A magnet for drama – especially at Christmas – every few years Coronation Street cafe worker Shona Platt’s life seems to hang in the balance. But could this time see her leave the show for good?
Christine Smith and Hannah Britt Features Editor (Advanced Content)
21:00, 31 Dec 2025
Coronation Street actress Julia Goulding(Image: PA)
Back in 2019, Corrie’s Shona Platt was left in a coma, fighting for life when she was shot by crazed gunman Derek Milligan, while hiding in a giant present intended for a treasure hunt. To add to the rollercoaster of Platt family dramas, doctors have now discovered a possible cancerous growth on the neck of the unborn baby she is expecting with husband David.
As a distraction they decide at the last minute to go to Debbie Webster’s wedding in a minibus taking guests from Wetherfield – only to end up in an almighty crash. And the much feted storyline on January 5 brings the cast of Coronation Street and Emmerdale together for one episode, dubbed ‘Corriedale.’ Rumour has it someone is killed and Julia Goulding, who plays Shona Platt, isn’t ruling herself out.
Julia, 40, tells The Mirror: ”I can’t say if she or David survive the crash or not, but it’s safe to say Shona is in a very delicate position. They both do get knocked out and it’s touch and go. If they are both affected, the stakes are going to be very high.”
Despite the precarious fate of her character, Julia was honoured to be cast in the extraordinary episode – the first time the two iconic soaps have come together. She says: “I was over the moon to be asked. I was very excited.”
Debbie’s wedding feels like something “normal’ to do, as Shona and David struggle to cope with their fears concerning their baby. Julia says: “Shona and David are in limbo. They know the baby has a mass on its neck, but they don’t know yet if it’s cancerous or not. Shona wants the wedding to take her mind off everything and thinks it’s a chance to enjoy the freedom while they can.”
For Julia it meant working with legendary Emmerdale stars like Emma Atkins, who plays Charity Dingle, and Chris Chittell, who plays Eric Pollard. She says of Emma: “It was absolutely brilliant working alongside her, as it was Chris. “There is a scene with Ken [Barlow] and Pollard and Shona and David. It was so surreal!
“I can’t say whether these scenes were before or after the crash, but it was a real pinch me moment.” While she is used to seeing Emmerdale actors at awards ceremonies, Julia hasn’t worked with them before.
She continues: “There is no rivalry between us all. It was so nice to finally work together. “Emma is a class actress and she is such a lovely person. We sat chatting in between scenes having a natter and we got on like a house on fire. “
Clearly impressed by the cliffhanger episode, she continues: “We’ve got Duncan Foster directing the episode. He has done some of Corrie’s biggest episodes and Emmerdale’s too, so you know you are in safe hands. He knows both casts and crew very well. It was so exciting to shoot.”
Meanwhile, Julia, who has two children – Franklin, six, and Emmeline, three, with her husband, Ben Silver, who she married on stage at Manchester’s Albert Hall in February 2019 – is grateful to have had much easier pregnancies than Shona. “It was tough filming the scenes when Shona found out about the mass,” she says. “It’s every parent’s worst nightmare and you don’t have to stretch yourself emotionally when you hear news like that. Thankfully, my own pregnancies were a hell of a lot smoother than what Shona is having to face.”
Slim Julia has been wearing a prosthetic bump made from rubber and prosthetic breasts, to make Shona’s pregnancy look more convincing. She says: “I was more comfortable when I was pregnant in real life. They are made from rubber and the bump is heavy and sweaty. I have had a bad back for the past eight weeks because it is so heavy!”
Despite the uncomfortable costume, Julia enjoys playing Shona now just as much as she did when she first stepped on to the cobbles nine years ago. After training at London’s prestigious RADA, it was her first TV role. “I love playing her,” she says. “Every day is different and exciting. Nothing is ever the same. You might be crying in the morning about your baby being sick, but then laughing and joking in the afternoon filming Christmas scenes.”
And she and Jack P. Shepherd, who plays David, are great friends. “We have been together in the soap for nine years,” she says. “Who has heard of a nine-year relationship in a soap? We are good mates and it’s a laugh a minute working with him. He is a funny soul. When the going gets tough, we both switch it on, but you also need to have the lighter moments. It’s so important to have down times on set and we have a lot of fun filming together.”
Julia has just enjoyed a brilliant family Christmas away from Corrie, recharging her batteries. “Now we have got children, Christmas is all about them,” she says. “I didn’t go wild present wise, as my children are not materialistic. But we had a lot of fun in the run up, doing things like glow walks. We love family stuff like that and it’s nice having time off. I feel lucky we do get given a holiday, as it is so important to spend it with your family.”
But she has no plans for making New Year’s resolutions. “I don’t often make them, because like 99 per cent of the population I fail in about a week! Although, this year I would like to get to the gym more, be active and healthy.”
And she has no intention of following her screen husband into the Celebrity Big Brother house. She says, firmly: “I would not do Celebrity Big Brother. It is one of the most terrifying thoughts ever to be that exposed for 24 hours on TV. Plus, I prefer to remain firmly behind a character, rather than to be myself. Give me a script me any day over live reality TV.”
Outside work, she says she has both sets of her kids’ grandparents to thank for helping make it possible for her to be a working mum. She says: “We are very lucky. We have got grandparents who can help. But it’s always then nice to get home to my babies.”
Returning her thoughts to Corriedale, Julia says: “It is going to be such a special episode. If Shona is lucky enough to survive the crash, I would love it if there was another Corriedale special episode at a future point. And I would be begging for Shona to be part of it. But I really do fear for Shona ahead of this first Corriedale episode…” Maybe Shona’s nine lives will finally run out.
*Corriedale will air on Monday 5th January at 8pm. Coronation Street will then air every weekday at 8.30pm on ITV1. Episodes can also be downloaded on ITVX
Bridgerton actress Adjoa Andoh who plays Lady Danbury, has made big promises ahead of series four and revealed that her husband Howard Cunnell has never seen the show
Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh says husband has ‘never seen a second’ of hit show(Image: LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX)
Bridgerton actress Adjoa Andoh says husband Howard Cunnell has ‘never seen a second’ of the hit Netflix show, despite it being the network’s “biggest series ever”.
In 2021, the streamer said 82 million households around the world tuned into the show in its first 28 days online. It hit the number one spot in 83 countries, including the US, UK, India, France and Brazil.
Series four will hit screens in January, with the network confirming the storyline will zoom in on the friendship between Adjoa’s character, Lady Danbury, and Golda Rosheuvel’s Queen Charlotte. But in spite of its success, Adjoa says the show isn’t her husband’s “thing”.
She told Good Housekeeping: “My husband has never seen a second of Bridgerton. It’s not his thing.” The star, 62, promises viewers will get “more bang for [their] buck” when the new series drops on January 29th.
She said: “Everyone knows it’s Benedict’s story, but I can also say that we’re expanding the ‘Bridgeverse’ in terms of where the focus is storytelling-wise. If you love Bridgerton , you’ll get more of the same – but you’ll also get more bang for your buck. Take that as you please.”
She also reflected on the show becoming an overnight hit back in December 2020. She explained: “Everyone was at a low ebb that Christmas. The combination of Covid, the success of platform streaming and the particular brand of storytelling adopted by [Shonda Rhimes-founded production company] Shondaland made Bridgerton this remarkable thing. And, of course, there was the sex!
“It had historic frothiness, it looked incredible and the casting was unprecedented; the genie is out of the bottle with Bridgerton ’s way of framing historical romantic drama. The rest of the streamers have caught up now, but Bridgerton is still holding its place in the market, which is quite something.”
Adjoa Andoh previously called for Black women in the entertainment industry to “celebrate who they are as artists” and remember that they are not just there to “fly the flag” for others.
Speaking at the Pride of Britain Awards, Adjoa praised the next generation of young Black women for being “very thoughtful and wise”, but warned they shouldn’t forget they are also just “creative human beings” in their own right.
She said: “We are there to say, ‘a door can open wider’, we are there to say, ‘stay in it’, ‘keep going’, ‘pick your battles’, ‘think about who you want to be’.
“But also: ‘celebrate what you do as artists, you’re not just there to fly the flag, you’re there as a creative human being’.”
The full interview can be read now in the February issue of Good Housekeeping UK.
Welcome back to this week’s Lakers newsletter, where we’re recalibrating for 2026.
The Lakers were forced to do some end-of-year soul-searching after a three-game losing streak. A productive meeting helped the team refocus on its vision board. The board featuring the Lakers’ three main resolutions reappeared in the practice gym this week: “championship habits, championship communication, championship shape.”
See, we all promise to hit the gym harder “next year.”
All things Lakers, all the time.
Two-headed monster
LeBron James and Luka Doncic pose for photos during Lakers media day on Sept. 29 in El Segundo.
(Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
This is the pairing we’ve all been waiting for. But we haven’t seen Luka Doncic and LeBron James together all that often.
Since Doncic joined the Lakers in that blockbuster trade, he and James have played together without Austin Reaves only six times in the regular season. With Reaves now sidelined for a month with a calf injury, the two Lakers superstars are going to have to get familiar with each other again.
In lineups with Doncic and Reaves, the Lakers have a net rating of 7.3, one of the team’s highest ratings for a two-man lineup that’s played at least 100 minutes. Playing together for 452 minutes, it’s the most efficient rating for any pair of regular starters.
But lineups with Doncic and James have a -10.3 net rating in 279 minutes and the James-Reaves pairing is -6.1 in 245 minutes.
Coach JJ Redick acknowledged after the team’s three-game losing streak that the offense since James returned has felt disorganized at times. While Reaves’ injury strips the Lakers of their second-leading scorer and an important ball handler, Redick agreed that just having Doncic and James for now can make the offense easier to untangle.
Redick presented a potential solution by restructuring the substitution pattern during a win over the Kings on Sunday. He subbed Doncic out of the first quarter with about three minutes remaining instead of having him play the entire first frame. He re-entered the game with about nine minutes left in the second instead of waiting until the six- or seven-minute mark.
The plan was to let Doncic and James have more time operating the offense individually, Redick said, while not diminishing either player’s total minutes. The team still used both of them in actions together and it’s not an overarching plan to “keep them apart,” Redick stressed.
“We’re going to do this for the foreseeable future,” Redick said, “and just see how it goes.”
The Lakers were plus-12 in the 18 minutes with Doncic and James on the court against the Kings compared to -5.8 in 23.7 minutes in previous games this year. The projected starting lineup now that Reaves it out would typically feature Doncic, James, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton, and that group has a -26.0 net ranking in 37 minutes together this season.
“I don’t want to create the narrative of ‘me and Luka,’” James said. “It’s five guys on the floor and seven guys that come off the bench. It needs to be all of us. It’s important that we set the tone.”
More than just the production on the court, the Lakers will look to their superstars for leadership during this next stretch. Redick acknowledged that Doncic and James have a responsibility to set the tone for the Lakers, especially at the beginning of games.
The Lakers were minus-28 in first quarters during their three-game losing streak. Doncic said after the Christmas Day debacle that everybody had to give “better effort, starting with me.”
Then he backed up his words with his play, scoring nine points with two assists and three rebounds in the first quarter. He had two steals and a block in the first half.
“He’s the head of the snake,” forward Maxi Kleber said of Doncic before the game. “We all follow him, so it’s good for us to see him also step up in that sense, and take ownership, because it will help everybody else do the same and focus especially with that effort on every possession.”
LeBron vs. Father Time (OT)
Lakers forward Lebron James drives in front of Kings guard Demar Derozan (10) as center Maxime Raynaud (42) watches Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)
When James released his LeBron XX sneakers, he battled Father Time in a series of commercials that pitted actor Jason Momoa, dressed in purple robes with gray hair and a long beard, against James in a plank contest, karaoke and ultimately one-on-one basketball.
Three years after James blocked Father Time’s shot in the commerical series’ “final round,” James is still competing against the opponent everyone says is undefeated.
“I’m in a battle with him,” James said Sunday, two days before his 41st birthday. “And I would like to say that I’m kicking his ass on the back nine.”
James then walked out of his postgame interview with a smile on his face after his final game as a 40-year-old.
James, who celebrates his 41st birthday Tuesday, is not the same force that he was in his late 20s or even 30s, but he is still accomplishing feats never seen in the NBA. James is averaging 20.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists in his record 23rd NBA season. Only five players have ever averaged double-digit scoring during or after their Year 40 season. None averaged better than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 14.6 points per game in 1987-88.
How LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar compare in their 40s.
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
“Unbelievable,” 21-year-old guard Nick Smith Jr. said of James’ performance at this stage of his career. “Him and my dad [are] the same age, and my dad hasn’t played in like 10 years. So the stuff he do is incredible. Yeah, he’s not normal.”
James knows his clock is ticking. He has recognized multiple times this season that he is cherishing what could be the final moments of his career. He acknowledged great road crowd receptions in Philadelphia and Toronto and spoke wistfully about how he’ll never be able to recapture the feeling of entering a packed arena.
It’s why moments like his three dunks against the Kings that fired up the home crowd Sunday are still meaningful, even if he’s not jumping as high as he once did.
“It is remarkable,” said Redick, who turned 41 in June this year and last played in 2021. “I have trouble getting out of bed in the morning and got to get an injection on my knee. My body is old and broken.”
A day after James rocked the rim with a reverse dunk against the Kings, Redick was happy to report he can “still barely touch the rim.”
On tap
Dec. 30 vs. Pistons (24-8), 7:30 p.m. PST
Detroit is one of the biggest surprises of the NBA season, emerging from a first-round playoff exit last year to now lead the wide-open Eastern Conference. But the Pistons have lost two in a row, including a stunning loss to the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard, who dropped 55 points on Sunday.
Jan. 2 vs. Grizzlies (15-17), 7:30 p.m. PST
Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant is back from a sprained ankle that cost him four games, but the team is still missing center Zach Edey, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury since Dec. 11. Memphis is 4-4 without Edey (13.6 points, 11.1 rebounds) after going 7-4 with him. He missed the beginning of the season after surgery on the same left ankle.
Jan. 4 vs. Grizzlies (15-17), 6:30 p.m. PST
This game wraps up a four-game homestand for the Lakers, who have 10 of their 16 games in January on the road.
Status report
Jaxson Hayes: Left ankle soreness
Hayes missed two games after reaggravating an ankle injury against Phoenix on Dec. 23 but is expected to return on Tuesday against Detroit.
Rui Hachimura: Left calf soreness
Hachimura missed practice Monday, but Redick doesn’t expect Hachimura to be out for long as the forward is “just a little banged up.” Hachimura is out for Tuesday’s game against Detroit.
Austin Reaves: left calf strain
Reaves will be out for at least a month. He is not scheduled to be reevaluated until around Jan. 26.
Gabe Vincent: Lumbar back strain
Vincent has missed four games and had no status change after his initial reevaluation date of Dec. 25.
Favorite thing I ate this week
Bun mang, Vietnamese bamboo shoot noodle soup.
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen/Los Angeles Times)
I spent Christmas Day with my Lakers beat family at Crypto.com Arena then Boxing Day with my extended family in Orange County. My aunt made bun mang — Vietnamese bamboo shoot noodle soup — for the holiday and saved me a bowl.
It’s more traditionally served with duck, but my aunt prefers chicken. I told her I’d never had this dish before because I don’t think my mom ever made it. She explained that it takes three days of soaking, rinsing and boiling the bamboo shoots, so now I understand why my mom never made it. But it was worth my aunt’s effort.
THE COLOURFUL costumes and heart-warming songs of The Lion King first graced the West End over 26 years ago, yet one person knows the show more intimately than anyone else.
Leading actor George Asprey never imagined he would’ve stayed playing Scar in The Lion King for six months, let alone over 17 years, but it didn’t take him long to fall in love with the production.
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George Asprey has been playing scar in The Lion King for 17 yearsCredit: Getty
Since then, millions have watched him act Scar on stage at the Lyceum Theatre.
And as a result, the actor obviously has a lot of tips for visitors.
His first piece of advice, is that whether you are new to the show or have seen it a thousand times, to come with no expectations.
He said: “Allow yourself to just open up to the set and the costumes.
“It is difficult to take everything in, in one sitting, and when you come again, you’ll pick up the different nuances.
“Maybe in the scenery, for example.”
George shared how this is particularly true for one fan, who has seen the show over 100 times “just because she loved it so much and said there was always something to see”.
He added: “She would say ‘this is what I love to do’ – different shows affect different people in different ways, and for her, it was just her love of life in the show.”
One moment is particularly special though, admitted George.
He said: “When people watch The Lion King for the first time, they will never get that experience again – that feeling or reaction.
“I think I am always aware of that kid in the audience, mainly because of having my own children and I know firsthand, as to him and to everyone at the show, I need to be the best possible Scar I can be.
“It is a huge responsibility for all of us to consider the legacy and I think that’s probably one of the reasons I like to think the show continues to impress people.”
And having been in the show for such a long time, George of course has tips for those heading to the show.
He revealed: “I’ve had friends right at the front of the stalls and I have had friends right at the bottom end of the upper circle, and I think the one thing about the Lyceum is that all of the viewing is extraordinary.
“I really don’t think there’s a vantage point in the upper circle where you won’t see everything still.
According to George, you could sit anywhere in the Lyceum Theatre and have a good viewCredit: Getty
“I think it its decent price for a reason and I don’t think it’s not worth it and I wouldn’t avoid coming if you can only afford a certain seat, because you still get a wonderful experience.”
George added how it is so much more than a show, that the costumes are all like their own pieces of art.
“Like you have a full-size elephant just walking down he aisle – it is such a feast for the eyes,” he said.
“There are just so many incredible moments in the show.
“I follow two of the greatest numbers in the show – Scar comes on and completely changes the tone.
“I think the Lion King has one of the greatest opening numbers of any musical ever,” he added.
And whilst people may think The Lion King is a show for kids, they couldn’t be more wrong.
And the show isn’t just for children, adults will enjoy it tooCredit: Disney
George said: “When you’re younger, of course, you think Scar is the scariest character, but then as you get older – you start to think the language is so beautiful, his costume is so interesting and everything he says actually has a point to it.
“It truly is a family show, because every member of the family will get something different from it.”
Each time George performs, he gets to the show around 5:30pm and then by 6pm he is in costume.
He revealed: “We have to be there at 6pm, to start vocal and physical warm up – which runs until 6:30pm – then I am straight into hair and makeup and after makeup straight down to costume.
“I’ll get back to my dressing room by five past 10 and considering the amount of makeup I’m wearing, I’m so quick at getting it off – I am normally out the building by 10:15/10:20pm.”
Of course, they are days where it is more difficult though, like when he is unwell, but he did share “it’s never to do with the job itself”.
As for his routine to ensure he doesn’t get unwell often, he makes sure to eat clean – apart from Sundays, when “all bets are off”.
He also works out as much as he can.
For George, his most memorable moment was the first show back after CovidCredit: Johan Persson
Through 17 years George has had many memorable moments as well – but the most memorable?
“The first show back after Covid,” he revealed, “theatre was the last thing to return so it was a long time coming.
“And of course, it meant a lot to everyone.
“I’m actually welling up at the thought of it.
“To not be able to do what you love doing for 17 months and not seeing the people you love seeing – it’s hard and suddenly, people could enjoy the theatre again.”
He concluded: “All I can say is that it is a huge honour [to play Scar] and something that I never take for granted.”
For more inspiration on things to do in London, here’s everything you can do at one of London’s most popular attractions before it closes ahead of £240million renovation.
ACTRESS Melanie Watson died on Friday in Colorado Springs.
Best known for her role on the 80s TV show “Diff’rent Strokes”, she passed away aged 57.
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Melanie Watson playing Kathy Gordon on Diff’rent StrokesCredit: GettyWatson pictured on the first day of the cross country Olympic Torch Relay, 1996Credit: GettyMelanie Watson appearing in iconic 1980s show ‘Diff’rent Strokes’Credit: NBC
The Diff’rent Strokes actress had been in hospital where she quickly deteriorated, TMZ reported.
Robert Watson, Melanie’s brother told the outlet that she died on December 26.
He said his sister had been suffering bleeding, and that doctors did their best to help her.
Watson was born in Dana Point, California, with a condition called osteogenesis imperfecta, which causes bones to fracture easily.
The disease can also cause a curved spine, difficulty breathing, muscle weakness, and other issues.
The actress’ brother told TMZ that she was lucky to have lived as long as she did with her condition.
Robert said he would always think of Melanie.
She played Arnold’s pal Kathy Gordon on the 1980s TV show Diff’rent Strokes, appearing in four episodes of the hit show.
Her character used a wheelchair, just as the child star did in real life.
In 1982, she appeared in an episode called Kathy, named after her character.
In the episode, Kathy argued with Gary Coleman’s character, Arnold, after he tried to convince her to walk without using crutches.
Watson retired from showbiz after her run on hit show Diff’rent Strokes ended.
Later, she was married to Roger Bernhardt, for four years between 1994 and 1996.
Known professionally as Melanie Bernhardt, the child star was the founder and executive director of Train Rite, an organisation that trains shelter dogs to help disabled people.
In 2020, the the actress began a run for the Colorado State Senate, but pulled out of the race as “unforeseeable health conditions” derailed her campaign.
In 2024, she had expressed hopes of running for political office again.
Watson spoke about her TV stardom in a 2020 interview with IndieWire, describing herself as “a pill” to work with.
She said: “I was always playing with my yo-yo and listening to my Walkman.”
Talking about representing disabled people like her on screen, Watson said: “I didn’t realise what a gift it was to be the first one out there.
If I had to do it all over again, I would have stayed in the business.”
The late Melanie Watson playing Kathy with Gary Coleman as ArnoldCredit: NBCMelanie Watson found fame appearing with actors including Conrad BainCredit: NBCMelanie Watson appeared in the hit show Diff’rent Strokes, playing KathyCredit: NBC
There was no shortage of engrossing art with which to engage in Southern California museums during the past year, although the considerable majority of it had been made only within the past 50 years or so. Art’s global history before the Second World War continues to play a decided second fiddle to contemporary art in special exhibitions.
Our picks for this year’s best in arts and entertainment.
The chief exception: the Getty, where its Brentwood anchor and Pacific Palisades outpost accounted for three of the 10 most engrossing museum exhibitions in 2025, all 10 presented here in order of their opening dates. (Four are still on view.)
Art museums across the country continue to struggle in attendance and fundraising after the double-whammy of the lengthy COVID-19 pandemic shut-down followed by culture war attacks from the Trump administration. That may help explain the unusually lengthy, seven- to 14-month duration of half of these shows.
Gustave Caillebotte, “Floor Scrapers,” 1875, oil on canvas.
(Musée d’Orsay )
Gustave Caillebotte: Painting Men. Getty Center
An emphasis on men’s daily lives is very unusual in French Impressionist art. Women are more prominent as subject matter in scores of paintings by marquee names like Monet, Cassatt and Degas. But homosocial life in late-19th century Paris was the fascinating focus of this show, the first Los Angeles museum survey of Gustave Caillebotte’s paintings in 30 years.
A view into a dance gallery is framed by Guadalupe Rosales’ “Concourse/C3” installation.
(Christopher Knight / Los Angeles Times)
Guadalupe Rosales – Tzahualli: Mi Memoria en Tu Reflejo. Palm Springs Art Museum
Vibrant Chicano youth subcultures of 1990s Los Angeles, during the fraught era of Rodney King and the AIDS epidemic, are embedded in the art of one of its enthusiastic participants. Guadalupe Rosales layers her archival work onto pleasure and freedom today, as was seen in this vibrant exhibition, offering a welcome balm during another period of outsized social distress.
Don Bachardy, “Christopher Isherwood,” June 20, 1979; acrylic on paper.
(Don Bachardy Paper / Huntington Library)
Don Bachardy: A Life in Portraits. The Huntington
The nearly 70-year retrospective of portrait drawings in pencil and paint by Los Angeles artist Don Bachardy revealed the works to be like performances: Both artist and sitter participated in putting on a pictorial show. The extended visual encounter between two people, its intimacy inescapable, culminates in the two “actors” autographing their performed picture.
“Probably Shakyamuni, the Historical Buddha,” China, Tang Dynasty, circa 700-800; marble.
(Christopher Knight / Los Angeles Times)
Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia. LACMA. Through July 12
“Realms of the Dharma” isn’t exactly an exhibition. Instead, it’s a temporary, 14-month installation of Buddhist sculptures, paintings and drawings from the museum’s impressive permanent collection, plus a few additions. It’s worth noting here, though, because almost all of its marvelous pieces were in storage (or traveling) for more than seven years, during the lengthy tear-down of a prior LACMA building and construction of a new one, and much of it will disappear again when the installation closes next summer.
Noah Davis, “40 Acres and a Unicorn,” 2007, acrylic and gouache on canvas.
(Anna Arca)
Noah Davis. UCLA Hammer Museum
A tight survey of 50 works, all made by Noah Davis in the brief span between 2007 and the L.A.-based artist’s untimely death in 2015 at just 32, told a poignant story of rapid artistic growth brutally interrupted. Davis was a painter’s painter, a deeply thoughtful and idiosyncratic Black voice heard by other artists and aficionados, even while still in invigorating development.
Weegee (Arthur Fellig), “The Gay Deceiver, 1939/1950, gelatin silver print. Getty Museum
(Getty Museum)
Queer Lens: A History of Photography. Getty Center
Assembling some 270 photographs from the 19th and 20th centuries, “Queer Lens” looked at work produced after the 1869 invention of the binaries of “heterosexual and homosexual,” just a short generation after the 1839 invention of the camera. Transformations in the expression of gender and sexuality by scores of artists as well-known as Berenice Abbott, Anthony Friedkin, Robert Mapplethorpe, Man Ray and Edmund Teske were tracked along with more than a dozen unknowns.
“Sealstone With a Battle Scene (The Pylos Combat Agate),” Minoan, 1630-1440 BC; banded agate, gold and bronze.
(Jeff Vanderpool)
The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior-Princes of Ancient Greece. Getty Villa. Through Jan. 12
The star of this look into the ancient, not widely known Mycenaean kingdom of Pylos was a tiny agate, barely 1.3 inches wide, making its public debut outside Europe. The exquisitely carved stone, unearthed by archaeologists in 2017, shows two lean but muscled warriors going at it over the sprawled body of a dead comrade. Perhaps made in Crete, the idealized naturalism of a battle scene rendered in shallow three-dimensional space threw a stylistic monkey-wrench into our established understanding of Greek culture 3,500 years ago.
Ken Gonzales-Day digitally erased Illinois Black lynching victim Charlie Mitchell from an 1897 postcard to focus instead on the perpetrators.
(USC Fisher Museum of Art)
Ken Gonzales-Day: History’s “Nevermade.” USC Fisher Museum of Art. Through March 14
The ways in which identities of race, gender and class are erased in a society dominated by straight white patriarchy animates the first mid-career survey of Los Angeles–based artist Ken Gonzales-Day. The riveting centerpiece is his extensive meditation on the American mass-hysteria embodied by the horrific practice of lynching, in which Gonzales-Day employed digital techniques to erase the brutalized victims (and the ropes) in grisly photographs of the murders. Focus shifts the viewer’s gaze toward the perpetrators — an urgent and timely transference, given the shredding of civil society underway today.
Kara Walker deconstructed a monument to Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson for “Unmanned Drone,” as seen at the Brick gallery as part of “Monuments.”
(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)
Monuments. The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA and the Brick. Through May 3
The nearly two-year delay in opening “Monuments,” an exhibition of toppled Confederate and Jim Crow statues that pairs cautionary art history with thoughtful and poetic retorts by a variety of artists, turned out to give the much anticipated undertaking an especially potent punch. As the Trump Administration restores a white supremacist sheen to “Lost Cause” mythology by renaming military installations after Civil War traitors and returning sculptures and paintings of them to prior perches, from which they had been removed, this sober and incisive analysis of what’s at stake is nothing less than crucial.
Peak moment: As a metaphor of white supremacy, Kara Walker’s transformation of the ancient “man on a horse” motif into a monstrous headless horseman — a Euro-American corpse that tortures the living and refuses to die — resonates loudly.
Installation view of sculptures and a painting by Robert Therrien at the Broad.
(Joshua White / Broad museum)
Robert Therrien: This Is a Story. The Broad. Through April 5
The late Los Angeles-based artist Robert Therrien (1947-2019) had a distinctive, even quirky capacity for teasing out a conceptual space between ordinary domestic objects and their mysterious personal meanings. In 120 paintings, drawings, photographs and especially sculptures, this Therrien exhibition offers objects hovering somewhere between immediately recognizable and perplexingly alien, wryly funny and spiritually profound.
Si King returns to TV in his first solo series since co-star Dave Myers’ death in February 2024
Hairy Bikers star Si King is preparing to return to television screens with his first solo programme following the heartbreaking death of his close friend and co-presenter Dave Myers.
The new television venture, scheduled to broadcast on Channel 4 and markedly different from the duo’s previous culinary programmes, was initially announced during the summer months.
Dave tragically died from cancer in February 2024, at the age of 66. His passing brought an inevitable conclusion to the beloved television partnership’s time as the Hairy Bikers, with Si honouring Dave through a final programme entitled The Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone.
Previously, Si, 59, explained he would be departing from the “adventure-style” BBC programmes the duo had become renowned for. The broadcaster has now confirmed his fresh TV project, Britain’s Favourite Railway Stations with Si King, will launch next year on January 8.
Promo for the programme reveals it will feature “Si King, Siddy Holloway and Damion Burrows explore the extraordinary spaces that take us beyond catching a train to the hidden worlds where heritage, technology and community converge.”
Si, an avid railway enthusiast, will encounter the personnel who maintain the railway system’s smooth operation. The programme will also showcase Britain’s engineering achievements and a rail network comprising over 2,600 stations in its debut series for Channel 4.
Clemency Green, Senior Commissioning Editor at Channel 4, commented on the forthcoming series: “As the rail network turns 200 years old, this series will spotlight the best of our country’s engineering history in a different way.
“We’re honoured that Si will be presenting his first series for More4, and Yeti will no doubt deliver a captivating series that viewers will love to escape into.”
Anna Davies, Executive Producer at Yeti Television, added: “There’s something uniquely British about our love of railways – but usually it’s the trains, not the stations, that get the limelight.
“There are so many amazing stories to be uncovered in stations big and small, with unique characters who run them and incredible history, and Si is the perfect person to be taking us on that journey.”
Discussing future television projects following his time with the Hairy Bikers, Si previously reflected: “It would be different because you know that was Dave and I. He’s no longer with us, so no, it would have to be different. I would want it to be different.”
Embarking on a solo venture for the first time after two decades as part of a beloved partnership, Si has joined This Morning this year as a regular chef contributing to their cookery segments.
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The Big Night of Musicals Christmas special aired on BBC One on Saturday night (December 27) with viewers spotting a vital detail
Bethany Whittingham and Karen Price Assistant Editor of Screen Time
20:54, 27 Dec 2025Updated 21:00, 27 Dec 2025
Jason Manford hosting Big Night of Musicals(Image: BBC)
Big Night of Musicals viewers were left scratching their heads after spotting a glaring detail during the festive BBC programme.
On Saturday night (December 27), Jason Manford presented what was billed as the Christmas compilation of this year’s finest stage musicals.
The show featured performances from the casts of Matilda, Mary Poppins, and Wicked, alongside numbers from cherished films such as Back to the Future, and tributes to music legends like Tina Turner.
However, within minutes of the broadcast beginning, sharp-eyed fans noticed a dead giveaway that this wasn’t actually a fresh compilation but rather a repeat.
Flocking to X – previously Twitter – numerous viewers highlighted that several audience members could be seen wearing face masks throughout the performances, reports the Express.
It wasn’t long before astute watchers realised this television round-up contained footage filmed during the coronavirus pandemic.
One viewer wrote: “When was the Tina Turner bit filmed if people are in masks?” whilst another questioned: “Erm… I’ve seen this exact performance before? ? ? Is this a repeat?”
A third viewer confirmed their suspicions, stating: “YUP… This entire this was a repeat.”
Nevertheless, despite the programme being a rerun from a previous year, many fans still relished the musical spectacular and flocked to social media to heap praise upon it.
One enthusiastic viewer wrote: “Loving Big Night of Musicals with @JasonManford, great that the schools and colleges have been shown too, not just established productions. I’m looking forward to next month even more now [musical notes emoji].”
Another fan concurred: “Really enjoying watching #BigNightOfMusicals on @BBCOne with @JasonManford,” while a third chimed in: “That was brilliant @JasonManford [green heart emoji]. Only problem is now I want to book to see Wicked, Matilda, and Mary Poppins again [crying emoji, laughing emoji].”
The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals is gearing up for its fifth dazzling instalment next month, featuring showstopping performances from West End smashes including Wicked, Miss Saigon, Jesus Christ Superstar and many more.
The show will once again be hosted by Jason Manford and will take place at Manchester’s AO Arena on 26 January 2026. Speaking about the upcoming extravaganza, Manford enthused: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be hosting The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals for the fifth year running.
“The 2026 line-up is phenomenal; some of the biggest shows in the world are coming together for one night only, and I can’t wait for audiences to experience it. This event is also a huge thank you to National Lottery players whose support keeps theatre alive and accessible.
“Without their contributions, so many productions, training programmes, and venue restorations simply wouldn’t be possible.”
For those unable to attend the event, the fifth instalment will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in Spring 2026.
Christmas is behind us, and the New Year is bearing down on us with alarming speed. It’s hard to believe that it has been almost a full year since the devastating fires erupted in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades, sending many of us, our neighbors and friends fleeing to far corners of the state to escape the flames and smoke.
That tragic week marked the beginning of 2025 and the dawn of the second Trump term, ushering in a year that would challenge us in more ways than could have been imagined at the end of 2024.
As I look back on all the stories that The Times’ arts team covered over the last 12 months, it’s notable that the fires and Trump’s effect on the arts dominated the top of the most-read list. But there were also joyful stories about the people, shows and trends that shaped the cultural narrative of the endlessly surprising mid-2020s.
Without further ado, here are the top 10 most-read arts stories of 2025.
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt wishing you a happy, safe and healthy new year. Here’s your arts news for the week.
Our critics
Art critic Christopher Knight’s recent retirement reminded us how fortunate we are to have the finest critics covering the arts in Southern California. Here are a few of our most read pieces of criticism from 2025.
The new David Geffen Galleries, opening in 2026, are composed entirely of Brutalist concrete.
Countdown NYE The giant intergalactic rave, promising alien contact, four stages and all-night debauchery, moves to the L.A. Convention Center for its 11th edition with headliners including John Summit, Above & Beyond, Pryda, Madeon, Slander, Sub Focus, Crankdat and Wuki. 7 p.m.-5 a.m. Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S. Figueroa St., downtown L.A.. countdownnye.com
A preview of last year’s New Year’s Eve LA Midnight Countdown at Gloria Molina Grand Park.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Countdown to 2026 Gloria Molina Grand Park’s free, all-ages New Year’s Eve celebration, reportedly the largest on the West Coast, rings in the holiday with live music and performances on the Get Down Stage (hosted by Shaun Ross, featuring Ashley Younniä, Clax10 and DJ Wayne Williams) and the Countdown Stage, hosted by DJ Gingee featuring Ceci Bastida, Bardo and Ruby Ibarra. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday. 200 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. grandparkla.org
New Year’s Eve with El DeBarge The R&B crooner of such hits “All This Love,” “I Like it,” “Stay With Me” and “Rhythm of the Night” helps the new live jazz venue inaugurate a new tradition. 8 and 11 p.m. Wednesday. Blue Note LA, 6372 W. Sunset Blvd. bluenotejazz.com
The Roots ring in the New Year at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
(Los Angeles Philharmonic Assn.)
New Year’s Eve with the Roots Philly’s finest take a break from “Tonight Show” duties to bring their eclectic blend of hip-hop to L.A. for two shows to close out the year. 7 and 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
Queen Mary New Year’s Eve Party in timeless elegance aboard the iconic ocean liner (safely moored in Long Beach to ensure there’s a morning after) with its Masquerade Soirée, live music, performances, casino games and fireworks. 8 p.m. Wednesday. 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach. queenmary.com
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Eugène Grasset, “Vitrioleuse (The acid thrower)” (detail), 1894, from the periodical L’Estampe Originale, album 6, April–June 1894. Printed by Auguste Delâtre. Lithograph, hand stenciled in five colors. 22 7/8 x 18 in.
(UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum. Bequest of Elisabeth Dean.)
A great gift The UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts marks its 70th anniversary in 2026 and the Hammer Museum is presenting a two-part exhibition drawn from the center’s more than 45,000 prints, drawings, photographs, and artist’s books. Part one of “Five Centuries of Works on Paper: The Grunwald Center at 70” features nearly 100 works ranging from the Renaissance to contemporary art and includes pieces by Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Vassily Kandinsky, Käthe Kollwitz, Ansel Adams, Elizabeth Catlett, Corita Kent, Bridget Riley, Ed Ruscha and Vija Celmins. The exhibit opened Dec. 20 and runs through May 17. Part two is scheduled from June 7-Oct. 25.
Fred Grunwald, a shirt factory owner, began collecting art in Germany in the 1920s with a focus on German Expressionism. After the Nazis seized most of the original collection, he and his family immigrated to the U.S. in 1939. Grunwald started a new shirt factory and resumed his collecting in Los Angeles, expanding his interests to include prints from 19th and 20th century Europe, 19th century Japan and contemporary America. In 1956, Grunwald donated his extensive collection to UCLA so it would be accessible to students. His wife and children continued making gifts to the Grunwald Center after his death in 1964.
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“There is very strong evidence that all three pieces came out of Cambodia, out of a context of war and violence and the dissolution of order,” said Chase F. Robinson, the NMAA’s director. “All three can be connected with problematic dealers, and no evidence emerged that gave us any confidence that the pieces came out in anything other than those circumstances. So after a lot of internal research and several visits to Cambodia, we worked closely with both the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts as well its legal representative Edenbridge, shared the information we had, and came to the conclusion that all three pieces should be returned.”
The three returned artifacts are a 10th century sandstone head whose ornate carved designs match others at the temple of Pre Rup; a four-foot-tall sandstone sculpture of the goddess Uma, also from the 10th century, whose detailing ties it to the temple of Phnom Bakheng; and a bronze statue of Prajnaparamita, the goddess of transcendental wisdom, from around 1200.
— Kevin Crust
And last but not least
Once you’ve slept off the New Year’s Eve festivities and had your fill of football, settle in Thursday at 8 p.m. for PBS SoCal’s broadcast of the Vienna Philharmonic’s annual concert from the city’s historic Musikverein. The ensemble will be conducted for the first time by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and feature performances by the Vienna State Ballet and location segments hosted by “Downton Abbey’s” Hugh Bonneville.
The new series of BBC’s Call The Midwife will feature a brand new cast playing some of the much-loved characters at the ages they were when WWII broke out
Sister Julienne gets stuck into The Female Eunuch in series 15 of Call the Midwife(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC / Neal Street Productions / Olly Courtney)
The prequel of BBC One’s Call the Midwife, set at the start of World War Two and featuring younger versions of at least three of the show’s best-known characters, will launch next year on Christmas Day.
Despite the audience not knowing the actors who will play the earlier models of Jenny Agutter’s Sister Julienne, Pam Ferris’ Sister Evangeline or Judy Parfitt’s Sister Monica Joan, BBC bosses have such confidence that the show’s loyal fans will tune in, that the drama is expected to keep its prime festive slot.
Executive producer Pippa Harris, of Neal Street Productions, revealed that the prequel would kick off in the place usually reserved for Call the Midwife. Introducing the upcoming 15th series, she was asked if BBC bosses were concerned about being left with “a blank space” for 2026 and replied: “No, it will be on at Christmas.” That festive outing will be the first glimpse that viewers have of the wartime spin-off, which came about after writer Heidi Thomas had a desire to go further back in time.
“Having wept, laughed, and raged my way from 1957 to 1971, I found myself yearning to delve into the deeper past,” she has explained. The brand new series, which does not yet have a title and will film next year, is set in 1939, nearly two decades before Jennifer Worth’s original memoirs began in 1957.
Heidi admits she needed a “temporary pause in the usual pattern” after 15 years of Call the Midwife. “I don’t think any other show has produced a series every year for that period of time,” she said. “So I think this is a lovely opportunity for us to press pause and refresh a little bit and come back with more exciting things.”
She stressed that a 16th series, picking up in 1973, would follow on TV in due course. “We’re not going anywhere,” she stressed, “Except for maybe Australia.” A movie version for cinema release, set in 1972 and featuring the regular cast, is likely to be set in Australia.
On the film, to be shot at the end of next year, Heidi said: “Australia is likely, I can say that. But there are a number of places within Australia where that could be, all of which would be very different. We won’t be making any official announcements until we know exactly .” One possibility is that Miriam Margolyes will make a welcome return as Mother Mildred, as the actress is based in Australia.
Helen George, who has played nurse Trixie Aylward since the first episode aired in 2012, said she was happy to have a year off before returning to make the movie. “The truth is no one knows who’s going to be in the film yet,” she admitted. “It has to make sense that all of these characters end up in Australia. So even though I may want to go – of course I bloody do! – it can’t be so extraordinary that it doesn’t make sense.”
She said a feature-length film would provide the “space and the time” to explore their characters further. “Australia is so beautiful, when we did the South African Christmas special it was so cinematic and the lighting is all different. This would be their missionary work potentially, because this is what the nuns would do. It makes complete sense for them to branch out into the world.”
Trixie wasn’t born in 1939, but Helen, 41, believes that expanding the Nonnatus world backwards is also a fantastic idea. “The prequel will have characters that we know so well, but we’ll be going back and seeing the start. When we first began, we’d have sets with the remnants of buildings that had been bombed in the Blitz. It’s fascinating to go even further back, and I will definitely be watching.
“The fact that the British public still want us around is amazing,” she laughed. “It’s right to change the format – we all need a new lease of life.”
In the series starting next month, it is 1971 and the midwives and nurses are getting to grips with the women’s liberation movement. In one scene, some of the Nonnatus regulars are seen burning their bras, and while she didn’t do that herself, actress Linda Bassett, who plays nurse Phyllis Crane, said she did get involved in other ways.
“I was involved in various women’s groups – it affected all our relationships, people were very enthused,” she recalled. “I was very young and we had groups where we sat in a circle and got out speculums and looked up our own vaginas, at the cervix. That was what we did! I don’t think Heidi wanted to put that in the film. It was all about being free and feeling at one with your body and not being ashamed.”
Linda, 75, said she didn’t actually burn her bra. “That was a publicity thing. People did it and I’m not knocking it but no, I didn’t.” Annabelle Apsion, who plays Poplar’s much-loved mayor and shop-owner Violent Buckle, said it had been fun to film the bra burning, with some members of the team finding it quite emotional.
“Lisa, who directed it, was crying, because she remembered all of that. A lot of young women now don’t realise how things were. It would probably be a big shock to them to hear that women didn’t get the same pay for the same job.
“It was a beautiful day and it was hilarious how the men, like Dr Turner, were saying things like ‘have you left me a casserole?’”
Perry Bamonte, guitarist and keyboardist for the Cure, has died. He was 65.
The band announced on its website on Dec. 26 that Bamonte died “after a short illness at home over Christmas.”
“Quiet, intense, intuitive constant and hugely creative, ‘Teddy’ was a warm hearted and vital part of the Cure story,” the band said.
The London-born Bamonte began touring with the Cure as a guitar tech and assistant in 1984, then joined the band full-time in 1990. He performed over 400 shows with the group and recorded on the albums “Wish,” “Wild Mood Swings,” “Bloodflowers,” “Acoustic Hits” and “The Cure.”
Bamonte parted ways with the Cure after 14 years, later performing with the group Love Amongst Ruin. He returned to the Cure in 2022 for “another 90 shows, some of the best in the band’s history,” the group said, including the Nov. 1, 2024, London show documented on the concert film “The Show of a Lost World.”
As a member of the Cure, Bamonte was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. The band is still scheduled for a run of European festivals and headline shows in 2026.
“Our thoughts and condolences are with all his family,” the group said. “He will be missed.”
Most things in this world have their good points and their not-so-good points, and this is certainly true of “The Copenhagen Test,” a science-fiction spy story about a man whose brain has been hacked. Without his knowing it, everything he sees and hears is uploaded to an unknown party, in an unknown place, as if he were a living pair of smart glasses. Created by Thomas Brandon and premiering Saturday on Peacock, its conceit is dramatically clever, if, of course, impossible. What do you watch when you learn that what you’re watching is being watched?
In a preamble, we meet our hero, Andrew Hale (Simu Liu, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”), a first-generation Chinese American Green Beret, rescuing hostages in Belarus. A voice in his headset instructs him that there is enough room for one on a departing helicopter and that he must prioritize an American citizen. Instead he picks a foreign child. This, we will learn, is the less-preferred choice.
Three years later, Hale is working for the Orphanage, a shadowy American intelligence agency that spies on all the less-shadowy American intelligence agencies — watching the watchers. (So much watching!) Its proud boast is that, since its inception in the Bush I administration, it has never been compromised. (Until someone started looking through Hale’s eyes, that is.) There is a secret entrance to their giant complex, accessed by locking eyes with a statue in a library — it’s thematically appropriate, but also very “Get Smart!” That is a compliment, obviously.
The lower floor is where the analysts toil; entry to the upper floor, where the action is, is by the sort of fancy key that might have been used to open an executive washroom in 1895. (The decor is better there, too, with something of the air of an 1895 executive washroom.) Hale, who has been been listening to and translating Korean and Chinese chatter, dreams of moving upstairs, which will come with the discovery that his head is not entirely his own.
Meanwhile, he has been suffering migraines, seizures and panic attacks. Ex-fiancée Rachel (Hannah Cruz), a doctor, has been giving him pills under the table. Other characters of continuing interest include Michelle (Melissa Barrera), a bartender who will spy on Hale from the vantage point of a girlfriend, sort of; Parker (Sinclair Daniel), a newly promoted “predictive analyst” with a gift for reading people and situations; Victor (Saul Rubinek), an ex-spook who runs a high-end restaurant and has known Hale forever; Cobb (Mark O’Brien), a rivalrous colleague whose Ivy League persona has been drawn in contrast to Hale’s; and Cobb’s uncle, Schiff (Adam Godley), who also has spy knowledge. Peter Moira (Brian d’Arcy James) runs the shop, and St. George (Kathleen Chalfant) floats above Moira.
As parties unknown look through Hale’s eyes, the Orphanage is watching Hale with the usual access to the world’s security cameras. (That bit of movie spycraft always strikes me as far-fetched; however, a conversation in the privacy of my kitchen will somehow translate into ads on my social feeds, so, who knows?) “The Copenhagen Test” isn’t selling a surveillance state metaphor, in any case; this is just one of those “Who Can You Trust?” stories, one that keeps flipping characters to keep the show going, somewhat past the point of profitability.
Like most eight-hour dramas, it’s too long — “Slow Horses,” the best of this breed, sticks to six — and over the course of the show, things grow muddied with MacGuffins and subplots. While it’s easy enough to enjoy what’s happening in the moment, it can be easy to lose the plot and harder to tell just who’s on what side, or even how many sides there are. (It doesn’t help that nearly everyone is ready to kill Hale.) I can’t go into details without crossing the dreaded spoiler line, but even accepting the impossible tech, much of “The Copenhagen Test” makes little practical sense, including the eponymous test. (Why “Copenhagen?” Det ved jeg ikke. Danish for “I don’t know.”) I spent so much time untwisting knots and keeping threads straight that, though I continued to root in a detached way for Hale, I ceased to care entirely about the fate of the Orphanage and the supposedly free world.
The show is well cast. While the characters on paper are pretty much types, each actor projects the essence of the part, adding enough extra personality to suggest a real person. (And they’re all nice to look at.) When not keeling over from pain, or engaged in a shootout or hand-to-hand combat, Liu is an even-keeled, quiet sort of protagonist — rather in the Keanu Reeves vein — and as a Chinese Canadian actor, still a novelty among American television action heroes. He does have a kind of chemistry with Barrera, who has screen chemistry all on her own, though it’s somewhat limited by the demands of the plot.
The ending, including a diminished-chord twist, is pretty pat, if happier than one might imagine given the ruckus that’s gone before. Neat bows are tied — though at least one has been left loose in hopes, according to my own predictive analysis, of a second season. And though releasing a series in the last week of the year doesn’t exactly betoken confidence, I can predict with some confidence that there might be one.
Nobody does a jaw-drop reaction like Bobby Berk. It’s only surprising when you assume he’s probably seen it all after eight seasons traveling the world as the interior design expert on Netflix’s reboot of “Queer Eye”; writing his 2023 book, “Right at Home: How Good Design is Good for the Mind”; making many TV appearances (including a Taylor Swift video) and selling pretty much anything to make your home shine on BobbyBerk.com.
But in his new HGTV series “Junk or Jackpot?”, premiering Friday at 9:30 p.m. Pacific, genuine reactions come often from Burke as he enters the homes of Los Angeles collectors and sees not only rooms jam-packed with action figures, pinball machines, puppets, marionettes and more, but also some jackpot items just sitting on a bookshelf. In one episode, for example, a collector shows Berk a trading card he has that is appraised in the $100,000 range. “I’m pretty sure I said, ‘What the f—?’ though I assume it was bleeped because it’s HGTV,” says Berk from his Los Angeles home. “I’m used to Netflix, where I could say whatever I wanted. But, yeah, that was just crazy to me.”
Reactions aside, the real marvel on “Junk or Jackpot?” is watching an enthusiastic Berk swoop into people’s homes to help them learn how to come to terms with a collecting hobby that has grown into something that’s stifling homes and putting a damaging strain on relationships. “Obviously, I’m not a therapist. I’m a designer, even though in our field, we often make the joke that we’re not just designers, we’re marriage counselors,” he says.
But Berk, born in Houston and raised in conservative Mount Vernon, Mo., is a self-taught pro at identifying what isn’t working and doing everything possible to fix it, including in his own life. Case in point: Berk, not feeling safe coming out in Mount Vernon, left home at 15 and bounced around for several years in various cities, never finishing high school. “From 15 to 22, I moved around and can’t even count the amount of places I had to move around to just due to finances and situations going on in life,” he recalls.
Eventually, he landed in New York City and worked for stores like Restoration Hardware, Bed Bath & Beyond and Portico before he opened his first online store in 2006 and first physical store in Soho in 2007. Soon thereafter, Berk was racking up appearances on networks like HGTV and Bravo before “Queer Eye” came calling in 2018 and took him to new heights, including his 2023 Emmy win for structured reality program. He also received an honorary degree from Otis College of Art and Design in 2022.
Now, with “Junk or Jackpot?” about to launch, the 44-year-old Berk spoke about how he was handpicked by pro wrestler and movie star John Cena for the show, the key to helping collectors let go of things that are weighing down their lives, and, after living many places and traveling the globe, where he considers home with husband Dewey Do and their mini Labradoodle, Bimini.
“I’m not a therapist. I’m a designer, even though in our field, we often make the joke that we’re not just designers, we’re marriage counselors,” Berk says.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
What are the origins of “Junk or Jackpot?” and what does John Cena have to do with it all?
I’ve been toying back and forth with HGTV for years, even when I was still on “Queer Eye,” but with my exclusivity with Netflix, I couldn’t do design shows with anybody else. We always just kept that line of communication open, so then when this specific opportunity came about, Loren Ruch, the head of HGTV, who’s unfortunately since passed, reached out. He said, “Hey, John Cena’s created the show for us and you’re the top of his list of who he wants it to host it.” John was a big “Queer Eye” fan, so I said yes. It shot here in L.A., which was really important to me. We were really lacking for entertainment jobs here in the city so that was a big plus for me to be able to bring jobs here to L.A. to all of our amazing crews.
And it’s not your typical design show. Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with a typical design show and they do help people. But coming from “Queer Eye” where everyone we helped was because it was somebody deserving, somebody that was going through something and needed that extra boost in their life. That’s what this was with “Junk or Jackpot?”
Every single collector, as we’re calling them, had a story going on. With Patrick and Roger [in the premiere episode], Roger had moved out and their relationship was on the rocks because there was literally no space for Roger. With Carly and Johnny in another episode, they had a kid that they weren’t expecting to have in their early 40s, so it was a life-changing moment for them. Their priority needed to be their son, J.D.
I love the show because it was helping people at these moments in their life where they’re like, “We have this thing that we love and has brought us joy, but now this thing is actually starting to have negative things happening in our life.” I wanted to come in and really bring back the joyous part of their collection.
HGTV hasn’t given you a huge budget to revamp the homes and the collectors have to work themselves to sell off their collectibles to pay for the renovation. How did that angle come about?
It was a bit of therapy and I wanted the collectors to really realize that, yes, the collection that they have has value but this other thing that is happening in their life because of this collection has value, too. I wanted them to either be able to prove to themselves that what they were wanting to change in their life had more value than those things. Like with Patrick, Roger had a value.
I wanted them to go through the exercise of “You need to start parting with things.” And if you notice, I never pushed them to get rid of the most precious pieces of their collection. I pushed them to get rid of the things that often they had duplicates of but weren’t necessarily something like, “Oh, I got this as a child” or “somebody got this for me.” I wanted them to emotionally disconnect with those things so they could prioritize things better in life and in the future, they would have a lot easier time letting go even if I wasn’t there to push them.
Swatches and mood boards in Berk’s office. The host of “Junk or Jackpot?” says it is not your typical design show.(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
How do you consider budget with the collectors? In one episode, you choose to cover a brick wall instead of tearing it down and building a new one.
The homeowners are the ones footing the bill for this, because again, a portion of this is the exercise of letting go. To your point, if we had just come in at HGTV and said, “Here’s all the money!” They’re like, “All right, I have no motivation to get rid of anything.” I wanted to make sure we made budget-conscious decisions and I think that’s also a really important thing to share with people at home that you don’t always have to go out and knock out a fireplace if you hate the material. You can do a thing like micro cement and you can completely change it for a minimal cost.
What would you say you learned from shooting the first season of “Junk or Jackpot?”
I wouldn’t say I learned anything necessarily new, but it was reaffirmed to me the emotional attachment and mental health aspect that your space and design can have on you, either in a good way or a bad way.
In the bad way, your house becomes so cluttered and overwhelmed with something that used to spark joy for you, but it’s now having an effect on not only your mental health, but your relationships with other people. On the other hand, the difference in your mental health just redoing that space, reorganizing that space, reclaiming that space can have on your mental health and your relationships not only with yourself, but with your family and your friends.
Vivian, who collects Wonder Woman memorabilia, her friends stopped coming over because there was just nowhere to sit. Her best girlfriend used to come in from Vegas all the time, where she lives, and she would spend the night and now she’s like, “I just can’t anymore because I’m surrounded literally. It’s too much and I just can’t do it anymore.” You see how just changing your space really can change your life.
“I wanted to make sure we made budget-conscious decisions and I think that’s also a really important thing to share with people at home, that you don’t always have to go out and knock out a fireplace if you hate the material,” Berk says.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Season 1 is set in Los Angeles but assuming you get more seasons, would you want to do other cities or countries?
I personally would always love just to keep doing L.A. I live there and with “Queer Eye” for eight years, we traveled all over America. That being said, this is a very niche show, so it might be hard to continue doing it in the same city season after season, so we probably will have to go to other cities, and I’d be fine with that. But I would at least like another season or two in L.A. After spending the last eight years filming “Queer Eye,” I like being home.
That said, you have lived in New York, you’re in L.A. now and you also have a place in Portugal. Where do you call home?
L.A. is definitely home for me. Portugal’s great, but L.A. is definitely home. Although the more time we spend in Southeast Asia, specifically Vietnam, since my husband’s originally from there, that also feels like home. I believe in reincarnation, and I was definitely from over there in my last life. Like when I landed in Vietnam, in China, anywhere in Southeast Asia — I just feel very at home.
“Queer Eye” was such a roller coaster for all you guys but what are your reflections now that it is behind you? Were you able to enjoy it at the time?
Yes and no. It was an amazing roller coaster. I enjoyed most of it, but there were times where we were just exhausted. I don’t know if you know the flight app “Flighty,” but it tracks your flights and tells you how many hours you’ve been in planes every year and how many times you’ve been on the exact same plane. I was looking the other day at how much I flew in 2019. Keep in mind in 2019, five months of the year I was filming, so I wasn’t flying anywhere. So this was just seven months, and I flew 200 flights. I flew over 500,000 miles. I don’t miss that. That was a lot. But as much as I can remember of it, I look back with fondness.
This article contains spoilers from Season 5, Vol. 2, of “Stranger Things.”
What could be more gulp-inducing than trying to defeat a nightmarish vine-covered villain and wipe out an eerie and horror-filled alternate dimension? Maybe writing a satisfying conclusion to a mega-popular TV show built on that idea.
Ross and Matt Duffer, the sibling masterminds behind Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” are closer to finding out if they’ve achieved that in the eyes of the show’s fans. On this morning in early December, the duo are in their own alternate dimension limbo with the show’s final season release — Vol. 1 is out and they’re bracing for impact with Vol. 2.
“The day that [Vol. 1] was released, I paced around all day,” Matt says. “I did absolutely nothing, just waiting for reactions to come in and reviews to come in because you really never know how people are going to react. There’s pros and cons to the show growing in size in the way it did — people just take it apart to an insane degree. It’s scary, always scary. You never really get used to it.”
But the self-doubt keeps them sharp, he says. “It forces you to not get lazy.”
“It’s a balance between feeling very confident, then it swings to being very insecure about it — and it’s hard to keep sight,” Ross adds. “You watch these episodes dozens and dozens of times over and over again. And the strange thing about this show is that a very small group of people had seen the episodes, a really small circle, then suddenly you’re just blasting it out to millions of people all at the same time.”
The pair are sitting on a couch in the office they share — “E.T.,” “Alien” and “Batman Returns” posters adorn the walls — at their facilities, Upside Down Productions, in Los Angeles. While they were able to revel in fan reaction for a few days after the release of Vol. 1, they’re back in work mode. At this point, they still have to finalize sound and color, as well as some visual effects, on the series finale.
“Very boring visual effects,” Matt quips. “If I have to look at one more shot of spores and fog, I’m going to lose my mind.”
Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton), Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) and Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) in Season 5 of “Stranger Things.”
(Netflix)
For now, the drip-drop release around the year-end holidays continues, with Vol. 2 (Episodes 5 through 7) now streaming. The episodes contain some of the season’s bigger emotional beats, including one of TV’s most amicable breakups between teenagers, a mended friendship and a character finally living his true self openly. The Duffers discussed that and more in this edited conversation.
Let’s start with those final 10 minutes of Episode 7. Will [Noah Schnapp] shares a part of himself that he’s kept secret for a long time. He realizes that if he wants to be successful in defeating Vecna, he can’t feel afraid about this part of myself. How did you decide Will’s coming out would be revealed?
Matt: It’s something that we’ve been planning to do for a really long time. Initially, it was planned for Season 4, and we just felt it was unearned by the end of it. We wrote that scene with him in the back of the van and him talking to Jonathan [Charlie Heaton]. But I like the idea of Will slowly building to this moment. He has a breakthrough in Episode 4 in a major way, but he has this one final step to take in order to really unlock his full potential. Something we really wanted to do with the show is tie his emotional growth with these powers that he’s developed.
Ross: Putting it at the penultimate [episode] ultimately made sense because what we’re trying to do with the second volume is get our characters in a place where they all felt confident in themselves. Will being one of the major character arcs that carries through the season, but also with Dustin [Gaten Matarazzo] and Steve [Joe Keery] and Nancy [Natalia Dyer] and Jonathan — we wanted to get people, before they go into this final battle, having dealt with their internal fears and doubts.
Matt: Because that’s what Vecna weaponizes against you. If you don’t have that self-hatred or self-doubt or those insecurities, then he can’t hurt you. When Will purges himself of that, he becomes unstoppable — or that’s the hope.
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1.Noah Schnapp as Will Byers, the show’s central character.2.With his mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder). In Season 5, Vol. 2, Will comes out to her and his friends. “It’s something that we’ve been planning to do for a really long time,” says creator Matt Duffer.(Netflix)
What did you want that moment to be? What didn’t you want it to be?
Ross: We were nervous about it because you want to get it right, particularly working with Noah, who had recently come out himself. When he read it and we got his blessing, we felt really, really good about it. For us, it clicked writing it when we started talking about, “What are Will’s actual fears here in the future?” When the show really works for us is when we can combine both our mythology and the supernatural with the emotional. In this case, it’s going: Vecna is taking these fears and weaponizing them against Will, so Will actually talking to the group about these fears, as opposed to keeping them to himself — that’s when the scene really clicked.
The original plan was for him to come out to Joyce [Winona Ryder], and we started writing it and it felt really wrong because if he’s really going to be confronting these fears, he has to open up to to his friends as well. Once we did that, and we put the group in there, and we had him talk about what he saw in his future, that’s when the scene felt, as a coming-out scene, like something very unique to this show.
Matt: It’s the scene we spent the longest on this season because we were so anxious about it and getting it right. It was the most important scene of the season. I can’t emphasize enough how much the actors influence the characters, and their journeys as people really feed into what we’re writing and how we write those characters. You’re trying to channel Noah and what he went through and his growth, which we’ve watched as a person, as he’s found himself. Most of what is in the show is the first take, the first close-up that we did of Noah. It was incredible to watch because it’s one of those moments where Noah was not acting. Those words were real that he was saying. It was very emotional. It felt so real to Noah, so truthful to him. Hopefully the scene feels like that to other people because a lot of kids are watching. You feel a certain responsibility, especially with scenes like that. You can’t be careless about it.
Shipping is a hallmark in every fandom. There’s a moment where Will mentions a crush he’s harbored. He doesn’t directly state it’s Mike, but Mike knows. The viewer knows. How would you describe their dynamic?
Ross: There is a lot of shipping that’s going on with this show. In terms of all the relationships — this goes with the Will storyline, it goes with Jonathan and Nancy — for us and the writers, what’s interesting is not who ends up with who. What’s interesting to us is, how are our characters growing as people? And most of the time, the answer to that is them finding strength within themselves as opposed to finding strength with someone else. When we were talking about Will, those are the conversations that we have. How do we get Will in a place that he feels confident and strong? And that, ultimately, is him confronting these fears and exposing himself to everyone, including Mike.
Matt: When we were growing up, shipping was not a thing. This is a new thing and it gets intense. Part of me likes it because it shows how passionate people are for the show. I don’t mind people interpreting things however they want. Obviously, Ross and I have what we intended. Ross touched on it thematically — in [Episode] 4, when Will finds his power, what we were intending was not that his love for Mike gives him these powers, but his love for himself and tapping back into how he felt when he was younger — that was the key to unlocking his full potential.
Ross: It’s more of an important message to put out to younger viewers. When I’m thinking about my younger self and our struggle growing up, to put out a message that’s “It’ll all be right if this secret crush you have works out” versus “You don’t need that.” Even if it disappoints some people, it’s the more important message to put out into the world.
Matt: Not one crush of mine worked out. It hurts you, though, right? If you feel feelings and it’s unrequited, it feels like an attack on you or makes you feel unwanted. So much of the show is two things: just our love for the supernatural in the movies that we grew up on, and the other part of it is dealing with all the feelings that we had growing up. The best thing for me in the world is when younger people come up to us, the very few that recognize us, and tell us how it helped help them through a difficult time in their lives. Even Robin’s speech to Will, giving him the confidence to come out, that makes it all worth it.
“To write them being back together and friends again was just such a relief,” says Ross Duffer of Dustin, left, and Steve.
(Netflix)
I want to move on to Dustin and Steve. The strain on their relationship comes to a head in these episodes, but also reaches a reconciliation. That moment between them on the collapsing stairwell —
Matt: It’s a very short moment, but incredibly emotional. We were really moved by Gaten and Joe’s performance. It wasn’t hard for them to get into that spot. They’re very close, they have a very sweet friendship that’s not entirely dissimilar from their friendship on the show. The one frustrating thing about the show being split in the way it is, is we didn’t put out a season of the show in Volume 1 — that’s half of a show. I’m excited for people to see Volume 2, mostly for the Steve-Dustin resolution.
Ross: It was hard even writing it, keeping them apart. We felt it was right, emotionally, but to write them being back together and friends again was just such a relief because we’ve missed them, and hopefully the audience has too.
And I love that Steve gets to have his a-ha moment where he comes up with what may be the plan that ends all this.
Ross: It’s funny, we’ve joked about this; he’s very convenient for us as writers because he’s always confused. He doesn’t know what’s going on. Dustin dings him for that in Episode 5, and it was so satisfying to have Steve come up with the final plan, or the linchpin for the final plan. That was such a thrill to write to finally give Steve a moment because the brainstorming almost always goes to Dustin.
Nancy and Jonathan, at one point, are bracing for imminent death and find themselves having this touching and tender moment, sharing confessions and hard truths. What was the lay of conversation for what you wanted from that moment — there’s the acknowledgment of their trauma bond and a slightly romantic unproposal?
Matt: It’s not dissimilar, in some ways, to the Mike-Will stuff. These are people who do love each other very much; it’s just a question of, “What does that mean? What does the future look like for them?” Whenever we talked about Jonathan-Nancy — there’s got to be this feeling that they feel like they must be together because of what they’ve been through, and how could you ever connect with somebody else who hadn’t been through the same thing? But are they right, in the long run, for each other? We wanted to express that as best as we can.
Ross: It was a challenging idea. We’ve been building to it, but to get it across in five-ish minutes, it’s a complicated thing. It’s not just a soap opera where it’s shipping and who’s going to end up with who. I’ve been through experiences similar to this, when you’re with someone for a very long time, you grow so close and you go through so many things together, and it reaches a point where you go, “Well, how could someone else understand?” But at the same time, is that suffocating to your own self-growth? So when we were talking about Nancy and Jonathan, and where do they go from here, it felt like for Nancy to really grow, it’s not about Steve, it’s not about Jonathan, it’s about giving herself the space.
Matt:And for Jonathan. They both felt the same way, they just weren’t expressing it. Especially when you’re young, you have trouble understanding or expressing those feelings. We wanted to put them in a life-or-death situation where it’s their last opportunity to confess. The reference for that scene was “Almost Famous,” when the plane’s about to crash and everybody, in the moment of near-death, tells everybody everything. And then the plane doesn’t crash and it’s awkward. This is the opposite.
Matt, left, and Ross Duffer are closer to releasing the “Stranger Things” series finale. Is it a happy ending? “Even in victory, it’s not confetti and dance parties,” Ross says.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
To return to this idea of the characters wrestling with what life looks like after this is over, if it’s ever over — is a happy or triumphant ending possible? Do you even think of it in those terms?
Matt: It’s weird because we didn’t realize until we had finished writing it, how much was a reflection on the show itself. Everybody had a tricky year emotionally; it was a real roller-coaster in terms of dealing with the fact that something we had been putting everything into for 10 years was coming to an end. Ultimately, the show is more about childhood, coming of age and leaving that behind for a new part of your life. It’s not really a question of a happy ending versus a not-happy ending. It’s just a question of capturing what it feels like to move on. It’s a bittersweet thing, but I think it’s something that everybody goes through.
Ross: Even in victory, it’s not confetti and dance parties. It’s a little more complicated than that. I remember “Lord of the Rings,” reading it and watching the films as a kid — there’s that moment when they’re just back in the Shire, and there’s bit of like, “How can you understand? And how do you move on from this?” I remember at the time, when I was younger, feeling a bit of disappointment. I was like, “Can’t they just come back and everyone just celebrate and there’s a party and then we fade out?” But watching it older now, there’s something so much more resonant about it. That’s why we talk so much over the course of this season about “Even if we are able to defeat Vecna, what does that look like for all of us?” Because this Vecna and the evil in the Upside Down brought all these people together.
Matt: In terms of the parallels to the show ending, that’s really a complicated and confusing mix of emotions. Everybody’s sad to move on, but then there’s that sense that you have to move on. We try to capture that feeling.
I need you to tell me what the workflow is like on a show like this. It’s lore, science and nerd-heavy. What are the checks and balances of making sure you’re not messing things up?
Matt: The challenge, especially as the lore and mythology has gotten too complicated, is to ensure that it’s not weighing down the show and that there’s enough room for the characters. That is more important than anything. What we’ve been trying to do as much as possible with this season, because there is so much mythology, is tie it into characters and their growth.
Ross: For instance, the Jonathan-Nancy scene — the melting lab was not an idea we had and then thought, “Oh, we could put Jonathan and Nancy in the situation.” We know we want this conversation with Jonathan and Nancy. How do we get there? Then going, “Oh, what if the dark matter makes the lab unstable?” Most of the time, you’re starting character first, and then we’re adjusting the mythology in order to make those character moments work.
Matt: But also, a melting lab is cool! Everybody was super enthusiastic about that — Netflix, our production designer.
Ross: Other dimensions, everyone was fine with the wormholes. But when we suddenly go, “The lab is going to melt,” everyone was like, “Excuse me?” No one knew how to do it.
Matt: We had to fight for that melting lab, from a production and cost standpoint.
I thought we were going to have a “Titanic” situation.
Ross: Oh, “Titanic” was a reference. But we wanted them both on the table.
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1.Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink), left, and Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher).2.Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna.(Netflix)
There’s a massive culture of forecasting and dissecting — it can be overwhelming to me as a viewer because I feel like I’m not watching closely enough. But I also love seeing how people interpret things.
Ross: Especially with the superfans, the tiniest of detail is picked up on. I think it’s fun for them because they’re rewatching this over and over again, so every little minute thing is seen as something significant even when that wasn’t our intention — not that we don’t plant things for later and do Easter eggs, but 99.9% of the writers’ room is just talking about these characters in the story they’re on. That is hopefully how you’re going to be watching the show because it can get overwhelming when you see this stuff online. But at the end of the day, we’re having people engage with a long-form story, so it makes us generally happy.
Matt: But you hit on something important, which is everybody experiences the show very differently. Sometimes I go, “What show are you watching?” Whatever show they’re watching is a completely different show than the show we thought we wrote. Then sometimes, some are on exactly our wavelength. And you see this with debates over the season. Season 3 is either the best season ever or the worst season ever. This is why you can’t write to fans, because which fan are you writing to? It would be impossible. Ross and I just try to write what we think is cool and what our writers think is cool.
There are so many theories out there about how the show is ending. Has there been one where the person got it or close to it?
Ross: I remember Season 4 someone early, very early, before we’d even released it, had figured out the Henry-Vecna-One thing, which was pretty impressive. This season, though, I have not seen anyone get the ending correct, which is, hopefully, a good thing.
Matt: I think it’s good. We’ll find out. I like that the ending is not obvious to people.
My understanding is the final scene of the series is one you’ve had in mind for about seven or so years. In the end, did you reach it the way you thought you would?
Matt: Yes. The show changed a lot in the course of seven years, so aspects of it certainly changed. But I think the fundamental state, more or less, the scene is what we always thought it was going to be.
Ross: I would say there was a key idea that we came up with, breaking [Season] 5, that wasn’t in there seven years ago. There was one element that we changed, but generally it is what we always hoped it would be. After the finale is out, we’ll be happy to tell you.
Matt: It didn’t change the scene, it just added something that I think was really important.
You spoke earlier about the circle of people that you share episodes with. How do you know you’re on the right path?
Ross: It’s such a small group. It really comes down to just our group of writers. What I love about our writers’ room is, even with Matt and I, people are very happy to tell us that an idea is not working. It’s usually everyone building off of each other, and then someone synthesizes those ideas, pitches it out to the room, and you feel this collective relief and excitement within that room. And when that happens, we go, “That’s it. That’s the idea.”
Matt: This is how we’ve always worked, once the draft is written, Ross and I will do multiple passes to the point where we’re really happy and confident. We don’t like turning in anything even remotely rough to Netflix. But the final episode, that was actually weird. We didn’t get any notes from Netflix or the producers. It is that first draft that we turned in. We did multiple drafts of it, but once we turned it in, that was it.
Were you on time with that draft?
Matt: We’re never on time, as you can tell with the gaps between seasons. Ross and I are not the fast. We were actually writing it in the midst of shooting, which was not a great idea. But Ross and I do the best work when we have a gun to our heads.
Ross: There’s not a single finale of the show that wasn’t written in the midst of production, but we like it because it allows us to get a sense of what the season is, what’s working, how the actors are performing, and we can really write to that. If you look at our season finales, generally, they’re some of our better episodes, part of it because the story is culminating, but also because we’ve learned over the course of the season what this season really is, what is really clicking. Then you can lean into that.
Matt: The only weird thing to have is because we were behind, and this has never happened before, is the Holly sequences that are in Henry’s mind, that’s in summer, so we couldn’t wait to shoot those. We were shooting any scene in the woods with Holly before the script was done. That was odd because we were handing actors scripts and scenes when they hadn’t even finished the episode. But it worked out quite well.
But now, I don’t know if it’s because of us, but Netflix won’t start shooting a season of anything until all the scripts are written. I do think they’re missing out on something because … like the sense of discovery that it allows. That’s the nerve-racking thing to me about doing a movie next, is we won’t have that ability to have it evolve.
What was the reaction at the table read for the series finale that stood out to you?
Matt: As nervous as we are of how the audience is going to react, it will never match the nerves we had in terms of how the actors were going to react to it. They’ve been in it with us since the beginning and they’re so invested in these characters. I think everybody was crying. Noah started crying first, then it just spread from there.
How do you feel you’ve changed since starting the show?
Matt: It’s hard to know. You have to try to remember back to how we were 10 years ago. We were really green. We had only directed one movie before. And we never directed television before. We’ve become, hopefully, better leaders and more confident and better at communicating. Ross and I, because we’re twins, we were really good at communicating with each other, but not with other people, and I think we’ve gotten a lot better at working with a large group of people, and hopefully we’ve evolved as as filmmakers.
Ross: There was a lot of fear making that first season. It was almost out of panic and fear both, if we get this wrong — our first movie was a failure — if we mess up, we’ll never be able to tell a story again. And the lack of experience, especially in terms of production. Production was scary because our production on the movie was such a challenge and it was a traumatic experience. Now, we know so much more. We keep making it hard for ourselves because we keep raising the bar in terms of the scale of the production [and] the number of people we’re hiring. But at this point, we can walk into a set, we’re much more flexible now if actors are coming in with ideas that are different from what we had planned, there’s a lot more ability to explore.
Caleb McLaughlin, left, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown and Gaten Matarazzo when they were much younger in “Stranger Things.”
(Netflix)
To expand on the learning curve, there was a recent report that said Millie Bobby Brown had filed a complaint of bullying and harassment against David Harbour. As first-time showrunners, how was it helming a show with young actors and figuring out how to balance the responsibility of making sure they feel safe and cared for on set?
Matt: Ross and I just love working with kids, and it was fun this season to go back to that, in terms of bringing in a new generation of kids. Mostly what we try to do is treat them respectfully and listen to them and listen to their ideas. I think you just get so much better work out of them that way. We’ve become very close because we got to know them when they were really young. It feels less parental and more like an older brother situation, and we try to make it very relaxed so they’re not nervous around us, and they certainly are not. I think what’s been challenging, and mostly challenging for the kids, who are no longer kids anymore, is when the show became bigger and [dealing with] social media. I think if something’s been damaging, it’s social media. I saw it happening with Jake [Connelly], who plays Derek this year.
Ross: And Nell [Fisher, who plays Holly], as well. That is something you feel more helpless about. But what has been beneficial for them, for Jake and Nell, [is] the kids that have been through it can help them through this more. Millie’s been through it. Finn’s been through it.
Matt: That’s the thing — yes, they have us, but they also have each other to get through this. I always think that that’s the key in terms of how they all turned out as grounded as they are. We were with all of them on this press tour, and I’m constantly impressed by how level-headed and grounded they are, and how ego-less they are; that they’re not broken by what they’ve been through. It’s been great with Jake to see it completely turn around. But that doesn’t excuse what people were doing before. It’s disgusting. I wish they had gone through this without social media.
A big talking point in Hollywood right now has been the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery. You have forged relationships with both Paramount and Netflix, the companies vying for it. How are you feeling about this moment and where things seem to be headed?
Matt: It’s just so hard to know what things are going to be like. It’s hard to say anything right now. Ross and I have been pretty open about wanting to make sure that the theatrical experience is preserved. For as long as stories have been told, it’s often in front of a group. There’s something about the communal experience and I just don’t want people being isolated. But as long as things are getting in theaters, I think it’s going to be OK. I’m trying to be optimistic about it.
Ross: I think the two fears are, with whatever happens, is you want to try to protect theatrical, which is in not the best state right now. And if you keep shrinking these windows, it just continues to de-incentivize people to go to the theater. That is not something we want to see. It’s a reason why we’re making a movie for theaters next; we believe in it and want to fight for it. The other is you need competition for artists because that’s the whole reason “Stranger Things” exists in the first place. If it’s too much consolidation, then shows like this are just going to become increasingly extinct.
Was it an easy sell, getting Netflix on board with releasing the series finale in theaters?
Matt: Yeah, actually. This is where the internet can frustrate me because something starts as a rumor and then goes around, then it’s fact. We pitched the idea to Netflix marketing — it was mine and Ross’ idea, then [Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria] called us — it was only about five days [later] and [she] said, “Yeah, let’s do it.” We’re really grateful for them for supporting us. I cannot wait to go sneak into some theaters and watch it.
NEW YORK — A planned Christmas Eve jazz concert at the Kennedy Center, a holiday tradition dating back more than 20 years, has been canceled. The show’s host, musician Chuck Redd, says that he called off the performance in the wake of the White House announcing last week that President Trump’s name would be added to the facility.
As of Friday, the building’s facade reads The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. According to the White House, the president’s handpicked board approved the decision, which scholars have said violates the law. Trump had been suggesting for months he was open to changing the center’s name.
“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,” Redd told the Associated Press in an email Wednesday. Redd, a drummer and vibraphone player who has toured with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to Ray Brown, has been presiding over holiday “Jazz Jams” at the Kennedy Center since 2006, succeeding bassist William “Keter” Betts.
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to email seeking comment. The center’s website lists the show as canceled.
President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and Congress passed a law the following year naming the center as a living memorial to him. Kennedy niece Kerry Kennedy has vowed to remove Trump’s name from the building once he leaves office and former House historian Ray Smock is among those who say any changes would have to be approved by Congress.
The law explicitly prohibits the board of trustees from making the center into a memorial to anyone else, and from putting another person’s name on the building’s exterior.
Trump, a Republican, has been deeply involved with the center named for an iconic Democrat after mostly ignoring it during his first term. He has forced out its leadership, overhauled the board while arranging for himself to head it and hosted this year’s Kennedy Center honors, breaking a long tradition of presidents mostly serving as spectators. The changes at the Kennedy Center are part of the president’s larger mission to fight “woke” culture at federal cultural institutions.
Numerous artists have called off Kennedy Center performances since Trump returned to office, including Issa Rae and Peter Wolf. Lin-Manuel Miranda canceled a planned production of “Hamilton.”
KYIV, Ukraine — Before the war, Ukraine’s own “Dancing with the Stars” was a cherished and popular television show, dazzling the audiences with performances by celebrities and professional dancers. The show is now back on for one special episode — this time with Ukrainian wartime heroes as the stars, underscoring the nation’s resilience in difficult times.
Many still remember how President Volodymyr Zelensky — then an actor — won the dance competition in 2006, the year that “Tantsi z zirkamy” as the show is known in Ukrainian, first debuted.
In the new, special episode, the dancers perform with prosthetic limbs, showcasing their strength in overcoming adversity. The lineup of participants includes public figures who rose to prominence since Russia’s full-out war on Ukraine was launched in February 2022.
But like all of present-day Ukraine, the show — which is part of an international franchise — has had to deal with a multitude of wartime challenges, including frequent power outages.
All the proceeds will go to the Superhumans Center, a specialist clinic for the treatment and rehabilitation of war-wounded victims.
A new reality
During a prerecording last week, dancers spun, leapt and glided under the sparkle of lights, some seamlessly integrating their prosthetic limbs into the choreography.
For creative producer Volodymyr Zavadiuk, every segment of the show is precious, creating something special during tough times.
“It’s about our resilience and it’s about our future,” said Zavadiuk, who also heads Big Brave Events and the Big Entertainment Shows department at 1+1 Media.
Among the performers was Ruslana Danilkina, a war veteran who lost her leg in combat in 2022 and is now renowned in Ukraine for dedicating herself to helping injured troops adapt to life with prosthetics.
She delivered a passionate performance centered on reclaiming her womanhood following the traumatic injury.
Also back in the show is beloved dancer Dmytro Dikusar, this time as a competition judge. He juggled filming and serving with his platoon on the front lines.
Ukrainian rock musician Yevhen Halych sat in the makeup chair ahead of his number, reflecting on his own determination to bring back the show.
“We are filming this project in a country where there is a war. … We have power cuts, we may have an air alert, it could be bombing,” he said. “What do I feel? I feel a genuine desire to live a full life, no matter what happens.”
Wartime challenges
Producing the show’s special episode has been no easy feat in time of war. A live broadcast was impossible — a Russian attack can happen at any time. Then there were the technical obstacles: during last week’s recording, a key generator malfunctioned.
When the show airs on Sunday, audiences will vote for their favorite.
Danilkina, who was only 18 years old when she lost her leg and who today works at the Superhumans Center, enthralled everyone with her passionate performance, her prosthetic limb artfully integrated into her routine.
“Our dance number is about life. It’s about accepting love,” she told The Associated Press after her performance. “Because in reality, when your body is wounded, it’s very difficult to love yourself. And allowing someone else to love you is even harder.”
Her injury was not the end of her life, she said, and now she wants to show “thousands of wounded boys and girls who are starting their lives over again” that it’s not the end of theirs.
For veteran Ivan Voinov and his wife of three months, Solomiia, the show was more than just a dance performance: it was the second time they had danced together since his injury, the first time was at their wedding.
Solomiia Voinov smiled shyly, recounting how she had long tried to persuade Ivan that they should dance until he gave in.
“We don’t take our eyes off each other while dancing, and it’s a great connection,” she said. “I’m happy.”
Voinov said he was already planning their next dance — a bachata, a fast-paced, hip-swaying style of dance that originated in the Dominican Republic.
“We will be able to continue dancing,” he said. “It means that there is a future.”
Kullab and Stepanenko write for the Associated Press. AP videographer Alex Babenko in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.
Princess Andre has revealed that neither her mum, Katie Price, or dad, Peter Andre, have watched her ITV series The Princess DiariesCredit: ITVPeter, who Princess has a close bond with, appeared on the first season of the ITV showCredit: GettyWhile Katie claimed she was shunned from the production and didn’t feature in itCredit: PA
And despite the show being a massive hit, Princess says her famous parents weren’t sitting down on the couch to give it a watch.
She told The Sun: “I actually don’t think either of my parents have watched the show.”
“I don’t think it’s my dad’s thing, it’s more, it’s a show for people my age to watch, I think,” explained Princess, who was speaking at the launch of 3D Refirm x Facebible in Windsor.
Exes Katie and Peter share Princess and her older brother Junior, 20. While Peter is also a dad to Theo, Amelia and Arabella, and Katie to Harvey, Jett and Bunny.
“I’ve finished for season two and then I’ve got season three to film. So, I’m really excited. I think people are going to love it,” she said.
A date for the show’s release has not yet been confirmed, with Princess simply telling fans last year: “See you in 2026”.
In a break from filming, Princess was speaking at The Fairmont in Windsor, where Dr Raj Arora was launching 3D refirm – non-surgical skin tightening procedures – at her clinic, Facebible.
The doctor is a close friend of Princess’s dad and stepmum, Emily Macdonagh, who were also in attendance at the event.
She is the first doctor to offer 3D refirm at a medical-grade in the UK, with the treatment now available to book at http://www.thefacebible.com.
Princess is currently filming for the second two seasons of her reality showCredit: SplashHer brother, Junior, also features in the show as the pair’s close relationship is displayedCredit: Getty
A new celebrity is rumoured to be replacing Daniel Craig as the next James BondCredit: AlamyAfter impressing fans in Netflix show House Of Guinness, Anthony Boyle’s odds have shot to 4-1 to take on the roleCredit: Getty
The actor has been cut to 4-1, from 12-1, by bookmaker Coral to become the next James Bond, after attracting support in the firm’s betting over the last 24 hours.
Coral’s John Hill said: “We have seen significant support for Anthony Boyle in our next James Bond betting over the last 24 hours.
“As we approach the end of 2025, many punters are convinced he could be leading the race to replace Daniel Craig.”
The British actor and Hollywood star posted a playful reel on TikTok as he posed with James Bond wax figures at Madame Tussauds.
As the iconic Bond theme played over the top and the camera panned along the line of 007s, the shot finally stopped to show Idris, 53, standing at the end.
Viewers of the video rushed to the comments section to share their excitement, feeling Idris would be a prime pick for replacing Daniel Craig.
“You would be an AMAZING Bond,” said one user. A second exclaimed in all caps: “Do not get me excited for this.”
Although Jacob is Australian, is does not rule him out – especially as Aussie actor George Lazenby having previously played Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in 1969.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Henry Cavill have also been heavily rumoured to take on the gig.
Anthony is known for portraying Arthur GuinnessCredit: PADaniel took on the role two decades ago and has now stepped downCredit: AlamyHenry Cavill is one of the other stars who is heavily rumoured to take on the job, alongside Idris Elba and Callum TurnerCredit: Getty
NEW YORK — Mayor David N. Dinkins, battered by the budget crisis and seeking to project a message of personal accountability, invited ordinary citizens to his office Monday with suggestions on how to better life in the city.
Hundreds of people started lining up before dawn with complaints and ideas–including sending a squad of cowboys and cowgirls through poverty-stricken areas to preach AIDS-awareness and anti-drug messages, offering centralized computer access to municipal information, encouraging volunteerism and sacrificing a day’s pay a year to help the city.
After being pre-screened in front of City Hall, people in line were funneled through a metal detector to chat with the heads of appropriate agencies. A far smaller group met the mayor himself.
Was it a sincere search for innovation or a folksy public relations exercise? “I’d say it was 50-50,” said Michael Attisano, who emerged from the mayor’s office after suggesting a consolidation of the city’s separate housing and transit police forces. “I think he is going to get a lot of good ideas today.”
“Even now, there are those who see this as some sort of a gimmick,” Dinkins said. “It really is a desire to convey to the people of our city that this government really cares about them.”
The mayor’s invitation for ordinary citizens to meet with him came during a major televised address on July 30 that was designed to reassure both the city and the New York State Emergency Financial Control Board, created during the great fiscal crisis of the 1970s. The review board has the power under certain circumstances to seize financial control of the city.
In his speech, the mayor laid out a mixture of money-saving ideas, including ordering the heads of all city agencies, except for the police and fire departments, to give up their chauffeurs.
The mayor announced that he would not accept a pay raise for at least a year and set aside Monday as the day when New Yorkers with concerns and innovative ideas could come to see him.
And come they did. Coreen Brown of Brooklyn, arrived before dawn with a complaint about a sewer problem. When she emerged from the mayor’s office after waiting in line for hours, she admitted that she had broken into tears and Dinkins had given her a tissue.
“I forgot everything I wanted to say. I was going to invite him to my house,” Brown said.
Others remembered to deliver their messages.
Irving Scharf, a store owner from Brooklyn, suggested among other things that the mayor set up a lending-library system of math videotapes so children who miss classes because of illness or those who need extra credit can increase their learning skills.
“I am not here to berate the mayor. I am here to encourage him,” said Thelma Williams of the Bronx, who pushed for increased volunteerism and the sacrifice of a day’s pay by New Yorkers to help the city.
Carlos Foster, a rodeo producer who also lives in the Bronx, arrived wearing cowboy garb and proposed riding into poorer areas of the city with 10 cowboys and four cowgirls to preach against substance abuse and for safe sex.
Hulan Jack Jr., the son of a former Manhattan borough president in the 1960s, suggested putting all city data in central computer depositories for quick access.
Jack said that Dinkins listened and then had a municipal computer expert deliver a 30-second capsule of what already was being done. “Then we talked another minute and a half, and that was it,” he explained after leaving the mayor’s inner office.
The Dinkins invitation to New Yorkers brought out a summer Santa Claus, complete with red suit, and a woman dressed as the Easter Bunny. Police looked on bemusedly, except when Tasia Figueroa arrived with her 11-foot python, Shorty, draped around her neck.
The mayor’s staff, after quick consultation with police, asked that the snake be parked with Figueroa’s fiance while she went into City Hall to voice her municipal license complaint.
The ITV spectacular made its return this evening, with presenter Jason Manford welcoming an array of acts including Jessie J, Paddington The Musical and Sir Stephen Fry.
During the early stages of the programme, Irish boyband Westlife delivered a medley of their biggest anthems, sending fans into raptures.
One gushed: “Westlife haven’t aged in 25 years,” whilst another declared: “The gorgeous Westlife fellas!”
A third person raved: “Westlife still the finest boy group,” while someone else exclaimed: “3 ‘Benjamin Buttons’ right there! Looking incredible boys! ! !”, reports Wales Online.
Another spectator remarked: “Well those Westlife lads are looking and sounding as good as they always did.”
Yet another agreed: “These boys from Westlife literally look the same.”
The performance saw Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne and Kian Egan take to the stage. The Irish band formed in 1998, consisting of the three bandmates as well as Mark Feehily.
Brian McFadden was also a member of the band before he left to pursue a solo career in 2004. Westlife disbanded in 2012, but later reunited in 2018.
Mark has not joined the band in recent performances, with the group launching an upcoming world tour and releasing four songs this year.
He recently shared the health setbacks he’s faced, including a pneumonia diagnosis in 2022.
In June, Mark’s absence from Westlife’s shows was announced as part of their anniversary plans. The band said in a statement: “Sadly, Mark will be unable to join the celebrations. We hope he can join us back on stage when he is ready and able. He sends his love and positivity to you all as always.
“The four of us can’t quite believe its been 25 years. We could only have dreamt of the continued love and loyalty you have consistently shown us around the world.
“We are so lucky to have all of you with us and we can’t wait to celebrate together! Happy 25th To Us All! Love, Kian, Mark, Nicky and Shane x.”
Last year, Mark had announced a temporary departure from the band, ahead of their first American tour.
He said: “Hello and much love to you all! It’s Mark here.. Most of you are aware that I have had some health challenges over the past while.
“It actually all started 3.5 years ago in August 2020 when I had surgery. Within a few days of this surgery I was in severe pain and was rushed into A&E.
“I eventually ended that awful day in ICU (Intensive Care Unit) where I was informed that due to a complication with the surgery, I had developed severe ‘Sepsis‘, a life-threatening infection that would require immediate emergency surgery to rectify the problem and basically save my life.”
He went on: “It was physically and mentally a very difficult time, not to mention traumatic having to spend so long in ICU.
“In late 2021, I became very ill in Newcastle before a concert and ended up back in A&E, this time being told I had pneumonia. I was told I had to go straight home to recover and regrettably miss the rest of the concerts that December.”
He continued by explaining other surgeries he required, saying he “tried my best to soldier on” for fans, but “the physical demands of the concerts and extensive travel were proving too much for me”.
After developing a “incisional hernia” and requiring his fourth major surgery, Mark confirmed his temporary hiatus from the band, saying: “It is with the upmost level of regret that I must now temporarily stand down from all Westlife touring until a time ote: that I have had the chance to fully recover from the turbulent journey I have been through as an individual.
“Believe me, I wish things could be different! I would like to thank you so very much for your support and understanding of me and my health over the past few years.”
The Royal Variety Performance is airing on ITV1.
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A worried mother working miles away from her family frantically tries to get her three children out of harm’s way as an out of control fire ravages their community. Firefighters do everything they can, but strong winds are working against them to make the destruction go from bad to worse.
This scenario is reminiscent of the heroics that are portrayed weekly on the CBS firefighter television drama “Fire Country,” which follows the dedicated Cal Fire station in Northern California where an abundance of wooded areas make fire a common hazard. However, this particular story is very real and comes from actor Diane Farr, who plays Cal Fire Division Chief Sharon Leone and mother to firefighter Bode Leone (Max Thieriot, also a co-creator and executive producer) on the series. Farr remembers how in January she was on the show’s set in Vancouver while the wildfires were wreaking havoc in Los Angeles.
“My house was inside the evacuation order and I had to start flying my children out as fast as I could from L.A.,” she says of her La Cañada Flintridge home, which survived. “We were evacuated for eight days and the wind just went toward Altadena as opposed to coming toward our house. It was terrifying and was very eye opening for us.”
The horrific Los Angeles fires were eventually contained after catastrophic damage to the city, with some heroic firefighters leaving with jarring stories they were able to share with the “Fire Country” cast and crew. “Two of our consultants are L.A. firefighters, Matty and Marty Mullen, who had shown me a lot of videos of real firefighting of what was going on in L.A. that we were able to infuse into our [Season 3] finale,” says executive producer Tia Napolitano. “It felt important that we could show real authenticity inspired by the L.A. fires that we all lived through. I can’t believe it’s only been a year.”
Diane Farr as Sharon Leone in “Fire Country.” The actor’s home was in the evacuation zone during the L.A. wildfires in January.
(Sergei Bachlakov / CBS)
That dedication to authenticity has helped “Fire Country” become one of the sturdiest series on CBS’ prime-time schedule since premiering October 2022. Currently in its fourth season, “Fire Country” has won its time slot every week this season except when it aired against Game 6 of the World Series. It is now the veteran drama on Friday nights sandwiched between two new successful procedurals, “Sheriff Country” starring Morena Baccarin at 8 p.m. and “Boston Blue” starring Donnie Wahlberg at 10 p.m. Pacific, both spinoffs that have quickly caught the attention of audiences since their October debuts.
Farr believes the success of these shows is akin to the huge popularity of genres like true crime and their basic storytelling structure. “There is a good guy and a bad guy that’s very clear and very binary,” she says. “If you can create a situation that feels a little bit unsafe, if you can show me how people would make me safe in it, how they would solve the problem, it’s slightly relieving on a nervous system level.”
“Fire Country” delivers on all those components with the Station 42 crew performing regular acts of heroism as they keep their community safe, a reflection of real-life firefighters, says Thieriot. “People who have to do this job day in and day out are really a special breed. For me, a big thing has always been trying to capture that and trying to portray that the best way possible,” he says. “It’s television, so obviously there are more moments when we’re trying to find the drama, but at the end of the day, it’s really important that we focus on the real and we find the real in there.”
Eve (Jules Latimer) and Bode (Max Thieriot) in “Fire Country.” “People who have to do this job day in and day out are really a special breed. For me, a big thing has always been trying to capture that and trying to portray that the best way possible,” Thieriot says.(Sergei Bachlakov/CBS)
Part of the real comes in knowing that where there are heroes, there are also villains and, as its midseason finale is set to air on Friday, “Fire Country” currently has a frightening one in the form of Landon (Josh McDermitt). Initially seen as meek and even-tempered, the layers have been pulled back to show something different.
“Landon is a threat to our people and that’ll go forward for a few episodes,” teases Napolitano. “You feel like this guy is out there and he has nothing to lose.”
That’s because Landon has already lost the trust of his girlfriend Chloe (Alona Tal) and her teenage son Tyler (Conor Sherry), who recently revealed to Bode that Landon set the tragic Zabel Ridge Fire. That’s the L.A.-inspired blaze from the third-season finale that not only destroyed homes and land but also took the life of Cal Fire battalion chief Vince Leone (Billy Burke), Sharon’s husband and Bode’s father.
In Friday’s episode, a vengeful Landon isn’t happy about being investigated or the fact that Bode and Sharon have made sure that Chloe and Tyler are staying away from him. “Landon’s a small man with a very big ego and a big victim complex and that’s going to manifest in a scary way,” Napolitano says.
It also may not help matters that Chloe and Bode were once romantically involved and a spark may still exist, especially since Bode has been mentoring the troubled Tyler. Is the single Bode’s heart open to a second chance at love? “He’s getting there,” says Thieriot. “Leading up to this season, Bode had so many obstacles and I think this journey with Tyler [as mentor] is a big part of that.”
Bode (Max Thieriot) and Chloe (Alona Tal) were once romantically involved.(Sergei Bachlakov/CBS)
Hearts are also healing on the show in the aftermath of Vince’s shocking death, an event that was never in the show’s plan to quickly sweep under the rug. “We really want to be the show that everyone knows and loves, which is a comfort to a lot of our viewers,” says Napolitano. “It’s a show of joy and levity but also honors the fact that we are missing a core character who did die a hero’s death and honoring him by keeping his memory alive.”
That memory exists for Farr in several rings she regularly wears representing Sharon’s marriage and family with Vince, but she added another piece this season based on a suggestion from director Sarah Wayne Callies.
“Vince’s bracelet is heavy and regularly bumps the smaller bones in my hand,” Farr says. “Just like my former scene partner Billy, who would debate any word or line or blocking or intention with me to get to the truest take on anything we did together. Losing him is always going to be loss.” Farr said she doesn’t want to play grief forever but upcoming episodes will continue to show Sharon “trying to figure out who she is as a ‘one’ instead of a ‘two.’”
Though everyone hopes Los Angeles won’t see more fires like the ones from nearly a year ago, “Fire Country’s” creators and cast will continue to shine a light on firefighters and all the life-and-death work they do on a daily basis and, above all else, entertain.
“It’s not always easy to continue to surprise the audience and come up with this stuff that’s just really captivating and fresh and new but I believe that we can,” Thieriot says. “I’m really eager to accomplish that.”
With the ongoing fracas over President Trump’s demolition of the White House’s East Wing, a number of other Trump administration-led attempts to remake the architectural landscape of Washington, D.C., have flown largely under the radar. This includes the sale and possible demolition of the Wilbur J. Cohen Building, which was completed in 1940 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
Part of what makes the building so beloved is a series of 1942 frescoes by Ben Shahn titled “The Meaning of Social Security,” commissioned as part of the Roosevelt administration’s robust New Deal art program. In a recent article in the New Republic, architectural historian Gray Brechin is quoted as calling the Cohen building, “a kind of Sistine Chapel of the New Deal.”
The structure, originally known as the Social Security Administration Building, has served as the headquarters for Voice of America since 1954. In March, Trump signed an executive order cutting funding for the agency that oversees VOA, and most of its staff was placed on administrative leave. In June, more than 600 VOA employees received layoff notices, and the service basically shut down.
At the beginning of this year, Congress agreed to sell the Cohen building, which had been suffering from major maintenance issues. The scope of the threat to the building became clear earlier this month when Bloomberg reported that “The White House is independently soliciting bids to recommend the demolition of the historic buildings [including the Cohen building], without the input of the General Services Administration, which maintains government buildings.”
“Federal properties can be sold quickly with limited public input. As powerful interests move in haste to sell this historic building, we call for the process to be paused and conducted with transparency, respect, and public participation,” the petition, which has garnered more than 4,700 signatures, states.
The Shahn frescoes aren’t the only precious New Deal artworks in danger. Other art housed in the Cohen building include murals by Seymour Fogel and Philip Guston.
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt wondering when enough is enough. Here’s your arts news for the week.
On our radar
Grant Gershon conducts the Los Angeles Master Chorale at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
(Jamie Phan / Los Angeles Master Chorale)
Disney Hall-e-lu-jah It’s hard to imagine the holidays without music, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale has three days of caroling and chorusing that should lift anyone’s seasonal spirits. A new addition to the choir’s traditional offerings is the family-friendly “Carols for Kids” (11 a.m. Saturday. Walt Disney Concert Hall), featuring Youth Chorus LA and designed for even the squirmiest children, 6 and under. That will be followed by the “Festival of Carols” (2 p.m. Saturday. Disney Hall), a program of global holiday music. The group’s performance of “Handel’s Messiah” (7 p.m. Sunday. Disney Hall) is a worthy centerpiece of any celebration. If you’re ready to have your own voice be heard, “Carols on the Plaza” (6 p.m. Monday, across the street at the Music Center’s Jerry Moss Plaza), is your chance to join in on free outdoor caroling with family, friends and fellow Angelenos. Festivities conclude with the Master Chorale’s “Messiah Sing-Along” (7:30 p.m. Monday) back at Disney Hall where 2,000 voices will unite for the “Hallelujah Chorus.” — Kevin Crust Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave.; Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. lamasterchorale.org
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The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY The Fruit Cake Follies In its 27th year, this madcap holiday variety show promises “music, mirth and merriment.” 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with dinner at 6:30 p.m.; 1 p.m Sunday, with brunch at 11 a.m. Catalina Jazz Club, 6725 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood. catalinajazzclub.com
Guadalupe Maravilla: A Performance Expanding on his solo exhibition “Les soñadores,” the transdisciplinary artist creates a collective ritual combining sound, vibration and healers from around the world alongside L.A.-based artists. 8 p.m. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A. redcat.org
Piotr Beczala The Polish-born tenor, known for his work in opera and the classical vocal canon, performs, accompanied by conductor and pianist Kamal Khan. 7:30 p.m. Broad Stage, Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St., Santa Monica broadstage.org
“Wet” by Sahar Khoury at Parker Gallery, 2025
(Sahar Khoury / Parker Gallery)
Sahar Khoury The interdependence of materials and their social and cultural environments inspired the sculptor’s newest solo exhibition, “Wet,” a series of pieces created from ceramic, steel, iron, brass and aluminum. 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday, through Jan. 17. Parker Gallery, 6700 Melrose Ave. parkergallery.com
SATURDAY Christmas Joy Concert The free Third@First concert series continues with a program of carols, classic and new. 4 p.m. First United Methodist Church of Pasadena, 500. E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. thirdatfirst.org
Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps in the romantic drama “Love & Basketball.”
(New Line Cinema)
Love & Basketball Writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood marks the 25th anniversary of her modern romance classic, starring Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Alfre Woodard and Dennis Haysbert. 7 p.m. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
The cast of “Nutcracker! Magical Christmas Ballet.”
Nutcracker! Magical Christmas Ballet This 80-plus city tour offers a distinct blend of classical ballet with avant-garde circus techniques and global influences, complete with 10-foot-tall animal puppets constructed by Roger Titley. For its 33rd year on the road, the production adds a new character: Sweets the Dog, created by Barry Gordemer of the award-winning puppeteer studio Handemonium. — Ashley Lee Noon, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday. Wiltern Theatre, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles; and 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd. nutcracker.com
SUNDAY Collecting Impressionism at LACMA This new exhibition traces how the museum built its collection and its pursuit of legitimacy through early acquisitions of American and California Impressionism and donations of paintings by Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro from major Hollywood collectors. Through Jan. 3, 2027. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Resnick Pavilion, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. lacma.org
Actor Taylor Nichols, left, and director Whit Stillman at a 20th anniversary screening of “Metropolitan” at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.
(Jemal Countess / Getty Images)
Metropolitan It’s hard to believe that it’s been 35 years since the young socialites of the “urban haute bourgeoisie” entered our consciousness via filmmaker Whit Stillman’s delightfully droll film and its banter-driven, Oscar-nominated screenplay. Stillman and actor Taylor Nichols will be on hand for a Q&A with the screening. 2 p.m. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. americancinematheque.com
WEDNESDAY
Aloe Blacc and Maya Jupiter host the 2025 L.A. County Holiday Celebration.
(Music Center)
L.A. County Holiday Celebration The Music Center’s annual spectacular features more than 20 local music ensembles, choirs and dance companies. The free, ticketed event will also be broadcast on PBS SoCal. Aloe Blacc and Maya Jupiter are this year’s hosts. 3-6 p.m. Dec. 24. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. musiccenter.org
— Kevin Crust
Dispatch: A director with a human touch
Cameron Watson is the new artistic director of Skylight Theatre Company.
(David Zaugh)
Stage director Cameron Watson has one of the best batting averages in town.
His productions of “The Sound Inside” at Pasadena Playhouse, “On the Other Hand, We’re Happy” for Rogue Machine Theatre at the Matrix and “Top Girls” at Antaeus Theatre Company were morale-boosting for a critic in the trenches, offering proof that serious, humane, highly intelligent and happily unorthodox drama was alive and well in Los Angeles.
Watson’s appointment as artistic director of Los Feliz’s Skylight Theatre Company starting Jan. 1 is good news for the city’s theater ecology. Producing artistic director Gary Grossman, who led the company for 40 years with enormous integrity, built the small but ambitious Skylight into an incubator of new work that embraces diversity and the local community.
Developing new plays is fraught with risk. Watson has the both the artistic acumen and audience sensitivity needed to usher Skylight through this perilous moment in the American theater when so many companies seem to be holding on by a thread.
Watson, like Peter Brook before him, knows how to convert an empty space into a realm of magic and meaning. For Watson, the play’s the thing. But for the spark to happen, actors and audience members need a director as intuitively attuned to the uncertain human drama as Skylight Theatre Company’s new leader. (The director’s current production of “Heisenberg” at Skylight ends Sunday.)
— Charles McNulty
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Moving in stereo The most Tony-nominated play in Broadway history, “Stereophonic,” is playing at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre through Jan. 2. Times theater critic Charles McNulty caught opening night and wrote that the first touring production fails to capture the high notes of the Broadway original. A few days later, I sat down for an interview at Amoeba Records with Will Butler, the former Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist who wrote the music for the show. Our interview took place before Butler got onstage with the cast of the show for a short live in-store performance.
Boiling in Brooklyn Brooklyn was also on McNulty’s itinerary, where he saw Michelle Williams in the new revival of Eugene O’Neill’s “Anna Christie” at St. Ann’s Warehouse. “Michelle Williams seems to have unlimited emotional access. Her inner intensity expresses itself in a frenzy of volcanic feeling that can never be tamped down once it reaches its boiling point,” McNulty writes.
The name game The Kennedy Center continued its Trump-era transformation Thursday after the board voted unanimously to rename the world-famous performing arts venue The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. It remains unclear if the move is legal, or if the name change will need to be made official via an act of Congress.
Viva Las Vegas I got a look at newly revealed architectural plans for the Las Vegas Museum of Art, which is expected to break ground in 2027. Pritzker Prize-winning architect Diébédo Francis Kéré is designing the city’s first freestanding museum and says his ideas were inspired by the red rocks and canyons of the desert surrounding Sin City.
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LACMA United Workers at Los Angeles County Museum of art voted to unionize Wednesday. The vote in favor was 96%, and came after LACMA rejected workers’ requests for voluntary recognition. Staffers have expressed disappointment in management over what they are calling its anti-union campaign.
La malchance The Louvre is down on its luck. Maintenance issues have lately plagued the famous Paris museum, and then there was that infamous heist. Now workers have voted to strike over working conditions among other complaints.
