Franklin Avenue

Friday, December 12, 2025

‘Nobody Wants This,’ ‘Shrinking,’ ‘The Pitt’ Among Series Set for 2026 Edition of PaleyFest LA

The Paley Center for Media’s PaleyFest LA is revealing the first programs set for next year’s PaleyFest LA: Netflix’s “Nobody Wants This,” Apple TV’s “Shrinking” and HBO Max’s “The Pitt.” The org also announced that PaleyFest LA 2026 will return once again to the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, from Saturday, April 4 to Sunday, April 12.

More shows will be announced next month on Monday, Jan. 26, and ticket presales will begin on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

“’Nobody Wants This,’ ‘Shrinking’ and ‘The Pitt’ stand out not only for their exceptional writing, but for the way they’ve captured the hearts of audiences worldwide, and we are honored to announce these acclaimed shows as our first selected programs for this year’s PaleyFest LA,” said Maureen J. Reidy, President & CEO, The Paley Center for Media, in a statement.

The PaleyFest is sponsored by Citi, while William S. Paley Foundation is the founding benefactor.

Entering its 43rd year in Los Angeles, the PaleyFest features screenings and conversations for some of the most popular shows on TV.

Read more here.

Saturday, December 6, 2025

Nipsey Hussle Docuseries Eyed for 2026 as Director One9 Sifts Through Tons of Footage: ‘His Father Videotaped Everything’

A long-awaited docuseries about the life of late hip-hop star Nipsey Hussle may finally be released next year. The filmmakers behind the series say the interviews, music and footage are all in place — now they’re on the hunt for a network or streaming home. Director One9, who was behind the recent three part Prime Video doc “Allen Iv3rson,” says the tentatively titled “Hussle” will have between five and seven episodes, and will be narrated posthumously by Hussle along with his brother, Blacc Sam.

The Grammy-winning Hussle (real name Ermias Asghedom), who became a respected figure for both his music career and his community outreach (which included investing in Crenshaw’s commercial district), was killed outside his clothing shop in 2019. He was just 33, and his death continues to reverberate in South-Central L.A. and the wider Southern California region — where tribute murals depicting the performer are commonplace.

“We’ve been working on it for several years, and making sure that it’s told the right way,” One9 says. “You talk about one of the most inspirational figures out there, who was a highly gifted child building his own computers to burn CDs and get his music out there.”

Fueling the multipart doc, One9 says, is a trove of footage he’s sifting through as he assembles the episodes. “Nipsey had the foresight to videotape everything in his life,” the director says. “Even when he was young, his father videotaped everything. You see the whole transformation of a young man coming of age, going through the iterations of childhood to gang life to independence to music to finding his own voice — and then becoming such a huge inspirational figure to the Crenshaw culture and environment.”

The footage includes the first time Hussle went into the studio at age 12. He also recorded an unreleased audio book, parts of which will supplement the voice-over narration. And the series will feature never before-heard music from the vault.

Blacc Sam — aka Samiel Asghedom — has been instrumental in gaining the participation of Hussle’s family, One9 says: “Sam’s learning more about Nipsey’s life from just watching the archival [footage]. … It’s really the story of those two brothers and how they navigated their lives.”

Read more here.

Sunday, November 23, 2025

The Great Los Angeles Walk 2025 Recap: Our Biggest Crowd Ever Hikes Down Wilshire For the 20th Edition

I know I say this every year, but I think most who attended can agree it was our biggest walk yet. We ran out of "I ❤️ LA" hats from TV's "Hacks" (thank you Universal TV) and our handouts, and those ran around 500 -- so it was a lot! Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate the 20th edition of the Great Los Angeles Walk and hit the boulevard that started it all — Wilshire — on Saturday. Many (most?!) braved all 15.8 miles to make it to end too!

And it was a beautiful day for a walk. The temperature was mild (not too cold, not too hot) and after the past week's rain, the skies were perfect.

Other than that pesky security guard at Pershing Square (hey, he was just doing his job and I'm not sure he expected 600 people to randomly show up at 9 a.m.!) the morning kicked off well, starting with Jenny from the LA Conservancy giving us a little pep talk about what to see on Wilshire. A double thanks to the LA Conservancy, as I cribbed from an old Wilshire guide of the organization's to populate this year's handout.

First thing, some folks checked out the Biltmore Hotel (again, apologies to security there!) while most headed to One Wilshire to kick off our proper walk from downtown to the ocean. Early on, we reconnected with one of our favorite walkers, Julian from Santa Fe, who walks the route every year completely barefoot! Julian missed last year's event, but he was back and ready to go for the 20th!

We quickly made our way through downtown, and saw some classic architecture in the Good Samaritan Hospital and La Parrilla restaurant, a 1905 home that has been converted into an eatery. We made it to MacArthur Park, which quite honestly is looking ROUGH right now.

And yes, we witnessed perhaps another GLAW first: An LAPD arrest right in front of us, Yikes. I will not share a photo of that. Some of the beautiful buildings in the area are currently shut down and looking for some TLC, like the Park Plaza Hotel/The MacArthur, where I've been to many events over the years, including the wedding of good friends Jeff and Jess. Hopefully the building will recover.

From there, we saw a ton of wonderful apartment buildings like the Wilshire Royale, the Bryson, the Talmadge and more. We talked our way into the Gaylord, next to the HMS Bounty, were we once held the Ambassador Hotel wake. We saw the RFK school that took over the Ambassador, checked out the churches like Oasis, St. Basil, the Wilshire Blvd. Temple and then the Wilshire Colonnade.

Then there was the Wiltern, the newly painted red doors of the St. James Episcopal Church and the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple. Another treat was checking out the "House of Explore Indonesia" inside the Deco Building on Wilshire, where we got a free coffee! Along the way we also met an engineer behind one of those delivery robots, and we saw mahjong players setting up their tables. Learning a lot from fellow Angelenos!

By lunchtime it was LACMA (still can't believe what happened to the old buildings) and the Academy Museum (inside the old May Co. building), where many stopped for lunch at Fanny's.

Later, we walked through Beverly Hills (where some construction forced a sidewalk detour); and admired the rainbow patterned glass above the Bank of America building. We made it to the Beverly Hilton, where again construction forced some crafty running (and jaywalking, sigh) back and forth across Wilshire.

At Westwood, some of us stopped by to see People's Vision Zero painting crosswalks at the corner of Malcolm and Lindbrook in Westwood. The Hammer museum's "Made in LA 2025" exhibit also was a draw for some, especially since that venue is free! There was a bit more to see after that as we passed by the VA and the Wadsworth Chapel -- the oldest remaining building on Wilshire, from 1900 — and then entered Santa Monica. And of course, after taking celebratory photos at the Santa Monica statue, we gathered to eat at Papi Tacos & Churros!

What a day! Thanks to everyone who made all of the trek, some of it, or even just helped give rides to their friends. Check out The Great Los Angeles Walk's Instagram feed for more pics, and the hashtags #glaw and #greatlawalk for more as well.

But here are just a few highlights from the day:

Some of the crowd watches as I kick off the 20th annual Great Los Angeles Walk, with help from the LA Conservancy's Jenny!

Just a fraction of the crowd. We pretty much filled a big chunk of Pershing Square!

Holding a banner we made for the occasion.

And we're off!

Our barefoot regular, Julian!

Excited for a day of walking!

Overlooking the 110. The safety rail sure is low.

La Parilla restaurant, created out of a 1905 house that is one of the oldest remaining buildings on Wilshire.

Westlake Theatre (1926) closed in 1991.

General Harrison Gray Otis is pointing to the site of his former home.

MacArthur Park

The MacArthur (aka Park Plaza Hotel) (1925)

Looks like there's not much going on at the Park Plaza right now.

American Cement Building (1961)

Wilshire Royale (1927)

Bullocks Wilshire/Southwestern Law School (1929)

Getting to know our friend Coco

This engineer was repairing another robot and giving us the scoop on how they work.

I remember when this mural went up about 15-20 years ago. It sure does need a new paint job.

Mahjong tables at Open Market

Looking around inside the Gaylord (1924)

The HMS Bounty, where we held the Ambassador Hotel wake back in 2006.

The Brown Derby dome, which was moved to the top of the strip mall that replaced it.

Pretty much all of the Angels Walk pillars that were put up in the 2000s now look like this, sadly.

Peace! Outside the Line hotel.

St. Basil Church (1969)

Wilshire Colonnade

The Wiltern and Pellissier Building

New red doors at the St. James Episcopal Church (1925)

The Getty House -- aka the LA mayors' house in Hancock Park

Inside the art deco building that now houses the House of Explore Indonesia (HEXI). It's an old bank building (see the vault above) that has since been transformed...

...and thanks for the coffee!

Wilshire sidewalk haircuts!

La Brea Tar Pits!

Berlin Wall remnants across the street from LACMA

Oscar at the Academy Museum

Thanks to the Academy Museum for welcoming us and offering a discount off future visits!

Petersen Automotive Museum

Entering Beverly Hills!

Bank of America building features a rainbow patterned glass of a dalle da verne cornice cantilevered nine and a half feet out from the top of the building.