By Jimmy Briggs for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 7:58 PM EDT, March 13, 2024 | Updated: 7:58 PM EDT, March 13, 2024

By Ruth Francis for Mailonline

Published: 3:13 PM EST, March 8, 2024 | Updated: 3:17 PM EST, March 8, 2024

ABC’s latest workplace comedy, Abbott Elementary, has earned a rare perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.

While a 100 percent rating on the site is rare, it’s an even more unusual feat for later episodes of a popular show.

Most series start out high in the ratings and gradually decline each season, as was the case with True Detective, Game of Thrones and Pretty Little Liars.

However, Quinta Brunson’s hit program has increased from 98 percent in the first season to 100 percent in the second and third seasons.

The mockumentary, available on Prime and Disney Plus, follows a group of teachers at a Philadelphia public school as they help students succeed when the odds are often against them.

The first episode of season three started off with a bang, with an hour-long premiere.

The episode also featured special guests at the Philadelphia-based school – Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles, along with fellow players Brandon Graham and Jason Kelce.

With a style similar to the mockumentary style of The Office, Abbott Elementary has won over audiences with characters ranging from wholesome fan favorites to morally questionable scene-stealers.

For example, despite the school’s lack of funding, tone-deaf principal Ava Coleman (Janelle James) spends money on her own luxurious private bathroom and later admits to microdosing mushrooms.

It is also revealed that she only managed to secure the position after blackmailing the Chief Inspector.

The benefactors who keep the company and the students afloat include Jacob Hill (Chris Perfetti), a young teacher at the school, and the main character Janine Teagues, played by Quinta herself.

Other quirky personalities include the God-loving, no-nonsense Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph), the smart Melissa Schemmenti (Lisa Ann Walter), and the clumsy but well-meaning Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams).

Critical acclaim came from Liz Shannon Miller Consequence, who said, “Abbott Elementary didn’t hesitate to reach for greatness from its first episode, and the season 3 premiere of the Quinta Brunson-created comedy shows multiple reasons why the show is ready to entertain us for as long as it wants to.”

Meanwhile, Aramide Tinubu is released Variety said, “Brunson and the writers have prepared themselves to tackle some of the deeper and more complex issues that are sending educators across the country running for the mountains.”

Aramide referenced the series’ ability to remain “witty” while addressing the critical issue of teacher burnout.

Top critic Clint Worthington also reasoned similarly, saying “Career Day” is low on laughs and heavy on character, focusing more on warm, fuzzy moments between the characters than on mining them for [humour].’

Meanwhile, Joshua Rivera comes out Polygon added, “Abbott Elementary is a great comedy about resilience and optimism, about what it’s like to not only make the best of the bad hand you’ve been dealt, but also how to inspire others to do the same.”

Elsewhere, fans of the show took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their thoughts on the hit.

“Watching Abbott Elementary, I absolutely love this show,” one raved.

“I love Abbott Elementary because every episode honestly makes me laugh,” another added.

‘ABC please give Quinta an unlimited budget. this is real television!!! 10s across the board! #AbbottElementary,” a third begged.

“Why No One Told Me How Good Abbott Elementary Is! I’m addicted!’ one commenter exclaimed.

Another commented: ‘ABBOT IS BACKKKK! I’m so excited lol #AbbottElementary.”

The Bear continued its streak of awards season wins when it took home the award for episodic comedy series at the 2024 Producers Guild Awards on Sunday.

The drama series, which stars fan favorites Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, was honored with the Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television – Comedy to kick off the evening.

Chef Matty Matheson, who appears on the Bear and acts as producer and culinary consultant, was joined on stage by his fellow producers to accept the honor.

Another early winner of the show was the blockbuster Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, which won the Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures.

The Producers Guild of America is recognizing its own achievements at this year’s 35th annual PGA Awards.

The nominees were announced last month, with American Fiction, Barbie, Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon among those nominated for the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures.

Phil Lord and his creative partner Christopher Miller were among the team that accepted the award for Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse.

The animated film continued the multiverse storylines seen in the hugely successful live-action film Spider-Man: No Way Home, which starred Tom Holland as the title hero.

The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer or Limited of Anthology Series Television went to another awards season favorite, the Netflix miniseries Beef.

Ali Wong stars in this pitch-black comedy as a small business owner of Chinese descent who finds himself in an escalating cycle of revenge and self-sabotage after a traffic incident involving a struggling Korean-American contractor (Steven Yeun).

The guild represents more than 8,500 producers working across a variety of media. Honors at the PGA Awards recognize achievements in film, episodic television, stand-up, live television, documentaries and more.

This year’s ceremony will take place at The Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood and Highland.

Tom Cruise and Mindy Kaling are among some of the big names receiving special honors.

The Top Gun star will be recognized with the David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures, while Kaling will be honored with the Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television.

Animated films are recognized with the Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures. This year’s nominees are The Boy And The Heron, Elemental, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.

The Crown is one of the hit shows up for the Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television – Drama. It will compete against The Diplomat, The Last of Us, The Morning Show and Succession.

The nominees for the Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television – Comedy are Barry, The Bear, Jury Duty, Only Murders In The Building and Ted Lasso.

The Amazing Race, RuPaul’s Drag Race and Squid Game: The Challenge are among the nominees for the Award for Outstanding Producer of Game & Competition Television.

The PGA Awards also recognize sports programs, with 100 Foot Wave, Beckham, Formula 1: Drive To Survive, Hard Knocks: Training Camp With The New York Jets and Shaun White: The Last Run up up for the Award for Outstanding Sports Program.

The cast of The bear won big at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards on Saturday, February 24.

The bearstarring Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, Abby Elliot and more, earned Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series at the awards ceremony, which was held at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles. Abbott Elementary, Barry, Only murders in the building And Ted Lasso completed the category.

Elliot, who plays older sister Natalie/Sugar The bear, led the cast’s acceptance speech. She thanked FX, the show’s producers, writers and crew before sharing a special message to all their loved ones.

“We would also like to thank everyone who has supported actors along the way: our parents, drama teachers, friends who let us sleep on their couch for months, people who helped us record auditions, restaurants who gave us free beer. after comedy shows and plays,” Elliot said. ‘Thank you very much, this is for you. Thank you.”

Two of the nominees won the category in previous years: Abbott Elementary in 2023 and Ted Lasso in 2022. Several cast members from the shows also received nods in the individual acting categories this year. Abbott Elementary‘S Quinta Brunson was up for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series, while Ted Lasso‘S Jason Sudeikis And Brett Goldstein were nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series and Hanna Waddingham was up for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series.

As regards Barry alum Bill Haderearned him a nod for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series.

The cast of The bearmeanwhile, collected nominations for Jeremy Allen White And Ebon Moss-Bachrach for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series and Ayo Edebiri for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series.

The bear has won awards to date, with White, 33, and Edebiri, 28, taking home Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy and Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy respectively names , and the show winning Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy at the 2024 Golden Globe Awards in January.

The Hulu series was also a highlight at the 2023 Primetime Emmy Awards last month, receiving both Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for White, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Edebiri and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. for Moss-Bachrach, 46. Meanwhile, Brunson, 34, won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on Abbott Elementary.

While Barry And Ted Lasso concluded their final seasons in May 2023, Abbott Elementary is currently airing its third season. The bear‘s second season ended in June 2023, with the renewal confirmed four months later. Season 3 premieres in June. Only murders in the building was picked up for season 4 on the same day of the season 3 finale in October 2023.

Steve Martin toured as a stand-up comedian in the ’70s before pursuing his Hollywood dreams.

Martijn joined Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour as a writer in the late 1960s and won his first Emmy Award in 1969. After his breakthrough role in the 1977 film The absent waiterMartin played the leading role All of Me, LA Story, Parenting and the Father of the bride movies.

Writing remained an important part of Martin’s career. He published his first book, Cruel shoesin 1979, followed by the 2000s Shop girl2007 Born standing and his 2022 illustrated memoir, Number one runs: my life in the movies and other diversions.

He went on to write a number of plays, including Meteor shower, Chatter for the Floating Lady, Picasso at the Lapin Agile and the Tony Award-nominated musical Bright star.

“I always thought writing for my comedy act was writing,” Martin said The believer in 2005. “I remember being in New York and seeing a comedy play, and I thought, ‘I should be able to do that. I have written screenplays and performed live.’ So I started messing around, writing my first play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile.”

Martin also has a love for music and taught himself to play the banjo as a teenager, along with the help of a folk artist John McEuen. Martin took up the banjo in his stand-up career and has worked with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the Steep Canyon Rangers and In the Minds of the Living.

“I like it because my investment in this is not with my ego. It’s more of an emotional investment,” Martin said Banjo News in 2010. “If I did a comedy show in a 3,000-seat venue and a thousand people showed up… But if only a thousand people showed up to see me play the banjo, that seems about right. So for me it’s not the same.”

A new generation of fans subsequently fell in love with Martin’s comedic energy Only murders in the building premiered in 2021. A year later, he hinted that he was ready to take a step back from the spotlight, telling The Hollywood Reporter“This is it, strangely enough.”

Keep scrolling to see Martin’s life in photos:

By Vicki Power for the Daily Mail

Published: 4:23 PM EST, February 18, 2024 | Updated: 4:23 PM EST, February 18, 2024

Martijn Kort is one of the most iconic comedians of all time, but he almost ended up on a completely different career path.

Short grew up in Ontario, Canada and was the youngest of five children, with three older brothers, David, Michael and Brian, and an older sister, Nora. He originally studied to be a doctor, but switched to social work and earned a bachelor's degree from McMaster University.

“About two years into college, I realized that… I didn't like science,” Short said in an interview with Charlie Rose in 2006. “I was doing theater all the time. And after four years of college, I thought I would take a year off and try to work as an actor in Toronto.”

After participating Second City Television (SCTV)Short earned his first Emmy Award in 1983 for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program. His brother Michael spent time with him SCTV also and is a comedy sketch writer with three Emmy wins to his name.

In 2010 Short lost his wife, Nancy Dolmanfrom ovarian cancer after 30 years of marriage.

“I believe that when people die, they zoom in on the people who love them,” Short said AARP The Magazine in 2019. “This idea that it just ends and you don't talk about it – that's wrong. That is based on the denial that we will all die. So for me she is still there.”

Among Short's most notable projects are those from 1991 Father of the bride and its 1995 sequel, his talk show The Martin Short Show and the Hulu series Only murders in the buildingthe latter of which earned him Emmy nominations for acting and producing.

Keep scrolling to see Short's career timeline:

Peep Show hit screens 20 years ago, as the lives of the horrifyingly relatable Mark and Jez played out and garnered fans across the globe 

The Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain-created show ran from 2003 to 2015 with 54 episodes across nine series, and followed David Mitchell’s character Mark Corrigan and his best friend and flatmate, layabout Jeremy Usborne played by Robert Webb. 

Since the show came off air, David and Robert, who met at Cambridge in 1993, have gone on to enjoy life as a double act, while the latter was hit with health woes just before his Strictly Come Dancing stint in 2021 – which ended in an early departure. 

Far from being the main attraction of the show – fellow stars have enjoyed equally prosperous fortunes since its conclusion, most notably Olivia Colman, who plays Sophie Chapman, who went on to win an Oscar in 2019. 

Another headline hitter comes in Sophie Winkleman, who played Big Suze and is now a member of the Royal family, and the Hollywood successes of others. 

So where are the stars of Peep Show now?

ROBERT WEBB – Jeremy Usborne 

Robert, 51, played Jeremy – the drug loving, freeloading best friend and housemate of the ever-dismayed Mark – for the entirety of the show. 

Following his stint on the show, in 2017 Robert collaborated with David to create Back, a sitcom starring them both as brothers hit by their father’s death. 

As they embarked on their sitcom endeavor, a routine medical check on set revealed Robert had a prolapse in his heart, which doctors said ‘would fail’ within two to six months, leading to his emergency open-heart surgery. 

He underwent surgery in October 2019, after he was diagnosed with a Mitral valve prolapse (MVP), which occurs when the small flap in the heart that stops blood flowing the wrong way becomes too floppy and does not close properly. 

He said: ‘Honestly, I’d been dreading the show’s medical, which isn’t the attitude of a healthy person. I’d assumed the pains I’d been experiencing were simply what it is to be 47 – and still caning the fags and booze, not doing any exercise and eating badly.’

Speaking about the surgery later on, the funnyman said: ‘[He said] I’m not saying you’re going to have a heart attack in the next fortnight. But if the problem isn’t addressed, then in the next two or four or six months… this heart will fail.’ 

On the prospect of losing his friend, David said: ‘It’s always easier to be nice about Rob to other people, so I can say to you that Rob’s heart operation has reminded me how grateful I am to have him in my life.’ 

Two years after his surgery, in 2021, Robert appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, yet withdrew from the show due to health concerns just three weeks in. 

He revealed: ‘I’m extremely sorry to have to announce that I’m withdrawing from Strictly Come Dancing … 

‘Two years ago I had open heart surgery and although I believed I was fit enough to take on Strictly and its demanding schedule, it became clear that I had bitten off way more than I could chew for this stage in my recovery.

‘I had begun to feel symptoms that led me to seek an urgent consultation with my heart specialist, and it was her view that it would be better for the sake of my health to step back from the show.’

He later admitted: ‘It is brutal. It is an absolutely weird show. It is not like it is an unpleasant environment, but they are long days and it is a long time to be nice.’

DAVID MITCHELL – Mark Corrigan 

David, 49, meanwhile played the awkward, cripplingly anxious Mark, who spent much of the show pursuing Sophie before marrying and abandoning her. 

He soon turned his attention to Dobby, however she left for New York leaving him heartbroken and caught in yet more unrequited romances. 

Since the show came off screens, David is now a regular on TV quiz shows and a team captain on BBC series Would I Lie to You? 

After Peep Show’s success, David and Robert returned to sketch comedy with their BBC Radio 4 sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Sound, which ran for five series.

The show was adapted for TV and became That Mitchell And Webb Look, which producer Gareth Edwards described it as ‘the shortest pitch [he had] ever written’. The show ran for four series.

In September 2023, Mitchell published Unruly: A History of England’s Kings and Queens, a non-fiction book about the history of the English monarchy up until Queen Elizabeth I.

In January 2024, Mitchell began filming the new BBC comedy detective drama series Ludwig. Mitchell plays the titular character of John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor, a man who assumes the identity of his missing identical twin brother to track him down.

He is married to journalist and comedian Victoria Coren, who he met at Jonathan Ross’ Halloween bash in 2007, despite believing he would never marry. 

In his autobiography, he penned: ‘I’d never really had a long, meaningful relationship. I’d had the odd one-night stand here and there…

‘I thought maybe it wouldn’t work out for me. I had lots of friends who were serial mono­gamists and I’d had a few flings, none of which was perfect…

‘I thought, that’s not for me. I don’t want to go out with someone who I’m not head-over-heels in love with. But then I met Victoria. It took us a while to get together… but I was ­smitten.’

The couple wed in November 2012, with Robert acting as Best Man, while they had their daughter Barbara in May 2015 and stunned fans in November, when they announced the secret arrival of their second child the previous month. 

David later said of his wife: ‘She’s clever, funny, beautiful. I think she’s amazing. She’s brilliant at what she does. For three years I thought about her all the time, and I still do but in a much happier way…

‘I didn’t know whether I was built to be in a couple and finding that I am is tremendous. Life is a lot less bewildering and stressful when there’s someone to talk to who you know will back you up whatever happens…

‘I feel self-conscious talking about it, but of course I had to put it in the book because the book’s a memoir and it’s one of the most important things that’s ever happened to me.’

OLIVIA COLMAN – Sophie Chapman 

Olivia, who is undoubtedly the show’s biggest success story, first met Robert and David at Cambridge’s famed drama society Footlights, as she trained to be a teacher – yet David insisted he saw huge potential in the star. 

David wrote in his autobiography Backstory: ‘Suddenly she was shining with talent – working the audience, timing her lines, drawing out new laughs without ever seeming hammy.

‘There were many talented actors at Cambridge while I was there, very few were as good as Collie – certainly no one better.’

Since starring on Peep Show, she enjoyed stints in Broadchurch, The Night Manager, The Crown and an Oscar-winning turn as Queen Anne in The Favourite.

She walked away victorious in 2019, at the 91st Academy Awards, where she was overjoyed as she accepted the gong, during which she reached out to little girls everywhere in an inspiring and sweet speech. 

She said: ‘Any little girl who’s practicing your speech on the telly, you never know! I used to work as a cleaner and I spent quite a lot of my time imagining this.’

In the heartwarming speech, she graciously gave a nod to her colleagues: ‘I have to thank lots of people. Yorgos [Lanthimos], my best director and the best film with Emma [Stone] and Rachel [Weisz], the two loveliest women to fall in love with and go to work with every day. You can imagine it wasn’t a hardship.’ 

SOPHIE WINKLEMAN – Big Suze

Big Suze is Jeremy’s former girlfriend, known for being ‘posh’ and the long-time object of his affections, before she moves on to Mark’s boss Johnson. 

While Suze’s posh status is a joke throughout the series, it is a case of life imitating art as the sister of Claudia Winkleman has married into the Royal family. 

Sophie married King Charles’ second cousin Lord Frederick Windsor in 2009 and the couple have two children – Maud, ten, and Isabella, seven. 

Speaking about the close relationships she has with the royals since marrying into the Windsor family, she said: ‘[I’m] really good friends with all of them – that’s a really daft thing to say, but behind the camera they’re really fun, clever, kind people.

‘I love Sophie Edinburgh, Sarah Chatto, Zara, the York girls, Tim and Princess Anne, Fergie, all the Kents and Gloucesters.

‘I love Kate and William, but they’re so busy and don’t live in London, so I don’t see them much.’

Giving special credit to King Charles, the daughter-in-law to Prince Michael of Kent said: ‘I spend a bit of time with him. You see how he works all day long, has a quick supper and then disappears until about 4am to write letters.

‘He cares about so many things and he comes up with brilliant solutions.’

But in 2017, Sophie’s new life turned upside down after she was involved in a car crash which left her fearing she was in her final moments.

She was a back-seat passenger in a chauffeur-driven car when another vehicle struck it after swerving to avoid a deer. The car she was riding in was thrown up into the air before crashing down and causing life-threatening injuries.

She said: ‘I was completely lucid throughout. I assumed I was a goner and you just go into a strangely un-romantic mode of thinking, ‘Right, this is my last few minutes. I’ve got to do something practical.’

‘So I was thinking things like, ‘Hope my parents stay well to help Freddie take care of the children, hope he meets someone nice.”

Paramedics managed to rescue her from the vehicle and rush her to hospital, where they discovered she had sustained a broken foot and two broken bones in her back.

It was three days before it was confirmed that she wouldn’t be left paralysed.

Sophie said the rehabilitation period, which lasted over a year, was ‘miserable’ and left her unable to pick up her daughters.