Given the massive mainstream success of Fox’s Empire, you just knew that the never-ending quest to create more stories and produce more content would spawn a slew of imitators. So it’s no surprise that Showtime and Lionsgate TV are currently developing a new music-biz-based show. And the network seems to have an interesting angle to explore, and a couple of big names on board to boot.
According to Deadline, comedian Kevin Hart and rapper T.I. (aka, Clifford Joseph Harris Jr.) will executive produce and occasionally guest star in an upcoming comedy called The Studio. The show will reportedly center around the unusual lifestyle led by those in the recording business and the charismatic, often offbeat characters who are drawn to it. In other words, get ready to turn the standard workday on its head with a little 5-to-9 action.
While T.I.’s music industry chops are unassailable, Hart’s involvement in this one seems slightly less obvious. Devoted fans of the comedian will note, however, that his alter ego is an MC by the name of Chocolate Droppa, and that he has collaborated on tracks with the likes of Trey Songz and — you guessed it — T.I. The two men have also appeared on the silver screen together, linking up for both Ride Along 2 and Get Hard.
Everybody Hates Chris scribe Aeysha Carr will be the show’s primary writer and will executive produce alongside Hart and T.I. As the series is still in the early stages of development, its release date is still to be determined. We’ll be sure to update you as information becomes available.
Hart fans can catch the actor in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle later this year and the comedian also lends his vocal talents to the recently released animated film Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. As for T.I., the rapper/actor recently appeared in a Roots remake and is set to reprise his role as Dave in an upcoming Ant-Man sequel.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.