Inside ‘SNL 50: The Homecoming Concert': From Lady Gaga's Last-Minute Swap to Rehearsing a 3-Hour Show in Just 2 Days

Three hours of prime time real estate, more than 30 musical acts bookended by lightly rehearsed comedy bits and a Radio City Music Hall's worth of huge stars. What could go wrong?
Potentially everything, actually. But somehow, SNL 50: The Homecoming Concert director Beth McCarthy-Miller not only managed to land the plane with the February special, but she corralled some of the biggest stars in the world for one of the most dazzling, surprise-filled nights of music in recent memory.
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And, not for nothing, it all happened with way less rehearsal time than you could ever imagine.
'They called me a year and a half ago and asked me and I absolutely said 'yes' right away. … I'm a total music and comedy nerd,' Emmy-nominated director McCarthy-Miller tells Billboard about her return to multi-cam TV after a career that has included stints behind the camera for episodes of Veep, The Good Place, Modern Family, 30 Rock and an 11-year run as SNL's director. 'I would do anything for [SNL creator/producer] Lorne [Michaels], who was so instrumental in my career. It was like going back for a high school reunion.'
Sure, if your high school class included Lady Gaga, Eddie Vedder, Bill Murray, the Backstreet Boys, Miley Cyrus, Bad Bunny, Post Malone, the living members of Nirvana, Snoop Dogg, Jelly Roll and Cher.
Those are just some of the acts that McCarthy-Miller juggled on show night in the penultimate prime-time celebration of the beloved sketch series' 50th anniversary. The programming also included the three-hour SNL50: The Anniversary Special that aired two days later, as well as the earlier mind-bending Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music documentary directed by The Roots' Questlove and the four-part SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night docuseries on Peacock.
In other words, tons of competition for booking and viewers' eyeballs.
McCarthy-Miller knew it was a monumental task, but she was up for it and, frankly, after working with Michaels to see who was available (and not) and putting the million little pieces together, she can now confidently say that 'there is nothing I would change.'
Billboard hopped on the phone to chat with McCarthy-Miller about the show and to find out why she is now fully convinced that The Roots can play any song ever recorded.
You worked on the legendary with Nirvana, but whose idea was the surprise Post Nirvana performance with Post Malone and the living members of the group?
Dave Grohl was involved early on, and there was always interest in the Foo Fighters and possibly [Nirvana bass player] Krist [Novoselic] joining them. I know during COVID, Post did a YouTube Nirvana show with Travis Barker, and I think it became a natural segue. Dave and Krist had used St. Vincent and other singers before for the FireAid show and the guys just really enjoyed playing with him. After rehearsal, I went back to check on everything with [guitarist] Pat [Smear] and Dave, and they were like, 'That was fun!'
The unexpected collabs really ruled the night. You also had Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard doing a Queen cover ('Crazy Little Thing Called Love') at the top. How involved were you in piecing those together?
The Miley thing was a combination of everyone asking, 'What would you want to see?' I think Miley wanted Brittany, and that was a Lorne and Miley thing. … [show co-executive producer] Mark Ronson had a lot do with the pace of the show and where people should go and when. It was definitely a combined effort.
I have to ask, were there any of those collabs that didn't happen that you went for? Frequent guest Justin Timberlake couldn't make it because he's on tour, but who else did you reach out to?
There were people who were just not available who would have been great. Timberlake, not available and also for the Sunday show. I think Bruce Springsteen wasn't available and people who were asked who made their mark on the show but were just not available. It was definitely tricky to try to represent as much as you could without being able to represent everybody obviously and represent different genres. I thought it all kind of worked out beautifully.
I saw someone ask, 'Why didn't they have for a redemption arc?'
[Laughs] I'm sure Ashlee wouldn't have enjoyed that phone call either. Or just have her come out and do a little hoedown dance during someone else's number? I think we left the comedy to the comedians on that show, which was great. Everyone was having so much fun and would show up early for rehearsals to watch. Bill Murray hung out almost the whole day when he was rehearsing. So he rehearsed his [Nick the Lounge Singer bit] all day with the girls [Maya Rudolph, Cecily Strong and Ana Gasteyer], and then he came out and was just hanging out watching the rehearsals when Backstreet Boys were rehearsing and he was singing at the top of his lungs in the empty Radio City Music Hall along to the Backstreet Boys. Everyone was so happy to be there and be part of the show.
Another highlight was Lady Gaga doing 'D–k in a Box' with Andy Samberg. Did Gaga need convincing to join in on that? It was also fun to see cast members incorporated into musical numbers, like Fred Armisen playing drums for Devo and the B-52s.
Gaga was in for that and she was not necessarily performing. She was definitely doing the 'D–k In a Box' bit and we had somebody fall out and she then performed ['Shallow']. We had T-Pain and Bad Bunny, and Eddie Vedder was so funny as Captain Jack Sparrow.
What was the rehearsal time to swap Gaga in for that bit?
You mean besides no rehearsal? We rehearsed that whole show in two days. So we had about 45 minutes to rehearse that [Lady Gaga] bit. I had pre-blocked it with stand-ins just so I knew where we were going. Then we literally got everybody [Gaga, Samberg, Eddie Vedder, Lonely Island, T-Pain, Bad Bunny] up there for 45 minutes and they did a run-through. I think T-Pain didn't even come to the run-through.
Were there any worries about catching a stray by dipping into the Drake/Kendrick beef with the Marty and Bobbi bit singing 'Not Like Us' with Will Ferrell and Ana?
No. I thought it was hilarious. If anyone is gonna take that as a diss, they need to find a sense of humor somewhere because that was so funny. Will and Ana threw that together with [longtime SNL writer] Paula Pell in about 24 hours.
More than 600 musical acts have performed on over the years, so how do you start cutting down the list for your show?
Well, you start cutting it down by the people who say no. [Laughs] No, but it's really hard and thank God they had done that great documentary that Questlove did, because it really encompassed how important music is to SNL. Because everyone was really represented quite well in that. So then it was just decisions on what was going to be on the main show and what was going to be on Friday night show. I thought the Paul Simon/Sabrina Carpenter thing was perfect for the Sunday show. I think for a minute that was on the Friday show, then it went to the Sunday show, and Paul on the Sunday show was perfect, just where it should have been.
Who was your must-have? Who did you chase to no avail?
A few, of course. There were definitely people who weren't able to be there who would have been great: Mick Jagger, Springsteen, Stevie Nicks. But the other side of it is, you couldn't get everybody and I thought every genre on music that's been on SNL was represented in that show.
Jimmy Fallon worked his ass off in that opening 'Soul Man' bit.
He was working very hard and very out of breath.
Did it feel mean in retrospect to make him host and talk so much right after that?
[Laughs] It was always his idea to do some opening number, and I thought that was the perfect representation and Jimmy does stuff like that better than anybody else. It was a little difficult for the poor guy to do that, but he did do it in run-through, but I don't think he hit it as hard. He was, literally, out of breath. But every comedian or musical performer, you put an audience in front of them and they take it up to 11.
Tell me about something we didn't see onscreen that blew your mind. Or something that really captured the vibe of the moment for you.
In general, the whole thing felt like a family reunion. People were sticking around to watch other people rehearse, and people were coming over from 30 Rock to Radio City to see other people rehearse. The unsung heroes of that Friday night show were The Roots. Those guys worked their butts off and were literally thrown into the fire a couple of times and having to work out and learn songs in 15 minutes, get off stage and then come back in half an hour. And then, on the live show, Brittany Howard's guitar went out and stopped working and the guitar player from The Roots ['Captain' Kirk Douglas] picked up that guitar solo on the fly. It was amazing. They can pick up a song in five seconds and they were also playing in all the musical comedy bits too!
There were so many A-listers in the audience that it could have been a typical stuffy awards show vibe. So were you surprised by their freakout over Backstreet's 'I Want it That Way'? Tina and Amy were singing like high schoolers, Adam Sandler, Paul Rudd were shouting along. Even Jerry Seinfeld got in on it.
When they rehearsed and they do what they were gonna do, and they said, 'Now you sing,' I was like, 'Oh no! It's an industry crowd, I hope they're gonna sing!' But literally every person knew every word. Paul Rudd, Pedro Pascal, Jerry Seinfeld was singing with Brian [Littrell]. It was nuts. Every time I cut to the audience, I've never, ever had a better cut-away experience in my life where every time I cut to a shot there was some incredibly famous person singing at the top of their lungs having the greatest time of their life.
What do you think it was about them that go everybody so excited?
I think everybody was so psyched for that experience. I said to Lorne, 'You're literally watching your legacy in front of your eyes.' It's kinda nuts. I think everyone has a deep appreciation for Lorne and what he's accomplished, and I think everyone just came to have fun.
One of the things that really grabbed people was to DEVO. When you saw that, were you like, 'Oh, we need to cut that immediately'?
Yes, it was nuts, it was crazy. Every time I cut to the audience they were having the time of their lives. Pedro literally gyrating to DEVO was, I think, my favorite cut-away of the whole night.
Was there anything that did not go as planned that was a pleasant surprise or an 'oh sh–' moment?
I think almost everything happened the way it was supposed to happen magically, which I will tell you did not happen in run-through. The fact that on-air it all happened the way it was supposed to was a Christmas miracle. We made every changeover, but there was one really big changeover where we had Jimmy in the audience and he was supposed to go over to talk to Sandler, and Sandler wasn't in his seat because he'd just done the Post Nirvana intro and he was backstage talking to people. So then he just freewheeled it, which was amazing, and we were able to make the turnaround a little faster on the night of the show so he wasn't there laying with egg on his face for too long. Other than that, everything happened the way it was supposed to happen.
I still sing 'Star Wars, nothing but Star Wars' all the time, so tell me how the Bill Murray lounge singer bit came together?
I think [longtime SNL writer] Jim Downey wrote it for Billy, and then Billy asked for three of the girls and they tried to get who was available. Ana, Maya and Cecily agreed to do it and they rehearsed it in the lobby of Radio City and then came onstage and rehearsed it the day before the show.
The four-part series showed you how tight rehearsal and writing is on the show, but it sounds like your show was just as harried, if not more.
It was crazy nutty. It was two days of rehearsal and then show day, and we did a little rehearsing on show day before we did a run-through. We ran through the whole show just once.
It seems like you tried to pay tribute to so many through the song choices, like Eddie Vedder tipping his hat to Tom Petty with 'The Waiting,' or David Byrne doing 'Heroes' or Chris Martin with Bonnie Raitt…
It was definitely a conscious decision and Eddie [Vedder] was going to do 'The Waiting' and we asked if he could say something about Tom [Petty] at the end of the song. He said he would do it in the middle during the break and then he said something completely different at run-through than he did during the show! He mentioned more of the musical artists on the show [during run-through], and then on air he did a tribute to the cast members.
What does it take to get Cher to put on those assless chaps again?
C'mon! How crazy is that? That she looks like that at her her age. I'm embarrassed of myself because I don't look like that and I'm a lot younger. And how amazing did she sound?
The cast are used to staying up all night writing and long hours to get the show on air each week. But when you think about putting together this show, what was the biggest challenge now that you've had time to think about it?
The most challenging part was just getting the show rehearsed and on the air without any disasters. Also the difference between an hour and a half and three hours and also the difference in doing it at Radio City and having these huge band changeovers. It was logistically a lot more difficult… just putting all the pieces together. It was like a Tetris puzzle, so if one piece fell out you were in big trouble. Like when Brittany's guitar stopped working, I said, 'Oh God, I hope this doesn't keep happening to us tonight.' And it didn't and we were all good.
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20 minutes ago

• Yahoo

Women Who've Rejected Marriage Proposals Are Sharing Exactly Why They Said No, And Honestly, Thank Goodness They Did

Reddit user rosieposiepoo333 recently asked, "Women who have turned down proposals, how did you do it?" We also asked women of the BuzzFeed Community to chime in with their stories. Here's what they shared: 1."I broke up with my ex on the day we were supposed to go ring shopping. He tearfully told me how he had inherited enough money from his great aunt to buy the ring of my dreams, and I told him it didn't matter because our relationship wasn't meant to be. It was not an actual proposal, but the closest I got to marriage before I met my now-husband." —question_girl617 2."It wasn't pleasant. I walked him further down the beach and explained why the proposal failed. They were things we agreed upon, or so I thought. We wanted and agreed on a private moment, but he invited everybody. We wanted something very quiet, but he had a whole band playing and photographers. I wanted a simple, low-key necklace, maybe something simple with moonstone, mother of pearl, or opal, which he seemed excited about. But he gave me a very expensive amber chunky ring with a dead bug in it. Only our entomology friend liked the ring; everyone else was very confused or grossed out." "Then I asked him to try again. He took it well until he saw our friends. Then he sobbed loudly and complained to everybody about how I rejected him. We were engaged for like eight years. He never tried again, by the way." —Not-A-SoggyBagel 3."I did it in the worst way. I said, 'That will never happen.' To be fair, we were not in love; he was my boss, and he told me he had a list of things he looked for in a woman, and I checked off the boxes." —After-Carpenter-4089 4."It was the wrong ring. I know that sounds super shallow, but I have a very specific ring in mind and am very vocal about it. My friends know, my family knows, my colleagues know. There is no hiding my particular style. I like yellow gold, and I detest diamonds. Anything that fit that description would have worked. Instead, I ended up with a sterling silver ring with the ugliest cut diamond I have ever seen. My partner was obviously not listening to me and had not discussed proposing to me with my father (I'm a little traditional) or my friends. So I said no. Now, I'm in a relationship with a man who has already talked to me about ring choices, discussed his engagement plan with my closest friends, and had the conversation with BOTH of my parents regarding the proposal and his plans to marry me." —Anonymous 5."I was proposed to three times before I met the man I eventually married. In those days, a proposal was considered a private moment between two people, not a public performance. In each case, I told them that, while I cared for them and was honored that they cared enough for me to want to marry me, I did not think we had the foundation for a compatible and happy marriage. In all three cases, they were not surprised that I said no. They were just hopeful that, if I saw how serious they were, I might be more willing to compromise on what I wanted for my future." —readbackcorrect 6."It was not in public, and it was not done politely. A lot happened between us, and it was mostly not good. I may have laughed and told him that he'd lost his mind, and maybe he should've asked one of his side pieces (he didn't know I knew). I knew he was never going to be the person I married. He was toxic, and he turned me into the worst version of myself, and I was finally starting to see it. He just didn't realize the same thing." —GiveMeAlienRomances 7."My ex gave me a ring that he picked up from his mom's house as she was going through her jewelry and getting rid of some stuff. The ring itself was the same engagement ring she had received from my ex's dad when they first got married, but then they divorced years later because he cheated on her with his secretary (whom he then married). So the ring itself was already haunted with a terrible origin story, and it was also missing several stones and was way too big for my finger. My ex gave it to me and said he wanted to 'fix it up' for me. We had only been together for about six months, and I had to tell him I didn't want to get married to him, and also, the ring was not one I'd ever wear. It wasn't a public conversation, but it was still one I didn't want to be a part of." —msnegative 8."My ex proposed AFTER I had broken up with him and moved out. I had found out he was hiring sex workers. I had gone to the house to pick up some things, and he got down on one knee and held out a ring. I rolled my eyes and told him to F off." —squirrelly_chaos 9."The guy I was dating just kind of assumed we'd be getting married, and I'd follow him to his next job. To be fair, I was kind of up in the air, but I was planning to go to grad school and just hadn't shared that with him. When he asked me when, not if, I wanted to get married, I flippantly said, 'I'm not marrying you.' He was shocked. We were not on the same page at all!" —Hazelstone37 10."We were in a restaurant, and a violinist appeared. A box was produced containing a ring. We were in a relationship, and had been for about a year and a half. He was a sweet guy, but nine years younger than I. I said no and explained that we weren't there yet. He was sad. Within a year, he was showing signs of a nervous breakdown. I had no idea what was happening. He became incredibly paranoid, and his behavior became very strange. Turns out he had a crack problem. I had never taken drugs other than trying weed as a teen, so I wasn't able to read the signs correctly. He was doing it at night when I went to bed. That was the end of that." —Poullafouca 11."My partner has 'proposed' four times to me and I've always said no. He proposed the first time after two years of being together. I said no because we were long-distance at the time. Then I finally got a job near his place, so we moved in together, and I soon got pregnant. We had our son, and our relationship turned very sour. I think we both had postpartum depression. This is when he decided to propose for the second time. Of course, I said no. We worked on our relationship. It took us a very long time, but we managed to get through our problems — at least it felt like it. Fast forward seven years, and we got pregnant with our second son. I thought we were in a good place, but I found out he was chatting with other women during the first few months I was pregnant with our second son. When I confronted him, after a week of arguments, we agreed to go to a restaurant to have a 'neutral' place to talk, without our sons, and he proposed again. I said no." "It's been eight years since then, and I've been in survival mode for my sons. He proposed once again last year. The ring has changed, but not my answer. As I type this, I realize how toxic we are for one another, and we are both to blame. I guess he proposes to me for the wrong reasons, and I keep saying no because I probably know deep down he's not the one for me, and I'm not the one for him. We've been together 19 years; our sons are nearly 16 and 9. The proposals were always casual, but they always came with a ring. I'm turning 40, and I know my sons deserve better because both my partner and I are unhappy in our silent relationship." —Anonymous 12."I knew he was planning to propose because I overheard him talking to his mother about redesigning family heirloom rings. I wasn't sure how much I even liked him, let alone if I'd commit to marrying him! I tried to talk to him about how good it was to take things slowly, but a week later, the proposal came regardless. I said how I felt honored by the rings, but couldn't accept them because it felt too soon for me, and then I returned them. He became very pushy, saying things like I was just overwhelmed, and of course, I wanted to be with him forever. I said I wasn't overwhelmed, I just didn't think he was 'the one.' It was sudden, and we hadn't even discussed our core beliefs." "He said I'd never get anyone better than him, and he'd give me a week to think about it. I had many possessions at his house but packed everything and left when he went to work. He was furious, so I stopped taking his calls. I spent the next decade dating, loving, and losing, and then I found a guy I knew I had a good future with. We've been married 28 years and he is MUCH better than him, who, interestingly, never got married." —Maclardy44 13."We were at IHOP. I told him to shut up and eat his pancakes. A couple of months later, he was banging my mom." —busterann 14."He proposed in public, but it wasn't a grand gesture. We were eating out, and he quietly asked. I told him I wasn't ready (we had been having problems beforehand). The problems got worse, and we finally broke up. He's been living with someone else longer than he and I were together, and they aren't married." —Loisgrand6 15."I smiled, held his hand, and said no. It was high school, he was a year above me, and we were on a school group spring break. I explained that we were way too young to even consider it. He pressed and tried to give me the ring as a promise ring, and I still shook my head and told him to get a refund for the ring and use it towards food (his family wasn't doing well)." "The second one I struggled with. He did it privately in a hotel room, and I felt nothing. I realized right there that I cared about him, but wasn't in love. He tried for two weeks, and I politely told him I wasn't ready, but he didn't seem to want that. (Now I know he was afraid of me leaving him, so he was trying to tie me down.) The third person was nice, but I simply reminded him I wasn't interested in marriage. We dated for another year before we split." —VivianKink 16."We'd been dating for over two years, not exclusively, because neither of us wanted to marry again. We'd both gotten screwed over before. He was very insistent, even while driving through nice neighborhoods he was looking to buy into, reminding me the house would be his, not ours. He constantly told me I wasn't going to lock him down. I met someone new who asked for monogamy. I agreed and broke off the dating relationship. Suddenly, he wanted to buy 'us' a house, showed up with a ring, and stalked me. I had to get a new phone number because of all the voicemails and texts. I've been married to the other guy for over 18 years." —Anonymous 17."We'd been broken up for about a year. It was a bad breakup, and that was his choice. I'd moved back home for a part of the time (another state, 2,000 miles away), and he worked hard to get me to move back to where we'd met and lived. Within five minutes of picking me up, he proposed in the car while driving. In all seriousness. I said I wasn't ready to talk about that. Apart from the whole breakup/get back together thing, I was 23 and am not keen on marriage in general. It never came up again. We broke up for good about a year later, which made sense to both of us. He greatly impacted my life, but I have no regrets. He's been married and divorced a couple of times since. I had a partner for 20 years. Neither of us was into marriage." —bootsbythedoor 18."My ex dropped down on one knee on a beach in Mexico during a Christmas vacation. My knee-jerk immediate reaction was to scream, 'OH DEAR GOD, NO!' He immediately fumbled and pretended to fix his shoe. We pretended it never happened, and I left him a few months later." —little__boxes 19."When it happened in private, I stayed quiet and pretended I didn't hear it—not out of cruelty, but because I didn't want to hurt him, not even gently, with words I wasn't ready to say. But the one time it was real and in public, I felt my heart ache. I knew I couldn't say yes, but I also couldn't let him carry that rejection in front of a crowd. So I kissed his forehead, held his hand, and softly asked if we could talk privately." —Creative_Purple9077 20."It was not in public. We were broken up for about six weeks. He slept in his car outside my house all night, and when I woke up in the morning to get ready for work, I realized he was there. I went to talk to him, and he immediately tried to get down on one knee and had a ring box in his hand. I told him to stand up and that we weren't doing that right now. That was 12 years ago. We tried making the relationship work then, and tried again a few years later. Twin flames for sure; we loved each other fiercely, but never worked because we never wanted the same things. I knew potentially marrying him then would have been a mistake, just like I know now that my life has worked out as intended: without him." —sluttychurros "It was not in public; it was just the two of us. I just explained we were too young and I was not ready to commit to marriage. Five years later, I committed to the same man. We're still married 20 years later. To me, marriage is a massive commitment and is done only once. When I was ready, I didn't look back or reconsider. If it was tough. I was changing part of my identity (name), so I had to be sure." —Neat3371 Women, have you ever rejected a marriage proposal? How come? Tell us in the comments or share anonymously using this form.

Yahoo

22 minutes ago

• Yahoo

Hailey Bieber Warned To Get ‘Mid-Nuptial Agreement' Amid Justin Bieber Drama, Say ‘Sources'

Hailey Bieber reportedly received advice to arrange a 'mid-nuptial agreement' with Justin Bieber as divorce rumors persist. Lately, sources have alleged that the model is at her wits' end because of her husband's behavior, as friends warned her to sort out her assets. These claims surfaced weeks after Hailey landed a massive $1 billion deal for her beauty brand, Rhode. These apparent warnings surfaced after reports mentioned she is 'emotionally spent,' despite her show of support for him. RadarOnline unpacked the latest claims surrounding Hailey and Justin Bieber's divorce rumors and a 'mid-nuptial agreement.' Sources notified the publication about her friends' warnings to get her assets in order before 'it's too late,' amid speculation of ongoing marital tensions. The supposed advice from some of Hailey's close pals came in light of her string of successes, including featuring on the cover of Vogue and securing a billion-dollar Rhode deal. 'People around Hailey are cautioning her to get a mid-nuptial agreement to cover herself,' claimed the insider. They highlighted that her and Justin's 'future' together 'looks uncertain' if he fails to 'get his act together,' despite her constant support for him. The source believes it would be 'wise' of her to put her 'personal assets in order before it's too late.' These alleged warnings emerged with the musician's massive financial debts coming to light. According to the source, Hailey Bieber's friends believe a 'mid-nuptial agreement' would be the proper course of action. Reportedly, the buzz surrounding Hailey and Justin Bieber's possible divorce has been around for months. During this time, they shared cryptic messages on Instagram, fueling rumors of tensions. The mom once posted a caption, 'Lemon drop martinis and therapy all summer long,' and deleted the mention of 'therapy' later. Meanwhile, Justin admitted to being in 'transactional relationships.' Regardless of online tittle-tattle, the Rhode founder has stood by her husband and even defended his latest paparazzi confrontation. A week ago, Justin engaged in a heated argument in the paps in Malibu, and the 28-year-old later took a stand for him online. The post Hailey Bieber Warned To Get 'Mid-Nuptial Agreement' Amid Justin Bieber Drama, Say 'Sources' appeared first on Reality Tea.

CNET

32 minutes ago

• CNET

Today's NYT Mini Crossword Answers for June 22

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today's Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles. Need some help with today's Mini Crossword? There are some tough clues today. Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips. The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times' games collection. If you're looking for today's Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET's NYT puzzle hints page. Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword Let's get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers. The completed NYT Mini Crossword puzzle for June 22, 2025. NYT/Screenshot by CNET Mini across clues and answers 1A clue: Man's name with the same two vowels as BOAT, fittingly Answer: NOAH 5A clue: Watch in one sitting, as a TV series Answer: BINGE 6A clue: Mammal that cracks open sea urchins with rocks Answer: OTTER 7A clue: Publicist's concern Answer: BRAND 8A clue: Chooses, with "for" Answer: OPTS Mini down clues and answers 1D clue: Like some cold brew coffee Answer: NITRO 2D clue: How beer may be served Answer: ONTAP 3D clue: One helping to seal the deal Answer: AGENT 4D clue: Groups of buffalo Answer: HERDS 5D clue: ___ the Drag Queen, "RuPaul's Drag Race" winner who competed on "The Traitors" Answer: BOB