It's almost time for the Smoky Hill Museum Street Fair!

The event is scheduled for Saturday in and around the museum, 211 W. Iron Avenue in downtown Salina. Entry to the street fair is open to the public at no charge.

According to information from the museum, the street fair is a time to celebrate the Old West with a chili cook-off, music, activities, food vendors and, of course, the museum itself.

Salina's Old West is the theme for this year's parade, which is scheduled to kick off the festivities at 10 a.m. at the N. Santa Fe Avenue/Elm Street intersection. The parade will travel south on Santa Fe Avenue and conclude at South Street.

A variety of activities will then be available in the area of the museum, including an Old West chuck wagon, horseshoe tossing, roping, archery, blacksmithing, chili cook-off, free make-and-take crafts, a caricaturist, and Color Me Crazy airbrush tattoos, according to information from the museum.

Those attending will get the opportunity to taste a various chili samples and vote for the winner of the street fair chili cookoff from noon to 1:30 p.m. The cost is $2 to sample chili from six booths. The People’s Choice Award and best decorated booth winners will be announced at 2 p.m. on the main stage.

Also on the main stage will be some returning favorites and some new acts. Following is the schedule and performer information as provided by the museum.

11 a.m.: Steel Skarecrow.&nbsp;The Wichita-area band's unique sound is a blend of '90s country, modern country, red dirt, and southern soul.

Noon: Everyday Lights.&nbsp;These Salina-based musicians have a love for folk and jazz rhythms. Their unique instrumentation and improvised harmony gives them a fresh, creative sound.

1 p.m.: Don Wagner and Friends.&nbsp;This group is comprised of four local musicians. Because of their diverse musical backgrounds, the band arranges and performs a variety of musical genres ranging from folk and country to rock and blues as well as original compositions.

2:15 p.m.: David Zerf.&nbsp;A singer-songwriter from Manhattan, this original Kansas Cowboy Minstrel's repertoire consists of Kansas cowboy and pioneer tunes, and original songs of Kansas frontier towns and characters.

The museum gallery is scheduled to be open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. with its special exhibit, Let’s Play. In addition, there is the popular hands-on interactive exhibit, The Curiosity Shop. The Museum Store also is scheduled to be open with selections of Kansas-made items and locally made artwork.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663609354689.jpeg" alt="Just a part of the crowd at the 2021 Smoky Hill Museum Street Fair.&nbsp;Salina Post file photo&nbsp;&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Just a part of the crowd at the 2021 Smoky Hill Museum Street Fair.&nbsp;Salina Post file photo&nbsp;&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>By SALINA POSTIt's almost time for the Smoky Hill Museum Street Fair!The event is scheduled for Saturday in and around the museum, 211 W. Iron Avenue in downtown Salina. Entry to the street fair is open to the public at no charge.According to information from the museum, the street fair is a time to celebrate the Old West with a chili cook-off, music, activities, food vendors and, of course, the museum itself.Salina's Old West is the theme for this year's parade, which is scheduled to kick off the festivities at 10 a.m. at the N. Santa Fe Avenue/Elm Street intersection. The parade will travel south on Santa Fe Avenue and conclude at South Street.A variety of activities will then be available in the area of the museum, including an Old West chuck wagon, horseshoe tossing, roping, archery, blacksmithing, chili cook-off, free make-and-take crafts, a caricaturist, and Color Me Crazy airbrush tattoos, according to information from the museum.Those attending will get the opportunity to taste a various chili samples and vote for the winner of the street fair chili cookoff from noon to 1:30 p.m. The cost is $2 to sample chili from six booths. The People’s Choice Award and best decorated booth winners will be announced at 2 p.m. on the main stage.Also on the main stage will be some returning favorites and some new acts. Following is the schedule and performer information as provided by the museum.11 a.m.: Steel Skarecrow.&nbsp;The Wichita-area band's unique sound is a blend of '90s country, modern country, red dirt, and southern soul.Noon: Everyday Lights.&nbsp;These Salina-based musicians have a love for folk and jazz rhythms. Their unique instrumentation and improvised harmony gives them a fresh, creative sound.1 p.m.: Don Wagner and Friends.&nbsp;This group is comprised of four local musicians. Because of their diverse musical backgrounds, the band arranges and performs a variety of musical genres ranging from folk and country to rock and blues as well as original compositions.2:15 p.m.: David Zerf.&nbsp;A singer-songwriter from Manhattan, this original Kansas Cowboy Minstrel's repertoire consists of Kansas cowboy and pioneer tunes, and original songs of Kansas frontier towns and characters.3 p.m.: Steel SkarecrowThe museum gallery is scheduled to be open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. with its special exhibit, Let’s Play. In addition, there is the popular hands-on interactive exhibit, The Curiosity Shop. The Museum Store also is scheduled to be open with selections of Kansas-made items and locally made artwork.

Smoky Hill Museum Street Fair Saturday in downtown Salina

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JAKE%20COYLE%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer</a>

NEW YORK (AP) — Thirteen years after James Cameron plunged moviegoers into the cosmic world of “Avatar,” the lush, distant moon of Pandora is finally orbiting back into view.

Cameron's “Avatar” industrial complex has been whirling in high gear for some time; production on the upcoming sequel,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Gx8wiNbs8">“Avatar: The Way of Water,"</a>&nbsp;began back in 2017. But after shuffling through half a decade's worth of release dates, Cameron's science-fiction epic is poised to again blanket movie screens and transport willing travelers back, in 3-D, to the land of the Na'vi.

For even the visionary filmmaker of “Titanic” and “The Terminator," the relaunch of “Avatar” is, as Cameron said in a recent interview from Wellington, New Zealand, “a big bet.” A third “Avatar” is already in post-production, and production has begun on a fourth. The record-breaking $2.8 billion in box office that “Avatar” grossed made the coming “Avatar” armada a far-from-risky wager. But a lot has changed since the original's release, when Netflix was still renting DVDs by mail and Cameron was working for 20th Century Fox.

To whet moviegoers' appetites ahead of the Dec. 16 debut of the three-hour “Avatar: The Way of Water” — and remind them of a movie world they may have lost touch with — the Walt Disney Co. on Friday will rerelease “Avatar”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm2sNLIPPvA&amp;t=63s">in a remastered, 4K, HDR version</a>&nbsp;that he says is “better than it’s ever looked.”

It's an opening salvo in Cameron's ambitious plan to sketch a yet-grander sci-fi saga, and to again conjure a cinematic experience, as he says, “that you simply cannot have in the home.” Taking a break from all the “Avatar” juggling, Cameron talked re-watching the original, his expectation for “The Way of Water" and why he nearly quit the “Avatar” business.

Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: Does “Avatar” seem like a long time ago to you?

CAMERON: It feels like yesterday at times and then obviously it feels like more than a decade other times. The time has passed quickly. I've been doing all sorts of interesting things. Deep ocean research. Building submersibles. Writing four epic movies. Now finishing up “Avatar 2” and we're mid-process in post on “Avatar 3.” So “Avatar” has never been far from my mind. I constantly go back to it, obviously in the remaster process making it better than it's ever looked before. I'm kind of just living on Pandora right now.

AP: When you went back to watch “Avatar,” how did it look to you?

CAMERON: I see a lot of good work by a lot of good people in terms of the production design, the visual effects, the groundbreaking strides that were made at that time in capturing the performances of the actors, and the great work of the actors. It was tough to live up to. We had set the bar very high for ourselves back then and we had to live up to that bar this time with the new films. I remind our VFX team all the time: “Look at the bugs in the forest in the first movie. We had better bugs!”

AP: Moviegoing rebounded this summer but there's been a late-summer lull that the “Avatar” re-release may help jumpstart. How do you see the health of theatrical right now?

CAMERON: It's shown resiliency that I don't think we expected. The pandemic, quite rightly, scared everybody. There was a period of time where you were basically risking your life to go to the movies. People did it anyway. Now, we feel like we're past the hump or at least it's a manageable problem. We're seeing a resurgence back in cinemas. It's not where we were before. Streaming has taken a bite. The pandemic has taken a bite. We're probably down 20, 25% from where we were pre-pandemic. I think it's going to be a very long tail on this thing before we're back to where we were before. It's incumbent on us to double down on showmanship.

AP: Over the years, some have argued that “Avatar," despite its stature as the highest grossing film of all time,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnet.com/culture/avatar-the-blockbuster-movie-that-history-forgot/">hasn't stuck in the culture</a>&nbsp;the way you'd expect. Do those arguments irk you?

CAMERON: I think it's true for a specific reason, which is that we didn't immediately follow it up with another film in two or three years, and another film in two or three years. We didn't play the Marvel game. We're playing a longer game here. “Avatar” isn't going anywhere, it just didn't follow up with a continuous barrage to keep it in the public eye and the public consciousness, which is what you have to do. Taking a lesson from that, we basically architected four sequels so that if “Avatar 2” is successful, we can follow it up with a regular cadence — two years, maybe three years at the most between “3” and “4.” It will be in the public consciousness more and more regularly, but only if people embrace “Avatar 2.”

AP: Your films have grossed more than $6 billion. I imagine you're not a filmmaker who gets nervous before opening a movie.

CAMERON: You bet I do. Anyone who says they don't get nervous before a movie drops is a lying son of a (expletive).

AP: And there is an awful lot riding on “The Way of Water.”

CAMERON: Yeah, it's a big play. It's a big bet. And we won't know where we are until the second or third weekend. The success of the first film — we had a pretty good opening at $75 million. But openings are dwarfing that by factors of two or even three these days. Even if we have a stellar opening, we won't really know where we are for a couple weeks because it was the return visits on the first one. It was people wanting to go share. If we get that again, we'll probably be on solid ground.

CAMERON: Nobody knows. The market has changed. Twenty-five percent could be our entire margin. It's one thing to make a lot of money, it's another thing to actually make a profit. We're not going to keep making movies that lose money even though they look good and make a ton of money. This is a wait-and-see, let's-put-it-out-there-and-see-if-people-embrace-it kind of situation.

AP: “Avatar” was especially rich in an ecological subtext. In the 13 years since, much has only gone worse for the climate and the health of the planet. How much was that on your mind making the sequels?

CAMERON: Very much so, even to the extent that I very strongly debated with myself and discussed with my wife whether I should stop filmmaking and work on the sustainability issues. But we managed to be able to do that in parallel with the filmmaking process. We're doing all of our sustainability efforts — I don't want to say as a side hustle, but in parallel. I put as much effort into that as I do the filmmaking.

That said, the new “Avatar” films aren't any more like a lecture on climate or environmentalism than the first one was. The first one was an adventure. It captured you at the level of character, at a level of storytelling. I think subtext is a useful way of looking at it. It's there but it's not what's driving the story. And we kept that in mind with the new films. Yes, “Avatar: The Way of Water” is about the oceans and our relationship with the oceans and the animals that live in it. But it's driven by character.

AP: “Avatar: The Way of Water" will bring back 3D and feature high-frame rate footage, both of which moviegoers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/4bb468a82bc748c4aec1ba47111e29da">have mixed opinions on</a>. What do you think has been the biggest technological leap in the last 13 years?

CAMERON: In terms of the presentation, we're authoring in high-dynamic range, which I think is very important. Projection out there in the field is brighter now than it was a decade ago, which is much better for 3D. We're judiciously using high-frame rates in the process of authoring our 3D because people become more sensitive to rapid lateral motion. Your mind is more sensitive, so we solved that by judiciously applying high-frame rate here and there throughout the film. That's all at the service of making it a better viewing experience.

I don't think anybody should go see a movie because it's authored a certain way. That's just part of our showmanship. I think the reasons to see this film are the same reasons to see the first one. You enter a world. You become fully immersed in it. You feel like it surrounds you and you become an inhabitant there, and you get to linger there. You go on that journey. Of course, in the new film, it's a bit longer because we have more characters and more story to service. I think people are very story-driven. When they get a set of characters they like and they get involved in their problems, they'll follow it for scores of hours across multiple years of limited series. I'm not worried about that part of it.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JAKE%20COYLE%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer</a>NEW YORK (AP) — Thirteen years after James Cameron plunged moviegoers into the cosmic world of “Avatar,” the lush, distant moon of Pandora is finally orbiting back into view.Cameron's “Avatar” industrial complex has been whirling in high gear for some time; production on the upcoming sequel,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Gx8wiNbs8">“Avatar: The Way of Water,"</a>&nbsp;began back in 2017. But after shuffling through half a decade's worth of release dates, Cameron's science-fiction epic is poised to again blanket movie screens and transport willing travelers back, in 3-D, to the land of the Na'vi.For even the visionary filmmaker of “Titanic” and “The Terminator," the relaunch of “Avatar” is, as Cameron said in a recent interview from Wellington, New Zealand, “a big bet.” A third “Avatar” is already in post-production, and production has begun on a fourth. The record-breaking $2.8 billion in box office that “Avatar” grossed made the coming “Avatar” armada a far-from-risky wager. But a lot has changed since the original's release, when Netflix was still renting DVDs by mail and Cameron was working for 20th Century Fox.To whet moviegoers' appetites ahead of the Dec. 16 debut of the three-hour “Avatar: The Way of Water” — and remind them of a movie world they may have lost touch with — the Walt Disney Co. on Friday will rerelease “Avatar”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm2sNLIPPvA&amp;t=63s">in a remastered, 4K, HDR version</a>&nbsp;that he says is “better than it’s ever looked.”It's an opening salvo in Cameron's ambitious plan to sketch a yet-grander sci-fi saga, and to again conjure a cinematic experience, as he says, “that you simply cannot have in the home.” Taking a break from all the “Avatar” juggling, Cameron talked re-watching the original, his expectation for “The Way of Water" and why he nearly quit the “Avatar” business.Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.AP: Does “Avatar” seem like a long time ago to you?CAMERON: It feels like yesterday at times and then obviously it feels like more than a decade other times. The time has passed quickly. I've been doing all sorts of interesting things. Deep ocean research. Building submersibles. Writing four epic movies. Now finishing up “Avatar 2” and we're mid-process in post on “Avatar 3.” So “Avatar” has never been far from my mind. I constantly go back to it, obviously in the remaster process making it better than it's ever looked before. I'm kind of just living on Pandora right now.AP: When you went back to watch “Avatar,” how did it look to you?CAMERON: I see a lot of good work by a lot of good people in terms of the production design, the visual effects, the groundbreaking strides that were made at that time in capturing the performances of the actors, and the great work of the actors. It was tough to live up to. We had set the bar very high for ourselves back then and we had to live up to that bar this time with the new films. I remind our VFX team all the time: “Look at the bugs in the forest in the first movie. We had better bugs!”AP: Moviegoing rebounded this summer but there's been a late-summer lull that the “Avatar” re-release may help jumpstart. How do you see the health of theatrical right now?CAMERON: It's shown resiliency that I don't think we expected. The pandemic, quite rightly, scared everybody. There was a period of time where you were basically risking your life to go to the movies. People did it anyway. Now, we feel like we're past the hump or at least it's a manageable problem. We're seeing a resurgence back in cinemas. It's not where we were before. Streaming has taken a bite. The pandemic has taken a bite. We're probably down 20, 25% from where we were pre-pandemic. I think it's going to be a very long tail on this thing before we're back to where we were before. It's incumbent on us to double down on showmanship.AP: Over the years, some have argued that “Avatar," despite its stature as the highest grossing film of all time,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnet.com/culture/avatar-the-blockbuster-movie-that-history-forgot/">hasn't stuck in the culture</a>&nbsp;the way you'd expect. Do those arguments irk you?CAMERON: I think it's true for a specific reason, which is that we didn't immediately follow it up with another film in two or three years, and another film in two or three years. We didn't play the Marvel game. We're playing a longer game here. “Avatar” isn't going anywhere, it just didn't follow up with a continuous barrage to keep it in the public eye and the public consciousness, which is what you have to do. Taking a lesson from that, we basically architected four sequels so that if “Avatar 2” is successful, we can follow it up with a regular cadence — two years, maybe three years at the most between “3” and “4.” It will be in the public consciousness more and more regularly, but only if people embrace “Avatar 2.”AP: Your films have grossed more than $6 billion. I imagine you're not a filmmaker who gets nervous before opening a movie.CAMERON: You bet I do. Anyone who says they don't get nervous before a movie drops is a lying son of a (expletive).AP: And there is an awful lot riding on “The Way of Water.”CAMERON: Yeah, it's a big play. It's a big bet. And we won't know where we are until the second or third weekend. The success of the first film — we had a pretty good opening at $75 million. But openings are dwarfing that by factors of two or even three these days. Even if we have a stellar opening, we won't really know where we are for a couple weeks because it was the return visits on the first one. It was people wanting to go share. If we get that again, we'll probably be on solid ground.AP: I think the odds are in your favor.CAMERON: Nobody knows. The market has changed. Twenty-five percent could be our entire margin. It's one thing to make a lot of money, it's another thing to actually make a profit. We're not going to keep making movies that lose money even though they look good and make a ton of money. This is a wait-and-see, let's-put-it-out-there-and-see-if-people-embrace-it kind of situation.AP: “Avatar” was especially rich in an ecological subtext. In the 13 years since, much has only gone worse for the climate and the health of the planet. How much was that on your mind making the sequels?CAMERON: Very much so, even to the extent that I very strongly debated with myself and discussed with my wife whether I should stop filmmaking and work on the sustainability issues. But we managed to be able to do that in parallel with the filmmaking process. We're doing all of our sustainability efforts — I don't want to say as a side hustle, but in parallel. I put as much effort into that as I do the filmmaking.That said, the new “Avatar” films aren't any more like a lecture on climate or environmentalism than the first one was. The first one was an adventure. It captured you at the level of character, at a level of storytelling. I think subtext is a useful way of looking at it. It's there but it's not what's driving the story. And we kept that in mind with the new films. Yes, “Avatar: The Way of Water” is about the oceans and our relationship with the oceans and the animals that live in it. But it's driven by character.AP: “Avatar: The Way of Water" will bring back 3D and feature high-frame rate footage, both of which moviegoers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/4bb468a82bc748c4aec1ba47111e29da">have mixed opinions on</a>. What do you think has been the biggest technological leap in the last 13 years?CAMERON: In terms of the presentation, we're authoring in high-dynamic range, which I think is very important. Projection out there in the field is brighter now than it was a decade ago, which is much better for 3D. We're judiciously using high-frame rates in the process of authoring our 3D because people become more sensitive to rapid lateral motion. Your mind is more sensitive, so we solved that by judiciously applying high-frame rate here and there throughout the film. That's all at the service of making it a better viewing experience.I don't think anybody should go see a movie because it's authored a certain way. That's just part of our showmanship. I think the reasons to see this film are the same reasons to see the first one. You enter a world. You become fully immersed in it. You feel like it surrounds you and you become an inhabitant there, and you get to linger there. You go on that journey. Of course, in the new film, it's a bit longer because we have more characters and more story to service. I think people are very story-driven. When they get a set of characters they like and they get involved in their problems, they'll follow it for scores of hours across multiple years of limited series. I'm not worried about that part of it.

Q&A: James Cameron on the return of 'Avatar'

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22The%20Associated%20Press%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By The Associated Press</a>

Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.

— Less than a year after the death of Sidney Poitier, who died in January at the age of 94,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-toronto-race-and-ethnicity-canada-e8272b06818caa977217eb58627ffbc4">arrives the Oprah Winfrey-produced documentary “Sidney.”</a>&nbsp;Premiering Friday on Apple TV+, it’s a poignant portrait of the groundbreaking actor who paved the way for countless Black actors in Hollywood and revolutionized how they were portrayed on screen. Shot largely before Poitier’s death by director Reginald Hudlin,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIt0bGwe1rY">“Sidney”</a>&nbsp;was made with the cooperation of the Poitier estate (several of Poitier’s daughters appear in the film) and a number of luminaries. Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Morgan Freeman, George Nelson, Robert Redford and Halle Berry are all interviewed in “Sidney,” as is Winfrey.

— In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRunUkdkK8s">“Athena,”</a>&nbsp;director Romain Gavras brings spectacular flare and long, sinewy shots to a panoramic thriller about a police siege in a fictitious housing projecting in a Paris suburb. The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and debuts Friday on Netflix, is a violent but balletically filmed urban Greek tragedy by the youngest son of the Oscar-winning Greek director, Costa-Gavras. It’s the French filmmaker’s third feature (he’s also made music videos for Kanye West, Jamie xx and others); he wrote with Elias Belkeddar and Ladj Ly, whose 2019 film “Les Miserables” covered some similar territory.

— Based on the best-selling 2019 young-adult novel by Angie Thomas (“The Hate U Give”),&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B7AXY4xXyQ">“On the Come Up”</a>&nbsp;is about a 16-year-old girl (Jamila Gray) whose rap ambitions have both urgency (her family is in need of money) and poignancy (her late father was a hip-hop legend killed by gang violence). The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, streams Friday on Peacock while also playing in some theaters.

— Kelsea Ballerini may sound pretty good on her new album but it’s the title of the 15-track set that seems pretty perfect: “Subject to Change.” On the poppy first single,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_ep_lYEoKs">“Heartfirst,”</a>&nbsp;she decides to jump into a relationship not knowing if it will last. “Who knows what’ll happen/Ain’t that always kinda magic?” she sings. On the ballad&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIipGxCrG6c">“Love Is a Cowboy,”</a>&nbsp;Ballerini sings: “All the bad ones say they’re the good and all the good ones ride way.” The new music comes after she and her husband Morgan Evans decided to divorce after nearly five years of marriage. The album comes out Friday.

— We’ve already had the album “Denim &amp; Rhinestones” from Carrie Underwood so get ready for “Denim &amp; Diamonds” from Nashville singer and songwriter Nikki Lane. For Lane’s first album in five years, she enlisted Queens of the Stone Age’s frontman Joshua Home for production and mixing, with further contributions from Arctic Monkeys’ Matt Helders. Singles include&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9I1rfbpevY">“Black Widow”</a>&nbsp;and “First High,” with the splendid lyric: “Take me back to the first dream/501 blue jeans/Tighter than goddamn Springsteen.”

— Coming just as fall approaches is a new 5 Seconds of Summer album. “5SOS5” — their fifth album — has already spawned the tracks “Blender”, “Take My Hand”, “Me, Myself &amp; I” and the pop-rock anthem&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQM_zeZPkQE">“COMPLETE MESS.”</a>&nbsp;Another early single is the ballad&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ELTaMB41OQ">“Older,”</a>&nbsp;which features vocals and a co-writing credit from lead singer Luke Hemmings’ fiancée, Sierra Deaton, and the lyrics: “On the day that you leave me/I’ll forever be bleeding love.” The majority of the new album was written by the band with Michael Clifford leading on production.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3I0SpwjVK8">— “Quantum Leap” i</a>&nbsp;s jumping back to TV with a sequel to the 1989-93 sci-fi series about a scientist trapped in the past by an experiment gone awry. Three decades later, physicist Ben Song (Raymond Lee) is part of a team attempting to decipher the nature of the quantum-leap accelerator when he suffers a similar fate. But his colleagues (including co-stars Ernie Hudson and Caitlin Bassett) are determined to rescue him. Scott Bakula, star of the original series, affirmed online he’s not connected with NBC’s newcomer but wishes it “good luck and happy leaping!” It debuts Monday.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC0tosYozso">— Hulu’s “Reboot”</a>&nbsp;is a clever take on the resurrection of an early 2000s cheesy family sitcom and its former stars whose careers haven’t exactly flourished. The ensemble cast is appealing — Keegan-Michael Key, Johnny Knoxville, Judy Greer, Paul Reiser, Rachel Bloom, Calum Worthy and Krista Marie Yu — but the marquee name is creator-executive producer Steven Levitan. “Reboot” marks a return to TV for the award-winning “Modern Family” co-creator, and he takes delight poking fun at network TV’s fondness for repeating itself. The series debuts with three episodes on Tuesday.

— Norman Lear turned 100 last July, but it be nitpicking to begrudge the legendary TV producer and activist a belated party, especially one that’s pulling out all the stops. “Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter,” airing Thursday on ABC, will celebrate Lear’s life and achievements, among them the groundbreaking sitcoms “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons.” George Clooney, Rita Moreno, Anthony Anderson, Jennifer Aniston, Jimmy Kimmel and Octavia Spencer are among those set to appear in the two-hour special that promises comedy, performances and surprise reunions.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22The%20Associated%20Press%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By The Associated Press</a>Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.MOVIES— Less than a year after the death of Sidney Poitier, who died in January at the age of 94,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-toronto-race-and-ethnicity-canada-e8272b06818caa977217eb58627ffbc4">arrives the Oprah Winfrey-produced documentary “Sidney.”</a>&nbsp;Premiering Friday on Apple TV+, it’s a poignant portrait of the groundbreaking actor who paved the way for countless Black actors in Hollywood and revolutionized how they were portrayed on screen. Shot largely before Poitier’s death by director Reginald Hudlin,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIt0bGwe1rY">“Sidney”</a>&nbsp;was made with the cooperation of the Poitier estate (several of Poitier’s daughters appear in the film) and a number of luminaries. Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Morgan Freeman, George Nelson, Robert Redford and Halle Berry are all interviewed in “Sidney,” as is Winfrey.— In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRunUkdkK8s">“Athena,”</a>&nbsp;director Romain Gavras brings spectacular flare and long, sinewy shots to a panoramic thriller about a police siege in a fictitious housing projecting in a Paris suburb. The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and debuts Friday on Netflix, is a violent but balletically filmed urban Greek tragedy by the youngest son of the Oscar-winning Greek director, Costa-Gavras. It’s the French filmmaker’s third feature (he’s also made music videos for Kanye West, Jamie xx and others); he wrote with Elias Belkeddar and Ladj Ly, whose 2019 film “Les Miserables” covered some similar territory.— Based on the best-selling 2019 young-adult novel by Angie Thomas (“The Hate U Give”),&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B7AXY4xXyQ">“On the Come Up”</a>&nbsp;is about a 16-year-old girl (Jamila Gray) whose rap ambitions have both urgency (her family is in need of money) and poignancy (her late father was a hip-hop legend killed by gang violence). The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, streams Friday on Peacock while also playing in some theaters.— AP Film Writer Jake CoyleMUSIC— Kelsea Ballerini may sound pretty good on her new album but it’s the title of the 15-track set that seems pretty perfect: “Subject to Change.” On the poppy first single,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_ep_lYEoKs">“Heartfirst,”</a>&nbsp;she decides to jump into a relationship not knowing if it will last. “Who knows what’ll happen/Ain’t that always kinda magic?” she sings. On the ballad&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIipGxCrG6c">“Love Is a Cowboy,”</a>&nbsp;Ballerini sings: “All the bad ones say they’re the good and all the good ones ride way.” The new music comes after she and her husband Morgan Evans decided to divorce after nearly five years of marriage. The album comes out Friday.— We’ve already had the album “Denim &amp; Rhinestones” from Carrie Underwood so get ready for “Denim &amp; Diamonds” from Nashville singer and songwriter Nikki Lane. For Lane’s first album in five years, she enlisted Queens of the Stone Age’s frontman Joshua Home for production and mixing, with further contributions from Arctic Monkeys’ Matt Helders. Singles include&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9I1rfbpevY">“Black Widow”</a>&nbsp;and “First High,” with the splendid lyric: “Take me back to the first dream/501 blue jeans/Tighter than goddamn Springsteen.”— Coming just as fall approaches is a new 5 Seconds of Summer album. “5SOS5” — their fifth album — has already spawned the tracks “Blender”, “Take My Hand”, “Me, Myself &amp; I” and the pop-rock anthem&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQM_zeZPkQE">“COMPLETE MESS.”</a>&nbsp;Another early single is the ballad&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ELTaMB41OQ">“Older,”</a>&nbsp;which features vocals and a co-writing credit from lead singer Luke Hemmings’ fiancée, Sierra Deaton, and the lyrics: “On the day that you leave me/I’ll forever be bleeding love.” The majority of the new album was written by the band with Michael Clifford leading on production.— AP Entertainment Writer Mark KennedyTELEVISION<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3I0SpwjVK8">— “Quantum Leap” i</a>&nbsp;s jumping back to TV with a sequel to the 1989-93 sci-fi series about a scientist trapped in the past by an experiment gone awry. Three decades later, physicist Ben Song (Raymond Lee) is part of a team attempting to decipher the nature of the quantum-leap accelerator when he suffers a similar fate. But his colleagues (including co-stars Ernie Hudson and Caitlin Bassett) are determined to rescue him. Scott Bakula, star of the original series, affirmed online he’s not connected with NBC’s newcomer but wishes it “good luck and happy leaping!” It debuts Monday.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC0tosYozso">— Hulu’s “Reboot”</a>&nbsp;is a clever take on the resurrection of an early 2000s cheesy family sitcom and its former stars whose careers haven’t exactly flourished. The ensemble cast is appealing — Keegan-Michael Key, Johnny Knoxville, Judy Greer, Paul Reiser, Rachel Bloom, Calum Worthy and Krista Marie Yu — but the marquee name is creator-executive producer Steven Levitan. “Reboot” marks a return to TV for the award-winning “Modern Family” co-creator, and he takes delight poking fun at network TV’s fondness for repeating itself. The series debuts with three episodes on Tuesday.— Norman Lear turned 100 last July, but it be nitpicking to begrudge the legendary TV producer and activist a belated party, especially one that’s pulling out all the stops. “Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter,” airing Thursday on ABC, will celebrate Lear’s life and achievements, among them the groundbreaking sitcoms “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons.” George Clooney, Rita Moreno, Anthony Anderson, Jennifer Aniston, Jimmy Kimmel and Octavia Spencer are among those set to appear in the two-hour special that promises comedy, performances and surprise reunions.— AP Television Writer Lynn Elber

New this week: 'Athena,' 'Sidney' and 'Quantum Leap' returns

The annual Thunder on the Plains car, truck and cycle show filled the Nations Auctions and Elite Realty grounds Saturday as people from across northwest Kansas came out to enjoy unique vehicles, camaraderie, food and activities.

Take a look at some of the day's events below.

By JAMES BELL Hays PostThe annual Thunder on the Plains car, truck and cycle show filled the Nations Auctions and Elite Realty grounds Saturday as people from across northwest Kansas came out to enjoy unique vehicles, camaraderie, food and activities.Take a look at some of the day's events below.<figure>
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Cars and camaraderie on display during Thunder on the Plains

'The Wallace Project' set to premiere at Kansas City Film Festival


The Provenance Co., Lawrence, on Sept. 24 will premiere a short
documentary about their grassland regeneration project at the Kansas City
Underground Film Festival.


The film, titled "The Wallace Project," is short-listed for audience and jury awards. The
film documents the first year of regenerative agriculture implementation on 2,740
acres of cropland near Wallace in western Kansas.


The Wallace Project was created as part of The Provenance Co.’s mission to share the
effects of land degradation, and the potential for large-scale grassland restoration
through Holistic Management of livestock. The film was produced by Bull Skull
Productions of Lawrence.


To reserve free tickets in our screening block, titled “Melancholy in America,” click <a href="https://kcuff2022.eventive.org/schedule/62eda04c1df9d600784378e8">HERE</a>.

For more information about The Provenance Co., click <a href="https://www.theprovenanceco.com/">HERE</a>.&nbsp;

Cover image courtesy The&nbsp;Provenance Co.

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 </figure><h2>'The Wallace Project' set to premiere at Kansas City Film Festival
</h2>News releaseThe Provenance Co., Lawrence, on Sept. 24 will premiere a short
documentary about their grassland regeneration project at the Kansas City
Underground Film Festival.
The film, titled "The Wallace Project," is short-listed for audience and jury awards. The
film documents the first year of regenerative agriculture implementation on 2,740
acres of cropland near Wallace in western Kansas.
The Wallace Project was created as part of The Provenance Co.’s mission to share the
effects of land degradation, and the potential for large-scale grassland restoration
through Holistic Management of livestock. The film was produced by Bull Skull
Productions of Lawrence.
Run time for the film is 07:49.&nbsp;To reserve free tickets in our screening block, titled “Melancholy in America,” click <a href="https://kcuff2022.eventive.org/schedule/62eda04c1df9d600784378e8">HERE</a>.For more information about The Provenance Co., click <a href="https://www.theprovenanceco.com/">HERE</a>.&nbsp;Cover image courtesy The&nbsp;Provenance Co.<figure>
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Grassland restoration in NW Kansas the focus of new documentary

SALINA -- After a two-year pandemic hiatus, The Land Institute will host its 42nd&nbsp;perennial&nbsp;<a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=ppm-2Bg9Z8i-2Fnfymvub8HvF15ybeGPNmYWyASyAYYwL2Y3dKBq4AJkv0B0Gu5rTJQJXQtv8mVQoHDUTbEV-2BRLiJ8gKOx23HlD-2FIkSvCwqeYKI-3Dl3YT_6kyJuRoUnmvCB1a16096Mn2eJZOhmBwdl6u-2F3e7vncM2LrUJDwK9KSu1RUc8GFly3pMOhpINivEvyInDGU7k8lhI896hkl7jSNGMmFP-2Blgaj5zXT59DUKIaTKwS6uHSioXw5egW49VL0-2BuZlH1j4NlrnA5TgSLhKa92E0PjxvLj0Zk4kMfUKA9m3HI4Gv-2Bb8dS6VH7Vl9NpyiXRavDLOJUGm8ee1m-2FwFARO0-2FAfO9F-2FXr04FjNlER5df9g-2F9EZjM-2Bgwa0HbQtqRi7uALqo-2FvCaiqWBfrtk1x2xI2NrpbdiHNXHg7pzPWs4a-2FMjzOPYOepJF-2BmiKToN-2FrplrhTFyTNqP7phVEYLoofUwWjtq4Qwacv9nHXpq-2FruE5kh4Qonel450qEmlnKJrKESxjIeeeSA-3D-3D" target="_blank">Prairie Festival</a>&nbsp;-&nbsp;New Roots: Growing a movement from the ground down.,&nbsp;at its headquarters south of Salina Sept. 23-25.

The event will feature new voices and perspectives,&nbsp;including Huascar Medina, Poet Laureate of Kansas; Dr. JohnElla Holmes of the Kansas Black Farmers Association; Linda Black Elk, Food Sovereignty Coordinator at United Tribes Technical College; Eric Schlosser, author of&nbsp;Fast Food Nation;&nbsp;an exhibition by land artist Erin Wiersma; and a concert by world-renowned musicians Paul Winter and Henrique Eisenmann.&nbsp;Along with great food, art, and music, highlights include the Friday night barn dance, Saturday morning Kernza®&nbsp;pancake breakfast, and Sunday sunrise walk through the ancient Wauhob Prairie.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Land Institute is located at 2440 E. Water Well Road.

Prairie Festival returns in a time of tremendous social and ecological upheaval. The event offers guests a unique opportunity to find respite, reconnection, and inspiration. Situated in the rolling hills on the east bank of the Smoky Hill River, curious new visitors and long-time supporters alike can immerse themselves in nature, ideas, and culture on the prairie. Compelling thinkers, artists, scientists, and advocates focused on the problems of agriculture and social and climate justice will engage with festival-goers to help regenerate people and the land.

"This brilliant group of speakers brings many new and unique histories, stories, and experiences to the Prairie Festival stage," said Rachel Stroer, president of The Land Institute. "We can grow a movement to face our rapidly changing future by harnessing our collective wisdom and differences."

The anchor address of the festival, the Strachan and Vivian Donnelley Family Keynote, will feature the groundbreaking Poet Laureate of Kansas, Huascar Medina, with his presentation&nbsp;Un Mango Grows in Kansas. Historically, the tentpole address centered on conservation and restoration topics, with talks from the likes of Wendell Berry, Bill McKibben, Liz Carlisle, and environmental scientists. This year, the spot will feature a Latino poet laureate for the first time. It will explore Medina's broader themes of what it means to put down roots in Kansas as a Latino, separation and inclusion, and writing poetry for ordinary people.

"How we spread change matters. If an idea is not rooted in emotion, it will not be nurtured. We must first establish the want to care," said Medina. "Poetry does this. It is emotion personified. An entry point to empathy. It can be felt before it is understood. It allows the heart to inform the mind."

Unheard stories and new shared experiences are the cornerstones of this year's program. The Kansas Black Farmers Association (KBFA) will hold a panel discussion titled&nbsp;We Have Always Been at the Roots: The Black Farm Experience. Hosted by Dr. JohnElla Holmes with KBFA members Web Davis, Donna McClish, and&nbsp;Ryan Tenney, they will discuss the often-overlooked past and living history of black farming.

"It's important that people know and appreciate that black farmers have been at the roots of agriculture since before the founding of this country," said Holmes, executive director and president of the Kansas Black Farmers Association. "We aim to build a tree of stories, from intergenerational century farms to urban cooperative farms caring for their communities to new farmers teaching the next generation of black agriculturalists. This tree will show that our roots in the past are deep, our trunk is tall, and we continue to spread our branches into the future."

Ethnobotanist and food sovereignty activist Linda Black Elk will speak on&nbsp;Radical Appreciation: Standing in Right Relationship with Prairie Ecosystems.&nbsp;

Dr. Omar Tesdell of Birzeit University will present&nbsp;Remnant Agro-ecology: Notes from the Fertile Crescent, discussing efforts to document wild plants and their cultural significance in Palestine.

Journalist, writer, and filmmaker&nbsp;Eric Schlosser,&nbsp;author of&nbsp;Fast Food Nation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Command and Control, will present&nbsp;Back to the Land: How to Live in the World without Destroying It.&nbsp;Schlosser will also converse with The Land Institute co-founder and celebrated author Wes Jackson in a dialog titled,&nbsp;The Old Future is Gone.

The Land Institute will also showcase its work to develop perennial grain agriculture with in-depth talks, field tours, and demonstrations.&nbsp;Updates on Progress Toward a Perennial Future&nbsp;by The Land Institute Chief Scientist Tim Crews and Aubrey Streit-Krug, director of ecosphere studies, will discuss the latest science and programs. In addition, the team will hold tours of institute research fields and talk with people about work on perennial grain crops, cropping systems, pollinators, soil ecology, civic science, and building new perennial grain supply chains from field to fork.

A big draw at Prairie Festival is the chance to eat and drink foods made with perennial grains developed by The Land Institute. The Friday night Hedge Fire Circle welcome reception will feature drinks made with perennial grains. In addition, Lawrence Beer Company is donating a special batch of Kernza®&nbsp;beer called Perennial Pub Ale. On Saturday morning, the festival will host a breakfast with pancakes made from Kernza®&nbsp;perennial grain flour and sausage made with bison raised on the institute's fields. Saturday afternoon, the Crop Stewardship program will sample Kernza bread from Artisan Naan Bakery and a perennial grain dish by award-winning cookbook author Beth Dooley. In addition, the Prairie Festival bookstore and concessions booth will have a variety of perennial grain foods and products for purchase, including those from innovative producers AJ Honey Farms, Perennial Pantry, and Sustain-a-Grain.

The Red Barn Gallery will mount the exhibition&nbsp;evolve | become: works on paper from the Konza Prairie&nbsp;by internationally acclaimed Kansas artist Erin Wiersma, this year's Prairie Festival featured artist. Wiersma's art focuses on the body's capacity to absorb and respond to anenvironment, incorporating elements from the Konza Prairie Biological Station in Kansas's Flint Hills and Tallgrass Prairie region. The gallery will also host a series of works titled&nbsp;The Flattening Future: Beauty, Utility and Discomfort&nbsp;by The Land Institute co-founder Wes Jackson and local artist Priti Gulati Cox.

Music has played a pivotal role since the first Prairie Festival in 1979; this year is no exception. The Saturday evening performance,&nbsp;A Concert in Celebration of the Earth, will be a journey through award-winning artist Paul Winter's world of "living music," featuring his soprano sax, accompanied by dynamic Brazilian pianist Henrique Eisenmann. The Land Institute's Wes Jackson will also narrate from his writings, along with the voices of Wolf, Whale, Wood Thrush, and other members of what Winter calls "the greater symphony of the Earth." In addition, the Kansas-based Land Band will play the traditional Friday night Prairie Festival barn dance. The Land Band's members include keyboardist Ann Zimmerman, guitarist Annie Wilson, bassist Lisa Grossman, fiddler Alice Boyle, hammered dulcimer player Matt Kirby, accordionist Christine Martin, flutist and banjo player Frank Martin, and contra dance caller Lisa Harris.

The festival welcomes all ages, in person or remotely. College students will receive reduced ticket prices, and admission is free for kids 18 years of age and under and those wishing to volunteer. A youth program will be available for kids 5-15 with signup at registration. An ADA-accessible viewing area will be open onsite. Additionally, the festival will host a live stream on YouTube for guests who cannot travel to experience it remotely. For more details and to register, visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=ppm-2Bg9Z8i-2Fnfymvub8HvF15ybeGPNmYWyASyAYYwL2Y3dKBq4AJkv0B0Gu5rTJQJXQtv8mVQoHDUTbEV-2BRLiJ8gKOx23HlD-2FIkSvCwqeYKI-3D6uTJ_6kyJuRoUnmvCB1a16096Mn2eJZOhmBwdl6u-2F3e7vncM2LrUJDwK9KSu1RUc8GFly3pMOhpINivEvyInDGU7k8lhI896hkl7jSNGMmFP-2Blgaj5zXT59DUKIaTKwS6uHSioXw5egW49VL0-2BuZlH1j4NlrnA5TgSLhKa92E0PjxvLj0Zk4kMfUKA9m3HI4Gv-2Bb8dS6VH7Vl9NpyiXRavDLOJUGm8ee1m-2FwFARO0-2FAfO9F-2FWtthr7u1G0exNH5M6G3MSUTA4CQGIntVRLq2lmRVdcc9xof24DXl58N2O011BQ9xD-2B-2FB-2FFe3HR9nOKJ334cNLt-2FyoG2bwTpwqmuaVFU3m4XdKoOoAk9nbqCxKJXEFaUWMZYop-2BqUOoqd1gHKsGmx5hdImd7D18RakbNdyAw83XA-3D-3D" target="_blank">Prairie Festival information page on The Land Institute website</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663203188138.png" alt="Some of the faces of this year's Prairie Festival.&nbsp;Photos courtesy The Land Institute&nbsp;&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Some of the faces of this year's Prairie Festival.&nbsp;Photos courtesy The Land Institute&nbsp;&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>The Land InstituteSALINA -- After a two-year pandemic hiatus, The Land Institute will host its 42nd&nbsp;perennial&nbsp;<a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=ppm-2Bg9Z8i-2Fnfymvub8HvF15ybeGPNmYWyASyAYYwL2Y3dKBq4AJkv0B0Gu5rTJQJXQtv8mVQoHDUTbEV-2BRLiJ8gKOx23HlD-2FIkSvCwqeYKI-3Dl3YT_6kyJuRoUnmvCB1a16096Mn2eJZOhmBwdl6u-2F3e7vncM2LrUJDwK9KSu1RUc8GFly3pMOhpINivEvyInDGU7k8lhI896hkl7jSNGMmFP-2Blgaj5zXT59DUKIaTKwS6uHSioXw5egW49VL0-2BuZlH1j4NlrnA5TgSLhKa92E0PjxvLj0Zk4kMfUKA9m3HI4Gv-2Bb8dS6VH7Vl9NpyiXRavDLOJUGm8ee1m-2FwFARO0-2FAfO9F-2FXr04FjNlER5df9g-2F9EZjM-2Bgwa0HbQtqRi7uALqo-2FvCaiqWBfrtk1x2xI2NrpbdiHNXHg7pzPWs4a-2FMjzOPYOepJF-2BmiKToN-2FrplrhTFyTNqP7phVEYLoofUwWjtq4Qwacv9nHXpq-2FruE5kh4Qonel450qEmlnKJrKESxjIeeeSA-3D-3D" target="_blank">Prairie Festival</a>&nbsp;-&nbsp;New Roots: Growing a movement from the ground down.,&nbsp;at its headquarters south of Salina Sept. 23-25.The event will feature new voices and perspectives,&nbsp;including Huascar Medina, Poet Laureate of Kansas; Dr. JohnElla Holmes of the Kansas Black Farmers Association; Linda Black Elk, Food Sovereignty Coordinator at United Tribes Technical College; Eric Schlosser, author of&nbsp;Fast Food Nation;&nbsp;an exhibition by land artist Erin Wiersma; and a concert by world-renowned musicians Paul Winter and Henrique Eisenmann.&nbsp;Along with great food, art, and music, highlights include the Friday night barn dance, Saturday morning Kernza®&nbsp;pancake breakfast, and Sunday sunrise walk through the ancient Wauhob Prairie.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Land Institute is located at 2440 E. Water Well Road.Prairie Festival returns in a time of tremendous social and ecological upheaval. The event offers guests a unique opportunity to find respite, reconnection, and inspiration. Situated in the rolling hills on the east bank of the Smoky Hill River, curious new visitors and long-time supporters alike can immerse themselves in nature, ideas, and culture on the prairie. Compelling thinkers, artists, scientists, and advocates focused on the problems of agriculture and social and climate justice will engage with festival-goers to help regenerate people and the land."This brilliant group of speakers brings many new and unique histories, stories, and experiences to the Prairie Festival stage," said Rachel Stroer, president of The Land Institute. "We can grow a movement to face our rapidly changing future by harnessing our collective wisdom and differences."The anchor address of the festival, the Strachan and Vivian Donnelley Family Keynote, will feature the groundbreaking Poet Laureate of Kansas, Huascar Medina, with his presentation&nbsp;Un Mango Grows in Kansas. Historically, the tentpole address centered on conservation and restoration topics, with talks from the likes of Wendell Berry, Bill McKibben, Liz Carlisle, and environmental scientists. This year, the spot will feature a Latino poet laureate for the first time. It will explore Medina's broader themes of what it means to put down roots in Kansas as a Latino, separation and inclusion, and writing poetry for ordinary people."How we spread change matters. If an idea is not rooted in emotion, it will not be nurtured. We must first establish the want to care," said Medina. "Poetry does this. It is emotion personified. An entry point to empathy. It can be felt before it is understood. It allows the heart to inform the mind."Unheard stories and new shared experiences are the cornerstones of this year's program. The Kansas Black Farmers Association (KBFA) will hold a panel discussion titled&nbsp;We Have Always Been at the Roots: The Black Farm Experience. Hosted by Dr. JohnElla Holmes with KBFA members Web Davis, Donna McClish, and&nbsp;Ryan Tenney, they will discuss the often-overlooked past and living history of black farming."It's important that people know and appreciate that black farmers have been at the roots of agriculture since before the founding of this country," said Holmes, executive director and president of the Kansas Black Farmers Association. "We aim to build a tree of stories, from intergenerational century farms to urban cooperative farms caring for their communities to new farmers teaching the next generation of black agriculturalists. This tree will show that our roots in the past are deep, our trunk is tall, and we continue to spread our branches into the future."Ethnobotanist and food sovereignty activist Linda Black Elk will speak on&nbsp;Radical Appreciation: Standing in Right Relationship with Prairie Ecosystems.&nbsp;Dr. Omar Tesdell of Birzeit University will present&nbsp;Remnant Agro-ecology: Notes from the Fertile Crescent, discussing efforts to document wild plants and their cultural significance in Palestine.Journalist, writer, and filmmaker&nbsp;Eric Schlosser,&nbsp;author of&nbsp;Fast Food Nation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Command and Control, will present&nbsp;Back to the Land: How to Live in the World without Destroying It.&nbsp;Schlosser will also converse with The Land Institute co-founder and celebrated author Wes Jackson in a dialog titled,&nbsp;The Old Future is Gone.The Land Institute will also showcase its work to develop perennial grain agriculture with in-depth talks, field tours, and demonstrations.&nbsp;Updates on Progress Toward a Perennial Future&nbsp;by The Land Institute Chief Scientist Tim Crews and Aubrey Streit-Krug, director of ecosphere studies, will discuss the latest science and programs. In addition, the team will hold tours of institute research fields and talk with people about work on perennial grain crops, cropping systems, pollinators, soil ecology, civic science, and building new perennial grain supply chains from field to fork.A big draw at Prairie Festival is the chance to eat and drink foods made with perennial grains developed by The Land Institute. The Friday night Hedge Fire Circle welcome reception will feature drinks made with perennial grains. In addition, Lawrence Beer Company is donating a special batch of Kernza®&nbsp;beer called Perennial Pub Ale. On Saturday morning, the festival will host a breakfast with pancakes made from Kernza®&nbsp;perennial grain flour and sausage made with bison raised on the institute's fields. Saturday afternoon, the Crop Stewardship program will sample Kernza bread from Artisan Naan Bakery and a perennial grain dish by award-winning cookbook author Beth Dooley. In addition, the Prairie Festival bookstore and concessions booth will have a variety of perennial grain foods and products for purchase, including those from innovative producers AJ Honey Farms, Perennial Pantry, and Sustain-a-Grain.The Red Barn Gallery will mount the exhibition&nbsp;evolve | become: works on paper from the Konza Prairie&nbsp;by internationally acclaimed Kansas artist Erin Wiersma, this year's Prairie Festival featured artist. Wiersma's art focuses on the body's capacity to absorb and respond to anenvironment, incorporating elements from the Konza Prairie Biological Station in Kansas's Flint Hills and Tallgrass Prairie region. The gallery will also host a series of works titled&nbsp;The Flattening Future: Beauty, Utility and Discomfort&nbsp;by The Land Institute co-founder Wes Jackson and local artist Priti Gulati Cox.Music has played a pivotal role since the first Prairie Festival in 1979; this year is no exception. The Saturday evening performance,&nbsp;A Concert in Celebration of the Earth, will be a journey through award-winning artist Paul Winter's world of "living music," featuring his soprano sax, accompanied by dynamic Brazilian pianist Henrique Eisenmann. The Land Institute's Wes Jackson will also narrate from his writings, along with the voices of Wolf, Whale, Wood Thrush, and other members of what Winter calls "the greater symphony of the Earth." In addition, the Kansas-based Land Band will play the traditional Friday night Prairie Festival barn dance. The Land Band's members include keyboardist Ann Zimmerman, guitarist Annie Wilson, bassist Lisa Grossman, fiddler Alice Boyle, hammered dulcimer player Matt Kirby, accordionist Christine Martin, flutist and banjo player Frank Martin, and contra dance caller Lisa Harris.The festival welcomes all ages, in person or remotely. College students will receive reduced ticket prices, and admission is free for kids 18 years of age and under and those wishing to volunteer. A youth program will be available for kids 5-15 with signup at registration. An ADA-accessible viewing area will be open onsite. Additionally, the festival will host a live stream on YouTube for guests who cannot travel to experience it remotely. For more details and to register, visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=ppm-2Bg9Z8i-2Fnfymvub8HvF15ybeGPNmYWyASyAYYwL2Y3dKBq4AJkv0B0Gu5rTJQJXQtv8mVQoHDUTbEV-2BRLiJ8gKOx23HlD-2FIkSvCwqeYKI-3D6uTJ_6kyJuRoUnmvCB1a16096Mn2eJZOhmBwdl6u-2F3e7vncM2LrUJDwK9KSu1RUc8GFly3pMOhpINivEvyInDGU7k8lhI896hkl7jSNGMmFP-2Blgaj5zXT59DUKIaTKwS6uHSioXw5egW49VL0-2BuZlH1j4NlrnA5TgSLhKa92E0PjxvLj0Zk4kMfUKA9m3HI4Gv-2Bb8dS6VH7Vl9NpyiXRavDLOJUGm8ee1m-2FwFARO0-2FAfO9F-2FWtthr7u1G0exNH5M6G3MSUTA4CQGIntVRLq2lmRVdcc9xof24DXl58N2O011BQ9xD-2B-2FB-2FFe3HR9nOKJ334cNLt-2FyoG2bwTpwqmuaVFU3m4XdKoOoAk9nbqCxKJXEFaUWMZYop-2BqUOoqd1gHKsGmx5hdImd7D18RakbNdyAw83XA-3D-3D" target="_blank">Prairie Festival information page on The Land Institute website</a>.

42nd Prairie Festival set for Sept. 23-25

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22BOBBY%20ROSS%20Jr.%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By BOBBY ROSS Jr. Associated Press</a>

The Rev. Matt Curry’s parents were children of the Great Depression, just like “The Waltons” — the beloved TV family whose prime-time series premiered 50 years ago.

When Curry was growing up on a farm in northern Texas, his carpenter father and teacher mother often argued playfully over who had a poorer childhood.

“The Depression was the seminal time of their lives — the time that was about family and survival and making it through,” said Curry, now a 59-year-old Presbyterian pastor in Owensboro, Kentucky. “My dad used to talk about how his dad would go work out of town and send $5 a week to feed and clothe the family.”

So when “The Waltons,” set in 1932 and running through World War II, debuted on CBS on Sept. 14, 1972, the Currys identified closely with the storylines. Millions of others felt the same, and the Thursday night drama about a Depression-era family in rural Virginia became&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/television">one of TV’s most popular and enduring programs</a>.

At a time when the networks generally avoided “dangerous” content, “The Waltons” was notable for taking on difficult topics — religion, in particular — said Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University’s Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture.

“I think it was an important show, and I think it actually doesn’t get the attention that it deserves,” Thompson said.

“‘The Waltons’ really did get down and roll around in some very, very serious spiritual themes,” he added. “For example, an atheist comes to town, and we get this whole discussion between atheism and spirituality.”

“The Waltons” ran for nine seasons and 221 episodes, ranking as high as No. 2 in the Nielsen ratings. A half-century later it still stirs nostalgia among loyal fans who can’t resist taking in cable TV reruns, binging episodes via streaming apps and keeping up with former stars through social media.

Based on the life of its creator, the late Earl Hamner Jr., the show followed a large extended family living in a white, two-story farmhouse and running a sawmill in the fictional Blue Ridge foothills town of Walton’s Mountain. The parents, grandparents and seven children — John Jr., Jason, Mary Ellen, Erin, Ben, Jim-Bob and Elizabeth — were depicted wearing overalls and dresses, praying at meals and overcoming adversity through hard work and grace.

“The Waltons” focused on John Jr., known as John-Boy, played by Richard Thomas and modeled on Hamner. The oldest sibling, he aspired to be a writer and experience the world beyond his humble upbringing.

Now 71 and starring as lawyer Atticus Finch in a touring production of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Thomas said he still hears fans call “Good night, John-Boy!” after each performance. The familiar catchphrase pays homage to the Emmy-winning role that made him famous.

“It’s kind of astonishing that we’re still talking about a show 50 years later,” said Thomas, who narrates “A Waltons Thanksgiving,” a made-for-TV movie airing this fall on the CW network.

“To have that kind of longevity and then have it mean enough for people to want to do a new version of it — I’m not sure exactly why,” he added. “I know it affected a lot of people’s lives. But I think primarily Earl Hamner’s writing was just so great and the cast loved each other so much and we were so committed.”

John-Boy had a lot to do with the show’s popularity — and inspired many a crush back then among fans like Jerri Harrington, now 67, of Centreville, Virginia.

Harrington still watches an episode every night with her husband of 47 years. During the frightening early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, its characters — particularly grandma Esther, played by the late Ellen Corby — brought a sense of comfort and return to childhood.

“It just feels familiar,” said Harrington, a grandmother herself.

Another lifelong fan, Carol Jackson, like Curry the daughter of Depression-era parents, sees her own family’s story reflected.

She became a fan as a kindergartner and as an adult placed “Waltons” DVDs in the resort cabins that her family operated in the Ozarks of northern Arkansas. The homespun stories still connect with the 55-year-old mother of three.

“I just told my kids, ‘One day when I’m old and in my wheelchair … just wheel me in front of ‘The Waltons’ on a continual loop, and I’ll be happy,’” Jackson said.

Kami Cotler, who was 6 years old when she first starred as youngest sibling Elizabeth in a 1971 holiday TV movie that launched the series, still&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044073624038">interacts regularly with such fans via her Facebook page</a>, which has nearly 150,000 followers.

Cotler said “The Waltons” shared “universal truths” that help explain its lasting popularity.

“The show frequently told really simple human stories that resonate with people because that’s what life is like,” said Cotler, now an educator in Southern California. “People will joke that it was very saccharine sweet, but I don’t think that it actually was.”

On the show, parents John Walton Sr. and Olivia Walton — played, respectively, by the late Ralph Waite, an ordained minister in real life, and Michael Learned — frequently clashed over their differing approaches to God. Olivia was a devout Baptist, but John Sr. was not a churchgoer.

“I’ve always looked for God in my own way,” he said in one episode.

An ongoing theme was the appearance in Walton’s Mountain of an outsider — a Jewish family fleeing Nazi persecution, a Black boxer and preacher raising money for a new church, a Hollywood actress who smoked and drank — who met a mixed reception.

In 1972’s “The Sinner” episode, a young pastor played by the late John Ritter arrived preaching fire-and-brimstone Bible verses. But he inadvertently became intoxicated after drinking too much of the “secret recipe” served by the Baldwin sisters, two prim and proper recurring characters who didn’t seem to realize they were bootleggers.

After the mishap touched off something of a scandal, John Sr. made a rare appearance at church and pointed to Jesus’ words from John 8:7: “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”

“The religious aspect of the show had to do with the fact that Earl Hamner was talking about a time and a place ... where those issues were very much in play,” said Thomas, now a grandfather of four. “I mean, in a small community in the mountains of Virginia in the Depression, if you don’t deal with the church aspect of things, then you don’t deal with things as they were.”

Over the show’s long run, the Waltons and their neighbors learned valuable lessons about overcoming differences and treating everyone with love and respect. Those lessons, Cotler said, “are perhaps even more relevant today.”

On a personal note, Cotler, a secular Jew, credits grandpa Zeb, played by the late Will Geer, with teaching her how to sing church songs on the show.

Curry, the Kentucky pastor, said “The Waltons” reflected how Jesus often rebukes religious people for hypocrisy in the Bible, while commending an unexpected person — such as a Samaritan who helped a stranger — for showing love and grace.

The show “talked about religion and faith … in a way that does not demean people,” Curry said. “There’s something in there that we are missing today, and it’s the sense of community, of unity, of battling through hard times.”

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22BOBBY%20ROSS%20Jr.%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By BOBBY ROSS Jr. Associated Press</a>The Rev. Matt Curry’s parents were children of the Great Depression, just like “The Waltons” — the beloved TV family whose prime-time series premiered 50 years ago.When Curry was growing up on a farm in northern Texas, his carpenter father and teacher mother often argued playfully over who had a poorer childhood.“The Depression was the seminal time of their lives — the time that was about family and survival and making it through,” said Curry, now a 59-year-old Presbyterian pastor in Owensboro, Kentucky. “My dad used to talk about how his dad would go work out of town and send $5 a week to feed and clothe the family.”So when “The Waltons,” set in 1932 and running through World War II, debuted on CBS on Sept. 14, 1972, the Currys identified closely with the storylines. Millions of others felt the same, and the Thursday night drama about a Depression-era family in rural Virginia became&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/television">one of TV’s most popular and enduring programs</a>.At a time when the networks generally avoided “dangerous” content, “The Waltons” was notable for taking on difficult topics — religion, in particular — said Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University’s Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture.“I think it was an important show, and I think it actually doesn’t get the attention that it deserves,” Thompson said.“‘The Waltons’ really did get down and roll around in some very, very serious spiritual themes,” he added. “For example, an atheist comes to town, and we get this whole discussion between atheism and spirituality.”“The Waltons” ran for nine seasons and 221 episodes, ranking as high as No. 2 in the Nielsen ratings. A half-century later it still stirs nostalgia among loyal fans who can’t resist taking in cable TV reruns, binging episodes via streaming apps and keeping up with former stars through social media.Based on the life of its creator, the late Earl Hamner Jr., the show followed a large extended family living in a white, two-story farmhouse and running a sawmill in the fictional Blue Ridge foothills town of Walton’s Mountain. The parents, grandparents and seven children — John Jr., Jason, Mary Ellen, Erin, Ben, Jim-Bob and Elizabeth — were depicted wearing overalls and dresses, praying at meals and overcoming adversity through hard work and grace.“The Waltons” focused on John Jr., known as John-Boy, played by Richard Thomas and modeled on Hamner. The oldest sibling, he aspired to be a writer and experience the world beyond his humble upbringing.Now 71 and starring as lawyer Atticus Finch in a touring production of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Thomas said he still hears fans call “Good night, John-Boy!” after each performance. The familiar catchphrase pays homage to the Emmy-winning role that made him famous.“It’s kind of astonishing that we’re still talking about a show 50 years later,” said Thomas, who narrates “A Waltons Thanksgiving,” a made-for-TV movie airing this fall on the CW network.“To have that kind of longevity and then have it mean enough for people to want to do a new version of it — I’m not sure exactly why,” he added. “I know it affected a lot of people’s lives. But I think primarily Earl Hamner’s writing was just so great and the cast loved each other so much and we were so committed.”John-Boy had a lot to do with the show’s popularity — and inspired many a crush back then among fans like Jerri Harrington, now 67, of Centreville, Virginia.Harrington still watches an episode every night with her husband of 47 years. During the frightening early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, its characters — particularly grandma Esther, played by the late Ellen Corby — brought a sense of comfort and return to childhood.“It just feels familiar,” said Harrington, a grandmother herself.Another lifelong fan, Carol Jackson, like Curry the daughter of Depression-era parents, sees her own family’s story reflected.She became a fan as a kindergartner and as an adult placed “Waltons” DVDs in the resort cabins that her family operated in the Ozarks of northern Arkansas. The homespun stories still connect with the 55-year-old mother of three.“I just told my kids, ‘One day when I’m old and in my wheelchair … just wheel me in front of ‘The Waltons’ on a continual loop, and I’ll be happy,’” Jackson said.Kami Cotler, who was 6 years old when she first starred as youngest sibling Elizabeth in a 1971 holiday TV movie that launched the series, still&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044073624038">interacts regularly with such fans via her Facebook page</a>, which has nearly 150,000 followers.Cotler said “The Waltons” shared “universal truths” that help explain its lasting popularity.“The show frequently told really simple human stories that resonate with people because that’s what life is like,” said Cotler, now an educator in Southern California. “People will joke that it was very saccharine sweet, but I don’t think that it actually was.”On the show, parents John Walton Sr. and Olivia Walton — played, respectively, by the late Ralph Waite, an ordained minister in real life, and Michael Learned — frequently clashed over their differing approaches to God. Olivia was a devout Baptist, but John Sr. was not a churchgoer.“I’ve always looked for God in my own way,” he said in one episode.An ongoing theme was the appearance in Walton’s Mountain of an outsider — a Jewish family fleeing Nazi persecution, a Black boxer and preacher raising money for a new church, a Hollywood actress who smoked and drank — who met a mixed reception.In 1972’s “The Sinner” episode, a young pastor played by the late John Ritter arrived preaching fire-and-brimstone Bible verses. But he inadvertently became intoxicated after drinking too much of the “secret recipe” served by the Baldwin sisters, two prim and proper recurring characters who didn’t seem to realize they were bootleggers.After the mishap touched off something of a scandal, John Sr. made a rare appearance at church and pointed to Jesus’ words from John 8:7: “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”“The religious aspect of the show had to do with the fact that Earl Hamner was talking about a time and a place ... where those issues were very much in play,” said Thomas, now a grandfather of four. “I mean, in a small community in the mountains of Virginia in the Depression, if you don’t deal with the church aspect of things, then you don’t deal with things as they were.”Over the show’s long run, the Waltons and their neighbors learned valuable lessons about overcoming differences and treating everyone with love and respect. Those lessons, Cotler said, “are perhaps even more relevant today.”On a personal note, Cotler, a secular Jew, credits grandpa Zeb, played by the late Will Geer, with teaching her how to sing church songs on the show.Curry, the Kentucky pastor, said “The Waltons” reflected how Jesus often rebukes religious people for hypocrisy in the Bible, while commending an unexpected person — such as a Samaritan who helped a stranger — for showing love and grace.The show “talked about religion and faith … in a way that does not demean people,” Curry said. “There’s something in there that we are missing today, and it’s the sense of community, of unity, of battling through hard times.”

At 50, TV's ‘The Waltons’ still stirs fans’ love, nostalgia

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22HILLEL%20ITALIE%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer</a>

NEW YORK (AP) — Oprah Winfrey has selected a prison memoir by Jarvis Jay Masters, currently on death row in San Quentin State Prison in California, for her latest book club pick. Masters' “That Bird Has My Wings: The Autobiography of an Innocent Man on Death Row” was first published in 2009.

Activists for years have called for the release of Masters, sentenced to death in 1990 for taking part in the murder of a San Quentin prison guard. Masters, first imprisoned in 1981 for armed robbery, has filed numerous appeals in efforts to have his murder conviction overturned. A hearing is scheduled for next month in federal court.

“A little more than 10 years ago, I was given a memoir by Jarvis Jay Masters, a man serving a death row sentence in San Quentin,” Winfrey said in a statement Tuesday. “His story, of a young boy victimized by addiction, poverty, violence, the foster care system, and later the justice system, profoundly touched me then, and still does today, which is why I’m naming ‘That Bird Has My Wings’ as my latest Oprah’s Book Club selection.”

Masters said in a statement that he would be “forever grateful” to Winfrey for choosing his book.

“I turned 60 this year, having entered San Quentin at the age 19. I wrote ‘That Bird Has My Wings’ while in solitary confinement, isolated and alone,” he said. “My greatest hope at that time was that a few young people would read my story and learn from my mistakes. Thanks to Ms. Winfrey and her book club, my story will be introduced to a national audience. It is my greatest hope that their lives will be the better for it."

Supporters of Masters have backed his claims of innocence and cited him as a model of how people can transform themselves. In “Don’t Stop Believing That People Can Change,” a New York Times essay published in April, author Rebecca Solnit wrote that “he has often defused potential violence and offered solace and a trustworthy ear to the sorrows of those around him.”

Masters has also written “Finding Freedom: How Death Row Broke and Opened My Heart,” published in 1997.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22HILLEL%20ITALIE%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer</a>NEW YORK (AP) — Oprah Winfrey has selected a prison memoir by Jarvis Jay Masters, currently on death row in San Quentin State Prison in California, for her latest book club pick. Masters' “That Bird Has My Wings: The Autobiography of an Innocent Man on Death Row” was first published in 2009.Activists for years have called for the release of Masters, sentenced to death in 1990 for taking part in the murder of a San Quentin prison guard. Masters, first imprisoned in 1981 for armed robbery, has filed numerous appeals in efforts to have his murder conviction overturned. A hearing is scheduled for next month in federal court.“A little more than 10 years ago, I was given a memoir by Jarvis Jay Masters, a man serving a death row sentence in San Quentin,” Winfrey said in a statement Tuesday. “His story, of a young boy victimized by addiction, poverty, violence, the foster care system, and later the justice system, profoundly touched me then, and still does today, which is why I’m naming ‘That Bird Has My Wings’ as my latest Oprah’s Book Club selection.”Masters said in a statement that he would be “forever grateful” to Winfrey for choosing his book.“I turned 60 this year, having entered San Quentin at the age 19. I wrote ‘That Bird Has My Wings’ while in solitary confinement, isolated and alone,” he said. “My greatest hope at that time was that a few young people would read my story and learn from my mistakes. Thanks to Ms. Winfrey and her book club, my story will be introduced to a national audience. It is my greatest hope that their lives will be the better for it."Supporters of Masters have backed his claims of innocence and cited him as a model of how people can transform themselves. In “Don’t Stop Believing That People Can Change,” a New York Times essay published in April, author Rebecca Solnit wrote that “he has often defused potential violence and offered solace and a trustworthy ear to the sorrows of those around him.”Masters has also written “Finding Freedom: How Death Row Broke and Opened My Heart,” published in 1997.

Winfrey selects prison memoir 'That Bird Has My Wings'

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Friday Night Finds: Sept. 9, 2022

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22LYNN%20ELBER%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer</a>

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Succession” and “Ted Lasso” topped the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/emmy-awards">Emmy Awards</a>&nbsp;on Monday, in a ceremony that touted the influence of TV and extended honors to global sensation “Squid Game” and winners who delivered messages of empowerment.

The evening's uplifting tone, as voiced especially by Zendaya, Lizzo and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emmy-awards-entertainment-sitcoms-tv-172154473a7c2f3278287368780be476">Sheryl Lee Ralph</a>, was in contrast to the darkness that pervaded the storytelling of best drama series winner “Succession” and even comedy series victor “Ted Lasso."

“Thanks for making such a safe space to make this very difficult show,” said Zendaya, claiming her second best drama actress award for “Euphoria,” about a group of teens' tough coming-of-age.

“My greatest wish for “Euphoria’ was that it could help heal people. Thank you for everyone who has shared your story with me. I carry them with me, and I carry them with” Rue, her character, Zendaya said.

“Succession,” about a media empire run by a grasping and cutthroat family, split drama series honors with “Squid Game,” the bold South Korean-set drama about the idle rich turning the poor into entertainment fodder.

Lee Jung-jae of “Squid Game,” who played the show's moral center, became the first Asian to win the Emmy for best drama series actor.

“Thank you for making realistic problems we all face come to life so creatively on the screen,” Lee said to “Squid Game” creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, who earned the Emmy for best drama series directing. In Korean, Lee thanked the audience in his native country for watching.

Backstage, Hwang said this was "a major moment for us,” and Lee said he expected the awards to open doors for other Asian actors.

Jason Sudeikis and Jean Smart collected back-to-back acting trophies, but several new Emmy winners were minted, with Lizzo and Quinta Brunson and Sheryl Lee Ralph of “Abbott Elementary" collecting trophies.

Brunson, who created and stars in the freshman series, won the Emmy for comedy series writing. ABC's “Abbott Elementary,” also nominated for best comedy, is a rare bright spot for network broadcasting in the age of streaming and cable dominance.

Sudeikis won his second consecutive trophy for playing the unlikely U.S. coach of a British soccer team in the comedy “Ted Lasso,” with Smart matching that haul for her role as a veteran comedian in “Hacks."

Sudeikis gave a rare awards show shoutout to TV consumers: “Thanks to the people who watch this show and dig it as much as we dig making it."

There was a ripple of reaction in the theater when “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong mentioned&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/king-charles-III-british-throne-ab21181c92dbb154a29bad12075662e9">Britain’s new king, Charles III</a>, in accepting the show’s trophy, the cast standing alongside him.

“Big week for successions, new king in the U.K., this for us. Evidently a little bit more voting involved in our winning than Prince Charles,” Armstrong said. “I’m not saying we’re more legitimate in our position than he is. We’ll leave that up to other people.”

Ralph stopped the Emmy Awards show by accepting the best supporting actress comedy award for “Abbott Elementary" with a brief but rousing song of affirmation.

“I am an endangered species, but I sing no victim song. I am a woman, I am an artist and I know where my voice belongs,” she belted out. She then encouraged anyone doubting their dream “I am here to tell you this is what believing looks like.”

The audience, including Lizzo and many of television's biggest stars, leapt to their feet to cheer on Ralph.

When Lizzo herself accepted the award for best-competition series trophy for “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,” she offered another emotional pep talk.

“When I was a little girl, all I wanted to see was me in the media. Someone fat like me, Black like me, beautiful like me,” the music artist said.

There were also cheers for presenter Selma Blair, who has discussed her multiple sclerosis diagnosis publicly and who used a cane on stage.

“Ted Lasso” co-star Brett Goldstein, won comedy supporting actors, while Matthew Macfadyen of “Succession” and Julia Garner of “Ozark” earned drama series supporting actor honors.

“It's such a a pleasure and privilege for me to play this bonkers gift of a role in this wonderful show,” Macfadyen said in accepting the trophy for his role as a scheming member of a media empire family.

Garner was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emmy-awards-entertainment-movies-tv-644ef4de2886ce7d4395765fb34b44fa">among the winners</a>&nbsp;who took advantage of covering all bases by thanking her husband and others in an on-screen message.

“The White Lotus” collected several honors, including best limited or anthology series.

The achievements of “Squid Game,” “Abbott Elementary” and a few other shows didn’t change the relative lack of diversity in this year’s nominations, which included significantly fewer people of color than in 2021.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emmy-awards-jada-pinkett-smith-chris-rock-entertainment-los-angeles-be3d652d638497a85dbd61a9fd24aadd">Host Kenan Thompson</a>&nbsp;kicked off the Emmys with a tribute to TV, dismissing Tik-Tok as “tiny vertical television,” and a musical number saluting series’ theme songs from “Friends” to “The Brady Bunch” to “Game of Thrones.”

Once the music stopped, Thompson provided a mic drop moment — announcing Oprah Winfrey as the first presenter. Winfrey strutted onto the stage holding an Emmy statuette, declaring the night “a party!” The night’s first award went to Michael Keaton for his role in “Dopesick.” Winfrey and Keaton hugged before she handed him his trophy.

“It means something,” Keaton said of the award for playing a caring doctor ensnared with his patients by addiction. He went on to recall the “magic” of being introduced to TV when his dad won a set at a raffle and thanked his parents for not mocking his youthful attempts at acting.

Amanda Seyfried earned the limited-series lead actress trophy for “The Dropout,” in which she played ill-fated Silicon Valley whiz kid Elizabeth Holmes. She thanked a list of family and colleagues and even her dog, Finn.

Murray Bartlett won the best supporting actor award for “The White Lotus,” a tragicomedy set in a Hawaii resort. Jennifer Coolidge, who won best supporting actress honors for the show, delighted the audience by shimmying to the music intended to cut off her acceptance speech.

The award for best variety talk show went to “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” with stand-up special “Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel” winning for best writing for a comedy special.

"Good night, everybody. I’ma go home. I’m not like a sore winner, but I’m going to go home because I can’t top this right now,” an overcome Carmichael told the audience.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-los-angeles-elle-fanning-d8624fd7435099009be675646fd426d5">Glamour was back with some metallic sparkle and lots of bright color</a>&nbsp;as an otherworldly Britt Lower, Old Hollywood Elle Fanning and their fellow stars posed for photographers.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22LYNN%20ELBER%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer</a>LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Succession” and “Ted Lasso” topped the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/emmy-awards">Emmy Awards</a>&nbsp;on Monday, in a ceremony that touted the influence of TV and extended honors to global sensation “Squid Game” and winners who delivered messages of empowerment.The evening's uplifting tone, as voiced especially by Zendaya, Lizzo and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emmy-awards-entertainment-sitcoms-tv-172154473a7c2f3278287368780be476">Sheryl Lee Ralph</a>, was in contrast to the darkness that pervaded the storytelling of best drama series winner “Succession” and even comedy series victor “Ted Lasso."“Thanks for making such a safe space to make this very difficult show,” said Zendaya, claiming her second best drama actress award for “Euphoria,” about a group of teens' tough coming-of-age.“My greatest wish for “Euphoria’ was that it could help heal people. Thank you for everyone who has shared your story with me. I carry them with me, and I carry them with” Rue, her character, Zendaya said.“Succession,” about a media empire run by a grasping and cutthroat family, split drama series honors with “Squid Game,” the bold South Korean-set drama about the idle rich turning the poor into entertainment fodder.Lee Jung-jae of “Squid Game,” who played the show's moral center, became the first Asian to win the Emmy for best drama series actor.“Thank you for making realistic problems we all face come to life so creatively on the screen,” Lee said to “Squid Game” creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, who earned the Emmy for best drama series directing. In Korean, Lee thanked the audience in his native country for watching.Backstage, Hwang said this was "a major moment for us,” and Lee said he expected the awards to open doors for other Asian actors.Jason Sudeikis and Jean Smart collected back-to-back acting trophies, but several new Emmy winners were minted, with Lizzo and Quinta Brunson and Sheryl Lee Ralph of “Abbott Elementary" collecting trophies.Brunson, who created and stars in the freshman series, won the Emmy for comedy series writing. ABC's “Abbott Elementary,” also nominated for best comedy, is a rare bright spot for network broadcasting in the age of streaming and cable dominance.Sudeikis won his second consecutive trophy for playing the unlikely U.S. coach of a British soccer team in the comedy “Ted Lasso,” with Smart matching that haul for her role as a veteran comedian in “Hacks."Sudeikis gave a rare awards show shoutout to TV consumers: “Thanks to the people who watch this show and dig it as much as we dig making it."There was a ripple of reaction in the theater when “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong mentioned&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/king-charles-III-british-throne-ab21181c92dbb154a29bad12075662e9">Britain’s new king, Charles III</a>, in accepting the show’s trophy, the cast standing alongside him.“Big week for successions, new king in the U.K., this for us. Evidently a little bit more voting involved in our winning than Prince Charles,” Armstrong said. “I’m not saying we’re more legitimate in our position than he is. We’ll leave that up to other people.”Ralph stopped the Emmy Awards show by accepting the best supporting actress comedy award for “Abbott Elementary" with a brief but rousing song of affirmation.“I am an endangered species, but I sing no victim song. I am a woman, I am an artist and I know where my voice belongs,” she belted out. She then encouraged anyone doubting their dream “I am here to tell you this is what believing looks like.”The audience, including Lizzo and many of television's biggest stars, leapt to their feet to cheer on Ralph.When Lizzo herself accepted the award for best-competition series trophy for “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,” she offered another emotional pep talk.“When I was a little girl, all I wanted to see was me in the media. Someone fat like me, Black like me, beautiful like me,” the music artist said.There were also cheers for presenter Selma Blair, who has discussed her multiple sclerosis diagnosis publicly and who used a cane on stage.“Ted Lasso” co-star Brett Goldstein, won comedy supporting actors, while Matthew Macfadyen of “Succession” and Julia Garner of “Ozark” earned drama series supporting actor honors.“It's such a a pleasure and privilege for me to play this bonkers gift of a role in this wonderful show,” Macfadyen said in accepting the trophy for his role as a scheming member of a media empire family.Garner was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emmy-awards-entertainment-movies-tv-644ef4de2886ce7d4395765fb34b44fa">among the winners</a>&nbsp;who took advantage of covering all bases by thanking her husband and others in an on-screen message.“The White Lotus” collected several honors, including best limited or anthology series.The achievements of “Squid Game,” “Abbott Elementary” and a few other shows didn’t change the relative lack of diversity in this year’s nominations, which included significantly fewer people of color than in 2021.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emmy-awards-jada-pinkett-smith-chris-rock-entertainment-los-angeles-be3d652d638497a85dbd61a9fd24aadd">Host Kenan Thompson</a>&nbsp;kicked off the Emmys with a tribute to TV, dismissing Tik-Tok as “tiny vertical television,” and a musical number saluting series’ theme songs from “Friends” to “The Brady Bunch” to “Game of Thrones.”Once the music stopped, Thompson provided a mic drop moment — announcing Oprah Winfrey as the first presenter. Winfrey strutted onto the stage holding an Emmy statuette, declaring the night “a party!” The night’s first award went to Michael Keaton for his role in “Dopesick.” Winfrey and Keaton hugged before she handed him his trophy.“It means something,” Keaton said of the award for playing a caring doctor ensnared with his patients by addiction. He went on to recall the “magic” of being introduced to TV when his dad won a set at a raffle and thanked his parents for not mocking his youthful attempts at acting.Amanda Seyfried earned the limited-series lead actress trophy for “The Dropout,” in which she played ill-fated Silicon Valley whiz kid Elizabeth Holmes. She thanked a list of family and colleagues and even her dog, Finn.Murray Bartlett won the best supporting actor award for “The White Lotus,” a tragicomedy set in a Hawaii resort. Jennifer Coolidge, who won best supporting actress honors for the show, delighted the audience by shimmying to the music intended to cut off her acceptance speech.The award for best variety talk show went to “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” with stand-up special “Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel” winning for best writing for a comedy special."Good night, everybody. I’ma go home. I’m not like a sore winner, but I’m going to go home because I can’t top this right now,” an overcome Carmichael told the audience.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-los-angeles-elle-fanning-d8624fd7435099009be675646fd426d5">Glamour was back with some metallic sparkle and lots of bright color</a>&nbsp;as an otherworldly Britt Lower, Old Hollywood Elle Fanning and their fellow stars posed for photographers.

'Succession,' 'Ted Lasso' top Emmys; 1st time winners shine

— Twin brothers go to their mother’s house for a stay but find something is off about her in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lKm2Vct3x4">“Goodnight Mommy,”</a>&nbsp;an English language remake of a cult Austrian horror from 2014. Naomi Watts plays the mother, an actress whose face is wrapped in bandages — presumably recovering from plastic surgery. She’s also quite on edge and suspiciously cruel and the boys, Elias (Cameron Crovetti) and Lucas (Nicholas Crovetti) start worrying that it is not, in fact, their mother, but an imposter. Directed by Matt Sobel, “Goodnight Mommy” arrives on Prime Video on Friday.

— A year after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b0ZYBmST-U">“Official Competition”</a>&nbsp;premiered to raves at the 78th Venice Film Festival, it’s finally coming to a streaming service, AMC+, on Friday. The sharp satire skewering the movie business (and the art world in general) stars Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas as two egomaniacs who a billionaire hires to make a film together. By all accounts the Spanish language film, directed by Mariano Cohn and Gaston Duprat, is deliriously fun and funny and a great showcase for its leads Cruz and Banderas.

— Over on Disney+, the original documentary&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtxeORZkatk">“Mija”</a>&nbsp;tells the story of Doris Muñoz and Jacks Haupt, the daughters of Mexican immigrants who are trying to make their way in the music business in the U.S. It’s the directorial debut of Isabel Castro, also a Mexican American, and will be available to watch on Friday. In the Variety review out of the Sundance Film Festival, critic Lisa Kennedy wrote that, “Castro’s debut feature deals with heartache and vulnerability but also shimmers with joy and genuine insight.”

— After night must come light, right? Little Big Town’s album “Mr. Sun” drops Friday, the follow-up to the band’s last offering, “Nightfall.” Band member Karen Fairchild says: “‘Mr. Sun’ is focused on better days ahead, the value of friendships and family; it touches on heartbreak and letting go, but it’s full of sunshine and joy.” The 16-song album — with a member of the band writing or co-writing 13 of them — includes “Rich Man,” the hazy, addictive&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDHq-2HAs1o">“All Summer”</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk_2Ri1tbk8">“Hell Yeah.”</a>

— Singer-songwriter Michelle Branch will release her new album “The Trouble with Fever” despite facing her own personal troubles. The album, out Friday, was co-produced with her husband, Patrick Carney, drummer for The Black Keys. Branch was arrested last month for allegedly slapping Carney, but prosecutors decided not to press charges. The album’s first single,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu6AfnmlSQY">“I’m A Man,”</a>&nbsp;is a bluesy protest song that tackles such topics as women’s rights, toxic masculinity, reproductive rights and sexual harassment.

— Marcus Mumford releases his first solo album on Friday, but he’s tapped plenty of friends for help: Brandi Carlile, Phoebe Bridgers, Clairo, Monica Martin and Julia Michaels. The album, “(self-titled),” has produced the quiet yet powerful&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOcfW0zv7cY">“Cannibal”</a>&nbsp;(with a Steven Spielberg-directed video) and the superb&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJkGZx8i-h0">“Grace,”</a>&nbsp;a strummy cathartic tune with the lyrics: “I hear there’s healing just around this corner.” Blake Mills produced the album.

— Jessie Reyez had some bad luck when she released her debut album, “Before Love Came To Kill Us.” It came out in late March 2020, along with the pandemic, which wiped out her buzz. This week, she’s hoping for better luck with “YESSIE,” led by the spiteful kiss-off single&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG1m3b9j_qY">“Mutual Friend,”</a>&nbsp;with the line: “This heartbreak morphed into hate.” The Colombian-Canadian artist has had an exciting year, touring with Billie Eilish and performing at the 2022 Coachella music festival.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K2ZbWQCVpQ">— “The Handmaid’s Tale”</a>&nbsp;returns with high stakes for June (Elisabeth Moss) and the future of Gilead, the totalitarian society that she and others have risked their lives to fight. The Emmy-winning series, adapted from Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name, has become a touchstone for women’s rights advocates. In the fifth season that begins Wednesday with two episodes, June is dealing with the consequences of a killing, while Serena (Yvonne Strahovski), the woman she widowed, seeks her own path to power. Hulu announced the drama will end with season six.

<a href="https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/">— “The U.S. and the Holocaust”</a>&nbsp;examines Nazi Germany’s Jewish genocide in the context of American society and the nation’s response. The three-part documentary looks at the 20th-century rise of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party amid racism and antisemitism elsewhere in the world, including in the United States. Directed and produced by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein and written by Geoffrey Ward, the six-hour docuseries airs Sunday through Tuesday, on PBS and will be available on PBS.org. Peter Coyote narrates.

— Looking for a break in your day?&nbsp;<a href="https://jenniferhudsonshow.com/">“The Jennifer Hudson Show"</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/sherrishowtv">“Sherri,”</a>&nbsp;with comedian-actor&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-tv-oprah-winfrey-baebaebd7b91898b9a51390cfcb27155">Sherri Shepherd,</a>&nbsp;are here to oblige, with both shows debuting Monday. Actor-singer and “American Idol" alum&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-tv-jennifer-hudson-d52409597f880cbc58eac97925634f4a">Hudson</a>&nbsp;will welcome first-week guests including Simon Cowell, Magic Johnson and Hannah Waddingham. Among Shepherd's debut week guests: Ricki Lake, Robin Thicke and Derek Hough. The hosts are looking to fill the void left by Ellen DeGeneres' and Wendy Williams' now-ended shows, with Kelly Clarkson and Drew Barrymore among the returning competition.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22The%20Associated%20Press%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By The Associated Press</a>Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.MOVIES— Twin brothers go to their mother’s house for a stay but find something is off about her in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lKm2Vct3x4">“Goodnight Mommy,”</a>&nbsp;an English language remake of a cult Austrian horror from 2014. Naomi Watts plays the mother, an actress whose face is wrapped in bandages — presumably recovering from plastic surgery. She’s also quite on edge and suspiciously cruel and the boys, Elias (Cameron Crovetti) and Lucas (Nicholas Crovetti) start worrying that it is not, in fact, their mother, but an imposter. Directed by Matt Sobel, “Goodnight Mommy” arrives on Prime Video on Friday.— A year after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b0ZYBmST-U">“Official Competition”</a>&nbsp;premiered to raves at the 78th Venice Film Festival, it’s finally coming to a streaming service, AMC+, on Friday. The sharp satire skewering the movie business (and the art world in general) stars Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas as two egomaniacs who a billionaire hires to make a film together. By all accounts the Spanish language film, directed by Mariano Cohn and Gaston Duprat, is deliriously fun and funny and a great showcase for its leads Cruz and Banderas.— Over on Disney+, the original documentary&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtxeORZkatk">“Mija”</a>&nbsp;tells the story of Doris Muñoz and Jacks Haupt, the daughters of Mexican immigrants who are trying to make their way in the music business in the U.S. It’s the directorial debut of Isabel Castro, also a Mexican American, and will be available to watch on Friday. In the Variety review out of the Sundance Film Festival, critic Lisa Kennedy wrote that, “Castro’s debut feature deals with heartache and vulnerability but also shimmers with joy and genuine insight.”— AP Film Writer Lindsey BahrMUSIC— After night must come light, right? Little Big Town’s album “Mr. Sun” drops Friday, the follow-up to the band’s last offering, “Nightfall.” Band member Karen Fairchild says: “‘Mr. Sun’ is focused on better days ahead, the value of friendships and family; it touches on heartbreak and letting go, but it’s full of sunshine and joy.” The 16-song album — with a member of the band writing or co-writing 13 of them — includes “Rich Man,” the hazy, addictive&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDHq-2HAs1o">“All Summer”</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk_2Ri1tbk8">“Hell Yeah.”</a>— Singer-songwriter Michelle Branch will release her new album “The Trouble with Fever” despite facing her own personal troubles. The album, out Friday, was co-produced with her husband, Patrick Carney, drummer for The Black Keys. Branch was arrested last month for allegedly slapping Carney, but prosecutors decided not to press charges. The album’s first single,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu6AfnmlSQY">“I’m A Man,”</a>&nbsp;is a bluesy protest song that tackles such topics as women’s rights, toxic masculinity, reproductive rights and sexual harassment.— Marcus Mumford releases his first solo album on Friday, but he’s tapped plenty of friends for help: Brandi Carlile, Phoebe Bridgers, Clairo, Monica Martin and Julia Michaels. The album, “(self-titled),” has produced the quiet yet powerful&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOcfW0zv7cY">“Cannibal”</a>&nbsp;(with a Steven Spielberg-directed video) and the superb&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJkGZx8i-h0">“Grace,”</a>&nbsp;a strummy cathartic tune with the lyrics: “I hear there’s healing just around this corner.” Blake Mills produced the album.— Jessie Reyez had some bad luck when she released her debut album, “Before Love Came To Kill Us.” It came out in late March 2020, along with the pandemic, which wiped out her buzz. This week, she’s hoping for better luck with “YESSIE,” led by the spiteful kiss-off single&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG1m3b9j_qY">“Mutual Friend,”</a>&nbsp;with the line: “This heartbreak morphed into hate.” The Colombian-Canadian artist has had an exciting year, touring with Billie Eilish and performing at the 2022 Coachella music festival.— AP Entertainment Writer Mark KennedyTELEVISION<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K2ZbWQCVpQ">— “The Handmaid’s Tale”</a>&nbsp;returns with high stakes for June (Elisabeth Moss) and the future of Gilead, the totalitarian society that she and others have risked their lives to fight. The Emmy-winning series, adapted from Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name, has become a touchstone for women’s rights advocates. In the fifth season that begins Wednesday with two episodes, June is dealing with the consequences of a killing, while Serena (Yvonne Strahovski), the woman she widowed, seeks her own path to power. Hulu announced the drama will end with season six.<a href="https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/">— “The U.S. and the Holocaust”</a>&nbsp;examines Nazi Germany’s Jewish genocide in the context of American society and the nation’s response. The three-part documentary looks at the 20th-century rise of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party amid racism and antisemitism elsewhere in the world, including in the United States. Directed and produced by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein and written by Geoffrey Ward, the six-hour docuseries airs Sunday through Tuesday, on PBS and will be available on PBS.org. Peter Coyote narrates.— Looking for a break in your day?&nbsp;<a href="https://jenniferhudsonshow.com/">“The Jennifer Hudson Show"</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/sherrishowtv">“Sherri,”</a>&nbsp;with comedian-actor&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-tv-oprah-winfrey-baebaebd7b91898b9a51390cfcb27155">Sherri Shepherd,</a>&nbsp;are here to oblige, with both shows debuting Monday. Actor-singer and “American Idol" alum&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-tv-jennifer-hudson-d52409597f880cbc58eac97925634f4a">Hudson</a>&nbsp;will welcome first-week guests including Simon Cowell, Magic Johnson and Hannah Waddingham. Among Shepherd's debut week guests: Ricki Lake, Robin Thicke and Derek Hough. The hosts are looking to fill the void left by Ellen DeGeneres' and Wendy Williams' now-ended shows, with Kelly Clarkson and Drew Barrymore among the returning competition.— AP Television Writer Lynn Elber

New this week: 'The Handmaid’s Tale' and 'Goodnight Mommy'

Hays Community Theatre's "Rats: The Story of the Pied Piper" has shows Friday, Saturday and Sunday. All shows for the annual children's theater are sold out. 

See the end of this story for a complete cast list.

Narrator 1: Ryan Giebler Narrator 2: Annalise Adams Narrator 3: Aspen Brull Narrator 4: Savannah Wittkorn (Narrators double as townspeople) Pied Piper: Jacob Ridgway Mayor: Josiah Hill Quigley: Jack Stoecklein Miss Pennywinkle: Kelsey Robben Rats Ratmarie: Janessa Miller Rhonda Rat: Evie Dietz Ratson: Matthias Miller Ratly: Jensen Miller Ratilla: Gracelyn Inlow Rosie Rat: Reagan Becker Candy Rat: Nora Stoecklein Debbie Rat: Hattie Sander Brandy Rat: Avalea Hill Benjamin "Ben" Rat: Brayden Hept Ramona (Baby) Rat: Olivia Legleiter Townspeople of Hamelin Constable Blarney: Micah Hill Mr. Rye/Mr. Ram: Caden Pinkney Miss Lilyspoon: Nevaeh Duncan Miss Finney: Alicia Windholz Mrs Krinkle: Elizabeth Bergman Mrs. Nob: Evelyn Schmidt Mr. Ripple: Malachi Miller Mrs. Pickle: Riley Becker Mr. Teal: Jadon Conner Children of Hamelin Susan Ripple: Khloe Bartling Billie Ram: Katie Ziegler Jimmy Pickle: Josiah Conner Lisa Teal: Melody Gauger Tammy Nob: Hannah Lohrmeyer Wendy Krinkle: Scarlett Wittkorn Pentopolis "Pennyman" Pickle: Skyler Schmidt Nancy Nob: Claire Lonnon Krystal Krinkle: Willa Hill Rita Rye: Lyla Oller Becky Blarney: Brylie Grove

Hays Community Theatre's "Rats: The Story of the Pied Piper" has shows Friday, Saturday and Sunday. All shows for the annual children's theater are sold out. See the end of this story for a complete cast list.<figure>
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 </figure><h2>Cast list</h2>Narrator 1: Ryan Giebler Narrator 2: Annalise Adams Narrator 3: Aspen Brull Narrator 4: Savannah Wittkorn (Narrators double as townspeople) Pied Piper: Jacob Ridgway Mayor: Josiah Hill Quigley: Jack Stoecklein Miss Pennywinkle: Kelsey Robben Rats Ratmarie: Janessa Miller Rhonda Rat: Evie Dietz Ratson: Matthias Miller Ratly: Jensen Miller Ratilla: Gracelyn Inlow Rosie Rat: Reagan Becker Candy Rat: Nora Stoecklein Debbie Rat: Hattie Sander Brandy Rat: Avalea Hill Benjamin "Ben" Rat: Brayden Hept Ramona (Baby) Rat: Olivia Legleiter Townspeople of Hamelin Constable Blarney: Micah Hill Mr. Rye/Mr. Ram: Caden Pinkney Miss Lilyspoon: Nevaeh Duncan Miss Finney: Alicia Windholz Mrs Krinkle: Elizabeth Bergman Mrs. Nob: Evelyn Schmidt Mr. Ripple: Malachi Miller Mrs. Pickle: Riley Becker Mr. Teal: Jadon Conner Children of Hamelin Susan Ripple: Khloe Bartling Billie Ram: Katie Ziegler Jimmy Pickle: Josiah Conner Lisa Teal: Melody Gauger Tammy Nob: Hannah Lohrmeyer Wendy Krinkle: Scarlett Wittkorn Pentopolis "Pennyman" Pickle: Skyler Schmidt Nancy Nob: Claire Lonnon Krystal Krinkle: Willa Hill Rita Rye: Lyla Oller Becky Blarney: Brylie Grove

📸 Hays Community Theatre's 'Rats: The Story of the Pied Piper' 

The latest Friday Night Finds from Mix 103.3 FM.

<div><iframe title="Mix 103.3’s Friday Night Finds: Sept. 2, 2022" allowtransparency="true" height="300" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=pu54v-12b5a91-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&logo_link=podcast_page&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>The latest Friday Night Finds from Mix 103.3 FM.Play the song below:<figure>
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Friday Night Finds: Sept. 2, 2022

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MATT%20O%27BRIEN%20and%20KELVIN%20CHAN%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MATT O'BRIEN and KELVIN CHAN AP Technology Writers</a>

Microsoft’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-activision-blizzard-acquisition-call-of-duty-7a9e2bcc8f0b7b9049e4f93fe3e0a4dd">plan to buy video game giant Activision Blizzard</a>&nbsp;for $68.7 billion could have major effects on the gaming industry, transforming the Xbox maker into something like a Netflix for video games by giving it control of many more popular titles.

But to get to the next level, Microsoft must first survive a barrage of government inquiries from New Zealand to Brazil, and from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-data-privacy-federal-trade-commission-congress-7da655c7793d5fe26493a0fa8f10e297">U.S. regulators emboldened</a>&nbsp;by President Joe Biden to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-mark-zuckerberg-federal-trade-commission-government-and-politics-341c0200d9d2921072c1ac6afde428fe">strengthen their enforcement</a>&nbsp;of antitrust laws.

In the United Kingdom, regulators on Thursday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-united-kingdom-187332bc07d6930b18e54010c38b6353">threatened to escalate their investigation</a>&nbsp;unless both companies come up with proposals within five days to ease competition concerns. More than seven months after Microsoft announced the deal, only&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Saudigac_en/status/1561586394182651909/photo/1">Saudi Arabia has approved it.</a>

“A growing number of countries are subjecting major global transactions to deeper scrutiny,” said William Kovacic, a former chairman of the five-member U.S. Federal Trade Commission. “Many of the jurisdictions that are exercising that scrutiny are significant economies and can’t be brushed off.”

Microsoft&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-antitrust-microsoft-doj-6a800b51cc9b6b1c4d1b23bad4510040">has faced antitrust scrutiny</a>&nbsp;before, mostly notably more than two decades ago when a federal judge ordered its breakup following the company’s anticompetitive actions related to its dominant Windows software. That verdict was overturned on appeal, although the court imposed other, less drastic, penalties on the company.

In recent years, however, Microsoft has largely escaped the more intense regulatory backlash its Big Tech rivals such as Amazon, Google and Facebook’s parent company Meta have endured. But the sheer size of the Activision Blizzard merger has drawn global attention.

The all-cash deal is set to be the largest in the history of the tech industry. It would give Microsoft, maker of the Xbox console and gaming system, control of popular game franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush. There's also a growing sense that past review of Big Tech mergers was too lax — such as when Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.

“Collectively, that means that the kinds of concessions you’re going to have to make become more difficult,” Kovacic said.

The possibility of Microsoft gaining control of Call of Duty has been particularly worrisome to Sony, maker of the PlayStation console that competes with Microsoft's Xbox. In a letter to Brazilian regulators, Sony emphasized Call of Duty as an “essential” game — a blockbuster so popular and ingrained that it would be impossible for a competitor to develop a rival product even if they had the budget to do so.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-united-kingdom-0e19c4494d1754dc12e23bbf9e68d090">U.K. watchdog's preliminary inquiry</a>&nbsp;raised similar worries. It said Microsoft’s control of popular Activision Blizzard games raised concerns that the deal would hurt rivals in multi-game subscription services and the cloud gaming market.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MATT%20O%27BRIEN%20and%20KELVIN%20CHAN%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MATT O'BRIEN and KELVIN CHAN AP Technology Writers</a>Microsoft’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-activision-blizzard-acquisition-call-of-duty-7a9e2bcc8f0b7b9049e4f93fe3e0a4dd">plan to buy video game giant Activision Blizzard</a>&nbsp;for $68.7 billion could have major effects on the gaming industry, transforming the Xbox maker into something like a Netflix for video games by giving it control of many more popular titles.But to get to the next level, Microsoft must first survive a barrage of government inquiries from New Zealand to Brazil, and from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-data-privacy-federal-trade-commission-congress-7da655c7793d5fe26493a0fa8f10e297">U.S. regulators emboldened</a>&nbsp;by President Joe Biden to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-mark-zuckerberg-federal-trade-commission-government-and-politics-341c0200d9d2921072c1ac6afde428fe">strengthen their enforcement</a>&nbsp;of antitrust laws.In the United Kingdom, regulators on Thursday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-united-kingdom-187332bc07d6930b18e54010c38b6353">threatened to escalate their investigation</a>&nbsp;unless both companies come up with proposals within five days to ease competition concerns. More than seven months after Microsoft announced the deal, only&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Saudigac_en/status/1561586394182651909/photo/1">Saudi Arabia has approved it.</a>“A growing number of countries are subjecting major global transactions to deeper scrutiny,” said William Kovacic, a former chairman of the five-member U.S. Federal Trade Commission. “Many of the jurisdictions that are exercising that scrutiny are significant economies and can’t be brushed off.”Microsoft&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-antitrust-microsoft-doj-6a800b51cc9b6b1c4d1b23bad4510040">has faced antitrust scrutiny</a>&nbsp;before, mostly notably more than two decades ago when a federal judge ordered its breakup following the company’s anticompetitive actions related to its dominant Windows software. That verdict was overturned on appeal, although the court imposed other, less drastic, penalties on the company.In recent years, however, Microsoft has largely escaped the more intense regulatory backlash its Big Tech rivals such as Amazon, Google and Facebook’s parent company Meta have endured. But the sheer size of the Activision Blizzard merger has drawn global attention.The all-cash deal is set to be the largest in the history of the tech industry. It would give Microsoft, maker of the Xbox console and gaming system, control of popular game franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush. There's also a growing sense that past review of Big Tech mergers was too lax — such as when Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.“Collectively, that means that the kinds of concessions you’re going to have to make become more difficult,” Kovacic said.The possibility of Microsoft gaining control of Call of Duty has been particularly worrisome to Sony, maker of the PlayStation console that competes with Microsoft's Xbox. In a letter to Brazilian regulators, Sony emphasized Call of Duty as an “essential” game — a blockbuster so popular and ingrained that it would be impossible for a competitor to develop a rival product even if they had the budget to do so.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-united-kingdom-0e19c4494d1754dc12e23bbf9e68d090">U.K. watchdog's preliminary inquiry</a>&nbsp;raised similar worries. It said Microsoft’s control of popular Activision Blizzard games raised concerns that the deal would hurt rivals in multi-game subscription services and the cloud gaming market.One solution could be a settlement in which Microsoft agrees to ensure that console-making rivals such as Sony or Nintendo won’t be cut off from popular Activision Blizzard games. Microsoft has already publicly signaled its openness to that concept.Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, has said the company committed to Sony to make Activision games like Call of Duty “available on PlayStation beyond the existing agreement and into the future” -- although many are skeptical about how long those promises would last if not set into regulatory consent decrees.On the other hand, Microsoft also has a much better reputation in Washington than it did in 2000. It is "seen as more reasonable and sensible” on issues such as data privacy, Kovacic said.Microsoft has also been working to win over skeptics in the U.S., starting with a labor union that's been trying to organize Activision Blizzard employees. Democratic lawmakers have also expressed concern about allegations of Activision's toxic workplace culture for women, which led to employee walkouts last year as well as discrimination lawsuits brought by California and federal civil rights enforcers.In March, the Communications Workers of America had issued a call seeking tougher oversight of the deal from the U.S. Department of Justice, the FTC and state attorneys general. But a June 30 letter from the union to the FTC said it had switched to supporting the deal after Microsoft agreed “to ensure the workers of Activision Blizzard have a clear path to collective bargaining.”Gaming represents a growing portion of Microsoft’s business, despite the company’s efforts to portray itself and Activision Blizzard as “small players in a highly fragmented publishing space,” per a document&nbsp;<a href="https://comcom.govt.nz/case-register/case-register-entries/microsoft-corporation-activision-blizzard-inc">filed with New Zealand's Commerce Commission</a>.In 2021, Microsoft spent $7.5 billion to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of video game publisher Bethesda Softworks, which is behind popular video games The Elder Scrolls, Doom and Fallout. Microsoft’s properties also include the hit game Minecraft after it bought Swedish game studio Mojang for $2.5 billion in 2014.The Redmond, Washington, tech giant has said the gaming acquisitions will help beef up its Xbox Game Pass game subscription service and its mobile offerings, particularly from Activision Blizzard's King division, which makes Candy Crush.Dutch game developer Rami Ismail said Microsoft’s subscription-based service has thus far been a positive for smaller game studios trying to get their content to users. But he’s unsure about the long-term impact of the merger.“Xbox Game Pass as a product has been really good in getting interesting, creative games funded that might not have the normal market reach to be successful,” Ismail said. “On the flip side, as power consolidates, there is less of an incentive to do anything like that.”Microsoft rivals are also consolidating. Sony in July closed on a $3.6 billion deal to buy Bungie Inc., maker of the popular game franchise Destiny and the original developer of Xbox-owned Halo. Take-Two Interactive, maker of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, in May completed a $12.7 billion deal to acquire mobile gaming company Zynga, maker of FarmVille and Words With Friends.