Fresh off his gig to host this year’s Primetime Emmys, comedian and ‘SNL’ veteran Kenan Thompson is back on stage Thursday night in Atlanta as he kicks off the 13th edition of his ‘Kenan Presents The Ultimate Comedy Showcase” – and this time with a few new technological wrinkles.
The Stand-Up Comedy Search, which kicks off at the Atlanta Comedy Theater on September 22, follows Thompson as he searches for talented adult and children’s comedians in more than 50 cities. Among the new items, all over the country (more than 50 major cities).
Thompson partnered with Rendered Talent to include a virtual reality option allowing participants to participate in the metaverse through the “Failed To Render Comedy Club”. Additionally, Thompson has partnered with Proto to be able to join live broadcasts through the metaverse as a digital hologram, attending showcases digitally to fit into his busy schedule via the 4K hologram device of Proto.
After the first Atlanta showcase, the next big city showcase will be in Chicago on October 5th.
Also in today’s newscasts:
PRODUCTION
Production began on Tubi Original Movie “Spread”, starring Elizabeth Gillies, Harvey Keitel, Diedrich Bader, Bryan Craig, Teri Polo, Blake Harrison, Tim Rozon and Keith Walker. The film comes from Cartel Pictures and is set to debut in 2023.
Gillies plays an ambitious aspiring journalist who lands a temp job at an adult magazine run by an aging king of the industry, played by Keitel, and struggles with her idealism as she works to help the company succeed. The film is directed by Ellie Kanner and written and co-produced by Buffy Charlet, and also stars Dia Frampton, Jonah Platt and Diora Baird.
The film’s plot is inspired by screenwriter Charlet’s real-life experience as a temp at Hustler magazine, where she eventually became editor-in-chief, and is produced by Gillies and produced by Stan Spry, Eric Scott Woods and Graem Louis.
APPOINTMENT
TheGrio has announced that “Masters of the Game” will air Friday, September 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and will air original episodes every last Friday of the month on TheGrio’s cable channel. Writer and journalist Touré hosts one-on-one conversations every episode, and early guests will include tennis superstar Frances Tiafoe in her first full-length interview since the US Open and the NFL’s first ever black female coach, Jennifer King.
Future guests on the program will include filmmaker Tyler Perry, NBA head coach Doc Rivers, Debbie Allen and many more. The show is produced by Kash Alexander; Christina Faith also directs and produces.
*
Canela Media has announced that her new docuseries titled “Mi Vida,” her second original project that features celebrities’ first-hand accounts of their lives, will premiere on November 10.
The first part of the docuseries will take place in 2022 and will feature Kate del Castillo in the first episode, with four additional episodes releasing weekly before the end of the year. The second part, with five additional episodes, will debut in the first quarter of 2023. In addition to del Castillo, other stars who will be featured in “Mi Vida” episodes include Manolo Cardona, Ludwika Paleta, Jencarlos Canela, Julián Gil, Roselyn Sánchez, Guy Ecker, Gaby Espino and Danny Trejo.
The ten-episode series is produced by Canela Media in partnership with JK Media Group.
*
Crackle Plus’ original series “Wedding Talk,” featuring hosts Tara Lipinski, Jose Rolon and Jove Meyer, will debut October 13 on the streaming service. It will be available exclusively on the Chicken Soup for the Soul and Crackle ad-supported streaming apps, as well as the Chicken Soup for the Soul ad-supported free-to-air TV channel.
Olympic gold medalist and Olympic commentator Lipinski will go from sport to fashion, discussing all things nuptials with wedding planner José Rolón and leading wedding designer Jove Meyer during each 30-minute episode of ” Wedding Talk”.
The series is produced by Jess Loren, Erick Geisler and Matt Hanna for production company To Whom It May Concern LLC, and produced by Michael Winter and David Ellender for Chicken Soup for the Soul Television Group and Rachel Silver of Love Stories TV.
FRAMES
SKDK announced that Sarah Lyons has joined the company’s New York office as senior vice president of public affairs practice. In her new role at the firm, she will support business, technology and healthcare clients at both SKDK and Sloane.
“Sarah has long supported the work of SKDK’s key healthcare clients as a consultant, and her arrival as a full-time senior vice president provides us with an exceptional opportunity to further deploy her expertise in our entire public affairs practice,” said Mike Morey, Partner at SKDK. “Sarah’s expertise as a communications strategist is second to none and we are grateful to have her on our side.”
Since early 2021, Lyons has been working with SKDK’s corporate clients in a consulting role serving its healthcare clients. Prior to that, she served as Vice President of Corporate Communications for AMC Networks, where she was responsible for developing and executing internal and external communications strategies in support of content, creative offerings, advertising sales, data, distribution and new ventures.
