Television

Over two nights, Janet Jackson’s story is being told in detail — by none other than Jackson herself. Airing simultaneously on Lifetime and A&E, Janet Jackson is a four-part docuseries that mixes a traditional retelling of a pop star’s life from childhood until now with some juicy revelations; the series straddles the difficult line between rare intimacy from an extremely private public figure and the tight control that comes from letting said figure dictate that narrative. (The first two episodes premiere tonight; the second two air on January 29th.) In...

Betty White’s life will be commemorated at a star-studded, televised NBC special on Monday, exactly one month after her death. On Jan. 31, the network will air Celebrating Betty White: America’s Golden Girl, a TV event that will feature President Joe Biden, Cher, Tina Fey, Drew Barrymore and other celebrities. “Co-stars, friends, admirers and those who shared special moments with White recount their favorite memories and reveal untold stories to commemorate the life and legacy of the trailblazing television star,” NBC said in a statement about the special. “The telecast...

At one point in his four-part documentary We Need To Talk About Cosby, W. Kamau Bell hands an iPad to his interview subjects and invites each of them to watch the iconic scene from The Cosby Show where Cliff Huxtable’s family lip syncs to Ray Charles’ “Night Time is the Right Time” as an anniversary present for Cliff’s parents: One by one, you see many of Bell’s guests beaming despite themselves. And why shouldn’t they? The Cosby scene is a master class in pleasing its viewers — its Black viewers...

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission. Janet Jackson is back in the spotlight this week with the release of a new two-part documentary series airing on Lifetime and A&E. Simply titled, “JANET,” the doc is tied to the 40th anniversary of the singer’s self-titled debut album and was first teased at the beginning of January with a three-minute trailer. Now, the full Janet Jackson special is available to watch on TV and stream online....

Peacock has shared a new teaser from Bel-Air, the Fresh Prince of Bel Air reboot, which arrives on the streaming service on Super Bowl Sunday. The 45-second preview focuses on the confrontation at a West Philadelphia pickup basketball game that leads to the character Will Smith’s sojourn to Bel Air. While that incident is simply described in the opening credits from the original sitcom — where the main aggressor picks up the Will Smith and spins him around — the fight is much more harrowing in the dramatic reboot, with...

When you hear that Apple TV+’s The Afterparty was created by Christopher Miller — a.k.a. one half of the Lord-Miller team responsible for the 21 Jump Street and Lego Movie franchises, among others — and features a small army of some of the funniest actors working today, including Sam Richardson, Tiffany Haddish, Ben Schwartz, Ilana Glazer, and Ike Barinholtz, it would be safe to expect a laugh riot from beginning to end. The Afterparty is not really that — not because it’s trying and failing at gut-busting comedy, but because...

Pamela Anderson is a single woman, once again. The Baywatch actress is splitting with Dan Hayhurst, her bodyguard husband of little more than a year, a source close to the couple says. Anderson is filing for divorce in her native Canada, where the couple had been living since they tied the knot on Christmas Eve 2020 in a ceremony on the grounds of Anderson’s Vancouver Island home. “Pamela loves as authentically as she lives,” says the source, who dubbed the brief union a “pandemic whirlwind” that petered out. Anderson’s five...

Homicide victims in the new Netflix series Murderville are in less than dependable hands as Will Arnett’s Senior Detective Terry Seattle recruits scriptless celebrity guests to help solve the murder mystery of the day. Premiering with six full episodes on Feb. 3, the first season of Murderville features Annie Murphy, Conan O’Brien, Ken Jeong, Kumail Nanjiani, Marshawn Lynch, and Sharon Stone as Detective Seattle’s partners. In the first official trailer, Jeong’s victim is already a total lost cause. At the instruction of a chaotic Detective Seattle, the comedian tampers with...

The Weekend Update crew tackled Joe Biden’s historically long press conference, Krysten Sinema’s upholding of the filibuster, Prince Andrew’s Twitter and more on the latest episode of Saturday Night Live. “President Biden marked the end of his first year in office with a two-hour press conference, because that’s how long it took to list everything that’s gone wrong,” Colin Jost said. “It was actually the longest presidential press conference, but as I’ve been told many times before, just because you went for a long time, doesn’t mean you did a...

With former cast member Will Forte back as host, his beloved MacGruber character returned to Saturday Night Live… as an anti-vax, Fauci-hating conspiracy theorist. Joined by Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillippe — Forte’s co-stars on the new MacGruber Peacock series — the bumbling special agent and his cohorts are locked in a room where MacGruber has one minute to diffuse a bomb. However, he keeps getting sidetracked by Covid-19 rabbit holes in increasingly dangerous ways. First, MacGruber burns the trio’s “face diapers,” ensuring them that he’s “vaxxed and relaxed” before...

In this week’s Cold Open, Kate McKinnon reprised her bit as Fox News host, Laura Ingraham, assessing the first year of Biden’s presidency. “Gas is $19 a gallon and the green M&M’s been canceled just for being a whore.” Then, transitioning to the week’s news, she said: “America is still mourning from the loss of America’s Dad, Fred Durst.” The parody segment went on with plenty of easy swings from cast members like Aidy Bryant as Senator Ted Cruz, who compared her beard to the January 6th insurrection: “shocking at...

Louie Anderson, beloved stand-up comedian, actor, and game show host died Friday at the age of 68. The comedian’s death was confirmed by Anderson’s publicist, noting the cause of death as complications from cancer; earlier this week, it was revealed that Anderson was being treated in a Las Vegas hospital for Diffuse large B cell lymphoma. “Born in St Paul Minnesota, the three­-time Emmy Award winner was one of the country’s most recognized and adored comics,” his rep added. “His career spanned more than 40 years. He was a bestselling...

It was inching close to midnight after a long day of filming The Louie Show in front of a live audience. The crew was ready to wrap, and Paul Feig still had to reshoot a scene from earlier in the day where his character’s lines were filled with medical jargon. He was feeling the pressure to get his scene done in a single take. But Louie Anderson was there. “Don’t let them pressure you,” Anderson told him. “You’ve got to get it right. And if you have a hard time,...