The second series of Beast Games lands on Prime Video sooner than you think
Beast Games returns to Prime Video for a second season on January 7(Image: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Prime Video))
YouTuber MrBeast will return to screens with a brand new season of Beast Games in just a matter of days.
Premiering this week, the brand new season will land on Prime Video as contestants battle it out in the hopes of winning a staggering prize pot of $5,000,000 which equates to around £3.7 million – making it one of the largest prize winnings in reality competition history.
It will also include a special edition crossover episode featuring the Emmy-Award Winning series Survivor, and its legendary host Jeff Probst.
The first season, which ran from December 2024 to January 2025, achieved massive success, becoming Prime’s most-watched unscripted show ever with 50 million viewers in just 25 days and it will now be back on screens on January 7.
Promising to be even bigger and better than before, 200 contestants will be split between 100 of the world’s strongest and 100 of the world’s smartest as they go head to head in the hopes of winning a life changing sum.
But fans may be disappointed to learn that not all episodes will be available straight away. Titled ‘Strong vs Smart’, the new season will see a weekly release, ending this month – here’s everything you need to know about the current release schedule.
For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.
Episode release schedule explained
Episode 1-3 – January 7
Episode 4 – January 14
Episode 5 – January 21
Episode 6 – January 28
Prime Video teases: “After a record-shattering first season, Beast Games is back! Bigger, bolder, and more intense than ever. MrBeast has assembled 100 of the planet’s strongest competitors and 100 of the world ’s smartest minds.
“Strong vs. Smart” will battle for an eye-watering $5,000,000 prize. As players face off in the ultimate collision of brain and biceps; alliances will form and trust will break. Every challenge pushes the limits of human strength, intelligence and strategy. What wouldn’t you do for $5,000,000?”
Beast Games will be blended with Survivor’s ground breaking format in an intense hybrid challenge which will include brutal twists and obstacles as Prime Video adds: “resulting in an episode that seamlessly bridges the worlds of content creators and traditional television.”
Many fans have been quick to share their enthusiasm as one person wrote on YouTube : “1st season was an emotional rollercoaster and a test of human psychology. Hope season 2 will be better than that.”
Another said: “OHHHHH MYYYYYYY GAAAAAAAWDDDD.” A third penned: “Prime video will be cooking in 2026.”
Prime Video also previously announced the show will return for a third series, however an official release date is yet to be announced.
Beast Games season 2 is available to stream on Prime Video on January 7
It’s nothing new or extraordinary to remake a foreign TV show for a different country.
“All in the Family” was modeled on the British series “Till Death Us Do Part,” as “Steptoe and Son” became “Sanford and Son.” The popular CBS sitcom “Ghosts” comes from the show you can find retitled as “U.K. Ghosts” on American Netflix. The British mysteries “Professor T” and “Patience” (from Belgian and Franco-Belgian productions, respectively), have been successful on PBS. And there is, of course, “The Office,” which outlasted its original by many, many seasons and nearly 200 episodes. It doesn’t always work out (“Life on Mars”; “Viva Laughlin,” from “Blackpool,” which lasted a single episode despite starring Hugh Jackman; “Payne” and “Amanda’s,” two failed stabs at adapting “Fawlty Towers”), but there’s nothing inherently wrong with the practice.
The new Fox series “Best Medicine,” arriving Sunday as an advance premiere before its time slot premiere on Tuesdays, remakes the U.K. “Doc Martin,” previously adapted in France, Germany, Spain, Greece, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. For better or worse, I have a long, admiring relationship with the original, having signed on early and attended every season in turn — and interviewed star Martin Clunes three times across the run of the series (10 seasons from 2004 to 2022). And I am surely not alone. Unlike with most such remakes, whose models may be relatively obscure to the local audience, “Doc Martin” has long been widely available here; you can find it currently on PBS, Acorn TV and Prime Video, among other platforms — and I recommend that you do.
In “Doc Martin,” Clunes played a brilliant London surgeon who develops a blood phobia and becomes a general practitioner in the Cornwall fishing village where he spent summers as a child. He’s a terse, stiff, antisocial — or, more precisely, nonsocial — person who doesn’t stand on ceremony or suffer fools gladly, but who time and again saves the people of Portwenn from life-threatening conditions and accidents or, often, their own foolishness. A slow-developing, on-again, off-again love-and-marriage arc with schoolteacher Louisa Glasson, played by the divine Caroline Catz, made every season finale a cliffhanger.
Obviously, the fair thing would be to take “Best Medicine” as completely new. But assuming that some reading this will want to know how it follows, differs from or compares to the original — which was certainly the first thing on my mind — let us count the ways.
Josh Segarra, Josh Charles and Abigail Spencer in “Best Medicine.”
(Francisco Roman / Fox)
The names have mostly not been changed. For no clear reason — numerology, maybe? — Martin Ellingham is now Martin Best (Josh Charles); Aunt Joan is Aunt Sarah (Annie Potts), a fisherwoman instead of a farmer. Sally Tishell, the pharmacist in a neck brace, has become Sally Mylow (Clea Lewis); and distracted receptionist Elaine Denham has been rechristened Elaine Denton (Cree). Keeping their full names are Louisa Gavin (Abigail Spencer), father and son handymen Bert (John DiMaggio) and Al Large (Carter Shimp), and peace officer Mark Mylow (Josh Segarra). Portwenn has become Port Wenn, Maine. (Lobsters are once again on the menu.)
As in the original, Martin is hounded by dogs (no pun intended, seriously), to his displeasure; teenagers are rude to him, because they are rude teenagers. Mark Mylow is now Louisa’s recently jilted ex-fiance. Liz Tuccillo, who developed the adaptation, has added a gay couple, George (Jason Veasey) and Greg (Stephen Spinella), who run the local eatery and inn and have a pet pig named Brisket (sensitive of them not to name it Back Ribs); and Glendon Ross (Patch Darragh), a well-to-do blowhard who bullied Martin in his youth. Apart from the leads Charles and Spencer, few have much to do other than strike a quirky pose, though Segarra, recently familiar as school district representative Manny Rivera on “Abbott Elementary,” makes a meal of Mark’s every line, and Cree, who gets a lot of scenes and a personal plotline, makes a charming impression. Spencer is good company; Potts, whom I am always happy to see, is more an instrument of exposition than a full-blown character, and it feels a little unfair.
The first episode is modeled closely on the “Doc Martin” pilot, from Martin and Louisa’s antagonistic meet cute — in which he offends her, leaning in unannounced to examine her eye — to the episode’s main medical mystery (gynecomastia), a punch in the nose for our hero. Other details and plotlines will arrive, but there has been an attempt to give “Best Medicine” its own identity and original stories.
On the whole, it’s cuter, milder, more cuddly (multiple vomit jokes notwithstanding), more obvious and more whimsical, but less real, less intense and less sharply written than “Doc Martin.” The edges and angles have been sanded down and polished; tonally, it resembles “Northern Exposure” more than the show it’s adapting. Port Wenn (represented by the coincidentally named Cornwall, N.Y., with a wide part of the Hudson River subbing for the Atlantic Ocean) itself comes across as comparatively upscale; the doctor’s office and quarters are here plushly appointed, rather than spare, functional and a little shopworn.
As Martin, Charles stiffens himself and keeps his facial expressions generally between neutral and annoyed, though he’s softer than Clunes, less a prisoner of his own body, less abrasive, less otherworldly. Where Dr. Ellingham remained to a large degree inexplicable — the series expressly refused to diagnose him — Tuccillo has given Dr. Best a quickly revealed childhood trauma to account for his blood phobia and make him more conventionally sympathetic.
I freely admit that in judging “Best Medicine,” my familiarity with “Doc Martin” puts me at a disadvantage — or an advantage, I suppose, depending on how you look at it. But taken on its own merits it strikes me as a rather obvious, perfectly ordinary example of a sort of show we’ve often seen before, a feel-good celebration of small-town values and traditions and togetherness that will presumably improve the personality of its oddball new resident, as the townspeople come to accept or tolerate him anyway in turn. In the first four episodes, we get a celebration of baked beans, a town-consuming baseball championship and a once-a-year day when the women of Port Wenn doll themselves up and go out into the woods to meet a jacked, shirtless, off-the-grid he-man, right off the cover of a romance novel, who steps out of the forest, ostensibly to provide wilderness training. It’s like that.
All in all, “Best Medicine” lives very much in a television reality, rather than creating a reality that just happens to be on television. To be sure, some will prefer the former to the latter.
The Channel 4 reality show was back with a Christmas special, and one star was left emotional within minutes of the episode starting
Angie Quinn Screen Time Reporter
21:52, 01 Jan 2026
Gogglebox star Andrew was in tears over his partner’s sweet gesture (Image: Channel 4)
Gogglebox star Andrew Nicolls was left crying as his husband shared a sweet gesture during the latest episode of the Channel 4 show.
On New Year’s Day, the much-loved armchair critics were back to share more of their insightful and passionate takes on the festive season’s biggest and best shows.
As the festive special kicked off, Alfie Mulhall re-created an iconic scene from the Christmas classic movie Love Actually.
He held up a set of cards that had sweet messages written on them for his husband, Andrew, which included the words: “And people think you’re my father,” and “Happy Christmas, I Love You.” Andrew asked Alfie, “What are you doing?” as his husband instructed him to sit down.
As Alfie showed Andrew his written messages, Andrew started to get emotional, exclaiming, “Oh, my god, I really love Love Actually,” while wiping away tears.
Alfie, who is 30 years younger than Andrew, replied, “Merry Christmas,” as the pair then laughed.
The couple, hailing from the Cotswolds, represent one of numerous fresh households that have become part of the Channel 4 programme.
Despite their recent arrival, Andrew and Alfie have struck a chord with viewers, courtesy of their sharp observations and cheeky banter between themselves.
Away from Gogglebox, Alfie and Andrew frequently post lifestyle updates on Instagram, featuring holiday photos, personal achievements, pets, and family announcements.
On Sunday (December 21), Andrew took to Instagram to share his happiness after finding love with Alfie when he was aged 60.
During a montage of sweet snaps, the couple can be seen enjoying each other’s company during various special moments.
In one photo, Andrew and Alfie are seen standing side by side in front of the city skyline, beaming with happiness. In another, Andrew kisses his husband lovingly on the cheek as they spend time at the beach.
Andrew wrote in the caption: “I was 60 when I thought my love story was over…Then THIS happened (love heart).”
The couple were met with an outpouring of support, with one person saying: “Love always wins, my friend, and it sometimes is just around the corner – so happy for you both.”
A second stated: “Two beautiful men, one beautiful couple!”, while a third chimed in: “I’ve got a big age gap with my boyfriend, so seeing you guys represent it on TV is so lovely!”
“How flippin’ lovely is this, gorgeous couple and my favourite goggleboxers, have a fabulous Christmas xx”, gushed one follower as another stated: “Love you two, my favs on gogglebox xx.”
Andrew and Alfie, who have a 30-year age difference, tied the knot in May 2024. They exchanged vows at a beautiful destination wedding in Italy, surrounded by their loved ones.
Los Tigres del Norte have gone gold and platinum many times, but on Sunday the acclaimed group went yellow for the first time.
The Grammy-winning band appeared in animated form on the latest episode of “The Simpsons,” which aired Sunday, and performed an original corrido about the escapades of Homer Simpson and Pedro Chespirito (also known as the Bumblebee Man).
The unexpected collaboration came with some anticipation as the long-running show promoted the group’s appearance Friday on social media.
“A legendary band. An original song. A very Simpson twist. @lostigresdelnorte perform “El Corrido de Pedro y Homero” this Sunday on FOX,” the program’s official Instagram page wrote in a post alongside a pair of stills from the episode.
The “Jaula de Oro” artists appear only in the end credits and their tune recaps the zany adventures of Homer and Pedro within the episode. In the Simpsons-verse, Pedro Chespirito plays a beloved character on the slapstick comedy Spanish-language show “Channel Ocho.” The character is an homage to Mexican television icon Roberto Gómez Bolaños, better known as “Chespirito.” Bumblebee Man is a nod to “El Chapulín Colorado,” and “Channel Ocho” is a reference to to Gómez Bolaño’s best known character, El Chavo del Ocho.
“We are deeply grateful and very happy for this special moment in our history, being part of the universe of The Simpsons,” Los Tigres Del Norte told Rolling Stone. “For us, it’s an honor that our stories continue to cross borders, cultures, and generations. “When music tells stories, it can reach anywhere… even Springfield.”
The episode’s head writer Cesar Mazariegos told Rolling Stone the band’s inclusion was a “tip of the hat” to the show’s sizable Latin American fandom, specifically its Mexican and Mexican American fans.
“They are absolute, worldwide legends. I mean, they were on tour when we reached out to ask them for a song. I assumed they wouldn’t have time,” Mazariegos said. “When we heard back that they were game, I couldn’t have been more thrilled.”
Mexican director and Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu was also portrayed and voiced himself in Sunday’s episode.
Los Tigres del Norte’s guest spot is only the most recent in a long line of musical legends featured on “The Simpsons.” U2, Paul McCartney, Green Day, Ringo Starr, Sting and Dolly Parton have made an appearance on the show.
Other Latinx artists have popped up in Springfield as well, including Tito Puente, Linda Ronstadt and Los Lobos. In 2021, Bad Bunny made a special appearance in “The Simpsons” universe when he released an animated music video for his 2020 ballad “Te Deseo Lo Mejor” — which sees him drawn into the same universe as “The Simpsons.”
For “Malcolm in the Middle” fans and the Walt Disney Co., 151 episodes weren’t enough.
The beloved sitcom, which ran seven seasons on Fox in the early aughts, is returning for a four-episode arc on Hulu April 10. The reunion brings back such viewer favorites as Bryan Cranston as Hal, Frankie Muniz as Malcolm, Jane Kaczmarek as Lois, and a couple of Malcolm’s TV siblings.
The limited series — “Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair” — is set nearly 20 years after the original went off the air. Muniz’s character, Malcolm, is beckoned back to his dysfunctional family to help celebrate Hal and Lois’ 40th wedding anniversary.
Disney acquired the rights to 20th Century Fox studio programs after buying much of Rupert Murdoch’s entertainment assets in 2019. The deal gave Disney such blockbusters as “The Simpsons” and “Avatar.” Recently, the Burbank entertainment giant has dipped into the Fox vault to mine the trend of comfort food TV for millennials, boomers and Gen Z. Executives have watched nostalgic programming take off on streaming services, including Disney+ and Hulu.
Jane Kaczmarek as Lois, Bryan Cranston as Hal, and Erik Per Sullivan who played Dewey in the original “Malcolm in the Middle” on Fox.
(FOX)
A recent study from National Research Group found that about 60% of all TV consumed is library content.
The NRG study found that, among Gen Z, 40% of respondents said they gravitated to older shows because they are comforting and nostalgic. Disney’s own research has shown that a quarter of the shows young people list as their favorites were produced before 2010.
Disney’s ABC is also bringing back the quirky hospital sitcom, “Scrubs,” on Feb. 25. That comedy, set in the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital, will reprise the bromance between Zach Braff and Donald Faison’s characters, which the pair have recreated recently in T-Mobile TV commercials.
The show, which ran from October 2001 to March 2010, was also produced by 20th Television along with Bill Lawrence’s Doozer Productions.
Sarah Chalke will return, and John C. McGinley will guest star. The show will run on ABC, and a day later on Disney’s Hulu.
Most of the original “Malcolm” cast returns for the limited series except notably Erik Per Sullivan, who played Dewey. He’s no longer an actor so the part now is played by Caleb Ellsworth-Clark.
In the show, Malcolm has a daughter, played by Keeley Karsten, and a girlfriend, played by Kiana Madeira.
The Wilkerson’s classic mid-century house in Studio City, which served as an exterior for the show, reportedly was renovated years ago.
The original series ran on Fox from January 2000 to May 2006. Those episodes stream on Hulu.
Los Angeles Times’ former television critic, Howard Rosenberg, in 2000 called “Malcolm in the Middle” the “smartest, sharpest-written, most original comedy of the season.”
The reboot is produced by Disney Television Studios and New Regency. Linwood Boomer, who created the original series, also returned as writer and executive producer. Ken Kwapis directs the four episodes and also serves as an executive producer.
Beyond reviving the shows, Disney has also collaborated with advertisers to make throwback commercials to run in classic films on its streaming platforms and TV networks.
Staff writer Stephen Battaglio contributed to this report.
After the eye strain, the greatest occupational hazard of being a TV critic is people asking what’s good on television. It’s a question I typically find impossible to answer on the spur of the moment, as a show will run out of my head as soon as a review is filed in order to make room for the next one. (I buy time by responding, “What do you like?”) It is only at this reflective season of the year that I can stop, look back and list them.
Our picks for this year’s best in arts and entertainment.
Every year, television has its ups and downs, its ebb and flow, depending on a host of reasons I will only ever vaguely understand. I will take this opportunity to say that there are way too many psychological thrillers on way too many platforms nowadays, but there are always more than enough shows to praise — and as always, I include only series that are new this year. Some are here because they deliver real surprises — not just plot twists and sudden revelations, but new directions and original formats. Others are here by dint of good old-fashioned storytelling, memorable characters and terrific performances — or just because they made me laugh.
Here they are, in no special order.
‘Hal & Harper’ (Mubi)
Lili Reinhart and Cooper Raiff in Mubi’s “Hal & Harper.”
(Mubi)
Writer-director Cooper Raiff’s delicate drama looks at a brother and a sister — played by Raiff and Lili Reinhart both as adults and children, with no sacrifice of reality — made close by the early loss of their mother and the grief of their father (Mark Ruffalo, identified only as Dad). The sale of their old house and the prospect of a new sibling — Dad’s girlfriend (Betty Gilpin, going from strength to strength) — sets things in motion. The dialogue avoids exposition, the silences say much. (Read the review.)
‘The Lowdown’ (FX)
Ethan Hawke and Ryan Kiera Armstrong in FX’s “The Lowdown.”
(Shane Brown / FX)
In Sterlin Harjo’s shaggy dog follow-up to “Reservation Dogs,” the ever-evolving Ethan Hawke plays Lee Raybon, a raggedy Tulsa “truthstorian,” citizen journalist and used-book dealer, looking into the apparent suicide of the oddball member of a powerful family. The series pays homage to noir film and fiction, even as it’s too bright, mischievous and full of love to qualify as noir itself (though Lee does get beat up a lot). Politicians, land developers, white supremacists and Natives collide. The cast also includes Kyle MacLachlan, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Peter Dinklage, Keith David, Kaniehtiio Horn (the Deer Lady in “Reservation Dogs”) as Ray’s ex-wife and the marvelous Ryan Kiera Armstrong as his teenage daughter and eager accomplice. Look for X’s John Doe as a purveyor of bootleg caviar. (Read the review.)
‘Women Wearing Shoulder Pads’ (Adult Swim), ‘Common Side Effects’ (Adult Swim), ‘Oh My God … Yes!’ (Adult Swim), ‘Long Story Short’ (Netflix)
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1.“Women Wearing Shoulder Pads” on Adult Swim.(Warner Bros)2.“Common Side Effects” on Adult Swim.(Adult Swim)3.“Oh My God … Yes!” on Adult Swim.(Warner Bros. Discovery)4.“Long Story Short” on Netflix.(Netflix)
Animation! “Women Wearing Shoulder Pads” is a queer Spanish-language stop-motion comedy melodrama, set in the aesthetic world of a 1980s Pedro Almodóvar film, involving the fate of the cuy, a South American guinea pig (pets? food?), and a struggle between two powerful women. (Read the review.)
“Common Side Effects” is a semicomical thriller with heart, centered on a mushroom with curative properties and pitting its discoverer against the pharmaceutical-industrial complex; Martha Kelly fans will be happy to find her here as a DEA agent. (Read the review.)
“Oh My God … Yes!” is an Afro-futurist, surrealist, girlfriends-in-the-city superhero comedy — like the Powerpuff Girls, grown up, earthy and Black — featuring humanoid robots, anthropomorphic animals and gayliens (the preferred term for gay aliens). (Read the review.)
And “Long Story Short,” from “Bojack Horseman” creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg is the sweet, melancholy, satirical, silly, poignant, hopeful, sometimes slapstick cartoon tale of a normal middle-class Jewish family; the world it portrays is (mostly) ordinary, but the drawings make it extra-special. (Read the review.)
‘Demascus’ (Tubi)
Okieriete Onaodowan in Tubi’s “Demascus.”
(Jace Downs / AMC Networks)
In this Black science-fiction comedy about the search for identity and purpose, Okieriete Onaodowan plays the title character, propelled into alternative visions of his life and self by an experimental virtual reality gizmo that “follows the path of your conscious and subconscious impulses.” The settings change along with him — into a relationship reality show, a “sad Thanksgiving” domestic comedy, a setting out of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” — as supporting actors (Martin Lawrence among them) become different people around him. (Read the review.)
‘Pluribus’ (Apple TV)
Rhea Seehorn in Apple TV’s “Pluribus.”
(Anna Kooris / Apple TV)
I find Vince Gilligan’s take on “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” in which a virus from outer space turns nearly all of humanity into one giant, contented, cultish hive mind, more interesting than compelling, but it’s interesting enough, and comes with a great performance by Rhea Seehorn as one of a dozen earthlings immune to the bug — jealous of her discontent, standing up for her right to be angry. This is a slow series, yet never a boring one, and Seehorn, in a kind of one-woman-versus-everyone show, is electric even when nothing much is happening. (Read the review.)
‘The Studio’ (Apple TV)
Clockwise from left: Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Hahn, Chase Sui Wonders and Seth Rogen in Apple TV’s “The Studio.”
(Apple TV+)
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s breakneck farcical ode to the motion picture business (in which they do very well). Rogen stars as a new studio head, promoted from below, dealing with bad ideas (a Kool-Aid movie), big egos, and his own insecurities and need to feel appreciated. Episodes take place at the Golden Globes, a fundraising dinner and a Las Vegas trade show, with Ike Barinholtz and Kathryn Hahn on his team, Bryan Cranston as his boss — reminding you he was on “Seinfeld” and “Malcolm in the Middle” before he became Walter White — and Catherine O’Hara (brilliant, naturally) as the woman Rogen replaced. (Read the review.)
‘North of North’ (Netflix)
Anna Lambe in Netflix’s “North of North.”
(Netflix)
A sweet small-town romantic comedy, set (and filmed) in Canada’s northernmost territory among the Indigenous Inuit people. A luminous Anna Lambe stars as the 26-year-old mother of a rambunctious 7-year-old, tied to a narcissistic husband and resentful of her mother, a reformed alcoholic and former bad girl; she dreams of something more, even if it just means hauling large items to the dump. Mary Lynn Rajskub plays the cheerful, credit-grabbing town manager whose assistant she becomes. Love and a family secret will arrive from the south. The beaded parkas are gorgeous. (Read the review.)
‘The Pitt’ (HBO Max), ‘Adolescence’ (Netflix)
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1.Noah Wyle and Tracy Ifeachor in HBO Max’s “The Pitt.”(John Johnson/HBO)2.Owen Cooper and Stephen Graham in Netflix’s “Adolescence.”(Netflix)
These two series do their work in real time, making space for naturalistic acting and a special kind of pressure. “The Pitt,” whose 15 episodes are set in a hectic Pittsburgh ER over a 15-hour shift puts Noah Wyle back in scrubs, herding (with Tracy Ifeachor) a large cast of doctors, nurses and student doctors. Cases include electrocution, drowning, overdose, scurvy, sickle cell anemia, a nail in the chest, a fastball in the eye and gallstones, with all the personal drama one expects from a hospital show. (Read the review.)
The tightly focused, brutally intimate “Adolescence,” surrounding the arrest of a 13-year-old boy (Owen Cooper) for murder, unveils its unconventional mystery in four discrete episodes, each executed in a single tracking shot. A field day for actors, it earned Emmys for Cooper, co-creator Stephen Graham as his father and Erin Doherty as a child psychologist. (Read the review.)
‘Dope Thief’ (Apple TV), ‘Deli Boys’ (Hulu)
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1.Brian Tyree Henry, left, and Wagner Moura in Apple TV’s “Dope Thief.”(Apple)2.Saagar Shaikh, left, and Asif Ali in Hulu’s “Deli Boys.”(James Washington/Disney)
Drugs are bad, but they fuel a lot of television. (I mean the plots; I wouldn’t know about the productions.) These two very different series feature heroes in over their heads, caught between cops and a cartel. “Dope Thief” gives Brian Tyree Henry (Paper Boi on “Atlanta”), as a man robbing low-level drug dealers dressed as a DEA agent, his first starring role, which would be sufficient for me to recommend it sight unseen — but it is excellent, seen. (Read the review.)
In “Deli Boys,” an old-fashioned comedy of Idiots in Danger, Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh play temperamentally opposite Pakistani American brothers who inherit what they believed to be a chain of convenience stores but turn out to be the front for their father’s cocaine empire. Poorna Jagannathan is marvelous as their beloved, fearsome Lucky Auntie, who knows the score. (Read the review.)
‘Ludwig’ (Britbox)
David Mitchell in Britbox’s “Ludwig.”
(Colin Hutton)
In this Cambridge-set dramatic comedy-mystery, irascible David Mitchell, of “Peep Show,” “Upstart Crow” and “Would I Lie to You?” fame, plays an awkward, isolated genius with little practical experience of the world, drawn right into it when he winds up impersonating his missing twin brother, a police detective. A professional puzzle-maker, he’ll turn out to be good at the job, though he calls a medical examiner’s report a “how-did-they-die test,” and, moving in with his sister-in-law, he’ll learn something about the benefits of family. Properly moving, and very funny. (Read the review.)
Red Eye season 2 premieres on 1st January 2026, with Jing Lusi and Lesley Sharp returning alongside new lead Martin Compston for the gripping thriller
Martin Compston as RSO Brody in Red Eye series two(Image: ITV)
ITV is starting the year with a bang, bringing back its popular original thriller Red Eye. Creator Peter A Dowling and director Kieron Moore are teaming up again for a fresh story that once more puts DC Hana Li (Jing Lusi) and MI5 director-general Madeline Delaney (Lesley Sharp) in serious jeopardy.
The first series centred on the spine-chilling events on an extradition flight to China, where an alleged murderer was embroiled in a complicated international conspiracy.
This latest chapter builds on those global political tensions, splitting time between a besieged US Embassy in London and a rigged flight back to the English capital.
If you’re excited to tune into Red Eye season 2 on ITV1 and ITVX, read on for everything you need to know about the show’s return.
Red Eye season 2 release date
Red Eye season 2 is set to premiere on ITV1 at 9pm on Thursday, 1st January 2026 (New Year’s Day). All six episodes will also be available on ITVX from that date, allowing fans to binge-watch ahead.
Red Eye season 2 cast: New and returning
Red Eye season 2 welcomes back Jing Lusi as DC Hana Li, who spent the first series untangling a complex conspiracy on a dangerous flight to China.
Lesley Sharp is back in action as Madeline Delaney, now the director general of MI5, who finds herself in a precarious situation on an overseas flight in season 2, mirroring Hana’s ordeal from the first series.
Other familiar faces include Jemma Moore (Lockwood & Co.) reprising her role as Hana’s sister Jess, a fearless journalist, and Robert Gilbert (Bergerac) returning as her boss, Superintendent Simon O’Brian. Notably missing is Richard Armitage as Dr Matthew Nolan, with Line of Duty’s Martin Compston stepping in to fill his shoes as Lusi’s male co-lead, playing US Embassy security chief Clay Brody.
In summary, here’s an overview of the Red Eye season 2 cast:
Jing Lusi as Detective Hana Li
Lesley Sharp as Madeline Delaney
Martin Compston as Clay Brody
Jemma Moore as Jess Li
Robert Gilbert as Supt. Simon O’Brien
Cash Holland as Ruth Banks
Jonathan Aris as John Tennant
Steph Lacey as Megan Campbell
Nicholas Rowe as DSEC Alex Peterson
Trevor White as US Ambassador Ronald Tillman
Isaura Barbe-Brown as DCM Cece Redding
Danusia Samal as Captain Sarah Wright
Guy Williams as Air Marshal John Johnson
Red Eye season 2 plot: What is it about?
Red Eye season 2 once again divides its attention between another endangered flight and events unfolding on the ground, but this time around, Hana Li is grounded while Madeline Delaney is trapped thousands of feet in the air.
The synopsis reads: “Inside the US Embassy, the celebrations for a newly appointed US Ambassador to London are shattered when a call, threatening to blow a British plane out of the sky if anyone leaves, triggers an immediate embassy lockdown, trapping guests and staff inside.
“And that’s when the murders begin, landing Hana Li, as a British cop, in a political and jurisdictional nightmare. Compelled to join forces with the Head of Embassy Security, Clay Brody, played by Martin Compston, a former colleague who once screwed her over, Hana has to see her way past her distrust of him and focus on the investigation.
“Because this time it’s personal: The plane that will be blown up is a government jet, and Director General Madeline Delaney is onboard.”
Red Eye season 1 is available to stream on ITVX. Season 2 premieres on New Year’s Day 2026.
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EastEnders flashes forward to New Year’s Eve 2026 showing Max Branning getting married, but even the cast don’t know who the bride will be
EastEnders will air a special flashback episode on New Year’s Day(Image: Mark Rogers)
New Year’s Eve in Walford is always more explosive than a firework display, but this year is set to bring a fresh set of mysteries to its celebrations, as EastEnders jumps a year into the future.
During the Christmas specials, viewers watched as Chrissie Watts (Tracy Ann-Oberman) revealed she’d been the one tormenting Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan). But now the countdown to New Year’s Eve is on, and it’s all about the Brannings.
In the upcoming episode, the show will flash forward a year in time to New Year’s Eve 2026. As Walford prepares to ring in 2027, Max Branning (Jake Wood) is getting married. But to whom? What does his daughter Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) think? And what has his year been like up until then?
Ahead of the New Year’s episode, Mirror hears from Jake and Jacqueline. “I think Max is probably at an all-time low on New Year’s Eve,” Jake says. It’s not hard to imagine – in the lead up to Christmas, Max discovered he had a secret daughter that Lauren had lied to him about. “And then we go into the flash forward and it’s in such stark contrast. So see a man who’s maybe at his lowest we’ve ever seen him and then we flash forward and things are maybe not quite as bad.”
He added that he was really excited about new love interests who will be introduced for his character and shared that even he didn’t know who his character would marry in 2027.
Fans have already started speculating about it, especially as a drunken Max slept with Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) over Christmas. Some wonder if Cindy, who didn’t realise it was Max, will be the bride – despite the fact that she blames Max for her son Stephen’s death.
Jake’s onscreen daughter Jacqueline Jossa also said she had “so many questions” and that none of the cast know who Max is set to marry. “I haven’t got a clue so we’ll find out next year probably with all of you lot.”
She revealed that though she got a full script for the New Year’s episode, it had so many gaps, she still didn’t know what would happen in 2026. “Obviously we’ll get the answers as we go which means every time I get a script now, I’m looking for the answer.” But this wasn’t easy: “There’s so many questions and no answers.”
Over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, viewers watched as Jasmine (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness) met up with Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman), revealing that the evil murderer was the true mastermind tormenting Zoe ( Michelle Ryan ). Why did the two team up? Jasmine felt abandoned by the mother who walked out on her and her brother when she was an infant, and Chrissie felt Zoe hadn’t paid for her part in Den Watts’ (Leslie Grantham) murder 20 years ago.
Since she returned, Zoe, who believed her daughter had died, has been looking for her son – something Jasmine has resented. But some fans think all Zoe will find is a grave. Writing on Reddit, one fan said, “I said it on another thread, but I think the boy twin is dead.
“I think he’ll have needed a transplant of some sort, and Jasmine wasn’t a match – but Zoe could have been. But because she abandoned the babies at the hospital and they had no record of her, no one was able to find her, and the twin died. Hence why Jasmine is angry as f***.”
Fans replied to the post, agreeing it was an “interesting theory”. If true, it could explain why Zoe’s private investigator never managed to find any further details about her son and his current whereabouts.
Jasmine hasn’t yet offered any new information about her brother or her life before arriving in Walford a few months ago. Nor has she revealed why she has been so obsessed with Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins).
Now, the New Year will focus on Max Branning and the flash forward episode.
Coronation Street’s Debbie Webster actress Sue Devaney has teased all about the big soap wedding, Carl Webster’s comeuppance and the explosive Corriedale episode
Coronation Street’s Debbie Webster actress Sue Devaney has teased all about the big soap wedding(Image: ITV)
As Coronation Street‘s Debbie Webster continues to adapt to living with young onset vascular dementia, one thing she’s determined to see go ahead is her extravagant wedding to Ronnie Bailey.
But actress Sue Devaney, who has played the fan favourite since 1984, warns there’s plenty of tension as the big day arrives thanks to Debbie’s warring siblings Kevin [Michael Le Vell] and Carl [played by Jonathan Howard].
Sue, 58, says Debbie won’t let their feud spoil the wedding of her dreams though. The hotel owner hasn’t had much luck with men in Weatherfield, dumped by tearaway Dazz in the 80s, before her scheming ex Ray Crosby brought trouble to her door in 2020, a year on from her return to the Cobbles.
But Debbie has finally found the one in Ronnie amid the devastation of her diagnosis. “She’s never found true love until now,” admits Sue. “I think because Ronnie said to her, ‘I’m not going anywhere, you might be poorly, you might have dementia, but I’m sticking by your side,’ she just sees that as true love.”
Sue originally joined the soap as a teenager in 1984 and bowed out a year later, before becoming a key character after her return in 2019. She’s proven a hit with fans ever since, and so her character’s sad health news came as a blow. Sue and show bosses have promised there’s plenty more to see from Debbie before her eventual heartbreaking exit.
As the soap continues to highlight the condition and what it’s like to live with dementia, Debbie’s wedding sees a performance from the dementia choir in an emotional touch. “I was over the moon because it was so beautiful,” shares Sue. “When they started singing, I had a little tear. It was fabulous. They sounded amazing.”
Sue even got to have her say when it came to Debbie’s amazing wedding look, sharing her inspiration behind the dress. She admits: “I said I just want to look like a Joan Collins from Rochdale. They delivered brilliantly. I wanted that shape, you know, because I like the feathers and that kind of 50s shape with big shoes and a big feather headdress.”
The day is not without its drama, as attention falls on Carl who has been targeting Debbie, even using her diagnosis against her as he plots to flee with her money. With plenty of secrets set to come out, it’s on Kevin and his ex Abi [Sally Carman-Duttine] to expose the truth. “In Debbie’s eyes, Carl can’t do anything wrong, because she loves her brother,” Sue confesses. “I think there’s going to be a lot of tension around the wedding where Abi is watching out for Carl because she doesn’t trust him.
“I think Debbie is letting him get away with little bits. She’s not that far down the line that she doesn’t see things. Love is blind, isn’t it?” Sue reveals the events of the wedding will lead into dramatic scenes as Coronation Street collides with Emmerdale in a special crossover episode, dubbed Corriedale.
“She doesn’t want Carl to leave,” Sue explains. “She doesn’t want Carl to leave the wedding. Also he’s drunk, so she doesn’t want him to drive off. She jumps in the car thinking, ‘Well, you can’t go anywhere if I’m in the car.’ And he thinks, ‘Well, I’m going somewhere,’ and carries on driving far too fast.”
It seems Debbie and Carl could be caught up in the big crash stunt too in something unexpected, possibly, to fans. As Sue shares all about filming for the episode, she appears to confirm Debbie and Carl will be in Carl’s car, after fans had speculated it could be her wedding party bus caught up in the drama. She also addressed some stunt work.
She says: “There was one scene where Carl had to drive off really fast and they had a dummy for me, you know, with the hair and feathers in the hair and everything. And I said to our director, ‘Can I not speed off with the stunt guy?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, go on then.’ He let me do it! It felt like doing a little movie or something.”
It’s safe to say that there will be big consequences in the fallout to Christmas and the start of 2026 too. “It’s not going to be plain sailing,” warns Sue. “There’s going to be some massive reveals, things that we didn’t know about Debbie, and quite a bit of reflection.”
Sue’s also hoping for more scenes with Debbie’s female pals, including Christina Boyd and Glenda Suttleworth, expressing the importance of women supporting women. Sue says: “I think that those friendships and those bonds that you have with another woman is something that has to be highlighted, because you don’t see it that often in soap. I think they should do an episode just with women.”
While it’s been a busy time for the actress, she’s planned a relaxing time off over the Christmas period with her husband Jim O’Farrell, whom she married in a private ceremony last year. “I’m going to be away for three weeks,” Sue teases. “Me and my husband are going to relax in the sunshine. Stepping off that plane, hiring a car, going island hopping. And not a script in sight. I’ll tell you what else is not in sight: phone is off.”
Following on from part one, which ended with Will (Noah Schnapp) discovering he had super powers, the three new episodes shed light on Henry’s (Jamie Campbell Bower) long-term plans.
It turns out the Upside Down isn’t an alternate dimension like the gang originally believed. It is actually a wormhole that was created during Dr Brenner’s experiments on Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), and it connects Hawkins to another world called The Abyss.
Henry plans to use the children he has abducted to increase his powers so he can merge the Abyss, which the gang named after Dungeons and Dragons, with Hawkins. As far as we know, this other world is where the Mind Flayer and demogorgons are really from.
Episode 7 ended with Henry sitting around a table with all the children he has stolen and seemingly starting his master plan. So when can Netflix viewers dive back into the action?
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Sky is giving away a free Netflix subscription with its new Sky Stream TV bundles, including the £15 Essential TV plan.
This lets members watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows like Stranger Things.
When does Stranger Things season 5, episode 8 come out?
Stranger Things season five, episode eight (aka the series finale) is set to release on New Year’s Eve (December 31) for US audiences, and in the early hours of New Year’s Day for UK viewers.
If you’re keen to catch the episode as soon as it drops, it will be available to stream in the UK on Thursday, January 1st from 1am GMT.
How long is the Stranger Things finale?
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The series finale has a huge runtime of 2 hours and 8 minutes. Co-creator Ross Duffer confirmed the final runtime ahead of volume two’s release and fans had mixed reactions.
Considering how much ground the show still has to cover, some viewers aren’t convinced two hours will be long enough. But we’ll have to hold on and see how it unfolds.
After almost a decade on our screens, Stranger Things will be coming to an end with this episode.
Stranger Things Season 5, Episode 8 comes out on January 1st.
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This article contains spoilers from Season 5, Vol. 2, of “Stranger Things.”
What could be more gulp-inducing than trying to defeat a nightmarish vine-covered villain and wipe out an eerie and horror-filled alternate dimension? Maybe writing a satisfying conclusion to a mega-popular TV show built on that idea.
Ross and Matt Duffer, the sibling masterminds behind Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” are closer to finding out if they’ve achieved that in the eyes of the show’s fans. On this morning in early December, the duo are in their own alternate dimension limbo with the show’s final season release — Vol. 1 is out and they’re bracing for impact with Vol. 2.
“The day that [Vol. 1] was released, I paced around all day,” Matt says. “I did absolutely nothing, just waiting for reactions to come in and reviews to come in because you really never know how people are going to react. There’s pros and cons to the show growing in size in the way it did — people just take it apart to an insane degree. It’s scary, always scary. You never really get used to it.”
But the self-doubt keeps them sharp, he says. “It forces you to not get lazy.”
“It’s a balance between feeling very confident, then it swings to being very insecure about it — and it’s hard to keep sight,” Ross adds. “You watch these episodes dozens and dozens of times over and over again. And the strange thing about this show is that a very small group of people had seen the episodes, a really small circle, then suddenly you’re just blasting it out to millions of people all at the same time.”
The pair are sitting on a couch in the office they share — “E.T.,” “Alien” and “Batman Returns” posters adorn the walls — at their facilities, Upside Down Productions, in Los Angeles. While they were able to revel in fan reaction for a few days after the release of Vol. 1, they’re back in work mode. At this point, they still have to finalize sound and color, as well as some visual effects, on the series finale.
“Very boring visual effects,” Matt quips. “If I have to look at one more shot of spores and fog, I’m going to lose my mind.”
Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton), Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) and Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) in Season 5 of “Stranger Things.”
(Netflix)
For now, the drip-drop release around the year-end holidays continues, with Vol. 2 (Episodes 5 through 7) now streaming. The episodes contain some of the season’s bigger emotional beats, including one of TV’s most amicable breakups between teenagers, a mended friendship and a character finally living his true self openly. The Duffers discussed that and more in this edited conversation.
Let’s start with those final 10 minutes of Episode 7. Will [Noah Schnapp] shares a part of himself that he’s kept secret for a long time. He realizes that if he wants to be successful in defeating Vecna, he can’t feel afraid about this part of myself. How did you decide Will’s coming out would be revealed?
Matt: It’s something that we’ve been planning to do for a really long time. Initially, it was planned for Season 4, and we just felt it was unearned by the end of it. We wrote that scene with him in the back of the van and him talking to Jonathan [Charlie Heaton]. But I like the idea of Will slowly building to this moment. He has a breakthrough in Episode 4 in a major way, but he has this one final step to take in order to really unlock his full potential. Something we really wanted to do with the show is tie his emotional growth with these powers that he’s developed.
Ross: Putting it at the penultimate [episode] ultimately made sense because what we’re trying to do with the second volume is get our characters in a place where they all felt confident in themselves. Will being one of the major character arcs that carries through the season, but also with Dustin [Gaten Matarazzo] and Steve [Joe Keery] and Nancy [Natalia Dyer] and Jonathan — we wanted to get people, before they go into this final battle, having dealt with their internal fears and doubts.
Matt: Because that’s what Vecna weaponizes against you. If you don’t have that self-hatred or self-doubt or those insecurities, then he can’t hurt you. When Will purges himself of that, he becomes unstoppable — or that’s the hope.
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1.Noah Schnapp as Will Byers, the show’s central character.2.With his mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder). In Season 5, Vol. 2, Will comes out to her and his friends. “It’s something that we’ve been planning to do for a really long time,” says creator Matt Duffer.(Netflix)
What did you want that moment to be? What didn’t you want it to be?
Ross: We were nervous about it because you want to get it right, particularly working with Noah, who had recently come out himself. When he read it and we got his blessing, we felt really, really good about it. For us, it clicked writing it when we started talking about, “What are Will’s actual fears here in the future?” When the show really works for us is when we can combine both our mythology and the supernatural with the emotional. In this case, it’s going: Vecna is taking these fears and weaponizing them against Will, so Will actually talking to the group about these fears, as opposed to keeping them to himself — that’s when the scene really clicked.
The original plan was for him to come out to Joyce [Winona Ryder], and we started writing it and it felt really wrong because if he’s really going to be confronting these fears, he has to open up to to his friends as well. Once we did that, and we put the group in there, and we had him talk about what he saw in his future, that’s when the scene felt, as a coming-out scene, like something very unique to this show.
Matt: It’s the scene we spent the longest on this season because we were so anxious about it and getting it right. It was the most important scene of the season. I can’t emphasize enough how much the actors influence the characters, and their journeys as people really feed into what we’re writing and how we write those characters. You’re trying to channel Noah and what he went through and his growth, which we’ve watched as a person, as he’s found himself. Most of what is in the show is the first take, the first close-up that we did of Noah. It was incredible to watch because it’s one of those moments where Noah was not acting. Those words were real that he was saying. It was very emotional. It felt so real to Noah, so truthful to him. Hopefully the scene feels like that to other people because a lot of kids are watching. You feel a certain responsibility, especially with scenes like that. You can’t be careless about it.
Shipping is a hallmark in every fandom. There’s a moment where Will mentions a crush he’s harbored. He doesn’t directly state it’s Mike, but Mike knows. The viewer knows. How would you describe their dynamic?
Ross: There is a lot of shipping that’s going on with this show. In terms of all the relationships — this goes with the Will storyline, it goes with Jonathan and Nancy — for us and the writers, what’s interesting is not who ends up with who. What’s interesting to us is, how are our characters growing as people? And most of the time, the answer to that is them finding strength within themselves as opposed to finding strength with someone else. When we were talking about Will, those are the conversations that we have. How do we get Will in a place that he feels confident and strong? And that, ultimately, is him confronting these fears and exposing himself to everyone, including Mike.
Matt: When we were growing up, shipping was not a thing. This is a new thing and it gets intense. Part of me likes it because it shows how passionate people are for the show. I don’t mind people interpreting things however they want. Obviously, Ross and I have what we intended. Ross touched on it thematically — in [Episode] 4, when Will finds his power, what we were intending was not that his love for Mike gives him these powers, but his love for himself and tapping back into how he felt when he was younger — that was the key to unlocking his full potential.
Ross: It’s more of an important message to put out to younger viewers. When I’m thinking about my younger self and our struggle growing up, to put out a message that’s “It’ll all be right if this secret crush you have works out” versus “You don’t need that.” Even if it disappoints some people, it’s the more important message to put out into the world.
Matt: Not one crush of mine worked out. It hurts you, though, right? If you feel feelings and it’s unrequited, it feels like an attack on you or makes you feel unwanted. So much of the show is two things: just our love for the supernatural in the movies that we grew up on, and the other part of it is dealing with all the feelings that we had growing up. The best thing for me in the world is when younger people come up to us, the very few that recognize us, and tell us how it helped help them through a difficult time in their lives. Even Robin’s speech to Will, giving him the confidence to come out, that makes it all worth it.
“To write them being back together and friends again was just such a relief,” says Ross Duffer of Dustin, left, and Steve.
(Netflix)
I want to move on to Dustin and Steve. The strain on their relationship comes to a head in these episodes, but also reaches a reconciliation. That moment between them on the collapsing stairwell —
Matt: It’s a very short moment, but incredibly emotional. We were really moved by Gaten and Joe’s performance. It wasn’t hard for them to get into that spot. They’re very close, they have a very sweet friendship that’s not entirely dissimilar from their friendship on the show. The one frustrating thing about the show being split in the way it is, is we didn’t put out a season of the show in Volume 1 — that’s half of a show. I’m excited for people to see Volume 2, mostly for the Steve-Dustin resolution.
Ross: It was hard even writing it, keeping them apart. We felt it was right, emotionally, but to write them being back together and friends again was just such a relief because we’ve missed them, and hopefully the audience has too.
And I love that Steve gets to have his a-ha moment where he comes up with what may be the plan that ends all this.
Ross: It’s funny, we’ve joked about this; he’s very convenient for us as writers because he’s always confused. He doesn’t know what’s going on. Dustin dings him for that in Episode 5, and it was so satisfying to have Steve come up with the final plan, or the linchpin for the final plan. That was such a thrill to write to finally give Steve a moment because the brainstorming almost always goes to Dustin.
Nancy and Jonathan, at one point, are bracing for imminent death and find themselves having this touching and tender moment, sharing confessions and hard truths. What was the lay of conversation for what you wanted from that moment — there’s the acknowledgment of their trauma bond and a slightly romantic unproposal?
Matt: It’s not dissimilar, in some ways, to the Mike-Will stuff. These are people who do love each other very much; it’s just a question of, “What does that mean? What does the future look like for them?” Whenever we talked about Jonathan-Nancy — there’s got to be this feeling that they feel like they must be together because of what they’ve been through, and how could you ever connect with somebody else who hadn’t been through the same thing? But are they right, in the long run, for each other? We wanted to express that as best as we can.
Ross: It was a challenging idea. We’ve been building to it, but to get it across in five-ish minutes, it’s a complicated thing. It’s not just a soap opera where it’s shipping and who’s going to end up with who. I’ve been through experiences similar to this, when you’re with someone for a very long time, you grow so close and you go through so many things together, and it reaches a point where you go, “Well, how could someone else understand?” But at the same time, is that suffocating to your own self-growth? So when we were talking about Nancy and Jonathan, and where do they go from here, it felt like for Nancy to really grow, it’s not about Steve, it’s not about Jonathan, it’s about giving herself the space.
Matt:And for Jonathan. They both felt the same way, they just weren’t expressing it. Especially when you’re young, you have trouble understanding or expressing those feelings. We wanted to put them in a life-or-death situation where it’s their last opportunity to confess. The reference for that scene was “Almost Famous,” when the plane’s about to crash and everybody, in the moment of near-death, tells everybody everything. And then the plane doesn’t crash and it’s awkward. This is the opposite.
Matt, left, and Ross Duffer are closer to releasing the “Stranger Things” series finale. Is it a happy ending? “Even in victory, it’s not confetti and dance parties,” Ross says.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
To return to this idea of the characters wrestling with what life looks like after this is over, if it’s ever over — is a happy or triumphant ending possible? Do you even think of it in those terms?
Matt: It’s weird because we didn’t realize until we had finished writing it, how much was a reflection on the show itself. Everybody had a tricky year emotionally; it was a real roller-coaster in terms of dealing with the fact that something we had been putting everything into for 10 years was coming to an end. Ultimately, the show is more about childhood, coming of age and leaving that behind for a new part of your life. It’s not really a question of a happy ending versus a not-happy ending. It’s just a question of capturing what it feels like to move on. It’s a bittersweet thing, but I think it’s something that everybody goes through.
Ross: Even in victory, it’s not confetti and dance parties. It’s a little more complicated than that. I remember “Lord of the Rings,” reading it and watching the films as a kid — there’s that moment when they’re just back in the Shire, and there’s bit of like, “How can you understand? And how do you move on from this?” I remember at the time, when I was younger, feeling a bit of disappointment. I was like, “Can’t they just come back and everyone just celebrate and there’s a party and then we fade out?” But watching it older now, there’s something so much more resonant about it. That’s why we talk so much over the course of this season about “Even if we are able to defeat Vecna, what does that look like for all of us?” Because this Vecna and the evil in the Upside Down brought all these people together.
Matt: In terms of the parallels to the show ending, that’s really a complicated and confusing mix of emotions. Everybody’s sad to move on, but then there’s that sense that you have to move on. We try to capture that feeling.
I need you to tell me what the workflow is like on a show like this. It’s lore, science and nerd-heavy. What are the checks and balances of making sure you’re not messing things up?
Matt: The challenge, especially as the lore and mythology has gotten too complicated, is to ensure that it’s not weighing down the show and that there’s enough room for the characters. That is more important than anything. What we’ve been trying to do as much as possible with this season, because there is so much mythology, is tie it into characters and their growth.
Ross: For instance, the Jonathan-Nancy scene — the melting lab was not an idea we had and then thought, “Oh, we could put Jonathan and Nancy in the situation.” We know we want this conversation with Jonathan and Nancy. How do we get there? Then going, “Oh, what if the dark matter makes the lab unstable?” Most of the time, you’re starting character first, and then we’re adjusting the mythology in order to make those character moments work.
Matt: But also, a melting lab is cool! Everybody was super enthusiastic about that — Netflix, our production designer.
Ross: Other dimensions, everyone was fine with the wormholes. But when we suddenly go, “The lab is going to melt,” everyone was like, “Excuse me?” No one knew how to do it.
Matt: We had to fight for that melting lab, from a production and cost standpoint.
I thought we were going to have a “Titanic” situation.
Ross: Oh, “Titanic” was a reference. But we wanted them both on the table.
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1.Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink), left, and Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher).2.Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna.(Netflix)
There’s a massive culture of forecasting and dissecting — it can be overwhelming to me as a viewer because I feel like I’m not watching closely enough. But I also love seeing how people interpret things.
Ross: Especially with the superfans, the tiniest of detail is picked up on. I think it’s fun for them because they’re rewatching this over and over again, so every little minute thing is seen as something significant even when that wasn’t our intention — not that we don’t plant things for later and do Easter eggs, but 99.9% of the writers’ room is just talking about these characters in the story they’re on. That is hopefully how you’re going to be watching the show because it can get overwhelming when you see this stuff online. But at the end of the day, we’re having people engage with a long-form story, so it makes us generally happy.
Matt: But you hit on something important, which is everybody experiences the show very differently. Sometimes I go, “What show are you watching?” Whatever show they’re watching is a completely different show than the show we thought we wrote. Then sometimes, some are on exactly our wavelength. And you see this with debates over the season. Season 3 is either the best season ever or the worst season ever. This is why you can’t write to fans, because which fan are you writing to? It would be impossible. Ross and I just try to write what we think is cool and what our writers think is cool.
There are so many theories out there about how the show is ending. Has there been one where the person got it or close to it?
Ross: I remember Season 4 someone early, very early, before we’d even released it, had figured out the Henry-Vecna-One thing, which was pretty impressive. This season, though, I have not seen anyone get the ending correct, which is, hopefully, a good thing.
Matt: I think it’s good. We’ll find out. I like that the ending is not obvious to people.
My understanding is the final scene of the series is one you’ve had in mind for about seven or so years. In the end, did you reach it the way you thought you would?
Matt: Yes. The show changed a lot in the course of seven years, so aspects of it certainly changed. But I think the fundamental state, more or less, the scene is what we always thought it was going to be.
Ross: I would say there was a key idea that we came up with, breaking [Season] 5, that wasn’t in there seven years ago. There was one element that we changed, but generally it is what we always hoped it would be. After the finale is out, we’ll be happy to tell you.
Matt: It didn’t change the scene, it just added something that I think was really important.
You spoke earlier about the circle of people that you share episodes with. How do you know you’re on the right path?
Ross: It’s such a small group. It really comes down to just our group of writers. What I love about our writers’ room is, even with Matt and I, people are very happy to tell us that an idea is not working. It’s usually everyone building off of each other, and then someone synthesizes those ideas, pitches it out to the room, and you feel this collective relief and excitement within that room. And when that happens, we go, “That’s it. That’s the idea.”
Matt: This is how we’ve always worked, once the draft is written, Ross and I will do multiple passes to the point where we’re really happy and confident. We don’t like turning in anything even remotely rough to Netflix. But the final episode, that was actually weird. We didn’t get any notes from Netflix or the producers. It is that first draft that we turned in. We did multiple drafts of it, but once we turned it in, that was it.
Were you on time with that draft?
Matt: We’re never on time, as you can tell with the gaps between seasons. Ross and I are not the fast. We were actually writing it in the midst of shooting, which was not a great idea. But Ross and I do the best work when we have a gun to our heads.
Ross: There’s not a single finale of the show that wasn’t written in the midst of production, but we like it because it allows us to get a sense of what the season is, what’s working, how the actors are performing, and we can really write to that. If you look at our season finales, generally, they’re some of our better episodes, part of it because the story is culminating, but also because we’ve learned over the course of the season what this season really is, what is really clicking. Then you can lean into that.
Matt: The only weird thing to have is because we were behind, and this has never happened before, is the Holly sequences that are in Henry’s mind, that’s in summer, so we couldn’t wait to shoot those. We were shooting any scene in the woods with Holly before the script was done. That was odd because we were handing actors scripts and scenes when they hadn’t even finished the episode. But it worked out quite well.
But now, I don’t know if it’s because of us, but Netflix won’t start shooting a season of anything until all the scripts are written. I do think they’re missing out on something because … like the sense of discovery that it allows. That’s the nerve-racking thing to me about doing a movie next, is we won’t have that ability to have it evolve.
What was the reaction at the table read for the series finale that stood out to you?
Matt: As nervous as we are of how the audience is going to react, it will never match the nerves we had in terms of how the actors were going to react to it. They’ve been in it with us since the beginning and they’re so invested in these characters. I think everybody was crying. Noah started crying first, then it just spread from there.
How do you feel you’ve changed since starting the show?
Matt: It’s hard to know. You have to try to remember back to how we were 10 years ago. We were really green. We had only directed one movie before. And we never directed television before. We’ve become, hopefully, better leaders and more confident and better at communicating. Ross and I, because we’re twins, we were really good at communicating with each other, but not with other people, and I think we’ve gotten a lot better at working with a large group of people, and hopefully we’ve evolved as as filmmakers.
Ross: There was a lot of fear making that first season. It was almost out of panic and fear both, if we get this wrong — our first movie was a failure — if we mess up, we’ll never be able to tell a story again. And the lack of experience, especially in terms of production. Production was scary because our production on the movie was such a challenge and it was a traumatic experience. Now, we know so much more. We keep making it hard for ourselves because we keep raising the bar in terms of the scale of the production [and] the number of people we’re hiring. But at this point, we can walk into a set, we’re much more flexible now if actors are coming in with ideas that are different from what we had planned, there’s a lot more ability to explore.
Caleb McLaughlin, left, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown and Gaten Matarazzo when they were much younger in “Stranger Things.”
(Netflix)
To expand on the learning curve, there was a recent report that said Millie Bobby Brown had filed a complaint of bullying and harassment against David Harbour. As first-time showrunners, how was it helming a show with young actors and figuring out how to balance the responsibility of making sure they feel safe and cared for on set?
Matt: Ross and I just love working with kids, and it was fun this season to go back to that, in terms of bringing in a new generation of kids. Mostly what we try to do is treat them respectfully and listen to them and listen to their ideas. I think you just get so much better work out of them that way. We’ve become very close because we got to know them when they were really young. It feels less parental and more like an older brother situation, and we try to make it very relaxed so they’re not nervous around us, and they certainly are not. I think what’s been challenging, and mostly challenging for the kids, who are no longer kids anymore, is when the show became bigger and [dealing with] social media. I think if something’s been damaging, it’s social media. I saw it happening with Jake [Connelly], who plays Derek this year.
Ross: And Nell [Fisher, who plays Holly], as well. That is something you feel more helpless about. But what has been beneficial for them, for Jake and Nell, [is] the kids that have been through it can help them through this more. Millie’s been through it. Finn’s been through it.
Matt: That’s the thing — yes, they have us, but they also have each other to get through this. I always think that that’s the key in terms of how they all turned out as grounded as they are. We were with all of them on this press tour, and I’m constantly impressed by how level-headed and grounded they are, and how ego-less they are; that they’re not broken by what they’ve been through. It’s been great with Jake to see it completely turn around. But that doesn’t excuse what people were doing before. It’s disgusting. I wish they had gone through this without social media.
A big talking point in Hollywood right now has been the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery. You have forged relationships with both Paramount and Netflix, the companies vying for it. How are you feeling about this moment and where things seem to be headed?
Matt: It’s just so hard to know what things are going to be like. It’s hard to say anything right now. Ross and I have been pretty open about wanting to make sure that the theatrical experience is preserved. For as long as stories have been told, it’s often in front of a group. There’s something about the communal experience and I just don’t want people being isolated. But as long as things are getting in theaters, I think it’s going to be OK. I’m trying to be optimistic about it.
Ross: I think the two fears are, with whatever happens, is you want to try to protect theatrical, which is in not the best state right now. And if you keep shrinking these windows, it just continues to de-incentivize people to go to the theater. That is not something we want to see. It’s a reason why we’re making a movie for theaters next; we believe in it and want to fight for it. The other is you need competition for artists because that’s the whole reason “Stranger Things” exists in the first place. If it’s too much consolidation, then shows like this are just going to become increasingly extinct.
Was it an easy sell, getting Netflix on board with releasing the series finale in theaters?
Matt: Yeah, actually. This is where the internet can frustrate me because something starts as a rumor and then goes around, then it’s fact. We pitched the idea to Netflix marketing — it was mine and Ross’ idea, then [Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria] called us — it was only about five days [later] and [she] said, “Yeah, let’s do it.” We’re really grateful for them for supporting us. I cannot wait to go sneak into some theaters and watch it.
Pat Finn, a veteran comedy actor known for playing the Heck family’s friendly neighbor Bill Norwood on “The Middle,” died Monday, reportedly following a three-year battle with cancer. He was 60.
“After a beautiful life filled with laughter, love, family, and friends, we share the heartbreaking news of the death of Pat Finn,” Finn’s family said in a statement to multipleoutlets. Finn’s manager, Andrea Pett-Joseph, who described the actor as “the kindest, most joyful person in any room, told Deadline that he died surrounded by his family and friends. His death was first reported by TMZ.
Finn broke into show business in the 1990s, appearing in various sitcoms. His first major role was on “The George Wendt Show,” where he played Dan Coleman, the brother of Wendt’s character, George Coleman. He also had a recurring role on “Murphy Brown” as Phil Jr., the son of the original owner and bartender of Phil’s Bar (portrayed by Pat Corley) who took over the establishment in later seasons.
”Seinfeld” fans might remember Finn from his role as Joe Mayo in “The Reverse Peephole” episode. He also portrayed alternate-universe Monica’s boyfriend Dr. Roger in a couple of episodes of “Friends.” Finn’s credits also included roles on “The Drew Carey Show,” “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “That ’70s Show,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “The Bernie Mac Show,” “2 Broke Girls” and “The Goldbergs.” His most recent credits included the films “Unexpected” (2023) and “Diamond in the Rough” (2022).
Born in Evanston, Ill., Finn attended Marquette University in the 1980s, where he met his future wife, Donna, and Chris Farley, with whom he became friends. After graduating, Finn, along with Farley, joined Chicago’s Second City to hone his comedy chops.
In a 2022 interview published on Phoenix.org, Finn said he’d always gravitated toward comedy.
“My mom and I watched ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ and ‘The Odd Couple,’” he said. “I really liked the idea of sitcoms. Growing up in Chicago, nobody said they wanted to be an actor. They wanted to be firefighters or in sales. … A career in comedy didn’t become a reality until I was picked up by The Second City and then the main stage.”
According to a statement provided to the New York Post, Finn was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2022. Although he went into remission, the cancer later returned and metastasized.
A lifelong Bears fan, Finn “often showed the biggest signs when the Bears scored a touchdown” in his final days, the statement from the actor’s family said. “No pressure Bears — just saying — do it for Pat.”
Finn is survived by wife Donna and their three children, Cassidy, Caitlin and Ryan.
BBC thriller The Night Manager is set to return to screens after its successful debut back in 2016
BBC thriller The Night Manager is set to return to screens for its second season.
Based on the characters created by John le Carré, the series followed Jonathan Pine, a night manager of a luxury hotel in Cairo and a former British soldier, who was recruited by the manager of a Foreign Office task force to infiltrate the inner circle of a dangerous arms dealer.
The show won multiple BAFTAs, Emmy Awards, and Golden Globes, including Best Actor for Tom Hiddleston as Pine.
Almost ten years after its explosive finale captivated over ten million viewers, the hit BBC spy thriller is now back with a bang as Pine takes on an explosive new case.
The official synopsis teases: “Jonathan Pine thought he’d buried his past. Now living as Alex Goodwin – a low-level MI6 officer running a quiet surveillance unit in London – his life is comfortingly uneventful.
“Then one night, a chance sighting of an old Roper mercenary prompts a call to action and leads Pine to a violent encounter with a new player: Colombian businessman Teddy Dos Santos.
“On this perilous new journey, Pine meets Roxana Bolaños, a businesswoman who reluctantly helps him infiltrate Teddy’s Colombian arms operation. Once in Colombia, Pine is plunged deep into a deadly plot involving arms and training of a guerrilla army.”
The logline concludes: “As allegiances splinter, Pine races to expose a conspiracy designed to destabilise a nation. And with betrayal at every turn, he must decide whose trust he needs to earn and how far he’s willing to go before it’s too late.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the BBC thriller’s return, including release date, cast, and episode details.
When will The Night Manager be released?
The first episode of season two is set to premiere on BBC One on Thursday, January 1 at 9pm. The new series will then be available to stream on Prime Video from January 11.
Who is in the cast of The Night Manager?
Tom Hiddleston returns as former British intelligence operative, Jonathan Pine, with Diego Calva as Teddy, and Camila Morrone as Roxana. They are joined by Indira Varma as Mayra, Paul Chahidi as Basil, and Hayley Squires as Sally.
Olivia Colman reprises her role as Angela Burr, alongside returning cast members Alistair Petrie as Sandy Langbourne, Douglas Hodge as Rex Mayhew, Michael Nardone as Frisky, and Noah Jupe as Daniel Roper.
The cast and creatives have promised “danger, espionage, betrayal, love, heartbreak, drama, and suspense” in the next chapter of Pine’s story.
How many episodes are in The Night Manager?
The Night Manager season two consists of six hour-long episodes. After the first episode premieres on New Year’s Day, the drama will continue three days later on Sunday, January 4 at 9pm on BBC One.
The following four episodes will air every Sunday at 9pm, with the explosive finale expected to air on February 1.
For international viewers, the first three episodes will drop on Prime Video on Sunday, January 11, with subsequent instalments premiering every Sunday through to February 1.
The Night Manager season 2 premieres on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 9pm on Thursday, January 1
For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new Everything Gossip website
“South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, who this summer landed one of the richest TV deals ever, are being called Scrooges by performers at their Casa Bonita restaurant near Denver.
In late October, the performers, including the famed cliff divers, went on a three-day strike, citing unsafe working conditions and stalled negotiations over their first contract. The performers voted unanimously to unionize with Actors’ Equity Assn. a year ago.
The strike ended when the restaurant’s management agreed to bring in a mediator to assist in the negotiations.
But the standoff has continued, prompting Actors’ Equity to take out an ad in the Denver Post this week that depicts a “South Park” cartoon-like Parker and Stone awash in hundred-dollar bills while their staff, including a gorilla and a person clad in a swimsuit, shivers outside in the Colorado cold.
The union said its goal is to prod the star producers to resolve the labor tensions by giving about 60 Casa Bonita performers, including magicians and puppeteers, a pay increase and other benefits along with their first contract.
A full page ad is running in the Denver Post on Dec 24.
(Actors’ Equity Association)
Other Casa Bonita workers voted earlier this month to join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 7.
“At Casa Bonita, we value all of our team members and their well being,” the restaurant management said in a statement. “We are negotiating in good faith with our unionized team members in the hopes of concluding fair collective bargaining agreements.”
Parker and Stone declined to comment through a spokesperson.
The pair, who also created the hit Broadway play “The Book of Mormon,” rescued the kitschy, bright-pink Mexican-themed eatery in Lakewood, Colo., from bankruptcy in 2021 and have since plowed more than $40 million into the restaurant to upgrade and correct unsafe electrical, plumbing and structural issues after the facility had fallen into disrepair.
For “South Park” super-fans, the venue has become something of a mecca since first being featured in the seventh season of the long-running Comedy Central cartoon.
In that episode, Cartman flips out when Kyle invites Stan, Kenny and Butters Stotch to his birthday party at Casa Bonita (not Cartman), where they are serenaded by the restaurant’s ubiquitous mariachi bands.
Along with legions of other kids who grew up in Colorado, Parker and Stone fondly remember making the trek to the Casa Bonita of their 1980s youth. Restoring the restaurant has become a passion project for the writers, a journey that became grist for a documentary, “¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!,” which streams on Paramount+.
In July, Paramount managers were eager to tie up loose ends to facilitate the company’s sale to David Ellison’s Skydance Media and RedBird Capital Partners. The incoming management team also became involved in the protracted negotiations to strike a new deal with Parker and Stone’s production company, Park County, to avoid having the situation unravel, possibly tripping up their corporate takeover.
Paramount ultimately agreed to extend the overall deal for Park County as well as lock up the show’s exclusive global streaming rights for $300 million a year over five years. Until this year, the show streamed exclusively on HBO Max.
The overall deal is slated to bring Parker and Stone’s firm $1.25 billion through 2030.
As part of the pact, the team agreed to create 50 new “South Park” episodes for Paramount. The series has enjoyed a ratings bounce and increased cultural resonance this year as it routinely roasts President Trump.
Actors’ Equity, which also represents Broadway performers, is seeking pay raises for its members at Casa Bonita. Union representatives said performers’ wages there average $21 to $26 an hour.
“Matt and Trey have become fabulously wealthy by pointing out the hypocrisy of rich and powerful people,” said David Levy, communications director for Actors’ Equity. “And now they are behaving exactly like the people they like to take down.”
KYIV, Ukraine — Before the war, Ukraine’s own “Dancing with the Stars” was a cherished and popular television show, dazzling the audiences with performances by celebrities and professional dancers. The show is now back on for one special episode — this time with Ukrainian wartime heroes as the stars, underscoring the nation’s resilience in difficult times.
Many still remember how President Volodymyr Zelensky — then an actor — won the dance competition in 2006, the year that “Tantsi z zirkamy” as the show is known in Ukrainian, first debuted.
In the new, special episode, the dancers perform with prosthetic limbs, showcasing their strength in overcoming adversity. The lineup of participants includes public figures who rose to prominence since Russia’s full-out war on Ukraine was launched in February 2022.
But like all of present-day Ukraine, the show — which is part of an international franchise — has had to deal with a multitude of wartime challenges, including frequent power outages.
All the proceeds will go to the Superhumans Center, a specialist clinic for the treatment and rehabilitation of war-wounded victims.
A new reality
During a prerecording last week, dancers spun, leapt and glided under the sparkle of lights, some seamlessly integrating their prosthetic limbs into the choreography.
For creative producer Volodymyr Zavadiuk, every segment of the show is precious, creating something special during tough times.
“It’s about our resilience and it’s about our future,” said Zavadiuk, who also heads Big Brave Events and the Big Entertainment Shows department at 1+1 Media.
Among the performers was Ruslana Danilkina, a war veteran who lost her leg in combat in 2022 and is now renowned in Ukraine for dedicating herself to helping injured troops adapt to life with prosthetics.
She delivered a passionate performance centered on reclaiming her womanhood following the traumatic injury.
Also back in the show is beloved dancer Dmytro Dikusar, this time as a competition judge. He juggled filming and serving with his platoon on the front lines.
Ukrainian rock musician Yevhen Halych sat in the makeup chair ahead of his number, reflecting on his own determination to bring back the show.
“We are filming this project in a country where there is a war. … We have power cuts, we may have an air alert, it could be bombing,” he said. “What do I feel? I feel a genuine desire to live a full life, no matter what happens.”
Wartime challenges
Producing the show’s special episode has been no easy feat in time of war. A live broadcast was impossible — a Russian attack can happen at any time. Then there were the technical obstacles: during last week’s recording, a key generator malfunctioned.
When the show airs on Sunday, audiences will vote for their favorite.
Danilkina, who was only 18 years old when she lost her leg and who today works at the Superhumans Center, enthralled everyone with her passionate performance, her prosthetic limb artfully integrated into her routine.
“Our dance number is about life. It’s about accepting love,” she told The Associated Press after her performance. “Because in reality, when your body is wounded, it’s very difficult to love yourself. And allowing someone else to love you is even harder.”
Her injury was not the end of her life, she said, and now she wants to show “thousands of wounded boys and girls who are starting their lives over again” that it’s not the end of theirs.
For veteran Ivan Voinov and his wife of three months, Solomiia, the show was more than just a dance performance: it was the second time they had danced together since his injury, the first time was at their wedding.
Solomiia Voinov smiled shyly, recounting how she had long tried to persuade Ivan that they should dance until he gave in.
“We don’t take our eyes off each other while dancing, and it’s a great connection,” she said. “I’m happy.”
Voinov said he was already planning their next dance — a bachata, a fast-paced, hip-swaying style of dance that originated in the Dominican Republic.
“We will be able to continue dancing,” he said. “It means that there is a future.”
Kullab and Stepanenko write for the Associated Press. AP videographer Alex Babenko in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.
Bowen Yang, a fan-favorite cast member of “Saturday Night Live,” is leaving the series after this week’s episode.
Representatives for Yang and “Saturday Night Live” did not comment on the move Friday. However, on Saturday, he confirmed his upcoming departure via a post on his Instagram account. “i loved working at SNL, and most of all i loved the people. i was there at a time when many things in the world started to seem futile, but working at 30 rock taught me the value in showing up anyway when people make it worthwile,” he wrote. “i’m grateful for every minute of my time there.”
Yang also thanked Ariana Grande, this week’s host and his “Wicked” co-star,” for “sending me off in the dreamiest way I could imagine.” The pair, alongside musical guest Cher, were seen in promos for Saturday’s episode.
There has been recent speculation about whether Yang would finish the current season of the show. He has appeared on “SNL” since Season 45 after a year of working on the writing staff.
Yang took on a variety of roles in the NBC sketch comedy series, including impersonating Vice President J.D. Vance, Fran Lebowitz and pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng. Yang received his fifth Emmy nomination for his work on “SNL’s” historic 50th season.
Outside of “SNL,” Yang has appeared in several other projects recently. He co-hosts the popular podcast “Las Culturistas,” with fellow comedian Matt Rogers, and their seminal Las Culturistas Culture Awards was televised for the first time this year, airing on Bravo and streaming on Peacock. Yang also appeared in the “Wicked” film and its recent sequel, “Wicked: For Good,” and has starred in several other feature films, including “The Wedding Banquet,” “Fire Island” and “Dicks the Musical.”
In early December, Yang confirmed he and Rogers would be co-writing and starring in an untitled comedy for Searchlight Pictures. The movie will reportedly follow two Americans who fly across the world to try to get into the exclusive Berghain nightclub in Berlin.
Yang is not the first “Saturday Night Live” cast member to leave midseason — he joins the company of past “SNL” greats like Cecily Strong, Molly Shannon, Amy Poehler and a handful of others who exited the show outside of the traditional period for departures while the show is on summer hiatus.
Prior to the start of Season 51, NBC and executive producer Lorne Michaels made some major cast changes, adding five featured players after a series of departures. Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker and Emil Wakim exited the series before the season premiere in October.
Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska joined the cast for the current season. Marshall was previously on the “SNL” writing staff and is known for his on-camera appearances as a part of the Please Don’t Destroy comedy trio.
The 51st season of “Saturday Night Live” will continue in early 2026 and run through the end of the television season in May.
The final of 2025 Celebrity MasterChef marked the final show for outgoing judge John Torode
John Torode(Image: BBC)
Celebrity MasterChef fans have pleaded with BBC bosses to retain John Torode on the programme as his final episode aired.
Following five weeks of intense culinary competition, the 20th series of the celebrity spin-off reached its conclusion tonight (Friday, December 19), with this year’s champion finally announced.
The finale saw RuPaul’s Drag Race star Ginger Johnson, rugby legend Alun Wyn Jones, and author-broadcaster Dawn O’Porter face their toughest challenge yet, as they were tasked with presenting their most impressive dishes.
Each competitor prepared a three-course menu aimed at demonstrating their culinary journey and winning over judges John and Grace Dent, who stepped in to replace Gregg Wallace on the current series following his departure amid an investigation into his conduct.
Ultimately, Ginger was named Celebrity MasterChef Champion 2025. Speaking about her victory, Ginger said: “I cannot believe this, I’m so shocked. I really thought I was going to come here and have a laugh. I can’t believe this is the end result of the competition. It’s absolutely crazy! I can’t wait to tell my mum and dad. I’ve actually learned a real-life skill!”, reports Wales Online.
John added: “With all the presentation, all the fun, the laughs, her food tastes delicious and she’s an extraordinary cook. For me, that’s why she is our champion.”
This series of the BBC hit competition marks the final appearance of John in his hosting role after he was removed following the outcome of an investigation into his conduct on the programme. At the time, John was accused of using a racist term off-camera during the programme’s production, prompting the BBC to intervene. The chef has consistently denied the allegation.
Grace is set to return in the next series, expected to air next winter, alongside Anna Haugh who will be filling John’s role.
As the current series concluded, viewers were quick to voice their opinions on the presenter reshuffle, with many insisting that the BBC should retain John on the show.
One viewer expressed: “John Torode’s eyes welled up with tears when tasting a great main Finals dish. Who can replace Torode? No one I can think off. Get him back, don’t let him go.”
Another commented: “Brilliant series of #CelebrityMasterchef Grace Dent fits very well but will be sad to no longer see John Torode at the helm.”
A third shared: “I think that’s been one of the best #celebritymasterchef series ever. All the chefs that got to finals week were great cooks and personalities. I didn’t mind who won. But more importantly Grace Dent has been a breath of fresh air. I thought she and John worked well together.”
Another stated: “Can I just say I thought Grace and John were a dream team as hosts and I don’t care if he did use a derogatory word whilst singing the lyrics of a rap song, he shouldn’t have been made to leave #CelebrityMasterchef.”
Meanwhile, one fan added: “Very wrong to get rid of John. Him and #GraceDent make a great pair on #celebritymasterchef . What a fantastic series this has been.”
You can catch up on Celebrity MasterChef on BBC iPlayer
**For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website**
When does the next episode of Fallout season two come out? – The Mirror
Need to know
Here are the times and dates for each episode of the new season
All you need to know about Fallout season two’s full episode release schedule and when new instalments are expected to land on Prime Video.
The second season of Prime Video’s live-action adaptation of Fallout is finally here. It has already set high expectations for fans who consider it one of the best works of video game translating to a TV series so far.
While based on the hugely successful video game franchise, the series has been telling its own story. Season two should pick up where season one’s dramatic finale left off.
Lucy, played by Ella Purnell is still on the hunt for her father after learning about the secrets of his past and what really happened to her mother. She will once again be joined by Walton Goggins’ Ghoul, who has his own scores to settle regarding the fate of his own family.
Despite telling its own tale, some key locations and characters from the original game are set to feature in season two. Primarily, it is taking inspiration from Fallout New Vegas, which released back in 2010 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
The season will see the main characters travel into the location of New Vegas and meet factions from the Mojave wasteland. They will also be introduced into Mr House, a major character from the game.
House will be played by Justin Theroux in the series. Theroux is known for previous roles in The Leftovers.
There are some other new additions to the cast as well. Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin and Marvel Eternals actor Kumail Nanjiani are also set to make an appearance.
There was a slight change days before the season two premiere with Amazon bringing the US release time forward. If the rest of the season follows this lead then episodes will arrive each Tuesday on in the US, while this is 2AM on Wednesday’s for those in the UK.
Unfortunately, fans will have to wait sometime and remain patient if they wish to binge watch season two. That is because only one episode is being released each week of the eight-part series from December up until the finale early next year.
Here’s when each episode is expected to release following December 17’s premiere. Episode Two – December 24, 2025, Episode Three – December 31, 2025, Episode Four – January 7, 2026. Episode Five – January 14, 2026, Episode Six – January 21, 2026, Episode Seven – January 28, 2026, Episode Eight – February 4, 2026.
Rob Reiner was a movie director who began as an actor who wanted to direct movies. The bridge between these careers was “This Is Spinal Tap” in 1984, his first proper film, in which he also acted. His original inclination, based on the music documentaries he had studied, had been not to appear onscreen, but he decided there was practical value in greeting the audience with a face familiar from eight seasons of “All in the Family” as Archie Bunker’s left-wing son-in-law, Michael “Meathead” Stivic.
Reiner’s television career began at 21, partnered with Steve Martin, writing for “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.” As an actor, his early years were characterized by the small parts and guest shots that describe the early career of many performers we come to know well. He played multiple characters on episodes of “That Girl” and “Gomer Pyle, USMC,” a delivery boy on “Batman,” and appeared on “The Andy Griffith Show” and “Room 222.” His last such role, in 1971, the same year “All in the Family” premiered, was on “The Partridge Family” as a tender-hearted, poetry-writing, tattooed biker who becomes attached to Susan Dey‘s character and somewhat improbably takes her to a school dance. It’s a performance that prefigures the tenderness and humanity that would become a signature of his work as a writer, director and performer — and, seemingly, a person.
On “All in the Family,” in his jeans and work shirt, with a drooping mustache that seemed to accentuate a note of sadness, Reiner largely played the straight man, an irritant to Carroll O’Connor’s Archie Bunker, teeing up the issue-oriented dialectic. Once in a while he’d be given a broad comic meal to chew, as when wife Gloria (Sally Struthers) goes into labor while they’re out for dinner, and he accelerates into classic expectant-father sitcom panic. But minus the “Meathead” material, “All in the Family” is as much a social drama as it is a comedy, with Mike and Gloria struggling with money, living with her parents, new parenthood, and a relationship that blows hot and cold until it finally blows out for good. He’s not a Comic Creation, like Archie or Edith with their malaprops and mispronunciations, or even Gloria, but his importance to the storytelling was certified by two supporting actor Emmys.
Rob Reiner, Sally Struthers, Caroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton in a scene from Norman Lear’s television series “All in the Family.”
(Bettmann Archive via Getty Image)
What Reiner carried from “Family” into his later appearances was a sort of bigness. He could seem loud — and loudness is something Norman Lear’s shows reveled in — even when he’s speaking quietly. Physically he occupied a lot of space, more as time went on, and beginning perhaps with “Spinal Tap,” in which he played director Marty DiBergi, he transformed tonally into a sort of gentle Jewish Buddha. In the 2020 miniseries “Hollywood,” Ryan Murphy’s alternate history of the 1930s picture business, the studio head he plays is not the desk-banger of cliche, but he is a man with an appetite. (“Get me some brisket and some of those cheesy potatoes and a lemon meringue pie,” he tells a commissary waiter — against doctor’s orders, having just emerged from a heart attack-induced coma. “One meal’s not going to kill me.”) He’s the boss, but, in a scene as lovely as it is historically unlikely, he allows his wife (Patti LuPone), who has been running things during his absence, to also be the boss.
Reiner left “All in the Family” in 1978, after its eighth season to explore life outside Michael Stivic. (In 1976, while still starring on “Family,” he tested those waters, appearing on an episode of “The Rockford Files” as a narcissistic third-rate football player.) “Free Country,” which he co-created with frequent writing partner Phil Mishkin, about a family of Lithuanian immigrants in the early 1900s, aired five episodes that summer. The same year, ABC broadcast the Reiner-Mishkin-penned TV movie “More Than Friends” (available on Apple TV) in which Reiner co-starred with then-wife Penny Marshall. Directed by James Burrows, whose dance card would fill up with “Taxi,” “Cheers” and “3rd Rock From the Sun,” it’s in some respects a dry run for Reiner’s “When Harry Met Sally…,” tracking a not-quite-romantic but ultimately destined relationship across time.
Future Spinal Tap lead singer Michael McKean appears there as a protest singer, while the 1982 CBS TV movie “Million Dollar Infield,” written again with Mishkin, features Reiner alongside future Spinal Tap lead guitarist Christopher Guest and bassist Harry Shearer; it’s a story of baseball, families and therapy. Co-star Bruno Kirby the year before had co-written and starred in Reiner’s directorial debut, “Tommy Rispoli: A Man and His Music,” a short film that aired on the long-gone subscription service On TV as part of the “Likely Stories” anthology. Kirby’s character, a Frank Sinatra-loving limo driver (driving Reiner as himself), found its way into “This Is Spinal Tap,” though here he is the center of a Reineresque love story.
After “Spinal Tap,” as Reiner’s directing career went from strength to strength, he continued to act in other people’s pictures (“Sleepless in Seattle,” “Primary Colors,” “Bullets Over Broadway” and “The Wolf of Wall Street,” to name but a few) and some of his his own, up to this year’s “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.” On television, he mostly played himself, which is to say versions of himself, on shows including “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and, of all things, “Hannah Montana,” with a few notable exceptions.
Rob Reiner and Jamie Lee Curtis play the divorced parents of Jess (Zooey Deschanel) in Fox’s “New Girl.”
(Ray Mickshaw / Fox)
The most notable of these, to my mind, is “New Girl,” in which Reiner appeared in 10 episodes threaded through five of the series’ seven seasons, as Bob Day, the father of Zooey Deschanel’s Jess. Jamie Lee Curtis, married to Guest in the real world, played his ex-wife, Joan, with Kaitlin Olson as his new, much younger partner, Ashley, who had been in high school with Jess. He’s positively delightful here, whether being overprotective of Deschanel or suffering her ministrations, dancing around Curtis, or fencing with Jake Johnson’s Nick. Improvisational rhythms characterize his performance, whether he’s sticking to the script or not. Most recently, he recurred in the fourth season of “The Bear,” which has also featured Curtis, mentoring sandwich genius Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson); their scenes feel very much like what taking a meeting with Reiner might be like.
Coincidentally, I have had Reiner in my ear over the past couple of weeks, listening to the audiobook version of “A Fine Line: Between Stupid and Clever,” which he narrates with contributions from McKean, Shearer and Guest. A story of friendship and creativity and ridiculousness, all around a wonderful thing that grew bigger over the years, Reiner’s happy reading throws this tragedy into sharper relief. I have a DVD on the way, though I don’t know when I’ll be up to watching it. I only know I will.
