In a seismic shift for one of television’s marquee events, the Academy Awards will depart ABC and begin streaming on YouTube beginning in 2029, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday.
ABC will continue to broadcast the annual ceremony through 2028. That year will mark the 100th Oscars.
But starting in 2029, YouTube will retain global rights to streaming the Oscars through 2033. YouTube will effectively be the home to all things Oscars, including red-carpet coverage, the Governors Awards, and the Oscar nominations announcement.
“We are thrilled to enter into a multifaceted global partnership with YouTube to be the future home of the Oscars and our year-round Academy programming,” said academy chief executive Bill Kramer and academy president Lynette Howell Taylor. “The Academy is an international organization, and this partnership will allow us to expand access to the work of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience possible — which will be beneficial for our Academy members and the film community.”
While major award shows have added streaming partnerships, the YouTube deal marks the first of the big four — the Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, and Tonys — to completely jettison broadcast television. It puts one of the most watched non-NFL broadcasts in the hands of Google. YouTube boasts some 2 billion viewers.
The Academy Awards will stream for free worldwide on YouTube, in addition to YouTube TV subscribers. It will be available with audio tracks in many languages, in addition to closed captioning.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The Oscars are one of our essential cultural institutions, honoring excellence in storytelling and artistry,” said Neal Mohan, chief executive of YouTube. “Partnering with the academy to bring this celebration of art and entertainment to viewers all over the world will inspire a new generation of creativity and film lovers while staying true to the Oscars’ storied legacy.”
The Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC has been the broadcast home to the Oscars for almost its entire history. NBC first televised the Oscars in 1953, but ABC picked up the rights in 1961. Aside from a period between 1971 and 1975, when NBC again aired the show, the Oscars have been on ABC.
“ABC has been the proud home to The Oscars for more than half a century,” the network said in a statement. ”We look forward to the next three telecasts, including the show’s centennial celebration in 2028, and wish the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences continued success.”
The 2025 Academy Awards were watched by 19.7 million viewers on ABC, a slight increase from the year before. That remains one of the biggest TV broadcasts of the year, though less than half of Oscar ratings at their peak. In 1999, more than 55 million watched James Cameron’s Titanic win best picture.
The film academy, in choosing YouTube over other options such as Netflix or NBC Universal/Peacock, selected a platform with a wide-ranging and massive audience but one without as much of an established production infrastructure.
Still, more people — especially young people — watch YouTube than any other streaming platform. According to Nielsen, YouTube accounted for 12.9% of all television and streaming content consumed in November. Netflix ranked second with an 8.3% market share.
Maya Nazareth was 17, living in Malaysia, when she started training in Brazilian jiujitsu and discovered the discomfort and limitations of women’s fightwear.
She kept adjusting her sports bra, fixing her rash guard and pants while trying to focus on the martial art that demands immense discipline and control. Nazareth, who struggled with body image issues, said the feeling of discomfort and frustration affected how she moved in the gym and in the world.
Back in the U.S, as a “naive” college student with $2,000 to her name, she dreamed of building Alchemize Fightwear, an apparel brand to empower women fighters across the world.
She founded the brand in 2020. Five years later, she won $300,000 on ABC’s Shark Tank, backed by Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, Lori Greiner, and Kendra Scott in exchange for a 15% stake.
Maya Nazareth at the Vault Jiu Jitsu, Morton, PA., is the founder and CEO of Alchemize Fightwear, Friday, December 5, 2025.
“I was having my chest exposed, my stomach exposed, and my pants fell during training,” she said. “That’s a huge barrier for women to train in these sports, especially in front of 50-plus men in a training room. I just thought I could create something better.”
Nazareth, who grew up in Malaysia and all over New Jersey, realized that she shared her reality with many women in male-dominated gyms and martial arts academies, who are often led to quit before they experience the confidence and power martial arts brought to Nazareth.
“Jiujitsu transformed me into someone who felt strong, powerful, and confident, but the gear I was training in didn’t make me feel that way,” she said.
While studying international business at the University of Delaware, Nazareth placed her first purchase order of rash guards from a manufacturer, trying them out herself and putting them to test.
Her college apartment was Alchemize’s first headquarters, and her car was amobile sales office.
She started by surveying 1,500 fighters, from amateur athletes to professional competitors, asking them what elements would make their apparel more comfortable and functional for their specific disciplines.
At left is Ashley Razzano with Genisis Medina-Arce in embroidered Gi’s by Alchemize Fightwear. They are shown at the Vault Jiu Jitsu, Morton, PA, Friday, December 5, 2025.
Nazareth reshaped necklines in the tops, removed center seams from the bottoms, inserted silicone waistbands, and built in sports bras for added support and comfort.
What she offered was both stylish and functional for women fighters in jiujitsu, wrestling, and later boxing, Muay Thai, and other disciplines. They were all “customer-centric designs,” she said, that made for a more fluid and functional fit for martial arts practitioners. She even tapped MMA fighter Michelle Waterson to design a collection of her own.
“It’s nothing revolutionary,” Nazareth, 27, said, “but it’s really just thinking about the customer first and what they need from their fight wear.”
When she formed the brand in 2020, she built a company for every woman, in and outside the gym.
“Moms are fighters. People going through medical diagnosis are fighters. People trying to push through in their careers are fighters. And I think fighting is just a natural human movement that we all innately know how to do, want to do, and need training around,” Nazareth said.
“I really love that we have created an avenue for more women to step into that. I think it’s really powerful to say, ‘Hey, it’s safe to show up and express yourself in this way.’”
Ashley Razzano with embroidered gi from Alchemize Fightwear, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.
Under the Alchemize brand, Nazareth hosts free self-defense classes for survivors of domestic and sexual assault. She also organizes grappling camps in gyms and martial arts academies throughout the region to increase accessibility for women athletes.
“I’m personally passionate about what fight sports can offer survivors of assault and of domestic violence,” Nazareth said. “Just being able to make fight sports accessible to the everyday woman who may think, ‘I’m not a fighter,’ or who doesn’t see themselves rolling on the mat with a bunch of sweaty men. I think that’s something I’m really proud of and something I would like to continue doing.”
Maya Nazareth at the Vault Jiu Jitsu, Morton, PA. She is the founder and CEO of Alchemize Fightwear, Friday, December 5, 2025.
Her work and advocacy haven’t gone unnoticed. In December 2024, the Fairmount resident was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for groundbreaking work in women’s sportswear and retail.
Less than a year later, she was pitching on Shark Tank.
She received an email from the Shark Tank production team in March 2025 and immediately questioned its legitimacy.
“I try not to overcommit to an opportunity before it happens,” Nazareth said.
Despite her initial suspicion, she filled out the application and took the phone screening. Two months later, she flew out to California to compete on the show.
”You never know if you’re going to actually air on the show or what’s going to happen,“ she said. ”But I started my business for the love of the sport and because I wanted to do something cool for women’s jiujitsu. So, every single opportunity that comes up, I try to do my best. It was really exciting.”
As she practiced her script, Nazareth took a moment to reflect on her journey. “I kept saying to myself, this is not the time to play small,” she said. “This is the time to be courageous.”
When she walked out to present, Nazareth said she “blacked out.” But her proposal sparked immediate interest from Ohanian.
She started out seeking a $250,000 investment in exchange for a 5% stake in Alchemize, and ended with $300,000 and a shared deal with Ohanian, Greiner, and Scott.
“It was really emotional and really, really cool,” she said.
In the months since the episode’s airing Oct. 22, Nazareth said the company has seen increased sales and a growing list of new customers. Having weathered the chaos of Black Friday, she looks forward to the slower Christmas season before things pick back up at the top of the year.
Genesis Medina-Arce wears an embroidered gi from Alchemize Fightwear, Friday, December 5, 2025.
She’s excited about the new developments at Alchemize. In 2026, Nazareth and her business partner, Suzette “Suliy” Melendez, will launch the flagship Alchemize Fightwear Athlete Program.
The online program will support athletes as they scale their current and future businesses in and outside of combat sports. Melendez said the move aligns with Nazareth’s mission to empower women in sports and business.
“We want to give other women opportunities outside of jiujitsu and give them a platform to scale,” Melendez said. “Being able to have shoulders to lean on, on the mats or off the mats, helps create community with our events.”
Nazareth also plans to expand Alchemize’s sports camps, making it the “South by Southwest” of women’s combat.
Through all these ventures, the goal remains the same, she says: creating pathways for women to enter martial arts and encouraging them to “own their inner ferocity.”
Despite President Donald Trump’s wishes, Jimmy Kimmel won’t be going off the air any time soon.
ABC announced the network signed a one-year contract extension with the late-night host on Monday.
Kimmel’s previous, multiyear contract was set to expire in May. The extension means Jimmy Kimmel Live! will continue through at least May of 2027.
The news comes on the heels of Kimmel’s temporary suspension following remarks he made about the assassination of conservative activist, Charlie Kirk. Trump praised the suspension at the time.
Following a public outcry, ABC lifted the suspension, and Kimmel returned to the air with stronger ratings than he had before.
Since then, Trump has continued to take jabs at Kimmel, who has resumed making jokes and digs at the president’s expense, performing a 10-minute monologue on Trump and the Jeffrey Epstein files in one episode and ragging on his approval ratings.
“I’ve watched some of the people that host,” Trump said. “Jimmy Kimmel was horrible, and some of these people, if I can’t beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent, then I don’t think I should be president.” (Kimmel has never hosted the Kennedy Center Honors. He has hosted the Oscars four times.)
Trump has continued to set his sights on other late-night TV hosts, including Stephen Colbert — whose show will end in May with CBS citing financial reasons for its cancelation — Jon Stewart, and, most recently, Seth Meyers.
Stewart will remain at his weekly post on The Daily Show for another year, Paramount, a Skydance Corporation, announced last month. Meyers’ Late Night with Seth Meyers is under contract with NBC through 2028.
Philadelphia native Sheinelle Jones will be taking over Hoda Kotb’s chair on Today.
Jones will join Jenna Bush Hager as a permanent co-host starting Jan. 12, Hager announced on Tuesday morning, after nearly a year of rotating 60 fill-ins, including Jones, to find the perfect person to fill the shoes left by Kotb earlier this year.
During her stint as a fill-in co-host in September, Jones exchanged pleasantries with Hager as if it were a first date.
“Hopefully this will be a date where you walk away and go, ‘OK, hopefully she calls me tomorrow!’” Jones said to Hager on Today.
“You’re coming back,” Hager promised.
Today with Jenna & Sheinelle marks a new chapter for Jones, since she joined the chatty morning show in 2014. Before hitting the national stage, she worked at local station Fox 29 for nine years, including as co-host of Good Day Philadelphia.
Left to Right: Jennaphr Frederick, Sheinelle Jones, and Sue Serio of Fox Good Day Philadelphia backstage preparing for The Career Wardrobe fashion show on Saturday, June 9, 2011, at the Hyatt at the Bellevue.
The announcement comes just months after the death of Jones’ husband, Uche Ojeh, 45, who died in May while battling an aggressive form of brain cancer. After returning to Today in September, she joined Hager live to share her experiences: “My coach was gone, right? My life partner. The days after my first week were tough. Because it’s my new normal,” she said.
The two met as college sweethearts at Northwestern University when Jones, a freshman, showed Ojeh, a high school senior, around campus. Married in 2007 at Rittenhouse Square’s Church of the Holy Trinity, the couple would later have their son Kayin, 15, and twins Clara and Uche, 12.
Jones was on leave since January to care for her family before returning in September to her post at the 9 a.m. show alongside Dylan Dreyer, Al Roker, and Craig Melvin.
NBC News executive vice president Libby Leist and Jenna & Friends executive producer Talia Parkinson-Jones celebrated Jones’ addition to the show.
“Sheinelle has been a cherished member of NBC News for more than 11 years,” the executive said in a joint statement. “From standout interviews with newsmakers and celebrities to her iconic Halloween performances as Beyoncé and Tina Turner, she has captivated audiences time and again.”
The Golden Globe Awards on Mondayannounced its nominees for the best in television and movies, and with it, another chance for victoryfor regional productions and local actors.
The ceremony airsJan. 11 with awards given in 28 categories.
The Abbott Elementary crew visits the Always Sunny gang at Paddy’s Pub in the “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “Abbott Elementary” crossover.
In its fifth season, Abbott Elementary has already won the hearts of Philadelphians and three Golden Globes. Still, this wholesome band of teachers, starring Philly-native Quinta Brunson, isup again for best musical or comedy television series.
HBO’s Task and Peacock’s Long Bright River, two crime thrillers set in Philadelphia neighborhoods and suburbs, both have leading actors nominated for Golden Globes this season.
Mark Ruffalo as Tom, Alison Oliver as Lizzie, Thuso Mbedu as Aleah, and Fabien Frankel as Anthony in “Task.”
Amanda Seyfried (left) and Asleigh Cummings in the Kensington-set Peacock series “Long Bright River,” based on the novel of the same name by Temple professor and novelist Liz Moore.
Liz Moore’s crime novel Long Bright Riverturned heads when it was released in 2020, detailing the harrowing story of a Kensington police officer, played in the series by Amanda Seyfried, searching for her sister in a cat-and-mouse chase with a killer targeting sex workers. While the television adaptation was filmed in New York City, the bulk of the show takes place in Kensington and other Philadelphia neighborhoods, with Seyfried grabbing a nomination for best female performance in a dramatic limited series.
Hometown stand-up icon Kevin Hart was back to his roots with a new comedy special, Kevin Hart: Acting My Age, tackling injuries after 40, Chick-fil-A’s spicy chicken sandwich consequences, and slipping in the shower. He earned a nomination for best stand-up comedy performance on television.
Host Kevin Hart speaks during the BET Awards on Monday, June 9, 2025, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
And through a few degrees of separation, several other nomineescan be claimed as Philly-adjacent.
Hannah Einbinder, whose father is from Doylestown, accepts the award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for “Hacks” during the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Take Hacks actress Hannah Einbinder, who shouted “Go Birds!” during her speech after winning an Emmy for best supporting actress in a comedy series, and was filmed by the evening news crying in the streets of Los Angeles after the Eagles’ 2018 Super Bowl win.
She may not be from Philadelphia (her father, actor Chad Einbinder, is from Doylestown), but she reps the city. HBO’s Hacks, which follows a veteran Las Vegas comic mentoring a young comedy writer, is up for best musical or comedy television series, with Einbinder and costar Jean Smart nominated for best supporting female actor and best actor in a musical or comedy series, respectively.
And there are some broader Pennsylvania and New Jersey ties among the nominees.
The breakout medical drama The Pitt, which takes place in the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Center, depicts a 15-hour shift in an emergency room, split across 15 one-hour episodes. The Pitt’s lead actor, Noah Wyle (known for his role as Dr. John Carter in NBC’s ER), is up against Ruffalo for best male actor in a dramatic television series.
After a major overhaul of the award show in recent years, including the sunsetting of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association due to ethics and diversity concerns, the new Golden Globe Awards are judged by a panel of 400 journalists from across the world.
The Golden Globes will be broadcast live on Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. Philadelphia time on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
Chris Emmanouilides, 63, of Rutledge, Delaware County, digital media director, award-winning filmmaker, TV executive producer, cameraman, teacher, and mentor, died Saturday, April 26, of a heart attack at his home.
Born in Philadelphia and reared in Los Angeles, Mr. Emmanouilides followed his then-girlfriend back to the city in the 1980s, earned a master’s degree in radio, TV, and film at Temple University, and crafted a 36-year career as an independent filmmaker, vice president of programming for Banyan Productions, cofounder and chief content officer of the VuNeex video marketing platform, and director of digital media at the King of Prussia-based American College of Financial Services.
He specialized in independent documentary films, commercials, and early forms of reality TV, and cofounded Parallax Pictures in the 1990s. His films were screened at the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema, the Sundance Film Festival, and elsewhere around the world.
His 40-minute film Archive premiered at the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival in 2013 and earned the Audience Choice Orpheus Award. His 1989 film Suelto! earned first prize at the 1990 Sundance Slice of Life Film Festival.
In 1994, Inquirer movie critic Desmond Ryan called Mr. Emmanouilides’ film Remains “especially noteworthy.” In 1997, The Ad and the Egoearned the top prize at the San Francisco International Film Festival.
In 2001, critic Damon C. Williams reviewed TalkFast for the Daily News. Mr. Emmanouilides was the film’s director of photography. Williams said: “It does an incredible job in detailing the desire, dedication and heartbreak that go with pursuing a dream. It also shows that some do indeed find success in chasing their dreams.”
From 1997 to 2014, Mr. Emmanouilides was an executive producer, director of special projects, and vice president of programing at Philadelphia-based Banyan Productions. Working with the Discovery Channel, the Travel Channel, the Food Network, TLC, Lifetime, and other TV outlets, he and his colleagues created thousands of hours of popular award-winning programming. Among his series credits are Travelers, Reunion, Trading Spaces, Deliver Me, Cruises We Love, and A Wedding Story.
“What we pull off in four days — the emotions and the intimacy — is extremely rare on television,” he told The Inquirer in a 1998 story about the Reunion series. “It’s a constant push, trying to make a high-quality show on a limited budget, with limited time. And the question is, will it find an audience?”
He worked with Reader’s Digest and Hope Paige Designs on video marketing projects at VuNeex in 2015, and spent the last 10 years as a senior producer and director of digital media at the American College of Financial Services. “Chris was relentless in the pursuit of quality,” Jared Trexler, senior vice president at American College, said in an online tribute. “He was inquisitive, introspective, and always learning. Most importantly, he was kind, caring, and funny.”
Mr. Emmanouilides won the 2013 Audience Choice Orpheus Award in Los Angeles.
In tributes, colleagues called him “an amazing man and incredible coworker” and “very passionate about our field.” One said: “He always brought genuine fun and energy to whatever we were doing.”
Gregarious and energetic, Mr. Emmanouilides taught film and production courses at Temple, the University of Toledo, the Scribe Video Center, and the old University of the Arts. He lectured at Drexel and Villanova Universities, spoke at conferences and seminars, and taught English-language classes in Greece and Spain.
He was a longtime member and onetime board president of the Philadelphia Independent Film and Video Association, and he mentored production novices at Scribe Video in Center City and elsewhere. “These newcomers don’t respect the conventions of film that much,” he told The Inquirer in 1993. “They’re trying to find their own voice. So they’re finding new ways to tell stories.”
Christopher George Emmanouilides was born Aug. 31, 1961. His family moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles when he was young, and he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy at Colorado College in 1983 and a master’s degree at Temple in 1992.
Mr. Emmanouilides was a talented cameraman and photographer.
He met Sandra Enck at an independent film event in Philadelphia, and they married in 2004 and had a daughter, Isabella. He doted on his family, and especially enjoyed seeing films with his wife and decorating his daughter’s breakfast pancakes with eyes, nose, and mouth cut from fresh fruit.
“We took their pictures, and we eventually had hundreds of faces from countless mornings together,” his daughter said on her website facethemorning.com. “None were the same, and each seemed to have something to say.”
His wife said: “We’d see a film and then talk about it for three days.”
Mr. Emmanouilides was an avid reader and photographer. He liked to fly-fish, ski, hike, and cook.
This article about Mr. Emmanouilides (left) appeared in the Daily News in 1997.
He had an infectious laugh, performed magic tricks, listened to the Grateful Dead, and followed the Eagles and Phillies. “He was a big thinker,” his wife said. “He was buoyant and a powerful life force. You never forgot that you met him.”
In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Emmanouilides is survived by three sisters, a brother, and other relatives.
Celebrations of his life were held earlier.
Donations in his name may be made to the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010.
LOS ANGELES — A doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry in the weeks before the Friends star’s overdose death was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on Wednesday.
Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the sentence plus two years of probation to 44-year-old Dr. Salvador Plasencia in a federal courtroom in Los Angeles.
The judge emphasized that Plasencia didn’t provide the ketamine that killed Perry, but told him, “You and others helped Mr. Perry on the road to such an ending by continuing to feed his ketamine addiction.”
“You exploited Mr. Perry’s addiction for your own profit,” she said.
Plasencia was led from the courtroom in handcuffs as his mother cried loudly in the audience. He might have arranged a date to surrender, but his lawyers said he was prepared to do it today.
Perry’s mother and two half sisters gave tearful victim impact statements before the sentencing.
“The world mourns my brother,” Madeleine Morrison said. “He was everyone’s favorite friend.”
“My brother’s death turned my world upside down,” Morrison said, crying. “It punched a crater in my life. His absence is everywhere.”
Plasencia was the first to be sentenced of the five defendants who have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry’s death at age 54 in 2023.
The doctor admitted to taking advantage of Perry, knowing he was a struggling addict. Plasencia texted another doctor that Perry was a “moron” who could be exploited for money, according to court filings.
Prosecutors had asked for three years in prison, while the defense sought just a day in prison plus probation.
Perry’s mother talked about the things he overcame in life and the strength he showed.
“I used to think he couldn’t die,” Suzanne Perry said as her husband, Dateline journalist Keith Morrison, stood at the podium with her.
“You called him a ‘moron,’” she said. “There is nothing moronic about that man. He was even a successful drug addict.”
She spoke eloquently and apologized for rambling before getting tearful at the end, saying, “this was a bad thing you did!” as she cried.
Plasencia also spoke before the sentencing, breaking into tears as he imagined the day he would have to tell his now 2-year-old son “about the time I didn’t protect another mother’s son. It hurts me so much. I can’t believe I’m here.”
He apologized directly to Perry’s family. “I should have protected him,” he said.
Perry had been taking the surgical anesthetic ketamine legally as a treatment for depression. But when his regular doctor wouldn’t provide it in the amounts he wanted, he turned to Plasencia, who admitted to illegally selling to Perry and knowing he was a struggling addict.
Plasencia’s lawyers tried to give a sympathetic portrait of him as a man who rose out of poverty to become a doctor beloved by his patients, some of whom provided testimonials about him for the court.
The attorneys called his selling to Perry “reckless” and “the biggest mistake of his life.”
Plasencia pleaded guilty in July to four counts of distribution of ketamine. Prosecutors agreed to drop five different counts. The agreement came with no sentencing guarantees, and legally Garnett can give him up to 40 years.
The other four defendants who reached deals to plead guilty will be sentenced at their own hearings in the coming months.
Perry died at age 54 in 2023 after struggling with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends, when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC’s megahit.
Philadelphia, start your engines — there’s another hometown star competing in the upcoming season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Meet Mandy Mango, a first generation Filipino American who calls herself “the sweetest fruit in Philadelphia.”
Mango is one of 14 contestants announced this week who will compete in Season 18 of the legendary show that has catapulted the careers of some of the best drag performers in the country, from Trixie Mattel to Bianca Del Rio, to Bob the Drag Queen.
In the show, the queens face dance, makeup, sewing, acting, and lip sync challenges as they vie for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar and a cash prize of $200,000.
Mango introduced herself in the show’s “Meet the Queens” Instagram post praising Philly’s drag scene, which she described as “very diverse, very eclectic.”
“We have our teeny boppers, we have our mama whoppers, we have some flippity floppers, and some daddy toppers,” she said.
She added that her biggest drag inspiration is her mother, who was a pageant queen in the Philippines in the 1980s.
Philly drag queen Mandy Mango will compete on Season 18 of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ premiering on Jan. 2 on MTV.
“Growing up [Filipino American] has always been strange, trying to figure out if I’m Filipino enough, American enough, or not enough of either, on top of being queer,” said Mango. “Drag has really guided my journey understanding my identity.”
Drag fans will likely recognize Mango’s performances on Philly stages in recent years, from the time she competed in Snatcherella, or organized a No Arena Drag Show in 2024 to protest the Sixers’ arena in Chinatown, which she called a “special place for me and my art,” according to Philadelphia Gay News.
Mandy Mango is the drag persona of Sigfried Aragona, an HIV care and community health nurse at Penn Presbyterian Infectious Diseases who advocates for LGBTQ+ healthcare. He lives in Philadelphia with his three cats, Wasabi, Sriracha, and Soy.
Aragona first performed in drag as a student at West Chester University to Chelley’s “Took the Night.” He later went on to work at AIDS Resource Alliance, a nonprofit that provides health services across Northcentral Pennsylvania.
In a 2020 TEDx talk in Williamsport, Pa., Aragona passionately explained how he blends drag performance with his healthcare work and community activism.
“With Mandy Mango, I feel powerful. I feel fulfilled. And I believe that my space in this world is finally valuable,” said Aragona. “Mandy’s drag journey seeks to blend nursing intellect and drag art to empower people similarly.”
Mango is only the second drag queen to represent Philly in Drag Race’s 16-year history, following Season 16 star Sapphira Cristál. The opera singer was a fan favorite who aced challenges all season long and ultimately placed second. Cristál earned the title of Miss Congeniality and brought home $35,000 in prize winnings.
Other contestants who have ties to the Philadelphia region are Aquaria, the winner of Season 10, who grew up in West Chester, and Season 3 competitor Mimi Imfurst, who was raised in Massachusetts and Maine, but now calls Philadelphia home. Both of them represented New York on the show.
Season 18 of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ premieres at 8 p.m. on Jan. 2 on MTV.
Quinta Brunson wants you to dig into your pocket to make free field trips possible for Philadelphia students.
The actor, writer, and comedian — along with Philadelphia School District officials and the leader of the district’s nonprofit arm — announced the “Quinta Brunson Field Trip Fund” on Tuesday.
District teachers and administrators will be able to apply for money for field trips by completing a short application subject to evaluation by an independent, internal group of educators. Field trip grants will be made twice a year.
“They opened my world, sparked my creativity, and helped me imagine a future beyond what I saw every day,” Brunson said. “Going somewhere new shows you that the world is bigger and more exciting than you believe, and it can shape what you come to see as achievable. I’m proud to support Philadelphia students with experiences that remind them their dreams are valid and their futures are bright.”
“Abbott Elementary” star Quinta Brunson watches the Phillies play the Atlanta Braves during a taping of the show in Philadelphia in August.
Every Abbott Elementary season has featured a field trip episode, including visits toSmith Playground, the Franklin Institute, and the Philadelphia Zoo. Brunson’s fund “will remove the financial barriers that too often limit our children’s access to these enrichment opportunities,” officials for the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia said.
The GivingTuesday launch kicked off with an unspecified donation from Brunson herself.
Kathryn Epps, president and CEO of the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia, said getting students out of their classrooms is crucial.
“We are honored to partner with Quinta to expand these experiences for children in Philadelphia’s public schools, helping them to envision and realize any future they desire,” Epps said.
Tony B. Watlington Sr., Philadelphia School District superintendent, said he was grateful to Brunson.
“We want our students to venture out and bridge what they’re learning in the classroom to engaging, real-world learning experiences,” Watlington said. “This commitment to equitably expanding opportunities for students to have experiences outside of their classroom will help accelerate student achievement and we are becoming the fastest improving, large urban school district in the nation.”
Six NFL teams will take the field Thursday in the league’s latest incarnation of an annual Thanksgiving ritual, but for the 10th straight year the Eagles won’t be among them.
The last time the Birds played on Thanksgiving was in 2015, when they were blown out by the Lions in Chip Kelly’s final season as head coach.
The NFL decided to go big this year, pitting the Dallas Cowboys against the Kansas City Chiefs on CBS in a matchup likely to become the most-watched NFL regular-season game in league history. The current high mark is a 2022 Thanksgiving game between the Cowboys and New York Giants, which drew 42.1 million viewers.
With the Cowboys and Chiefs both coming off comeback wins and fighting for playoff spots, that bet paid off. But the league seriously considered scheduling Eagles-Cowboys in Dallas for Thanksgiving, which would’ve been just the third time the NFC East rivals faced off on the holiday — they previously played one another in 1989 and 2014.
Maybe the league got sick of the Eagles’ holiday dominance. The Birds are 6-1 in games played on Thanksgiving, the highest win percentage (.857) in NFL history among teams that played at least five games.
NFL makes some Thanksgiving changes
This year’s NFL slate reveals a major shift for the league. Instead of dumping mediocre matchups on Thanksgiving knowing they’ll get good TV ratings — think of all those bad Cowboys-Washington games — the league turned to marquee teams in an attempt to maximize viewership.
“We decided that based on last year, and the numbers, and the audience, and how many people were watching, to really see how high Thanksgiving can get,” Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution, told Front Office Sports.
The NFL also pushed the start of the first Thanksgiving game back 30 minutes, from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. Schroeder told the Detroit Free Press the earlier kickoff time was potentially lowering viewership numbers slightly.
“We look at the data where we can be informed,” Schroeder said. “It told us there’s a lot more fans that are home, that are back from wherever they are Thanksgiving morning to be on their couches and being able to watch. So that felt like a really obvious thing from a media perspective.”
2025 NFL Thanksgiving TV schedule
Green Bay Packers (7-3-1) at Detroit Lions (7-4)
Jared Goff and the Lions will take on the Packers in a NFC North battle.
Where: Ford Field, Detroit, Mich.
Kickoff time: 1 p.m. Eastern
TV: Fox (Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady, Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi)
Radio: 94.1 WIP via Westwood One
Stream: Fox One
This game will only have playoff implications for the Eagles if the Birds lose a few more games.
While both the Packers and Lions are among a cluster of teams atop the NFC, the Eagles hold tiebreakers against both thanks to head-to-head wins against the Packers and Lions in back-to-back weeks earlier this month.
The game does have big ramifications in the NFC North, which the Packers are looking to win for the first time since 2021. Green Bay defeated Detroit way back in Week 1 and could sweep the season series with a win on Thanksgiving.
This is the 29th time the Packers and Lions have faced off on Thanksgiving, with Detroit holding a 12-9-1 edge overall.
Kansas City Chiefs (6-5) at Dallas Cowboys (5-5-1)
Dak Prescott hopes to keep the Cowboys’ slim playoff hopes alive.
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas.
Kickoff time: 4:30 p.m. Eastern
TV: CBS (Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson)
Radio: 94.1 WIP via Westwood One
Stream: Paramount+
The Cowboys have new life after their 21-point comeback win against the Eagles Sunday.
While the NFC East is likely out of reach for the Cowboys (barring an epic collapse by the Eagles), Dak Prescott and company are still alive in the wild-card hunt. A win on Thanksgiving would improve the Cowboys’ chances of making the postseason to 22%, according to the New York Times playoff simulator. A loss drops their already poor odds down to just 6%.
The Chiefs are in a similar situation, though things aren’t as dire. Despite entering Week 13 in 10th place in the AFC, Kansas City is right in the middle of the wild-card hunt with important divisional games against the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers coming up.
Cincinnati Bengals (3-8) at Baltimore Ravens (6-5)
Joe Burrow is back just in time for a big national game.
Outside of Joe Burrow’s return to the Bengals, the Thanksgiving nightcap has limited interest to Eagles fans.
The Bengals would need to pull off a remarkable streak of wins to sneak into the playoffs. They head into Thanksgiving looking to end a four-game losing streak, and over the next three weeks they’ll play the Ravens twice and face Josh Allen and the Bills in Buffalo.
The Ravens enter the game back in first place in the AFC North, though they’re tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers at 6-5. The Ravens’ offense has sputtered this season along with Lamar Jackson, who is playing despite ankle, knee, and toe issues. But the Bengals have the second-worst run defense in the league, which Derrick Henry and the Ravens could end up feasting on.
Fubo subscribers won’t be able to watch one Thanksgiving game
Mike Tirico (left) and Cris Collinsworth will call the evening Thanksgiving game on NBC.
All three games will stream on their network’s respective subscription streaming services — Fox One for Fox, Paramount+ for CBS, and Peacock for NBC.
The games also will stream on any so-called skinny bundle that carries the three broadcast networks, including YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and DirecTV Stream. Most offer a free trial.
The one exception this year is Disney-owned Fubo, whose more than 1.3 million subscribers won’t be able to stream Thursday’s Bengals-Ravens on NBC due to a carriage dispute with NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast.
As a result, all of NBC’s TV networks — including Bravo, CNBC, MS NOW, and NBC Sports Philadelphia here in the city — are dark on Fubo, with no sign of a deal on the horizon.
If you live in the Philadelphia TV market, you can stream all three games on NFL+, the league’s subscription streaming service, which runs $6.99 a month. But that only includes tablets and mobile devices.
If you’re looking to stream the games for free and you live in or around Philadelphia, your best option is using a digital antenna, since all three will air on broadcast television.
What NFL teams have never played on Thanksgiving?
Jacksonville is still looking to play in their first Thanksgiving game.
The Jacksonville Jaguars remain the only NFL team to never play a Thanksgiving game.
There are a lot of reasons for this, but it’s mostly because the Jaguars just haven’t been that good or compelling, and there are less opportunities for AFC teams than NFC teams.
It doesn’t help Jacksonville has only played a total of nine road games against the Lions and Cowboys in 30 seasons since entering the league in 1995, and isn’t scheduled to face either team this season.
The NFL’s old TV rules didn’t help, either. Prior to 2022, any Jaguars-Lions or Jaguars-Cowboys game would have had to air on CBS, which had the rights to broadcast AFC teams when they were on the road facing NFC teams.
Maybe they’ll get their shot next season, since the Jaguars appear to be on the upswing and will face the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in 2026. Then again, if the NFL is focusing on big matchups, Jacksonville may be out of luck.
