production

Lionsgate’s “Michael” is on track to unseat “Straight Outta Compton” as the king of musical biopics.

Early returns suggest the Antoine Fuqua-directed film will surpass the $60-million opening weekend box office record set by the N.W.A biopic in 2015, with the studio expecting an opening that could reach $70 million.

“Michael Jackson is one of the most influential artists in human history. His impact on music, fashion, dance, film and business has withstood the test of time,” said Adam Fogelson, the chair of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group.

“All of those things together seem to have created a profound response from audiences of all ages,” he added.

“Michael,” starring the legendary pop star’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, hits 3,900 screens nationwide on Friday.

The film marks the first time the story of Michael Jackson’s life and career are back in movie theaters since 2009’s “This Is It.” That posthumous documentary followed the rehearsals for his London residency, which was canceled after he died, just 18 days before the first of 50 scheduled shows.

That film remains the highest-grossing documentary of all time with nearly $270 million in global ticket sales.

The stakes may be higher for “Michael,” not just because of its roughly $200-million cost, but also its circuitous journey to the big screen.

Early development on the motion picture began in 2019, but frequent changes — both in the storyline and production — forced delays. The original idea was to encapsulate Jackson’s life from childhood fame with the Jackson 5 to his solo commercial peak during the ’80s and end with the child sex abuse allegations he faced in 1993.

That version of the film was well underway when the production was forced to go back to the drawing board due to a legal issue. The Jackson estate, which is in support of the project, reportedly discovered the early draft of “Michael” violated a $15-million settlement with the accuser in that case. Part of the agreement stipulated that the alleged victim would never be pictured or mentioned in a dramatization of Jackson’s life.

Production reconvened for 22 additional days and the Jackson estate took on tens of millions of dollars in additional reshoot costs.

The current version of “Michael,” hitting theaters this weekend, is set between the 1960s and 1988. It closely follows the controlling relationship between Jackson and his father, Joe Jackson, played by Colman Domingo, and tracks the king of pop’s peak stardom. Janet Jackson is notably absent from the storyline.

Depending on how the movie performs, there are plans for a potential sequel. The follow-up would tell the second half of Jackson’s career, where much of the scrapped footage could be used. Lionsgate has done advanced work to ensure that a significant amount of the previously captured footage could be included.

So far, the movie is receiving mixed reviews. As of Friday morning, the critic’s consensus on Rotten Tomatoes was less than favorable, with a score of 40%. But Lionsgate remains confident the film will resonate positively with average moviegoers and Jackson fans, both domestically and globally.

“The audiences that are now starting to watch the movie in early previews have been euphoric,” Fogelson said. “Audiences are speaking loudly and clearly about how much they appreciate the final product.”

Even outside of theaters, Jackson’s story continues to find success. “MJ,” the jukebox musical based on his life, is in its fourth year on Broadway and has had both national and international showings. Michael Jackson’s estate has also collaborated with Cirque du Soleil for several acrobatic productions since 2011. The “Michael Jackson ONE” show, which first premiered in 2013, recently extended its run on the Las Vegas Strip until 2030.

Tiffany Naiman, the director of music industry programs at UCLA, said the sustained interest in the pop icon speaks to his loyal fan base and place in American cultural history.

“He represents not only extraordinary artistic achievement, but also the contradictions of fame at its most amplified,” Naiman said in a statement. “That tension — between brilliance and controversy, innovation and scrutiny — is precisely what continues to draw audiences back, and what will likely shape both the film’s reception and its broader cultural impact.”

Production on Season 5 of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” will resume after filming was halted weeks ago amid a domestic violence investigation involving star Taylor Frankie Paul, The Times has learned.

Filming on the Hulu reality series paused in mid-March after the Draper City Police Department in Utah launched an investigation that involved Paul and her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen and stemmed from an alleged incident in February. It was later revealed that Paul was under investigation for an alleged third domestic violence incident involving her and Mortensen in 2024, which was being led by police in West Jordan, Utah. The Salt Lake County district attorney’s office announced last week it would not be filing charges against Paul.

It has not been disclosed when cameras will pick back up or whether Paul or Mortensen will return to the series. In addition to Paul, the main cast includes Whitney Leavitt, Mayci Neeley. Jessie Draper, Jen Affleck, Mayci Neeley and Miranda McWhorter.

Paul was previously arrested in 2023 for another incident with Mortensen, which was partially documented on Season 1 of “Mormon Wives.”

“Here come the ugly parts of what healing actually looks like,” Paul wrote in a lengthy post Sunday on Instagram. “If you know me you know I’ll admit my parts, flaws, and faults. I’m well aware thats apart of it. We’ll get there. This public atrocity that I not only lived through once but twice now, on even a bigger scale was ultimately the cost to my freedom. I wouldn’t wish this upon my worst enemy or even the ones who publicized it. I cried on my knees in pain while also saying THANK YOU 🙏🏼”

When the investigation tied to the alleged February incident was made public, a video from the events involving the 2023 incident — showing Paul throwing barstools at Mortensen while her young daughter was present — was leaked to TMZ. It quickly led to ABC pulling Paul’s season-headlining “The Bachelorette” just three days before its March 22 premiere.

“For Want of a Horse,” a play by Olivia Dufault receiving its world premiere in an Echo Theater Company production at Atwater Village Theatre, wants to have a rational conversation about a taboo topic that can provoke instant outrage.

The subject is zoophilia, not to be confused with bestiality, though for many of us it will be a distinction without much of a difference.

Calvin (Joey Stromberg), a good-looking, mild-mannered married accountant, has harbored a secret for much of his life. He has a thing for horses. His erotic interest began at an early age, and all his efforts to lead a normal life have left him depressed and contemplating suicide.

His wife, Bonnie (Jenny Soo), is a permissive kindergarten teacher who’s having difficulty restraining a girl in her class who has discovered the joys of masturbation. Worried about her husband, she discovers through his browsing history that he’s once again visiting strange animal sites.

She suggests he keep a horse, explaining that she doesn’t want to end up a widow or divorcée. Calvin is taken aback by her generosity but has come to recognize that his preference is more than a kink. It’s part of his identity — and maybe the only part that makes his life seem worth living.

Joey Stromberg and Jenny Soo in “For Want of a Horse” at the Echo Theater Company.

(Cooper Bates)

A horse named Q-Tip (Griffin Kelly) enters the couple’s lives. A stable is secured, and the mare, who senses that something strange is going on, is indulged with apples and caresses.

Kelly, a statuesque presence in a dress, harness and boots, brings the horse to life with wild, unpredictable movements. The sheer size of the animal poses a threat to humans. One kick, as Q-Tip herself explains in one of her thought-bubble monologues, is capable of penetrating a steel wall. But controlling an animal’s food supply is an effective way of winning over its trust.

Calvin has found support in the online zoophilia community. PJ (Steven Culp), a man whose current inamorata is a bichon frise, is considering moving to a country where zoophilia isn’t illegal. He’s tired of the shame and the secrecy. He’s proud of his attachment to pooch, even if his thing for dogs has cost him contact with his daughter and ex-wife.

Dufault doesn’t shy away from sexual details. For PJ, intimacy depends on peanut butter. Calvin describes the physical signals that reveal Q-Tip’s erotic satisfaction. The play occasionally descends into sitcom humor. (PJ says he’s considering creating a human-dog dating app called Rin Tin Tinder.) But mostly the subdued tone steers clear of sensationalism.

The production, directed by Elana Luo, is scrupulously well-acted by the four-person cast. Stromberg makes Calvin seem not only reasonable but surprisingly sensitive. Soo’s Bonnie sweetly embodies the excesses of a kind of progressive piety. As PJ, Culp gruffly embraces his role as the play’s polemical fire-starter. And Kelly’s Q-Tip, in the production’s most physically demanding performance, straddles the human-animal divide with theatrical aplomb.

Steven Culp, left, and Joey Stromberg in “For Want of a Horse” at the Echo Theater Company.

(Cooper Bates)

The open-mindedness that Dufault, a trans playwright, brings to the play creates some dramatic slack. Possibly the same fear of making value judgments that has inhibited Bonnie from imposing common-sense discipline in her classroom has robbed “For Want of a Horse” of a propulsive point of view.

The play moves monotonously between Calvin and Bonnie’s bedroom and the stable. Scenic designer Alex Mollo has worked out an efficient way of shifting between these realms by employing the same set of wooden trunks. But the argument of the play doesn’t so much build as elapse.

Time takes its toll, and Calvin eventually has to make a decision. But the character who interested me most was Bonnie, whose reality is only glimpsed. The play tacitly uses her husband’s threat of suicide as a trump card. Zoophilia isn’t merely a fetish for Calvin but a nonnegotiable part of his identity.

This questionable assumption can be psychologically scrutinized not only from Calvin’s point of view but also from his wife’s. The play wants to have an intelligent debate, but it doesn’t want to interrogate certain political positions too skeptically.

At one point, Bonnie objects when Calvin compares his situation to that of homosexuality, but the conversation ends there. The reality is that the right wing has been making a similar claim, arguing that same-sex marriage opens the door to bestiality, polygamy and incest. “For Want of a Horse” inadvertently lends legitimacy to this line of reasoning.

Griffin Kelly in “For Want of a Horse” at the Echo Theater Company.

(Cooper Bates)

Not that extremist positions should be off limits, but they ought to be more rigorously addressed. Similarly, Bonnie’s concern about the issue of consent — how can a horse say yes to intercourse with a human — is introduced only to be dismissed in a shrug of mild-mannered bothsidesism.

While watching “For Want of a Horse,” I recalled a program on PBS called “My Wild Affair” that wasn’t about zoophilia but about the problematic nature of human bonds with untamed animals. Relationships with a seal, an elephant and a rhino, for example — obsessive, protective, loving friendships — all seemed to end if not in outright tragedy, then in shattering heartbreak.

Q-Tip is rightfully given the play’s last word, and Kelly, an actor (HBO’s “The Book of Queer”), writer and comedian, is the production’s driving force. We can never know what’s inside this mare’s mind because Q-Tip’s brain has evolved so differently from our own. Kelly plays the anthropomorphic game while retaining some of the inscrutability of a four-legged creature.

It is through language that we, as humans, traverse the chasm separating us from one another. That’s not possible with animals, even with our closest domestic companions. (Try explaining a necessary medical procedure to a cat.)

“For Want of a Horse” sets out to speak about the unspeakable, but its construction may be too tame for such a wild subject.

The Army is accelerating procurement of 30x113mm XM1225 Aviation Proximity Explosive (APEX) rounds for its fleet of AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. The move comes as the service is looking to enhance the aircraft’s burgeoning role as a counter-drone platform, something The War Zone has covered frequently. These shells, fired by the Apache’s chin-mounted M230 cannon, will add to its drone-killing arsenal, giving it a cheaper and more plentiful engagement option than some of the alternatives. You can read all about the XM1225 APEX round in our previous coverage here.

Seeing a growing need for these rounds, the Army went to Northrop Grumman, which makes them, and asked them to boost production, said Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, commander of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, Alabama. He was speaking during the Army Aviation Association of America’s Army Aviation Warfighting Summit in Nashville, Tennessee, which TWZ was in attendance.

“We had had 600 rounds total,” Gill explained. “They produced 1,000 already this month and can produce another 1,000 and will ramp their rate up to probably five times that.”

The company could not immediately comment about this effort.

The specialized APEX ammunition works by detonating only when it is close to an object, then it explodes in a spray of shrapnel. This is critical to shooting down drones, which are small, independently moving targets. These rounds could also be used against surface targets like personnel, soft-skinned vehicles, and small boats, where they would provide unique area effects compared to the Apache’s standard impact-detonating, high-explosive ammunition.

Earlier this year, we reported that Apaches live-fire tested the ammo last December at the service’s sprawling Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) in southern Arizona. 

“The Apache Attack Helicopter AH-64 has reached a new milestone in battlefield capability with the successful live fire test” of the APEX ammunition, the Army said in a February news release. “In December 2025, the Apache demonstrated its first-ever air-to-air engagement using 30mm proximity ammunition against unmanned aircraft systems targets at various ranges, showcasing the precision, versatility, and lethality of this advanced ammunition.”

The Army added that the Apex cartridge “is designed to counter modern threats, including UAS, exposed personnel and small boats, without requiring modifications to the Apache’s M230 Area Weapon System or fire control system.”

The M230LF Bushmaster Chain Gun | XM914

As we have pointed out in the past, these rounds require little additional training for Apache crews, because their ballistic properties are nearly identical to the M789 high-explosive dual-purpose (HEDP) rounds already fielded, which use an impact/grazing fuze to command detonation.

An additional benefit is that self-destructing proximity fuzed rounds mitigate some of the dangers of attacking drones with ammunition that will keep traveling for long distances if it doesn’t hit a target. This is a frequent occurrence with standard high-explosive or incendiary cannon rounds.

While the Israeli Air Force pioneered the counter-drone role for the AH-64 for years, the U.S. Army has formally codified it and added new capabilities in the process. A five-fold boost in procurement is a strong indication that the Army sees the value of the APEX rounds for these missions.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com.

PetroTal (PTALF) reported a robust start to 2026, with Q1 production averaging 14,907 barrels of oil per day (bopd), outpacing management’s internal expectations.

While production saw a slight 2% sequential decline, the company maintained a strong liquidity position with $128.1 million in total

The casualty rate for Russian soldiers in Ukraine increased to a new monthly high in March, according to Ukraine’s armed forces. They say drone production enabled a record number of strikes.

Ukraine tallied Russian casualties at 35,351 last month, with drones causing 96 per cent of them while artillery and small arms fire accounted for the rest. That casualty rate was a 29 per cent increase on February, said Ukraine’s commander in chief.

“These are clearly confirmed losses: we have video footage of each such strike in our system,” said Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

The losses are slightly above a previous record set in December, and appear to confirm Ukraine’s claim that Russian casualty rates are rising inexorably this year. Ukrainian Presidential Office Deputy Head Colonel Pavlo Palisa told RBC-Ukraine that Russia had suffered 316 casualties for every square kilometre it captured in the first three months of 2026, compared with 120 casualties per square kilometre last year.

Ukraine’s defence ministry said Russia has been unable to replace all of the losses since December. Russia aimed to recruit 409,000 contract soldiers this year, Ukraine’s armed forces said in January.

That means a daily average recruitment rate of 1,120. But Ukraine’s “I Want to Live” initiative, which provides communication channels for Russian soldiers wishing to surrender, said Russia recruited 940 troops a day in the first quarter.

If sustained, that meant Russian recruitment was on track for a 65,000-man shortfall this year. Ukraine now sees manpower shortages as a Russian strategic weakness it can exploit. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, set a goal of 50,000 Russian casualties a month in January, which he called the “optimal level” to ensure Russian forces weaken irrecoverably.

“We are confidently moving towards our strategic goal – 50,000+ eliminated occupiers per month,” said the Ukrainian defence ministry.

The territory Russia is capturing for its mounting losses is also in long-term decline, according to estimates by the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank. Russian forces captured an average of 5.5sq km a day this year, compared to 10.66sq km a day in the middle of last year and 14.9sq km a day at the end of 2024, said the ISW.

Zelenskyy said the stark reality of manpower weakness lay behind Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ceasefire demand that Ukraine hand over the heavily fortified quarter of the eastern Donetsk region it held last August.

“They believe that if we retreat, they won’t lose hundreds of thousands of people,” Zelenskyy told the Associated Press in an interview this week.

Drones are the key

Ukrainian officials credit drone production and training for their armed forces’ growing lethality. Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskii said the armed forces struck 151,207 targets in March using drones, a 50 per cent increase on February. That’s the result of 11,000 drone sorties a day.

“This is all a historical maximum,” Syrskii said.

Palisa said that’s because Ukraine’s drone manufacturing had managed to outpace Russia’s to achieve a 1.3:1 overall ratio in First Person View drones on the frontlines.

Other reports suggested Ukraine was raising drone production. Fedorov said Ukrainian interceptor drones shot down a record 33,000 Russian UAVs of various types in March – twice as many as in the previous month.

His deputy, Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov said he was working with interceptor drone manufacturers to develop the next generation of interceptors capable of flying at 400-550km/h to counter the jet-powered Shahed drones to which Russia was gradually converting.

Fire Point, Ukraine’s biggest manufacturer of long-range drones used in the majority of strikes deep inside Russia, told Reuters that it had designed two ballistic missiles of 300km and 850km range, which were approaching the deployment stage.

The longer-range type is capable of reaching Moscow.

Ukraine gains defensive ‘strategic initiative’

Syrskii thinks that Ukraine’s forces, although still ceding small amounts of territory, have now gained “the strategic initiative” because they “do not allow Russian troops to resume a large-scale offensive.”

He said an increase in mid-range strikes against logistics, warehouses, command posts and oil depots 30-120 km into the Russian rear had been particularly effective in hamstringing Russian assaults – one of the top operational priorities.

Syrskii said on April 5 that fighting was most intense in Dnipropetrovsk, where Ukraine’s forces have recaptured eight settlements and 480sq km of territory.

Ukraine’s leadership has long believed that Russia harbours territorial ambitions to seize the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions to control Ukraine’s entire Black Sea coastline, and to carve out a buffer zone across northern Ukraine.

Palisa told RBK-Ukraine on April 8 that Russia also planned to create a southern buffer zone in Ukraine’s southwestern Vinnytsia region next to Moldova’s Russian-speaking territory of Transnistria.

That was the first time a Ukrainian official has suggested such an ambition. “I am 100 per cent convinced that the Russians want to completely occupy us,” Zelenskyy told the AP.

Unruly salt-and-pepper hair in a long quaff, round glasses and broad smile give James Ortiz the look of a whimsical inventor, the kind that hides away in his workshop crafting extraordinary artifacts.

That description is essentially true; as a puppet designer and puppeteer, his job entails figuring out how to materialize figments of the imagination.

“I love playing characters that are so unbelievable that they have to exist in a different way,” says Ortiz on a video call from New York. “I love over-the-top characters and creatures.”

For more than 15 years, Ortiz has created puppets for theater projects in New York City, including those for “Into the Woods” on Broadway. His skill set has now made its way to the big screen with the box-office hit “Project Hail Mary,” an adaptation of Andy Weir’s 2021 sci-fi novel.

The space dramedy follows scientist Ryland Grace (played in the film by Ryan Gosling) who, against his will, is alone on a mission to save Earth with no return plan.

Ortiz, 42, plays Rocky, an arachnoid alien made of stone-like material, who befriends Grace. As the main puppeteer on set, Ortiz was in charge of moving its face or central carapace — and he also voices him.

Rocky and Grace don’t speak the same language. But when Grace figures out how to use his computer to translate Rocky’s sounds into English, the voice we hear coming from his jerry-rigged laptops is Ortiz’s.

Ryan Gosling in the movie “Project Hail Mary.”

(Jonathan Olley / Amazon MGM Studios)

“We had anywhere between three to six puppeteers on set with me. I would always be on the body, and they would always do the other limbs or legs,” Ortiz explains. “I needed to lead the thoughts and the dialogue and the feelings that Rocky was having.”

Thanks to both Gosling’s tongue-in-cheek charisma — as well as the curious and utterly sincere personality that Ortiz imbues into Rocky through his voice performance and intuitive puppeteering (with plenty of improvisation) — the movie becomes a disarming interstellar, interspecies bromance.

“I was always playing Rocky like the universe’s little brother,” Ortiz adds. “There was a little bit of a childlike thing that was being put in there.”

Over the years, Ortiz had developed a relationship with casting director Jeanne McCarthy, who often invited him to audition for acting jobs. Ortiz is a trained actor and has occasionally appeared on camera as himself, sans puppets. But every time McCarthy would reach out, he had a theater commitment. The timing finally worked when McCarthy mentioned she had an opportunity for Ortiz as a puppeteer in “Project Hail Mary.”

“I wasn’t familiar with the book, but then when I mentioned it to two of my friends, they knew everything about it,” Ortiz says. He soon met with directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord and had an immediate connection. “They are so delightfully immature that I felt like they were my cousins,” he says. “They are such artistic geniuses, but so silly and playful.”

For a chemistry read with Gosling, with the film’s producers also present, Ortiz opted for using a version of Rocky he had made himself, which looked like Thing from “The Addams Family” built off a fancy glove, instead of the larger puppet the production had available. That his hand version of Rocky could climb onto Gosling, and interact with the actor more directly, allowed for an amusing rapport to develop instantly between them.

Puppetry, Ortiz says, is intricately technical. When bringing a puppet to life, he’s concerned with the placement of the rods used to move the characters’ body parts, and in this case, he’d have to pay attention to where the camera is and where he and his fellow puppeteers have to hide. Amid all those preoccupations for his physical performance, Ortiz also had to deliver his lines and be present in the moment, reacting to Gosling with spontaneity.

Puppeteer James Ortiz plays Rocky, the adorable alien in “Project Hail Mary.”

(Jonathan Olley / Amazon MGM Studios)

“I promised Ryan that between action and cut, all of [the technical elements] were going melt away,” Ortiz recalls. “I said, ‘I’m just going to be an improvising partner with you. I’m never going to let you think that Rocky isn’t real, because I want this relationship to feel as playful and as dynamic as possible.’”

The more intricate Rocky puppet that appears on screen was later designed by Neal Scanlan, a legendary special effects artist, at the Creature Shop in London. Ortiz admits it was an adjustment to work with a puppet he didn’t design himself. Fortunately, Scanlan’s openness to involve him in the fabrication process made for a fulfilling experience.

“I had ultimately a lot of input, never on how Rocky looked, but a lot on how he was operated and what materials he was made out of,” Ortiz says. “I was able to pick what types of fiberglass we were using to cast him out of, because I knew, given the amount of improvisation that we would be doing on set, [that] I needed a puppet that could do anything.”

It’s not common for a puppeteer to voice the character they are manipulating. “It doesn’t usually happen because moviemaking is a business and you have to have names and sell it,” Ortiz says. Yet, as the post-production process advanced, and Lord and Miller started testing the film with audiences, Ortiz’s lines from set became the preferred Rocky voice.

Knowing that Rocky’s voice would come from Grace’s unsophisticated computer setup, Ortiz gathered inspirations, at times subconsciously, from a variety of robotic sources. These included Tik-Tok, a robot in 1985’s “Return to Oz,” one of his favorite movies.

“I have always valued my lifelessness,” Ortiz says in a hilariously monotone voice, quoting Tik-Tok. And there’s also a bit of the robot bartender from the futuristic world of “The Fifth Element” — “you want some more?” he says, making an impression.

Ortiz believes puppetry found him by accident. The youngest of three children, he grew up in Richardson, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, with a mother of Italian descent and a Puerto Rican-born father who met in 1970s New York.

“Interestingly enough, when I was growing up, there was a touring marionette theater of Richardson that was one of the first places that excited me towards puppets,” Ortiz recalls.

An introverted child, Ortiz grew up enjoying painting and handcrafts, as well as having an interest in engineering and how things are built. “My father was always in the garage building something,” he recalls. “We’re not talking like building a spaceship but building little simple machines.”

On multiple fronts, his dad has served as a source of inspiration. “My father was born in Puerto Rico and moved when he was about 4 or 5 to Brooklyn in the early 1950s,” Ortiz explains. “He was his mother’s translator. She didn’t speak any English at all. I have such admiration for him, because he was learning English in real time in school and helping his mother get through the day. It’s a powerful part of my narrative and something I’m really proud of.”

For Ortiz, this part of his heritage, his father and grandmother struggling to communicate with the world around them in a new city, connects with “Project Hail Mary.” He adds: “What I love is that there’s a little bit of that in Rocky, because so much of this story is about someone struggling to be understood and then ultimately being understood.”

Ryan Gosling stars as biologist-turned-schoolteacher-turned-astronaut Ryland Grace and Sandra Huller as mission leader Eva Stratt in “Project Hail Mary.”

(Jonathan Olley / Amazon MGM Studios)

In middle school, Ortiz enrolled in theater classes. Soon after, making marionettes entered the picture. “I discovered puppetry around the same time, because it’s sort of the center of that Venn diagram of crafts, fine arts, engineering and acting,” he says. For undergrad he attended Purchase College in New York to study acting in a classical program. After graduating, however, the phone wasn’t ringing with professional opportunities.

Ortiz’s first job out of school was working on Venezuelan-born theater director and filmmaker Moisés Kaufman’s 2010 production of Xavier Montsalvatge’s Spanish-language opera, “El gato con botas.” It was his self-taught talent with puppets that landed him the gig.

“I’m grateful that I’ve been able to have a pretty long career. I’ve been doing everything. There was one year on Broadway [when] I was doing all the special effects makeup; [another] I was doing set design.”

Puppetry, it turned out, moved from a supplementary expertise to Ortiz’s prime artistic strength. “I’ve worn so many different hats and what was interesting is that puppetry kept being the thing that invited all of me to work, as opposed to just a part of me,” he adds.

Since those early days, Ortiz has designed puppets for “The Woodsman,” which he also wrote, directed and starred in; “Disney’s Hercules” (for productions at Public Theater in New York and in Hamburg, Germany), and more recently for Lileana Blain-Cruz’s production of “El Niño” at the Metropolitan Opera.

Now that “Project Hail Mary” has launched the possibility of a fruitful Hollywood career, Ortiz’s only aim is to continue letting his abilities lead the way without inflexible expectations.

“I’m not a very calculated career person. I’m running towards bliss and then seeing what happens,” he says, smiling and running his hands through his imposing hair.

Todd Meadows, a deckhand on one of the fishing vessels featured on the Emmy-winning reality series “Deadliest Catch,” died after he fell overboard into the Bering Sea.

The official cause of death listed on the crew member’s death certificate, which was obtained by TMZ, states that Meadows died from drowning with probable hypothermia and submersion of his body in cold water. The death has been ruled an accident by the Alaska Department of Health.

Meadows, a rookie deckhand who joined the production in May 2025, had not yet been featured on the long-running reality series at the time of his death. “Deadliest Catch” was reportedly wrapping production on Season 22 when the incident occurred, and cameras were rolling.

Meadows’ mother, Angela Meadows, has since asked that the show not air footage of her son’s death. “No parent would want the world to watch their child die,” Meadows told Alaska News Source.

Rick Shelford, the captain of the Aleutian Lady, announced in a social media post that Meadows died Feb. 25. He called it “the most tragic day in the history of the Aleutian Lady on the Bering Sea.”

“We lost our brother,” Shelford wrote in his lengthy tribute. “Todd was the newest member of our crew, he quickly became family. His love for fishing and his strong work ethic earned everyone’s respect right away. His smile was contagious, and the sound of his laughter coming up the wheelhouse stairs or over the deck hailer is something we will carry with us always.

“He worked hard, loved deeply, and brought joy to those around him,” he added. “Todd will forever be part of this boat, this crew, and this brotherhood. Though we lost him far too soon, his legacy will live on through his children and in every memory we carry of him.”

A GoFundMe set up in Meadows’ name described the deckhand from Montesano, Wash., as a father to “three amazing little boys” who died “while doing what he loved — crabbing out on Alaskan waters.”

The fundraiser has since raised more than $59,000.

According to the Associated Press, Meadows was reported to have fallen overboard around 170 miles north of Dutch Harbor, Alaska.

“He was recovered unresponsive by the crew approximately 10 minutes later,” Chief Petty Officer Travis Magee, a spokesperson with the Coast Guard’s Arctic District, told the AP.

The incident is still being investigated by the Coast Guard.

Times staff writer Tracy Brown contributed to this report.

April 5 (UPI) — Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said Sunday they will again modestly boost oil production as war rages in Iran and the Persian Gulf, although the move is largely symbolic as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.

As first they did in March, the eight OPEC+ countries — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman — on Sunday agreed to a 206,000 barrel-per-day production increase amid attacks by Iran on the oil and gas facilities of several of its members in the Persian Gulf.

Iran has blocked the key Strait of Hormuz shipping lane in response to the American and Israel attacks that started on Feb. 28.

Since then the global price of oil has shot up by close to 60% while gas prices at the pump in the United States have surpassed $4 per gallon.

Although the waterway remains choked off, the OPEC+ move indicated producers will likely ramp up production to help alleviate the worldwide oil shock once the Strait is reopened and production facilities in the Gulf states are secured from Iranian drones and missiles.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday continued to threaten Iran with destruction of civilian and military infrastructure by Tuesday unless Tehran loosens its grip on the Strait.

But Iran has remained defiant, continuing to launch drone attacks against OPEC members who host U.S. military facilities, particularly targeting Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE, where critical infrastructure again came under attack on Sunday.

Damage was sustained at civilian facilities in all three countries, officials reported.

The Kuwait Petroleum Corp. announced “significant material losses” after Iranian drone attacks on several of its facilities, the KUNA news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Kuwaiti Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Nasser Bousleib said officials had registered nine reports of falling shrapnel during the preceding 24 hours, boosting the total of such incidents since the beginning of the Iranian aggression to 678.

Kicking off the upcoming season at the Mark Taper Forum — which recently celebrated its top-grossing musical ever with “Here Lies Love” — is the world premiere of Zack Zadek’s original musical “The Turning,” a folk thriller set in California’s Sequoia groves.

The show, said Center Theatre Group’s artistic director Snehal Desai as the company announces its 2026-27 slate of performances, has a “very L.A. vibe.”

Next up is a batch of shows meant to provide audiences some comedic relief amid a midterm season that’s sure to sow anxiety: Karen Zacarías’ “Destiny of Desire,” Cole Escola’s “Oh, Mary!” and the family-favorite “Dog Man: The Musical.” Then in the spirit of springtime renewal, thought-provoking plays like “John Proctor Is the Villain” and “Fences” will leave audiences in contemplation before festive summer item “Boop! The Musical” swoops in to lift spirits.

When Desai plans the company’s season lineup, he always surveys the year ahead — literally.

“I look at the calendar a lot as to, where do we think we’re gonna be a year from now? Six to eight months from now?” Desai said in a recent interview at his office in downtown L.A.

Some entries in Center Theatre Group’s upcoming season are scheduled intuitively, like the Mischief Comedy team’s “Christmas Carol Goes Wrong,” running in the thick of the holiday season. But with others, Desai said he orchestrated the lineup to tell a programmatic story, like an artist might order tracks on an album.

As an artistic director, Desai said, he always encourages visitors: “Join us all season, versus just coming for the things you like,” and maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

This year as Desai consulted his calendar, he looked even farther ahead than usual, toward Center Theatre Group’s 60th anniversary season (2027-28) and the L.A. Olympics in 2028.

“We were having conversations of, what are the plays that we want to do or we want to bring back,” Desai said, when the theater company’s associate artistic director Lindsay Allbaugh suggested “Fences,” the final play of August Wilson’s acclaimed Century Cycle to be staged at Center Theatre Group.

“I said, ‘Oh, that’s what we want,’” Desai said, “both to end this season and kick off our 60th.”

The artistic director could not yet confirm who would direct the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about a former Negro League baseball player and his family navigating life in 1950s segregated Pittsburgh.

Desai, who has not shied away from politically charged material during his tenure at the theater company, said Wilson’s play aligned with his intent this season to platform work “asking who we are as a country and as a community and society.”

“I wanted voices that felt bold and fearless, that were both outspoken and unafraid in a world where, right now, it feels like there’s a lot of things that are trying to stifle us from speaking out or coming together,” he said. To him, presenting “Fiddler on the Roof” in Yiddish is revolutionary, as is “John Proctor Is the Villain’s” dissection of a classic through a feminist lens.

Desai added that he planned to balance that rabble-rousing spirit with productions that leaned more “celebratory and communal” and provided “different ways of having catharsis.”

“Oh, Mary!” offers riotous fun, and “Destiny of Desire” is an homage to an oft-dismissed yet widely consumed medium, the telenovela.

“With ‘Destiny,’ you’re able to take that format of something that people often watch in isolation at home, and enjoy it together,” Desai said.

Regional theater faces a slew of challenges: rising production and personnel costs, post-pandemic audience declines and competition from digital media. The situation has felt particularly bleak in L.A., Desai said, as seeming moments of recovery in the past year or so were squashed by the L.A. wildfires, then last summer’s immigration crackdown and associated civil unrest.

“We just constantly live in this time period that feels like we’re on shifting sands,” Desai said. Nonetheless, the company is finding paths through the desert, including with alternative programming through CTG: FWD.

The CTG: FWD initiative this season will bring “Riverdance 30 – The New Generation,” “Clue” and “The Music Man” to the Ahmanson Theatre, and “Dog Man” to the Kirk Douglas Theatre.

Another strategy Desai said the theater company has employed is heavy investment in new works development, particularly new musical development. New works are time-and resource-intensive, Desai said, but they’re also good investments, offering the best chances at longevity and commercial prospects.

With “The Turning,” Center Theatre Group spotlights an emerging voice that Desai said represents “the future of American theater.”

After Desai was introduced to Zadek’s folksy musical “The Turning,” he said, “I just kept listening to it over and over again. I was like, ‘I can’t wait for the cast recording of this to be on Spotify.’”

The artistic director was also thrilled to find an ultra-rare gem in Zadek’s piece: a truly original story.

“A lot of things are adaptations these days: adaptations of films, of TV shows,” Desai said. “So to get a world premiere musical that is based on its own original concept — that, I found, was really compelling.”

Following back-to-back seasons of directing his own productions, Desai is taking a breather this go-around to focus on broader administrative duties. But he still hopes to be a resource for visiting directors learning how to navigate the “special space” that is the Mark Taper Forum — and its neighbors the Ahmanson Theatre and the Kirk Douglas Theatre, which will get its own season announcement in the spring or early summer.

See the full season, here.

The U.S. Army says it hopes to see production of a finalized version of the next-generation M1E3 Abrams tank begin next year. The exact timeline will depend on the performance of early prototype tanks in testing by operational units, which is slated to kick off later this year.

Brent Ingraham, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, discussed current plans for the M1E3 program with TWZ and other outlets at a media roundtable on the sidelines of the Association of the United States Army’s (AUSA) annual Global Force Symposium yesterday. The Army officially unveiled the first early prototype M1E3 at the Detroit Auto Show in January, which was delivered years ahead of the program’s original schedule.

“That will again be this summer, early fall,” Ingraham said when asked about the schedule for M1E3 early prototypes arriving at so-called Transformation In Contact (TIC) units. These are operational formations that have been given a test role as part of the Army’s larger TIC effort, which is intended to help accelerate the fielding of new and improved capabilities, as well as tactics, techniques, and procedures to go with them.

Beyond that, the central goal for the M1E3 program is “to get to production as fast as possible,” Ingraham continued.

The Army’s top acquisition official added that “it’s going to depend on how well they [the early prototypes] perform,” but that “hopefully” production of the new tanks will then start “in the next 12 months or so.”

It also remains to be seen how the M1E3’s configuration may evolve between now and production start. Whether the next-generation tanks will be entirely new production vehicles is also not entirely clear. The early prototype shown at the Detroit Auto Show featured a substantially reworked hull and now uncrewed turret, but that was clearly still derived from the configuration of the latest M1A2 System Enhancement Package Version 3 (SEPv3) Abram variant. Prime contractor General Dynamics Land Systems had previously rolled out an AbramsX next-generation demonstrator with a much more significantly evolved design.

AbramsX Technology Demonstrator on the Move

That being said, the M1E3 early prototype does differ in a host of other very important ways from the M1A2 SEPv3. At the top of that list is a new hybrid propulsion in place of the fuel-hungry gas turbine found on previous Abrams models. The new propulsion configuration includes a modified Caterpillar C13D six-cylinder diesel engine and an ACT1075LP transmission from SAPA. Army officials have previously said the M1E3 will be between 40 and 50 percent more fuel efficient compared to previous versions.

The M1E3 also has new lightweight tracks from American Rheinmetall and a hydropneumatic suspension system understood to have come from Horstman Group. In a post on X in January, the latter firm noted that switching “to external hydropneumatic suspension” helps “free up crew space by removing torsion bars,” but did not explicitly confirm its involvement in the program. A suspension system of this kind, which has been tested on Abrams in the past, also allows for the hull of the tank to be raised and lowered in ways that can help improve survivability and offer other operational benefits.

The M1E3 tank employs an external hydropneumatic suspension system developed by Horstman, a company headquartered in Bath, United Kingdom. A defining feature of this suspension is that it eliminates the need for torsion bars.

This design frees up a significant amount of internal… https://t.co/OPglnoWxxY pic.twitter.com/jQkGj0h7oq

— 笑脸男人 (@lfx160219) January 26, 2026

The M1E3’s crew configuration differs significantly from existing variants, as well. The next-generation tank’s turret is intended to be entirely remotely operated, with the truncated three-person crew (instead of the traditional four) moved down into the front of the hull. The loader role is eliminated, and an autolaoder is set to be utilized instead. Historically, the U.S. military, as well as many Western armed forces, have eschewed autoloaders in their tanks. Soviet and now Russian tank designs, along with Chinese ones, have more typically had this feature. In terms of the M1E3’s main gun, the Army otherwise looks to be sticking with the same 120mm smooth-bore type used on Abrams variants now.

Interestingly, what has been seen so far of the expected crew compartment for the M1E3 is also similar in many broad respects to the design of Russia’s T-14 Armata. Despite having made its public debut in 2015, the T-14 has, at best, seen very limited operational service. In addition, the M1E3’s driver will operate the tank via a controller that looks like one that might come with a video game console, which the Army has said is a deliberate choice.

M1E3 used Fanatec Gaming Controller. Colonel Ryan Howell, Program Lead for the M1E3, said:“It now takes just 30 seconds to train a young soldier to drive that tank—something that used to take us days, even weeks……I’ll share a quote from one of the soldiers who helped us early… https://t.co/6y3VGXmVzU pic.twitter.com/fWNGyZ8AtO

— 笑脸男人 (@lfx160219) January 15, 2026

“It now takes just 30 seconds to train a young soldier to drive that tank – something that used to take us days, even weeks,” Col. Ryan Howell, the program manager for the M1E3, told Fox News back in January in Detroit. “I’ll share a quote from one of the soldiers who helped us early in the process. When we first sat him down at the crew station, he was already in the process of transitioning out of the Army, but he was assisting us by informing key design decisions. He told us, ‘If I had known I could work on a platform like this, I would have stayed in the Army.’”

These various design elements are key to the Army meeting its goals for the overall weight of the M1E3. The service has previously said that it hopes the next-generation tank will tip the scales at around 60 tons. Weight creep has been a major issue for the Abrams since it first entered service in the 1980s, with the latest M1A2 SEPv3 variant coming in at 78 tons.

“This next-generation Abrams is designed to transform how armored units operate globally,” Michelle Link, the Army’s Deputy Capability Program Executive for Ground Combat Platforms, had said in a press release in January. “By streamlining its sustainment needs and increasing deployment speed, the M1E3 Abrams ensures faster movement from ports to the front lines, making it more agile and accessible in any environment.”

In terms of other capabilties, the M1E3 early prototype presented in Detroit had a Leonardo DRS Stabilized Sight System (S3), which features a mix of electro-optical and infrared cameras, and a remote weapon station (RWS) from EOS on top of the turret. The RWS was armed with a 40mm automatic grenade launcher, a 7.62x51mm machine gun, and a Javelin anti-tank guided missile. The M1E3’s complete armament package could still expand, including with the addition of launchers for loitering munitions.

The Army currently says the M1E3 will be fitted with a version of the Israeli-design Iron Fist active protection system (APS). The service is already fielding that APS, which it has now designated as the XM251, on the M2A4E1 variant of the Bradley infantry Fighting Vehicle. It is also expected to be integrated onto 8×8 Stryker wheeled light armored vehicles and the future replacement for the Bradley family, tentatively designated the XM30. Iron Fist’s prime contractor, Elbit Systems, notably just recently disclosed that the system has at least some capability to defeat incoming kamikaze drones, as well as anti-tank guided missiles and other infantry anti-armor. The Army is also now pursuing add-on passive anti-drone armor for existing Abrams tanks and other armored vehicles, which could make its way onto the M1E3.

Iron Fist APS | Active Protection System for Armored Vehicles

In Detroit, other cameras were seen positioned at various points around the M1E3’s hull and turret, providing the crew with what looks to be a distributed vision system. This would allow the crew to ‘see’ through the hull of the tank while sitting nestled under its armor with all the hatches sealed. The camera feeds could be integrated into a helmet-mounted system and paired with augmented reality to create an overlay with various important data.

The next-generation tank is also expected to feature a variety of other advanced systems, including new targeting capabilities and other onboard sensors, as well as a networked communications suite.

The Army clearly expects the M1E3’s design to further evolve, at least to some degree, based on Soldier feedback and other data collected during testing that will start later this year. Time will tell how different the final configuration is from the early prototype the service unveiled in January.

If the core design performs well and the program otherwise keeps to its aggressive schedule, production of the Army next main battle tank could well start next year.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

California’s economy might see a boost from the state’s expanded film tax credits, but local lawmakers say it’s not enough.

Despite Gov. Gavin Newsom authorizing a $750-million film and TV tax credit program last summer, the impending merger between Paramount and Warner Bros., and the projected budget cuts that are expected to follow, has reignited fears about Hollywood jobs and U.S.-based productions.

“State programs cannot simply substitute for the kind of global, federal and competitive tax incentives that are needed to bring production back to American soil and stop its offshoring,” U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said during a news conference Friday morning.

“We must act, and the urgency could not be greater,” he said. He revealed he is working on a bipartisan federal film incentive proposal that would be competitive with what other countries are offering for film productions.

He said the program isn’t about Hollywood’s stars; it’s about the jobs that productions create, including roles for set designers, carpenters and lighting crews.

“These are the people who make that magic happen. We want to keep those jobs here, and many of us are deeply concerned about what this potential merger will do to those jobs,” Schiff said.

Earlier this week, the California Film Commission revealed that 16 shows had recently received tax credits for filming in the state. The projects represent $871 million in qualified in-state spending and are expected to generate $1.3 billion in economic activity in California. Schiff said the state tax credit has generated more than $29.1 billion in motion picture production wages and supported more than 220,000 jobs.

Even as shows start to see gains in Southern California, Los Angeles film activity was still down 13.2% from July through September when compared with the same period in 2024. The downward trend extends the loss of 42,000 jobs in L.A. between 2022 and 2024, the continued suffering of local sound stages and the offshoring of productions internationally.

“Federal policymakers must act to level the playing field and make the U.S. film and television industry more competitive on the global stage,” said Matthew Loeb, the president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. “A globally competitive labor-based and tax incentive is. For us, production that supplements state incentives is essential to return and maintain film and television jobs in America.”

HBO Max’s medical drama “The Pitt” is filmed at one of Warner Bros. soundstages in Burbank and it’s one of the shows benefiting from California’s tax incentive.

Noah Wyle, the star and executive producer of the show, said during the news conference that “it’s really hard to shoot a TV show in Los Angeles, and it’s really expensive, prohibitively” — so adopting an economic model that allows productions to take full advantage of the California tax incentive was essential to “The Pitt” filming in L.A.

“As an Angeleno with generational roots to this city and as a seasoned member of its creative community, advocacy for Los Angeles-based production is something that is very close to my heart,” Wyle said.

“‘The Pitt’ has blessedly become proof of that speculative concept. I’m happy to report we’ll commence shooting season three this summer, and that a rising tide has indeed lifted all boats in season one under the 3.0 tax program,” he added.

The show received a 20% tax rebate on many above-the-line costs. The budget for one episode was approximately $6.6 million, so the show received a rebate of about $760,000 per episode. By the end of season one, the production was able to save over $11 million. Wyle estimated that the first season of “The Pitt” contributed around $125 million toward California’s gross domestic product.

Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), who is working with Schiff on production tax incentives, said that because California is already seeing benefits from the current program, there’s no reason it wouldn’t work nationally. Friedman added that tax incentives are a common practice among many industries in the U.S.

“Hollywood is not asking for special treatment. Whether it is computer chips, the energy sector or pharmaceuticals, this is something that is standard in the United States,” said Friedman. “In terms of our nation, Hollywood and its ability to tell the story of America, it is something worth saving.”

“The best way I can describe it is, it’s an addiction,” says Taylor Frankie Paul.

The star of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” is seated by a window in an empty Starbucks within a downtown Salt Lake City hotel, reflecting on her relationship troubles in an interview Feb. 19. Followers of Paul’s screen life are all too familiar with the drama. Now, others can’t escape knowing about it too.

Days later, a dispute with her on-again, off-again partner would lead to an investigation by police that surfaced in multiple news reports this week, and on Thursday, the release of a video recording of a separate dispute in 2023 would lead to a pause on “The Bachelorette,” her latest starring role on reality TV, three days before it was set to premiere.

Her brush with fame began with #Momtok, as the self-proclaimed founder of the Utah-based group of Mormon moms that spawned the so-called corner of TikTok where they shared choreographed dance videos and light lifestyle content. But in 2022, she rose to notoriety after revealing in a TikTok Live session details about an arrangement she had with her then-husband Tate Paul to pursue intimate relations with other consenting couples (without having extramarital sex); she confessed to violating their agreement by having an emotional affair. The salacious revelation, which became known as the “soft-swinging” scandal, lit up social media and, eventually, led to the creation of Hulu’s breakout hit “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” Much of Paul’s story across the show’s four seasons has revolved around her rocky relationship with Dakota Mortensen, the man she began dating following her divorce.

Dakota Mortensen and Taylor Frankie Paul in a scene from “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” The pair share a 2-year-old son.

(Fred Hayes / Disney)

Even as the show documented the lead-up to Paul becoming the new face of “The Bachelorette,” her biggest screen opportunity yet, the pair’s on-again, off-again dynamic remained as turbulent and confusing as ever, down to the “Mormon Wives” season’s final minutes. A despondent Paul nearly upended the start of production on ABC’S dating series when she missed her flight to Los Angeles after sleeping with Mortensen, who is the father of her youngest son, Ever, the night prior. (She took a later one.)

“I was just still stuck in the cycle,” she says, noting she hasn’t watched the “Mormon Wives” finale. “That’s why I knew I had to leave [to do ‘The Bachelorette’], if that makes sense … I can’t help people understand it because my own brain doesn’t understand it. The only thing I can relate it to is, it is a drug; the toxicity is a drug. It’s always a mind game and I fall for it every time, and I cave and it’s just so dumb. I get exhausted saying it to people because I’m like, ‘I don’t blame you guys. I’m mad at me.’”

The hook of a 31-year-old mother of three trying to find love — who unapologetically wears her troubles on her sleeve — was supposed to be what made her a desirable candidate for the latest crossover experiment to hit Disney’s reality TV universe. But in the week leading up to Sunday’s Season 22 premiere of “The Bachelorette,” reports surfaced detailing allegations of domestic violence involving Paul and Mortensen. Utah’s Draper City Police Department confirmed there is an open investigation involving the pair; a spokesperson for the department declined to share more details amid the ongoing investigation. But according to a person familiar with the situation, allegations were made by both parties involving incidents on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25, less than a week after our interview. No charges have been filed in the case.

Taylor Frankie Paul in a promotional still from ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” now on pause.

(Sami Drasin / Disney)

Paul was previously arrested and charged in 2023 for a separate dispute involving Mortensen, eventually pleading guilty to one count of aggravated assault; other charges were dropped. Part of that incident was documented in the first season of “Mormon Wives.” On Thursday, TMZ published a video of the incident, leading Disney Entertainment Television to hit pause on the planned premiere of “The Bachelorette.” “In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of ‘The Bachelorette’ at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family,” the statement from Disney read. Whether the season will be released at a later time or be re-edited remains to be seen, according to a person familiar with the matter.

“Taylor is very grateful for ABC’s support as she prioritizes her family’s safety and security,” read a portion of a statement provided by a representative for Paul. The statement went on to say Paul suffered “extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation.”

While Season 5 of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” began production in January, cameras were not following Paul during the time of the recent incidents; Paul was focused on publicity commitments for “The Bachelorette.” Hulu and ABC declined to comment on the ongoing investigation. Mortensen could not be reached for comment. Production on “Mormon Wives” is currently on pause and a decision on Paul’s status as a cast member has not been made, according to a person briefed on the situation.

Paul’s chaotic reality now casts a shadow on both shows. The programming experiment aimed at expanding and blending the audiences of ABC’s veteran dating series and Hulu’s budding answer to the “Real Housewives” franchise now becomes an example of too much of a good thing — in this case, overextending a breakout hit early in its run — and how it can backfire. And it puts a spotlight on the discourse surrounding vetting failures and oversights in reality TV, as well as the compulsion or limits by viewers to rubberneck, particularly by savvy viewers of a genre that thrives on sordid personal drama.

How the ‘Mormon Wives’ crossover took shape

At a time when the traditional television landscape faces steep challenges, accelerated by a radical shift in viewing habits spurred by streaming and social media, Disney has been blurring the lines between its linear and streaming properties — ABC and Hulu — to maximize the reach of its unscripted assets. “Mormon Wives,” which has released four seasons in less than two years, has become a key player in that effort. Earlier this year, two of its cast members, Jen Affleck and Whitney Leavitt, competed against each other on “Dancing With the Stars.” And Paul’s casting as “The Bachelorette” makes her the first heroine who was not a contestant on a previous season of “The Bachelor.”

Prior to the reports about Paul, The Times spoke to Robert Mills, who leads Walt Disney Television Alternative, as well as show producers, about collaboration efforts within the company’s broadcasting universe as a way to expand and reward viewer curiosity.

Mills, a veteran ABC unscripted executive, said it was a way the company can distinguish itself from its competitors, particularly as it seeks to build Hulu’s unscripted slate against streaming rivals with deeper benches. And the possibilities on how to apply it to “Mormon Wives” began the summer ahead of its launch. As “Dancing With the Stars” producers were in the final stretch of casting the show’s 33rd season, Mills says there was talk of having one of the women be a contestant on the competition that fall, to coincide with the new show’s arrival.

“I do remember saying, ‘If it’s not this season, I know we’re going to have somebody next season because you can just feel this,” he says, referring to the energy surrounding “Mormon Wives.” “When the show took off, then it became, ‘OK, now we know we’re doing it.’”

And while having a cast member compete on “Dancing With the Stars” may, on its own, create a curiosity factor for audiences of both shows, the added layer of having the journey play out on “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” had the potential to heighten the story and viewing experience. And why not have two “Mormon Wives” cast members in the same season to see how their competitiveness plays out? So they did.

Dancer Jan Ravnik with partner Jennifer Affleck on “Dancing With the Stars.” (Eric McCandless/Disney)

Mark Ballas and Whitney Leavitt, who reached the semi-finals on the dancing competition series. (Eric McCandless/Disney)

The casting process for “DWTS” was documented in the third season of “Mormon Wives,” with Affleck and Leavitt pitching themselves to ABC executives. And their journey on the competition, including moving their families to Los Angeles and their eventual falling out, is featured in Season 4.

Corporate synergy within the Disney portfolio is nothing new, particularly on “Dancing With the Stars.” Disney Night is a recurring themed episode on the competition show, with contestants dancing to Disney, Pixar and Marvel tunes. And the series has featured stars from “Bachelor” nation before. But navigating the ins and outs of stories that intertwine without overstepping has required nimbleness.

“We basically carved out times where they [the ‘Mormon Wives’ crew] could film rehearsals and we always had a producer present just in case something happened that was dramatically important for our show,” says Conrad Green, the showrunner of “Dancing With the Stars.” “It’s like a gentleman’s agreement — we’re borrowing talent off another show so we have to work together and it works for everyone’s benefit.”

Stretching out a successful series typically leads to spin-offs — and yes, Mills says, those conversations are happening with “Mormon Wives” — at least at the time of the interview. In the meantime, the crossover strategy has become its key feature. Its third season featured the fallout from an explosive crossover with Hulu’s “Vanderpump Villa,” which follows Lisa Vanderpump, a former Bravo star, and her staff at various luxury European estates. MomTok stars Demi Engemann and Jessi Ngatikaura were guests on that show’s second season and got embroiled in drama with staff member Marciano Brunette, who alleges he had intimate connections with both women. The recent fourth season of “Mormon Wives” revisits the crossover, with some of the women’s spouses partaking in their own “Villa” getaway that fuels more drama.

Layla Taylor, left, Jessie Ngatikaura, Mikayla Matthews and Demi Engemann of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” at the castle in “Vanderpump Villa.”

(Andrea Miconi / Disney)

Paul’s casting in “The Bachelor” universe continues the long-running franchise’s efforts to revamp as it ages, to mixed results. In 2021, the franchise cast its first Black male lead; last year, it entered the senior citizen dating space with spin-off “Golden Bachelor.”

After Paul posted a TikTok in June 2025 jokingly announcing her “bid” as a single mother looking for love, members of the company’s publicity department took notice and, before long, discussions began. When the idea to bring on a star outside the franchise was presented to”The Bachelorette” showrunner Scott Teti, he did some homework.

“Of course, I had heard of her — it’s hard not to hear of that name,” he says. “But I had to familiarize myself with it because I hadn’t watched her show. Instantly, you realize how honest and truthful she is, almost to a fault. Although she’s unrelatable in a lot of ways, with the attention she gets from media and social media … she has a layered story that I think is very relatable to a lot of people — being a single mother and not having success in past relationships and still really wanting to find love.”

He adds that though she was a “fish out of water” the first night, she found her way. “She made herself vulnerable and she finally let her walls down and made herself open to being in a relationship, finding someone,” he says. “At the same time, because she is used to doing things her own way, and not really caring what anybody thinks, that is what made it interesting. That is why this season is so big, and there are so many pivotal points in the season that will leave you on the edge of your seat.”

At least that was the plan.

Dressed in beige lounge pants and an oversize T-shirt adorned with mushrooms when we meet, Paul is affable despite her sluggish demeanor as she navigates the schedule demands in this window between “Mormon Wives” Season 4 and her debut as “The Bachelorette.” She pulls out her phone to share a series of TikTok videos that capture what she says is her current mental state — one features a man sarcastically talking about how he’d rather be petty than regulate his emotions. No stranger to finding a wide audience with viral videos, Paul sees the crossovers as “genius marketing.” But also acknowledged their potential challenges to #MomTok.

“I think it’s really cool to see all the different opportunities you can venture off into,” she says. “I think the con of that, with #MomTok, is that with all the opportunities, it kind of spreads us apart. We’re doing our own thing. It could break friendships. You’re getting envious. You get competitive.”

As the cast’s fame and opportunities grow, whether across Disney or outside of it — Leavitt, for example, is starring as Roxie Hart in “Chicago” on Broadway — the way to keep the series interesting is to incorporate all those moments into the show rather than pretend they live outside of it.

“We have not shied away from breaking the fourth wall,” says “Mormon Wives” showrunner Andrea Metz. “We have not shied away from talking about what is really happening with them. And I think that people like that. The trajectory of their fame and their stars rising has been very quick, but it’s also been really exciting.”

And the highs and lows are in full view, as this week proves.

Was she ready for ‘The Bachelorette’?

How all this might impact #MomTok — the power of their clique to withstand the various in-fighting and drama has become a perennial concern each season — is already playing out in the headlines.

Before recent allegations against Paul threatened the outcome of “The Bachelorette,” Paul’s entanglement with Mortensen had already cast doubt for some viewers of both franchises about whether she went into the dating series with any seriousness. The break between wrapping “Mormon Wives” and starting filming on “The Bachelorette” was one day. Paul admits she isn’t sure she was ready for the experience.

“I might not have been ready, but ready is a decision — just do it,” she says. “It was like a rehab, almost. It’s full detox. I had no contact — in no world does it happen with the co-parent. Whether or not I was ready, it was what was so needed for me, at the very least to just get away from it. And I wanted to find someone and love.”

“‘The Bachelorette’ is one of the hardest things I ever did,” she continues, “but also the most amazing things I ever did. I have my kids back home. I’m not just here looking for me. The emotional exhaustion was a lot. I’m dating 20-something guys. I am putting my all into one conversation after the other, every single day, all day. Your brain is just kind of fried.”

Then she considers a question that didn’t feel as prescient then: Does she feel like it broke the cycle she’s had with Mortensen?

“Yeah, I feel like it helped,” she says. “Obviously things — [we’re] within the process of the show, I can’t speak on it yet. But you’ll see it all unravel.”

Anxieties due to war. A culture inhospitable to LGBTQ+ communities. And an underpinning of loneliness and suppressed yearning.

The play “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche” is set in 1956, but its themes resonate in 2026. The United States is at war. Attacks on gay marriage and other LGBTQ+ rights remain a cornerstone of today’s conservative movement. A reimagining of the 2011 production, one popular with universities and fringe festivals, seeks to further modernize the show in which a morning gathering quickly turns into a stay in a Cold War-era bomb shelter after near nuclear annihilation.

When I arrived at the back room of a Glendale church, I was given a new name. It was clear that “Todd” was not welcome here. “Joan” turned out to be a suitable replacement, and I was immediately asked how my life had been since my husband had died. For on this night I would no longer be occupying the role of a straight white male. Every audience member is asked to take on the persona of a widow, for losing a husband appeared to be a perquisite to enter this meeting of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertude Stein.

How did he die, I was asked. “Ski accident,” I blurted out. “Yours?” A camping travesty that led to a bear mauling, I was told. Ad-libbing, in addition to quiche, was on the menu tonight. Metaphors, absurdities and seriousness intermingle in this production from New Forms LA and directed by Marissa Pattullo.

Pattullo’s vision for “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche” ramps up the interactivity, seeking to transform a largely traditional proscenium show, albeit one with a few moments of fourth-wall breaking, into one that is centered around audience participation. Staged in a flex space without a tinge of irony at the Glendale Church of the Brethren, “5 Lesbians,” written by Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood, has been reconstructed as a largely immersive production, that is one that asks audiences to lean in and interact.

Jessica Damouni’s Ginny Cadbury devouring breakfast in “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche,” a show that unfolds as a giant metaphor.

(New Forms LA)

While there is a small stage, it is used sparingly. The five-person cast roams the room, sitting at various circular tables to blur the lines between script and improvisation. Typically a svelte 75-minute show, on the night I saw the production it swelled to about two hours, allowing time for drinks, mingling and, of course, the eating of a quiche. Pattullo has added an intermission, with quiches courtesy of Kitchen Mouse and Just What I Kneaded included in the ticket.

For quiche, I was told often, was the primary topic of conversation at the Easter-timed meeting, so much so that it was clear within moments that this was a gathering not of breakfast enthusiasts but of the repressed. The hidden meaning is no secret; it’s in the title of the play.

“It’s a giant metaphor,” Pattullo, 30, says. The show, she adds, “keeps finding ways to make sense with the times, whether it’s Trump being elected, or we’re at war. Or gay marriage. All of those things. A bomb going off and being trapped inside. It speaks to whoever is watching it.”

Pattullo, who splits time building New Forms LA and serving tables at Los Feliz’s Little Dom’s, first discovered the show while in college in the Midwest. It immediately resonated, and Pattullo has been tinkering with ways to perform it live ever since. During the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, she staged an online version of the show, and debuted it as an immersive production last winter. It’s back for two weekends this month.

“5 Lesbians” makes a relatively smooth transition to the immersive format. Perhaps that’s because the audience, in the script, is cast as attendees of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertude Stein’s brunch meeting, whose motto is “no men, no meat, all manners.” For about the first 30 minutes of the show we largely interact with the actors. Dale Prist (Nicole Ohara) has hidden ambitions. Vern Schultz (Chandler Cummings) seems ready for the group to cut its charade. Lulie Stanwyck (Noelle Urbano) is fighting so hard to stay prim and proper that she feels on the verge of bursting.

“I really like to play,” Pattullo says, referencing how “5 Lesbians” lends itself to improvisation. “Some of the girls I think are very ‘stick to the script.’ I’m like, ‘Stray from the script.’ If people come in late, call them out. If people are talking, call them out. You can adjust and improvise in immersive theater. Having a script but being able to break from it, is really fun for me. It tickles me.”

Wren Robin (Emily Yetter), Vern Schultz (Chandler Cummings) and Lulie Stanwyck (Noelle Urbano) protect breakfast in “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche.”

(New Forms LA)

There’s an underlying tension in the show because it walks a line between silliness and graveness. Ultimately, “5 Lesbians” is about finding joy in dark times, and moments inspire uncomfortable laughter, such as jokes about gay marriage being legal in four years’ time (1960) or Ginny Cadbury (Jessica Damouni) devouring a quiche in a way that leaves nothing to the imagination. But it’s also a show about how stressful moments can bring about vulnerability and community, as the whole church practically exhaled when Wren Robbin (Emily Yetter) finally let her hair down and expressed who she truly was.

“Even when we did it back when I was in college, Trump had just won, so it just feels like it’s keeping relevant,” Pattullo says. The timeliness, she says, makes it such an amusing play to perform.

Pattullo will sometimes, depending on cast availability, take on a role in the show. It’s a chance, she says, to amplify the play’s wackiness, which she believes helps puts audiences at ease and makes its difficult subject matter easier to digest. She tries to create the most outlandish tale possible for when relaying to guests one on one how her husband perished.

“My story was a raccoon attack,” she says. “Because my husband thought the raccoon was behaving with foreign intent, like the raccoon was a spy or something. It was just stupid.”

Or it was evidence of how immersive theater can delight when it deviates from the script.

NBCUniversal is cutting “Access Hollywood” and several other of its daytime talk shows, effectively ending its first-run syndication business as daytime television atrophies.

The company confirmed that “Access Hollywood,” and its counterpart “Access Live,” will be coming to an end in September. The shows, produced in Los Angeles, are currently hosted by Mario Lopez, Kit Hoover, Scott Evans and Zuri Hall.

Talk shows “Karamo” and “The Steve Wilkos Show,” produced out of NBC’s facility in Stamford, Conn., are also shutting down. The programs have already completed their production for the season and will run through the summer.

NBC previously announced that “The Kelly Clarkson Show” is also ending later this year after seven seasons.

“The Steve Wilkos Show” ran for 19 seasons. The host is a former bouncer for “The Jerry Springer Show.”

Francis Berwick, chairman of Bravo and Peacock unscripted, said in a statement that the company will continue to distribute library episodes of its talk programs and network shows such as “Law & Order.” But NBCU’s days of launching series for daytime and the hour before prime time are over.

“NBCUniversal is making changes to our first-run syndication division to better align with the programming preferences of local stations,” Berwick said. “The company will remain active in the distribution of our existing program library and other off-network titles, while winding down production of our first-run shows.”

“Access Hollywood” was first launched by NBC in 1996 as a competitor to CBS Media Ventures’ “Entertainment Tonight.”

First-run syndication allows producers to sell TV shows to stations on a market-by-market basis, instead of distributing them through a single network. This model was a major success for talk show staples such as Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres.

But streaming has pulled viewers away from traditional television, as viewers can watch their favorite shows and movies anytime on demand. The audience levels needed to generate enough ad revenue to support first-run programming in daytime no longer exists.

Many TV stations are filling their hours with more local news as daytime talk goes away.