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Fox has teamed up with “Triumph the Insult Comic Dog” creator Robert Smigel to turn Donald Trump and Joe Biden into puppets for an upcoming election special, the network announced Tuesday.

Titled “Let’s Be Real,” the satirical special will air Thursday, October 1 on the broadcast network, covering “politics, pop culture and the 2020 election through topical sketches featuring puppets, celebrity cameos and remote pieces.”

A short promo released Tuesday gives a glimpse of the puppet politicians.

Smigel, known for his work on “Saturday Night Live” and voicing the foul-mouthed canine puppet Triumph on Conan O’Brien’s late-night show, serves as writer and executive producer on the special. The puppets themselves were created by Puppet Heap.

Ben Silverman, Howard Owens and Kevin Healy executive produce for Propagate, alongside Gerald-Brice Viret of Canal+, as well as Arnaud Renard and Matthieu Porte of Can’t Stop Media. Rachael Field is a producer, and Bruce Leddy directs.

Fox Entertainment has slated Let’s Be Real, a half-hour election-themed satirical puppet special executive produced by Robert Smigel. Airing Oct. 1, following the first 2020 Presidential debate, the comedy special will cover politics, pop culture and the 2020 election through topical sketches featuring puppets, celebrity cameos and remote pieces. Based on the French pop culture sketch puppet show Les Guignols, Let’s Be Real is produced by Propagate.

The alternative comedy marks the first collaboration between Fox Entertainment’s scripted and unscripted departments to make it to air. Fox first put in development an American version of Les Guignols more than two years ago. Last summer, Saturday Night Liveveteran and Triumph the Insult Comic co-creator/star Robert Smigel was brought in to spearhead the project.

“Robert Smigel is a uniquely gifted creator, and, as the election approaches, we are so excited to be working with him on bringing a new take on...

Donald Trump and Joe Biden are getting the puppet treatment.

Fox has ordered a satirical special called “Let’s Be Real,” which will cover politics, pop culture and the 2020 election (specifically the two candidates) through puppets, celebrity cameos and remote pieces.

The special, set to air Oct. 1 on the network, hails from “Triumph the Insult Comic Dog” creator and renowned puppeteer Robert Smigel. It is being produced by Propagate, and also represents the first ever collaboration between Fox Entertainment’s scripted and unscripted departments.

“Robert Smigel is a uniquely gifted creator, and, as the election approaches, we are so excited to be working with him on bringing a new take on the current discourse taking place across the political spectrum,” said Michael Thorn, president of entertainment at Fox Entertainment, and Rob Wade, the company’s president of alternative entertainment and specials, in a joint statement. “This project also marks an...

Exclusive: Baby Powder is making a return. Mike Epps will reprise his role from the original stoner classic in MTV’s movie sequel How High 2. The network also set a premiere date of Saturday, April 20 and released a first-look at the show open above.

Epps will provide continuity for fans of the 2001 pop-culture phenom, in which he co-starred opposite Method Man and Redman. He joins previously announced cast including Lil Yachty, D.C. Young Fly, Alyssa Goss, DeRay Davis and Mary Lynn Rajskub, with special appearances from Blac Youngsta, NeNe Leakes, Cynthia Bailey, Lil Baby, and Justine Skye.

Written by Family Guy’s Shawn Ries and Artie Johann, Alex Blagg (Workaholics) & Neel Shah (Powerless), the follow-up to the 2001 film chronicles two young “potrepreneurs” on a magical hash-fueled journey to fund their on-demand munchies delivery start-up. Lil Yachty (Roger) plays an entrepreneur and stars opposite of D.C. Young Fly (Calvin) who plays his best friend.

How High 2, MTV’s sequel to stoner classic How High, has rounded out its cast. DC Young Fly (Almost Christmas) is set to star opposite previously announced Lil Yachty in the non-theatrical movie followup to the 2001 Universal comedy feature, which starred Method Man and Redman.

Alyssa Goss (The Bobby Brown Story), DeRay Davis (21 Jump Street) and Mary Lynn Rajskub (Night School) are also set to co-star. Additional appearances include NeNe Leakes, Tameka “Tiny” Harris (Meet The Blacks), Cynthia Bailey (The Real Housewives of

Atlanta), Shekinah Jo (T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle) and hip-hop artist Lil Baby.

How High 2 is co-produced by MTV and Universal 1440 Entertainment, the production entity of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Production is currently underway in Atlanta for a spring 2019 premiere on MTV.

Written by Family Guy’s Shawn Ries and Artie Johann, Alex Blagg (Workaholics) & Neel Shah (Powerless), How...

Eminem will probably want to sit out How High 2, now that the long anticipated sequel has cast mumble rapper Lil Yachty in the lead role. Though, musician-turned-actor Yachty doesn't consider himself a mumble rapper (or even a rapper at all), a lot of other artists do. Let's hope he can keep his dialogue clean as he begins shooting this long-anticipated sequel to the 2001 cult comedy hit, which original starred iconic hip-hop artists Redman and Method Man.

It's been 17 years since the original How High graced silver screens. And it's been ten years that Universal Pictures and MTV have tried to get this sequel off the ground. It's been stuck in development Hell for nearly a decade. But after numerous rewrites, How High 2 is getting lit. The comedy is now in production, and a teaser video has arrived with Lil Yachty introducing himself as the main man in this farce.

Rapper Lil Yachty has been cast in the lead role of the MTV film “How High 2,” Variety has learned exclusively.

The film began production in Atlanta today. It is a follow up to the 2001 stoner comedy “How High” starring Method Man and Redman. It will premiere on MTV in 2019.

Lil Yachty plays Roger, an entrepreneur and the younger brother of one of the protagonists from the original film. Per the official description by MTV, Roger and his friend go “on a magical hash-fueled journey to fund their on-demand munchies delivery start-up.”

This will not be Lil Yacthy’s first acting role. He previously appeared as himself in an episode of George Lopez’s TV Land series “Lopez” and provided the voice for Green Lantern in the hit animated film “Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.” The Atlanta rapper also acted in a very different recent project: an improbable sing-dong...

Marking 20 years since the debut of the Emmy Award-winning sketch comedy series MadTV, The CW Network will broadcast the MadTV 20th Anniversary Reunion on Tuesday, January 12 (8:00-9:00 pm Et/Pt). This one-hour retrospective of classic MadTV clips showcases the series signature pop-culture parodies and politically incorrect humor from the show's 14 seasons, interwoven with new comedy material featuring 19 series alumni.

Returning cast members for the MadTV 20th Anniversary Reunion include Ike Barinholtz, Alex Borstein, Mo Collins, Crista Flanagan, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Nicole Randall Johnson, Keegan Michael Key, Phil Lamarr, Artie Lange, Bobby Lee, Michael McDonald, Arden Myrin, Nicole Parker, Eric Price, Will Sasso, Aries Spears, Nicole Sullivan, Stephnie Weir and Debra Wilson. In the special, the cast reunites to attend a glamorous award ceremony to honor the series, but in classic MadTV fashion, nothing goes as planned.

The MadTV 20th Anniversary Reunion will also feature appearances from some of the show's signature characters,...

Exclusive: Boy-centric Disney Xd has picked up to series Crash and Bernstein, a live-action comedy with puppetry. The multicamera show, created by Eric Friedman (Disney Xd’s I’m In The Band), centers on 14-year-old Wyatt Bernstein, the only son among four kids, who finally gets his dream of having a loud-mouthed brother when his puppet, Crash, comes to life. Crash, played by Emmy-nominated puppet master and filmmaker Tim Lagasse (Sesame Street) brings Wyatt some much needed “boy reinforcement” amidst a household of sisters. The series, produced by It’s A Laugh Productions, Inc., will begin production in May for a fall premiere. “It offers a fresh take on the typical buddy comedy and brings together an everyday kid and his ‘know no limits’ puppet as they navigate life’s adventures,” said Adam Bonnett, Svp, original programming for Disney Channel. The pilot for Crash and Bernstein was directed by Bruce Leddy...

Creative America, a group launched over the summer to support Hollywood's anti-piracy campaign, recently released the video above, explaining that thousands of jobs and billions of dollars are lost because of online piracy of movies, music and television.

In the video, writer and producer Bruce Leddy shares his experience of piracy of his independent film "Wedding Weekend," the costs of which he was hoping to cover through DVD sales. "Literally, the day the film was released on DVD, I got four emails.. saying, 'Watch the Wedding Weekend here for free'.. And I could click on that link, and my movie would start instantly. These sites.. are making money. I didn't. I lost my money. It makes you angry, embarrassed, frustrated because there's not recourse. I can't call up bit torrent and say, 'Hey, that's my movie! Stop giving it away!'"

Creative America's effort continues a battle between two of...

By Matt Singer

What happens when you put the classic Cinderella story together with a modern setting or flip the protagonists' sexes? A whole lot more than bippity-boppity-boo. In honor of the new film "Year of the Fish," a self-proclaimed "Cinderella in a Chinatown massage parlour," here are five more unique reinventions of this durable fairy tale popularized by French author Charles Perrault in 1697. Read quickly, though: at the stroke of midnight, this article turns back into zeros and ones.

"Ever After" (1998)

Directed by Andy Tennant

The Brothers Grimm are called before the Grand Dame of France (Jeanne Moreau) to set the record straight on the "real" Cinderella, who had no magical benefactors or means of conveyance, though she did get some wardrobe support from Leonardo da Vinci (Patrick Godfrey). Actually named Danielle De Barbarac (Drew Barrymore), she was living in servitude to her stepmother, Baroness Rodmilla (Angelica Huston) when...