TV

This is awesome.

EA Sports -- starting later this month -- is adding Ted Lasso to FIFA '23 ... AND his team, AFC Richmond, the video game maker announced on Wednesday.

"Believe it. #FIFA23 x @TedLasso He's proven he belongs in the game, now Ted Lasso and @AFCRichmond are playable in FIFA 23 starting September 30," EA tweeted.

In an official news release, EA said Lasso -- famously played by Jason Sudekis -- will be a playable manager in Career Mode on FIFA '23.

In addition to Lasso, FIFA players can manage AFC Richmond -- Lasso's team in the hit show -- in FIFA's Premier League or any other playable Career Mode.

The Emmy award-winning show follows the story of Lasso, an American football coach in London charged with leading a struggling English Premier League football (soccer) team.

According to IMDB, the comedy-drama won 11 Primetime Emmys and received 40 total nominations.

Eli Manning's portrayal of "Chad Powers" -- a dude trying out for the Penn State football team -- was so damn funny, the production company behind the 2x Super Bowl winners skit has been fielding offers from entertainment execs wanting to work with the signal-caller.

TMZ Sports posted the clip from "Eli's Places" on Monday ... showing Powers doing everything from running the 40-yard dash (5.49 seconds) to throwing deep balls, all while providing hilarious commentary ("Chad Powers. Ya ain't seen nothin' like him. Not just good looking. I can throw it, baby!").

The clip has already been viewed millions of times across the internet ... and our sources tell us Omaha Productions, owned by Peyton Manning, has been flooded by people in the entertainment industry who wish to work with Manning/Powers.

One of the ideas ... a "Ted Lasso"-type show. Of course, Jason Sudeikis plays Lasso ... an American football coach hired to manage an English soccer club.

'TL' is one of the biggest shows to premiere over the last few years ... and it's won a bunch of awards.

Manning -- who retired after the '19 NFL season -- hosts the "Manningcast" during "Monday Night Football" with Peyton.

Eli also has an online show, "The Eli Manning Show," co-hosted by his former center, Shaun O'Hara, on the NY Giants YouTube page ... in addition to a bunch of endorsements.

Keegan-Michael Key joined a very lucky group on the TMZ Celebrity Tour ... offerin' up advice on how award shows can evolve so comedy bits don't drag people down.

Keegan hopped on our bus in Bev Hills ... and as his wife and writing partner Elle kicked it on the sidewalk, he offered up some tips on cringe-worthy humor during these awards shows.

KMK put it plainly -- you can make a killer joke that has a positive message ... but bringing someone down should be out of bounds.

He's pretty clearly referring to last week's Emmys ... where Jimmy Kimmel was dragged for "passing out" on stage as Quinta Brunson accepted her award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.

After finishing his TMZ Tour "Ted Talk," he entertained passengers with a throwback from 'Key & Peele' ... breaking out his substitute teacher character that he debuted a decade ago!!!

Talk show host and "Coming to America" star Arsenio Hall didn't have much to laugh about recently ... because cops say his L.A. home was the target of not 1, but 2 break-ins.

LAPD sources tell TMZ ... Arsenio was home Saturday at 11 AM when he heard a loud noise coming from downstairs. We're told he came down to discover someone had broken the glass on his sliding door ... attempting to get in. But, an incident last month was even scarier.

Cops say 2 people broke a window at his place back in August and entered the home. Arsenio was home when they broke in. We're told the burglars got spooked and took off before stealing anything.

Police responded both times, but the suspects beat it before they arrived. Detectives are now looking at surveillance video from the home and neighborhood to ID the suspects. They also want to know if Arsenio is being targeted. Specifically, they want to know if the same people were involved in both incidents.

American actor and comic book writer James Marsters was 35 years old when he was cast as Spike -- the soulless turned 'good' vampire who enjoyed being a trickster -- in the 1997 drama series "Buffy The Vampire Slayer."

James was cast alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar as the cheerful and at times stubborn teenage gal, Buffy Summers, Alyson Hannigan as the eccentric and straight-A student, Willow Rosenberg, David Boreanaz as one of the evilest vampires, Angel and Nicholas Brendon as the sarcastic and loyal friend, Xander Harris.

Pat Sajak posing for a photo with Marjorie Taylor Greene is getting double takes on the internet -- especially after old tweets of his have resurfaced that are raising eyebrows.

The "Wheel of Fortune" host stood shoulder to shoulder with the Georgia congresswoman and Right Side Broadcasting Network reporter Brian Glenn in a photo that popped up out of nowhere Saturday. There's no context on where or when it was shot, but people don't care.

The fact he's there with them at all -- especially Rep. Greene, smiling from ear to ear -- is enough for folks to be ripping him on Twitter ... which they absolutely are.

The reactions are brutal ... people are saying that Pat's showing his true colors here, and some are even vowing to boycott his iconic game show because of this. One person jokingly said Pat was pictured here with Vanna Whitesupremacist -- a reference to ... well, you get it.

Others are noting that Pat's actually expressed his conservative views in the past ... pointing to since-deleted tweets that are being attributed to him from years ago.

While a good amount of Twitter users seem genuinely shocked by this ... others say this is old news, as it's apparently been known where PS leans politically. Still, the fact he's yukking it up with these two, specifically, is a brand of conservativism that give many pause.

It's been noted that Pat seems to be on the verge of retirement, and if true ... maybe he's just letting it all hang out in public. What this might do to his legacy is anyone's guess.

UFC fighter Eryk Anders loved his "Cobra Kai" debut so much he wants to continue acting if the right opportunities come up ... telling TMZ Sports it's "less hazardous" than fighting MMA.

No spoilers here ... but Anders was seen fighting in the new season of the Netflix series that was released earlier this month, and we must say, he did a good job for his first role.

He thought so, too ... and tells us even though he's a fighter in the world's biggest MMA promotion, he sees himself acting more in the future.

"I'd love to," Anders said, "if the right opportunities present itself."

"Timing is everything. It's a lot less hazardous to my health as well. As you can see my nose is crooked."

And, the 35-year-old already knows who he wants to work with ... after he gets his nose fixed, and lays down the gloves.

"Maybe something with The Rock," Anders said, "he seems to be the guy like the Arnold Schwarzenegger of now."

"All his movies seem to pretty surefire that it's gonna be a good movie. I think it would be kinda hard to bus with The Rock. I think that'd be dope."

That's no shade to the Cobra Kai actors like William Zabka who plays Johnny Lawrence -- in fact, Anders is a fan of the 'Karate Kid' legend.

"It was cool. It was quite an experience. I watched all the 'Karate Kid' as a kid growing up."

From the wrestling ring ... to Wakanda?!?

WWE superstar Kofi Kingston says he's hoping he can do just that ... telling TMZ Sports this week he's absolutely itching to be in the upcoming "Black Panther" TV series.

"I already fit the mold," he said out LAX. "I was born in the Mother Land, you know what I'm saying? Put your boy on the show!"

The comic book, superhero conversation all came about because during a match earlier this month, Kofi brought out a Thor hammer and wowed the crowd with it.

The 14-time WWE tag team champ showed it off -- and then beat the hell out of his opponent with it ... drawing huge cheers from the audience.

The scene was awesome -- and Kofi said he's desperately trying to replicate it on a Marvel project going forward.

"Look, man, there's a lot of us that are Marvel fans," Kofi said, "myself, Woods and E, your boys -- The New Day -- would love to be in a Marvel movie."

"We put things out into the universe and then we pray for the most positive. It's all about putting yourself out there."

Bill Maher begs to differ with the maxim, "There's no time like the present," because he says the past is being unfairly dragged.

Maher made a case against the concept of "presentism" -- making moral/ethical judgments about the conduct of people in the past based on current norms.

His argument is laced with some pretty hysterical jokes, like people who think they're better than George Washington because they have a gay friend and GW didn't. As he said, if GW were alive today, he'd probably have gay friends and if the people today were alive back then they wouldn't.

Now speaking of Washington -- whose legacy is tarnished by the fact he was a slave owner -- Maher tries to make the case that -- despite the fact slavery is horrendously wrong -- it has been the norm throughout history, pointing to the Egyptians, the Romans, the Greeks, the British ... and then he lands an hysterical joke, which you gotta watch.

As he put it half jokingly, human beings are generally terrible people.

Short story -- he thinks judging people from the past using current standards is stupid, and we shouldn't start altering, dismissing or ignoring history to conform to present values.

Mykelti Williamson says John Oliver's dissection of 'Law & Order' as pro-cop propaganda is too serious for his own good -- 'cause at the end of the day ... it's showbiz, baby.

We got the veteran actor -- who recently had a starring role on "Law & Order: Organized Crime" -- responding to JO's anti-Dick Wolf rant while he was leaving LAX ... and his response to John's very serious critique of the long-running franchise is a dash of real talk.

The truth, according to Mykelti, is that DW -- the creator of 'Law & Order' -- is a class act ... especially when it comes to telling authentic stories about POC, so there's that.

On the issue of 'L&O' depicting police in too rosy a light, Mykelti is sorta giving an eye roll here -- first noting the show has attempted to tackle real-world issues within their plots (which is true) and secondly ... rightly pointing out 'L&O' is good old-fashioned entertainment.

As he explains to our photog, the truth is ugly and complicated -- with people already getting their fill of reality in their day-to-day lives ... and looking to TV for some escapism.

He also suggests that people aren't tuning into 'Law & Order' for virtue signaling ... they just want a tight 43 minutes of a cop chasing down a bad guy and cracking the case -- a formula John thinks has been rinsed and repeated for far too long, unrealistically.

But, Mykelti -- who, BTW, is also doing big things outside of TV with his Warrior Recovery Program for vets/first responders -- thinks this debate's more simple than John's making it.

Zoe Lister-Jones is pulling the plug on her marriage ... because she just filed for divorce from her director husband.

The "New Girl" star beelined it to court Thursday and filed to divorce Daryl Wein after 17 years together, including 9 years of marriage.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Zoe is citing the usual irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split.

Zoe revealed last year she had separated from Daryl, explaining how they were going in and out of an open relationship. Now, she's made the first move to get a divorce, listing Feb. 1, 2021 as the date of separation.

ZLJ and DW did not have any minor children ... and she wants to end the court's ability to award spousal support. As for their property, Zoe is asking the judge to keep things simple and confirm the judgment for legal separation filed back in May 2021.

Actor Michael Pitt was taken into police custody last Friday and carted off to the hospital after a very public outburst in NYC, TMZ has learned.

Video obtained by TMZ shows Pitt strapped to a gurney and surrounded by EMS technicians who are wheeling him down a sidewalk in Bushwick, Brooklyn, presumably to a waiting ambulance. Pitt looks as if he's in a daze ... first staring up at the sky, then turning his head to the side as he quietly lays on the stretcher.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... someone called 911 to report a male (Pitt) was throwing objects at people, possibly from the rooftop of a building.

Cops quickly responded to the scene and Pitt was apprehended, but not charged with a crime because he was deemed an emotionally disturbed person. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Back in July, Pitt had another brush with the law at the same location, and he was arrested for assault and petty larceny. The actor allegedly snatched a man's phone out of his hand and repeatedly punched him in the head before taking the phone. Luckily, the man suffered only minor injuries.

In New York, a person who is placed on an involuntary psych hold can only be held for 72 hours, unless the hospital petitions a judge to keep the patient, and then only for a maximum of 60 days total. We don't know Pitt's current status.

Bhad Bhabie has already proven she's all about her business ... and now she's been invited to drop some wisdom at Oxford University!

Bhad Bhabie, aka Danielle Bregoli, has been invited to speak to students at "Oxford Union" -- arguably the most prestigious debating society on planet Earth.

So, check this out ... BB will follow in the footsteps of some pretty important people who have stood at that podium, including Presidents Reagan, Nixon, Carter, and Clinton ... Queen Elizabeth II, Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Malcolm X, Albert Einstein, Sir Elton John, Shakira, Billy Joel ... and now, Bhad Bhabie.

The Oxford Union Prez said in the invite to BB ... "It would be an honour to welcome you to continue this fine tradition."

As you know, BB rose to fame after going viral on a Dr. Phil episode about troubled teens. Since then she's done a complete 180 ... turning her dubious fame into fortune with a rap career, brand deals and a VERY successful OnlyFans career -- $50M successful!!!

BTW, last month she teamed up with the Educapital Foundation to create a $1.7M scholarship to help 1,000 students enroll in technical and trade schools.

The target date for BB to speak is sometime in November, and it'll be on YouTube for all to see.

Jimmy Kimmel knows how to read the room, so he was quick to apologize to Quinta Brunson for his Emmys bit gone flat.

Quinta appeared on Jimmy's show Wednesday night, and he effusively expressed his regrets for overshadowing Quinta, who snagged a trophy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.

As you know, Will Arnett dragged Jimmy out onstage as Kimmel pretended he was passed-out drunk and he lay there as Will read the noms, announced Quinta as the winner and while Quinta gave her acceptance speech.

Jimmy was ready from the jump for a big mea culpa. As soon as Quinta sat down on the couch, Jimmy went right into apology mode ... "it was a dumb comedy bit that we thought would be funny." In other words, he's now in on the non-joke.

Then Jimmy joked..."I lost, and then I drank too much, and I had to be dragged out on the stage. And then people got upset. They said that I stole your moment, and maybe I did. I'm very sorry if I did do that — I'm sorry I did do that, actually."

Quinta was more than gracious, essentially saying it didn't bother her ..."I was honestly in such a moment of having a good time, like I won my first Emmy! I was up there happy, and I was wrapped up in the moment."

Fact is ... Quinta and Jimmy have history. He was an early supporter of her, bringing her on his show and singing her praises.

Olivia Newton-John's publicist is fuming the late singer and actress was excluded from the "In Memoriam" tribute at the Emmys ... insisting she absolutely deserved to be honored.

Michael Caprio, Olivia's publicist of 24 years, tells TMZ ... while the family is still grieving and not commenting at this time, he was personally very disappointed by the snub.

Michael feels the decision wasn't right, given Olivia's extensive track record in Hollywood and especially on TV ... including acting in TV movies like "A Mom For Christmas" as well as appearing on "American Idol," "RuPaul's Drag Race," "Murphy Brown," "Glee" and 'DWTS.'

He also noted, Olivia had ton of TV specials like ABC’s "A Special Olivia Newton-John" and "Olivia Physical."

ICYMI, the 2022 Emmys faced a ton of backlash when viewers noticed Olivia and other stars were left out of the annual segment dedicated to stars who died within the last year.

The tribute included legends such as Betty White, Bob Saget, Ray Liotta, Anne Heche and Sidney Poitier ... and naturally folks were shocked after noticing Olivia was missing.

As we've reported, Olivia died in August -- at the age of 73 -- after a long battle with breast cancer, and, obviously, was a household name in Hollywood and around the world.

Jimmy Kimmel has come under some serious fire online after many believe a skit he and Will Arnett performed as presenters stole the spotlight from winner Quinta Brunson.

Arnett and Kimmel presented the award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series at Monday night's Emmy Awards. Arnett dragged a "passed out" Kimmel onto the stage and laid his body out next to the microphone stand while he explained the late night host had too many margaritas backstage.

Once Arnett called Brunson's name as the winner, and she came to the stage, Kimmel continued to carry on with the gag -- even after Brunson jokingly exclaimed, "Jimmy, wake up. I won."

Jimmy laid super close to Brunson as she gave her speech, making it nearly impossible for the show's directors to get a shot of her without him in it.

Twitter exploded after the moment, with users pointing out how disrespectful Kimmel's decision came across, including, "Jimmy Kimmel owes Quinta an apology but the messed up part is every image of her accepting her award has his ass in it. White men really are insufferable."

Another said, "White male privilege is laying on the ground & expecting a Black woman to just step around you while she accepts her hard-earned award."