Chosen

Walsh highlights Chelsea’s vision for the future but also the ghosts of the recent past.

Against Ajax, Chelsea gave minutes to 10 players aged 21 or younger, having not played a player over the age of 28 since the beginning of last season.

Chelsea broke several other records on Wednesday, including:

Brazil international Estevao continues to impress after joining the Blues this summer.

The forward was last week one of three Chelsea players nominated for the Golden Boy award, which recognises the standout young players across the European game – along with Jorrel Hato, Mamadou Sarr.

And, after Hato described him as one of the best teenagers in football after Lamine Yamal, Maresca was full of praise for his display.

He said: “I feel very lucky to be his manager. The fans pay tickets to see players like Cole (Palmer) and Estevao.

“He’s very humble and polite, wants to work hard. He has fantastic family who are very close to him. He’s a special player but we don’t have to be worried that he thinks he knows how good he is. He’s a very simple guy.

“It’s a special night for the club and its young players.”

The Blues are the youngest team in the Premier League and are among the youngest teams in Europe’s top five leagues, coming second behind only sister club Strasbourg last season, which is under the same BlueCo American ownership.

Chelsea’s strategy, which sometimes faces criticism, is by design and one they believe will lead to greater success in the long-term, having already won the Conference League and Club World Cup last season.

Despite that, signing so many young players can send the wrong message to the club’s famed academy and there is a delicate balance to be struck.

Chelsea were horrified when they lost attacker Rio Ngumoha to Liverpool in 2024 and vowed it would never happen again.

Since then, Maresca gave a record eight academy players their debuts last season, albeit against lesser competition in the Conference League.

In addition to Walsh, older academy graduates George and Josh Acheampong, both 19, have been given full-time first-team roles.

Meanwhile, Ryan Kavuma-McQueen, 16, was on the bench against Ajax for the first time and is among an exciting future generation.

South Korea has selected an L3Harris Global 6500 bizjet-based solution for its new airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. As we discussed at the time, Seoul launched its search for a new radar plane back in 2020, to bolster its current fleet of four Boeing E-737s, the South Korean version of the E-7 Wedgetail that has been selected by the U.S. Air Force, NATO, and the United Kingdom, and is in service with Turkey, South Korea, and Australia. Reports from earlier this year suggested that Boeing had already been eliminated or dropped out of the new South Korean AEW&C competition, something that the company appeared to deny.

According to L3Harris, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has selected its proposal for its next-generation AEW&C program. The L3Harris solution allies a Bombardier Global 6500 airframe with the EL/W-2085 radar from Israel’s Elta. This series of radars is already used in AEW&C aircraft operated by Israel, Italy, and Singapore. It uses side-mounted active electronically scanned arrays (AESA), with additional antennas in the nose and tail helping to provide 360-degree coverage. 

For the South Korean bid, L3Harris had also been in competition with Sweden’s Saab, offering its Erieye Extended Range (ER) radar, also on a Global 6500 platform, a package known as GlobalEye.

According to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, DAPA chose the L3Harris option after it received a higher score following an evaluation.

Yonhap quoted DAPA as saying: “There was no significant difference in the evaluation of the performance of the target equipment, and L3Harris received high scores in the areas of operational suitability, domestic defense industry contribution, and operation and maintenance costs, while Saab received high scores in the areas of contract terms and acquisition costs. As a result of synthesizing the scores for each evaluation item, L3Harris received a high score.”

DAPA further stated: “Through this project, we expect to secure the ability to conduct constant aerial surveillance of enemy aerial threats in both wartime and peacetime, and to enable smooth execution of air control missions led by the Korean military.”

The four new AEW&C aircraft are due to be introduced by 2032, at a cost of 3.0975 trillion won (roughly $2.2 billion).

Exactly what happened to Boeing in the competition is unclear.

Having provided the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) with its four E-737s, under the Peace Eye program, it might have been viewed as a frontrunner in the second phase of the AEW&C acquisition.

In July of this year, reports emerged that the Boeing offering (again based on the E-7/E-737) had been removed from the South Korean competition.

At the time, Boeing provided the TWZ with the following statement: “We continue to support the U.S. government, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and the Republic of Korea Air Force on our offering for additional E-7 AEW&C aircraft via the Foreign Military Sale process. In addition to detecting, tracking, and identifying targets, the E-7 AEW&C provides unmatched battle management capabilities ideally suited to the ROKAF’s needs.”

Meanwhile, sources familiar with the acquisition told TWZ that Boeing had submitted a proposal and supporting documents for its bid, but that none of the bidders involved met all the requirements outlined in two previous rounds. As a result, DAPA reissued the request for proposals (RFP), albeit with no changes in cost or requirements. Although the U.S. government didn’t resubmit the Boeing offer, it apparently remained a bidder in the competition. Once the RFP was reissued, the U.S. government and Boeing together submitted a letter stating that the original proposal still stood, with the same price tag attached.

We have reached out to Boeing for an update on the competition, but reports from South Korea, at least, suggest that, by the end, the bidding was a two-horse race between L3Harris and Saab.

Once the ROKAF fields its new radar planes, they will be a critical part of a broader effort to significantly enhance the country’s intelligence, surveillance, targeting, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities. In particular, they will help shore up possible gaps in its aerial surveillance coverage as the threat from North Korea, as well as from China, continues to grow.

Seoul approved the new AEW&C acquisition plan in June 2020, with DAPA already discounting any potential domestic solution.

As we reported in the past, South Korea first identified an emerging airborne early warning requirement as long ago as 1980, which it deemed necessary due to the country’s topography. This limits the performance of ground-based radar stations.

However, the first phase of its AEW&C acquisition wasn’t launched until 2005. On that occasion, the Boeing E-7 was chosen in favor of a U.S.-Israeli consortium of Gulfstream, L3, and Israel Aerospace Industries/Elta offering the Gulfstream G550 Conformal AEW (CAEW) — a forerunner of the L3Harris Global 6500-based solution.

Interestingly, however, it seems that Seoul would have opted for the U.S.-Israeli product, especially due to its low acquisition and through-life costs, but export restrictions ruled this out, and the Boeing offer was selected by default in August 2006.

The resulting $1.6-billion Peace Eye project included four E-737 aircraft, the last of which was delivered in 2012.

But there have also been reports that the ROKAF may have been dissatisfied with its E-737s.

In October 2019, the South Korean daily newspaper Munhwa Ilbo reported on a ROKAF document that had been submitted to the Korean parliamentary National Defense Committee. It cited “frequent failures” in the period from 2015 to September 2019 that meant the E-737s had failed to meet a targeted availability rate of 75 per cent. This lack of airframes reportedly exposed gaps in South Korea’s air defense coverage due to aircraft being unavailable to maintain constant patrols.

These kinds of concerns will only have increased since then, as North Korea has only expanded its activities in the field of low-flying drones and cruise missiles, which have small radar signatures but pose a big threat to South Korea.

Since Seoul launched its latest AEW&C competition, Boeing has found additional customers for the E-7, with the U.S. Air Force and NATO choosing it to replace or partially replace their aging E-3 Sentry AWACS fleets.

However, the future of the U.S. Air Force E-7 procurement remains somewhat precarious, with a Pentagon plan to axe the acquisition, amid a push to eventually move most, if not all, of its airborne target warning sensor layer into space. In July of this year, the House Armed Services Committee made a move toward reversing that decision.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has also now laid out plans to buy more of the U.S. Navy’s E-2D Hawkeye AEW&C aircraft to mitigate any capability gaps in the interim.

Whatever is decided, the U.S. Air Force’s E-7 program had already suffered notable delays and cost growth, which the Pentagon has said were major factors in the cancellation decision.

With all that in mind, today’s decision in South Korea looks like especially bad news for Boeing.

It should also be recalled that the Global 6500 is a new platform for this technology. It would appear that L3Harris will have to reintegrate the entire CAEW configuration, including its conformal systems, and flight-test it on a new airframe. With the production of the G550 ended, this would appear to be the only solution if a new-build airframe is to be used. We have asked the company for more details on this process.

SAIF ZAIB – (NORTHAMPTONSHIRE) – 61%

1,387 runs, average 66.04, six centuries, six half-centuries

Saif Zaib has been a beacon of light in a season of struggle for Northamptonshire.

Batting at number five, he has often been called upon to rescue a brittle batting line-up from which no other batter features in Division Two’s top twenty run-scorers.

He converted six of his 12 50-plus scores into three figures while also chipping in with 13 wickets with his slow left-armers.

The good news for Northants fans is he remains under contract until the end of the 2027 season.

TOM ABELL (SOMERSET) – 52%

1,022 runs, average 51.10, three centuries, five half-centuries

Though his side’s push for a maiden Division One title faltered in the final month of the season, 2025 was another fine year for Tom Abell.

A century in the penultimate round was his third of the campaign and saw him into four figures for the season with an average of more than 50.

The 31-year-old also helped his club to the T20 Blast title.

MARCUS HARRIS (LANCASHIRE) – 46%

1,027 runs, average 60.41, three centuries, five half-centuries

Former Australia Test batter Marcus Harris has had a year to remember after joining Lancashire.

The 33-year-old initially signed as an overseas for the Championship and One-Day Cup this summer but swiftly put pen to paper on a deal for another two years.

The former Leicestershire and Gloucestershire man – who has won 14 Test caps – made a blistering start, passing 800 runs in May, though his momentum did wane in the second half of the season as Lancashire were unable to mount a push for promotion from Division Two.

Having been part of the 2024 team, Glamorgan’s Colin Ingram was edged into fourth in the voting by Harris.

The Dalai Lama has announced that there will be another spiritual leader for Tibetan Buddhists.

As the Nobel Peace Prize laureate approaches the age of 90, attention has turned to the sensitive issue of his successor.

Each Dalai Lama is considered a “Living Buddha”. The current one fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese communists in Tibet and says his next reincarnation could be born among his followers there.

But Beijing considers the Dalai Lama a separatist and insists it has a veto over the choice, while the United States supports the Dalai Lama’s right to determine his own reincarnation.

So how will the selection process balance religion and regional politics?

And if it fails, what is the likelihood of having two Dalai Lamas?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Robbie Barnett – Writer and researcher on modern Tibetan-Chinese history and politics, and a professor at SOAS University of London

Andy Mok – Geopolitical analyst and senior research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization

Dibyesh Anand – Political analyst and professor of international relations at the University of Westminster

The Dalai Lama confirmed on Wednesday that he will have a successor to carry on the role of spiritual leadership to Tibetan Buddhists, in a statement issued during continuing celebrations to mark his 90th birthday.

He said that leaders of Tibet’s spiritual traditions, members of the Tibetan parliament and government in exile, both of which are in the Indian district of Dharamshala, and Buddhists from around the world, including mainland China and Tibet, had written to him, requesting that the institution continue.

“In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” he said.

His statement, issued at a time when Buddhist scholars and revered monks from around the world have converged on McLeodganj town in Dharamshala, where the Dalai Lama lives, to participate in the 90th birthday celebrations. The town, also known as “Little Lhasa” because it is in effect the capital of Tibetan Buddhists in exile, will also host an intense three-day religious conference that the Dalai Lama will preside over.

But the occasion isn’t only religious. How the next Dalai is chosen, and by whom, carries deep geopolitical significance.

For centuries, Tibetan Buddhist leaders have chosen and enthroned a new Dalai Lama only after an intense quest and subsequent schooling after the incumbent passes away. If the current Dalai Lama, the 14th, offers any more details in the coming days about how his successor might be chosen, or whom it might be, that would represent a dramatic break with tradition.

What he says, and doesn’t say, will be closely watched in Washington, New Delhi and Beijing.

The Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who fled Tibet for India in 1959, is seen as a separatist by Beijing. India, as his host for 66 years, has deep stakes in the future of the institution of the Dalai Lama, who has known every Indian prime minister since the country gained independence. And the United States, which has long cited the Tibetan movement in exile as evidence of China’s human rights excesses, will want to make sure that the glue that binds it all – the institution of the Dalai Lama – continues.

So, who will choose the next Dalai Lama? Can the incumbent Dalai Lama stump the Chinese government? And could there be two Dalai Lamas?

How is a Dalai Lama chosen?

Choosing the next Dalai Lama, who will be enthroned as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, is a process rooted in centuries-old traditions, spiritual beliefs, and rituals.

Traditions consider the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, and each Dalai Lama is believed to be the successor in a line of reincarnations.

Traditionally, the search for the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation typically begins after a period of mourning. High-ranking lamas (spiritual leaders) form a search committee to identify the next Dalai Lama, based on signs such as the direction of the smoke blowing from his cremation, the direction where he was looking when he died, and oracles’ visions, including at Lhamo Latso, a lake considered holy in Tibet.

Once potential candidates are identified, they undergo a series of tests to confirm their identity as the reincarnation. Candidates are usually young boys born at about the time of the previous Dalai Lama’s death. But the current Dalai Lama has said that there is no reason why a woman cannot be the next reincarnation.

After a candidate is chosen, the child begins a rigorous education in Buddhist philosophy, scriptures and leadership responsibilities, preparing them to assume the role of both a spiritual and, historically, political leader of the Tibetan people.

Who is the current Dalai Lama and how was he chosen?

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th and current Dalai Lama, was born as Lhamo Dhondup on July 6, 1935, to a farming family in a region now in Qinghai province. He was identified as a reincarnation when he was barely two years old.

After the death of the 13th Dalai Lama, the search party concluded a four-year-long quest after the toddler identified belongings of his predecessor with the phrase, “It’s mine, it’s mine.” While the majority of Dalai Lamas have been born in Tibet, one was discovered in Mongolia, and another in a region that today lies in northeastern India.

In March 1959, after a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese control, the Dalai Lama fled Lhasa in disguise, crossing the Himalayas on horseback and foot, eventually reaching India on March 31 that year. Nearly 100,000 Tibetan refugees live in different parts of India today, the community’s largest exile population.

His escape marked the end of traditional Tibetan governance and the beginning of a life in exile, from where he led the Tibetan struggle for autonomy.

What has the 14th Dalai Lama said about his successor?

Addressing a beaming crowd of followers and monks in McLeodganj on Monday, June 30, the Dalai Lama, clad in his traditional red robes and yellow scarf, said: “As far as the institution of the Dalai Lama is concerned, there will be a framework for it to continue.

“I think I have been able to serve the Dharma and sentient beings and I am determined to continue to do so,” he added, noting that at 90 years old, he feels “physically healthy and well”.

He has also hinted about where to look for the next Dalai Lama. Noting that the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor, the 14th Dalai Lama wrote in his book, Voice for the Voiceless, published in March 2025, that “the new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world”.

In effect, that has meant that the Dalai Lama has decreed that the reincarnation would not be in China or China-controlled Tibet. He had earlier said that his incarnation could be found in India.

For Tenzin Jigme, a 39-year-old who lives in McLeodganj and works with the Tibetan government-in-exile, the mere thought of the Dalai Lama passing away is heavy. His voice broke as he said, “We live in a free world because he led us here.”

“For all of us, living as refugees, His Holiness Dalai Lama is a fatherly figure,” Jigme told Al Jazeera. “We need his reincarnation; look at the world, we need someone to teach us compassion.”

Was there a risk that there wouldn’t be a successor?

The 14th Dalai Lama has suggested in the past that there may not be a successor at all.

In 2011, he said that when he turned 90, he would consult his fellow lamas and the Tibetan public and “re‑evaluate whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue or not”.

In 2014, during a visit to the 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome, the then-79-year-old spiritual leader said that whether another Dalai Lama would be enthroned after him would depend on the circumstances after his death and was “up to the Tibetan people”.

“The Dalai Lama institution will cease one day. These man-made institutions will cease,” the Dalai Lama said in an interview with the BBC. “There is no guarantee that some stupid Dalai Lama won’t come next, who will disgrace himself or herself. That would be very sad. So, much better that a centuries-old tradition should cease at the time of a quite popular Dalai Lama.”

Dibyesh Anand, a professor of international relations at the University of Westminster and the author of Geopolitical Exotica: Tibet in Western Imagination, said the institution of the Dalai Lama will face immense uncertainty in the coming decades.

But, he said, “the history shows that this institution has been more protean and resilient than politically power-based states.”

Subsequent exiled Dalai Lamas “will not have political power in conventional sense”; however, the institution will remain “symbolically the heart of the Tibetan nation and the most respected authority in Tibetan Buddhism,” he said.

What is China’s position on this?

China insists that only its government has the authority to approve the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, treating it as a matter of national sovereignty and religious regulation. This position was cemented in a 2007 law, which mandates that all reincarnations of Tibetan “living Buddhas” must be approved by the state and must follow Chinese laws, religious rituals and historical precedent.

Chinese officials have repeatedly stated that the next Dalai Lama must be born inside China, and any foreign-born or exile-appointed successor would be considered “illegitimate”.

A key element of China’s proposed process is the Golden Urn system, an 18th-century Qing Dynasty method in which the names of candidates are placed in a golden vessel and one is selected by lot.

The current Dalai Lama doesn’t favour this method, arguing that it lacks “spiritual quality”.

In March 2015, then Tibet Governor Padma Choling accused the Dalai Lama of “profaning religion and Tibetan Buddhism,” adding that the Dalai Lama was trying to usurp Beijing’s right to decide.

“If he says no reincarnation, then no reincarnation? Impossible. Nobody in Tibetan Buddhism would agree to that,” said Choling.

While talks over finding the next Dalai Lama traditionally occur after the death of the incumbent one, the Chinese position has left monks and Tibetans in exile worried that Beijing might try to hijack the institution.

The centrality of the Dalai Lama to the Tibetan national movement and his stature as a global icon is an irritant for Beijing, said Anand, the professor.

“This is a battle over legitimacy and not actual rule over territorial Tibet. Beijing seeks to win that battle of legitimacy but faces an institution and person in the 14th Dalai Lama that is beyond its control,” he told Al Jazeera.

Robert Barnett, a scholar of modern Tibetan history and politics and founder of Columbia University’s Modern Tibetan Studies Program, said that some “Chinese strategists see the succession issue purely as an opportunity to frustrate the exile project”.

Another reason could be the Chinese leaders’ anticipation of another plausible Tibetan uprising. It helps Beijing to “have a ‘tame’ Dalai Lama to dissuade Tibetans from protest,” Barnett told Al Jazeera.

Has China hijacked a selection before?

Yes. In 1995, the Dalai Lama recognised a young boy in Tibet as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama – the second most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism. He was a six-year-old, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the son of a doctor and a nurse from the Tibetan town of Naqchu.

Soon after, Chinese authorities took the boy into custody and relocated the family. Their whereabouts are not known since.

In his place, Beijing appointed its own candidate, a move widely rejected by Tibetan Buddhists in exile and many inside Tibet, who view the Chinese-selected Panchen Lama as illegitimate.

The disappearance of the Panchen Lama in 1995 was a turning point in Chinese-Tibetan political history, said Barnett.

“The Chinese side decided that it has to control not just which child should be chosen, but whether a lama can reincarnate, where he or she can reincarnate, who should search for them,” he said. The Chinese were clear that the Dalai Lama needed to be excluded from the process.

That episode is a key reason why the current Dalai Lama and Tibetans in exile are opposed to the selection of any future reincarnation inside China, including Tibet. The chosen child might simply be abducted, as happened 30 years ago.

Anand said that China’s goal is to dishearten and divide Tibetans. “If [China] cannot achieve it through winning hearts and minds, they’d do it through divide and rule, and this is how we should see the battle over reincarnation,” he told Al Jazeera.

A case of two rival Dalai Lamas

Tibet observers and scholars believe that after the 14th Dalai Lama’s death, Tibetan Buddhists might well find a scenario where two rival successors jostle for legitimacy – an exiled leader, appointed by the lamas faithful to the incumbent Dalai Lama, and one appointed by the Chinese government.

It would be unprecedented in the history of Tibetan Buddhism, but “is highly likely to occur,” said Barnett.

While the reality of two Dalai Lamas may not matter to exiled Tibetans from a religious perspective, it “makes life very difficult for Tibetans inside Tibet who will be forced in huge numbers to publicly declare their loyalty to China over and over again”.

Barnett noted that Beijing could also use the succession issue as leverage to get foreign governments to marginalise organisations of Tibetans in exile in those countries.

Anand said that Beijing’s insistence on its candidate “will be a source of instability in China-Tibetan relations” and “may come back to haunt the Chinese Communist Party”.

In an interview in March 2019, the Dalai Lama acknowledged that following his death, there could be two rival Dalai Lamas. “In future, in case you see two Dalai Lamas come, one from here, in free country, one chosen by Chinese, then nobody will trust, nobody will respect [the one chosen by China],” he said.

“So that’s an additional problem for the Chinese! It’s possible, it can happen,” the Dalai Lama added, laughing.

Is the selection also a geostrategic issue?

It is, mainly for India and the United States.

For India, which hosts the Tibetan government-in-exile, the succession of the Dalai Lama intersects with national security and its fraught border relationship with China.

New Delhi will want to carry on giving hospitality and refuge to the Dalai Lama and his followers, said Anand. He added that the “Tibetan exiles in India offer a leverage and buffer to India vis-a-vis China’s influence in the Himalayan region”.

The US’s interest in Tibet dates back to the Cold War era, when the CIA backed Tibetan resistance against Chinese occupation, in the 1950s, including after the Dalai Lama’s exile.

Washington has long shown bipartisan support for the religious autonomy of Tibetan Buddhists, including in choosing the next Dalai Lama.

In 2015, when China claimed authority to select the next Dalai Lama, US officials publicly rejected this, asserting that Tibetan Buddhists alone should decide. The most forceful position came in 2020 with the passage of the Tibetan Policy and Support Act (TPSA) under President Donald Trump.

The new US position explicitly supported the Dalai Lama’s right to determine his own reincarnation and authorised sanctions on Chinese officials who interfered in the process.

The international support for the Tibetan right to decide on the institution of the Dalai Lama, Anand said, “is going to play out in geopolitical rivalry between the US and China as well as China and India in the future”.

Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who needs a break from politicians’ interpretations of the Bible.

The fifth season of “The Chosen,” the faith-based TV series that has found success releasing select seasons in theaters, has begun its three-week rollout on Prime Video. George Xanthis, who plays John the Apostle, stopped by Guest Spot to discuss the show.

Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our streaming recommendations include a documentary that delves into the origin story of New Orleans’ first Black Mardi Gras krewe, and the latest installment in the travelogue adventures of actors/BFFs Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, known for their motorcycle journeys in “Long Way Round” and “Long Way Down.” This time, the pair is riding from McGregor’s home in Scotland to Boorman’s in England.

ICYMI

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Showrunners R. Scott Gemmill (“The Pitt”), Lauren LeFranc (“The Penguin”), Craig Mazin (“The Last of Us”), Debora Cahn (“The Diplomat”), Seth Rogen (“The Studio”) and Jen Statsky (“Hacks”) pose for The Envelope’s Writers Emmy Roundtable.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

Is it too late to reverse Hollywood’s runaway production? Writers on the ‘stark’ reality: Writers from six of the year’s most entertaining and acclaimed TV series open up about runaway production, the binge model and tuning out (or into) social media.

In ‘The Waterfront,’ ‘Dawson’s Creek’ creator Kevin Williamson returns to his gritty roots: The main characters in the new Netflix series are a multigenerational cast of adults whose lives are glossier and grittier than what audiences remember from the “Dawson’s” gang.

Before social media, Barbara Walters said ‘Tell Me Everything.’ And many did: A new documentary coming to Hulu recounts Walters’ groundbreaking TV career from the early days of “Today” to “The View.”

A dream team reunites to bring zombie horror home again in ‘28 Years Later’: Director Danny Boyle, screenwriter Alex Garland and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle return to the terrifying world they created for 2002’s “28 Days Later.”

Turn on

Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Randolph Davis in a scene from “A King Like Me.”

(Netflix)

“A King Like Me” (Netflix)

Matthew O. Henderson has made a lively, lovely documentary about the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club of New Orleans, preeminent among the krewes that parade on Mardis Gras. (You will know them by the painted coconuts they toss, their makeup and grass skirts.) It’s a history, a celebration and a disquisition, whose interests range from the benevolent societies that provided a form of neighborhood insurance, to the electioneering of men hoping to become that year’s king — Louis Armstrong served in 1949 — to surviving racism, Katrina and COVID (or not). The question is raised of whether the Zulus, Black men who have paraded in a sort of altered blackface and “African” dress for more than 100 years, should give up the long-controversial makeup or preserve it as a generations-old tradition; Henderson doesn’t take a side, but lets his subjects have their nuanced say. And as any film about New Orleans must, it’s full of music and food, hanging out and dancing in the streets. — Robert Lloyd

Charley Boorman, left, and Ewan McGregor in AppleTV+’s “Long Way Home.”

(Apple TV+)

“Long Way Home” (AppleTV+)

When “Outlander” debuted on Starz in August 2014, many Americans were as dazzled by Scotland, with its looming fells, pristine lakes and lyrical accents as they were by the time traveling love story. Since then, Scotland has become the new England, at least on television. Streamers are bursting with all manner of Scottish series, from the classics (“Rebus,” the 2000s original available on BritBox and the remake, on ViaPlay) to the brand new (“Dept. Q” on Netflix). In between are shows too numerous and diverse to name but given my penchant for murder mysteries, it is not surprising that my favorites include: “Case Histories” (Acorn TV, Tubi), “Shetland” (BritBox), “The Loch” (BritBox), “Karen Pirie” (BritBox) and “Annika” (PBS) — all of which offer breathtaking scenery, ancient stone edifices and, most important, a glowering, windswept alternative to Los Angeles, particularly in summer That’s exactly what I was looking for when I tuned into “Long Way Home” on Apple TV+.

The fourth installment of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s motorcycle adventures around the world begins at McGregor’s Scottish home, winds its way through Scandinavia into the Arctic, thence through the Baltic states and through continental Europe before finishing up back in Scotland. Having no European vacation plans of my own, it seemed a fine visual substitute; McGregor is always a charming screen presence, as is Boorman. It’s been five years since they joined forces for “Long Way Down,” 20 since their first trip in “Long Way Round,” and watching two 50-somethings hitch themselves onto vintage bikes to embark on a 19,000-mile journey to the Arctic and back is pretty inspiring — even if one of them has a name and face that guarantees a certain starstruck quality from even citizens of rural Finland and both have a multiperson camera crew/backup team should anything go seriously wrong.

Unlike other travelogues, this series does not linger over cuisine, haute or otherwise (there is a continual quest for coffee), aiming instead for a scattering of local crafts, traditions and events. The ever-shifting landscape is, in fact, amazingly beautiful, the people they meet along the way are often quite fascinating. The best parts, of course, are the unexpected bad weather, an unexpected road closure, an impromptu concertand mosquitoes. The bikes grumble and occasionally break down, as do the 50-somethings, which is reassuring to us ordinary folk who get to see the glory of all without having to straddle a motorcycle for two months. At 10 episodes that average 40 minutes, “Long Way Home” covers a lot of ground in a way that is both slow and speedy. My only complaint? Not nearly enough Scotland. — Mary McNamara

Guest spot

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

George Xanthis, left, as John and Jonathan Roumie as Jesus in “The Chosen: Last Supper.”

(Photo from Prime Video)

Season 5 of “The Chosen,” the TV series about the life of Jesus that became a surprise hit, already played in movie theaters earlier this year, but fans looking for ways to fill prime rest hours can now watch all eight episodes at home. Created by Dallas Jenkins, the faith-based drama has attracted a devoted audience since its premiere in 2017 with its look at Jesus’ life and teachings — and has found success leaning into an unconventional distribution strategy, with theatrical releases of Seasons 3 through 5 that have made millions at the box office. The first two episodes of the fifth season, which is titled “Last Supper” and chronicles the events of Holy Week, are available to stream on Prime Video, with the next three episodes dropping Sunday, before concluding with another three-episode release on June 29. Australian actor George Xanthis, who plays John the Apostle, stopped by Guest Spot via email to talk about the show’s success and the Pixar film that’s become scripture to him. — Yvonne Villarreal

“The Chosen” is striking a chord with an underserved audience often overlooked by major Hollywood studios. As an actor, did you feel any stigma about venturing into faith-based content? What has the experience of making it — and the response to it — illuminated for you?

I’ll start by saying that upon reading the first episode and finding out I was playing a “fisherman” by the name of “John,” I actually had no idea the project was faith-based! I think that tells you where this series has found success — it doesn’t read or play like something that is strictly faith-based, or something that is attempting to convert you. It’s a show about the real people that would have lived through first century Judea, how they battled against crippling Roman occupation and how they found refuge in a peaceful, love-preaching Rabbi. I guess I didn’t have time to feel any stigma, and before I knew it, we were a megahit all around the globe!

For the audience, there’s often a blurring of lines between performer and role. That would seem to be an interesting dynamic when portraying a figure of faith — how do you grapple with that push and pull of serving as a conduit for someone’s relationship to their faith while maintaining your grip on your function as an actor?

The show’s success has come from taking these “saints” in the apostles and bringing them away from the paintings and iconography we recognize and telling an origin story that audiences can relate to. At the end of the day, I am not necessarily depicting a saint as a figure of faith, but rather, I am a fisherman from Capernaum with a hot temperament learning to control his impulses with the lessons of love and compassion his Rabbi is teaching him. It’s important to respect people’s identification with these figures in whatever way they want to, but for me the best feedback I’ve received from fans about my portrayal of John has been how they see parts of themselves in John, when he makes mistakes, when he learns from his mistakes, when he makes them AGAIN and so on.

You’ve played real-life figures like George Stephanopoulos in “Impeachment: American Crime Story” and John Travolta in an Olivia Newton-John TV biopic. How does your approach and your mission with those known figures compare to what you’re striving to achieve with your portrayal of John the Apostle?

I started out in this industry in comedy, both stand-up and sketch comedy. A large part of my comedic success has come from doing impressions and impersonating notable people. When I got the roles of John Travolta and George Stephanopoulos, my process was the same as any impression — find the voice, find the body, mold myself into the people based on what I could see of them and mimic them as well as I could. With John [the Apostle], I’m depicting a real person but I don’t have the luxury of watching videos of him. So instead, the character arc helps govern my character building. An eager-to-please “Son of Thunder” has a short temper, sometimes waning patience but at the center of him is a compassionate soul who always looks out for others he cares about. It means my palate to play with is quite broad, and John’s temperament for any given moment usually exists somewhere between these extremes of “thunder” and “love.”

What have you watched recently that you’re recommending to everyone you know?

The most recent series I finished was “Peaky Blinders” (Netflix). Being an Australian and part of the Commonwealth, British-based television holds a special place in my heart, and I loved watching Birmingham come to life through the brutal eyes of Thomas Shelby. It’s a bucket list item of mine to be in a British film or series watching so much of it growing up. Here’s to hoping!

What’s your go-to comfort watch, the film or TV show you return to again and again?

There are so many, but becoming a new father, I realized just how much I have watched “Toy Story” (Disney+) and how much time I still have for that film. I’ll still watch it on planes as I make the 14-hour commute between Australia and the U.S. when there’s nothing else to watch. Fun fact: I can quote the movie word-for-word from beginning to end. Pick a moment, and I can carry on the movie verbatim — voices, music, sound effects and all!

Twenty-two seasons ago, LeBron James entered the NBA with almost unbelievable expectations, the fate of a franchise in Cleveland and a league hungry for a new star on his back.

Twenty-two years later, the Lakers’ star exceeded even the most outlandish predictions, winning championships in three different cities, scoring more points than anyone in league history and authoring the kind of sustained greatness that’s unmatched across sport.

And if you needed proof, more was offered Friday.

A panel of media voters selected James to the league’s All-NBA second team — the 21st year he’s been voted all-league on one of the three teams. His 21 All-NBA appearances is six more than Kareem-Abdul Jabbar, Kobe Bryant andf Tim Duncan, who are tied with the second at 15.

Despite turning 40 in late December, James played 70 games and averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists while shooting 51.3% from the field and 37.6% from three. His 78.2% shooting from the free-throw line was a career best.

Clippers guard James Harden made All-NBA third team, his eighth All-NBA selection and first since 2020.

League MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell made first team All-NBA.

Jalen Brunson, Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards and Evan Mobley joined James on the second team while Cade Cunningham, Tyrese Haliburton, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Williams were with Harden on the third team.

James, who suffered a sprained medial collageral ligament in the Lakers’ final game of the first round, has a $52-million player option for next season. If he declines the option, he’d be an unrestricted free agent.

A COUPLE has caused controversy after sharing the very unique name they’ve chosen for their newborn son.

Morgan and boyfriend Lou welcomed their first child into the world a week ago, and decided to unveil his moniker in a video on their TikTok page.

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In the clip, they admitted it was “really easy” for them to settle on a name for a little girl, and had chosen Birdie Lou for if they’d had a daughter.

“But it was really hard for us to find a boy name that was like equally as exciting,” Morgan admitted.

So, instead of going the traditional route of going through a baby name book, Morgan and Lou decided to go through their record collection, looking for one that “spoke to us the most” and “had sentimental meaning”.

“And that’s how we ended up landing on Pony Ramone Presley,” they said.

They went on to explain where the inspiration for the name had come from, as they said that on their first date, they had danced to an Orville Peck song called Pony.

“So when we saw this record, it felt right,” Morgan added.

“Beautiful name!” Lou chimed in.

The tot’s middle name was inspired by the rock band Ramones.

“When we first found out she was pregnant, we were actually heavily, heavily listening to the Ramones,” Lou said.

“So it just felt right, and it just sounds nice.”

“Welcome to the world Pony Ramone,” they wrote over the top of the video as it came to an end, with Lou holding up a onesie that had the name ‘Pony’ emblazoned on the front.

The video quickly attracted comments, with the majority coming from people who insisted they’d assigned their son to a “lifetime of bullying” by giving him that name.

“That’s so terrible I’m sorry lol,” one wrote.

“You’re naming a future adult. You’re being selfish,” another raged.

“Pony???? Jesus Christ!”

“The bullying he’s going to get for his name though…” a third said.

“Parents caring more about appearing original and trendy than caring about how their name choice will affect the baby through their life is always wild to me,” someone else sighed.

“Feels selfish.”

“People choose names for their children as if they were choosing a name for a pet,” another commented.

“Oh my gosh that poor boy when he starts school,” someone else said, while another called him “that poor kid”.

“I swear some people just name their children anything these days,” someone else wrote.

“Might as well name mine Chair, Zebra, Door knob, and butter dish!”

“That’s a baby, not a puppy,” another said.

However, there were those in the comments section who approved of the baby’s unusual name.

“Stay true to your uniqueness guys, that little man is going to live a blessed life,” one wrote.

“I’m actually so obsessed with Pony as a first name!” another admitted.

“Oh I am absolutely in love with his beautiful name,” a third commented.

It’s a baby, not a puppy

TikTok commenter

“Having a unique name is really fun! Two of the coolest parents ever!”

“Pony has the most badass parents,” someone else agreed.

“Love his name!”

“I LOVE Pony because its a reflection of your love onto your sweet baby. Don’t listen to anyone else,” another urged.

“People act like we don’t already live in a world full of Forests, Diamonds, Bartholomews, and Cinnamons,” someone else wrote.

“Pony is actually so sweet and meaningful. They actually picked a cool name instead of a normal name spelled ENTIRELY WRONG in order to be ‘unique’.”