Actress Sophie Rundle plays the character PC Joanna Marshall in ‘After the Flood.’ The Britbox show is a mystery thriller in a town hit by a drastic flood.
Jalyn Green
EXCLUSIVE: Eugenio Derbez, Enrique Arrizon, Austin Winsberg & Sam Laybourne Talk Apple TV’s Acapulco Season 3
The Apple TV+ series Acapulco is back for its third season. Their series continues with Eugenio Derbez playing present-day Maximo Gallardo and Enrique Arrizon as Young Maximo.
Exclusive: Davo Talks Playing His Father Junior Marvin, In ‘Bob Marley: One Love’
Actor and Rapper Davo, shares how he landed the role as his father, guitarist Junior Marvin for The Wailers in the film ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ from an Instagram DM from his sister.
Exclusive: Raheem DeVaughn Talks New EP ‘Winter In Love,’ Upcoming Tour with Ledisi, and More
Four-time Grammy Nominated Recording Artist, Raheem DeVaugn released his new EP Winter In Love on February 13th, 2024. This new project is the third installment of his Seasons of Love series filled with eight tracks of classic sounds of R&B.
Speedy Morman Talks New Partnership with Smirnoff and the Smirnoff SMASH Pickle Bowl in Las Vegas
Speedy Morman is one of Smirnoff’s newest partners and will host the inaugural Smirnoff SMASH Pickle Bowl in Sin City for their new Smirnoff SMASH Vodka Soda. Some of the biggest names in Hollywood like Saweetie, Lance Bass, Scheana Shay, Brock Davies, Vernon Davis, and Kay Adams will play America’s new favorite sport, pickleball. The pickleball showcase on the Las Vegas Strip will allow fans 21+ to experience the bold combination of the brand’s newest ready-to-drink Smirnoff SMASH Vodka Soda. There are four new flavors and only 100 calories each. The flavors are unexpected combinations like Strawberry Dragon Fruit, Watermelon Lime, Pineapple Orange, and Raspberry Peach.
Smirnoff will welcome those (21+) along the Las Vegas strip to experience the Smirnoff SMASH Pickle Bowl. Those who attend can play a few rounds of pickleball while tasting the bold flavors of Smirnoff SMASH Vodka Soda. Fans can hit the pickleball courts on Friday, February 9th- Sunday, February 11th, and play a game of pickleball, try the bold new flavors, and receive some Smirnoff swag.
Complex 360 host Speedy Morman spoke with us about his exciting new partnership with Smirnoff, hosting the first-ever Smirnoff SMASH Pickle Bowl, and what we can expect from him in the future.
Okay. So our first question, how does it feel to be partnering with Smirnoff?
Speedy: It feels great. I mean, it’s such a storied brand. I think we all have experiences, uh, with the liquor brand as big as Smirnoff. And so, it feels great. I’m excited when they reached out. I made sure we picked up the phone right away and, and we’re ready to rock.
So Smirnoff just released the Smash Vodka Soda with four new flavors. Have you been able to try them? And if so, what’s your favorite?
Speedy: My favorite is by far the pineapple orange. I like a sweet drink. And they’re all good, but if you’re asking my favorite, I’d have to rock with a pineapple orange.
Smirnoff is introducing unexpected combinations for their new flavors. Which one do you think will catch people by surprise the most?
Speedy: I think raspberry peach, probably because I think people are going to be surprised at how tasty they are. You know, you just see a lot of times flavors slapped on a bottle or slapped on a can and you think, Oh, whatever, It’s probably fake juice or, but knowing that it’s real juice and actually tastes good. I think that’s why the raspberry peach is the one that has surprised people most.
How cool is it that there are only a hundred calories?
Speedy: Super cool. I mean, everybody’s trying to watch their figure. We are all trying to get our summer bodies right? And you know, we all want to look our best, hundred calories, keeping things healthy and light.
So how are you preparing for the Smirnoff Smash Pickle Bowl?
Speedy: Oh, I’m getting in the zone mentally, physically, a thousand pushups a day, thousand burpees. No, I’m just playing. I’m excited. You know, between Lance and Scheana and Saweetie and the rest of the gang, I think they’ll be ready to rock.
So do you have a lot of experience playing pickleball yourself?
Speedy: I wouldn’t say a lot, but I definitely have some experience. I’m a pretty fast learner though. So it’s taking the world by storm it feels like – or at least America by storm. It feels like it kind of came out of nowhere. And now it’s like the fastest growing sport in America, it seems. So I’m excited to see how Saweetie is out on the court, to be honest.
And how does it feel to be hosting for the competition with these big names?
Speedy: It feels great. I mean, it’s like I said to one of my other colleagues, they should be glad I’m not playing to be honest, but it feels great to be hosting – just to be air traffic control and just kind of make sure we get to where we need to go safely. But I do know that I’ll be adding my little color commentary in there and I might have some fun and some things to say. So I’m excited.
So the Smirnoff Smash Pickleball is in Vegas. What can fans expect when they hit the Las Vegas Strip?
Speedy: Oh, man. I think the Strip is going to be a movie, to be honest. There’s going to be so much energy going on in the city. But no energy is better than this Smirnoff Smash Pickleball. I’m excited about it. I think that is really where the basis of all of the energy will be coming.
So with prior basketball experience, how are you preparing to play pickleball?
Speedy: I’m just kind of like a natural athlete. So, you know, basketball certainly helped me agility wise, but you know, I can pick up any football, baseball, basketball, hockey, you give me the tools. I’m gonna learn how to play.
Why do you think pickleball is so popular right now?
Speedy: I think the barrier of entry for the sport is really low, right? Like a lot of people think it’s less physically taxing than tennis. But also more stimulating and exciting than ping pong. So to me, it’s just like a perfect blend of a sport that anybody can play – any able bodied person can play. And so I’m excited about the future of pickleball and looking forward to seeing it permeate into other areas of our culture.
So what can we expect next from you as hosts for 360 with Speedy? Is there anything you can share that we can look out for?
Speedy: We just had an interview drop with one of the biggest streamers in the world and content creators in the world. His name is Duke Dennis. But I have a superstition. I don’t like to speak about stuff before the episodes come out so I can’t say too much, but we got some big A-listers on the docket this year. Some big movie stars and athletes. So, I think the people will be excited to tune in when those episodes drop.
And final question, are there any other projects we can look out for outside of Complex?
Speedy: Yeah I mean, I’m always working, you know, I host a show on Amazon Music. But honestly, I’m really most excited about the big game weekend in Vegas. The Smirnoff event is going to be a good one. And so, I’ve been just shaping up, getting in tune, and ready to rock out and see my fellow colleagues: Saweetie and Lance Bass and Kay and Vernon and everybody else in the rest of the gang in Sin City. I can’t wait.
Exclusive: Brandon Soo Hoo And Cast Talk Paramount+ ‘The Tiger’s Apprentice’
‘The Tiger’s Apprentice’ is an animated film based on the popular children’s book series of the same name by Laurence Yep. The film focuses on the character Tom Lee (Brandon Soo Hoo) who plays a Chinese-American teenager who learns he’s part of a lineage of magical protectors known as the Guardians. Brandon shares his character Tom is, “able to keep his head up high during difficult situations.” With the help from the mythical tiger Hu(Henry Golding) trains with Tom to face Loo(Michelle Yeoh) with her evil intentions to destroy humanity with magic. Tom not only has to master his newly discovered powers but he must reunite the twelve Zodiac animal warriors to fight against Loo.
Diana Lee Inosanto(Horse), Sherry Cola(Naomi/Monkey), and Deborah S. Craig(Pig) all play zodiac animal warriors in ‘The Tiger’s Apprentice,’ and assist Tom with his fight against Loo. “She is quick on her feet,” says Cola about her character Naomi the Monkey who is a sight to see in the film. Leah Lewis as Rav and Tan Kheng Hua as Mrs. Lee are two characters that seem to spark Tom to overcome some of the struggles he endures. “He learns so many lessons on what it’s like to grow up and kinda just be proud of who he is,” says Leah Lewis on Tom’s character development in The Tiger’s Apprentice. This Paramount+ animation film ‘The Tiger’s Apprentice’ will premiere on February 2nd exclusively on Paramount+.
Exclusive: Zach Woods, Brandon Gardner, and Cast Talk Peacock’s ‘In The Know’
‘In The Know’ is Peacock’s first adult animated original comedy series from creators Zach Woods, Brandon Gardner, and Mike Judge. The series focuses on NPR Host, Lauren Caspian (Zach Woods) and his show called ‘In The Know’. Viewers will be able to watch the making of Lauren’s show with the help of his NPR staff, Barb(J.Smith-Cameron), Carl(Carl Tart), Fabian(Caitlin Reilly), Chase(Charlie Bushnell) and Sandy(Mike Judge) in each episode. Zach Woods describes Lauren’s character by stating, “he has all kinds of obnoxious and ridiculous characteristics but at his core he just really, really, really wants to be connected to people.” The entire cast are stop-motion puppets with real human guests each episode for Lauren’s interviews. Some of pop culture’s biggest names make an appearance on ‘In The Know’ like Mike Tyson, Kaia Gerber, Finn Wolfhard, and more.
Guests that appeared on ‘In The Know’ to be interviewed by Lauren Caspian were all improvised, except episode five with Jorge Masvidal. The interview process consisted of guest speaking to Lauren Caspian for an hour and later having their footage cut down into smaller segments to appear on the show. Viewers will be able to see unscripted responses to Lauren’s intimate questions for his interviews every episode. There’s also going to be a podcast,” says Brandon Gardener. After the show premieres fans will be able to listen to a podcast filled with extra audio of each interview with Lauren Caspian on Spotify. This workplace parody ‘In The Know’ is sure to have a character for everyone can relate to and premieres January 25th on Peacock.