What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1084931
February 24 - March 2, 2019 WHATS UP! T5 BY ANDREW WARREN TV Media Can't stop the music: A long-running musical feud is heating up yet again. This isn't some back-and-forth between hip-hop artists or pop divas, al- though there's probably a few of those brewing (aren't there always?) but a feud between the two titans of musical television. New seasons of both "The Voice" and "American Idol" are set to launch in the coming days, and NBC's "Voice" is first out of the gate this year with a Monday, Feb. 25, premiere. A new batch of talented singers hopes to impress the coaches and earn a spot on one of their teams. Unlike in "Idol" or other similar shows, in "The Voice," the coaches don't actually see the melodious hopefuls before deciding whether to invite them onto their team — it real- ly is all about the voice. This season's group of coach- es should look pretty familiar to anyone who watched last season, with only one change: former "American Idol" finalist and Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson has bowed out of the job to work on other projects, and her chair has been taken over by fellow Oscar- winner John Legend. Last sea- son's other three coaches — music superstars Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Kelly Clark- son — haven't gone anywhere, and neither has Carson Daly ("Today"), who's served as the show's host since the very be- ginning. Unlike other similar shows, "The Voice" isn't just a compe- tition between the hopeful con- testants — it's also one between the coaches. Over the first few weeks of the season, the four giants of the music industry as- semble their teams of singers based only on their voices, but once the teams are all sorted out a few weeks in, the Battle Rounds begin. It's up to the coaches and their advisers to mentor their team and only keep the stron- gest performers in the competi- tion, because in the end there can only be two winners — a winning singer, who gets an im- pressive lump sum of money and a lucrative recording con- tract, and a winning coach who earns bragging rights over the other three. Staying in 'Place': There's good news about "The Good Place," the NBC sitcom that somehow manages to be ludi- crously funny while also teach- ing some thoughtful philosoph- ical and ethical concepts: it's been renewed for another sea- son. It's a combination that proba- bly shouldn't work, but for three seasons it most definitely has, drawing critical acclaim and a devoted fan base that's eager to puzzle out what the show's next big plot twist will be. The most recent season wrapped up in January, with the next one expected as part of NBC's fall lineup. It's because of the twists (there are some big ones!) that anyone discussing the show needs to tiptoe around any spe- cifics, but here are the basics: Kristen Bell ("Veronica Mars") stars as Eleanor Shellstrop, an incredibly selfish women who dies and finds herself in "The Good Place" instead of "The Bad Place," which is where she really belongs. Sitcom Legend Ted Danson ("Cheers") stars as Michael, the eternal being in charge of The Good Place, while Jameela Jamil ("Animals."), William Jackson Harper ("True Story," 2015) and Manny Jacinto ("Bad Times at the El Royale," 2018) play Eleanor's fellow recently deceased Good Place inhabit- ants. D'Arcy Carden ("Barry") rounds out the main cast as Ja- net, an artificial intelligence charged with keeping The Good Place running smoothly. "The Good Place" may be the smartest comedy on broadcast television, and both audiences and critics love it. Penn's pilot: Plenty of ac- tors dabble in other lines of work, but there aren't very many who can say that they've been part of a president's ad- ministration. "Designated Sur- vivor" star Kal Penn has that impressive line on his resume, having served in the Obama ad- ministration, but for the past few years he's been busy acting, and his latest project was re- cently picked up for a pilot by NBC. The as-yet-unnamed pilot will both star and be co-written by Penn. He'll play a former New York City councilor who discovers a new lease on life when he helps six recent immi- grants who are striving for the American Dream. It's heavy-sounding stuff, but should it get picked up to se- ries, the new show will mark Penn's return to comedy after his stint in "Designated Survi- vor." His first major TV role was as Dr. Lawrence Kutner in "House," but it was his starring roles in the Harold and Kumar movies that first cemented his reputation as a comedic actor, starting with 2004's "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle." Of course, many pilots never see the light of day as full se- ries, but Kal Penn has a history of success. BACKHOE BLUEPRINT BOLTS BRICKS BUILDER BULLDOZER CATWALK CEMENT TRUCK CRANE ELECTRICIAN ENGINEER FOREMAN FORKLIFT GRADER HAMMER HARD HAT LUMBER MASONRY NAILS NUTS PLUMBING REBAR ROOFER SAFETY SCAFFOLD- ING SCREWS STEEL SURVEY TILER TOOL BELT TROWEL WRENCH Construction Site Adam Levine, John Legend, Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton star in "The Voice" WORD SEARCH STARS ON SCREEN Solution on page T23 A/Elrod Firm 2 x 3