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CULINARY HOPEFULS COMPETE FOR STARDOM IN THE RETURN OF FOOD NETWORK STAR

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Food Network’s competition series Food Network Star returns for a twelfth season on Sunday, May 22nd at 9pm ET/PT, with culinary icons Giada De Laurentiis and Bobby Flay looking to discover the next promising food television star. Thirteen talented culinary hopefuls are put through the ringer this season, battling it out in challenges that not only test their kitchen skills but also their on-camera chops, to find out who has the talent and charisma to follow in Giada and Bobby’s footsteps and win the ultimate prize: their own Food Network show. New this year, Food Network Star: Comeback Kitchen, co-hosted by Valerie Bertinelli and Tyler Florence, premieres on Sunday, May 8th at 8pm ET/PT, with seven former Food Network Star finalists returning to compete over three episodes for a coveted spot as the thirteenth finalist within season twelve’s premiere. Web-series Star Salvation, hosted by Alex Guarnaschelli and last season’s Food Network Star winner Eddie Jackson, returns again to give one eliminated finalist the opportunity to rejoin the competition during the season. The Food Network Star season twelve winner will be crowned on Sunday, July 31st at 9pm ET/PT.

Starting May 8th on Food Network Star: Comeback Kitchen, seven unforgettable former finalists enter the Star kitchen for another shot at stardom. When co-hosts Valerie Bertinelli and Tyler Florence introduce the first challenge, the competitors are forced to face their pasts by attempting to redeem the dish that was the downfall in their respective season. The alumni must then shoot a one minute “Where Are They Now?” video, updating viewers on what they’ve been up to and how they’ve improved since their Food Network Star appearance. Through three episodes, Valerie and Tyler determine who has earned a spot on the new season of Food Network Star.

In the May 22nd season premiere of Food Network Star, the finalists must shoot a 30-second screen test to give viewers a quick culinary preview of what they are all about. The videos debut during a VIP event at a luxury theater in Los Angeles in front of an audience; but when Bobby and Giada surprise the finalists with news that the Food Network Star: Comeback Kitchen winner will also join the competition, how will they handle this twist? Comeback Kitchen hosts Valerie Bertinelli and Tyler Florence help Giada and Bobby decide who will be the first to be sent home. During the season the finalists encounter challenges that not only test their culinary skills, but also their on-camera presence, from trying their hand at delivering food reports for Entertainment Tonight co-hosts Nancy O’Dell and Kevin Frazier, to shooting a promo for their own show, the finalists are challenged to not only create great food but great TV.

“Viewers will be inspired watching these competitors pull out all the stops as they follow their dreams of becoming a Food Network Star,” said Didi O’Hearn, Senior Vice President Programming, Food Network & Cooking Channel. “With Bobby and Giada leading the action, joined by an amazing group of world-class guest judges, the suspense of the season will be rivaled only by the big personalities and talent these finalists display.”

The finalists competing this season are: Rob Burmeister (Staten Island, NY); Erin Campbell (Woodbury, MN); Damiano Carrara (Moorpark, CA); Aaron Crumbaugh (Spokane, WA); Tregaye Fraser (Atlanta, GA); Yaku Moton-Spruill (San Francisco, CA); Melissa Pfeister (Los Angeles, CA); Ana Quincoces (Coral Gables, FL); Monterey Salka (Nashville, TN); Joy Thompson (Thomasville, NC); Havird Usry (Augusta, GA); Jernard Wells (Atlanta, GA), and the winner of Food Network Star: Comeback Kitchen. Comeback Kitchen competitors battling it out to join the new season are Penny Davidi (season 7); Matthew Grunwald (season 11); Martita Jara (season 8); Brianna Jenkins (season 6); Chris Kyler (season 10); Michele Ragussis (season 8) and Dominick Tesoriero (season 11).

Throughout the season, Bobby and Giada are joined by special guests who help determine who has what it takes to be the next face of Food Network including, Anne Burrell, Food Network Magazine Editor-in-Chief Maile Carpenter, Haylie Duff, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Guy Fieri, Duff Goldman, Hannah Hart, Robert Irvine, Ali Larter, Katie Lee, Tia Mowry, Lorraine Pascale, Rev Run, Aarti Sequeira, Donal Skehan, Trisha Yearwood and Internet stars Rhett & Link.

Web series Star Salvation returns on Sunday, June 12th and goes live just after Star’s east coast airing. Available on FoodNetwork.com/Salvation and hosted by last season’s Food Network Star winner Eddie Jackson and Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, the six-episode culinary contest gives one eliminated finalist a chance to re-enter the competition. The winner will re-enter Food Network Star on Sunday, July 24th.

This season once again features a fully-integrated, multi-platform partnership with Volkswagen, woven throughout the season and helping to drive the action of this extraordinary competition. A Food Network Star must excel on many fronts, and having the right partners, tools and expert guidance in place allows this season’s group of finalists to compete at the level they need in their bid for stardom.

For more Food Network Star, fans can visit FoodNetwork.com/Star all season long for exclusive interviews, video, blogs, behind-the-scenes footage, photo galleries and more. Fans can also connect with each other and the show’s stars on Facebook at Facebook.com/FoodNetwork and on Twitter with the hashtag #FoodNetworkStar.

Food Network Star is produced by LEG/Triage Entertainment.

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‘Abigail’: Bite Me Harder Tiny Dancer

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A gang of misfit kidnappers find their tiny target far more bloodthirsty than they bargained for! 

So, unfortunately, the trailers gave it away and let’s be real that’s why most of us are here, the knowledge that the kidnap victim Abigail (Alisha Weir), codenamed by the would-be kidnappers appropriately as ‘tiny dancer’, is in fact, a vampire. Not a spoiler, point of fact, one of the film’s actual great selling points. And the reactions from the misfit club when faced with a real actual f*cking vampire, range hilariously from the blunt “no such thing as vampires” all the way to, “Are we talking True Blood or Twilight rules or what?” all while covered in buckets and buckets of blood. 

Anyway, the gang manages to subdue and abscond with the aforementioned Abigail, in a pre-prepared duffle bag, like you do, and converge to a new location, a house oddly similar to the one she was just taken from. Welcomed and given codenames by a man who introduces himself as Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito), our misfit club is told to simply hold down the fort in this strange old house with the girl chained up in a room and one person to attend her, for twenty-four hours, and they’ll all get paid. 

As inevitable as the tides, the dopey druggie Dean (Angus Cloud) is the first to die, and we’re going to give that death-style points for inspiring terror right off the bat. The very controlling Frank (Dan Stevens, holy crap yes that is the guy from FXs Legion) is also of course the most suspicious – of everyone around him, sure, but also he himself is totes sus. We don’t learn terribly much about the musclebound tank who gets dubbed Peter (Kevin Durand), he’s your pretty typical little-brains-heart-of-gold muscle-for-hire any proper gang needs, right down to the bottle problem. Sammy (Kathryn Newton), well, even for being a purported hacker-type, she has, like, reality issues. Rickles (William Catlett), he’s arguably the most dangerous among them, ex-military and yet somehow here and involved in kidnapping for a few mills. Joey (Melissa Barrera) is our Final Girl, and though she has the inevitable problems in her recent past, she seems more capable of doing the hard thing and still somehow empathizing at the end of the day. Must be her burning desire to get back with her son. 

The fit hits the shan pretty quickly, and Abigail morphs from tiny dancer to tiny monster, though honestly, the way Abigail spoke the entire time in the film, if the ‘nappers had been paying close enough attention, would have been a solid clue. The performance from Alisha Weir as Abigail is incredible, as she literally dances a fine line between comedy, tragedy, and outright monstrosity. With a face full of makeup and the force of a tiny tornado to back it up, Weir brings to mind the great performances of the vampires in 30 Days of Night who saw the practicality in the need to trap their food, but also, play with it a bit first before feasting! Anything else would give away the absolute fun time that is Abigail, so you should go see it, out in theaters now!

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Scrubs Reunion: The Band Gets Back Together

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Fans of the beloved medical comedy series Scrubs were recently treated to a thrilling surprise when John C. McGinley, who portrayed the iconic Dr. Perry Cox, dropped a photo on Twitter hinting at a potential reunion project. The image, showing McGinley alongside his former co-stars, sparked a wave of excitement and speculation among fans who have been longing for more adventures with the beloved Sacred Heart Hospital staff.

While details about the reunion project are still scarce, the mere possibility of seeing the gang back together again has sent waves of nostalgia through fans who fondly remember the show’s original run from 2001 to 2010. Scrubs was not just a sitcom; it was a heartfelt exploration of friendship, love, and the chaotic world of medicine, all wrapped up in a quirky and often hilarious package.

At the heart of the show was the bromance between JD (played by Zach Braff) and Turk (played by Donald Faison), whose antics and deep bond served as the emotional anchor for the series. Their dynamic, along with the sage wisdom (and relentless sarcasm) of Dr. Cox, provided viewers with memorable moments that have stood the test of time.

As we eagerly await more news about the Scrubs reunion project, one thing is for sure: it’s time to dust off those old DVDs, rewatch our favorite episodes, and get ready to welcome back our favorite gang of doctors, nurses, and janitors for what promises to be a memorable reunion.

But Scrubs was more than just its main characters. The supporting cast, including the eccentric Janitor (played by Neil Flynn), the neurotic Elliot (played by Sarah Chalke), and the wise-cracking nurse Carla (played by Judy Reyes), each brought their own unique flavor to the show, creating a rich tapestry of characters that fans grew to love.

While the photo shared by McGinley has fueled speculation about what the reunion project might entail, whether it’s a one-off special, a new season, or something else entirely, one thing is certain: fans are eagerly awaiting any opportunity to dive back into the world of Sacred Heart Hospital.

In an age where reboots and revivals are commonplace, Scrubs stands out as a series that has the potential to recapture the magic that made it a fan favorite in the first place. With its blend of humor, heart, and unforgettable characters, a reunion project has the opportunity to not only satisfy longtime fans but also introduce a new generation to the joys of life at Sacred Heart.

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‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’: Rebellion with a cause

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The story of the rise of Coriolanus Snow, from teenage Capital City pawn to rising Dictator of the Hunger Games! 

Apparently no one out here in post-apocalyptic Panem has heard of irony and so they name their children things like Coriolanus (Tom Blyth), Tigress, and further off in Hunger Games lore, after swamp plants like Katniss. Corio’s father was a legendary general and that is pretty much the only reason young Snow and his meager family of grandmother called Grandma’am (Fionnula Flanagan) and sister Tigress (Hunter Schafer) are tolerated here in the Capital City at all. 

Most of the snotty youngsters at the academy won’t let Snow forget how far his family has fallen, but he’s generally not concerned with them. What is concerning is the strong disapproval of the drugged-up Dean Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage) and the creepy attention of Dr. Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis) as she lurks in the classroom sniffing out talent. The Dean feels very strongly the annual Hunger Games should end, while Gaul is violently adamant that not only do the Games continue, but that they get as much more attention as possible. And young Snow is stuck in the middle, when the yearly prize money normally awarded to the academy student with the best grades gets switched out for, you guessed it, the student that can make this years’ Hunger Games as entertaining as possible. 

Whilst the students are protesting this sudden change, the annual Reaping is about to commence, and big shock and surprise, Corio’s candidate from District 12 Lucy Grey Baird (Rachel Zegler) is chosen as a Tribute. This is where the film begins to really take off on musical wings, for as it turns out, Lucy Grey can sing. Boy, can that gal sing! She can sing, she can play guitar, she can work a crowd, she can calm things down, she can fire ‘em up too! And Corio, being no dummy himself, instantly plots ways to use his Tributes amazing voice to draw attention to her, and admittedly his own, plight! 

Though far too many people sneer at the idea, Corio takes his position as Mentor to his Tribute seriously enough to sneak onto the tram taking the Tributes to their habitat, which turns out to be a completely appropriate moniker, as this year the Tributes are held before the Hunger Games in a large zoo habitat so the weatherman ‘Lucky’ Flickerman (Jason Schwartzman), host of this years games, can MC the hell out of everything up close and personal! 

What happens at this years Hunger Games and the subsequent consequences to both Corio and Lucy Grey is actually only half the story, and the movie. Coriolanus has always had to be opportunistic, but learning to be absolutely ruthless when necessary under the tutelage of Dr. Gaul, who basically thinks it’s always best to be merciless, is an eye-opening education indeed.  Even after they’ve both been consigned to military service and his friend Sejanus Plinth (Josh Andres Rivera) decides to finally rebel, Corio and Sejanus continue to deceive each other and themselves, to accomplish their separate goals. Not even the love Corio swears he feels for Lucy Grey can save him, or them, from the adamant absolute necessity of the Hunger Games continuing. And after all that’s happened, Coriolanus Snow has gotten a terrific education in the best way to be the absolutely ruthless next Hunger Games advocate, and oh yeah, President of Panem. 

The movie does itself no favors by trying to stuff not one but two major storylines and a bunch of side storylines sadly introduced and then ignored, into the film. It would have been entirely possible to turn Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes into two different movies, separated between feathers and scales if you like, and do justice to the major storylines in both. Blyth gives a fine  performance as a young Coriolanus Snow, but the fact that President Snow is played by Donald Sutherland in all three of the Hunger Games films means Blyth has incredibly large shoes to fill. Rachel Zegler as Lucy Grey is absolute fire, and yes the actress did sing the songs in the film herself, including the Hunger Games franchise epic song, ‘The Hanging Tree’. Every time Lucy Grey opens her mouth and sheer soul-searing music comes out, it provides a distinct counterpoint to the soul-crushing ambition of Coriolanus Snow and further demonstrates the District and Caste separation Hunger Games is known for. And if, by the end of the film, Coriolanus Snow has come to agree that the Hunger Games must continue but perhaps under his own auspices, he has no one but himself to blame when another younger but still rebellious female blows it all up in his face! 

Choose rebellion or conformity for yourself in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

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