On Jeopardy!, contestants give their answers in the form of a question. Scott Riccardi’s should’ve been, “How do you pronounce Schuylkill?”
During Tuesday’s episode, the New Jersey native and his two competitors were given a U.S. geography clue close to home: “Pottsville & Reading both lie on this river that enters the Delaware at Philadelphia.”
Riccardi answered the clue correctly, but only after host Ken Jennings paused to determine if his pronunciation — “Skol-kull” — was close enough to award him $1,600.
As least he got the correct river. TJ Fisher, a marketing specialist from San Francisco, guessed “Lackawanna,” nailing the pronunciation but missing the answer by more than 100 miles.
Paolo Pasco, a puzzle writer originally from San Diego, Calif., didn’t buzz in.
For the record, it’s pronounced “Skoo-kl.” One 15th century mapmaker just cut to the chase and labeled it the “Scool Kill River,” which would’ve been much easier to say and spell.
Jeopardy! is in the finals of its annual Tournament of Champions, which featured the show’s most recent top contestants. Pasco won Monday and Tuesday, and needs just one more victory to win the tournament and collect its $250,000 prize.
Michael Bertrando’s first brush with Kennett Square’s council three years ago was to discuss a parking issue at his family’s legacy sandwich spot, Sam’s Sub Shop. He saw his neighbors, listened to them, and started to see how the council worked. Eventually, he became something of a regular.
When the issue of short-term rentals came up last month, Bertrando had a lot of perspective: As an actor — you might haveseen him on HBO’s Task — he has traveled extensively. He has seen the negative effects short-term rentals can have had on communities from New York to Argentina to Brazil. He spoke up.
And then people started to drop by the sandwich shop, which he runs alongside his parents, suggesting that he put his name in for a vacant seat on the council.
The council voted last month to appoint Bertrando, 52, from a crowded field of applicants to fill former council member Julie Hamilton’s seat through December 2027. He was sworn in Monday.
The seat will be on the ballot for a four-year term in the 2027 general election. Hamilton resigned for a job in Texas, the Daily Local reported.
Long ties to Kennett Square
Council member is another job title the local businessman and Task stuntman can add to his resumé.
“I’m volunteering to help the residents of my community; that’s my primary goal,” he said in an interview Tuesday.
Bertrando — an actor, director, and producer — has worked at his family’s 80-year-old sub shop for decades. It drew him back home a few years ago, so he could help his aging parents run the shop.
But in the years between, Bertrando left Kennett Square to pursue acting, appearing in commercials for brands like Mercedes, McDonald’s, Nintendo, and Oscar Mayer; traveling the world as a professional clown; and working the improv comedy circuit in New York and Chicago.
His film career has continued back in Pennsylvania; Bertrando served as Mark Ruffalo’s stand-in and stunt double in Task, the HBO crime drama set in Delco. In his own productions, his hometown has seeped into his work. A short film, Italian Special, is set within Sam’s Sub Shop and Kennett Square.
Since returning to the borough, Bertrando has been a frequent visitor to council meetings, and advised the borough alongside other business leaders on what was going well, and what wasn’t, in Kennett Square.
Priorities on council
His professional career and his family’s long lineage in Kennett Square have shaped his perspectives on the borough, and what he thinks he can add as a council member.
He is motivated by the possible development of a new theater. Infusing more arts into the community would be beneficial, he said.
Having worked on Task, he saw how other municipalities the show filmed in benefited from an influx of revenue: from parking to hiring police for traffic control, to renting out locations in town, to ordering food for lunches and snacks, to coffee runs, to overnight stays in hotels.
“We have all the infrastructure needed for that to happen here in Kennett,” he said.
Both Task and fellow Pennsylvania-based crime drama Mare of Easttown mention Kennett Square, but neither used the borough for filming.
“When you have a theater or something arts-driven in the town, I think that’s a signal,” he said. “I think a theater can work as a beacon for revenue from other sources, like film production.”
Beyond the intersection of his passion for film and the borough, he said the development of the former National Vulcanized Fiber land, a large undeveloped parcel that is being remediated for contamination in soil from the industrial site, has been of concern for residents.
While the project would be years out even if ultimately approved, Bertrando said he would advocate for environmental transparency and affordable development that respects the existing neighborhoods.
He would also like to improve communication between the municipality and its residents — the longtime community members, like Bertrando’s family, and those who are choosing to relocate.
As he began his term on the other side of public comment, he said, he focused in, listening closely to what his neighbors were saying. He feels the burden to pay close attention, since he was appointed to the role, rather than elected.
“I really have to make the effort to listen to their concerns and really try the best ways to help in their concerns,” he said. “Sitting on the other side was exciting. It was important. It’s serious. It’s my town. I really care about it.”
LOS ANGELES — Catherine O’Hara, a gifted Canadian-born comic actor and SCTV alum who starred as Macaulay Culkin’s harried mother in two Home Alone movies and won an Emmy as the dramatically ditzy wealthy matriarch Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek, died Friday. She was 71.
Ms. O’Hara died at her home in Los Angeles “following a brief illness,” according to a statement from her representatives at Creative Artists Agency. Further details were not immediately available.
Ms. O’Hara’s career was launched with the Second City comedy group in Toronto in the 1970s. It was there that she first worked with Eugene Levy, who would become a lifelong collaborator — and her Schitt’s Creek costar. The two would be among the original cast of the sketch show SCTV, short for “Second City Television.” The series, which began on Canadian TV in the 1970s and aired on NBC in the U.S., spawned a legendary group of esoteric comedians that Ms. O’Hara would work with often, including Martin Short, John Candy, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, and Joe Flaherty.
Ms. O’Hara would win her first Emmy for her writing on the show.
Eugene Levy (from left), Annie Murphy, Daniel Levy, and Catherine O’Hara, cast members in the series “Schitt’s Creek,” pose for a 2018 portrait.
Her second, for best actress in a comedy series, came four decades later, for Schitt’s Creek, a career-capping triumph and the perfect personification of her comic talents. The small CBC series created by Levy and his son, Dan, about a wealthy family forced to live in a tiny town would dominate the Emmys in its sixth and final season. It brought Ms. O’Hara, always a beloved figure, a new generation of fans and put her at the center of cultural attention.
She told the Associated Press that she pictured Moira, a former soap opera star, as someone who had married rich and wanted to “remind everyone that (she was) special, too.” With an exaggerated Mid-Atlantic accent and obscure vocabulary, Moira spoke unlike anyone else, using words like “frippet,” “pettifogging” and “unasinous,” to show her desire to be different, Ms. O’Hara said. To perfect Moira’s voice, Ms. O’Hara would pore through old vocabulary books, “Moira-izing” the dialogue even further than what was already written.
Ms. O’Hara also won a Golden Globe and two SAG Awards for the role.
At first, Hollywood didn’t entirely know what to do with Ms. O’Hara and her scattershot style. She played oddball supporting characters in Martin Scorsese’s 1985 After Hours and Tim Burton’s 1988 Beetlejuice — a role she would reprise in the 2024 sequel.
She played it mostly straight as a horrified mother who accidentally abandoned her child in the two Home Alone movies. The films were among the biggest box office earners of the early 1990s and their Christmas setting made them TV perennials. They allowed her moments of unironic warmth that she didn’t get often.
“Mama, I thought we had time,” Culkin said on Instagram alongside an image from Home Alone and a recent recreation of the same pose. “I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you. But I had so much more to say. I love you.”
Meryl Streep, who worked with O’Hara in Heartburn, said in a statement that she “brought love and light to our world, through whipsmart compassion for the collection of eccentrics she portrayed.”
Roles in big Hollywood films didn’t follow Home Alone, but Ms. O’Hara would find her groove with the crew of improv pros brought together by Christopher Guest for a series of mockumentaries that began with 1996’s Waiting for Guffman and continued with 2000’s Best in Show, 2003’s A Mighty Wind, and 2006’s For Your Consideration.
Best in Show was the biggest hit and best-remembered film of the series. She and Levy play married couple Gerry and Cookie Fleck, who take their Norwich terrier to a dog show and constantly run into Cookie’s former lovers along the way.
“I am devastated,” Guest said in a statement to the AP. “We have lost one of the comic giants of our age.”
Born and raised in Toronto, Ms. O’Hara was the sixth of seven children in a Catholic family of Irish descent. She graduated from Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute, an alternative high school. She joined Second City in her early 20s, as an understudy to Gilda Radner before Radner left for Saturday Night Live. (Ms. O’Hara would briefly be hired for “SNL” but quit before appearing on air.)
Nearly 50 years later, her final roles would be as Seth Rogen’s reluctant executive mentor and freelance fixer on The Studio and a dramatic turn as therapist to Pedro Pascal and other dystopia survivors on HBO’s The Last of Us. Both earned her Emmy nominations. She would get 10 in her career.
“Oh, genius to be near you,” Pascal said on Instagram. “Eternally grateful. There is less light in my world.”
Earlier this month, Rogen shared a photo on Instagram of him and Ms. O’Hara shooting the second season of “The Studio.”
She is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, a production designer and director who was born in Yardley; sons Matthew and Luke; and siblings Michael O’Hara, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Maureen Jolley, Marcus O‘Hara, Tom O’Hara, and Patricia Wallice.
On the 800th episode of The Simpsons, the beloved show will send its cartoon family to Philly.
Now in its 37th season, the comedy will ring in the milestone on Feb. 15 with “Irrational Treasure,” a spoof on Nicolas Cage’s National Treasure franchise that filmed (a bit) in Philadelphia.
The episode will feature a slate of Philly-raised talent including Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson, The Bondsman actor Kevin Bacon, and The Roots drummer Questlove — as well as Boyz II Men, who will sing their own rendition of the show’s legendary theme song.
A still from “The Simpsons” episode “Irrational Treasure,” airing on Fox on Feb. 15.
“Marge’s crusade to get the family dog in better shape leads to her entering Santa’s Little Helper in canine agility competitions and a trip to the National Dog Show in Philadelphia,” reads the logline, according to Entertainment Weekly. “There, Marge and Homer suddenly find themselves — and the dog — mixed up in a historical conspiracy adventure worthy of a National Treasure movie.”
The Philly adventure will see Homer (Dan Castellaneta) chomping on a cheesesteak in front of Pat’s and Geno’s, and a Segway tour guide (voiced by Questlove). The Roots will also make an animated cameo. Given the dog show premise, could there also be a reference to Best in Show, another classic Philly film? We’ll have to wait and see.
The Roots make a cameo in a milestone episode of “The Simpsons.”
Brunson will voice a character named Adrienne (Yo! Is that perhaps a Rocky reference?), while Bacon takes on a Philly concierge.
Other guest stars include The Pittactors Noah Wyle, Katherine LaNasa, and Taylor Dearden voicing a doctor, nurse, and intern, respectively. (The HBO show is set in Pittsburgh, but the actors aren’t from there.)
Questlove will voice a Philly segway tour guide in “The Simpsons” special 800th episode, airing Feb. 15 on Fox.
It’s finally happening, Eagles fans. It took eight years, but ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series is set to relive one of the most memorable moments in Eagles history: the Philly Special.
ESPN released the official trailer for the documentary, which is appropriately set to Boyz II Men’s “Motownphilly.” The film, titled The Philly Special, was produced by NFL Films and directed by Angela Zender and Shannon Furman. It will debut on Feb. 6 at 9 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN app.
“Everybody loves the Rocky movies, but they were fiction,” Zender said in a release. “The amazing thing about The Philly Special is that it’s a real-life Rocky story. A group of five underdogs went up against the greatest dynasty in NFL history and pulled off an upset worthy of Hollywood. That underdog mentality is something that will resonate with people all over the country.”
The film features several familiar faces to Philly fans, including former head coach Doug Pederson and the four Eagles players who touched the ball on that play in Super Bowl LII: Jason Kelce, Corey Clement, Trey Burton, and Nick Foles.
But there are many others: owner Jeffrey Lurie, former safety Malcolm Jenkins, former coach Chip Kelly, and former offensive coordinator Frank Reich. Several local and national media members also appear, including Angelo Cataldi, Ray Didinger, Sal Paolantonio, and Kyle Brandt.
With all that Philly flavor, it’s no surprise one of the directors is a Birds supporter.
“I grew up an Eagles fan, so The Philly Special has been a dream project,” Furman said in a release. “It was surreal to stand in front of the statue of Doug Pederson and Nick Foles at the Linc with the five men who made one of the most iconic plays in NFL history happen. There’s no doubt fans will enjoy reliving the Eagles’ first Super Bowl as much as I did.”
While it’s been the better part of a decade since the play helped lead the 2017 Eagles past Tom Brady and the New England Patriots dynasty — capping an improbable run for Foles, who took over as the starter less than two months earlier — it’s not hard to find reminders around the Philadelphia area, from the statue outside Lincoln Financial Field to a multistory mural to the name of a holiday band featuring Kelce and a pair of current Eagles players.
“It’s been everywhere and on everything, transcending football to become part of Philadelphia’s cultural identity,” ESPN said in its release describing the film. “It’s not just a play; it’s a rallying cry for a city used to being overlooked. While Philadelphia might be the birthplace of America, the sixth-most populous city in the country lives and dies with an underdog mentality — one epitomized by the Founding Fathers, Rocky Balboa … and the Philly Special.”
Two days before Super Bowl LX, there will likely be a few more reminders, as fans across the area tune in to relive the play — and learn the story behind it — one more time.
The character Tracy, played by actor Samantha Cutaran, shows up to cover the unexpected success that the school has seen while operating out of an abandoned mall. (They were forced to relocate after Abbott’s furnace broke.)
Four weeks into the disruptive move, student grades begin improving and incidents go down.
“You’re changing the face of education,” Tracy tells the teachers. “So much so, we think this is worthy enough for the front page. You guys are rock stars!”
It would’ve been funny to see how each of these characters would act in an interview — Janine (creator Quinta Brunson) might be nervous about saying the wrong thing, Jacob (Chris Perfetti) would (hopefully) praise the free press, and Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) would be skeptical and uncooperative — but the show cuts directly to the newspaper delivery. (Yes, we’re still in print!)
“Extra, extra, read all about … us!” says Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) as she drops the paper on a table.
Designed by Abbott Elementary’s props and production team, the mock front page pictures the teachers and principal Ava (Janelle James) surrounded by students with the headline, “Do schools even need schools?”
A mock front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer as seen in Season 5 of ‘Abbott Elementary.’
Janine is thrilled that the article includes her quote, “Teaching is fun.”
“Did they use mine?” Melissa asks. “‘The Giants suck.’ Is that in there?”
(Sadly, it’s not.)
The reporter, in her objectivity, excluded that insight (no matter how many real readers would agree), but Melissa is still impressed.
“The Schemmenti family name on the front page,” she says, “and nowhere does it say ‘evasion, tax, or conviction.’”
The Inquirer calls the Abbott crew “heroes” for the work they have done, drumming up positive press for the school district and leading Scholastic to donate new school supplies.
But the excitement peters out when the shrewd guidance counselor (Marcella Arguello) points out that the school district continues to be vague whenever the teachers ask when they’ll be returning to Abbott. The students are performing so well, she reminds them, so there’s “no sense of urgency.”
They later discover that the district has pulled Abbott’s construction crew to address facility problems at other schools.
It’s not all bad news, though: While the rest of Abbott Elementary was caught up with The Inquirer (we love that for us), Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis) clashed with the new janitor who was sent to help him clean the massive mall. Miss Carroll is played by newcomer Khandi Alexander.
“I may be old-fashioned, but women have no business cleaning,” Mr. Johnson tells the camera. “You ask me? They need to get back to where they belong — in the Wall Street board room and coaching in the NFL.”
William Stanford Davis (Mr. Johnson), Tyler James Williams (Gregory Eddie), and Quinta Brunson (Janine Teagues) in “Abbott Elementary.”
The feud doesn’t last as the two bond over using the same homemade cleaning solution. It’s a sweet turn for the mysterious Mr. Johnson; audiences have heard many tales of his backstories, from being a Jill Scott stalker to a member of the Mafia, but he hasn’t yet had a romance plot.
Until this episode, that is.
Mr. Johnson’s odd jobs — some 400 before he came to Abbott — are part of the fun for Davis.
“I’m always surprised at what they want me to do, and I try to embrace that and have as much fun with it as I can,” said the actor in a recent interview with The Inquirer.
Davis himself has worked his fair share of odd jobs, throughout his career, like DJing a country western radio station, driving a limousine, cooking at a truck stop, and other “survival gigs,” as he calls them.
“I try to bring those real-life experiences to Mr. Johnson, because they weren’t all very pleasant either, but it helps me to continue to develop this character,” said Davis.
“As an actor, you’re supposed to be able to play everything that a human being can be, and so I try to connect to Mr. Johnson’s truth, even though his truth is a little stranger than most people’s … He’s an honest, living, breathing human being. He’s just a little different than everyone else, and he’s a little smarter than everyone else.”
There is one job that Davis hopes the writers will work into Mr. Johnson’s lore: “I’m waiting on them to make me an astronaut.”
Local fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race are bummed this morning after seeing Philadelphia drag queen Mandy Mango — just the second contestant to represent the city in the show’s history — get eliminated last night.
For the third week in a row, Mango landed in the bottom. She failed to impress the judges with her sketch comedy act playing an Amish woman competing in a butter churning competition; her overly sexual take wound up being a bit too outlandish, and her runway look as a dashing deer couldn’t save her.
“I can’t say I’m too surprised, I’m not delusional,” Mango said on Untucked: RuPaul’s Drag Race following the episode. “I accept this with grace but I’m extremely sad.”
Despite the loss, of course, Mango remains a star at home in Philadelphia.
An HIV nurse by day, Mango (aka Sigfried Aragona) grew up in Lansdale and attended West Chester University before moving to Center City, where she lives with a roommate and their four cats named Wasabi, Miso, Soy, and Sriracha. The 29-year-old performer frequently appears at Frankie Bradley’s, her home bar.
Competing on Drag Race was an exciting challenge for Mango, who says she’s received an outpouring of support from fans in Philly and as far as the Philippines, where her family is from. She’s thrilled to spotlight Philly’s drag scene for a national audience, following Season 16 runner-up and Miss Congeniality winner Sapphira Cristál. (Cristál helped Mango prepare her audition tapes.)
“Especially in the context of Drag Race, Philly hasn’t been [seen much]. I feel like we’re kind of on the up-and-up of people really recognizing our drag and seeing what we’re about,” said Mango. “Hopefully I got to show off that Philly is full of fighters. We’re full of performers, and we all have a little bit of quirkiness and silliness to us.”
We asked Mango about her perfect Philly day.
9 a.m.
I’d probably start off by going to Planet Fitness, ideally, to get my little morning workout in. That’s all I need. And then I will get breakfast, probably over at the Reading Terminal. I love Beiler’s Doughnuts, a great post-workout meal [laughs], or honestly, Miller’s Twist with the pretzels.
Mandy Mango and DD Fuego face off in a lip synch battle on episode two of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 18. Mango stunned the judges with her energetic dance skills.
Noon
Come home and watch TV, catch up on my day, take a nap. Love a nap. But a lot of my friends are foodies, so on a nice day we like to be out and about.
1 p.m.
Just walk around Chinatown and get bubble tea. Tea Do is my usual spot. I like to get a little taro bubble tea, but if I need a pick-me-up, I’ll get the Zen’s Awakening. It’s a little chocolatey, really sweet, with coffee in it.
We like to explore the little cute shops in Chinatown, like Ebisu and Little Seven House. Check out the little toys, see if my friend needs another Labubu.
Ebisu Life Store in Chinatown.
Then we’ll probably eat somewhere in Chinatown. We’re always checking out different spots, but a go-to for us is definitely Ocean Harbor for dim sum and Pho 20. There’s something about pho restaurants, when it’s just “pho” and the number after it, you know it’s legit. Also Pho 75 in South Philly is one of our faves. Philly has some of the best Vietnamese food.
3 p.m.
I probably will go ahead and get back home, go over the little pictures that I took with my friends around the city and make sure we post those, and then take a nap.
Upstairs bar at Strangelove’s, 216 S. 11th St.
6 p.m. to midnight
I like to go out in drag sometimes, if I have the time. So I probably get mug and get ready to go out. I really love Strangelove’s, that’s probably where I start and get a drink and some food. They have arcade games in the back, which I recently played — I got into a really heated Mortal Kombat tournament. I made it past the first round then one of my designer friends [who helped with my Drag Race submission] Elias [Gurrola] surprisingly hustled me! I will come back and avenge myself.
Mandy Mango on the runway on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 18, episode two.
I’ll eat dinner at Strangelove’s, get some of the flatbread. I love a finger food when I’m in drag, so pizzas or chicken tenders are great. It’s gonna sound basic but their fries are actually so good.
Then I’ll bop around to U Bar, it’s a nice place to get another little drink. Then we’ll make our way down the alley to Tavern [on Camac] to really get dancing and start the night. You can usually catch me on the upper floor. I love it especially if Carl Michaels or Chris Urban are DJing.
Midnight
Around midnight, we move to Frankie Bradley’s, and check out the disco side and the upstairs club side. Catch [DJs] Drootrax or Gina. I usually end up dancing a little too hard because they’re always killing it.
Boneless, skinless, pretzel-encrusted chicken from Wishbone.
2 a.m.
I get my little post, post-club meal at Wishbone. They’re open till 4 a.m. They have pretzel-breaded chicken and baked mac and cheese. I get one white, one dark, half a pound of mac, and a biscuit.
My schedule sounds chaotic, but it’s sort of ideal for me.
Since premiering in 2021, the Emmy-winning sitcom from West Philly-raised comedy star Quinta Brunson has regularly featured local organizations like the Franklin Institute, Please Touch Museum, and the Phillies.
In the upcoming episode, airing Wednesday, Brunson will spotlight another hometown institution: The Philadelphia Inquirer.
For now, the details of the plot are still under wraps but we can confirm that the episode, titled “Mall Part 3: Heroes,” will include a character who is an Inquirer reporter. We can also confirm that the actor in that role is not an actual Inquirer reporter.
This season, the titular Philly public school has been thrown into chaos. The building’s furnace broke before winter break so the school district moved Abbott into an abandoned mall, where teachers need to create classrooms out of vacant stores.
The titular school temporarily relocates to an abandoned mall in Season 5 of “Abbott Elementary.”
The mall building has had its own problems — including a ludicrously large Benjamin Franklin head that routinely announced shop discounts before plummeting to its destruction — but the Abbott crew tries valiantly to keep teaching.
“After the faculty finds surprising success operating the school in the mall, they quickly realize they are being taken advantage of,” reads the description of the upcoming episode. “Meanwhile, a new custodian arrives to join Mr. Johnson.”
There are few details about the new custodian character. But, on Thursday, Deadline reported that Abbott Elementary has cast actor Khandi Alexander (the unforgettable scene-stealer who played Olivia Pope’s fearless mom on Scandal) in an undisclosed recurring role.
Actor William Stanford Davis plays the eccentric and beloved Mr. Johnson, who famously runs a tight ship when it comes to his janitorial responsibilities.
“Mr. Johnson gets overwhelmed because this mall is huge, and he has to clean it up, so they bring some help in. That’s all I’m gonna tell you about that part,” Davis told The Inquirer in a recent interview. “The help, they don’t get along — he doesn’t like anyone in his territory.”
William Stanford Davis (Mr. Johnson), Tyler James Williams (Gregory Eddie), and Quinta Brunson (Janine Teagues) in ‘Abbott Elementary.’
His character faced a similar personality challenge in the crossover episode with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, when the Paddy’s Pub misfit crew came to the school to fulfill their court-ordered community service. Danny DeVito’s character, Frank, was tasked with helping Mr. Johnson with a raccoon infestation and the two feuded the entire time.
Off-screen, though, Davis remembered that collaboration with DeVito fondly.
“There’s a scene where he’s in the cage. [DeVito] was already out there in the cage, in the mud, eating the chum before Tyler [James Williams, who plays Gregory Eddie] and I even got on the set,” Davis recalled. “I was like, ‘Tyler, I gotta up my game, man.’ This guy, he’s 10 years older than me — and I’m not a spring chicken — and he’s out here laying in the mud ready to go. It was so much fun.”
(Always Sunny also once featured an Inquirer reporter character, who called the pub “the worst bar in Philadelphia,” a claim not backed by the real Inquirer.)
Another fun highlight for Davis’ character this season was in the “Ballgame” episode. The cast and crew of Abbott Elementary took over Citizens Bank Park in August and filmed live at the game where Kyle Schwarber made history.
The “Abbott Elementary” cast meet Kyle Schwarber and the Phanatic on the field at Citizens Bank Park.
“The fact that Schwarber hit four home runs out of the park that night, that was historic, and he was going to be a guest on our show — you can’t ask for a better story,” said Davis.
On screen, one character suspects Mr. Johnson is secretly the Phanatic. It’s not totally far-fetched, given the custodian’s many hilarious backstories, from senator to mobster.
Will The Inquirer reporter uncover something new about Mr. Johnson’s mysterious past? We’ll have to tune in to find out.
“Abbott Elementary” airs weekly on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Actor Amanda Seyfried put a major spotlight on her hometown of Allentown during her appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert this week.
Following the Golden Globes — where she was nominated for best actress in a mini-series for Kensington-set show Long Bright River and best actress in a musical or comedy movie for her recent film, The Testament of Ann Lee — Seyfried discussed the real-life historical figure she played. Lee founded the Shakers religious group in the 18th century.
But before that, she spent a few minutes joking about Allentown.
Colbert’s recurring Community Calendar segment invites celebrity guests from small towns to advertise “actual events that are actually happening in and around their actual hometowns,” the host explained. Previous featured guests were Nick Offerman, Melissa McCarthy, Adam Driver, and Wilmington native Aubrey Plaza.
Seyfried joined Colbert on a set reminiscent of old talk show sets from public access TV (complete with grainy camera quality) to hype happenings in Allentown and greater Lehigh County.
“As we like to say, you’ll be ‘all in’ on All-entown,’ said Seyfried.
As Ann Lee, Amanda Seyfried portrays a woman at the center of the Shaker religious movement in America. William Rexer/Searchlight Pictures
The pair highlighted several local businesses and quirky events, including Colonial Pizza Easton’s all-you-can-eat pasta Wednesdays, a board game night at Quakertown’s Naugle Funeral & Cremation Service, speed dating for seniors at Tipsy’s Bar & Lounge, and a pirate-themed murder mystery at Stony Run Winery.
“As always, the killer is scurvy,” Seyfried quipped.
At Easton’s State Theatre, Seyfried added, audiences can see the Naked Magicians next month. “Come for the jokes about a ‘magic wand,’ stay to see where they pull a rabbit out of,” she said.
The Mamma Mia star also shouted out the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition Fastnacht Day.
“Celebrate the last day before Lent by heading to Mary Ann Donut Kitchen for Fastnacht Day, where you can enjoy some traditional Pennsylvania Dutch treats made with lard, sugar, fat, butter, and sometimes potatoes — which is why all the items come with the warning, ‘May contain trace amounts of vegetable,’” she said.
“Well it’s not everyday that we are mentioned on national television!” wrote the bakery on Facebook. “Thank you and we love you, Amanda!”
Seyfried concluded the segment with another funny fictional saying: “As we like to say, you don’t have to be high to love Lehigh. But it doesn’t hurt!”
The biggest crowd pop at Xfinity Mobile Arena during Monday’s Pride Night was for Christian Dvorak’s breakaway goal, the Flyers’ only goal of the game.
But the second-biggest was for “All the Things She Said,” a song that, only two months ago, was just another early 2000s club hit — until Heated Rivalry turned it into a phenomenon.
Heated Rivalry, the hit Crave original series that quickly became an international sensation during its six-episode run on HBO Max, is an adaptation of a novel by the same name, written by Rachel Reid. It’s the love story of two fictional hockey superstars, Canadian Shane Hollander and Russian Ilya Rozanov, who were the top two picks in the same draft.
The show has become one of HBO Max’s top series in the two months since its first episode aired, jumping from 30 million streaming minutes in its opening week to 324 million streaming minutes by its sixth. Casey Bloys, HBO Max’s CEO, described the show as a “word-of-mouth sensation” to the New York Times.
“There are so many ways to get hooked on hockey and, in the NHL’s 108-year history, this might be the most unique driver for creating new fans. See you all at the rink,” an NHL spokesperson said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter.
A small cottage industry of hockey podcasts analyzing the show has emerged, with What Chaos! and Empty Netters earning hundreds of thousands of views on episodes about the show, including interviews with the cast and creators.
But has the show — which wouldn’t exactly win awards for an accurate on-ice depiction of the game — led to real growth in hockey fandom?
According to StubHub, it has. The ticketing site said last week that it saw a 40% increase in interest in hockey tickets during the show’s run and there’s no shortage of fans online who claim they found the game through Heated Rivalry, which has already been renewed for a second season.
The LGBTQ+ community has had a challenging relationship with the NHL over the last several years, following former Flyer Ivan Provorov’s decision to opt out of wearing a specialty jersey on Flyers’ Pride Night in 2023, which led to a brief ban on optional Pride tape and a ban on wearing any specialty jerseys on the ice.
The Flyers hosted their annual Pride Night on Monday.
But other former Flyers, like Scott Laughton, were extremely involved in Pride initiatives, something Philly natives Trish Grow and Autumn McCloskey, both lifelong Flyers fans, said helped them feel like the Flyers community was inclusive. The explosion of the show helped draw in more of their friends.
“I have people who would never come near a hockey rink texting me like, ‘You’ve watched this, right?’” Grow said. “I’m like, ‘Oh, honey, do you want to come to a game? You can see them do the stretches, but you’ve got to learn the rules.’”
One of their friends took them up on their offer, and, after reading the book and watching the show, attended his first-ever hockey game for Pride Night.
He wasn’t the only one. Dale Lyster, who is from Coatesville and came to the game wearing a Rozanov jersey, said he’d attended a few games over the years, but after hearing friends talk about Heated Rivalry on social media, he decided to tune in and quickly fell in love with the show — and then with hockey.
“I’ve always liked it, but I’ve never really been into it,” Lyster said. “Now, seeing more representation in the hockey world, it opened my eyes more.”
Newlyweds Kary and Kate Van Collins of Fairmount feel similarly. Their last hockey game was Flyers Pride Night a year ago, and Heated Rivalry renewed their interest in the sport. Kary made them custom Hollander and Rozanov sweatshirts to wear to the game.
“I am a queer, neurodivergent, half-Asian person, so I really saw myself in the character of Shane Hollander,” Kary said. “I think it’s just very needed right now, especially in the political climate, to have these positive stories surrounding queer love.”
Added Kate: “It’s also reassuring that queer people belong in sports. I think a lot of people in the community maybe don’t feel welcome in the sports scene, so maybe it’s a door that’s open so people feel more welcome.”
The show’s viral success has even caught its stars off guard. Connor Storrie, who plays Rozanov, said Tuesday on Late Night with Seth Meyers that one of the biggest surprises was the show’s reach, and how it hasn’t just been gay men who have enjoyed it.
“You think of male romance, you think it’s for gay men,” he told Meyers. “But there’s been all walks of life, predominantly women, who enjoy it.”
Groups are even popping up to help bring fans together. Shannon Herbst of Mount Laurel has loved hockey and been a Flyers season ticket-holder for years, so she knew Heated Rivalry would be right up her alley.
“There’s actually a group of us through Threads that got together that are from Philly and South Jersey, and there’s so many people on there that really want to get into hockey, specifically the Flyers, and really want to learn more about the game from the show,” Herbst said.
Hudson Williams (left) and Connor Storrie star as hockey players who fall in love in “Heated Rivalry.”
Heated Rivalry also has reached the world of professional athletes. Hudson Williams, who plays Hollander, told Andy Cohen on his radio show that multiple closeted athletes have reached out to him and to Reid since the show’s premiere to share how the show has impacted them. No NHL player has ever come out as gay, although NHL draft pick Luke Prokop, who came out in 2021, currently is playing in the American Hockey League with the Edmonton Oilers’ organization.
That might not change any time soon, but fans felt that the success of Heated Rivalry was a first step for improving inclusion in the sport for players and for fans.
“It’s definitely opened the door,” Herbst said. “Obviously, there’s still more work that needs to be done, but I think it really planted that seed and made more people comfortable with having that conversation within the NHL and the sport itself.”
