Aubrey Plaza to Appear in NBC’s Special “Parks and Recreation” Reunion Episode

Aubrey Plazais going back to Pawnee, to Pawnee…

The 35-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian and her fellow Parks and Recreation cast mates will return to Pawnee, Indiana, for a one-time special amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Aubrey Plaza

The half-hour scripted special to benefit Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fundis set to air on Thursday, April 30 at 8:30 pm ET/PT.

All of the original characters from the series will return in the Universal TV-produced special, played by original cast members Amy PoehlerRashida Jones, Aziz AnsariNick Offerman, Plaza as April Ludgate, Chris PrattAdam ScottRob LoweJim O’Heir, and Retta.

Parks and Recreation

 

Several guest stars from the Pawnee universe may pop in as well.

The story comes from the events of the day – Pawnee’s most dedicated civil servant, Leslie Knope (Poehler), is determined to stay connected to her friends in a time of social distancing.

 “Like a lot of other people, we were looking for ways to help and felt that bringing these characters back for a night could raise some money,” said executive producer Michael Schur. “I sent a hopeful email to the cast and they all got back to me within 45 minutes. Our old ‘Parks and Rec’ team has put together one more 30-minute slice of (quarantined) Pawnee life and we hope everyone enjoys it. And donates!”

The special comes five years after viewers said farewell to the iconic comedy series.

“In such uncertain times, we can’t think of anyone better than Leslie Knope to unite our country with her unbridled enthusiasm and compassion,” said Lisa Katz and Tracey Pakosta, Co-Presidents of Scripted Programming, NBC Entertainment. “A huge thank you to Mike Schur and the cast of Parks and Recreationfor putting this wonderful special together and bringing a smile to all our faces while raising money for such a worthwhile cause.”

State Farmand Subaru of Americawill each make matching donations of $150,000 and, combined with NBCUniversaland the writers/producers/cast of Parks and Recreation, a total of $500,000 in matching donations will be made through May 21. 

Parks and Recreationreceived a Peabody Award for excellence in television programming, an AFIhonor as one of the Top 10 Television Shows of the Yearand several Emmynominations including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing and lead actress for Poehler, who won a Golden Globe for her performance in 2014.

Cannavale to Appear in “Variety Studio: Actors on Actors” Series

Bobby Cannavale is ready to talk shop…

Variety and PBS SoCal have announced the line-up for the fourth installment of their awards season series “Variety Studio: Actors on Actors,” with the 45-year-old half-Cuban American actor making the final cut.

Bobby Cannavale in Vinyl

Available to stream on Variety.com, the new “Actors on Actors” season will feature one-on-one discussions between this year’s Emmy contenders.

Along with Cannavale, who stars in HBO’s Vinyl, this year’s conversations, which will be printed in the June 7 issue of Variety, will also include Aziz Ansari (“Master of None”), Rachel Bloom (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”), Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”), Jamie Lee Curtis (“Scream Queens”), Kirsten Dunst (“Fargo”), Jay Duplass (“Transparent”), Billy Eichner (“Difficult People”), Sam Heughan (“Outlander”), Tom Hiddleston (“The Night Manager”), Felicity Huffman (“American Crime”), Lady Gaga (“American Horror Story”), Jennifer Lopez (“Shades of Blue”), Rob Lowe (“Grinder”), Rami Malek (“Mr. Robot”), Thomas Middleditch (“Silicon Valley”), Aaron Paul (“The Path”), Sarah Paulson (“American Crime Story”), Krysten Ritter (“Jessica Jones”), Tracee Ellis Ross (“Black-ish”), Patrick Stewart (“Blunt Talk”), John Travolta (“American Crime Story”), Courtney B. Vance (“American Crime Story”) and Kerry Washington (“Confirmation”).

“Variety is thrilled to cover the best actors on television in this season’s ‘Actors on Actors’ for PBS stations,” said Variety‘s executive TV editor Debra Birnbaum in a statement. “This season’s lineup includes actors from some of the top new television programs and showcases the wide diversity of roles for actors on broadcast, cable and streaming platforms.”

PBS SoCal will premiere the segment in two episodes, one on June 12 and the other on June 19.

“Through their craft, the actors interviewed on ‘Actors on Actors’ effortlessly spark our imaginations and take us to new places,” said PBS SoCal president and CEO Andy Russell in a statement. “Through this partnership with Variety we are pleased to enhance the experience of fans of great television – providing them greater insight into the people who bring them their favorite dramas, comedies and more.”

Plaza to Star in Vimeo on Demand Comedy Special “Crash Test”

Life’s a crash for Aubrey Plaza

The 30-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian has been cast in Paramount Digital Entertainment’s new comedy special Crash Test, which will be available exclusively through Vimeo on Demand on August 18.

Aubrey Plaza

Crash Test is adapted from the UCB show of the same name from Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel and takes place on a moving bus traveling throughout Los Angeles, with improvised stand-up at stops, a comedic “tour” of celebrity homes, and more.

In addition to Plaza, the special will feature appearances by Aziz Ansari, Rob Corddry, Natasha Leggero, Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant, and Jack McBrayer, along with musical guest Earl Sweatshirt from hip hop collective Odd Future.

Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld and Mike Rosenstein of Red Hour are executive producing the special, which will be available for $3.99.

It’s the latest entry into the digital space for Paramount. Recent PDE comedy events include Resident Advisors, The Hotwives of Orlando, and Burning Love, as well as the upcoming The Hotwives of Las Vegas.

The Final Season of Plaza’s “Parks And Recreation” to Air on Tuesdays Beginning in January

It’s the beginning of the end for Aubrey Plaza

NBC has scheduled the seventh and final season of Parks And Recreation, starring the 30-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian, to air on Tuesdays beginning in January.

Aubrey Plaza in Parks and Recreation

The series will premiere on January 13 and air back-to-back episodes from 8-9 PM until February 24, when it will wrap its run with an hourlong finale following the Tuesday cycle premiere of The Voice.

Throughout its run, Parks And Recreation had aired on Thursdays since its launch, as part of the network’s

signature Thursday comedy block.

The series will launch two days after NBC’s January 11 broadcast of the 72nd annual Golden Globes, co-hosted by Parks & Recreation star Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.

Mike Schur and Amy Poehler, along with their incredible producers, cast, and crew, have given us one of the great television comedies of all time, and we’re inordinately proud of Parks And Recreation,” said NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt. “In an effort to give it the send-off it deserves, we wanted to ‘eventize’ the final season to maximize the impact of these episodes, which really do take the show to a new level.”

Parks & Recreation also stars Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott and Jim O’Heir.

Last season, the series averaged a 1.6 rating in adults 18-49 and 3.8 million viewers overall in Live+7 averages. It was the third-most-upscale primetime series on the Big 4 in 18-49 living. It was also the youngest show on ABC, CBS or NBC last season, with a median age for its audience of 41.7.

Saldaña to Announce Golden Globe Nominations This Week

It’ll be an early start for Zoë Saldaña

The 35-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress will announce the nominations for the 71st annual Golden Globes on Thursday morning, December 12, 2013 at approximately 5:38 am PST/8:38 am (EST).

Zoe Saldana

Taking place at Los Angeles’ Beverly Hilton, the announcement will air live on NBC’s The Today Show.

Zoë Saldaña will be joined by Aziz Ansari, Olivia Wilde and Miss Golden Globe Sosie Bacon, as well as Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Theo Kingma.

In all, nominations will be announced in 25 categories in television and film.

The Golden Globes, hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for the second year in a row, will air on Sunday, January 13, 2014, live coast-to-coast on NBC with the pre-show from 4:00-5:00 pm (PST)/7:00-8:00 pm (EST), and main telecast from 5:00-8:00 pm (PST)/8:00-11:00 pm (EST) from the Beverly Hilton.

The awards show will be seen in more than 160 countries and is produced by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Louis C.K.’s Upcoming Tour Already Grosses $4.5 Million in Ticket Sales

Here’s further proof that Louis C.K. is comedy’s current million-dollar superstar…

A mere two days after announcing his upcoming comedy tour, the 44-year-old half-Mexican American actor/comedian has already collected $4.5 million from the sale of some 100,000 tickets.

Louis C.K.

The lightning success could be due in part to Louis C.K.’s direct-sale approach. Instead of partnering with Ticketmaster like most artists do, the star of FX’s Louie is selling tickets to his shows directly on his own website. As a result, his tickets are much cheaper.

“Most tickets for comedians in a theater venue start at $50,” he tells Entertainment Weekly. “The cheapest ticket in most comedians’ markets is $45, which is, like, a horrible seat at a Bill Maher show, and then you have a ticket charge on top of that.”

By offering a flat rate and bypassing a ticket agency that adds an extra fee for its profit, he says, “My tickets are going to be $45 all over the country, and there’s no ticket charges because we’ve made deals with venues that don’t have lockdown affiliation deals.”

“I don’t do this for money,” he continues. “To me, it’s the number of tickets I sell that’s satisfying. I like knowing we sold out Chicago in an hour. That’s a good feeling. This year I’m going to have the lowest tickets on the road. I’m going to be the cheapest comedian ever!”

Previously, the funnyman successfully sold his stand-up special directly to fans on his website, inspiring Aziz Ansari and other comedians to do the same. Louis C.K. earned $1 million in just 12 days from his Live at Beacon Theater material and earned $5 million so far.