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    Late Night Hosts Declare Harris the Winner in the Debate

    Stephen Colbert said that the vice president needed to “rattle Trump’s cage. And now that it is over, they are still looking for pieces of his cage in low orbit.”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.Best in ShowOn Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump met for their only scheduled debate before the election. Three of the five late-night shows went live after it ended, with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Jon Stewart offering their takes.Colbert said that Harris “came out swinging,” looking to “rattle Trump’s cage.”“And now that it is over, they are still looking for pieces of his cage in low orbit.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“Harris got under his skin like she was stuffing in butter and rosemary. It was beautiful. By the end of the debate, the meat was falling off the bone.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“Usually when Donald Trump gets a spanking like this from a woman, it’s with a Forbes magazine. Kamala was pushing his buttons like a 12-year-old playing Fortnite.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“He was so nonsensical that she looked at him the way a parent looks at a kid giving a presentation on why they should be allowed to get a pet tiger.” — STEPHEN COLBERTOn “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart called out Trump for his answer to a question about his involvement in the Jan. 6. insurrection.“You spent two months riling up your base that our country had literally been stolen from them through fraudulent means, that you could never even get a whiff of in a court of law, and let — let yourself just abuse them. You pressed on. You abused their trust. You showed up for a speech? You [expletive] tweeted ‘Join me on Jan. 6. It will be wild.’ But suddenly now: ‘I was just a hired magician to do the bar mitzvah! I didn’t do anything. I showed up with a hat and a rabbit and then the whole party went out of control!’” — JON STEWART“And this is it, ladies and gentlemen. I don’t know if this debate is going to change anything. I really don’t. People are awfully set in the manner that they view these proceedings. What I think is a home-run answer for one candidate, someone else views as a dodge or a lie or any of those other things. In some ways, it doesn’t matter what they say anymore, but one thing will always be true, and it is the quality of the former president I respect the least: Whenever he is cornered and forced to face even the smallest of consequences for his own mendacity and scheming, he reverts to the greatest refuge of scoundrels. As Shaggy would say, ‘It wasn’t me!’” — JON STEWART“[imitating Trump] OK, but you can’t believe a thing I say. I’m crazy! Everybody knows that! I’m the Hannibal Lecter whale guy. Immigrants are taking our cats and giving them operations to turn them into dogs and then eating the dogs. Whale!” — STEPHEN COLBERTThe Punchiest Punchlines (Lock Up Your Dogs Edition)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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    SNL’s Cast for the 50th Season Includes Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim and Jane Wickline

    Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim and Jane Wickline will be the show’s new faces in its landmark season.The cast for Season 50 of the NBC sketch comedy series “Saturday Night Live” is in place, with the up-and-coming comedians Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim and Jane Wickline joining as featured players, the network announced on Tuesday. The new season is scheduled to premiere on Sept. 28.Chloe Troast, who joined “S.N.L.” as a featured player last season, was not asked to return, she said in an Instagram post on Monday.“Unfortunately I was not asked back to ‘S.N.L.’ this season,” Troast wrote. “I wish I was going back to be with all the amazing friends I made there, it truly felt like home. But it wasn’t in the cards.”Padilla, like many “S.N.L.” alumni before her — including Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig and Phil Hartman — comes from the Los Angeles improv and sketch comedy troupe the Groundlings. She also appeared this year in a final-season episode of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and in an episode of the NBC revival of “Night Court.”Chloe Troast, pictured playing Mama Cass in 2023, will not be returning to “S.N.L.”Will Heath/NBCWakim, a Lebanese American comedian who grew up mostly in Indiana, made his late-night stand-up debut in 2022 on NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” That year, he was named the New Face of Comedy at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal and has opened for the comics Roy Wood Jr., Nikki Glaser, Hasan Minhaj and Neal Brennan.Wickline is probably most recognizable from TikTok, where she has nearly a million followers and contributes regularly to “Stapleview,” a live TikTok comedy show.Also returning are the main cast members Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, James Austin Johnson, Colin Jost, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson and Bowen Yang. The former featured players Marcello Hernández, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker — all of whom joined “S.N.L.” for its 48th season — will move up the ranks to the main cast.In August, Punkie Johnson, who had been a part of “S.N.L.” since 2020, confirmed that she would not return for the coming season. Among the characters Johnson played was Vice President Kamala Harris. Maya Rudolph, an “S.N.L.” cast member from 2000 to 2007 who has returned to play Harris 10 times through 2021, seems poised to reprise the role as Harris vies for the White House as the Democratic candidate.Molly Kearney, the show’s first nonbinary cast member, announced in August that they would not be returning after two seasons with the program. “It was such a dream come true,” Kearney wrote in an Instagram post. “So incredibly grateful for this period in my life.” More

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    ‘Emily In Paris’ Goes on a Roman Holiday

    The frothy Netflix show frustrated Parisians with its portrait of their city. Now its heroine is heading to Rome — and the showrunner doesn’t care if residents there feel the same way.“Emily in Paris,” the hit Netflix series about a young American living a life of romance and luxury in France, has ignited a blaze of indignation since it premiered in late 2020.Emily’s clumsy grasp of the native tongue, brash designer clothes and exaggerated encounters with dashing chefs and flamboyant artists left some Parisians irate and American expatriates embarrassed, even as it became one of Netflix’s most popular comedies.Now in its fourth season — split into two installments, with the second arriving Thursday — the show continues to both charm and vex with its sunny vision of what the French newspaper Liberation has called “Disneyland Paris.”But in the new batch of episodes, Emily (Lily Collins) departs Paris and heads to Rome. Invited by her new Italian love interest Marcello (Eugenio Franceschini), she zooms around on his scooter, offering a picture-postcard view of the Eternal City with stops at touristic hallmarks like the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum and the Spanish Steps. As he entices Emily to move on to a new European capital, Marcello makes a pitch that doubles as the season’s mandate: “Forget about crepes. We’ll be eating pizza.”Darren Star, the creator and showrunner of “Emily in Paris,” said that Emily “was becoming very comfortable in Paris. I wanted to throw her into some unfamiliar waters.” He added that “we were able to live Emily’s life in Paris, and now we’re going to do the same thing in Rome.”Lily Collins as Emily, exploring her new surroundings.Giulia Parmigiani/NetflixWe 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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    Super Emmy: Is the Time Now Right for This Former Disaster?

    Fifty years ago, the Emmy Awards implemented a change deemed such a disaster it was quickly eliminated.For the 1974 ceremony, the Television Academy created a “Super Emmy” that pitted winners in the comedy and drama balloting against each other. For example, the “M*A*S*H” star Alan Alda took home two trophies that year: one for best comedy actor and a second in a head-to-head showdown with Telly Savalas, who had already won the drama lead acting award for “Kojak.”The stated goal was to streamline the televised ceremony — the category honors were given out before the telecast and only the Super Emmys were awarded on air. But Alda and his fellow winner Mary Tyler Moore joined critics like John J. O’Connor of The New York Times in panning the stunt, and organizers retreated.Yet a half-century and a reshaped television environment later, the Super Emmy, that strange visitor from the 1970s, might be one of those once-bad ideas whose time has finally come.Not that the Emmys are looking to prolong the show, which will air Sunday on ABC. Unlike the Oscars, TV’s most prestigious award remains pretty rigidly held to its allotted time, so adding a category would likely require pushing another out of the main broadcast.But a Super Emmy would do more than merely add a “Highlander”-style bolt of excitement — “There can be only one!” — to a generally predictable telecast. It would also acknowledge the blurring of lines in TV’s categorical designations, which often makes it hard to differentiate between drama, comedy and limited series.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 Observes ‘Debate Night Eve’

    Jimmy Kimmel predicted Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will face questions “on all the big issues: the economy, immigration, electrocution, sharks.”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 Night BeforeVice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will meet for their only scheduled debate on Tuesday night.On Monday, Jimmy Kimmel predicted the candidates will field questions “on all the big issues: the economy, immigration, electrocution, sharks — everything we care about.”“It’s Debate Night Eve, so don’t forget to put out some milk and cookies for Santa and then give him two minutes for a rebuttal.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“Of course, both candidates are very busy with last-minute preparations. Right now, Trump is trying to decide which shade of bronzer: jack-o’-lantern orange or burned corn on the cob?” — JIMMY FALLON“How could you possibly prepare to debate Donald Trump? This is a man who, if he doesn’t like the direction a hurricane is going, just draws a new hurricane on the map — you can’t debate that.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Trump, of course, is claiming that the debate is rigged against him, even though it hasn’t happened yet. Over the weekend, he announced that no boxes or artificial lifts will be allowed for Kamala — who is 5-foot-4 — to stand on because he says, ‘It would be a form of cheating, and the Democrats cheat enough.’ That’s right. You know, cheating is only allowed when it comes to wives, taxes and every round of golf that he’s ever played.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“There’s a lot riding on this. If Kamala doesn’t do well, you know, come January, our national bird might be the Kentucky Fried Chicken.” — JIMMY KIMMEL‘An Honor Just to be Nominated’An article in Rolling Stone said that while Trump was president, he tried to persuade Justice Department officials to use campaign finance laws and equal-time broadcast regulations to rule that anti-Trump jokes on late-night shows were illegal. Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel were among those on Trump’s list of targets.“Finally, I made an enemies list!” Colbert said. “I mean, obviously, there’s no guarantee I’ll be arrested, but it’s an honor just to be nominated.”“I’m now imagining me and all the other late-night hosts in prison together like the mobsters in ‘Goodfellas.’ I’m stirring the sauce, Colbert’s slicing the garlic with a razor blade.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“No doubt it’ll all be decided this weekend in Los Angeles — whoever wins the Emmy for best talk show will be sent to a camp: ‘And the gulag goes to …’ So, to my old colleague Jon Stewart, I just want you to know, I voted for you.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“How would this work for Jon Stewart? Would he only go to jail on Mondays?” — JIMMY KIMMELThe Punchiest Punchlines (Change of Heart Edition)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 Life-Changing Journey of ‘My Brilliant Friend’

    The four actresses who played Lenù and Lila from adolescence to middle age discuss the end of the HBO series.In the fourth season of “My Brilliant Friend,” premiering Monday on HBO, the childhood friends and fierce rivals Lila and Lenù navigate marriage and divorce, motherhood, loss and middle age.This is the final chapter, catapulting the protagonists from the 1970s to the 21st century against the background of Italy’s upheavals, and is based on “The Story of the Lost Child,” the fourth book in Elena Ferrante’s wildly popular Neapolitan series.Writing in The Times, James Poniewozik called the show “one of the most incisive portraits of a lifelong relationship ever made for TV.” But this final season also ends a production project that started in 2016 and which all of its lead actresses agreed was the most important of their careers.Margherita Mazzucco, 21, played Elena “Lenù” Greco, and Gaia Girace, 20, played Raffaella “Lila” Cerullo, through three seasons — from the characters’ adolescence to their 30s. Neither had acted before they were cast in 2017, but they are both now stopped on the street at home and abroad.For the seasoned actress Irene Maiorino, 39, who plays Lila in Season 4, the show offered a chance to become better known outside Italy. And the already internationally acclaimed Alba Rohrwacher, 45, who narrated the series before being cast as the grown Lenù. Rohrwacher described the role as an “incredible journey” that “can only happen once in a lifetime.”The four women met together for the first time on a recent muggy afternoon in Rome, to discuss passing the baton from one pair of Lenùs and Lilas to the next and whether there were heightened expectations now that Ferrante’s “My Brilliant Friend” had been named the best book of the 21st century in a recent New York Times survey. (They all laughed: They’d heard.)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 on TV This Week: Lots of Awards Shows and the Presidential Debate

    The VMAs, Creative Emmys and Emmy Awards are on the schedule, while ABC is hosting the first debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.For those who still enjoy a cable subscription, here is a selection of cable and network shows, movies and specials scheduled for this week, Sept. 9-15. Details and times are subject to change.MondayGREASE (1987) 8 p.m. on Paramount. “It turned colder, that’s where it ends,” the characters Danny Zu-ko and Sandy Olsson sing in their duet “Summer Nights,” expressing a sentiment appropriate to that season when summer flings end. Of course, for Danny (John Travolta) and Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) summer evolved into fall, when they serendipitously started the year at the same school, setting the stage for more teenage drama, drag races and lots of hangs at the local diner.TuesdayPRESIDENTIAL DEBATE 9 p.m. on ABC. This debate, between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, will be our first chance to see the candidates one-on-one as they discuss issues and their proposals. Hosted by ABC and moderated by Linsey Davis and David Muir, the debate is intended to be more orderly than the ones in recent election cycles. Trump and Harris (begrudgingly) agreed on a plan to mute the microphone of whoever is not actively speaking.Wednesday2024 VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS 8 p.m. on MTV. After Sabrina Carpenter released an album with songs that fans think are about Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, all three will be under one roof and ready to perform at this annual show. Megan Thee Stallion will be on double duty — hosting and performing — and Katy Perry is set to receive the Video Vanguard Award. Think of this ceremony as the rebellious little cousin of the Grammys, featuring lots of fun performances, onstage shenanigans and dance numbers.Seth Meyers on “Late Night With Seth Meyers.”Lloyd Bishop/NBCA CLOSER LOOK WITH SETH MEYERS: PRIMETIME LIVE ELECTION SPECIAL 10 p.m. on NBC. After you’ve taken some time to digest the debate and gotten a bit of a palate cleanser with the VMAs, Seth Meyers is hosting an hourlong special to break down everything we saw in the debate in his typical funny but informative format.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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    Review: ‘My Brilliant Friend’ Comes to a Brilliant Conclusion

    HBO’s Elena Ferrante adaptation completes one of the best portraits of a lifelong relationship ever made for TV.“I was born in a poor, run-down neighborhood, very run-down, where men’s fury, their violence, was and is a daily occurrence.”In an author’s talk, Elena Greco (Alba Rohrwacher), known to us as Lenù, is describing herself the way we encountered her in the first season of “My Brilliant Friend.” In a gang-ridden, suffocating area of 1950s Naples, she found an ally and sometime rival in Raffaella Cerullo, called Lila, with whom she would be bound for life.By the fourth and final season, which begins Monday on HBO, Lenù has become the writer of her own story, in acclaimed essays and novels. But she is also still very much living it — drawn back to her old neighborhood, its passions and its dangers, as one of TV’s best series reaches a potent, finely observed conclusion.Lenù and Lila met in the beginning of the series as classmates, two smart girls in a place of poverty and street beat-downs without much opportunity for women. (The younger Lenù was played by Elisa Del Genio and Margherita Mazzucco, Lila by Ludovica Nasti and Gaia Girace; in Season 4, Rohrwacher takes over as Lenù and Irene Maiorino as Lila.)Lenù’s intellect is controlled and her nature studious; she’s a hard worker who does well in academic settings. Lenù’s genius is wild and uncontrolled — it burns and bursts out of her. Lenù is cautious and a people pleaser; Lila is enigmatic and brave, with a fierce sense of justice. Each has something missing in the other. Lenù adopts something of Lila’s rebelliousness. Lila, though she sometimes denigrates Lenù’s ivory-tower pursuits, also seems to admire and perhaps envy her success.Fabrizio Gifuni plays Nino, a longtime crush of both of the friends.Eduardo Castaldo/HBOWe 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