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'The Bachelor' casts Grant Ellis as its next star, the second Black lead in show's history

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'The Bachelor' casts Grant Ellis as its next star, the second Black lead in show's history

Grant Ellis’ romantic journey on the current season of “The Bachelorette” did not have a happy ending. But instead of nursing a broken heart, he’s getting a fresh start and a breakthrough role as the next star of “The Bachelor.”

The self-proclaimed mama’s boy and former pro basketball player who now works as a day trader will become only the second Black lead of the series, which launched in 2002. The news followed Monday’s episode of “The Bachelorette,” after Ellis was eliminated from the group of suitors courting star Jenn Tran.

The casting of Ellis for Season 29 comes just over four years after Matt James was named the first Black Bachelor. James’ season, which premiered in 2021, was clouded by controversy and turmoil and has been characterized as a defining chapter in the franchise’s decades-long history of racism and cultural insensitivity.

Ellis’ stint will be a key test of the declaration by executive producers Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner that they are committed to moving past the toxicity and in a more inclusive direction.

“The core value to this show is that everybody deserves to find love, regardless of race, ethnicity, background, faith,” Freeland said in a recent interview with The Times. “The only way we can do that in a truly fulsome way is to have people on the show that reflect the country we live in.”

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Graebner added: “We have a long way to go. But we’re committed to getting there.”

Current lead Jenn Tran on a date with Grant Ellis on ABC’s “The Bachelorette.”

(John Fleenor / Disney)

In addition to having predominantly white casts, the lack of Black male leads has been one of the harshest criticisms leveled at “The Bachelor” franchise. Bennett and Graebner said that casting a Black Bachelor was “a priority” but they did not specify at the time of that interview when it would happen.

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Graebner said production resources are now in place that were not present during James’ season, “which went wrong on so many levels.”

James’ 2021 quest to find true love went off the rails after photographs surfaced of contestant Rachael Kirkconnell at an antebellum South-themed party. Then-host Chris Harrison defended Kirkconnell in a combative interview with former “Bachelorette” star Rachel Lindsay on “Extra,” where she was a correspondent, which stoked the controversy only further and eventually led to his exit from the franchise after nearly 20 years. (James chose Kirkconnell in the season finale.)

In an interview for his memoir in 2022, James — who is still in a relationship with Kirkconnell — accused the producers of betraying their promise to show him as an accomplished Black man who had overcome many personal and professional challenges. Graebner said in an interview with The Times that they “let Matt down.”

Although producers say that they have taken several steps to correct the wrongs and that the casts have become more culturally diverse, the progress has been bumpy.

Some members of the Bachelor Nation fan base have been aggressive in bullying contestants of color online. And the current season of “The Bachelorette” starring Tran, the franchise’s first Asian lead, has come under fire because of the lack of Asian representation in her dating pool.

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In addition, ABC and Warner Bros. Television, which produces “The Bachelor, have declined comment on the status of Jodi Baskerville, who became the franchise’s first Black executive producer in 2021, after James’ season. She has been missing from the closing credits since the season premiere of “The Bachelorette.”

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Stagecoach 2026: How to watch Friday’s livestream with Cody Johnson, Ella Langley, Bailey Zimmerman

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Stagecoach 2026: How to watch Friday’s livestream with Cody Johnson, Ella Langley, Bailey Zimmerman

Choosin’ to stay home instead of trekking out to Indio for this weekend’s Stagecoach festival? Don’t worry, you’ll be able to listen to all the country music your heart desires. You can get your country heartbreak on with Ella Langley, Bailey Zimmerman and Cody Johnson, and then rock out with Counting Crows. If you prefer EDM, you can catch Diplo and Dillstradamus (Dillon Francis and Flosstradamus) as Friday’s closing acts.

The festival will be livestreamed on Amazon Music, Amazon Prime Video and Twitch beginning at 3 p.m. On Sirius XM’s The Highway (channel 56), you can listen to exclusive interviews and live performances along with a special edition of the Music Row Happy Hour. The station Y’Allternative will also be covering the festival on Friday evening.

Here are updated set times for the Stagecoach livestream Friday performances (times presented are PDT):

Channel 1

3:05 p.m. Noah Rinker; 3:25 p.m.; Adrien Nunez; 4 p.m. Ole 60; 4:25 p.m. Avery Anna; 5 p.m. Chase Rice; 5:55 p.m. Nate Smith; 6:50 p.m. Ella Langeley; 7:50 p.m. Bailey Zimmerman; 8:55 p.m. the Red Clay Strays; 10 p.m. Cody Johnson; 11:30 p.m. Diplo

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Channel 2

3:05 p.m. Neon Union; 3:25 p.m. Larkin Poe; 4 p.m. Marcus King Band; 4:50 p.m. Lyle Lovett; 5:35 p.m. BigXthaPlug; 6:30 p.m. Noah Cyrus; 7 p.m. Wynonna Judd; 8 p.m. Counting Crows; 8:50 p.m. Sam Barber; 10 p.m. Dan + Shay; 10:45 p.m. Diplo featuring Juicy J; 11:05 p.m. Rebecca Black; 11:45 p.m. Dillstradamus

Sirius XM Music Row Happy Hour

1 p.m. Avery Anna; 2 p.m. Nate Smith; 2:30 p.m. Josh Ross; 3 p.m. Cody Johnson; 3:30 p.m. Gabriella Rose; 5:15 p.m. Nate Smith; 7:50 p.m. Bailey Zimmerman; 9:30 p.m. Cody Johnson; 11 p.m. Diplo

Sirius XM Y’Allternative

5 p.m. Ole 60; 6 p.m. Larkin Poe; 7 p.m. Marcus King Band; 8 p.m. Sam Barber

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Movie Review: The Mortuary Assistant – HorrorFuel.com: Reviews, Ratings and Where to Watch the Best Horror Movies & TV Shows

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Movie Review: The Mortuary Assistant – HorrorFuel.com: Reviews, Ratings and Where to Watch the Best Horror Movies & TV Shows

Forget the “video game movie” curse; The Mortuary Assistant is a bone-chilling triumph that stands entirely on its own two feet. Starring Willa Holland (Arrow) as Rebecca Owens, the film follows a newly certified mortician whose “overtime shift” quickly devolves into a grueling battle for her soul.

What Makes It Work

The film expertly balances the stomach-churning procedural work of embalming with a spiraling demonic nightmare. Alongside a mysterious mentor played by Paul Sparks (Boardwalk Empire), Rebecca is forced to confront both ancient evils and her own buried traumas. And boy, does she have a lot of them.

Thanks to a full-scale, practical River Fields Mortuary set, the film drips with realism, like you can almost smell the rot and bloat of the bodies through the screen.

The skin effects are hauntingly accurate. The way the flesh moves during surgical scenes is so visceral. I’ve seen a lot of flesh wounds in horror films and in real life, and the bodies, skin, and organs. The Mortuary Assistant (especially in the opening scene) looks so real that I skipped supper after watching it. And that’s saying something. Your girl likes to eat.

Co-written by the game’s creator, Brian Clarke, the movie dives deeper into the demonic mythology. Whether you’ve seen every ending or don’t know a scalpel from a trocar, the story is perfectly self-contained. If you’ve never played the game, or played it a hundred times, the film works equally well, which is hard to do when it comes to game adaptations.

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Nailed It

This film does a lot of things right, but the isolation of the night shift is suffocating. Between the darkness of the hallways and the “residents” that refuse to stay still, the film delivers a relentlessly immersive experience. And thankfully, although this movie is filled with dark rooms and shadows, it’s easy to see every little thing. Don’t you hate it when a movie is so dark that you can’t see what’s happening? It’s one of my pet peeves.

The oh-so-awesome Jeremiah Kipp directs the film and has made something absolutely nightmare-inducing. Kipp recently joined us for an interview, took us inside the film, discussed its details and the game’s lore, and so much more. I urge you to check out our interview. He’s awesome!

The Verdict

This isn’t just a cash-grab; it’s a high-effort adaptation that respects the source material while elevating the horror genre. With incredible special effects and a powerhouse cast, it’s the kind of movie that will make you rethink working late ever again. Dropping on Friday the 13th, this is a must-watch for horror fans. It’s grisly, intelligent, and genuinely terrifying.

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Former Live Nation executive says he was fired after raising ‘financial misconduct’ concerns

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Former Live Nation executive says he was fired after raising ‘financial misconduct’ concerns

A former executive at Live Nation, the world’s largest live entertainment company, is suing the company, alleging that he was wrongfully terminated after he raised concerns about alleged financial misconduct and improper accounting practices.

Nicholas Rumanes alleges he was “fraudulently induced” in 2022 to leave a lucrative position as head of strategic development at a real estate investment trust to create a new role as executive vice president of development and business practice at Beverly Hills-based Live Nation.

In his new position, Rumanes said, he raised “serious and legitimate alarm” over the the company’s business practices.

As a result, he says, he was “unlawfully terminated,” according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

“Rumanes was, simply put, promised one job and forced to accept another. And then he was cut loose for insisting on doing that lesser job with integrity and honesty,” according to the lawsuit.

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He is seeking $35 million in damages.

Representatives for Live Nation were not immediately available for comment.

The lawsuit comes a week after a federal jury in Manhattan found that Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary had operated a monopoly over major concert venues, controlling 86% of the concert market.

Rumanes’ lawsuit describes a “culture of deception” at Live Nation, saying its “basic business model was to misstate and exaggerate financial figures in efforts to solicit and secure business.”

Such practices “spanned a wide spectrum of projects in what appeared to be a company-wide pattern of financial misrepresentation and misleading disclosures,” the lawsuit states.

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Rumanes says he received materials and documents that showed that the company inflated projected revenues across multiple venue development projects.

Additionally, Rumanes contends that the company violated a federal law that requires independent financial auditing and transparency and instead ran Live Nation “through a centralized, opaque structure” that enables it to “bypass oversight and internal checks and balances.”

In 2010, as a condition of the Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger, the newly formed company agreed to a consent decree with the government that prohibited the firm from threatening venues to use Ticketmaster. In 2019 the Justice Department found that the company had repeatedly breached the agreement, and it extended the decree.

Rumanes contends that he brought his concerns to the attention of the company’s management, but his warnings were “repeatedly ignored.”

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