MODEL Apple Martin flipped when asked to be the face of a fashion campaign.

The 21-year-old, who is the daughter of Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow, posed upside down in a pink playsuit.

She also wore a minidress as part of her capsule collection for Self-Portrait.

Speaking about her campaign for the UK brand, she said: “Debuting with self-portrait was a no-brainer.”

“Their British spirit reminds me of growing up in London.

“So it’s felt like home from the start.”

“I’m so excited for this campaign to be out in the world and for us to continue exploring this side of my creativity together.”

It comes after Gwyneth, 53, said she had lost her “purpose” when Apple and son Moses, 19, went to university – inspiring her return to cinema in the film Marty Supreme.

She explained: “My kids went off to college.

“And I had this big vacancy in my purpose and orientation.

“And then this guy, Josh Safdie, called me and I was so embarrassingly out of the [loop].

“I had never even seen Timothée Chalamet in a movie.”

SAN FRANCISCO — With California facing deep budget uncertainty and widening economic divides, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday vowed to protect residents on both ends of the income spectrum — from wealthy business leaders he fears could leave the state to unhoused Californians relying on state-funded services.

That balancing act was on display as Newsom sharpened his criticism of a proposed ballot measure to tax billionaires, a measure opponents say may push tech companies and other businesses out of the state and wound California’s economy.

“It’s already had an outsized impact on the state,” said Newsom, speaking to reporters in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Newsom is trying to head off a union’s plan for a November ballot measure that would put a one-time tax on billionaires. If approved by voters, it would raise $100 billion by imposing a one-time wealth tax of 5% on fortunes.

Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, the union behind the proposal, wants to raise money to help millions of Californians affected by widespread healthcare cuts by the Trump administration.

California political leaders, facing a tough budget year, warn that the state does not have the financial capacity to backfill those cuts.

Newsom, who is working behind the scenes with SEIU-UHW in an effort to stop the ballot measure, on Friday appeared doubtful that a deal could be struck with proponents of the measure.

“I don’t know what there is to compromise,” said Newsom, calling the measure “badly drafted” and arguing the money raised wouldn’t be spread among other groups.

“It does not support our public educators. Does not support our teachers and counselors, our librarians. It doesn’t support our first responders and firefighters. Doesn’t support the general fund and parks.”

Two top Newsom advisors, Dan Newman and Brian Brokaw, are raising money and have formed a committee to oppose the measure.

The billionaire tax measure is dividing political leaders in California and the rest of the country, with both Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) supporting the tax.

“It’s a matter of values,” Khanna said on X. “We believe billionaires can pay a modest wealth tax so working-class Californians have the Medicaid.”

Already, some prominent business leaders are taking steps that appear to be part of a strategy to avoid a potential levy.

On Dec. 31, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel announced that his firm had opened a new office in Miami, the same day venture capitalist David Sacks said he was opening an office in Austin.

Suzanne Jimenez, chief of staff for SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, called it a myth that billionaires are leaving the state and criticized Newsom.

“Right now, his priority seems to be protecting roughly 200 ultra-wealthy individuals,” she said. “Healthcare workers are focused on protecting emergency room access and lifesaving care for all 39 million Californians.”

The proposed tax has reverberated throughout the Silicon Valley and Bay Area, home to some of the world’s most lucrative tech companies and financially successful venture capitalists.

Newsom was in San Francisco on Friday, where he served two terms as mayor, to address a separate, more pressing concern for Californians on the opposite end of the economic spectrum — those living in poverty and on the city streets.

Newsom, who is weighing a 2028 presidential run, spoke at Friendship House, a substance-use treatment provider, where the governor said California is turning around the state’s homelessness crisis.

He pointed to a recent 9% statewide drop in unsheltered homelessness as evidence that years of state investment and policy changes are beginning to show results.

That was the first such drop in more than 15 years on an issue that is a political vulnerability for the two-term governor. California still accounts for roughly a quarter of the nation’s homeless population, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

Newsom said Friday that the decline reflects years of expanded state investment in shelter, housing and behavioral healthcare, combined with stricter expectations for local governments receiving state funds. He said the state’s efforts contrast with what is happening elsewhere, pointing to homelessness continuing to rise nationally.

The governor’s budget proposal, which was released Jan. 9, includes $500 million for California’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program, which provides grants to cities, counties and local continuums of care to prevent and reduce homelessness.

That money is paired with investments from Proposition 1, a 2024 ballot measure backed by Newsom and approved by voters. The measure authorized billions in state bonds to expand mental health treatment capacity and housing for people with serious behavioral health needs.

Following Newsom’s budget proposal, legislators, housing advocates and local officials said the funding falls short of the scale of the problem.

That concern is unfolding against a constrained budget backdrop, with the governor’s finance director warning that even as AI-related tax revenues climb, rising costs and federal cuts are expected to leave the state with a projected $3 billion deficit next year.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office said Newsom’s plan leaves California financially exposed, noting that the administration’s higher revenue estimates exclude the risk of a stock market correction that could significantly worsen the state’s budget outlook.

The analyst’s office said those risks are compounded by projected multiyear deficits of $20 billion to $35 billion annually, underscoring what it called a growing structural imbalance.

Newsom on Friday called the LAO’s projections about the budget too pessimistic, but said the office is “absolutely right about structural problems in the state.”

Newsom’s budget does not include significant funding to offset federal cuts to Medicaid and other safety-net programs under President Trump and a Republican-led Congress, reductions that local officials warn could have far-reaching consequences for local governments and low-income residents.

Addressing those broad concerns, the governor defended his budget and suggested the spending plan will change by May, when the state’s financial outlook is more clear.

Times staff writer Seema Mehta and Caroline Petrow-Cohen contributed to this report.

Jan. 16 (UPI) — The U.S. Education Department has delayed plans to seize tax refunds and garnish wages over student loans that are in collection, it announced on Friday.

While the delay is in effect, the department will work to revise student loan repayment regulations in accordance with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“The Trump Administration is committed to helping student and parent borrowers resume regular, on-time repayment with more clear and affordable options, which will support a stronger financial future for borrowers and enhance the long-term health of the federal student loan portfolio,” said Nicholas Kent, under secretary of education.

“The department determined that involuntary collection efforts, such as administrative wage garnishment and the Treasury offset program, will function more efficiently and fairly after the Trump administration implements significant improvements to our broken student loan system.”

The halt in collections will help former students and their families, while affordability has become an issue for many across the country, the National Consumer Protection Law Center said.

“Today’s announcement throws a lifeline to working and middle-class families who are buckling under the weight of outdated student loan policies that don’t reflect today’s high cost of living and affordability crisis,” said Abby Shafroth, managing director of advocacy at the National Consumer Protection Law Center.

“The administration must now take the next step and reform harsh collection practices before turning them back on,” Shafroth said.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act reduced the number of available repayment plans for student loan borrowers and allows for the waiver of unpaid interest for those who make on-time payments.

Pausing the planned tax refund seizures and wage garnishments also gives student loan borrowers another chance to rehabilitate any defaulted loans and resume their normal payments as needed.

National Unity Platform says opposition presidential candidate seized from his home a day after tense election.

Bobi Wine‘s political party says the Ugandan opposition presidential candidate has been “forcibly” removed from his home and taken to an “unknown destination” in an army helicopter.

The National Unity Platform made the announcement in a social media post on Friday, a day after Ugandans cast their ballots in a tense election that took place amid an internet blackout.

There was no immediate comment from the Ugandan authorities.

Wine, the country’s top opposition figure, had challenged longtime President Yoweri Museveni in an election campaign that the United Nations said was marred by “widespread repression and intimidation”.

Reporting from the Ugandan capital, Kampala, early on Saturday, Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi said the internet shutdown has made getting information about Wine’s whereabouts difficult.

Soi said a National Unity Platform official reached by Al Jazeera could only confirm that “men who appeared to be military and other security agents jumped over the fence” of Wine’s home.

But the official could not say whether Wine was at home or had been taken away.

Soi added that Al Jazeera has been unable to reach the Ugandan military or the police to confirm what happened.

She noted that shortly after Thursday’s vote, Wine had alleged in a social media post that “massive ballot stuffing” was reported across the country.

He had also called on the Ugandan people to “rise to the occasion and reject the criminal regime”.

Wine’s remarks came as Museveni’s government has been accused of leading a years-long crackdown on opposition politicians and their supporters.

The 81-year-old president is seeking to extend his nearly four decades in power, saying ahead of this week’s election that he expected to secure 80 percent support.

Museveni was comfortably leading as votes were counted on Friday, with the Electoral Commission saying he had secured 73.7 percent support to Wine’s 22.7 percent, with close to 81 percent of votes counted.

Final results were due around 4pm local time in Kampala (13:00 GMT) on Saturday.

After a campaign marred by clashes at opposition rallies and the arrests of opposition supporters, voting passed peacefully on Thursday.

But at least seven people were killed when violence broke out overnight in the town of Butambala, about 55km (35 miles) southwest of the capital Kampala.

Local police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe said machete-wielding opposition “goons” organised by local MP Muwanga Kivumbi attacked a police station and vote-tallying centre.

Kivumbi, a member of Wine’s party, said security forces attacked opposition supporters who had gathered at his home to wait for the election results to come in. The opposition lawmaker said 10 people were killed.

“After killing them, the military continued firing,” Kivumbi told the AFP news agency. “And they ensured that they removed all the evidence of the dead. You only have a pool of blood that is left here.”

The Traitors is nearing its finale and recently murdered Jessie was gobsmacked to find out who was this season’s Traitors

Jessie Stride showed she had no idea of a secret in this year’s series of The Traitors. The popular contestant was savagely murdered as series four nears its end. But she couldn’t hide her shock as she discovered the truth about who were The Traitors. As she found out the game Stephen Libby is playing, Jessie shrieked and fell off her chair.

Speaking on Traitors Uncloaked, Jessie said: “Ellie, oh my God. I’m not just a daft lass who wears yellow and orange! He had the audacity to murder me!” Her reactions reached an all-time high however when she found out that Ellie and Ross are actually dating. “You’re going to have beautiful babies!” she said.

READ MORE: Traitors star Stephen’s ‘genius’ trick to distract the players and it’s working a treatREAD MORE: Traitors stars share their shame and torment as tears flow during dinner

Her stunned reaction came as two players left the show on Thursday. Ellie was banished after Jessie had earlier been murdered.

The latest episode was one of the most emotional to date. As the remaining hopefuls enjoyed a dinner together, they explained their reasons for being on the show and revealed how they would use the winnings if they were victorious.

There were tears as Jade revealed her tragic past. The Faithful wiped away the tears as she told the group that she had lost her mother and her half-sibling in very difficult circumstances eight years ago.

The other seven players gasped and looked horrified for her as Jade explained: “My parents got divorced when I was seven, my Mum moved back to Hong Kong, she had a kid and then in 2018 they were both found dead.”

She added: “I have had to really rebuild myself from that point onwards. So I’m really proud of myself for being here and getting this far.” As the others commended her bravery, Jade said that if she ended up winning the prize money, she’d spend it on getting her own pad. “I think I’d really like to buy a home,” she said. “Somewhere I can call my own.”

And speaking to the camera after the dinner party, Jade said: “In 2018 I lost my Mum. I was always very close with her so it was a shock to the system.

“Our parents form a big core of our own identity so I had to rebuild myself. It’s affected me a lot. It takes me a very long time to let people in just because it does take me a minute to get comfortable and I can come off as a bit standoffish at first.”

Personal trainer Jack Butler, 29, also told the group his plan was to propose to his girlfriend “in the next few months”, saying he’d like to spend any winnings on a deposit for a house.

“I’ve got a secret plan, the ring’s already sorted, it’s a massive surprise,” he said. And that’s exactly what he seems to have done since the show.

Pictures have already shown him proposing to partner Kim during a trip to Santorini in August. The holiday took place two months after filming on the show ended.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads

Southern California Edison sued Los Angeles County, water agencies and two companies including SoCalGas Friday, saying their mistakes contributed to the deadly and destructive toll of last year’s Eaton wildfire.

Edison now faces hundreds of lawsuits by victims of the fire, which claim its transmission line started the devastating fire that killed at least 19 people and destroyed thousands of homes in Altadena. The cost of settling those lawsuits could be many billions of dollars.

Doug Dixon, an attorney who represents Edison in the fire litigation, told the Times that Edison filed the lawsuits “to ensure that all those who bear responsibility are at the table in this legal process.”

The utility’s two legal filings in L.A. County Superior Court paint a picture of sweeping mismanagement of the emergency response on the night of the fire.

Edison blames the county fire department, sheriff’s department and office of emergency management for their failure to warn Altadena residents west of Lake Avenue to evacuate.

The Times revealed last January that west Altadena never received evacuation warnings, and orders to evacuate came hours after flames and smoke threatened the community. All but one of the 19 who died in the Eaton fire were found in west Altadena.

Edison also sued L.A. County for failing to send fire trucks to the community. A Times investigation found that during a critical moment in the fire, only one county fire truck was west of Lake Avenue.

The electric company also filed suit against six water agencies, including Pasadena Water & Power, claiming there were insufficient water supplies available for firefighters.

“Compounding the unfolding disaster, the water systems servicing the areas impacted by the Eaton Fire failed as the fire spread, leaving firefighters and residents with no water to fight the fire,” the lawsuit states.

Another lawsuit aims at SoCalGas. Edison says the company failed to turn off gas lines after the fire started, making the disaster worse.

“SoCalGas did not begin widespread shutoffs for four days—until January 11, 2025—in the area affected by the Eaton Fire,” the complaint states. “In the meantime, the Eaton Fire continued to spread fueled by natural gas.”

“ The risks and deficiencies with SoCalGas’s system that led to it spreading the fire were long known to SoCalGas, and yet it nevertheless failed to adequately account for them in designing, building, and maintaining its system,” the complaint said. “The result was catastrophic.”

Edison also sued Genasys, a company that provides the county with emergency alert software.

In addition, the utility sued the county for failing to remove brush, which it claims made the fire hotter and spread faster, causing more damage.

In March, L.A. County filed suit against Edison, claiming that its transmission line sparked the blaze, requiring the county to incur tens of millions of dollars responding to the fire and its aftermath. The county is seeking compensation for destroyed infrastructure and parks, as well as for cleanup and recovery efforts, lost taxes and overtime for county workers.

Edison’s new cross claims will be heard in the consolidated Eaton fire case in Superior Court, which is also handling the lawsuit that the county and other public agencies have filed against the electric utility.

Officials from the county and water agencies, as well as from the two companies, could not be immediately reached.

The water agencies that Edison sued also include the Sierra Madre City Water Dept., Kinneloa Irrigation District, Rubio Canyon Land & Water Association, Las Flores Water Company and Lincoln Avenue Water Company.

The government investigation into the fire, which is being handled jointly by L.A. County Fire and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, has not yet been released.

Edison has said that a leading theory is that its unused, century-old transmission line in Eaton Canyon somehow became re-energized on the night of Jan. 7, 2025 and sparked the blaze.

The fire roared through Altadena, burning 14,021 acres and destroying more than 9,400 homes and other structures.

Bath: De Glanville; Cokanasiga, Ojomoh, Lawrence, Arundell; Russell, Spencer (capt); Obano, Dunn, Du Toit, Roux, Molony, Pepper, Underhill, Barbeary.

Replacements: Frost, Van Wyk, Griffin, Hill, Reid, Carr-Smith, Carreras, Redpath

Edinburgh: Paterson; Graham, O’Conor, Lang, Satala; Thompson, Vellacott (capt); Whitcombe, Ashman, Blyth-Lafferty, Hunter-Hill, Young, Dodd, Douglas, Muncaster.

Replacements: Morris, Jones, Hill, McVie, Boyle, Shiel, Healy, Brown.

Jan. 16 (UPI) — Nobel Peace Prize recipient Maria Corina Machado is the only recognized recipient of the award despite the Venezuelan leader giving her medal to President Donald Trump this week, the Nobel Committee said Friday.

Nobel Prize-winning laureates receive a gold medal and a diploma affirming their status, and nothing changes it, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a news release on Friday.

“Regardless of what may happen to the medal, the diploma or the prize money, it is and remains the original laureate who is recorded in history as the recipient of the prize,” the committee said.

“Even if the medal or diploma later comes into someone else’s possession, this does not alter who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.”

The White House posted a photo on social media showing the president accepting the medal from Machado, which is framed and contains documentation marking the moment.

The committee said a laureate “cannot share the prize with others nor transfer it once it has been announced.”

The prize is irrevocable, and the “decision is final and applies for all time,” the committee added.

While the prize cannot be transferred, there are no rules on what recipients can do with the prize, certificate or prize money.

They can keep them, give them away, sell them or donate them to others if they wish to do so.

Machado on Friday told an interviewer for Fox and Friends that Trump “deserves it” and said it was a very emotional moment when she gave him the medal, NBC News reported.

“I decided to present the Nobel Peace Prize medal on behalf of the people of Venezuela,” Machado said.

Machado earlier praised Trump for ordering the U.S. military to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and bring them to the United States to face federal charges for alleged drug trafficking and related offenses.

Donald Trump has named former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to his so-called “Board of Peace”, which is expected to oversee the United States president’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza.

The White House said on Friday that Blair would be among the board’s seven founding executive members, alongside Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.

The other members are Marc Rowan, Ajay Banga and Robert Gabriel.

The announcement comes just days after Witkoff announced the launch of the second phase of the US-brokered plan to end Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 71,000 Palestinians since October 2023.

More to come…

Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone wondering how to make each hour in their workday riveting for television viewers. Call me, HBO Max.

It’s the hottest TV show that isn’t about the steamy romance between hockey rivals. “The Pitt” returned earlier this month for its second season with a fresh gust of awards wind to propel its arrival — it racked up hardware at the recent Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globe Awards. And if its debut season is any proof, the week-to-week chatter around new episodes is sure to keep the buzz around the HBO Max series energized. Season 2 is set during the day shift on the Fourth of July — 10 months after the events of the first season — and catches us up with the staff at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. And there’s a new doctor, Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), joining the team. Moafi stopped by Guest Spot to discuss her experience of scrubbing in to a hit show.

Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our streaming recommendations are a series documenting an Oscar winner’s 26,000-mile journey from the South Pole to the North Pole and a 1950s film starring a former president and a monkey. Never say we don’t keep things interesting around here.

ICYMI

Must-read stories you might have missed

Sandro Rosta and Holly Hunter — the pair who lead the latest “Star Trek” series, “Starfleet Academy” — photographed in New York this month.

(Bexx Francois/For The Times)

How an Oscar winner and a newcomer became the fresh faces of ‘Star Trek’ : While Sandro Rosta and Holly Hunter are on the opposite ends of their careers, they are both leading the franchise’s latest series, “Starfleet Academy.”

The 101 best Los Angeles movies, ranked: Our list of the 101 best Los Angeles movies is as sprawling as the city. From noirs to Hollywood rises (and falls) to neighborhood dreamers, Los Angeles is always ready for its close-up.

‘Fallout’ fans know New Vegas. How the show brought the video game location to life: The show’s executive producers and production designer discuss bringing the video game location to life.

Scott Dunn Orchestra proves that ‘background’ music deserves L.A.’s full attention: The orchestra’s upcoming concert features 1970s Hollywood composers including Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams and Nino Rota, showcasing the decade’s rich film scoring legacy.

Turn on

Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Will Smith, left, and polar ecologist Dr. Allison Fong during their expedition to the North Pole.

(Freddie Claire/National Geographic)

“Pole to Pole with Will Smith” (Hulu, Disney+)

The latest celebrity travel series, a genre that has included Ewan McGregor’s “Long Way Round,” Eugene Levy’s “The Reluctant Traveler,” “Conan O’Brien Must Go,” “Neil & Martin’s Bon Voyage” (recommended here recently) and a dozen series from Monty Python‘s Michael Palin, including “Pole to Pole with Michael Palin,” from which this series nicks its title but not its longitudinal structure. Here, the Fresh Prince fetches up in “extreme places” — the Amazon, the Kalahari Desert, the Himalayas, the Pacific Islands and, yes, at the North and South Poles — engaging with scientists and local cultures and searching for something within himself. (His Oscar meltdown is not avoided.) There’s a stunt element involved — a visibly nervous Smith climbing a 300-foot ice wall, encountering bugs and bats in an Amazon cave, out on the Pacific in the suggestion of a boat — but all with some resonance to the series’ themes of harmony with nature and cultural preservation. (The words “climate change” are spoken.) Beautifully photographed while creating the illusion that there’s no one present to do the photography. — Robert Lloyd

Ronald Reagan and Diana Lynn reading a bedtime story to Bonzo the chimp from the movie “Bedtime for Bonzo.”

(Universal Pictures)

“Bedtime for Bonzo” (TVOD via YouTube, Apple TV, Prime Video)

The 1951 comedy has been a punchline since Ronald Reagan successfully campaigned for California governor in 1966. But have you ever watched it? Spurred on by last week’s new chimpanzee horror flick “Primate,” I clicked on “Bedtime for Bonzo” to finally watch one of the odder footnotes in American political history. The president who controversially cut funding for mental health services plays a psychologist named Professor Boyd who adopts a monkey as his son to prove that personality traits are shaped by one’s environment, not one’s genetics. Naturally, the professor doesn’t do the parenting himself. He hires a beautiful blond babysitter (Diana Lynn) who dutifully cooks and cleans and calls him “Papa” — and causes his not-so-motherly college-educated fiancee (Lucille Barkley) to pitch a fit. As curios go, it’s watchable kitsch with moments worth rewinding. Facing a sulky ape wielding a surgical knife, Reagan‘s Professor Boyd sputters, “Maybe he’ll respond to the Gestalt theory.” And in all sincerity, the chimp itself is terrific. — Amy Nicholson

Guest spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

Sepideh Moafi as Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi in Season 2 of “The Pitt.”

(Warrick Page/HBO Max)

Finding a new doctor can be an overwhelming process. But “The Pitt” is well-known for make compelling choices. The second season of the HBO Max series introduces viewers to Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi). She is an attending physician brought in to take over as chief when Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) takes a three-month sabbatical. And her presence causes a stir from the start. She reports early for duty — armed with bagels and ideas for how to improve the ER’s workflow, no less — as Dr. Robby, cynical from years of frustration dealing with hospital bureaucracy, counts down the hours of his last shift. Let’s just say the pair aren’t exactly taking the work besties crown from Princess and Perlah, at least not yet. With this week’s release of the drama’s second episode, Moafi stopped by Guest Spot to share her take on Dr. Al-Hashimi’s management style and the songs her character cues up at the start and end of each shift. — Yvonne Villarreal

Right away, we get a sense of Dr. Al-Hashimi’s management style — she likes structure and efficiency, she embraces AI, she wants to do away with the ER’s nickname. What did her work style and her approach to getting acquainted with her new role and colleagues reveal to you about who she is as a person?

On the surface, Dr. Al-Hashimi might come across as a Type-A disrupter — by the book, thrives on order and control, wants to elevate the culture of the Pitt — but if you scratch past the surface, you see a woman who has lived through a lot and has been shaped by chaos. As the season progresses, we come to understand a bit more about her personal and professional history, and one thing we learn is that she spent years working as a frontline medic with Doctors Without Borders. As a humanitarian doctor, she has served in countries that have been turned into conflict zones, which explains why she leans so heavily on structure — she knows exactly what can go wrong without it, especially within a system that is bursting at the seams. Her meticulousness comes from a deep sense of care, not ego.

Even before she appears on-screen, we hear that she’s brought staff a full bagel spread, which immediately indicates how she wants to lead — she isn’t interested in taking over, she’s interested in taking care of people, of the department. (She is Iranian/Iraqi and that instinct to feed everyone is very Persian/Arab of her, too!) How she relates to the students shows how much she values teaching and mentoring, and the detailed packet she sends to Robby and the staff reflects her commitment to transparency and communication. She has strong ideas about leadership, yet she still wants to shadow Robby and learn — she’s curious, adaptable, collaborative. All this goes to show that she’s someone who believes that the best idea wins. I’m not saying she isn’t flawed, or doesn’t think she has the best idea from time to time, but she’s ultimately driven to make things better for the patients first and foremost.

Dr. Al-Hashimi is a newcomer to this well-oiled machine. You are a newcomer to a show that’s settling into itself. How did your journey parallel your character’s?

We each bring a breadth of experience to our respective roles, and we’re both confident and clear about what we’re doing and why — though, if I’m being totally honest, we were both also a bit intimidated and eager to put our best foot forward. Where our paths diverge is that Baran shows up having studied the Pitt’s flaws and blind spots with a blueprint already in hand for how to improve efficiency and the patient experience. I showed up having relentlessly prepared in the short amount of time I had — immersing myself in medical texts and conversations with doctors — so that when I arrived on set, I could let go of the technical details and make space for the kind of magic that only happens through full collaboration and presence. In that way, our journeys mirrored each other beautifully. We’re both new, a little intimidated and deeply reliant on our preparation, expertise and commitment to growth. It was about bringing everything we’ve lived through into the work — and then, in my role as an actor, making all of that disappear the moment the cameras start rolling.

Moafi, far left, as Dr. Al-Hashimi, who assesses an incoming patient with her colleagues in a scene from “The Pitt.”

(Warrick Page/HBO Max)

What about incorporating the demands of the technical aspect to your performance? There’s the choreography when everyone is coming together to work on a patient, there’s the procedures itself and medical jargon. Any fun stories or mishaps that stand out?

The good news, which I learned early on, is that every trauma procedure is broken down with our on-set medical advisor much the way a stunt would be choreographed or a sex scene would be run with an intimacy coordinator. We usually start individually and then come together as a group, running everything at 25%, 50%, then eventually at full speed. We don’t roll cameras until everyone feels solid in what they’re doing. When it actually comes together, it’s thrilling. I’m addicted to the feeling of disappearing into the work. Once you understand what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, what could go wrong and what absolutely has to go right, you can really fly in those scenes. It’s like the fake-ER Olympics! Total adrenaline rush, with the best part being that no real lives are on the line.

There’s one especially high-stakes procedure for Baran later in the season that I learned is so rare most doctors hope they never have to perform it in their careers. Without giving anything away, it involves a child, and any healthcare worker will tell you that the emotional temperature skyrockets anytime kids are involved. I found this incredible visualization exercise on EM:RAP (an invaluable online resource for ER staff) that guides you through the procedure almost like a meditation. I did it multiple times a day leading up to when we shot that scene, and it made a huge difference.

Dr. Robby opened and ended last season listening to Robert Bradley’s “Baby” in his earbuds. What’s the song that’s Dr. Al-Hashimi listens to at the start or end of the day?

She starts her day with “Bsslama Hbibti” by Fadoul — a bright, groovy funk track from 1970s Morocco. It roots me in her in a visceral way, puts me in her body and gets me focused enough to face whatever madness the ER throws our way. The title means “Goodbye, (or literally ‘with peace’) my love,” so for Baran it’s about leaving behind whatever and whomever she doesn’t need before stepping through the hospital doors. At the end of the day, it would be something like Solomon Burke’s “Cry to Me.” The song is about letting the walls come down and allowing yourself to fall apart, and after everything she’s carried through a brutal shift, she needs something that gives her permission to release it all. I also feel like Baran holds these grand, almost impossible ideas about love and romance, so the fantasy of having someone she could crumble with or someone she could cry to feels both deeply aspirational and painfully out of reach.

What’s your go-to “comfort watch,” the movie or TV show you go back to again and again?

Oh, there are so many comfort films. The ones I’ve probably watched the most are “As Good as It Gets” [Netflix] by James L. Brooks and “Children of Heaven” [TVOD, Kanopy] by Majid Majidi. Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear (my buddy!) are all so brilliant in “As Good as It Gets,” and it’s just such a perfect film, even if it might feel a little dated or not entirely politically correct now. It’s sad to think about how hard it would be to get a movie like that made today. “Children of Heaven” is simply perfect. It captures the heart of Iranian cinema and of its people through patient storytelling and extraordinary performances, especially by the children.

For television, it has to be “The Sopranos” [HBO Max]. That’s the show that made me want to be an actor. Watching James Gandolfini and Edie Falco together is still a masterclass. Anytime I feel untethered in my work, I go back to the greats — and they’re two of the ones I often return to. I’ve been lucky enough to work with Edie twice (“Nurse Jackie” and the film “I’ll Be Right There”), and though I don’t usually get starstruck, I still do with her.

What have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know?

Jafar Panahi’s masterpiece “It Was Just an Accident.” I had to collect my jaw from the floor multiple times. It’s a work of art, edge-of-your-seat thriller that somehow also captures the lived experience of millions of Iranians, both inside Iran and in the diaspora, whose lives have been shaped and traumatized by the current regime. And the way Panahi explores vengeance and humanity — the moral complexity, the urge for justice and cost of losing one’s own humanity — is absolutely genius. For almost five decades, filmmakers in Iran have had to navigate telling their stories through metaphor to survive censorship and punishment. Panahi has consistently taken the risk and he’s been penalized and imprisoned many times for his work, spending years in prison; but this film is on another level (he was even sentenced in absentia for it). Also, the timing is hauntingly uncanny. We’re now witnessing Iranians pouring into the streets yet again, rising up in the largest anti-regime protests in decades and they’re being met with one of the most brutal crackdowns in Iran’s modern history. It feels as if the film foresaw this moment and Iranians are not letting up.

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia voters will decide whether to back a redrawn district map that favors Democrats in the tit-for-tat battle for the U.S. House after the left-leaning Senate advanced a proposed constitutional amendment on Friday that supports mid-decade congressional redistricting.

Such a congressional map has not been publicly released, though lawmakers say that will change by the end of the month. Officials have repeatedly vowed that voters would see a proposed map before the referendum is held, likely in April.

“Because this is a Virginian-led process and we’re asking for their permission, voters will be able to see the maps prior to their vote,” Democratic Del. Cia Price said Wednesday.

The closely divided state Senate, where Democrats hold a slim majority, voted along party lines on Friday afternoon, following a similar vote by House Democrats earlier this week.

Trump teed up an unusual redistricting plan last year and pushed Texas Republicans to create more favorable districts for the party by way of new congressional maps. That triggered something of a mid-decade redistricting dogfight.

Since then, Texas, Missouri and North Carolina all approved new Republican-friendly House districts. Ohio also enacted a more favorable House map for Republicans.

On the Democratic side, California voters approved new House districts helping Democrats, and a Utah judge adopted a new House map that benefits Democrats.

There have been some defections in the nationwide redistricting battle: Kansas Republicans dropped plans for a special session on redistricting. Indiana’s Republican-led Senate also defeated a plan that could have helped the GOP win all of the state’s U.S. House seats.

It’s still up in the air as to whether new maps will be created in other states, such as Republican-leaning Florida, and Democratic-led Illinois and Maryland.

The redistricting battle has resulted, so far, in nine more seats that Republicans believe they can win and six more seats that Democrats think they can win, putting the GOP up by three. However, redistricting is being litigated in several states, and there is no guarantee that the parties will win the seats they have redrawn.

In Virginia, the redistricting resolution sparked raucous debate among lawmakers on the merits of gerrymandering a battleground state known to have independent voters, particularly after a recent years-long push for fair maps in the state.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said when Republican-led states “rig elections in their favor, our commitment to fairness that we made — that our voters made — effectively becomes unilateral disarmament.”

Virginia Republicans have admonished Democrats’ redistricting efforts, arguing gerrymandering isn’t the answer. Republican Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle said, “Republicans in Indiana stood up to political pressure and said, ‘We’re not going to play these political games.’ And they stopped.”

The state currently is represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and five Republicans who ran in districts whose boundaries were imposed by a court after a bipartisan redistricting commission failed to agree on a map after the census.

That commission came about following a 2020 referendum, in which voters supported a change to the state’s constitution aimed at ending legislative gerrymandering.

The new proposed constitutional amendment, if backed by voters, would only be in effect until 2030. The resolution also has trigger language, meaning Virginia lawmakers can only redraw congressional maps if such action is taken by other states.

In January, Democratic Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger backed Democrats’ redistricting effort but has not committed to a particular plan.

“Ultimately, it’s up to the people of Virginia to choose whether or not to move forward with the referendum,” she said.

Diaz writes for the Associated Press. AP writer John Raby in Charleston, W.Va., contributed to this report.

Using a playbook familiar to their front office, the Dodgers waited until the market for slugging outfielder Kyle Tucker dwindled before making him a staggering offer short on duration but generous in dollars.

The result is the defending two-time World Series championship team plugging the only hole in its lineup with another superstar — one regarded by many analysts as the prize of this free agency class. The contract Tucker agreed to Thursday night is for $240 million over four years, with a $64-million signing bonus and $30 million of the money deferred. He also will be able to opt out of the deal after the 2027 and 2028 seasons.

It’s a staggering development that caused immediate consternation throughout baseball. The Dodgers are in a league of their own when it comes to spending on payroll.

Or as ESPN baseball analyst Jeff Passan put it: “Fans feel like this game is unfair.”

To which Times columnist Bill Plaschke wrote, “So what? Who cares? If three consecutive titles blows up the game, so be it. The Dodgers’ only responsibility is to their fans, and they have more than fulfilled their civic duty, and that’s all that matters.”

Tucker homers during Game 4 of the Cubs’ National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Oct. 9.

(Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)

Projections early in the offseason were for Tucker to be paid $400 million over 10 years, but the only team that reportedly entertained a deal that long was the Toronto Blue Jays. The New York Mets made an offer close to that of the Dodgers, but Tucker opted for L.A.

The Dodgers employed similar strategy in snaring first baseman Freddie Freeman and starting pitcher Blake Snell in recent years and closer Edwin Díaz last month, patiently allowing media hype to dissipate and waiting out the market before pouncing with short-term offers at astronomical yearly salaries.

The average annual value (AAV) of Tucker’s contract as calculated by Major League Baseball will be a record $57.1 million, blowing past the previous highs set by the Mets’ Juan Soto ($51 million) and the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani ($46.06 million) the last two offseasons.

Ohtani, of course, is now Tucker’s teammate, as are fellow amply paid stars Mookie Betts, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Will Smith, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Freeman and Snell. And on and on. The Dodgers’ estimated competitive tax payroll of $402.5 million is more than the combined spending of the A’s, Rays, Guardians and Marlins.

Who do the Dodgers have to thank for such largess?

Start with Ohtani. When the two-way star signed a record 10-year, $700-million deal with the team two years ago, he agreed to take home a paltry $2 million a year and defer the remaining $68 million, resulting in his reduced AAV. That covers Tucker’s salary and then some.

Don’t forget the $8.35-billion, 25-year deal with Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum) in 2013 that created the Dodgers SportsNet LA television channel. A bankruptcy settlement a year earlier allowed the Dodgers to cap TV revenue shared with MLB at about $84 million annually, even though experts projected the actual value at more than $200 million. Meanwhile, many teams have seen their TV revenue drastically reduced.

The settlement also approved the sale of the Dodgers from Frank McCourt to Guggenheim Baseball Management, the group fronted by Magic Johnson and run by Mark Walters that has greenlighted the lavish payroll spending.

The Dodgers celebrate after winning Game 7 of the World Series over the Blue Jays in Toronto last fall.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

And be sure to thank the fans who pack Dodger Stadium at each of their 81 home games, spending on parking, concessions and merchandise in addition to increasingly expensive tickets. Attendance in 2025 was 4,012,470, a Dodgers record, the highest in MLB and nearly 600,000 more than the next highest attendance, that of the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers averaged 49,537 fans per home game.

The response around baseball to Tucker’s contract was as shrill as it was predictable. Cries for a salary cap when negotiations begin for a new collective bargaining agreement at season’s end peppered social media. Some even advocated owners locking out the players if they don’t agree to level the hot-stove playing field.

Anything to stem the spending of a franchise enjoying a revenue model that enables them to spend on salaries unchecked while breaking no rules.

“The Dodgers theoretically aren’t doing anything wrong,” ESPN analyst Chris “Mad Dog” Russo said Friday on the Dan Patrick Show. “But the rules have to change. This is getting to be a joke.”

Russo then proceeded to list the reasons players gravitate to Chavez Ravine: “Play in L.A. Winning team. Great organization. Good weather. Have a chance to be in the World Series every year.”

Under the current rules, the Dodgers are punished financially for their gleeful spending. Competitive balance taxes — also known as luxury taxes — are imposed when payrolls reach certain thresholds. The Dodgers have blown past the highest level and must pay 110% of every dollar they spend above $304 million, meaning their commitment to Tucker will cost them $500 million — $240 million to the player and roughly $264 million to MLB in taxes.

By any measure, that is a lot to pay a player who batted a ho-hum .266 with 22 home runs, 73 runs batted in and 25 stolen bases in an injury-marred 2025, his lone season with the Chicago Cubs. Tucker was a three-time All-Star during seven seasons with the Houston Astros.

What does MLB do with the luxury tax revenue? Half is distributed to small-market teams, ostensibly to increase their spending on salaries.

Tony Clark, executive director of the MLB players union, concedes that the system might need tinkering but is adamantly opposed to a salary cap.

“We just completed one of the greatest seasons in MLB history, with unprecedented fan interest and revenues,” he told The Times’ Bill Shaikin. “While the free agent market is far from over, it is gratifying to see players at all levels being rewarded for their incredible accomplishments by those clubs that are trying to win without excuses.”

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, who will sit across the negotiating table from Clark when a new CBA is hammered out a year from now, is careful not to cast blame on the Dodgers while acknowledging that other teams and their fans are frustrated.

“The Dodgers are a really well-run, successful organization,” Manfred said during the team’s spending frenzy a year ago. “Everything that they do and have done is consistent with our rules. They’re trying to give their fans the best possible product. Those are all positives.

“I recognize, however — and my email certainly reflects it — there are fans in other markets concerned about their team’s ability to compete. We always have to be concerned when our fans are concerned about something. But pinning it on the Dodgers? I’m not in that camp.”

And if CBA negotiations reach an impasse and players indeed are locked out and go unpaid until they return, Tucker’s contract provides a hedge for that as well — $54 million of his signing bonus is payable now.

Jan. 16 (UPI) — The Department of Justice has more than 500 people reviewing the Jeffrey Epstein files ahead of them being made publicly available in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

The department on Thursday provided the U.S. District Court of Southern New York with an update on the its efforts to comply with the recently enacted law that required all files to be uploaded and made publicly available no later than Dec. 19.

“The department has made substantial progress and remains focused on releasing materials under the act promptly while protecting victim privacy, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney for Southern New York Jay Clayton jointly said in a letter to the federal court.

“Compliance with the act is a substantial undertaking, principally because, for a substantial number of documents, careful, manual review is necessary to ensure that victim-identifying information is redacted before materials are released,” they said.

The Justice Department officials called the effort “resource-intensive” and said they evaluate, supplement and modify the review process as needed to ensure the “appropriate rigor, care and integrity” are done.

The Justice Department was working with the victims and their attorneys to ensure “victim identifying information” is redacted and communicates internally every day to ensure the greatest efficiency and continued progress on making all files publicly available.

The department also is working to address technical issues and fix “inevitable glitches due to the sheer volume of materials,” Bondi, Blanche and Clayton said.

The Justice Department officials last updated the court on the process on Jan. 5 and said they were trying to “complete this review as expeditiously as possible.”

The department on Dec. 31 also reported it had assigned more than 400 attorneys to review about 5.2 million pages of files to ensure redactions are done to protect the identities of victims and witnesses and block any child sex abuse that the files might contain.

The review was anticipated to be completed by Tuesday after millions more pages were located and needed to undergo review and redactions.

Thursday’s Justice Department letter does not say whether all files are likely to be reviewed and uploaded by Tuesday or if more time will be needed.

Epstein was a convicted sex offender and financier who hanged himself while jailed in New York City in 2019 and awaiting federal trial on charges accusing him of child sex trafficking.

Internet access remains cut off as the streets of Tehran, other Iranian cities are largely calm after widescale unrest.

The Iranian authorities say at least 3,000 people have been arrested in weeks of antigovernment demonstrations, state news agencies reported, as the mass protests have largely been quelled.

The streets of the Iranian capital Tehran and other parts of the country were comparatively calm on Friday amid a heavy presence of security forces.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said the public mood was mixed, with many people anxious over the possibility that the situation could escalate again and frustrated by a continuing internet shutdown.

“Internet access is unavailable for almost everyone in Iran,” Asadi said.

Online monitor NetBlocks said on Friday that a nationwide internet blackout had entered its eighth day after Iranian authorities cut off access at the height of the protests last week.

Thousands of Iranians had taken to the streets since late December in anger over soaring inflation and the steep devaluation of the local currency, prompting a harsh crackdown from the Iranian authorities.

Iranian leaders have described the protesters as “rioters” and accused foreign countries, notably the United States and Israel, of fuelling the unrest.

Human rights groups say more than 1,000 protesters have been killed since the demonstrations began, while the Iranian government said at least 100 security officers also were killed in protest-related attacks.

Al Jazeera has not been able to independently verify those figures.

The prospect of a wider escalation loomed this week as US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to order military action against Iran should more protesters be killed.

But Trump has since softened his rhetoric after telling reporters that Tehran had cancelled plans to execute hundreds of protesters.

“I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” Trump wrote on social media on Friday afternoon.

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, also said on Thursday evening that he hoped “a diplomatic resolution” could be reached to quell tensions between Tehran and Washington.

Roxane Farmanfarmaian, a lecturer at the University of Cambridge specialising in international relations and the Middle East, said the Trump administration has sent “a great deal of mixed signals” in recent days.

“It’s difficult to know where the red lines are, and for [Iran] to then feel any confidence in any talks that might begin,” Farmanfarmaian told Al Jazeera.

For now, she said, the Iranian authorities are moving to “quiet things down” domestically – including by not executing any demonstrators – “and to proceed to try to improve the economic situation, which is what’s truly the threat to this regime”.

The protests were the largest since a 2022-2023 protest movement spurred by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.

While the internet blackout has made it difficult to get information from Iran, Amnesty International warned this week that “mass unlawful killings” appear to have been “committed on an unprecedented scale”.

The rights group urged the international community to demand investigations into what happened and hold any perpetrators to account.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera’s Asadi said on Friday that the Iranian authorities are “trying to keep the situation under control, both domestically and internationally”, amid the possibility of any re-escalation with the US.

“They’re trying to keep the doors of diplomacy … open while also sending messages of warning, pertaining to their preparedness for any scenario,” he said.

WASHINGTON  — The Supreme Court announced Friday it will hear Monsanto’s claim that it should be shielded from tens of thousands of lawsuits over its weed killer Roundup because the Environmental Protection Agency has not required a warning label that it may cause cancer.

The justices will not resolve the decades-long dispute over whether Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate, causes cancer.

Some studies have found it is a likely carcinogen, and others concluded it does not pose a true cancer risk for humans.

However, the court may free Monsanto and Bayer, its parent company, from legal claims from more than 100,000 plaintiffs who sued over their cancer diagnosis.

The legal dispute involves whether the federal regulatory laws shield the company from being sued under state law for failing to warn consumers.

In product liability suits, plaintiffs typically seek to hold product makers responsible for failing to warn them of a known danger.

John Durnell, a Missouri man, said he sprayed Roundup for years to control weeds without gloves or a mask, believing it was safe. He sued after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

In 2023, a jury rejected his claim the product was defective but it ruled for him on his “strict liability failure to warn claim,” a state court concluded. He was awarded $1.25 million in damages.

Monsanto appealed, arguing this state law verdict is in conflict with federal law regulating pesticides.

“EPA has repeatedly determined that glyphosate, the world’s most widely used herbicide, does not cause cancer. EPA has consistently reached that conclusion after studying the extensive body of science on glyphosate for over five decades,” the company told the court in its appeal.

They said the EPA not only refused to add a cancer warning label to products with Roundup, but said it would be “misbranded” with such a warning.

Nonetheless, the “premise of this lawsuit, and the thousands like it, is that Missouri law requires Monsanto to include the precise warning that EPA rejects,” they said.

On Friday, the court said in a brief order that it would decide “whether the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act preempts a label-based failure-to-warn claim where EPA has not required the warning.”

The court is likely to hear arguments in the case of Monsanto vs. Durnell in April and issue a ruling by late June.

Monsanto says it has removed Roundup from its consumer products, but it is still used for farms.

Last month, Trump administration lawyers urged the court to hear the case.

They said the EPA has “has approved hundreds of labels for Roundup and other glyphosate-based products without requiring a cancer warning,” yet state courts are upholding lawsuits based on a failure to warn.

Environmentalists said the court should not step in to shield makers of dangerous products.

Lawyers for EarthJustice said the court “could let pesticide companies off the hook — even when their products make people sick.”

“When people use pesticides in their fields or on their lawns, they don’t expect to get cancer,” said Patti Goldman, a senior attorney. “Yet this happens, and when it does, state court lawsuits provide the only real path to accountability.”

Samson Nacua took a vehicle that didn’t belong to him without permission.

But he didn’t mean to.

That’s what the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. determined after investigating the events that led to the arrest of Nacua and another man, Trey Rose, for allegedly stealing an SUV belonging to Lakers rookie Adou Thiero early Dec. 18.

The sheriff’s department has asked the L.A. County district attorney not to press charges against Nacua and Rose after determining that the two men thought they were driving a vehicle belonging to Nacua’s younger brother, Rams receiver Puka Nacua, a representative for the LASD West Hollywood station told The Times on Friday.

It turns out the NFL star happens to own an SUV of the same model and color as Thiero’s, only a year or two older, according to the LASD representative. Nacua and Rose thought they were picking up Puka Nacua’s vehicle from a valet parking location in Beverly Hills but ended up with Thiero’s SUV instead.

The LASD representative called it a case of “mistaken vehicle identity, basically.”

Thiero does not want to press charges, according to the LASD representative.

Nacua played four years of college football at Utah and one at Brigham Young. A receiver like his brother, Nacua now plays for the United Football League, spending the last two seasons with the now-defunct Michigan Panthers. In April, Nacua received a one-game suspension without pay after video showed him slapping a fan at a game.

He was selected by the Birmingham Stallions in this week’s UFL draft, which included all players who were on active rosters last season.

More than two years of Israeli bombardment have left Gaza buried under an estimated 61 million tonnes of rubble, much of it dangerous. UN teams warn clearing debris is essential for recovery but could take seven years without access, fuel, machinery and sustained support.

The 2019 drama has been hailed as the ‘creepiest show ever’

An ‘unsettling’ horror drama with a rare 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating is now streaming on Netflix.

TV fans are always on the hunt for new shows and Reddit has become a hub for recommendations. One user recently appealed to others on the platform in search of the perfect weekend watch.

They wrote: “So it’s freezing cold outside and apparently I want to make myself even colder?? Looking for some good series to binge this weekend.

“Horror would be absolutely perfect (because why not add psychological chills to the physical ones lol), but I’m open to anything that’ll keep me glued to the couch.”

The post went on to ask: “What are your recommendations? Hit me with your best/scariest/most binge-worthy series!”

French drama Marianne was among the recommendations, and it likely flew under most Netflix subscribers’ radars. It premiered in September 2019 but was cancelled in January 2020, after just one season.

Despite its short run on the streaming platform, the chilling show earned overwhelming praise from critics and casual fans alike. Its plot revolves around best-selling horror author Emma Larsimon, who returns to her hometown for inspiration.

Once there, Emma discovers that the evil spirit that haunts her nightmares may not be a figment of her imagination.

French actress Victoire Du Bois leads the cast as Emma. Film fans may recognise her from Oscar-winning drama Call Me By Your Name, where she shared the screen with Timothée Chalamet.

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.

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Upon its debut, Marianne earned critics’ approval. Taking to Rotten Tomatoes, one reviewer wrote: “With a decidedly Stephen King-esque inspired premise that feels like a combination of It and Misery and viscerally unsettling visuals edited with hair-raising precision, Marianne is a perfect recommendation for any horror fan.”

A casual moviegoer agreed: “It was seriously unsettling and creepy as hell. The whole vibe is super eerie, and some scenes actually gave me chills.”

While another added: “Creepiest show I’ve ever watched. And I loved it! I need to watch more French horror because if this is what y’all delivering I have been missing out.”

And a fourth viewer raved: “Best horror series on Netflix on the same level as Mike Flanagan’s Haunting of Hill House… which is the highest praise I can give anything!”

Marianne is streaming now on Netflix.