Latest news with #Season49
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
University of Michigan Law School grad wins 'Survivor.' What to know about winner
This story has been updated with additional information. The latest champion of CBS's long-running show "Survivor" revealed to his competitors on the season finale Wednesday, May 21, that he is a University of Michigan Law School graduate shortly before they voted to award him $1 million in prize money. Kyle Fraser, the newest "Survivor" champion, is a former teacher, and then graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 2021. The 31-year old won the 48th season, which was set in Fiji. The finale aired on May 21. Fraser beat fellow finalists Joe Hunter and Eva Erickson in a 5-2-1 vote. The season marks the third straight that a person with Michigan ties was the winner. Last season, Rachel LaMont, a Southfield, Michigan, native, was the winner. Mackenzie "Kenzie" Alayna Petty, a Gibralter, Michigan, native, won "Survivor" 46 the season before. Fraser kept the fact that he was an attorney a secret from other players until the finale. He spoke also about being previously jailed as a youth for what he calls non-violent misdemeanors, sharing his experience on the show and on his Instagram page. "I think it goes to show how the criminal legal system can affect the lives of so many more people than you could possibly imagine. I take responsibility for everything in my life, the good and the bad," Fraser said on Instagram. Fraser however noted the experience shaped who he is today. He received his juris doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School in 2021, serving as senior editor for the Michigan Law Review. Additionally, he was awarded the Irving Stenn Jr. and Carl Gussin Memorial prizes at graduation, according to his law firm bio, which says he rejoined Morvillo Abramowitz as an associate in 2024. He had previously worked at the firm before leaving to clerk for R. Guy Cole Jr. in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Fraser earned his bachelor's degree from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, but is from Roanoke, Virginia, according to Entertainment Weekly. If you missed it live, "Survivor" streams on Paramount+ and on the CBS website. New episodes air live on CBS as well as Paramount+. The five players remaining at the start of the May 21 episode included: Eva Erickson, a 24-year-old doctoral candidate living in Providence, Rhode Island Kyle Fraser, a 31-year-old attorney residing in Brooklyn, New York Mitch Guerra, a 34-year-old physical education coach living in Waco, Texas Joe Hunter, a 45-year-old fire captain living in West Sacramento, California Kamilla Karthigesu, a 31-year-old software engineer living in Foster City, California Season 49 airs this fall, also set in Fiji. This year celebrates the 25th anniversary for "Survivor." An official release date has not been announced yet. Rachel LaMont won Season 47 of "Survivor," in a 7-1-0 vote over Sam Phalen, who got one vote, and Sue Smey. Lamont, a 34-year-old graphic designer from Southfield, Michigan, was originally on the Gata tribe and became the fifth woman ever to win four individual immunity challenges in a season. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kyle Fraser, University of Michigan Law School grad, is the newest 'Survivor'
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'SNL' host Quinta Brunson once again teaches a comedy master class
When she appeared for the first time on "Saturday Night Live" a year ago, "Abbott Elementary" creator and star Quinta Brunson gave one of last year's best hosting performances, bringing great comic timing and characters to the show. It was no fluke. Returning to the show for her second outing, Brunson proved just as adept at bringing her comedic sensibilities to an episode that featured an overall strong lineup of new sketches. There was only one retread and even that one, a reprise of the standout "Traffic Altercation," was worth revisiting. It's interesting to compare Brunson's just-as-excellent second shot to two other comics who hosted in Season 49 and Season 50: Nate Bargatze and Shane Gillis. While Bartgatze's return was good, it didn't quite reach the peaks of the first appearance. And Gillis, inexplicably called back into service after a not-great debut as host, was much worse the second time around. But Brunson didn't lose a step since last year; she was funny playing a time-traveling Harriet Tubman who, along with Kenan Thompson as Frederick Douglass, didn't want to go back to the past in a "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" parody; went daffy as one of several bad employees at a leadership summit; played a model in an ad for Forever 31's sad, oversized clothing; and one of "Two B— vs. a Gorilla" (the other was Ego Nwodim), about trash-talking women facing off with a gorilla at the zoo. If that wasn't enough, she played a joke-spouting old-time boxer, Jerry "Jackrabbit" Tulane, who stops being so funny after getting beaten up multiple times in the ring, and one half of a feisty and unexpectedly sexy "OnlySeniors" couple in an insurance ad. Bruson scored again and again and even sang in the monologue; she should have an open invitation to return next season. Musical guest Benson Boone backflipped before performing, "Sorry I'm Here for Someone Else" and did not do a backflip before performing "Mystical Magical." He briefly appeared on Weekend Update as an Applebee's waiter, referencing his hit song "Beautiful Things," which Boone didn't perform. Just as President Trump has dominated news cycle after news cycle this year, so has he commandeered the "SNL" cold open: once again, James Austin Johnson played the hard-charging POTUS, delivering a string of executive orders with creepy lord of darkness Stephen Miller (an increasingly vampiric Mikey Day). Trump signed orders to deport "Sesame Street" along with Elmo ("Brought to you by the letter L for El Salvador"), pardon J.K. Rowling for transphobic comments and bring back Columbus Day for Italian-Americans such as Tony Soprano, Benny Blanco (who is Jewish) and Childish Gambino (the stage name of Donald Glover, who is Black). Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernández) appeared for an order to keep Hispanic babies from getting their ears pierced, and Trump also made moves to make the New York Times Connections game easier, turn the word "Recession" into "Recess" and outlaw ghosts. "Every Christmas Eve, I get visited by three ghosts. I don't know what the hell they're talking about," Trump said. Brunson began her monologue with jokes about the time she worked for a phone sex line ("By the end of my first week, I had only made $1.38.") before landing on the topic of her song and dance number: her height. The 4-foot-11 actress said, "They tried to cast me as a kid on 'Abbott Elementary' and I wrote that!" Eschewing a microphone that was too high, she sang about the great things about being small, such as being a cheap date with wine. She was soon joined by another diminutive star: pop singer Sabrina Carpenter, who compared notes with her, asking, "When you read short stories, do they feel like novels?" Former NBA star Dwyane Wade towered over the ladies, but insisted he's still short compared to other basketball players at 6-foot-4. "I just really want to be in the song," he said. Brunson and Thompson play elderly parents whose kids (Nwodim and Devon Walker) find out they've got life insurance through a service that requires them to have sex and spend a lot of time naked for online fans. "We set up our camera and do stuff to each other. And watch the money just start pouring in," they're told. When they're not interacting with their "Filthy little chat babies," they're spending time with their also-naked neighbors and (checks notes) sitting on cakes? In these uncertain economic times, it's a business model that seems very viable. Mikey Day and Brunson faced off again in separate cars (but didn't seem to recognize each other from last time) to battle with a series of hand gestures and facial expressions over bad parking on a ferry. Day's character can't forgive the other driver for parking too close, saying he needs more than half an inch, which invites a devastating response from the woman in the other car. Day's daughter Quinn (Chloe Fineman) participates with over-the-line sexual gestures, prompting Brunson's character to make gestures for a gardening tool as she tells him who he raised. Sure, it's a repeat, but again it's executed perfectly on both ends, with the only disappointing note being an appearance by Colin Jost, who's trying to sell the real-life ferry he bought with Pete Davidson. It's not that Jost is bad, it's just that it couldn't possibly live up to Mellssa McCarthy's appearance when they did a version of this sketch with Martin Short. Sarah Sherman and Bowen Yang played horny barflys at Applebee's who are sad about chain restaurants closing down. But it was Michael Longfellow's declaration of not getting a Real ID that won "Update" this week. Longfellow said, "You already gave me an ID. If it's fake, you fix it. The Pope is dead, let me mourn." It didn't quite follow, but Longfellow went on to joke about his light work schedule of 12 hours a week at "SNL" ("I'm just not in that much stuff this season.") before making up rules for air travel including, "If the TSA touches your crotch, they have to keep going until you climax." It's true, Longfellow has been a light presence this season, but in segments like this, it's clear he's got a great command of his delivery. It will be nice if he's back for Season 51 and gets more screen time to show off his talents. Sign up for Screen Gab, a free newsletter about the TV and movies everyone's talking about from the L.A. Times. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘SNL' host Quinta Brunson once again teaches a comedy master class
When she appeared for the first time on 'Saturday Night Live' a year ago, 'Abbott Elementary' creator and star Quinta Brunson gave one of last year's best hosting performances, bringing great comic timing and characters to the show. It was no fluke. Returning to the show for her second outing, Brunson proved just as adept at bringing her comedic sensibilities to an episode that featured an overall strong lineup of new sketches. There was only one retread and even that one, a reprise of the standout 'Traffic Altercation,' was worth revisiting. It's interesting to compare Brunson's just-as-excellent second shot to two other comics who hosted in Season 49 and Season 50: Nate Bargatze and Shane Gillis. While Bartgatze's return was good, it didn't quite reach the peaks of the first appearance. And Gillis, inexplicably called back into service after a not-great debut as host, was much worse the second time around. But Brunson didn't lose a step since last year; she was funny playing a time-traveling Harriet Tubman who, along with Kenan Thompson as Frederick Douglass, didn't want to go back to the past in a 'Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure' parody; went daffy as one of several bad employees at a leadership summit; played a model in an ad for Forever 31's sad, oversized clothing; and one of 'Two B— vs. a Gorilla' (the other was Ego Nwodim), about trash-talking women facing off with a gorilla at the zoo. If that wasn't enough, she played a joke-spouting old-time boxer, Jerry 'Jackrabbit' Tulane, who stops being so funny after getting beaten up multiple times in the ring, and one half of a feisty and unexpectedly sexy 'OnlySeniors' couple in an insurance ad. Bruson scored again and again and even sang in the monologue; she should have an open invitation to return next season. Musical guest Benson Boone backflipped before performing, 'Sorry I'm Here for Someone Else' and did not do a backflip before performing 'Mystical Magical.' He briefly appeared on Weekend Update as an Applebee's waiter, referencing his hit song 'Beautiful Things,' which Boone didn't perform. Just as President Trump has dominated news cycle after news cycle this year, so has he commandeered the 'SNL' cold open: once again, James Austin Johnson played the hard-charging POTUS, delivering a string of executive orders with creepy lord of darkness Stephen Miller (an increasingly vampiric Mikey Day). Trump signed orders to deport 'Sesame Street' along with Elmo ('Brought to you by the letter L for El Salvador'), pardon J.K. Rowling for transphobic comments and bring back Columbus Day for Italian-Americans such as Tony Soprano, Benny Blanco (who is Jewish) and Childish Gambino (the stage name of Donald Glover, who is Black). Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernández) appeared for an order to keep Hispanic babies from getting their ears pierced, and Trump also made moves to make the New York Times Connections game easier, turn the word 'Recession' into 'Recess' and outlaw ghosts. 'Every Christmas Eve, I get visited by three ghosts. I don't know what the hell they're talking about,' Trump said. Brunson began her monologue with jokes about the time she worked for a phone sex line ('By the end of my first week, I had only made $1.38.') before landing on the topic of her song and dance number: her height. The 4-foot-11 actress said, 'They tried to cast me as a kid on 'Abbott Elementary' and I wrote that!' Eschewing a microphone that was too high, she sang about the great things about being small, such as being a cheap date with wine. She was soon joined by another diminutive star: pop singer Sabrina Carpenter, who compared notes with her, asking, 'When you read short stories, do they feel like novels?' Former NBA star Dwyane Wade towered over the ladies, but insisted he's still short compared to other basketball players at 6-foot-4. 'I just really want to be in the song,' he said. Brunson and Thompson play elderly parents whose kids (Nwodim and Devon Walker) find out they've got life insurance through a service that requires them to have sex and spend a lot of time naked for online fans. 'We set up our camera and do stuff to each other. And watch the money just start pouring in,' they're told. When they're not interacting with their 'Filthy little chat babies,' they're spending time with their also-naked neighbors and (checks notes) sitting on cakes? In these uncertain economic times, it's a business model that seems very viable. Mikey Day and Brunson faced off again in separate cars (but didn't seem to recognize each other from last time) to battle with a series of hand gestures and facial expressions over bad parking on a ferry. Day's character can't forgive the other driver for parking too close, saying he needs more than half an inch, which invites a devastating response from the woman in the other car. Day's daughter Quinn (Chloe Fineman) participates with over-the-line sexual gestures, prompting Brunson's character to make gestures for a gardening tool as she tells him who he raised. Sure, it's a repeat, but again it's executed perfectly on both ends, with the only disappointing note being an appearance by Colin Jost, who's trying to sell the real-life ferry he bought with Pete Davidson. It's not that Jost is bad, it's just that it couldn't possibly live up to Mellssa McCarthy's appearance when they did a version of this sketch with Martin Short. Sarah Sherman and Bowen Yang played horny barflys at Applebee's who are sad about chain restaurants closing down. But it was Michael Longfellow's declaration of not getting a Real ID that won 'Update' this week. Longfellow said, 'You already gave me an ID. If it's fake, you fix it. The Pope is dead, let me mourn.' It didn't quite follow, but Longfellow went on to joke about his light work schedule of 12 hours a week at 'SNL' ('I'm just not in that much stuff this season.') before making up rules for air travel including, 'If the TSA touches your crotch, they have to keep going until you climax.' It's true, Longfellow has been a light presence this season, but in segments like this, it's clear he's got a great command of his delivery. It will be nice if he's back for Season 51 and gets more screen time to show off his talents.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Survivor's Jeff Probst Details ‘Painfully Difficult' Task of Casting Season 50 Returnees: ‘There's Blood Everywhere!' — Watch
In next year's Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, you are going to decide certain elements of how the game will be played! But what fans won't be deciding is its returning cast, and with over 700 players to choose from, host Jeff Probst is getting real about the 'brutal' task ahead for the show's producers. After all, how do you select just 20 dynamic players out of a sea of hundreds? 'I am open to ideas!' Probst told TVLine in our in-studio interview above. 'We had about 200 [to start] and we said, 'OK, these are all interesting names' and you can make a different case for each of them. Then we got it down to 100. That first cut was brutal! Then we got it down to 70 and now there's blood everywhere! So, I am not gonna lie and tell you we know who's going to be on the show right now because we don't. It was extremely exciting and painfully difficult to do because there are going to be people disappointed all over the place, but there's going to be a lot of people very excited to be the representative of our 50th season.' More from TVLine Paradise's James Marsden Takes Us Inside Cal's Most POTUS Moment So Far: 'If I Were President, This Is How I Would Want to Speak' - Watch Survivor's Jeff Probst Weighs In on That Major Season 49 Casting Rumor Beyond the Gates Video: Tamara Tunie Confirms She Will Sing on CBS' New Daytime Drama, Plus More Scoop Fan voting for the big anniversary season began Wednesday night, jump-starting a process that will allow viewers to vote on aspects like rice, idols, the Final 4 fire-making challenge and much more. But relinquishing that much creative control, Probst admits, has been 'a little terrifying.' Our Survivor 50 Dream Cast View List 'It is still, even in this moment, a little terrifying because we're used to designing the game,' he says. 'There's symmetry, there's a payoff, we know what's going to be in the game… But this is going to truly be an experiment and I think it is the next evolution which is, 'Let's give the fans an array of choices and let's see what they choose, and see what game we end up with!'' In our interview above, Probst breaks down the genesis of the Season 50 theme, and reflects on the show's 25-year legacy. We also chat about the highly debated fire-making challenge, and I tell him exactly where my vote will be going (#JusticeForChrissy!). Watch the full interview by pressing PLAY above, then hit the comments with your thoughts! Best of TVLine Weirdest TV Crossovers: Always Sunny Meets Abbott, Family Guy vs. Simpsons, Nine-Nine Recruits New Girl and More ER Turns 30: See the Original County General Crew, Then and Now The Best Streaming Services in 2024: Disney+, Hulu, Max and More
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Survivor's Jeff Probst Details ‘Painfully Difficult' Task of Casting Season 50 Returnees: ‘There's Blood Everywhere!' — Watch
In next year's Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, you are going to decide certain elements of how the game will be played! But what fans won't be deciding is its returning cast, and with over 700 players to choose from, host Jeff Probst is getting real about the 'brutal' task ahead for the show's producers. After all, how do you select just 20 dynamic players out of a sea of hundreds? 'I am open to ideas!' Probst told TVLine in our in-studio interview above. 'We had about 200 [to start] and we said, 'OK, these are all interesting names' and you can make a different case for each of them. Then we got it down to 100. That first cut was brutal! Then we got it down to 70 and now there's blood everywhere! So, I am not gonna lie and tell you we know who's going to be on the show right now because we don't. It was extremely exciting and painfully difficult to do because there are going to be people disappointed all over the place, but there's going to be a lot of people very excited to be the representative of our 50th season.' More from TVLine Paradise's James Marsden Takes Us Inside Cal's Most POTUS Moment So Far: 'If I Were President, This Is How I Would Want to Speak' - Watch Survivor's Jeff Probst Weighs In on That Major Season 49 Casting Rumor Beyond the Gates Video: Tamara Tunie Confirms She Will Sing on CBS' New Daytime Drama, Plus More Scoop Fan voting for the big anniversary season began Wednesday night, jump-starting a process that will allow viewers to vote on aspects like rice, idols, the Final 4 fire-making challenge and much more. But relinquishing that much creative control, Probst admits, has been 'a little terrifying.' Our Survivor 50 Dream Cast View List 'It is still, even in this moment, a little terrifying because we're used to designing the game,' he says. 'There's symmetry, there's a payoff, we know what's going to be in the game… But this is going to truly be an experiment and I think it is the next evolution which is, 'Let's give the fans an array of choices and let's see what they choose, and see what game we end up with!'' In our interview above, Probst breaks down the genesis of the Season 50 theme, and reflects on the show's 25-year legacy. We also chat about the highly debated fire-making challenge, and I tell him exactly where my vote will be going (#JusticeForChrissy!). Watch the full interview by pressing PLAY above, then hit the comments with your thoughts! Best of TVLine Weirdest TV Crossovers: Always Sunny Meets Abbott, Family Guy vs. Simpsons, Nine-Nine Recruits New Girl and More ER Turns 30: See the Original County General Crew, Then and Now The Best Streaming Services in 2024: Disney+, Hulu, Max and More
