And if you didn’t hear your name called, well, you’re feeling like you’re out there on the street behind the police barricade, hot and sweaty, wondering what happened to your dragons and how in this underwhelming Emmy season things could go so wrong.
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With Emmy submissions still down this year, there aren’t as many slots available to salute all the worthy work, leading to some sad omissions — which, for the sake of alliteration and search engine optimization, we’ll call “snubs.” There were also some surprises, some worthy, some about as welcome as the aftermath of a hot dog-eating contest on the Fourth of July.
Now that I’ve whetted your appetite, grab a donut (or a footlong) while I run down the morning’s notables.
SURPRISE: “The Bear” (comedy series)
OK, not that huge a surprise when a series nominated for its first three seasons, and winning for its first, snags another nod. But given the number of people complaining about the show’s pokey plotting, it was fair to wonder if “The Bear” would again make the cut for Season 4. The show dropped its final season three days after nominations voting ended and because things actually happened during this crowd-pleasing conclusion, it’s possible we might be seeing it again here next year too.
SNUB: Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear” (comedy lead actor)
While “The Bear” made the cut for series, the only cast member to join the party was Ayo Edebiri. Past winners White, Liza Colon-Zayas and Ebon Moss-Bacharach were left out, though all will have a shot at returning next year. Whether they will is open to question. Voters seem to have had their fill of the show.
Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri in “The Bear.”
(FX)
SURPRISE: “Your Friends and Neighbors” (drama series)
The Jon Hamm-led Apple crime drama failed to land any nominations for its first season outside a nod for main title music. Now moved from limited series to drama, it inexplicably landed a single nomination for its enjoyable-enough follow-up season — for the big prize, drama series. No other noms. Nothing for Emmy favorite Hamm. It’s almost as confusing as some of the plotting in the show.
SNUB: “Half Man” (limited series)
Richard Gadd’s limited series was provocative with its brutally violent look at male rage and unresolved trauma. But some voters I talked with found it so off-putting that they never made it past the first episode. Could be we’ve had our fill of toxic male behavior in the news without having to endure it on our down time too.
SURPRISE: Riz Ahmed, “Bait” (limited series / TV movie lead actor)
Ahmed created, wrote and produced this limited series about a struggling actor whose life is upended when rumors circulate he might be the next James Bond. His sharp comic timing and affecting vulnerability landed with voters.
SNUB: Cailee Spaeny, “Beef” (limited series / TV movie supporting actress)
OK, you didn’t like her character and you’re still afraid to drink orange juice after watching the show. But to nominate everyone else from the series and omit Spaeny? That feels like a case of Millennials and Boomers taking out their grievances on Gen Z.
Cailee Spaeny, left, with Carey Mulligan and Charles Melton in “Beef.”
(Netflix)
SURPRISE: Richard Jenkins and Joy Sunday (limited series / TV movie supporting actor and actress)
The weird and unpredictable “DTF St. Louis” had one last surprise for us, as voters indicated their enthusiasm for it by nominating not just David Harbour, Jason Bateman and Linda Cardellini, but also Richard Jenkins and Joy Sunday, who were terrific as the mismatched law enforcement partners. “DTF,” not “Beef,” might now be the limited series to beat at the Emmys.
SNUB: “Stranger Things” (drama series)
Nostalgia, it would seem, has its limits.
SURPRISE: Rufus Sewell, “The Diplomat” (drama lead actor)
He’s overly involved on the show, so why not at the Emmys, too?
SNUB: Kathy Bates, “Matlock” (drama lead actress)
Dirty birdies.
Chase Infiniti in “The Testaments.”
(Disney)
SURPRISE: Chase Infiniti, “The Testaments” (drama lead actress)
Infiniti was overlooked at the Oscars for her lead turn in “One Battle After Another,” but Emmy voters did right by her, nominating her formidable work in the sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
SNUB: Adam Brody and Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This” (comedy lead actor and actress)
Though Netflix’s rom-com nabbed a comedy series nomination, voters took the title to heart regarding its two leads, both of whom were nominated for its first season.
SURPRISE: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, “Wonder Man” (comedy lead actor)
A show about a struggling actor navigating the indignities of auditions? No doubt voters found it relatable and Abdul-Mateen II made his anxieties and aspirations vivid.
SNUB: Jenna Ortega, “Wednesday” (comedy lead actress)
Wednesday’s child is full of woe.
Megan Stalter, left, with Robby Hoffman and Paul W. Downs in “Hacks.”
Stalter’s loud, boundary-pushing nepo baby Kayla on “Hacks” was divisive, but she coasted to her first nomination on the wave of goodwill surrounding the show’s final season. Cringe comedy enthusiasts are celebrating. Now we await a reprise of her jeans and white T-shirt red carpet look from last year.
SNUB: “Saturday Night Live” cast members (comedy supporting actor and actress)
Admittedly it’s a low bar, but “Saturday Night Live” was better this year, not that voters seem to have noticed. Bowen Yang failed to earn a nomination for his farewell season, ending a four-year streak. And breakout cast member Ashley Padilla was overlooked too, her comic timing apparently too absurd for voters’ tastes.
Hopes were high for “Widow’s Bay,” television’s best new comedy, which arrived late in the Emmy season — so late that its last three episodes weren’t eligible for consideration. But that didn’t stop voters from embracing it, giving the show 19 nominations, including one for Dickey’s turn as the gruff town hall worker who is the Spielberg of overhead projector presentations.
SURPRISE: Connor Storrie (comedy series guest actor)
HBO Max’s hockey romance drama “Heated Rivalry” wasn’t eligible for the Emmys because it’s a production of the Canadian TV network Crave, and the television academy requires the U.S.A. be part of a show’s funding to make the ballot. But star Storrie still received an Emmy invite thanks to his impressive comic turn hosting “Saturday Night Live” in February. The guest actor trophies are handed out during the Creative Arts Emmys, a week before the primetime show, but we’ll likely see Storrie and “Heated Rivalry” co-star Hudson Williams show up to present something during the main telecast. They do want people to watch, right?
The Sheep Detectives is a charming murder mystery film that arrived on the streaming service back on June 24, reports the Express.
The film centres on a flock of sheep assisting a bumbling police officer in solving the murder of their cherished shepherd George Hardy (portrayed by Hugh Jackman).
Expect unruly, talking sheep and abundant countryside chaos that makes Jeremy Clarkson’s Easycare sheep appear positively angelic. The Sheep Detectives features an impressive ensemble including Succession’s Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine from Purple Hearts and Masters of the Universe, Booksmart’s Molly Gordon, The Whale’s Hong Chau, and Emma Thompson.
The stellar line-up also includes Veep’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad, The I.T. Crowd’s Chris O’Dowd, One Battle After Another actress Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, Game of Thrones’ Bella Ramsey, and Brett Goldstein.
Despite its fantastical concept, the film holds a 95 per cent Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and garnered glowing reviews on IMDb.
One viewer declared in their 10/10 review that The Sheep Detectives is “an absolute must see”.
The user explained: “The Sheep Detectives is a clever, charming, sweet, heartwarming and hilarious romp with a very intelligent script and an excellent ensemble cast (both the voice cast and the on screen live action actors).”
They added: “The biggest pleasant surprise of 2026 so far.”
A second reviewer gave the film a 9/10 rating, writing: “This is a brilliant piece of work. It is almost perfect and is the most fun I have had in the cinema this year. An absolute A+ movie. I can’t think of a single way this movie could be made better.”
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A third viewer also awarded 9/10 stars, commenting: “This is an amazing film that gets you emotional and talks about grief and how we handle things while also telling us and showing us how do we deal with the grief of losing loved ones when it happens to us?”.
Clarkson’s Farm favourite Kaleb Cooper sat down with lead actor Jackman to chat about the film, even introducing some lambs into the mix — which behaved impeccably for the X-Men legend, yet proceeded to kick the farmhand square in the face before defecating on him.
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The much-loved Clarkson’s Farm star wrestled with a troublesome lamb before telling Hugh: “This is bad, you’re holding a sheep perfectly fine.”
Hugh quipped about the sedate lamb in his arms: “That’s because he knows he’s loved.”
The Sheep Detectives is streaming on Prime Video now
Clarkson’s Farm Season 5 is streaming on Prime Video now.
A view of the Bank of Korea headquarter building in Seoul, South Korea, 15 June 2026. Photo by JEON HEON-KYUN / EPA
June 26 (Asia Today) — South Korean banks are restricting mortgages and personal loans months earlier than usual as rapid household debt growth threatens to exhaust their annual lending quotas.
The country’s five largest commercial banks – KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup – recorded household loan growth through May that exceeded targets agreed upon with financial regulators, according to banking industry data released Friday.
Their combined household loan balance increased from 767.296 trillion won ($496.4 billion) at the end of April to 770.823 trillion won ($498.7 billion) at the end of May.
The one-month increase was 3.527 trillion won ($2.3 billion).
Mortgage growth slowed, but personal credit borrowing rose rapidly as a strengthening stock market encouraged more investors to borrow money to buy shares.
Outstanding personal credit loans at the five banks increased by 2.174 trillion won ($1.4 billion), from 104.341 trillion won ($67.5 billion) in April to 106.515 trillion won ($68.9 billion) in May.
Banks have responded by reducing loan limits, restricting online applications and suspending products that allow borrowers to receive larger mortgages.
Hana Bank will suspend enrollment Wednesday in mortgage insurance and guarantee programs that allow banks to lend without deducting an amount reserved to protect tenants’ small security deposits.
Without the programs, the maximum mortgage available for an apartment may fall by about 55 million won ($35,600) in Seoul and 48 million won ($31,100) in Gyeonggi Province.
KB Kookmin Bank suspended the programs Friday, while NH NongHyup Bank had already stopped offering them.
Industrial Bank of Korea also stopped accepting some individual loan applications submitted through outside loan consultants.
Banks have also reduced unsecured credit limits.
Hana Bank and Woori Bank lowered their personal credit loan limits to 100 million won ($64,700).
Shinhan Bank is reducing the limits on revolving credit lines by as much as 20% when customers renew them.
Online lenders KakaoBank, Kbank and Toss Bank have also reduced limits on personal loans and revolving credit accounts and restricted some new lending.
Banking officials said the restrictions began unusually early this year.
Banks ordinarily introduce stronger lending controls around October or November as they approach their annual household loan limits.
This year, however, regulators set substantially lower growth targets and banks are attempting to prevent a rush of applications late in the year.
One banking official said loan applications and inquiries increased after the government signaled that it would continue tightening household debt controls.
Some borrowers are seeking loans earlier because they fear financing will become more difficult later in the year, the official said.
Annual lending restrictions are not new in South Korea.
Banks sometimes receive permission to issue additional loans if their annual limits are exhausted earlier than expected. In other cases, borrowers must delay loans until the following year.
Lee Eun-hyung, a researcher at the Korea Research Institute for Construction Policy, said banks have repeatedly adjusted lending levels to comply with annual debt-management targets.
“Whether additional lending capacity is provided at the end of the year depends on the government’s policy direction and market conditions at that time,” Lee said.
Banking officials said additional lending allocations appear unlikely this year because the government remains focused on controlling household debt and stabilizing the real estate market.
Easing restrictions while housing prices remain elevated could further stimulate demand, they said.
The possibility that banks could exhaust their quotas early has prompted some prospective borrowers to accelerate home purchases or seek loan approval before further restrictions are introduced.
The top candidates for California governor crisscrossed the state Friday, all venturing to friendly political territory to woo voters and undermine their rivals as the June 2 primary election fast approaches.
The top Republican in the race, former Fox News host Steve Hilton, spent the day railing against transgender athletes before a high school track event in the Central Valley, an event sure to appeal to his base of President Trump supporters.
The front-running Democrats, former Biden administration Cabinet member Xavier Becerra and billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, rallied one of their party’s most influential constituencies: union members.
While both stuck with mostly an upbeat message and reiterated promises to lift up Californians struggling to make ends meet, Steyer afterward accused Becerra of being “a corporate Democrat who’s taking money from all these big corporations” who “doesn’t want to change things.”
Steyer’s had good reason to go after Becerra.
A new poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times showed Becerra leading the race with 25% support from likely voters, followed by Hilton at 21% and Steyer within striking distance at 19%. The two candidates who finish in first and second place in the primary will advance to the November general election, leaving the third-place finisher on the sideline.
Though he told reporters Friday morning that “I don’t pay attention to polls,” Steyer was energetic at a Northern California campaign event, where he held a private meeting with leaders of a union representing long-term caregivers. In brief remarks at the offices of SEIU Local 2015, Steyer described the race as a choice between a billionaire champion of working people and the corporate-backed Becerra.
“Does California work for Californians or does California work for corporations? The corporations think it works for them. They want it to continue to work for them and they’re putting up tens of millions of dollars to make sure they continue to make record profits,” he told dozens of home-care workers, teachers, construction workers and nurses at the West Sacramento gathering.
Groups including PG&E, the California Assn. of Realtors and the California Chamber of Commerce have spent more than $34 million opposing Steyer’s candidacy. The former hedge fund manager has pledged to lower energy bills by breaking up large electric utility monopolies.
As a billionaire who has so far poured $216 million of his own money into his gubernatorial campaign, Steyer has faced skepticism from some left-wing and working-class voters. But he is endorsed by progressives, including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-San Jose), and unions including the California Nurses Assn. and both major teachers unions.
“I voted for Tom. I was looking for a change,” said Alvenia Scott, a union board member who works as an in-home caregiver to her disabled sister.
“He really has some good ideas,” she said, adding that she had more qualms about Steyer’s lack of government experience than his wealth. “He made his way in life, more power to him.”
Hundreds of miles south in the Inland Empire, Becerra pledged to be on the side of unions if he is elected governor and urged voters to turn in their ballots in what has so far been a remarkably low-turnout election.
“I am with you. When I become governor and I sit behind that desk, you’ll have a union man sitting at that desk,” Becerra told about 500 people at the United Food and Commercial Workers hall in Bloomington.
He asked the crowd if they had cast their ballots and noted that not everyone raised their hand.
“Less than one in five Californians have actually cast their vote so far. We got to get that number way, way up,” he said, arguing that the election is about “sending a message all across the country that California will be counted, that California cannot be neglected, and that California will not take a knee to anyone in Washington, D.C.”
Only 12% of the state’s registered voters have cast ballots as of Thursday evening, according to the election tracking firm Political Data Inc.
Community college counselor Diego Rodriguez, 32, said he decided to vote for Becerra in recent weeks after seeing the former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary’s momentum in the race and researching his record.
“Also just his story. As someone who works in higher education, and seeing how Xavier, being first-generation, has benefited from higher education, and how he advocates for higher education,” the Rialto resident said. “Additionally, today, him being here at a labor union and advocating for the working class and labor, I think, is very important.”
“I think that people became aware of him more because of that,” Rodriguez said. “There was a lot of conversation online regarding that, but I think it allowed the spotlight to be brought onto him and it made people aware of his record.”
At a campaign stop in Clovis in the central part of the state, Hilton marveled that his campaign had spent only about $2 million in campaign advertising but was still polling above Steyer, according to the latest Berkeley IGS survey.
“We’re feeling confident,” said Hilton, standing in a suburban stretch of the city. Still, he warned that voters need to get out to support him and avoid a “complete disaster for California” of two Democrats advancing to the November election.
Hilton, who was endorsed by Trump in April, joined other politicians and leaders in Clovis in opposing trans athletes from competing at the 2026 CIF State Track & Field Championships.
The group met near where the championship events were scheduled to take place this weekend.
Asked why he was focusing on sports and gender in the final days of the race, Hilton said it’s “one of the main issues” that come up at town halls. If elected, he said he would seek to overturn the state’s 13-year-old law that allows students to participate in school activities and use facilities such as bathrooms based on their gender identity.
Hilton argues the law violates the state Constitution and will “suspend” it while he initiates legal proceedings to overturn it.
He also praised Spencer Pratt, a Republican and former reality TV star who is running for Los Angeles mayor, saying his candidacy has brought “excitement and energy” to the state’s primary election.
“For a long time in California, there’s been this sense that it’s all inevitable — there’s nothing you can do, Democrats run this place, just the way it is,” Hilton said. “I think that that’s changing. I think there’s this sense that something’s happening.”
