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Shawn Mendes may be taking a break from performing, but he’s still living rent-free in our minds thanks to a sultry new campaign for David Yurman.

Mendes has been unveiled as the latest David Yurman brand ambassador, appearing alongside Scarlett Johansson in the brand’s 2023 campaign, dubbed “Nature’s Artistry.” The campaign highlights select pieces from the fine jewelry brand, while showing “appreciation for the world around...

New Delhi, Aug 20 (Ians) Meditation apps that gained millions of users during the peak of the pandemic have lost traction and combined user sessions of the top 10 meditation apps have fallen 48 per cent from their height in Q2 2020.

Several companies had pushed meditation apps as a solution to tackle stress and mental health challenges people faced early in the pandemic.

The user sessions of Calm and Headspace meditation apps were down 26.4 per cent and a whopping 60.3 per cent (year-on-year) in July, respectively, reports app research firm Apptopia.

Calm just announced it is laying off 20 per cent of its staff.

The top two meditation apps have had a steady downward trend for engagement metrics since January 2021.

All top meditation apps are experiencing downward trends in engagement with the exceptions of BetterMe: Mental Health and Breethe.

On average, the apps in this market are seeing their sessions down 30 per cent over the past 90 days.

RuPaul's Drag Race remains a force to be reckoned with on the awards front.

The Critics Choice Real TV Awards unveiled winners for its third annual editions.

There were three ties among this year’s winner’s pool – RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1) and The Great British Baking Sho” (Netflix) tied for Best Competition Series, The Masked Singer (Fox) and The Voice (NBC) tied for Best Competition Series: Talent/Variety.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Food Network) and The Oprah Conversation (Apple TV+) tied for Best Structured Series.

RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1) was the only series to take home multiple awards, also winning for Best Ensemble Cast In An Unscripted Series.

In the fan voted categories, Phil Rosenthal – Somebody Feed Phil”(Netflix) was awarded Male Star of the Year, while Sandra Lee – Dr. Pimple Popper (TLC) was named Female Star of the Year.

Netflix, which led the networks in nominations, also led in wins,...

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” led all programs at this year’s virtual Critics Choice Real TV Awards, with two nods — for best competition series and best ensemble cast in an unscripted series. But the real surprise, as the awards were announced Monday via press release, was the sheer number of ties in top categories.

VH1’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race” tied with Netflix’s “The Great British Baking Show” (Netflix) for competition series, while “The Masked Singer” (Fox) and “The Voice” (NBC) tied for competition series: talent/variety, and “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” (Food Network) and “The Oprah Conversation” (Apple TV Plus) tied for structured series.

In the fan voted categories, Netflix’s “Somebody Feed Phil” host Phil Rosenthal was named male star of the year, while Sandra Lee of TLC’s “Dr. Pimple Popper” (TLC) was named female star of the year. Alex Trebek was honored posthumously with this year’s Impact Award,...

Nominations for the third annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards were announced Tuesday, and it was another clean sweep for RuPaul's Drag Race.

The reality series managed five total nominations.

Queer Eye (Netflix), Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (CNN), Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (Hulu), and Top Chef (Bravo) all managed three each.

If we look at networks alone, Netflix leads the way, netting 22 nominations.

HBO/HBO Max (with 14) follows the streamer in nominations, along with Food Networ /Food Network Kitchen (with six), VH1 (with six), National Geographic / Nat Geo Wild (with 5), and Discovery Channel / discovery+ (with 5).

Have a look at the full list below.

Best Competition Series

RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)

The Amazing Race (CBS)

The Great British Baking Show (Netflix)

Top Chef (Bravo)

Tough as Nails (CBS)

Best Competition Series: Talent/Variety

American Idol (ABC)

Legendary (HBO Max)

The Masked Singer (Fox)

The Voice (NBC)

World of Dance...

VH1’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race” led all nominees as the Critics Choice Association and nonfiction producers’ organization Npact announced on Wednesday the nominees for the third annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards. The org also announced it would posthumously honor late “Jeopardy” host Alex Trebek.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” landed five awards, including best competition series, best ensemble cast in an unscripted series, female star of the year for Michelle Visage, and both male star of the year and best show host for RuPaul Charles.

Programs next in line with three nominations included “Queer Eye” (Netflix), “Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy” (CNN), “Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi” (Hulu), and “Top Chef” (Bravo). Netflix led all outlets with 22 nominations, while the Critics Choice for some reason decided to combine HBO and HBO Max’s tallies, even though they are technically separate outlets, and together they received 14 nods.

The Critics Choice Real Awards,...

When nominations for the third annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards were announced on Wednesday, RuPaul’s Drag Race led with five.

At the award show, recognizing “excellence in nonfiction, unscripted and reality programing across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms,” the long-running VH1 series is up for Best Competition Series, Best Ensemble Cast In An Unscripted Series, Best Show Host (RuPaul), Male Star of the Year (RuPaul) and Female Star of the Year (Michelle Visage).

Other series leading in noms this year, with three each, include Queer Eye (Netflix), Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (CNN), Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (Hulu) and Top Chef (Bravo).

The leader this year among networks is Netflix, which scored 22 nominations. HBO / HBO Max (with 14) follows the streamer in nominations, along with Food Network / Food Network Kitchen (with six), VH1 (with six), National Geographic / Nat Geo Wild (with 5) and Discovery Channel / discovery+ (with 5).

At this year’s ceremony,...

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” leads all programs in nominations for the third annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards, which were announced on Wednesday.

The nominations confirmed that the series is a favorite of voters in the Critics Choice Association, who gave it the Best Competition Series award in 2019 and 2020, the only two years the show that honors nonfiction and reality television has taken place.

“RuPaul” received nominations in five categories: Best Competition Series, Best Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series, Female Star of the Year (Michelle Visage) and Best Show Host and Male Star of the Year nominations for RuPaul.

“Queer Eye” and a trio of food-oriented shows – “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy,” “Taste the Nation With Padma Lakshmi” and “Top Chef” – received three nominations each. The shows with two nominations were “Crikey! It’s the Irwins,” “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” “Murder on Middle Beach,” “Nailed It!,...

A show that makes you fall asleep? That’s the counterintuitive pitch that Jennifer O’Connell, EVP of non-fiction and live-action family at HBO Max, received from Nutopia — the production company that brought you “Mankind The Story of All of Us” — and Calm, the meditation and mindfulness app.

“We sat down, they played a sizzle reel, they dimmed the lights,” O’Connell recalled. “By the end of the sizzle reel, our shoulders lowered, our breath was calmer — we could feel ourselves feeling good.”

The pitch became “A World of Calm,” a 10-episode HBO Max series featuring zen stories gently narrated by the likes of Keanu Reeves and Nicole Kidman, accompanied by relaxing sounds and images. It’s part of a growing segment that turns entertainment into “mindfulness content.” Rather than make something that excites, stimulates, and thrills, its goal is to make viewers to chill out, take a breath, or even fall sleep.

At this year’s MipTV, The Wit hosted its first-ever presentation for a Fresh TV Lab, hosted by CEO and co-founder Virginia Mouseler and focused on Esports, podcasts and brands.

“Esports is a growing entertainment option, not only for younger people but with a wider and wider audience. Of course, Esports is primarily about online gaming and streaming platforms, but it’s not generating its own game show formats. Are they imitating TV, or should TV imitate them?” Mouseler asked.

Starting in Spain, the presentation kicked off with “Top Gamers Academy,” from “Operación Triunfo” producers Gestmusic, an Endemol Shine Iberia company. An early transmedia phenomenon, the show is broadcast on linear network Neox, streaming websites Twitch, YouTube and digital streaming platform Atresplayer, with Banijay handling distribution. Similar to one of Spain’s most popular reality formats of the last decade, “Operación Triunfo,” contestants on the program live together, train together...

Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas on Thursday reminisced about her grey role in the thriller Aitraaz, which was released 16 years ago on this day.

Aitraaz, co-starring Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor Khan, was one of the Diwali releases of 2004. The film was inspired by the 1994 Hollywood hit, Disclosure, starring Michael Douglas and Demi Moore. Reprising the negative role Moore essayed in the original, Priyanka had won accolades for her performance as Soniya Roy.

She shared a clip from the film on Instagram Stories, and wrote: "2004, One year into being an actor, I played Sonia Roy in the Abbas-Mastan thriller Aitraaz. It was by far the boldest part I had taken on...

"Wicked, predatory, complicated and self-serving for the most part, but also surprisingly vulnerable and emotional. Playing Sonia taught me to play characters with conviction not judgement. #16yearsofAitraaz #20in2020."

Priyanka recently joined a host of Hollywood stars including Kate Winslet and...

In today’s Global Bulletin Vivendi’s 2020 finances are up 2.4%, the Young Artist Academy announces this year’s award recipients, All3Media picks up “A World of Calm,” West End Films sells “Rams” in key territories and Fremantle promotes Seb Shorr.

Finance

In a year marked by the coronavirus pandemic, Vivendi saw its consolidated revenues go up by 2.4% to €11.6 billion ($13.7 billion) during the first nine months of 2020, and up 1.3 % during the third quarter.

The group’s subscription-based activities, especially at Universal Music Group and to a lesser extent Canal Plus Group, have bolstered Vivendi’s revenues. Canal Plus Group’s revenues were up 6.6% for the first nine months of 2020 and up 7.3% for the third quarter of 2020. The company’s international activities grew a strong pace with revenues from international operations rising by 27.4%. The addition of 1.2 million subscribers around the world, and the integration of M7, a leading pay-tv company in Europe...

Mumbai, Oct 15 (Ians) Actress Priyanka Chopra has revealed who her favourite co-worker is.

Priyanka took to Instagram and shared a picture holding her pet dog Diana.

"Fav co-worker @diariesofdiana," she captioned the image.

On the work front, Priyanka has joined a host of Hollywood stars including Kate Winslet and Keanu Reeves as a narrator of the upcoming series, "A World Of Calm".

Winslet and Priyanka have joined the previously-announced celebrities Mahershala Ali, Idris Elba, Oscar Isaac, Nicole Kidman, Zoe Kravitz, Lucy Liu, Cillian Murphy, and Reeves. The 10-episode unscripted series premieres on October 1, reports deadline.com.

--Ians

dc/vnc...

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As I sat down to watch some episodes of HBO Max's new series World of Calm, something weird and amazing started to happen. All the clutter in the background -- the pressure of playoff baseball, the swelter of a late September heat wave in Oregon, the crippling stress of work -- quickly began to melt

...

Read More >

Other Links From TVGuide.com A World of CalmNicole KidmanOscar IsaacLucy LiuKeanu ReevesPriyanka ChopraKate WinsletZoë KravitzCillian MurphyIdris ElbaMahershala Ali...

HBO Max is out with its list of everything new coming to the streaming service in October and everything leaving at the end of the month.

The list includes HBO Originals like the limited series “The Undoing” starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant, out Oct. 25, and David Byrne’s “American Utopia” special event about Byrne’s Broadway show that electrified audiences, out Oct. 17.

There is also Nathan Fielder’s comedic docuseries “How To With John Wilson,” out Oct. 23, and the first season finale of “Lovecraft Country” on Oct. 18.

Among the things leaving at the end of the month are “Amelie,” “Ocean’s 11,” “V For Vendetta,” “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” and “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.”

Read the full list here:

Oct. 1

A World of Calm, Documentary Series Premiere

Akeelah And The Bee, 2006 (HBO)

All-Star Superman, 2011

American Dynasties: The Kennedys, 2018

American Reunion, 2012 (HBO)

Analyze That,...

Like the hero of Green Eggs and Ham, refusing to endorse discolored breakfast options under a variety of culinary circumstances, I spent the better part of a week watching HBO Max’s 10-episode relaxation app commercial A World of Calm in as many situations as possible.

I watched episodes early in the morning to ease me into a day’s work, and over lunch to ease digestion. I watched episodes late at night as a prelude to bed. I watched in the dark at low volume and in the day at high volume. In every circumstance, I found episodes of A World ...

Like the hero of Green Eggs and Ham, refusing to endorse discolored breakfast options under a variety of culinary circumstances, I spent the better part of a week watching HBO Max’s 10-episode relaxation app commercial A World of Calm in as many situations as possible.

I watched episodes early in the morning to ease me into a day’s work, and over lunch to ease digestion. I watched episodes late at night as a prelude to bed. I watched in the dark at low volume and in the day at high volume. In every circumstance, I found episodes of A World ...

With Lovecraft Country still providing HBO and HBO Max with its horror content through October, the streamer is looking elsewhere for its spooky season offerings. HBO Max’s new releases for October 2020 feature some truly awesome horror library titles.

Jordan Peele’s Us, John Carpenter’s The Thing, and David Fincher’s Se7en all arrive on Oct. 1. That alone should be enough to last you through spooky season. And if it doesn’t, It: Chapter Two is right there as well. October is also a big month for Batman and Superman with Man of Steel arriving on Oct. 1 along with a whole of animated specials dropping that same day.

In relation to the library titles, this isn’t HBO Max’s strongest month from an original perspective. But there is still plenty to like here. The West Wing election special arrives on Oct. 15. That will be followed by David Byrne...

Despite production disruptions from the deadly 'Covid-19’ virus plague unleashed on an unsuspecting world, the TV industry is determined to get back on track, scheduling October 2020 premiere dates for new series and new seasons of returning shows including "Monsterland", "Pandora", "The Mandalorian" and a whole lot more:

October 1:

Gangs of London

The Salisbury Poisonings

A World of Calm (HBO Max, new unscripted series)

Oktoberfest Beer & Blood

The Split

October 2:

Undercover Boss

Emily in Paris (Netflix, new comedy series)

Monsterland

Warrior (Cinemax, Season 2)

Tiny World (Apple TV+, new documentary series)

October 3:

Lucky Dog

Innovation Nation

October 4:

Pandora

The Good Lord Bird (Showtime, new drama limited series; moved from August 9)

The Comedy Store

The Walking Dead: The World Beyond (AMC, new drama series)

Britannia (Epix, Season 2; U.S. premiere)

First Ladies

Girl Meets Farm

October 5:

Soulmates

Big Hero 6

Tell Me More with Kelly Corrigan

Hea Strikes Back (TLC,...

It’s almost spooky season, and the various streaming services are making sure that subscribers have got plenty of great horror content for all ages available to watch this Halloween. Given the current state of the world, this All Hallow’s Eve will see more folks staying in than ever before, so we’ll need as much choice when it comes to finding a perfect movie or TV show to dive into as possible. Thankfully, Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video have got us covered.

Of course, there’s much more beyond just horror content arriving across the streaming world this October, with the first day of the month launching hundreds of new titles on all the various sites. There are also a few key highlights scattered throughout the month. Arguably the biggest is Aaron Sorkin’s much-anticipated all-star drama based on real events, The Trial of the Chicago 7,...