Set up for a potential arranged marriage, two young adults burdened by social pressures and self-doubt begin to find love and acceptance in each other.
Certificate:TV-14 Parents strongly cautioned. May not be suitable for ages under 14.
It’s April, which means that the Duffer Brothers‘ decade-long tenure at Netflix has come to an end and they are moving to Paramount with a four-year, exclusive deal for feature films, television, and streaming projects. Paramount wasted no time showing off the Stranger Things creators in the studio’s glitzy, big-budget mini-movie celebrating its movie history and looking at the future.
The elaborate promo, directed by Wicked‘s Jon M. Chu and narrated by Tom Cruise, was shown Wednesday at the top of Paramount’s presentation at CinemaCon in Las Vegas and hours later at the start of the company’s upfront presentation in Los Angeles. In it, the Duffers appear alongside other talent signed to overall or first-look deals by the new Paramount regime over the past eight months, including James Mangold, Issa Rae, Dan Trachtenberg and Will Smith, as well as other A-listers who have movies at the studio, including Timothée Chalamet, Mark Wahlberg, Chris Pratt, Marlon Wayans, John Krasinski, Teyana Taylor and Johnny Knoxville. Some of them are woven into famous Paramount movies, like Chalamet, who is taking a piece of chocolate from the Forrest Gump box left on the famous bench from the movie.
The Duffer Brothers are seen sitting in a dark movie theater, eating popcorn. Top director Jerry Bruckheimer leans in and says, “This is my favorite part.”
Whether it was intentional or not, the Duffers’ scene carries significance as it celebrates the theatrical experience. As Deadline has reported, Paramount being able to offer the duo the opportunity to work on theatrical movies was one of the keys for them to chose it over staying at streamer Netflix. They spoke about that and Paramount’s long history — which is the focus of the sizzle video — in their statement at the time the deal was announced in August.
“David [Ellison], Josh [Goldstine], and Dana [Goldberg] are passionate about bringing bold, original films to the big screen,” Matt and Ross Duffer said at the time. “To be part of that mission is not just exciting – it’s the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. And to do so at a studio with such a storied Hollywood legacy is a privilege we don’t take lightly.”
Chu’s fast-pace video ends with Missing Impossible and Top Gun star Cruise sitting on top of Paramount Studios’ water tower looking over Los Angeles, as his voiceover says, “The future is paramount and the future looks pretty great from here.”
Fitting for the famous daredevil, the stunt was reportedly performed by Cruise and was not the result of green screen magic.
The new LP features seven songs written in seven countries, including Ethiopia, Egypt, and India
M.I.A. has released her seventh studio LP, M.I.7, via her own label OHMNIMUSIC. The album features seven songs written in seven places over seven days in each location, and feature American gospel groupSunday Service.
M.I.7 was written and recorded across Ethiopia, Egypt, India, United Kingdom, Greece, and Australia, as well as in the U.S. at Rick Rubin’s Shangri La Studio. It is structured around the seven trumpets of in the Book of Revelation, with each one narrating a biblical judgment before giving way to the next song.
According to a press release, the album concept “emerged as a vision that revealed itself before the recording process began, which demanded to be followed.” It includes the previously-released single, “Everything.”
M.I.A.’s last album, MATA, arrived in 2022. In a review, Rolling Stone wrote, “Her sixth studio album grasps for the past and, in other ways, wiggles right back into the zeitgeist. … Yes, M.I.A. is still here, but it’s unclear whether she has anything new to say.”
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M.I.A. will join Kid Cudi on his The Rebel Ragers tour in North America from April 28 through June 27. The tour kicks off in Phoenix at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre and wraps in Chula Vista, California, at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre.
Last weekend, M.I.A. joined Diplo on stage at Coachella to revisit her single “Paper Planes,” which appeared on her 2007 album, Kala.
American Masters and Firelight Media today announced the digital premiere of the fourth season of the documentary short series In the Making. The new season focuses on eight artists across a variety of disciplines whose work explores and influences American culture today. The series will premiere on Thursday, March 5, on the PBS YouTube channel, pbs.org/americanmasters, and the PBS app, with subsequent films in the series streaming biweekly on Thursdays.
Watch the trailer and check out the full list of films and their descriptions below.
Ani Liu: Eye Heart Womb Directed by Miao Wang
Explore the work of New York-based artist Ani Liu as she creates provocative artifacts at the intersection of art, science, and technology. From neuroscience to motherhood, her practice challenges understandings of bodies and gender. Premieres March 5, 2026.
Alsarah: The Sonic Historian Directed by Roopa Gogineni & Wael Gzoly
Follow Sudanese musician and ethnomusicologist Alsarah as she leads Alsarah and the Nubatones, a band of immigrants exploring migration’s impact on culture through music — an essential venture amid displacement and an enduring conflict. Premieres March 19, 2026.
Hannah Mayree: Songs of Reclamation Directed by Ebony Marie Bailey
Follow Hannah Mayree, musician, banjo maker, and founder of the Black Banjo Reclamation Project, as they organize workshops and performances celebrating the banjo’s Black history. Premieres April 2, 2026.
Lani B. Supreme: Legacy Directed by Sabaah Folayan
Enter the world of trumpeter, composer, educator, and storyteller Lani B. Supreme (Jelani Akil Bauman) as he carries forward a musical legacy that began with his great-great-grandfather before emancipation. Driven by his family’s craft, Bauman’s music celebrates Black creative expression. Premieres April 16, 2026.
Cindy Tran: From Here to Here Directed by Xinyan Yu
Poet Cindy Tran creates works that bridge personal memories and shared experiences, reflecting on childhood, parental expectations, and societal stigmas around an Asian-American identity. Premieres April 30, 2026.
Aliah Irvine & Kēhau Kapua’a: Kūkulu Directed by Aukai Ligairi
Follow Aliah and Kēhau as they take on the male-dominated practice of building Hawaiian hale, traditional thatched structures — a personal and political effort as they reclaim cultural traditions nearly lost to colonial erasure. Premieres May 14, 2026.
Warren King: King of Cardboard Directed by Curtis Chin
Follow Warren King as he transforms cardboard into intricate sculptural reflections of his Chinese-American family’s immigration and his path from engineer to artist. Preparing for a Wisconsin homecoming show, King explores belonging through art. Premieres May 28, 2026.
Stankface Standing Soldier: The Rise of Mato Wayuhi Directed by Josiah Jones
Watch as Oglala Lakota artist, musician, and composer Mato Wayuhi, known for his work on Reservation Dogs, draws on ancestral knowledge to inform his present artistic processes and visions for the future. Premieres June 11, 2026.
Picture this: last month, I was sitting in a hotel corridor waiting for my turn to conduct interviews for The Handmaid’s Tale spinoff, The Testaments. Inside a nearby room, Lucy Halliday (Daisy), Chase Infiniti (Agnes) and Ann Dowd (Aunt Lydia) are waiting.
I scroll through Instagram on my phone when I notice the below post being suggested to me, posted only six minutes before I sat down.
Are my eyes deceiving me, or is that Ann Dowd dressed as a blue space creature, hinting that she has a cameo in Hacks?
Article continues below
I was right, as Hacks season 5 episode 2 has hilariously just proved. Even before we get into the backstory, I’m not sure I can continue to watch The Testaments on Hulu and believe that Aunt Lydia is holding up the Gilead regime in the same way.
Ann Dowd’s alien cameo in Hacks season 5 episode 2 is the unexpected light relief I needed this week
Hacks Season 5 | Official Trailer | HBO Max – YouTube
As we learned in the season 5 premiere, Deborah (Jean Smart) believes that the best way to secure her comedic legacy is to headline a sold-out night at Madison Square Gardens… although the arena’s PR rep (Alanna Ubach) immediately refuses this in episode 2.
Desperate, Deborah enlists the help of her fanbase — affectionately dubbed Little Debbies — at a Vegas fan convention to help lobby for her MSG slot. However, they’re all sick to the back teeth of her.
While Deborah signs autographs, fans complain that she’s got “too Hollywood,” out of touch with what the fanbase needs from her. The constant criticism gets too much to bear, with Deborah stepping outside for some air… only to find a blue Ann Dowd already having a smoke break.
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We don’t learn much about Dowd’s character (or if she’s even playing herself), yet she has short but sage words of wisdom. “They show up for us, we support them. That’s the frickin’ deal, mama,” she tells Deborah.
Dowd explains that being honest with her fans about what she needs will help them to feel wanted and useful. “The truth will set you free, baby doll,” she continues.
At this point, I’m silently wetting myself. Can you imagine Aunt Lydia speaking to the Gilead girls like she’s a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race? Ah, the beauty of acting.
More importantly, Dowd’s plan works. Deborah rushes back inside to tell her fans the MSG problem, and they mobilize with a scary amount of outrage. By the end of the episode — that falls short of doxxing Ubach’s character — Deborah’s dream is confirmed.
SPARKS Section: Narrative Spotlight Director-screenwriter: Fergus Campbell Logline: Cleo is new to Sparks, Nevada when she discovers a cigarette vending machine that inexplicably produces a book on Jean-Luc Godard. When she meets the Crop soon after, Cleo’s morphed into a cinephile, and when she learns of the Crop’s reservoir visits, she’s certain that she could time travel and meet Godard in 60s Paris. Crop leader Antoine is enamored with Cleo but rankled by her insinuations that Crop life is boring. When Cleo disappears at the reservoir, Antoine calls into question his own sense of purpose, before unexpected adventures materialize—a shootout, a dreamy gay barbecue—until Cleo returns to Sparks and the Crop must figure out where she’s been and if she’s lost her mind. Panelists: Fergus Campbell, Elsie Fisher, Charlie B. Foster, Madison Hu, Denny McAuliffe, Simon Downes Toney, Lola Lafia Sales Agent: Obscured Pictures Premiered: March 12, 2026 Key Quote: Campbell said of the film’s setting, “I discovered Sparks, Nevada, through working with Lola, producer of the film, on research in the Black Hawk Desert, which is north of Sparks and Reno. And we fell in love with the reservoir, which is where half of the movie is set, which is in a small town called Gerlach, Nevada. So, we had to get to that area by driving through Reno and Sparks, and we had already decided that we were going to make a coming-of-age film, and I wanted to find somewhere that was kind of listless, atmospherically kind of vast, felt like somewhere you needed to escape, but also had kind of decaying, romantic qualities that would look good on camera. So, we just decided after one trip there … to make a movie that was set there.” Deadline Studio at SXSW presented by Redbreast Irish Whiskey.
The heat is on! Just watch the work of Swiss documentary filmmaker Jacqueline Zünd (Where We Belong, Almost There, Goodnight Nobody).
She premiered her fiction feature debut, Don’t Let the Sun, at the Locarno Film Festival last year, bringing us a near-future-set cinematic contemplation of how external factors, namely climate change, affect and shape our inner worlds. Now, Zünd is getting ready to world premiere a film that dives into the same themes in a different, namely documentary, and very provocative form.
The new film, aptly called Heat, will debut at the 57th edition of the Visions du Réel (VdR) doc festival in Nyon, Switzerland, on April 20. It will screen in the international feature film competition of the fest, which opens on Friday, April 17, and runs through April 26.
Featuring highly stylized imagery and sound to bring the heat to viewers in all its intensity, the doc is set in the Persian Gulf, “one of the hottest regions in the world,” with temperatures crossing the 50 degrees Celsius/120 degrees Fahrenheit mark, and a place where “the heat becomes a force that shapes human existence,” as the press notes highlight. “The film invites us to consider heat’s impact on character, economic dynamics, and social inequalities. Heat melts layers to reveal what lies beneath the climate crisis, within human beings.”
Produced by Louis Mataré of Lomotion AG, in co-production with Real Film GmbH, Heat features cinematography by Nikolai von Graevenitz and was edited by Gion-Reto Killias.
‘Heat,’ courtesy of Lomotion
The people we meet on screen include Sophy, a young Kenyan who works in an ice bar designed to provide chilly coldness for wealthy people in Dubai, and Essa in Kuwait, a meteorologist who struggles to sound the alarm on climate realities.
“I want to translate heat visually without illustrating it, without falling for clichéd images; I‘m looking for a kind of cinematic Fata Morgana,” Zünd highlights in a director’s statement. “Is this little black figure in the middle of the desert with a tree in his hand real or not?”
Heat producer Mataré lauds the filmmaker’s approach for blending “societal relevance with a striking aesthetic,” adding: “Her protagonists bring emotional depth to themes of social inequality, highlighted through visually stunning contrasts. Heat incorporates techniques from Jacqueline’s earlier films, such as structuring narratives around a single day and employing inner voices.”
THR can now exclusively premiere a trailer for Heat, which turns up, well, the heat. So, get ready for sand and sun, but without much fun! Is that a mirage? You tell us! This one may feel too hot to handle for some viewers, so watch with caution – before reading what Zünd told THR about the documentary.
You painted a near-future picture for us of a world and its people affected by climate change in Don’t Let the Sun, which premiered at Locarno last year.How much do you consider Heat its documentary sibling and how did the two films inspire each other? I think I recognized some visuals and ideas that connected both…
To me, the two films belong together; I see them as companion pieces. Quite early on in the development phase of my feature film Don’t Let the Sun, the idea arose to create a documentary on the same topic. During my research, I read so many fascinating things that didn’t find a place in the fiction – it felt like an invitation.
It was a wonderful experience to see how the two films enriched and inspired each other. I was able to translate some elements from the documentary into the fiction, but also vice versa. At times, it was startling to find certain details from the fiction reflected in real life.
Both films explore the impact of temperatures on the inner lives and relationships of people. While watching Heat, I was surprised by how the climate adds another division between the privileged and people who are struggling.What surprised you the most about what you found? And how early did you figure out that migrants are among the people struggling the most?
Heat is like a magnifying glass, amplifying and intensifying character traits, moods, and emotions, but first and foremost, economic and social disparities.
It is striking to see the gap between the rich and the poor. Once the temperature reaches a certain point, those who can afford it no longer leave their homes; they live exclusively in air-conditioned environments, jog indoors, eat and socialize in malls, or have delivery drivers bring what they need right to their doorsteps.
‘Heat,’ courtesy of Lomotion
It is primarily migrants – who are forced to work outdoors – who suffer from the heat. In the Arabian Gulf, many migrant workers die of heatstroke every year, but this is not something that is allowed to be discussed.
You didn’t bring us a more traditional doc with sit-down interviews with experts and data charts but really brought the heat to the screen and through the screen and gave us a real sensory experience. How did you think about and approach what you wanted to transport and the visual, audio and other styles you chose to achieve that?
I was interested in heat as a state and a borderline experience. Since my first film, Goodnight Nobody, in which I dedicated myself to insomnia, I have been interested in making conditions cinematically tangible and experienceable.
I wanted to translate heat visually, like a cinematic mirage. The film captures the vertigo, the loss of control, and the distortion of perception, making the heat physically tangible.
‘Heat,’ courtesy of Lomotion
Will you work on more climate-related films next or are you for now ready to dive into other topics?
No, I need a break now. I have other topics waiting for me to explore!
Several unverified accounts have fueled the rumour, circulating a purported Instagram story from Selena Gomez’s profile that they claim was later deleted.
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco exchanged vows in September 2025. (Photo Credit: Instagram)
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco are one of the most loved celebrity couples globally. Every time they step out together or share glimpses of their relationship online, they leave fans swooning. Of late, the rumours around their marriage have been doing the rounds on social media. It is being alleged that the couple is heading for a divorce. Several unverified accounts have fueled the rumour, circulating a purported Instagram story from her profile that they claim was later deleted.
The Instagram story reportedly read, “Just clearing things up…I’m single. No drama, no hidden story, just focusing on myself and my peace for now.”
Sharing pictures of Selena and Benny, one user wrote on X, “Allegedly actress Selena Gomez and her husband Benny blanco are currently going through a marital issue. It is reported that Selena Gomez caught Benny blanco cheating through texts she saw with another celebrity who is currently not confirmed yet. Sources close to the two have claimed that Selena have apparently left their home in Los Angeles and moved to her own apartment in California.”
Allegedly actress Selena Gomez and her husband Benny blanco are currently going through a marital issue. It is reported that Selena Gomez caught Benny blanco cheating through texts she saw with another celebrity who is currently not confirmed yet. Sources close to the two have… pic.twitter.com/8qCXO67tTB— Joe (@Joethecreator99) April 16, 2026
However, Grok fact-checked the claims of the now-deleted Instagram story on the split and rubbished the rumours. The response read, “No, this isn’t confirmed. No official statement from Selena Gomez, Benny Blanco, or any major outlet backs the “I’m single” Instagram story claim. They married in Sept 2025 and were posting as a couple into early April 2026 (including her calling herself “Mrs. Blanco”). This looks like another unverified rumor spreading with old photos and a screenshot.”
This is not the first time that Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco have faced such rumors. In the past, too, throughout Benny’s dirty feet row, people believed they would go their separate ways. However, Selena put an end to the speculations after she kissed his feet during a podcast. The couple seems unbothered by the online chatter.
After dating for quite some time, Benny Blanco and Selena Gomez got married in a private ceremony in Santa Barbara on September 27, 2025.
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April 17, 2026, 12:06 IST
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Paramount Skydance held its first upfronts presentation for advertisers Thursday, gathering media buyers, talent and reporters on the Melrose Avenue lot to hear the new-ish company’s marketing pitch.
Paramount will continue the road show in the coming days, with several more meetings and events planned in markets including New York. But this week’s event — kicked off by CEO David Ellison, who had just made an appearance earlier in the day in Las Vegas for the company’s CinemaCon presentation — was perhaps the largest.
Coming a day after CBS unveiled its fall schedule — and had its own “CBS Fest” on the Paramount lot — it was the entire company’s turn to give its comprehensive pitch. Before Ellison came out, a new company branding video — narrated by Tom Cruise — showcased talent on the Paramount lot and featured heavy hitter creatives like Jerry Bruckheimer, James Cameron, the Duffer Brothers, Mark Wahlberg and Will Smith. (The same sizzle reel ran at CinemaCon earlier that day.)
“This moment is especially meaningful for us as it marks the first upfront as the new Paramount,” Ellison said, opening the upfront inside Paramount’s Sherry Lansing Theatre. “We launched Paramount Skydance nearly nine months ago, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the progress and momentum we’ve achieved in a relatively short period of time. Our goal is to build a leading media and entertainment company that strengthens competition, better serves the creative community and delivers even more compelling stories to audiences around the world.”
As a nod to the importance of live sports for the company, “The NFL Today” anchor James Brown hosted the upfront and introduced various execs.
There was no mention of the company’s impending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, but plenty of talk about how the company was focused on tech. Paramount also took the time to introduce three of its key players: During a sit-down, on-stage segment, chief revenue officer Jay Askinasi interviewed direct-to-consumer chair Cindy Holland and chief product officer Dane Glasgow about why they joined Paramount, and their plans for the future. The trio represent the new regime at Paramount assembled last fall after Ellison’s Skydance Media completed its $8 billion acquisition of Paramount Global from Shari Redstone and National Amusements. Askinasi came to Paramount last October after heading ad sales for Roku and serving as CEO of Publicis Media Exchange U.S.
Holland credited next-day CBS series as “an incredibly important foundation” for Paramount+, in addition to NFL and other simulcast sports. She also credited the Taylor Sheridan series, including, most recently, “The Madison.” “Obviously, the NFL is a huge audience funnel, very large, very diverse, and we want to continue to program against different segments,” she said. “And the job is to increase the programming. We’re also going to welcome the BET+ community to Paramount+ in May. And it’s a privilege and an honor for us to welcome that community and their stories and bringing them to a larger audience as well.”
As for new programming for Paramount+, Holland said she was focused on more “female-forward” content, following the recent success of “The Madison,” starring Michelle Pfeiffer. That includes “Fear Not,” starring Anne Hathaway, and “Discretion,” starring Nicole Kidman and Hathaway.
“The audience for ‘Landman’ is about 50% women, but people perceive it in the slightly more male lens,” Holland said. “And we know that that female-forward ensemble shows, dramas, legal thrillers, soapy thrillers, are things that we were looking for.”
Glasgow also discussed the refocus of PlutoTV on the Gen Z audience: “When we look at our data, specifically for Pluto, the 18 to 34 year old segment is actually the fastest growing segment for us, 30% over the last year,” he said. What that means, the way that people are using our product is changing, and that’s exciting, because that means that we can deliver a whole new set of experiences and capabilities. We have talked publicly about the fact that we are converging the stacks for Pluto and Paramount+. But what that ultimately is going to mean is that we can deliver a significantly better experience for Pluto, and at the same time, we’re going to bring a bunch of new content together. So this summer, we’re going to be relaunching Pluto in a pretty significant way.”
As Varietyrecently reported, Pluto TV just added several The CW staples from the 2000s and 2010s, including “Hart of Dixie,” “Arrow,” “The 100” and “Everwood,” in a bid to program those young adults who have nostalgia for the shows of their youth.
Also during the upfront, Paramount TV Media chair George Cheeks and CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach repeated Wednesday’s news about the Eye network’s fall schedule and its position in the marketplace.
A wide variety of clips included talent such as Helen Mirren (“Mobland”), Michelle Pfeiffer (“The Madison”), Nicole Kidman (“Lioness”), Zoe Saldaña (“Lioness”), Kathy Bates (“Matlock”), Kelly Reilly (“Dutton Ranch”) and Annette Bening (“Dutton Ranch”).
But noticeably, the focus was mostly on Paramount+, CBS Entertainment and CBS Sports — with no mention whatsoever of Paramount’s embattled CBS News division. Cable TV — once the bread and butter of Paramount — went virtually unmentioned, other than a quick flash of “South Park,” a few references to MTV’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and the MTV Video Music Awards. It’s perhaps painfully clear cable is seen as the past, and this is a company now really eager to rebrand itself as tech-first.
“It’s all accelerated by technology,” Askinasi said. “We’re thinking and operating like a platform.”
Profiling threat actors can require synthesizing dozens of intelligence reports across multiple sources. Threat Actor Insights Cards provide comprehensive adversary profiles that you can now query with Ask AI.
With Ask AI on Threat Actor Insights Cards, you can:
Research adversaries faster and with more precision by asking specific questions about campaigns, TTPs, targets, or behavioral shifts. Then, verify the output through citations to the original sources in the Feedly Threat Graph.
We provide six examples to show how it can accelerate your threat actor profiling.
Overview
When a new campaign emerges or an adversary shifts tactics, you need answers fast. Threat Actor Insights Cards help consolidate intelligence about them into a single place. It looks at the most recent OSINT reports, vendor advisories, blog posts, and technical write-ups, all backed by the Feedly Threat Graph. However, you might want the data in a different format or dive deeper with specific queries.
Ask AI on Threat Actor Insights Cards makes it easy to dive deeper, extract specific data, or create threat briefs in a specific format. You can ask specific questions, such as “What infrastructure has this group used in the last 90 days?” or “Which TTPs are they using most frequently?” and get precise, cited answers. The Feedly Threat Graph provides the AI with rich context, so you get precise, actionable answers in the format you need.
Example 1: Customize your executive summary
There’s no single “best” executive summary for all stakeholders. Depending on their needs, they might want it more business risk-focused or more technical. You can use Ask AI to create a summary tailored to your team or stakeholders.
Ask AI Prompt
Generate an executive summary about this Threat Actor for my CISO and the board.
Write a 4–5 sentence, non‑technical summary of the threat actor suitable for an executive threat brief, covering: who they are, what they want, who they target, and why they matter this quarter.
Avoid jargon but keep it specific and action‑oriented.nical sophistication), and Victim (sectors, geographies, selection criteria).
Ask AI Response
Example 2: Diamond Model analysis
A Diamond Model is a structured way of turning raw threat data into actionable intelligence by revealing the connections that matter for detection, attribution, and defense. It can help you identify patterns across campaigns or identify pivot points for deeper analysis. Ask AI can instantly create the Diamond Model so you can focus on cross-adversary analysis.
Ask AI Prompt
Conduct a comprehensive Diamond Model analysis. Include: Adversary (attribution, motivations, capabilities), Infrastructure (domains, IPs, hosting, C2), Capabilities (malware, tools, TTPs, technical sophistication), and Victim (sectors, geographies, selection criteria).
Ask AI Response
Example 3: Dive into key tactics
Often, you just want a quick analysis to understand part of the attack chain. You can simply query the Threat Actor Insights Card to find evidence of how they gained initial access, for example.
Ask AI Prompt
How did this Threat Actor gain initial access to victim environments?
Ask AI Response
Example 4: Understand how behaviors are changing
Most CTI teams have identified a target list of adversaries. They understand these actors well and perform hunts for suspicious behavior. But how do you keep up with their changing behaviors? And how do you quickly develop an understanding of new threat actors who move into your space? You can use Ask AI to help you understand historical behavior patterns and how those have shifted over time.
Ask AI Prompt
Describe the historical targeting pattern of this threat actor: primary regions, industries, victim size (SMB/enterprise/government), and common initial access vectors. Highlight any changes or expansions in targeting over the last 12–24 months.
Ask AI Response
Example 5: Evaluate potential risk to your organization
You hear about new threat actors all the time. In Feedly, you can even monitor for new threat actors targeting companies like yours. Now that you have identified a potential risk, how do you evaluate that risk? You can use Ask AI to analyze historical attack patterns against targets like your company and to assign a risk score, showing the factors used in that assessment.
Ask AI Prompt
Assume my organization is in the [Industry] sector and operates mainly in [Region]. Assess the relevance and risk of this threat actor to my environment. Rate overall risk (1-10) and list the 3 most relevant factors driving that assessment.
Ask AI Response
Example 6: Create intelligence that your SOC can act on now
Arm your SOC team with the technical intelligence elements they need to implement defenses quickly.
Ask AI Prompt
Given what is publicly known about this threat actor’s TTPs, list 5 concrete detections,monitoring, or mitigations a SOC can implement within 1–2 weeks. Reference specific behaviors (e.g., known lateral movement style, C2 patterns) rather than just generic technique names. Include IoCs, detection rules, or any other details to help them take action.
Ask AI Response
Get answers, not just data
Try Ask AI in Threat Actor Insights Cards and extract the exact intelligence you need, with citations to verifiable sources.
Although we’re a little sad that Stuart, Kevin, and Bob won’t be joining, we can’t wait to see what fresh mischief awaits us in Minions & Monsters this summer. The official trailer gave us our first taste back in February, following the Minions as they summon Cthulhu. Illumination dropped another sneak peak at CinemaCon 2026. The two hilariously chaotic new clips see the Minions rise to Hollywood stardom. The first scene places them on set in a gunslinging Western sequence, while the second is full of viking/gladiatorial action.
Illumination
In Minions & Monsters, the Minions really embody what it means to be a struggling actor in Hollywood. The first clip depicts an old Western sequence. It’s very loud and chaotic. We see an outlaw on a horse running away as others chase him. The Minions pile on the back of a wagon to attack those chasing the man. The man is shocked to see the yellow creatures and runs away, but the Minions chase him on top of a moving train. The outlaw waves to someone in a prop plane to rescue him, but the Minions don’t let up. They derail the entire plane, which barrels toward a woman and her baby. The yellow creatures use their collective weight the push the train away just in time.
The Minions eventually corner the man in an alleyway, putting an end to this wild chase. Suddenly, the director yells “CUT!!” He scolds the Minions for ruining everything and kicks them out. That’s showbusiness.
After realizing his boss wants the Minions there, the director finds the yellow creatures and brings them back to the studio. The second clip returns us to set, this time for a viking/gladiator face-off. The Minions, dressed as Roman gladiators, must fight a group of heavily armed men who want them dead. The director tells them to sell the drama; If they fail, they will have to go back to scavenging food. When the vikings charge, Minion chaos ensues. They use tools to fight back against the burly men, including poking one in the eye. To everyone’s surprise, the director says it was perfect. The Minions cheer as the human cast lies in pain.
Illumination
The Minions become big movie stars, which is complicated because they can’t actually speak their lines. Unfortunately, Minion speak isn’t very common in Hollywood. So, two Minions named Henry and James decide to make their own movie. They seek out monsters to be their stars, inciting even more chaos. We just can’t wait to see how it all turns out when the movie hits theaters this summer.
Best Buy’s Ultimate Upgrade Sale kicked off earlier this week, bringing big discounts to hundreds of items through Sunday, April 19. Included in the sale are tons of great gaming and PC hardware, but also a nice collection video games at slashed prices. You can also save on prebuilt gaming PCs, monitors, TVs, headsets, controllers, and even some fun collectibles and trading card game packs. Even some first party Nintendo games are on sale, which is a rare occurrence on their physical media. Whatever you’re into, the sale is packed with all kinds of tech deals, so be sure to give the whole catalogue a once-over to see if anything else strikes your fancy.
Plenty of video games are part of this sale. For Switch owners, Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a few bucks off and a great duology of some of the best 3D platformers around. While you can purchase either title individually on the Nintendo eShop at half the price each, many physical collectors (myself included) much prefer having a box and home for their game, and they don’t become obsolete like a digital download eventually would. For something with a bit more substance and longevity, Monster Hunter Wilds is a great new entry in Capcom’s long-running RPG series, and with free content updates throughout its lifespan you’ll get plenty of bang for your buck.
If you’re like me and enjoy PC gaming but the thought of meticulously building your own rig part by part is a bit intimidating, the Ultimate Upgrade sale offers plenty of nice prebuilt battlestations to get you started. The HP Omen 35L prebuilt gaming PC is a powerful build that will be able to run games at pretty high visual quality, and taking $210 off the sticker price is not a bad deal, especially if you prefer to play your games this way.
This month at the movies we draw your attention to three compelling documentaries on the future of AI, the historic trailblazing courage of a female astronaut, and the inescapable present of colon health. Mix that up with some hockey, nursing, social commentary, neurotic romance and truly spooky fare for your Friday the 13th, for one wild storytelling ride.
YOUNGBLOOD
When You Can Watch: March 6
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Hubert Davis
Cast: Ashton James, Blair Underwood, Shawn Doyle
Why We’re Excited: It’s a reimagining of the 1986 hockey movie starring Rob Lowe. Detroit prodigy Dean Youngblood (Ashton James, Boxcutter) joins a Canadian hockey team in order to show off, really. With his father’s voice in his head (Blair Underwood, Deep Impact) and coach Murray (Shawn Doyle, Star Trek: Discovery) in his face, Dean must decide for himself what it means to be a Black man – on or off the ice. Directed by Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Hubert Davis (Black Ice) after Charles Officer (Akilla’s Escape) helped write it and then passed away, Davis honored Officer’s vision to invert 80’s narratives of masculinity: learn to fight, beat up the bully, get the girl. “For me,” he told Alt A Review, “it was about taking my own personal experiences—my relationship with my dad, my relationship with my sons now—and infusing that into the story to make it feel true.” Film Independent member Allison Sokol is an Associate Producer on Youngblood.
HEEL
When You Can Watch: March 6
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Jan Komasa
Cast: Stephen Graham, Andrea Riseborough, Anson Boon
Why We’re Excited: This psychological thriller stars Spirit Award winner Stephen Graham (Adolescence) and nominee Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie) as a dysfunctional couple trying to rehabilitate a 19-year-old criminal named Tommy (Anson Boon, Pistol). They do this by chaining him up like a dog and attempting to train him accordingly. As the training unfolds, Tommy’s resistance cracks with an occasional show of obedience, but is it just an act to get away? Embracing dystopian allegory and dark comedy, Heel is the latest from Polish Oscar nominee Jan Komasa (Corpus Christi), whose body of work reflects psychological intensity. “It became a kind of thought experiment,” he told TPM. “Everything I’d done before was rooted in realism, so this was about opening new doors.” Film Independent member Naomi Despres is an Executive Producer.
ANDRÉ IS AN IDIOT
When You Can Watch: March 6
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Tony Benna
Cast: André Ricciardi
Why We’re Excited: Spirit Award nominee Tony Benna documents the last days of a San Francisco advertising professional with a quirky lifestyle, a sarcastic wit and stage four colon cancer. Why is André an idiot? Because he could have caught it with a colonoscopy. Following Andre’s last days through chemo, indulging in his curious hobbies, and reflecting on his irreverent life choices is more entertaining than it might seem. Along the way we also meet his wife and two teenage daughters, his best friend, his therapist and many of his colleagues. Not a commercial for how to die, Andréaims to present his version of the experience – and potentially inspire more colonoscopies along the way. Film Independent member Joshua Altman is a Producer.
UNDERTONE
When You Can Watch: March 13
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Writer/Director: Ian Tuason
Cast: Nina Kiri, Adam DiMarco, Michèle Duquet
Why We’re Excited: First-timer Ian Tuason initially imagined this found footage horror film as a podcast, focusing attention on sound. Podcast host Evy (Nina Kiri, The Handmaid’s Tale) listens to these sounds while creating content for her paranormal podcast. Living with and looking after her dying mother in a house full of memories, Evy’s creepy recorded sounds merge with the creepy world she’s living in, haunting her with a parallel experience to the podcast story. Evy’s denial only drags her deeper into an inevitable confrontation with the source of it all – an ancient demon that Tuason claims also visited him. “But I saged my house, and it’s fine now.”
LATE SHIFT
When You Can Watch: March 20
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Writer/Director: Petra Biondina Volpe
Cast: Leonie Benesch, Sonja Riesen, Alireza Bayram
Why We’re Excited: Swiss-Italian filmmaker Petra Volpe (Dreamland) consulted with dozens of nurses for this workplace thriller following Floria (Leonie Benesch, September 5) through one shift at the hospital. There’s no supernatural twist to this drama, it’s simply the riveting profile of an ordinary surgical nurse on any given day – a tense, urgent race against the clock. Volpe’s love letter to nurses prioritizes the critical frontlines of patient care, the person most likely to notice any change or be called upon to meet any need. But with one colleague absent from an already understaffed ward, it’s Floria against the laws of physics as she meets each stressful situation with humane attentiveness and professionalism – until she makes a fatal mistake.
RICKY
When You Can Watch: March 20
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Rashad Frett
Cast: Titus Welliver, Stephan James, Sheryl Lee Ralph
Why We’re Excited: Thrust back into a world he doesn’t trust and hasn’t seen in fifteen years, Ricardo Smith (Stephan James, Spirit Award-winner If Beale Street Could Talk) is making the effort to be a law-abiding citizen. At the age of 30, he’s spent half his life behind bars and is still growing up. But challenges to his freedom arise, such as gainful employment – a condition of his parole overseen by Joanne (Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary) – and making choices that could just as easily land him in danger as not. It’s a razor’s edge of justice, and Ricky’s journey is inspired by filmmaker Rashad Frett’s documentary work with the criminal justice system in Connecticut. Film Independent members Robina Riccitiello is an Executive Producer and Marci Wiseman is Co-Executive Producer.
SPACEWOMAN
When You Can Watch: March 20
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Hannah Berryman
Cast: Eileen Collins
Why We’re Excited: This documentary from Hannah Berryman (Rockfield: the Studio on the Farm)explores human risk-taking through the eyes of the first woman to pilot and command a spacecraft, Eileen Collins. From her difficult growing up years to breaking through layers of glass ceilings, Collins copes with fear in increasingly dangerous space shuttle missions. “Piloting was such a testosterone-driven arena in the 1970s and ’80s, the world of Top Gun,” Berryman told Variety. “With Eileen, I was interested in how her difficult background had, in a way, helped her to conquer fear more easily, a skill she’d had to develop as a child.”
FANTASY LIFE
When You Can Watch: March 27
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Writer/Director: Matthew Shear
Cast: Amanda Peet, Matthew Shear, Bob Balaban
Why We’re Excited: First-time director Matthew Shear also stars (Mistress America) as Sam, who becomes the ‘manny’ for Dianne (Amanda Peet, Spirit Award-winning Please Give) who is an actor married to a musician, living a well-to-do but creatively frustrated New York life. What ensues is a quirky comedy of backward romance, as Sam falls for Dianne with an attentive devotion that turns her head. When Sam accompanies the whole family on vacation with all four grandparents (one of whom is Sam’s therapist), the fantasy meets real life with wry honesty. Film Independent members David Bernon, Emily McCann Lesser, and Sam Slater are Producers.
THE AI DOC: OR HOW I BECAME AN APOCALOPTIMIST
When You Can Watch: March 27
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Directors: Daniel Roher, Charlie Tyrell
Cast: Sam Altman, Daniela Amodei, Dario Amodei
Why We’re Excited: Apart from coining a new word (Apocaloptimist is fun to say), Oscar-winning documentarian Daniel Roher (Navalny) teams up with fellow dad-to-be Charlie Tyrell (My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes) to find out what AI really means for the future. Rather than draw definite conclusions, the filmmakers elicit perspectives from tech giants and dozens of experts as well as Roher and his partner, filmmaker Caroline Lindy (Your Monster) in animated vignettes. Indulging curiosity in the face of such potential (for better and worse), the filmmakers present a compelling conversation starter on the future of human jobs, development and life in general – with hope and dread right alongside. Film Independent members Diane Becker is a Producer and EJ Lykes is an Associate Producer.
Programmer’s Pick: SLANTED
When You Can Watch: March 13
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Writer/Director: Amy Wang
Cast: Shirley Chen, Mckenna Grace, Elaine Hendrix
Why We’re Excited:From Film Independent Lead Programmer Jenn Wilson:
Film Independent member B. Quinn Curry is Executive Producer.
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Warning: Spoilers for The Pitt season two finale, ahead.
Sepideh Moafi filmed a call with Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi’s ex-husband that viewers didn’t get to see during The Pitt’s season-two finale.
Episode 15 picks right up with the revelation that the Pitt’s new senior attending is experiencing a resurgence of absence seizures she’s battled since a childhood case of viral meningitis. But after coming to Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) for advice from a trusted colleague, Al-Hashimi’s met with threats against her career, accused of putting patients in danger, and told she shouldn’t even get behind the wheel of a car.
“The way he acts and reacts and punishes her for it is her worst nightmare,” the 40-year-old Iranian-American actor tells Glamour. “Everything that she’s feared her whole entire life is confirmed, right? ‘If I’m honest about this, then I will lose everything.’”
It’s particularly notable, therefore, that the last time we do see Dr. Al-Hashimi is not inside the hospital, but behind the wheel of her sensible silver Volvo XC90. “She gets in the car in an act of defiance because she would never do this on any other day,” Moafi continues. “She knows that she’s had two seizures, and while that doesn’t threaten her medical license—even though Robby is threatening her license—it does compromise her position as a driver. She’s been through this before, but it’s almost as if she’s being pulled into her childhood or something. She stomps her feet and says, ‘Fuck you, I can do this.’”
Gone is the structured Lululemon jacket that represented Al-Hashimi’s poised, almost rigid approach to running the Emergency Department, in contrast to Dr. Robby’s free-wheeling management style—and so, it seems, is the infallible doctor that shook off all of Dr. Robby’s barbs throughout the season as she attempted to gain a foothold in the Pitt so he could embark on a three-month sabbatical on his beat-up motorcycle.
HBOMAX
But the second Al-Hashimi pulls out of her parking spot in that final scene, Moafi says, she imagined her son in the backseat and reconsidered, calling up her ex-husband to ask him to keep their kid overnight.
“There’s this moment where he says, ‘Is everything okay?’ And she says, ‘Yeah, I’m just having car troubles and running late. I’ll pick him up in the morning.’ And he says, ‘Do you want me to pick you up?’” Moafi says, getting slightly choked up at the memory. “It’s just like a stab in her heart, and she takes a beat, tries to breathe, and in the most convincing performance of her life, says, ‘No, I’m fine. I’m good. I have it taken care of. Thank you.’ Gets off the phone and just sobs.”
Set up for a potential arranged marriage, two young adults burdened by social pressures and self-doubt begin to find love and acceptance in each other.
Age Ratings
Certificate:Parental Guidance suggested
BBFC Insight: Upsetting scenes, sex references, language, violence
SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for “9:00 pm,” the Season 2 finale of “The Pitt,” now streaming on HBO Max.
Supriya Ganesh‘s Dr. Mohan said her goodbyes(ish) on the Season 2 finale of “The Pitt.” After spending most of her shift butting heads with Noah Wyle‘s Dr. Robby, the pair finally have a civilized discussion during the finale, as she admits, “Maybe I will go into geriatrics.”
He responded that it was a smart choice before sharing that he, too, had to reevaluate when his life didn’t turn out as planned. Ultimately, the two bury the hatchet, as she tells him, “Have a good trip. Please be safe. We need you here, even if you can be a dick sometimes. Good luck.” He replies, “You too.”
Variety broke the news earlier this month that Ganesh will not be returning as Dr. Mohan, and Ayesha Harris (who plays night shift resident Dr. Parker Ellis) will be promoted to series regular. But creator R. Scott Gemmill is still figuring out any other changes that could be coming as they get into planning next season.
“We’re still trying to figure that out ourselves. But we’ll definitely see some new faces. That’s part of the fun of the show — seeing people cycle through,” he says.
So, does that mean we could see Mohan again in the future?
“I don’t know. I don’t think so, but you never know,” Gemmill says. “If there’s a good reason and a good story or if the show demands it, if the storylines demand it, for sure. We’re still in some of the early stages of figuring out Season 3.”
Dr. Al-Hashimi’s job security is also up in the air with her revelation that she had two seizures during the shift. But it’s likely Sepideh Moafi will be back in Season 3 as Gemmill notes, “We hope to explore some stuff with her.”
“It’s an inevitability that’s going to happen every season with this show because as writers we’re hard pressed to figure out what a lapse of time we can have and keep most of the ensemble together realistically,” Wyle said. “Emergency rooms have a high revolving door. As always, we try to bring in new characters or promote from within as we go through these cast changes and try to keep the storylines fresh, but obviously, Supriya has been a huge part of our show since the beginning. Dr. Mohan is a beloved character, and I love playing with her and working with Supriya, and we wish her all the best in her next endeavors, and we’re going to miss her.”
Gemmill added that the turnaround is the “nature of the show” due to its structure. “Unfortunately, the way the medical profession works, you come in, you learn, you move on, and we want to try and be as truthful to that process as possible,” he told Variety. “So we’re going to turn over our cast. But I think it’s a great launching pad for people, and that’s the best we can do.”
International Documentary Association (IDA) announced that Jonathan Gray, attorney and producer, Susan Margolin, producer and a pioneer of digital distribution, Jennifer Tiexiera, filmmaker and co-founder of Lady & Bird, and Katie Townsend, litigator and previous Deputy Executive Director & Legal Director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, have joined its board of directors alongsideIna Fichman (President), Chris Albert (Secretary), Maria Agui-Carter (Treasurer), Alfred Clinton Perry, Bob Berney, Paula Ossandón Cabrera, Inti Cordera, Toni Kamau, and Orwa Nyrabia, Chris Perez, Nathalie Seaver, Joel Simon, and Luis González Zaffaroni. Learn more about the IDA Board of Directors at documentary.org/about-us/board-of-directors
Ina Fichman, Board President, said: “Jennifer, Jonathan, Katie, and Susan bring deep knowledge and a shared commitment to advocacy for documentary filmmakers. With eleven new members in the last eighteen months, spanning seven countries, our board represents more areas of expertise and experience than it has in years — better positioning us to represent the full breadth of the community we serve.”
Dominic Asmall Willsdon, Executive Director of IDA, said: “The documentary community is navigating real pressures right now — on creative freedom, on the ability to reach audiences, and the safety of filmmakers doing dangerous work. The experience and commitment of this board make IDA better equipped to defend the needs of the field.”
Meet IDA’s New Board Members
Jonathan Gray has been an attorney, producer, and advisor in the documentary film community for over 30 years. Jonathan has produced and executive produced numerous documentary films, including Anxiety Club (2024 Doc NYC); Beyond the Gaze: Jule Campbell’s Swimsuit Issue (2024 Woodstock Film Festival), Afghan Dreamers (2022 Paramount+); Truman and Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation (2020 Hamptons Film Festival); and Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (2011 Venice International Film Festival). Jonathan has also provided counsel in connection with a multitude of documentary films including Cover Up (2025 Venice International Film Festival); All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2023 Oscar Nominee for Best Documentary Feature); They Call Me Magic (2022 Apple TV+); American Factory (2020 Oscar Winner for Best Documentary Feature); One Child Nation (2020 Primetime Emmy Nominee for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking); and Life, Animated (2017 Oscar Nominee for Best Documentary Feature).
Susan Margolin is an award-winning documentary film producer and a pioneer of digital distribution, with over 25 years of experience in independent film and media. She co-founded New Video/Docurama Films in 1992, growing it into a leading distributor of independent films, series, and documentaries before selling the company to Cinedigm in 2012. In 2016, Margolin founded St. Marks Productions, producing critically acclaimed feature films including HBO’s A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting and Academy Award-shortlisted Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy. Her other producing credits include A Crime on the Bayou, The Rape of Recy Taylor, Paper Children, and Monk in Pieces. She is also an Executive Producer on Zeva Oelbaum and Sabine Krayenbühl’s Obsessed with Light, Judith Helfand’s Love & Stuff, and Cheryl Miller Houser’s Generation Startup, among others. Margolin also serves on the boards of Chicken & Egg Films and Manhattan Neighborhood Network, and on the advisory boards of NYWIFT and Documentary Producers Alliance. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, BAFTA, and the Producers Guild of America.
Jennifer Tiexiera is an award-winning filmmaker and one of the co-founders of Lady & Bird, a female-led documentary production company focused on telling stories from underrepresented voices. She is known for directing SPEAK (2025 Sundance Film Festival), Rebbeca (2025 TriBeCa Film Festival), the Emmy-nominated HBO series Unveiled: Surviving La Luz del Mundo, Subject (2022 TriBeCa Film Festival), and PS Burn This Letter Please (2020 Tribeca Film Festival and winner of the Audience Award at the 2020 OutFest Film Festival). As an editor and producer, she is known for 17 Blocks (winner of the Best Editing Award at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival), A Suitable Girl (winner of the Albert Maysles Award at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival), and Dragonslayer (2011 SXSW Documentary Grand Jury Winner). She is a proud member of BGDM, IDA, WIF, Film Fatales, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and has recently served as a mentor for the inaugural HBO Documentary Films and The Gotham Film & Media Institute’s Documentary Development Initiative, The Sundance Institute Documentary Edit and Story Lab Fellowship, and The Academy Gold Mentorship Program.
Katie Townsend is a Partner in the Los Angeles area and Washington, D.C. offices of Gibson Dunn, a member of the firm’s Litigation and Media, Entertainment & Technology Practice groups, and Co-Chair of the firm’s First Amendment and Free Expression Practice group. An accomplished litigator with extensive experience in media and First Amendment law, Katie’s practice focuses on representing and advising individual and corporate clients in the media, entertainment, and technology industries. Katie previously served as the Deputy Executive Director & Legal Director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, where she oversaw the non-profit organization’s legal services portfolio, including its amicus curiae practice and the litigation and legal advising work of Reporters Committee attorneys. In that role, she represented news organizations and individual journalists, including documentary filmmakers, in media and First Amendment litigation in state and federal courts across the country.
Residents in Ontario’s Muskoka region are bracing for worsening conditions as water levels surge in Bracebridge, with the next 24 to 48 hours expected to be critical.
In the heart of cottage country, the river is roaring, with water rushing over Bracebridge Falls and pushing levels higher than they have been in years.
Officials say the situation is already significant, though there is hope it will not reach the levels seen in 2019, when seasonal flooding and heavy rainfall forced the town to declare a state of emergency.
Mayor Rick Maloney said the outlook will depend on water flowing south from northern areas.
“It’ll all depend what’s coming down from the north and that will be something we see in the next 24 hours,” he said.
Some residents say they are already feeling the impact.
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The Jonkman family, who bought their cottage last summer, are working to keep rising water at bay after their backyard became submerged.
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“We knew about the flood that happened in 2019 and you think, OK, maybe that’s the one-in-100-year flood, but it’s creeping up,” said Janet Jonkman.
Neighbours have been working around the clock to fill sandbags and limit damage.
One resident, Bill Talbot, who has lived in the area for nearly 14 years, said this is the second-worst flooding he has seen.
Santa’s Village, a well-known local theme park, has been partially submerged just weeks before its scheduled opening next month.
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Meanwhile, a popular local attraction, Santa’s Village theme park, is partially underwater ahead of its planned opening next month.
A spokesperson said the flooded areas mainly involve ride infrastructure and expressed hope the situation does not worsen.
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Across the region, residents and officials say they are closely monitoring conditions, with some describing water volumes over the falls as nearing historic levels.
The town is warning people in areas that may have become isolated due to washed-out roads to remain cautious and stay put.
Grief is one of the most confounding aspects of the human experience. To live is to experience loss, and yet, we are never truly prepared. This type of agony is always a detriment to mental health, even more so when someone is already predisposed to instability. In the first Broadway revival of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Auburn’s Tony Award-winning play, “Proof,” a young woman reels from her father’s death amid her own rapidly deteriorating mental health. Tormented by her own fears, doubted by her father’s peers, and infantilized by her older sister, Catherine (Ayo Edebiri in her Broadway debut) walks the line between self-confidence and deep distrust. The play has gripping themes and a thrilling cast. However, as the narrative presses forward, it becomes clear that Edebiri isn’t the best fit for the role. Directed by Thomas Kail, “Proof” opens on the Southside of Chicago sometime in the 1990s. Catherine (Edebiri) is seen nodding off on the back porch of her family home. Her father, Robert (a commanding Don Cheadle in his Broadway debut), comes out to greet her. It’s Catherine’s 25th birthday. The mathematical genius is eager to celebrate his youngest daughter with a bottle of champagne and some math banter. Unfortunately, Catherine would rather wallow in her own depression. A brilliant mathematician in her own right, Catherine reflects on Robert’s mental illness and how it has eroded her life. His condition has driven him away from the halls of the University of Chicago. For years, he has been sequestered in their house, ranting, raving and writing nonsensical math equations in hundreds of notebooks. Exhausted by her plight, Catherine also wonders if Robert’s schizophrenia is hereditary. After all, though the two are conversing on her birthday, the audience learns that Robert died a week prior. From there, amid a series of cleverly placed flashbacks, viewers learn more about Catherine and Robert’s father-daughter bond. The flashbacks reveal Robert’s descent into madness and the personal and professional sacrifices Catherine has made as a result. Things come to a head in the days leading up to the mathematician’s funeral. Hal (Jin Ha), one of Robert’s brightest students, begins looking through the professor’s notebooks. The young professor’s constant presence forces Catherine to confront her self-inflicted loneliness and her long-concealed mathematical mastery. When her Type A, but well-meaning older sister Claire (the ever-astounding Kara Young) arrives from New York to try to pull Catherine out of her despair, the things Catherine has long buried begin to surface. Edebiri and Young’s sisterly dynamic is one of the most authentic and witty aspects of the production. The play is set in a single location, a roomy back porch designed by Teresa L. Williams. The ingenious use of light, led by Amada Zieve, effortlessly guides the audience through the varied time and seasonal changes explored in “Proof.” The scenic design and lighting shifts, incorporated into the house itself, are paired with original music by Kris Bowers. Together, they aid in “Proof’s” ever-changing tone and atmosphere. As it did during its 2000 Broadway debut starring Mary-Louise Parker, and later in the 2005 film of the same name starring Gwyneth Paltrow, “Proof” continues to resonate. The play highlights the immense sacrifice of caregiving — a role often thrust upon women. It also explores sexism in academia and the terror of mental instability. Additionally, it depicts how familial legacy can shape people’s self-perception, capabilities and identities. Though dramatic at its core, this revival infuses a levity and sarcasm that alleviate much of its heaviness. While Edebiri is fantastic in the wittier sequences, her dramatic turns lack an effortless authenticity. Cheadle is sequestered mostly to the second act, which means Edebiri is forced to carry the majority of Act I alone. As a result, the production doesn’t feel as emotionally grounded as it should. “Proof” remains a scintillating play. Its questions about hereditary mental illness, the truth, and who can be labeled a genius — especially with a Black woman at the center — continue to resonate. Cheadle, Young, and Ha deliver effortless portrayals. They anchor the story in time and space with dynamic, heartfelt performances. Yet, because Edebiri simply doesn’t work as the lead, this revival doesn’t quite knock it out of the park.
Note: This story contains spoilers from “Hacks” Season 5, Episode 2.
The childhood dreams of Hannah Einbinder’s Ava — as well as many “Hacks” fans — came true in Season 5, Episode 2, when pop star Jesse McCartney appeared in a cameo to sing his 2000s hit “Beautiful Soul” at Ava’s birthday party.
The appearance, which has remained under wraps until the episode’s debut, came together years after McCartney first DM’ed with Einbinder after watching “Hacks” Season 1 with his wife.
“We fell in love with the show, and then a buddy of mine hits me up like a week later, and he’s like, ‘Hey, have you seen “Hacks?”‘ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s a great show,’ and he says, ‘No, no. Did you see her bedroom?’” McCartney went back and watched the season and sure enough, he had missed that inside Ava’s bedroom there was a poster of him “circa teen Tiger Beat era.”
McCartney then DM’ed Einbinder, whom he had never met, singing praises of the show and her performance, while also asking, “Was that me on your bedroom wall?”
“She wrote back very graciously: ‘Hey, I’m a huge fan. I grew up listening to your music, and when the producers asked me what would be on Ava’s bedroom wall, I told them it would be you anyway,’” McCartney recalled, noting that he told her if ever there was a time she should want him to come on the show to let her know. Five seasons later, Einbinder cashed in the favor, providing what McCartney calls a “full circle moment.”
McCartney’s cameo was pretty quick, with the pop star recalling he performed “Beautiful Soul” about half a dozen times, with plenty of improv happening in between and after the performance. “I was only on set for a couple hours — it was basically a cameo, but … it was great,” McCartney said. “I got to meet the whole cast and crew, and everyone was so friendly, and just an amazing group of actors that [are] on the top of their game.”
While McCartney clarified he didn’t know the context of the scene while shooting, noting “they’re very hush-hush about the material,” he did recall lots of crying from Einbinder.
“She’s like crying in almost every shot — and I’m not even sure that that was supposed to be in the script,” he said. “And then I saw her at the premiere, and she’s like, ‘It was really hard to find a take where I wasn’t crying in the scene’ … It was really sweet, and obviously getting to work with Jean and Hannah was such an honor.”
“It was completely real — I was sobbing every single take,” Einbinder told TheWrap, recalling she was “crying, screaming, throwing up” when she learned of his cameo. “It was so authentic, because I actually was a Jesse McCartney Stan. I had his posters on my wall from Tiger Beat magazine. I loved him so much, and still do. He’s such a cool guy. He’s really nice.”
McCartney’s performance comes at a time when y2k nostalgia is at an all-time high, with “Hannah Montana” marking its 20th anniversary while 2016 throwbacks enter the zeitgeist.
“What makes it even more nostalgic is the fact that you had to be there,” McCartney said, noting that while there were some chat sites like AOL, the immediate connection on social media “was not at our disposal the way it is now. You really had to be there and be in that moment to remember those things, so if you were there, I think it makes the nostalgia even more special.”
McCartney experienced a “nostalgia bomb” as he toured with the Jonas Brothers for six weeks just after his own tour last fall, but noted his biggest project right now is his 11-month-old son.
“I’m probably going to tour hopefully again next year, but at this point, I just want to sort of be home and not miss these super special moments that you’ll never get back,” he said.
Sonny Atkins and AJ McLauchlin, the editor and colorist behind the A24 horror movie “Undertone,” sat down with Variety’s Angelique Jackson to discuss how they brought the podcast horror film to life during a Variety & Adobe Creative Collaborators panel at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
Both Atkins and McLauchlin described the project as an “easy yes.” The debut feature from writer-director Ian Tuason follows a popular paranormal podcast host as she becomes haunted by anonymous, mysterious recordings.
For McLauchlin, much of his job as the colorist was to make sure the film looked as spooky as it felt. “So much of this movie takes place in the shadows. With every movie, the biggest conversation is how dark do you go? How much negative space can you have on screen?” he said. “There’s so many moments, without giving anything away, where the image lives in that liminal space between what you can barely see… so if you’re not paying attention, you will miss some things in the shadows.”
Another major part of “Undertone” was the collaboration between Tuason and the creative team, Atkins explained. “[Ian Tuason] sent me the most detailed document I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Atkins. “It had every frame mapped out, and most of my job was trying to make sure that his really, really precise, keen vision was [something] I could bring to fruition.”
It worked out; while the film is Atkins’ first feature and foray into horror, his background in editing commercials gave him a guide in how to ensure everything was communicated effectively and efficiently. “Most editors start with a really long assembly, and I chopped everything out. I think my first cut was 60 minutes long,” he said. “And then the process was adding flesh back onto a skeleton that we knew worked and really extending long takes and keeping you at the edge.”
Both Atkins and McLauchlin praised the director for his eagerness to collaborate. “I had all the runway in the world, and whenever it came down to any question, it was just turn to Ian and you get the thumbs up or he would just give the simplest note,” said McLauchlin. “It was a dream. It’s the best kind of job to work on where you just have all the room in the world to try whatever and then have someone who just knows what’s going on and you can always defer [to].”
Wrapping up the conversation, Atkins noted that for aspiring editors, sometimes the most important part of the job is being able to show someone what doesn’t work: “Editing is 10% of the job… Sometimes, as an editor, you do just have to be someone’s hands to show them, ‘Hey, this doesn’t work,’ or ‘Hey, this does work.’” For budding colorists, McLauchlin recommended putting your ego aside: “Don’t worry about making mistakes, because that’s where you find good things. Just fail and keep going.”
Seven months after the dismembered body of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found in the trunk of his impounded Tesla, singer David Anthony Burke has been arrested.
Los Angeles Police Department said the artist known as D4vd, 21, is being held without bail after Hernandez’s remains were found on Sept. 8 in the front trunk of the vehicle registered to Burke, which had been parked in the Hollywood Hills for weeks before it was towed. CNS reported that Burke’s case will be presented before the DA’s office on Monday.
Hernandez’s mother, based in Lake Elsinore, previously reported her daughter missing in 2024, noting she had a boyfriend named David, with whom she was last seen going to a movie. Burke also has a “shhh” tattoo on his finger matching Hernandez.
The Tesla was found abandoned on the 1300 block of Doheny Place in Los Angeles, not far from the home rented by Burke.
Previous reports suggest that Burke may have had help from another person in dismembering Hernandez’s body.
Avengers: Doomsdayjust dropped an intense brand new trailer at CinemaCon. Marvel Studios already launched Avengers: Doomsday‘s marketing campaign at the tail end of 2025, one year out from its December 18, 2026, release date. The unique campaign saw four short teasers released weekly, first in theaters and later online, each spotlighting one of the movie’s heroes or factions, including Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, the returning Fox X-Men heroes, and the Fantastic Four, Wakandans, and Talokanil.
As always, Disney is making its presence known at CinemaCon with new footage from its biggest releases of the year, including Avengers: Doomsday, shown only to its limited attendees. Still, The Direct was in attendance at the event and has the inside track on all things Doomsday that were shown.
Disney opened its CinemaCon panel by highlighting each of its major studios, including Lucasfilm, Pixar, and Marvel Studios. The MCU’s promotional graphic was the most exciting, as it officially unveiled Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom costume, complete with two homages to major Avengers franchise heroes.
Marvel Studios
The footage opens with the sign for Charles Xavier’s School of Gifted Youngsters on the ground as Doctor Doom declares, “Something’s coming,” speaking in an accent far different from RDJ’s usual tone.Attendees caught their first in-action look at Doctor Doom, crouched and gradually standing up in badass fashion.
The focus then shifted to the former Avengers Tower, where the New Avengers, Fantastic Four, and Sam Wilson’s Avengers all crossed paths, marking an epic crossover. That meeting was, of course, set up with Thunderbolts*‘s post-credits scene that saw Marvel’s First Family arriving on Earth-616.
Marvel Studios offered glimpses of Wakanda and Talokan as Chris Hemsworth’s Thor delivered a speech. That led to one of the trailer’s most tense moments, as the God of Thunder went head-to-head with Doctor Doom.
The trailer teased some of Doomsday‘s Avengers vs. X-Men face-offs, including Channing Tatum’s Gambit vs. Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi, and Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova vs. Rebecca Romjin’s Mystique (disguised as Yelena).
Fans also caught glimpses of Winston Duke’s M’Baku and Ebon Mass-Bachrach’s Thing shaking hands, along with James Marsden’s Cyclops standing in the X-Mansion and Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson, aka Captain America.
Doom and Thor’s one-on-one battle continued in a desolate area, with the God of Thunder jumping down on the big bad with a lightning blast from Stormbreaker, only for him to stop it with one hand, establishing his immense power.
There was also a peak at the long-awaited reunion between two OG Avengers, as Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers simply said “hi, pal” as he greeted Thor. The God of Thunder declared, “That’s not possible,” until Rogers held out his hand for Mjolnir to fly from Thor’s grasp and into his.
The summer of Supergirl is getting closer, as Kara Zor-El’s solo film gets a major new DC Universe update.
CinemaCon 2026 is continuing, as day 2 is focused on Warner Bros. Discovery, bringing DC Studios’ Supergirl into the spotlight at the Las Vegas event, with ScreenRant in attendance. During the presentation, Milly Alcock, Jason Momoa, and director Craig Gillespie were present to show more footage from the DCU installment.
“Supergirl is seen in the desert as a ship lands next to her. She puts on glasses. The ship then flies off the planet and into space. An alien throws up inside the ship. It looks like an airplane, but with aliens. All kinds of creatures akin to the Mos Eisley Cantina in Star Wars. Supergirl talks to the aliens around her. She stands up to defend a kid who is being detained by another alien. Supergirl and the young girl, Ruthye, know each other. Supergirl asks why Ruthye isn’t with Krypto. The ship’s hyphen gets taken over by a bigger spaceship that is overhead. Villains teleport into the ship. Supergirl says they are civilian raiders looking for the ship, fuel, and belongings of the passengers. The girl pulls out a sword, ready to fight. The raiders ask Supergirl for her watch. She takes it out and puts it in their bag.
Supergirl tells Ruthye to put the sword down. The thieves take the sword. Supergirl is angry that the sword got away. Supergirl stands up and says she wants the sword back. She gives them the middle finger. She then begins to take them down one by one. Ruthye helps. Supergirl accidentally hits a civilian. She’s landing in odd spots across the ship, such as the ceiling, the floor, and the laps of other passengers. Supergirl asks the pilot how close they are to their destination, then asks if they can get any closer. Supergirl steals a spacesuit, puts it on, and then gets sucked into the vacuum of space by the raiders.
She’s floating slowly in space. Somber music plays. Ruthye and the rest of the passengers on the ship watch as she floats away. The pilot says, “I knew I should have called in sick today.” Ruthye looks upset as Supergirl gets farther away. Supergirl then smiles, clenches her fist, and begins to take down all of the spider robots attacking the ship for its resources. She gets shot by a laser from the bigger ship and flown farther away into space. She then flies closer towards the sun. The big ship follows her, attempting to catch her. Supergirl stands off against the ship, which shoots a laser at her, but she matches it with her laser vision eyes. She then takes down the ship and removes the fuel/power from it.
A quick montage is then shown of Supergirl talking to the raiders, followed by alien planets. Ruthye tells Supergirl she didn’t know “any of you were still alive” and asks about Superman. Supergirl says he’s “a freaking nerd who sees the good in everyone, and I see the truth.” Superman appears and waves at the camera, saying, “Hi there.” Quick shots of action scenes are shown, including one with Lobo, who says he recognizes Supergirl as “the girl from the dive bar.” Supergirl protects Ruthye in battle before the logo appears.”
The Supergirl cast will see Momoa make his return to the DC brand, trading in his role as Aquaman in the DCEU for DC’s famous bounty hunter, Lobo, in Gunn’s franchise. David Corenswet, who made his debut as Superman in 2025, will appear in his cousin’s solo film this summer, before reprising the role in 2027’s Man of Tomorrow, which starts shooting this month.
Based on Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s Woman of Tomorrow comic, the Supergirl movie marks the second major film release for the DCU, as both of the Kryptonian heroes are getting set up early for the franchise as major players. Alcock debuted as Kara Zor-El in Superman for a special cameo, where she is seen picking up Krypto, who is back for the 2026 entry.
The DCU’s Chapter 1: “Gods and Monsters” line-up for 2026 will continue after Supergirl, as the Batman horror film, Clayface, opens in theaters on October 23. On the small screen, the Lanterns TV show on HBO premieres in August, as it will follow the adventures of John Stewart and Hal Jordan together, with Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler as the respective Emerald Knights.
Supergirl is slated to arrive in theaters on June 26.
Release Date
June 26, 2026
Director
Craig Gillespie
Writers
Ana Nogueira, Otto Binder, Tom King, Al Plastino, Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, Bilquis Evely
Games are delayed all the time, and most of us probably don’t fully trust an announced release date anymore. We’ve almost come to expect a delay announcement to appear on social media, usually paired with a long message and a subdued background.
But sometimes the opposite happens. Potentially for strategic reasons, WB has moved LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight’s release up by a week.
LEGO Batman Legacy of the Dark Knight Has a New Release Date
Originally set to launch on May 29, 2026, Warner Bros. Games has announced that LEGO Batman Legacy of the Dark Knight will now release on May 22, 2026, instead. Here’s the brand new trailer confirming the announcement:
The new trailer doesn’t really have much in it besides the announcement. May 2026 is a fairly crowded month, with several notable releases alongside 007 First Light, Forza Horizon 6, and Bubsy 4D. 007 First Light launches on May 27, 2026, and if I had to guess, WB Games likely moved the release date up to avoid clashing with it.
Image via TT Games
Either way, whatever the reason for this new release date is, it’s good news for everyone looking forward to the latest Batman release from TT Games. LEGO Batman titles have always been a blast, and the Legacy of the Dark Knight takes the bricked crusader to an open-world setting, much like Rocksteady’s Arkham Knight. It also features similar combat mechanics and plenty of fun traversal options.
LEGO Batman Legacy of the Dark Knight Platforms
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam and Epic Games Store). It’s also confirmed for the Nintendo Switch 2, but doesn’t have a release date just yet, which is a bit surprising because we now have a new global date, but not for the Switch 2.
The new release date also changes the advanced access release date. If you pre-order the deluxe edition, you can start playing on May 19, 2026, now. This means you’re technically going to play the game even earlier than its “original” release date if you pre-order the deluxe edition.
2026 is already packed with some incredible releases, and we’re only a few months in. From everything I’ve seen so far about LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, it’s shaping up to be TT Games’ most ambitious title yet, and the jump to open world has even me excited. It’s still a shame that there is no online co-op, especially when there is so much potential for it, thanks to several playable characters, but I can only hope that the next TT Games title is the one that changes that.
If I’m anything, I’m a huge nerd, and I love when there’s a confluence of interests like what I’ve had with Project Hail Mary, which features space, Ryan Gosling, science, creative cinematography, emotional sci-fi storytelling, and music. It’s an incredibly thoughtful film on so many levels.
Which is why I mention music. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve picked up my clarinet, but I still maintain a healthy curiosity about music theory and how music is used in film.
With a trend toward minimalism in scores over the past few years, we haven’t had the big, sweeping, cinematic soundtracks that we used to, which is why Project Hail Mary has been such a breath of fresh air. The score is playful and does not try to blend into the background at all.
And it’s incredibly smart.
In case you haven’t noticed, composer Daniel Pemberton even uses a descending motif derived from an old musical text known as the “Dies Irae.”
Pemberton’s score for Project Hail Mary is built around a specific philosophy, which is another reason why it sounds so different from every other movie out right now.
As documented in Mutant’s liner notes for the complete soundtrack (which I already definitely pre-ordered), directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller described what they wanted with the phrase “hopecore,” and Pemberton built toward an organic, human-centered sound.
He used wood, metal, glass, water, and the human body itself to keep the score tactile and emotionally grounded. He worked with two London choirs and the Wells Cathedral school children’s choir for human voices.
As Pemberton told IndieWire, the unifying idea of the score was to subconsciously connect the audience to humanity because Grace represents humanity’s last chance.
Pemberton used the Dies Irae throughout the soundtrack but prominently in “Time Go Fishing,” embedded above.
In this part of the film, Grace and Rocky embark on a mission to collect Taumoeba from Adrian’s atmosphere, hoping it will save both their suns. It’s extremely dangerous, involving a low orbit and a spacewalk.
Jemma J. Jeffery has a great video on the use of the theme in this score. She talks about how it’s used to underscore the life-and-death stakes for its characters, as well as how the theme is iterated into more hopeful tones to fit the movie.
Check that out here!
For further reading, learn how to translate story into sound for more on how composers approach building emotional language.
What Is the “Dies Irae”?
According to the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, the Latin phrase translates as “day of wrath,” and the text is attributed to a Franciscan monk from the early 13th century. It was written as a sequence for the Catholic Requiem Mass (a funeral rite) describing the Last Judgment, when the dead rise to face God.
As Berklee College of Music professor Alex Ludwig explains in Vox’s breakdown of the motif, the melody is built on four descending notes in a minor mode, and our ears are trained to read descending minor lines as sad, dark, and threatening.
The melody appears in major settings by Mozart, Verdi, Berlioz, Britten, and Stravinsky. It is still performed today in churches where the Tridentine Latin liturgy is celebrated.
So when you hear it in a movie theater, you are hearing something that has been sung at funerals for eight centuries.
But film composers didn’t invent this trick. According toOpen Culture, Hector Berlioz lifted the theme in his 1830 Symphonie fantastique to tell a story of obsessive love, murder, and a nightmare witch’s sabbath, repurposing a Catholic funeral chant as a Satanic anthem.
Franz Liszt followed with Totentanz (Dance of Death), Camille Saint-Saëns embedded it in Danse Macabre, and Modest Mussorgsky used it in Songs and Dances of Death.
By the time cinema arrived, the greatest composers had already spent a century deploying it as shorthand for doom and death.
As musicologist Karen Cook writes at Sounding Out!, because early silent film musicians routinely borrowed from composed works, the chant moved quickly into cinema, where each new use reinforced its symbolic weight all over again.
The Motif Enters Cinema
Its film history stretches back to 1927, when Gottfried Huppertz scored Fritz Lang’s Metropolis with it (per Open Culture).
From there, it wound its way into Citizen Kane, Psycho, and The Shining (per The Hildegard Collective).
John Williams is also a fan. It was prominently used in A New Hope, when Luke comes home to find the bodies of his aunt and uncle on Tatooine. Just listen for it here.
Williams also used it across Jaws, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and other Star Wars films.
Howard Shore wove it into the Lord of the Rings trilogy as the Nazgûl leitmotif. It also turns up in It’s a Wonderful Life, Home Alone, The Lion King, and Frozen II.
In Project Hail Mary, Pemberton slightly modifies the Dies Irae so it sounds more hopeful, with a driving beat, despite its traditional ties to death. It remains suspenseful but takes on an almost whimsical mood.
You might also notice that in “Time Go Fishing,” the notes don’t sound like traditional instruments—they sound like a mix of voices and a synthy organ, which mimics the sounds humans and Eridians make. You could interpret that as the song pointing to the moment being a “day of wrath” for both species, their last chance at survival.
Understanding the Dies Irae is understanding how cultural memory works in cinema. As Cook writes, every time a composer uses it, they reinforce its meaning for the next composer, so it becomes a self-perpetuating cycle of emotional association now spanning nearly a century of film history.
For filmmakers supervising or collaborating on a score, the motifs you reach for carry accumulated weight, whether you intend them to or not.
Pemberton understood that and made deliberate choices throughout. For instance, he used an electric guitar just once during the film.
As he told IndieWire, “There’s a lot of subconscious sort of writing and ideas that go into this process to make it effective. That’s the only time you really hear a rock guitar. Suddenly, we have [this instrument] which is connected to Earth more, but we haven’t had anywhere in the film because I’m trying to save it for that moment.”
This was a single late scene reconnecting Grace to Earth, so that instrument’s earthbound associations would land with full force exactly once.
The Dies Irae has been in continuous use for 800 years because it does the thing it means to do very efficiently. It tells audiences that death is near. Pemberton used it to emphasize the moment in a story when Grace’s mission was most tenuous, which means on some level, every time those notes swelled, your brain was registering both the stakes and the hope underneath them.
Every musical choice carries a history. Composers who understand that history will be well on their way to telling a better story.
Paramount‘s first big CinemaCon since merging with Skydance and the news that it would acquire Warner Bros. Discovery came with some big promises to the theatrical community and trotted out stars like Johnny Depp, Billie Eilish, and James Cameron for its presentation.
In these Daily Dispatches from CinemaCon, we’re sharing the highlights of what we saw, what was announced, what we didn’t, and what was the overall vibe.
The BEST Thing We Saw
“Children of Blood and Bone,” Gina Prince-Bythewood’s follow-up to the epic “The Woman King,” is another film set in an African kingdom, but this one is a fantasy story of magic and good and evil all based on the novel by Tomi Adeyemi, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Prince-Bythewood. It has a stacked cast of Thuso Mbedu, Damson Idris, Amandla Stenberg, Tosin Cole, Cynthia Erivo, Lashana Lynch, Zackary Momoh, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Regina King, Idris Elba, and Viola Davis, and it opens January 15, 2027.
Paramount brought out some African drummers, dancers, and warriors, as well as Ejiofor, King, Stenberg, Idris, and Mbedu each giving their reasons why they wanted to be part of this film. “Black girls deserve to see themselves in roles of wonder, power, and imagination,” King said. “I want to go to the movies to be awed, swept away,” Prince-Bythewood said, calling it “magical, action packed, and fun as hell.” The film shows warriors riding in on tigers, some romance, lots of dancing and fighting, exotic locales, and the lead summoning a massive monster made of sticks and brush to fight her enemies.
Paramount’s film chiefs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein confirmed that a third “Top Gun” film with Tom Cruise returning is officially in development, and the script is being written.
Johnny Depp is back. His “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol” is his first major studio film since being fired from the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise by Warner Bros. (soon to be owned by Paramount!), and he took the stage along to tout the Dickens adaptation. The very soft spoken Depp seemed humbled to be welcomed from some audience members calling out to him. Depp said “there’s no one who can do it as good as Alastair Sim did…but that’s no reason not to do it.” It’s a classic Depp performance and familiar take on “A Christmas Carol.” A lot of Humbug’s are shouted. “Ebenezer” also stars Rupert Grint, Andrea Riseborough, Sam Claflin, Daisy Ridley, Arthur Conti, Ellie Bamber, Charlie Murphy, Tramell Tillman, and Ian McKellen, and it opens in theaters November 13, 2026.
Though it was reported that Taylor Sheridan will eventually make his way over to Universal, he’s still Paramount’s biggest star, and the studio announced a release date for his tentpole “Call of Duty” movie based on the video game franchise very far in advance: June 30, 2028. Peter Berg is directing and co-writing and producing the movie with Sheridan, and they gave CinemaCon a brief tease of the film:
We didn’t get David Corenswet here for “Superman 2,” nor did we get Nicolas Cage here for “Madden,” but we got a dose of football for “Mr. Irrelevant: The John Tuggle Story.” The film is the true story of John Tuggle, the last pick in the 1983 NFL Draft by the New York Giants who fought tooth and nail to make the team, the first final draft pick to do so, and would go on to win Special Teams Player of the Year. Giants QB Phil Simms, Super Bowl XXI MVP, thanked the audience “for that lukewarm applause” and said it reminded him of his playing days as Giants fans waited for him to retire. He also joked that under coach Bill Parcells his name was “Effing Simms.” Michael Shannon as Parcells looks like a standout, and Corenswet looks to give an optimistic, underdog turn. The film opens Christmas.
What We EXPECTED to See But Didn’t
Something about Damien Chazelle’s next film. We know it stars Cillian Murphy, Daniel Craig, and Michelle Williams, and it supposedly is a period film set inside a prison and following an abusive relationship and power dynamics, not unlike Chazelle’s breakout “Whiplash.” The film doesn’t even have a release date, let alone a title, and we were hoping for a little something in between a lot of the franchise films.
Chazelle is however executive producing “Heart of the Beast,” the new film from David Ayer about a former Army Special Forces Soldier and his retired combat dog surviving in the Alaskan wilderness after a plane crash, and we did get a first look at that film, with Brad Pitt sharing the screen with a German Shepard, one who has silver teeth and a missing leg. We seem him fighting wolves, staring down a grizzly bear, and battling raging rapids.
What We LEARNED
Everyone wanted to know more about the merger and just how the room would react to Paramount brass, many of whom are making their first appearance as part of this new regime at Paramount since Skydance moved in. The studio made a big effort to honor the legacy of the studio, staging a splashy sizzle on the Paramount lot as narrated by Tom Cruise (who ended the video naturally sitting on top of the Paramount water tower), featuring cameos of Timothée Chalamet, James Cameron, Will Smith, and of course Sonic the Hedgehog, and even some dance sequences, fake movie set pieces, and more, and as directed by Jon M. Chu.
Paramount-Skydance chief David Ellison, who did not appear in front of Congress due to a death in the family, did lead off the presentation and received a warm reception from the crowd. He sheepishly acknowledged the start of his career with “Fly Boys” and how Variety called it one of the biggest bombs of 2006, but he led into his assurances for the combined Paramount-Warner Bros.
“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and say that when we combine Paramount and Warner Bros., we are going to make a minimum of 30 films annually, across both studios,” Ellison said. He also promised a minimum 45-day theatrical window starting today while also saying they will go to SVOD in 90 days. Cinema United has publicly said that if it cannot block the merger, believing there will be fewer films, it wants guarantees of the 45-day window and the quantity of films, not just something that could be scaled back in a matter of years. Cinema United has also suggested it would like to see the window to SVOD be even longer than 90 days, potentially as long as 120 days, even if the PVOD window is just 45.
Dave England, Jasper Dolphin, Preston Lacy, Rachel Wolfson, Zach Holmes, Sean McInerney, Jason Acuña, Johnny Knoxville, Spike Jonze, Chris Pontius, and Ehren McGhehey attend the U.S. premiere of “Jackass Forever” Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
Other Bullets
The new “Jackass” film is titled “jackass best and last.” The first trailer had a stunt launching a porta potty into the air, it had the crew participating in “The Escape Room From Hell,” and performed the first robot prostate exam.
The “Street Fighter” trailer debuted earlier this morning ahead of the Paramount presentation. Watch it here.
Paramount shouted out other projects in the works, including “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” from Sian Heder, a new “World War Z,” a new “Star Trek,” “A Quiet Place Part III,” and much more.
James Cameron said they used new 3-D tech not used on the “Avatar” films to shoot “Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour,” and he even had to use AI to fill in some backgrounds.
In its Q1 earnings report, Netflix noted its ads business is expected to double this year, reaching $3 billion in revenue. In a letter to shareholders, the company noted that building the ads business has been a priority, and the ads plan represents 60% of sign-ups in countries with the tier.
The company also noted that it’ll launch new ad products throughout 2026 to help advertisers assess the incrementality of their buys, verified by Netflix’s first-party data. In addition, Netflix said it now works with over 4,000 advertisers, up 70% year over year.
Netflix has made several moves lately to improve its ad engagement and reach. For instance, starting in Q2 in the U.S., brands buying Netflix inventory through Amazon DSP will be able to apply Amazon Audiences—advertiser segments built from Amazon users’ shopping, browsing, and streaming behavior—to their campaigns.
Besides ads, Netflix also addressed its failed merger plans with WBD, saying that the company was never a must-buy.
The key quote
“Our mission remains ambitious and unchanged: to entertain the world. No other entertainment company has tried to program at this scale, for this many tastes, cultures, and languages. Warner Bros. would have been a nice accelerant for our strategy, but only at the right price,” — Netflix letter to shareholders.
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Netflix is set to flip the script this spring with the high-concept satirical comedy, Ladies First. Starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike, the film promises a sharp look at gender dynamics through the lens of a parallel universe. Netflix just lifted the lid on the project a month ahead of its release with first looks and the trailer.
Netflix has officially confirmed that Ladies First will be released globally on May 22, 2026. This brings the Netflix Original movies scheduled for May 2026 to four: Swapped on May 1st and Remarkably Bright Creatures on May 8th on the English side, and My Dearest Señorita on the non-English side, also set for May 1st.
What is Ladies First about?
The film is based on the 2018 French Netflix film Je Ne Suis Pas Un Homme Facile (I Am Not an Easy Man), which was written and directed by Eléonore Pourriat.
The logline for the English-language reimagining is as follows:
“A ladies’ man finds his life upended when he wakes up in a parallel world dominated by women. With the rules of engagement changed, he goes head-to-head with a fiery female colleague in a playful satire about what happens when the script is flipped.”
Sacha Baron Cohen stars as Damien Sachs, a man who seemingly has it all—money, power, and a never-ending stream of casual flings. As he prepares to ascend to the role of CEO at a leading advertising agency, his life is turned upside down when he wakes up in his worst nightmare: a parallel world dominated by women. Where he once ruled the boardroom, he now finds himself humbled and going head-to-head with the newly fierce and fearless Alex Fox (played by Rosamund Pike).
The film is directed by Thea Sharrock, who has recently found success with Wicked Little Letters and The Beautiful Game. The screenplay is a collaborative effort between Natalie Krinsky, Cinco Paul, and Katie Silberman.
Producing the project are Liza Chasin, p.g.a., Eleonore Dailly, p.g.a., and Edouard de Lachomette, p.g.a., with Nicky Kentish Barnes and Natalie Krinsky serving as executive producers.
Who is in the cast?
As we’ve previously covered in our “everything we know” guide, the cast for this production is exceptionally strong:
Sacha Baron Cohen as Damien Sachs
Rosamund Pike as Alex Fox
Charles Dance
Emily Mortimer
Tom Davis
Richard E. Grant
Fiona Shaw
Weruche Opia
Kathryn Hunter
Kadiff Kirwan
Bill Paterson
The movie has an R-rating for sexual material and language and has a pretty short runtime at just 1 hour and 31 minutes.
Are you looking forward to Ladies First on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below and here’s more of those first looks:
Tucked into Netflix‘s quarterly shareholder letter, issued on Thursday, some news: co-founder and current chairman of the board Reed Hastings will not stand for re-election when his term expires in June.
Hastings and former Pure Software employee Marc Randolph co-founded Netflix way back in 1997, when the streamer wasn’t that (when, in fact, streaming didn’t exist!), offering flat-rate DVD rentals by mail to customers in the United States. Suffice it to say, the business has changed quite a bit since then, but Hastings has stuck with his ever-growing and ever-changing Hollywood heavy-hitter.
Per the shareholder letter, Hastings will next “focus on his philanthropy and other pursuits.” The official letter also notes that Hastings “built a culture of innovation, integrity, and high performance that defines who we are today. His vision and leadership pioneered how the world is entertained, and his legacy and impact are not only felt by all of us at Netflix, but by audiences around the world.”
Hastings added, “Netflix changed my life in so many ways, and my all‑time favorite memory was January 2016, when we enabled nearly the entire planet to enjoy our service. My real contribution at Netflix wasn’t a single decision; it was a focus on member joy, building a culture that others could inherit and improve, and building a company that could be both beloved by members and wildly successful for generations to come. A special thanks to Greg and Ted, whose commitment to Netflix’s greatness is so strong that I can now focus on new things.”
In January 2023, Hastings stepped down from his co-CEO role. He was succeeded by Greg Peters, the former chief operating officer of Netflix, who now shares the top job with Ted Sarandos. Upon his departure from the position, Hastings became the streamer’s executive chairman.
Added Sarandos, “Reed has been a singular source of inspiration for me, personally and professionally, since we met in 1999. I’ve had the privilege of working for, and alongside, a true history maker and I look forward to marveling at all he will do next. He has modeled for Greg and me a selfless, disciplined leadership style that will continue to shape how we lead Netflix in the exciting times ahead.”
Peters shared, “Reed will always be Netflix’s founder and biggest champion — he is a part of our DNA. His vision, entrepreneurship, and steadfast commitment to our values have shaped every stage of our journey and continue to shape how Ted and I lead Netflix today.”
Netflix’s other co-founder, tech entrepreneur Marc Randolph, left Netflix in 2002 after helping guide the company through its initial public offering in 2000.
You’ve probably heard combining black and brown is against the rules, perhaps from your mother, grandmother, or another trusted source throughout your life. This is usually coupled with traditional warnings against pairing black and navy or pink and red, as well as outdated fashion declarations that your shoes and bag should match or sequins are only for eveningwear, and that old Coco Chanel saying about taking off one accessory before leaving the house.
In other words, it’s a well-established part of a style rulebook passed down through generations. However, the passage of time, trends, and the most stylish women of our current era have shown us that it’s just a myth.
On the spring-summer 2026 catwalks, brands such as Acne Studios, Boss, Celine, Hermès, and Ottolinger invite us to give these “mistakes” a chance, while street style experts demonstrate that harmonizing brown and black is not nearly as crazy as it may seem. What’s more, if you have any doubts, leopard print, certain cow prints, and the Fendi monogram Zucca print are constant proof that mixing deep and dark neutrals is always a powerful combination.
In Berlin on April 2, 2026
Jeremy Moeller/Getty Images
If you still need direction, here are seven ways to combine brown and black this spring and summer →
Look #1: Based on basics
Experimenting with new combinations can be a little daunting, but starting with familiar, everyday pieces can help ease the nerves. A black T-shirt with a blazer and a brown belt make for the perfect winter outfit, while a brown suede coat and black turtleneck can be worn through spring with denim shorts.
Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Mani Kaul
THE STORY OF DOCUMENTARY FILM Tracing the evolution of documentary film across time, examining landmark works and hidden treasures, while revealing how the form has helped us see and make sense of our world.
Director: Mark Cousins
Producer: John Archer
Country of Origin: UK
Festival Section: Special Screening
More Info: Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.
“Netflix changed my life in so many ways, and my all‑time favorite memory was January 2016, when we enabled nearly the entire planet to enjoy our service,” the current chairman of the streaming giant said today as his exit was announced with the company’s latest earnings results.
Having stepped back significantly in recent years to focus on real estate initiatives and philanthropic endeavors, Hastings will not be standing for re-election to the Netflix Board at the annual meeting in June. That month is actually when Hastings’ present term expires
“My real contribution at Netflix wasn’t a single decision; it was a focus on member joy, building a culture that others could inherit and improve, and building a company that could be both beloved by members and wildly successful for generations to come,” Hastings added. “A special thanks to Greg and Ted, whose commitment to Netflix’s greatness is so strong that I can now focus on new things.”
Speaking of Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters …
The co-CEOS offered the expectant praise to their mentor and longtime boss today.
“Reed has been a singular source of inspiration for me, personally and professionally, since we met in 1999,” Sarandos said Thursday of the former CEO, harking back to the days when Netflix delivered DVDs via the mail in those snappy red envelopes.
“I’ve had the privilege of working for, and alongside, a true history maker and I look forward to marveling at all he will do next,” the exec continued. “He has modeled for Greg and me a selfless, disciplined leadership style that will continue to shape how we lead Netflix in the exciting times ahead.”
Peters chimed in: “Reed will always be Netflix’s founder and biggest champion—he is a part of our DNA. His vision, entrepreneurship, and steadfast commitment to our values have shaped every stage of our journey and continue to shape how Ted and I lead Netflix today.”
Findings from a new Washington Post-Schar School poll come as Prince William County on Tuesday abandoned plans for one of the country’s biggest and most controversial data center projects.
Todd Phillips’ “Joker: Folie à Deux” is finally in theaters to turn that frown upside down, only to turn it upside down again. The sequel, which self-destructs not only itself but also the original 2019 film as a casualty, works better as an idea than in execution as a movie.
Here, Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck stands trial for the anarchy-inciting incel crimes he committed in the Oscar-winning original film — just as the audience is put on trial for endorsing his worldview in the first film. This time, he forms a romance and shared appetite for mayhem (hence the title) with an underused Lady Gaga — who has said she had to “un-learn” how to sing, which is unfortunate given she is one of the great vocalists of our time — as a version of Harley Quinn. Tunes torn from the Great American Songbook are given a desultory razzmatazz via cabaret-style song and dance featuring the pair, which exist only in Arthur’s mind.
On this week’s episode of “Screen Talk,” Anne Thompson and Ryan Lattanzio discuss the film; Anne loves the first two-thirds, while Ryan hates the whole picture. “Folie à Deux” is designed to make you feel like a fool for liking the first movie at all — but such audience-punishing anti-entertainment doesn’t make for a compelling film despite the provocative concept. And the box-office odds aren’t looking good, with muted buzz at Venice not setting a strong tone ahead. General audiences will deplore this movie, but isn’t that what Phillips wanted?
Elsewhere on the podcast, the co-hosts catch up on the latest happenings at Lincoln Center and nearby during the 2024 New York Film Festival. Films that have played hugely for NYFF audiences after prior festival bows include “Anora,” “Maria,” and “Emilia Pérez.”
Watch the full episode above or listen to it below.
Screen Talk is produced by Azwan Badruzaman and available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify, and hosted by Megaphone. Browse previous episodes here, subscribe here, and be sure to let us know if you’d like to hear the hosts address specific issues in upcoming editions of Screen Talk.
Graham Norton is the host of “The Graham Norton Show,” Eurovision commentator for the U.K. and recently had a scene-stealing cameo in Taylor Swift’s “Opalite” music video. Now he’s adding another string to his bow by hosting a brand new ITV gameshow “The Neighbourhood,” which launches April 24 on ITV1 and ITVX.
In the upcoming 11-episode series, Norton oversees proceedings as six households move into a street rigged with cameras where they participate in a number of challenges to try and bag themselves £250,000 ($336,000). They also get to vote out their fellow neighbors by plonking a huge “For Sale” sign outside their door. The last household to escape eviction walks home with the prize.
After a preview of the show in London, Norton took part in a Q&A session in which he revealed why he’d agreed to host the show, what he thinks will appeal to audiences about it and how Taylor Swift made his music video ambitions come true.
“I Am Mr. Twitchy Curtain”
Norton says he was sold on the idea of the show because it was so novel. “Usually when you’re pitched to show, it’s always couched in terms of other things. So it’s ‘Deal or No Deal’ meets ‘First Dates,’ or ‘Love Island’ meets ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’” he says. “And you always think, ‘Oh, I don’t want to do something that’s a pale imitation of something else.’”
“What was so refreshing about this was it was an idea I hadn’t heard before, and it taps into minutia of daily life that we’re all — well, certainly I am — fascinated by: the neighbors, what’s going on [with them]? I am Mr. Twitchy curtain. But it supersizes it, and the scale and ambition of this thing — I mean, it’s a real neighborhood, it’s almost 200 cameras. I’ve never worked on anything of this size and scale before, because they are being filmed 24/7. So there’s the game parts, the big setup bits, but also there is the reality of what’s going on inside those houses 24/7 which is equally as entertaining and fascinating.”
“I’ve never been in a movie, but it felt like being in a movie,” Norton adds. “It’s huge, and it has that heightened thing of almost being like ‘The Truman Show’ or something. So you’re not quite sure what’s real or what’s not. You’re not quite sure where the real flowers end and the fake flowers begin. I mean, seriously, we did see people watering fake flowers.”
Family Drama
The show doesn’t work for strategists. “I feel like going into this with a game plan was a mistake,” he reveals. “Actually, the households that do well are the ones who treat it like real life, where you are just trying to jog on with your neighbors and get on, mind your business a bit, but just be friendly and nice. Those are the families that do really well in this show, even though it is a game show, and you think, ‘Oh, I must go in with a “I know what I’m doing. I’ve got a strategy.”’ And actually, you can’t really strategize getting on with people. I’m here representing the show today but really, the stars of this show are the households. They are so well cast, really likeable. People have their moments but there are no real villains in the piece. I ended up being so fond of all of them.”
The drama between the family members was almost as explosive as the drama between the different households. “Often you when you come into a game like this, you’re looking around like, “Who can I trust?” In this, who you can trust is the people you live with, it’s your household, because you’re all competing together. But the other thing that I loved is that the gameplay is between the households. So you would think that’s where the drama and the tension would be, in between those individual households. But so much of the tension and drama happens within the pre-existing households. People, they’re all smiles, and then they go inside and they’re like, ‘What’d you say that for? Why’d you do that? That was a really stupid thing to do.’ I love all of that.”
Moving On Out
Once a family has been voted off the street, they’re booted out immediately. “I love that bit,” says Norton. “There’s really good shots of the people inside the house watching someone walking towards them with a ‘For Sale’ sign. And so what they do is one person from each household comes out with the “For Sale’ sign, and then they all stand there together and do the voting sequence. But it is brutal because it’s instant. There’s no messing around once you’ve got your sale signs. Literally, the removals team show up, there is a van, you’re in it, you’re gone, you will never be seen again. There’s a little goodbye and then that’s it and you’re out of there.”
While Norton didn’t live on the street with the contestants, he was staying nearby for the entirety of the shoot and kept up with all the drama in real time. “I had a little house and they rigged me up a bank of screens so I was able to watch everything going on all the time. So that was my day. I would just be there, just eating crisps, watching it all going on and being very overly caffeinated. There’s something [exciting] about listening to conversations that people don’t think you could hear.”
Dreams Come True
Norton also made waves recently after he appeared in Taylor Swift’s “Opalite” music video. “I got an email saying that Taylor Swift’s people were interested in something. I thought, what the hell is that going to be?” Norton recalls. “Then an email came through, and it was what you know, it was that Taylor had been on the [“Graham Norton”] show, there were these great vibes and she literally got the idea when Donald Gleeson said he’d like to dance in a Taylor Swift video. And it’s so weird — I didn’t notice it at the time, but when you look at the clip, you can see her little face go “Ooh” [as Gleeson says it]. And she went away and she wrote up that whole mad story, asked us all to be in it, surprise, surprise we all said yes. I said to Taylor at the time, often, in your sixties, you begin to give up on your dream of appearing in a major pop video but she made it happen for me. It was just, all in all, a really great experience.”
Subedaar Movie Review: There are heroes. There are angry heroes. And then there’s Arjun Maurya in Subedaar, a man who looks like he wakes up at 4 am out of habit, irons his emotions, and stores rage in perfectly folded compartments. With Anil Kapoor leading the charge, this film arrives like a dramatic salute… but somewhere along the way, the script forgets to keep up with its own hero.
The story drops us into a dusty North Indian town where retired Subedaar Arjun Maurya returns home after personal loss, hoping for silence, routine and maybe some emotional repair work with his daughter Shyama. Instead, he finds himself surrounded by small-town thuggery, illegal sand mining, inflated egos and villains who behave like they attended the “Menacing 101″ crash course together. Peace? Cancelled.
Now here’s the thing. The film wants to be intense, gritty and morally explosive. It throws in corruption, father-daughter tension, social commentary, grief, ego clashes and revenge. But instead of simmering, it keeps jumping to a boil. The narrative moves exactly the way you think it will. If you’ve seen even five action dramas in your life, you’ll probably predict the next punch before it lands.
But oh, Anil Kapoor. The man does not age. He just upgrades! As Arjun, he is all restraint. He doesn’t scream for attention; he lets his silence do the talking. There’s a certain stillness he brings with his tired eyes, clenched jaw, shoulders that have carried both medals and regret. Even when the screenplay drifts into familiar territory, he holds the frame like a veteran who refuses to abandon post. You believe he can break bones. You also believe he’s heartbroken. That’s range.
Radhika Madan stuns as Shyama with fire in her spine. She’s angry, wounded, and constantly fighting whether with society, college boys or her father’s emotional distance. The writing doesn’t always give her depth, but she squeezes sincerity out of every scene. There’s spark there, even if the screenplay keeps her circling the same emotional track.
Aditya Rawal as Prince is chaos wrapped in swagger. He’s loud, unpredictable and slightly cartoonish at times but he commits fully. You may roll your eyes at the exaggeration, but you won’t accuse him of being boring. Mona Singh gets an intriguing setup as Babli Didi, yet the film never fully explores her power. She feels like a promise that remains half-opened.
Director Suresh Triveni aims for a raw, grounded texture with dusty roads, harsh sunlight, heavy silences. The cinematography captures the town like it’s constantly holding its breath. Some action stretches are staged well, especially early confrontations that build tension through pause rather than noise. But the second half drags its boots. Scenes repeat emotions we already understood. The climax keeps going… and going… and going. A tighter edit would have made this far sharper.
By the end, Subedaar feels like a solid salute wrapped inside an old blueprint. It has passion. It has performance power. It has moments that genuinely crackle. But it also carries too many familiar beats and predictable turns to feel truly fresh.
Still, watching Anil Kapoor in controlled fury mode? Worth it. He may be retired in the film. But on screen? The man is still very much on duty.
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First Published:
March 05, 2026, 09:08 IST
Newsmoviesbollywood Subedaar Review: Anil Kapoor Marches In Like A One-Man Army But The Battlefield Around Him Feels Stuck In The 90s
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In the weeks before Justin Bieber’s headlining performance at this month’s Coachella festival — the 32-year-old teen-pop survivor’s first major concert after a lengthy stretch in the celebrity wilderness — speculation began to mount that he planned to play only songs from his recent “Swag” and “Swag II” albums.
And indeed, for 45 minutes or so last Saturday, it seemed like that was what he’d come to do as he sang new song after new song on Coachella’s giant main stage. But then he pulled out a laptop, fired up YouTube and started singing along with some of his old hits — a thrilling subversion of our expectations for a big festival set and a poignant act of self-examination by an artist who’s lived more than half of his life on our screens.
For the singer, Bieberchella was clearly a trip down memory lane. But it also offered the audience a chance to look back on a career that’s encompassed virtually every major shift in pop music over the last two decades.
Ahead of Coachella’s second weekend, then, here’s a list, ranked from worst to best, of every hit that Bieber has put inside the Top 10 of Billboard’s flagship singles chart, the Hot 100. Pop, of course, is an art as much as a science, meaning statistics get you only so far: Some important Bieber songs aren’t here, not least among them “Lonely,” which may be his finest vocal performance but stalled out at No. 12 on the chart. Other throwaways made it on the list thanks to Bieber’s gamesmanship or Billboard’s methodological quirks.
Yet these 27 songs tell a fascinating story about a boy, about a man, about a talent possibly more vital today than ever before.
27. ‘Never Say Never’ (peaked at No. 8 in March 2011)
Co-written and co-produced by the guy who would later top the Hot 100 with “Rude” by the band Magic, this booming kiddie-rap track was introduced as the theme song for Jaden Smith’s 2010 remake of “The Karate Kid” before Bieber used it in a 2011 concert film of the same title. The voice is high; the beat is blah.
26. ‘Monster’ (peaked at No. 8 in Dec. 2020)
Just a month after he dropped “Lonely,” Bieber returned to his teen-idol woes — far less movingly, alas — in this dreary duet with Shawn Mendes.
25. ‘Stuck With U’ (peaked at No. 1 in May 2020)
The nicest thing you can say about the doo-woppy “Stuck With U” is that Bieber and Ariana Grande donated the song’s proceeds to first responders navigating the early months of the COVID pandemic. Do not rewatch the video unless you want to be reminded of the smiley horrors of Zoom life.
24. ‘No Brainer’ (peaked at No. 5 in Aug. 2018)
We’ll get to Bieber’s convivial 2017 hook-up with DJ Khaled and friends. As for this shameless sequel, Khaled’s “another one” tag has never been less necessary.
23. ‘Cold Water’ (peaked at No. 2 in Aug. 2016)
Sleek. Pretty. Forgettable.
22. ‘As Long as You Love Me’ (peaked at No. 6 in Sept. 2012)
How high was Bieber riding as he prepared to release 2012’s “Believe” LP? High enough to swipe the title of the Backstreet Boys’ classic teen-pop ballad for this junior-dubstep jam. Stick around (or don’t) for Big Sean’s guest verse about needing “you” to spell both “us” and “trust.”
21. ‘Holy’ (peaked at No. 3 in Oct. 2020)
In which Bieber and Chance the Rapper preach about marriage like two horny youth pastors.
20. ‘Anyone’ (peaked at No. 6 in Jan. 2021)
What if Phil Collins had recorded “In Your Eyes” instead of Peter Gabriel?
19. ‘10,000 Hours’ (peaked at No. 4 in Oct. 2019)
Timed to commemorate his and Hailey Baldwin’s wedding among the salt marshes of South Carolina, Bieber’s crack at high-gloss country music was warmly welcomed by the Nashville establishment; it even spent two weeks atop Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. No surprise, really: To listen to earlier stuff by Dan + Shay, Bieber’s collaborators on “10,000 Hours,” is to hear how extensively white-soul singing had reshaped country by the early 2010s.
18. ‘I Don’t Care’ (peaked at No. 2 in May 2019)
Has any would-be song of the summer ever song-of-the-summered harder? Bieber and Ed Sheeran’s breezy dancehall bro-down was clearly modeled on the sound — and the success — of Sheeran’s “Shape of You.” (Call it “Shape of II.”) Yet the duo’s chemistry feels real enough to believe that all of these hooks — hey, they just happened.
17. ‘I’m the One’ (peaked at No. 1 in May 2017)
Bieber’s first Khaled collab has a merry bounce that softens the braggadocio from him, Quavo, Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne, whose verse opens pricelessly like so: “Looking for the one?/ Well, b—, you looking at the one.” Fun chart fact per Billboard: The week after “I’m the One” bowed atop the Hot 100, Bieber became the first artist ever to score new No. 1s back to back when his remix of “Despacito” replaced “I’m the One.”
16. ‘Boyfriend’ (peaked at No. 2 in April 2012)
A decade after Justin Timberlake stepped out from NSYNC, JB blatantly ripped JT’s “Like I Love You” for this heavy-breathing flirtation. “Baby, take a chance or you’ll never, ever know/ I got money in my hands that I’d really like to blow,” Bieber pants over a spacey, Neptunes-style beat. (Later, he suggests fondue.) In an ironic twist, given the song’s all-grown-up-at-18 energy, “Boyfriend” was blocked from No. 1 by “We Are Young” from Jack Antonoff’s old band, Fun.
15. ‘Ghost’ (peaked at No. 5 in April 2022)
A hurtling lost-love lament that doubles as a farewell to a departed grandparent (as in the song’s music video, which stars the late Diane Keaton).
14. ‘Let Me Love You’ (peaked at No. 4 in Oct. 2016)
In the final Top 10 hit of Bieber’s EDM era, a pleading tenderness in the singer’s vocals cuts appealingly against DJ Snake’s strobing Sahara Tent beat.
13. ‘Baby’ (peaked at No. 5 in Feb. 2010)
New puppy, old love.
12. ‘Yummy’ (peaked at No. 2 in Jan. 2020)
“Hop in the Lambo, I’m on my way/ Drew House slippers on with a smile on my face,” Bieber sings — not the last time he’d plug one of his or his wife’s brands in a lyric. A country remix with Florida Georgia Line adds shout-outs to Waffle House and Chick-fil-A.
11. ‘What Do You Mean?’ (peaked at No. 1 in Sept. 2015)
The path to Bieber’s first No. 1 on the Hot 100 was cleared by a better, more interesting song that reframed him as a dreamboat experimentalist. (More on that one in a minute.) But if “What Do You Mean?” deploys a more conventional tropical-house production, it’s still built around one of the singer’s loveliest vocals. And the fake pan flute still hits.
10. ‘Despacito’ (peaked at No. 1 in May 2017)
Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s pop-reggaeton seduction had already found an enormous audience among Latin music fans when Bieber jumped on a remix after hearing the song in a Colombian nightclub. Yet the star’s presence — in a Spanish-language chorus whose lyrics Bieber learned phonetically over the course of a four-hour recording session — turned “Despacito” into a global juggernaut. In the U.S., the song became the first Spanish-language chart-topper since “Macarena” two decades earlier; it also became something of a protest tune amid the anti-immigrant rhetoric of President Trump’s first term in office. Said Scooter Braun, Bieber’s then-manager, in a 2017 interview with The Times: “A song in Spanish is all over pop radio in an America where young Latino Americans should feel proud of themselves and their families’ native tongue.”
9. ‘Essence’ (peaked at No. 9 in Oct. 2021)
Like “Despacito,” this slinky Afrobeats track was a hit before Bieber got involved. (Among its fans: President Obama, who put it on his best of 2020 list.) What distinguishes the version with Bieber is how gently he slides between the Nigerian singers Wizkid and Tems, who both joined him for a rendition of “Essence” at Coachella.
8. ‘Stay’ (peaked at No. 1 in August 2021)
At a mere 2 minutes and 22 seconds, this breakneck electro-pop duet with Australia’s the Kid Laroi (who also put in a cameo at Coachella) is the shortest of Bieber’s 27 Top 10 singles. Yet with 63 weeks on the Hot 100, it’s also his longest-lived chart hit — and his most-streamed song on Spotify.
7. ‘Intentions’ (peaked at No. 5 in June 2020)
“Stay in the kitchen cooking up, got your own bread/ Heart full of equity, you’re an asset.”
6. ‘Beauty and a Beat’ (peaked at No. 5 in Jan. 2013)
The most fondly remembered of Bieber’s teen-idol hits anticipates the EDM makeover to come even as it stays rooted in his squeaky-clean persona: “We’re gonna party like it’s 3012 tonight” is truly something only a kid would say. Seven months after “Beauty and a Beat” peaked on the Hot 100, Bieber was infamously caught on video urinating in a mop bucket in a New York City restaurant kitchen; this song would be his last Top 10 single for more than two years.
5. ‘Peaches’ (peaked at No. 1 in April 2021)
A sumptuous R&B jam about procuring one’s peaches from Georgia and one’s weed from California, this three-way joint with Daniel Caesar and Giveon was nominated for record and song of the year at the 2022 Grammys. (It lost both prizes to another sumptuous R&B jam in Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open.”) Extra props here for the vivid contrast among the singers’ voices and for the Kool & the Gang-ish synth solo at the end.
4. ‘Love Yourself’ (peaked at No. 1 in Feb. 2016)
A sick burn delivered oh so sweetly.
3. ‘Where Are Ü Now’ (peaked at No. 8 in July 2015)
Behold the dreamboat experimentalist. In search of a fresh sound after Bucketgate, Bieber found it with Skrillex and Diplo, veteran dance-music producers who took a morose piano ballad that Bieber and his frequent accomplice Poo Bear had demoed and turned it into a glimmering boudoir-rave fantasia. “I was like, ‘Diplo, Skrillex — I don’t really know if that’s, like, where I wanna go,’” Bieber later told the New York Times. “They did it, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is blowing my mind.’”
2. ‘Daisies’ (peaked at No. 2 in July 2025)
Is putting a nine-month-old song at No. 2 on this list an act of recency bias? Maybe. But what a song! Against a bracingly lo-fi guitar lick played by his pal Mk.gee, Bieber sings with beautifully understated soul about coming into an emotional maturity he admits he avoided for too long.
1. ‘Sorry’ (peaked at No. 1 in Jan. 2016)
A plea, a flex, a come-on — this delirious pop masterpiece contains multitudes. “Is it too late now to say sorry?” Bieber asks, and the trick of a song born from a branding problem is that it summons the sensation of endless ascent.
Feedly’s Vulnerability Intel Agent now includes powerful CVSS Vector filters that give you precise control over CVE prioritization based on attack methods and impact. Instead of relying solely on CVSS scores, you can now target vulnerabilities based on how they’re exploited and what systems they affect.
Filters use Boolean logic (AND/OR/NOT) across different attributes, including the new CVSS Vector components that break down vulnerability characteristics by attack surface and necessary conditions.
Here are seven examples showing how CVSS Vector filters help you quickly find the vulnerabilities that pose threats to your environment.
Understanding CVSS Vector components
The new CVSS Vector filters turn abstract CVSS scores into practical intelligence:
Attack Vector tells you the vulnerability’s accessibility. Network means reachable from anywhere online. Adjacent Network means the same network segment. Local requires system access. Physical requires in-person access.
Privileges Required indicates if an attacker needs existing system rights. “None” means unauthenticated attacks. “Low” means a basic user could exploit it. “High” would require admin or system access to exploit the CVE.
User Interaction shows if social engineering or user action is needed. “None” implies it’s a fully automated exploitation. “Required” means you have a window to detect and block.
Impact Scope (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability) clarifies the threat. High “availability” impact means service disruption. High “confidentiality” indicates data exposure. High “integrity” would include a system compromise or data modification.
Scope Change shows if the vulnerability crosses trust boundaries. “Changed scope” implies lateral movement, privilege escalation, or cross-component attacks are now possible.
Example 1: Which unpatched vulnerabilities require zero attacker preconditions and are likely to be exploited?
Identify the most aggressive class of threats: those that are actively exploited and can be exploited upon delivery. This filter combines real-world exploitation status with “wormable” characteristics (no privileges required, no user interaction). Since these vulnerabilities don’t have any patch available, consider implementing compensating controls or detection mechanisms around affected systems.
Filter configuration
(Privileges Required: None)
AND
(User Interaction: None)
AND
(Exploited) OR (Proof of Concept) OR (Weaponized) OR (CISA KEV)
AND
(Attack Vector: Network)
NOT
(Patched)
Result
Example 2: Which remote vulnerabilities threaten your service availability?
When your organization relies heavily on service availability, you need to identify vulnerabilities that could result in remotely exploitable denial-of-service attacks. This filter combines high availability impact with a network attack vector to reveal vulnerabilities that could allow remote attackers to knock your services offline. These high-impact risks and threats are a key concern for customer-facing apps and core infrastructure, where downtime directly impacts your business.
Filter configuration
(Availability Impact: High)
AND
(Attack Vector: Network)
Result
Example 3: Which exploited CVEs are most likely to be remotely exploited?
Identify vulnerabilities that are actively being exploited AND can be exploited remotely. This filter focuses on vulnerabilities that have a proof of concept or have been proven to be exploitable and reachable across the network. Combining real-world exploitation evidence with a network attack vector confirms that adversaries are already using these techniques or will likely at least try; verify if your externally facing infrastructure has been targeted.
Filter configuration
(Exploited) OR (Proof of Concept) OR (Weaponized) OR (CISA KEV)
AND
(Attack Vector: Network)
Result
Example 4: Which remote vulnerabilities pose a major risk of data theft?
Protect your organization from external data breaches by targeting vulnerabilities that could allow a remote attacker to compromise the confidentiality of your data. By combining high confidentiality impact with a network attack vector, you identify CVEs that allow the exfiltration of or access to sensitive information, such as customer records or proprietary code, without requiring physical or local access to the system.
Filter configuration
(Confidentiality Impact: High)
AND
(Attack Vector: Network)
Result
Example 5: Which vulnerabilities expose data without user interaction?
Find “silent” risks where data is exposed without a user clicking a link or opening a file. High confidentiality impact combined with no user interaction means attackers can automate data theft. These vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous for backend systems and databases that process sensitive information, as exploitation can occur in the background without alerting staff.
Filter configuration
(Confidentiality Impact: High)
AND
(User Interaction: None)
Result
Example 6: Which vulnerabilities are low hanging fruits for threat actors?
Attacks with low Attack Complexity require minimal effort to exploit but can have a great impact on your network and are like low-hanging fruit for threat actors. Add in the network vector, and threat actors can attack these vulnerabilities remotely. These attacks are usually some type of injection, or Cross-Site Script.
Filter configuration
(Attack Complexity: Low)
AND
(Attack Vector: Network)
Result
Example 7: Which vulnerabilities allow lateral movement (scope change)?
Track scope-changed vulnerabilities because they can expand the attack surface beyond the initially vulnerable component. When the scope changes from “unchanged” to “changed,” the vulnerability can impact systems outside the directly vulnerable component. When paired with network or adjacent network attack vectors, these CVEs represent dangerous situations in which compromising one system can lead to unauthorized access to others. This is particularly critical in cloud deployments, containerized environments, and segmented networks, where lateral movement can cause a cascade failure.
Filter configuration
(Scope: Changed)
AND
(Attack Vector: Network) OR (Attack Vector: Adjacent Network)
Result
Start prioritizing with CVSS Vector filters
CVSS Vector data can do more than help you prioritize patches. Vulnerability management is actually a good place to start threat hunting because you’re working with real weaknesses in your stack, not theoretical threats. Identify the vulnerabilities that are in your environment using scan results and then apply these filters to begin discovering attack paths that may exist.
Try the Vulnerability Agent available in Feedly Threat Intelligence
Prioritize CVEs by how they’re exploited, not just their severity score.
Absolute Batman #17: While Bruce takes steps to try and fix his personal issues with his friends, Pamela Isley has made her way to Gotham City. Located within a giant forest in the heart of Gotham, Poison Ivy has turned the police into a literal foliage of horrors.
Positives
Absolute Batman #17 introduces you to the tragic backstory of Dr. Pamela Isley, better known as Poison Ivy. Led to a dark path through a horrific series of events, Pamela is determined to make Gotham suffer. In the present day, with the police completely overpowered and outmanned, Batman is the last one standing in this towering jungle in Gotham.
Armed with giant buzzsaws on each forearm, Batman charges into Ivy’s jungle, cutting away anything he sees move. Attempting to charge directly into the heart of the jungle, he stopped short when he sees a police officer–but now he’s been corrupted by Ivy! Teetering between life and death, Batman has no choice but to put them down. He’s reminded by Alfred that these things are no longer people and that there is no saving them.
As Batman navigates through Ivy’s deadly jungle, we see different versions of her–all beautiful and captivating. Batman, however, pays no attention to this tedious attempt at distraction, and instead keeps his focus on the mission. Towards the end of the book, he finally meets the real Poison Ivy–and she’s a human-plant hybrid!
Negatives
I have no complaints about this issue.
Verdict
Absolute Batman #17 is a great read and I’m looking forward to the next issue. Batman’s fight against Poison Ivy is epic and I’m excited to see how it concludes. Also, Martha Wayne has a shocking revelation at the end, and I’m eager to see where her particular story goes.
My heart, however, really goes out to Bruce’s friends. Throughout this series, Bruce has tried to make amends for what happened to them against the criminal Bane. Oswald, Harvey, Edward, and Waylon still hold Bruce responsible–and honestly, I don’t blame them. However, Bruce’s attempts to apologize continue to fall on deaf ears, but I do commend him for still trying, nevertheless. I have a bad feeling that The Joker will use Bruce’s former friends against him in some way. Their hatred for him is pure, and it’s not going away. I think that Joker while manipulate these feelings for not only the eventual takedown of Batman, but also just because he enjoys it.
New Horizons on Switch 2: faster load times, smoother frame rate, same charm. Six years of free updates built the most comprehensive Animal Crossing ever made. The island design tools remain the best creative sandbox on any Nintendo platform. If your island has been waiting, this is the version to return to.
House Of The Dragon and Doctor Who Smith will play a “debonair stranger who washes ashore on a remote island wearing a Rolex and holding an briefcase he can’t open, with no memory of who he is or why he is there. Taken in by the sole inhabitants – Iris, a glamorous wine-soaked matriarch, her erudite daughter Goggy (Poots) and Baby, their giant naked butler – he is drawn into their bizarre and decaying world. But this is no accident. And what begins as sanctuary turns into something far stranger, far darker – a world of pent-up revenge, sinister family betrayal and shocking violence”.
The film reunites writer Toby Harvard and director Ant Timpson for their third project after Bookworm and Come to Daddy. Additional casting is in process.
Producers are Emma Slade and Roxi Bull for Velvet Moss (Come to Daddy) and Andy Starke (Possessor) for Anti-Worlds. The team is eyeing a February 2027 shoot “on a remote island”.
Embankment’s Archie Faulks described the film as “a wildly entertaining Hitchcockian thriller served up on a gourmet platter of absurdist comedy and psychological suspense. It keeps audiences guessing right up to an ending they won’t see coming and won’t forget.”
A version of the script was announced pre-pandemic but it now has new impetus with different cast, producers and seller.
In the past I would have shrugged this off as just another weight-loss trend. But as the universe would have it, GLP-1s becoming so mainstream perfectly aligned with me entering perimenopause—and facing a demoralizing stalemate with my weight. At annual physicals from my teens through 30s, I fell exactly in the middle of the “healthy weight for height” green zone on the doctor’s wall chart. Maintaining my size wasn’t effortless, but it wasn’t too hard either. I love to work out, enjoy vegetables and fish, and am not big into red meat or fast food. Whenever my jeans started to feel snug, I could fit in some extra runs and cut back on snacking, eating sweets, and going out for dinners and drinks.
At least that used to be the case. My mom warned me that in her 40s, she all but stopped being able to lose weight. I nodded along, but my inner obnoxious teenager (who only Mom can summon) was secretly smug and skeptical. Surely, she’d never worked out as much as I do, and weight lifting wasn’t even a thing most women did when she was my age. I’d managed to fit back into my prepregnancy clothes after having three kids. Middle age wouldn’t claim my taut midsection; I wouldn’t let it.
Yet here I am, eating my words. My mom was right. Over the past few years, as my hormones have gone rogue, so has my weight. And nothing—I mean nothing—will move the needle back down. From my tried-and-true tactics (getting 10,000 daily steps, running, doing Pilates, not snacking after dinner) to emerging advice (lifting heavier weights, eating all the protein), each fresh burst of motivation only leaves me more deflated. Occasionally, I’ll make subtle progress, only to have a stressful week or brief holiday indulgence undo it all—plus a few pounds. For the first time ever, my weight now teeters at the tippy, tippy top of that green zone. I miss my defined waist, and my closet is bursting with clothes that now fit completely wrong.
In this vulnerable place I’ve let the social media ads and photos of ever-slimmer acquaintances creep into my consciousness. I began to wonder where people who are not taking GLP-1s for medical reasons get them. Are they trusting for-profit telehealth providers? Is there a better way? Should I ask my primary care doctor for her thoughts? Would she laugh or, worse, scold me? I decided I was only comfortable starting a potential medication journey in her office. But first, I needed to know what I was even asking for.
The Wild West of off-label GLP-1 use
I started by going straight to the source: peers in a similar life phase who’ve used GLP-1s to lose 10 or 15 pounds. I figured they’d be reluctant to spill the tea, but when I posted on Facebook, promising to alter people’s names for anonymity, the DMs started pinging in at a rapid pace. It turns out that, yes, as you may have suspected, lots of people are using GLP-1s. I learned that there seem to be two main ways people who don’t meet the FDA criteria are getting the drugs.
The long layoff between seasons of Euphoria apparently didn’t dull viewers’ enthusiasm for the show.
The HBO drama’s April 12 premiere brought in 8.5 million viewers across all platforms in its first three days, its best season opener by a wide margin. The finale of limited series DTF St. Louis also put up solid numbers, scoring the largest three-day viewer total of its run.
Euphoria emerged as one of HBO’s bigger shows in its second season, averaging more than 16 million viewers per episode (measured over 90 days from the season premiere). Sunday’s premiere was up by 44 percent vs. the season two debut (which had about 5.9 million viewers over the same time frame), which bodes extremely well for the show’s prospects the rest of the season.
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As usual with HBO shows (and particularly with Euphoria), the large majority of the audience came from streaming on HBO Max — which also has grown significantly since Euphoria last aired. The first airing on HBO’s cable channel drew 356,000 viewers, just 4 percent of the eventual three-day total.
As for DTF St. Louis, the limited series starring Jason Bateman, David Harbour and Linda Cardellini closed a run of week-to-week growth with 3.5 million viewers. The finale grew by 40 percent from the March 1 premiere (2.5 million viewers over three days) and was up by about 6 percent from the 3.3 million viewers for the previous week’s episode. DTF St. Louis is currently averaging 6.5 million viewers since its premiere, a number that will keep growing through the end of HBO’s measurement window.
For this season, The Voice features just three coaches, instead of four. In addition, numerous past champions will be joining. One would assume that NBC is sure to renew this popular show for a 30th season but, season 29 sure feels like an anniversary season. Could The Voice possibly be cancelled or put on hiatus for a year? Stay tuned.
A singing competition series, The Voice TV show is hosted by Carson Daly and airs typically on Mondays and sometimes on Tuesday nights. Adam Levine (his 18th season), John Legend (his 11th season), and Kelly Clarkson (her 10th season) return to coach in season 29, billed as a “Battle of Champions” season because all the coaches have previously won. The competition typically has four stages: blind auditions, battle rounds, knockouts, and live performances. In the knockouts round, two contestants from each coach’s former teams will compete in the “In-Season All-Star Competition.” The All-Star artists include Maelyn Jarmon, Renzo, Jake Hoot, Girl Named Tom, Javier Colon, and Jordan Smith.
Nielsen Ratings The Nielsen ratings are typically the best indication of a show’s chances of staying on the air. The higher the ratings, the better the chances of survival. This chart is updated as new ratings data becomes available.
Note: If you’re not seeing the updated chart, please try reloading the page or view it here.
For comparisons:Season 27 of The Voice on NBC (which aired in Spring 2025) averaged a 0.35 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 4.68 million viewers on Monday nights, On Tuesdays, episodes averaged a 0.25 in the demo and 3.91 million viewers.
Note: These are the final national ratings, including all live+same day viewing and DVR playback (through 3:00 AM). While these numbers don’t include further delayed or streaming viewing, they are a very good indicator of how a show is performing, especially when compared to others on the same channel. There can be other economic factors involved in a show’s fate, but typically the higher-rated series are renewed and the lower-rated ones are cancelled.
TV SHOW STATUS
The Voice has been renewed for a 30th season, which will debut (TBD). Stay tuned for further updates.
What do you think? Do you like The Voice TV series on NBC? Are you glad it has been renewed for a 30th season?
NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani still disagrees heavily with President Donald Trump on several issues, something on which they are able to agree. In fact, he described their relationship as “a New York story” on Thursday.
Appearing on “CBS Mornings,” Mamdani reflected on his first 100 days in office and was fairly jovial about the grades that actual New Yorkers have given him. Eventually, discussion turned to his relationship with the president, where Mamdani detailed how much they’ve actually been working together.
“I would say the two of us are in touch. We’ve had a number of meetings now in the Oval Office, and we are honest, direct about the fact that we have many disagreements,” he explained. “There is one place of agreement that we have, which is that we both love New York City. And that’s, I think, something that is at the heart of every conversation we have.”
Among the issues the men still disagree on is foreign policy. Mamdani noted that he remains steadfastly against the war in Iran, and called out how much money it is already costing Americans.
“I’m deeply opposed to the war. I think it’s something that should be opposed, not just on a political level or an economic level, but frankly, a moral level,” he said. “We’re talking about spending close to $30 billion to kill thousands of people an ocean away while we’re told that we don’t have even an ounce of that money to help working class Americans across this country.”
That said, Mamdani stressed that he and Trump try to find common ground during their meetings: “I think in many ways, it’s a New York story of people who have vehemently differing views and have said many things about each other, and can also still work together on the points of agreement.”
The 2026 Tribeca Festival’s feature and short film lineup will include the Aubrey Plaza and Susan Sarandon-led “The Accompanist,” Katie Homes’ “Happy Hours” and more, the festival announced Thursday. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the festival will take place from June 3 through 14 in New York City.
118 feature films will be showcased at this year’s festival, with highlights including “The Last Day” starring Alicia Vikander and Wagner Moura, “Rain Reign” starring Paul Rudd and Jeremy Sisto and “Clean Hands” starring Zach Braff, plus Vera Farmiga, Tim Blake Nelson, Jim Parsons and Simon Rex in “The Leader”; Alison Brie, André Holland, Tom Sturridge and Dustin Hoffman in “The Revisionist; André Holland with Wendell Pierce and Samira Wiley in “They Fight”; Marc Maron in “In Memoriam” and Sofia Boutella, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lizzy McAlpine, Simon Pegg, and Quentin Tarantino in “Only What We Carry.”
This year’s documentary slate will include “Born Melo,” “Doc Meets World,” “Playing POTUS” and “Jean-Michel,” the first documentary made with the full participation of the Basquiat family. The festival previously announced “Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World)” as the opening night film.
“Twenty-five years in, Tribeca remains a festival built on discovery and cultural conversation. This year’s film program once again brings together global premieres, iconic talent and daring new voices to transform screenings into unforgettable shared experiences,” said Tribeca Festival Director and SVP of Programming Cara Cusumano in a statement. “From legends and trailblazers to bold emerging artists, these films reflect the creativity, vitality and diversity of New York and the world and a festival that continues to evolve alongside the creators shaping what comes next.”
The festival’s shorts lineup consists of 86 films from 93 filmmakers, with 45 world premieres. Notable shorts include “Kiloran Bay” starring Alan Cumming, “General Admission” starring Nina Dobrev and “White Belt,” which follows supermodel Monika “Jac” Jagaciak.
“Tribeca’s Shorts program has been a launchpad for extraordinary filmmakers and this year’s lineup continues that legacy with a dynamic, globally diverse group of storytellers,” said Ben Thompson, Tribeca Festival vice president of shorts programming, in a statement. “These films capture moments of hope, resilience and transformation, while pushing the boundaries of form and perspective. It’s an exciting look at the future of cinema, shaped by artists unafraid to take risks.”
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