Entertainment News Friday December 10th
At the movies it’s West Side Story. 60 years after the original release Director Steven Spielberg is back with an updated version of the classic musical.
The man who started it all for Motown Berry Gordy is being honored with a Kennedy Center Honor. Gordy 92 is in good company with Bette Midler and Joni Mitchell. The ceremony is airing on CBS December 22nd.
Get ready for Judge Steve Harvey. Steve Harvey is playing the Judge and Jury is his new show debuting Jan. 4th on ABC.
Jimmy Fallon of Tonight show fame also has a new show debuting in January on NBC. The show called ‘That’s My Jam’ features celebrities competing in musical and dance inspired games. The variety show will also feature Philly Natives Musician Adam Blackstone and DJ Aktive.
Get ready for Spiderman No Way Home, the movie hits theaters Dec. 17th. The trailer is hot! Spiderman (Tom Holland) is back with Zendaya, Jacob Batalon who plays his best friend Ned. Jamie Foxx is returning as Electro. Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberpatch) has joined the cast to help Spiderman. The villains Green Goblin and Doctor Ock also return.
The WDAS Holiday Jam is happening Friday December 17 at The Met Broad and Poplar. Tickets are on sale now for the show starring Philly’s own Jazmine Sullivan Johnny Gill and Eric Roberson.
The Sex and the City reboot‘Just Like That’ has launched with 10 episodes on HBO MAX. The ladies return minus Samantha, Actress Kim Cattrall. The Ladies are in their 50’s navigating thru life. Actress Nicole Ari Parker is now part of the cast.
Get ready for Harlem a new show on Prime Video called Harlem.The creator of the show is Tracey Oliver the force behind the hit movie ‘Girls Trip’. Harlem stars Meagan Goode, Grace Byers (Empire) and Actor Tyler Lepley. The 10 episode series is about stylish girlfriends. Whoopi Goldberg and Jasmine Sullivan will be making Cameos.
A Journal for Jordan the movie starring Michael B Jordan and Directed by Denzel Washington is set to hit theaters Christmas Day. The movie also stars Chante Adams. A journal for Jordan is the true story of an Iraq war vet who died while in combat but before he died he left a series of letters for his new newborn song. The Film opens in Theaters Christmas Day.
The Matrix 4 Resurrection with Keanu Reeves hits theatres Dec 21st . Lawrence Fishburne will not be back as Morpheus. He is being replaced by Actor YaYa Abdul Mateen the 2nd who starred in the latest CandyMan movie.
The 8th and final season of Blackish kicks off January 4th on ABC. Anthony Anderson the star of Blackish has already landed a new gig. Anderson is returning to Law and Order when the show starts its revival next year.
Congratulations to Quest Love of the Roots his documentary ‘Summer of Soul’ won big at the Critics Choice Awards. Summer of Soul which many say was the Black Woodstock won awards for Best Documentary, Best Archived Documentary and Best Music Documentary. Summer of Soul features musical performances from Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone , The Staple Singers,The Temptations and many more. Summer of Soul is now streaming on HULU.
Mary J Blige has new music coming out soon and she returns as Monet on Power Book 2 now streaming on Starz. Power Book 4 Force the story of Tommy Actor Joseph Sikora debuts on Starz Feb 6th 2022.
Get ready for the return of The Proud Family. Louder and Prouder is coming to Disney Plus in February.
Filming starts next year on Sister Act Three. Whoopi Goldberg is starring and Tyler Perry is directing. Sister Act Three will be streaming on Disney plus.
Now speaking of Tyler Perry, he is one of the Stars of the Netflix Comedy Disaster film Don’t Look Up. Leonardo Dicaprio and Jennifer Lawrence play two scientist trying to save the world from a Comet headed towards Earth and no one believes them. The movie also features Ariana Grande , Chris Evans, Jonah Hill, Meryl Streep and Cate Blanchett.
Comedian Katt Williams is bringing his Comedy Show to Atlantic City Valentines Weekend. The show is happening Saturday February 12th at The Boardwalk Hall.
Stephanie Mills is coming to Atlantic City for the 70’s Soul Jam. Sunday February 20th with the Whispers, Howard Hewitt, and the Stylistics. The show is happening at the Etess Arena inside the Hard Rock Rock Casino in Atlantic City.
Maxwell is back. He just released a new song called ‘Off’ and he’s going on tour in 2022. Maxwell is going on tour with Singer Anthony Hamilton and Joe. They will be in Atlantic City Friday April 1st at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Tickets are on sale now.
Mariah Carey has a new Christmas special on Apple TV . Kirk Franklin and DJ Khalid are her special guests.
The NAACP Image awards are happening Saturday February 26th on BET.
Essence Magazine is saluting The Game Changers of 2021. Singer Lizzo, Olympian Simone Biles, and Nicole Hannah Jones the Founder of the 1619 Project. The December issue is on Newstands now.
Levar Burton may have lost out on the hosting duties for the game show Jeopardy but he has lined up another game show Trivial Pursuit debuting in 2022.
Kenan Thompson of SNL fame is writing his memoir. For a cool Million dollars Thompson will talk about his career from Nickelodeon, the shows All That, Keenan and Kel, The movie ‘Good Burger’ and more. Thompson holds the record for the longest person on Saturday Night Live. He has been on the show for the past 19 years.
The All Stars of Hip Hop are coming to Atlantic City Sunday January 16th at the boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Big Daddy Kane, KRS1,Dougie Fresh, Slick Rick, Kwame, Uncle Luke, Special Ed, Roxanne Shante, Monie Love and more.
The Joyful noise celebration is coming to the Liacouras Center New Years Day January 1st. Marvin Sapp, Ricky Dillard and the new G, The Clark Sisters, Le’Andria Johnson, and Charles Jenkins. Tickets are on sale now.
Kevin Harts new drama series True Story with Wesley Snipes is streaming now on Netflix. Lauren London also stars . The 7 episode series focuses on the troubled relationship between two brothers.
Lady Gaga and Adam Driver light up the big screen in the movie ‘House of Gucci’. The movie is based on the 1995 murder of Maurizio Gucci played by Driver. Maurizio as set up for by his wife Patrizia played by Lady Gaga.Patrizia served 18 years in prison for the murder of her husband .
The movie ‘Respect’ starring Jennifer Hudson is now available on Demand and to rent. ‘Respect’ about the life of Aretha Franklin also stars Marlon Wayans, Forest Whitaker and Mary J Blige.
Oscar Winner Halle Berry has a new movie she directs and Stars in the movie ‘Bruised where she plays a disgraced MMS Fighter..
Will the Rock Actor Dwayne Johnson return to the Fast and Furious for the 10th and final edition. Vin Diesel says even though the two don’t get along he would love to see him return for the final edition of Fast and The Furious. Meanwhile check outThe Rock Dwayne Johnson in the Netflix movie ‘Red Notice’ with Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot. The movie is streaming now. In a recent interview The Rock threw his hat in the ring to be the next James Bond.
Lot’s of Will Smith news. His Autobiograghy‘Will’ is out now and it’s number 1 on The New York Times Bestseller list. In the book Will he gets candid about his life and rise to superstardom. Will Smith has launched a new six part series on Disney Plus called Welcome to Earth where he travels the world. He also kicked off his You tube series The Best Shape of my Life about his weight loss and mental health Journey 20 Pounds in 20 weeks. His movie ‘King Richard’ about the father of Tennis Sensations Venus and Serena Williams. The movie is in theaters and on HBO MAX now.. Check out Will, and the Williams sisters Venus and Serena on the cover of Entertainment Weekly promoting the movie ‘King Richard’
The All Black western The Harder They Fall with Idris Elba, Regina King, Johnathan Majors and Delroy Lindo is now streaming on Netflix.
Janet Jacksons latest Documentary is coming to Lifetime early 2022. Janet has been working on this project for the past 5 years as she gives an up close and personal look at her life. She is also reteaming with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for a new album. I hear she’s doing a collaboration with Earth Wind and Fire. Another documentary in the works is the2004 Superbowl scandal involvingJanet Jackson. Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson is streamingon Hulu.
Iyanla Van Zandt is opening up about why she left her OWN Show ‘Fix My Life’. Iyanla says it was getting to be too much. She was getting death threats and people showing up at her own looking for advice.
Boyz to Men is coming home February 12th at the Met Broad and Poplar.
Mike Epps is coming back to Philly. Saturday January 15th he’s doing a show at The Liacouras Center.
Tamron Hall the Daytime Talk Show Diva has written her first book. The book ‘As the Wicked Watch’ is a thriller about a reporter seeking justice for black victims of a serial Killer in Chicago. Her talk show has also been renewed for two more seasons.
Oscar Winner Jamie Foxx is back with a book about how he was raised. The book was inspired by his grandmother who raised him ‘Act Like You Got Some Sense’ is dedicated to his daughters.
Actor YaYa Abdul Mateen is teaming up with Actor Jake Gyllenhaal for the movie ‘Ambulance’ about the biggest Bank Heist in LA History. The movie is coming out next year.
Tracey Morgan has returned with a new season of The Last O.G. on TBS on Tuesday night. Tiffany Haddish is not returning to the show. Haddish only signed on for three seasons and as the show enters its fourth season look for new additions including Philly Native Davine Joy Randolph (My name is Dolemite) Malik Yoba, Wood Harris, Anna Marie Horsford (Amen) and the Original Aunt Viv Actress Janet Hubert.
Singer Tina Turner has sold the publishing rights to her music, likeness and Image for 50 million dollars to BMG music. The 80 year old Turner is enjoying retirement.
Bobby Flay and The Food Network have parted ways after 27 years. Sources say Flay wanted a raise to the tune of 100 million dollars.
Actors Danny Glover and Samuel L Jackson will be given Honorary Oscars at next years Academy Awards in March. Will Packer (Think like a Man, Girls Trip) is producing the show.
Get ready for the ultimate Richard Pryor Collection! The comic legend passed away in 2005 but he remains the top comedy influencer today. Richard Pryor uncensored features 13 discs and 26 hours of raw uncensored Richard Pryor. Pryors widow Jennifer joined forces with Time Life to put together this collection which includes his short lived NBC Show, all four full length concert films, his late night TV appearances and the movie he produced and starred in JoJo Dancer.
The Charles Fuller play’ A Soldiers Story’recently won a Tony Award for best revival of a play and now a TV series based on the play is being produced by David Allen Grier, who also won a Tony award for his role in the Broadway revival.
Singer K Michelle is coming to Lifetime early next year with a documentary about her journey with plastic surgeries. My killer Body debuts in January.
Next years Superbowl halftime show will be paying homage to West Coast Rappers. Dr Dre, Kendrick Lamar, and Snoop Dog will be joined by Rapper Eminem and Singer Mary J Blige. The the Superbowl is set for Los Angeles Sunday Feb.13th and is being put together by Jay-Z and Pepsi.
Netflix is putting together a 5.4 million dollar scholarship in honor of the late Actor Chadwick Boseman at Howard University. Howard was Chadwicks alma mater and a theater department has been named in his honor. Chadwick starred in two Netflix films towards the end of his life Spike Lee’s ‘Da Five Bloods and ‘Ma Raineys Black Bottom.
Jesse Palmer will be hosting The Bachelor realityshow. Palmer is a former winner.
The new 50 Cents drama Black Mafia Family has been renewed for a second season the Starz Network.
The Whitney Houston Estate is joining forces with MAC Cosmetics for a new makeup line called The Whitney Houston Collection. It’s coming out next year to coincide with the Whitney Houston Movie. ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody. West Philly Native and Black Lightning star Nafessa Williams will be playing Houstons Longtime assistant and confidante Robyn Crawford.
The new Lee Daniels drama ‘Our Kind of People’ with Morris Chestnut, Joe Morton, YaYa Decosta and Lance Gross has debuted on Fox it airs Tuesday nights at 9PM on FOX. Daniels also has another show on ABC THE all Black Version of The Wonder Years Wednesday nights 8:30 on 6ABC
The movie ‘Vacation Friends with Jon Cena, Yvonne Orji and Lil Rel Howery broke records when it debuted on HULU a few weeks ago. The success of the movie is leading to a sequel with the cast called ‘Honeymoon Friends.
Good news for Singer Anita Baker and her Friends. Baker now owns all the masters to her music. She has signed a deal with Spotify for streaming and she is putting together a boxed set of her albums.
Stevie Wonder is working on his first Album in 16 years. Drummer Sheila E is joining him on the project. Wonder is also joining Sir Elton John on his new project ‘The Lockdown Sessions’
Iyanla van Zandt is joiningthe podcast world. The R spot is coming early next year.
Eddie Murphy will be teaming up with Actor Jonah Hill in a new movie by Kenya Barris. The comedy is about Clashing culturesand generational differences.
Zales Jewelers is going to be the exclusive retailer for the Serena Williams Jewelry line. The Tennis Sensation is excited about her line with prices ranging from 129 dollars to 10 Thousand dollars.
Devon Franklin and gospel sensation Kirk Franklin are joining forces for a new gospel drama on BET plus called ‘Kingdom Business’ . The 8 episode series will focus on the Gospel Music Industry thru the lenses of Faith, Love and Music.
The Legendary Freda Payne is ready to tell all. The 78 year old Singer best known for her song ‘band of Gold’ says she is holding nothing back as she spills the beans on her her short lived marriage to singer Gregory Abbott and her relationship with the late Edmund Sylvers. The Former lead Singer of the Sylvers family. Who died in 2004. The book is coming out in October. Payne has a new album out now ‘let there be Love’
Get ready for the return of The Exorcist. The 1973 Cult Classic that starred Linda Blair and Ellen Burston is getting a revamp this time starring Tony Award Winning Actor Leslie Odom Jr. from Hamilton Fame. Odom is a man who seeks out Ellyn Burston who is 88 now,to help him with his daughter who is possessed.
Director Jordan Peele who brought us the movies ‘Us’ and ‘Get Out’ is back to scare us again in his new movie ‘Nope’ starring Oscar Winner Daniel Kaluua and Keke Palmer. The movie is coming out July 22nd 2022.
Oscar Winner Viola Davis is set to all about her life. Her book ‘Finding Me’ will talk about her career, marriage and motherhood.
Madea is back! In his new deal with ‘Netflix’ Tyler Perry is bringing the popular character back in a new movie ‘A Madea Homecoming’. The movie is coming to Netflix next year.
Kelly Clarkson will be getting the coveted time left by Ellen Degeneres when she leaves her show next year.
Billy Porter the Tony and Emmy Winner is opening up about his private life. The openly Gay star of the FX series Pose recently revealed his battle with HIV. Porter has living with HIV for the past 15 years and he says he kept quiet about because he felt ashamed.Porter is now opening up he has a NETFLIX documentary coming out this Fall and a book coming out in late December.
If you would like more info please email me at PattyJackson@iHeartMedia.com or check me out with my midday reports at 10:30am, 12:30pm and 2:30pm during the day on 105.3 Wdasfm. Or join me on Social Media Twitter:Mspattyjackson Instagram Wdaspatty and Facebook Patty J