Richard Belzer, who is best known for his iconic role as Detective John Munch on Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order, has passed away at the age of 78, his longtime manager has confirmed. According to writer Bill Scheft, a longtime friend of the actor, he died early Sunday at his home in Bozouls in southwest France. Scheft told The Hollywood Reporter: “He had lots of health issues, and his last words were, ‘Fuck you, motherfucker.’”
“Richard Belzer detective munch is one of television’s iconic characters,” Law & Order creator Dick Wolf wrote in a post shared on social media. “I first worked with Richard on the ‘Law & Order’ / ‘Homicide’ crossover and loved the character so much. I told Tom (Fontana) that I wanted to make him one of the original characters on ‘SVU.’ The rest is history. Richard brought humor and joy into all our lives, was the consummate professional, and we will all miss him very much.”
Belzer’s Law & Order: SVU co-star Chris Meloni also said: “Good bye mon ami. I love you.” His other co-star, Mariska Hargitay, wrote: “Goodbye my dear, dear friend. I will miss you, your unique light, and your singular take on this strange world. I feel blessed to have known you and adored you and worked with you, side by side, for so many years.”
Fans also poured in with messages regarding Belzer’s passing. One user wrote in response to Wolf’s post, “So sad. Honestly, there should just be three Munch episodes aired Thursday instead of new episodes for each Law & Order show.” Another added: “Rest In Peace. Life is strange, in last weeks SVU IceT talks about his former partner Munch so lovingly.”
Belzer’s Detective Munch first appeared in Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1999. He later reprised the role for several episodes of Law & Order. Then, he became a series regular on Law & Order: SVU, appearing in 326 episodes between 1999 and 2016. In addition to working as Munch, Belzer appeared as a detective in numerous other shows over the years. He also did so on The Wire and The X-Files, as well as comedies 30 Rock, Arrested Development, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
One of the most common interview questions asked of Liam Neeson is if he would ever return to his role as Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn. Fans are used to his response of “no.” This trend continued when Neeson joined the likes of Paul Rudd on the February 16 episode of Watch What Happens Live! However, in the episode, Neeson elaborated on why he feels the way that he does. He said that the Star Wars franchise is hurting the magic that it holds. When asked if he was returning, Neeson said, “No, I’m not. There’s so many spinoffs of ‘Star Wars.’ It’s diluting it to me, and it’s taken away the mystery and the magic in a weird way.”
Liam Neeson did make a brief appearance in Obi-Wan Kenobi, the series on Disney+. However, he only had roughly two lines of dialogue. He made his debut in the Star Wars universe in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in 1999. However, his character died, and his time in Star Wars ended. While Neeson would not return for a spin-off, he told ComicBook.com last year that he would reprise the character under one condition: his returning appearance would need to be in a movie, not a television show.
Neeson On “Watch What Happens Live!”
Back then, he said about a Star Wars return: “Oh, I think so, yeah, yeah, yeah, I think so…if it was a film. Yeah, I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to TV, I must admit. I just like the big screen, you know? Qui-Gon, I can’t believe it’s 24 years since we made The Phantom Menace, I just cannot believe where the time has gone. It was a terrific experience, shooting that film in London.”
Neeson’s statement about Star Wars spin-off quantity is accurate. As far as movies go, Lucasfilm has released Rogue One and Solo outside of its main Skywalker storyline. Furthermore, Star Wars has continued to expand its universe on Disney+ with television shows. The network has premiered The Mandalorian, The Book of Bobo Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the past. In continuation, upcoming series releases include season 3 of The Mandalorian, which launches on March 1, 2023. Plus, Ashoka and The Acolyte are premiering on the network
Lizzo is returning to our TV screens. Last year, the “About Damn Time” hitmaker kept us fed with TV specials, including her HBO Max documentary Love, Lizzo, as well as her concert film Lizzo: Live In Concert — not to mention, her Emmy Award-winning reality competitionWatch Out For The Big Grrrls. This time, she will be giving animation a spin.
Today (February 17), Lizzo took to Instagram to reveal that she will appear on an upcoming episode of The Simpsons. She shared an animated version of herself, drawn by Simpsons creator Matt Groening. In the drawing, Lizzo is seen wearing what looks like an animated version of her Yitty activewear.
“SEE YOU IN SPRINGFIELD, B*TCH,” she captioned the post.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Lizzo will voice two different characters in The Simpsons upcoming 34th season finale, which is set to air on Fox in May. One will be a fictional version of herself, and the other will be a toy elf doll that comes to life after Homer gets into an accident.
“We had this idea for a long time, and it always felt like a pipe dream, but then we figured out a way to do it,” said executive producer Tim Long. “…So she’s playing this happy little elf doll that comes to life and becomes his spirit guide.”
Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Just weeks after the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl, tight end Travis Kelce is traveling to New York City to host Saturday Night Live on March 4. This will be his hosting debut on the show. His episode will also be the debut appearance of musical Guest, Ballerini. She will be promoting her new EP, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat,and its accompanying short film. The short film was released on Valentine’s Day. Ballerini is also promoting the “Heartfirst” United States tour, which begins in March.
Now welcoming Kelce, this season of Saturday Night Live has had a star-studded lineup of hosts and musical guests. There has been Miles Teller and Kendrick Lamar (Oct. 1), Brendan Gleeson and Willow (Oct. 8), Megan Thee Stallion (Oct. 15), Jack Harlow (Oct. 29) in October. Amy Schumer and Steve Lacy (Nov. 5) and Dave Chappelle and Black Star (Nov. 12) took to the stage in November. Keke Palmer and SZA (Dec. 3), Steve Martin and Martin Short with Brandi Carlile (Dec. 10), and Austin Butler and Lizzo (Dec. 17) hosted in December. Aubrey Plaza and Sam Smith (Jan. 21) and Michael B. Jordan and Lil Baby(Jan. 28) held the stage in January. Most recently, Pedro Pascal and Coldplay (Feb. 4) kicked off the February hosts.
Travis Kelce’s New Gig
Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter in Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium on February 12, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Before Kelce, Woody Harrelson will host the show on February 25. He will be promoting his new film Champions, which releases to theaters on March 10. In the film, Harrelson plays a minor-league baseball coach who has legal issues. His community service leads to him becoming a coach for the Special Olympics basketball team. Jack White will serve as a musical guest in his fourth solo appearance on SNL (fifth if you include his performance with The White Stripes).
A week after Kelce’s hosting debut, Jenna Ortega will also mark her hosting debut on March 11. Ortega’s appearance occurs the same weekend her film Scream VI will release in theaters. She’s also promoting the hit Netflix series Wednesday just prior to the Emmys. During the SNL episode, The 1975 will return for the second time as a musical guest. The band will come to the show promoting their tour and album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language.
FX’s Snowfall held a black carpet event for the sixth and final season premiere on Wednesday Night. The cast went to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures to view a screening of the first episode. Michael Hyatt (Cissy Saint) and Carter Hudson (Teddy McDonald) reflected on the legacy of the series’ co-creator, John Singleton. Singleton passed away from a stroke in April 2019 at the age of 51. He was the first Black writer-director to score an Oscar nomination for best director with Boyz n the Hood.
Historically, Hyatt started playing Cissy Saint during Season 1 of the show. Cissy is the mother of Franklin Saint, one of Los Angeles’ to-be-famous drug dealers. Hyatt’s character is a maternal figure on the show. She wants to save her neighborhood from the 1980s chaos of drugs and gang violence. She focuses on protecting her son. In an emotional interview with Variety, Hyatt said, “John taught me to use my voice in ways that I had not given myself permission to use my voice in my career, in my life. Because of his presence in my life and the time that I had to spend with him, he empowered me to use that voice. And even though he’s dead, when I come to work, I make sure that what I’m saying represents him.”
John Singleton Remembered
Director John Singleton attends the 69th annual Directors Guild of America Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 4, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)
According to Hudson, the cast did “acts of conjuring” to “keep him alive” in their hearts. For instance, they left his director’s chair in the room and continued the series with his goals in mind. Hudson went on that, “He used to always say that you wanted this show to end on the day that ‘Boyz n the Hood’ started and that he always kind of saw this in his mind as a prequel to that. It feels like you were part of a bigger story that he was working on telling.” The show is honoring Singleton’s memory in the series finale, which is dedicated to him. At the event, FX president John Landgraf also announced that a room in the network’s office will be named after Singleton.
Hudson continued, saying that “The world that he was trying to talk about was a world that, when he started, hadn’t been shown. He pioneered that, and this is about saying, ‘How did that world come to be?’ It really works to answer these bigger questions about how the whole globe played a part in what happened in one neighborhood and the lives that were being lived there.” Additionally, he said that Singleton and the show’s legacy is about “giving that neighborhood a context within history and geopolitics.” He insisted, “We talked about him. He’s present. He didn’t leave us.” Snowfall returns for its final season on February 22, 2023.
Hollywood is flooded with stories of actors who were *thisclose* to landing coveted roles, and Penn Badgley is sharing his story about the one that got away. Many of us remember the chokehold Breaking Bad had on the world during its reign. Bryan Cranston dominated as the conflicted Walter White, and Aaron Paul portrayed Jesse Pinkman, his troubled sidekick. In an interview with Buzzfeed, Badgley revealed the part of Pinkman came down to him and Paul.
“We tested. And actually that was the best television script I’d read, at that point. That was the one that got away,” the You actor admitted. During the time, Badgley was also in the running for Gossip Girl, and he ended up landing that role. The missed opportunity for Breaking Bad is a story that Paul also previously shared.
Years ago, Paul recalled seeing Badgley walk in to audition and believing he would lose out. “Right when he walked in, I was like, ‘Oh my God, that guy looks like a meth addict,’” Paul told Entertainment Weekly back in 2020. “In a good way! He was just in the role. I was like, ‘This guy is going to steal it from me.’”
These days, Badgley is haunting Netflix on You, a stalker series that has captivated audiences. We’re in the thick of Season 4, and while Badgley is enjoying the show’s success, he revealed one thing he isn’t comfortable with. In a recent interview with Variety, the actor said he wished he didn’t have to do so many sex scenes. It’s something that the married father said is important to not have because of his “real life.”
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 30: Domino Kirke and Penn Badgley attend The Weinstein Company and Lyft host a special screening of “3 Generations” on April 30, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
“My fidelity in my relationship,” Badgley shared. “It’s important to me. And actually, it was one of the reasons that I initially wanted to turn the role down. I didn’t tell anybody that. But that is why.” Additionally, it was reported in Season 4, all of the sex scenes were reportedly filmed fully clothed.
50 Cent’s making major plays in television. Though he’s hinted at a return to music since the beginning of the year, he recently announced a deal with Fox that would presumably eat up much of his time. Perhaps, he’ll still be working on new music during this time. However, over the years, he’s transformed into one of the biggest moguls in television. Between Power and BMF alone, Fif’s resume is quite extensive. The deal with Fox will open the gates for even more content from G-Unit Film and Television.
The move to Fox comes after his departure from Starz, the home to his most successful shows to date. The non-exclusive agreement will find Fif delivering scripted dramas, live action comedies, and animated series to Fox. “He is the rare multi-hyphenate with a deft hand at storytelling, no matter the format or medium, and we’re looking forward to developing new and exciting series for Fox with him and his team,” Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn said. Fif will undoubtedly come through with some excellent programming for Fox moving forward.
During his recent interview with Ari Melber on The Beat, Fif explained that his upcoming deal with Fox benefits him far more than his efforts with Starz. The non-exclusive aspect of the contract allows Fif to work with anyone. “This deal allows me to work with everyone,” he said, in contrast to his deal with Starz. Though he currently has 24 shows across 10 different networks, he explained that Fox will be his primary focus moving forward. “I’ll show them things first,” he added.
We’re excited to see what Fif has in store in the coming future. Currently, he’s plotting on the upcoming season of Power Book II: Ghost, which is set to debut next month. However, the success of BMF has inspired him to approach the series similarly to Power. He recently revealed that he’ll be delivering three different spin-offs in the BMF universe, though he hasn’t confirmed when we’ll see those debut. Check out the clip above and let us know your thoughts on 50 Cent’s deal.
On Friday’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, Pushing Daisies actress Kristin Chenoweth revealed that she was once wooed by The Purple One.
Chenoweth didn’t believe it was Prince at first, understandably so, but she agreed to a date at Paisley Park once she confirmed that it wasn’t an elaborate prank. “I’m sweating bullets, I’m so nervous,” she recalled. “And here comes, ‘click, click, click, click.’ Prince’s heels, right? Comes in. He was like, ‘Hi.’ I was like, ‘I’d like to party like it’s 1999 and wear my raspberry beret.’” Prince was not amused (at least go with deep cuts, jeez), but things improved after dinner when they had a “great talk about life, love, faith.”
They made their way to his basement, where he showed her his display of 200 guitars. “He goes, ‘Pick one up. Play one.’ So I picked up this long, white-necked one. I turned it over and it was all scratched. I was like, ‘What happened?’ He goes, ‘Elvis’ belt.’”
Prince then brought Chenoweth to his theater, where “he played a video of Chenoweth performing that he said ‘inspired’ him,” according to Decider (I hope it was this). Prince told her, “What you do is what I like to do. And please never stop.” Chenoweth doesn’t divulge what happened the rest of the night — she doesn’t (sorry Prince) kiss and tell.
Are you ready for the return of Tariq? 50 Cent’s Power Book II: Ghost is set for a March return. On Thursday (Feb. 16), STARZ released a new trailer, showing the fallout of the murder of basketball star Zeke, Tariq, and Brayden taking their work to Wall Street, and the Tejada’s seemingly ready to turn on Monet.
Most notable in the trailer is Tariq turning his savage up and looking to top his father’s legacy.
“I’m not like my dad; I’m smarter than him,” Tariq says in the trailer.
You can see the trailer below. Power Book: Ghost returns on Friday, March 17.
(SPOILERS for this week’s BMF episode will be found below.)
In episode six of season two of BMF, titled “Homecoming,” Meech and Terry are back home in Detroit. They completed their mission in Atlanta and they’re back home to get things back in order with BMF. The good news is that Terry is back in the crew after some time away, but the bad news is that their war with Lamar is far from over as he continues to terrorize Meech and Terry’s family and well as BMF. Elsewhere, Charles continues down the path of infidelity and B-Mickie’s double life comes to an end.
The aforementioned events in the sixth episode of BMF season two, titled “Homecoming,” are soundtracked by songs that help to accentuate the emotions behind each scene. You can find a list of them belong as well as details about the scenes that they are heard in.
The following records were provided thanks to the Starz Public Relations team.
Run-D.M.C. — “Beats To The Rhyme”
We hear this song at the 0:20 mark as Meech and Terry are driving around neighborhoods looking for Lamar. The duo is strapped with firearms and this happens fresh off their return from Atlanta.
Stephie — “All Day A”
At around the 1:30 mark, Meech and Terry can be seee in the record shop base talking about Lamar getting to the Flenory house and B-Mickie’s whereabouts. Meech and Terry also give a vague update to the crew about their time in Atlanta and what’s next going forward.
50 Cent — “Wish Me Luck” Feat. Charlie Wilson
This is the theme song of BMF. It plays at the 3:30 mark in “Homecoming.” While it’s only 50 Cent and Charlie Wilson’s voices that are heard in this moment, the song also features Snoop Dogg and Moneybagg Yo.
Model 500 — “Future”
Model 500’s “Future” checks in around the 13:21 mark as Meech pulls up to the club to meet with the PA Boys. In this scene, we see a cameo appearance from Jalen Rose who plays himself and we see Meech jump into a fight with the PA Boys against their rivals.
Extreme — “He Is My Friend”
At the 20:07 mark, this record plays as Charles consoles Lucille as she sits at the dinner table upset over Terry’s decision to drop out of high school. To make things better, Charles says he’ll get dressed up and take Lucille out for dinner — something they haven’t done in a long time.
Dosey Doe — “Rock Your Body”
We hear this song around the 21:38 mark when Meech visits the nail shop that Nicole works at to get his nails done. He always uses the opportunity to make a deal with the owner and use the shop as a place to wash BMF’s drug money.
Oran Juice Jones — “The Rain”
This record plays around the 22:41 mark as Terry drives in the rain all to be followed by Detective Bryant and Jin because he ran a stop light. The stay behind him thinking he’s up to no good, all to see that he was only on his way to pick up Markeisha and her kids.
Extreme — “Les Is More”
At around the 25:43 mark, we here this song as Charles and Lucille are eating dinner together. It’s here that Lucille admits that she thought Charles was cheating on her. While we know she’s not wrong, she was wrong about who she think he’s cheating on her think
Solo D — “Right There”
We here this song around the 28:27 mark during a sex scene with Terry and Markeisha. In an opposite hotel Detectives Bryant and Jin are watching Terry in hopes of catching him doing something illegal
Marley Waters x Fredro — “The Code”
This record plays around 32:04 mark as Meech pulls up in a brand new car to meet with Terry and the rest of the BMF crew. Shortly after, Terry is confronted by BMF’s Dink about bad product which leads to a fight after Dink steps to Terry. It ends with Terry and Meech jumping Dink.
Francene — “Do You Remember”
Francene’s record can be heard around the 34:45 mark as Charles visits Mabel to inform her that their affair must come to an end. His attempt is a failure as he and Mabel end up having sex once again.
Arman — “Trouble”
This song plays around the 35:18 mark when Nicole enters the nail shop to see Meech and Hoop meeting with the store owner to give her some money to presumably help them wash their BMF earnings. Nicole takes issue with this with the owner, but the owner dismisses her worries.
Cite — “Some Of This”
This song plays around the 36:54 mark when Terry returns to the hotel that he was staying in with Markeisha and her kids. He comes back to find out that Markeisha left and did so with a note saying that she can’t be with someone who has other responsibilities and may not be as financially supportive as she needs.
Osinachi — “Claps”
We hear this song around the 38:06 mark when Meech reconnects with K-9 to get new product and get things rolling again. It’s here that Meech learns that K-9 owes a Colombian connect $20 million and refuses to pay up.
SAB — “Paul Bun”
Around the 41:10 mark, this record plays as Meech and Terry are discussing their next moves. Meech wants to take advantage of K-9’s issues with Colombian connect while Terry wants to work the product that B-Mickie is offering Meech.
Don Cabán — “Defend My Reputation”
This record plays around the 45:10 mark as B-Mickie meets Meech at the record shop to give him new product. Meech informs B-Mickie that he bought burial plots for his mother and that he is giving him his own territory to be in charge of. While this is all good news, it’s ruined as B-Mickie is actually there undercover for Detectives Bryant and Jin. Meech makes a run for it and B-Mickie follows him shortly after.
Don Cabán & EHart — “Live By The Gun”
The episode closes with the song playing, starting at around the 49:20 mark. The episode ends on a cliffhanger of sorts as B-Mickie is seemingly kidnapped as he looks to make a run out of the city.
New episodes of ‘BMF’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am EST and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm EST.
