Mark Withers, a tv actor identified for portraying Ted Dinard within the unique “Dynasty” collection, died Nov. 22. He was 77.

Mark Withers’ dying was confirmed by his daughter, Jessie Withers. The trigger was pancreatic most cancers.

His daughter remembered him fondly, writing: “He confronted his sickness with the identical power and dignity he delivered to his craft, making a legacy of heat, humor, and dedication, alongside together with his exceptional means to make each function unforgettable. Mark’s enduring expertise and dedication to the trade shall be fondly remembered by colleagues, associates, and followers alike.”

Along with his function as Steven’s boyfriend Ted in “Dynasty,” Withers had visitor appearances on “Surprise Lady,” “Magnum, P.I.,” “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “Hart to Hart,” “Remington Steele,” “Dallas,” “L.A. Regulation,” “Days of Our Lives,” “Matlock,” “Kaz,” “The King of Queens” and “Frasier.”

Lately, he continued his tv profession with roles in “True Blood,” “Prison Minds,” “Sense8,” “Fortress,” “Drop Lifeless Diva,” “Reckless” and “Stranger Issues.” He additionally had varied roles in manufacturing on movies like “Fundamental Coaching,” “The Final Life,” “Flip Round Jake” and “Bolden.”

Lengthy earlier than he had a SAG card or starred in any exhibits, he was an completed athlete who earned an NCAA soccer scholarship to Penn State College.

He started his performing profession starring in a nationwide marketing campaign for McDonald’s after being found by an agent. He additionally went on to star in nationwide spots for main manufacturers like Folger’s Espresso, Irish Spring, Tartar Management Crest and American Airways.

Withers is survived by his spouse, Haiyan Liu Withers, and his daughter, Jessie Withers. Donations could also be made to St. Jude Youngsters’s Analysis Hospital.

A long time after “When Harry Met Sally” requested audiences if grownup women and men might be buddies, yet one more romantic comedy poses the identical query of a recent collegiate crowd. Nevertheless, in director Jordan Weiss’ “Sweethearts,” which revolves round two besties breaking apart with their hometown romances over a vacation weekend, the time-honored question waits till the final minutes to develop, whereas a separate pair of screwball-comedy plotlines haven’t correctly concluded. Although the movie incorporates a gifted ensemble and compelling sentiments about self-acceptance and platonic friendship, it performs like two half-baked screenplays mashed collectively, sure by wafer-thin connections.

Ben (Nico Hiraga) and Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) have been finest buddies since childhood and are decided to stay collectively by way of their maturity, beginning with attending the identical school in the identical dorm at Densen College. Outdoors of their tightknit bond, nevertheless, is a world stuffed with problems, from Ben’s roommate Tyler (Zach Zucker), who treats him like a doormat, to Jamie’s roommate Kelly (Olivia Nikkanen), whose a number of makes an attempt to tug her out of her shell have failed. Even their romantic relationships are inflicting them issues. Ben’s sexy, long-distance girlfriend Claire (Ava DeMary), who’s nonetheless in highschool again house, monopolizes his time and takes him with no consideration. Claire’s dopey jock boyfriend Simon (Charlie Corridor) usually annoys her along with his requests for sexts and film nights. All this has led the pair to turn into the category outcasts — they usually’ve had it.

With a purpose to higher slot in and begin anew, Ben and Claire provide you with a scheme to dump Claire and Simon once they journey house to Ohio for Thanksgiving. They plan to make use of their pal Palmer’s (Caleb Hearon) home, as he’s again from dwelling overseas in Paris and internet hosting a small coming-out celebration. But from the primary second on the day of the breakup, Ben and Claire encounter a collection of issues, the whole lot from a bus trip with an obnoxious eavesdropping passenger (Stavros Halkias) to reuniting with an overzealous crush (Kate Pittard). Their important others additionally go lacking earlier than they will lower them free. In the meantime, Palmer’s journey additionally takes just a few detours, like studying their small city has a queer bowling league attended by his former highschool coach, Coach Reese (Tramell Tillman).

Weiss, together with co-writer Dan Brier, employs all of the formulaic “one loopy night time” teen comedy shenanigans with minor tweaks that add a refreshed shellac on stale items. Claire and Simon get wasted at a boring soiree, not a raging, rowdy home celebration, though there’s a kind of featured later within the climax. A traumatic, poisonous buddy (Sophie Zucker) from Jamie’s previous emerges, to not bully her, however to forgive and befriend her once more. Ben and Jaime are compelled to steal a dorky, cherry crimson tandem bicycle, not a elaborate vehicle. And, in one of many image’s smartest strokes of ingenuity, Ben will get caught utilizing the ID of a lifeless man by a burly bouncer (Darius ‘Nastyelgic’ Jackson) who occurred to be a pallbearer on the funeral for its unique proprietor.

Regardless of the filmmakers’ makes an attempt at raunchy humor, there’s not a lot that’s significantly humorous, groundbreaking or memorable. They over-orchestrate these occasions, which blessedly floor early within the first and are then deserted going ahead (apart from a clumsy intercourse tape lastly revealed proper earlier than the tip credit). Ben and Jamie’s botched frat celebration sequence is ham-handed — the seeds of the potential disasters are planted, however we all know how they’ll escalate and may predict their final outcomes. The development of jokes is affordable and simplistic, starting from a bitter partygoer who tosses her drink on Ben to the sloshed tertiary character who goes full frontal in service of a gross-out gag.

Whereas Palmer has a fleshed-out arc unbiased of the platonic buddies, his story monitor fails to align a lot with theirs. His inclusion feels both vestigial or an afterthought when he ought to’ve been both prioritized or excised fully. He’s touted as their third finest buddy within the opening credit, however isn’t handled as such within the movie’s execution. He’s separated from the pair for many of his display screen time, on a quest to find the queer neighborhood hiding beneath his nostril — although it’s a stretch that he by no means observed given how a lot it’s emphasised they dwell in a tiny city. He’s additionally made to apologize to Ben and Jamie on the finish, once they’re those who ought to apologize for ignoring him for virtually their entire go to.

Ben and Jamie have an effervescent, rhythmic repartee that bubbles to the floor of their frank discussions about intercourse, love, hopes and anxieties. The narrative works finest when centered on their conflicts and conundrums. Shipka and Hiraga are a captivating match in the best way they verbally volley in relaxed, informal conversations. Shipka finds just a few weak grace notes to play that increase her empathetic drive. Hiraga, who’s been a spotlight in “Rosaline” and “Booksmart,” is a superb main man, elevating weaker elements of the fabric and making his hero second really feel earned.

DeMary and Corridor, because the spurned soon-to-be exes, give their characters depth and dimension. Christine Taylor, who performs Ben’s caring mom, and Joel Kim Booster, who performs Coach Riggs’ boyfriend and Palmer’s sage confidante, add much-needed coronary heart to the proceedings. It’s a disgrace, nevertheless, that this strong solid is relegated to such forgettable fodder.

TMZ is taking a former govt to small claims courtroom, alleging that he embezzled not less than $99,509 from the corporate.

In line with the swimsuit, Alex “Woody” Wooden labored for the media outlet from January 2023 to February 2024. The grievance accuses him of “exploiting his place of belief” by siphoning cash out of petty money.

“Wooden is an embezzler and a fraudster,” the swimsuit alleges.

A trial is about to be held on the Beverly Hills Courthouse on Monday morning.

Wooden can be accused of paying private bills on an organization card, after which mendacity to cowl it up, and of diverting TMZ’s cash to companies he owned.

“After being caught, Wooden admitted his wrongdoing and promised to repay the cash he stole,” the lawsuit states.

He made a sequence of funds to TMZ from April by means of July, however then stopped, and nonetheless owes about $45,000, the grievance states.

The corporate says he has “refused repeated requests” to repay the remaining stability.

TMZ sued in small claims courtroom on Oct. 1.

Although the corporate claims it’s owed $45,000, probably the most it may well get better in small claims is $6,250.

Wooden hung up the cellphone when reached for touch upon Friday. He’s credited on IMDb because the “govt in command of manufacturing” on TMZ’s Christmas particular final 12 months, entitled “TMZ’s Merry Elfin Christmas.”

WarnerMedia bought TMZ to Fox Corp. in 2021 for about $50 million. Harvey Levin based the corporate in 2005, following a prolonged profession as a legislation professor, authorized commentator and TV information reporter.

TMZ is taking a former govt to small claims courtroom, alleging that he embezzled not less than $99,509 from the corporate.

Based on the swimsuit, Alex “Woody” Wooden labored for the media outlet from January 2023 to February 2024. The grievance accuses him of “exploiting his place of belief” by siphoning cash out of petty money.

“Wooden is an embezzler and a fraudster,” the swimsuit alleges.

A trial is about to be held on the Beverly Hills Courthouse on Monday morning.

Wooden can be accused of paying private bills on an organization card, after which mendacity to cowl it up, and of diverting TMZ’s cash to companies he owned.

“After being caught, Wooden admitted his wrongdoing and promised to repay the cash he stole,” the lawsuit states.

He made a sequence of funds to TMZ from April via July, however then stopped, and nonetheless owes about $45,000, the grievance states.

The corporate says he has “refused repeated requests” to repay the remaining steadiness.

TMZ sued in small claims courtroom on Oct. 1.

Although the corporate claims it’s owed $45,000, probably the most it could possibly recuperate in small claims is $6,250.

Wooden hung up the telephone when reached for touch upon Friday. He’s credited on IMDb because the “govt answerable for manufacturing” on TMZ’s Christmas particular final yr, entitled “TMZ’s Merry Elfin Christmas.”

WarnerMedia bought TMZ to Fox Corp. in 2021 for about $50 million. Harvey Levin based the corporate in 2005, following a prolonged profession as a legislation professor, authorized commentator and TV information reporter.

A breakup song and a love letter to his home state of Vermont, Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” had a longer road to chart glory than most. The story begins deep in the pandemic, when Kahan teased the opening verse on Instagram, instantly striking a chord with lonely and isolated followers. He performed the song live in 2021 and released it the following year as the lead single and title track of his third album.

That was only the beginning. “Very early on it became clear that ‘Stick Season’ was touching a nerve and turning casual listeners into superfans,” says Ryan Langlois, general manager of Kahan’s management firm, Foundations Music. The response wasn’t lost on his label, Mercury Records. “Fans were demanding the song,” says Alex Coslov, Mercury exec VP. “We knew ‘Stick Season’ would be a hit before we released it.”

But nailing the recording was key. Enter producer Gabe Simon, who stayed true to Kahan’s vision. “It became about keeping the song simple while moving it forward,” he says.

With the song in the can, the conversation turned to strategy. “Noah wanted to speak about his hometown and paint a picture that was vivid and specific to Vermont,” manager Drew Simmons says. Mercury brought in digital agency the Trenches to collaborate on teasers, content and prerelease strategy.

By 2023, “Stick Season” had spawned an Olivia Rodrigo cover and cracked the Billboard top 10 in the U.S. Kahan’s collaborators put the song’s success down to its authenticity. “Coming out of the pandemic, people craved that more than anything — music that doesn’t ignore feelings but embraces them,” Simon says.

Songwriter: Noah Kahan Producer Gabe Simon

Label: Mercury / Republic

Hitmakers:
•Ben Adelson, GM, Mercury Records
•Alex Coslov, EVP, Mercury Records
•Ryan Langlois, GM, Foundations Music
•Drew Simmons, manager & partner, Foundations Music
•Gabe Simon, producer

Publishers: Sony Music Publishing, Secret Meadow Songs

A breakup song and a love letter to his home state of Vermont, Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” had a longer road to chart glory than most. The story begins deep in the pandemic, when Kahan teased the opening verse on Instagram, instantly striking a chord with lonely and isolated followers. He performed the song live in 2021 and released it the following year as the lead single and title track of his third album.

That was only the beginning. “Very early on it became clear that ‘Stick Season’ was touching a nerve and turning casual listeners into superfans,” says Ryan Langlois, general manager of Kahan’s management firm, Foundations Music. The response wasn’t lost on his label, Mercury Records. “Fans were demanding the song,” says Alex Coslov, Mercury exec VP. “We knew ‘Stick Season’ would be a hit before we released it.”

But nailing the recording was key. Enter producer Gabe Simon, who stayed true to Kahan’s vision. “It became about keeping the song simple while moving it forward,” he says.

With the song in the can, the conversation turned to strategy. “Noah wanted to speak about his hometown and paint a picture that was vivid and specific to Vermont,” manager Drew Simmons says. Mercury brought in digital agency the Trenches to collaborate on teasers, content and prerelease strategy.

By 2023, “Stick Season” had spawned an Olivia Rodrigo cover and cracked the Billboard top 10 in the U.S. Kahan’s collaborators put the song’s success down to its authenticity. “Coming out of the pandemic, people craved that more than anything — music that doesn’t ignore feelings but embraces them,” Simon says.

Songwriter: Noah Kahan Producer Gabe Simon

Label: Mercury / Republic

Hitmakers:
•Ben Adelson, GM, Mercury Records
•Alex Coslov, EVP, Mercury Records
•Ryan Langlois, GM, Foundations Music
•Drew Simmons, manager & partner, Foundations Music
•Gabe Simon, producer

Publishers: Sony Music Publishing, Secret Meadow Songs

The writers behind a few of this yr’s hottest comedy collection took on Selection’s A Night time within the Writers Room: Awards Season Version to debate the panorama of laughter on TV.

The panel, moderated by Selection‘s Michael Schneider, kicked off with a debate about whether or not there’s an simply outlined line between comedy and drama. Nick Bakay, co-creator of Max’s “Bookie” starring Sebastian Maniscalco, stated he “completely disagrees” with the notion that there isn’t any clear separation between the 2 genres.

“There’s completely a line between comedy and drama. And drama mustn’t enter into comedy, and it has. There’s loads of reveals which might be simply not significantly humorous and so they’re getting…” he stated, trailing off earlier than naming names.

Later within the dialog, Bakay referred to as out the authorized dramedy “Ally McBeal,” which gained the Emmy for finest comedy in 1999.

“There aren’t any jokes on this!” Bakay stated. “Comedy ought to nonetheless contain joke writing as soon as per week.”

Invoice Lawrence, the mastermind behind “Scrubs,” “Ted Lasso” and this yr’s “Shrinking,” stated: “Look, there’s some dramas which might be humorous, man … I wouldn’t blink twice if ‘Succession’ gained [the Emmy for] finest comedy — that present was fucking humorous. It was so darkly humorous, I believed it was hysterical.”

He continued, “However I believed it was hysterical as a result of it had jokes. And I believe you are able to do any sort of present that has pathos and drama and emotion and name it a drama if you’d like. However I believe to name it a comedy, you higher be joke-forward and arguably have some large, critical laughs — or at the least be making an attempt it in each shot.”

Brian Jordan Alvarez, who created and stars in FX’s “English Instructor,” stated the one factor his writers room takes severely is the “joke density.”

Lawrence stated when he was first pitching “Scrubs,” the president of one of many main TV networks stated, “I don’t assume you are able to do broad, foolish comedy after which swap gears and have individuals give a crap about whether or not or not a affected person resides or dying.”

Lawrence fired again, “I believe you may should you flip the lights down and play an indie track,” which the chief apparently “didn’t discover humorous in any respect.”

Jen Statsky of “Hacks” recalled working as a author for Jimmy Fallon and churning out 5 pages of jokes per day, “which is so completely different from what we’re speaking about now … generally you make a comedy with no jokes.”

Elsewhere within the dialog, “Laid” showrunners Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna teased their upcoming collection, which stars Stephanie Hsu as a lady whose sexual companions all start mysteriously dying in chronological order of when she slept with them.

“St. Denis Medical” creator Eric Ledgin joked, “You already know what? This occurred to me.”

“Write what ,” Khan quipped. “We simply attempt to be relatable at each degree.”