Back in 1963, Richard Nixon needed to rehabilitate his image after he lost his race for California governor. He went on the “Tonight” show with Jack Paar and played the piano.
Bill Clinton’s appearance on “The Arsenio Hall Show,” where he delivered a rendition of “Heartbreak Hotel” on the saxophone, was considered a breakthrough moment in his successful 1992 campaign for the White House.
Those memorable segments demonstrated how the desk-and-sofa format could be a tool in the politician’s arsenal for shaping public opinion away from the pesky probing of journalists. It became a way to reach viewers who did not regularly watch TV news.
But those days may become a relic of broadcast history as Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is calling for stronger enforcement of a broadcast regulation rule requiring TV and radio broadcasters to offer equal time to all legally qualified opposing political candidates.
With the new guidance — which legal and media experts said would be hard to enforce and could stifle free speech — the FCC questioned whether late-night and daytime talk shows deserve an exemption from the equal-time rules for broadcast stations using the public airwaves.
It’s the Trump White House’s latest salvo against the network late night talk show hosts, primarily Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Kimmel, who pound away at President Trump nightly in their monologues and offer ample airtime to his political opponents. The rule also would affect daytime shows such as ABC’s “The View,” which is under the purview of the Disney-owned network’s news division.
The equal-time rule has been around for decades but rarely has been enforced in recent years. It did come into play during the 2024 presidential campaign when NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” booked Democratic candidate Kamala Harris to appear in a sketch.
NBC filed an equal-time notice with the FCC stating that Harris had appeared on the network for one minute and 30 seconds. Campaign officials for Trump contacted the network and asked for time and they were given two free 60-second messages that appeared near the end of its telecast of a NASCAR playoff race and during post-game coverage of a “Sunday Night Football” telecast.
Experts consider the rule to be antiquated, designed for a time when consumers were limited to a handful of TV channels and a dozen radio stations if they lived in a big city. The emergence of cable, podcasts and streaming audio and video platforms — none of which are subjected to FCC restrictions in terms of content — have greatly diminished traditional broadcast media’s dominance in the marketplace.
“I think it’s very hard to look at trying to regulate over-the-air broadcasters in the same way today as the FCC would have done, you know, 50 years ago,” said Jeffrey McCall, a communications professor at DePauw University. “The rule was put in place in an era of scarcity which we really don’t have anymore.”
Michael Harrison, a media consultant and publisher of the radio trade journal Talkers, said the equal-time rule will unfairly burden radio and TV broadcasters that are struggling to compete against tech companies that largely have unfettered access to consumers and are not subject to FCC rules.
“Carr’s plan would even further handicap federally licensed television and radio platforms that are already facing an existential crisis as they are being eaten alive by unregulated digital media in an increasingly noisy marketplace,” Harrison said. “Carr’s plan is just rhetoric to give the impression that the FCC still has relevance in programming regulation.”
McCall expressed doubts as to whether the equal-time law would stand up if it were challenged in the courts.
“The Supreme Court, under Chief Justice Roberts, has been pretty supportive in providing robust 1st Amendment protections,” McCall said. “I think they would say free speech is free speech. The media landscape has changed so much over the years and we don’t want the government trying to make decisions as to what counts as political speech and what doesn’t and what counts as fairness and what doesn’t.”
No network executive contacted was willing to comment on the record, but privately they say it’s an attempt by Carr to use the government’s regulation of the free public airwaves to keep the president’s critics in line. Trump has frequently called for TV licenses to be pulled when he’s unhappy with a network reporter’s question or a late-night monologue.
They also believe that Carr wants to create a wedge between the broadcast networks and their affiliate stations, which are responsible for providing equal time if a candidate makes a request. Carr has said he wants to examine the network-affiliate relationship and how much influence is exerted by Hollywood and New York on local broadcasters.
Enforcing the rule also would be a major headache for TV stations as all legally qualified candidates on minor party tickets could ask for airtime. Under the rule, if a candidate appears on a TV or radio program, their opponents have seven days to request equal time.
“It can be a headache for sure,” said one TV station executive not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
At Trump’s behest, Carr has been aggressive in suggesting the use of FCC rules to punish late-night hosts in Trump’s crosshairs. He threatened the TV station licenses of ABC in September after Kimmel made remarks on his program about slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk that upset conservatives. Two major TV station groups pulled the program and the network suspended Kimmel‘s program for a week.
Trump on Wednesday posted a link to a news story that said the FCC was focused on ABC daytime talk show “The View” and ABC late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
Carr’s call for greater enforcement of the equal-time rule also could have an effect on conservative-leaning broadcasters. Although right-leaning hosts are largely nonexistent on broadcast network TV, they are the dominant draws on talk radio. Those hosts would also have to abide by the rule as well when they give unfettered platforms to Republican candidates.
“If the FCC pushes this on the television and not radio, they’re going to be opening themselves to all kinds of claims of trying to protect certain messages, but not others,” McCall noted.
Conservative Fox News host Sean Hannity, who does a daily radio program carried on more than 500 stations across the U.S., told The Times in a statement that he is opposed to further government regulation of broadcast content.
“Talk radio is successful because people are smart and understand we are the antidote to corrupt and abusively biased left wing legacy media,” Hannity said in a statement. “We need less government regulation and more freedom. Let the American people decide where to get their information from without any government interference.”
Interestingly, it’s the rise of Trump and his unorthodox approach to campaigning and governing that has made political commentary and humor such a dominant part of late-night TV. His emergence as a presidential candidate after being a major prime-time TV star through NBC’s reality hit “The Apprentice” pushed politics into the center of the national pop culture conversation. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) has been a guest on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” 19 times.
In a fragmented media landscape, politicians have become some of the most broadly recognizable figures on TV and have since become fixtures as late-night guests. For years, the executive producer of Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show,” was Chris Licht, whose background was in news. He left the job to briefly run CNN.
Trump himself was a beneficiary of the late-night platform. He hosted “Saturday Night Live” twice — even in 2015 when he was already running for the Republican presidential nomination.
After Hatate’s dismissal in the 34th minute, it was a backs-to-the-wall Celtic performance, with Trusty’s back-post tap-in a rare venture into Bologna territory.
Attack after attack was repelled by the Celtic backline as Trusty and Liam Scales stood up to the Bologna onslaught.
The hosts dominated possession, pinned Celtic in their own half and had 63 touches in the Celtic box.
And yet, the stubborn defence was undone frustratingly easily as Dallinga’s header went through Schmeichel from close range and the Denmark veteran was then rooted to the spot as Rowe’s powerful shot flew over his head.
“There will be a feeling of ‘what could have been?’ – and I think Schmeichel could do better for both goals,” former Scotland forward James McFadden said.
“So it will be mixed emotions.”
O’Neill questioned whether Schmeichel was unsighted for Rowe’s leveller, but chose to focus on the efforts of his centre-backs in the valuable draw.
Trusty alone made 17 clearances and three interceptions, marshalling the depleted visitors to great effect.
“Trusty was magnificent, as he has been during my time here,” O’Neill said.
“I couldn’t give him higher praise, he was absolutely magnificent as were the team. Him and Scales have been great as a defensive two in the time I have been here and my expectation of them is quite high.
“Trusty epitomised the spirit of the team tonight. It was colossal and keeps us in the competition for at least one more week.”
Another former Celtic manager also praised the way they battled to a point.
“Brilliant character from the players,” Neil Lennon said. “You can see what it means to them.
“Auston Trusty and Liam Scales were immense. They had to defend so many crosses.
Roxy Wilson has spoken out after she was brutally ‘murdered’ on Thursday night’s edition of The Traitors and missed out on a place in the grand finale of the hit BBC show
Roxy Wilson has spoken out after she was brutally ‘murdered’ on Thursday night’s edition of The Traitors(Image: )
The Traitors star Roxy Wilson has admitted she is “happy” to have left the show. The recruitment worker, 32, was “murdered” just ahead of the final in Thursday’s edition of Claudia Winkleman’s hit BBC show.
She said: “To be honest, I’m kind of happy, because it only gets so much harder. I think I’ve got as far as I could. I would have loved to have got to the final, but it was just always my aim to get as far as possible, so I’m really proud.”
Early on in the series, Roxy revealed to viewers that fellow contestant Judy was her mother, but the pair kept this all a secret, and she had to keep it that way once Judy had been murdered. She added: “Yes, to have that moment [to tell them] and see the shock on their faces would have been great, 100%. I was happy because I had managed to get one over on the Traitors, as they hadn’t established and figured out that relationship.
“No, no, no, for sure. Especially because after Mum went, she was confirmed a Faithful, so they would have definitely thought the other one has got to be a Traitor. I just decided that under no circumstances will I tell them. Even if I was a Traitor, I wouldn’t have told the other Traitors.”
In the end, Roxy has insisted she wouldn’t have changed a thing about her experience in the famous castle. She added: “No, to be honest, because I was just my full self. I feel like maybe I could have got a little bit further if I was a bit wiser to the Traitors, but I’m really happy with how I was, because I wouldn’t want to change me.
“It was just so good, the whole experience! Meeting all these people that you may never have crossed paths with in life, and just doing it with mum as well. That’s like an extra experience. The whole thing still blows my mind!”
But fans may have noticed one thing that was slightly different about Roxy’s exit compared to all the others that have come before her. Usually, Faithfuls banished or murdered are filmed finding out who the actual Traitors are on the spin-off show Uncloaked, but in Thursday night’s episode, such a scene with Roxy made it to air.
This is because the programme instead teased the dreaded Chests of Chance. Only when the programme kicks off tomorrow will fans discover whether Stephen is a lone traitor in the end-game, or whether he and Rachel have actually managed to make it through as planned. The reveal would have been filmed just after the Rountable, meaning that viewers can’t see who was banished just yet as makers strive to protect the cliffhanger.
But this did not stop some fans complaining, with one writing on X, formerly known as Twitter: “I can’t WAIT to see Roxy’s reaction on Uncloaked when she learns who the Traitors are. Truly one of the worst players ever bless her,” and another said: “Uncloaked you better get the footage of Roxy finding out Rachel and Stephen are traitors on my screen RIGHT NOW. I’ve already been robbed of seeing her face in the final!”
A third raged: “Where is the footage of Roxy finding out who the Traitors are, are you kidding me?” And a fourth said: “Why didn’t they show Roxy’s reaction to who the traitors were?? Was she utterly embarrassed finding out it was her besties? Cos she should be!”
The Traitors continues tomorrow at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
The Malone family from Gogglebox have been sharing snaps with their fans as they show off their rarely seen son.
Angie Quinn Screen Time Reporter
19:28, 22 Jan 2026
Julie and Tom Malone have been fixtures on the Channel 4 show since 2014(Image: Instagram/themalonesgb)
Gogglebox enthusiasts have been given an unusual peek into the Malone family’s life through a heartwarming post about their son.
The family became part of the beloved Channel 4 show in 2014, with dad Tom, mum Julie, and their sons Shaun and Tom Jr taking centre stage. Their daughter, Vanessa, has also made several appearances throughout the years.
Since joining Gogglebox, the household – complete with their beloved pack of Rottweilers – has captured viewers’ hearts with their hilarious observations, reliably bringing entertainment to living rooms across the nation.
Whilst Tom Jnr left in 2021, the rest of the family has continued gracing their iconic sofa, appearing in the programme’s 26th series, which launched in September 2025. Yet many fans might not realise the couple have another son named Lee, reports OK!.
On Wednesday (January 21), Tom and Julie posted two photographs of Lee on Instagram after he completed a demanding sporting challenge.
One image shows Lee standing shirtless with his mate before the results board, whilst another features him alongside his partner and their two youngsters.
The couple wrote: “Well done to our son Lee and his friend Craig! Great time, lads, at 01.02.33 love that Sarah, Grayson and Caelan went to cheer Daddy on!”
Supporters quickly flooded the comments with congratulatory messages for Lee, with one fan writing: “Fantastic,” whilst another responded: “Wow.”
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Meanwhile, Tom and Julie have recently welcomed a fresh addition to their household after unveiling their new pooch in a Gogglebox episode that broadcast on New Year’s Day.
Having graced the programme for 11 years, the Malone clan, based in Manchester, were regularly spotted enjoying their television viewing accompanied by their beloved Rottweiler companions.
This hasn’t prevented the Malones from opening their doors to a creature requiring care, with the family revealing they’ve taken in another canine.
During the episode, which featured Tom and Julie’s son, Shaun, and their granddaughter, Saoirse, the household introduced their latest rescue puppy.
Tom enquired of Saoirse: “Who have we got here?” whilst their fresh four-legged friend bounded into the room to frolic with the youngster.
Disclosing the newest family member’s moniker, Tom questioned his grandchild: “Buddy! Is he your new doggie? Have you rescued him from the pound?” to which Saoirse responded, “Yeah,” as the pup carried on playing.
Tom jested: “We got this again have we? We got another nutcase in the house, haven’t we? All right buddy are you the nutcase of the house now?!”
Gogglebox is available to stream on Channel 4.com
**For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website**
Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula’s marriage is over, the “Summer House” reality stars announced Monday on social media, validating rumors of a split that have been circulating for a while.
“After much reflection, we have mutually and amicably decided to part ways as a couple,” the couple said in a joint statement posted on both of their Instagram stories. “We share this with a heavy heart and kindly ask for your grace and support while we focus on our personal growth and healing.
“It feels ironic to ask for privacy during this time since we’ve always tried to be open and honest about our relationship, but your kindness and respect will go a long way as we try to navigate our next chapter.”
It’s unclear exactly when that “next chapter” began, as rumors that the relationship was on the rocks have been circulating for more than a year.
“We are not perfect. We’ve never tried to portray a perfect couple. We wear it all on our sleeve. Yeah, 10 years in, 4 years in a marriage, all on camera, it hasn’t been easy,” Cooke told Access Hollywood in an interview at BravoCon 2025 in November. “Particularly when you have people offering up some, um, trolling info.”
Around the same time, an “insider” told Page Six that the two had been “going through a challenging time” but were still committed to working things out. Celebrity rumor account Deuxmoi said it got a message in December that the marriage was done, and commenters on that post noted that Cooke had been missing from several significant events that Batula documented on social media.
“We’ve gone to therapy. We’ve worked on ourselves,” Batula told Us Weekly a year before that. “It’s very eye-opening getting to watch yourself back [on TV] and see how you handle different situations. So, we’ve learned a lot and have grown from it. … We’re still working on it.”
Batula and Cooke began dating during the first season of “Summer House,” which premiered in 2017 but was filmed in 2016. He proposed to her in the final episode of Season 3, which was filmed in 2018, then the couple saw their wedding postponed until September 2021 — it aired during the Season 6 finale — because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both Bravo stars will appear in “Summer House” Season 10, which premieres Feb. 3 and streams the next day on Peacock. Bravo said viewers will see “tension” between the two during the season.
“Summer House” debuted in 2017 with a cast that included Cooke and featured Batula in recurring role. The show follows a group of people sharing a Hamptons beach house on weekends for a summer, and the cast has shifted over the life of the show.
“Having these experiences is not something that people get to do or would do,” Batula said at BravoCon 2024. “I mean, again, we’re in our 30s and 40s, and you wouldn’t really share a house together like this. Being able to have these moments to look back on and these experiences is something that’s really special.”
Foreign tourists pose for a photo in the Myeongdong area of Seoul on Tuesday. According to a survey released Tuesday by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 82.3% of foreigners expressed a favorable opinion of South Korea. Photo by Yonhap
More than eight in 10 foreigners hold a favorable view of South Korea, the highest level since the annual survey began seven years ago, a government report showed Tuesday.
According to the 2025 survey on South Korea’s national image conducted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 82.3 percent of respondents said they viewed South Korea positively, up 3.3 percentage points from a year earlier. The figure marks the highest since the survey was launched in 2018.
By country, the United Arab Emirates recorded the most positive sentiment at 94.8 percent, followed by Egypt (94 percent), the Philippines (91.4 percent), Turkey (90.2 percent), India (89 percent) and South Africa (88.8 percent).
Perceptions improved sharply in Britain and Thailand, which rose 9.2 and 9.4 percentage points to 87.4 percent and 86.2 percent, respectively. Britain was the only European country to show above-average favorability toward Korea.
Even in countries where views were traditionally lukewarm, such as China and Japan, positive opinions gained ground. China’s score climbed 3.6 percentage points to 62.8 percent, while Japan rose 5.4 points to 42.2 percent — more than double its 2018 level of 20 percent.
Cultural content, such as K-pop, dramas and films, was cited as the biggest factor influencing positive perceptions, mentioned by 45.2 percent of respondents. The impact was strongest in Asian countries, including the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam. Modern lifestyle, products and brands, and the economy also contributed to Korea’s appeal.
The survey found that video platforms were the most common source of exposure to Korea at 64.4 percent, followed by social networks (56.6 percent), websites (46.7 percent) and broadcast media (32.8 percent).
In-depth interviews with international students and foreign correspondents in South Korea highlighted positive assessments of the “resilience” of the country’s democratic system, demonstrated by the process of its recovering from the aftermath of former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law fiasco, which occurred nearly a year before the interviews.
The survey was conducted on 13,000 people aged 16 and older in 26 countries, including South Korea, from Oct. 1-31 last year. Korean respondents were excluded from the results to gauge the country’s favorability among foreigners.
Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.
Electoral commission says two parties aligned with President Patrice Talon win all 109 seats in the assembly.
Published On 18 Jan 202618 Jan 2026
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President Patrice Talon’s ruling alliance has won full control of Benin’s National Assembly in legislative elections, according to provisional results.
The electoral commission said on Saturday night that of the five parties running in the January 11 vote, only the Progressive Union for Renewal and the Republican Bloc – both aligned with Talon – won seats in the assembly.
The Progressive Union for Renewal will have 60 MPs while the Republican Bloc will have 49.
According to a new electoral code, a party must obtain 20 percent of the national vote and 20 percent in each of the 24 electoral districts to be eligible for seat allocation.
The main opposition party, The Democrats, won about 16 percent of the vote and failed to reach the threshold.
The results strengthen the presidential bloc’s hand going into the presidential election in April, in which 67-year-old Talon, who has ruled the country for a decade, is barred from standing again by term limits.
His handpicked successor, Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, is expected to succeed him. The Democrats, meanwhile, are barred from standing in the presidential polls after failing to gather enough signatures to register.
The same rule sidelined them from local elections that were held alongside last week’s legislative polls.
“These results confirm the struggle that [The Democrats] party has been waging for about two years,” Guy Mitokpe, spokesperson for The Democrats, said, according to The Associated Press news agency.
“We denounced this electoral code, saying that it heavily favoured parties aligned with the president. It’s an exclusionary electoral code. As proof, we won’t have a candidate in the presidential election, and we were excluded from the municipal elections.”
Turnout in last weekend’s elections was 36.7 percent, officials said, roughly on par with the 37 percent in the last legislative polls in 2023.
The legislative vote took place weeks after a deadly military coup attempt to overthrow Talon, which lasted a few hours on December 7 before authorities announced it had been foiled.
Under a November constitutional reform, the presidential term was extended to seven years with a two-term limit.
As the series, which has already been renewed for a third season, drew to a close, a title card appeared in memory of Judy Ann Prachyl and fans are keen to find out more about her role in the show.
Judy died on December 18, 2025 and she was a self-confessed fan of the Yellowstone series and Sheridan himself.
She was described in the series as the “nursing home OG” and she was from Weatherford, Texas, like Sheridan and his Bosque Ranch.
In an obituary shared online, a special mention is made of Sheridan’s wife Nicole, suggesting she was personally connected to the family.
While she did not have an acting role in Landman, she holds a place in the hearts of Sheridan and his family, as well as the wider Texas community.
The online tribute shared how Judy retired from Weatherford Independent School District where she worked in administration.
She also worked as a volunteer at St Stephen Catholic Church and often took part in church events and services.
Judy was “known for her vibrant personality and beautiful smile” and the obituary said her “spirit will continue to inspire those she leaves behind, and her impact on her community will forever be felt”.
Referencing Sheridan’s wife, it went on to say: “The family would like to give a special heart-filled thanks to Nicole Sheridan, Traci Werne-Morrison and Johnny Holt for the love and care they had for Judy during the last few years.”
The Landman season two finale also highlighted some significant turning points for the characters, with Tommy turning his attention to a solo venture.
For fans of the series, the tribute to Judy offered a look into the personal side of the show’s creative process.
Even though Judy was not involved in the show in any way, the tribute clearly meant a great deal to Sheridan and his team.
The series will return to Paramount Plus with season three in the near future.
Picture this: You’re scrolling TikTok when a video grabs your attention — it’s a packed dance floor at an L.A. venue, lights low and moody with people vibing together as clips from “Heated Rivalry,” the hit queer hockey romance, flicker across the walls. The crowd sings along to pulse-thumping anthems from Britney Spears, Charli XCX and Bad Bunny, with a Paramore sing-along thrown in for everyone’s inner emo babe. Cheers erupt whenever favorite moments with the show’s central couple, Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander — played by Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, respectively — come to life around them.
A TikTok offering a glimpse of this gathering, posted by Raven Yamamoto at a Heated Rivalry Night at the Vermont Hollywood, reads: “Never kill yourself. Just go to Heated Rivalry Night.”
The sentiment is tongue-in-cheek, but the feeling behind it is not. The dance party held at the Vermont and organized by Club 90s, channels the sensuous vacation-from-reality energy adored by fans of the TV show, and the book series it’s based on, that premiered in November and became a breakout hit for HBO Max. The show, acquired from the Canadian streamer Crave, has already been renewed for a second season and made stars out of its two leads, whose steamy onscreen romance has given rise to a new fandom and sprung a series of events that reflect its culture.
Heated Rivalry Night, curated by Club 90s founder and DJ Jeffrey Lyman, began as a single event that quickly sold out, leading to extra dates — another is being held at the Vermont on Sunday — and more than 100 multi-city pop-ups are planned over the next few months in places like Brooklyn, Washington, D.C., Chicago and London. Social media, particularly TikTok, has amplified the events, turning clips from the dance floor into viral, word-of-mouth-fueled promotion. The events almost didn’t happen: After a supporter emailed requesting a themed night, Lyman hadn’t considered it before because the show’s soundtrack has limited danceable music. But between his love for the series and an “I’ll figure it out” mindset, he dove in.
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1.Heated Rivalry Night features different genres of music and clips from the TV series play on the walls of the venue.(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)2.Kaliah Dabee, center, sings during the event at the Vermont Hollywood.(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
“Me and my co-video creator were just working nonstop all week long figuring out how to make the night work. We found all these edits on TikTok and trimmed them into full-on music videos for the night, and then put together the show in four days. I had no idea what to expect. The response was just insane,” Lyman recalls. “Every single post I saw on TikTok was from the night, with hundreds of thousands of views and comments. I was like, all right, we gotta get this thing going because everyone was requesting us in every single city.”
The event has become a space for fans to gather and feel understood, surrounded by others who are drawn to the show’s tenderness, longing, steamy sex and emotional intensity that define it. For many, the universe also sparks a quiet, personal question: Is that sort of romance real — and could it exist in my own life too?
“Nights like these make life worth living. I had so much fun, more fun than I’ve had at a club in a long time,” says Yamamoto, whose entire friend group was “obsessed” with “Heated Rivalry” from the start. “I think it’s really easy to feel alone in a room with hundreds of people, even at events where you have something in common with everyone there.”
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But Heated Rivalry Night, he says, is different, noting the warmth and mutual comfort among the crowd members in attendance. “I mean, you could have shown up alone and left with 10 new friends,” Yamamoto adds.
That sense of community is exactly what Lyman hoped to create, where people of all ages, genders and sexual preferences can come together to celebrate the themes of the show.
“I think it resonates so much because the show is just beautiful, everything about it,” he says. “That’s been my ultimate goal with every party — one big accepting space where everyone can let their freak flag fly and be whoever they want, with no judgment.”
Music is another key element of that celebration.
“I want everyone to have their culture represented. I’m Latino myself, I love Bad Bunny — of course I had to throw him in. This is kind of a no-holds barred thing, I’m throwing in every genre,” Lyman says, highlighting how the eclectic music selection mirrors the crowd’s range of tastes. A typical night can seamlessly bounce from CupcakKe to Robyn, Chappell Roan to Beyoncé and Lady Gaga’s aughts banger “Telephone,” and also “Rivalry,” the show’s theme song by Peter Peter.
“I think it resonates so much because the show is just beautiful, everything about it,” says Heated Rivalry Night organizer Jeffrey Lyman. “That’s been my ultimate goal with every party — one big accepting space where everyone can let their freak flag fly and be whoever they want, with no judgment.”
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
Some moments hit even deeper emotionally. One of the standout sequences of a Heated Rivalry Night is when Lyman played a video montage of Shane coming out to his parents, set to Lorde’s “Supercut.”
“The first time I played it, I had, like, this emotional breakdown almost and I was in tears because everyone was cheering him on,” recalls Lyman, explaining that he didn’t personally get to come out to his family and the initial response was not positive or affirming. “And so flash forward so many years later, to have people literally screaming and cheering for this scene for him coming out — it blew my mind. And it just made me so happy for how far we’ve progressed in terms of acceptance.”
How the show has created a community
Ask a viewer on their umpteenth rewatch of “Heated Rivalry,” or a fan in the comments of a meticulous scene breakdown on TikTok, or a Hollanov enthusiast decked in cheeky merch, and the answer is consistently clear: The “Heated Rivalry” universe is a world that feels good to inhabit and revisit. In Los Angeles, the interest in the show has inspired other events as well, like “Heated Rivalry”-themed hot yoga and comedy shows, and fan-made merch, ranging from cozy blankets to graphic tees to custom hockey jerseys, has become ubiquitous.
Jose Bizuet, an educator in training, is still relatively new to the series — he’s four episodes into “Heated Rivalry” — but loves it so far. Waiting in line to enter the Vermont, Bizuet explained his motivation for attending the event.
Fans have created “Heated Rivarly” merch and several events themed to the TV show have emerged in L.A. and beyond.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
“I feel like a lot of spaces aren’t accepting of queer bodies, but I know that this space will be accepting of it,” he says. “I’m just excited to have fun, be with my friends, explore different bodies, and just have fun with everybody.”
Inside, pop hits and 2000s classics played alongside clips of Ilya and Shane, as well as fan edits — like a montage of the character Scott Hunter (played by François Arnaud) set to Usher’s “Daddy’s Home” and the infamous IYKYK Google Drive edit set to Megan Thee Stallion’s “Big Ole Freak.” The latter, a fan-made video of Ilya and Shane, was originally shared widely on Google Drive before becoming difficult to find in full, making it a treasured “if you know, you know” gem among the fandom — and the kind of moment that had the crowd cheering in recognition.
Rachel Jackson and Nicole Chamberlain have loved hockey — and a good romance story — for years; they’re fans of the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks, respectively. “This series was right up our alley. We fell in love with it and read a bunch of the books,” says Jackson as she waited in line to enter the Vermont.
Chamberlain adds: “It’s cool to be part of something, and it’s just lovely to see the community rally around this story.”
Partygoers wearing Rozanov and Hollander hockey jerseys at Heated Rivalry Night. Organizer Jeffrey Lyman says he’s be surprised by the response to the themed dance party.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
In a post-quarantine landscape marked by isolation and digital overload, fans described a hunger for physical spaces where online connection could translate into real-world presence. Queer nightlife has long functioned as both refuge and community, and Heated Rivalry Night slots neatly into that lineage.
“I think it’s really special that ‘Heated Rivalry’ has become so popular in the U.S. under an administration that relentlessly attacks the rights and livelihoods of queer people,” says Yamamoto. “Celebrating a show about queer love with so many other queer people and allies who understand that felt like a protest in some ways.”
Assessing ‘Heated Rivalry’s’ effect and influence
Rachel Reid, the author of the Game Changers book series that the show is based on, has been struck by the scale and intensity of the fandom that’s grown around “Heated Rivalry.” From watch parties at a resort in the Philippines to drag shows, themed skate nights, and lively gatherings at West Hollywood’s gay sports bar Hi Tops, she’s seen fans across the globe bring the story to life in ways both big and intimate.
“I wish I could get to them all. I’m so proud to be a part of something that’s making people so happy and is also creating community and creating safe places for people to go,” Reid says. “It’s a really good feeling. It’s been my favorite part of all of this.”
She says people have told her the show has helped them try to find romance again. “Quite a few people have reached out to tell me they’d given up on relationships, and watching ‘Heated Rivalry’ made them want to try again, to believe in falling in love. That’s been incredible to hear.”
The tender queer romance depicted in “Heated Rivalry” has been refreshing for viewers. From left, François Arnaud, Robbie G.K., Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams in scenes from the show.(Sabrina Lantos/HBO Max)
The prioritization of queer joy and queer pleasure are foundational to the show, which is present even during emotional highs and lows, and that’s intentional. The trauma, harrowing ordeals or deaths that are typically depicted onscreen, and that audiences have come to expect from queer TV and films, were refreshingly absent.
“That’s extremely important to me, and I knew it was important to Jacob Tierney as well, who made the show,” says Reid. When the two brainstormed the creative direction, Reid says they were on the same page. “It would just be joyful. And it would be sexy in a way that nobody got punished for it. It was really important to me and really important to him, and I think it came through in the show for sure.”
Jacob Tierney, who adapted, wrote and directed the series for television, echoed this perspective. “Rachel’s book is unapologetically queer joy, and from the very first read, I knew I wanted to bring this shamelessly funny, glorious, romantic story to life, complete with the kind of happy ending that gay people so rarely see in the media,” he says.
He told Reid he wanted to honor the book with the seriousness it deserves.
“At a time when queer lives and love are still so often framed through pain or erasure, I felt it was important to tell a story that celebrates pleasure, tenderness, and happiness as something worth protecting,” Tierney adds. “Watching the series bring people together and spark meaningful conversations about how these stories are told has been profoundly moving.”
“Watching the series bring people together and spark meaningful conversations about how these stories are told has been profoundly moving,” says Jacob Tierney, who adapted “Heated Rivalry” for television.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
As the night wound down in Hollywood, partygoers lingered, sweaty and smiling, voices raspy from singing with friends and strangers who felt like friends.
Outside, the crowd spilled onto the sidewalk, already talking about the next Heated Rivalry Night. For a few hours, the story had leapt off the screen into something tangible — proof that the right song, room and people can make all the difference.
“Heated Rivalry” cannot fix all of the world’s ills, of course, but its influence is evident in Los Angeles and beyond. “It gave us a reason to dance. We haven’t had a lot of those in the past year,” Yamamoto says.
THERE will be plenty of fans desperate to see Gareth Gates’ raunchy new stage show – but his teenage daughter isn’t one of them.
The singer admits his only child Missy is “mortified” at the thought of him stripping off during nostalgic concert, Boyband In The Buff.
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Ripped star Gareth GatesCredit: Joe MenghiniGareth shared this very rare pic of his daughter Missy as she turned 16Credit: instagram/garethgates
And despite being supportive of his career, the schoolgirl, 16 — who is just a few months younger than Gareth was when he first found fame on 2002’s Pop Idol — doesn’t want to see posters of her topless dad promoting the Magic Mike-style extravaganza.
The show is a nostalgic, cheeky concert tour starring a scantily clad Gareth and a cast of male performers — also in minimal clothing — belting out hits from Nineties and Noughties boybands including Take That, Blue, NSYNC and Backstreet Boys.
In an exclusive interview, Gareth says: “Missy is mortified. She goes to school in Wiltshire and she’s very pleased that I’m not going to a theatre near there.
“She says she couldn’t handle seeing Daddy topless on a poster so close to her school.
“When I first told her about it, she was speechless. She went, ‘What?!’
“She was shocked. She’s always been a big fan of everything I’ve done, but she’s sceptical about this one. She may well want to see some of the other lads on stage — she’s of that age — but not her dad!”
Gareth and Missy have a close bond and the singer, who lives mostly in West London, has even bought a second home near her boarding school to see more of her.
He says: “Any opportunity I get to go down there and see her, I do.
‘Raunchy and cheeky’
“I just gravitate there when I’m not on the road because it’s tough being away from her.
“I bought it a year before Covid and locked down there with her – which was perfect, as I hadn’t ever had that amount of time with her before.
“We have a great relationship and I feel very lucky. She’s a beautiful soul inside and out. I’m very proud of her.
“Fatherhood changes you as a person — your whole perspective of life.
“You’re not living for yourself any more, you are living for somebody else.
“I’ll always perform because I love it and it’s what I do best, but I invest in other areas, such as property, and I’m producing now.
“It’s all to give her the best life possible and to leave her a bit of an empire when I’m not around.”
Gareth continues: “The hardest thing about being on tour is being away from her. As I’m getting older, I’m trying to put into place that I don’t have to be away as much.
“I can produce shows and be at home with her a bit more, because you miss out on key moments when you’re away, which is tough.”
I’ll always perform because I love it and it’s what I do best, but I invest in other areas, such as property, and I’m producing now
Gareth Gates
Gareth reckons that as his daughter hits her late teens, it won’t hurt to have him around keeping an eye on her.
He says: “Missy is 16 now, which is quite scary for Daddy. She’s a very sensible girl, though.
“She goes to dance class and singing every night of the week, so she’s keeping busy and keeping away from boys – or so she tells me!”
At a similar age, Gareth, now 41, had a colourful love life.
After finishing as runner-up on Pop Idol to Will Young, he hooked up with Katie Price while she was pregnant with her son Harvey.
And in her book, Being Jordan, she claimed that she took his virginity.
Then, in 2008, Gareth married Missy’s mum — dancer Suzanne Mole.
Gareth, left, found fame on 2002’s Pop Idol, alongside Zoe Birkett, Darius Danesh, Hayley Evetts and winner Will YoungCredit: AlamyGareth with Suzanne in 2008, before they tied the knotCredit: James Curley
The pair split after four years amid claims he cheated on her with Corrie actress Faye Brookes.
Gareth and Faye were together on and off for seven years, before splitting for good in 2018.
And from 2020 to December 2022, he was in a relationship with DJ Chloe McLennan.
Gareth has been with West End actress and singer Allana Taylor, 26, for the past three years after they appeared together in panto.
He says: “The show’s name was actually Allana’s idea. She’s in the industry herself, so she’s fully supportive. Our relationship is going from strength to strength.
“We live together and we have a brand new puppy together called Lady Gates, so we’ll see what happens in the future.”
Gareth has had a successful career after finding fame on Pop Idol and releasing his single Unchained Melody, which went to No1 in 2002.
Boyband In The Buff is not just a male strip show. It has elements of that. There’s water involved — there’s a shower scene — so we’re in swimwear. It’s raunchy and cheeky
He not only stars in Boyband In The Buff but he produces it, too.
The idea for the musical came from seeing the success of the Magic Mike films and West End show.
And part of his research involved going to strip shows for real.
Gareth says: “With my producer hat on, I saw that Magic Mike was doing very well and I wanted a slice of that pie, so there’s that same look and choreography.
“Boyband In The Buff is not just a male strip show. It has elements of that. There’s water involved — there’s a shower scene — so we’re in swimwear. It’s raunchy and cheeky.
Gareth with soap beauty ex Faye Brookes in 2018Credit: Splash NewsThe Pop Idol runner-up fell for DJ Chloe McLennan in 2020Credit: Refer to Source
“We get girls on stage and we celebrate the male form, but it’s not full frontal nudity.
“I have seen a couple of these types of shows for research and there are ones that make you cringe.
“Ours isn’t that show. Plus, we sing, so it’s a pop concert as well.
“Obviously, a lot of the people who come to see it will remember the hits — it’s a very nostalgic night — so we’ll take them back to their youth.”
Gareth has transformed himself from a skinny Bradford teenager into a man with bulging muscles.
He works out every day for two hours, lifting weights and bench pressing almost 19st.
The star says of combining his first loves on stage: “I’ve always loved boyband music – I sang the Westlife song, Flying Without Wings, for my Pop Idol audition.
The star’s current partner, actress Allana TaylorCredit: GettyGareth on Pop IdolCredit: Alpha Photo Press Agency
“I’m also a big gym-goer, so it’s marrying my two passions.
“I’ve cast four amazing lads who are all big West End performers — great singers and great dancers — but they just so happen to look half decent without a top on.
‘Held back by stutter’
“There’s nothing like the fear of getting your kit off on stage to kick you up the backside to go to the gym.
“The show is actually just an extension of what I do.
“I train very hard in the gym — I won Celebrity SAS two years ago – and now I’m a male stripper. Some people have said that the pictures of me with my shirt off look like AI, but it really isn’t.
“I rarely go out these days, I rarely drink and I feel better for it. Hand on heart, I feel the best I’ve ever felt.”
I rarely go out these days, I rarely drink and I feel better for it
Gareth Gates
When the Boyband In The Buff tour ends in October, Gareth is producing his first panto — Beauty And The Beast in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk – in which he also stars.
And he is producing a new West End show, which is a transfer from Broadway and likely to open in early 2027, plus two soon-to-be released films.
Meanwhile, he has written a musical entitled Speechless, about a man who stammers, which is based on his own experiences. Gareth’s stutter dates back to his childhood.
These days he manages it with the help of a speech therapist and a speech coach, who sits in remotely on all his interviews to support him and remind him to talk more slowly.
Gareth explains: “Stammering isn’t just repetition of sound. It really controls you.
“You can’t be the person that you want to be because you’re held back by your affliction. That can be very hard at times. The thought of a live interview on TV still, 24 years on, fills me with terror.”
For more information about Gareth’s musical stage show or to buy tickets, see boybandinthebuff.com.
Former X Factor star Chris Leonard has opened up about his experience on the show and the double-edged sword after finding himself in the live finals with his bandmates
Daniel Bird Assistant Celebrity and Entertainment Editor
12:00, 17 Jan 2026
Former X Factor contestant Chris Leonard has opened up about his experience on the show(Image: Shillelagh Law)
A former X Factor finalist has revealed the heartbreaking reality of his time on the programme. Chris Leonard, who found himself thrust into the live shows as one eighth of the manufactured band Stereo Kicks, had initially auditioned as a solo artist.
Chris and his bandmates instantly became a hit with fans but finished the programme in fifth place during series 11, which Ben Haenow went on to win.
But Chris, 30, admits that while he loved the experience the show gave him and helped further his career, he admits his time on the show was a “mixture” of feelings. 11 years on from Stereo Kicks splitting in 2015, the County Meath-born singer is now touring across the world with his traditional Irish band, Shillelagh Law. Speaking about his time on the show, which saw Louis Walsh act as their mentor, Chris told the Mirror: “The show was a real mixture.
“One thing that many people don’t realise is, I developed an eating disorder after the show. I got so sucked into the image side of things, I think my image was always in question within the band.
“It was between shaving my head and not being allowed to be myself. People always questioned my image, which was because what was being put out there wasn’t who I was. There was none of my personality. I think that affected me because I had a feeling or an expectation of people expecting me to live up to it.
“There were difficult parts on the show as a result, but there were also the normal sides. If it wasn’t for X Factor, I wouldn’t get to do the things I’m doing today, get to play with the people that I’ve played with, or have the experiences I’ve had. I’m very grateful.” But if he could turn back time, would he do it again? Absolutely, he would just be a braver 19-year-old from Ireland and stand up for himself more.
However, one of his all-time highlights in his music career happened on X Factor, sharing the stage with Queen legend, Sir Brian May. “As a musician and a guitar player, to see Brian May was just insane. It was absolutely wild,” Chris gushed.
One fond memory he has, sitting in Louis Walsh’s dressing room with JLS members, Marvin, Aston and JB. He revealed: “We were having a couple of drinks and they turned around and said ‘Chris, just be prepared, when this is over, when the X Factor bubble pops, it’s done, the phone stops ringing – it’s down to your management to keep that buzz after.’
“If it wasn’t for them saying that to me, I wouldn’t have been as prepared. I’m so grateful for that.” While Chris was young at 19, his bandmate Reece was just 16, and Charlie was 15. Now, he hopes that TV shows have measures in place to help contestants with their mental health and navigate their newfound profile. He said: “I haven’t been on that side of everything in a long time, but I’d like to think these networks and companies that do talent shows have now put the correct measures in place and do look after contestants’ mental health.”
And following the rise of December 10, created by Simon Cowell on his new Netflix show, Chris encouraged the band to “stay humble” and realise that, despite being on a TV show or in a band, they’re still young men trying to make music. “You have to work harder,” he said, adding: “Keep your ego in check and be kind to people, don’t think you’re above anybody.”
While he may have been on arguably the biggest show on TV, Chris never for a second thought of himself as famous. Instead, he was just a young lad from Ireland chasing his dream. “Egos can kick in, and work ethic can slip,” he said of people who get above themselves.
He said of December 10: “My advice would be keep your feet on the ground, focus on the music that you’re doing, make sure you’ve got two or three good people around you that you can confide in that actually have your best interests at heart and just be a good person.”
If you’re worried about your health or the health of somebody else, you can contact SEED eating disorder support service on 01482 718130 or on their website, here.
Harry Blitzstein, the tireless L.A. painter who ran the Blitzstein Museum of Art on Fairfax Avenue, has died. He was 87. His death was confirmed on Instagram by his daughter, Andrea Blitzstein, who wrote, “He was an artist who truly loved what he did and continued creating until the very end.”
Blitzstein was a true Los Angeles character and a beloved member of the neighborhood, having opened his storefront museum across from Canter’s Deli three decades ago to exclusively show his own art. The space quickly gained a reputation for being a welcoming, colorful venue that held a particular fascination for young artists inspired by Blitzstein’s pure joy for the act of creation, critics and sales be damned.
In interviews, Blitzstein often noted that the difficulties of getting gallery shows, and the disappointments that often followed, led him to open the space, which he stocked with an ever-growing hodge-podge of his surreal, imaginative, sometimes dark, often playful, paintings.
“Cuteness exaggerated to the point that it becomes savagely funny and horror so overwhelming it explodes with hysterical laughter are the order of the day here,” reads an 1986 L.A. Times review of a 25-year retrospective of Blitzstein’s work. “Blitzstein blends the unbridled dementia of Ralph L. Steadman, the evil fleshiness of Hieronymous Bosch and the anarchistic intelligence of Bunuel in his sendups of art history classics and the American way.”
Harry Blitzstein was born in 1938 at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital and raised in Boyle Heights, where his father operated a shoe store called Fair Shoes. In the mid-1950s, Bitzstein’s dad moved the shop to the same Fairfax storefront that Blitztein later used for his museum. After graduating from Los Angeles High School, Blitzstein attended UCLA for a year, before transferring to Pomona College. He later earned an MFA at Claremont Graduate School.
He soon began painting in earnest.
“I had 9 wonderful one-man shows in Los Angeles and finally opened up my own gallery on Fairfax Avenue 32 years ago,” Blitzstein said in a 2023 interview in Voyage L.A. magazine. “I have been painting for approximately 70 years and would like to go for another year or two.”
Blitzstein did just that.
“There’s LACMA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and this is my little museum,” Blitzstein said in a short film made in August by Josh Polon and Philip Hodges, for the “Life in a Day” documentary. “I’ve been painting for over 50 years, still trying to receive a recognition that I have not achieved … all I have to do is put on Bob Dylan and get the rhythm going, and the paint going, and the tears are rolling. You’re feeling and you just start painting.”
I’m arts editor Jessica Gelt reminding myself that creating art is a lifelong pursuit and should never be inhibited by a lack of traditional success. The true measure of success is the work itself — and your love for it. Blitzstein’s life and work prove that.
On our radar
Debbie Allen will participate in “Dancing in the Light: Healing With the Arts” on Sunday.
(Debbie Allen Dance Academy)
“Dancing in the Light: Healing With the Arts” In support of those affected by last year’s fires and other members of the community, Debbie Allen, DADA Master teachers and world-class choreographers offer this free, daylong dance class in a variety of genres. Register online in advance; all abilities and levels of experience, ages 9 and up, are welcome. 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Debbie Allen Dance Academy, 1850 S. Manhattan Place, Los Angeles. debbieallendanceacademy.wufoo.com
“North Wall” by Norman Zammitt, 1976. Acrylic on canvas. 96 1/4 by 168 1/8 inches.
Norman Zammitt The underappreciated Southland artist, who died in 2007, was known for his mural-size paintings and exacting use of color. The exhibition “A Degree of Light” focuses on two of his most important bodies of work, a series of laminated-acrylic pole sculptures and the abstract Band Paintings, which reflect his use of mathematical, formal and spiritual inquiries, then-groundbreaking industrial and computer technologies, and embrace of the poetics of experience. Opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Feb. 14. Karma, 7351 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. karmakarma.org
Eddie Izzard in “The Tragedy of Hamlet.”
(Carol Rosegg)
Izzard: The Tragedy of Hamlet As one might expect from such a singular performer, this is not your usual take on Shakespeare’s notorious Danish prince. Adapted by Mark Izzard and directed by Selina Cadell, this solo performance entails the comic Eddie Izzard playing 23 characters, ranging from gravedigger to royalty, putting her years of marathon training to a true test. 7 p.m. Thursday and Jan. 29; 8 p.m. Jan. 23-24, Jan. 30-31; 3 p.m. Jan. 25. The Montalban Theatre 1615 Vine St. eddieizzardhamlet.com
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The week ahead: A curated calendar
SATURDAY Lunar New Year at the Wallis It’s the Year of the Horse — energetic, free-spirited and intelligent. Celebrate it with two events: the free Family Fest, featuring immersive arts and crafts, traditional foods and performances and presentations by Qing Wei Lion and Dragon Dance Cultural Troupe, Cold Tofu Improv Comedy Troupe, East Wind Foundation, Gamin Music, Beverly Hills Public Library, City of Beverly Hills Community Services Department, and DJ Moni Vargas; and Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s production of “The Great Race,” the story of the Chinese Zodiac, written and directed by Reiko Ho (two ticketed performances at the Lovelace Studio Theatre, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.) 11 a.m.-2 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org
A Grand Baroque Salon The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is joined by harpsichordist Pierre Hantaï, violinists Margaret Batjer and Josefina Vergara and flutist Sandy Hughes for a program featuring J.S. Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto, No. 5,” plus works by Rameau, LeClair and C.P.O. Bach (Johann Sebastain’s son). 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The Huntington, Rothenberg Hall, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino; 4 p.m. Sunday. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. laco.org
Scott Dunn conducts the Scott Dunn Orchestra in rehearsal. The group performs Saturday night at the Wallis.
(Kevin Parry)
Monsters, Murders, Spies and Space The Scott Dunn Orchestra fêtes “Those Fabulous Films of the Seventies,” performing memorable scores by Lalo Schifrin, Miklós Rósza, Ennio Morricone, Jerry Goldsmith, Michel Legrand, Marvin Hamlisch, David Shire, Richard Rodney Bennett, Johnny Mandel, Nino Rota and John Williams. 7:30 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org
Busoni Piano Concerto Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and pianist Igor Levit team up with the L.A. Philharmonic and Los Angeles Master Chorale for this mammoth piece in five movements requiring more than 100 musicians. 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
The Peking Acrobats will perform at the Carpenter Center in Long Beach on Saturday.
(Tom Meinhold Photography)
The Peking Acrobats The internationally renowned troupe performs daring feats of balance, strength, grace and contortion. Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. Carpenter Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. carpenterarts.org
Goodfellas Producer Irwin Winkler and co-screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi join the American Cinematheque for a 35th anniversary screening of Martin Scorsese’s gangster epic starring Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, the latter of whom won an Oscar for supporting actor for his role as gangster Tommy DeVito. 7 p.m. Saturday. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. americancinematheque.com
MONDAY
Laura Dern and Nicolas Cage in David Lynch’s “Wild at Heart,” screening Jan. 26 at the Academy Museum.
(Samuel Goldwyn Co.)
Wild at Heart and Weird on Top: A Tribute to David Lynch The Academy Museum marks the one-year anniversary of the visionary filmmaker’s death with a five-film series highlighted by appearances from actors Kyle MacLachlan (“Blue Velvet”) and Laura Dern (“Inland Empire” and “Wild at Heart”). “Blue Velvet,” 7:30 p.m. Monday; “Lost Highway,” 7:30 p.m. Jan. 23; “Mulholland Drive,” 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24; “Inland Empire,” 6:30 p.m. Jan. 25; “Wild at Heart,” 7:30 p.m. Jan.26. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
THURSDAY Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Windy City ensemble’s director emeritus Riccardo Solti conducts the group in a repertoire that includes Brahms, Ravel, Stravinsky, Hindemith and Johann Strauss Jr. on a two-week western states tour that includes Southern California stops: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert; 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Soraya, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge; 7:30 p.m. Jan. 23. at the Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara; and 8 p.m. Jan. 24 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 300 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. cso.org
More Miracles The Actors’ Gang presents original one-act plays: “Nun Fight” by Willa Fossum; “16 Summers” by Ayindé Howell; and “In Recovery” by Mary Eileen O’Donnell. 8 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays, through Feb. 21; 8 p.m. Jan. 23; 2 p.m. Jan. 25, Feb. 8 and 15. The Actors’ Gang, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City. theactorsgang.com
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Theater seats.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Report cards for L.A. theaters’ artistic directors Times theater critic Charles McNulty took the start of a new year as an opportunity to assess the accomplishments of the artistic leaders of three of the city’s most influential theater companies: Center Theatre Group’s Snehal Desai; Geffen Playhouse’s Tarell Alvin McCraney; and Pasadena Playhouse’s Danny Feldman. Spoiler alert: Nobody scored lower that a B, which speaks to the strength of theater in L.A., but McNulty did issue some advice and gentle criticism that could help inform the group’s decision-making moving forward. “Theaters across America are holding on for dear life, so it might not seem fair to evaluate the artistic records of these leaders when the primary goal right now is survival. But there are better and worse ways of staying alive. And a reckoning with trade-offs can help clarify the values driving decision-making,” McNulty writes.
People enjoy the newly reopened Noah’s Ark exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.
(Dania Maxwell/For The Times)
Two-by-two I had the pleasure of taking my daughter to the Skirball Cultural Center to try out its newly renovated Noah’s Ark exhibit, as well as its new Bloom Garden. The 18-year-old exhibit just reopened after closing down for three months for updates that included theatrical lighting, new interactive components such as a giant olive tree and an ancillary garden filled with edible fruit trees and herbs. “The goal is not to change the story, but to bring forward a chapter that’s always been there — that moment after the storm, when the work begins,” said Rachel Stark, vice president of education and family programs at the Skirball.
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For in that sleep of death what dreams may come … Tina Packer, the founding artistic director of Shakespeare & Company, has died. She was 87. Packer was born in 1938 in Wolverhampton, England, and raised in Nottingham. She trained in acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and later worked as an associate artist at the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as appearing in a variety of TV shows including “David Copperfield” and “Doctor Who.” Packer moved to the Berkshires in Massachusetts, where in 1978 she co-founded Shakespeare & Company with fellow actor, director and writer Dennis Krausnick — whom she would later marry. The celebrated acting teacher Kristin Linklater, and a number of other theater artists also helped establish the company, which claimed Edith Wharton’s home in Lenox, Mass., as its first venue.
Call it an art tariff The Louvre, which has had a string of bad luck lately, including news of severely deteriorating infrastructure and a notorious broad-daylight heist, has announced that it is raising ticket prices for non-EU visitors by 45% — charging 32 euros instead of 22 euros with the goal of boosting much-needed revenue. (Hopefully, it’s still free the first Friday of the month after 6 p.m., except in July and August.)
Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be revealed Thursday in a livestream that’s sure to spur some chatter. While critics seem to agree on a few locks, as this month’s Golden Globes — and last year’s Oscars, for that matter — proved, there’s always room for surprise.
Here’s everything you need to know about the announcement.
How can I watch?
Actors Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman will announce the nominees in all 24 categories, including the new casting award, in a livestream from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The presentation will kick off at 5:30 a.m. Pacific, and viewers can tune in live to the Academy’s website and social media platforms or to ABC’s “Good Morning America.” It will also stream on “ABC News Live,” Disney+ and Hulu. American Sign Language services will be available on YouTube. Nine of the categories will be revealed at 5:30 a.m., and the 15 remaining ones will be announced at 5:41 a.m. after a short break.
Brooks received an Oscar nomination for her role in “The Color Purple” (2024), and Pullman starred in “Top Gun: Maverick,” which won the Oscar for sound in 2023. He also co-starred alongside Amanda Seyfried in “The Testament of Ann Lee,” another awards contender this season.
When are the Oscars?
The 98th Academy Awards will take place on March 15 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC, with streaming available on Hulu. The show starts at 4 p.m. Pacific.
Who’s hosting the awards show?
Conan O’Brien will return as host after his knockout performance in 2025, which helped the show draw its biggest audience in five years.
As Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Chief Executive Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang said in a notably early announcement of O’Brien’s encore, “Conan was the perfect host — skillfully guiding us through the evening with humor, warmth and reverence.”
The seasoned comic this past year made an appearance in Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” whose star Rose Byrne is likely to receive a nod in the actress category.
Who are the projected front-runners?
Ryan Coogler’s horror standout “Sinners” is projected to lead nominations with as many as 15. Along with Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” the film may tie or even break the record for most Oscar nominations (14), which was first set by “All About Eve” (1951) and later matched by “Titanic” (1998) and “La La Land” (2017).
Other top contenders include Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” which took the best drama Golden Globe, Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” and Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme.” Plus, after “The Secret Agent” notched a couple Globes wins, the Brazilian political thriller has its sights set on an Oscar next.
As for the individual categories, “Hamnet’s” Jessie Buckley is a sure bet for actress, and Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio are shoo-ins for their roles in “Marty Supreme” and “One Battle,” respectively. Chalamet beat DiCaprio for the Golden Globe Award on Sunday.
Appearing on BBC Breakfast alongside fellow Gladiator Diamond on Friday (January 16), Giant hinted at “some good surprises” and shared a behind-the-scenes secret.
Speaking to hosts Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt, he revealed: “We had a little, I’m letting you into an inside secret this time. So the previous series we’ve been kept away from the contenders while they’re training. This time we’ve been allowed a little look while they’re training.”
Naga playfully responded with: “Oh, that’s not fair!” as Giant, whose real name is Jamie Christian-Johal, explained: “We’re sizing them up a little bit.”
Diamond chimed in, reminding everyone that “they’ve been able to watch us the last time,” leading Giant to agree that things were now “even”.
“There’s a few big guys, strong-looking girls,” he observed. “And then you think, right, he’s my target.”
Discussing this year’s contenders, Diamond, real name Livi Sheldon, commented: “I think every year they get stronger.”
She added: “Even though we go up on to like, Duel for example, and we hit everyone off as hard as we can, it’s all really friendly afterwards and stuff and we support and we encourage the contenders as well because at the end of the day it’s a huge thing for them to come up against us.”
Giant revealed: “I would say this season is ramped up on every single level. So there’s more interaction with contenders. We as a team of athletes and friends are just looking out for each other on all the games. There’s new games to look forward to.”
Naga then queried if they had become accustomed to the fan response.
“It really is amazing,” Diamond admitted. “I mean we walk down in supermarkets don’t we and we get stopped and asked for photos.”
“It’s lovely and for children, adults, everyone to recognise you, it just really shows the love for Gladiators, for how well it’s been received as the past three series,” she added.
For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new Everything Gossip website.
BBC Breakfast airs on BBC One from 6am and Gladiators returns to iPlayer and BBC One on Saturday January 17 from 5.45pm
US President Donald Trump says he wants to buy Greenland from Denmark and is not taking ‘no’ for an answer.
Ilulissat, Greenland – In the Arctic town of Ilulissat, perched beside an ice fjord in western Greenland, fisherman Joel Hansen says he is “terrified” about the prospect of a United States takeover of his home.
“One way or another”, US President Donald Trump has said, Greenland will become part of the US, and he is not ruling out military force to achieve that goal.
While the Trump administration argues that Greenland is geographically within the North American region and is vital for US security, observers say the US is equally interested in the island’s vast mineral wealth.
Hansen, who is half Inuit and half Danish, has been fishing among the towering icebergs in the waters off Ilulissat for the past 14 years and says he desperately does not want his life to change.
“I am terrified to be American,” he tells Al Jazeera. “I have seen Alaskan Inuits – how hard they are living.”
Despite the often tricky relationship between Greenland and Denmark, which began colonisation of the island in 1721, he is one resident who believes it might be better to be Danish after all, he says.
“I love Greenland because, when I’m fishing, we have freedom to work for ourselves.”
Rich in resources
While Greenland gained “home rule” in 1979 and then greater autonomy via the Self-Government Act of 2009, it remains part of Denmark and, therefore, politically part of Europe. But, geographically, it is in the region of North America.
Because the island is so remote and inhospitable, its rich deposits of zinc, iron, uranium and graphite are largely untapped. It is, however, believed to be home to the world’s eighth-largest deposits of much-sought-after rare-earth elements.
When processed, these have magnetic and electro-chemical properties which are vital for producing components of modern tech, such as wind turbines, electric vehicles, smartphones, missile systems and fighter jets.
The military applications are of particular concern to the US, it says, because China has about 60 percent of the world’s rare-earth elements – and processes 90 percent of them.
Greenland itself has only two operating mines, but Greenlanders believe they could build their own capacity to process minerals. “We have a lot of minerals in Greenland, so we can be a nation if we want,” says Hansen. “We don’t need money from Trump.”
‘We are totally different’
The prospect of the US descending on Greenland to tap its minerals has struck fear into Inuit communities around Ilulissat, which welcomed back the sunrise this week after near constant darkness during the polar night of the past two months.
In advance of a meeting between the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers with US US state secretary Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance in Washington on Wednesday, Inuit Greenlander Karl Sandgreen, head of the Ilulissat Icefjord visitor centre, told Al Jazeera, “My hope is that Rubio is going to have some humanity in that talk.”
His fears are for the Inuit way of life. “We are totally different. We are Inuit, and we’ve been living here for thousands of years. This is my daughter’s and my son’s future, not a future for people who are thinking about resources.”
THIS year, the UK will welcome a major new attraction, which has now been named the best thing to see in the UK for 2026.
The Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the Battle of Hastings, will be returning to the UK for the first time in nearly 1,000 years.
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The British Museum will host the Bayeux Tapestry later this yearCredit: GettyIt will mark the first time the tapestry has been in the UK in nearly 1,000 yearsCredit: AFP
The tapestry will be on display at the British Museum in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery from autumn 2026.
The tapestry measures 70 metres long and depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings.
Visitors will be able to see the embroidered tapestry, made with wool thread on linen cloth and explore the 58 scenes across the tapestry, with 626 characters and 202 horses.
It will be the first time that the tapestry has been shown in the UK since it was made, which was nearly 1,000 years ago.
In addition, the exhibition is expected to be one of the most popular ever at the British Museum.
Specific dates for the exhibition are yet to be revealed, but it is set to be between September 2026 and July 2027.
Tickets are also yet to be released, along with prices for the exhibition, but if tickets are in line with prices of other exhibitions at the museum, visitors can expect to pay between £20 and £28 per person.
It comes as The Bayeux Museum, where the tapestry has been since 1983, closed on September 1, 2025, for a two-year refurbishment.
In July last year, Nicholas Cullinan, director of the British Museum, said: “The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most important and unique cultural artefacts in the world, which illustrates the deep ties between Britain and France and has fascinated people across geographies and generations.
“It is hard to overstate the significance of this extraordinary opportunity of displaying it at the British Museum and we are profoundly grateful to everyone involved.”
And Time Out has now named this the best thing to see in the UK for 2026Credit: Getty
George Osborne, chair of the British Museum Trustees, said: “Once in a generation there’s a British Museum exhibition that eclipses all others.
“Think in previous ages of Tutankhamun and the Terracotta Warriors.
“The Bayeux Tapestry will be THE blockbuster show of our generation. I know it will capture the imagination of an entire nation.
“There is no other single item in British history that is so familiar, so studied in schools, so copied in art as the Bayeux Tapestry.”
A number of other new openings were named in Time Out’s top 10 things to see and do in the UK this year.
At number eight is the new historical theme park – Kynren – The Storied Lands – set to open in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, this summer.
The theme park will immerse visitors in multiple live shows and experiences that “span millennia” including a Medieval horse show, a viking show and a Victorian Adventure.
There will also be a lake that is transformed into a stage for The Legend of the Wear, where the Lambton Worm myth will be brought to life with visual effects and stunts.
In the future, the theme is slated to have even more shows, including themed experiences inspired by Robin Hood, Excalibur and the Tudors.
Time Out’s top things to see and do in 2026
THESE are the top 10 things to see and do in the UK this year, according to Time Out:
Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum, autumn 2026
Caerphilly Castle, Wales
Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, Belfast, August 2026
WOMAD festival, Wiltshire, July 2026
American Express presents Roundhay Festival, Leeds, July 2026
National Eisteddfod, Pembrokeshire, August 2026
Gladiators Experience, Birmingham NEC, May to August 2026
Kynren – The Storied Lands, Bishop Auckland, summer 2026
Commonwealth Games, Glasgow, July to August 2026
100th birthday of Winnie the Pooh, various events throughout 2026
In other attraction news, there’s a new Harry Potter experience where you can go on a real Hogwarts Express train ride to launch this year.
Plus, here’s everything we know about the historical theme park with no rides reveals opening plans for UK site with four ‘villages’, live shows and three hotels.
Tickets are yet to be released for the exhibition, but it is set to be the most popular exhibition at the British Museum yetCredit: Getty
This story contains spoilers for the fifth episode of “Fallout” Season 2.
On a sunny afternoon in late February 2025, members of the “Fallout” crew are setting up a suspended rig along a dusty road on their Santa Clarita set that will be used to film a scene where Walton Goggins’ character — a long-lived mutated survivor of the nuclear apocalypse known simply as the Ghoul — will get punched out a window.
A short walk away on an indoor stage, Ella Purnell and Kyle MacLachlan have been filming their characters’ long-anticipated reunion. The cameras are on Purnell’s Lucy MacLean, a sheltered former Vault dweller who’s traveled from the California coast to New Vegas in pursuit of her father.
“My little Sugarbomb,” says MacLachlan as Hank MacLean to a woozy Lucy just before she passes out. Among those observing the takes on the monitors are “Fallout” showrunners Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner.
Both moments take place within the final minutes of “The Wrangler,” the fifth episode of the Prime Video series’ second season, which sees Lucy and the Ghoul finally make their way through the streets of the post-apocalyptic remnants of Sin City after trekking through the Mojave Desert together.
An adaptation of the popular video game franchise, “Fallout” is set in an alternate future around 200 years after much of the world was decimated by nuclear bombs. Some Americans, including Lucy’s father Hank, survived by moving into a network of underground bunkers called Vaults, while others were left to fend for themselves in the Wasteland.
In a flashback, Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins) visits Las Vegas in “Fallout” Season 2.
(Lorenzo Sisti / Prime Video)
Unlike many of the locations featured in the series so far, New Vegas is one that fans of the franchise are very familiar with because it’s the setting of the 2010 game “Fallout: New Vegas.”
Although incorporating such an iconic setting came with its own challenges, the allure of taking the story to New Vegas was too irresistible for the show’s creative team.
“When Lucy left the Vault, she was very innocent, very naive,” says Robertson-Dworet. By the end of the first season, “she’s had a couple of weeks in the Wasteland and she’s certainly had her eyes opened a fair amount. But she is on a journey to follow her father and uncover even darker secrets. So the idea of taking her to the actual City of Sin was incredibly appealing at a metaphorical or character level.”
Audiences have seen how Lucy’s time on the surface world has been affecting her. And her first day in New Vegas has been a doozy: She encountered terrifying mutated reptilian creatures known as Deathclaws, has been dealing with a drug addiction, committed some theft and even killed a man.
“As we get closer to Vegas … you really start to get to see how much [the Ghoul has] rubbed off on her,” executive producer Jonathan Nolan says. “That fundamental question of ‘Is she willing to to break some of the same rules that he is?’ is one of the driving questions of the narrative. How far is too far and … how many of her carefully fostered beliefs … will survive the journey through the Wasteland?”
The Ghoul (Walton Goggins) sitting alone inside the Atomic Wrangler Hotel room in “Fallout.”
(Prime Video)
Bethesda Game Studios’ Todd Howard, who serves as an executive producer of the “Fallout” series, acknowledges that bringing New Vegas into the show for Season 2 added “an element of difficulty above and beyond that of Season 1.”
“It’s exciting because you’re going to an iconic ‘Fallout’ location, but it’s also tricky because players know it,” Howard explains. “It’s easier, creatively, to go someplace [players] don’t know, but to take the show to a place that they know and love so much, you really have to be extra careful.”
The dilemma for the show’s creative team involved the balance between video game accuracy and the realities of building practical sets. While using a digital background would enable the show to recreate the precise geography of the games, the team’s aim is to try to build and use as many real sets, props and effects as possible.
“Our feeling was always … that we can make it more cinematic, more tactile, if we actually build [New Vegas],” Robertson-Dworet says. “The trade off is going to be [that] maybe we are not going to get it right down to the pixel the way fans remember it. [But] the level of commitment to the games and [to] honoring the games as much as we possibly can is very real.”
Understandably, the “Fallout” crew was not able to build an entire city from the ground up. So instead of incorporating every building on the New Vegas map, they aimed to include some favorites along with ones that best served the story.
The “Fallout” cast and crew on the Freeside set in Santa Clarita.
(Lorenzo Sisti/Prime Video)
Freeside, which is the district that exists in the remnants of Las Vegas’ Fremont Street, was built on a lot in Santa Clarita previously used by shows like “Westworld” and “Deadwood,” while a defunct shopping mall was transformed into the New Vegas Strip.
“Because I’m dealing with real buildings that exist in the real world, it’s not laid out exactly the same as it is in the game,” says Howard Cummings, the show’s production designer. “I put some greatest hits of Freeside, essentially, in a three-block radius on one street. They are laid out progressively similar to the game, but not the [exact] relationship in the actual game.”
One of the focal points in Freeside is the Atomic Wrangler, a multi-story casino and bar with lodging that was featured in “Fallout: New Vegas.”
“The Atomic Wrangler was so specific in the game,” says Cummings. “It has specific architecture and has this terrific neon sign that I love with the cowboy … There’s no way to take [a building that] already existed [on set] and have it look like the Atomic Wrangler … so I put a facade in front of a facade.”
Some of that wizardry went into the interior of the Atomic Wrangler as well. The first floor bar area, for instance, is actually housed in a different building across the dirt street.
“It was the old saloon in ‘Westworld,’” says Cummings, who was also the production designer on Nolan’s sci-fi western that aired for four seasons on HBO. “Turning that into a ‘50s nightclub was really fun. What used to be the stage in the old saloon got shifted to the other side.”
Lucy (Ella Purnell) browses the merchandise in Sonny’s Sundries.
(Prime Video)
The “Fallout” series marks the first television project for Howard, who is known for his work on the “Fallout” and “Elder Scrolls” series of video games. Besides the scale of the production, what has surprised him the most has been just how much the show does utilize practical designs and effects.
“I thought more of it would be fake,” Howard says. But “they really wanted to make everything as practical as possible. … It’s not just the scale of it, but the level of detail and the small things — I was pretty blown away. I thought there’d be more ‘movie magic,’ fakery, but no.”
He recalls visiting the Vault set for the first time during the show’s first season and being amazed that not only had the crew built a full Vault people could walk through, but how even the smallest detail — like a multi-page report on an official’s desk — was fully fabricated.
This attention to detail is apparent within New Vegas as well, from the various goods sold at Sonny’s Sundries (at marked-up prices) to the working monitors of all sizes seen in a certain executive penthouse.
For Nolan, walking onto New Vegas for the first time came with a unique sense of familiarity thanks to having played the games.
“The Germans haven’t come up with a phrase for it yet, but there’s the form of deja vu that you get when you enter a physical version of a space that you’ve come to know virtually,” says Nolan, who explains he felt that sense for the first time when he visited Miami after coming to know the city in a “Grand Theft Auto” video game.
But what he especially delighted in was being able to feature a Deathclaw outside the Strip.
“Fallout” executive producers James Altman, left, and Jonathan Nolan and co-executive producer Noreen O’Toole at the video village.
(Lorenzo Sisti / Prime Video)
“The Deathclaw [is] such a hallmark of that of that game,” says Nolan. “Everyone begins ‘Fallout: New Vegas’ by looking at Vegas and going, ‘Oh, I’ll walk to Vegas.’ The reason you can’t just do that is the Deathclaw, you find that out very quickly, so bringing that to life and spending time on set with the amazing artists of Legacy [Effects] and [Industrial Light & Magic] … was just an extraordinary collaboration.”
While the first season of “Fallout” was filmed in New York (and other locations), the team moved the production to California for Season 2. The move involved disassembling the Vault sets and transporting them across the country in 77 semitrucks to be rebuilt again — this time all connected on one sound stage — in L.A.
Nolan says “Fallout’s” move back to California was “largely for creative reasons” and to reconnect with his former “Westworld” crew members, but he has also been outspoken about the importance of getting Hollywood productions back to California. He even invited state lawmakers on set while filming Season 2 to show them the importance of California’s film and TV tax credit program to reverse the exodus of Hollywood productions.
“We’re hopeful,” says Nolan. “We’re going to keep shooting ‘Fallout’ here. Season 3 [is] heading into production, hopefully, later this year and we’re going to do our part. But hopefully other people will be pushing hard to bring as much production back to California as possible.”
The Sunday telecast of the 83rd Golden Globe Awards on CBS suffered a ratings setback with an audience decline of 7% compared to last year’s show.
Nielsen data showed the live event, hosted by comic Nikki Glaser at the Beverly Hilton, averaged 8.66 million viewers. The big winners of the night included “One Battle After Another” and “Hamnet” on the feature film side. Medical drama “The Pitt” and comedy series “Hacks,” both from HBO Max, were the big TV winners.
The data, which include livestreaming, mark the second straight audience decline for the Golden Globe Awards, which scored 9.2 million viewers in 2025. That edition dropped slightly from its bounce-back year of 2024, when the program delivered 9.4 million viewers — a 50% lift over its final year on NBC.
Like all awards shows, the Golden Globes no longer deliver the kind of ratings that once made it one of the most-watched programs of the year. The show has suffered from the changing habits of viewers, many of whom have turned to social media for trophy-show clips.
The Golden Globe Awards also had to come back from a scandal over the lack of diversity in the membership of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., which operated the event for decades. A Los Angeles Times investigation brought attention and raised concerns about its ethics and financial practices in 2021.
The 83rd Golden Globe Awards may have been hurt by some production elements that did not go over well based on the harsh response from viewers posting on social media.
Marc Malkin, senior culture and events editor for Variety, was paired with “Entertainment Tonight” co-host Kevin Frazier to provide running chatter off-camera during the long and winding trip to the stage for winners seated in the crowded hotel ballroom. They were not well received.
“Do you think Golden Globes commentators Marc Malkin and Kevin Frazier are going to go home tonight utterly haunted for the rest of their days over the mind-numbing inanities they uttered all night?” wrote film critic Dustin Putman.
A post from another viewer compared Malkin’s commentary to “your mom talking about who she just ran into at the supermarket.”
Viewers were also put off by on-screen graphics featuring data from the prediction market app Polymarket showing the win probability of the nominees ahead of their categories. “Just push me in front of a bus at this point,” sports podcaster Bobby Wagner wrote on X.
The Golden Globe Awards presented the data as part of a partnership deal with Polymarket, which gives users the opportunity to bet on the outcomes of events in sports, culture, politics and other areas. The deal included an advertising buy on the broadcast.
Lauren Laverne and Roman Kemp hosted The One Show on Tuesday night
BBC The One Show host shares heartfelt tribute to TV icon after tragic death(Image: BBC)
The One Show host Lauren Laverne has shared a heartfelt tribute to a TV icon after their tragic death. Lauren, alongside her co-host Roman Kemp, fronted the popular BBC show on Tuesday (January 13), covering the day’s top stories.
Studio guests included Paddy McGuinness and Cherry Healey, who discussed the upcoming series of Inside the Factory, whilst Griff Rhys-Jones talked about his forthcoming West End performance in I’m Sorry, Prime Minister.
Penned and helmed by Jonathan Lynn, the BAFTA-winning co-creator behind Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, the fresh satirical production serves as a final send-off to two iconic figures in British comedy – ex-Prime Minister Jim Hacker and his formidable adversary, Sir Humphrey Appleby.
Griff is set to portray Hacker, with Clive Francis taking on the role of Appleby, at the Apollo Theatre starting January 30, reports Wales Online.
During her conversation with Griff on this evening’s instalment of The One Show, Lauren paused to acknowledge his former comedy collaborator, Mel Smith, who tragically died aged 60 in 2013 after suffering a heart attack.
“[You] have big shoes to fill and who better to fill them because Yes, Minister has its place in comedy history, you know, so do you. Can you believe it was 40 years ago that you introduced Queen at Live Aid with your late comedy partner Mel Smith?” Lauren remarked.
Footage of that legendary moment was subsequently shown on screen, with Lauren noting: “I read that this was typical prep for Mel, the runup to this.”
Griff humorously recalled: “Well, what happened, we introduced Queen, and Queen would have been nothing if we hadn’t of been there. Do you remember from the film, they go away and rehearsed for three weeks, and Mel rehearsed for three seconds with me.
“He arrived and said, ‘What are we doing mate?’ And I said, ‘Oh look, here, look, say this when we go on,’ and Mel goes, ‘Okay, love,’ and off we go.”
Lauren chimed in: “He had that photographic memory didn’t he?” to which Griff agreed: “Yeah, he did. He was very, very quick on the uptake.
“I remember it, of course 40 years ago, because as soon as we’d finished, he sat down and he went, ‘Ah, well there we are mate, I’m off’. And I said, ‘Mel! I skipped my child’s christening to be here and you’re leaving!’ And so, all it does is help me this year to remember exactly how old [my son] George is.”
Roman wrapped up the conversation saying: “I always love hearing about those comedy partnerships and how they work together.”
Elsewhere on tonight’s show, BBC Morning Live host Gethin Jones reported live from Manchester Cathedral, showcasing an immersive light experience.
From former co-stars reuniting at the Beverly Hilton to winners answering questions from press backstage, Times reporters share highlights from Hollywood’s big night.
Seth Rogen takes notes for “The Studio” Season 2
Seth Rogen and “The Studio” writers had their eyes peeled for new material at Sunday’s ceremony and in the days leading up to it.
“This is good poaching ground for us,” the first-time winner said in the Globes press room after the show’s comedy series win. (Backstage, he joked that “The Studio” crew’s appearance was coincidentally timed with “One Battle After Another’s” win.)
Rogen added that celebrities regularly approach him to request cameos in “The Studio”: “A lot of the studio heads want to be on the show, and some of them will be.”
Episode 8 of the Apple TV comedy’s first season was set at the Golden Globes and featured guest appearances by actors Adam Scott and Zoë Kravitz as well as Netflix co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos. Perhaps its sophomore season, which begins filming next week, will include a Beverly Hilton hotel reprise. — Malia Mendez
“Set It Up” stars Glen Powell and Zoey Deutch reunited at the Golden Globes.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A “Set It Up” reunion
There was a “Set It Up” reunion by the bar when Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell — along with his parents — reconnected while trying to order drinks. Powell’s mom gushed at Deutch, saying Powell told her about Deutch’s film, “Nouvelle Vague.” As Powell placed Deutch’s drink order, the actress spoke with his mom about her next project. Meanwhile, a few steps away, pals and “SmartLess” co-hosts Jason Bateman and Will Arnett made a beeline for the sushi bar. “This is what I’m after,” Arnett said as he grabbed a serving of fried rice with tuna — quickly going back for seconds. Bateman took a plate — “I had a salad at like 1 p.m.,” he reasoned. — Yvonne Villarreal
Joe Alwyn, Noah Jupe, Chloé Zhao, Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal and Jacobi Jupe backstage at the Golden Globes.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“Grief is love”
After their win in the show-closing drama film category, the cast of “Hamnet” took to the press room to reminisce about the warm atmosphere on the set of the historical drama.
Director Chloé Zhao clutched her chest as Jacobi Jupe, 12, who plays the titular Hamnet, said, “This film is all about grief and love, and grief is love.”
“On this set, everyone was family. There wasn’t one person who was rude or mean, and we all worked together to create this incredible film,” he said.
Behind Jupe, his co-stars Joe Alwyn, Jessie Buckley — who also won the drama actress Golden Globe — and Paul Mescal looked on like proud parents, hugging each other. — M.M.
Ludwig Goransson’s win for original score was cut from the CBS telecast.
(Rich Polk / 2026GG / Penske Media via Getty Images)
Original score axed from telecast
Ludwig Göransson won the Golden Globe for original score for “Sinners,” beating out Alexandre Desplat for “Frankenstein,” Jonny Greenwood for “One Battle After Another,” Kangding Ray for “Sirât,” Max Richter for “Hamnet” and Hans Zimmer for “F1.”
The award was handed out off air, presumably to trim time from the telecast. — Josh Rottenberg
Noah Wyle accepts the Golden Globes for actor in a TV drama for his role in “The Pitt.”
(Rich Polk / 2026GG / Penske Media via Getty Images)
Noah Wyle almost missed his win
As the show began again, Noah Wyle and his wife, Sara Wells, were prevented from making their way back to their seats just before his category was called. They finally let him rush back to his table, settling in just before his name was called. — Y.V.
“The Secret Agent” director Kleber Mendonça Filho and producer Emilie Lesclaux hold their award for non-English-language film.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
‘The Secret Agent’ director‘s call to action
Kleber Mendonça Filho, the Brazilian director of “The Secret Agent,” which took home the Golden Globe for non-English-language film, in the press room cited Brazil’s past corrupt leadership as he spoke about the political power of film.
“Cinema can be a way of expressing some grievances that we all have in terms of the society we live in,” Mendonça said.
“I would particularly address young U.S. filmmakers … there’s a lot of technology to express yourself, and I think this is a very good time to express yourself,” the director continued. “That is what I want to see from U.S. filmmakers.” — M.M.
Stellan Skarsgård won one of the first awards of the night for his role in “Sentimental Value.”
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Stellan Skarsgård teases “Mamma Mia!” sequel
Back in the press room after his surprise Golden Globes win for supporting movie actor, Stellan Skarsgård kept mostly mum when asked for an update on the reported “Mamma Mia!” sequel in the works.
However, Skarsgård did assert that despite her death in the franchise’s second installment, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” (2018), Donna Sheridan’s character could always be brought back with the magic of the movies — huge news for Meryl Streep die-hards (pun intended). — M.M.
Goodbye from Globes
As the ceremony came to a close, the gentle chaos of stars — “The Smashing Machine’s” Emily Blunt linked arms with husband John Krasinski (playfully singing upon his exit) while “Song Sung Blue’s” Kate Hudson, “Severance’s” Adam Scott and “Hacks’” Jean Smart filtered behind them — made their way to the doors to start their after-party journeys as ushers shouted “walk and talk, walk and talk.” Gayle King, gripping the train of her beaded dress, walked cautiously in her heels. Wagner Moura, carrying the winner’s envelope that listed his name, waved to folks on his way out. “White Lotus” stars Jason Isaacs and Aimee Lou Wood shared a boisterous laugh, while Powell made sure his parents were in his range of sight. — Y.V.
This article contains spoilers for the first three episodes of “The Night Manager” Season 2.
It wasn’t inevitable that “The Night Manager,” an adaptation of John le Carré’s 1993 spy novel, would have a sequel. Le Carré didn’t write one and the six-episode series, which aired in 2016, had a definitive ending.
But after the show’s debut, fans clambered for more. They loved Tom Hiddleston’s brooding, charismatic Jonathan Pine, a hotel manager wrangled into the spy game by British intelligence officer Angela Burr (Olivia Colman). And at the heart of the series was the parasitic dynamic between Pine and his delightfully malicious foe, an arms dealer named Richard Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie).
The show was so good that even the story’s author wanted it to continue. After the premiere of Season 1 at the Berlin International Film Festival, Le Carré sat across from Hiddleston, a twinkle in his eye, and said, “Perhaps there should be some more.”
“That was the first I’d heard of it or thought about it,” Hiddleston says, speaking over Zoom alongside the show’s director, Georgi Banks-Davies, from New York a few days before the U.S. premiere of “The Night Manager” Season 2 on Prime Video, which arrived Sunday with three episodes, 10 years after the first season. “But it was so extraordinary and inspiring to come from the man himself. That’s when I knew there might be an opportunity.”
Time passed because no one wanted a sequel of less quality. Le Carré died in 2020, leaving his creative works in the care of his sons, who helm the production company the Ink Factory. That same year, screenwriter David Farr, who had penned the first series, had a vision.
“We didn’t want to rush into doing something that was all style and no substance that didn’t honor the truth of it,” Farr says, speaking separately over Zoom from London. “There was this big gap of time. But I had this very clear idea. I saw a black car crossing the Colombian hills in the past towards a boy. I knew who was in the car and I knew who the boy was.”
That image transformed into a scene in the second episode of Season 2 where a young Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva) is waiting for his father, who turns out to be none other than Roper. From there, Farr fleshed out the rest of the season, as well as the already-announced third season. He was interested in the relationship between fathers and sons, an obsession of Le Carré’s, and in how Jonathan and Roper would be entangled all these years later.
Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva) is revealed to be Roper’s son.
(Des Willie / Prime Video)
“Teddy crystallized very quickly in my head,” Farr says. “All of the plot came later — arms smuggling and covert plans for coups in South America. But the emotional architecture, as I tend to call it, came to me quite quickly. That narrative of fathers and sons, betrayal and love is what marks Le Carré from more conventional espionage.”
“There was enormous depth in his idea,” Hiddleston adds. “It was a happy accident of 10 years having passed. They were 10 immeasurably complex years in the world, which can only have been more complex for Jonathan Pine with all his experience, all his curiosity, all his pain, all his trauma and all his courage.”
Farr sent scripts to Hiddleston in 2023 and planning for Season 2 began in earnest. The team brought Banks-Davies on in early 2024, impressed with her vision for the episodes. Hiddleston was especially attracted to her desire to highlight the vulnerability of the characters, all of whom present an exterior that is vastly different than their interior life.
“Every character’s heart is on fire in some way, and they all have different masks to conceal that,” Hiddleston says. “But Georgi kept wanting to get underneath it, to excavate it. Explore the fire, explore the trauma. She came in and said, ‘This show is about identity.’ ”
“I’m fascinated with how the line of identity and where you sit in the world is very fragile,” Banks-Davies says. “I’m fascinated by the strain on that line. In the heart of the show, that was so clearly there. I’m also always searching for what brings us together in a time, particularly in the last 10 years, that’s ever more divisive. These characters are all at war with each other. They’re all lying to each other. They’re deceiving each other for what they want. But what brings them together … instead of pushes them apart?”
The new season opens four years after the events of Season 1 as Jonathan and Angela meet in Syria. There, she identifies the dead body of Roper — a reveal that suggests his character won’t really be part of Season 2. After his death, Pine settles into a requisite life in London as Alex Goodwin, a member of an unexciting intelligence unit called the Night Owls.
Angela (Olivia Colman) and Jonathan (Tom Hiddleston) meet in Syria, four years after the events of Season 1.
(Des Willie / Prime Video)
“He’s half asleep and he lacks clarity and definition,” Hiddleston says. “His meaning and purpose have been blunted and dulled. He is only alive at his greatest peril, and the closer his feet are to the fire, the more he feels like himself. He’s addicted to risk, but also courageous in chasing down the truth.”
That first episode is a clever fake-out. Soon, Jonathan is on the trail of a conspiracy in Colombia, where the British government appears to be involved in an arms deal with Teddy. It quickly becomes the globe-trotting, thrill-seeking show that captivated fans in Season 1. There are new characters, including Sally (Hayley Squires), Jonathan’s Night Owls’ partner, and Roxana Bolaños (Camila Morrone), a young shipping magnate in league with Teddy, and vibrant locations. Jonathan infiltrates Teddy’s organization, posing as a cavalier, rich businessman named Matthew Ellis. He believes Teddy is the real threat. But in the final moments of Episode 3 there’s another gut-punching fake-out: Roper lives.
“The idea was: We must do the classic thing that stories do, which is to lose the father in order that he must appear again,” Farr says. He confirms there was never an intention to make “The Night Manager” Season 2 without Laurie. “What makes it work is this feeling that you are off on something completely new,” Farr says. “But that’s not what I want this show to be.”
Hiddleston compares it to the tale of St. George and the dragon. “They define each other,” he says. “At the end of the first series, Jonathan Pine delivers the dragon of Richard Roper to his captors. But after that, he is lost. The dragon slayer is lost without the presence of the dragon to define him. And, similarly, Roper is obsessed with Pine.”
Jonathan realizes the truth as he sneaks up to a hilltop restaurant to listen in on a meeting. Banks-Davies opted to shoot the entire series on location, and she kept a taut, quick pace during filming because she wanted the cast to feel the tension all the way through. She and Hiddleston had a shared motto on set: “There’s no time for unreal.” Thanks to her careful scene-setting, Roper’s arrival and Jonathan’s reaction were shot in only 10 minutes.
“I felt everything we talked about for months and everything we’d shot up until that point and everything we’d been through was in that moment,” Banks-Davies says. “There are so many emotions going on, so much being expressed, and it’s just delivered like that. But it was hard to get us there.”
Farr adds, “It is the most important moment in the show in terms of everything that then follows on from that.” He wrote into the script that Roper’s voice would be heard before Laurie was seen on camera. “It’s more frightening when something is not instantly fully understood and seen,” he says. “You hear it and you think, ‘Oh, God, I know that [voice].’ ”
Hiddleston wanted to play a range of emotions in seconds. He describes it as a “moment of total vitality.” Right before the cameras rolled, Banks-Davies told Hiddleston, “The dragon is alive.”
“After all the work, that’s all I needed to hear,” he says. “This moment will be memorable to him and he’ll be able to recall it in his mind for the rest of his life. He is wide awake, and reality is re-forming around him. His sense of the last 10 years, his sense of what he can trust and who he can trust, the way he’s tried to evolve his own identity — the sky is falling. There is a mixture of shock, grief, disenchantment, disillusionment, surprise and perhaps even relief.”
As soon as Jonathan arrives in Colombia and meets Teddy, a calculating live-wire dealing with his own sense of isolation, he becomes more himself. Hiddleston expresses him as a character desperate to feel the edge. Despite his layered duplicity, Jonathan understands and defines himself by courting risk.
Teddy (Diego Calva), Jonathan (Tom Hiddleston) and Roxana (Camila Marrone) get close. “This is a character who pushes his body to the limit and sacrifices enormous parts of himself at great personal cost to his body and soul,” Hiddleston says of Jonathan.(Des Willie/Prime Video)
“This is a character who pushes his body to the limit and sacrifices enormous parts of himself at great personal cost to his body and soul,” Hiddleston says. “He goes through a lot of pain, but also there’s great courage and resilience and enormous vulnerability. That’s what I relish the most, these are heightened scenarios that don’t arise as readily and in my ordinary life.”
“I could feel that shooting moments like this,” Banks-Davies adds. “Like, ‘It’s right there. Are we going to get it?’ Our whole show exists in that space between safety and death.”
Roper’s presence sends a ripple effect across the remaining three episodes. As much as Jonathan and Teddy are in opposition, they are parallel spirits, both with complicated relationships to Roper. Hiddleston describes them as “a mirror to each other,” although they can’t quite figure out what to be to each other. And neither knows who the other person really is.
“It is interesting, isn’t it, that my first image of him was 7 years old and that stays in him all the way through,” Farr says. “This sense of this boy who is seeking something — an affirmation, a place in the world. And he’s done terrible things, as he says to Pine in Episode 3. All of that was present in that first image I had.”
Hiddleston adds, “There is a competition, too, because Roper is the father figure, and they both need him in very different ways. Teddy is a new kind of adversary because he’s a contemporary. He’s got this resourcefulness and this ruthlessness, but also this very open vulnerability, which he uses as a weapon. They recognize each other and see each other.”
The characters’ dynamic is at the root of what drew Banks-Davies to the series. “It’s not about where they were born, it’s not about their economic status or their religion or their cultural identity,” she says. “It’s about two men who are lost and alone and solitary, and see a kinship in that. They are pulled together on this journey.”
Season 2, which will release episodes weekly after the first drop, will lead directly into Season 3, although no one involved will spill on when it can be expected. Hopefully they will arrive in less than a decade.
“It won’t be as long, I promise,” Farr says. “I can’t tell you exactly when, because I don’t know. But definitely nowhere as long.”
“That was the thrill for us, of knowing that when we began to tell this story, we knew we had 12 episodes to tell it inside, rather than just six,” Hiddleston says. “So we can be slightly braver and more rebellious and more complex in the architecture of that narrative. And not everything has to be tied up neatly in a bow. There’s still miles to go before we sleep, to borrow from Robert Frost, and that’s exciting. It’s exciting for how this season ends, and it’s exciting for where we go next.”
