[11/12/24 - 10:00 AM] HBO Original Comedy Special "James Acaster: Hecklers Welcome" Debuts November 23 James Acaster explores his love/hate relationship with standup by relinquishing control of his set and accepting a healthy dose of audience interference - aka heckling.
[via press release from HBO]
HBO Original Comedy Special JAMES ACASTER: HECKLERS WELCOME Debuts November 23
· The HBO Original comedy special JAMES ACASTER: HECKLERS WELCOME debuts SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. In his first HBO special, comedian James Acaster explores his love/hate relationship with standup - while welcoming a heckle or two.
· Logline: James Acaster explores his love/hate relationship with standup by relinquishing control of his set and accepting a healthy dose of audience interference - aka heckling. With his wiry observational eye and incomparable wit, Acaster shares hilarious on-the-fly meta-analysis of his own material, along with stories from his childhood that spurred him to pursue a career in comedy - from his participation in his grandmother's spinning wheel workshop at school to his impersonation of Prince Charles at age six. In front of an obliging audience at the Royal & Derngate theatre in Northampton, England, Acaster unleashes his infectious energy as he delves into what initially drew him to the stage and what keeps him there.
· James Acaster quote: "Performing in the round, in a theatre I went to growing up, with the audience chipping in whenever they felt like it, meant this was the most I've enjoyed filming a special, and I'm delighted it's coming to HBO. Also I jumped onto the stage via a trampoline and I don't want that to go unacknowledged."
· Nina Rosenstein, EVP, HBO Programming, Late Night & Specials, quote: "We're longtime fans of James and are so thrilled to work with him. This special is a bold concept - not many comedians would allow hecklers at their shows; fewer still would openly encourage them to interrupt a live taping of their set, but James has never been one to approach his comedy in a traditional way. Filmed in his hometown somewhere in the middle of England, HECKLERS WELCOME is a hilarious and brilliantly strange hour where James examines his complicated relationship with comedy."
· About James Acaster: A whimsical master, James has received acclaim from around the world, including a record-breaking five consecutive nominations for Best Comedy Show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festivals from 2012-2016. In 2017, he toured the country with a three-show trilogy, "Recognise," "Represent," and "Reset," performing consecutively over three nights in each venue. In 2019, James completed a long tour of his successful show "Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999" around the UK, Australia, and America. James is also a Sunday Times bestselling author, with "Classic Scrapes," "Perfect Sound Whatever," and his most recent book, "James Acaster's Guide to Quitting Social Media." James also has three hit podcasts: "Off Menu," which he co-hosts with Ed Gamble, "Perfect Sounds," and his latest release, "Springleaf," which he wrote and stars in.
· Credits: Performed and written by James Acaster; produced and directed by Stuart Laws; producers, Alastair Clayton and Nick Long; co-producer, Amy Tuckwell.
[11/21/24 - 04:00 PM] ABC Presents a Two-Night Special Event To Commemorate the Diamond Anniversary of "Mary Poppins" First, "The Untold Story of Mary Poppins: A Special Edition of 20/20," a two-hour special from ABC News Studios chock full of rarely seen footage, photos and stories from the film's living legends, airs Wednesday, November 27 on ABC and streams next day on Hulu and Disney+.
[11/21/24 - 12:00 PM] What's New on Max This December Watch the debuts of HBO originals "Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North," "Nature of the Crime," and "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story," Max originals "Creature Commandos," "Fast Friends," "Rose Matafeo: On and On and On," and season two of "Bookie," and Warner Bros. film "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice."
[11/21/24 - 10:31 AM] Video: "Ronny Chieng: Love to Hate It" - Sneak Peek - Netflix Filmed over a five-night sold-out run in Honolulu at the historic Hawai'i Theatre, this extremely personal special hilariously unpacks the indignities of the IVF process, the pitfalls of being a man on the internet, American politics and the place of the older generation in today's world.
[11/21/24 - 10:06 AM] CNN Renews "Have I Got News for You" for a Second Season Produced by Hat Trick Productions for CNN Originals, "Have I Got News for You" concludes its 10-episode freshman season on Saturday, November 23 at 9pm ET/PT on CNN.
[11/21/24 - 10:00 AM] HBO Documentary Films' "Nature of the Crime" Debuts December 10 Over a period of four years, filmmakers Ricki Stern and Jesse Sweet follow Todd Scott and Chad Campbell: two men involved in violent crimes as teenagers who have since served more than 30 years of their sentences and have each been eligible for parole for more than a decade.