What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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T22 WHATS UP! January 15 - 21, 2023 The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie's niece, who you may have read, was kicked off a Spirit Airlines flight and arrest- ed after she allegedly accused a Latino family of "smuggling co- caine" and injuring six sheriff deputies. So, a pretty standard flight for Spirit. Yesterday [Dec. 7], Peru's presi- dent was impeached and arrest- ed after he tried to dissolve con- gress. So, you can take immedi- ate action against a president who attacks congress? I thought you had to dither about it for two years until he has dinner with Nazis, and then still not do any- thing. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Yankee superstar Aaron Judge has decided to stay in New York, agreeing to a nine-year, $360-million contract. When he heard that, Babe Ruth said, "What the hell? I got paid in pea- nuts and Cracker Jacks." Apparently, former president Trump's lawyers just turned over more classified items to the FBI after finding them at Trump's storage unit in Florida. Yeah, we were just a week away from our most classified secrets ending up on an episode of "Storage Wars." Airline passengers in Europe will soon be allowed to use 5G service to make phone calls on board. The only thing worse than your seatmate trying to talk to you is your seatmate trying to talk to someone else. Jimmy Kimmel Live! [Herschel Walker] lost big last night [Dec. 7] to Sen. Raphael Warnock in the Georgia runoff. Warnock was able to win a full term in the senate by staying fo- cused on his primary message to Georgia voters, which was "I am not Herschel Walker." Here in L.A. we are experienc- ing yet another surge of COVID. So, bad news for all of you: like the McRib, COVID is back; and also like the McRib, it's here to kill us. WNBA star Brittney Griner is finally at home. [She was] in prison in Russia for allegedly having a THC vape cartridge in her luggage. ... The White House secured Griner's re- lease with a prisoner swap. They traded her for Viktor Bout, an international arms dealer known as the Merchant of Death. That doesn't seem like a fair [trade]. The Mer- chant of Death for sweet Lady Vape? No. Late Night With Seth Meyers French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly toasted to President Biden's reelection campaign. Either that or Biden said he was running again and Macron just started drinking. Firefighters recently rescued a puppy that swam about a mile across the Hudson River from Manhattan to New Jersey. They tried to return it, but it had al- ready found an affordable home with a backyard and started a family. The appliance company Dyson is set to launch a set of noise- cancelling headphones with a detachable air purifier. It's part of Dyson's longtime mission of trying to figure out what the hell their company sells. The Late Late Show With James Corden We wanted to tell you about this latest fitness craze here in Los Angeles: it's working out while high. New companies are pop- ping up in response to research showing some marijuana users report more pleasure from com- bining cardio and cannabis. ... I got to wonder if this is really a craze. Everyone in Los Angeles seems to be stoned all the time. Eventually, a couple of those people are going to go to the gym. According to economists, retail- ers have a new holiday head- ache. This year, people are opt- ing to spend their money on more travel instead of gifts. I think it's smart. You know gifts eventually get thrown away, but the memory of your dad turning around and screaming at you on a family roadtrip, that ... that lasts a lifetime. LATE LAUGHS BY MICHELLE ROSE TV Media Kneading a change: After three series (or seasons, for North American viewers) as co- host of "Great British Bake Off" ("The Great British Baking Show" in Canada and the U.S.), British comedian Matt Lucas has announced, "I am cheerfully passing the baguette on to someone else." Lucas broke the news of his departure in the nicest possible way, stating, "It's been a deli- cious experience and I can't imagine a more fun way of spending my summers, but it's become clear to me that I can't present both [his Sky series] 'Fantasy Football League' and 'Bake Off' alongside all my oth- er projects." He followed it up with an ex- pression of gratitude and appre- ciation for the crew and bakers, and in turn, the show expressed gratitude for Lucas' time, talents and involvement. A statement from Love Productions, produc- ers of the show, was posted on the official Twitter account (@BritishBakeOff): "We've loved having Matt Lucas bright- en up our Tent for the last three years, especially when laughter and smiles were so much in need. We appreciate everything he's done for 'Bake Off,' from working in COVID bubbles to supporting the bakers." Lucas joined "The Great Brit- ish Bake Off "/"The Great Brit- ish Baking Show" in 2020 for its 11th season, replacing Sandi Toksvig after the former co- presenter left to focus on other work commitments. While crit- ics praised the casting, his ten- ure has admittedly drawn mixed reviews online, with some fans praising his humor- ous interjections and others criticizing his penchant for off- color puns. His colleagues, however, had nothing but praise for Lucas. Dame Prue Leith thanked him for "bringing so much laughter and fun to the test," while co- presenter Noel Fielding posted, "I will really miss your spark and huge smile in the tent, and I will miss your kindness as a per- son and to all the bakers." At the time of writing, no re- placement host had been an- nounced. Entering 'The Palace': BAFTA-winner actor Hugh Grant ("Love Actually," 2003) earned an Emmy nomination for his star turn in the 2020 HBO limited series "The Undoing," and he recently boarded another HBO limited series. Grant has joined the cast of "The Palace," starring Kate Win- slet ("Mare of Easttown"), Bel- gian actor Matthias Schoenaerts ("Rust and Bone," 2012) and An- drea Riseborough ("Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ig- norance)," 2014). From "Succession" writer/ex- ecutive producer Will Tracy, the limited series was ordered to se- ries in July, and it chronicles a year under an authoritarian re- gime as it begins to unravel. Reportedly, Grant will have a guest role, though story and character details are being kept largely under wraps for now. Be- hind the scenes, "The Undoing" marks a reunion for Grant and director Stephen Frears: the two worked together on "Florence Foster Jenkins" (2016) and "A Very English Scandal," and the latter was a particularly fruitful TV collaboration that earned them both Emmy nominations. Grant, of course, is coming off a recent cameo in "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," which debuted Dec. 23 on Netflix. He will next be seen in this year's "Dungeons & Dragons," due out in theaters in March. He'll also star in the upcoming "Unfrost- ed: The Pop-Tart Story," starring and directed by Jerry Seinfeld ("Seinfeld"). 'Monarch' deposed: Sad news if you're a fan of Fox's country music drama "Mon- arch." The network has officially canceled the series after just one season — and it did so immedi- ately following the season finale, which is now the series finale. Set in the world of country music and created by lawyer- turned-writer/executive pro- ducer Melissa London Hilfers ("Blasphemy," 2019), "Monarch" told the story of a country music dynasty headed by Albie Ro- man, played by real-life country music star Trace Adkins ("The Lincoln Lawyer," 2011), and Dot- tie Cantrell Roman, played by Susan Sarandon ("Dead Man Walking," 1995). Anna Friel ("Pushing Daisies") played their eldest daughter, Nicolette "Nicky" Roman, who was ready to do whatever needed to be done in order to safeguard her family's position of power with- in the country music scene. Unfortunately, the soapy se- ries had a tumultuous inaugural year. Before even airing a single episode, the series was sup- posed to premiere roughly this time last year, with the NFC championship game serving as its lead-in to boost its chances of succeeding. But just a few weeks before it was scheduled to air, the premiere was pushed to the fall, with Fox citing concerns about a possible pandemic-relat- ed production delay that would have interrupted its momentum. "Monarch" did eventually pre- miere on Sept. 11, following Fox's NFL coverage, and it drew in a decent-sized audience, based on the numbers. But critics weren't wowed — in fact, Entertainment Weekly called it "a hilariously miscast melodrama" — and viewers didn't follow the show to its regular time period on Tuesdays. The series ended up averaging just 4.1 million view- ers across all platforms, and those numbers suggested Fox's big bet on its first fully owned scripted series in recent years was a bust. In the end, even cam- eo appearances by country stars such as Shania Twain and Little Big Town couldn't save "Mon- arch." Matt Lucas is leaving "The Great British Baking Show" STARS ON SCREEN