KAL PENN GOES TO SUNNYSIDE

Kal Penn’s upcoming NBC sitcom finally has a title – Sunnyside -  named after the neighborhood in Queens, New York. Penn who co-wrote the comedy with Matt Murray, will play New York City Councilman Garrett Shah who “finds his calling when faced with seven recent immigrants” who are in search of the American Dream and need his help.

According to Deadline, 5 of the 7 immigrants will be portrayed by immigrant actors. The cast includes Joel Kim Booster, the high profile, South Korean-born comedian; Kiran Deol, the UK born actor, Poppy Liu, an actress born in China; Tudor Petrut, of Romanian origin; Samba Schutte, a Dutch Mauritanian actor who grew up in Ethiopia; Diana Maria Riva, a first-generation Dominican; and Moses Storm.

The pilot is also directed by immigrant Oz Rodriquez.

NBC'S WORLD OF DANCE WINNERS, THE LAB, SHARES A MESSAGE OF LOVE

West Covina’s The Lab took home 1 million dollars after winning NBC’s World of Dance. Second time’s a charm for the team who first made their appearance on the NBC show in Season 1, becoming the highest scoring Junior Team. After being sent home last season, they were determined to come back and clench the title in season 2 of the reality show competition.

In round one of the season finale, The Lab’s performance to Missy Elliott’s “Work It” placed them in first with Ne-Yo describing it as a “million dollar performance”.  In the second round, The Lab switched up their full choreography high energy moves with an emotional, moving and thought provoking dance to John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change.”

Their touching performance left Jennifer Lopez and most of the audience in tears. Derek Hough called them “warriors of light” and Ne-Yo wished that his kids saw their performance, stating “I wish my kids were here to see that just now. I wish they were. I want my children to be inspired by this, and I know that they will. It’s going to touch them the way it touched me.”

Describing their heart wrenching performance, The Lab expressed, “Our message is about love, and we don’t receive enough of it in the world. Our plan is to make the world a better place.”