Brad Ingelsby knew after the breakout success of HBO’s “Mare of Easttown” — a crime drama about a police detective (Kate Winslet) investigating the murder of a teenage girl in a fictional working-class town — he didn’t want his next series to be another whodunit.
“That’s Mare’s thing,” he says on a recent late afternoon. “So, you start to go, if you’re going to write another story in the crime genre, what would get the audience to keep clicking to the next episode? I just thought, ‘Well, maybe a collision course show, where [in] every episode, we get a little closer, a little closer, a little closer, until things collide.’ ”
In “Task,” which concluded Sunday on HBO, Mark Ruffalo stars as Tom Brandis, a priest-turned-FBI agent leading a task force investigating a series of robberies in Delaware County, Pa., an area commonly referred to as Delco that was also the setting for “Mare of Easttown.” (And with references to Wawa and Scrapple, along with visits to Rita’s Water Ice, it slips into its role of expanding the universe.) It leads Tom to Robbie Prendergast (Tom Pelphrey), a sanitation worker who robs drug houses at night to provide for his family. Both men are emotionally tortured by life events — Tom’s wife was murdered by their adopted son, who is incarcerated; Robbie’s brother was killed by a member of a motorcycle gang — that have set them each on different, but destructive paths.
In “Task,” Mark Ruffalo, left, Alison Oliver, Thuso Mbedu and Fabein Frankel portray law enforcement officers who are part of an FBI task force investigating a string of robberies.
(Peter Kramer / HBO)
“ ‘Mare’ was about the moms — the damage that all the guys have caused and the women are kind of having to pick up the pieces of that,” Ingelsby says. “This [show] is all about the fathers and being left behind, seeing the damage they’ve done to their kids, how they’re going to fix that in their lives — or not be able to fix it. The guys who are actually doing the damage without knowing.”
Ingelsby says his uncle, who was an Augustinian priest, helped inspire the throughline of the series.
“I’ve always been very intrigued by his idea of faith in God over the years, and how it’s changed over time, and what he believed once and what he believes now,” he says. “I was intrigued by the idea of a guy who, everything he held as truth, all the pillars of his life, have come crumbling down. And Robbie has a much different faith. And it’s through the gauntlet of the story, how their lives intersect, that they both get to navigate their own journeys of faith.”
Over dinner at a West Hollywood hotel, The Times sat down with Ingelsby, Ruffalo and Pelphrey to discuss their faith journeys, economic inequality, fatherhood — and Wawa, too. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation, which contains spoilers about the finale.
After the success of “Mare of Easttown,” creator Brad Ingelsby wanted his follow-up, “Task,” to feel connected, but not repetitive: “ ‘Mare’ was about the moms,” he says. “This [show] is all about the fathers and being left behind, seeing the damage they’ve done to their kids, how they’re going to fix that in their lives — or not be able to fix it.”
(Bexx Francois/For The Times)
The themes of the show involve forgiveness and faith. Every person has experienced something in life that has tested those ideas. How has your own relationship to faith and forgiveness evolved as you’ve lived more life or taken on roles that ask you to live different experiences?
Pelphrey: My faith, to me, is when I got sober. God willing, Oct. 1, which is three days from now, it’ll be 12 years. That’s truly by the grace of God — you hear that phrase, but I genuinely, I mean that. That’s how I’ve experienced faith, through my sobriety. I was raised Catholic, but the experience I had at 31 was like in a different dimension to what I thought of religion or ideas. It’s one thing to have an idea, it’s another thing to have your heart opened. It’s definitely an important part of my life. And I think Brad did such a beautiful job conveying that. My grandma used to have one of these things when I was a kid — not a real gem, but like a glass cut thing so if you put it in the window, the sun shines through a million different ways, and the color goes everywhere. I feel like you [Brad] did that with some themes in the show where you’re like, “Let me just hold it up, and we’ll just look at it a few different ways.”
Ruffalo: My journey with faith is probably very similar to Tom’s. When you get a job or something, it can take you on a journey that you’re ripe to take. It touches your life at a very moment where you need it. I’d say, after my brother died, the whole notion of faith just went out the window for me. But oddly enough, I have a lot of addiction, alcoholism in my family. I say, either you are one or you love one. When you love somebody who’s struggling with that, it takes a lot of faith to let them go and to trust it will be OK. My friend says to me, “They got a God and you ain’t it.”
My faith has been renewed, actually, through Tom [the character] — he is an alcoholic. It’s touched my life in so many ways, even with my brother, that it’s like where I lost my faith and where I gained my faith again has been through this journey with alcoholism and drug addiction. And I waver. You look at the world and you’re like, “Where is God in this? Please show yourself. ” But the thing about faith is it requires you to believe without any evidence of its existence. I’d rather believe in that than nothing. Although, I fought him [Brad] all the time. I was like, “He’s [Tom] not really praying here. He’s trying to pray. He’s going through the actions of praying, but he can’t quite get to the opening sentence, which is “ … God …” He does pray, eventually, but it’s a journey.
There’s the powerful moment in that car when Tom and Robbie finally meet in Episode 5. Robbie says, “I don’t think I’ve ever experienced God in my life.” This is a man that hasn’t felt hope, and he has this glimmer of it with this goal of escaping to Canada. Tom, how was it getting into the mindset of this guy just trying to get out of this life?
Pelphrey: It’s heartbreaking. We’re articulating an American dream that far too many people don’t get to experience, and maybe are starting to lose the hope of ever experiencing it. That’s a very real thing — unfortunately, way too real and increasingly way too common. It was just constantly reminding myself: What does this character want? And at the end of the day, regardless of how extreme some of the things Robbie’s doing, he just wants a decent life for his kids. And the fact that he’s having a hard time getting it is heartbreaking.
That scene and in the car, the first time I read it, I was like, “Oh, he’s [Brad] got some balls.” You have so much s— boiling over — the plot lines, the violence, the stakes are through the roof for everyone now in the show, and we are going to sit in a car for half an episode? And two dudes are gonna talk?
In Episode 5, Robbie Prendergast (Tom Pelphrey), left, and Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo) finally meet.
(HBO)
Ruffalo: There’s no chase! And when they finally face each other, they’re not even [actually] facing each other! They’re both pushed to the edge and you don’t know where it could go. Tom certainly doesn’t know where it will go. Tom’s kind of at that point, like, “F— it. Go ahead.” We talked about it a lot, I was like, “I think Tom should die.”
[They break into laughter]
Ingelsby: Every single day he was pitching it.
Ruffalo: I was pitching Tom should have a heart attack at the end and he literally sees God and he says to God, “I’m ready.” He finally finds his faith. It’s finally paid off and he says [gasping], “I’m … reaaady.”
Ingelsby: Enough people die here. But that particular episode has always been very special to me. That’s when the show is operating at the peak of its powers. It just felt like, how do we subvert the expectations of the audience and do that in a way that still feels true to who these characters are? I remember talking to you [Tom] about this. You were like, “As soon as I know Cliff’s done, I’m on a one-way street. I have a plan.” But with you [Mark], once they get out of the car and you feel like you’re going to die, you’re like, “I want to call my family.” That’s when you get activated in a way. You’ve been going through the motions in life, but that’s when it gets very real.
Ruffalo: It’s like being reborn. It opens his heart. He sees how life can be taken away.
We’re in a political and cultural moment where the mood of the country is simmering — there’s anger and rage on all sides, and a lot of it stems from class and systemic issues that are in place that put people in certain positions. There’s that layer, but there’s also the grief element both these men are facing.
Ingelsby: With Robbie in particular, I was interested in a guy that felt really stuck. What I liked about Robbie was, if he didn’t take action, what would happen to Robbie? He’d be a trash man in too deep his whole life. Who cares about Robbie and his family? Nobody. He was left behind. In early versions of the script, I very explicitly said, “He wants his bite of the apple.” There are lots of people like that now. I loved writing Robbie because it felt like he was raging against being left behind and and I felt, in many cases, in the script, why wouldn’t you do something? Whether you agree with the actions or not —
Pelphrey: He had his f— life stolen from him. What he’s going after is a very specific thing. He’s not lashing out blindly against anybody to get any money at any cost. He’s like: “I’m gonna take it from these mother f—, who are bad dudes.” Even within that, he has principles. No one’s gonna die — obviously, the rules all go out the window Episode 2, but we’re not going to take the drugs, we’re not going to sell the drug. We’re going to destroy the drugs. We’re going to take the cash. Even within his brand of lashing out, he actually has a set of principles that he’s operating by.
Mark Ruffalo, left, and Tom Pelphrey star as two troubled men on a collision course in “Task.” Ruffalo portrays an FBI agent recovering from a family tragedy, while Pelphrey plays a garbage collector and criminal involved in a series of robberies. (Bexx Francois/For The Times)
Mark and Tom, as sons and fathers, how did you think about the father-child relationships of these two men and the collateral damage of their choices?
Ruffalo: It’s so hard to be a father, especially now because this generation is like, “We’re not going to do it the way our parents, our fathers did. We see that there’s another way to do it. We’re actually talking about it.” At the same time, we don’t exactly know what it is that we should do differently, plus we have the responsibility of, financially, keeping it together. It’s obviously hard to be a mom too. These guys are doing the best they can.
Pelphrey: Becoming a dad two and a half years ago now, it’s just the most f— awesome, wild, intense, crazy s— I’ve ever experienced in my life. It’s like getting struck by lightning. I’m so in love and I feel so vulnerable and I feel so happy — it’s all the feelings. Then suddenly, when you’re thinking about how you feel, you go, “How do I balance this? How do I protect her, but make sure that she’s brave and experiencing things? And you quickly realize there is so much to this that I will have no power over and the realization of that, in the deepest sense — and I’ve already had moments of that and we’re just getting started here. You imagine what it’s like, when you don’t have kids, but you have no f— clue. One of the things I could say without blinking, ever, is, “I totally understand why he’s doing what he’s doing.”
Was there a version where Robbie lived?
Ingelsby: No, I felt like structurally what needed to happen was Tom had to witness Robbie’s kindness, then his sacrifice. It felt very necessary to be like, “Oh, wait. Robbie — he went up to the woods…” Because he’s always like, “What’s the plan?” Tom realizes, “Oh, I know what the plan was. He went there to die.” Part of Tom’s journey to getting rid of the anger and to believing in something at the end, was to have witnessed the goodness in Robbie. He [Robbie] also gets in so deep eventually, he has pushed himself into such a corner and there’s no good way out of this. What’s an audience gonna think if he gets out of this unscathed? Even if he were to survive, he’s gonna be in jail for the rest of his life. The idea of sacrifice would speak to Tom as a character and get him to his ultimate decision to give the boy [Sam] up, but also forgive his own son and, quite literally, get the house ready for him.
Mark, how did you feel about the statement that Tom winds up giving at the hearing in the finale?
Ruffalo: He had to sit down and write that. I don’t think he really knew what he was going to be writing. He’s taking stock of his life and his son’s life and the story of the life. It’s connecting him to the whole story. It’s not just the loss of my wife, but also we raised that boy. We made this life together and, even in the hard part of it all, that’s where we learned what love is. Then when he gets in there, he doesn’t even know that he’s gonna say it. He doesn’t know he’s going to confront him with it and say [to his son], “Look at me.” But the whole journey, leads us there.
There’s something, too, about his composure in that moment.
Ingelsby: That’s the genius of Mark. That was the first or second take, what we used.
How many versions of it did you write? Was there an overly emotional or dramatic version?
Ingelsby: There was a longer version. But I think what was important about it was — and Mark does such a beautiful job — was that he had to be honest about how hard it was. I was always worried it would be a bit maudlin, if he just went in and said straight away, “I love you.” It was almost like he had to be really honest with everybody, like, “Hey, this was f— horrible.” And the shame of changing your name —
Ruffalo: Yes. To be that honest and to say that I pretended like I wasn’t his father. It’s so shameful. It’s so honest.
Ingelsby: I think because he’s so honest, it makes the forgiveness even more impactful. When he says, “I forgive you,” you believe because he’s earned the trust in the speech by admitting the things that were so shameful .
Ruffalo: It doesn’t just go one way — forgiveness. There’s a lot of shame on it on the other side, that’s where the anger comes from. There’s always this question: What could I have done? The backstory was I left, knowing that he was in an episode, but I had to go. I left her with him, thinking it would blow over. And it didn’t. He has to also be honest about his part in it. What dad says, “That’s not my kid. You’re in retreat already.”
Ingelsby: That’s what we want the ending to be. It’s not that everything’s going to be easy. I think the same for Mare — it wasn’t like Mare’s life was so great at the end of the show. There was a lot of going on.
Ruffalo: She’s going to an AA meeting. Tom and Mare can meet at an AA meeting.
Tom Pelphrey as Robbie Prendergrast, a garbage collector trying to avenge his brother’s death by hitting trap houses belonging to a local gang before getting caught in a deadly standoff. (HBO)
Mark Ruffalo, Silvia Dionicio and Phoebe Fox in “Task.” Ruffalo plays a priest-turned-FBI agent who hasn’t confronted his feelings about the murder of his wife at the hands of their adopted son. (HBO)
To that point, was there thought about whether to incorporate “Mare” characters in this show, if they’re in the same universe?
Ingelsby: It’s funny you say that. [In] one of the early scripts, we had a scene where Emily (Silvia Dionicio), at the end of the show, went to a concert with her boyfriend, Leo, the guy that’s a magician. And Mare’s daughter, Siobhan (Angourie Rice), was playing. And there was another connective piece I’m missing. I think Leo’s brother was in the band. And they had a moment together, because I felt like Emily and Siobhan were very, very similar. That they had the weight of the world on their shoulders in some way, Emily especially —
Ruffalo: They’re well suited for each other. They could just sink to the bottom of the lake together.
He’s got a crossover season mapped out for you.
Pelphrey: If we hold hands, we can sink faster.
Ingelsby: But we did have something connecting them. But I’m glad HBO read it and were like, “Is it a bit much?” It felt like maybe we were reaching to do something that the story didn’t require. And when we took it out, I felt like this story exists on its own, and we didn’t need that. If we had threaded it through the story in a more interesting way, maybe it would have worked, but it would have felt really tacked on and kind of just fan service for the sake of fan service, which I didn’t want.
Can we talk about the Phillies cup? It’s seems like such an obscure detail, but that cup triggered me. I know it well. A father trying to hide his vice.
Ingelsby: That’s another detail of my own life that I can repurpose, steal. That’s my dad. He drinks out of that. He watches every Phillies game. There’s 162 games. And if he can’t watch, he’s listening to it in a radio in the car. I feel like we always talk about in the specific, is the universal. And Mark did the swirly thing.
Ruffalo: That’s what made me want to do the show. That he was drinking out of that. And then he swirled his hand. I said, “This guy is writing character like nobody is doing that I’ve seen in television.” I only read the first episode and I was like, “I want to go. I trust this journey with him.” And it was from that nuance thing. I know that guy. He’s a priest who swirls his vodka and tonic with his finger. In a Phillies cup. And he thinks he’s pulling it over. That’s my family. It’s so honest.
The accent was such a feature of “Mare of Easttown.” I imagine that had its own expectations or pressure for this show.
Ingelsby: “Mare” was more a community — very, very specific community. I felt like, in that show, we had to go all in and Kate did. A lot of Mark’s character was driven by my uncle, who has no accent at all. Because he went to the seminary, then he went to Merrimack College, he was a teacher — he bounced around. And even me, there’s a couple words I’ll say that you can’t pick up a heavy accent. There’s a couple words, where maybe you could pick it up.
Ruffalo: We tried. I tried it. I kept kicking it out, it just didn’t feel right. He does hit some of those words. He does say wooder — cheery wooder ice. We kept some of it in, but we didn’t go as hard at it because he goes another way. I feel like he might have ended up in South America at some point. I was thinking he traveled the world.
Did you pay many visits to Wawa? I remember Kate telling me about her Wawa experiences.
Pelphrey: I grew up going to Wawa. I was Wawa all the time because I was living out in the suburbs.
Ingelsby: I think Kate ate hoagies or something.
Pelphrey: They make a good sandwich.
Ruffalo: Oh, bro. I started with a fat suit and then I had to take it off. I just kept getting fatter. My wife saw me and she’s like [to the kids], “huh, your father’s eating his way through Philly.” But, man, I’d be like, “How about a sandwich for the scene?” [Mimics scarfing down a sandwich.] Like a troll.
Ingelsby: He is an amazing sandwich eater. We were talking about it.
Pelphrey: We were.
Ruffalo: Oh, I knew I was going to be eating a sandwich that day [in a scene], so I starved myself so I could just plow that thing.
Are you interested in a Season 2, Brad?
Ruffalo: No one wants a Season 2. [the trio laughs] No, I’m kidding. That would be amazing.
Ingelsby: It would be amazing. If people respond and we get a chance to do it.
Could we get that “Task”-”Mare” crossover?
Ingelsby: A lot could happen.
Ruffalo: Some “Mare” people could show up. There could be a love affair.
The popstar was absent from Mel’s happy day at St Paul’s Cathedral on Saturday, which saw Emma Bunton, 49, the sole other girl group member in attendance.
The Wannabe singer stunned in a gown adorned with dazzling pearl detail around the collar and sleeves and a long flowing veil as she stepped out of the iconic venue.
She uploaded a snap showing the happy couple together with the words: “So so happy for you both and beyond gutted I couldn’t be there.
“Excited to celebrate with you really soon. Yipee!”
In her next slide, Mel showcased a snap of her performing in Stockholm, Sweden.
She added the words: “Bit of a soggy one last night.”
Mel shows off her musclesCredit: ErotemeThe toned Spice Girl, 51, wore a leotard and red boots to help launch her new musicCredit: Unknown
It’s confusing enough that senior Maggie Kearin attends Louisville High in Woodland Hills and will soon attend the University of Louisville in Kentucky on a full scholarship.
Let’s forget about the two Louisvilles for a moment. Did you know she has a scholarship awaiting her based on her skills in field hockey? And the high school she attends doesn’t have a field hockey team.
She earned the offer based on her play in club field hockey. At Louisville High, she’s perfectly happy playing volleyball and soccer when outsiders have no idea she’s one of the top field hockey players in Southern California.
Her father is Jeff Kearin, the former Loyola High and Cal State Northridge football coach who’s the JV football coach at Crespi and has been transporting her for years to competitions. He consulted with others about whether Maggie should go to a high school that has field hockey, and they told him being good in several sports will help her versatility in field hockey.
Maggie has been playing the sport since she was 5.
“She came home one night from a sleepover, ‘I want to play the game with a stick.’ I thought it was lacrosse,” her father said.
Now she has a way to pay for her college education. “No one is happier than Mom and Dad,” her father said.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].
The spectacle of the Gaza deal and double standards in the coverage of the captives’ release in Israel and Gaza.
As Donald Trump tries to take credit for a ceasefire in Gaza, Israel continues to kill Palestinians. And as both Israeli and Palestinian captives are released, the glaring double standards in coverage lay bare how this genocide was allowed to go on for so long.
Contributors: Tahani Mustafa – Visiting Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations Mouin Rabbani – Co-editor, Jadaliyya Kenneth Roth – Former Executive Director, Human Rights Watch Oren Ziv – Journalist, +972 Magazine
On our radar
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Corina Machado, chose to dedicate her award to Donald Trump. Meenakshi Ravi reports on what motivated the Venezuelan opposition leader to pander to the United States president.
All the president’s women: the rise of the ‘womanosphere’
For years, the right-wing media space has been dominated by men. But the 2024 election shone a light on a rising parallel force within Donald Trump’s MAGA movement: the so-called “womanosphere”. Across YouTube channels, social media and podcasts, conservative women are rebranding right-wing politics for a female audience.
Featuring: Annie Kelly – UK Correspondent, QAA Podcast Nicole Kiprilov – Republican Party strategist Eviane Leidig – Author, The Women of the Far Right
SUPERMODEL Kendall Jenner gives a brand a leg up in an ad campaign — for a beauty mask.
She posed with her limb in the air for Therabody’s LED TheraFace Mask Glo, which is said to reduce the signs of ageing.
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Stunning Kendall Jenner posed with her limb in the air for Therabody’s LED TheraFace Mask GloCredit: TherabodyKendall says she has been a long time fan of Therabody productsCredit: Therabody
Kendall said: “I’ve been using Therabody products for years, and I love anything that can help me feel and look my best. I started with the Theragun Mini and have used a number of their products.
“I was excited when the brand asked me to try the new LED mask. I’m always open to trying new products and treatments that are recommended to me by professionals.
“I absolutely love learning, especially about any superficial or natural anti-aging tricks. I’m a lot more focused on consistency and being gentle with my skin.”
“I dream, above all, of longevity. Even when I’m older, I hope people will still think of me,” she said.
“I’d like to stay in the limelight as the years go by… I would love to have a family, become a mother and have children.”
‘I love anything that can help me feel and look my best’, said the modelCredit: TherabodyThe mask is said to reduce the signs of ageingCredit: Therabody
Timelapse video from Indonesia shows Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupting on Flores island, sending ash 10 kilometres above its 1,584-metre peak. It’s the volcano’s third major eruption since July.
MILWAUKEE — The disparity in the payrolls was the focus of the series before the first pitch ever delivered, the handiwork of the manager in charge of the small-market franchise that won more regular season games than any team in baseball.
“I’m sure that most Dodgers players can’t name eight guys on our roster,” joked Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers.
If the preceding six months were a testament to how a team can win without superstars, the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series was a display of the firepower that can be purchased with a record-breaking $415-million payroll.
The Dodgers won a game in which a confusing play at the center-field wall resulted in an inning-ending double play that cost them a run — and very likely more.
They won a game in which they stranded 11 runners.
They won a game in which the Brewers emptied their top-flight bullpen to secure as many favorable matchups as possible.
The Dodgers won because they had a $162-million first baseman in Freddie Freeman, whose sixth-inning solo home run pushed them in front. They won because they had a $182-million starting pitcher in Blake Snell, who pitched eight scoreless innings. They won because they had a $365-million outfielder-turned-shortstop in Mookie Betts, who drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning.
The visions of the Brewers’ small-ball offense overcoming the absence of a Freeman or a Betts or a Shohei Ohtani?
In retrospect, how cute.
The thinking of how the Brewers’ pitching depth could triumph over the Dodgers’ individual superiority?
In retrospect, how delusional.
The Dodgers absorbed the Brewers’ best collective shot, and they emerged with a victory that won them control of the best-of-seven series.
Their $325-million co-ace, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, will start Game 2 on Tuesday. Ohtani, their $700-million two-way player, and their $136.5-million No. 4 starter Tyler Glasnow will pitch Games 3 and 4 at Dodger Stadium in some order.
The Brewers’ futile effort to stop the Dodgers on Monday night consisted of them deploying six pitchers in a so-called bullpen game. The assembly line of arms was solid, but Snell was exceptional.
Snell yielded only one baserunner over eighth innings — Caleb Durbin, who singled to lead off the third inning.
Snell picked him off.
Against the team with the lowest chase rate baseball, Snell finished with 10 punchouts.
“This,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “was pretty special.”
Only when the Dodgers turned to their bullpen in the ninth inning were they in any sort of danger, with Roki Sasaki looking gassed after his three-inning relief appearance against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the NL Division Series.
Also of concern was the effect the previous series had on the Dodgers’ most valuable property, Ohtani. In the four games against the Phillies, Ohtani was one for 18 with nine strikeouts.
There was no way of knowing whether Ohtani was out of his mini-slump, as the Brewers elected to challenge him as infrequently as possible.
Facing opener Aaron Ashby, Ohtani drew a walk to start the game. He was walked two other times, both intentionally.
He was hitless in his two other plate appearances, as he flied out to left field in the third inning and grounded out to first base in the seventh. His plate discipline was improved, and his third-inning at-bat against Quinn Priester lasted eight pitches.
“I thought Shohei’s at-bats were great tonight,” Roberts said.
Before the game, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman pushed back against the perceptionthat Ohtani was even slumping, describing how the Phillies pitched to him in borderline historic terms.
“I think it was the most impressive execution against a hitter I’ve ever seen,” Friedman said.
Perhaps not wanting to create any bulletin-board material for Ohtani, Murphy also described the mini-slump as a reflection of the excellence of Phillies pitchers Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo and Ranger Suarez.
“Those guys are really, really good,” Murphy said. “So I don’t consider Ohtani struggling. I don’t.”
Murphy behaved like it, his fear of Ohtani healthy enough to where he walked him intentionally to load the bases in the ninth inning.
The move backfired when Betts walked to push in an insurance run.
Ohtani wasn’t the only big-money player on the team.
Fans of the creator’s hit Netflix series have their new favourite show of 2025
A new series being hailed as ‘one of the best shows of the year’ and a ‘ridiculously addictive’ thriller’ which has earned a perfect score is now streaming.
The Chair Company makes its debut via Sky Comedy as well as through the NOW platform for those with an entertainment pass.
It comes from former Saturday Night Live writers Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin, who are also the comedic minds behind Netflix cult favourite sketch show I Think You Should Leave. This time, they are bringing to the screen what is being described as a labyrinthine mystery-comedy.
According to the show’s secretive synopsis, after an embarrassing incident at work, William Ronald “Ron” Trosper (Robinson) finds himself investigating a far-reaching conspiracy. The makers have remain tight lipped around the show’s plot, wanting fans to discover all the unexpected twists and turns for themselves.
Joining Robinson in the cast, who recently starred in Paul Rudd movie Friendship are The Practice star Lake Bell, IT Part One’s Sophia Lillis, Will Price and Lou Diamond Phillips.
Ahead of it making its debut in the US and UK, it has already managed to secure a perfect 100% rating on website Rotten Tomatoes. One critic simply claimed: “One of the best shows of the year, The Chair Company will have you sinking in your recliner.”
Another added: “The Chair Company is one of the most offbeat and outlandish shows you’ll see this year.” Meanwhile a different verdict suggested: “There is nothing quite like The Chair Company: a show that is emotionally potent while still delivering the perfect marriage between sketch comedy and conspiracy theory.”
The only issue fans may find is that the series is expected to release episodes on a weekly basis with the premiere made available from October 13. Based on information found on IMDB, new instalments will be added each Sunday in the US and Monday in the UK.
This will lead to the finale airing on November 30. It means fans will need to make a decision to watch as soon as episodes drop or wait to catch up as the show is a much more compelling binge watch. That is coming from a reporter who has watched screeners for the first seven episodes and found them ridiculously addictive.
It is a perfect replacement for any viewer who enjoyed any high paced thriller or offbeat comedy released in the last year. That includes Severance, Paradise, Slow Horses, Dept. Q, The Studio and The Rehearsal. The Chair Company dials up the stakes to absolute ridiculous levels and pokes fun at how even the best in the genre make the most unexpected of connections and leaps in their stories.
In doing this it also simultaneously continues the method of Tim Robinson’s expertly crafted sketch show premise of taking simple misunderstandings or social faux pas and blows them way out of proportion.
Imagine the conspiracy thrills of Severance paired with the awkward humour of Nathan Fielder or Larry David.
Everything becomes so bizarre and compelling you can’t help but remain tight in its grip, needing to know just where the eight-part series will end up. The show proves that Robinson et al can indeed stretch a sketch idea into a lengthy series, while somehow maintaining interest and filling it with memorable character moments they are known for.
The Chair Company is streaming on Sky Comedy and NOW
The Strictly Come Dancing ‘curse’ has taken many victims, but musical theatre contestant Amber Davies is confident that she and Nikita will not be a part of it
Jessica Clarke Digital Reporter
22:54, 12 Oct 2025
For years, the Strictly Come Dancing ‘curse’ has haunted the ballroom(Image: Guy Levy/BBC/PA)
For years, the Strictly Come Dancing ‘curse’ has haunted the ballroom, blamed for break-ups, busted engagements, and headline-making scandals. But while the dancefloor has seen its fair share of heartbreak, Amber Davies is confident she won’t be a victim of the ‘curse’.
Lauren has also hit back at viewers who claimed that they wanted Amber and Nikita to succumb to the curse and said: “Please be respectful to the real-life partners and let them have a good experience of the show too.”
Amber and Nikita appear to be going from strength to strength in the competition and scored a whopping 35 for their American Smooth. They danced to the track Sixteen Going on Seventeen from The Sound of Music, which put them second on the leaderboard.
A source has since revealed that Amber is going to be taking the competition ‘one week at a time’ and that she ‘isn’t complacent’. The source also gave an insight into Amber’s thoughts on the ‘Strictly curse’.
They said to The Sun: “As for the curse, she’s madly in love with Ben and he is 100 per cent supportive of her. They are both performers and know how to block out the noise. They have zero doubt the curse won’t touch them. Amber and Lauren get on really well. They swapped numbers early on.”
Amber has been sharing some behind-the-scenes footage on her social media and revealed that her beau Ben has been watching her videos every day.
She said in a TikTok live video: “He is always like ‘let me see the tapes from today’. Sometimes Ben will make me bits and bobs for lunch. Contestants can stay in hotels but I don’t before a live show. I want to be in my own bed with my dog and my boyfriend.”
Amber didn’t even know she was going to be on Strictly until 48 hours before her first dance when she was whisked into the cast of the BBC show as a replacement for fellow Love Island winner Dani Dyer, who had sustained an injury in rehearsals before the first live show.
Just days before she was announced as Dani’s replacement, it was revealed that she will be taking on the tough role of Elle Woods, the part originally made famous by Reese Witherspoon in the 2001 classic, in a new UK tour of Legally Blonde.
North Korea showcased its newest intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-20, during a military parade in Pyongyang overseen by leader Kim Jong Un. The missile is believed to be capable of reaching anywhere on the US mainland.
For the past couple of months, the billionaire father-son duo of Larry and David Ellison have been making deals involving major media brands. Having acquired Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, they appointed Bari Weiss – an outspoken supporter of Israel – as the network’s editor-in-chief. The moves by the Ellisons are not just about growing their media empire, but about shaping the narrative around Israel in the US, where public support continues to decline.
Contributors: David Klion – Columnist, The Nation Danielle Moodie – Host, The Danielle Moodie Show Ryan Grim – Reporter, Drop Site News
On our radar:
Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire, ending two years of genocide. It’s a moment that brought relief to Palestinians in Gaza. But for Donald Trump, it was an opportunity for self-congratulation – with both he and his allies emphasising how pivotal he was in making things happen. Tariq Nafi has been following the story.
In Portugal, the far-right party Chega, once on the fringes, is leading the polls, and its leader, Andre Ventura, has become one of the country’s most recognisable political figures. Ventura’s rise has been spurred by his television background and carefully crafted media persona. The onetime football pundit has become a political showman. And he’s been amplified by the country’s mainstream media, who have been chasing ratings over accountability. Ryan Kohls reports.
Featuring: Miguel Carvalho – Journalist Ines Narciso – Disinformation researcher, Iscte-Iul Anabela Neves – Journalist, CNN Portugal
Big Brother saw their second live eviction and fourth housemate to leave the house tonight after the show made headlines for George Gilbert’s ejection for offensive language
22:13, 10 Oct 2025Updated 22:50, 10 Oct 2025
Tonight, AJ Odudu and Will Best spoke to the house live for the second time this series as Cameron B was evicted from the Big Brother house.
Last Friday, Gani became the second contestant to be evicted from the house, but unfortunately for him, he didn’t get the showcase he deserved due to Storm Amy.
In a chaotic last minute change, Will came to meet the star at the bottom of the stairs, as he took him to the studio through the back doors due to the gale-force winds.
He wasn’t the first to be evicted however, as in a shock 25th anniversary twist, Emily was booted out the house on the first night, as herself, Sam and Caroline had to decided between themselves who should leave.
Tonight, the weather was much calmer, as Cameron became the first housemate to leave through the front door.
Cameron B, Elsa, Richard and George faced eviction, but again things were thrown into chaos when George was removed for repeated use of offensive language and behaviour.
Despite George’s removal from the house, the eviction still went ahead, although the votes closed for a while, and refreshed. Prior votes did not count, and viewers were given five more votes.
Tonight, AJ and Will revealed thatCameron B was the third housemate to be evicted – and fourth to leave.
As Cameron joined the Late and Live, we got a glimpse of the house’s reaction, with Elsa elated she was safe. In a shock admission, she told Teja and Feyisola she was going to tell Marcus she loved him if she stayed.
The second live eviction came after a controversial week in the house. As well as George’s removal, housemate Caroline also received a warning from Big Brother after comments made towards Zelah and Nancy.
Zelah has been open about his transition with the housemates, but during a game of spin the bottle Caroline asked Nancy which housemate she would sleep with if they were trapped on a desert island and she “might be able to make babies to get a new civilisation.”
Nancy then asked Caroline if it had to be a guy, as Jenny said she was pansexual. “Is she pansexual? Do you like pans?” Caroline asked, as Zelah told her to just ask Nancy who she was most attracted to.
Nancy then answered Zelah, as Caroline responded: “She’s a girl. No you’re not!” she then added: “But you haven’t got a willy. Is that really bad? But I was talking about…I’m so sorry Z. Is that bad? That was bad wasn’t it? Oh no, I’m dead now. Is that bad?’”
Zelah was left in tears in the Diary Room, telling Big Brother: “I didn’t think it would affect me that much. That’s why I didn’t want to tell anyone from the get go, because once people know their true perceptions come out. But ‘she’s a girl’ was strong.”
Caroline profusely apologised, telling Big Brother she was “ashamed” of her comments and said she had no excuses for her behaviour.
Israeli tanks and heavy combat vehicles were filmed in Gaza on Friday, reportedly withdrawing from parts of the enclave as phase one of the ceasefire plan is set to take effect.
In “The Last Frontier,” which premieres Friday on Apple TV+, a plane carrying federal prisoners goes down in the Alaskan wilderness outside a town where Frank Remnick (Jason Clarke) is the U.S. Marshal. Eighteen passengers survive, among them a sort of super-soldier we will come to know as Havlock (Dominic Cooper). Sad intelligence agent Sidney Scofield (Haley Bennett) is sent to the scene by her dodgy superior (American treasure Alfre Woodard).
I won’t go into it in depth, especially given the enormous number of reveals and reversals that make up the plot; pretty much everything not written here constitutes a spoiler. The production is excellent, with well-executed set pieces — the plane crash, a tug-of-war between a helicopter and a giant bus, a fight on a train, a fight on a dam. (I do have issues with the songs on the soundtrack, which tend to kill rather than enhance the mood.) The large cast, which includes Simone Kessell as Frank’s wife, Sarah — they have just about put a family trauma behind them when opportunities for new trauma arise — and Dallas Goldtooth, William Knifeman on “Reservation Dogs,” as Frank’s right hand, Hutch, is very good.
It’s as violent as you’d expect from a show that sets 18 desperate criminals loose upon the landscape, which you may consider an attraction or deal killer. (I don’t know you.) At 10 episodes, with a lot of plot to keep in order, it can be confusing — even the characters will say, “It’s complicated” or “It’s not that simple,” when asked to explain something — and some of the emotional arcs seem strange, especially when characters turn out to be not who they seem. Things get pretty nutty by the end, but all in all it’s an interesting ride.
But that’s not what I came here to discuss. I’d like to talk about snow.
There’s a lot of snow in “The Last Frontier.” The far-north climate brings weather into the picture, literally. Snow can be beautiful, or an obstacle. It can be a blanket, as in Eliot’s “Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow,” or a straitjacket, as in 2023’s “A Murder at the End of the World,” a Christie-esque murder mystery that trapped the suspects in an Icelandic luxury hotel. It’s part of the aesthetic and part of the action, which it can slow, or stop. It can be deadly, disorienting, as when a blizzard erases the landscape (see the first season of “Fargo”). And it requires the right clothes — mufflers, fur collars, wool caps, big boots, gloves — which communicate coziness even as they underscore the cold.
The snowy landscape in shows like “The Last Frontier” is part of the aesthetic and action.
(Apple)
Even when it doesn’t affect the plot directly, it’s the canvas the story is painted on, its whiteness of an intensity not otherwise seen on the screen, except in starship hallways. (It turns a moody blue after dark, magnifying the sense of mystery.) Growing up in Southern California — I didn’t see real snow until I was maybe 10? — I was trained by the movies and TV, where all Christmases are white if the budget allows, to understand its meaning.
It was enough that “The Last Frontier” was set in Alaska (filmed in Quebec and Alberta) to pique my interest, as it had been for “Alaska Daily,” a sadly short-lived 2022 ABC series with Hilary Swank and Secwépemc actor Grace Dove as reporters looking into overlooked cases of murdered and missing Indigenous women. This may go back to my affection for “Northern Exposure” (set in Alaska, filmed in Washington state), with its storybook town and colorful characters, most of whom came from somewhere else, with Rob Morrow’s New York doctor the fish out of water; “Men in Trees” (filmed in British Columbia, set in Alaska) sent Anne Heche’s New York relationship coach down a similar trail. “Lilyhammer,” another favorite and the first “exclusive” Netflix series, found Steven Van Zandt as an American mobster in witness protection in a Norwegian small town; there was a ton of snow in that show.
It serves the fantastic and supernatural as well. The polar episodes of “His Dark Materials” and “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” the icebound sailing ships of “The Terror” live large in my mind; and there’s no denying the spooky, claustrophobic power of “Night Country,” the fourth season of “True Detective,” which begins on the night of the last sunset for six months, its fictional town an oasis of light in a desert of black. In another key, “North of North,” another remote small town comedy, set in Canada’s northernmost territory among the Indigenous Inuit people is one of my best-loved shows of 2025.
But the allure of the north is nothing new. Jack London’s Yukon-set “White Fang” and “The Call of the Wild” — which became an Animal Planet series for a season in 2000 — entranced readers back around the turn of the 19th century and are still being read today.
Of course, any setting can be exotic if it’s unfamiliar. (And invisible if it’s not, or annoying — if snow is a thing you have to shovel off your walk, its charm evaporates.) Every environment suggests or shapes the stories that are set there; even were the plots identical, a mystery set in Amarillo, for example, would play differently than one set in Duluth or Lafayette.
In the first phase of the ceasefire plan, Israel will remain in control of nearly 60 percent of the Gaza Strip.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning in Gaza, United States President Donald Trump announced that Hamas and Israel had agreed on the first phase of his ceasefire and captive-exchange plan.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump stated : “ALL the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their troops to an agreed upon line.”
The “agreed upon line” refers to a vague map shared by Trump on October 4, showing an initial Israeli withdrawal zone marked in yellow, later dubbed the “yellow line” by Trump officials.
After negotiations, Israel has agreed to the initial withdrawal line, which we have shown to, and shared with, Hamas. When Hamas confirms, the Ceasefire will be IMMEDIATELY effective, the Hostages and Prisoner Exchange will begin, and we will create the conditions for the next… pic.twitter.com/0VfaMSOqQ1
— Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) October 4, 2025
By Sunday or Monday, Hamas is expected to release about 20 living captives, along with the bodies of about 25 others, while Israel will free some 2,000 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons. Final details have yet to be confirmed.
Where is the initial withdrawal ‘yellow line’?
Israel currently controls more than 80 percent of Gaza’s 365sq km (141sq miles) area, including areas under forced evacuation orders or designated by Israel as military zones.
Once the deal is signed, fighting would be expected to end immediately, and Israeli forces would withdraw to the line marked in yellow.
The final map has not yet been published following negotiations in Egypt, but based on the October 4 map, the area inside the yellow line represents approximately 155sq km (60sq miles), leaving about 210sq km (81sq miles), or 58 percent of Gaza, under Israeli control, as verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad team.
Most notably, Israeli forces will remain in several previously populous Palestinian neighbourhoods, including:
Beit Lahiya
Beit Hanoon
Parts of Gaza City’s Shujayea, Tuffah and Zeitoun
More than half of the Khan Younis governorate
Nearly all of the Rafah governorate
In addition, Israel will continue to control all crossings in and out of Gaza, including the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced multiple times throughout two years of war and are desperate to return to their homes, but the continued Israeli presence in these areas makes that unlikely in the near term.
(Al Jazeera)
What is supposed to happen next?
According to the 20-point plan announced by Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on September 29 – developed without any Palestinian input – Israel is to withdraw its forces in three phases, as shown on an accompanying crude map, with each phase marked in a different colour:
(Al Jazeera)
Initial withdrawal (yellow line): In the first phase, Hamas is expected to release all remaining Israeli captives, both living and deceased, while Israeli forces pull back to the line designated in yellow on the map.
Second withdrawal (red line): During the second phase, an International Stabilization Force (ISF) will be mobilised to oversee security and support Palestinian policing, while Israeli forces retreat further to the line marked in red, reducing their direct presence in Gaza.
Third withdrawal (security buffer zone): In the final phase, Israeli forces are to pull back to a designated “security buffer zone”, leaving a limited portion of Gaza under Israeli military control, while an international administrative body supervises governance and a transitional period.
Even after the third withdrawal phase, Palestinians will be confined to an area which is smaller than before the war, continuing a pattern of Israel’s control over Gaza and its people.
Many questions remain about how the plan will be implemented, the exact boundaries of Palestinian territory, the timing and scope of Israeli withdrawals, the role of the International Stabilization Force, and the long-term implications for Palestinians across both Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance at an astonishing rate.
The frenzy over artificial intelligence (AI) stocks kicked off in late 2022 with the arrival of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. While this watershed moment occurred years ago, the AI market shows no sign of slowing down.
In fact, Google parent Alphabet(GOOGL -0.16%) (GOOG -0.04%) achieved a recent breakthrough with Gemini, a large language model (LLM) comparable to ChatGPT in many ways. The innovation suggests the AI industry could enjoy prosperity for decades.
If so, now may be the time to invest in AI giants like Alphabet. Here’s a dive into the company’s artificial intelligence accomplishment, as well as the implications for Alphabet’s stock and the broader AI market.
Alphabet’s AI achievement
In September, Alphabet’s Gemini achieved a groundbreaking outcome, becoming the first AI model to win a gold medal in an international computer programming competition. It successfully solved complex, real-world calculations that stymied human participants.
Google DeepMind, Alphabet’s AI research division, was responsible for Gemini. The DeepMind team highlighted the significance of the landmark achievement by stating, “Solving complex tasks at these competitions requires deep abstract reasoning, creativity, the ability to synthesize novel solutions to problems never seen before, and a genuine spark of ingenuity.”
Gemini demonstrated these traits in the competition, including successfully coming up with a creative solution to one challenge that no human participant was able to solve. This result marked a crucial step on the path toward artificial general intelligence (AGI). AGI is a theoretical level of AI proficiency considered equivalent to human thinking.
Gemini’s milestone is a memorable bellwether, akin to the moment when the world was stunned by IBM’s Deep Blue computer beating the reigning human chess champion in 1997.
How Alphabet’s milestone impacts the AI industry
A quarter-century after Deep Blue’s achievement, OpenAI’s introduction of ChatGPT opened the floodgates for the current AI boom. Now, Gemini’s breakthrough signals the start of a new era in the evolution of artificial intelligence, as the tech edges closer to the capacity for original thought.
AI is evolving from simply completing specific tasks toward solving more complex problems that require leaps in thinking — for example, designing innovative microchips or coming up with new medicines. The possibilities to upend markets in the years to come could be akin to how today’s AI is delivering unprecedented transformation across industries.
One example is Nvidia, the semiconductor chip leader. AI systems require increasingly potent computing capabilities. This need led to the company’s impressive 56% year-over-year sales growth to $46.7 billion in its fiscal second quarter, ended July 27, and drove its stock to a $4 trillion market cap.
Alphabet was among the first to power its AI with Nvidia’s new Blackwell chips. When the chip debuted in 2024, Nvidia stated, “Blackwell has powerful implications for AI workloads” and that the tech would help “drive the world’s next big breakthroughs.” Following Gemini’s AI milestone, it appears that Nvidia’s words were something more than empty marketing boasts.
The computing power needed to produce the Gemini breakthrough must have been substantial. Alphabet declined to specify how much, but admitted it was more than what’s available to customers subscribing to its top-tier Google AI Ultra service for $250 per month. With that kind of computing capability required for AI to perform advanced reasoning, Nvidia and other hardware providers can continue to benefit from AI advances.
What the Gemini breakthrough means for Alphabet stock
While building toward artificial general intelligence will increase computing costs for Alphabet, the company can afford it. Thanks to its search engine dominance, Alphabet generates substantial free cash flow (FCF) to invest in its AI systems. The company produced $66.7 billion in FCF over the trailing 12 months through Q2.
In addition, AI is already delivering business growth for the company. Its second-quarter sales were up 14% year over year to $96.4 billion as customers adopted AI features Alphabet released onto its search engine, cloud computing services, and advertising platforms.
Despite these strengths and Gemini notching a significant AI victory, Alphabet shares remain reasonably valued compared to rivals such as Microsoft. This can be seen in the stock’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, which reflects how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of a company’s earnings, based on the trailing 12 months.
The chart shows Alphabet’s P/E ratio is lower than Microsoft’s, suggesting it’s a better value. In other words, now could be a good time to pick up Alphabet shares at a reasonable price.
Since the Google parent isn’t the only beneficiary of ongoing AI progress, it’s worth considering the growth potential in other AI players, such as Nvidia, IBM, and Microsoft. As the tech industry moves closer to achieving AGI, the AI space is poised for innovations that are likely to fuel the sector’s growth for decades to come.
Robert Izquierdo has positions in Alphabet, International Business Machines, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, International Business Machines, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The Lincoln Lawyer season four is on the way but won’t be back on Netflix until 2026 so here are five shows to watch in the meantime
11:53, 05 Oct 2025Updated 11:55, 05 Oct 2025
5 shows for The Lincoln Lawyer fans to binge-watch while waiting for season 4(Image: NETFLIX)
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from The Lincoln Lawyer.
The fourth series of The Lincoln Lawyer is currently in the pipeline, but what can fans watch to fill the void in the meantime?
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo will be reprising his role as the charismatic Mickey Haller in the fourth instalment of Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer, which is now in post-production.
In the last episode we saw of Mickey, he was in a world of trouble after the body of Sam Scales (played by Christopher Thornton) was found in the boot of his car. But who could have framed him?
It’s believed that The Lincoln Lawyer won’t return until sometime in early 2026, so here are five Netflix shows fans can immerse themselves in while they wait for its comeback, reports the Daily Record.
Bodyguard
The gripping political thriller Bodyguard, which first premiered as a BBC drama in 2018, centres on Police Sergeant David Budd (portrayed by Richard Madden) who is tasked with protecting Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes).
Despite their political differences, the sexual tension is undeniable, but can the married British Army veteran avoid crossing the line between their personal and professional relationship?
With its unexpected plot twists and standout performances from Line of Duty’s Keeley Hawes and Game of Thrones star Richard Madden, Bodyguard is a must-watch.
The Diplomat
Another political thriller not to miss is The Diplomat, which has an impressive 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Following an attack on a British aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, newly appointed United States ambassador to the UK Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) must do everything possible to prevent war from erupting.
Hailed as “one of the most intelligent series put out by Netflix” by a viewer, The Diplomat is a captivating drama offering three series worth binge-watching.
Suits
For Lincoln Lawyer enthusiasts, the legendary Suits absolutely deserves a spot on your viewing schedule.
Spanning nine seasons, gifted university dropout Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) ends up employed as a legal associate at a prestigious law firm despite never attending law school.
These days, Suits is perhaps most famous as the show that kickstarted Meghan Markle’s acting journey when she played one of its leading characters, Rachel Zane.
In contrast to The Lincoln Lawyer, Suits’ storylines unfold over extended periods with each season featuring approximately 16 episodes, making it more of an investment but essential viewing for drama enthusiasts.
Pedro Paramo
Should The Lincoln Lawyer’s star Manuel Garcia-Rulfo be what draws you to the legal series, then this film showcasing the actor is perfect.
Adapted from the legendary Mexican novel by Juan Rulfo, Pedro Paramo chronicles Juan Preciado’s journey to the haunted town of Comala searching for his father Pedro Paramo (Garcia-Rulfo).
However, he quickly learns that the settlement is actually inhabited by spirits from its history, creating confusion between the living and the dead in this otherworldly 2024 film.
Unbelievable
One standout series from 2019 is a true crime drama featuring Toni Collette and Merritt Wever as Detectives Grace Rasmussen and Karen Duvall, respectively.
In 2008, Marie Adler, portrayed by Kaitlyn Dever in the series, was sexually assaulted in her flat by a masked man bearing a birthmark on his left calf.
However, after being coerced into repeatedly recounting the traumatic event, two male detectives begin to doubt her story and pressure her into retracting her statement.
Fast forward three years, and Rasmussen and Duvall are collaborating to bring this masked perpetrator to justice.
Unbelievable may be a hard watch but it’s a worthwhile one with the 2015 article An Unbelievable Story of Rape winning a Pulitzer Prize.
The Lincoln Lawyer is available to watch on Netflix.
Fans of the seminal, long-running podcast “WTF With Marc Maron” — and I count myself among them — have been treated to thousands of deep-dive interviews with a starry array of actors, musicians, comics and even some politicians (Barack Obama was a guest in 2015). It’s also been an intimate window into the conflicted inner life of the show’s eponymous host. Maron has seemingly pulled few if any punches in his podcast’s opening monologues as he’s held forth on everything from his fraught emotional state and his two-decade struggle with drug and alcohol addiction (he’s been sober since 1999) to the untimely 2020 death of his romantic partner, the well-regarded indie filmmaker Lynn Shelton (“Humpday,” “Your Sister’s Sister”).
Much of this personal territory and more is revisited in the absorbing, fly-on-the-wall-style documentary “Are We Good?” (named after Maron’s “WTF” sign-off phrase), produced and directed by Steven Feinartz.
Feinartz, who also directed Maron’s last two HBO stand-up specials, began filming his subject in 2021. He trailed Maron as he performed in comedy clubs from Los Angeles to Montreal, recorded his podcast from the garage studio of his Glendale home, visited with his elderly father and, most pivotally, worked through the soul-crushing loss of Shelton. That loss becomes the driving force of the doc, with Maron’s grief informing his daily life and thought process, while also providing cathartic, darkly humorous fodder for his stand-up gigs.
It’s a tricky balancing act that Feinartz depicts with candor, grace and patience, never letting the film’s provocative pathos turn overly grim or sentimental. A stand-up bit in which Maron recalls his ghoulish urge to snap a hospital selfie after bidding goodbye to the deceased Shelton (don’t worry, he decided against it) provides a gulp-worthy example of the comic’s brazen yet reflective approach to the world around him.
That Shelton died at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic made for an additionally cruel and difficult time for Maron, who was unable to share his pain with many others as social distancing took over. He eventually found the funny in that conundrum as well, incorporating the memory into his routine with satiric glee.
Anyone familiar with Maron’s grumpy, F-bomb-tossing persona will likely savor these 90 or so minutes in his swirlingly neurotic company. He unabashedly leans into that vibe here, even while wrangling his pair of self-possessed cats. While Maron sometimes kvetches about Feinartz’s hovering cameras, he seems to have given him a kind of all-access pass to his daily life in a way that belies his trademark crankiness. He may be a reluctant showman, but he’s a showman nonetheless.
The uninitiated, however, might find Maron somewhat less engaging. He readily self-identifies as “selfish, anxious and panicky” and for some, a little of that may go a long way. Still, it’s not hard to relate to his many cogent musings (“How do you love somebody else if you really can’t love yourself?”) as well as to respect he clearly had for Shelton, who’s seen here in an array of luminous, heartbreaking clips.
Other comic talents such as Nate Bargatze, David Cross, Caroline Rhea, Michaela Watkins and John Mulaney also weigh in, bringing a mix of the sincere and the droll to their frank and friendly observations about Maron. On his podcasts and elsewhere, Maron has spoken at length about growing up with narcissistic, emotionally detached parents and how that dynamic likely laid the groundwork for his problematic sense of self. Although that’s not discussed in great detail here, the scenes between Maron and his dad, Barry, now in his mid-80s and living with dementia, have a subtle poignance that shows a kinder, more accepting side of the comedian than perhaps even he might have expected.
Meanwhile, a bit more could have been made of Maron’s acting work, a sideline that’s gained momentum over the last decade or so with worthy roles on TV’s “Glow” and “Stick,” and in films including “Joker” and the upcoming “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.” Maron’s oft-stated uncertainty about his acting ability and the push-pull he has admitted to feeling might have dovetailed nicely with his other qualms.
That said, the profile, which features vivid archival and personal footage and photos of Maron throughout the years, is by no means comprehensive, nor does it try to be. At heart, it’s about a vulnerable man at a unique moment in time and how his past has prepared him — or perhaps not. And we are definitely good for experiencing this singular artist up close.
LOVE Island star India Reynolds has shown off her ‘new face’ after having fat pockets removed from her cheeks.
The TV beauty rose to fame as a finalist in the fifth series of the show before returning for the ITV2 show’s All Star edition earlier this year.
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India has shared an initial before and after of her new faceCredit: lovefromreyn/Instagram
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She underwent a skin treatment for a more defined faceCredit: lovefromreyn/Instagram
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The TV beauty was famously dubbed Love Island’s most attractive Islander everCredit: Instagram
India has taken to social media this week to show off her latest facial procedure in order to gain a more defined look.
The star, once labelled as Love Island’s hottest contestant ever, underwent a tightening and uplifting skin treatment which helped to give her a more defined jawline along with a slimmer face.
She opted for a “High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Therapy”, known for being “a minimally invasive procedure to rejuvenate and lift skin”.
India admitted her treatments could take up to 12 weeks to show clear results but she shared an initial before and after snap in which she revealed she was already very happy with the results.
Read More on India Reynolds
Alongside the snap, India said: “Here’s my before and after, results take up to 12 weeks but this was my immediate result which I’m thrilled with!”
She then added alongside an arrow to a part of her cheek: “This little fat pocket has already reduced.”
India will continue to document her facial procedures on her Instagram page.
Earlier this year, she made her return to TV after taking a backseat in the spotlight.
She signed up for All Stars but left after one week amid a failed connection with Scott Thomas.
However, India has since found love with someone new since her return to dating on TV.
India Reynolds mocks her most awkward Love Island moment with throwback clip – do you remember iconic scene-
Appearing on Olivia Attwood‘s So Wrong It’s Right podcast earlier this year, India revealed: “After I came out of this series, the All Stars in January, I was like ‘I need to get my act together’ because I haven’t dated anyone properly in ages, I’m getting older, I want to have kids… get a move on.
“I downloaded Hinge and thought this is going to be great for me and then they deleted my profile for impersonation, they thought it was a fake account.
“I had to redownload it and I had to send my passport and go through this whole palaver just to go on a first date with someone.”
She then shared her excitement of her blossoming new romance, saying: “But I finally got it back, went on a first date and the first guy I went on a date with was really nice.
Olivia then asked if she was still dating the mystery man and a smitten India confirmed they were an item.
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She returned to the spotlight earlier this year after appearing on All StarsCredit: Rex
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India shared snaps from the treatment onlineCredit: lovefromreyn/Instagram
