BUILD Series

Bridgette Bird (Frankie Shaw) is a smart, scrappy, young single mom trying to navigate life in South Boston with an extremely unconventional family. She struggles to make ends meet, which leads her to impulsive and at times immature decisions. Above all, Bridgettte wants to make a better life for her son. "SMILF" takes on motherhood, co-parenting and female sexuality through a raw and unfiltered lens. This semi-autobiographical half-hour comedy is from the creative mind of Shaw, an original and fresh new female voice.

Check out Emmy Award-winning actor, singer, director, author and magician Neil Patrick Harris, as he takes the BUILD stage chat about his new book, "The Magic Misfits," and his new film, "Downsizing."

"The Crown" tells the inside story of two of the most famous addresses in the world -- Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street - and the intrigues, love lives and machinations behind the great events that shaped the second half of the 20th century. With the world undergoing great changes, a damaged British monarchy must confront its past in order to have a future. Watch stars Claire Foy and Matt Smith, as they take the BUILD stage to discuss the hit Netflix historical drama.

Discovery Channel's Emmy-winning series, "Cash Cab, has returned! Host Ben Bailey is back in the driver’s seat for the in-transit trivia game show that runs through the streets of New York. Dodging traffic in a city with more than 13,000 taxis, Bailey’s passengers take on classic Cash Cab trivia en route to their destination. If they get stumped, pedestrians and friends can help them out via phone, text or social media. There's a new spin to the show as some unsuspecting passengers are ambushed by celebrities including Matthew Perry, Brooke Shields, Scott Bakula, Gilbert Gottfried and Dave Foley.

From Ron Shelton, writer/director of "Tin Cup" and "Bull Durham," comes the new comedy, "Just Getting Started," where Morgan Freeman stars as a freewheeling manager of the luxury Palm Springs resort with a mysterious past. He is a pro at making sure that life for the high-spirited residents is a non-stop party. But the status quo is challenged when ex-military charmer played by Tommy Lee Jones checks in, triggering a competition between Duke and Leo for the top spot of Alpha male, as well as for the affections of the newly-arrived Suzie, played by Rene Russo.

There’s an indescribable magic at the heart of Us The Duo (husband-and-wife Michael and Carissa Alvarado). That magic can be heard on their first Amazon Original Christmas album, "Our Favorite Time Of Year." The album features their renditions of holiday classics and originals such as “Wonderful Christmastime,” “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “December,” “Silent Night” and many more. The duo adds, "Some of the best memories we've had in our lives happened during the holidays. Whether it's spending time with family, eating the delicious food, or starting new traditions, we will always claim Christmas as our favorite time of year.” The lovely couple stopped by BUILD Series to chat about the album and the holidays.

“Maddman: The Steve Madden Story” tells the unlikely rags to riches story of Steve Madden, who went from selling shoes out of the trunk of his car to becoming the mogul of a billion-dollar designer footwear empire. Then, at the height of his success, he was sentenced to prison because of his entanglement with Jordan Belfort, the infamous Wolf of Wall Street, as recounted in the Martin Scorsese film. The film offers a candid look at how the colorful Madden rebuilt his empire and his life following his release.

Richard Nelson, the writer-director of the acclaimed "Apple Family Plays," returns to 425 Lafayette to direct The Public Theatre's "Illyria." The play takes place in 1958, and New York City is in the midst of a major building boom; a four-lane highway is planned for the heart of Washington Square; Carnegie Hall is designated for demolition; entire neighborhoods on the West Side are leveled to make room for a new "palace of art." And a young Joseph Papp (John Magaro) and his colleagues face betrayals, self-inflicted wounds and anger from the city’s powerful elite.

Since 2012, Jake Miller has continually evolved, surprising fans at every turn. His incredible, impassioned, faithful audience dubbed “the Millertary” encompasses over 1 million Instagram followers, 662K Twitter followers and 600K YouTube subscribers. Along the way, he’s been featured by the likes MTV, People Magazine, USA Today and Entertainment Weekly, who in 2016 spotlighted Jake in their “Breaking Big: 9 new artists to hear now.” Most recently, he released his newest album, "2:00AM In LA," which made an impressive #1 debut on the iTunes Pop Album chart. The album’s current single, “Can’t Help Myself”, written and produced by Miller, continues to steadily grow on Hot AC radio.

Award-winning vocalist Leslie Odom Jr. recently released a deluxe edition of his critically acclaimed album, "Simply Christmas," on S-Curve Records. The stunning album of reinterpreted holiday classics debuted at #1 on the Soundscan and Billboard Jazz charts last year. The deluxe edition features new songs including, "Please Come Home For Christmas" and "Edelweiss" arranged by Grammy nominee Michael McElroy and featuring Odom Jr.'s wife of 5 years, an accomplished performer in her own right, Nicolette Robinson. "Simply Christmas" showcases Odom Jr.'s soulful jazz versions of Christmas classics and follows his successful self-titled jazz debut.