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In this week’s episode of The Envelope podcast, “Love Story” stars Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon open up about inhabiting John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette — and creating a cultural moment of their own.

Kelvin Washington: Welcome to the next episode of The Envelope, Kelvin Washington alongside Yvonne Villarreal; we got Mark Olsen as usual. And so you, my friend, had a chance to speak with stars of “Love Story” — Ryan Murphy, of course, tackling love with this. So it got me thinking, give me some real-life love stories that you’d like to see portrayed, maybe next season. Some love stories you always found interesting.

Villarreal: This one doesn’t have a tragic ending, and that’s why I want it. And that is Ina and Jeffrey Garten. “Barefoot Contessa”!

Olsen: I didn’t know that there was a great romance in her life.

Villarreal: Mark. You’ve never heard of Jeffrey? You don’t know Ina and Jeffrey. OK, this is why we need it. That man adores Ina and anything that she makes. Chicken, anything. This is a love story I need to see get the full display. I’ve read it in her book, but I need —

Olsen: So like “Julie & Julia.” Julia Child and her husband.

Villarreal: But cuter, sweeter, more adoring.

Washington: Loving the food theme here.

Villarreal: She’ll make anything and he thinks it’s delicious, and she laughs at everything he says, and I just want more of it, and I’m very curious what a Ryan Murphy take on Ina and Jeffrey would be.

Olsen: But see, that’s the thing. A Ryan Murphy take on that would ruin it for you.

Washington: That would be dramatic and spicy. Salacious.

Villarreal: Nothing could ruin it for me.

Washington: You got one?

Villarreal: Yeah, what’s yours?

Olsen: Well, I have two. One is because the sort of the ’90s vibes of “Love Story.” So you would obviously do Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. And that one would be very exciting and dramatic and very ’90s-ish. But I think for more of a torn-from-the-headlines [version], Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.

Villarreal: It’s too current.

Olsen: That’s why though.

Villarreal: How about you?

Washington: So I’m gonna stay with your ’90s. Instead of the pop grunge. I’m going to go R&B pop. I’m going to go Bobby and Whitney.

Olsen: I mean, that’s gold right there.

Washington: I’m just saying. You got love, you got fame, you got tragedy. You’ve got stuff that we didn’t know about behind the scenes.

Villarreal: Maybe he could hire us as head writers for each of these seasons and we can all have our say.

Washington: We can all have our own season. So as I mentioned, Yvonne, you had a chance to sit down with Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon of “Love Story.” How’d that chat go?

Villarreal: They play John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, respectively, and it sort of looks at this seven-year tumultuous relationship and what they both endured navigating the spotlight and what that did to them, how they each felt about it. So it was interesting to get the take from Paul and Sarah about how they’re also navigating the spotlight, because I feel like social media fame is quite different than what John and Carolyn were navigating back then. And I was curious to see what it was like for them. So yeah, it was an interesting conversation.

Washington: All right, let’s get into that conversation now.

Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Anthony Kelly, the breakout stars of FX’s “Love Story.”

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Villarreal: I imagine doing this series has been a sort of singular experience. What do you want to remember about this moment that you’re in?

Kelly: All of it’s so fun, it’s exciting. It’s definitely, for me, a new muscle that I’m learning to use and explore and stretch and flex. And I get to hang out with her a little bit more. It was wonderful.

Pidgeon: I think it’s just really hard to contextualize what this [is] — [to Kelly] I don’t know if you feel this way too — because there hasn’t been a ton of space from even the show having all the episodes come out. I don’t think I totally understand how this fits into the story of my life. I recognize that we’re experiencing something very exciting. And I think I speak for both of us that we feel really grateful and so honored to have taken on these roles and that it’s resonated and has excited people. But being out and about in New York and someone stops you and says, like, “Are you that girl from that show?” … When you’re making something, it can feel so insular. I remember when I started, I had a freak out sort of midway through like, “Oh, this is actually going to come out. It’s not just about the making of it. People will see it.” I had a huge heat rash. [To Kelly] Remember when we were in Hyannis Port? I just haven’t totally had that perspective. It’s just been very full-on in the most exciting, lovely, happy way.

Kelly: It’s all unfolded in succession. There’s been no period of time to really process. I can’t believe I did it, still. It’s out and it’s exactly the same thing … people are like, “Hey, you’re the guy in that thing, right?” I’m like, “Yeah.”

Villarreal: Has it happened in an awkward way?

Kelly: No, no, it’s all been overwhelmingly positive. I guess that’s best-case scenario, but I still try to walk around with a mustache and glasses and a hat and they’re still like, “Hey …!”

Villarreal: You didn’t try to go to the [JFK Jr.] look-alike contest in New York?

Kelly: Oh, my gosh, no.

Pidgeon: He would have won. That wouldn’t have been fair.

Kelly: It’s too many people. I got the show, so I think I already won.

Villarreal: A big theme of the series is exploring the heavy ramifications of fame on privacy. And aside from the great opportunities that come with doing the press or other things that come along with this, what has it been like adjusting your life to this experience?

Pidgeon: That idea was on both of our minds when we were filming. And we were filming in New York, so apart from the scenes and subject material we were exploring, we actually experienced it in real life as well. You have even more characters in a scene when you’re shooting on the streets of Tribeca and people stop and watch. And there was a lot of interest from the public while we were filming. I’ve been marinating on that idea. Maybe not marinating, but meditating. [Or] a little bit of both. Through our characterization of Carolyn and John, I think we felt those extremes. I haven’t felt anywhere close to that. But I don’t know about you [Kelly], but I feel like I’ve been quite busy going different places, coming on podcasts and things like that where my downtime hasn’t really been spent walking the streets so much. It’s been kind of going home and taking a shower and going to sleep.

Kelly: Same. I haven’t really had much time to go out and just be in the public, which I think has been kind of a gift. I recently had a child, so I have no time between the show and being dad. It’s been really great to live within that little privacy bubble I have at the moment. I’m going to New York for the first time in a little while tomorrow.

Villarreal: Has living in their story made you more conscious of what types of boundaries you do want to set?

Kelly: Absolutely. That was a really great gift of the show. And exploring the exponential setting of what privacy means to people, certainly those two individuals. But now I’ve adopted that within my own life, and it’s like, “OK, yeah, I like to be a private person.”

Villarreal: What about you, Sarah?

Pidgeon: So much, at least for Carolyn, was she was constantly battling this sense of how she was being perceived. And I really admire her ability, whether or not she felt the pressure [to do so] — she never spoke on the record and never had to correct the record despite, in my mind, a lot of those allegations being false in the stories about her. That sense of sort of self-possession is quite admirable and, again, this is so new for the both of us. Being able to embody her, that approach and attitude towards it, is something that’s quite interesting to me. And I mean, it definitely has a lot of self-restraint attached to it, so who knows if I possess that as well.

Villarreal: The love story between John and Carolyn, as well as their fateful flight, generated a lot of media attention. And I know you, Sarah, were a toddler, at the time of their deaths; and you, Paul, were a young boy — and you’re a Canadian. What was your image of them in terms of the lore that surrounded them before making the series?

Kelly: Growing up in Canada, I was familiar with who he was. I became even more familiar with them after living in the States for a while. I was a model before, and I had been told I looked like him, so after being told that, you kind of do a little bit of research. Who is this guy? And I was like, “I don’t look anything like JFK.” But then I realized [they meant] JFK Jr. “OK, maybe; yeah, I do look like him a little bit.” So I became more aware of them after that. But growing up, it definitely wasn’t in my cultural zeitgeist, whatever you want to call it.

Pidgeon: I knew that Carolyn worked at Calvin Klein. I knew they were married. I knew their story. I was such a young child when they passed, but they remained so in the cultural conversation because, especially in 1999, they represented such hope in politics. And they’re such a modern couple, sort of breaking the rules of what those norms are, especially coming from such a storied family that has such legacy in the States.

Villarreal: There’s an overwhelming amount of source material from the Kennedy side, but less so on Carolyn. What proved to be most useful to you? What were the things that you turned to to study or figure out who she was?

Pidgeon: That was such a mystery. [I was] taking these still photographs, mainly paparazzi images — and now that I’ve had a few photos taken of myself, you hold yourself differently when you know someone’s taking a photo of you that you also don’t know. That plus videos of her, very few in which she was speaking. And some of the candid photos, mainly from when she was younger. I sort of laid those on top of each other and then used as many books that I could find and interviews that people would give who knew her. But there’s scarcity in terms of that information. That at times felt arresting, but at other times … there’s a lot of freedom in that. And I think that’s what was so interesting about playing this character that is so well known and yet very enigmatic. Finding her walk and thinking about how that changes over the course of nine episodes and six-and-a-half, seven years. How this woman with so much freedom and anonymity — 26 years old, living in New York City, barreling down these streets in the East Village — then changes when she’s the most photographed woman in America. How that perception changes you physically.

Villarreal: Her walk was very striking for me, because I’m like, I can’t move that way.

Pidgeon: Yes you can. You can get a pair of Manolos.

Villarreal: It won’t look as elegant as you, Sarah, but talk to me about finding that walk because, like you said, it shifts from when the onslaught happens. Did you work with a movement coach? Was that all you?

Pidgeon: Julia Crockett is so incredible. There’s not enough hours in the day to sing her praises. We started with a lot of what I just mentioned, the quotes that people said of how she moved. She spoke with her hands. She could be a fast walker — most people who live in New York are. If there was a video of what I was doing in these hotel rooms, they’d think I was absolutely crazy. Rolling around on the floor, isolating different parts of my body, making it as dramatic as possible, and working it into a circle of attention that felt real. And understanding we were both 5-10, which helps. I think tall women carry themselves in a certain way. But understanding that my body is still my body, and our production I don’t think was particularly interested in doing huge physical transformations in terms of prosthetics or things like that. But getting the shoes, walking around in my spare time in New York in heels, which Carolyn does in the show and Sarah Pidgeon does not. That really changes you and it changes how you feel. And just always having that through line of, “What were the touchstones of Carolyn as a young woman, and where did I want her to end up physically?” You can see it through so many different versions in these different photographs — her hair changes, how she dresses changes, the red lip. I [was] always remembering that there was a journey that I was going on: “How can the world close in on her? What does that feel like?” Also, not only putting it into my body first, but feeling it in my body, imagining that. And what are the images that come up? We thought about [her as a] mossy ball; very tactile, just rolling down these hallways in the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.

Villarreal: Paul, you had about three weeks from when you got cast and when production started. And there’s ample stuff to sift through. How did you figure your way out through the noise? What was the thing that really helped you lock in to who he was?

Kelly: He narrates his father’s book, “Profiles in Courage,” and that for me was a great asset. I had to learn how to use my tongue in a different way than I’ve ever spoken before. His speech patterns are different. I worked with a dialect coach. I would listen to that all day, every day — amongst ’90s alt music, some Nine Inch Nails and stuff because that’s what John would do.

Villarreal: Was that what he was into?

Kelly: I think so. One of my favorite photos of him is a candid photo, and he’s wearing a Nine Inch Nails shirt. I’m like, “My guy! Here we go. I can relate.” I watched a lot of his interviews just to see how he kept his cool and composure. He was a very relaxed individual under extreme stress situations. The Larry King interview was a great one; I relied on [it] a lot. I also looked at a lot of images and saw how he moved through the world. I was a model before so I’m pretty good at understanding how my body moves and how to move it; I also worked with Julia pretty briefly, but she gave me some really great tips and I took those throughout the entire duration of filming and just ran with it.

Villarreal: Are you someone that takes bike as your transportation often?

Kelly: Oh yeah. Four wheels moves the body, two wheels moves the soul.

Villarreal: How is it doing it with the suit on?

Kelly: It’s hot.

Pidgeon: Yeah, you did a lot of that in July during a heat wave.

Kelly: Oh, my gosh, when we started filming, the first scene where John is introduced on the bicycle, we shot that on a Sunday and it was like 103 degrees outside and I’m in a ’90s wool suit. It was great … And a hat. And a backpack. There’s a photo where there’s several hands coming at me with fans and spritzer.

Villarreal: How about finding John and Carolyn together? What did that look like for the two of you, figuring out who they were as a couple?

Kelly: I feel like it happened organically. We had like this unspoken bond and trust with each other from the moment we met and it was just like, “OK, we both understand the assignment.” Then we get to step into these shoes and we understand what that was like, I guess, but just going through it together [helped]. It’s also so well written and it is easy to fall into that. It’s very easy to fall in love with this one every day and then fight.

Pidgeon: Oh, you flatter me.

Villarreal: Because you both were so young at the time that they were a couple, were there modern-day couples of your generation that you looked to in terms of how they dealt with the spotlight? Was there someone you were looking to, to help you understand it?

Pidgeon: I think they were pretty singular, especially considering so much of how we view them as a couple was the time in which they existed. I don’t think I can really point to a couple … obviously there’s a comparison with [Princess] Diana, but I can’t really I put my finger on a couple that had the same essence of John and Carolyn, or the same challenges and obstacles of being a couple in public life. [To Kelly] Can you think of anyone?

Kelly: Not really, no.

Pidgeon: It was also that we were coming in on this advent of paparazzi. Obviously coming from such an important family, there was — and I want to speak for you [Kelly] in terms of how you felt about your characterization of JFK Jr. — but there was so much investment in them as a couple because America, and really the world, had watched him grow up. So of course there is this heightened interest in who America’s son marries. And again, that hope that they were this modern couple, one that we’ve never seen before, and what will they become in this new millennium? In terms of finding them together, what was so wonderful about the writing of the show was they were — granted, it happened in about three or four episodes [for the show’s purposes] — but as we were getting to know each other, so were Carolyn and John. They were falling in love with each other and figuring out what that dynamic was and having those misfirings and miscommunications and moments of intensity and questioning. The amount of times I’ve used the word “meta” while talking about the experience of making this show, that sort of mirrored life in a way. I was able to just absolutely give over to Paul and trust him and be excited working with him every single day and be so curious about who John and Carolyn were that day on set. No one better than Paul Anthony Kelly.

Kelly: Oh, you flatter me.

Villarreal: There are a lot of scenes that are stuff that we’ll never know whether they actually happened. But then there are the moments that were played out in tabloids — one of them is the Bryant Park episode. What can you tell me about what that was like shooting on the streets of New York? What do you remember about that experience?

Kelly: What was it, the Nextdoor app called?

Pidgeon: Citizen.

Kelly: The Citizen app. They called it [a] “domestic dispute” … so we were obviously doing our job correctly. It was interesting. Shooting in New York is a very interesting experience because you have all these outliers just watching and gawking. Everyone’s got phones and cameras and what have you. And we’re so in it and doing it and then to have like this blowup argument over and over and again, take after take, angle after angle.

Pidgeon: I wonder if someone reported us just to be like, “Make it stop!”

Kelly: Yeah, exactly. Nobody tried to save you in the moment. Maybe that was them trying to save you [by posting it in the app].

Pidgeon: That was always something to contend with or accept, really, at a certain point. This is an expectation of working in the city. And what I really liked about that scene was that — considering there was such little videography of her, especially because that was a private moment that was unfortunately caught on tape — they both had less inhibitions. I found it [to be] a really amazing exercise as an actor to finally be able to really take something and mimic it exactly and find how the words that Connor [Hines] had written [aligned with it]; it felt like such a great sign when it felt the writing really matched what I physically knew to be true. Because our interest in the story is what happens behind closed doors, as you said. But in those few moments that we did re-create, the real-life [moments], it felt very reassuring as an actor to feel like the words that we were speaking matched the physical footage. I just found it such an exciting way to go about it, to have it really be this outside-in approach. You take this physicality and vocal pattern that I had developed as Carolyn, but then really have some proof for that to be the jumping-off point. I love that we had that scene; we had when they take their first photo after their wedding; we had, in Episode 9, the [Newman’s Own/George Awards] event. Remember that clip that we watched? We’re in the exact same outfits, and I think it’s the Newman’s Own event. I always appreciated those moments. It felt like a different way in to a character that I had really started to get to know at that point.

Villarreal: Whenever I watch something based on a true story or people that were like historical figures, I can’t help but Google to see if something really happened. Is there something you Googled in the process of making the show where you were like, “Did this really happen?”

Pidgeon: There’s a bit of speculation as to how they met. There’s a couple of different stories. Considering this couple was so well known, the fact that there’s still a mystery into how they even met for the first time I think is quite interesting.

Villarreal: I Googled — and I will say I clearly am not the only one that thought this because there was a whole story of it — “Did they really eat KFC chicken?”

Pidgeon: They did.

Kelly: Fine dining.

Pidgeon: You didn’t eat any chicken.

Kelly: Noooo. I got secondhand chicken. That chicken, oh my gosh.

Pidgeon: They did warm it up a bit, but it was pretty cold, you know.

Villarreal: We can’t talk about this show without talking about the wardrobe, the costumes. It’s such a key piece to the storytelling here. Tell me about that collaboration and what the clothes said to you about who Carolyn is and then who John is.

Pidgeon: Yes, clothes are incredibly important to the story and to how most of the public knows and remembers Carolyn. Working with Rudy Mance was so incredible. What he was able to source, while we’re not necessarily sure if they were pieces that Carolyn herself wore, they were the exact pieces of the exact same collection. The very few pieces we weren’t able to source, they were impeccably re-created. Just the attention to detail, I had never really experienced something like that. It was just really watching a master at work, and the rest of our crew as well; not a detail was ever overlooked. The mystery that we really tried to solve in the beginning was: Wow, there’s so many photos of her [from] ’95, ’96 and beyond; there are far fewer photos of what she looked like when she was working at Calvin Klein. And we’re in that space and that time for quite a while. From the photos that we do have of her living in this time in her life, and then how we know she will dress, what are the through lines? What are the pieces she repeats? I don’t think I wore much Prada in the first two, three episodes, which makes sense, because she was just starting out at Calvin Klein. We [had her wear] a lot of Calvin pieces. What was so insightful to playing her was her sartorial choices and her understanding of how, especially since she never spoke on the record, [and] what she can communicate through fashion and how in those initial fittings, even before I really spoke the words of those episodes, how it immediately changed how I held myself as Carolyn was growing and getting older. I keep referencing this quote about Yohji Yamamoto, a designer whom she wore frequently. He liked making the association with his clothing to armor. I just thought that was such a great way into her sort of mental state and how she approached clothing. It was very her, she wore the clothes. That was something that I had to remember, that if I was going to try and embody her, I had [to] feel like I was wearing the clothes because that’s what really stuck out. You always saw her first, despite her wearing some incredibly beautiful clothing. Carolyn was No. 1.

Kelly: John had such great style. Sometimes it was pretty kooky. I also loved that too because it just is such a sense of him. Working with Rudy was a dream. He and his team were incredible. They were able to source so many things. And if they couldn’t find it, it was a direct re-creation, like exact copy of what it was. I remember even just like those shorts with the Knicks logo that he wears playing football. I remember seeing a comment, “John would never wear those.” [Sighs.] “OK, sure.” There’s something about getting into those outfits that it just was this whole other transporting layer of becoming. You hold yourself differently in these things and it just made it feel more real and you’re like, “OK, cool,” and you just live in it and it feels good and you get slouchy and whatever. It was really nice.

Villarreal: How does your style compare? Did they influence your style now?

Kelly: Honestly, it’s a little different, but it’s not that far off. I feel pretty good in a suit. I like to wear suits a lot. I’m the suited heavy metal guy.

Pidgeon: You also have that cool factor about you too. I think there’s something in that with John. He looked great in a suit, he looked great in a tux, but then there was a bit of an edge to him. There was bit of a realness, I think, that you guys share.

Villarreal: Everyone’s trying to emulate it. So many TikToks of people trying to re-create it. Sarah, do you feel like you can never go back to brunette now? Like this is your thing now? You have to stick with it?

Pidgeon: The blond seems to be working. I like being a different hair color. I don’t think I’ll be blond forever. Simply too much time [involved]. It’s so much work. My colorist is amazing — Kari Hill. Cannot sing her praises enough. And Alex Pardoe, who does extensions. It’s been really interesting to find how I [am as a blond] — so much of my time being blond was embodying Carolyn. [Paul and I] would both sleep on the weekends. We wouldn’t do anything while we were shooting. So I didn’t really get a chance to take a walk in this new hair. And when I started dressing again, to go out, I would put on my favorite clothes from when I was brunette. It’s like, “Oh, it just doesn’t hit.” It’s been cool to see how I present and how color theory is crazy. But we’ll see, I guess it depends on how much time I have on my hands.

Villarreal: The series really grapples with the media invasion that swirled around them. What do you say to the critics that feel that a show like this either reignites that craze or contributes to it? What do you want the takeaway of a show like this to be?

Pidgeon: Thinking about one of the first questions you asked — how are we now dealing with with being potentially recognized — I think the intensity of interest in famous people, famous couples, celebrity, actors, musicians, you name it, artists, it’s changed shape, but it has never gone away. Our intention in making this show was, again, what we know about their lived reality, but what can we infer might have happened behind those closed doors. To the general public, [they were] sort of two-dimensional … I knew very little about Carolyn, but I ingested so many photos of her far before this project was ever on my radar. While I recognize this may have contributed to reigniting interest in them, I hope that that interest feels like there’s a more intimate understanding of these people; that they weren’t just figures, that they were people with very full lives, feelings, a profound sense of privacy, intense relation to each other, very, very human. I guess that would be my answer to that. I hope that this is also a bit of a lens or a mirror that, again, if that intensity hasn’t changed, how might we [change it] in the future?

Anyone who has been a new parent knows it’s not easy to do on your own — it really does take a village. And in the latest season of “The Four Seasons,” which returned to Netflix last week, Ginny, played by Erika Henningsen, finds her village as she navigates single parenthood after the sudden death of Nick, played by Steve Carell. While that may sound gloomy — no, terrifying — the comedy series created by Tina Fey, Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield keeps the laughs coming, whether they involve the central friend group spreading Nick’s ashes — morbid, I know, but I promise you’ll laugh — a malfunctioning breast pump or making friends with someone who loves to dig really big holes in the sand at the beach. Henningsen dropped by Guest Spot to talk about her character and what she hopes comes next if the show gets a third season.

And if you breeze through the second season’s eight episodes, there’s plenty else to watch this weekend. For more laughs, Mindy Kaling’s latest comedy series, “Not Suitable for Work,” premiered this week with three episodes. The TV creator spoke to Times TV writer Yvonne Villarreal about how the series touches on the heightened feelings Kaling experienced living in New York in her 20s, trying to break into comedy writing. But if you are looking for the complete opposite, the first two episodes of the newest iteration of “Cape Fear” are out today on Apple TV (you may remember the 1991 film version directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, or even the 1962 version starring Robert Mitchum). The series, which inserts some modern elements and twists, stars Javier Bardem as the villainous Max Cady and Amy Adams as lawyer Anna Bowden, who our television critic says “is low-key forceful as his primary opponent.”

Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our critics recommend a web short that will give you some background on “Backrooms,” as well as a horror film with a similar vibe, and a new nature documentary series. — Maira Garcia

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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Chiwetel Ejiofor in “Backrooms,” which was inspired by Kane Parson’s surrealist web videos.

(A24)

“Backrooms – Presentation” (YouTube), “Buffet Infinity” (VOD)

Last weekend, 20-year-old Kane Parsons became the youngest filmmaker to hit No. 1 at the box office with “Backrooms,” a surrealistic experiment about a furniture salesman (Chiwetel Ejiofor) drawn into a maze of humdrum office space. Peek into the movie’s lore on Parsons’ YouTube channel where his eight and a half minute short, “Presentation,” hints at why Mark Duplass was running around in a lab coat. Or let the feature stand as its own work and watch Simon Glassman’s “Buffet Infinity” instead. Told through snippets of local TV commercials, this morbidly hilarious horror tale is like plopping down on one of the backroom’s couches to channel surf. The bland muzak and cinematography are spot-on, as are the familiar breeds of low-budget pitchmen: the car salesman, the personal injury lawyer, the housewife. But once two neighboring restaurateurs duel over the rights to a special sauce — and one gets defamed and disappeared — these escalating, tense ads reveal a town under siege. Things have gotta be bad when the pawn broker starts rapping about his vast selection of knives. — Amy Nicholson

A pilosaurs in NBC’s “Surviving Earth.”

(NBC)

“Surviving Earth” (NBC, Peacock)

If computer animation is good for anything, it is its ability to bring prehistoric creatures to convincing conjectural life. From Willis O’Brien‘s stop-motion dinosaurs in “The Lost World,” to “Jurassic Park,” to the BBC’s “Walking With Dinosaurs,” we are ever glad to take that trip backward, in increasingly sharp detail. “Surviving Earth,” an eight-part nature documentary cum disaster movie cum action film, adds a thematic twist: extinction. With titles like “When the Earth Burned,” “When the Seas Died” and “When the Forests Collapsed,” it is, on the one hand, a dark tour through a long history of climate crises and population collapse; on the other, per its title, its relatively cheering theme is that life, generally speaking, can handle whatever the planet (or stray asteroid) throws at it. (Humans are not left off the hook; the two episodes out for review each conclude with a visit to our destructive modern world.) As in many nature films, the animals are framed in cute or suspenseful stories that largely involve family and community; territory and travel; and looking for food and not being food. (The more adorable the animal, the more likely it is to escape uneaten, and some of those baby dinos are precious.) It premieres Thursday at 8 p.m. on NBC, and new episodes air weekly, followed by a rebroadcast of “The Americas,” the network’s earlier present-day nature series, and stream on Peacock the next day. — Robert Lloyd

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Kerri Kenney-Silver as Anne and Erika Henningsen as Ginny in Season 2 of “The Four Seasons.”

(Emily V. Aragones/Netflix)

What if you found out you were pregnant? And then your partner died suddenly. Oh, and he hadn’t divorced his wife yet, so there’s no money to support yourself and a new baby. For some people, it would be enough to cause a meltdown and an existential crisis. But in Season 2 of “The Four Seasons,” Ginny takes it all in stride. The character, played by actor Erika Henningsen, forges ahead, has the baby — fathered by the now-deceased Nick — and ends up getting help from the most unexpected person: Anne, her partner’s ex.

The comedy series once again follows the close-knit friend group consisting of Jack (Will Forte) and Kate (Tina Fey), Danny (Colman Domingo) and Claude (Marco Calvani), and the new odd couple, Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver) and Ginny. This season, they take trips to the Catskills, the Jersey Shore and Italy as they try to navigate grief following Nick’s death, supporting Ginny despite the awkwardness of her situation with Anne, and an international move by Danny and Claude after they decide not to have a child.

Henningsen discussed Ginny’s arc this season and how she connects with Anne, who finds purpose in caring for baby Gino (or Eugene, depending on whom you ask), and what it was like juggling multiple projects along with filming “The Four Seasons.” — M.G.

At the end of the first season of “The Four Seasons,” viewers were hit with a big surprise: Ginny is pregnant. And in Season 2, we see her further along and eventually with a baby. What was it like to play Ginny at this stage in her life, navigating single motherhood? Did you look to anyone for inspiration?

I feel like Ginny’s character arc in this season was a tightrope walk that our writers executed flawlessly. Because, let’s be honest, the situation between Anne and Ginny is a bit bizarre. To quote our show, “there is no Beyoncé song” for what to do when your recently deceased ex-husband’s pregnant girlfriend shows up on the group hiking trip! What myself and the writers really tried to highlight, especially in those early spring episodes, is how scared Ginny feels to be entering motherhood without a partner by her side and how that fear and grief become the dominating force behind her actions. She’s just scrambling for some semblance of confidence and security, to feel like she’s going to be “ready” when the baby arrives. But, as any real mom can attest, there is no ‘“ready” when it comes to a baby. You just take it one day at a time and figure it out as you go. I love that Ginny has that realization toward the middle of the season. She may not be the perfect mom to Gino, but she’s his mom, and getting to play the beach scene where Ginny takes one tiny bold step, alone, into motherhood was super special. In terms of inspiration, I was constantly texting two friends of mine who had just had babies for ways to walk, ways to lay down, ways to stretch, etc. Also, our incredible hair department head, JT Franchuk (shoutout, JT!), was on set with me every day, and I was lucky to have her as a confidant and sounding board as she was seven months pregnant when we began shooting Season 2.

You share many great scenes with Kerri Kenney-Silver, who becomes a surrogate mother to Ginny and grandmother to her baby, despite the history between them. How did you two navigate this dynamic, and what was it like working together?

Kerri Kenney-Silver is truly the greatest scene partner an actor could have for a litany of reasons. Kerri comes from an improv background but is also a technical wordsmith. She’s constantly throwing out new line readings and physical comedy to bounce off of, but is also deeply respectful of the words Tina Fey and company have crafted, so she’s equal parts anchor to a scene as well as a playmate. Kerri and I never tried to nail down one exact “right” way to play a scene. We were constantly adjusting the levers with each take, digging into one another versus backing off, casually throwing away a sentimental line versus staring into one another’s eyes. What we did agree on was to never judge these two characters. Some people might look at our character’s choices as debilitating or selfish, but we both found that Anne and Ginny deeply needed and wanted to be there for one another. In their own little “odd couple” way, they were choosing one another to get through the next tenuous, unknown chapter of life. Oh, and working with Kerri? As I’ve said, “if you’re gonna lose a Steve Carrell, just wait til you gain a Kerri-Kenney Silver.” She is obviously so talented, but also one of the warmest and most welcoming humans I have worked with. And she makes me snort-laugh on a regular basis.

You came up in theater and originated the role of Cady Heron in the Broadway production of “Mean Girls,” based on the film by Fey. You were on Broadway in “Just in Time” last year, too. What has it been like to balance your stage work with your TV work lately?

Honestly? It’s been a lot! I say that with 98% gratitude and 2% “so tired when is vacation?” exhaustion. Last year, I was doing press for “The Four Seasons” while opening a brand-new original Broadway show, while also recording Season 3 of the hit animated series I currently star in, “Hazbin Hotel” [Prime Video]. My days were spent doing interviews in the morning, rushing to Circle in the Square theater for “Just in Time” preview rehearsals in the afternoon, recording episodes of “Hazbin Hotel” on my dinner break, all before heading back to the theater for an 8 p.m. curtain. I remember there was one night I did a SAG panel with Tina, Kerry and Marco on 55th and Broadway that ended at 7:45, and I was in pincurls and fake eyelashes, ready to go onstage opposite Jonathan Groff at 8:15. It is definitely a balancing act, and one I would not be able to navigate without my team and my husband. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love how each discipline has started to inform the other: I’ve taken my spontaneity in the voice-over booth onto set, I’ve taken my trust in stillness in front of the camera onto the stage, and I’ve taken my discipline doing eight shows a week into everything. Getting to dip a toe into multiple pools of the entertainment industry is, I think, the only way my brain wants to operate.

If “The Four Seasons” gets a third season, where would you like to see Ginny go?

In a perfect world? I’d love if Danny/Claude planned a fabulous trip to a gay destination like Mykonos that the rest of the group somehow gloms onto. I remember visiting Fire Island for the first time a few summers ago at Tina’s recommendation and loving it so much. I texted her that I never wanted to leave and she basically wrote back, “Yup. Always follow the gays.” So, maybe we will do exactly that in Season 3. Also, on a very specific Ginny note, I will hopefully have a toddler in Season 3 as opposed to a baby (our babies on set were under 6 months old so they definitely fell into the “handle with care” category!), and my dream is to be able to hold one the way Diane Keaton holds her toddler in “Baby Boom.” It’s a perfect moment of physical comedy, and I aspire to re-create it.

What have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know?

“Beef” Season 2 and the recent Rafael Nadal documentary, “Rafa.” Both Netflix. What can I say? I’m loyal. The entire cast in “Beef” is spectacular, and I love the genre-bending the showrunner weaves throughout. You never quite know where you stand, but the twists feel earned and character-driven as opposed to gimmicky. There’s one quasi-bottle episode set in an ER that felt perfectly surreal, claustrophobic and exactly what it feels like to be in the ER on bad health insurance (speaking from 21-year-old experience). “Rafa” is just … no words. I love a sports doc (“The Last Dance” [Netflix], “Prefontaine” [VOD], “The Endless Summer” [Tubi] — you name it), probably because, in my heart of hearts, I just want to be an athlete.

What’s your go-to comfort watch, the movie or TV show you go back to again and again?

I will never tire of watching “The Parent Trap” [Disney+]. It’s perfect. Chessy is a queer icon, Meredith Blake is the “villain” but also get that vineyard honey, one of Lindsay Lohan’s best performances, and what I wouldn’t give to have an ounce of the class that was Natasha Richardson. Every scene is perfect, there’s not a single “skip” on the soundtrack. Also a flawless Maggie Wheeler cameo! Nancy Jane Meyers: You outdid yourself.

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When it comes to exploring Los Angeles, there are three things that actor and comedian Randall Park loves to do: shop, eat and run. Park, a native Angeleno, grew up on the Westside, attended UCLA, chose a career here and can’t imagine living anywhere else.

“I consider myself a small town person who happened to be born in the big city,” Park says. “I’ve traveled a lot for work, and have gotten a greater appreciation for L.A. There’s a little part of everywhere here. There’s so much good food in L.A., so many fun things to do and really great people here.”

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

The son of Korean immigrants, Park grew up in the South Robertson area, “a part of L.A. that was extremely diverse,” he says. “My friends, growing up and to this day, are all different backgrounds, races and religions. We were like a bunch of punk kids running around the city.”

Park is known for his roles as Agent Jimmy Woo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, FBI Special Agent Edwin Park in the Netflix series “The Residence” and Taiwanese American patriarch Louis Huang in the ABC sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat.”

Recently, Park, his wife (actor Jae Suh Park) and their 13-year-old daughter Ruby left Studio City, where they had lived for 15 years, to move back to the Westside. When asked what his ideal Sunday would include, Park’s answer was jam-packed. It was so jam-packed that it would be impossible to fit it all in one day. So, take his schedule with a grain of salt. This is his magical Sunday where time bends, L.A. traffic doesn’t exist and bellies are never too full.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

9 a.m.: Go for a run before a day of delicious eats

I’d sleep in, then go for a run to the beach and run around Venice. Sometimes my daughter’s up earlier. She’s on the autism spectrum, and really loves art and making stuff. We have a little art room that’s dedicated to her. She’s always painting, drawing, making little sculptures, just always creating.

10 a.m.: Breakfast and then pastries

Rae’s in Santa Monica is a very old-school diner, and we really love it there. They do these biscuits and gravy that are really good. They’re probably not that good for you, but I just ran, so it’s OK. There’s also a great bakery-cafe that we like to go to called Röckenwagner. So breakfast at Rae’s, then a coffee and pastry at Röckenwagner. We’ll be eating all day, which is why I ran in the morning.

11 a.m.: Stroll the farmers’ market

Next, we’d hit up the farmers’ market in Mar Vista. We’ll get fruits and vegetables for later in the week. There’s a hummus stand that I really love. There’s always a band playing, so we just soak it all in. It’s a really nice walk.

Noon: Shopping, with more eating along the way

Then I’d go shopping, and would either drag my family with me, or I’d go alone while they did their thing. First, there’s a small shop called General Quarters on La Brea. I know the owner there, Blair Lucio, and they always carry the coolest stuff. They specialize in California heritage-style clothing for men. Another store I love is Sid Mashburn in the Brentwood Country Mart. They do suits and really cool menswear. I discovered it in Atlanta when I was working on a job and loved it so much that every time I’d be in Atlanta, I’d go to it. Then I discovered they had one in L.A.

Or, I’d go to Sawtelle Boulevard. That whole street is fun with so many great stores. The Giant Robot store there has a lot of pop culture, Japanese and Asian pop culture, a lot of art, graphic novels. There’s also a great record store called We Share Records. It’s mostly vinyl and a lot of it is from Japan. They’ll even have American artists, but the Japanese editions of their records, so it’s really cool to see the Japanese versions of a Whitney Houston album. The last thing I bought there was a Hall & Oates record from Japan.

For lunch, I’ve been really into a place called Sun Nong Dan on Sawtelle. They have a few locations, but the newer one in Sawtelle is the only one that I go to since I’m on the Westside. I usually get either the Galbi-tang, which is a short rib soup, or the Tta Roh Guk Bap, which is a brisket and dried cabbage soup, or the Dduk Mandu Guk, which is a rice cake and dumpling soup. Very much Korean comfort food. Plus, they’re open 24 hours, which sometimes comes in handy.

If not there, I’d go to El Tepeyac Cafe in Boyle Heights, which is one of my all-time favorites as a kid that my dad would take me to. It’s very homestyle Mexican food, and I would get their Hollenbeck burrito, which is pretty epic.

6 p.m.: Baseball or dinner out

If there’s a Dodgers game, I’d go to the game. Growing up in L.A., there’s a lot of nostalgia with the Dodgers for me. I’ve always been a fan. My wife and I will go to the games and eat Dodger Dogs and nachos.

If not, we’d go to Musso & Frank Grill to get a shrimp cocktail and steak dinner. It’s very Old Hollywood, and you can feel the history in there. A lot of the leather booths have a story. I love when L.A. preserves its landmarks. Getting a sense of the history of the city through these restaurants is really fun.

For something more low-key, there’s this restaurant in Koreatown called Kobawoo House. They specialize in bosam, which are wraps with [fillings like] pork. They also specialize in Korean seafood pancakes that are so good.

If we’re going to go fancy, which we don’t often do, there’s a restaurant called Kato at the Row, near downtown. It’s a Michelin-starred Taiwanese omakase-style restaurant that’s so good. You don’t order. They just give you courses, and you can pair it with wine or just order cocktails. I usually just order an Old Fashioned, which is really good there. The food is just out of this world.

8 p.m.: A little night jazz

After dinner, we’d drive down to South Pasadena where there’s a bar and grill called the Barkley. My childhood friend Richie Glaser has a jazz band [the Richard Glaser Quartet] and they play at the Barkley every Sunday night. We’d get a cocktail, listen to the band and hang out.

9:30 p.m.: Winding down for bedtime

We’d come home, relax and watch TV, probably old episodes of “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” My daughter would go to bed before us, and would be asleep before we officially go to sleep. The end of the day is very low-key and quiet. Every Sunday is different, but my ideal Sunday would be one of food, family, friends and frolicking throughout the city.

Mindy Kaling was in her early 30s when the first TV series she created, “The Mindy Project,” made its debut and set in motion her attempt at forging an identity as a prolific multi-hyphenate after “The Office,” where she was a writer and cast member for eight seasons. But if you ask her to reflect on that time of her life, she says, it’s a bit of a blur.

As she explained recently, “I remember it, but not all that distinctly. It was such a grind — waking up at 6 a.m. to be on camera, wrapping late. And I did that for 117 episodes.”

But ask her about her 20s, when she was living in New York City and trying to figure out how she could break into the industry as a comedy writer? “I remember incredibly vividly,” she says. “I’m like, did I feel things more intensely back then? I’m not sure. But that period of time … there was just so many highs and lows. And it felt cinematic to me.”

So she made a TV show about it.

Premiering Tuesday with three episodes, “Not Suitable for Work” follows five ambitious 20-somethings living in Manhattan who are navigating the early stages of their careers while trying to have a semblance of a life and the heightened emotions they experience during this period. Kaling calls it the third chapter in her semi-autobiographical TV trilogy, which includes “Never Have I Ever,” about a first-generation Indian American teenager coping with her father’s death while trying to be popular (or at least not super uncool), and “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” about four young women who dorm together and boldly maneuver their new, uninhibited lives on campus.

In the new Hulu series, viewers are introduced to AJ Pascarelli (Ella Hunt), a hard-working and disciplined young woman who moves to town to start a high-pressure finance job, and her roommate Abhinaya “Abby” Chilukuri (Avantika), a savvy and fashion-obsessed assistant to a celebrity stylist. They live across the hall from Josh Teitelbaum (Jack Martin), an idealistic nepo baby of a media titan — he’ll lean into his privilege when it suits him while also trying to distance himself from it — with ambitions of making it in journalism. His two roommates are Kel Washington (Nicholas Duvernay), an insecure but earnest med student who would rather be acting, and Davis Beau Bradley Barrett III (Will Angus), a high-energy, bumbling financial analyst who works at the same corporate firm as AJ and is an undercover hopeless romantic. As one might expect, there are some messy entanglements within and outside the group.

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1. Abby (Avantika), left, and AJ (Ella Hunt) move in together. 2. Across the hall live Davis (Will Angus), left, Josh (Jack Martin) and Kel (Nicholas Duvernay). (Gwen Capistran / Disney)

“I hope that young people will respond to the show, “ Kaling says. “We did so much research in it because at a certain point it is funny — I’m in my 40s, and I am often like, ‘I wonder if young people are suspicious about why I’m so obsessed with writing shows about young people.’”

So, why is she?

“Because I find it almost impossible to reflect on the current time I’m in,” she says. “It would be too painful to be too introspective about the time that I’m in. I need a real sense of distance to look back on it, especially since having kids. Once you have kids, it triggers these memories of your own childhood.”

Over video call from New York City, Kaling reflected on the series and her early years of trying to make it. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

How did you land on the professions that your characters would be pursuing and what did you want to say about ambition at this stage of life?

I love people who have big wants, and sometimes the audience is like, “Maybe you want the wrong thing” and they [the characters] don’t quite know that yet. I love writing about the underdog. And with their particular professions, they’re all things that I had some interest in researching. I’ve always been fascinated by investment bankers. I went to Dartmouth, so I have a lot of friends who went into that, and I swear I’ve had my friends explain their job so many times to me, and I still didn’t totally understand it. We were lucky; a very famous investment bank very generously offered to let me come for a day and meet with young bankers. I also … write about the children of immigrants. I’m very, very interested in that story, and so we got to research what it’s like being the child of Nigerian immigrants. But every single character has a journey, or there’s an aspect of them that I feel like I really relate to, and that is in almost all my shows.

What was it like observing young people in the investment banking world?

They were wary — because they’re smart — of someone from Hollywood coming in to document what they were doing and asking questions. It helped that a lot of the guys liked “The Office” and a lot of the women liked “The Mindy Project” and “Sex Lives of College Girls” because they’re all kind of young. I think that made them trust me a little bit more. For the AJ and Davis characters, so much of what I researched when I was there fed into their plot line … almost all the characters have a boss they fear and idolize, and the way that first-year bankers feel about their managing directors is not dissimilar to the way I felt about Greg Daniels when I started at “The Office.” And the hours are actually not dissimilar.

There’s a moment early on where Jay Ellis’ character, Bill, who is a managing director at this fictional investment banking firm, is asked about work-life balance. I’m curious how you thought about that at the start of your career versus now.

I didn’t care at all about anything except my job for 16 years. It was my entire personality and purpose. When I was in my 20s, the only thing that mattered was being a good comedy writer and succeeding, and one day maybe being able to create my own shows. There was no balance. I didn’t want balance. I wanted to live and breathe comedy writing for my entire life. I hated the weekends, actually. And who wouldn’t? I was a friendless transplant in Los Angeles and I just wanted to get back to working at “The Office.” Every year I was there, I got more ambitious and I wanted to go off and create my own show and have a bigger part as an actor and everything.

It wasn’t until after I did that on “The Mindy Project” … that I just felt like, “OK, I get this. I want to now try being a mom.” Once I had my daughter, Katherine [at 37], it wasn’t that the balance changed, it was my first real, legitimate interest outside of work — that I cared about more than work.

“When I was in my 20s, the only thing that mattered was being a good comedy writer and succeeding, and one day maybe being able to create my own shows,” Kaling says. “There was no balance. I didn’t want balance.”

(Ebru Yildiz / For The Times)

After college, you moved to Brooklyn with two Dartmouth friends to pursue a career in comedy. You eventually got a full-time job as a production assistant on “Crossing Over with John Edward,” a program where people would receive psychic readings. Tell me about that time in your life.

I remember feeling like I had no access and that I didn’t have any place to put my ambition. It was so far away from anything I wanted to do — scripted comedy and reality television could not be further apart. It was a fascinating time because there were such highs and lows. There was the excitement of new crushes and having fun in a new city with two friends, but there was also the crushing disappointment of feeling like I was never gonna make it. I didn’t even have a path forward to making it, but I was lucky, because I lived with my two best friends. We would go to open mic nights, and we would go to restaurant week and see how the rich people in Manhattan were living. We would take the subway uptown to Central Park and walk along Fifth Avenue and like look at these amazing homes and just dream what it was like to be like a wealthy New Yorker who could buy everything that they read about on DailyCandy — now I’m really dating myself here, back when DailyCandy was a thing. But that’s what it was like, I just I felt a lot of extreme emotions.

How did you approach that job?

My boss was a producer and would approach the families and get their information, and then we would have to do research on them, but it was mostly because they would do a little clip package on the different families. I had to get them to sign releases to be on the show and get photographs of their deceased [loved ones] and them. I actually thought it was pretty interesting work. It just had nothing to do with comedy writing, and that job was not clearly going to lead anywhere toward comedy writing, and I came to New York because of “Saturday Night Live.” When I was working there is when my friend Brenda [Withers] … and I started writing this play “Matt & Ben” [a satirical play that imagines the story of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck before “Good Will Hunting” made them famous] in the time we had off. We started writing it, then I got that job as a PA, then the show went up at the Fringe Festival, and then it was going to go off off Broadway, and when it went off-off-Broadway, and I had a steady income, that’s when I quit my job there. I was only at “Crossing Over” for three or so months.

Greg Daniels attended a performance of “Matt & Ben” and it’s what led to you getting on “The Office” at 24. What was that first meeting like?

Back then, because the internet was so different, when I looked up Greg, besides his credits, you couldn’t find a lot of biographical information about him, or even a photo. I don’t think I even knew what he looked like. When I met him, I don’t think I had seen the British “Office” yet; I wasn’t cool. At that time, I had put so much pressure on this job. I only had two interviews — it was this and there was a show that ended up getting canceled while I was waiting to meet the showrunner. It was a pilot called “Nevermind Nirvana,” about an Indian man who married a white woman, and Ajay Sahgal was the writer. I was like, “Oh my God, if anyone is going to get hired to work on the show, it has to be me.” I was pretty excited about that meeting, but when I was sitting in the waiting room at the production offices to meet with Ajay, they told them they weren’t going to pick up the pilot, so I never even got to meet him, and they just told me I could leave.

I’d only had that interview, and then I met with Greg. This is my memory: it was a high-rise building in Century City, in the offices of “King of the Hill,” so there was a lot of like “King of the Hill” cutouts and stuff there. And he’s just a very thoughtful, quiet guy who doesn’t push conversation … I’m someone who’s pathologically chatty, and so talking to Greg, who is completely fine with there being pauses in conversation, and is just a confident grown-up, it was incredibly intimidating. I was very stressed out in our meeting, but I also was blown away by him.

That first season, you were also the only female writer on staff and the youngest —

B.J.[Novak] is a month younger than me. I want to correct that because he’ll read this and go, “Hey … !”

How did that play into how you felt in the room?

I haven’t really ever had imposter syndrome. And this is my probably my personality defect — I felt that even if I hadn’t seen anyone like me in these roles, that I was just going to be the first one, and I was going to work really hard and prove it to them. The staff was super competitive, but they were smart feminist guys. It was hierarchical and stressful, but it was not because of my fellow writers, except that I wanted to impress them. I felt nervous because I wanted to be contributing, but I don’t know why — I just loved the pilot so much that Greg had made, and I loved these characters, and this world — I was like, I can’t possibly lose my job, I love it too much. Which is probably really stupid, I didn’t ever think there’s a possibility that I could get fired here.

Phyllis (Phyllis Smith), Kelly (Mindy Kaling), Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and Michael (Steve Carell) in a scene from Season 2 of “The Office.”

(Paul Drinkwater / NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

We see how AJ wants to impress the boss and takes on more than she can chew and screws up some data before a big presentation. What was that first big mistake or misstep that you made in those early years that you still think about?

I remember Season 2 — because I just wanted to prove to Greg and to the cast and to the director, the cinematographer, and everyone that I was super invested — we were shooting “The Dundies” [episode]. I was an actor on the show as well, but I wasn’t acting in this scene, but it was my episode [that I wrote], and in between takes, John [Krasinski, who played Jim Halpert] and Jenna [Fischer, who played Pam Beesly] were just on set, and I remember going up to them and being like, “Guys, that take was so great!” And I walked away. Greg came up to me and was like, “You know, we really should let just the director talk to the cast between takes.” Greg, he’s my mentor, but he definitely, over the course of the eight years I lived there, had corrected me many times, as he should have, but that was one of the first times. I remember I was so embarrassed, but I didn’t understand it’s not the role of a story editor to be giving feedback to the cast between takes on a show.

The bosses on the show all have different styles and expectations that may seem demanding or annoying on the surface. How do they reflect where you’re at now?

No one trains you on how to be a good boss. And bad bosses are so prevalent. The entire premise of “The Office” hinges on this funny concept that terrible bosses exist. It wasn’t until I was on “The Mindy Project” that I was the employer for the first time. Every single year of that show, it was a battle getting a new season. One of the challenges of being a good boss is being able to put aside those personal, professional battles you’re fighting … but then also realizing that you’re a mentor to other people, and you have to start thinking about things that you never thought you needed to — overtime, maternity leave, respect in the workplace, the things that make the workplace enjoyable for everyone else who’s there working for you. And it’s not like that comes naturally.

The double blessing of having a good boss, which I did in Greg Daniels and Howard Klein [an executive producer on “The Office”], is that they modeled that for me. Even though I could not be more different than Greg. Even to this day, I’m realizing I have all the unique challenges of being a single mom, being the creator of these shows with crews and casts, but then also being able to be empathetic for all the people that work for me and making sure I make time to listen to them when they want to talk to me about an issue that they’re having; it’s a continual challenge that I’m hoping I’m getting better and better at [managing].

When Bill is asked about work-life balance, he’s also asked if he has inspirational words to impart. It’s very much about overworking and being productive. How do you tackle the question today?

I used to say “you have to write your own part.” And everyone would get annoyed because they’re like, “I’m not a writer.” I’ve had to really think about the question so I could be helpful. We all want a linear path to success. And if my career has taught me anything, it’s that the linear path just was not how I got my job. You know when you go on Google Maps and it shows you all the different paths — the fastest, one path with the toll road and one path that’s going to take seven minutes longer. I’ve only ever taken the one that’s seven minutes longer, or the toll; it’s never been the easy way. The sooner I got used to that, the better.

Before I let you go, in the show, one of the celebrity clients Abby is dealing with is Austin Blanchett, Cate Blanchett’s fictional nephew. Was it always going to be Cate? What other celebs were in the running?

It was Cate Blanchett’s nephew before we had Harry Richardson. When I worked on “Ocean’s Eight,” one of the biggest surprises on it was that Cate Blanchett was incredibly funny and did not take herself seriously at all. I suspect if anyone was going to think it was funny that in this fictional world of the show she had this useless nepo nephew that she had to help get jobs, it would be Cate. I hope she doesn’t sue me. I think she would think it was funny.

When Craig Ferguson left CBS’ “The Late Late Show” in December 2014, fulfilling a pledge made public the previous April, it was assumed by some that it had something to do with not being offered the chair being vacated by his illustrious lead-in, David Letterman. (Stephen Colbert, you may be aware, was named the new “Late Show” host.) Others simply couldn’t believe anyone would just walk away from such a job, which Ferguson had held for two weeks shy of 10 years, because, even in the less prestigious 12:30 time slot it seemed like a prize — but mostly because he was so good at it.

“That’s one of the odd things about that particular genre of television,” he told me in 2016. “The minute I started at 12:30, the question became when and do you want and how are you going to get 11:30? But I never wanted 12:30, never mind 11:30. Why is that a thing?”

Ferguson went on to other things. He’s hosted game shows (currently the CW’s “Scrabble,” with puckish energy); toured as a stand-up (he’s on the road into June); hosted a history-themed panel show, “Craig Ferguson: Join or Die”; launched “Joy, a Podcast,” which is as close as he’s come to the confessional freestyling of “The Late Late Show”; and published “Riding the Elephant: A Memoir of Altercations, Humiliations, Hallucinations & Observations.”

His latest show, premiering Saturday on CNN, is “American on Purpose,” which shares a title with his first memoir, a reference to the Scottish-born Ferguson becoming an American citizen. Timed generally to the 250th anniversary of the United States, it finds Ferguson in a five-episode crazy quilt of observations, interviews, inquiries, stunts, games and documentary vignettes forming a comical, but not unserious, somewhat wayward look at American ideas and ideals — freedom of speech, capitalism, patriotism, individualism and immigration. It’s a vision wide enough to include monster trucks, lowriders, underground comedy, Miami street art, Texas barbecue and haggis tacos, dreamed up by Ferguson and executed by celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson.

Ferguson, a Scotsman, having haggis tacos on “American on Purpose.”

(CNN)

“You know me,” Ferguson said when we spoke over video call recently. “Less format is better for me always.”

His caveat to the producers was that he wouldn’t “make an anti-American show. I wouldn’t make a show pointing out everything that’s wrong. I feel that’s a market that’s heavily catered to. I’m not a f—ing idiot, I’m not making propaganda, I won’t make a jingoistic show. But I want to make a show which is celebratory,” Ferguson says. “And I want to be clear that the show I make for CNN will be the same as if I was making it for Fox News. It has to be my point of view, which is upbeat without being dumb — I hope. I feel like we got pretty close.” This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

A good friend of mine, an Englishman, recently became an American citizen and had only wonderful things to say about the naturalization ceremony, the diversity of his fellow new Americans, and the graciousness of the people conducting it. What was your experience?

My ceremony was in Pomona fairgrounds in 2008. And I think it was 2,000 of us; I think it was 1,999 new Mexican Americans and one new Scottish American. And it was f—ing wonderful. And it is moving. I kind of wish it for my friends who are born here, American citizens, because you have to remove your everyday, “Oh my God, did you see the news today” cynicism, and remember what this place is about — freedom, second chances, third chances, escape, representation, individualism, different ideas coexisting in one country, wildly different points of view somehow managing to get along. That is f—ing beautiful. What I still feel as an immigrant American is a certain gratitude that doesn’t leave you. I’m not blind to the faults of the United States. Show me a country that doesn’t have faults. We talk about the bloody past. Show me a country that doesn’t have a bloody past. Humans have a bloody past. I’m not saying there’s nothing wrong, but I’m not looking at that in this show. I’m looking at what makes me feel great about this place, and it is a great place, an aspirational place. To my mind, we are still the big foam finger number one. I don’t think there’s anyone can touch us for … unusualness. We’re really unusual.

It’s a very optimistic show. Is that how you feel personally about the future of the country, and humanity?

Like most people, I have my moods. I got a real boost of optimism [hanging out] with very clever academics who kind of guard the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. And you say to them, “People say the country’s never been this divided.” They always laugh. They laugh at the idea it’s never been as bad as this, the rhetoric has never been this hateful. They’re like, “It’s always been like this. It’s always been an argument. The whole point of this place is that it is an argument.” The guys who started this country, some of them hated each other with just as much venom and outrage and indignance as political players hate each other today. I find that quite encouraging. Like I said, I’m not blind to the fact that there are issues and faults and deep things to worry about. But that’s not what this show’s about. It’s as if I was a musician, and I decided to write a happy song. People say, “Why aren’t you sad?” I’m like, “Well, I get that sometimes, but this song is a happy song, this is a rock song. I’ll do a power ballad later on.” It’s not terrible to to do something upbeat every now and again.

What did you discover in the course of making the show?

There were many things, actually. In L.A., I did a kind of run around with the guys who make the lowrider cars, and the community and the story of how that came about are really fascinating, a kind of parallel run of the rise of the automobile in America, but how it was taken on by the Mexican culture. Another that really stuck with me was in the Everglades, when I was with the Gladesman there, finding out that a large percentage of them [were descended from] displaced Scottish peasants, cleared out of the Highlands to make room for sheep for the landowners; they went to Canada, and they drifted all the way down to the southern tip of the United States. These guys there could trace their ancestry back to 100 miles from where I grew up. Americans would be kicked out of most of the countries of the world. So it makes us awesome. I mean, 40% of this country can trace themselves through Ellis Island, through that administration building in New York. That’s insane.

Ferguson at Venice Beach in a segment on the show.

(CNN)

When did you get interested in history?

In Scotland, we’re surrounded by it all the time. There’s a lot of stuff still lying around from a long time ago. American history became interesting to me because it was so attached to Scotland. The Scottish Enlightenment is really kind of the origin story of the Declaration of Independence. Knowing that the philosophy that was coming out of Edinburgh in the 1700s was directly feeding into what these guys were doing, it felt like the continuation of a certain strain of Scottish history. It didn’t end with “Highlander” or “Shrek.”

There’s a road movie element to the series. Do you take trips around the country on your own time?

All the time. I don’t think you can know the United States unless you’ve driven across it at least a couple of times. If you can take a car from New Orleans to Northeastern Maine, Florida to Washington state, it’s worth doing. One of the things that was in the engine for me when I started this [series] was, I’ve seen over the years a lot of — probably more in Britain than in America — lazy kind of pseudo-intellectual documentaries where somebody will say, “Well, you know, the thing about America is…” Well, which America are you talking about? And they will go and get some guy that lives on his boat in Fort Lauderdale with a hat that’s got “Who Farted?” written on it and tell you that’s America. That guy’s there and he’s awesome, but it’s not the whole story. You know what I mean? It’s like saying “Well, you know, Hitler was a vegetarian.” That’s true, he was. But it’s not really the whole f—ing story, is it?

“House of the Dragon” Season 3 will see Rhaenyra Targaryen take back King’s Landing — but the war is far from over.

HBO on Friday released the final trailer for the upcoming season of its epic fantasy, which teases brutal battles, many dragons and the Targaryen queen returning to the capital of the Seven Kingdoms to claim the Iron Throne.

“I see you have been merciful,” Alicent Hightower (played by Olivia Cooke) says to her childhood friend (Emma D’Arcy) in the clip. “But the crown is a weight that crushes. You’ll do things that spell death for all involved.”

And if the trailer is any indication, there will be a lot of bloodshed in Season 3.

The second season of “House of the Dragon” left off with Rhaenyra and Alicent plotting for the former to take King’s Landing with minimal resistance in exchange for the latter’s freedom. Unfortunately, Alicent’s promised tribute — her son King Aegon II — has fled his castle so things won’t go exactly as planned.

After a slowburn of a second season, a higher octane Season 3 will kick off with the highly anticipated Battle of the Gullet, a fight at sea that is regarded as one of the bloodiest and most violent clashes in the history of Westeros. “House of the Dragon” showrunner Ryan Condal recently told Entertainment Weekly that the premiere is “arguably the craziest episode of television ever made.”

The new trailer shows that everyone will be reeling in the aftermath. According to the footage, what awaits Rhaenyra during her reign are fearful subjects, conniving enemies, sleepless nights and plenty of anguish.

“In a war, all suffer,” Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) says in the trailer.

“House of the Dragon” Season 3 will premiere June 21.

It’s hard to believe we’re approaching the end of May and the midpoint of the year, which means some of our favorite shows have come to a close, including “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” which aired its final episode on CBS last week. Our critics and columnists weighed in on Colbert’s tenure as host of “The Late Show” over the years, writing about why he was the risky but right choice to host, his faith and his next chapter. And “Hacks,” starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, dropped its series finale on HBO Max last night. Times culture columnist Mary McNamara and television critic Robert Lloyd took a moment to discuss the course of the show after five seasons, the characters and why they found the finale satisfying.

While those series have come to an end, a new television show, Prime Video’s “Spider-Noir,” arrived this week with a different take on a beloved superhero, Spider-Man. “Spider-Noir” stars Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly and his alter ego the Spider. Writer Carlos Aguilar spoke to Cage and co-star Lamorne Morris about their spin on the comic book-based characters they portray, and this week, Karen Rodriguez, who plays Ben’s secretary Janet Ruiz on the show, stopped by Guest Spot to talk about her character, working with the ensemble cast and how she gets a nice prize at the end of the season (be warned, a few spoilers ahead).

Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our writers recommend a trio of newly arrived second seasons and a collection of films based on Homer’s “The Odyssey” that will get you in the mood for Christopher Nolan’s epic arriving later this summer. Vacation screen time can’t come soon enough. — Maira Garcia

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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Asif Ali, Poorna Jagannathan and Saagar Shaikh in Season 2 of “Deli Boys.”

(Sandy Morris / Disney)

Season 2 of “The Four Seasons” (Netflix), “Patience” (PBS) and “Deli Boys” (Hulu)

There is a season, goes the song, and there is sometimes a second season. Here’s your chance to turn (turn, turn) on your TV to three fine, finally returning series. Tina Fey’s “The Four Seasons” demonstrates there’s still life in this bumpy midlife friend-com about couples (in flux) who vacation together four times a year because apparently there are people who can afford to do that. (On this year’s itinerary: the Catskills, the Jersey Shore and Italy.) It stars Fey, Colman Domingo, Will Forte and others, and even a little bit of Steve Carell, though his character died at the end of Season 1. (Flashbacks, baby.) “Patience,” a charming British mystery, airing here as part of PBS’ “Masterpiece,” stars charismatic autistic actor Ella Maisy Purvis as a neurodivergent amateur detective, assisting the police in York, England. This season replaces Laura Fraser’s finally understanding detective investigator Bea Metcalf with Frankie Monroe (Jessica Hynes), a less sympathetic successor, but Mark Benton (whom you may know from Britbox’s “Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators,” or should) as Calvin Baxter is happily still around as the boss. Abdullah Saeed’s hectic, hilarious “Deli Boys” retails the further misadventures of brothers Mir (Asif Ali) and Raj (Saagar Shaikh), who last season stumbled unaware into their late father’s drug business, fronted by a chain of convenience stores. New to the show this season are Fred Armisen as a casino owner, Andrew Rannells as a district attorney and Kumail Nanjiani as the lawyer for the brothers’ Lucky Auntie (Poorna Jagannathan, majestic). — Robert Lloyd

John Turturro, left, Tim Blake Nelson and George Clooney in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

(Melinda Sue Gordon / Universal Pictures)

Odysseys (Criterion Channel)

All hail original IP, which is great and all, but sometimes a 3,000-year-old story sticks around for a reason. Homer crystallized the impulse to return home after a long time away from all that is familiar. We’ll watch Matt Damon make that journey in Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” hitting theaters July 17, but until then, Criterion builds anticipation with some of the most notable homeward journeys. Martin Scorsese achieves a kind of cosmic misfortune with 1985’s “After Hours,” in which Griffin Dunne’s yuppie only wants to escape Soho and go back to his apartment after a late-night date gone sour. You can bop to the Coens’ tuneful “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” a faithful Homeric translation, then check out the Preston Sturges satire “Sullivan’s Travels,” which inspired the Coens’ title. But don’t let David Lynch’s “The Straight Story” pass you by: It was the least name-checked of his films when the director died last year, but it’s one of his most gentle and improbable triumphs, about a road trip via lawn tractor to a dying brother. — Joshua Rothkopf

Guest spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

Janet Ruiz (Karen Rodriguez) in “Spider-Noir.”

(Aaron Epstein / Prime)

Being exceptionally competent at your job is a superhero power — so says this editor. In “Spider-Noir,” Rodriguez plays Janet, a secretary to private investigator Ben Reilly, a.k.a. the Spider. But Janet is not just someone who sits behind the desk answering phones and filing paperwork. She’s as much a gumshoe as Reilly, walking into a police station with poise and ease to sweet-talk the officer into giving her crucial information on an investigation (all it takes is a good sandwich). Her ability to ask the right questions and find answers puts her on equal ground with Reilly and his best friend Robbie Robertson, the investigative journalist played by Morris, leading her to a rightful promotion at the end of series. Don’t you love it when good old-fashioned hard work gets you ahead?

While Rodriguez has been busy lately with her breakout role in “Spider-Noir,” she has also been at work on “The Hunting Wives,” Netflix’s hit drama in which she plays Deputy Wanda Salazar and is slated to return later this year. The actor spoke to us about going toe to toe with Cage, why she loved working with her various cast mates and what she’s watching now. — M.G.

“Spider-Noir” is a comic book adaption, but it’s also a take on classic noir films. How did you prepare for your role as Janet given the mix of genres?

I had a little more freedom because Janet is strictly based on the Girl Friday archetype from classic noir. So I first started with the scripts. Oren [Uziel]’s vision for Janet was very precise in the writing, and from that arc I wanted to figure out why this particular woman in this particular world and what does she offer the environment that no one else can. Then I delved into “The Maltese Falcon” (Janet was based off of Effie Perine), “Double Indemnity,” “His Girl Friday,” among others. And then I mixed it all in with Nick’s take on Ben Reilly because so much of who Janet is absolutely informed by who Ben is.

Janet is very no-nonsense, especially with Ben, even though he’s her boss. What was it like “managing up” and playing off of Nick’s acting? Have you ever dealt with a boss like that in real life?

Well, I think that what’s great about Janet is that she is no-nonsense but she also has a killer sense of humor and wit. I think it makes her someone who’s very skilled at getting what she wants, a little sugar with the medicine. Nick is the ultimate scene partner — so prepared, so playful and most importantly, unpredictable. For Janet, Ben’s antics are her obstacle in the scene and Nick always made sure Ben gave Janet plenty of obstacles. All I had to do was know Janet is the boss and the voice of reason, then listen and respond to him. We had a great time keeping each other on our toes and I’m so grateful to have had that experience with him. No, I haven’t had a boss like that!

Janet shares a lot of scenes with different characters, like Robbie (Morris), Lonnie (Abraham Popoola) or even Frankie (Cary Christopher), the little boy who’s friendly with Ben. She is very good at connecting with people. How was it creating a rapport with so many different cast mates and was there a scene or moment that stood out to you?

Thank you for saying that! Her ability to connect with people is one of my favorite parts about her. And oh, I loved it. The ensemble acting of it all thrills me. It allows me to explore different facets of the character and it’s just fun to collide with different actors. And this particular cast made it so joyful — they’re all mega-talented but also super-focused and hardworking. We just wanted to make the best show we could.

A moment that stood out to me … I loved seeing Janet’s superpower in the scene with Lonnie, how her kindness and ability to make people feel seen makes her a powerful player in this world. And Abraham Popoola is just magnificent so it was a really fun day on set with him and Lamorne.

In the end Janet and Ben become partners. Was that inevitable given her skills?

I would like to think so! And I think Janet would too! But it still made me cry when I read the episode and when I saw the office door sign with both their names. I think for Janet, too — despite knowing she’s worth it, it is still momentous to have Ben give her her due.

Along with “Spider-Noir,” you’ll be back on “The Hunting Wives” for Season 2 later this year. Anything you can tease about what Wanda Salazar might be up to?

You know Maple Brook is going to give her plenty to do! She’s definitely going to have her hands full this season. And I’m excited because I think fans are in for some shocking moments!

What have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know?

“Ponies” [Peacock]. Oh, and I’ve been watching “The Comeback” [HBO Max], Season 1-3. Lisa Kudrow forever.

What’s your go-to comfort watch, the movie or TV show you go back to again and again?

“The Office” [Peacock]. “Bridget Jones’s Diary” [YouTube, Paramount+]. “Pride and Prejudice,” 2005 vibes [Britbox, Prime Video].

ICYMI

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Cailee Spaeny looks at Charles Melton, her co-star on the Netflix limited series “Beef,” asking for help. “Wait a minute … how long were we attached?” Melton smiles and reaches for her hand. “We’ve been attached our whole lives.”

Have they? Given how they tease and finish each other’s sentences, it sure feels that way. Spaeny and Melton were cast as Ashley and Austin, a Gen-Z couple working at a Montecito country club, dreaming and scheming toward upward mobility, a good 18 months before filming began in early 2025. To cement their bond, Spaeny, who hails from Missouri, and Melton, an Army brat who considers Kansas home, decided to return to their Midwestern roots, round up their families and go to a Kansas City Chiefs football game just before Christmas.

At one point, Spaeny looked over to see her brother-in-law having a heart-to-heart with Melton’s dad. They were crying. After the game, they all went out for barbecue. Melton surprised his dad with a gift — a truck.

“That was very sweet and emotional,” Spaeny says of the day. “There’s a lot of filling in the blanks when your families are from the same part of the country. They’re down-to-earth, churchgoing families. It felt easy. We’re cut from the same cloth.”

When the Palisades and Eaton fires delayed the start of filming, Spaeny and Melton decamped to Solvang, rented an Airbnb with some friends and continued what Spaeny calls their “weird prep” for playing the series’ besotted couple. They cooked dinners together, played games and even watched “Riverdale,” the CW series that catapulted Melton to fame a decade ago.

“We also watched ‘Wicked’ too many times,” Spaeny, 27, says.

“You were singing a lot,” Melton, 35, tells her.

“I don’t think I sang once,” Spaeny counters.

“Oh she did,” Melton says. “She’s a singer. Sing for us.”

“Guys, what are we doing?” Spaeny says, burying her head in her hands.

Whatever it is, we’re not stopping. We have, as Melton notes much to Spaeny’s chagrin, “caught a vibe.”

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You two represent different generations …

Melton: What? Excuse me?

Charles, you’re a millennial. Cailee is Gen-Z.

Spaeny: Oh my God. You’re so Gen-Z coded.

Melton: I’m a zillennial.

Spaeny: Did you feel like there was an age gap between us?

Melton: I feel like we’re the same age. You know I’m an old soul. My exterior is just goofy. Cailee is wise beyond her years.

What’s the biggest difference between the two generations?

Melton: I think the generations are more alike than different. As a millennial and zillennial, I’ve done my share of weird self-diagnosing.

Spaeny: TikTok therapy for sure. Holding onto words that make us feel more seen through the internet. The comment “I just read the headline. I need to start reading the articles.” It’s sad but it’s true. And I think everyone does it.

1

2

1. Charles Melton. 2. Cailee Spaeny. (Erik Carter / For The Times)

Do you relate to your characters’ Gen-Z resentment that previous generations screwed them over? “Everyone grabbed the bag before we could.”

Spaeny: There was a time when having a house by your 30s was guaranteed. Now, you’re having to choose whether you want to have children or stay afloat in your career. We’re all riddled with this feeling of the life we feel we deserve …

Melton: And what will make us happy. Ashley gets the promotion. But the social climb is never enough. It’s “if you do this thing, you’ll get the this thing.”

Spaeny: It’s the constant chase.

You’ve both defied the odds and enjoyed successful careers as actors. Can you be content and sit with that?

Spaeny: We try. But it also feels like it’s set up in a way where you can’t sit. You have to look for the next thing because if you wait, people will get bored with you. You’ll book a job and hopefully it pays well and then you might not work again for two years. It’s easy to be in a place of desperation. Actors are also naturally people-pleasers. So, unfortunately, I think it was too easy for us to relate to our characters.

Melton: Maybe part of your question, which led to your beautiful answer, is: Where’s acceptance? I’m a father now. Sometimes, I’m super tired, but the best thing is I get to read to my kid. Looking at life through a place of abundance … but that can be a tough thing to do.

Spaeny: It’s not just the entertainment industry. I go back home and I’m with my sister, who is an amazing mother and soccer mom. And you can feel that itch inside of people back home too. Have I done enough for my children? Do I need to go to more soccer tournaments? Am I going to church enough?

Melton: It’s everywhere. And under the umbrella of class and healthcare and how expensive everything is, it’s tough. The bill we had just to have a baby was so ridiculous.

Spaeny: Oh yeah. My favorite line in “Beef” was, “Do you know the 16-piece meal at KFC is $52.99 now?” That sums it up.

(Erik Carter / For The Times)

I looked that up. It’s true, though you can get the 16-piece chicken-only meal for about $37.

Melton: But you can’t just eat the chicken. You have to have the sides and biscuits, right?

How about Austin’s line: “All we need is each other … and the beach.”

Melton: That’s what I love about Austin, this optimism but considered to be naivete. Really, at the end of the day, I’ll look at my partner and I’ll look at my daughter and be like, “This is absolutely all I need.”

Spaeny: [Sighs] I would love to get to that point.

Melton: But then to put food on the table, you’re required to do things that take you away from the things that you say are all you need.

Spaeny: The great thing about this show is that it’s zeroing in on everyday impossibilities of life, the things that should be so simple, but drive us all up the wall.

You both talk about Midwest sensibility. Do your roots help ground you?

Spaeny: I just got back from home last night, and I always feel a layer gets peeled off when I’m there. With work, I’m always on edge and trying to hold onto this thing that could be taken away from me any day. When I go back home, I feel like it can really be that simple. But it doesn’t last. That’s the problem. The itch comes back.

There’s nothing wrong with a little ambition.

Spaeny: I’m finding ambition more and more unattractive these days. Maybe that’s me just getting older and wanting more outside of the job.

Melton: We’ve talked about this. If we’re always going from one thing to the next, how can I bring the humanity and soul of my life into my work? If I had my way, I’d take three to six months off between jobs just to live and put my feet on the grass. Cailee and I connect in many ways. I love your determination and drive and passion for the work. Some people want to act like they don’t care, but I think it’s cool to care.

Timothée Chalamet does too, but he got flack for saying that out loud, that he “wanted to be one of the greats.”

Melton: I thought that was f— awesome. You want to be great? We all do.

Spaeny: It’s what every actor is thinking except they’re feigning …

Melton: We love Chalamet over here.

Spaeny: Maybe he didn’t say all the right things, but that speech, that’s why we’re in the building.

Melton: It’s very much the athlete’s mentality. Like Deion Sanders is one of the greatest of all time. “You look good, you feel good, you play good.”

It’s OK for an athlete to say that, but if an actor does, the world gives them grief.

Melton: That kind of sincerity is the default in Kansas and Missouri. You know, growing up as an athlete, I was pretty good. I ran the 100-meter dash in 10.9 seconds. Make sure you write that in. [Laughs] You have to have a vision. And the artists that speak on that vision, that’s awesome. Visualization is essential. I wouldn’t be here talking with one of my best friends and one of the greatest actresses ever …

Spaeny: What are you doing?!?

Melton: I’d rather give you flowers all day than talk about what I think. All that to say is that I wouldn’t be doing this if I did not have vision when I was in Kansas to leave with $500 in my pocket, 60 cans of chicken noodle soup and 60 cans of tuna. You have to dream.

Spaeny: A dollar and a dream!

I’ve got to ask. Sixty cans of chicken noodle soup on a road trip? Do you just pop the top and down it cold?

Spaeny: Great question.

Melton: I’d just take off the top and lay it in the sun for two or three hours and it’s good to go.

Spaeny: Please stop.

Melton: OK. I’d just dip my finger in it and because I’m so hot, it just boils.

Spaeny: You see what I’m saying? He’s such a dad.

(Erik Carter / For The Times)

Thirty-five years after his death, jazz giant Miles Davis, who would have turned 100 years old Tuesday, remains a truly larger-than-life figure in music and well beyond.

Still possessor of the biggest-selling jazz record in history, “Kind of Blue,” Davis casts a huge influence over the whole music world for his uncompromising artistic vision, constant evolution, style and more. Though he came from jazz, he may be the biggest rock star there ever was. Talk to any musician, regardless of genre, and they will tell you Davis defined swagger and cool. He had a vibe unlike that of anyone else.

In honor of Davis’ centennial, The Times spoke to an array of notable artists from all walks of music, some who knew and played with him, some fans of the man, but all agreed, Miles Davis was and is a singular force in music, an artist like no other in his vision, passion and feeling for the music. In short, there was only one Miles Davis.

‘A complete innovator’

Chuck D, rapper: I like Miles Davis and all the exterior aesthetics. I like the Blue Note album covers, Prestige album covers, his style, his way of life.

Cindy Blackman Santana and her husband Carlos Santana in 2019.

(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Cindy Blackman Santana, drummer: Stylistically, Miles was a complete innovator. I remember hearing him say that he didn’t play right if he wasn’t dressed right. That is completely something that inspires me as well, because it becomes not only what you’re putting out on your horn or your drums or your guitar or your piano, but it’s your whole being that is expressing this innovative approach to music and to life.

Bilal, singer: If you play the music you’ve got to look the part, and it was almost like he got into a movie role or something like that. But he was always into the clothes … It was almost like every era had a different outfit. But, yeah, I definitely take his style. The clothes make you feel a certain way to play that way. So that’s the vibe. You’ve got to have that character, that attitude.

Emmet Cohen, left, performs with Terence Blanchard at Lincoln Center in 2025.

(Slaven Vlasic / Getty Images for Find Your Light)

Emmet Cohen, pianist and composer: I think when you listen to Miles’ records you can really appreciate them all the way through and there’s something in there for all sides of humanity. Whether it was the Prestige records that he pumped out in a couple of days, or there was “Birth of the Cool,” he just knew how to assemble musicians and let them tell their stories. And the storytelling is really where I think the deepest connections are made. He was a rock star, but he had a story to tell. And that always comes first.

‘Always evolving’

Guitarist Lenny Kaye performs onstage at Carnegie Hall in 2023.

(Noam Galai / Getty Images for Tibet House US)

Lenny Kaye, guitarist: He started in the bebop era, with the immortals of that moment in time. But I always got the sense that he was looking for something else. He didn’t want to participate in the faster-than-light speed changes and virtuosity. So, I really respect the fact that when he moved into “Birth of the Cool,” he pulled it back so he could inject more of his human self into it. And over the years, he kept on doing that, “Sketches of Spain,” “Kind of Blue,” one of the most jazz friendly records of all time.

Flea, bassist: Every time Miles changed it up, he destroyed everything that came before. He is the ultimate artist, always evolving, always coming organically from the depths. His music is the warmest and the wildest.

Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers released a solo jazz album in March.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Bilal: I really like his electric era, but I would say I keep discovering and rediscovering stuff from Miles that I’m just like, “Damn, man. It’s like it’s another artist because he went through so many different changes.” … The other day I found his “Sketches of Spain” record. I put it on. I was like, “This is crazy. I forgot he was into this too.”

Wyclef Jean, rapper: When you go through Miles’ whole catalog, you see you can have quiet days. You can have loud days. You can have explosive days. But the key is that consistency. And that discipline.

Kaye: I respect Miles. For me, he’s an artist that transcends the jazz genre. He’s so alert to the shifting moods of the culture, the directions of the music. And what I find fascinating about him is his ability to morph into new styles and to keep challenging himself. One thing about Miles is that he doesn’t repeat who he is.

Musician Ron Carter in 2011.

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images)

Ron Carter, bassist: We always thought that we were honored to have Miles hire us out of other guys who were available to him. The first few gigs, we had a couple of weeks up and down the West Coast, and everybody but Miles was trying to find out what the tunes were, what the changes were. I was just trying to do what I thought was necessary to make this guy think he hired the right guy and make the band sound good. … Whatever his method was, it was successful.

Ibrahim Maalouf, trumpeter: Quincy [Jones] always spoke about Miles not just as a genius, but as someone who knew when to move on. And that’s a lesson I still carry with me every day.

Kaye: In “Bitches Brew” he created the template for what would be jazz fusion and made rock ‘n’ roll an important part of his evolution. Just an artist who never stands still and that is what I personally respect and honor within his work. When he saw what an artist like Jimi Hendrix was doing, he thought, ‘Yeah, I know how to access that and not be Jimi Hendrix. I can be myself.’ He understood the tides of cultural transformation as much or better than most musicians of the 20th century.

Don Was performs onstage at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in 2022.

(Jason Davis / Getty Images for Americana Music)

Don Was, musician and producer: In life, as exemplified by music, if you don’t change, you stagnate. And the thing about Miles that really stands out, I think, is that he was always willing to risk losing his audience in order to keep moving forward. He was courageous in every era, including eras when maybe courage wasn’t held at a premium.

‘More than that’

Maalouf: For me, as a trumpet player, of course, the musical influence; space, phrasing, silence, we can talk about this for hours. But I think that more than that, there’s an attitude.

Ibrahim Maalouf performs at the Paris 2024 Cultural Olympiad at L’Olympia on July 24, 2024, in Paris France.

(Julien M. Hekimian / Getty Images)

Trombone Shorty, musician: Miles has inspired me because of that attitude, ‘I’m going to do what I want.’ He was playing what he felt in whatever time period or whatever decade he was inspired by. He really embraced that tremendously. And that’s always the thing that I admire about him as a person and as a musician. Whatever the spirit is, he’s going to go with that. That’s what I always got from Miles.

Nas, rapper: With Miles it wasn’t just about the music he made, it was about how he carried himself as an artist and a pioneer. His impact on me personally is as much on a human level as it is on the artist level.

Trombone Shorty performs at the Anaheim Convention Center in 2015.

(Jesse Grant / Getty Images for NAMM)

Trombone Shorty: The swagger, he may have created the swag.

Vince Wilburn Jr., nephew and drummer, who now co-manages Davis’ estate: He liked to catch things, that’s why the tape kept continuously rolling, because he said it was songs inside of songs.

Carlos Santana, guitarist: “I recommend that people who never heard of Miles Davis, I’ll say start with “Kind of Blue,” then move on to “Bitches Brew.” Because the thing about Miles Davis is that he teaches people who have never meditated how to stop and be coherent about absoluteness. In one note, Miles can play absoluteness. One note for Miles, like Billie Holiday, like Cindy says, that’s enough to understand all the whys and all the reasons why it’s sacred to be alive.

Was: He probably changed the face of music more than anybody did, at least four or five times. Maybe more than that. It’s a combination of mastery and an unstoppable spirit of adventure that I think make him unique. Because he was absolutely a master of harmony, rhythm, of creating a vibe. Yet he loved upsetting the cart and I think went out of his way to create friction musically, within the band, to keep things stirred up constantly and make every day an adventure. It requires tremendous courage. But also, supreme excellence to do it on the level that he did with the level of musicians that he surrounded himself with. That’s another thing, too. He wasn’t just the most innovative man on the horn. His genius was also as a curator of human chemistry.”

‘Larger than life’

Musician Wyclef Jean performs in 2023.

(Christian Petersen / Getty Images)

Jean: The main thing that I learned from Miles at a very young age is just the braveness, you can’t be scared to just go. Going doesn’t just mean learning one part of it. It means learning the entire metrics. … When it comes to Miles, he’s just a complete teacher; even on how he sees art, how he sees shapes, and also there’s a whole part of Miles that’s tough love when it comes to it. So, all of that instills character.

Bilal: As an older musician, you could see all of the building blocks are in those records. If you take some of those records out, I don’t know where jazz would be. You can see the essential building blocks.

Izzy Escobar, singer: Miles Davis made jazz feel cinematic to me. When I listen to songs like “It Never Entered My Mind” or “Flamenco Sketches,” there’s mystery, romance, restraint and tension in every note. Nothing feels overdone, yet somehow it says everything. As a songwriter, that’s deeply inspiring because the best music doesn’t just sound good … it creates an entire world you can step into. I think that’s why his influence has lasted a century. His music still feels fearless, elegant and emotionally alive — all of which never go out of style.

Jorma Kaukonen, guitarist: I had always thought of jazz as somewhat of a haughty art form. Probably because at the time many of the time signatures and chordal progressions that Miles used were over the head of a young guitar player still functioning in the blues and folk idioms. … The growing rock and art movement in the Bay Area in that era taught us to eschew boundaries and labels, and it became possible to see similarities and possibilities with jazz music that would have gone previously unnoticed. Our harmonic tendencies were nowhere near as complex, but they were rapidly becoming more sophisticated thanks to our exposure to such great improvisers as Miles! Miles knew no boundaries.

Jean: One thing that I learned from Miles is someone can have the best technique. They could be moving around. But if you can dig and play from your soul, this instrument just becomes a vessel of sound and orbit, bro, it’s over. There’s a connection with the soul. And I wouldn’t be able to do that, bro, if I didn’t have people like Miles to really teach me how to hear.

Theo Croker plays trumpet the Kennedy Center in 2018.

(Paul Morigi / Getty Images for Thelonious Monk)

Theo Croker, trumpeter: He was definitely a larger-than-life figure. And it encourages me to be a larger-than-life figure. Growing up as a kid, we sit in a room all day and play trumpet for hours. You see somebody like Miles Davis and you’re like, “Wow, I can be a rock star.” Because I couldn’t sing, otherwise, you end up being a pop star, Prince, Michael Jackson and Stevie and all that. But Miles was that for the trumpet, of course. So, it’s so much bigger than music.

Musician Mia Doi Todd performing in 2012.

(Paul Redmond)

Mia Doi Todd, musician and singer: Miles Davis was such an outstanding band leader, bringing together a group of musicians and seeking to break the boundaries. That is what I look to him most for as a celestial mentor, being a band leader and creating those sonic landscapes. The records that I love most of his are from that electronic jazz fusion era, which weren’t his most popular at the time. I love “On the Corner.” I’m a person of mixed race, so the records that he was bringing together, all these different musical elements, those are the ones that I really admire … “I wish I could play in that band.”

Maalouf: There’s this idea that music is not about providing something. It’s about searching. It’s about staying alive artistically. I think that strength goes far beyond music, it’s really a message for all the musicians that we are. Never stay where people expect you to stay. Every time the audience thought they understood him, he changed direction. And I think that’s definitely one of the most inspiring parts of his musical life.

Was: I never met him. But he was a heroic figure to me as a teenager, very much in the same way that simultaneously, like Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones were, or John Lennon was, or Allen Ginsberg was.

Bilal performs in New York City in 2023.

(Roy Rochlin / Getty Images)

Bilal: That [artistic vision] is a major influence that I take from Miles. … I always approach the music in that way where you got to do your own thing. You’ve got to have something to say, and you’ve got to want to evolve and always look for ways to grow and change and with the music. Miles was quintessential at that.

Trombone Shorty: To me, Miles Davis was a real rock star. It just wasn’t the sound. When he walked on stage … he looked the way that the music sounded to him. … And as he grew, he just really embraced everything that was coming to him, and he didn’t run away from it. He wanted to have his influence and also be tremendously influenced by things that were happening. He was just the coolest; when they say cool, Miles Davis has to be next to that word.

‘Playing within the language that he created’

Nas performs in New York City in 2018.

(Bennett Raglin / Getty Images for Jenn-Air)

Nas: I think Miles’ impact on every inch of music after him is the most impressive part. Musicians from every genre speak on his influence. It has no language or cultural barriers.

Jean: I would literally tell everybody to do a deep dive and start with early Miles, start from the bebop and the blues, don’t just go in. I started my daughter with “Birth of the Cool.” Now she’s vibing and slowly working her way up.

Musician Vince Wilburn Jr. in 2011.

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images)

Wilburn Jr.: Style, creativity, forever evolving, ever looking back, unapologetic. Lenny White used to say everybody wanted to live and be like Miles, all the musicians. You have Miles, and then you have everyone else.

Santana: Miles is what I call a sacred rascal, a divine rascal, a genius. When I’ve been in the room with Herbie [Hancock], Wayne [Shorter] and Tony [Williams], and the name Miles comes up, they all stop. It has such an impact on all of them to this day it shows that Miles is Da Vinci, Stravinsky, Picasso. Collect all the geniuses of this planet, and that’s what Miles is in one note. In one note, he reveals more because in one note, he teaches an individual how to hug infinity with emotions.

Kaye: I think of him as a lodestar for someone who wants to continually move music forward into the future because that’s what music is about. When you play music, you’re moving from one note to the next and creating the future of that piece. I just find Miles a fascinating creature of transformation. Miles, for all his artistic innovation, was a pop star.

Maalouf: Miles Davis’ legacy is not only a sound, it’s a mindset. He gave all of us the permission to be many people in one lifetime. It feels to me it’s the secret and he was generous enough to do it himself and show the world and especially the jazz world that is not always easy to please that someone can be many people in one lifetime. It’s not only true for music. It’s true for everything in life.

Cohen: He’s always on the cutting edge of the next thing and the next group of musicians that he finds. The story in that is that there’s constant change, constant evolution, and to find the thread throughout is kind of the meaning of life. And to play his music is the same thing. He created a language. So, when we play his music, we’re playing within the language that he created.

Was: “That’s why he’s that cat. He’s the most rebellious musician of all time, I think. He was the complete package man, no one more innovative or influential.

Losses by 6-0. 15-2. 10-1. How do you want to spin the Angels now, GM Perry Minasian? Are things still grand in Arteville?

Humiliations galore!

Jim Fredrick
Manhattan Beach

Really? The Angels cannot hit, cannot pitch and certainly cannot field. Their hitting coach, pitching coach and manager Kurt Suzuki‘s terrible management are much higher on the list of what’s wrong with this miserable team this year. So sad.

Michael Reuben
Anaheim Hills

The recent emergence of shirt-waving fans at Angel Stadium urging ownership to “sell the team” is an opportunity for reflection. With the long ago departure of the controversial former Clippers owner Donald Sterling, is Arte Moreno now truly the worst owner in sports? Sterling was truly detestable in his time, but at least he fielded a highly competitive and exciting Lob City squad led by legendary coach Doc Rivers. For the 2026 Angels, the dog days have already begun — before Memorial Day weekend.

Rob Fleishman
Placentia

Going into Memorial Day weekend, the Dodgers are in first place and the Angels are in last place. Plus the Angels’ shirtless fans in the stands are screaming at owner Arte Moreno to “Sell The Team!” The more things change, the more they stay the same. Ho hum.

Chris Sorce
Fountain Valley

Summer is just around the corner. Get into the spirit of long, lazy days — first, let’s pretend those exist in ample supply beyond our dreams — by spending your Memorial Day weekend taking cues from our watch guide. There are plenty of options to suit your tastes, including a new take on one of cinema’s most iconic monster brides and a retrospective of Martin Short’s high-flying career in comedy, the final season of “Hacks” and another television series that expands the “Star Wars” franchise. No sunscreen is required.

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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley in a scene from “The Bride.”

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

“The Bride” (HBO Max)

Heavy buzz preceded the arrival of Maggie Gyllenhaal’s feminist reboot of the horror classic “The Bride of Frankenstein” earlier this year. The casting of Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley as Frankenstein’s monster and his companion, respectively, along with Gyllenhaal’s obvious passion for the project, seemed to promise cinematic fireworks. However, it divided critics: Some brutally panned the film, calling it overbearing and ludicrous; others applauded the movie as an ambitious big swing that should not be ignored. And while most agreed that Buckley gave a committed performance as the ferocious Bride, her lead actress Oscar win for “Hamnet” did not save the film from bombing and vanishing quickly from theaters. Viewers can now decide whether it was truly a disaster or just misunderstood when “The Bride” hits HBO Max this weekend. — Greg Braxton

Steve Carell and Charly Clive play a father and daughter navigating their complicated relationship in the HBO comedy “Rooster.”

(Katrina Marcinowski / HBO)

“Rooster” (HBO Max)

If you’re looking for some easy laughs this weekend, and you’re a fan of series from Bill Lawrence like “Shrinking” or “Ted Lasso,” this HBO comedy may be right up your alley. The show follows Greg Russo (Steve Carell), a divorced author of “beach reads” who is offered a position at a university where his daughter, Katie (Charly Clive), teaches. Katie, as much as she loves her dad, also wants some space as she navigates the messy relationship with her husband Archie (Phil Dunster), who has left her for a graduate student named Sunny (Lauren Tsai). (Katie does not take it well.) The show is filled with mishaps and misunderstandings that will make you belly laugh. But what also makes this show special is the supporting cast that absolutely kills it when they’re onscreen, including Danielle Deadwyler as Dylan, an English professor; John C. McGinley as Walter, the school’s president; and Robby Hoffman as Mo, Sunny’s friend and roommate. The series just wrapped its first season — I’m willing to bet you’ll binge this one. — Maira Garcia

Martin Short and Catherine O’Hara in “Marty, Life Is Short.”

(From Netflix)

“Marty, Life Is Short” (Netflix)

This delightful and moving documentary brings into focus Martin Short’s life and decades-long career in comedy. Don’t be fooled by its straightforward overview of Short’s rise to showbiz mainstay through his eccentric, vaudevillian brand of comedy. Directed by his longtime friend Lawrence Kasdan, who first collaborated with the comedian on the 1987 comedy “Cross My Heart,” the film goes beyond the bullet points, offering intimate insights about the lows of building a career and a touching look at him as a friend and family man. In addition to hearing directly from Short, the film features soundbites from people who know him well, including Andrea Martin, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Steve Martin, Eugene Levy and the late Catherine O’Hara. But the true standout moments come from the home footage provided by Short. It’ll leave you longing for a whole docu-series of his star-studded gatherings with some of the names mentioned above. What do you mean we get to see Short and Hanks, both shirtless on a boat, re-enact a scene from “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” — in this scenario, Hanks’ Forrest Gump is the Sundance Kid and Short’s famous sketch-comedy character Ed Grimley is Butch — as they hurl themselves into the sea? That beats any reality TV moment or DIML vlog on TikTok I’ve seen this year. — Yvonne Villarreal

A scene from Cartoon Network’s “Adventure Time,” featuring Finn the Human, voiced by Jeremy Shada, and Jake the Dog, voiced by John DiMaggio.

(Cartoon Network)

“Adventure Time” (Hulu, Disney+)

With the new “Adventure Time: Side Trips” due on Hulu and Disney+ on June 29, I am watching Pendleton Ward’s original series from the beginning, the better to appreciate its deep world-building and pick up whatever I might have missed the first time. Set in a lush, lively post-apocalyptic world where human boy Finn and shape-shifting dog Jake fight villains and party with friends, it’s gorgeously strange, beautifully designed and full of feeling. Characters include a pie-baking little elephant; Lady Rainicorn, half-unicorn, half-rainbow; a sort of sentient Game Boy; a vampire queen; and the Ice King, looking for a princess (Bubblegum, Flame, Lumpy Space, Hot Dog) to love him. A nexus of creative young animators, it’s the trunk of a tree whose branches include “Summer Camp Island,” “Steven Universe,” “Over the Garden Wall,” and “OK K.O.: Let’s Be Heroes,” which is to say, it’s possibly the most important cartoon show of the 21st century. At 283 episodes, there’s more than one can consume over even a holiday weekend, obviously, but you have to start somewhere. — Robert Lloyd

Clarke Peters, Alfre Woodard, Alfred Molina, Denis O’Hare and Geena Davis in “The Boroughs.”

(Netflix)

“The Boroughs” (Netflix)

In an isolated but fairly posh desert retirement community, freaky things are afoot. Strangely, no one seems to notice until cranky, grieving widower Sam (Alfred Molina) moves in. He hates the Boroughs at first sight and is only there because his now-dead wife signed them up in an apparently unbreakable contract. So of course he’s going to complain about every problem, from a broken door knob to, you know, a mysteriously dead neighbor. And before you can say, “The Thursday Murder Club” meets “Stranger Things” by way of “Scooby-Doo,” he’s reluctantly assembled a group of equally curious residents played by equally high-wattage actors including Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Clarke Peters and Denis O’Hare — all of whom make the Boroughs, and “The Boroughs,” well worth the price of admission, be it during nocturnal visits by monsters or an occasionally creaking plot.

Though still a criminally underrepresented demographic, aging boomers are having something of a moment on TV (see also “Only Murders in the Building,” “A Man on the Inside” and “Hacks”) and “The Boroughs,” (produced by the Duffer Brothers, who gave us “Stranger Things”) is a perfect example of why. The message of every unlikely-hero story is inevitably one of empowerment — kids/hobbits/retirees are just as capable of saving the day as muscle-bound men in their prime — and actors as strong and experienced as these can glide over plot holes and shoulder three times their weight in disbelief suspension without breaking a sweat. Getting the opportunity to watch such a group do it together is just as much fun as figuring out exactly what is going on at the Boroughs and who’s going to stop it. — Mary McNamara

A scene from Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord.”

(Lucasfilm Ltd.)

“Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord” (Disney+)

“The Mandalorian and Grogu” is the shiny new “Star Wars” movie in theaters this weekend — the franchise’s first since 2019 — but let’s not forget that some of the galaxy far, far away’s best storytelling in recent years has been on TV. “Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord” follows the dark side warrior in the early days of the Empire’s reign as he works to rebuild his criminal syndicate while getting some revenge on gangsters that have betrayed him. Introduced and presumed dead after being cut in half in a lightsaber duel in “Episode I,” Maul’s resilience and dark ambitions were further explored in “The Clone Wars.” Maul is a formidable, manipulative, intelligent and vicious villain that’s ultimately doomed to fail, but there’s something about his relentless refusal to accept his fate that I find a bit admirable — even if he’s evil. A noir crime thriller, “Maul — Shadow Lord” is set in a gritty, metropolitan planet outside of the rule of the Empire, meaning, yes, the former Sith lord will cross paths with some Jedi on the run. There’s no better way to close out May than getting immersed in “Star Wars.” — Tracy Brown

Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder in the fifth and final season of “Hacks.”

(HBO)

“Hacks” (HBO Max)

With the series finale of “Hacks” approaching on May 28, it’s the perfect time to catch up on Ava (Hannah Einbinder) and Deborah’s (Jean Smart) latest schemes. Season 5 follows Deborah clawing her way back into public favor after her short stint as a late-night host. Going out with a bang, the show’s final season has been chock-full of guest stars, from Trisha Paytas and Tony Kushner to Jesse McCartney and “Property Brothers” duo Drew and Jonathan Scott. The dynamic between Deborah’s managers, Jimmy (Paul W. Downs) and Kayla (Megan Stalter), is still ridiculously entertaining, even if Kayla still can’t get Jimmy’s coffee order right. Across the characters, the chemistry is palpable as “Hacks” builds to the pièce de résistance of Deborah’s career: a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden. — Katie Simons

Animated characters from the Crunchyroll series “Classroom of the Elite.”

“Classroom of the Elite” (Crunchyroll)

The anime series revolves around Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, a stoic high schooler with a hidden brilliant mind who enrolls in an isolated boarding school. In this cutthroat school, designed as a meritocracy to identify Japan’s future leaders, students are pushed through unconventional tests — such as a survival challenge on a deserted island — and they risk expulsion if they fail. Bribery and backdoor deals run rampant. School officials turn a blind eye to violence — and there is plenty of it.

The show follows Ayanokoji and his classmates as they scheme to climb from the lowest tier, D-Class, to the coveted A-Class. Along the way, it invites the question of whether an archetypal meritocracy can truly exist in a system ridden with loopholes. The calculating Ayanokoji can be a hard protagonist to root for, as he brazenly uses his peers as pawns. By the end of the third season, we see Ayanokoji begin to occasionally open up to a select few classmates, though we’re constantly left to wonder if those moments are genuine or engineered. Season 4, which premiered in early April with weekly releases, picks up with Ayanokoji in his second year and brings a new slate of characters with murky motivations. — Iris Kwok

ICYMI

Must-read stories you might have missed

For a guy who has become known for his monstrous output of clips, comedy specials and content, it’s a wonder Josh Johnson has time to stop to think about what makes his comedy timeless. As a former writer and now one of the hosts of “The Daily Show,” much of Johnson’s humor outside of specials relies on his ability to deliver jokes on the dumpster fire du jour when it comes to pop culture and politics. But for his latest one-hour special, “Symphony,” premiering Friday on HBO, he wanted to orchestrate something different that would still be funny 40 years from now, regardless of what’s fashionable or who is running the country.

Using music as a canvas to paint a funny, layered portrait of the human experience, Johnson creates a set that comes alive with the sound of more than the laughter at the Wiltern, where the special was filmed earlier this year. With stories focused on surviving rowdy family, moments of loneliness, struggles with faith, and navigating our deepest human relationships, Johnson’s abilities as a pensive storyteller are conducted masterfully. The result is an hour that helps showcase his refined comedic voice, surprise the audience and sound the trumpets for his next round of touring.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Why was it important for you to veer so strongly into music as a theme of your new special, “Symphony”?

I think music, in a way that nothing else does, brought the central points and themes of the special home. In the beginning [scene] with the title card and the busker who has a [music-related] quote in front of him, that’s sort of the mission statement of the special and everything I’m trying to do. The thing to me is including the music to help bring about these ideas and bring each section home and bring it all the together in a way that obviously I’m also attempting to do through the comedy. I think thematically there’s nothing stronger to make the overall point than music.

What inspired you to shoot it at the Wiltern?

The Wiltern is so beautiful and it also lends itself to that sort of art aspect I’m talking about in the very beginning of the special. Things that have that look of the Wiltern help not just create a spectacle, but give you something really beautiful to look at. You get something really beautiful to listen to in the music, and then the comedy helps decorate the hour that we’re spending together.

“If you speak to a lot of people’s timelessness around family and culture and some of the bigger topics, but without naming names, I think that you create something that really stands the test of time,” Johnson says about his new special, “Symphony,” premiering Friday on HBO.

(Ser Baffo / HBO)

You definitely play around with the format of a typical special in this new hour. As somebody who has mastered the ability to release a crazy amount of comedy in recent years on YouTube and social media, what aspect of a traditional one-hour special do you still find important?

I think that everything that I’ve been doing so far is pretty topical and very of the moment, even when I’m not talking about a specific pop culture or political topic. I think that there’s a time for comedy of the moment, but then I also think there’s an aspect that you want to be timeless, and that’s what the specials are for me. You want the piece to be something that people watch 40 years from now, and I don’t always expect every single set that I put out to have that level of longevity. Because no matter how it feels right now, there’s going to come a time where we look at the people who take up so much of our bandwidth and our thoughts throughout the day as just a sort of passing political fashion or the things that we see as like huge indicators of where society is right now will eventually become forgotten crazes. But I think that if you speak to the human condition, if you speak to a lot of people’s timelessness around family and culture and some of the bigger topics, but without naming names, you create something that really stands the test of time.

There’s a duality between your timely comedy on “The Daily Show” and the timelessness you’re aiming for in specials. Was it important for you to separate the two ways that people might see you as a comedian?

People are going to have their takeaways from whatever you do. I try bringing the same amount of intention to everything, but as far as the way people see me, it’s something that’s kind of out of my control.

Religion comes up a lot in the special, the Bible specifically. I’d read somewhere that you had taken a break from practicing Christianity in recent years. If so, what was your reason for including the topic in your special?

I wouldn’t even necessarily call it a break, I just think that there’s moments you’ll find yourself in, where whether you grew up on a text or a certain few tenants that you live by, there’s always going to come a time where it’s really important to revisit those things… It’s not necessarily that I bring religion up in the special because I stopped practicing. It’s actually because I think that if I’m breaking life down into these sort of pillars that make up a person — I’m not saying religion has to be one of them — but I do find it to be an aspect for a lot of people. So if I’m once again trying to speak to things from a universal perspective as best I can, I think it’s something that that definitely comes up.

Comic Josh Johnson turns his new hour into a concertlike experience, using live music, a busker’s credo and L.A.’s ornate Wiltern Theatre to tie jokes into a single, sweeping theme.

(Ser Baffo / HBO)

Considering how well you use music as a backdrop for the special, how long did it take to come up with a concept for the hour? Did you write the jokes before coming up with the structure or vice versa?

I basically had a structure before I had a set, and I went to the director Jacob Menache about the idea for this thing like three years ago and we were talking about how best to make it work. That was long before I knew what jokes were going to go where, or how many things, how many aspects we were going to add to it, or anything. So I think that it’s been a long time coming, as far as like the actual structure of what you end up seeing.

Watching your special was the first time I paid real attention to who the musical director was in the credits. What was it like working with respected bassist and producer Derrick Hodge on creating the concept for the music in “Symphony”?

I look at Derrick as someone who was doing a lot of interesting things, and so I thought it was going to be a fantastic opportunity to get to work with him. I don’t know that much about music, to be honest. I try to dabble with producing here and there because I have ideas, but it’s the real musicians, the real artists that take the ideas that I might pitch out and create something with it. So I really leaned on Derrick as much as possible to like bring us home. I feel like so much of what I was trying to do was in bringing an overall idea of the structure of a set and asking Derek, “Hey, what do you think about this?” I don’t know if I could have ever thought up a way to create what I was trying to build without him.

Was there something about you that you felt like you wanted to get across in this special that maybe you haven’t gotten to in your previous specials?

It can be tough to show new shades of yourself when you put out a lot of stuff, and you are always kind of coming with stories about your life and your childhood or anything like that when I think of putting a set together, especially something that is attempting to be timeless. Overall, I think every new story is a new story to [the audience]. But I think that if you can express how you used to think versus how you think now, that can be revealing. Towards the beginning [of “Symphony”] I talk about how there are things I didn’t understand until pretty close to the special in theory, things I didn’t understand until like a week ago, or I’ve always held this belief, or something like that, and I think that if you can give people insight to your evolution as a person, I think that’s a really powerful thing.

“I think music, in a way that nothing else does, brought the central points and themes of the special home,” Johnson says.

(Ser Baffo / HBO)

Were there any things that occurred during the rehearsal process that genuinely surprised you?

Watching it come together was a huge surprise, because you know, [the director] Jacob’s out here in L.A., I’m in New York, and so I make the flight down and everything, but the Thursday rehearsal with the musicians [before the taping] was the first time I was seeing everything come together. It was first time I was hearing everything, and so I think watching something finally come to life after such a long period of time is always going to throw you for a loop.

Now that the special will finally be out, what plans do you have next about how to showcase your comedy?

I’m really excited for people to see what’s coming. I start the tour Comedy Band Camp in June. I have some surprises for people there as well, and I’m looking forward to showcasing lots of artists. I’m looking forward to showcasing as much as I can that helps me elevate the level of craft and what I bring to people. And so I’m doing that through even more collaborations. I’m going to be hyping up some people that maybe you’ve heard of, or maybe you haven’t heard of. The special is kind a beautiful kick off for the tour that I’m going to be doing because we are going to be on the road for quite a while, and I chose Comedy Band Camp as a theme, because camp is this thing that people are nostalgic for, it’s a place to go that is safe, where you make friends. Band is about people coming together for a shared goal, it’s about everyone having a singular purpose towards creating art. So I think mixing those two things together will be a unique experience that no one can get anywhere else, and it’ll be a challenge to present it as best as possible. But I have a lot of plans for how I’m going to do that.

When Meow Wolf’s Los Angeles location opens later this year, one of its biggest residents will be a 20-foot-tall, 1,000-pound amoeba-like creature named WoWoW.

Created by the L.A.-based multimedia collective Everything Is Terrible, WoWoW is alternately described as a “cosmic entity” and a “cartoony, root vegetable floating alien god.” The multi-eyed organism will serve as the centerpiece of “the N.E.S.T.,” an EIT-designed section of Meow Wolf’s new 26,000-square-foot immersive exhibition space.

In-progress detail of Everything Is Terrible’s WoWoW sculpture for the forthcoming Meow Wolf Los Angeles, shown with multi-color eye lighting.

(Photo by Allyson Lupovich / Meow Wolf)

That acronym has yet to be explained, and is cloaked in Meow Wolf’s intentionally mysterious messaging about its latest incarnation, which is set in an old Cinemark movie theater in West L.A. and will tackle the ephemeral joys and hardships of Hollywood’s dream factory. The L.A. location will be the Santa Fe, N.M.-based immersive art and entertainment company’s fifth outpost after Denver, Las Vegas, Houston and the Dallas suburbs.

The L.A. space boasts 45 local collaborating artists including Gabriela Ruiz, David Altmejd and more. Each is building their own unique installation featuring a variety of sculptures, dioramas and new media.

Everything Is Terrible is one of Meow Wolf’s most prolific partners, creating a variety of psychedelic characters for various installations over the years. The collective dreamed up the N.E.S.T. about two years ago as a way of paying tribute to maximalist roadside attractions like Wisconsin’s House on the Rock or New Mexico’s Tinkertown Museum. It also tells the story of the Noothies, a made-up community of former below-the-line film workers who stumbled upon a god — and a hidden truth about the nature of reality.

The installation presents a paradox by being a Hollywood idea that is completely un-Hollywood. It may wink at the industry’s unseen heroes, but who can afford to make art for art’s sake in the entertainment industry anymore? That seeming contradiction makes it a very Everything Is Terrible idea.

Founded nearly 20 years ago by a group of friends who met at Ohio University, Everything Is Terrible was launched as a found-footage website that created wild and singular art pieces using thrifted VHS tapes. It found viral success with videos about cat massage, and a dancing dinosaur who warns kids about the dangers of pedophilia, as well as its lauded quest to amass as many VHS copies of “Jerry Maguire” as humanly possible. (The group has about 45,000 at the moment, all stuffed in boxes and waiting to be unleashed on the world — perhaps as a pyramid in the desert or maybe featured in some sort of coffee table book.)

“I think our outlook on life has become, ‘look at the worlds that these people created,’” says EIT co-founder Dimitri Simakis. “No one asked them to do this. Someone just wanted to do a kids puppet show in some garage in North Carolina and now they’ve created a simulacra.”

That’s also what the collective is doing with its Meow Wolf exhibit, adds Nic Maier, another EIT member. “It’s what we’ve done for the last 20 years, really. We’re just a bunch of kooks who got together to obsessively make things in celebration of life and in appreciation of each other’s time.”

The marriage of Everything Is Terrible and Meow Wolf is a match made in heaven. The groups first met in 2009, bonded by a shared commitment to interactive art experiences that twist reality using an ornate handmade aesthetic.

A few years later, Maier was hired to work on what would become Meow Wolf’s first large-scale installation, Santa Fe’s “House of Eternal Return.” As he spent hours sculpting large, foam trees for the group, he says he fell in love.

A mystical, neon-colored forest in Meow Wolf’s Santa Fe, N.M., exhibition, “The House of Eternal Return.”

(Meow Wolf)

“We always joke that ever since then, EIT has been a barnacle on the side of the Meow Wolf ship, just hanging on but also occasionally hopping in to contribute,” Maier says.

When Meow Wolf announced it was opening two new spaces, in Las Vegas and Denver, it called on EIT for ideas. Simakis and Maier threw out a few pitches for Denver and one landed: a McDonald’s-like retro freak-out known as Pizza Pals Play Zone, which went on to become one of the attraction’s most talked about, photographed and beloved spaces.

“Pizza Pals Play Zone is super character dense,” says Han Sayles, Meow Wolf’s director of artist collaboration. “It’s just one of those spaces that feels like Meow Wolf. There’s hundreds of different pieces of media framed all around, featuring all of these different characters they created. They even made a bible … that had the narrative backstory of every single character and every deliverable they wanted for that room.”

Pizza Pals Playzone, created by Everything Is Terrible, at Meow Wolf’s Convergence Station in Denver.

(Jess Gallo / Meow Wolf)

When Meow Wolf’s Los Angeles project became a possibility, Sayles says Everything Is Terrible was one of the first groups she pitched as a potential contributor. EIT ended up being offered a custom project, in which the group used Meow Wolf’s extensive production facilities and resources to create their vision for the space, weighing in on everything from the shape of their room to the merch it might inspire in the Meow Wolf gift shop.

“We had a super trusting relationship with them,” Sayles says. “We recruited them as partners and negotiated a deal without knowing what they were going to put in the room. Both Nic and Dimitri have such a beautiful, strong sense of the exact genre of whimsy that we go for and they always deliver super deeply, so we knew it would be amazing.”

Sayles says she also thought the group’s experience of Los Angeles would lend itself well to the overall theme of the venue. Shakti Howeth, a creative director at Meow Wolf, agrees, saying that while Meow Wolf attractions are typically pretty otherworldly, they’re always built around an overarching story.

At Meow Wolf’s “Omega Mart,” in Las Vegas, guests first enter a satiric take on a grocery store, where portals lead to otherworldly art exhibitions.

(Christopher DeVargas / Meow Wolf)

The N.E.S.T., Howeth teases, will relate to some of the L.A. attraction’s character groups and themes, as well as its overall story. How audiences first encounter WoWoW and the N.E.S.T. will depend on which door they use to enter the room. From there, the points of visual interest will compound upon each other.

“We’re just incorporating all the things we love,” says Maier, noting that includes roadside attractions, folk art and anything “outsider.”

“It involves everything from the importance of dirt and worms to video games to experimental film to worker uprisings to entering literal other dimensions where you can meet what might be God, all within a [553]-square-foot space,” Simakis adds. “There have been times when we’ve been in the N.E.S.T. and thought we crammed in too much … but then you realize it has to be like that, because we’re trying to tell the whole story of the universe in just that room.”

For example, Maier spent much of the last two years building 45 beautifully weird costumes for the attraction, only two of which will be physically in the N.E.S.T. The other 43, he explains, are there for “world-building” and to make the story feel lived in. Everything in the space will have been created by Everything Is Terrible and Meow Wolf, including what seems like real found footage.

Simakis calls the group’s vision for the space “unrelenting joy mixed with benevolent chaos,” as well as “a beautiful folk art museum that’s also a space rave.” He likens what the group is doing to “building a puzzle out of thousands of other puzzles, gluing it together to make a new thing.”

“It’s like we’re making a movie that’s not a movie,” Simakis adds. “It’s a video game. It’s a living space. It’s all of these things, but you get to walk around in it.”

If that’s confusing, it’s because it’s meant to be — at least a little. How each visitor absorbs or receives the space will be entirely up to them. And while that could be a bit terrifying for some artists, to pour everything into a piece only to have the public possibly misinterpret or even ignore it, Maier and Simakis say they’re open to whatever comes.

“Millions of people are going to potentially walk through our space, so it has to be really special,” Simakis says. “We’ve also thought about all the different ways people could enjoy it, whether they’re a baby or a stoner or someone who’s just really into immersive entertainment or escape rooms. Even if you just go to take selfies, great. We’re pro-that. But also, if you want to keep going back or you want to spend hours there, I promise we’ve made it worth your while.”

Meow Wolf L.A. opens later this year. You can catch both Meow Wolf and Everything Is Terrible in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Art Parade on June 20, marching in some of Maier’s 45 costumes from the N.E.S.T.

Nearly 50 years on from “Star Wars” and the launch of a media empire (large or small “e”? You decide), the fandom has become its own galaxy of warring planets. But based on the success of the streaming series “The Mandalorian,” set around the title bounty hunter, we can all agree that his charge Grogu — green, wrinkled, big-eyed Baby You-Know-Who — is still adorable. Of the many “Star Wars” offshoots, this seems to be the sturdiest.

The brand is back together for “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which is a movie, a hoped-for franchise revival, a fourth season of sorts and an affable throwback. But it’s never quite riveting enough as canon or fodder to supplant anyone’s memories of [insert favorite “Star Wars” film here].

The expectations game was never going to help series creator Jon Favreau’s big-screen version, written with Dave Filoni and Noah Kloor. Granted, this upscaled, agreeably rangy treatment of an adventure storyline that wouldn’t have been out of place on the show could have attempted more. Especially when it puts sci-fi icon Sigourney Weaver in an X-wing pilot uniform as a veteran of the Rebellion, but barely gives her anything to do besides secure Mando a job and keep tabs on his progress. (Gang, try harder. It’s Sigourney Weaver.)

Aimed squarely at kids of all sizes, “Star Wars” has become a glorified tour of a billionaire’s expanding playworld and “The Mandalorian and Grogu” wants the track well-oiled, not bumpy. The simple pleasures here of good vs evil, IMAX hugeness and composer Ludwig Göransson’s space-opera-hits-the-club score, go down easy enough to not be aggravating. It’s a lot.

But it’s not this reviewer’s position to tell you what “a lot” is — loose lips spoil scripts. When the moment comes at an appropriately dangerous time for our heroes, we sense the kind of thing that only movies can do well when they’re myths writ large: slow things down, shift momentum away from the tyranny of exposition and let emotion, humor, wonder and character co-exist. “The Mandalorian and Grogu” takes the series’ thematic underpinnings — what parenting looks like between a masked human loner and an otherworldly toddler — and deepens them.

The movie takes place in wonderfully detailed environments that evoke the earlier, beloved films. You’re not being pandered to, however; the payoff is a lovely echo. Elsewhere, the action set pieces are serviceably handled by Favreau. (One of them plays like, of all things, an homage to “The French Connection.”)

Otherwise, this is another hunt-and-retrieve narrative for the bounty hunter voiced by Pedro Pascal, physically embodied in armor by Brendan Wayne and, in combat, by fight choreographer Lateef Crowder. Still independent but New Republic-curious, Mando is tasked by Weaver’s Col. Ward to find a wayward scion of the slimy gangster Hutt clan, Rotta (voiced by Jeremy Allen White), whose return will unlock some important information. Of course, things don’t go as planned, which for a while is interesting — are the Hutts like the Corleones, perhaps? — until it’s not, because then the dialogue would need to rise above the level of a middle-school play.

That being said, one of the movie’s strong points, absent its story deficiencies, is that, across its many wordless scenes, it’s at heart a solidly rousing, delightfully icky creature feature, in the vein of a supercharged Ray Harryhausen-meets-Guillermo del Toro joint. “It’s a hard world for little things,” Lillian Gish famously says in “The Night of the Hunter,” a movie nobody will ever confuse with “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” But we all know summer fare like this is only ever as enjoyable as the monsters conjured up for conquering.

SAN DIEGO — Sitting in the Petco Park visiting dugout Monday afternoon, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes would have preferred to be answering a different set of questions about the team’s rotation depth.

In spring training, it was all about how many difficult decisions the Dodgers had in front of them because of the quality depth they’d built. In the first couple months of the season, a spike of injuries had completely flipped the conversation.

“It’s the reason why you try to go in with as much depth as you can knowing that things can happen,” Gomes said. “You hope that they don’t pile up all at the same time, which has happened as of late. But we’ll keep navigating it. We’ll work through it like we have in the past.

“The biggest thing is we’ve got a big series these three games. Go out and play good baseball here and then keep balancing the short-term, long-term.”

Gomes provided updates on the Dodgers’ mounting pitching injuries, and how the team is combating the absences:

—The Dodgers expect left-hander Blake Snell will undergo the less invasive NanoNeedle scope procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow Tuesday. The procedure could shorten Snell’s recovery time by a month, compared to a more traditional arthroscopic procedure.

—Right-hander Tyler Glasnow had another back flare-up. He’ll be shut down from throwing for a few days. “No concern long-term,” Gomes said. “But a little slower on the front end than we expected.”

—The Dodgers are leaning toward using Eric Lauer as a starter. They have not yet decided where to slot him in, but it probably won’t be this weekend in Milwaukee.

—Right-handed reliever Brusdar Graterol (right shoulder surgery recovery) sustained a back injury while on rehab assignment with triple-A Oklahoma City. The team is still working to determine next steps and has not ruled out surgery.

Anderson Cooper has signed off from “60 Minutes” for the last time.

After two decades as a correspondent on the CBS’ news magazine, he officially ended his run Sunday night.

Cooper, who also hosts a news program on CNN, announced in February his plans to leave CBS, months after an internal shake-up that followed the arrival of editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss.

“Things can always evolve and change, and I think that’s awesome, and things should evolve and change, but I hope the core of what ’60 Minutes’ is always remains,” Anderson said on-air. “I think the independence of ’60 Minutes’ has been critical.”

Throughout the farewell segment, the 58-year-old journalist, who was hired in 2007, reminisced about some career highlights, like speaking with Holocaust survivors and people battling malnutrition in Niger, as well as interviewing A-listers like Lady Gaga and Prince Harry. He also said he hopes the show continues to be a reliable source of investigative journalism.

“I think the trust it has with viewers is critical to the success of ’60 Minutes.’ When you see a ’60 Minutes’ story, and you’re like, ‘That was a really good story.’ It was a good story because it requires time, it requires patience, it requires money,” he said. “I hope that’s known and honored and valued and continues.”

His departure comes at an uncharted time for CBS, as the company undergoes several leadership changes. Last year, billionaire David Ellison successfully merged his company, Skydance Media, with Paramount, CBS’s parent company. Soon after, Ellison hired Bari Weiss as CBS News editor-in-chief.

Two months after taking on the new role, Weiss made the widely panned decision to pull a “60 Minutes” episode that examined the alleged abuse of deportees sent from the U.S. to an El Salvador prison. The decision earned Weiss heavy criticism and accusations that the move was politically motivated, which CBS has denied.

Cooper said that he’s leaving the program to spend more time with his young children. He will remain as an anchor for CNN.

He added, “I hope ’60 Minutes’ is around for when my kids grow up and have kids of their own, and they can watch it with their kids.”

Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who serves the 4th District, makes her way across an empty, unnamed backlot, presenting her case to be the city’s next mayor.

“Studio lots like this one used to be filled with people, costumers, electricians, set medics, caterers, thousands of Angelenos making a living,” she says in the video posted on social media. “Now these lots are quiet. Since 2018, shooting days in the city have fallen by half.”

After telling voters this issue is “personal” (her husband is a TV writer and producer), criticizing Mayor Karen Bass’ leadership on the matter and outlining her own plans, Raman proclaims, “I’m running for mayor to make sure Los Angeles stays the film and TV capital of the world.”

Placing the concerns of the entertainment industry at the center of the city’s mayoral race would have been unthinkable even in the last election cycle. But the production crisis, which has rocked Hollywood and pummeled its workforce, has reached a critical juncture. The state of L.A.’s signature industry is now a political flashpoint alongside affordability, crime and homelessness in the upcoming election.

A person films an interaction between mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt and another person on his cellphone during a “Community Meet and Greet” event out of a house for sale on Long Ridge Avenue in a residential neighborhood of Sherman Oaks on Saturday.

(Etienne Laurent/For The Times)

In campaign ads, interviews and the recent televised debate, the top three contenders: incumbent Mayor Bass, former reality TV villain Spencer Pratt and Raman, have made the ongoing production slump a pivotal topic, highlighting their plans to revitalize the industry while deploying the issue to undercut one another.

For decades, elected officials have not had to focus on the film and TV business, let alone turn it into a campaign issue. It was simply a given that local production would continue to play a dominant role in the city’s economy as it has for more than a century.

But the cumulative effects of consolidation, runaway production to tax-friendly states and countries and the end of the streaming boom has caused Los Angeles to lose billions in economic activity, shed some 57,000 jobs over the last four years and led to the closing of more than 80 film and television production service businesses across the city since 2022.

“For us, ‘save Hollywood’ is more than a slogan and more than headline. It is what needs to be done,” said Pamala Buzick Kim, one of the co-founders of Stay in LA, a grassroots campaign aimed at increasing film and television production in Los Angeles.

To be sure, the biggest driver of where studios and producers film are state and federal tax credits, over which the city has no control.

But Buzick Kim and others argue that “there is lots the mayor can do, hand-in-hand with the City Council.”

Mayor Karen Bass, center, walks with Avance Democratic Club President Nilza Serrano, to the right of Bass, during Avance’s politics and tacos event at Ernest E. Debs Regional Park in Los Angeles on Saturday.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

For starters, say filmmakers and advocates, much can be done to tackle the city’s sclerotic bureaucracy, onerous regulations and a slow and costly permitting process that has pushed filmmakers to flee to friendlier and cheaper locales.

While steps have been put in place recently, including a pilot program offering reduced-cost filming permits for shoots that demonstrate a “low impact” to the surrounding community, many complain such steps have come too little and too late.

Scott Niner, president and owner of Dangling Carrot Creative, checks on woodwork being produced at his shop in North Hollywood.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

“The industry is in collapse and people have been talking about fixing things for years, but all we get are incremental little changes,” said Ed Lippman, a location manager of 34 years who lives in Sherman Oaks and has worked on such shows as “ER” and “The X-Files” and movies including “Galaxy Quest.” “And if the city is not being business-friendly, the business will go elsewhere.”

Compounding the problem, the Los Angeles area has more than 100 jurisdictions, many of which have their own set of rules and regulations regarding filming.

“There needs to be universal standards,” said Travis Beck, a location manager for commercials, small films and music videos. “Burbank is different from Glendale, which is different from Pasadena.”

The recent kerfuffle over filming “Baywatch,” the lifeguard reboot at Venice Beach, underscored both the efforts to bring production back to L.A. — enticed by a $21-million tax credit — and the complex, baffling red tape required to film here.

When shooting began in March, the production encountered a number of hiccups, including that it needed nearly double the parking space it had received a permit for, which was not part of the original approvals.

An anonymous crew member claimed on Facebook that government restrictions had forced production to relocate from Venice Beach. Production staff denied they had relocated. However, the incident prompted a backlash, becoming a rallying cry over L.A.’s burdensome filming bureaucracy.

The “Baywatch” team quickly met with city and county officials and resolved the issue, securing an agreement for a 20% parking discount from the city, and the mayoral candidates used it as an opportunity to score political points.

Pratt slammed the city’s permitting problems.

“LA turned its back on Hollywood — now the golden goose needs CPR,” he wrote on his Substack.

Bass highlighted her administration’s leadership on the matter.

“The City of Los Angeles will always clear bureaucratic barriers, making it easier and more affordable to film in the entertainment capital of the world,” she wrote on X last month.

On April 21, the mayor unveiled programs to offer productions 20% discounts on city-owned parking lots and other equipment, reduced filming fees at places like the Griffith Observatory and reopened the Central Library for filming. Last August, she appointed Steve Kang, president of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works, as the city’s film liaison.

Raman has pledged her support for expanding the state’s $750-million tax incentive program, streamlining permitting and lowering fees and eliminating those for small productions. She has also said she will establish a dedicated city film office with a liaison who understands production.

Councilmember and mayoral candidate Nithya Raman speaks to a crowd at the “Families for Nithya” event at Vineyard Recreation Center in Los Angeles on Saturday.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

“Los Angeles is losing Hollywood,” Raman said in a statement. “Not because productions want to leave, but because we’ve made it too hard for them to stay.”

On his Substack and various podcast interviews, Pratt has promised to slash location fees in half, speed up permit approvals, reduce on-set city staff for the majority of productions and waive all fees for shoots with budgets under $2 million.

All three candidates have attacked one another over their approach to Hollywood.

Pratt and Raman have said Bass moved too slowly to address spiraling production and retain film jobs, saying she enacted measures only recently as the mayoral race was heating up.

Speaking on the Monks & Merrill podcast, Pratt criticized Bass’ moves to cut costs to film at the Griffith Observatory, saying, “Who needs that shot right now with the homeless poop all around it?”

The incumbent mayor has defended her administration’s record with the entertainment industry.

Bass and Pratt have taken Raman to task, calling her out for what they say is her lack of advocacy during her time on the City Council.

“She feels very strongly about it. But never offered one motion on the industry, and when motions came up on the industry she either recused herself, or got up and walked out,” said Bass during a debate this month.

Citing a potential conflict of interest over her husband’s work in television, Raman refrained from voting on several motions related to Hollywood.

Many working in the industry would like to see full-throttled support coming from the mayor’s office that will get results. They note how New York City has successfully promoted itself as a leading film destination over the years. (Kang, the city’s chief film liaison, said the city is working on a similar marketing campaign to promote filming that will launch by early fall.)

“For all the talk about, ‘We need to support and bring back filming,’ if they just did basics like lowering the fees and simplifying the process … that would actually help people and get things produced,” said Chris Fuentes, 66, who worked for 30 years as a location manager until he retired last year.

“We’ve heard a lot of great things, but not all things are possible in the mayor’s remit,” said Buzick Kim, noting that tax incentives are a state and federal issue.

Still, she said, “the mayor must understand that Hollywood needs to be made a priority and to find and create inspired thinking to make things easier and cheaper.”

Kang agrees, but says there are limits to what the mayor can achieve.

“We definitely can do a lot to really open up the entertainment industry, but at the same time, we recognize the larger impact needs to come from Sacramento and Washington, D.C., because L.A. just does not have the resources to compete with other jurisdictions in providing millions of dollars in tax incentives,” he said.

For most working in the industry, they just want city leadership that will execute on more than just talking points.

“This is the birthplace of cinema,” Beck said. “It shouldn’t be so hard to film here.”

The snow was flying sideways and he had no jacket, but this lumberjack did not shiver. He stood about 25 feet tall, ax in hand, wearing a red hat and rictus grin. And he was made of fiberglass.

I stood at his feet on the Northern Arizona University campus in Flagstaff, full of the satisfaction that comes at having accomplished something truly trivial: At last, I was face to face with the original Muffler Man.

Stories, photos and travel recommendations from America’s Mother Road

Easter Island has its stone-faced monoliths. China has its terra-cotta warriors. And we Americans have these roadside giants, also known as Paul Bunyans, Uniroyal Gals and most commonly, Muffler Men. Manufactured in Los Angeles, they first appeared on the highways of North America in the early 1960s as an advertising gimmick, often promoting car lots or car parts. Now they’re rising again, a battalion of restored and replica specimens, beloved by road-trippers, kitsch aficionados, artists, preservationists and savvy entrepreneurs.

“To me, they’re kind of instant friends,” said Amy Inouye, the designer and artist who rescued L.A.’s most iconic Muffler Man, Chicken Boy, a chicken-headed statue that stands atop her gallery in Highland Park. “They’re really tall and they just want to be accepted for who they are.”

The Northern Arizona University campus in Flagstaff includes the first oversize fiberglass Muffler Man, who has long been outfitted as a lumberjack.

These figures are especially plentiful along Route 66 this year as it turns 100 — there was a “pre-centennial frenzy” in the words of roadsideamerica.com, which coined the term “Muffler Men” and tracks them on a map. Nobody’s certain how many figures were made during the golden age of Muffler Men, but since 2020, the tally of giants has climbed above 250, including “a few dozen” rediscoveries since 2010, according to Doug Kirby, the co-founder and publisher of the site.

“Just in the last year or two, all these Muffler Men are being added,” he said. In addition, more than a dozen giants are currently in transition — that is, getting reconditioned or relocated.

1.) Cigars and Stripes BBQ in Berwyn, Ill., features a Muffler Man smoking a cigar and holding a jumbo bottle of barbecue sauce. 2.) The Gemini Giant stands along Route 66 in Wilmington, Ill.

On a recent westbound journey from Chicago on Route 66, I started seeing them almost immediately.

First, on Ogden Avenue in the Chicago suburb of Berwyn, there was the Cigars & Stripes Muffler Man. He stood on the roof of the Cigars & Stripes BBQ Lounge, brandishing a chicken wing and a fridge-size bottle of barbecue sauce while chewing on a stogie.

Next, in Wilmington, Ill., came the Gemini Giant, who stands 23 feet tall above a tiny park. Made for a Wilmington diner in 1965, he was auctioned off for $275,000 in early 2024 and placed in his current location later that year. He wears a clunky silver space helmet and holds a rocket in his hands.

I had come across a few Muffler Men before this trip, including Big Josh, who looks down upon Joshua Tree from the Station gift shop on State Route 62. But now I was paying more attention.

At first, I learned, these giants were all men, conceived around 1962 by a Lawndale entrepreneur named Bob Prewitt and made popular from the early 1960s through the mid-1970s by a company in Venice called International Fiberglass.

Made from a standard set of molds and held together by steel frames, most Muffler Men are assembled from three or four pieces. Besides those figures holding mufflers and tires, others were outfitted as cowboys, Indians, lumberjacks (often known as Paul Bunyans), astronauts, chefs, dentists, golfers, hot dog vendors, race-car drivers, pirates and service-station attendants. Then there were the jug-eared goofball characters, which some scholars of the art form call halfwits, while others prefer snerds.

As interest in this kind of advertising grew, female giants followed, including Uniroyal Gals and Rosie the Riveters. Oversized animals, including dinosaurs, bulls, roosters, hens and seals, also multiplied.

Juni Peraza, 25, works at the Meadow Gold Mack retail shop on 11th Street in Tulsa, Okla. She said she has only recently realized the possibilities that come with 11th Street being part of Route 66.

All that action faded in the 1970s. But in about 1989, the seeds of a new Muffler Man era were sown.

Kirby, Mike Wilkins and Ken Smith, who had worked together on the 1985 book “Roadside America,” were building a database for a follow-up project when they realized, “Hey, wait, this configuration of statue we’re seeing in a lot of places,” Kirby said. “We decided we’d better start keeping track.”

The first few they saw were holding mufflers. Thinking of the old nursery rhyme “Muffin Man,” and a Frank Zappa song of the same name, Kirby decided to call them Muffler Men.

When the roadsideamerica.com website launched in 1996, Muffler Men were part of it. By 2000, Roadside America had uncovered their origin story and interviewed Steve Dashew, former president of International Fiberglass. And readers had embraced the giants in a big way.

This fiberglass Rosie the Riveter figure went up on 11th Street in Tulsa in 2025.

“It was like a religious epiphany for some people. For years, they were driving past these things,” Kirby said. “As soon as they realized it was part of an uncharted network across the country … it’s like your third eye has been opened.”

Ken Bernstein, principal city planner for Los Angeles Office of Historic Resources, calls Muffler Men “monumental and distinctive representations of midcentury car culture, especially along auto-centric corridors where it was important to catch the eye of passing motorists.”

New giants, known as custom jobs, are being steadily manufactured now. There’s an entire economic community emerging around their restoration, replication, sales, transport and display, including companies like (Re)Giant and sculptor Mark Cline’s Enchanted Castle Studios. (To confuse matters, many Southern California mechanics woo customers by welding together mufflers to make human figures. Those creations, too, are often called Muffler Men.)

The American Giants Museum in Atlanta, Ill., created in 2024 by Bill Thomas of the Atlanta Betterment Fund and collector-historian Joel Baker, is devoted to the fiberglass figures. The museum, open April through October, includes four standing Muffler Men, with two more expected around Memorial Day.

Because the giants stand in the open air, visitors who show up after hours — as I did — can ogle them any time.

Atlanta, Ill., is home to the American Giants Museum, which celebrates the Muffler Men and Uniroyal Gals that were common roadside advertising features in the middle 20th century.

“I love history. I love anything to do with cars and old advertisements. I think it just takes people back,” said Lee Woods, 55, who jumped on the Muffler Men bandwagon about five years ago and owns the museum.

Woods and his wife, Diane, who have a fleet of tow trucks in Hot Springs, Ark., were collecting old porcelain gas station signs, gas pumps and old cars in 2021 when, on a drive through Illinois, they laid eyes on the Gemini Giant.

“I told my wife I would love to have one of them things to represent our tow company,” Woods recalled.

Before long, they had hired someone to build a custom tow-truck-operator Muffler Man. And before that Muffler Man was done, Lee Woods had bought another one — a Paul Bunyan in Oklahoma. Then in 2023 he got a hold of a Muffler Man Mr. Spock from Rainbow Neon in Salt Lake City. Now Woods has eight Muffler Men in Arkansas.

“Sometimes I get carried away, my wife says,” Woods said.

Last fall, he bought the museum, where he collaborates with Baker, who is founder of the American Giants website, creator of a Giants YouTube series and serves as a Muffler Man broker, consultant and transportation specialist.

“When people see these things, they think they’re the coolest thing out there,” Woods said. “Today we’ve had people from six different countries here.”

1.) Cowboy Bob, who is about 20 feet tall, plays guitar and wears a bolo tie, is one of several oversize fiberglass mascots along 11th Street in the Meadow Gold District of Tulsa. 2.) Meadow Gold Mack, a friendly lumberjack, is mascot for a shop of the same name on 11th Street in Tulsa. 3.) A Muffler Man near Gearhead Curios in Galena, Kan. 4.) The 2nd Amendment Cowboy is a fiberglass giant that stands at the entrance to a trailer park near the art installation Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.

From here, the giants seemed to come fast and furious. One in Galena, Kan. Two in Vinita, Okla. (which has since added a third). Five in Tulsa’s Meadow Gold District (including one with an 8-foot-long guitar).

Then in Weatherford, Okla., came a 30-foot astronaut. In Amarillo, a “2nd Amendment Cowboy” with a pair of big pistols at his feet. In Gallup, N.M., a giant on the roof of a used car lot.

By the time I’d reached Flagstaff, my count was 18.

Then came my snowy moment with the original Muffler Man, whose nickname is Louie. Experts agree that he was produced in about 1963 and sent to a Flagstaff cafe with a lumberjack theme (and yes, that cafe stood along Route 66).

Louie stood there until the cafe closed more than 10 years later. Then he was donated to NAU and stationed by the ticket office of the university’s Walkup Skydome. Another lumberjack stands inside.

But after Louie, I hit a drought — no more giant sightings in Arizona and none on the Route 66 alignment I followed into Southern California.

This seemed wrong, because there are so many giants along the byways of Southern California and because this is the land of their birth. Besides Big Josh, there’s the Paul Bunyan in Mentone, the empty-handed Muffler Man known as Kevin on Sherman Way in Van Nuys. There’s the flag-wielding Porsche Muffler Man in Carson (who previously served in the same spot as a club-brandishing Golf Man). And there are plenty of others.

It didn’t seem right to end the journey without another sighting. So I made my way to Highland Park to meet the one who rules the roost.

More specifically, I headed for 5558 N. Figueroa St., which was on the path of Route 66 for several years in the 1930s and which is the home of Chicken Boy.

Blessed with the customized head of a chicken, the body of a Muffler Man and a bucket in his hands (for eating chicken?), Chicken Boy stood for years atop the Chicken Boy fried-chicken restaurant on Broadway downtown, inspiring writer Art Fein to label him “L.A.’s Statue of Liberty.”

After the restaurant was shuttered in 1984, Inouye swooped in to rescue Chicken Boy and place him in protective storage — for years, as it turned out.

The fiberglass statue known as Chicken Boy stands on the roof of artist, designer and gallerist Amy Inouye’s studio on Figueroa Street in Highland Park.

In October 2007, after she and longtime partner Stuart Rapeport had bought the Highland Park studio space and pulled permits, Inouye put Chicken Boy back together again and set him up on the roof. There he remains, sharing space with a billboard, visible up and down the block between Avenue 55 and Avenue 56.

If a nomination by L.A. preservationist Charles J. Fisher goes through, Chicken Boy could become the first Muffler Man declared a city historic-cultural monument. And if you drop by the Future Studio Gallery on a Saturday between noon and 3 p.m. or 4 p.m., you’ll likely find Inouye, now 74, along with a trove of Chicken Boy T-shirts, patches, pencils and ceramic treasure boxes.

But seeing Chicken Boy is its own reward, especially after seeing so many of his fiberglass cousins. I got there on a balmy afternoon, beheld Chicken Boy’s beak gleaming in the sun, and knew my mission was complete.

It’s hard to believe, as Matt Damon noted in his monologue in this week’s “Saturday Night Live,” that the actor of this summer’s “The Odyssey” has only guest hosted three times during his lengthy career. (In case you’re wondering, his frequent writing and acting partner Ben Affleck has hosted five times.)

That’s a shame because Damon checks all the boxes for what an A-list actor should do when they host the show: be super present, take every opportunity to do the silliest sketches without seeming uncomfortable, and bring at least some of their acting chops to bear to give otherwise lightweight sketches a little extra gravitas or emotion.

Damon did all that and helped start the show off with an extra jolt of energy by returning as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the cold open, along with last week’s ringer, Aziz Ansari as FBI Director Kash Patel.

Not every sketch worked, like an early Godzilla parody set in a command center that was simply a series of increasingly anticipated spit takes on poor Mikey Day. Things improved when Damon played himself in a pre-taped sketch about a movie made just for moms ahead of Mother’s Day; mom’s fantasy? No conflict among the kids and a blissful marriage to Matt Damon.

Damon also played one of a trio of middle-aged men (including Marcello Hernández and Kenan Thompson) constantly getting beat up by “tough guys” who are sometimes just children. He also played a frustrated dad in a strange cat litter commercial, a substitute teacher trying to get a classroom of students to dance (unsuccessfully) and, memorably, an auctioneer in a fight with his auctioneer wife (Sarah Sherman). In these sketches in particular, Damon’s acting skills helped elevate the characters he played, grounding them in sadness or frustration. It definitely helped.

The “Odyssey” might turn out to be the summer’s biggest movie hit. If that’s the case, let’s hope Matt Damon isn’t kept from hosting “SNL” for so long after this week’s solid job.

Musical guest Noah Kahan performed “The Great Divide” and “Doors.”

At Martin’s Tavern in Washington, D.C., Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost) returned yet again to shout-bark at those around him, brag about the Iran War he claims he started and, of course, talk about drinking alcohol. But this time, he was joined by his apparent drinking buddy Kavanaugh, who held a gavel and immediately ordered a “six-three decision” (six beers, three shots of Jameson whiskey). Glowing in their victories, Hegseth bellowed, “Can you believe I just started a war?” Kavanaugh replied, “Can you believe I ended abortion? Your body, my choice!” Kavanaugh went on to show off what at first looked like a dinosaur-shaped district map for Tennessee before revealing it’s his field sobriety test, when he was asked to draw a circle. Kavanaugh bemoaned the male loneliness crisis just before they were joined by Patel, who cried, “Does this bar take Kaaaaash?” Patel showed off the bourbon that bears his name. (“Somehow this is a real thing that I, the FBI director, have made. This is real!”) Kavanaugh revealed a secret: that the court is going to let Trump do a third term. “Trump found the original Constitution and on the end, he wrote, ‘Psych!’ ” The three ended the sketch by singing Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumbing” with its callouts of their drink orders.

Damon previewed his upcoming film, even though he had to mention several times that “The Odyssey” won’t be out for another nine weeks. He also had to break the news that the lovely “SNL” tradition of bringing on moms of cast members wouldn’t be happening this year due to Spirit Airlines shutting down. It turns out, after an audience member (“SNL” writer Jack Bensinger) asks, that only Hernández’s mom was able to make it. Damon then recorded a video message to moms out there for anyone who didn’t get a gift for them. “You deserve a night out… nine weekends from now,” he said, suggesting the movie would make a great date night.

Best sketch of the night: Do I hear best sketch of the night? Sold!

A sketch as gimmicky as this one — in which the premise is two auctioneers (Damon and Sherman) are having a marriage-ending fight — only works if the performers are up to the task, and luckily both Damon and Sherman navigated the super-fast dialogue expertly and without looking like they were eyeing cue cards the entire time. The two went back and forth, auctioneering a discussion about weight, infidelity, drinking, their sex life and, eventually, terms of their divorce in front of their four young sons (who, adorably, hold up little numbered signs. Yes, they were played by adult cast members.). Even for “SNL” and for the last-sketch-of-the-night slot, it was a bold sketch for live TV and Damon and Sherman expertly walked the tightrope on this one.

Also good: Your mom will only make it through 23 minutes of this

“SNL” is no stranger to spiky sketch comedy takes on motherhood: remember “Mom Jeans?” For this year’s Mother’s Day take, it presented “Mom: The Movie,” a film devoid of conflict or dramatic tension because “Moms have enough stress. Why not let them feel good for a day?” Ashley Padilla plays the mom in the film, enjoying argument-free time with her kids (Jeremy Culhane, Tommy Brennan and Veronika Slowikowska), who only deliver good news. She’s married to Matt Damon, making her Rhonda Damon, and they met when he noticed her giant turquoise necklace after a movie screening. The film is streaming where moms are expected to find it: on HomeGoods Plus.

‘Weekend Update’ winner: This ‘Update’ segment is bananas — the round kind

This week’s “Update” featured three guest segments. Hernández and Day played kamikaze dolphins who work for the government, giving them a sense of porpoise (their joke, not mine). Jane Wickline expressed her anger at people caring that she’s always late in a funny musical rant. But Culhane’s return as Tucker Carlson continued a dead-on impersonation that covered several topics, including the Met Gala’s wild outfits, the new Michael Jackson biopic, and why eating round bananas is less gay than eating traditionally shaped ones. Culhane’s impression is a thing of beauty, and this time it leaned harder into Carlson’s tendency to express things from a very white point of view. In describing ASAP Rocky’s pink robe from the Met Gala, he said the performer was, “Wearing my least favorite color … African-American.”

Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone” universe, the sprawling neo-western TV franchise that chronicles the embattled Dutton family across time and locations, continues its aggressive expansion on screen with next week’s arrival of “Dutton Ranch.”

Premiering May 15 on Paramount+, the series continues the story of Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) — she’s the daughter of the late John Dutton (Kevin Costner), while he’s John’s longtime ranch foreman and fixer — as they migrate their passionate and unwavering love from Montana to South Texas to build a new life. The new series picks up about a year after the events that closed out the mothership series — namely, the selling of Yellowstone Ranch. And as you might expect, it doesn’t take long for them to make new enemies in their efforts to keep their new ranch operating.

Christina Alexandra Voros, who is an executive producer and director on the series, stopped by Guest Spot to talk about what sets “Dutton Ranch” apart from its parent show.

Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our recommendations include the return of a classic Cartoon Network series and a new addition to the growing microdrama landscape. And wait. Did you hear “The Bear” released a special episode? Let us tell you about it.

Scroll down and stream on. See you next week.

— Yvonne Villarreal

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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Mordecai, a blue jay who works at the park, in “Regular Show: Lost Tapes.”

(Cartoon Network)

“Regular Show: The Lost Tapes” (Cartoon Network )

Nearly a decade after “Regular Show” flashed into history with a metafictional battle for the fate of the universe, J.G. Quintel is restoring his cult-beloved cartoon series to life, with its cast and creatives back in place. (Following the “Gumball” revival, these are great days for old-school CN fans.) A surreal hardly workplace comedy, it’s set in a city park (even when, in the last season, the park was hijacked into a tree-shaped space station), where the characters — a blue jay, a raccoon, a lollipop man, a Yeti, a muscular little green monster, a video-game ghost with a hand growing out of its body-head and a walking gumball machine, who runs things — get into scrapes as strange as that cast list might suggest. As the original series ended 25 years into the future, “The Lost Tapes” no doubt indicates a rewind — VHS is the preferred format of this crew — into an earlier world we can regard as the present. Though what, after all, is time to a cartoon? (The show premieres Monday on Cartoon Network, and will come to Hulu and HBO Max later in the year.) — Robert Lloyd

Eric C. Lynch, Brittney Jefferson and Jenna Nolen in a scene from “Screen Time.”

(Liliane Lathan)

“Screen Time” (TikTok, PineDrama)

When word hit that Issa Rae’s Hoorae Media was set to premiere its first microdrama series, which are essentially super-short TV shows shot for smartphones, it felt like it was finally time for me to see what this format on the rise is all about. “Screen Time” begins with a double-date movie night that goes off the rails after a mysterious figure hijacks the TV and sends two couples — Danielle (Brittney Jefferson of “Rap Sh!t”) and Marcus (Eric C. Lynch of “Queen Sugar”); and James (Xavier Avila of “Á La Carte”) and Olivia (Jasmine Luv of “Tell It Like a Woman”) — on a tailspin as they’re forced to confess their secrets or risk their online footprint being made public. It’s a fun and ridiculous ride, made all the more entertaining when you scroll the comments for a full communal experience. It’ll have you doing an inventory on your phone’s contents, if you’re not busy unplugging any nearby virtual assistants while questioning what’s up with Marcus. There are 27 episodes now available to watch, with each clocking in at roughly a minute and flowing into the next. (For a bit of comparison, the viral “Who TF Did I Marry?” TikTok series by Reesa Teesa, which held me hostage in 2024, had about 50 videos, with many lasting around 10 minutes. But that was real-life drama.) Of course, Rae knows something about making online content stand out. Long before “Insecure” made her an in-demand storyteller in TV and film, Rae broke through with her YouTube series “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl.” The next episode drop arrives on May 22. — Y.V.

Catch up

Jon Bernthal as Michael “Mikey” Berzatto and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richard “Richie” Jerimovich in a stand-alone episode of “The Bear” titled “Gary.”

(FX)

Everything you need to know about the film or TV series everyone’s talking about

“Dutton Ranch” isn’t the only show spinning off family dynamics in new places. “The Bear” made a surprise episode drop earlier this week. Titled “Gary,” the stand-alone episode — listed on Hulu separate from the main show and not considered part of a season — is a one-hour flashback that mostly functions as a prequel. It follows Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as he sets out on a work trip to Gary, Ind., with Mikey (Jon Bernthal).

Though not biologically related, the pair are best friends who consider each other family of the “cousin” variety. And they’re tasked with running an errand for cousin Jimmy (Oliver Platt) to deliver a box whose contents neither knows. Moss-Bachrach and Bernthal, who have been friends since 2003, co-wrote the episode. And TV critic Robert Lloyd had this to say about the pair’s collaboration here: “One senses that as writers, they’ve built themselves a playground to act in; both are phenomenal.”

It’s also worth noting that, a day after the episode’s release, FX confirmed the Emmy-winning series is coming to an end next month. Fans questioned the show’s fate when the fourth season concluded with its tortured but deeply ambitious head chef Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) announcing he planned to leave the restaurant. So, yes, chef: When “The Bear” returns on June 25 for it’s fifth season, it will be the series’ last.

Guest Spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

(Emerson Miller / Paramount+)

A pair of “Yellowstone” siblings are keeping television screens supplied with Dutton drama. After “Marshals,” the CBS procedural that follows Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) as he leaves ranch life to join an elite U.S. Marshals unit in Montana, became runaway hit for the network when it premiered earlier this year, quickly earning a Season 2 renewal, the fictional character’s sister, Beth (Reilly), is poised for her spin-off debut. Joined by her husband Rip (Hauser) and their surrogate son Carter (Fin Little), the trio relocate to South Texas to escape the ghosts of the Yellowstone ranch and build a new life in “Dutton Ranch.” Managing a new 7,000-acre property, they encounter new friends (a compassionate veterinarian played by Ed Harris) and foes (a rival rancher played by Annette Bening). The nine-episode series premieres with two episodes on May 15. Ahead of the show’s launch, reports surfaced that Chad Feehan, the show’s creator and showrunner, would not return for Season 2. I spoke with Voros, a longtime collaborator of Sheridan, about how the new series is different from the mothership, whether its central couple parallels the epic love story featured in “The Madison” and the show’s she’s been watching. — Y.V.

How is “Dutton Ranch” different from “Yellowstone”?

“Yellowstone” was entirely about a family holding on to the legacy of a place, and “Dutton Ranch” is entirely about building a new legacy. From a spiritual sense, what is driving these characters is similar — it is the bond to family, it is protection of each other. But the landscape has changed. In many ways, what was about land in the mothership has alchemized into being about family in “Dutton Ranch” because that’s what is left. The land that has brought them to their knees in war for generations is no longer something that burdens them, but they are tasked with building a new life and protecting that new life that they have built.

What is it about Beth and Rip that struck a chord with “Yellowstone” viewers? And why do you think they are well–suited to stretch this TV universe?

Everyone loves a good love story and everyone loves an imperfect hero. When two people find each other and complete each other in a way that is both untraditional and heroic and romantic, it’s hard not to fall in love with them — and it’s hard to not want to fight for them and want to see them succeed. I’ve been with “Yellowstone” since the first season, and I remember very clearly being out there in Montana, making this crazy, big, ambitious TV show. And I remember, the next year, no one could go out to a restaurant in town without being accosted. Then the next year, there were Rip and Beth costumes at the store for Halloween. It takes a very special kind of actor to be able to carry that story and that character forward and to keep evolving, and to not become a caricature of themselves, but to grow not just the fictional person, but to also grow as an artist, to continue breathing life into that character. And I think Kelly and Cole have done so with with such grace and such a profound commitment to each other and to the show and to storytelling. They’re both EPs this season, and it’s so well-earned. It’s not just on face value. They have been in the trenches from the very beginning, really fighting for and protecting themselves and the DNA of the series.

I know, in theory, Taylor’s other series that you worked on, “The Madison,” is not in the same fictional universe. But at the heart of that series is this epic, once-in-a-lifetime romance. Do you see parallels? Do you think Preston (Kurt Russell), whose character loved visiting Montana, and Rip would have ever crossed paths? Would they have liked each other?

They would have enjoyed a beer together if they stumbled into each other at the same bar. I think the pursuits that feed their souls are different. Beth and Stacy would have ultimately gotten along after probably some kind of caustic series of remarks at the same bar.

I think there’s something about enduring love that is in both of those relationships. There are parallels in terms of the secrets that people carry, not necessarily nefarious ones, but sides of yourself that you don’t always see. I will say, Rip and Beth understand all the facets of each other in a way that is different from Stacy and Preston. The love story of “The Madison” is about two people who share everything but this one thing. Rip and Beth’s characters have also known each other since they were teenagers, and they have experienced most of each other’s lives together. If you look at Taylor’s writing, and maybe this comes from his own love story, he loves writing these strong romances, whether it’s Rip and Beth or Stacy and Preston. There are these grounding relationships that are formed by these volatile people, and it is fascinating to watch, and I think people find something familiar in them.

Ed Harris as Everett McKinney and Annette Bening as Beulah Jackson in “Dutton Ranch.”

(Emerson Miller / Paramount+)

The cast in the Sheridan TV universe are all pros. You’re also working with some major screen heavyweights — Kevin Costner, Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer, etc. In “Dutton Ranch,” you have Annette Bening and Ed Harris. What was the pinch-me moment?

I don’t even know where to start. Ed came into my office to chat at the very beginning, before we started prep. I just froze for a second; I lost my ability to speak like a normal human being. You have to forget that they are who they are in the beginning until you settle into a routine, otherwise you would be too awe-inspired to really do anything productive with your day. I feel so spoiled by the caliber of artists that I’ve had the opportunity to work with. I’m working with Sam Jackson right now on “Frisco King.” I look at the work that I’ve done with Michelle and Kurt, then Annette and Ed on this — it’s such an honor that artists of that caliber are excited to come play in these worlds. Everyday on set with Annette and Ed makes me a wiser director, makes me a smarter human being.

It was recently reported that Chad Feehan, the series co-creator, departed the series as showrunner. What was your collaboration with him like? And how do you think he handled setting the foundation for this series?

Writing a spin-off to “Yellowstone” comes with a tremendous amount of responsibility and a tremendous amount of opportunity. It’s a gift to be able to work with characters like Rip and Beth, and I think Chad did a wonderful job creating a world of characters for them to go toe to toe with in the Jacksons. The original DNA of the No. 1s on our call sheet was always there, but they are entering a new path and a new part of their own journey and worthy adversaries were needed.

OK, before I let you go, what have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know?

“The Beast in Me” [Netflix], I thought was unbelievable. It’s not the kind of thing that I normally watch. I just finished watching “Imperfect Women” [Hulu]. I was so taken by the performances in both of those shows. I love “Hacks” [HBO Max], I love “Shrinking” [Apple TV]. I balance my dark thriller with comedy.

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Whitney Leavitt is leaving “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”

The reality star announced the news during her final performance of “Chicago” on Sunday. Leavitt has played tap-dancing murderess Roxie Hart in the Broadway revival since February. TMZ published a video of the moment, in which a Broadway castmate shows Leavitt a newspaper mid-scene. Leavitt, in character as Hart, points to the headline and reads aloud: “Whitney Leavitt announces she’s leaving ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.’” The audience is heard hollering and cheering.

Leavitt followed the big reveal with an Instagram video Tuesday morning and assured fans that, although the forthcoming season will be her last, she would still appear in Season 5 of the Hulu series.

“It’s honestly so crazy to me looking back on this journey, because I had been trying to get into theater, film, way before ‘Secret Lives’ even came into my life,” she said. “The reality show just fell into my lap organically and I said yes to it. It’s definitely not the path that I had envisioned in my mind to get to where I am today, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I have experienced so much with this group of women, and through that process, I have also learned so much about myself.”

Leavitt continued, saying that the “Mormon Wives” had been through so much together, including more extreme highs and lows than audiences have seen. “No matter what happens with our relationships, that is something that will always be a part of our life, that will always be a part of my life, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“The times I’ve walked away from ‘MomTok,’ it came from a place of anger and frustration,” she continued. “But this time, it’s significantly different, because I’m leaving with gratitude. I feel content. I feel like this is a chapter that’s closing in my life, and honestly, I believe that’s how it was always meant to be. I’m so grateful for ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.’ It’s gotten me where I am today. It’s given me the opportunities that you all have seen. But I’m ready. I’m ready for the next chapter. And I cannot wait to share with you guys what’s next.”

Much like her “Chicago” character, Leavitt’s place in the spotlight has come with less-than-favorable tabloid fodder. She told “Oprah Daily” that, although she doesn’t fully agree that she’s a series “villain,” she’s embraced her on-screen persona. She’s been candid about being a “very ambitious woman” and using “Secret Lives” as a launchpad for a career in Hollywood — and this isn’t the first time she’s departed the show.

“I had walked away from the show,” she told Gayle King about her brief hiatus after Season 2. “I wasn’t enjoying it anymore. I left the show, and then they were almost midway through the season, and I got a call from the producers, and they said, ‘If you come back, we know that you really want this opportunity to go on “Dancing With the Stars,” but the only way that you would get this opportunity is to come back and film.’”

Last year, Leavitt partnered up with pro dancer Mark Ballas and competed on Season 34 of “Dancing With the Stars.” She was eliminated in the semifinals, finishing in sixth place, but her “Cell Block Tango” performance impressed casting directors of the long-running Broadway production. One thing led to another, and the reality star was headed to Broadway.

Although Salt Lake City may not be known for the excitement synonymous with the Big Apple, Leavitt has plenty of drama to keep her busy back in production on “Mormon Wives.”

The show hit pause in March amid a series of domestic violence investigations involving stars Taylor Frankie Paul and her on-again, off-again partner Dakota Mortensen. The Salt Lake County district attorney’s office announced in mid-April that it would not be filing charges against Paul, and shortly after, the Hulu series said it would resume filming Season 5.

In the comments section of Leavitt’s Instagram video announcing her departure, Paul wrote, “You will be missed. Chase those dreams my girl. I’m excited to see your next chapter.”

Like most of his música mexicana contemporaries, Diego Millán, better known artistically as Calle 24, sang about the excesses of living the rock star life — the money, the cars, the booze and the women.

Since signing with Street Mob Records — the independent label founded by Fuerza Regida frontman Jesús “JOP” Ortiz Paz — in 2020, the singer-songwriter has been responsible for hits like “Que Onda, ” which featured labelmates Chino Pacas and Fuerza Regida. The trombone-laced earworm about a deboucherous tryst was a breakthrough for Millán, reaching No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 after it debuted in August 2023.

These days, the 23-year-old Chihuahua-born artist is dialing down the glitz, opting for songs that aren’t about living the luxurious life.

“Money brings more problems,” Millán tells me inside an Italian restaurant at the Americana at Brand, Glendale’s monument to opulent consumerism. “Because the more money you have, the more things you have to support.”

In April, Millán released “Eterno,” his fourth studio album. The 15-track LP largely forgoes the boisterous brass section that’s become a staple in the genre in favor of stripped-down tracks about being disillusioned with newfound wealth (“10 de mayo”), his mental health (the gritty “Si Me Ven”) and romantic heartbreak and anguish (“Solo”). He also touches on a topic that might be too taboo to discuss: Mexico’s widespread systemic relationship of organized crime (“El Sentrita”).

Millán says this is the most authentic he’s ever been in his music, something he attributes to moving back to Mexico, a country he believes is deeply misunderstood and has profoundlyshaped his personality.

“[Mexico] is filled with deep values, strong ethics and a profound sense of social understanding,” he said.

While música mexicana artists might feel compelled to move to the states in search of fame and fortune, Millán now finds freedom in his native country — and through “Eterno.”

“Now, I can be myself,” he said.

The follwing interview was conducted in Spanish, and has been condensed and edited for clarity.

In “Solo” you talk about romantic loneliness. Why was that vulnerability important to include in this album?

I prefer to approach those themes from a more grounded perspective. With that song, I wanted to really open myself up to that feeling and express regret, that sense of loneliness that comes with saying “I screwed things up.” I feel that’s how you establish a deeper connection with your audience. After all, so many people out there don’t have luxuries or material things like that so how do you get to them? With emotion. A feeling that expresses regret, including with the phrase: “I know I’m a piece of s—, but you know that I love you.”

It reminds me of Joan Sebastian’s “Un Idiota,” in which the singer admits he still loves the person he wronged, and that he knows he messed up.

That’s what I wanted to do too, talk about the human experience and what it is. I wanted people to listen to it as they’re drinking, and all of a sudden that wave of feelings just hits you like a slap to the face.

The song “Si Me Ven” talks about burnout and the idea that money isn’t as fulfilling as one might think. Did you base it out of your own personal experiences?

This song fits like a ring on my finger. They say that money won’t make you happy and it’s true. In my case, I spent five years without seeing my family and missed many things.

On Instagram, you told fans: “I feel like I am more human than artist, I hope you all can understand. Sometimes I wake up wanting to do nothing, or sometimes asking myself what am I doing? Where am I going?” Do you feel drained by this career?

Of course [being a successful musician] is my dream, but I didn’t know all that it would entail. To this day, it has been draining, and there’s some days where I don’t feel like doing anything because I’m more of a person than an artist. There are some colleagues that do live life as if it were a movie, but I’m more of a homebody.

How do you make sense of the industry where part of the allure is tied to wealth, fancy cars and material goods?

I obviously love cars. Any normal person would love those types of things. And when you work hard, of course you fill the gaps you had when you were younger. But I don’t like putting it in people’s faces.

You say this, but your “Eterno” album cover shows you with a stack of money.

[Laughs] But there’s something curious about that cover. I was feeling down that day, there was just a lot of sadness around that time. Yet there I am, surrounded by all that stuff and that’s where the clash lies, you know? That contrast is what gives my album cover its depth.

Let’s talk about “El Sentrita.” The song contextualizes organized crime as a systemic issue. What prompted you to write about this topic?

I wanted to frame it as social commentary, addressing what has been going on in Mexico for decades, as well as the obstacles we face as artists who aren’t allowed to express ourselves or certain themes through music. Just as we were discussing right now, rap used to be how artists delivered social commentary through the medium of music. I would like to do that as well.

I figured if the government tells me I can’t sing a corrido, then I’ll use a corrido to offer them some criticism instead. You have to pay close attention to follow the character’s storyline as it unfolds. At the end of the song, it hits you, none of this would have happened if someone would have given him a chance. The goal was to raise awareness, to show that there are so many dreams within [Mexico] but they need to be given the opportunity to pursue them so that they don’t end up on the wrong path.

The music video for “El Sentrita” shows how one young boy gets roped into organized crime. It feels less of a choice and more a result of the system. Tell me more about this decision to give dimension to the character.

That’s the question: Who is the victim in this system? The way I saw it was that he was a good person who fell in with bad people and ended up becoming a bad person himself. If we look at it from a different angle, one where you don’t judge whether a person is good or bad, he was simply someone operating in that world out of necessity.

That’s when you have to question yourself and ask: how can we call someone a bad person when society leaves them with no other choice. I also wanted to do this to show young people that life in that world isn’t easy. Society right now is deeply damaged. This new generation of youth needs a lot of attention.

There is a phrase at the end of the song where you say, “You don’t sing about what you do, you sing about what you see.” What did you mean by that?

Because it’s not like we’re out there doing those things, you know? We aren’t engaging in any kind of criminal activity whatsoever. We simply sing, literally, about what we see, about what goes down in [Mexico] every single day. Because it’s not just some isolated incident; it’s something that happens constantly — day in, day out, without fail.