Guilty pleasures
By NewsPress Now
Golden Globes tap Nikki Glaser to be the telecast’s next host
NEW YORK | Comedian and actor Nikki Glaser has been picked to host the next Golden Globes, adding an edgy voice known for mercilessly teasing the rich and powerful.
Glaser will make her Globe debut Jan. 5 live on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. In a statement, she cited Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Ricky Gervais as inspirations.
“Some of my favorite jokes of all time have come from past Golden Globes opening monologues when Tina, Amy or Ricky have said exactly what we all didn’t know we desperately needed to hear. I just hope to continue in that time-honored tradition (that might also get me canceled),” she said.
Glaser has made a name for herself as a riotously sharp wit, especially at roasts, including recently for Tom Brady, who she needled for his complex love life and his one-time advocacy of crypto. She earned an Emmy nomination for her latest special, “Someday You’ll Die” for HBO, which dealt with everything from offering to pay for her friends’ abortions to her darkest porn habits.
“Nikki Glaser brings a fresh and unmatched candor to her comedy and to the Golden Globes,” said Jay Penske, chairman and CEO of Dick Clark Productions and Penske Media Corporation. “Her unapologetic style made her an obvious and compelling choice as host for this year’s event.”
The Globes telecast this winter pulled in an average of 9.4 million viewers, up about 50% from 2023, according to CBS. It drew Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey, Timothée Chalamet, Kylie Jenner and Leonardo DiCaprio, but host Jo Koy was slammed by critics for a fumbled opening monologue and a rushed pace throughout.
Bayreuth to
present special
Ring Cycle in 2026
A special Ring Cycle will be performed for the 150th anniversary Bayreuth Festival in 2026, the annual Richard Wagner showcase said as this season’s schedule ended with sellouts for all 30 performances.
In conjunction with the end of this season on Tuesday night, Bayreuth announced its new production of “Die Meistersinger von Nuremberg” will open the 113th festival next July 25.
Valentin Schwarz’s 2022 staging of the four-night “Der Ring des Nibelungen” will be revived for the final time next summer and the 2026 Ring will be “not purely a concert version,” according to festival spokesman Hubertus Herrmann. He said festival head Katharina Wagner, the composer’s great granddaughter, will reveal more details next year and there will be a new staging of the Ring in 2028.
The 150th anniversary festival will feature Bayreuth’s first production of “Rienzi,” Wagner’s third opera, along with all 10 of his mature works that have traditionally been performed at the opera house built in Bavaria to the composer’s specifications. It also will include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, conducted by Wagner at the concert following the foundation stone ceremony in 1872 and played at the 1951 reopening of Bayreuth following World War II.
Bayreuth said 58,000 people attended this season’s performances. Last season, overall attendance dipped to 97% for 31 performances and just 92% of tickets were sold for the three Ring cycles.
“Meistersinger” next year will be conducted by Daniele Gatti and directed by Matthias Davids, and the cast will include Georg Zeppenfeld, Michael Spyres, Christina Nilsson and Michael Nagy. It replaces Barrie Kosky’s 2017 production.
Next season 29-performance schedule also includes revivals of Jay Scheib’s 2023 staging of “Parsifal” (opening July 28), Yuval Sharon’s 2018 production of “Lohengrin” conducted by Christian Thielemann and starring Piotr Beczala (Aug. 1) and Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson’s 2024 production of “Tristan and Isolde” (Aug. 3). Simone Young will return to conduct the Schwarz Ring in two cycles from July 26-31 and Aug. 15-20.
K-pop singer Taeil leaves boyband NCT over accusation
SEOUL, South Korea | South Korean singer Taeil has left K-pop band NCT after being accused of an unspecified sexual crime, his label announced Wednesday.
His agency, SM Entertainment, released a statement on X, saying the NCT member will depart from the boy band after learning he has been “accused in a criminal case related to a sexual crime.” The label did not specify the nature of the crime.
“We recognized the seriousness of the issue, and we have decided that Taeil can no longer continue team activities,” the label said. “We have discussed this matter with Taeil, and it has been decided that he will leave the group.” The label added that he’s fully cooperating with the police investigation.
Taeil was part of NCT, or Neo Culture Technology, a globally popular South Korean boy band that debuted in 2016. The group currently has over two dozen members divided into several subunits, including NCT 127, NCT Dream, and NCT Wish. Taeil was recently active in NCT 127. Known for experimental music spanning various genres, the group has gained international attention with some releases charting on Billboard lists.
SM Entertainment’s statement garnered over 45.7 million views in less than three hours.
The report of a criminal case could not be independently verified, and police declined to comment.
K-pop originated from South Korea and is an amalgamation of pop, R&B and hip-hop sounds from the West while blending cultural elements of the country. It has grown into a global phenomenon, particularly after the success of the boy band BTS in late 2010s.
U.S. Open tennis
will stay on ESPN through 2037
NEW YORK | The U.S. Open tennis tournament will stay on ESPN through 2037 under a 12-year contract that starts in 2026, the network and the U.S. Tennis Association announced Wednesday.
The year’s last Grand Slam event began on Monday and runs until Sept. 8.
The new agreement expands ESPN’s streaming rights and will include coverage on ABC of the tournament’s two Sundays.
ESPN began showing some U.S. Open matches in 2009, splitting the event with longtime broadcaster CBS, before taking over entirely in 2015 under an 11-year deal.
—From AP reports
