Today's Entertainment

June 5 - 11, 2023 Page 3 By Dana Simpson Ever since Amazon magnate Jeff Bezos' trip into space last year, there has been plenty of speculation about the rise of space tourism and which celeb- rities would be among the first to achieve liftoff. Well, for those wondering what it might look like to take things a step further and host a star-studded reality show in space, Fox has got you covered. The new series, "Stars on Mars," premieres Monday, June 5. Equal parts Bravo and Star Trek, "Stars on Mars" is hosted by Capt. Kirk himself, William Shatner ("Star Trek: The Origi- nal Series"). While not actually filmed in outer space (give that a few more years yet), the unscript- ed series follows a group of celeb- rities who must spend an entire summer on a simulated, Mars- like planet together. Constantly assigned tasks by mission control (Shatner, of course), each famous person will need to compete in a series of challenges with the aim of "colonizing" their out-of-this- world surroundings. There is a good mix of skills among the 12-person crew, in- cluding actors, athletes, public figures and philanthropists. Actors Ariel Winter ("Modern Family"), Tallulah Willis ("The Whole Ten Yards," 2004) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse ("Su- perbad," 2007), for example, will be joined by reality TV stars Porsha Williams Guobadia ("The Real Housewives of Atlanta") and Tom Schwartz ("Vander- pump Rules"), as well as singer/ songwriter Tinashe (known for "2 On," featuring ScHoolboy Q). Meanwhile, rounding out the more athletic side are Tour de France multi-champion Lance Armstrong, UFC champion Ronda Rousey, former Seattle Seahawk Marshawn Lynch, for- mer NFL cornerback Richard Sherman and Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon. Comedian Natasha Leggero ("Another Peri- od") joins from a category of her very own. In a news release, Fox exec- utives laid out their hopes for the celebs on their "Martian" mission: "During their stay, they will be faced with authentic conditions that simulate life on Mars, and they must use their brains and brawn — or maybe just their stellar social skills — to outlast the competition and claim the title of 'brightest star in the galaxy.'" This "analog mission," as NASA typically refers to these types of simulations, is filmed in the South Australian town of Coober Pedy, a red-sanded desert town nearly 850 kilometres north of Adelaide that is famous for its opals. And while each cele- bronaut voted "off the planet" during the competition does still need to return to the United States, there remains the small consolation that the flight home isn't quite as long as that from actual Mars. Don't miss the launch of Shat- ner and crew's next mission as "Stars on Mars" begins Monday, ACROSS 1 Time Warner partner, once 4 Sunscreen letters 7 "The Big ___ Theory" 11 Prefix with "matic" 13 Actress and model Carrere 14 Side by side? 15 Actor Chris, who stars in a spinoff of 16 Down 17 Kind of organ 18 Disease destroyer 20 "Little Birds" author Anais 21 TV show parts 25 Fast times 28 Japan's old capital 29 Oklahoma tribe 30 Where Armstrong tread 31 Arcade name 33 1992 Oscar-winning film "My Cousin ___" 34 "Brooklyn nine-nine" star Melissa 36 Short, for short 37 Elf employer (2) 42 Huckleberry Finn carrier 45 TV viewers 46 Certain plaintiff, at law 47 Salt suffix 48 Vitamin bottle info 49 "The Incredibles" (2004) and "Incredibles 2" (2018) writer/director Brad 50 Stimpy's cartoon pal 51 Capone and Gore DOWN 1 Each (2) 2 French wave 3 Old Spanish kingdom 4 Oktoberfest souvenir 5 It can be hard to swallow 6 Tumbles 7 Old police sitcom (2) 8 "The Kids ___ Alright" (short-lived ABC sitcom) 9 Genealogy word 10 "Yikes!" 12 Doesn't care 16 Long-running police pro- cedural 19 "How awful!" 22 It follows 11 23 British boy's school 24 PlayStation maker 25 unit of bread 26 Words to Brutus (2) 27 Linguist Chomsky 32 Grp. involved in "the Trou- bles" 33 "Veni, vidi, ___" 35 Broadcasting (2) 36 Burdened 38 Adjust, as an instrument 39 One-two connector 40 West Coast sch. 41 Legis. meeting 42 Barbecue seasoning 43 "Just ___ thought!" (2) 44 'Oh, ___ cryin' out loud!" CoverStory 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 Space based: Celebrities compete in simulated Mars mission "Our Planet II" (Netflix - series premiere, June 14) From the Emmy Award-win- ning team behind "Planet Earth" and "Our Planet" comes this new nature docuseries. At any given moment on planet Earth, billions of animals are on the move. Captured with spectacular and innovative cinematography, Our Planet II unravels the mysteries of how and why animals migrate to reveal some of the most dra- matic and compelling stories in the natural world. The series is narrated by legendary English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author, David Attenborough. Solution is on page 2. Ariel Winter in "Stars on Mars"

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