Gervais Plays Down Globe Furore

Rags-to-riches tales, revenge plots, and plenty of twists—Chinese viewers are loving what they can find in internet “micro-dramas,” the latest big thing in Chinese entertainment of vertically-shot shows posted on social media with episodes that have runtimes of just a few minutes or less. But Chinese authorities, wary of losing control over messaging, aren’t loving the new medium so much—and are cracking down on the booming micro-drama industry. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Unlike legacy television productions with longer production schedules and larger budgets—and strict government oversight—the micro-drama industry has risen through the proliferation of low-budget, quickly made mini-shows that often cost only a fraction of the time and money to put in front of viewers, and until recently, were largely unregulated. Not known for award- or acclaim-worthy scripts or acting but rather for their pure bingeworthiness, micro-dramas tend to lean into familiar tried-and-tested themes, like love affairs, family disputes, and tensions between the rich and poor. Read More: China’s Solution to Inequality?

Artificial intelligence has been a tricky subject in Washington. Most lawmakers agree that it poses significant dangers if left unregulated, yet there remains a lack of consensus on how to tackle these concerns. But speaking at a TIME100 Talks conversation on Friday ahead of the White House Correspondents Dinner, a panel of experts with backgrounds in government, national security, and social justice expressed optimism that the U.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — A Game 4 doesn’t have near the buzz of a Game 7. That doesn’t matter to the defending NBA champion Nuggets, who spent Friday psyching themselves up for Saturday night’s Game 4 against the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. If they win, the Nuggets will sweep the Lakers out of the playoffs on their home court for the second consecutive year and advance to the second round.

Tattered Cover, a trailblazer among the country’s independent bookstores and part of the Denver community for more than a half-century, could have new owners as early as this summer, according to the CEO guiding the chain through bankruptcy reorganization. Brad Dempsey, who took over as CEO in July, filed an amended reorganization plan Friday with the U.

Bo Nix’s eyes widened just a little. There will be many of those moments as a rookie in the NFL, but this time it wasn’t a learning experience. It was a chance to talk about something he and his new head coach, Sean Payton, both believe will serve him well in the NFL. His brain and how it works on the football field. “You have to be as efficient as possible,” he said.

As a long-time football coach, Pat Shurmur knows how football coaches operate, which is why the Colorado Buffaloes won’t show much during their annual spring game on Saturday. The weather may not be ideal for the annual Black & Gold scrimmage at Folsom Field (1 p.m., Pac-12 Network), but one thing fans can count on is a lot of vanilla in the play calling. “I don’t have much of a life here, so what I do is I sit at home and I’ve been just flipping through other teams spring games,” said Shurmur, the first-year offensive coordinator of the Buffs.