brown Demands 'A Spark' Before Getting 'Sexual' With First Wife Meri

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    The reality television star hints in a new episode that he is ‘looking for a spark, something to initiate some form of desire’ to get physically intimate with his first wife Meri.

    Apr 6, 2021

    AceShowbiz –
    There is always more than meets the eye. That’s what “Sister Wives” star Kody Brown thought when it came to getting intimate with his first wife Meri Brown. Despite their strained marriage, the TV personality hinted that they could have a romantic relationship again as long as there is “a spark.”

    In the Sunday, April 4 episode of the TLC series, Kody said to the camera, “She wants to be loved romantically – then there has to be a spark for that.” Having mentioned the need for spark, he then added, “And then she’ll get from that, she will receive romance, love and a full marriage and sexual relationship.”

    Although Kody and Meri were missing the “spark” in their marriage, he insisted that divorce is not an option. “My discussion with Meri right now isn’t about me telling Meri that she has to have a divorce with me, that she has to leave. I’m not doing that – I will never do that,” he stressed.

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    For Kody, a chance for the two of them getting back together “into full fellowship” is wide open. He said, “My faith doesn’t allow me to, my conscience doesn’t allow me to. And because I haven’t done that, there’s always a chance that we might actually get back together into full fellowship.”

    “I’m sitting here with Meri going, ‘I’m finally out of the anger phase. I’m finally out of the bitterness. Now how are we going to do this right?’ ” he continued. “And Meri’s like, ‘Well, you’re going to have to love me.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, well, be lovable.'”

    However, hearing what Kody had said, Meri went emotional. Wiping her tears away, Meri opened up about how she felt when Kody gave her a simple touch. “Do you know that every time you put your hand on my hand, how I feel? I just wish you knew,” she opened up.

    “I’m just playing around with Kody. I’m just trying to flirt with him. I don’t know, to me, this is a rejection,” Meri continued explaining her thoughts when her attempt to flirt with Kody didn’t get a response. “He’s really just not interested.”

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    'The Voice' Recap: More Singers Hit the Stage for Night 2 of Battle Rounds

    NBC

    In the new episode of the long-running NBC singing competition show, the contestants take the stage to face each other in hopes of advancing to the knockouts.

    Apr 6, 2021

    AceShowbiz –
    “The Voice” returned with a new episode on Tuesday, April 5. In the new episode, viewers were offered with the second night of Battle Rounds. It featured the contestants taking the stage to face each other in hopes of advancing to the knockouts.

    Kicking off the night was a battle from Team Blake Shelton’s Emma Caroline and Cam Anthony. The pair hit the stage to sing “10,000 Hours” by Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber. “Emma, your tone is really lovely, that clarity, that grace, and power, it is really enjoyable to listen to your voice. Cam, Nick blocked me when I wanted you on my team. You sing with fire and conviction, that conviction pushed me over the edge with you,” coach John Legend commented. Eventually, Blake announced Cam as the winner of the battle and he saved Emma.

    Following it up were Halley Greg and Gihanna Zoe from Team Kelly Clarkson. The pair sang “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran. Coach Kelly wasn’t there that night as Kelsea Ballerini temporarily took over her place. Noting that Kelly told her that both singers are “incredibly talented,” Kelsea announced that the winner of the battle was Gihanna.

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    Later, Zania Alake and Durell Anthony from Team John performed. Singing Destiny’s Child’s “Emotion”, the two showed off their best in front of the coaches. Nick Jonas loved the song choice and personally thought Durrell outdid Zania in the battle. “Durrell, my favorite part of your voice is your falsetto, you were in a place where you could shine. Zania you have poise and grace, and you were wonderful, you delivered,” John added. He named Zania as the winner of the battle.

    Jordan Matthew Young and Keegan Ferrell from Team Blake battled it out by singing “Calling All Angels” by Train. “Keegan from the blinds to this battle, you have grown very quick. That top register was coming out in a great way, despite the coaching. I want to see you enjoy this more. Jordan you are just cool man, you have an outfit that I could never pull it off. I think Jordan has a shot to win this whole thing,” Nick commented. Kelsea, meanwhile, noted that Jordan looked “comfortable” and praised Keegan for “that high note.” Blake chose Jordan as the winner while Nick successfully stole Keegan for his own team.

    Singing “Rewrite the Stars” by Zac Efron and Zendaya Coleman were Zae Romeo and Lindsay Joan from Team Nick. John raved about their “expansive ranges,” while Blake said that he liked Zae’s tone though he personally thought Lindsay was better. However, Nick announced Zae as the winner of the battle. In a quick recap, Team John’s Ciana Pelekai and Denisha Dalton sang “You Broke Me First” by Tate McRae with Ciana winning the battle.

    Concluding the night was Team Kelly’s Corey Ward and Savanna Woods. The pair belted out “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac, earning praises from the coaches. “This is my favorite song, it is hard to make your own and you did, especially Savannah. Corey, when I watched your blinds I couldn’t figure if you were county or singer/songwriter, and I love that. I have spoken to Kelly in-depth regarding you both,” Kelsea commented. She later named Corey as the winer and saved Savannah.

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    Gloria Henry, ‘Dennis the Menace’ Mother, Dies at 98

    She was a prolific B-movie actress early in her career, but she became best known for her role as Alice Mitchell, the gentle mother of Dennis, on the CBS show.Gloria Henry, a B-movie actress of the 1940s and ’50s who became best known as the sunny, preternaturally patient mom on the television series “Dennis the Menace,” died on Saturday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 98.The death was confirmed by her daughter, Erin Ellwood.Ms. Henry was 36 and a veteran of more than two dozen films in 1959 when she was cast as Alice Mitchell, the gentle, tolerant but constantly horrified mother in “Dennis the Menace,” a sitcom based on Hank Ketcham’s popular comic strip. Dennis (played by Jay North) was an angelic little boy on the surface, but every time he tried to help or just do something nice, it somehow backfired. The show ran for four seasons on CBS.Gloria Eileen McEniry was born in New Orleans on April 2, 1923, and attended Worcester Art Museum School in Massachusetts. She moved to Los Angeles in her teens and began working in radio, where she began using the last name Henry.She made her movie debut in the 1947 drama “Sport of Kings,” set in Kentucky horse country. Ms. Henry started at the top in the B-movie genre, starring in the film as a young veterinarian.Over the next three years she appeared in at least 17 films, more often than not in the starring role. A number of her films were westerns, like “Adventures in Silverado” (1948), “Law of the Barbary Coast” (1949) and “Lightning Guns” (1950). In two films — “The Strawberry Roan” (1948) and “Riders in the Sky” (1949) — she starred opposite Gene Autry, getting third billing, after Autry and his horse.She also appeared in several sports comedies, including “Triple Threat” (1948), with Richard Crane, and “Kill the Umpire” (1950), with William Bendix. Her best-known film was probably “Rancho Notorious” (1952), which was directed by Fritz Lang and starred Marlene Dietrich.Once Ms. Henry had made her television debut, in a 1952 episode of “Fireside Theater,” she devoted her career almost exclusively to series TV. Over four decades, on and off, she appeared in shows from “My Little Margie,” “Perry Mason” and “The Life of Riley” to “Dallas,” “Newhart” and “Doogie Howser, M.D.”Her final television appearance was on a 2012 episode of the sitcom “Parks and Recreation.” Ms. Henry’s first marriage, in 1943 to Robert D. Lamb, ended in divorce in 1948. She married Craig Ellwood, the California Modernist architect, in 1949. They divorced in 1977. In addition to her daughter, she is survived by two sons, Jeffrey and Adam, and a granddaughter.Ms. Henry, who kept in touch with Mr. North over the years, often commented on her “Dennis the Menace” character’s amazing restraint with her son. “I wasn’t allowed to yell at Jay North,” she told The Los Angeles Times at a 1989 gathering of actresses who had played famous mothers on television. “It was difficult. Being a normal, in-reality mother, I yelled at my children a lot.” More

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    Rege-Jean Page Justifies His 'Bridgerton' Departure

    Netflix/Liam Daniel

    Upon learning the actor’s exit from the hit Netflix series, Dionne Warwick expresses her disappointment on Twitter and jokingly threatens to ‘call Lady Whistledown’ to get him back on the show.

    Apr 5, 2021

    AceShowbiz –
    Rege-Jean Page believed that leaving “Bridgerton” was the right decision for him. After he was unveiled to have exited the Netflix hit series just after one season, the Duke of Hastings Simon Basset depicter elaborated the reason of his departure.

    “It’s a one-season arc. It’s going to have a beginning, middle, end – give us a year,” the 31-year-old hunk spilled to Variety, insisting that his time on the show was meant to be short-lived. “[I thought] ‘That’s interesting,’ because then it felt like a limited series. I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit and then the Bridgerton family rolls on.”

    While acknowledging that fans might be saddened by his exit, Page was convinced that “the audience knows the arc completes.” He then added, “They come in knowing that, so you can tie people in emotional knots because they have that reassurance that we’re going to come out and we’re going to have the marriage and the baby.”

    Despite leaving the show, the British-Zimbabwean actor hopes that “Bridgerton” will maintain its success. “I have nothing but excitement for ‘Bridgerton’ continuing to steam train off and conquer the globe,” he claimed. “But there is also value in completing these arcs and sticking the landing.”

      See also…

    Page previously bid farewell to the series via Instagram. “The ride of a life time. It’s been an absolute pleasure and a privilege to be your Duke. Joining this family – not just on screen, but off screen too. Our incredibly creative and generous cast, crew, outstanding fans – it’s all been beyond anything I could have imagined. The love is real and will just keep growing,” he stated.

    Dionne Warwick was saddened by Rege-Jean Page’s departure from ‘Bridgerton’.

    Upon hearing Page will not be returning for “Bridgerton” season 2, Dionne Warwick expressed her disappointment on her Twitter account. She first argued, “No, @regejean! You CANNOT leave me like that. I WILL NOT have it! @bridgerton!!!!!!” She then quipped in another tweet, “I guess I need to call Lady Whistledown myself…”

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    'RHOA': Marlo Hampton Confronted by Kenya Moore and Porsha Williams

    Instagram

    In a new episode of the Bravo show, the Housewives are having dinner with rapper/bounce artist Big Freedia when things get heated between the three ladies as they fight over the infamous Strippergate.

    Apr 5, 2021

    AceShowbiz –
    Things took an ugly turn between Marlo Hampton, Kenya Moore and Porsha Williams. In the Sunday, April 4 episode of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta”, the Housewives were on their girls’ getaway in New Orleans. They were having dinner with rapper/bounce artist Big Freedia when things got heated between the three ladies.

    Kandi started it all by calling Marlo out for inserting herself into the drama between Porsha and Kenya amid their beef after Kenya accused Porsha of hooking up with a male stripper during Cynthia Bailey’s bachelorette party. Defending herself, Marlo said, “Both of y’all — Porsha, I love you to death, [Kenya] would never be able to have me cross you in no kind of way. Kenya, I’m moving baby steps with you, but I love where we’re at and it feels good.”

    Hearing that, Kenya was not thrilled as she insisted that Porsha did have sex with the stripper. She also said that everyone who let it slide wasn’t “telling the whole truth.”

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    “Porsha told me it did not happen and that’s what we’re going with,” Marlo said to Kenya, who responded by calling Marlo “messy” for revealing this matter in front of Big Freedia. Marlo also shared that she actually suggested that Porsha and Kenya have a one-on-one conversation to end their beef but Porsha wasn’t a fan of the idea. “I no longer have anything else to say,” Kenya stated.

    In response to that, Marlo told Kenya and Porsha that she would let the whole thing go if both women agree to not name the other while talking with her. Both Porsha and Kenya denied the statement, arguing that they didn’t speak about the other while talking to Marlo.

    However, that wasn’t how it was according to Marlo. “Both of you have me in an uncomfortable position,” she said. “Both of you motherf***ers talked to me about each when I wasn’t there!” Offended, Porsha yelled at Marlo with profanities that prompted Marlo to storm out of the restaurant. “I’mma do you, and I’mma do you. Goodnight with y’all fake a**es. Goodnight, fake-a** b***hes. Goodnight!” Marlo shouted.

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    Daniel Kaluuya Credits Kenan Thompson for Inspiring His Acting Career During 'SNL' Stint

    WENN/Avalon

    Making his guest-hosting debut on ‘Saturday Night Live’, the ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ star uses his monologue to also take a jab at the differences between American and British racism.

    Apr 5, 2021

    AceShowbiz –
    Daniel Kaluuya had a real full circle moment while guest hosting sketch show “Saturday Night Live” in America over the weekend, revealing his first taste of show-business was inspired by comedian Kenan Thompson.

    During his monologue at the start of the show, the Brit explained he wrote a play when he was nine that was based on an episode of former child star Thompson’s hit comedy show “Kenan & Kel”.

    “I just wanna say how grateful I am to be here,” Daniel said. “When I was nine years old that got performed at Hampstead Theater, with real actors and everything, and this is a true story – that play was based on ‘Kenan & Kel’. And that play led me down a path that got me to this stage tonight, with Kenan backstage right now.”

      See also…

    Thompson is a longtime regular on the sketch show.

    During his stint in guest-hosting the April 3 episode, Daniel also made a reference to Meghan Markle’s revelation about royal family’s concerns over how dark Archie’s skin might be.”First of all, I know you’re hearing my accent and thinking, ‘Oh no, he’s not Black. He’s British!’ ” he kicked off his joke on the subject.

    “I’m here to reassure you that I am Black,” the 32-year-old actor continued quipping. “I’m Black and I’m British. Basically, I’m what the royal family was worried the baby would look like.”

    The “Judas and the Black Messiah” star also poked fun at the differences between American and British racism. “Let me put it this way: British racism is so bad white people left. They wanted to be free – free to be able to invent their own kind of racism,” he stated. “That’s why they invented Australia, South Africa and Boston.”

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    What’s on TV This Week: ‘Hemingway’ and ‘The People v. the Klan’

    Lynn Novick and Ken Burns revisit the life of Ernest Hemingway on PBS. And a documentary about a civil suit against the Ku Klux Klan airs on CNN.Between network, cable and streaming, the modern television landscape is a vast one. Here are some of the shows, specials and movies coming to TV this week, April 5-11. Details and times are subject to change.MondayHEMINGWAY 8 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). Lynn Novick and Ken Burns look back at the life of Ernest Hemingway in this new three-part documentary, which airs over three consecutive nights beginning on Monday. The program aims to give an evenhanded assessment of Hemingway’s life and legacy, recognizing the uglier elements (racism and anti-Semitism) while paying tribute to his work. The result is a documentary that is “cleareyed about its subject and emotional about his legacy,” James Poniewozik wrote in his review for The New York Times. “It celebrates his gifts, catalogs his flaws (which included using racist language in his correspondence) and chronicles his decline with the tragic relentlessness its subject would give to the death of a bull in the ring.”TuesdayFOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL (1994) 10 p.m. on TCM. The director Mike Newell and the screenwriter Richard Curtis worked together on this classic British romantic comedy, about two people (played by Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell) whose love develops in fits and starts. It is, Janet Maslin wrote in her review for The Times, “elegant, festive and very, very funny.”WednesdayEXTERMINATE ALL THE BRUTES 9 p.m. on HBO. Raoul Peck (“I Am Not Your Negro”) blends archival footage, clips from Hollywood movies, scripted scenes and animation into a rumination on the history of European colonialism and American slavery in this new four-part series. The first two parts air on Wednesday at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.; the second two air on Thursday night at the same times.ThursdayDiane Keaton and Al Pacino in “Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone.”Paramount PicturesMARIO PUZO’S THE GODFATHER, CODA: THE DEATH OF MICHAEL CORLEONE (1990) 6:45 p.m. on Showtime. Should “The Godfather, Coda,” be considered a 1990 release, or a 2020 one? It’s both, really. This re-edited version of the “The Godfather Part III,” released last year, is more than a standard extended director’s cut: Revisiting the film three decades after its original release, the director Francis Ford Coppola tweaked the opening. And the ending. And a lot of material in between, too. The changes are meant to sharpen a trilogy-capping movie that never managed the kind of acclaim that the original “Godfather” and “The Godfather Part II” did. Coppola had originally envisioned the film as “a summing-up and an interpretation of the first two movies, rather than a third movie,” he said in an interview with The Times last year. He had never wanted to use the “Part III” label in the first place. The title, he explained, “was the thread hanging out of the sock that annoyed me, so that led me to pull on the thread.”FridayDOING THE MOST WITH PHOEBE ROBINSON 11 p.m. on Comedy Central. The comedian Phoebe Robinson, known to many as one of the erstwhile co-hosts of the podcast “Two Dope Queens,” is on her own in hosting this new comedy series. Well, sort of: Each episode finds Robinson spending time with a different famous face. She goes horseback riding with the comic Whitney Cummings. She meets Kevin Bacon at a ropes course. The first season also includes appearances from the fashion designer Tan France, the model Ashley Graham, the comedian Hasan Minhaj, the actress Gabrielle Union and several other guests.AMERICAN MASTERS — OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE (2021) 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). Ken Burns and Lynn Novick are on PBS earlier this week with their new documentary, “Hemingway,” but on Friday night Burns’s younger brother, Ric Burns, gets a turn in the director’s chair. He’s the filmmaker behind this feature-length documentary, which profiles the neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks, whose many explorations of the mind turned him into a best-selling author. Burns explores the life of Sacks, who died in 2015 at 82, through a “deftly edited mix of archival footage, still imagery, talking-head interviews and in-the-moment narrative,” Glenn Kenny wrote in his review for The Times. Kenny added that, “while the movie steers around the details of how post-fame Sacks became something of a brand, it beautifully presents a portrait of his compassion and bravery.”SaturdaySidney Flanigan in “Never Rarely Sometimes Always.”Focus FeaturesNEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS (2020) 5:45 p.m. on HBO Signature. A young woman takes a long journey to get an abortion in this latest movie from the filmmaker Eliza Hittman. The story follows Autumn (Sidney Flanigan), a 17-year-old who gets on a bus to New York City after being told that she needs parental permission to obtain an abortion in her home state, Pennsylvania. She’s accompanied by a cousin, Skylar (Talia Ryder), who helps her jump over the many hurdles along the way. The result is a film that “tells a seldom-told story about abortion,” Manohla Dargis wrote in her review for The Times. It does so, Dargis added, “without cant, speeches, inflamed emotions and — most powerfully — without apology.” She included it on her list of the 10 best movies of 2020.SundayBeulah Mae Donald, as seen in “The People v. the Klan.”CNNTHE PEOPLE V. THE KLAN 9 p.m. on CNN. After her son Michael Donald was killed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1981, Beulah Mae Donald successfully sued the hate group for $7 million, in what became a groundbreaking case. Her push for justice is at the heart of this four-part documentary series, which looks back at work by civil rights activists to dismantle the Klan’s power in the 20th century. The program ties those activists’ work to modern movements for justice.2021 BAFTA AWARDS 8 p.m. on BBC America. Chloé Zhao’s Oscars front-runner, “Nomadland,” and the British coming-of-age film “Rocks,” from the filmmaker Sarah Gavron, are the two most-nominated films at this year’s EE British Academy Film Awards, Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars. They lead a notably diverse slate of nominees, which comes after BAFTA’s voting rules were overhauled to address criticism of last year’s ceremony, when no people of color were nominated in the main acting categories and no women were nominated for best director. More