This year's Super Bowl featured 51 minutes 20 seconds of ads — the second highest amount of ad time in the big game's history, according to data from Kantar Media

Ads — which included a commercial break in the Super Bowl's first ever period of overtime — accounted 23% of the of the game's 3 hours 47 minute broadcast.

The record is held by Super Bowl XLVII in 2013, when 51 minutes 40 seconds of ads were shown.

However, Super Bowl LI did set a commercial record: If you set aside the unpaid promotional spots for broadcaster Fox and the NFL, the big game this year featured the most commercials from paying advertisers, at 41 minutes 30 seconds.

This year's top-spender was Anheuser-Busch InBev, which aired 3 minutes 30 seconds of ads.

The brewer promoted four brands in that time, with a immigration-themed spot for Budweiser (a divisive ad that caused some viewers to call for a boycott of the brand), an ad for Bud Light featuring its vintage mascot Spuds MacKenzie, a humorous commercial for Busch, and an ad for Michelob Ultra, set in a gym.

T-Mobile also purchased four ads — featuring celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart, and Kristen Schaal — racking up 3 minutes of Super Bowl ad time.

Broadcaster Fox reportedly charged advertisers upwards of $5 million for a 30-second spot in the Super Bowl this year.

The Super Bowl attracted 12 new advertisers this year — including 84 Lumber, Netflix, and Airbnb. But more than 40% of advertisers (18) who paid for slots in the big game last year did not return for this year's game.

SEE ALSO: The 5 best ads of Super Bowl 51

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NOW WATCH: Watch Budweiser’s Super Bowl ad — it makes a strong statement on immigration

Facebook is, by far, the largest social media platform on Earth. Nearly 2 billion people use it — just over 25% of the planet's population.

But the company's vision for the future goes beyond baby photos and shareable headlines: The $2 billion acquisition of Oculus VR in 2014 was a strong indication of what's next for Facebook.

Indeed, Zuckerberg and company see virtual reality as an integral part of Facebook's future. And that future is off to a rocky start.

Weak sales of the company's first VR headset, the Oculus Rift, are just the beginning. Two months after Facebook purchased Oculus VR, Facebook was sued for $2 billion. The company that sued, Zenimax Media, claimed that a former employee-turned-Oculus CTO took trade secrets with him. Moreover, the suit claimed that those trade secrets were integral to the Oculus Rift headset. 

A classic he said/she said litany of statements flowed from both companies, and a two-week jury trial concluded earlier this month. Zuck himself even appeared in court for questioning. The result? Facebook is paying Zenimax $500 million, but no one's to blame.

Here's what's going on.

SEE ALSO: Facebook ordered to pay $500 million in lawsuit against Oculus VR

August 2013: Oculus VR, a startup working on a virtual reality headset called the Rift, hires "Doom" creator John Carmack of id Software as its chief technology officer.

From the very first days of the Oculus Rift — when it was little more than snowboard goggles, duct tape, and wires — legendary programmer John Carmack was involved. When the Rift was first demonstrated for press, at E3 in 2012 (an annual video game industry trade show), it was demonstrated by John Carmack.

Carmack showed off a version of "Doom 3," running in the Oculus Rift headset. It would be another year before he officially resigned from id Software, which he co-founded, to become the CTO of Oculus VR. 

Of note: id Software was founded in 1991, and then sold to Zenimax Media in 2009. 

Carmack got the prototype headset from Palmer Luckey, the impossibly young face of the Oculus Rift. He was repeatedly held up as the genius inventor behind the headset.

So the story goes: Palmer Luckey was working on the Oculus Rift headset's earliest prototypes from his parents' house. Luckey was a member of several forums dedicated to the world of 3D and, eventually, virtual reality. He was a part of the "mod" community, which is notorious for taking existing hardware and modifying it into something new — a portable Xbox 360, or a GameBoy that plays Super Nintendo games, for instance.

On the journey from ski-goggle prototype to something sellable, Carmack — an idol of Luckey's and, apparently, a member of the same VR forum — got in touch and asked to be sent a prototype. Wired catalogued the exchange in a 2014 story timed to publish soon after the Facebook acquisition:

"Carmack private-­messaged him. Would Palmer consider sending him a loaner unit? Palmer, who idolized Carmack, shipped it off to Texas immediately — 'no NDAs, no signing anything,' Carmack says. 'It was one of two proto­types that he had.'

Carmack got to work on the machine, hot-gluing a motion sensor to it and duct-taping on a ski-goggle strap. But his greatest contribution came in the code he wrote for it. The Rift’s biggest selling point was its 90-degree field of view, which Luckey accomplished by slapping a cheap magnifying lens on the display. The problem was, that lens distorted the image underneath, making it warped and uneven. So Carmack coded a version of 'Doom 3' that pre-­distorted the image, counteracting the effects of the magnifying lens and making the picture appear correct to the viewer. The result was a completely immersive gaming experience, the kind that would other­wise require $10,000 in high-end optics."

March 2014: Facebook buys Oculus VR

In March 2014, Facebook announced the acquisition of Oculus VR — an independent startup. Unlike Instagram or Whatsapp, it was less obvious why Facebook would buy a fledgling startup that was, at the time, creating the first major VR headset since the technology faded from popularity in the mid-'90s. 

Zuckerberg justified the purchase as such:

"History suggests that there will be more platforms to come. Today's acquisition is a long-term bet on the future of computing."

In Zuckerberg's eyes, the folks at Oculus VR were creating "the future," and he wanted Facebook to be integral in building that vision of the future.

Lady Gaga seemed to fly seamlessly from the top of NRG Stadium in Houston to a platform below during her stunning Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday.

But it turns out the drop from the top of NRG was actually a prerecorded stunt. USA Today spoke to two top people at Intel Drones— which provided the drones in the sky behind Gaga that displayed the US flag and the Pepsi logo — who confirmed that her stunt was done in advance.

The Intel sources said the opening jump was filmed ahead of time because of "weather and environment" issues. Basically, if it had rained during the Super Bowl, the roof of the stadium where Gaga was standing would have been closed. While the drones still could have operated, they said, Gaga couldn't have flown down from a closed stadium roof.

But Gaga did drop from the top of NRG Stadium in the prerecorded bit and didn't use a stunt double, so we can still be impressed.

Clever editing made it appear both at home and on the jumbotrons at the stadium that Gaga's drop from the top of the stadium led directly to her flight on cables in the middle of the stadium. But on Sunday, Gaga started from a lower point, as you can see in this video from TMZ and another video from inside the stadium:

Here's the full Lady Gaga halftime performance:

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 5 best Super Bowl halftime shows of all time

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NOW WATCH: 6 details you may have missed in the 'Stranger Things' season 2 trailer

In 2017, Netflix will continue to ramp up the amount of original shows it's putting out. 

Netflix has said it will release a whopping 1,000 hours of original shows and movies in 2017 (and spend $6 billion to do so). That's up from 600 hours in 2016, and means you'd have to spend 41 days binge-watching Netflix to see it all.

41 days!

But what is Netflix actually putting out in 2017?

It's February, so the streaming giant has released a few things already, including a strange cannibal comedy starring Drew Barrymore. But Netflix has a lot more in the pipeline, from the return of hits like "Stranger Things" and "House of Cards," to new shows featuring stars like Naomi Watts or Kathy Bates, to reboots of classics like "Mystery Science Theater 3000."

To help you keep track, we've put together a list of shows Netflix has confirmed — for certain — are coming out in 2017. This excludes movies and kids' shows, and things that might not come out until 2018 and beyond.

Here are the 25 shows we know for sure Netflix is putting out in 2017:

SEE ALSO: It would take you over 41 days to binge-watch all the original shows and movies Netflix will release in 2017

'Ultimate Beastmaster' (Season 1) — February 24

Netflix description: "Each hour-long episode will feature 12 competitors, two from each country, who will take their shot at running one of the most physically demanding obstacle courses ever devised, 'The Beast.' At the end of each episode, a ‘Beastmaster’ will be crowned and in the final episode of the season, the nine individual winners from each episode will compete against each other for the chance for one contestant to become the Ultimate Beastmaster."

'Marvel's Iron Fist' (Season 1) — March 17

Netflix description: "Billionaire Danny Rand (Finn Jones) returns to New York City after being missing for years, trying to reconnect with his past and his family legacy. He fights against the criminal element corrupting New York City with his kung-fu mastery and ability to summon the awesome power of the fiery IronFist."

'Samurai Gourmet' (Season 1) — March 17

Netflix description: "The live action series 'Samurai Gourmet,' based on Masayuki Kusumi’s essay and the manga of the same title, featuring the life of Takeshi Kasumi.

Takeshi Kasumi has spent his entire life devoted to his job. Now a retired man, he finds himself with plenty of extra time on his hands. While on an afternoon walk, Kasumi discovers the joys of day time drinking and the realization that he is now free to eat and drink what he wants, when he wants. This awakens his inner persona — a wandering samurai living life freely in Japan’s age of civil wars. Thus begins his search for blissfully delectable delights to satisfy his stomach and the samurai’s soul."

Though President Donald Trump has only been in office for three weeks, his administration has gone through a number of controversies already.

Many have voiced that it's a problem of leadership in the White House, so that got "The Daily Show" wondering, who really is the power behind the president? 

Host Trevor Noah said it's something the show has been trying to figure out for weeks. On Monday's show he brought out a chart that reveals the standings for "Who is the real president?" as the "Daily Show" sees them. Trump is only at No. 5, and the real president in the show's eyes at the moment is chief strategist Steve Bannon.

"Can I be honest with you?" Noah said. "This tally wasn’t even close because in the past week we have learned so much about the power and influence Bannon has in the White House."

Reports in the past week reveal that Bannon was a key player in the drafting of the "extreme vetting" executive order that temporarily banned immigration and refugees from several countries, and barred Syrian refugees indefinitely.

Bannon also got a seat on the National Security Council, an unprecedented move for someone in Bannon's position. That was made possible by Trump signing an executive order, but reporting suggests Trump didn't know that he was giving Bannon that power in the order he signed.

"This is crazy. Bannon slipped himself onto the National Security Council," Noah said. "He basically did it like a kid sneaks a candy bar into his mom's shopping cart."

Watch the complete "Daily Show" segment below:

SEE ALSO: Aubrey Plaza reveals the exciting gender gender twist behind her "Legion" role

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NOW WATCH: How to use Meitu — the Chinese selfie-enhancing app that the Internet is obsessed with

Over and over, the same questions for months now: "Should I buy Nintendo's new console, the Switch? Is it any good? What's the deal?"

I expect these questions. 

I've been writing about video games and technology for the past eight years. I've been doing this for long enough that my friends, family, and colleagues come to me with these questions ahead of major purchasing decisions. As such, I take answering this stuff pretty seriously. These are my people! And we're talking about hundreds of dollars here.

That said, I've played the Nintendo Switch. I've been writing about it for months now. I have answers.

This is how I've been answering the question "Should I buy the Nintendo Switch?" when friends, family, and colleagues ask: "If you're okay spending $360 (plus tax) to play a single game, go for it. Otherwise, wait until at least the holiday season."

That's because the Nintendo Switch — Nintendo's new console that launches on March 3 for $299 — is extremely light on launch games.

The gorgeous "Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" (above) is the marquee launch title on the Switch. It's the only major game launching with the console on March 3, the only game you'll "need" to play for many months. No equivocations, no caveats — the games lineup for the Switch is remarkably light.

Things improve as the year goes on:

• An updated "Mario Kart 8" arrives in April.
• A new "Splatoon" game is planned for the summer.
• A new, 3D "Super Mario" game is planned for "holiday 2017."

That's pretty much it (at least so far).

No major third-party games — like the new "Mass Effect," for instance — are heading to the Switch. The console itself doesn't do anything that other, less expensive game consoles can't do. The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 cost less, are more powerful, and have massive libraries of excellent games. Aside from the Switch's main gimmick — turning into a portable console — and Nintendo's first-party game lineup, there's no standout sell point for the Switch.

It is, in essence, a very expensive "Zelda" machine.

That may be enough to sell the most hardcore "Legend of Zelda" fans, but it's far from mainstream appeal. The question quickly becomes, "Do I want to pay nearly $400 to play a single game?"

The answer for me — and many others I'd bet — is no, no I do not.

I've been playing "Legend of Zelda" games my whole life, starting with the very first on the original NES. I consider "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past" to be one of the best video games ever made. To say I'm a big fan of the "Legend of Zelda" series is a dramatic understatement of reality.

So if I'm not sold here, who is?

Maybe you! Listen, if you're looking at the Switch as an investment in a console that will pay off over time, by all means drop the $300 on March 3, another $60 on the new "Zelda," and have a blast. I get it. But also, maybe wait. Hear me out!

As of right now, in early February, we know very little about the future of the Switch.

Perhaps Nintendo will have an incredibly robust program for its "Virtual Console" — the online service where Nintendo sells digital versions of old games from previous Nintendo consoles. A subscription service that enabled access to a huge library of classics would be a major sell point! As of now, we have no idea — Nintendo's said that the service will exist on the Switch, but nothing else.

And hey, it's fun being an early adopter — I get it. When everyone else is scrambling to get a Nintendo Switch next holiday so they can play that hot new Mario game, you'll be sitting pretty. 

But there are huge benefits to waiting. Not only will you know much more about the product you're buying, but it's entirely possible that the prices will drop. The console's unlikely to drop dramatically in price before the holiday season, but it is possible; additionally, that new "Zelda" (and others) will assuredly drop in price.

In so many words, there are only benefits to waiting — and few benefits to buying the Switch when it launches in March.

SEE ALSO: Here's everything we know about Nintendo's new $300 console coming next month, the Switch

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NOW WATCH: We got to try Nintendo’s new Switch console — here’s what it was like

Cartoon Network released the trailer for the long-awaited return of its popular animated series "Samurai Jack," which initially ran for four seasons between 2001 and 2004. The fifth and final season of the show will premiere on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block on Saturday March 11 at 11 pm ET.

"Samurai Jack" is an animated action series created by Genndy Tartakovsky, who had previously created the popular Cartoon Network series "Dexter's Laboratory." "Jack" chronicles the adventures of its titular hero, a samurai who has been cast into the future by the evil overlord Aku (voiced by the late Mako). 

The winner of four Primetime Emmy Awards, the show received widespread acclaim for its epic scale and cinematic storytelling style, much of which paid homage to the works of legendary movie directors like Akira Kurosawa and David Lean. 

The show caught the eye of Lucasfilm, which hired Tartakovsky to create and direct its 2003 animated series "Star Wars: Clone Wars," which also won multiple Emmy awards. Tartakovsky further delayed a return to working on "Samurai Jack" when he ventured into the world of feature films, directing the popular "Hotel Transylvania" movies.

Much to the delight of "Samurai Jack" fans, Tartakovsky has finally returned to what many consider not only to be his strongest work, but one of the greatest animated series ever created.  

The new trailer touts a story that begins 50 years after the last time we saw Jack, who is now bearded and disheartened by his seemingly futile plight — to find a way to travel back in time to his home in Feudal Japan.

Previous episodes of the show are currently streaming uninterrupted on Adult Swim's website. You can also watch every episode of "Samurai Jack" on Hulu.

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Apparently Johnny Depp is a big spender.

The actor has money troubles that his former business managers allege in a lawsuit stem from a spending habit of $2 million a month. And in September of last year, he listed his five penthouses that are in the same building in downtown Los Angeles.

Yes, you read that right. Five penthouses, same building. Together, they were listed for $12.78 million, but they have been selling individually.

One penthouse sold in October 2016, with the second in November 2016. 

As you can see in the photos of the apartments, Depp's style is anything but minimal. His colorful and bold aesthetic is just what you'd expect from the man behind Captain Jack Sparrow.

Depp made use of all five penthouses, but never bothered to connect them into one unit, so they could be sold separately.

According to real-estate agent Kevin Dees of Partners Trust, Depp had doorways installed to connect three of the units. The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star purchased the units for around $7.2 million between 2007 and 2008. 

SEE ALSO: Inside Drake's $8 million mansion with a pool that puts Hugh Hefner to shame

The penthouses are in the landmark Art Deco-style Eastern Columbia Building in downtown Los Angeles.

Eastern Columbia Building looks gorgeous in the LA sunlight.

Together, the multi-floor (and adjacent) penthouses have 9 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms, totaling 11,500 square feet.

Actress Melissa McCarthy made a guest appearance on "Saturday Night Live" as White House press secretary Sean Spicer in a sketch that quickly went viral over the weekend.

McCarthy's portrayal isn't friendly — her version of Spicer obnoxiously chews gum, calls everybody Glenn, makes up facts, and shoots soap into reporters' mouths with a water gun.

Irrationally angry characters are McCarthy's strong suit, but the White House is reportedly not a fan. According to Politico, in a story that says the White House was "rattled" by the spoof, sources close to Trump said that to him, the most problematic thing about the impression is that it was done by a woman.

An unnamed Trump donor told Politico, "Trump doesn't like his people to look weak."

Some expected backlash from Trump, since he has responded online to Alec Baldwin's imitation of him, but he was silent.

On Monday, Spicer addressed the sketch in an interview with Extra, saying jokingly that McCarthy "needs to slow down on the gum chewing — way too many pieces in there."

But despite Spicer's more genial response, Politico reports that "the caricature of Spicer by McCarthy struck a nerve and was upsetting to the press secretary and to his allies, who immediately saw how damaging it could be in Trump world."

Those around Trump saw the sketch as harmful precisely because it was accurate, according to Politico.

"I thought they had Sean down pretty good," one Trump ally told Politico.

The White House Press Office did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

SEE ALSO: 'The Daily Show' tries to figure out who the 'real president' behind Trump is

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NOW WATCH: The story of 'Slender Man' — the internet’s creepiest urban legend

Netflix has already introduced us to Luke Cage, Daredevil, and Jessica Jones. The final hero on its "Defenders" roster — Iron Fist — will be introduced to the world on March 17th. Here's the full trailer.

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The evolution of Kathryn Hahn from the frumpy friend in romantic comedies like “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and “The Holiday” to the scene-stealing revelation in “Step Brothers” and “Bad Moms” has been a lot of fun to watch. But Hahn is about to take another big step as the lead in the latest Amazon series from the creator of “Transparent.”

The upcoming “I Love Dick,” based on the Chris Kraus book of the same name, is showrunner Jill Soloway’s latest envelope-pushing series to come to the streaming giant (it premieres May 12, but you can watch the pilot now for free). It follows Chris (Hahn) as she moves with her husband Sylvere (Griffin Dunne) from Manhattan to the mellow Marfa, Texas. There they meet the charismatic professor Dick (Kevin Bacon), who puts a fire in Chris and Sylvere’s relationship that was thought to be extinguished long ago.

As in “Transparent,” which also stars Hahn as Rabbi Raquel Fein, Soloway fills “I Love Dick” with risqué subject matter and unconventional storytelling that you’d never see on network TV (or most cable channels).

Hahn talked to Business Insider at the recent Sundance Film Festival, where the show was given a world premiere sneak peek, about how working with Soloway changed her career, why she wants another “Step Brothers” movie, and what to expect from the “Bad Moms” sequel, “Bad Mom’s Christmas.”

Jason Guerrasio: Were you familiar with the Chris Kraus novel before going into this?

Kathryn Hahn: No, I was not. Like so many of us, I had been horribly unaware of the brilliance of Chris Kraus and that book. Jill, I guess it was two summers ago, had mentioned a couple of books to me, one of which was this. I was immediately intrigued because of the title. I dug into that first and I was just blown away. I couldn't believe how bold and bombastic and fearless and sexy and vulnerable it was and I knew if anyone was going to be able to unwrap that and cut into it as a series it would be Soloway. I was so excited, I didn't even see a script before I said yes. It happened very fast and very organically. All the sudden we found ourselves in Marfa, Texas, like what?

Guerrasio: So you didn't worry that much about preparation it sounds like — you were in from the get-go.

Hahn: For sure. There's no other circus I would rather join than Soloway's. I had been in it for a while and I knew it was going to be the same people and the same process as “Transparent.” And I also knew it was going to be such a departure from Raquel, which I was excited by. 

Guerrasio: Has it been a revelation for you with what Jill and Amazon have been able to do? The material they have given to actors?

Hahn: Yeah, sometimes we would all look at each other and basically giggle because we couldn't believe we got to make this. And it wasn't like there was a team of executives behind the monitors and questioning it. They just let us do this crazy deep dive into this world.

Guerrasio: You've had such an incredible evolution in your career, going from being in romantic comedies playing the awkward friend or third wheel —

Hahn: HOW DARE YOU! No, I'm joking — [Laughs]

Guerrasio: But was there a moment where something clicked for you, or was it just grinding it out until you started getting better roles?

Hahn: I certainly feel that having kids did something, for sure. I was so grateful to be invited to the party for a while. I just could never imagine as a kid from Cleveland who loves theater more than anything and ensemble work to doing this. I was a theater nerd. So back then it was really always looking for that kind of feeling I had onstage. So there was a weird separation between the work I did onstage and the work I would be asked to do on camera. And so I think it was finding Jill and connecting with her for [Soloway’s 2013 debut feature] “Afternoon Delight” that I was able to find that feeling of creative risk that I had onstage. Those three weeks of making “Afternoon Delight” cracked that open for a lot of us. 

Guerrasio: Is there a character you've already played that you would love to go back to explore? And before you answer, let me just say, please say Alice from "Step Brothers" —

Hahn: I was just about to say that! [Laughs] It’s funny, I did "Step Brothers" the same summer I did "Revolutionary Road," which are completely different. And Adam McKay, with that cast, though that was pre-Jill, that was another movie where I had like an "oh" moment. That working on a movie could feel creatively fun. I just didn't know on camera that we were allowed to just do those things. [Laughs] I always was just on my mark and say the line as written and make sure the script supervisor was happy and all that nonsense and that all was getting in the way of making something special on camera. 

Guerrasio: Adam McKay has always said that he would love to explore the characters from "Step Brothers" years from now and see what they are doing. Is that just one of those things that sounds cool or has it ever gotten back to you that he's serious about it?

Hahn: There was a rumor for a second of maybe revisiting it and then I think "Anchorman 2" happened. But I would love to do it. And I also just love those people and just want to hang out with Adam Scott — I'm sure his Derek character is in prison by now or something. Or Alice would be, who knows.

Guerrasio: Another character we have to bring up is Carla from "Bad Moms." What can you say about the sequel?

Hahn: We are looking to shoot in the spring and I know it's out there that it's a Christmas theme.

Guerrasio: Yes. 

Hahn: And when we all heard that, we were just like, “Of course!” Because there just doesn't seem like another time of the year that's more right for that. There's so much craziness. As a kid it's just the magic of Christmas but behind the scenes of course mom is trying to get breakfast together as you're ripping through the presents and then the family comes over. It's never magical for the mom. So we're excited about doing this.

Guerrasio: Have you gotten a script yet?

Hahn: No. But just ideas we've been told, we are very excited, and what I can say is they are right on board with the spirit of the first movie.

SEE ALSO: M. Night Shyamalan might have just teased a "Split" sequel

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NOW WATCH: How to use Meitu — the Chinese selfie-enhancing app that the Internet is obsessed with

The NFL saw a ratings slide this season, but the Super Bowl still brought in a mountain of cash for TV.

The Super Bowl snagged 111.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen, which was the smallest audience for the game in four years, according to Reuters.

But Fox still got a huge payday, generating a whopping $500 million in ad revenue on the day of the Super Bowl, 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch said Monday, on the company’s quarterly earnings call.

“The power of sports can’t be overstated,” Murdoch said, adding that the "single game is a great example of strength of Fox Sports, increasingly delivered across multiple platforms."

For this year's Super Bowl, a 30-second Super Bowl ad cost companies about $5 million, or $166,667 per second.

Here's a chart showing how it has gone up over time:

Murdoch said the Super Bowl is emblematic of Fox's broader strategy around "big brands."

The Super Bowl boosted the confidence of Instinet-Nomura analyst Anthony DiClemente. He wrote in a note Tuesday that Murdoch's commentary around the $500 million "increases our confidence for robust [2017 year-over-year] growth at TV."

Still, Fox and other NFL TV partners could continue to face ratings pressure moving forward. Ratings for for the whole regular season were down 9%, and down 6% for the playoffs, according to MoffettNathanson.

For a larger discussion of that issue, read our analysis of the NFL's rating woes.

SEE ALSO: Silicon Valley's immigrant tech workers are scared of buying homes after Trump's travel ban

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NOW WATCH: 9 iPhone tricks that will make your life easier in 2017

Donald Trump’s longtime enemy and a target of his in the 2016 presidential debates, Rosie O'Donnell, just announced via Twitter that she is available to play the role of mysterious and highly controversial Trump strategist Steve Bannon on “Saturday Night Live.” 

People on social media suggested O'Donnell for the role, and she responded enthusiastically.

For now the Grim Reaper plays Steve Bannon on "SNL," in a dark joke about the strategist, though we don’t know who’s under the costume. In the next sketch starring Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump — and hopefully Melissa McCarthy as Press Secretary Sean Spicer, given her hilarious performance over the weekend — the Grim Reaper could show up and remove the mask, revealing O’Donnell. 

On Sunday morning, O’Donnell sang McCarthy’s praises after seeing her performance as Spicer.

If this whole thing plays out, it would not be surprising to see angry tweets about it from Trump’s personal Twitter account. 

The feud between the two started in 2006 when O’Donnell criticized Trump on “The View,” and the two tweet criticisms of each other often. Trump has called O’Donnell "a real loser" and "a woman out of control." 

SEE ALSO: The rise and fall (and rise) of M. Night Shyamalan's career in one chart

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NOW WATCH: Here's what Johnny Depp reportedly spends $2M a month on

On Sunday night, while the US was watching Super Bowl LI and tweeting about Lady Gaga and eating chicken wings, Drake fans across the pond watched the Canadian rapper rant about President Donald Trump at a concert in London. 

Here's the transcript, courtesy of The Washington Post:

“Every day I wake up and see all this bulls‑‑‑ going in the world, people trying to tear us apart, people trying to make us turn against each other. So tonight, my proudest moment isn’t selling tickets or having people singing songs. My proudest moment, if you take a look around at this room, you’ll see people from all races and all places. If you think one man can tear this world apart, you’re out of your motherf‑‑‑ing mind. It’s on us to keep this s‑‑‑ together. F‑‑‑ that man,” he said.

Although he never directly named the president in his rant, Drake has now officially joined a long list of passionate celebrities who oppose Trump and his immigration ban, and who aren't afraid to use strong words in expressing those stances.

On Monday, rapper Kanye West, who met with Trump in December 2016, suddenly deleted all of his tweets in support of the president, though it was unclear why. (West has a history of deleting old tweets.)

SEE ALSO: How Kathryn Hahn became a modern Hollywood comedy hero

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NOW WATCH: How to use Meitu — the Chinese selfie-enhancing app that the Internet is obsessed with

Disney, the media giant, reported slightly higher than expected earnings for their fiscal first quarter on Tuesday.

Earnings per share came in better than expected at $1.55 per share against analysts' estimates of $1.49 per share. Additionally, revenue came in lower than expected at $14.8 billion, lower than analysts' expectations of $15.4 billion.

Perhaps bigger than that, the profit from Disney's cable networks — including ESPN — missed estimates by a wide margin. Profit for the sector came in at just $864 million for the quarter, much lower than $1.08 billion that was estimated.

"Cable Networks revenues for the quarter decreased 2% to $4.4 billion and operating income
decreased 11% to $0.9 billion. The decrease in operating income was due to a decrease at ESPN," according to a press release from Disney.

Other segments were also weaker than last year for Disney, with Studio Entertainment profit down 17% from the same quarter a year ago and Consumer Products & Interactive Media profit down 25% year-over-year.

"We’re very pleased with our financial performance in the first quarter. Our Parks and Resorts delivered excellent results and, coming off a record year, our Studio had three global hits including our first billion-dollar film of fiscal 2017, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," said CEO Bob Iger in a press release.

Following the news, shares of the entertainment giant slid by 1.7% in post-market trading.

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Disney CEO Bob Iger thinks there are too many ads on TV, and he's exploring whether Disney's ESPN and ABC channels should reduce the amount of commercials.

“In general there is probably too much commercial interruption in television,” Iger said during Disney's quarterly earnings call Tuesday, especially when TV is competing with new digital upstarts like Netflix, some of whom don't have ads at all.

Iger said Disney would evaluate the amount of ads aired within programs for its ESPN and ABC TV channels, though he did not say that any cuts to the so-called ad load were looming.

The Disney CEO also gave a lot of insight into how he thinks about the future of TV, and he seems particularly focused on new streaming TV packages, which compete with cable and satellite TV, and on "a la carte" services like HBO Now or CBS All Access.

Full stream ahead

ESPN saw a decline in revenue this quarter, and while Disney blamed most of it on a quirk in the college football schedule, Disney did acknowledge a decrease in subscribers. ESPN has lost over 9 million subscribers since 2013, according to Nielsen, and it's a problem that isn't likely to stop any time soon.

But Iger was upbeat about ESPN, and described a future for the network very much tied to an evolution of the TV landscape.

Iger said ESPN was already seeing "nice gains" in subscribers from streaming TV packages like Dish's Sling TV, AT&T's DirecTV Now, and Sony's Vue. (He said these haven't been fully counted by Nielsen.) These TV packages function much like a traditional cable or satellite TV plan, but are delivered over the internet, and are generally less expensive.

Disney is focused on making sure ESPN is in every package, even the ones with fewer channels.

Iger argued that if we end up in a world where $40 to $50 per month TV packages are more popular, that might actually be an opening for ESPN to capitalize on, rather than drop out of packages.

Iger said Disney would "aggressively" develop direct-to-consumer offerings, and that one tied to ESPN would launch "in calendar 2017." He said that if consumers are spending less money on their cable bundles, they might be more likely to spend it on another service, like a direct-to-consumer "add-on" product from ESPN. That's assuming that ESPN, which demands high fees, won't slip out of the most popular streaming TV offerings (a nightmare scenario for Disney).

In Iger's future, any declines in the traditional TV business would be offset by ESPN (and other Disney properties) getting onto all the digital TV bundles, and then selling other a la carte services.

Here is a rundown of ESPN's future battle plan, according to Iger:

• Launching ESPN on all new streaming TV services.

• Investing in "industry-leading programming."

• Growing ESPN's presence on mobile.

• Investing in tech that will allow direct-to-consumer products, particularly with BAMTech, which Disney has invested $1 billion in.

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"Pokémon Go" is having its first big event of 2017, celebrating Valentine's Day with a slew of perks for players.

Those perks include more of the all-important "candy," as well as a higher chance of capturing pink-colored Pokémon, plus a more powerful Lure Module for capturing Pokémon. It's all in the spirit of the holiday.

Without further ado, here are the details, taken from "'Pokémon Go" developer Niantic's blog.

From February 8, 2017 at 11:00 A.M. PST to February 15, 2017 at 11:00 A.M. PST:

• "Players will receive double the amount of Candy when catching, hatching and transferring Pokémon."
• "Buddy Pokémon will find Candy twice as fast for their Trainers."
• Lure Modules, which attract Pokémon, will now last for six hours instead of 30 minutes. Love is in the air, it seems.
• You'll have a higher chance of catching pink Pokémon, including Chansey, Porygon, and Clefairy. 
• Similarly, pink baby Pokémon like Cleffa, Igglybuff, and Smoochum — three of the newest additions to the game— will have a higher chance of hatching from eggs.

It's true that "Pokémon Go" isn't quite the fad that it once was. But in January 2017, the app analytics firm Sensor Tower reported that the game has passed $1 billion in revenue in the 7 months or so since its July 2016 launch, which is no small feat. Big events like this stand to bring players back into the fold and bump up that revenue even further.

Not to mention that countries like South Korea are only getting the game now, making this a welcome rolling out of the red (or pink, given the holiday) carpet for new players. 

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Keanu Reeves has always had a love of action movies, but since “The Matrix” franchise, he's found himself in a lot of mediocre actioners that didn’t grab his fan base like the Neo character did.

(The one exception, though it wasn't widely seen enough, is “Man of Tai Chi,” which is also Reeves' only directing credit. Seek it out.)

Then in 2014 we got “John Wick,” in which Reeves plays an ex-hitman who comes out of retirement to settle a score. On paper, it sounded as mediocre as the rest. But Reeves teamed with stuntmen-turned-directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch to deliver a movie that showed Reeves is still an action star.

With a mix of comedic situations and eye-popping martial arts and gunplay known as gun fu, “John Wick” became a genre hit for Lionsgate, raking in over $86 million worldwide on a $20 million budget.

The inevitable sequel is now upon us. “John Wick: Chapter 2” (out in theaters on Friday) is a clever extension into the world we were teased with in the first — filled with gold bullions, luxury hotels for assassins, and lots of insane fighting.

This time around, it’s not John Wick’s dog that motivates him to become a killing machine, but his whole house getting blown up.

Tying up some loose ends from the first movie (the sequel opens with him finally getting his Mustang back), Wick is met by the man who got him out of the gangster game to begin with, Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio). But D'Antonio has come asking Wick to pay his debt by doing one more job.

Wick declines, which leads to D'Antonio blowing up his house. A persuasive tactic, as Wick comes around and agrees to doing the hit, which is on D'Antonio's sister.

This then leads to Wick traveling to Rome (when you make a hit movie, the sequel gets a budget for luxurious locations) to do the hit. Which has a few complications and a double cross. This leads to Wick going back into revenge mode, and he won’t stop until he has taken out D'Antonio.

But enough of the plot. What we learned from the first “John Wick” movie is that the action is 10 times more important.

Along with the sequel giving us a deeper glimpse inside the prep John Wick goes through to be a top-notch killer — only the best in weapons and bulletproof custom suits — Stahelski (Leitch was making another movie at the time the sequel was being filmed) delivers incredible action sequences that accomplish the unthinkable task of besting the original.

From a car chase that turns into a demolition derby and countless head shots during the gun fu battles to a really creative use of a pencil and an homage to the mirror scene in the Bruce Lee classic “Enter the Dragon,” “John Wick: Chapter 2” is an orgy of violence that can become mind-numbing at times, but by action-sequel standards it exceeds expectations.

Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, and Lance Reddick are some of the few survivors from the original who return along with newcomers Laurence Fishburne, Ruby Rose as a silent assassin, and Common as a hitman who has a particularly wild fight sequence with Reeves, which ends with them having a drinking together.

Welcome back to the world of “John Wick.”

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The final late-night host to chime in about President Donald Trump's first days in office is John Oliver.

Oliver's HBO show, "Last Week Tonight," has been off the air recently. But to promote the new season that starts Sunday, he stopped by "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on Tuesday and talked about the recent Trump controversies with his old "Daily Show" costar.

"This is going to be exhausting," Oliver told Colbert of covering Trump's presidency.

Oliver also said being on the show on the day Betsy DeVos was confirmed as the secretary of education was not a highlight.

Playing off the main issue that critics took with DeVos during her confirmation process, her limited experience with public schools, he joked that DeVos should serve as an inspiration for kids "because she shows they could be secretary of education one day — in fact, not just one day, they could do it now."

"They are about as well qualified now as she is and have spent arguably longer time in a public school," Oliver said.

Colbert also asked Oliver whether he was worried about being "tossed out" of the US. Oliver, a British native who holds a US green card, used the moment to thoroughly thrash Trump for his executive order temporarily barring most travel to the US from seven majority-Muslim countries and from all refugees.

"I am slightly concerned," Oliver said. "I have an American wife and an American son now, but who knows what is enough. Having a green card used to be enough, and yet what we saw with that executive order on immigration, that debacle, things are not what they were supposed to be. We held up Afghan and Iraqi translators at the border who have bled for a country they have never visited, have sacrificed family members for this country. This president has done neither of those things, so it's a little hard to swallow him telling people whether they should be a benefit to America or not."

We can't wait to see what Oliver has in store for his first episode of the new season on Sunday.

Watch Oliver on "The Late Show" below:

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Bill Nye is returning to television with a talk show on Netflix called "Bill Nye Saves the World."

It's set to debut on April 21 and Netflix just released the show's first trailer.

A Netflix press release says each episode will "tackle a topic from a scientific point of view, dispel myths, and refute anti-scientific claims that may be espoused by politicians, religious leaders, or titans of industry."

The show will include panel discussions, celebrity guests, Nye's signature laboratory experiments, and reported pieces from a team of correspondents.

Nye is best known for hosting "Bill Nye the Science Guy" from 1993 to 1998 on PBS. He was credited with finding new, fun ways to teach viewers about science and how it applies to their daily lives.

Watch the trailer below:

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