Today's Entertainment

May 30 - June 5, 2022 Page 3 ACROSS 1. Dad on "Eight Is Enough" 4. "The __ Event"; Barbra Streisand film 8. Role on "The Wonder Years" 11. __ Paulo, Brazil 12. Lina of "S.W.A.T." 13. 90 degrees from NNW 14. Series for John Ortiz (2) 17. Cursing or coveting 18. "__ Andreas"; 2015 Dwayne Johnson movie 19. Montana & Mantegna 21. Dragon of song 24. Word in the title of Howie's game show 25. "Star Trek __: The Wrath of Khan" 26. Vanna White's state of birth: abbr. 27. Bismarck's place: abbr. 28. "Two and a __ Men" 30. Center of the alphabet 32. Long time 34. "The Bourne Identity" organization 35. Series for Ana Gasteyer (2) 41. Lincoln or Ford 42. Shot up with Novocain 43. __ Eppes; "NUMB3RS" role 44. Tarzan portrayer Ron __ 45. __ Payne; "Ordinary Joe" role 46. Pupil's place DOWN 1. Recipe amount 2. Rower's need 3. Bullwinkle, for one 4. "Meet __ __ St. Louis" 5. Primitive transport 6. "__ Age: Collision Course"; 2016 animated film 7. __ off; dozes 8. Actor Reeves 9. Lodge 10. "Chicago __" 15. "Play __ __ Me"; Clint Eastwood movie 16. Anthony of "Without a Trace" 19. Brolin or Duhamel 20. Killer whale 22. Twain's Huck 23. Classic dog name 29. Suspicious 31. Bea Arthur series 33. Number of seasons for "The Waltons" 34. "Closing Bell" network 35. Part of a royal flush 36. Prefix for nutrition or practice 37. Mongrel 38. "__ __ my brother's keeper?" 39. "__ Story"; blockbuster 1995 animated film 40. "__ Life to Live" Solution is on page 2. CoverStory By George Dickie NBC's "Dancing With Myself" isn't necessarily all about skill. But it can be a distinct advantage. That's the takeaway from the eight-episode competition series that premieres Tuesday, May 31, in which 12 contes- tants vie in five rounds of high-energy dance challenges that test their creativity, improvisational skills and ability to choreo- graph and learn dances that were designed by celebrity creators Shakira, Nick Jonas, Liza Koshy and host Camille Kostek. Isolated in pods, the dancers have a limited amount of time to learn the dances and then per- form them for a studio audience, who in each ep- isode vote on the winner of a cash prize. The series is inspired by social media and the mil- lions who log on to watch the latest dance crazes. John Irwin, who executive produces the series for Irwin Entertainment, says it's yet another product of the pandemic, where peo- ple isolated in their homes found a new way of enter- taining themselves via that new standby, Zoom. "DJs across the world are holding these house parties," he explains, "and you have people from all over the world getting on the same Zoom that es- sentially turned into a cy- ber house party. And then out of that came this whole phenomenon of people shooting themselves on TikTok doing dances and then suddenly celebrities got on board and it just became this crazy phe- nomenon that took over literally the world." The contestants here, Irwin notes, are from all walks of life and range in age from preschoolers to people in their 70s. And though some are quite polished, none are profes- sional dancers, just people who love to dance and would be inclined to post their dance videos on Tik- Tok and other platforms. All have larger-than-life personalities, which Irwin says come out in their per- formances. "Sometimes you'll see somebody on TikTok who certainly is not the best dancer," he explains, "but there's just some- thing about what they're doing, and maybe it's what they're wearing or how they look or just the personality you feel from them that gets them five or six million likes. And so we've definitely sort of captured that same essence. ... It's a very fun watch." Shakira's passion for dance and the success of her 2021 video "A Girl Like Me" provided some impetus for "Dancing With Myself" (she is also an executive producer here), and Irwin hopes the show will spur viewers to give the dances a try. Amateurs strut their stuff on NBC's 'Dancing With Myself' The identity of the featured celebrity is found within the answers in the puzzle. In order to take the TV Challenge, unscramble the letters noted with asterisks within the puzzle. InFocus "Father of the Bride" (HBO Max — movie premiere, June 16) A father comes to grips with his daughter's upcoming wedding through the prism of multiple relationships within a sprawling Cuban- American family in this original comedy that's based on the 1949 novel by Edward Streeter. Andy Garcia, Gloria Estefan, Adria Arjona, Isabela Merced and Diego Boneta head a talented cast.

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