The popular murder mystery series will undergo a huge format change for its highly anticipated sixth season
17:02, 28 Oct 2025Updated 17:25, 28 Oct 2025
Only Murders in the Building is headed to London to film the sixth season of Hulu and Disney+’s hugely popular crime comedy.
The hit series starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez has just wrapped up its fifth season with another jaw-dropping finale.
This time, the podcasting trio have been investigating the mysterious murder of the Arconia’s beloved doorman Lester (played by Teddy Coluca) they suspect is connected to the New York mob.
Meanwhile, a rival trio of powerful billionaires, portrayed by season guest stars Christoph Waltz, Logan Lerman and Renée Zellweger, quickly become their prime suspects when they arrive to sabotage their detective work.
With the fifth season coming to an end with another show-stopping finale this Tuesday (28th October), countless fans are already itching for the next instalment, which has now been officially confirmed.
Disney+ and Hulu have also confirmed that Only Murders is eyeing a change of scenery next time as the series is heading to London.
This is the first time the trio will venture out of the United States as part of their investigations, which rarely leave New York.
Season four saw them vacate the confines of the Arconia to head to Hollywood, California, though season six will be at least partially set on a whole new continent.
Spoilers won’t be revealed here, but fans may discover a hint towards Charles, Oliver and Mabel’s next case in the recently released finale.
This is the biggest shake-up to the series yet, as all five seasons of Only Murders so far have revolved around murders in their iconic apartment block.
Whatever awaits in season six, the series is expected to continue to prove a monster hit for Hulu as an army of fans have already devoured the latest episode.
Viewers have already been singing the episode’s praises on X, where one user posted: “What a finale!!! I can’t say everything cuz of spoilers but this is what Television is all about.”
“What a season finale, what a cliffhanger,” another shared. “I didn’t see that coming, can’t wait to see season 6.”
Someone else teased: “That last scene of the Only Murders in the Building finale?! I literally gasped when they revealed who’s the victim next season.”
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And a final fan exclaimed: “A perfect season finale! I love this show so damn much!
“Definitely the best show on @hulu without a doubt! I really appreciate the team’s commitment to releasing each season every year.”
Stay tuned to find out if more details about the show’s sixth season are revealed soon.
Only Murders in the Building is available to stream on Disney+.
Midsomer Murders star Daniel Casey has opened up about his decision to leave the ITV series after seven years on the show alongside John Nettles
Midsomer Murders favourite Daniel Casey has lifted the lid on his choice to depart the ITV drama.
Daniel and John Nettles starred together on the programme from its launch in 1996 until Daniel’s exit in 2003.
In a fresh chat on BBC Breakfast, Daniel reflected on his departure, confessing it wasn’t a tough choice.
Presenter Sarah Campbell grilled Daniel about leaving Midsomer Murders and whether it proved a “difficult decision”.
“It was fairly easy, actually,” the actor revealed before continuing, “I started when I was 24, and left when I was 30. Funnily enough, I was thinking about it, and I was watching a rugby match, and there was commentary,” reports the Express.
Daniel Casey on BBC Breakfast(Image: BBC)
“It was last-minute, and it was South Africa versus New Zealand, and New Zealand were three points behind, and they had a penalty, and I said, ‘Oh, you should have kicked the goal’. They said, ‘No, they kicked to the corner’.”
He went on, “And I said, ‘Well, that’s a risk’. And the commentator said, ‘Oh, the only risk in life is never to take a risk’.
“It felt like he was talking to me, and I thought I didn’t come into this job to do the same thing year on year on year. So I thought, it’s a nice time to just step off the cliff and see what else is out there.”
The performer, who initially portrayed DS Gavin Troy opposite John Nettles’ Detective Tom Barnaby in the beloved ITV series, is preparing to take on DCI Tom Barnaby in a fresh theatrical adaptation of the programme.
John Nettles with Daniel Casey in Midsomer Murders(Image: ITV)
When discussing his comeback, Daniel grinned: “It’s really exciting, really exciting. It’s lovely to come back. I never thought that I would revisit this amazing, weird, wonderful, strange, old world again, but, but yeah, it’s lovely to be embarking on a tour and bringing it to the stage.
“It’s the original episode, The Killings of Badgers Drift. It’s very faithful to that original, and that kind of the actuality that you have in the television series. It lends itself beautifully to the stage.”
BBC host Jon Kay then quizzed the actor about his “big promotion” and taking on the role previously occupied by John Nettles.
“John is such a lovely man, and it was such an important part of my early career, and he said it himself. He said, ‘I learned at the feet of the master,’ and actually, I did.
“He was incredible, and I stood beside him for what, seven years, so a lot of that has influenced me, I hope.”
Michelle Ryan’s Zoe Slater is at the centre of many iconic moments on Albert Square
Zoe Slater has an iconic past on EastEnders(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Jack Barns/Kieron McCarron)
Zoe Slater is officially back in Walford. Michelle Ryan and her iconic character returned to EastEnders permanently this week and her storyline is already of to a dramatic start, complete with dark secrets, arguments outside the Vic and a shocking shooting.
The character’s return was hotly anticipated by fans ever since she briefly appeared in three episodes earlier this year. Her reunion with mum Kat Slater aired on Tuesday night (2 September) and fans have flocked to the internet to share their theories around where her storyline might go.
Zoe is fan favourite on EastEnders thanks to her involvement in many of the show’s iconic moments and characters. Here we take a look at her past, from her reason for leaving Walford to one of the show’s most quoted arguments…
Zoe first arrived in Walford in 2000(Image: BBC)
Arriving in Walford
Twenty five years ago, The Slater family first burst onto the BBC soap. A teenage Zoe moved to Albert Square with her sisters, Kat, Lynne and Little Mo, father Charlie and grandmother Mo Harris.
Later, her cousin Stacey would arrive and become one the core members of the family, but at the start, Zoe was the youngest Slater and described by the BBC as “bolshy and defiant”. Though her family had just moved to Walford, she was intent on getting away and joining her Uncle Harry in Spain – something Kat was not willing to let happen.
Zoe and Kat’s argument is one of EastEnders’ most iconic fights(Image: Press Association Images)
Finding out who her mother is
Less than a year after she arrived, Zoe wanted to leave Walford to join Harry Slater, her uncle, in Spain. Her sister Kat is not willing to let that happen and orders Zoe not to go.
In a fight outside the Vic, Zoe yells the first half of one EastEnders’ most iconic quotes: “You can’t tell me what to do, you ain’t my mother!”
“Yes, I am!” Kat responds.
She explains that she was 13 when she had Zoe and that she got pregnant after being raped by Harry. The argument leads Kat to attempt suicide, and Zoe, unable to process what she’s learned, runs away.
The twist has affected Kat for the rest of her time on the show and even led to a spin-off called Kat & Alfie: Redwater, in which she goes looking for Luke, her long-lost son and Zoe’s twin brother.
During her first time away from Walford, Zoe is found on the streets by Roxy Drake, a pimp who forces her into sex work. Thankfully, Kat tracks her daughter down and is able to take her home after head-butting Roxy.
Zoe and Kat were once in a love triangle(Image: BBC)
Love triangle with Kat
Eagle-eyed fans may have noticed a weird look Zoe gave to Anthony Trueman when she entered the Vic on Tuesday’s episode. This is because the two used to be in a relationship.
But Zoe is not the only Slater that Anthony has been involved with. In fact, before he dated her, Anthony was dating Kat. Zoe disowned Kat for disapproving of the relationship but when Anthony reveals that he’s still in love with Kat, the relationship ends and Zoe runs away again.
Den persuaded Zoe to sleep with him and get pregnant(Image: BBC)
Sleeping with Den Watts
When Zoe returns again, she starts to date Dennis Rickman, the son of iconic EastEnders villain Den Watts. The relationship with Dennis was doomed from the start, as unbeknownst to Zoe, he was in love with his adoptive sister, Sharon Watts.
On Christmas Day 2005, Zoe learns of Dennis and Sharon’s affair and plan to run away together. Den convinces Zoe that the only way to keep Dennis is to say she is pregnant, as Sharon is believed to be infertile.
The plan works but Dennis refuses to sleep with Zoe again and she becomes desperate to get pregnant for real. At his suggestion, Zoe resorts to sleeping with Den.
After Dennis catches his girlfriend and his father in bed together, and realises Zoe wasn’t pregnant, he leaves to be with Sharon. But not before informing Den’s wife Chrissie of his affair with Zoe.
Zoe does get pregnant by Den and a vengeful Chrissie convinces her to terminate the pregnancy and team up to exact revenge on Den. Joined by Sam Mitchell, the three hatch a plan to reveal everything he has done to his beloved daughter Sharon.
Upon learning of the way Den used her infertility against her, Sharon disowns him. When Den realised this was Chrissie’s plan, he attacks her and a distressed Zoe panics and hits him with a metal doorstop. Den collapses and Zoe believes she has killed him.
But, after she leaves, Den wakes up and grabs Chrissie who hits him with the same doorstop. Zoe is led to believe she is the murderer, but is eventually told the truth by Sam. When she learns what really happened, Zoe punches Chrissie and decides to leave Walford.
Zoe left Walford for good in 2005
Leaving Walford
Before this year, the last time Zoe was seen on EastEnders was when she was leaving for Ibiza after finding out she wasn’t responsible for Den Watts’ murder. At the tube station, Zoe tearfully called Kat to say goodbye.
Kat races to meet Zoe at the station and gives her the hospital bracelet she had as a baby. Zoe replied: “I love you, Mum.”
The two parted on good terms, and Zoe wasn’t seen again on screen until this year, when she was revealed to be staying with Stacey Slater. However, as proven by her frosty reunion with Kat, something must have changed.
In 2015, Kat tells Mo and Stacey that she was planning to save some money to visit Zoe in Spain, but Mo tells Stacey that Zoe does not want to see Kat. Mo tries to contact Zoe to change her mind, but she refuses and tells Kat that she wants to move on from her and Walford. Kat then visits the convent where she gave birth to Zoe and finds out about her son, Luke.
Zoe first returned in June(Image: BBC)
Return to Walford
Zoe’s return to EastEnders got fully underway in the most recent episodes of the soap and fans have many theories about what she has been up to in the two decades since she left. Some have suggested she may be the real mother of Joel Marshall, one of the show’s current villains.
Others have guessed she is secretly be married to another returning favourite, Max Branning. If so, she would be the second Slater to be involved with him, as Stacey has been romantically linked to Max several times, including when she was still dating his son, Bradley.
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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A SUSPECT has been arrested in connection with four bodies which were found mysteriously floating in the River Seine in Paris last week.
It comes after a horrified train passenger spotted a corpse in the water before police rushed to the scene and found another three bodies.
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The Seine in Choisy-le-Roi, on the outskirts of Paris (stock)
A 24-year-old Algerian man has now been taken into custody and accused of committing several murders.
The bodies were found in the French capital on August 13 in Choisy-le-Roi.
One of the victims died from strangulation while another had suffered “violent injuries”, the local prosecutor said on Saturday.
It is currently unclear how many of the four victims the man is accused of killing.
The first body which was reportedly submerged for a shorter time than the others was identified as a man aged around 40 who lived in the local area.
More to follow… For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos.
On a crisp spring morning in Brampton town of Canada’s Ontario province in May, Harjit Singh Dhadda meticulously tied his traditional sage green turban as he got ready for work.
He embraced his daughter Gurleen before leaving for his trucking insurance office in Mississauga near Toronto’s bustling Pearson international airport.
It was the last time Gurleen saw her 51-year-old father alive. As Harjit reached the car park of his office on May 14, two men confronted him. One of them pumped multiple bullets into Harjit’s body before fleeing in a stolen 2018 Dodge Challenger.
Harjit later died of his injuries at a local hospital.
Hours later, two men claimed responsibility for Harjit’s murder in a Facebook post, calling themselves members of a criminal gang led by Lawrence Bishnoi, an Indian national currently imprisoned at Sabarmati Central Jail in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
Barely a month after Harjit’s murder, a businessman in Surrey, British Columbia, and another in Harjit’s town, Brampton – both of Indian origin – were shot. Local authorities say the murders represent a disturbing expansion of criminal networks rooted in India into Canadian territory – led by India’s most notorious organised crime syndicate, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
Now, a growing number of political leaders in Canada want the federal government to act, demanding that the Bishnoi gang be declared a terrorist organisation.
Lawrence Bishnoi amid heavy police security while coming out of the Amritsar court complex on October 31, 2022, in Amritsar, India [Sameer Sehgal/Hindustan Times via Getty Images]
‘Public safety must come first’
“The terrorist designation enables police to use the necessary tools to investigate and bring this activity to an end. It gives police significant investigative tools,” British Columbia’s Premier David Eby said in a statement on June 17.
In July, his Alberta counterpart, Daniel Smith, echoed that call. “Formally designating the Bishnoi Gang as a terrorist entity will unlock critical powers, allowing law enforcement agencies to access the necessary tools and resources needed to disrupt operations and protect our people effectively,” Smith said in a Facebook post on July 14.
Alberta’s Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis said there was credible intelligence indicating the involvement of the Bishnoi gang in extortion and targeted violence in the province and elsewhere in Canada. “The gang originates from India, and ongoing investigations are examining why they are specifically targeting the South Asian community,” Ellis told Al Jazeera in a statement.
Jody Toor, a lawmaker from the Conservative Party in the British Columbia Legislature, and Brampton city Mayor Patrick Brown have also supported designating the Bishnoi gang a terrorist organisation.
The Canadian federal government has suggested that it is examining these demands. “There is precedent for criminal organisations being designated this way, and I fully support a thorough, evidence-based approach,” Secretary of State for Combating Crime Ruby Sahota told Al Jazeera. “Public safety must come first, and if a group meets the criteria, it should be listed without delay.”
Amarnath Amarasingam, a researcher on extremism and an associate professor at Queen’s University in Ontario, said that listing the Bishnoi group as a terrorist organisation would significantly broaden law enforcement powers. It would allow law enforcement agencies to pursue terrorism-related charges, criminalise recruitment or financial support for the group, seize and freeze assets, and give them greater surveillance powers.
Canadian officials had, in 2024, accused the Bishnoi gang of acting at the behest of Indian intelligence agencies to target critics of the Indian government on their soil.
“A terrorist designation would send a strong signal to India and other allies that Canada is taking the transnational threat seriously. It would also increase information-sharing opportunities with global partners,” Amarasingam told Al Jazeera. Those partners include the Five Eyes alliance, which also includes the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
A terrorist tag could strengthen Canadian requests for arrests through organisations like Interpol, too, he added. It could trigger sanctions against the gang, allowing the government to institute travel bans, visa denials and financial blacklisting of associates and funders.
But he warned that listing the group as a terrorist organisation could have its downsides. While clearly involved in criminal activity, the Bishnoi gang doesn’t appear to have political, religious or ideological objectives – traditionally the bar that listings have needed – he said.
“Using terrorism powers to target a group that lacks this motivation could set a dangerous precedent, weakening the credibility of Canada’s listing process and lowering the threshold, opening the door for future political misuse,” Amarasingam said.
A member of a Sikh organisation holds a placard displaying Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Amritsar on September 22, 2023. Nijjar’s killing in Surrey, British Columbia, first brought the Bishnoi gang to global prominence, with Canadian officials claiming it worked with the Indian government to kill overseas dissidents [Narinder Nanu/ AFP]
An Indian intelligence asset?
But the Bishnoi gang is no ordinary criminal syndicate, according to Canadian officials.
In recent years, the Indian government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has faced allegations that its intelligence agents have been attempting to carry out targeted assassinations of Sikh separatists overseas, especially in Canada and the US.
Canada is home to about 770,000 Sikhs, who make up 2.1 percent of its population – their largest number outside India. Many of them moved to Canada in the 1980s when Indian forces launched a violent crackdown on alleged supporters of a movement demanding a separate Sikh homeland, Khalistan, to be carved out of the northern Indian state of Punjab. India describes such separatists as “terrorists”.
It was the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, outside a Sikh temple on June 18, 2023, that pushed Bishnoi and his gang to the centre of a bitter diplomatic war between Canada and India.
In October that year, then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian diplomats were collecting intelligence on “Canadians who are opponents or in disagreement with the Modi government” and that the intelligence reached “criminal organisations like the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to then result in violence against Canadians on the ground”.
Trudeau and his government directly blamed the Modi government for Nijjar’s assassination. Nijjar was a prominent supporter of a Khalistani state.
But New Delhi, while rejecting these allegations, has insisted that it has sent more than two dozen extradition requests to Canada, seeking Ottawa’s help in getting Bishnoi gang members back to India to face “due legal action”. And it says that Canada hasn’t acted on its request.
As Canada and India trade allegations, many in the Indian origin community are dealing with mounting insecurity. Could they be the next target of the Bishnoi group?
Police photos of Aman and Digvijay, two of the men arrested for Harjit’s murder [Courtesy of Peel Police, British Columbia]
‘Threatening call’
Over three decades, Harjit, a Sikh entrepreneur, had built a life that resembled a Canadian immigrant success story.
He ran a company called G&G Trucking Solutions – a consultancy firm that advised its clients on how to start and run a trucking company, and was a commercial insurance broker as well. His business expanded to Calgary and Edmonton, in Alberta, and he had nearly 30 employees.
Then, on December 10, 2023 – his birthday – he received a phone call from someone who identified himself as an Indian gangster, his daughter Gurleen recalled. The caller demanded 500,000 Canadian dollars ($361,000) in extortion money and threatened dire consequences if the money wasn’t paid. Harjit refused to pay and informed law enforcement authorities.
“He told me about the threatening call,” Gurleen, a 24-year-old business student at York University in Toronto, told Al Jazeera.
After the threatening call, Harjit changed his daily routine and began operating his business mostly from home. But eventually, he resumed meetings with clients in his office, his daughter said.
On May 14, Gurleen received a call from her father’s office. He had been shot.
“I rushed to the office. There were bullet casings scattered everywhere. Police had cordoned off the entire area. My father was rushed to the hospital, he later succumbed to his injuries,” said Gurleen.
Police have arrested three men – identified as Aman and Digvijay, both 21, and Shaheel, 22 – as suspects. But Harjit’s family says law enforcement have only scratched the tip of the iceberg.
“Police merely arrested three kids. But who orchestrated this? I wanted to know the man behind my father’s killing,” said Gurleen.
Meanwhile, two men – Rohit Godara and Goldy Brar – who called themselves members of the Bishnoi gang, posted on Facebook that they had killed Harjit. They claimed that Harjit had helped a rival gang and was involved in a murder in India – allegations that the family denies. Police have not confirmed whether they believe the Bishnoi gang was behind Harjit’s killing.
On June 12, 2025, another Indian-origin businessman, Satwinder Sharma, was shot in Surrey, British Columbia. An Indian origin gangster, Jiwan Fauji claimed responsibility for the murder. Indian police have labelled Fauji an alleged member of Babbar Khalsa International, a banned Khalistani outfit. Sharma’s family did not respond to an Al Jazeera request for an interview.
A little over a week later, on June 20, Brampton-based businessman, MP Dhanoa, was shot down. Again, Godara and Brar claimed responsibility on behalf of the Bishnoi gang in a Facebook post.
Harjit, Sharma and Dhanoa have no known links to the Khalistani movement.
But gang leader Lawrence Bishnoi, apart from his crime network, has presented himself as a Hindu nationalist in interviews from jail, and some supporters of Modi’s Hindu majoritarian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government have spoken of how the gangster had scared Khalistan supporters.
Policemen escort jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi as they bring him before the Patiala House Court in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, April 18, 2023 [Dinesh Joshi/AP Photo]
Rise to notoriety
Indian police officials say that Bishnoi, 32, controls more than 700 sharpshooters who carry out murders and extortion globally. And he does this from behind bars, shuffling between various prisons for nearly a decade now.
Bishnoi and Brar gained wide notoriety in May 2022, when the gang murdered prominent Punjabi singer and rapper Sidhu Moosewala in Punjab. Police said Brar allegedly orchestrated Moosewala’s killing from Canada.
Ajai Sahni, executive director of the New Delhi Institute for Conflict Management, said establishing a command chain – and even defining what constitutes a gang – isn’t easy with transnational groups. “Any incident executed in India can be claimed by Bishnoi gang members in Canada or in the US, and vice versa through unverifiable social media accounts,” Sahni told Al Jazeera. He suggested that in such cases, even surveillance records against suspects might not suffice as strong enough legal evidence.
Sanjay Verma, former Indian high commissioner – Canada expelled him after Trudeau’s allegations in 2023 – said last year that India had shared information about Brar’s presence in Canada with Ottawa.
In 2024, Bishnoi’s gang claimed responsibility for the murder of a 66-year-old politician, Baba Siddique, in Mumbai’s Bandra area. Two members of the Bishnoi gang were also arrested for firing outside the Mumbai residence of popular Bollywood actor, Salman Khan.
Gurmeet Singh Chauhan, deputy inspector general of the Anti-Gangster Task Force in India’s Punjab, advocates for a joint data-sharing mechanism between countries affected by criminal gangs, like Bishnoi.
“If we have any evidence, it should be promptly shared with our Canadian counterparts, who must investigate it without delay and keep us informed. Crime is crime – no matter where it occurs in the world,” Chauhan told Al Jazeera. “There is a very thin line between organised crime and terrorism. These networks can be exploited for terrorist activities at any time, anywhere in the world.”
The Bishnoi group has also claimed responsibility for attacks on the homes of two prominent Punjabi singers, AP Dhillon and Gippy Grewal, in British Columbia, over the past two years, as its empire of fear has expanded from Mumbai to Mississauga. And on August 7, an alleged Bishnoi gang member claimed responsibility for gunshots fired at a cafe in British Columbia owned by Indian comedian Kapil Sharma.
A banner with the image of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar is seen at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple, site of his June 2023 killing, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, September 20, 2023 [Chris Helgren/Reuters]
‘They could execute me’
Satish Kumar, a 73-year-old businessman in Surrey, British Columbia who migrated to Canada 45 years ago, says he lives in constant fear.
Kumar is the president of Lakshmi Narayan Temple in Surrey, a prominent religious site for Hindus.
Earlier this year, he received a phone call from a man who identified himself as Godara, the Bishnoi associate who – along with Brar – claimed responsibility for the killings of Harjit and Dhanoa. “He demanded two million Canadian dollars [$1.45m] as extortion,” Kumar told Al Jazeera, adding that he blocked the number.
Later he reported the call to the police, after receiving threats from other numbers. “They sent multiple voice notes on May 28, 2025, threatening to kill me and harm my business premises, but I blocked the numbers”, said Kumar.
Then, the threats turned to bullets.
On June 7, men allegedly belonging to the Bishnoi gang fired shots at various buildings owned by Kumar. “The gang members filmed the shootings at three of my premises and sent me the footage, but I refused to pay extortion,” he said.
Kumar said he was frustrated with what he called an “inadequate response” by the Canadian police. “They [gangsters] could execute me at any moment. I still receive calls from them. My family is under constant stress,” he told Al Jazeera.
As attacks escalate, the South Asian community in Surrey and Brampton has been campaigning for more safety on social media, uploading videos of various shootings in the two cities. Since 2003, gang-related homicides in British Columbia have climbed from 21 percent to 46 percent of all homicides in 2023, according to the provincial police.
“During work, I can momentarily forget about these gangs,” Kumar said. “But once I finish my work, then it’s there – this fear.”
Midsomer Murders fans were left distracted as they noticed a familiar face from the Inspector Morse series
Midsomer Murders: Kevin Whately cameos as Jeremy
Midsomer Murders viewers found themselves thoroughly distracted on Tuesday evening after Kevin Whately popped up in a repeat episode of the ITV series.
The star, renowned for portraying Lewis in both Inspector Morse and the ITV spin-off Lewis, stepped into the shoes of murder suspect Jeremy in the John Barnaby drama.
Within moments of the episode beginning, fans flocked to Twitter to express their excitement over the Inspector Morse crossover.
@NickStevenson63 wrote: “So… when worlds collide; Inspector Lewis in Midsomer Murders. It was bound to happen sooner or later given the number of strange and bizarre deaths in this otherwise quiet corner of Oxfordshire.”
@Suzy_H14 begged: “They can’t kill #Lewis #MidsomerMurders,” reports the Express.
Midsomer Murders(Image: ITV)
@ghostheart__ observed: “Lots of Morse/Lewis links in this episode of #MidsomerMurders – firstly Kevin Whately who was obviously Lewis in Morse/Lewis, Jane Bertish who was in Morse episode The Wolvercote Tongue and Alexander Hanson who was in Lewis episode Generation of Vipers.”
@dennison_shelly continued: “Fabulous collection of musical theatre actors in tonight’s #MidsomerMurders and the universe-bending inclusion of Lewis aka Kevin Whately. Excellent fun.
“Lewis better not get killed off in tonight’s #MidsomerMurders that’d just be too weird,” @neiltheshaker posted.
@samjcstuff revealed: “My brain is not computing Lewis appearing in #midsomermurders.”
Kevin portrayed Robert “Robbie” Lewis in Inspector Morse from 1987 to 2000, and in Lewis from 2006 to 2015.
Midsomer Murders: Kevin played Jeremy in the ITV drama(Image: ITV)
In a 2023 interview, Midsomer Murders’ lead actors Neil Dudgeon and Fiona Dolman graced the This Morning sofa to discuss the show’s milestone 50th episode.
The on-screen couple shared a light-hearted conversation with hosts Alison Hammond and Craig Doyle about the enduring appeal of the series.
“So what’s the secret to your on-screen success?” Alison inquired, prompting Neil to quip: “Sexual chemistry.”
He elaborated: “I think we’ve just got on very well right from the start, didn’t we?”.
“We did,” Fiona concurred. “Neil was already cast, so I had an audition, and I had to go in and read with him.
“And yeah, I think we clicked right from the beginning.”
Reflecting on their long-running partnership, Fiona added: “We’ve done it for 12 years now which means all that kind of fear that you have as an actor when you join something and you have to pretend you have an intimate relationship with someone that you’ve never met, that’s all just gone now, hasn’t it?”.
“It is great, I always said we should have had Fiona in the show anyway,” Neil, who plays John Barnaby, interjected.
Fans can catch up with Midsomer Murders on the ITV Hub.
July 22 (UPI) — Suspect Raymond Boodarian allegedly used a firearm owned by victims Robin Kaye and Thomas Deluca to shoot and kill the couple inside their Encino, Calif., home on July 10.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman on Monday night said Boodarian, 22, used a gun owned by Kaye and Deluca to shoot and kill the couple and then called the police.
“Mr. Boodarian got caught because he used his cell phone to contact police concerning the situation [and] actually identified himself by name,” Hochman told attendees during a special meeting of the Encino Neighborhood Council.
“Police were able to ping the cell phone, find out where he lived, go to his residence and arrest him.”
Hochman said police found the gun used to kill the couple at the crime scene.
“The gun that was actually used in the murders wasn’t [Boodarian’s] gun,” Hochman told meeting attendees.
“It was a gun that he recovered from the actual house,” he added. “It was Robin’s and Tom’s gun.”
More than 100 Encino residents attended an Encino Neighborhood Council meeting to discuss the matter on Monday night, which Hochman addressed.
The residents were concerned that Boodarian was released from jail last year despite being suspected of battery, making threats and brandishing a weapon, ENC President Josh Sautter told NBC News.
A judge dismissed the case following a mental health evaluation of Boodarian.
Kaye and Deluca, both age 70, returned home on the evening of July 10 while Boodarian allegedly was inside to burglarize it, Hochman said.
Local police discovered the victims’ bodies while conducting a welfare check four days later on July 14.
Boodarian is charged with two counts of murder during a robbery, one count of burglary, intentional use of a firearm and committing multiple murders.
He is being held without bail and has an arraignment hearing scheduled on Aug. 20 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, during which he could enter a plea.
Kaye was a music supervisor on the popular “American Idol” television show, and Deluca was a musician.
As Midsomer Murders continues to be a hit, some fans may be wondering why Daniel Casey left the show – but he is now set to return in a new role in a stage adaptation
John Nettles and Daniel Casey tackle a string of murder mysteries
ITV’s beloved series Midsomer Murders is treating fans to a nostalgic trip with reruns starring Daniel Casey, who became a household name as Gavin Troy, DCI Tom Barnaby’s (John Nettles) original sidekick.
He left the show in 2003 but made a brief return for Cully’s (Laura Howard) wedding in season 11.
Fans are still mourning his exit as he became one of the murder mystery show’s most iconic characters.
Speaking to Saga magazine, Casey revealed his departure was about seeking new challenges.
He said: “I was just aware I didn’t want to stay with the same thing for too long and I wanted to branch out.”
Despite moving on, he fondly remembers his time on the show, especially working with Nettles: “I had a fantastic time,” he reminisced.
“John and I got on really well, from the first day really.”
In a thrilling twist for fans, reports from May 2025 indicate that Casey will be returning to the world of Midsomer Murders, not on screen but on stage, in ‘The Killings at Badger’s Drift’, where he’ll intriguingly step into the shoes of Tom Barnaby, not as his former character Gavin Troy.
In a recent chat with Norwich Theatre, the actor shared his astonishment at returning to the Midsomer universe: “I never expected to revisit the world of Midsomer, with its weird and wonderful characters and all their dark, twisted secrets.”
Daniel Casey is returning to Midsomer Murders on the stage(Image: GETTY)
He expressed his excitement about taking on a new challenge: “So to be asked to play the iconic role of Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby in this new stage adaptation of The Killings at Badger’s Drift was a real surprise.”
Further reflecting on his past experiences, he added: “It has brought back some wonderful memories of such a happy time in my career playing Sgt Troy and the fantastic time I had working with the amazing John Nettles and to be stepping into his shoes as Barnaby is both a little daunting and incredibly exciting.”
It’s the biggest question that’s been asked over and over again about the night of Nov. 13, 2022, when four University of Idaho students — Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves — were brutally stabbed to death in their off-campus house in the college town of Moscow, Idaho: Why?
With no apparent motive or clue as to who could have committed such a heinous crime, Moscow became the epicenter of an intense investigation and a social media storm that Prime Video’s “One Night in Idaho: The College Murders” delves into over four episodes dropping on Friday.
Liz Garbus (“Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer”) and Matthew Galkin (“Murder in the Bayou”) share directing and executive producing duties on the docuseries, which is based on reporting by author James Patterson and investigative journalist Vicky Ward, and they knew early on what angle their production would take. “We decided that a very interesting and unexplored angle was to see what it was like inside the eye of the hurricane,” Galkin says. “So, for the people, the family members, the friends of the victims that had not ever spoken to the media, that was where we chose to focus our energies as far as access is concerned.”
That included exclusive interviews with Stacy and Jim Chapin, parents of 20-year-old Ethan, and Karen and Scott Laramie, parents of 21-year-old Mogen, who have never talked about the murders — despite numerous projects on the subject — and how it ripped apart not only the town of Moscow but their respective families.
Garbus and Galkin talked with The Times about how they gained the families’ trust, how social media affected the case, and the recent twists and turns that happened just before the series was set to air. For one, on July 2, primary suspect Bryan Kohberger, a former criminal justice doctoral student who was arrested six weeks after the murders, entered a plea agreement with a full confession of the murders — done to avoid the death penalty — just weeks before his trial was set to begin. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
What were the origins of your involvement in the production and with crime novelist James Patterson?
Matthew Galkin: This was a story that I started tracking, obviously, when it happened, which was mid-November of 2022, and I didn’t make any outreach to any key people within the story, any of the families, until it was almost spring of 2023. We were tracking it to see how it developed once they made an arrest and once we could see the contours of the story and that things like social media played a major part in the energy created around this story.
Liz Garbus: Concurrently, as Matthew was laying the foundation for this by reaching out and trying to see where the families were on this story, I got outreach from James Patterson’s company about their interest in collaborating on a project around this case. That was quite fortuitous, and we laid some of those building blocks together and shared access and research. The film was made by its filmmakers, and the book [“The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy” by Patterson and Ward, which is being released on July 14] was reported by its writers, so they were operating on parallel tracks. We were able to support and help each other, but, truly, Matthew’s original outreach to the Chapin family is what laid the building blocks for this show and is really the bedrock of it.
Matthew Galkin, co-director of Prime Video’s “One Night in Idaho: The College Murders.”
(Matthew Galkin)
How was the gag order for law enforcement and other key people close to the case a challenge in telling your story?
Galkin: In this particular story, there was a probable cause affidavit that was filed in early January of ’23, which really laid out, up to that point, what investigative details existed in order to bring law enforcement toward the suspect and ultimately make the arrest. So we were able, at the very least, to tell that story through the details we learned through the probable cause affidavit.
It’s always a challenge if you don’t have all of the participating members of a story to try to tell the complete story. But in my past work, we tended to pick projects that are victim-centric more than law enforcement-centric. I’ve had experience telling stories through that perspective, so in a lot of ways, the limited access that we had actually lined up with the story we were trying to tell anyway.
Garbus: Even on “Gone Girls,” which was a show I made recently for Netflix, those murders were 10, 20, 30 years old. There were no gag orders, but there were certain people who didn’t want to talk for their own reasons, so sometimes, as documentary filmmakers, you have to pick a lane. What are you bringing to the story? What point of view can you fully express? And we clearly had that lane here.
And when you have that lane so clear early on, does that actually help get people to talk to you, especially those who hadn’t spoken to anyone before?
Galkin: I flew out to Washington state, and the first contact I made was to Jim and Stacy Chapin, who are the parents of Ethan, Hunter and Maizie. I convinced them to let me take them to lunch and just talk through what our vision of how to tell the story would be. I was probably the 50th in line to try to make a documentary project about it. They’ve been inundated at that point, and it was probably five or six months of journalists, documentary filmmakers [and] podcasters just coming out of the woodwork.
I know for a fact they looked at Liz’s track record, they looked at my track record, and I think they felt comfortable in the fact that if we were going to do crime stories, they were not usually from the killer’s point of view or even from law enforcement point of view. It’s usually from family or victim, so I think that gave them some comfort to know that they would have real input in how Ethan’s story was told. They liked the idea of picking one project to really go deep on and be able to help put Ethan’s narrative out to the world through their own voice, as opposed to other people who didn’t know Ethan telling it.
Maizie and Hunter Chapin were Ethan’s siblings. Both were interviewed for the documentary along with their parents.(Courtesy of Prime Video)
Did you know early on that social media would play such a big part in the case?
Galkin: It was actually the two main topics of conversation. My first conversation with the Chapins was our vision of how we were going to tell the story and also their experience dealing with the insane noise and pressures of social media sleuths and people reaching out, going into their DMs, creating theories about their children, about them, about their children’s friends — just the insanity. Obviously, there have been crime stories that deal with social media, but I have never experienced something of this magnitude with this much social media attention.
Garbus: Social media has become much of the atmosphere in the telling and digestion of crimes in the American public’s imagination of them. In some cases, it can be helpful, like the case of the Long Island serial killer, where the victims were not commanding national interest, and social media and advocates can play a huge role. Then there are other times in which the voracious appetites can overtake the story.
In your series, you don’t spend a lot of time dissecting all the gruesome details of the murders. Was that due to the law enforcement gag order?
Galkin: Maybe a little, but it was also a choice of ours. There are many other projects, documentary series or news specials about this case that go into all of the really horrific details of what happened in that house. It was a conversation from the beginning of how do we present this so it’s factual. We’re not necessarily avoiding things, but we didn’t feel like there was a reason to linger on those details because there were other aspects of the story that were of more interest to us.
Garbus: When you’re with these families and you experience the grief and trauma through them, that’s kind of what you need to know. The ways in which the ripple effect of the trauma has affected this entire friend group and all of these young people, that speaks volumes to what happened that day and we wanted to experience it through them.
Given the recent developments with Kohberger’s plea deal, did you change the tag at the end of your show?
Garbus: Thanks to some great postproduction supervisors and assistants, we will be updating the end card to have viewers be up to date with the plea.
Matthew Galkin and director of photography Jeff Hutchens on set of the re-created King Road house, where the murders occurred, in “One Night in Idaho: The College Murders.”
(Matthew Galkin)
In the latter half of the series, there’s talk about Kohberger and the notion of him being an incel, or involuntary celibate [where a person, usually male, is frustrated by a lack of sexual experiences]. How did that help understand a potential motive in the murders?
Garbus: That was something that was very interesting to us right at the beginning: Why were these young women targeted? We may never know with this plea deal now and it may remain a mystery, but there were signs, for sure, about involvement in that culture for us to explore that angle. As families watch this and they’re sitting with their sons and wondering what they might be doing online, this is the kind of conversation that people need to be having about the media, the infiltration of messages that young men receive today and it’s only getting more extreme in this moment.
Was four episodes always the amount to tell this story? Obviously, the case is still unfolding with Kohberger’s plea agreement. Could a sequel happen?
Galkin: Four episodes felt like the right amount of space to tell the story that we told. Obviously, there are still chapters unfolding, and if there is an appetite to continue to tell this story with our subjects and all of our partners, then certainly I think we’d be open to doing that. But we feel like we told a complete story here … every episode offers a pivot as to the perspectives that we’re seeing this case through, and every episode has a different lens.
Garbus: Clearly, our filmmaking stops at a certain point. You’ve had this plea deal, and the gag order will be lifted, so it is a capsule of time of what the families knew and understood since this tragedy happened up until a couple of months ago. We will see over the next weeks and months how much more we will learn, but it is a fragment of experience very much rooted in time.
Since there is so much interest in this case with many podcasts, documentaries and news stories out there, do you worry about that at all?
Garbus: In some ways you don’t think about it, but at the same time, when you’re setting off to make a project like this, you want to make sure you are saying something unique. We’re going to spend X number of years of our lives on this, and you want to make sure you’re adding something new to the discourse on the case. And, of course, it matters to us that this is the place where the Chapins and the Laramies will tell their story and that we are able to take care of it for them and the friends in the way that we intended. It matters just in that you want to make sure you have a lane that’s needed in the discourse and I think in this case we felt very clearly that we did.
Galkin: We knew from Day 1, given the access that we had, that our series would be unique to anything else on the market, because these are people that have never told their story before, and the way we were planning on doing it, which was truly from the inside, without any sort of outsider voices. So that was not an anxiety for us.
A jury in Australia on Monday found a woman guilty of murdering her estranged husband’s parents and aunt using poisonous mushroom-laced beef Wellington, its verdict capping weeks of courtroom depositions in a case that has gripped the country and made headlines worldwide.
Erin Patterson, the convict, had denied the charges, and her defence team had called the deaths a “terrible accident”.
Here is all you need to know:
What happened?
On July 29, 2023, Patterson hosted her former in-laws for lunch at her home in Leongatha, a town 135km (84 miles) southeast of Melbourne, in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria.
Her guests included her mother-in-law, Gail Patterson; father-in-law, Donald Patterson; Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson; and Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson. Her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, declined the invitation.
Patterson, now 50 years old, served her guests individual beef Wellingtons, a baked steak dish where beef tenderloin is wrapped in a mushroom paste and puff pastry, with mashed potato and green beans on the side. Patterson ate beef Wellington, too.
All four of the guests fell sick within hours of eating the meal and were hospitalised. Gail, Donald, and Heather passed away, while Ian survived after spending weeks in an induced coma. Gail and Donald were both aged 70 at the time of their deaths, while Heather was 66 years old. Patterson’s lawyers argued that she also fell sick after lunch and presented her medical test results as evidence. It was later found out that the Wellingtons were laced with poisonous death cap mushrooms.
Prosecutors said Patterson was separated from Simon, but the two had remained amicable afterwards. Patterson had two children with Simon, who were also present at the house during the lunch, but did not eat the Wellingtons.
Patterson was arrested in November 2023 and has been in custody ever since. She was charged with the murders of Gail, Donald and Heather, alongside the attempted murder of Ian. These charges carry a life sentence.
What did the jury announce, and what about sentencing?
The jury had been sequestered last week, as they discussed and deliberated on a decision. On Monday morning, it became clear that they had arrived at a verdict:
Guilty, on the three charges of murder, pertaining to the three people killed.
Guilty, on the charge of attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson.
The judge did not announce a sentencing date. That will be the next stage in the legal proceedings.
What are death cap mushrooms?
Amanita phalloides, commonly known as death caps, are the deadliest mushroom species for humans. The mushrooms are small, plain and yellow or brown, appearing like several other nonpoisonous or edible mushroom species. While the species is native to Europe, these mushrooms are also found in North America and Australia, typically growing under oak trees.
They contain toxins which inhibit DNA production, leading to kidney and liver failure. If an individual consumes these mushrooms, initial symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea start appearing within six to 12 hours.
All parts of the mushrooms are poisonous, and cutting or cooking them does not rid them of the toxins. One mushroom is enough to kill an adult.
What happened during the trial?
The jury trial opened on April 29 this year at Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court, located in the former coal-mining town of Morwell in Victoria. Justice Christopher Beale is presiding over the case. Relatives and friends of Patterson testified during the trial.
Prosecution
The prosecution is led by Nanette Rogers, an advocate who has accused Patterson of foraging the poisonous mushrooms, using a kitchen scale to weigh out the fatal dose and adding them to her guests’ beef Wellingtons and not her own. Rogers has also pointed to how Patterson lied to the police when she was asked whether she foraged mushrooms or owned a food dehydrator.
The police found a food dehydrator in a landfill near Patterson’s house, in which traces of death cap mushrooms were found.
The prosecution also found that Patterson had looked at a website listing locations of death cap mushrooms.
Ian’s testimony
The sole survivor of the incident, Ian, testified on the sixth day of the trial.
Ian, a 71-year-old church pastor, told the trial that on the day of the lunch, Patterson seemed “reluctant” to let her guests go inside her pantry. “Both Heather and Gail were offering to help plate up the food. The offer was rejected and Erin plated,” Ian said.
Ian said he and his wife experienced vomiting and diarrhoea that night, but they dismissed the symptoms as gastroenteritis.
Defence
Patterson’s defence is led by barrister Colin Mandy, who told the trial that Patterson had no intention to kill her guests. However, the defence has not denied that there were death caps in the meals.
Mandy said Patterson panicked and lied about foraging mushrooms to the police. “She panicked when confronted with the terrible possibility, the terrible realisation, that her actions had caused the illness of people she liked,” he said.
He also added that Patterson fell sick from the same meal and did not fake her symptoms, something the prosecution alleges. Mandy told the trial, “She was not as sick as the other lunch guests, nor did she represent she was.” He added that blood test results show indicators of sickness “that can’t be faked”, such as low potassium levels and elevated haemoglobin.
Patterson also revealed that she ate a smaller portion of the meal at lunch and binged on an orange cake that Gail Patterson had brought to share, after the guests left. Patterson testified that after eating about two-thirds of the cake, she threw up, which, if true, might explain why her body had lower levels of toxins from the beef Wellington than the others.
Since her arrest in November 2023, Patterson has maintained her innocence and has pleaded not guilty to all counts. She holds that the poisoning was a “terrible accident”.
Mandy told the trial that Patterson had developed an interest in foraging during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, and it was not unusual for her to gather knowledge about death cap mushrooms.
Motive
“You do not have to be satisfied what the motive was or even that there was one,” Rogers told the jury on April 30.
“The prosecution will not be suggesting that there was a particular motive to do what she did.”
Rogers also presented messages Patterson had sent to friends on Facebook, expressing frustration over her in-laws not getting involved in a child support dispute between her and Simon.
In December 2022, she wrote: “I’m sick of this s*** I want nothing to do with them. I thought his parents would want him to do the right thing but it seems their concern about not wanting to feel uncomfortable and not wanting to get involved in their sons personal matters are overriding that so f*** em.”
In another message, she wrote: “This family I swear to f****** god.”
When Mandy asked Patterson how she felt about these messages, she said: “I wish I’d never said it … I feel ashamed for saying it, and I wish the family didn’t have to hear that I said that. They didn’t deserve it.”
What do we know about the jury?
There were initially 15 jurors, but one of them was dismissed in May for discussing the case with friends and family. Justice Beale told the jurors to refrain from researching the case or discussing it outside the courtroom.
The 14-member jury was later reduced to 12 by ballot, which eventually returned the verdict.
On July 1, Justice Beale urged the jurors to put emotions and sympathy aside while returning the verdict.
“The issue is not whether she is in some sense responsible for the tragic consequences of the lunch, but whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that she is criminally responsible,” Beale said. “Emotions, such as prejudice and sympathy, must have no part to play in your decision.”
The doctoral student has admitted to breaking into the rental home and killing four University of Idaho students.
A former criminology doctoral student has pleaded guilty to murdering four roommates in an Idaho college town in 2022.
Bryan Kohberger, 30, admitted to the killings under a plea agreement that takes the death penalty off the table. The case drew national attention in the United States for its brutality and the shock it caused in a community where murders are relatively rare.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Kohberger answered a series of questions from Judge Steven Hippler.
“Did you, on November 13, 2022, enter the residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, with the intent to commit the felony crime of murder?” the judge asked.
“Yes,” Kohberger replied.
“Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?” the judge then inquired.
“Yes,” Kohberger said.
Kohberger had previously pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and burglary charges. On Wednesday, however, he confirmed to the court that he had broken into a rental home where four University of Idaho students were staying.
Passing through a sliding door in the kitchen, Kohberger then killed the four friends, who appear to have no prior connection to him. Prosecutors did not disclose a motive for the slayings.
The plea agreement, as outlined by Hippler, called for Kohberger to be sentenced to four consecutive life terms in prison and to waive his rights to appeal or seek reconsideration of the sentence.
Formal sentencing is tentatively set for July 23.
The killings initially baffled law enforcement and unnerved the rural college town of Moscow, which hadn’t seen a murder in five years.
The victims were identified as Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen.
Mogen and Goncalves hailed from Idaho, while Kernodle was from the southern state of Arizona. Her boyfriend, Chapin, was from Washington state. All four of the victims were either 20 or 21 at the time of their deaths.
Autopsies showed each was stabbed multiple times, including some defensive injuries.
A sign memorialises Kaylee Goncalves, one of four University of Idaho students killed in their residence on November 13, 2022 [File: Lindsey Wasson/Reuters]
Families react as Kohberger faces life sentence
The murders occurred during the early morning hours in an off-campus house the three women shared.
Kernodle and Chapin had attended a party the night before, while best friends Mogen and Goncalves had visited a local bar and food truck. All four are believed to have returned to the house before 2am local time (9:00 GMT). Their bodies were found hours later that morning.
Two other women in the house at the time survived unharmed.
According to prosecutors, a surviving roommate told investigators she heard someone crying in one of the victims’ bedrooms on the night of the murders and opened her door to see a man, clad in black, walk past her and out of the house.
Authorities said they linked Kohberger to the murders using DNA evidence, cellphone data and video footage. He was arrested weeks after the killings in Pennsylvania, where he was visiting family, and was returned to Idaho to face charges.
In a statement through a lawyer, Goncalves’s family criticised the plea agreement as mishandled: a “secretive deal and a hurried effort to close the case without any input from the victims’ families”.
On Wednesday, prior to the hearing, Steve Goncalves, father of victim Kaylee, was asked whether he believed the four life sentences provided justice in the case.
He replied, “No, of course not. It’s daycare. Prison is daycare.”
But a statement read by a lawyer representing Mogen’s family members said they “support the plea agreement 100 percent”, adding that the outcome brought them closure.
Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who longs for the expansion of dirty soda chain Swig so we can feel better equipped to deal with #MomTok drama (IYKYK).
It’s been a week since the second season of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” dropped on Hulu, but die-hard reality TV watchers have likely already inhaled all nine episodes with the same unwavering commitment as the cast member trying to make us believe that her husband is related to Ben Affleck. (Spoiler alert: He is not. But we sure hope the actor watches while sipping on a 44-ounce iced coffee.) Taylor Frankie Paul, the self-proclaimed founder of #MomTok, the TikTok infuencer group that unites them, stopped by Guest Spot to talk about the new season of friendship and backstabbing.
Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our resident true-crime expert Lorraine Ali tells you why a docuseries about 1982’s unsolved Tylenol murder case is worth watching, and TV critic Robert Lloyd dives into the pleasures of watching professional surfers chase giant waves. Be sure to also find time to take in Lloyd’s tender tribute to “quintessential Regular Guy” George Wendt, who died this week at age 76; it’s linked below.
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Actor George Wendt, best known for his role as Norm in NBC’s long-running sitcom “Cheers,” holds a glass of beer in a barroom in Los Angeles on June 13, 1983.
Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times
Professional big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara in HBO’s “100 Foot Wave.”
(HBO)
“100 Foot Wave” (Max)
The continuing story of big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara, his family and friends becomes a trilogy with the third season of Chris Smith’s great HBO docuseries, crazy to contemplate yet beautiful to behold. Garrett, a maverick who put the Portuguese town of Nazaré on the map for its massive waves, set a record there, surfing a 78-footer — imagine an eight-story office building coming up behind you. But with the spot well-established and many records having been matched, the series has become less about competition than community and compulsion. (A middle-aged adolescent with a seemingly high tolerance for pain, Garrett, despite age and injury, cannot stop surfing.) Back again, with a cast of top big-wave surfers, are charismatic Nicole McNamara, Garrett’s level-headed wife and manager and mother to their three, one might say, “other children,” and her brother C.J. Macias, suffering from surfing PTSD after breaking his arm at Nazaré. The climax of the season is a surfing safari to Cortes Bank, 100 miles off the coast of Southern California, where an undersea island creates huge waves with no land in sight. — Robert Lloyd
A still showing Tylenol pills from the Netflix documentary “Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders.”
(Netflix)
“Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders” (Netflix)
If you’re not ready to switch to Advil, stop reading here. Netflix’s three-part, true-crime docuseries deftly chronicles one of the largest criminal investigations in U.S. history involving the 1982 murder of seven victims in Chicago who died after ingesting Extra Strength Tylenol tablets laced with cyanide. No one was ever charged with their murders.
Directed by Yotam Guendelman and Ari Pines (“Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes”), the series includes interviews with family of the victims, investigators, police and prosecutors who were directly involved in the case. Together their accounts recall the bizarre and terrifying nature of the crimes, the national panic caused by the tainted pills and the stunning lack of scrutiny on the medication’s manufacturers, Johnson & Johnson.
Private citizen James W. Lewis eventually emerged as one of two main suspects in the case, and he served 12 years in prison for sending an extortion note to Johnson & Johnson demanding $1 million to “stop the killing.” But authorities couldn’t pin the murders on Lewis. The documentary features an exclusive interview with Lewis before his death in July 2023 in which he proclaims his innocence yet appears to still revel in the media attention. The series also calls into question the culpability of Johnson & Johnson and the possibility that the poisoned capsules may have come straight from the factory before landing on drugstore shelves, where they were purchased by the unwitting victims. The murders ultimately led to an overhaul on the safety packaging we see on today’s over-the-counter medication.
Also worth your time is “This is the Zodiac Speaking,” Netflix’s riveting 2024 docuseries chronicling a family of siblings who were intimately involved with the top suspect in the still unsolved Zodiac killings of the 1960s and ‘70s. Sleep tight. — Lorraine Ali
Guest spot
A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching
Mayci Neeley and Taylor Frankie Paul in “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”
(Fred Hayes / Disney)
“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” feels like the new wave of soapy reality TV in the way it builds off social media personas to create ridiculously addictive drama. The Hulu reality series follows the lives of a group “momfluencers” who push against traditional Mormon norms — they’re the breadwinners, some are divorced, many drink, and at least one faced the dilemma of promoting a sex toy brand. Taylor Frankie Paul, the founding member of #MomTok, stopped by Guest Spot to discuss what makes great reality TV versus social media content and the scripted show that reminds her of her life. — Yvonne Villarreal
The women spend a lot of the season saying #MomTok has veered away from what it was initially conceived to be about — women supporting women. How do you think the reality show — this additional layer of sharing your personal life with an audience — has both helped its evolution and threatened its survival?
I think it’s threatened the survival because when you share, you get vulnerable and, unfortunately, when doing so it could eventually be used against you. With that being said, it helps the evolution by doing the same thing — being vulnerable can bring people closer together as well.
What have you learned makes great reality TV and how is that different from what makes great social media content?
What makes great reality TV is sharing as much as you can — both pretty and ugly — so they [followers] can see [the] bigger picture. What makes great social media content is leaving some mystery. It’s ironic that it’s opposite!
Viewers had a strong reaction to how your family engaged with you about your relationship with Dakota, particularly at the family BBQ. What struck you in watching it back?
Watching the scene at my family BBQ made us all cry because my family loves me dearly and the approach was maybe not the best (including myself), but everyone’s emotions were heightened. A lot was happening and all I remember is feeling overwhelming pain. But I do know my family has my best interest [in mind] even if that moment doesn’t show that. I know and that’s all that matters. I don’t like seeing the backlash because they are my village and I love them so much.
I notice that I come off intimidating or harsh, however I’m very soft and forgiving. I typically need to feel safe to show more of that. I feel like I’m always on defense, and I need to give people the benefit of the doubt — not everyone is going to cause pain; in other words, [I need to] open my heart more.
What have you watched recently that you’re recommending to everyone you know?
My current go-to watch is “Tell Me Lies” [Hulu]. I’m not a reality TV girl, ironically. I’m obsessed with this show. It’s so toxic and so good. It’s a lot like my life, so it’s entertaining to watch someone else’s life.
Life, death, crime, kitsch, nostalgia, immigrant aspirations and witty design — all of these elements converge in the world of motels, which didn’t exist before 1925.
Here are five facts and phenomena from the century of history.
The motel turns 100. Explore the state’s best roadside havens — and the coolest stops along the way.
Where Magic Fingers are found
From the late 1950s into the ’80s, thousands of motels proudly advertised their Magic Fingers — a little collection of vibrating electric nodes under your mattress that would give you a 15-minute “massage” for 25 cents, inspiring creators from Kurt Vonnegut to Frank Zappa. Alas, their moment passed. But not everywhere. Morro Bay’s Sundown Inn, which gets two diamonds from the Auto Club and charges about $70 and up per night, is one of the last motels in the West that still features working Magic Fingers, offered (at the original price) in most of its 17 rooms. “We’ve owned the hotel for 41 years, and the Magic Fingers was here when we started. We just kept them,” said co-owner Ann Lin. Ann’s mother- and father-in-law immigrated from Taiwan and bought the property in 1983.
Motels, hotels and Patels
Many motels and small hotels are longtime family operations. Sometimes it’s the original owner’s family, and quite often it’s a family named Patel with roots in India’s Gujarat state. A recent study by the Asian American Hotel Owners Assn. found that 60% of U.S. hotels — and 61% of those in California — are owned by Asian Americans. By one estimate, people named Patel own 80% to 90% of the motels in small-town America. The beginnings of this trend aren’t certain, but many believe that one of the first Indians to acquire a hotel in the U.S. was Kanjibhai Desai, buyer of the Goldfield Hotel in downtown San Francisco in the early 1940s.
Motels, media and murders
There’s no escaping the motel in American pop culture. Humbert Humbert, the deeply creepy narrator of Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 novel “Lolita,” road-tripped from motel to motel with his under-age victim. Edward Hopper gave us the disquieting 1957 oil painting “Western Motel.” In the film “Psycho” (1960), Alfred Hitchcock brought to life the murderous motel manager Norman Bates. When Frank Zappa made a movie about the squalid misadventures of a rock band on tour, he called it “200 Motels” (1971). When the writers of TV’s “Schitt’s Creek” (2015-2020) wanted to disrupt a rich, cosmopolitan family, they came up with the Rosebud Motel and its blue brick interior walls. And when executives at A&E went looking for a true-crime series in 2024, they came up with “Murder at the Motel,” which covered a killing at a different motel in every episode.
The Lorraine Motel, before and after
The 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made the Lorraine Motel in Memphis globally notorious. But before and after that day, the Lorraine played a very different role. Built as a small hotel in 1925 and segregated in its early years, the property sold to Black businessman Walter Bailey in 1945. He expanded it to become a motel, attracting many prominent African American guests. In the 1950s and ’60s, the Lorraine was known for housing guests such as Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Roy Campanella, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Aretha Franklin, Lionel Hampton, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and the Staples Singers. After King’s assassination, the motel struggled, closed, then reemerged in 1991 as the National Civil Rights Museum, now widely praised. Guests follow civil rights history through the building, ending at Room 306 and its balcony where King was standing when he was shot.
The man upstairs in the Manor House
In 1980, a Colorado motel owner named Gerald Foos confided to journalist Gay Talese that he had installed fake ceiling vents in the Manor House Motel in Aurora, Colo., and for years had been peeping from the attic at guests in bed. The man had started this in the 1960s and continued into the ’90s. Finally, in 2016, Talese spun the story into a New Yorker article and a book, “The Voyeur’s Motel,” sparking many charges that he had violated journalistic ethics.
ITV crime drama Grace is filming a sixth season and with the news comes the announcement of a whole new cast
Kelly Smith Screen Time Reporter
15:11, 14 May 2025Updated 15:12, 14 May 2025
The popular detective crime series Grace has commenced filming its sixth series in Brighton, featuring an impressive array of stars in key roles.
John Simm, who plays the titular DS Roy Grace, will once again bring his beloved character to life, supported by a team of astute detectives assisting the East Sussex Police in solving various crimes.
Other returning cast members include Richie Campbell as DI Glenn Branson, Laura Elphinstone as DS Bella Moy, Zoë Tapper as Cleo Morey and Brad Morrison as DC Nick Nicholl.
This series sees John and the team joined by a plethora of fresh faces, including Grantchester star Rishi Nair, known for his role as Alphy Kotteram in the ITV detective drama.
Additional noteworthy cast members include Sara Powell, known for her roles in Midsomer Murders and The Killing kind, along with Ali Khan, Gurjeet Singh, Hannah McClean and Tamla Kari, reports Cambridgeshire Live.
Filming has commenced for season six of ITV’s Grace.(Image: ITV)
As viewers have come to expect, the new season will be based on a novel by crime author Peter James.
While much remains unknown about the sequel series, a sneak peek into the new season shows John, Richie and Laura donned in white forensic suits, grinning broadly as they mark the start of filming with a classic clapper-board.
John Simm to return as DC Roy Grace(Image: ITV)
Last week, John gushed: “This is the longest I’ve been involved in any show! But it’s such a joy to do, and to be surrounded by a team like this for large chunks of the year makes it impossible to turn down. I’m really looking forward to seeing where Roy’s journey goes in this series.”
Executive producer Phil Hunter couldn’t hide his excitement: “Grace is such a joy to make so we are thrilled at how well received series five was.”
From Kudos/Masterpiece
Grantchester: SR9: Ep1 on ITV1 and ITVX
Pictured: Reverend Alphy Kotteram [Rishi Nair].
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Phil also shared the future filming plans, noting: “It’s great to be back in Brighton with our brilliant and talented cast and crew to shoot another four episodes this summer.”
Rishi, on the other hand, seems to be the man of the hour, having previously charmed ITV audiences with his first appearance as Alphy Kotteram in Grantchester’s ninth season.
The Grantchester production team have confirmed the series will return for a tenth outing, bringing Rishi back into the fold alongside Robson Green’s DI Geordie Keating.
In a chat with Digital Spy, he expressed his delight: “I couldn’t be happier to recommission Grantchester for a 10th season.”
Susan also effused her own excitement about the series: “This is hands-down one of our most popular series, and I know the fans will be thrilled to see it continue with the outstanding Robson Green and Rishi Nair back for more crime-solving.”
Grace season 6 does not currently have a release window. Previous seasons can be streamed on ITVX in the UK, and BritBox in the US, Canada and Australia.
Menendez brothers, Erik, left, and Lyle on the steps of their Beverly Hills home in November 1989
A Los Angeles judge has resentenced two brothers who are serving life in prison for the 1989 murders of their parents in a Beverly Hills mansion, making them eligible for parole.
Judge Michael Jesic gave Erik and Lyle Menendez a new sentence of 50 years to life. The brothers will now have to argue for their release in front of the state’s parole board.
The pair acknowledged killing Kitty and Jose Menendez, but said they acted out of self-defence after years of abuse.
Prosecutors argued the brothers planned the shotgun killings to access their parents’ fortune, are yet to take responsibility and should not be released. The case, which has prompted books and documentaries, still divides America.
After the judge agreed to resentence them, the brothers delivered an emotional statement to the court. They went through details of the brutal killings and their decision to reload and continue shooting their parents at point-blank range in their living room.
Both apologised for their actions and talked about their hopes to work with sex abuse victims and help those incarcerated if they were to be released.
“I had to stop being selfish and immature to really understand what my parents went though in those last moments,” Erik Menendez told the court.
He describes the “shock, confusion and betrayal” they must have felt seeing their sons holding guns and opening fire.
Lyle Menendez’s voice cracked as he talked about the impact of his “unfathomable” actions on their family.
“I lied to you and forced you into a spotlight of public humiliation,” he said to his family.
He said they had “cried with me and expressed their suffering” and he was “grateful for your love and forgiveness”.
Judge Jesic called the brothers’ work while in prison “remarkable”, but noted their original sentence was justified at the time.
He said under the guidelines, they were eligible for resentencing, issuing his new sentence of 50 years to life. The brothers have already served more than 30 years in prison.
The brothers’ lawyer Mark Geragos said “today is a great day after 35 years”. They were “one huge step closer to bringing the boys home”, he added.
Anamaria Baralt, the brothers’ cousin who testified inside court earlier in the day, said their family was elated.
“It is a difficult process,” she said of the parole hearing that awaits the brothers, but noted they will “eagerly step through those doors if it means we can have them home”.
Inside court earlier, relatives pleaded with the judge to allow the siblings’ release.
Ms Baralt, who said she has been close with them since they were children, told the judge they deserved a “second chance at life”.
“It’s been a nightmare,” she said. “I am desperate for this process to be over.”
Ms Baralt told the court she speaks with the brothers frequently and testified that they had taken “ownership of their actions”.
She said Lyle Menendez had acknowledged to her he had asked a witness to lie when testifying at their previous trial.
But she added: “They are very different men from the boys they were.”
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