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Entertainment Now | January 16 - 22, 2021 By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: I was just watching the Hugh Grant movie "The Re- write," and I'm wondering who played Prof. Weldon. She looks so familiar. A: The stern and serious profes- sor, with whom Hugh Grant's less- serious character immediately clashes, is a pretty standard rom- com character. She's the kind of character who really could have been played by the usual capable but unremarkable actor that nor- mally gets that sort of role. But in- stead they picked Allison Janney, and the film is much better for it. Janney was, of course, C.J. on "The West Wing," the long-run- ning TV role she'll always be re- membered for. But she's also an Oscar-winning (for 2017's "I, Tonya") big-screen actress and a Tony-nominated Broadway star. Along with her Oscar-winning role, she's also appeared in a huge number of prestigious films, includ- ing 2002's "The Hours," 2011's "The Help" and 1999's "American Beauty," not to mention currently starring in the CBS sitcom "Mom." Yet even with all that gravitas, she's always made time for lighter comedies, such as 2014's "The Re- write." That said, "The Rewrite" actual- ly had a surprisingly stacked cast — two more of the actors are also Oscar winners (though, to be fair, only one of them had the statue prior to signing on for the film). Q: I just got through "Truth Seekers" and I loved it, as I loved all of the things those guys have done. How did they start working together? A: Nick Frost and Simon Pegg ("those guys" behind the Amazon series "Truth Seekers" and, as you say, a load of other great stuff) are one of modern comedy's great bromances. So it's no surprise, but it's also delightful, to find out that they were friends first and that they became friends when Frost hit on Pegg's girlfriend. Frost was working at a Mexican restaurant in London, he said in an interview with Collider.com, when he got an instant crush on the new waitress. He asked if she was sin- gle and she said no, she had a boy- friend named Simon. Frost, of course, wanted to hate him, but said later: "As soon as I saw him, I realized he was the real prize, not her." Frost was (and still is) some- what of a reluctant showman, suf- fering from anxiety and, as he puts it, "a fear of being looked at," but his new buddy, Pegg, convinced him to work past it. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Per- sonal replies will not be provided. Hollywood Q&A By Michelle Rose TV Media N etflix, Disney+, Ama- zon Prime, Apple TV+, HBO Max and more have been battling it out for your attention and for streaming supremacy, but if you haven't heard, a new player en- tered the game on Monday, Jan. 4. Discovery, Inc., the parent company of TLC, Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV and other networks, has thrown its hat into the streaming ring with the launch of discovery+, which went live in the U.S. with some 55,000 episodes. But what's interesting for television pundits and viewers alike is the fact that its offerings aren't just current or classic series — there's plenty of new and exclu- sive content, too. One such series that is only available on discovery+ is the new travelogue series "Bobby and Giada in Italy." Viewers get to tag along as Food Network stars Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis eat and drink their way through Italy — an envi- able task even in non-pandemic times. Flay has traveled extensively to Italy in the past. In fact, his love of the Amalfi Coast is be- hind a new restaurant concept that is replacing his Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas later this spring. His "Next Food Network Star" co-star also owns a restaurant at Caesars Palace (Pronto by Gia- da). The granddaughter of famed movie producer Dino De Laurentiis ("Serpico," 1973), De Laurentiis was born in Rome and grew up in Italy, so it makes sense for Flay to team up with her for a month-long explora- tion of the history, culture and flavors of Rome and Tuscany. (By the way, that month translates to four episodes for us viewers.) Another discovery+ exclusive is "Cakealikes," a comedic cake competition series that pits three teams of cake artists against each other. In each of the six episodes, the teams will race to create the most realistic, life-sized cake replicas of celeb- rities — from RuPaul in full drag to a meat dress-clad Lady Gaga — for a prize worth $10,000. This one has a bit a "Nailed It!" feel, and there was a hint of that in the way it was presented in the official news release from Lisa Holme, Group SVP of Con- tent and Commercial Strategy for discovery+. "We're excited to expand into the competition space at discovery+, a format that thrives on streaming plat- forms," Holme said. "Cakes are a perfect canvas for artistry and competition to collide, and 'Cakealikes' will show it's not as easy as social media may some- times make it seem." The big question is whether Discovery's focus will increas- ingly shift to streaming instead of linear TV. For now, at least, it looks like these exclusives are simply intended to shore up their streaming offerings. But with more exclusives on the way, in- cluding a cooking series with Lu- dacris, the streaming wars ap- pear to be intensifying in 2021. 'Bobby and Giada in Italy' among discovery+ exclusives 10 | Cooking this week Waltman Flooring 2 x 2" White Lilies N Paradise 2 x 1.5" Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis to host "Bobby and Giada in Italy"

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