IndieWire revealed its list of the best LGBTQ+ films and TV series of 2022. Just some of the selections included Benediction, Bros, Do Revenge, Fire Island, Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Inspection, Los Espookys, P-Valley, Our Flag Means Death, Tar and This Is Going to Hurt. Of Fire Island, IndieWire noted, "An ensemble comedy brimming with sexy romance, lovable characters, and inside jokes (that still let you in), 'Fire Island' is the kind of movie we feared couldn't get made anymore."
Variety listed its worst films of 2022. Among them are Amsterdam, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Three Thousand Years of Longing, Bones and All, The Bubble, Blonde and The 355; honorable mentions included Mother Schmuckers and Worms. On the flip side, The Hollywood Reporter has chosen its best movies of the year. They included The Banshees of Inisherin, Decision to Leave, Tar, Aftersun, Bones and All (again!), The Inspection, and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, among others.
In a surprise announcement at the Dec. 15 show, playwright Jordan E. Cooper announced that Ain't No Mo', which had previously announced an abrupt closing date of Dec. 18, will instead run through Dec. 23, Playbill noted. The show's earlier departure date was unexpected, considering its positive reviews. (The reason seemed to be low ticket sales, according to an Instagram post from Cooper.) The comedy asks what would happen if the U.S. government offered Black individuals one-way tickets to Africa. Producers included Lena Waithe, Lee Daniels, and Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union, among others. The extension comes on the heels of the #saveAINTNOMO campaign, which Cooper started to save the show in its final week of performances.
Rather than the usual theater-district and Times Square venues like Radio City Music Hall or one of the major Broadway venues, the 2023 Tonys will be broadcast live on CBS from the United Palace in upper Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood, Deadline reported. The United Palace opened in 1930 as one of five Loews' "Wonder Theatres"—vaudeville and movie houses located in four boroughs and New Jersey. With nearly 3,400 seats, the United Palace is Manhattan's fourth-largest theater.
Out singer Adam Lambert has released a new single, Queerty noted. Recently, Lambert revealed that he's releasing a new album next February; entitled High Drama, it's a selection of covers. The first single is a cover of the 1993 Duran Duran single "Ordinary World."
Disney+ announced the second season of its Emmy-winning series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, Out noted. The network said the new season will premiere on Wed., Feb. 1, on the streamer. Guest stars will include Gabrielle Union, Chance the Rapper, Normani, Leslie Odom Jr., Anthony Anderson, Holly Robinson Peete, Storm Reid, Courtney B. Vance and Maury Povich as himself as well as Olympic gymnasts Dominique Dawes, Gabby Douglas and newly out Laurie Hernandez (playing themselves as well).
In the world of women's hockey, the seven-team Premier Hockey Federation announced plans to increase its salary cap to $1.5 million per team for the 2023-24 season in an effort to deepen its talent pool by offering players an opportunity to earn a living wage, ESPN noted. The increase will double each team's current cap of $750,000 this season and is part of a three-year, $25-million commitment approved by the league's board of governors 11 months ago. Under a $1.5 million cap, a 20-player roster would average out to each player making $75,000 per season.
Former Major League Baseball (MLB) star TJ House—who played for teams such as the Cleveland Guardians and the Toronto Blue Jays—has come out as gay, Out noted. "I've struggled my entire life with being comfortable in my own skin," House wrote in an Instagram post. "Eventually, though, it's a bandage that covers a wound that needs fresh air to heal. You have to rip it off at some point if you truly want to get better. Shame has kept me quiet all these years, but Love has finally set me free."
Writer/producer Ryan Murphy (Glee; American Horror Story; the Netflix limited series Dahmer) has been selected to receive the fourth-ever Carol Burnett Award at the 80th annual Golden Globes on Jan. 10, Variety noted. The Carol Burnett Award was launched in 2019 as the television equivalent of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's long-established Cecil B. DeMille Award, which has honored talent from the world of film since 1952. Burnett received the first award, followed by Ellen DeGeneres in 2020 and iconic TV producer Norman Lear in 2021.
Netflix LGBTQ+ series Heartstopper scored four wins at the first-ever Children's & Family Emmy Awards, including one of the top prizes—for young teen series, Variety noted. Star Kit Connor also won, for lead performance, while Oscar winner Olivia Colman (who plays his mother) won for best guest performance on the show. Kid Cosmic was the other program receiving multiple Emmys at the ceremony that Jack McBrayer hosted at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles.
Speaking of Netflix, the streamer announced that Young Royals has been renewed for a third and final season that will air next year, Out noted. The main cast is all set to return for this final installment, including Edvin Ryding (Prince Wilhelm), Omar Rudberg (Simon), Malte Gardinger (August), Frida Argento (Sara) and Nikita Uggla (Felice). Fans are looking forward to see how the love story between Prince Wilhelm and Simon will reach a conclusion in this final season.
James Gunn said that he's writing a new Superman movie set in the Man of Steel's younger days—and that Henry Cavill won't be playing him, Deadline reported. Cavill confirmed the news. "I have just had a meeting with James Gunn and Peter Safran and it's sad news, everyone," wrote Cavill, who recently announced his return to the cape after his cameo in Warner Bros/DC's Black Adam. "My turn to wear the cape has passed, but what Superman stands for never will." Cavill made his debut as Superman in Zack Snyder's 2013 film Man of Steel.
Trevor Noah may no longer host The Daily Show, but he's scheduled to emcee the Grammys for a third time in February, per The Hollywood Reporter. Up first, however, the South African stand-up will head out on his Off the Record global tour, which kicks off in January. The 2023 Grammys are set to air live Feb. 5 from Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena on CBS.
A study conducted by frugal living experts CommonCentsMom.com revealed that Zendaya takes the crown as the most fashionable female celebrity of 2022, per a media release. Others in the top five included Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Kim Kardashian and Lady Gaga.
Horror drag duo The Boulet Brothers announced their "The Boulet Brothers' Dragula: Titans World Tour" that's set for next spring, per a press release. There will be North American stops in Los Angeles, New York, D.C., Toronto, Vancouver and more as well as an Australian run of dates. The tour will follow their recent spin-off series The Boulet Brothers' Dragula: Titans, which launched on Shudder in October. More is at https://www.obsessedwith.co/dragula-titans-23.
BET signed a first-look non-scripted deal and a second-look scripted deal with Mary J. Blige and her production company, Blue Butterfly, Deadline noted. In addition to her partnership with BET, Blue Butterfly has a first-look scripted TV deal with Lionsgate Television. The first project from her first-look deal with BET is the unscripted series The Wine Down, a talk show hosted by Blige currently in production. That show has Blige talking with guests over wine; she has her own wine label, Sun Goddess, with Italian winemaker Marco Fantinel that launched in 2020.
Pamela, a love story—a documentary about the life of actress/activist Pamela Anderson—will debut on Netflix on Jan. 31, 2023, per a press release. The movie is described thusly: "An intimate and humanizing portrait of one of the world's most famous blonde bombshells, Pamela, a love story follows the trajectory of Pamela Anderson's life and career from small-town girl to international sex symbol, actress, activist and doting mother."
Former Glee star Kevin McHale criticized the new Discovery+ docuseries about the Fox show, according to Out. Many fans were upset with the trailer for the Discovery+ series, which many called disrespectful for seeming to compare the tragic accidental deaths of Cory Monteith and Naya Rivera to that of Mark Salling, who took his own life after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography. However, McHale responded on social media to TV critic/writer Ashley Ray, who tweeted that cast members were interviewed. "Show me this 'cast' you speak of," McHale quote-tweeted. "This is [trash emoji]."
Stephen "Twitch" Boss—a DJ, dancer and executive producer of The Ellen DeGeneres Show—died by suicide at age 40, Variety reported. Boss broke into Hollywood after finishing in second place on the fourth season of So You Think You Can Dance. He appeared in film and TV projects such as Step Up 3D, Modern Family, Blades of Glory and Magic Mike XXL. DeGeneres said she was "heartbroken" over Boss' death.
Openly gay actor Drew Droege went on social media to describe a homophobic situation he allegedly encountered at an L.A. restaurant, Out noted. Droege and his unnamed date had a meal and drinks at the popular Mexican restaurant El Compadre, in the city's Echo Park neighborhood. After kissing a couple times, he said they were asked to stop, with the staffer adding, "This is a family restaurant." After Droege witnessed straight couples doing the same, the manager reportedly said, "I don't care if you're the president of the United States—we don't allow your behavior here." El Compadre said it is now investigating the incident.
Singer Kehlani alleged on Instagram that an audience member at their UK show "touched my genitals" as they were being escorted through a crowd, Page Six noted. The "You Should Be Here" singer was performing at O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, England. She added, "i don't care how sexual you deem my music, my performances, my fun with my friends dancing at clubs, or ME…. that does not give any of you the right to cross a boundary like sticking your hands up my skirt & pulling my underwear to TOUCH TO MY GENITALS as i am being escorted through a crowd after performing."
Sharon Osbourne was hospitalized after suffering a medical emergency in Santa Paula, California, Variety noted. Reports indicate that Osbourne had been filming Discovery+'s reality series Ghost Adventures when the incident occurred. The TV personality has continued working since her 2021 exit from the CBS daytime talk show The Talk, which came after an on-air situation with co-host Sheryl Underwood and a subsequent network investigation into her conduct on the series.
Say Yes to the Dress star Randy Fenoli announced his engagement to boyfriend Mete Kobal after almost one year of dating, Page Six noted. The TLC personality popped the question on Saturday at the Marmara Park Avenue hotel in New York City while surrounded by 50 of their closest friends and family. Among other things, the couple are considering tying the knot on a cruise that would take them to Kobal's native Turkey.
Todd and Julie Chrisley have been ordered to report to their respective prisons in January, Page Six noted, citing People. The Chrisley Knows Best stars—who were convicted of fraud and tax crimes in June—will be heading to Florida to spend their time behind bars. Todd, who was sentenced to 12 years in federal custody, will turn himself into the Federal Prison Camp Pensacola, a minimum-security facility, on Jan. 17. On the other hand, Julie will spend her seven-year sentence about two hours away from her husband at the Federal Correctional Institution Marianna.
NXIVM alum Nicki Clyne would love to communicate with jailed exes Keith Raniere and Allison Mack—but "unfortunately" is not allowed to, the Battlestar Galactica actress told Page Six. Mack (from TV's Smallville)—who was married to Clyne, from February 2017 until December 2020—was sentenced to three years in prison in June 2021 after pleading guilty to charges she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for NXIVM's leader, Raniere. Mack is currently incarcerated at a Dublin, California, facility.
