(upbeat music)

- And welcome to Studio 5.

We have lots to get to, solet's fire up the countdown,

and begin this week's lookat the top five headlines

in the world of uplifting entertainment.

(graphic whooshes)

At number five.

♪ I'm keepin' Ben Franklin,I'm not gon' change ♪

- [Efrem] Chance The Rapper puts his money

where his mouth is,

making headlines for hispledge of one million dollars

to support mental healthin his hometown, Chicago.

- Chicago's Chance The Rapper

attended today's City Council meeting.

- [Efrem] The active artist has dubbed

his initiative My State of Mind.

- [Man] But I wanna clues bond

for my man, Chance the Rapper.

Mental health is definitely--

- My name is Chance the Rapper.

I'm here representing the city of Chicago.

- [Efrem] Chance is also giving $100,000

to 20 additional Chicago public schools.

♪ She ch-ch-ch-ch-choosin' the squad ♪

♪ She tryna choose betweenme, Justin, Qua' and Asahd ♪

♪ She told me that she lovethat I make music for God ♪

(graphic whooshes)

- [Efrem] At number four,

- [Announcer] Dancingwith the Stars: Junior.

- [Efrem] It's a younger take

on the hit television dance competition.

♪ Who let the dogs out ♪

♪ Well the party was nice ♪

♪ The party was bumpin' ♪

- [Efrem] Dancing with the Stars: Juniors

premiered this week on ABC,

with 12 young celebrities now competing

for the coveted Mirrorball Trophy.

- [Lindsay] And one, two, three.

- I loved having my sister as a mentor,

'cause she just helpedus through everything.

- And they had such a good chemistry.

- [Efrem] It's a televisionfirst for the series.

- Oh, I think that,

I'm shocked that it'staken this long to do it.

I mean, kids are literally the best.

- [Efrem] And all signsare pointing to a hit.

- Whoa, this is a lot of choreography.

- You did great, Jason.

(graphic whooshes)

- With that, the countdownis off to a great start,

and so is today's show.

You have seen comedian MichaelJr. on the Tonight Show,

Jimmy Kimmel Live, and the film War Room.

You can now catch him on the big screen

in his own comedy special.

It's called More Than Funny.

And it's a mix of hilarious stand-up

and three real-life stories

that will surely touch your heart.

Here's a sample of the stand-up.

(graphic whooshes)

- So you been coachin' for 30 years.

So as a coach, have you ever said this

or somethin' like this.

Have you ever lookedat your team and said,

Listen, the stuff I'm teachin' you here

is not just about this game.

You can apply it to life.

You ever say that?

(man speaks off microphone)Exactly.

Here's the thing aboutthat statement, Coach.

It's not true.

(audience laughing)

I need you to stop sayin' it immediately.

Lemme explain.

Straight outta high school,

I got a job parking cars.

One of the cars was really nice,

so I took it for a little spin.

Company found out, myboss lost the account.

He was yellin' at me, screamin',

I didn't know what to say or do.

I thought back to my highschool football coach.

I looked at my boss, I was like,

you know what, man?

You win some, you lose some, man.

(audience laughing)

You can't let this one loss get you down.

(audience laughing)

Listen, the important thing is,

I went out there and I had fun.

- That was Michael Jr. on stage,

and he joins us now here in studio.

So the film, More Than Funny.

- [Michael] Yes.

- Why is it More Than Funny?

- Well, it kinda started,

so I was doin' a show 'bout nine years ago

in Los Angeles at this comedy club.

And right before I got on stage,

I had a change in mindset about comedy.

Normally when a comedian gets on stage,

we wanna get laughs from people.

And I felt like a shift took place,

where I felt like God was sayin',

instead of tryin' toget laughs from people,

I want you to give theman opportunity to laugh.

So this changed everything.

So I go on stage that night,

we have a good time, but it's different.

Like I'm way more relaxed,

the audience seems tobe way more responsive.

And then I leave, and I go outside,

and there's people whowere takin' pictures,

they want autographs.

It's the same situationwhenever I leave this club,

but this time, when I walkoutside, I see a homeless guy.

So I asked myself, I waslike, what about him?

How can I give him anopportunity to laugh?

So I started thinkin' about that,

and in four days later, thislady at one of my events

came up to me and she said,"Hey, would you consider

"comin' to the homeless shelter

"where I work at to do comedy?"

And I was like, wow.

No I'm not, no.

(Efrem laughing)I never even thought

of such a thing, why would you do that.

So I actually went to that shelter

and did comedy, andthen it was so powerful,

so what we decided to do,we added that to our tour.

So we would go to a city,we'd find a homeless shelter

or prison, abused children's facility,

and we would do comedy there

before the big comedy show that night.

So one night I'm onstage, and I feel like,

so when I'm on stage, I'mreally asking the question,

what can I give to this audience,

whether it be laughter orwhatever the case might be,

as a result of that shift thattook place nine years ago.

So this in particular night,

I feel like I shouldshare one of the stories

from the abused children'sfacility I was at.

In the middle of my comedy show.

So the story's not funny at all,

why would I share this story?

But I'm listenin' between the gaps,

and I just feel like, Ireally feel like God is sayin'

share this story.

So I went on ahead andI shared this story,

and the audience is captivated,

but they're not laughin'.

But they're locked in.

So then I segue, and I can'teven tell you what I said.

I segue back to the comedy,

and the laughs were even bigger.

Now, you would think peoplewould be startled and,

but no, they were bigger.

It's like we went deeper.

So we just continued to do that,

and then when it came timeto film my comedy special,

I was like, why don'tI take my camera crew.

We go out, we find the bestthree stories that we can,

and we put 'em in the middle of the jokes.

So that's the more part

of the comedy special More Than Funny.

- This is not just the film.

It seems like it's thebeginning of a movement.

- That would be awesome.

First of all, this hasnever been done before.

And we're hopin' that,there's a little thing

at the end, or close to the end,

where I kinda break thefourth wall a little bit.

And people aren't expecting it.

And when you see this movie, I think,

I'm hopin' that somethin'kinda cool could take place.

But I won't necessarily give it away.

You gotta see the movie.

- (laughing) You gottasee it, you really do.

I mean, it, it's life changing,

even the way you break down what comedy is

and the fact that itapplies to all of our lives.

- Yeah, and I could share some of that.

- Go ahead, yeah.

- All right, cool, so I figured out,

the way comedy works,

and I've been doin' comedy forprobably like 25 years now.

But the way comedy works is,

a comedian will use anyresource, any talent he has,

to make an audiencethink in one direction.

When a punchline occurs, whenhe changes that direction

in a way they're not expecting.

And when they catch on to that change,

that's actually themreceiving the punchline,

and the results are revelation,fulfillment, and joy.

But it's expressed through laughter.

Life, I feel like God is showin' me,

that life is very, very similar.

There's a setup, andthen there's a punchline.

Your setup is the factthat you're married,

you got a car, you got a house,

your setup is about what you've received.

But your punchline is aboutwhat you're called to deliver.

So in this movie, youactually see some people

delivering a punchline, not just me.

And then you're inspired in a way,

and given some tools, some practical tools

on what to do to figure out what it is

and even walk in it.

And here's the thing.

If I only made one personlaugh and change their heart,

um, well, that's not enough.

(Efrem laughing)

I'm gon' need more thanone person to do that.

But God has a plan, Ijust can't wait to see

what happens as a result of it.

They can go to the More Than Funny movie.

- Funnymovie.com.

- They can go to morethanfunnymovie.com,

put in the name of theircity or their ZIP code,

and it'll pop up as to wherethe movie's playin' near you,

and hopefully the theater is not sold out,

but if it is, call 'em and say,

hey, can you add another screen.

And they'll do that sometimes too, so.

I'm excited, man.

- More than funny.

Get to the theater and see it.

- You're a good interviewer, man.

Good stuff, cool.- Thank you, thank you.

Pleasure, thank you.

- People probably got us confused though.

(Efrem laughing)

(graphic whooshes)

- [Efrem] Still ahead.

- I don't know who's behind this,

or why they chose me.

- We're on the set of the CBS series

God Friended Me, andsitting down with the cast.

(graphic whooshes)

And welcome back to Studio 5.

The countdown of the best headlines

in uplifting entertainmentnews continues now.

(graphic whooshes)At number three.

- The former FirstDaughter tying the knot,

two former presidents beaming,

and something borrowed with true meaning.

- [Efrem] Wedding bells forthe former First Family.

- [Anchor] Former FirstDaughter Barbara Bush

quietly tied the knot

with her screenwriter fiance, Craig Coyne.

- [Jenna] There were so many happy tears.

- [Anchor] The couple was surrounded

by just family during an intimate ceremony

at the Bush family compound in Maine.

- [Efrem] The secret and privateceremony took place Sunday.

- [Anchor] Barbara's now-husband proposed

in the same spot where Barbara'sgrandparents were engaged

more than 70 years ago.

And even though the former First Lady

passed away earlier this year,

her memory was still very much alive.

- [Jenna] Her somethingborrowed was a bracelet

that my grandfathergave to my grandmother.

(graphic whooshes)

- [Efrem] At number two.

♪ Simply the best ♪

♪ Better than all the rest ♪

- [Efrem] Legendary rocker Tina Turner

says her husband saved her life.

- [Tina] Wonderful guy, he's a catch.

- [Efrem] For the first time,

the singer shares sheunderwent a kidney transplant

and her husband, Erwin Bach,

donated his kidney with a surgery.

The revelation comes in her new memoir,

titled My Love Story.

♪ Church house, henhouse ♪

♪ Schoolhouse, outhouse ♪

- [Efrem] Tina sufferedfrom kidney disease

and just two years ago,

her kidneys were functioning at only 20%

and plunging rapidly.

In her book, she encourages people

to sign up for organ donation.

♪ Ooh, you're the best ♪

- At 78, Tina has survived

a stroke and intestinal cancer.

(graphic whooshes)

There is now only one remaining headline

in this week's countdown.

The new fall televisionseason is in full swing.

We've already given you a first look

at the new CBS drama, God Friended Me.

It debuted with big ratings,

attracting more than 10 million viewers.

So we traveled to New York City

to chat with the castand to visit the set.

It's really a brightspot in entertainment.

(graphic whooshes)

- There is no proof of Godanywhere in the universe.

We will debate that andmore on today's episode

of The Millennial Prophet.

I am your host, Miles Finer,

reminding you that there isno God, and that is okay.

- [Efrem] An outspoken atheist,

- I thought I had it all figured out,

but then something happened,and it changed my life forever.

I got a friend request from God.

(laughing) What?

- [Efrem] accepts afriend request from God.

And so begins the CBSseries God Friended Me.

- [Director] Rolling.

- [Efrem] Starring Brandon Michael Hall,

who we visited on set in New York City.

Miles Finer, how big of a stretch

is this character forBrandon Michael Hall?

- Miles is a, he's a big stretch.

I grew up in a household full of religion,

and I grew up going to church

at least three to four orfive times a day on Sunday,

you know, so to go from having,

going from understandingwhat faith and religion

means to me, and then playing a role

where it's completely taken away,

and he's finding his own way back,

I think it's a huge opportunity for me

to learn a lot, you know?

First, I'm learning about the Bible,

I'm learning about other religions,

other spiritualities, but I'm also gaining

a closer understandingwith myself, you know?

So those are the roles you really

wanna sink your teeth into.

- [Rakesh] Lemme get this straight.

You're being catfished by someone

calling themselves God on Facebook.

- Yes, and I need your hacker skills

to get me their IP address.

- Keep your voice, howmany times I gotta tell ya,

I'm not a hacker, 'kay?

I'm a video game enthusiast.

Okay, what do you know?

- This is the set forwhere Miles Finer works.

Identity Seal, a company charged

with safeguarding people's identity.

At the same time, Miles isstruggling with a big part

of who he used to be,

and something his father still is.

A man of faith, a minister in fact.

- Wait, this podcast of yours.

You think you're helpingpeople, but you're not.

- That's not true.

- You are taking away people's hope.

- You're tellin' 'em thatGod is watchin' over us.

You know better thananyone that's not true.

- You don't think that what happened

made me question my faith?

- [Efrem] Joe Morton.

- You've gotten yourself intoa bit of trouble, Olivia.

And I'm here to fix it.

- [Efrem] America'sfavorite diabolical dad

in the hit series Scandal

plays Miles's father in God Friended Me.

Have you ever undergone aplace where you were sort of

at a crisis faith moment?

- I don't know that I've,

I mean, I lost my fatherwhen I was 10 years old,

under some very suspicious circumstances,

at a time when, you know, I'd been

baptized Catholic and so on, so forth.

I don't know that I blamedanyone at that time,

other than myself.

But that's, again, a kind of loss of faith

in your own humanity.

- Look, I know the nursein the photo is your mom.

She left when you were a kid, right?

- Why do you even care?

- When I was eight,

my mother was diagnosedwith breast cancer.

So I prayed for a miracle,and then it happened.

She went into full remission.

The doctors couldn't even explain it.

- I don't understand.

If God answered your prayers,why don't you believe?

- Because on the wayhome from the hospital,

she died in a car accident.

- Miles.

- Look, I don't know who's behind this,

or why they chose me.

But I do know that yourmom is still out there.

I'd give anything to say the same.

- [Efrem] The God account connects Miles

to people in need.(inspiring music)

- [Miles] I don't know who's behind this,

or why they chose me.

They sent me names.

They want me to help people.

Hey, somebody stop that guy!

- When you pulled me back,

I realized, you know, I didn't wanna die.

Thank you.

♪ Let's start again ♪

- [Efrem] A storyline 10million viewers tuned in to see

in the very first episode.

There's a lot of great buzz

surrounding this show.

You had more than 10 millionviewers first episode out.

Why do you think people are so drawn to,

to this storyline?

- You know, I think that everyone

wants to talk about thingslike faith and politics

and connectivity and relationships,

that just, no one knows how to.

And I think our showdoes a really great job

at allowing that conversationto happen without judgment.

- People say that Godhas a plan for all of us.

Well, I never believed that to be true.

But then he friended me,

and it kinda turned my life upside-down.

Not that I think it's God,

but in these crazy times we live in,

we owe it to ourselves toask the tough questions.

(graphic whooshes)

- And you can catch the showon Sunday evenings on CBS.

(graphic whooshes)Up next, in Studio 5.

♪ Burn the ships, cut the ties ♪

♪ Send the flame into the night ♪

- Burn the Ships.

Grammy-winning duo ForKing and Country are here

to perform the number-one singlefrom their latest project.

(graphic whooshes)

And welcome back to Studio 5.

We have made it to the finalheadline in this week's

countdown of upliftingentertainment headlines.

(graphic whooshes)At number one.

- And filling in the seat

that has been empty for a little bit,

(Meghan laughing)

we are happy to welcomeback our Meghan McCain.

(audience applauding)

- [Efrem] Meghan McCainreturns to her seat

at ABC's the view, followingthe death of her father,

senator and Americanwar hero, John McCain.

- People don't know this about you,

but you're a caregiverto your father as well,

and I met you here on this show.

I text with you all the time,

and you just prayed with me backstage.

You're a true friend.

I love you very much.- I love you baby.

- [Efrem] As you can see and imagine,

it was an emotional return.

- In this moment, I want you to know

that everything that was in him is in you.

And this is your moment in time.

You are here for a moment such as this.

He has passed the torch to you.

The mantle has been passed to you,

and you are the perfect person to carry on

everything that he began.

- God is real, I wouldn'tbe here without my faith.

But I also wouldn't be here

without Joe Biden and Joe Lieberman.

Those two men have carriedme through this experience.

(audience applauding)

And I just want to thankthem for being uncles to me.

(graphic whooshes)

- And that wraps yourcountdown for the week.

Grammy winning duo For King and Country

have a new music project.

The songs are built on personal stories

on love, faith, and thestate of our country.

The Australian brothersLuke and Joel Smallbone

are here for a Studio5 Sessions performance.

("Joy" by For King and Country)

♪ Lately I've been reelin' ♪

♪ Watchin' the nightly news ♪

♪ Don't seem to find the rhythm ♪

♪ Just wanna sing the blues ♪

♪ Feels like a song that never stops ♪

♪ Feels like it's never gonna ♪

♪ Gotta get that fire,fire, back in my bones ♪

♪ Before my heart,heart, turns into stone ♪

♪ So somebody please pass the megaphone ♪

♪ I'll shout it on the count of three ♪

♪ One, two, three ♪

♪ Oh, hear my prayer tonight ♪

♪ I'm singing to the sky ♪

♪ Give me strength to raisemy voice, let me testify ♪

♪ Oh, hear my prayer tonight ♪

♪ 'Cause this is do or die ♪

♪ The time has come to make a choice ♪

♪ And I choose joy ♪

♪ Let it move you ♪

♪ Let it move you ♪

♪ Let it move you ♪

♪ Yeah, I choose joy ♪

♪ Let it move you ♪

♪ Let it move ♪

♪ Let it move you ♪♪ Move you ♪

♪ Yeah, back when I was young ♪

♪ My eyes were full of life ♪

♪ But now that I am older ♪

♪ I live at the speed of light ♪

♪ Feels like the cycle never stops ♪

♪ Feels like it's never gonna ♪

♪ Gotta get that fire,fire, back in my bones ♪

♪ Before my heart,heart, turns into stone ♪

♪ So somebody please pass the megaphone ♪

♪ I'll shout it on the count of three ♪

♪ One, two, three ♪

♪ Oh, hear my prayer tonight ♪

♪ I'm singing to the sky ♪

♪ Give me strength to raisemy voice, let me testify ♪

♪ Oh, hear my prayer tonight ♪

♪ 'Cause this is do or die ♪

♪ The time has come to make a choice ♪

♪ And I choose joy ♪

♪ Let it move you ♪

♪ Let it move you ♪

♪ Let it move you ♪

♪ Yeah, I choose joy ♪

♪ Let it move you ♪

♪ Let it move ♪

♪ Let it move you ♪♪ Move you ♪

♪ Though I walk through thevalley in the shadow of night ♪

♪ Oh, with you by my side ♪

♪ I'm stepping into the light ♪

♪ I choose joy ♪

♪ Let it move you ♪

♪ Let it move ♪

♪ Let it move you ♪

♪ I need that joy, joy, joy, joy ♪

♪ Down in my heart ♪

♪ Down in my heart to stay ♪

(graphic whooshes)

- Such a nice performancefrom For King and Country.

Here's a bit of good news.

We'll have a wide-ranging conversation

with Joel and Luke in the coming weeks.

Be sure to watch for that.

Their new album, Burn the Ships,

is available right now,wherever you get your music.

As for right now, when words fail,

we know pictures don't.

So let's take a quick look at this week's

Studio 5 Snap Shot.

(graphic whooshes)

("Won't You Be MyNeighbor" by Fred Rogers)

It's an old and familiar television tune.

♪ It's a beautiful dayin this neighborhood ♪

- [Efrem] From the late Fred Rogers

and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

His story is in productionto hit the big screen

next year, starring Tom Hanks.

And he is indeed readyto be your neighbor.

Sony Pictures released the first photo

of the actor as Fred Rogersin the yet untitled movie,

and that's this week's Studio 5 Snap Shot.

(graphic whooshes)And still to come,

- [Miles] They sent me names.

They want me to help people.

Hey, somebody stop that guy!

- [Efrem] A real-life spiritual lesson

from one of the stars of God Friended Me.

We're checking in with Javicia Leslie.

(graphic whooshes)

And welcome back to Studio 5.

Can you hear that?

It is hard not to move your feet.

It is time to turn up the volume

on some new music from Leon Bridges.

See why If It Feels Good iswhat's playing in my ear.

(graphic whooshes)

♪ Baby if it feels good ♪

♪ Then it must be bad ♪

♪ How much I want you ♪

♪ More than I choose to ♪

♪ I'm falling in love ♪

♪ And love I ain't used to ♪

♪ You give me that stuff ♪

♪ No I can't refuse you ♪

♪ You and I in the light ♪

♪ It's all right ♪

- And let that music play on in your ear.

Sing along and dance for a moment.

We're almost out of time forthis episode of Studio 5.

So here's what we're workingon for you for next week.

(graphic whooshes)

- When we make that turn,

I probably just wannaeven feel that push in

just a little bit more.

- [Efrem] We're going behindthe scenes of a new film,

adding a powerful perspectiveto a pressing conversation.

- George Tillman, ourdirector, really prepared us

to be able to be as true as possible

to who these people weare expressing in film.

- [Efrem] Go inside thebook that's now a movie,

The Hate U Give.

- I think it's about us.

- Us who?

- Black people.

Poor people, everybody at the bottom.

(graphic whooshes)

- Certainly hope you'llcome on back next week

for what is sure to bean eye-opening show.

Well, we've come to thefinal word for this show,

and we're giving that to one of the stars

of God Friended Me.

Here's Javicia Leslie.

(graphic whooshes)

- I would say God gives us a passion

to find our purpose,

and that's why a lot of people,

when they have, like,a very strong passion,

it bothers them.

Like it constantly bothers them,

like, I think I shouldbe doin' something else.

I feel I should be doin' something else.

Because I feel like it's God saying,

Hey, I have something for you.

You were built a certain kind of way,

and I put everythinginside of you for a reason.

I need you to follow that.

And for me, that's what happened.

I was sitting at my deskworking the nine to five,

I was working for the Army.

I was paying soldiers their Stop Loss Pay

that were held beyond their contracts.

And the whole time that I was there,

although I was doing amazing work

'cause I was working with the families

of our deceased soldiers,

I was giving them great news to say,

hey, you know, here's something,

something out of nothing, you know?

There was still something

just kinda tapping me on my shoulder,

saying you have a passion, you know?

And I think that constantlydeveloping that passion

and constantly nurturing that passion

has really helped guide me,

'cause it let me knowI'm supposed to be here,

and I'm supposed to be doingexactly what I'm doing.

(graphic whooshes)

- What a great final wordfor this edition of Studio 5.

Thank you so much for watching

this week's look at inspiringand uplifting entertainment.

Until next time, make timeto uplift someone else.

Bye-bye, everybody.