Kevin Hart to Help Find the Next Big Comedian in Netflix's New Show

Netflix is looking for the next big stand-up comedian, and it’s calling on Kevin Hart to help. The streamer announced Tuesday it will be hosting a new competition series where Hart will play mentor to a group of entertainers from across the nation as they face challenging tasks that mirror the real-life journey of a comedian – think embarrassing open mics, bombed sets, rewrites, and more. Set to debut in 2026, the untitled series is produced by Hartbeat and Alfred Street Industries.

Taylor Swift’s 12th album will be called The Life of a Showgirl, she revealed at exactly 12:12 a.m. on Tuesday (Aug. 12). The album’s cover art, track list, and even release date are still a mystery, leaving Swifties wondering if more details will be shared in the New Heights episode dropping Wednesday evening, in which Swift is appearing as a guest alongside Jason and Travis Kelce. In the meantime, vinyl, cassette, CD, and posters for The Life of a Showgirl are all available for pre-order on Swift’s website.

Perplexity has offered to buy Google’s Chrome browser for $34.5 billion, reports The Wall Street Journal. The asking price is higher than the AI startup’s valuation ($18 billion), but it claims several investors have agreed to back the purchase. Last month, Perplexity launched its own AI-powered browser called Comet.

The 2025-26 NBA Opening Night games will see the Oklahoma City Thunder begin their title defense against the Houston Rockets, and the Los Angeles Lakers tipping off against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 21. As part of the new NBC media rights package that kicks in this year, Peacock has committed to “stream up to three NBA games nationwide on Monday nights throughout the regular season,” starting with the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets visiting the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 27.

The U.S. consumer price index increased marginally in July by 2.7% on an annual basis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. Excluding food and energy, the core CPI increased 0.3% for the month and 3.1% year-over-year, nearly matching the forecasts of 0.3% and 3%, respectively. Eating out remains expensive, with restaurant prices increasing 0.3% in July compared to the previous month and 3.9% since 2024.

Fanatics is the latest company to reward its customers for shopping on its platform, launching its royalty program Fanatics One on Tuesday. Using FanCash, a virtual reward for purchases, customers can redeem those points on merchandise, tickets, trading cards, and other products offered on the Fanatics site, in addition to access to unique experiences and events like the Super Bowl. Anyone with an existing Fanatics account will automatically be enrolled in the program.

Violet, the Golden State Valkyries’ mascot, made her debut Monday night at halftime during the team’s game against the Connecticut Sun. Nicknamed Vi, she is a raven who wears glasses due to nearsightedness and was dressed in full team gear—right down to the socks, which featured a V pattern. Golden State chose a raven as its mascot because the bird is associated with Valkyries in Norse mythology and is considered a guardian of good fortune.

Kith is presenting its Fall 2025 collection with a runway show, its first since 2019. Titled “Institution,” the show will take place on Aug. 17 in New York City and is expected to feature a combination of Kith’s signature silhouettes and several unannounced collaborations. The show is reserved for press and friends of the brand, with the invitation arriving in the form of an Adidas Superstar Black Tie sneaker, the first shoe from Kith founder Ronnie Fieg‘s collaboration with Three Stripes from 2008.

The Television Academy unveiled the winners of the 77th Emmy Awards in its highly specialized juried categories, celebrating achievements in animation, costume, emerging media programming, and motion design. Notably, Beyoncé took home her first-ever Emmy Award as a costume designer for her work on the Beyoncé Bowl, a Netflix special produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment and Parkwood Entertainment. Netflix also won in the Color, Storyboard, Character Animation, and Character Design categories.

Best known for its health and fitness services, ClassPass is expanding its offerings to include movie passes. Beginning Tuesday, members can redeem credits for standard 2D tickets at AMC Theatres. Although only available to users in California, Florida, Texas, and Arizona, the company says expansion is “on the horizon.”

Image: Gary A. Vasquez / Imagn