Latest news with #Peterman
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘So indescribable and special': ‘Happy's Place' stars Belissa Escobedo and Melissa Peterman on working with Reba McEntire
"It feels very nostalgic," says Melissa Peterman of the new sitcom Happy's Place, which has hit the airwaves "in a time where I think people are hungry for that feeling." What's unique about the series, which reunites Peterman with her Reba costar Reba McEntire, is that it features "a lot of characters that we haven't often seen in a sitcom. I love the makeup of our cast. I love what each actor brings to that character from their own life, and their own upbringing and background, which I think is very unique." Another costar, Belissa Escobedo, grew up watching sitcoms because her mother loved them so much, and as she told Gold Derby, "something I always found was I want to see more people who look like me on these sitcoms." That's certainly the case with Happy's Place, which has six main cast members, three of which are people of color. That, Escobedo states, "is really amazing, because this is our world as well. We can be this joyous and funny and carefree. So it feels really special to be apart of it as my first sitcom." More from GoldDerby 'The Diplomat's' David Gyasi weighs in on a Dennison and Kate romance: 'Eventually something's gotta give' Vote for the 2025 Gold Derby TV Award nominees now! 'How to Train Your Dragon' flies to a franchise-best $83.7 million debut, dethrones 'Lilo & Stitch' Happy's Place stars McEntire as Bobbie McAllister, who inherits a bar from her father, Happy, after he dies. Upon returning to Knoxville, Tenn., she discovers she has a much-younger half-sister, Isabella (Escobedo), who also inherits half of the bar. As they navigate their newfound roles as co-owners and half-sisters, they're helped along by their chatty bartender, Gabby (Peterman). "These are three women at very different points in their life," Peterman explains, "and they all have something to learn from each other. Ultimately, it is about these three women, and what they give to each other and bring to each other." The nostalgia of Happy's Place comes from its classical format. Unlike the single-camera comedies that have become the norm, Happy's Place is a multicam that's taped in front of a live studio audience. "It's so electric," divulges Escobedo, who, like Peterman, has her roots in theater. To merge the rush of live performance with television "is something so indescribable and special," and it's all because of "that energy you get from the audience." Even with all of the read throughs and rehearsals, "it's never as good as it's going to be on show night." When the audience comes in for the taping, "something different just happens. The world starts making more sense, the jokes start landing." She firmly believes that, "we wouldn't get the performances that we do without the audience there." SEE Reba McEntire ('Happy's Place') and Melissa Rauch ('Night Court') discuss importance of network comedies at NBC Fall Comedy Celebration Peterman has experience with both formats, having starred on the single-cam Big Bang Theory spinoff Young Sheldon. "I love every medium for different reasons," she divulges, as each stretches "a different muscle." At the same time, "there is nothing like a multicam," which is essentially "a one-act play. I've known Reba for a long time, and she's meant to be on a stage. So when she comes alive, I come alive." The audience is also a great indicator as to whether or not the episode is funny, because, "when a joke works or it doesn't work, they let you know, and they let you know right away." For Peterman, "it sharpens your performance in a way" that's different from single-cams or movies. Having worked in the industry for so long, Peterman remembers a time when "there could be a Tuesday night or a Friday night, and there could be 20 sitcoms with a live studio audience. You could come into L.A. and have your choice of what shows to go see." Because the experience is so rare, "we want it to be fun for [the audience]. We've had people who are flying in from out of state" because "they want to see Reba. I feel very grateful that we get to do it." It's part of what makes Happy's Place such a throwback to "the shows that I go back to all the time, whether it was during the pandemic or any stressful moment, which I think we are encountering a lot." It certainly helps that the show is led by McEntire, who has been a TV staple for decades. What struck Escobedo immediately about her onscreen sibling was "her humility," as well as "the passion and joy she has for what she's doing. She's been doing it for so long, and it's easy to lost the spark," yet, "she walks in every day so happy to be here. She knows how special it is, and that reminds us of how special what we're doing is. It's awesome to work with someone who's leading the show that's happy to be on the show, and loves it just as much as anybody." Peterman's working relationship with McEntire goes back decades, encompassing not just Reba, but the podcast Living & Learning as well. "It does trickle down from the top," she proclaims. "We're here to have fun, and everyone is empowered to do their job." In addition to her singing talents, "she's instinctively really funny, which makes her such a great choice for a sitcom." Yet the broad comedy only works "if it has heart," which McEntire is always striving for. "I've been lucky to hitch myself to that wagon a couple of times, and it's a great place to be." As the show heads into its second season, Peterman is "expecting some big-gun guest stars" to make appearances, including some "blast from the pasts from our Reba cast." One guest star she's hoping will play her often hinted at but never-seen mother is Hacks star Jean Smart. "That would be my everything," she admits. More than anything, she hopes as Happy's Place continues, it will become a show that "people will want to watch over and over again. I can rewatch the six or seven seasons of a sitcom over and over again. I hope that we can do that." Happy's Place is streaming on Peacock. Best of GoldDerby Sam Rockwell on Frank's 'White Lotus' backstory, Woody Harrelson's influence, and going all in on 'this arc of Buddhist to Bad Lieutenant' Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh admit they 'never had the audacity to realize' a show like 'Deli Boys' was possible From 'Housewives' overload to the 'shadiest queens' alliance: The dish on 'The Traitors' Season 4 lineup Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrat Ryan Peterman launches bid for Iowa secretary of state
Ryan Peterman is a Democratic candidate for Iowa secretary of state. (Inset photo provided by Ryan Peterman campaign, background via Canva) Democrat Ryan Peterman announced he will run for Iowa secretary of state in the 2026 election. Peterman, 34, who grew up in Bettendorf. He served 10 years as a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Navy after graduating from the Naval Academy, and later returned to work at the Naval Academy as a honor education officer. He also spent a year working as a legislative fellow for U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire. In a news release announcing his campaign, Peterman said these experiences give him a foundation to serve Iowans in the role 'with integrity, transparency, and nonpartisan professionalism.' If elected, Peterman said he would plan to focus on making voting more accessible for Iowans while protecting election security. Under the Republican trifecta at the Iowa Capitol, GOP lawmakers have passed several measures in recent years that Democrats say limits voters' ability to participate in elections, such as shortening the early voting window and a ban on providing citizens with non-English ballots, voter registration forms and other materials. 'Iowa needs leaders who put country and community before politics' Peterman said. 'Our elections should be free from partisan interference and focused on empowering voters. I'm running for Secretary of State because I believe in making it easier — not harder — for eligible Iowans to legally vote, and I will fight every day to ensure they can trust that their voice will be heard and their ballot will be counted.' The seat is currently held by Republican Paul Pate, who won his fourth reelection to office in 2022 against Democratic challenger Joel Miller, former Linn County auditor. Pate has not yet announced whether he intends to seek another term. Peterman also said he would focus on ensuring Iowans have faith in the state's election systems. The most recent changes to Iowa's voting laws came during the 2025 legislative session through a bill proposed by Pate allowing the Secretary of State's office to contract with federal and state agencies, as well as private entities, for voter roll verification. The legislation also allows voters to be challenged at the polls over their citizenship status, and laid out a process for marking a voter's registration status as 'unconfirmed' if local or state officials have received information the voter may not be legally qualified to vote, primarily in cases involving unconfirmed citizenship status. These changes came following Pate's directive to county auditors ahead of the 2024 general election to challenge the ballots of 2,176 voters identified as 'potential noncitizens' based on state information that the Secretary of State's office was unable to cross-check using a federal database. Pate said in March 277 people on the list were confirmed to not have U.S. citizenship, and 35 noncitizens cast ballots that were counted in the 2024 election. Peterman kicked off his campaign with an event at Grumpy's Saloon in the Village of East Davenport, and plans to hold another campaign launch event in Des Moines Wednesday at Star Bar.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Navy veteran Ryan Peterman launches campaign for Iowa secretary of state as a Democrat
U.S. Navy veteran Ryan Peterman announced he will run for Iowa Secretary of State next year as a Democrat, pledging to focus on ensuring all eligible Iowans are able to access the ballot box. Peterman, a 34-year-old Davenport resident, said he's always felt the pull of public service and believes his Navy training would serve him well in the office that oversees Iowa's elections. 'Some of the things I learned were just how to lead and lead under pressure, whether it's in the cockpit of a helicopter, whether it's on the deck of a ship, or whether that's in the halls of Congress," he told the Des Moines Register in an interview. "I learned how to build trust with my crew, with my sailors, with my colleagues out in D.C. and in San Diego, deploy it around the world, and I learned how to get results. I think those are three things — leadership under pressure, trust and results — we need in the Secretary of State's office." He said he would pair those traits with a commitment to nonpartisanship and professionalism. "I think that's how we can restore trust in the process and make sure that every voter across Iowa knows that our elections are fair, secure, and they can trust that their vote's going to count when they show up to cast their ballot," he said. The office is currently held by Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate. Pate was reelected to a 4th term over Democratic Linn County Auditor Joel Miller in 2022. He has not yet said whether he intends to seek reelection in 2026. Peterman grew up in Bettendorf and graduated from the United States Naval Academy after high school before attending flight school in Pensacola, Florida. He said he spent several years flying helicopters with a San Diego-based squadron and was deployed with the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group to the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East. After that, he said he applied to be a legislative fellow and worked for U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, on policy related to defense, veterans and national security. 'That was kind of another eye-opening experience for me where I again saw the potential for what good government can do when it works right and when we've got faithful public servants showing up every day and doing a good job and working for the people," he said. Peterman later returned to work for the Naval Academy as an "honor, education and remediation" officer, as well as a speechwriter for the superintendent. And last year, he moved back to Iowa to be with his family when he learned his father was facing health issues. Peterman started volunteering for political campaigns in the state, and Democrats began to ask him whether he had considered a run of his own, he said. He said he's running, in part, because he opposes Republican-led efforts to do things like shorten the early voting window in Iowa. "If you've got the right to vote and the desire to vote, I think you should have the opportunity to vote," he said. "I think we should be making it easier for eligible voters to cast their ballot and make their voice heard through the ballot box. And unfortunately, here in Iowa recently, we've seen folks try to do the opposite of that. That doesn't sit right with me. So that's what I hope to change as secretary of state when it comes to elections and voting rights and access to the ballot box." He said he believes it's important to make sure only eligible voters are casting ballots in Iowa's elections, and he called voter ID a 'commonsense policy.' 'I think election security — and that includes making sure that it's only U.S. citizens that are, in fact, able to vote and able to cast their ballot — I think that's incredibly important," he said. But Peterman said it must be done in a responsible way. 'If (a person's citizenship) is in question, we should at least let people know that their ballot has been questioned in a timely manner so they can rectify that and we can ensure that we're not disenfranchising folks in the name of election security if that's not actually the issue," he said. Peterman said he plans to spend the coming months introducing himself to Iowans and communicating his message across the state. Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach her at bpfann@ or 515-284-8244. Follow her on X at @brianneDMR. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Democrat Ryan Peterman will run for Iowa secretary of state in 2026
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Being good at your job doesn't guarantee a promotion, says Meta engineer
Ryan Peterman, Meta engineer and writer of The Developing Dev newsletter, said visibility is key for promotions. If your work is impressive, it's in your best interest to let people know, he said in a talk at UCLA. Among the interns he's mentored, those who stood out were willing to be bold. Doing good work isn't enough to get you promoted, says Ryan Peterman, an engineer at Meta. You also have to make sure everyone knows about it. "If you go and build this amazing feature that nobody knows about, it doesn't matter how good it is, you're not going to get any recognition for it," Peterman said during a talk at UCLA. "And so, how do you advocate for yourself after you've done great work, which is the hard part?" Peterman worked at Instagram for six years, climbing to staff software engineer before changing focus to AI training infrastructure at Meta. He's also the author of The Developing Dev newsletter, which offers career advice to engineers without their own mentors. Making your accomplishments as public as possible is the key "last few percent" of climbing the career ladder, Peterman said. That can be as simple as writing a social media post or mentioning your success in a meeting, he added. "I think a lot of people miss this, especially if they're more introverted or they're more quiet, just taking that last step on after the good work," Peterman said. Overperforming in your current position isn't enough, Peterman said. He gives the example of a junior engineer who's "doing 10 times as many features" as the rest of their peers. Though they're likely to receive a positive performance review, they haven't proved that they're ready to take on senior responsibilities — only that they're extremely competent at tackling their current workload. "When your manager is looking to fill out like the rubric for the next level, for instance, none of the things will be checked off," Peterman said. "There's nothing about initiative or doing anything that's expected of the mid-level." Ideally, he added, you'll have a solid grasp of the "behaviors" exhibited by engineers at the level you're looking to reach — and will look to take on projects that allow you to showcase them. If you're lost as to what your organization might be looking for in more senior engineers, Peterman suggests talking to your supervisor. "I was really, really eager to get promoted, and so I was constantly talking to my manager," he said. "As soon as I got promoted to one level, I was like, 'Okay, what's the next level? What can I do?' Maybe that was annoying for my manager, but he was really helpful in teaching me what were the things that I needed to pick up." Above all else, he added, it's in your best interest to be as visible as possible. In the course of his time at Meta, Peterman has taken on five interns — those who stood out were just more willing to be bold. "When I think about the ones that were rock stars, they had the audacity to propose improvements," he said. "Even though obviously I'm the more senior person, they had the audacity to ask questions, propose improvements. Sometimes they weren't right, but I could see the logic — but many times they were." Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
09-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Being good at your job doesn't guarantee a promotion, says Meta engineer
Doing good work isn't enough to get you promoted, says Ryan Peterman, an engineer at Meta. You also have to make sure everyone knows about it. "If you go and build this amazing feature that nobody knows about, it doesn't matter how good it is, you're not going to get any recognition for it," Peterman said during a talk at UCLA. "And so, how do you advocate for yourself after you've done great work, which is the hard part?" Peterman worked at Instagram for six years, climbing to staff software engineer before changing focus to AI training infrastructure at Meta. He's also the author of The Developing Dev newsletter, which offers career advice to engineers without their own mentors. Making your accomplishments as public as possible is the key "last few percent" of climbing the career ladder, Peterman said. That can be as simple as writing a social media post or mentioning your success in a meeting, he added. "I think a lot of people miss this, especially if they're more introverted or they're more quiet, just taking that last step on after the good work," Peterman said. Overperforming in your current position isn't enough, Peterman said. He gives the example of a junior engineer who's "doing 10 times as many features" as the rest of their peers. Though they're likely to receive a positive performance review, they haven't proved that they're ready to take on senior responsibilities — only that they're extremely competent at tackling their current workload. "When your manager is looking to fill out like the rubric for the next level, for instance, none of the things will be checked off," Peterman said. "There's nothing about initiative or doing anything that's expected of the mid-level." Ideally, he added, you'll have a solid grasp of the "behaviors" exhibited by engineers at the level you're looking to reach — and will look to take on projects that allow you to showcase them. If you're lost as to what your organization might be looking for in more senior engineers, Peterman suggests talking to your supervisor. "I was really, really eager to get promoted, and so I was constantly talking to my manager," he said. "As soon as I got promoted to one level, I was like, 'Okay, what's the next level? What can I do?' Maybe that was annoying for my manager, but he was really helpful in teaching me what were the things that I needed to pick up." Above all else, he added, it's in your best interest to be as visible as possible. In the course of his time at Meta, Peterman has taken on five interns — those who stood out were just more willing to be bold. "When I think about the ones that were rock stars, they had the audacity to propose improvements," he said. "Even though obviously I'm the more senior person, they had the audacity to ask questions, propose improvements. Sometimes they weren't right, but I could see the logic — but many times they were."
