Latest news with #Cary
The Age
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
This overlooked sitcom skewered Hollywood better than The Studio
Hollywood loves little more than making stories about itself and this year, there have been two standouts in the genre: The Studio focused on the existential-financial crises of making movies, while the fourth season of comedy Hacks turned its crosshairs to the sorry state of late-night television. Both shows are sharp satires about whether success and creative integrity are oil and water in Hollywood, with plenty of bite aimed at a scared industry reluctant to take leaps as it faces a chasm. Loading In Hacks, veteran stand-up Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) lands her lifelong dream gig as a late-night host, but she and head writer/whiny millennial protégée Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) immediately face cancellation, as the genre itself faces extinction in the age of streaming. Meanwhile, Seth Rogen pulled in every favour he could for The Studio, a sleek and star-studded satire for Apple TV+, with everyone from Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard to TikTok star Charli D'Amelio and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos playing themselves. Co-created by Rogen with long-time collaborator Evan Goldberg, the comedy focuses on a Hollywood studio head (Rogen) trying to produce genuine art in a corporate industry focused on maximal profits and bankable IP. Both series are also love letters to Hollywood – their characters may be power-hungry and occasionally amoral, but they are talented and guided by a true love of art. But isn't that a generous depiction? What about the true hacks of Hollywood, the grifters who seemingly care about little but their own fame? Enter the namesakes of The Other Two – one of the past decade's most criminally under-seen satires, and a quick three-season watch on Max. Created by former SNL co-head writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, the show focuses on these two aimless 30-something siblings, former dancer Brooke (Heléne Yorke) and struggling gay actor Cary (Drew Tarver). When their 13-year-old brother Chase (Case Walker) becomes overnight pop sensation ChaseDreams after his (completely asinine, Friday -esque) song Marry U At Recess goes viral, the two ride his coattails. Brooke decides to girlboss without direction, eventually becoming his co-manager; Cary rides the success of ChaseDream's second single My Brother's Gay and That's Okay! to land more roles. Neither Brooke nor Cary are particularly talented or, necessarily, smart – The Other Two isn't the story of the compromised artist as in Hacks or The Studio. Instead, it's one of jaded people thrown an opportunity, trying to make a mark (and money) however they can. The show is particularly biting on self-branding masquerading as activism. Brooke dabbles in slacktivism to feel as though she's making a difference, while Cary equally positions his acting career as a battleground for LGBTQ representation. There are plenty of other nefarious sharks circling Chase, too, as manager Streeter (Ken Marino) and label exec Shuli (Wanda Sykes) work him to the bone. They sell his armpit pictures to Rolling Stone for $8 million, set up fake relationships for cross-promotion and wring out countless brand partnerships, including a mobile phone company (much like Ryan Reynolds), nail polish line (much like Harry Styles) and an oil pipeline (kinda like RuPaul, who has been criticised for allowing fracking on his land). And Chase's mum Pat – Molly Shannon, in a career best – may seem like a mid-western sweetheart, but she's just as shrewd, soon becoming a celebrity in her own right as an Ellen-like daytime talk show host with a not-so nice private side. But ChaseDreams isn't the Bieber brat you might expect. For the most part, he's relatively level-headed, even as his surroundings should distort him into an absolute nightmare. Instead, he's the straight guy in a surreal famescape, with the show more about clawing towards celebrity from the sidelines. Loading It's a position that Kelly and Schneider presumably know well from SNL, where each week they'd work with – or tiptoe around – a host's ego and persona. (Perhaps not incidentally, SNL castmate Bill Hader once called Bieber, who hosted under Schneider and Kelly's tenure, the worst-behaved host.) With rapid-fire dialogue reminiscent of 30 Rock – a writing style forged from SNL, where Tina Fey also came up – there's a real frantic, occasionally over the top energy to the show, mirroring Cary and Brooke's desperate reaches for power. And plots are delightfully ludicrous with the second and third seasons matching the general hysteria of the 2020s. While a critical darling, the show struggled to find an audience while airing. Some of its Simpsons -style predictions have given it a second life online, however, with several of its more ridiculous plot lines coming true in the past year. Back in May, supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid's announcement that their father had a secret daughter was oddly reminiscent of a season two plot around the ultra-secret reveal party of the 'third Hadid sister' hosted by Vogue, where she stood in the corner underneath a white sheet. And while The Other Two didn't take Katy Perry to space (that was Jeff Bezos), Brooke went twice in one episode, when two consecutive men she's dating become billionaires, and their immense wealth suddenly renders Earth boring. Sound familiar? Naturally, the show's most prescient element was more meta: The Other Two, a satire of ego and resentment curdling people's values and behaviour, was marred by allegations that its creators Kelly and Schneider had created a toxic workplace environment, with the former accused of verbally abusing writers and overworking staff and the latter accused of enabling that behaviour. One insider told The Hollywood Reporter, 'There's a lot of Chris and Sarah in the show … I think a lot of their frustration comes from not being on camera… These are two people who started off as improvisers. This is a show about people who are hungering for fame.' The allegations were made public before the show's surprisingly sweet finale in 2023, but a statement from the creators said the show's end was already planned. Neither have publicly commented on the allegations, but sources told The Hollywood Reporter that a formal investigation cleared the two of wrongdoing during production. Max, Kelly and Schneider were all contacted for comment in this story. For better or worse, acidity corroded The Other Two into the dark, cynical and deeply funny show it is. While Cary and Brooke have redemptions written in, Kelly and Schneider haven't yet announced any follow-up projects. Meanwhile, several of the writers have gone on to great success, including recent Tony Award winner Cole Escola and Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello who form two thirds of the team behind Hacks… who also cameoed as themselves in The Studio. Like I said, Hollywood really loves going meta.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
This overlooked sitcom skewered Hollywood better than The Studio
Hollywood loves little more than making stories about itself and this year, there have been two standouts in the genre: The Studio focused on the existential-financial crises of making movies, while the fourth season of comedy Hacks turned its crosshairs to the sorry state of late-night television. Both shows are sharp satires about whether success and creative integrity are oil and water in Hollywood, with plenty of bite aimed at a scared industry reluctant to take leaps as it faces a chasm. Loading In Hacks, veteran stand-up Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) lands her lifelong dream gig as a late-night host, but she and head writer/whiny millennial protégée Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) immediately face cancellation, as the genre itself faces extinction in the age of streaming. Meanwhile, Seth Rogen pulled in every favour he could for The Studio, a sleek and star-studded satire for Apple TV+, with everyone from Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard to TikTok star Charli D'Amelio and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos playing themselves. Co-created by Rogen with long-time collaborator Evan Goldberg, the comedy focuses on a Hollywood studio head (Rogen) trying to produce genuine art in a corporate industry focused on maximal profits and bankable IP. Both series are also love letters to Hollywood – their characters may be power-hungry and occasionally amoral, but they are talented and guided by a true love of art. But isn't that a generous depiction? What about the true hacks of Hollywood, the grifters who seemingly care about little but their own fame? Enter the namesakes of The Other Two – one of the past decade's most criminally under-seen satires, and a quick three-season watch on Max. Created by former SNL co-head writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, the show focuses on these two aimless 30-something siblings, former dancer Brooke (Heléne Yorke) and struggling gay actor Cary (Drew Tarver). When their 13-year-old brother Chase (Case Walker) becomes overnight pop sensation ChaseDreams after his (completely asinine, Friday -esque) song Marry U At Recess goes viral, the two ride his coattails. Brooke decides to girlboss without direction, eventually becoming his co-manager; Cary rides the success of ChaseDream's second single My Brother's Gay and That's Okay! to land more roles. Neither Brooke nor Cary are particularly talented or, necessarily, smart – The Other Two isn't the story of the compromised artist as in Hacks or The Studio. Instead, it's one of jaded people thrown an opportunity, trying to make a mark (and money) however they can. The show is particularly biting on self-branding masquerading as activism. Brooke dabbles in slacktivism to feel as though she's making a difference, while Cary equally positions his acting career as a battleground for LGBTQ representation. There are plenty of other nefarious sharks circling Chase, too, as manager Streeter (Ken Marino) and label exec Shuli (Wanda Sykes) work him to the bone. They sell his armpit pictures to Rolling Stone for $8 million, set up fake relationships for cross-promotion and wring out countless brand partnerships, including a mobile phone company (much like Ryan Reynolds), nail polish line (much like Harry Styles) and an oil pipeline (kinda like RuPaul, who has been criticised for allowing fracking on his land). And Chase's mum Pat – Molly Shannon, in a career best – may seem like a mid-western sweetheart, but she's just as shrewd, soon becoming a celebrity in her own right as an Ellen-like daytime talk show host with a not-so nice private side. But ChaseDreams isn't the Bieber brat you might expect. For the most part, he's relatively level-headed, even as his surroundings should distort him into an absolute nightmare. Instead, he's the straight guy in a surreal famescape, with the show more about clawing towards celebrity from the sidelines. Loading It's a position that Kelly and Schneider presumably know well from SNL, where each week they'd work with – or tiptoe around – a host's ego and persona. (Perhaps not incidentally, SNL castmate Bill Hader once called Bieber, who hosted under Schneider and Kelly's tenure, the worst-behaved host.) With rapid-fire dialogue reminiscent of 30 Rock – a writing style forged from SNL, where Tina Fey also came up – there's a real frantic, occasionally over the top energy to the show, mirroring Cary and Brooke's desperate reaches for power. And plots are delightfully ludicrous with the second and third seasons matching the general hysteria of the 2020s. While a critical darling, the show struggled to find an audience while airing. Some of its Simpsons -style predictions have given it a second life online, however, with several of its more ridiculous plot lines coming true in the past year. Back in May, supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid's announcement that their father had a secret daughter was oddly reminiscent of a season two plot around the ultra-secret reveal party of the 'third Hadid sister' hosted by Vogue, where she stood in the corner underneath a white sheet. And while The Other Two didn't take Katy Perry to space (that was Jeff Bezos), Brooke went twice in one episode, when two consecutive men she's dating become billionaires, and their immense wealth suddenly renders Earth boring. Sound familiar? Naturally, the show's most prescient element was more meta: The Other Two, a satire of ego and resentment curdling people's values and behaviour, was marred by allegations that its creators Kelly and Schneider had created a toxic workplace environment, with the former accused of verbally abusing writers and overworking staff and the latter accused of enabling that behaviour. One insider told The Hollywood Reporter, 'There's a lot of Chris and Sarah in the show … I think a lot of their frustration comes from not being on camera… These are two people who started off as improvisers. This is a show about people who are hungering for fame.' The allegations were made public before the show's surprisingly sweet finale in 2023, but a statement from the creators said the show's end was already planned. Neither have publicly commented on the allegations, but sources told The Hollywood Reporter that a formal investigation cleared the two of wrongdoing during production. Max, Kelly and Schneider were all contacted for comment in this story. For better or worse, acidity corroded The Other Two into the dark, cynical and deeply funny show it is. While Cary and Brooke have redemptions written in, Kelly and Schneider haven't yet announced any follow-up projects. Meanwhile, several of the writers have gone on to great success, including recent Tony Award winner Cole Escola and Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello who form two thirds of the team behind Hacks… who also cameoed as themselves in The Studio. Like I said, Hollywood really loves going meta.
CBS News
6 days ago
- Health
- CBS News
3-year-old rescued from pool in Cary, Illinois
A 3-year-old was pulled from a pool and rushed to the hospital in Cary, Illinois, northwest of Chicago Sunday afternoon. At 12:37 p.m., the Cary Fire Protection District was called to the Sunburst Bay Aquatic Center, at 1201 N. First St. in Cary. Paramedics found the 3-year-old, gender unspecified, in respiratory distress after being pulled from the pool, the fire protection district said. A medical helicopter was placed on standby, but ultimately canceled as the child's condition improved, the district said. The child was breathing and responsive after being taken to an area hospital. Multiple water rescues have transpired in Chicago amid the extreme heat this weekend. On Saturday, rescue crews pulled multiple people from Lake Michigan as crowds packed the beach. At Navy Pier, police said a 27-year-old woman identified as Zahrie Walls was pulled from the water around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, and taken to Northwestern, where she died.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
With rising temperatures in North Carolina, hospitals report uptick of snake bites
CARY, N.C. (WNCN) — Hospitals throughout the central North Carolina said they're seeing more patients with snake bites walking through their doors. Raleigh native Anita McLoud went through the whole experience when she was bitten by a copperhead in her backyard. She never imagined she'd find herself calling 911 in the hospital, and with a venomous bite. After checking on her chickens during a night in August, McLoud said she turned around to walk back to her house when she had a startling surprise. 'One of the first two things I remember learning from my mom is how to identify a copperhead and how to identify poison ivy,' McLoud said. 'Those were the things you needed to know going out of the house. 'I was in my backyard,' she said. 'I had not seen a snake there in 23 years that I lived there and I was wearing flip flops.' 'My first thought was it's a stick. Within a split second, I [realized] that was not a stick. Was it a snake? I turned and there he was.' According to McLoud, medical staff measured the swelling near the bite every 30 minutes. While she never needed antivenom, doctors gave her morphine for the pain. She said the swelling, pain, and discoloration lasted around five-six weeks. 'I was fortunate that way,' McLoud said. 'They told me at the time, only 23% of people who got bit had to receive the antivenom.' According to Duke Health officials, hospitals usually see more than 100 snakebite patients per year across the health system, with the number of cases typically peaking in July. Since April, officials said emergency departments at Duke University, Duke Regional Hospital and Raleigh Regional Hospital have treated 22 bites this season, which staff said typically starts in April. Officials at WakeMed said an emergency department reported nine patients since June 1, six just between June 14 and June 17. Last year, they saw an increase from 15 patients treated for bites in June to 40 in July. UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill reported 18 patients from March to mid-June, slightly higher than the same time last year. 'The numbers increase as the weather gets warmer, especially when it's hot and more of us work/play in the yard early in the morning or in the evening—when snakes get more active, too,' staff said in a statement. Talena Chavis of Cary, the owner of NC Snake Catcher has studied snakes for nearly 30 years. She said the summer season typically comes with 8-10 calls a day, often to safely move and relocate snakes. 'I actually don't encourage folks to try to ID snakes themselves because Mother Nature throws curveballs,' Chavis said. 'Even with copperheads, the pattern changes a lot.' North Carolina has six venomous snakes. According to Chavis, the copperhead's bite is rarely fatal. 'Every season, copperheads are our number one snake,' Chavis said. 'To say that we have a surplus or even an overpopulation is not is not off topic.' Chavis believes more encounters have been attributed to more growth and development. The species has also adapted to urban and suburban areas. 'They're not really afraid of loud noises,' she said. 'They don't care about fireworks, blowers, lawnmowers. These guys just don't really care because they're an ambush predator.' According to Chavis, most bites happen during night hours when copperheads are searching for heat and their prey. Most the time, she said people just happen to get in the way. Chavis advises people to be more cautious, aware, and put on boots. 'I firmly believe if people wore their boots in the yard and watched where they put their hands, the number of copperhead bites would be cut in half,' she said. Even after her encounter, McLoud said she now works with the reptiles. 'I've really been enjoying it,' McLoud said. 'I wasn't upset with the snake. He's just doing his 'self-defense' thing. If someone stepped on me, I'd probably react as well.' Duke Health officials also continue to share more information about snakebite safety. If bitten, they said to go to your local hospital—never push off the visit. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Citizen
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
BFDI: Online series continues to soar
While many children's series end up licensed to streaming platforms or cable channels, BFDI never left YouTube. It began with a maths assignment and a folded piece of printer paper with cartoons on it. This was how twin brothers Michael and Cary Huang from California set off on the path to creating Battle for Dream Island (BFDI). It's a YouTube animated series that has kept millions of kids, teenagers and even some grownups tapping to their screens for over a decade. It was an unlikely beginning. 'My brother Cary had to create a fake catalogue for an algebra class in 2009,' said Michael Huang. 'Inside it was a comic about how rock, paper and scissors, the hand gesture game, could be improved. He replaced them with water, sponge and fire.' The idea simmered, and eventually, characters became a cast. The cast became a story. And the story became a show. 'We were travelling when we decided to animate some of these comics,' Michael explained. 'I was really getting into digital animation at the time. It made sense to combine that with Cary's characters. That's how BFDI was born.' Unlikely beginnings In the early days, Cary was also drawing his own version of a Cartoon Network show called Total Drama Island on folded paper booklets. He called it Total Fiery Island. It was, in a way, pastimes that foreshadowed it all. Michael read film at the University of California Berkeley. Cary graduated from Stanford with a degree in computer science. The two share creative DNA as much as they do actual DNA. Watch BDFI's debut episode As the show debuted and episodes rolled out, audiences liked the silliness of BFDI, the unpredictability, and the unapologetic embrace of the somewhat bizarre. It was a game show parody, but also something a bit more whacky and smarter. An animated contest where characters like Leafy and Firey jostled for popularity, but where the humour teetered on slapstick of the Charlie Chaplin variety. A willingness to be totally goofy 'Cary is the heart of BFDI,' said Michael. 'He's always had this willingness to be completely goofy, and it stuck,' he shared. 'Even as we got older, through high school and college, we kept making episodes. That same tone became part of the show's identity. It's also been tricky to bring in additional writers because of that. But recently, we've hired two new writers who now also direct. They really understand it. One of the two even moved to Los Angeles to work with us.' Also Read: Mr Men Box Set's A Winner While many children's series end up licensed to streaming platforms or cable channels, BFDI never left YouTube. The twins embraced online distribution instead, long before media companies were betting on creators who recorded from their bedrooms. 'Some people compare us to shows like Cocomelon or Blippi, but I'd say our closest counterpart is creator channel LankyBox,' Michael said. The two channels recently agreed to work together and react, online, to one another's content. 'There's this whole ecosystem of creators doing things outside the traditional model. And it's working.' Old school animation appeal BFDI's animation is almost old-school in its appeal. There are no glossy Pixar finishes or ultra-detailed Disney characters here. The style is simple, colourful, and often deliberately rough around the edges. Michael isn't convinced that realism has anything to do with what makes animation good. 'I remember watching that Lion King remake a few years ago,' he said. 'It looked real but didn't feel like anything. What we've seen in the past few years, especially with Spider-Verse, is that people actually want more stylised, more imaginative animation. Something different.' And BFDI has become more than just a show. Fans are building games on Roblox and Fortnite based on the series. Some are even livestreaming play-throughs and remixing characters. 'There's a whole world of fan-made stuff on Roblox,' said Michael. 'That connection with the audience is something we haven't explored fully, but we want to.' For the first ten years, YouTube ad revenue funded the brothers. That changed in 2019. 'We started exploring merchandising. Plush toys, silicon lamps, the works,' Michael said. 'We didn't go through the agencies most creators use. We found our own manufacturers, did fulfilment ourselves. Also, we didn't even know people outsourced that kind of thing.' Now add live events to the mix, and BFDI is now running a tight and succesful media operation out of Los Angeles, with a full team and a growing audience of millions. From pause, to play again A pause caused by the brothers' respective studies is now back in play before expansion, Michael said, and there's some unfinished business. 'A lot of fans remind us that we haven't finished Season Two or Season Three,' he said. 'We made one episode of Season Three and then skipped to Four. Right now, we just want to finish what we started. No large-scale musicals, no other major spin-offs, not yet. Just wrapping up the story properly.' Once that's done, the sky's the limit for this popular show that's embedded itself into global popular culture. Now Read: Joburg's Forgotten Movie Empire
