News Broadcasting
HBO to premiere ‘Charlie’s Angels II’ on Asian TV
MUMBAI: The angels are back! Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle l premieres exclusively on HBO’s The Big One for the first time on Asian television this month.
Starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu, the highly-anticipated sequel to the blockbuster action comedy inspired by the popular 70’s television series tells the story of three beautiful Angels – Natalie Cook (Diaz), Dylan Sanders (Barrymore) and Alex Munday (Liu) who reunite for a challenging new adventure for Charlie.
The Angels prepare to strike without warning as they go undercover to retrieve two missing Halo Rings. These are no ordinary rings – they contain top-secret encrypted information, detailing the identities and locations of every person in the government’s Federal Witness Protection Programme.
When witnesses in the programme start turning up dead one by one, only the Angels, using their expertise as masters of disguise, espionage and martial arts, can put a stop to the perpetrator, a mysterious “fallen” Angel named Madison Lee (Demi Moore). Aided by their trusted colleague, Jimmy Bosley (Bernie Mac), the Angels go undercover and are drawn into a series of electrifying adventures, beginning at a remote Mongolian outpost and continuing on a ferocious and deadly motorcross race. The series of heart-stopping encounters ends only after Dylan comes face-to-face with a dark secret from her past – a secret that puts the lives of her two best friends cum partners-in-crime in grave danger.
Incorporating a series of flashbacks that let us in on who the Angels were before they worked for Charlie, viewers will learn that Dylan, perhaps the most harmless of the trio, possesses the most complicated past – trailer park-raised, she was once a monster truck-loving wildcat, with a stint as a pro-wrestler. Natalie has, it happens, always been a good-hearted klutz, while Alex’s past comes to visit in the form of her proper father (John Cleese), who thinks his daughter is working as a neurologist.
Aside from the starring trio, returning from the first film outing are John Forsythe, as the voice of Charlie, Luke Wilson (as Natalie’s love interest) and Matt LeBlanc (as Alex’s movie-star boyfriend) as the loyal, understanding boyfriends every heroine needs and Crispin Glover, as the mysterious Thin Man.
A welcome addition to the Angels team is comedian Bernie Mac, who plays Jimmy Bosley, the liaison between the Angels and their elusive billionaire employer, Charlie.
In addition to the action- comedy flick, the channel is all geared to premiere a hilarious, action-packed comedy National Security, Martin Lawrence stars as Earl Montgomery, a cocky police cadet whose rebellious attitude gets him expelled from the police academy and he has to settle for a security guard job with “National Security”.
When Earl tries to break into his own car to retrieve his keys, an uptight police officer, Hank Rafferty (played by Steve Zahn), stops to ask for his licence and registration. Feeling misunderstood, Earl vents his anger on Hank, becoming abusive and defiant. As Earl is scolding the police officer, a bee comes along and starts to attack them – an insect which Earl is highly allergic to. While the two men are arguing, a nightstick is swatted about, and there is much screaming and commotion.
The whole incident gets caught on videotape by an onlooker at the scene and Hank is sent to trial, accused of attacking the victim (whose swollen face is the result of being stung rather than assaulted). Thanks to Earl’s false testimony, Hank is found guilty of assault and sentenced to six months in prison, losing his police badge in the process.
Upon Hank’s release, he joins a private security firm. There, his path crosses with Earl again, much to each other’s chagrin. The sworn enemies “reunite” during a warehouse burglary by a team of baddies led by Nash (played by Eric Roberts). It soon turns out that the thugs are actually in cahoots with the police force in this sophisticated smuggling operation.
Throughout the movie, the comic timing of the bickering pair played by Martin Lawrence and Steve Zahn prove impeccable, with the former famous for his street-wise, fast-talking style, while the latter has a flair for eccentric, off-the-wall line readings.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
