Television

Arts

Kevin Hart's New Online Comedy Service Joins Crowded Streaming Market

5:18am August 01, 2017

by Elizabeth Blair

Kevin Hart is launching a streaming comedy service. The actor's Laugh Out Loud Network, which rolls out this week, enters an already crowded market. LANGUAGE ADVISORY: There are two bleeps in actualities in this piece at :14 and :44 in.

Hackers claim to have stolen information related to HBO's Game of Thrones, allegedly including written material from an upcoming episode. HBO has confirmed a hack occurred, but not what information was acquired. Here, Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) sits wit

Arts

HBO Says It Was Hacked, Some Programming Stolen

6:46pm July 31, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

Entertainment Weekly reports that the alleged hackers also claim to have "written material" from an upcoming Game of Thrones episode, but haven't proved it. HBO won't confirm what material was stolen.

"Love the dress." "Thanks. Yours too." "Oh, this old thing? I just threw it on." Varys (Conleth Hill) and Melisandre (Carice van Houten) in "The Queen's Justice."

Books
Arts

'Game Of Thrones' Season 7, Episode 3: 'I've Brought Ice And Fire Together'

9:22am July 31, 2017

by Glen Weldon

The third episode of Game of Thrones' seventh season, "The Queen's Justice," featured a long-awaited meeting, a long-awaited reunion, and a long-dreaded goodbye to the show's best character.

Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson embrace the comedy of the Trump family in Funny or Die's Jared & Ivanka.

Arts

Trump Can Be Comedy Gold, But Not All Comedians Are Mining

6:20pm July 29, 2017

by Elizabeth Blair

Comedians at the Just for Laughs comedy festival are mixed on the value of mocking President Trump.

Arts

'Game Of Thrones' Producers Venture Down More Controversial Path With 'Confederate'

6:09pm July 29, 2017

Confederate is meant to tackle issues of race and the legacy of slavery. NPR's Noel King speaks to writer Ben Winters, whose 2016 science fiction book Underground Airlines covered similar terrain.

After Almost 2 Years, 'Rick and Morty' Returns

5:13am July 28, 2017

by Nina Gregory

The cult hit animated show Rick and Morty returns for its third season after an almost two-year hiatus. Rick is a mad scientist who drags his grandson, Morty, on wild adventures.

National

June Foray, Voice Of Rocky From 'The Bullwinkle Show,' Dies At 99

5:10pm July 27, 2017

by Ted Robbins

June Foray voiced many cartoon characters but she was best known as the voice of Rocky the flying squirrel and Natasha Fatale in Rocky and His Friends, a TV series that ran from 1959 through 1964.

Nichelle Tramble Spellman (left) and her husband Malcolm Spellman are African American writers who are also executive producers on Confederate.

Arts

Black Producers, HBO Defend Upcoming Series 'Confederate'

4:32pm July 27, 2017

by Eric Deggans

Executive producers Nichelle Tramble Spellman and Malcolm Spellman spoke to NPR's Eric Deggans to push back against the notion the show will be "a celebration ... of slavery."

Is It Time To Sack Football As We Know It?

3:44pm July 27, 2017

A new study of 111 brains of former NFL players revealed that 110 of them had a degenerative brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Now Here's Something We Hope You'll Really Like: An appreciation of the late June Foray, voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel and many others, shown here arriving at an Oscars reception in 2013.

Books
Arts

Whatever The Character, June Foray's Voice Was Warmly Familiar

1:00pm July 27, 2017

by Glen Weldon

Foray voiced a wide variety of animated characters, and she brought the same genial humor and warmth to them all — except one.