Mayim Bialik, an actress, author, and neuroscientist, who became a fan-favorite on the hit CBS show The Big Bang Theory as Sheldon's quirky love interest, is starring in a sitcom of her own again.
The show, which premiered in January and titled Call Me Kat, is about a woman who uses her life savings to open a cat cafe in Louisville, Ky. Jim Parsons, who starred opposite Bialik in The Big Bang Theory as the highly intelligent but often irritating Sheldon, is producing the show adapted from the British sitcom Miranda by Miranda Hart.
"He said 'if anyone can pull off annoying but also adorable, I think it's you," Bialik told Cheddar.
In the grand-old tradition of adapting British comedies, the two shows will share more in spirit than in specifics, but both concern a single woman looking for love and employment. What's unique to the American version is the decision to base the show in a cat cafe.
Luckily for Bialik, she's a cat owner herself.
"It's really awesome that I get to play with cats all day at work, and come home and then deal with my own cats who definitely smell the other cats on me," she said.
A stylistic choice that was carried over from Miranda is that Bialik's character will break the fourth wall throughout the show.
"Kat is a character who's alone a lot and tries not to be lonely, so the audience is kind of in on what's going on in her head," Bialik said.
In addition, the cast takes a bow at the end of each episode, which Bialik said has been divisive.
"You don't have to love it, but if you don't, it's not our fault. It's based on Miranda," she said.
The neuroscientist also took a moment to talk about the world outside the silver screen.
Bialik made headlines back in October for posting a video on YouTube clarifying that she was not an anti-vaxxer. She said misinformation had spread about her because her newly-born children were not vaccinated on a regular schedule.
"Obviously my children are vaccinated," she said. "We are a family that supports the vaccine program for this virus."
However, she noted that she was a skeptical person in general and pointed out that the long-term effects of COVID vaccines are still unknown. Nonetheless, she said she got the vaccine in order to reach herd immunity as soon as possible.
"I got the vaccine, and that's something that I decided to share about because there's been a lot of misinformation about me."
Shangela, a drag queen known for her performance on the cult hit "RuPaul's Drag Race," has a role in "A Star Is Born" opposite Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. She spoke to Cheddar about the culmination of a lifelong dream and starring in one of the most buzzed-about films of the year.
On Tuesday, Amazon announced that it will be raising its minimum wage to $15 an hour. The news comes after months of criticism and even proposed legislation spearheaded by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA). The "Stop BEZOS" Act introduced in the Senate in September would require corporations like Amazon to contribute to the cost of social services for its employees. Khanna was sponsoring a version in the House. He said he commends Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and believes this move will propel other corporations in the same direction.
Dave Clark, senior vice president of worldwide operations at Amazon, spoke to Cheddar from the floor of one of its fulfillment centers about the company's move to institute a $15 minimum wage and lobby the federal government to raise its wage, which has stood at $7.25 since 2009.
Scott Belsky, chief product officer at Adobe and author of the new book 'The Messy Middle,' discusses what made him write the book and the lessons learned from getting through the middle part of any bold venture. Belsky launched and sold ventures like Behance and U99. An excerpt from the book is below.
Scott Belsky, who sold his company to Adobe and is now its chief product officer, described how the maker of creative software transitioned into a cloud-based business model. The stock has outpaced the broader market over the last several years. Belsky also serves on Cheddar's board of directors.
Scott Belsky ー chief product officer at Adobe, Cheddar board member, and author of "The Messy Middle" ー broke down how start-ups should think about the difficult, confusing time before an idea becomes a viable business.
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