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The second season of indie streamer Dropout’s Rekha Shankar-hosted “Smartypants” is set to debut in the first quarter of 2025 with numerous guest stars lined up for the new batch of episodes, including Hank Green.

Per the second season description, “Join more secret gatherings of the Smartypants Society! Host Rekha Shankar welcomes new and returning members to share their bold ideas, controversial takes, and unhinged theories in a series of presentations that will change everything you thought you knew about the world.”

Along with Green, notable cast members featured across the 15 episodes in “Smartypants” Season 2, which wrapped production last week, include Alexis Nikole Nelson, Alyssa Limperis, Cameron Esposito, Courtney Miller, Demi Adejuyigbe, Max Burkholder and Vinny Thomas.

The first season of “Smartypants” debuted on Dropout in April and ran through August. It consisted of nine episodes.

The full list of “Smartypants” Season 2 new and returning guest stars also includes Anna Garcia,...

Dropout’s “Dimension 20” is known for its genre mash-ups. Its “Fantasy High” and “The Unsleeping City” seasons transpose the concerns and archetypes of high fantasy into a John Hughes-esque high school movie and the urban legend that is New York City. “Mentopolis” takes the tropes of a film noir and crams it inside a single mind, a la “Inside Out,” while “A Crown of Candy” forces a “Game of Thrones” world of magical realpolitik to wield the weapons of “Candyland” in order to slake its sugar/bloodlust.

So there’s something comforting — and deceptively simple — about the series’ latest season, “Never Stop Blowing Up.” In the main, it is an ode to the absurdity of action movies, from renegade cops and powerful mobsters to master assassins and omnipotent hackers to James Bond-esque agents and racing drivers who solve worldwide conspiracies with the power of… cars. The mash-up comes...

Writers/directors Brea Grant (Torn Hearts) and Ed Dougherty (co-writer of Paint It Black) have wrapped production on their four-part horror anthology Grind, Deadline reports, adding that filming took place in the Los Angeles area. Grant got her start as an actress, working on such projects as Friday Night Lights, Midnight Movie, Heroes, Dexter, Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, and Ice Road Terror. She made her feature directorial debut with the 2013 film Best Friends Forever, and has since directed Torn Hearts, 12 Hour Shift, and episodes of Pandora, among other things. Doughterty has previously directed multiple short films and music videos.

The cast of Grind includes genre icon Barbara Crampton, James Paxton (Twisters), Christopher Marquette (Freddy vs. Jason), James Urbaniak (Oppenheimer), Rob Huebel (Welcome to the Jungle), Vinny Thomas (Platonic), Aubrey Shea (Nashville), Courtney Pauroso (Reno 911!), Ify Nwadiwe (Grand Crew), Jessika Van (Seoul Searching), James A. Janisse (Scream 2022), Sharlene Cruz...

Brea Grant (Torn Hearts) and Ed Dougherty (Paint It Black) are the writers and directors of upcoming horror anthology Grind, and Deadline lets us know what to expect this week.

The site details, “Recently wrapping production in Los Angeles, Grind‘s stories center around the gig economy, hustle culture, and the evils of late-stage capitalism.”

The cast includes James Paxton (Twisters), Christopher Marquette, James Urbaniak (Oppenheimer), Rob Huebel (Transparent), Barbara Crampton (Suitable Flesh), Vinny Thomas (Platonic), Aubrey Shea (Nashville), Courtney Pauroso (Reno 911!), Ify Nwadiwe (Grand Crew), Jessika Van (Seoul Searching), James A. Janisse (Scream), Sharlene Cruz (In the Summers), Jon Gabrus (101 Places to Party Before You Die), Teri Gamble (Mrs. Davis), Hannah Alline (Doom Patrol) and Gigi Saul Guerrero (Culture Shock).

Producers include Chelsea Stardust.

Stay tuned for more on Grind as we learn it.

The post ‘Grind’ – New Horror Anthology from Brea Grant Tackles Late Stage Capitalism appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!

Exclusive: James Paxton (Twisters), Christopher Marquette (Barry), James Urbaniak (Oppenheimer) and Rob Huebel (Transparent) are among those set to star in Grind, a four-part horror anthology from writer-directors Brea Grant (Torn Hearts) and Ed Dougherty (Paint It Black).

Recently wrapping production in Los Angeles, Grind‘s stories center around the gig economy, hustle culture, and the evils of late-stage capitalism.

Others in the cast of the indie include Barbara Crampton (Suitable Flesh), Vinny Thomas (Platonic), Aubrey Shea (Nashville), Courtney Pauroso (Reno 911!), Ify Nwadiwe (Grand Crew), Jessika Van (Seoul Searching), James A. Janisse (Scream), Sharlene Cruz (In the Summers), Jon Gabrus (101 Places to Party Before You Die), Teri Gamble (Mrs. Davis), Hannah Alline (Doom Patrol) and Gigi Saul Guerrero (Culture Shock).

Grant and Dougherty produced alongside Chelsea Stardust.

Most recently directing Torn Hearts, an Epix/Blumhouse horror pic starring Katey Sagal, Grant has...

The Bentonville Film Foundation, in collaboration with founding partner Walmart and presenting sponsor Coca-Cola, have announced the winners of their narrative, documentary, short film and episodic categories from this year’s competition program.

The festival, which ran from June 10-16 in Bentonville, Ark., aims to amplify female, non-binary, Lgbtqia+, Bipoc and people with disabilities’ voices in entertainment.

“Suze” from Linsey Stewart and Dane Clark won the award for best narrative feature, and “Daughters,” directed by Natalie Rae and Angela Patton, took home the prize for best documentary feature.

Additionally, The See It, Be It Award, was presented to Phoebe-Rae Taylor, star of “Out of My Mind.” This award, which has been presented every year since the beginning of the festival, is given to someone who has opened doors for people like them through their work and influenced the entertainment industry and pop culture through the creation of content that empowers stories that are otherwise underrepresented.

Spoiler Alert for “Ratfish (Part 1)”: Coming out in 2019 after the success of unscripted content for Dropout, Game Changer was an instant hit on the platform. Now, six seasons later, host Sam Reich is still working to bring “consistently original” ideas to the show with no signs of stopping. “Every season, I feel like I fly a little closer to the sun,” says Reich. “And every season, the response I get from the audience is like, ‘This was the best yet,’ which is a very dangerous thing to tell me as I push it more and more, further and further.”

Hosted by Reich, Dropout’s Game Changer is a game show where the premise changes every episode and the contestants must learn the rules as they play. Among the assortment of games, season 6 has seen contestants search for buzzers in a simple trivia game-turned-scavenger hunt for “Beat the Buzzer”, trapped...

Oscar-nominated actor, producer and author Taraji P. Henson is set to return as the host of this year’s BET Awards. It will air live on June 30 on BET at 8 p.m. Et and will be held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

“I am thrilled to be returning as the host of the ‘BET Awards’ for the third time. I am also looking forward to celebrating my peers and the impact of our culture on entertainment,” Henson said in a statement.

Usher will be honored with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement BET Award, and set performers include GloRilla, Latto, Muni Long, Sexyy Red, Shaboozey and Victoria Monét.

“Taraji is a phenom, known for her vibrant personality and charisma, and we are excited to welcome her back to host Culture’s Biggest Night, ‘BET Awards,’ the ultimate celebration of Black creativity,” said Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET.

Dropout has set a new series of live recorded comedy specials titled “Dropout Presents.” The series will launch on June 12 with Hank Green’s “Pissing Out Cancer,” taped at Dynasty Typewriter in Los Angeles

Green is a YouTuber best known for the “Vlogbrothers” channel he runs alongside his brother, John Green, with whom he also produces educational shows such as “Crash Course.” He is also the author of the novels “An Absolutely Remarkable Thing” (2018) and “A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor” (2020). Green was diagnosed with cancer in May 2023 and has thoroughly documented his experiences with the illness on the internet.

“There are good parts of cancer,” Green jokes in a trailer for “Dropout Presents.” “I was thinking I was maybe gonna get that Jeremy Allen White situation going on. I got the Mark Zuckerberg situation instead.”

Six more specials will debut on Dropout as part of “Dropout Presents” throughout the year. All were recorded in L.

Los Angeles video store and non-profit film organization Vidiots officially has a reopening date.

After years-worth of renovations, Vidiots is set to open its doors again June 1. Sneak preview events for the Founding Members program will start in May 2023 leading up to the launch date. Now located at 4884 Eagle Rock Boulevard, Vidiots boasts a 271-seat, state-of-the-art movie theater with 35mm, 16mm, and digital projection capabilities; a beer and wine bar with concessions and a light menu; a flexible micro-cinema and community space, and the legendary signature video store. The nearly 11,000 square-foot venue will provide flexibility for various screenings, special events, workshops, and community gatherings per the official press statement.

The video store, meanwhile, boasts 50,000 titles on DVD, Blu-ray, and VHS.

“We’re overjoyed to finally see our dream of bringing Vidiots back to Los Angeles,” Vidiots founders Patty Polinger and Cathy Tauber said. “We could not have accomplished this incredible...

The zany misadventures of “Peacemaker,” the HBO Max original series starring John Cena, will get an official aftershow-style official video podcast launching alongside the DC show.

HBO Max and DC enlisted Rooster Teeth, which is also part of the WarnerMedia family, to produce “Podly,” a series recapping “Peacemaker” episodes. Audiences can watch “Podly” on HBO Max and on the official YouTube channels for DC and HBO Max beginning Jan. 13, when “Peacemaker” premieres. An audio-only version available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other major audio platforms.

“Peacemaker,” an eight-episode spinoff series from 2021 movie “The Suicide Squad,” was created and written by the film’s director, James Gunn. Both Gunn and Cena will be among the cast and creatives making an appearance on “Podly.” The companion podcast is hosted by Fiona Nova and Ify Nwadiwe, who will provide a recap reacting to the latest episode of “Peacemaker” each week.

“Podly” is a...

The moviegoing landscape in Los Angeles has been a little sadder without the return of the shuttered Arclight, but two of LA’s savviest cinephiles are hoping to do something about it. Director Rian Johnson and Karina Longworth, author and creator of the beloved “You Must Remember This” podcast, are pledging $100,000 as founding members of Vidiots, the iconic LA video store and nonprofit film organization. Vidiots is currently undergoing a nine-month renovation at the historic Eagle Theatre in the Eagle Rock neighborhood. Their gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000 through September 17.

“Given the recent demise or transformation of some of our most beloved places for moviegoing in Los Angeles, it feels more urgent than ever to celebrate and support the rebirth of Vidiots. We hope you’ll join us in helping the women of Vidiots build an inclusive shrine to movies — both projected in a community setting, and preserved on physical media,...

Twenty years after its debut, durable gaming title “The Sims” is getting the reality-tv show treatment — a la “Project Runway” — in which 12 contestants vie for a $100,000 grand prize.

Electronic Arts’ “The Sims Spark’d,” a show centered on challenges in the virtual-world game, will launch later this month on TBS under Turner Sports’ ELeague esports and gaming entertainment brand, as well as on BuzzFeed Multiplayer, which covers gaming, cosplay and game culture.

In the four-episode show, which premieres July 17, notable members of “The Sims” online community will compete in skills and elimination challenges in the simulation game, racing against the clock to impress the three-judge panel. The 12 contestants each specialize in an element of “The Sims 4” gameplay.

“Since its inception, ‘The Sims’ has been a groundbreaking experience, allowing players to create and virtually live out the stories they create in-game,” said Lyndsay Pearson, Gm of “The Sims” franchise. “That’s...

Turner Sports, the sports-focused content purveyor owned by WarnerMedia, is teaming up with Amazon's Twitch broadcasting platform for a new series that will air on TV and online.

The gaming talk show, dubbed ELeague Super Punch, will air from Mon. to Thurs. as a three-hour block on Twitch, beginning at 11 pm Et. On Fridays, however, the show will commence on Twitch for one hour beginning at 11 pm Et, transition to TBS for one hour beginning at midnight, and then conclude with a final hour on Twitch, Awful Announcing reports.

ELeague Super Punch will be hosted from Mon. through Thurs. by comedian Ify Nwadiwe (pictured above) from Twitch’s Los Angeles studios, while actors and hosts Kelly Nugent, J.D. Witherspoon, and Alex Corea will headline the Friday broadcasts from ELeague's headquarters in Atlanta. The show will spotlight noteworthy Twitch creators, cover news across the broader gaming and esports spheres, and feature interactive elements.

Rooster Teeth has a new series within a series set to take advantage of one of the biggest entertainment events of the last decade. The Fullscreen-owned Austin production company will run the sketch comedy and Star Wars spoof series Troopin’ starting November 2015 during its Colton Dunn-hosted show Rooster Teeth Entertainment System (Rt-es).

Created by Lamar Woods and Dunn (who also stars in Rooster Teeth’s recently-premiered feature film Lazer Team), the series-within-a-series Troopin’ introduces viewers to a black stormtrooper named Darnell (played by Ify Nwadiwe) and his wife Shonda (Ashanti Brown). It's set to explore how the hardest part of Darnell's job is dealing with life, love, and his Jedi neighbors (and, surprisingly, not ignorant individuals who were up in arms over the casting of John Boyega as a black stormtrooper for Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens).

"Troopin’ is inspired by old school sitcoms like Good Times and What's Happening,...