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      Toni Braxton, Whoopi Goldberg Fan, Watches ‘The View’ in Her Pajamas

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      “I love a good debate,” said the R&B singer and actress, who can be seen alongside her sisters in the TV series “The Braxtons.” “It doesn’t always make you smile, but it always provokes thought.”Toni Braxton wasn’t initially enthusiastic about rebooting “Braxton Family Values,” the reality show in which she starred for seven seasons with her sisters, Traci, Towanda, Trina and Tamar.“Not that I don’t love hanging out with my sisters — I’m just not comfortable with people being in my space like that,” she said. “I’m old school. I’m a bit aloof.”She ultimately did it for Traci, who died of esophageal cancer in 2022 and who had been adamant that her sisters continue with the show.Grief and healing are the main themes in the all-new series “The Braxtons,” which airs on We TV and is available on the streaming service ALLBLK.It isn’t the same without Traci, Toni Braxton said. “Part of our DNA is missing. Everyone is trying figure out how to live in this heartache.”Besides “Braxton Family Values,” Braxton is known for her roles on Broadway (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Aida,” “After Midnight”) and for her many R&B hits, including “Breathe Again,” “Another Sad Love Song” and “Un-Break My Heart” — which she performs in “Love & Laughter,” her joint Las Vegas residency with Cedric the Entertainer.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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      Kamala Harris’s Main-Character Energy

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      Accepting the nomination, the vice president completed a whirlwind ascent — and sought to finally supplant Donald Trump at the center of America’s political drama.There were a lot of big names at the Democratic National Convention. Night 1 had the unprecedented send-off of a sitting president. Night 2 had not one but two Obamas (plus a raucous roll call of states feat. Lil Jon). Night 3: You get Oprah! And you get Oprah!There were whispers and reports all day on Thursday that the biggest, most special secret guest of all would appear at the climax. Was it Beyoncé? Taylor Swift? Mitt Romney?At the end of the night, after a typical program of endorsements and character witnesses, Roy Cooper, the governor of North Carolina, wrapped up and yielded the stage to …Kamala Harris?The rumors, it turned out, were just that. Ms. Harris was the surprise star of her own show.But in a way, that had been the theme of the entire convention. As a TV production, the event was designed to build on the Kamalanomenon and magnify it. It expressed not a platform but a vibe.Ms. Harris’s ascent was of course politically extraordinary, a whirlwind of less than a month from replacing President Biden to the convention. But it was also unprecedented as a media phenomenon — at least in politics, where images are usually built over years.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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      In ‘Shogun,’ Anna Sawai Drew On the Power of Silence. And Mozart.

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      “It gives me confidence,” she said about her first Emmy nomination, for best actress in a drama. “I have such bad impostor syndrome.”This interview contains major spoilers for Season 1 of “Shogun.”When Anna Sawai was preparing to die, she listened to Mozart.In a key scene of the FX series “Shogun” — in which Toda Mariko, the disgraced but defiant noblewoman and samurai she plays, meets her fiery demise — Sawai delivers a rebellious speech to the sinister Lord Ishido (Takehiro Hira). Lady Mariko knows it doubles as a death sentence. To prepare for this pivotal moment, Sawai said, “I was listening to ‘Requiem K. 626’ — ‘Lacrimosa.’”The music, she said, gave her power. “It really helps you build,” she said in an interview last week. Referring to the director of the episode, Frederick E.O. Toye, she continued: “I remember Fred coming to me multiple times and asking, ‘Do you still have a couple more takes in you?’ I was like: ‘Yeah, this is totally fine. I feel good. Let’s do it.’”Set in feudal Japan and based on the 1975 novel by James Clavell, the first season of “Shogun” focuses largely on the relationship between Sawai’s Lady Mariko and John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), the temperamental English navigator whose arrival in Japan triggers the conflict that drives the series. That conflict tests Mariko’s Catholic beliefs and her fealty to traditional Japanese customs against her desire for Blackthorne — and for justice against her oppressors. It also leads directly to her death.“People are always like, ‘It must have been tough to prepare for that episode,’” Sawai said. “But I’ve been holding it in for 10 months, and I finally get to let go.”It was the end for Mariko but not for Sawai’s relationship to the character: Her performance, almost entirely in subtitled Japanese, landed her an Emmy nomination for best actress in a drama. A fearless exploration of the emotional chasm between Mariko’s duties and her desires, it is all the more haunting for how much it leaves hidden.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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      ‘Rings of Power’ Returns, With More Creatures and More Evil

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      For its second season, the creators of Amazon’s pricey “Lord of the Rings” prequel aim to raise the bar, and have leaned into psychodrama.What does it take to bring Tolkien’s Middle-earth to life? In part, ambition on a scale to rival the fantasy writer’s epic tales, if the set for Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is any indication.In April last year, the production for Season 2 sprawled across several sites around Windsor, England. Shuttle cars sped hundreds of crew members and craft makers between vast studios and forests. For about eight months, nearly 90 cast members spent hours in hair and makeup to be transformed into elves, dwarves, orcs and other Middle-earth dwellers.A building housed racks of costumes and specially molded or 3-D-printed trinkets and armor. Outdoor sets the size of playgrounds plunged the actors into a court in Númenor or the trenches of an orc camp. And nearby, machinery waited in a muddy field to film a gritty battle scene inspired by films like “Saving Private Ryan.”“I kept saying constantly on set: more blood, more dust, more mud, more everything,” Charlotte Brandstrom, who directed four of the upcoming season’s episodes, said in an interview. (Some scenes set in Rhûn were also filmed in the Canary Islands.)This, after all, might be the most expensive series in TV history, a blockbuster prequel that reportedly cost Amazon $715 million for its first season, and premieres the first three episodes of its second season on Thursday.“Rings of Power” introduces — or reintroduces — viewers to an ensemble of characters spread across the expanse of Middle-earth.Ross Ferguson/Prime VideoWe 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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      Jon Stewart Goes Live From Chicago on the Last Night of the D.N.C.

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      After Kamala Harris accepted the nomination, Stewart mused: “How funny would it have been if at the end she was like, ‘But seriously, though: not for me.’”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.Kamala FTWVice President Kamala Harris accepted her party’s presidential nomination on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention on Thursday.Jon Stewart called it “Kamala’s Night” on “The Daily Show,” saying, “How funny would it have been if at the end she was like, ‘But seriously, though: not for me. This has all been great, but I’ve been thinking it over.’”“Kamala Harris’s speech was everything we’ve been waiting for all week. She hit her opponent on his policy failures. She hit him on his dereliction of duty. She hit him on his lies, his treason and his crimes and his crimes and his crimes. She is a prosecutor in the trial of Donald J. Trump. He is guilty as charged and now it is time to sentence him to four to eight years of President Harris.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“But credit where credit is due: the Democrats, on short notice, exploited their newfound momentum and enthusiasm with a display of the breadth and width of this diverse, often contradictory party of Roosevelt. At their convention, they had union leaders and C.E.O.s. They had Democratic Party icons and lifelong Republicans. They had a guy yelling, ‘Screw the billionaires!’ followed immediately by a very happy billionaire. [imitating a Democrat:] ‘It’s all OK if it’s our billionaire. I don’t like billionaires, but he’s all right.’” — JON STEWART, referring to Bernie Sanders and Gov. JB Pritzker“Listen to me: Whatever you’re feeling, go with it. Whether that feeling is joy or perhaps relief at having a chance when you had none is exhilarating.” — JON STEWARTThe Punchiest Punchlines (What a Difference a Month Can Make Edition)“A lot can change in a month. Right now, Kamala’s campaign headquarters are buzzing, while Biden’s have been turned into a Spirit Halloween.” — JIMMY FALLON“Meanwhile, last night, Tim Walz officially accepted the nomination to be vice president. Now, a month ago, nobody knew Tim Walz, and now he’s famous. Even the Hawk Tuah Girl was like, ‘Damn, that was quick.’” — JIMMY FALLON“In his speech last night at the Democratic National Convention, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz told the crowd, ‘Never underestimate a public-school teacher.’ He’s right. My mother is a public-school teacher, and she can drink way more than you’d think.” — SETH MEYERS“In one month, they have raised around $500 million. Congratulations, Democrats, you can stop texting now.” — STEPHEN COLBERTThe Bits Worth WatchingPop star Sabrina Carpenter performed her hit “Please Please Please” on Thursday’s “Tonight Show.”Also, Check This OutCash Cobain, 26, has released six projects since 2021, including his breakthrough mixtape, “2 Slizzy 2 Sexy.”Andre D. Wagner for The New York TimesThe breakout rapper and producer Cash Cobain is a central figure of “sexy drill.” More

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      ‘Pachinko’ Is a Gorgeous Epic of Love and Struggle

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      Based on the novel by Min Jin Lee, this thoughtful series about a Korean family across generations returns to Apple TV+ for a second season.Adapted from the acclaimed novel by Min Jin Lee, the Apple TV+ drama “Pachinko” spans decades in the life of a Korean family, beginning first in 1915 under Japanese colonial rule in their home country and later in Japan, where their personal ambitions bump up against ingrained prejudice.“Pachinko,” Season 2 of which premieres on Friday, hits on multiple emotional levels. The high drama of the many romantic entanglements melds with the thoughtful historical fiction about how a strange mixture of trauma and love reverberates through generations. It makes for a gem of a show about a family’s will not only to survive but also to thrive.At the center of the sprawling epic is Sunja, played as a young woman by Minha Kim and as a grandmother by Yuh-jung Youn, an Oscar winner for “Minari.” Season 1 charted Sunja’s childhood, her first romance and betrayal, and then her move to Osaka with Isak (Steve Sanghyun Noh), a young pastor who marries her while she is already pregnant. In the later timeline, which began in New York City in 1989, Sunja’s American-educated grandson, Solomon (Jin Ha), headed to Tokyo with aims of ascending in the business world, assuming at first that he could use his Koreanness to an advantage.Season 2 continues the 1989 story line, but jumps ahead in the earlier timeline to 1945, as the American bombing of Osaka looms. Sunja is now keeping herself afloat selling kimchi, though supplies are scarce. Her eldest boy (Kang Hoon Kim), is studious but tormented by his classmates, while her youngest (Eunseong Kwon) is an adorable firecracker, whose presence does a lot to enliven the otherwise grim circumstances. (The wonderful opening credits sequence, which has the cast dancing to the 1969 Grass Roots tune “Wait a Million Years,” is also a burst of joy.)Even as the two story threads feel mismatched — a lot more happens in the World War II plot than in 1989 — the writers always find savvy links between them. They are helped by the remarkable work of Kim and Youn, each elevating the other as we come to understand the root of Sunja’s resoluteness and how she relates to her grandson’s ambition. Paired with Nico Muhly’s stunning and plaintive score, the performances make it easy to become enraptured by Sunja’s story. More

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      Silvio Santos, Provocative Brazilian Television Host, Dies at 93

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      He was best known for the long-running variety show “Programa Silvio Santos,” on which he charmed his audiences with gimmicks and showcased a range of performers.Silvio Santos, a Brazilian media mogul and television personality who built one of the country’s biggest entertainment empires, died on Saturday in São Paulo. He was 93.His death, in a hospital, was caused by bronchopneumonia related to a case of H1N1 flu this month, according to a statement by SBT, the television channel he owned.Mr. Santos spent more than six decades in front of the camera. He created and hosted several popular variety shows, including Brazil’s homegrown version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” His best-known show, “Programa Silvio Santos,” has been on the air since 1963. (His daughter Patrícia became the host in 2021, although he continued to appear occasionally.)Every Sunday night, viewers watched Mr. Santos shimmy with dancers, hand out prizes to a mostly female audience, and showcase a range of performers, including circus acrobats, drag queens and hypnotists.“It wasn’t Sunday without Silvio Santos on the television screen,” said Geraldo Alckmin, Brazil’s vice president, who knew Mr. Santos personally. “He would become part of every Brazilian family in this fun, relaxed way.”A natural showman, Mr. Santos came to be known for his 100-kilowatt smile and his playful interaction with audiences. Dressed sharply in a custom-made suit, he would walk onstage to the tune of a catchy jingle, posing a question to the audience: “Who wants money?” In one of his signature gimmicks, he fashioned paper planes out of cash and launched them into a cheering crowd.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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      Matt Berry Is Afraid of Heights, Not Comedy

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      His performance as a debauched vampire in “What We Do in the Shadows” earned him an Emmy nod. It has also often had him dangling 50 feet off the ground.Many actors will claim to have been surprised by an Emmy nomination. Matt Berry seems to mean it. While “What We Do in the Shadows,” the gleefully grotesque FX vampire comedy, has piled up a score of Emmy nominations, none were for performance.So when Berry’s agent called in mid-July and asked to FaceTime, Berry, a prolific singer-songwriter who was busy at his drum kit recording a new folk-pop album, had no idea why.“I can honestly tell you I was not expecting an Emmy nomination,” he said. But it was — a nomination for best lead actor in a comedy series, his first in any category.Berry, 50, an English actor best known for cult comedies like “Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace” and “Toast of London,” stars as Laszlo Cravensworth, a 300-year-old English aristocrat turned vampire. An avatar of decadence with a thing for orgies and cravats, he is played by Berry with a debauched joy and an accent that somehow suggests cut glass, crushed velvet and many, many quaaludes.Berry, whose gift is for making the most outlandish circumstances feel oddly plausible, recently wrapped the show’s sixth and final season. He didn’t seem to regret it. “I’m one of those that is very keen to cut loose when I’m onto a good thing,” he said. And despite the occasional wire work — he has an entirely serious fear of heights — “Shadows” had been good.Reached at his home in Bedfordshire, England, Berry discussed Victorian style, vampirism’s upsides and the most outlandish things the show has ever made him do. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.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