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      Labor Board Classifies ‘Love Is Blind’ Contestants as Employees

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      The National Labor Relations Board’s case against the Netflix hit could have ripple effects across the reality TV industry.The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against the hit reality show “Love Is Blind” on Wednesday in which it classified the show’s contestants as employees, opening a case that could have ripple effects across the reality television industry.The complaint by the labor board’s regional office in Minnesota says that the show committed several labor violations, including unlawful contractual terms related to confidentiality and noncompete provisions.By classifying the cast members — who date and sometimes marry other singles on the show — as employees with certain federal legal protections, the complaint opens the door to possible unionization. It is one of the labor board’s first forays into reality television and a major development in the effort by some onscreen personalities to change the industry through the legal system.Several contestants on “Love Is Blind,” which streams on Netflix and has been one of the buzziest dating shows since its debut in 2020, have come forward in lawsuits, in interviews and on social media with objections to the restrictions outlined in their contracts.One contestant, Renee Poche, became involved in a legal dispute with the show after she publicly accused the production of allowing her to become engaged, in front of TV cameras, to a man “who was unemployed with a negative balance in his bank account.” She said in court papers that after she had made “limited public remarks about her distressing time on the program,” one of the companies behind the production initiated arbitration proceedings against her, accusing her of violating her nondisclosure agreement and seeking $4 million. (Poche, a veterinarian who lives in Texas, said she had earned a stipend of $1,000 per week, adding up to a total of $8,000.)Two “Love Is Blind” participants — Poche and Nick Thompson — submitted complaints to the labor board, resulting in an investigation into the policies and practices of the production companies behind the show, which include Kinetic Content and Delirium TV.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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      The Amazing Kreskin, Mentalist and 1970s TV Star, Dies at 89

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      His display of mysterious mind-reading powers on TV made him a pop culture phenomenon in the 1970s.George J. Kresge, who as the entertainer the Amazing Kreskin used mentalist tricks to dazzle audiences as he rose to fame on late-night television in the 1970s, died on Tuesday in Wayne, N.J. He was 89. A close friend, Meir Yedid, said the death, at an assisted living facility, was from complications of dementia.Kreskin’s feats included divining details of strangers’ personal lives and guessing at playing cards chosen randomly from a deck. And he had a classic trick at live shows: entrusting audience members to hide his paycheck in the auditorium, and then relying on his instincts to find it — or else going without payment for a night.George Joseph Kresge Jr. was born in Montclair, N.J., on Jan. 12, 1935, and became known professionally as either the Amazing Kreskin or just Kreskin. As a child he was drawn to both magic and psychology, he said, and by the time he was a teenager he was performing mentalist tricks for audiences.His star rose in the 1970s and early 1980s when he was a regular guest on the talk show circuit. He made dozens of appearances on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” — 88 according to some sources — and was also seen on “The Mike Douglas Show” and “Late Night with David Letterman,” among other shows. (In the 21st century, he appeared on “The Tonight Show” when Jimmy Fallon was the host.)With other famous guests, he played psychological tricks that looked like magic: asking people to put their fingers on objects that would seem to move, for example, or guessing what card had been pulled from a deck.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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      Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie Revisit ‘The Simple Life’

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      The celebutantes-turned-businesswomen are rebooting the show that provided a blueprint for the past 20 years of reality TV.How would two troubled Los Angeles heiresses manage as members of the Bible Belt working class?The answer helped revolutionize reality TV and legitimized the careers of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. In 2003, the pair of 22-year-olds debuted in Fox’s “The Simple Life,” which documented their move to Altus, Ark., to live with a family on their farm and try out blue collar jobs.Hilton and Richie brought rich-girl haughtiness and high jinks to mundane tasks like cleaning hotel rooms and, in one memorable episode, serving burgers at a Sonic Drive-In. The result was a quotable megahit — with heart. “Their fish-out-of-water ineptitude serves as a social leveler that gives them their comeuppance and preserves the dignity of their rural hosts,” Alessandra Stanley wrote in a review for The New York Times. Unlike the other popular reality programs of the time, like “Big Brother” and “Survivor,” the allure of “The Simple Life” didn’t come from a wild premise or shocking competition: The personalities of and friendship between Hilton and Richie were the drawing card. That recipe has been built upon in subsequent reality franchises like “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” “Jersey Shore” and “The Real Housewives.”More than two decades later, the two are appearing in “Paris & Nicole: Encore,” a three-part reboot which is primarily set in L.A. and involves activities and outings a bit closer to home. It will air on Peacock beginning Thursday. Though the show centers on the pair’s staging of an opera based on “sanasa,” a made-up word which fans might remember as a mainstay joke on the original, Hilton and Richie also revisit Altus, Sonic and the friendship that made their show riveting TV.“There was nothing really to compare it to,” Hilton said of “The Simple Life.” “So we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.”Jerod Harris/Getty Images for VultureAhead of the “Encore” premiere, we talked to Hilton and Richie about how reality TV has changed since “The Simple Life,” the impact of social media on the genre and the shows they’re enjoying now.Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.You were some of the first reality TV stars, and now it is an oversaturated industry. How do you think the landscape has changed since “The Simple Life” first aired?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: America’s ‘Going Nuts’ Over a Murder Suspect’s Abs

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      Kimmel applauded people for “moving away from nonstop election coverage” to instead obsess over the looks of Luigi Mangione, who was charged with killing a C.E.O.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.‘Time’s sexiest’On Monday, Luigi Mangione was arrested and charged with the murder of Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare.Late night hosts commented Tuesday about the attention over Mangione’s looks, with Jimmy Kimmel calling him “Time’s sexiest alleged murderer of the year” and “the hottest coldblooded killer in America.”“I’m not sure what this says about us, but ever since these photos of him came out from his holding cell, from his mug shot — someone found his abs somewhere online.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Ryan Murphy right now is flying to Netflix headquarters in a jetpack.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“So many women and so many men are going nuts over how good-looking this killer is. And there’s a huge wave of horny washing over us right now.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“My question is, is he really even that hot? I mean, take away the hair, and the abs, the face, the arms, that easy smile, the way his eyes light up — wait, I’m sorry, what were we talking about? Syria? What are we talking about? Oh, yeah, we’re talking about the guy with the incredible abs.” — MICHAEL KOSTA“But I have to say, it does feel kind of good — we’re moving away from nonstop election coverage and back to drooling over a coldblooded murderer’s eyebrows and abs. I think that might be progress. Maybe not, I don’t know.” — JIMMY KIMMELThe Punchiest Punchlines (McFingered Edition)“For the last few days, there’s been a killer on the loose in America. Well, there’s actually tons of killers on the loose in America, but this one killed someone important, so they were really looking for him.” — MICHAEL KOSTA“The assassin’s name is Luigi Mangione? Did they find him hiding in a big pipe?” — MICHAEL KOSTA“Mangione has become something of an internet celebrity, and people are not thrilled with the Altoona McDonald’s employees who McFingered him. Several nasty Google reviews have been left of the Altoona location, including ‘They got rats behind the counter. Do not recommend,’ while many others simply left one-star reviews, citing bad service and so-called ‘snitches.’ You know what they say: Snitches get Filet-O-Fishes.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“It’s surprising that he comes from such a privileged background. He’s not really the kind of guy you expect to become a murderer. I mean, I expect him to crash the housing market, but not kill a guy.” — MICHAEL KOSTAWe 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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      Michael Cole, ‘Mod Squad’ Actor, Dies at 84

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      Mr. Cole, who played the wealthy Pete Cochran, had been the last of the show’s three stars still living.Michael Cole, the actor best known as Pete Cochran, the last of three actors who played hip, young undercover police officers on ABC’s hit show “The Mod Squad,” died on Tuesday. He was 84.A cause of death was not given. His death was confirmed by Christy Clark of the Stewart Talent Agency, which represented Mr. Cole.Mr. Cole was a young, struggling actor when he achieved overnight success on the police crime drama “The Mod Squad,” which ran on ABC from 1968 to 1973 and co-starred Peggy Lipton and Clarence Williams III.“The Mod Squad” was one of the first prime-time series to acknowledge the hippie counterculture and an early example of multiracial casting. It centered on three hippies in trouble with the law, who avoid jail time by joining the police department and working undercover. Mr. Cole was cast as Pete Cochran, a wealthy kid who was kicked out of his parents’ house for stealing a car. Mr. Williams played Linc Hayes, and Ms. Lipton played Julie Barnes.The trio gave the show one of its taglines: “One black, one white, one blonde.”The show became a runaway hit, tackling racism, abortion, the Vietnam War and drug abuse. It launched Mr. Cole, whose Hollywood résumé was thin, to fame.Clarence Williams III, Michael Cole and Peggy Lipton while shooting “Mod Squad” outside the Los Angeles County Museum.Bettmann — 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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      Jamie Foxx’s ‘What Happened Was…’ and Other Comedy Specials to Watch

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      The show is both an act of gratitude and a stand-up special. It’s one of four new comedy hours worth checking out.The latest batch of comedy specials worth watching starts with a much anticipated one from Jamie Foxx and includes hours from Matthew Broussard, Anthony Jeselnik and Fortune Feimster.Jamie Foxx ‘What Had Happened Was …’(Stream it on Netflix)In April 2023, news broke that Jamie Foxx had been hospitalized in Atlanta with what his daughter described on Instagram as a “medical complication.” Not much else was revealed, and in the vacuum of information, rumors spread. When a photo of Foxx appeared online, some conspiracy-minded types called it a clone. Katt Williams even jokingly questioned and made fun of his “mysterious illness.”Now Foxx says he wants to set the record straight. Speaking in a theater a few hundred yards from the hospital where he says his life was saved, Foxx enters wearing sunglasses but takes them off quickly to wipe away tears. He says he experienced a brain bleed, suffered a stroke, temporarily lost the ability to walk and doesn’t remember 20 days of his life. It’s a moving performance that feels like part of a growing trend of how comics deal with medical catastrophe.Tig Notaro did a famous hour about flirting with death not long after she got a cancer diagnosis. Keith Robinson also turned his two strokes into irreverent comedy. Foxx’s special is a much more polished production and sentimental affair. He tells a few jokes, pays tribute to his family repeatedly (he brings two daughters onstage) and preaches the virtues of prayer and comedy (“If I could stay funny, I could stay alive”). His most amusing moments involve his gift for impressions, including a riotous imagining of Denzel Washington if he, like Foxx, needed help going to the bathroom in a hospital. Foxx also does an excellent Katt Williams. But this isn’t a stand-up special so much as a celebration, an act of gratitude and the kind of emotive video often posted on Instagram.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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      Best Comedy of 2024: Nikki Glaser, Ronny Chieng,’ ‘English Teacher’ and More

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      Jon Stewart made “The Daily Show” must-see TV again, Theo Von had a memorable moment with Donald Trump, and Nikki Glaser broke through.Joe Rogan jumped to the front of the conservative media establishment. Netflix went in deeper on live comedy, while Disney entered the stand-up market. Katt Williams beefed even more than Kendrick Lamar and Drake. John Mulaney and Taylor Tomlinson became talk show hosts. It was an eventful year in comedy. Here are some highlights.Comedian of the YearNikki GlaserIn 2024, the stalwart comic Nikki Glaser finally broke big. The flashiest examples were her scene-stealing Tom Brady roast set and getting tapped to host the Golden Globes. But her new HBO hour provided more substance. Wearing a glittering dress and a strategic smile, she performs showbiz cheer, but underneath that shimmering facade is not just an ace club comic, but a restless artist exploring darker terrain. Glaser gets underestimated because she’s filthy. But she can go high as well as low, cover universal subjects and meta comedy analysis, do hilarious character work (look out Instagram moms) and brainy jokes. This relentlessly funny hour is bleaker than it looks, digging into suicide, rape and the apocalypse, and in a year when it seemed like everyone had a comic take on why you shouldn’t have kids, hers was the funniest.BEST SPECIAL‘Ronny Chieng: Love to Hate It’Ronny Chieng has always been an inspired hater. His intricately funny bits have long applied a spiky intelligence and distinctive jackhammer delivery to the zeitgeist. His very funny new hour represents a departure and a maturation. It has his characteristic social commentary, which feels timely even though it was shot before the election, but what makes this his best is that it also hits more personal notes, getting introspective without losing its fiery comic momentum.BEST STAND-UP ACTING‘English Teacher’Brian Jordan Alvarez in “English Teacher.”Steve Swisher/FXSo many shows are hurt by casting stiff stand-ups instead of funny actors, but not this one. Its comedians (Carmen Christopher, Langston Kerman) all shine, but the real standout is Sean Patton, a terminally underrated comic whose turn as a crude, if unexpectedly sensitive, gym teacher provides the beating heart of the show.BEST POLITICAL SPECIAL‘Ramy Youssef: More Feelings’The first time I thought the Democrats might lose the White House this year was after seeing Ramy Youssef talk about feeling abandoned by the party at a Brooklyn show early this year. His moody and thought-provoking hour arrived during the heat of the protests over the war in Gaza and engages with its raging politics without having his wry, minor-key sensibility pushed aside. It was a righteous and assured hour that expressed itself not through blunt polemic but elusiveness, metaphor and argument.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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      Late Night Chides Trump for Using Dr. Biden Photo to Hawk Cologne

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      The president-elect used a photo of Jill Biden smiling at him to promote his fragrances. Jimmy Kimmel thinks that’s because Melania has never smiled at him on camera.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.The Smell of ExcessAfter the first lady, Jill Biden, was photographed smiling at Donald Trump during the Notre-Dame Cathedral’s reopening ceremony on Saturday, the president-elect used the image to advertise his new fragrances on social media. (“A fragrance your enemies can’t resist!”)“He had to use that picture because he doesn’t have a picture of his own wife smiling at him,” Jimmy Kimmel said on Monday.“Even after all these years, Trump still can’t tell when a woman is faking it.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“It was a rare moment of conciliation, one that would have given this country hope had it not immediately been undermined by the returning president releasing an actual cologne ad belittling and sexualizing said moment.” — JON STEWART“You won! You don’t have to push merch anymore. I find it hard to believe I’m saying this, but it’s beneath you.” — JON STEWART“Although, if you do zoom in on Jill Biden, you see she may just be holding her breath there.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“In response, Dr. Biden used the photo to sell her new line of pepper spray.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“It’s perfect if you want to smell like a Big Mac that’s been sitting in a tanning bed and then thrown into the back of a Cybertruck.” — JIMMY FALLONThe Punchiest Punchlines (Big Score Edition)“The New York Mets last night signed outfielder Juan Soto to a $765 million deal, stealing him from their hated crosstown rivals, the Yankees. And as a Mets fan, I have to say I am very excited to see how terribly this will inevitably go for us.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“The New York Mets have reportedly signed former Yankees star Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765 million contract. And if you’re wondering how they can afford that, Mr. Met started an OnlyFans.” — SETH MEYERS“$765 million — not really the announcement you want to make to friends and family right before Christmas.” — JIMMY FALLONThe Bits Worth WatchingStephen Colbert and Billy Crystal shared their favorite lines from “When Harry Met Sally” on Monday’s “Late Show.”What We’re Excited About on Tuesday NightThe singer-songwriters Julien Baker and Torres will make their television debut as a country music duo on Tuesday’s “Tonight Show.”Also, Check This OutTaylor Swift at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in May 2023. Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York TimesTaylor Swift’s “Eras” tour brought in $2 billion in gross ticket sales, double that of any other concert tour in history. More