TV/Film
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The Jennifer Hudson Show has been renewed for a fourth season. Warner Bros. Television Group announced the news on Wednesday (Feb. 19), revealing that the Emmy-nominated syndicated daytime talker will be back for the 2025-2026 season on Fox Television stations.
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“It is an unbelievable privilege to spend your days being able to engage with inspiring people from all walks of life; to hear their stories and connect on shared experiences; and to hopefully leave audiences a little more joyful than when they arrived,” said EGOT-winner Hudson in a statement. “This show is a testament to what happens when you do what you love, and when you do it alongside an unstoppable team who creates magic in new ways every single day. I’m so excited to take this adventure to new heights in season 4!”
To date, the series has earned a number of industry honors, including two NAACP Awards — Outstanding Talk Show Series (2024) and Outstanding Talk Show Host (2023) — as well as the Excellence in Media Award at the 2024 GLAAD Media Awards, where it also took home the Outstanding Variety of Talk Show Episode prize. Hudson also won the 2024 National Association of Broadcaster’s TV Chairman’s awards in 2024 for the series that has racked up 10 Daytime Emmy nominations since its debut in September 2022.
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“Audiences and our great television station partners agreed – JHud is must have television. We believe in great programming, and Warner Bros. Television Group always delivers for our business and fans,” David Decker, president of content sales at Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement.
Lauren Bincoe, SVP or current programming at Telepictures added, “Jennifer Hudson’s extraordinary talent and ability to connect with people have made The Jennifer Hudson Show a standout in daytime. This season, the show has seen incredible growth, creating moments that resonate beyond the screen – like the viral sensation Spirit Tunnel being a powerful example. Jennifer embodies the show’s Choose Joy message in every episode, and as we head into season 4, we’re grateful for the continued support of our station partners and proud to build on this momentum with Jennifer and our award-winning production team.”
Guests this season have included former First Lady Michelle Obama, Usher, Angela Bassett, Keke Palmer, Gwen Stefani, Cynthia Erivo, Kelly Rowland, Jimmy Kimmel, Smokey Robinson and Keith Urban, among others. Upcoming guests include: Kevin Hart, BLACKPINK’S Jennie, Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, Tina Knowles, Regina Hall, and Big Sean, among others.
Hudson celebrated the the news by doing one of her show’s signature celebratory spirit tunnel walks with her staff, who sang about the good news and the good vibes they keep spreading.
Watch Hudson announce the renewal below.
Donnie Wahlberg is heading back to TV. CBS announced on Tuesday (Feb. 18) a new drama series with the working title Boston Blue, which will star the New Kids on the Block member, for the 2025-26 broadcast season. The show will expand on the popular, long-running show, Blue Bloods, in which Wahlberg appears as NYPD […]
Lil Wayne made a surprise appearance at the SNL50: The Anniversary Special celebrations on Sunday night (Feb. 16) where he performed a greatest hits medley from his decorated Tha Carter series. From “Mrs. Officer” to the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Lollipop” and closing out with “A Milli,” Weezy jumped around his discography with […]
With RuPaul’s Drag Race bringing back their Rate-a-Queen system for season 17, Billboard decided to rate each of the new queens every week based on their performance. Below, we take a look at the iconic Snatch Game to see which queens nailed their celebrity impressions. Spoilers ahead for episode 7.
Even in a time when chaos reigns, some things are constants: the sky is blue; the grass is green; and the queens on RuPaul’s Drag Race will have to perform in the Snatch Game.
On Friday’s episode (aired Feb. 14) of Drag Race, the iconic challenge finally arrived as the 11 remaining queens were asked to deliver their best celebrity impersonations in the Match Game riff. Some queens — namely Suzie Toot — were confident in their abilities to deliver on the task at hand. Others rightly feared the expectations of the show’s longest-standing challenge.
Before we go any further, let’s make one thing clear — of all the Drag Race challenges, Snatch Game is famously the hardest. Not only do you need to create a semi-accurate recreation of a beloved star, but you also need to stay in that character for an extended period of time, with no script, making RuPaul laugh while there is no audience there to let you know how you’re doing. As Jinkx Monsoon, a two-time Snatch Game winner, told Billboard after season 14’s disastrous iteration of the challenge: “It’s one of situations where two things can be true at once – yes, Snatch Game happens every season, but also it’s either in your skill set or it’s not, and I don’t think it should really be held against queens for whom this is not their thing.”
With that being said … this was not a successful Snatch Game. While a few queens managed to get their laughs here (more on them later), most of the contestants were either forgettable or catastrophically bad. The two worst performers of the bunch, Crystal Envy and Lana Ja’Rae, wound up in the bottom — but with a lot of these performances, any number of the other girls could have easily wound up in their shoes.
Yet when it came time for a lip sync to Selena Gomez’s “Hands to Myself,” both Crystal and Lana turned it back on, delivering one of the most high-octane face-offs of the season. Ultimately, the judges decided to give Lana another shot in the competition, sending former frontrunner Crystal Envy home.
Below, Billboard takes a look back at episode 7 and ranks where our remaining contestants lie based on this episode and the season as a whole:
ELIMINATED: Crystal Envy
Image Credit: Courtesy of MTV
Lady Gaga is about to bring the mayhem to 30 Rock, with the superstar locked in to pull double duty on Saturday Night Live for the second time in her career one day after her new album drops. As announced Tuesday (Feb. 18), Gaga will both host and serve as musical guest on the sketch […]
At the SNL50 anniversary festivities over the weekend, a lot of beloved Saturday Night Live characters returned to the show for the first time in years — including Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer’s Marty and Bobbi Mohan-Culp, who performed a memorable rendition of Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us” during the concert special Friday (Feb. 14).
But in an interview with People published Monday (Feb. 17), the actress revealed that she and her duet partner weren’t initially certain whether they should incorporate the Billboard Hot 100-topping Drake diss track into the skit. “We went back and forth,” Gasteyer told the publication.
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“We were like … it’s song of the year, obviously,” she continued, referring to Dot’s recent song and record of the year wins for “Not Like Us” at the 2025 Grammys. “The thing about the Culps is they’re just trying to stay current and they want to reach their students where they are. So, song of the year.”
The fictional married couple indeed got the crowd laughing as Ferrell performed Lamar’s famous rap nearly word for word while Gasteyer sang its repeating four-note string hook opera-style. During the sketch, the Culps also put their own spins on songs by Doechii, Britney Spears, Megan Thee Stallion, Chappell Roan and more.
After finishing “Not Like Us,” the Elf star asked the crowd in character, “Are Kenny Lamar and Drake Graham in the house, by the way? Maybe you two can hug it out tonight in the name of love and fellowship.”
“We always kind of start with the premise, which is Valentine’s Day and love, and then naturally, because of the feuding, it was sort of like, you have to have the contrast,” Gasteyer added of the cover. “So, it was just fun to write, and ridiculous.”
The concert kicked off a weekend full of 50th-anniversary celebrations for Saturday Night Live, with the musical show also featuring performances from Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Ms. Lauryn Hill with Wyclef Jean, the Backstreet Boys and more. Two days later, SNL hosted a red carpet and live special, which saw Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Bill Murray, Rachel Dratch, Tom Hanks, Adam Sandler and more all-stars return to the 30 Rock stage for skits and music, and included appearances from musicians such as Bad Bunny and Sabrina Carpenter.
Of sliding right back into her iconic character alongside Ferrell, Gasteyer told People, “It is just the most comfortable, familiar — I wish I had better words to describe it.”
BE@RBRICK, a music-driven, CG-animated comedy series based on the collectible figures from Medicom Toy, is premiering globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, March 21. Timbaland, the Billboard chart-topping and Grammy Award-winning producer, is executive music producer on the show, which is produced and animated by DreamWorks Animation and Dentsu Inc. Featuring original songs, the series […]
Singer-songwriter BD.ii walked onto The Voice stage with quiet confidence, but the moment he began singing Miguel’s “Adorn,” it was clear he was a standout contender.
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His smooth, controlled delivery and effortless stage presence captivated the audience—and the coaches, who wasted no time turning their chairs.
Michael Bublé was the first to hit his button, recognizing BD.ii’s undeniable vocal ability. Kelsea Ballerini quickly followed, with John Legend and Adam Levine completing the four-chair turn. However, Levine was in for a surprise when he realized he had been blocked by Ballerini, leaving him visibly frustrated.
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“I’m a sad, sad man, because you are world-class. You’re a badass,” Levine added as the other coaches laughed.
BD.ii, an Atlanta native whose singing career took off after an injury ended his basketball aspirations, delivered a version of “Adorn” that felt fresh yet true to its original essence. His tone, phrasing, and natural charisma made an immediate impact, prompting Bublé to make an impassioned pitch.
“He’s not the threat. I’m the threat,” Bublé joked. “We’re about to help grow the population of America with that voice.”
Ballerini emphasized her versatility as a coach, stating, “I am actively having crossover songs, for other artists and with other artists. I don’t believe in boxes.”
But it was Legend who ultimately secured BD.ii for his team, pointing out his personal connection to the song’s original artist. “I’ve written with Miguel,” Legend said. “You made it sexier, made it cooler.” With that, BD.ii made his decision. “Imma go with my boy John,” he announced, sealing the deal as Legend celebrated and Levine processed his disappointment.
Miguel’s “Adorn” became a defining track of modern R&B, spending 23 weeks atop Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and winning the Grammy for Best R&B Song. The track, featured on Kaleidoscope Dream, also peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.
With his undeniable talent and Legend’s guidance, BD.ii is already emerging as one of the season’s most promising contestants.
Watch BDii’s performance below.
Paul McCartney made a grand return to Saturday Night Live for its SNL50: The Anniversary Special, delivering a stirring performance of the Abbey Road medley, “Golden Slumbers” / “Carry That Weight” / “The End.”
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The former Beatle, who was a musical guest on the show in 1980, 1993, 2010 and 2012 and made cameos in 2006, 2013 and 2015, also previously appeared on SNL’s 40th anniversary special. The legendary rocker again took the stage at Studio 8H on Sunday night (Feb. 16), closing out the three-hour event with a historic nod to one of the most celebrated albums in rock history.
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McCartney’s appearance followed a star-studded night of musical performances, including Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard’s cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” and a surprise duet from Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter.
Lil Wayne performed with The Roots and DJ T. Lewis for his performance, which opened with the 2018 single “Uproar,” and saw Weezy run through other tunes from his Tha Carter series of albums, including his lone Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper as a solo artist “Lollipop”, followed by “6 Foot 7 Foot” and “Mrs. Officer”. The night also featured an unexpected SNL moment when Nirvana joined Post Malone for a performance of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
The 50th anniversary of SNL also brings about one of rock’s most legendary what-ifs: the time McCartney and John Lennon nearly reunited on the show.
In 1976, SNL creator Lorne Michaels famously offered The Beatles $3,000 to reunite during the show’s first season. Lennon later recalled in a Playboy interview that he and McCartney were watching the show together that night at Lennon’s apartment in The Dakota and briefly considered making a surprise appearance. “We nearly got into a cab, but we were actually too tired,” Lennon admitted. “We went, ‘Ha-ha, wouldn’t it be funny if we went down?’ But we didn’t.”
Though that reunion never happened, McCartney’s SNL history remains rich. Beyond his musical performances, he’s been a frequent comedic guest, appearing in sketches over the years—including a memorable bit with Chris Farley in which the late comedian nervously interviewed him on The Chris Farley Show.
McCartney’s latest appearance at SNL 50 comes as he continues to celebrate The Beatles’ lasting legacy. In 2023, The Beatles scored their first No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Now and Then,” a long-lost track featuring Lennon’s vocals. The song also topped Billboard’s Rock & Alternative Airplay chart and became the band’s 35th Hot 100 top 10 hit.
SNL50: The Anniversary Special aired on Sunday, Feb. 16 on NBC and will be available to stream on Peacock.
Lil Wayne has joined the eclectic roster of musical guests to share a career-spanning singles medley on Sunday night’s (Feb. 16) SNL50: The Anniversary Special. Wayne was joined by The Roots and DJ T. Lewis for his performance, which opened with 2018 single Uproar, and saw Weezy run through other tunes from his Tha Carter […]