‘The Masked Singer’ Reveals Identities of Ugly Sweater and Starfish: Here Are the Celebrities Under the Costumes

EXCLUSIVE:  The Lede Company has tapped Kimberly Bernhardt as a senior executive within the firm’s Strategic Communications Division. She will report directly to co-CEO Sarah Rothman in her new role.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large When “Curb Your Enthusiasm” began its run on HBO all the way back in 2000, creator/star Larry David had a very specific rule: He wouldn’t let the show’s cast read the episodic outlines. “The first three seasons I did not even see an outline,” “Curb” star Cheryl Hines tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast. “I wasn’t allowed.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large NewsNation anchor Ashleigh Banfield is set to host this year’s Clue Awards, which will take place on June 1 in Nashville, Tenn., during the annual CrimeCon event. The ceremony, which announced this year’s nominees on Thursday, will also air live on the Law&Crime Network and stream on that channel’s social platforms.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Classic TV network MeTV is turning its cartoon block into a new network. Owner Weigel Broadcasting Co. announced Wednesday that it will launch MeTV Toons as a new national TV network focused on classic animation, “from Hollywood-era shorts to made-for-television favorites.” MeTV Toons, which launches June 25, is a collab between Weigel and Warner Bros.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 11, Episode 9 of “The Masked Singer,” “Group B Finals: Soundtrack of My Life Night,” which aired May 1 on Fox. For years, the panelists on “The Masked Singer” have thrown out names like Corey Feldman, Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken while trying to figure out what celebrities were disguised on stage. This week, those names finally became true. “The Masked Singer” revealed the latest celebrities to be revealed on Wednesday night’s Group B finale, and it was Feldman as the Seal and Studdard/Aiken together as the Beets.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” which welcomed back Jon Stewart as one of its hosts this year, will continue its election year tradition of taking the show on the road to the national political conventions this summer, Variety can confirm. The extent of Stewart’s involvement at the two conventions has not yet been determined, but Comedy Central has made it official that “The Daily Show” will take its “Indecision 2024” coverage to Milwaukee, Wisc., from July 15 to July 18 for a full week of shows during the Republican National Convention. The following month, “The Daily Show” will set up shop in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention from August 19 to August 22.

Can you tell who has a “good” voice and who has a “bad” voice just by looking someone in the face who is lip-syncing to a song? This is the question posed to participants weekly on the Fox game show I Can See Your Voice, hosted and created by Ken Jeong.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “The Simpsons” fans are still reacting to the surprise death of Moe’s Tavern regular Larry Dalrymple — aka Larry the Barfly — on Sunday’s episode, “Cremains of the Day.” And “The Simpsons” co-executive producer Tim Long has the explanation for why the show did it. “I’m sorry if some fans are upset, but we really wanted to use Larry’s death as a way to show that even the most peripheral people in our lives have dignity and worth, and that we really shouldn’t take anyone for granted,” Long wrote in an email shared with Variety. “To paraphrase Shakespeare, nothing became Larry’s life like the way he left it: drunk, lonely, and with a butt full of sapphires.” In the episode, Moe discovers Larry dead in the bar.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “The Last of Us,” “Poker Face,” “Bluey,” “The Bear” and “Jury Duty” are among this year’s additional nominees as the Peabody Awards’ board of jurors revealed 27 nods for its arts, children’s/youth, entertainment, and interactive & immersive categories. They join the 41 nominees across its documentary, news, public service and radio/podcast categories announced by Peabody earlier this week.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The Miss USA pageant is expanding its relationship with The CW, sealing a three-year deal that adds Miss Teen USA to the mix. The network announced Thursday that the 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air live on Sunday, Aug. 4., at 8 p.m.

It’s been a long time coming.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 11, Episode 8 of “The Masked Singer,” “Girl Group Night,” which aired April 24 on Fox. Jenifer Lewis spent a year recovering from a devastating 10-foot fall while on safari in Tanzania. It was while she was still in bed, convalescing, that she got a call from “The Masked Singer.” “I still couldn’t walk,” she told Variety. “And my friends encouraged me to get out of bed and go do what I love to do.

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Wednesday’s episode of The Masked Singer, including the identity of the eliminated contestant.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “Ghosts” hit another landmark on Thursday night, as this week’s episode of the hit CBS comedy revealed the truth behind Flower’s disappearance — while also, on a much more profound level, explored the truth behind Hetty’s death in 1895. In the episode, “Holes are Bad,” when Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) go away for the weekend, the ghosts are left alone — and discover that Flower (Sheila Carrasco) hadn’t been “sucked away” to the afterlife as they thought.

EXCLUSIVE: Duplass Brothers Production recently wrapped production on the Katie Aselton-directed feature Magic Hour, starring Daveed Diggs (Blindspotting, Hamilton). Aselton (Old Dads, Legion) stars alongside Diggs in the project which she co-wrote with Mark Duplass.

EXCLUSIVE: Margaret Qualley has pulled out of playing Amanda Knox in Hulu‘s upcoming limited series for scheduling reasons.

Coachella on Saturday (April 13), Tyler, The Creator brought out two major guests: Childish Gambino and A$AP Rocky.While taking over the main stage as tonight’s headliner, the ‘This Is America’ singer showed up to perform ‘Running Out Of Time’ from Tyler’s 2019 album ‘Igor‘. Glover appeared while the stage was dark, wearing a bucket hat and an oversized cardigan.TYLER THE CREATOR AND CHILDISH GAMBINO YALL !!! pic.twitter.com/QSIDsBCt11— Mukarram Rasheed (@mukarram_jarral) April 14, 2024Tyler, the Creator and Childish Gambino together, y’all ready for this?pic.twitter.com/LzL6rw2LvG— Ace (@ThatUchihaGuy) April 14, 2024“You know what’s sick, I used to hate that n****.

Community is still a fan-favorite show, even though it’s been off the air for almost 10 years!

“The Masked Singer: Behind the Mask! Spotlighting the Show and the Costumes That Captivated America”) features 11 costumes from the hit reality competition series. “11 costumes for 11 seasons.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Netflix has acquired “Rather,” the documentary about veteran journalist Dan Rather‘s landmark career in news. The film, which premieres April 24 on the streamer, utilizes the story of of Rather’s life on television to also explore the evolution of broadcast journalism, the troubles a free press now faces, along with the slide of American society from hard-fought advances in social justice and democratic freedoms.