Jon Stewart said an emotional goodbye to The Daily Show waved off by rock star Bruce Springsteen and most of the colleagues he had worked with on the show during his 16 years as host. It attracted 3.5 million viewers, the second-highest ratings in the show's history, just short of the 3.6m that tuned in for Barack Obama's first guest spot in 2008. For his finale, which aired on Thursday in the United States and Friday in the UAE, a long line of former correspondents appeared, including many who have become stars in their own right, including Steve Carell, Ed Helms, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and Rob Corddry. More than a decade after leaving the show, Carell said that "becoming an international superstar is just something I did while awaiting my next assignment". Colbert – former host of The Colbert Report, who next month replaces David Letterman as host of the Late Show – dropped the comedy briefly to offer the most heartfelt tribute, saying the success of Stewart's co-stars was a testament to the example he set. "You were infuriatingly good at your job," he added. Stewart's fellow New Jersey native Springsteen provided Stewart's last "moment of Zen", performing Land of Hope and Dreams, at the host's request, and then Born to Run. – AP
Kim K snaps selfie with Hillary
Reality-TV star Kim Kardashian snared a photo with Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton on Thursday night. “Excited to be meeting our next President tonight. Maybe she’ll take a selfie with me,” she wrote on Twitter before setting off for a Clinton fund-raiser in Los Angeles. Two and a half hours later, she delivered the goods to her 34.2m Twitter followers – a selfie with Clinton, with Kardashian’s rapper husband Kanye West photobombing in the background. “I got my selfie!!! I really loved hearing her speak and hearing her goals for our country #HillaryForPresident,” Kardashian wrote. About 250 guests attended the exclusive $2,700 (Dh9,917)-per-ticket event, Clinton’s third appeal to Hollywood for contributions to fund her 2016 presidential bid. – AFP
Dre to donate album profits to Compton
Dr Dre says he will donate royalties from his new album to the city of Compton. In an interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1 Radio, Dre said he had spoken to Compton mayor Aja Brown about ways to give back to the city through the release of his first album in 16 years. The rapper, real name Andre Young, said he "decided to donate all of my artist royalties from the sale of this album to help fund a new performing arts and entertainment facility for the kids in Compton". Compton: A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre, was inspired by the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton, which opens in the US on Friday. "I'm honoured that Mr Young has decided to make a significant investment in his community," Brown said. "He clearly has a heart for Compton, especially our youth. I believe this performing arts centre will provide a pathway for creative expression, exposure and training to the myriad of industries that support arts, entertainment and technology – while providing a much-needed safe haven for our youth." Brown said the centre would be a therapeutic outlet for youth suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. – AP
Empire spin-off in the works
Lee Daniels says there will be a spin-off from his smash-hit TV drama Empire. "Without question," the co-creator and executive producer told TV critics on Thursday. "There's so much ripe story that we've talked about already, about Cookie's family, what makes her. That in itself is fascinating to me." Executive producer Brian Grazer said that the important thing was to "never get corny. Completely stay authentic ... As long as it stays dangerous, we're cool. As long as we can stay that way for this season, these guys can think about a spin-off, we'll be OK." It was also announced that rapper Pitbull will guest star as himself in the second season of the soap about the music business, which returns in the US on September 23. Other guest stars include Chris Rock, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Alicia Keys, Kelly Rowland and Marisa Tomei. An appearance by Mariah Carey is also in the works. – AP
Lady Gaga TV drama details revealed
Lady Gaga will play a hotel owner in the upcoming US TV drama American Horror Story: Hotel. Ryan Murphy, the show's co-creator, showrunner and director, on Friday revealed that her character's name is Elizabeth and "she owns the hotel and she is sort of a very wealthy social doyenne who is consumed with art and fashion and people. She has a nefarious plan that is revealed in the first episode that plays out of the course of the season". Gaga starts filming her role tomorrow. The fifth season of the anthology series will also star Kathy Bates, Matt Bomer, Chloe Sevigny, Cheyenne Jackson, Wes Bentley and Sarah Paulson. Some big stars from former seasons will also appear. "You will see people from various seasons check into the hotel," Murphy said. American Horror Story: Hotel is due to begin airing on October 7 on FX in the US. –AP
Hit TV comedy Louie taking a break
Louis C K is taking a break before making the sixth season of his US TV comedy, Louie. John Landgraf, chief executive of the FX network, says the comedian needs an "extended hiatus" before returning to work on the critically acclaimed series. "He's made 61 magnificent episodes of television, and we did an overall deal with him a couple of years ago and that has proven incredibly productive," Landgraf said at the Television Critics Association's summer meeting. The actor-comedian will continue to make shows for the network during his break from the show. One of them is Better Things, a comedy he has co-created with frequent collaborator Pamela Adlon. Landgraf says Louis CK has a third series in the early stages of development. – AP
Bobbi Kristina’s partner faces wrongful death legal claims
The administrator of Bobbi Kristina Brown’s estate has added a wrongful death count to the lawsuit against her partner. The amended lawsuit, filed on Friday, accuses Nick Gordon of giving her a “toxic cocktail” and putting her facedown in water. The 22-year-old daughter of Whitney Houston died in hospice care on July 26, about six months after she was found facedown in the water in a bathtub in her suburban Atlanta townhome on January 31. Gordon has not been charged with any criminal act. An initial autopsy found no obvious cause of death and the medical examiner’s office said it would take several weeks to rule on a manner and cause of death. –AP
Record ratings for first Republican presidential debate
A staggering 24 million viewers tuned in to the first major Republican debate of the US presidential election cycle, the highest-rated non-sports telecast in the history of cable television, Fox News reported Friday.
“Fox had 24 million viewers last night. That is an absolutely monster number,” tweeted Fox media commentator Howard Kurtz.
The viewership of the prime-time 9.00pm to 11.00pm debate, in which billionaire Donald Trump squared off against nine of his top Republican challengers for the nomination, is by far the highest rating of any presidential-primary debate.
Fox, citing figures from ratings monitor Nielsen Media Research, also said the telecast drew 7.9 million viewers in the 25-54 age range, the key advertising demographic.
Numbers were also big for a second-tier debate earlier in the evening featuring the seven remaining low-polling candidates who failed to make the cut for the prime-time event. About 6.1 million people watched that debate, Fox said, citing Nielsen.
The debate night appears to have been a multi-platform smash.
Co-sponsor Facebook said 7.5 million people in the United States made 20 million debate-related interactions on Facebook, including likes, posts, comments and shares.
Twitter said that tweets about the debates were viewed 1.1 billion times.
The Republicans will host at least eight more debates as the party whittles down its massive list of contenders and chooses its flag-bearer to go up against the Democratic nominee, who at this stage seems most likely to be Hillary Clinton.
The next Republican debate is scheduled for September 16 in California, and will be broadcast by CNN.
The first Democratic Party debate is scheduled for October 13 in Nevada, and will also be shown on CNN. –AFP
